Taking a brief time-out from the current series here. Occasionally I get asked what books are best for youth leaders to read. Here are my favorites, though I'm sure different youth leaders will tell you different things. There's no particular order to the selections.
1. Impact student ministry that will transform a generation. Nashville, Tenn: Broadman & Holman, 2005. Print.
I'm reading this one right now, and so far it's great. It does a good job giving some basic principles for youth ministry, and has terrific insights, without overdoing ideas. If you're looking for a book that will tell you step-by-step how to do youth ministry, this one won't. It's better: it'll give you foundational principles for you to build a youth ministry on that will last longer than any ideas.
2. Lawrence, Rick. Jesus-Centered Youth Ministry. New York: Group, 2007. Print.
It's not about being purpose-drive, it's about being Spirit-led! The author makes that point throughout the book, that our youth ministries are to be centered on Christ alone. Great read, and will change the way you think about youth ministry.
3. Coleman, Robert Emerson. Master plan of evangelism. Grand Rapids, MI: Spire, 1994. Print.
Every Christian should read this book. I read it while in college, and it literally transformed my approach to ministry. This short book has been the foundation of much of my philosophies for the past 15 years.
4. Ken, Davis,. How to speak to youth-- and keep them awake at the same time. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan House, 1996. Print.
This may not be the most detailed book about how to preach, but Davis does a good job explaining basic principles and offers a simple sermon structure that is good for beginners. It's a short read, so I advise anyone to pick it up and make the truths here part of your sermons. Plus, the cartoons are funny.
5. McDowell, Josh. Josh McDowell's handbook on counseling youth a comprehensive guide for equipping youth workers, pastors, teachers, and parents. Dallas: Word Pub., 1996. Print.
This is a good reference guide. Buy it, keep it handy on the shelf, and be prepared to take it out often. It leaves some major issues out, but the ones it covers it covers well.
6. Olson, Ginny, Diane Elliot, and Mike Work. Youth Ministry Management Tools. Grand Rapids: Zondervan/Youth Specialties, 2001. Print.
Youth leaders seem to have a problem with administration. (I know from experience!) This book started me on the path toward organization, and I still pull it down from time to time to use as a reference guide. Plus, the software it comes with is a great simple program for tracking students, and is worth the price of the book alone.
7. Yaconelli, Mike. Getting fired for the glory of God collected words of Mike Yaconelli for youth workers. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, Youth Specialties, 2008. Print.
What can you say about Mike Yaconelli? The Father of Modern Youth Ministry, his insights for youth pastors are terrific. Plus, the DVD/CD with his sermons is great. Take this stuff to heart!
8. Fields, Doug. Purpose-driven youth ministry 9 essential foundations for healthy growth. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan, 1998. Print.
I hesitate to include this, because it is often over-used and abused. Fields has a good approach, but you'll need to modify it greatly to fit your church. If you read this one, be sure to balance it with #1 and #2 on the list above.
9. Manning, Brennan. The Ragamuffin Gospel Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out. Sisters: Multnomah, 2005. Print.
10. Foster, Richard J. Celebration of discipline the path to spiritual growth. [San Francisco]: HarperSanFrancisco, 1998. Print.
EVERY CHRISTIAN SHOULD READ THESE BOOKS! They aren't about youth ministry, except that the youth pastor's spiritual health is vital to the health of the youth ministry. These books are every bit as important (probably more important) than books that give you ideas about how to do ministry. Your ministry will flow from your character, and these books will develop your character. So put them toward the top of your reading pile.
That's all for today, folks. We'll resume the small group leadership series soon.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Sunday, September 6, 2009
How to Lead (and not lead) a Small Group, part 1
My new blog series will focus on how to lead a youth ministry small group, though the same principles can be applied to leading just about any kind of small group - youth, adult, or otherwise. Plus...there's videos! (thanks to YouTube!)
Part 1: The Unprepared Leader
I'm not sure if I was quite this bad when I started, but I certainly remember early on in youth ministry my first youth group experienced sermons I hastily jotted on the back of napkins and church bulletins. Eventually, I learned that to be effective at all, I had to take the time to prepare.
1. Prepare Yourself
Spend time in prayer and be sure that you're in a place to be spiritually in tune to your group. As I say when I teach this stuff, if I could turn back the clock and do one thing different for the last 13 years, I'd pray more. I've never once thought, "Man, I spent way too much time praying!" Be sure your own heart and walk with God is right, and that you're in a place where you can be sensitive to the Holy Spirit.
2. Prepare Your Lesson
As a youth pastor in Indiana, I prepared handy hand-outs a week ahead for my leaders to use in their small group times, usually that went with my sermon for the coming week. (Yes, that takes planning! That's another blog series, though.) But whether you are using already prepared materials from your youth pastor or a book, or you're creating your own materials, you need to take time to make sure you're using the Scripture correctly and communicating to your particular group in an interesting and relevant way. You need to know your stuff and be excited about it in order to communicate it in a way that has life-transforming power.
3. Prepare Your Environment
Be there early! You should be the first person to arrive, ideally. Make sure the room isn't too hot or too cold, and try to minimize any distractions (some distractions I've experienced include extra noise, televisions, and puppies). Make sure the chairs are arranged, snacks (if any) are ready to go, and everything is in order. Greet the students by name as they come in, and chat with them...chatting is discipleship, remember!
Next time will be part 2, The Inflexible Leader.
Part 1: The Unprepared Leader
I'm not sure if I was quite this bad when I started, but I certainly remember early on in youth ministry my first youth group experienced sermons I hastily jotted on the back of napkins and church bulletins. Eventually, I learned that to be effective at all, I had to take the time to prepare.
1. Prepare Yourself
Spend time in prayer and be sure that you're in a place to be spiritually in tune to your group. As I say when I teach this stuff, if I could turn back the clock and do one thing different for the last 13 years, I'd pray more. I've never once thought, "Man, I spent way too much time praying!" Be sure your own heart and walk with God is right, and that you're in a place where you can be sensitive to the Holy Spirit.
2. Prepare Your Lesson
As a youth pastor in Indiana, I prepared handy hand-outs a week ahead for my leaders to use in their small group times, usually that went with my sermon for the coming week. (Yes, that takes planning! That's another blog series, though.) But whether you are using already prepared materials from your youth pastor or a book, or you're creating your own materials, you need to take time to make sure you're using the Scripture correctly and communicating to your particular group in an interesting and relevant way. You need to know your stuff and be excited about it in order to communicate it in a way that has life-transforming power.
3. Prepare Your Environment
Be there early! You should be the first person to arrive, ideally. Make sure the room isn't too hot or too cold, and try to minimize any distractions (some distractions I've experienced include extra noise, televisions, and puppies). Make sure the chairs are arranged, snacks (if any) are ready to go, and everything is in order. Greet the students by name as they come in, and chat with them...chatting is discipleship, remember!
Next time will be part 2, The Inflexible Leader.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Youth Ministry and the You Tube Genration (part 3, conclusion)
Youth Ministry and the You Tube Generation
Part 3: Making it Practical
The principle that students are not satisfied being media and ministry consumers, but are looking to be producers, has tremendous ramifications for youth ministry. As a youth pastor, I've watched students graduate from the youth ministry and from the faith in Christ at the same time. I've heard as many as 80% of our students are leaving the church upon graduation, though I'm not sure the official study. Certainly large numbers are leaving.
The students who have remained most faithful to God throughout my years in ministry are overwhelmingly the students who have been actively involved in sharing the responsibility for at least some part of the ministry. True, the more mature Christian students are typically the ones who shoulder responsibility - but my challenge is this: if we turn even part of the ministry over to students sooner, and involve them more in the process, then I believe we will retain more in the long-term. With the added benefit that, as we saw in part 2, we are approaching ministry more biblically.
So how can we practically do this? What are some ways that students can take ownership of THEIR youth ministry?
1. Students can make announcements. I've seen adults desperately try to get students' attention for announcements using videos, drama, even dressing in drag once (yeah, that wasn't me, for the record). But a student giving the announcements commands more attention from the crowd because it's "one of us." Rotate the students, and challenge them to come up with the most creative way possible to communicate the information. Set up a schedule. Students don't have to be especially "spiritual" to do this.
2. Students can lead worship. Most youth ministries already allow involvement here, so I'm not going to dwell on it, other than to say be sure you're allowing new students the opportunity to break into the club and use their gifts as well.
3. Students can lead games. They'll have better ideas that the group will like, anyway. Sure, at first an adult might have to monitor for safety or other concerns, but once the students have the hang of it they'll have a blast thinking of great ideas. They can whip the crowd up to involvement easier than adults, usually, too.
4. Students can conduct small groups. Give them materials to work with, and let them at it. Again, an adult might have to be close at hand (especially at first) to make sure things go okay. But let the students take the initiative.
5. Students can preach. Other students respect hearing one of them give the Word. A student can say, "I'm right there with you, figuring this out as I go, too." It might be necessary for an adult to review what a student will say, or train them in some basic sermon preparation tips - but that's good and part of the leadership training process! What if a student says something off-script that is wrong? Well, in that case, you'll have to gently guide the student (and, maybe, the crowd) to the truth. But I've rarely seen that happen - students take the responsibility for sharing the Word of God seriously (and, usually, they're terrified they'll mess up, so they're pretty careful).
6. Students can plan events. If you aren't already using students to plan your events - involving them in everything from the idea through the execution phase - then you're not using a great resource God has given you. Students have great ideas. If it's their idea, they'll be more excited about it and are more likely to bring their friends. Meet regularly with students and talk with them about what kind of events they want to see, then enlist them to help plan, prepare, execute, and cleanup. Lead them through the process, then eventually turn it over to them.
7. Students can handle visitation and greeting. Welcoming and including new students is something the students should be doing already, but most youth ministries don't make it intentional. Have students selected to greet others when students walk-in, and run check-in if your youth ministry does that. Have students selected who are willing to make phone calls, send emails, or drop by to visit newcomers to the group. A visit from another student saying "thanks for coming" goes much further than a visit from an adult - let's face it: we're just struggling to stay cool and relevant.
8. Students can lead ministry teams. Let them take on ministry teams that are important to them. Let them focus on recruiting other students to be a part of it. Maybe you'll need adult presence at the meetings, but let the students take the lead. It will make them more enthusiastic and allow them to really offer themselves and their gifts to God in a new way.
These are just some starter ideas. But essentially, there is very little that I do as a youth pastor that a student or group of students is not capable of doing. Youth pastors must just make an intentional effort to turn the ministry over to the students and let our youth ministries become "by students, for students."
One place to start is something I practiced in Indiana. The first Wednesday night each month we had a "student-led service." The rule of thumb was: no adults on the stage at all. I met with students to plan the whole thing, they selected what would happen and who would lead what service element, and then they pulled the evening together. It gave them great exposure to ministry and in some cases respect for what I went through every week. It allowed them to really own their youth ministry and to become ministers.
Let's make a commitment to engage the You Tube Generation by applying biblical principles of ministry and transforming our ministries into true Student Ministries.
Part 3: Making it Practical
The principle that students are not satisfied being media and ministry consumers, but are looking to be producers, has tremendous ramifications for youth ministry. As a youth pastor, I've watched students graduate from the youth ministry and from the faith in Christ at the same time. I've heard as many as 80% of our students are leaving the church upon graduation, though I'm not sure the official study. Certainly large numbers are leaving.
The students who have remained most faithful to God throughout my years in ministry are overwhelmingly the students who have been actively involved in sharing the responsibility for at least some part of the ministry. True, the more mature Christian students are typically the ones who shoulder responsibility - but my challenge is this: if we turn even part of the ministry over to students sooner, and involve them more in the process, then I believe we will retain more in the long-term. With the added benefit that, as we saw in part 2, we are approaching ministry more biblically.
So how can we practically do this? What are some ways that students can take ownership of THEIR youth ministry?
1. Students can make announcements. I've seen adults desperately try to get students' attention for announcements using videos, drama, even dressing in drag once (yeah, that wasn't me, for the record). But a student giving the announcements commands more attention from the crowd because it's "one of us." Rotate the students, and challenge them to come up with the most creative way possible to communicate the information. Set up a schedule. Students don't have to be especially "spiritual" to do this.
2. Students can lead worship. Most youth ministries already allow involvement here, so I'm not going to dwell on it, other than to say be sure you're allowing new students the opportunity to break into the club and use their gifts as well.
3. Students can lead games. They'll have better ideas that the group will like, anyway. Sure, at first an adult might have to monitor for safety or other concerns, but once the students have the hang of it they'll have a blast thinking of great ideas. They can whip the crowd up to involvement easier than adults, usually, too.
4. Students can conduct small groups. Give them materials to work with, and let them at it. Again, an adult might have to be close at hand (especially at first) to make sure things go okay. But let the students take the initiative.
5. Students can preach. Other students respect hearing one of them give the Word. A student can say, "I'm right there with you, figuring this out as I go, too." It might be necessary for an adult to review what a student will say, or train them in some basic sermon preparation tips - but that's good and part of the leadership training process! What if a student says something off-script that is wrong? Well, in that case, you'll have to gently guide the student (and, maybe, the crowd) to the truth. But I've rarely seen that happen - students take the responsibility for sharing the Word of God seriously (and, usually, they're terrified they'll mess up, so they're pretty careful).
6. Students can plan events. If you aren't already using students to plan your events - involving them in everything from the idea through the execution phase - then you're not using a great resource God has given you. Students have great ideas. If it's their idea, they'll be more excited about it and are more likely to bring their friends. Meet regularly with students and talk with them about what kind of events they want to see, then enlist them to help plan, prepare, execute, and cleanup. Lead them through the process, then eventually turn it over to them.
7. Students can handle visitation and greeting. Welcoming and including new students is something the students should be doing already, but most youth ministries don't make it intentional. Have students selected to greet others when students walk-in, and run check-in if your youth ministry does that. Have students selected who are willing to make phone calls, send emails, or drop by to visit newcomers to the group. A visit from another student saying "thanks for coming" goes much further than a visit from an adult - let's face it: we're just struggling to stay cool and relevant.
8. Students can lead ministry teams. Let them take on ministry teams that are important to them. Let them focus on recruiting other students to be a part of it. Maybe you'll need adult presence at the meetings, but let the students take the lead. It will make them more enthusiastic and allow them to really offer themselves and their gifts to God in a new way.
These are just some starter ideas. But essentially, there is very little that I do as a youth pastor that a student or group of students is not capable of doing. Youth pastors must just make an intentional effort to turn the ministry over to the students and let our youth ministries become "by students, for students."
One place to start is something I practiced in Indiana. The first Wednesday night each month we had a "student-led service." The rule of thumb was: no adults on the stage at all. I met with students to plan the whole thing, they selected what would happen and who would lead what service element, and then they pulled the evening together. It gave them great exposure to ministry and in some cases respect for what I went through every week. It allowed them to really own their youth ministry and to become ministers.
Let's make a commitment to engage the You Tube Generation by applying biblical principles of ministry and transforming our ministries into true Student Ministries.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Youth Ministry and the You Tube Generation (part 2)
Youth Ministry and the You Tube Generation
Part Two: The Biblical Imperative
In Part 1, we looked at the societal shift taking place especially among teens today. The principle is: Students are no longer satisfied being media consumers; they now want to become media producers.
With this in mind, I suggested that churches should begin adapting our ministry focus to give students key roles in the ministry process itself, rather than being content with the students being the "consumers" of ministry that we youth pastors are "producing."
In Part 2, we need to look briefly at the biblical implications of this shift. Is it biblical for students to be involved in all aspects of the ministry: planning, preaching, leading worship, announcements, conducting small groups, etc.?
This should be a no-brainer, if you ask me. Ephesians 4:12 describes the role of the minister as follows: "Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ." Ephesians 4:12 (NLT) One of the primary responsibilities of ministers is to equip God's people - including teenagers - to do God's work of building up the church.
It's not my job to preach, plan events, etc... it's my job to train others how to do those things. Naturally, that means I do those things, but I do them in cooperation with others while I am preparing them to train still others.
The problem is that a lot of times training someone else is harder than doing it myself. For example, planning a Middle School Night (as Nick and I are doing right now) is easy for me. I've planned dozens in the past, and I know the right order to go through the steps, what will work and what won't, and I can plan one in hardly any time at all. Next month, we're bringing students into the process. I'll have to explain what needs to be done at each step. It will be more work and take longer. But it is more biblical.
Another problem is that when I release a student or someone else to minister, they may not do it the same way or with the same degree of excellence that I do. I've preached several hundred sermons to teenagers over the last 13 years, but a student who is preaching his or her first sermon ever will not be as good (probably!), because it takes practice to become good at preaching. But unless I release my standards for excellence to allow for student sermons, then they'll never get the practice they need to become better. The same is true for worship ministry, small group ministry, or anything else we release students to do.
And this is where our focus needs to shift to Jesus' model. John 4:2 reminds us, "though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them—his disciples did." Jesus turned the ministry of baptism over to his disciples. In Matthew 10, Jesus sends his disciples out to do ministry without him. They had watched him and helped him, now it was their turn to take over. Jesus tells them, "Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!" Matthew 10:7-8.
At what point in our ministries are we turning the reigns over to the students? Where are we intentionally saying to them, "Okay, you've seen me plan these events, lead the worship, preach the sermons.... Now go for it!"?
The You Tube model of ministry is clearly biblical, and is certainly necessary to connect with students in our culture. In Part 3, we'll take a look at ways to make turning ministry over to students a practical reality in our ministries. We'll focus on how take students off the church bench and get them in the game, making them producers of ministry and not merely consumers.
Part Two: The Biblical Imperative
In Part 1, we looked at the societal shift taking place especially among teens today. The principle is: Students are no longer satisfied being media consumers; they now want to become media producers.
With this in mind, I suggested that churches should begin adapting our ministry focus to give students key roles in the ministry process itself, rather than being content with the students being the "consumers" of ministry that we youth pastors are "producing."
In Part 2, we need to look briefly at the biblical implications of this shift. Is it biblical for students to be involved in all aspects of the ministry: planning, preaching, leading worship, announcements, conducting small groups, etc.?
This should be a no-brainer, if you ask me. Ephesians 4:12 describes the role of the minister as follows: "Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ." Ephesians 4:12 (NLT) One of the primary responsibilities of ministers is to equip God's people - including teenagers - to do God's work of building up the church.
It's not my job to preach, plan events, etc... it's my job to train others how to do those things. Naturally, that means I do those things, but I do them in cooperation with others while I am preparing them to train still others.
The problem is that a lot of times training someone else is harder than doing it myself. For example, planning a Middle School Night (as Nick and I are doing right now) is easy for me. I've planned dozens in the past, and I know the right order to go through the steps, what will work and what won't, and I can plan one in hardly any time at all. Next month, we're bringing students into the process. I'll have to explain what needs to be done at each step. It will be more work and take longer. But it is more biblical.
Another problem is that when I release a student or someone else to minister, they may not do it the same way or with the same degree of excellence that I do. I've preached several hundred sermons to teenagers over the last 13 years, but a student who is preaching his or her first sermon ever will not be as good (probably!), because it takes practice to become good at preaching. But unless I release my standards for excellence to allow for student sermons, then they'll never get the practice they need to become better. The same is true for worship ministry, small group ministry, or anything else we release students to do.
And this is where our focus needs to shift to Jesus' model. John 4:2 reminds us, "though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them—his disciples did." Jesus turned the ministry of baptism over to his disciples. In Matthew 10, Jesus sends his disciples out to do ministry without him. They had watched him and helped him, now it was their turn to take over. Jesus tells them, "Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!" Matthew 10:7-8.
At what point in our ministries are we turning the reigns over to the students? Where are we intentionally saying to them, "Okay, you've seen me plan these events, lead the worship, preach the sermons.... Now go for it!"?
The You Tube model of ministry is clearly biblical, and is certainly necessary to connect with students in our culture. In Part 3, we'll take a look at ways to make turning ministry over to students a practical reality in our ministries. We'll focus on how take students off the church bench and get them in the game, making them producers of ministry and not merely consumers.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Youth Ministry and the You Tube Generation (part 1)
Youth Ministry and the You Tube Generation
For a while now I've been contemplating You Tube and it's implications for youth ministry. I don't mean "how can youth pastors use You Tube for ministry purposes?" though that is an important question. I mean, "what does the rise of popularity of You Tube signal, and how should the church respond?"
On You Tube, students are the stars of their own television show. It started with Jerry Springer and shows like that, where normal people (or, not-so-normal people) could become instant starts for a day. Then reality television took over, giving more people the chance to become a star, or look like a fool, on the national stage.
Now, with You Tube, anyone with a video camera or a cell phone camera can make themselves a star. Students have their own shows and have followers. We've moved from, "Hey, look - there's someone like me on television" to "Hey, look - I'm on television."
This is a trend, and churches - especially youth ministries - should be looking to take advantage of it. As with any societal shift, it presents unique challenges and opportunities. If youth ministries respond correctly, we have a chance to further transform our students into the image of Christ by taking advantage of this moment.
The key principle of this series of blogs is this: Students are no longer satisfied being media consumers; they now want to become media producers.
We see this trend on You Tube. We see it with create your own commercial contests. Facebook and Myspace are even a part of this trend. Yet in youth ministries, we are too often the ones producing the content without regard to our students' urge to have their own hand in creating it themselves. We youth pastors are the content experts, and our students are the consumers.
The trend is changing. Even small churches with limited resources can now create youth ministries where students can help create their own content. We can elevate our students to be the stars of the youth ministry.
This will require humility on the part of we youth leaders to allow ourselves to take a backseat coaching role. It will require us to understand that "excellence" may not always be achieved in the same way it has been before, as students are learning new skills. But it will allow us to truly engage students in the mission of Christ like never before.
In my next post, we'll look at how a You Tube approach to youth ministry is more biblical in some ways than what we have been doing. In the final post, we'll look at some ideas to make You Tube Youth Ministry a practical reality.
For a while now I've been contemplating You Tube and it's implications for youth ministry. I don't mean "how can youth pastors use You Tube for ministry purposes?" though that is an important question. I mean, "what does the rise of popularity of You Tube signal, and how should the church respond?"
On You Tube, students are the stars of their own television show. It started with Jerry Springer and shows like that, where normal people (or, not-so-normal people) could become instant starts for a day. Then reality television took over, giving more people the chance to become a star, or look like a fool, on the national stage.
Now, with You Tube, anyone with a video camera or a cell phone camera can make themselves a star. Students have their own shows and have followers. We've moved from, "Hey, look - there's someone like me on television" to "Hey, look - I'm on television."
This is a trend, and churches - especially youth ministries - should be looking to take advantage of it. As with any societal shift, it presents unique challenges and opportunities. If youth ministries respond correctly, we have a chance to further transform our students into the image of Christ by taking advantage of this moment.
The key principle of this series of blogs is this: Students are no longer satisfied being media consumers; they now want to become media producers.
We see this trend on You Tube. We see it with create your own commercial contests. Facebook and Myspace are even a part of this trend. Yet in youth ministries, we are too often the ones producing the content without regard to our students' urge to have their own hand in creating it themselves. We youth pastors are the content experts, and our students are the consumers.
The trend is changing. Even small churches with limited resources can now create youth ministries where students can help create their own content. We can elevate our students to be the stars of the youth ministry.
This will require humility on the part of we youth leaders to allow ourselves to take a backseat coaching role. It will require us to understand that "excellence" may not always be achieved in the same way it has been before, as students are learning new skills. But it will allow us to truly engage students in the mission of Christ like never before.
In my next post, we'll look at how a You Tube approach to youth ministry is more biblical in some ways than what we have been doing. In the final post, we'll look at some ideas to make You Tube Youth Ministry a practical reality.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Surrendering to the Reality of God
[The following is the essence of the sermon I shared with Dayspring Youth Ministry on March 18, 2009. I think it gives us all some food for thought.]
On January 19, 2003, the Springfield News-Leader printed an article titled, "Fighting a proliferation of porn" by Eric Eckert. This article opens with the startling statement, "Louie Keen says it's possible to be a good Christian and operate a porn store and strip club." Keen goes on to explain that his relationship with Christ has nothing to do with his business.
Obviously.
As Christians, we might find it hard to believe that someone could create such a disconnect between one part of his life and another. But aren't we guilty of the same things, to a lesser degree, sometimes?
How often do we not allow Christ access into certain areas of our lives? "God," we say, "I want to follow you. But don't tell me who to date." Or where to work. Or what kinds of friends to hang out with. Or how to dress. Or what music or television shows or video games or movies are appropriate. We give God every part of our lives...except the parts that we don't want Him to mess up.
It's time for us to grasp the reality of God. It's time that God's reality permanently messes up our lives. We need to live out the reality of God on a daily basis. When we're hanging out with our friends, we need to experience God's reality. When we're at the movies, or on a date, or at work, we ought to be living out the truth that God is real.
After 400 years in slavery in Egypt, the Hebrews were starting to doubt God's reality. They'd been surrounded by the false gods of the Egyptians for a long time. Not only that, but the God of Abraham had allowed them to be enslaved and it seemed that He would never hear the people's cries for help.
So when God took action, Moses was concerned that the Israelites wouldn't even know which of the many gods had sent him. God responded by giving Moses His personal name:
[Exodus 3:13 (NIV)] Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" [14] God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
I AM.
God's message to the Hebrews was simple: I AM. I AM real. I AM concerned about your circumstances. I AM aware of your suffering, and I AM going to do something about it. What distinguished God from the Egyptian gods? I AM - the Hebrew God is real, the others are not.
God's very name stresses His reality. Do our lives represent that reality to the world? Or is our faith in God all talk? Have we truly surrendered every part of our lives to the reality of God?
Let's make a decision to give God 100% of our lives this week...let's hold nothing back from Him.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Getting Fired for the Glory of God - book review
I just read a book in one night. Okay, I read a lot. But this one is a special book. This one is a book that I'll read over and over in the years to come. I'm giving it a permanent place on my bookshelf. If you're in youth ministry, read this book. If you're in ministry at all - or one day want to be - then read this book. Contemplate it. Let it get inside of you and transform you, challenge you, shape you.
Mike Yaconelli's new book, Getting Fired for the Glory of God, is a treasure. Mike passed away in 2003, and his wife and children have put together some of his articles from the years before his passing. Mike's other books are great, too, and he's one of my favorite writers (as is his son, Mark). But this book is by far his best.
Some of the articles I remember reading when they first appeared, as I was a regular reader of Youthworker Journal for many years. (The fact that I remembered them more than 5 years after reading them ought to say something.) Mike has a way of writing what I'm thinking. He speaks to my struggles, my issues, my thoughts on the church and ministry. When I think, "Why doesn't someone say this?" I usually discover Mike already has.
Some of my favorite quotes (though I highlighted about half the book):
"The last time I checked, it took Jesus three years of concentrated effort to make 12 disciples - and it took them the rest of their lives to understand what discipleship means." (p. 38-39)
"If your church doesn't have a rule that exists just because of your ministry...then you aren't letting Jesus have first place in your ministry.... Remember, all they can do is fire you." (p.57)
"Youth group should be an adventure, a cauldron of fire and passion, an uncontainable and terrifying present of the Holy Spirit overflowing into the souls of students and resulting in a volatile desire for Jesus, regardless of the chaos caused by following him." (p. 67)
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