YOUTHINTHECORNER

I find myself at a very frustrating time in my life as a Youth Pastor.  I thank God that he doesn’t have a panic button, because I do.  Our teenagers are plagued with so much pain and sin, I am finding myself wanting to teach it all NOW…we need a series on SEX, MONEY, FAMILY…but we need it all now!  Families are falling apart.  Kids are crossing every line imaginable sexually and the average teen will spend $50 for a PS game but won’t drop a dime in an offering.  God is in control…and he doesn’t panic and so today I lean on his peace.  However, deep inside…

Do you ever feel this way?

I was going to take several months off of twitter/facebook.  The reason was 1) I was becoming too addicted to it and 2) I needed to simplify and think through some things and didn’t want to be distracted.

The reason I am back earlier than normal is that as I was processing some things I realized how much I used/needed the networking side of these formats.  I have missed some stuff that is fairly major because for many twitter/facebook is the main medium for communication.  I mean I realized that Marko got canned from YS for crying out loud…a week late!

One thing I am still going to try to do is not worry so much about what others are doing…I am trimming my following list.  I don’t plan on tweeting my dinner plans or random factoids about my life, rather use the format to network, share ideas, inspirations and from time to time witty observations.

Some will think me weak…(like my best friend David).  I can handle that….because…well…I am.

I watch awards shows.  Some I actually like some it is like watching knowing a wreck is about to happen.  Why do I watch them even though rarely is there anything that edifies Jesus…in fact sometimes just the opposite.  I love the creativity of it.  I love how they weave in multiple senses to create an environment.  I love the way they create excitement…you can feel the buzz through the TV screen!  I love that and I try to steal as much as I can from it.  Kids ministries and even Middle School ministries would do well to be inspired by the fun of the NICK TV awards.  It is an incredible show!  Our ministry has done a few things to create mood and anticipation…everyone of those ideas I jacked from an awards show.

There are some elements to every awards show that we can transfer to our Wednesday night experience.

1) The Red Carpet – We don’t actually have a red carpet but we do try to create a first impression that makes students feel excited and accepted.  We want them to know as soon as they enter the parking lot that tonight is a special night.  The music, the lights, the attention!

2) The Cold Open – This is what they call in the biz the BIG number that is almost set apart from the rest of the program…a BIG intro.  When students walk in there is a bold countdown in a dark room and lots of smoke and our first number is always a crowd pleaser.  An infusion of energy.

3) The Takeaway – we don’t give out awards but at the end of every service is a communicator that sums up what is most important in the evening.  This takeaway moment hopefully crystalizes what they have heard and allows the Holy Spirit to work it in their hearts.

BONUS) The interview – no award show would be complete without the interview…it makes the stars feel important and gives the reporters meaning…same applies at Alive.  We interview every student…it makes them feel special and gives the youth team meaning.

So, that is what I have learned from Awards shows.  Nothing hugely spiritual and many pastors will scold me for exposing myself to the evils of pride, greed, lust and vanity but it has helped me a lot.

No offense to Walt Mueller but I am sick of the word culture.  It has become the most overused word in church vernacular since relevant.  I am sick of how some use the word as a diseased amoeba that we must protect ourselves from.  I am sick of how it is used as a convenient way to over generalize important issues of our day like media influence, social networking, violence, racism, war and a world economy.  I am sick of the way the Church acts as though it is not PART of culture.

Simple fact of the matter is that you can’t separate Church and Culture.  The religious influence on the people is one of the crucial marks of culture in society.  We should be asking not how is this culture affecting this people group or that organization but rather ask how is the New Testament Church affecting Culture.

The internet is here to stay, so are TV, Movies, Democrats, Republicans, Hate and Love.  How do we as a church navigate through this world and proclaim Jesus.  I strained a ligament in my knee a few weeks ago and last night I tweaked it playing with my 3 year old…holding it in pain she saw that I had a small scratch and went to get a band-aid for my booboo.   In her world if she fixed the scratch the pain would go away.  Church, stop focusing on the scratch…stop focusing on the surface level evidences of pain and let’s go deeper into the soul and offer healing. Healing that comes only from Jesus.   Then, the church will begin to AFFECT culture not simply be observing and commenting on it.

Study Jesus and you find someone who went out of his way to AFFECT culture not to comment on it.  Even when he commented on it he was stirring the pot of the establishment.  I pray that you who read this read it with it’s intent to encourage spiritual leaders to LEAD with love, compassion and mission.  Let other people study why.

Today is MLK memorial day.  I hope that you are using this day to at least pause and think about where we have come as a people and as a nation.  The ignorance and hate of our parents and grandparents generations is beginning to diminish and there is no greater example of that than tomorrows inauguration of Barack Obama.  MLK jr was of course an instrament of change in the arena of civil rights but he was also an incredible thinker and an incredible Christian.  In a world of sound-bites and boiled down theology, it makes me long for great thinkers and orators.  I am thankful for Rob Bell, Mark Batterson, Brian Mclarean.  Great thinkers that are questioning things.

Here are some quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and reasons why I love this man.

“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.”

”Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

“Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think”

“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”

“A man can’t ride your back unless it’s bent.”

Take a moment and ponder things for a moment.  Ask a question.  That will be an appropriate way to remember a great thinker.

You may have noticed that I am extremely laid back lately.  Well, I started feeling guilty about it until I looked back at some old journal entries and realized that is normal for me in December.  This is generally a pretty low impact time for me.  One thing I have learned to accept is that it is OK!  It is healthy to know your rhythms and know when there are typical down times for you and to actually enjoy them.  Lord knows January is going to be crazy with new programs being implemented and new focuses to give energy to.  Then, I have spring break mission trips and Breakaway will be here before you know it.  So, right now I am enjoying my down time.  I try to help out in the creative dept or read a bit more or just have a few more conversations.

When is your down time?  Do you take advanage of it?

BTW on a side note…all down time is not voluntary, many of my friends have lost jobs recently and some of them have miraculously gotten new jobs right away.  You may or may not know Bobby Webster.  He lost his job about a month ago and has recently started a freight company.  If you know someone in the shipping/traffic line of work that could help him get this off the ground email him at webster2r@yahoo.com.  Otherwise keep him and others who are without work right now in your prayers.

Now that Obama is elected there is plenty for James Dobson and others to scream about.  However, coming off of a great weekend at National Youth Workers I have come to one realization.  Jesus matters.  More than our programs, more than our understandings of politics, more than our attitudes, visions or plans…JESUS MATTERS.  That is what I want to be known for.  Not a republican, not a southerner, not even a Christian…as much as a lover of Jesus.  Michelle shared in staff devotions this morning a sobering scripture that is timely.  Romans 13:1-7 look it up.

This past week I heard some of the greatest communicators in Church and Youth Ministry and all of them had a theme.  Don’t hold on to your programs, numbers, or suppositions to what is important but lead people to Jesus.  Lead people to do ministry, to share the Good News, to love one another.  I know that I personally have to concentrate less on the programs and numbers of Alive Youth Ministry and focus more on bringing Life to the teenagers I interact with.

These are great times…people need Jesus and we have him!  People need love and we have it!  People need hope and we can offer it!  People need life and we know the giver of life!  What an incredible time we live in and what an incredible task we have before us.  Walk in freedom knowing that God is in control!  Leave the panic to the talkshow hosts…”Some trust in horses, some trust in chariots but WE trust in the name of the Lord our God” – Psalm 20:7

Okay, well according to the pundits tomorrow will be a route.  That does not mean you should not go out and vote.  I will be there in line exersising my right and privildege as a citizen.  However, if Obama does win…everyone needs to take a breath and remember we do not serve a republican or a democrat we serve the King of kings and Lord of lords.  I also believe that if Obama should win we need to relax and assume that

1) there will NOT be abortion clinics in every McDonalds

2) Marriage and 1 Corinthians 13 will not be voided out of conscienceness

3) The seals of the apocalypse will not be opened…

you know how I know that…I was working in a Christian bookstore when Clinton was elected and Christians were up in arms then too…there was even a book that called Clinton the anti-Christ…(giving him way too much credit).  Yet God was still God and managed to do his work from the throne.

So, just in case we do have Obama as president everyone just chillax.

One of our kids is hurting today. He was driving a car and drove off the road killing one and placing himself and another in critical condition. Before the news gets on this story and before the rumor mill hits let me just tell you about this kid. A year ago he was neck deep in drugs, thug life and headed for no good. About 6-8 months ago he accepted Jesus as his Savior and he has tried to change his life. He got a job, was going for his GED and was to begin a job doing construction this week. Yes, he is flawed. Yes, he made a mistake that he will regret the rest of his life. But he was a work in progress, as we are all. He simply had further to climb and last night made decisions that he will never forget. Berkeley High School and Moncks Corner will undoubtedly be full of rumors and judgments of who these kids were. Please know that they were kids struggling but trying.

Today me and Bobby looked into the eyes of 2 boys hanging on for their lives. We held parents that were asking why? We tried to encourage friends that just saw them the night before. It was a hard day.

Pray for Chris, Nick, Stevie, and the family of Darryl.

With all of this talk about financial crisis and the possibility of another depression and wide spread panic over the news it got me to thinking…
Youth Pastors are a luxury not a necessity. If the economy hit so bad that churches had to scale back and youth ministries would not exist as we know them today in our affluent society…what would I do? I have been doing this over 15 years. I am 34, which if you do the math, I have been doing this since I got out of high school. I went to college to do this. I have NO other skills, life experience or background.
I LOVE what I do but it has gotten to me lately that I posses no real-life skill. I can’t build anything, fix anything, grow anything or sell anything. So, I am going to be praying REALLY HARD for our economy.

What about you? If you couldn’t do what you do now…what would you do?