Filed under: XBOX 360, Youth Ministry | Tags: Blazer Tag Austin, Rock Band, Taqueria la Tapatia, Yard of the Month
It is now day 3 of my recovery from ‘Guy Night’, the all guys lock-in I had for the youth this weekend. I stayed up until four o’clock playing Rock Band. They stayed up even longer. We woke up at nine-ish and went for breakfast tacos…ummm barbacoa. After that we played lazer tag.
We had a lot of fun but I am plumb worn out. When I got home Cheri and I worked in the yard. We worked in the yard until nine o’clock…the next day! That’s cool though, the next person to own my house is totally going to win yard of the month one day.
Filed under: Christianity, church, conviction, Legacy Fellowship, Prayer, Religion, wisdom, Youth Ministry
I learned a valuable lesson yesterday, which is to say I screwed up. We had our monthly Wednesday night meeting with the youth that we affectionately refer to as Youth on the Loose. Seven kids showed up. Seven. I am not complaining too much as we only had five last month. As a matter of fact, mathematically we had a 40% increase from last month. That looks fantastic mathematically.
It’s not the kids fault really. It’s my fault. I need a promotions director but since we are in no place to hire one I am stuck with, well, me. I need to get the kids pumped up and excited about coming to our monthly meetings. We actually have fun. I even think the kids have fun.
So, why aren’t they inviting kids? Is it the building? Is it the games? Is it the food? No. It’s all me. I am the reason they haven’t invited kids. I haven’t promoted enough. I need to talk to them individually, en masse, via email, via myspace (I hate myspace…but I have two, mine and the youth one), via postcards, text-messages (they love that junk), phone calls and I need to give them cool invitations to give to their friends.
Am I missing anything? Help me out people.
Filed under: Bible Study, Faith, Ministry, Random Junk, Religion, Teenagers, Youth Ministry | Tags: Proverbs
We have been teaching this youth how to read the Bible over the last several weeks. We are reading through Proverbs right now and I think it is going well. However, yesterday I decided to mix things up and make the class uncomfortable. I told them they had to split into two groups, read the chapter together and discuss 2 to 4 verses that they liked. I had them elect one person to present to the class the verses they chose and explain why they chose them, what they meant and how they can apply it to their lives.
Cheri helped the senior high and I helped the junior high. After reading Proverbs 6, I asked the kids what they liked about it and one of the young men, we’ll call him Cooper, answered “I liked verses 6-8.”
“Wow”, I thought to myself. That was the same three verses I liked from the passage. They are:
6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!
7 It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
8 yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest. (NIV)
“So, why did you pick these verses, Coop?”
“Well, it’s telling you that you can look at the way ants behave and gain wisdom. See, they don’t have anyone telling them what to do or anything but they are working hard anyway. They know what needs to be done and they are doing it.”
Whole E-Cow. My jaw was agape. I was expecting something a little more his age, more Sunday School. Of course, I wasn’t expecting him to pick out this verse either so I shouldn’t have been surprised.
I exclaimed to young Cooper, “That is incredible insight and shows a lot of wisdom. I am very impressed. You know that you have now elected yourself the speaker too, right?”
Shrugging, “Okay.”
I don’t know if everyone was as impressed as I am but I just had to share that story. I have read Proverbs a dozen times. I read Proverbs 6 about five times before class. It wasn’t until one of the last times I read it and after I had read a commentary that verses 6-8 stuck out to me. I think I have a future scholar in my class. Or maybe I am just dumb.
Filed under: Ministry, Religion, Youth Ministry | Tags: Generation Change, Les Christie, The Core 2008
Saturday, my wife and I attended a youth leader’s conference called The Core 2008 – Generation: Change. We really enjoyed it and took a lot away from it, including about a half-dozen books we bought. We really needed it. It was informative, relative and fun. The speaker, Les Christie, was fantastic and I hope to hear him speak again. Incidentally, he also has a son named David who recently married a young lady named…Cheri.
So I have been thinking about youth stuff, church stuff and me stuff a lot over the last couple of days and what I can do to improve these things. There is some room for improvement in the youth and church stuff and a lot of room for a complete overhaul with the me stuff. I need to start there. I know if I try to fix the other stuff first then I still have a problem (or two…or seventy-six) with my own junk.
I have to start by recognizing and admitting my weaknesses. I don’t like admitting that I have a weakness, or several for that matter, but it is in this area that I could use the help God has given me in Cheri and the Holy Spirit. I have to stop trying to do things on my own or I will surely screw up and burn out.
This conference was just what I needed and I highly recommend attending if you have the opportunity. I can’t wait to begin applying what I learned and seeing a generation change.
Filed under: Leadership, Learning my trade, Ministry, Religion, Youth Ministry | Tags: Parents
I conducted Filter’s first parent’s meeting yesterday after church. I tried to keep it short and sweet because I know folks are ready to leave, get some food and they really don’t want to listen to be bump my gums for too long. After all, I had given announcements earlier so they had already heard me talk once that day.
I wanted the parents to have an idea of our mission/vision for the youth ministry. I also wanted them to know a few of the things Cheri and I have planned for the ministry in the coming months. I think the parents were at least content with what we shared with them and were encouraged that we aren’t just on autopilot.
It is almost as hard talking to parents as it is to teenagers. Teenagers stare at you (if you are lucky) with blank, disinterested faces while parents stare at you with inquisitive and almost doubtful faces. I may just be a bit paranoid; it was my first meeting with parents after all. I was encouraged that none of the parents got after me though. After enduring the first two years of my leadership part of me expected some backlash. That was totally God’s grace that kept that from happening.
Over all the meeting went well. At least it wasn’t the train wreck that I was expecting. Next meeting is going to be that much better.
Filed under: Bible Study, Christianity, God, wisdom, Youth Ministry | Tags: Proverbs
I challenged the students to research this week why, in Proverbs, wisdom is referred to as a woman. I didn’t know myself so I looked it up too. Apparently, the Hebrew word for wisdom is feminine. Wisdom wants to be chased like a woman. Wisdom tries to woo us and wants us to “love” it, much like a woman [typically] craves. Hmmm, that’s it? That was pretty simple. I always thought it must have been a typo. J
Just kidding ladies.
Something my wife and I are learning as we grown in our roles as pastors is that sometimes less is more. We both have a tendency to talk too much when we don’t know exactly how to explain something. If you have ever worked with teenagers this will not be news to you; they look at you like you are stupid. It’s either that or the look of “I don’t care”, “I want to sleep”, “I’m hungry”, “I’m bored” or all of the above. One thing is nearly certain, you almost never get the look of “Oh, yes I get it!”
Case in point: we got a little hung up on a section of scripture, Proverbs 3: 5-6:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Every kid in the class was looking at us like we had toes growing out of our foreheads. We wanted the kids to get it so she kept explaining it in different ways. Finally, after three attempts, Cheri gave the kids an analogy that they actually got. It was so simple and yet it took nearly 5 minutes of us rambling to explain it.
We talked about his phenomenon after church. We both do it and we both do it often. What do we need to do to stop? Stop. That’s it. If we just take a few seconds to stop and think about what we want/need to say then what actually does come flying out of our pie holes might be something they can use.
Filed under: Christianity, God, Learning my trade, Ministry, Religion, Youth Ministry | Tags: "Biblical Counseling for Today", Jeffrey Watson
I was reading last night for my Developing Pastor Skills class. I have a little less that half of a book left and I will be able to write my paper and finish finally. I would like to share a quote (well, paraphrase) from the book, “Biblical Counseling for Today” by Jeffrey Watson.
In the particular section from which the quote comes, Mr. Watson is talking about counseling young people and just how important it really is. He supports his opinion by referring to Matthew 19: 13-14:
Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
He followed this by saying, “Elders have the unique opportunity to write on the foundations of a young people’s lives while the cement is still wet.”
What a fantastic illustration! Writing in cement is so much easy when it is wet and the marks you leave are permanent. The markings may get covered with dirt and grime from the world but they are much more easily revealed again if they are already there. Trying to influence an older person is like writing in dry cement; it can be done but it’s going to take a lot more time, tools and pain to do it. That’s what I took from it anyway.
Filed under: God, Jesus, Leadership, Ministry, Prayer, Relationships, Youth Ministry
My wife and I are having a meeting tonight to discuss the state of the youth ministry we run. We have a lot of things to talk about and probably even more to change. I have said it before that the ministry has been just so-so from the beginning. It all starts with me and I take complete responsibility for it.
Over the last couple of months God has really been dealing with me about this and I think I know what we have to do, almost. I don’t know exactly what the change looks like but I have been praying and praying about this and just last week I felt like God kicked me in the pants and said to get busy. I have been doing research and praying and praying and researching.
I have never wanted an “events/activities-based” ministry; rather I prefer a “relationship-based” ministry. The way I see it, if kids are coming for the sole purpose of having fun or just to do something then they will stop once something more fun starts happening on Wednesday night or Sunday. If kids are coming because there are people there that want to see them, people that love them and show genuine concern for them, people that pray for and with them, they have more of a reason to show up.
Building relationships is difficult, especially with teenagers. Almost all of them have an outer shell that protects them. Their guard is almost always up and it takes a long time to build trust with them. I think we have come to that point. We don’t have it completely wired but we can build relationships with teens. I think they know we love them. I think they know we pray for them and that we have their best interest at heart.
Now, for the sake of the ministry, it’s time for us to build a relationship between “relationship-based” and “events/activities-based” ministries. I want this ministry to be great. I want it to be dynamic. I want teenagers to come and have fun. I want them build a relationship with Christ. I want teenagers to become a functional part of the church today. I want this not for my own pride or ambition but because God wants it. He is dynamic and He is fun. He wants relationships with teenagers. He is going to have to show me how to do this.
Filed under: Faith, God, Leadership, Ministry, Religion, Youth Ministry | Tags: Leadership Magazine
I read a short article in Leadership Magazine this morning that was quite encouraging. The author, who also happened to be a pastor, recalled an uncomfortable meeting with a congregate. The congregate wanted to let the pastor know just how poor of a performance she thought he was doing. He said he was kind of dumb-struck but he also felt she was right in a way.
I can’t imagine that happening to me. I am my own worst critic but I wouldn’t want one of my students or a student’s parent telling was a bad job I am doing. I already know but the truth still hurts.
The pastor responded to the woman with something like this, (I don’t have the quote in front of my so I’ll paraphrase) “I am not very good and God still wants to use me”.
That’s beautiful. He emphasized grace because we are not good enough to be in leadership. We are not good enough to be pastors or counselors. We are not good at all but He is. His strength and grace is made perfect in our weakness. I know that I am not fully equipped to do the job he wants me to do but I also know that His grace is enough to help me do it.
Filter Through Life 