She expands on some of the need to offer young people a generative faith that has 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.

But, it was this passage from pages 145-6, that had me remembering a logo from a Mike Patin t-shirt:

In truth, much of what passes for Christian formation in American congregations – and a great deal of what passes for youth ministry is fake peripheral participation. 

We invite teenagers to set chairs for the ice cream social and call it “mission.” We assign teenagers one Youth Sunday a year and call it “worship.” We play games in youth group and call it “Christian fellowship. None of these activities is inherently misguided, of course.  But they do not necessarily offer teenagers real participation in the Body of Christ, where every limb is as important as every hair follicle…

The fact that outreach, worship, and Christian fellowship in most churches can carry on very well without youth at all is a tell-tale sign that their participation in the community is … just peripheral and does nothing to usher teenagers into full membership in the Body of Christ.

Yesterday, my buddy Marko blogged about Youth Ministry in Decline referencing an USA Today article entitled ‘Forget Pizza Parties,’ Teens Tell Church which starts with this attention grabbing opening line:

“’Bye-bye church. We’re busy.’ That’s the message teens are giving churches today.” 

The article is not shy about assigning blame – Facebook, an attractional model of youth ministry, parents, over-committed teens themselves…  and, after some brief thought, I have to say, I think not!

First, please understand that I do not think the pizza party mentality is pervasive in our approach, especially in the land of ArchBalt. Nonetheless, early in the article, it is suggested that participation within church youth groups is considered the hallmark of involvement for young people. (and those numbers, at only 25% of young people, have been flat for over ten years.)

Let’s own it, folks…  That hallmark, that standard, which very well may remain pervasive, was always wrong. (As we have said this before in the newspaper, on other blogs, and on the radio,) instead, let’s look to hallmarks such as:
>> Discipleship (so much harder to quantify in a phone survey) should be the standard. 
>> Our ability to equip and empower the saints who walk alongside our young people – - including their parents – - should be a standard.  (And seriously, if you and your little core team of four to eight adults is what that got you to be thinking… you should probably just go back to the “hallmark” of counting teen attendance as you distribute pizza.  You’ll be happier!) 
>> And, it is not just getting kids in to Church on Sunday… but getting them into the mainstream of the parish especially during the main stuff of the community – - how it worships.  Not in a segregated, off-to-the-side evening liturgy but at the morning liturgies where the biggest collections are gathered… Yea, you know which ones…  THAT should be the standard!

Marko wants us all to ‘fess up and admit “Well, to be honest, we dropped the ball. It’s our fault. culture has changed, and teenagers have changed, and we’ve still been rolling along with our same ol’ lame pizza parties and camps, pretending it’s 1982. I hope this is a ‘better late than never’ situation where our desire to change and find new ways to engage today’s teenagers with the love of Jesus will still find purchase. We’ve stumbled, but our calling is unshaken.”

We’ve got to figure out how to shake up youth ministry while remaining firm in our unshaken calling. Jump into the conversation folks, comment away and affirm, finesse, or discard what should be the hallmarks of Catholic Youth Ministry.

That’s all I have for now…  Someone, please, pass a slice with pepperoni.

On the first day of the week when we gathered to break bread, Paul spoke to them because he was going to leave on the next day, and he kept on speaking until midnight. There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were gathered, and a young man named Eutychus who was sitting on the window sill was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. Once overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and when he was picked up, he was dead. Paul went down, threw himself upon him, and said as he embraced him, "Don’t be alarmed; there is life in him."

Then he returned upstairs, broke the bread, and ate; after a long conversation that lasted until daybreak, he departed. And they took the boy away alive and were immeasurably comforted.

Dean points out that while Paul might very well have caused Eutychus’ fall, we, as Church, should also take note of his response…  Paul did not roll his eyes and mutter “stupid kid.” Paul not not try to ignore the situation or divert attention away from it. Paul did not delegate the issue away – - “Hey, would you, you, and you look into developing a committee to form a policy to keep the young people of the Church out of the windows and come back with a report in a few weeks (after I’ve left of the next city), please?

No, Paul stopped everything. And he sought life,  And he changed his pattern from speaking to communion and conversation.  Dean offers her own lessons learned from this, and I have previously blogged regarding the young un-dead in the church… But, I rather leave you with either of these options: 1) Buy the Book and/or 2) Comment below with your own homilette regarding the implications of this story for today’s Catholic Youth Ministry.

Case suggests “(though there is no biblical evidence to support this) that the four men on the roof were probably youth ministers and the man on the mat was probably a teenager. This event encompasses many classic youth minister traits: going out on the roof, demolition of private property — and if  they took a sick kid away from his house, it was most likely without a permission slip or even his parents’ knowledge. Most of all, they went to creative (albeit destructive) means to get a teenager to meet Jesus.”

But, he goes on to make a case for re-imagining relational youth ministry over programs. And, I’d like to suggest we re-imagine even further. The teenager in the scriptures was cared for by FOUR others.  This should be goal!  We don’t set up ourselves as the end-all, be-all source of support for young people in our community, but we ensure that every young person has AT LEAST FOUR adults committed to ensuring that a teenager meet Jesus.

And throughout it all, I was reminded of Paul’s message to the Galatians (3:26-28): For through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If racial, social-economic, and gender identity really does not matter to God, why do we think age should?

Paul did not. He reminds Timothy (4:12) to Let no one have contempt for your youth, but set an example for those who believe, in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity.

So, Marko is sweating brain development and its impact on ministry, and I’m wondering… does it matter?

We are failing to fully engaging the many generations within our Church into ministry with young people.  I remember attending a regional LifeTeen training a few years back, When it came time for the break-out, a percentage went to the “experienced core team member” group, a few others went to the catechesis group, but the overwhelming majority gathered for the musician / worship leader group – -  and most of them were young adults. And I wondered back then… Is this about involvement in liturgy? Is this about praise and worship music in a Catholic setting? (and/or) Is this about being young adults together?  My guess back then was it was a combination of all with a mix of willingness to be in service to the Lord.

Leaving young adults alone to ministry is not a failure of wrongful placement of trust… It’s abandoning an age group to their own devises in a Church were we don’t dispose Jew or Greek, we do not forsake one who is a slave or is free, or renounce males or females…  They is no place in our Church for the contempt of age-segregation of young people any more.

The rEVOLution in Catholic Youth Ministry must, must, must be us actually living up to our own rhetoric.  Renewing the Vision outlined the challenges thirteen years ago: We are deeply concerned by America’s neglect of young people…. Ministry with adolescents will need to be more comprehensive and community-wide…  the continuing development of the Church’s understanding and practice of ministry needs to be incorporated into a contemporary vision and strategy for ministry with adolescents today.

RTV goes on to elicit a quote from John Paul II’s 1995 World Day of Prayer for Vocations.  You will likely recognize it as the “This is what is needed: a Church for young people…” quote.  Yet imagined if it read…

This is what is needed: a Church that sets aside young people into youth groups or youth liturgies, speaking to their hearts for only the short while of their adolescence hyping upon their hormone-driven emotions and inspire enthusiasm for joy and strength, but not necessarily about the really hard stuff like the Gospels or the Eucharist; a Church which is only bold enough to ask to Confirm your presence for a certain amount of service hours or contact time and not get involved in embarrassingly pulling a “rich young man” demand on a kid and asking him or her to  commit his whole existence; a Church which is afraid to require much because the young people won’t really be good for it, a Church which gives the impression it is incapable of having have given much; a Church which does not fear asking from young people the effort of a noble and authentic adventure, such as the summer youth conference or the workcamp, from which they will quickly return home safe and sound.

Yea, that sounds wrong, does it not?  But how are we programming…?

If we are to be a Church for young people…

> We’ve got to engage the “adult” church to speak to young people’s hearts and enkindle, comfort, and inspire enthusiasm in them with the joy of the Gospel and the strength of the Eucharist. The core team can “represent” but even the most successful youth ministry effort sweats not having enough adults.
> We’ve got to invite young people into the full community and not into a safe segment of the community.  This is us giving much because that safety factor is for us adults who rather not deal with the messiness of adolescence and discount their membership.
>  We’ve got to follow John Paul II’s example and call young people to “discipleship;” follow Benedict XVI’s example and call young people to “making definitive choices;” and not fear asking from young people the effort of a noble and authentic adventure.

OK, I’ve gone on way too long. It is not about adolescence, brain development, it’s about God’s call and God doesn’t card at the door. Comment away… What are the other “We’ve got to’s” if we are to be a Church for young people?

We have opted to make a difference in the world by investing ourselves on behalf of the church.

Building adolescent catechesis is not easy and will make demands on your parish, your resources, and the youth and families entrusted to your care. Yet it is absolutely worth the investment as we convey in our efforts, our prayers, the use of our resources, and our parish life the message first spoken by Saint John Bosco, the saint of the young. “That you are young is reason enough to love you.”

Monitor your Health and Progress: As part of your calendar of events, schedule the times when your team will re-assess the situation and plan for the upcoming year. Planning is an ongoing and intentional process and includes opportunities for team building and social times. You might use spring as the time for new needs assessments and program calendaring, and June as time for the annual evaluation. Your planning will begin to incorporate some traditional events (a Christmas dance or Lenten Stations of the Cross), spontaneous events (a trip during a sudden school holiday or a food drive in response to a natural disaster) and a cafeteria approach (variety of activities which allows youth some choice for participation). The team should also begin planning for leadership training for both youth and adult team members.

Know the Course Before You: Developing an adolescent faith formation calendar is essential for your planning. It might be easier to plan in seasonal or three- month blocks. Don’t forget that the summer is an important time for programming, especially for younger adolescents. In planning, try to achieve a balance of programs in each component area. Check with the parish and local high school calendars, so you’re not competing for your teens’ time. Also check the diocesan Office of Youth Ministry and/or Catechesis calendar. There is usually something going on that your young people can attend. It makes for easy planning and early success. You should also touch base with surrounding parishes for activities to which your young people can be invited. It’s good for teenagers to see what others are doing and it helps them experience a larger sense of Church.

Plan for the Long Haul: We need to organize ourselves so that we might best manage the uphills and downhills, equipping ourselves for the spurts and for the long haul. An organizational structure provides the ongoing leadership and coordination needed for a comprehensive adolescent catechesis program. The structure can vary according to the members and needs of your team. Program Committees with youth and adults, a Coordinating Team, a Youth Board and an Adult Advisory Board are all options for your organization. Also, it is important to determine regular meeting times for the committees, team or board, and to identify the person who will coordinate the organization, set agendas and facilitate the meetings.

Pray: We must place our efforts and our ministry in the hands and design of God. This work is not our own, but God’s. We need to treat all our successes and disappointment as opportunities in which God is at work, Therefore, we are reminded, as Paul consoled the Thessalonians to “rejoice always; pray without ceasing; (and) in all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)