Review – A Biblical Theology of Youth Ministry

Earlier this year I received a Facebook notification pointing me to a review of A Biblical Theology of Youth Ministry by MikeMcGarry. I read the review and bought the book. Now I wish I could buy a bundle more to give to others. Here are five reasons you should read this book if you are in pastoral ministry (not just if you’re a youth leader).

1.       It teaches us what the Old Testament has to say about young people in the faith community

To appreciate what we find about ministry to youth in the Bible has a whole, we need to step back from our current understanding of youth ministry. This is particularly so when we read the Old Testament. McGarry writes, “There is no verse that explicitly commands youth ministry, but the family and the community’s mandate to raise up the next generation in the fear and obedience of the Lord is overwhelming.” (p19)

This chapter leads us through some history and some texts that make clear what happens when the faith isn’t passed on to the next generation, and the Biblical imperatives to make sure it is. And when we as parents feel overwhelmed in this task, he reminds us that the task belongs to the whole community of faith.

“Parents are consistently affirmed as the primary disciple-makers of their children, but the Psalmist’s example clearly shows the commitment of the community to the young.” (p30,31) You can read Psalm 71:18 and 78:1-8 to see what he means.

2.       It teaches us what the New Testament has to say about young people in the faith community

  

McGarry picks up the theme of discipleship in this section. In no way does he contradict what he sees in the OT as the role of the family and community in teaching the beliefs and standards of faith. Instead he tightens the focus a little recognising that this is now the other side of the crucifixion and resurrection and now all Christians have a Messiah to follow. So we are to be disciples of Jesus no matter who our human teacher might be.

One interesting aspect McGarry raises is the age of the disciples. Perhaps they were young adults who Jesus trained and through them he has changed the world. How much do you expect of young adults today?

The place of children and youth in the life of the early church is also raised here, and that’s important today because of the place – or lack of place – that this age group has in the faith community. Paul wrote letters to churches and clearly believed the children would hear what he had written. This means that these age groups would be together. (But I’m jumping ahead of myself here.)

“Rather than viewing children and youth as ‘members in waiting,’ the biblical witness consistently affirms their value and reflects a shared commitment by the community of faith toward the next generation. Pastors and Christian leaders today who overlook the young are in blatant disregard of the biblical pattern of ministry.” (p56)

3.       It shows the place of youth in the faith community

Following from the previous point, have a look at Titus 2:2-6

2 Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. 3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. 6 Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled.

See the different age groups mentioned there? Older men; older women; younger women; young men. You can also look at Ephesians 5:22-6:9 and see the age groups listed there and realise that when the letter was read to the church, all these age groups were together. Is your church like this?

McGarry doesn’t have to work hard to show what the Bible is teaching about the place of youth in the faith community – it’s where they belong.

“Christians are the people of God, and there is no age restriction mentioned.” (p87)

“When each member is serving the head of the Church with their individual gifts, the members are united together through the bond of Christian fellowship as the body of Christ works in harmony.” (p89)

How are the youth of your community of faith using their gifts?

4.       It shows the importance of the community in the faith of youth

McGarry quotes Wayne Rice, co-founder of Youth Specialties. It’s uncomfortable, but worth hearing:

“I have all the respect in the world for youth workers in the church, but I’ve become more and more convinced over the years that God never gave t youth workers the responsibility for making disciples of other people’s kids. . . What we have today is not really a youth ministry problem. It’s a church problem. Truth is – it has always been a church problem.” (p73. Emphasis his)

It’s really easy for me to complain about the youth in our church, or to blame the parents when the youth leave. But in reality, that’s just a cop out. If I’m part of that church, then I’m invested in the spiritual life of that child. If that teenager leaves, do I even notice? Do I know his name? Do I know what she is doing at uni? Or have I assumed that’s the youth leader’s job.

The biblical model of church life doesn’t put the young people in one room while the adults are in another room. Instead the biblical model of church life is an inter-generational one with all ages sharing life and worship together. McGarry comments, “ . . . the entire church shares a commitment to nurture the faith of the next generation while seeking opportunities to involve them in the rhythms of the church.’ (p88)

(I’m not suggesting that the age groups can’t have time on their own. That’s valuable. But don’t let that be all they do.)

5.       It encourages me to see the catechism in a very different light

I’ve been involved in promoting the catechism for a few years now, but reading this book has challenged me to see it in a completely different light. You see I’ve always understood that the purpose of the catechism was for parents, and particularly the father, to use this list of questions and answers to teach the children. I expect I’m not alone in this thought. McGarry points back to Luther and comments that in the catechism Luther provided a resource whereby the parents received doctrinal instruction even as they taught their children. (p62)

I nearly dropped the book when I read this. One of my concerns about using the catechism is that it expects parents to understand the doctrines of Christian faith, and maybe they don’t. But now I can see it is possible that in using the catechism consistently, both the parents and the children are being instructed in faith. Brilliant!

He also comments on the place of the church to support and equip parents in this task.

“Parents were the primary disciplers of their children, but the church leaders were the primary spiritual leaders of the family.” (p63)

I wish I’d written this book.

Some years ago a bloke I know held up a book and said to me, “This is the book I wish I had written.” I feel much the same about McGarry’s work. A Biblical Theology of Youth Ministry will be a great encouragement to those involved in youth ministry, it’s true. But more importantly, I think it’s a book that should be read by elders and pastors as they take the responsibilities given to them.

At 164 pages, it’s not a long book. Get it and read it.

Review: Keep Christianity Weird

I was standing at Koorong (bookshop) with a handful of books and saw this near the counter. I'd recently read an article by Michael Frost that I liked, so I thought I'd grab the book while I was there. I'm glad I did, but I'm not sure I would have mattered much if I hadn't.

His underlying thesis is a solid one. Christianity has become so mainstream now that we don't stand out anymore. And even though our society might be taking a dim view of Christianity, we still seem much the same as the rest of the world around us. So, let's keep Christianity weird. I like his thinking, and I like his warning

I don't want it to be misconstrued as a call for the church to be zany or wacky. I think our world is tiring of stupid stunts and religious mania. And Christians have been more than willing to look like maniacs. p150

The examples that he lists here are ridiculous and, if I'm honest, a little disturbing. So it's not that type of weirdness that he is promoting. What he is promoting is this -

First, we're weird because our identity is found in God, not our own egos. Second, we're weird because, in following Christ, we embrace an entirely unconventional ethic at odds with the values of this world. And third, we're weird because we believe some crazy supernatural stuff. p154

But this is near the end of the book. There's a bit to get through before we end up here.

The opening chapter, "Here's to the crazy ones" was a great encouragement. Here I am reminded that some of those who have had the greatest impact are those who were just a bit out of the ordinary, the square pegs who don't fit in the round hole, but who do the job anyway. These are the stories that encourage me to be a bit weird.

In chapter three we read about Jesus and some of the weird things he did. This isn't a list of miracles, but rather some of the things he did that were counter-cultural. Chapter four lists some examples from church history that highlights some seemingly weird things Christians have done, while chapter five shows what may have helped to kill the weird. Then in chapter six we are encouraged to see things in a different light.

In a world where beating up your enemies or pushing and shoving those who get in your way is normal and acceptable, praying earnestly for the defenseless is weird. In a world where you only ever speak up for yourself or your own rights, giving voice to the voiceless is strange. In a world of busyness, hustle, bustle, and social media, kneeling in a circle with brothers and sisters and focusing a whole day on worship and prayer and reflection is utterly bizarre. p138

Was it worth reading the book? Absolutely. But it's strength might also be its weakness. You see, I think that those Christians who have a deep interest in social justice will read this and be greatly affirmed in what they think. That's not a bad thing, but I don't know that this will challenge them to think deeper about where salvation can only be found. On the other hand, those who have a deep commitment to theology and doctrine will probably only see this as another call to live better rather than anything about serving and trusting Jesus. (Which is a shame, because they are probably the people who most need to read this book.)

Is it possible that we could be interested in both? "When in doubt, follow Jesus." 149

At 170 pages, it's not a long book to read, and Frost has written in a style that makes it easy to keep reading. In that he has done well. You certainly won't lose anything by reading it, and some of your thinking might well be challenged. So get it, read it, and learn from it.

If you're in Australia, you can probably skip chapter two. It's interesting, but too specific to USA.

Review: "Boundaries for Leaders"

When I began in ministry, I read quite a few books on leadership. I also attended a number of leadership conferences and other gatherings had 'effective leadership' as a main emphasis. For the most part, I found it all thoroughly depressing. I heard about church leaders who seemed to be able to make a significant change to their ministry and the people they worked with overnight and now everything was roses and daisies.

I'd leave these conferences excited about what I could do - and then after a few months I realised that all I had was thorns and dead dreams.

Today I finished "Boundaries for Leaders" by Dr Henry Cloud. This book doesn't change my opinion of leadership books, but it's wasn't bad to read something like this again. And, there are a number of stand out comments that I did find really helpful. Most of which are a reminder of things I've read before, but I think that might be the great strength of books like this - I need to read them again and again or I forget the things I need to change and return to my old ways, which aren't always effective.

Here are the comments I want to remember:

From making the coffee to making computers, people have what it takes to get it done, if the right ingredients are present and the wrong ones are not. 42

Remember, never leave your brain at home. . . But as a leader, don't lead in ways that suggest to your people that they might as well leave theirs at home too because they can't use them at work. 48

Research shows that a "getting better" orientation goes much further than a "being perfect" orientation. 72

The act of "paying attention" to what I need to do differently and better next time can't happen if I'm afraid of what you might do to me now. 73,4

Find and focus on the things that you can control that affect outcomes. 130

(And) there are too many forces in the business environment that you cannot control to ever give up the ones you can. 139

A team is not a "group of people". A team is a group of people who have a shared purpose or goal. 165

 

Chapter 10 "Boundaries for Leaders" makes the book worthwhile, I think. Not that the other chapters are bad, just stuff I've read before. 

My advice is to plug in to sources outside of yourself and your organization. Get coaching, join a leadership group or forum, avail yourself of continuing education, attend a leadership conference, and so forth. 205

Don't define yourself by outcomes. 209 (some helpful reminders under this heading)

Remember, you don't need new ways to fail. The old ones are working just fine. And until they are addressed, they will continue to work. 229

 

 

There is also a discussion about giving feedback which I thought was particularly helpful. Not because it tells me that we need to give feedback - I know that. But more because it highlights the very different personalities we all are and how this should affect the way we give feedback. If I only ever give feedback in the way I prefer to hear it myself, there's a good chance people will completely misread what I am attempting to achieve. 

 

I haven't lost anything by reading this book, so I can't say 'Don't read it'. If you're looking for some wisdom on leadership, you can certainly find some of that here. And the things that stood out for me will be different for the things that stand out for you. 

 

But if you have read some other books on leadership and need a refresher, just jump to chapter 10. Maybe have a quick look at page 175 too. You could do worse. 

 

 

 

Teaching Outside the Box - Chapter 5. Revisiting the Contemplative Approach

There are a few things that really annoy me about church. But perhaps the most significant one (at least today) is that we meet together for a short period of time in the week and allow almost no time for God to speak. Don't misunderstand me here. I believe that God speaks whenever we read the Bible together. And I believe that in the preaching of God's word, God is speaking, though sometimes we preachers do get in the way.

What I'm getting at is this - we fill the time with noise and activity. Our communal worship is now structured ahead of time so the musicians can practice the songs we are going to use, and so the presentation slides are all in order and ready to go. THIS IS A GOOD THING, but it can be a downfall. Have we allowed space for God to speak? Or are we so busy being talked to that God has to dramatically interrupt us before we even look for him?

Some of you who read this will no doubt respond, "Brian, we have only a short time together to sing and pray with each other. It is while we are alone during the week that we can spend time reading the scripture that we might expect God to speak to us." Fair enough. But do your youth know that? Or is the example of faith and worship they see on Sunday morning, or Friday evening, the only approach to worship that they know?

This is where using the Contemplative Approach can be really important. Zirschky titles this chapter 'Revisiting the Contemplative Approach' because there was a time in the late 90s and early 2000s that such an approach was fashionable amongst youth groups. It has since died out, and I'm not sure why. Probably because it wasn't well explained, possibly because some people thought it was too Catholic. (I once read an article where someone wrote, "When the candles come in, the gospel goes out." It's complete tosh of course, but easy for youth leaders to take on board.)

Using a Contemplative Approach amongst the youth doesn't mean lighting candles or walking a labyrinth. It is much more than that. It means both allowing space for God to act, and looking/listening to what God is doing. Youth leaders can do this in some simple yet meaningful ways.

Preparing

Ask questions to get the teenagers thinking. "How is God present?" or "Where have you noticed signs of God?" People in the New Testament experienced the presence of Jesus while they were doing the most normal of things. Maybe it still happens today.

Pointing

Your teenagers probably can't see what God is doing for them as clearly as you can. There's a few reasons for this, but I'll leave that to your thinking. You can help your teenagers by pointing out to them what they cannot see - God is working in their lives.

Naming

How do you help teenagers describe what has been happening in their lives? Let me encourage you to take the time to give them the words to use. Don't just let them say 'lucky' when you know it is God acting for them. Tell them that. Was it really a coincidence or was God bringing things together?

Nurturing

I'll just quote Zirschky here. "We nutrure the ability of teenagers to discern the voice and activity of God by providing opportuities for creative prayer and listening experiences. Leading students into contemplative practice in our formal teaching times nurtures their ability to listen for God in Scripture both individually and corporately."


Is such an approach to scripture dangerous? Yes, I believe it can be, and for much the same reasons that using the Liberation approach can be dangerous. Without a solid grounding our teenagers can become too introspective and too lost. But, when this approach backs up the Instructional approach, I think you're on to a good thing.

This book has been a good one to read - I even read it twice - and I'm pleased to share some of it with other youth leaders. Let me encourage you to add this to your list of books you might read this year. It will do you well. If you do, let me know. I'd love to talk with you about it. You can buy it at Koorong in both paperback and electronic versions.

I had the chance to meet Andrew Zirschky at a Youth Conference in Jan 2017.

I'm also a fan of his book "Beyond the Screen", also available at Koorong. Or you can read my thoughts about that here.

Teaching Outside the Box - Chapter 4. The Liberation Approach

This book is more than just a "How To . . ." kind of book. There are two main characters in the book. Jeremy is a local church youth pastor who is struggling to see any growth in his ministry. The youth come along, mostly, but they have become disinterested and disconnected. Jeremy knows this, and is trying to work out what to do but is at a roadblock.

Seymour is retired and in an aged care home. But in his younger days, Seymour had been a youth worker himself and had written a book on various approaches to teaching.

These two have no reason to meet, and wouldn't have, except for Jeremy's senior pastor who knew them both and created the meeting. Jeremy didn't arrive at Seymour's place with any enthusiasm, and while he enjoyed the first chapter of Seymour's book, he would have been pleased if that was the end of it and he didn't need to meet with Seymour again.

By the time we get to chapter four however, the relationship between these two men has deepened and Jeremy is beginning to learn some great things from this old man. (There's a lesson for youth workers here - the old guys know stuff you don't. Ask and listen.)

This fourth chapter is possibly the one chapter that would really make many evangelical pastors nervous. There's some good reasons for this, but let's actually read what Zirschky is saying before flying into a rage.

The teaching part of the chapter opens with the words of Jesus when he said:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.” Luke 4:18-19

Zirschky then clarifies that the goal of the liberation approach is to bring awareness and consciousness of features of our social systems that are contrary to God's ideals (p104). As Christians in first world countries, we can become very concerned about the places in the world where Christians are persecuted. This is surely right. But we can be completely complacent about the people in our neighbourhoods who are starving and cold. This is wonderfully - and confrontingly - illustrated in Yancey's book 'What's So Amazing About Grace' where he describes the hidden hypocrisy of his childhood church. This was a church that would raise funds to support work in Africa to provide food and water to africans, while at the same time men would have baseball bats in their cars in case black african-americans tried to come into their church. (That's how I remember the story anyway.)

Many of our youth ministries work to protect our young people from some of the problems of the world around them, and in so doing we are suggesting that these young people couldn't possibly be involved in any solution. Our youth are some of the most creative and passionate people in our communities. Allow them to spread their wings and stretch their faith and you might be astonished at what they do.

Zirschky shows how this approach can challenge two assumptions made by other approaches. First, it critiques youth ministry that is more concerned with personal belief or knowledge than action. Here is where the liberation approach can become uncomfortable in evangelical churches. We always challenge youth about their personal belief, and we do this with good reason. We believe that people are saved by faith alone so what they believe is fundamentally important. However, the liberation approach can add a helpful balance that is, I believe, missing in a number of churches.

Youth ministry that lingers in the youth room must be replaced with learning that invades the world in the form of critically reflective action. p108

Second, it questions the tendency of youth ministry to treat teenagers as objects to be filled with Bible knowledge in order to produce and unquestioned, socialized 'faith'. If all we want is knowledge and an ability to answer the questions in a correct way, then we are really asking our youth to be nothing more than spectators. For sure, some might get a little more involved by becoming teachers and leaders, but what are they teaching? Is it in the end nothing more than a Christian version of "Trivial Pursuit" where you get a token for a correct answer, but it doesn't really change anything? We can do better.

Now, I believe that if the only approach you use in teaching is a Liberation approach, you will end up with a shallow perspective of scripture. You will probably end up with a group of teenagers who are determined to make the world a better place, but I'm not convinced they would fully understand why they are doing this. They might be able to quote some relevant passages of scripture, but miss the fullness of what the Bible is teaching. I have a similar concern about the fifth approach even while appreciating the strengths of the approach.

That being said, why not open the story of the prodigal son with your youth and ask them to consider why the older brother acted like he did; why the younger brother acted like he did in the first place; and what were the cultural norms that were guiding them both. Then look at the people in your own community who seem to be the oppressed and outcast and begin to ask what the kingdom of God might look like in their lives.

Teaching Outside the Box - Chapter 3. The Interpretive Approach

I still remember the feeling. I had been trying a budgeting system, and it started off really well and it was making sense to me. Then we got paid and trying to add this to the system left me feeling like the people who knew how it worked must be on another planet. It made no sense to me!

Now imagine being 15 and hearing that you can get to heaven because a carpenter who was also a teacher was crucified around 2,000 years ago on the other side of the world. Would it make sense to you just because someone told you? Probably not.

In Andrew Zirschky's book "Teaching Outside the Box" he writes about five different approaches to teaching. This is the third of the five, and one that gets the imagination involved.

The Interpretative Approach involves more than just talking and listening. This approach involves the student in seeking to interpret and understand what they are reading and/or hearing.

Teaching teenagers the facts and content of the Bible is very important. The Instructional Approach imparts knowledge and understanding that students apply to their lives. However, the Interpretive Approach is more concerned with seeing youth interpret their lives through the lens of God's story, and thereby come to live out of a different view of self. (p84)

This might seem a bit strange to those of us who believe in the value of preaching, but properly understood there is no conflict. Rather, adopting the interpretive approach will strengthen what you do with the instructional approach. What makes the difference? (Here's where it might get dangerous)

Imagination is the key.

This means that we as teachers want to encourage the youth in our groups to make the most of their imagination as they hear the stories in the Bible. Jesus is clearly the master story-teller, and even while some of his stories have no reference point for suburban teenagers, yet we can still imagine what it looks like when a shepherd goes looking for that one sheep that got lost, or when a woman is looking for a lost coin in a dark room, or a father looking out for his son and waiting for his return. Why not ask the teenagers about those images in their minds, and what they see as they place themselves in these stories of scripture.

Keep in mind that the Holy Spirit is the great teacher, and that what we are doing is to prepare the way for God to open the minds of these young people. Zirschky offers three essential steps to the interpretive approach - Accept; Imagine; Release.

Accept

Accept the students' individual experiences and ways of seeing the meaning of their lives and the world, and invite them to share their thoughts. I think many of us might be a little cautious of this step fearing that they will be on the wrong path. Maybe they will be. But they will also be the ones interpreting their own experiences, and it would be good for you to listen to that.

Imagine

Now we get to help them to imagine a world that can be different, a world that is informed by a Christian narrative, a world where they begin to see God's values being honoured and lived out. This can be confronting because the world around them in reality is probably very different, but maybe there are some places where those kingdom values shine. Highlight these ones.

Release

The world of the imagination is often a very comfortable place, but we can't stay there. So we release the teenagers back into their own world, but now they will be looking at that world with a different perspective.


I think the Interpretive Approach is brilliant, but I also recognise that if this is the only approach you use, your teenagers will potentially end up with an understanding of God which is based more on their own thoughts rather than God's own revelation. Used in conjunction with the Instructional and the Community of Faith approaches, it will greatly strengthen their understanding of the text and their experience of God.

Teaching Outside the Box - Chapter 2. The Community of Faith Approach

Chapter One of this book revealed an approach to teaching that me and my peers would be most comfortable with. This chapter will still resonate with most of us, but as we start to consider the implications of it, the discomfort will become more apparent.

Where chapter one focuses on what happened in a teacher - student setting, this chapter involves the whole community of faith, and reveals that we are all involved in youth ministry, because youth ministry happens youth observe and participate in the adult rhythms and practices of faith.

Think about that statement for a moment.

"Youth observe and particpate."

Do they? Well, if you're asking whether or not they observe, the answer is a very clear 'yes'. In fact, this should be a confronting thought. You see, teenagers have developed a kind of faith that has been called "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism." It's a faith that is about being nice, feeling good, and expecting God to show up only when you need a god. How did we get here? How did teenagers end up with this kind of faith? By watching us. By observing the faith of the adults around them. And this should make us uncomfortable.

Do they participate? Well, that's a whole different question, isn't it. Do youth participate at your church? Why not? Is it because they don't want to or that they've not been given an opportunity.

(I could say a whole lot more about this, but that's not the purpose of this post.)

The key of this chapter is to consider how the whole church community is involved in teaching faith (it takes a whole village to raise a child) and to consider how the normal practices of faith can impact the youth and children of our families.

It makes sense that if we ask the adults to sing, read, pray, take communion, share faith etc, we are doing these things believing that God is using them to help us grow in faith and knowledge of Jesus Christ. If God is using these things for adults, wouldn't he use them also for youth? And for children?

So, even while there might be some debate about whether children should share in communion, surely there should be no debate about the children witnessing what is happening in that part of the communal worship. Yet we have many churches where children have no idea what communion means, not because no one explains it - though that's probably not happening - but because they don't witness it every month.

Anyway, this chapter of Zirschky's book is tremendously helpful and makes me consider how youth can be involved better in the whole life of the church and not just left to themselves.
 

Teaching Outside the Box - Chapter 1. The Instructional Approach

"I think the church not only does a very poor job of teaching, but an even worse job of bringing up effective teachers."

So says one student of youth ministry, and if it's true, it is a poor indictment on the Church that we allowed it to happen, but a terrible comment if it is still happening. Zirschky's book "Teaching Outside the Box" is something that can help the church to better train their teachers.

Through the book, Zirschky presents five approaches to teaching, and as I read each approach I will seek to summarise what I've read.

I have already read this book, but felt it was something I needed to read again. Indeed it's something that I need to look through again and again to keep these different approaches in my mind or I will default to my normal style, no matter how ineffective it might be.

His first approach is "The Instructional Approach", and this is the closest to the five to my usual habit, though he offers a few suggestions that would have a significant impact on my teaching if I can take them up. Here are four important keys to the success of the approach:

• Teaching teenagers what the Bible says, or a focus on the content
• Bringing students to understand ( and trust) the content of Scripture
• Helping students recognize how the Bible should apply or make a difference in everyday life
• Equipping and preparing teachers for their task

One difference between this approach and my own 'telling people what they need to hear' is allowing people to find the truth for themselves and seeking to make the application right through the lesson. This doesn't mean just pointing people to Luke 15 and asking what they make of it. Not at all. Rather, it is opening Luke 15, reading carefully what is found there, and pointing out the areas of application as we go through it, and determining how you will help the students / congregation work through these points and see the applications for themselves.

Having listened to, and having preached, sermons that bang on about stuff for 25 minutes and hurriedly make some points of application, I am well aware of the far greater impact of application being made at each point of the sermon. I learned this some years ago from Jay Adams in his book "Preaching with Purpose", but it seems to be a lesson I need to keep learning. (and applying).

Zirschky is not just writing to encourage us to teach better lessons. He is writing with an understanding that it is the Holy Spirit who is the real teacher and it is our task to prepare / make the way for the Spirit to work. He comments:

"Change your theory of divine action, and logically, your teaching approach must change as well." (p45)

Supporting our teachers well is also a theme in this chapter. Over the long weekend we have just enjoyed here in Australia, I was one of around 300 people attending the Engage Leadership Conference. We had some great Bible teaching there, and it was good to worship with such a group of people. But the purpose of this conference is much more than that. The purpose of this conference is to equip leaders to engage, handle and teach God's word. This is a conference that is truly seeking to support and equip our teachers.

Chapter One of "Teaching Outside the Box" is inspiring. I already know the other chapters are too. I hope my summary might help you too.

Book Review - As Kingfishers Catch Fire by Eugene Peterson

“I found myself taking a deep breath, sitting back letting the book drop slowly to the table as I pondered what I had just read. I’m familiar with this passage of scripture, but I’ve never considered it like this before. Then came the uncomfortable thought that I had misunderstood the Ten Commandments all my life. This was immediately followed by a sense of joy at what these ten rules actually might mean – and I felt free. “

This was my experience more than once as I slowly read through “As Kingfishers Catch Fire”. It’s a collection of sermons by Eugene Peterson, something of an anthology of his preaching over 29 years in one church in Marylands. I’m not going to try to explain the title, though as I read his introduction again I realise just how fitting it is.

What I can say is that this book has had a profound impact on me.

It’s not the first book of Peterson’s that I’ve read. Nor is the first book of sermons that I’ve read. In fact, it’s so different to sermons that I have read in the past that at one point I found myself wondering if I could listen to this kind of preaching week after week. I now think I probably could, though I understand that not all would agree with this for themselves.

Peterson is a poetic figure. By that I mean that his language is filled with poetic imagery – which is not very Presbyterian, but is very good. As I read his sermons, I have found my thoughts begin to grab hold of a theme, or a phrase, or an image, and to then hold that in my mind as I read the rest of that section. And in this way, the message of the sermon strikes into my heart, not just into my brain. This is surely something that preaching should do to all who hear it. 

 Peterson has divided the book into seven sections each with a subheading of “Preaching in the company of  . . .” Here we are given the chance to sit in on some preaching in the company of Moses, David, Isaiah, Solomon, Peter, Paul and John of Patmos. Each section has seven sermons, and though none of these is a long read, you get the chance to think deeply on what God is revealing through his word.

As a preacher myself one of the things that has stood out for me is the preparation time that must have been taken in these sermons. These sermons reveal to me a length of thought and meditation that must clearly have been given in preparation; the careful consideration of a phrase, the right use of a metaphor, and the sense that this is an un-rushed sermon all work together to make somethings stick with me even now.

I have underlined so many things from this book. There are so many phrases that would make great posters, memes, Instagram posts, etc. But doing that will rob them of the context in which they come and so will reduce their impact. (But I made some anyway)

This is not a book to be read quickly. If you do and you tell me you didn’t enjoy it, I would say to you, “Read it again. One sermon every two days. Write the phrase that catches your attention and ponder it for the rest of that day. Then if you still don’t like it, let me know, and we’ll talk.”

If you are in ministry, this book contains pastoral gold. It won’t make you a great preacher, but it will show the value of knowing your people. It will help you as you search for wisdom. 

This is one of the best books I have read.