This coming Sunday in Main Street we are attempting to show the students where Jesus comes from. I came across this graphic and found it was the best to illustrate this lineage well.
God’s Promise to Abraham
We call the Abrahamic Covenant the “3 P’s”
- People
- Place
- Presence
- all for the purpose of blessing the whole world
I made this graphic for the story we are doing in Main Street this coming Sunday (12.9.12) called God Provides a Wife for Isaac. We have been trucking through the story of Abraham and this is where he dies. So I wanted to review what God did in the life of Abraham and I wanted to provide a visual for the “3 P’s” with the added “blessing” component.
My Kids are Cooler Than Me
I’m a children’s pastor in a small town. And I’ve been here in Hayward for almost 10 years now. This longevity has afforded me some credibility in relationships, mainly with kids. Whether I’m shopping at Walmart, going for a walk, or visiting the school lunchroom, I always have kids saying hi to me.
Almost 6 years ago, my wife and I became parents and little did I know it then, but my street cred with kids would eventually change.
And it happened the other day. I was greeting a two year-old and instead of her saying: “Hi, Jeremy!” She said: “Where’s Sari and Macie?” (These are the names of my daughters.) This was the first time my kids were more important than me!!
When I go to the school lunchroom now, I am no longer Jeremy, but I’m Sari’s dad. Kids used to ask me who’s dad I was and I always told them no one, until I had kids and then I said they were too young for school. I told kids that I come to eat with them because I like spending time with them where they “worked.” Now I’m just another dad to the kids in the school lunchroom.
Oh well. I guess one can only enjoy popularity for so long until someone much cooler comes along. In this case, my kids are much cooler than me!
Top 100 First World Problems
We complain about some dumb stuff don’t we?
source YouTube
Good Guy Dan Brings Coffee for Cancer Patients
The Gospel isn’t just bringing someone coffee. Anyone could do an act to make a name for themselves. Gospel “acts” are deeds done out of a faith that believes that God makes a name for us (no matter what that name might be). We do Gospel “acts” out of nothing other than to glorify and bring God praise. Once you see your life as God’s vessel to enact His love and adoration in this world, even buying cancer patients’ coffee for them on Thursdays become an act that transcends just a feel good story. Deeds born out of faith in God will truly transform this world… one cup of coffee, or one person’s obedience to faith in deeds.
**Note**
I do not know Dan, nor am I judging his motives or motivation for doing this good deed. I’ve been thinking through the application of The Gospel in all areas of our lives as believers, which was my motivation for writing what I did.
Video Description:
Every week Dan Dewey does a coffee run for the staff and patients at the Michigan Cancer Institute in St.Joseph’s Hospital in Bloomfield Hills, MI.
source YouTube
“Call Me Maybe” for Small Group Leaders
I love that this video (student ministry) encourages engagement between the students and their small group leader.
source YouTube
Typical Middle School Girl Small Group Interaction
This is a funny video.
Now, not all female small groups are like this. Some girls’ thoughts don’t revolve exclusively around boys and pop culture media all the time. And yet, I hear from my female small group leaders that a number of their girls are enraptured by boys, relationships and pop culture icons. That’s all they seem to think about.
Now the trick is… how to get them to realize there is more to life than just that? Hmmm…
source YouTube
What Kind of Teenagers Do You Have in Your Church?
Yes. We have rough, unchurched or outreach students in our children and youth programs @ Hayward Wesleyan Church. These students often come with behavior problems and upset things from time to time. Yes, they do things that you wouldn’t normally expect from churched kids.
We make no mistake or apologies for allowing these students to attend. We believe that this engagement is exactly what God wants us to do and is particularly incarnational (meaning, what Jesus would be doing if He were in our shoes right now). While we do not mind dealing with issues that rise as a result of this kind of incarnational ministry, we are not naive about what it takes or what’s involved with the presence of these kind of students.
Uncomfortable things happen from time to time. Like:
- swearing,
- alcohol,
- drugs,
- fighting,
- particular music tastes,
- and unsupervised time.
As a church youth ministry that seeks to keep the environment where minors are present safe and secure, we have to be on our toes all the time. We have to address things as we find them out with reconciliation and the Gospel as undergirding values. We have to model in action what we believe in word. We have to apply the Gospel. But rest assured: we do take care of these issues (we do have expectations).
hwcYouth might become known (or is already known) as a place that welcomes and engages with:
- sinners,
- gang members,
- pregnant teenagers,
- drug and alcohol users,
- ALL kinds of people from ALL kinds of backgrounds from ALL kinds of families.
We believe we are in good company (you know, Jesus’ company) if we attain this kind of moniker.
An unwelcome and frustrating result of this kind of incarnational ministry is a departure of “Christian” kids or churched students from the ministry (youth or children). The Gospel is always messy. Whether you are working with churched, unchurched, or any kind of adjective for that matter. You know it doesn’t matter what you call these students, good or bad or in-between kids, we all need the Gospel.
I firmly believe that youth ministry needs all categories of students. And I also believe that it is possible to minister effectively to all categories of students (church and unchurched). Why do I think this? Because we all need the Gospel to varying degrees.
Bad kids need to believe the Gospel for the first time and start living in surrender to God and His ethics. Youth ministry can uniquely and attractively bring the Gospel to bear in students’ lives and to their attention in groups (in community).
Good kids need to believe the Gospel for the 25th and 62nd time as it pervades their whole lives. Youth ministry can help families as they disciple their teens to work the Gospel through key areas of their developmental lives.
In-between kids need to believe the Gospel because they might not have really in their heart the first time, nor might they have an environment at home that helps them. Youth ministry (the church) get to spiritually parent these spiritual orphans.
A question I ask myself frequently is:
Do I really believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ here?
In youth ministry? In my personal life? As a husband? Father? Dog trainer? Friend?
This question (and it’s biblical answers) help me lead and minister effectively as well as live incarnationally no matter what kind of students God sends our way.
Discipline Tips I’ve Learned // Discipline w/ the Gospel in Mind
This series of posts comes from a workshop / seminar I gave to a collection of youth leaders in Superior, WI called: Discipline w/ the Gospel in Mind.
// Discipline Tips I’ve Learned Along the Way
- Help your children or students own their own problem. Hold them responsible for their problem.
- Never get angry. It’s the student’s problem, not yours. Why are you so mad?
- Don’t lecture. Ask pointed questions and listen.
- Make them figure out how to make things right. Help them figure out a consequence.
- Remember grace. It’s how God disciplines and loves us.
- Don’t be shocked. Do your best not to show your “Shock and Appalled” face. That does not help matters. Don’t say:
“I can’t believe you would do or say something like that!” You can’t?! Yes, you can! Just look at the things you’ve said and done (the pickles and predicaments you have found yourself in over time) and then you’ll handle things more gracefully.
- Don’t rescue your student or child from natural consequences.
- Lace discipline with empathy. Not sympathy, not sarcasm, but genuine empathy (stepping in their shoes with how they feel about the either the discipline or the consequences… because you would feel bad and dejected if you were the one in trouble… so empathize with how they feel… don’t save them or rescue them, just humanize with them).
No Response to Discipline? // Discipline w/ the Gospel in Mind
This series of posts comes from a workshop / seminar I gave to a collection of youth leaders in Superior, WI called: Discipline w/ the Gospel in Mind.
// What if a kid doesn’t learn from discipline?
A while back my daughter told me that: You Can’t Make Me (in a humorous way). That taught me a lesson as a parent: she’s right. I really can’t make my daughter do anything.
We cannot make ourselves or students do anything. Welcome to God’s world and His reality. He can’t make us do anything.
What God can do and what God does is provide an environment where we put Him on display. Author Michelle Anthony in her work Spiritual Parenting said this: “We can’t force people to know or believe in God. We can only create an environment where we put Him on display.”
What kind of environment is your small group? Youth group? Home life? Marriage? Is God on display in your own life?
Boundaries and Tutors // Discipline w/ the Gospel in Mind
This series of posts comes from a workshop / seminar I gave to a collection of youth leaders in Superior, WI called: Discipline w/ the Gospel in Mind.
// God Seems to Provide Boundaries and Tutors
A while back I blogged a Story about Boundaries which beautifully illustrates the benefit of boundaries and tutors.
God provides us with boundaries and tutors. God’s way of living by faith is with boundaries–righteous rules (born out of faith, not self-salvation). And God’s way of living by faith is with tutors–disciplers.
Be Intentional // Discipline w/ the Gospel in Mind
This series of posts comes from a workshop / seminar I gave to a collection of youth leaders in Superior, WI called: Discipline w/ the Gospel in Mind.
// Intentionality
Discipline (or maybe we should just say: DISCIPLESHIP) does not happen accidentally in parenting. Actually, you know what! It does! Natural consequences! The intentionality comes in making wise use of those natural (or sometimes contrived) consequences. Not to rub the consequences in their face. Rather to come alongside of them and help them to reflect back and walk them through what happened and how THEY can believe the Gospel themselves.
Discipline should lead to faith, belief in God, not just changed behavior. Sure, their behavior will change… our behavior will change. But when, and ONLY when, we have surrendered to God in faith… in believing the Gospel.
The intentionality piece is the outworking of your prayer: “God how do I join what you are doing in the lives of my children or the students I am discipling?”
It seems like God has taken hardship, the result of the Fall (humanity choosing to follow themselves) and redeemed it to be used to lead us to Him… in order for God to lavish His love and grace and forgiveness on us.
We need to be intentional at modeling God’s grace to them when they are undergoing hardship and discipline. Not judgment.