Filed under: family life, my faith journey, youth ministry | Tags: busyness, christianity, faith, life lessons
Seven years ago I began my journey into youth ministry by teaching a 5th grade class. Eventually, my volunteer role morphed into my life’s calling and full time vocation. The first several months left me working a full time job that i didn’t really like, pouring into a full time ministry that I was passionate about, and planning a wedding to the woman of my dreams. It was insane, but I convince myself it was just a “busy season”. Seven years, 1 wedding, 2 children, countless camps and retreats and events and football games later, I find that season never ended.
Busyness isn’t unique to ministry, we are all busy, all the time. I have found that even in full time, vocational church work (I often tell my students that I am a professional Christian) my personal spiritual development takes a back seat to the tasks at hand. The problem is that there is always a task at hand. Lately I have been thinking alot about what to make of all this. If busyness is the norm (we could debate whether that should or shouldn’t be the case, but that’s not for here or now) than how do i find Christ in the midst of the norm? Today, I write not as one winning, but rather as one losing but who desperately wants to find a better way. To that end, I offer a couple of suggestions for finding faith in the frantic…
1. Make the most of moments that aren’t crazy
There are moments of calm even in the craziest of days… turn the radio off in the car, take the long way to the copier, heck, put the magazine down in the bathroom and instead talk to Him. Don’t worry about the way it sounds, just tell Him what’s going on in your day. Vent, confess, listen… connect. A couple of minutes won’t kill you or set you behind. Be willing to let your mind slow down and focus only on Him, even if just for a couple of minutes at a time. I promise, it will change the way you look at the world around you.
2. Realize who God really is, and who really isn’t God
Start each day reminding yourself that you aren’t God, and He is. There is nothing you face today that God can help walk you through. he created you, your boss, the person who invented the industry you are employed in… In Colossians 1 we are told that in him everything is help together and finds it’s purpose. I laugh at myself when I say I am too busy to stop and pray… isn’t it at those times i should stop the most? Martin Luther once said, “My life is too busy not to spend the first three hours of it in prayer.”
Show off.
But seriously… you aren’t God. I’m not either. We can’t make it perfect in our own strength. Sure, we could finish the task, but at what cost? What we can do is connect to the one who is perfect. And more than completing the task, we will find ourselves feeling more completed. We were designed to be dependant… not on pay checks or approval, but on Him.
Again, I ain’t there yet, but I want to be. Next month will be busier than this month, and then, well… let’s just say it looks like this season is going to be a long one. If I can’t change the pace, I can at least change who I follow. Here’s hoping.
Filed under: youth ministry | Tags: high school, junior high, real life, sex, teaching, truth, youth ministry
I am really excited about two new series we are starting. With high school, we are starting a series called “Untouchables” which we got from Saddleback. It takes a look at 4 things the church is slow to speak on… too slow some times. Topics include homosexuality, death, disability, and prejudice. I hope that this series will help us learn the difference between hating sin and hating sinners. Our Father is passionate about lost people and those struggling with these issues… even though it breaks His heart to see them struggling or overcome with sin. Too often, Christians get the hate sin part, but forget the love sinners. Where else do we find healing of all of our sins but in the presence of the almighty, and what better example of that is there than in the local church? Here is the graphic that I think is pretty cool…
And in junior high, we are doing a new series called EXPOSED! The Truth About Sex, which is another Saddleback resource. We are takinga three week look at sex, and it is the first time we have done this specifically for junior high students. We want to show the kids what God intended sex to be, where it got off track and what they can do to reclaim the true intention in their own lives. I am super excited. We had to re-work the artwork a little bit, but I think it looks great. I am really excited about both series. Will you pray for us?
Filed under: my faith journey, youth ministry | Tags: christianity, passion, wednesday, youth ministry
We have been in a weird place lately with our Wednesday Night Program. It seems to be loosing steam. Some of it stems from busy schedules and football season, and some of it results from having a huge group of seniors who tend to find reasons to slow their attendance during their last year of high school. I have actually lost sleep about the changes, but tonight, I am actually heading towards peace. Here are a couple of reasons why…
First, the kids who are coming are engaged and love it. That’s a win. I have to admit that I have fallen into numbers watching. I know that the saying is true that healthy things grow, but I also know that there is often pruning (shrinking) before growth. I also know, to quote Dallas Willard, that “Christians ought to be weighed, not counted.” It isn’t just numerical growth that suggests health, it is spiritual health, and there is a very healthy percentage of our kids who are growing spiritually. I never want to discount that for the sake of numbers. Shame on me. Don’t get me wrong, I am not ignoring our decline or speaking against large programs. Quite the opposite. We have had meetings at length abut the program… what’s wrong and how do we fix it. But what I have finally come to is that my primary job is to make student disciples who love God, love others and serve their world. I have to pray about whether or not I am hitting the mark in those areas, and if I am, then numbers don’t matter. My call is to disciple those who God leads to me. If I feel that I am missing the mark, then beating myself up doesn’t lead to gain, either. Repent, and then hit the ground running. I am passionate about students. I want to see them reached for the glory of Christ. I recommit myself to making sure that every young person God brings to me knows they are loved.
Secondly, I feel good because it has solidified in my mind some changes that need to be made. I am not ready to roll them out in this setting, but just know that I have had a lot in my head about the way we do ministry and the why we hold onto certain programs, and I feel like we may be in a season when our students are looking for depth that can’t necessarily be found in a huge group. I love where we are at, and I love where we are headed next.
God has been good to me. I, on the other hand, often take God’s credit, while letting him shoulder all the blame. For that, I am sorry. Today, I surrender myself FULLY to the almighty. God, I want what you want, and I want you to destroy the places in my heart and mind where that statement isn’t true. I desire intimacy with you like I have never felt, even aware of the sacrifice that this will require. Let me not just make disciples, but first be one. I love you, and I thank you for loving me.
Filed under: my faith journey, youth ministry | Tags: Christ, Rob Bell, spiritual growth, youth
Thursday mornings are always tough for me as I wake up after a late night at youth and try to get ready so I can take the kids to school. My wife does the hard work of getting them ready because it is all I can do to stumble my way blindly to the coffee pot and throw some joe down my throat.
But this morning is a little different, if only because the weather outside is BEAUTIFUL!! It puts a little spring in my step and a smile on my face.
Last night at youth we watched a Rob Bell NOOMA video called Sunday and then had an awesome discussion about it. It was really challenging. One thing stuck out with me. He reminded us that God isn’t intereseted in rituals or ceremony or faking our way through the right thing. He wants our hearts. As we discussed it, that thought came up and so I asked, “How can you tell if God has your whole heart? How can you tell if you are wholly His?” The kids did a great job of explaining things like integrity and where your thought life goes and the amount of time spent caring for / after the people God has called us to reach. It was awesome to see that they get it, even if we all fall short of hitting it. It was an encouraging time, as we all sort of just said, “Hey, we can do this… we can be wholly His.”
But as we were talking, a thought cme to my mind. One kid said you can tell if you are His by how much time you spend thinking about him over the course of given day. At first, I felt relief as I could point to big chunks of my day where my vocation leads me to think on my Savior. He was in my thoughts a lot. But then I felt that conviction that only comes when God reveals some truth that only He could. The question I felt I was being asked was, “How much time do you spend talking to me just for the sake of your own personal growth and so you can know me more?” The answer to that question was a little less encouraging.
I spend time thinking about what God wants for the youth and how we can better connect them to Him. I spend time praying that God provide for my needs and take care of my children. I think about how to measure what he is doing in the lives of students, but rarely do I stop to ask him what He is or wants to be doing in me.
I think as parents or leaders we spend time thinking about what God wants for our families or ministries, but we don’t often just sit and hang out with the one who loves us more than anyone ever could. The result? We feel burnt out, distant, and abandoned. And then we stumble into this strange paradox… our spiritual coolness affects the way we function in our parental and / or leadership rolls.
I’m not even sure if I am making sense, but here is what I came to last night. I’ve got to, no, we all have to, set aside time to spend with God without an agenda. Without a list of things i need him to do or solve, but just to hang out with him because He loves me, and i love Him. My dry flesh and thirsty soul need to be connected with the well that never runs dry. There is nothing more important than that pursuit.
I know it isn’t going to be easy to carve out time and set out lists, but if my suspicions are true, the fruit will be worth it.
Filed under: family life, youth ministry | Tags: family, growing up, pizza, youth
The last few years have been an interesting ride as I transition from being a young, cool 20 something to now staring 30 in the face, knowing it’s time to at least play grown-up most of the time. It’s been a tough battle, but there is nothing that sums up my struggle to find where I fit than my choice of breakfast this morning… leftover pizza and a cup of coffee. One part full fledged adult, on part irresponsible college student. And there, summed up in one unhealthy sitting is my dilema.
Being a youth pastor doesn’t help. I sit in directors meetings and have adult conversations from 8-5, but then after school, I am surrounded by teenagers, and i honestly can’t decide which crowd I like best! There are benefits to both, and there are certainly drawbacks to both. I mean, adults have to be responsible, but high school? You can keep your drama. Not interested.
There was a time when 30 seemed about the right age for switching to bermuda shorts and taking up shuffle board, but as I sit here, it isn’t that old after all. Facing up to being a grown-up has been hard, but in the end, it ain’t so bad. Sure, the knees give me a little trouble going down stairs in the morning, but I also get to be husband to Bre and daddy to Abby and Carson, a benefit that only comes with age. Age has also landed me my dream job and afforded me the opportunity to walk with an amazing group of teenagers on their journey to find where Christ is leading them and struggle to balance teen angst with a joy-filled life. All in all, I’m cool with where I am, but if it’s all the same, I’ll keep my pizza and coffee…
i don’t have much to say, but I am trying to make blogging a habit, so here it goes.
It’s a nice day outside, and my desk is situated between two windows giving me a birds eye view of the wonder that is outdoors. There is absolutely no chance that I make it through the day without going outside and goofing off. No chance. It won’t happen. I need to finish my talk for tonight, then it’s go time.
I think i’ll hit golf balls on to the property next door. that sounds awesome. just have to figure out how i can justify it as ministry… can i make a game for j-hi out of it? surely i can…
Church Can Still Be Cool 