Category Archives: Ministry

Ministry

You Give Love a Bad Name

LIBERTY, Missouri (AP) — A youth minister was charged with assault for allegedly knocking down a 16-year-old boy and kicking him in the groin after taking a head shot from the teen in a dodgeball game.

David M. Boudreaux, 27, was charged Wednesday with one count of third-degree assault. According to court documents, the incident happened in February at Crescent Lake Christian Academy.

Authorities said the teen missed Boudreaux with one throw but then knocked the youth minister’s glasses off with the next.

The boy apologized, authorities said, but Boudreaux pushed him backward, and when the teen got up again Boudreaux kicked him in the groin and left.

The teen suffered whiplash and post-concussion syndrome and had blood in his urine after being kicked, according to court records.

Boudreaux later apologized, prosecutors said.

Jeanne D. Hewitt, administrator of Crescent Lake Christian Academy, said Boudreaux had been placed on administrative leave.

You know, last week I was in a dodgeball tourny with my students. I almost got hit in the groin by a wild pitch from one of the Seniors. You know what I did? I laughed and enjoyed the game. Because … It’s dodgeball!

Grow up Boudreaux. Good luck teaching kids about turning the other cheek now.

Faith in Action, Ministry

Prayers Needed

We need your prayers.

Please pray for my friend’s mother, Ellen Martindale. She started Chemo Therapy on Monday and we’ll will just have to wait and see how that goes. The phone number below is the number for her prayer pager. This pager is so that people can let her know she has been prayed for. If you get the chance please use it. You need to call and let it ring 3 times and then hang up. This will let Ellen know that you have said a prayer for her. Needless to say she has ups and downs with her emotions and I really think this will be great at lifting her up. The love and support shown for this family so far has been overwhelming. Please keep praying for her family, for Ellen, and that the Lord will heal her.

Ellen Martindale’s Prayer Pager
903.624.6440
Call. Let it ring 3 times. Hang up. Repeat as needed.

Ministry, Technology

Teaching the Parents of the MySpace Generation

On Sunday I had the opportunity to teach the adult class at church. The class was full of caring adults who are seeking to raise their children in safe, loving, and God-honoring homes.

Over the course of this quarter the main topic is holiness. The idea is for us to begin to create families that live holy lives set apart for God. To that end we are teaching on different topics that families struggle with. I was asked to teach on Teen Culture. I spoke about how adolescence begins at puberty and ends….. whenever the culture says it does. In fact, I read one article last week that said that adolescence ends at 26 (So, on Saturday I’ll become an adult?). I also spoke about MySpace.com. I didn’t treat the online community like the devil but I was honest with the parents about it. Teens have this need for community and without caring, involved adults there can only be a shadow community of the blind leading the blind. Wired.com had a couple of good (not great) articles for parents about MySpace. You can check them out below.

Wired News
Link

Ministry, News, Technology

Thank You Steve Gutenburg

Ooops, wrong Gutenburg.

Five hundred and forty nine years ago today (maybe) the printing press printed the first book otherwise known as the Gutenburg Bible. On this note, the ESV Bible Blog has posted a history of the printing technology and the editions of scripture that have helped shape our world. The post is titled, Celebrating the Printed Bible and there are some great links and pictures for those of you who might be interested.

Ministry, U2

U2 Tour Postponed

From U2.com:

It is with great regret that tour promoter The Next Adventure announces the postponement of the final ten dates of U2’s Vertigo ’06 tour. This action is unavoidable due to the illness of an immediate family member of one of the band. The effected dates are listed below.

‘Any fan of U2 will realise that this decision has not been taken lightly’, said TNA President Arthur Fogel. ‘We will announce further details as soon as we have them.’

Please keep the families in your prayers.

U2.com
@U2

Ministry, Theology

The Practical Theology of the Waffle House

It was probably only the second time that I had ever stepped foot inside one of these resturants. The air was smokey. The clientel shady. I made my way over to the booth in the corner careful not to touch anything. As I looked over the menu, I was less than thrilled with the choices. I wasn’t hungry for any of the items listed but I was with my parents so I felt that I should at least eat something here instead of walking to the fast food establishment next door. I ended up ordering a simple hamburger. After I ordered, I began to glance around the building looking at the other people there.

I saw an older man sitting at the counter. His face was beaten and weathered by the elements. He looked homeless. I didn’t see him eat but I watched him as he drank his coffee. After a cup or two he lowered his head and walked out into the cold night. As he left, two young women walked in. The had just come from a high school sporting event. Their sweat shirts sported the f-bomb in bold white letters. As they cozied into the booth behind me all eyes were on them. Whispers became audible insults. The girls just laughed and went on about their night. Some high schoolers came in looking for something to eat. They sat down at the counter where the old man had sat. These people were so different from me.

The more and more I watched them the more convinced I became of the new belief stirring in my heart. This belief is a simple and radical idea. It doesn’t sit comfortably with me because it demands a response. A response to the world and to the people sitting around me that night. I am convinced.

Jesus would have eaten at the Waffle House.

He would have. There is no doubt in my mind. Jesus was the kind of Savior that would have cozied up to the counter and had some hashbrowns covered and smothered with some guy who was at the end of his rope. Jesus would have eaten with him, covered the bill, and changed the man’s life. Maybe it would be with the touch of his hand or maybe it would have been with just a look or Jesus might have even spoken a word of encouragement or discipline to the man but the message would be clear.

Yeah, Jesus would have eaten at the Waffle House. What does that say about where we eat and who we eat with?

Ministry, Theology, U2

Perspective for Life

“Our critics — I’ve met them in rock ‘n’ roll in the early years and they’re the same people: cranks carping from the sidelines. A lot of them wouldn’t know what to do if they were on the field. They’re the party who will always be in opposition so they’ll never have to take responsibility for decisions because they know they’ll never be able to implement them. We get hits from the left, we get hits from the right, but in the end, every year, the world’s poor are better off for our presence.”

Sometimes it is difficult to see if what you are working on or pouring your life into is really making a difference in the lives of the people you serve. There will always be critics and “cranks” that love to stand in opposition. Whether your a youth minister, a coach, a social worker, a teacher or a globe-trotting rock star philanthropist- keep up the good work.

Stand firm. Be rooted in love. Keep making a difference for the Kingdom.

Via

Ministry, Popular Culture

Cover the Cover?

Back in 1999, I had the chance to study overseas in Athens, Greece. Being a Bible major and a lover of art this was the thrill of a lifetime. I would get to walk where the Apostle Paul walked and I would lay my eyes on some of the most beautiful works of art in the Western world. I was stoked. That is until I got a lecture from one of my professors about the dangers of ancient art.

I remember it like it was yesterday. I was studying a beautiful stone sculpture of Poisideon/Zues when my professor walked up next to me. I was lost in the lines and the contures of the statue when I heard the professor give off a little sigh. I felt like sighing too. How could a human being create such a thing? How many hours or days or weeks did it take to create such beauty? I was about to ask the prof what he thought when he spoke. In a disapproving southern drawl he stated, “Nothing but pornography.”

What? I hadn’t even noticed the nudity. I wasn’t even aware of it but I sure was then. I turned to him and commented how the statue just needed a good set of Levi’s. “Yeah, slap a pair of blue jeans on him and it’ll be ok, ” I said. I walked out of that museum with a myriad of emotions: anger, saddness, guilt, frustration. The statue was not in any sexual pose or provocative stance but I couldn’t get over his response. I wanted to throw up but I couldn’t pin point the reason. From that point on I felt almost guilty for looking at any statue that wasn’t completly covered. This prof took something of beauty and made it and a thousand other pieces vulgar in the blink of a eye. During our travels we did see some art work that was created specifically for sexual response. Believe me, there is a huge difference between that “art” and the sculptures I was admiring that day. The overtly sexual images made me blush whereas a piece like the Venus DeMillo reminded me of how beautiful the human form can be and how talented and creative and awesome our God is!

Throughout the Christian community the debate over art and pornography rages on. There is quite a stir being caused by the latest issue of Leadership Journal. The latest issue “deals with ministry amid a sexually charged culture” but it isn’t the articles that are causing the flap. It is the cover.

The cover photo is a detail from the famous statue of Pallas-Athena that stands in front of the Parlament building in Vienna. Athena was the war goddess of ancient Greece, but also worshiped as the goddess of wisdom. The Viennese statue was erected as a tribute not only to Athena but also the four rivers that were once a part of the Austrian Empire: the Danube, Elbe, Po, and Vistula.

As you can see from the photo, the statue is only partial covered. Many who recieved the issue have written in and taken the journal to task for their “irresponsible” decision to run this cover.

I can understand why some people might be bent out of shape but when I saw the cover I wasn’t immediately shamed by the statue. The photo matches the design style of nearly every other cover that I have seen from Leadership. The editorial team explained that the use of the photo was trying to communicate a number of things including:

1. Christian leadership has always been practiced amid sexually charged cultures.
2. Interest in sex is common ground between Christians and non-Christians.
3. The gospel has important things to say about sex, but we need help articulating them in a way the culture can appreciate.

You can follow the conversation if you would like at Leadership’s blog, Out of Ur. There are already some great responses. Feel free to add your own.

As for the discussion here: What do you think about it all?

Let me know. I am interested in how you feel on the subject.

Link

Ministry, Theology

Kennel Cough

A couple of weeks ago I took a handful of students to visit my alma mater. The trip was great and my students really enjoyed themselves.

Unfortuanately, we had to board our dog at the kennel for the weekend. We have had Buttercup for almost 3 years and she has never been sick or ill. When we picked her up she had a urinary tract infection and developed the saddest, most pathetic cough I’ve ever heard. After spending only one weekend at the kennel all cooped up in her cage, our heathy, beautiful dog got sick.

That got me thinking about our spiritual lives…

Specifically, I began thinking about our brothers and sisters in Galatia. See I feel like I’ve been traveling through Galatia for nearly a year. Over the summer I felt like I had rented a house on the outskirts of the region. I’ve read through Paul’s letter probably 100 times over the past 6-8 months. I have been living with Paul’s letter- reading it over and over- trying to understand it. The people in Galatia were spiritually sick. They had been forced into cages and forced into following a gospel that was more than they could bear. Paul’s pain for them could be felt in the opening of his letter to them:

I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who in his love and mercy called you to share the eternal life he gives through Christ. You are already following a different way that pretends to be the Good News but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who twist and change the truth concerning Christ. Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including myself, who preaches any other message than the one we told you about. Even if an angel comes from heaven and preaches any other message, let him be forever cursed. I will say it again: If anyone preaches any other gospel than the one you welcomed, let God’s curse fall upon that person. (Galatians 1:6-9 NLT)

Can people get spiritually sick from being caged up and chained to unrealisitic and unbiblical expectations? Paul thought so. Thankfully, the gospel of Jesus Christ brings life.

I love these two passages:

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. (Galatians 5:13-15 NIV)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-25 NIV)

Buttercup is finally over her kennel cough. All she needed was a little check up and some medicine.

Thankfully, we serve the ultimate hearler, Jesus Christ. He will cure whatever ails us. we find healing in His wings.

Holy Father, please search our hearts and cleanse us of anything that is not of you. Make us whole and capable of living our lives for You and You alone. Amen