5/10/2008

An open letter to parents with youth

NOTE: This is not an actual letter I ever plan to send to my youth group parents, nor do I currently experience all of these problems in my youth ministry in the first place. It is a fictitious letter based on common issues many youth workers would love to address but often don’t have the guts nor freedom to express.

Dear parent,

It seems like more and more of your kids are coming to church without you. I know you see this as a pretty good deal for your student since you get some quiet time at home and most of the events we do are paid-for, but you should know that there is no greater influence in your child’s life than you. Whether they tell you or not, your kid actually wants you involved in their life, even here at church. Come visit us sometime with your student and see how your relationship can grow together!

And then there’s some of you who actually forbid your teenager from attending youth Bible studies. You should know that the church is one of the last places on earth where basic morality and values are still taught, since schools are now forbidden to do so. We teach your teenager to obey you and respect you because that’s what the Lord expects from them. We also help your teenager address matters like relationships, making good choices, and setting priorities. With all the negativity and lies the media is using to bombard teenagers, we remain a light to help steer your student toward a growing relationship with the Lord.

Parents, please guide your child to be faithful in church attendance. Teenagers aren’t allowed to choose whether or not they want to go to school. Neither should you assume that they are mature enough to decide for themselves about church. Please, do not enable them to form the idea that church involvement should be based on the level of entertainment it provides. Teach your student not develop a consumerism mindset of, “What can the church do for me?” but instead approach church with the biblical mindset of, “How can I serve the body?”

What I don’t understand is how you’ll never ground your student from school, yet grounding him/her from church is acceptable, as if academic education is more important than spiritual training. You keep your student at home to watch TV, play on the Internet and listen to the radio when they actually need a good dose of spiritual encouragement. Maybe you should ground them to church instead of away from it.

We love going on trips and pulling off events for your student, but please ensure that he/she honors their commitment. The church invests many resources into these activities and when your child drops out at the last minute, it wastes money that was sacrificially provided by others.

The most important thing you can do is communicate with your student’s youth leaders. If you’re struggling with your child in a specific way, we’d love to pray for you! If you’re trying to teach him/her something at home, we’d love to help reinforce that at church. What you have to share with us can be critically important to how we interact and teach the student at church. Plus, the youth leaders may see and hear things that you should know about, too. Team up with us!

Whether you’re supportive of the youth ministry or not, please do not gossip about it or spread your negativity unless you’re speaking directly to me about it. Especially do not share your “critical evaluation” of the ministry or about individuals in it when you’re at home. You’ll only raise your children to be cynical and negative toward the church. They will grow up viewing church with the perspectives you model, so please be a gracious in your speech and attitude.

I’m actually not against criticism at all. In fact, I embrace your loving and respectful feedback since you can often see important issues I may never notice. However, please come straight to me with your concerns. Going to anyone else first is what the Bible calls gossip. When you come to me with a problem, also come prepared to offer a solution and the willingness to be a part of resolving the issue.

Thank you for your support! I pray for you regularly and hope we can continue to partner together in seeing your students’ lives transformed into a reflection of Christ.

– Your Youth Pastor

5/09/2008

Top Twenty Theological Pick-up Lines NOT to use


An interesting, note-worthy post from Michael Patton and His Parchment and Pen Blog at
Reclaiming the Mind Ministries.

Usually I find this blog to be very incitefull theologically and a great resource. Recently Michael posted an odd post. It is interesting, and some of the "pick-up lines" are just REALLY terrible and NOT worth your time, but here are a few that did make me chuckle:

18. “Paul said that it was better to marry than to burn. Therefore, I am under God’s mandate to marry you.”

17. “Here, let me take care of those tithes."

14. "Your name must be grace, because you are irresistible.”

6.“God may be the bread of life, but you are the butter.”

5/08/2008

Church Media nd Messages

A medium (like Media) affects the message. This is pretty well research theory. If it is true, how will the Christian message be affected by new media?

As communication theorist Marshall McLuhan argued, the tools we use to communicate a message can shape that message in ways we may or may not intend. If this is true then Christians have a duty to critically evaluate the effect of our media choices on our message. Do our choices of media forms allow the message to remain Christian? Or are the tools with which we communicate at odds with the message of the Gospel?


This blurb, I got from somewhere (cannot remember where) brings up some great points and questions. It is great that someone is taking a look at this and studying it. It will be useful to learn from this type of research. But as I ran through my mind, I could not think of an occasion where the tools that (I and my church anyways) we have used have shaped the message in odd or negative ways. Maybe I am too close to see it if it is happening, or I am missing the point? Maybe I am not evaluating it correctly...I don't know.

I do appreciate the research he is doing. And will keep my eyes open. One big problem that people might run into is over emphasis on the Media and 'worshiping' the Media. This would be sinful. Another problem might be the overemphasis or dependence on the Media. If the message cannot go on due to technology, then that also would be an issue you might need to bring up!
But overall, I think Media can be a good thing. A. TO keep up and engage culture. b. Convenience- it helps keep organized and prep work faster

5/07/2008

evangulism and personality

Ideas From evangelism coach

Each of us have our own personality, that God has given us. In the same way we also have "evangelism styles." Even in the New Testament we see how personality plays a role in evangelism. This is not a bad thing at all. God has made us a certain way. And we can glorify Him through being ourself, even while sharing our faith. This is Biblical:

In Acts 2: 22-41, we see a Confrontational approach by Peter.
In Acts 17:15-34, we see an Intellectual approach by Paul.
In Luke 5:27-29, we see a relational approach by Matthew.
Acts 9 shows us Dorca's servant approach.
John 9 - We hear of a blind man's testimony.

This is just a few of the many examples in the Bible. You can probably think of more from the Bible or in your own life. I know of a man, whose approach is love. In all of his actions, there is a feeling of love behind his actions. It is hard to explain. It is the Holy Spirit.

Other people have a very Intentional approach, they go out of their way to share the Good news of the Gospel to everyone they know, somehow, someway - whenever the Holy Spirit allows.

Gen Y Christians are exciting to watch. They have several ways of engaging the culture, but yet still remaining true th the Gospel and "glorify God in whatever they do." Gen Y engages the culture and relates to the lost on their turf. They reach out creatively and spread God's Word this way.

Another awesome thing about Gen Y Christians is that they engage not only to saving souls (which is important to them) but also in literally changing the world. Literally. Gen Y Christians in America are beginning to realize that here in America we have it well. We have it all. They are sharing not only the Good News of the Gospel, but sharing food, water, education, money, and resources to the people in less fortunate situations around the world. Today we as Christians should be interested in both of these things. God has given us responsibility and good fortunes. We are commanded to share and to glorify Him more throughout the earth. This is a chance to share His love love and it is our responsibility to share our surplus. Showing love and sharing in our riches leads to us also sharing our faith in the first place.











** Most books posted on this blog, I have read, but I have not read any of Bill Hybele's book (Holy Discontent and/or Being a Contagious Christian) but now I want to read them, since this post is based on this readings apparently. :)

5/06/2008

Co-Resurrection - My Utmost For His Highest, Oswald Chambers

Here is a devotional from My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers
My take on the issues are in italics.

Co-Resurrection -
The proof that I have been through crucifixion with Jesus is that I have a decided likeness to Him. The incoming of the Spirit of Jesus into me readjusts my personal life to God. The resurrection of Jesus has given Him authority to impart the life of God to me, and my experimental life must be constructed on the basis of His life. I can have the resurrection life of Jesus now, and it will show itself in holiness.

I have been reading Chamber's Utmost for His Highest, as part of my devotional this year. There is some mind-blowing stuff in here. Some days I get absolutely nothing out of them, because I simply just do not understand what Oswald is trying to say. Some of this devotional is difficult reading, but I think that this is beautiful and challenging. We are so dependent upon Him! You see the beauty of Christianity is that God reached down to us, to save us, to heal us, forgive us. Without Him we cannot experience forgiveness, holiness, or grace. The resurrection, that we had nothing to do with, we get to claim and experience with Him. He saved us! How humbling it is to think about it as a co-resurrection!

The idea all through the apostle Paul's writings is that after the moral decision to be identified with Jesus in His death has been made, the resurrection life of Jesus invades every bit of my human nature. It takes omnipotence to live the life of the Son of God in mortal flesh. The Holy Spirit cannot be located as a Guest in a house, He invades everything. When once I decide that my "old man" (i.e., the heredity of sin) should be identified with the death of Jesus, then the Holy Spirit invades me. He takes charge of everything, my part is to walk in the light and to obey all that He reveals. When I have made the moral decision about sin, it is easy to reckon actually that I am dead unto sin, because I find the life of Jesus there all the time. Just as there is only one stamp of humanity, so there is only one stamp of holiness, the holiness of Jesus, and it is His holiness that is gifted to me. God puts the holiness of His Son into me, and I belong to a new order spiritually.


This is so good and so true! This so awesome, yet again- challenging. The Old is Gone and the New has Come. We are alive to Christ and dead to Sin. We are new creations. We have redemption through Christ's blood. It is a fresh start! But it is through the Holy Spirit. And we must let go of our pride and remove stumbling blocks that get in the way of letting the Spirit take over. Not everyone is willing to let go of their self and their pride and simply let God take control. The Holy Spirit will work and it will invade...how sad it is when my lost friends know the truth and they close their heart off from the truth. They are not set free by it. they harden their hearts and they run from reality.

5/05/2008

Light bulb idea!: My faith and my small groups

A real life realization about Small Groups

I made a connection today. It was a connection about my life and how I am probably the worse small group leader and youth minister ever.
I have compartmentalized my life and put my role as a small groups leader in a small box, far away from the rest of my life. I am at a point in my spiritual life where I know I should show/display/live out God's love in my life. I want to do that, in every way. In my Quiet time today it said that sometimes we need to take action instead of giving everything to God and forgetting about it all. It is balance between prayer and action. I had been praying recently about my youth ministry, a lot. I felt that things were not right. I felt that God had a bigger plan for this youth ministry, my small group specifically and those fruits were not sprouting. I was crying out to God about it. Something clicked and these three things came together. I had compartmentalized small groups to my Sundays. I have been limiting my time and energy that I give to my men, limiting it to only one day. I realized that firstly that is not enough. Secondly, I had not taken much action to change this. Thirdly that I am inconsistent - go figure - but I am at a point where I want to show God's love to people, but yet one of the biggest ares of my life that God has given me a chance to do this is right in front of me. It is on my mind, I am praying for these guys everyday. Why don't I show them more love. Spend more time with them and try to become a better small group leader?
Here are some articles I have been reading lately that maybe will help you be a better small group leader too!:
Doug Fields- 10 things a great Small Groups leader does

Kevin Mahaffey Jr - 11 steps to effictive Small Groups