The Gospel is for Students

The gospel is mysterious, beautiful, powerful, simple, complex, ancient and relevant all at the same time.

Do students really understand the gospel story? I asked one of our high school students the other day how she would describe the gospel. She said, "Matthew, Mark, Luke and John". Yes, not a totally wrong answer but not the answer I was looking for.

In a world and culture that focuses on performance, it is crucial that students understand and embrace the gospel of grace. Many of us have heard about and thought about "moralistic, therapeutic deism". The reality is most students (and adults) believe their relationship with Jesus is dependent on how they behave. That's not the gospel of grace. In fact, moralism is the enemy of the gospel.

We're spending three weeks with our high school students sharing the story of God's redemptive work and what it means to their lives. We desperately want to share the story of the gospel in a way that is true, engaging and practical. Here's the breakdown.

The Gospel is for Salvation

The first week we're simply sharing how the gospel fits within the context of creation, fall, redemption and consummation. In our church building we have 4 beautiful and huge paintings that reflect each piece of the story of the Bible. Our high school students will gather at the foot of those paintings as we focus and unpack the gospel within the context the whole story of the Bible. Yes, the gospel is more than those 4 words, but placing it in context will give students a greater understanding of how the gospel fits within the whole story of the Bible.

Here's how I typically share the gospel for salvation...

gospel

The Gospel is for Growth

To be honest this is a perspective few understand, including me. I've been struggling to understand the gospel's place in my sanctification. Many believe we are saved by grace but we grow by works. That is absolutely untrue. We long for our students to understand that growing in their faith isn't about behavior modification but a day by day dependence on Jesus. Paul makes this so clear in his letter to Titus.

Titus 2:11-13

11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12 It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,

God's grace saves and it "tutors" us in saying "no" to ungodliness and "yes" to godliness.

The Gospel is for Sharing

We long for our students to share the gospel by the way the live and love. If Jesus is truly transforming their lives then the natural overflow will be to care tremendously for their friends. It rocked my socks off the other day when a student told me he wanted to know how to more clearly share Jesus with his friends. The transforming power of the gospel cannot be hoarded, it must be freely shared.

Yes, I know this series isn't as down to earth and sexy as others, but what could be more important than students understanding more fully what God has done on their behalf and how their belief in the gospel can transform their lives and the lives of others?

If you work with students how do you explain the gospel story?

How could we make these sessions more creative / engaging?

What are we missing as we share the gospel?

Push, Pull, Tug, Tow - YSPalooza

yspalooza

Our student ministry is committed to encouraging and equipping Godly adults to rub shoulders with students. Because of this philosophy there is nothing more important to us than our staff serving and encouraging adult leaders.

Now saying that, we often have mission drift. Mission drift is when you know what is most important but you spend time, money and energy focusing on something else. This often happens often when ministry is judged by numbers and how happy parents are with their kids going to Sunday School.

Sure, we do other important activities in our ministry but our "special sauce" is relationship. Although we often find ourselves "drifting" a little we always return to our calling to unleash a team of adult leaders to serve students.

Encouraging our adults to attend YSpalooza is a no brainer for us. There's no way we could get them to a full NYWC or other national retreat but having them exposed to other youth leaders will be a shot in the arm to our ministry. They're going to experience phenomenal encouragement and training from some of the best student ministry voices in the country. And what could be more inspirational than worshipping with other like hearted youth leaders in the same room?

I can't wait to debrief with them about what they hear and experience. With all of us engaging in the same training it will give our entire team a common language to think about how we better engage the hearts of our students.

So, if your within 219 miles of Dallas I hope to see you and your team there. My hope is that this short weekend will strengthen youth ministry all over our region.

How Our Student Ministry is Observing Ash Wednesday

We're fortunate to be in a church that embraces some of the more ancient practices. Believe it or not our students are really drawn to the modern ancient aspect of worship. The beauty, depth and mystery of it all really engages their hearts in profound ways.

Tomorrow night IBC is hosting an Ash Wednesday service. For the 3rd year in a row we're really encouraging our students to participate.

Our part (student ministry) will be pretty simple. We'll be meeting with high school students and middle school students separately to share a short explanation of the tradition and why it can be meaningful for us. The focus on the depth of sin and beauty of God's grace is a powerful message for our students who lean towards moralism.

We'll then join the rest of the body in our Ash Wednesday service. It also will be simple with a short message from Isaiah 58, opportunity confess sin by writing some of our sins on a black cloth and then the imposition of ash.

These symbols serve as physical expressions of our sin which deepen and expose our desperate need for a saviour.

As we enter into this season of bright sadness my hope is that our students would be conscious of their sin and need for a saviour every day. It's beautiful that this season doesn't last forever. We look forward to the end of our lenten fast with the celebration of our Lord's victory of sin and death on Resurrection Sunday.

So, take advantage of this powerful time of year to share with students the beauty of Jesus' sacrificial work. You still have some time before tomorrow night to think it through.

Teen Age Dream - The Final Talk

Ok, I hope this will be my last post on teen dating for a while. The way high school students approach romance is a huge deal. It effects all their relationships, relationships with friends, relationships with family and yes relationship with God.

You can look here to see an outline of the entire series.

Teen Age Dream - A Look at Teen Romantic Relationships

We did our final talk last night on romantic relationships and and I finally gave them some practical advice. We were careful not to say "thus saith the Lord" because I don't want some sort of extra Biblical legalism. In fact, these final points simply flow from wisdom from the Word and experience.

I'm finding from my life group leaders that my main points frustrated some of them and made others angry.

Of course there was much more said, but here's the gist of the outline.

7 Oh, let me warn you, sisters in Jerusalem,
by the gazelles, yes, by all the wild deer:
Don't excite love, don't stir it up,
until the time is ripe — and you're ready

1. Yes, but not yet…
Be patient

2. Say no to exclusive relationships

It seems high school relationships are just like marriages without the ring, vowes and sex, well, sometimes without the sex. When you think about it, when we are “going with” someone or “facebook” official it’s just like a marriage. You can cheat on the other person, you can break up with that person….

3. Remember there is strength in numbers
a. It’s much safer from a physical temptation perspective
b. It allows Christian community to speak into the relationship
c. It slows down emotional intimacy
d. It prevents that weird go crawl into a hole dating thingy

4. Remember your heart belongs to Jesus.
He is the only person who can ever truly “complete” you.

Zeph 3:17
17 The Lord your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing."

I shouldn't be surprised students are frustrated but it does make me a little sad. It exposes how important it is for us to gently lead students through the journey.

May we show them and lead them to the passionate love of Jesus. Then and only then will they find satisfaction in him and nowhere else.

Prayer for the Day

This really impacted me this morning...

"O Lord, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing; Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts your greatest gift, which is love, the true bond of peace and of all virtue, without which whoever lives is accounted dead before you. Grant this for the sake of your only Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

Dating - Raising the Bar

Last night and this morning I'm hanging out with my friend Nick in Colorado Springs. He's a great youth pastor with a sharp mind. (well, kind of) We've been talking about teens and dating and thinking about what it would look like to raise the bar for students.

Earlier this morning Nick said something very profound. He said for years the church and Christian parents have basically said anything goes as long as you make it to your wedding bed a virgin. As a matter of fact many times parents love the whole dating game and encourage their kids to play and play often.

Here's the problem. When emotional intimacy is achieved physical intimacy isn't far behind. It's kind of like throwing kids in the pool and telling them not to get wet. It also seems that God's heart and desire for students goes deeper than sex.

What if the goal was deeper and more profound than virginity? What if the question was something like this?

What does it look like for students to relate to the opposite sex in a way that is healthy for them and glorifying to God?

Answering this question goes deeper than "how far is too far".

When I asked my high school students how often high school kids think or talk about the opposite sex they said at least 90% of the time. Now, I know that isn't a scientific pole, but this is a huge deal for our students. For those of us who work with students we must help them think through how the gospel applies to their dating relationships.

We shouldn't be satisfied with kids limping over the finish line of marriage virgins. Healthy, God honoring relationships go much deeper than saving your body for marriage. It's also an issue of saving your heart for marriage.

God of Romance???

Question of the day...

Did God create romance and if so, so what?
How is God's perfect intention different from how most teens view romance?

Student Led Worship Gathering - A Student's Perspective

Students are gifted in so many ways. By helping students discover, develop and utilize their giftedness those of us who work with teenagers invite them to get off the bench and into the game. Ministry is not simply something they come and watch, it's something God has gifted them to do.

There are all kinds of ways students can lead and serve but one way is allowing them to plan, prepare and lead worship gatherings. Last Sunday night IBC student ministry hosted their third student led gathering.

Here's what high school junior Wren Culp had to say about it.

Unity. Dictionary.com defines it as “a whole or totality as combining all its parts into one.” Combining all its parts into one. Like many pastors have told me before, I am a working member in the body of christ. But I myself am just one of the many pieces of the puzzle that makes the body function. I have my unique abilities and people have theirs. Student Led Worship services let students use those abilities to greater benefit the lives of their friends. Anybody that wants to help in and join in on the process of making these happen can because it’s not the David Grant and Trey Grant worship service, it’s the student led worship. Students are running the show, on stage and off.

Never have I seen such power fill a room than it has in these last three gatherings. Never before have I seen that many people have their hearts changed. Never before have I seen such unity. Unity with each other, but more importantly unity with God. Without unity with God, we cannot stand. Unity with God and unity with others is all we need.

“A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.” - Ecclesiastes 4:12

It's hard work to hand off ministry and leadership to students. To be honest it's a lot easier to just do it yourself but the lasting impact is worth it.

Teen Age Dream - A look a teen romantic relationships

Isn't it cute when teens get together and start dating? They become facebook official and all the cute pics start coming in. Or could it be that below the surface the dating game is more dangerous than we think.

Most romantic relationships are driven by selfishness and insecurity. Sure, every once in a while you'll run across the exception, but for the most part teen age dating relationships lead to idolatry, physical compromise, isolation, broken friendship and intense pain at the breakup.

Starting February 13 our middle school and high school ministries are beginning a 4 week series called "Teen Age Dream". I know it's corny, in fact our goal is to have as many corny elements as possible. Every week we'll show a short clip from "Saved By the Bell" to enhance the level of corn.

As far as content, here is a brief look at the topics for the four weeks.

God of Romance

Romance was not created by Arthur Fonzarelli. It was God's idea and heart that we would connect with the opposite sex in an romantic way. If he made us that way we should perhaps pay attention to his perspective.

God of Purity

Purity is more than resisting intercourse before marriage. It's an issue of the heart and mind.

Does the Bible say anything about dating relationships?

The Bible speaks of marriage and courtship but says nothing about our system of dating. In fact the way teens deal with romantic relationship would be very foreign in the first century or earlier. However, the Bible has much to say about how we treat each other. Romantic relationships shouldn't have in invisible bubble that make them immune to the one another principles taught in scripture.

Is there a better way than the current system?

I hope students will be open to thinking through ways to interact with the opposite sex that are different than the current model. If you work with students you have experienced the struggle and sometimes devastation that can happen to students when they buy in to the romance crazy culture in which they live. Surely there is a way that is healthier for students and more honoring to God.

So what do you think? What are we leaving out? Perhaps I'm I over reacting?

Quote of the Day

"Doesn't everything die at last and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your
one wild and precious life?"

Mary Oliver

Quote of the Day

"God may thunder His commands from Mount Sinai and men may fear, yet remain at heart exactly as they were before. But let a man once see his God down in the arena as a Man - suffering, tempted, sweating, and agonized, finally dying a criminal's death - and he is a hard man indeed who is untouched."

J.B. Phillips

How parents can distort their children's view of God (talking points)

Looking for something to teach this Sunday to parents I ran across these talking points for parents. As a Father each of these points still resonates with me. I hope it helps / encourages those of you with the privelege of shepherding parents. These are just talking points not necessarily complete thoughts.

I have always wanted to clearly display who God is to my children. One of my life passages is this Psalm. Look at how many times the Psalmist speaks of his role in proclaiming God clearly to those who are younger than us.

Ps 71:14-18

14 But as for me, I will always have hope;
I will praise you more and more.
15 My mouth will tell of your righteousness,
of your salvation all day long,
though I know not its measure.
16 I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign Lord;
I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone.
17 Since my youth, O God, you have taught me,
and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.
18 Even when I am old and gray,
do not forsake me, O God,
till I declare your power to the next generation,
your might to all who are to come.

Growing faith in our children comes by communicating to them a clear view of the character of God. As parents we communicate more with our lives than our words. Our children view God through the window of our lives.

God is the one who pursues and changes hearts but I want to be a part of the process not a hindrance. So with all this in mind I was thinking through ways parents can distort or limit their children’s view of God.

Ways to distort or limit your kid’s view of God…

• Pretend everything is great…(horrible headwound harry) (communicates that he isn’t involved enough)

o As parents we can have the tendency to act like everything is ok when it’s obviously not…we don’t want to add stress to our kids. It steals from our kids an opportunity for them to see us depend heavily on God…

Point: Don’t be afraid to have wise transparency with your kids…
o Admit failure and ask for forgiveness
o Let them know about financial struggle


• Protect Your Kids From Everything (communicates that he isn’t strong enough)

o We have a responsibility to provide and protect our children, but we should always look for ways to wisely put them in dependence on God. We could get into a long discussion on what we should allow our kids to be exposed to as far as media…
It steals from our kids an opportunity for them to depend on God…

Point: We must be intentional about putting our kids in situations where they need God.
o Mission trips
o Public schooling?
o Extra curricular school activities

• Practice Idolatry (pepsi commercial) (communicates that he isn’t satisfying enough)

o What would your son are daughter say is most important to you? They will view God with the same passion and focus you do. When we live our lives for everything else but God and still communicate that God is most important in our lives, our kids will not understand how to love God with all our soul mind and strength. He is supreme and worthy of all our lives.

Point: Ask God for the grace to love him preeminently

• Prioritize performance over heart (communicates that he isn’t gracious enough)

o I’ve always tried to teach my kids that effort is more important than the result. God honors our hearts. (Lady who gave a penny) If we are always focusing on the performance of our kids they will try to perform to please us and God.

Point: God of grace. Our kids should never feel they must earn our acceptance.

Deut 6:6-9
6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Quote of the Day

The main problem in the Christian life is that we have not thought out the deep implications of the gospel, we have not ‘used’ the gospel in and on all parts of our life.

Tim Keller

Youth Group - Is it a safe place?

When Michaela started to tell her story she was a few drinks into her evening. By the way she looked I would have guessed she was 65ish but she was only 53. Her voice was raspy and loud from years of smoking cigarettes and most likely other things.

I’m not sure why she started speaking with me. Early in our conversation she asked me what I did. Usually I don’t enjoy telling people I’m a pastor but for some reason I let the cat out of the bag immediately. After I shared my confession she stared at me for about 15 seconds wondering how she should respond. I actually thought my budding friendship was only going to last a minute.

She finally gained her composure and told me she was a Catholic Jew who was baptized Southern Baptist. I was pretty impressed with her religious diversity.

If she said it once she said it 50 times in our short encounter. “Remember, your not a man of God, you’re a man with God and a man for God”. To be honest I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about…until I heard her story.

She began to tell me a story that would haunt me the rest of the night. When Michaela was 7 she and her parents where in a car accident. Very little happened to her physically but both her parents where killed. From there her life was spent from foster family to foster family and yes, her experience was horrific.

She told me about the abuse and how every one of her “parents” were fostering so they could collect the $350 a month that was provided. The abuse ranged from locking her in a room without food to sexual abuse. She had lived an incredibly sad childhood.

It was at this point in the story that her “man of God versus man for God” statement began to become clear. You see, Michaela was in church pretty consistently. She had some great experiences in church but also some negative.

Many times she told someone in church leadership about what was going on behind the closed doors of her home. Either they didn’t believe here or didn’t know what to do. They did nothing. People where given the opportunity to speak for one who had no voice and they squandered the opportunity to rescue. I’m not sure why.

Sure, today it’s a little bit different. Church leaders and youth pastors are better equipped and more qualified to deal with these kind of issues when they come up, right? I sure hope so.

Michaela has some serious trust issues with those of us who are in ministry. She didn’t know me at all but in no way believed I was a “man of God”, she’s more right than she knows. After reflecting for a while I think her point is that even though pastors should communicate who God is and the beauty of his gospel, we’re still very flawed.

After talking for 20 minutes or so she gave me a hug and a peck on the cheek. She reminded me once again I’m a man WITH God not OF God and told me to keep doing what I’m doing. (she has no idea what I do).

It made we wonder, for those of us who care about kids how are we doing in being an advocate for them? Have there been times in my ministry that kids have cried out for help but I’ve been too busy or distracted to listen?

We must create environments where students feel the freedom and safety to share about the junk going on. Whether it’s abuse or failure, what are we doing to make sure students can talk about the tough stuff of life without judgment or skepticism?

My we be people who by God's grace rescue those who have no voice. Would Michaela's life be different if someone had listened?

New Years - Greatest Holiday in the Universe

Ok, that's a big statement but today really is one of my favorite days of the year. Yes, I love college football and will watch far more than I should but New Years Day is more than college football. Did I just say that?

Before the games get going you might consider getting some time alone to meditate and dream.

Remember

Sometimes we're like kids on Christmas morning, we receive great toys, play with them for a couple of days and forget about what we received. New Years day gives a great excuse to go through the previous year's calendar and REMEMBER all God has done. No matter what kind of year we experienced in 2010 God's hand is evident for those of us who follow him. Go through your calendar and remember all he has done. Take time and give thanks.

Dream

What an incredible excuse to sit, think, pray and dream about what God might do in the next year. As God gives vision write down what you believe he might be doing in your personal, family and ministry life. This is especially important if you are a leader. It's the responsibility of the leader to think longer thoughts. And hey, dream big, he's a great big God.

Plan

For as long as I can remember I've used late December / early January to plan what I will focus on for my personal study. 2 years ago I focused on the book of Isaiah, last year was the book of Psalms. I will be spending 2011 in the gospels, primarily the gospel of John. Yes, time in community with others is a priority for me, but personal focus in the Word and prayer is where God convicts, encourages and stretches my soul. Thinking about how to spend that time is worth the effort.

Yes, I'm about to slip into HD college football bliss (well almost, Notre Dame already thumped Miami yesterday) but I'm thankful for all God did in 2010 and anticipating his faithfulness in 2011.

Hey, Happy New Years!