Excluding weekly preaching, meetings, and counseling students:
Interview potential children’s pastors, graduation, poverty simulation information meeting, graduation, graduation, graduation (repeat), Poverty Simulation, Lunch with Students, Summer Bible Study, Childrens Camp, Service Project, Graduation Party, Preach in “Big Church”, Camp Information Meeting, Lunch with Students, Field Day, Texas Rangers Game, Game/Movie Day, Six Flags, Pool Party, Preach in “Big Church”, Lunch with Students, Summer Bible Study, Vacation Bible School, Student Summer Camp, Lunch with Students, Summer Bible Study, Preach in “Big Church”, Lunch with Students, Summer Bible Study, Promotion Sunday, Missions Week, Lunch with Students, Summer Bible Study, Start Recruiting and Training Small Group Leaders…….I’m forgetting something.
Summer Is Upon Us.
“Be Still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10
In the midst of chaos, in the midst of confusion, remember that He is with us and every activity can either be stripped of meaning or bring glory to the One whom it is due. So breath deep….and lets get to work.
Here is my question to you youth workers out there: When is the last time you stopped and actually contemplated WHO you are speaking to on Sunday and Wednesday? I know that as youth pastors we are to be relevant to our students and have relationships with them, but have you ever picked out a few students and actually charted out what you think, or know, they are addressing daily and weekly? How are you speaking into THESE areas?
I was forced to do this last week when I gave my final talk in a series titled “Sex Appeal.” Bet you can’t figure out what it was about… Anywho, this specific talk was the hardest of them all…homosexuality. What makes that difficult? Knowing there is a student sitting in the FRONT ROW wrestling with this issue.
When I talk about other things, or point out other sins, it’s almost as if I am addressing a collective YOU (being all the students). But when I started preaching, it was as if I could feel the eyes of this specific student. Is that weird? It changed the way I preached.
As Youth Pastors we are called to be reverse engineers: We have to decipher pop-culture, figure out what students are wrestling with, ask where parents are having problems, listen to the Holy Spirit on how to address these things, submit ourselves to the Word, and then shape a talk in a way that will hold the attention of our students….rough!
We have quite a job ahead of us. May we do it with integrity, humility, and wisdom.
I’m a little giddy… Tonight I get to worship and not think about what students are doing. I get to worship and not think about a message I have to give. I get to give my all to God without distractions. So excited!
I live in North Dallas and Jesus Culture is coming to the Verizon Center tonight…it’s time to worship! While Youth Pastors are supposed to be the one’s that have it figured out, who can worship despite distractions, who can worship without worrying about what is going on during a service, who can worship while students are chatting, reality says that very few, if any, can actually do this.
This is why personal worship time is SO important in the life of a pastor. If we are not fueling ourselves in worship outside of Sunday morning, are we ever worshiping at all?
I know… I know… “Everything we do is an act of worship to God.”
My response: Rubbish! “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matt. 26:41) Even in the presence of the Lord, the disciples fell asleep on the job. Am I greater than Peter?
I know for a fact that I struggle with keeping my eyes open to how God would have me worship every Sunday morning. I know for a fact that I get distracted by students and my message, and because of this my greatest moments of worship are in the car and in the shower. Too Much Information? Just trying to be honest…
When do you worship? How do you get distracted on Sundays? Is it a bad thing?
While watching The Voice on NBC I saw the preview for Justin Bieber’s upcoming single “Boyfriend.” In a 30 second preview, our students were bombarded with messages about what it means to date. His simple phrase, “If I was your boyfriend,” accompanied by hands touching his body and sexually whispering in girls ears sends a VERY CLEAR message.
It’s time to go to work. While it would be IMPOSSIBLE to address every element of pop-culture that opposes the gospel, starting with poster-boy Justin Bieber is easy. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 is a beautiful way of conveying how pop-culture detracts from our sanctification, our process of becoming holy. It states, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor.”
As Student Pastors, we must help students place everything they do within the process of their sanctification. We need to get them questioning, “Is this making me more holy, set apart for God?” “Does this song, movie, relationship, or action set me apart for God?” “Am I in control of my body or am I letting outside influences impact how I control my body?”
We are fighting an uphill battle, but it’s a battle that must be fought. However, the more fun you can make pointing out how ridiculous pop-culture is, the better. I.e. “I’m Elmo and I know it,” a spoof of “I’m sexy and I know it” by LMFAO.
And that’s all I have to say about that…
Texas native, Texas Tech Red Raider, M.Div. at Truett Seminary, husband to Ashley, father to Ava, Student Pastor at LifePoint Church in Plano, Tx, table tennis (ping-pong) extraordinaire, addicted to coffee. For anything else…you’ll just have to ask.
There has been a lot of talk lately about “Sticky Faith” and Sticky Youth Ministry. My last two days in student ministry have certainly been sticky, but a different kind of sticky. Sunday after church, after week one of a sex talk no less, I had a mother come into my office and tell me her son had been arrested and placed in the county Juvenile Detention Center. Heavy.
He was charged with “assault with a deadly weapon.” Heavier.
Talking with a student on a telephone through bullet proof glass is the last thing I thought I would be doing when I woke up on Sunday morning, but it’s precisely where the Lord had me end my day.
Student Ministry gets very sticky sometimes, and how we choose to act or react in these sticky situations will effect how our students react to the gospel. As I spoke with my student across the glass I made sure he understood the weight of his decision, but also offered love. Sometimes God uses our rock bottom moments to get our attention. Sometimes we ignore God until we are forced to listen and ask for help. It’s sad that He has to get our attention in this way, but our God is also a God of forgiveness and grace.
As Student Pastors we have to navigate the line of gospel-centered correction and gospel-centered grace. To far in one direction and Christianity comes across as dogmatic and rigid. If we go too far in the other direction we make His grace cheap and downplay obedience: our only response to a love so deep.
When have you struggled walking this line? How have you succeeded or failed?
