Do we impose our beliefs and morals thru power?

[Rodney Martin]

I'm reading the book "Revisiting Relational Youth Ministry: from theology of practice to a theology of incarnation by Andrew Root. Root uses Dietrich Bonhoeffers theology to reflect on relationships as the goal of ministry and being the place where Christ becomes real, incarnate within Creation. This book describes the kind of youth ministry we've been working to create at Lititz Mennonite Church. Most of the youth that come to our Monday night hang out, The Catacombs, and our conversation time on Wednesday, Reality Check, are not Christians and would never step inside a church. But, they've been welcomed for who they are at Lititz Mennonite without any expectations. It's not that we don't hope they become followers of Christ but we've come to believe that for this to happen it must be a transformation that truly leads to a perspective on life that embodies the vision of Jesus.

The question for us is "do we impose a system of morality and belief upon others through a position of power?" Or "do we die to our position of power and invite the other into a relationship that uncovers the reality of Christ?"

The church has a tendency to engage the other from a position of power that attempts to cajole, manipulate or persuade them to follow a system of morality and belief that we consider to be right. We're being self-seeking when we're imposing the perspective of a particular person or group upon another. Regardless of how right the person or groups ideas may seem to be or how well they are derived from Scripture such an approach always leads back to the self, instead of God because it's born out of human will. It's an imposition of the powers of this world upon another that continues the sin of Adam and Eve which usurped God's life giving energy with human control.

The question, then, is not about morality but about relationship. How do we surrender our power, our status, in inviting the other into a relationship that reveals, uncovers the really real, the presence of life that permeats the world in the Resurrection of Christ? Thru relationship the story of God intersects and collides with the story of life allowing the Holy Spirit to work in the life of the other to reveal true Love as it is working in our own lives. It's through this relational engagement where the other is loved as a human being created in the image of God first and foremost that Christ is revealed. A relationship that doesn't intend to change the other but step into their shoes and love them for who they are; a love that calls them to experience Christ's love.

The place to start is not with personal piety which has led so many Christian groups down the path of condemning one another, others, and themselves. The place to start is with ethics that calls and shapes our engagement with one another. The gospel message calls us to reflect on how we relate to and treat one another such as the foreigner, stranger, enemy, poor, the whosover among us and around us. It's in the how we relate to these others that we either reveal the reality of Christ or hide it. Through feeding the poor, making peace with enemies, bringing justice to the oppressed the Kingdom of God is revealed. And it's in this revealing that the other is not only humanized but given the opportunity to participate in the life of Christ.

So how do we challenge the church to lay down it's power and reach across party lines to create a banquet table for fellowship? How do we invite enemies blowing each other to pieces to sit together and enjoy the beauty of God's Creation that they both share on this fragile planet? How do we get fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to swallow their fears and step into the apartment of a drug addict to deliver food and offer a little sanity in the chaos of the world? How do we?

[Nathanael Snow]

Perhaps the underlying question needs answering: Why do Christians adopt their peculiar ethic?
First we must separate the peculiar Christian ethic from simple consequentialism. There are a number of so-called ethical behaviors individuals adopt to their own benefit, depending upon one's time horizon. Honesty in business is adopted by many because in the long run their reputation for honesty brings them additional business. 90% of the ethics instructed in churches can be understood as consequentialist. A good test is to ask whether pagans would have incentives to adopt a particular behavior. If so, then the church doesn't need to waste time talking about those behaviors.
Instead, the church may focus on discussing those behaviors peculiar to the Christian ethic, and the ways those behaviors reflect the redemptive work of Christ. Among the peculiar Christian behaviors are:
1. Charity. Only Christians are regenerate and capable of foregoing self-interest for the sake of others with no expectation of reward. For and unregenerate person such behavior would be irrational and ludicrous.
2. Communion. Through this act we remind ourselves that Christ has ultimate claim on our lives since we have accepted the work He did for us.
3. Baptism. Through this act we avail ourselves to the church, that it and its members may make a claim on our lives at any time.
4. Marriage. Christian marriage is not a contract, but a covenant. In it we give ourselves wholly to the other that they might make a claim on our lives.

I am contrasting the claim which others have on our lives through these sacraments with the claim on one another's lives Ayn Rand speaks out against which people impose on one another through familiarity and, according to C.S. Lewis, affection.

In this way we deny the power-over imposition of morals and instead invite others into the narrative of belonging to one another through Christ.

What this means for youth ministry is death to most topical studies, either that or an approach which most parents will find less than satisfactory. We won't make kids "good" or preserve them through the high school years (though we may equip some to better handle life once they reach maturity), nor will we douse them with mickey-mouse songs and activities. The busy-ness present in many youth programs is as empty and meaningless as the bottom of a bottle of beer, only more syrupy, blech. Wasn't activity one of Screwtape's recommended strategies?

No. If that is what youth ministry is all about, you can forget about it.
Nathanael Snow

[J Ted Voigt]

Hey great article, well writen and right on point. thanks.

I think you´ve really got something here in saying that we need to start not with ethics but with a what God has called us to. I think this is where we might look to find the answers to a lot of these questions. It seems to me that really the only way to "get Christians to do" X which God has called us to is to 1)be a Christian 2) do X yourself and 3) teach others. After spending 5 years working in the program-intensive youth ministry model, I´ve decided that this would be a way better way to do things.

I really like your approach to ministry, and I hope God blesses your community through you!