Years ago we ran a retreat called HappeningTM which was common in Episcopal Diocese’s all over the country back in the day. The Weekend was intended to be a renewal weekend patterned after Cursillo. What I watched in the final years that we did this was rather unspectacular. There were student testimonies at the end of the weekend in the closing service where parents were present. Most of what we heard was all fluff and no substance. “I had a great time… made new friends…” and the most profound was “my faith was renewed” or something to that effect. How was their faith renewed? I have no idea because there was nothing substantial reported by the students. It was all about emotions and nothing of substance. The weekend was accurately being portrayed in these testimonies. Compared to other weekend retreats we did, there was not a lot to share.
I ran across an article on “The Church About Nothing” that suggested we ought to listen to what the church’s members talk about rather than what a church website says or even what the sermons are like in order to determine if it is a church worth attending. Highlights:
What do we want to do when we want to learn about a church? Well, typically, we read their websites and maybe listen to a sermon or two. This is definitely helpful. However, I’d like to suggest another option: listen to members talk. Go ahead, engage in conversation with members, listen to discussions in the hallway, read some of the folks’ social media posts, etc. What do they say?
It is one thing to confess truth and quite another to believe it. When the truth of the gospel gets in us we have to talk about it. It overflows. Paul highlighted this in Colossians 3: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Col. 3:16)
When the word of Christ dwells in a believer richly it comes out. We breath in the word and we exhale it. It comes out in what we say. Borrowing the same idea from Jesus, out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks (Mt. 12.34).
Twenty years ago Seinfeld dominated televisions on Thursday nights. “Must See TV” was a show “about nothing.” The characters regularly reset their counterintuitive vision to captivate audiences with trivial and sarcastic banter. With the help of some extremely gifted writers, we laughed at Jerry, George, Kramer and Elaine as they majored on the mundane.
We should never be “The Church about nothing.” The Seinfeld church is a judgment upon the church. The word of Christ is to dwell within us and then come out of us in our conversations with one another. Therefore, we can’t be about nothing.
This raises the question, what about our youth groups? What do students say to parents, friends, church leaders, etc? What do they talk about? What’s on their Facebook pages? Can we learn what a youth group is like in the same way that this article suggests we learn about a church? What do our students tell their parents about the youth group experience? Do they go home every week talking about some insane moment of chaos playing a game or do they speak of the scripture that was explored? It seems that would depend on what our groups are really like.
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