Category Archives: Discipleship

Discipleship, Leadership, Ministry, The Word

Post 747

Psalm 130:2-7
Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. If you, LORD, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you. I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.

As I read this passage this morning I was struck by a phrase I had never seen before.

“But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you.”

It is only by God’s forgiveness that we can serve him fully. What a great reminder of the power of forgiveness.

Discipleship, Faith in Action, GNC, Invisible Children

7 Days and Counting

guncam.jpgI spent most the morning and this afternoon at one of the local high schools talking about the Global Night Commute happening in Arlington next Friday.

I am so excited about this event and as the date draws closer more and more people are beginning to show interest in joining us.

If you have not seen the documentary Invisible Children please do so now but be advised: You will be changed forever!!!

In 2003, three college students traveled to Africa with a video camera and a desire to see and to capture on film what was happening in Africa. The story that they uncovered is one of an abhorant warlord who abducts children to fight in his illeagal war. Since 1987, thousands upon thousands of children have been abducted, tortured, and forced to kill in the Lord’s Resistence Army led by Joeseph Kony. The atrocities that these children are forces to endure are too numerous to count. It is truly heartwrenching.

Invisible Children shows how children walk miles every night so that they can sleep in large, public places where the will be safe from Kony and his child soldiers. Every night they walk into the cities and then every morning they walk back to their homes.

This apparently has been happening for 20 years. It is past time for it to end.

Last year’s Global Night Commute saw 80,000 students from all around the country march into cities to sleep in parks and on the steps of government buildings to hightlight the night commuter problem in N. Uganda.

This year it is our turn.

I am so proud of my students who saw the film and asked, “What can we do to help?” they have taken this issue to heart and made it their own.Way to go!!!

If you live in the DFW area and want to join us next Friday drop me a line.

Arlington Night Commute Event

Discipleship, Ethos, Leadership, Ministry, Popular Culture, Youth Ministry

I Am Insert Your Ministry Here

Ultimately, Starbucks can’t flourish and win customers’ hearts without the passionate devotion of our employees. In business, that passion comes from ownership, trust, and loyalty. If you undermine any of those, employees will veiw their work as just another job. Their passion and devotion is our number-one competitive advantage. Lose it, and we’ve lost the game.

Today we continue thinking about the latest Starbucks corporate initiative focusing on the unique talents that each partner brings to the coffee-table and what that could do for your ministry.

The I Am Starbucks campaign is truly inspired. Giving your employees stock options can make them feel like they share in the ownership of the company but highlight who they are as individuals and celebrate their strengths and you’ve got wildfire of loyalty, passion, and excitement that has the potential to sweep the entire organization.

When I read the words I Am Starbucks I immediately began thinking about my ministry. One of my non-negotiables is that I want and desire that every student that comes in contact with our ministry to feel that they are an important part of what’s going on. The ministry rises or falls on who they are as individuals and what they bring to the collective.

To clarify, I’m not talking about an individual’s worth being tied to what they contribute.

No, I simply mean that who they are is the contribution- their presence, involvement, ideas, passions, gifts. Who they are at their core means a great deal to our ministry.

For many teens this idea could be revolutionary. Teens have been conditioned feel as though adults only care about what they can do. They have a hard time believing that they could loved because of who they are.

I hear things like:

“My coach only cares if we win state.”
“My parents expect me to be perfect.”
“Every teacher thinks that their class is the most important and deserves the most of my time.”

I understand that this feeling is somewhat oversimplified but perception is the truest reality. Students need to be told that they are loved because of who the are and that our love isn’t a condition of what they can or cannot do.

So, starting an I Am insert your ministry here campaign begins with loving your people as individuals. If you jump into highlighting talents in an open forum your effort will reek of trying to profit off of their efforts. Students can see right through that and if we’re honest with ourselves so can most adults.

Long before Starbucks began this new campaign they built trust and loyalty with their partners by creating health plans, 401k, and Bean Stock in essence telling their people that they care about them personally above and beyond the corporate bottom line. The result is that this ad campaign has an air of authenticity behind it. That’s something many ministries struggle with.

You want to reach people outside your church walls? Start loving the people that are there now.

You want to highlight people’s gifts and talents in front of the entire body? Start highlighting people’s gifts and talents quietly on your own.

You want people to feel like they are responsible for the direction and success of your ministry? Make people more important than the specific ministry.

Start doing these things and pretty soon your people will begin proudly saying,

I AM Insert Ministry Here & YOU CAN BE TOO.

Discipleship, Ethos, Ministry, Theology

Life is Meant to Be Lived in Connection

There are two over arching themes that keep popping up in and around everything I am watching, reading, listening to, and talking about. You could chalk it all up to coincidence but I believe that it is God whispering something important to me.

He’s saying, “Don’t miss this! If you didn’t see it there, watch this! If you couldn’t hear me there, how about this! Check this out. Did you see it?” God wants me to know something and he doesn’t want me to miss it.

The first whisper that I’m hearing is that Life is Meant to Be Lived in Connection.

In What I’ve Been Watching
The entire third season of Grey’s Anatomy has revolved around connections.

George’s father died and his need for connection sent him and Callie running to Las Vegas for a weekend wedding. Izzie is still reeling from losing Denny and struggled with losing the only connection she had left with him: an 8.7 million dollar check. Burke and Christina spent the first half of the season in an intense secret that kept their relationship intact but their pride has kept them from reconnecting since their secret was revealed. Merideth and Derek’s relationship has grown over the last few weeks but death threatened to take that precious connection away. And in the latest episode Merideth and her mother were finially able to connect if only for the last time. And these are just the main story archs.

Heroes has proven that the world hinges on our ability to connect with one another.

Even the producers of Lost have come to this realization and have tried to reconnect with their audience. When Lost returned this February, the producers were featured in a “here’s-where-we’ve-been-please-don’t-quit-watching-we-can-catch-you-up” special. It seems to have done the trick.

We are all connected. We are called to connect.

In What I’ve Been Reading
Andy Stanley has done it again with his book Creating Community. The book has me rethinking what I’ve traditionally called community.

We are all connected. We are called to connect.

In What I’m Listening To
I’ve been listening to Pink Floyd’s Is There Anybody Out There?. This live album is the audio chronicle of one of the wildest musical concepts in rock ‘n roll. During the concert, a wall was constructed that seperated the band form the audience. Talk about losing connection.

We are all connected. We are called to connect.

Discipleship, Ethos, Faith in Action, Stories, The Word

Not in the Earthquake

1Kings 19:1-13 TNIV

The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?””

Who would have blamed Elijah for looking for God in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire? Certainly not me.

One chapter ago, Elijah was riding high on seeing the LORD nuke the holy snot out of his sacrifice on Mount Carmel. The prophets of Baal found themselves completely humiliated in their false service to a false god and it was all down hill for them from there.

Then along comes Queen Jezebel’s threats and Elijah runs away hiding himself in despair.

Elijah wanted to die he was so depressed (19:4-5). Although angels attended to his physical needs something in Elijah was still lacking. Anyone who has ever suffered through a season of depression knows that it is your spiritual needs that must be met in order for you to move forward.

In this need, the LORD showed up.

After the display on Mount Carmel Elijah would of course be tempted to look for God in the loud roar of the wind or in the rocking of the earth or even in the heat and sulfur of a great fire but if he had only looked in those things he would have missed that gentle whisper. He would have missed the LORD.

Over the last few months, I have been trying to remind my heart that while God can be found in the big and amazing things going on around me He can also be found in the gentle whisper of the rhythms and patters of life.

While I have stood in awe of some amazingly huge God moves recently, I have been more humbled by the whispers of God in my life. In being humbled I have grown closer to my Father and my heart has become, day by day, more sensitive to His ways and more sensitive to the world around me.

So what have I been hearing? Where and how do I hear the faint cries of the Almighty? What is the LORD trying to say to me through this season of life and ministry?

If I told you now I wouldn’t have something to post for later.

For right now, just take some time and do a heart check.

Are you only looking for God in the big things- the wind, the earthquake, the fire- or are you open to the whisper?

Books, Discipleship, Faith in Action, Leadership, Ministry, Questions, Resources, Theology, Youth Ministry

Providing Answers AND Questions

Part of my job as a youth minister is to create an enviroment where teens can feel free to ask questions and a place that helps them answer their questions. While reading Youth Ministry Mutiny by Greg Stier, the protagonist provided 30 questions that his youth ministry centered all of their teaching around. The minister said that, “Every teen and adult should know, live, and own the answers to these questions as a result of our ministry in their lives.”

Here they are:

  • Who is God and what is He like?
  • What is the Trinity?
  • Who is Jesus?
  • Why did he die on the cross?
  • How do I know he really rose from the dead?
  • Who is the HS and what does He do?
  • How do I get plugged into the power of the HS?
  • Is the Bible really God’s Word and how does it apply to my life?
  • What is truth and can I know it with certainty?
  • What is sin and how does it impact my life and my relationships with others?
  • Why does God allow evil in this world?
  • What is a Christian and how does a person become one?
  • If Jesus is the only way to Heaven, are all other religions wrong?
  • What about people who have never heard about the Gospel?
  • What is the Great Commission and how does it relate to me?
  • Is the really a heaven and a hell and what are they like?
  • Is there a judgement day and what difference should it make in my life?
  • Can I really be forgiven for all my sins, even the really bad ones?
  • Will God ever leave me or forsake me?
  • Who are Satan and his demons?
  • How do I engage in spiritual warfare?
  • What is Church and why should I be involved?
  • What are spiritual gifts and how do I discover mine?
  • How should the return of Christ impact my life?
  • What is prayer and how do I do it?
  • Why should I study my Bible and how do I do it?
  • How do I defend my faith?
  • Who am I, where did I come from, and what is my purpose?
  • Which is true creation or evolution, and why does it matter?
  • How can I worship God in everything I do?

As I looked over these 30 questions I felt like they covered just about everything I’ve tried to pass along to my students. Of course this list isn’t/shouldn’t be exhaustive but they gave me a great jumping off point. What do you think? Anything you’d add? Anything you’d take away?

Discipleship, Firm on the Rock, Guilty Pleasure, Ministry, Music, The Word

Bap-Ba-Bap

This morning I sat down at my desk and fired up iTunes. I hit the shuffle button and then play.

“Higher Love” by Steve Winwood began flowing forth from the speakers on my desk. I didn’t even know that I had that song!!!

I am a huge sucker for any song with synthesizer and this ong brings it out in full force.

As I listened to it again this morning I realized that I really only knew the chorus. Yes, it is an awesome chours but I began to really hear the lyrics of the verses today for the first time. I’ve posted the entire song with synthesizer annotation (Bap-Ba-Bap) for your enlightenment below. What a great song and an even greater reminder to keep telling the world about the true Higher Love that they are seeking. Like Message in a Bottle, the world is looking for acceptance and belonging. Never forget and be ready to tell those around you where you hope is. If you’ve got a case of the Mondays let the synthesizer take you into the presence of Higher Love!!! Bap-Ba-Bap!

Think about it, there must be higher love
Down in the heart or hidden in the stars above
Without it, life is a wasted time
Look inside your heart, I’ll look inside mine
Things look so bad everywhere
In this whole world, what is fair?
We walk blind and we try to see
Falling behind in what could be

Bring me a higher love
Bring me a higher love
(Bap-Ba-Bap)
Bring me a higher love
Wheres that higher love I keep thinking of?

Worlds are turning and were just hanging on
Facing our fear and standing out there alone
A yearning, and its real to me
There must be someone who’s feeling for me
Things look so bad everywhere
In this whole world, what is fair?
We walk blind and we try to see
Falling behind in what could be

Bring me a higher love
Bring me a higher love
(Bap-Ba-Bap)
Bring me a higher love
Wheres that higher love I keep thinking of?

Bring me a higher love
Bring me a higher love
(Bap-Ba-Bap)
Bring be a higher love
I could rise above on a higher love

I will wait for it
I’m not too late for it
Until then, I’ll sing my song
To cheer the night along
Bring it…oh bring it…

I could light the night up with my soul on fire
I could make the sun shine from pure desire
Let me feel that love come over me
Let me feel how strong it could be

Bring me a higher love
Bring me a higher love
(Bap-Ba-Bap)
Bring me a higher love
Where’s that higher love I keep thinking of?

Discipleship, Faith in Action, Film & Theology, Heroes, Leadership, Ministry, Politics, Resources

My Great Change

1 Comment

Monday night I headed over to downtown Ft. Worth for a screening of the newest film from Walden Media, Amazing Grace.

The film tells the story of William WIlberforce.

Wilberforce was a member of British parliment near the end of the 18th century and early part of the 19th century. In 1784, a “great change” occured in his life. He became a Christian.

This “great change” influenced the way he lived and lit a new fire in his belly. Wilberforce set out to abolish slavery in all of the British Empire. It became his all consuming passion. He dedicated the rest of his life to this end. Friends were lost and enemies were made but he never gave up. For 34 years, he continued to push for an end to the “horrors of the slave trade.”

Three days before he passed away, Parliment passed the Slavery Abolition Act, freeing all slaves within the Brish empire.

One man. One Faith. One Pursuit. Millions of lives changed.

While watching the film I was struck by the thought that one person can make a lasting difference in the world. I used to believe that as a kid but somewhere along the way that belief turned into merely a pipe dream.

My least favorite sentances in the world are:

“It’s always been this way.” and “We’ve never done it that way.”

Those are the two biggest lies that cripple young dreams and vibrant life. Well, I’m not buying it anymore.

Yesterday I read Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce by John Piper. It was a great little read. It is under 80 pages so you could read it in about an hour. It again drove the point home to me: One person can make a difference.

The movie was very good and I am hoping to promote it with my teens and their families. The film opens on February 23. You can go to the film’s website to see where it will be playing in your area.

D'oh!, Discipleship, Ethos, Ministry

Everything Matters

While preparing for my (tentatively titled) “Gospel According to Starbucks” series, I’ve been reading Joeseph Michelli’s wonderful book, The Starbucks Experience. In the second chapter Michelli writes that part of Starbucks success lies in “the amazing ability of partners (employees) to zero in on the minute details that matter greatly to customers.” That has been the case in almost every Starbucks I’ve visited. The floors have been clean, the shelves have been stocked and kept in order, and the stores seem to be running on all cylinders.

Regardless of what others say small details matter just as much as everything else. That’s why my jaw dropped when I saw this picture on Seth Godin’s blog yesterday.

I don’t know who should feel worse, THe PeoPLE who designed ThE Ad or the people who approved it. Plus, although lawyering is a real word it comes across as a little too Napoleon Dynamite when coupled with the capitalization problem and bragging about being 16th in the nation with said skills.

Get the small things right and the rest will fall in place. To whom much has been given much will be expected.