Risky Improvisational and Experiment

A church which pitches its tents without constantly looking out for new horizons, which does not continually strike camp, is being untrue to its calling. . . . [We must] play down our longing for certainty, accept what is risky, live by improvisation and experiment. —Hans Küng
Frost, Michael; Hirsch, Alan (2001-01-01). Shaping of Things to Come, The (Kindle Locations 34-38). Baker Book Group. Kindle Edition. 

This is the type of life I know the Collins' family is called to. This is the kind of church community I dream of, one that lives like performance artists and functions like a light in the darkness. Have a great week!

What thoughts have challenged you recently?

Is there one way to Heaven?

In a service on Christmas day, our worship pastor made a comment about Jesus being the only way to Heaven. The claim was a little more direct than we usually make, but I thought it was well in the appropriate bounds for a Christian worship gathering. I knew there was a Muslim man attending our service to watch his son perform in our service. I remember glancing his way to see his reaction and I was surprised to see him clapping. Even more so, he came up to me after service to tell me how much he enjoyed worshipping with us and to thank me for mentoring his son.

That's not the first surprise. The people who were offended by the claim were from our congregation. This week, these two youtube videos are assigned viewing in my Contemporary Cultures class at Fuller. 

What do you think of these? Is there one way to Heaven or are there multiple ways? Has Oprah gone off the deep end here? How would you respond to these women?

I'm pretty conservative in my beliefs, but I'd like to know what you think. 

I want to be missional.

I've been a way a while because of work and school, but I have been reading a lot and I'm ready to start posting again. This one is longer than usual, but it encapsulates what I've been chewing on and wrestling with in my life and calling. I hope you enjoy!


The missional church is incarnational, not attractional, in its ecclesiology. By incarnational we mean it does not create sanctified spaces into which unbelievers must come to encounter the gospel. Rather, the missional church disassembles itself and seeps into the cracks and crevices of a society in order to be Christ to those who don’t yet know him.

The missional church is messianic, not dualistic, in its spirituality. That is, it adopts the worldview of Jesus the Messiah, rather than that of the Greco-Roman empire. Instead of seeing the world as divided between the sacred (religious) and profane (nonreligious), like Christ it sees the world and God’s place in it as more holistic and integrated.

The missional church adopts an apostolic, rather than a hierarchical, mode of leadership. By apostolic we mean a mode of leadership that recognizes the fivefold model detailed by Paul in Ephesians 4. It abandons the triangular hierarchies of the traditional church and embraces a biblical, flat-leadership community that unleashes the gifts of evangelism, apostleship, and prophecy, as well as the currently popular pastoral and teaching gifts.

Frost, Michael; Hirsch, Alan (2001-01-01). Shaping of Things to Come, The (Kindle Locations 346-356). Baker Book Group. Kindle Edition.

Awake

     A week ago I was awakened to the wonderful world of records. My friend bough me a real record player on craig's list and the first album I've ever known is U2's "The Unforgettable Fire." I know our Fuller Seminary rapid reading instructions tell us that music impairs us from reading well, and  know the instructions are correct. Some habits are hard to break, but I'm glad I didn't. 

     While reading Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership I find myself repeatedly setting the book down because the lyrics and tones of the songs intersect perfectly with what I'm reading. It is too much of what my soul needs to be a coincidence. The album's title just hit me! "The Unforgettable Fire!!!"

     Rock and Roll may not be your cup of tea, but I thought I'd share my experience because I feel like I'm so good at sharing the struggles I have, especially with my friends in ministry and at Fuller. At times I fear I'm too honest. The image manager inside my soul kicks in and I wonder if everyone thinks I'm a "downer." These past two weeks have seen major times of renewal in my family, professional, and soul life. 

• Marie and I are finding "the new normal" with two kids instead of one.
• Conflict and Crisis at work doesn't take the emotional toll on me like it used to. 
• I'm having personal time with God more regularly again. I even dusted off my personal rule of life (from my first Fuller class) and set up a reminder for the doc to automatically pop up in my outlook calendar at the appropriate intervals. My soul is feeding for the first time in a long while.

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Awareness

Today, may you have the courage to "be." Be still. Be yourself. Stop for a moment. Notice God in your life. God's all around.

 

Matthew 11:28-30 NIV    ²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Spiritual Formation. How do you do it?

Just came across this quote while doing a paper on Character, Community, and Leadership.  

"There are no formulas-no definitive how-tos-for growth in the inner character of Jesus. Such growth is a way of relentless seeking. But there are many things we can do to place ourselves at the disposal of God, and "if with all our hearts we truly seek him, we shall surely find him" (Jeremiah 29:13, PAR)"

Of our studies this far, this book has impacted me the most. I have a feeling that there will be more to come. Back to the paper.

The Bible and Missions

     Helen Montgomory was more than an author. She was a public offical, missionary, scholar, political activist and preacher (Rochester Regional Library Council 2000). Living at the turn of the 20th century dramatically effected her worldview, especially in the area of justice. I think this plays a large part in her perspective on the Bible and Misisons. She spent most of her life on missional projects and her education, culture, and gender must have made the missioal motifs of justice, God’s heart for the oppressed, and the nations leap off of the page.

     Her thesis is clearly claims that the Bible is concerned first and foremost with God’s mission (Page 7). Her thesis goes so far as to claim that when one reads the scriptures, “the missionary message is inescapable.” (Page 7)

     Montgomory remains true to her predominant modern culture by presenting a well constructed linear presentation to support her thesis. She shows the reader what she will say in outline form (Page 5-6; 52-53) before each chapter. As she begins to unpack her arguments she opens with definitions of various missinal motifs and key concepts (Page 8). Her prose is lively and it conveys the feeling that she strongly believes in what she’s writing.
     Then she gets to work. In he following secsions she highlights in broad strokes the missional motifs in the major sections of the Hebrew Bible. She strengthens her claims by admitting that she cannot mention every motif and every example because there are too many for a brief treatment. This concession only helps her declarations because it makes the reader wonder how many other examples there are to support her thesis. Montgomery repeats the same pattern for the Christian Testament in the second section, organized first by section or genre and stopping at various high points of each book.

     I must respond to Montgomory’s thesis as directly as I can. To put it bluntly, She had me at Goethe. Her diction and writting style was thoughtful, but not too thick to take down. I did make liberal use of the dictionary feature in my PDF reader though. To analyze this book after the ML 520 seminar is not much of a fair fight. I came into this assignment with some strong preconcieved ideas, so I must admit my bias.

     I was particularly drawn to her treatment of Micha where she highlights his distaste for as she calls it “formal religion” (Page 35). Working in a Mega Church causes a tension inside me as I reconcile my weekly activities. I want so badly to make sure that I’m pleasing the Lord, but the seduction of performing or working to make things look good is an easy pattern to fall into. This book is familiar to me, but she highlighted something new to me in the previous sections. I never consicously considred that most the Hebrew prophets wrote about cultures similar to mine. I knew it, but the reality never sunk into my heart in a way that got my attention.Taking Micha’s words to heart, I am asking God to continually “purify” my religion and make it an offering that will please him.

     This book will compliment shifts in living and thinking Marie and I are already attempting to make. We converse about what kind of children we think God wants us to raise and what kind of family God wants us to become. My preaching and teaching topics are also more missional in the kinds of words I use. Many of the topics are the same. However, I approach them from a different perspective of God’s mission. For a while, I will use this book as a resource for preaching. When I’m preaching on a text, I’ll make sure to glance at Montgomory’s comments about it, as to avoid proof texting or justifying my mission (Page 7).

References Cited

Rochester Regional Library Council: Western New York Suffragists. 2000. “Helen Montgomory” http://winningthevote.org/HBMontgomery.html

Book Review: Jesus and Community

About the author: Gerhard Lohfink grew up in Germany in the midst of rising national tensions as nations built up to World War II forcing him to move many times. He excelled in the field of academics gaining permission to pursue higher degrees while serving as pastor and chaplain in various posts. His perspective as a German, a priest, and college professor uniquely qualify him to make bold claims with his thesis and to support it with evidence from scripture, early church history, and first hand experience.

About the Thesis: His thesis claims that Christian Community’s form must come from the practices of Jesus that we have in the form of the gospels, which was uniquely focused on Israel, gathering it together so that the world my experience the kingdom of God, bringing God’s reign into the earthly realm, standing out in the midst the dominant culture, and acting as Christ’s agent of change.

About the Structure: He supports his thesis using a 4-section structure. First sections define Jesus’ model of Community as implied by his actions on earth and Old Testament precedent. The final sections outline how Apostles and early followers continued the important aspects of community instituted by Christ. These practices include but are not limited to: praying for the sick, living as a contrast society, bearing the identity of “God’s people,” passively resisting the kingdom of this world, and cultivating a community of equals that serve each other.

Personal Reaction: Lohfink’s repetitious structure aided my understanding of his thesis. With out the repetition of a claim, a scripture, an explanation of the passage, and conclusions, he would certainly have lost me. Thankfully we did not have to read it in German. From my perspective these insights are valuable, but perhaps too familiar. This may be a byproduct of the generation I’m a part of and the generation of people I work with, but I found myself too easily agreeing with Lohfink’s highly authentic, communal, egalitarian, peaceful, and accountable version of Christian community. After reflection, I find myself asking, “Why don’t more people in my stream of Christianity know about this book?”

About Application: As for application to my ministry situation, I think this book will find it’s place in a stockpile I’ll return to in a search to provide Shoreline’s youth an alternative to consumerism. The image I found most vivid was in the introduction. It talked about a priest, a counselor, and physician roaming a city “on call” (Location, 84). This vivid picture illustrates a tension I currently feel in ministry to a large church. We want to help people, but Lohfink challenged my thinking about the way Mega Churches serve congregations. There certainly isn’t anything wrong with serving a parishioner, but what if the structure of a community actually encourages individualism? If Jesus was in charge of my youth group, (a bold thought, I know) what would he say about our programs and the impulses they feed? How would they compare to the picture of Christ’s community provided by Lohfink?

Initially, I think we have a long way to go as a contrast society. We have a gathering, but I wonder about how much of Lohfink’s community we experience. There are brilliant moments that punctuate our program, that come in Small Groups, Retreats, and Summer Camps where young people catch a glimpse of what God’s Kingdom might look like, but this rarely translates into the day to day life of our community. This issue cannot be solved with a sermon series or a small group study. Perhaps I need to look at my own life and ask if I’m buying what I’m “selling?” My gut level hunch is that young people will not do it until they see it, so perhaps what our group needs is a contrast society within our community.

Video Updates

I apologize for the complications with the videos I've been posting lately. I'm learning to blog from my phone for better youth ministry updates. The issue should be resolved by next week!

Today I'll be putting the finishing touches on a presentation I'll be giving tonight at Shoreline Leadership College based on Gordon Fee's book, Reading the Bible For All It's Worth.  We're trying to equip people for significant ministry in our community. So many are hungry to get into the "meaty" stuff of the Bible. I could never go into all of this book in one session. Tonight's class will be an introduction to Hermeneutics and then an example of how to do it with the book of Ephesians.

Sneak Preview

I'm speaking in "big church" tomorrow night. I'm showing this video and tying it to Philippians 2.

Instant Competition from 50YearPlan on Vimeo.

I am SUBVERSIVE.

A couple of years ago I came across a book called, The Contemplative Pastor by Eugene Peterson. I've read it several times since then. From this book, I've taken three words to shape the kind of person, the kind of pastor I want to be. Perhaps they will challenge you to rediscover the way of Jesus too!

The three words that have changed my life are:

1. Unbusy
2. Subversive
3. Apocalyptic

We'll get to unbusy and apocalyptic later. I remember Mark Steele saying once that comedy is subversive in nature. I had to look up the word because that's the first time I'd ever heard it. For me it means something close to revolutionary or counter cultural. I want to be subversive and you should too because followers of Jesus are for the most part, out of place in western culture. For too long, people who follow Jesus have been placed on the shelf alongside other innocuous and irrelevant pieces of western culture. We live in a universe that is breaking down. Pain, disorder, and entropy are normal and I believe that the followers of Jesus are supposed to be the subversive presence of Jesus in our world. 

Jesus was subversive by telling stories that challenged the cultural norms of his day. I'm working under the assumption that pain, disorder, and entropy are our cultural norms. He called out leaders for hypocrisy. He challenged the Roman way of life with the kingdom of God. He stirred the pot, but not merely for the sake of controversy. He was hellbent on the rebuilding and restoration of His father's creation, and we should be too. 

How can we be a subversive presence in our communities that compel people to receive Jesus' love for them? If we are to convince them that there is a better way, how? The methods available to us are not political, militaristic, or big shows of power. How can our lives come close to resembling something that is even close to Jesus?

Communion

I really enjoy our Shoreline tradition of communion on the first Wednesday of every month. We bring all of our children's and youth ministries together the the adults for a night of worship songs, a few brief thoughts about communion, and then we take the elements together. The band is represented by ministry to every age at shoreline and we also take a moment to highlight people who serve in various areas of our church. Tonight I'm the one offering up a few thoughts about communion. It's not a full fledged 30 minute lesson or anything, but such an important moment deserves some thought.

As I began to reflect on this ancient sacrament of the Christian Church I thought back to how it was first explained to me.  The first time I remember taking communion was at our wonderful Wesleyan church in Park, Florida. My mom took a moment out of service to explain to m Pinellas y why we take it and what to do before, during, and after taking the elements. Any awkwardness was further alleviated by the method our church took it. Once everyone had the elements, the pastor would give instructions on when to eat and when to drink . We literally ate it at the same time. It was such a holy and sacred moment, even recognizable by a nine year old. I knew communion was something people should treat with reverence and awe.

In college, I wondered for the first time, "why bread? Why wine?"I knew that the world was broken. Humanity needed a savior and a way to approach God. I knew that God loved his creation so much, but "eat my flesh, drink my blood?" Really?  Was Jesus merely in need of a quick object lesson at dinner? Did he decide to create the holy sacraments out of thin air?  Of course not, but as a westerner I had no understanding of the deep subtext going on at the last supper and of all the meaningful layers of God's plan communicated through this ceremony.

Tonight I'll talk briefly about ancient near eastern contracts and the bloodpath God instructed Abraham to make In Genesis 15. In this passage we see God using a form of contract that would have been very familiar to Abraham since the narrative is set in the ancient near east. Slaughtered animals from the herd,  flock, and birds were placed on either side of a trough. The parties entering into a contract or covenant would walk through the path as a way of saying, "if I break my word, you can walk through my blood like this." Imagine if we had this sort of thing as a part of our wedding ceremonies at Shoreline! Abraham sees this and gets scared to death because he knows that there is no way he can keep up his end of the bargain with God. Abraham knows that he will fail God. So God in the form of a pot on fire, walks through the trough a second time.

What an incredible setup for the eucharist! Humanity did break the covenant, many times the last time I checked. Thankfully God walked through a second time. He did more than just walk through, God spilled His own blood to renew the covenant between Him and his creation. Our sins are more than covered, we have been more than merely forgiven. Through Christ's sacrifice, God has made and is making us whole!

That is why, "While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples saying, "Take and eat; this is my body."

Three Ideas

John 15:15 "I no longer call you servants, because servants do not know the master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you."
- Jesus

1.) I can be involved in G-d's business. That idea scares me because I know G-d is up to some serious stuff, like cosmic level. The only thing inside me that tells me I have what it takes to be used in G-d-business is the fact that G-d says I do (we all do).

2.) I can be called Jesus' friend. This idea fascinates me and scares me. The texts says Jesus HAS called His followers friends. I wonder how far back that goes? It scares me because I'm not in the habit of hanging out with people that cast out demons and regularly face down death and persecution and inspires His "friends" to do the same.

3.) Jesus will teach me what He's learned from His Father. This idea fascinates me. Its difficult to wrap my mind around the point of following Jesus. For way too long I believed the point was merely getting into Heaven. I'm learning that its possible to know the creator of Heaven and to participate in that work. How long will it take to learn what Jesus knows? I'm up for it.

Leviticus 2:1

Leviticus 2 verse 1 - [The Grain Offering]
 
" 'When anyone brings a grain offering to the LORD, your offering is to be of the finest flour..."

As I understand it, the grain offering can be seen as a type of response to what G-d provided in Leviticus 1 [Sin offering]. The thought being, "A loving GOD provided a way for me to approach and walk in harmony with him? How can I respond?" Since G-d loves His creation, He tells people the kind of response He's looking for. He requires the best.

Where do you find wheat in the Negev (where the Hebrews wandered for 40 years)? Once you have it, when do you have time to grind it into flour? When these instructions were given, how long did it take to sink in, I wonder? Did they think, "This GOD wants my best. After making a way for me, how could I not offer my best?"

These days perfectly sifted fine flour is only minutes away and costs me little of my income. What's the lesson here? The point isn't flour. If it was, it would merely hint at empty religious ritual. For me the lesson is giving G-d my best. In light of Jesus' sacrifice [sin offering] for me, why respond with anything less?

With that attitude, my relationship to the Lord takes on a "get to" posture instead of a "have to" posture. Legalism's burden lifts. I'm free to live the best life because the focus is taken off of me and shifted to what's been done for me. Its not my efforts that matter. Its Christ's accomplishments that mater.

I have no grain, but I do have a borrowed prayer. "Lord, help yourself to my life."

When you are pressed, crushed, and bruised.

" 'When anyone brings a grain offering to the Lord, your offering is to be of the finest flour. You are to pour olive oil on it, put incense on it... Leviticus 2:1 TNIV
Lately I've been listening to a lot of sermons on Leviticus. If the Bible really is alive, if it really is the words of God, then every part should have meaning right? If that's true then I can't skip over the hard or foreign parts anymore. So here I am in this often misunderstood book of TORAH (1st five books of Hebrew & Christian Bible).
There are a number of things in the verse listed above worth mentioning but none as personal to me today as incense. Incense is the last thing in the verse that God instructed His people to offer. Its part of the "peace offering." The peace offering is after the sin offering, which absolves the worshipper of sin because God lovingly provided a way for common people to approach Him. Once a person has their sin taken care of, how could they respond any other way than to offer up their best. That's where the incense comes in.
It would have been Frankencese (sound familiar?). This would have been burned up for the Lord because of its pleasant aroma that comes when it is crushed and bruised. When it goes through rough treatment, it smells the best.
What does your life "smell like" when you are stressed? How do you react to stress? How do you respond to the storms of life?
Today was certainly pressing. Traveling with a sick one year old and her tired mommy could have been a disaster. I'm easy going except for getting to the airport on time. I routinely have nightmares about missing flights...like once a month, no joke. We were late. Security was a fiasco, air puffers, searches, and questions like crazy. Then I managed to get Ellas car seat stuck in the x-ray machine. All the while my phone was going ballistic as if some force in the universe compelled all who know me to call, e-mail, and text simultaneously.
All afternoon this verse came to mind as my life smoldered. At each red light. With every heartbreaking cough from my sick daughter. Every obstacle made me ask God, "Can you please help my attitudes and actions smell good to you, Marie and Ella right now?" After all, when faced with the reality and weight of all Jesus did/does, how can a few delays throw me off?
May you this day know the God who makes lives give off an aroma that's pleasing to him. May others smile as they take a whiff of your life.

The Irony of Grace

I've always been a big fan of irony. At the risk of emotional exhibitionism, this is a blog after all, I wanted to process some of the tension I felt during my prayer time this morning.

As I began, I felt overwhealmed for a funny reason. Things are going well. They are by no means perfect. There are things to pick up around the house, chores to do, ways I could be a better husband, father, and pastor, and lots of things I could do better at work. Despite all the room to grow, things are moving in the right direction.

That's what overwhealmed me.

I told G-d that I can't keep it all together. I can't possibly be the husband, father, friend, and pastor that I need to be to maintain my current life. Somewhere in the middle of that thought I realized the error of my logic.

I don't hold all things together.

Christ does.

Furthermore, I don't bear the weight of maintaining a good life because I recieved my life by grace. I do feel the tension between what my life is now, and what it is supposed to be. I have a good life now, but the more I trust in redemption, grace, surrender, and focusing on G-d then He is free to make my life into something beautiful because it will bring Him glory.

So for now, the irony is rich. The more I let go, the more I'm able to do. The more I surrender, the more I'm trusted with. The more I live my life for G-d's glory, the more peace and contentment I experience.

Tuesday Bible Thought

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

This Sunday we are starting a new teaching series in jhi. Our goal is to give them a brief overview of the Bible in seven weeks. I think the beginning is the best place to start. G-d made all the stuff in the universe. He created matter, systems, gravity, particles, and atoms. He came to be a part of his creation, that much is evident from the scriptures.

In Genesis he walks in the garden.

In the rest of the Torah G-d selects a people to build him a place (ark) to physically dwell in.

Later in the Story, G-d requires a temple in order to live WITH the people.

In the Christian Testament (Matthew -> Revelation), we see the direction of the creator is to live with his creation.

From beginning to end, G-d's posture is towards the mess, the pain, the heartache, and His people. No matter what your circumstance is, The L-rd is with you, even if you don't know it. You never have been, are not now, and never will be alone.

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Great Clouds :: bible stuff

Hebrews 12:1-3 Talks about believers pressing on because they are not alone. They have a vast host of faith heroes that came before them. With all these cheerleaders and the help of Jesus Christ, the readers of this passage are urged to shake off sins that would keep them from reaching their potential. They are encouraged to press on without a care for how others perceive them, how difficult things are, or what the circumstance may be.

I came across this passage while studying for our talk this weekend in lift _ jhi. We are trying to get them to change their perception, or perhaps form a perception of what church is. We are trying to get them to see that they ARE the church and that they need to be in community.

I love that the book of Hebrews was written to a group of people so obsessed with how people perceived them that they were turning away from the faith. I think that describes the middle school so well. Of course there are many courageous youth that could care less what people think about them, but I think this verse will give them comfort and the boost they need to cast off some behaviors or misconceptions of what it means to follow Christ.

This passage encourages the reader to embark on a messy, adventurous, and interdependent journey. This journey requires community, surrender, dependence, and focus on the living G-d. It’s not for the faint of heart. I’m so glad that I’m journeying with this group of people.

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Letting Go

"A thick and shapeless tree-trunk would never believe
that it could become a statue, admired as a miracle of sculpture,
and would never submit itself to the chisel of the sculptor,
who sees by her genius what she can make of it." (St Ignatius)

Luke 7:1-10

How much did the Centurion have to let go in order to tell Jesus not to come to his house, but only speak the words and heal his beloved slave.

It seems that this powerful Roman loved his slave very much. It also seems that it would be easy for him to obsess about the slave and try to control the situation by showing up personally or trying to have Jesus come to his house personally.

No, he realized that Jesus had the authority; he even called him L-rd, something that was totally unheard of between Romans and Jews, much less a Roman of authority. The Centurion was willing to let the master carve him into whatever he was supposed to become.

I am asking myself, "what areas do I obsess over?"

How about you?

May you have the courage to let go of your plans and allow G-d to carve you.

Secondhand Jesus: A book Review

I just reviewed this book on Amazon, but thought I'd repost it here.

I appreciate Glenn Packiam’s perspective as a pastor, musician, theologian, and worship leader. He currently lives in the context of western Christianity, and recently weathered one of the biggest church scandals to ever come along, with perhaps the exception of PTL in the late 1980’s. He also has a unique perspective of Jesus from outside the Mid-Western church box since he is from Malaysia. In the tradition of Donald Miller and Mark Steele he writes in a memoir story style that is perceptive and easy for the reader to digest.

As a youth pastor in a mega church in the Southwest, I ask questions along the line of Packiam’s thinking. I’m grateful for the way he articulated his questions. It wasn’t bitter or snobby. I can tell he genuinely loves the Church (with a big C). At our church, we have great volunteers, a supportive pastor, more than adequate meeting space, and a genuine desire to help youth in our community. However we as a youth ministry, feel like we are missing something. Glenn puts his finger on many areas youth ministries need to work on.

Specifically, Glenn highlights Jesus teachings about the “good life” dismissing the rumor that God just wants people to have “easy” lives. Glenn Packiam also observed the propensity for many churches to become a “one-stop spiritual shopping” church. We have groups for everything that you can think of and if we are not careful churches can point people to themselves instead of Jesus.

I’m thankful that Glenn Packiam didn’t attempt to wrap everything up in a nice little bow with trite formulas and cheesy slogans. He doesn’t set himself up to have all the answers. Instead, he leaves these rumors open for dialog. This is a great book for conversation and to read in community. I look forward to adding this book and its ideas into the curriculum of our ministry to teenagers and young adults and recommend it without reservation.