In 2014 InWord began a revitalization after a rather turbulent (in both bad and good ways) season. Here is a personal word from Barry, InWord’s director and founder, written at the cusp of that revitalization in 2014.
Rip Van Winkle is a name that comes to mind.
In the fall of 2006 I started dozing off. In the winter of 2009 I went to sleep. In the spring of 2014 I woke up. Obviously, everything had changed.
The world had changed. The church had changed. Youth ministry had changed. I had changed.
In the fall of 2006 you were at the cutting edge if you were using text and email in your youth ministry. Facebook and Friendster were rivals. Twitter was an unknown, untested start up. MySpace was still popular. Today text and email are old-school. Facebook has come and gone and even Twitter struggles to stay at the top of its game in the teen world.
My dozing started in the fall of 2006 when my wife Dana, who was a co-founder/co-laborer with InWord, was diagnosed with a recurrence of her breast cancer from seven years prior. We battled the recurrence for over two years without missing a step in living life. We even cranked out two new InWord Bible studies along with a youth ministry book (Unleashing God’s Word in Youth Ministry) and three new Bible studies (Digging Deeper Series) with Youth Specialties/Zondervan. In the fall of 2009, however, the battle took a hard turn. Care-giving became the fulltime job until Dana passed away December 23, 2009. Or to put it another way, as her uncle Jon stated that day, she received a better offer on where to spend Christmas.
That’s when I went to sleep. Grief became the fulltime job. The inertia to be creative and productive was insurmountable. This gripped me for over a year.
Nearly two years after Dana’s passing, as bounce and energy began to appear, something miraculous happened: new love. Through a mutual friend and fellow widow, I was introduced to Jessica Rivera, an opera soprano who was singing for a month with the Cincinnati Opera which is near my home. Acting on our friend’s recommendation, we met for dinner; then we met for June; then we met for life. On September 13, 2011, on my fiftieth birthday in fact, we were married.
I then became a “diva spouse,” another near-fulltime job, as we took our relationship to wherever Jessica’s jobs took her, which was all over the world. Luckily, I can “office” from anywhere. Then, in the fall of 2013 we discovered two things. One, that we were pregnant. Two, that I had a congenital leaky heart valve that needed open-heart surgery to repair. This was learned through a routine screening; I had had no symptoms. The open-heart surgery was performed on May 30. On June 8, Reade Edwin made his entrance into the world five weeks early. Yes, at 52, I became a first-time dad. Abraham is my new Bible hero.
So, quick review. Cancer battle. Loss. Grief. New love. New life. New heart. It’s likely that others could have done better marching forward and taking on new ground while navigating such demanding life events. But maintenance mode was the best I could do. The ministry has healthily sustained and maintained. Studies and devotionals have gone out the door. But forward thinking, ministry development, and needed improvements have been stagnant. There is much ground to make up and no time to waste as we begin moving forward once again.
In the midst of grief and recovery I asked myself the hard questions: Am I still called to this? Should InWord continue? Those questions have been answered with a deep yes. As part of the waking up, we embarked on a one-year listening sabbatical that involved surveys of youth workers, interviews with youth ministry “gurus,” and ramped up listening through prayer and study.
This season of listening has led to some much needed changes and renovations with the InWord experience. You can click here to read more about these renovations. For now, know that here is what we resolve:
- The Bible is not solely an instructional book, but rather an experience of love that is to be engaged and internalized in a way that personally exposes us to the redemptive, unconditional love of God. Teens need enduring experiences in Scripture that draw them to an intimate relationship with Jesus and that encourage them to live a life “worthy of the gospel.”
- The church needs a sustained effort of leading teens and their adult leaders into rich and transformational experiences in God’s Word. Turning the tide of a biblically illiterate church (and reversing the cultural consequences suffered because of that) starts with youth ministry.
- Because teens are more susceptible to temptation and “every wind of doctrine” without a solid foundation in the Word of God, the church needs a relentless effort of creating meaningful accessibility to God’s Word for teens.
- God is active in this world. The better we understand how God worked in His Word, the more attentive we are to His work around us today. Teens need to understand how God has worked in the past and know what God has said about Himself to be best positioned to join His work now.
As part of our listening season we saw more clearly how InWord’s contribution to youth ministry is distinct, unique, and needed. I’m excited about the InWord renovation–infusing new with our historic mission. I’d love for you to click around our improved website and check out our Bible study offerings. Thank you for your patience. It’s a privilege to come alongside you in your ministry.
Humbly,
Barry
P.S. I’ve been blogging through this journey of loss and recovery, or more poignantly, my journey of God’s merciful presence at http://ajourneyobserved.blogspot.com/ if you’d like to take a peek.
P.P.S. If you’re interested in the world of opera and classical music, you may want to check out Jessica’s website at www.jessicarivera.com!