jodiemcneill.com

I am thrilled to announce that from January 2008 I will become the Director of Youthworks Camping Ministries. It is a great privilege and honour to lead the outstanding team of staff across our many outdoor centres and specialist ministries throughout Sydney and New South Wales.

Mandy and I are sad to move on from our role in leading the Year 13 Gospel Gap Year course, but are confident that this groundbreaking ministry will continue to grow from strength to strength, under the hand of our great God and the wonderful staff.

In my new role I will be responsible for the overall leadership and development of the Youthworks Camping Ministry Division and the ministry programs conducted from the three main Sydney conference centres at Port Hacking, Shoalhaven and Springwood, and other locations. I will also have specific leadership over the activities at the Port Hacking Conference Centres. I will lead a team of around 100 staff, with whom I will minister to around 45,000 people throughout the year.

It is an exciting challenge, and I look forward to working alongside the outstanding team of skilled and gifted staff, at our world-class conference centres. I am amazed and impressed at the scope and depth of ministry activities performed by the Camping Division, and I look forward to building upon this terrific foundation as we continue to grow the opportunities to proclaim the gospel of Jesus to the people of NSW and beyond.

Please pray for me and Mandy as we change our ministry focus and energy. Please pray that the Camping staff would have great patience with me as I learn the ropes (literally!) and begin to fathom the depths of this extensive ministry. Pray also for Youthworks as we seek my replacement at Year 13, and as the team prepares further for the huge jump in students projected for 2008.

For more information, read the story ‘McNeill’s Mini Move’ at sydneyanglicans.net.

At church on Sunday I roadtested the radical suggestion I made in last month’s sydneyanglicans.net article entitled ‘The word of God, loud and clear’. In this article, I suggested the following:

“In normal situations, we listen to the Bible read before the preacher explains and expands the text. Wouldn’t it be better to hear the Bible expounded, and then hear it read? The text would gain even greater clarity, and the meaning would be amplified by the exposition just presented by the preacher.”

Well, it might shock you to know that before I had written the article, I had never seen this done in real life. It was simply an exercise in kite-flying, so to speak.

Anyway, when I put together the runsheet on Sunday for the gathering I was leading, I gave it a try, and it worked a treat. Not only did the Bible reader read with more clarity (since she had just been given a twenty-minute preparation for her task), but the whole congregation also benefited from hearing the word of God, after it was explained.

What’s more, it made the reading of the Word appear to have a centrality in the gathering that I’ve not experienced before. It was as if the reading of the sermon passage was the peak of the word ministry.

Have you ever tried this retrospective reading? Have you ever witnessed it first-hand?

I’m thrilled to spread the news that a new CEO is heading to Youthworks. Zac Veron, currently the senior minister at St George North Anglican Churche, has had loads of experience in growing ministries, and I’m looking forward to seeing how he weaves his magic (so to speak) over Youthworks in the coming years.

For full details of the appointment, including comments from Zac and others, read this press release or this article from your.sydneyanglicans.net.

In today’s Radar (a section of the Sydney Morning Herald) they ran a feature on religion amongst young people. Lia Timson, the journalist, interviewed a number of young people, as well as consulting some other opinions, including mine.

She suggests that “Rumours of the death of religion among young people have been grossly exaggerated.”

Read the full article here. 

Here’s an excerpt:

“There is a resurgence of spirituality among youth,” says Jodie McNeill, a theology lecturer at Youthworks College, an Anglican school. “It’s a lot to do with generation Y needing to have experiences rather than explanations.”

 

McNeill leads a new chapter in the life of the church. Using his Blackberry, a blog and two websites, he keeps in touch with students and parishioners at the Sylvania diocese where he is a minister.

 

He also runs Year 13, a program for school leavers who want to make a contribution to the world and their own religious upbringing. Last year, 16 students took the course, which included a trip to disadvantaged communities in Africa. This year, 30 have enrolled and another 50 are studying for a diploma of theology.

 

“We live in totally decadent times,” McNeill says. “We have so much prosperity, we’ve got all the toys - the latest iPod and phones - [yet] young people are wondering how come they are still not happy.

 

“After they immerse themselves in the whole materialistic thing they feel an emptiness and a sentimentalism, to a certain extent … There is a longing for a time when it was right to be an activist and fight for what really mattered.”

 

He also says we live in conflicting times, torn between consumerism and the need to sign up to worthy causes - hence our readiness to buy $2 wristbands and cause-related pins. But for some young people, that is not enough.

 

“It has to do with being post-Christian, as well. Before, kids could ask their parents what it all meant. Now the parents don’t know. There’s a spiritual desert out there. So [interest] is bubbling to the surface.” 

I’m speaking at the ‘Why care about Y?’ conference on 31 March on the topic of ‘Reaching Gen Y.’ As I’ve been researching the topic, I’ve been trying to work out the difference between culture and generation. We like to say that Gen Y are all technologically savvy, but so am I (and others older than me) who are Gen X (or even Boomers.)

It’s interesting researching the range of opinions on the topic across the Internet. However, it reminds me again of the fact that ministry to God’s people must be prepared to change style, but never substance; language, but never message.

Further details about the conference can be found at www.mac.edu.au It goes from 9.30am to 1pm, and costs $25. Greg Clarke will also be speaking.