It Is Finished
This has been a huge week! Well huge in the non-ministry sense of the word. Today I finally beat Jeff our worship leader with the final of 32 NFL teams on Madden. I set out with a goal to beat Jeff with all 32 teams and today was the day. I know for some of you your thinking, “that was your goal”? The answer to that is absolutely. I love Madden, it is my release and it is a great time to hang out with my buddy. This has been our lunch time ritual now for a couple months. If you only knew his favorite team to play with. So if you see Jeff this week let him know that it is not the end of the world. Well I’m off to practice…beat him twice with each team? I’m so pathetic that my highlights in the sports world is now a video game.
Misconceptions of a Youth Pastor
God has been teaching me a lot lately about youth ministry, about students in general and more importantly about students in our area. I have always grown up with students where “church” was their life. Their schedules revolved around it. Youth group was a necessity for me and my friends growing up. Even though we were in too sports and we all had jobs we made sure that we never missed youth group or an event. I am learning that is not the case in the Northeast. I am seeing that school and extra-curricular activities such as sports, jobs, band and the arts all take priority over church. When I first got here I couldn’t understand why that was the case and I would correlate the students lack of growth or our lack of numerical growth as my personal failure (if you can’t tell I am passionate about teenagers) but God is showing me something different.
With enough time, with the right mix of fun interaction and spiritual challenge, and with my brilliant kid-magnet relational skills (yeah right), I was sure I could schmooze my way alongside any kid and bring them into a deeper relationship with Christ. Now I didn’t think I could do this with every kid, but I was pretty sure I could handle any individual student that was thrown my way. After all if I couldn’t reach that particular kid we have a great youth staff that could. Overall our ministry would be a success.
I see students come and we start to build relationships with them. But it seems that no matter how much time we spend with them, no matter how good our example is, no matter how much we challenge them, or no matter how many youth group events they attend, they sometimes don’t seem to change very much. Maybe a little. But it is not a surprise to see them walk out of our youth department, not return, and ultimately maybe even walk away from God.
And you know what? That students failure to “go for it” with God ISN’T a reflection of my failure as a youth worker. I don’t know why students don’t always experience a major lifestyle change and develop a passionate relationship with Christ. But hey, there are kids I barely noticed who are walking passionately with Christ. The Holy Spirit works in teens’ lives in different ways and with different timing. And teens respond to the Holy Spirit in different ways. My part of this equation is, frankly, quite small.
I need to be faithful to represent Jesus Christ to teens. How they respond is not in my control.
Veggie Tales
Yesterday Jess and I took our boys to see The Veggie Tales movie that is out and had a great time together. It was tough to pick out a seat in the theater because every single one of them was OPEN! That’s right, we were the only one’s in the theater. So naturally I told the boys that we had rented out the entire theater just for them. They were so excited to have “mommy and daddy” time after the senior high ski weekend.
We have great teenagers and it is fun to do what we do, but boy I sure do love coming home after being away and seeing my boys. The smiles on their face just light up my heart and to see how excited they get as they show off for us is precious.
Take some time this week to reflect on your family and think about the good times you have had or can have with them.
Chuck
I want to introduce you to Chuck Shanko. Chuck works on youth staff and has a tremendous gift of writing. What he writes is parallels between real life situations and how that affects our walk with Christ. Chuck would hate that I did this because he doesn’t like the attention so please don’t tell him. This is something that he sent out to his care group and me. Care groups are a small group of students that each leader is responsible for. Their ministry is to; pray for, pray with, love and disciple these students and Chuck does a great job at it.
Here’s what he wrote:
Student Impact will be cancelled this week due to Sr. High Ski trip. Fusion will still be what’s going down at 6pm Sunday evening. I hope to see you there.
That’s not all, did you think I was going to let you go that easy.
I would like to tell you a little thought I had today. This is the first year my son Adam has ever wrestled. He has had no prior experience or knowledge of this sport. Many would say unfortunately he was thrown right onto the varsity squad because no one else wrestles his weight. I spoke with him in detail about what to expect. He would win some and lose some. However the experience he is gaining by wrestling some of the best students in the tri state area is so valuable even when he is on his back being pinned.
I thought about this and our own walk with the Lord. So often we feel so inadequate to be Gods light in a dark world. How can I, a person with little or no experience be the one to challenge my friends? To invite them to Student Impact or Fusion. To speak with them about what Jesus has done in my life and what He can do in their own. Why do I have to be the one thrown to the wolves?
Adam has walked out on the mat many times now and with each match I notice significant improvement in his skills. Lately instead of being pinned down on his back he is the one doing the pinning. Even after a loss the reality of a mistake he made is one he learns from. With every match he walks out there with more faith and confidence.
Our walk with the Lord is the same thing. We sharpen our skills and knowledge of God by staying in His word. We know that many of the people we talk to may reject our invitation but we will continue in faith and confidence knowing that God is in control. We may be instrumental in leading someone into a victorious relationship with Jesus Christ.
When Adam wins a match he builds up team points that in the end are added for the overall winner of the wrestling meet. As a team they win but each individual plays a vital role in that success.
When someone comes to asking Jesus Christ into their lives, its normally a team effort. We win souls for Jesus by planting seeds. The person who rejects your invitation today may receive that same invitation a year later. But we played a vital role in getting them to think. That is seed planting.
After the match is over the team comes together and high fives each other, whether they won or lost their individual match. It doesn’t matter. As a team, they won.
I picture heaven that way. I believe someday Jesus will reveal to us how instrumental we were in someone else’s salvation. We may live our entire lives without this knowledge but someday those seeds will be revealed and we will celebrate as a team. It will not matter if we are the ones who lead them to Christ in prayer, because it took all of us to win him or her for Jesus.
I would like to encourage each of you to talk with your family, friends and neighbors about Jesus. I know that can be intimidating, and that’s cool, so Ryan has made it easier for us by having Student Impact and Fusion. Ask these people to join you. I promise when you start to submit to God’s will, He will make it easier to be a living beacon of light for Him. Talking to people about Jesus gets easier when we train our minds and pray with all our hearts content.
Chuck what a cool parallel…keep up the good job.
Rising Stars
Psycho, selfish, ignorant, irresponsible, scary, unreachable and immoral. These are just some of the words that I have heard used about teenagers in my five years of working with them. If you agree with those labels then you are totally missing out on the other side of teenagers. Teenagers rock! I’m not just saying that because I get paid too but because I sincerely mean it. Yes students have a lot of junk in their lives but so do all of us. Once you can get past their walls and get to know the real them you will begin to see that as God’s creation. You will see them as these people who have hurts, desires, goals and abilities like the rest of us. (like were any more normal)
When everything is said it and done all of us want to be loved and accepted. We want someone to listen and we someone to show that they care verses just saying they do. It’s awesome to know that there is a God who created the universe and yet still knows us by name and cares about hurts and pains in life. A God who laughs with us and maybe even cries with us because He knows what we are going through. In the midst of our imperfect lives there is a God who still chooses to use us to be part of his plan. He walks with us and accepts us. When you get close to teenagers with right intentions in some ways they model that character of God. They will laugh with you and possibly make you cry (I mean cry with you). They will listen to you and in most cases they really do care about your pain because in a really cool way they identify with it.
Teenagers are not the future of the church they are the church now and when given a chance they will shock and amaze you. We have a tremendous group of younger teenagers that are rising stars. Some play instruments so well that they could be in a real “non-youth group” band. We have students who run video & audio and help in both areas in the church. We have some who set-up and tear down with the environment team. We have students who greet, usher and work guest services. We have students who do office work and work as assistants for other pastors. We have students who are inviting people to hear about God. We have such a great group of students.
We have been talking about redefining church and with that redefining student ministry. I have continued to ask the question “how do we do that?” only to realize we are doing that. Getting students connected with others and serving God through various opportunities in the youth group and church IS redefining not necessarily how we do things, but it is redefining how people view them and how they view themselves.
Our life is a collection of choices, some choices are great others are not so great. But for right now we have students who are not perfect but they are making some great choices. I am so proud of them and continue to look forward to creating memories and legacies with them.
Make sure you find a student and let them know you appreciate them for who they are and not what they do.
This is one of the greatest quotes that I have ever heard;
“Love them where they are, not where you expect them to be. Show them grace along the process.”
Waiting
Do you ever find yourself just waiting? Find yourself waiting for a movement or change? Find yourself ever waiting for a response? Ever find yourself to be disappointed at the end with the response, with the change or movement?
I am finding more and more to not be disappointed with results, and when the opportunity arises to take the higher road, and search for the good in every situation. Even in the midst of waiting (which I hate to do) we can learn a lot about ourselves and about others. Take this week to put things into perspective and challenge yourself to rise above responses of others and be generous with your attitude and actions.
Andrews Right…I Think?
I read this passage in a book called Blue Like Jazz and I thought it was awesome:
“Andrew is the one who taught me that what I believe is not what I say I believe; what I believe is what I do. I used to say that I believed it was important to tell people about Jesus, but I never did. Andrew very kindly explained that if I do not introduce people to Jesus, then I don’t believe Jesus is an important person. It doesn’t matter what I say, Andrew said I should not live like a politician, but like a Christian.”
It is so true that we as Christ-followers do a lot of talking and very little modeling of what truly is important. Is it true if we don’t introduce people to Jesus, then we don’t believe Jesus is an important person? It’s a very good question. Don’t we put time into or talk about what is important to us?
Maybe this week for you living spontaneously as John talked about means simply talking about Jesus as if He is important.
Live Spontaneously
First off I will admit that I had to spell check spontaneously…that is a really big word!
I decided to follow John’s challenge from Sunday and live spontaneously so I loaded up Jessica and the boys into my Jeep (note to self…not enough room), and set the GPS (why couldn’t it find IKEA?), wife was impressed with the abilities of mapping and speed (fixes previous “not happy” with me for spending the money to get it). We drove to Philly (during rush hour) to go to Ikea 
and Famous Daves 
. I have told my wife that I am convinced when we get to Heaven there will be a Famous Daves and a Chick-Fil-A (she’s not so convinced). Overall a great night with the family, not so great with gas milage.
How have you lived spontaneously (still a big word) this week? If you don’t respond I will assume you have lived a normal, dull, boring life this week and ignored John’s instructions on living different. (Next blog will be on how not to give into guilt techniques)
Guest Blog…Jenna Adalbert
STUDENT LEADERSHIP?
When my youth minister, Ryan Geiger, told me I was going to be a student leader, I immediately thought he had e-mailed the wrong person. Me? A leader? And a spiritual leader at that! How could I – a screw-up – ever be a student leader? I felt really insecure at the time and my relationship with God was not growing at all. But now, looking back on this, I realize that the responsibility of now becoming a student leader is probably how God got me to reevaluate my life, and begin to grow with him again.
This book I am reading called, Help, I’m a Student Leader, has really been challenging me and helping me to fully understand what exactly a student leader is. At first I thought a student leader was someone who could interact well with people and had already accepted Jesus into their life. However, once I picked up this book and began to read it, I realized that I was nowhere near the correct definition. A student leader is someone who can serve with a willing heart, is humble and does not brag, and can grow on their own in their relationship with God.
A student leader, in a nutshell, is a spiritual servant. What exactly does that mean? Well, after thinking it over, I realized that it means God is what I should base my life on. I started to think of ways I could do this. The biggest thing I had to change was my mindset. I believed that my life and how I lived it was what I was living for and God was another accessory that would make my life better, or perhaps seem brighter than it really was. That’s when I realized I should live for God. He should be in my thoughts all the time, and before I do anything I should think, „Would God want me to do this? Is this what Jesus would do?‰ Everything else will begin to fall into place a lot easier after I adapt this mindset.
The next thing I have to change is my relationships and the way I look at other people. Labels are probably something I really struggle with. I tend to look at someone and think, „Oh well that person is dirty. That person is stuck-up. That person is a screw-up. I have asked God to really help me stop judging people from their outward appearances and actions, and begin to look at them from God’s eyes. Another one of his beloved children. Then, there’s some people I just want to slug in the face either because they are terribly annoying, or they enjoy seeing other people’s pain. Controlling my anger and emotions by imagining that Jesus is in my presence will help me to maintain a godly mindset, and prevent myself from acting out and deeply hurting someone who may just need someone to accept them.
I want to be the kind of student leader who anyone can talk to. I want people to be able to look at me and just know that I am growing spiritually in God. I want to be able to show God through my actions and words, and I want everyone around me to see a change for the better. I want to be able to minister to all my friends without them rejecting me, or ignoring me. This kind of student leader does not just come naturally. It must be worked for and can only be received and lived by a person who is truly connected to God. I am trying so hard to be this person so that I can trust God enough to let him take control of my life, and reveal the bigger picture to me. I want him to show me what great things he has planned for me, instead of focusing on my immediate needs in the present. I pray that God will fill me and that I will be able to live a life full of God, and be able to depend on him and grow spiritually in him each and every day.
Beat Down
Anybody who has known me for any length of time knows my passion for sports and my passion for “owning” teams…hence they way I say “we” all the time. But at the beginning of the season I was disappointed in the fact that my favorite player Kobe Bryant wanted to be traded. I am so glad they didn’t because my Lakers are dominating teams in the powerful Western Conference. People don’t like the NBA, but I love it, I love the athletic ability that these guys have. I think it is still exciting. Even though March is coming and that means a constant state of madness with the college ranks…for now the NBA keeps me riveted every night.
On a side not Lakers are currently 4th in the power rankings and they beat the number 3 ranked New Orleans Hornets by 29 tonight…movin on up!
In case you were looking for any spiritual meaning in this I apologize because there is none…but hey Iverson wears a WWJD bracelet…so maybe there is hope.
