Collision at the prayer wall.
In our student center we have a prayer wall. Most youth groups have a space where students can freely express their prayer concerns to the rest of the group anonymously. Thursday morning I was passing through and stopped to read some of the requests from Wednesday night. There was one request that captured my attention. “God help me to stay on the path. I don’t like being separated from you.” We’ve been talking over the past few weeks about how our sin separates and the cross bridges the gap our sin has created. My hope as a youth pastor is students would know and believe Jesus is the one true hope! This request broke my heart.
This is a collision of faith for me. I believe this prayer card speaks to my passion and calling as a youth pastor. I genuinely desire for students to find all they need in Christ and my calling is to lead them through the pages of scripture to discover His great love for them. Moments when I cry with a student over the mistakes of the past and leading them to a deep understanding of His grace cause me to dig deeper. Moments like this one at the prayer wall. When I weep over the simple request of this student to experience what a “right” relationship with God is.
There is no greater calling on the planet than to lead others to the Cross. What has been your experience? Have you had moments like mine? Collisions with the reality of the sin in this world and the beautiful grace of the Cross. He is in the business of making all things new. Renewing your heart and mine. Driving us to our knees in humility and burning a passion deep within us for teenagers. This calling is worth all the tears. It’s worth all the sleepless nights and hard conversations. To be used to make an impact in the lives of teenagers. There is no great calling.
I love student ministry.
Separation Anxiety. Desperate to be Reunited. (Part 4)
In the middle of your separation, did you ever have thoughts like this dog? I didn’t think you were ever coming back? I think we see this scenario play out all the time in the hearts of all of us. Our mistakes and bad habits have separated us from God and we have fallen in the belief He will never come back. WRONG! This is not the character of our God.
I was talking with a great friend the other day who is going through a really tough time! He shared a truth with me that has stuck with me. I can’t shake it. I asked him, “How’s it going?” He responded, “I’m doing ok. I’ve learned two things through all this. He is good. He is present.”
Wow!! How true. No matter where or what I’m going through in life, my God is good and present. Separation anxiety can cause a lot of doubt to rise up within our hearts. Many times, we lose focus and begin to believe we are not worth redemption. God stands ready to make Himself known to us. Eliminating all doubt and confusion. He is constant. Never changing. I don’t know about you, but this truth is settling my anxious heart and I can’t shake it. Even as I type it, my heart instantly settles down with a peace.
My friend is really going through a storm in his life right now and the truth he is learning and shared with me is making an impact. Maybe, if you are finding yourself in the mist of separation, this truth will impact you too.
Separation Anxiety. Desperate to be reunited. (Part 3)
The level of anxiousness we have in our relationship with God directly determines how desperate we are!
The shear amount of resources and training Search and Rescue Teams use is inspiring. These guys spend hours training and tons of resources to be ready when called on. When something important is missing, we’ll spend a ton of time, effort and resources to insure their return. And rightfully so! We should do everything in our power to reunite those who are lost. When searching, they are relentless. They will use every available resource to insure the lost are found. They can get pretty anxious in the search… and it motivates them to keep going.
In your relationship with God, how anxious are you to be with God? Is the separation of your sin bothering you? Making you anxious? I believe this anxiety we feel in our relationship with God is healthy. It’s the motivator we need to find the one thing that can satisfy this longing deep within.
Separation Anxiety. Desperate to be reunited. (Part 2)
The separation is killing me!! I have young kids and it wasn’t too long ago I remember dropping them off at the nursery. If you have young kids you know what I’m talking about. As we walk down the hall toward the nursery our kids get quieter and quieter. They sense the separation coming. You arrive at the door. Bend down to drop them off… and this is what you see…
The moment of separation from mom and dad can be so stressful. The very thought that mom and dad would leave me in the hands of a “stranger.” It almost feels like we are torturing our kids. But, the big question is… Do you feel like this when sin separates you from God?
Separation Anxiety. Desperate to be Reunited. (Part 1)
The distance between… I’d like to describe it as “anxiety.” Its the feeling of being separated from the one’s we love. When I was in high school, my father who was serving in the Air Force was called up to go to Kuwait… 6 weeks before the war became public. All I remember was a kiss on the forehead in the early morning hours. When I woke up, my mom told my brother and I he “had to leave.” For the next 6 weeks we didn’t know where he was. Just vanished. When all the news began to break about Desert Storm, we got a fuzzy phone call from my dad telling us where he was, and that he was not in harms way.
During these anxious 6 weeks of separation, my heart was filled with a constant tension. I wanted to know where he was, if he was hurting, I just wanted to be in his presence again. I knew in these moments what it feels like to be genuinely separated from the one you love.
Cleaned out a closet and had a collision
Our HSM intern and I spent half the day moving in to our new student center this afternoon. We spent a lot time and effort prepping for Sunday. Clean out and setting up one of our closests. Its amazing what youth pastors hold on to… we a bunch of pack rats! I broke a sweat two times today, but as I worked I was very mindful of why we were working so hard.
There is so much we do as youth pastors behind the scenes. Cleaning closest. Setting up chairs so there are no bad seats in the house. We sit through countless student band practices wondering if they will ever “get it.” We stick around after the students have left to clean up so the church lady doesn’t yell at you. “Why cant you keep those teenagers under control.” And, we spend extra time browsing DYM to download the perfect sermon for next Wednesday night. (downloadyouthministry.com) Why? Because deep down we want to see students respond to Christ. Life change. But, being a youth pastor goes far beyond the stage.
I love Wednesday nights. It’s my opportunity to shepherd the flock. To share the truth God has given me. Admittedly, we have the big sound and lights. It’s real easy to fall in to the rock star, American idol, type of reality. But, I’m reminded every time I step on that stage… “He must increase and I must decrease.” We have a bunch of impressionable teenagers thinking you’re the coolest adult on the planet… But what they don’t know is you just walked on the stage with your fly down. So, how do I combat this temptation. I hang out with the interns and clean a closets.
Authentic collisions of faith happen when youth pastors humble themselves and recognize their place is to serve, teach, and connect students to the love of Christ. The big question is… Are your students admiring your dynamic personality or the reality of Christ in you?
Cross Service Collisions
Last wednesday night we had our annual Cross Service. It’s an event we put a lot of effort in to. The night is filled with stations students are led through. Shred your sins, Lord’s Supper Table, Prayer request wall, Art-deco experience, Feet washing, and the Passion of Christ video loop. We place a giant cross in the middle of our youth room and engage students with the reality of His Love for us. Our theme for this years Cross Service was, “His light in Me.”
There were so many collisions happening at one time. When students write out their sins, seek the Lord’s forgiveness and then place the card in a shredder… collision! When students have the opportunity to minister to each other by washing their feet… collision! As they begin to pray for each other, tears of joy fill their eyes… collision! It’s a night when real faith and real life collide!
I love engaging students around the cross. Hebrews 12:2 encourages us to “fix our eyes of Jesus” and we intentionally create moments for students to practically gaze their attention upon Jesus. I would love to hear how you engage students to fix their eyes on Jesus?
We love the Cross Service simply because of the many collisions that happen! I love youth ministry!!!
I had a Collision this morning
Last week a high school student in our community passed away very tragically. Although he was not a member of our church, many of his friends were. Many of his friends were drawn to worship with us this morning. It is a tough situation for family and friends to navigate, but it was a beautiful collision of real life and faith.
After our service was over, we gathered all the students and parents effected by the tragedy to the altar for prayer. During our brief moment of prayer, we had the opportunity to give hope! Hope found only in Christ. In the middle of tears and painful guilt, the light of Christ was made known. The Lord divinely placed our church/ ministry in the middle of a beautiful collision of real life and faith. We had several conversations and prayed with many of these students right after we prayed as a group. Students were asking the hard questions, wrestling with their guilt, and looking for hope. Once again, ministry is happening in the midst of a collision of real life and faith. “Why would God allow this to happen?” “Why didn’t God answer my prayer?” “I should have said something!”
No one wants to lose a loved one or a dear friend… We grieve and hurt just as much as the students and family do. But even in the middle of the confusion, the hard questions and the deep hurt, there is a God who deeply desires to be in the middle of it all. Revealing His hope and peace. This is where God is calling us to be. A ray of hope in midst of despair, hurt and questions. We are the beacon of hope.
I’m hurting today and will be journeying through these days of visitations and funerals hoping to be a source of hope for these students. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5:4
Are you committed to the journey too?
theCore – Part 2
Do you love Jesus with your whole heart? Can the people you shepherd see your passion for Christ? Is there an expectancy deep within for the Lord to move in power with every time you gather? Even at a parent meeting?
It never fails… when I have a God moment in my quiet time, it always comes out in my preaching or when I’m having a conversation with someone. I can’t imagine doing ministry without having a close encounter with the Savior weekly if not daily. Sadly many pastors and youth pastor give of their time out of a dry well. They seek the Lord publicly in their ministry but never seek Him privately. Today, I’d like to talk through some of the core disciplines within a minister that I believe are necessary if we desire for the people we serve to experience Christ in very real and tangible way.
The truths God teaches you privately reflect publicly.
So let’s establish some good habits now as we begin our ministry that will sustain us and carry us on. When I first started in ministry 20 years ago, my youth pastor and mentor, Bryan Hall gave me a book, Intimacy With the Almighty. by Charles Swindoll. Admittedly I didn’t just pick it up immediately and read it, but several months after he gave me the book I picked it up to read it. What an impact it made on my personal life! Swindoll shared his heart as a pastor of pastors and provides some really great insight for us about how our private moments reflect publicly. I would recommend anyone to pick up this book and allow the truths found within it to encourage you and light your fire!
Let’s talk through some of the points he makes in this book about how we can establish four disciplines of our private life.
- Simplicity. The pace of ministry is tough fast… many time too fast. And to be honest most of the time its our fault. The pressure to constant fill the calendar or provide more opportunities in ministry. How is the pace of your private life? What about the pace of your family? If you’re too busy in those areas of your life, we can pretty much guarantee this is the pace as which you will do ministry. Trust me, I’ve been there done that, and no one can sustain a feverish pace in ministry… you will burn out! No matter how many interns you have working with you. Our students need to understand we serve and love a God who is not in a rush! Slow down. Be intentional with your ministry opportunities. Allow some margin within your ministries for the Lord Almighty to do His greatest work. Remember, if it doesn’t begin within the heart of me, then it will not happen within our ministry.Action step: Look at your schedule for the week. How busy are you? You control your schedule. Make a commitment to slow down. Say No or postpone a couple of appointments.
theCore – Part 1
I remember talking to a athletic trainer several years ago and one of the things he said was, “You have to establish your core before you can bulk up.” As young pastors we have grand visions of the future… big ministries… big churches… 1000s of people falling on their faces in repentance! But the reality of it all is there is no way we will ever experience these hopes until we establish a good core.
What do you believe are 4 essential CORE values for any young minister? How do you think these 4 CORE values can shape your future ministry? Here’s my stab at answering these questions.
C – Called… Not Convinced. When God called you into ministry he didn’t commit you to the funny farm. Although we might think at times, “God what are you doing!?” His call on your life is not a burden. Never treat it as such. What an honor.
Have you heard Gods call for ministry on your life? What was that like? How does a call defer from having to be convinced? Why does this matter?
There is a strong difference being called by God and being convinced. Being convinced is rooted in selfish motives. Whether we are convinced by the glitz and glamour of the rockstar minister or if one of your friend/ family members said you would be a great minister… either way someone convinced you. We need to be confident in His calling upon our lives because without this calling we would never be able to sustain this life long journey.
Husband, Dad, Youth Pastor, Writer
Fresh Calling: Ministry Coaching and Consulting 
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