The one thing my Youth Ministry is missing

    I stand nine months out of seminary and seven months into my new vocation of a Youth Pastor. Using my education and limited experience of ministry I have shaped (in my opinion) a fairly well-balanced ministry that includes scriptural study, theology, fun, games, and community. I have also made it a point to be as transparent about the important dogmatic formals and doctrines that form Christianity and its history. I am attempting to develop a clear connection with Israel and Christianity’s unmistakable connection with its Jewish ancestors. Most importantly my focus has been centered on Jesus Christ and the impact of his life, death, resurrection and accession and the promise of His return. In doing all of these things, I still am attempting to connect it to everyday life and modern U.S. culture and touch upon the relevance and superior importance for the gospel message to Christians and ultimately the entire world.

    Nevertheless, I feel I have I missed what is arguably the most important subsidy of a ministry. What exactly, you might ask? Prayer! That’s right I am confessing that somehow me, the converted heathen, who is a well-studied Religion/Philosophy major, Master of Arts in theology graduate has forgotten to pray over his ministry. This is not to say that prayer is completely absent in the Youth ministry as a whole (we begin and end our scripture study with prayer and pray before the meal we share every week). However, this is to say that I have not prayed without ceasing for the soul’s and transformation of the students who God has blessed me with.

The apostle Paul can say to the Church of the Thessalonians, “We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Christ. 1 Thess 1:2-3

    Unfortunately, I cannot repeat the same words to my youth group. In my lack of prayer, I feel that a major section of the ministry that God is calling me to is missing. I also feel as if the Holy Spirit is revealing to me how I can better work with God to ensure that the Kingdom of Heaven is recognized in the here and now. 

    It is also evident from the text that the Apostle Paul was not the only one praying for the Church. The first person plural pronoun communicates that the surrounding community of Christ followers also were in prayer for the Church. The meaning I gather from this is that I must encourage those adults who volunteer their time and the entirety of the Church to constantly remember the students in prayer. It is also of great comfort to remember that Jesus Christ himself intercedes on our behalf to the Father in heaven making our request know so we are completely confident that our prayers are received.

    I have felt this way for quite some time, but I have yet to act upon the call of God to deeper prayer. The reason I write this post is to proclaim what it is I am called to, and to have this post act as my bond to accountability, if not from the reader, from my subconscious recognition of what it is I am called to as a Youth Pastor. So here is to moving forward in prayer with my Youth Group. By the way, if you think about it, send a prayer my group’s way I would really appreciate it.  

Ye be warned! (Random post in the midst of failed understanding)

I’m not exactly sure what I intend to write. Unlike some who do their best writing with a detailed outlines, my best writing (even in school) comes from my emotions and heart. Perhaps, that is why it was hit or miss with some of my professors and determined whether I would finish a course with a B or an A. All it took was for someone to inform me that it was completely impossible to write a fully objective paper and to list the reasons why, for me to stop attempting to write one. So here goes:
Or not…? I have attempted to write like this before, and then I stop myself. Perhaps, out of fear. Fear of what you might ask. I’m not quite sure, but if I had to guess it would be fear of helping the reader affirm what it is I already know to be so true. That I am not perfect or even more so that I fail so hard and the things I want to succeed at the most. On top of that, the standards set by internet trolls stand as incomprehensible. The bloggers, the vloggers, the commenters, the cable news voices paint such a definite perception of judgement that I would much rather just keep my thoughts to myself and drown in uncertainty rather than expose myself to the unrelenting judgement of the world.

Still, taking into account my faith and occupation I am obviously supposed to seek counsel, wise as it may be, nevertheless I have such a hard time doing so. Why? Because there is such a wide divisions in truth claims and expectations of what one is to believe, that I would much rather read the text for myself and seeks old theological heads to help me discern rather than trust inconsistent faith voices today. The majority of which are plagued by corrupt politics and secular intellectualism that all ties to the early community of believers seem to be diminished save the name. The irony of scholars with the same credentials in the same field of study drawing two completely different conclusions overwhelms me with hopelessness. If I were a fool I would draw the conclusion that based on a study of humanities inconsistency there was no such thing as complete truth, but with all my shortcomings and past failures I have come to understand that truth is very much a reality, it is the people who play the role of the phony sham. Nonetheless, even with this deeply held belief I find it hard to find hope in humanity.

Another worry of mine is the concept of mentorship. It should be obvious to all who swear the practice that mentorship is chiseled to a bogus idealist concept, if not nurtured by intentional consistency that first takes time to understand the person before then working long time to help shape and form. Good intentions from people who jump into commitments with no intent of longevity do nothing to help the other and in fact may further damage the individual needing to be mentored with half-hearted solutions to real problems, with no explanations of the solution and how it is to fit into the uniqueness of the specified situation the mentored person finds them self in. Such half-hearted efforts and false commitment leads me to proclaim that I would much rather save the heartache of unfulfilled promised of fallen people and  keep to myself the things a mentor and wise advice could resolve so easily with lived experience and reflections.

These are only a few things that weigh on my heart. And since it appears that things are declining quickly I see no reason to keep them in. I hope this has been revealed in a gathered classy way as one of my pet peeves is people who air their issues on social media as if they were spilling their heart to daytime talk show host. I’ve given just enough to not burden those who don’t care, with unnecessary embarrassing details, saving them from the temptation to gospel and slander, but also for those who may see past these wordy explanations, to the heart of the issues to press further the issue. Ye be warned my walls stand as tall of those that once stood in Jericho and only a miracle will get them crashing down. If you don’t have the energy don’t bother save pray and petition.

Barth series 5 of 7 Freedom in the Command of God

Introduction:

During my second year of Seminary, I had the pleasure of taking a yearlong “theology and ethics of Karl Barth” course at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary taught by Dr. John Burgess.  The year accounted for three credits hours in which we covered Karl Barth’s “Church Dogmatics Volume 3: The Doctrine of Creation Part 4.” The setup of the class was to read anywhere from 25-40 pages of Barth a week and produce a detailed outline of the material in the readings. We then would meet once a week to discuss the readings. At the end of the course, we were asked to prepare a 20-page paper that covered a main theme in the Church Dogmatics Volume. This series of blogs consists of sections from my paper that I wrote for the course. As you will see in the posts, I was specifically impressed by Barth’s discussion of ethical issues in the light of the Command of God and what he calls the exceptional case to that command. There are many other things that I loved in this volume that are not covered in these post, and I am in no way claiming to have fully comprehend what Barth is getting at, I just want to share some of my thoughts in hope to continue my theological pursuit after seminary!

Part 1 of 7 (Introduction) 

Part 2 of 7 (On Suicide)

Part 3 of 7 (Ethical Issues) 

Part 4 of 7 (Just War)

    After a thorough discussion of Barth’s views concerning the Command of God in the light of specific ethical issues of the everyday life of an individual, there are certain things that become evident. The first is that Barth has a high respect for the Command of God and what it means for humanity. If at all possible Barth believes that the Christian should follow the Command wholeheartedly. The second is that respect for the Command of God shows that Barth draws a profound respect for human life and the preservation of it. The third, Barth respects the Command of God enough to not limit the Command to an absolute principle, and leaves room for the Command of God to be a living rule, in the lives of believers allowing for the Command to change in the exceptional case. The next part of the essay will focus more deeply on these three conclusions drawn from Barth’s discussion. 

    For Barth, humanity obeying the Command of God is an essential factor for the preserving of the life of all people. It speaks the truth in a world that is filled with lies and provides order in a world that would otherwise be chaos. It also provides guidelines for humanity, and for a proper relationship with God. Barth sees this relationship of humanity to God as a very active lively relationship in which the living God reigns in the lives of Christ-followers, and the believers are provided freedom to follow God where they are led. This relationship and freedom as shown above leads Barth to believe that there cannot be a limit to the Command if it is truly acted out in the context of a relationship and freedom. Barth sees the Command of God as something that is constantly being spoken (living Command); as opposed to something that was only spoken many years ago (written Command). This shapes his entire view of Church Dogmatics and it certainly shapes how Barth understands his section on the “Protection of Life”. The written Command is the guide given to man to interpret the active Command of God. Barth does not believe that humanity should disregard the written Command especially what is recorded in Holy Scripture. If at all possible Barth believes that those Commands should be followed and obeyed above all other things. But Barth wants to allow freedom for the Command of God to reign and this includes taking into account different circumstances that people may face. In the context of an active relationship, God may encourage a person to perform an act that is against the written Command. 

    This respect for the Command also leads to the respect of human life. The present demand “thou shall not kill” resonates to Barth and the importance placed on the human life by God. This is not to suggest that human life is special in and of itself. Apart from the Command and relationship with God, human life lacks meaning and falls short of its intended purpose. Nevertheless, the Command of God is active and alive. This means that it is not just those who read the Bible that are impacted by the Command of God, but all people in the world have some interaction with the Command whether they realize it or not, because the Command of God is alive and active. This is the purpose given to humanity by which Barth understands all ethical issues. This is why Barth can say the Church’s duty is to remind the state that it is to seek peace in all its affairs, and reframe from taking lives if at all possible. This is not just a suggestion for Barth it is a demand from the Command of God. Nevertheless, if the state has truly acted out all oppositions to facilitate peace without any success and the threat of harm still remains then Barth feels that the Command of God could very much be saying to enter into war to preserve human life and bring peace.