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Dave.

The convention closed with a time of communion. The organiser, Stephen Parker, closed with a clear reminder of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. This was an encouraging time – however the cross of Christ was not given the centre stage throughout the whole conference as it ought. I think that it is helpful to get speakers from different backgrounds, but there were some who share a different gospel and ought not be part of this conference if it runs again in the future.

I said it elsewhere, but what was missing most from the conference was the gospel of Jesus’ death and resurrection for sins. A pastors conference ought not be an evangelistic rally, but as the troops are brought in from the battlefront, they need to be equipped and reminded of what really matters. In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul outlines that which is of first importance:

3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.

Australian Youth Ministry needs leaders who will preach Christ Crucified to a dying generation.

NYMC Live Blog Summary:

• #1 – Live Blogging
• #2 – Getting here
• #3 – Josh Griffin
• #4 – My Place on MySpace
• #5 – Thanksgiving
• #6 – Josh Griffin Podcast
• #7 – Tim Hawkins and trusting God
• #8 – The danger of assumptions
• #9 – Forge and the emerging church
• #10 – The Skit Guys
• #11 – Duffy Robbins
• #12 – Tony Campolo
• #13 – Graham Stanton

Did you go? I’d love to hear your reflections…

(Click here for some live blogging I did at a youth convention at the start of the year)

Here’s how we planned what we did on our night:

1. First step was choosing the Bible passage for the evening. Although we had a groovy name for the event, a funky theme (Reality TV) plus great games and decoration – first up was working out what we wanted to teach from the Bible. So often, youth (and even church) events are planned the other way around. A theme is proposed and then the Bible is made to squeeze around an inflexible program, and so the ‘big idea’ that the kids take home is fashioned before the Bible is even opened.
We decided that more than anything, we wanted to take these kids through Luke 15, to show them that God loves them. He loves them and goes out looking for his lost children like the woman does with the coin, like the shepherd does with his lost sheep, and like the father does with his lost son. We decided that we would focus primarily on this last story – the prodigal Son.

2. With the Bible passage chosen, the rest of the night could flow from there. Next question was: What overall shape should the whole night take? As we read through the passage, it was clear that the story of the lost Son could easily be re-created into a reality TV show. There were a few other suggestions – but reality TV is something that youth get – and it looked like it could be a lot of fun.

3. We wrote a script for a TV show in 3 pre-recorded segments, which would be supplemented on the night with live interviews on a ‘rove’ style set. The TV show was about a son ‘Nick’ who was challenged by the producers of the show to demand his inheritance from his parents and leave home in order to win his freedom. Like reality TV shows, our video contained pre-recorded interviews with (fictitious) friends and family, and reflections from the protagonist on his actions – they’ll be up on youtube soon.

4. These segments were broken up with games and activities and challenges – some loosely tying in with the theme, others not. We wanted to have time to meet and relate with newcomers as well as teach them about God. These were delegated to be organised and run on the night by a leader who was not required to be part of the ‘TV’ part of the night.

5. The video was filmed, edited and put on DVD with automated stops at the right places – to keep things technically smooth on the night.

6. The room decoration was delegated to someone who had read the script and understood what was happening. They brought in a lighting kit, big screen, couch, coffee table and posters and P.A.

7. We wrote the text for invite/postcard ad and then sent it to our graphic designer who came up with the final piece. This was letterbox dropped to the entire suburb along with the other mission advertising, as well as given to regular memebers to invite friends. We had more guests from personal invites than we had from the letterbox drop.

That was pretty much it. Any questions or comments?

• Beyond a Godless Understanding of Youth: Why Exegesis Matters of Youth Ministry
• Towards an Adolescent Hermenutic
• Faith in Networks: Religious Education of Dutch young adults in a ‘post-ecclesial’ era
• From ghetto to communitas: Post-Soviet youth ministry and leadership on a pilgrimage to Emmaus

It’s an interesting journal, like no other in youth ministry, that helps me think outside the square.

The implications for youth ministry in Australia (assuming that the AUS figures are similar to the US figures above) are that we cannot ignore the web. Here’s two to start:

1. We need to teach our teenagers how to be Christian on the Internet. How they can use it for good rather than bad and how they can point people to Jesus.
2. Our youth ministries need to have an active presence online which will help with number 1 above.

Thoughts?

Check it out. You can download the full magazine in friendly formats, listen to the podcast, and read some of the articles online. Guest Authors include: John Piper, John Dickson and Michael Corbett-Jones. I’d be interested to hear how you go with passing this gear on.

Check out the Swing into Action MySpace page for all the info (including online rego)