Barefoot Ministries

Barefoot Training Articles

Moving the Conversation

Barefoot Training - Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Over the past few months, we’ve maintained the Barefoot Training Articles as a way to continue the conversation around the training content.  With the impending enhancements to the Immerse Journal site, we’ve decided to move the conversation.  So for all of those interested in going deeper with our training content and interacting with other youth workers please checkout Immerse Journal.  

People and Stories

Barefoot Training - Thursday, March 03, 2011
My friend Jason and I did a workshop on A World Unbroken a couple of weeks ago. He shared the following poem:



Then he asked everyone to answer a simple question. “What story comes to mind when you hear this poem?”

One youth pastor shared a story of a teenage boy who was living a life that was like a crumpled-up something but had great potential, like a blossoming dream. So the youth pastor put him in his pocket by sharing his life with the boy and now holds on to the hope that God will transform him. In this brief exercise, the youth pastor revealed to everyone three simple truths about people and stories.

First, when we share a story, it reveals something about ourselves. For the youth pastor, it was his passion to see God work in the lives of youth. It also revealed the youth pastor’s enduring hope in a loving and powerful God.

Second, the exercise revealed that people communicate meaning through stories. The youth pastor shared a story with several facts. Those facts would have no significance to anyone else if he were to list them off in bullet-point fashion. Instead, by telling a story that incorporated those facts, the youth pastor created meaning. He even inspired others to hope in the God who causes our dreams to bloom.

Finally, a story can connect us, both to God and others. The youth pastor connected to the rest of the people in the room who were youth workers, parents, or teenagers because of his story. The words he used to describe the teenage boy and his hopes for him resonated with everyone’s passions and desires for youth.

To share God’s story and our stories together opens teens up to meaningfully connecting with God and others. And those connections can inspire youth to be transformed into Christ followers.

Questions to Consider:
How do you incorporate sharing stories into youth ministry?
What are some other truths about the relationship between people and stories?

By Paul Sheneman

Context and Youth Ministry

Barefoot Training - Friday, February 11, 2011
A phrase that gets repeated throughout the Barefoot Training manuals is, “The story of God as the context…” We explain that the story of God is the context for our participation in God’s mission, theology, calling, and identity. What we don’t make explicit in the training is the definition of context in relation to youth ministry.

Context has two primary definitions. First, it is the components of a discourse that surround a word or passage and can throw light on its meaning (Merriam-Webster). We typically encounter this definition when we are preparing to teach on the Scriptures. We study the parable of the prodigal son in the context of the entire chapter in which it appears; in the context of the entire gospel of Luke; and the context of the entire Bible in order to understand its meaning. Context also means the interrelated conditions in which something exists or occurs (Merriam-Webster). We practice this definition when we try to understand the circumstances surrounding a teenager jumping out of a tree and breaking an arm.

The second definition is what we refer to when we talk about youth ministry. We are attempting to tell a true story that will embrace the interrelated conditions in which youth ministry exists. The circumstances—or setting—of contemporary youth ministry could be narrated in many ways. We could talk about all the social circumstances leading up to the emergence of contemporary youth ministry. Or we could describe the psychological circumstances that necessitate contemporary youth ministry. But these stories would be incomplete and would ignore some of the interrelated conditions in which youth ministry exists.

Our conviction is that youth ministry—as an activity of the church—is best understood in the context of God’s story. The story of God embraces all of life (social, psychological, historical, cultural, etc.), starting before creation and projected out in hope to the new creation. We also believe that the story of God gives meaning and direction for youth ministry. In God’s story, we find the reason for caring for youth, performing and proclaiming the good news of Jesus, playing games together, crying together, calling youth to serve others in Jesus’ name, etc. Outside of the story of God, these activities lose their context and meaning.

Next week we will dig into the relationship between story and people. For now, I wonder how you describe the circumstances for youth ministry?

By Paul Sheneman

Trajectory of Transformational Youth Ministry 2

Barefoot Training - Thursday, January 27, 2011

Formation and Transformation


Formation and transformation are not two polar opposites in the growth of persons.  In fact, formation and transformation are complimentary dimensions of life.  The two concepts of human development differ only in the degree of change.

Formation occurs to some degree whenever a person participates with others in any domain of activity.  So when a teen uses public transportation, they are formed into the processes and etiquette of riding the bus or train.  Their identity is not meaningfully impacted by the practice but they do acquire new knowledge, experience new emotions, and practice new skills.

A transformational example of formation can be observed in a teen becoming a gamer.  The teen is formed into a gamer as they participate with their friends in playing video games.  They acquire skills and language that assist them in playing the game and interacting with a group of gamers.  The more they play the games the more they feel connected to the identity of a gamer.

Finally, a transformational moment may occur in a teens life.  For example, a teen learns of the realities of human trafficking.  The horror of the issue sends the teen searching for a solution.  They find a potential solution to the injustice and an aha moment occurs which transforms the way they think, feel, and act.  Finally, they move into practicing the solution which either verifies their new perspective or sends them searching again (The Transforming Moment).

Questions to Consider:
What stories do you have of the transformation of a teen's faith?
What is an example of formation and transformation in youth ministry?

By Paul Sheneman

Essential Traits of Transformational Youth Ministry 13

Barefoot Training - Thursday, January 13, 2011
This is the final post in the Essential Traits of Transformational Youth Ministry series. It is fitting to end the series with Jesus since he is the champion and perfecter of our transformation.

Jesus is Lord


At the heart of transformational youth ministry is the desire to faithfully practice the way of Jesus. In other words, the confession Jesus is Lord has implications on the way of life for communities of young people.

Service - Diakonia
First, faithful practice of the way of Jesus implies that youth ministry leads communities of young people into living out lives of service. These lives of service are revealed to be incarnational, which means they meet people where they are. Service in the way of Jesus will always point people toward God and God’s kingdom. Finally, Jesus’ life of service calls us to serve those who are our enemies.

Worship - Liturgia
Second, to confess Jesus as Lord implies that communities of youth will worship God. Worship in the way of Jesus flows in and through all the activities of life. Thus, young people will be guided into offering all their actions, thoughts, and emotions to God for his glory.

Fellowship - Koinonia
Fellowship in the way of Jesus is more than pizza, dodge ball, and swimming. It is a full commitment to being open and vulnerable to others for the sake of loving God and others, like Jesus. Youth ministries stereotypically practice camaraderie well. Our commitment as youth workers must be to continue to journey toward fellowship in the way of Jesus.

Teaching - Didache
Teaching in Jesus’ life flowed from a commitment to Scripture, community, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was committed to teaching about God’s participation, revealed both within the writings of Israel and in the contemporary life of the Jewish people. Finally, there was an authority in his teaching that was unlike the other teachers of his day. The church has known this same authority when it has accepted the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Proclamation - Kerygma
Finally, youth ministry in the way of Jesus will proclaim the gospel of God in Jesus. Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God being present in his life and actions. We are to continue that proclamation to a world that yearns for the peace and healing of God’s kingdom. Our communities of young people need to be able to articulate the message clearly.

Questions to Consider
What other implications does the confession Jesus is Lord have for youth ministry?
How do you incorporate the life of Jesus into the practices of youth ministry?

By Paul Sheneman

The Challenge of the Missionary God for Youth Ministry

Barefoot Training - Tuesday, January 11, 2011
“As in all generations religious education takes place within the trends and the vision of the times.  Even when education or the church ignores such trends, they have their effect, for such trends are woven into the everyday customs and practices of all people in a myriad of ways.”  -Donald E. Miller

Missional.  Missionary God.  Missional Church.

You can say what you want about the importance or value of the missional conversation in the last 20 years but one thing that you can’t ignore is the formative effect the trend has had on the church.  The books, groups, trainings, conferences, courses, and media created with the term “missional” is incredible.  Therefore, instead of ignoring the trend, youth workers will do well to engage the conversation to see what worth it has for young people.

In the current issue of Immerse Journal, Alan Roxburgh has an article, Can the West Be Converted?, which sets forth the core challenge of the missional conversation.  He writes, “The worst thing we can do to our youth is bore them with questions of how to make the church work or which styles and types of church are worth their attention…There is far, far more at stake than these frivolous diversions.”  Roxburgh claims that the challenge of the missionary God is nothing less than the remaking of culture.

Read the article here.

Wow!  The remaking of culture is a huge challenge.  It is a scary challenge.  To be quite honest I have my doubts and fears that it can be accomplished.  However, instead of ignoring this challenge, I think that it is important that youth workers, myself included, engage this challenge.  Therefore, I created a discussion guide to go along with the article with the hopes that it will foster local conversations.

Free Discussion Guide

I created the guide to be used in youth ministry team meetings but I think that it can be used with a network of youth leaders.  If you don't have either one of those then consider me a part of your youth worker network and email or comment with your thoughts.

Peace be with you.

Resources to Go Deeper with the Article:
Missional Church
Celtic Christianity
Celtic Daily Prayer
A Walk Through the Bible - a narrative of the missionary God

By Paul Sheneman

Essential Traits of Transformational Youth Ministry 12

Barefoot Training - Thursday, January 06, 2011

Participation in God's Mission


God’s mission: A phrase that gets thrown around a lot in the contemporary church. It gets tagged to church campaigns for fundraisers. It gets slapped on promotional items for a missionary support service. It gets thrown out in conversations on evangelism, discipleship, worship, and social justice. God’s mission is identified with so many things that it seems meaningless to most youth workers. All of this begs the question, What is God’s mission?

Before we answer that question, let’s lay out what God’s mission is not.

God’s mission is not...
●     A missionary in a foreign country.
●     A Super Bowl party outreach event.
●     A small group ministry.
●     A homeless shelter.
●     Evangelism.
●     The Great Commission.

What is God’s Mission?
First, God’s mission begins with God. The Triune God was, is, and will be a sending God. The confession that the Father sent the Son and the Father and Son sent the Spirit is the confession that God is a sending God.

The church is reawakening to the realization that we serve a sending God. The church is learning that the missionary orientation of the church does not have its origin in the church (i.e., Great Commission). No, the church is a missionary church because it serves a missionary God who has commissioned the church to go.

Second, God’s mission is revealed to humanity in God’s participation in the world. The ultimate revelation of this participation is in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, God’s Messiah.  God’s mission in Jesus to proclaim freedom to the prisoner, recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, and to preach good news to the poor reveals the way of God in the world. The ends that Jesus went to to accomplish the will of God reveal that the scope of God’s reconciling and redemptive work is to restore the world to its intended purpose or wholeness.

So What?
When we get to this point in our training, some people ask, “So what?” Well, the revelation and foundation of God’s story and our theological reflection implicate us in God’s mission. We are called to become participants in God’s mission through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, God’s Messiah. The implication is that we are identified as Christ followers, or Christians. The implication is also that the church is to be a missionary church. The youth are to be missionary youth. The youth ministry is to be focused on a missionary God.

Transformational youth ministry is oriented toward guiding youth into participation in God’s mission. That guiding could include practices like serving at a homeless shelter, evangelism, small group participation, or hosting a Super Bowl party for friends. As students practice these means of grace, they begin to lean into God’s mission and are transformed as they encounter the Triune God, who is working to restore the world to its intended wholeness.

By Paul Sheneman

Barefoot Training

Barefoot Training - Monday, December 27, 2010

Barefoot Training from Barefoot Ministries on Vimeo.

Essential Traits of Transformational Youth Ministry 11

Barefoot Training - Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Engaging the Whole Family 4: 

A Way Forward


In this series we have used the works of David Elkind, Diana Garland, and Marjorie Thompson to guide our reflections on discerning the family.  We continue this reflection by turning to the challenges facing the family and their proposals for a way forward for the church to minister to families.

The Challenges
Elkind, a child psychologist, is concerned with the health of children in North America.  He describes three major shifts in the roles of parents, children, adolescents that correspond to the modern to postmodern shift.  Parenting in modernity was focused on intuition and technique in postmodernity.  The view of the child changed from innocence in modernity to competence in postmodernity.  The view of adolescents changed from immature in modernity to sophisticated in postmodernity.  Elkind concludes that these shifts led to an imbalance of stress upon children and adolescents which he calls the “new morbidity” of youth (98-152).

Garland, a Christian social worker, is primarily concerned about the faith of families.  She is informed by Craig Dykstra’s work in faith practices when she engages the particular stories of families.  She finds that the challenges facing the faith practices of families are busy schedules, lack of training of parents, lack of knowledge of Scripture, competing values within a family, and different levels of personal faith in the family (127-198).

Thompson suggests one of the main obstacles to the faith development of families is the church.  She writes, “What I am suggesting is the communal church and the domestic church need to recapture a vision of the Christian family as a sacred community.  This will require an awareness of the ‘sacred’ in the ‘secular,’ of God in the flesh of human life (20-21).”

A Modest Proposal
Elkind, Garland, and Thompson all suggest a way forward for the family and I believe that youth and family pastors can find a generous and faithful way forward in their collective proposals.  In bullet points here are some suggested movements forward....
  • Elkind suggests a concept called the “vital family.”  The vital family values include emotional ties of committed love (a movement beyond intimate love and mutual engagement), authentic parenting (blend of parenting out of intuition and technique), interdependence (blend of autonomy and togetherness) and a balance of unilateral and mutual authority.
  • Elkind suggests a reinvention of adulthood.  This reinvention includes parents appropriately exercising authority and sharing space with children and adolescents.  This space sharing includes the development of safe environments for children to grow in competence and teens to grow in sophistication.
  • Garland and Thompson suggest that the local church is integral in teaching families the practice of faith.  They call for the church to see their role as learning community for families of faith.
  • Garland suggests the informal teaching moments for faith in families are found in the dark moments of death and conflict.

I find hope in these suggestions.  I believe that God can choose the local church in these days to lead families forward into God’s mission.  By God’s grace, the church can practice space sharing with youth in our corporate worship.  In humility, the church has the opportunity to publicly seek Christian ways of resolving the conflict as a way to train families.  We can learn together what it means to seek God in the dark moments of life.  We can practice the values of the vital family through Christian faith practices.  We can provide space for families to learn and serve together.  We can extend the call to all families to enter into God’s saving embrace in Christ as a way forward for their family.

More Resources:
http://www.baylor.edu/social_work/cfcm/

http://practicingourfaith.org/

http://ekklesiaproject.org/

By: Paul Sheneman

Essential Traits of Transformational Youth Ministry 10

Barefoot Training - Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Engaging the Whole Family 3: What is the Family?



The value of defining the family for our contemporary content is that it gives us orientation in our engagement. If we can’t name the thing that we encounter, how can we have a meaningful experience? We have a word for God that has some meaning, and that concept seems a lot more complex than family.  

So tell me, what is the family? I want to know because, for the life of me, I can’t find one definition that does justice to the multiple realities of family that I experience. For example, I’ve seen heads of households be single, biological parents, biological grandparents with single parents, two biological parents, two legal parents with no biological relation, one legal parent with no biological relation, two legal parents who are also the biological uncle and aunt, and the list could go on. And then try to account for sibling relationships, and I almost want to give up on ever finding a definition.

But what if we moved away from a sociological or structural definition? What if we tried a theological definition?

Here is my stab at it:

Familya supportive and formative group of people, connected through a common biological lineage or covenant, who are meant to learn and practice the worship of God through their relationships with God, each other, and the world.

Does that definition sound familiar? I hope so because the definition is derived from a definition of the church. And here is my bias in favor of this definition. I think the church is called to be the family of faith for the world.

I also think the definition helps youth and family ministers imagine that the goal of families is to become “little churches,” in the words of Jonathan Edwards. And the concept of families becoming little churches corresponds to Diana Garland’s sociological research of more than 100 families. Her research revealed faith practices as an essential element of family life. As a complement to that research, Marjorie Thompson’s book argues that spiritual formation naturally happens in families in both positive and negative ways. Therefore, we can conclude that families are going to worship something. It is the role of the church to be the family of faith that invite them into the worship of God.

Questions to Consider:
What is your definition of family?
What do you think about the above definition of family?
What do we do with this definition of family?

By: Paul Sheneman

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Barefoot Training is designed to inspire, challenge, and equip you to guide your students into Christian formation for the mission of God. Each training experience offers an interactive environment where you are able to design, create, and nurture a biblically based, Christ-centered youth ministry in your church and community.