Quitting "Normal" -Learning from Mission Trips

In a few days I will be taking some Senior High students and our youth team to Haiti. Other than myself, this will be the first international mission trip for everyone in our group. I am very excited to be going back to Haiti, but I am even more excited for everyone else in our group. My hope is that the mission trip will have the same impact on them as it did on me several years ago.

Of course our prime objective is to serve and encourage the church we will be visiting. Our desire is to love on the children and give support to their ministry team. However, there is no doubt that we will receive way more than we give. One of my biggest desires for our group is that this trip will ruin them from having a "normal" life. I've always loved the phrase: "Jesus wrecked my life...in a good way!"

My hope is this trip is more than just a "cool" experience. I hope we see what life is really about and that returning to "normal" is no longer possible. I hope we begin to realize that God wants more than normal. I hope we realize that God wants more from us and that we begin to want more of him. Normal is making life all about us and what we want. Normal is accumulating stuff because we think possessions make us happy. Normal is turning a blind eye to the needs of others. Normal is about getting instead of giving. I want to quit normal because normal is not good enough. I don't think normal works very well.

I pray and hope that what we do for one week would change us forever.

Summer Reading

Below is my summer reading. As a discipline, I typically read 3 books at a time...one devotional, one theological, and one fiction. Granted, I'm a nerd and love to read. However, I believe reading a variety of books has helped me both spiritually and as a youth minister. What are you reading this summer?

Freedom of Simplicity -part 2

Last week I gave 5 suggestions for simplifying life. This week I want to mention 5 "whys" for simplicity. These reasons were implied in last week's suggestions, but I think it is important to clarify the purpose behind simplicity.

1. Simplicity frees our time for what is most important. Money and stuff is not inherently evil. However, when money and stuff consumes our time, we've lost sight of our priorities. Simplicity gives us more time for worship and allows us to treasure the people God has put around us. As a pastor, I've had the unique privilege of being with people right before their death. I have never once heard a person regret the amount of money they earned or the amount of stuff they owned. In fact, they always wished they had spent more time with God and their family.

2. Simplicity frees us to follow God's calling. What if God asked you to move or switch jobs? What if God asked you to start a ministry or serve more? How difficult would it be to follow God's leading? The more stuff we have, the more we are anchored down. We are no longer free to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.

3. Simplicity frees us to give and serve. Most people have the time to watch television and take vacations, but do not have the time to help others and take mission trips. Most people have the money to buy cars and homes, but do not have the money to assist those in need. Again, somehow our priorities have been turned upside down. We will always have the time and money for what is most important to us? What does your schedule and checkbook reveal?

4. Simplicity frees us to enjoy what we do have. Materialism always causes us to be restless and discontent. Simplicity leads to thankfulness and gratitude. We appreciate the things God has given us, but we do not obsess over them.

5. Simplicity frees us to grow in holiness. Simplicity is not the end...it is a "means" to an end. The goal of every discipline is to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind. Simplicity removes the clutter and chains slowing us down in our walk with Christ. Simplicity gives us a greater focus. We must beware of making simplicity into another form of legalism. Again, our objective is not to judge others and make us look good. Simplicity is freedom...the freedom of surrendering our life and will to God.

Freedom of Simplicity pt. 1

"Models of simplicity are desperately needed today. Our task is urgent and and relevant. Our century thirsts for the authenticity of simplicity, the spirit of prayer, and the life of obedience. May we be the embodiment of that kind of authentic living." -Richard Foster 

Let me say from the start that what I am about to write is not meant to criticize others. My goal is not to judge people. Also, I confess that my family is far from perfect when it comes to the issue of simplicity. With that said, I believe the practice of simplicity is one that desperately needs to be heard in our culture. We live in a world obsessed with more. We live in a world obsessed with consumption. If we are not careful, we will fall into patterns of materialism and greed without even knowing it. With that said, here are 5 suggestions we are trying to do as a family...

1. Give things away on a regular basis. Go through your house and give away items you are not using. Not just the junky stuff, but nice things. We do not need 3 toasters or 15 jackets. Get rid of the clutter. You will help someone else and feel better yourself.

2. Reduce the amount of items you own. The more you own, the more you have to take care of. The more you have to take care of, the less time you have to spend on what is most important (i.e. relationship with Christ, family, serving others). More is not always better.

3. Look to downsize. I know this sounds crazy because we live in a world where we are encouraged to buy the biggest house we can afford. We have been convinced that we "must have" a certain amount of space. Again, this is not to criticize those who have large homes. I am simply offering a different perspective. Again, we must realize that bigger houses and bigger yards require more maintenance  and therefore more time.

4. Do not spend money you do not have. Do not stretch your money so tight that you cannot give to others. Look to increase the amount you can give each year. This year may not be much, but next year can be better.

5. Learn to say "No." Everyone wants our time and typically their requests are good ones. However, we cannot do everything and we must say "no" sometimes so we do not lose sight of what is most important. Make a list of your top 5 priorities and be diligent to protect them. Sometimes you will have time to do other things. But if you don't...say no!

We live in a culture that is plagued by the obsession to possess. We have more stuff and yet we still feel strained, hurried, and restless. It seems there is no escape from the rat race. The problem is we will never have enough. No amount of money or stuff can save us. Perhaps we are pursuing the wrong things. Again, I confess that I struggle with the desire for more as much as anybody else. However, when I'm alone with God, I realize the rat race is pointless. I was made to run another race.

Let the Craziness Begin!

As a youth minister, the beginning of summer always brings mixed emotions. On the one hand, I am extremely excited about all the trips and fun events we have planned this summer. On the other hand, the very sight of this calendar makes me exhausted. With our students being out of school, we as a youth group have more opportunities to serve and worship together. We also have more opportunities to have tons of fun as well. At the end of every summer, I always wonder if I’m getting too old for this (and I’m only 29!). Nevertheless, I cannot wait to see how God works in our student ministry over the next couple months. So here are my top 3 things I’m looking forward too!

      1.  In June we are taking some of our Senior High students to Haiti! Except for myself, this will be the first international mission trip for everyone in our group. 

      

      2. In July we will have a mission camp right here at our church. We will have two mission trips in one summer! Our students will do local service projects around our county and then we will throw a block party for our neighborhood. The party will include food, games for kids, and a movie. At night we will have worship services, games, and small group classes. 

      

     3. Beginning on July 7^th, I will begin preaching every Sunday. I am very hopeful that even more youth will participate and serve in our Sunday morning services. The more that youth are involved in the church as a whole, the more likely they are to stay in church after graduation. Also, on that date we will start Sunday morning small groups for our students. We will have snacks and drinks, icebreaker games, and small group lessons. Youth will be divided by age and gender during the lesson. The lessons will focus on different books of the Bible and the 2-year curriculum will cover the major themes of scripture. The curriculum comes from the awesome people at Simply Youth Ministry. See the chart below for more info.

    As always, the summer will be crazy and will leave me exhausted. But it is the best kind of exhaustion…one that comes from being with God’s people and being spent in the service of Christ.

The Big 3

Kurt Johnston had a great article over at the Junior High Ministry blog. In his blog he discusses what he believes are the three most important aspects of youth ministry. He clarified that pointing young people to a relationship with Jesus should be assumed, and so did not include that in his answer. I would encourage you to go and check out his input and below I give you mine. I think the "Big 3" is important to think about periodically because it helps us to remember the big picture of our ministries. 

1. Sustainability–Is what we are doing sustainable for the long-haul? Are we building a healthy ministry? Is the way we are doing ministry depleting our resources and leading us to burnout? 

2. Sanctification–Our youth ministry needs to help people “grow up in Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-13). One question I ask myself: “Is the way I am doing ministry allowing me to grow closer to Jesus?” If not, then I need to reevaluate what I’m doing. If I’m not growing, how can I expect my volunteers and students to grow?

3. Developing a Team of Youth Workers–Creating a group of adults who are not merely chaperones, but are caring and supportive youth workers. Young people need adults who will invest in their lives.

What are your Big 3? Anything you would add?

Always Greater

“When I saw him (Christ), I fell at his feet as dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, ‘Don’t be afraid! I am the First and Last.’” Revelation 1:17

The season of Easter always remind me of the greatness of Christ. Jesus is bigger than we can ever imagine. He is more than a friend, pal, or good teacher. He is all these things…but more.

In Revelation, the Apostle John sees the risen Christ and immediately falls to the ground. Jesus is unspeakably glorious. He is beyond description…he is beyond words.

I always want to be awed and amazed by Christ. I never want to treat my relationship with him as unimportant. I never want to be indifferent or casual about worshipping him. I want to be overwhelmed by his presence because he is the Alpha and Omega. He is the king of kings and the lord of lords.

It is amazing that such a majestic Savior would offer us love and friendship. No one is greater than Christ. No love is higher than his love. Yet, he offers himself and he offers his love to any who will receive him. His grace is truly amazing…and his grace even includes me!

“The secret of the mystery is: God is always greater. 

No matter how great we think him to be, his love is always greater.” –Brennan Manning

I've Seen it All

Our theme for Lent is “The Church in Our Hands.” This theme got me thinking about youth ministry and the impact it has had on my life and on others. In 11 years of student ministry, I feel like I’ve seen a little bit everything. Back to school events. Launch of small groups. Speaking at the youth worship services. Speaking in big church. An event created by the devil called the all-night lock-in. Scavenger hunts. Driving a kid home after waiting an hour because his parents never showed up. Being at the hospital all night because a kid got sick on a trip. Tough conversations with a member of the church. Firing a volunteer youth worker. Seeing my best youth fall away from the church. Yep, I’ve seen a lot.

But I’ve also seen young people make a commitment to Christ for the first time. I’ve seen troubled teens become incredible leaders. I’ve seen former youth become pastors and missionaries. I’ve seen adults become amazing youth volunteers. I’ve seen depressed and isolated teenagers find a family within the church. I’ve seen over a thousand teenagers worshipping together. I’ve seen God do amazing things!

I accepted Christ due in large part to an amazing youth group who loved me into the faith.  I will forever be grateful for churches and adults who invest in the lives of young people. Thank you for praying for us! Thank you for giving so that our youth ministry can have amazing resources and facilities! Thank you for serving in the church and thank you for loving Jesus! Keep it up…our young people need you! 

(An awesome video by Simply Youth Ministry)

Ash Wednesday: Confessing and Clinging

Have you ever had a moment growing up where you got in big trouble? You tried to get away with something but got caught. And you knew you were busted big time? This happened to me several times growing up, but one I really remember happened in the 4^th grade. 

My friends and I were playing outside when we decided to go explore an empty house across the street. No one was living there and we found a window that was unlocked. So we climbed through the window and started running around the house. I was going through the living room when someone caught my eye. My mom saw me through the window and gave me "THE MOM” look. I froze. She then pointed to me and told me to come. I left the house and went to my mom. She asked why I was in the house. I have no idea what I was thinking but I replied: “What house? I wasn’t in a house.” She then said, “I just saw you and pointed at you…why were you in the house?” Again, I replied: “I didn’t go into the house.” Stunned in disbelief, she told me to go to my room and that we would talk about it later…when dad got home. I don’t know about you, but in my home if dad had to get involved you were in big trouble. To this day, I have no idea why I lied. My punishment wouldn’t have been near as bad if I simply confessed.

We’ve all been there. We've all had Moments where we got caught…moments where we made bad decisions and looking back we have no idea why. Ash Wednesday is a special day in the life of the church because it forces us to confront these moments. The ashes we receive on our forehead are a symbol of our own mortality and sin. Ashes in the Old Testament represented mourning and repentance in the Old Testament. They reminded people that death and sin are very real. Our reality is one of brokenness. Romans 3: “For all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard.” Then Romans 6: “The wages of sin is death.” We are people who have messed up. We have gone our own way, pursued our own happiness, and in the process destroyed our own souls. We have separated ourselves from the very One who loves us and gives us life.

Hebrews 4 puts it this way:

“For the word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are. Nothing in all creation can hide from him. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes. This is the God to whom we must explain all that we have done.” 

This is a scary verse. This verse and Ash Wednesday reminds us that we have all been busted. We are all exposed. Everything we have or haven’t done is known by God. We may hide it from others, but nothing is hidden from God. This is bad news. No wonder most people skip Lent and go straight to Easter. We don’t want to think about our own sin…we don’t want to think about death. We don’t like ashes. But here’s the good news. I want to finish with a promise. Here’s the second part of the verse:

“This is why we have a great High Priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus the Son of God. [Because we are lost, broken, and busted…Christ came]. 

Let us cling to him and never stop trusting him [that is what Lent is all about. Re-orienting our lives on Christ…focusing our attention on him]. 

This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same temptations we do... [Jesus understands you completely. He knows what you’ve been through. He knows what it’s like to be betrayed by friends, to be abandoned, to be hated, to be lied about…he’s been through the same things as us. But here’s the difference] 

...yet he did not sin. [he faced everything we face, he was tempted like we are tempted…yet he did not sin. And because of this the writer commands] 

Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.”

The ashes remind us of death and sin, but then we have communion right after the imposition of ashes. Communion reminds us that death and sin do not have the last word. Communion reminds us that through Christ, our great High Priest, we have been given the gift of everlasting life. So may this Lenten season be for us a time of renewal…a time of change…a time of focus…and most of all a time of clinging…a season where we cling and trust our gracious Savior.