Dan Savage and Youth Ministry

Youth Ministry can learn from Savage

The words and works of Seattle sex advice columnist Dan Savage are no different than the other times and activities that have been influential on the rising generation. Fred MacMurray had his Follow Me, Boys!, Hitler stirred his 100,000+ youths in the late 1920s and early 30s, Billy Graham challenged youths at the rallies in Chicago and beyond, and Henrietta Mears influenced 1000s through Forest Home Christian Conference Center—and on and on it goes. Before we move on, let’s not forget about the dad wearing his red cardigan buttoned sweater in the 60s sitting next to his wife on the living room sofa—she’s wearing silver horned-rim glasses and her hair is in a bun—and he’s combing through the Luther League catechism at the family altar after the evening meal. Bessie, Jimmy and Butch are sitting at his feet. We can hear the recitation going on: Do you hope to be saved? Yes, that is my hope. In whom then do you trust? In my dear Lord Jesus Christ. Youth ministry and all, here, flourishes too. Influence happens. The elder shall serve the younger. Dan Savage knows youth ministry is inescapable.

We read of Savage gone savage in Seattle recently and we get upset. He’s been given a venue to practice in a concentrated way what Francis Schaeffer said in the opening paragraphs of How Should We Then Live? that theology comes out of our fingertips. Savage’s theology oozes—a non-Christian one, we know.

But what can we learn about youth ministry from Dan Savage?

1. Church Youth Ministry that tries to mimic his vulgarity and sensationalism shouldn’t. Our vulgarity cannot compete with Savage’s. Ours is too Christian. We’ll only spin our wheels in mimicry. We’ll get fame for 3 weeks, hear from our parents and church elders about it, and that will be that. Vulgarity is attractive to youth pastors. Don’t go there. The same goes for sensationalism. Sensationalism seems fun, but it is like spiritual Listerine—it puckers your lips and must be spit out. Dads, youth pastors, retreat speakers, stay with your strengths: tell stories. Tell them calmly, without the sensationalism of the bizarre and ooh; and without the cheek-grimacing, eye-squinting looks due to the gore—and please, retreat speakers, forgo for the umpteenth time some story about throwing up. A good story about a slice of your life about what you learned will go miles for discussion fodder with young people. Savage wants to light up the scoreboard. Take your cues from Joshua—tell stories about the memorial stones stacked up next to the Jordan.

2. Church Youth Ministry that practices one-person, one-direction influence, like Savage’s, loses. You, dad, in the cardigan sweater can outdo Savage. Youth pastor or small group leader on Wednesday nights, you can own Savage. He speaks from a distance. He’s at a microphone—he stands on a platform at that. Also, as a columnist, he writes at a keyboard. His ministry is one of d-i-s-t-a-n-c-e. Unlike Savage, dad and mom, you live with your sons and daughters. Elders and pastors, you live around the 20-somethings in your congregation. Savage doesn’t. He won’t win because of his distance. He can speak. But he cannot model. His practical theology is absent of Trinitarianism. Not yours. Be with your students. Speak to them, live with them. Teach them, and model alongside of them. Trinitarianism wins. Not Unitarianism—not the one person, one way, influence. No way. Savage loses. Youth Ministry which practices Trinitarian life with connectionalism with life-to-life discipleship, with multiple persons and varied persons, wins. Savage is transcendent, but his immanence is wanting.

3. Church Youth Ministry that lacks the biblically informed practice of circular reasoning will fail with respect to defending truth on the street. Savage does circular reasoning. In his apologetics, he uses an authority to defend authority. We can learn some things from him. Apologetics in Youth Ministry has been popular for decades. Evidence That Demands a Verdict blew wind in our sails for 35 years—and it’s still blowing. It’s been the Youth Ministry Apologetics Thing. Watch Savage. Believe it or not—he appeals to the Bible. There’s nothing new here; many people do. But Youth Pastor, take a cue from Savage. The Seattle Times writes of the recent speech that he gave, “In the speech, Savage, citing Sam Harris’ ‘Letter to a Christian Nation,’ said the Bible gave instructions about how to treat slaves. If the Bible erred ‘on the easiest moral question that humanity has ever faced ... What are the odds that the Bible got something as complicated as human sexuality wrong? 100 percent,’ said Savage. Students are heard cheering and clapping.” Savage, like Sam Harris, has standards. In this case, interestingly, it’s his use of the Bible. Two questions come to mind—1) How do I know the Bible is true? 2) How can I make proper use of it? On the first, the Bible says it is true. The Bible is the cement upon which knowledge rests. Can we really use the Bible to prove the Bible? You bet. How is Savage proving his points about questions in life? He’s proving his answers with the Bible. Good, Mr. Savage, I say. He knows that no argument proves itself; there must be a starting point. Good for him. For many of us as Christians, sadly, our starting point might be experience. Feelings. Medicine. A parent. Archaeology. The number of extant NT manuscripts. But wait. What happened to using the Bible? Savage does. Why don’t we? If we use something other than the Bible as an ultimate authority then we haven’t proven it to be ultimate authority. We used something outside of and apart from the Bible. Youth Ministry, make your starting point the Word. Second question: How can I make proper use of it? This is where Savage goes savage. He’s dead wrong on this one. He imports feelings or science or statistical information into his interpretation; rather, instead, the Bible should interpret itself. Mr. Savage, let the Bible teach us. You appeal to it, use it—properly. Dad, mom, elder, Sunday school teacher, the Bible has 66 Books. It is one voice with multiple authors within its cover. The voice of the Old Testament is heard in the New. The New speaks and echoes the Old. Scripture, our authority, interprets Scripture. Only God testifies about Himself. Equally biblical, only God is to explain His teaching about slavery, sexuality, marriage, personhood, work, family, calling and more. We must go to the Bible as our final authority, and we must use the Bible properly to prove and interpret ethics for everyday living. On one hand, we take a cue from Savage—we are to prove our points by God’s Book; on the other hand, we must become students of the Word to use it well. Savage gets our attention about these things. When Youth Ministry recovers a practical apologetics, biblically informed about its circular reasoning, just as Savage shows us, we’ll begin to properly equip our students in our churches.

In thinking about tolerance or no—with respect to Mr. Savage and his ways, and in addressing the matter of straight bashing or no, and bullying or no, Youth Ministry is cooking in Seattle. We all get our shot at this. The Savage train is right on schedule. Toot. Toot. Youth Ministry, get aboard.

G. Mark Sumpter

Kids Sounding Off With Answers

Kids and Catechism: Sounding Off Back and Forth with Bible and Theology

“Catechetical training is as basic as asking good questions and expecting good answers. Quite simply, catechizing is the asking of set questions and the listening to set responses. There is not a lot of glamor to it, is there? However, when you press the concept a bit, you will find some encouragement. Most people associate catechism with instruction that comes through asking questions out loud.

The word catechism derives from the Greek word katecheo, which provides us with another helpful image. Indeed, it is a word with some beauty as an image for training our children in the faith. It is the combination of two Greek words. Kata is a word that generally means ‘down’ or ‘down towards’ You probably recognize the other word, echeo, meaning ‘to sound.’ We are familiar with the English word echo, which indicates a sound that repeats itself as it resonates.

This is exactly how the catechism works. You ask a theological question, and then you wait for your child to sound back the answer. This is a hopeful idea when it comes to teaching our children. Isn't this exactly what we want? Don't we want the truth of Scripture to echo in the hearts of our children? As we ‘sound down’ the truth of our Lord, we hope that this same sound will echo back in the hearts and lives of our covenant loved ones. Isn't that great! We want the truth of God's word to resonate in the souls of our children.”

For the rest of this article on Kids, Catechism and Character, see New Horizons magazine
 
We have the tendency to treat catechism class in our reformed churches much like a needle point class. Yawnsville. What about hand motions? What about Paste the Pastor? What about rhyme? What about a song? What about relay races? What about Pen, Lose or Draw? What about Catch-it, Cat?
 
At the end of the day, our goal is to have dialogue, sounding back and forth, with children about God’s truth. Different forms of communication, along with games and fun can set the stage for conversations and learning.
 
G. Mark Sumpter

Children and Worship

Friendship between God and Man—in worship, we go back and forth with dialogue

The great need is for the church to provide education for both young and older people as well as the children. All members of the Christian household need to know the meaning and methods of acceptable Christian worship.

              Robert G. Rayburn in O, Come Let Us Worship

We must be sure that what we do in worship nurtures the kind of people we want our children and ourselves to be as Church…All kinds of other things are being tried in the attempt to urge young people to get involved in our congregations’ worship. Why don’t they? Simplistically, youth don’t participate in worship because they don’t understand it.

            Marva Dawn in It is a Lost Cause?—
            Having the Heart of God for the Church’s Children

Ten and fifteen years ago, I would have jumped up and down screaming about the importance of OPC evangelistic and short-term mission teams as the means of discipleship and nurture of our covenant children and young people. I still jump up and down with enthusiasm about such things, but with less animation nowadays. Why? God sat me down as a pastor and parent to instruct me on the importance of worship.

OPC Pastor Larry Wilson reviewed with me somewhere between Seattle and Portland, driving home from a Presbytery meeting, the importance of capturing and making use of the dialogical principle of worship. I had known of and practiced such things before, but there are those times when truth is a providential trip wire. Fathers and mothers, you might explain it to your children as the friendship principle in public worship. God speaks to His people, and then, we respond. God and His people take turns in speaking and listening. He’s the living God: He welcomes us; He tells us Who He is and What He has done, and we get to return thanksgiving and adoration expressing words and actions to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Isaiah 6:1-13 provides the pattern about this. Note the taking of turns between God—with His angels of the heavenly realm—and Isaiah the prophet. Clearly, there’s dialog between God and man. But there’s more on the pattern.

Guide your children to see and join in these parts of worship:

First, there’s the call to worship—we receive God’s welcome to praise Him: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

                              We lift up our hearts to Him, and we remember that He is present with us.

Second, in order to be fit to pray, sing, read and commune with Him, we confess our sins and He promises forgiveness. Doug Wilson uses the figure of speech saying, we wipe our feet at the door of God’s house. With forgiveness comes the liberty to approach God to sing to Him, offer prayer and listen to preaching from the Bible, and in these ways, we are renewed, we are consecrated, for daily living.

                           He ministers to us with the words of the Bible, we respond with songs, prayer

                           and open hearts.

Next, after the sermon, we show our unity as church family by saying together words of what we believe, and then we receive nourishment at the Lord’s Table. This is communion.

                         He gives spiritual strength for our faith.

Last, God blesses us with His benediction; these are words of His goodness, kindness and favor. We leave commissioned to serve Him in the world.

                        We have been renewed in our relationship with God to live for Jesus Christ.

Children will catch on to your modeling, parents. They watch you and me like hawks. They watch to practice. One child, maybe a 4 year old, a little boy that I know, loves the Gloria Patri and Doxology. He mimics what he hears and sees. Since we sing these each Sunday, he’s grown to hum them, sing them and take part with the congregation. He knows his part! The other recitations shape his understanding too. In this way he’s being nurtured. One mom mentioned to me recently that she has grown to appreciate how dialogical worship calls for participation—you’re not to sit passively. Worship is not a spectator sport. She values the fact that she, her husband and children are engaged, active and share in the responses to the Lord.

G. Mark Sumpter

The Important Place of Memorization for Children

Teaching Sunday School by Brian Freer (Evangelical Press, 1984)

If this little book were required reading for all Sunday School teachers in every church, our children would be the better for it. Freer writes out of the conviction that our Sunday School time must be used to its fullest potential, and he has taken the time to show us how that potential can best be reached. In the first three chapters, he very encouragingly expounds and illustrates the hope that we may have in teaching our children the Bible -- it is an exciting prospect indeed! In the remaining chapters he very carefully and clearly lays out principles and practical procedures for teachers to follow in order to achieve highest success in their work. He deals with everything from the church to the teacher to the lesson preparation to the delivery to the classroom experience. A very, very useful tool for the improvement of our Sunday School and the evangelization and edification of our children. Every church should by a copy this book for each of its teachers to read, re-read, and refer to regularly until its counsel is completely absorbed.

“There is great value in memorizing lessons and especially Scripture, even when the meaning is not fully comprehended at the time. Many children have learnt by rote passages of the Bible, or the questions, answers and proof texts of a catechism, without really understanding them. The truths learned have remained dormant for years. Unconsciously such knowledge has moulded their habits and attitudes, but, even more importantly, it has represented a golden store which has been tremendous benefit in later years, after they have been born again. Memorization is not the be-all and end-all of teaching, but it should have it place. If we cannot hide God’s Word in a child’s heart, at least we can attempt to hide it in his memory. To do this is like laying the paper and sticks for a coal fire and then placing on the dark coals. The fuel is ready and when it is eventually ignited what a blaze there will be! Men of previous generations were able to use Scriptures and preach sermons of great maturity within weeks or months of their conversion. How did they acquire such a facility? The answer is that they had the Scriptures already in store!” pp. 48-49

Retired reformed Baptist minister, Brian Freer underscores the work of parenting and teaching in our children’s nurture and evangelism; and specifically he addresses how kids are sponges. They soak up facts—the who, what, when and where—of Bible knowledge. They glory in facts. God has made them this way. We ought to take advantage of this. Facts guide. Facts inform. Facts are fuel. I read earlier today of the old Puritan William Gurnall, who said: “Knowledge may make thee a scholar, but not a saint; orthodox, but not gracious.” I disagree. Children—along with adults—learn the facts of Scripture, the scholarly stores of facts. They do so for saintly reasons. How? Jesus, for example, tells us before going to a brother to remove the offensive tooth-pick out his eye, we must first remove the offensive pile of lumber out of our own. That’s a fact; it’s a specific truth we’re to memorize, know, grasp—and be able to recall. Being grounded in the plain, surface points of Matthew 7:4-5 can preserve many from hardship in interpersonal squabbles. Facts of Scripture, such knowledge, guide in saintly ways.

As to more on children from Freer, I appreciate that he sees the role between the learning stages of Grammar and Rhetoric. He writes of young children storing away Scripture and catechetical doctrine—as fuel—and when the fire starts at later stages in life, they are ready. Did you catch that? He writes, “Men of precious generations were able to use Scriptures and preach sermons of great maturity within weeks or months of their conversion. How did they acquire such a facility? The answer is that they had the Scriptures already in store!” Students well prepared are those who have been grounded in the first level of learning—the grammar of knowledge; then, later they act on that knowledge—for understanding and wisdom.

G. Mark Sumpter

Horton's Do Hard Things as Part of the Rebelution

Michael Horton Showing the Way in Youth Ministry

“The year I was twelve things began to change in my life—not all at once, but gradually. I had been involved in family devotions and Bible reading, but suddenly the Bible sprang to life for me. The book of Romans began to shatter many of my earlier notions about reality. Every time I read from Romans I found myself searching for a deeper understanding of God’s purpose and grace.

After playing baseball each afternoon, I would come home, and pick up Romans, and go through it again and again. What I found in Romans had me mesmerized, and I began to share my discoveries with anyone who would listen.

My parents were owners of a nursing home, so I had a ready-made congregation. I began conducting weekly services that lasted, with brief interruptions, for six years (up to my senior year in high school). People who were not even residents attended the services to hear about God’s effective grace.”

From Horton’s Mission Accomplished, pp. 13-14

Young people are the church of today, not merely the church of tomorrow.

G. Mark Sumpter

How Young is too Young?

Nurture little ones in God's truth and life

Mike is a father who wonders “I have a two-year-old boy and another about to turn three, but most materials seem to be written for older kids. When should I start?”

It’s never too early! All you need is a book with good pictures. You can begin talking about the pictures, even with a one-year-old. Over time, you can explain more and more. Your children will begin to love those books and want to learn more.

First impressions are often the image that last a lifetime, so make them count.


Many good books are available, even reprints of old books. The New England Primer, used by the early Puritans in America, allows parents to teach serious biblical truths along with their ABCs. Newer books, geared for young ages, include the alphabet books A is for Adam and D is for Dinosaur (by Ken Ham).


Check out catechisms for children. Ask your pastor or church librarian. Depending on your denomination, check out the background and history about catechetical nurture HERE. At bedtime, ask simple questions:


Who made you? God made me.


What else did God make? God made all things.


Why did God make you and all things? For His own glory.


Who is God? God is the maker of all things.


Who made God? No one.


Was God ever not there? No.


Has God always been? Yes.


Will God always be (alive)? Yes.


Did God have a birthday? No.


Will God have a funeral? No.


Can you say this another way? Yes, God is eternal.


With very young children, repetition is key. Although they aren’t ready for long discourses, they’ll repeat to you simple phrases and sentences. That’s how God made them to respond at this age. As they mature, you can add additional explanations and move on to more extended questions and answers.


Of course, teaching time doesn’t always need to be formal. Wanda, mother of three-year-old Susan, takes advantage of every teachable moment: ‘When we’re pulling weeds, I mentioned that we wouldn’t have to do this if Adam hadn’t sinned. When our cats leave dead animals at the house, I talk about the bad news (why things die) and the good news that we can live forever in heaven, the good gift from God that we receive by faith in Jesus.’


Whatever method you choose, do teach. It’s never too early to begin with the truths of the Bible with the little ones entrusted to you!


Read below what OPC pastor Edd Cathey conveys at this one particular time of baptizing an infant—he provides excellent points about God’s early start with little ones:


"Since before he was born and received his name, little Graham has been in a developing relationship with [his parents] Megan and Behn. He heard their voices every day. When he was born, that relationship was intensified with hugs and kisses and touch and sight along with more words of love. He is learning to trust them through all these things. He is a person and his family members are persons- expanded recently to aunts, uncles, grandparents, and others. He is a person receiving communications of love from persons.


In Holy Baptism he is about to be embraced in an intense way by Another who loves him and calls him by name. The one God in three persons is speaking to Graham.

Just as he did not at first comprehend those earlier voices and touches completely, he does not fully comprehend the gracious Triune God who embraces him with covenant love. Nevertheless, God is calling his name and saying “Graham, you are mine, follow me, I am your Savior, I put my name on you.”

My son, Toby, offers great quotes about using the question and answer method, something that can be used with little ones:

“The word 'catechism' derives from the Greek word katecheo which is found in several places in Scripture. The most familiar is Luke 1:4, where Luke explains why he wrote his Gospel: 'that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed [catechichized].' Like many Greek words katecheo is put together from two words, in this case kata, meaning 'down toward,' and echeo, meaning 'to sound.' Katecheo is 'sound down.'"

From Donald Van Dyken, Rediscovering Catechism, 12-13


And again:


“We teach first the Bible and then the confessions, the Bible because it is God speaking to his people, and the confessions because they are the church speaking to God, answering his Word."


From Donald Van Dyken, Rediscovering Catechism, 56


Our Faith Presbyterian congregation has been using the children’s catechism and the Westminster Shorter Catechism in a memory program, see one HERE, and it’s been great for our young children, students and their families. The reinforcement, modeling and grounding in truth has been gold.

Ideas for this post are taken from Answers magazine, (April-May 2008), Great Commission Publications (the publishing arm of the OPC and PCA), the book, Rediscovering Catechism (from Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co.) and the Catechism for Little Persons (by Jim Dennison, an OPC minister and professor at Northwest Theological Seminary in Seattle).

G. Mark Sumpter

Trust and Obey as a Son

Obedience showing faith and faith showing obedience: like a child serving his father

God summoned Adam to walk in faith, to live out of the communion he enjoyed with his God and Father. Notice Calvin’s own point about proving out, showing forth, the gift of faith that he already had. Calvin’s words are helpful with respect to holding together the notions of Adam’s sonship-walk and a test of his faith, the probation at the tree in the Garden.

Calvin writes:
“We must, therefore, look deeper than sensual intemperance. The prohibition to touch the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was a trial of obedience, that Adam, by observing it, might prove his willing submission to the command of God. For the very term shows the end of the precept to have been to keep him contented with his lot, and not allow him arrogantly to aspire beyond it. The promise, which gave him hope of eternal life as long as he should eat of the tree of life, and, on the other hand, the fearful denunciation of death the moment he should taste of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, were meant to prove and exercise his faith.”

16th Century French Reformer, John Calvin in his Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2.1.4

G. Mark Sumpter

Calvin, Children and Hope

Eschatology and Children

Is there any staying power for those times when we think there's little hope? Maybe we think there's little reason to stay at our parental post, little reason to keep our hand to the plow.

John Calvin on children from Psalm 127.

“It is no small gift of God for a man to be renewed in his posterity; for God then gives him new strength, that he who otherwise would straightway decay, may begin as it were to live a second time….unless men regard their children as the gift of God, they are careless and reluctant in providing for their support, just as on the other hand this knowledge contributes in a very eminent degree to encourage them in bringing up their offspring. Farther, he who thus reflects upon the goodness of God in giving him children, will readily and with a settled mind look for the continuance of God’s grace; and although he may have but a small inheritance to leave them, he will not be unduly careful on that account.”

The Lord gives perpetuity of covenantal hope in and through our children. God has ordained them to preach the gospel of His faithfulness to us. Grace comes in generational doses, not quick-relief tablets of Advil. Stay at it moms and dads, stay at it youth workers, pastors, teachers and counselors!

Here, in eschatology, in hope and confidence with respect to the Lord's faithfulness and confirmation that our present labor is not in vain, God rears grace in those who come after us. Calvin says, tending to children gives a second wind, a second life; it's like being born again. It's the continuance of His grace.

G. Mark Sumpter