Some of you, my
seven readers, know that I enjoy youth ministry. I enjoy spending
time with young people, in particular middle school and high school
students, and especially in the context of exploring faith.
So it was with
great anticipation and pleasure that I took a few middle school
students from the congregation I serve to join a few hundred others
at a youth gathering. There's much about this event that I could
write about, but my favorite part of this youth gathering every year
is “Stump the Pastor”.
What happens is
that the young people participate in different one-hour workshops.
One of the workshops they can choose from is led by a pastor, and is
simply a forum at which the young people can ask the pastor
questions.
I don't know how
other pastors run the workshop when they're in charge, but here's
what I do: I tell the students that they're welcome to ask any
question they have … about anything. And so that they feel free to
actually ask anything, I use pens and paper to make the process
anonymous.
If you've spent a
little time with middle schoolers, you'll expect that I'd get
questions such as, “What is my name?” (answer: my name is
Matthew), and “How do you write 8 in binary?” (answer: 1000).
These questions are fun, and when I take them as seriously as I take
any theological or scriptural question, the kids seem to understand
that I'm taking them seriously as people and not trying to shove
'church answers' down their throats.
Now, if you've
spent more than a little time with middle schoolers, you'll also
recognize that they have some questions more serious than “Do you
like Tim Tebow or Payton Manning better?” (answer: I haven't met
either of those guys, so I can't say).
You know those
existential questions that most of us wrestle with in the company of
our friends late at night when we're in high school or (especially)
college? Well, middle school students wrestle with the same
questions, even though they might not have the language to articulate
the questions well. And this is the part of the workshop that's the
most rewarding – taking what's written seriously enough to ask, and
then address, the question that sometimes isn't very well written.
Who wrote the
bible? Are gay people accepted and loved by God? Does my friend who
goes to a Presbyterian church believe the same thing I do? what
about my Catholic friend? Mormon? Jewish? Does God love the
Muslims? Is it ok to kill someone if it's self-defense, or if they're threatening your family?
At the end of the
day, middle schoolers (and this is news to no one) seem to be
primarily concerned with figuring out where they belong in the world.
And at the end of the hour, my hope and prayer has always been that
they've found a place like that at least for a little while. I hope
they recognize that no matter how they grow and change, and no matter
how much their faith changes and grows (or even shrinks), that they
can find a place to belong in the Body of Christ.
Of course that's
probably my hope and prayer for everyone, whether they're middle
schoolers or not.
$0.02