Adolescent faith formation is often identified as a critical parish priority. Parents, pastors, and many others share a common desire to pass on the richness of our Catholic faith to young people.

To identify a need and priority from the bleachers, however, does not necessarily translate into an action plan that leads to the desired results. Too often, parishes that genuinely desire to faithfully respond to their youth, don’t plan well, and are forced to lower expectations. They are left hoping that somehow teenagers will deepen their faith and stay active in the Church, yet they are not quite sure of what they can do to foster that reality.

It is time to fully enter the race. Lace up your ministerial shoes. John 14:31 encourages “Rise, let us be on our way.”

The second verse of Steve Agrisano’s Go Make a Difference:

Go make a diff’rence. We can make a diff’rence.
Go make a diff’rence in the world.
We are the hands of Christ reaching out to those in need,
the face of God for all to see.
We are the spirit of hope; we are the voice of peace.
Go make a diff’rence in the world.

In adolescent faith formation, as in athletics, it is exciting to sit in the bleacher seats and anticipate the seemingly Olympian achievements that will occur before you. It is, however, an entirely different experience to personally toe the starting line, awaiting the gun that will begin the race. We are the hands, we are the spirit, we are the ones to make a diff’rence.

And, before moving on in a discussion regarding Catholic Adolescent Faith Formation and Evangelization In a New Era (CAFFEINE), a note about the Sacrament of Confirmation. For far too long, this has been perceived as a sacrament of graduation from religious education programming. What is being missed by the Church, but what young people already understand, is the difference between graduation and commencement.

The closing of one’s high school career is graduation from the present structure of their education. It also, is, however, a commencement or beginning to life after high school- whether that is college or work or service in the military. In the world of high school, graduation/commencement is not the indicator of an ending as much as it is a marker along the journey.

In a discipleship mindset, we are engage in inclusion rather than seeking to exclude. As a Church, however, we do exclude sacramentally. We anticipate baptism before the reception of other sacraments. Eucharist is not to be indiscriminately distributed. Young and dangerous Christine (who was previously mentioned here) was excluded from the parish council unless she had already received the sacrament of Confirmation.

Confirmation must be perceived as a sacrament of commencement, one that opens new doors in the church for young people. Liturgical ministries within the parish community, for example, might be just the beginning of potential venues for the gifts and talents of newly confirmed young people.

Therefore, in an effort towards intentionality and investment, individuals within the field of youth ministry should determine to step up our efforts, becoming more deliberate and devote ourselves more towards the following

To assist in the Holy Spirit’s task in forming Christian disciples, we should:
> Emphasize Jesus and the Scriptures throughout our ministerial programs.
> Assist young people in discerning the will of the Holy Spirit in their lives
> Encourage young people in seeking the path of dangerous good and to do so within the community of family and church

To assist the Church in forming Catholic Christian disciples, we should:
> Encourage prayer throughout our program in all that we do. While including a wide variety of prayer styles, continued emphasis should remain on traditional prayers such as the Lord’s Prayer and the Rosary.
  > Encourage young people is an appreciation of and participation in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist. Familiarize them with the Catechism of the Catholic Church to equip them for a lifelong faith.
> Assist young people is developing a respect for the Catholic understanding of the dignity and worth of a human being, especially in how it impacts both Catholic Social Teaching as well as our understanding of human sexuality.
> Incorporate the talents and enthusiasm of young people into the community by inviting and training them into leadership and ministry, not just within youth programming but, throughout our Church community.

To assist young people in becoming responsible members of our community and faith communities, we should:
> Encourage young people to have a positive self-image based on their unique role in God’s plan for them as well as genuine appraisal of their contributions to the world outside themselves.
> Encourage young people to be able to critically examine the issues confronting their lives as well as make moral decisions based on their understanding of their teachings found in Scripture and Church Tradition.
> Assist young people is developing the charity necessarily to live in a diverse and pluralistic society
> Provide young people with the skills to become facilitators of peaceful conflict resolution in their lives as well as the lives of their peers.

The above is but one opinion regarding our efforts towards discipleship. This list is meant, not as an exclusive and complete listing, but as a starting point. What other areas should those who serve Catholic young people concern themselves about?

Our Church needs young people as believers. Pope John Paul II had determined the worthiness of our commitment of purpose and effort. “The future of the world and the Church,” he stated, “belongs to the younger generation.” Pope Benedict XVI when stating the “The Church is young” reminds us that “The Church does not become older in the course of the years. On the contrary it grows younger, because she is forever moving toward the Lord, meaning she is going toward the spring from which youth, newness, refreshment, and the strength of life stems.”

The General Directory for Catechesis reminds us that “in general it is observed that the first victims of the spiritual and cultural crisis gripping the world are the young. It is also true that any commitment to the betterment of society finds its hopes in them.”  The US Bishops in “Our Hearts are Burning” have identified this commitment as “a sacred trust and a serious responsibility that we must always fulfill with utmost care and dedication.” They also acknowledge, in Renewing the Vision, “the future of humanity lies in the hands of those who are strong enough to provide coming generations with reasons for living and hoping”

These blog postings have not been an effort to berate or belittle the field of youth ministry’s efforts regarding adolescent faith formation. Even the materials from the National Study on Youth and Religion are not designed to rate youth ministry as ineffective. The study had concluded that for Catholic youth, participation in youth group, religious education, or being a Catholic school student results in an increase in religious practices and a decrease in at-risk behaviors.

Dr. Christian Smith in Soul Searching indicates in his conclusions that religious congregations and other religious organizations are uniquely positioned in the array of social institution operating in the United States to embrace youth, to connect with adolescents, to strengthen ties between adults and teenagers.” However, “it will not happen automatically. It will require intentionality and investment.”

It is 2002 and hundreds have gathered at the National Conference for Catholic Youth Ministry in Denver. They have gathered despite post-9/11 travel concerns. They have gathered despite scandal in the Church. They have gathered despite a downward economy and limited budget funding. It is now the last night of the conference and it is time for the comedy club. They have gathered to laugh.

Many familiar faces- Steve, Jesse, Gene and Brad, Bob the Stooge – are joyously dancing, juggling, and singing and the gathered participants are happily engaged in the joy and humor that seems so uniquely Catholic Youth Ministry. Two new faces, Justin and Anne Marie, take the stage. They have taken on the personas of two characters from Saturday Night Live- Marty and Bobbi Mohan-Culp, two middle school music teachers who performs medleys is a wide variety of unique settings. They take the pop hits and re“work” them for whatever odd audience they have before them.

All of a sudden, the field of youth ministry was a victim of the satire being performed right in front of them. The crowd was roaring with laughter, it was quite an event. Various other comedy club performers came to the fringes of the stage to watch, enjoy, and laugh as well.

“Marty” and “Bobbi” at one point had begun to sing Go Make a Difference, a song written by Steve Angrisano and Tom Tomasek and performed by Steve through many youth rallies, concerts, and national conferences such as this one. Steve, himself, comes now to the very edge of the curtain, wondering what these two will possibly do to his song.

The performers surprisingly play this song straight. The crowd begins to join in on the familiar lyrics. First verse leads into the rousing refrain which leads into. . .

The second verse. “Marty” and “Bobbi” start with a recognizable phrase or two, but the song quickly denigrates into boisterous nonsensical babble. Quickly, we all realize that the joke was on us- nobody really seems to know the second verse of the song and “Marty” and “Bobbi” have again, this evening, skewered the collective souls of those gathered. The biggest laugh of all was to be found coming from Steve Angrsano himself at the side of the stage.

If you aspire to go and make a difference… do you know what will be “the second verse” of your ministry?

We began the month reviewing 2009 entries to this category, offering reheated caffeine of the introductory posts, looking at the signs of the times and what’s been brewing.  Then we packed a little caffeine for the road and looked at the Emmaus Walk as a model and worked at the caffeine grind discerning the secret ingredient (passion) that will make this ministry tasty. Which all lead up to the warning that there was danger ahead.

Then our Caffeine series entered some dangerous grounds considering the potential outcomes of our efforts – a dangerous young woman.  We wondered… Do we invite young people to a safe faith or encourage them towards dangerous unselfishness. Will our young people be more likely to be losing their religion or take up lives of dangerous goodness?

The danger is found in our call towards solidarity.  Therefore, we need to center the faith of our young people by offering them (as Kenda Dean has identified them) anchors for a lifelong religious identity which include a creed to believe, a place to belong (see parts one and two), a call to live out, and a hope to hold onto.

I arrived at the NFCYM’s membership meeting last night in Los Angeles.  We will defer continuing the series until February in anticipation of doing a little live-blogging from the meeting.  Check in later today!

One of Steven Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is to “Begin with the End in Mind.” The end in mind proposed by Jesus was the Reign of God- the realization that God’s love, grace, and justice has preeminence and dominion over our existence and experience.

All indicators of our mission should point towards God’s Reign. It is part of imagination, our story, our prayer, and our expectations. It fuels an optimism and a confidence within our lives. Most especially, it engenders an attitude of gratitude for each moment of grace experienced that hints towards God’s presence and reign within our lives.

The work of disciple-ing young people is a work of the Holy Spirit. We merely aspire to be collaborators with God in this process. We should not be about this mission alone. The National Directory for Catechesis reminds that “All members of the community of believers in Jesus Christ participate in the Church’s catechetical mission. (NDC, #53) If we are to disciple young people into faithful communities, then we must be involved in this work, not only as individuals, but it is essential that we do this as part of a faithful community ourselves.

Being in relationship with a God of consequence and a faith community of consequence means nothing unless they compel us to lead lives of consequence. Catholicism calls for us to be agents for dangerous good. The difference between Catholicism and Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, however, is that Catholics do good, not because they are nice people, but because they are disciples to Jesus and are attempting to live out a beatitude lifestyle.

True friendship and true love selflessly desires the best the best for one. In Good Willing Hunting, Ben Affleck’s Chuckie Sullivan confronts Matt Damon’s Will who wonders “What do I want a way outta here for? I want to live here the rest of my life. I want to be your next door neighbor. I want to take out kids to little league together up Foley Field.” Chuckie responds, “Look, you’re my best friend, so don’t take this the wrong way, but in 20 years, if you’re livin’ next door to me, comin’ over watchin’ the Patriots’ games and still workin’ construction, I’ll f…in’ kill you. And that’s not a threat, that’s a fact. I’ll f***in’ kill you.”  (Hey, apologies for the language on the video… Take care if you are in the office)

Their dialogue is about the gift for mathematics that Will has and what a waste it would be for him not to use it to change his life. Chuckie will the do the best with what he has but he knows that Will can do so much better, only his fear is holding him back. Chuckie concludes by saying, “Let me tell you what I do know. Every day I come by to pick you up, and we go out drinkin’ or whatever and we have a few laughs. But you know what the best part of my day is? The ten seconds before I knock on the door ‘cause I let myself think I might get there, and you’d be gone. I’d knock on the door and you wouldn’t be there. You just left.”

Therefore, it is time to increase the ante and the stakes regarding our work with vocation. The work of encouraging vocations is not just about encouraging priesthood, although this is essential to our Church. We need to encourage young people is discern the ways that they will build a lifestyle of discipleship around their baptismal promises.

We can no longer be satisfied with ministry that duplicates itself. True ministry anticipates that the ministry that is engendered from our efforts will advance and improve. We can no longer be satisfied with a ministry that remains comfortable in place. We must recognize that something has sadly died in a ministry that has participants in the same place twenty years later doing the same things.

Fear must be replaced with confidence and motivation. The adult community must first model this lifestyle before imparting it. We must come to the dangerous recognition that the action of one can make a difference and that the life of one can have a purpose and role in the plan of the Lord.

Finally, we must reaffirm the gift of freedom that we both celebrate in our relationship with God as well within our country’s democracy. In a visit to Baltimore in 1995, Pope John Paul II reminded the United States that “Every generation of Americans needs to know that freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.”

It was in the same homily that he suggested the vocational direction. By nurturing a “willingness to let the Lord transform our lives,” we should anticipate “a renewed spiritual and missionary vitality among American Catholics” who would be disciples.

Our story is of the Holy Father’s invitation. Our story is of two catholic boys from Southie in Boston. Our story is of Jesus and the communion of saints who lived as they ought to have lived their lives.

Kenda Creasy Dean proposed that “in a morally insignificant universe—the one a substantial number of American teenagers seem to inhabit—there is no telos, no larger story into which one’s life fits, no judgment or even remembrance of one’s life when it is over, no consequence.” We are called to “send out” others on behalf of all of us to transmit the Good News to others.