Calvin and Youth Minsitry

Calvin, 

No not my dog but his namesake.

A few weeks ago we looked that the reformer of Geneva during one of the St. Paul’s Theological schools Tuesday evening meetings. Here is how I would sum up my evening. Calvin is not nearly as bad as people would make him out to be but still can stir up emotion in a room.

“However many blessings we expect from God, His infinite liberality will always exceed all our wishes and our thoughts.” ~ J. Calvin

            I was reminded the other night why I’m so attracted to this reformer. Calvin’s theology was developed and intended for the border and boundary of Christian thought. Calvin’s world was in constant change and upheaval. Long standing thoughts of the church and society were being challenged. In today’s culture we find ourselves in similar surroundings. Post modernity has placed us philosophically speaking on shaky ground yet has opened up an opportunity to grasp on to that which can not be shaken namely the sovereignty of our creator over his creation and our very salvation.

To think through all the great conversations and lecture points in one blog post would be crazy. So here are my three points that I think refer directly to youth ministry

Calvin and Youth Ministry

• The idea of stability drives and enables mobility. When working with teenagers not much is stable. To be honest that age range is motivated by spontaneity. For Calvin his view of God’s sovereignty allowed and encouraged him to take great risks in pushing out for the sake of the Gospel. So props to the small group leader who wants to take his students into the ER to pray for people coming in. What if no one is healed? What if everyone is?  Props to those who take risks not because danger is cool but because the gospel is precious.

• The idea that “The world in all its squalor and sin is not the less the theater of God’s grace.” There is some dark stuff you run into when working with people. The gospel is messy. Students don’t process risk especially well.

• Finally “27” Calvin finished his first copy of the Institutes of the Christian Religion as an “elementary instruction book for anyone interested in the Christian faith.” when he was only 27 years old. How are we equipping the young believers? Do we as youth ministers even have a firm grasp on what we believe? Are we giving milk from milk or are we giving milk from the meat that we ourselves are chewing on? I’ll leave you with a quote to chew on… “I consider looseness with words of no less a defect than looseness of the bowels.” ~ Calvin