Social Media can help Youth Ministers!!!

Many months ago, as I began to hone my research for my PhD candidacy paper, I found the Lord working in and through me as I pondered what it means to live in a connected world and leave a lasting impression on the vocation of professional youth ministry. Several books, experiences, and virtual communities of practice have culminated into what I believe is the key to future youth ministry longevity and as controversial as this may sound, I don't think it involves face-to-face interaction. Now...hear me out.
The field of professional Youth Ministry is historically plagued with the stereotype of inexperienced, young, hipster types possessing good relational skills with adolescents that find themselves not being able to last very long in any one located ministry setting. While formal, academic training has made significant strides in the field to remedy this problem, long-term ongoing training and mentoring opportunities are where experiences get fleshed out and refined. Within these training and mentoring opportunities, one stands out as pivotal in its ability to influence the stereotype for the better. The recent phenomena of social media facilitates a connectedness and virtual community of practice that differs from most forms of “traditional” community creating new norms of culture, unlike any that youth ministers have ever experienced. Virtual "tribes" of professional cohorts now feed each other emotionally, spiritually, and professionally not through face-to-face interaction, but, rather through the new culture of 140 characters and emojis that retrace the boundaries of interaction. Fifty years ago, Marshall McLuhan rightly stated that the "medium is the message"...in other words, the ways in which we communicate and receive information has a profound impact on the way we think and interact with said information. Today, this holds true in the exponential ways in which the professional community of youth ministry shares resources, insight, encouragement, wisdom, pitfalls, failures, and laughter. 
If you find yourself not being able to afford any of the awesome conferences (NYWC, SYMC, or a host of others), I encourage you to troll Facebook for support groups, search Twitter for the #youthmin, #stumin, and any other youth ministry hashtag you can think of, and equip yourself for lasting the long haul in youth ministry!! You won't be disappointed.
 

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New Year!! Begginin o da en

The new year has started yet again and there are several things I ponder as a Youth Minister: First, as I am now a parent of an (almost) teenager (where did that time go), I wonder if what I say sinks in. Hopefully you can relate as you find yourself frustrated that your children *never* listen to you...then I remember the words of Jesus : "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:48. Now, the context of this is loving our enemies. While my son certainly is not my enemy, I can be in his mind. What I say to him, while unpopular to him, comes from a motivation of love that only a parent can understand. This is the perfection that we are to have...the same loving motivations as God. Second, on a more funny note. I have found a bible version on YouVersion that you must read...right now its the NT only but I would encourage you to give it a read if you can. Under the Languages section, search for Hawai`i Pidgin and give it a read. This is an ethnic Hawaiian language and someone took the time to translate the NT this way.

Enjoy...

lyle

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As a youth minister, I have seen many people argue that "kids these days" (how many generations have said this one) have no clue how to interact with one another, or society as a whole, anymore because they spend too much time on FaceTwitGram! I wrote a post in my (completely online) PhD class about the pitfalls of this thinking. What follows is that post along with APA references so if you read it, ignore the academic legalities. ;) I would be interested in hearing your thoughts...

lyle

There are many ways to connect with another through the use of technological advances that have only exploded in the last 20 years. Several of these connections have prompted a sense of relational “community” that mimics, in some way, the real relational connections that occur face to face. I would propose that these connections are not mimicry at all but, rather, are just as real, albeit different, as face to face forms of relational community.

Baym (2010) puts forth several points of similarity between the face to face “I-You encounter” (Meek, 2011, p.401) and the virtual sense of community that exists in a seemingly “other” world. To understand how this is possible, one must first examine the very nature of knowing and how reality plays into it. It should be noted that the very premise of incongruence permeating the sense of community on both sides of the technological divide is not a new notion. Baym (2010) points out that Socrates had some flavored words to say about the creation of a written alphabet, which is a “technology, because it depends upon the use of special tools such as a pen and paper or brushes and animal skins” (Hipps, 2006, p.48). She states thus: “The language and forms of evidence may have changed, but the concern that communication technologies make us dumber is as old as writing” (Baym, 2010, p.26). People throughout history have always been skeptical of new technologies that invite a way of knowing previously unexperienced.

The nature of knowing anything, then, is summed best by Meek (2011) as she states:

Knowing connects knower and known via a normative constituting, which in turn bespeaks a covenantal context. Covenant presupposes persons in relationship, a dynamically unfolding relationship whose goal is the mutuality of ongoing communion. (p. 403)

This connection then, is one that can be perpetuated as the knower and known have an encounter. In the mind of the knower, this encounter can be real as long as it has merit and significance regardless of medium. Thus, one can posit that knowing has certain qualities that have nothing to do with medium and yet, at the same time, the medium can be an inseparable part of the knowing. The fallacy occurs when one equates the medium with the whole of knowing rather than a tool to create new forms of it. 

Stemming from the rational stoic philosophers is the idea that there can only be one “right way” of knowing anything. Palmer (2011) states otherwise: “one of our problems in Western culture is that we see things in terms of ‘either/or’ rather than ‘both/and.’” Sometimes the ways of knowing anything can be stretched to include new forms while keeping the same qualities. Baym (2011) identifies these qualities and their impact on the ways that people know and interpret community. In speaking in terms of geographical space, for example, she notes that “most online groups are not so tied to geographical space, yet people who are involved in online groups often think of them as shared spaces” (p.75). The social capital that can be enhanced in these shared spaces brings people together in ways that no one has ever experienced before from all over the world due to the fluid nature of the Internet’s ability to bridge gaps between cultures and people groups. “Bridging capital is exchanged between people who differ from one another and do not share strong relationships. The Internet lends itself to and expands the potential for this kind of capital” (p.82). 

Medium, then, does not matter with regards to people’s ability to make connections. Thus, in this virtual world, the nature of relational epistemology as put forth by Meek (2010) is not harmed in any way so long as those who chose not to utilize the media of technology don’t make it an issue of fellowship for those who do.

I think we all can exist on both sides of the digital divide under the poignant words of Jesus: “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35, NASB).

Baym, N. K. (2010). Personal connections in the digital age. Cambridge, UK; Malden, MA: Polity.

Hipps, S. (2006). The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture: How Media Shapes Faith, the Gospel, and Church. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Meek, E. (2011). Loving to Know: Covenant Epistemology. Cascade Books, an imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers. [Kindle Edition]. 

New American Standard Bible. (1995). 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation. 

Palmer, P. (2011) Spiritual Journey. Online. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqzvfxzSCtg

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Brothers

As I sit here at almost 1 in the morning, looking ahead at an assignment, I am supposed to reflect upon significant events in my life. I am reminded tonight of the pain of losing my brother Clint Melton. Ok, so he wasn't really my brother but he was the closest thing that I ever had. We had a bond despite our differences that was deep...the many times playing billiards anytime I came into town, the meals we shared (lots of them), the funeral I performed...all of these memories flood through my head and I just miss my friend. I miss my brother. I also ponder what makes these connections so powerful and yet so elusive until more cannot be made. Then they finally REALLY connect. Why does it take an untimely death to create a sense of longing to see someone you deeply care about? Why do we take those connections for granted? I have been reading Hindsight: the promise and peril of looking backward by Mark Freeman for this class and I loved the quote "there is ample room in the human condition for honoring both the power of now and the power of hindsight." (get it here) No matter the reality you live in, you can always recall those connections and live them again, learn from them again, experience them again (albeit alone) and recognize the power they carry to affect change in your life. I chose to use the money his mom and dad gave me for doing the funeral (I did it for free but they insisted) to install a new Pioneer system in my truck. At first glance, that may seem selfish until you know how many systems we installed together; the time spent upside down in the floorboard of vehicles fiddling with wiring and connections sweating in the summertime heat and the satisfaction of listening to the rumble coming from the subs; the highs emanating from the tweets as we fired up Nate Dogg and Warren G (don't judge) for the first time after powering everything up. It seemed a fitting memorial. The dichotomy of lived experience and knowing I won't have them again is painful but I remember my brother every time I turn on my truck and the system kicks on. Here's to you Clint...miss ya bro.

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1.        What were the most significant cultural differences you noted between New Testament culture and your own culture? What surprised you most?

     Ways of communication make up culture. spoken and written,both poetic and literary forms of communication seem to be a lost appreciated artform in our culture. We must find the ways that connect best in these forms and improve upon them.

2.      As a result of the assignments, what did you learn most about yourself? How does what you learn relate or correlate with your experience?

    I have been humbled by the experience of being placed where I am. God has taught me much about where I am as a leader and where I need to go. Decisiveness is at the core of my improvement process. 

3.      How might you incorporate some of the concepts and ideas you learned this week into your organization, or into your community? I am definitely using my whiteboard more so I can have a visual for what my priorities are. 

4.      How will you think differently about good leadership from the readings and assignments this week?

     Mainly just reinforced what I already knew to be true but more cohesive. 

5.      Are there any barriers that you can think of that will prevent you from leading in a Christlike way?

    Time management is the biggest factor...finding times to get away and reflect. Time with my wife and boys needs to be more intentional.

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Wow...this weekend has been a whirlwind of events. I went to the Fireantz Hockey game with the scout troop. While walking down the stairs to my seat, the portable step with handrail attached slipped out from underneath me causing me to fall and hit my head on the railing below. It was some of the worst pain that I have ever experienced. Most people would cite the fall itself as a reminder of how precious life is. I however, was reminded that life is precious in a different way. Ubuntu. No, not the Linux OS company that you are thinking about, rather the meaning of the word. You see, from the moment I hit my head, people surrounded me trying to help in any way possible. My initial reaction was to tell them to back off; that I needed some space to myself. But they wouldn't...the staff at the Crown, the Dr. on staff for the Fireantz, the EMS and Firefighters that were at the game (only by coincidence I'm sure...not) all kept telling me I needed to go to the hospital and get a CT scan to make sure nothing else was wrong. So I went...as soon as I got there, Brendan Miller (goes to our church...another coincidence) "happened" upon me and took me back to his wing of the ER. He made sure I was taken care of. Andrea had called Tom (Sr. Minister and a dear friend) and he brought "the colonel" (my new nickname for Kevin Smith) and they took care of coming to the hospital and then bringing our van. The CT scan turned out normal with no abnormalities or brain bleeds. The Dr. said that I was "lucky" I hit right on my ear because the cartilage is what saved my head by taking the brunt of the impact. After going home from the hospital in pain and going to bed, there were lots of people who were working behind the scenes to take care of everything in preparation for Sunday morning. Saturday afternoon, Dean (another guy who goes to the church and is involved with scouts) stopped by and said his family was taking care of dinner that evening. My wife also informed me that everyone had already planned for me not to be at church the next morning.  I can't tell you how hard it was for me to stay home on Sunday! It was difficult for me to let others take care of everything...but I obviously needed to grow! God taught me the reality of what life should and could be about. We exist to not only give to others but allow others the opportunity to give to us when needed. I was also trying to get caught up with my school work as  I had missed the deadline for my assignment. One video that was on our watch list was from an organization called the Global Oneness Project entitled simply: Ubuntu. Watch it here.
The word has, at its core, the meaning of "I am because you are"; it carries with it the idea "it takes a village to raise a child" and "everyone for the good of everyone". Even as I write this, I am still fighting through a headache and a stiff neck but I can assure you that I am not "stiff-necked" today. I am thankful to the generosity of everyone so that I could heal. I am thankful to God that He placed you all in my life. It has made one word manifest in my very being...and please know this applies to you: UBUNTU!

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Wow...what leaders have inspired me and why. I am not sure I can post names of specific individuals here for I don't want to embarrass them. I do however, value their candor and resolve in how they deal with situations and make decisions. Lets just say that a few of them were in the same room with me today! I love being a part of something that is moving forward in a direction that God is leading. I have full confidence that the men in Leadership at FCC have a real heart for discipleship of those whom God has planted us in the midst of. Look out FCC...we are gonna grow! Are you on board with it?

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