BLOG FAST

I will be taking a blog fast and stepping away for a bit.  I have found that technology is great but it has also consumed me.  I am taking some time away while God speaks to me.  I am hoping that when I come back in about 30 days that I will have more material that will challenge and inspire you as God speaks to me.  I will continue to Twitter and thanks for reading.

Twitter name: ryangeiger

What if…?

If You Can

I was reading today in Mark chapter 9 about the crowd that had gathered around the demon possessed boy and how the disciples could not cast out the demon that was in him and then onto the scene walks Jesus and everything changes.

After being asked to cast out the demon Jesus says to them, “You faithless people!  How long must I be with you?  How long must I put up with you?  Bring the boy to me.”

The boy comes over and just the fact that he was in the presence of Jesus the boy begins to foam at the mouth, shakes and falls to the ground.  The dad tells Jesus that this demon keeps throwing his son in the fire and water trying to kill him.  The father looks at Jesus and says “Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.”

I read that and thought that is me.  When I go through a trial I condescendingly look at Jesus and say, help me if you can.  Ever do that? What kind of faith is that?  Jesus looks at the dad and says “What do you mean, if I can?” [I'm freaking Jesus, okay so I added that last part for dramatic emphasis, not that it was needed.]  “If I can?” I’m Jesus the creator of the universe who cares about you as an individual, of course I can.

The father says something interesting again, like he hasn’t already showed his cards of disbelief, he admits to Jesus right there on the spot, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” THAT’S US!  Everyday we need to say to God, I do believe but help me overcome my unbelief.

• My unbelief that you love me.
• My unbelief that you forgive me.
• My unbelief that you want all of me.
• My unbelief that my mess can become your mission.
• My unbelief that I am worthy of your grace.
• My unbelief that my junk is important to you.
• My unbelief that you can do the impossible.
• My unbelief that you are who you say you are.

How much longer will we sit with unbelief in our hearts and yet publicly state God can do anything?  Our faith is a gift from God, Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that.  Faith is a constant process of daily turning to Jesus and handing Him our unbelief.  He-wants-our-everything, even our unbelief.  What are you handing him today?

Ten Dislikes

Yesterday I posted about the ten things that I love about teenagers.  Today I am posting on the ten things I dislike about teenagers.  Remember there are great joys and then there are also great disappointments.  Ministry is no different than life.  We will experience both in our families, our jobs, our churches and our friendships.  Even though these are dislikes, I still love students and how one minute they can be crazy and the next they can be sacrificing everything to be used for His glory.

Schedule I dislike the busyness that they have etched in their life.  There is a point of over commitment and therefore they find themselves doing many things good but nothing great.  I dislike how their schedule sometimes directs their relationship with God.

In The Box Faith God is so much bigger than their hurt or pain.  So many times they minimize God and therefore minimize their faith and put it in a  box.  They pull it out on Sundays but during the week it can be silent.  I dislike that because their faith is small they rarely have a biblical worldview.  The reality is Christ is not a daily priority.

Discernment Everyone wants a good laugh but at what expense?  At who’s expense?  The line between what is funny and when is funny is something I dislike.  It could be the most serious moment in a life group and then somebody passes gas and the moment is lost.  Maybe the seriousness of dealing with sin in our lives causes us to become uncomfortable and try and change subjects.  The choices that they make I dislike.  What they think is appropriate clothes to wear to what they are finding as entertainment to who they date.

Lack Of Civility As with all of these they don’t apply to all teenagers.  This is not a blanket statement for all but there are many who have a disrespect for authority and for their peers.  For a cheap laugh they are willing to do almost anything if it means being accepted.

Family Absence So many students come home to empty houses.  Or they have parents who are never home because of work obligations or they live with only one parent.  Their is a piece of them that is really hurting and needing someone to love them.  Many students are on their own at such an early age that it forces them to grow up quicker and may have something to do with the lack of respect.

Selfish We all can be this way from time to time, but I heart breaks for parents who just give and give and their kids have come to expect it without so much as a thank you.  Many feel like they deserve everything.

Easily Influenced So many of them want to take a stand but if it means not being accepted sadly so many of them become easily influenced.  Acceptance becomes more important than influence.

Work Ethic This goes back to being selfish.  Many don’t know how to work and have developed a lazy habit of only giving half the effort.  We all have the “when I was your age” stories.  However, very few of today’s generation will be able to say that with any honesty.

Lack of Leadership Leadership as it pertains to lifestyle or speaking up.  Speaking up for “that kid” who gets picked on or is not as popular.  Speaking up in the tough decisions.  Speaking up instead of giving into temptation.  Leadership of simply modeling what they believe in with their lifestyle.

They Grow Up They lose their innocence and become adults and move on.  I have had to say goodbye to so many students who became a big part of my life.  They come in as pubescent 11 or 12 years olds who are scared and alone and searching for identity and they walk out, hopefully, as mature believers in Christ who know who they are and what they believe in.

10 Likes

If you have been in ministry for any length of time you have to look for the “wins”.  There are times of great joy and times of huge disappointment.  I have worked with teenagers for 9 years now and have had the chance to experience both.  Teenagers get a bad rap sometimes because they are misunderstood.  Those who work in the trenches and see them and their lives see a different side to the story.  I tell people over and over again if you are not serving in student ministry it is your loss because it is one of the most fulfilling ministries you can be a part of.  Is that biased?  Yes, but it’s my blog.  Feel free to keep reading to understand what I am talking about.  Here are 10 things that I love about teenagers and working with them.

Culture Awareness They understand the culture like nobody else.  They are catered too by marketers and have an incredible power that they may not even realize they have.  They are so up to date with technology and can learn to use and utilize it faster than most.  They have their own style of music but yet still know songs from my generation as well as my parents.  They are diverse in there awareness of fashion and how quickly it changes, always looking for the “next thing”.

Un-ordinary They don’t settle for the regular.  They are fearless and they take chances that sometimes seem unnecessary but for them it is worth the payoff.  They believe they can be the catalyst for change.  They have their own language, style and direction.

Excitement & Passion They are willing to completely sell out to that which is important and will make a difference.  They believe that hard work does pay off.  They create a buzz when they enter a room and they bring a perspective to things that is almost innocent.  They can change the temperature of a room and can rally others to join in.

Teachability They want depth and application.  They want to know who God is and what God wants from their life.  They are not interested in information but transformation.  They are willing to learn from their mistakes.  Sadly it is their mistakes they learn from and not necessarily from others.  Experience is a valuable thing.  They want to know about the world they live in and are hungry to learn how to leave their mark.

Relational They desire deep relationships and push back from superficialness.  They want people they can trust.  They want transparency and genuineness. They want to be accepted and they want to be heard.  They are willing to make friends who are not like them.  They are a master of social networking and have learned how to use that to connect with people who looking to make a difference like them.

Authentic They have a realness and an honesty about them.  They speak their mind and tell you how it is.  That is good but it can also be humbling.  Typically what you see is what you get.  They wear their emotions on their sleave.

Change Em-bracers Teenagers today are curious.  They are willing to take risks.  They adapt easily.  They will jump on board with an idea if they see that it will make a difference.  Change is the theme of President Obama and that is why he connected with today’s culture.

Compassion They have a heart for the poor and for the mistreated.  They have an ability to forgive even though trust takes longer to build after it.  They are huge into missions and have a heart for helping those who are less fortunate.

Endurance They are stronger than we give them credit for.  With the schedule they keep it is amazing they are able to make it day to day. With the pressure on them for summer jobs as they compete with the high unemployment rate, parents struggling to make it, with all the demands on them every day, their endurance is remarkable.

Uniqueness Students are so complicated and unpredictable, and yet they are so diverse, sophisticated and insightful.  They are forced to grow up earlier than previous generations and yet during all this they are able to create their own identity.

Four Points Of Attack – Your Motives

Awesome, awesome, awesome post by Perry Noble of New Spring Church.  How true it is.  Below is his post.

Four Points Of Attack

I’ve been reading through the Sermon on the Mount lately…and what Jesus said in Matthew 5:10-12 has really stood out…because…

As a leader in ministry we ARE going to be attacked…especially if we are having an impact in the areas in which we are planted.

This week I want to go over four areas that leaders WILL be attacked in…and deal with how to handle it.

Area #1 – Your Motives

There is no way around it…people are going to question WHY you do what you do…and the more success you see in ministry the more people will question your motives.

Let me be clear…you can’t win this fight…the only thing that you can do is consistently check your heart to make sure that you are listening to the voice of God and then doing what He says.  (We can lie to people…but we can’t lie to Him…He knows our hearts and one day our motives, if impure, will be exposed because He will NOT be mocked!  Galatians 6:7).

Reality is this…most people who question your motives don’t have a freakin clue where you came from.  They don’t know the crap you’ve put up with, the sleepless nights you’ve gone through and the personal sacrifices you’ve made to get to where you are.  AND…

You CAN’T waste your time explaining those things to them because—THEN they accuse you of pride (an accusation you can’t really defend…because if you say you are not then you lose!)

You just need to ask yourself the following questions when it comes to why you do what you do?

• Am I allowing Jesus or my personal desires to shape my motives?
• Is this desire in me a passion that will enlarge His Kingdom…or a cool idea that will allow me to become more popular?
• Are my motives being shaped as I study the Scriptures…or does God’s Word conflict with what I want?
• Are the godly people the Lord has placed in my life rebuking me or affirming me?
• Am I doing what I do because I love Jesus and people…or because I love myself and see all of the personal gain I can achieve out of this?
• Am I doing this for attention from others or AFFIRMATION from my heavenly Father?  (Matthew 3:17)

People questioning our motives can drive us crazy…that is why we must allow the voice of Jesus to shape us rather than the people who don’t have a clue as to why we are doing what we are doing.

Always crucial for us to check our motives no matter what level of leadership we are in.

Everything

Tim Hughes has a song called Everything that has been rocking me since I heard it.  You can listen to his full album on LaLa by clicking on his name.

There is a verse in Luke 14:33 that says, “Simply put, if you’re not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can’t be my disciple.” The Message

God wants our everything.  Seems simple to say, after all He gave His everything to us.  It’s one thing to say it, completely different to try and live it.  What is my everything?  The good, the bad, the ugly and the junk?  Does He really want everything?

• He wants my…Lust
• He wants my…Racism
• He wants my…Heart
• He wants my…Mind
• He wants my…Soul
• He wants my…Pride
• He wants my…Greed
• He wants my…Envy
• He wants my…Rage
• He wants my…Gossip
• He wants my…Jealousy
• He wants my…Idolatry
• He wants my…Money
• He wants my…Hopes
• He wants my…Dreams
• He wants my…Family
• He wants my…Vision
• He wants my…Passion
• He wants my…Desires
• He wants my…Hands
• He wants my…Feet
• He wants my…Lips
• He wants my…Intentions
• He wants my…Words
• He wants my…Hypocrisy
• He wants my…Determination
• He wants my…Arrogance
• He wants my…Love
• He wants my…Joy
• He wants my…Everything
• He wants my…Everything
• He wants my…Everything
• He wants my…Everything

Can I afford to give it to Him?  How could I not?  Monthly?  Daily? Minute by Minute?  Brad Cooper wrote a conversation between him and God and I couldn’t have said it better…I took out Brad’s name and put mine to personalize it.  Do you ever feel this way?  I do?

God: ‘Hey Ryan….’
Me: ‘…Yes Lord’
God: ‘If I owned your life, would it look any different than it does right now?‘
Me: ‘You do own my life…”
God: ‘You didn’t listen to my question. I know you SAY I own your life…’
Me: ‘gotcha…’
God: ‘Ill ask you again. If I REALLY OWNED YOUR LIFE… What would it look like today?‘
Me: ‘Different’
God: ‘Do you know what that gap is called son? The gap between your present reality and MY present direction.
Me: ‘No Lord… What do you call that space?’
God: ‘Disobedience‘…
Me: …………

What are you holding on to?  Is God your everything?  Do you really want that to be your prayer this week or only on Sunday?  God is breaking me for Him to be my everything?  That means my heart, my dreams, my plans, my sin, my life, my family, my goals, my career, my everything.

Quotes by Andy Stanley

Started tweeting (seriously if you don’t know what that it is you need to Google it) some of these quotes but they are so good I am just posting the whole thing that was a live blog by Tony Morgan.

Ones in BOLD resonated with me.

• 3:46 PM tonymorganlive - “I don’t see things until they happen.” (referring to the song & dance before he spoke.)
• 3:47 PM tonymorganlive - “Systems create behaviors.”
• 3:51 PM tonymorganlive - “Leadership is not about making decision on your own. It’s about owning decisions once they are made.”
• 3:51 PM tonymorganlive - “As leaders, we gravitate to voices we want to hear.”
• 3:52 PM tonymorganlive - “Leaders become insulated and isolated…and they like it.”
• 3:54 PM tonymorganlive - “The leader shouldn’t make all the decisions. The leader should just make sure the decisions are good ones.”
• 3:55 PM tonymorganlive - “You are probably not the smartest person in the organization. You’re just the leader.”
• 3:57 PM tonymorganlive - “You have got to create a mechanism to listen to the right people.”
• 3:58 PM tonymorganlive - “What and who you listen to will determine what you do.”
• 3:59 PM tonymorganlive - “Your private decisions will be judged publicly.
• 4:03 PM tonymorganlive - (Andy is talking about the decision process of cutting budgets during the recession.)
• 4:04 PM tonymorganlive - “The more sense of input that people have, the less the push back.”
• 4:05 PM tonymorganlive - “Leaders are attracted to environments where ideas and opinions are heard.”
• 4:05 PM tonymorganlive - “If you want great leaders, you need to create systems for listening to great leaders.”
• 4:06 PM tonymorganlive - “Leaders want more than assignments. They want input into the decision-making process.”
• 4:07 PM tonymorganlive - “Leaders want to influence their own destinies.” [amen.]
• 4:08 PM tonymorganlive - “Leaders who refuse to listen will eventually be surrounded by people who have nothing important to say.”
• 4:09 PM tonymorganlive - (oh my… I hope you’re paying attention. This is good stuff. It’s so true.)
• 4:10 PM tonymorganlive - “The wisest man in the world [King Solomon] had the most to say about getting good counsel.”
• 4:13 PM tonymorganlive - (Andy is talking about the challenges of a highly hierarchical organizational structure.)
• 4:15 PM tonymorganlive - “Eventually a seniority structure leaves the seniors in charge.”
• 4:16 PM tonymorganlive - “Your structure has to change or your structure will impede information flow.”
• 4:20 PM tonymorganlive - “I don’t want anyone to live with the frustration that I used to live with in the lower levels of the organization.”
• 4:20 PM tonymorganlive - “You have to rethink your systems.”
• 4:21 PM tonymorganlive - “Please don’t live with an organizational structure that impedes information flow.”
• 4:23 PM tonymorganlive - (I could listen to this type of leadership, systems thinking all day long. Great stuff.)
• 4:23 PM tonymorganlive - “You want the best thinkers and the most strategic people at the table with you.”
• 4:24 PM tonymorganlive - “Fairness ended in the Garden of Eden. Never shoot for fair. When you shoot for fair, you’ll be unjust. Shoot for right.”
• 4:27 PM tonymorganlive - (Andy is talking through North Point’s current organizational structure.)
• 4:28 PM tonymorganlive - “You need to listen deep in your organization. That doesn’t mean you have to meet with everyone in the organization.”
• 4:32 PM tonymorganlive - (Now Andy is talking about how he connects with about 150 volunteers on a quarterly basis.)
• 4:34 PM tonymorganlive - “Resist the urge to lead every meeting you attend.”
• 4:34 PM tonymorganlive - “What we don’t want to hear is generally what we need to hear.”
• 4:35 PM tonymorganlive - “The people we don’t want to hear from are the people we often need to hear from most.”
• 4:36 PM tonymorganlive - (Session is concluding. Battery is dying. Continue the conversation and questions. I’ll catch up with you later.)

Intro To Jesus Video

Just a fun video clip I found of Steve Harvey introducing Jesus. What do you think?

Get Your Serve On…

Hey if you are a student that attends Fellowship Church on Sunday mornings, I NEED YOUR HELP!  I am putting together some teams of students who are willing to serve.  Why Serve?  Because sometimes its not about us but about something bigger and I think having a chance to serve God through set up and tear down is huge because that’s what our church needs to do to reach people.  Yes, it’s not flashy but it is a part of the bigger picture.  Are you dependable, motivated and willing to be used for God?  If so, contact Ryan at ryan@fellowshiptoday and let me know what you would be willing to do.

Set-Up…7am for volunteer central, 8am for guest services.
Volunteer Central Setup: curtains, tables, check in computer, tables for food, nametags, lamps, bringing in of all cases.  -This area is for those who serve and gives them a place to connect as well as get ready for the area they are serving in that day.  TEAR DOWN of Volunteer Central happens during 2nd service and all cases from VC get loaded into trailers.

Guest Services Setup: signs, a-frame signs, tables, truss and large black curtains.

TEAR DOWN- of Volunteer Central happens during 2nd service and all cases from VC get loaded into trailers.
Tear down of guest services begins 10-15 minutes after the service ends.
-pulling down of curtains, taking down of signage, putting away of tables, truss, product, pull cases to trailers.

Listen I need your help…I need your parents help…I need to put together a team of students that can either do it every week, every other week, once a month.  Let me know soon.