Resolve for Monday

3. Resolved, If ever I shall fall and grow dull, so as to neglect to keep any part of these Resolutions, to repent of all I can remember, when I come to myself again.

Question...

• What are the things that remind us to return to truth? 
• How can you guard against growing "dull" 
• What is the role of the Holy Spirit in calling us to return to Jesus? 
• If we are totally saved, once and for all,  by the sufficient work of Jesus on the cross then why do we repent of the sin we commit? Isn't it all taken care of past present and future.
  

Family Nights

Across my google reader a few days ago came a great article by Kem Meyer on how they do family nights. It was more pictures then article but is really worth checking out.

• How does your family play together? 
• Is family time viewed as a chore to be done? Guilty when it doesn't happen?
• Is family worship a task? 

"I found some old family night photos from last year. They made me smile. We still do family nights, we just haven’t been as intentional about our themes or photos. I’m motivated to ramp those up again. Last night we had Gpops & Gbunny over for a Wii party, but I don’t have the pictures to prove it ever happened. MARK THE MOMENT!"
   

Check out the rest of her pics by clicking here

Mens Retreat

"An angry god is of no help to the world but neither is the old grandpa who thinks everything is cute."

"As long as we begin with God is love we will have a weak and impotent understanding of repentance. It begins with holiness."

~ Clay McLean
St. Andrews Mens Retreat.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The Power of One to One

I came across this article while looking for a Bible reading plan. (They have some great ones over at www.youversion.com ) For me it really emphasizes the importance of relationships in how we do evangelism as youth ministers and followers of Jesus. My story is very similar and can appropriate the persistence that it took for God to save me. The money line is the second to last sentence. If you work with young people I hope this story gives you some encouragement...

"From 1974–1979, a young, upstart Presbyterian youth pastor named Ron invaded local high schools in my hometown of Jackson, Mississippi, boldly sharing the Gospel one-on-one with anyone who would listen — and with some who wouldn’t. Over the years, countless teenagers heard and understood God’s plan of salvation for the first time. Hundreds responded. Many went on to serve the Lord in full-time ministry as church-planters, youth ministers, pastors, and missionaries.

I’m one of those who heard the Gospel for the first time through Ron back in the mid-seventies. However, my first response to Ron and his Gospel was not to repent, but to run. I ran from Ron, from his “disciples,” and from God. I ran for about six months, avoiding Ron the best I could. It was a difficult task, as he seemed to show up everywhere. He was at every football and basketball game. He was in the school halls, in the cafeteria, in the parking lot. He and his band of disciples were always inviting me to another retreat, another Bible study, another prayer meeting, another youth night at the church. Finally in November of 1975, I responded to the Gospel. I repented and put my faith in Christ alone. Fortunately, it didn’t end there. Ron wasn’t content just to carve a notch in his well-worn Bible to represent yet another soul saved. Since he was not out to save souls, but to make disciples, his work with me was just beginning. He added me to one of his famous “action groups” where about eight of us met together weekly and learned to walk with God.

I believe in one-to-one evangelism, one-to-one follow-up, and one-to- one discipleship. Here’s why. Ron shared the Gospel with me. I didn’t respond. I ran. Ron ran after me. For six months he ran after me, preaching to me and praying for me. He just wouldn’t go away. 
That’s one-to-one follow-up.

After I responded to the Gospel, Ron began to disciple me in a small group. He taught me how to study and live the Bible. He taught me how to pray. He taught me how to share my faith and how to make disciples. 
That’s one-to-one discipleship. (2 Timothy 2:2) Personal follow-up and discipleship. That’s the Great Commission. 
That’s what ONE 2 ONE is all about.

It’s a guide. It can’t make a disciple, but it can help you make one. Most importantly, it helps a new disciple get the right start.

Steve Murrell"

• Who has played a key roll in disciplining you?

High School Alpha Part 2

Topic: 

• Why Did Jesus Die
  

Dinner:

• Grilled Cheese and Chili or Turkey Noodle Soup
  

Favorite Moment:

• Lots of new faces, and smaller dinner tables. It was good getting to know a newer student named Bailey 
  

Student involvement:

• Allen had the stage and lived it up as he dramatically told us about his dream last night. It was great!
  

Up Next:

• Next week is off due to the super bowl. Giving our leaders a break and some rest. We'll be hitting it hard the following week.
  

Abbie's Baptism

On a personal note here are some pics of my daughter's baptism this past weekend...

St. Paul's Augustine

Last night held the kick off of the St. Paul's Theolgical Center's spring season. Among the three tracks listed is the one I've enrolled in which promises to be challenging and fruitful. This track will look at the life and thought of 8 great thinkers of the Christian faith. Last night kicked things off with Augustine.

Kendell Harmon was our guest lecturer and really did a great job of fitting what could easily be a years worth of thought into an evening of provoking discussion.

The evening started out by tracing some of where this Bishop of Hippo came from. I have always loved Augustine's story and his Confession remain one of my favorite books. We heard about Monica's prayers, and Ambros's teaching. Augustine's biography could be a hole evening but Kendell moved quickly into Augustine's thought and culture.

"Thou hast made us for thyself and our hearts are restless until they find rest in thee."

"To do theology is to think God's thoughts after him."

We talked about the Donatist's heresy but not in a condemning way I was struck by their root plea of "Where can I find the real church?"

How relevant is that to youth ministry? Isn't many of our young high school seekers asking that very question? How many youth minister would point them to Augustin as a result?

Or how many youth ministers see the absolute value in being the Monica? Praying with out seeing fruit through years of hedonism? It's easy for me to get angry when I see a young believer chose to worship his girlfriend over Jesus but does that anger lead me to pray?

Some other high points of the night came as we discussed evil. Bringing out the comment that evil is a mystery to be redeemed not a problem to be solved.

There was many other things covered such as Plagius and our pre fallen nature as well a short discussion on Augustin's view of the end times..

"There we shall rest and see, see and love, love and praise. This is what shall be in the end without end." Augustine

Over all the challenge for me will be, over these next 8 weeks, to take what I'm hearing and learning and apply them to not only my life but my ministry. It comes easy for me to sit in the ivory tower but where the rubber meets the road is where Jesus is. 


-------------

 Here's some reflection from Rev. Steve Wood's blog...

We kicked off our St. Paul’s Theolgocial Center last night.  Kendall was the guest lecturer in our “Great Theologian’s” track.  He presented on St. Augustine.  He was wonderful.  The framework through which he examined Augustine’s work was threefold: 1) Church order & structure; 2) Human freedom, choice and sin; and, 3) Eschatology.  Very helpful handholds for the participants to grasp the greater work of the great saint.

Craig Ferguson and Youth Ministry

This showed up a while ago on the YS blog it's really worth watching and is genius in it's delivery. What do you think?


Props to SDelony

Cellphones, Parents, Students, and Schools

Below is an excellent article our children's minister sent me. The article was written by columnist and teacher John Rosemond who recently spoke at St. Andrews.  It's worth the read for any parent of a teenager or preteen...

           In the course of his research, Akers learned that whereas almost all school systems initially attempted to prohibit or restrict student use of cell phones, most have ultimately capitulated to pressure from parents and students. In some cases, the obvious choice has been made to ignore violations; in others, the matter has been deferred by state-level bureaucrats to individual schools or districts. That buck-passing has resulted in largely ineffectual attempts at control. Needless to say, it doesn't take a teenager long to figure out that a rule isn't going to be consistently enforced, much less figure out how to use a cell phone without being detected, as in texting.

           The problem of enforcement is complicated by parents who demand instant access to their children during the school day and therefore will not support attempts to enforce cell phone restrictions. In this regard, parents often point out the need for their kids to be able to contact them in the event of a school shooting or terrorist attack, the likelihood of which is miniscule. Besides, in situations of those sorts the last thing law enforcement wants is hundreds of parents racing toward and crowding around a threatened school, thus constituting a hindrance to emergency operations.

           As for parents needing to be able to communicate with their kids during the school day, how about calling and asking that the child be brought to the office? Let's face it folks, the child who frequently "needs" to call his parents during the school day is the very child who needs to learn to take responsibility for himself. In that regard, a good number of principals and teachers have told me of cases in which a student has called parents from school to complain of being disciplined, resulting in said parents storming into the school to right the "wrong" inflicted upon their little innocent. These sorts of situations do not, by any stretch, constitute "need."

           Akers also points out that the shrinking numbers of kids who don't have cell phones still manage, somehow, to get through the school day just fine. I'll go a step further and speculate that these deprived children generally have greater respect for authority, a higher level of social and emotional well-being, and are (needless to say) more focused on their academic responsibilities than their cell-phone obsessed peers.

Please read the entire article by clicking here.

Resolve for Monday

2. Resolved, To be continually endeavouring to find out some new contrivance and invention to promote the forementioned things.

 Questions...

• How are your reminded of that which guides you? 
• Daily scripture reading is a discipline not just to gain knowledge but to guide you. Who have you told about what you read in scripture today? 
• Write down what it is that God is calling you to be right now.
  

Questions Middle School Students Ask

This is from our Basic (Middle School Youth Group) gathering last night. We taught on the fall and then opened it up for anonymous questions to be asked. Here is what 6th, 7th, and 8th graders are asking...

• - If God loves you with all His heart, why do terrible things happen to people and their families? Why isn’t everybody healthy and happy?
• - Why is God our Father and Nature our Mother?
• - Why did God allow the tree to be there?
• - Why can’t animals talk like the snake?
• - Why was Satan a snake?
• - Why did God let the serpent in if He knows everything?
• - Why did God make the bad fruit?
• - Why did God put the tree in the garden if it was forbidden?
• - How can I be sure I’ll go to heaven? What can I do to glorify God?
• - Did God foresee Adam and Eve taking the apple? Is God not omniscient? (WOAH BIG WORD)
• - Where Adam and Eve actually children or did God say that because to him they were?
• - When did Jesus come down to Earth? Why do some people not believe that he is real?
• - When Satan is defeated and there is victory what will happen? By ‘victory’ does that mean there’s no more sin?
• -If God didn’t want us to sin and eat the fruit then why did he plan it?
• - Is what Satan did to Adam and Eve why there is sin?
• - Did Adam and Eve ever really talk to God after that?
• - If God has a plan for everyone, why do innocent people die all the time?
• - Why did Adam and Eve have to be tempted?
• - Why does God take loved ones away from us?
• - Will I ever be able to see my GranPap smiling and happy in heaven?
• - If God controls all, then why did he let Satan trick Adam an Eve into eating the fruit?
• - Why are people bad?
• - Why does it seem like the poor countries get disaster? (Haiti, earthquake; Sri Lanka, tsunami) – can’t God control that?
• - Did Adam and Eve go to heaven?
• - Do animals go to heaven?
• - Did people before Jesus go to heaven?
• - Will we ever get to go back to the Garden of Eden?
• - If God knew sin would destroy the world, why would he even give Adam and Eve the choice of sinning? And if He created sin, why can’t/doesn’t he destroy it?
• - How do I know it is you who is talking to me? How do I not know it is Satan tempting and leading me away?