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EMURGENCY PRE-CONFERENCE LIVE NOTES
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Emurgency Pre-Conference

Jacksonville, FL | January 4th, 2011

Jim Dunn is giving opening remarks. Welcoming people from all-over. 75+ registered for the event and there are over 115 here. Trying to make room for everyone to have a seat.

Jeremy Summers

This is not a pre-conference where we want everyone to leave “happy”. We are praying that you will wrestle with some of the topics from this morning and that this dialogue will continue past this day. This is “a beginning” for us to move forward in discussing how we are to reach the “emurging adults”...

Dr. Chrisitan Smith

Souls in Transition: Understanding the Religious & Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults

        Created after a VERY in-depth interview/survey process of 3,750 students

Emerging Adulthood - postponing “settling down” into adulthood

The Rise of Emerging Adulthood

Result = Emerging Adulthood (EA)

Dominant cultural Structures of EA Religion:

Some Illustrative Quotes for Flavor:

“I think religions all go to the same path, you know I think all religions are a way of how to live your life and they all kinda lead to the same goal—that’s how I believe in it.”

“I believe that if you do right, then you will have good consequences, you know what’s right and wrong. It’s the same in all the religions.”

“I guess I am a religious person, but I’m not, like, dedicated. I don’t go to church every Sunday, read my Bible everyday. I think it’s more an inner than an outer thing. I think a lot people go to church and to be seen, so people in society are like, ‘Oh they are good people. They go to church.’ And I don’t want to be that person. I want to be a good person for me and for what I believe, so that I don’t think I take part in all the avenues of religion.”

Re: Belonging: “No, not a sense of belonging at Mass. I do feel a childhood, I feel happy thoughts and I feel safe, like memories. But not belonging.”

 

“I wouldn’t say belonging in the church I’m in now. I mean they’re Southern Baptist, but it’s run basically by really old people, basically conservative, wear a dress, wear a suit to church every Sunday kinda thing.”

Re: life choices: “I don’t think it’s the basis of how I live, it’s just, I guess I’m just learning about my religion and my beliefs. But I still kinda retain my own decisions or at least a lot of it on situations I’ve had, and experiences.”

“I think that what you believe in depends on you. I don’t think I could say that Hinduism is wrong or Catholicism is wrong or being Episcopalian is wrong—I think it just depends on what you believe and what you’ve been brought up to believe. I don’t think that there’s a right and wrong.”

“I mean there is proven [scientific] fact and then there is what’s written in the Bible—and they don’t match up. So it’s kind of whatever you wanna believe: there’s fact and there’s a book, and some people just don’t wanna believe the truth.”

“I’m not atheist. I guess maybe that there’s something – maybe there’s God, I don’t know, I haven’t decided or fully thought about everything, haven’t come to that junction in my life. I guess there very well could be someone, something out there. Spiritually, I guess I believe in God. Maybe there’s something out there that is a higher being, or something like that. But I don’t have any direct, religious reason to believe in God.”

SIX MAJOR TYPES OF EMERGENT ADULTS (EAs)

  1. Committed Traditionalists (15%)
  2. Selective Adherents (30%)
  3. Spiritually Open (15%)
  4. Religiously Indifferent (25%)
  5. Religiously Disconnected (5%)
  6. Irreligious (10%)

What religious change happens between the teenage and AE years?

Figure 8.6 Growth cuves trackign the Six Most Important distinct trajectories of religious change among teens 16&17 years old in 2002.

Conservative Protestants, 16&17 years old.

Consistently Important Factors During Teenage Years:

  1. Personal faith commitment, devotion, experience
  1. prayer, importance of faith, religious experiences, read scriptures, have few doubts, believe in miracles
  1. Religiously committed and practicing parents
  2. Other supportive religious adults (not parents) in congregation (youth ministers, mentors, friends)
  3. Sexual chastity (behavioral)
  4. Being made fun of by others for religious faith

Key Influence of Parents in Teenage Years for EA Outcomes:

Switching gears to LIVE Q&A with Dr. Smith...

...break...

Jeremy Summers

Deuteronomy 6 | Love the Lord Your God

Panel Discussion...

Moderator: David Drury | http://seminary.indwes.edu/Academics/Faculty/David-Drury/

Who’s Who On the Panel:

Some of the panel-comments/statements (as noted by Rev. Don Grant)

..BREAK..

Jeremy Summers

5 Essentials for Every Emerging Adult

1. SCRIPTURE: Biblical teaching is important to them.

        What does SCRIPTURE say - not a certain author or program.

2. MISSIONAL: service/outreach

3. DISCIPLE: the “with” factor - they want to be mentored/discipled.

4. MULTIPLICATION: discipleship issue

        We’re good at proclaiming/endorsing but not listening. We need to deploy.

5. LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT/TRAINING: happens when we release power/trust and sit back and facilitate. Give vision, but allow others to cast vision.