Formation for Mission

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Christianity

Informations

• Publié par: Lexham Press
• Date de parution: 01 janvier 0001
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781683596165
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

Formation for Mission
Discipleship and Identity for Emerging Adults
Edited by Mary T. Lederleitner, Andrew MacDonald, and Rick Richardson
Formation for Mission: Discipleship and Identity for Emerging Adults
Copyright 2022 Mary T. Lederleitner, Andrew MacDonald, and Rick Richardson
Lexham Press, 1313 Commercial St., Bellingham, WA 98225
LexhamPress.com
You may use brief quotations from this resource in presentations, articles, and books. For all other uses, please write Lexham Press for permission. Email us at [e-mail] .
The diagram on page 108 is adapted from Figure 5.1, “Conversion Community Equation” (pg. 107 ), from You Found Me by Rick Richardson . Copyright (c) 2019 by Richard C. Richardson III. Used by permission of InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL. www.ivpress.com .
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from the ESV ® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ® ) , copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NASB) are from the New American Standard Bible ® . Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ® . Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations marked (NRSV) are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Print ISBN 9781683596158
Digital ISBN 9781683596165
Library of Congress Control Number 2022933931
Series Editors: Mary T. Lederleitner, Andrew MacDonald, and Rick Richardson
Lexham Editorial: Kelsey Matthews, Abby Salinger, Claire Brubaker, Mandi Newell
Cover Design: Joshua Hunt, Brittany Schrock
Contents
Introduction
1 What Are We Talking About?
2 The Role of Identity Formation
F ACILITATING M ISSIONAL D EVELOPMENT
3 Emerging Adult Sexuality and Discipleship
4 Tackling What Impedes Church Involvement
5 Living a Better Story in Emerging Adulthood
6 Developing Emerging Missional Leaders: No Greater Joy
A DDITIONAL M ISSIONAL F ORMATION P RACTICES
7 How Churches Reach and Develop Emerging Adults
8 Singing Together Missionally
9 Practicing Racial Reconciliation
10 Partners in Mission: Service-Learning Trips as Tools for Growth
11 Growing through Philanthropy
A S AMPLE OF M ISSIONAL F ORMATION C ONTEXTS
12 Latinx Migration and Mission
13 Hip-Hop in Missional Formation
14 Chinese American Emerging Adults: Ministries to Non-Christians and Christians
15 How Will We Respond?
Appendix: Emerging Adults’ Historic Impact in Mission
List of Contributors
Subject Index
Author Index
Scripture Index
Introduction
Mary T. Lederleitner, Andrew MacDonald, and Rick Richardson
But the plans of the L ORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.
—Psalm 33:11 NIV
One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts.
—Psalm 145:4 NIV
S ome might be wondering whether this book is primarily about reaching emerging adults or discipling them. The answer is both, for the two issues are inexorably linked. Each generation is commissioned to pass faith on to the next so they too might come to know and follow God faithfully. While God has been at work since the beginning of time, our focus is to highlight missional formation with the next generation of emerging adults so they are able to rise to the challenges they face to make Christ known and God’s purposes a reality through their lives.
Since so much good theological work has already been written about the mission of God, our purpose in this book is not to critique those writings. We understand that ecclesial streams parse their understanding of God’s mission in different ways. If you want to place this book in a theological context, we view God’s mission as including both proclamation of the gospel and action, for we believe when either is missing that the witness of Christ through the people of God becomes distorted.
However, while the calling to pass on faith to the next generation remains the same, we enter this conversation realizing that the process of missional development has shifted from what was common practice in many prior generations. For this reason, our goal is to weave together insights from the social sciences, missiology, theology, education, and church and ministry practitioners to illuminate the missional formation process in a way that adds to the current conversation. We believe by weaving together these insights we will understand more clearly how to help inspire, facilitate, and support the missional growth and development of emerging adults in significant ways. Let’s get started!
1
What Are We Talking About?
Mary T. Lederleitner, Andrew MacDonald, and Rick Richardson
There is something particularly powerful and poignant about the “twenty-something” years, harboring, as they do, both promise and vulnerability.
—Sharon Daloz Parks
S ophia explained,
When I was at university I started going to a Christian group on campus. I was on the leadership team but I was leading a double life. I would attend meetings and go to Bible studies but, because I was part of the Greek system on my campus, many nights I would go to fraternity parties. I drank way too much. I wasn’t sleeping around, but close to it, always hoping no one would find out.
When I graduated I wanted to make a clean break. I wanted to live like a Christian. I wanted to be a true disciple. I started attending a church near where I live. They are very welcoming towards people from my generation. I have been able to grow in my understanding of the Bible and lead in some areas of ministry and outreach.
I’m so grateful for my church small group. We’re all facing the same challenges and temptations. Everyone our age goes to bars, and it’s easy to drink too much and do things that we deeply regret later. So, we hold each other accountable. If we go to a bar to be with other friends, we go together and we watch out for each other. I am growing so much in my faith and as a person.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK
The person who shared this story was such a talented and gifted young woman. 1 As she recounted her aspirations and the challenges she faced, her story seemed to capture the “promise and vulnerability” that often come with the journey to adulthood. 2 Our purpose for this book is to equip anyone who might have a passion to help emerging adults navigate this season of life. You might be older than they are, or you might be a peer. Whichever way you are positioned, we want to provide an opportunity for you to learn from others. We will share positive experiences, and also mistakes made, that facilitate and hinder their missional development. Our hope is that this book will be a resource that equips you to influence emerging adults in ways that help them grow to their full potential so that, in Christ, with their eyes focused on the God of mission, they can make their best contributions in the world.
The authors who have contributed to this book have shared some of the richest insights they have uncovered through their academic studies and research on emerging adults. They have translated this wisdom in ways that will help you to easily make connections between theory and practice, research and real life. For those who desire a deep dive into the academic research behind each chapter, bibliographic resources are also provided. We believe this book will be especially beneficial if you read and work through it together in groups or teams, discussing and unpacking insights and implications with your own unique contexts in mind. For that reason, questions are included at the end of each chapter to facilitate deeper reflection and problem solving, and to think strategically about next steps.

UNDERSTANDING EMERGING ADULTHOOD
There are different terms and complexities surrounding the phase of life that is frequently referred to as “emerging adulthood.” For that reason, it is essential to clarify what we are talking about so we lessen confusion as we travel on this learning journey together.

AN AGE RANGE OR A GENERATION?
The conversation addressed in this book relates to the season of life between when a person ends adolescence and when they begin making long-term commitments characteristic of adulthood. For many that means it begins after they finish high school and before they get married, begin having children, and settle into professions. In some cultures that transition might be marked by other actions such as providing financial support for parents instead of being the recipient of their support. The time a person spends in this season of life varies based on their own developmental progress, sociological issues such as the availability of long-term employment in their desired professions, and other factors. Often people reference the age span between eighteen and twenty-nine as the season of emerging adulthood, with the core period common to most being ages eighteen to twenty-five. 3
While some might view emerging adulthood in terms of a specific generation, such as iGen/Gen Z, that is not a complete picture. The phrase emerging adulthood relates most frequently to the maturation process a person undergoes as part of their development to adulthood. Those navigating it are from diverse socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds, 4 and those contextual realities trigger diverse challenges and issues. One of the goals of this book is to address some holes in the research, since experiences of emerging adults from diverse backgrounds are less frequently studied and understood. We wish we could highlight all of these distinctions, but that is impossible within a si