Quiet Down: Lectio Divina in Youth Ministry
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Some years ago, I recall playing a popular youth group game called "Bigger and Better." Perhaps you've enjoyed it yourself or with your youth group. You and your team are armed with a small inexpensive item and sent out into the neighborhood to knock on doors, requesting a trade for something "Bigger and Better." At the end of the evening, whichever team comes back with the biggest and best item, wins. It's a game worth trying out.
And yet, I often wonder if the concept of that game has migrated into all areas of our ministry.
Bigger events, louder music, farther mission trips, deeper lesson content, messier games, greater numbers, funnier videos, bigger ministry budget, busier lock-ins, and on and on. It seems to be the trend that the more spectacular the idea, the greater our hope that through it we will win our kids to Christ. While a "Bigger and Better" approach to our ministry can keep our teens busy, and potentially be a lot of fun, I wonder whether this approach actually has the faith-growing impact we desire.
What if we got quieter with our kids instead of louder? What if we did less programming every second of the night and left a large chunk of time open for silent reflection? What if we did less talking and more listening? What if we taught less about Christian topics and let scripture speak for itself?
During last week's Youth Ministry Resource webinar, Lectio Divina was mentioned as a resource for your youth group. Lectio Divina is a process of quieting oneself and allowing God to speak to us through words and short phrases found in scripture. It requires very little: A Bible, a quiet room, and perhaps a pen and paper. The general format of Lectio is a four part process:
I've had the privilege of leading a group of over 70 teens through a 15-20 minute meditation, as well as many opportunities to lead a handful of teens through a 60 minute Lectio meditation (on Friday afternoons, after school!). While the four part process is quite fixed, the time allotment and number of people in your group can vary.
While this form of meditation is good for personal reflection, I firmly believe that it's ideal for groups. At the end of the meditation, it's important to allow a few from your group to share their experience. It's also important to recognize that not everyone will "get something out of it," but that the time spent in Lectio is your gift to God.
I encourage you to create space to allow your students hear the still small voice of God. Below is a handout that you can use to facilitate a Lectio Divina experience in your youth group.
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Greetings:
As much as I agree that more quiet is excellent, and that less rah-rah is helpful, I wonder if you have allowed the pendulum to swing too far. It is a known fact that Lectio Divina has its roots in Roman Catholic mysticism and by definition mysticism is the attempt of a person or a group of persons to have unmediated access to the divine, or simply put "union with God.". It is no secret that Thomas Merton one Roman Catholic who advanced this mystical strand and was very much popularized by Richard Foster's book, "Celebration of Discipline" was a practicing Buddhist. In Buddhist and also Hindu thought, the idea of self-emptying to be in touch with the spiritual is well known. The very description above, of quieting and centering could be just as Buddhist or Hindu as it is supposedly Christian.
I think a big buyer beware sign is needed.
Shalom
PS. Tom Challies who is a very consistent and well-balanced blogger has written a piece called "The Dangers of Lectio Divina" in which he worries about its highly subjective approach.
http://www.challies.com/articles/the-danger-of-lectio-divina
PSS. The website Lighthouse Trails features a former new-age guru who became a Christian. He often comments on mystical strains in Christianity. Here is a link to a "Lectio Divina: What it is, What it is Not, and Why It is a Dangerous Practice" on that website that documents the influence of another Catholic mystic, Thomas Keating who advocated "naked intent directed to God" through centering prayer.
http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/lectiodivina.htm
Merton was a practicing Buddhist? I'm no Merton scholar, but a quick glance on Wikipedia shows that isn't the case. And even if Buddhists or Hindus practiced something similar to Lectio Divina, I don't think they'd be doing it using scripture from the Bible.
I glanced at the Challies article and it seems to address pastors who might use Lectio Divina as the sole basis for their sermon-writing (rather than other hermeneutical tools, commentaries, etc). I can't imagine a pastor doing that and, even if some would, it's a very different scenario than what is described here.
Greetings Tim:
"In the 1969 book Recollections of Thomas Merton’s Last Days in the West, Benedictine monk Br. David Steindl-Rast wrote that Thomas said that he wanted "to become as good a Buddhist as I can." [from Clark below] To me that is as close to practising as it gets.
But just for accuracy, a well balanced piece by Anthony Clark entitled "Can You Trust Thomas Merton" clearly demonstrates his move towards Eastern mysticism and Zen especially. It is here:
http://www.catholic.com/magazine/articles/can-you-trust-thomas-merton
Another recent post by Justin Taylor, who does not seem to engage with former Eastern mystics, but mostly scholars is a well-balanced treatment that even looks at some of postive givens of Roman Catholic mysticism. However he waves a huge caution flag and states the following dangers about such. Sadly the above article fails to address any of them. Taylor in his "An FAQ on Mysticism and the Christian Life" states:
What are some differences between Christian mysticism and biblical spirituality?
I'm curious about peoples' experience with a younger group, such as grade 9.
I have had good experiences leading lectio with grade 9 students. I have led sessions with students as young as 12.
Hello Mark,
thanks for posting this article.
Ron De Vries, you indicate that you have done this with some youth in the past.
Can either of you, or others, suggest particular texts that you have used?
And, did you have a theme or goal that you wanted to achieve with the youth?
I am wondering if there are particular texts that might help broach subjects that the youth are struggling with...
Many thanks!
Dale
A few I have used were Psalm 23, sections of Psalm 139, and sections of Psalm 145.
Thanks Dale, very much appreciated. I've used a variety of texts. I've found poetry (Psalms) to be very good. And I've used the stories where Jesus is interacting one-to-one with another person. I would be cautious of attempting to use a text with the attempt to speak into an issue. The goal of Lectio is the practice of active listening, not the "lesson" of the text.
Something I've also found helpful is to use an alternate translation, especially for well-known passages. The new terms help bring a freshness to the passage.
I hope this is helpful, and that your experience with your teens is beneficial.
Thanks again Mark, and you too Ron,
currently our Jr. high group is reading the Bible together out loud, one verse and paragraph at a time. And we are using about ten different translations, so the kids have to listen well. The goal is to improve their reading of the Bible skills, attenuating their ears to the variances. The experience has proven to be quite effective thus far.
the next skill we want to teach them is to engage in reading the Bible as a conversation with God (active listening). So I wondered how a text might end up speaking to a youth about 'discrimination' and/or 'bullying' should we read the story of Hagar? Or how a youth might ponder suicide when reading the story of Elijah after the Mt. Carmel story?
based on your comments, I am hearing you say that we need to allow the youth to actively listen and if the story speaks to them about such thoughts/actions - great! But do not attempt to deliberately the youth there.
if all this sounds great, thanks!
if I missed something, please comment.
Dale
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