It Always Seems to Be the Same

“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.” (Mark 2:21-22)

I went along to a Sunday night youth group awhile ago and what I saw saddened me. There was nothing wrong with what the youth worker was saying or how he was saying it. The problem was it looked like the youth group I used to attend when I was sixteen. That was 11 years ago. I used to take my group along to a monthly youth event and found the same thing there.

ice-breaker. ’sung’ worship. notices. talk. ’sung’ worship to end.

Now I’m not saying there is anything inherently wrong with any of those parts. It’s just the fact it’s always been like that. Young people are not the same people we were 11 years ago so why are we still doing things like they were. The reason people are leaving ‘traditional’ churches is because of this model of church. Rather than a place of interaction, it is often a place of passive receptiveness. A place where one person leads and everyone else listens.

All this generally creates is converts rather than disciples. People who attend meetings rather than take part. If our youth work is to become more about apprenticed lives than programmes, as Jill Rowe (Ethos development and Resourcing Director for Oasis UK) puts it, then we have to move away from this model of youth work.

The only problem is, that’s easier said than done. How do you create a youth work programme that centres on ‘discipleship’? What do we even mean by that term? Does it mean head knowledge? If our young people can roll off some bible verses and know a little about God, is that success? Or is it about the choices they make? That’s very hard to achieve one night a week.

I’m not sure what the answer is then but I know what it’s not. There’s a new monthly youth event starting in Kilmarnock in October. I’ll take my group along to the first one and pray I don’t feel like I am sixteen again.

 

Even Our Holiday Photos Can be Doctored…

I read this article in The Sunday Times today.

Photoshops are now offering a ‘retouch’ service where they can ‘fix’ your holiday photos to make you look thinner, have bigger breasts, rub out spots etc.

Have we become so focused on our looks that we need to alter our perception of the past by doctoring how we look in our photos? We can make up our own ‘truth’ of what we looked like. Where we went on holiday. What the weather was like. Where will it end? Is that what photos are for?

I know some will say this is harmless and it’s cheaper than getting surgery but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth when I think about it.

As a youth worker it is definitely something I want to discuss with the young people I work with and again show them the alternative ‘truth’ that God offers.

 

Should Christians Be Causing More Chaos?

I watched “The Dark Knight” again last night and I am still pretty much in awe of it. Both as a film and as a series of ideas, of which there are many.

This time around what I was most intrigued by was the Joker’s conversation with Harvey ‘Two Face’ in the hospital. He said, and I paraphase slightly, that when things go according to plan, everything is fine. People Don’t react. But when you don’t follow the plan, you bring about chaos.

Christians, by there very focus on the hope of the Resurrection and the eventual return of Christ and the merging of Heaven with Earth do not follow the plan of the world. We see things differently.

Should we then be causing more chaos?

As a youth worker seeking to discuss with young people the hope of Jesus, should I be encouraging them to cause more chaos by the way they act?

To the point, is there such a thing as good chaos?

 

What Would Jesus Say to Bruno?

In 2006 ‘Borat’ brought to light the xenophobia at the heart of America. ‘Bruno’s’ attack was a little more scattershot. Over the course of 86 minutes he took aim at celebrity culture, fame, homophobia and how Osama Bin Laden looks like a “dirty wizard”. As Tim Berroth says on “Hollywood Jesus”, it would be too easy to dismiss the film as juvenile filth (but I am sure many will). Cohen is too intelligent for that.

But if we can sit through the film, what else can we come away with apart from sore ribs and an off taste in our mouth?

1 Corinthians 4:5 reads,

“Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts.” Bruno seems to be doing God’s job here.

What is so alarming about the film is not the amount of screen time dedicated to Cohen’s manhood but to the dark hearts of human beings. Witness the parents who will do anything to get their children a modelling gig. Even if that means the child needs to lose ten pounds in a week. “She’ll do it”, quotes one mother. The mother is so happy when she hears the news that her child is going to be in the shoot even if that means the baby will be playing the part of a nazi officer pushing a barrel that has another child in it who will be “the jew” on their way to the gas chamber.

That when faced with homosexual PDA, a group of men and women storm the set, tossing chairs at Cohen and crying out for his blood!

That there are PR companies set up to find celebrities the “in” issue at the moment that if they campaign for will get them lots of media attention.

Justice has been served to these people. The real question is whether we should be laughing at them. If we ever needed proof that the world is slightly askew, then Bruno will do the trick.

The cult of celebrity also gets taken to town in the film as the main plot involves Bruno trying to find the best way to get famous. We live in a culture where people will do anything to be famous and this is highlighted several times by the film. Is this really what our life is meant to be about?

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

We have a God who loves us for who we are. Psalm 139 is a call to be content with who we are. ‘Bruno’ shows us how empty the pursuit of fame is.

Paul writes in Colossians 3 , “

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

I think Paul would say today, “don’t get caught up in the fruitless pursuit of fame. God has something better in mind. Not something that constrains you, but something that frees you.”

Yes there are things in Bruno that many may find vile and offensive but maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe it opens our eyes to the alternative.

 

Coraline, Creation and Consumerism

I just watched the ‘children’s movie’, “Coraline“. Fantastic. See it!

It got me thinking…

Coraline chooses to live in the ‘other world’ where her parents are much nicer to her and give her everything that she wants. Naturally, there is something sinister going on and nothing is what it seems.

For a long time I viewed the story of Adam and Eve as literal. There really was a garden where these two people lived. I no longer believe that and see it as much more of a fable of how we and the world came to be. If people choose to still view it as a literal story then that’s fine because I think the meaning is still there regardless of if it really happened or not. There are many ‘truths’ in the story but after seeing “Coraline” I was reminded by one of them. We, as human beings, were designed to have limits. The story goes that Adam and Eve could eat whatever they wanted apart from one tree. I used to find that weird but I think I’m starting to understand it.

We were never designed to take everything that we wanted. There were limits put on Adam and Eve and ultimately on all of us. When we live just to please ourselves things get messy. It did with Adam and Eve and it did with Coraline. When the focus is no longer to help other people but to help ourselves, things just don’t work.

Because of this ‘truth’, I believe we are in the place that we are.  We have stopped having limits. The journalist Amitai Etzioni has written a great article in ‘The New Republic’ about consumerism which links everything that I’ve said. But she says it so much better than me. Check out the full article  here.
Here’s a short excerpt:

A culture in which the urge to consume dominates the psychology of citizens is a culture in which people will do most anything to acquire the means to consume–working slavish hours, behaving rapaciously in their business pursuits, and even bending the rules in order to maximize their earnings. They will also buy homes beyond their means and think nothing of running up credit-card debt.

“Coraline” is a story about limits. Once she stops focusing on herself and her wants, she realises what she has. Adam and Eve realised that too late. So did we.

But things can change…

 

The End of the World…Again!

The King of Destruction who brought us ‘Independence Day’ and ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ invites us to witness the world being destroyed again with ‘2012′. And it looks like good cheesy fun.
check it out here

 

A New Bible…?

I first read about this book on jonny baker’s blog and was curious to get a read of it. The idea came froma Swedish advertiser called Dag Söderberg. As a spiritual man he believed in the power and the relevance of the bible but felt that it needed a marketing makeover.  And here it is. Well the New Testament anyway.

I don’t want to say too much about the magazine as you can read more about it here but I would say, as a youth worker myself, that this is an excellent tool to help engage young people (and anyone else) with the bible.

I’m sure it comes as no surprise to anyone that the bible is seen as an out of date religious text that is incredibly boring. What this “new” bible seeks to do is to plant its words firmly in the culture of today. The use of photos to convey different verses is stunning and gives real relevance to the words of Jesus and Paul.

As (christian) youth workers we seek to contextualise the words of the scripture into the many youth cultures that we engage with and that is what the makers of this and trying to do.

There are those, however, who have condemned it. By re-branding the bible, they say it has lost it’s reverence. “this should not be like any other magazine. This is the bible!” I firmly disagree.

And I look forward to discussing this new version with my youth group.

 

A Question of Virtue 2: The Inevitable Sequel

A few days ago I wrote a post about the importance of virtue in youth work. A friend had read the blog and had informed me that he felt there were contradictions in what I was saying. As an introvert I need to process things internally first before speaking out and so I don’t think I really explained myself well to him but after more thought and reading I’ve decided to put up another blog about it as I respect this person’s opinion greatly.

In short there is a contradiction when talking about virtue in connection with Christianity and I’ll explain what that is later. As means of a precursor, I want to state a few things first because it will help show where I am coming from on this issue.

I come from the belief that all humans are born ‘good’. I know a number of Christians who hold to the theology that because of ‘The Fall’ we are born corrupt. I don’t follow that belief. Rather than being born corrupt, I believe we are born good but can be easily corrupted. This is important as this leads me to the view that we do not need to have a belief in God to be ‘good’ people. The Genesis account of creation tells us that Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Therefore, I believe we are born with that knowledge. The problem is that our individual beliefs on what we consider to be right or wrong can also be corrupted. What one persons thinks is perfectly fine (using tax payers money to buy a mote for his house) will not be to someone else.

But it also means that some people (who have no faith in God) do good things. Some of the most kind and generous people I know do not ascribe to any God. But in most cases that is down to how they were brought up. Having a virtuous role model in their life helps them to be like that person. I know that is a sweeping statement and it is not always the case but I think it makes sense. The other reason I have, from my own experience, is that most people are virtuous in one or two areas. In most cases it is because they are passionate about a certain activity and want to share that with people. I know atheist youth workers who have a ‘real heart’ for young people and will serve them out of the passion they have. Now there may be more reasons why people are virtuous but those are the reasons I have found from my own experience.

Why am I saying all of this? For me, as someone who believes in Jesus, I believe he is the only person ever to be truly virtuous. In every area. We have a model of how to be virtuous. Now I said before that I believe we are born with the knowledge of what is good and what is evil. But, because we are easily corrupted, how do we always know what is right and what is wrong?

This is where the contradiction comes in. In Jesus we have a role model for virtue. In order for us to be virtuous we need to have a standard by which we can live up to. Let me explain. If you are trying to learn another language you have to work at it. It will be difficult at first because, in most cases, it is very different to the language you speak just now. You have to practice. You have to listen to those who are fluent. They are the standard. But eventually, after much hard work and practice, the language will become second nature to you.  I think it’s the same for us when we try to learn to be virtuous people. It’s hard at first because although we may be ‘good’ in some areas we are not complete;y virtuous people. We have become corrupted by our culture. By things that have happened to us. It takes time to learn how to be that. But eventually after practice, being virtuous will become second nature. But I stress again, it is something we need to learn. And in order to learn it, we need to have a standard that we can live up to. Because without an end goal then how will we know if we ever get there? To be ‘Christ-like’ is the end goal.

So when it comes to trying to teach our young people how to be virtuous people, we need to show them the standard. The end goal. To be like Christ. To act like Jesus. And so in some way we have to show them that they need to live by a set of moral rules. But it cannot stay like that. Eventually those rules will become second nature and we will no longer be doing ‘good’ things because we have to, but because we want to. We become virtuous people. Our young people become virtuous people.

To close I want to say a couple of brief things. I do not believe that people who do not believe in God cannot become virtuous. But they too need to have a benchmark of what is right or wrong. Now for me that is Jesus but for them it may be something entirely different. Secondly although those with faith in God, and those that don’t can both become virtuous our reasons for that will always be different. For me to become virtuous is to anticipate the time when Heaven will fully come to earth. By being virtuous I am showing that this is something of what it will be like when the Kingdom fully comes. This will be the standard. these will be the priorities. 

There is much more to say and discuss but again that’s for another blog

 

Youth Work and the Question of Virtue

I have been thinking a lot about the MP’s expenses controversy that has been in the press for the last couple of weeks. In most cases, rather than apologise, MP’s have tried to justify what they have done by saying that they did not break any rules and everything they claimed for was acceptable.

They are right in the fact that the current law allowed them to claim on these items but I think it highlights a key point in youth work. Christian youth workers tend too much to teach young people what you should and shouldn’t do as a Christian. All we do is end up with a list of rules. What does that actually teach?

What is really needed is the re-introduction of ‘virtue’. Rather than a set of rules we should be helping young people grow in virtue and allowing them to make the decisions rather than us tell them what they should do.
Law doesn’t work.

Through the narrative of the Old Testament we learn that although the Jews were given a law to guide them in their lives, it didn’t work (Dimont M, 2004:164). They kept messing up. In Isaiah’s first prophecy, the Jews are told that God does not want their sacrifices and their festivals (1:13).  What is the point of following every letter of the Law if you are doing out of routine rather than love.

“A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly” (Romans 2:28). Paul spoke of the fact that obeying the law was not enough. What was on the inside was more important.

Yes the MP’s (in most cases) were following the procedures to the letter but their hearts were corrupt. Legally they did what was right. But morally? Ethically?

I listened to a lecture NT Wright gave recently to a seminary in America. What the world needed, he said was the re-introduction of ‘virtue’. Aristotle, expanding on the work of Plato declared that human good is the “activity of soul exhibiting excellence (virtue)” (Grenz S, 1997:71). I agree with Wright that we seem to have lost the pursuit for virtue. It is no longer a trait that is encouraged. We have replaced it with a moral code, a list of do’s and don’ts, which works to an extent, but it does not achieve the change of heart that is needed for society to truly work morally. That is when people no longer just do the minimum for each other. Again I return to the issues of the MP’s. There was no virtue in their decisions. If there had been then they would realise that buying a moat with taxpayers’ money really isn’t very ethical.

So what does this all have to do with youth work?

We are after all interested in the character of young people. We want to help them build the capacity to make ethical decisions in their life. The point then is not to give them a list of rules from the Bible and tell them that they can’t do these things because God says so. Rather they should be asking the clichéd question, ‘what would Jesus do?’ That in itself is easier said than done and many cases we have no idea what Jesus would have done. But the point is still there.  It’s not about teaching them right’s and wrongs but developing in them the quest for virtue. To have ‘good’ character. To make ‘good’ choices. Even when those choices are personal and no one may ever know about them. After all isn’t that what “making disciples” is all about? Creating in them a lifestyle.

The only problem with that is that it’s not the easy option. How do you nurture virtue and character in people? What this approach asks for is a new way of understanding and applying the Bible. From experience I know this will frighten and challenge people. Terms like ‘liberal’ and ‘heretical’ may be thrown about. But the goal is still the same. Each day to become more Christ-like in the decisions we make.

As a side not, that is how I think we, as youth workers, can measure success. Yes it can be good for our young people to grow in their knowledge of the Bible but, in my limited understanding, I don’t think being able to quote verses is the whole point. Are our young people learning to make ‘right’ choices? Informed choices?

For me, all this means an intentional shift away from programme based youth work. Even as I write that I know people in the church that would be weary of this. Because that’s all they have known. “How else do you do youth work?” That is one challenge. The other is how exactly do you work with young people to create and nurture their character without falling back on the old ways?

That is something for another time.

 

The Tower of Babel: Culture, Racism and Oppression

I’m sure I’m not alone in this, but there are a number of biblical passages that I struggle with and even some that I find alarming. The story of the Tower of Babel was one of those that I didn’t fully get.

It gives the impression of a God who “toys” with people if they start to get proud. As if in some way he was threatened by what they were trying to do. God…threatened? This just didn’t sit right with the God I think I know a bit about. Does he really toy with us like some child bully?

So it was with refreshing delight that I came across the book Return to Babel. It’s a book that seeks to give global perspectives on stories from the Bible. In it they cover a number of biblical passages from a south american, african and asian point of view.

It’s the south american perspective on the story that intrigued me.

From background research, the writer has come to the conclusion that the Tower was built in the place that would become Babylon. It was a place of slavery and oppression. Immigrants who came to this place (voluntary or not) were forced to speak the language of Babylon and all of its customs. They had to forget their culture, their heritage. Everything that made them, them. They were now Babylonians. This gives a very different interpretation of the story.

God. then, was not just judging the Babylonian rules because of their pride. He was also judging them for their oppression. By “coming down” and destroying the Tower, God gave the people back their own language that they had forgotten how to speak. They no longer had to be Babylonians. They could be who they were meant to be. They were allowed to go back to their own nations and start their heritage and culture again. God’s act then was one of freedom from oppression. 

It’s a refreshing thought. So often I look around my church and see people who all dress the same, act the same. God is saying, we don’t need to be like everyone else. That’s not the point. What links us is our humanity, not our beliefs, our prejudices.

This also has profound implications for foreign and immigration policies and the idea of being “British”. What does that mean? Does it mean that we should all be forced to look the same, speak the same, act the same? Or should being British be known as being accepting of all cultures and creeds. Not forcing our beliefs on to others but accepting everyone for what they are?

Isn’t that what jesus was trying to get at in the first place?