Thursday, August 31, 2006

Leadership conference, proximal vs distal spiritual experience

Just got back from our diocesan leadership conference with Bill Musk, Talks were great content wise but presentation does leave a lot to be desired. But for me the best part of these things is the long conversations into the late hours of the evening. This time they ranged in content from whether Pink Floyd are a drugged out version of Dire Straits (I think they are - though i was called a heretic for saying that), who will win Rockstar super nova - go the dark horse Ryan Star, and finaly the shape of Anglican youth ministry, what works and what doesn't....
From the last conversation it seems to me and i will keep comming back to this that youth mnistry that insists on intectualising, holding firmly to church traditions and puts Anglican before it does Christian does not seem to work. However when a youth ministry uses its work to stimulate the heart, it seem to be succesful in growing faith but also equipping young people to better deal with their world...
In the journal of adolescent health 2006 there was an article that looks at religion/spritulaity and adolescent health outcomes. Amongst the out comes the article concludes that when Sprituality is expereinced by the young person in terms of the Distal domain (which is about attendance, tradition religiousness)then young people are less healthy (mentaly, socialy) than those who have an experience of spiritulaity in the proximal domain, which is more to do with stimulating the heart.

1 comment:

Jim said...

He got kicked off !

tragic -- although i think they probably decided that they prefer the other guys, so he wouldn't win anyway— so they'd kick him off before the girls to not appear sexist --- and cos the girls may bring in better ratings...

personally .. I like magni, but think Toby will win- H e just sounded like he fit right last week when he did their song with them