bloggedy blog

:: Thursday, May 13, 2004 ::

Fire?
Years ago, when I more enthusiastically embraced the spectacular approach to youth ministry -- i.e., loading a bunch of hormonally charged teens into a van and taking them to some big spiritual event -- I would on occasion gather up a group of teens from our church and go to an Acquire the Fire gathering. But after doing a few of these, I grew tired of Teen Mania's manipulative approach to recruiting youth for short-term missions trips, and the emotional roller-coaster rides many of our youth would go on during and after one of these events. So I quit taking our youth group to AtF meetings. I would occasionally receive calls from AtF representatives, who would ask me whether I planned to attend the next big spectacle. But since no big AtF events are coming to a large community near me these days, I've quit receiving the calls. Oh, I still get the occasional letter from Teen Mania founder Ron Luce or, more often nowadays, his partner/youth-ministry veteran Josh McDowell (pdf file), reminding me that I am involved in the battle for "a generation in crisis," and quoting alarming statistics about teen suicide rates and inviting me to "join the revolution," etc. But I don't get those calls from the 18- or 19-year-old kids from AtF anymore. I'm not sure why. But if I did, I wonder if I would carry on a conversation like this one with them. Probably not. I'm much too cordial on the telephone.

:: Andrew 17:22 + ::
...

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