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Dear youth and parents, 

I'm currently on the plane flying back from my trip this week to the second (and final) Sticky Faith Summit with a cohort of nearly 30 other churches from all over the country.  Our team had a great experience, and we're bringing back lots of great ideas, tools, and challenges for our congregation that will help us work together to build a lasting faith in our young people.  There's a lot to say, but I figured I would give you one item that is weighing on me as we fly home:

We are inadvertently teaching our kids that more involvement means you're a better Christian.  We don't actually SAY that, but our actions transmit that value.  Both Jesus and Paul were clear that being a Christian is ultimately about faith - not faith as a noun that you have or possess, but faith as a verb that you actively do (Steven Argue suggests that it's helpful to think of it as faithing - great article on that here).  Over and over they both made clear that one's faithfulness is not measured by taking particular actions (as the legalists around them insisted), or doing more and more faith-y things.  Rather, our actions should be the result of an active faith - not proof that we have faith or a means to become more faithful.

We transmit this value in many ways, but I'll mention one example: When someone tells a story about a youth that embodies a mature faith, what do they usually say?  I've noticed that our (and, often, my) default is to talk about a youth who DOES a lot.  "Janie Exampleton is a great UCC kid.  She's a tithe-collector in worship , she's on the Belltower Extension Committee, she volunteers at Space in the Lodge, she sets out energy drinks before Sunday school, she parks cars in our lots before big water polo matches.  We need more kids to be like her!"  What does this teach our kids?  To be faithful Christians who are valued by adults, they need to do more stuff.  Notice also that all of those are external observations.  They're things that you can see without actually knowing Janie.  If we have a relationship with our kids, we can learn about their faith in God - not just the things they do.

I would argue that this is a cultural value that is simply being mirrored by our church.  So often I see how busy and stressed our kids are, and it's because they are either attempting to live up to someone else's standard or they have set high standards for themselves so that they can please adults.  They need assurance (and proof!) that their value doesn't lie in their performance, but in the fact that they are God's unique, beloved creation.  We need to start working to make UCC a place where they escape this negative cultural value, rather than a place that reinforces it.  I invite you to take some time to reflect on this phenomenon and see if it's something you can identify as well.  Then, think about the ways that we do the same thing to adults in our congregation.  We've got a long way to go to make this change.  Fortunately, Jesus assures us in Matthew 19:26 that with God all things are possible! 

Read on for information about our upcoming parking fundraiser, Youth Sunday at The Search, fall youth retreats, a luncheon with Mayor Betsy Price, and more!

Grace and Peace,
Russ 

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