Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Current Study
Loving your enemies is the current topic for this Thursday night. I ran across some images that have challenged me. How do we, as Christians love people who have done tremendously evil things throughout their life? I'm interest in hearing about your thoughts on these pictures as well as the topic of "loving your enemies."
Monday, October 12, 2009
A Shout-Out to Parents With Difficult Teens
I've just finished reading a chapter in my uncle's book, Ten Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe, titled "Dumb Idea 3: A Godly Home Guarantees Godly Kids." He talks about guilt that parents can have in regards to their kids, along with wishful thinking and advice on what to do once kids leave the church. Its an easy, and fun, read that I thought would be helpful for many. I hope this will bring a little more piece to your home and a better understanding of parenting teens.
Finished With End Results
I'm learning a new way of thinking. I've been at Desert Springs Church for a year now and I'm learning to evaluate my experiences so that I can grow from them. It’s been said that experience is the best teacher but I'm learning that EVALUATED experience is the best teacher. So here is my evaluated experience...
Every week I encourage students to do BIG things for Jesus. I mean BIG THINGS! One of the disadvantages of always encouraging students to do big things is that it takes time to accomplish those things. That of course means they are rarely awarded for what they accomplish. Follow me here. If they accomplish two “big things” a year that means they will have only been rewarded twice that year for acting on their faith. This is never a good thing. I'm learning that the journey is just as important as the end result. I wonder how much better the end result would be if we encouraged students along their journey instead of applauding their finished product?
Would test grades be higher if students were applauded for the decision to study instead of going watching Transformers? Would the family unit be more peaceful if the student’s attitude was acknowledged more than their daily chores? Would students dress modestly if adults vocalized how beautiful they are and look them in the eyes and thanked them for making/keeping their commitment to honor Christ with their bodies? What would happen if every time a student would talk to someone about Jesus they were applauded, instead of waiting until they brought that kid to church?
Every high school student is in a different place in their journey. The job of loving adults is to come alongside of them, recognize, and encourage them on their journey – not grade them on their spiritual “to do list.” May the youth of Desert Springs Church feel the love and comfort of caring adults who play a vital part in their journey with Christ!
Every week I encourage students to do BIG things for Jesus. I mean BIG THINGS! One of the disadvantages of always encouraging students to do big things is that it takes time to accomplish those things. That of course means they are rarely awarded for what they accomplish. Follow me here. If they accomplish two “big things” a year that means they will have only been rewarded twice that year for acting on their faith. This is never a good thing. I'm learning that the journey is just as important as the end result. I wonder how much better the end result would be if we encouraged students along their journey instead of applauding their finished product?
Would test grades be higher if students were applauded for the decision to study instead of going watching Transformers? Would the family unit be more peaceful if the student’s attitude was acknowledged more than their daily chores? Would students dress modestly if adults vocalized how beautiful they are and look them in the eyes and thanked them for making/keeping their commitment to honor Christ with their bodies? What would happen if every time a student would talk to someone about Jesus they were applauded, instead of waiting until they brought that kid to church?
Every high school student is in a different place in their journey. The job of loving adults is to come alongside of them, recognize, and encourage them on their journey – not grade them on their spiritual “to do list.” May the youth of Desert Springs Church feel the love and comfort of caring adults who play a vital part in their journey with Christ!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
No longer aware for awareness sake
PULSE is making a valiant effort to change the lives of others around us. We have pretty consistent attendance at both our gatherings as well our events. It’s exciting to see the students wrestling with ideas and ways to apply what the bible teaches to their lives. As a youth pastor to high school students it brings me tremendous joy to watch this process.
It is my prayer that we will be able to further instruct our students on what it means to love the poor and those who are vulnerable in our society. Thanksgiving and Christmas are a natural time for this process to begin. Sadly, it usually ends after Christmas as the New Year approaches and we focus on new commitments and fresh starts. But what happened to the older commitments we made the previous year? How about the commitments we made in November and December about caring for the poor? Did those simply get placed on a shelf only to be taken down again at the end of the New Year?
PULSE is using the holidays to kick-start a lifestyle of taking care of our community. We are done being aware and talking about the needs of others. We want to continually act on what we have learned from scripture throughout the year. Our hope is that the same time next year will be nothing like the same time this year!
It is my prayer that we will be able to further instruct our students on what it means to love the poor and those who are vulnerable in our society. Thanksgiving and Christmas are a natural time for this process to begin. Sadly, it usually ends after Christmas as the New Year approaches and we focus on new commitments and fresh starts. But what happened to the older commitments we made the previous year? How about the commitments we made in November and December about caring for the poor? Did those simply get placed on a shelf only to be taken down again at the end of the New Year?
PULSE is using the holidays to kick-start a lifestyle of taking care of our community. We are done being aware and talking about the needs of others. We want to continually act on what we have learned from scripture throughout the year. Our hope is that the same time next year will be nothing like the same time this year!
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