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youth ministry

Being Passionate vs. Laying Low

Posted on April 27, 2011 by jon in church, culture, evangelism, fear, leadership, life, random thoughts, theology, youth ministry | Leave a comment

Let’s admit it. We all like to lay low from time to time when it comes to fulfilling the Great Commission. There are a lot of us who don’t want all the baggage that goes along with sharing Jesus with others. Sometimes it’s because we’re overwhelmed. Sometimes it’s because we’re afraid. Sometimes it’s because we feel foolish or, come on now, even ashamed.

This past Sunday morning, our lead pastor Mike P. started off his message by talking about how Vertical Church is seeking to fulfill our part of the Great Commission by “leading people to be passionate about Jesus so that they can lead others to Jesus.” Take a second with me here and think about the implication of the last part of that statement. What if we re-worded it “…so that they can BE PASSIONATE about leading others to Jesus.” That word: passionate – how do we actually become passionate about sharing Jesus with others? Let’s look today at a few hindrances we have to overcome if we are going to develop this passion that makes us want to share Jesus uncontrollably.

1. Realize that you don’t have to be a theological scholar to share Jesus with someone. In fact, check this out:

But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound
the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to
confound the things which are mighty… – 1 Corinthians 1:27
(AKJV)

Isn’t that reassuring? Even if you feel foolish, even if you think God could never use anyone with your lack of biblical knowledge, God said through His Word that he would use the foolish to “CONFOUND” the wise! If we can come to terms with this, the passion can begin to form within us. Now this doesn’t mean that we should abstain from reading and studying Scripture, but how much you know or don’t know should not be the basis upon which we seek to share the Good News with someone. Why? Because you might not know where that other person is anyway with their own knowledge, and even so, it isn’t Scripture that saves people – it’s JESUS that saves people.

2. You can’t be ashamed of Jesus. Now, why would anyone be ashamed? For one, because of public perception. Think about it – if you have lifelong friends who are unchurched, unsaved, and openly living in sin with no desire for reconciliation and salvation, you might be a grade-A Christian, but talking about Jesus to these friends? Many of us would say, “forget about it.” This is usually the number one objection to teenage evangelism as I’ve found through years of trying to teach teens how to share their faith. Listen to what Paul wrote in the opening chapter of his letter to the Romans:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of
God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the
Jew, then to the Gentile. Romans 1:16 (NIV)

If you know anything about Paul, you probably know that Paul wasn’t ashamed of the Gospel. It kind of goes without saying. I mean, he was arrested for sharing the Gospel, and continued to share the Gospel from prison – he was eventually martyred for it! But why was he never ashamed? Because he recognized that it was synonymous with the power of God, which needs to be shared with everyone. Do you recognize that power? Have you ever read something in Scripture and thought – “WHOA!” The Word of God is powerful – insanely powerful.

3. We can’t be afraid of animosity, rejection, or even persecution. When we hear the word “persecution,” we don’t really think of that word applying to us, especially in the United States. But essentially, the word persecute means “to cause to suffer, to harass, or to systematically mistreat.” When we put it like that, chances are we’ve all been persecuted before. After Jesus ascended to be with the Father, and the church began to form in the book of Acts, the apostles faced constant persecution by the chief priests and government. They were even flogged due to their refusal to “lay low.” However:

The apostles left the [council], rejoicing because they had been
counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.
Acts 5:41 (NIV)

What if we looked at persecution as a privilege? What if we rejoiced over something like this? In today’s culture, sharing the message of Jesus isn’t particularly easy or welcome on many accounts. But I’ve always heard that “nothing worth doing is ever easy.”

So, all that being said, are you laying low right now? Do you feel unworthy or not quite knowledgeable enough? Are you nervous about what others will think? Is it just really hard for you to share your faith? I want to encourage you – you’re not alone. In fact, if we believe what we read in Scripture, we are all unworthy and undeserving. But you know what? Jesus died for all of mankind, out of His unending, unconditional love for us, and God wants to use you to share that message. That, friends, is something we just can’t keep to ourselves. How can we not be passionate about leading others to Jesus?

Where are you headed?

Posted on August 17, 2010 by jon in church, culture, theology, youth ministry | Leave a comment

The word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” “Ah, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.” But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD. Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “Now, I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.” – Jeremiah 1:4-10

This has always been one of my favorite passages in the Old Testament. I think I like it because I can really identify with Jeremiah’s hesitance. This year, the theme for our youth ministry is “Destinations,” and it’s based on this text. Jeremiah was a youth, and felt as though he wasn’t ready to do God’s work in the world. Perhaps he felt as though his work wouldn’t really make a difference.

God, however, knew Jeremiah. He had a plan for Jeremiah’s life even before Jeremiah was in the womb. God knew Jeremiah’s destination. I’ve found that so often the youth of the Church feel insignificant in the grand scheme of things – but the promise of God is sure through Jeremiah: God knows us now, God has always known us, and God knows where we’re headed.

Think of it like this: if bought a GPS that would only take you to one location, and the voice giving you the turn-by-turn directions was God’s voice, what do you think would be your destination? Where would you be going? Even if you knew, what paths would you take to get there? Would you take the roads less traveled, or a super-highway? Would you take the road that conforms to culture, or the road that’s so radical that few will brave it? This year, I pray that God will use me to challenge our youth to seek out God’s plan for their lives, the plan that’s been around since before they were around.

So… where are you headed?

The Need for Youth Ministry – or “The Mall”

Posted on May 8, 2010 by jon in church, culture, youth ministry | 1 Comment

Today, I spent an hour in our local mall (if you’d call it that), sitting quietly, observing the teenagers that walked by. Sort of like “people-watching.” I did it for a Cultural Observation Project I’m doing for a class, but it became much more of a required assignment.

I didn’t know where any of these kids came from. I didn’t know anything about their family lives. I didn’t know their struggles, their joys, their passions, or their hardships. But I saw pain. I saw apathy. I saw a lack of care for who they were and what they stood for. I could see by the way they dressed, the way they talked, the company they kept, and the focus on themselves they kept. I did, however, keep the constant thought that God is there somewhere. God is in the suffering. God is in the turmoil. I didn’t know exactly where to find Christ when I looked at these teenagers, but I knew He was there somewhere.

Our society is telling our teenagers the complete opposite of what Christ is telling them through ministry leaders. Society tells them to be happy at whatever cost. Their parents tell them to be happy as long as they’re being good, at whatever cost. Jesus tells them to be the Church at whatever cost. With these three messages hitting them from every different angle, teenagers are justifiably confused.

Through this project, I realized that youth ministry is needed now more than ever. We have an entire generation of people that are blinded to the Light by what they see in magazines, on television, and out in our society. The hierarchy of importance is skewed greatly by their perception of the world. In their world, self-acclamation is greater than the worship of their Savior. Material possessions are more important than the blessings that are unattainable through financial means. Outward appearance is more vital to their existence than the inner self that is known by God. Physically intimate relationships are more important than spiritually intimate relationships.

To go and sit in pews, sing songs, listen to a sermon, and give an offering is one thing. Youth ministry is completely different. Whereas we have this lost generation of sheep, we have a vital generation of shepherds.
Overall, I learned that it is very tempting to give up on youth ministry because the odds seem completely unable to be overcome. However, I hold fast to the truth that while we were sinners, Christ never gave up on us.

Live from NYWC!

Posted on November 20, 2009 by jon in random thoughts, youth ministry | 1 Comment

Howdy all – as I type this I’m sitting on the floor in one of the many “throughways” of the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA. I’m here for the National Youth Workers’ Convention, an annual gathering of youth ministry folks put together by Youth Specialties. This is my second time here – I’m not sure that makes me a veteran, but I’m going with it anyway. So, let’s catch up on what’s happened so far.

After waking up to the Atlanta sunrise, thereby bypassing my alarm clock, I headed out for the several-block trek to the GWCC. I found some much-needed Starbucks (I was tired, and it was 38 degrees…), and proceeded to check-in. Once I was registered, I headed for my first lab (the YS term for “workshop”), which was titled, “How to Find, Equip, Retain, and Occasionally Dismiss Adult Volunteers,” given by youth ministry guru Les Christie. I’ve used a lot of Les’s books in my ministry, specifically resources on games for groups, so I was eager to hear him speak about this topic, on which I didn’t know he was an authority.

I know it’s too early to call it, but this may end up being my favorite lab of the weekend. Les really caused me to stretch my thinking and expand my horizons when thinking about what makes a good volunteer. I’ve always had a desire to connect other adults to our youth ministry, but have yet to successfully “connect the dots” to make that happen. Christie gave some practical methods to find volunteers, and exposed many of the reasons people shy away from volunteer leadership. I’ll certainly take a lot of this back with me.

After a bit of time with the folks from PYWA and The Thoughtful Christian, it was time for our large group session, affectionately referred to as “Big Room.” There are 7 Big Room meetings in total this weekend, but this initial one I had been looking forward to for literally months. The reason for this was that I’ve been a huge fan of the speaker for years – the pastor and founder of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, GA, Andy Stanley.

Let me tell you, I wasn’t disappointed. After some intense worship, and a brief introduction to the convention, Andy took the stage. The theme of the convention this year is “TIME.” Andy’s talk was centered around the idea that in times of uncertainty, leaders must possess clarity and flexibility. I could go on forever about the impact this had on me specifically, but I’ll save that for another blog, perhaps.

At the end of Big Room 1, Mark Matlock from YS came out, with the CEO of Zondervan and a semi-unknown volunteer youth worker whose name escapes me. I do know that he mentioned that he founded YouthWorks, which is, as he described, an organization to give youth workers the things they need to do youth ministry – pretty broad statement there… As there have been major changes in the leadership of YS (Mark Oestricher, President was recently released, as was YS Events coordinator Tic Long), these three talked briefly about changes for the future as it pertains to YS Events and the structure of the organization as a whole. Overall, sparing the details, Zondervan and YS are seeking to continue to empower youth workers to lead teenagers into the world with the strength of Christ. I don’t think we can argue with that.

My next lab is coming up in about 30 minutes, and it’s called “Being a Theological Leader: A Practical Theology of Love, Engagement, and Vision.” It’s being led by one of my favorite workshop leaders of all time, Chap Clark.

More from the NYWC later!

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