2012 Rooted Conference Recordings: Cameron Cole

We are grateful for an incredible Rooted Conference. Attendees from fifteen different states came to the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, AL to discuss and consider how the Gospel of grace informs all areas of youth ministry.

Rooted Conference Chairman, Cameron Cole, offered this short reflection about how the Gospel of grace frees youth ministers from a life of performance to conclude the weekend.

Concluding Reflection: Is Jesus Enough?

Perfection as Protection: Rooted 2010

Check out Dr. Ashley Null's first keynote address, "Perfection as Protection", from the Rooted Conference in August of 2010.  


Don't miss out on Rooted 2012!  Registration information can be found here.

Last Day to Register With Early-Bird Price!

Are you coming to Rooted August 9-11? Sign up NOW to get the Early-Bird price break!


You can access all registration details by clicking HERE. We hope to see you in August for a time to enjoy the Gospel and to consider how our ministries can be more effective in fostering mature, life-long disciples of Jesus. 

Rooted Conference Price Break Ends May 31!

Are you coming to Rooted August 9-11? We would love to have you for this exciting event. Please note that the price for Rooted increases on June 1. You can access all registration details by clicking HERE. We hope to see you in August for a time to enjoy the Gospel and to consider how our ministries can be more effective in fostering mature, life-long disciples of Jesus. 

                                   

Rooted: Youth Ministry and the Gospel

Check out the 2012 Rooted Conference - "Adoption: The Beauty of Grace" - which will explore how the theological concept of Adoption speaks to this generation of teenagers.

Youth Ministry and the Practicality of the Gospel

Check out the 2012 Rooted Conference - "Adoption: The Beauty of Grace" - which will explore how the theological concept of Adoption speaks to this generation of teenagers.

The Gospel Is the Answer

Check out the 2012 Rooted Conference - "Adoption: The Beauty of Grace" - which will explore how the theological concept of Adoption speaks to this generation of teenagers.

Why Do We Need Rooted?

Check out the 2012 Rooted Conference - "Adoption: The Beauty of Grace" - which will explore how the theological concept of Adoption speaks to this generation of teenagers.

Rooted: Youth Ministry and Grace

Check out the 2012 Rooted Conference - "Adoption: The Beauty of Grace" - which will explore how the theological concept of Adoption speaks to this generation of teenagers.

The Magic Bullet

Every week, I receive another postcard for a new youth ministry conference pledging to have the magic bullet for today’s youth. Nearly all of these ministries and conferences have much value for this field - I wish I could go to a dozen per year. Amidst the many options, I still feel passionately that Rooted has an important place in youth ministry.

When I was a junior in high school, our varsity football team played Central-Tuscaloosa in the quarter-finals of the state playoffs. Central had the #4 team in America and had not lost in two years. They had three players who would start at Alabama as freshmen and nine players who went on to earn Division 1 scholarships. My Spartans were slow and small and lacked a single D1 player. Among Central’s cadre of studs stood Alabama’s Mr. Football, Antonio Williams, the top running back in the South. In the first half, Central ran Williams to a ten-point halftime lead; we looked virtually helpless against him.

However, in the second half, Central seemed never to give Williams the ball. We all were dumbfounded. It was obvious that the Spartans had no chance of stopping Williams. He was virtually invincible. Unfortunately for Central, their coaches did not realize this fact, and he carried the ball only a handful of times. Eventually, the Spartans marched back, shut down Central, and we toppled the national powerhouse.

In the full Gospel of grace, we have The Magic Bullet. The message that God perfectly loves desperate sinners is The Message that will redeem the world. It is not instructions to help us live better or some padding for our self-esteem. The Gospel rescues people from judgment, heals ultimate wounds, and brings dead people to life right now and forever.

Doing ministry without centering all things on the Gospel is like having LeBron James on your team in a pick-up game at the YMCA and never passing him the ball. We need to pass the Gospel the ball at every turn, in every relationship, and in all circumstances.

With Rooted, our mission is to reflect on how everything we do in ministry- missions, relationships, measures, discipline, lessons, messages, counseling, recruiting, volunteers, etc.- can be more deeply anchored in the message of Cross and God’s grace. Hopefully, engaging in this consideration will yield deeper, more vibrant ministries that offer life and that foster life-long disciples of Jesus Christ.

Consider joining us at this year’s Rooted Conference in Birmingham, August 9-11, as we take an in-depth look at how the theological doctrine of adoption offers hope to a desperate generation.

Youth Ministry Is More Than a Feeling

Check out the 2012 Rooted Conference - "Adoption: The Beauty of Grace" - which will explore how the theological concept of Adoption speaks to this generation of teenagers.

Deeper Youth Ministries

Check out the 2012 Rooted Conference - "Adoption: The Beauty of Grace" - which will explore how the theological concept of Adoption speaks to this generation of teenagers.

About Rooted: A Theology Conference for Student Ministry

Check out the 2012 Rooted Conference - "Adoption: The Beauty of Grace" - which will explore how the theological concept of Adoption speaks to this generation of teenagers.

Rooted In and Through Adoption

Consider attending the 2012 Rooted Conference - "Adoption: The Beauty of Grace"- which will further explore how the theological concept of adoption speaks to the present youth generation.

Sometimes it is difficult for kids (and the rest of us) to grasp what the love of God looks like.  In a world saturated with skewed portraits of love at every turn, I’ve often found that kids bring almost as much baggage to the table as my friends and I do when the word ‘love’ is mentioned.  The majority now come from broken families, and friendships are becoming so laden by technology-culture that there is less and less face-to-face struggle, forgiveness, vulnerability, and communication which often yields deeper personal understandings of love.  More than ever, we need to be pointing kids to the scriptural metaphors and descriptions of this real, meaty, mysterious, identity-founding, life-giving Love who is actually at work currently revealing and redeeming.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. …For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!   

-Romans 5:8,10

Adoption in one of the predominant ways God reveals His love for His people in scripture.  Not only do we come to understand Him as a good father who goes to any length (and the ultimate length) to reconcile His children to Himself, but we get to understand ourselves as the beloved sons and daughters of the Creator of the Universe.  We are given a new identity in Christ- one that reorients us toward Love instead of ourselves.  We are welcomed into a family that has connections that run deeper than blood and wider than a lifespan.  We are transformed from enemies of God into cherished family by Jesus’ work on the cross, and not by anything we do.  How mind-blowing and counter cultural is that?!

…because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.  For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.  And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”  The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.  Now if  we are children, then we are heirs- heirs with God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.   

-Romans 8:14-17

One of my favorite ways to facilitate understanding of God’s people (Israel) in the Old Testament is to explore what it means that God ‘created a family to share His inheritance with.’  Over and over again, He provides for His people, rescues them, and invites them to trust and worship Him.  He pursues them, He fights their battles for them, and He constantly reminds them of His goodness- of how much He loves them.  When we think about the above scripture that describes our sonship in and through Jesus, we recognize that we go from being rebellious enemies of God to being made family with God.  This news can (by God’s grace) transform every way we think about and relate to ourselves and others.  We can be mercifully freed from focusing on ourselves (and our abilities) as the center of the universe and recognize that the Father is the head of our lives, the connection to deep purpose, meaning, and hope.  He gives us our identity, and He never changes even though many of the circumstances in our lives do.  Our adoption as sons and daughters roots us in the One who invites us to receive always His love, His forgiveness, and His blessing,  And our ministry is the outflow of this gift: we get to share with and remind those around us of this reality.  Praise God!

Liz Edrington is a Youth Minister at Christ Episcopal Church in Charlottesville, VA. 

Adoption: God as the Available Parent

We are excited about the theme for the 2012 Rooted Conference - “Adoption: The Beauty of Grace” - which will explore how the theological concept of adoption speaks to the present youth generation.


By God’s grace I have a clean record as far as the law is concerned.  Now, since this is a theology blog, you may be thinking of ‘law’ as the apostle Paul uses the term...but I’m just talking about the regular American legal system use of the term ‘law’....But what would happen if I saw President Obama and ran up to him to give him a hug, tell him about my day, and ask him for some personal help with a problem I’m having?

As the youth I work with responded when I asked them this question, I would be “neutralized”.
But why?  I’m an American Citizen in full standing.  I’ve never even been accused - let alone convicted - of any crime.  Why can’t I boldly approach the President in such a manner?
Sometimes we think that our justification gives us full access to God.  Jesus removes all of our sin and clothes us with his righteousness so that we can stand before God with full confidence.  And AMEN - certainly this is true!  We can stand before God with full assurance that his wrath won’t smite us - that’s the teaching of Hebrews 10:22.
...But God is God.  He’s King of Kings, Lord of Lords...and President of Presidents.  If my righteousness according to American law doesn’t give me full access to the President of the United States, how is it that I have full access to draw near to the President of Presidents?
The answer isn’t in our justification, but in our adoption.  You see, there are two people who have unfettered access to President Obama: his two daughters.  Nobody’s going to stop them from hugging him, talking with him, or seeking out personal help - because they are family.
The real good news of the gospel is that God doesn’t just want our righteousness.  He wants us.  He doesn’t just want the youth we work with to be “good”.  He wants them.  
For a generation struggling with issues of abandonment, isolation, and insecurity, this is good news.
“[W]hen the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.  And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” (Gal 4:4-6)
Justification makes way for our adoption into the household of God, and our adoption gives us hope.
We need to remember and teach to our youth the grace given to us in our adoption.  For the more we understand God as Abba, the more we can understand the freedom we have as loved children to draw near to God Almighty - and we need to draw near, for only in him is the fullness, abundant life, and security we all crave.
And the more we draw near to Abba God in prayer, through Scripture, in the sacraments, and in the fellowship of the saints, the more we will learn to rest in and receive from his powerful and redeeming love.  
“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” (1 John 3:1)

Mark Howard is the Youth Director and Assistant to Pastor at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Covington, GA. Mark has a Masters in Theology from Wheaton College Graduate School. 

How Do Youth Ministries Change Lives?

Check out Ray Ortlund's take on how churches change lives in his article, "Gospel + Safety + Time".

"This is what our churches must be: gentle environments of gospel + safety + time.  It’s the only way anyone can ever change."

Dr. Ortlund will be the keynote speaker at the 2012 Rooted Conference, "Adopted: The Beauty of Grace".  Find out more about the conference and register here.

Adoption: God as the Empathetic Parent

We are excited about the theme for the 2012 Rooted Conference - “Adoption: The Beauty of Grace” - which will explore how the theological concept of adoption speaks to the present youth generation.

A while back, my wife and I attended a parenting conference hosted by the La Leche League of Georgia.  As expected, I found the teaching and discussions to be rather thought-provoking and practical as a parent.  I did not, however, expect to find my faith built up and encouraged the way it was over the course of the two days.

All throughout the lectures and seminars, I kept seeing parallels between what was being taught about parenting and scripture’s teaching about God as our adoptive Father.  One quote in particular from the keynote touched my heart with its beauty.

In one of her handouts, Sharifa Oppenheimer (author of the best-selling book Heaven on Earth: A Handbook for Parents of Young Children) wrote the following:

“The single best gift a parent can give their children is to be attuned to them, to know what it feels like inside their skin, and to respond interactively from this ‘knowing.’  The only way a child can learn to know who they are is by having been ‘known’ in this way by a parent.  The only way a child can ‘see themselves’ is by looking into the mirror of the parents’ heart, and see themselves reflected back.”

This is a beautiful picture of a parent’s empathy for their child - but what struck me as truly awe-inspiring was when I saw the quote from the perspective of my adoption into the household of God (Ephesians 2:19) and the incarnation of God in Jesus.

What a gift that our God went to such great lengths to ‘feel inside our skin’!  As the author of Hebrews proclaims, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).

God became fully human only to be fully rejected by humanity, so that he might identify with us in our struggles, offer himself as a sacrifice to redeem humanity and give us the high privilege of becoming children of God.  Such a notion is too great to comprehend!  



What’s more is that because God so identified with us in Jesus - counting his righteousness as our own -  we no longer know ourselves by looking in the bathroom mirror; rather, it is only by gazing into Christ, where we most fully see the Father’s heart, that we can rightly see our true selves reflected back.  Redeemed.  Holy.  Pure.  Made new.  Perfect.  Loved.

In a ministry environment where many youth harbor harmful self-identities shaped by a culture saturated with false perceptions of the ‘self’, there are few messages more timely than our adoption by the Father, in Christ, through the Holy Spirit.

As we minister to today’s youth in whatever format, our call, as Paul magnificently declares in Colossians 3:2-4, is to encourage them to “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

For in Christ, we have become God’s beloved children...and he knows and cares what we are going through.

Mark Howard is the Youth Director and Assistant to Pastor at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Covington, GA. Mark has a Masters in Theology from Wheaton College Graduate School.

2012 Rooted Conference - Adopted: The Beauty of Grace- An Abandoned Generation

The theme for the upcoming 2012 Rooted Conference has been unveiled! “Adopted: The Beauty of Grace” taps into the mission of Rooted, which is to transform student ministry by fostering grace-driven and cross-centered student ministers through rich and contextual theological reflection. Consideration of the Gospel in the context of student ministry and youth culture comprises a large part of the Rooted vision.

Chap Clark, a psychologist and theologian who studies youth culture, aptly summarizes the emotional state of postmodern teens as the abandoned child. In his book, Hurt, Clark looks at research on concepts of parenting and child development from the past thirty years. Each of these models of child formation centers around the idea of “child competence,” a term which David Elkund of Tufts University popularized in his 1980’s book, The Hurried Child. Clark, however, writes that the situation has worsened and that the emotional and psychological damage inflicted on kids has intensified. Clark writes:

I agree with Elkind’s findings in the Hurried Child. However, I prefer to use the label abandoned rather than hurried. As Ron Powers and many other note, adolescents have a longing that parents, teacher, and other adults have ceased as a community to fulfill. The reasons are many and varied, but this concept of the systemic abandonment of adolescents as a people group seems to capture the widest range of descriptors used by careful observers of adolescents and adolescents themselves.

At the root of this generation of hurting, isolated teens is a culture which demands competence, autonomy, and production. Teenagers live in a world of intense performance. The only thing that truly heals teens—and all people—is a message that frees them from this performance. The salve for wounded hearts is the Gospel, whereby we gain a new identity in the performance of Jesus in his life and on the Cross. Through the Cross, God calls us all to rest and surrender from striving.

Ministries proclaiming the Gospel of grace offer real medicine for the abandoned teenage generation. They present a God who loves and accepts them independent of their performance. Sadly, student ministries pushing performance-based Christianity, driven by guilt and fear, only exacerbate the problem and further alienate students.

The 2012 Rooted Conference will focus on speaking the message of the grace to hurting youth and doing ministry in a manner that embodies the freedom of the Gospel.