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Building Leadership with Thought-Provoking Questions

Today I read an article from Leadership That Creates the Future and want to share it with those of you who are engaging in Community Engagement, Revitalization or Restoration.  The environment you create as a leader is more important than the persona you want to project.  True leadership is about others, not yourself.  Enjoy reading:

 

Building Leadership with Thought-Provoking Questions

Posted on March 16, 2015

Leadership – there are likely few topics in the world about which more has been written. With so many resources and sometimes contradictory theories to consider (think “Servant Leadership” and “Machiavellian”), finding a personal leadership style that feels authentically “you” can sometimes seem like an unending quest. Establishing the leadership culture in an organization can be an equally challenging and continuously evolving process.

Leadership That Creates the Future reached out to experts in Creating the Future’s Facebook group for consultants to community benefit organizations and asked them –What compelling questions about leadership do you like to explore? Their questions provide a framework for discovering personal insights, values, and beliefs that can help anyone on a journey toward reaching their highest potential as a leader.

Consider the following:

• How do you approach conflict and confrontation?

• How do you identify what motivates your team – not just imposing what motivates you onto them – and how do you use that to inspire greatness?

• How do you identify and develop natural leaders in your community – those with no formal power but to whom people listen?

• How do you help develop everyone’s leadership abilities?

• How do you create an environment where others feel safe to fail?

• How do great system or network leaders differ, if at all, from great organizational leaders?

• How do we help our followers become great followers?

• What would be possible if we stopped talking about leaders and, instead, focused on leadership?

• What do we hope that leadership makes possible and how can everyone benefit as a result of it?

• How do we move away from “hero” leadership (focused on individual traits) to transformational leadership (focused on positive social change)?

• How do we make leadership more inclusive?

Through a thoughtful exploration of questions such as these, leaders, potential leaders, and followers can better identify the conditions through which leadership can make a positive difference in our organizations, communities, and the world.

What are some additional questions that are helping you to identify the principles and practices that shape you and your organization’s approach to leadership?

 

Thank you to Freya Bradford, Kimberly Diggs Lauth, Jane Garthson, Andrea John-Smith, Joyce Lee-Ibarra, Rhonda Lorch, Justin Pollock, and Kelly Trusty for contributing questions for this blog post.

Links:

Leadership That Creates the Future: http://blogs.creatingthefuture.org

Freya Bradford: LinkedIn

Kimberly Diggs Lauth: Kim Lauth Consulting

Jane Garthson: Garthson Leadership Centre

Andrea John-Smith: LinkedIn

Joyce Lee-Ibarra: JLI Consulting

Rhonda Lorch: Lorch and Associates

Justin Pollock: OrgForward

Kelly Trusty: LinkedIn

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Youth Ministry Has Taken An Exciting New Directions — It’s Called The New Urban!!!

Happy New Year everyone.

I have just returned from a couple weeks vacation in Paris with my wife’s family.  My time away allowed me to reflect on the past few years and where I see the future of youth ministry.   As I said on facebook the other day – My wife asked me to step away from the IPad, IPhone and email while we were away.  I was able to do some deep reading, contemplative, reflective, introspective thinking and I was able to spend some incredible downtime with God in prayer and fasting.

 

As a result of this time, today we are re-launching our entire Platform – our ministry, social media, workshop series and sermons under the forward looking focus on Leadership in the New Urban.  We will focus on the new models required in ministering to all young people, in keeping our sanity and in networking outside our familiar circles.

 

These are exciting times for those of us who labor in the vineyard.  The urban landscape has changed in such a way that nothing is what it use to be.  The challenges our young people face are so expansive and can no longer be approached through our previous methods.  So what is the New Urban?  The new urban is a lifestyle that permeates all segments of life.  It’s non geographical.  No longer viewed through the lens of suburban, urban or rural.  Check out your young people, everyone’s into the music, the dress, activities and the talk of the new urban.   It’s multicultural, multiracial and multigenerational.  It’s cosmopolitan meets the thug, its hip-hop with a violin and everything in between.

 

 

MINISTERING TO YOUNG PEOPLE

For Youth Workers, the New Urban will require us to be at the top of our relational, relevant and revelatory game.  Young people don’t want to be entertained, taken for granted or spoon feed.  They are living in a world where everything goes and are questioning why they shouldn’t participate.   Peer pressure to conform to the world view is intense.  The world is telling them there are no limits, no morals and no judgement of anything they do.  Yet they want to know how to make God honoring decisions in a world where morality seems to be fading.  They want to see us “Walk The Talk”.  They don’t want us to be their best friends; they want adults who will walk along side them through their mess, guiding them along the way.  Pizza is great, but presence is better.  Lights are nice, but loving is more impactful.  Gimmicks are interesting, but grace is more desired.  Entertainment is fun, but equipping is long lasting.   Dodgeball is engaging,but destiny is the focus is.

 

 

UNDERGIRDING YOUTH WORKERS

Let’s face it, we are challenged with the new urban also.  This world is waxing worse and worse right in front of us and we are about two steps ahead of the young people in keeping up and understanding what’s going on in the secular culture.  We are dealing with situations we never expected the young people we minister to would be involved in at this age.  Our only advantage is our spiritual maturity and experience in dealing with the idols of the world.  The Bible tells us, “we must know the times. . .”.  Even though, I have to admit, sometimes I struggle with the burden of our young people. The weight of their plight brings me to tears.  But we know all of our problems, all of our pain, all of our situations, all of our heart ache can be left at the feet of Jesus.  Place your cares upon Him, He will hear your call.  We serve a God who is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all we can imagine.  Trust in His Word, you know none of this is new to Him.  Stay encouraged and on your knees.

 

 

NETWORKING TO STRENGTHEN EACH OTHER

If we are willing to share our gifts, talents, resources and knowledge we will prevail.  If we are willing to network with other ministries in and outside of our normal circles; if we stay unified in the Kingdom building, holding each other up, praying for each other, strengthening each other in our walk, we will prevail.  Building strong networks take time, energy, empathy, open minds and passion.  In a world of social media, it is easy to make connections, but these connections are not a network.  The strength of your network is more important than the size of your network because, in the end, a strong network is something that you carry with you.  Today’s youth workers need to be able to build networks and work with others to address our young peoples challenges.  In the past it was possible to minister on your own and stay in your personal circle but today, requires sharing information and collaborating due to the overlapping of our young people’s experiences. Where we live is irrelevant, the size of our church is irrelevant, what we did in the past is irrelevant.  To assist parents in the spiritual development of their children, we must press toward to the mark . . .together.

So my brothers and sisters in Christ, stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.  I offer this prayer of encouragement from the words of the songstress Laura Stong’s Blessings   :

Dear God;

We pray for blessings
. We pray for peace.


Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
.  We pray for healing, for prosperity.

We pray for your mighty hand to ease our suffering

All the while, You hear each spoken need
 yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

We pray for wisdom
. Your voice to hear
.

And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near

We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love,
 as if every promise from Your Word is not enough

All the while, You hear each desperate plea
 and long that we have faith to believe

.

What if our greatest disappointments
 or the aching of this life,
 is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
.

‘Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
, what if your healing comes through tears.


What if a thousand sleepless nights
 are what it takes to know You’re near

And what if trials of this life
: the rain, the storms, the hardest nights
 are Your mercies in disguise.

In Jesus name . . . Amen.

 

Welcome to the New Urban, ready or not here we go . . .

 

 

Actions                                    Preferences

 

                         Attitudes                                     Perspectives

 

Aspirations                                    Principles

 

 

 

 

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There is no one person that can speak on behalf of the entire urban community

 

GUEST POST: DANIEL WHITE HODGES

 

Today our guest blogger, Daniel White Hodges, is the North Park University Director of the Center for Youth Ministry Studies (CYMS).  Dan brings us his perspective of Urban Youth Ministry; continuing our 7 point series – Debunking the Misperceptions, Misunderstanding and  Misrepresentation of Urban Youth Ministry.

 

 

 

The days of singularized leadership are far gone. Unifying leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Cesar Chavez, and Bobby Seal were great for their context, setting, time and era. However, we have had some major shifts in our Western American society over the last forty years which have affected how, in particular, young people see what the meta-culture defines as a leader. Shifts such as:

 

  • Industrial to post-industrial to information age
  • Technology & media
  • Narratives of life, theology, & God are plural
  • Trust is eroded with those in leadership positions
  • Trust & reliance is gnarled with systems & institutions among youth
  • A loss of generational connectivity & solace with younger generations
  • Titles are typically suspect

 

These are just a few of the many shifts that young people, especially those born after 1988, have had to contend with and live in. We are not even considering the chasm which exists between church leaders and youth. Young people today are more critical of their leaders and, as well so, hold them to a higher standard. Further, as it was seared into my worldview when I was on Young Life staff: you have to earn the right to be heard. And, quite honestly, many leaders do not want to put in that time to actually “earn” that right to be heard. Many urban leaders want to preach, lecture, and tell rather than listen, engage, and live with the young person.

 

Hence, no, there is no singularized leader, authority, and/ or person who can speak for the entire urban community—or even urban youth for that matter.

 

The closest person that spoke for many in the urban context was Tupac Amaru Shakur. Now, some of you might wrinkly your nose and squint your eyes at that persona. After all, wasn’t he a whoremonger, adulterer, drunk, and profane rhetorician? And the answer would be: yes. Yes he was. But, within that whoremongering, adultering, drunkenness, and profane discourse something deeper was at work; a fundamental attempt to make God more accessible to himself and to the people he considered to be the urban community. We as youth leaders cannot overlook that aspect. We cannot merely see the outward behavior and judge the heart. And we must begin to deconstruct such a figure to, dare I say, embody some of his characteristics. More on this later.

 

Leadership and having a voice is powerful. It is, in fact, power. The power to affect someone elses behavior to implement your ideas and thoughts. Power. Power to affect change with the inception of worldivews into the psyche. This does not come easy and many in this generation, as stated prior, are very critical of whom they give those psyche “keys” to. Moreover, the urban community is far too complex, intricate, multifaceted, and multifarious to have a singular voice on that narrative and life experience. Thus, when engaging the urban context we must consider the narratives of all; yes, even those we do not agree with; those who are nefarious in deed; those who are foul in personality; those who have dreadful historical pasts; those who are fastidious in everything called life. Yes, those are the ones God has called us to. Those are the ones whose narrative does not fit nicely in five step processes, alter calls, and one time conversions. This is the population that Christ called us to make disciples in the Great Commission.

 

So, no. There is no singular voice and narrative for the urban context. Why would there be? Can God be explained in one concept? I hope not. The ‘hood represents the complexities of human life that is articulated in outward expressions and aesthetics. Let us continue to embrace the diversity and mystery that is meta-narrative and life!

Let me hear your thoughts, questions, rebuttals, and narrative. Join in on the conversation!

To continue the conversation and go deeper please comment below, also check out:

www.whitehodge.com

Twitter: @danwhitehodge

Facebook: Daniel White Hodge

 

The Soul Of Hip Hop: Rimbs, Timbs, & A Cultural Theology (IVP 2010)

Heaven Has A Ghetto: The Missiological Gospel & Theology of Tupac Amaru Shakur (VDM Academic 2009)

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What is so urban about a city that makes it different from the Suburbs? – At their root are the same sin issue man has dealt with since the fall.

 

GUEST WRITER: Rob Townsend

 

I promised you I would be bringing perspectives from all across the country.  I am honored to provide you the prospective of a Youth Pastor, friend and co-labor in the vineyard.  Rob is the Pastor of Student and Family Ministries at Calvary Bible Church (CBC) in Rutland, Vermont.  Today Rob provides us a view from the suburbs looking in.

 

 

 

As a small city minister from central Vermont I am often asked why I spend so much time studying urban issues. I can totally understand this question because I must admit that I do spend an inordinate amount of time reading urban ministry books, blogs, and studies. This is a practice that started for me while at Moody Graduate School in Chicago and it is a direct result of my time studying theology, practice, and principles of urban ministry with my friend and mentor Dr. John Fuder.

 

Doc helped me to rethink my views on ministry. He challenged me through books by great men such as Dr. John Perkins and Dr. Roger Greenway, along with others to seriously consider the implications of applying urban ministry practices in smaller cities, and even rural areas.  In essence, Doc changed my worldview significantly which has enabled our student ministry to remain effective in our ever more “urbanized” small rural city.

 

What is so urban about a city with a population of 17,000 in a state of 600,000? That is a fair question and I one that had to ask myself when this journey began 8 years ago. The answer is simple: we have a sin problem out here too. Yes I think that the issue that binds the big city, small city, rural towns, and suburbia together is, at its root the same sin issue man has dealt with since the fall.

 

To be certain, the manifestations of this issue have some distinctions from place to place, but we must realize that at the core, they are all identical. Recognizing this reality, I became determined to help our students see the reality of this fact. This desire was the catalyst for building a cross-cultural student training program in our student ministry that has led to strong partnerships with ministries in the south side of Chicago as well as other urban centers. The goal is simply to help our students see that the city has many of the same issues they have and to help those in city see they are not struggling alone. Along the way I have been blessed to see that the other commonality between these groups is the ability to overcome obstacles to experience the victory available in Christ!

 

As I began to study the trends in Rutland, Vermont along with my studies of the urban culture in Chicago, I noted three key areas of struggle that exist across socio-economic, racial, and geographic lines.

 

  1. In every setting students desire to be accepted. Across the board from city kids to farm kids, this need to fit in pervades the human condition. We are wired for fellowship, and when this need isn’t met through Christ and Christ centered relationships it leads to destructive attempts to fill those holes. The result of these empty attempts to find fellowship is the formation of gangs, the troubling increase in bullying, and substance abuse issues. In my little city alone we are seeing gangs forming (Gangster Disciples, and Los Solidos to name two), the poor being taken advantage of by slumlords, and as our ethnic diversity changes we are seeing a marked increase in violence and drug related crime. I once asked a young man in south Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood why he joined a gang and his answer was immediate and succinct: “How else am I going to be accepted around here? And man, being accepted means being alive.”  We have to rethink our approach to reach all the young people in every location who see being accepted at all costs as the only means of survival.

 

  1. In every setting students need to find their identity. One of the greatest tragedies of the Fall is our loss of true identity. Our students struggle to see themselves as valuable creations of the King. Whether this is a product of fatherless homes, unbearable economic circumstances, or some other sin issue the end result is the same. We have seen an increase in teen suicides, more teen on teen violence, an epidemic of sexual dysfunction manifest in pre-marital sexual escapades, sexual identity issues, and a porn addiction of epidemic proportions. I was recently counseling with a student who was compromising in the area of relationships who stated, “If he makes me feel complete how can what we are doing possibly be wrong.” Young people need to be re-focused on the beauty of their identity in Christ by being introduced to his truth and then challenged to live without compromise.

 

  1. In every setting students are barraged by media. No one will argue that our culture is more media driven or influenced than ever before. In fact I would argue that many urban influences are finding greater traction in rural areas because of the increased exposure of all students to media.  Students are being hand fed their morals from stars like Jay-z, Ric Ross, Snooki, and other less than admirable figures. As they bury themselves in social media and online gaming, they are creating alternate realities where anything goes. Even though they are “more connected” then ever before they are becoming completely disconnected from any sense of right and wrong. They are watching depravity play out in their music, TV, and other venues of entertainment. We need to attempt to counterbalance this moral slide by making positive investments in students while offering positive alternatives to the moral filth available. Students need alternatives but most importantly they need to have their own moral compass tweaked to line up with the Creator of the universe. In short, we need to model and proclaim Christ within our context to show them the reality of His love, justice, and grace!

 

Each of these issues brings to light the hopelessness of our world when Christ isn’t in the center. We must begin to rethink our approaches to these issues so that He can transform lives.

 

To my Urban friends, I start by saying that on behalf of white rural America, I am deeply sorry that we have judged you, tried to “fix you”, and shoved our brand of churchy Christianity down your throats. I pray that you can forgive us as we seek true partnership centered on the Lord we all serve!

 

To my fellow suburban/rural counterparts, we must seek to learn from our brothers and sisters in the city. They are innovators, “over comers”, and people who have learned to shine Christ in some difficult situations. What they have done we need to do! Sin is universal and the urban issues are also rural/Suburban issues.

 

The Church needs to stop being the church in the city and a separate church in the country. We must take Paul’s words in Ephesians 4:2-4 to heart:  “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called—” When we focus on Christ as the great equalizer, we see young people from the city, suburbs, and countryside overcoming the sin that so easily pulls them down. When we the church invests in students they begin to have hope. In my years investing in Chicago and Rutland I have seen many break free of their circumstances and start to shine.  We must recognize that there are many success stories, whether it be the young lady in Rutland who became a leader in a church after her father was sent to jail, or the young man in Englewood who in his junior year of High school serves as a role model for the young children or “shorties” in his neighborhood by excelling in school while making positive lifestyle choices or countless others.

 

The longer I remain in ministry the more I believe that every student can be a success story if we simply invest in him or her with the heart of Christ. It is my absolute contention that regardless of where a student lives we must focus on four simple philosophies of ministry. As long as their implementation is properly contextualized, these are practices that I have seen work wherever they are tried from the south side of Chicago to the small towns in Vermont.

 

  1. We need to introduce them to Christ. We must use scripture as the basis of our efforts to reach the lost and to help grow the redeemed!
  2. We need to give them a cause to serve. When young people are serving in a church or for the betterment of their community it becomes increasingly possible to help them see their worth and avoid some of the pitfalls mentioned above. In the Christian context that we so passionately hope they will seek to live within we need them to be active in their churches.
  3. As they grow beyond their circumstances, hopefully as a result of Christ at work with them, we need to encourage them to share their victory stories with their peers. One thing I know to be true is that students will listen to students.
  4. We need to encourage them to expect more of themselves! Let’s stop allowing them to expect so little from themselves (Romans 12:1-2). Challenge them to defy the odds. Challenge them to set lofty goals as they set high expectations for themselves and their peers. Allow them the freedom to fail while attempting the seemingly impossible plans they dream up for His glory. Encourage them to stop settling for compromise in their academic lives, their home lives, and their spiritual lives. Hold them accountable to His standards of excellence and watch them grow deeper and more committed to Christ than those around them.

 

I envision a day when student ministers across our nation link arms and commit to serving each other. Our students and our ministry have built lasting partnerships and friendships in the city because we have come to the table seeking true partnership. We have come alongside our brothers and sisters without an agenda.  Our only goal is to serve alongside them as ministry equals. This investment has allowed us to learn the valuable lesson that the city and the country are at war with the same “demons’ and sin nature. I want to ask each of you to join us in battle for the souls of our young people wherever they live. Let’s learn together by admitting that we both have something to teach and that we are united in battle for one cause!

 

I invitation you to check out my blog or the Christian Endeavor open source page.  My Blog is http://itbelongstothem.wordpress.com/ and the Christian Endeavor page is http://endeavormovement.com/.

 

 

How are you working with ministries different from yours to bring the Gospel to young people?  If you aren’t, what are your challenges with connecting?  Join the conversation and let’s discuss in hopes of reaching unity in the Spirit.  We look forward to your comments.

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4. You need more than an urban curriculum to minister to urban youth.

GUEST POST: Erick David Townsend

Today we continue are conversations of understanding for those currently ministering or wanting to minister in Urban communities.  Our guest post today comes from a dear friend and partner in Kingdom ministry.  Erick has a heart for young people and is a husband, father, lead worshiper, vocalist, songwriter and has been a celebrated on-air radio personality for Chicago’s top rated Moody Christian Radio.  Erick now host The Urban Message on Total Christian Media.  Notable guest on his show include nationally renowned recording artists Kirk Franklin, Richard Smallwood, Deitrick Haddon, Fred Hammond and Marvin Sapp.

 

 

 

I currently have lived in a Chicago urban setting for more than 10 years and am fortunate enough to have 20 plus years of rearing roots in rural and suburban dwelling places. I agree with JP Paulus’ assessment of issue #2 and believe issue #4’s answer also begins to develop in what most of us, no matter our current living arrangement, have fashioned little time to perfect…more on that later.

 

Today’s technology and social media have made it almost effortless to keep up with whomever we choose, but what about those who are assigned to us? Those who aren’t concerned about the ease of connection, rather wish to see valiant effort.  What about those who have connected with your urban youth group only because of proximity rather than preference? Or even those who can’t see anything other than their desperate need and desire to at the very least, not get lost in the dominant or sub-dominant culture’s priorities, whether on a macro or micro scale. More questions than answers and not by accident.

 

There is nothing more offensive to a young person than giving false testimony.  It is always better to say you don’t know or have yet to experience than to make something that happened to you “fit” into every urban context.  It is understood that we will have transplants or urban immigrants but the way the immigrant handles their adjustment period and assimilation, determines their own effectiveness. Stereotypes and assumptions only render you effective-less. So, is urban curriculum needed, YES!  Is urban curriculum the answer to doing urban ministry effectively, I say NO!

 

As we are finding our gathering of youth, inside and outside of church settings, becoming more and more diverse in culture and ethnicity, how can we expect a “good for the goose, good for the gander” curriculum to address the vast issues of the city?  A common mistake of same color equals same culture, I believe, imprisons us into a mentality of “one size fits all” and what worked for Tyrone will work for Tanisha. What we then fail to see is, Tyrone’s truth has more in common with Becky than he ever will with Tanisha. We have allowed the proof texting of Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” to keep us in a state of “Blind Denial,” when it comes to the diverse and connected issues of today’s youth. Why “Blind Denial” because we take the stance of the famous monkey statue “Hear No Evil, See No Evil” but we forget to “Speak No Evil.” We should instead be freed by that text into understanding that my differences ON the table don’t make us different in the eye of God thus I should be willing to treat my neighbor as myself. Not simply like I like it!

 

The urban places to gather are increasingly becoming places where, Red, Brown, Yellow, Black and White are all precious in the owner’s sight (LOL). As the dollar brings us closer together and the economics of today simply force us to actually spend money together, we mustn’t forget that after the transaction, we must live together. Now neighbors by the Bibles calling and by proximity have doubled the need to understand that my example and many others may not be in that workbook of yours.

 

We have all heard the argument of standardized test examples keeping underserved urban youth from excelling but what about the standardized youth group examples that instead of keeping you connected to youth drive you farther away from them and no closer to authentic relationship with Christ? Today’s multicultural, multi-ethnic youth group takes more devoted work than ever before. Which leads me to where I started, piggybacking off of JP Paulus…RELATIONSHIPS. Yes it was the driving force behind Christ’s walk here on Earth and it is the underlying rip current to successful or unsuccessful ministries…Urban or otherwise. When learned how to navigate, rip currents can be a great asset. When ignored, they can be the relational and spiritual deaths of you and all involved. The same is true for urban curriculum.

 

So what do we do as conduits of truth and leaders of our future leaders? Great question! Here are several practical “Duh” answers:

 

–       Be YOU. Don’t try to be anybody else…Period!

 

–       Admit you don’t know. Not only will you learn something new, you will begin to gain credibility.

 

–       Ask if the curriculum example is authentic. Don’t treat the curriculum as the Bible. IT can be wrong in the context of your  urban setting.

 

–       Be willing to look silly (old). There is nothing more rewarding than being laughed at because you were born before cell phones were invented then turned right around and being called on the cell phone and trusted to answer a question that will change their life today.

 

–       Build RELATIONSHIPS not religion. Urban dwelling, in itself, has its own religious practices, by definition of the word religion. In order to gain access to that world, one must be willing to spend the time it takes to establish trust and permission to reveal the way, truth and life.

 

Let’s pick our heads up out of the workbook and work the Book. What do you think? How can we be more effective with the urban curriculum that we have?

 

Please see the links posted by JP Paulus for practical places to further training. If you are feeling brave, there are plenty of hangouts for you to immerse yourself into the urban youth world. Ask for an invite, reply with those you know of and we can provide others.

 

You can hear me Weekdays from 11am-2pm CST on my radio show “The Urban Message” on www.tcmradiostation.com. I can be reached for bookings or comments at erick.townsend@gmail.com.

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Are Urban Leaders Effectively Plugging In?

GUEST POST: JP Paulus, Do-Gooder Consulting

 

 

In last week’s blog entry, David shared several great points.  One of these struck me in particular:

2. There are a significant number of urban leaders doing great things to engage and equip young people, but are not trying to hype it.

I have a view on this myself. I am a guy who grew up in the suburbs, but immigrated to the city, first in the Chicago North Side neighborhood of Uptown, and now in Chatham on the South Side.  I write that to say that I come from a culture that tells you that you are supposed to know everything and be self-sufficient, but it is also a culture that didn’t value deep interpersonal relationships, and certainly not ones that exposed weaknesses.

In my younger years, Uptown Baptist Church youth pastor Mark Colligan did a great job of helping in his volunteers (at one point, there were at least 8 of us!) connect with his ministry friends., introducing us to events like the KingdomWorks/CompassionWorks , and other city youth pastors such as Danny Lopez and Steve Laughlin.

What we saw as volunteers was Mark having REALATIONSHIPS – not simply doing a big event with little results. We saw lifelong relationships. (We DID do big events – but they were meaningful, and some lasted for years!)

And for me, it really ignited a passion of resourcing and connecting. And there’s a lot I could write, but I will try to keep it to a few brief thoughts (for now):

  • It can be very frustrating, at least in Chicago, to connect with people. Some have a particular agenda (such as political, or hyping their own ministry). Some are just super busy, and haven’t delegated networking to someone else.
  • Respect in the world I see here comes from consistency, and letting people see your heart over a long period of time. It’s not about how impressive or prefect things are (or appear to be) – but how real you are. Basically the same concept as effective youth ministry, only YOU are the one who will be ministered to.
  • Don’t let big events be the center of your connecting. I mean, projects are EASY to get excited about, and put a lot of energy into,  but you might not bear much long term fruit past a spiritual high.
  • People, especially in youth ministry, go through some hard seasons. Sometimes it’s God telling them to move on, but sometimes it might be that they simply need stop pouring OUT, and let someone pour INTO them (in conjunction with the Holy Spirit). But assume that person is you. (Especially those of us form the suburbs – we might “accidentally” go into Messiah complex)

Once you have plugged in with some people, your eyes will be opened to the community out there. So for example, the Reload one-day conference for urban youth workers, held at North Park University, can feel like a family reunion for those who have been a part of many such events.

And again, forgive my networking bias, but there are also secular events where we can also connect. And in the course of who we are, God will still bring out fellow believers to share a deeper connection.

My view is certainly limited, especially in a city with literally thousands of churches, and with that, millions of relationships and billions of stories. I would love to hear how you have experienced networking and connecting with the larger Christian community here in the city of Chicago or elsewhere.

I also invite you to check out a few of these resources as well. Between all of these, you can learn how to connect with fellow youth workers and get the tools you need to fulfill your calling.

North Park University –  http://northpark.edu/Centers/Center-for-Youth-Ministry-Studies/Reload-Urban-Youth-Worker-Conference/About-Reload = Reload conference information.

Urban Youth Network – https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/157392998144/?fref=ts = An interactive fellowship of pastors and volunteers with a heart for youth and a need for fellowship and support. Currently, their Facebook page is the best way to communicate.

Illinois College Access Network  – www.illinoiscan.org = A secular network of people and organizations who want to help youth (and adults) go to college.

Do-Gooder Consulting Blog – http://blog.do-gooder.us = The blog for my firm, Do-Gooder Consulting.

 

 

Is networking important to the success of urban ministry?  Join the conversation and tell us how you plug in. . .