Ministry Blackboard

25Apr/130

Orange ’13: Thursday Morning General Session Notes

Today's theme is "Words"

Ken Koleman was interviewed by Reggie Joiner

  • We are teaching kids to answer questions. We should be teaching them to ask questions.
  • the most successful people are still asking questions
  • sometimes we can focus so much of what is next that we miss what's in the now
  • Andy Stanley keeps asking, "Why am I doing what I'm doing"
  • Always be asking questions

After worship, Andy Stanley then shared the main message at the morning session.

Rethink how you talk about scripture to children and youth. This is a challenge of approach.

Rethink he way you talk about scripture because we are not the majority and we do not have authority over everyone.

1. Your approach determines people's response to what we have to say

  • like with your different children, you have to approach each them differently
  • same is true of teaching

2. We must adapt out approach depending on who our audience is

  • 1 Corinthians 9:19-23...change your approach to reach other types of people. Paul adapted and changed his approach depending on who he was talking to in hopes to win some for the sake of the gospel
  • Paul was out to win some...the approach changes but the goal stays the same

3. You inherited an approach that assumed a consensus about scripture

  • You do not believe what you believe because the bible says so.

 

7 guidelines for sharing to our children and youth

1. Choose a passage of scripture and stay there

  • instead of calling it a bible story, what if we say it is "history"
  • make it interesting, bring your energy to the scripture (not just the illustration) & practical

2. Give people permission not to believe or obey scripture

  • people don't believe...when you do this they will be more interested to explore
  • 1 Corinthians 512-13 - none of our business to judge others outside the church
  • when you give them an out, they respond by diving in ("just try it")
  • the attraction of the church is everyone doing one another to one another to one another...who doesn't want to be apart of that? Look how they live one another

3. Teach in a manner that emphasize the identity of Jesus over the authority of scripture

  • they believed he was the son of God because he rose from the dead
  • you are not Christian because of the Bible
  • the foundation of our faith is not the Bible, it's "history" of Christ's resurrection!
  • we have to talk in a way that ties everything back to who was Jesus
  • the foundation of our faith is based on the resurrection, not the infallibility of scripture

4. Don't refer to the Bible as a book

  • it's way better than the book
  • we don't need to say God wrote the Bible...over 40 different people wrote it inspired by God

5. Cite authors not the Bible

  • "today we are going to look at what James wrote..." "Paul writes..."
  • it's just a change in approach...not changing what we know
  • tie the author back to history and who that person was
  • We should not expect rational to believe Jesus rose from the dead because the Bible says so
  • Jesus rose from the dead because people actually experienced it and wrote about it. They actually saw a dead man walking. Real people saw it and we're willing to die for it
  • don't say "biblical marriage"...say "christian marriage"...how many great marriages are in the Bible...I submit to _____ is because of what Christ did for me and what Christ called me to. Don't change what you believe only your approach

6. Acknowledge the odd as odd

  • there are some odd things in the Bible. It's ok to say its odd
  • you believe the Old Testament is true because Jesus believed it to be true
  • leverage what Christ did as the reason for what you believe

7. Don't create the impression that you must choose between faith and science

  • science is the search for natural explanations. We need science in life!
  • when you take your child to the Dr., you pray and also hope a Dr. has a natural understanding of how things work so your child can be healed

Acts 15:19 - "It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God."

Lets not make it difficult for our children to stay firm in their faith, not because of the Bible but because of an event that changed history!

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21Feb/130

the BLACKBOARD: Student Ministry Trips

thThe New Life Student Ministry is getting ready to take our 1st trip of the year to PCTC.  It's one of our annual trips.  As I began to look back at past trips I've done with other ministries and churches, it made me wonder, what kind of trips do the rest of the Student Ministry world do and how many do you take?

For instance, at New Life, we have done 1 Weekend Discipleship trip, 1 week-long Mission Trip and we support the week-long Children's Ministry trip by serving there.  Bu I know other churches that do 2 weekend trips a year along with a summer "Bible Camp" and an outreach camp.

So, TAKE A MINUTE and post:

  • How many retreats and camps a year you take with students and...
  • The good and the bad of that strategy

I would love to hear what other student ministries are doing.

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26Nov/120

the Monday Morning Debrief: Staff Relationships

Over Thanksgiving I stumbled upon this video and article.  It's a video of 2 news anchors actually quitting on air.  Why did they quit?  On air, they didn't say but later on, in an interview with a  local newspaper, they said that they had a problem with upper-management.  Cindy Michaels told the Bangor Daily News that "there was a constant disrespecting and belittling of staff," that "we both felt there was a lack of knowledge from ownership and upper management in running a newsroom" and that "there was a regular undoing of decisions."

Have you ever felt that way about your supervisors?  A belittling of what you do ("all they do is play video games") or maybe frustrated because you are not "spiritual" or "good" or "capable" enough to speak to adults in the main service or how about the "I'm the senior pastor, I decide what is best for our youth" comments.  It can be a little demoralizing sometimes and maybe you have felt the same way these news anchors felt.  But what do you do about it?  Is the only option to quit abruptly?

Here's a few suggestions I would recommend 1st (some of these are from personal experience and some are suggestions of things I wish I did at different times in my ministry career):

  • Pray about it.  Ask the Lord what you need to be doing in your situation (James 1:5 - " If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.")
  • Go to your superior/fellow staffer and discuss how you feel with him/her (Matthew 18:15 - “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.")
  • If nothing gets settled, include some elders/leadership team members in what you are experiencing (Matthew 18:15-18)
  • DON'T start talking to others who don't need to know what is going on so that they get "on your side".  That just creates tension and it can also be viewed disloyal, treachery and an act of "revolt".

The bottom line is this.  You have to deal with it and get out in the open. Don't sweep it under the rug and build up some anger or resentment towards the situation.  You have to confront the situation if there is any hope of it getting better.  Because, if you don't, you run the risk of doing an impromptu "I quit" speech at the end of group one night.  Then, no one benefits from it (the students, the families and the other staffers).

Being in church work/ministry doesn't mean you will never have conflicts amongst staff.  But again, it doesn't have to end bad either.  By confronting the issue with fellow staffers or superiors, at the very least you are attempting to get the air open and address the situation in a healthy way.  By not confronting it, you run the risk of the issues continuing to be a problem and resentment may come into play and, once again, you end up with these out of the blue "I quite" announcements. Ultimately we have to remember that we are in the "kingdom" business and if our actions are not bringing glory to the Lord and bringing others into a relationship with Christ, then we have to make changes and address them (see above list).

Thoughts?  Experiences?  Post a comment now so that we can all learn and benefit.

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22Oct/120

the Monday Morning Debrief: Taking a Risk

Last weekend, an Australian took one of the biggest risks I have every heard of - jumping from 24 miles above the earth (that's 128,100 feet!) and safely parachuting to earth. In the process, he set numerous records from his death-defying stunt.  But he isn't the only person to risk their own life at something.  The PostGame over on Yahoo! recounted the 10 most death-defying stunts ever.  Looking at all these stunts, they are all pretty amazing.

So how does these stunts apply to ministry?

With every stunt comes risk, most notably risking their own lives.  Hopefully the ministry risks you encounter are not life or death, but the reality is in ministry you will/should encounter risks.  You'll risk a relationship with a student or leader by saying a hard or challenging word. You'll risk your reputation by doing a questionable game, skit or event.  Maybe you'll risk asking someone to be a leader who may have never served in ministry before.

The reality is risk taking has always been apart of ministry.  When Moses went back to Egypt to free the Israelites.  How about the time when Daniel continued to pray to God in public view when there was a law against it.  That was a risk.  What about all the 1st Christians meeting in secret locations having meetings and worship services?  Most important, what about the risk God took in sending his son, Jesus Christ, down to earth?

Risks happened all the time in the Bible times and still happen today.  And the reality is, we, too, have to take risks because teenagers lives are on the line.  If we didn't take risks then we'd just be apart of Average Joe Ministry where nothing new, fresh or surprising would greet our students and nothing exciting would be happening either.  That usually equates to little student interest or involvement.  If students aren't attracted to our program, then we are missing opportunities to reach them for Christ.

So the question is NOT are you risking something in your ministry.  Rather it is, WHAT risk are you taking today?  TAKE A MINUTE and process some risks that you can be taking and start branching out.  Offer them up to the Lord and trust Him to guide you through them and start reaping the benefits of what stepping out in faith (taking a risk) has to offer.

Thoughts? Comments?  EXPERIENCES with Risk?  Share your thoughts below so we can all benefit.

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8Oct/120

the Monday Morning Debrief: seeing the bigger picture

Hardship happens...and sometimes that exactly where you need to be.

This past week I read Exodus 5 for my devotional.  In it, Moses went to Pharaoh and told him to let Israel go from slavery.  Well, Pharaoh didn't like that so he increased the workload of the Israelites to make it even harder than what it was before.  That made the Israelites mad so they told Moses, “The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.” (Exodus 5:21 ESV).

What stood out to me here was that from hindsight, it is easy to say to the Israelites, "you fools!  Why don't you see God working?"  But, again that is from hindsight and considering their struggles during that time, it is easy to be at least a little empathetic towards them.

So how does this apply to ministry?

The reality is there are times in our own lives when we can't see God working.  We get so caught up the present hardship that we begin to complain and moan like the Israelites thinking, "how can this be any worse for me".  However, if we can come out of that and take a step back we might be able to see what God has up his sleeve.  It's hard and frustrating at times, no doubt.  But I have found that it is in those frustrating, hard times that sometimes God is hard at work, behind the scenes working on something that we'll look back at months or years from now saying, "ohhhhhh, God you were there".

So, where are you at?  Are you in the midst of a struggle like the Exodus Israelites? Are you on cruise-control without a care in the world? Or are you somewhere in-between?  Wherever you are at, it's important to realize that God has the master plan.  God is in control and working in ways that we can't even imagine.  It is us being able to withdraw ourselves from the situation and try to look and see the BIGGER PICTURE.  Sometimes hardship needs to happen because you need to go through that hardship to get to where you need to be.

So TAKE A MINUTE right now and examine your situation.  What are you feeling? What are you thinking?  Where can you step back and look from an objective viewpoint about what God is doing.  Then, spend some time in prayer either crying out to God or simply realign your focus on Him.  That is what David did time after time. And honestly, that is what I do whenever I have an Exodus Israelite type of situation.  You just have to remember, God is in control and even in the mist of craziness, he has a BIGGER PICTURE in mind.  We just have to take a step back and look for where and how he is working.

Thoughts?  Comments?  Experiences?  Post them now that we can all benefit.

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23Aug/120

Youth Ministry Storytelling

Did you see "The Dark Knight Rises" yet?  If you haven't yet, you should.  Even if you aren't a "super-hero" fan, you should go and see it. Why?  Because the storytelling is excellent.  Seriously, Christopher Nolan is a genius and took a broken franchise (remember Batman & Robin?) and made 3 epic movies!  And the way he tied them all together from Batman Begins to The Dark Knight Rises was phenomenal.

So this made me think of storytelling (or giving the message) in youth ministry circles.  What makes up a good storyteller in youth ministry.  Here are 3 qualities that stuck out to me.

  1. Engaging Presentations.  Whether it is in his Batman trilogy or even movies like Inception, Christopher Nolan has a knack for gripping you from the very beginning of the movie and walking you through the adventure of the story.  Do we grab students from the beginning of our messages and walk them through the adventure
  2. Understanding the Context. Are we telling the story in the context of which it was written?  Or, are we just telling a story?  Context is important because it gives the background of what was happening in the world that was around them.  Christopher Nolan did a great job of this when he made Batman Begins.  He could have just opened up with Batman being Batman.  But he didn't.  He told the background, gave the context in which Bruce Wayne became Batman.  This is especially important when you are sharing stories of the Bible because, for example, Jesus didn't just heal a leopard.  He did more than just heal a sick person. Lepards were UNTOUCHABLE, AVOIDABLE, OUTCASTED BY SOCIETY.  Yet Jesus didn't care and went right up to and healed him.  Jesus was a ground-breaker, a rule-breaker, a society uniter.  And that comes out when we share the context of the story, not just the story itself.
  3. Be Yourself. Are we being ourselves or trying to be someone else?  Christopher Nolan could have tried to be Michael Bay and blown up so many building and had this pyrotechnic blast or that pyrotechnic blast.  But he didn't.  He was Christopher Nolan.  In the same way, we are our own selves and I hope you have your own style of storytelling.  Because your style makes you, you!  You don't have to be the "funny guy" or the "smart guy".  Let them be them.  Be yourself and use the gifts God has given you to tell the story, don't try to be someone else.

So, as the fall is getting ready to start up and we get back into our school programing, storytelling is going to be a key component of our ministry.  These are just 3 reminders in which we can improve on our storytelling skills.  TAKE A MINUTE right now and think through your storytelling preparation.  What do you think are important components that make up effective storytelling and how are you going to improve on your storytelling ability this year?

Share your thoughts, comments or experiences below.  We can all learn from each other.

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28Jul/121

Chowtime – 6/28

In case you were too busy applying suntan lotion for your recent vacation, here may be some of the things you have missed in the student ministry world.  So grab some chow, pull up a seat and enjoy...

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1Mar/110

This is why I like Facebook

Last spring I gave up Facebook for a week or 2 because of some transitions I was going through in life and ministry.  Well, that didn't last long as I got re-engaged in it.  The reasons I gave up Facebook is found here.  The reasons I came back are simple. They are found here.  Even though I have moved on from that position, I am glad I am back on Facebook.

Today, I'm especially glad to be back on Facebook.  It is because I got encouraged by 3 comments I read.  They are:

  1. "1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
  2. "just heard a great message about being strong and courageous in the face of adversity...knowing God is with you..."
  3. "Love is patient..."

Life is tough from time to time and people get discouraged - it happens to the best of us.  Well, this morning, I was discouraged.  Even after reading Psalm 63, I was discouraged.  However, after reading these 3 comments (all based on scripture) on Facebook, I was encouraged and I felt that God ministered to me then.  God can even use Facebook to minister to people.

I don't know where you are at in life, but TAKE A MINUTE and spend some time with Christ right now.  Open up the Bible and turn to any of the Psalm or start going through the Gospels and see how God encourages you today.

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