On Their Own

The question may come to a youth pastor or leader, the shepherd, of "when to let go?"  When has discipleship set in?  When are the training wheels off?  If it is a matter of sooner or later, I would say later, not sooner.

 

Luke 12:1 - Prepared to Be Crushed?

Are we prepared to be crushed?

Discipleship / Study Tools - YouVersion.com

YouVersion.com is a an online Holy Bible from LifeChurch.tv. Actually, let me be more specific. It is, in fact, 17 online Holy Bibles. And that's just the English version.

Platform

You can get to YouVersion.com from your web-enabled laptop, PC, Mac, or smartphone. It's a website. There are also mobile apps for various smartphones if you so desire.

Key Features

The reading plans are helpful. There are 31 different plans available. I completed the Gospels in 30 Days plan. It was simple. 89 chapters, a planned 3 chapters a day, and it was over. I managed to complete the plan in 15 days by reading an average of 6 chapters a day. It does let you read ahead. Now I'm working my way through the Psalms. There is also an accountability feature for the reading plans. With this, you can have another member of YouVersion keep you accountable for your reading. I haven't tried this.

From what I can tell, YouVersion does not allow you to create your own reading plan. For example, I would love to go through the Gospels chronologically. This reading plan doesn't exist. It seems that you have to have some pull with the developers to get that going.

You can select from any number of versions, and there is a "Parallel" feature so you can read two versions side by side for comparison. It is helpful for comparing The Message to the NASB, for example. There are no Strong's numbering, so it is not possible to look up the original language and meaning.

Users can "tag" one or more verses and take notes on them. These can be in a private online "journal" or be "community contributions." I haven't found the "contributions" all that helpful, and I turned them off from my display. The contributions I am looking for are from Matthew Henry, Wesley, and their contemporaries. For those, I'm still required to use BibleStudyTools.com.

Overall thoughts

I really like YouVersion, but primarily for the reading plan. Overall I find it very buggy. It logs me out unexpectedly, so it doesn't always save my progress. I stopped using the journal feature because after I would enter something, I would find it hadn't saved because it somehow logged me out.

YouVersion also looks very good-- which will go a long way with getting your smartphone toting students (and leaders) to use it. It's really simple to use.

I think that this would be best for having a searchable and user-friendly Bible on a smartphone, or for a reading plan. The ability to quickly scroll through scripture is fantastic, and something that is missing from other online Bibles. YouVersion has no Strong's numbering, so word studies are out entirely. Beyond that, stick with Google Docs or a notepad for your journaling.

For serious study, find your way to www.BibleStudyTools.com-- it doesn't claim all of the features of YouVersion (not they always work with YouVersion anyway), but it is far more robust. I'm hoping that YouVersion will catch on and add Strong's numbering so that I can really help students learn to look up the original language and understand that intent. In the meantime, maybe its simplicity will increase Bible literacy.

If you don't have a notebook, get one

If you don't have a paper notebook, get one. The benefit of seeing your thoughts written out serve to reinforce those ideas in your memory, as well as give you a place to reference your ideas in the future. Write down your thoughts on ministry, events, and prayers. Write down whatever is on your mind. In the future you can transfer these to a computer note taker so that you can search, or just leave them alone.

Notebook tips:

• Use a small notebook so that it's portable.
• Always have a pen with you too. You can't write without a utensil.
• Date your entries.
• Re-read your entries.
• Don't lose it

Adopting a Spiritual Vocabulary - Series

Adam Posegate shared a four-part series on Adopting a Spiritual Vocabulary, and the importance of what it is we speak into the lives of those we shepherd.

Part 1: What is Normal?
Part 2: Does our "Normal" Honor God?
Part 3: A Different Type of Relationship
Part 4: Conclusion

Adopting a Spiritual Vocabulary - Part 4

Conclusion

This culture starts with our vocabulary. We must adopt a spiritual vocabulary. We must be in prayer and moving in the Spirit. When we tell someone of a challenge in our lives, we most not omit that we have prayed and what God is telling us and what we learned from scripture as we studied. We must not just give the summary of conclusion, but we must share what God has done in us and to us and for us, because that is our testimony (Acts 4:33, 2 Timothy 1:8).

For me, this started when I was outside of church gatherings. It was with family members. It was with people at work. It meant honoring God in how I talked about my life and the things in my life to others. And this was hard. Strangely, it was just as hard to begin that sort of conversation with those in the church. This is because up until that point, even though we had Christ in common, our conversation topics had focused on music or television or other things. God, as a topic of conversation, was relegated to leadership meetings and prayers, when we really "got down to business."

Adopting a Spiritual Vocabulary - Part 3

A different type of relationship

The relationship we develop with our students must be a spiritual relationship. We reap what we sow. If 100% of our conversations with a person are about sports, then that person will only feel comfortable discussing sports with us. If 100% of our conversations are about fashion, then our discussions will never go beyond the superficial.

The different kind of relationship I am talking about doesn't mean to omit sports, or politics, or news, or the world from conversations. It means that our vocabulary must reflect a new cultural mind set of the Kingdom of God.

It means praying for someone immediately, with your hand on their shoulder, instead of saying, "I'll pray for you," and walking away to remember or forget.

It means talking openly about the good things that Jesus has done in our lives (that's our testimony, friends), instead of commenting on how lucky we are.

It means going beyond saying, "I am blessed," to saying how good God really is.

It means cultivating a culture in your gatherings that is one of love; using the word "love."

It means seeing opportunities to speak truth into peoples' lives and making the most of those opportunities, no matter how small.

It means directing conversations back to things that are God-honoring, and explaining why we do that.

It means we stop talking about "going to church" and we start talking about "being the church."

It means continuing to discuss sin honestly, but also elevating the discussion of God's glory and salvation.

It means making the culture of our gatherings and our relationships founded on scripture and Jesus and God and the Holy Spirit so that we are creating a blatantly different "normal." And it means teaching those things to our leaders. And it means teaching those things to our students so that we have a new culture (which is really an old culture). This culture is spiritual and it is Kingdom-focused.

To be continued...

Adopting a Spiritual Vocabulary - Part 2

Is our culture E!, People, and gossip?

If a significant (read: great amount of) of our conversations revolve "entertainment news" or celebrities or even the personal and dating lives of those around us, there's a chance that our "normal" is gossip. Does our "normal" honor God? Are we praying for others as we consider them, or are we talking about everything they do wrong?

Is our culture political, CNN, and Fox News?

If most of our time is spent preaching and teaching moral theism and cultural values, instead of equipping students to be disciples and learn these things from scripture on their own, we may be missing the mark. Getting conservative Christians riled up about politically conservative values is lazy when only done for the sake of preaching to the choir. Rev. Tim Snell once said, "You shouldn't talk about those in elected office in ways that you wouldn't let your own children speak to you." He's right. We cannot make our gatherings a political safe haven for either the left or the right. Chances are, 90% of our students don't really care about politics anyway. We must create a spiritual safe haven and sanctuary-- sacred space that is set apart for worshiping God and learning how to be his disciples.

Is our culture ESPN and SportsCenter?

I once served with a small group leader who would almost exclusively talk sports with his group of guys. Sometimes, to seem relevant, he would also entertain conversation about video games. When I would fill in for him to cover the supporting spiritual materials for that evening's gathering, the kids would comment how they never go over "that stuff." This leader would say that he was doing this under the umbrella of "building relationships." Their normal was sports. In 10 years, sports won't give our students the tools for discipleship that they can only get from scripture. We must love our

students enough to build a different type of relationship.

To be continued...

Adopting a Spiritual Vocabulary - Part 1

Let's talk about talking. Let's talk about your vocabulary. What is "normal" and what is "weird"?

What is normal?

Normal, right now, is to avoid talking about the spiritual, the Holy, and the Godly. It is one that seeks to avoid offense. This "normal" is our culture, and it's missing the mark. We must not be offended on account of Jesus (Luke 7:23). We must boldly and in the power of the Holy Spirit (and not our own power) testify to God's greatness. Our testimony is our story. It is what we relate about who God is to us. If we are ashamed or afraid to tell what God has done, and we use whispers to relay this information, we are not living in God's fullness and freedom. Let me be clear that I am talking to Americans who have freedom of speech, but who fail to take advantage of that.

"Normal" is the language of our culture. So, we must ask ourselves, what is our culture?

To be continued...

Church Relevance article re: Francis Chan

Church Relevance is a resource I use frequently. Check out Kent's notes from a session led by Francis Chan (Crazy Love).

I love the point made to not get distracted by the details (while I say still pay attention to those details). Do not let them distract you from your mission.

What mission has God called your ministry to perform? I'm guessing, as you pray, it has something to do with "making disciples of all nations."

On Games

"We must make our youth group 'fun' so that kids want to be there! Then, while they're a captive audience, we preach and worship, and then they've experienced God without even realizing it!"

While that may be an over-simplification, if you really think about it, this is not far from the truth of many youth groups. Also, side note: if you know me, you know that "youth group" is practically a dirty word (youth group is who they are, vaguely by age, and not what they do). Say, for example, that your youth gathering is once a week for two hours. That's 2 out of 168 hours (24 hours x 7 days) in the week. For 166 other hours, your students are not at your youth gathering, and they are doing whatever in the world they want during those hours -- we have no direct influence. We need to take full advantage of the time we do have. As their shepherds, we must equip them to be disciples during those other 166 hours (yes, I'm including sleep time, because it's too hard to determine how many hours of sleep a teenager actually gets).

"If we don't have games, kids won't come."
Kids will come to youth gathering for a variety of reasons. They might want to know more about Jesus. They like the music. Their parents force them to. Maybe they even like the games. I am of the viewpoint that "recruiting" doesn't happen because of the games we play, but because of the relationships the have already developed or are developing. I posit that this is the number one "recruiting" method. We must equip our students to develop godly relationships with others, inviting them to youth gathering as prompted by the Holy Spirit. It's not about numbers. 10 students who are learning discipleship will be more effective in the Kingdom than 1,000 students who are merely being entertained.

What I am NOT saying
What I am not saying is that there should be no games, and that there should be no fun. On the contrary, there should be games. There should be fun. These are cultural languages that can speak to a higher truth. Games can support our efforts in ministry. The games should be engaging, and they should have a purpose. Everything you do in ministry should have a purpose. Start with the purpose (right, Rev. Warren?), and then act. The question is what is the purpose of the ministry?

Is the purpose entertainment?

Is the purpose discipleship?

Is entertainment the bait to trick kids into being discipled?

Then, after you have determined what the purpose of your ministry is, ask yourself these two questions:

1. Is this a stupid purpose?
2. Is this scriptural?

If it is stupid and unscriptural (entertainment as bait), then you have a bad purpose.
If it is stupid (foolish) by human standards, but scriptural and God-breathed, then you must do it.
If it is not stupid (foolish), and it is scriptural, then you have a sturdy foundation for proceeding.

What I am saying
"Is there even a good reason to play games?" Absolutely! There are many good reasons (even at your weekly youth gathering), but don't start with an idea and then look for a reason to do it. Start with your reason, and then look for a way to accomplish your goal.

For example, "We have a lot of kids who bring friends and guests, and not everyone knows each others' name. What can we do?" How about an icebreaker game that gets people to interact with everyone. Make a bingo chart with 24 personal items they must ask of the people in the room, then get signatures. That's just an example, but it gets people asking questions and learning about each other.

When God moves in one's life, it is not because they were able to pop the most balloons while blindfolded and dizzy (I don't know if this game actually exists, but it should!). It is because the Holy Spirit is invited to do something real in a person's life. There must be a deliberate approach to student ministry that does not include entertainment as bait. Discipleship must be direct, deliberate, and unapologetic. We are preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, who was crucified, died, and resurrected in atonement for the sins of every person. We are preaching a life lived for God and his purpose.

Whatever you choose to do, do it in obedience to God and in the power of his Holy Spirit.

Book Review: The Year of Living Like Jesus, by Edward Dobson

Before reading Dr. Dobson's book, The Year of Living Like Jesus, I brought to the table a number of prejudices including, but not limited to, my fandom of Dr. Dobson and my expectations of what someone living like Jesus would do and act and look like. I looked forward to a step-by-step how-to process that one could patent and license to churches all across North America along with clever t-shirts for the franchise such as "Served Over 1 Billion." A list of laws on how to be more like the man who fulfilled all laws from a trusted evangelical source.

The welcome slap in the face to bring me out of my fanboy hysteria was when the subtitle finally sank in: My Journey of Discovering What Jesus Would Really Do. This is not a how-to book. This is not some instructional manual tailoring a Jesus wardrobe. This is not a devotional on how being a sacrificial giver will come back to you in a specified outline of prosperity. The guide for how to properly kill a bull for evening meal is nowhere to be found.

Instead what I read was an appropriately candid autobiography detailing the author's frustration at just how difficult this task really was. It was a story of his journey to learn more about what Jesus would have done, and his deliberate discipline to execute those tasks. And when he fell short, then he conveyed his feelings and responses to his own shortcomings. This was not a mere task of living the Bible literally. This was an attempt to keep pace with his rabbi so that he would be covered in his dust, not left in it.

The disjointed connections of the first and second halves of the book are only a momentary distraction as the content of the second half becomes less broken and more flowing. The difference is not bad, just noticeable and admitted. The break in the month of July was a good joke, and I liked that it went by quickly.

The book really shines as Dobson relates his past life experiences to what he is going through at this time. The honest emotional struggles to even accomplish the physical tasks as he is reined in by ALS give an immediacy and tension to something as simple as camping and fasting. The fond and poignant reflections of his own journey that brought him to this place at this time are welcome context for someone unfamiliar with who this smiling, bearded, and bespectacled really is underneath the tasseled undershirt.

All of this is to say that this was a good book. It was insightful to the frustrations that come about when trying to mold ourselves to our own interpretation of someone else, while being cognizant of others' interpretations of that same person. Perhaps, more than anything, all of the frustration adds up to an appreciation of God's grace that he made us to be his disciples, and that we don't do that in our own power. We do that in his.

Purchase The Year of Living Like Jesus at Barnes & Noble.

Open Letter: Extreme Snow Days 2010 Recap

Grace and peace to you!

The weekend of January 22-24, 2010, I traveled with my wife, two sons, two students, and two youth leaders to Ironwood Springs Christian Ranch in Stewartville, Minnesota. We descended upon the ranch for Extreme Snow Days 2010 Jr./Sr. High Retreat.

The message I brought, and the challenge I presented, was that of discipleship. Preaching primarily from the book of Luke, we discussed what it means to follow Christ. It's more than saying a prayer and then getting a ticket to Heaven. When you commit to being a disciple, it means that you are disciplining (not punishing) yourself so that you can be like that person.

In this case, we are trying to be more like Jesus. In order to be more like Jesus we must learn from scripture about who Jesus is and the things that are important to him. That first requires opening the Bible and reading about him. We learn that Jesus prayed, fasted, feasted, partied, and took care of those who needed help (among many other things).

Here are some of the practical tools I mentioned on Sunday morning, for reference:

YouVersion.com - an online Bible with Bible reading plans. I completed the Gospels in 30 days plan. Tell me about your plans and completions.

Advent Conspiracy and Living Water International.

Start a home church / small group. Eat pizza, read and study the Bible, and pray for each other.

Ironwood Springs Youth - a Facebook group. Join this you will receive occasional messages from Sam to encourage and challenge you.

If you are in charge of student ministry at any church, make sure that discipleship is a priority. "If all you do is hang out and play games, then you don't have a student ministry. You have a youth group." - Eric Robbins. Join the Disciples Tribe group on Facebook and get support. Talk to others about what you are trying to accomplish in your ministry and get support.

Be more than a youth group. Stop "going to church" and start "being the church."

I look forward to hearing what how you do that.

In Christ,
Adam Posegate

Worship, Church, and Spiritual Discipline

Worship, much like church, is a lifestyle, not a designated time. Church is not the place that we gather. We do not go to church. We are the church. The church assembles, dissembles, and lives as individuals in a lifestyle of being the church. That is church. So too is worship.