I’ll take that to go!

A couple days ago, I had the opportunity to attend the “Carry Out GODencounters” training seminar in Orlando. Not being a native of Florida, but having heard about GODencounters, I was curious to know what the big deal was about.

Here’s a brief report for those of you who may have wanted to be there, but couldn’t make it.

I found out that GODencounters began as the young adult division of the Florida conference campmeeting.

Seven years ago, the young adult attendance had dwindled to a few people meeting in the backroom of a church. Sensing that God wanted to do much more, concerned young adults and their ministry leaders gathered to pray and plan.

As you can see from the recent blog posts, things have changed dramatically since then!

What began in Florida has started to catch on in other places. Since its inception, similar retreats have been held in other regions. This summer, the young adult division of several conferences have organized gatherings styled after the GODencounters in Florida.

So what does it take to plan, organize, and execute a GODencounters event, or similar type ministry to young adults?

Obviously, I can’t recount the whole day, nor will I assume that the same people/resources and potential attendees are available everywhere.

Here, however, are few points that I took home, and that I think could be applied to a variety of ministry settings, especially those seeking to reach/involve young adults.

1. Content/theology drives method. GODencounters involved more than finding a worship band, flying in an effective speaker, and stringing up some lights. The seven year cycle devoted to specific themes was very well thought out and systematically covered some of the major themes of the Bible. The presenters/music/videos etc. were selected with the intent of effectively communicating the specific theme and helping participants experience it.

Familiar themes (or perhaps not so familiar!) like worship, gospel, grace, prayer, Sabbath, sanctification, and celebration formed the theological loci of these gatherings and were combined in fresh ways with other lesser known ones (at least in Adventism)–the present kingdom of God, spiritual disciplines, i.e. some of the ancient practices of the early Christian church, and social justice–forming a relevant and rich spiritual cocktail.

2. It takes a team. GODencounters took more than one or two people making phone calls. There was a team of people praying, planning, and executing together. We heard presentations from the graphic designer behind the PR, the team in charge of “staging” and the café, and those who organized the prayer room. In other words, GODencounters was not a one person show.

3. Details matter. I was surprised at the level of thought and care that went into things like the look and feel of the advertising, creating an ambiance, and having an up-to-date and relevant literature table. This makes sense though, at least if you’re trying to reach young adults, as that at least that much time and effort has gone behind designing and marketing popular non-spiritual items, events, venues, etc. in the real world.

4. Resources are available. There’s no need to re-invent the wheel. Information/resources are available and those that have gone before are eager and willing to share and help. For example, I found out that the graphic designer for the original GODencounters is willing let others use the graphics he’s designed. I also met the couple that was in charge of staging/decorating (who, by the way, are professional interior designers); they were packing things up and heading up to Georgia-Cumberland to help them organize the first GODencounters there.

Overall, I really appreciated the time and effort of the presenters the time to share their experiences and their consistency over the past seven years.

It’s exciting to see what the God has done in Florida, what’s happening there and in other places today, and the exciting future that lies ahead!

The Dilemma of Doubt

Help!

Both the pastor and the associate at our church will be away at a conference this weekend and they’ve asked me to fill in the pulpit for them.

Since they didn’t assign any particular passage or topic, I’m planning to use the gospel reading in the lectionary–John 20:19-31. In this passage, the risen Jesus appears to his disciples. Thomas, who hears the news, says (in so many words), “Yeah right, I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Here we have the first recorded account of an skeptic of the empirical stripe–and he comes from within Jesus’ camp! This passage addresses the reality of questions/doubts and Jesus’ response to them:

“Peace to you…Put your hands in my sides. Reach out your hand and put them into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

The main point of the passage (at least my take on it)? We usually respond to question and doubts by ignoring them/stuffing them when they come from ourselves, or getting defensive when they come from others. But questions are okay; Jesus is big enough for our questions.

Anyway, back to the reason I’m posting this…I’d love to incorporate some actual questions/doubts young adults actually struggle with when it comes to issues of faith.

So…

What are some questions you ask/doubts you have with it comes to your faith?

What are some of the questions/doubts your non-Christian/non-Adventist friends have when it comes to your faith?

If you minister to young adults, what are the most frequent/difficult questions you encounter in your ministry?

Your feedback (and permission to share it) would be really helpful and very much appreciated! (If you’d like, feel free to post anonymously.)

What are you doing for Easter?

Last night, I had went out to eat with some friends from church.

Over the drunken noodles and the pad thai, the topic of Easter came up. One of my friend wanted to know if I was interested in going to a service with her on Sunday to celebrate Easter. The service was being held at one of the large non-Adventist church’s downtown. Having no other options, at least at our church, this seemed to me like a great idea.

This conversation stands in direct contrast with one I had with another friend a couple weeks before. It was after the worship service, and she found out that I, along with a few other friends, were organizing a Good Friday vespers with readings, prayers, etc. She was surprised. “You celebrate Easter?” (By “you”, I believe she was both referring to both the congregation and me.)

Surprisingly, we actually ended up having a nice conversation about the pagan origins of the holiday.

Both friends, I should clarify, are “young adults” from church.

Anyway, at our church, we’ll be observing Good Friday, largely because my friends are putting it together a vespers service, but there’s no Easter service on Sunday. (I’m not sure what we’ll be doing on Sabbath, but a full-blown out Easter service seems a day premature.)

All this brings some questions to mind. What are the attitudes you encounter at your church towards Easter? Are they largely positive/negative/indifferent?

Does your local church celebrate Easter? If so, is the service actually on Sunday?

What will you be planning/participating in any Easter type programs/services? Do you have any ideas that others could use, especially ones that might be effective with young adults?

Past the point of no return?

I know, the title of the post is from an opera, but it aptly describes something I’ve been thinking about recently from a seminar at the summit. (I won’t name the seminar or the presenter as I don’t want to get him or her in trouble if I misrepresent the general point of the seminar.)

The point came up about the difficulties that many young adults face in worshiping/getting involved in “traditional” Adventist congregations; the speaker talked about his/her experiences of listening to complaints that young adults direct to him/her about their situation(s).

The speaker’s advice? Quite complaining. If you are in your 20-30’s and have a college degree you should spend your energy/education/experience in planting a new church. The general point was that traditional Adventist congregations won’t change to become young adult friendly institutions; they are set in their ways. If you’re a young adult, your energy is better spent in starting something new.

I want to be clear; the speaker was not advocating a mass exodus/revolt, but stated such an endeavor should take place with the blessings of the pastor of a particular congregation that the young adults is already attending and the conference.

Anyway, for some reason, this exchange has been on my mind the past few days.

What do you think? What challenges do you face as a young adult at your local church? Do you have positive or frustrating experiences? What do you like/wish would change? The music? The teaching? The programming? The people?

If you are a pastor, would you give your blessings to such an endeavor?

Are things really “past the point of no return” for most Adventist congregations when it comes to ministering to young adults?

The 18-35 demographic, supposedly, is the most coveted demographic for advertisers, business, and I would imagine, the local congregation. Is leaving and doing our own thing, for other’s in that same demographic, the best option for both us and the local church?

(I know I’ve asked a string of questions. I’d love to hear your thoughts on any one of them!)

Not yo’ mama’s church

Well, the 2008 NAD Youth/Young Adult Summit is now over and I’m flying home. I finally have a few moments to reflect about the weekend and jot down a few thoughts. This was my first time at a national Adventist youth/young adult summit so I didn’t know what to expect; I went with virtually no expectations. I’m happy to report that I was pleasantly surprised, refreshed, and inspired from a wonderful weekend with friends new and old.

Some highlights:

Encounters Café – On Friday night, I was able to spend a few hours catching up with friends in the café that had been set up. Although, some friends and I have talked about doing a café night at our own church, this is the first time I’ve personally experienced one. The vibe was perfect–friends gathered around lamp lit tables, singing along to worship music led by live musicians, and/or just enjoying conversations–an amazingly spiritual ambiance. I’m excited about the prospects of trying to help recreate such a setting at my local church.

Christ-centered/progressive preaching – I was able to catch one sermon over the weekend by Eddy Hypolite on Friday evening. He spoke on the summit’s theme of Jesus being “the truth, the life, and the way.” The truth, according to Hypolite, is not a system of doctrines, but a person. I thought he drove this point home effectively. However, the thing I was most surprised about, and will remember for a while, is one of the illustrations he used toward the end of his sermon. To illustrate the point of how we’re often willing to sacrifice ourselves for insignificant things, Hypolite shared a humorous personal experience of being drug behind a bus in London holding on to a box of fried chicken. In his hunger, he had run off a bus stuck in traffic, run into the local KFC, and clutching a box of chicken and biscuits, unsuccessfully attempted to jump back on the bus as it pulled away. Fortunately, he and the box of chicken survived; Hypolite humorously recounted eating the hard-earned chicken with shaking hands.

What’s so significant about this story? I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve heard an Adventist pastor referencing eating meat from the pulpit. Most Adventist pastor’s I know are either vegetarians, or “in the closet” about their carnivorous habits. It was refreshing to see a leader being authentic and open about a personal experience, and effectively defusing the taboo Adventist tend to place on this issue. He shared this story in front of a crowd of about 1500 hundred people—Adventist youth, young adults, lay leaders, pastors, etc. Times are changing.

Contemporary/professional worship music – I’m actually not the biggest fan of slick praise and worship services and am not to sure what I thought about the worship service on Friday night. I’m assuming it was similar to the other general sessions. The room was very darkly lit, there was PowerPoint slides with announcements/lyrics and a very talented band/singers led out in the music. What was distracting for me was the lights flashing around the ceilings and walls. This gave the general feeling of being at a concert of some sort as the lights shot out over the crowd and into our eyes. Don’t get me wrong, everything was very professionally and tastefully done. I, however, preferred the folk/acoustic worship at the café. Perhaps my age is showing!

Cultural relevance -I was surprised at the end of the service, Pastor James Black (the NAD Youth Director) got up and explained/defended the two films that would be shown over the weekend. One movie was on the plight of children in Africa. The other, to be shown on Saturday evening, was Freedom Writers staring Hilary Swank. Black explained that he thought about getting the sanitized version of the film (with no curse words), but then decided against this because it took away from the powerful and accurate depiction of youth in today’s culture. Wow, once again, surprise!

Along this line, two of seminars for young-adults/youth dealt with the issue of porn and sexuality. From I what I understand, both were well attended and led.

Interaction with Spirit-filled young adults and leaders – My favorite part(s) of the weekend was the time was not so much the programming, but the time I got to spend with old friends, and some of the young adult leaders. I saw old friends and got to meet many others for the first time. It’s exciting to see what God is doing all over North America! There are some great things happening on non-Adventist university campuses as well as with young adults. The highlight of the weekend for me was the consecration time the opened the young adults advisory meeting. Instead of a call to order, or reports of what different people were doing with there ministries, or diving into an agenda, the meeting started with a time of worship and prayer. We shared an extended time of confessing sins, singing/worshiping, and praying for the filling/working of God’s Spirit in our lives and ministries. There were moments where God’s presence was palpable in the room and I was overwhelmed with waves of emotions.

All in all, I’m glad to have had the opportunity to be a part of this weekend. Now, off to bed and to catch up on some sleep!