remember... and say "thanks"

Happy Memorial Day... and a great day it is; praying that you have the chance to get outside and enjoy the beautiful sunshine before it gets too hot! On this day, when so many of us have a day off, and I am praying that your Senior Pastor closed the office today or you were bold enough to take the day off, please take the time to remember the men and women who serve so faithfully to defend and protect freedom around the world. They sacrifice their time, their energy, their wants and sometimes their needs for the sake of a higher calling to serve,protect and defend. They serve, even if it means time away from their families; they serve so that you and I can have this day to rest and say "thank you".

If you have to do any "ministry work" today, spend some time remembering your volunteers and taking some time to say "thank you" for their service and sacrifice to your youth ministry. Send your volunteers and thank you note today, and mail it the old fashion way! If any relgion in the world has a grasp on true service and sacrifice, it is Christianity. Our leader, Jesus Christ, built service and sacrifice into the DNA of the "movement"; His rebellion against the religious leaders of His day was built on the platform of service and sacrifice. And Jesus himself, gave himself as the ultimate sacrfice for us so that today we can live in freedom; freedom from sin and death. So, remember... and say "thank you" to those who serve and sacrifice!

Jesus... thank you for your great love for me and the sacrifice of your life so that I can have life and live it more abundantly for you today!

Family... thank you for the sacrifices you have made to allow me to be a pastor and youth leader; to tkae care of others when I could have been taking care of you.

Spouse... thank you dear for taking care of the kids when I have been away on countless youth trips; being the confident and strong leader in our home.

Youth leader... thank you for the countless hours of service and sacrifice you give to students in your ministry and in your community, planting seeds of love and hope in the name of Jesus.

Volunteer... thank you for your dedication to ministry and your commitment to students and other leaders. I know you never hear the words "thank you" and you never get a paycheck and you may never see any earthly reward, but your willing spirit and your presence is a gift to our students and our minsitry.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH WITH LOVE AND PEACE IN OUR HEARTS TO YOU! Everyone... be blessed!

ministry "platform"

Yesterday, I purchased a great book. At least after 24 hours of reading, it seems as though it will be one of those non-Christian books that will change the course for my ministry life and personally change me. Michael Hyatt, chairman of Thomas Nelson Publishing, has a new book out on the NY Times bestseller list entitled, Platform: Get noticed in a noisy world! (michaelhyatt.com) The subtitle of the book caught my attention when I first heard the buzz... "a step-by-step guide for anyone with something to say or sell" I could hear my inner voice crying out; some would call it my ego... "I've got something to say to the world about life, family, church ministry, teenagers, and new church development!" But as the books states, today there is so much communication and modes of communication and information flying everywhere that to be heard is virtually impossible. And I immediately thought about the "good news" that you and I are trying communicate with teens and their parents; "good news" about Jesus and His life-changing plan and purpose for each of us. Lately, I've been feeling like no one is listening; no one seems to care about the message. Have you stopped long enough to ask yourself "why"? Maybe this is not true of your church family and your youth ministry, but where I cme from and spend most of my time in ministry, people seem uninterested! Are we really being heard? Are we communicating the right message? Does our message contain a "wow factor" (from the book)? Is it "good news" to us? More on this later as I continue to read... thanks for letting me share my heart each week! I hope my words and ideas and sharing is helping you to survive, energize and thrive in your calling to teens and their families. Have a great Memorial Day weekend with family, friends and your church family. For next time, begin to think about the word, "drift", and how that word/idea rleates to your spiritual life and your ministry life. Be blessed!

living under a new command...

A New Commandment (1 John 2:7-14)  New Living Translation of the Bible

"7 Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. 8 Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.

9 If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still living in darkness. 10 Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. 11 But anyone who hates another brother or sister is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.

12 I am writing to you who are God’s children
    because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus.
13 I am writing to you who are mature in the faith
    because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning.
I am writing to you who are young in the faith
    because you have won your battle with the evil one.
14 I have written to you who are God’s children
    because you know the Father.
I have written to you who are mature in the faith
    because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning.
I have written to you who are young in the faith
    because you are strong.
God’s word lives in your hearts,
    and you have won your battle with the evil one."

Something to ponder for today... does this scripture apply to us as leaders in our churches, and how are we living this out as leaders in the church?  How are we loving each other (those of us in leadership) across denominational lines, and those of us working for the "Kingdom" in various places?  When will the "church leadership body" unite to affect the necessary change that our world and our church families need for the future?  Praying for you all TODAY!  Keep the new commandment!

the youth ministry farmer

Most Monday evenings and Saturday afternoons, in the spring and fall, you can find my family at the soccer fields coaching a team or two of 7/8 year olds, aspiring to get some exercise, have some fun, and learn the game of soccer. Our family has been volunteer coaching for several season in our city-wide rec league. We make the time because we believe that God wants us to be youth ministry farmers. We have the seed of Jesus' love and light in our lives and we feel obligated to spread the seed on to others. We never get to talk about Jesus; we never get to read and discuss a story from the Bible; we never get to pray with our team; we never really get the chance to share our faith with the parents. But, we do get to be a positive influence in their lives; we do get to have some healthy, clean fun playing the game we all love; we do get the opportunity to get kids to smile and treat them with respect; we get to be the light of Jesus for 7 children. And the kids love playing for us! We rarely win all of our games, but we always shake hands and celebrate like winners. Do you see yourself as a "youth ministry farmer"? You are; you can be; you should be... You are sowing the seeds of respect, love, truth, fun, attention, listening in the name of Jesus to a group of students. Their hearts are ripe for a new seed to be planted; some of them need their hearts tilled because they have been beaten down by the world; soem will close you off and out of their lives. But you can not worry or stress over what you can not control. You are in charge of spreading healthy, truthful seed; that seed is the truth found in God's Word to us. And you can build relationships with your kids that will begin to softne their hearts to the seed that over time, will be planted in their hearts. You may get to see the "fruit/harvest" and then again, you may never get to see it at all! But tonight, like my family, you can rest your head on the pillow knowing that you gave it your all; you shared and sowed the seed of Jesus' love to the kids in your care. And the rest is up to the Spirit of God. Stay faithful to scattering the right seed... be blessed in your farming efforts!

healthy?

As many of us get older, we start to worry about our health. In our youth, we live and play and eat Doritos at every meal, along with a big glass of Mountain Dew! But, in our later years we start to pay more attention to the kinds of foods we eat and the amount of exercise we get. We pay more attention to the potential "warning signs" of an unhealthy lifestyle; we set our daily schedule around the Dr. Oz show waiting to hear about the latest "fears" that grip us as a nation! We are a health conscious culture but you might never know it based on the way we look, our inactive and sedentary lifestyle, and what we spend our hard earned money consuming. Now granted, some of us are smarter than others. Some of you have developed a healthy lifestyle and have been living that way for a very long time! Maybe you were raised in a home that focused on developing healthy habits, or maybe you encounterd an illness which forced you to change your ways! "Healthy" and our health is a hot topic right now. But what about "healthy" in terms of your ministry to youth? Do we see our youth ministries in this way? Do we see our local congregations this way? If you had to answer truthfully, would you say that you are part of a "healthy" congregation of Christ-followers, and is your student ministry "healthy"? A more personal reflective question might be... are you spiritually healthy? I know lots of churches that have good youth ministry programs but the "health" of those ministries and ministry leaders is on life support! The "health" of our ministry to students and families is critical if we hope to change kids lives and support parents in a way that honors Christ. Here at the PRC, we are trying to develop those "core" pieces of what makes a "healthy" student ministry... spirituall, emotionally, physically, and theologically. We would appreciate your help in putting to gether this puzzle. With your input, we hope to be able to offer more seminars and training session that come to you; to help you develop into a "healthy" leader and inspire you to create a "healthy" student ministry in your context. Please share your ideas here of what goes into creating a "healthy" student minsitry... and stay tuned for updates on our progress! The first step on the road to a "healthy" youth/student ministry? Start observing and reflecting our your ministry to students from this new perspective. In the end, we all want to be "healthy" and we all want our families to be "healthy" and we all want to be active participants in a "healthy" church with exciting and dynamic ministries that are "healthy"! Look for the signs... your body and the "body of Christ" is trying to tell you something. Be blessed!