Chapter One
Mike's Story
I began this wild ride called youth ministry 42 years ago. Armed with a few
communication skills, no experience, and a passion for God, I jumped into
ministry feet first. For reasons I can't explain, I intuitively knew I had
access to what was most important-my Bible. Although I was kicked out
of both Bible colleges I attended, something (or Someone) convinced me
that the words written in this book were more than important-they were
critical! As it turned out, the words of God kept me on the trail of God. And
he is on my trail. Looking back over the years, I realize the Bible isn't magic, but it is
corrective; it isn't an answer book, it is a living book; it isn't a fix-it book, it
is relationship book. When I confront God's word, I am confronted; when I
read God's word, it reads me; when I seek God's presence, he seeks me.
The Bible has woven its way into my heart, soaked into my bones, given
direction, provided hope, and demanded humility. It has been a companion
along the way-a friend and a mentor. After four decades of use, it is still
fresh, still relevant, and still full of life-giving truth.
So when I do youth ministry, I just grab my Bible, jump into God's arms,
and hang on for the ride.
Because the CORE realities are founded on the truths of Scripture, it's
important that we spend some time focusing on the Bible and understanding
the role of Scripture in our ministries. Obviously, we don't
worship the Bible; we worship the God of the Bible, and it is the Bible that
tells us about God. It helps us develop our relationship with God, guides us
in our relationships with others, and reveals the truth for us today-here
and now.
Even though the Bible was written thousands of years ago, it's still
relevant today. We believe the truths of the Bible are unchanging, but the
implications of truth change continually as culture and teenagers change. This
generation of students is like every generation in some ways and unlike every
generation in other ways. That's why we trust the Bible-it speaks to both realities:
the unchanging human condition and the constantly changing cultural
conditions. It speaks to all generations.
We trust the Bible because it's the truth. It was the truth when it was written,
and it is the truth now. It's the truth now because it's living truth. In our
lives, the word of God acts; it affects us and lives with us. God's words are the
breath of life, a mystery, and a story. They live, reveal, interfere, inspire, and
provide a solid foundation. These are just eight of the many characteristics of
biblical truth, and below are the ways in which these characteristics affect us.
These, we believe, are the foundations of the CORE realities.
1. Biblical Truth is God-breathed.
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting
and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16)
Timothy says that the words in the Bible emanate from God, like the very
breath of God, the wind of God. These words can help train us in righteousness.
By reading God's words, we can know the mysteries of God; we can
know what God is up to.
Hold on. Before we get too excited, it's important to remember the words
of God in Isaiah:
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my
ways," declares the Lord.
"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than
your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (55:8-9)
Even though God's words are directly from him, we won't always know
specifically what God is up to. God's words can teach, rebuke, correct, and
train. They also can confuse and amaze. They draw us to the shores of mystery
2. Biblical Truth is a mystery.
Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given
me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel. (Ephesians 6:19)
The Bible is filled with awe-inspiring mystery. This mystery is part of
our delight in God's word. Our goal in youth ministry, then, is to educate
teenagers in the Scriptures and to show them the mystery, to render them
speechless by what they read. We want them to be literate as well as astonished,
surprised, shocked, spellbound, overwhelmed, and awestruck. We want
them to find answers, and we want them to meet the God beyond answers.
When Jesus met the disciples on the water (Matthew 14, Mark 6,
John 6), they were terrified. Talk about drama and mystery! The disciples
were frightened out of their minds . and intrigued. Jesus knew the power of
the mysterious. As well as teaching his disciples, Jesus scared the sandals off
them. By walking on the water, he terrified the disciples-they thought he
was a ghost! Reading about the Son of God walking on the water can cause
us to experience terror as well. Our task is to introduce students to the terrifying
power of the Savior through the biblical story.
In my middle school days, we were herded into the gym for ballroom dancing class. Talk
about torture! Coach Welch had a knack for making a waltz feel like calisthenics:
"Hut-two- three-slide!" All the while, though, he kept telling us how graceful this was, how
wonderful, how romantic. I remember thinking, "I wish this girl would just leave me
alone and let me get these stupid steps right!"
But little did we realize that ballroom dancing is not simply about getting the steps
right-it's about a growing relationship with your partner, about moving together in an
embrace of openness and developing intimacy. It's about the mysterious connection that
enables you to dance beautifully.
Often we imply that true spirituality is about getting "the steps" of the dance right.
Except that the Bible doesn't give us "five easy steps to a happy life" or "four easy steps
to wonderful children" or "three easy steps to a pain-free existence." But the mystery of
the gospel is that God calls us to seek his face, to read his Word, to develop that growing
intimacy-and in the mystery of that relationship, we will find we are moving in unison
with him.
-Duffy Robbins
3. Biblical Truth is a story.
The Bible is not primarily a proof text or a doctrinal statement; it is a drama.
It is not only theology; it is a poem. It is not only facts; it is an adventure.
The biblical story is a captivating read that should leave us breathless. In
fact, Hebrews 11 retells the events of the Old Testament as a story.
Ultimately, this story is a love story, and this love story is made up of a collection
of stories that point teenagers to the storyteller, the lover.
This story of truth and love, according to Psalm 119, is invigorating,
sensual, terrifying, colorful, comforting, disturbing, visual, convicting, and
penetrating. Woo hoo! It does more than stimulate our thinking; it exposes
our very hearts, thoughts, desires, and passions; it defines sin; it convicts us
of sin; it clarifies virtue and integrity-we read it, and it reads us!
Most people are anxious to hear the truth, and God help those who kill
that expectancy by making the Bible boring. Sadly, many of us can remember
attending a church, Sunday school, or youth group where our expectancy
was smothered. Mark 10 and Luke 18 say the children ran toward Jesus. They
wouldn't be kept from him; even the disciples couldn't keep the children
away. They wanted to learn about God. Our youth groups are filled with
"children" like these who are anxious to sit at Christ's feet and hear the story.
Let's not be so concerned about making sure the Bible is completely understood all the
time. If I simplify the incredible mystery of Scripture to the point where an adolescent
mind (or an adult one, for that matter) can fully grasp it, I reduce the author to my level.
Because if God is God, his word will, by definition, be beyond me. Kids today are much
more comfortable with this than most adults.
-Dave Ambrose
It's no secret that adolescents today are predisposed to experiencing life as a series of
intersecting stories. Students' identities are found in the complex relational and circumstantial
plots of their formative years. "You will know me if you take the time to get to
know my story" is their invitation. And one thing that makes Scripture attractive to this
generation is that it's a fascinating story in which they have a role. If I can introduce
them to a script in which their personal stories are written, they can embrace the relevance
of Scripture.
-Marv Penne
Yet there's a kind of antitheological bias in current youth ministry culture. It says, "Don't
give me theology; just give me Jesus." But talking about Jesus requires theological
understanding. That's why Scripture also explores doctrinal themes in books like
Romans, James, and Hebrews. The Bible is a combination of stories and statements.
-Duffy Robbins
4. Biblical Truth is alive.
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged
sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and
marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
The writer of Hebrews believes that God's story is "living and active." The
Bible isn't dead, reduced to a list of statements or doctrines or theological
principles. It is alive! We don't just hear truth; we taste it, smell it, touch it,
wrestle with it, argue with it, confront it, turn away from it, hide from it,
hold it, and fall in love with it. It is more than intellectual-it is sensual. The
mystics memorized the Scriptures, said them aloud over and over again, until
the words of God became a part of them, flowed through them like water,
soaking into their skin and bones-until Scripture became like an old friend.
"Some people can memorize Scripture, but I just can't." How many times have we heard
that from our students, our coworkers . or from our own lips? When we are confronted
with temptation, despair, pain, persecution, loneliness, doubts, or fear, being able to
speak the very words of the Bible to our hearts and souls is a gift. "Praying the
Scriptures" on a daily basis, not only with the Bible open but with it closed as well, is
one of the more intimate encounters we can have with Jesus. I've never met students
(or adults) who didn't have hundreds of pop songs memorized-shouldn't we be at least
as connected to Scripture? -Dan Jessup
5. Biblical Truth reveals and identifies.
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered
and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:13)
-Following this writer's description of the living power of God's word in 4:12,
this verse is a bit humiliating; it says that God sees us naked. No pretending.
No illusions. The Bible does more than speak to us, though; it penetrates our
hearts and our souls. Because it is alive and has a mysterious power to penetrate
us, we cannot hide anything from it.
God's word not only exposes us, showing us naked before him, it also
reveals who we are. It provides a litany of names for us: names that define us,
names that call us, names that strengthen and empower us. The Bible tells us
who we are in the midst of a hostile world (aliens, strangers) and who we are
in the midst of his kingdom (chosen, a royal priesthood, a holy nation).
More importantly, it names us as "a people belonging to God." We are his
children, heirs with Christ, more than conquerors-we are his beloved. When
the world without God says we are irrelevant, worthless, and narrow-minded
losers, we can hold our heads high because the word of God says we are
beloved. When others criticize, demean, and diminish us, we don't have to
fight back; we can rest in our identity in Christ. When we stand completely
exposed by biblical truth, we are revealed as his beloved.
"Loser!" "Lazy!" "Slut!" "Stupid!" By the time many students reach early adolescence,
they've heard these words yelled at them thousands of times. That leads to some really
distorted and inaccurate conclusions about who they are-and left unchallenged, they
become the basis for a distorted adult identity. The good news is that God's Word communicated
through caring adults is the most effective way to challenge their negative
self-perceptions. Scripture has the power to give kids a whole new set of names, and
we must be consciously committed to introducing our students to the words defining
who they are in Christ.
-Marv Penner
6. Biblical Truth interferes and
instructs.
The Bible disturbs and interferes because it is filled with new information:
new ways of looking at life, new ways of approaching relationships, new ways
of living with our neighbors, new ways of treating the poor, new ways of acting
toward our enemies. This new way of thinking interferes with the status
quo. It forces us to revaluate, to rethink, to revise how we live our lives.
God's word lives with us in the trenches, getting its hands dirty and
interfering with our lives. It confronts, intimidates, and irritates us.Intimidate and irritate are ugly words, but they are part of the way biblical
truth interferes with our lives. Intimidation invades, threatens, annoys, and
inflames. And what makes the word of God invaluable is the intimidating
quality of truth. The Bible speaks the truth even when we would rather not
hear it. That is irritating. God's word makes us feel good, and it makes us
feel bad. When our behavior is biblically challenged, when Scripture informs
it, it means our lives are constantly open to change; our behavior is always in
process, always being revived.
Timothy's words in 2 Timothy 3:16, "rebuking, correcting and training,"
are all about change, about learning how to do things in a new way,
about correcting and altering our course, even while we're on course. When a
momma bird pushes her little chick out of the nest, she's training. This kind
of training interferes with our lives of contentment.
Continues.
