In a churched environment there are words that are thrown around a lot and because of the loose way they are used the meaning has been clouded and diminished.  Discipleship and Evangelism are two of those words to me.  Discipleship has been relegated to a series of classes that teach doctrine and lifestyle do’s and don’ts.  Evangelism has been relegated to raise your hand and repeat after me…and oh yeah sign the card.  Now, the terms are fine but it is near impossible to separate the terms from their false meanings, so I am going to switch the terms and I am sure that I am not the first nor brightest to make these observations.

For the purposes of our ministry (and this blog) I am replacing the term “Discipleship” with “Followship” and the term “Evangelism” with “Surrender“.  The apostle Paul made the audacious statement “Follow me as I follow Christ” – 1 Cor 11:1  How many of us live in a way that we can say, “follow me and you will have it figured out.”?  However, as you read about Paul’s ministry he was the ultimate discipler.  Whether it is he and Barnabas or he and Timothy or he and the dude that chained himself to Paul in prison, Paul got it!  To create disciples you have to do life WITH them.  You have to have people to follow and who follow you.  Our youth ministry small group philosophy used to be here are our small groups, go sign up for one of them and go.  Now, I am training our SG leaders to go to the students and pour into the students that naturally gravitate toward them and lead them closer to Jesus…Followship.

I woke up a while back terrified with the thought of all the students that I would be held accountable for because they are walking around with a false sense of salvation because I relegated it to a raised hand, recited prayer and a signature on a card.  God forgive me.  Accepting Christ is not in the Bible however Surrender is.  A life of a student who has surrendered their life to Jesus will be obvious and there will be marked shifts in desires, pursuits and passions.  Why can’t we get people to attend a New Believer’s class?  Could it be that they are NOT a new believer?  I don’t think we have to raise the bar for students to get saved, I don’t think we have to make it harder.  I think we need to allow the Holy Spirit to draw students to himself and cultivate the decision the student has made by providing an environment for a surrendered student can fully express and discover their spiritual journey.

In Matthew 13:1-23 Jesus tells the parable of the sower.  In our context, I am the sower, the SG leader is the waterer and the Holy Spirit causes it to grow.

As disciplers we need to…

Pray – for those who are following you and that you are bringing along in the faith.

Organic Structure – There is no 8 week program and it is not always cookie cutter perfect.  It takes time and is often messy however it is pure.

Utilize Tools – We need to teach how to use the Bible not only read it.  I love what YouVersion.com is doing with their reading plans.

Raise Disciples – When the students are ready, release them into the wild to find their own group to lead.

I recognize that none of this is new or even that cutting edge but maybe just maybe some youth pastor out there is ready for a change.  I hope it helps.

How are you doing “Discipleship” and is it working in your environment?

Chances are you have some game when it comes to presence, leadership and speaking ability or you wouldn’t have been hired by a church in the first place.  However, the more talented you are the easier it will be for you to fall into seasons of laziness when it comes to message/Bible study prep.  At times I have tended to reach into my “bag of tricks”  rather than spent the time seeking the Lord, planning the message and preaching/teaching a fresh thought.

Back in the day the youth pastors time was spent on the campuses and playing ball and that led to Wednesday afternoon cramming for a Wed night talk.  However, we had “TalkSheets” from Youth Specialties if we needed help.  Today, our time is spent putting together state of the art programming that would have put 80′s concerts to shame (thinking about the KISS concert I went to right now).  We spend time on intro videos and countdowns and light cues and transitions and put it all in our Mac’s so we can run the program then Wed afternoon comes around and we are like, “Crap!  I have to preach tonight!”

I speak not in judgement but out of experience.  This actually happened to me this past Summer at our summer camp “CHAOS”.  I worked so hard to make it memorable, powerful and creative that I forgot to work on the messages.  The result is that the part of the week that COULD have made impact didn’t.  How Jesus must have been so impressed with my creativity.  All the while leaving him (Jn 1:1) out of the equation.

My ministry has been the most effective when God has controlled the agenda and message not me.  So, over my years here are a few tips to help you stay prepared.

1) Plan ahead…if you are working this week on this weeks message then you are going to be in trouble.  Distractions happen.  Someone dies, kids get sick, Senior Pastors call emergency strategy meetings…who knows but you need to be at least 1 week out.  Also, Plan your message calendar out.  I would say at least 3 months but I plan 1 year out.  I know each month what my focus is going to be.  This helps my creative team, my worship team and my leaders know what our focus as a ministry is going to be in the coming year.  Saddleback and Simply Youth Ministry do some awesome work with this.  If you plan that far ahead put 1-2 months in there labeled OPEN to make up for your Pastor calling for a church-wide campaign or an unforeseen circumstance that may take place that you may have to spend time teaching on.

2) Use Series…Most Youth Pastors that I have met have a bit of ADD in them and have the attention span of a 7 year old.  So, to say we are going to go through the book of Romans this Spring is probably not realistic.  You and your students will get bored with it.  So plan in 3-5 week series.  Get creative with it (however, not too creative or that will be your focus rather than the content).

3) Don’t rant – teach…this is going to be the focus on tomorrows blog so I won’t go too far into it rather than to say when preparing your talk don’t spend your time ranting on what YOU think is wrong teach on what the Bible says is right.  Use the pulpit and gifts God has availed you with.

4) Over prepare…I throw away have of what I prepare each week so that what is left is usually just the good stuff.  I speak about 30 minutes a week.  I have to chisel that down usually and boil it down to the best points (the best points by the way aren’t usually the smartest ones but the clearest ones).

5) Oh yeah by the way PRAY…spend time each day in your personal worship time asking God to make you a better teacher.  Lean on him to direct you as you prep for talks.  This should be done before you open your Bible, journal, iPad or whatever.

There is nothing worse than listening to a podcast of a youth service and hearing a youth pastor stammer through platitudes and weak theology simply because they didn’t take time to study.  I am also tired of the excuse of well that is how youth guys teach.  No, that is how BAD youth guys teach.  If God has called you to be a pastor to students there is no greater calling in all the world.  Respect that calling and know that the greatest weapon in your bag is the Word of God.  Teach it well.

Lesson 1 – Your pastor is not as useless/clueless as you think he is

Thinking through this blog I may very well call my former pastors and apologize.  My own “My name is Earl” list.  I was young, cocky and incredibly disrespectful.  I more often than not saw my pastor as my adversary rather than my partner in ministry.  He was the “old way” of doing things and just didn’t get “it”.  Well some quick tips hopefully will help you not make some of the mistakes I have made.

1) Don’t think your responsibilities and his are the same

youth pastors have an enormous responsibility but when you act like the level of your responsibility is equal of that to the man that leads the vision for the entire organization you just make yourself look stupid.  He has to deal with deacons/elders, budgets, big givers to the church, hard headed staff, everyone whos marriage is falling apart RIGHT NOW and needs you, and oh by the way his wife and kids.  On top of that he has to preach to a crowd that won’t be impressed by games and funny stories so he has to you know…study.

2) Don’t think it is YOUR ministry

Average tenure of a youth pastor is 18 months and the average tenure of a senior pastor is 4-6 years.  From a churches perspective you come and go…don’t come in declaring that it is YOUR vision for YOUR ministry and demanding freedom, money and facilities.  Always remember it is the senior pastors vision for the church that you are executing in the area of youth ministry.  If your vision does not line up with the senior pastors…line it up or move on.

3) Don’t line up support

If you want to give the enemy a foothold in your church then begin having conversations with the deacons like “You get it, why can’t pastor understand like you do?”  Nut up and sell your case to your pastor.  This will do several things.  It will further communication between you and your pastor.  It will hone in your skills at casting vision.  It will let you know really quick if you guys can co-exist or not.

Now you might say, “yeah but Sean you don’t know MY senior pastor?”  I would say you are right but I have served in Tiny, Small, Medium and Large churches with passive pastors and Alpha military pastors and my advice is the same…that being said there may be a time if your pastor is simply not Godly and does not lead well that you have to for your health dust your feet off and move on…but I rarely think that you should be there as the instrument of change.  That is how churches split and there may be a youthguy out there that fits that pastor well and a pastor out there just waiting for you to fall into his office and show him the error of his ways.

Before you do that though may I offer a few suggestions:

1) Pray for your pastor

My relationship with my current pastor began to change when I committed to pray daily for him.  Not pray that he would come around to my way of thinking but praying for him as a person.  I asked him what specifically I could pray for and I would often email him prayers that I prayed over him so that he knew someone was praying for him.  Prayer softens and changes hearts.  Prayer makes it about Jesus’ kingdom not our own.  I submit that before you leave or schedule a walk out…pray.

2) Try it his way for a while

I love the scene in “Days of Thunder” where Duvall makes Cruise race the car 50 laps his way then 50 laps my way…turns out going a little slower actually made him go faster and saved his tires…there is a lot of wisdom in that scene.  Why don’t you spend a season doing it your pastors way…again he has probably been there longer and been through some youth guys who have made the mistake you are trying to make.

I am not a youthguy basher…I am a stupid youthguy basher.  In my cranky old age I see young YP’s make the mistakes I have made and it makes me queasy.  So, today pray for your pastor…thank God that he is there and serve with him and not against him.  If you can’t, go to the youth specialties site and look for a job…it has probably been 18 months anyway.

2 weeks ago I was privileged to spend the week with the monks at Mepkin Abbey.  I went on a fast of sound.  I did not speak a word to another soul for 4 days.  In a world of noise and constant activity this was to say the least surreal.  I first of all want to say that the commitment that these men of God have to prayer and hospitality is amazing.  Many of these moncks have been part of this life of service for decades.  I chose this as the sight for my week of sabbatical because deep down I did not need anymore sun, I didn’t need any more teaching or encouragement.  I needed to be quiet and listen for God.

Psalm 46:10 says “Be still and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the heathen and I will be exalted among the earth.”

It is difficult in our culture to be still not only physically but to be still in our spirits.  To quiet our hearts…to be honest it took hours for the noise of my thoughts rumbling around in my head to subside before I really felt like I was in silence.

For 4 days I walked, rested, prayed and read.  I fasted noise, breakfast and lunch.  My desire was to purge sin from my heart, seek God for direction and enjoy his presence.  All of those things were accomplished.  I absolutely recommend all pastors do something like this in the next year of your ministry.

Some of the books I read were…

Doctrine by Mark Driscoll

In a pit with a lion on a snowy day by Mark Batterson

Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster

Switch by Dan and Chip Heath

Over the next days I will share some insight to what God revealed to me out there…however not all because some of it aint your beezwax.

So, without being judgmental when was the last time you were still and simply knew God?

I have a confession to make…as a youth ministry veteran I am very lack in a crucial area of youth ministry and that is video gaming.  However, I just purchased a new PS3 and with it I purchased the must have game…Modern Warfare.  I am really bad at this game.  I play with Sean Gajda and Skyler Alexander and it is immensely embarrassing.  Although I am getting better…no really.

This morning during staff devotions Pastor Cal spoke on Spiritual Warfare and I slipped into a daze of video games and youth ministry…during that daze I thought of some pretty cool parallels of MW2 and youth ministry…enjoy.

The grenade is a crucial weapon for beginners.  One press of a trigger and when someone is shooting you they go out as well.  It is a bush league move but it works.  This is the easiest weapon to use.  You don’t have to aim, you don’t have to have any skill.  You just lob away and watch the impact.  This is done in youth ministry often.  I am the king of it actually.  You see we have a youth ministry that runs between 300 and 400 students.  I stand on the stage and lob my grenades with spunk!  It takes no more than a solid message and a good delivery and throw in some funny jokes and BAM!  Impact.  You get a lot of people that way but often you leave a mess as well.  There is very little chance of follow up and if a student heard a scripture wrong (or God forbid you misquoted scripture) there is often little chance of correcting that perception.  So a great weapon for large impact but also must be handled carefully and SHOULD not be the only weapon in your arsenal.

The sniper rifle drives me crazy!  By the time I find a good location and get a bead on someone I am playing against someone else already finds me and pegs me in the forehead.  This is an extremely powerful weapon that has huge advantages if you are willing to be patient and learn to use it.  This ministry is discipleship and accountability.  It means looking at a student and talking with them and not at them.  It means hurting when they fail not getting angry.  It means long talks over a coke about a struggle that they fell to AGAIN.  There is little chance of collateral damage and has an almost 100% success rate…even if they don’t get it now the time you pour into them will resonate for years/decades to come.

The annoying thing about playing this game with people who are “gamers” is that they know all the cool hiding places and the cool shortcuts to sneak up behind you and get you.  Knowing your terrain is vital in youth ministry.  Who are your kids?  What is their background?  How does your ministry experience line up with your students?  Knowing them is knowing what to teach them and how.  Knowing the terrain of your area will keep you from making rookie mistakes and having endless foolish conversations with parents because of a seemingly benign comment.  What can be said in Atlanta may be taboo in Augusta.  What is perfectly fine in Charleston may be out of the question in Greenville.  Your maps are important.

I am still learning this game.  I am trying to get my kill rate up and am learning my maps and weapon strategies.  I want to make an impact everytime I get in the game.  Wait…what game did you think I was talking about?

There are tons of 10 – 80 – 10 principles out there so here is my fleshing out a youth ministry version of it.  There are many ways to debate health in youth ministry.  There are attendance numbers, decisions for Christ, baptisms, students who serve in ministry and the list goes on and on and on.  I am a youth pastor of a large youth ministry and have been a youth pastor of a small youth ministry.  There are successes and health in every size an type of model but one thing that allows me to at least quantify how we are doing is the good old fashioned bell curve.

The leadership 10%

The way I figure it (and I am sure I am not original in this idea) is that 10% of my ministry should be solidly on fire for Jesus…you know your all stars.  The ones that bring their Bible, crave the word and share Jesus at School.  These 10% are to be poured into and developed as leaders and disciplers themselves.

The high maintenance 10%

Then there are the other 10% of students that when you see them you wonder what in the world went wrong.  You don’t ever seem to be able to get through to them.  They are at the group to see their friends, to eat the pizza or to simply get away from home.  They are hardend and though we should never give up on them, they are typically the ones we manage not pour into.  (I know that sounds harsh and offends some sensibilities but you know who you pour into.)

The middle 80%

This is the where the battle is won or lost.  This is the crowd that we are fighting for.  Are they going to be led into the leadership 10 or the high maintenance 10.  These are the ones on the bubble that tend to fall through the cracks.  This is why we offer small groups, cell groups, accountability groups or whatever you offer.  We need to pray for these students, fight for these students and staff to these students.

This in my view is where the idea of health takes place.  If a ministry is skewed too much in the leadership area it tends to be inward focused and becomes a club of Christian teens.  However I have also led a ministry that focused on the high maintenance teens in a missions model that placed so much attention on some of the hardest cases that the leaders and teens that really should have/could have been developed for leadership felt outcast in their own youth group.  Finally if you focus so much on EVERYONE your ministry is flat and ineffective.  However if you are balanced you are developing a manageable amount of students and you have a solid crop of students to fight for/develop.  And you don’t have to feel bad about the 10% of students that are floating in and out because that number is moderate as well.

I know there are holes all in my blog here so poke away but I have found this to be effective as a ministry when I was running 25 3 years ago and it works now that I run 350 in our youth ministry.  Now, these are simplistic theories I know, theories that do not take into account the human element but it is a tool to help plot out the health of your group.  So, try it out…plot out your kids and see where you need to pour your time, energy and resources.  Have fun and tell me what you think.

The work of your ministry begins with the willingness to repent.  All great moves of God begin with that action and yet it is something that we treat so flippantly.  Repentance isn’t crying or feeling bad…repentance is turning away from sin and toward righteousness.   If you are feeling powerless in your work repent.  If you are feeling confused in a direction you need to go.  Repent.  If you are finding yourself overwhelmed.  Repent.

Only when we get this discipline down in our lives will we ever truly understand what Power the Holy Spirit wants to impart upon us.  Operate on this side of the cross and on your knees repent, then get up and work in righteousness the work of the Lord.

I am praying for you all now.

Lord, I pray for all of my fellow workers out there slugging it out for the cause of your name.  I pray for a spirit of repentance to pour out onto our leadership.  You are the author of our work, Lord.  We recognize that we try too often to do ministry in our own strength.  We recognize that we allow pride, ego, and temptation of every stripe enter our spirits.  We ask Lord for your forgiveness, we beg Lord for your forgiveness.  We plead the cross for the strength to work in your strength.  To work in your Spirit, in your ways, in your righteousness.  Give us your eyes, your heart, allow us to be your hands.  In Jesus name.  Amen

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.

Psalm 20:4-5 “May he give you the desires of your heart and make all your plans succeed. We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the Lord grant all your requests.”

One problem that I have whenever I attend a youth ministry conference is Youth Ministry Guilt.  This is a condition that comes about when people who are smarter than you question what you are doing and how you are doing it.  Or they point out the NEW way of doing ministry which is really the OLD way of doing ministry.  All I know is that I often feel like MY way of doing ministry is wrong.

The prevailing thought from many of the speakers is that numbers is getting to much attention and discipleship is getting the shaft.  On that note I totally agree.  However, I am not ready to throw the pizza out with the light machine just yet.  After months of praying and weeks of fasting I believe that God gave me the vision called “HALF”.  This vision was not to bring attention to our numbers rather more to spread our tent of influence throughout our community.  I want God to be Glorified throughout Moncks Corner.

We are year 2 into our 5 year campaign and all goals have been met.  That leads me to the purpose of this blog.  The cure for youth ministry guilt is to point out that this is not about me, my numbers or my plan.  this is about giving Glory to God.  So, if you will allow me to share with you some victories.

• Every year for the last 3 years we have doubled.  2006 = 50, 2007 = 100, 2008 = 250
• We had a young lady at Breakaway thought she was pregnant and considering suicide and now is on fire for God and meeting regularly with one of our leaders.
• I meet with 2 young men every week that very well may be future pastors, they are hungry for God and his Word.
• We have a presence on 2 of the campuses every week.  ACTS at St Johns and Teen Extreme at Berkeley Middle
• Students are engaging in worship more and more every week.
• Our student ministry was able to provide hope and comfort to 4 tragedy stricken families
• We have students serving in the tech team, worship team, children s ministry, nursery and service teams.
• We took up over $150 for a family whose home burned down
• We took up over 150 care kits for the homeless
• We collected over 10 bags of groceries for Salvation Army
• We take up a monthly offering to support an internet radio station ministry called radiofree.cc
• We have baptized over 50 students this year

All of these are Victories that belong to Jesus.  We lift up the banners in the name of Jesus.  We have a long way to go but I believe that we are on the right track.  Thank you God for allowing me to be a part of your work.