Back to Basix

I don’t know if you know this or not, but I am currently an advisor for a youth group at a local Lutheran church near my college. The youth group is made up of 70-90ish kids from 6th to 12th grade, plus a bunch of advisors (some former youth group members and some not). I decided not to be an advisor my freshmen year of college just because I wasn’t sure what the work load would be like, what college was all about, etc. So, after getting a handle on things, I was invited to be an advisor my sophomore year and jumped in. Before this year started, I struggled a lot with the decision to be an advisor again or not, simply because I was doubting the institution of the Lutheran church and struggled with my faith and my call to be a disciple and what the heck that meant. I decided to be an advisor, and it’s been one of my best decisions this year. It’s so renewing to go every week to hang out with kids and teach about Jesus. This year the theme is “Back to Basix”. We’re looking at the life of Jesus and what that means to us as his followers. This couldn’t have come at a better time in my life, and it’s awesome to talk about it with teenagers and hear their thoughts (since most of the disciples started out at their age anyway). I’ve found that there is a place for me in the institution of the church. Ever since I was a young teen, people have been telling me that I have some sort of gift with teenagers (a hard thing to be a part of in college life), so in a lot of ways, youth group has brought me home. And the relationships are incredible. I agree with Tim, it’s not about your church, it’s about people. Me being one of them. It’s easy to disagree with an institution, but much more difficult when you have relationships with people within them. What is an institution anyway without people?
And after some conversations this past week, we are certainly not the only people thinking these thoughts and asking these questions…maybe something’s happening.

I also had an interesting conversation with a friend about the way Christian language shapes our lives. In particular, what does the word “calling” mean? I’m a huge supporter and user of the word, as it really has shaped the way I view myself and God. But, does “calling” exist outside of a community?