new wineskins

Mark 2:22//And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.

That's New King James. In today's vernacular it goes, "Just be real." No one understands this principal better than the emerging generation.

Don pulled up the vague empty chair next to me yesterday and asked why, despite all the cool spaces designed for post-moderns, he always sees them hanging out at Taco Bell and White Castle.

"Because it's cheaper than Panera," I answered, "and all of their friends are already there."

Teenagers and young adults appreciate well-designed spaces, probably more than you think. We notice the colors you choose for the walls, and how the layout of the room affects traffic flow. Decor is discussed, just in terms you may not understand. At the end of the day, though, the principals of third place rule.

Chapter two of Oldenburg's The Great Good Place is called "The Character of Third Place Spaces." He discusses eight principals. Below are the ones that especially hit home with teenagers and young adults, as demonstrated by a little pizza place in my home town:

1. The Leveling effect. Everyone's a teenager who likes getting a huge slice of pizza and as much pop as they can drink for $3. Social strata fade into the background because the place is cool. Walking in the door earns you cool-points.

2. Conversation is the main activity. The $3 also buys you a table for as long as you want it.

3. Accessibility and accommodation. This is especially key for teenagers who can't drive yet. It needs to be within walking/biking distance or it needs to have enough entertainment value to justify being dropped off for most of the day.

4. Regulars. When this pizzeria opened, they first earned the favor of a few. Most of their staff now is high school kids, they cultivate a culture of fierce loyalty (easier because they're right next door to a Pizza Hut), and they let delivery drivers sit at tables to smoke or play arcade games between runs. Anyone knows they can go in any time and meet someone they know, or wait a few minutes until he gets back from a delivery.

5. A low profile. This is going to mess with you, but the building is pretty drab. People know they can put their feet up on the seat across from them, sit on the table, or stand on a chair to change the channel on the wall-mounted TV if they don't want to watch sports. It's comfortable.

6. Playful mood. I already mentioned the arcade games (the owner has the high score on Street Fighter), the TVs, and the conversation ...

7. Home away from home. Those who frequent this pizza place know that it belongs to them. When the owner found out one of his regulars had become vegan, and would no longer be eating pizza, he hauled out his food catalog to find alternatives and ordered things just for her that never even made it to the menu. (And can I also say, if you've never had a pickle breaded and deep-fried, you haven't lived.)

Everyone needs a third place space, but if you're planning one for your student/young adult ministry it needs to be different. They are new wine, and they will tear asunder an old wineskin. It needs to be real.