I had been planning to gradually change the general trend in subject matter of my blog from pure politics to more Christiany stuff, anyway, and in a fortuitous coincidence it happens that I just got set up to blog here on Sojourn’s site, so I may as well put this here instead of there. Moreover, it’s an interesting time for Sojourn’s youth ministry, so hopefully this personal reflection will be timely for the church as well as for me.
So let’s cut to the chase. Since about 2000 I’ve had an acute interest in certain aspects of youth culture, and in thinking about how the church can strategize to reach young people. My particular interest is in subcultural, “fringe”, or alternative youth. It’s not a well-defined interest, entirely. What I mean is, there are certain aspects of working with specifically adolescents that are relevant here, and others that apply equally well to subcultural people all the way up to my fellow 30-somethings or older. But for now, let’s just posit that the primary ministry field I’m talking about here are young people 13-20 who identify with elements of such music-based subcultures as goth and punk, although quite plausibly not claiming to belong 100% to any particular subculture.
I’ve learned the hard way to be very careful with “God is calling me to …” statements, so I’ll just say this: I think there’s a good objective basis to conclude that God may have given me a particular burden for this population, for some concrete reasons:
- Cross-cultural communication: I’ve long been convinced that God wants me to do something cross-cultural, but my understanding of that concept has developed over time. In college and immediately afterward, I would have been sure my destiny was to live in other countries – not necessarily as a conventional missionary, but to somehow use these cross-cultural skills. Time and circumstances have changed that specific vision, and helped me to see that bridging across different age or cultural groups in our country is every bit as important as more obvious international communication.
- Cynicism / skepticism: Don’t laugh, but I really think this can be a gift in the right circumstances. What I mean is this: I’ve always been someone who despises accepting facile, poorly-reasoned solutions. “The Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it,” doesn’t cut the mustard for apologetics. I would I imagine lots of Sojourners share this basic insistence on something a little more intellectually satisfying – not that we can know all the answers, but I damned sure want to be around people who are at least looking for them! So I think this general orientation suits me well to work with a population that also isn’t interested in believing just because Mom and Dad said it’s what you should do.
- Empathy: Caring for others is probably my curse as much as my blessing, but in any case it’s not something I can help. I naturally gravitate toward those who have been wounded or neglected by others. Teens in general are about the last demographic stratum to have its needs met by the church; perhaps it’s just that cynicism coming out but I get the sense that many churches see Youth Pastor as a stepping stone on the career path to “real ministry.” And when I hear stories of fringe kids getting run out of churches because they’re deemed to look like Satan worshipers, it both breaks my heart and fills me with (hopefully) righteous indignation.
I could probably go on but this is where I am. For reasons that I might touch on publicly and share more deeply if you ask me, I’ve been suppressing these thoughts for the last two years. But I feel like God has me at a point where I should act on them, and to start I should ask Sojourn to come alongside me.
I don’t know what the practical implications of all this are yet, but here’s one: Please pray for me, and for the alienated youth of Huntsville.
__________________________
Philip’s tunnel to nowhere: blog.godblessthefreaks.org
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Good to hear your heart,
Good to hear your heart, Phillip. Here are some thoughts:
Sojourn was dreamed to be a discipleship movement, before being thought of as an institution. I still believe that. Therefore, much of discipleship concept is manifested in prediscipleship, or missional relationships. We get our clues for this from Jesus, Himself. He went to villages and tribes. He met people where they were. He did not change who He was, perfect and holy, yet this did not preclude people from drawing near.
Begin (or continue) to engage the tribes of youth you are speaking of. Please do not wait for Sojourn to have a department or a program to reach them. Rather, we desire to send the members of Sojourn into our city to reach the tribes that God has made them for. Begin the long haul of relational credibility with them. And look around for a teammate that God will call as well. Most likely, God will put the same, or similar, call on someone else.
Lastly, I want to comment on your “The Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it” statement. That is actually a faithful foundation for life. Well… actually, ““The Bible says it, that settles it” is more faithful. God’s truth and plan is relevant whether I believe it or not. The problem is (and it torques me too, Bro) when leaders have a philosophy that you cannot question understanding. I naturally distrust what the masses do and question almost everything. It is healthy to process life in this manner knowing that the foundation of Christ withstands the blows of doubt.
I will continue to pray, process and journey with you, Bro.
–
__________________________David Thew
Sojourn Founding Pastor
David Thew
Sojourn Pastor
Thewblog
Phillip - interesting that
Phillip - interesting that you list in your “God Bless the Freaks” dialog that cynicism and skepticism are two of the things that you believe can be used to reach the counter culture. Billy and I are both naturally so cynical that we have questioned sometimes whether or not we could ever really be effective witnesses. Reading your blog reminded me that even those two qualities can be used for good.
Thanks for the comment,
Thanks for the comment, Paula!
Yeah, I’m starting to wonder if one can do effective evangelism without a certain healthy level of skepticism, at least. :) Gen. X and younger is a much different missions context. People our age are really not as interested in pat answers as in experience. Obviously that’s not uniformly true of everyone, but I think it’s a marked and unmistakable trend. (It’s also more true of the subcultural population which is why I feel such an affinity.)
So maybe now’s the time for us cynics to unite and be assured that God made us this way for a purpose!
Philip’s tunnel to nowhere: blog.godblessthefreaks.org
__________________________Philip’s tunnel to nowhere: blog.godblessthefreaks.org
Dave, Thanks so much for
Dave,
Thanks so much for the comments. Let me take them in reverse order.
“The Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it” - I probably could have been a bit clearer. The Bible is the final arbiter of truth and God’s most direct revelation to us, whether we believe it or not. I agree with you there. I’m referring specifically to an apologetic strategy, really a non-strategy, that simply dismisses questions about the reliability of Scripture as not worth addressing. I’m making fun of the bumper-sticker version, but as I understand it (and I don’t know much!) van Tillian apologetics is more or less the same idea. There’s much value to recognizing that people can’t be convinced without the Holy Spirit working, but I also believe that apologetics is one tool God has given us. I also believe that all apologetic strategies pale in comparison to actually loving people, but by now I’m digressing so I’ll move on. :)
“Please do not wait for Sojourn to have a department or a program to reach them.” – Right on. Like we mentioned briefly last night, I think it’s exciting that Sojourn is just starting a youth group, but subculture outreach is somewhat tangential to a mainstream YG. (Maybe not in completely different worlds, though, which is what would be fun to discuss….)
Because I often think in the big picture, it sometimes sounds like I’m saying that we need more heavyweight institutions. Actually that’s not the case at all – nothing invokes more cynicism among my people group than big institutions! But there must be some way to be decentralized but not leave people feeling like the Lone Ranger. I’ve felt a bit like the Lone Ranger, and so I’m growing to think that part of my calling is to be the social “glue” that helps other people connect.
I’m skimming over a lot of ground, but I’ll try to develop some of these thoughts more fully. Thanks for your prayers, man!
__________________________Philip’s tunnel to nowhere: blog.godblessthefreaks.org
Philip, Thanks for sharing
Philip, Thanks for sharing your passion with us. It is a blessing to see that God has uniquely gifted and envisioned you for a particular people group.
One of my favorite memories in youth ministry was standing in front of a group of about 60 teens and sharing the gospel with them. In the front row was a girl who was goth. We had a connection. I remember just telling them the story of how Jesus chose Matthew to follow him– even though he was an outcast and a sinner. Her eyes were glued to me and I knew God was inviting her to follow him as well. The interesting thing is that for about 6 months I would have a group of kids that would stand outside the club house smoking their cigarettes during our game time, and they would come inside to here the “club talk”. They wanted the gospel. It was such a special time. God was drawing them. He does that. Amazing joy when we get to be a part of any one coming into an intimate relationship with Jesus- freak, jock, prep, nerd, you name it, God calls.
Glad to be journeying with you brother.
Judy
Thanks for the anecdote and
Thanks for the anecdote and for the encouragement, Judy.
I know that we can’t plan or program the workings of the Spirit, but do you think there’s any room for us to impart an evangelical vision to our church’s kids that includes deliberately reaching out to the outcast?
__________________________Philip’s tunnel to nowhere: blog.godblessthefreaks.org
Delierately reaching out to
Delierately reaching out to the the outcast? Hmmm, I dunno…
The Plus: Looking back, I think if I had known a real Christian earlier on it would have helped me a lot. I was raised in a nominally Christian family and it was easy for me to assume that all Christians were like that: kind-of sort-of believing b/c that is what good people do, and not out of any real experience or conviction. A turning point for me was realizing that a trusted and respected friend was a believer. I thought, “This guy doesn’t fear anything, or conform to anything, yet he believes? Why?” That ’why?’ started my journey. So knowing real Christians can make all the difference to someone. You get to see how your own stereotypes measure up to the real thing, and usually, you’ll have to admit you were wrong.
The minus: It was tough being a primary bullying target. I’m not sure how it would have sat with me to be the primary evangelizing target of the school Bible club as well. Not well, I imagine: when I think of the clumsiness of youthful evangelizers, I fear it would most likely seem like more of the same.
Now for one of my pet peeves. I’m sure you’ve met the evangelist who brags, “I reach out to the least lovable” or some such thing, or maybe you’ve heard your own ministry characterized as such. I really can’t stand this idea! Freaks may be the least lovable to some people, but not to me! Furthermore, in the case just mentioned, what you really have is a person who is trying to reach out to people that he doesn’t like all that much. While stretching oneself may be appropriate sometimes and can induce spiritual growth, I’d warn against this type of evangelism, and against having any ministry characterized as a “least lovable” sort of thing. People do know the difference, and can tell when someone comes to them out of duty or out of some thinly disguised dislike (an “I’d like you better if you could be a good person like me” attitude) and we’d hate to inadvertantly encourage people to do this. I’d rather encourage young believers to reach out to those that they feel a natural affinity for or that God has placed a special, supernatural compassion in their hearts for. God Himself will chose who to send to the freaks; I’m sure He hasn’t forgotten us!
Zukster Great blog Philip.
Zukster
Great blog Philip. I thought about the names we use to describe each other and I know you were not calling the youth freaks yourself but using the term as prescribed by our society.
Speaking of freaks, what is a freak? Someone who doesn’t pass the “normal” test and what is the normal test anyway? I know that Philip is talking about the subcultures of Goth and punk but does that mean they are freaks. Do we just call people freaks because they are not like us? Some people may call me a freak because I worshipped in a brewery or because I wore orange ballet shoes and I am too old to wear ballet shoes, especially orange. We can all go down that bunny trail, but isn’t that why we were called to this place as a Sojourner.
Isn’t this what we were looking for, a place where you can be who you are, the ’who’that our Lord is transforming and not have to conform to the ‘norm’. The norm being, follow the leader, drink the Kool-Aid, well maybe not that, but you know what I mean.
We were all looking for a spiritual home that would allow us to see Christ in the every day steps we take, with the every day people we pray with. We found a place of spiritual reflection and love in which to worship and where we could ask the questions that were taboo in other churches. I see Sojourners as sincere and grounded in their belief and desirous to be of help to the person seated next to them, no matter who they are, young, old, intellectual, cynic, and skeptic or in between. I have seen the interplay within our group; it is both amazing and lovely to watch.
I think that if children are brought up in an atmosphere of love and knowledge of Jesus Christ, they will reach out to the outcasts of our society. It would be a normal act of love reaction for them. I have seen that in my grandsons. If they see or know of someone who is troubled or is in dire circumstances, they pray for them, their heart becomes burdened for them; they want to become their friend and show them that Jesus can lighten their load. Isn’t this what Christ calls us to do?
Philip thanks for expressing your feelings and allowing us to share this burden with you. I will be praying for you and the alienated youth of Huntsville, it is so important that we care.
One of your friendly freaks,
__________________________Zukie
Zukster
Just a quick note for
Just a quick note for context:
Phillip empathetically considers himself a “freak.” Note his blog: http://blog.godblessthefreaks.org. I will not define terms for him, but I suspect that he would lump himself into a “freak” category for being one who does not follow the masses. I would fall under the same category. So would a lot of other Sojourners. You do not have to look counter cultural to be a freak. But you definitely need to be one who does not buy into whatever everyone else is doing/thinking.
Ministering to “freaks”/non-compliants happens best when one is from that tribe/philosophy. We will all have the most (not the only) influence of those with similar worldviews and paradigms. Our hope is that whether “freak” or “normal” (whatever that means) that we all find truth through Christ, His cross and His resurrection.
aaaaaawwwww, freak out…
–
__________________________David Thew
Sojourn Founding “Freak”
David Thew
Sojourn Pastor
Thewblog
Sojourn has freaks… You
Sojourn has freaks… You have got to be kidding… That’s outrageous!!!
-evil grin-
Eric M.
__________________________http://blog.jesuspunx.com
Eric M. (ericgmorgan.com)
Mary, Belated thanks for
Mary,
Belated thanks for the comment. I was typing a longish reply when i rather stupidly spilled coffee in my computer and (temporarily, thank God!) fried it. So i’ll keep this short, but will develop some of these same themes in future posts.
Two excellent points I want to emphasize:
* Strategically emphasizing a people group is much different than “targeting” its members in the more sinister sense! More about this, soon.
__________________________* People may be wrongly motivated to outreach to subcultures by an misapprehension of their members as “unlovable”. Being unlovable to or unappreciated by the mainstream is not the same thing as being unlovable!
Philip’s tunnel to nowhere: blog.godblessthefreaks.org
Zukie, Thanks for the
Zukie,
Thanks for the comments! As we discussed yesterday, I use the term good-naturedly and almost to make fun of its use in a pejorative fashion. I have had one or two people take umbrage at it, but for the most part people understand where I’m coming from.
Thanks so much for your encouragement! And great comments about your grandkids!
blessings,
Philip
__________________________Philip’s tunnel to nowhere: blog.godblessthefreaks.org
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