Wednesdays – What are You Missing?

Over the past few years the youth and children’s ministries have been revamped, reshaped and re-invigorated.  We have put a lot of time and effort into making these programs optimal for seeing spiritual growth for those age four through graduation.  If you are someone who has thought about bringing your kids to Wednesday night programs but are wondering what the benefits are, this article is for you.

Worship
Midweek services offer worship in a style designed for that age group.  Whether in song or in learning, each child will encounter worship fashioned with them in mind.  Musical worship is engineered to assist a connection between students and the God who created them.  Lessons and studies are also constructed to focus on how that relationship can and should be lived out at each level.

Fellowship  
Whether it is at Elevate Jr. (4-5’s), Elevate (1^st-6^th grade), or Crossroads (7^th – 12^th), Wednesday nights have been setup to offer a unique opportunity to get to know people your age.  The interaction and encouragement of peers is just what Christian fellowship is all about.  Games and activities are built with relationship building in mind.

Discipleship
At each level, you’ll find committed adults pouring into those in attendance.  Young people need mentors and Wednesday nights allow us to come with our guards down, in a relaxed environment and invest in each other.  Small Group times allow adults to help connect the dots between the lesson and where it applies to the lives of each student.

Ownership
Wednesday night programs give kids an opportunity to take responsibility for their own relationship with Jesus.  Whether through memorization, devotionals, or small group interface, students have the chance to be accountable for how they respond to God.

Whether you are thinking about attending for the first time, or trying to get back in the routine, Crossroads, Elevate and Elevate Jr. provide a unique opportunity for students to connect.  Wednesday nights allow us to minister to you, and our prayer is that you’ll join us.

The Waiting Room

Sometimes life seems like a waiting room for the triage unit.  If you take the time to look around, you find yourself surrounded by hurt, broken, suffering people.  And much like when we wait for the emergency room, we too often choose to just keep our head down or focus on our own pain.  Maybe we pick up a magazine and distract ourselves so we don’t have to make eye contact with anyone else.

In the world we live, you don’t have to look very hard to find suffering.  From the faces in pictures and television ads of those starving in third world countries to the man or woman standing in front of Wal-Mart with a sign explaining his situation and need, we seem to be surrounded by heartache and despair.  Even within the, church there are those enduring broken relationships, trying to cope with hard times and dealing with  death and medical issues.

Last year, I read a book called “Crazy Love” by a guy named Francis Chan.  Chan was a minister at a mega-church in southern California who transitioned away from ministry to serve the needs he saw around him more effectively.  In his book, Chan unpacks Matthew 25 and asks the question, “If you actually saw Jesus starving, what would you do for him?”

In Matthew 25:42-43 Jesus says, “I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.” 

In verse 44, the condemned people protested, saying that they never saw Christ in any of these positions of need. Jesus responds, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”

If we take the words of Jesus seriously, this is a very convicting passage.  Unlike those in the waiting room, Jesus does not give us the option of ignoring others, explaining away the need, or distracting ourselves. 

As I accompanied a group of 18 young people to Joplin last month, I saw the face of Jesus.  He was homeless.  He was hungry.  He was in need. 

He was wondering how things were going to turn out.  He was out of work, waiting on insurance money, and living with relatives.

As we canvassed neighborhoods and asked how we could meet the needs of those affected by the tornadoes, I am sure of one thing—we   weren’t the only ones who saw the face of    Jesus in the midst of tragedy.

Why I Don’t Want to be the Cool Minister

I met Tony Jones once.  That means nothing to just about everyone who is reading this.  But there I was at a youth minister’s conference in a class taught by Tony Jones – a church leader in his early 40’s.  Jones has been at the forefront of a fairly recent movement in Christendom called “emergent.”  Emergent church seems to center around the idea that in order to attract postmodern thinkers you should throw out all that pesky doctrine and allow everyone to come to their own conclusion about what is or isn’t truth.

In young ministers especially, this is what has become extremely attractive.  You get to be a rebel.  You are more able to draw in the marginalized in society.  You get to say that everyone else has it wrong, and the best part is you don’t have to offer any answer.  You simply call it a mystery, talk about how big God is, and leave everyone to draw their own conclusion. 

Rob Bell is COOL

I have read my share of books by those in the emergent movement. 
And this seems to be the process for becoming a cool minister:

Step 1: Frost the tips of your hair.
Step 2: Get the smallest plastic-framed glasses you can find.
Step 3: Question everything.
Step 4: Sell the idea that “We don’t have to have the answers.”

The reality is I don’t want to be the cool minister because there is too much at stake.  Scripture gives very explicit instruction to those in the position of instructing God’s people.  Paul, in addressing the Thessalonian church, points out whose favor we should seek.

“On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts.” (1 Thessalonians 2:4)

While I believe it is very important to tailor the message to the audience to increase understanding and application, the message cannot be changed to make it more palatable to the masses. 

I am NOT COOL

Jesus was the epitome of this.  He gave parables that were relatable to his audience and delivered his message.  While he attracted the crowds, he focused on the truth.  Jesus definitely believed in truth.  He was truth; not just a truth, but THE TRUTH.   

If doctrine is indeed like bricks that build walls as many cool ministers claim, it’s a good thing that Jesus is the doorway through which all must enter (Matthew 7:13-14).  I am clinging to his truth.  If that makes me un-cool, oh well.  I’m unashamed.

2 Timothy 4:3-4 (NIV)
“For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. ⁴They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”

The Most Religious

Any of you who listen to Christian Radio may know the name “Wally.”  He’s the loveable and laughable radio host of “Total Axxess.”  Wally has a good sense of humor and doesn’t hesitate to make fun of himself (sounds like someone I know).  He heckles guests and loves his Savior all at the same time.  I imagine I would do radio much the same.

I recently listened to his show as I drove across town and heard Wally talk about an article in Men’s Health that outlined the “100 Most Religious Cities.”  I was surprised to hear that Colorado Springs, CO topped the list.  Kansas City, MO was 19^th.  Fulton didn’t make it. 

My first thought was to figure out how they measured such a claim.  Men’s Health said they “tallied up religious organizations (U.S. Census) and the number of volunteers who support these groups (VolunteeringinAmerica.gov). Finally, we considered the amount of money donated to religious organizations (Bureau of Labor Statistics) and spent on religious books (Mediamark Research).” 

Given that the headquarters for Compassion International, Focus on the Family, Biblica and The Navigators are all in Colorado Springs, it no longer surprises me that it topped the list. 

Now, I could take this information and write about the criteria used to formulate the list. I could discuss how flawed it is.  Or, I could talk about the idea of being “religious,” and whether or not I’d even want to show up on such a list.  I could mention that I don’t think Jesus would want to live in the most religious city, but rather the least. 

Instead, I want to note that Men’s Health seem to get something Christianity sometimes loses sight of.  Notice that Houston (22^nd) doesn’t top the list because of Joel Osteen and the tens of thousands of people in his congregation or millions in his television audience.  Salt Lake City (39^th) doesn’t top the list even though it has one on the world’s most beautiful places of worship.  I would bet anywhere in America where you have people you have church attendees.  And anywhere you have church attendees you have the need for churches. 

What Men’s Health noticed and we should realize is that how the world views our faith is through our action.  The time volunteered and the amount of money donated is where the difference was made between Colorado Springs and Burlington, VT (100^th).  Many say they believe, but few put their most precious commodities behind that belief: their time and their money.

Where is your faith?

James 2:14-18
¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? ¹⁵ Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶ If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷ In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.

Yo Abba Abba!!

I miss my morning SportsCenter.  It was the ritual at one time.  I would wake up, wipe the sleep from my eyes, brew a pot of coffee, and drink the first cup watching the previous days’ highlights.  Dan Patrick or John Anderson would crack jokes while bringing me up-to-date on my favorite sports show. 

I say I miss it because that is no longer the case.  Now anytime the television is on, Abram is clamoring for one of his movies or favorite cartoons.  In two and a half years, I have seen a lot of Disney.  I have got my fill of Nickelodeon.  I’ve watched every Pixar movie ever created. 

Abram’s absolute favorite show is a Nick Jr. program called Yo Gabba Gabba!  It includes the perfect formula of his favorite things: music, dancing, and monster-like creatures.  Every episode is filled with catchy songs, teaches you a couple of dances, and is themed with some sort of lesson.  The cast of characters (Muno, Plex, Toodee, Foofa, Brobee) sing and dance and teach you not to bite your friends.

As Abram and I watched an episode about building a clubhouse recently, I realized that Yo Gabba Gabba includes a good illustration of the Biblical God:

Creation
DJ Lance Rock is the host of the show and the interactions of the characters in the show is really the product of his own imagination.  God created us out of his own imagination (and in his own image). 

Revelation
DJ Lance Rock tells the characters how they should interact, treat each other, and live in community.  God cares enough about us to give us the standards by which we should live and share his love for others.

Free Will
Whether the characters listen to DJ Lance or not is ultimately up to them.  He tells them what they should do and let’s them make decisions.  God grants us free will to do as we please with the standard he’s given us. 

Wisdom
In each episode, viewers learn some sort of lesson from the characters who choose to obey DJ Lance and the consequences that come for those who don’t.  Likewise, the pages of the Bible are filled with lesson after lesson of the blessing that flows from living up to God’s standard and the consequence of choosing not to.

Relationship
DJ Lance is not content to watch the interactions of his creation, he intentionally interacts with them.  Similarly, God is not an uninvolved, distant, cosmic mystery.  The God of the Bible has revealed his character and will through the Bible.  He desperately seeks a personal relationship with EVERY one of the people he has created.

Maybe too many cartoons have made me delusional.  Maybe too much Bible study has caused me to see inferences that do not exist.  Either way, I am overjoyed to serve a God that seeks, cares, loves and ask us to in turn call him Daddy (Abba)!

Galatians 4:4-6
But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”