I’ve wrestled with confirmation for two years now as an Associate Pastor. I never did it as a youth, and I’ve never spent any length of time in a church that did. So I’ve read and re-read, thought and re-thought the process we put 9th graders through more times than I’ll recount.
One thing I’ve changed this year is the statement of faith that confirmands are routinely asked to produce. Heavily influenced by this Martin Copenhaver essay in The Christian Century, I’m instead asking youth to compose a narrative instead of a statement. Copenhaver writes
Over the years I have come to realize that I am just not that interested in a 15-year-old’s reflection on eternal matters. In fact, I think we do youths a disservice by implying that they have anything important to say on such things at that point in their lives. Doing so may only create more adults who are overly infatuated with their own opinions.
I’ve asked our church’s 15 year-olds to write something that answers three questions:
- How has God been involved in your past?
- How is God involved in your present?
- How do you hope God will be involved in your future?
I’ve given them lots of fodder questions for addressing each of those three. They have “about a page” to work with, and they know it will be shared with their fellow confirmands, with me, and with the church session (governing board).
Is this a better way?
YoRocko! 
I think a “better way” would be the way we did this in the beginning. No infant baptism and only baptize adults after rigorous preparation and receiving their testimony.
Unfortunately….
So, given our broken sacramental arrangement, I think any effort at a “fix” is just a band aid. But this does sound like an improvement.
We would disagree about “the beginning” that the sacrament of baptism has in view and whether or not infants ought therefore to be baptized. In addition to the sacramental ramifications, I hope we’re also fixing what we expect of our youth, developmentally. Does this seem a more helpful exercise for a 15 year-old? Is it better than asking them to compose a proposition-driven doctrinal statement?
This sounds like a really good idea… Is it an improvement? I think time will tell. But we might try the same experiment here, since the questions that led you to try it are being asked here as well. Confirmation troubles me in many ways. Let’s compare notes.
Another interesting post. I certainly agree with Copenhaver, and you.
And yes, I think that the exercise you describe encourages kids to think more wisely about their own lives. Perspective can be hard for a 15-year-old to generate on his or her own… not that I would know anything about that. 😉
Matt and Chris, thanks. It seems the challenge is to give youth something concrete and meaningful to do vis-a-vis a decision for God and faith as their own without defining so completely what we expect that something to be. Matt, I would love to compare notes on this with you. Chris, when are we having lunch?
Dunno — you still hitting our bookstore now and then?
It’s been awhile. But lunch with you provides the perfect excuse.