{"id":769,"date":"2012-06-16T09:00:46","date_gmt":"2012-06-16T12:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionalshift\/?p=769"},"modified":"2012-06-15T13:11:10","modified_gmt":"2012-06-15T16:11:10","slug":"what-if-we-let-the-children-lead-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionalshift\/2012\/06\/what-if-we-let-the-children-lead-us\/","title":{"rendered":"What If We Let the Children Lead Us?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"children-youth-new-kind-CYNKC\"David Csinos and Brian McLaren recently collaborated on the landmark Children, Youth, and a New Kind of Christianity<\/a> conference in Washington, D.C. I wasn\u2019t able to attend, but the conference was well attended and well documented by those<\/a> who<\/a> did<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On the heels of that event, Csinos and McLaren have just published \u201cBreaking the Bubble Wrap<\/a>,\u201d the cover story to the latest issue of Sojourners<\/em> magazine, in which they continue this conversation about \u201cnurturing an incurable, chronic, and healing passion for justice\u201d in children and youth.<\/p>\n

While it sounds like missional youth ministry was only discussed in passing at the conference, here\u2019s a portion of that article that leaped out at me as pressing into a missional idea of youth ministry:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat would happen if we followed our children\u2019s lead?<\/p>\n

\u201cChildren often ignite sparks in us for \u2018seeking first the kingdom of God\u2019 in the world. With their honesty, curiosity, concern for fairness, and fresh eyes, children help us see problems that are so commonplace that we have become blind to them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need young people to point out the homeless woman begging for money. We need them to point out our hypocrisy when, in the heat of an argument, we make a rash statement. In moments like these when children are bearers of inconvenient truths, will we tell them to be quiet, or will we, like Jesus, say \u2018I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children\u2019?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There are lots of excellent resources available to download in the Children, Youth, and a New Kind of Christianity Primer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What does this notion of following our children\u2019s lead spark in you?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David Csinos and Brian McLaren recently collaborated on the landmark Children, Youth, and a New Kind of Christianity conference in Washington, D.C. I wasn\u2019t able to attend, but the conference was well attended and well documented by those who did. 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