While hanging out with another youth leader and teen from my church, we talked about the youth group (known as "180"). We were talking about what was going right and what was not. This led me to ask, "What really is 180?" Here are some possible answers:
Is 180?
1.) A Thursday night youth gathering, 2.) The students who regularly come to the weekly gathering, 3.) A way of life, 4.) Platform for spiritual teaching and worship, 5.) Discipleship training, 6.) Place to introduce youth to Jesus, 7.)A church service for youth, 8.) A place for youth to hang out with friends, 9.) A safe place to discuss important issues that many people are afraid to discuss, 10.)A community, 11.)An obligation.
Truthfully, all of these could be legitimate answers depending on who you are and your particular point of view. For some youth, 180 is a weekly youth service. Others think of 180 as a place to socialize with all of their friends at once. Still others see it as a place to recharge their spiritual batteries. Some youth would never call 180 a place because they think of it as a community of Christian youth. And yes, there are some who see 180 as an obligation because their parents force them to come.
Can 180 really be all of these things and do all of these things well?
By trying to define something do we put it in a box, cutting off its ability to breathe and be truly alive? The more I do youth ministry, the less that I seem to know. Each question just leads to another question. Arrrrrgh!
I guess the real question is what do I believe 180 is. How has God uniquely fashioned this body of believers to live in community and become God's people? Then, I can know the right answers for me and the questions that I should be asking.
How is that for a postmodern view of youth ministry?
