Eventful Moments at D6

Posted on October 17, 2013 by Dean G. Blevins

IMG_20131017_152444_147This is my first trip to the D6 conference, a gathering of ministers and laity focused on family ministry.  It’s been an interesting trip. The overall theme was “impress” drawing from the Deut 6 emphasis on “impressing” on children’s hearts. Overall the presentations (all in general session) reflect varying theological traditions, embracing particular emphases within the challenges of family ministry: particularly parenting.

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Posted in Children, Clergy, Discipleship, Family, Leadership, Spiritual Formation | Leave a comment

Preaching Holiness online and face to face

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Dean G. Blevins

I hosted the first NTSx open online course on Preaching Holiness in a Pluralistic Society as a pre-conference class based on resources from The Preacher’s Magazine. 

While the online class did not formally meet the criteria for a “MOOC” (MASSIVE open online class) we had 70 people register and ten complete the course (actually a better completion statistic than most MOOC classes). I was deeply appreciative of the solid commitment of the pastors who took the class. online. The course included podcasts, written sermons, as well as “student” reflection over holiness, preaching, and even sermons created by the course participants.

The conference itself was equally awesome! I am including a video overview Grace & Peace Magazine. Hopefully we will offer the online course again in the future and combine the best of both the print and video resources on hand!

Posted in Clergy, Continuing Education, Leadership, Practical Theology, Preaching, Social Media, Technology | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Resource in Neuroscience and Youth

Posted on September 27, 2013 by Dean G. Blevins


Brain on AdolescenceI am going to be presenting a new article at the National Youth Workers Conference in dialog with Mark Oestreicher’s (Marko) article “This is Your Brain on Adolescence: A Pushback on Accepted Views of Underdeveloped Brains” published in Immerse Journal. Mike King, editor for Immerse, was gracious enough to let me post the original article on my blog site.  This-is-your-brain-on-adolescents

Posted in Children, Discipleship, Neuroscience, Pedagogy, Practical Theology, Young Adult, Youth | Leave a comment

Youth, Race and Violence preview

Posted on September 21, 2013 by Dean G. Blevins

As mentioned earlier, NTS will partner with Youthfront to present a discussion on Youth, Race, and Violence Nov. 12th 2013 on the NTS Campus.

My friend, Brandon Winstead, was in a town hall discussion at Killearn United Methodist Church in Jacksonville Florida this past August. There are four downloadable podcasts from that event that some might want to listen to prior to our gathering. Look for

Youth, Race, and Violence: An Honest Conversation   8-25-13
Panel: Jane Marks, Walter McNeil, Neville Owens, Kathi Tillman, Brandon Winstead

http://www.kumconline.org/Resources_Sermons.cfm

 

Posted in Clergy, Discipleship, Practical Theology, Race, Theology, Youth | 1 Comment

NTSx Open Online Courses

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Dean G. Blevins

I am starting a new venture and NTS is on board. I took a course on Open Online Classes (add “massive” and you have MOOCs) this summer. That project coincided with a discussion at General Assembly on innovative education during the International Higher Education Commission gathering. The result was the creation of a new online project that NTS is gracious enough to support and the first effort begins today! http://ntsx.nts.edu/

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Posted in Clergy, Continuing Education, Discipleship, Higher Education, Preaching, Technology, Theological Education | Leave a comment

Youth, Race, and Violence: My journey

Posted on July 29, 2013 by Dean G. Blevins

This reflection has been on the margins of my mind for some time since I first heard of Trayvon Martin. It is personal and offers a perspective that I am still processing… but for good reason. When I asked Brandon Winstead to offer a reflection on Trayvon, I thought it might indicate that I had nothing to say on the matter. So, in solidarity with Brandon, I offer my thoughts as well. My thanks to Brandon, who embodies the type of youth pastor we need more in this journey. I know his work with YouthFront and alongside NTS will make our seminar at NTS worthwhile. My thanks to organizations like YouthFront’s missional journeys and the Kansas City Urban Youth Center, who live out this ministry daily. 

Reflections on Youth, Race, and Violence

I can think of four times where the intersecting themes of youth, race, and violence exploded into my life. The first time occurred when I was an adolescent in high school
during the death of Martin Luther King.

The tensions exploded that day into a large battle between young black and young white
men in a southern high school. Hardly a riot, but also a shattering moment in my life, where I had friends on both sides of the racial divide clash out of a sense of grief but also racism. A young black man and myself fled to the local bowling alley after school, where our common love for the pastime allowed us to share a moment of consternation and pain.  I really did not understand everything (my life too sheltered by privilege), but I knew I did not want to lose a friendship based on the color of skin. I also realized I did not understand his world.

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Posted in Culture, Discipleship, Practical Theology, Race, Religious Education, Youth | 2 Comments

Guest Blog: Trayvon Martin is Dead by Brandon Winstead

Posted on July 29, 2013 by Dean G. Blevins

Brandon Winstead is a good friend and passionate leader in Youth Ministry, particularly youth ministry across the racial and ethnic margins of our society. I asked him for a reflection on Trayvon Martin and I am pleased to publish it. Brandon, along with YouthFront and NTS, will host lead an important panel of youth workers around the theme of youth and race at NTS on Nov. 12th 2013.

Trayvon is Dead: A Reflection and Challenge

Trayvon Martin is dead. He was killed at seventeen on a street in the city I was born in and he will never return. He is lost to space and time and will never come back. He is gone. He is dead and we know that he can now be added to all the other stats that outline the loss of young black life in the United States. We know this because the media covered the trial and acquittal of the white man who killed him—George Zimmerman— with Super Bowl like fanfare. The coverage was constantly broadcasted to our television sets and Internet sites in a way that has pushed people, once again, to discuss how racism and violence shapes the life of youth in the United States.

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Posted in Culture, Discipleship, Practical Theology, Race, Religious Education, Theology, Vocation, Youth | 1 Comment