1. I’ve found that my life in youth ministry can be a lot
like mowing my yard. If it’s not given the proper care
and attention, things will get ugly and out of control.
I remember wanting to put off cutting my lawn
because my life was filled with “urgent” matters.
Feeling the pressure to be a good neighbor, I decided
to cut only the front lawn so I wouldn’t be an embar-
rassment to my neighbors, my family or myself. The
visible part of my lawn would look nice and neat,
while the backyard would remain completely out of
sight. I remember walking out to the backyard one day
and being greatly disturbed at what I saw. It was out
of control. At that moment, my non-manicured yard
became a visio divina for my soul.
This was a moment of truth. Warning signs bubbled
up in my soul, pleading with me to take better care
of the hidden parts of my life and my heart. These
words from King Solomon provided great wisdom
for me: “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from
it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23, NRSV).
I’ve learned that life in youth ministry can be all
about playing the part and not living the part. We can
be overly concerned about meeting the demands of
those we serve, making sure we hang out with stu-
dents, go to school events, contact parents, send out
announcements and attend meetings. We work hard
to make it look like we have it all together. However,
all this outward activity can keep us ignorant of the
overgrowth in our hearts. Just as the unchecked back-
yard produces weeds, the unchecked heart can give
way to sexual misconduct, anger, bitterness and envy.
We can choose to continue to ignore it and hope the
neighbors don’t see it, or we can be courageous and
deal with the matters of our hearts.
Many in our day have taken the truth of having a
personal relationship with Jesus to mean “just me
and Jesus.” This statement is far from what we re-
ally need. As human beings designed in the imago
Dei, we were made for relationships. Relationships
help us experience life and love in all their fullness.
Without relationships, we run the risk of reliving the
narrative of Adam and Eve hiding from each other.
Vulnerability through Spiritual Direction
The solution to our hiding is a spiritual director. We
need someone who can help us plumb the depths
of our hearts and guide us to become aware of the
movements deep within our hearts. As I have met
with a trusted, spiritually mature director, I have
become aware of insecurities, thinking patterns and
negative behavior. These are issues I walk through
with my students, but somehow, in the busyness of
Gerald Coleman
Lawn Care for the Soul
IMMERSE 49
S O U L C A R E
Soul Care • tending to the wholeness of your own soul; learning to own what you’re hoping to pass on, living a deep life with God
3. INSIDETHIS ISSUE
First Off and Welcome
Initial thoughts and comments
from our executive editor,
Mike King
Evangelical Social
Christianity
BY TIM SUTTLE
Discovering the nexus
of personal and cultural
redemption
Leading Across
Gender Lines
BY MINDI GODFREY
You’ve heard of St. Francis…
but have you heard of St. Clare?
The Complexities of
Adolescent Spiritual
Formation
BY GRANT WOOD
Effectively answering the
Who Am I? question
A New Way to Tune In
BY CHARLIE LYONS-PARDUE
The church can't be the
grumpy nun anymore
Imagination, Tinkering
and Theology
BY BETHANY STOLLE
Creating space for students
to fully engage God
When Dreams Come True
BY ETHAN BRYAN
Waiting 25 years to play catch
with a hero is worth it
5
7
12
email: info@immersejournal.com
Address: Barefoot Ministries
P.O. Box 419527
Kansas City, Mo 64141
Publisher: Barefoot Ministries
Editor In Chief: Mike King
Senior Editor: Tim Baker
Editorial Director: Aaron Mitchum
Copy Editor: Audra Marvin
Art Director: Lindsey McCormack
Advertising: Faith Based Media
Advertising Director: Smitty Wheeler
Customer Service: Barefoot StaffVolume 2, Issue 2
PRAXIS:
Practicing Grassroots
Theology
BY PAUL SHENEMAN
Allowing students’ lives to
become small-group content
LEADERSHIP:
Leading in Isolation
BY FRED ODUYOYE
Staying with the crowd is
better than going it alone
FULLY HUMAN:
What Just Happened?
BY TASH McGILL
The death of a friend brings a
new appreciation for life
INNOVATIONS:
Technological Swiss
Army Knives
BY adam mclane
Because you're not supposed to
spend all day in your office
CULTIVATE:
Cultivating Faith Through
Interfaith Engagement
BY JEREMY MYERS
Engaging students in
religious diversity
SOUL CARE:
Lawn Care for the Soul
BY GERALD COLEMAN
It's time to cut down the
weeds in your soul
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ARTICLES COLUMNS
Barefoot exists to provide youth workers with effective ministry tools and resources. Our deepest desire with the Immerse Journal is to partner with you
in guiding students into spiritual formation for the mission of God. This is why we have sought content that ensues the shaping of the whole of a youth
worker’s life. We believe that if your life is being transformed, you will be able to aid in the transformation of others.
4. youth ministry, I forgot that I need someone to walk
with me.
My spiritual director helped me see how these things
affect the way I interact with my wife, children and
others. Baring your soul and confessing are not easy
to do. Despite the difficulty, it has been joyous and
painfully freeing. Somehow, learning to be aware of
my own heart has helped me be more present with
those I serve.
The Rhythm of Prayer
I am no mighty man of prayer, but I have found that I
am deeply affected when I do not maintain a rhythm
of prayer. There are many forms and methods of
prayer I find useful, but none has been more help-
ful in establishing a rhythm than the Daily Office.
The Book of Common Prayer has proved a useful
guide in helping me establish a routine of morning
and evening prayer. I know that the words routine,
ritual or even rule can be taboo for many, but these
things have kept me in step with the rhythm of the
Spirit. As a cradle Pentecostal, I was deeply steeped
in the belief that the Spirit is in the improv. How-
ever, I have since discovered that the daily practice
of praying the Scriptures and even ancient prayers
have helped shape my extemporaneous prayers.
Surrendering our Schedule
One of the curses of modern culture has been the
illusion of busyness. I used to equate busyness with
effectiveness. However, I have come to learn that
busyness is not a virtue. It keeps us from looking at
our backyards. Busyness says, You can do that later!
My first silent retreat was strange but enlightening.
Everything was slow and quiet, and as I began to slow
down, my mind came to a screeching halt. Thoughts
that were piled up in the back of my mind catapulted
to the front. I spent the first day trying to clear every-
thing out. Rest helps us slow down so we can engage
our hearts. It helps us detect the working of the Spirit.
It helps us clear everything up.
Thank God that we do not have to deal with the
weeds in our hearts alone. We need people who will
help us engage the truth of our hearts. We need to
adopt the rhythm of prayer. And we need silence.
Adopting these elements in our lives isn’t a quick
cure for a messy backyard. However, it’s our healthy
first step toward becoming more present for those we
are called to serve.
Gerald Coleman has been engaged in youth work for more than
10 years. He lives in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, with his wife and their
four children. He serves as the high school ministry director for
Fellowship Missionary Church. His desire is to inspire others to
live out their original calling, to reflect the imago Dei.
Baring your soul and confessing are not easy to do. Despite the
difficulty, it has been joyous and painfully freeing. Somehow,
learning to be aware of my own heart has helped me be more
present with those I serve.
S O U L C A R E
50 IMMERSE
