Jesus frees a demon-possessed man
26 Jesus and his disciples sailed to the Gerasenes’ land, which is across the lake from Galilee. 27 As soon as Jesus got out of the boat, a certain man met him. The man was from the city and was possessed by demons. For a long time, he had lived among the tombs, naked and homeless. 28 When he saw Jesus, he shrieked and fell down before him. Then he shouted, “ What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me! ” 29 He said this because Jesus had already commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had taken possession of him, so he would be bound with leg irons and chains and placed under guard. But he would break his restraints, and the demon would force him into the wilderness.
30 Jesus asked him, “ What is your name? ”
“ Legion, ” he replied, because many demons had entered him. 31 They pleaded with him not to order them to go back into the abyss.t32 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs. Jesus gave them permission, 33 and the demons left the man and entered the pigs. The herd rushed down the cliff into the lake and drowned.
34 When those who tended the pigs saw what happened, they ran away and told the story in the city and in the countryside. 35 People came to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone. He was sitting at Jesus’ feet, fully dressed and completely sane. They were filled with awe. 36 Those people who had actually seen what had happened told them how the demon-possessed man had been delivered. 37 Then everyone gathered from the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave their area because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and returned across the lake. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged to come along with Jesus as one of his disciples. Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “ Return home and tell the story of what God has done for you. ” So he went throughout the city proclaiming what Jesus had done for him.
"Practicing Passion offers a compelling new vision of effective youth ministry. Its uniqueness lies in its relocating youth ministry in practical theology rather than in educational theory or psychological or social development. While youth ministry has routinely capitalized on the passions of adolescents, little attention has been given to the theological mooring that youth need in order to connect with the church and hold firm against the winds of popular culture.
According to Dean, effective youth ministry begins from the top down. Does the church practice the passion it preaches? Teenagers are quick to point out the oxymoron in passionless Christianity, quick to question faith that fails to register on the Richter scale. Without passion, Christian faith fails, and young people know it -- which may be why most of them are not spending much time in church.
"Practicing Passion advocates a theological awareness for youth. In the first section of the book Dean focuses on the theological resonance between the Passion of Christ and adolescents' experience of passion. She then probes contemporary culture's distortion of three dimensions of pathos -- fidelity, transcendence, and communion -- showing how this distortion has affected contemporary adolescents struggling to acquire a coherent identity. Last, Dean suggests a framework for youth ministry that, by drawing on the historic practices of the Christian community, includes a "curriculum of passion."
Based on a solid understanding of Christian theology, adolescence