Spiritual Disciplines

     This one is often difficult. Nobody wants to here that they need to become disciplined... in anything, from eating right, to exercise, to learning; but for a growing, healthy believer it is so incredibly important! Regular quiet time, Bible reading, and prayer are like the eating right of the spiritual life. If those disciplines are not tended to regularly, it would be like the seeds planted in rocky soil, which have shallow roots; Once life really starts beating down, while they are in college or starting their career, their life will burn up. One great way to help besides spending some time talking about it, is to have a Quiet Time Journal Challenge. A way you could do this is at the end of a message about Bible reading or quiet time you let your teens know that if they wish to accept a journal challenge to let you know via text, or on a communication card if you use one. Once they do that you can have a custom designed journal made for them that has a spot for the days date, the scripture they read that day and a few lines for journaling their thoughts. make it relatively short like 30-35 pages so they can complete it in a month or two, regardless of how long it takes, when they have read enough and journalized it full. They bring it you and you guys celebrate it! give them something as a gift or just give them praise and encouragement, and give them another journal to fill-up. While doing this some of your students will stop and never pick it back up, but some will develop life-long habits because you took time time give them a quiet time journal, and show them how to use it.

Stuck in a Rut?

Let's face it we sometimes get into spots where the clear-thinking, focus, and creativity just won't budge an inch. We stare at our Bible, or computer with a completely blank Word Document and for some reason Cannot get the ball rolling in regards to message prep. Here are a couple things I've noticed help me get out of that block, Hope they are of help:

1. Pray
     I know, I know, Duh, right? It seems obvious but sometimes we jumpstart our day thinking we have to get this, and this, and this done; and it's all good, ministry stuff we need to do so we'd rather not "waste" time and get started. But it follows that we wonder what God would have us tell our group, yet have we actually sat down and asked Him?

2. Change the scenery
     This almost works like a charm for me. I know it's weird but I can be at my desk with no distraction around in my "zone" and still be incapably of forming those first few vital points of my sermon. yet If I take the Bible and macbook outside, somewhere new, to a coffee shop or even home, or on a curb beside the road; the ball gets rolling! I don't know why but it helps, really.

3. Change your input method
      By this I mean, If you typically type your message up, pull out a pen and paper. if you usually write out an outline, try using a dry-erase board. The last time I was having a block in my prep, and could not get going, I closed my computer (which is my usual method), took it off my desk (blasphemy, I know!), and  pulled out a stack of post-it notes. I jotted every idea, analogy, story and question, I could think of about the text and topic, onto Post-its! then arranged them around on the surface of my desk and eventually... PRESTO! a message was in front of me!

I hope some of these help. Be sure to check back here in a few days as I work though more of the 7 checkpoints.

Grace and Peace,
Chris

Authentic Faith

Hey, If you typically come by this blog you’ll notice I haven’t updated in a while. I’m sorry about that. Big things have been under way at my church, so it has been difficult to schedule time out to blog. 

     But as for now, let’s pick up where we left off: talking about 7 important concept every teen NEEDS to know. there called the 7 checkpoints:

Authentic Faith

Spiritual Disciplines

Moral Boundaries

Wise Choices

Positive Relationships

Ultimate Authority

Others First

First I want to explain Authentic Faith. and what that is.

     When many we come up into our teens, we, for the most part, have the faith of our parents. What are told what opinion to have and that’s what we have. As we get further into our teens, we see how the world works, we meet who (much to our surprise) don’t have the same beliefs that we do! This is when it is helpful to understand not only WHAT we believe, but WHY we believe it. We begin to move to the next phase of questions about life from “Why does Jesus love me? ..the Bible tells me so.” to “Why should I believe what the Bible says anyway?” 

     When we get older stuff that we encounter like Death, Loss, Break-ups, Divorces, Suffering can cause us to wonder about what we thought God was “supposed” to be like. Many after getting confused by this, choose to drop belief altogether, as opposed to  entertaining the thought that God may be more than the box we thought he lived in when we were younger. 

    Either way, a teen ends up going on this belief one this is certain a lot rests on the issue. So the question is "why?"

I love the way CS Lewis put it in His book on his arriving at faith "Mere Christianity"

"My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?"

That was one of the thoughts that captivated me at the end of my youth.

    Sometimes, Our faith gets shaken not by tragedy, but simply by a feeling in our gut of discontent. We look around at the pleasures offered us by this fading world and wonder if perhaps our feelings could be righted by getting out from under Christ's wing and exploring what the other side offers. This can be tempting, but remember as my dad warned me and as, again, Lewis put it, those feelings may be a sign of something greater than any of that.

"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world"

"We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

Anyway, we could ramble on about the thoughts associated with this but the bottom line is this. Our teens NEED to build a real, living, authentic Faith of their own.

The Irreducible Minimum.

A great book, I recommend by Stuart Hall and Andy Stanley called "The 7 checkpoints" talks about these principles that, if nothing else, your teens need to know to equip them for life after high school. These principles are foundational to developing a healthy Christian walk for any teen, or adult that matter. They are

• Authentic Faith
• Spiritual Disciplines
• Moral Boundaries
• Healthy Friendships
• Wise Choices
• Ultimate Authority
• Others First

     I'll be posting (among the usual games and what-not) 7 posts, highlighting each one of these principles. bottom line- These are hugely important and if you are wondering what to teach your teens for the rest of this year, Then, by all means, teach them what you want but at least make sure they get taught these concepts somewhere along the way. These specific posts are not necessarily about context but content. How these are taught in whatever creative ways you can think of is up to you, but these are about the content of those messages. What eternal truths are being instilled through your teaching? If you are scratching your head about what important truths your teens need, then these are a great launching point! Stay Tuned.

Game: String Assassin

pretty simple. but fun!
Take two or three of your folks. and give them cans of silly string. while having another group put on garbage bags. (cut holes for the arms and head first) then put them on opposite sides of the youth room, with one specific Bag Person associated to a specific Can Person, You should have 3 or so "one vs. one" setups (hopefully, with lots of innocent bystanders in the middle, watching) then they say "go!" the goal for the ones with the cans try to cover their corresponding bag person with silly string. the bag person just tries not to get sprayed.

There are two winners: the one who sprayed the most string onto there target Bag person: the other winner is the bag person with the least amount of string on them. A lot of the fun of this game isn't just the spraying that hits the right people. but the frantic off target shot of string that hit everyone watching as the ones wearing bags are running around. the only thing to remember is there will be some cleanup afterwards. and you have to be willing to speak to a group of teens in a room covered in strings. but you knew that you would have to do that ever now and then when you signed up for youth ministry anyway right? right.

But remember Mr. Youth Pastor, in some places possession of Silly String is prohibited because it is, of course a very dangerous weapon in the wrong hands. please consult your local ordinances and respond accordingly.

Meet Tim

Meet Tim.

Gets up on Wednesday morning. For him it’s pretty typical. half-awake,he fights with his sister for the bathroom mirror. Tries to clean the toothpaste off his favorite Tee. “Thanks sis”. Sees the time and runs out the door to catch the bus. 

Fail.

 Rides with mom to school. Late-ish. not good. especially since he knows He’s gonna get crap for not finishing his report entitled  "The life-cycle of the sea anenome." Tells mom to drives faster. “Why are you in such a hurry, son?”

 Nevermind.

School is fun. hides from bullies. and ex-girlfriend. hangs out at lunch. has to bum a buck off a kid for a soda. gotta remember to par him back.... somehow. A friend invites him to youth at church.       again.

  
Ugh.

 After school he still hasn’t told anyone that for not turning the paper his grade in that class is... low. at home he ignores the sound of arguing parents with the sounds of MTV. Sister comes in yelling at him about her missing ipod headphones. Doesn’t know what she is talking about. kicks her out of his room. Thinks “maybe I should go. There’s nothing else to do in this stupid town. I guess I’ll check it out. at least after that, Matt would leave me alone about going for  a while”

Jumps through all kinds of hoops and explanations, finally securing permission to leave the house. gets a ride.

6:50 he walks into church. 

What will his experience at your youth group be?

Art of storytelling.

     Never underestimate the power of a story to illustrate your point. People of every age are captivated by a good story. And the best part is stories stick in the memory really well, which is good for your teens. but also great for you.
example: tell someone about your last camping trip. chances are you won't need notes to share it right?
the same goes when you are on stage. even if sharing a story from the Bible instead just reading it, Share it!
     Jesus always had a good story. in fact almost anytime anyone asked him a question he would answer with, "so there was this guy travelling" or "Once there was this king who was settling his accounts" Jesus knew the art of storytelling well.
    It helps to actually make a conscious effort NOT to look at your notes in a "story sharing" portion of your message. Leverage the fact that you know the story to step away from the pulpit and engage, make some eye contact. and move around. I sometimes feel like a fool, because I move around so much when doing this and act out the story as I'm telling it. One time I was sharing on David and Goliath and I was all over the stage! but it turned out that it really connected and the teens remembered it, even ones that said they had heard it a billion times, really liked it. When I don't do this (like last Wednesday actually) I can tell that it's a lot harder to get connected to the teens and get them focused in.
so, find a story! look for one, tell a personal one, or just make up one (Jesus did that all the time).

That's the tip of the week: Tell a story

First things First.

I definitely don't claim to be any sort of experienced youth pastor with a wealth of knowledge to offer. However, as with many things, I have found many other youth pastor asking the same questions that I ask all the time. So, only seems prudent to post any answers that I may come across on my journey for the rest of the travellers in the world of youth ministry to find, hopefully saving us all valuable God-given time.

Ephesians 5:15

 
• Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise,

 
• making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

Let's go then!

Remember to Remember.

The first time I ever taught or preached to anyone was for a group of college students. one of the great things about that (though I didn't see it as an advantage then) was that I was fresh out of what they were in the middle of in their lives. I thought this was a handicap because I lacked that extra experience that comes from living longer, and true, that would have been helpful. But the most helpful thing about that was I clearly remembered everything about that phase of life. All of it, the questions, the insecurity, the feelings of time closing in, was all still fresh in my mind. This enabled me to, almost naturally address the needs of  the audience, addressing questions, hopes, and dreams that they were in the middle of experiencing.
    With youth, Though I've got a few more year ahead of life-lived insight which is helpful. relating to their needs is a little less natural than it was when I was talking to my peers, one 1 to 3 years younger than myself. That is why it is so important to remember what life was like at 16 years old when prepping to talk.

Always,  remember to remember.

     It helps to think back (as scary as it sounds) and ask: What was I doing my freshman year? Who was I hanging out with? why? How much did I study? why? How did I treat my parents?
If I knew this scripture or this lesson back then how would it have changed the way I dealt with My English teacher? What was her name again? How would it have changed where I sat at lunch? How would it have changed my time at home with the family?
Sometimes, we find that not much has changed. Some of those questions and insecurities are exactly the same ones that adults in the workforce feel. As SuperChick "High School could be a mini-me of the rest of society. There's always a prom queen. there will always be sororities" but also we rediscover questions we hadn't asked in years. Things that now don't seem like a big deal at all. Remember when they were a big deal! That's building common ground.