EVERY A YOUTH PASTOR:

AWAKENING THE CALL TO MINISTRY WITH THE FIRST THIRD

AMONG ALL THE ORDAINED

by

JESSICA LILLIAN HARRIS DAUM

A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of

Luther Seminary

In Partial Fulfillment of

The Requirements for the M.Div Concentration of

Children Youth and Family

THESIS ADVISERS: TERRI ELTON AND NANCY GOING

ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA

2012

This thesis may be duplicated only by special permission of the author.

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Recently I found myself in conversation with a fellow seminary student. As I chatted with this student in the Masters of Divinity program, the subject turned to my concentration in the Children Youth and Family Ministry program. My friend and future colleague in ordained ministry asked me why I had chosen to be involved in the and what attracted me to working with young people. I shared a bit of what has called me into ministry and how I‟ve grown because of my concentration in the area of

Children, Youth, and Family. My friend just smiled, shook his head, and said, “Well, I sure am glad that you feel called to youth ministry. Kids and teenagers are not my thing, but I guess someone has to work with them. Thankfully people like you are doing youth ministry so that I won‟t have to.”

Sadly this wasn‟t the first time I‟ve found myself in this sort of conversation. All too often I hear my fellow seminarians who are preparing for ordained ministry remark that they do not see ministry among young people as a part of their particular calling.

These future are called to serve in a congregational setting, and I would guess that many of them would hope to one day become the senior leader of a congregation. In fact, of those who will graduate this spring from Luther Seminary, a large number will become solo pastors and primary leaders of a congregation from the start. To think that any of these graduates will enter their office as ministers of Word and Sacrament without an understanding of the integral role of children, youth, and families within the Body of

Christ is a scary thought. In light of recent research highlighting the importance of the primary pastoral leader in building a rich and vibrant ministry with young people, it is time to awaken the call in all ordained leaders to care for and attend to the formation of Christians of all ages. Ordained in the Lutheran church are entrusted with the

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Sacrament of Baptism through which children are made members in the Church.

Beginning with baptism, pastors play a role in influencing the life of faith of young people. All pastors are in essence youth pastors, and every pastor ought to be prepared for ministry with those in the first third of life.

Still, many senior pastors resonate with the sentiment that my friend expressed:

“Youth ministry is not for me, and I‟m relieved that others are taking on the task of working with young people so that I can focus on ministry with adults.” Youth ministry truly is hard work. Youth can be difficult to understand, hard to deal with, and even intimidating. It seems most pastors believe that this work is something best left to youth ministry professionals. Too many pastors do not realize the impact that they have on faith formation within a congregation. The presence and support of a senior pastor has tremendous implications for the ways in which ministry with those in the first third of life will be carried out. Pastors shape youth and family ministry in congregations whether they do so intentionally or not.

An Ecclesiastical Crisis

Fifteen years ago, at the 1997 Princeton Lectures on Youth, Church, and Culture,

Roland Martinson highlighted the challenge facing congregations concerned for the future of young people in the church. It is a challenge put forth by youth who cry out for a church that matters and will affirm that they matter, a cry we still hear today. “Our churches know they must act. After three decades and nearly two generations of generally declining membership, congregations see a wake-up call in the faces of the youngest

4 among us who say, „We find churches to be unengaging, strange, foreign, in fact, trivial, speaking about that which does not matter to us in a language we don‟t understand.‟”1

At the same conference Mary Elizabeth Mullino Moore echoed the call, urging churches to respond to the hunger in youth. She proclaimed, “I am convinced that in what has been called post-Christian America...young people are hungry for something to believe in that gives meaning and purpose to their lives and is worth committing themselves to. And I am convinced that while they may not go to church in the first place to satisfy that hunger, they will not stay in the church unless we truthfully, honestly, and clearly introduce them to the God who can and will satisfy it.”2 The fear that the church may miss the opportunity to recenter itself around young people and thus capture a generation is still felt today. She expressed the anxiety and urgency present then and now saying, “I am convinced that unless we equip youth leaders and ministers, as well as theologians, with the resources to help young people with their struggle, we will lose them. They will turn in desperation to others who will be glad to give them all kinds of very questionable „right answers.‟ Or they will just drop out, like millions of others in our increasingly secular society, to live without faith in anyone or anything.”3

A Deeper Yearning

It is understandable to be afraid that if congregations, guided by their pastors as well as lay leaders, do not rise to the challenge of engaging young people, the future of the church may be at risk. As people of faith, though, we engage in ministry knowing that the present and the future of the church are within the hands of our faithful God.

1 Roland Martinson, “Getting to All God‟s Kids,” in The 1997 Princeton Lectures on Youth, Church, and Culture (Princeton: Princeton Theological Seminary, 1998), 27. 2 Shirley C. Guthrie, “Something to Believe In,” in The 1997 Princeton Lectures on Youth, Church, and Culture (Princeton: Princeton Theological Seminary, 1998), 3. 3 Ibid., 7.

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Something more than fear and anxiety over decreasing membership must drive our desire to incorporate youth in the whole life of the faithful, the movement of the Body of Christ.

In her poignant and inspiring book, Practicing Passion: Youth and the Quest for a

Passionate Church, Kenda Creasy Dean reaches deeper into the mission of the church, the identity of God‟s self, and the yearning of young people in order to discover the heart of what impels us to take on the challenge of ministry with those in the first third of life.

Youth ministry--ministry by, with, and for people between the onset of puberty and the enduring commitments of adulthood--cannot be reduced to keeping or capturing young people in the pews. Adolescents are searching for something, for someone, „to die for,‟ to use Erik Erikson‟s haunting phrase: a cause worthy of their suffering, a love worthy of a lifetime and not just a Sunday night. Teenagers will not settle for a God who asks for anything less.4

She goes on, giving voice to the plea issued from the soul of youth, “Please, please tell me it‟s true. True love is always worth dying for. Please tell me I‟m worth dying for.

Please tell me someone loves me this much and won‟t let me go, even if the Titanic sinks, even if the library explodes, even if the towers fall, even if the world ends. Please show me a God who loves me this much--and who is worth loving passionately in return.

Because if Jesus isn‟t worth dying for, then he‟s not worth living for, either.”5

Isn‟t this the same yearning motivating all who answer the call to Christian vocation, the call to life within the living, breathing, broken and resurrected Body of

Christ? Is this not the same cry that draws individuals to a life of ministry of Word and

Sacrament under the blessing of ? This is the passion that ignites faith through the Holy Spirit in God‟s children, regardless of age. It is a cry that is felt most urgently and passionately in the lives of adolescents who live too close to the edge of life where

4 Kenda Creasy Dean, Practicing Passion: Youth and the Quest for a Passionate Church (Cambridge: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 2004), 2. 5 Ibid., 32.

6 possibility meets nothingness and sense the anxiety to be or become something is an ultimate concern. Although adults have developed mechanisms of defense and distraction to ward off fear and increase certainty, no one outgrows the desire to have the truth proclaimed again, to be reassured of God‟s love and Christ‟s passion and reminded of the length to which our creator has gone to redeem us.

In light of the pastor‟s call to proclaim and baptize and feed, Dean raises a haunting question: “Is it possible that the „problem‟ facing youth ministry reflects all too accurately a malaise infecting mainline denominations generally: a flabby theological identity due to an absence of passion?”6 If this is so, then it is not the job of specialized youth ministers to shape vibrant faith formation in congregations, but the job of all ministers, all the baptized, led and supported by ordained leaders to reshape the theological imagination of the church and realign it for ministry with youth.

Ministry with those in the first third of life has the potential to become the heartbeat of a vibrant congregation, and passing on the faith to the next generation is central to the mission of the Church. Why is it then that so many pastors shiver at the thought of engaging in “youth ministry”? It is understandable that ordained ministers often refrain from taking on leadership in ministry with those in the first third of life.

Many factors contribute to the justifiable tendency to entrust youth ministry to others.

Unavailable?

First of all, pastors are busy. Time is a limited resource, and pastors have a heightened awareness of its scarcity. There is a myriad of expectations that are held by members of a congregation in regard to how a pastor ought to spend her time. Dr. Roland

6 Dean, Passion, 25.

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Martinson outlines these pastoral expectations as he has experienced and observed them in congregations.

Pastors are to be visionaries expanding the consciousness of their people and opening their horizons to scenarios of the future. They are to be entrepreneurs able to marshall and manage the dynamics and resources necessary to bring a congregation‟s, a judicatory‟s, or a denomination‟s goals to fruition. As such they must be assertive, taking risks to move with that which captures the imagination of constantly barraged consciousness of a culture expecting to be entertained. Pastors must be experts, in theology, of course, but more so in management by objective, team building, organizational development, computers, fundraising, leadership training, and desktop publishing. In a world of instant and mass communication pastors need to project a strong, positive image so that symbol- bearing, whether in worship as presider or on a task force as convener, becomes a studied art. As symbol-bearer one combines the proper mix of the hospitable, personal touch with the appropriate distance associated with authority and larger purpose. In order to fit all of this into the days and years of ministry pastors must become proficient managers. Time is to be managed to the minute; stress so that it remains creative; people for maximum participation within minimum time frames; and within all the rest one must manage one‟s own career.7

It‟s easy to imagine how this dizzying array of roles and responsibilities could quickly fill up a calendar and keep a Blackberry buzzing with alerts through the day and night. With all of these expectations layered upon one another, it is easy for a pastor to become overcommitted, overworked, and overwhelmed. For many, adding the responsibilities of leading a youth ministry program to their already crowded schedule would be the last straw. In order to see that it gets the attention needed and is the first priority on someone‟s schedule, youth ministry is often subcontracted to other professionals who specialize in the area and are able to focus on its particular demands.

Underequipped?

Another likely reason that many pastors do not see themselves as youth and family ministers is the general trend of the professionalization and specialization of

7 Roland Martinson, “The Pastoral Ministry,” in Called & Ordained: Lutheran Perspectives on the Office of the Ministry, ed. Todd Nichol and Marc Kolden (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990), 185.

8 church work. Ordained ministers are the original church professionals. Since the beginning of the history of American Lutheranism, clergy have been expected to undergo special preparation for ministry including seminary and candidacy, a system of evaluation and discernment. In recent decades, this professionalization of ministry has grown to include worship and music leadership, Christian , volunteer coordination, youth and family ministry, and almost every other aspect of congregational life. Ministry has come to be seen as something best left to professionals, and church staffs have taken on many of the responsibilities of community life traditionally attended to by volunteers.

Along with this professionalization of church work has come specialization.

Seminaries offer masters programs such as social work and theology, marriage and family therapy, aging and health, church administration, sacred music, and of course children, youth, and family ministry. At Luther Seminary, Masters of Divinity students who are preparing for ordained ministry can choose to concentrate their studies in

Children, Youth, and Family Ministry, Congregational Mission and Leadership, or another area of their choosing. These programs are evidence of the sense of specialization that is present in church leadership. It is true that taking part in a specialized program can help to build important tools for youth ministry including knowledge of development theory, an understanding of the history of youth ministry, experience in practical theology, and a consciousness of youth culture. However, specialization has created a reality in which pastors who have not taken part in a program of special preparation for ministry with those in the first third of life might see themselves as unqualified or unequipped to engage in leadership of this area.

Uninvited?

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Finally, pastors may not take an active role in shaping youth ministry in their congregations because they simply are not aware of the potential impact of their leadership. Many pastors have not been exposed to the theological turn in youth ministry that has taken place in recent years. The youth ministry that they have experienced has most likely not been integrated into the full ministry of a congregation or viewed as an arena in which serious theological reflection takes place. The models and structures of congregational youth ministry are often inherited by pastors in senior leadership positions. If the congregation they serve operates with youth ministry as a silo, then the vision of the senior leader in many cases will not extend to include the young people of their congregation who are perhaps out of sight and out of mind. These pastors may not mean to intentionally subjugate youth and those who serve them to a ghetto within the church. They may in fact believe that a separate program, even a separate room or building, is exactly what benefits youth and is what young people and youth ministry professionals desire. Perhaps these ordained leaders have not shirked a responsibility to integrate youth ministry into the whole of a congregation, but have actually never been invited to join in the mission of vision-casting for ministry with young people.

For those pastors who are willing to sacrifice an investment of time, who are willing to risk feeling under-equipped, who have been waiting to be called into the challenge and joy of shaping vibrant ministry by, with, and for those in the first third of life, this is your invitation.

The Survey Says...Pastors Matter!

The Exemplary Youth Ministry study (EYM) has recast a vision for what it means to engage in ministry with those in the first third of life in ways that produce vibrant faith

10 in young people and in their congregations. One of the key findings of this study is that

“Pastors matter immensely in effective youth ministry!”8 The congregation whose senior pastor offers support and presence for ministry with those in the first third of life is more likely to “consistently develop youth of vital, maturing Christian faith.”9 In fact, EYM identified forty-four assets that are present in various combinations within congregations that are effectively forming vital Christian faith in young people. These assets are located in four areas: the congregation as a whole, the youth ministry in particular, families and households, and the congregational leadership. Of these forty-four assets, four pertain directly and particularly to the leadership of the pastor. A glance at the four pastoral leadership assets will help to flesh out more clearly how pastors matter in ministry with young people.

The first asset attributed to the pastor of a congregation is Spiritual Influence.

This asset is present when “the pastor knows and models the transforming presence of

God in life and ministry.”10 This asset is grounded in nothing more than the concept of leadership by example. Young people are saying that the way their pastor conducts his or her self and demonstrates that faith is central to her life has an impact on the degree to which they will engage active faith in their own lives. It is particularly interesting to note that this asset of exemplary youth ministry adds virtually nothing to the agenda of a pastor that they should not already be doing. That is to say, this asset is not an additional task that a pastor must take on in order to influence youth and support a vibrant ministry of faith formation in a congregation. Any pastor, whether the word “youth” is in the title

8 Roland Martinson, Wes Black and John Roberto, The Spirit and Culture of Youth Ministry: Leading Congregations toward Exemplary Youth Ministry (St. Paul: EYM Publishing, 2010), 206. 9 Ibid., 26. 10 Ibid., 206.

11 of their position or not, ought to be actively engaged in faith practices, articulating what they believe, and striving to live out a public ministry that is an expression of authentic faith. EYM authenticates the suspicion that youth notice and are influenced by a pastor‟s authenticity or lack thereof.

The second asset related to pastoral leadership is Interpersonal Competence. A pastor with perceived Interpersonal Competence “builds a sense of community and relates well with adults and youth.”11 Some of the components of what adult leaders, youth, parents, and other staff considered to be Interpersonal Competence included being a good speaker who is easy to understand, being a good listener who is easy to talk to, being supportive and inspiring, with an ability to relate well to members, and possessing skills for building a sense of congregational family. The study notes that pastors who contribute this asset to their congregation show a “genuine interest in people, especially young people, and possess the capacity to make „heart to heart‟ connections with people of all ages.”12 This doesn‟t mean that a pastor must listen to pop music, or understand text messaging slang, although those things can be helpful in building relationships. What it does mean is that a pastor must possess a genuine interest in young people as beloved

Children of God.

The third and fourth assets related to the pastor directly are in the area of pastoral support. These two assets exist when the pastor “Supports Youth Ministry” and

“Supports Leaders.” The pastor who supports youth ministry “understands, guides, and advocates for youth ministry.” In the same vein, the pastor who supports leaders “affirms

11 Martinson et al., Spirit, 206. 12 Ibid., 207.

12 and mentors youth and adults leading ministry.”13 These pastoral support assets do require an investment of time, but a pastor need not have a specialized degree or certification in order to become an advocate for youth ministry. Pastors who wish to support youth ministry will work to cultivate strong working relationships among their youth ministry leadership team. They offer support and coaching to the congregation‟s paid staff and strive to show that they value the work of adult volunteer leaders. Pastors who are youth ministry advocates are involved in Christian education within a congregation from the cradle to the grave. While they will likely not be the primary active leaders of these programs, their presence at key milestones, at least occasional participation as a teacher, and internal marketing from the pulpit and locations of pastoral authority go a long way to communicate that youth and family ministry is a priority of the congregation. A pastor‟s spiritual and professional coaching of other staff members can set the stage for an atmosphere of teamwork and benefit both individuals as much as it benefits the system as a whole. While coaching requires time, it is an investment worth making to ensure faith formation guided by healthy leaders.

The evidence uncovered by the EYM survey stands as powerful witness to the influence that a pastor can have on ministry with youth. If it was ever in doubt before,

EYM is a testament to the fact that all pastors, not only those designated as “youth pastors,” have a powerful impact on the faith formation of young people.

The data from the surveys and the voices of youth ministers, adult leaders, parents, and young people on the site visits converge to send a strong and detailed message from the EYM congregations: Pastors matter immensely in effective youth ministry! And they matter in very specific ways! Pastors lead through their spiritual influence, their pastoral effectiveness, their love for and support of young people, and their support of youth ministry leaders. In EYM congregations,

13 Martinson et al., Spirit, 208.

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pastors are the most influential persons among the many adults and youth sharing leadership in these effective ministries with youth.14

The EYM study stands as proof that good things happen for the young people in our congregations when pastors are involved in shaping faith formation. There is yet another reason that pastors ought to be concerned about ministry with those in the first third of life. God is concerned with ministering to young people.

God is The

What do we mean when we speak about ministry? Surely we can‟t speak of youth ministry in particular without first understanding ministry in general. Andrew Root explores the concept of ministry in The Theological Turn in Youth Ministry. He puts it this way, “The word ministry, after all, is a theological word; it no doubt has something to do with human action (the things that ministers--whether ordained, paid or lay--do), but it also has a great amount to do with what God does, as the One who ministers to the world for the sake of its salvation in the fullness of God‟s future.”15 God is the original minister. God‟s action in the world is God‟s ministry. Root goes on to explain how it is that we, as theologians and ministers, must first be grounded in the ministry of God.

By looking at God‟s Ministry of creation, covenant, incarnation (including crucifixion and resurrection) and Pentecost, it is obvious that God is not a theologian but a (the!) Minister. God has committed to be the Minister of creation, and theology is reflection on and articulation of God‟s Ministry. If we confess that God is active, that God is moving creation to its completion, then ministry is participation in God‟s own act of Ministry, and theology is nothing more than reflecting on God‟s action.16

14 Martinson et al., Spirit, 208. 15 Andrew Root and Kenda Creasy Dean, The Theological Turn in Youth Ministry (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2011), 81. 16 Ibid., 40.

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“All ministry is first of all God‟s ministry,” says Ray Anderson in The Soul of

Ministry.17 This is a strange thought when one is accustomed to thinking of ministry as activity that human beings engage in as response to God‟s word. Yet, an understanding that all ministry is God‟s ministry means we have no place to begin our action without

God‟s action in the world, and theology without God‟s action would have no starting place. “Ministry is first of all what God does by speaking and acting within the framework of human history. God‟s actions reveal God‟s existence and make possible true knowledge of God.”18 God acts in history, providing humanity with an object of reflection. Ministry and theology go hand in hand. Then, “In obedience and response to

God‟s ministry, we gain knowledge of God and of ourselves. This obedient response to

God‟s ministry becomes our ministry, which, in turn, serves as theological exposition of

God‟s nature and purpose.”19 So it follows that we have no ministry apart from God, but the only ministry we have in the world is to seek to join in God‟s ministry. God is the minister in whom we find reason and impetus to participate in ministry.

God is a Youth Minister

God‟s ministry to the world extends to those in the first third of life. God the

Father sent the Son into the world to redeem the world, a world which includes infants, children, preteens, adolescents, and their families. As each of the Synoptic Gospels witnesses, Jesus blessed children in his ministry and spoke in ways that sought to change their powerless and devalued position in society. In Mark 10:13-16, for example, Jesus shattered his disciples‟ expectations about the place of children.

17 Ray S. Anderson, The Soul of Minsitry: Forming Leaders for God’s People (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997), 5. 18 Ibid., 3. 19 Ibid., 3.

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People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, „Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.‟ And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

Through the stories of Christ‟s interaction with children, it can be concluded that God‟s ministry in the world is meant to encompass those of all ages.

Youth ministry, like all ministry is God‟s ministry, action begun in the action of

God. The goal of youth ministry is not ultimately to connect to youth in a particular way, but it is to connect to God‟s ministry among young people, as God is active in the midst of their reality. As Andrew Root explains, “Because youth ministry is ministry that seeks to connect not primarily to adolescents but to God‟s own Ministry as God ministers to adolescents, theological construction is demanded. To be faithful ministers we must begin to articulate how God is active in their (and our own) lives.”20 Where do we locate

God‟s activity in the lives of youth? Kenda Creasy Dean finds God active in the lives of youth in Christ crucified, in the determination of God to be with and for young people that is so strong that death cannot stop it. “The Passion of the Christ is good news to adolescents, not because Jesus suffers, but because Jesus loves them with such wild, passionate hope that even death on a cross cannot stop his determination to win them.”21

The cross and the resurrection show us that God is present, ministering to young people-- to all people, in the darkest spaces of the world, working to bring life out of death.

All Ministers are Youth Ministers

20 Root et al., Turn, 40. 21 Dean, Passion, 2.

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All Christians are called into ministry as a part of the priesthood of all believers.

Some will serve as ordained leaders within the church, while others will take up their primary vocation outside the church. Ray Anderson offers perspective on the ministry of ordained pastors within the ministry of the baptized members of the Body of Christ.

There is a sense in which one can say that baptism into Christ is ordination into the ministry of Christ. As Christ was called and ordained to his messianic ministry through baptism, so the baptism of every person can be viewed as a calling into the ministry of Christ. The special ordination that sets baptized persons apart as representative of the ministry of Christ through the church is still grounded upon baptism.22

In baptism one is called into God‟s ministry, and through ordination, an individual participates in a particular vocation. Certainly the work of pastor cannot expand wide enough to encompass all of the work of God in the world. It is necessary to delineate the specific role of the pastor within the church‟s participation in God‟s ministry. Lutherans ascribe to an understanding of the pastor‟s work as that of Word and Sacrament ministry.

Lutherans might also ask an appropriate question of that statement: What does this mean?

One interpretation provides that, “The work of the office of ordained ministry is to tend to the gospel, its content, power, form, and work.”23

Since ministers are called to tend to the gospel in the context of the entire Body of

Christ, it is important to understand who is included in this Body. One is received as a member of the church, the Body of Christ, through baptism. Martin Luther‟s view of the

Sacrament of baptism informs our practice today. “For Luther...Baptism was the sacrament of justification par excellence. In the same way that justification implies that

„God is no respecter of persons,‟ so Baptism as the sacrament of justification „becomes

22 Anderson, Soul, 84. 23 Martinson, Pastoral, 190.

17 the great equalizer of Christians. Even age no longer divides them.‟”24 All the baptized are joined in the one Body of Christ through the waters of baptism. In Luther‟s view, even children have vocation and a full place within the church because of their identity as baptized Children of God. We believe that, “Baptism thus gives Christians a foundation for their entire life. It is a miniature and complete picture of Christian life. It involves the believer‟s birth, discipleship, conflict with Satan, death, and resurrection.”25 Since all of life is enacted in baptism, all are made equal regardless of age.

We are an unlikely people bound together in the community of the baptized. Mary

Hinkle Shore reminds us that the way we are joined in Christ is unlike any other group.

In the church however, we do not base our sense of community on the things that shape community elsewhere: shared interests, tastes, or needs. The basis of community in Christ is Christ. In his ministry, Jesus offered forgiveness, healing, and new life to lepers, the slave of a Roman centurion, tax collectors like Matthew and Zacchaeus, children, women, fishermen, and many others who had little in common with each other except for the fact that Jesus was interested in all of them. In the same way, it is Jesus‟ interest in all of us that binds each of us together with others in the church today.26

Jesus is interested in young people. God, in Christ, cares about young people enough to die for them. “This means that the very humanity of each adolescent becomes significant to us, not because it is our job to love them but because God has so loved them, and to join in God‟s Ministry we too must love them.”27 An understanding of ministry with youth as God‟s ministry frees pastors from fear of inadequacy when it comes to entering into the lives of young people. Root reminds us that it is God who will equip us as we

24 Charles P. Arand, That I May Be His Own: An Overview of Luther’s Catechisms (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2000), 168. 25 Ibid., 169. 26 Mary E. Hinkle, Signs of Belonging: Luther’s Marks of the Church and the Christian Life (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003), 31-32. 27 Root et al., Turn, 40.

18 embark on the tough task of accompanying God‟s children of every age, “Therefore, we love through the power of God in God‟s Ministry and not by our own ability.”28

All Christians are Youth

Theologian Jurgen Moltmann points out that what makes us „young‟ is not our age. What makes youth youth is its wide-open sense of possibility, the confidence that death is not on the horizon, the exhilarating assumption that the future is wide open and filled with limitless potential. For Christians, this sense of wide-open possibility, the confidence that death poses no threat, that the future is a gift--this is Christ‟s promise to all Christians, not just the young ones. In other words, everyone who future is bound to Jesus Christ is a youth.29

When we take seriously the claims of our eschatological faith, that Christ has secured our future, then we can operate with the reckless abandon of teenagers. While teenage choices, founded in a delusional sense of invincibility, may lead to destructive consequences, we are in a sense called as people of faith to live with a similar lack of concern for the future. We are to lay our lives down for the sake of our neighbor, and pick up life in Christ. As Dean so poetically puts it, “in Jesus Christ, we are unfettered by death. We are apostles of possibility, with a wide-open future in God. We are participants in the kingdom of God, world without end, not just someday, but now. In Moltmann‟s words, „It is not that the future belongs to the young...The future makes us young‟”30

Through God‟s promises in Christ the church is a place of perpetual youth. Dean reflects on Moltmann‟s words further saying,

“Jesus calls us to be a youthful church, not because we are young but because we are his...Young people‟s sense of open-ended possibility, their candid rejection of the fear of death, remind us that youthfulness is built into Christian eschatology. It is not age that makes us young. The future makes us young, and the future belongs to Christ.”31

28 Root et al., Turn, 40. 29 Root et al., Turn, 211. 30 Root et al., Turn, 211. 31 Root et al., Turn, 217.

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To be Christian is to be a lifelong youth.

Youth as an Intentional Pastoral Priority

Martinson suggests a common core of six tasks to be taken on by those in the office of ordained ministry. “As a minister of the gospel, the pastor is presider, preacher, teacher, overseer, presence, and pilgrim. These six roles grow out of the gospel, are empowered by the gospel, find precedents in tradition, and serve the reenvisioning of the office in each new time and place.”32 I will use these core tasks as a template as I take up the challenge of shaping vibrant ministry by, with, and for those in the first third of life as a called and ordained minister.

Presider

As presider of the worshipping community, the pastor brings theological expertise to the planning and execution of services which advance the gospel. Such question as those of content, form, leadership, and effectiveness all require attention and care as a pastor leads her or his particular community in their interaction with God and each other around word and sacrament.33

Gathering in weekly worship is the main experience of the larger understanding of the

Body of Christ gathered. Since this is true, it is critical that the baptized of all ages join in worship together regularly. As a pastor and presider, I will be an advocate for the presence of children in worship and strive to create an atmosphere where little ones will be appreciated and enjoyed. My personal gauge for meaningful worship will be whether it is able to engage children and youth. I will encourage worship planning teams to keep children at the forefront of their minds and conversation as they strive for creative ways to express praise, pray, participate in the Sacraments and hear the Word of God. I will use

32 Martinson, Pastoral, 191. 33 Martinson, Pastoral, 191.

20 my influence to guide the congregation to structure a Sunday schedule in which Christian education does not take place at the same time as worship, so that parents and other adults will come to see child participation in the gathering of the community as normative and important. I will pay attention to the ways in which the form and content of worship can become more interactive for children and youth. I will look for and develop opportunities to include young people not only as participants in worship but as creators.

Preacher

As preacher...the pastor proclaims the message of God‟s life-giving activity in Jesus Christ with clarity and specificity in peculiar times and places to particular people...To preach is not to repeat a formula in the jargon of the guild; it is an encounter in which God gives grace through words spoken in a shared consciousness of pastor and people.34

It is the job of the preacher to proclaim God‟s Word to God‟s people, a Word that is both law and gospel. In order for the message to reach its intended hearers, it is important to be sure that we are speaking the same language. As a preacher who hopes to engage hearers of all ages, I will seek images that reach people on a variety of levels and expose the function of the law operating in their lives and communicate the gospel in a way that brings freedom and life. Stories, while not the only material for sermon imagery, are layered in meaning and offer multiple points of access for listeners. I will make it a priority to vary the situations I address in sermons so that I speak to the lives of young people as much as I try to speak to the lives of adults. I will seek the feedback of children and youth in the congregation and offer avenues for young people to participate in the development of my sermons. Listening for the length of a sermon can be difficult for people of many ages. I‟ll keep this in mind as I prepare sermons and seek to include

34 Martinson, Pastoral, 191.

21 congregational participation and engage multiple senses as I preach. I believe a children‟s sermon should not replace the goal of reaching young people with the main message.

Teacher

Scripture, confessional statements, and living tradition provide information, giving substance and shape to the gospel... So pastors are to be teachers knowledgeable of the tradition and skilled in the ways and means of conveying truth and evoking interaction with the gospel.35

Since we tend to think of children and youth as people of faith in formation, it is natural to envision a pastor engaged with them as in the role of teacher. While, truly, all members of the Christian community are in a state of formation, it is important for a pastor to demonstrate that she values youth by making the learning of young people a priority. I plan make it a goal to be involved in the formal and informal faith formation students in my context in coordination with other staff and adult leaders. On internship, I enjoyed being a part of a creative team that developed the curriculum for junior high students, and I discovered that the more heavily theological mindset of pastors paired with the often more practical mindset of other youth staff can produce ideas that neither party would have come up with alone. I hope to take part in or establish such a group in my future contexts. I will also do all that I can to communicate in my congregation that faith formation takes place from the cradle to the grave and learning is a part of the life of faith for those of all ages. I hope to help shape programs, and moreover a culture, that will foster learning between generations that is transformational for all.

Overseer

The gospel creates a common life in a corporate community. Pastors are to see to the work of the gospel within varied and distinct institutional expressions of the church. Moreover, pastors are to be theologians at intersections of organizational

35 Martinson, Pastoral, 191.

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structure, process, and power, incessantly asking the question: “Does this serve the gospel?”36

The church, being a corporate organization, must have institutional structure in order to exist. The way a church operates in its organizational function communicates what the community believes. As an overseer of good order, I will seek to influence structuring of congregations so that their institutional life communicates the importance of those in the first third of life. I will seek to be sure that those who represent children and youth are included in the council and other power broker groups. Making sure that youth themselves are encouraged to participate as representatives at all levels of the church will be a goal. I will help to dismantle unhealthy structures that do not foster faith formation for young people, and do all that I can to be sure that the institution is not focused on self- perpetuation but on mission, engaging young people and adults together in the work of

God in the world. One asset I can add to the system is coaching of those who work with children and youth. I will coach other staff members or arrange for coaching relationships in order create a proactive atmosphere where members of staff participate in teamwork, are given a chance to thrive, and are working from areas of strength.

Presence

The gospel brings life to the whole world...It finally does its work, however, in each person, moment, and location...So pastors go. They enter, take up residence, visit, join, listen, observe, accompany, administer, pray, hear confession, speak absolution, and counsel...pastors are the personal presence that make the means of grace earthly, historical, and accessible.37

God‟s presence breaks into the lives of God‟s people primarily through other people.

Often a pastor has the opportunity to enter into the dark spaces of people‟s lives to bear

36 Martinson, Pastoral, 191. 37 Martinson, Pastoral, 192.

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Christ and take part in God‟s activity. God is already at work, even when it doesn‟t seem so. As a pastor I will answer the call to a ministry of presence in the lives of young people. I will seek to be around in the tough stuff and in the moments of celebration. But

I realize, also, that as one pastor, I can never be the presence that every individual needs.

So, while I will dedicate some of my time to being the one who connects in those moments, I will also help to equip other members of the congregation to take part in the ministry of care and presence in the lives of children, youth, and families.

Pilgrim

God desires to do God‟s life-giving work also in those who are called to be ministers of the gospel...To be a pastor is to worship, to study, to confess, to pray, to struggle, and to seek God‟s grace and wisdom as person...as well as ordained minister. To be a pastor is to be a pilgrim sustained by the gospel within the community the gospel creates.38

I will do my best to realize my own limitations even as I strive to make children, youth and families priorities within my call to ordained congregational leadership. I will seek to honor the Sabbath through an intentional day off each week in which I am able to enrich my vocation as wife and recreate in God‟s creation. I will set an example through my own spiritual life, so that I might add the EYM asset of Spiritual Influence to my congregation‟s set of assets. I will try to live a life of faith that is dependent upon confession and forgiveness and communion at the Lord‟s Supper. In these ways I will seek renewal and guidance from God as I continually discern my vocation as pastor.

As I embark on the journey of ordained ministry in the midst of the Body of

Christ, it is my hope that all pastors will hear and answer the call to care for and attend to the faith formation of Christians of all ages. May we discover that, through our call to join God‟s ministry in the world, we are all youth pastors.

38 Martinson, Pastoral, 192.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Anderson, Ray S. The Soul of Minsitry: Forming Leaders for God’s People. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997.

Arand, Charles P. That I May Be His Own: An Overview of Luther’s Catechisms. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2000.

Dean, Kenda Creasy. Practicing Passion: Youth and the Quest for a Passionate Church. Cambridge: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 2004.

Guthrie, Shirley C. “Something to Believe In.” In The 1997 Princeton Lectures on Youth, Church, and Culture, 1-9. Princeton: Princeton Theological Seminary, 1998.

Hinkle, Mary E. Signs of Belonging: Luther’s Marks of the Church and the Christian Life. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003.

Martinson, Roland. “The Pastoral Ministry.” In Called & Ordained: Lutheran Perspectives on the Office of the Ministry, ed. Todd Nichol and Marc Kolden, 181-194. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990.

Martinson, Roland. “Getting to All God‟s Kids.” In The 1997 Princeton Lectures on Youth, Church, and Culture, 25-33. Princeton: Princeton Theological Seminary, 1998.

Martinson, Roland, Wes Black, and John Roberto. The Spirit and Culture of Youth Ministry: Leading Congregations toward Exemplary Youth Ministry. St. Paul: EYM Publishing, 2010.

Root, Andrew, and Kenda Creasy Dean. The Theological Turn in Youth Ministry. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2011.

The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. New York: Collins, 1989.