Very excited about "What's In the Bible" DVD 5, set to release.... um... sometime this month, I hope! Go find out how you can win a free copy of DVD 5, before the official release. Boo yah!
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Bible Camp: “Un-friendables”
I can’t wait for camp! I’ve been doing this gig for the last 22 years, the first 11 as a camper. The last 11 of those years I’ve spent serving as a cabin leader, teacher, room inspector, song leader, program director, activities director, PDA patrolman, AV guy, snipe-hunting tour guide, etc., etc., etc. You’d think this song-and-dance would get old after a while, but I still love it. And so do you. Admit it.
I have been thinking a bit lately about relationships. Not romantic relationships, but those with the people that you do life with… kids in your youth group, kids from your school, your family, teachers, coaches, etc. Those relationships are always amped up on the power of about 20 Red Bulls and half a dozen cold showers when they are subjected to a week of bible camp. Those days at camp are defining moments for a lot of kids and their relationships with other people. They bring out the best… and worst… in all of us. Sometimes more of the latter than the former.
I just got done reading an article called “Difficult friends: In what ways does befriending someone whom you find it difficult to like bring you closer to God?” (If you want to read the article, click here)
It got me thinking about what I would call “Un-friendables”. We all have ‘em. And at camp, they’re everywhere! It’s the boy who smells of vinegar and stale pizza who asks out every girl on campus (and by the end of the week, some poor, nutrient-deprived girl, in a state of hallucination and mental instability and hopped up on hairspray fumes, gives in to his advances and agrees to be his camp girlfriend for about 3 hours before she comes to her senses.) It’s the girl who never showers. It’s the kid who talks nonstop about his favorite TV shows like they were real life (as if he himself was actually born on an episode of LOST.) It’s the person who is always starting arguments and getting into fights, making drama for everybody. Let’s get real… there are people at camp you would want to be friends with. And then there are… “UNFRIEND-ABLES”. You’re bound to meet some at camp in a couple of weeks, so if you are reading this, I hope you can take this to heart.
We all know what “Un-friendables” are like. They’re annoying, overbearing, smell funny, talk funny, and get on our nerves. I remember a kid that used to ride my bus when I was little… his name was Jacob. I don’t know what disease he had, but whatever it was, it stunted his growth, and he was always smaller than the other kids. He wore glasses as thick as saucers and had a squeaky voice with a speech impediment that made “Screech” from Saved by the Bell sound like Michael Buble. I remember Jacob once showing me his watch that had a built-in calculator in it. One time, he was supposed to perform a rap song for the Middle School talent show, and he lost the cassette tape that he was supposed to sing to, so he got up in front of the whole school and rapped a capella. The sound was so bad, and his speech impediment made the words so unrecognizable, I wanted to dig a hole and bury myself in it for the embarrassment this kid was putting himself through. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he forgot the words half way through the song!
I remember being Jacobs friend a while when I was younger… but after we got into Middle School, the more I got to know him, the more annoying he became, and as I saw how the other kids picked on him, I started to shy away from my friendship with him, so I wouldn’t catch any of the shrapnel of the constant barrages of ridicule that he received. Jacob grew older, took hormone medicine for his stunted growth, and the older he grew, the more bitter and unsettled he became. Jacob’s life was one with no friends. In High School, he committed suicide. His Senior yearbook contained a full page memorial for him, that said something like “We miss you, Jacob.” I always wonder if, maybe, it shouldn’t have also read, “we’re sorry”.
To this day, I can’t help but think “is there something I could have done? If I had continued to extend my friendship to Jacob when we were young, would he still be alive today?” I can’t know the answer to that now. It’s too late. But it taught me something about the incredible weight of relationships, and the urgency to extend our friendship to “unfriendables”.
As we’re getting ready for youth camp, I want to throw a few thoughts at you about these “Unfriendables”. There are going to be plenty of them at camp, and I want you to be prepared. What do you do when you come into contact with the people who scare you, annoy you, challenge you, argue with you, get on your nerves, and make it hard to be there friends?
Control Freak!
Generally, we seem to make friends with the people that we like… people that we share interests with, whose personality is appealing to us, who have traits that we admire, people we want to be like, or people who make us laugh (or who laugh at our corny jokes). In short, we like being in control of who our friends are, and we pick them carefully. When things get too uncomfortable for us, we tend to find someone that is familiar to us, with similar likes and interests. Does that make us a control freak? Mmm… maybe. It’s good to have friends that we really like and enjoy being with. But what about these “unfriendables”? Do we have a responsibility? If you’re a Christian, then I say… yes.
It’s a God thing
This is exactly what Jesus came to do. To befriend the friendless, to be a hope for those who have no hope (and even those that THINK they do). To offer the love of God to anyone who is willing to lay down their own lives and receive it freely.
When I was in 5th grade, we had a new girl in our class. She lived only a few blocks from my house, so I started hanging out with her, both in school, and out of school. But the longer she was there, the more I realized that the other boys thought she was ugly, and the girls thought she was skanky. I realized that I was getting into a friendship that could tarnish my reputation (which was already at the bottom of the totem pole.) So I approached her one day and said “you know, we’re friends on all, but maybe from now on, let’s just be secret friends. She agreed, and we went on our way. Let’s be honest: secret friends meant not friends at all. I don’t think I ever talked to her in public again after that, let alone in private. I was later hit by the hypocrisy of my deed when another friend of mine approached me just a few days later and said “Jerrod, from now on, let’s be secret friends.” Ouch. I felt the sting of what I had done to the new girl.
Face it: Once upon a time, you were an unfriendable. You were, what the bible calls, an “enemy of God.” You were bent on your own desires, and making yourself happy. But you were exposed to the gospel (perhaps even at camp!), and for the first time, you heard about a God that not only created you, but who loves you in spite of your annoying tendency to rebel and sin against Him. In fact, you are still learning to this day how to lay down your life, take up your cross, and follow Him. You’re still learning, and on your bad days, let’s face it… as far as God is concerned, you are an unfriendable. And yet He still befriends you. And at no time has God ever turned around and said “we’re friends and all… but from now on, maybe, let’s just be secret friends.” He is not ashamed to call you His child, His friend. That’s gospel. “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
So if that’s how God has loved us, then we are called and challenged to befriend others in the same way. The unfriendables are your mission field. They are those who simply need another human being to befriend them, to show them some Christ-like love and attention. 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because he first loved us.”
Not only that… but maybe you need to be challenged a little. Maybe your comfort zone is a little too comfortable. You stick with the familiar. You go with friends that make you comfortable. Maybe you need someone who is a bit DIFFERENT, to challenge the way you view the world. It can make you a better gospel-bearer by spending time with someone who has some different ideas than you.
It’s a FOREVER Thing
C.S. Lewis wrote a book called “The Weight of Glory”. Okay, I admit, I’ve never read the book, but I like to read quotes from it. (…And if anyone has the book sitting on their book shelf somewhere, collecting cobwebs and spider poop, feel free to loan it out!) The book begins with this very sobering statement: “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.”
Think about that a moment. Every human being you come into contact with is not a mere mortal, but someone who is going to live forever… somewhere. Their eternity will be either discovering who God truly made them to be - in heaven with Christ - or it will be forever thinking only of themselves, blaming other people for their plight, and selfishly pitying their existence - in hell. You have never talked to a person who will only live for a few years and then disappear into the ground. They will go on forever. Somewhere.
I remember sitting in a Chinese restaurant with my nieces, and as the Chinese waitress waited our table and returned to the kitchen to bring us drinks and silverware, I turned to one of my nieces and pointed out, “have you thought about how the woman who is waiting our table… will live for eternity, either with God in heaven, or by herself in hell?” My niece responded, “No, I guess I hadn’t thought of that.” It’s easy to forget that the people we are surrounded by are not mortal, but immortal, and therefore deserve our utmost respect. Lewis puts it this way, it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendours.
Think about it: In eternity, every human who has ever lived will be either an immortal horror (in hell) or an everlasting splendor (in heaven).
“Unfriendables” are immortals, just like you. When you relate to them, when you snub them, avoid them, politely dismiss their company, you are doing such to people who were made to live FOREVER… somewhere. And while God knows where they will end up, it could be that He has put you in a position to be the kind of gospel-living person that oozes with God’s love in such a way that they will be exposed to the gospel by the way you treat them… and embark on a relationship with Christ themselves. God is calling you to be the instrument he uses to mold another person’s life, and nudge them into eternity of hysterical glory, with Christ!
That may not mean that they will cease to be awkward, smelly, drama-queenish, and a touch unfriendable for a while, maybe even for the rest of their lives - in this life anyway. But honestly… do we really have the luxury, as Christians, of picking who we befriend based on criteria of our own comfort and taste, and pitching the rest out the window like a stale french fry that we found under the car seat? Or don’t we have the responsibility to do for others what Christ did for us, to reach out with friendship to those who are hard to be friends with? To be friends to the “unfriendables”?
Let’s get serious: There is no relationship that we can afford to take lightly. This is a forever thing.
One more Lewis quote: The load, or weight, or burden, of my neighbour's glory should be laid daily on my back, a load so heavy that only humilitycan carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken.
Is pride keeping you from befriending the unfriendables? Will it take a bit of humbling in order for you to be like Christ in the way you handle relationships? Maybe it’s time to stop trying to be GOD over your relationships, and let Christ’s love compel you into relationships that you might not have normally stumbled into on your own. Consider the cost Christ paid in order to bring you eternal friendship with God. How humbling it must have been for the Son of God to leave glory of his high position in heaven to come down to earth and die for sinful, annoying, unfriendable you. He came to make you friendable again. And He did it out of love. If God did this for you… are you willing to extend that same love to others in your life? It’s your calling. You are not your own anymore… you were bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God with your body… and be a friend.
(Want more C.S. Lewis quotes? Click here)
(Want to help me come up with ideas for camp games? Click here)
Saturday, May 16, 2009
How low can ya go? (Sunday morning limbo)
Dad and I had a conversation this past week about the depth in Sunday morning preaching. Many churches in the current church growth movement are growing their churches by leaps and bounds, and their philosophy for Sunday morning growth is "keep it simple." That is, the depth of the preaching and teaching is at a basic, elementary level, requiring very little knowledge on the part of the hearers. This is much easier on the ears of people who are coming into churches for the first time, and don't know much about the Christian faith. Fair enough.
But what happens in a few years, when those new believers are ready to move on to deeper things? The reality will be that the preaching will never get deeper, and maturing believers will find themselves in need of deeper teaching and preaching, and Sunday morning is no longer the place to find it. One statistic would tell us that the majority of new Christians, after 4 or 5 years of attending any given church, will find themselves dissatisfied with the depth of preaching and teaching in their church.
Now lets swing to the other end of the spectrum. I watched a show one time featuring a church in California, where the teaching pastor was a woman with a Ph. D. She tore apart Romans 12:1, dove into the original Greek, then began comparing several early manuscripts in various languages (Latin, Aramaic, etc.), breaking down the etymology of this trademark passage in Romans. She was surrounded by huge marker boards that she was writing all over, writing in ancient languages I had never heard of and comparing them, making observations and such. My head was swelling as I listened to her "lecture" (couldn't really call it much of a sermon, I didn't understand most of what she was talking about). It was fun to listen to, and at the end of her lecture, the congregation applauded, and the program was over. As the credits rolled, I began to ask myself "was there any edifying spiritual depth to that message?" It may have been a fascinating lecture for someone who studied ancient semitic languages, but for the average layman walking into their congregation, or even many seasoned believers, it would have been pure jibberish, totally over their heads. Kind of a extreme case, but I wonder how a new believer can survive under the deep teaching of a pastor who assumes that his listeners have a sufficient knowledge of the bible.
So I'm asking myself... is there a happy medium? Put another way, what is the responsibility of a church to go deep in their instruction, whether from the pulpit or the teaching lectern? How deep should they go? If your messages are often profound and deep, for the purpose of feeding the mature crowd, you may lose your young believers. If you keep it simple, your mature believers will get bored and restless. Is there a level or depth of preaching and teaching that is appropriate for all stages of spiritual maturity?
I will throw in one bit of observation. Someone made the comment the other day that, sometimes, "mature" believers who are complaining about not being fed are those who, by this time, should be able to feed themselves (Hebrews 5:12-13) and others as well. On the other hand, if there is a two-year roll over rate in the level of instruction that a church puts out, having little or no emphasis on teaching growing believers the deep things of God, His attributes, and biblical doctrine, it will be a church of shallow believers which will fall for every wind of teaching that comes their way, with little ability to discern or to teach others rightly. This can produce an entire generation of ill-equipped believers who will only pass on what little they have learned to the next generation, producing perpetual stunted growth, and good soil for false doctrine and weak Christianity. This being said, a church ought to be a place and an atmosphere that is accommodating to those new, incoming believers who are in need of instruction, while at the same time, being exposed to mature faith of seasoned believers who are building one another up, and growing on their own and with others.
What do you think?
(I posted this on facebook as well, go see the discussion)
But what happens in a few years, when those new believers are ready to move on to deeper things? The reality will be that the preaching will never get deeper, and maturing believers will find themselves in need of deeper teaching and preaching, and Sunday morning is no longer the place to find it. One statistic would tell us that the majority of new Christians, after 4 or 5 years of attending any given church, will find themselves dissatisfied with the depth of preaching and teaching in their church.
Now lets swing to the other end of the spectrum. I watched a show one time featuring a church in California, where the teaching pastor was a woman with a Ph. D. She tore apart Romans 12:1, dove into the original Greek, then began comparing several early manuscripts in various languages (Latin, Aramaic, etc.), breaking down the etymology of this trademark passage in Romans. She was surrounded by huge marker boards that she was writing all over, writing in ancient languages I had never heard of and comparing them, making observations and such. My head was swelling as I listened to her "lecture" (couldn't really call it much of a sermon, I didn't understand most of what she was talking about). It was fun to listen to, and at the end of her lecture, the congregation applauded, and the program was over. As the credits rolled, I began to ask myself "was there any edifying spiritual depth to that message?" It may have been a fascinating lecture for someone who studied ancient semitic languages, but for the average layman walking into their congregation, or even many seasoned believers, it would have been pure jibberish, totally over their heads. Kind of a extreme case, but I wonder how a new believer can survive under the deep teaching of a pastor who assumes that his listeners have a sufficient knowledge of the bible.
So I'm asking myself... is there a happy medium? Put another way, what is the responsibility of a church to go deep in their instruction, whether from the pulpit or the teaching lectern? How deep should they go? If your messages are often profound and deep, for the purpose of feeding the mature crowd, you may lose your young believers. If you keep it simple, your mature believers will get bored and restless. Is there a level or depth of preaching and teaching that is appropriate for all stages of spiritual maturity?
I will throw in one bit of observation. Someone made the comment the other day that, sometimes, "mature" believers who are complaining about not being fed are those who, by this time, should be able to feed themselves (Hebrews 5:12-13) and others as well. On the other hand, if there is a two-year roll over rate in the level of instruction that a church puts out, having little or no emphasis on teaching growing believers the deep things of God, His attributes, and biblical doctrine, it will be a church of shallow believers which will fall for every wind of teaching that comes their way, with little ability to discern or to teach others rightly. This can produce an entire generation of ill-equipped believers who will only pass on what little they have learned to the next generation, producing perpetual stunted growth, and good soil for false doctrine and weak Christianity. This being said, a church ought to be a place and an atmosphere that is accommodating to those new, incoming believers who are in need of instruction, while at the same time, being exposed to mature faith of seasoned believers who are building one another up, and growing on their own and with others.
What do you think?
(I posted this on facebook as well, go see the discussion)
May 8, 2009 - Desiring Repentance
I think the heart that is truly set toward the kingdom of God and the things of God will truly desire repentance.The heart that is merely suffering from the sorrow of this world will ache only because his sin has caused so much pain, but the thought of repentance is repulsive, because it requires so much commitment to not only principles, but a person, God.
But one who longs for closer fellowship with God - someone who is truly one of those of whom Jesus spoke, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” – will desire to be rid of all sinful desires which they often fall prey to, because they know it severs a closer walk with God. They desire more than anything to tighten that bond, and in order to come closer to God, His truly called disciple will go to any length to break ties with the sin that so easily besets him.
You can always tell the ones that are only in it for the fringe benefits (i.e. heaven and not judgment, forgiveness of sins, etc.) but have very little desire to actually know God. Those are the ones who are Sunday morning socialites, but who roll their eyes at talk of holiness and repentance, as if though they were such distasteful topics. Indeed, there is nothing enjoyable about the prospect of a man or woman saying: “Wow, I truly suck! From the very core of my being, I am filled to the brim with selfishness and self-righteousness!” and then beginning the work of daily walking in the light, searching their own heart as God reveals to them their sin, and confessing it, repenting it, handing it over to God, not as another exhibit of evidence for condemnation, but as a wounded man yielding his scorched hand to a doctor to heal it, though the pain of the healing procedure is bound to be wretchedly painful.
I have lived long enough in and around Sunday socialite-ism, and it is, quite honestly, the most shallow way I know how to live, far more shallow even than to live as an honest atheist (I must admit that I have yet to really find one of these, either). One of the key features of this kind of fake religion is a love for the things of the world, but having been exposed to just enough (powerless) religion to appear to have been inoculated by it, while still clinging to those idols which God despises. Take to heart the query of Leonard Ravenhill, “has the world been crucified to you, or does it still fascinate you?” A heaven without God, then, may be closer to your liking. But you will not find one. Not in this universe.
The heart that desires fellowship God more than any other will be the heart that yearns for repentance, however painful it will be. It abhors those worldly things which so easily stand between the man and his God, and he will do whatever he can – sever a limb, if need be – in order to reach his goal.
Pass the scalpel.
But one who longs for closer fellowship with God - someone who is truly one of those of whom Jesus spoke, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” – will desire to be rid of all sinful desires which they often fall prey to, because they know it severs a closer walk with God. They desire more than anything to tighten that bond, and in order to come closer to God, His truly called disciple will go to any length to break ties with the sin that so easily besets him.
You can always tell the ones that are only in it for the fringe benefits (i.e. heaven and not judgment, forgiveness of sins, etc.) but have very little desire to actually know God. Those are the ones who are Sunday morning socialites, but who roll their eyes at talk of holiness and repentance, as if though they were such distasteful topics. Indeed, there is nothing enjoyable about the prospect of a man or woman saying: “Wow, I truly suck! From the very core of my being, I am filled to the brim with selfishness and self-righteousness!” and then beginning the work of daily walking in the light, searching their own heart as God reveals to them their sin, and confessing it, repenting it, handing it over to God, not as another exhibit of evidence for condemnation, but as a wounded man yielding his scorched hand to a doctor to heal it, though the pain of the healing procedure is bound to be wretchedly painful.
I have lived long enough in and around Sunday socialite-ism, and it is, quite honestly, the most shallow way I know how to live, far more shallow even than to live as an honest atheist (I must admit that I have yet to really find one of these, either). One of the key features of this kind of fake religion is a love for the things of the world, but having been exposed to just enough (powerless) religion to appear to have been inoculated by it, while still clinging to those idols which God despises. Take to heart the query of Leonard Ravenhill, “has the world been crucified to you, or does it still fascinate you?” A heaven without God, then, may be closer to your liking. But you will not find one. Not in this universe.
The heart that desires fellowship God more than any other will be the heart that yearns for repentance, however painful it will be. It abhors those worldly things which so easily stand between the man and his God, and he will do whatever he can – sever a limb, if need be – in order to reach his goal.
Pass the scalpel.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Liar, liar, pants on fire (or, "Good religion, Bad religion")
One of my favorite passages in the bible is 1 John 1. I don't know how many times I've taught and preached out of it, because it's such thick stuff! Basically, it's about fakers - and being real with God.
I don't know about you, but I can be a faker. I can pretend nothing is wrong. I don't mean "nothing is bothering me", I mean "I didn't do anything wrong, my heart is in the right place." When I read this passage in 1 John, it basically tells me "you liar! God Himself knows whats in your heart! He's the one that MADE your heart, and He's the one that has watched your heart stray drastically away from Him and chase after other ambitions! You've been trying to be your own God since day one!"
Seems I need to hear this message often. Seems most Christians I know need to hear this message often. A life of freedom and joy is a life that is walking in honesty about who we are. First of all, that we are truly hypocrites all, filled with pride. As we confess that on a constant basis, and deal with it honestly, on that same constant basis, God is cleansing our hearts, showing us forgiveness and grace for our pride and arrogance, and lead us further into the light of His glory. This is joy!
Cynisism and pessimism in people is just evidence that they are still trying to be their own God and cast judgment on this world as if though they can change it for the better, when in reality, they are the ones who need changing. Seeing evil as "someone else's problem" is to totally neglect our own sin.
It also doesn't do any good when we casually, haphazardly glance at our own hearts from afar and say "yeah, I guess I have some sin, but who doesn't?" And then leave it at that, calling it "honesty." That's not honesty. That's bull... (End that expletive however you wish). It's worthless confession to God when we are unwilling to dig deep and unearth the real stuff, not just the surface stuff.
But we have this promise: "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." I am convinced that to humble yourself before God, to truly let Him break your heart because of the evil that dwells there - the evil you are lying about, refusing to admit - that He will change that heart and make you the kind of person that can actually amount to something to God. He is just that kind and compassionate. "God's kindness leads you toward repentance" (Rom. 2:4)
Sometimes our own personal sin runs so deep we don't even see where it comes from. I've learned from personal experience that it's the most frustrating thing to be laying awake at night, wanting to cry out and agony because you can't fix yourself. Part of the problem is that it feels so dark inside that you can't see to the bottom.
That's when you call for a flashlight.
The first step to getting honest about who you are is to ask the maker of your heart to reveal to you the evil that is inside it. David prayed Psalm 139:23-24 "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
This is what it is to walk in the light. To purposely and sincerely ask God to reveal your heart to you, and show you the depth of the evil that dwells there. Why? So you can see it, acknowledge it, confess it, and ask God to cleanse your heart of it. It's exactly what He's in the business of doing. "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." (Ezekiel 36:26)
Good religion is not keeping your nose clean, appearing as holy as possible, keeping the bad under wraps. Good religion is getting down into the nitty gritty and actively SEARCHING for the bad, exposing it, and laying it out before God, dirty, filthy, and rotton with that sin that has been coagulating in the depths of your heart.
You might not realize this: God does not judge people on how GOOD they THINK they are, but on how BAD they KNOW they are, and are willing to confess it, and submit it to God for some REAL change. God isn't in the business of roaming the earth, seeing who can put on their best Jesus impersonation, and who has earned the most heaven points by minding their manners and not cussing in front of the preacher. That's shallow religion, and having grown up in church, I've seen enough of it to fill me up for the rest of my life. Ugh, gag me!
I can see why a lot of people walk away from churches, and in part, I don't blame them. "If they won't get serious with their sin, why should I?" They might ask.
Don't worry about other people. Worry about you. You want your life to count? You want to make a difference? You want to be better? Don't start with other people. Start with your own heart. "THEN you will be able to see clearly, to pull the speck out of your brother's eye." - Matthew 7:5
Don't offer God worthless confession that only touches the surface. Go deep. Stop being a liar. Stop calling God a liar by telling Him that He doesn't know what He's talking about... that it's not your problem, but everyone else's.
Liar, liar, pants on fire: you were born with a dark and evil heart like everyone else, and it's time to get real with God.
By the way, I don't care how religious you think you're NOT.... this is for you, too. To not extend this message of God's kindness and compassion for our wicked hearts, would be to say "I hate you too much to tell you the truth! You can go to hell for all I care."
But I love you too much not to tell the truth.
Hear some truth from God's word...
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
1 John 1
Keeping it old school: Check out these lyrics from a song called "In the Light" by DC Talk, from their Jesus Freak Album.
"In the Light"
I keep trying to find a life
On my own, apart from You
I am the king of excuses
I've got one for every selfish thing I do
What's going on inside of me?
I despise my own behaviour
This only serves to confirm my suspicions
That I'm still a man in need of a Saviour
CHORUS:
I wanna be in the Light
As You are in the Light
I wanna shine like the stars in the heavens
Oh, Lord be my Light and be my salvation
Cause all I want is to be in the Light
All I want is to be in the Light
The disease of self runs through my blood
It's a cancer fatal to my soul
Every attempt on my behalf has failed
To bring this sickness under control
Tell me, what's going on inside of me?
I despise my own behaviour
This only serves to confirm my suspicions
That I'm still a man in need of a Saviour
(CHORUS)
Honesty becomes me
[There's nothing left to lose]
The secrets that did run me
[In Your presence are defused]
Pride has no position
[And riches have no worth]
The fame that once did cover me
[Has been sentenced to this Earth]
Has been sentenced to this Earth
Tell me, what's going on inside of me?
I despise my own behaviour
This only serves to confirm my suspicions
That I'm still a man in need of a Saviour
(CHORUS)
[There's no other place that I want to be]
[No other place that I can see]
[A place to be that's just right]
[Someday I'm gonna be in the Light]
[You are in the Light]
[That's where I need to be]
[That's right where I need to be]
I don't know about you, but I can be a faker. I can pretend nothing is wrong. I don't mean "nothing is bothering me", I mean "I didn't do anything wrong, my heart is in the right place." When I read this passage in 1 John, it basically tells me "you liar! God Himself knows whats in your heart! He's the one that MADE your heart, and He's the one that has watched your heart stray drastically away from Him and chase after other ambitions! You've been trying to be your own God since day one!"
Seems I need to hear this message often. Seems most Christians I know need to hear this message often. A life of freedom and joy is a life that is walking in honesty about who we are. First of all, that we are truly hypocrites all, filled with pride. As we confess that on a constant basis, and deal with it honestly, on that same constant basis, God is cleansing our hearts, showing us forgiveness and grace for our pride and arrogance, and lead us further into the light of His glory. This is joy!
Cynisism and pessimism in people is just evidence that they are still trying to be their own God and cast judgment on this world as if though they can change it for the better, when in reality, they are the ones who need changing. Seeing evil as "someone else's problem" is to totally neglect our own sin.
It also doesn't do any good when we casually, haphazardly glance at our own hearts from afar and say "yeah, I guess I have some sin, but who doesn't?" And then leave it at that, calling it "honesty." That's not honesty. That's bull... (End that expletive however you wish). It's worthless confession to God when we are unwilling to dig deep and unearth the real stuff, not just the surface stuff.
But we have this promise: "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." I am convinced that to humble yourself before God, to truly let Him break your heart because of the evil that dwells there - the evil you are lying about, refusing to admit - that He will change that heart and make you the kind of person that can actually amount to something to God. He is just that kind and compassionate. "God's kindness leads you toward repentance" (Rom. 2:4)
Sometimes our own personal sin runs so deep we don't even see where it comes from. I've learned from personal experience that it's the most frustrating thing to be laying awake at night, wanting to cry out and agony because you can't fix yourself. Part of the problem is that it feels so dark inside that you can't see to the bottom.
That's when you call for a flashlight.
The first step to getting honest about who you are is to ask the maker of your heart to reveal to you the evil that is inside it. David prayed Psalm 139:23-24 "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
This is what it is to walk in the light. To purposely and sincerely ask God to reveal your heart to you, and show you the depth of the evil that dwells there. Why? So you can see it, acknowledge it, confess it, and ask God to cleanse your heart of it. It's exactly what He's in the business of doing. "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." (Ezekiel 36:26)
Good religion is not keeping your nose clean, appearing as holy as possible, keeping the bad under wraps. Good religion is getting down into the nitty gritty and actively SEARCHING for the bad, exposing it, and laying it out before God, dirty, filthy, and rotton with that sin that has been coagulating in the depths of your heart.
You might not realize this: God does not judge people on how GOOD they THINK they are, but on how BAD they KNOW they are, and are willing to confess it, and submit it to God for some REAL change. God isn't in the business of roaming the earth, seeing who can put on their best Jesus impersonation, and who has earned the most heaven points by minding their manners and not cussing in front of the preacher. That's shallow religion, and having grown up in church, I've seen enough of it to fill me up for the rest of my life. Ugh, gag me!
I can see why a lot of people walk away from churches, and in part, I don't blame them. "If they won't get serious with their sin, why should I?" They might ask.
Don't worry about other people. Worry about you. You want your life to count? You want to make a difference? You want to be better? Don't start with other people. Start with your own heart. "THEN you will be able to see clearly, to pull the speck out of your brother's eye." - Matthew 7:5
Don't offer God worthless confession that only touches the surface. Go deep. Stop being a liar. Stop calling God a liar by telling Him that He doesn't know what He's talking about... that it's not your problem, but everyone else's.
Liar, liar, pants on fire: you were born with a dark and evil heart like everyone else, and it's time to get real with God.
By the way, I don't care how religious you think you're NOT.... this is for you, too. To not extend this message of God's kindness and compassion for our wicked hearts, would be to say "I hate you too much to tell you the truth! You can go to hell for all I care."
But I love you too much not to tell the truth.
Hear some truth from God's word...
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
1 John 1
Keeping it old school: Check out these lyrics from a song called "In the Light" by DC Talk, from their Jesus Freak Album.
"In the Light"
I keep trying to find a life
On my own, apart from You
I am the king of excuses
I've got one for every selfish thing I do
What's going on inside of me?
I despise my own behaviour
This only serves to confirm my suspicions
That I'm still a man in need of a Saviour
CHORUS:
I wanna be in the Light
As You are in the Light
I wanna shine like the stars in the heavens
Oh, Lord be my Light and be my salvation
Cause all I want is to be in the Light
All I want is to be in the Light
The disease of self runs through my blood
It's a cancer fatal to my soul
Every attempt on my behalf has failed
To bring this sickness under control
Tell me, what's going on inside of me?
I despise my own behaviour
This only serves to confirm my suspicions
That I'm still a man in need of a Saviour
(CHORUS)
Honesty becomes me
[There's nothing left to lose]
The secrets that did run me
[In Your presence are defused]
Pride has no position
[And riches have no worth]
The fame that once did cover me
[Has been sentenced to this Earth]
Has been sentenced to this Earth
Tell me, what's going on inside of me?
I despise my own behaviour
This only serves to confirm my suspicions
That I'm still a man in need of a Saviour
(CHORUS)
[There's no other place that I want to be]
[No other place that I can see]
[A place to be that's just right]
[Someday I'm gonna be in the Light]
[You are in the Light]
[That's where I need to be]
[That's right where I need to be]
Thoughts on temptation
Monday, March 30, 2009
I am learning not to be surprised when I am suddenly surrounded by temptation, and my heart wants to dive in all the way. Why should I be surprised? It is the lot of men to be tempted by Satan, and even more so, it is the lot of men to give in to temptation. Even those who have committed to resist temptation and follow God, temptation some times prevails because parts of that old, evil heart, still remain.
When temptations come, and I succumb, it only tells me “yep, part of that bad heart is still there”.
All I can do is recognize what is true: Though God has given me a new heart, there are still remains of that old, evil heart that lurk within me. I must not ignore it and pretend that it’s not there, because in doing so, I am a liar, and I am calling God a liar. I am being counter-productive in every way imagineable.
What can I do? All I can do is confess it. I have been promised that when I confess my sins, God is faithful and just (which means, He will do it every time) to forgive me of my sins. Not only that, but as I am honest at confessing and continually repenting – that is, desiring to not to fall again - God is cleansing my heart. I have been promised that “if you sin, we have an advocate with the Father (who?), Jesus Christ!” (1 John 1:9, 2:1).
When I fall to temptation, pouting is not the answer. Feeling bad for myself does not help. Giving in to the sin will only destroy me. Ignoring it is like calling God a liar, which really just makes me a liar. (What is the truth I am lying about? It’s that I have no sin, when in fact, I really do.) And I can’t afford to just sit around and feel guilty, like God hates me. I’ve got to confess it to God, and repent of it. To continue walking in the light, so that the more I walk, the more I am able to examine myself in the light, since before, I couldn’t really see myself in the mirror in the darkness that I was walking in. But when I walk in the light of truth, I can make a fair assessment of what I see, give it over to God, and trust that He will continually cleanse me and change me, as I am daily repenting and submitting to Him.
I also need to confess it to others (James 5). There is some kind of healing that seems to take place when I am honest with others who are fighting temptation as well. I can’t explain it, only that it must be how the Holy Spirit works through people to bring cleansing and renewal to His church on a regular, daily basis. I have the hardest time with this, and don’t like confessing my sins, but it must happen if healing is going to happen in me any time soon. Otherwise, you end up with a church full of people not confessing their faults to one another, no one is being healed, and no real fellowship is taking place. But oh my, the Holy Spirit is so present in a group of people who are confessing their faults to another, and the fellowship is sweet as it is and refreshing.
When temptation comes, don’t be caught of guard. If you fall to the temptation, don’t be surprised or startled. Just take it as an indicator of what still remains in your heart, confess it to God, repent before God, and continue walking in the light, in obedience. By the grace of God, we’ll make it out of this thing spotless and innocent! “He who has started a good work in you will finish it.”
I am learning not to be surprised when I am suddenly surrounded by temptation, and my heart wants to dive in all the way. Why should I be surprised? It is the lot of men to be tempted by Satan, and even more so, it is the lot of men to give in to temptation. Even those who have committed to resist temptation and follow God, temptation some times prevails because parts of that old, evil heart, still remain.
When temptations come, and I succumb, it only tells me “yep, part of that bad heart is still there”.
All I can do is recognize what is true: Though God has given me a new heart, there are still remains of that old, evil heart that lurk within me. I must not ignore it and pretend that it’s not there, because in doing so, I am a liar, and I am calling God a liar. I am being counter-productive in every way imagineable.
What can I do? All I can do is confess it. I have been promised that when I confess my sins, God is faithful and just (which means, He will do it every time) to forgive me of my sins. Not only that, but as I am honest at confessing and continually repenting – that is, desiring to not to fall again - God is cleansing my heart. I have been promised that “if you sin, we have an advocate with the Father (who?), Jesus Christ!” (1 John 1:9, 2:1).
When I fall to temptation, pouting is not the answer. Feeling bad for myself does not help. Giving in to the sin will only destroy me. Ignoring it is like calling God a liar, which really just makes me a liar. (What is the truth I am lying about? It’s that I have no sin, when in fact, I really do.) And I can’t afford to just sit around and feel guilty, like God hates me. I’ve got to confess it to God, and repent of it. To continue walking in the light, so that the more I walk, the more I am able to examine myself in the light, since before, I couldn’t really see myself in the mirror in the darkness that I was walking in. But when I walk in the light of truth, I can make a fair assessment of what I see, give it over to God, and trust that He will continually cleanse me and change me, as I am daily repenting and submitting to Him.
I also need to confess it to others (James 5). There is some kind of healing that seems to take place when I am honest with others who are fighting temptation as well. I can’t explain it, only that it must be how the Holy Spirit works through people to bring cleansing and renewal to His church on a regular, daily basis. I have the hardest time with this, and don’t like confessing my sins, but it must happen if healing is going to happen in me any time soon. Otherwise, you end up with a church full of people not confessing their faults to one another, no one is being healed, and no real fellowship is taking place. But oh my, the Holy Spirit is so present in a group of people who are confessing their faults to another, and the fellowship is sweet as it is and refreshing.
When temptation comes, don’t be caught of guard. If you fall to the temptation, don’t be surprised or startled. Just take it as an indicator of what still remains in your heart, confess it to God, repent before God, and continue walking in the light, in obedience. By the grace of God, we’ll make it out of this thing spotless and innocent! “He who has started a good work in you will finish it.”
Musings from a Youth Pastor to no one in particular
Monday, March 30, 2009
I am thinking that the gospel is an “all-in” proposition, a little bit of a bizarre, radical message that is hard to swallow. The reason it is so hard to swallow is because it is very upfront about all of it’s assumptions and claims about what is really true about the universe. To reject the gospel because it is hard to accept – i.e. it sounds ridiculous as an explanation of God and reality – is to assume that there is a more logical approach to reality.
I only wonder if many of those teenagers who see Christ as a crutch, or old-fashioned, irrelevant, and not applicable to their lives – if they have actually considered the alternative. If Jesus Christ is not really the Son of God, and the bible is a load of nonsense, then what IS true about the universe? Is IT real? Am I real? If not, then what is this thing that I am living, called life? What does it mean? What is it’s purpose? Where did I come from, if not from a creator God? Is the claim that the universe was produced from a gigantic cosmic explosion really enough of an explanation to satisfy my question as to why I feel such things as love, fear, anger, hate, pride, and loneliness? Does the thought of being evolved from a puddle of single-celled organisms really lead up to a satisfying explanation as to why I have the ability to feel very real emotion? And if everything is merely by chance, then how do I explain this gnawing sense that some things are right, and others are wrong? And how could I say that a loving God would not allow evil if there is really no such thing as love or evil? Where do I even GET these ideas?
The message of Christ is hard to accept, because it asks teenagers, especially, to begin to think clearly, critically, sharply about what they believe, in a world where thinking and believing are based so much on self-preferences and emotions that may or may not have anything to do with reality. Christ challenges people to rethink their idea of justice, when someone wrongs us. And it happens a lot. Are we really justified to judge, or are we not just as guilty of some other, similar action? He challenges teens to rethink who is really boss around here. Most teenagers I know – myself included, when I was in high school – have the desire to break out of their parents “bondage” and to be their own person, because the people who seem to be running their life apparently know nothing. The idea is basically to choose your own destiny and path in life. Jesus comes down strong with a message that says “who is God here?”
The gospel is hard to accept, because it forces teenagers to think, who previously weren’t really thinking at all, but were letting the rest of the world do the thinking for them. They just go with the flow, enjoy what they like, hate what they don’t like, and give no thought as to where this joy and hate came from.
The alternative to the gospel - that being, independence from God - is really an alternative that doesn't give you all of the facts right up front.Every philosophy of life has, at it's very core, a presupposition that you have to look at.
For example, when someone says "be what you want to be", what is at the core of what they are saying? They are saying you have the choice, because there is no God to determine your direction in life.
When someone says "I'm not religious", all they are really saying is that they just kind of make up their own truth because they really don't prefer to believe in something that doesn't let them be their own god.
I remember when the Fredericktown Football team put out tee-shirts that said "be a part of something larger than yourself." What is that, but the very core of religion? And what IS that "something" that is "larger than yourself?" Football? Family? Friends? Really? What happens when all of these things - all these people - are gone and you are still standing there? NOW what are you living for?
When someone says "a loving God would not let evil to exist, and so He must not be real", they are saying that there is such a thing as love and evil, without explaining where these ideas came from, if it weren't for a Divine Creator.
So you see how the gospel of Christ is straightforward about His claims, but the alternatives that the world offers are deceptive, because they don't tell you the whole story.
If you are not a thinker, the gospel is not for you, teenager. Just go back to your video games and forget about any of this. But if you care about eternity, if you sense God turning on the light and telling you "wake up!" Perhaps it’s time to become a thinker, and think about the gospel. Jesus didn’t die for nothing. But if you’re not careful, you might.
MAN, do I ever love you!
I am thinking that the gospel is an “all-in” proposition, a little bit of a bizarre, radical message that is hard to swallow. The reason it is so hard to swallow is because it is very upfront about all of it’s assumptions and claims about what is really true about the universe. To reject the gospel because it is hard to accept – i.e. it sounds ridiculous as an explanation of God and reality – is to assume that there is a more logical approach to reality.
I only wonder if many of those teenagers who see Christ as a crutch, or old-fashioned, irrelevant, and not applicable to their lives – if they have actually considered the alternative. If Jesus Christ is not really the Son of God, and the bible is a load of nonsense, then what IS true about the universe? Is IT real? Am I real? If not, then what is this thing that I am living, called life? What does it mean? What is it’s purpose? Where did I come from, if not from a creator God? Is the claim that the universe was produced from a gigantic cosmic explosion really enough of an explanation to satisfy my question as to why I feel such things as love, fear, anger, hate, pride, and loneliness? Does the thought of being evolved from a puddle of single-celled organisms really lead up to a satisfying explanation as to why I have the ability to feel very real emotion? And if everything is merely by chance, then how do I explain this gnawing sense that some things are right, and others are wrong? And how could I say that a loving God would not allow evil if there is really no such thing as love or evil? Where do I even GET these ideas?
The message of Christ is hard to accept, because it asks teenagers, especially, to begin to think clearly, critically, sharply about what they believe, in a world where thinking and believing are based so much on self-preferences and emotions that may or may not have anything to do with reality. Christ challenges people to rethink their idea of justice, when someone wrongs us. And it happens a lot. Are we really justified to judge, or are we not just as guilty of some other, similar action? He challenges teens to rethink who is really boss around here. Most teenagers I know – myself included, when I was in high school – have the desire to break out of their parents “bondage” and to be their own person, because the people who seem to be running their life apparently know nothing. The idea is basically to choose your own destiny and path in life. Jesus comes down strong with a message that says “who is God here?”
The gospel is hard to accept, because it forces teenagers to think, who previously weren’t really thinking at all, but were letting the rest of the world do the thinking for them. They just go with the flow, enjoy what they like, hate what they don’t like, and give no thought as to where this joy and hate came from.
The alternative to the gospel - that being, independence from God - is really an alternative that doesn't give you all of the facts right up front.Every philosophy of life has, at it's very core, a presupposition that you have to look at.
For example, when someone says "be what you want to be", what is at the core of what they are saying? They are saying you have the choice, because there is no God to determine your direction in life.
When someone says "I'm not religious", all they are really saying is that they just kind of make up their own truth because they really don't prefer to believe in something that doesn't let them be their own god.
I remember when the Fredericktown Football team put out tee-shirts that said "be a part of something larger than yourself." What is that, but the very core of religion? And what IS that "something" that is "larger than yourself?" Football? Family? Friends? Really? What happens when all of these things - all these people - are gone and you are still standing there? NOW what are you living for?
When someone says "a loving God would not let evil to exist, and so He must not be real", they are saying that there is such a thing as love and evil, without explaining where these ideas came from, if it weren't for a Divine Creator.
So you see how the gospel of Christ is straightforward about His claims, but the alternatives that the world offers are deceptive, because they don't tell you the whole story.
If you are not a thinker, the gospel is not for you, teenager. Just go back to your video games and forget about any of this. But if you care about eternity, if you sense God turning on the light and telling you "wake up!" Perhaps it’s time to become a thinker, and think about the gospel. Jesus didn’t die for nothing. But if you’re not careful, you might.
MAN, do I ever love you!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
So I figured that one of the things I wanted to begin doing as a youth pastor is to provide some training for youth volunteers at my church in the form of youth leader workshops. I figure, if you're bold enough to volunteer in youth ministry, then you should at least have the opportunity for some instruction. The only problem is... I'm totally new at this! I've spent probably the last ten years or so in studying, theorizing, contemplating, philosophizing on the role, significance, and methods of youth ministry. The only thing I've never done is... well, youth ministry. Like, as a full-time job, anyway.
So here we are with three dates in the next nine months to have some volunteer youth leader workshops, and I am waning in experience, which translates into MATERIAL! I have no idea how to lead a youth leader workshop, having never done one before, and I have been incredibly nervous as to how to put together three sessions to cram inside 4 hours on a Saturday morning, and make it meaninful and genuinely helpful to youth leaders. That is, I don't want youth volunteers walking away, saying "WEAK! I learned NOTHING from that workshop. What a waste of my Saturday!" And for that matter, I struggle with the problem of pathos: How does a green noob stand and presume to teach seasoned leaders on principles and practices of youth ministry?
So I have been scrambling for material, interviewing youth pastors, asking for advice and materials that I can possibly use. I just keep hoping I'll stumble upon a video training course or something that will give some valuable material for youth volunteers so I won't be expected to say anything intelligent, but to just sit and learn with the rest of the group. I really need someone who has been doing it a while to step in and say "here, let me show you!" But here I am, starting from the bottom up, doing it from scratch. Pray for me.
Anyway, I have been pounding away on the keyboard off and on all day. I keep sending myself emails reminding myself about resources and ideas for talks, etc (since my computer is in the shop and I'm using a loaner right now). The following is just a thing that I banged out this afternoon on the topic of making disciples out of young people. I find that my frustration with being a new youth pastor sort of echo's the topic of this little essay on "the qualities of a disciple-maker". But this is, like, discipleship 101. It's not really heavy, specialized training, more like beginner stuff. I don't think I'm dealing with beginners, as all of our church youth ministry volunteers have tons of youth ministry experience at our church, and are ALL parents as well, which makes them a billion times more experienced than me at working with young people (I, as the youth pastor, ironically, am the ONLY person on the Youth or Children's board WITHOUT children of my own).
But for the life of me, I can't stand starting in the middle with ANYTHING I do. Lord help me, I feel like I'm preparing to teach the ABC's to a room full of Ph. D's.
Anyway, here's some stuff I wrote out today.
--------------
Perhaps you have heard this comment before: "Volunteer youth leaders should not see themselves as chaperones, but shepherds."
That is to say, we're not here to serve sodas and make sure no one cracks their head open by diving into the baptistry. That's called a sponsor. An adult supervisor. Anyone can do that. Indeed, it is a part of our task very often as youth leaders, as well it should be. But it is not our primary role. Our primary role is that of a shepherd, a spiritual leader, a mentor, sometimes a counsellor if need be.
The first knee-jerk response to this kind of challenge may be a firm "amen!" Everyone agrees that youth ministry is not just about providing adult supervision, but spiritual leadership. Great! But after that, the second, more reserved and less articulated response is that of intimidation. Who, after all, has ever felt qualified to be a shepherd and spiritual leader to young people? Most of us get nervous at the thought of having intimate conversations about God and spiritual things with teenagers. Sometimes, we would rather be an adult supervisor, the job seems much easier. If a youth ministry were like a school, then many of us would prefer to be a janitor - always there to clean up messes and provide crowd control, not a proactive role - rather than a teacher, responsible for the delicate and weighty task of teaching and discipling students, a highly proactive role that will have a huge effect on the future.
Why the intimidation? It's because many youth leaders feel unqualified for the task. Lack of experience or education or understanding of the current youth culture may cause an adult to be intimidated at the thought of being a maker of disciples, a spiritual shepherd.
The fact of the matter is, it is a huge misconception that has us believing that we must have an intimate understanding of youth culture or have a masters degree in teaching or counselling before we can have an effect on the lives of young people. It's a lie, and I will prove it:
Of the twelve apostles, how many of them had the equivelant of a college education? None of them, really. All of them had experience in their trade, and that was it. Yet God used them to be the very first disciple makers. Read Acts 2: Because of the ministry of the disciples, 5,000 people were added to the church in the first day. How is that for church growth! As the days turned into weeks, thousands more were coming to Christ as the apostles were busy preaching the good news of the gospel. What was their secret? A degree in sociology? Vast experience in public speaking? And understanding of First century Jewish and Greek culture? None of the above. Rather, it was an intimate knowledge of the material they were teaching: Jesus Christ. They had spent the last three years coming to know Him intimately. More than being familiar with the material (message of Christ), they had a personal relationship with him - literally! - and had received the Holy Spirit to empower their ministry.
There you have it: An intimate relationship with and knowledge of Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit working through them. Those are the simple ingredients of any truly successful ministry to young people. Given to us straight from the apostles. Given the fact that they were personally given the mandate by Jesus Himself to preach the gospel and make disciples, being given the promise that "I will be with you always" and the assurance that "all power has been given unto Me," they were ready to go, with the message that packed a punch!
Try this on for size: What are you good at? Think about your hobbies, your career, your special interests? Maybe you are a good musician, or maybe you build things, or perhaps you are good with computers. What is your strength, what are you comfortable with? Do you think you have sufficient grasp of your field of knowledge and ability to teach a novice? If you're a musician, could you comfortably pass on some of your experience on musicianship to and aspiring young music-maker? Builders, can you pass on your expertise and experience to a rookie learning to build a bird house? Computer geeks, could you teach a few things to someone who has never touched a computer before? Of course you could! It may be a little awkward at first, but once you got the hang of teaching, you would find that you have complete confidence that your years of experience in your subject would give you the ability to pass it on to others as one who is somewhat of an authority on the subject. You may not be a master in your field, and you may not be breaking records in your category, but you can still teach others from your vast well of experience.
The same ought to apply in the matter of making disciples out of young people. The fact of the matter is, counselling skills, understanding principles of education, and grasping youth culture are all side issues that can be helpful, but ultimately, will not be necessary in the work of leading young people in their spiritual walk. Let's put it another way: A sincere, seasoned follower of Christ can make disciples even if he lacks an education in teaching, counselling, or youth culture; but a person who is educated and experienced in all of these areas, yet does not have a sincere and thriving relationship with Jesus Christ will not be able to effectively make even one disciple. The only thing he will be able to produce is culturally aware, sensitive, perhaps well educated young disciples who have a weak, if non-existent, knowledge of who Jesus Christ really is. No matter how well a person may connect with young people, they will only produce shallow Christians if they are shallow themselves. This should be a relief to those of us who struggle to understand youth lingo, cultural icons, and teen life issues, but are genuinely loving and serving God and want to pass that on to the next generation. This is where we hear strange, wonderful stories about youth leaders who are in their 80's, making an impact on young people who were brought up in a completely different generational setting than that of a WWII vet. Bottom line: Your competence as a youth leader is directly in coorelation with your experience as a disciple of Christ. If you commit very little of yourself to being a follower of Christ, then you will have little experience as a disciple, and you will have little to teach. You SHOULD be intimidated. On the other hand, If you are actively, fervently pursuing a deeper relationship with God, allowing your life to be transformed by His word, you will have plenty of stories of a seasoned Christ-follower, and lots of experience. You will feel more comfortable sharing what you know about discipleship with those students who you are trying to disciple. Even those who see themselves as "introverts" or "awkward" will still find that they have a great deal to offer students.
So where does this put youth leaders? It puts us in a very important point of decision. Before we can answer the question "how do I lead young people effectively?", we have to be able to answer the question "how is my relationship with Christ?"
Here are some points to consider.
Growth takes time. This is more than taking a spiritual thermometer to our spiritual "mood" at the moment. A relationship with Christ is not like a mushroom that pops up over night with no root. Rather, it is cultivated. This is true for young people, yes? It is also true for youth leaders as well.
Growth can be hard work. We've got to be willing to ask the hard questions about our life and faith, applying it to every area of our life and being. Paul said we ought to "take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." Sometimes, in order to do this, we've got to allow ourselves to be open and honest about things that we have been ignoring and hiding from ourselves. Very often, when this is the case, we find we have become so hardened in some area of life that, in honesty and desperation for genuine growth towards God, we have to ask Him to begin the work of opening our eyes, ears, minds, and hearts to those things which we have been blind to. We may not like what we see. God will reveal blackness that we didn't want to know about. It hurts. It stinks. It's hard. It's humbling. It's embarassing. But it is necessary if we are to truly do the work of letting God clean us out, and make us the disciple He wants us to be, and to make us fit for being a disciple-maker. Remember: We can never expect young disciples to go through the hard paces of discipleship if we have not gone through them ourselves. Shallow disciples make more shallow disciples, and when a blind guide leads the blind, both will end up in a pit.
Growth will provide "pathos" or "credibility" to your message. Perhaps you've heard the expression "I can't hear what you are saying over what you are doing." In other words, actions speak way louder than words, and if the two are not consistent... well, let's get real, young people aren't stupid. They may not have it all figured out, and they may be duplicitous (hypocritical) themselves, but they can definitely smell inconsistency in others, especially in those who are claiming to be their leaders. A young person will often have a hard time throwing their trust towards someone who is inconsistent, whose actions does not match their words. But when they see an older disciple whose words and actions match, they will latch on to that person as someone who can be trusted. Even though young people are striving for independance, in this generation, they have been betrayed so much by duplicity in the adults they see - especially Christian adults - and they are longing for someone to trust. Someone they can count on to do the same thing every time. Someone whose very life will display the outcome of the message he or she is trying to put across. When young people sense this kind of genuineness, this seamless consistency and honesty, they latch on, no matter how much experience that adult may have with communicating with kids. Ask an adult what is the most important quality in a youth leader, they may reply "experience" or "education" or "being able to connect with the youth culture." Ask a teenagers what is the most important quality in a youth leader, undoubtedly they will not mention any of the above, they will simply reply by saying "Being real." Youth leaders have to be the real thing. It cannot be imitated, feigned, reproduced, or faked. A successful maker of disciples will be a true, genuine disciple himself.
Growth is not about biblical literacy... primarily. By this time, it should be obvious that while a knowledge and understanding of the bible is a key component to a significant, meaningful faith and relationship with Christ, but it certainly does not end there. Doug Fields has pointed out that there seem to be (at least) three different components to disciple making. Biblical training is one component. The second is example. The third is relationships. Someone who desires to make young disciples certainly should strive to teach the truth of God revealed in His word, but it doesn't end there (and if you find that you struggle to be a teacher, this should good news for you). Disciplers are also providing a solid example of what a disciple really does. This is comes with the whole package of becoming a sincere disciple. If your walk with Christ doesn't end in the class room, why should that be the case for your students? Put another way, does anyone who has ever driven a car for more than one year really believe that a person can learn to drive simply by reading a manual? Of course not! It requires practice, and a teacher who will sit in the passenger seat and gently guide you, giving you pointers along the way. Anything that asks for our full attention and dedication cannot be taught in a book, but must be demonstrated in real life. As far as relationships... well, this is where young disciples experience the character of God: through the character of other disciples! God's attributes are clearly shown to us through His creation (go breeze through Romans 1 to catch that lesson), but the greatest expression of God's character has not been through the whole of His creation, but specifically, through people, and even more specifically, through His Son. As Jesus invested His life into His disciples through meaningful relationships in which He displayed the true character and nature of God, then it falls upon us to do the same thing, cultivating meaningful relationships with young disciples, reflecting the character of God through the way we interact with them, demonstrating grace, kindness, gentleness, truth-speaking, etc. So while knowledge of the bible is a key component, we cannot go on assuming that discipleship ends in the classroom. Discipleship is integrated into the whole of life, and it must be communicated as such. Be ready to take your students far beyond the classroom in an effort to show them true Christ-life!
This is what makes a good youth worker. Not a chaperone, but a shepherd. Not a janitor, but a teacher. Not merely an educator, but a life model of true discipleship. If this is still scary, and you still feel uncomfortable, perhaps it's time to get familiar with the material. I don't mean go read another book on youth ministry or give an extra hour of study into your Sunday School Lesson. Rather, perhaps it may be time for you to begin to rediscover Christ. To examine yourself, to see if you are truly of the faith, or if you are simply coasting, sweeping the spiritual complacency under the rug.
It all starts by getting alone with God, getting brutally honest about the state of things in your heart, and sincerely asking God to make some very real changes. To begin to rid you of those things that are ugly in God's sight, and replace them with something worth looking at, and imitating. Remember, when you are in the work of making disciples, you've got to be worth imitating, reproducing. Paul said "imitate me, as I imitate Christ." I don't think Paul intended on being the only one able to say that, but he recognized the principle that every disciple should eventually come to the point where they can look at younger disciples and confidently yet humbly say "Imitate me as I imitate Christ."
"Though I'm wounded, though I die"
Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008
My friend Danielle wrote a very open, honest post about her growing experiences through pain and suffering. Also, another friend, Audra, wrote a very similar message about finding God in the midst of pain. It’s brought to mind some things I have been meditating on while driving my little blue car for eight hours a day delivering medicine to little old ladies.
Let me just say something about life and death.
If there is ever a more difficult question for a Christian to answer, it is, how can a loving God allow so much evil and suffering in the world? Is He not really all powerful? Is He not really all-loving? If He is both, is He not contradicting Himself by allowing the world to continue spinning while it is hurting, grieving, mourning, hating, dying?
One would think that the coming of the Son of God in flesh (the birth of whom we are presently celebrating) would bring either #1 an end to all suffering and evil, or #2 an explanation as to why such suffering and evil must exist. The Jews were hoping for #1. We in the 21st century would at least settle for #2.
But instead of coming to provide answers, and usher in a kingdom of peace and prosperity all over the earth, the Son of God, the Messiah who came to save the world… DIED. And He didn’t just die, He SUFFERED greatly, and then died an excruciating death. (Remember, the word “excruciating” got it’s meaning from the greek word for “crucify,” being a sort of death that is so utterly painful, it needed it’s own word to describe the pain.)
God died!
So when I am hurting and broken and disillusioned, I may turn to God and say “where are you? Where have you been?” There He is, saying “I am on the cross, suffering right there with you!”
Ravi Zacharias tells the story about Elie Wiesel, who wrote about an experience he had in a Nazi concentration camp, in which he witnessed two men and a boy being hanged. He wrote…
For many people, they are eating and drinking death and pain, and their soup tastes of corpses. They have witnessed all of goodness come to a bitter end, where hope is drowned in a sea of vile wickedness. And they look around and say “where is God?” Then some voice shouts “look, there He is! On the cross! He, too, is dying!” Another cries “let us go, so that we may die with Him.”
Before His death, Jesus had His disciples eat one last meal with Him. The air of death was in Jesus' nostrils, Jesus wanted His disciples to recognize the immanence of it, and for them to taste it with Him, and to understand why He was about to undergo this tragedy of death that many had experienced before - though never before had it been done this way, not by the Son of God. "This is my blood" He said, passing a cup of wine around the table "which is poured out for you." And they drank. "Take, eat, this is my body" He said, this time passing a piece of bread "which is broken for you." and they ate.
We eat and drink death every day. But Jesus wanted His disciples (and us) to digest one more death, the death that would end all death. "Do this in remembrance of Me." Hours later, HE was hanging on a cross, crying as we all have cried, "My God, why have You forsaken me?" And He hung His head and gave up the ghost.
But no sooner had all hope been destroyed in the hearts of those who once longed for it, there was news… God – who died on the cross three nights ago – was seen alive in a garden… He is no longer dead!
How can this be, and what does it mean?
It means that every pain that I have ever experienced, God offers no excuses, He simply comes and shares in the pain with me, and not only that, but the pain of the whole world. And then He came back to life! He is alive again! And then He makes this incredible promise that if I will embrace Him and die to myself along with Him, He will resurrect me, too! But not back into the person I once was, but into the kind of person God made me to be! Excellent! What more wonderful response could God have had toward evil, but to let it take HIM into the grave and die, and then come back to life again, having destroyed death?!
I don’t claim to understand the full force and meaning for evil. Perhaps it is, by its very nature, meaningless. But what I know is that Jesus came to bring meaning where meaning was lost. He brought reality back to the place that has been ransacked by lies, illusions and false realities.
And when I hurt, though my heart is crying out with pain, I am compelled to look to Christ, the God who died, and to say “Christ, You have died with me, for me. If You will have me, I wish to be buried with You. For I know that You have been raised again, and I want to be raised with You.”
Be recaptured by the death and resurrection of Christ. Let it fill you, let Jesus’ pain represent your pain, and watch yourself die to the evil that has brought you where you are. Then let Christ raise you up again into new life, and make you a child of God, filled with hope of eternal glory. If you must die, die with Christ. He will raise You, because it is His business of raising men from the dead.
“Unless a seed falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone. But, if it die, it will bring forth much fruit.” - Jesus
"Wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me out of the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" - Paul, the apostle
"O death, where is your victory? O grave, where is your sting? Death is swallowed up in victory!... Thanks be to God!" - Paul, the apostle
When I cannot feel
when my wounds won't heal
Lord I humbly kneel
hidden in You
Lord, You are my life
and I don't mind to die
just as long as I
am hidden in You
If I could just sit with You a while
nothing can touch me,
though I'm wounded, though I die
If I could just sit with You a while
If You could just hold me
moment by moment
till forever passes by
My friend Danielle wrote a very open, honest post about her growing experiences through pain and suffering. Also, another friend, Audra, wrote a very similar message about finding God in the midst of pain. It’s brought to mind some things I have been meditating on while driving my little blue car for eight hours a day delivering medicine to little old ladies.
Let me just say something about life and death.
If there is ever a more difficult question for a Christian to answer, it is, how can a loving God allow so much evil and suffering in the world? Is He not really all powerful? Is He not really all-loving? If He is both, is He not contradicting Himself by allowing the world to continue spinning while it is hurting, grieving, mourning, hating, dying?
One would think that the coming of the Son of God in flesh (the birth of whom we are presently celebrating) would bring either #1 an end to all suffering and evil, or #2 an explanation as to why such suffering and evil must exist. The Jews were hoping for #1. We in the 21st century would at least settle for #2.
But instead of coming to provide answers, and usher in a kingdom of peace and prosperity all over the earth, the Son of God, the Messiah who came to save the world… DIED. And He didn’t just die, He SUFFERED greatly, and then died an excruciating death. (Remember, the word “excruciating” got it’s meaning from the greek word for “crucify,” being a sort of death that is so utterly painful, it needed it’s own word to describe the pain.)
God died!
So when I am hurting and broken and disillusioned, I may turn to God and say “where are you? Where have you been?” There He is, saying “I am on the cross, suffering right there with you!”
Ravi Zacharias tells the story about Elie Wiesel, who wrote about an experience he had in a Nazi concentration camp, in which he witnessed two men and a boy being hanged. He wrote…
“The Nazis would set up hanging gallows outside of the concentration camps and force the prisoners to watch public hangings of their family members in an effort to break their spirits and kill their faith. On one such occasion Elie (a boy at the time) was forced to witness the hangings of two men and boy.The two men died quickly, but the boy died slowly and violently. While the boy was still alive, hanging from the gallows, someone behind Elie cried aloud, "Where is God? Where is He?" Elie remembers, “And I heard a voice within me answer him: "Where is He? Here He is — He is hanging here on this gallows ... That night the soup tasted of corpses.”
For many people, they are eating and drinking death and pain, and their soup tastes of corpses. They have witnessed all of goodness come to a bitter end, where hope is drowned in a sea of vile wickedness. And they look around and say “where is God?” Then some voice shouts “look, there He is! On the cross! He, too, is dying!” Another cries “let us go, so that we may die with Him.”
Before His death, Jesus had His disciples eat one last meal with Him. The air of death was in Jesus' nostrils, Jesus wanted His disciples to recognize the immanence of it, and for them to taste it with Him, and to understand why He was about to undergo this tragedy of death that many had experienced before - though never before had it been done this way, not by the Son of God. "This is my blood" He said, passing a cup of wine around the table "which is poured out for you." And they drank. "Take, eat, this is my body" He said, this time passing a piece of bread "which is broken for you." and they ate.
We eat and drink death every day. But Jesus wanted His disciples (and us) to digest one more death, the death that would end all death. "Do this in remembrance of Me." Hours later, HE was hanging on a cross, crying as we all have cried, "My God, why have You forsaken me?" And He hung His head and gave up the ghost.
But no sooner had all hope been destroyed in the hearts of those who once longed for it, there was news… God – who died on the cross three nights ago – was seen alive in a garden… He is no longer dead!
How can this be, and what does it mean?
It means that every pain that I have ever experienced, God offers no excuses, He simply comes and shares in the pain with me, and not only that, but the pain of the whole world. And then He came back to life! He is alive again! And then He makes this incredible promise that if I will embrace Him and die to myself along with Him, He will resurrect me, too! But not back into the person I once was, but into the kind of person God made me to be! Excellent! What more wonderful response could God have had toward evil, but to let it take HIM into the grave and die, and then come back to life again, having destroyed death?!
I don’t claim to understand the full force and meaning for evil. Perhaps it is, by its very nature, meaningless. But what I know is that Jesus came to bring meaning where meaning was lost. He brought reality back to the place that has been ransacked by lies, illusions and false realities.
And when I hurt, though my heart is crying out with pain, I am compelled to look to Christ, the God who died, and to say “Christ, You have died with me, for me. If You will have me, I wish to be buried with You. For I know that You have been raised again, and I want to be raised with You.”
Be recaptured by the death and resurrection of Christ. Let it fill you, let Jesus’ pain represent your pain, and watch yourself die to the evil that has brought you where you are. Then let Christ raise you up again into new life, and make you a child of God, filled with hope of eternal glory. If you must die, die with Christ. He will raise You, because it is His business of raising men from the dead.
“Unless a seed falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone. But, if it die, it will bring forth much fruit.” - Jesus
"Wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me out of the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" - Paul, the apostle
"O death, where is your victory? O grave, where is your sting? Death is swallowed up in victory!... Thanks be to God!" - Paul, the apostle
When I cannot feel
when my wounds won't heal
Lord I humbly kneel
hidden in You
Lord, You are my life
and I don't mind to die
just as long as I
am hidden in You
If I could just sit with You a while
nothing can touch me,
though I'm wounded, though I die
If I could just sit with You a while
If You could just hold me
moment by moment
till forever passes by
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Youth Ministry - "What am I supposed to be doing?" (Apparently I'm a blogger, now)
I guess I am officially 10 days old in my new youth ministry role. The church voted me in last Saturday as the Youth Pastor at Twin Oak Free Will Baptist Church. Before that, I have been serving on an intern/interim basis as "Children's Pastor" all summer, a role which I had assumed unofficially for a while before going to bible college. Now I'm home, and here to stay for a while. I figure I at least owe this much to my church, since they were so helpful in supporting me financially while I was in college, and giving me preaching opportunities every time I came home. At any rate, I have always had a burden for the kids at Twin Oak. Their pictures hung on my wall in my dorm, and theirs were the faces I imagined while sitting in classes, wondering when and how I would teach them all the amazing things I had been learning. And now I'm here, and it's time. I am a youth pastor.
It's an interesting mix of feelings that kind of swirl around my head daily. There's usually at least once every day when I am filled with hope with future expectations, and another part of the day when I'm filled with dread, thinking "what am I doing? I can't be a youth pastor!" But all the time, I am caught whispering constant prayers, asking God for wisdom, guidance, strength, and most of all, the power of God. I have so many influences in my life, many of them leading in different directions, and it's hard to know what direction to go very often. So I walk day to day, largely fearing to peer into long-range goals and commitments, because I know that one wrong turn today will have me a thousand miles out of my way after having been at sea for a few months. I am trusting in God. Or at least I think I am. I hope I am. Will you pray for me?
I get really excited about the new stuff we are doing. Right now, I am spending most of my time with the Children's Church. Keep in mind that, at my church, the "Youth Pastor" also assumes the role of Children's pastor as well. So my "pastorate" includes anyone between the ages of 6 and 18. Lot's of new ideas keep popping into my head faster than I can write them down.
I'm looking forward to all of this kind of stuff. But Thursday night, Lord willing, the Children's board will be having a meeting in which we will be discussing the direction of the Children's ministry. And I find myself going back to a question a boy once asked in a Sunday School class, about 7 years ago when I was sort of youth pastoring at another church. I don't even remember what the lesson was about, but out of no where, this 12-year-old boy blurts out words that I will never, ever forget. He asked "What are we supposed to be doing? Like, I know that we're supposed to get saved and ask Jesus into our heart and all that, but, like, after that... what are we supposed to do?"
Did you catch that?
For me, the question was not so much asking for a tirade about "read your bible and pray every day", though perhaps such an answer could have been appropriately communicated. But the question, to me, was more a question of "how do I assume this role of 'Child of God'? How does this new commitment I've made toward Christ affect the whole of my direction in life and my self-identity? How do I engage in incarnational living and live a holy life which marks a true Christian?"
Okay, maybe I read way too much into his question. I like to think that these were the deep, profound sentiments that this 12-year-old son-of-a-redneck was intimating to his timid, inexperienced, newly "Purpose Driven" 19-year-old substitute Sunday School teacher. But I remember thinking that no "Five Purposes" or four spiritual laws or seven habits of highly effective people or "read your bible and pray every day" pat answer was going to get at his question, as I perceived it.
Maybe it was only because I was asking the same question. "What am I supposed to be doing?" I don't remember how I responded to his question, or the other teacher that was there with me, but I remember it was something weak and insignificant. The last I heard, that boy had graduated High School and was having nothing to do with church. I always blame myself, because I didn't have a good answer for him that day, but I imagine it was probably more like a life of being given petty, meaningless answers. Growing up in church, being spoonfed bible questions and answers, having never seen or heard a powerful demonstration of the gospel. The Christian life is far more than...
"read your bible, pray every day"
"Don't cuss, drink, smoke, or chew,
and don't run around with the girls that do,
or else, we're gonna excommunicate you"
"Potluck Sunday! It's called 'fellowship'!"
But in a rural church setting, sometimes it's hard NOT to get the impression that this is what religious livin' is all about. Living out the Christian life is certainly more profound than these cultural caricatures that seem to characterize it in certain regions of the country, but how do we get past the misconceptions, and get at the heart of true Christian living? What's it about? "What are we supposed to be doing?" As individuals? As churches?
Now, the question that I am now asking, as a youth pastor is, "what am I supposed to be doing?" That is, what is my role? What steps should I be taking? What are my responsibilities? Is there some model from those youth ministry courses I took and books I read that I should be implementing? Should I simply be waiting on the Lord to come down in a flash of lightning to give me a game plan for what to do, or pray for revival and expect that everyone else is doing the same? Is there such a thing as "direction" in youth ministry, or do I simply teach and preach the gospel, and hope that "direction" will find itself as the providence of God works itself out?
There are a few different ways these questions have been answered, and usually the ones that involve trusting in God and using the natural gifts He has given us are the only ones that make sense. I only have a few goals.
It's an interesting mix of feelings that kind of swirl around my head daily. There's usually at least once every day when I am filled with hope with future expectations, and another part of the day when I'm filled with dread, thinking "what am I doing? I can't be a youth pastor!" But all the time, I am caught whispering constant prayers, asking God for wisdom, guidance, strength, and most of all, the power of God. I have so many influences in my life, many of them leading in different directions, and it's hard to know what direction to go very often. So I walk day to day, largely fearing to peer into long-range goals and commitments, because I know that one wrong turn today will have me a thousand miles out of my way after having been at sea for a few months. I am trusting in God. Or at least I think I am. I hope I am. Will you pray for me?
I get really excited about the new stuff we are doing. Right now, I am spending most of my time with the Children's Church. Keep in mind that, at my church, the "Youth Pastor" also assumes the role of Children's pastor as well. So my "pastorate" includes anyone between the ages of 6 and 18. Lot's of new ideas keep popping into my head faster than I can write them down.
- In effort to start working on more bible memory with the children, I wrote my first two bible songs (just bible verses put to music) and taught them to the kids last week. They LOVED them! I can't wait to do more.
- I want to put a major emphasis on prayer. I will begin writing down names of all the students in our church, putting them on a big poster board or something (with special needs written beside them if there are any), hang it up in my office, and pray for those names every day. I will encourage other youth workers to do the same.
- I am really looking forward to taking the teens to the FWB Youth Conference this year, and take the opportunity to spend some time with them at the Edge challenge course which will teach lessons in teamwork. In the midst of that, I want to have some intense small group discussions on "unity" and "spiritual maturity", as opposed to the natural order of the day, in which our teens are scratching each other's eyeballs out, and afraid to open up about anything for fear of being judged.
- I want to get serious about doing bible studies with the teens in their Sunday School class (abandoning the weak Sunday School literature that they are issued). This fall, after Windermere, I'm going to challenge them to read through the book of Genesis (or Matthew, haven't decided yet), and write down any thoughts or questions they have about their readings, and turn them in each week. In January, we will begin a study in Genesis (or Matthew), and I will use their feedback which they have submitted for the last several weeks to help me as I prepare lesson plans.
- colors! we are going to paint the Children's Church room with colors other than gray and hand-print white. I also intend to implement the use of rugs for sitting on. That's right, we're getting rid of chairs and sitting on the floor!
- giving teens opportunities to get their feet wet in ministry by having them help me in the Children's program on a rotation basis.
- SS Teacher training! Yay!
I'm looking forward to all of this kind of stuff. But Thursday night, Lord willing, the Children's board will be having a meeting in which we will be discussing the direction of the Children's ministry. And I find myself going back to a question a boy once asked in a Sunday School class, about 7 years ago when I was sort of youth pastoring at another church. I don't even remember what the lesson was about, but out of no where, this 12-year-old boy blurts out words that I will never, ever forget. He asked "What are we supposed to be doing? Like, I know that we're supposed to get saved and ask Jesus into our heart and all that, but, like, after that... what are we supposed to do?"
Did you catch that?
For me, the question was not so much asking for a tirade about "read your bible and pray every day", though perhaps such an answer could have been appropriately communicated. But the question, to me, was more a question of "how do I assume this role of 'Child of God'? How does this new commitment I've made toward Christ affect the whole of my direction in life and my self-identity? How do I engage in incarnational living and live a holy life which marks a true Christian?"
Okay, maybe I read way too much into his question. I like to think that these were the deep, profound sentiments that this 12-year-old son-of-a-redneck was intimating to his timid, inexperienced, newly "Purpose Driven" 19-year-old substitute Sunday School teacher. But I remember thinking that no "Five Purposes" or four spiritual laws or seven habits of highly effective people or "read your bible and pray every day" pat answer was going to get at his question, as I perceived it.
Maybe it was only because I was asking the same question. "What am I supposed to be doing?" I don't remember how I responded to his question, or the other teacher that was there with me, but I remember it was something weak and insignificant. The last I heard, that boy had graduated High School and was having nothing to do with church. I always blame myself, because I didn't have a good answer for him that day, but I imagine it was probably more like a life of being given petty, meaningless answers. Growing up in church, being spoonfed bible questions and answers, having never seen or heard a powerful demonstration of the gospel. The Christian life is far more than...
"read your bible, pray every day"
"Don't cuss, drink, smoke, or chew,
and don't run around with the girls that do,
or else, we're gonna excommunicate you"
"Potluck Sunday! It's called 'fellowship'!"
But in a rural church setting, sometimes it's hard NOT to get the impression that this is what religious livin' is all about. Living out the Christian life is certainly more profound than these cultural caricatures that seem to characterize it in certain regions of the country, but how do we get past the misconceptions, and get at the heart of true Christian living? What's it about? "What are we supposed to be doing?" As individuals? As churches?
Now, the question that I am now asking, as a youth pastor is, "what am I supposed to be doing?" That is, what is my role? What steps should I be taking? What are my responsibilities? Is there some model from those youth ministry courses I took and books I read that I should be implementing? Should I simply be waiting on the Lord to come down in a flash of lightning to give me a game plan for what to do, or pray for revival and expect that everyone else is doing the same? Is there such a thing as "direction" in youth ministry, or do I simply teach and preach the gospel, and hope that "direction" will find itself as the providence of God works itself out?
There are a few different ways these questions have been answered, and usually the ones that involve trusting in God and using the natural gifts He has given us are the only ones that make sense. I only have a few goals.
- I want to have youth at our church see some real models of Spirit-led, victorious Christian living by their adult role models. I can't produce that in others, I can only start with myself (and my wife, to a degree), being diligent to walk in obedience to the Spirit. I want to be a model of prayer, and one who encourages, exhorts, instructs, and comforts, while encouraging others to "imitate me, as I imitate Christ." No one was ever discipled by curriculum or a program, but by Spirit-led mentors and true demonstrations of the power and the love of God.
- I want to help Christian parents in our church see themselves as the REAL youth pastors here, to help them assume the role of one who would "train up a child in the way he should go" and to "teach these commandments to your children" and to "suffer the little children to come to Jesus, and forbid them not" and to "not exasperate your children to the point of dispair", etc. The Youth Pastor can only do so much with 1-2 hours a week.
- I want to help teachers understand what they are teaching, and to become more effective communicators. Of course, this will only be of any help if the teachers themselves are also Christlike examples in their walk, no matter how well they communicate or know their bible.
Lofty goals? Beit or not, they are my primary burdens. If God changes them, so beit.
So what do you think? Whether you are in youth ministry, senior pastoral ministry, or a church janitor, just trying to serve Christ......"What are we supposed to be doing?"
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