Textual Poaching Theory and Evangelicals

There are some significant theories that have emerged in the past couple of decades in the field of media and cultural studies that are of interest to me as I prepare this paper on evangelicals and the media. The work of cultural theorists Michel de Certeau and Henry Jenkins III are of particular interest to this subject.

In his book, The practice of everyday life (1984), de Certeau speaks of 'l'homme ordinaire' or 'the ordinary man.' A person is their own silent master of everyday experience - creating their own text as they navigate through the hectic streets of their life (de Certeau draws on the work of Charles Baudelaire, who refers to this city walker as 'flaneur'). As the individual walks through the streets, they exercise resistance and produce (i.e. re-master) their own unique urban space. This act is what de Certeau calls 'textual poaching.'

He says,
"Reading introduces an “art” which is anything but passive. …Imbricated within the strategies of modernity (which identify creation with the invention of a personal language, whether cultural or scientific), the procedures of contemporary consumption appear to constitute a subtle art of “renters” who know how to insinuate their countless differences into the dominant text." (1984, p. xxii)

Henry Jenkins took de Certeau's idea and reappropriated it into his study of fan cultures called Textual poachers: Television fans and participatory culture (1992). Fans, he suggests, take elements of media culture and rework them into their own narratives. These fans pro-actively 'rework the text' (like de Certeau's flaneur). They are not simply passive consumers, but active producers of new meaning. This type of poaching he calls an artform (1992, p.27)

He says that poaching is "...an impertinent raiding in the literary preserve that takes away only those things that are useful or pleasurable to the reader." (1992, p.24)

Historically, evangelicals have been famous for their act of textual poaching. In the late 19th century, The Salvation Army reappropriated all sorts of forms of popular media into their evangelical identity. Dianne Winston elaborates:

"Since arriving in New York in 1881, Salvationists had waged a stealth campaign, seeking to adapt popular media for religious purposes. By spiritualizing media - whether parades, pageants, or dramatic presentations - the Army engaged in a bold crusade to transform an advanced industrial society into the kingdom of God."(Winston, "All the world's a stage: The performed religion of The Salvation Army" in Practicing religion in the age of the media, 2002, p.115)

The founder of this movment, William Booth is noted as saying, "Why should the devil have all the good music?"

"It was January 22, 1882. The theatre in Worcester, England was so packed that even William Booth had trouble getting in. The overflow crowd, refused admission, broke down the door to gain entry. The music was lively and contemporary. After one song, Booth turned to his hosts and asked, “What tune was that?” That’s “Champagne Charlie is my name”. “That’s settled it,” William Booth decided as he turned to his son Bramwell. “Why should the devil have all the best tunes?” (Diane Winston, Red-hot and righteous, 2000)

This mindset has translated into contemporary evangelical culture too - particularly with the emergence of contemporary Christian music. Larry Norman illustrated this in the 1970s - reappropriating William Booth's words to justify textually poaching rock and roll for evangelical purposes. Since then, evangelical textual poaching has become a massive industry - including animation, fashion, almost every genre of music, film, fiction, even candies! (See Heather Hendershot's Shaking the world for Jesus).

In my next couple of postings, I will highlight a few examples of the tension between media representations and their reception and reappropriation into evangelical culture.

Is this all an exercise in de Certeau/Jenkin's idea of poaching - resisting culture by producing unique media spaces which are conducive to evangelicals?

What are your thoughts?

Act One: Evangelicals in Hollywood

I recently came across a book entitled, Behind the screen: Hollywood insiders on faith, film, and culture (2005). This collection of articles from christians working in Hollywood provides a fascinating alternative reading of evangelicals (& other protestants & catholics) and the media. The folk writing these chapters are working on shows like Mission Impossible, Batman Forever, Joan of Acrcadia, X-Men, and That 70s Show. They are folk who are daily wrestling with the tension between faith and culture on the frontlines of the media industry.

In 1999, they formed a non-profit program known a Act One "to train these 'artist-apostles' for Hollywood" (p.9) "ACT ONE is a nonprofit organization that trains people of faith for careers in mainstream film & TV."

"Stressing artistry, excellence, professionalism, and spirituality, Act One prepares students to be "salt and light" in writers rooms, on sets, and in studio and network offices. Our goal is not to produce explicitly "religious" entertainment, but movies and TV programs that combine mastery of craft with an unusual quality of depth."

Check out their site - and be blown away by this amazing movement. Here's a sampling of some of their members and affiliates:

Members/Affiliates of Act One

Sheryl Anderson

Ron Austin

Dean Batali
Dean is Executive Producer of FOX's That 70's Show. He wrote for the initial two seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (WB), and served as co-producer on ABC's recent remake of Fantasy Island. He was also a staff writer on NBC's Hope and Gloria, and has written for Duckman, Bruno the Kid, Mickey's Campfire Tales, and Nickelodeon's The Adventures of Pete and Pete.

Janet Scott & Lee Batchler
As a husband-wife writing team, Janet and Lee's feature credits include the international blockbuster Batman Forever for Warner Bros., Shores of Tripoli for Disney, and Modesty Blaise, a "female James Bond" based on the well-known English novels and comic strip, for Miramax. In addition, their adventure movie Smoke and Mirrors is currently in development with Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones set to star. The Batchlers have taught seminars on writing and the film industry for UCLA Film School, USC Film School, UC San Diego, Biola University, the Scriptwriter's Network, Women in Film, and the Writer's Connection, among others.

Brian Bird
Brian Bird is a principal partner in Dove Canyon Films. Brian served as Co-Executive Producer and senior writer for four seasons on the series Touched By An Angel. He wrote Call Me Claus for TNT, which starred Whoopi Goldberg and became the highest rated cable film of 2002. Brian’s other film credits include Bopha! for Paramount Pictures, and the Hallmark Hall of Fame drama Captive Heart: The James Mink Story. He has also written In Silence, based on the book by Ruth Sidransky, for Paramount Pictures, Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation, for TNT, and Before Time Runs Out for FOX. His television series production and writing credits also include Evening Shade, Step by Step, The Family Man, and the original Fantasy Island.

Jonathan Bock

Terry Botwick
Terry has had an outstanding career in television and now motion pictures. As Senior Vice-President at CBS Entertainment, he helped the network rise from third to first place, and oversaw all primetime series programming (developing three successful series) and special events (Grammy Awards, Tony Awards, Emmy Awards, etc.). His eclectic resume of broad-ranging successes includes: President of worldwide television distribution and production for Hearst Corporation, Founder/CEO of eLearning company Spongelab, President/COO of Big Idea Productions (VeggieTales), and Co-Founder/CEO of Thunderpoint Studios, a new feature film and finance production company.

Todd Burns

Charles Robert Carner
Charles Robert Carner has climbed Mount Kenya, run the Los Angeles marathon, and earned the United States Marine Corps Devildog Award for physical fitness. He has survived winter camping expeditions in weather of 40 degrees below zero, and rafting trips down the crocodile-infested waters of the Tana River in East Africa. He has been bitten by rattlesnakes, stalked by leopards, and chased by angry Cape buffaloes. He has skydived, scuba-dived, and competed in Tae Kwon Do tournaments. He has also written over 50 screenplays and teleplays, 18 of which have been produced. He co-wrote and directed A Killer Among Friends, the highest-rated CBS movie of the 1990’s; he wrote and directed Who Killed Atlanta's Children?, Showtime’s highest-rated movie of 2000; he wrote Crossfire Trail, the highest-rated cable movie in the history of television. He also wrote, produced and directed The Fixer for Showtime; wrote and directed Christmas Rush and Red Water for TBS; and directed Judas for CBS. His feature credits include Let's Get Harry and Blind Fury. He has served on the executive committees of the United States Catholic Conference, and Catholics in Media. He is a Life Member of the Sierra Club and the National Rifle Association. His biography appears in the Who’s Who editions of Entertainment, America and the World. Finally, and most importantly, he is married to actress/writer Debra Sharkey; they have two children, Michael and Grace Noelle.

Phil Cooke
Phil Cooke is President and Creative Director of Cooke Pictures, a television production and media consulting company for some of the largest non-profit and faith-based organizations in America. He has produced programming in more than 35 countries, and is a popular speaker at media workshops, seminars and conferences worldwide. An award-winning director, Cooke is also a founding partner with Ralph Winter (producer of X-Men and X2) of Thomas-Winter-Cooke, a commercial production company. One of the few working producers and directors in Hollywood with an earned Ph.D., his work has been profiled in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Los Angeles Times, and is in the permanent archive of the History of Broadcasting at Newhouse School of Communication, Syracuse University.

Lana Corbi
Lana served as President & CEO of Crown Media U.S., where she played a pivotal role in the creation and 2001 launch of the Hallmark Channel. Under her leadership, Hallmark Channel was the most successful network premiere in cable history, and became the nation’s fastest growing cable network. Prior to that Ms. Corbi was Chief Operating Officer of the Odyssey Network, and in the Nineties she enjoyed two tenures with the Fox Broadcasting Company as President of Network Distribution. She has been called one of the “50 Most Powerful Black Executives in America” (Fortune Magazine), one of the “10 Most Powerful Blacks in TV” (Ebony Magazine), and one of the Top 100 “Women in Entertainment” (Hollywood Reporter). Ms. Corbi now serves as President & CEO of CORBICO, a business and media consulting firm.

Karen & Jim Covell
Karen Covell is a television producer and director of the Hollywood Prayer Network (HPN). Her producing credits include Headliners & Legends with Matt Lauer and America's Throwaway Children. As the Director of the Hollywood Prayer Network, Karen speaks and teaches around the country on how people of faith can pray for the people in the entertainment industry. Jim Covell's musical scores range from feature films to television series and specials. He has written music for Ron Howard, Jonathan Lynn, and Mickey Mouse, to name a few. He also has commission orchestral works which have been performed by symphonic orchestras around the country. Together, Jim and Karen have authored two books, How to Talk about Jesus without Freaking Out and The Day I Met God, both published by Multnomah.

Meilssa D'Arabian
After obtaining her MBA from Georgetown University, Melissa d’Arabian worked in Finance and Planning for The Walt Disney Company in Burbank, and for Eurodisney in Paris. An alumna of Act One’s Writing Program in Los Angeles. Melissa d’Arabian is the former Director of Act One Executive Program. Currently, Melissa is working part time as a research and writing associate at the Kellogg School of Business, which was just ranked the number one MBA program in the US by Businessweek. The rest of her time is more than filled by taking care of her brand-new daughter, Valentine Reese.

Craig Detweiler
Craig Detweiler is Associate Professor and Chair of Mass Communications at Biola University. He is also a screenwriter and the author of the book A Matrix of Meanings: Finding God in Pop Culture. He wrote the films The Duke for Buena Vista and Extreme Days for Providence Entertainment. His documentary Williams Syndrome: A Highly Musical Species won a Cine Golden Eagle and the Crystal Heart Award at the Heartland Film Festival. Craig serves as executive producer of the City of the Angels Film Festival and on the advisory boards for Reel Spirituality and the Heartland Film Festival. Craig has an M.F.A. from the University of Southern California’s School of Cinema/TV and an MDiv from Fuller Theological Seminary. He is a contributing editor for The Mars Hill Review. A Matrix of Meanings, co-written with Barry Taylor, was honored by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association as one of five finalists for the 2004 Gold Medallion Book Award in theology/doctrine.

Scott Derrickson

Kim Dorr
Kim Dorr has worked in entertainment for 19 years. She was the Head of Casting for The Arthur Company from 1985 to 1993. She became a talent agent in September of ’93, when she was asked to run the Kids and Young Adults Division of Bobby Ball Agency. As this division evolved, Kim’s aptitude for working with adult talent lead to the establishment of the TV/Film Department at BBA. Last year, due to the success and growth of this department, Kim launched Defining Artists, a breakaway boutique division of BBA. Kim came to her faith in Christ in March of 1993. She has completed the M. Div. degree at Fuller Seminary and is certified ready to be ordained in the PCUSA. She hopes to continue working in both entertainment and ministry.

Jack Gilbert

Myrna Gutierrez
Emmy Award winning TV producer Myrna Gutierrez has been a pioneer in the emerging television frontier bilingual/bicultural programming, and served as spokesperson on such national media as MacNeil-Lehrer, CNN and FOX-TV. Ms. Gutierrez now combines her TV savvy and 20-plus years of communications experience to counsel major businesses and organizations like NASA, the Los Angeles Times, and Marshalls. She is a former board member of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) and of the USC Board of Governors, and was named by Hispanic Business Magazine one of the “Top 100 Most Influential Hispanics.”

Barbara Hall

Sam Haskell III
Sam Haskell, a graduate of the University of Mississippi where he majored in Theatre, Radio, & Television, moved to LA and joined the William Morris Agency in the mailroom in 1978. Sam became an agent in the Television Variety Department where he packaged television specials starring Lily Tomlin, Lynda Carter, Debbie Allen, David Frost, and Diana Ross, to name a few. Sam served as the World Wide Head of Television and oversaw the packaging of all Network projects represented by the William Morris Agency. Series packaged by Sam include "The Cosby Show," "Sisters," "Fresh Prince of Bel Air," "Mad About You," "Suddenly Susan," "Everybody Loves Raymond," "King of Queens," "Murphy Brown," "Who Wants to be a Millionaire," and many others.

Jeff Holder
Jeff is president of media company FlyOver Projects, which is another way of saying he's self-employed and knows how to make a logo. FlyOver Projects' emphasis is on kids around the world, seeking to educate, inspire and help them to aspire. Jeff began as a freelance writer on such animated series as Dennis the Menace, Scooby Doo, and Flintstone Kids. In 1986 he became Director of Children's Programs for ABC where he oversaw such series as Winnie the Pooh, A Pup Named Scooby Doo, and the memorable Hammerman!. He then went on to work as Head of Development at Hanna-Barbera studios, where he piloted for the launch of Cartoon Network's Dexter's Laboratory, Power Puff Girls, and Johnny Bravo, among others. At Hanna-Barbera, he also wrote Yogi, the Easter Bear with Joe Barbera. After leaving Hanna-Barbera, Jeff became Vice-President of Creative Affairs at Sony Wonder, where he created Angel Wings and Wondrous Myths and Legends and served as Executive in Charge of Production on numerous Sesame Street productions, including Elmo Saves Christmas and Elmopalooza. Seemingly unable to keep a job for more than five years at a stretch, Jeff left corporate in 2001 to write and produce The GodMan, a one hour CGI animation story of Jesus. In addition, he's been story editor and producer of VeggieTales "The Cartoon Adventure of Larry-Boy" and co-story editor and writer on Antenna Adventures. Jeff lives in Chatsworth with four kids, two pets, and one wife.
Donovan Jacobs
Donovan works for ABC and The Wonderful World of Disney as a union story analyst. He has written numerous screenplays and television scripts and participated in the Warner Bros. Writers Workshop in 2000. Donovan is presently working on a book about the political, social and ethical beliefs of leading TV and motion picture writers and how those beliefs impact on their work. He has a BA in Communications Studies from UCLA and an MFA from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.

Dick Lyles
Dick Lyles, Ph.D., is President & CEO of Leadership Legacies, a company that focuses on developing a new generation of leaders. Dick has been an active speaker and management consultant with an international clientele for more than thirty years. His client base has included numerous cities and countries, various departments of the U.S. government, and Fortune 500 companies, including Exxon and Hughes Aircraft. Dick has published many books including the best seller Winning Habits: 4 Secrets that Will Change the Rest of Your Life and the upcoming 2-volume set, Achieving Leadership Genius. He hosts the weekly Relevant Radio program “LifeWorks.”

Stephen McEvetty

Barbara Nicolosi
Barbara has an MA in Film from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. She has been a director of development, a reader for the Humanitas Prize, and a consultant on many film and television projects. She wrote "The Work," a full-length feature set during the Spanish Civil War, for IMMI Pictures of Beverly Hills. Her feature screenplay Select Society is being developed by Reel Life Women Productions, Bel Air. She writes a media column for the National Catholic Register, is on the executive committee of the City of the Angels Film Festival, the board of CIMA and frequently addresses writer's conferences on screenwriting and the arts.
Thom Parham

Leo Partible

Patricia Phalen
Patricia Phalen is an Associate Professor of Media and Public Affairs at the George Washington University in Washington, DC. She has an MBA from Boston College, and a PhD in Radio/Television/Film from Northwestern University. Dr. Phalen worked in media planning at Foote, Cone & Belding and audience research at WTTW in Chicago. Her primary research interest is the socio-economics of media industries, especially the role of audience information. She has written two books, The Mass Audience: Rediscovering the Dominant Model, with James Webster, and Ratings Analysis: the Theory and Practice of Audience Research, with James Webster and Lawrence Lichty. Dr. Phalen has also published articles in several top scholarly journals.

Daniel Roemer

Christopher and Kathy Riley
Chris and Kathy Riley are screenwriters whose first film, After the Truth, a multiple-award-winning German-language courtroom thriller, sparked international controversy in 1999 when it was released in Germany. The film earned its star Goetz George a Best Actor nomination for the prestigious European Film Award for his portrayal of Josef Mengele. The husband-wife team has been writing together since 1983. They wrote 25 to Life, a dramatic thriller for Touchstone Pictures, The Sky's the Limit, an action romance for Paramount Pictures, and The Other White House, a political thriller for Sean Connery's Fountainbridge Films. They recently adapted the book Actual Innoncence by Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld for the Fox television network and are currently writing Elijah, a supernatural thriller. The Rileys have been longtime members of Premise. This is their fifth year to serve on the faculty of Act One. They work actively to assist families affected by childhood brain tumors. Along with their four children and a Labrador retriever, they live in Los Angeles.

James Scott Bell

Linda Seger

John Shepherd
John has produced some 16 motion pictures including the 2004 ESPY nominated 20M indie Bobby Jones - Stroke of Genius starring Jim Caviezel. His filmography includes a dozen films “produced and/or written by” for World Wide Pictures, the film ministry of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. “The Climb” swept the ICVM awards (“Best Evangelistic” and “Best Picture”) and “Road to Redemption” marked the ministry’s first intentional comedy. His “message” movies have been shown on broadcast television (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, TBN and UPN) and many cable outlets including PAX and BET. Theatrical releases of his Christian work have reached every continent of the globe.

John’s also been a showrunner on the web at Digital Entertainment Network (Omni award winning “Redemption High” starring Judge Reinhold was written up in Time Magazine), and most recently served as Senior Vice President of original content and production for POP.com, the internet start up between Dreamworks and Imagine Entertainment. John has five films slated for production over the next two years including “A Summer for the Gods”, “The Living Room”, “The Ultimate Gift” “Mountain of Fire” and “Seaside” and he has a number of scripts in development including “Through Gates of Splendor – The Elisabeth Elliot Story”.

Charles B Slocum
Chuck has worked in the entertainment industry for almost 20 years in a variety of financial and strategy positions, most recently as Assistant Executive Director for Strategic and Research for the Writer’s Guild of America, West. Prior to the Guild, Chuck worked for Paramount Pictures in television finance, for NBC as a game show judge, and for ABC in audience research. He has an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Television/Radio from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. He is pursuing a Masters in Theology and the Arts from Fuller Theological Seminary. Slocum serves as Chair of Act One.

Tom Shadyac

Jack Shea

Amy Snow

John Tinker
John Tinker started in television as a staff writer on St. Elsewhere in 1982. He was Executive Producer for L.A. Law, Chicago Hope, and The Practice, among others. He received an Emmy award for Best Writing on a Drama Series.

Michael Van Dyck
Michael Van Dyck has been a TV/feature literary agent since 1987, for the past six years with Genesis. He's developed, packaged and sold series and longform projects in all TV arenas, and has staffed over 100 writers/producers on series which currently include, among others, Law & Order: SVU, That 70's Show, Good Morning Miami, Lucky, The District, and American Dreams.

Ken Wales
Veteran filmmaker and actor Ken Wales was executive producer of the award-winning CBS television series Christy. He has produced numerous feature films including The Tamarind Seed, Islands in the Stream, Wild Rovers and The Prodigal. Ken was associate producer of Cagney and Lacey and also co-produced the 8-hour Emmy nominated and Golden Globe winning ABC miniseries John Steinbeck’s East of Eden. Ken has an Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts from Greenville College, and is and is the author of the historical novel Sea of Glory.

J. David Williams
J. David Williams has held executive positions at Twentieth Century Fox, Columbia Pictures and MGM, and Executive Produced over thirty films. As Managing Director for Credit Lyonnais Bank N.A. between 1983 and 1989, he personally oversaw the financing of 350 studio and independent motion pictures. He has also acted as Chief Operating Officer of Orion Pictures, Chairman of Legacy Releasing and President of Providence Entertainment. Currently he is the President of FilmCrest, a 20-year-old Motion Picture Venture Capital firm that owns and runs several production and distribution entities, including Legacy Releasing, American Family Movies and Constellation Entertainment. FilmCrest is most recently credited with financing the initial Prints and Advertising budget for Mel Gibson’s THE PASSION and Martin Scorsese's THE AVIATOR.

Ralph Winter
Ralph Winter has Executive Produced a string of major blockbusters, including I, Robot, X2: X-Men United, X-Men, and Planet of the Apes. His next film is the much-anticipated Fantastic 4, which will be released this July.

Reviews of Act One
Premiere Movie Magazine

Atlantic Monthly

Details Magazine

Newsweek

The Multiple Identities of Evangelicalism

As part of my ongoing exploration of the representation of evangelicals in the media, I think that it is important that I attempt to assemble something of a definition of what I mean by this term - the best way to do that is to tap into other people's thoughts who've been at it far longer than I have!

The term 'evangelical' has sparked a large amount of debate in recent years because it's a representative term of a group of people that span the gamut of ethnicity, nation, socio-economics etc. etc. It's not surprising considering that evangelicals are a part of the 'Protest'-ant sub-grouping of Christians.

It's possible to idenitfy Evangelicalis by the common elements which unite this group, but it's also possible to provide a broader definition of this group on the variety or multiplicity of representations. It is this unity in diversity which I would like to concentrate on in for my paper - because there seems to be very little variety that is being represented in the media when it comes to evangelicals.

Here are a few examples of the debate over the past couple of decades:

A. Richard Quebedeaux - The Young Evangelicals (1974)
> Identifies five evangelical subgroups

B. Timothy L Smith - Religion and ethnicity in America (1978)
> Historians are inclined to see many traditions, movements, and theologies within evangelicalism

C. Donald W Dayton & Robert K Johnston (eds.) - The variety of American evangelicalism (1991)

(Timothy Weber's chapter)
"Defining evangelicalism has become one of the biggest problems in American religious historiography. At best, 'evangelicalism' is a diverse movement which at times seems to have more dividing it than uniting it. In fact, some observers find it nearly impossible to speak of evangelicalism as a single entity and prefer to see it in terms of its constituent parts. Timothy Smith speaks for many scholars when he calls evangelicalism a mosaic or even a kaleidoscope." (p.12)

"It would be foolhardy to deny or downplay evangelical diversity. American evangelicalism is no monolith and never has been. But nothing is gained by ignoring its underlying unity. Evangelicals have argued, competed, and even condemned each other; and most have insisted that their brand of evangelicalism is far superior to all others. But even in their worst moments, most evangelicals have recognized that the evangelical house has many rooms and that the similarities that bind evangelicals together are stronger than the differences that pull them apart. (p.12)

1. Classical evangelicals - loyal primarily to the doctrines of the Protestant Reformation
2. Pietistic evangelicals - stand in the Reformation tradition, but seek to complete it by incorporating the experiential emphasis in pietism
3. Fundamentalist evangelicals - shaped by the debates of the fundamentalist-modernist controversy
4. Progressive/ New-evangelicals - incorporate branches from the other branches but do so with a conscious sense of modernity.

Similarities
1. Scriptures are divinely inspired and therefore the ultimate source for believing and living
2. Jesus Christ is the incarnate Son of God, whose ministry was characterized by supernatural power and authority
3. Personal salvation is rooted in the grace of God, not human works, and is mediated to sinners through faith in Jesus Christ alone
4. Christian conversion implies a life commited to holiness and to Christ's ongoing mission in the world

D. Robert E Webber - The younger evangelicals: Facing the challenges of the new world (2002)

Evangelicals stand in continuity with each other throughout the history of the church - this commonality is expressed through four uses of the word evangelical:

A. Biblical - euangelion - the good news that salvation has arrived in Jesus Christ

B. Theological - those who affirm Scripture as the authoritative Word of God and accepts the creeds of the early church as accurate reflections of the gospel

C. Historical - all those movements in history that have attempted to restore a vital historic Christianity to the church at those moments when the church has become dead in spirit or has departed from the faith of the fathers.

D. Cultural - defined by the biblical, theological, and historical use of the term but goes one step further to be rooted in a particular paradigm of thought (p.14)

Who are younger evangelicals?

1. Those who are young in age.
2. Those who are young in spirit - who constitute a new kind of leader for the 21st century.

"The younger evangelical wants to release the historic substance of faith from its twentieth century enculturation in the Enlightenment and recontextualize it with the new cultural condition of the twenty-first century." (p.17)

"In all things necessary there must be unity, in things less than necessary there must be liberty, and in all things there must be charity."

E. Dave Tomlinson - The post-evangelical (2003)

In recent years, there has been a growing movement of evangelicals who have sought to redefine themselves as other-than-what-you-know-as-evangelical evangelicals... Some have used the term 'post' evangelical to distinguish themselves. This grouping has also become associated with the 'emergent' group of evangelicals - which has grown out of debates regarding the implications of evangelicals living in a post-modern world.

Does this represent a fragmentation or deconstruction of evangelical identity, or is this another example of radical difference existing within the multiplicity of evangelical identities?

What are your thoughts?

Evangelicals Studying the Media

It is interesting to note that while academics are studying evangelicals and the media, evangelicals are also studying the media. What interests me is that the multiplicity of perspectives and criticisms represented... and that some are very well thought out, and similar to secular academic analyses.

Here are a few examples I have come across. Some are older works. Some are quite new. Some are extremely academic. Some more popular.

Roy M Anker
Dancing in the dark: Youth, popular culture, and the electronic media (1991)
Catching the light: Looking for God in the movies (2005)

Diane Apostolos-Cappadona
Art, creativity, and the sacred: An anthology in religion and art (1984)

Catherine M. Barsotti
Finding God in the movies: 33 films of reel faith (2004)

David Dark
Everyday apocalypse: The sacred revealed in radiohead, the simpsons and other pop culture icons (2002)

Craig Detweiler
A matrix of meanings: Finding God in popular culture (2003)

John Granger
Looking for God in Harry Potter (2004)

Andrew M Greely
God in popular culture (1989)

Gareth Higgins
How movies helped save my soul: Finding spiritual fingerprints in culturally significant films (2003)

Robert K. Johnston
Reel spirituality: Theology and film in dialogue (2000)
Finding God in the movies: 33 films of reel faith (2004)
Useless beauty: Ecclessiastes through the lens of contemporary film (2004)

Mark Joseph
Pop goes religion: Faith in popular culture (2005)

James W Kemp
The gospel according to dr. seuss: Snitches, sneeches and other 'creatchas' (2004)

Spencer Lewerenz
Behind the screen: Hollywood insiders on faith, film, and culture (2005)

Gordon Lynch
Understanding theology and popular culture (2005)

Clive Marsh
Explorations in theology and film: Movies and meaning (1998)

Terry Mattingly
Pop goes religion: Faith in popular culture (2005)

Margaret R Miles
Seeing and believing: Religion and values at the movies (1997)

Walt Mueller
Understanding today's youth culture (1999)
Engaging the soul of youth culture: Bridging teen worldviews and christian truth (2006)

Connie W Neal
The gospel according to harry potter: Spirituality in the stories of the world's most famous seeker (2002)

Barbara Nicolosi
Behind the screen: Hollywood insiders on faith, film, and culture (2005)

Gaye Ortiz
Explorations in theology and film: Movies and meaning (1998)

Mark I Pinsky
The gospel according to the Simpsons: The spiritual life of the world's most animated family (2001)
The gospel according to Disney: Faith, trust and pixie dust (2004)

William D Ramonowski
Dancing in the dark: Youth, popular culture, and the electronic media (1991)
Eyes wide open: Looking for God in popular culture (2001)
Pop culture wars: Religion and the role of entertainment in American life (2006) [re-released]
Religion and Ethics Weekly interview (2004)

Robert L Short
The gospel according to peanuts (1979)

Quentin J Schultze
American evangelicals and the mass media: Perspectives on the relationship between American evangelicals and the mass media (1990)
Dancing in the dark: Youth, popular culture, and the electronic media (1991)
Redeeming television: How TV changes christians - how christians cqn change tv (1992)
Habits of the high-tech heart: Living virtuously in the information age (2002)
Christianity and the Mass Media in America: Toward a Democratic Accomodation (2003)

Chris Seay
The gospel according to Tony Soprano: An unauthorized look into the soul of TVs top mob boss and family (2002)
The gospel reloaded: Exploring spirituality and faith in the matrix (2003)

Leonard Sweet
Faithquakes (1995)
Carpe Manana: Is your church ready to seize tomorrow? (2003)

Bryan P Stone
Faith and film: Theological themes at the cinema (2000)

Barry Taylor
A matrix of meanings: Finding God in popular culture (2003)

* NOTE: If you are aware of additional key academics involved in this study, please contact me and I will add them to the list

Academics Studying Evangelicals - A Review of Recent Authors

When I first went to NYU, I was surprised by two academic experiences which converged my identity as both an evangelical and media and cultural studies academic. The first experience was when I signed up for a class on Communication and Media in the Life and Education of the Young. One of the texts which I read for that class was Lynn Schofield Clark's From angels to aliens (see below). I was startled to see a serious study of evangelicals that did not immediately fall into the reductive trappings of labelling evangelicals.

The second experience, was becoming aware of Heather Hendershot's work on evangelical consumer culture when she did a presentation at the University. Here was another academic who was working outside of the stereotypical impressions of evangelicals.

This has led me on a quest to identify other academics who are exploring representation and reception issues in regards to evangelicals and media. Below are a few recent examples:

Thomas Beaudoin
Virtual faith: The irreverant spiritual quest of generation x (2000)

Lynn Schofield Clark
Media, meaning and religious identity in the postmodern context: The case of adolescents and their families
Rethinking media, religion, and culture (1997)
Practicing religion in the age of the media (2002)
From angels to aliens: Teenagers, the media, and the supernatural (2003)

Douglas E. Cowan
Religion online: Finding faith (2004)

Lorne L. Dawson
Religion online: Finding faith (2004)

Bruce David Forbes
Religion and popular culture in America (2000)

Heather Hendershot
Shaking the world for Jesus: Media and conservative evangelical culture (2004)

Stewart M Hoover
Rethinking media, religion, and culture (1997)
Practicing religion in the age of the media (2002)

Joel Martin
Screening the sacred: Religion, myth, and ideology in popular American film (1995)

Eric Mazur
God in the details: American religion and popular culture (2000)

Melani McAlister
Epic encounters: Culture, media, and US interests in the middle east (2001)

Colleen McDannell
Material Christianity: Religion and popular culture in America (1998)

Birgit Meyer
Religion, media, and the public sphere (2005)

R. Laurence Moore
Selling God: American religion in the marketplace of culture (1995)

Annelies Moors
Religion, media, and the public sphere (2005)

Hent De Vries
Religion and media: Cultural memory in the present (2001)

* NOTE: If you are aware of additional key academics involved in this study, please contact me and I will add them to the list

Interpreting Popular Culture with Marita Sturken

This past semester, as part of my Master's degree and New York University, I have the awesome privilege of studying with Marita Sturken in a class called Interpreting Popular Culture.

She is the editor of American Quarterly - The Journal of the American Studies Association, and has written numerous books and articles including the following: Practices of looking: An introduction to visual culture; the British Film Institute's Modern Classic Series' edition of Thelma and Louise; Tangled memories: The Vietnam War, the AIDS epidemic, and the politics of remembering; and Technological visions: The hopes and fears that shape new technology

It's been a fantastic journey through this past semester studying with someone of this calibre. Here's a description of what we explored:

Description
This course examines popular culture as both a producer and reflector of cultural meaning, and a means of communication. It provides an introduction to the fundamental theories and methods for understanding the construction of meaning in film, television, popular music, and advertising, tracing the study of popular culture through film theory and mass media analysis to cultural studies. Recent theoretical analysis of popular culture has examined the notion of the popular, spectatorship, methods of reading audiences, global popular culture, and the concept of cultural practices. This course surveys methods of analysis such as structuralism, semiotics, genre analysis, psychoanalysis, socio-historical analysis, ideological analysis, discourse analysis, political economy, reception theory, feminist method, and ethnography as tools through which to understand popular culture in depth. It will include screenings of excerpts of film and television in class.

Models & Methodologies Explored include:
1. Models for thinking about popular culture
2. Structuralism and semiotics
3. Cinema, genre, and ideology
4. History and popular culture: Socio-historical analysis
5. Spectatorship and psychoanalysis
6. Postmodern culture, irony, and camp
7. Culture, race, and nation
8. Taste, fashion, and consumerism
9. Popular sentiment and structures of feeling
10. Reception theories and everyday practices
11. Ethnographic audiences
12. Tactics, strategies, resistance
13. Political ecnonomy of culture
14. Cultural memory and popular culture

Texts read for this class include:
(e) = excerpts

1. Roland Barthes - Mythologies
2. Sarah Benet-Weiser - The most beautiful girl in the world (e)
3. Elizabeth Bird - The audience in everyday life: Living in a media world (e)
4. Pierre Bourdieu - Distinction: A social critique of the judgement of taste (e)
5. Lawrence Cahoone - From modernism to postmodernism: An anthology (e)
6. Michel de Certeau - The practice of everyday life (e)
7. James Clifford - The predicament of culture: Twentieth century ethnography, literature, and art (e)
8. John Corner - Critical ideas in television studies (e)
9. Stephen Duncombe - The cultural resistance reader (e)
10. Umberto Eco - The role of the reader (e)
11. Thomas Frank - The conquest of cool: Business culture, counterculture, and the rise of hip consumerism (e)
12. Herman Gray - Cultural moves: African Americans and the politics of representation (e)
13. Stuart Hall - Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices (e)
14. Dick Hebdige - Subculture: The meaning of style
15. Eva Illouz - Consuming the romantic utopia (e)
16. Koichi Iwabuchi - Recentering globalization: Popular culture and Japanese transnationalism (e)
17. Fredric Jameson - Postmodernism: Or, the cultural logic of late capitalism (e)
18. Henry Jenkins, Tara McPherson and Jane Shattuc - Hop on pop: The politics and pleasures of popular culture (e)
19. Ernest Larsen - The usual suspects
20. George Lipsitz - Time passages: Collective memory and American popular culture (e)
21. Eric Lott - All the king's men (e)
22. Judith Mayne - Cinema and Spectatorship (e)
23. Anna McCarthy - Ambient television: Visual culture and public space (e)
24. Anne McClintock - Imperial leather: Race, gender, and sexuality in the colonial contest (e)
25. Toby Miller - Global hollywood 2
26. Tania Modleski - The women who knew too much: Hitchcock and feminist theory (e)
27. David Morley - Television, audiences, and cultural studies (e)
28. Chandra Mukerji & Michael Schudson - Rethinking popular culture (e)
29. Patrick Murphy - International communication, ethnography and the challenge of globalization (e)
30. Dana Polan - Pulp fiction
31. Janice Radway - Reading the romance (e)
32. Erica Rand - The Ellis Island snow globe (e)
33. Salman Rushdie - The wizard of Oz
34. Jeffrey Sconce - Irony, nihilism, and the American smart film
35. Jeffrey Sconce - Trashing the academy
36. Ellen Seiter - Television and new media audiences (e)
37. Barry Shank - A token of my affection: Greeting cards and American business culture (e)
38. Kaja Silverman - The subject of semiotics (e)
39. Lynn Spigel - Welcome to the dreamhouse: Popular media and post-war suburbs
40. Marita Sturken - Tangled memories (e)
41. Marita Sturken & Lisa Cartwright - Practices of looking: An introduction to visual culture
42. Raymond Williams - Structures of Feeling (e)

I am going to be progressively posting a paper over the next few days which I am writing on 'Essentializing the Evangelical? The Representation and Reception of Evangelicals in Popular Culture."

My hope is that you will have an opportunity to interact with it and provide feedback as I work through the journey of writing something which is close to my heart.

What I am finding interesting about this subject, is that it represents the convergence of my world as an academic and my worldview as an evangelical. My goal will be to dialogically engage these two worlds - drawing on material from both areas - with the intention of helping to clarify some misperceptions on both sides. More to be explained on that later.

In the meantime, I chose to post some aspects of this particular course I am taking so that you will be able to familiarize yourselves with this part of my academic world.

Enjoy!

Steve

David Pitonyak - The Importance of Belonging

"To be rooted is perhaps the most important and least recognized need of the human soul."
Simone Weil

David Pitonyak has done a lot of work with finding ways to make people belong. While his work might concentrate on people suffering with disabilities, his studies could easily be reappropriated into youthwork.

This week, we are discussing the importance of belonging in after-school programs. Please take time to read through the incredible action tools provided in this document.

The Importance of Belonging

The Importance of Belonging (short summary)

Steve

Poverty USA: Budgeting for Poverty

You need to watch this presentation on poverty.

This presentation is part of the US Conference of Catholic Bishop's Campaign for Human Development.

For Americans: See their poverty map of the US to identify issues of poverty in your local vicinity.

This illustrates what I was saying last week on my Jonathan Kozol posting. This issue is critical for youthworkers to be aware of.

May the things that break Jesus heart break mine!

Steve

(Click here for text-based version)

A Conversation about Ministry to/with the Next Generation of Leaders

A converstion about ministry To/With the next generation of Leaders
Christian Community Development Association 2005
Indianapolis, Indiana

Rudy Carrasco and Jeremy Del Rio.

The first ten minutes spoke about mentoring and the birth of leaders. Jeremy hit on the concept of Jesus' model of ministry. Jesus was a risk taker who invited Mathew the Tax collector - a political appeaser and also Simon the Zealot who was Jihadi. Jesus Christ was more of a risk-taker by investing in such people. Along with Matthew and Simon, he invested three years into the lives of other disciples who had no theological or regular education. They were disfunctional, were not at all the cream of the crop, and yet Jesus still invested 3 years in them - teaching them the various aspects and ways of minstry.

Later in Scripture, Paul says to Timothy "Let no one look down on you because you are young." Jeremy suggested that part of modeling leadership takes place by being a mentor. Letting them know the difference between right and wrong. Even Peter made mistakes like cutting the soldier's ear while Jesus was being arrested.

Jeremy explored why Jesus started his ministry from the age of 30. Untill that time Jesus was learning the culture and the languages of the people where he was living. He lived in the ghetto and saw all the wrong doings happening at that time. Jeremy also covered a very important point that Christ invested a the whole lot of his three years of ministry educating the diciples and transforming their live. This time helped ensure their ministries would later on impact the world.

In his talk, Jeremy was focused on youth as leaders right now.

The second topic was covered by Rudy on the Emergent Church and on how leadership actually emerges. He gives a slight intro about the whole emergent church concept. I a lot of liberal churches, the same conversation is going on. Where liberalism is not working, they are switching on to the emergent church method.

Rudy Carrasco was the assistant of John Perkins, who said, "There are two types of leaders, an appointed leader and a leader who leads."

He also talks about how a person/ youth worker is not only responsible to reach out to people in their culture only.

When you become a leader there are going to be times where people will hesitate to follow our veiws and ideas and not back us up, what do we do in such situation? We move on because we know that we can always win them over with our actions and, when they come back to us, we must not keep grudges or be vengeful. Rather, we need to set aside those issues and look to things ahead with the love of Christ.

He also talks about Andrew Sear (director of TechMission, and executive member of CCDA). We as leaders should step up even though if we are doing it for the first time - even if things are not working in our ministry.

In ministry, we must be culturally aware. He talks about one of his examples where he was working with Mexican kids, but after a couple of years he saw them saying go away. During that time, there were African American kids who were looking up to him as a mentor/elder. Rudy highlighted that you never know who is following you.

In order to understand and reach out, we need to belong to their world and need to know the four corners of it. One cannot afford to get freaked out by reading his/or her kids My Space website.

This Cd is a great help, whichis relevant to issues of today, as we sometimes wrestle with the topic of being an elder/mentor. Both Rudy and Jeremy have done their homework and presented the apt stuff in this about leaders and leadership. I find it as a great resource.

Changing Lives and Building Community: Nonprofit Technology in Action

The theme for the 2006 conference was Changing Lives and Building Community: Nonprofit Technology in Action. The Non-profit Technology Conference presented the leading research, case studies, and real world experience from the sector to provide participants with the strategies and skills they need to do even better work. Colleagues, collaborators, and clients came together, learned from each other and from leaders in the field; and shared information and resources.

Several of these plenary sessions and workshop materials are made available online.

It's always great to utilize research which will help us to improve what we are doing in youthwork.

Enjoy!

Steve

Developing the Next Generation Leaders Around You

The CCDA disc that I am speaking on is number 119 - Youth Track: Developing the Next Generation Leaders Around You. This is the first of a two part conference.

Due to the fact that this is disc one of two, the seminar doesn't wrap up nicely but this will cover the information that the speaker goes through.

Dario Lariosa is the man giving the seminar and he gives a discussion about how we as individuals can better our leadership skills within a spiritual context or how we can teach these skills to potential leaders within our realm of influence.

Early in his discussion he makes two excellent quotes. He speaks about how we, as leaders, need to have our spirits in tune with God and states, "spiritual blindness is being deprived of never perceiving or the refusal to know Christ". He goes on to say how the next generation of leaders cannot be blind to Christ. We have to have a personal relationship with Him and keep it strong. He also states "to see Christ is to see God, to not see Christ is to not see God".
He speaks about three spiritual truths that all leaders should know. I assume that there are more but session one only covers the first three.

Spiritual Truth 1: The cross is the answer to all of our problems

Spiritual Truth 2: The cross is where the debt of sin was cancelled

(Quote: "the penalty must be paid for before pardon can be forgiven" and "the cross is the place of exchange" {ie. exchaging our old lives or hinderences for peace and a clean slate}.)

Spiritual Truth 3: Spiritual disciplines are the keys to growth

(Quote: "the five p's - Prior preparation prevents poor performance".)

(He then manages to cover two of the disciplines before the CD ends)

Discipline 1: Lex Divino (hopefully that is spelled correctly) which means reading the sacred (the Bible).

(Quote: "the Bible is our sole source of faith and our only rule of conduct".)

Discipline 2: Prayer or communicating with the Creator.
(Sub-concept: Have prayer partners and use them for accountability.)

(Quote: "worry is a substitute for prayer".)

(Sub-concept: Pray in Jesus' name. Use the formula - adoration / appreciation, consideration, intercession, supplecation.)

All in all, I think that this CD is worth a listen and I will make sure to finish off the seminar. Dario Lariosa is a good public speaker and seems to engage his audience quite naturally.

The link for this CD can be found at CDDA 119 - Youth Track: Developing the Next Generation Leaders Around You.

Reflections on- Raising up A New Generation of Urban Heroes

Let me just say that Dr. Larry Acosta, the lecturer of Raising Up a New Generation of Urban Heroes, was definitely keepin' it real. The whole idea of his lecture was to highlight the importance of raising up young leaders within our churches. One of his first quotes that really sums up his entire presentation was "there's no true success without successors". Ephesians 4:11-13 really list these responsibilities out for us as leaders.

He talks about the need for Urban leaders. He also looks at the mindset of leading out of scarcity rather than abundance. Not just taking up a responsibility because I feel as though I'm the only one competent enough to do it; but gaining help and input from others, (youths, pastors, members of the congregation).

One of the points that really spoke to me personally was the idea of being visionary and strategic in ministry. He spoke about passing on a vision of sort to the youth and up-coming leaders under our care and creating experiences that shaped their heart. He saw the importance in being more verbal and affirming in our ministry. He introduced the thought of "thinking beyond a theology of presence, to a theology of voice and expression." This is about us as leaders doing more than just being in kid's lives and making our presence felt, being verbal and becoming intentional.

He explained a step that was highlighted in Kenda Creasy Dean and Ron Foster's book The Godbearing Life. Where they outlined a model for empowering and passing on the responsibility to perspective leaders.

1. I do it.
2. I do it, and you help.
3. You do it, and I help.
4. You do it, and I move on to something else.

I think this is an excellent model to follow and can easily be integrated into most, if not all our situations.

The final sort of point that Dr. Acosta made was staying in relationship and keep encouraging and checking-in with those we have "empowered". This helps them to know that we are still there for support and it helps us to still be in touch with what is going on with whatever activity we've given over to a particular leader.

Henry Adams on Education

"A teacher affects eternity: He can never tell where his influence stops"

Henry Adams

CCDA / Urban Youth Worker Institute 2005 - A Review of Some Workshops Relevant to Youthworkers

Some of you might be wondering where the barrage of postings of workshops have come from on my blog over the past day. This ties to an assignment I have given my students at Project 1:17.

This past November, I had the privilege of attending the Christian Community Development Association's 2005 conference in Indianapolis, Indiana - and at the same time attend the Urban Youthworker Institute. I was part of a delegation from our School for Officer Training that attended.

I was so impressed with what was being covered, that I wanted to pass on some of the information I had learned to our youthworkers. Our librarian, Robin Rader, ordered the complete set of CDs for our library (which you can order online from Dove Enterprises - if interested). This semester provided the perfect opportunity for them to reap the benefit of these resources.

There are so many great resources out there which we need to be tapping into - which will help us all do youth work more effectively. We do need to find motivation to work harder when it comes to work with at-risk youth, but often harder isn't the same as smarter.

Taking time to read good books and listen to good workshops of folk who have experience putting these ideas into practice will help make what you are doing much better.

Read through my students postings. Click on the links. Order the CDs. Utilize the distributed knowledge and experience of the larger community of youthworkers.

Steve

Mentoring Urban Youth for Life Change

Mentoring Urban Youth for Life Change
Urban Youth Institute presents Reload: A One-Day Training Experience
Recorded at Reload Los Angeles
September 24, 2005

Speaker: Curt Gibson

Topics to be covered
1. Why mentoring?
2. Biblical bases for mentoring
3. Types of mentoring
4. Best practices of mentoring resources
5. What does a mentor actually do?
6. What works, what doesn't?

Why Mentoring?
Three basic things that we find that a student who comes with an at risk situation. What are their basic characteristics:
1. No significant attachments to caring adults
2. Asset development (low number)
3. Shortage of basic needs being met

The lack of meaningful relationships with adults have been devastating for youth
(Talks about abandoness) mentality
1. Nothing is worth doing
2. Numbness
3. Nobody understand
4. Feeling of incompetent
5. Poor problem solving skills

Biblical Basis for Mentoring
Not stuffing religion down their throat, but making it meaningful through your relationships, actions being able to watch you (incarnational aspect)
"You are the Jesus that they see"

Practice: doing it and learning together

Focus: "Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary use words"
Mentoring is not a bible study, mentoring is them experiencing your life and you experiencing theirs', and them learning from your perspective on life

Vision: You see the image of God in the young person, you see the gifts that God has placed in there lives. It's a different vision from how people see them; you see them the way that God sees them. Sometimes it means that you advocate for them, you help them find a job, helping them with reference letter.

Faith: An understanding that God's work is His work and not ours. We already have a Savior, we don't need another one. We've got to be very careful about this, we want to point to the Savior, not become the Savior.

Power of intercession: Web blog (prayer request) Prayer team that prays, and responds if they've interceded.

Types of Mentoring
1. Community based mentoring: Mentors meet with youth individually on there own time in the community.
2. Site based mentoring: Mentors meet with the youth in a specific location church, school, community center, under supervision of staff
3. One-on-one mentoring: Youth meets with one mentor, big brothers, and big sisters
4. Group mentoring: One mentor meets with several youth
5. Discipleship mentoring: You are an apprentice of Jesus Christ and you are going to look at me, at how I live out my relationship with Jesus, that what the focus in on.
6. Faith-led mentoring: Focus is on love, evangelism is not necessary intended
7. Asset mentoring: Team up with the community to build a healthy community member. Part of the church, living out the values of what it means to be living for the kingdom of God and that includes being politically and socially active in their community.

Best Practices of Mentoring Resources
Goal setting: How will the student be by the age of 30, set expectations
Not based on our expectations but, based on their capacity, ability

Elements of effective practice: (commonality amongst mentors)
1. Clear well thought out plan (set a goal)
2. Who you will serve
3. Criteria

Where the mentoring takes place?
An exit strategy and an intern strategy (don't leave abandoness issues)

What does a Mentor Actually Do?
Mentoring Activities
Mentor recruiting and strategy materials
Practical mentoring
Asset development: Students need; personal mission statements (student's rights)
Physically: where it happens?

40 Developmental Assets - Search Institute
What are assets?
You belong to a faith community
You have non-parents caring adults in your life
You believe your community values, you value your community

First deal with basic needs and do asset development
Basic physical needs need to be met before anything

A lot of the things that Curt Gibson spoke about were in fact quite interesting. It gives a heads up on mentoring skills in order to engage urban youth in a more efective way. I've also realize that alot of the things that he spoke about, we have read in class, Reclaiming Prodigal Son's and Daughter's or The Godbearing Life. A lot of this material made sense.

Resources:
Neighborhood Student Mentoring
UYWI Audio: Mentoring At-Risk Youth by Rueben Austria

Counseling Urban Youth

Counseling Urban Youth
Christian Community Development Association 2005 Conference
Recorded in Indianapolis, Indiana

Speaker: Ware.

1. Think of some real issues that urban youth are dealing with today?
2. What are some successful interventions used to help the youth get past these issues.

One of the biggest ways that we can help youth is by changing their perspective on things.

Identity Adjustment
"Change your inner-self to produce more positive outer-self"

As youth worker, sometimes we are seen as the only Bible that the youth read. We make the invisible Christ, visible to the kids. Therefore, our communication and our guidance are highly valued, even though it might not be perceived right away.

No matter how tattered and beaten up and gross a $20 bill may be, its value never decreases. He ties this into the fact that whenever we get the chance, we must show these kids that they have immeasurable worth. In fact, he said that we need to push the fact that there is worth in themselves.

Ware also boldly reminded the group that Jesus commanded us to be a witnessing representative of Him; and that since one of Jesus' names is " the counselor", then as His reflection, we must do the same.

He also a stessed the importance of after school programs; because even though some saw it was a homework club, he saw it as a life or death situation for some of these kids.

Ware finally closed with, almost a cookie cutter method on how we can really listen to these teens when they are dealing with a crisis.

1. Listen- because there is a therapeutic essence to being heared.

2. Engage the teen- encourage them to talk about whatever is bothering them, no matter how hard some of it may be to hear for us.

3. Be calm- do not raise your voice of make quick interjections out of anger or disgust.

4. Verbalize your thoughts – but be very direct, never EVER beat around the bush, especially if you know that the issue at hand is important.

I enjoyed Mr. Wares' workshop and even though I may not have agreed with 100% of all of his suggestions, I was glad to hear his bold comments and declarations about our responsibilities as youth pastors and living Bibles to these teens.

I still think that phrase is profound.

I am a living Bible to someone.