I recently read a Youth Specialties article a friend sent to me which the late Mike Yaconelli wrote back in 2001 entitled, Youth Ministry Rant. In this article, he questions what's going on in the commodified version of youth ministry he was witnessing. In this rant (which he recognizes as a rant - which God gracefully allows us to sometimes do - look at the Psalms!), he critiques Christian Colleges:
"What is the deal with Christian colleges, anyway? Shouldn’t they be graduating students who are revolutionary, anti-institutional, anti-cultural extremists? Isn’t anyone else upset that most of our Christian colleges are graduating compliant, materialistic, irrelevant students who don’t have a radical bone in their bodies? Who will push the envelope in the generations to come?"
This paragraph got me thinking - this is what I have come up with in response:
Simply Sanctified, Organic Radicality
As I think about this statement, I find myself resonating with Mike Yaconelli's recognition of the problem. I agree that in many ways our colleges have become domesticated. Like genetically modified food, our idea of the development of Christian leaders has been watered-down into something that is tasteless, mass-produced, but cosmetically-cleaned up.
However, this response is more from my own discontent as part of an ideological group that would lean more towards storming the bastille than conceding to such ideas! I agree with Yaconelli, but I don't know if Jesus would agree with me! I think this perspective represents a very subversive human response that is more reflective of culture than it is Christ. This is the typical "Christian-hippy-gone-wild-in-the-China-Shop" response which (when I think about it) doesn't seem to be as radical as one would suppose.
I agree that there is a problem with graduating compliant, materialistic, irrelevant students, but at what point do we part from a typical (and predictable) "rage-against-the-machine" response? Should we be graduating students that are revolutionary, anti-institutional, and anti-cultural... what does this mean? (Let alone, can one ever be truly anti-cultural?)
More importantly, how does this relate to the type of programs like Project 1:17 that are emerging the The Salvation Army? Are these groups intended to be simply an obnoxious, knock-off Christian version of whatever is the latest form of cultural rebellion? Are we intended to graduate students who are going to proclaim to other Salvationists their irrelevancy, compliance and materialism? Are we seeking to cultivate a rebellious people or a prophetic people? This might be one of the greatest temptations Satan uses to derail the possibility of a more profound simple, sanctified, organic radicality that Christ clearly modeled for us.
Jesus seems to offer a much more radical alternative - his team of disciples included revolutionary, anti-institutional, anti-cultural zealots and compliant, materialistic, irrelevant tax collectors and Pharisees! We never hear of Matthew and Simon the Zealot clashing anywhere in Scripture! How did Jesus get this right? Somehow, Jesus saw things through an alternative lens - a third alternative to cultural co-optation and cultural subversion. This comes closer to the ideal I think that we should pursue.
Jesus revolution was pro-cultural. It wasn't really anti-institutional. It wasn't materialistic or irrelevant. I think that Jesus was about raising up a prophetic people - who would concede giving to ceasar that which was ceasar, but radically protest the stoning of an adulterous woman. Cultural theorists Stuart Hall and David Morely talks about how in culture there are "dominant hegemonic" and "counter-hegemonic" groups, but how there is also a third group which he calls "negotiative." (If you want to delve into the mind-bleeding world of cultural studies, check out Semiotics for Beginners). I think Jesus chose the critical position of the negotiative - a much more radical position that invited both the zealot and tax collector into dialogue - recognizing strengths and weaknesses in both groups.
I would naturally resonate with 90% of what Mike Yaconelli is saying, but this doesn't necessarily make me right. I have to submit my own, fallen conception of radicality to the radicality of Christ. Jesus revolution will look foolish to this world. Remember: Jesus went to war on a Donkey, didn't use a great deal of rhetoric with Pilate, and chose to hold off 10 000 angels when his life was being sacrificed - not exactly the Robert's Rules of Revolution! ...and yet this far more brilliant strategy set in place the greatest revolution in history. I want to be part of that Army!
Monday, November 27, 2006
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Learner-centric Design of Digital Mobile Learning
This is a fascinating article on how mobile phones, iPods, PDAs, etc. could be utilized as tools for learning. They are calling this "m-learning" - the next evolution beyond e-learning!
Learning "In Situ": From Archaeology to Pedagogy to Youth Work
I have been fascinated with the concept of "In Situ" in recent days (see Wikipedia description). This concept has been used in architecture, biology, chemistry, computer science, linguistics, law, etc.
Here's one expansion of this idea: "In archaeology, in situ refers to an artifact that has not been moved from its original place of deposition. An artifact being in situ is critical to the interpretation of that artifact and, consequently, to the culture which formed it. Once an artifact's provenance has been recorded, the artifact can then be moved for conservation, further interpretation and display. An artifact that is not discovered in situ is considered out of context and will not provide an accurate picture of the associated culture. However, the out of context artifact can provide scientists with an example of types and locations of in situ artifacts yet to be discovered."
"Situated learning" is something that has become a keyword in pedagogical studies - fueled by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger. I have recently begun to think about how this term relates to integrated mission - and how this would differ from ideas such as contextualization.
Just a seed thought, but I am interested in exploring the expansion of this idea particularly how this would work when it comes to missiological theories of youth work:
Here's one expansion of this idea: "In archaeology, in situ refers to an artifact that has not been moved from its original place of deposition. An artifact being in situ is critical to the interpretation of that artifact and, consequently, to the culture which formed it. Once an artifact's provenance has been recorded, the artifact can then be moved for conservation, further interpretation and display. An artifact that is not discovered in situ is considered out of context and will not provide an accurate picture of the associated culture. However, the out of context artifact can provide scientists with an example of types and locations of in situ artifacts yet to be discovered."
"Situated learning" is something that has become a keyword in pedagogical studies - fueled by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger. I have recently begun to think about how this term relates to integrated mission - and how this would differ from ideas such as contextualization.
Just a seed thought, but I am interested in exploring the expansion of this idea particularly how this would work when it comes to missiological theories of youth work:
- When we engage in youth work, how do we ensure that we remain conscious of communicating and learning?
- How do we understand the concept of transformation in situ?
- How does a youth worker who is from a different culture commit themselves to the process of development without taking that development out of context?
I don't think that there are easy answers to these questions. It requires a great deal of intentionality and commitment...
There's a lot to think about on this subject...
Peter Jackson says He Won't Make "The Hobbit"
Anyone who has visited Sharon's and my house will know that we are fans of The Lord of the Rings - the swords and toys in the dining room give it away!Sad news just came out on AP to announce that Peter Jackson will not be making The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings prequel. Apparently New Line has not fully paid him for the first trilogy - up to $100 million!
This is a shame as Jackson was a true master at bringing Tolkien's visions to life. My fear is that they end up botching any further films...
Come on New Line - fulfill your deal and try not to destroy the magic of this brilliant partnership!
Also see theonering report.
Gaming Wins New Advocates: Charities Building Younger Constituencies
Major Ron Foreman sent a copy of the latest copy of "The NonProfit Times."
The cover story is by Mark Hrywna on the latest Games for Change conference. This is a sign that the use of gaming has become a critical tool in nonprofit groups.
My hope is that we can tap into this momentum and create an online role-playing game that will seriously alter the destiny of high-risk youth.
The cover story is by Mark Hrywna on the latest Games for Change conference. This is a sign that the use of gaming has become a critical tool in nonprofit groups.
My hope is that we can tap into this momentum and create an online role-playing game that will seriously alter the destiny of high-risk youth.
You Won't Find Jesus on My Space
Eli Sparks sent this link to me. I think this is an incredibly thought provoking poem and alternative take on Myspace:
You won't find Jesus on Myspace
(by Jude Simpson)
Jesus doesn’t have a Myspace page.
He doesn’t sit at his personal computer
for hoursmaking lists
of his favourite lists.
Jesus doesn’t have a Myspace page.
He hasn’t composed a profile
which sums him up in fifty excruciatingly well-chosen words,
making him sound like God’s gift.
Jesus doesn’t have a Myspace page.
and he doesn’t get worked up
at how both Mel Gibson and Tom Cruise
both list him as their number one friend
in the world ever,
or that they schmooze him daily
by email
to try and get him to make them his
number one friend in the world ever
in return.
Jesus isn’t even particularly bothered
that both Madonna and Michael Jackson
have already appropriated “the Messiah” as their MySpace i.d.
Jesus doesn’t have to prove himself electronically.
He doesn’t have a funky alias.
like sinforgiver or waterwalkingdude.
He hasn’t listed his interests
as home brewing,
complementary medicine, and
extreme fishing.
Jesus won’t email you every week
with a “hilarious” new photo
of him wearing a funny outfit,
or a video of his pet goldfish doing synchronised swimming
across the sea of Galilee.
Jesus is not the sort of friend who instant-messages you
twice a year to say, “hey we should meet up some time!”
Jesus didn’t employ an army of A&R men to
use his Myspace page to
broadcast clips of him preaching in his basement
and then write stories of how he went from no-one to world fame in
three short years.
Jesus claims to be only two steps away from Kevin Bacon,
but no-one’s ever seen him prove it.
Jesus doesn’t have a Myspace page.
and Jesus isn’t owned by Rupert Murdoch
thank God.
Jesus knows that you’ve never read the whole of Catch 22
even though it’s listed as one of your favourite books,
and do you know what? He doesn’t care.
If you look for Jesus on MySpace,
Jesus isn’t there,
because Jesus doesn’t have a MySpace page,
even though it’s fast, fun and easy.
Jesus shut down his p.c. before p.c.s were invented
and he put on his sandals, with or without socks,
and he walked to your door, and sat by your heart,
and invited you to be his friend.
That was like, 2,000 years ago –
and he still hasn’t had a reply.
He’s probably standing at your door right now
while you’re sat staring at your screen,
listening to the tune on somebody’s MySpace
and making them your two thousandth friend.
You won't find Jesus on Myspace
(by Jude Simpson)
Jesus doesn’t have a Myspace page.
He doesn’t sit at his personal computer
for hoursmaking lists
of his favourite lists.
Jesus doesn’t have a Myspace page.
He hasn’t composed a profile
which sums him up in fifty excruciatingly well-chosen words,
making him sound like God’s gift.
Jesus doesn’t have a Myspace page.
and he doesn’t get worked up
at how both Mel Gibson and Tom Cruise
both list him as their number one friend
in the world ever,
or that they schmooze him daily
by email
to try and get him to make them his
number one friend in the world ever
in return.
Jesus isn’t even particularly bothered
that both Madonna and Michael Jackson
have already appropriated “the Messiah” as their MySpace i.d.
Jesus doesn’t have to prove himself electronically.
He doesn’t have a funky alias.
like sinforgiver or waterwalkingdude.
He hasn’t listed his interests
as home brewing,
complementary medicine, and
extreme fishing.
Jesus won’t email you every week
with a “hilarious” new photo
of him wearing a funny outfit,
or a video of his pet goldfish doing synchronised swimming
across the sea of Galilee.
Jesus is not the sort of friend who instant-messages you
twice a year to say, “hey we should meet up some time!”
Jesus didn’t employ an army of A&R men to
use his Myspace page to
broadcast clips of him preaching in his basement
and then write stories of how he went from no-one to world fame in
three short years.
Jesus claims to be only two steps away from Kevin Bacon,
but no-one’s ever seen him prove it.
Jesus doesn’t have a Myspace page.
and Jesus isn’t owned by Rupert Murdoch
thank God.
Jesus knows that you’ve never read the whole of Catch 22
even though it’s listed as one of your favourite books,
and do you know what? He doesn’t care.
If you look for Jesus on MySpace,
Jesus isn’t there,
because Jesus doesn’t have a MySpace page,
even though it’s fast, fun and easy.
Jesus shut down his p.c. before p.c.s were invented
and he put on his sandals, with or without socks,
and he walked to your door, and sat by your heart,
and invited you to be his friend.
That was like, 2,000 years ago –
and he still hasn’t had a reply.
He’s probably standing at your door right now
while you’re sat staring at your screen,
listening to the tune on somebody’s MySpace
and making them your two thousandth friend.
Monday, November 20, 2006
Lolli-Pop Spirituality: Why Youth Are Crashing From Sugar-Coated Christianity
[This is an article I wrote that grew out of an e-mail conversation with Major Rick Munn. Enjoy!]
“Show the world a real, living, hardworking, toiling, triumphing religion. Show them anything less and the world will turn around and spit upon it.”
Catherine Booth
“We don’t want God to work unless He can make a theatrical production of it. We want Him to come dressed in costumes with a beard and with a staff. We want Him to play a part according to our ideas. Some of us even demand that He provide a colorful setting and fireworks as well!”
A.W. Tozer
Major Rick Munn, the Program Secretary for The Salvation Army’s USA Eastern Territory recently sent to me an article from Time Magazine (Time, 2006) on how “…sugar-coated, MTV-style youth ministry is over”, and “Bible-based worship is packing teens in the pews.” When I read this article, I resonated with what was being written. In response, I wrote the following as a reflection on the implications of this shift in youth culture. They are going through a spiritual sugar-crash and are looking for something of greater substance that will sustain them through the challenges of living out their faith in a consumer-driven world.
The candy-coated version of youth ministry has been a homogeneous formula that has been sold as youth ministry for the past 25 years. This paradigm of youthwork suggests that the deepest, Maslowian "felt need" of adolescents is to be entertained. As a result, hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of dollars have been invested in trying to entertain our kids into the kingdom.
My problem with this strategy is that:
(1) We will never be able to compete with Hollywood, but Hollywood is competing with us. A W Tozer speaks about those of us in the church creating "second-rate talent shows" to attempt to match up to what the media industry is able to produce. Therefore we have created an entire Christian consumer subculture which, ironically, has become so lucrative (middle-class Christian teens have quite amount of disposable income!) that even the major media moguls have caught onto this. Most Christian brands from Veggietales to Youth Specialties products are now subsidiaries of larger companies such as NewsCorp and Viacom. Even Hollywood has noticed how consumer-driven Christians are - and have begun to set aside "Passion dollars" for ideologically Christian stories - because we evangelicals LOVE to be entertained!
At what point do we begin to recognize this as a form of hegemonic co-optation? Are we giving glory to Jesus or to Rupert Murdoch and Sumner Redstone? At what point do we begin to realize that this as a form of gospel domestication? I'm all up for going to the movies and listening to well-produced artists singing songs which reflect the kingdom - but this is very different to lolli-pop spirituality! If we were in Africa - Christianity that is uncritically synergized with culture is considered syncretism. At what point do we begin to examine our own ‘cultural accretions’ - our own syncretisms?
The Israelites in the wilderness longed for the benefits of slavery in Egypt - the food and treasure... these were concessionary bribes from Egyptians that were intended to win the consent of the people of Israel. The provision of the slave-lord can often be more alluring that the provision of God... but at the price of what? Our freedom? Our destiny? Similarly, we evangelicals need to seriously begin to ask whether commodified Christianity is going to be what truly satisfies this generation?
The French philosopher Guy Debord refers to America as a "society of the spectacle" (Debord, 1995). Unfortunately, those most attracted to this dangling carrot-spectacle happens to be lucrative evangelicals! The only problem is that this next generation is one of the most consumer-savvy cultures out there - they are "the iPod generation" - a generation that has the market tailored to their own desires. The only problem is that youth are beginning to sniff out that such me-centered worlds ("I"/Me + Pod/Mini-World) are simply a tailor-made prison that brings little satisfaction. In essence, the need for satisfaction is sent into an abusive, spiraling, addictive race to keep up with whatever is the latest and greatest.
If all that we (as the Church) have to offer to youth is a Christian, sanitized, knock-off version of these tailor-made, me-centered consumer prisons, they will quickly reject Christianity. Therefore, the solution for youth ministry is not to create better products and more entertaining programs - what this Time article is articulating is that youth workers are beginning to realize that these are simply hollow solutions to a much deeper need.
(2) "To be Entertained" is a misinformed goal of today's generation. We have missed the mark if we think that youth desperately want to be entertained - as I have mentioned in the previous point, they have, to use a Neil Postman concept, been "amused to death" (Postman, 2005). So what is their deepest desire? I believe there are three deep longings:
(a) They do not want to be entertained - they want to be challenged. Statistics have shown that more and more teens and young adults are getting involved in philanthropic volunteerism. Civic engagement has been steadily increasing as youth become bored with the physically solitary life of X-Boxes, computers, delivery food and Tivo. Recently, one of our students gave up their X-Box and television and came to Project 1:17 choosing to live a solitary, monastic lifestyle - with a focus on being trained to service the poor in the name of Jesus!
I believe that we are in a perfect position in The Salvation Army to take full advantage of this. With our wholistic view of spiritual/social mission, we can meet this need in today's youth. Issues of social justice such as addressing poverty, illiteracy, delinquency, drug abuse, teen pregnancy, human trafficking and the exploring community-based solutions to the HIV epidemic are among the noble philanthropic causes for an individual to commit themselves to. To do this "in the name of Jesus" - and to share the faith, hope and love available through salvation makes this type of service not just temporally, but also eternally effective.
This generation believes that they can change the world! This can be perceived of as a utopian optimism that will quickly be shattered by the harsh realities of life... or it could also be understood as a cultural opportunity which, when linked to a solid eschatology and missiology, could be seen as a God-moment
(b) They do not want to be entertained - they want to know 'why?' This generation is a deep thinking group of young people. Often, we mistake our youth's refusal to participate in something/or do something as rebellion. Most youth today are driven by a great desire to know "why" they should do things - they require a rationale and logic. A group of people that have been inundated with every form of mass-marketing are provided all sorts of rationales for why they should watch television shows, buy certain brands of clothing, click on certain websites, listen to types of music, etc. etc. that they have become what Maire Messenger Davies has called "critical connoisseurs of media" (Davies, 1997) The critical skills have made them sophisticated in their decision-making process. Gone are the days of "do this because I am telling you to." They need to know why - or they'll not buy in.
Unfortunately, in the church, we have also been going through a bit of an identity crisis. Modernity has swept the church for the past 50 plus years to the point that we celebrate the contemporary or the new that we have become disconnected with our history. As a result, once two or three generations removed from anything that even mildly represents "tradition" - we have no reason why we do what we do! So we end up having Corps which are a hybrid of Salvationism mixed with a hodge podge of contemporary church models ranging from charismatic, conservative, liberal, emergent, mega, homogeneous (ad nauseum!) Our churches look more like a Baskin Robbins after a busy streak than a community that knows who it is!
So what happens when a young person chooses to become a part of our movement? They enter into soldier's classes being trained by people who don't know what a soldier is. They sit in youth programs being run by people who don't know why what they are doing is critical to the mission of The Salvation Army. They worship in Corps that have lost focus, don't understand the difference between a holiness and salvation meeting, and have never done an open air in their lives! When they begin to ask why we are doing what we are doing... they are answered with a "just do it" response. Our youth are not going to stick around long until they are able to understand why we do what we do!!
The Salvation Army used to put out a manual called "The Why and Wherefore of The Salvation Army" - the intention was to give people a rationale for why we do what we do. This needs to be pulled out, dusted off, and taught once again. Like the temple builders who discovered the law afresh, we need to rediscover why we do what we do! We need to re-educate ourselves on the methods behind the madness of what makes Salvationism so effective. Then we need to be willing to sit down with our youth and have long conversations with them - where they are welcome to test the validity of our rationale. I have confidence in what we are doing so much that I would invite any young leader to test our philosophies and theologies, principles and procedures. Once they discover how solid things are, they will be willing to give their lives to serving gone in this amazing vehicle of the gospel.
At Project 1:17, we have incorporated a soldier's training class. One of our students soldiership was limited to being shown a picture of William Booth and being told what the flag represents!! Majors Bob and Donna Green have been relaying the foundations in this class - seeking to ensure that we send out of our program students who have had the freedom to explore deeply the why's and wherefore's. Philosopher Alisdair MacIntyre has commented that controversy and questioning is not an enemy, but an ally to tradition. Apathy will kill any sense of heritage, but asking why will produce a great sense of allegiance (MacIntyre, 1984).
An entertainment-driven youth work will repel youth from future involvement in our movement. The coliseum was created to distract the masses from asking why questions. Similarly, a trip to the movies might ward off questioning for today, but the insatiable hunger to know 'why' will not be satisfied by cracker-jack prizes - it will only be satisfied by the meat of true, rigorous engagement.
(c) They do not want to be entertained - they want to be engaged by a vibrant and authentic spirituality. A generation that has grown up after the death of God is hungry for authentic spiritual encounter. Physical entertainment will not satisfy metaphysical desires. Catherine Booth was prophetic when she said "show the world a REAL, LIVING, hardworking, toiling triumphing religion. Show them anything less and the world will turn around and spit upon it!"
We are fools if we think that the chocolate-coated, fool's golden calf of entertainment is going to satisfy the deep need for genuine spirituality. One thing which has worried me in recent years, though, is that there has emerged a commodified version of spirituality. Sometimes I will stand in the middle of a youth-oriented worship gathering and turn on the anthropologist that exists in me... and I wonder, "what social experiment am I in???" I have discovered that I can travel from Africa, to England, to the East and West of America, from community to community and find similar patterns of youth worship sub-culture! There are codes to our worship, certain CDs, atmospheric pre-requisites and emotional reactions that parallel themselves in almost all of these communities - almost a global youth spirituality culture. Is this what we understand to be "authentic spirituality?" I think the answer is both yes and no. We all create contexts, ceremonies, traditions, rites of passage - this is the essence of culture. There have been many 'skins' that have clothed the church - globally and historically.
The issue of spirituality has less to do with the skin which embodies worship than it has to do with the posture of the worshipper. Youth are looking for people who can help to lead them into the presence of God. They don't care whether this is being done by through a tattooed and tongue-pierced worship leader or through a retired Salvation Army officer - what they desperately need is not the cultural skin, but rather the bones and sinew of authentic spirituality! So many youth are being attracted to the most liturgical worship settings - not because "retro ecclesiology" is "in" - but because they are able to meet with people who are deep and contemplative in their spirituality. This is why I will often find myself chatting for hours to a Lt-Colonel Lyle Rader. We might be cultural opposites in our expression of spirituality - but we are attracted to similar things when it comes to the 'sinews and bones of salvationism.'
The Time magazine article recognizes accurately that there is a malcontent with an entertainment-driven youth ministry. Our goal in the Army - I would argue - would be to ensure that in our youth work we are creating opportunities for intentional engagement in local marginalized contexts (maybe a league of mercy for youth); increased critical dialogue on foundational issues of salvationism (Corps Cadets does a great job of this already, but maybe also relooking at soldier's training); and a deepening of our spirituality (24/7 Prayer Weeks, Prayer Weekend etc.).
In The Salvation Army, we saw the redemptive value of the circus-as-context-for-missional-engagement. We used innovation, new technology, entertainment and the absurd as tools-with-a-purpose (Winston, 2002). They were a means to an end. They were part of our Muktifaj contextualization strategy - as William Booth has said, "attract their attention." However, without “gaining their confidence; saving their souls; and training them to live for God and the salvation of the world”, attraction is simply an empty opportunity - an iPod without music!
If we are going to allow this generation to “taste and see that the Lord is good” and therefore “…take refuge in Him” (Ps. 34:8), then we must ask ourselves the hard question, “What are we inviting this generation to taste?” My prayer is that youth workers in The Salvation Army will learn to balance the sweetness of culturally adaptable methodologies and tactics with the meatiness of our time-tested biblical and practical orthodoxy. Let’s show the world what we’re really made of!
References
Davies, M.M. (1997). Fake, fact, and fantasy: Children’s interpretations of television reality. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Debord, G., & Nicholson-Smith, D. (1995). The society of the spectacle. Cambridge, MA: Zone Books.
MacIntyre, A. (1984). After virtue: A study in moral theory. Fair Haven, CT: University of Nortre Dame Press.
Postman, N. (2005). Amusing ourselves to death: Public discourse in the age of show business. NY: Penguin.
Time Magazine. (2006). In touch with Jesus: Sugar-coated, MTV-style youth ministry is over. Bible-based worship is packing teens in pews now. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1552027,00.html. (Accessed: November, 2006).
Winston, D. (2002). All the world’s a stage: The performed religion of The Salvation Army 1880 – 1920. In S.M. Hoover & L.S. Clark, Practicing religion in the age of the media: Explorations in media, religion, and culture. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
“Show the world a real, living, hardworking, toiling, triumphing religion. Show them anything less and the world will turn around and spit upon it.”
Catherine Booth
“We don’t want God to work unless He can make a theatrical production of it. We want Him to come dressed in costumes with a beard and with a staff. We want Him to play a part according to our ideas. Some of us even demand that He provide a colorful setting and fireworks as well!”
A.W. Tozer
Major Rick Munn, the Program Secretary for The Salvation Army’s USA Eastern Territory recently sent to me an article from Time Magazine (Time, 2006) on how “…sugar-coated, MTV-style youth ministry is over”, and “Bible-based worship is packing teens in the pews.” When I read this article, I resonated with what was being written. In response, I wrote the following as a reflection on the implications of this shift in youth culture. They are going through a spiritual sugar-crash and are looking for something of greater substance that will sustain them through the challenges of living out their faith in a consumer-driven world.
The candy-coated version of youth ministry has been a homogeneous formula that has been sold as youth ministry for the past 25 years. This paradigm of youthwork suggests that the deepest, Maslowian "felt need" of adolescents is to be entertained. As a result, hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of dollars have been invested in trying to entertain our kids into the kingdom.
My problem with this strategy is that:
(1) We will never be able to compete with Hollywood, but Hollywood is competing with us. A W Tozer speaks about those of us in the church creating "second-rate talent shows" to attempt to match up to what the media industry is able to produce. Therefore we have created an entire Christian consumer subculture which, ironically, has become so lucrative (middle-class Christian teens have quite amount of disposable income!) that even the major media moguls have caught onto this. Most Christian brands from Veggietales to Youth Specialties products are now subsidiaries of larger companies such as NewsCorp and Viacom. Even Hollywood has noticed how consumer-driven Christians are - and have begun to set aside "Passion dollars" for ideologically Christian stories - because we evangelicals LOVE to be entertained!
At what point do we begin to recognize this as a form of hegemonic co-optation? Are we giving glory to Jesus or to Rupert Murdoch and Sumner Redstone? At what point do we begin to realize that this as a form of gospel domestication? I'm all up for going to the movies and listening to well-produced artists singing songs which reflect the kingdom - but this is very different to lolli-pop spirituality! If we were in Africa - Christianity that is uncritically synergized with culture is considered syncretism. At what point do we begin to examine our own ‘cultural accretions’ - our own syncretisms?
The Israelites in the wilderness longed for the benefits of slavery in Egypt - the food and treasure... these were concessionary bribes from Egyptians that were intended to win the consent of the people of Israel. The provision of the slave-lord can often be more alluring that the provision of God... but at the price of what? Our freedom? Our destiny? Similarly, we evangelicals need to seriously begin to ask whether commodified Christianity is going to be what truly satisfies this generation?
The French philosopher Guy Debord refers to America as a "society of the spectacle" (Debord, 1995). Unfortunately, those most attracted to this dangling carrot-spectacle happens to be lucrative evangelicals! The only problem is that this next generation is one of the most consumer-savvy cultures out there - they are "the iPod generation" - a generation that has the market tailored to their own desires. The only problem is that youth are beginning to sniff out that such me-centered worlds ("I"/Me + Pod/Mini-World) are simply a tailor-made prison that brings little satisfaction. In essence, the need for satisfaction is sent into an abusive, spiraling, addictive race to keep up with whatever is the latest and greatest.
If all that we (as the Church) have to offer to youth is a Christian, sanitized, knock-off version of these tailor-made, me-centered consumer prisons, they will quickly reject Christianity. Therefore, the solution for youth ministry is not to create better products and more entertaining programs - what this Time article is articulating is that youth workers are beginning to realize that these are simply hollow solutions to a much deeper need.
(2) "To be Entertained" is a misinformed goal of today's generation. We have missed the mark if we think that youth desperately want to be entertained - as I have mentioned in the previous point, they have, to use a Neil Postman concept, been "amused to death" (Postman, 2005). So what is their deepest desire? I believe there are three deep longings:
(a) They do not want to be entertained - they want to be challenged. Statistics have shown that more and more teens and young adults are getting involved in philanthropic volunteerism. Civic engagement has been steadily increasing as youth become bored with the physically solitary life of X-Boxes, computers, delivery food and Tivo. Recently, one of our students gave up their X-Box and television and came to Project 1:17 choosing to live a solitary, monastic lifestyle - with a focus on being trained to service the poor in the name of Jesus!
I believe that we are in a perfect position in The Salvation Army to take full advantage of this. With our wholistic view of spiritual/social mission, we can meet this need in today's youth. Issues of social justice such as addressing poverty, illiteracy, delinquency, drug abuse, teen pregnancy, human trafficking and the exploring community-based solutions to the HIV epidemic are among the noble philanthropic causes for an individual to commit themselves to. To do this "in the name of Jesus" - and to share the faith, hope and love available through salvation makes this type of service not just temporally, but also eternally effective.
This generation believes that they can change the world! This can be perceived of as a utopian optimism that will quickly be shattered by the harsh realities of life... or it could also be understood as a cultural opportunity which, when linked to a solid eschatology and missiology, could be seen as a God-moment
(b) They do not want to be entertained - they want to know 'why?' This generation is a deep thinking group of young people. Often, we mistake our youth's refusal to participate in something/or do something as rebellion. Most youth today are driven by a great desire to know "why" they should do things - they require a rationale and logic. A group of people that have been inundated with every form of mass-marketing are provided all sorts of rationales for why they should watch television shows, buy certain brands of clothing, click on certain websites, listen to types of music, etc. etc. that they have become what Maire Messenger Davies has called "critical connoisseurs of media" (Davies, 1997) The critical skills have made them sophisticated in their decision-making process. Gone are the days of "do this because I am telling you to." They need to know why - or they'll not buy in.
Unfortunately, in the church, we have also been going through a bit of an identity crisis. Modernity has swept the church for the past 50 plus years to the point that we celebrate the contemporary or the new that we have become disconnected with our history. As a result, once two or three generations removed from anything that even mildly represents "tradition" - we have no reason why we do what we do! So we end up having Corps which are a hybrid of Salvationism mixed with a hodge podge of contemporary church models ranging from charismatic, conservative, liberal, emergent, mega, homogeneous (ad nauseum!) Our churches look more like a Baskin Robbins after a busy streak than a community that knows who it is!
So what happens when a young person chooses to become a part of our movement? They enter into soldier's classes being trained by people who don't know what a soldier is. They sit in youth programs being run by people who don't know why what they are doing is critical to the mission of The Salvation Army. They worship in Corps that have lost focus, don't understand the difference between a holiness and salvation meeting, and have never done an open air in their lives! When they begin to ask why we are doing what we are doing... they are answered with a "just do it" response. Our youth are not going to stick around long until they are able to understand why we do what we do!!
The Salvation Army used to put out a manual called "The Why and Wherefore of The Salvation Army" - the intention was to give people a rationale for why we do what we do. This needs to be pulled out, dusted off, and taught once again. Like the temple builders who discovered the law afresh, we need to rediscover why we do what we do! We need to re-educate ourselves on the methods behind the madness of what makes Salvationism so effective. Then we need to be willing to sit down with our youth and have long conversations with them - where they are welcome to test the validity of our rationale. I have confidence in what we are doing so much that I would invite any young leader to test our philosophies and theologies, principles and procedures. Once they discover how solid things are, they will be willing to give their lives to serving gone in this amazing vehicle of the gospel.
At Project 1:17, we have incorporated a soldier's training class. One of our students soldiership was limited to being shown a picture of William Booth and being told what the flag represents!! Majors Bob and Donna Green have been relaying the foundations in this class - seeking to ensure that we send out of our program students who have had the freedom to explore deeply the why's and wherefore's. Philosopher Alisdair MacIntyre has commented that controversy and questioning is not an enemy, but an ally to tradition. Apathy will kill any sense of heritage, but asking why will produce a great sense of allegiance (MacIntyre, 1984).
An entertainment-driven youth work will repel youth from future involvement in our movement. The coliseum was created to distract the masses from asking why questions. Similarly, a trip to the movies might ward off questioning for today, but the insatiable hunger to know 'why' will not be satisfied by cracker-jack prizes - it will only be satisfied by the meat of true, rigorous engagement.
(c) They do not want to be entertained - they want to be engaged by a vibrant and authentic spirituality. A generation that has grown up after the death of God is hungry for authentic spiritual encounter. Physical entertainment will not satisfy metaphysical desires. Catherine Booth was prophetic when she said "show the world a REAL, LIVING, hardworking, toiling triumphing religion. Show them anything less and the world will turn around and spit upon it!"
We are fools if we think that the chocolate-coated, fool's golden calf of entertainment is going to satisfy the deep need for genuine spirituality. One thing which has worried me in recent years, though, is that there has emerged a commodified version of spirituality. Sometimes I will stand in the middle of a youth-oriented worship gathering and turn on the anthropologist that exists in me... and I wonder, "what social experiment am I in???" I have discovered that I can travel from Africa, to England, to the East and West of America, from community to community and find similar patterns of youth worship sub-culture! There are codes to our worship, certain CDs, atmospheric pre-requisites and emotional reactions that parallel themselves in almost all of these communities - almost a global youth spirituality culture. Is this what we understand to be "authentic spirituality?" I think the answer is both yes and no. We all create contexts, ceremonies, traditions, rites of passage - this is the essence of culture. There have been many 'skins' that have clothed the church - globally and historically.
The issue of spirituality has less to do with the skin which embodies worship than it has to do with the posture of the worshipper. Youth are looking for people who can help to lead them into the presence of God. They don't care whether this is being done by through a tattooed and tongue-pierced worship leader or through a retired Salvation Army officer - what they desperately need is not the cultural skin, but rather the bones and sinew of authentic spirituality! So many youth are being attracted to the most liturgical worship settings - not because "retro ecclesiology" is "in" - but because they are able to meet with people who are deep and contemplative in their spirituality. This is why I will often find myself chatting for hours to a Lt-Colonel Lyle Rader. We might be cultural opposites in our expression of spirituality - but we are attracted to similar things when it comes to the 'sinews and bones of salvationism.'
The Time magazine article recognizes accurately that there is a malcontent with an entertainment-driven youth ministry. Our goal in the Army - I would argue - would be to ensure that in our youth work we are creating opportunities for intentional engagement in local marginalized contexts (maybe a league of mercy for youth); increased critical dialogue on foundational issues of salvationism (Corps Cadets does a great job of this already, but maybe also relooking at soldier's training); and a deepening of our spirituality (24/7 Prayer Weeks, Prayer Weekend etc.).
In The Salvation Army, we saw the redemptive value of the circus-as-context-for-missional-engagement. We used innovation, new technology, entertainment and the absurd as tools-with-a-purpose (Winston, 2002). They were a means to an end. They were part of our Muktifaj contextualization strategy - as William Booth has said, "attract their attention." However, without “gaining their confidence; saving their souls; and training them to live for God and the salvation of the world”, attraction is simply an empty opportunity - an iPod without music!
If we are going to allow this generation to “taste and see that the Lord is good” and therefore “…take refuge in Him” (Ps. 34:8), then we must ask ourselves the hard question, “What are we inviting this generation to taste?” My prayer is that youth workers in The Salvation Army will learn to balance the sweetness of culturally adaptable methodologies and tactics with the meatiness of our time-tested biblical and practical orthodoxy. Let’s show the world what we’re really made of!
References
Davies, M.M. (1997). Fake, fact, and fantasy: Children’s interpretations of television reality. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Debord, G., & Nicholson-Smith, D. (1995). The society of the spectacle. Cambridge, MA: Zone Books.
MacIntyre, A. (1984). After virtue: A study in moral theory. Fair Haven, CT: University of Nortre Dame Press.
Postman, N. (2005). Amusing ourselves to death: Public discourse in the age of show business. NY: Penguin.
Time Magazine. (2006). In touch with Jesus: Sugar-coated, MTV-style youth ministry is over. Bible-based worship is packing teens in pews now. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1552027,00.html. (Accessed: November, 2006).
Winston, D. (2002). All the world’s a stage: The performed religion of The Salvation Army 1880 – 1920. In S.M. Hoover & L.S. Clark, Practicing religion in the age of the media: Explorations in media, religion, and culture. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
I'm Back!
Friends,
After making it through our first semester as Directors of Project 1:17, I finally have a few minutes on my hands to give attention to my much-neglected blog. I am going to try to regularly update my blog from this point on. However, this might not be the daily experience it once was.
All that being said, I look forward to our dialogue and discussions.
Steve
After making it through our first semester as Directors of Project 1:17, I finally have a few minutes on my hands to give attention to my much-neglected blog. I am going to try to regularly update my blog from this point on. However, this might not be the daily experience it once was.
All that being said, I look forward to our dialogue and discussions.
Steve
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)