Why Outdoor Ministry is Important
My thanks to my peer, Randy Kuss, for the forward of this article in The New York Times, “Outdoors and Out of Reach, Studying the Brain.” As technology continues rapid development those that serve in youth ministry will need to create rituals for managing technology use at youth group, on trips, at church camp, and in the life of the congregation. The first cell phone has become a rite of passage as important as a drivers license and the phone is no good if it does not come with unlimited texting. Can you imagine taking your youth group for a “Cell Phone Free Weekend”. Odds are that the parents would be more skeptical than the youth.
What is this doing to our brains, ability to think, focus, be creative, solve problems, and understand spirituality. Here are a couple of paragraphs of the article.
Outdoor and Out of Reach, Studying the Brain
by Matt Richtel | August 15, 2010 | The New York TimesIt was a primitive trip with a sophisticated goal: to understand how heavy use of digital devices and other technology changes how we think and behave, and how a retreat into nature might reverse those effects.
Cellphones do not work here, e-mail is inaccessible and laptops have been left behind. It is a trip into the heart of silence — increasingly rare now that people can get online even in far-flung vacation spots.
As they head down the tight curves the San Juan has carved from ancient sandstone, the travelers will, not surprisingly, unwind, sleep better and lose the nagging feeling to check for a phone in the pocket. But the significance of such changes is a matter of debate for them.