Making Disciples: How's Your Balance?

From the great "Theologian" Bruce Lee: 

"Balance is something you're always running to catch."

As you reach students for Christ, impacting their friends and culture; what's your plan? We've considered the power and synergy of large groups and your meetings briefly, but what's at the heart of your ministry? I ask, because I was reminded by a friend and missionary's recent status update, of Christ's call to His church; "make disciples", here is what he wrote:  

"Great thoughts on disciple-making: If you make disciples you always get the church. But if you make a church you rarely get disciples. "Most of us have become quite good at the church thing. And yet, disciples are the only thing that Jesus cares about, and it’s the only number that Jesus is counting. Not our attendance or budget or buildings. He wants to know if we are “making disciples.” Breen, Mike (2011-08-16). Building a Discipling Culture"

So the questions begging to be asked and answered as you plan and execute your ministry: "Are you making disciples or simply building a group? What does a disciple of Christ look like in youth culture? How would that compare to a disciple of your ministry? Would it be different?  

Those are tough questions to answer, given our propensity and bias to interpret all we do in our own ministries as being biblical. Before we measure our ministries by our own standards take a pulse of your "model" students and look at these characteristics; 

• What is their personal response to and awareness of "sin"? Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children. And •walk in love, as the •Messiah also loved us and gave Himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.  But sexual immorality and any impurity or greed should not even be heard of among you, as is proper for •saints. Coarse and foolish talking or crude joking are not suitable, but rather giving thanks. Eph. 5:1-4 Are they growing in their personal understanding, disdain and battle with sin?
• What is their personal awareness of righteous?  For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light —  for the fruit of the light results in all goodness, righteousness, and truth —  discerning what is pleasing to the Lord. Eph. 5:8-10 Are they pursuing daily to discover God's directives for all of their lives; work, play love, friends, leisure?
• What is their personal awareness of their daily mission? And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Col. 3:17 Do they recognize the strategic role each part of their lives play for the kingdom; in all they do; school, extra curricular, family, friends, etc.?
• What is their awareness of their need for community to do life? He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the training of the •saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness. Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head —Christ. From Him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part. Eph. 4:11-16 They will never achieve all God has for their personal or corporate lives alone!

As my friend reminded me in his status.... make disciples build the church (youth ministry), make a church (youth ministry) and chances are good there won't be many disciples. It can be a real trick to focus on in our current church culture. 

So How's your balance?

 
 

 

Don't Be A Fool!

Our Students seem so unclear on the subject of friends, family and "Love". Give 'em a dose of Wisdom!

You can’t choose your family; you can’t choose, whom it is you love; you must extend that act to all: You can choose your friends; those you would emulate, embrace and take into your confidence. You can choose, “who” you give your heart too!

Are you clear on the difference? Love is not an emotion to be controlled by; it is a gift to be offered. While we are to love all, we do not, should not, offer unwittingly, the key to our hearts and lives to one who would do us great harm.

We are told to: “guard your heart”, to: “…not go with the angry man”, lest we become like him. An English proverb says: “A fool is known by the company he keeps”. A biblical proverb says it this way: “He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will suffer harm.” Prov. 13:20

How clear does it have to be? Love all, embrace wisely: give no fool your heart! (No matter the illusion of beauty, wealth or position!)

DON’T BE A FOOL!

Ever Have An Out-of-Body Experience?

Ever had an out of body experience? I have, several times, and it’s always deals with the same thing.

I was driving down the road, hand draped over the steering wheel, drumming a beat on the dash as I hummed the song on the radio. Suddenly I had this surreal feeling, like I was seeing myself from a different vantage point. It was an epiphany and a visual experience. Another occasion I had just gotten out of bed with a terrible cold. As I walked toward the bathroom I found myself making this unconscionable noise but it wasn’t me; it was as if I were an observer looking at myself. Sometimes these times are accompanied by the experience of “deja-vu”: An intense feeling that you have experienced the exact thing, time and moment before.

As I said, I’ve had this happen on several occasions, all revealing the same inescapable truth. As I watched myself; a rush of self-knowledge, a moment of Zen enlightenment struck me: “I was my Dad!” Not only had I left my body; he had taken over! Sayings, sounds, habits, all things I had observed him doing as a child; out of nowhere, here I was, but not me; it was him, doing those same things as I watched!

You have had that happen! Haven’t you? A moment where you found yourself reflecting; imitating reflexively someone you thought you never would. (obviously any references to "out-of-body" experiences were satirical.)

The reality: We imitate the people we are surrounded by. We imitate the individuals we value; the ones we esteem. Who are the people, shaping your life and ministry? We were meant to mature in community, being mentored and influenced by the mature. How do you define this quality, “mature”, in today’s world? As you chew on this and kick it around with your peers, remember this:

Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children. And walk in love, as the Messiah also loved us and gave Himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.

Imitate God! So what’s that look like? The rest of this section, in light of all our youth experience in their world: The blue humor, the innuendo, and the open contempt for purity; has a bit to say…. dig in.

A View of Life: Lies, Parties, Casual Sex and Facebook

It's How They See the World

“I just said; ‘You’re going home.’”

“Why didn’t you just drop them off right there?”

“You’re telling me she was out all night with you guys?”

“I guess, her mom thought she was staying at her friends house, then going shopping on Black Friday with her friend and her mom… so Yeah”

“How did they end up with us?”

“I don’t know, but when she threw her cell phone a second time after I told her to not bounce it off my dash and it cracked my windshield, I said that’s it! So I took them home.”

“You gonna make her pay for it? I’d be over there talkin to her mama telling her we gonna sit up a payment plan!”

“Wha’d your mom say?”

“He told her a truck threw a rock at it….”

I here it all the time, a casual handling of truth: Along with stories of sexual escapades, parties, 420 episodes, and the drama of “Facebook” statuses.  There are days I confess, I become numb to it, calloused, almost accepting it as the norm; they certainly do! Then from no where some of those same voices mention what they were doing at their churches on Sunday, or activities with their youth groups and it jolts me awake. I see for a moment with fresh eyes, the impact of relativism and the loss of absolute truth have had on our student population.

It doesn’t take a genius to see this; I know! It does take a purposeful focused approach to deal with it! My heartfelt prayer is that you as a servant to this population are making every effort to educate yourself, and transform your students, using materials like Focus on the Families; “Truth Project” or Charles Colson’s; “Doing The Right Thing”. Both are great resources for helping your students build a worldview based on God’s unchanging truth. Remember there are at least ten things written in stone with a myriad of life applications that render a “wishy-washy” approach to life, antithetical to truth, right and wrong, no exceptions! How are you doing in delivering this to your students? Remember never give them a what, or how, with out telling them why! In this case it’s about design, immutable laws, and the path to success now and in eternity future. It’s about LIFE vs. DEATH.

Not sure how to start? Try signing up and reading the “Break Point Daily”, then check out the resources in the links to the right like the two I mentioned earlier! If you really want to educate yourself start with Francis Schaeffer’s “How Shall We Live”.  You are on the front line of the culture war: Don’t be a victim the results are DAMNING!

Connecting The Dots

So much like a Puzzle; Connecting the dots of life is a daunting task for a Student.

We often paint the task as easy as this; if only it were true

I am more and more convinced students (people) struggle to connect with Christ because we have given them little correlation between their lives now, their desires; they little understand, and the message of the corporate church. I don’t mean the body gathered but rather the thing, the structure we have erected.

By God’s design, students are on this journey of autonomy; moving from dependence on their parents and leaders toward independence under God. In the process He has given them parents; who right or wrong, are first in line in this process. The over riding, providential hand of God always enacting; “What you meant for evil, God meant for good.” So, even though parents will be held responsible, for their execution of these God ordained duties, the students still must take responsibility for their lives and find their way. Of course a large piece in this; the body of Christ carrying the message of transformation: A message of completion, rescue, redemption and renewal. The message of Christ is supposed to offer hope for eternity… not just future, but eternity NOW! It is to deliver that broken piece of genetic code, mutated by sin causing all manner of abnormalities and death; so life will make sense, it will work according to His design; our fulfillment. All those appetites run a muck, will fall into place and His highest creation will do His will “… on earth as it is done in heaven.”

As I said, I am convinced however; the message we offer, often obscures the “dots” of their lives, it does not connect them. We tell them, what they should be doing: “Be holy for I am Holy” … we tell them, why it is important, with a broad application of the sacrificial love of God; “… for God so loved the world… He gave….”, the how we share is oft one of self discipline and behavior modification, through adherence to some superficial list; attendance at a myriad of events, supporting programs often aimed at sustaining the program; not developing the individual for truly living. All the time the students are asking; “What do I do with the me I am discovering?” What do I do with my passions, my desires; the things that come so easily to me? Not my moral failures, but my heart and mind that longs for all redemption is suppose to offer.

So what things are you doing to help your students connect the dots of their lives; so they see the unbelievable plan God has for their presence in the here and now: They see clearly their hearts and desires as part of God's plan. Here's a free download to help with the process and get them thinking. Just click the link and scroll to the bottom of the page; you'll find the download.  If you want another tool for your staff contact me and I'll send it to you.

"Then A Miracle Happens"

"...is this how you identify your ministry pieces and their workings?"

It's a no brainer, no really it's that simple! Ah but not that easy. To build a youth ministry that is focused, strategic and effective, your people, have to know how every part fits; why your doing, what your doing and it's significance. So you tell them at every turn, in every meeting: "This is what it is , this is why we are doing it." Repeat, repeat, and say it one more time, repeat. Simple! So why did I say it wasn't easy? Because it demands you have an almost "zen" like understanding of all your doing. (Obviously I'm using this term in a very broad sense, to represent the mystical, all knowing, intuitive, abilities presented in hollywood as the "supernatural" feats of such masters.) To put it in biblical terms you have to have an experiential understanding of your ministry, it's pieces and their expected out come. It's Paul's cry in Philippians 3, when he says he wants to "...know Christ and the power of His resurrection."

So unlike our friend in satirist Sidney Harris' cartoon, your understanding/ability of your ministry and philosophy, needs to be far more clear than: "Then A Miracle Happens". Start working it out, get the help you need. Again your ministry, students, parents, leaders and church will "...rise up and call you blessed"!

Get-R-Done

At any given point someone could walk into your youth ministry and be critical. They could, from one snapshot edit out all you are doing well, to turn your student’s hearts to Christ. I walked into a youth meeting kids were having fun, some playing a game of “sting-pong”, others laughing and chatting. Inquiring later on concerning the event or meeting, I received mixed reviews and summaries on the purpose and the impact.

I get it, students need a sense of belonging; it takes time and a lot of what appears as interaction with no purpose, to establish it. Given it’s so easy for things to be taken out of context what are you doing to clearly articulate the pieces, their integration and purpose of all you’re doing? It goes beyond mission statement and good marketing pieces. It starts with you having a “Master Plan for Ministry”. Do you? Chances are, given all the demands on your life and the fact that you’re groping your way through a whole bunch of reality not covered in your classes at school (funny how much simply can’t be taught, life is kinda like that, that’s why internships are so great!), you haven’t established all the pieces of one yet. Larry The Cable guy has the greatest piece of advice for you…. “Get-R-done”.  Check out the link and contact these guys. They can help!

That said; is there someone, farther down the road who you can interact with? Find someone to walk with you, mentor you, to be your confidant and sounding board. You need it; your students will be the beneficiaries. Next time: Repeat, repeat, repeat… tell them why, your doing, what your doing.

Born to Lead

He grasped the bone, it was a jawbone; it felt made for his hand. He marveled inwardly at the power he felt surging through his arm and body. The smile on his face seemed only to enrage those he faced. It was over in a moment yet the area seemed still to ring with the sound of the weapon at one with his arm, strength and body as it met heads, appendages, and torsos crushing, impaling and reigning destruction. Blood dripped from it as he looked at the last of his assailants dead at his feet his head cleaved from his body by the jawbone and the terrific blow that was effortless for him. The number had been no match for his strength, speed and fury.

From the moment he could remember he had known he was different. It was more than the special treatment, diet, and lifestyle, in fact it was more than the unusual strength; he just knew in his spirit, that and the fact that His parents had told him so often.

His parents … They had recounted so many times the excitement they had held at his announcement and birth. Their words still echoed in his mind; “we couldn’t believe it when we found out we were going to have a baby and even more that you were chosen for such a special mission. We’ve been so careful; making sure we did all we could to prepare you, though I’m sure there has been failure. You are so special to us and to God, soon all will know.”

DESTINED BY DESIRES

It had been the first time he had really disappointed them, journeying through the region, he had spotted her, never had he spoken to his parents of matters like this but He was adamant she was the one!  His father especially had begged him to find a girl who shared his heart and values; one from his own people as it were. Dad was holding fast to his son’s destiny. Yeah right she was so exotic and spoke to far more than his heart. It had been devastating to lose her the way he did; funny how it opened up his world, identifying his larger than life appetite for such women.

He enjoyed his life even though some of it seemed constraining and didn't make sense to him; in fact he worked hard at ignoring it. He walked back to his home pleased with himself and looking forward to seeing her. She had replaced his first love with ease. His blind rage subsiding shortly after he destroyed his first love's clan, it wasn’t long before his heart and appetite’s searching had found her. As she met him at the door his heart leapt and his loins stirred; she was everything his eyes, hands and body longed for; she spoke to his ego and affirmed his value.

Time passed and their relationship though not perfect was very satisfying, he even enjoyed the flirtatious badgering that ensued as she with great sensuality teased and pushed to understand his power and ability. Let's face it the sex or the promise of it was exhilarating ...it was hot, just like her body.

HE WAS DYING TO ANSWER HIS CALL

Every joint in his body ached, the pain in his arms though excruciating couldn't compare to the throbbing in his head. Blood still warm had begun to crust over from the holes in his face where his eyes had once been. Drifting in and out of consciousness he could hear the sound of the music and party above him. In that moment of realization; his heart broken, filled with guilt and regret, all his failure came flooding in. No tears came, though he wept bitterly in his spirit; they couldn't his eyes were gone. Crying out with a primal groan knowing his appetite for intimacy, the thing he thought would be answered in her, had derailed his entire life and mission; he embraced his failure and asked that in his death he might follow his call one last time. As the dust settled and the air became quite he had sealed his story and his epitaph, doing in death what he had failed to do in life. It all started with: "I saw a woman, get her for me!" It ended in death. Where will your heart and relationships take you? Will they help fulfill your calling or lead you to an early death; if not physically, the death of your call?

Let me ask you: Do your students understand how to make sense of their appetites? Do they understand unlike Samson, it's God's intent to fulfill them, that he designed them and the only way they will ever answer them is to follow His design? Do they know their lives, the call they long to follow can be found in no other place than a relationship with God through Christ? How many will end up like Samson finding out too late? 

How about you: Are you prepared to show them the way? It's your job, life and call!  Don't you dare allow their desires and the worlds answers to give birth to their destruction. Help your students discover what they were born to do; their call. Need some help putting together the tools? Click here for a free resource (it's at the bottom of the page, but read the material, you might want to use it.) and Contact me for more help!

A Drive-Thru, Grocery Store or Classroom; Increase Your Student Impact Quotient

“Hi Mr. Lutz”

“How are you kiddo?”

“Who’s that daddy”, my 4 year old quips, as she takes a “Timbit” from the box?

“A student from The High School”, I respond.

“You know them daddy”, she asks?

“Dad knows everyone”, replies my 9-year-old son.

I live in a small city. We’re just a few miles; like three, from a major city. I can’t go anywhere in my town without running into students who know and appreciate me. (I know, It's hard for me to believe too!) I choose to spend many days substitute teaching in our local JR. and SR. High schools. This not only gives me face time with students who I see every Sunday and many times at my home, but their friends and all who would touch their lives; teachers, administrators, and coaches.

What are ways you can gain face time and increase your ministry impact with your students? I know a student pastor who drives school bus for team events in his state and district. It’s increased his impact and attendance at events, even though his goal isn’t just attendance but transformation. Face it, there will be none of either if you don’t touch their lives. You already know many will never sit in a Sunday school class you're teaching or a youth meeting, but they will sit in a classroom or on a bus. Check with your local district to see what the standards are and jump in. Do a great job and not only will the students and parents love you, but you’ll have a chance to bless teachers and administrators as well. By the way when there’s a real need, who do you think they will call? Having a little extra cash, 'casue they pay you to do it, isn’t bad either! 

Happy Birthday

Today I celebrated my birthday... as an aside, I share this day with my twin brother, and one of my sons. It was nothing unusual; my brother lives several hours from me and my son usually takes center stage though he is gracious about sharing his day with me. We had a nice home cooked meal and a bit of cake, he opened his gifts and then packed up to go visit his brother and sister-in-law who live in another part of the state. I did get to renew my drivers license and get new "tabs" for our car, but that was the extent of my celebration. Well, with the exception, of all the birthday wishes I received on Facebook; now that was fun. It seems that of all the things that speak to my soul, it is the gift of relationship that does it best. I'm betting there is a connection to the fact that we are made in the image of God and like out creator and Father, relationship is foundational.

For me nothing reaches my soul more than having a solid connection with my family, all of my family. My wife, my married children; sons and daughter-in-laws, college age sons and kids still at home. The times in concert or separate I find us all striving to follow Christ fills me up. Sharing a common set of lenses to see life through; a perspective that touches lives greatest questions with His understanding. It gives me a sense of quiet surety that all is well.

Last night I had a few moments like this with my eighth son. I happened to be in the town where he goes to college and had to hang out for a bit. He took the time to sit and share his life with me. As he did I found a young man tackling issues that all young men tackle but with a steady hold on the lens of scripture and not mere cultural pragmatism. (Those things accepted as "Ok" by society but not in line with the heart of God). I left that night feeling a strong sense of connection, a shared sense of taking a run at life together. It spoke to my heart as a father and as a follower of Christ. We had a shared moment not only as family but as "body"; we were church and I was full. An important part of his process, is a ministry that values family and their part in a students life. If this is true for a collegian how much more for a younger student?

If the message of scripture says anything clearly, it says that family is the first institution in the spiritual "DNA" of an individuals life. As you deal with this foundational piece in your youth ministry, do you follow the admonition of Malachi 4:6? "He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers,..." I know, you have been called to fulfill a role in the kingdom when it comes to shepherding a certain populace, but remember you are charged to do it in a manner that fulfills God's design.... Parents are as big a priority for you as the students you serve. If you aren't helping them connect to God and each other your failing. If you're trying to lead their students without their parents input and help, your an enemy.

The Battle For Belonging Part 2

“My daughter says the girls at church are mean to her.” My son says he doesn’t have any friends at church.” “My youth group is so disjointed.” I hear it all the time. When asking students and their leaders what is needed most in their group the answer often given is: Unity, fellowship or something related. As I consider it, it probably is true. After all how do you take a bunch of random people with different lives and more importantly values and get them on the same page; get them to actually be friends? Problem is these things are not tasks or something you can manufacture through programs. You can underscore them but it will not happen apart from God.

In my previous post I alluded to the need for spiritual transformation pretty directly. Think about the individual you’re dealing with and their reality. As humans they are coming into their own, beginning to self-actualize and choose their own path. If you add a good dose of sin nature infused with the steroid of culture, there is no amount of programming that can compete with this; the animal doesn’t need tamed, it needs transformed. When you consider that many students in a ministry do not go to school together so they don’t share a common social life, let alone homes that run a gamut of beliefs and values, it reinforces the need to focus on the main thing; disciples! Even if you think you’re the Cesar Milan of youth ministry and you do achieve a measure of success, to quote a friend; “Sayin a things a thing, doesn’t make a thing a thing.”  Once they leave your ministry even if they pulled off a demeanor of love and kindness, apart from a changed heart and life the “beast” will return. Isn’t the point of youth ministry spiritual life? Don’t focus on the task then, aim at the heart.  Want your students to be friends? Connect them in Christ, only he can erase real differences.  One thing Cesar would tell you, you have to understand the nature of the beast and stay with in that framework to get it to do what you want it too. If you’re honest we treat students that way. We desire a certain behavior as a measure of success, we want them to act a certain way, in this case toward one another; but just working on behavior is not transformation. Don’t train them, change them!

I’ll revisit this to give air to what it takes to build a ministry of transformation over on of behavior modification in the future. In the meantime test your approach are merely trying to control the beast? Not sure? Ask yourself these questions

1. Do my students know God or just about Him?
2. What do I focus more; Group building (keeping everyone happy), or sharing the truth?
3. Is my focus spiritual or pandering?
4. Do I build biblical conviction in my ministry or am I unwilling to take a stand on culture?
5. Have my students had a real glimpse of God's transforming work in my life or do I model mere self-control.

What do you think?

The Battle For Belonging Part 1

As you build your ministry, what do you pin your hopes on for group cohesion? What is your plan for students to find a place of friendship and acceptance:  

• Your events; programs and activities that will expose kids to one another, give them opportunity to work side by side in service projects designed to build cohesion and ministry. Will you have some events that are just plain fun and bring out the “everybody wants to belong”, laugh and have a good time?
• Maybe you plan to have great teaching (behavior modification); training students to follow a code of conduct not their own; refereeing, hoping they will mature and get it? 

Only Christ can span the chasm of race, economics and social position. Students who find themselves classed in a certain group, with difficulty gaining entrance into other social circles will never cross those boundaries and others will never let them, apart from the work of the Spirit of God.  The real answer is other worldly, accomplished by a divine act, through the power of the Spirit. 


"For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. Now you are the body of Christ, each one of you os part of it.  I Corinthians 12:13,27

“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  And if you belong to Christ, then….”  You belong to each other  Galatians 3:26-29a

  

Do you need to adjust your plan? I get an inkling many do!

Random Clarity

Doesn't God have an amazing color palate?

My family and I had a great opportunity to spend 24 hours with a group of college students and a ministry I highly value. The camp and scenery astounding; it’s beauty to be savored, like a great meal. Their Pastor is a friend, mentor and uncompromising when it comes to directing hearts and lives toward our creator and savior. In fact my earlier post was actually foundational in some of the things I shared with the students. What a blast to speak, think and interact with people who are hungry for the best way to do life! People like that electrify me! Opportunities like that bring clarity and focus. So here is some random clarity:

• Don’t waste time with people who don’t make you better; serve everyone you meet.
• Truth sought and shared has a way of bringing the most unlikely people into intimate relationship: Truth embraced is the ultimate standard to measure value.
• Truth applied and lived is also the greatest divider of men; don’t sacrifice right for relationship even if she’s “the one”.
• The workload necessary to gain wisdom and succeed becomes lighter when done in community; if there is dissent allow truth to be the judge.
• Unity within a group is not measured by style or sameness, but heart and truth.

Think about it:

1. Who is it that you’re wowed by?
2. Who causes you to strive for being the best: Do you fill your life with them? (1 and 2 need to be the same!) 
3. Do you serve all you meet or shortchange people you find irritating? (Service is giving all, exactly what they need even if it’s a rebuke; do it in gentleness and love!)
4.  Are you someone who is a beacon of truth, bringing unity to all who would embrace it; constantly striving to acquire wisdom, or are you one who is fearful of offense and loosing relationship, causing truth to suffer; obscuring wisdom?
5. Are you striving to be one who adds value to the life of all you meet while bringing clarity to those in your life?

It's Free, but Retrieving It; That's The Hard Part!

I've put up a an above ground pool before, so when my wife with joy in her voice told me we were just given a pool I had visions of; ground prep,(the first one took two weeks of back breaking digging and it still wasn't level!), thousands of screws for the supports, unrolling, trying to hold up and in place the thin metal side that bows, bends and proves unstable with the slightest wind; then comes the liner! Ah the liner even if you do get all the wrinkles out (never could, and it drove me nuts!) you will, once filled, feel every microscopic, minute piece of rock or debris as if it is going to come through the bottom rupturing the pool. Imagine my response when she in the next breath told me it was a gift from our friends where it had sat for the last 15 plus years! All we had to do was take it down and reassemble it here! Remember all those screws and that unwieldy metal? Now it was 15 years old, probably rusted and brittle.... Great I can't wait to tackle this one!

This is what I picture when my wife says; "Pool".

This is What my wife sees when she says; "Pool"..... Family fun!

Well I did it; my sons and I. We enjoyed that pool for another eight years and yes it was hard work, but very worth the effort.

When you tell your students about their need for understanding, knowledge and wisdom; letting them in on the fact that God gives liberally to all who would ask, don't forget to add a good dose of Proverbs 2, to the "Free" part of James 1! It is free, but it will take effort and work to retrieve it. It's not a Knowledge dump from Heaven complete with Neon sign saying: "Walk this way." Remember Proverbs tells us we have to seek it, dig for it as treasure, cry out for it... EFFORT! Well worth it though... Give em the good news ... don't hide the hard work.

What's Your Standard?

Can I be candid? Yeah I know it’s my blog but will you accept it? Regardless of what my job is (How I earn money), I will always be a Youth Pastor. Combine this with my parenthood and you can bet I have a critical eye toward the subject in general. When it involves the ministry my kids are in, it’s far more intense.

Several things concern me about youth ministry:

1. Apparent lack of biblical scholarship; maybe people know how to handle the word, maybe they don’t, but in it’s application I often find a spiral away from solid exegesis and homily, toward opinion and contextualization. Subjects that concern youth are given a consistent spin of today’s mores instead of letting God be God and His word unchanging: Morality, modesty, social activities, authority, the list is fairly large but these are some major topics.

2. An apparent lack of communication to, involvement and relationship with, or building up of: Parents, including their relationship with their students. How many parents are involved in your ministry? You do realize these are (parents) God’s first plan for your student’s spiritual growth? What are you doing to develop this? Are parents in general your ally or nemesis?

3. The apparent lack of understanding and preparation for an integrated approach to youth ministry. It starts with a constant flow of the word, His Spirit, and your obedience that should permeate your entire ministry, obvious right? It also means that from this platform all activities and teaching have a very focused purpose. Even the proverbial “hang time” needs forethought and though apparently spontaneous, it should be, because of your understanding of the word, relationship with God and knowledge of your students a time for focused, pointed ministry. Is yours? So many times I’ve seen this turn into the blind leading the blind, impact by proxy, and negative growth by lack of direction. Maybe some of it is your definition of ministry. Is getting a coke ministry? How about going to an amusement park? A service project? Maybe. Here’s my definition of ministry according to Eph. 4 and Galatians 6:10; Ministry is whatever it takes to move you toward maturity in Christ. Pretty broad isn’t it? So it would cover just about anything depending on my goal and ability to deliver. Now I hope I’m constantly sharpening my tools so I can be a major player in this process with my students. When I need help, I’m just as quick to find it! When however, I’m unprepared and coasting I’m in trouble.

So you’re a volunteer or A senior Pastor and your church can’t afford a paid staff person for this area. You have to work with what you have. SO?! Does the standard for ministry change simply because it’s not vocational? Since when? Find the help you need! There are some great resources at the side of this page. Need more help? Click Here

Salvation's Not Enough: Unlock Their Souls!

Your students are looking for meaning, purpose and direction in their lives. Telling them it’s in a relationship with God isn’t enough; salvation isn’t enough! You have to unlock their souls! Through out the writings in the New Testament we see a recurring theme; the need for real faith, authentic relationship with God through Christ, over and against a form of godliness with no power. Religious events, countless corporate meetings, or contrived exercises that only mimic life hold absolutely no value. Yet it is often played off as the essence of Salvation. Instead of introducing them to the creator of the universe, our students are often introduced to our calendar and meetings. Our hopes and plans are genuine, aimed at the right goal, but so often students miss it because it has so little to do with their lives on a day-to-day basis. Have we missed the heart of Christ’s redemptive message?

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. (For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son. Col. 1:13 NASB) You are saved by grace! Together with Christ Jesus He also raised us up and seated us in the heavens, so that in the coming ages He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace through His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift — not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them. EPH 2: 1-10

Created for His glory, to reflect His highest good in our lives and activities. Marred by sin, then rescued: To be placed back in the “game”, for good works, we were born to LIVE! We were made, created, designed to fulfill the very thing God placed in us, our own unique internal wiring!

Show your students “Life in Christ” is the only way they will ever be able to answer the desires of their hearts. Show them by the power of the Spirit, their personal design for His Glory. Grant them the understanding that in Him is the revelation of, not simply the deep mysteries of the universe, but the answer for the journey of their lives. Work, play, love, all of life even the bad, as they live it now is sourced in Him. When they see the connection, then and only then will they chase with abandon the God we love and life in Him. Let’s not offer them religion and it’s duty hold out to them true life! It will “Unlock (release from prison) their Soul”

The Cares of The World; Gaining The Good Life!

Some years ago I had the great opportunity to know a talented young man who, after graduating with a PHD in agricultural engineering chose to forgo a lucrative career with a major U.S. company to go to a Eastern country closed to the gospel so he could introduce more nationals for Christ. Sharing with a group of students I was leading at the time he identified what he believed was the number one reason most “Christian” youth and people end up with such an anemic faith. Here is what he said;

“I recently met with my old youth group; kids I had grown up with at church. We all were passionate about our lives and relationship with God and all said they were going to serve Him with abandon, not being taken captive by culture and a lackluster faith. You know as I spoke with many of them now married; well into their lives’ and professions, I realized I was the only one who was following the path we had all swore would be our destiny. I was the only one who had chosen a life based on how I could best serve God. None of my friends had rejected Christ mind you; they were not doing anything bad, they were involved in church, raising families, working hard, paying their bills, and trying to achieve a semblance of the ‘American Dream’. I had an epiphany; ‘The cares and difficulties of the world’ had sidetracked them. My mind filled with the passages of the gospels like Matthew and Mark as Christ challenged his followers with the parable of the sower, the seed and the different soils it would encounter.”

In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away. "And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

His insight has never left me. Dealing with people in general and especially students, I am keenly aware that the reason so many discount a life in Christ is fear; fear they will loose out in this life. They will not find the love or intimacy they long for, their lives will be void of passion and excitement. They will be subject to poverty and a life of want; want in all the desires of their hearts. They find it impossible to align life in Christ with all they care about. You and I should know this is not true, the question remains are we wise, committed, genuine, and experienced enough to show them something else?

Is your God; the God of your teaching and serving one who delivers the desires of your heart or one who enslaves to a life of monastic insignificance? You may need to take sometime to wrap your mind around the difference between the God who is the source of true fulfillment and the misnomer of the God who is a "genie". Help your students discover a life in Christ that delivers, by His design according to their design!

Myth's We Teach

We tell them stories of David slaying his Giant, of Moses leading the children out of Egypt, of Samson, Gideon, Jericho, Mt Carmel, The feeding of the 5000, The resurrection, deliverance from jail, and the triumphal return of the King; the destruction of His enemies. Then having heightened their senses and hopes, after we’ve delivered such grandeur, we offer them a mere shadow of existence in this life, living as beggars, and slaves; the sounds of their own “spirituals” rising from fields of their slavery. Enslaved to forms of Godliness with no power.
It’s no wonder our students are leaving the body in droves. No wonder God, His body or mission gets little more than a cursory glance.
My God (Yes I’m invoking His help!)! As His messenger, remove the veil. Hand up to them the very “mission” of the King, filled with the passion of love, war, rescue and redemption. Give to them a life of noble purpose. Help them by intimate knowledge of He, His word, and themselves, define their calling. Don’t hide the difficulty, but don’t you dare obscure the joy of the journey, victory and prize!

“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
John 10:10

Offer them Life now! They don’t have to wait for eternity!

They didn't know what they were doing; How about You?

I sat in the back of my canoe while the “leaders”, spent the better part of the day bumping into the shore of every side, of every lake we were on, as they looked for their destination. A destination by the way that was fuzzy at best in their recollection. After all with all their playing around that morning at camp, the instructors to get their attention gave them 15 minutes to look at the map, figuring out where they were and where they had to meet these instructors by mid-day. The scrambling was intense and the confusion of the day more so. Individuals who thought they were so in control and self-sufficient suddenly were face to face with their inability and a gnawing feeling they should have paid more attention to the map.

How well do you know your map? Working with students, are you giving them the absolute, concrete truth? As they’re navigating the waters of adolescent life, are you giving them clear direction from God? How do you know? You can’t give what you don’t have.

A recent event in my own local church was a painful reminder of the consequences when individuals don’t have a clear grasp on the word of God. Having a relationship with Christ that is superficial, not interacting deeply with Him, His voice a distant sound; all manner of delusions and problems ensue.

Having events that hold a student’s attention is so important, great music will open their soul. The question is, will you have the message of the Holy Spirit to fill it with? If you aren’t spending as much if not more time listening to His voice through His word you won’t! Go ahead stay abreast of the latest greatest but by all means live in the voice of His word. Know your Map!

Looking for Baby Doe's

We were to meet the rest of the family at “Baby Doe’s Matchless Mine Restaurant” for a graduation celebration. We drove around for more than an hour trying to reach the restaurant we could see from the highway, now late and no closer my Uncle stopped to ask for directions. In front of Mile High stadium was a Hispanic gentleman. After relaying our dilemma and asking for help the man scratched His head for a moment and then with a look of bewilderment said in a thick Spanish accent: “I doan theen you keen geet theer from ear!”

As I listened to a guest speaker challenge students with the cost of gaining real life, I thought of two things.

First: How often value is shown in terms of cost. Unfortunately what is often heard, is not the value but cost.

Second: If something of truly high value is acquired or offered to you at a substantially reduced rate, or at no cost to you (though it’s care and use requires much attention), this is value not cost!

You long for your Students and staff to chase God wholly. You can see the destination and outcome you desire clearly, but you’re constantly frustrated not being able to reach it.

When you share Christ, what are you offering? Only the cost? Have you read the book of Hebrews lately? It hammers home the fact that Christ is a value far above the Jewish system of faith and avenue to God. It says, he is "more excellent." Do you hear that, "more excellent", that's value! Scripture tells us, we love God because he first loved us; value! Matthew tells us the kingdom of God is like a man, finding a treasure in a field, and for it great value, he sells all to obtain the field; value! There is little to no motivation to pursue a course of action, if the only thing offered is cost. There has to be a value above the cost. The "value" will be something tangible, even though it looks altruistic and very personal, it will be of great worth to the individual. Make sure you identify it clearly. Be honest about the “cost” factors of acquisition and use but,

Drive home the value!

Cost over value = You can’t get there from here! You’ll never reach your destination (Goal of your students and staff chasing God) with this formula!

My Daughter Started JR. High

Once in a while I pull a post from my coaching blog I feel addresses an issue of import for any dealing with youth and their lives here's one that has hit close to home.

My daughter started Jr. High and I’m fired up. Every Dad worth his salt, parents his daughters different than His sons. Our sons are our warriors; scraps, bruises, stitches, etc… are all part of the package and we want them to excel! Our daughters awaken in us that desire to champion, protect, and love. We want them to excel but our hearts view it in a whole different manner. If you have daughters you know what I mean. All this has been simmering in my “pot” for a while and I do believe I feel a boil coming on!

I, some time ago, turned over the reins of our local Youth ministry to a capable young couple I thoroughly love and know they love God; I am grossly aware of generational and cultural differences when it comes to vision and execution for students today. Some of it certainly has to do with style, but some it is far more intertwined with our world’s moral decay; what we have tolerated, become desensitized to and what we have bought into. Two areas stand out right now, though I know there are more. The first area that should be no surprise: sexuality!

This horse has been rode, beat, killed and resurrected until it looks like the old nag in the stable no one wants to saddle. As a father I’m ‘gonna’ not only put a saddle on it, but give it it’s head and watch it as it unleashes a fury of speed, fire and power likened only to Sam Elliot’s steed in “Ghost Rider” making its last ride. This is a ride with one mission; my daughter’s heart and purity!



“Walking into the classroom, I turned to notice back in the corner, one of the ladies; a freshmen on the lap of a young man she was “in a relationship with”, seeing me, she quickly, with red face got up.” Now a year later, the “marriage” is struggling and my daughter gives the impression of being bombarded with “instructional teaching on the drama of teen love.”

I have noticed for some time an unwitting pension for those dealing with youth to not only accept our cultures view of the awakening of sexuality, but assist it! I’m not saying the encourage gross immorality, but in conversation, teaching and activities there runs a theme akin to the “coarse joking”, innuendo and lack of decorum the world displays in this area. All of this fuels the process of sexualizing our kids including My Daughter! Every TV show, every song, movie and media ad aimed at our kids, specifically our daughters displays kids, 8,9, 10, etc… as sexually active and knowing. Let me back track a moment. When I use the term “sexuality” I am not limiting it to the act of intercourse. I am speaking of the entire gamut from the first thought and look that says; “hey, interesting”, the first touch, holding hands, hugging, caressing, a kiss, making out, etc… , all the way to the act intended as the ultimate doorway for intimacy, giving yourself to another fully! It’s all part of the package and the world in it’s search for answers and fulfillment, not knowing, hearing or accepting the voice of the creator, has constructed it’s own view. There are no longer protective standards for contact and relationships. Students are driven to be physical with each other; hug, wrestle with each other while horsing around, sit on one another’s laps, lay and lounge with each other, to enter relationships, couple up, be in love; date etc… all as a part of growing up normally. As individuals charged with assisting parents in rearing “fully devoted followers of Christ”, (can someone please come up with a new mantra?) even if the parents aren’t crying foul, we should! Where in all of scripture do you find support for accepting such a view of student sexuality and “dating”? Where do you find any notion from a Christian worldview that it’s good, healthy, innocent, or remotely wise for students from 12 to 14 to couple up as defined by today’s standards? Society with great care used to hold special events under the watchful glare of leaders sharing a strong biblical moral base simply to introduce students to the opposite sex, not to mention all the modeling of appropriate behavior; the judgment and ostracizing of any who would ignore the boundaries. Today there are still events, some in the church, yet as I have said the underlying assumption is kids will fool around, be curious, explore there sexuality, cross moral lines and “fall in love”.

I will be candid. I believe the problem is not with simply the culture but our own lives. Like so many areas of truth, if we really became radical about following the heart of Christ it would convict our own lives and behaviors. Is it possible that those in Youth ministry, many of them still kids themselves, savor with a nostalgic view their own experiences sexually, their own discovery and interaction with the opposite sex. That memory of a time in the bleachers at the game, or in the car when things became heated; God for the moment was only a Sunday school lesson left in the basement of the church and the overpowering effect of our raging hormones, glazing our eyes, rapid, shallowed, shortened breaths as we inhaled the essence of a lovers lips, is a thing to treasure, instead of being rejected as a moral failure, of moving us farther away from personally finding the true fulfillment we were longing for.

I know I said I would address two things and if sexuality was the horse in “Ghost Rider”, than the premature push of “dating” relationships is the saddle. They are so closely related they go hand in hand. Sons and daughters encouraged by leadership or lack of, are fed a steady diet filled with the false assumption; “you need to be a couple and if not, there is something wrong with you. After all this is the norm!” Really?!

Youth Pastors, Directors, Student Pastors, and the parents who should hold them accountable; would you take a moment and become again students of the Master. Look into the heart and word of our Father; discover His desire for our sons and daughters. Can you honestly say as you look at what is going on around the lives of our students; we are giving them God’s best when it comes to this part of their being? Their response to it; well that’s another matter. For your part; open the scriptures and shine it’s light on this area. Take time to express it not in the guttural terms of the day even if they are anatomically correct. My daughter doesn’t need to be cajoled into a world of premature “sexuality” and dating. Between “The Secret life of an American Teenager and “the Kids Choice Awards”, (so many to choose so little space.) the world would have her jump in all too quickly. In her movement from child to adult, which is inevitable, help me teach her what it means to chase God, having relationships with boys that are pure. Right now they truly are still “boys and girls”. Help our students to embrace and enjoy it, as you, with the aid of the Holy Spirit reveal God and His love to them.

Well my pot has boiled over and the contents spilled out. Unfortunately as my daughter continues this journey and the world ply’s it’s trade, even worse, someone under the guise of ministry reinforces this ungodly position, it will refill and spill out again. In fact the next thing on the menu found in my jungle already steeped in the iron pot? Missionary! Missionary dating that is! So throw some more wood on the fire, stoke the pot. Lets get this water rolling!

Let me provoke you to read anything on dating and relationships by J. Budziszewski. You can dig in a web sight titled “boundless.org” or google him he writes on the collegiate level but will give you a great understanding of culture; where sex, relationships and dating are and where they need to be.

Happy Fourth of July!

How did we inherit such a great nation?

Oh yeah, great ordinary people who beleived; diversity was choosing, a different than normal path home or which side of the bed you jumped out of; you didn't have many choices, life was hard and it was okay. Tolerance, was putting up with relatives who stayed to long; it was a effort to visit or be visited and special, beside, everybody knew what was appropriate, moral and noble even when they failed at it. Mostly, in-spite of the re-constructionists, all held at least a mental adherence to and acceptance of Christianity as the standard; a belief in a natural law with God as the author.

We've come a long way baby!

As I celebrate this Independence Day I will cherish not just what is, with all it's great benefits, but the lives of all who made it possible through out history; moved by a sense of mission and purpose destined and delivered by their creator! What about you? What will you share with your students about this great event in our history? Do you believe God still has a great mission that demands personal sacrifice; one that's nobel, right and electrifies your soul?

If you're looking for some entertainment that will; challenge and focus your heart on what's important, Check out Curt's web page .... schedule him for an event he won't disappoint!

The Lazy Days of Summer

Does your ministry slow down in the summer? Depending on where you live it may. If you're like one youth pastor who lives in farming country, his students stay fairly busy through the summer until after harvest. In metropolitan areas or suburbia students are much easier to engage during this time. Where ever you're on point (yes I believe you are; large, in charge and on the front lines of students lives!), I will bet your Students have "down" time they don't typically have during the school year. Are you capitalizing on it?

One of the frustrations that comes with this season; administratively it becomes more difficult and time consuming. Scheduled ministry; times like Sunday services or youth group are simple to oversee and justify. Plan, schedule and office prep; they being trained show up and it happens; simple! I see many YP's who aside from a major missions push do little else. What an opportunity to dig into your students life with some "incarnational discipleship." A day long bike ride, a weekly lunch at a park and some frisbee golf, scheduled hang time, there are so many chances to impact a life now that school doesn't command their schedule! A job you say? Great! Now they have more discretionary income. They can pay for the time with you at the local ice cream shop! It's hard you say; you have no curriculum for such meetings.

Suddenly I find myself in farm country; I smell a lot of cow pies! Good grief you're a Shepard! Your call, not your job, unless your a hireling is to spend time with your sheep, know them and have something of value to impart.

As a Shepard you need to be so adept at your knowledge, skill; so much so you don't need a curriculum. You need to become the manual, a master at real life application of absolute unchanging truth and the life of the "Son". Even if you've accepted this responsibility as a stepping stone to a "real ministry"; tending the lambs until you can move on to the adults (God Forbid: in fact please quit now!)you need this same ability in a pulpit ministry. Your call isn't about maintaining a shop where people show up to be wowed by your goods and services! Your call is to lead daily with the whole truth of God as the parameter in the life of your people. Summer is a time to ramp up the heart of ministry. Don't treat it like a teachers schedule and figure it as "summer vacation" use it! If you need some ideas contact me I'd love to help!

You Owe It to Them

Great, you can draw a crowd. Your events are legendary, your technology keeps them glued, soaking in all they see and hear. Each time you announce a new one, you know there will be a throng of attendees; familiar faces you can count on. You’re a master at presenting a challenge to grip the heart only the most hardened soul will ignore. So powerful the crafting of the call, some respond who have done so several times before. Your group continues to grow in size and reputation. You assure yourself your numbers for service projects are a good percentage, given the nature of student’s schedules. With hundreds attending the events, the ten or so who show up for discipleship and prayer represent a “solid core”. You’re sought after to speak to others about your ministry and how they might craft such a successful effort for their churches. Lead Pastors talk of your accolades in hushed reverence, secretly scheming how they might entice you to their church; at the very least coveting the idea.

It’s one o’clock in the morning. The emergency room is busy but you hardly notice; the relentless gaze of her parents will not let you. They have voiced the question. You have not answered. It hangs in the air. You would like to assure with conviction; you can’t. “We don’t understand. Why would she do this? She was so involved in your ministry. She brought all her friends. Her relationship with God was real wasn’t it? There it is yes she was at all your events, sang your praises loudly, a real fan, but God? Your mind races for something but you simply cannot manufacture this answer. The destination of her soul was in God’s hands. As faithful as she was to your youth ministry, she’d shown little difference in her life from her friends and they had absolutely no relationship with God at any level.

In the quest for impact, is there transformation taking place or are you merely a master programmer? Is your ministry as deep as ii is broad? Here are some questions that might help you answer honestly:

How much time do your students spend in personal devotion to God; reading His word, praying?

Do they talk as easily about His work in their lives as they do the latest school activity or movie?

Do they regularly confront sin in their lives frustrated by its presence?

Would they be as content to talk about Jesus or to Him even if it meant no media blitz to lead it?

Do they know God as much as they know about Him? (In this age this is a loaded question for many know little about Him!)

You owe it to your students to take them deeper. You can’t take them where you haven’t gone. Let us help.