WWJD... has that really changed anything?

We're reading a book together... in cyberspace, and we're having a conversation via the world wide web, and I hope you will lend your voice to the conversation. I rarely read "forwards" or "introductions" to books; I go right for chapter 1. But, in Rick Lawrence's book, Jesus Centered Youth Ministry, he draws a line in the sand about our perceptions of Jesus right away in the "introduction" chapter. As he watched the WWJD movement come and go, with not much impact on behaviors and actions, He began to ponder this question, "What does "follow Jesus" mean anyway?" I know that as a youth pastor, I have asked this question over and over and over to students and leaders and parents. The blank stares coupled with the stuttering and stammering I've heard and seen over the years should have been a warning sign that something in my ministry was not connecting; we were not connecting with Jesus.

Rick shares an experiment that he tried... reading as quickly through the Gospel of Matthew as possible, looking for patterns in what Jesus said and did. He shares a summary of 15 observations he wrote about that evening while sitting in front of his computer. Find them on page 12 and share your thoughts here... please reference the number of the observation. I will go first: #4 caught my attention right away... "Jesus hated it when people hid themselves behind religious rule keeping, and he told his followers to plunge themselves into the mainstream culture like a lamp in a dark room or salt added to a recipe." I'm guilty of working for the people to keep the peace and stay in the lines rather than working for God and sending my students into the world to be light, and challenging them to live at risk for Jesus!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THIS EVENT:
Make College Count Seminar: Preparing for the College Transition
Derek Melleby, Director of the College Transition Initiative, a ministry of the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding (CPYU), will lead this event on April 3, 2011. This seminar is designed for college bound high school students and their parents and will address the transition from high school to college. Bring your entire youth Group for a reduced price.
Learn more at www.parishresourcecenter.com/lancaster