Reason #3 that young Christians leave the church.  http://www.barna.org/teens-next-gen-articles/528-six-reasons-young-christians-leave-church

Reason #3 – Churches come across as antagonistic to science.
“One of the reasons young adults feel disconnected from church or from faith is the tension they feel between Christianity and science. The most common of the perceptions in this arena is “Christians are too confident they know all the answers” (35%). Three out of ten young adults with a Christian background feel that “churches are out of step with the scientific world we live in” (29%). Another one-quarter embrace the perception that “Christianity is anti-science” (25%). And nearly the same proportion (23%) said they have “been turned off by the creation-versus-evolution debate.” Furthermore, the research shows that many science-minded young Christians are struggling to find ways of staying faithful to their beliefs and to their professional calling in science-related industries.”

Really?? Or is the true reason isnt’ that we are antagonistic but that we as Church don’t explain things well or we avoid challenging topics all together? Read more…

laura For Leaders, Laura's Blog, Life Issues, Social Issues Faith Formation, love and respect, Shake Me Up, Youth Ministry, Youth Ministry 'How To'

It’s sad, but for many churches, the most referred-to youth ministry book is entitled “Single-Digit Youth Groups.” Perhaps it’s because all too often we can see ourselves in its title. It has clear and broad applicability for small churches like ours.

This is a book that’s been recklessly promoted throughout the Anglican Church. You’ll find it at conferences, featured on the shelves of well-meaning booksellers, and recommended on many youth ministry blogs. As for me, I wish it would just go away.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there’s something about this situation that doesn’t sit well with me. It’s a bit too bleak for my taste. When I spend too much time thinking about the future of a church that celebrates Single Digit Youth Ministry, I get depressed.

Is this all we’re shooting for? Is this all the imagination we can muster? Are we really that defeatist? Why do we set our mental barrier at 9 young people? Have we forgotten how to dream? Have we forgotten why we’re doing this in the first place? Read more…

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By Christian Harvey

Last week Andrew posted a great reflection on the trouble with short term missions.  This is something with which I have struggled with a lot and would like to come at it from a different angle.

Most youth and young adults head out on short term missions because they want to make a difference, they want to help, they want to battle injustice.  It would most likely be devastating for them to know that their short term endeavors may actually make things worse for the people they are meant to serve!  Read more…

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By Christian Harvey

It is obvious that Christmas has gone from celebrating the birth of the prince of peace to a celebration of the victory of consumerism.  But how do we talk about it with our teenagers?  Here are a few resources that I have found helpful in starting up conversation around consumerism and Christmas:

What Would Jesus Buy?

A documentary following Rev. Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping as they travel across the U.S. toward the “shopocalypse”!  It is at points hilarious, at times troubling at times incredibly touching.  This film works equally well with adults or with youth, so try something crazy, get parents and youth to watch the film together!

Advent Conspiracy

A movement trying to get Christmas to be less about buying and more about worshiping fully, spending less, giving more, and loving all.  A website full of resources, ideas and stories, this movement to go from buying stuff to solving water issues around the world is something your youth may get excited about.  Check it out here.

Coyote Solstice Tale by Thomas King

One of my favorite children’s books of all time, this funny, touching and beautiful story can be a great way to ease youth into the conversation.  And seriously, who doesn’t love a kid’s book.

Now I know, it is getting really close to Christmas, and though these may be great ideas, it is a bit to late.  Well friends, it turns out that consumerism is not just an issue at Christmas time, but year round.  Here are some non-Christmas related resources.

The Story of Stuff

Shorter then WWJB, this film looks at the impacts of our consumption on the environment and other people.  Done in a very accessible way, this video is a great starting point for discussing the impact of our stuff on our world.  Check it out here.

Last, music video’s can be a great way to start the conversation with your youth.  Here are two that look at consumerism from very different angles.

Wings by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis

One of my youth introduced this video to me.  A song about how the artist was recruited into the movement of consumerism through his shoes.  An amazing song and a powerful video.

I Own You by Wax Tailor ft. Charlie Winston

A really cool video, and an interesting song from the perspective of your stuff.

Consumerism is probably the biggest issue facing our youth and society today.  If we want to help our youth explore the God of Abraham, Moses and Jesus, we are going to have to make them aware of the current God of stuff that demands their allegiance.  If you have any resources, please let us know.

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Growing up, my family and I would spend every Christmas Eve at my Aunt’s house. We’d pack up the car in the early evening and make the hour-or-so drive from Milton, Ontario to St. Catharines. St. Catharines was where my folks grew up, and is still, to this day, the hometown of much of my extended family – cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents.

On the drive, we’d always tune in to the CBC to hear Alan Maitland reading The Shepherd. Year, after year, we would be sure to leave at just the right time in order to hear this story on the drive to our Christmas Eve gathering. Sometimes, if the drive had taken less time than we had thought, we would wait silently in the parking lot for the final cadences of Frederick Forsyth’s classic short story.

We would walk around to the buzzer and call to be let up to Aunt Tena’s apartment. Inside we would find a feast of untold quantity, with classic Mennonite dishes alongside family favourites. Over the course of the coming hour, our extended family would also buzz up and more and more people would crowd into the living room. And there we ate together. Plates on laps, old amongst the younger, we would mix and mingle, we would talk about what was important to us, and we would share all that had happened in the preceding months. Read more…

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There is an interesting study out from the Barna Group discussing why young people leave church. http://www.barna.org/teens-next-gen-articles/528-six-reasons-young-christians-leave-church . The research lists six significant reasons why nearly three out of every five young Christians (59%)  disconnect either permanently or for an extended period of time from church life after age 15. I’m not looking to analyze The Barna Group’s research. I realize there are many other opinions that exist on this topic but thought it would be a good starting point for discussion. Do the themes have merit? Do you find truth in them as a youth leader or as youth growing up in the church? Can we use them to understand the current generation of youth? Are the reasons to broad to be able to facilitate any concrete change? My goal is to look at each of these reasons on their own in my next few blogs in the hopes of starting some discussion on the site and in my own parish. More understanding of where youth might be coming from never hurts and spreading the knowledge around throughout the congregation is even better! We can’t discuss what we don’t understand so if there is some validity to the reasons in the study then the conversation with our youth workers, youth and parishes is a good one to have.

Reason #1 – Churches seem overprotective.

Reason #2 – Teens’ and twenty somethings’ experience of Christianity is shallow.

Reason #3 – Churches come across as antagonistic to science.

Reason #4 – Young Christians’ church experiences related to sexuality are often simplistic, judgmental.

Reason #5 – They wrestle with the exclusive nature of Christianity.

Reason #6 – The church feels unfriendly to those who doubt.

laura For Leaders, Laura's Blog, News, Social Issues Culture, Youth Ministry 'How To'

What does it mean to wear my faith on my sleeve? How is it that I live out my faith? (How) do I share my faith in Jesus with others? Sometimes we get uncomfortable when people talk about sharing their faith. Sometimes we fall back on that quote often attributed to Francis of Assisi:

Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary, use words.

I think we can tend to fall back on this quotation as a justification for not saying much. Do we consider what our actions say about our faith, or do we use this as a defense mechanism to suggest that people not bug us with this question?

Dorothee Sölle, a German liberation theologian opens up this question in a real, and challenging way:

Tell me how you think and act politically and I will tell you in which God you believe Read more…

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I came across this article earlier today sharing some thoughts on how HBO’s series “The Wire” might be incredibly relevant for those of us who are leaders within the church. Whether clergy or lay, paid or volunteer, what can we learn from one of the grittiest TV shows in recent memory?

In his article, Wesley Hill argues that for those of us involved in the institutional church, there’s much to be learned from a show that is, as its creator puts it, is “cynical about institutions, and about their capacity for serving the needs of the individual.”

We may not always agree, and the stories of drug riddled inner-city Baltimore may be far from home for many of us, but this show might cause us to think about the ways in which our own institutional structures help or hinder the mission we claim as our own.

Hill writes:

I’m hard pressed to think of a more acute commentary on the task of Christian leadership and institutional efforts at community renewal than that. In our churches and ministry organizations, we can’t promise people “answers” per se. We can’t be saviors and messiahs. But what we can promise is faithfulness, perseverance and truth-telling. We can work for a better future filled with peace, justice and equity even if, in the meantime, it looks for all the world as if we’re failing spectacularly.

So what do you think? Where do you find hope, this advent season? As a leader, how do you keep pressing on towards a better future, even if, from time to time, it appears as though things are falling down all around you? How can we continue to press on in the midst of an ever-changing culture and the absence of certainty?

andrew For Leaders, Stories and Articles Andrew Stephens-Rennie, Culture, The Wire, Wesley Hill

“Lent 4.5,” is an idea from the Passionist Earth and Spirit Center in Kentucky.

It gets its name from the fact that if the world were divided equally among all its residents, each would receive 4.5 acres of land from which to derive all of his or her food, energy, clothing, housing, and “gadgets.” But it takes about 18 acres to maintain the average North American lifestyle.

For a Lenten discipline this year, why not explore a consciousness of living more lightly on the earth?   Consider:

• Where do you get your produce from?  During Lent, choose products sourced on your own continent, rather than from South Africa, Chile, or South Asia.

• How much carbon are you using/producing?  Use one hour less of electronics or powered equipment each day, or get your bike out early, dress warmly and opt not to take the car for short excursions.

• What is your water consumption?  Drink only safe tap water, rather than any bottled water products during Lent.  Set a timer for your shower, and try to cut your shower time by 10-20% each week.  By the end of Lent, your 20 minute shower time is down to 9 minutes, and uses much less energy and water while having plenty of time to get you clean!

• How are you sharing food and resources?  Once a week during Lent, plan to get together with friends to cook a simple meal together.  Take turns hosting.  save energy and create community.  One way we live lighter on the earth is to not assume we all have to own everything privately – what do we ‘own’ (or have access to) that we could share with others around us?

Lent 4.5 explores a different theme each week. This first theme (Ash Wednesday week) is Christian Simplicity. You can visit:

www.lent45.org

Week by week, this website will focus on a particular aspect of consumption as it relates to Christian simplicity, fasting and almsgiving. A new focus issue will be available each Sunday of Lent.

Ash Wednesday Week – Christian Simplicity: Compassionate Living

1st Week of Lent – Food: Buying and Eating are Moral Acts

2nd Week of Lent – Consumption: Buying Less, Wasting Less

3rd Week of Lent – Water: Conserving and Protecting

4th Week of Lent – Energy: Choosing Efficient and Clean

5th Week of Lent – Transportation: Getting Around

Holy Week – Gratitude & Generosity: Becoming Involved

“There is a new way of observing Lent that helps us care for God’s creation by taking steps toward using only our fair share of its resources. Moving in the direction of 4.5 is essential for anyone walking in the footsteps of Jesus today”

From their website

judy For Leaders, Life Issues

Bishop Mark MacDonald preached the sermon at the opening Eucharist at Generation 2008.

The Rt. Rev. Mark MacDonald is the National Indigenous Anglican Bishop of Canada and the pastoral bishop of the Episcopal Church of Navajoland. His previous ministries include Bishop of Alaska and Canon Missioner for Training in the Diocese of MN, as well as positions in Ontario, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Oregon. Among his published works are Native American Youth Ministries, co-authored with Dr. Carol Hampton.

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