The Revolution Lives- Out There!

If you are a regular reader of this particular blog then you know that I officiated the wedding of Joshua & Katherine Martin Guillen on 11/11/11 at North Reddington Beach, FL.  The ceremony took place on the beach outside of the Doubletree Resort at 4:30 PM, as the sun was beginning to set over the Gulf of Mexico.  It was a little chilly and a bit windy, but all-in-all a beautiful setting for a wedding.  There was no rehearsal before the event, but as I mentioned in the service that's actually perfect, because there is no rehearsal for married life either!  Everything went off without a hitch- or more accurately, with a hitch- because now they are hitched!  :)


So what does a beach wedding have to do with the Jesus Revolution?  Everything! As I performed the ceremony- reading from 1 Corinthians 13 and Matthew 19, praying on several occasions and using distinctly Christian vows- I was facing the hotel.  As I looked up at the building, I noticed that a number of people had come out on their balconies to witness the event.  That was very cool.  Then I noticed that just off to my right a large crowd was seated around outdoor tables and watching.  I realized quickly that this was one of the hotel bars.  When I pronounced Joshua & Katherine husband and wife and he kissed his bride, the gathered wedding congregation of about 80 began to applaud.  As the couple recessed down the aisle between the white beach chairs, the applause grew much louder- because the wedding was getting an ovation from the balconies and the bar. This was new and unexpected.  Our "audience" had just doubled.  Afterwards, several people who had not been "at" the wedding told me what a beautiful service it had been.  One lady (in a swim suit in November, so not a local) identified herself as a wedding crasher and told me her daughter was getting married soon.  She asked me how much I charged to do services- which made me laugh out loud!  Clearly this service, held "in the presence of God and before these family and friends," had made an impact beyond our small gathered group.


In fact, it seems to me that this wedding on a public beach had an impact far greater than it would have had in any church.  You  see, we were out there.  We we talking about Jesus, sacrifice, commitment, the church as the Bride of Christ and the holiness of matrimony in an unusual public place- and people were listening.  People who didn't stop by the bar in the expectation of encountering Jesus- but who may have encountered him anyway!  As I watched the crowd in the bar rise to their feet and give the new couple a standing ovation, I couldn't help but think to myself that THIS is what the Jesus Revolution should look like!  We should be on the streets, in the malls and on the beaches demonstrating the love of God.  We should be sharing Jesus with our world, not waiting for the world to come to church.  People are hurting.  People are searching for something that's real.  People want to know the love, peace and grace that comes only through knowing Jesus.  We-and by we I mean I- have to get out there and share that love.  And what about inviting them to church?  To paraphrase a famous quote, "If we love them they will come..."  The revolution is happening out there.  Let's join the party!


Because of Jesus,

Guest Post: Tom Zalatnai

Today's guest post in from Tom Zalatnai, a friend from Twitter.  Tom is special for 2 reasons. First of all, he loves working with youth in the name of Jesus.  Secondly, he is Canadian.  That's just cool.  Thanks for sharing with us today, Tom!

It's my pleasure to be writing a guest post for this blog today! Since this is a site primarily about youth ministry, I thought I would write about something that I think makes a huge difference!

I've been involved in youth & children's ministries for the last 6 or 7 years now, and during part of that time I was both leading and a member of a youth group, and have been touched by the amount of love that comes through those kinds of ministries. I've met so many leaders who love their students, love their jobs and love the Lord so much, and that has been a major influence on my leadership as well. But what is it that makes a good youth leader? Is it good organizational skills? How about a nice car? Or a lot of money? While all of these things are handy, I think it's pretty obvious at this point that I'm leading into something here, and that none of those things are the answer to my question!

Caring.

A leader who cares- who really loves and is passionate about everything they're doing in their ministry- is going to make the biggest difference. I would argue that it's even more important than having any training or experience. Now of course those things are super important, but when I was first involved in children's ministries in the summer of 2005, I had no idea what I was doing (I was also 11, so that didn't help) and was super discouraged, but somehow managed to make a big difference for at least one of my campers. At the end of that summer, one camper came up to me and told me that it made a big difference having me there as his leader because I cared so much. As I got older, I still wasn't really all that well equipped, but I was passionate about what I was doing, and God was using me in powerful ways! Through that passion, I gained the experience and training that made me the leader I am today.

Looking back, I can remember countless times I've gone to my own leaders with problems or concerns, and have felt totally loved and respected and been given amazing advice by people who cared enough to invest their time and prayers in me. It should be the mission of every minister to train up disciples in love and show them leaders who are invested in their well-being :)

@tomzalatnai

http://tomzalatnai.blogspot.com/

Our God IS An Awesome God!

This classic Quaker painting, A Presence in the Midst, captures what it is like to worship in the expectation that the Holy Spirit will be present.  What an awesome thing...


(This vintage post first appeared on October 25, 2009.)  There is a scene in the Chris Farley/David Spade comedy Tommy Boy where our two heroes hit a deer with Spade's car and think they have killed it.  Feeling terrible about the accident, they load the body of the deer in the backseat of the car and continue driving, only to have the deer come back to life and totally destroy the classic convertible.  As the deer finishes his work and runs off into the woods, Tommy (Farley) looks at the scene and says "that....was AWESOME!"  

Marilyn, Will and I were at EPCOT one afternoon a number of years ago after a Florida thunderstorm, and a glorious rainbow appeared out over the World Lagoon.  As we were standing there admiring God's handy work, we heard a young lady ask her mom if Disney World had made the rainbow...  

Noah and the Ark, Moses and the parting of the Red Sea, Samson and his feats of strength, David and the slaying of Goliath- all of these awesome acts of God are now often treated as Old Testament "parables."  People don't believe they really happened, they were just stories told to illustrate truths.  We live in a world that often doesn't believe in the awesome and the miraculous.  Even those of us who claim Jesus as our savior don't really expect God to "show up" in amazing ways.  We go to church on Sunday morning hoping the choir or the band will excite us, or that the preacher will keep us awake.  Where is our sense of expectation?  Why aren't we experiencing the Holy Spirit in our midst, making us sit up and exclaim "THAT...was AWESOME!"  Why do we not look at every newborn baby, at every mountain and every star-filled sky and scream "You are AMAZING, God?"  How is it that we can experience the grace and forgiveness of Jesus Christ in our lives and not be amazed that the Creator of the Universe loves us?  We have come to believe that we are in control.  We have come to believe that our own power and wisdom can save the world.  Too many times, in too many ways, we underestimate and under appreciate the power of God.  We live our lives in fear of terrorists with bombs and meteors crashing into earth, when in fact only God controls the future.  The late Rich Mullins got it right:

Our God, is an awesome God

He reigns from Heaven above,

With wisdom, power and love

Our God is an awesome God!

We need to live our lives in Holy Expectation that the Holy Spirit will move in our mundane lives every day in ways that can only be described as awesome.  Rich told me once that the most important line in the entire Awesome God song is "I hope that we have not too quickly forgotten that our God is an awesome God."  Remember- and expect God to amaze you, so that every night when your head hits the pillow you can look back at the day and say- "THAT...was AWESOME!"

Because of Jesus,

International Day of Prayer For the Persecuted Church

We've been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we're not demoralized; we're not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we've been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn't left our side; we've been thrown down, but we haven't broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, He does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus' sake, which makes Jesus' life all the more evident in us. While we're going through the worst, you're getting in on the best!  -2 Corinthians 4, The Message

Tomorrow is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.  Christians all over the world are being persecuted and martyred for their faith, in places as far away as China and as close by as Mexico.  This day (and this subject) is often ignored by the USAmerican church.  There are a number of reasons for this.  The subject of persecution is often sidelined because it is not "seeker-friendly." The trouble with that strategy is "...everyone who wants to lead a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted..." (2 Timothy 3:12).   This scripture should give real pause to those of us who have no idea what it feels like to be persecuted for our beliefs.  Our brothers and sisters in Christ will meet in secret this Sabbath with the real possibly of being arrested or worse.  Many of us will complain if we have to walk too far from the parking lot.  We just don't get it.  Here is an example of what life is like for many Christians around the world, taken from the Voice of the Martyrs website:  
A pastor certified by China's officially sanctioned Three-Self Church (TSPM) was sentenced to five days of administrative detention in September for "fraudulently harming society in the name of religion." Since 2006, Liu Xiuying has served as a preacher in Shandong province at Chazhuang Church, a church approved by the local Three-Self Patriotic Association. In May, police and members of the Religious Affairs bureau seized Liu during a Sunday service. Liu was taken to a police station, where her interrogators slandered her religious beliefs and accused her of believing in cults and heresies. Please pray that Liu will be able to resume her pastoral work freely. Pray that Chinese officials will view Christianity as a positive influence on society and that their hearts will be won to Christ. Pray also for other pastors who have been arrested, whose identities are being kept confidential.


So tomorrow pray for those Christians around the world who will worship under the shadow of persecution, imprisonment and even death.  They will be praying for you...


Because of Jesus,

Starting Over: The Youth Meeting

Today my thoughts and prayers are with all of those who have served and are serving in our armed forces.  Happy Veteran's Day!  Your sacrifice is much appreciated!


This is post #4 in my continuing Friday series answering Chris Cooper's question, "What would I do if I were starting over in Student Ministry today?" Previous posts include If I Were Starting Over, Strategery and Ask Someone Who Knows.   If you have questions about student ministry and think I can be of help, shoot me an email or find me on Twitter @youthguy07. Enjoy!

Ever have an Egyptian Mummy Race?  You should!

My 16 year old son Will is taking an AP physics class this year that really should be kicking his butt.  The class is very difficult and involves a great deal of math, which he (just like Daddy) hates!  But instead he loves the class and is actually doing quite well.  The reason?  His teacher really understands teenagers.  He understands that the overload of information he is trying to impart to them is not something that he can just fling at them and expect them to learn.  He is creative.  He is entertaining.  He understands that the average student attention span is about 12 minutes (Will tells me that he actually pauses for a "commercial break" about every 12 minutes to let their brains reboot).  And perhaps most importantly, he understands that class should be different everyday, surprising students and keeping them on their toes.  Mr. Shelton knows that "tameness, sameness and lameness" are the enemies of educating young people.  He would make a wonderful youth pastor...


I have said before that one of the best qualities of the youth ministries I led over the years was that the kids would often arrive at our youth meetings with no idea of what was going to happen that evening.  They knew there would be some sort of lesson, but they had no idea what form it might take.  It was rarely in the form of a sermon.  Studies have proven over and over again that lecturing is the least effective form of teaching, and yet it continues to be the #1 method of teaching used in churches. I usually had things to say, but we also used a lot of role plays, skits, video, small group activities and interactive activities to communicate the evening's message.  Creativity was a key.  But we also never let the message be the only important part of the meeting.  There were often games and stunts- silly things to help newcomers and those not yet comfortable with our spiritual focus to feel included and welcomed.  There was almost always a time of worship to help us focus on praising Jesus.  And there all kinds of others random things that we included from time to time just to keep the students wondering what might happen next.  This was what my primary Sunday evening youth fellowship meetings looked like for the better part of 28 years.  And if I were starting over today...I wouldn't change a dang thing!  Planning and creativity insure that the content will change.  But the format would not.  There will be no "tameness, sameness and lameness."  That's a promise!


One question I am often asked is this: How do you control the flow of a youth meeting when you include so many elements?  If you get the students wound up playing games or doing goofy skits, how do you then bring them back to a focus on a lesson or quieted down for worship?  I have 2 suggestions for those who ask.  First, there has to be a plan.  It needs to feel wild to the students, but the leadership must know the schedule- and every minute should be scheduled!  It's what my friend Brent Bill once called "organized chaos."  Included in that schedule are transitions that move the group from phase to phase, either building enthusiasm or calming them down.  Video works well as a transition device, but the best transition for me was always music.  Sometimes this was music played over the sound system, but more often it was in the form of group singing.  We would do wild songs to get everyone pumped; we would do praise songs when we wanted to begin to set the mood for worship; and we would do worship songs to help us come before God.  I often told people that if you gave me a guitar, I could move a group from The Technicolor Stomp (ask if you don't know!) to contemplative worship and singing Sanctuary in 10 minutes, and they would never even know they had taken the trip.  :)  It may not be music for you, but whatever it is you must find ways to transition if you want to use the "wholistic" model of youth meetings.


This is only my opinion, and there are lots of ways to approach youth meetings. Part of your plan will depend upon what else you have going on in your student ministry. Is there a Bible study opportunity for more serious students?  Are there extra fellowship opportunities?  Do you have a primary program for the purpose of service?  All of this comes in to play when deciding what your primary youth fellowship will look like.  I just know that if I were be doing youth ministry at age 90, I would never want to fall into the trap of "the same things happens every week."  And there would never, ever be any math...


Because of Jesus,

Grace Squared

Tomorrow is 11/11/11, a day that some consider to be lucky or magical.  I don't know about all of that, but I do know this- tomorrow is a huge day in my life.  Tomorrow afternoon at 4:30 I will do something that I have thought for much of the past 5 years I would never have the opportunity to do again.  This amazing moment is happening not because of anything I have done, and not because of luck or magic.  It is taking place because I have experienced a double-dose of grace.  I like to think of it as Grace Squared.


If you know my story, then you know that in February of 2007 I lost my ministry through my own sin.  From that moment on I accepted as fact the idea that I would never again stand in front of a group as a minister.  I could not imagine that God would choose me to serve Him in that way again, having failed Him so badly.  I knew about grace.  I knew God still loved me and forgave me.  But I was just as certain my days of public ministry were over.  And besides- who would give a "notorious sinner" like me another chance?  Why would they?  It seemed completely obvious to me that I had thrown it all away- and there was nothing that could be done about it.  As I traveled through this experience, two things seemed very clear to me.  God's grace is amazing and overwhelming.  Grace from human beings?  Rare and unexpected.


And yet as I began writing this blog, spending time on Twitter and reconnecting with so many people from my past, I began to feel some of that unexpected grace.  I dared not hope for too much, but at times I was completely overcome with joy as people showed me love I did not deserve.  At times I still felt like I was their youth pastor, and that filled my heart. Then this past January, I received an email asking me if I would consider officiating the wedding of an old friend.  Katherine Martin (sister to Youth Group Hall of Fame student Colleen Martin) was only 11 years old the last time I saw her in Kissimmee.  She wrote that she was planning to get married in North Reddington Beach this November.  I assumed the suggestion to include me came from her mother, Cindy Martin, who had been one of our volunteers in the student ministry of FUMC-K and a great supporter of this blog from the very beginning. But I didn't think Cindy knew of my offense.  So before answering Katherine, I called Cindy.  I prefaced my story by telling her that while I would love to be part of the wedding, there was something about me she didn't know that might change her mind on my participation. I told the whole story, my voice breaking as I once again confessed my sin to someone I knew would be disappointed in my actions.  When I finished, Cindy said to me, "OK. So what is it you have to tell me that might make me change my mind about having you do the wedding?" BLAM!!!  I had just been hit with a double dose of grace.  It was one of the most moving moments of my life.  To feel the grace of God poured out in such a way was totally overwhelming, and I was so blessed by Cindy's words.


Tomorrow I will once again stand in front of a gathered congregation and share the Word of God.  I will share in the service as Katherine and Joshua become husband and wife.  And I will do it humbled by the knowledge that I do not deserve this privilege.  And that's the whole concept of God's grace as it pours out through Christ-followers.  We get things we don't deserve- and we don't get what we do deserve!  I am not sure what my emotions will be like, but I do know this- I ask that all of you be praying for me, that I will hold it together and give God all of the glory as He continues to restore my soul.  While you're at it, pray for Katherine and Joshua as they begin a new chapter in their lives.  It's going to be a big day.  Thank you, Jesus, for reminding me again that when people live out the love you give to us, amazing things happen.  Love multiplies. Forgiveness doubles.  It's Grace Squared!


Because of Jesus,

The Holiday That Time Forgot

How many of you out there remember Thanksgiving?  It used to be a major USAmerican holiday.  Now...well, not so much.  It's been swallowed up by the ever growing Halloween season and the now endless Christmas season. It is a day to pause for a huge meal, watch some football and to rest up for the horror that is Black Friday.  It used to be a day to stop and thank God for all of the blessings in our lives- thus the catchy name!  It was a major religious celebration right from the beginning, with pilgrims and Native Americans bonding over a meal- you know, the whole "they call it maize but we call it corn" kind of thing.  Now we are more often thankful that the last of the turkey has finally been eaten or that the in-laws have finally gone home.  It has fallen so far that the school board in Tampa (which fights about every religious holiday) closes schools without a single argument about whether or not it is a religious holiday.  The day holds that little significance.  So with Thanksgiving a little over 2 weeks away, is there any way we can return it to its former glory?  Here are a few of my thoughts...

•  Give it a new icon.  The turkey and the pilgrim just don't cut it in this fast-paced world.  How can they expect to compete with the horror movies, goblins and ghouls of Halloween or with lights, trees, Santa and the elves at Christmas?  I'm open to suggestions.  Perhaps a superhero with turkey-like powers, like a "Sonic Gobble" or a Tryptophan Breath that renders you sleepy.  I'm just spitballin' here...
• Get some musical legends (Bono, JLo, Justin Bieber, Weird Al, Randy Jackson, etc.) to do an album of Thanksgiving songs, complete with videos.  Give the holiday a little street cred! 
• Make NBC show the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on a continuous loop all day long. And while they're at it, bring in Robin Williams to do the commentary- and throw away the scripts. Make every other non-football network loop the "Flying Turkeys" episode of WKRP in Cincinnati (if you don't what I'm talking about, go to YouTube right this minute!).  Now we're talking!  And while we're talking TV, let's do away with the night football game.  No one gets the NFL Network anyway, do they?
• Make every store put up a Thanksgiving display from November 1 through the 4th Thursday of November.  No Christmas ads, displays, decorations and above all music will be allowed until Turkey Day is done.  Let's get Hallmark in on this one- if they pushed Thanksgiving cards a little harder we might not be in this mess...
• Some big Hollywood director needs to make a Thanksgiving movie that we actually want to watch. You know, a big action/adventure/comedy/drama starring Brad Pitt, Mila Kunis, Adam Sandler and Betty White in a story about a family that is falling apart, only to come back together when they save the world from aliens with the help of their wacky neighbors (played by Jim Parsons and Kaley Cuoco, because The Big Bang Theory rules!).  In the end,  a local pastor (played, of course, by the always sensitive Will Ferrell) unites them as as family, and everyone sits down together- actors and aliens- for a big Thanksgiving meal.  Prayers are said.  Tears flow.  Fade to black...

This stuff might actually work... NOT!   The things that have always made this holiday special- faith, family and food- are just not the kinds of things that "sell" in 2011. But they are definitely the kinds of things we should celebrate!  Thanksgiving was never meant to be about a single day- it is meant to be about a year of giving thanks for the things that are important in our lives.  It is meant to be the celebration of our "attitude of gratitude," which should be with us 24/7, 365.  So for these next 2 weeks, let's kick it up a notch!  Be thankful, and live like you are.  Share your attitude of gratitude with others.  Enjoy time with your family. Thank God everyday.  And work on that new icon and a few Thanksgiving carols.  It can't hurt...


Because of Jesus,