Deep Ministry in a Shallow World

1. Deep Ministry in a Shallow World By Chap Clark and Kara E. Powell

2. What keeps us floundering in the shallow end? • Is your ministry producing the deep change it’s “supposed to”? • Your ministry’s shallowness might be taking away your sense of hope • “Good farmers” evaluate the state of their crops • They don’t comfort themselves by remembering previous bountiful crops Evangelizing and Discipling Youth, Fall 2008, Rev. Brian M. Kelly,Ph.D.

3. Shallow “Solutions” • 3 Common “solutions” many youth workers impose when they begin to realize their ministries aren’t as deep as they would like them to be: Solution 1: “More of the Same” Offer more activities Bigger budget More adult workers Evangelizing and Discipling Youth, Fall 2008, Rev. Brian M. Kelly,Ph.D.

4. What’s the problem? Our culture changes Our theology changes (our understanding about God) Our churches change You change Evangelizing and Discipling Youth, Fall 2008, Rev. Brian M. Kelly,Ph.D.

5. Solution 2: “It Worked for My Friend” However, what worked for their church might not work for your church. Solution 3: “That’s What the Book Said” We believe we can cut and paste the results we see in “youth ministry expert” books into our ministry. Evangelizing and Discipling Youth, Fall 2008, Rev. Brian M. Kelly,Ph.D.

6. What we need: New Ideas That Take Us Deeper • Insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results” • How do you feel about learning new, deeper ideas? • What makes you nervous about it? • What appeals to you? Evangelizing and Discipling Youth, Fall 2008, Rev. Brian M. Kelly,Ph.D.

7. “But now let us try a subversive thought. Suppose our failures occur, not in spite of what we are doing, but precisely because of it” –Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy Evangelizing and Discipling Youth, Fall 2008, Rev. Brian M. Kelly,Ph.D.

8. Evangelizing and Discipling Youth, Fall 2009, Rev. Brian M. Kelly,Ph.D.

9. Deep Method: What’s our plan for going deeper? • If our goal is deeper youth ministry, we need a whole new way of doing ministry We want thorough, deep reflection…but nothing too complicated We want specifics…but room for creativity We want it to be practical…but more than the usual “Tips and Tricks” We want sensitivity to our own unique contexts…but to still learn from other ministries Ultimately though, we want our ministries to be all that Jesus wants them to be! Evangelizing and Discipling Youth, Fall 2008, Rev. Brian M. Kelly,Ph.D.

10. Deep Design • Deep Design is a four step process Step 1 (Discernment): Now? Step 2 (Reflection): New? Step 3 (Observation): Who? Step 4 (Application): How? It will be messy –the actual process isn’t always clean, neat, or linear. Evangelizing and Discipling Youth, Fall 2008, Rev. Brian M. Kelly,Ph.D.

11. Deep Design Evangelizing and Discipling Youth, Fall 2008, Rev. Brian M. Kelly,Ph.D.

12. Step 1 (Discernment): Now? • We need to slow down and discern what God is up to in our ministries Now. • What does God intend? • Transformation –In our individual lives, in our churches and communities, and in our larger world • Romans 12:1-2: Don’t conform, but be transformed . . . Evangelizing and Discipling Youth, Fall 2008, Rev. Brian M. Kelly,Ph.D.

13. 3 Now questions… • 1. What type of transformation is God bringing about now? • 2. What is creating space for God’s transformation now? • 3. What is hindering God’s transformation now? Evangelizing and Discipling Youth, Fall 2008, Rev. Brian M. Kelly,Ph.D.

14. What’s the process for answering these “Now sub-questions”? • Short answer is through experience • Not just your experience…collective experience • Invite other adult leaders, parents, and students to be a part of your Now conversation Where in your ministry do you see actions and attitudes that resemble Jesus’ life and ministry? Where in your community are the passions of Jesus being expressed? Evangelizing and Discipling Youth, Fall 2008, Rev. Brian M. Kelly,Ph.D.

15. Step 1 in action: our small groups now • Hypothetical situation: small groups program What type of transformation is God bringing about now? God has brought enough small group leaders and has brought a few new students to the ministry every month who want to be connected in small groups Evangelizing and Discipling Youth, Fall 2008, Rev. Brian M. Kelly,Ph.D.

16. What is creating space for God’s transformation now? Small group leaders have initial training. Some small groups leaders are integrating times of worship into their meetings, which students enjoy. What is hindering God’s transformation now? Many of the new leaders are young and asking for more mentoring and coaching than we are currently providing. Relationships in groups are pretty shallow. Students apathetic about studying Scripture. Groups aren’t serving those on the outside. Evangelizing and Discipling Youth, Fall 2008, Rev. Brian M. Kelly,Ph.D.

17. Step 2 (Reflection): New? • Reflect upon new ideas and insights that speak to the issues that arose in step 1 • Ask four sub-questions about new ideas: • What does Scripture say? • What does history say? • What does research say? • What does experience say? Evangelizing and Discipling Youth, Fall 2008, Rev. Brian M. Kelly,Ph.D.

18. What does Scripture say? • Scripture has two types of authority: Historical authority –God’s commands to people in Biblical times Normative authority –When properly interpreted, the Bible helps us understand God’s commands to us today -Instead of skimming the surface-level meaning of Scripture, we need to treat it like a great poem, and meditate upon it’s beauty and significance. -We will keep learning new insights- not just about the scene being described, but the One doing the writing Evangelizing and Discipling Youth, Fall 2008, Rev. Brian M. Kelly,Ph.D.

19. What does History say? • Traditions and teachings from the past • In our hunt for fresh ideas, we in youth ministry often disregard the “outdated” wisdom of those who’ve studied and served God before us • Perhaps you will need to translate the beliefs and traditions of your church and youth ministry in fresh ways for your students Evangelizing and Discipling Youth, Fall 2008, Rev. Brian M. Kelly,Ph.D.

20. John Wesley’s questions for small groups… • 1. What known sins have you committed since our last meeting? • 2. What temptations have you met? • 3. How were you delivered? • 4. What have you thought, said, or done, of which you doubt whether it be sin or not? Evangelizing and Discipling Youth, Fall 2008, Rev. Brian M. Kelly,Ph.D.

21. What does Research say? • Roll-Up-Your-Sleeves-With-Kids research • Research that puts adults in the position of listeners and students in the position of youth-culture experts Evangelizing and Discipling Youth, Fall 2008, Rev. Brian M. Kelly,Ph.D.

22. What does Experience say? • Your church, your community, and your kids are unlike any others • You as a leader are unlike any other leader • By putting your experience under a microscope, you’ll see the tiny nuances and hidden principles that you might otherwise miss Evangelizing and Discipling Youth, Fall 2008, Rev. Brian M. Kelly,Ph.D.

23. Step 3 (observation): Who? • Observe others who have come up with new insights similar to ours (Step 2) and are already trying to go deeper • Ask 3 questions: What are some ways others are applying these new insights to their ministries? In what ways are their situations similar to ours? In what ways are they different? Evangelizing and Discipling Youth, Fall 2008, Rev. Brian M. Kelly,Ph.D.

24. Step 3 (observation): Who? • www.barnabasmissions.org • http://www.fuller.edu/ • http://www.cyfm.net/ • http://www.strategicdigitaloutreach.com/ • http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=Home Evangelizing and Discipling Youth, Fall 2008, Rev. Brian M. Kelly,Ph.D.

25. Application questions… For Small Group Discussion Evangelizing and Discipling Youth, Fall 2008, Rev. Brian M. Kelly,Ph.D.

26. Application questions… • 1. Who from your ministry should you involve in these Deep Design discussions? • 2. Questions from step 1: What type of transformation is God bringing about? What is creating space for this transformation? What is hindering it? • 3. What are your students like? What about their parents? How would you describe the adult leaders in your ministry? What about your church? Your community? Evangelizing and Discipling Youth, Fall 2008, Rev. Brian M. Kelly,Ph.D.

27. Application questions cont… • 4. What role does Scripture usually play in finding new ideas for your ministry? What role do you want it to play? If there is a difference in your answers, what does this tell you? • 5. Do you agree that history, research, and experience are all important ways to learn new insights? Why or why not? • 6. Who in ministry have you tended to follow in the past? When, if at all, did you diverge from their models, and why did you decide to branch out on your own journey? Evangelizing and Discipling Youth, Fall 2008, Rev. Brian M. Kelly,Ph.D.