UMC Young Adult Summit conference and The Waters parties planning meeting.....

Each day that passes is another step closer to watching God unfold the vision of The Waters making this ministry a reality! It is such a privilege to be a part of the Florence UMC and watching the members of that tribe come alive and catch the flood of passion that I and others have for working with God to see The Waters become a reality...and unleashing the movement that Christianity was meant to be! I thought I would share a few of the insights I gained from the first ever Young Adult Summit of the entire UM Church in Nashville that I just got back from on Saturday. Then I will share a little from the parties planning meeting that was held on Sunday....

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This summit was put on by the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church. That is a big list of words that just means that they tried to have at least three people from every conference in the US represented at this summit to discuss and learn how to better do/be ministry to young adults. And I am one of those "Young Adults" so I though that I might have something to say and so did the KY conference director of Y.A.'s too since he invited me to come it was a privilege to represent the conference I serve in and lots of fun to meet and see how other conferences ad churches were ministering to YAs across the nation! Here are a few of the things that I really got out of the conference....(but I must admit w/o being cocky, I sometimes found myself teaching at it more than learning from it..but that was part of why we came together is to learn from each other) So here are a few insights I got from the conference:

• The Wesley Project rocks! The Wesley Project is one that several people a part of Emerge are using the words of Charles and John Wesley's hymns and giving them new life with new music. It was wonderful...and much better than the recordings on the web...but they give you a good look into what they are doing.
• Post-Modern Worship can be a little weird...and a little bit fun..and a little bit deep...but all still good and can be extremely meaningful to several different people!
• Young Adult Ministry must not be broken down into age categories..but in life transitions: 1. Graduate from High School, 2. Graduate from College, 3. Enter into the working world, 4. Marriage, 5. Children.
• Here are a few things that the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the UMC have learned about ministering to YAs:

1. YA ministry is not about having a meeting, planning events, or being trained to serve on a church committee.
2. YA ministry is about engaging the culture of YA life. The church must be willing to tackle the hard questions, the tough issues and the real world matters.
3. YA ministry is contextual. It is a ministry that is born out of the needs and lie of the YAs in question.
4. YA ministry is a ministry of God going into the neighborhood and meeting YAs where they are and help them to discover who God wants them to be.
5. YA ministry is a ministry of trail and error. Some things work and some things don't.
6. YA ministry is a holistic ministry that operates better in a church that is holistically healthy.
7. YA ministry is a ministry that must change about evey 2 years as new young adults emerge.
8. YA ministry is a tool that can help the entire church be relevant.
9. YAs often feel that they are not taken seriously or appreciated.
10. YAs can teach a congregation by example to overcome church conflict.

(isn't it funny how everyone of those statements could and should be speaking about ministry of any church to all people not only young adults? These are what The Waters is attempting to be with the help of God!)

• YAs are a generation that desires customization..and personalization
• 3 Myths of YA ministry: 1. YAs leave the church after High School and then come back to the same church they left in their 30's, 2. To minister to the YAs you must have a budget and staff to reach them, 3. Your church needs t develop a contemporary worship service to get them to come! (man this is one of my most disliked myths, heh)
• The needs of YAs are:

1. A Place that is Authentic: they want more than saying that an experience is real, they desire TRUE reflection of self and that that is a welcomed aspect to be in community. That authenticty is so much more deep than numbers to show case to adults the "health" of a church. When did we ever come up with the fact that having large numbers meant that we were a healthy church? Do we care if those attending are truly having life transformation from the presence of Christ in their lives and in their community? How do we judge effectiveness by how well the people in the church are growing into deeper disciples and are (with God) making disciple-making disciples?
   
2. A Place that is Relevant and reflects the culture around them: They have not compartmentalized their lives. Barriers do not exist...so God, work, family, etc...is all one part of a sing life lived...not different areas in their lives...God is seen in their family life, and work, and passions, and recreation, etc...
3. A Place for wrestling: They desire to have a safe and non-judgmental space for allowing them to wrestle with meaning and application and growth! They do not desire to have spiritual truths and neatly packaged Biblical answers shoved in their mouths. They are not looking to be told the answers...they need and desire to find them on their own...or in community...but that the community is wrestling together...not one person giving the answers.

• A Parents faith is no longer enough to allow them to hold on to their own faith..they need to wrestle with it.
• We must never under estimate the power and effectiveness of stories. The Biblical Narrative and our own personal stories...and this will help bridge the gap of generations...because stories are universal...but they must be shared in a supportive community...and the presentation is key.
• Questions about God and the bible are OK and should be encouraged! God can be found in them!
• So in summary Churches who desire to reach YAs must:
  

Create spaces where YAs feel comfortable in pushing the envelope, asking hard questions, and seeking God as an Authentic and relevant part of their lives and life stories!

The Summit was very good considering that I went to it thinking that I was not going to focus The Waters on Young Adults, but that the Young Adults would be reach through this ministry and I found out that this ministry will be perfect for Young Adults as well as anyone else who might not fit the age group for "young adults". heh...

it was also during this conference that I (and probably more likely God) challenged me/myself to understood just want I meant what I said this statement, "I desire for The Waters to become a movement of Christianity, that eventually it would be the one creating culture and this culture would be Christ centered." I then took that to the ultimate extreme and thought to myself,

"Wait a second we must be in the world and not of it!, Can (and would it even be a good thing) for the church to be the culture creator? Would that be going back to the problems that a forced Christian culture has caused in the past? I love the culture in this world...ask anyone I can't get enough of it! If the church was the creator of the culture would it look like one big huge commune? Even a movement needs to move! But does it need to move into? Over to? Out of? etc..."

Yeah it is scary in their that crazy mind of mine...but all that thinking came to this...I think it would be better to say that we desire for The Waters to be not creating the culture that we live in...but to transform it...or recreate it into the image (i.e. grace, fun, creative, forgiveness, loving, etc...) of Christ! A movement of transformation of lives, culture, and the very world we live in. (and I realize that will probably take more than a week or two..but it sure will be fun!!! heh heh....

(please understand these are not exact quotes...I have elaborated to them as I added into them mostly my own thoughts and insights.)
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The Waters Party Planning Meeting

We had a planning meeting @ FUMC last night and it was a huge success! we had a great turn out and I was very please at the support and general acceptance of what our first thoughts of The Waters can start to be. I ca never remember what I have shared here on the blog and what I have not...but we desire t throw parties in homes so that we can start to grow into deeper relationships with those that we love and care about that might enjoy true community and friendship, and eventually possibly be willing to join a weekly group that talks about the Bible and the community they have found themselves in. So we thought a great way for people to get to know each other and to start to form deeper relationships and a community is for us to throw parties to start the development of relationships with co-workers, family, friends, etc...that might not go to church or have a supportive community. So this meeting was to share once again the purpose of The Waters and to share the excitement of what we are "being", and to allow people to show their support by choosing to serve in several different ways at these parties, and to join together in coming up with ideas for themes for the parties and general ways that would be help in inviting others to come to the parties and to start to develop the friendships and community that we eventually desire to build.

We found a ton of support from everyone that attended the meetings and a good wide rage of support for each area that we needed servants to help with! It was a huge blessing, and I believe that hopefully they left the meeting more blessed and excited about The Waters and God's moving us into being the church to those who need God and community!

A special thank you for all of those who attended the planning meeting and we will be in touch will all of them as we compile the information and start the development to the parties of the course of the next few months.

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Well, I continue to make friendships with those who live in Cinci, and Northern KY who are interested and willing to be a supportive structure for The Waters and I will keep those meetings up and going through this week with one on Thursday and another one on Friday night!

Other than this I am trying to finish my ordination process questions, bible study, and sermon to send back to the New Mexico Annual Conference so that hopefully I can become an Ordained Elder in full connection in May/June of '06.... So needless to say everyone please KUTPs for The Waters and everyone involved, heh.....

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"Albus Dumbledore: Dark and difficult times lie ahead, Harry. Soon we must all face the choice between what is right... and what is easy"
--Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire