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BY LESLEY A. CARTER
UMCONNECTION STAFF

In a powerful address at annual conference on May 31, the Rev. Kenda Creasy Dean, an Elder in the Baltimore-Washington Conference and professor of youth and culture at Princeton Theological Seminary, called the church to a transformative paradigm of ministry rather than simply an informative one.

Dean, the author of "Almost Christian: What the Faith of our Teenagers is Telling the American Church," cited the results of a recent study of youth and religion in her speech, highlighting the fact that the issues facing youth ministry are the same problems facing the church.

Teenagers, she pointed out, are not hostile to the church – indeed, they are apathetic about it. Young people, in fact, are mirroring their parents' faith, a faith that has largely become what is termed Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (MTD). MTD, said Dean, focuses on the self while true, authentic Christianity focuses on God, and it is this distinction that not only parents but the church as a whole have failed to communicate.

Dean said, "In the United States, we have lost track of the church's missional imagination. Mission is the very identity of the church – it is not a model of ministry, it is not optional. If we don't have mission, we don't have a church."

Citing Scottish sociologist Andrew Walls, Dean focused on the concept of mission as translation. Translation, she said, is part and parcel of the Christian project. Jesus is God's perfect translation, but God sends us into the world as translations as well, albeit lesser ones. "Translation," she declared, "doesn't dump Jesus on people. It makes him accessible to them."

Dean highlighted the critical value of love in the work of translation, pointing out that we learn best what we love most. Do we, she asked, love Christ enough to share with our young people?

She cautioned the audience, however, about the risks inherent in translating God's message to young people, to the marginalized, and to the other. Translation, she said, is a risky business; it gives power to people who have historically been on the outside of the conversation. Changing the power dynamic can frighten those who are invested in the way "things have always been."

In her second address on Friday morning, Dean continued with a discussion of how to reach young people. She began with the question, "Does anything in ministry with young people feel stuck?"

Dean focused on two myths of ministry to young people. Thinking that young people will save the church and that they're needed in order for The United Methodist Church to survive, she said, is a myth. "Young people can't save the church; only Christ can save the church. Young people see right through our 'vampire theology' when we're looking for young blood in order to survive."

The second myth, Dean said, is thinking that youth is a matter of age. Quoting Jurgen Moltmann, she said, "What makes youth youth is the wide-open sense of possibility; that is God's gift to us. Everyone bound to Christ is young because death is not our horizon; the future makes us young."

Dean referenced comedian Jon Stewart's comment that "the UMC is the University of Phoenix of religions." "We've made it as easy as possible," she said. "We're not a high-expectation culture. But what if we began to live in a way that changes lives forever?"

She focused on several suggestions for parents. "Invest in your own faith; share what you love; tell your faith story to your kids, because your story matters most to them; emphasize the Good News more than good behavior; and talk about faith at home."

Her final suggestion encompassed the whole church: "Let's do something radical for our faith to show kids what loving Jesus looks like. What would our congregations look like if we did that? If we participated in offering game-changing grace and telling the story of a lifetime," she declared, "we might get unstuck. And what's stopping us from offering game-changing grace? Nothing."