What do worldviews and presuppositions have to do with urban youth ministry? More than you think ...

Why "Building Cathedrals?"

We are often judged by where we’ve come from. Jesus experienced this. To Nathanael, Philip’s announcement that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah (John 1:45f) was met with skepticism: “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nazareth was deemed an “utterly insignificant” village. It was not mentioned in the Old Testament or any other writings at the time. It was a small, obscure hamlet in Galilee with less than 500 inhabitants. As one of the poorest, morally deficient villages in Galilee, Nathanael could not imagine anything or anyone of substance coming from Nazareth. This is why Philip gave the only response he could: “Come and see.” Nazareth Today Visit any region in the world, and you will find a “Nazareth.” While studying in Vienna, I noticed the stigma Austrians attached to immigrants from neighboring Yugoslavia. I grew up thinking the city of Buffalo was New York’s answer to Batman’s “Gotham City.” I’m sure the hamlet I grew up in, North Bellport, was a kind of Nazareth in the minds of many Long Islanders. Underclass communities bear this stigma, which means its residents are often stained and defined by it. Nathanael’s question pointed to but one answer: “ No, nothing good can come from Nazareth!” Creation Paradigm Christians must not be blinded or swayed by stigmas. We operate out of a different paradigm. Transformational youth leaders focus on the youth themselves and the realities of creation: Because God created mankind in His image (that is, a blend of God-given attributes unique to every person) and has so designed human development that during adolescence the most pressing need is identity discovery, the central task of the youth leader is the animation (bringing to life) of adolescent leadership capacity, so that youth can discover who they are in Christ. This paradigm allows leaders serving stigmatized communities to focus on young people as “cathedrals in the making,” or emerging leaders. Self-discovery and servant leadership go hand-in-hand, for leadership involves the giving of oneself for the betterment of self and others. Because leaders are helping youth discover for the first time their leadership capacity, they must come to grips with an important question: Where does leadership begin? The Mind When the prophet Samuel set out among Jesse’s sons to find God’s choice for a new king, he did not get it right until he found David. Why? He was looking in the wrong place. But the LORD said to Samuel, “The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” I Samuel 16:7 Where did David’s leadership begin? Was it as a shepherd? Shepherding certainly was the means through which his leadership became evident. But God’s words to Samuel indicate his leadership actually began with his heart. The heart is a metaphor for more than emotions. It denotes one’s will, convictions, values and sense of purpose. Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23 Evangelist Tom Skinner used to say, “It’s not “since Jesus came into my heart,” but “since Jesus came into my mind .” Preacher Haddon Robinson once said, “In any given situation, who you are (in your heart, mind) determines what you see, and what you see determines what you do (leadership).” In his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, leadership guru Steven Covey adds this insight: “Begin with the end in mind” (Habit 2) is based on the principle that all things are created twice . There’s a mental or first creation, and a physical or second creation, to all things. So where does leadership begin? In the mind. It begins in the heart; that is, in our will, our convictions, our values, our sense of purpose. Leadership requires allowing Jesus’ entry into young people’s minds.  Back to the Future Youth Leader: “We’re going to have a ton of fun in club this year! We have exciting camps and outings planned. We’ll have lots of food and great activities. There’s just one requirement. There will come a time in every club meeting when we will ask you to think. Don’t worry, we won’t hurt you, and it won’t last long. But when that time comes, we ask that you fully engage …” A seemingly insignificant requirement, yet it forges in youth the first step toward identity and leadership discovery: the ability to think. In C. S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters, senior devil Screwtape advises Wormwood against opening the door to thinking: Jargon, not argument, is your best ally in keeping him from the Church … By the very act of arguing, you awake the patient’s reason; and once it is awake, who can foresee the result? Screwtape is lying; he knows the result. “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8:31f) .” When youth leaders are equipped to give honest answers to honest questions, God’s ideas win. They lead youth toward discovering the truth about God, themselves and their purpose in life. This is where leadership begins. Ted

“When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Psalm 11:3 Remember the movie White Squall? It tells the story of the brigantine Albatross, which was capsized by what mariners call a white squall: a violent “perfect” storm that can appear without warning and is almost impossible to survive. Does anyone else feel like the current political, economic, cultural and health climate of our nation has somehow merged into a perfect storm? It feels as if the foundations of life, as we’ve known them, are being ripped out from under us. Indeed, the cry of the psalmist has become our own: “When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Psalm 11:3 ************************************ Years ago, an incident took place in Neighborhood Ministries that did not evoke the level of outrage being expressed today, but still had a profound effect on us. Each summer our Summer Enrichment Day Camp leadership team (the high school emerging leaders) would go on a week-long mission’s trip. One summer we traveled to Honduras, where we worked with children and helped church members build a house for one of their families. One evening, during our daily debrief, Raquel revealed something deeply disturbing. While working on the house, she overheard the Hondurans talking negatively about black people. They assumed we did not understand what they were saying. And they were right, except for Raquel. Bi-racial and raised in a Hispanic family, Raquel understood every word. “‘Backward … lazy … inferior …’ They’re saying terrible things about black people,” Raquel exclaimed. We were shocked. We knew about racism in America. But here? In Honduras? What followed was a discussion unlike any that one might expect in a typical youth meeting. We wrestled with hard questions: What are we to think of such thoughts veiled behind a Christian façade? Where do these feelings come from? Where is God in all of this? How should we respond? ************************************ That experience taught us some valuable lessons: 1. God knows. Notice the psalmist’s next line: "When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?" The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD is on his heavenly throne ... Psalm 11:3-4 I remember when gentrification (massive displacement of the poor) disrupted my community. I was confused and angry. But anxiety turned toward hope when I realized: Something greater was here. The change I was experiencing was part of a much greater shift, a global migration. The phenomenon of gentrification was uprooting poor communities throughout the United States and the Western world. I was not alone. Others were experiencing the same upheaval, asking hard questions. God knows. God is behind the great migrations of the world. He is never caught by surprise; he is never out of control. And he will make things right. Knowing that God knows changes things. Knowing God is in control gives us the courage to take a step back, examine our circumstances, and discern how to respond. 2. Get serious. Life is too hard, too precious, to not give youth honest answers to honest questions. In Transformational Discipleship we call this “Bringing Jesus to the point of felt need.” First the leader identifies youth’s burden/felt need. Then s/he searches the scriptures, asking: “Lord, what is your response? What is the central truth that addresses this burden/felt need?” Finally, after open and honest dialogue, the leader can say: “I hear your perspective … here is God’s perspective … now choose.” In difficult times, when youth have serious questions, the leader must know and study God well enough to give a clear, thoughtful and serious response. 3. Define faithfulness. Things happen that lie outside our control. But there is one thing we do control in every circumstance: our response. Remember Habakkuk? He had a crisis to contend with (the Babylonian invasion) and had a serious talk with God about it (read his letter). After wrestling with God, he realized: “… the righteous person shall live by his faithfulness (Habakkuk 2:4).” Then Habakkuk took the next important step. He defined faithfulness and acted on it (Habakkuk 2:2; 3:18-19).  What about us? Our “squall” may be different from Habakkuk’s, but our response should mirror his: know that God knows, seek answers to serious questions, and act out of faithfulness.

Lessons from Mathare, one of Nairobi's largest slums