May 30, 2011
Take a Week Off
Don't worry everyone, I did not forget to write this week. I am just taking a week off to refresh myself on this Holiday. I hope you enjoy(ed) your holiday as well. See you next week.
May 23, 2011
What a Ministry Network Can Be
A Story of One Network.
I think that everyone in ministry remembers when they hit that time during their first month of ministry at a new church or in a new town, when everything just seems awkward, hard, and just little more stressful than you expected. I remember when that time came for me at my current church. Luckily, close to the day that all of that hit me, my boss at that time looked at me and said, “hey lets go, we are going to a network meeting.”
Now, I had been to a view “network meetings” in my time of ministry, and to say the least, I wasn’t very excited. I just expected it to be a bunch of people sitting around talking about how amazing their star kid was, or how God was really blessing their church. So as we got into the car on the way to a local church, I started to think about how these people might look, what crazy Jesus stories they might tell, or what super spiritual prayer I might hear.
As we got to the church and walked into the room I noticed something, no one looked how I expected them to, but I wasn’t convinced I was wrong. I had seen to many of these "network meetings" go terribly wrong.
As my boss started introducing me to everyone in the room, we sat down, and I was asked to share a little about myself. I naturally went into my surface level story of how when to Azusa Pacific, then to Fuller Theological Seminary, that I had done ministry in Utah with LDS member, lead missions trips, Youth Ministry inthe Pasadena area, all before ending up in Irvine. With every sentence I was writing my resume for them in words, hoping to impress them I guess?
After me, other people started by introducing themselves, sharing what was going on in their ministries, lives, and hearts. To be honest, I was really caught off guard. These people who I assumed would be fake, were real. I don’t mean the cheese Christian “real” where that one emotional guy fights through a tear; I mean the type of real that comes with time, energy, and friendship.
When everyone was done sharing they came back to me. "So," one of the youth pastors asked, “How are you doing?” Against every assumption, I followed suit, I honestly told them how I was doing, and it was refreshing.
At the end of the meeting the group of pastors, youth leaders, and para-church ministers sat and prayed for each other for a while, lifting up every prayer request and unspoken concern. Then when it was all done, we all then shook each other’s hands, some gave hugs, and my boss and I left.
A Vision.
When I was in college I was a part of a missions organization that looked to network people of all denominates and churches in Salt Lake City, UT. I loved working with that organization because of their vision, "Standing Together seeks to be a catalyst for uniting the Utah Christian community through relational efforts of prayer, worship, and strategic evangelism.”
In all my time doing ministry in Southern California, in college, and in Seminary, I never really found people who were willing to work towards a vision like Standing Together had. It seemed to me that everyone was in it for their own church, ministries, or self. I admit that after a while I gave up trying to look, until that day I was taken to a network meeting in Irvine.
In a way that meeting re-sparked a new desire in my heart for all denominations, para-church organizations, and churches to work together to accomplish God’s work in the world. To see a community of churches, not just a church, represent what Paul talks about in Romans. 12:3-8
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
Conclusion.
It has now been a year and a half since my first network meeting in Irvine, and I honestly don’t know where I would be without my brothers and sisters in ministry. They help me become a better person, they pray for me, and we do ministry together in some really intentional ways.
So with that, I encourage you that if you have a vision to see the church work together in such a way, not loss hope, but be a catalyst for change. If you want a community of people that is like the one I have in Irvine, start one. If you are a part of a “network” that you feel is not fruitful, then work to change it.
Next week, I will dive into some practical ways you might be able to help things change, but until then, do not loss hope, for it is possible.
I think that everyone in ministry remembers when they hit that time during their first month of ministry at a new church or in a new town, when everything just seems awkward, hard, and just little more stressful than you expected. I remember when that time came for me at my current church. Luckily, close to the day that all of that hit me, my boss at that time looked at me and said, “hey lets go, we are going to a network meeting.”
Now, I had been to a view “network meetings” in my time of ministry, and to say the least, I wasn’t very excited. I just expected it to be a bunch of people sitting around talking about how amazing their star kid was, or how God was really blessing their church. So as we got into the car on the way to a local church, I started to think about how these people might look, what crazy Jesus stories they might tell, or what super spiritual prayer I might hear.
As we got to the church and walked into the room I noticed something, no one looked how I expected them to, but I wasn’t convinced I was wrong. I had seen to many of these "network meetings" go terribly wrong.
As my boss started introducing me to everyone in the room, we sat down, and I was asked to share a little about myself. I naturally went into my surface level story of how when to Azusa Pacific, then to Fuller Theological Seminary, that I had done ministry in Utah with LDS member, lead missions trips, Youth Ministry inthe Pasadena area, all before ending up in Irvine. With every sentence I was writing my resume for them in words, hoping to impress them I guess?
After me, other people started by introducing themselves, sharing what was going on in their ministries, lives, and hearts. To be honest, I was really caught off guard. These people who I assumed would be fake, were real. I don’t mean the cheese Christian “real” where that one emotional guy fights through a tear; I mean the type of real that comes with time, energy, and friendship.
When everyone was done sharing they came back to me. "So," one of the youth pastors asked, “How are you doing?” Against every assumption, I followed suit, I honestly told them how I was doing, and it was refreshing.
At the end of the meeting the group of pastors, youth leaders, and para-church ministers sat and prayed for each other for a while, lifting up every prayer request and unspoken concern. Then when it was all done, we all then shook each other’s hands, some gave hugs, and my boss and I left.
A Vision.
When I was in college I was a part of a missions organization that looked to network people of all denominates and churches in Salt Lake City, UT. I loved working with that organization because of their vision, "Standing Together seeks to be a catalyst for uniting the Utah Christian community through relational efforts of prayer, worship, and strategic evangelism.”
In all my time doing ministry in Southern California, in college, and in Seminary, I never really found people who were willing to work towards a vision like Standing Together had. It seemed to me that everyone was in it for their own church, ministries, or self. I admit that after a while I gave up trying to look, until that day I was taken to a network meeting in Irvine.
In a way that meeting re-sparked a new desire in my heart for all denominations, para-church organizations, and churches to work together to accomplish God’s work in the world. To see a community of churches, not just a church, represent what Paul talks about in Romans. 12:3-8
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
Conclusion.
It has now been a year and a half since my first network meeting in Irvine, and I honestly don’t know where I would be without my brothers and sisters in ministry. They help me become a better person, they pray for me, and we do ministry together in some really intentional ways.
So with that, I encourage you that if you have a vision to see the church work together in such a way, not loss hope, but be a catalyst for change. If you want a community of people that is like the one I have in Irvine, start one. If you are a part of a “network” that you feel is not fruitful, then work to change it.
Next week, I will dive into some practical ways you might be able to help things change, but until then, do not loss hope, for it is possible.
May 16, 2011
How to Receive Feedback, and Change
One thing God has been teaching me a lot lately through my Executive Pastor is the beauty of “feedback.” Now I know that might sound weird to those of you who do not like getting that phone call or email from an upset parent or an elder who thinks they know how to fix youth group, but trust me, it is for your good.
In John 21, Jesus presents a simple feedback model in confronting Peter on the beach. Most people don’t think of this passage as feedback, but a closer look reveals a deep message to Peter. It was only a few days earlier that Peter has standing in eye shot of Jesus, denying him 3 times. Now, Peter stands next to Jesus, as he who asks Peter simple question 3 times, “do you love me?” Peter might find this question weird or even upsetting, but we have to remember that the last time Peter was asked if he was a follower of Jesus, Peter denied him 3 times in a row.
This passage teaches us an important message about feedback, we will make mistakes, and not one of us is prefect. While we might not deny Jesus to a crowd of people, we will upset someone, treat someone as they should not have been treated, or make an assumption we were wrong about. In doing so, we might not deny Jesus, but we might deny that person the respect they deserve as a child of God.
Jesus continues to press Peter by asking him, “do you love me?” As Jesus does this, Peter’s feelings become hurt. Peter responses with tears in his eyes, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Peter cannot believe that his Lord would ask such questions. Yet, like the typical Peter who pulls out a sword and cries out, “I will never deny you;” Peter does not get the purpose for this feedback.
Feedback has nothing to do with you, but everything to do with your actions or assumptions. What I mean when I say this is that when a person has feedback for you, they are not trying to say they “dislike” you, they just dislike what you did, or an assumption you have.
This reality can be the hardest aspect of accepting feedback, separating ourselves from our actions or assumptions. The important thing to keep in mind is that when a person is giving feedback to you, they are looking to fix what went wrong, not tell you how much they dislike you. If it does become that, that person moves from healthy feedback for the betterment of the situation, to anger.
Therefore, it is important to remember when giving a person feedback, to stick to how it makes you feel. What about their actions or assumption have hurt your feelings or communicated to you. Be as specific as you can. This helps the person you are giving feedback to change their actions or assumptions.
At the end of the text, Jesus says to Peter, “Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”
Within the text is the assumption that Jesus’ feedback has caused Peter to change. He will no longer denied Jesus, has he once did. In fact, even when he is threatened with death, Peter did not deny Jesus.
Once we receive feedback, it is up to us to learn, respond, and change our actions or assumptions so that we will not make that same mistake again. In doing so, we make ourselves better people and we admit the simple fact that we are not prefect, that we will make mistakes. When we do make mistakes, feedback allows us to do as Peter did, acknowledge our wrongs and make them right.
In John 21, Jesus presents a simple feedback model in confronting Peter on the beach. Most people don’t think of this passage as feedback, but a closer look reveals a deep message to Peter. It was only a few days earlier that Peter has standing in eye shot of Jesus, denying him 3 times. Now, Peter stands next to Jesus, as he who asks Peter simple question 3 times, “do you love me?” Peter might find this question weird or even upsetting, but we have to remember that the last time Peter was asked if he was a follower of Jesus, Peter denied him 3 times in a row.
This passage teaches us an important message about feedback, we will make mistakes, and not one of us is prefect. While we might not deny Jesus to a crowd of people, we will upset someone, treat someone as they should not have been treated, or make an assumption we were wrong about. In doing so, we might not deny Jesus, but we might deny that person the respect they deserve as a child of God.
Jesus continues to press Peter by asking him, “do you love me?” As Jesus does this, Peter’s feelings become hurt. Peter responses with tears in his eyes, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Peter cannot believe that his Lord would ask such questions. Yet, like the typical Peter who pulls out a sword and cries out, “I will never deny you;” Peter does not get the purpose for this feedback.
Feedback has nothing to do with you, but everything to do with your actions or assumptions. What I mean when I say this is that when a person has feedback for you, they are not trying to say they “dislike” you, they just dislike what you did, or an assumption you have.
This reality can be the hardest aspect of accepting feedback, separating ourselves from our actions or assumptions. The important thing to keep in mind is that when a person is giving feedback to you, they are looking to fix what went wrong, not tell you how much they dislike you. If it does become that, that person moves from healthy feedback for the betterment of the situation, to anger.
Therefore, it is important to remember when giving a person feedback, to stick to how it makes you feel. What about their actions or assumption have hurt your feelings or communicated to you. Be as specific as you can. This helps the person you are giving feedback to change their actions or assumptions.
At the end of the text, Jesus says to Peter, “Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”
Within the text is the assumption that Jesus’ feedback has caused Peter to change. He will no longer denied Jesus, has he once did. In fact, even when he is threatened with death, Peter did not deny Jesus.
Once we receive feedback, it is up to us to learn, respond, and change our actions or assumptions so that we will not make that same mistake again. In doing so, we make ourselves better people and we admit the simple fact that we are not prefect, that we will make mistakes. When we do make mistakes, feedback allows us to do as Peter did, acknowledge our wrongs and make them right.
May 9, 2011
Thoughts On Why Students Leave the Church.
This week I shall return to how other in the Youth Ministry world have sought to answer the question of why teens are leaving the church in droves upon graduation. Today, I discuss Kendra Creasy Dean from Princeton Theological Seminary, in order to find out why she believes teens are leaving the church we shall look at her book Almost Christian.
In the process of writing her new book, Kendra Creasy Dean takes the research from a study involving teens she participated in entitled the National Study of Youth and Religion, which she did with Christian Smith, and comments on how thing can change. In the book Dean suggests that young people believe that churches offer then a bland view of faith and Christian community formation. In the first chapter, her findings become clear as she states, “…we have studied the religious and spiritual lives of adolescents in order to answer the question ‘How can we keep young people in church?’ Today, our question is more pressing: ‘Does the church matter?’”
By asking this question, Dean takes the focus off the question of“how can we keep teen’s in church after graduation,” to does the church communicate the gospel to teens in a way that it communicates God’s life changing message to teens? This question is driven by the fact that in Dean’s research, she found that teens have a disheveled view of God she and other researches have entitled “Moral Therapeutic Deism.” In this view God is more of a make-me-feel-good-and-solves-my-problems-god then the God of the Bible. The most daunting finding is that a teen’s pick up this faith from their parents. It is this faith that drives teens away from the church. They leave the church because it offers “such a stripped-down version of Christian identity that it no longer poses a viable alternative to imposter spiritualities like Moral Therapeutic Deism.”
Dean encourages the church and families to refocus, and point teens to a metanarrative where identity within Christ transforms one’s understanding of themselves. This type of theological understanding presents the life altering grace of God that redeems the world through his son. At the same time, it introduces teens to a gospel that has the power to change people and power structures.
Dean also challenges adults to stand up and create a community that cares for teens and makes them feel empowered to do God’s work. In order to do so, the church needs to create a community of people who make teens believe they are an essential part of the community. A church needs to give students the opportunity to participate in Kingdom work in the world, and in so, see change and redemption.
The heart of Dean’s work with teens is to see lives transformed so that upon graduation, because they have found their identity with in him, not in something else. With the hope that in their time at church before graduation; students have experienced God’s grace and the work of his Kingdom in such a way that they cannot imagine their lives with out God.
What are your thoughts on Dean's conclusions?
All quotes taken from: Kendra Creasy Dean, Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers Is Telling the American Church, (Oxford University Press: New York, New York, 2010),
In the process of writing her new book, Kendra Creasy Dean takes the research from a study involving teens she participated in entitled the National Study of Youth and Religion, which she did with Christian Smith, and comments on how thing can change. In the book Dean suggests that young people believe that churches offer then a bland view of faith and Christian community formation. In the first chapter, her findings become clear as she states, “…we have studied the religious and spiritual lives of adolescents in order to answer the question ‘How can we keep young people in church?’ Today, our question is more pressing: ‘Does the church matter?’”
By asking this question, Dean takes the focus off the question of“how can we keep teen’s in church after graduation,” to does the church communicate the gospel to teens in a way that it communicates God’s life changing message to teens? This question is driven by the fact that in Dean’s research, she found that teens have a disheveled view of God she and other researches have entitled “Moral Therapeutic Deism.” In this view God is more of a make-me-feel-good-and-solves-my-problems-god then the God of the Bible. The most daunting finding is that a teen’s pick up this faith from their parents. It is this faith that drives teens away from the church. They leave the church because it offers “such a stripped-down version of Christian identity that it no longer poses a viable alternative to imposter spiritualities like Moral Therapeutic Deism.”
Dean encourages the church and families to refocus, and point teens to a metanarrative where identity within Christ transforms one’s understanding of themselves. This type of theological understanding presents the life altering grace of God that redeems the world through his son. At the same time, it introduces teens to a gospel that has the power to change people and power structures.
Dean also challenges adults to stand up and create a community that cares for teens and makes them feel empowered to do God’s work. In order to do so, the church needs to create a community of people who make teens believe they are an essential part of the community. A church needs to give students the opportunity to participate in Kingdom work in the world, and in so, see change and redemption.
The heart of Dean’s work with teens is to see lives transformed so that upon graduation, because they have found their identity with in him, not in something else. With the hope that in their time at church before graduation; students have experienced God’s grace and the work of his Kingdom in such a way that they cannot imagine their lives with out God.
What are your thoughts on Dean's conclusions?
All quotes taken from: Kendra Creasy Dean, Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers Is Telling the American Church, (Oxford University Press: New York, New York, 2010),
May 2, 2011
Creating Conversation: Bin Laden's Death
In light of last night’s events, the announcement of Bin Laden’s assassination, I will not be blogging about Sr. High Transitional issues.
After hearing President Obama’s announcement last night, I quickly signed onto facebook to see what people were saying. As you can imagine, and might have seen, there was a wide range of different responses from "partying in the streets" to frustration.
As I sat there on facebook, what I thought was interesting was that little to no High School or Jr. High students made any of their own personal comments on the event. I started to think about why they were not updating their status like the rest of the world. With AP exams coming up, I assumed that maybe many of them were to busy studying to have the time to update facebook, but when I looked at who was online, many of my student’s faces were there. I had no idea what was going on. I mean, for some students, a loud car goes by and they are on facebook up dating their status, yet a large event like this they have no response?
All of a sudden I realized that many of these students have not known a world where “the war on terror” did not exist. Think about it, the current teenage students were one to eight years old when the events of 9-11 took place. Even as a child, they might remember some of the images of 9-11 that were broadcast on the news, but they didn’t have the cognitive ability to realize the gravity of these events on this culture, economy, and the world. That is why there was nothing from teens on facebook, because they were unsure about what this might mean for them and the world.
After a little, I updated my status. A few minutes later, I started to get “likes” from a good group of students, but no comments. Then another observation hit me, they where wanting to process what was happening, but didn’t know how to, so they were waiting, watching, and learning.
Even though many of today’s teens might not remember what the world was like before “the war on terror,” that does not mean that they did not comprehend the weight of the event that occurred yesterday, they where just unclear how to respond to it. For this reason, I urge you to take sometime this week and sit down with your teens and talk about this event and what it means to respond to an event like this.
There is no better time to create conversation about what this event means, or events like this one, might mean to us and the world. Or, what this event communicates to us about our culture and world to teens. Christian teens all over the country will be looking to the church, to their parents, and to their faith leaders to see how to respond as people who are in the process of forming their faith. Whether people want to deny it or not, this event is a milestone in “the war on terror” and many people will see this event as a turning point in this war, and maybe even with our own culture and economy. Teens might be wondering what this event means? How are they supposed to respond? Is the world going to change, and if so, how?
Not only are there questions about what this means for our lives, families, and country, but there are also some deep theological questions within this event. What does this event tell us about justice, forgiveness, war, and judgment? What does God say justice is? Is this justice? What does Jesus say about forgiving those who hurt us? Can we forgive Ben Laden now? What about war? Is this an act of “just war?” Did Bin Laden final face the judgment he deserved for his role in 9-11? What is our role in judgment? What is God’s role in judgment? Can someone who did something like Ben Laden, be forgiven by God?
I pray that as you sit down with your families, your youth group, or small group that they Lord guides your conversation. That he uses this conversation to inform your teens about what this event might mean for our country and how Christians should respond to events like this.
After hearing President Obama’s announcement last night, I quickly signed onto facebook to see what people were saying. As you can imagine, and might have seen, there was a wide range of different responses from "partying in the streets" to frustration.
As I sat there on facebook, what I thought was interesting was that little to no High School or Jr. High students made any of their own personal comments on the event. I started to think about why they were not updating their status like the rest of the world. With AP exams coming up, I assumed that maybe many of them were to busy studying to have the time to update facebook, but when I looked at who was online, many of my student’s faces were there. I had no idea what was going on. I mean, for some students, a loud car goes by and they are on facebook up dating their status, yet a large event like this they have no response?
All of a sudden I realized that many of these students have not known a world where “the war on terror” did not exist. Think about it, the current teenage students were one to eight years old when the events of 9-11 took place. Even as a child, they might remember some of the images of 9-11 that were broadcast on the news, but they didn’t have the cognitive ability to realize the gravity of these events on this culture, economy, and the world. That is why there was nothing from teens on facebook, because they were unsure about what this might mean for them and the world.
After a little, I updated my status. A few minutes later, I started to get “likes” from a good group of students, but no comments. Then another observation hit me, they where wanting to process what was happening, but didn’t know how to, so they were waiting, watching, and learning.
Even though many of today’s teens might not remember what the world was like before “the war on terror,” that does not mean that they did not comprehend the weight of the event that occurred yesterday, they where just unclear how to respond to it. For this reason, I urge you to take sometime this week and sit down with your teens and talk about this event and what it means to respond to an event like this.
There is no better time to create conversation about what this event means, or events like this one, might mean to us and the world. Or, what this event communicates to us about our culture and world to teens. Christian teens all over the country will be looking to the church, to their parents, and to their faith leaders to see how to respond as people who are in the process of forming their faith. Whether people want to deny it or not, this event is a milestone in “the war on terror” and many people will see this event as a turning point in this war, and maybe even with our own culture and economy. Teens might be wondering what this event means? How are they supposed to respond? Is the world going to change, and if so, how?
Not only are there questions about what this means for our lives, families, and country, but there are also some deep theological questions within this event. What does this event tell us about justice, forgiveness, war, and judgment? What does God say justice is? Is this justice? What does Jesus say about forgiving those who hurt us? Can we forgive Ben Laden now? What about war? Is this an act of “just war?” Did Bin Laden final face the judgment he deserved for his role in 9-11? What is our role in judgment? What is God’s role in judgment? Can someone who did something like Ben Laden, be forgiven by God?
I pray that as you sit down with your families, your youth group, or small group that they Lord guides your conversation. That he uses this conversation to inform your teens about what this event might mean for our country and how Christians should respond to events like this.
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