Just read a great post from Dave Kraft's blog on prayer and leadership...
"I believe one of the qualities of a maturing Christian and a fruitful and effective leader is a growing and deepening prayer life…not measured primarily by the number of minutes or hours spent in prayer but by a consistent attitude of dependency, expectancy and gratitude."I highly suggest going to his blog and reading the rest!
Here's an article I wrote as a guest post for a friend's blog. If you haven't already check out the Awakening Grace blog and if you are in the Myrtle Beach area stop by Trinity off of Hwy 17 and say hi to Rob and the team.
Family discipleship for me is a hot button topic right now. It seems that ever where I look there are 5 steps to discipling your kids, or the perfect plan to a time of family worship. I even found a 30 page manual on how to lead your family in a time of worship. It included this little gem… “If you have a difficult child, follow this simple rule: no scripture, no singing, and no praying means no food.” Now there’s an idea that won’t embitter the child against Jesus!
If I worked a nine to five down at the factory I’d jump at that kind of stuff (except the “no food” manual) because of the routine it offers. Routines are safe. The truth of the matter is that I don’t work down at the factory I work full time in youth ministry. Ministry, by large, is evening and weekend job so my nights with the family vary from week to week and season to season. When it comes to leading my wife and daughter to the cross here’s some things that I have found helpful.
- Lead do not push. This goes for anyone. I care more about my family at the feet of Jesus then if we hit our quota of quiet times this week. A little background for me personally is that I’m 29 got a hot wife and a cute daughter of 17mo. It’s taken me years to figure out the little ways I can encourage my family to treasure our time together seeking after Christ.
- It’s about movement not molding. For a long time I had in my brain a model of what my family should spiritually look like. How we should operate and what we should value. What I’ve come to find is that model had become an idol where I sacrificed things so we’d fit the mold. Then holding us in that mold took center stage. Where I have grown is that as we try different things we celebrate the growth and not the destination. One recent growth we celebrated was as we sat down to a hurried meal together and started eating we heard the sweet voice of my daughter simply say “pray” and she lowered her head and folded her hands. This memory still brings a smile to my face.
- The “what” is not as important as the time. We must have tried a billion different family devotionals, couples prayer manuals, book studies, and reading plans but none of them ended up being the perfect fit. Either it was good for my wife and boring me to tears or feeding me and not my bride. Where we have landed is that we have learned that celebrating our differences is an act of worship. The time we spend seeking Christ together is what matters even if it is imperfect in content.
When my daughter was born it rocked my spiritual world in both an amazing way and a hard way. The times I treasured with scripture in the early mornings were now taken up with bottles and diapers. It was a hard lesson to learn that my relationship with my creator is more dependent on him then my ability to have a consistent quiet time. This goes for our family time as well. What works for us, for now, is as we get up and have breakfast we read a quick devotion together and pray before we start the day. This happens as best we can. It’s not a legalistic daily thing but it is a priority for us. The night’s I’m home when my daughter goes to bed my wife and I pray for her, us, and her future husband. It’s a simple format that we hold loosely. Two books I’ve found helpful as I’ve wrestled with this are P. Tripp’s book “The Age of Opportunity” and Bruce Ware’s book “Big Truths for Young Hearts”.
This appeared over on the Stuff Christian's Like blog it gave me a warm feeling inside. Thanks Jon for posting this and thanks Andrew for the heads up.
#820.Treating youth ministers like silver medal ministers.
Jul 26th by Jon
“Do you ever think you’ll be a real minister someday?”
If I had a dollar for every time someone said this to a youth minister I could probably train a worship eagle to hunt and kill the pigeon that pooped in the mouth of the Kings of Leon bass player, forcing them to cancel their St. Louis show this weekend after only three songs. (In pigeon society this event has already been labeled, “The greatest day ever.”)
Alas, no one pays me money when youth ministers get insulted. That’s a shame because it happens. We think youth ministers are goofballs. They’re good at kickball and pranks that involve whipped cream. And once a year we let them preach on youth Sunday.
But I think in a lot of ways, they’ve got the toughest job at a church. In fact, here are five reasons we should never consider our youth ministers silver medal ministers.
1. Liability forms
They should just call these, “Get out of jail free,” cards, because that’s what they are. When youth ministers plan a retreat, they’ve got to collect liability forms from each student. Why? Because someone is going home with a broken leg. That’s just going to happen. Someone will jump off a sand dune, throw an apple at someone’s head or get stitches. That never happens to senior pastors. Not once did my minister dad come home from an elder retreat and say, “Yeah, Hank Johnson tied a fake snake over the bathroom door and Mary Smith freaked out and broke her hand slamming the door shut.”
2. Relevance
Youth ministers have to be relevant across multiple generations. Senior pastors don’t to the same degree. When my dad mentioned Seinfeld in a sermon, he was mentioning something that as a 40 year old he liked. It’s different for youth ministers. They have to understand and communicate in their own generation and their student’s generation. What does that mean? Basically, you’re going to be forced to pick a team in the Twilight series. If you like jean shorts and sit ups, go Team Jacob. If you want to be an emo Robert Smith kind of vampire, go Team Edward.
3. Speaking
Youth groups are harder to speak to than the average Sunday congregation. I learned this recently while speaking to some students. After talking for about four minutes, I noticed that there was a kid asleep in the crowd. And not just a little asleep, he was sprawled out. Teens will fall asleep if you don’t bring it instantly. They also won’t fake laugh. Adults will give you “courtesy laughs.” Not teenagers. If it ain’t funny, they ain’t laughing. Teens, in a good way, make you work for it.
4. Dramas
I don’t know if it’s technically a rule, but poor youth ministers often end up being forced to perform cheestastical dramas on mission trips. Our youth group did a dance routine to Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror.” Maybe your youth group had puppets or handbells. You might have even had a mime troupe at your church. (I would name mine, “Gloves of Love.”) Regardless of the variation, chances are, your youth minister had to not only do his/her regular job but also be skilled at the performing arts.
5. Orange Drink & Pizza
I think youth ministers have a lifespan that is eight years shorter than the general population due to all the ghetto orange drink and pizza they are forced to consume. And it’s always the kind of pizza where you can’t tell if you’re eating a piece or have just started biting the box. The pizza is thin, covered with a sandpaper like layer of cheese, and crafted with crusts that could kill a man like an aborigine boomerang.
There are probably a billion reasons it’s difficult to be a youth minister, but one of the reasons that it’s not, is pretty simple:
This generation has more potential to spread the gospel than any other generation in the history of mankind.
It’s true, teenagers today will communicate more, share more and talk more than ever before. Twenty years ago, when a student heard a great sermon, they maybe told two friends at school. Now, they post a link to it on facebook. They tweet about it. They blog about it. Your sermon can go viral in about 12 seconds. The ability for this next generation to be salt and light is unbelievable.
I thank God for Kurt Andre my youth minister growing up.
If you had a youth minister you’re thankful for too, give them a shout out today. Forward them post and comment with this:
“I thank God for ________________.”
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???
27. Resolved, Never wilfully to omit any thing, except the omission be for the glory of God; and frequently to examine my omissions.
Not much of a post but I've added a new feature on the blog. Below each post there's a button to share the post through email, twitter, facebook, or google buzz. If ya see something you like why not pass it on?
Not sure if you've heard of Stephen Furtick. He's a pastor in the Charlotte area and is being used by God to do some great things up there. Several days ago he posted a simple challenge on his twitter for people to join him in memorizing Romans 8. Scripture memory is a discipline that's been on my heart lately so I've started to really chew on Romans 8. Here's what's struck me today...
"Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh but those who live according to the spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit." Romans 8:5
So here's the question that resonates with me today...
Over the past few months I've had the chance to complete the transformation of our shed into my study. It's been a great place to read, pray, plan, and study. The best of all is that my wife gets her spare bedroom back so we can have guests over who don't have to sleep on the floor. To read the earlier updates click here and here.
Here's the final product.
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???
26. Resolved, To cast away such things as I find do abate my assurance.
Definition: Abate... To make less attractive or intense.
"A Christian leader is a humble, God-dependent, team-playing servant of God who is called by God to shepherd, develop, equip, and empower a specific group of believers to accomplish an agreed-upon vision from God."
Here's a funny story... So I was surfing at Isle of Palm last Monday and broke my nose. I'll spare you the gory details but lets just say there was a lot of blood.
Who Gets to Ride Shotgun? One of the surest ways to put a ceiling on your ministry is to fill leadership roles on a first-come, first-served basis. 
It's only July and the $50,000,000,000 (That's billion with a B) back to school industry has already kicked into gear. With a new market there's always new trends. This year Teen Hauling Video's hit youtube.com.
Here's how it works teens head to the mall pick up the latest and greatest fashion then fire up the web cam to share with the world their latest "haul". Where the wonderful world of predatory marketing kicks in is when companies like JC Penny and Forever 21give some of the most popular young ladies thousand dollar gift cards to promote their back to school gear. Good Morning America ran and interesting piece about this symbiotic relationship this morning and got my mind turning about how native missionaries are tremendously more effective in reaching a culture then foreign implants.
This concept works not only in geographic missions but also as we spread the gospel to our own students and children. A 15 year old has an amazing capacity to share the gospel with his friend group that already exists. For me to make inroads for Christ into that circle would take a substantial investment of time and energy. What does it look like in youth ministry for us to invest in the students who's hearts are already on fire and then let them do the work of evangelism? How do we steward not only our money but our time as well?
Happy 501st birthday John Calvin. Here's a post I wrote a while ago on his theology and youth ministry.
Here's a link to a great article on "Family Worship". As we look ahead to the next season of ministry let me know how you handle family prayer, devotions, etc in your house?? You can either comment here, let me know on FaceBook or just shoot me a message.
"D. L. Moody was once asked how he had become the engaging, passionate communicator that he was. He responded by saying that before he was to speak, he would go out into a field by himself and ask God to set him on fire."
Just finished reading "Leaders Who Last" by Dave Kraft. I'm on a kick to balance what I read. So it usually pans out to be one dead guy, one leader book, and one youth ministry specific book. I tore through Krafts' book as it was easy to ready and I really appreciated the style he wrote in. Where he had simple points he just listed them. It made the distillation process that much easier.
Bobby Clinton of Fuller said several years ago that only 30% of leaders finish well. One of my personal driving goals has always simply been that I need to make decisions today that will ultimately help me finish well. If your heart is the same go read this book.
Here's one of the many segments I've underlined...
"Goals Plans Priorities Schedule Execution Evaluation That same evening I had a young architect over for coaching. I showed him the same process, but quickly realized there were two pieces missing that should precede the first step—purpose and passion. So, adding to the list above, we now have: 1. Purpose—what I am called to accomplish in life 2. Passion—a sense of enthusiasm about my purpose and direction 3. Goals—where I want to go 4. Plans—what I am going to do to get there 5. Priorities—how I will arrange my plans to get there 6. Schedule—when I will actually do it 7. Execution—just do it 8. Evaluation—assessment of what happened, and how I can improve the process"
It's interesting that the majority of youth ministry is focused here in the USA. While the majority of youth live outside of our country. (This is a wild generalization, yet if you've traveled abroad to Africa or south Asia back me up on this one) Here's a great article from Youth Specialties, the first part focuses on the Jewish faith. My comment is that if they have such high expectations on their youth why do we have such low expectations on ours as Christians?
"At different times throughout the flight, my aisle mate would pull out a little pouch containing his Tanach (Hebrew Bible) and a few other prayer accessories that were somewhat foreign to me. He would recite the Scriptures, pray and kiss each item before putting it back into the small pouch. As I looked around the plane, I could see that about 40% of the men were doing the very same thing. For each of them, this was simply part of their daily routine and devotion to their faith. For me, this was fascinating(and a bit convicting as my main focus was getting my headphones to work in both ears).
I asked Michael his story, being specifically interested in his upbringing as a Jewish boy and young adult. He said that he had left his parents home at the age of 14 to study to be a rabbi..."
Here's a snapshot of what we've been up to...
Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.
Here's the audio from my first sermon at St. Andrew's MP
To have a listen click here.
It might be easier to right click and select "Save " Your call.
Over the past month or so we as a church have been walking out this metaphor of Story. Steve several weeks ago posed the beautiful premise that we naturally think in terms of our individual story. For example I grew up in Pittsburgh and was born into the city with the greatest professional football franchises of all time. That’s part of my story, you have your own and when each of those stories becomes equally valid suddenly neither of them carries any worth but to the people who are in them. Steve said to us what if, what if there is a bigger story, what if we are all part of a broader story, a meta story. One that our creator has woven through the fabric of history. Then it’s not you and me but it becomes us. As we look at God’s story we have talked about God being trinity. How he exists in perfect un-wanting community already Out of an overflow of his love he created us, all we see, all we touch is a resounding call of his love. He could have left us there but he didn’t. I had an ant farm when I was young and looking back I’m fairly certain that my ants had no idea I existed.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???
24. Resolved, Whenever I do any conspicuously evil action, to trace it back, till I come to the original cause; and then, both carefully endeavour to do so no more, and to fight and pray with all my might against the original of it.
From Steve Wood's congregational letter...
“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1.8)
So were Jesus’ words to his disciples just before his ascension into heaven. In this one little verse we see two things: first power (Holy Spirit power) is needed for the church to complete her mission, but also, when the Spirit comes he will propel us, “you will be,” into mission.
Several months ago the staff and vestry leadership began to prayerfully discern where and when we might plant a church. Through amazing circumstances we have reached an agreement with the Music Farm (downtown Charleston) to plant a church using their facility!
The genesis of this endeavor began with our young professionals who live both downtown and West Ashley who have asked us to do something for quite sometime closer to their homes. While we were entangled in the mess of TEC, and the potential negative outcomes, we were unable to focus much attention on things like church planting. However, with the completion of our departure we have found both the time and a significant interest within the parish to engage new projects.
Serendipitous to the expressed interest of our young professionals, and our newfound freedom, was a conversation that developed with the general manager of the Music Farm who was very happy to explore with us the possibility of using their facility to plant a church. As time moved on we had several conversations of the kind that only God can arrange: through a variety of circumstances several of us – both staff and non-staff – had conversations with young adults who are completely and contentedly disconnected from a community of faith. As we explored the challenges they face with regard to their faith we spoke about the idea of a church plant downtown and all expressed their enthusiasm and interest. It became evident that the Lord was opening a way for us to engage in a constructive manner and work to reach a disaffected and disaffiliated segment of our community.
