2009 ELCA Youth Gathering

So the destination of this little excursion Becky and I recently took with the youth group from our church was the 2009 ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans. This was the second such national gathering for which I have helped chaperone a group, the prior being the 2006 Gathering in San Antonio.

There were definitely many great things happening during the event, not the least of which was the fact that over 36,000 youth and their adult leaders went out into the community and served during the course of the week. Past youth gatherings have included opportunities for service projects, but this time service was made the focus of the entire event. The theme of the gathering was "Jesus Justice Jazz", with particular stress being placed on the "Justice" aspect. I am very grateful that I am part of a church body that places such emphasis on justice, as this is something Christians have been known to lose sight of from time to time - especially in the modern era. And I believe that when we lose sight of justice, we lose sight of biblical faith. In scripture, God is constantly calling his people toward justice in caring for the poor--for those that have not. One could argue that the entirety of the law in the Hebrew scriptures orients a person toward care for those who don't have the resources to care for themselves, whether it is because they are poor, widowed, foreign, or otherwise disadvantaged. And in the gospels, Jesus extends this orientation of generosity as far as possible to those whom society looked down upon the most - prostitutes, tax collectors, and the like. So when we allow anything to get in the way of caring for those who are disadvantaged among us - whether by their own doing or that of society - we are not following Jesus. All this to say how much I value the Youth Gathering's focus on justice and the living out of justice.

However, there was something missing at the gathering, an omission that greatly concerns me. Scripture. The Bible. How, you ask, could a national gathering of over 36,000 Lutheran Christians be missing the very thing that should stand as the core of their identity? I was asking myself the same thing. But it's true. Sure, the Gathering had a theme verse (a portion of Philippians 2) that flashed on the side screens before every mass gathering in the Superdome, but never once did I hear it mentioned from the stage. Some of the speakers (whom the Gathering directors have no control over once they hand them a microphone) mentioned passages from the Bible, but there was no way in which scripture was built in to the gathering. Three years ago in San Antonio, they at least had a bible study led by a young pastor each day in the dome. Now, I recognize that the focus of this gathering was different; that the amount of mass gatherings were cut down in order to enable us to get out into the city and surrounding area and "get our hands dirty." But is that a good reason to leave scripture out of these gatherings?

Friday was our day to attend workshops, so I took the opportunity to attend a wide sampling of them to see how scripture was being utilized and studied in this area. What I'm about to say may sound harsh, and is definitely sobering. In an afternoon spent sampling workshops, I witnessed nothing that indicated I was attending a gathering of Christians. Good people with a concern for peace and justice in the world? Definitely. But a people who gather around a book we call the word of God, which points to the Word, God's son Jesus? Nope. I'm not saying opportunities to run into scripture didn't exist. I'm only saying that I spent an entire afternoon looking for them, and did not find them.

A couple examples: I walked into a "self-guided" learning experience called "Peace One Day" with the following description: "In this center you will explore images of peace that are found in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible." Sounds scriptural enough. I couldn't find a a single mention of scripture in the entire room. There were opportunities to make origami peace doves, to write on a peace wall, and do a few other activities that hippies might have done in the '60s, but no mention of God or the Bible.

I attended a workshop (one that actually had a leader) called "Level Playing Field" intended to open our eyes to "different experiences of privilege and oppression." The workshop consisted of a game in which participants took a step forwards or backwards based on their answers to various questions regarding economic status, race, and experiences of prejudice." We were then asked about how we experienced this game. At no time were we encouraged or instructed to "discern what God is calling you to do to level the playing field," as the description indicated we would.

Another self-guided workshop was "It's Not Easy Being Green," accompanied by this description: "In this center you will think about biblical concepts of the relationship between the church and environment." The room contained a pile of paper and other trash surrounded by tables filled with students' creations made from said trash. But no evidence of any guidance by "biblical concepts."

I don't doubt that the planners of the workshops, and the directors of the gathering in general, had good intentions. But unfortunately the following through of these intentions was less than adequate. Others in my group had similar experiences.

This is a problem. As I've said, a focus on Justice is great. But if we forget who we are in the process, we may as well just join a non-profit organization with no religious affiliation. We have nothing different to offer. And if we encourage our youth to participate in justice but fail to ground that service in the truth of scripture in an event of such magnitude, that is effectively what we have done.