Internalization Part 3

Internalization as Evidenced in Morality

My friend, co-laborer, and youth pastor at our church, Nathan Wagner, made several really great points about internalization on the last post. Nate makes the point that choosing God's way in any given situation out of trust and love for God is evidence of faith taking root. Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton put it this way in Soul Searching "Even though many teens said religion is important in their lives, it still seemed to us to be mostly part of the furniture in the background of their lives. ... Quite often, teens said they did not think their relgion affected their family relationships, they did not believe religion was relavant to the conduct of a dating relationship, they did not see that religion affected their life at school and so on." They go on to state that this was true of adoelscents who told the researchers that religion was very important in their lives. Clearly there is a gap in the undertanding and practice of Christianity, and this is evidenced in moral decisions.

Nate has a great point- that choosing an option that lines up with the teaching of Christ is fruit of internalization. I agree with him when he takes it further to say that this decision needs to founded and rooted in trust in God's character. It has to go beyond just actions, even though consistent patterns of action are fruit of what we actually believe. Some moral choices are moments when our true motives are laid bare, and being founded in the knowledge that God loves you and expects rightesouness is a poweful motive. Knowledge about God needs to lead to actions and thought patterns that demonstrate that His way is worth risking.

Is internalization the subtle ingesting of truth in a place where decisions are made?

Internalization part 2

Internalization as part of identity development

In their article Riding the Highs and Lows of Teenage Faith Development Identity Formation and the Importance of Moratorium, Kara Powell and Meredith Miller explain James Marcia's theory of identity development that states that people go through various stages of rest, unrest, and integration in regards to

their faith. Here are the four stages as they list them:

Diffusion "Persons in diffusion have simply not thought about their identity. They are not sure what they believe about key issues such as religion, politics, gender roles, or occupation, nor are they concerned with them."

Foreclosure "This is a status in which adolescents have definite opinions about their identity, but those opinions have been inherited from external forces rather than cultivated from within themselves. They have stable commitments, but have not experienced exploration or crisis."

Moratorium "They question who they are and what they believe and are unable to land on clearly defined beliefs and standards. This is the stage in which individuals challenge what they have inherited. For this reason, they will often express doubts and uncertainties about what they believe."

Achievement "The goal of identity development is to reach the achieved status. It is the status wherein individuals have explored who they are and what they believe and hold stable commitments to a set of beliefs, values and standards. Their identity is defined, and they have thought through their perspectives."

Internalization might be best equated with the "achievement" stage. Powell and Miller challenge youth workers to engage moratorium with the understanding that it will help bring about a more solid, owned faith in an adolescent. Is internalization the achievement stage? The whole process? I am inclined to say that it is the last two phases of identity development- moratorium and achievement.

What do you think?

Internalization part 1

I did it. I finally picked up my capstone and read through it, paying attention to and injesting the comments of my advisor. He asked me to expand on a concept called Internalization. I found this to be a little annoying on several levels, not the least of which being that it is something that is incredibly hard to define and measure. This is a concept I first learned of from Meredith Miller in The Lockbox Theory’s Implications for Your Students. Fuller Youth Institute mentions this idea quite a bit in their research, and this was my starting point. It is, however, a theme in all of the research about the church drop out rate. In a very small nut shell internalization is an understanding that faith applies to many aspects of life and involves translating that understanding into action.

Internalization involves the translation of one's faith into actions and it involves the ability to articulate one's faith and basic doctrinal beliefs. But those two things are fruit of the internalization itself. It is that subtle and potentially unmeasurable ownership of faith. People with internalizaed faith "get it." Are you starting to see my frustration? Obviously this is incredibly important to longevity in anyone's faith, and, I am sure, one of the goals of every ministry that takes Christianity seriously. How on earth does one expand on and define this even further? Of course I understand the need, but where does one start with explaining this concept?

I am sure there will be many more posts exploring this idea, because I can feel it catching my internally. But for now, I will take up at least a piece of the challenge from Dr. Cooper. Over the next few posts, let me suggest a few basic ideas. I would like to hear your thoughts.

Which one do you resonate with the most? Why? Do you have other suggestions?