Immerse Blog
Still Going Deeper with Brandon Winstead’s: God’s Grace in Uno
by Alex Butler on October 10th, 2011 -- filed under Theology
Brandon Winstead’s article, “God’s Grace in Uno: How Play Can Reshape the Self-Identity of Affluent Students” is not about just playing games but using play as a way to disciple students. Brandon and I find ourselves in different contexts. He writes about the ability for a theology of play to restore the identities of affluent students who are relentlessly pushed to succeed. Play, for these students, is a way to escape the expectations and demands the successful life places upon their youth.
I am finding that a theology of play is valuable for students who come from all walks of life. I live in the Central Valley of California. Though the Central Valley has affluent students, many of our students are from middle- to lower-middle-class families. The same issues—loss of self-identity and depression—strike non-affluent students as well as affluent students. Life circumstances such as divorce, bullying and living in an economically depressed area give students little hope for the purpose of life or acceptance outside of whatever toy or accolade they might be able to possess or achieve.
I also have witnessed students “as they participate in moments of play, they begin to trust that Christ loves them simply for who they are…” Garrett is one example of a student connected to our youth ministry because of play. He began attending our church at the invitation of a friend. After several weeks, Garrett began attending Wednesday nights and other youth ministry gatherings more regularly than the friend who initially invited…
Continue Reading ▶Going Deeper With Brandon Winstead’s “Discovering God’s Grace”
by Nathan Didlake on September 12th, 2011 -- filed under Theology
I am woefully afraid of board games. My idea of a good time is sitting back with my pals, eating, talking and laughing. But when someone brings out a board game, my lungs collapse. My skin goes pallid. And my stomach wrenches into a putrid explosion of awful. Every part of me wants to escape, to disappear. And if I am forced, coerced or generally expected to play, I find a way to lose quickly and exploit it.
I have ADHD. When I sit, my leg bounces. When I stand, I glide about. Reading is a chore, but I can do it. I can focus in conversation. I can even listen to a four-hour lecture and get by (if I’ve taken notes and brought a recorder). But pull out board games, and you will see my ADHD flare like the blueberry girl on the old Willy Wonka film. They are the only things that scare me in a group setting, and I avoid them at all costs.
How could a guy like that write anything valuable concerning a theology of play? Like Brandon, I wish to understand how God made me and others. Working with youth calls me to understand the world around me, to accept mysteries where they are present and to inquire deeply into things as simple and complex as play. I agree with Brandon’s critique of our performance-based society, the need for students to be free of those pressures and the merciful nature of Jesus to lay…
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