Growing Young Leaders: Faith, Freedom, Failure, and Flourishing

Preface

This book is based on a PhD thesis that examined the factors contributing to the apparent success of a leadership development program for young men.² That research is referred to throughout this book as a case study in one specific youth ministry. The program (Leadership) commenced in 1981 and has run continuously since, apart from a one-year gap in 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leadership refers to a leadership development course of the Boys’ Brigade Queensland.³ Over time, participants began referring to the program simply as Leadership. This term has continued and is used in this publication.

The findings of the research have been shared with staff of the program and various insights have been incorporated into the program. The evaluation of this program is now offered to the wider youth ministry audience, presenting insights that may be an encouragement and of general application.

Leadership, the Program

Because Leadership is a unique program, relevant contextual characteristics are stated:

•It is a program for fifteen- to nineteen-year-old young men.

•It runs over three stages, a year apart.

•It is progressive, with built in cross-stage themes.

•Each stage is residential, over eight or nine days.

•Small groups are the key medium of program delivery and for the emergence of communitas.

•Each stage involves a wilderness experience.

•It is staff-intensive.

•Its staffing model is described as multigenerational, nonhierarchical, and servant-led, not placing a high value on differentiation of status.

As examples of participants’ feedback between 2008 and 2014, brief excerpts from detailed reports of three participants are included as Appendix I.

While program content has changed to maintain a contemporary focus and introduce new resources, the overall ethos and goals have been maintained. The course structure is that participants are members of three different groups—the whole course community, their stage cohort, and in Stages 1 and 2, their small group with one or two facilitators (in Stage 3, the stage cohort remains the operational group). Generally, over time, the spiritual focus has become more specifically young-man focused, something that is recognized in their participation in worship.

Purpose of the Research

The purpose of the research was to develop an understanding of the elements of an effective leadership development program for young men incorporating spiritual and personal development. By abstracting the concepts and program elements, it was anticipated that there would be a level of generalizability of the findings, adding to knowledge as well as leading to enhancement in both practice and policy of youth and young adult ministry.

Research Question

In 2017, Leadership staff were surveyed and from their responses a set of goals and indicators of goal-attainment was developed.⁴ These were adopted as indicators of program effectiveness. There is more than adequate evidence in the data from a 2018 research project,⁵ which is confirmed from other sources to support the finding of a high level of goal attainment: for example, overwhelmingly positive responses, testimony of spiritual challenge and growth, frequent mention of the uniqueness of the Leadership community, and participants’ acceptance into the community, modeling by the adult staff, references to increasing spiritual and masculine maturity, learning of new leadership and other skills, transformation experienced, and close, lasting friendships formed. This was confirmed in documented feedback offered by parents and participants.

Based on the evidence from staff, participants, and parents, the effectiveness of the program on a measure of goal attainment was established. Foundational to this new research was the recognition that Leadership has been successful in achieving its goals.

The research question in this study is: What factors contribute to the apparent success of the Boys’ Brigade Leadership program? The research question was addressed by examining the dynamics of key program elements and by approaching it through several theoretical lenses: communitas, liminality, servant-leadership, masculine spirituality, rites of passage, and wilderness, and how these perspectives coalesce into a leadership pedagogy.

The study is contextualized in a practical theological paradigm. The grounded theory methodology and the methods utilized in the research are summarized in Appendix II. Grounded theory terms continue to be used in the text to outline processes (see glossary). The primary data collection method used was the administration of a questionnaire to participants who had completed at least one stage of Leadership during a ten-year period. The responses of those who later joined the staff were bracketed and collated separately—this group are referred to as staff respondents and the main group as participant respondents. A further group of experienced staff completed a separate questionnaire and where comparisons of difference are indicated, they are referred to as experienced staff. A research collaboration group of a range of staff was also formed.

Explanations for the Reader

Young men are the focus of the research that led to this book. Leadership is usually commenced in school years ten or eleven (ages fifteen or sixteen) and runs for three years, so participants in the program are generally aged between fifteen and nineteen years. However, the research, conducted in 2020, was directed at those who had completed the course over a ten-year period, so at the time were aged up to twenty-six years. Quotations from participants, using their actual words, often include the year of completion to give timeline context.

The reference to young men should be taken to mean those between fifteen and approximately twenty-four years, incorporating the years of participation in Leadership and the following five to seven years.

Repetition will be observed throughout, including the direct quotes from participants if it illustrates more than one observation. This places intentional emphasis on the voices of youth and adds meaning and a sense of completeness for readers who choose to read by selected chapter topic.

Readers are reminded throughout that when Leadership is capitalized and in italics it is referring to the program being evaluated.

There is reference throughout to Stages 1–3. These are the three stages of the Leadership program, usually completed a year apart.

2

. Smith, Theory of What Factors.

3

. A corresponding program for girls and young women is run by the Girls’ Brigade Queensland.

4

. Leadership Queensland, Goals of Leadership.

5

. Smith, Theory of What Influences.

1

Introduction

Having opened this book, you are now between the covers. You have opened a door. You are invited into an imperfect liminal community; into the shared story of participants of Leadership,¹ doing it together in an experience where they are fully accepted, such that they discover they are in a safe place and have the freedom and empowerment to say:

I can talk about anything, share my personal story, or ask any question I want to, and I know my secrets are safe. I can talk about those things and ask those questions that never get talked about in church; that I can’t raise at Youth or with my parents.

I would say it’s some of the most significant worship ever in my life. The worship at leadership feels like we’re not singing for ourselves. We’re singing to God. Like, I can’t sing. A lot of the boys next to me can’t sing. You can really lean into that and not worry about anyone else. It’s all worship when we all sing together, there’s something really beautiful about that. It feels intentional and from God.

In the preface, the program upon which the research is based is introduced, the purpose of the research is described, and the research question stated: What factors contribute to the apparent success of the Boys’ Brigade Leadership program? This chapter summarizes the justification and importance of the research in the context of youth ministry, and the leadership development of young men.

Justification and Importance of the Research

Leadership is acknowledged as a program that deals with issues confronting young men and builds resilience and personal and spiritual health, thus equipping young men to deal with the life issues they and their friends face.

The justification of the research is that a program that holds itself out as a significant youth ministry should be evaluated for the sake of those whom it serves and for what the findings may offer others. The importance of the research reflects the importance of God’s plan for youth as people with issues and as people in transition. Its importance is reinforced in recognizing the status of children (including young men), the importance of family for young men, the capacity of youth, and their readiness for ministry.

In a 2020 survey by Mission Australia,² young people were asked to respond to a series of questions which provide a picture of their concerns and other life matters. The most important issues for Queensland males were found to be COVID-19 (41.2%), equity and discrimination (31.7%), mental health (24.7%), and the environment (21.8%). Issues of personal concern (extremely or very concerned) among males were coping with stress (19.9%), school or study problems (18.7%), physical health (16.6%), and mental health (16.6%). Young males in Queensland identified race/cultural background as the highest reason for being treated unfairly (34.1%). This was followed by gender (23.8%), mental health (20.9%), and age (20.0%).

In response to a question on what they value, Queensland males identified that friendships (other than family) were either extremely or very important (80.3%), followed by family relationships (74.7%), physical health (63.5%), school or study satisfaction (61.1%), mental health (55.8%), financial security (49.0%), and getting a job (40.6%). All these issues were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, creating mental health concerns for youth.

The significance of these issues for young men today is acknowledged, in particular, concerns about the issue of mental health. Almost a quarter of young men are concerned about coping with stress. Of importance in the research is that participants say that Leadership is where they can raise their pressing issues,³ even the issues that are taboo elsewhere. That their significant life issues are real, and that they feel they can deal with them at Leadership, may be a factor contributing to their positive experience and the apparent success of the program.

Leadership is focused on the period of transition between immaturity and maturity, between boyhood and manhood. The Bible, and specifically Jesus’s actions, recognize children/young men and their needs and status. This is the contextual backdrop to the examination of Leadership.

Biblical sources justify an acknowledgment that children and youth, including young men who are the focus of Leadership, are in need of, even entitled to, protection (Exod 22:22; Deut 10:18; Isa 1:17; Matt 18:6, 10; Mark 9:42; Luke 17:2), training and mentoring (Deut 6:6–7), encouragement, guidance, and advice (Titus 2:6; 1 Pet 5:5), teaching (Deut 6:4–9), and discipleship (the example of Jesus).

God’s plan for children, including youth, who are not yet adults, has been violated. For example, from a review of several studies, the Australian Institute of Family Studies⁴ reported (in 2017) the prevalence of physical abuse of children in Australia (5–16%), emotional maltreatment (9–14%), exposure to family violence (4–23%), sexual abuse of boys (5.2–12%), and sexual abuse of girls (14–26.8%). This indicates that for a substantial number of children, their need for protection is not being met. Many are growing up with abuse and neglect, parental separation, emotional detachment, and poverty.⁵ This has, or should have, a substantial impact on the nature of effective contemporary youth ministry, an important understanding supporting the value of programs such as Leadership.

Jesus’s dealings with the disciples, particularly Peter, through naming him the rock (Matt 16:17–18), then later, through mentoring strategies of forward prediction, challenge, and affirmation, with restoration and a renewed trust (John 21:15–19), stand as exemplars of training and mentoring. Young men are not yet mature adults. They will make mistakes. Barnabas is an example of a man who provided encouragement, guidance, and advice to John Mark (Acts 15:36–39), despite mistakes and even in the face of opposition from Paul.

Teaching children is the primary responsibility of parents (Deut 6:4–9), but the church (and as a part of the church, Leadership and like programs) also has a responsibility towards children, as observed by May et al., God does not intend for one man and one woman to carry the full responsibility for their children’s spiritual formation. God’s plan, seen in Deuteronomy 6, is that the faith community supports the family and together they nurture the children.⁶ The responsibility of the church is to bring others into their fellowship, often through a discipleship strategy. This responsibility continues with succeeding generations, so that at any one time, the church is a dynamic intergenerational body.

Status of Children/Young Men

Children and youth have a recognized status in God’s plan. They belong to the kingdom of heaven; they are ready and able to serve; and they are sharers in the life of faith. Jesus welcomed children and recognized their status as having a belongingness in the kingdom of heaven (Matt 19:13–15; Mark 10:13–16; Luke 18:15–17). Jesus called young men, most commonly thought to be still in their teens or early twenties⁷ to serve with him in a group who would change the world. Leadership is a ministry to youth and emerging adult men. Jesus and his disciples provide a model for Leadership. Youth and young adults have a right and expectation to receive training. This is so, both as part of God’s plan reflected in Jesus’s relationship with his disciples, and as the responsible approach of the church, including Leadership, towards children as they move towards physical, intellectual, and spiritual maturity.

Young men are recognised as being strong and capable of having the word of God living within them (Prov

20

:

29

;

1

John

2

:

14

), as capable of sincere commitment and devotion evidenced in their overcoming the evil one (

1

John

2

:

13

), of ministering to and setting a positive example and teaching others (

1

Tim

4

:

12

), and to be treated as brothers (

1

Tim

5

:

1

).⁸

God did not wait for full maturity, for example, with Joseph, Daniel, David, and Timothy. Jesus chose young men for the role of disciples, despite their immaturity. As McGarry notes, Jesus could have called any group of people to become His disciples, but He chose a group of teenagers and young adults who were overwhelmingly ordinary.⁹ Then he set about bringing them to maturity; training them for the leadership roles they would take on. Leadership and the young men who attend Leadership are in a similar position—at the junction of the child/adult threshold, but not yet fully mature. Jesus called the disciples, he appointed them to leadership roles, and he taught them about servanthood. Leadership is located within the church as an agent of advancing God’s kingdom in the world, so it is timely and appropriate that the program’s effectiveness be examined to consider whether it can be viewed as an effective intense period of training, mirroring the model Jesus used.

Family

Family and friendships outside the family remain very significant for young men.¹⁰ But domestic and family violence continue to be a serious concern. By 2017 the divorce rate in Australia stabilized to around 50 percent,¹¹ but many children and youth are living in violent situations, often with at least one absent parent.

The work of scholars and the experience shared at Leadership combine to reinforce the continuing importance of families to youth and emerging adult men, though the communication of this reality is not always clear. Of particular interest is the application in relation to boys and their fathers, as illustrated by this comment from a Leadership participant, in an anonymous letter to his father:

I wish we could be able to spend more time together because you’re always doing work or giving us work. I know you say you’ve got a lot to be done but we should still spend more time together doing fun stuff like

4

x

4

driving or shooting.¹²

The challenge for the church, and for youth ministries such as Leadership, is to create a caring place where adolescents can talk about changes in their parents’ abilities to bless the persons they are becoming¹³ and to communicate participants’ wishes to their parents. The opportunity for this research was to see if the experience of participants confirms these observations. As a place where personal issues, including family concerns, are openly shared, Leadership has a potential role in being a two-way conduit for this communication between parents and sons.

Capacity of Youth and Readiness for Ministry

There is a developing thrust that youth ministries in all forms, including Leadership, need to understand that while they are dealing with persons in transition at a critical developmental time of their lives, youth are more competent and more able than they are sometimes given credit for; that their heroic acts are recognized and highly regarded; and that they are capable of running their own programs. Youth in the community and in the church are teachers as well as learners.

Youth ministries in succeeding generations have demonstrated the sometimes unrecognized capacity of youth.¹⁴ It is a common observation of those who reflect academically and practically on youth ministry that both personally and theologically, youth are capable and ready for ministry leadership now—not at some time in the future. For example, The truth is that teenagers are capable of far more disciplined theological reflection, far holier lives, and far more courageous leadership than most adults assume or practice.¹⁵

There is a continuing theme in the US High School Theology Program (HSTP)¹⁶ that youth should be respected and dealt with as persons of competence, including theological competence, ready to understand difficult concepts and to lead now, not at some ill-defined future time. Proffitt and Young refer to the collegial learning practice of mutual respect. They continue to say that youth respond to being treated with dignity and when they are enabled to exercise leadership, and that their opinions are asked for and valued—being treated like full-on adults and fellow theologians¹⁷—backing up a similar observation by Dean and Hearlson that HSTP participants appreciated being treated as competent theologians.¹⁸

The lack of recognition of the capacity of youth and their readiness for ministry is expanded by youth ministry specialists. Dean observes that "we are more likely to consider youth as objects of ministry than agents of ministry; people to be ministered unto rather than people Jesus has called into ministry in their own right."¹⁹ Dean continues, Youth ministry that emphasizes evangelism, without simultaneously giving adolescents opportunities to serve in substantive ministry eviscerates discipleship. They should be invited to jump into the Christian community alongside us.²⁰ Rahn suggests that churches are making a grave mistake [by] forcing kids to wait until post-adolescence to begin to use their gifts and energy in the church and in the world.²¹ If youth are not being appointed into Christian leadership roles, we are neglecting the strategy and example of Jesus who explicitly chose mostly young men as his disciples.²² Root suggests that if we delay, "youth ministry . . . becomes the place where we are preparing young people to be vital participants in their churches in the future—not participants and members now.²³ Dever encourages the appointment of young men to leadership roles, which he sees as exercising advance trust, even if that is taking a risk. In his words: If you wish to see leaders raised up, your general posture should be characterized by a willingness to advance trust. I do definitely take risks in leadership. It’s worth it. God is sovereign. Christ will build his church. So, let’s lean in and take some risks."²⁴ He follows these words with a particular reference to young men:

Congregations, for their part, need to be patient with young men in leadership as they make young-man mistakes. I often tell churches not to be afraid of nominating a young lion cub. He may scratch the floors or damage some furniture, but if you’re patient with him, you’ll have a lion who loves you for life.²⁵

Lawless makes the point that At a time when young men are often most open to being challenged and stretched, churches aren’t ready for them.²⁶ As an observation and an explanation, Lawless continues: Their churches have sometimes forgotten them after their teen years.²⁷ Investigating the identified research question will assist those who provide such programs in their ministry with emerging young adults, emerging young leaders, as they take up the challenge of preparing others to receive the baton of Christian leadership.

Hine has commented that young people are often judged to be less able than they are.²⁸ He summed up the American cultural creation of teenager by listing a series of negative characteristics, which he detailed as A messy, sometimes loutish character who is nonetheless capable of performing heroically when necessary. As a further reversal of the usual way of seeing youth, adults need to recognize that there are lessons to learn from those who are not yet adults. Beckwith states that what the experts do agree on is that children of this generation have the potential for living unselfish lives. We would do well to expose them to areas of service and mission in our churches.²⁹ Leadership sets out to do this in its invitation to participants to exercise leadership at any time.

Youth themselves are often disappointed that their gifts and readiness are not understood, acknowledged, or utilized. Dean compares and contrasts youth ministry in churches with farm teams in Major League Baseball, preparing emerging players to be ready for leadership in the main game. Church farm teams include confirmation programs, church camps, volunteer corps, and denominational youth leadership organizations. Camp is particularly mentioned, contrasted with what happens in local churches: Thousands of young people find Christian community more palpable—and their gifts, more utilized—in the course of summer camp than in their congregations or youth groups, and for these young people, camp becomes ‘the new church.’ Dean continues: nor is it clear whether the ‘Major Leagues’ of Christian vocational formation—congregations, denominations, and theological schools—are prepared to make room for this young talent when it appears.³⁰ This is a challenge for the local church and for camps/retreats such as Leadership.

Equipping youth for leadership and letting them loose runs risks, but not equipping and empowering them runs greater risks. Dean offers a look into the future of youth ministry and theological education, something which, if true, sounds a warning and is important for churches to consider. Two of her predictions are considered:

Missional communities. As youth ministry moves away from youth fellowship models, young people longing for community are finding it in missional communities. Among the important changes this signals is a movement away from creating ministries for young people to participate in, toward supporting young people in ministries that they themselves create—a significant step toward the vocational formation of spiritually motivated teenagers.³¹

Early leadership experience. Early leadership experience begets adult leadership. Young people who are participants—not spectators—in Christian leadership, and who have received primary experiences of service, witness, and stewardship (accompanied by theological reflection on these experiences) are the most likely to emerge as Christian leaders.³²

Contrasting baseball farm teams and HSTPs, Dean suggests that HSTPs

do not view themselves as preparatory holding tanks for future players. High School Theology Program leaders are steadfast in their insistence that young people are the church of right now and not just tomorrow: every HSTP impresses on teenagers that the church requires their leadership immediately, and that youth, not their managers, decide when they are ready to enter the game. Second, unlike farm teams that prepare players for baseball’s established roles, High School Theology Program leaders encourage switch-hitting and experimentation; the roles their alumni will play in the church are unknown, and hacking³³ the system is encouraged.³⁴

All this begs the question of what HSTP (and therefore, Leadership) will look like in the future—not to mention, what youth ministry (including the ministry that offers Leadership) will look like in the future. Motivated teenagers, as emerging adults, may either change these ministries and programs, or take it into their own hands and walk somewhere else with a fresh entrepreneurial flair. If for no other reason, this realization is sufficient justification for the research.

Young Men and Leadership Development

Leadership development for young men is defined as a positive movement towards personal and spiritual maturity, including adoption of a servant leadership style, dealing with roadblocks, moving towards authentic manhood, and preparation for serving in Christian ministry.

Having considered the justification and importance of the research through contemporary youth issues, the status of youth, the importance of family, their capacity and readiness for ministry, I now turn to consider the leadership development of young men. Much of the literature on leadership development has focused on adults. This gap in the literature, linking youth and leadership development, was identified by Karagianni and Montgomery, pointing out that studies have generally been of adult leadership.³⁵ Mortensen et al. also noted that most studies of leadership have adopted adult perspectives and theories, and these have been applied to youth.³⁶ Their findings were that youth perspectives were more closely aligned with contemporary and developing general theories: transformational, servant, shared/relational, social exchange, authentic. The ethos and philosophy of Leadership, which emphasizes servant leadership, modeling and mentoring, is consistent with the perspectives and narratives outlined by Mortensen et al.³⁷

The limited inclusion of certain characteristics in secondary college-based programs has been critiqued by Eva and Sendjaya who in their review of a number of leadership development programs applied a servant leadership framework.³⁸ Servant leadership is a helpful lens through which to examine Leadership because it is frequently referred to as one of the key principles of the program. This is explored in chapter 10. A question for Leadership is whether the identified characteristics are included in the program.

Organization of Chapters

In part I, chapters 2–4, key Leadership program elements, generic and stage-specific, are identified from the research findings and the emerging categories/themes are highlighted. Part II, chapters 5–12, considers the six lenses. The lenses of communitas, liminality, rites of passage, and wilderness are each considered separately in chapters 5–8, from a theoretical perspective and presentation of findings. They are then grouped into a coalescence of lenses—the lenses of infilling in chapter 9, where a mutual critical correlation approach is adopted to bring together the findings, including insights drawn from social science, with theological reflection. Chapters 10 and 11 deal with the lenses of servant leadership and masculine spirituality, which are then grouped in chapter 12—the lenses outpouring—following a similar pattern as with the first grouping of lenses. Part III, chapter 13, presents an analysis of the characterization of Leadership as unique. Part IV, chapters 14–18, draw the major findings into a substantive grounded theory, which explains the transformational experiences of young men through acceptance, imperfection, freedom and empowerment, and the spiritual mystery. Part V, chapters 19–20, deals with the issue of what happens beyond Leadership and contextualization of the study into a youth ministry framework, including recognition of the tensions (theory and practice), the expectations on those who practice youth ministry (church expectations, own expectations, etc.)—and finally, presents the conclusions.

Summary of Chapter

This chapter has considered the justification and importance of the research and the role of leadership development for young men. The organization of chapters has then been outlined, as they deal with consideration of the findings across the program elements and a series of key lenses, presentation of a substantive grounded theory, looking beyond Leadership, locating the study in the context of youth ministry, and presenting conclusions. Part I now follows, examining program elements, where the themes from which the foundational categories of the grounded theory begin to emerge.

1

. A reminder, as explained in the preface, Leadership (when italicized) refers to the program that has been researched and upon which this book is based.

2

. Tiller et al., Youth Survey Report.

3

. Smith, Theory,

85

.

4

. Australian Institute of Family Studies, Families in Australia.

5

. Australian Institute of Family Studies, Parenting Arrangements; St. Vincent de Paul Society, Two Australias.

6

. May et al., Children Matter,

34

.

7

. It is considered based on the available evidence of Jewish custom concerning ages of learning, following a rabbi, marriage, and paying taxes; Jesus’s age, the biblical record; and the disciples’ characters, that: Peter was the oldest, certainly under thirty and most likely in his early twenties; Matthew may have been the next oldest, most likely under twenty; John was the youngest, aged between fifteen and twenty, most likely under eighteen, and possibly as young as sixteen; the others were younger than Peter and older than John, therefore, most likely between sixteen and twenty and probably under eighteen; or, generally, that all the disciples were between fifteen and their early twenties (Luke

3

:

23

; Matt

4

:

21–22

; Matt

8

:

14

; Matt

17

:

24–27

; Acts

12

:

2

; Cary and Cary, nd.; Cox, How Old?; Got Questions Ministries, Jesus’ Disciples.

8

. Smith, Leadership Development Program,

74

.

9

. McGarry, Biblical Theology,

55

.

10

. Tiller et al., Youth Survey Report.

11

. White et al., Youth and Society,

171

.

12

. Leadership Queensland, Dear Dad.

13

. Stancil, Genesis,

399

.

14

. Lukabyo, Ministry for Youth.

15

. Dean and Hearlson, Taste Tests and Teenagers,

25

.

16

. The HSTP is extensively funded by the Lilly Endowment. It commenced in

1993

, located in theological colleges. High school young people are invited onto campuses for a live-in experience of a longer, broader, more diverse church than most of them have ever known or imagined (Dykstra, Foreword, xi), providing them with theological teaching (which we would probably describe as biblical or Christian teaching rather than using the term theology in this context).

17

. Proffitt and Young, Catalyzing Community,

71–72

.

18

. Dean and Hearlson, Calling as Creative Process,

52

.

19

. Dean, Fessing Up,

30

.

20

. Dean, Fessing Up,

33

.

21

. Rahn, Focusing Youth Ministry,

173

.

22

. Cox, How Old?,

24

.

23

. Root, Taking the Cross,

46

.

24

.