Phoning it in.

I fully realize that my last several posts have been the "Hey check out this...." It's been a while since a personal post has showed up on the blog. I fully plan to update everyone on my goings on soon. Until then I leave you with this from our spring life group retreat. It kicked off at "Party Kingdom" which is a Vietnamese restaurant / fun house.

Parents: What must I do to be Saved?

This article appeared over at realworldparents.com it's a great way for parents to get teenagers talking about rebirth and regeneration.

"Our talking points this week are built on Romans 5:1-11. We encourage you to spend a little time with that passage and then to look for some teachable moments in which to ask and discuss a few of the questions below.

Talking Points:

• “Terminator Salvation” just came out. How would you define the word salvation as Christians use it?
• In a few words, how does a person “get saved” or become a Christian? [Parent: Use this opportunity to make sure your child understands the basic gospel message.]
• What would you say we’re saved from?
• What do you think we’re saved for?
• In Romans 5, Paul explains several of the benefits of being saved. [Parent: Consider reading the first 11 verses with your child.]
• What do you think it’s worth to have peace with God? What would be wrong with not having peace with God?
• Do you think we have peace with Him even when we don’t feel like it? [Parent: Emphasize to your child that our status of being at peace with God does not go away—even when we don’t feel it. Because of Jesus, Christians are always at peace with God.]
• How would you define the word grace? What does it mean that people who are saved are in God’s grace?
• Is it ever a good thing for us to suffer? What are some of the ways that Christians suffer?
• How can suffering help us learn to trust God more?
• One of the things that God gives to Christians when they are saved is hope. How would you describe the hope that Christians have?
• What are you hoping for—looking forward to—after you die because you know you’re a Christian?
• What difference does it make that God gives His Spirit to Christians? How does the Spirit help us?
• Would you say that Jesus died for you because you’re a good person or because He knew you’d be able to pay Him back one day? [Parent: Emphasize that Romans 5 says we were powerless, sinners, and God’s enemies when Christi died for us.]
• Do you think someone has to make an effort to be a really good person before they can be saved by God? Why or why not?"

What Hinders Community...

Props to by good friend Randy for this. What does this mean for how we parent our children and pastor the youth of our communities? How does the gospel confront this?

What Hinders Community?

May 21, 2009 | By: Abraham Piper
Category: Commentary

Here is the final question from our interview with Paul Tripp.

What is the greatest hindrance to cultivating community in the American church?

The first thing that comes to mind is frenetic western-culture busyness.

I read a book on stress a few years back, and the author made a side comment that I thought was so insightful. He said that the highest value of materialistic western culture is not possessing. It's actually acquiring.

If you're a go-getter you never stop. And so the guy who is lavishly successful doesn't quit, because there are greater levels of success. "My house could be bigger, I could drive better cars, I could have more power, I could have more money."

And so we've bought an unbiblical definition of the good life of success. Our kids have to be skilled at three sports and play four musical instruments, and our house has to be lavish by whatever standard. And all of that stuff is eating time, eating energy, eating money. And it doesn't promote community.

I think often that even the programs of a local church are too sectored and too busy. As if we're trying to program godliness. And so the family is actually never together because they're all in demographic groupings. Where do we have time where we are pursuing relationships with one another, living with one another, praying with one another, talking with one another?

For the rest go here

Faith measured in terms of do's rather than don'ts

Ok I know "Don'ts" is not a real word but this article from Real World Parents is well... real...

Go and Do

"It’s easy for teens to get the wrong idea that what we care most about in their relationship with God is what they DON’T do: Don’t have sex. Don’t drink. Don’t do drugs. Don’t hang out with the wrong friends. Don’t cut class. Don’t swear. Don’t skip church. Don’t watch that. Don’t listen to that. Don’t laugh at that....This week, we’re encouraging conversations about how our faith can—and must!—motivate us to positive actions for Him. We want to talk to kids about moving past the sit-and-don’t response to God to a joyful go-and-do response for Him"

For the rest click here.

Free Coldplay Album

Yup true and legal. Just click here for the download.

Thanks Coldplay for giving back to your fans!

props to Stuart for the heads up too.

The right to assemble.

Citizens Plan Mass Protest Against State’s Actions to Ignore “Home Rule”
By OakTerracePreserve

Tuesday, May 19th - 7pm
The Felix C Davis Community Center
(in the center of Park Circle)

Concerned citizens are holding a protest rally against the State Legislature’s actions on Thursday that, in effect, force rail through the north end of the former naval base. This action would not only add more than a dozen mile long trains moving through North Charleston’s historic district on a daily basis, but Norfolk Southern’s plans would take all of the Navy Yard property back into state ownership and ignore all of the investment and progress to date.

For more background, see our previous blog post. Tell your friends and neighbors that this is the time for action. Come out and make your voice heard!

Home sweet home...

Interesting video of the community that we live in.

Age Of Opportunity

Several days ago I sat across a table from a group of parents. Almost all of them had students who were about to enter our middle school program as rising 6th graders this summer. Their number one questions was what do we do now that we are going to have teenagers in the house?

It's a question I get more often then not because of the situation many parents find themselves in.

Paul Tripp does an excellent job in his book "Age of Opportunity" to guide parents with a tender but firm hand through the struggles and triumphs of raising teenagers in the faith. This book is a must read for all the parents of our students. It's a good balance of both the theory and practical side of passing on the faith to our loved ones. Paul isn't afraid to lay out that the foundation of the family is that it is designed to be a theological, sociological, and redemptive community (Ch 4) Which exists to, at every turn, encourage the next generation on in the faith.

The book warns of the dangers of viewing the teenage years as years of trouble. It condemns all the times we view teenagers and say "oh that's just their hormones" or worst "boys will be boys". Paul references that this over simplifies this God given time and relegates into mere biology.

One of the things that I really appreciate about the book (yet didn't discover until the end) is that there is a really strong study guide in the back. It's pre-set for a group of parents to walk through or better yet a husband and wife. Weather on your own or with a community this book is the most solid, biblical, and encouraging text on parenting teenagers i've seen yet.

Unleashing God's Word in Youth Ministry

At last a decent book written in layman's terms that encourages youth ministers regardless of church dynamic or size to rally around scripture God revealed there in.

Finished this book a while ago and have to say it's a rare find and if i had the resources this would be in the hands of every new youth minister I know. Barry Shafer walks both the theologically trained and the neophyte through not only the necessity of scripture's involvement in youth ministry but the how's as well.

Books that give you gimmicky sugar coated Bible lessons are a dime a dozen in the youth min world. This book does not take the bait but instead walks the reader through the inductive method of bible study. (Basically observe, interpreting, and applying scripture (pg 74)) He goes on to break that down into three distinct prayers of God, Show me (observe) God Teach me (interpret) and God Change me (Apply). These three areas make up the major theme of the book. In all this method happens in our brains almost on a sub-conscious level. For example I see a red light while driving (observe) I know from being taught that red means that I need to stop (interpret) Therefore I apply my breaks and the car slows. (apply) The thing that endeared the book to me is that he's not afraid of big topics that honestly I've very rarely heard discussed in youth ministry circles. The importance of learning original languages. (Greek and Hebrew) He talks about exegesis as well as the facts that teenagers are drawn in this age by depth and not necessarily the fun factor. Finally he wraps up the book by asking the cutting question of "What am i doing in student ministry that will outlast me?"

For anyone who teaches youth to love and follow Jesus this book is at the top of my recommendation list. I was pleasantly surprised at its depth of content and applicable context.

TV and Fear-based Parenting

This article is from realworldparents.com and I think has some great things to speak about parenting and media.

TV and Fear-based Parenting

Lenore Skenazy is the author of the secular book, “Free-Range Kids: Giving Our Children the Freedom We Had Without Going Nuts With Worry,” which makes the case that the everyday threats to our kids’ safety “these days” are way overblown. Making a similar point to something emphasized in the Real World Parent seminars, Skenazy points to stats which reveal kids are as safe or safer now (in all kinds of ways) as they were when most of us were kids. And, yet, many of us parent as if the dangers are worse than they’ve ever been.

In a recent Salon.com interview, she pointed to the kinds of media parents consume as one reason for our perception about the threats to children.

When I was growing up, my parents were not watching those horrific television shows that are on now like “CSI” and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” They were watching “Dallas,” “Dynasty,” stuff with maybe big hair, but that was the biggest crime. It wasn’t all these shows with really graphic, horrifying consequences for kids.

And then, you didn’t have cable, and cable has to fill 24 hours with the worst possible stories, because if they filled it with stories about kids getting home safely, you wouldn’t watch. What’s the most compelling story that anyone has come up with so far? It’s something terrible happening to a child.

There’s no doubt that the kinds of stories we consume and ponder can contribute to the level of our parental fear. Paul’s teaching in Philippians 4 for walking with peace—even in parenting—was to focus our minds on things that are true and positive. If our news and entertainment makes that especially difficult, how are they really helping us?

Passionate

The back story to this is that all over downtown Charleston are little sayings all over that have been graffiti-ed on curbs, trashcans, walls, and everything.

Testimoney night

Confirmation Testimony night at St. Andrew's

Special Brownies

This is from the blog of one of our leaders at St. Andrew's. It's hilarious. Keep in mind the girl our leader is writing about has a father who is a state trooper.

"Well, this is the story that one of the students decided to use in her testimony a few nights ago. She told me beforehand that she wanted to tell it, and I was honored that she remembered this lesson and found it worthy of being a part of her faith story. Little did I know, that the retelling of this story by this middle school student would become a story all by itself that I am not likely to forget for a long time. Instead of telling the audience the story the way I just related it to you, it sounded something like this: “My mom decided that my brother and I needed to try out this Bible study on Wednesday nights. It was Dave and Elizabeth Wheat. Our first night there she gave us some brownies, but they weren’t normal brownies. They were... different. They had something added to them.”

Be sure to read the rest here.

In the Alps

If you follow cycling then you know that as far as the Tour de France goes the Alps is one of the hardest sections. Literally is a stretch where the riders have to ride up the famous mountain range. That's pretty much what my life is like right now.

It started last Tues night with our student small group, Wed was worship at St. Andrew's (Todd spoke it was amazing), last night was Lisa's and my small group, Tonight is Testimony night where the entire confirmation class makes a personal confession of faith before the church, Tomorrow night is the actual Confirmation service, Sunday evening is Basic Impact. I'm really feeling the season and looking forward to the 10th when things wind down rather drastically. So here's to the 10th when we crest the hill and get to hold on for the ride down through New Wine and all the great stuff God is going to do this summer.

Eye on the prize.