Do Hard Things: Abby Sunderland

A few years ago two brothers wrote a book and encouraged their generation of teenagers not to settle for the low expectations culture hangs on them. Teenagers are capable of doing great things and capable of settling for low horizons and easy dreams. This summer our high school community will be reading the follow up book called "Start Here" hoping to challenge them to dream big for Christ. (see the previous post on Edwards!)  The Harris brothers just posted an excellent article in regards to Abby Sunderland the 17 year old who tried to circumnavigate the globe solo. I'd reccomend the blog post to anyone who has followed the story of this young lady.

Abby Sunderland and her family have come under a lot of criticism in recent weeks — most of it by people who have not met them and never will. We know them personally. They have our full support, prayers, and shared joy as they welcome Abby home and welcome their newest brother — Paul — to the family...

The Rebelution movement is not about sailing around the world, but it is about raising expectations for teens. Zac and Abby and their parents share that vision. How many more lives have been wasted because of low expectations and parental neglect, than because of young people who dared to accomplish something greater — and whose parents provided the guidance and support they needed?
Juxtaposed with the story of Abby’s safe return on the L.A. Times website is the tragic headline, “Teen girl, 15, dies of suspected overdose after rave at Coliseum.” More lives are thrown away by teens failing to take responsibility than will ever be lost by teens attempting to take on “too much” responsibility.

To read the rest please click here.

Resolve for Monday

Every Monday I'm going to post one of Jonathan Edwards resolutions. He penned these while still a very young man and used them to guide his life. What am I using to guide me, my family, my ministry???

23. Resolved, Frequently to take some deliberate action, which seems most unlikely to be done, for the glory of God, and trace it back to the original intention, designs, and ends of it; and if I find it not to be for God’s glory, to repute it as a breach of the fourth Resolution. 

• What if? That question is, what I believe to be, one of the most potent questions we can ask.  When asked in the kingdom context the sky is the limit. What dream is so big that only God can bring it about? 
• What if? What if we fed all the hungry in your city? What if the gospel was preached to everyone at the local high school in a way they would hear it? What if we lived the thy kingdom come thy will be done? 
• When we shoot for things so audacious so amazing that only Jesus can bring them about it means that when he does he will get all the glory. What would our lives look like if we "frequently" walked those paths? 
• One final point. Edwards last line brings up a good conversation. What happens when we "breach" or break one of our guiding principles?  Who holds us accountable and how?

Banana Prosthetic

It's a prosthetic for your banana!

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It is Christ...

"Remember therefore, it is not thy hold of Christ that saves thee - it is Christ; it is not thy joy in Christ that saves thee - it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, though that be the instrument - it is Christ's blood and merits; therefore look not so much to thy hand with which thou art grasping Christ."

-Charles Spurgeon

Resolve for Monday

Every Monday I'm going to post one of Jonathan Edwards resolutions. He penned these while still a very young man and used them to guide his life. What am I using to guide me, my family, my ministry???

22. Resolved, To endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness in the other world as I possibly can, with all the power, might, vigor, and vehemence, yea violence, I am capable of, or can bring myself to exert, in any way that can be thought of. 

• All you need to do is browse the magazine rack at the local grocery store to see all the ways people are trying to obtain as much happiness in this world. In this resolution Edwards is focusing not on this world but the next. What does happiness look like in the next world?
• Edwards spent a lot of time pondering the afterlife. Death was a common occurrence in his day and as a pastor he would have done his fair share helping people cope with grief and loss. Heaven and Hell were then and are now a stark reality. How is what you do today lived in light of this truth?
• How do we "store up treasures in Heaven"? (Matt 6:20)
• I love how Edwards described his pursuit of next world happiness. "...with all power , might, vigor, and vehemence, yea violence, I am capable of, or can bring myself to exert, in any way that can be thought of. " What do I chase after with such forces?

17 Magazine

Heard a really interesting interview yesterday on my way home from work with Jamie Keiles. Jamie is an 18 year old who just graduated from high school. During her senior year she took a month and committed to "living the gospel of 17 Magazine." Taking all of their advice as literal as possible. She posted her experience on a blog that can be found at The Seventeen Magazine Project.  I think her findings can be best summed up in the picture she posted below...

Hey parents how can we help our daughters consume media that will encourage them to be more then just hair, boy crazy, and makeup?

How do we encourage them to think outside the box? To take a stand.

How do we show them that being a Jesus follower isn't checking your brain at the door?

Well done Miss Keiles.

New blog design...

Thanks to Greg for his help with the new redesign of the site please click here to check out the new and improved DaveLibbon.com . Please be sure to have your volume turned up as well.

Four Callings In Youth Ministry...

Here's what has my brain turning this morning...



"Lets put this mysterious but important call in perspective. There are four calls that I can identify:

1. The call to salvation.
2. The call to discipleship.
3. The call to service.
4. The call to leadership. "

-from Leaders Who Last by David Kraft


I think what has me mulling on this is how do we help those in youth ministry recognize these callings?

New Voyage of the Dawn Treader Trailer

Thanks to J. Griffen for sharing this...



Chronicles Of Narnia 3

Pie

Now I'm a fan of delicious pie as much as anyone else is. Maybe more so in fact. A student in the youth ministry put this video together to demonstrate his love for all types of pies...

Enjoy

Phillip Holladay

Below is a letter we sent out to our community announcing the addition of Phillip Holladay to our already stellar youth ministry team.....

Dear friends and family of Basic Impact,

            Congratulations on making it through another school year. The Basic Impact team has been hard at work this semester too. One of the projects we have undertaken is to look at the growth in the youth ministry and prayerfully figure out what will be the best way to engage our families and students. We are excited to announce that a new position has been created in the youth ministry department; a Middle School Ministry Team Leader. This person will oversee BASIC, middle school life groups, and anything that has to do with grades 6^th-8^th. This person will also act as a coordinator and help all of our other faithful volunteers and team leaders to be all that we can be.

 After we created the position we spent several months looking and praying for the individual who would join our team. We are pleased to introduce to you Phillip Holladay. Philip comes to us from Pinopolis SC where he has been working with teenagers for the past 5 years.  Phillip is passionate about his faith and seeing young people and their families connect to Christ. His first Sunday with us will be this Sunday June 13^th. Phillip will be joining us at the family picnic after the 10:45 service at Moultrie’s Farmers Market Pavilion. Please stop by, enjoy some lunch, and introduce yourself to our newest team member.

Looking forward to an exciting summer

Dave Libbon

Morning

It does my heart good to have mornings like this.

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Resolve for Monday

Every Monday I'm going to post one of Jonathan Edwards resolutions. He penned these while still a very young man and used them to guide his life. What am I using to guide me, my family, my ministry???

21. Resolved, Never to do any thing, which if I should see in another, I should count a just occasion to despise him for, or to think any way the more meanly of him. 

• Dog eat dog, Edwards didn't think so. Each day we have the opportunity to tear people down both to their face and behind their backs. How we treat others can tell you much about how you view yourself. How do you speak of people? 
• Romans 12:14 "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them."  Easy to do? 
• Puritan Thomas Brooks said "the Devil baits the hook of the world with the desires of the flesh." the opportunity to slam another person is a sweet lure containing a deadly hook. I think it's a worth while commitment to daily ask the Holy Spirit to change opportunities we have either face to face or online into opportunities to bless others.

Worship of Youth

Oh how our culture worships youth...

Current cover of Vogue.

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My Top 5 Most Common Mistakes in Youth Ministry

Summer for us is a time of reflection and honesty. It's a time when we abide, evaluate, and dream for the next season. Part of honest reflection is to look at areas where you as a leader can improve and work on. Tim Schmoyer recently wrote a post My top 5 most common youth ministry mistakes  Which got me thinking about what would my list look like. Here goes...

"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid."

Proverbs 12:1

1. Deadlines for leaders - I've been micro managed in the past and it's left some wounds. So my natural tendency is to paint the big picture and let leaders run with it. I've realized that the picture I paint doesn't need to be detailed (I trust my team) but I do need to identify the edges of the canvas. Deadlines aren't bad in fact they help our team prioritize better but it needs to be more then a "When you get a chance."
2. Equipping volunteer - Huge we've started to address this issue this year but had some big staff changes so we put it on a back burner. I full realize that our ministry will only be as effective as our leaders are healthy and growing. I'm excited to tackle this in the new season.
3. Not having healthy boundaries with technology Home is home and church is church. Technology has built a horrid bridge between the two. Honestly I've considered moving away form the iPhone but it would just creep up in some other manner. I read on a blog lately a statement that stuck.."How much better would you family be if you touched them more then your iTouch?"
4. Going for flash and not the listening to the spirit There's a ton of prepackaged youth min material that is super slick and promises to deliver. It's really tempting to but the box or bundle and watch it not deliver. It won't deliver because youth ministry is about relationships not flash presentations or slick intro videos. Communication is important and speaking the vernacular of the culture we are trying to reach with the gospel is key but let's not loose them on the flash and deprive them of the greatest message ever.
5. Trying to be superman, or at least holding my self to those standards Here's the biggie. If we only had a second car I could go to more sporting events, get more time with students, make it to that dance recital, or go to that football game. If I only could stay up later I could work on my teachings, I could develop small group questions that work, and I could harness the almighty power of social media. If I could get up earlier I could pray for ever kid, leader, pastor, senator, US citizen by name every day. Sound crazy. It is. But yet there's a part of me that feels guilty when that doesn't happen. Where I need to hear the gospel preached to myself is that I'm not superman and Jesus is. As hard as that is it's also OK. 

Thanks Tim for helping me think through these things.

What are your 5 ?

The Homewrecker

Last night we had a held a father son night at for our middle school ministry to watch the Charleston River Dogs take on the Rome Braves. A highlight of the evening was taking my own personal challenge of the Homewrecker.

You might have heard of this colossal hot dog if you've Man vs. Food on the Travel Channel.

I'm happy to say that I do have the gastrointestinal fortitude for take on and finish the Homewrecker. The rest of the night however was a little rough.

Cricket, Cricket... It's quiet.

I know it's been quiet around the ol blog lately. That's the result of my surprisingly busy life theses days. Here's a quick update. My wife is beautiful, my daughter is wonderful, the ministry is gearing up for summer, and life is a tad busy for me. I will say that we have some wonderful stuff coming down the track both for summer and in the youth ministry so stay tuned and we'll be dropping some of those announcements hopefully later this week.

Resolve for Monday

So my Monday was packed... here's the "Resolve for Monday" on Tuesday.

Every Monday I'm going to post one of Jonathan Edwards resolutions. He penned these while still a very young man and used them to guide his life. What am I using to guide me, my family, my ministry???


20. Resolved, To maintain the strictest temperance in eating and drinking. 

• Our appetites can be just as big an idle as anything shaped out of gold or bronze. Do we have a plan to keep these in check? 

• Often we in the church look at drinking as a sin, which it isn't when done in the proper confines and context, but what about eating? People pig out at all you can eat buffets yet decry the sin of drinking. 

• If Edwards was shaping his life around these resolutions then for me this doesn't just mean i need to be careful of how I approach them but to be sure that I'm engaging them on all levels. It's not unheard of for me to work through lunch, or have a steady diet of fast food. That is not what Edwards was getting at. I'm striving to be sure that food and drink act as a benefit to me and my function as a person of God in this world and not that they rule over me. 

•  How can you recognize when you are being ruled by your appetites? I've been around people when moods drastically change, when their energy level drops, or when they have a very hard time focusing on something. How do you react when this is out of balance? If you don't know pray and ask Jesus to show you.

Uncle Oinker's Bacon Mints

Two of our good friends recently went to Seattle Wa. and made a special stop at the famously funny Archie McPhee & Co.   (Warning only click on that website if you have a bunch of time to kill)

They brought us back a treat...

Uncle Oinker's Savory Bacon Mints  

They really do taste like strong smokey bacon with a taste of mint.

 

Because nothing freshens breath like the smokey savory taste of bacon.

Thanks Chris and Elizabeth!