I had a real epiphany recently. Having been a youth pastor in evangelical churches many years ago, I had a basic understanding of the ethos surrounding church youth groups in general. With a sincere heart of passion toward the spiritual lives of young people I have sweated, prayed, taught, discipled, and recreated with those trusted to my care. I always carried a feeling that their very spiritual lives were in my hands, that it was up to me to guide them spiritually. This was the case because the ethos of the evangelical church was closer to that of a club or organization rather than a community of faith. Many of the teens were on the fringe of spiritual life and "attended" church, quite often,
in spite of their family environment. Many were
involved with no thought of their spiritual lives at all, but just for the social opportunities it afforded. I was always a maverick pastor in that way. I didn't try to compete with the activity of the other local churches or try to keep the teens entertained. All of my planned activities were designed with spiritual development in mind. My weekly youth discipleship class was a commitment based involvement that required a covenant document to be signed by the teen and the parents. Teens not willing to make that commitment were relegated to other church activities. My charge to
the youth was always, "Get dirt honest about yo
ur spiritual life." This month I had the privilege to chaperon the Saint Ignatius Orthodox Youth to the Parish Life Conference in Orlando Florida. We loaded up a 12 passenger van and drove the 12 hours in one day, spent Wednesday through Sunday at the conference, then drove the 12 hours back. It was one moment on the trip back that my epiphany occurred as we were ordering sub sandwiches. I realized I didn't feel the burden of weight or responsibility for these teens that I had once known, but I wasn't sure why. Then it occurred to me. They didn't need me and their spiritual lives were not in need of anyone like me. These young people were Orthodox. They had been raised in an ethos of community that involved their entire lives. They were integrated with their families, father, mother, brothers and sisters, into a lifestyle of discipline including fasting, prayer, vigils, liturgies and sacraments. Church to them was not something they did, it was who they were. They were respectful of authority, watchful of others, attentive to duty and consistent in faith. Their public demeanor was calm and paced never drawing attention to themselves. They were all teen, but a different quality than I had ever know. As I observed them at that sub shop, I remembered the young man who sat in the front seat with me the entire trip to help with directions, when he could have be
en in the back with his fr
iends. I remember asking to take a group picture and watching them organize themselves into perfect order without uttering a word. I saw them step up to the plate and take Diocese Youth leadership roles when none of the other youths represented would. I heard them give public speeches that they had written because they had something to say for the benefit of the church. I saw them attend prayer faithfully at 8 A.M in the morning and finish the the day with prayer at 11 P.M and never once having to cajole them to do so. I heard them laugh when something was funny
and saw them sober in demeanor when appropriate. What's more, they were appreciative of me, thanking me for my activity with them. I was energized and refreshed and encourage that two of my own daughters are being integrated into such an ethos. Are all Orthodox Youth this way? I am told it is not so, that there are those who have succumbed to the attitude of the world. There may be fringe Orthodox Youth, but the Orthodox fringe is still a world away from the alternative ethos. The Orthodox Youth environment provides what I believe to be the safest haven of spiritual and personal development in the Western Culture. The key ingredient, however, is that no youth can remain an island. They must live and grow within the community of their own immediate family. Fathers and mothers are the foundation of their children's future theosis...not some volunteer youth worker.
I had a real epiphany recently. Having been a youth pastor in evangelical churches many years ago, I had a basic understanding of the ethos surrounding church youth groups in general. With a sincere heart of passion toward the spiritual lives of young people I have sweated, prayed, taught, discipled, and recreated with those trusted to my care. I always carried a feeling that their very spiritual lives were in my hands, that it was up to me to guide them spiritually. This was the case because the ethos of the evangelical church was closer to that of a club or organization rather than a community of faith. Many of the teens were on the fringe of spiritual life and "attended" church, quite often, 
in spite of their family environment. Many were 
involved with no thought of their spiritual lives at all, but just for the social opportunities it afforded. I was always a maverick pastor in that way. I didn't try to compete with the activity of the other local churches or try to keep the teens entertained. All of my planned activities were designed with spiritual development in mind. My weekly youth discipleship class was a commitment based involvement that required a covenant document to be signed by the teen and the parents. Teens not willing to make that commitment were relegated to other church activities. My charge to 
the youth was always, "Get dirt honest about yo
ur spiritual life." This month I had the privilege to chaperon the Saint Ignatius Orthodox Youth to the Parish Life Conference in Orlando Florida. We loaded up a 12 passenger van and drove the 12 hours in one day, spent Wednesday through Sunday at the conference, then drove the 12 hours back. It was one moment on the trip back that my epiphany occurred as we were ordering sub sandwiches. I realized I didn't feel the burden of weight or responsibility for these teens that I had once known, but I wasn't sure why. Then it occurred to me. They didn't need me and their spiritual lives were not in need of anyone like me. These young people were Orthodox. They had been raised in an ethos of community that involved their entire lives. They were integrated with their families, father, mother, brothers and sisters, into a lifestyle of discipline including fasting, prayer, vigils, liturgies and sacraments. Church to them was not something they did, it was who they were. They were respectful of authority, watchful of others, attentive to duty and consistent in faith. Their public demeanor was calm and paced never drawing attention to themselves. They were all teen, but a different quality than I had ever know. As I observed them at that sub shop, I remembered the young man who sat in the front seat with me the entire trip to help with directions, when he could have be
en in the back with his fr
iends. I remember asking to take a group picture and watching them organize themselves into perfect order without uttering a word. I saw them step up to the plate and take Diocese Youth leadership roles when none of the other youths represented would. I heard them give public speeches that they had written because they had something to say for the benefit of the church. I saw them attend prayer faithfully at 8 A.M in the morning and finish the the day with prayer at 11 P.M and never once having to cajole them to do so. I heard them laugh when something was funny 
and saw them sober in demeanor when appropriate. What's more, they were appreciative of me, thanking me for my activity with them. I was energized and refreshed and encourage that two of my own daughters are being integrated into such an ethos. Are all Orthodox Youth this way? I am told it is not so, that there are those who have succumbed to the attitude of the world. There may be fringe Orthodox Youth, but the Orthodox fringe is still a world away from the alternative ethos. The Orthodox Youth environment provides what I believe to be the safest haven of spiritual and personal development in the Western Culture. The key ingredient, however, is that no youth can remain an island. They must live and grow within the community of their own immediate family. Fathers and mothers are the foundation of their children's future theosis...not some volunteer youth worker.
I had the pleasure of going to an OCF Fall retreat with some of them, good folks out there @ St. Ignatius.
ReplyDeleteWelcome home lads. You'll find out real soon that being Orthodox is the only true "alternative lifestyle" left. Getting used to not eating meat on Wednesdays and Fridays will be tough for awhile, but you get a dispensation on St. Patrick's Day. Also I strongly encourage making visits to our monastaries and sketes-of any canonical jurisdiction.
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