Take My Hand

NYWC #2

I arrived in Charlotte, NC a couple of hours ago.  I had forgotten how tired travel makes me...even though it hasn't yet been a week since my last bout of traveling.

I had the chance to have coffee with Marko early this evening;  it was really nice to be able to sit down and chat for a while.  Although,  I felt like I kept contradicting myself in things I said.  It's hard for me to make sense conversationally after riding for 5 hours in a car with extremely loud music!  And, after we had gotten up I realized that while he had asked me questions, I hadn't asked him any.   Ah, well.  That's what hindsight and traveling does to ya.

I picked up an NYWC t-shirt that's pretty darn cool.  It's got a light bulb on it, and the cord for the light bulb connects the design on the front of the shirt to the back.  It's pretty awesome...

Right now, I'm planning on catching seminars led by Kenda Dean, Tony Jones, and Shane Claiborne.  We'll have to see how it all works out.

I'll leave you with this -- random I know but it gives me peace, and I hope it will do the same for you:

"All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well."                                     -- Julian of Norwich

NYWC #1

I've had James Taylor's 'Carolina In My Mind' stuck in my head for about three days now.  The difference today, though, is that I really am going to Carolina!

In about an hour I'll be hitting the road with Shari, Denise and Amanda Mae to travel to the National Youth Workers Convention (NYWC) in Charlotte, NC.

I plan to post throughout my 5 days there and let the blogging world know what all goes on...

Shalom.

A look at sexism. . .

This summer, at Emory's Youth Theological Initiative we discussed many things over the course of the month.  One of the issues that we spent a good while on was the issue of sexism in today's culture.

At first,  I honestly  didn't know what the big deal was about.  Sure, old men call me "sweetie" during church related business meetings and commercials and advertisements featuring women can be pretty raunchy.  But, I figured that that was the way it is and that it wasn't hurting anyone.

Well, after watching one of the "Killing Us Softly" documentaries featuring the role advertising plays in furthering sexism (produced by Jean Kilbourne) I began to understand what an important and real issue sexism is in today's culture and in my own life.   The video that we watched at YTI was entitled "Still Killing Us Softly" and was filmed in 1987.  Unfortunately that one wasn't on Youtube.com so I had to go with the newer, "Killing Us Softly III". Take a look:

After coming home from my month with YTI I couldn't turn on the T.V. without cringing for more than a month!

I honestly don't think sexism is something young people really think about too often.  It's one of those "isms" that have fallen by the wayside;  we don't think it's an issue anymore.  And, I have to wonder why that is?

Sexism was never discussed during school like racism was and is.  Sure, you cover the suffragists and voting rights, but all of that is in the context of  "back in the day".  I honestly can say  that I have never heard the word "sexism" spoken in a classroom.  Since sexism is never mentioned young people assume that it can't be an issue in today's world.

In thinking about sexism this summer I came to a very very startling realization in regards to sexism in the Church (at least it was a startling realization to me):  I don't personally know any woman who is the senior pastor of a church.  I know of  2 women who are senior pastors, but I have never met them.  When I compared that with the amount of senior pastors whom I personally know who are men the difference was shocking to me.

I think one of the main things that shocked me (and scared me)  -- beyond not personally knowing any women who are senior pastors -- was the fact that I had never even noticed sexism as somthing that exists in today's world until then. Sexism -- like in school -- is not discussed (in my experience)  in church. . .

Why is that?

Have you ever thought about it?

November

I thought I'd just post to say how excited I am about this month.  That probably has something to do with the fact that I'll be in school for about half of what I would be during a normal month in the school year!

This Friday morning I'm traveling to Florida for the UMC's Exploration 2006 event.  The week of Thanksgiving I will be out of town from Wednesday until Saturday.  And then, on the 30th through December 4th I'll be at the National Youth Worker's Convention in Charlotte.

Needless to say, I'm quite excited about this month and the beginning of December!

I'm planning on blogging the NYWC definitely, and I could possibly blog Exploration.  We'll have to see...

To add to the randomness of this post, I just have to share the lyrics of a song I came across yesterday and loved. The band is named Wilco :

Theologians

Theologians
They don't know nothing
About my soul
About my soul

I'm an ocean
An abyss in motion
Slow motion
Slow motion

Inlitterati lumen fidei
God is with us everyday
That illiterate light
Is with us every night

Theologians
That don't know nothing
About my soul
Oh they don't know

They thin my heart with little things
And my life with change
Oh in so many ways
I find more missing every day

Theologians

I'm going away
Where you will look for me
Where I'm going you cannot come

No one's ever gonna take my life from me
I lay it down
A ghost is born
A ghost is born
A ghost is born

I'm an ocean
I'm all emotion
I'm a cherry ghost
Cherry ghost

Hey I'm a cherry ghost
A cherry ghost

May I Just Say

I posted around a month ago about how the 'State of the Church' survey asked what age group the survey taker fell into, and how there wasn't even a category for those members of the Church who are under the age of 18.  (Fortunately, after my post, the good Connectional Table folks updated and corrected their survey. )

Well, the first phase of the survey has been completed and the data is being analyzed. . .

One of the major findings that the Connectional Table has published from the survey is this: "All those polled agreed it is important to make the church relevant to young people, and many said young people relate better to young pastors."

May I just say, that I have to wonder how many young people actually participated in the survey, considering it is young people who are being discussed?  I wonder how many young people said they can relate better to young pastors?  And I wonder of those young people who can 'relate better to young pastors', how much of that is really true and how much of that is what the church has taught them to assume?

Personally, I don't think age has all too much to do with being a good pastor,  any good pastor is relateable.

I think that many times we get caught up in the "youth pastors must be 20-something year old men, who sport goatees, wear rock t-shirts, and walk around with guitars strapped to their backs " idea of a youth pastor.  Older pastors -- and may I just include elderly pastors -- can just as effectively minister and relate to young people as the 20-something year-old can.  Sometimes, the search for the "right" person to relate to young people leads us right past the perfect older person who has been there all along.

Though, don't get me wrong, I am not at all saying that we don't need young pastors.  Quite the contrary! In the United Methodist Church, young (under the age of 35) Elders as a percentage of all Elders dropped from 15.05% in 1985 to only 4.69% in 2005.  And that's scary.

And since I'm on the subject of statistics, may I also just say that it is terribly depressing/shocking/scary/sad that only 4.6% of the United Methodist Church's members are under the age of 18? And may I just say that I knew that our Church was an old one -- with an average age of 57 -- but I didn't realize that the situations was this dire?

Often times I get caught up in statistics, and things of the sort;  things that are not concrete, if you will.  And so, I have to bring myself back from an almost indignant ( I apologize) state of mind.  With that return to "reality", I find myself asking these questions :

1) What can we do about a statistically -- and literally -- dying Church?

2) What can I do to be a faithful agent of change for the Church?

3) What can we do about assumptions regarding ministry with young people that may not be true?

4) What is there  to do?

5) How can I get past merely writing words and feeling emotion and step into grace-full action?

I would love to hear some of you reader's thoughts. . .