Every now again, I interact with youth pastors on an issue that doesn't seem to get resolved. Simply put, it goes like this: should we abandon youth ministry in favour of inter-generational ministry? Or, at other times: should we abandon inter-generational ministry in favour of youth ministry? It's one that goes around one - as long as you're looking for a binary answer (i.e. "yes" or "no").

The truth is that there are at least two keys to solving this one once and for all. Firstly, we need to change our mindset about "models of church". Sure, we should have a model for church, but we should have a mindset that says these models are always fluid, always up for change, always morphing, growing, evolving... whatever verb you're most comfortable with. So, at some stages in your church's lifecycle, there might be a stronger emphasis on family ministry. But, then at another stage, later, there might be a focus on youth ministry. It should ebb and flow.

The second key to resolving this is to realise that church mimics the family (its one of the strongest analogies used in the New Testament, afterall). And in a family, there are some activities that are done together, and some that are done separately. This is true in the church. We need to have both family and youth ministries - some activities together and others apart. Some based on age and lifestage, and some based on our shared identity in Christ.

For some further in depth discussions on this topic, see a great blog post here.

For one of the best new books on youth ministry, check out Andrew Root's "Relationships Unfiltered" (buy at Amazon.co.uk) - and see a review of the book here. For the most amazing set of youth ministry resources, check out my good friend, Mark Tittley's Youth Ministry resourcer website.

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Brian McLaren is an author, speaker and activist, well known as one of the thought leaders of the "emerging church" movement. His books have given words to what many people have felt about church, Christianity and Christ-following. I know him personally, and know him to be humble, wise and holy (in the sense that his life is wholly devoted to God).

Brian has recently announced that as of today, he will be observing a month of fasting, joining Muslims around the world as they observe Ramadan. He has not done this is align himself with Islam (obviously), but rather as a way of observing a Biblical command (to fast) and a Christ-like reaching out to others of different faiths. Christ's approach to those of other religions was not confrontation, but rather engagement. It did not involved doing anything opposed to His own faith, but did involve stepping into the world of the "other".

I admire Brian for his desire to build these types of bridges, so that in every possible way he will find a path to bring the light of "Issa al Massi" (Jesus the Messiah, as referenced in Arabic and in the Koran) to Muslims. I see this as being in the Spirit of both Paul and Jesus.

Yet, as you can well imagine, he is opposed in this quest, and his detractors have used to opportunity to (literally) call him apostate and a son of Satan.

Brian's reply is unbelievably gracious and Christ-like. Read it here, and be encouraged that there is a new kind of Christian emerging in the world.

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Previously on this blog, I have looked at the various Biblical references to homosexuality. The most compelling argument in the Bible against homosexual behaviour is found in Romans 1. Those who condemn homosexuality find their strongest argument in the fact that it is "para phusin" - "against nature".

This phrase is contested, of course (a lot more contested than most preachers ever acknowledge when they preach against homosexuality). According to Paul, for example, it is also against nature for men to have long hair! In the context of Romans 1, there is also contention in how to translate the context. Paul is referring to people inflamed by lust, who give up their natural instincts and pursue same sex encounters without love and "against nature".

One of the foundations of this argument has always been that we don't see homosexual activity in animals. But this is not true. Recent research indicates that thousands of animal species exhibit homosexual behaviour. Read one hews release here and an older medical report here. This includes animals as "advanced" as dolphins, deer, lions, swans, and primates. And it is not "aberrant" behaviour, but natural in response to a variety of circumstances, including overpopulation (as humans are experiencing in most countries around the world), gender imbalances (as China is now experiencing with 40 million more young men than women), and threats to societal harmony.

One of the most interesting animals is black swans, where male homosexual swans will often "kidnap" a cygnet and raise it. Swans, of course, are monogomous throughout their lives. Even more interesting is that the research shows that animals raised by homosexual or lesbian parents fair better on average than those raised by a male-female couple.

This is not proof that God designed homosexuality, of course. Nor is it proof that humans are allowed to be homosexual. But, it does destroy a major argument that people who want to stand against homosexuality have used in the past. That argument is no longer available to them.

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I was sent an email today that contained an excellent manifesto from one of my favourite thinkers and authors, Len Sweet.

It's titled: "A Magna Carta for Restoring the Supremacy of Jesus Christ
a.k.a. A Jesus Manifesto for the 21st Century Church"
by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola

You can read the original at their blog: http://ajesusmanifesto.wordpress.com/

It really is worth it. Thought-provoking and powerful. I like it a lot, and think we need to take our Christ-centric nature more seriously.

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