Weekend Update

Okay, so I don't mean the SNL version of "Weekend Update," although I will say that the above photo depicts an era in which that show was actually funny and worth staying up for. (On the other hand, maybe I'm just getting old and don't appreciate cheap, vulgar humor any more.)

Anyway, I promised everyone a brief summation of this past Saturday's kick-off of a new Young Adult Ministry here at Bakerstown UMC. So here are some of the highlights...

* Eleven couples, plus their kids, plus two or three "singles" showed up for a great dinner, fellowship and discussion. Everyone was in their 20's and 30's (which is kind of good, considering that's the age group we were targeting).

* I had a few of my youth on hand to take the kids after dinner, so their parents could actually enjoy an evening out.

* I shared a quick meditation which said, in a nutshell: Just like the people gathered in that room, the early Christians in the Book of Acts were all city-dwellers, working class/professionals, intelligent, most were probably aged 20-40, living in a land with declining sense of values and purpose, living in a culture with unprecedented advances in travel and technology. Even though the Roman Empire and Postmodern America are chronologically distant, these people were dealing with many of the same deep questions that we are today. So then I put forth the challenge: How do we create the same movement that the Early Christians did? How do we create the kind of authentic fellowship, prayer ministry, community service, and missional focus that the Early Christians had, right here in Bakerstown?

* We opened it up and had about 45 minutes of eye-opening discussion. One of the couples there said they had been attending the church for over a year, but never felt comfortable getting involved and haven't really met anyone else in the pews on Sunday. There just wasn't a sense of real welcome to them. While many of them seemed pleased with the new praise band the church has, we also found out that just because adults are young, doesn't mean they necessarily want a "younger-style" worship service. One couple said: "We see PowerPoint, videos, and rock music all week long. We don't want to see that stuff on Sunday mornings too." One guy said, "I'd just like to do more events like this: let's just break bread together or go see a movie. Let's just share our lives no matter what we do."

* Though a lot of planning went into the event, and I thought I gave a decent devotional to kind of set the tone and give some vision to it, I really believe the most significant part of the evening was just allowing conversation to happen. While I could have had a totally "planned" evening with games, activities, and a "sermon," I don't think that we would have heard the hearts of the people the way we did. At the end of the meeting, everyone seemed to suggest that those kinds of conversations needed to happen more, so we can just get to know each other better, to let our guard down, and let the Spirit lead rather than us.

* I went home with various feelings: I was hard on myself for giving a "boring bible study" when the conversation was what was really important; I was elated that we had a decent turnout and that they seemed excited to do it again. I was grateful to see that other young adults care about the ministry here and want it to grow; yet I was cautiously hoping that this will not become another "clique" in the church that doesn't feel the need to reach out to others.

So, there you have it in a nutshell. Thanks for your prayers. Keep me posted on your ministries and let me know what I can pray for as well!

Cheers.......................