Ordinary Youth Ministry: Recent Episodes
Andrew, Ellen, and Johnmark
This episode, we are talking about the place for testimonies in youth ministry, and consequently we all get over our evangelical baggage.
This episode, we discuss whether we ought to dip our toes in divisive topics, and what those conversations might look like.
This episode, we discuss this thread from Twitter (https://twitter.com/drantbradley/status/1769699384839516267?s=20), the "manosphere", and how to disciple young men in an age of Andrew Tate.
This episode, we are talking about this blog post by Marc Hurst (which is a response to this manifesto), and wrestling with how size affects our ability to minister well.
This episode we dive into the Substack post "You Need to be Cringemaxxing" by Mary Harrington. Listen to find out who is the coolest, and why there is an asterisk in the title.
In this episode, we talk about just how broad the scope of youth ministries can be, and what we might define as a "win". Also, stick around until the end for Johnmark's most unique illustration ever!
In this episode, we take a look at a big picture question; how do we help youth as they strive to make life meaningful? The conversation launches from a short clip of Adam Driver talking about his experience after leaving the military, and goes all kinds of places from there.
You can check out Andrew Root's The End of Youth Ministry, which we referenced in the episode.
In this episode, we talk all about using the church year as a tool for family discipleship.
Check out the resources we talked about:
Sacred Seasons by Danielle Hitchen
The Fullness of Time Series from Intervarsity Press
This episode, we all share how we ended up in youth ministry, and what has kept us here.
(for more information about the word "rizz", go here: https://www.npr.org/2023/12/04/1216950808/rizz-oxford-word-of-the-year-swiftie)
This episode, we're keeping the end in mind and thinking about what we hope to have imparted to our youth by the time they graduate out of our youth ministries.
This episode, we discuss an article entitled "The Greatest Things in Life Are Pointless, Especially Christianity" by Sam Bush.
Read the article here.
Check out Dead Cat here.
This episode, Johnmark and Ellen throw youth ministry tropes at Andrew to see how he reacts to them. Hilarity ensues.
This episode, we're talking about the benefits of doing youth ministry beyond the age of the stereotypical "youth minister".
This week, we talk about this article by Karl Vaters on leveraging relational power of healthy churches.
This episode, we talk all about "She Deserves Better" by Sheila Wray Gregoire, Rebecca Gregoire Lindenbach, and Joanna Sawatsky. You can find out more about the book here.
Is "Quiet Time" really the best way to help our youth learn to study the Bible? This episode, we talk about teaching our youth to read the Bible.
Is it Time to Quit 'Quiet Time' | Christianity Today
This week, Johnmark and Ellen ask Andrew all about the book he coauthored, "Oaks of Righteousness: An Anglican Way of Youth Ministry". You can pick up a copy of the book yourself here:
https://anglicanhousepublishers.org/shop/oaks-of-righteousness-an-anglican-way-of-ministry/
In this episode, Johnmark and Ellen talk about some of the benefits to being an unpaid youth minister.
In this episode, we go over why we go on youth retreats and how we go about planning a good retreat.
In this episode, Andrew and Ellen talk about which translation we use with our youth.
Links
- A summary of the "tussle" between N.T Wright and David Bentley Hart
- The NET Bible online
- The 'pray as you go' podcast
Hear Ellen's pitch for a better kind of holiday party in December.
Relevant Links:
- Read more about St Nicholas day here: https://www.stnicholascenter.org/
- (Including the David Sedaris essay that Andrew mentions: https://www.stnicholascenter.org/around-the-world/customs/netherlands/sedaris)
- Check out a children's book about the church year from 1948 - http://anglicanhistory.org/children/chadwick_year/
We talk about an article from rootedministry.com entitled "Tough Questions Teenagers Ask: Does God Send People to Hell for Sexual Sin?", and talk about how our theology ends up affecting how we minister to youth.
Links
Does God Send People to Hell for Sexual Sin?
Bible Project 'Heaven and Earth'
Pastor punches kid in the Chest
This episode, we talk all about how youth ministry looks in the movie "Play the Flute." Watch the trailer for the movie here.
We are back from our summer hiatus - and we're talking bout what it looks like to do youth ministry after COVID.
Check out the article we discuss here.
Listen as we continue the conversation about Andrew's "slow" youth ministry idea. Ellen shares some about the importance of curriculum and teaching the faith with the next generation.
Things that are mentioned in the episode:
- The Jesus Gap by Jen Bradbury
- Catechism in Family Prayer from the Next Generation Leadership Initiative
Hear all about what Andrew wanted the name of our podcast to be, and what he means when he says "slow" youth ministry.
Referenced videos:
Stephen Colbert interviews Richard Dawkins
Stephen Colbert interviews Bart Ehrman
This episode we talk about what social media algorithms tell us about ourselves, and how we might help our students step back and investigate why they see the things they see online.
Check out the YouTube video we reference here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUHFXnOn7mI
And take a look at this page for the brain image that Andrew references: https://blissfulkids.com/mindfulness-and-the-brain/
This episode, we look at a list of gifts for the teen in your life as a window into adolescent culture.
Check out the list from Wired.com
This episode, we are talking about Eric Carle, Dungeons and Dragons, and how we engage students with beauty and creativity.
The articles we reference are:
- The Enduring Whimsy and Wonderment of Eric Carle
- Surviving the Pandemic with Dungeons and Dragons
In this episode, we take a deeper look at the increase in hopelessness and sadness among teens in an article by Derek Thompson in The Atlantic entitled Why American Teens Are So Sad. We talk about the rationale that Thompson gives, as well as how we think our youth ministries can be non-anxious spaces that help our students have hope.
Join us today as Johnmark, Ellen, and Andrew discuss a recent Church Leaders article on friendship and explore how to help our student ministries equip youth to build genuine friendships. Find the main article we discuss as well as other books and articles we mention at the following locations:
The Lonely Crowd on ChurchLeaders.com
The Search to Belong by Joseph Myers
Teen Lives, Interrupted by COVID on The New Yorker
Sticky Faith by Kara Powell and Chap Clark
Almost Christian by Kenda Creasey Dean
Fabric of Faithfulness by Stephen Gardner
