In 1964, Bill Starr became the second president of Young
Life. He followed Jim Rayburn, the storied founder of Young Life who pioneered
the idea that Christian leaders could not hang a sign on the door and expect teenagers
to “Come to Church.”[1]
For leaders to be effective, they had to enter the world of kids, meet them on
their own turf, and “earn the right to be heard.” This incarnational model of
evangelization has become a trademark of Young Life’s ministry ever since.
But as he took over the presidency, Bill Starr sensed that a
change was needed to fulfill the calling of God and the Great Commission of
making disciples of all nations.[2]
This change had nothing to do with the way Young Life reaches kids or proclaims
the gospel. It had everything to do with who
was at the table.
Speaking firstly about the make-up of Young Life’s board of
directors, Starr reflected, “The more I prayed and thought about [it], the more
I believed . . . that we needed to add African Americans, Latinos, Catholics
and more women.”[3] He
later intuited that we needed the unique contributions of inner city leaders
and international trailblazers who could help us reach kids around the globe.
Starr knew that to reach “every kid, everywhere,” this would require an
intentional, collaborative effort of whites, blacks, Hispanics, men, women,
urbanites, suburbanites, rich and poor.
And look at Young Life now.
We can hardly imagine the mission without multi-cultural leadership.
We wouldn’t dream of doing Young Life without women. We have intentionally
invested in the unique needs of the growing population of Latinos and we have a
bourgeoning Young Life presence internationally, serving kids in over 90
countries worldwide. It seems that Bill Starr’s 1964 vision has been
beautifully fulfilled.
. . . with one curious exception. Catholics.
Though Catholics make up the largest segment of the
religious landscape of the United States (over 77 million), I can count on two
hands the number of Catholics who are working full-time for Young Life. Throughout
New England and the greater New York division, the majority of kids reached by
Young Life are Catholic. In the Southwest where the Latino population is
surging, nearly 70% of these are Catholic. There are strong Catholic
contingents strewn throughout the Midwest. Yet we have only a handful of
practicing Catholic staff that are uniquely positioned to serve them.
If we know that the best way to reach inner-city kids or
multicultural kids or international kids is to raise up indigenous leadership
who know that particular context like the back of their hand. . . If we know
that the most effective way to reach kids is to enter more fully into their
culture and strive to meet the unique demands therein, then why aren’t we
employing this approach with the multitudes of Catholics that fill our
communities?
The time is now. It is time to fulfill the great vision of
Bill Starr of inviting Catholics to the table to lead this mission to reach every kid for Jesus Christ. In the words
of our current president, Denny Rydberg, “It is time to raise up the next
generation of Catholic leaders in Young Life.”[4]
The success of our mission rests in the collaborative vision of reaching every kid with a diversity of leadership
that reflects the diversity of the populations we serve.
So where are the Catholics?
[1]
Interestingly, the word teenager
first showed up in print in 1941, the year Young Life was founded.
[2] Mt.
28:19.
[3] Bill
Starr, The Season For Reflection
(CreateSpace Independent Publishing, 2013), 64. Special thanks to Cathy
Garcia-Johnson for bringing this resource to my attention.
[4]
Denny’s opening remarks at the YL Catholic Summit in May 2013 included this
stirring exhortation about the necessity to raise up Catholic leaders within
the mission of Young Life.
The time has come for all to be ONE
ReplyDeleteAmen. Thomas Merton would argue that we already are, in reality, one. We simply have failed to observe the truth of our unity. "Oh God, we are one with You," he prayed. "You have made us one with You. You have taught us that if we are open to one another, You dwell in us. Help us to preserve this openness and to fight for it with all our hearts. Help us to realize that there can be no understanding where there is mutual rejection. . . Fill us then with love, and let us be bound together with love as we go our diverse ways, united in this one spirit which makes You present in the world, and which makes You witness to the ultimate reality that is love. Love has overcome. Love is victorious. Amen." (The Asian Journal of Thomas Merton, 318-319).
DeleteI grew up Catholic and attend Youth for Christ meetings in high school, and really learned to love Christ in both camps. As a young adults, I attended Catholic and Protestant colleges and churches. Where are the Catholics? Faithful Catholics tend to send their children to Catholic schools or homeschool, and don't have access to Young Life. And, the faithful Catholics who send their children to public schools don't allow their children involved in Young Life. As a 30-something, I have witness that there are only a few 20 somethings in the church. A few come back when they are starting to have kids, but not many. Many former Catholics are unchurched, even unbelievers. They don't understand God, Jesus or the Church.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. I'm encouraged that you felt free as an adolescent/young adult to pursue Christ in both Catholic and Protestant contexts. Safe to say God is in both! The parochialism of the church is part of the problem. We are mutually impoverished without one another. Protestants, Catholics, Orthodox, high church, free church, evangelicals and ecumenists, contemplatives and activists. When we "major in the majors" we typically realize that we're standing on the same foundation. It's a lot more fruitful, missionally speaking, when we start with all that unites us before splitting hairs over our differences. The unity of the Church is not properly expressed in uniformity as much as unity in diversity (the arc of Christian history offers a splendid showcase).
DeleteQuestion: You mentioned that "faithful Catholics who send their children to public schools don't allow their children [to be] involved in Young Life." Why do you suppose that is?
I think Young Life staff need to reach out to local clergy and laity and invite them to be part of committees and whatever roles in governance are available. Some will accept, some might not. I think there is openness among Catholics and Protestants to fellowship together and work together for the good of kids. I wish I could say that this is universally true but I can say that in my lifetime I've seen a huge change in the amount of acceptance among both groups. What I hear in my parish from the pulpit is how to be a disciple of Christ, how to know Him, it's all about that relationship. Many of the misconceptions about Catholics, eg. that we don't read or study the Bible, are becoming less and less the case. Some of our most terrific leaders, by the way, started out as kids in Young Life clubs. It tickles me to see the way that the Holy Spirit has used Young Life to raise leaders who are changing the landscape of Catholicism in the U.S.
ReplyDeleteYou're right on point. The onus is on Young Life to proactively welcome Catholics to serve in the mission of reaching every kid. We need Catholics on our committees, prayer groups, and leadership teams. Imagine the impact of having Catholic leaders on every leadership team, building relationships with kids who have fallen away from the church and re-introducing them to parish life. This is Young Life at its best, not that we simply gather kids around YL but by always pointing them to Jesus and the local body of the church. Imagine the power that could be unleashed if Catholic youth ministers and their volunteer leaders assumed positions on YL leadership teams to share in the work of going out into culture, meeting kids on their own turf, and earning the right to be heard about the gospel. At that point it is not really "YL work" but the work of the church, the body of Christ.
DeleteGod is calling us. Together we can do this.