Article

Theological Volunteerism

Volunteers' Theology

Steve Argue

volunteer theological identity

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Most youth pastors I talk to worry about their volunteers. I mean that in a good way. They’re constantly thinking of ways to support them by giving helpful strategies for connecting with students. They work hard to ensure that volunteers are not overburdened with unrealistic expectations. They want to make sure they understand the mission, vision, and values of the youth ministry. They very much want their volunteers to know that they are appreciated.

These are all good things.

But in the midst of the recruiting, training, supporting, and appreciating, I long to hear more conversations about how youth pastors are developing their volunteers theologically.

Sure, it’s about relationships and connecting with students and being consistently present. But when a student is wrestling with the uniqueness of Christ while living in a pluralistic world; when students pray with great fervor yet things don’t their way; when the Genesis account and their science books don’t match up; when they are told that God is love yet there is war and famine everywhere; when they are told that God loves the family and their parents divorce - do you know what your volunteers will say?

While I’m not suggesting that every volunteer needs to be a theologian, I believe that every volunteer is communicating a theological message… whether they realize it or not. Therefore, youth pastors have responsibility to teach, train, and develop their volunteers theologically. Helping volunteers think theologically is more than giving them the “right answers” to pass on to their students. Rather, discipline is needed to provide tools for volunteers to work out their own theology so that, as students come with their questions, they have capacity to do more than give them the simplistic answers that worked in grade school but don’t cut it any more.

On a side note, I believe that every youth pastor needs theological training. Unless we understand the basic tenants of the faith, the theologically historical issues that have shaped the way the church articulates its orthodoxy, and the theological concepts that inform the Christian narrative over and against the plethora of narratives in our world, we will default to pragmatism and youth ministry will be nothing more than an enterprise that recruits teenagers to a program, rather than the living God.

So, theological volunteerism is a discipline that encourages volunteers to recognize that they are more than babysitters, chaperones, pseudo-big brothers/sisters, or relational transitional objects. The are co-redeemers in God’s plan for putting the world back together… piece by piece, person by person, relationship by relationship.  With this in mind, here are a few theological snapshots worth considering:

Volunteers are Priests

Peter reminds his readers in 1 Peter 2.9, that followers of Jesus are “a kingdom of priests.” We should not understate what Peter is alluding to. The role of priesthood is common theme throughout the biblical narrative. A priest is someone who represents God to the people/world and the people/world to God. They stand in the gap as translators, bringing understanding, order and completeness to their corner of the world. It’s a role that God called Adam and Eve and Israel as a nation, to play. That through their relationship with God, everything and everyone would be blessed. Perpetual failure created the aftershocks we still feel today. This is reversed when, through Jesus, the great high priest, the priestly mandate is re-established through his life, death, resurrection, and ascension. Jesus calls his body, the church, fueled by the Spirit to continue “resurrection living” through priestly service of standing in the gap between a pursuing God and a directionally challenged world.

Volunteers are nothing less than priests, called to stand in that gap brining clarity of God and God’s purposes to a questioning/journeying generation. Volunteers’ embodiment must be through action but not devoid of thoughtful reflection on the “whys” associated with their actions.

·       Do volunteers know how to study the Bible and pass their approach on to students?

·       Are volunteers explanations anchored in the unfolding redemptive narrative of God or are they weak, moralistic applications that come more from a creative thought than a disciplined approach?

·       Are volunteers asking/anticipating the questions that students asking? Have they thought beyond simplistic answers of “God said so,” “Just believe,” and “I’ll pray for you”?

Volunteers are Disciplers

Mentors, guides, fellow journeyers… disciplers. I really don’t like turning nouns into verbs (a common American thing to do. Think of “Google.” Now we “google.”) But maybe its okay here. Discipling is different than hanging out, even teaching. One who disciples is committed to not only meeting students where they are at (a phrase I hear often in youth ministry) but also leading students where they need to go.

 

This begs the question- Where do they need to go? What does formation look like for an adolescent? When you ask your volunteer how Johnny is doing, from what basis are they answering? It would be good for youth pastors to help volunteers think about what their goals are beyond programs and for their students. What exactly does a discipling relationship look like? After meeting students where they are at, where are you expecting volunteers to take them?

·       Think about some characteristics your ministry is hoping to instill in students. How do you know that these are theologically sound characteristics?

·       What resources can you give volunteers that will help them grow into these expectations?

·       Think about resources that will help volunteers help students get unstuck. Are they dealing with issues of forgiveness, self-esteem, failure, relationships, family, etc.? How can volunteers step into students’ lives beyond the half hour small group after the big event?

·       Think about how you will include parents in the journey. In what ways can volunteers have meaningful conversations with parents including them in their child’s (and their own) journey?

Volunteers are Theologians

Volunteers must be theologians. Not professional ones, but ones that seek to more clearly understand God, God’s word, and God’s gospel. They embrace a discipline of seeking to understand God and God’s actions so as to better understand themselves and others. Instead of investing in another staff t-shirt or coffee mug, consider giving them theological resources that fuel your theological conversations at volunteer meetings

Some resources you may want to consider:

How to Read the Bible for all it’s Worth (Fee and Stuart, 2003)

Fee and Stuart give some excellent ways to understand the Bible and biblical interpretation.

The “For Everyone” series (N.T. Wright)

Tom Wright does a wonderful job of offering accessible, readable “commentaries” written in conversational form. Volunteers will find them informative, creative, and devotional.

The Christian Story: A Narrative Interpretation of Basic Christian Doctrine (Gabriel Fackre)

This work and those similar to it, attempt to provide a basic understanding of Christian theology embedded in the Christian narrative (story of God). These types of  books offer information on the theological back-story of the Christian faith, brining contexts to our beliefs.

The “Ancient-Future” series (Robert Webber)

Webber’s books on ancient-future faith, evangelism, time, and worship anchor Christian practices historically, while also offering helpful commentary in the present. With the growing interest in “ancient” practices, this series can theologically inform what these practices are all about.

Youth Ministry in the 21^st Century (Rick Lawrence, ed.)

A number of us wrote sections of this book. There are some philosophical and theological sections that attempt to offer explanation and practice of theological concepts for youth ministries.

When volunteers can theologically articulate what they have been called to, who they are, and what students need form them, they will grow into the priests, the disciplers, and the theologians we need them to be. Let’s do our part by leading them there and settle for nothing less.

 

Excepts taken from The Inside Track (Group Publishing), November 2008

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