Is It Worth It?

I am convinced that in our efforts to control the lives of the younger generation through reducing Christianity to a set of measurable behaviors rather than building it upon the truth of who we are as humans and who Christ is as Lord, we have communicated a form of legalism. Legalism always leads to license because when people tire of the emptiness of legalism, they inevitably turn to license. This can be clearly seen in the fact that too often we have overemphasized the term “relationship” referring to Christianity without emphasizing the Person with whom we have such a relationship. In so doing, we have reduced the “awe” and reverence factor because we have communicated that “Jesus is our homeboy.” Yes, He is a friend who sticks closer than a brother, but emphasizing one aspect of His person to the neglect of the rest is heresy. He is also God in the flesh. He is also King of kings and Lord of lords. He is so much more.

Is there any wonder why the younger generations today do not hold to the biblical values that previous generations did? Why should they? Christianity has been reduced, by Christians, too often to legalism which has led to license by de-emphasizing the person and work of Jesus. This has also led to younger generations no longer viewing the Bible as authoritative because they have been taught to “love” and “value relationship” as that is the result of a Christianity which ends in license.
So, how do we turn this tide? How do we fix it? How do we recover? The answer is not as simple as many of us would like. To begin with, we must understand that Christianity and the American nation are not conjoined twins. The state of our nation does not determine, or even affect, the state of our faith.
Second, in our churches, we must stop attempting to mass produce disciples. The illustration has been used that churches are Basic Military Training taking “recruits” and converting them into disciples through their discipleship process. Newsflash: we have been trying that for years. Mass producing doesn’t work. Not only does mass producing not work, we also need to remember that discipleship does not have a start and end date like so many discipleship classes. It is a LIFELONG process. We need to return to a biblical precedent and have older women teach younger women and older men teach younger men. Discipleship best occurs in the context of genuine relationships (real relationships, not the cheapened form of the word).
Third, we must be willing to understand that real ministry is not lived out in books or conferences where the megachurch pastor speaks about what has worked in his context (btw, many of the megachurch pastors who have seen their churches grow exponentially have been blessed by population explosions in their communities). Real ministry is lived out in the churches and communities where God has called us to live and invest. We must spend the time to discover God’s plan and vision for both who and where we are. (Before any of my overly zealous reformed brethren accuse me speaking where God has not spoken or claiming a special revelation from God, let me say that never will that plan contradict the Word of God. Let me also say, however, that our reformed brethren are not the only ones with direct access to the Lord…hmmm, isn’t that one of the reasons they became “reformed”?….anyway, to limit God to a box that is smaller than the totality of Scripture is JUST as heretical as speaking where He has not or claiming special revelation).
Fourth, we must go to work and realize that this will not be an overnight fix. The current generation did not get here overnight, and we are remiss if we think that one conference, one debate, one revival, one event, or one crusade will reverse things. This can be tough to accept in our instant gratification culture.
Fifth, we must reevaluate what defines biblical preaching. It is my opinion that too often we have championed a return to biblical preaching without an accurate understanding of the definition of such. To be sure, it IS the faithful exposition and proclamation of Scripture, but it is more. It is also the faithful application of that Scripture. Let’s be honest. Few people in the current generation care about “Thus saith the Lord,” until they know why it is important that He said such or how to apply what He has said in a meaningful way to their life. Has our culture under-emphasized the community and ecclesiastical aspect of God’s work? Of course, but we will not change that without beginning where people are, and they are living in an extremely individualistic culture. We used to say that, “explanation without application leads to frustration.” Now, a more accurate depiction would be, “explanation without application leads to abdication and vacation.” They simply abdicate or vacate the faith and their view of both God and His Word.
Finally, as we reevaluate how we teach, preach, and structure our discipleship efforts, we must also be willing to answer the questions that are being asked. It’s great that we teach the answers to Bible trivia questions, but since this generation is not asking those questions, should that be our focus? When this generation hears Christians speak regarding a current social issue, they often automatically ignore the Christian because they view the Christian perspective as irrelevant. How would their view change if we presented the why behind the Christian perspective? Not simply that the issue at hand goes against the Bible (yes, that is reason enough, but without a worldview that sees the Bible as authoritative, this generation needs more), but why that issue is spoken of as it is in the Bible. What are the overall reasons the Bible speaks on the issue as it does? Too often, I am afraid, the reason we do not speak accordingly is because either we don’t know or we are too lazy to do the work of studying to be able to properly explain.
Here are the facts: the current generation does not possess the worldview of previous generations; that is partly the fault of the previous generations; the tide can be turned; it will not be overnight; it will require an honest assessment of current church efforts by church leaders; and it WILL require a commitment to work and get our hands dirty in the work of the ministry.
The question remains, “is it worth it to go to all this trouble to attempt to reclaim a culture or generation that has rebelled so drastically against the Lord?” Hmm, Jeremiah thought it was. Moses thought it was when he spoke on behalf of the people before the Lord. Oh, and one other…Jesus thought it was when He offered Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of all. So, is it worth it? To deny so is to deny the value of the sacrifice Jesus made and declare some people as more worthy than others. Since God is no respecter of persons, however, that simply cannot be the case. So, is it worth it, worth all the effort and work that we must do? The only answer with which we can respond is: ABSOLUTELY!!!

Just Do It!!!

October of 2008 may well be one of the most painful moments of my life.  I have experienced the pain of injury, heartbreak, loss of a loved one, and I have experienced people letting me down.  That month, however, provided a turning point for me.  It was then that I learned the truth behind an old adage I had heard for years:  Change occurs when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change.”

What happened in October of 2008 to bring this lesson to life, you ask?  I got a letter in the mail.  Nope, not a “Dear John” letter.  This was something even worse.  I got a “we are unable to insure you because you are too fat” letter in the mail.  Some of you will read that and think that I am both overreacting to that letter and, in so doing, minimizing the pain associated with the other aforementioned forms of hurt.  I assure you that nothing could be further from the truth.

Let me explain.  For most of my life, I have struggled with my weight.  Before October 2008 I was always able to attribute it to being “big-boned.”  (Yeah, I am still trying to get a doctor to agree with me on that one too.)  That letter came at a time when our family was already going through some difficulty, and it literally felt like adding insult to injury.

Just a few short months before this, my mother-in-law was tragically killed in an auto accident.  My three older children were supposed to be in the car with her at the time of the accident, but a last minute miracle orchestrated by God Himself prevented them from going home with her that day.  My wife and I were in a state of grief and rejoicing simultaneously.  You want to talk about not knowing if we were going or coming, that was a desperate time for us.  One of us would rejoice while the other was grieving.  It was rough.  I was in a low spot in my grief when I received that rejection letter.  It hit me like a ton of bricks (which is apparently what the insurance company thought I weighed when they refused to insure me).

Like men tend to do, I moped around for a while about being rejected.  Also, like most men tend to do, I began to find excuses as to why I was obese:  my family is obese, it’s a genetic thing, I’m just “big-boned,” muscle weighs more than fat, and a plethora of other excuses.  NONE of those excuses changed the reality, however, that in the eyes of the authority (insurance company) I was obese and uninsurable.

I thought things were pretty rough until Christmas of that year.  Everything changed on Christmas morning (that sounds like a GREAT sermon title, but I’ll save that for another time).  My wife and I have often given one another things for Christmas that we need.  I know, some of you will debate that and say that we should get things we want for Christmas, but it’s what we do (and it’s what the Lord did).  Anyway, she gave me what she thought I needed that year:  a gym membership.  (Note to self:  perhaps this was retribution for the years where I gave her a waffle iron for Christmas or the trash can or the carpet steam cleaner or the pot holders or the 9MM handgun for Mother’s Day).

I no longer had one of my excuses:  “I would work out and be healthier, but I just don’t have the opportunity or the place.”  She removed that excuse.  I soon found another:  “I don’t have the time.”  It was then that she looked at me so sweetly, yet challengingly, and told me to stop making excuses and make it happen.  JUST DO IT!  Stop whining and making excuses.  Just do it!  (That might make a GREAT slogan for some company one day).

The pain of remaining obese was greater for me than the pain of getting up early enough to go to the gym.  So guess what I did?  I got up and went to the gym!  Every. Single. Day.  Crazy thing about that?  Within a 3 month time period, the EXACT SAME insurance company who would not insure me, wrote a policy on my family and me because I was within their acceptable limits!  That did not happen overnight.  It happened because I learned the value of one key word:  DISCIPLINE!

Here’s what is even crazier:  the same discipline that led me to accomplish what I now see as relatively small goal, has led me to do some things that I NEVER dreamed to be possible.  I have had the privilege to travel the country and speak in school assemblies and share the Gospel in churches using feats of strength.  That’s crazy!  An obese kid from east Texas travels the country using feats of strength to encourage students!  How does it happen?  DISCIPLINE!

The 3 questions I get most often when doing feats of strength are:

1. Are you crazy?
2. How long did you train to be able to that?
3. What made you start doing feats of strength?

The first question is somewhat funny.  It is normally asked immediately following me putting my head through 10” of concrete or after a concrete block is broken with a sledgehammer on my chest/stomach while I am under a bed of nails.

The second question is fun to answer, because many who ask assume that I have always trained.  The reality is that now I have been training over 5 years, but when I did my first feat of strength I had only been training about 5 months.  Crazy good results come with DISCIPLINE after just a short time.  I mean think about it, Basic Military Training only lasts 6 to 13 weeks depending on the branch of service, and I think you would agree that our soldier, sailors, marines, airman, and coast guardsmen are disciplined when they return home from Basic Military Training.

The third question also presents a fun and challenging answer.  I saw what just a little bit of DISCIPLINE brought about in my life.  I decided to see what would happen if I fully committed to be DISCIPLINED in my body.  Now, over 5 years into this, I have been privileged to do some crazy things as a result of DISCIPLINE.

In order for us to be the champions that God desires us to be in our Life Groups, we MUST approach them with even greater DISCIPLINE than that which an athlete trains his body because the reward is far greater than that an athlete receives (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).  It means weMUST be DISCIPLINED about our own walk with Christ.  It means we MUST be DISCIPLINED in our preparations.  It means we MUST be DISCIPLINED in our attendance.  It means we MUST be DISCIPLINED in our follow-up with guests.  It means we MUST be DISCIPLINED in our efforts to contact and connect with those on our rolls.  It means we MUST be DISCIPLINED in order to reach more people with the Gospel!

Recently I was in the gym lifting, and I hit a new personal record on a number of lifts.  Someone asked me if I only wanted to lift more so that I could say I lifted more.  Absolutely not!  I love lifting, but I know that when I hit new personal records it means a couple of things:  I am getting better and I will be able to do more of the feats of strength to reach more people.  The same is true in our Life Groups.  When we begin to live a life of DISCIPLINE as Life Group leaders, we do not simply reach more students so we can say we reached more students.  NO!  We reach more students so that they too might come to know Christ!  The end goal of our discipline is not be champions for ourselves, but rather to be champions for the Kingdom of God!  With that in mind, let’s go be CHAMPIONS today!

Find a way!!!

Champions do things differently than those who are average.  Champions FIND A WAY to win!  Champions do not accept mediocrity because they know that mediocrity is the enemy of becoming a champion.

JP Morgan, one of wealthiest men in American history, exemplified this so very poignantly.  Already a millionaire, Morgan set out to make his mark on America by becoming synonymous with an industry.  In his efforts, he drew the ire of his father who thought that the industry in which he placed his desire would only become a fad.

The younger Morgan, choosing to FIND A WAY, ignored the advice of his father and hired a young telegraph boy turned inventor to help him in his endeavors.  While his own father, as well as other very reputable and well thought of people, questioned him and his efforts, Morgan FOUND A WAY!

The same is true today.  Champions FIND A WAY!  They are scrappy.  They are creative.  They are determined to FIND A WAY to win.  Currently, the Florida State football team exemplifies this.  Several times this year, they have found themselves in a deficit, yet they keep finding a way to win!  Why?  Because they are the reigning National Champions, and champions FIND A WAY to win!

Finally, as champions are finding a way to win, they often experience criticism, skepticism, and negativism from others around them.  It happened to JP Morgan.  It is happening now to Florida State, and it will happen to you when you make the choice to be scrappy, be creative, and be determined to FIND A WAY!  Oh, by the way, that little industry that Morgan’s father thought was a fad and wouldn’t last:  electricity.  You never know which student in your group of ministry will be the one whose life drastically impacts others!  FIND A WAY!!!

Sweat the Small Stuff!

“Don’t sweat the small stuff.” If you are anything at all like me, or most humans, you have heard (maybe even made) that statement more times than you can count. Unfortunately, for those who aspire to be champions, there is one fatal flaw: it is wrong!

Champions become CHAMPIONS by paying significant attention to EVERY detail, regardless of how small or trivial it seems. Paying attention to detail sets champions apart from those who are mediocre. Herm Edwards, former coach of the New York Jets football team, eloquently details why we do what we do in this short video clip you can see here.. No one ever does something with the desire to merely be mediocre…certainly not champions.

A few years ago, I tried this new fitness thing called CrossFit. If you haven’t heard of it, I am sure that it is from the devil himself. It is BRUTAL. I thought I was in relatively good shape when I attempted this “sport.” A short 20 minutes into the session, I was begging the instructor to either stop or for the Lord to take me home! It was miserable. I learned some VERY valuable lessons that day though. The instructor focused on EVERY SINGLE DETAIL of each of my lifts. He deconstructed what I had been doing, and reconstructed my movements and muscle engagements in the way that my body was designed to move. The results? Yes, I still puked, but as I continued to pay attention to every detail, I got SIGNIFICANTLY stronger. I learned that day to sweat the small stuff, to pay attention to detail!

The same is true in our Life Group ministry. It is easy to take off on a “play,” or expect another team member to pick up the slack. That is when mistakes are made and people get hurt in football…and in church. For us to be champions, we MUST pay attention to every detail!

In the video referenced above, a football coach made the statement that you play to win the game. I think we would all agree that what God has called us to is MUCH more important than a game! God has called us to be champions in the lives of the those to whom we are called to serve.

What are the details to which we must pay such attention? I’m glad you asked. We must make sure every person on our roll is contacted weekly. This shows that we care if they are here or not. It is easy to adopt the view that people know their responsibilities and they should be mature enough to do them. Reality check: you’re right, but human nature causes people to slack. We must contact them.

In addition to contacting our rolls, it is IMPERATIVE that we foster an atmosphere for healthy fellowship in our groups. Student ministry is notorious for having cliques. Some of that is simply the natural occurrence of those who share similar interests aligning with one another. It is imperative, however, that we do our VERY best to create atmospheres where ALL our students feel welcome, included, loved, and as though they belong to our group.

Yet another detail to which we must pay attention is preparation. Our students know when we walk in and give them a “Saturday night special.” They know when we are prepared. No champion goes onto the field without first having practiced and prepared all week. Neither should we.

One thing I have learned over the course of my ministry is that if we expect outreach to occur organically, then we really do not expect outreach to occur. It is VITAL that we pay attention to our outreach efforts. This includes our GROW visitation as well as other forms of outreach used in your group. This detail is often overlooked because it is easy to expect momentum from one event or ministry to carry over into our Life Groups, but champions do not let ANY detail go unnoticed.

The time is now. The stakes are high. The cause is worthy. It is time to no longer settle for mediocrity. God has called us to be (and made us to be) champions (Romans 8:37). Sweat the small stuff and be a champion for Christ, your Life Group, and our ministry. You, your students, and our ministry will be better for it. Champions have a way of infecting all those around them!

Becoming a Champion

As those of you who have spent any amount of time around me know, I love sports. I love watching teams perform at the highest of levels and achieving their goals and dreams. In some small way, I am able to FEEL the “thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” (bonus points if you remember from which television show that originated) with those teams as they both celebrate their victories and suffer their losses. I have often heard coaches and players alike discuss how winning a championship is tough, but that the real challenge comes in repeating…in staying on top of the mountain.

There are a few teams in each major sport who have done just that. Each year they remain as either THE best or one of the best in their respective field. Over the next few days and weeks, I would like to look at some characteristics that these teams possess. These same characteristics will help us be successful in our Life Groups as well as in our student ministry as a whole.

Champions Don’t Quit–Ever! There is something special about championship teams. Regardless of the officiating, the quality of the opposing team, or the score at halftime, champions play until the final whistle or final horn or final out. Champions NEVER quit. This means if they are behind, they keep going. If things don’t go their way, they keep grinding. If the weather is less than ideal, they keep going.

Regardless of the circumstances with which they are faced, champions continue to execute their game plan and continue to fight. They DO NOT quit. They DO NOT give up. This was echoed eloquently by former college basketball coach Jim Valvano in a speech he gave at the ESPY awards in 1993 while battling brain cancer, “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.”

In order for our Life Groups to be the champions that God desires them to be, those of us who lead must embrace and exemplify this trait. There will be times when “life happens” as we all like to say. Things will be tough. We will have sick family members. We may sleep through an alarm clock sometimes. Other times we may be tired from a hectic week at work.Just like in sports, there will be times when the circumstances are less than ideal. Champions are not made in the ideal times anyway.

Champions are made in the tough times when they respond positively to adversity. Keep following the principles we have provided: keep contacting everyone on your roll, keep loving people and meeting their needs, keep reaching out to new people and inviting them to be a part of your group, keep teaching the Bible, keep following up with guests and prospects, and keep on keeping on. Champions NEVER quit! It is time for the Life Groups of Millington First Baptist Church to become champions. We cannot do it without you! Let’s go be champions today!

Confessions…

Confessions?  Looking for the salacious and the scandalous?  Looking for the type of confessions that will ruin a ministry or even a life?  Good!  You’ve come to the right place!  I’m about to drop some confessional knowledge.  I admit it.  I have some confessions to make.  Hopefully, you will learn from my mistakes and not have to endure the pain yourself.

Jump in the DeLorean with me a minute, and let’s turn back the time a few years to when I was a young kid in ministry.  Like most young people who the Lord has called into His service, I had a (I thought) unmatched passion for reaching people with the Gospel.  I knew that the quickest way to get the same results we had been getting, was to keep doing what we had been doing.  I also knew that those who are not in ministry call that something else:  stupid.  Gasp!  Yeah, I typed the word s-t-u-p-i-d.  I was so frustrated with what I saw on a consistent basis in the churches I served.  I could not take it.  It seemed like the common response in the churches I served was to simply do nothing and allow the decline to continue while blaming the decline on all of those outside the church.  It was a VERY frustrating time for me.  So, I did the only thing I knew to do:  I found the largest and fastest-growing churches in the nation and began to examine their methods.  I looked at contexts, personalities of their leaders, rates of growth, and any other pertinent information I could find.  Then, almost before I knew it, I had done it.  I had become a trend follower.

That’s right.  I became a ministry trend follower.  There are other names for that, but kids may read this, so we will not mention those.  I read every book, attended the conferences, and even mimicked preaching and teaching styles in an effort to be more relevant and “cutting edge.”  I thought that those whose trends I followed had it all together and that their advice and experience would help me in my context.  Then, while on a family vacation, something slapped me.  Well, actually, something broke me.  It was a mountain.  Before you mistakenly think I’m referring to a glorious mountain-top experience, allow me to clarify.  It was literally a mountain.  Like, for real.  See, what had happened was…I went fishing…and fell down the side of a mountain…and broke my leg in two places.  That accident, and the subsequent week of staying heavily medicated to ease the pain, caused me to put down the several books I had taken on the trip (or I think it did…I may have read them and don’t remember as a result of the necessary pain meds).  Something happened in the next few weeks.  That broken leg caused me to slow down and reevaluate some things in my life and ministry.  As I recovered from the surgery required to repair my broken leg, I began to realize that maybe, just maybe, being a trend follower wasn’t all I had thought it was.

So, with that in mind, here are my salacious and scandalous confessions…Confessions of a former trend follower:

1.  It’s exhausting.  I would spend so much time trying to keep up with the latest trends that I was essentially a ministry crack addict.  I feigned for the newest books from the “hippest” pastors and authors.  I would spend hours trying to find their blogs, podcasts, and resources.  I was so exhausted trying to follow the trends that I often missed what God was doing in the midst of the ministry for which I was responsible.

2.  It’s expensive.  Think about it:  books, conferences, travel, lodging, and meals.  These things not only add up, but they caused me to use resources that could have been allocated to other endeavors within the ministry I served.  I know.  There is nothing wrong with professional development and attending an occasional conference, but when a ministry is dependent on the trends, the cost is great.  And by the cost is great, I am not only referring to the financial cost.

3.  It’s futile.  Trying to keep up with the trends in ministry is the equivalent of trying to keep up with which athletes have been linked to performance-enhancing drugs or trying to identify which Kardashian is dating or married to who this week.  It’s futile.  It constantly changes.  I learned this:  ministry trends and hot topics change more often than I change socks.  Check that…ministry trends change more frequently than politicians.  Ouch…but it’s true.

4.  It’s shallow and produces shallow disciples.  Following the various trends I saw in ministry caused me to move on from one idea to another before taking time to invest in the lives of those to whom I was called to serve.  Rather than allowing them to mature in their faith, I was too busy trying to identify what to do next.  Unfortunately, we wonder why young Christians get disgruntled with the faith, but I wonder if it’s because guys like me were encouraging them to “dig deep” while only offering a kiddie pool…Hit you head enough times in shallow water, and you will either get hurt and stop, or worse, you’ll break your neck.  I’m still looking for the verse that says, “seek ye first the newest and greatest trends.”  I can find the one, however, that says, “see ye first the Kingdom of God.”

5.  It’s debilitating.  I shudder to think about all the time and resources I spent following and not leading.  My leadership was derailed too often because I spent too much time following what others were doing rather than following what Christ was calling me to do and leading others to do the same.

6.  It’s idolatrous.  I admit it.  I confess.  Following the latest and greatest trends became my idol.  Of course, at the time I did not see it as such.  I thought I was staying “in the know.”  Truthfully, I was spending WAY more time with trends than I was with Jesus in His Word.  Sadly, I could quote David Platt, Mark Drsicoll, John MacArthur, John Piper, Ed Stetzer, and Andy Stanley more than I could quote Paul or Jesus.  Tragically, men and their methods became authoritative rather than Scripture.

7.  It’s oppressive.  Trying to follow all the trends that exist in ministry is terribly oppressive.  I’m not talking like a Starbuck’s on every corner oppressive.  I’m talking like an over-reaching government oppressive (aww snap…he went there…don’t worry…the NSA already read this).  Seriously though, I realized I was ALWAYS behind and could never catch up.  I could never set the trend.  I was always trying to reach that which I could not obtain.  Trying to follow all the trends in ministry left me feeling like I do after listening to a Li’l Wayne song:  wondering what in the world that was about and WHY people would get crazy about it.  At the end of the day, I felt oppressed and even jealous of the ministries of the others.

Yep, those are my confessions.  I am not against research and wisdom at all.  I have learned, however, that being a trend follower costs too much and hurts too much.  Maybe sharing my pain and mistakes can prevent others from making the same mistakes.

Maybe you have similar experiences to mine about such.  I’d love to read your confessions as well!

Thinking sometimes leads to conviction…

Good stuff!

victoriouSurvivor

Be careful in this post…you just might get convicted. I did. 😳 I just let the “pen” flow toward the end and it gets a little harsh…don’t bristle…just let the Holy Spirit work…

Too often we try to be too much. I had a friend say to me recently that the local physical church is not meant for lost people. I immediately bristled when she said this, but she went on to explain….the church is for believers. I still had a hard time wrapping my head around what she said, and though I’m not sure I completely agree, I want to go there today.
I think we, as Christians try too hard to be too much sometimes. God said to love Him and love others. He said to go and make disciples. Could it be that we are so unsuccessful as a church body because we have lost our focus?

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Trick or Treat

Have you ever noticed how this time of the year brings about debates among Christians about whether or not we should participate in Halloween or Halloween alternatives?  There are those who think that by participating in either, we are compromising and not standing for truth.  There are also those who think that by participating in neither, we are missing a wonderful opportunity to be light in this present darkness (hmm, I bet that would make a great book title).  Regardless of where you fall on the issue, maybe we are all closer to this highly debated holiday than we think.

Think about it.  On Halloween people dress up as something they are not in order to get something they want.  People dress up and go out trick or treating or go to parties all in an effort to have fun and gain some candy.  Then, the next day (and after we have gotten what we want) we go back to our normal lives as though nothing happened.  The sugar high has left us, and we are left with the regret of eating WAY too much chocolate.  Nothing about Halloween changes who we are intrinsically.  It is simply a facade.

I wonder sometimes if we leave our students wondering if the church is merely a trick or treat location which leaves the porch light on year round.  We wonder why students leave the faith, but I wonder if it is because we have taught them (too often) by our examples that faith is simply like Halloween:  put on your “costume” so everyone will think you are a Christian and have your life squared away, and then go about your normal life when no one seems to be looking.  I know, that is a harsh look, and maybe a bit unfair even.  My concern though is that all too often I hear parents or other adults ask me about what a student or group of students are DOING.  Did you get that?  The focus is on the behavior.  This concerns me because I’m afraid we focus too much on the DOING rather than the BEING.  I know, “faith without works is dead.”  I get that, but works without faith in Jesus that brings about a new birth is nothing more than behavior modification:  translation, a Christian mask.  Yes, a student who has a relationship with Christ should have evidence of such by their actions, but at the same time, when we focus on their actions more than their heart, are we not setting them (and ourselves) up for disappointment and failure?  Could it be that we are losing students after they leave high school because they lack examples of authentic faith in their lives?  Could it be that they tire of constantly falling short of the desires, demands, and wishes of those who lead them?  Could it be because we focus so much on what they DO and not who they ARE?  Could it be that we are worried about their “mask” more than their heart?  Could we be promoting a Christian form of trick or treating where we encourage students to “dress up” their lives by doing the right things to get the “treats” of favor among our ministries and (sometimes false) assurances of salvation?

Like many other student ministers, I LONG to see the trend of students leaving the faith reversed.  Instead of looking for the ever-elusive “silver bullet,” what if we began to focus on what a follower of Christ is, and we allowed the power and person of the Gospel to transform their hearts before we began trying to modify their behavior?  (Hint:  when we allow the Spirit to work in their lives, we will notice that we are not needed to modify behavior nearly as much as we think.)  This will not be an easy fix by any means, and it will take time.  However, think about how you feel after devouring all of your Halloween candy.  You’re pretty miserable after the sugar rush and when you look in the mirror or step on the scales, aren’t you?  Well guess what:  our students are weary of wearing the “costumes” as well.  They long for authenticity.  They long for the change, the metamorphosis, of which we speak.  They long for the power which we claim a relationship with Christ supplies.  They long even more for the relationship that exists in the life of a believer.  They are hungry, but they want something with much more substance and value than the cheap “candy” they often receive.  Trick or treating Christianity has to go!  Our students long for that which is REAL!  Instead of joining the debate about whether or not we should participate in Halloween, why don’t we focus on the larger issues facing us daily.  There is plenty of work to be done without causing more divisions among believers.

Dare to Be Great

Are you as tired of mediocrity as me?  No, I am not talking about the Dallas Cowboys either.  Nor am I making reference to politics.  I don’t know about you, but good is not enough for me.  It never has been.  It never will be.  Here’s why:

1.  Mediocrity is terrible!  Think about it.  We spend more time trying to get our Instagram flex on or trying to get our next social media fix than we do trying to grasp the gravity of Who and what we profess to possess as Christians.  Too often we’d rather let mediocrity rule and then complain.  How about we borrow some lines from Dre and get “in the lab with a pen and a pad,” and while we’re there,  we read the Scripts from THE Dr…not just one who plays one in his music.  Game playing time is over.  We worry more about the price of a barrel of oil than we do the value of a man’s soul.  We are so worried that we will offend someone when we speak truth that we just don’t speak, or if we do, we only speak love.  Really?  The message of the Gospel IS offensive.  Those aren’t my words.  Those are God’s (Gal. 5:11).  Weekly, wait, check that, DAILY, I hear believers complain that the church is declining and losing ground in culture today.  It’s easy to blame leadership like we would in the CEO world.  It’s easy to blame Hollywood because they are out of reach for the majority of us.  It’s easy to blame circumstances because those cannot always be changed.  It’s easy to look everywhere…but the mirror.  I won’t lie.  This may hurt (it does me), but all I can be is real.  While we allow ourselves to be mired in mediocrity as we refuse to look in the mirror, Satan is on the attack.  I don’t know about you, but I am a winner.  I’m a renegade from the culture of losing.  Christ has made me both, and as a result, I REFUSE to remain in a mess of mediocrity while missing what God has for me because mediocrity is terrible!

2.  It’s your destiny.  I assume that if you are still reading this, then you have realized that I am a Christian.  Yes, a born-again believer in the atoning work of Jesus on the cross and in His resurrection from the dead.  Yep, that’s me.  I do believe all of that.  I assume that if you are still reading, then either you are also a Christian, or you are intrigued.  Either way, please, keep reading.  I dare you to be great because it is your destiny.  If you too are a born-again believer, then your destiny is to be great because it is what you have been redeemed to be.  Mediocrity is beneath you and me.  I know, that sounds…harsh, even arrogant.  Stay with me.  The moment you received Christ, His righteousness and inheritance were imputed to you.  Christ called us to be great.  Get that!  Jesus, the Jesus revealed in the Bible, called His followers to be great!  My hope, your hope should be in Him.  If you cling more to the words of a television preacher/teacher or a dead theologian than you do the LIVING Christ, then you are missing your destiny of being great because you licking scraps from the table while Jesus has prepared a veritable 5-star buffet from which you can feast in His Word!  We’ve been called to be great, but too often we are like the teenage girl:  we settle for the dude who comes along and looks kinda cute, sings well, and spits some game.  Ole dude just trying to get in her pants, and then she walks around with all this baggage and distrust all because she settled for less than that for which she was made.  That’s how we are!  Instead of the girl guarding her heart, she gave her heart, and too often, her body to some dude who used her!  It’s our destiny to be great, but it does require us guarding our hearts and the truth that has been entrusted to us through the Word!  Reality check!  We cannot guard that which we do not know!  It takes work to know the Word!  We are too often too busy looking for secret revelations and experiences of others.  God has revealed Himself in His Word.  Dare to be Great.  Dare to Live out your destiny as a believer.  Get in the Book.  Take a closer look.  The God of the Bible IS the hook!  He’s written a better plot line than anyone else’s imagination.  I mean, come on, He’s the One who came up with creation!

3.  Champions have legit swag.  Think about that.  Champions have put in the work to make it to the top.  No one wants to be a loser.  No one dreams of playing for a National Championship and losing.  People want to be winners.  Winning feels good.  If you have repented of your sins and received Jesus as your Savior, you have been made more than a champion!  There is a certain amount of swag and confidence that comes with being a champion.  Champions know who they are.  They know their identity:  they are champions.  They have spent time to make it to the top, and they relish in their identity.  Get this:  believers have been placed on top by the One who is the top!  We gotta know who we are.  Too often we spend all this time in the mirror and taking selfies so we can get our swag right, but we won’t stand long enough to look in the mirror of the Scriptures for ourselves to see who we really are.  We are some Snow White Christians.  We keep running up to these wolves like “Mirror, Mirror on the wall,” because we’d rather eat the poisoned apples they’re pimping than put forth the effort on our own to understand our identity in Christ.  There should be no insecure Christians.  We have been set free and made MORE THAN CHAMPIONS, so let’s jump up in the gym and start pumping spiritual iron.  Let’s be great.  I dare you.

Before some of you go off on me thinking that I’m the least humble person you have ever met, please hear my heart.  Humility is NOT weakness.  Too often we express humility by allowing ourselves to be perceived as weak.  Hear me.  I am not talking about being arrogant, spiritual or otherwise.  I am talking about understanding our identity in Christ and not settling for less than what He has made us.  Arrogance is dangerous.  However, humility that presents itself as weakness is JUST as dangerous.  Jesus was humble, but He was also very aware of who He was while walking on the earth.  He was humble, but He also got real real quick when His Father’s house was made into that which it was not made to be.

When I read the Bible, I don’t see a weak, emotionless book or hero.  I see a warrior who makes Harry Potter look like a punk.  I see a King who makes Team Edward and Team Jacob a joke.  I see a warrior who turns 50 shades of grey into what they are:  black and white.  I see a warrior who rescued his adulterous love and reconciled her.  I see a King who defeated the enemy of His people and is returning to claim His throne and rule and reign.  I see a warrior who has called His people to be more than they could ever be on their own:  He’s called them to be GREAT!  Will you?  Will you put in the work to not defame the Name by becoming all He’s made you to be?  Will you be great?  I dare you.

Thank you to Channel for your artistic inspiration, your friendship, and the challenges you are in my life when I need them.  You can find out more about Channel at http://www.redinkarmy.bandcamp.com

The Great Balancing Act

Everyone is busy.  I know.  It’s easy to get caught up in the hurriedness of life.  I know.  So, how does one who has a job, a family, and works with students manage to accomplish their various responsibilities successfully?  Great question, and one in which many other student ministers and youth workers have often asked.  Here are a few tips to help you along that journey!

1.  Keep the main thing the main thing.  You are not reaching your full potential to any of your responsibilities if you allow your own spiritual life to suffer.  Make sure that you are spending time with the Lord in His Word daily.  Your quiet time with the Lord is similar to your underwear:  if you don’t change it daily to save time, no one notices at first, but eventually the stench becomes unbearable.  

2.  Remember your family.  Just like your personal spiritual life is the first to suffer, your family is often the second, and just like I hope you change underwear daily, I hope you shower daily as well.  It is needed.  So is time with your family!  It is easy to become so caught up in your responsibilities at work or church that you neglect your family.  Admittedly, this is hard for me.  I see so much that needs to be done that it is often hard for me to unplug and disconnect and just be a husband and a father.  Then I am reminded that just like the students I am called to serve need Jesus, they also need to see men who are living out their roles as a husband and dad.  Furthermore, my family needs me as well.  

Set aside at least one night per week with which neither work nor church can interfere.  When eating dinner with your family, leave your phone alone (again, this is hard for me).

One final word regarding your family:  there has been a move of late that encourages the abandoning of ministry responsibilities in order to spend more time with the family.  While the root of this notion is good:  to protect, develop, and grow the family, the outcome is often negative in that it leads to a form of child-worship or family-worship.  NEVER does the Lord want us to neglect our families, but the same can be true about the ministries to which He has called us.

3.  Make a phone call.  Mobile phones have made the ability to stay in contact with others easier than ever.  With that in mind, if you serve as an adult leader, make a phone call to your students weekly.  I know that it can take an hour or so to call all of the students on your class roll, but I also know that the results can be amazing.  In a world where snapchats and text messages rule, the phone call has garnered much more power and effectiveness than ever.  

4.  Know your role.  Easy.  That doesn’t mean what you think.  Know that you are NOT a volunteer.  Volunteers see themselves as doing someone else a favor.  You are called to serve in the capacity in which you do.  Those who are called are held accountable to the One who has called them.  As one who is called, there is a responsibility to steward well the ministry entrusted to you.  

5.  Plan special days in your class.  There is something about a special day within your class that generates momentum among students.  Whether it is a theme day, a friend day, an apple pie day, or any other day that works in your context, special days will generate momentum, and momentum is your friend when working with students.

6.  Follow-up with guests and absentees.  BREAKING:  There is nothing complex about this post.  Gasp!  It is too easy for students to fall through the cracks of a student ministry unless we all do EXCELLENT follow-up with guests and absentees.  Call them, send a text, write a card, send a smoke signal…something!  Guests need to know that they are not just another of the many to come through a ministry, and regular attenders need to know that they are also special.  

7.  Have fun and invest in your students!  We are constantly telling our students to enjoy this season of life.  We say things like:  “You’ll never be here again.”  Our students want and NEED to have fun.  I realize that not all of life is fun, but our students need to be reminded that following the Lord IS an adventure.  Have fun.  For some of us, this is a difficult idea because we are SO passionate about conveying the truth of Scripture to our students.  I admire that passion, but let’s be honest:  passion for knowledge transfer without capturing the heart of your students leaves both you and your students frustrated.  Have some fun and watch how your students connect with you AND how some will even adopt your passion for the Scriptures as well.  Remember, discipleship is more caught than taught.  

You are VITAL to the work of student ministry, but let’s remember that is exactly that:  work!  It doesn’t take much reading to know that students today are under attack by media, peers, educators, and other worldviews.  The task is not easy, but it IS rewarding.  So, roll up your sleeves with me, and let’s get after it in reaching this generation with the Gospel.  They have no other hope.