Believe it or not that is the average number of text messages a typical teenager sends and recieves on a monthly basis. I was able to find this number by a quick survey of some of the kids in the youth ministry. I’m sure that is even a conservative rate, knowing some teenagers and the amount of time they spend on those things they call phones. (Even though I’m not too sure why they are called that anymore-no one does any talking on them anymore…)
Let’s unpack this fact just a little more. 4,000 text messages translates to over 130 messages in a day. Let’s break it down even further. Knowing that the average teenager is awake around 15 hours a day, that translates into almost nine texts an hour or a text every 7 minutes. Now, keep in mind I’m being very conservative, but still the numbers are very significant. (I didn’t even account for when they are in school and really can’t use text messaging)
These teenagers are trying to reach out, to the tune of over 130 times a day. They are trying to find connection, relationship. But are these relationships trully fulfilling? Weren’t we created to reach out in more personal ways?
Truth is, we are. We are meant to interact with with one another in a more personal way. We are meant to exist together in community, side by side, having true communication. Don’t we all need to work at that? Are we reaching out that many times a day? Are we trying to connect with those around us? Are we trying to connect with God that many times? I’m going to be asking the students in the Youth Ministry that very question. Along with that, I’m going to be asking myself that very same question.
My plea and my prayer is that you are asking yourself that question as well. In addition I hope that you are asking the students in your life that as well. I hope that you will join me in trying to help them not only connect with the Lord but with those people that will encourage them and help them to grow in their faith.
Thank you for your support, prayers, and openess to how God wants to use your ministry.
I’ve been thinking that lately. When do you give it up. I mean, no matter what the “it” is, how do you decide?
Recently, I’ve really been contemplating when it is that I will not continue in youth ministry in the position I am in. As youth pastors, do we have a shelf life? Is there a good time to step away from the lead position?
I’ve always had in my mind that I would be doing this for ten years. I’m coming up to eight years this year.
Do I still feel called? Yes. Do I still care for students? Yes. Is my heart still in it? Yes.
I guess the debate becomes, do I leave while all of those answers are “yes.” I believe that I should. I do not want to leave a ministry that is unhealthy for someone else to fix. I want to be able to pass on the torch brightly lit.
I don’t think that many of us plan with the end in mind. It’s something that I’m beginning to do. What decisions am I making now, that will affect the next youth pastor? We all need to be asking those questions. I don’t believe that we do that enough.
It’s scary to think of any position, any job without yourself. But to ensure long term health, we need to get over our fears.
I recently finished reading The Shack. My thoughts? Well, I don’t think that I can agree with Eugene Peterson’s endorsement on the front cover-I didn’t know Pilgrim’s Progress was so powerful-but it’s one of those books that make you think. Sure, there are plenty of things theologically wrong with this book. The God of this book is definitely not consistent with the God that we serve, love, and know from the Bible, but I wonder sometimes if we really can know what God is like? Maybe God is like Aslan from the Chronicles of Narnia-just a little wild and not predictable. Maybe this is just a story about how God is willing to “go after the one” in a way that is surprising, but deeply personal and relevant for the main character in the book. Doesn’t God reach out to us in that way, personally, and in a way that we can relate to? I’m not saying that I agree with Young’s theology, but maybe we all need to be open about how the Lord might use this book to His Glory.
Enjoyable read, emotionally charged, and thought provoking. Just don’t park your brain at the door.
Just wanted to pimp my brother-in-law’s new venture. It’s called Lightbulb Creative. Go check it out and pass the word to those who might benefit from his services. Here’s a description of what they’re all about:
Lightbulb Creative is born out of a passion to see the local church attract and impact the lives of people who are far from God.
Our team has spent the last few years planting and working to build one of the fastest growing churches in America. That experience…the effect of seeing hundreds and thousands of people find hope and salvation in Jesus Christ, has pushed our vision to provide innovative, high-quality creative resources to like-minded churches.
Our goal is to fill the gaps that young and growing churches have…between their God-given vision and ideas, and the staff or resources they may be lacking.
“There is enough light for those who desire only to see, and enough darkness for those of a contrary disposition.”
“All men’s miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone.”
“Atheism shows strength of mind, but only to a certain degree.”
“Belief is a wise wager. Granted that faith cannot be proved, what harm will come to you if you gamble on its truth and it proves false? If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation, that He exists.”
“In each action we must look beyond the action at our past, present, and future state, and at others whom it affects, and see the relations of all those things. And then we shall be very cautious.”
Some random thoughts from my favorite philosopher: Blaise Pascal
Ok, so I thought that I really wouldn’t be using my blog for this, but maybe now is the time. I’ve really tried to stay away from personal rants and the like on here. I dunno, maybe I just think that no one really cares what I have to say. It’s a new year, I have this blog, and I really need to use it-so here goes.
Why can’t parents be parents? Sometimes I wonder why I’ve been called into youth ministry. I ask myself and God: “Why? What are you trying to teach me through all of this?”
I think that I’ve finally come across one of the answers. If anything, my time in youth ministry has taught me how to be a parent of teenagers. Unfortunately, most of my examples have been negative, but I have learned from these all the same.
I am amazed on a weekly basis just how much parents are not in tune to what their teenagers are actually doing on those “wonderful blessings” called cell phones, computers, myspace, facebook…the list can just go on.
Parent’s are just woefully unaware of, #1 how to use these media and most importantly #2 how to monitor their teens behavior with such media. Maybe its not their ignorance of the actual workings of these social instruments, maybe its just their unwillingness to be a parent. To actually say “NO.” To actually take the time and energy to see just what types of things their children are doing on these things.
In over seven years of youth ministry, I’ve had to try and communicate one thing over and over again, and I don’t think that people are listening. A youth pastor/teacher/pastor/principal/doctor, etc is not a substitute for a parent. There is no substitute for a parent-none, zip, zilch. Parent’s have the biggest chunk of time actually in the presence of these teenagers. They have the God given authority and responsibility to step up and take their children by the horns and to help steer them in the right direction.
Parent’s need to be involved in their teenagers lives. They need to be asking those questions, they need to be confronting their children about right and wrong and-Heaven forbid-actually be willing to discipline.
I love teenagers. I love their enthusiasm, I love their energy, but I hate how those energies are being directed into the wrong avenues.
Can I blame the kids? Sure. They hold some responsibility. They need to see their actions as the world sees their actions. They need to think about how they actually look. They need to remember that they are being evaluated by a non-believing world every day. They need to realize that character and integrity are things that are valued in this world.
Can I blame parents? Absolutely. They hold incredible responsibility. They need to assert themselves as the best mentor and the best teacher and the best picture of Jesus that their teenagers might ever see.
My dream. That someday that youth ministry in the church is second priority to the real youth ministry in the home.
Parents, please be parents. Teenagers, please think about who you are and what you stand for before you act. Youth Pastors, please don’t try and be surrogate parents….
It’s a tough one, isn’t it? You may think, “what type of kiss?”, or “what do you mean by define?”. It isn’t the sort of question we would normally ask. Well, let me help you - I’m NOT talking of those slobbery disgusting kisses you get from grandma or great aunts. I’m thinking of a sexy guy (like me) and a beautiful girl.
So, in order to help those of you with less experience in this area, I have defined four types of kisses, and here are my definitions - in ascending order…
Type 1 Kiss: As you approach your intended target, the target, at the last possible moment, turns her head to the side, and you get a mouthful of cheek. If this is a girl, you get a mouthful of rouge, if a guy, you often get a mouthful of zit-juice.
Type 2 Kiss: As you approach your target, both purse their lips, and the two membranes of skin touch. You need to be careful in this approach to get the nose thing right, at least one of you must turn slightly, but not both in the same direction. Small amounts of spittle and some microscopic mucus is passed during this procedure.
Type 3 Kiss: This is similar to the previous one, except now the lips, when pressed togther, are also slightly parted. This allows the exchange of foul smelling air from the lungs, containing carbon dioxide and halitosis, as well as more saliva and mucous to be exchanged.
Type 4 Kiss: Similar to the above type, except this time the muscle of the mouth is brought into play. Often known as tonsil hockey kissing, this involved attempting to tie your tongue in a knot with your victim’s tongue. It can also include tasting what they had for supper by scraping the back of their teeth. The real danger in this kiss lies in the possibility of creating a pressure vacuum in the mouth cavities that will require dangerous pressure gradients to be released. Kissers have been known to be stuck together for over an hour. By the way, during this time (and hour) over half a cup of salvia can be exchanged between the competitors, and choking and asphyxiation have been known side-effects.
Now all of that sounds quite gross actually, but is it? Does any of what I’ve said do justice to a kiss? Does it really describe a kiss to someone? NO. A kiss is more than just the act of pressing two sets of lips together. A kiss engages your whole being. It’s like electricity shooting through your system. You can hardly think or breath when it’s happening, and you remember it for days later. Why?
Well, unless you’ve experienced a kiss you wouldn’t know. And, as I said, I’m not talking about kissing your grandmother here. You need to experience a kiss from someone (or with someone) that you really love - someone that means something to you. Only then will you really know what a kiss is. And those who just look at you kissing will never understand what it really means.
So, kissing is only really kissing when it happens in a relationship. And only when that relationship is one of true love.
You may have heard these sappy songs that say things like: “I’d climb the highest mountain, or swim the deepest ocean - just to prove I love you”. Well, Jesus would have done all of that, and more. But He chose rather to die for you. There isn’t much more anyone can do to prove they love you than to die for you - do you agree? Well, Jesus loves you that much!
Ephesians 3:14-19 says: For this reason I bow my knees before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. I pray that He may grant you, according to the riches of His Glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, and that the Messiah may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s Love and to know the Messiah’s love that surpasses knowledge, so you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (HCSB)
You will never fully understand a relationship with Christ until you have experienced it. There’s too much to understand. Believing in Christ, following Him, and truly living a life like that is something that is amazing and full of opportunity. You could never explain it completely to another person. You could never describe what it feels like to live with purpose, to play like someone is watching.
There is a God who is reaching out for you. There is a God that loves you. There is a God that is willing to do anything to have a relationship with you-His child. Are you running away? Are you avoiding it? Or are you just plain scared of finally opening up yourself to Him?
My prayer is that you would. Run at it with reckless abandonment, with blind faith, and EXPERIENCE the Love that only comes from Christ.
This is a lesson taught to a group of senior high students. This was adapated from a talk from “Reaching the Generations Talks Database”-the link is on my blogroll in the sidebar. This is just the handout that accompanied the lesson. The entire talk focuses on how we let things affect us, and what happens when we let SIN affect us as believers. This is the first of a series of teachings on the Roman Road….
What’s the Influence?
What’s the Influence?
1. Parents
2. Teachers
3. Peers
4. Ministers
5. Youth leaders
6. Heroes and idols
7. Extended family
8. Tv, films, music
9. Printed media
10. Advertising
1. Peers
2. Parents
3. Tv, films, music
4. Teachers
5. Heroes and idols
6. Ministers
7. Printed media
8. Advertising
9. Youth leaders
10. Extended family
1. Tv, films, music
2. Advertising
3. Printed media
4. Heroes and idols
5. Peers
6. Parents
7. Teachers
8. Ministers
9. Youth leaders
10. Extended family
What years do you think these “influences represent?
1960, 1980, 1990
If this were done today, what would the list look like?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Is there anything that needs to be added or taken away from these lists, that are no longer influences in people’s lives?
Romans 6:15-23 The Message translation:
What Is True Freedom?
 15-18So, since we’re out from under the old tyranny, does that mean we can live any old way we want? Since we’re free in the freedom of God, can we do anything that comes to mind? Hardly. You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it’s your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you’ve let sin tell you what to do. But thank God you’ve started listening to a new master, one whose commands set you free to live openly in his freedom!
 19I’m using this freedom language because it’s easy to picture. You can readily recall, can’t you, how at one time the more you did just what you felt like doing—not caring about others, not caring about God—the worse your life became and the less freedom you had? And how much different is it now as you live in God’s freedom, your lives healed and expansive in holiness?
 20-21As long as you did what you felt like doing, ignoring God, you didn’t have to bother with right thinking or right living, or right anything for that matter. But do you call that a free life? What did you get out of it? Nothing you’re proud of now. Where did it get you? A dead end.
 22-23But now that you’ve found you don’t have to listen to sin tell you what to do, and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way! Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God’s gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master.
Is your influence sin?
Or
Is it God’s Grace and Love that you received?
