Keep It Fresh

To be honest I've never been that great of a bike racer. I raced for 4 years and had a couple top 5 finishes. Our team did very well and won some races. It was great fun to be a part of a successful team but in reality I was pretty mediocre as a cyclist.

Even though I wasn't winning races I was fit. Saturday mornings would consist of a 3 1/2 hour training ride that was about 70 miles. The ride averaged about 22 mph which is actually pretty fast. When I was training I would ride around 175 miles a week.

That was 2 years ago.

Saturday I went on a group ride with some fast riders. At first I thought it wouldn't be a problem to hang on and enjoy the ride. You see, I haven't really been on a serious ride in about 8 months but something in me believed I still had "it" whatever "it" is.

Within 30 minutes or so I was suffering immensely. I couldn't hang on just because I was in good shape 2 years ago.

Here's the deal. It doesn't matter how fit you WERE. All that matters is how fit you ARE. This is true for bike racing and true for ministry.

Are you ever tempted to lean on how God used you in the past? Are you always telling stories of what God did a few years back but don't have stories about what God is doing now?

I'm not saying we should forget God's faithfulness of the past but if ancient history is what you remember most fondly perhaps it's time to do a serious assessment of your life and ministry in the now. It's often an uphill battle to stay fresh and live in the now. God longs to work in you and through you now, not just in the future or in the past.

So here are a couple of suggestions of how to stay fresh. I hope to apply them to my life soon...

Take a 1 day refreshment retreat

Go to your immediate supervisor and ask for permission to get away for a day to reflect and pray. When I do this I take a book, Bible and pen and paper. Sometimes it's great to go with no agenda. Just sit and listen to God. Take a nap, read or just daydream.

Go to a conference

Ok, you may not learn anything new, but being around people who do what you do is almost always energizing. You may not learn anything new but you may be reminded of something you forgot.

Visit another church

Worshiping in another setting where you have no responsibly is awesome. I need to try this a couple times a year.

I know you have some suggestions of what you do to stay current and fresh. Please post them for all to enjoy.

May we be pastors and leaders who experience the presence and work of Jesus NOW. Let's fight to stay fresh.

Jesus in a Prom Dress - Update

So proud of our girls. Here's an update. If you missed the original article you can find it here

http://david-inrepair.blogspot.com/2010/03/jesus-in-prom-dress.html

The Irving Womens Network highlighted the work that the High School girls have done with the prom dresses.

Here’s the latest count on items donated:

• Dresses: around 150
• Jewelry: between 30 and 40 necklaces and around 50 pair of earrings
• Shoes: about 45 pairs of shoes
• Purses: 25

Also, many people have donated beautiful mirrors and decorations! Thanks to all of you have generously given to the girls of Irving!

Shelley Lee

Does God Drink Mountain Dew?

Sometimes you have one of those conversations. Just the other night I was hanging out with a student who is absolutely brilliant. She was struggling with the idea that God is always present. In fact she was even using big words like omnipresent. Pretty impressive huh?

For most of us God's constant presence is a comforting thought. Who wouldn't want a loving, caring compassionate God to always be near? But for my friend the reality of God's constant presence is very confusing.

You see, she's a victim of abuse and can't quite understand how a God who is loving could have been present in the middle of her abuse. She understands God's presence intellectually and theologically but struggles tremendously with her feelings. (doesn't that makes sense?)

She asked a great question, "if God is always present was he even there during my abuse?"

My response? "Where do you think God was?"

In an appropriately angry voice she replied,

"I don't know, maybe sitting in a lounge chair drinking a mountain dew or something?"

It's a raw and honest response.

The whole conversation made we wonder. There are many students in our ministries who are hurting and confused. I want to be careful that I don't over simplify and give antiseptic / simple answers to deep difficult questions.

Yes, Jesus does bring restoration. Yes, he is always present. But struggling through the problem of evil is very complex, especially for those who have experience evil first hand.

As a reminder to us all, let's not over simplify complex issues, especially this issue of evil. Statements like, "life hurts God heals" and "Jesus brings healing" and "all things work together for good" are true but typically come in a long process for people who have been hurt deeply. In fact, those promises only become fully true when we go to heaven.

Jesus has a tremendous amount of compassion for us and our students who have been abused and forgotten. There are no quick fixes, let's not give the impression there are.

For the record, I don't think God enjoys Mountain Dew. I'm just saying.

Precious is in Your Youth Group

I watched the movie "Precious" the other night. As you probably know the movie is about a teen girl growing up in New York city. Her entire life has been characterized by physical, verbal and emotional abuse.

Now before you rush out and watch the movie please be aware that there are disturbing scenes of physical and sexual abuse. There's nothing erotic about the scenes but to be honest it was difficult for me to watch.

As in every movie there were points in the movie I shed a tear or two but "Precious" has impacted me in a more profound way than other movies. For 3 days I haven't been able to get "Precious" off my mind.

I've been wondering, are there students I come in contact with that are in similar situations? Sure it may not be as extreme, but isn't there a good chance that if you are like me and work with students, every week we are making eye contact with students who have been neglected and abused?

1 in 3 girls and 1 and 7 boys are sexually abused before the age of 18. This means it's very likely that students we are brushing up against every day have experienced abuse. That statistic doesn't even cover other physical and emotional abuse.

So here's what I've been asking myself. How do I see students? Do I simply look at the exterior? What are they wearing? How are they behaving? Or do I take the time to look beneath the surface?

When we come across a student that is difficult to handle and perhaps not that much fun to be around there's a chance there just acting in a way that makes sense. When we encounter a student who seems to have extreme anger issues maybe they're angry because they should be.

You never know, we may be the only source of hope a student has. As youth workers, we could be the first person who has ever really shown a student compassion. That's a really big deal.

So, tonight or this weekend when you're around students, and THAT kid is there, take some time to look beneath the surface. Let's remember that Jesus is in the business of making all things new and even in the toughest situations he can bring restoration. Jesus loved the unlovely, let's keep doing that but even more.

I Feel Guilty

To be honest I feel guilty much of the time. I wake up in the morning thinking, "I did that too much", or "I didn't do that enough" or " I was too selfish" or "My words were a little harsh".

Ok, I know. It doesn't seem very healthy does it? Don't worry, after a while I get over it and refocus my attention. My focus slowly turns from thinking about me and my inadequacy to God and his limitless grace.

Here's the point. God delights in his people.

Psalm 149
For the Lord takes delight in his people.

The word delight kind of blew me away this morning. It doesn't say, "the Lord tolerates his people" or "the Lord is constantly frustrated with his people", it says he delights in his people.

He actually enjoys and cherishes us.

It's important to be sensitive to sin in our lives and there's always freedom to repent and be restored, but even in that whole process God's grace and favor is evident.

So join me today as I focus on God's delight in his people. Yes, we delight in him but the feelings are mutual!

Jesus in a Prom Dress

This was written by one of our super star volunteer leaders, Mary Pruitt. Shelley is the associate pastor in our youth ministry at Irving Bible Church. She's an incredible leader. I'm so proud of our girls and their leaders.

Enjoy

Shelley first asked several high school leaders if we thought our girls would like to help set up a store for homeless teens to go and be fitted for prom dresses. Of course, we jumped on the chance, because we are always looking for ways to our girls engage with Jesus and serve others. We have amazing girls who love to serve. As Shelley described the project, I realize, this might be the ultimate girl’s service project ever! They get to donate their old dresses, set up a shop and serve all at the same time! We had a brief meeting with the girls and sent out Facebook messages as reminders. The girls showed up with old prom and banquet dresses, shoes and even a few decorations for the shop.

The shop is located in an old antique shop in downtown Irving. The space is lined with empty individual rooms; the prom dress room is located at the front of the store. When we arrived, the room was empty except for two racks, an empty jewelry case and a chair. When we left, the racks where filled with dresses, we had an area to display shoes, the walls were brightly decorated, and a mannequin in a beautiful gown was set up in the front window.

While we were setting up, we went to the back of the space to locate items for the prom room, and we passed other empty rooms. Shelley explained to me they were going to make one a room for baby clothes, so the homeless teenage mothers could shop for clothes for their children. There was a room that was devoted to young men. Another area would be for the teenage girls to shop for everyday clothes. Passing the empty rooms, Shelley and I discussed bringing the girls back to help set up more rooms.

We didn’t even have to convince the girls that our work there wasn’t done. Before we left, we had all caught a vision for what our roll might be. Several girls were talking about things they had at home to add to the prom room, and all agreed we should return to help again. Not only did our girls set up the room, they prayed for the girls who would be receiving the dresses and entering the shops. They prayed they would feel beautiful and they would feel the love of Jesus. They prayed for hope. I love them! And I love how Jesus works in us and through us, exactly as we are…even if we are 16 year old high school girls who most of the time think about ourselves AND even if we are 30 year old leaders who most the of time think about ourselves…I love Him!

Is Accountability a Dirty Word? Part 2

Most don't naturally run towards accountability, they run away. Think about it, why would anyone want people looking at the deepest areas of life? When you have honest vulnerability you often lose control when you let someone else into the struggle. They may question what you don't want questioned. There can be friction. I believe that's why it's called "iron sharpening iron".

After the last blog someone questioned whether or not accountability was Biblical. I'm not sure the word is in the Bible but the concept is definitely all throughout the scripture. For example, confessing your sins one to another is very Biblical. The Romans 12 description of the body and how we all belong to each other, gives us sense in which not only do we have permission to poke around in each others lives, we have a responsibility to.

Again, because of the seduction of my flesh I'm not sure how I would do without having space in my life for others to honestly help me in my struggle and failure.

Here are few lessons I've learned along the way in regards to my accountability relationships. I hope this will challenge and motivate you to find people with which you can be totally transparent.

Make sure you're ready to be vulnerable.

My experience has been that most are not ready to let people into their lives. We may say we're ready and we may let people in part way but for these relationships to have greatest impact we have to be totally vulnerable. That means no secrets. Are you ready?

To be really honest sometimes I'm ready and sometimes I'm not. Sometimes I'm totally honest and vulnerable, sometimes I share just enough to get off the hook. If you're afraid to share struggle with others ask God to give you the courage you need. He'll give you what you need but you will continually need his help in this area.

Choose Wisely

This can be a long process. When I first moved to Dallas I began to pray that God would raise up a couple of guys with whom I could be vulnerable. For the first time in my life I'm hanging with a couple of guys who are a little younger than I am. (At least I look younger than them) When thinking through who I would invite to be in my group here's some questions I asked.

1. When I share sin with this person will they be shocked and think less of me?
2. Is this person self aware enough to realize they have struggles in their own life?
3. Is this a person I enjoy hanging out with?
4. Are they somehow involved in my daily life?
5. Is this a person who will listen and be teachable?
6. Will this person love me enough to ask the hard questions?
7. Are they too busy to spend time?

Again, this can take a while. Some of you are not naturally in places where vulnerability is valued. In fact the opposite is true. Unfortunately you may have to work to find a couple of guys or women. Pray, look and don't give up. You may be amazed what God may do.

Don't limit accountability relationships to a meeting

Accountability isn't a meeting it's a relationship. Sure, it's important to have a time when you sit down and have intentional conversation, but it's kind of weird and nonorganic when all you have is a meeting. Here's how my group works. We try to meet weekly and each of us shares how things are going in our walk with Jesus, our marriages and anything else happening in our lives. But we also talk to each other on the phone at least every couple of days. If Bryan is in a place of struggle he texts us and asks us to pray and check on him later. If I'm traveling and may have a more intense time of temptation my guys know what's going on and pray for me and check on me. Accountability relationship is a lifestyle not a meeting. Sure the meeting is important but it's just small part of the relationship.

Make accountability more than sharing failure

Confession is an important part of the relationship but what if we shared with our friends before a failure. I go through times in my life when I know I'm going to have a more intense time of struggle. For example, if I'm up in front of people in a teaching situation I may be more susceptible to arrogance and pride. My partners know that and may pray specifically for my humility. Learn your own struggle patterns and share with people who are in the game with you when you feel you might be in for a time of greater struggle.

So, are you an island or do you have people in your life who know the good the bad and the ugly? May we be men and women who not only talk Jesus but live it out. I desperately want my words to reflect what's going on in my heart. I long for what happens in public to be consistent with what happens in private.

Is Accountability a Dirty Word? Part 1

Do you like to be held accountable? Many people don't. When I think of accountability it reminds me of an exam at school. When taking an exam you are being held accountable for the information your professor has given. To be honest it doesn't really bring back too many happy feelings.

In Christian circles accountability has become synonymous with having a person or persons in your life with whom you share your sin. Somehow the pain of having to tell your "accountability partners" is motivation to stop doing whatever is bad.

I have a friend who is pretty vulnerable in her life but says, "I don't believe in accountability". To be honest I'm tempted to side with her. Most of time these groups are inconsistent and there isn't enough depth of relationship for true intimacy and vulnerability. Maybe there's a list of questions asked of each person that may or may not be answered honestly. At the end of the day there's not movement towards loving Jesus and others more. And isn't that the goal?

I'm a life long struggler with sin. Pride, lust, selfishness are all part of my daily walk. By God's grace sometimes I walk in holiness and these struggles seem distant. Other times they're as close as my shadow.

The other day I was struggling in one of these areas. I called a friend (an accountability partner) and shared what was going on in my life. I know, it doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but after we spoke and he encouraged me, my whole perspective changed. It reminded me that God never intended for us to take this journey alone.

So, to my friend who doesn't believe in accountability groups I want to say that maybe she's never seen accountability done well. Over the next couple of days I want to share some lessons I've learned from experience and others on this topic. There is no telling where I might be if I hadn't had Matt, Joe, David, Rick August, David, Tony, Bryan and Jason and others in my life at different times.

It's important. If you have input or concern I would love for you to share. It would be great to have the collective wisdom and experience of others chime in to this discussion.

Why I Lie

This year I'm spending a portion of my private worship in the Psalms. So far it's been rich and challenging.

The other day I came across a Psalm where the writer condemned dishonesty and "flattering tongues". In my mind I quickly dismissed it. You see, I learned "that shalt not lie" at an early age. Everyone knows that dishonesty is a sin and surely all of us are mature enough not to lie.

But after I sat and thought for a while it became clear that I can have a tendency for dishonesty. Sure, my dishonesty is more refined than a 3rd grader saying he didn't take the cookie from the cookie jar, but I still have a tendency towards dishonesty.

So here are a couple of questions I'm asking myself to make sure my life is filled with integrity not dishonesty.

Do you ever exaggerate?

It's really easy to make statements that put ourselves in a little better light. This can be done when talking about how much we work or how tired we are or how many people showed up at something. This is dishonesty. When tempted to get others to think well of us it's easy use hyperbole.

Do you ever withhold the truth so someone might feel better about themselves?

Have you ever had a friend or coworker come to you and ask you, "what do you think"? Now, this doesn't apply to 4 year olds who come to their dad and ask if he thinks the picture is a great work of art. Of course it is, a 4 year old did it. It does apply to coworkers or friends who ask about performance. If we love people we will tell them the truth, gently, but tell them the truth even if our opinion might hurt.

Do you ever misrepresent what is going on in your heart?

I'm not sure all this questions means, but sometimes I believe I act more passionate about something than I really am. In words I express great passion for something but in my heart I may feel moderate or even disinterested. For those of us who speak and preach we have to really be careful with this. We can quickly become inauthentic and trust me, people can tell the difference.

Here's the bottom line. I don't typically lie to get out of trouble, if I struggle with dishonesty it's about the intense effort of getting people to like and respect me. It almost always comes back to the battle against pride.

So here's my challenge to you, think about the words you have used over the last 48 hours. Were your words totally honest? May we be people who are careful to have integrity before God and others.

Daily Readings for Lenten Season

Here are a couple of sights and daily readings I've found helpful in giving focus to this season.

http://theawkwardseason.wordpress.com/

http://www.modernsacredfamily.com/


I'm actually working through a book written by my good friend Shawn Small.

http://www.shawnsmallstories.com/books/

Enjoy the season, remember it's not about "what are you giving up for lent?" but "what do you gain by taking a season to repent and refocus?"

Lent - It's not just for Catholics any more.

Over the last few days I've had some short discussions with some of my "lower church" friends about Ash Wednesday and Lent. When I ask them how they are observing the Lenten season I get responses like "every day should be a day we focus on Jesus" and "Lent is just a time for someone to give up chocolate or facebook".

Now, my tradition is not very liturgical, in fact for years I gave up sky diving for lent (I've never been sky diving) as an opportunity to make light of what many find sacred and important. But to be honest I'm turning over a new leaf. Some of the more ancient practices of the church (lent, advent, ash Wednesday and others) are beneficial for my ever growing walk with Jesus.

Here are a few reasons I'm observing Lent this season.

The Church has been observing the Christian Calendar and Holy Days since the first century.

Lent appears to have originated in the apostolic age and has been observed by various Christian groups since then. For me there is something profound about joining with Christians from centuries ago observing 40 days of deep reflection and repentance. It would seem a little weird and perhaps arrogant for me not to seriously consider what Godly men and women have been doing since the first century. Could it be there is some benefit?

It's always a good idea to reflect on our sinfulness and what Jesus did as a result.

I know, this should happen every day and repentance should be a part of our life, but taking an extended season to meditate on our need and God's solution is very beneficial. We non liturgists do this in other ways. We go on retreats or attend conferences to get our spiritual batteries recharged. I'm using this season to intensify my disdain for sin and need for grace.

Lent is not about what you give up but what you gain.

All I hear from people this time of years is, "what are you giving up for Lent"? That's really the wrong question. The question should be, "what are you doing to remind yourself of your desperate need for a saviour"? That's the purpose of any fasting or sacrificing, to place us in a position where we are easily reminded of our need for God over anything else. Yes, I'm changing something for this season, but that shouldn't be the focus. What I change or give up should be a constant reminder of my need for Jesus.

Observing Lent allows me to associate with the worldwide Christian community.

People who love Jesus all over the world are spending special time today repenting of their sins and will spend the next 40 days in greater focus of their need for Jesus. That's kind of cool. The church is much larger than my little American perspective, I need to remember that.

Throughout history God uses calendar and symbols to point us to Jesus.

God has used rocks and passover and lambs and fires and all kinds of symbols and seasons to bring us into greater intimacy with him. More recently he has established water and wine and bread to give us great clarity on who is is and what he has done. It makes sense that people taking a season to reflect on their need for forgiveness would please him.

So, would you consider going into the wilderness with Jesus for the next 40 days? As we observe Ash Wednesday may we say to God, "search our hearts and know us". And "create in us a clean heart oh God".

Consider a greater focus on your relationship with Jesus as we move closer to Easter and celebrate Jesus' victory over sin.

The Dating Game

Because yesterday was valentines day we spent the evening with high school students discussing love, sex and dating. I'm not going lie, I really dislike the way the American high school student dates. I've never read "I kissed dating good bye" nor do I have a desire too, but I believe strongly that students need to consider a different way to play the "dating game", and we need to help them.

There has to be a better way for students to get to know the opposite sex than the current system. The way it happens now almost seems like marriage without the sex, well sometimes without the sex. A guy and a girl get to know each other, romance wins out over reality and then they start "going together".

From what I remember and understand "going together" means you're in a exclusive relationship and if you pursue or talk to another person jealousy grows and you could be "cheating" in the relationship. For a student who wants to follow Jesus this can be a struggle.


Here's a couple of reasons the current system is concerning for students, especially students who are pursuing Jesus.

The sacrifice of other friendships.

Many times other friendships are sacrificed because there's so much time and energy put into the boyfriend / girlfriend. I know a guy who dated a girl for 3 years during high school. He still struggles having deep friendships into college. Could it be that he never learned what it means to have a friend and be a friend? It can easily disrupt the community God intended with so much focus on one other person.

Boyfriend / Girlfriend Worship

It can also result in "dating worship" which means the boyfriend / girlfriend becomes God and is expected to meet the emotional and many times physical needs of the other. Not only is this unhealthy relationally but God isn't thrilled about it either. At some point they will do whatever it takes to please the other and find acceptance from them. You know where that ends us.


There are many more to add here but you get the point. Here are a couple of principles that challenge the way most teens are doing dating. If students were to consider these seriously it may cause them to take a deep look at how they play the game.

Number 1

1 Tim 5:1-2
Treat younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.

Pretty simple. If you wouldn't do it with your brother or sister you probably shouldn't do it with your boyfriend / girlfriend. A student asked last night, "how can I kiss my boyfriend if I think of him as my brother"? Great question isn't it?

Of course there is a time in relationships when the person becomes more than a brother or sister, but that person can still be treated with absolute purity if the relationship shifts to engagement and then marriage. Radical thinking I know, but it's something we and high school students should consider.

Here's the 2nd principle.

Phil 2:3-4
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

In my experience most dating relationships are driven by self centeredness. It's all about how it makes me feel and what I can get out of it. The dating game doesn't have immunity. The Bible's teachings on how we treat each other also apply to our boyfriends and girlfriends. In the context and craziness of young romance it's difficult to put the others first in a healthy Godly fashion.

Now, I know there are many dating relationships out there that are healthier than others, but can't we find a new system? Is there a way we can help students relate to one another that is better? This is a big deal because deep romance is in the air high school students breath. It consumes their time, energy and discussion. We have to find a way to be different.

Is Evidence That Demands A Verdict really dead?

A couple nights ago I had a conversation with a girl who is interested in going on one of our summer mission trips. She's about 15 years old, smart and really fun to hang around. I don't know her very well but somehow our conversation turned towards her opinion of Jesus.

She willingly and openly admitted she's not sure about this Jesus thing. She's not sure he actually existed or that it even matters. As we continued to talk I was really blown away by her transparency and willingness to discuss these things with the "youth pastor."

After reflecting on our conversation there are a couple of things I'm reminded of...

As youth leaders we must have conversations

Ok, for years authentic relationship has been the mantra for student ministry. Moving away from production to relationship has been the focus for a long time. I was reminded of the power of a conversation. The questions she asked were not addressed by any speaker from our stage and if they had there's a chance she wouldn't have paid attention. We need a lot of leaders to be present for these conversations. Conversations are typically more powerful than any song, video or sermon we can give.

Every student (and person) is created in the image of God

My friend has not yet been changed by the gospel but has a desire to help people who are hurting. Sure, her desire to serve and do good stuff isn't "righteous," but any desire a person has to help those in need probably comes from "Godness" in them. Part of our job is to seek out the "image of God stuff" in students and talk about why they actually care about others. And yes, every student we are serving was made in the image of God.

Students are still skeptical about Christianity

In the early 90's I was all about having answers to all the questions. As we moved to a more postmodern ministry we rightfully focused less on apologetics. Students were and are asking, "does it work?" instead of "is it true?" Even now we are focused on helping students "belong" before they actually "believe." Over the years I have seen more and more students come to faith because they experienced the gospel through community before they actually embraced the truth. This shift was actually positive for the church because it forced us to take a deep look at the authenticity of our lives (that's just my opinion). We couldn't just talk about following Jesus, we actually had to follow Jesus. The question of "is Jesus liar, lunatic or Lord" was replaced with "if Jesus is real does it make a difference in my life and the world around me?" Students answer these questions many times by what they see in the lives of Jesus followers around them.

Here's the point, we must be prepared to listen and answer the tough questions in the context of relationship. We must create an environment where students have the freedom and the space to question Christianity. Let's face it, our faith doesn't really make sense. Paul actually says it's foolishness to those who don't believe. There are and should be hard questions about the crazy stuff we believe.

So here's an idea. What if we provided a safe, interactive, anonymous opportunity for students to share and ask the tough questions? This week I'm on the hunt to find a free chat room program where students can sign in anonymously and ask whatever they want. Every week at the same time someone from our staff team will be moderating the chat room answering questions and entering into the conversations. Sure, sometimes the answer is "I don't know" or "it's a mystery isn't it?" but hopefully these discussions will lead to deeper face to face conversations with students who are struggling.

As you can see this is new to us. I know we're not the first to think of this so if you have any input or advice on how to do this effectively it would be greatly appreciated.

Sprinkle or Dunk? Celebrating students coming to faith.

Last Sunday night was an unbelievable experience for our people at Irving Bible Church. After our afternoon worship gathering around a thousand of us gathered to celebrate the salvation of 25 people. The atmosphere was truly electric as people crowded on stairs, balconies and bleachers to cheer on people proclaiming their faith through baptism. Of these 25 people 17 of them were middle school and high school students.


It was particularly significant to me because it's been 10 years since I baptized anyone. I'm ordained baptist, therefore the first 11 years of ministry I performed believers baptism by immersion. In fact there was a time I baptized a 350 pound man. I almost drowned. After that experience I was wishing we just simply sprinkled or poured, that would have been much safer.


In 2001 I went on staff at a Presbyterian church whose tradition was of course infant baptism.
My point isn't to argue believer's baptism verses infant baptism. But I do want to challenge us as youth leaders to think through celebrating God's grace when students come to faith.


Listen, I understand the Biblical evidence to support infant baptism as a sign of the covenant and fully supported and embraced it as a pastor at my previous church, however I did struggle with how to appropriately celebrate a teen's coming to faith. It is a special time when a child of the covenant (a child baptized as an infant) embraces the gospel of their parents as their own. It should be celebrated with the entire church community.


I realized Sunday night how much I and the body missed out on celebrating God's salvation because there wasn't an effective, appropriate way to celebrate. After one is baptized as an infant there's no second baptism when a person comes to faith. That's fine, my concern is how do we as youth leaders help students embrace and share the transformation in their lives when they come to faith?


So let me pose the question this way, how are you bringing the community together to celebrate middle school and high school students coming to faith? Is that even on your radar or when a student embraces the gospel does it just kind of melt in with the rest of your programming. It gives God glory and us joy when the community of faith celebrates those who move from death to life.


BTW, my daughter (who I baptized Sunday night) understands and embraces the gospel and doesn't really remember a time she didn't know Jesus, she must be a child of the covenant.

Why you must think through student leadership development

You can't really be effective in student ministry (or any ministry) without thinking through and implementing leadership development. Yes, that's a black and white statement but I believe it to be true. By leadership development I mean shepherding people in a process to discover, develop and utilize their God given gifts and talents. This is true of adult leaders and students.


Last night there were 14 high school students hanging out at our house. They're members of our students advisory team. Our "SAT" consists of students who are nominated by the student body and then chosen by the student ministry staff to provide input and direction to our student ministry.


At Irving Bible Church we are in the beginning processes of becoming a ministry that has student leadership development as a major part of it's dna.


What we did last night wasn't rocket science. We ate pizza, drank Dr. Pepper (I hadn't done that in a while), prayed together and discussed how we can better love students. In addition to all that we had a little discussion on why humility is one of the main characteristics of Godly leadership.


So, finish this statement,

"you must think through and apply students leadership development to your ministry because..."


I would love to develop a top 10 list and then discuss some ways to implement. This idea of student leadership seems to be wide open. Of course there's no formula or perfect way to help students serve, but surely there's some wisdom and best practices we can share.

Thanks for any input.