2012 Princeton Forums on Youth Ministry - Day 3

After Makoto Fujimura's presentation a small crew headed out to Winberie's in Palmer Square.
Photo courtesy of Kim Smith.

Here it is... The last night of the Forums. I looked forward to this all year, like a kid impatient for Christmas, but now the time has passed so quickly. It's all over tomorrow at 12:30.

A inspiring day of learning. Sarah Arthur walked us through a Psalm of lament and had us contextualize it for our own contexts. Lament isn't something the church "does" well, but we miss serving a legitimate human need when we stuff it away. Few resources exist to talk about the elephant in the room, so we may need to create them ourselves. I followed that with a session of Visio Divina excellently facilitated by Tim Ternes of the Saint John's Bible project. So nourishing for the soul. Bethany Stolle of Sparkhouse did a session of redesigning youth ministry using the tools of practical theology. Good stuff. So many youth leaders get stuck at opposite extremes: beaten down by a dysfunctional system that defines and controls the youth ministry, or the iconoclast/"lone ranger" type that lives by the motto "it's better to ask forgiveness than permission" (which catches up with them sooner or later). Bethany advocated a way to invite people from being consumers to actually participating in the process of redesign. This would bring a lot of health into church relations if people are wise enough to heed her words.

Then there was the artist Makoto Fujimura in the evening's lecture. My impression? Humble, Godly, inspiring, wise, engaging... He wears his genius lightly. Greatly encouraged the audience to push themselves into their passions.

But the Forums are so much more than the official program. The informal discussions are just as rich and inspired. Just chatting with Seth, Bill, Hilary, and Kim between classes about their spiritual journeys, their challenges and joys... Breakfast with Becky Hart... Intercessory prayer for youth with Tara, David, and Rick... When our whole cohort stopped what they were doing, and got together in front of Stuart Hall to pray and show support to David, who is mourning the death of his uncle... It's these moments when it becomes so very apparent that God dwells in our midst...

I was really tired after the evening's lecture, and my inclination towards introversion had me wanting the solitude of my room, but a small group of friends coaxed me out for conversation and munchies. As we were leaving for downtown I noticed Tim Ternes, the executive director of The Saint John's Bible, pass by us on his way to where he was staying. Ben and I invited him to come along and he graciously accepted. (Thank God Ben was there, because I don't think I would have mustered the courage on my own.) This was such a special blessing to have Tim with us for the evening, as the Saint John's Bible and the Visio Divina elective made the Forum in my opinion. So many times we were encouraged in classes about combining the arts and worship, but Tim's ministry actually engaged us and let us experience art in worship. A perfect end to an already inspiring day.

A short day tomorrow and then a long drive home. Only a year to the 2013 Forums!