Duffy Robbins - Building a Youth Ministry that Builds Disciples: A Small Book About a Big Idea

When I was a little boy, one of my favorite television heroes was Tarzan: King of the Jungle. My youthful imagination was stirred by the sight of this powerful man raised by animals in the thickest jungle. He slept in the mother of all tree houses, hundreds of feet above the jungle floor, and was always clad in his signature leopard-skin tankini. My favorite part of every show was when Tarzanone part Superman, one part Samson, and one part Curious George on steroidswould grab a tree vine and swing from treetop to treetop as the whole jungle came alive with the sound of his trademark yell, which he did sometimes to communicate with the animals, and sometimes because the leopard-skin deal would get caught up in the vine.

It was an awesome image: Tarzan weaving his way from vine to vine, going bungee before bungee was cool. How amazingand how convenientthat there was always a vine right where he needed it, one that was the right length and secure at the top yet somehow loose enough to release from the tree with the slightest tug.

Frankly, even as a young boy I used to wonder about that.

As Id walk through the woods behind our house and look up at the treetops, I was certain it would take more than a quick pull to launch those vines. I wondered what might happen if Tarzan were swinging through the woods behind my house. First of all, I suspected he might get scuffed up a bit if he wore the leopard-skin outfit back there. There were some serious stickers. And he might get poison ivy on areas of his body that would make vine swinging more difficultor at least less comfortable. But even more important, what about the vines? What if they werent long enough, or what if they were too long? Plus, most of the vines behind my house were wrapped pretty securely around the treeshow would that affect my hero?

I imagined how sad it would be to see Tarzan swing down on a vine that was too long, only to crash to the jungle floor with a thud. Or what if he miscalculated and chose a vine that was too short? One can only imagine the blur of flailing flesh and leopard skin as Tarzan realizes Vine A wont allow him to swing to Tree B. Or how gruesome would it be if Tarzan were to swing all the way to the edge of the jungle and simply run out of trees? Imagine: Tarzan swings through the jungle first to one tree then another then another then another until all of a sudden, he comes to a clearing. No trees. No vines. Just a small group of animals gawking at a king whose crown is seriously broken. Not a pretty thought.

And yet, its precisely that thought that animates this book youre now holding.

When many of us think of youth ministry, we can almost imagine in our minds eye a generation of teenagers swinging from Sunday night to Sunday night, youth meeting to youth meeting, coffee house to small group, Young Life club to Campaigner Camp, retreat to festival, summer camp to mission trip. We imagine great excitement in the air, an ever-growing number of students coming to youth group, and youth programs getting larger and gaining momentum. In this grand vision, it would be easy to suppose that our job as club leaders, Sunday school teachers, and youth workers is simply to supply and supervise these treetop moments, to see that vines are loosed and ready, cut and cleared in neat lengths that maximize the ride. But, in fact, the greater task for those of us in youth ministry is to prepare our students for life in the clearing, for those times when the treetops give way and leave them feeling uncertain about what to grab onto. They must also be ready for those other times when the jungle of life gets too dense, when the excitement diminishes and the difficulty of finding the trail increases, when the Christian life becomes more about walking step to step than swinging from treetop to treetop.

This book is born of the concern that our current view of youth ministry leads us as leaderspaid and volunteer aliketo see ourselves as program planners, people who work with determination and creativity to create Disney-like jungle experiences that maximize the thrills and emphasize the treetops of the spiritual life. The problem with this contemporary approach to youth ministry is that it often breeds students who are ripe for a classic case of crash and burna plunging blur of leopard skin, colorful Bible cover, and Christian T-shirt.

If youre reading this book, its probably because, like me, you love seeing teenagers grow up in their faith and mature into disciples who will follow Jesus faithfully throughout their lives. Youve put up with bad food, loud music, loud human beings, late nights, awkward conversations, ungrateful parents, and countless other inconveniences precisely because you know, as I do, that growing teenagers into disciples is not just a possibility, but a unique and holy privilege. And, like me, Ill bet youve also discovered that its a great adventure and a wild, fun ride. Because every now and thenin the midst of the bad food, loud music, loud human beings, late nights, awkward conversations, ungrateful parents, and countless other inconveniencesyou get to see God.

But thats why I know youre concerned, as I am, because youre aware that when these students leave our youth groups, they wont always have the luxury of swinging from one treetop experience to the next. What will happen to them then? What will happen when they find themselves out there in the jungle of everyday life with all of its risks and dangers? Will their faith survive, or will it crash and burn in a blur of doubt, disillusion, and distraction?

I fear that in failing to ask such questions, we may be compromising Gods mandate for the church and his call for those of us who serve him as youth workers. And, most of all, Im concerned that in our discomfort with these kinds of questions, we may be planting in our youth programs the seeds of Tarzan Christianity.

To be sure, it is God who begins the good work in the teenagers we work with, and it is God who will see it through to completion (Philippians 1:6). But we youth workers must recognize that our task is not simply to get teenage Tarzans to jump into the jungle; we need to help them land, stand, and keep walking with Christ on a daily basis. The mission of effective youth ministry is not getting young people to swing from the trees; its helping them cling to the Vine (John 15:5).