C.Y.N.K.C.

The book from the 2012 CYNKC conference will be released in a few short months. The title looks back to the first conference and looks ahead to the new name of the organization: Faith Forward: A Dialogue on Children, Youth, and a New Kind of Christianity.

Here’s what people are saying about it:

“Faith Forward is full of light and warmth. It is a treasure for coming generations, and present ones as well.”
–Eboo Patel, Founder and President, Interfaith Youth Core, and author of Acts of Faith and Sacred Ground

“This is a seminal book in every sense of that word… With vigor and candor and the unbeatable virtues of fine writing and good editing, it describes for us an entirely accessible landscape of hope and holy purpose.”
–Phyllis Tickle, author of The Great Emergence and Emergence Christianity

“All the world religions are finding it very had to pass on their faith to the next generation in a mature way. How do you make faith something real, personal, and loving, while still honest, intelligent, and inclusive? It takes real pastoral and practical genius to do this–and here it is!”
–Fr. Richard Rohr, O.F.M., Center for Action and Contemplation, Albuquerque, New Mexico

“This book is a treasure trove of wisdom from leaders who share the best of what they have to offer in the quest to nurture faith and spirituality among the young.”
–Parker J. Palmer, author of Healing the Heart of Democracy, The Courage to Teach, and Let Your Life Speak

Faith Forward is the new name for Children, Youth, and a New Kind of Christianity (it rolls off the tongue a bit easier than our old name, doesn’t it?).

And with this name comes a new logo…

…and a new website (coming soon!),

anew twitter account (https://twitter.com/FaithForwardNet),

and new facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/faithfwd).

Stay tuned for information about the upcoming release of a book from the 2012 Children, Youth, and a New Kind of Christianity conference, edited by Dave Csinos and Melvin Bray. The book will feature chapters by several CYNKC contributors, including:

• Janell Anema
• Brian McLaren
• Tony Campolo
• Ivy Beckwith
• Almeda Wright
• John Westerhoff
• Joy Carroll Wallis
• and many others

Three speakers at the 2012 Children, Youth and a New Kind of Christianity conference recently contributed to MennoMedia’s Shaping Families radio show. At http://www.shapingfamilies.com/, you can hear:

• Brian McLaren reflect on his growing up days, his faith, and challenges facing churches and families today
• Almeda Wright address how she came to embrace the culture and faith that she inhereted through the faith community that surrounded her early in life
• Elsie Rempel invite others to take up the mantel of seeing that the next generation—or two—is nurtured to faithfully follow Jesus as well.

For each program, Shaping Families offers podcasts, transcripts, and study guides that make great resources for small group discussion.

The good people of MennoMedia’s “Shaping Families” radio show were at CYNKC in May and found some time to interview a number of the conference contributors for their radio program. Tony Campolo and John Westerhoff were already featured in the show and now Joyce Mercer shares her reflections about how to make faith come alive. Listen to the program, read a transcipt, and access a study guide at http://www.shapingfamilies.com/2012/10/13/Program/Making+Faith+Come+Alive. By using the study guide, you can easily adapt these radio programs into wonderful adult Sunday school classes or other educational activities.

Stay tuned for future Shaping Families interviews with Almeda Wright, Brian McLaren, and Amy Butler.

CYNKC was honored to have Dr. Tony Campolo share a letter to his grandchildren about what it means to be Christian on today’s world. After his presentation, Tony was interviewed for MennoMedia’s Shaping Families radio show.

An excerpt from the interview:

I think we have to give kids two things, and you’ve heard it before—roots and wings. There needs to be traditions in the home, eating together, praying together. A friend of mine who’s an agnostic said to me once, the family that prays together, stays together, whether there’s a God or not. What he meant by that is the family coming together at special times, doing spiritual things, is crucial to giving kids a sense of stability and well-being. To eat dinner together at the same time every night, to have holidays celebrated in a specific manner, to be regular in church, to perform these “rituals.” Tevea in Fiddler on the Roof understood it well. “Without our traditions,” he sings in Fiddler on the Roof, “each of us would be as shaky as a fiddler on the roof.” We would have no stability in life. So we need those stable things. We also need to inspire our kids with dreams and visions of what they could be and what they could become. Of what can be achieved for God and the Kingdom in this world. We’ve got to make them believe they can be incredible instruments for the work of God in the here and now. We have to give them those dreams and those visions even as we give them the stability of family devotions, church loyalty, rituals. It was no accident that Jesus said, as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you will remember.

You can listen to the interview, read a transcript, and check out a study guide at http://www.shapingfamilies.com/2012/9/29/Feature/Living+Your+Faith

While at the 2012 CYNKC gathering, John Westerhoff was interviewed for a radio program called Shaping Families. You can listen to what he had to say–called “Learning from Mistakes”–and access related resources, including a study guide, at the Shaping Families website.

Have a minute? Watch this video of thoughts from 2012 CYNKC participants

Have three minutes? Watch this video featuring reflections about the 2012 CYNKC conference.

Want more? Watch this video featuring more extended reflections about the 2012 CYNKC conference.

CYNKC is pleased to congratulate John Westerhoff on the release of the newly revised version of his classic Will Our Children Have Faith?

We were honored to have John speak at the inaugeral CYNKC conference last May. If you missed the conference but want to hear his keynote presentation, you can listen to it for free at http://www.woodlakebooks.com/.

A few weeks ago, we released a free podcast of John Westerhoff’s keynote presentation form CYNKC (available at www.woodlakebooks.com). Sharon Pearson, who runs the Building Faith website, recently posted a number of excellent questions for reflection that can help generate conversations among teachers, leaders, pastors, and others who work with children and youth. Visit http://www.buildfaith.org/2012/08/14/we-are-our-stories/ and let the conversations begin!