Q & R: Youth Ministry

Here the Q:

“Hi Brian, thnx for being a clear & generous voice in the emerging choir. I was thinking about what you said once about faith, hope and love. You said: faith > spirituality, hope > mission and love > community. I would like to create a curriculum (learning and doing) for our youth group following these words, beginning with spirituality (spiritual discipline). Do you have any ideas about how the translation of spiritual disciplines from the past (early church) to young people living in 2009? I’m excited about the new time in church history. After almost 500 years there is a new reformation going on. Will you come to the netherlands once?! Greetings

Reply after the jump …

R:
Thanks for your encouragement. What a great idea for a youth curriculum! As for connecting ancient disciplines to contemporary youth – the best resources I’ve seen are by my friends Tony Jones, Mark Yaconelli, and Mike King. You can check out
Postmodern Youth Ministry here.
The Sacred Way here. (This is one of the most under-appreciated books around, imo)
Contemplative Youth Ministry here.
Presence-Centered Youth Ministry here.
I should be coming to Netherlands, Germany, and Poland in July 2010. I hope to meet you then – and maybe see your curriculum. I’ll post information here on the site under the schedule as soon as I have it.