Young Radicals

February 1st 2008 I started my first day as the official pastor for youth at Central. The task was daunting but my excitement was coursing through me. I daydreamed about the revolution that was about to occur from the ground up. I thought to myself that if any group could change the tide of the church and ramp up the spiritual temp, it was and is the students. Imagine tapping into all of the energy of redbulls, pop music, and kids who can "mod" an xbox (I don't even know what that means but it sounds cool). Imagine getting that group of young and fearless students on board for a journey of their lifetimes.

Over the course of the past seasons of ministry my excitement has ascended to the heights and came crashing down onto the rocks of brutal reality. There have been times when I've seen incredible potential and also times when I've felt very uncertain. But at the current moment I feel like we are in a time like no other. I have to let you know that this Fall marks one of the most exciting seasons of ministry for CSM. Here are a few reasons why:

First, leadership is transitioning. We are losing some key volunteers and gaining some fresh ones. Just when we were getting comfortable, God decided to mix things up on us. This is a great 'problem' to have. It throws our dependency back on God. It would be a shame to operate on our own strength to the neglect of the Holy Spirit's power. God has not given us that option. Because we are sending off a great volunteer, we are forced to trust in God and not in ourselves.

Second, we've torn down old practices and are ready to rebuild. Over the past couple years we have stripped CSM down to bare bones. We put everything on the table and said to God, "if you want us to keep doing any of these things, let us know or they are getting thrown out." We whittled CSM down to 3 basic things. Worship. Teaching. Community. Even within those elements we strove for minimalism. Worship was simple. No frills. Teaching included a bible and a point. We rarely had a catchy title to a series or showed videos. We didn't even put the verses on the screens so the students would have to look in their own bibles. Community was basic. Community is always organic and difficult to plan. We gave time for small group at Fuel and set up couple different meeting places and times for high school students. That was it. And it worked. So, here we are barreling into a new school year with a blank canvas. We have removed all the distractions and are ready to listen to the leading of Him who loves His Bride. Jesus, what would you love your Beauty dressed in?

Finally, our group is about as rad as it gets. The students have crossed school lines and stereotypes. Seniors hang out with freshmen. Athletes hang out with gamers. Wisconsin hangs with Illinois. We have a real live biblical community! It is actually weird to see, but o' so exciting! Not only that, they are mature Christ followers! They know how to open a bible up and meet with King Jesus. They know how to worship Him when life is brutal. Take away the guitars and drums and just try to shut up their singing. Tell them to stop dreaming about ministry and missions and focus on school work. It won't happen easily. These kids are a revolution! They are an inspiration to young people everywhere and they are an inspiration to me. They are the real deal. They get it. Don't be surprised when they set an example for us in faithfulness and challenge us to really follow Jesus. Things may get messy, but following Jesus never seemed neat and tidy. I'm just trying to keep up with these young radicals.

Reminder to Be Missional

Ed Stetzer of Lifeway Research has some great resources on church leadership. I recommend that you check out what he has to say.

It is important that we as a youth group don't get too caught up in our youth group. God intends that we are intentional with our time at school, work, with family, and with friends too! So, think missional, be missional!

Acts 19- Jesus on Our Lips

Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for two years so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord. (Acts 19:8-10).

As I have said many times before, and will restate here, we are not promised immediate success. We are not called primarily to be successful, we are called to be faithful. Even the Apostle is disregarded. "Some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them." Do not equate faithfulness with success. It is easy to replace the worship of Jesus with the worship of numbers, or conversions, or missions trips taken, etc. If success is on the throne of your heart, that means Jesus is not.

But here is what is really pressing on my soul... We have an example of the Word of God spreading. We have an example of the effects of Jesus being on the lips of the Apostle Paul. We see in verse 8 that Paul starts in the synagogue, but then in verse 9 he moves to the lecture hall. Paul's aim: to proclaim Christ. Jesus is on his lips. He preaches about Him, he discusses Him, he is all about Him. And the result is the whole province of Asia hears the word of the Lord.

I know it is easy to say, 'yeah of course the apostle Paul talks about Jesus,' but we need to get past the elitist faith that says some are called to this and others simply attend church. Jesus has revealed Himself to you. Now it should be the passion of your heart to have the Word of Jesus on your lips. It should come out in conversation. It should be the overflow of your heart. We should constantly have that Word on our lips. It isn't stuck in the Synagogue (the Church), the word is loose on the streets. It should be talked about at the water cooler and at the lunch table.

If we will let that Word capture our hearts, and if we will have a ministry of the Word that affects every portion of our lives, then our whole province will hear the Word of the Lord. Isn't that a goal worth giving your life to? Speak the Word. Tell them about your great King!

Wow...

This sermon has been flying around the blogosphere since it was preached yesterday at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary... I cannot recommend it strongly enough.

Gospel-Centered Student Ministry

If you are a leader or you want to know more of why we do what we do at CSM, then check out this video from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary by Dr. Alvin Reid. Much of what is said in this address perfectly matches our vision for student ministry. Very cool to be a part of something much bigger than just our ministry.

The video is around 27 minutes long and well worth your time.

Currently Working On...

Right now I am gearing up for a few things. My study is broad so I will just key you in on the majors.

For youth group I am working on a series on prayer that will carry us through the summer. I am very excited about this topic because it will force me to pray more diligently. One of the many pitfalls of working at a church is that I fall into a professional type of Christianity that de-values prayer, not in profession but in practise. I have periodically fallen into the habit of only praying in public or during preparation and have neglected a healthy communication with God apart from my responsibilities as a pastor.

At first, this was going to be a series called Praying with Paul, where I would walk them through the prayers of the Apostle Paul. But, I am looking into maybe some Old Testament prayers because I have been Paul heavy lately.

For Camp: The theme for the year is extreme and with the help of some of the Outdoor Outreach staff we landed on Extreme Acts! This means I am working on 5 talks from the book of Acts. Extreme Change (Acts 9), Extreme Calling and Preparation (Acts 13), Extreme Worship (Acts 16), Extreme Community (Acts 16-18), and Extreme Task. This is getting me pretty excited. We chose an illustrated bible and just got it in the mail. It is awesome!

Lastly, I am working on a talk for "big Church" this August. The assignment for those of us that are preaching while David is on break is to tackle the questions that came from our recent Habakkuk Series. These questions are really tough! It will be a student led weekend so I want to tie it all together. Therefore, I am leaning toward doing a talk entitled, Teaching Students to Suffer Well. Problems are coming. Soon these students will be adults asking the same difficult questions our congregation is asking. So, do they have enough bible to keep them afloat when Satan pounds on them? Can they with stand the life that is going to happen to them? Are we giving our students enough of a foundation to help them navigate the storms or are we just having pizza parties? I can answer those questions confidently that we are giving them what they need... a healthy diet of rock solid biblical truth straight from the Word of God!

Memoirs

Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor by D.A. Carson

This is a superb book that I almost forgot to recommend and that would have been a mistake on my part and if you didn't hear about it from anywhere else you would be robbed of a great read. Well, the timing of reading this book was priceless for me. I have been on a Spurgeon kick lately. He is a hero of mine and his counsel to the students at his pastors college which can be found in All Around Ministry, Lectures to My Students, or the first six chapters of The Soul Winner, is incredible! I just finished a biography on him and it was superb but I couldn't help but feel like Spurgeon is a little too good. He is one of a kind and God's anointing on him was special. So, for an ordinary youth pastor it was refreshing to read about an ordinary pastor! 

This leads me to an observation that I have been aware of since my last trip to Africa; most faithful ministers go unnoticed. They don't write books, they don't pastor mega churches, and they don't have the glitz and glamour that draws attention to them. They are faithful gospel ministers. And for the most part they are ordinary. So, it was a breath of fresh air for me to read about Tom Carson. He is spectacular in his own right but it wasn't because he marketed himself or pastored a big church or even saw lots of conversions every year. In fact, his ministry might appear depressing. But, he was faithful and I know he has a bigger reward than most now that he is in glory. So read and be blessed. Not everyone lives a missionary life or a mega church pastor life, but we are all called to lead a faithful life.

What others are saying:

“How can the application of a Bible-saturated mind (Don’s) to a Bible-saturated life (Tom’s) produce an even more helpful story to encourage pastors? Let the ‘mind’ be carried on a river of love because the ‘life’ is his father’s. Then add a kind of narrative creativity. That’s how.”
John Piper, Pastor for Preaching and Vision, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis

“A rare and precious gift from one of evangelicalism’s greatest scholars. How generous of Dr. Carson to bequeath his father’s quiet legacy to us all.”
C. J. Mahaney, Sovereign Grace Ministries

“Carson strikes at the heart of what’s wrong when we forget that, as servants, we were meant to live ordinarily under the gospel of grace. Read this book. You will be deeply encouraged in your life and ministry.”
Michel Lemaire, Pastor of Eglise Baptiste de la Foi, Drummondville, 1984-2005

“This personal testimony is a healthy reminder of heavenly priorities in the pastorate and Christian ministry.”
Pierre Constant, Associate Pastor, Eglise Baptiste Montclair de Hull, 1982-1997

“Read this book and be strengthened. You hold in your hands history, humor, and an amazing amount of wisdom for the Christian life (especially for pastors!).”
Mark Dever, Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church

Acts 10- Anticipation of The Message

"Falling at at his feet in reverence... now we are here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us" (10:25, 33)

The story is found in Chapter 10 of Acts. Peter is arriving at Cornelius's home after receiving a vision from God that indicates that God's love is for all mankind. There are no social boundaries. And, after being sent for Peter set out for Caesarea. Upon arriving "Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But Peter made him get up. "Stand up," he said, "I am only a man myself"" (vs. 25,26). When Peter went inside he saw a large gathering of Gentiles and asked why he was sent for. Then Cornelius explained how his prayers were met by a visitation from an Angel that told him to send for Peter. (vs 30-32). Then in verse 33 it says, "So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us."

What an amazing story! I want to look at it from two separate angles. First, let us look at the anticipation of Cornelius and those that were gathered... Do you have this sort of anticipation? Do you hold those that teach and encourage you in high regard? When Cornelius met Peter face to face he fell at his feet in reverence. Why would he do such a thing? Why was he inclined to decline? Why would he literally fall at someones feet? Cornelius was a centurion, a man in high standing that knew what it meant to be honored and obeyed. So, why would he do the complete opposite in the presence of a mere fisherman from Galilee? The answer is that Cornelius and those gathered with him were anticipating the Words of God to be brought to them through this vessel... through Peter. So, in anticipation of what God was going to speak and at the arrival of the messenger humility poured forth in the expression of reverence. "How beautiful are the feet of those that bring good news!" (Romans 10:15, cf. Isaiah 52:7). There is a respect for the messenger but not solely on the basis of his good looks or his reputation. No it is on the basis of his message. He is a receptacle delivering a treasure. (2 Cor. 4) So they were eager to hear everything that God was going to speak through him to them.

Do you have that sort of respect or admiration for the messenger and more importantly the message? Do you eagerly look forward to the times when the messenger pours the treasure of surpassing greatness out on you? Do you look forward to church? When the Word of God is opened and explained making things clear so that the people can understand (Neh. 8:8). When a passage of Scripture is the basis of teaching the good news of Jesus (Acts 8:35). Do you look forward to church with and anticipation of hearing from God?

Do you pray for the messenger? Do you lift up in prayer those that teach you and hold them in high regard? Do you put expectations on them to do things other than carefully sit in the counsel of God to recieve the message and faithfully deliver that message? Many church goers think that their pastors should be a 'jack-of-all-trades' and that they should be able to come up with a message from God in hurry but what is really important is that they jump at every 'beck-and-call' of the congregation. "Attend these events and accomplish these tasks" they say, "after all, what are we paying you for?" So, the message loses its place as supreme and is replaced with lots of other seemingly good things. Let us pray for our spiritual leaders to sit un-distracted on the mountain of the Lord. Let us pray that they would descend and speak to us with radiating faces and a message that makes us terrified of the Almighty (Exodus 19,20). A message that helps us to be the community of God (1 Peter 2:9).

Time

"We were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well." 1 Thess 2:8

I think that it is important to share with you how I spend my time. I have attempted to do this before but now I have a better grasp of how I spend my weeks. So, "imitate me as I seek to imitate Christ."

Monday: This is a day that I spend as a normal day in the office. I respond to emails, write articles, do sermon prep for Tuesday nights, do a little planning for Wednesday and this takes up my office day. Then on Monday nights I have been doing homework. I am taking some classes through Moody Bible Institute and Monday nights seem to be a great time to do some homework. I generally head to my parents to use their computer because then I can get a free meal and even do laundry for free while I work;)

Tuesday: Otherwise known as "the meeting day." I work at a large church so the staff is broken into teams. I am on the family ministry team. I work with early childhood, elementary, and family pastors to coordinate life change in young people. So, during the morning portion of Tuesday we meet together and talk about ministry issues and team plans and the like. This usually swallows up the morning. Then we grab some food and head to staff meeting where our whole staff is present. Depending on the week this can last anywhere from 1 hr to 3 or even more... We talk and pray through many issues surrounding our church. 

By the time those meetings are done I am about pretty burned out. Sometimes I leave for a little bit and get some coffee or if I have a lot going on that I need to work on I stick around. But most times, for my sanity, I leave. I am a procrastinator by nature so during this time I am usually working out the finishing touches on what I want to share on Tuesday night at a bible study that I co-lead. If it is my off week, I relax or maybe read. The bible study lasts a couple hours. If I don't have homework, I try to hang out with my best friend from high school. He isn't a Christian and I love him so much. So, we play video games or something like that on Tuesday nights.

Wednesday: This is a long day. I usually try to sleep in after playing video games on Tuesdays and get to the office by 10am. My day consists of getting ready for Fuel our midweek service for grades 6, 7, and 8. So, message prep, room set up, write out questions for small groups, email leaders etc... sometimes I take off at 4:30 for an hour or so before I come back to set up the gym and check-in computers. Fuel is taxing. With 50-75 kids running around I am usually pretty spent after youth group. After everything is put away and I give a ride home to all the kids that get stranded... I make it back to my apartment by 9:30 or 10. If my friends are still up I go upstairs and hang with them for a little bit. My neighbors are leaders for small groups at Fuel so Wednesday night we share stories about students and laugh and cry... seriously, this is our venting session. 

Thursday: This is the day that I try to spend with people. Usually I will spend the morning with some of my volunteers. Grab coffee with them or breakfast. Then on an ideal Thursday I spend time with a students for lunch and then again in the afternoon... This doesn't always work because of school and extra curricular activities but the ideal is being with people all day. 

Then Thursday nights I meet with my family for a small group. My parents, brothers, wives/ girlfriends, baby niece, and some close friends all attend. We have dinner together and then study the Word. We have been doing our family Bible study for years and it has sharpened us and grown us each so much.

Friday/ Saturday: These are my days that are blocked off to be with my beautiful girlfriend Ashley. She is amazing and I am going to marry her! These days I completely unplug from ministry and just focus on the time with Ash. We might go shopping, go to the park, go on dates, watch movies, read, or anything romantic. These are my favorite days of the week. I might be in Rockford or Chicago depending on Ash's schedule (she lives and works in Chicago but is from Rockford and has family in Rockford). 

Sunday: This day is a whirlwind. I teach a bible study for students at 9:00am. Then, during the 10:30 service I worship with the students in "big church." After church I usually grab some food either at my parents or at my apartment. Then I try to get back to the church as soon as possible. I do a lot of my message prep on Sunday afternoons for Sunday night. Sunday night is our high school worship service. So, I am at the church all afternoon getting ready. Then after 6:00 (that's the name of our program) a group heads to Culver's (a local burger joint) to hang out and chat. After the students head home the leaders stick around and debrief. Then it's back to my apartment to get some "Zs"

This is a rough skeleton of my week... Not everything plays out like that. I actually spend a ton of time with Ash and that can be shown by the fact that I put 8,000 miles on my little neon in the last few months driving back and forth to Chicago to see her. I also read a lot... so most nights I am reading when there is some down time. But, I want to be transparent so you can see what I spend my time on. Before I started working at a church I always wondered what staff did there. Now you know what one of them does with his time. 

Hope you are blessed.

Take Off My Ephod? NEVER!

While vacationing has its perks, I learned that you can never vacate from your office as a priest. Imagine if in scripture you read that Aaron or his sons or anyone from the priestly line took off their ephod and decided to become an Israelite from a different clan for a week... It doesn't happen. The ordination of the priests in Leviticus 8-10 shows the process by which the priests are set apart for service to the LORD. The process is irrevocable.

The same is true of you when you begin to see yourself as a part of the royal priesthood. When Jesus calls you into His kingdom you become a priest too. "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light" (1 Peter 2:11 emphasis added). Therefore you take on the role of priest as well and you never step away from your office of priesthood. This is so important because in our society we isolate areas of life. We have our school time, our work time, our family time, our church time, etc... The problem is a priest never becomes an ordinary Israelite... He is ordained for life. So, it is with the high office of being a Christian. We need to learn that being a Christian extends well beyond our hour and a half on a Sunday.


Paul puts it to us like this in Romans, "as it is written; 'God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you'" (Romans 2:24). When we who know the law and teach others, when we who call ourselves Christians 'take a break' from being Christians we essentially bring shame on Christ. I hear too often of my students living double lives, claiming Christ on Sundays but then walking in darkness throughout the rest of the week. That is not God's design for His followers. Our lives should be a living sermon. Something that people look at and see Christ in us. When we isolate or segregate our time to Christianity only happening on Sundays we become like the hypocrites that Jesus stood opposed to.


Let us make an effort to bring our lives into sharp focus. We have one mission in life, to demonstrate Christ to a broken world. Christianity is not simply a label we slap on top of our lives. It is an all out change. It is an identity. It is the act of becoming a priest so that you live in such a way that 'people may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us' (1 Peter 2:12).

Insufficient yet Necessary?

I was having a conversation with a friend a couple of winters ago... I had learned so much and was eager to share. I pretty much regurgitated so much of what God had been teaching me at the time about the nature of God and the absolute absurdity of casual Christianity. Looking back I probably could have said things in a much gentler way but I was fired up and passionate about supposed Christ followers taking the fame and glory and renown of Jesus more seriously. The last thing we need is for churches to crank out wishy-washy followers that can't last a week of actual following in the footsteps of Jesus. I was tired of nominal faith that can be lived from a sofa. I want something real. I still do. 

But after seeing that my friend was crying and obviously heartbroken by the scriptures I was sharing... I said, "whoops... maybe I should have just given you a sermon or a book, I didn't mean to be the bearer of bad news." But, her response was telling and revealing and it still haunts me; "No, I don't need a sermon... sometimes you need to be told by someone you know and trust." 

A light went on... for some reason God ordained that his ministry be dispersed by frail people. For some reason, unknown to me, God has orchestrated that his word is taught and proclaimed by people.There is something mysterious that happens when someone in proximity to you proclaims the word. God has designed that someone close enough to you teach the word. There has to be some sort of connection. I suppose it is proximity or at least rapport. Most highschool students in the Beloit area are not going to download Louie Gigglio or Francis Chan or John Piper unless they have heard about them... More realistically they might wander into a church service for students and hopefully hear the Word. So, as I turn that statement over and over in my head I am reminded that God chose me. He appointed me. For some reason he chose to make me necessary.

Here is the other side of the coin... insufficient. The words of the apostle Paul haunt me as well, "who is sufficient for these things?" If he felt that way then what hope do I have? I am not half the man that Paul was. I only dream of becoming like him. Here is the beauty of feeling the inadequacy of being a minister of Christ: Humility. There is nothing more humbling than proclaiming the word of God, spiritually leading others, discipling converts, and all the other tasks of the ministry. I may have done well as an athlete or as a businessman or in many other fields but as a minster I am dually unfit. First, I am a mere man with 'a thorn in my flesh.' 'I am a man of unclean lips and I come from a people of unclean lips.' I have flaws. As great as I ever thought I was, the ministry has brought me low. Secondly, I am given an impossible task. I am called to exclaim the glory of Christ to people that think the cross is foolishness(1 Cor 1:18). I am called to speak to a group that is def and blind(Isaiah 6:10, 2 Cor 4:4, 1 John 2:11). 

So, I am insufficient yet necessary. How does that add up? It adds up by God showing me the depths of his grace. I am made sufficient by the righteousness of Christ. I am clothed in glory and honor because of the magnificence of God and not Cory Williams. I am frail and humbled and insufficient but he chose to use me to show his greatness and worth and mercy and power. He is awesome! I am puny! I am a mess and God takes my little mess and is writing a beautiful story. I haven't earned what I have... I was chosen then equipped and not by my strength so I could boast in my greatness. But I was supplied a strength from Him. God is so good. I cannot even begin to tell you how good he is to me!? 

Luke 5- I am Willing

It is interesting how Jesus does things. He enters into a broken world to redeem it. He humbles himself to make himself available. He gets down and dirty. He touches the leper.

"Lord, if you are willing you can make me clean." Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" And immediately the leprosy left him. (vs. 12-13)

Jesus has all authority. He was there at creation (John 1). He can just speak and make things. He could have simply spoke to the leper and healed him. But, take it a step further he could have redeemed us from heaven. He didn't even have to leave heaven. He has that sort of power. He chose to come down to rescue us. He chose to enter into our world and minister to us where we are at. He chose to touch the leper to heal him. He exited heaven to come down here and minister to you and he displays his meekness by touching a leprous man.

What is your strategy for being like Jesus. Do you throw money at good ministry ideas? Or do you literally enter into peoples problems to touch them?

That is the model that Jesus gives us. When you see a problem do you simply say, "that sucks to be them" or do you actually enter into their problem? Ministry happens at ground level. Are you willing to make the sacrifices to minister to people? Jesus gave up everything for you. Are you willing to give up anything?