Starting at a young age, our kids can easily fall into the trap that intelligence is what you are born with. Ask any Grade 2 student, and they can tell you who the smart kids are in class. By the idea that success (and therefore one’s contribution to society) is predetermined by an IQ test or an A-plus in math is self-defeating. What’s more, it’s wrong. Sure, being clever is a boon in life – but so is being born into a country of opportunity where close to 50 per cent of the population goes on to college or university. But that’s not what really determines success – in the end, as a new book has reminded us, it’s an old-fashioned quality. It’s the ability to face failure and start over. To take a chance when you know it might not work out. To keep trying. The word for it: grit. Canadian journalist Peter Tough has detailed some of the research in a new book called How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character.

What does that means for us in the church? It means we can do well to stress the lessons around grit that are taught in the gospel. In fact, it’s no stretch: Jesus was all about facing adversity and carrying on. He chose as his closest companions people who weren’t getting A-pluses in society, and they became great leaders in their own right. In fact, the power of perservance – the ability to restart, the faith to face a challenge – is one of the main lessons we get from the gospel. In church and at home, we can even talk about our personal experiences with failure and what we learned from it. Because the true test of strong leaders is not the ability to savour victory, but to soar again after a loss. That is the lesson of faith. And it is in our hands to teach it.

If you want to read more about the book, here’s an article that ran a couple weeks ago in the Globe and Mail:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/parenting/back-to-school/why-kids-need-to-fail-to-succeed-in-school/article4513436/

Youth flash mob

We’ve all seen them on YouTube.  The Hallelujah Chorus at the Seaway Mall in Welland, ON, a mass of dancers at the Vancouver Airport in B.C., a surprise performance at the airport in Halifax raising funds for breast cancer.  Called flash mobs, they use social media, viral emails, and websites. They immediately lift the mood an entire airport or city street – an expression of spontaneous generosity.

Now he didn’t have the internet, but I imagine the arrival of Jesus and the followers felt a little like a flash mob to those unsuspecting communities they met along the way.  And I bet the impact was very similar.  A message of Good News in the middle of everyday life.  Can you imagine the emotional experience that must have been for both the given and the receiver?

“What happened to us as a church?” asked Greta Conrads, a young adult from the community I serve.  “The church in Jesus day seemed to be fun and free and risky.  I want to see more of that”.

I hear plenty of pastors and leader tell me that they don’t have enough youth in their church to have a youth group – let alone a flash mob. Our young people, such as Greta, aren’t worrying about numbers. They are the voice of Jesus asking us: why are we here? What have we done today? They are the spirited disciples waiting, eager, to be called.

So how do we call them? In my conversation with youth, they tell me:

Don’t take attendance: Our youth have a lot going on, and if they want to play hockey or sing in a community choir, that means they will probably miss church on occasion. It’s not how often they come that matters to them – it’s what they do when they are here. And it doesn’t have to be happen only on Sunday morning.

Don’t make them sit there: It’s amazing what happens every time I ask a young person to read in church, or serve as acolyte or worship assistant, or perform an anthem, and even preach a sermon. They say yes.

Value them: Youth tell me that sometimes they feel like they are members-in-waiting,  holding the place for their adult selves.  They are secondary voices at annual meetings, or Christmas pageant performers. Don’t underestimate the power of engaged and energetic youth – even a small group of youth – to inspire the rest of us. To lead us forward in the gospel.

Teach them: It is not enough to say, “Do the right thing, be a good person.” That’s not where Jesus stopped the conversation.  Jesus was a practical and strategic leader. Our youth want those same skills. It’s not useful to urge them to stand up to bullying, for instance, if we do not give them the steps to do so.  Jesus, for instance, surrounded himself with the disciples, and as a group they spoke against what they knew was wrong in society.  Our youth can learn do the same: to rally their friends to confront the bully. They can learn public speaking, how to foster positive mental health, how to manage their digital lives. In this way, the church takes on the responsibility of training the next generation of leaders – not just the next generation of Lutherans.

Be as bold as a Flash Mob: Last year, the confirmation class at Saint John, Ottawa showed up unexpectedly at a senior’s residence and performed a play. It was their idea: a spontaneous gift to some lonely people who don’t see many youth. It was huge hit with the residents. This Fall a student ministry group at the University of Ottawa called Open Table have other plans: to go to the market and hand out pieces of pie to the homeless, just to brighten someones day. Our young people live in an age where time moves quickly, and they don’t want to sit around in committees all day.  They want to be a part of something that makes the world a better place, one random act of generosity at a time.

Our young people travel effortlessly in a society where one well-placed tweet on Twitter or one strategic video on YouTube can make millions pay attention. They already recognize the power of a small group of risk-takers to move a crowd, to get everyone singing the Hallelujah chorus. It’s time we let them teach us. After all, it’s boring on the sidelines.