Theology And Youth Ministry, Then and Now -- By: R. Allen Jackson

Journal: Journal for Baptist Theology & Ministry
Volume: JBTM 13:1 (Spring 2016)
Article: Theology And Youth Ministry, Then and Now
Author: R. Allen Jackson


Theology And Youth Ministry,
Then and Now

R. Allen Jackson

R. Allen Jackson is Professor of Youth Education and Collegiate Ministry, Director of the Youth Ministry Institute, and Faculty Advisor for Providence Learning Center at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Author’s Note:

In 1997, I wrote an article for The Theological Educator, the previous version of the theological journal of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. I had recently turned forty years old and was in my third year as a seminary professor. As this current edition of JBTM is released, I am now fifty-eight years old, and have entered my twenty-second year in the seminary classroom.

In these two decades, some things have changed and some have stayed the same—even in theology. In 2015, as in 1997, I feel ill-equipped to do the heavy lifting of theological issues. However in the discipline of youth ministry, a dual awareness seems to have emerged. First, because of the (unfortunate) silo approach to youth ministry—rarely do age groups interact—the youth minister has become a primary theologian for many youth. Second, (fortunately) whether they are the primary theological voice or not, youth ministers are taking theology more seriously.

What follows is a reprint of the 1997 article followed by an update in 2015. As I completed the article and began to proofread my footnotes, it was apparent how far and fast online research had taken root, another possible commentary on theology. When one had to be vetted for publication, many more eyes and voices guided the thoughts that made it to the page. Now, a writer on theological matters has to weigh the credibility and originality of blogs that are often insightful but rarely peer-reviewed.

1997

Abstract

If theology means “a study of God” or, as Fisher Humphreys defined it, “thinking about God,” then a theology of youth ministry means to think about God or to study God through the lens of work with teenagers. This article will propose that youth ministry is a discipline within which a study of God is imperative. The language may not be that of Louis Berkhof or Millard Erickson, but it is nonetheless “thinking about God.” Benson and Wolfe suggested that

theology in the context of youth ministry is even more elementary. They observed that “your knowledge that Jesus is Lord makes you a theologian.”1

Are Theology And Youth Ministry Mutually Exclusive?

When one hears the phrases “y...

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