Youth Pastor Theologian

Episode 27: Serving Youth with Special Needs (Bryan Barrineau)

Every church has students with a variety of special education needs, but our youth ministries are often under-equipped to appropriately minister to these students and their families. What should youth workers know about special education and how can they be better equipped to serve these young men and women? 
Discussion includes:
How can youth workers think theologically about the reality of special needs? 
How can youth workers better care for students with special needs - especially regarding youth with mild/moderate disabilities. 
Within the dynamics of regular youth group programming, how do you encourage students to welcome struggling learners? What are some basic modifications we can make? 
What does ministry look like to students who are on the autism spectrum or have another more significant diagnosis? How can we best care for and disciple them?
How can youth workers minister to and support parents of students with disabilities? 
Resources mentioned:
ldaamerica.org - Learning Disabilities Association of America. A great place to learn about various learning disabilities. 
Stephen Grcevich, Mental Health and the Church: A Ministry Handbook for Including Children and Adults with ADHD, Anxiety, Mood Disorders, and Other Common Mental Health Conditions 
Amos Yong, The Bible, Disability, and the Church: A New Vision of the People of God
Bryan Barrineau is the Lead Student Pastor at First Baptist in Enterprise, Alabama. He’s been a youth pastor for 22 years, he and his wife have two kids. Bryan recently completed his Doctor in Education from SouthWestern Baptist Theological Seminary, his dissertation was entitled Technology-Mediated Ministry and its implications for local church discipleship. 
Follow Bryan on Twitter: @bryanbarrineau
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Episode 26: Ecclesiology and Youth Ministry (Charles Hedman)

Many church-based youth ministries operate as parachurch ministries that are funded and housed by a church. There’s little connection or integration with the church congregation. Thankfully, there’s a renewed sense of commitment within youth ministry to integrate students into the life of the church. But why is this so important, what’s it look like? 
Why is it important for a youth ministry to be intimately united within the church? In short, what does ecclesiology have to do with youth ministry? 
What do students lose when youth ministries are disconnected from the church? 
It’s difficult to navigate the relationship between youth ministry and the local church. Youth pastors are often skeptical of such calls, assuming it’s a subtle way to question the validity of youth ministry. And churches often feel like teenagers just don’t want to be there or like they need to be more attractive to hold students’ attention. What would you like to say about this scenario?
Can you tell us about how you’ve intentionally structured your youth ministry to be an extension of the church’s ministry to teenagers rather than structuring youth group as a replacement for involvement in the church? 
If someone is in a more traditional youth ministry system and they want to elevate the role of the church in the way they minister to students, where would you recommend we begin? 
Charles has nearly 15 years of experience working with youth, in both parachurch and churches. He oversaw the youth ministry at Captial Hill Baptist Church in Washington DC for most of the last decade and is currently taking a sabbatical from pastoral ministry as he and his family care for an ailing family member. 
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Episode 25: Faith, Doubt, and Everything (Matt Bellefeuille)

Faith and Doubt are topics every youth worker needs to help students navigate. These seasons of doubt and be long and unsettling. So what does it look like to patiently endure with these students and what does discipleship look like in the midst of it? 
Matt Bellefeuille served as a youth pastor for about a decade before starting a ministry called Truth Snack, which supports and ministers to doubting Christians.
Could you share with us your own story of faith and doubt and how that’s shaped your current ministry? 
What’s a good first response when you talk with teenagers who are navigating doubt? 
Obviously, there’s no “one cause” behind doubt and deconstruction. Are there a few factors or themes that youth workers could keep in mind as they listen to students and try to discern what’s at the root of their doubts? 
What does faith look like for students (or youth workers) who are working through their doubt? 
Sometimes it can feel like doubt will last forever, but it doesn’t need to. Can you give us some hope and confidence as we wrap up this conversation with a word about the gospel for those who are facing doubts? 
Learn more about Matt's series, Faith, Doubt, and Everything in Between. 
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Episode 24: Cultivating Faith That Lasts (Danny Kwon)

Every parent and every youth pastor wants their teenager to continue walking with Jesus throughout adulthood. But that’s increasingly not the case. What leads to that and what can we do about it? In this episode, we talk with youth ministry veteran, Danny Kwon. Discussion includes, 
What are some trends you’ve observed that you suspect play into teenagers leaving behind their faith during adulthood?
How can a youth ministry prioritize making lifelong disciples over settling for big-impact events right now? 
How do you think church attendance (not just youth group attendance) plays into this concern?
Is there a way for youth pastors to have hard conversations with parents when they observe patterns that seem to de-prioritize faith to their kids? 
For the young youth workers listening, especially those who don’t have kids… how can they meaningfully come alongside parents in a way that supports passing down the faith? 
Danny Kwon is the youth and family pastor and adjunct youth ministry professor outside of Philadelphia. He’s the author of multiple youth ministry books - Mission tripping (a guide to youth ministry missions) and A Youth Worker’s Field Guide to Parents. 
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Episode 23: Gospel Contextualization in Youth Ministry (Clark Fobes)

Some people say contextualization is a compromise of the gospel. Others say it’s just unnecessary, and we just need to preach the gospel. Both of those opinions misunderstand what contextualization actually is. In this episode of the YPT Podcast, we’re focusing on the gospel and culture, and discussing contextualization as an expression of faithful gospel proclamation in your particular culture. 
What is contextualization, and what are some common misunderstandings people can have about it? 
What is the unchanging gospel? 
I’ve heard you talk about the Eastern, Western, and Tribal cultures and how those cultures lead to different types of gospel presentations. Could you share a little about that as an example of what you mean by faithful contextualization? 
Are there a few basic principles that can help youth workers avoid over-contextualizing and under-contextualizing? 
What does gospel contextualization look like in youth ministry? 
Clark Fobes is the Associate Pastor at First Church of San Francisco. Clark is also one of the co-hosts of the Thanos to Theos podcast, along with Mike and Kevin Yi
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Episode 22: Asking Questions to Prompt Deep Conversations (Hartman & Bradley)

Every youth leader knows how challenging it can be to facilitate meaningful and deep conversations. It can be so discouraging to prepare for meaningful ministry only to receive one-word answers and silence. In this episode, we're joined by two of our regular blog writers to discuss how we can learn to ask better questions that prompt meaningful conversations. 
What makes for a good question? 
What are some lessons you’ve learned the hard way about asking good questions? 
After you’ve prepared your message or small group lesson and it’s time to develop questions, how do you go about crafting those? 
What’s your favorite go-to question to ask students when you’re trying to strike up a conversation? 
What advice do you have for youth workers who are either socially awkward or just not good at question-asking? 
Joseph Bradley is the student pastor at Second Baptist Church of Arkadelphia in Arkadelphia, Arkansas 
Nick Hartman is the associate pastor of students and discipleship at Mt Carmel Baptist Church in Cross Plains, TN
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Episode 21: Top Down & Bottom Up Approaches to Ministry (Crispin & Barfield)

Should youth workers prioritize their message preparation to help students discover God, or should we become guides who empower students to grow by serving him? This question gets to the heart of what we mean by "top down" and "bottom up" approaches to youth ministry. In this episode, Gareth Crispin and Robin Barfield join us from the UK to reflect about a whole-person approach to student discipleship. 
What is the state of Youth Work in the UK? What are some of the major differences between Stateside YM and what it looks like there? 
What do you mean by "Top Down" and "Bottom Up" approaches to youth ministry, and can you provide some examples? 
How does this middle way differ from what’s been called “Incarnational Ministry” for decades?
How can our listeners use this model to evaluate their ministries? 
Gareth Crispin is Lecturer in Practical Theology at Cliff College, which is in Darbeshire, England. Follow Gareth on Twitter at @garethcrispin.
Robin Barfield is Associate Ministry of children and families at Christ Church in Winsford, England, and visiting lecturer at Oak Hill and Union Colleges. Follow Robin on Twitter at @robinbarfield78. 
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Episode 20: Rethinking Family Ministry (Jared Kennedy)

For all the discussion about Family Ministry, there's a lack of consensus about what FM encompasses. In this episode, Mike talks with Jared Kennedy about ways for youth pastors to think about family ministry and how to effectively minister to students' families. 
Jared Kennedy is the founder of Gospel-Centered Family and Ministry Editor at The Gospel Coalition. 
Follow Jared on Twitter @JaredSKennedy
View and order Jared's books 
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Episode 19: Teaching the Incarnation and Christology at Christmas (Griffin Gulledge)

Who is Jesus? That's a good question. But one of most important but unasked questions students will answer is "what is Jesus?" It's common for church kids (and even youth workers themselves!) to grow tired of the same old Christmas message. Maybe that's because we've lost sight of the mystery and beauty of Christology - the study of who Jesus is and what he's done. In this episode, Griffin Gulledge helps us dig into the doctrine of the Incarnation and Hypostatic Union with students in a way that leads them to behold Jesus Christ, our Savior. 
This episode expands on YPT’s recent article on the same topic. Our discussion includes:
Could you share a little bit about why you’re focusing your Ph.D. studies on the Trinity and how does that connect with today’s topic?
What is the Hypostatic Union, and how would you explain that to a normal teenager? 
How can youth workers talk meaningfully and biblically about the Incarnation?  
What are some pastoral applications of the humanity/deity of Christ? 
What are some common misunderstandings you’ve come across about what it means for Jesus to be fully human and fully divine? 
Griffin is the Pastor at Madison Baptist Church in Madison, Georgia and is nearing the completion of his Ph.D. in Systematic Theology in Trinitarian Hermeneutics from SEBTS. You can find his writings all over the web in various sites. 
Follow Griffin on Twitter: @GriffinGulledge
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Episode 18: Christ Centered Exegesis (Seth Stewart)

Most of us know the entire Bible finds its fulfillment in Christ, but how should that effect the way we study Scripture and teach students? In this episode, we talk about Christ centered exegesis and highlight some excellent resources for youth pastor theologians. Conversation topics include, 
Could you share with us about Spoken Gospel - what is it and what are you trying to accomplish through this ministry? 
As you prepare a new series for Spoken Gospel, how are you selecting books of the Bible and what’s your team’s process for breaking down books of the Bible for the series?
How does the gospel shape the way you practice exegesis while building a series, and then how do you move from exegesis to preaching and teaching? 
What recommendations do you have for youth pastors who want to teach through a book of the Bible but don’t know how to build a series of their own? 
Seth Stewart is the Director of Theology with Spoken Gospel. 
Spoken Gospel is working towards Christ-centered resources on each book of the Bible, on three different levels: an overview video, a series of devotionals on the different sections of the book, and a deep-dive podcast episode. This is an astounding resources for youth pastor theologians to bookmark and references as you prepare your teaching series. 
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