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Dance, Children, Dance: The Story of Jim Rayburn, Founder of Young Life
Book by Jim Rayburn III
210 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1984
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 23, 2015
I've got a bit of a soft spot for books dealing with the history of 20th century evangelicalism, and particularly with youth-oriented movements. One of my favourite books of the past couple of years was "God's Forever Family," which looked at the rise of the hippy-oriented "Jesus people" movement. The one disappointment with that book is that it really paid no attention to Young Life, which in so many ways anticipated the whole Jesus People phenomena.
"Dance, Children, Dance" tells the story of Young Life's origins, specifically through the story of its founder, Jim Rayburn. Written by Rayburn's son, this is not by any means an objective study, though that does mean that you get an insider's look at both the man and the movement. There is a level of bitterness in this account, particularly as the author chronicles the final period of Rayburn's life; a time in which he was basically pushed out of the movement he founded.
Then again I can't be particularly objective either. My great-grandfather Sidney Smith was one of Rayburn's greatest supporters and closest confidants; my grandfather and father both served on the Canadian board, with my father also serving on the International board. I was active in Young Life during my high school years, and had a pretty significant spiritual awakening at a Young Life camp. Stories of the movement and of Jim Rayburn were part of my childhood and youth, and though I knew that things had not "ended well" for him, I was also taught to respect and admire his legacy.
The fact that I read this book in my spare time over the course of just two days says two things: 1) it isn't a demanding book, and 2) I was captivated. Rayburn's two great insights on ministry with young people were so basic, yet so very insightful. Firstly, in work with youth you have to "earn the right to be heard," and you do that relationally. You spend time with kids, and treat them with respect. Secondly, "it is a sin to bore a kid," which dovetailed with his conviction that the problem with the conventional Sunday School approach is that is was a) on Sunday, and b) school... It all took me back to my days in Young Life; good and formative days for the most part.
Hard to know who to recommend this one to. Unless you share some of my interests and experiences, it might seem all a bit irrelevant. But if you do share those things with me, read on!
"Dance, Children, Dance" tells the story of Young Life's origins, specifically through the story of its founder, Jim Rayburn. Written by Rayburn's son, this is not by any means an objective study, though that does mean that you get an insider's look at both the man and the movement. There is a level of bitterness in this account, particularly as the author chronicles the final period of Rayburn's life; a time in which he was basically pushed out of the movement he founded.
Then again I can't be particularly objective either. My great-grandfather Sidney Smith was one of Rayburn's greatest supporters and closest confidants; my grandfather and father both served on the Canadian board, with my father also serving on the International board. I was active in Young Life during my high school years, and had a pretty significant spiritual awakening at a Young Life camp. Stories of the movement and of Jim Rayburn were part of my childhood and youth, and though I knew that things had not "ended well" for him, I was also taught to respect and admire his legacy.
The fact that I read this book in my spare time over the course of just two days says two things: 1) it isn't a demanding book, and 2) I was captivated. Rayburn's two great insights on ministry with young people were so basic, yet so very insightful. Firstly, in work with youth you have to "earn the right to be heard," and you do that relationally. You spend time with kids, and treat them with respect. Secondly, "it is a sin to bore a kid," which dovetailed with his conviction that the problem with the conventional Sunday School approach is that is was a) on Sunday, and b) school... It all took me back to my days in Young Life; good and formative days for the most part.
Hard to know who to recommend this one to. Unless you share some of my interests and experiences, it might seem all a bit irrelevant. But if you do share those things with me, read on!
April 27, 2016
The writing style of the book was meh, but the story was great! Really interesting to learn about how the founder of Young Life was a real person...with real issues.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews