Youth Pastor Summit Highlights

This past Monday and Tuesday I went with my good friend, Tripp Battle to the Youth Pastor Summit conference in Orlando, FL. It is one of my favorite conferences! It is put on by Student Leadership University. Every year I'm challenged, encouraged and equipped to become a better leader. Plus, it is free! Thank you to all of those who made it possible for youth leaders to come and be encouraged! Here are some highlights from the conference:

Doug fields:  Learning to say no to "good things" so I can say yes to God's best. The biggest problem with the church is being busy. The warning lights are there. Being busy leads to burnout.  Am I living the life God has called me to live? Am I busy and calling it ministry?  Church life can add octane to the busy-ness of life. What gets sacrificed? Our heart, our joy and even our families.

Heartbreak propels the speed of burnout. It makes you work harder. Heartbreak usually comes when there is unresolved conflict, exhaustion and guilt. The pressure to be perfect is unbearable at times in ministry.

Warning signs:

• Constant clutter.
• Addiction to speed: Always wanting everything to go faster.
• Extreme multitasking. You try to do multiple things at once, not doing one of them well.
• Superficiality: Surface level because a hurried life leads to shallow relationships. The people who love you most get cheated.
• Relationship fatigue: "Vegging out in front of the TV" and ignoring your wife and family.
• Spiritual emptiness: Compassion is lost. You are tired to the point it erodes the joy in the soul.

Paul Turner: He shared about moralistic therapeutic deism that is running rampant in the church.

Misconceptions in the church: "God wants me to be good, nice and fair to each other as taught in the Bible and other religions. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about one's self. God is not involved in my life except when I need God to resolve a problem." Most U.S. teenagers mirror their parents religious faith. We can be in church our entire lives, learn about the teachings of Jesus and miss the person of Christ. We must elevate Christ!

Dr. Alvin Reid: "Missional Student Ministry." Most students do not have a biblical mind. We must live and think like missionaries. We must have a gospel focus (Luke 24). We assume they get it. We can easily miss what is most important. The gospel is not "dear abbey" but a life changing message that needs to saturate every area of our lives. We need less behavior modification and more of the gospel. Mentoring is more important than the events. Events are important but they must always be supporting the process. We should always integrate the student ministry into the whole church. Structure it around the gospel and being missional.

Dave Edwards: "Landing Truth." We need to re-elevate scripture to students. Dave shared his approach to studying and preparing messages. Here are 5 ways to land truth:

1. Flight Plan: What am I getting ready to do? Try not to be trendy. Be yourself. Don't over program the message (less is more). Be clear. Exactly what do I want to communicate? What do I want my students to know? Why do I want them to know it? What do I want them to do with it (takeaway)? If I can write the "takeaway" on a napkin, it is good to go! The leaner it is, the more powerful it can be communicated. If there is a "mist in the pulpit, there is a fog in the congregation."

2. Know the purpose of the flight: Are you on a bombing mission or leisure flight? We need to have different approaches: teaching, inspiration, devotional, spiritual warfare, etc. We must communicate in a way that people understand the purpose of the message. The tone needs to be used wisely in relation to the message. In other words, don't yell when you are talking about extending mercy to others!

3. Trust your instruments: Scripture is the source! Use concise passages of scripture, not a bunch of random verses that nobody can keep up with in the talk. We should "wring out" every ounce of the text in order to unpack the truth. It is important to have a "trigger" to every talk that explodes inside of you. It is what brings it to life inside of the communicator. Bad preaching speaks on "top" of the passage but unpacking God's Word unleashes the truth out of the pages and into the hearts of the people. Always use honesty and share personal stories of how the passage has impacted your life.

4. "EIA" It: Always do three things in a talk: Explain the passage in light of the point you are making. Apply it as many ways as I can. Illustrate it. Your illustrations are your personality on fire! Try to have bullet statements that can be applied from the message. Always try to answer objections in the minds of the audience.

5. Know how to land the plane successfully: It is all about bringing the truth home in a clear, understandable way. Does the message lead to a decision? Land the truth of God's Word so that the Holy Spirit can move in the hearts of the listeners!

Thanks again to Jay Strack and the SLU team and all the sponsors for making the youth pastor summit possible!  

Jesus Never Stops Forgiving

Do you ever think you are too far gone for God's forgiveness? Do you think others are too far gone to be saved? Luke 23:39-45 is one of the best examples of repentance in scripture. It also demonstrates the awesome, saving power of God. This text is commonly held up as the example of how far a sinner can go and still be saved. The separation between God and man was destroyed through the cross and resurrection! The heart of this passage is that God will not reject a repentant sinner no matter what they have done. Let's look at each verse of Luke 23:39-45:

 "One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” (Luke 23:39). In those days, crucifixion was only reserved for the lowest of criminals. It was against Roman law to crucify Roman citizens. They were beheaded. Here in this verse we have a scenario where Jesus, the sinless One, crucified next to a lowly criminal. The criminal begins to mock and scoff at Jesus. The criminal taunts Jesus by saying, “if thou be Christ.” The word used here for “Christ” means “anointed one”. It is the proper name that was used for Jesus. The word, “save” means to deliver from danger. The criminal tempted Jesus to save himself along with the two other criminals.

 "But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” (Luke 23:40-41): The repentant criminal rebukes the unrepentant criminal for His blasphemous taunting of Jesus. The repentant criminal rebukes by asking the question, “Don’t you fear God,” His conscience bore witness to the fact that he was witnessing a great injustice. Here, the repentant criminal gives the reason for his rebuke. He confesses that he rightfully deserved their sentence of crucifixion.  That is that the repentant criminal recognized that he had done something wrong. It takes a heart of repentance to surrender to Christ. The criminal expresses his surprise at the unrepentant criminal’s actions because Jesus had done absolutely nothing deserving of execution. The word “justly” means honestly, justly, as it is fit, proper, or right.

 "Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom (Luke 23:42): In this verse the repentant criminal now addresses Jesus. His request is very simple. It was one of total dependence upon the mercy of Jesus. It was totally absent of any excuse or self-righteousness. The criminal addresses Jesus as, “Lord”. This word can mean master, owner, or possessor. He recognized Jesus for who He is, the Savior. The word here for “kingdom” refers to the kingdom of heaven.

"Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43): Jesus replies to the repentant criminal’s request in the previous verse. Jesus gives an extra assurance of His words by adding, “Verily, verily,” or “truly, truly.” Jesus then goes onto tell the repentant criminal that “today” he would be with Him in paradise. Note that it was today and not some future time. This passage verse teaches that believers are immediately ushered into heaven, into the presence of the Lord. The word for paradise refers to heaven.

 "It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two" (Luke 23:44-45): The time period in which Jesus was crucified was 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. A total of six hours. However, from 12:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. darkness fell over the whole earth. This verse does not just say in a particular area but over the earth. The word for earth here means the entire physical planet. This verse goes on to note that even the sun’s light was darkened. The veil of the temple was said to be about six inches thick. It divided the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple. There was no machine or device at that time that was capable of tearing that veil all the way from top to bottom. This was a clear act of God’s awesome power. Many commentators believe that this act meant that we not have direct access to God’s presence. No longer do we have to go through the Levitical priesthood as representatives for us. Now we can go straight to God if we trust in His son Jesus.

One of Jesus' last conversations was the forgiveness of a criminal. In comparison to God, we are all criminals. We have broken His heart through our sin and rebellion. We are broken, lost and in need of salvation.

Thank you Jesus for taking my place on the cross and for eternally forgiving me! 

Is the vehicle more important than the destination?

#8: Ministry is not just how good your programs, strategies, or environments become. They are simply vehicles. Ministry is all about people being changed eternally by Jesus! In 2012 there are more ministry strategies, books, conferences and blogs about the new "ministry nugget" that will take your church to the "next level." For those of us in ministry we see all of the many ways churches function. We divide it up into traditional, modern, contemporary, and emergent churches (I'm sure there are more). I grew up in a somewhat traditional church and have served in this type of church. I have also worked in the contemporary model of the church. I am grateful for the new vision for the church with how it functions and reaches the lost. But this is what leads me to my next questions...

Does the style or environment of the church matter in eternity? We must realize that the style, programs, strategies are the avenue in which we share the truth of Jesus Christ. If the goal becomes one of these vehicles then the gospel can become of less importance.

Are we so relevant  and comfortable in the church that we are trying to disciple lost church members? We are spending a lot of time in our churches today trying to revive the lost people who have not been saved by Jesus. This is why there is so much frustration with church leaders and a lack of passion by the people in the church.

Example: Is the church supposed to only be attractional? It is the "come and see" mentality. It is consumer driven. People come with a "buffet" mentality. What can I get from the different programs offered? In the 1960-1980's this style dominated the church world. This "attractional" or "consumer" model does not work anymore (and I think never has). The church is not the social center of today's culture like it was in the past. We must move into a missional mindset if we are going to reach this generation.

Example: Is the church supposed to send people to be missional? Yes! The word “church” stems from the Greek word ekklesia. It is defined as “an assembly” or “called-out ones.” The root meaning of “church” is not a building, but of people. Jesus came for people. Jesus came to "seek and save the lost" (Luke 19:10). One of the goals of a church is for the people to become personal soul winners and grow in community (Proverbs 11:30)!

The vehicle is important (environment, strategy, programs). But if the vehicle becomes the crown of the church, we can miss the King.

If leaders become more focused upon the program and less focused upon sharing the gospel, what will the church look like in 10 years? As leaders, our goal should be to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus. People are looking for hope for their lives, their family and friends. Environments, programs and strategies help people walk in the door, but if that is the end goal then we are simply filling buildings with lost people. I haven't heard one baptism video testimony who talks about how amazing the programs were or how nice the environments were. A person who has been changed by Jesus, talks about Him!

In God's eyes, faithfulness is more important than performance. Let's not make the vehicle of ministry more important than the vision of the gospel changing lives for eternity.

What are your thoughts?