The Outcome

So after our long day of planning each of our respective areas of ministry came up with a statement for what we are trying to achieve by the grace of God. Here is what student ministry at Central is trying to accomplish:

To develop experiences that transform students [into Christlikeness], and to mobilize them to change the world.

That is our statement in its preliminary form. But our goal is simple. The first part could be explained by looking at Colossians 1:28;

We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.

So the experiences that we desire to create are marked by a proclamation of Christ and a teaching about him. We also admonish the students. Admonish has two elements that apply 1.) A warning against sin and 2.) an urging to a duty, namely loving Christ. With the goal ultimately being that at the end we present students complete or perfect in Christ. Those are the experiences we want to create at youth group.

The second half of the statement; "...and to mobilize them to change the world" aims to create a gospel community of young people that love and serve and display Christ to the world. 

At the end of the day, if we accomplish our goal by the grace of God, I am sure God will be pleased and we will be faithful gospel workers.

Planning

Our team is going to do a little brain storming today... it is a great idea to think through strategy.

Proverbs 14:22
Do not those who plot evil go astray? But those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness.

Proverbs 16:3
Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

Proverbs 19:21
Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.

Unfashionable

Unfashionable by Tullian Tchividjian

Have you ever noticed that some Christians are indistinguishable from the rest of the world? Or on the other end of the spectrum have you noticed that some completely seperate themselves? In this book Tullian Tchividjian sets out to navigate the readers through the murky waters of interacting with culture and the world. All Christians need to think through this critical issue. Tullian does a great job of clearly explaining from the bible what it means to be in the world but not of the world. This is a great resource for anyone that claims they are a christian and interacts with the world... (all of us).

Here is what others are saying:

D. A. Carson: "It is not easy to stand athwart the tides of the culture and challenge them without sounding either terribly prissy or hopelessly out of date. How can a thoughtful Christian be genuinely contemporary while never succumbing to the merely faddish and temporary? The challenges are enormous - but they are also tied to the most elementary tenets of Christian faithfulness. Tullian Tchividjian is a helpful and engaging guide through these troubled waters."

J. I. Packer: "Plainly, powerfully, and pastorally, Unfashionable gives a birds-eye view of the real Christian life - Christ-centered, church-committed, kingdom-contoured, future-focused, and counter-cultural all the way. It makes for a truly nutritious read."

Acts 12- Deflecting Praise

How do you deal with praise? What happens in your soul when someone says something great about you? Herod gives us a great example of what not to do... "On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, "This is the voice of a god, not of a man." Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died" (Acts 12:21-23). 

What can we make of this? The first thing that I want to say is that there is a parallel between this text and the text of Isaiah 14:12-14 where Satan was cast down because he thought he will ascend to heaven and his throne will be above the stars of God. Pride. It is the deadliest of sins. It blinds us of our need for God and robs God of His godness. It places yourself on the throne and is absolute tyranny of the King of Kings. 

When Herod received the praise of man for his god-like stature, you have to read into the text the sin of pride. "He did not give praise to God, [therefore] an angel of the Lord struck him down (vs. 23). So, Herod enjoyed the praise. He took it to heart. He ascribed to himself the stature that he obtained. Herod, in fact, was quite the leader. He did accomplish many things with his life. He had built infrastructures that we still marvel at in the twenty-first century. He even constructed a mountain!? So he must have felt that he in some degree was a god. He did accomplish so much that maybe the people were right... wrong! So he was layed low.

This is a serious text. Because, if we are honest, we all climb on the throne. It is my favorite past time. Sitting on the throne and addressing people as the authority in my life is natural. I do a lot of great stuff, I deserve praise, I'm the king. Be honest, you do this too. So, why is the real king so gracious to us?

What is astonishing about this text is that I am not dead yet. That Herod got what he deserved but I haven't. I am a tyrant. I am a rebel against the King and yet he is so patient and gracious towards me. That is why the Bible tells us that His loving kindness draws us to Him (Jeremiah 31:3). When we see our rebellion and know that our offense is punishable by death, it makes us realize that His dealings with us are totally unfair and unwarranted. He does the opposite of what we would expect. He loves us, forgives us, redeems us, and clothes us with honor. That's why we praise Him. He is so upside down and backwards. 

So, next time you receive praise, think about that every good gift is from above, everything you have every experienced that is good has been a grace to you. You know the King and He is so loving and gracious. So, worship Him and deflect all praise to Him, the One who is worthy.

Lord Let None of My Words Fall

When I talk to serious Christians and nudge them towards leaving their profession and pursuing full-time ministry usually their response is something like, "NO WAY!" And then they go on to explain that it is too heavy a responsibility. That it would be easy to lead people astray and they do not want that responsibility.

I understand their concern... I write blogs semi regularly, I speak at least twice a week, and beyond that I counsel people. So, that is a lot of words... a lot of words that I hope are right! I hope that I am not doing a poor job of explaining the Book to others. I hope I am rightly dividing the Word so that I don't have any need to be ashamed (2 Timothy 2:15). But I admit it can be a heavy task.

As I was reading the Bible in my devotional time I saw something that stood out to me. "The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground... The Lord continued to reveal himself to Samuel through his word" (1 Samuel 3:19,21) So, for Samuel their was a revealing of the Lord through the Word of the Lord and then there was a speaking that did not fall to the ground. Verse 20 says that everyone perceived Samuel to be a prophet. God was using this young Samuel to communicate God's own truths to people. And, God did not let a word of Samuel fall to the ground... What does that mean? Could it mean that God mastered Samuel's tongue so that he never spoke an out of place word? Could it mean that God guarded Samuel's tongue to help him always speak truthfully? I desperately want this in my life. I want God's mastering power to rule my tongue. So that when I speak the words are true and faithful to the Word of words, the Bible. 

James teaches us this:

Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. (James 3:1-2)

So let me end by praying that God would guard my tongue. That he would so master my heart that I wouldn't speak any word that lead people astray. Lord keep my words from falling to the ground. Gaurd the hearts and minds of the students from anything I say or do that is not inline with your Word. Amen.

What is Hell Like?

Ashley was in town yesterday and we went to our usual hangout locale where we can get great coffee and great food. We were talking about the students and about youth group on Sunday. She asked a brilliant question, "do you think they understand hell?" I told her that I thought so and that I make it a point to be real honest about hell and my understanding of it. But then Ash talked about how her dad explained it to her when she was younger... it was profound and I will do my best to re hash what she said.

Every good and perfect gift is from above (James 1:17). That means that laughter and friendships and relationships and joy and smiling and everything that you love comes from our heavenly Father. To be in hell means to be eternally separated from Him and His good gifts. Imagine for eternity never smiling, never having a moment of joy, never experiencing the feeling of being right with God, never having someone ask you how your day is going, never being able to laugh, or even feel comfortable. Never ever for a moment experiencing any of the joys that you have come to know in your lifetime. It sounds horrible. It sounds absolutely terrible.

That is why when Jesus explains it in Luke 16 the man in hell is in torment and begs for even just a drop of water(vs. 24). And he pleads that they could warn his brothers so they too will not come to 'this place of torment' (vs. 28). 

Friends, hell is misery. It is a separation from your loving Father and everything good you have ever experienced. Think of hell often and let your knowledge of hell and your love and awareness of the Giver of all good gifts be a motivation to share the news of salvation.

Devotional

Valley of Vision

I wanted to inform you of a great book that I recently started reading as a devotional. It is a collection of prayers from the Puritans and it is phenomenal... If you don't believe me then let me just share one of the prayers with you and see if it doesn't stir your soul to a deeper conviction of sin and greater love for God:

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly,

Thou has brought me to the valley of vision,

where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;

   hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold

   thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox

   that the way down is the way up,

   that to be low is to be high,

   that the broken heart is the healed heart,

   that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,

   that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,

   that to have nothing is to possess all,

   that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,

   that to give is to receive,

   that the valley is the place of vision.

 

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,

   deepest wells,

   and the deeper the wells the brighter

   thy stars shine;

Let me find thy light in my darkness,

   Thy life in my death,

   that every good work or thought found in me

   thy joy in my sorrow,

   thy grace in my sin,

   thy riches in my poverty

   thy glory in my valley.