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Ps. 139:13-16

Gen. 1:25-26

2 Cor. 5:16-21

Gal. 2:20

Col. 3:1-4

Gal. 6:35

2 Cor. 10:12-13

Rom. 12:48

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Comparing Gospel Advancing and Adoption view

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Comparing Gospel Advancing and Adoption view

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Just thinking about how each answers the question of identity formation and security in youth

With gospel advancing, the answer seems to be the gospel and the security of God as eternal Father.

With adoption, it seems the answer is a community to belong in and serve, flowing out of an eschatological end point I guess?

I suppose again we have that tension!

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"Just like Jesus, youth leaders should minister to everyone but pour their lives into those teenagers who are willing to go all in for Christ and his cause."

Interesting! Instinctively I feel like this is overplaying the parallel between Jesus and ministers today - Jesus' ministry was unique (!) in all sorts of ways and maybe the picture of ongoing church ministry in the NT is slightly different? Would love to hear others' thoughts on this!

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For some reason, tonight's reading doesn't come up when I click on the link. As anyone downloaded it?

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The Gospel Advancing View of Youth Ministry?

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The Gospel Advancing View of Youth Ministry?

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I thought this was a really exciting and empowering model for youth ministry but built on a pretty dubious premise. It was so helpful to recognise the capacity teenagers can have and how our ministries don't recognise their capabilities to be evangelists. But were the apostles really teenagers as teenagers are now? And are the apostles there to emulate in the exact same way? As the first followers of Jesus, they were bound to be evangelistically focused? Don't they also carry a unique authority which we can't impose on teenagers?

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Stawbridge's thesis rest on the idea that children of believers, through the new covenant are a full part of God's people. I would agree here, but i don't see how his conclusions for what that looks like in practice follows from his central point.

His 3 main takeaways (p.79-80) are that children must be a part of congregational worship, they must be catechised, and they must be brought up with explicitly Christian schooling.

Whilst there is a logic that if a child is a part of gods people they must be included in all congregational worship, it doesn’t follow that separating them for age relevant teaching during the sermon for instance is doubting this identity, and could be seen as the training that strawbridge envisions by making them sit through the sermon. Likewise catechism by way of memorization may or may not be a good thing, but it presumes that memorization equals discipleship, which is imo unhelpful. The assertion that children should be separated from society in schooling seem to furthest away from the premise – as it completely fails in teaching children in how to be covenant members whilst inhabiting a secular world.

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I found Carlson and Crupper helpful overall in their chapter on this model, but it seemed to be to be focused towards being instructional rather than analytic, the latter element being somewhat absent from their description of the model - they seem to describe how to teach than than how to encourage others to engage through teaching - which was my previous limited understanding of the model. I would also query the value in having a reward system be a core part of spiritual instruction - how does one determine what level of understanding or progress deserve an award? Would this not foster an attitude of seeking to parrot the right words and behaviours for the sake of a further goal? The chapter is helpful in outlining a biblical overview of children's ministry but seems weaker in its application.

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This was an interesting read (even while trying to keep up with the pace of acronyms!)

I liked a few bits about this chapter. Firstly, the definitions were brand new and helped shape the different approaches.

Secondly, it was very helpful to see him trying to get us thinking about the developmental process of youth and children. It left me thinking about more than just the school year group segregation into groups—maybe a cross-generational Sunday school would be better!??

Thirdly, thinking about this topic in relation to the 'turning points' was super helpful.

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Intial thoughts: urrrgh, vomit vomit

Digestible translation:

Not to worry if the teaching of our content says little about Christ as saviour!!!!!!

Has anyone else thought that Bridger has got his thinking the wrong way around?

Example: in final diagram ...

Is it not God's love for individuals, that paves the way for, faith in being valued as a person etc.

Aren't kids better at imaging the unimaginable ... as a result can their understanding of say 'the new creation', though potentially scripturally shallow, be far more alive?

Personification of animals is potentially dangerous?!! ... what about Narnia, arguably the greatest fictional bible influenced children's novel.

Isn't the point of parables to make wise the simple.

I think kids are more accepting of miracles than adults ... due to their ability to imagine.

Jesus says come to me like little children.

Nothing said about the Spirit's work!?

Positives ...

erm perhaps the quote 'capture children's imaginations' ... although I've taken it out of context.

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Family Ministry to Inter-Generational (Crispin)

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Family Ministry to Inter-Generational (Crispin)

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I wonder how the Family Ministry to Inter-Generational model would affect the way we think about evangelism to children across the wide range of ages legally classed as such (0-18 years)? E.g. how does it affect the way we do an after school club to children from the local estate, many of whose parents are non-Christians and see this as free childcare?

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I found Gareth Crispin's suggestion that Biblical Theology should shape the relationship between Family Ministry and Inter-Generational Ministry really helpful. But how will this actually shape a church's ministry to families and their children because families will be at different stages of that process? How could we do that without segregation and segmentation?

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I liked the Pete Ward reading that 'practical theology' can be helpful to study, when your practice and theology become different over time, and you want to know what has changed. Or, if new issues come up that your practice doesn't currently have answers for, so we need some time studying theology to work out how to practice as a christian in the new situation. We could do this on a sabbatical, or at college (now!).