Immerse | A Journal of Faith, Life, and Youth Ministry

Youth are theologians?!

I didn’t even know what theology meant until I was 18. And I’ve fielded my share of puzzled looks and questions from teenagers when that word has been used.

In her article “Imagination, Tinkering and Theology: Youth as Theologians,” Bethany Stolle makes a convincing argument that adolescents aren’t just theologians (as is anyone who thinks about and articulates an understanding about who God is), but she calls for those of us who work with youth to really consider how we might more fully cultivate their theological imaginations. She claims, “If we find ways to encourage and develop young theologians, they can discover what they believe and construct their Christian identity in ways that they can carry and redevelop throughout their lives.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Some of the most rewarding moments I’ve had working with teenagers have been those unexpected conversations that suddenly become deep explorations. You know what I’m talking about. You’re sitting around eating pizza and laughing with your teenagers when suddenly someone breaks out with a question like, “Hey Jeff, I’ve been wondering, do all homosexuals go to hell?” They want a quick, easy answer to put their curious minds at ease. And it takes every bit of restraint in me to avoid simplistic answers or launching into a lecture from the research and thinking I’ve done on this topic.

Bethany calls us to move away from an educational approach that tells them what to think or simply gives the “right answers.” Instead, she calls us to invite youth to engage in the discipline of thinking theologically about God in community with other Christians who are on the same journey.

She says, “Inviting youth to wrestle theologically means adolescents may not reach the same conclusions as the leader, and the group may drift away from the boundaries of a written curriculum. However, if theology is to move into application and faithful expression, it needs to be explored in dynamic, participatory ways that offer youth room to tell and live out God’s story. This approach to formation ‘shapes missional imaginations’ and would be a significant move away from question-and-answer formulas, fill-in-the-blank worksheets or simple lesson points.”

This mode of doing ministry requires us to rethink some of our approaches to teaching youth and (as I’m still learning to do) practice restraint when tempted to think for youth instead of helping them learn to think through some really tough questions for themselves.

Rethinking Curriculum

What is the curriculum that we are actually teaching our students?

I recently experienced this question firsthand. We had just ended our Wednesday night junior high youth group, and I was busy collecting everything as I cleaned up. Suddenly, a girl hollered across the room at me, “Hey Jeff, what do you think about atheists?”

The easy thing would have been to yell back, “They’re wrong!” But I remembered that this girl had been bringing a friend for the past six weeks who claimed to be an atheist. And that new girl was standing right next to the one asking me this loaded question.

These girls were about to learn simply by the way I reacted to this question. This topic was not part of the planned explicit curriculum for the evening. Formation was going to happen based on the implicit and null curriculum laced in the way I responded.

Is it okay to talk openly about your different views about God? Will people really listen to what an atheist has to say? Will the busy youth pastor let a tough question from the quiet new girl capture his attention?

I must confess that I have missed this opportunity many times. That night God gave me the wisdom to deal differently with this situation and see the opportunity in it. I affirmed the girl’s question and said I wanted to talk more about it. I asked for a couple minutes to finish what I was doing so I could give them my full attention. Then the three of us stood in the hallway and talked for 20 minutes.

A question like this has to be unpacked. Not only do I want to invite these girls to consider the living God and the reasons for having faith in him, but I also want them to know our student ministry is a safe place to bring their doubts. The question this 14-year-old girl was really asking was, Am I welcome here, even though I don’t believe what you do?

This is the intersection of theological discourse and pastoral care. My response to this question would communicate more to this girl who was wrestling with doubt and acceptance than any well-articulated argument for the existence of God.

Tinkering with Care

The student’s theological question had deep emotional and social dimensions to it. This theological discussion needed to be handled with love and care. I was embodying the love of God in the way I listened and invited this girl into a community of Christ followers who didn’t have all the answers but were journeying together toward them.

Bethany says, “When we move away from curriculum as a particular published resource and instead frame it as running a course of experience or formation, then we can step back to reevaluate the content of what we teach as well as the way we teach and the environment in which the learning takes place.”

Her broader view of curriculum challenges me to ask God to reveal any ways that I have not embodied the gospel in my efforts to proclaim the gospel. Theological conversation is not about me proving I am right by getting another person to change his or her mind. It’s not about me imparting to teenagers the right answers to some tough theological questions. While I hope these results are the fruit of my ministry in some measure, my posture must be one of humble listening, asking probing questions and seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit while drawing from my theological training and personal journey of faith.

By the end of our conversation, the new girl felt safe to tell me herself that she was an atheist. I reassured her that she was still welcome to belong to our community, even though she didn’t believe like we do. I also asked that she be open to new ideas about God, just as we would be as well. This young lady, who has yet to believe in God, will be joining us on our mission trip this summer to live out the love of Jesus.

Students need room to tinker with theology. This is uncomfortable for many of us, but it’s necessary. How do we create a tinkering culture in our student ministries? Check out this unique approach to education: http://www.ted.com/talks/gever_tulley_s_tinkering_school_in_action.html

How could Gever’s process be applied to the theological exploration in your ministry?

Nurturing the Imagination

How can we move from telling youth what to believe to inviting and engaging them in the journey of discovery?

I am still learning how to do this. My track record shows that I easily fall prey to the temptation to do the former. When I am asked what the Bible says about fighting in wars or why some churches don’t allow women to be pastors, I am doing a disservice to my teenagers by just giving them my conclusions with a couple verses here or there to support it.

I have found that a better way to respond is with questions of my own. (Hmm, maybe Jesus knew something we didn’t when he used this technique.) Here are a few possible questions we could respond with:

• What do you think the Bible says about this?

• What makes you ask that?

• That’s a great question; should we get some other people’s thoughts on it?

• What have you heard said about that?

• Given what you know about God’s character and actions, what do you think he would do?

This is intended to spark our imaginations and discussion and is by no means exhaustive. I’d love to hear your ideas for how to respond to those deep and loaded theological questions from your youth.

By inviting them into the journey of discovery and listening to their questions and thoughts, they are given the chance to wrestle through these issues and form their own conclusions. Nicely packaged conclusions will squelch their curiosity and bypass the crucial role of process in forming a conclusion. Bethany warns us that this isn’t easy, and it will require us relinquish control.

She says, “It’s easier to tell and test youth than it is to invite and engage their God-given theological imaginations. The latter requires trusting the Holy Spirit to move and speak through the biblical narratives.”

I have enjoyed learning to do Lectio Divina, imaginative readings of Scripture,[1] and other ways to creatively engage students where they are invited to enter into the biblical narrative through the use of their imaginations. When I step back and let them encounter God directly, lasting formation happens.

My two-year-old son has recently been reminding me of the beauty and simplicity of childlike wonder. One day I pointed him to the closet in our spare bedroom. He hasn’t spent much time in there, so this was uncharted territory. As he opened the doors, his big eyes scanned over the conglomeration of things we have stored in there. “Whooaa! Look at that!” he called out with joy as he started climbing on our stored suitcases. “Whooaa! What’s this?!”

His discovery of a new world to explore reminds me of the joy of discovering how much bigger God is than us and our small ways of thinking about him. For myself and my youth, I never want to substitute that beautiful journey of wonder and discovery with trite or pre-packaged descriptions of God. I don’t want to just take someone else’s word for it. I want to directly know him and encounter him for myself.

My hope is that our ministry with youth would result in us journeying alongside teenagers as we together encounter, wrestle with and are changed by our wonderful discoveries of the living God who loves us and calls us to join his mission in the world.