Youth Ministries

Course Overview

In this course we will strive to explore the worlds of adolescence in contemporary settings with a spirit of curiosity that refuses to allow young people to be collapsed into stereotypes, marketing groups, or our own experiences of being a teenager.  In addition to the questions you bring to the class, we will be working together to answer the following questions: How can we describe something of what adolescence looks like in contemporary settings, with adequate complexity and without collapsing difference?  How do we help young people discern their vocations and how might they be nurtured educationally within intergenerational faith communities?  What are forces in contemporary society that inhibit the responses of young people to their sense of religious calling and faithfulness?  How can churches and other educational settings provide a space of resistance to these forces rather than a replication of them?

 Course Objectives

Students completing the learning activities of this course can expect to:

1. Identify assumptions about adolescents and youth cultures that shape the response of institutions in which young people participate.
2. Develop skills for conversing with youth about issues and ideas important to them and practices for opening safe teaching/learning space for young people.
3. Develop skills of observation for discerning social, economic, and cultural patterns that enhance and/or inhibit youth quests for religious meaning and Christian discipleship.
4. Begin to develop a familiarity with and explore strengths and weaknesses in theoretical discussions of youth ministry.
5. Develop and articulate a framework for leadership and teaching practices in ministry with young people in the context of their own vocational trajectory.

Texts

Common Readings (Required for all students):

Kenda Creasy Dean, ed. OMG: A Youth Ministry Handbook. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2010.

Joy Thornberg Melton. Safe Sanctuaries for Youth. Discipleship Resources, 2003.

Michael J. Nakkula and Eric Toshalis. Understanding Youth: Adolescent Development for Educators. Harvard Education Press, 2013 (fourth printing).

David F. White.  Practicing Discernment with Youth. Pilgrim Press, 2005.

Students choose one of two:

Julie Bettie. Women Without Class: Girls, Race, and Identity. University of California, 2003.

OR

C. J. Pascoe.  Dude, You’re a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School. University of California (reprint edition), 2011.

Students will also choose one additional youth ministry text they will use for a presentation later in the quarter. To see the list of books from which to choose and some brief descriptions of their content, go here.

I will be asking you to engage two films throughout this course:

The Education of Shelby Knox. Directed by Marion Lipschutz and Rose Rosenblatt. Studio: Docurama. 2006. Available for purchase from Amazon, or in the Iliff Library (and maybe through your local library). 

and 

Soul Searching: A Movie about Teenagers and God. Directed by Michael Easton. Starring Christian Smith. Studio CreateSpace. 2006. Available to rent from Amazon.com (7 days) for $1.99. I'm also willing to share my copy for local folks if you contact me.

I just wanted to give you a heads up so you can decide how you want to acquire the films.  

Evaluation and Summary of Major Course Components

Course Expectations

Incompletes:  If incompletes are allowed in this course, see the Master's Student Handbook for Policies and Procedures.

Pass/Fail:  Masters students wishing to take the class pass/fail should discuss this with the instructor by the second class session.

Academic Integrity and Community Covenant:  All students are expected to abide by Iliff’s statement on Academic Integrity, as published in the Masters Student Handbook, or the Joint PhD Statement on Academic Honesty, as published in the Joint PhD Student Handbook, as appropriate.  All participants in this class are expected to be familiar with Iliff’s Community Covenant.

Accommodations:  Iliff engages in a collaborative effort with students with disabilities to reasonably accommodate student needs.   Students are encouraged to contact their assigned advisor to initiate the process of requesting accommodations.  The advising center can be contacted at advising@iliff.edu or by phone at 303-765-1146. 

Writing Lab:  Grammar and organization are important for all written assignments.  Additional help is available from the Iliff Writing Lab, which is available for students of any level who need help beginning an assignment, organizing thoughts, or reviewing a final draft. 

Inclusive Language:  It is expected that all course participants will use inclusive language in speaking and writing, and will use terms that do not create barriers to classroom community. 

Degree Learning Goals Served by this Course

Theology and Religious Practices (PR):  engage, construct, and apply theological and interdisciplinary analyses in relation to contemporary religious traditions, practices, and institutions in order to assess, design, and perform transformative leadership and meaningful communal practices with sensitivity to contextual realities and theoretical constructions.

MAPSC adds:  Demonstrate a complex interdisciplinary understanding of the human person in social context, develop and demonstrate an intercultural approach to pastoral and spiritual care, and demonstrate personal and professional competencies needed by effective caregivers.

MDiv adds: Demonstrate a complex interdisciplinary understanding of the breadth of theological disciplines as well as the depth within those disciplines.  Develop and embody a comprehensive range of ministerial responsibilities, skills, and capacities – intellectual and affective, individual and corporate, ecclesial and public – that inform and support a life of religious leadership.