Statement by the President on Roe v. Wade Anniversary

As we mark the 39^th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we must remember that this Supreme Court decision not only protects a woman’s health and reproductive freedom, but also affirms a broader principle: that government should not intrude on private family matters.  I remain committed to protecting a woman’s right to choose and this fundamental constitutional right.  While this is a sensitive and often divisive issue- no matter what our views, we must stay united in our determination to prevent unintended pregnancies, support pregnant woman and mothers, reduce the need for abortion, encourage healthy relationships, and promote adoption.  And as we remember this historic anniversary, we must also continue our efforts to ensure that our daughters have the same rights, freedoms, and opportunities as our sons to fulfill their dreams.

Many responses are possible to a statement such as this.  One could argue with the fundamental nature of choice as a right.  One might also point out that the Declaration of Independence established the foundational rights for the drafting of the US Constitution and that life is listed not choice.  One could also question whether abortion can logically be defended as an equal rights issue (daughters…same…as our sons) given the exclusion of male input as well as the dreams yet to be dreamed by the unborn.

Instead, I would rather just reflect upon the Word of the Lord from Psalm 139.

¹ O LORD, you have searched me and known me!
² You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
³ You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
⁴ Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
⁵ You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.

⁷ Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
⁹ If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
¹² even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.

 ¹³ For you formed my inward parts; 
   you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. 
¹⁴ I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.

¹⁹ Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
O men of blood, depart from me!
²⁰ They speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies take your name in vain.
²¹ Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
²² I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.

²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
²⁴ And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!

There have been various incarnations or models of ministry over the years.  Some youth ministry models have been all about Christian education, some would seem to be more about entertainment, still others emphasize mission and service.  None of this gets down to the core and explains what we believe youth ministry to be all about.

I want to briefly propose the following as at least my own working understanding of youth ministry.

Youth Ministry is about connections.  First youth ministry is foundationally about our connection to Christ.  Notice that this connection is truly bedrock for all believers.  Christ comes to all of us, youth included, in our brokenness and need and calls us to Him.  Christ calls youth out of the struggles and despair that they endure into a right relationship with the Triune God.  We cannot approach the Father without the Son, yet we are beckoned into a connected relationship nonetheless.

In order to nurture this connection to Christ, youth ministry is to be about Christian education.  Catechesis is not optional for quality youth ministry.  Youth must be taught the fundamentals of our faith.  I believe further that this teaching must be done in an atmosphere of openness and safety.  Youth must have a place in which they are able to ask critical questions.  They must be able to have a place where it is safe to question the sacred in order that the grow to understand, appreciate, and accept it.

Youth Ministry is also about connection to others.  As disciples in Christ, we have a need to connect to one another for support as well as to be challenged.  Much is said about discipleship today in the church, though I am not always certain that a clear definition of discipleship is consistently employed.  As I understand discipleship, we are talking about a process.  Through baptism we are made disciples or followers of Christ.  This declaration of our justification and right standing before God does not mean that we are now fully equipped as disciples, just that we are declared to be such.  Christ’s original disciples responded to His call to follow His and simply obediently followed.  They did not have any qualifications to be call disciple.  They were simply invited and followed.  Through baptism we are invited.  The process of discipleship moves us into action, following our Lord.

Discipleship as a process involves guidance from one person to another in order to help appropriate the content of Christ’s teachings from Scripture into ones faith life.  The teacher in this arrangement guides the youth to see connections between the content of our faith and our life as a follower of Christ.  Discipleship means walking with another person, helping them to gain a clear perspective on life and develop wisdom and character.  This is a critical feature of youth ministry as adolescents find themselves and a crossroads of maturity.

Finally youth ministry is to be about a connection to the larger world around us.  As disciples we ought to seek to proclaim Christ to the nations as well as serve those in need.  Youth ministry thus should engage in both mission and service.  In mission work the primary goal is communication of the Gospel and the making of new disciples.  Mission work can be both international and local.  Service likewise can be done both internationally and locally, but is distinct from mission work in that the stated purpose is the act of service and not spreading of the Gospel.  Naturally one would never withhold the Gospel, it is simply that the primary purpose would be different for service as opposed to missions.

Must more can be said, and this topic will likely be revisited and revised, but for now chew on these thoughts and see what you think of this attempt at a working definition of youth ministry.

I have spent many years teaching youth groups, confirmation classes, bible studies, and children’s ministry events like VBS and Kids Church, but I am new to presenting this learning to future colleagues.  If I am able to recognize this and remain humble as I learn how to teach, I may well be formed into a quality professor.

This is a lesson that I believe applies to all of us across our lives.  No matter what our profession or job, no matter our stage in life, no matter the relationships we have, God calls us to humbly remain teachable.  This has been what I have looked for (and will continue to look for) in leaders for the church.  Being teachable does not negate what you know, it merely recognizes the limit to our understanding.  As my wife has been teaching me for sometime, I am not good at everything, and that is truly ok.

So as school begins, whether you are a student, teacher, parent, or just know some, our challenge is to be a teachable learner in Christ’s Kingdom.   Let’s sit at the foot of the cross and draw in deeply of the rich wisdom handed down in the pages of Scripture along with the collected wisdom of those wise folks God has placed in our live.  This is certainly my hope for myself this fall.

I was reminded of this passage while at the National Children’s Ministry Conference this past weekend.  I had the pleasure of coordinating a collection of local youth groups who served the attendees by working snack booths, selling water, sodas, and snacks.

What I noticed was that while the groups were selling drinks and snacks they were also connecting with one another.  Now I have seen this for years, at DYG’s, NYG’s, Mission Trips, and other events.  What was interesting for me this time was that I, more that usual, got to sit back and just watch as youth and adults alike meet one another, learned more about what each other are doing and grew in a desire to be the church without borders.

Later in the day on Saturday, I had a request from a colleague from the CNH district.  He wanted to know he could encourage youth groups from his district to take part in our district’s high school youth gathering.  Of course, I was delighted to let him know that they could.  That this was not happening before was more of an issue for me than extending the welcome to them now.  Again we were the church without borders.

So often in the church we think within preset limits or borders.  Whether that be our on congregations or districts, we fail to connect with the oneness in Christ, that Paul mentions in Galatians.  When we are one in Christ we ought not import borders that inhibit our shared ministry opportunities.  Local churches should regularly pool resources to offer ministry opportunities that might not otherwise be possible.  Rather than thinking about our own church growth we need to think in terms of kingdom growth.  With that expanded vision, borders begin to seem paper thin, and rightly so.

So join together in ministry with others with whom you are one in Christ Jesus and be the church without borders!

If you like me struggle with how to say no in order to say yes, let me recommend a great little book on the subject, What Matters Most by Doug Fields. In just under a 100 quick pages you will hear from one of the busiest men in youth ministry on how he has battled with understanding when to say no.

“13My son, eat honey, for it is good,
and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.
14Know that wisdom is such to your soul;
if you find it, there will be a future,
and your hope will not be cut off.”

I think that we would all like to think that we are wise, at least to some extent. Commonly today one might speak of street smarts as a way of conveying wisdom as both can be argued to relate to the application of knowledge into the practice of daily life.

Sometime ago I made a comment while leading a youth group that it sure would be simpler to achieve maturity if there were some kind of “instant maturity” type product that could help one out. As rather clever young lady in attendance was evidently inspired enough to create a spray bottle of “instant maturity” complete with appropriate labeling complete with ingredients.

Now this spray bottle really only contains water, but I believe that in some ways is symbolic of a struggle in our culture. We desire the instant and fight the demands of slow development. People looking into higher education often are just a concerned with the time taken to achieve a degree as they are with the knowledge/skills they will be learning.

My son is a great case in point. At three years old, I cannot expect him to understand patience all that well, but when he gets frustrated as he learns a new skill, he quickly reaches a point of anger and exhibits a desire to quit and have me bail him out.

In today’s proverb, wisdom, like maturity or patience, is something that develops over time. I love the way wisdom is connected with the eating of sweet honey. In that image we see a connection between what we consume and who we become.

It takes time for the food that we eat to become a fully formed part of who we are physically. Likewise consuming the wisdom of God’s Word provides sustenance to our souls, fueling and forming us in Christ. In so forming us in Christ indeed our “hope will not be cut off.”

We have a future, formed in Christ, when we consume His Word and live lives sustained by the wisdom and comes to us only through the Holy Spirit.

Instant maturity might be nice in theory, but in practice nothing beats the slow formation of character that God’s wisdom provides.