YOUNG ADULT INITIATIVE JUNE 2020
H O LY Y E A R N I N G S HOLY L I S T E N I N G HOLY PARTNERSHIPS
Holy Yearnings Holy Listening Holy Partnerships A Peer-to-Peer Young Adult Ministry Initiative
Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary June 2020
Table of Contents Background
1
Initiative Overview
2
Phase 2 Congregations
3
Reach
7
Engagement Opportunities
8
Lessons Learned
9
Sharing Learning
10
Webinars
11
Reflections
16
Facilitators
22
Appendix A
23
Background Holy Yearnings, Holy Listening, Holy Partnerships: A Peer-to-Peer Young Adult Ministry Initiative addresses one of the biggest challenges churches face today: reaching millennials in meaningful ways. This multi-phase project helped 13 congregations create innovative ministries to support young adults’ flourishing through an Innovation Hub housed at Garrett- Evangelical Theological Seminary (G-ETS). This was one of 12 such hubs supported at seminaries across the US through the Lilly Endowment’s Young Adult Initiative. The project confirmed our hunch and led to some surprises: Attending to the holy yearnings of young people requires holy listening – and that can lead to promising new partnerships. Staying close to the lived realities, imagination, and agency of young adults led us to rediscover some ancient understandings of church through new eyes. We witnessed the birth of new forms of Christian community that are both true to the gospel and attuned to current realities. We are excited to share our findings in this report.
The Initiative set out to:
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1 Unleash congregational imagination, designing new ministries that grow out of and nourish the faith of young adults
Create contexts for new learning and relationship building
3 Provide spaces for young adults to put their faith into action
4 Invite a widening network of congregations to adapt this approach to their own contexts 1
Initiative Overview The third and final phase of Holy Yearnings, Holy Listening, Holy Partnerships is currently underway
2019-2021 Winter
Spring
Summer
Fall
Generate collective meaning-making opportunities Disseminate findings
Phase 3:
Share Findings … Nourish a Movement
In this final phase, we are mobilizing our new knowledge in order to support the creativity of more congregations that hope to meet the holy yearnings of young adults. We identified ten Mentoring Congregations already effectively reaching young adults and selected one young adult from each congregation to conduct interviews that listened deeply to the holy yearnings of young adults in their contexts. We gathered to collectively make meaning out of what they heard and shared seven themes emerging from young adults in our contexts.
Using this process, a total of 13 congregations created prototypes – trying out new initiatives to design ministries that ranged from monthly Sunday brunches to a holy party on a Chicago train. Joined by coaches and mentors, they experimented, learned, adapted their prototypes, and launched new ministries. They gathering in October of 2019 for a day of learning from one another’s successes and challenges.
The following pages include: 1) Learnings surface as we nourish a movement of faith communities reaching out in meaningful ways to reflect God’s emerging hopes for the church. 2) Summaries of four webinars we hosted to share this project with additional congregations. 3) Posters created by our congregations that share their prototypes in images, stories, and data points (located in Appendix A). 2
Phase 2 Congregations The participating congregations are denominationally diverse. 2
4
2
2
2
1
African Methodist Episcopal
Baptist
Evangelical Lutheran
Most of the congregations serve predominately intergenerational participants
4
0%
20%
African American (5) White (4)
9
40%
60%
United Methodist
Participating congregations are predominantly:
Predominantly Intergenerational
Predominantly Young Adults
Non-Denominational United Church of Christ
Multicultural (3) 80%
100%
Asian (1)
3
Phase 2 Congregations (continued) African Methodist Episcopal (2) Arnett Chapel A.M.E. Church
Arnett Chapel is an African Methodist Episcopal church that is socially conscious, Bible-focused, and active in the surrounding neighborhood. They have a very committed young adult ministry and are launching a Children’s Defense Fund Freedom School in 2018.
St. Mark’s A.M.E. Church St. Mark’s, located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has a rich denominational and congregational history. It is the first AME church in Milwaukee and the oldest predominantly African-American church in the state. The congregation lives it faith through ministries within the church and within its broader community.
Baptist (2)
Evangelical Lutheran (1)
North Shore Baptist Church North Shore is a “multicultural, multilingual, inclusive community of faith” located on the north side of Chicago. It is home to four congregations, each worshipping in a different language —English, Spanish, Karen, and Japanese. In addition to being LGBT-friendly, the church is committed to outreach ministries in the city that meet community needs.
Redeemer Church Redeemer Church has a variety of campuses and ministries, including prison ministry and a specific focus on 20-30 year-olds. Redeemer is an ELCA Lutheran church located in Park Ridge, though denominational information is not a part of their branding.
Non-Denominational (2) Second Baptist Church of Evanston Second Baptist continues to expand on its 138-year history by responding faithfully to the call “to care for souls; experience the joy of celebrating God's goodness, and work collaboratively to accomplish much to the glory of God.” SBC offers itself as an intergenerational “beacon of light” in the Evanston community, bringing together persons from diverse backgrounds in the celebration of faith, freedom, fellowship, and stewardship.
CityPoint Community Church
CityPoint is building a multi-ethnic and multigenerational church community that reflects the diversity of the South Loop of Chicago. Their motto is “Simply Caring, Simply Community, Simply Church.” They gather in a intimate, casual environment and are committed to community service, and to “learning and living the principles of the Bible.”
Destiny Christian Church of Evanston
Destiny Christian Church began in the summer of 2008 with a few families and the vision of being a family-centered space where everyone has “a seat at the table.” As the congregation grows, it extends to others the hope and freedom that can be found in Jesus through its ministries and service to others. 4
Phase 2 Congregations (continued) United Methodist (4) Jesus-Love Korean UMC Jesus Love is located in Skokie, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago. The congregation is predominantly young adult (under 40) and seeks to serve young adults throughout the Chicagoland area, including outreach to young adult professionals and international Korean students at Northwestern University (Evanston) and the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Urban Village Church Edgewater Urban Village is a multicampus congregation whose mission is to create “Jesusloving, inclusive communities that ignite the city.” They are committed to nurturing a church without walls and have a track record for mentoring a new generation of pastoral leaders. They are open and affirming of LGBTQ+ people.
Hennepin Avenue UMC
For 133 years, Hennepin Avenue has been a faith presence in Minneapolis, Minnesota that focuses on loving God and loving neighbors. In the midst of changing neighborhood demographics, this intergenerational, LGBTQIA+-inclusive congregation practices “radical hospitality, passionate worship, intentional faith development, risk-taking mission and service, and extravagant generosity” with a goal of congregational and societal transformation.
Grace Church of Logan Square
Grace Church is committed to “challenging unjust beliefs about faith and community” and service to its neighbors in Logan Square. They are “coffee drinkers, tea drinkers, Republicans, Democrats, Independents, tattooed, lost, found … filled with questions, homosexual, heterosexual, thinkers, dreamers, social justice champions, loud singers, quiet singers, teachers, students, Children of God.”
United Church of Christ (2) Gilead Church
UCC/Disciples of Christ This north-side Chicago church brews their own small-batch beer and embraces the practices of telling true stories, sharing good food, and worshiping beautifully. Their motto is: “We are open and affirming, anti-racist, local, organic, slow-church, just peace, free range, real butter Christians.”
Root and Branch Church Root and Branch leaves “room for the sacred and the strange.” They are LGBTQ affirming and have a motto that includes: “from strangers into neighbors; from consumers into creators; from wanderers into wonderers.” They are a “sometimes spontaneous, occasionally mobile, often adventurous, group whose schedule can change from time to time.”
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Phase 2 Congregations (continued) Participating congregations are located in neighborhoods in and beyond Chicago. Second Baptist Church Jesus-Love Korean Church Korean United Methodist
Destiny Christian Church of Evanston
Evanston, IL
Gilead Church
United Church of Christ/Disciples of Christ
Urban Village Church United Methodist
Redeemer Church
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
North Shore Baptist Church Grace Church of Logan Square United Methodist
Root and Branch Church
Christian Church Disciples of Christ
CityPoint Community Church
St. Mark A.M.E. Church Milwaukee, WI
Arnett Chapel A.M.E. Church African Methodist Episcopal Church
Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church Minneapolis, MN
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Reach Congregations broadened their reach, attracting hundreds of new people to events that were offered as a result of the Project and expanded their visibility online.
1,521
92
Young Adults Attended Project Events
Young Adults Helped Lead and Plan Projects for their peers
697
16,467
New People Engaged • Including 586 young adults & 111 other congregants
Individual encounters via social media • 1,861 visits to Project Websites and other related sites
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Engagement Opportunities Young Adult Teams developed creative ways to engage their peers, including:
Community Building • • •
Arts • • • •
Concerts Spoken Word & Dramatic Performances Storytelling Visual Arts
Community Meals Camping trips Themed parties
Spiritual Formation & Education • • • •
Social Media • • • •
Development of Project Websites Podcasts Virtual Chatrooms App Development
• • •
Bible Studies Discipleship & Leadership Development Classes Sacred Writing Workshops Millennial-themed Worship Services Spiritual Growth Coaching Millennial-themed Classes Mentoring
Community Service • • •
Health Fairs Community Gardens Food Drives 8
Theological Insights Centering young adults’ voices enabled congregations to recognize their gifts and reimagine their theological commitments.
The Initiatives illustrated how young adults: Are integral rather than peripheral to the life of the church
Can benefit the entire congregation with their contributions
Are called to inspire, improvise, and create
The Initiatives affirmed that thriving congregations: Embrace diversity, practice justice, and serve their communities.
Manifest God’s call to be relational, to embody radical witness, and to reach out beyond churches’ walls.
Strive to meet young adults’ needs and engage people of all ages
The practice of listening to young adults: Is holy, reflecting how God extends holy listening to God’s creation
Reminds us that centering our identity in God is transformative because we are created in the image of God 9
Sharing Learning
In October 2019 young adult representatives from our 13 congregations gathered for a day of learning. To share the story of how the Initiative took shape in their congregations, they each created a poster with highlights and lessons learned. Each congregation’s project summary in the young adults’ own words can be found in Appendix A
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Webinars We created a four-week webinar series to share our findings. Each session contributes to our overall goal of helping churches create a paradigm shift that centers young adults as vital members of the congregation. Summaries of those webinars follow. The series included the following webinars (To view the webinar, click on the title):
1. Creating a Culture of Radical Hospitality by Dr. Reginald Blount
2. Alienated and Ambivalent by Dr. Karen Mosby
3. Justice Evangelizes, Brunch Heals by Dr. Dori Baker and Gina Robinson
4. Relationships, Community, and Connection by Dr. Jennifer Moe and Bri Crumbley 11
Webinar 1: Creating A Culture of Radical Hospitality This webinar session focused on two themes that emerged from our Holy Listening research: Welcoming and Accessible: Interviewees found communities where they felt accepted being themselves – places where they felt truly seen. Relevant and Relatable Leaders: Interviewees value pastors who take time to cultivate relationship with them. They hope pastors will be approachable role models they can emulate and with whom they can connect.
In light of these two themes, we explored the question:
Key Insight
“What does it mean to create a culture of radical hospitality with young adults?” Radical Hospitality is… 1. Offering hospitality in a radical way 2. Provoking practices that exceed expectations, that go the second mile, that take welcoming young adults to the max. 3. Not simply kind or polite - it is transformative.
Young adults need to know that they are not alone; that when they face life’s joys and challenges, they are surrounded by a community of love and grace!
Recommendations To offer radical hospitality, congregations can:
•
Sense a calling and responsibility to pray, plan, and work to invite and help young adults feel welcome and supported in their faith journeys
•
Surround young adults with grace
•
Become a school for love, where people learn from one another how to love.
•
Strive without ceasing to exceed expectations to accommodate and include others
•
Realize good intentions are not enough! Radical Hospitality requires Practice!
Rev. Dr. Reginald Blount Associate Professor of Formation, Leadership and Culture Director, Garrett-Evangelical
Young Adult Initiative
reginald.blount@garrett.edu 12
Webinar 2: Alienated & Ambivalent This webinar sought to voice and explore some of the negative experiences that young adults in Phase 1 of our project had with Christian congregations. These experiences led to their uncertainty about owning the label of “Christian” and feeling hurt by churches. The webinar also suggested action steps for churches who are interested in rebuilding relationships with young adults.
Recommendations
•
Identify young adult conversation partners; young adults to serve on congregational governing boards; and young adults you will pray for regularly.
•
Work toward better aligning your congregation’s statements with your congregation’s behavior and practices.
•
Use biblical and theological resources to help congregations learn how to embody divine hospitality and practice justice.
•
Embrace the prophetic witness of young adults in your church, in your community, and in the world.
Key Insights As we listened to young adults from Phase 1 of this project, we learned that:
1. Alienation arises when churches “do hateful things” to young adults and/or their family members and they act in ways that have “deadly… impact on LGBTQ people.” 2. Alienation from God and others can occur when young adults witness “hypocrisy in people who call themselves Christian, but will go drop bombs or are misogynist or racist.” 3. Ambivalence about the label “Christian” stemmed from the “baggage” and “negative connotations” associated with being called a Christian in this country.
Rev. Dr. Karen E. Mosby karen.mosby@garrett.edu 13
Webinar 3: Justice Evangelizes, Brunch Heals This webinar shared insights related to a theme that emerged from Holy Listening: justice evangelizes. Congregations that interpret the gospel through the lens of contemporary social issues such as racism, mass incarceration, sexual orientation, gender justice, poverty, and climate change appeal to the young people to whom we listened. The young adults in our study want to be involved in churches where they can find like-minded sojourners committed to enacting their faith by working for the betterment of the world. We learned about a church that experienced a groundswell of young adult engagement after discerning the need to show support of LGBTQ neighbors by hanging a rainbow flag. Now, several years later, that church
hosts an intergenerational, inter-racial, LGBTQcentered Sunday school class. Another story surfaced the power of ”brunch culture” as a way young adults are enacting church: breaking bread together, creating an atmosphere of authentic sharing, and supporting one another in their struggles over a shared meal. During the webinar, youth minister and doctoral student Gina Robinson shared excerpts from her research on Black girlhood, and in doing so, exemplified how young adults are doing justice work at the intersection of church and academia. She seeks to curate spaces that help Black girls cultivate faith-filled, practical responses to the injustices they face in the world.
Recommendations
•
Pay attention to where young adults are already investing their energies
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Come alongside cultural movements that serve spiritual needs of those Jesus would call “the least among us.”
•
Define spirituality broadly, keeping in mind that God shows up differently to each generation
Key Insight Christian Innovation is bringing the healing power of Christian community to specific pain points in the world through reclaiming and reimagining ancient practices.
Rev. Dr. Dori Baker bakerdori@mac.com www.doribaker.com
Gina A. S. Robinson 14
Webinar 4: Relationships, Connection, & Community During our interviews with young adults, several of them mused on what it means to have community in their congregation. Community is sometimes a tricky word – it feels like something that we know when we see it, but can be hard to define. One of our young adults said “I definitely feel connected to not only God here, but to the people of God, which is one of the more important things for me.” This young person looks to their congregation not only as a place to encounter God, but to be together with God’s people. Another young adult said they resonate with the idea of community with connection, and even love: I’m able to witness what’s happening when you look around the room and everyone is just in there, we’re all connected and we’re there for the same purpose, and I think it’s, it’s love.
A key component to community and connection for young adults is the sense that there is a shared purpose among those in attendance. Their feeling of belonging and having strong connections and relationships was very important. They explained: If I didn’t show up on a Sunday, people are blowing my phone up saying: Where you at? Are you coming at all? That makes me feel good. That core groups of people who I know I can talk to about my outside life. For young adults, their congregation is a place where they can talk about their “outside life,” (likely work or relationships outside of church). They feel comfortable sharing who they really are with their church friends. They feel good knowing that people in their church care about them and notice when they are not there.
Key Insights
Dr. Jennifer Moe Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary jennifer.moe@garrett.edu
1. Community is found in shared purpose. 2. It matters that people notice when you are not there. 3. Being able to be who you really are in a community of faith is essential.
Bri Crumbley Gilead Church Chicago Bri@gileadchicago.org BriSparkles.com 15
Reflections
Everything Teaches and Context Matters A biblical, theological, and curricular framework Dori Baker, PhD
Everything we do (or don’t do) teaches about the God we say we worship! Congregations can embody God anew in every little context in which young adults find themselves. Here’s what that looked like through the lens of our project.
Clearly, fixing what’s broken as it relates to young adults and the church is deeply entangled with cultural shifts, personal histories, and institutional harm. It won’t be easy! However, amidst all the complexity, we had an aha moment. As we deeply listened to young adults, we recognized that what they long for often echoes what the church has always been up to – but significantly re-imagined for everevolving contexts.1 In what follows, I outline a framework for congregational ministry that emerged from our data – and I will show you what this looks like through snapshots including young adults lingering over shared meals, creating courses on Friendship 101, hosting Tuesday night liturgies at a gay bar, and framing faith formation as resilience for those experiencing identity-related oppression. The work of religious educator Maria Harris (1932-2005) offers a helpful way of inviting congregations into reimagining theological commitments in ways that center young adult longings. Her work can be summed up in two words: everything teaches! To unpack that phrase, understand that Harris eschews narrow definitions of education that remind us of the Sunday school classroom of the 1950s. Rather, she proposes an expansive, wholistic view of education. Everything the church does teaches, as it lives out five curricula (from the Latin: a course to be run). Harris bases this in a glimpse of the early church depicted in the Book of Acts 2: 42, 45-47: And they continued steadfastly in the teaching of the apostles and in the communion of the breaking of bread and
in the prayers … And all who believed were together and held all things in common and would sell their possessions and goods and distribute them among all according as anyone had need. And continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread in their houses, they took their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and being in favor with all the people. From this description, Harris culls the Greek words: koinonia, leiturgia, diakonia, kergyma and didache, translated as community, liturgy, service, word and teaching. But she significantly re-interprets each of these through the lens of the church’s priestly and prophetic roles. She also sees these as interwoven and connecting – more like a multi-dimensional dance than distinct, separate acts.2 The Priestly Task preserves tradition, celebrates in ritual, and gathers community. The Prophetic Task transforms, challenges, and calls to account. When you think of priestly acts in the Hebrew Bible, we think of the Torah, the first five books that lay out the early history and law of the Hebrew people. The establishment of the priestly tradition ensures the continuation of the community. When we think of prophetic, we remember that the Hebrew prophets kept the community in check, calling it back to God’s justice and wholeness. (Often, the prophetic role is the more challenging one, and one that appeals to young adult developmental needs to assert independence and claim their own truths).
1 We
see this as akin to the Sankofa principle of the Andinkra people, commonly stated as “go back and fetch” what you need to move forward. 2
Harris, Maria, Fashion Me a People, (1989b, p. 64).
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Reflections
Keeping in mind both the priestly and the prophetic task, Harris enlarges our definition of the five acts of the church’s curriculum in ways that echo some of the longings we heard from young adults in our project.
Didache = Teaching
Koinonia = Community
Leiturgia= Liturgy
Harris defines teaching as the whole church teaching the whole church. She reminds us that genuine teaching is often provocative, discomforting, frightening, or risky. This reminds me of a sign that used to hang outside a church at which I worshipped during seminary. It read: "the Sign of God is that we will be led where we did not plan to go."
Harris defines koinonia as “ministry toward healing and wholeness.” This includes healing of divisions within and among human beings, and all of creation, communion, cooperation, deep abiding respect for other religions.
What this looks like:
What this looks like:
The church that hung a rainbow flag in support of LGBTQ persons after the 2016 shooting at the PULSE nightclub in Orlando. In the months that followed, the church saw an uptick in visits by young adults, and four years later has a thriving intergenerational, multiracial Sunday school class led by two transgender women. This fits Harris’ description of prophetic teaching.
At Brunch Church people gather for long lingering meals over which they laugh, cry, share stories, and find mutual support for the struggles of daily life. It might also look like the church that takes to the streets for Black Lives Matter protests and Gay Pride parades, actively embodying the kind of community they understand the gospel is calling them to be.
Harris expands the definition of liturgy to include both the public, communal, sacramental prayer of the people gathered together and the spiritual experience of the individual such as contemplation, meditation, and writing poetry. Liturgy is the art of worship engaging our whole beings: body, spirit, and imagination. The aim of liturgy is connection with the Holy -“that inexpressibly good power which spirals through the universe, creating, and recreating our being, our imagination, our faith.”3
What this looks like: The young adult who keeps his Spotify playlist tuned to uplifting gospel and secular music as he drives his forklift, essentially praying without ceasing. In the prophetic vein, it looks like the young adults who created a “funeral for the earth” as a way of addressing climate change. 3
Carter Heyward, A Priest Forever, 1976.
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Reflections
Kerygma = Word
Diakonia = Service
Traditionally, this is preaching – expounding on the Word of God. Harris widens this meaning to include Word Incarnate. She portrays it as the message of Christ’s life fleshed out in our human activity. In this meaning, Kerygma includes not just preaching, but also acts of justice and advocacy for the oppressed. As Christians, we advocate or “speak the Word” for others.
This is the Greek root of the word “diaconal.” It traditionally refers to acts of charity and mercy. Instead of acts of charity alone, however, Harris calls us to acts of solidarity growing out of compassion. When we do so, we enter also into holy troublemaking. For her, the church is in service when it agitates, stirs up, afflicts with discomfort, causes creative confusion, inconveniences or bothers institutions and systems of power and authority.
What this looks like: What this looks like: Churches in our study “incarnate the word“ to meet their young adult’s longings; by creating “Friendship 101” podcasts; hosting a party on a train; and holding a drag queen worship service. These are all things they think Jesus would do if he were alive in their corner of the world today.
A shift from charity to solidarity: solidarity with the earth, solidarity with oppressed people, solidarity with those who are lonely or socially isolated. Young adults call the church as an institution into solidarity that critiques surrounding culture, even as they claim and bless what they find to be good and holy within popular culture and their own microexpressions of it.
Where We’re Going…
The five researchers who accompanied the churches in this project are each engaged in ongoing work using Harris’s framework to think more deeply about Holy Yearnings, Holy Listening, and Holy Partnerships between young adults and faith communities. As we go forward, we will focus on how young adults “go back and get” the ancient practices they need, reworking them from the ground up to find meaning and purpose at the centers and edges of congregational life.
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Reflections How to Care for a Masterpiece: A Theological Anthropology Dr. Reggie Blount There is a verse in scripture that caught my attention many years ago that literally changed my life. The verse begins with “We are God’s Masterpiece.” (Ephesians 2:10, New Living Translation)
“I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” ~ Michelangelo
A one of a kind original…
But as much as I knew God’s love for me, it never occurred to me that God created me to be God’s masterpiece. It never occurred to me that I was a priceless work of art in God’s eyes. Part of the trauma of my upbringing was continually questioning my worth and value. There were many voices that had me believing that I might be loved, but my life was not really significant. I found myself struggling much in my early life with issues of self-esteem and self-worth. You see, when you grow up in an environment of “not enough” you find yourself wrestling with questions like “Am I enough? Does my life have meaning? Does my life have purpose? When it is all said and done, will my life really matter? Will my life make a difference?”
A priceless work of art…
But life began to change when I discovered these words:
Could it be that every human being, including myself, was created by God to be God’s greatest piece of work, a masterpiece?
We are God’s Masterpiece!
We are God’s Masterpiece! These words took me by surprise when I first read them. Could it be that we, could it be that I was a masterpiece made by God? A masterpiece…
The discovery of these words began a journey of real transformation in my life. My faith taught me that God created me and that I was loved by God, so I never doubted God’s love for me because I experienced it over and over again. Growing up poor in a singleparent household in an urban community made for a challenging upbringing. Much of my experience was immersed in an environment of “not enough” – not enough money and sometimes not enough food or other basic needs. Yet I experienced more than enough love, especially through the members of a neighborhood church that had an amazing children and youth ministry. It was through them I learned that God loved me, because of how the people of that congregation loved me and the other children in the community. I never doubted that God loved me.
That phrase caused me to ask myself, “What would my life be like if I truly believed that I was God’s masterpiece? What if I truly believed that I was created to live the masterpiece life God created for me?” I began to realize that if I truly was God’s masterpiece called to live a masterpiece life, then I must address whatever was hindering me from living the life I was created to live. I understood that if I was to live that life, then, like Michelangelo, I must see the angel (the masterpiece) in me, hew away the rough walls that imprisoned me, and set the masterpiece free! It was during this time of revelations that I was also doing my doctoral research on the faith formation of adolescents. In doing this research I identified “seven spiritual yearnings” I believe young people wrestle with in their spiritual development. They are identity, purpose, intimacy, healing, mentoring, nurture, and courage. 19
Reflections Identity: A yearning to understand who they are; to answer the question “Who am I?” or “Whose am I?” A yearning to understand what it means to be made in the image of God, as in “Who am I in God’s greater story?”
away those things that hold one back from living the masterpiece life they were created to live.
Purpose: A yearning to understand their reason for being; to be able to answer “Why am I here? What role do I play in God’s greater story?”
To live the masterpiece life you were created to live requires seeing the angel (the masterpiece) inside yourself, hew away the rough walls that imprison your uniqueness, and set the masterpiece free!
Intimacy: A yearning to be loved unconditionally by God, family, and society. Healing: A yearning to be made whole again after experiencing various levels of brokenness. Mentoring: A yearning for a caring and wise guide who is interested enough to help them navigate the waters between adolescence and adulthood. Nurture: A yearning to be encouraged and empowered in the midst of their faith journey. Courage: A yearning for the strength to live boldly, fearlessly, and faithfully. As I shared these yearnings in my classes and workshops, it was amazing to discover that these desires are not strictly confined to adolescents. I vividly remember a class session in which I presented these spiritual longings of young people and a thirty-year-old student began to cry because she realized these were yearnings she still longed to have satisfied in her life. Our research has highlighted that young adults continue experiencing a crisis of meaning that creates these yearnings for identity, purpose, intimacy, healing, mentoring, nurture, and courage. I believe a key way young adults can begin to satisfy these yearnings starts with their theological anthropology: embracing the belief that they are God’s masterpiece. The work then is to “carve”
So how do you care for a masterpiece?
Be Free to Claim Your Name (Identity) It is a natural desire for all of us to know who we are. “Who am I?” is one of the most pivotal questions of life. But as a masterpiece, “Who am I?” should not be the question you ask because it is not helpful, enriching, edifying, or life-giving. It leaves the task of discovery resting solely on your shoulders and puts the onus on you to fill in the blanks. I believe that this question needs rephrasing to ask instead, “Whose am I?” This allows you to discover the real longing, the real yearning you have, and that is to answer, “To whom do I belong?” The answer? You are God’s masterpiece! Your true identity is lost when you define yourself by what your not-enough self thinks you are, or by what you allow others to say you are, rather than by who you really are: God’s masterpiece! Be Free to Live Purposefully You are a masterpiece not just in form, but also in function. You were created to live purposefully. Your life has purpose and meaning. No one is here by accident, and there is a divine assignment for us all. Some call it a vocation; others name it a calling. Author Frederick Buechner, in his book Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC, says, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” It’s at that intersection of your passion and the world’s need that you discover purpose.
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Reflections Be Free to Receive Healing My research has shown me that by the time they reach their teenage years almost all young people have experienced some type of brokenness, rejection, ridicule, emotional or physical pain, shame, guilt, oppression, or demoralization. When the brokenness goes unaddressed and has never had the opportunity to heal, it is carried into adulthood where it ends up affecting the life choices they make. Caring for the masterpiece within you includes acknowledging your brokenness and being free and vulnerable enough to receive the restoration you need to live the masterpiece life you were created to live. Be Free to Love (Intimacy) In her book The Gift of Imperfection, Brené Brown says, “A deep sense of love and belonging is an irreducible need of all people. We are biologically, cognitively, physically, and spiritually wired to love, to be loved, and to belong.” She goes on to say, “We cultivate love when we allow our most vulnerable and powerful selves to be deeply seen and known, and we honor the spiritual connection that grows from that offering with trust, respect, kindness and affection.” It is a natural, spiritual desire to long to belong to someone who loves you. When you know you belong to someone who loves you, you have no problem embracing and possessing that relationship as your own. To believe you are God’s masterpiece is to believe you are deeply seen and known by God, which then allows you to be free to be deeply seen and known by others. Be Free to Be Mentored We all yearn for a guide, especially if we are navigating paths we’ve never experienced. You need mentors who are open enough to testify concerning their struggles and challenges and offer you the tools and pathways to free the masterpiece within. You need mentors or role models who are willing to share their journey with you and offer insight, guidance, hope, and some direction to help you thrive in living the masterpiece life you were created to live.
Be Free to Be Nurtured As I said earlier, you are God’s masterpiece not just in form but also in function. To maximize your masterpiece life means to strive to grow and develop daily. To be nurtured is to be willing to allow others to offer you the care and attention you need to continue to grow and develop. Be Free to Live Fearlessly (Courage) Theodore Roosevelt is quoted as saying: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds…who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.” If you are to truly live the masterpiece life you were created to live then you must free yourself to get into the arena of life – to take risks, strive, stumble, sweat, and dare greatly. Living fearlessly isn’t living without fear; it’s living boldly in spite of the fears. We are all God’s masterpieces called to live out the divine assignments, the divine purposes our lives were created to be. And as we strive to satisfy our spiritual yearnings, we become able to more clearly see the masterpiece lives designed for us.
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Facilitators Rev. Dr. Dori Baker is Senior Fellow for Research and Learning at the Fund for Theological Exploration (FTE), an Atlanta-based leadership incubator for the church and academy. Her research lies at the intersection of young adult culture, innovative leadership, cultural studies, and spiritual practices that sustain activism. She wrote Doing Girlfriend Theology: God-Talk with Young Women and edited the book Greenhouses of Hope: Congregations Nurturing Young People Who Will Change the World. She currently edits a Chalice Press series on young adults, vocational discernment, and faith-based leadership. For social change and is the editor of numerous journal articles. Dori received her PhD in Religious Studies from Northwestern University, is a graduate of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, and is an elder in the United Methodist Church. She lives in Lynchburg, Virginia, where she is an active volunteer around issues related to racial justice.
Rev. Dr. Reggie Blount serves on the faculty of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary as Associate Professor of Formation, Leadership and Culture. He teaches in the area of Christian Education, Congregational Leadership and Youth and Young Adult Ministry. He further serves the seminary as Program Director of the Garrett Young Adult Initiative funded by the Lilly Endowment and Advisor for the Doctor of Ministry in Strategic Leadership in Black Congregations. He is also Pastor of Arnett Chapel A.M.E. Church in Chicago, IL and further serves the Fourth Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church as Program Director of its Thriving In Ministry Initiative funded by the Lilly Endowment. He serves as Co-Executive Director of the Garret-Evanston Freedom School and Executive Director of the Morgan Park Freedom School, a summer literacy program for children developed by the Children Defense Fund. Dr. Blount speaks and teaches nationally and internationally helping communities envision new and creative ways to minister to, with and on behalf of young people and foster congregational and community renewal. He also serves as a Life Curator (Coach) and Consultant guiding persons in embracing their passions, discovering their purpose and living a life that is priceless! He is the Co-editor of “Let Your Light Shine: Mobilizing for Justice with Children and Youth” (Friendship Press, June 2019) and he is a contributor in “Making God Real for a Next Generation: Ministry with Millennials Born from 1982 to 1999” (Discipleship Resources, 2003) and “Educating For Redemptive Community” (Wipf & Stock, 2015).
Rev. Dr. Karen E. Mosby is currently a Ph.D. student in the Christian Education
and Congregational Studies track at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. Over the course of her 30+ years in ordained pastoral ministry, she has served as the Pastor of Pastoral Care and Administrator of Second Baptist Church (Evanston); Pastor of Good News Community Church United Church of Christ (Chicago); Director of Contextual Education at Chicago Theological Seminary (Chicago) and an Executive Director of Programs at Good News Partners (Chicago). Her published writings include "Our Sons and Daughters Shall Prophesy”: P(r)eaching with Millennials (D.Min. Dissertation, 2014) as well as contributions to Aspire: The New Women of Color Study Bible (2007); Living Stones in the Household of God: The Legacy and Future of Black Theology (2003); and Sister to Sister Devotions for and from African American Women, Vol. 2 (1999). She received a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from Northwestern University and the Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from GarrettEvangelical Theological Seminary.
Dr. Jennifer Moe is Assistant Director of the Young Adult Initiative at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. She received her PhD in Christian Education and Congregational Studies from Garrett in 2018 and currently teaches at Garrett in the Christian Education department. Jennifer’s research interests include the ways in which women and girls are taught to be “good Christian women” in a variety of Christian religious subcultures; white feminism and its impact on and role within Christian religious communities; and the growing movement of exevangelical Christians in the United States and elsewhere. While completing her dissertation and since she graduated, Dr. Moe has served as adjunct faculty in the Religious Education field at Garrett. She is a creative teacher who carefully considers the content, the students, and the context when she plans and teaches a course. She teaches from a liberative pedagogy, and she is committed to anti-racism work from a position of intersectionality. She lives in Chicago, Illinois.
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Appendix A Congregational Posters (Pages 24-38)
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YOUNG ADULT INITIATIVE Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary 2121 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60201 847.866.3861 | Garrett.edu
Funding for the Young Adult Initiative comes from Lilly Endowment Inc. An Indianapolis-based private philanthropic foundation, Lilly Endowment Inc. was created in 1937 by three members of the Lilly family – J.K. Lilly Sr. and sons J.K. Jr. and Eli – through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly & Company. The Endowment exists to support the causes of religion, education and community development. Lilly Endowment’s religion grant-making is designed to deepen and enrich the religious lives of American Christians. It does this largely through initiatives to enhance and sustain the quality of ministry in American congregations and parishes. More information can be found at www.lillyendowment.org.
