By Steve Huerd
This morning I found myself trying to comfort a mother who
was very concerned about passing along her faith to her emerging adult-aged
children. Fortunately, I knew that the
latest research indicated that emerging adults are the least religious adults in
the United States today due in part to all the transitions they encounter in
the 18-23 year age group. She and her
husband had walked faithfully with the Lord and done everything they could to
pass on their faith to their children, yet she had still had a sense of
uncertainty. Having just completed my
dissertation examining the social factors affecting adolescent faith development,
I was in a great position to speak of the latest social research findings to
her.
Being three months down the road from finishing my research
has given me opportunity to reflect back upon how research has shaped my
thinking. I’ve come up five observations
as to how my life has been influenced thus far from engaging in scholarly
research.
First, I’d have to say is that the value of research has greatly increased in my thinking. Coming from a highly pragmatic ministry background, I was steeped in the practical approach of “if it works, then let’s use it.” Though well-intentioned and trained in successful ministry practices, I confess to rarely understanding or often even considering they “whys” behind why a certain practice was effective. All one had to do was simply do it and you would get results. Yet, now because of my research, I am able to explain why certain practices and effective and others are not, why many people respond the way they do, and others do not. I can even suggest shortcomings in our understanding of certain phenomena which eventually could lead to new tools and strategies designed for greater effectiveness.
First, I’d have to say is that the value of research has greatly increased in my thinking. Coming from a highly pragmatic ministry background, I was steeped in the practical approach of “if it works, then let’s use it.” Though well-intentioned and trained in successful ministry practices, I confess to rarely understanding or often even considering they “whys” behind why a certain practice was effective. All one had to do was simply do it and you would get results. Yet, now because of my research, I am able to explain why certain practices and effective and others are not, why many people respond the way they do, and others do not. I can even suggest shortcomings in our understanding of certain phenomena which eventually could lead to new tools and strategies designed for greater effectiveness.
Second, research helped reaffirm truths I‘ve lived by for
years. For example, the old saying, “students
don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care,” is really a
popular phrasing of the recent empirical findings indicating that the quality of
relationships between a mentor and a mentee are of primary importance to mentoring
effectiveness.
Third, research confirmed some foggy ideas floating in my thinking. Research clearly spells out that programming in youth ministry is not nearly as important as developing relationships with the students. I had essentially “come to the same conclusion,” years ago in my field ministry of trial and error, but no one had ever really confirmed this truth to me.
Finally, knowing the latest research findings liberates me
from the false claims of others. For
example, many who claim that we are “losing our kids” or that this generation
may be the last “Christian” generation may mean well, but research reveals that
American teenagers largely adopt their parent’s religious views and are not
dramatically less religious than former generations.
To someone who was initially somewhat skeptical of the value
of empirical research toward ministry practice, I’ve come a long way in my
thinking. And while others may find many
more compelling reasons justifying the value of empirical research, at least I
know of one person’s thinking who has been changed.
