Investing in youth is an all church ministry!

       A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to preach at the church that I spent the first 18 years of my life in!  It was a blast getting to be back there and teach the Word in the church that was so vital in my growth of becoming more like Jesus.  It was also a humbling experience because as I looked around that room I saw so many faces of people who had invested in my life and looking back they played a huge part in helping me be where I am today in my walk with Jesus.  It struck me very clearly for the first time how good of job Emmanuel Baptist Church in Mora, MN did investing in youth.  I also realized that if a church is going to invest in young people it needs to be an all church undertaking.  The moment the spiritual growth of young people is placed solely upon the youth pastor and a few adults who love to work with teenagers on Wednesday night is the moment we drastically reduce our effectiveness in discipling young people and pouring into them in hopes that they will follow Jesus wherever God leads them in the future.
        So what does this look like?  Does this mean everyone needs to work in the youth ministry?  No!  What it does mean is that everyone can do something to build into the lives of our youth.  Everyone can get to know the names of several of the young people in our church and make a point to say hi to them every week and telling them you are excited they are here.  Everyone can get to know what activities one or two students are involved in and occasionally ask them how it is going.  Everyone can help create a space where kids can be kids and when they do kid stuff they are lovingly redirected and not shamed and condemned.  Some can take it further.  Those who are a part of the older generation can intentionally meet with students in a mentoring relationship.  Some can help with the youth ministry, some can lead small groups, some can enter into 1-1 discipleship relationships.  The bottom line is everyone can do something, and everyone needs to do something.
      What are we aiming for when the church invests in the lives of kids and youth.  We are aiming and praying that God would use it to grip their hearts and draw them to Himself.  We are aiming towards kids and youth growing up and continuing to follow Jesus wherever He leads them to go.  Success is not determined on what they do, success is determined on if they are following Jesus.  Success is a stay at home mom is pursuing Jesus and living that out in front of her kids.  Success is a blue collar worker who is following Jesus faithfully in the work place and at home.  Success is the missionary, or pastor, who is following Jesus.  Success is found when they enter adult hood and continue to follow Jesus.
       As I looked across that room I saw the people who greeted me every morning.  I saw the people who asked me about how football and basketball were going for me.  I saw people who were my small group leaders.  I saw people who created an environment where kids could be kids while moving us towards Jesus.  I saw a church that invested in kids and youth and my life is vastly different because of that.
       One more thing:  young people are the church of today, not the church of tomorrow.  They are a part of the body today if they are followers of Jesus.  So not only are we to invest in them for what we hope they will become in the future, we invest in them for what we hope will be in the present.  That they might faithfully follow Jesus today in their schools, in the classroom, on the athletic field, in their jobs, with their friends, and in their homes.
       So what is your role for investing in youth?  If you don't have a role yet simply start by getting to know the names of two youth and make a point to say hi to them every time you see them at church!

Faith Like a Child: When is a boat a boat and when is a Jesus follower a Jesus follower?

       I had the opportunity to spend the week at a cabin with my family and it was a blast!  Our 18 month old became obsessed with boats and he ran around the entire week yelling out "boat, boat, boat" every time he saw one cruising across the lake!  One morning in an attempt to get him away from causing trouble (a common occurrence) I had him come over by me and look out the window of our cabin to look for boats.  The cabin was about 5 yards from the water and right out from our windows  were several boat lifts with boats in them so I figured the search for a "boat" would be successful!  However, as he looked out the window he lifted up his hands in the air to say, "where are the boats" even though three boats were literally right in front of him.  A few minutes later he spotted a boat going across the lake and erupted in shouts of "boat, boat, boat."  For Ty a boat was not a boat unless it was doing what a boat was created to do!  If the boat was not out on the water driving around the lake in his mind it was not a boat.
      The same is true of Jesus followers.  A Jesus follower is not a Jesus follower unless they are... following Jesus.  So the question we all need to be asking ourselves is this, "are we doing what we have been born again to do?"  Are we following Jesus, because if claim to follow Jesus, but aren't following him, we really aren't followers of Jesus.  So take some time and ask God to reveal to you if you are following Jesus or not.  Are you following Jesus in your work?  As a parent?  As a student?  As a husband or wife?  As a neighbor?  As a friend?  That is what God has created you to do and that is what God through His spirit will empower you to do!  When people see us, what do they see?  I hope they see someone following Jesus!

Lord, I need you!

        I love the worship leader at North!  Not only because he is becoming a good friend, but also because he chooses songs that display and drive us to the heart of the Gospel.  There is a lot of fluff out there in Christian music and sadly a lot of fluff out there in Christian worship music.  A song that we have been singing the past few weeks is Lord, I need you by Matt Maher is an example of a song that drives us to the heart of the Gospel. to the heart of God.  Check out these lyrics.

Lord, I come, I confess
Bowing here I find my rest
Without You I fall apart
You're the One that guides my heart

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

Where sin runs deep Your grace is more
Where grace is found is where You are
And where You are, Lord, I am free
Holiness is Christ in me

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

Teach my song to rise to You
When temptation comes my way
And when I cannot stand I'll fall on You
Jesus, You're my hope and stay

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

You're my one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

       That is the GOSPEL!  "Lord, I need you, oh, I need You Every hour I need you.  My one defense, my righteousness, Oh God, how I need You."   As I was singing this song on Sunday I had to ask myself what am I trusting in for my salvation?  What am I trusting in for my becoming more and more like Jesus?  If the answer is anything but Jesus, that is not the Gospel.  The Gospel is me putting my faith in the FINISHED work of Jesus Christ on the cross.  Did you catch that, putting my faith in the FINISHED work of Jesus Christ.  It is trusting in what has already been accomplished, not trusting in what I am going to accomplish.  When it comes to me growing to be more like Jesus, there too I am desperate for God's work in my life.  As our pastor said on Sunday when talking about having trinitarian love for our brothers and sisters in Christ, "we can't do it."  We can't do it, but God can and He lives inside of us.  That is why every hour, every minute, every second we should be crying out, "Lord, I need you, oh how I need you.  Every hour I need you.  My one defense my righteousness.  Oh God, how I need you."
        I am a man desperate and wholly dependent upon Jesus not only for my salvation, but for my growth in Christlikeness.  Take some time today and honestly ask yourself these two questions.  1.)  What am I trusting in for my salvation?  2.)  What am I trusting in for becoming more like Jesus?  If you answer is not Jesus, remind yourself of the Gospel message.  Remind yourself of the finished work of Jesus on the cross.

 "My one defense, my righteousness.  Oh God, how I need You." 

Thoughts about moms!

       My 2 year old daughter Anaya is going to be a great mom some day!  She loves to take care of her siblings (even the older ones, which doesn't always go well!)  She loves taking care of other kids (which doesn't always go well!)  She loves taking care of her babies (which goes well, since they have no will of their own).  When her baby cries she comforts her, rocks her, and kisses her owies all better!  When she lays her baby down for a nap (singing her to sleep) she makes sure everyone else in the house knows her baby is sleeping and needs to be quiet.  When one of her siblings messes with her baby.....  LOOK OUT!
       I have been thinking a lot lately about how Anaya might answer the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up" as she gets older.  Answers to this question seem to vary all of the time from kid to kid, and in reality the answer changes a lot as the child gets older.  This question often elicits grandiose dreams of what they want to be when the grow up from astronauts, professional athletes, famous musicians, movie starts, and on and on it could go.  I wonder how people would respond if Anaya as a teenager answers the question by saying, "I want to be a mom."  I fear that people would almost perceive that as someone who is settling for something less than what she should be aspiring towards.   As if "being a mom" is not enough.  That seems to be the general tenure of our modern culture.  That if a woman chooses to be a stay at home mom, she is somehow being restricted by traditional family values that keep her in the home and do not allow her to pursue her dreams and become successful in her career.  I hope this changes.  I don't know that it is realistic to think that it will change but I want my daughters (and sons) to know that "to be a mommy" is a worthy, honorable, and beautiful desire.
       While I can't change how other people perceive the beauty, importance, and magnitude of someone who above any other "career" aspiration, just wants to be a mom!  In some situations mom might need to work outside of the home in order to provide for her children, but she works not to pursue her career, but instead to provide for her kids.  She doesn't see her kids as a painful interruption to her career, but instead as a beautiful gift that the God of the universe has placed into her hands.
        My prayer is that my daughters and sons know that being a mom is a beautiful things to aspire to!  I can do that by making sure that I am always honoring my wife for the mom that she is to our kids.  To encourage her and praise her in front of my kids.  To remind my kids that children are a gift from God.  I don't know what Anaya or any of my children will be when they grow up, but my prayer is that they understand how beautiful and important being a mommy is!

How do you pray for your children

I came across this picture and prayer on facebook..... 

and I hated it.  I hated it because in essence what is being prayed for is the American dream which is vastly different than pursuing Jesus.  The sad part is the fact that most of us as parents probably spend significantly more time praying for the safety of our kids, than praying that God would use our kids to bring glory to His name and lead others to salvation. 

       The way we pray for our kids ultimately reveals what we believe to be most important in life.  When we frequently pray for our kids safety, and rarely pray for our kids to live for the glory of God, it reveals that we believe safety is more important than the glory of God.  When we pray more for our kids earthly accomplishments than their kingdom accomplishment, we reveal that we believe earthly success is more important than success in God’s eyes.  

       Of course I want my kids to be safe, and healthy.  Of course I want my kids to be successful.  Of course I want my kids to have their dreams come true.  However, there is something that I desire more than all of that combined.  I desire that someday my kids will stand before God and hear him proclaim, "Well done good and faithful servant."  I desire that my kids will spend their life making much of God, and sharing the Gospel with those around them in word and deed.  If that can best happen through sickness and struggle, than that is what I desire.  If that can best happen through health and "earthly" success, than that is what I desire.  I came across the following prayer and I am beginning to use it when praying for my kids.  May our prayers for our kids change as we realize that God's glory and the salvation of others is WAY more important than health, safety, and earthly success.

     

Do What You Must

Do what You must almighty God
To make me more like Your Son,
Empty me of all envy and pride
And fill me again with love.

Whatever it takes I earnestly pray
To make me a man of Your Word,
Take me to the depths of sufferings deep
Lead me down the Calvary road.

I’ll take up my cross whatever the cost
If You grant the strength and grace,
I’ll follow you Lord, my Savior, my God
To highest of heights or grave.

My dreams and my plans I place on your altar
And to them I raise my knife,
You give and you take, my gracious Provider
You kill and you bring to life.

I ask not for health nor prospering wealth
But one thing I need and trust,
That I might become a man like Your Son
To this end Lord, do what You must.

Faith Like A Child- Getting distracted!

     Most mornings I get to see a picture of what pure joy looks like!  Our youngest two have a tendency (one that I dislike) to get up fairly early in the morning.  It is very common for the two youngest to both be up by 6:30.  I am typically up so I get to have some time to hang out with Anaya and Ty in the mornings.  The experience of pure joy happens when mommy gets up!  As soon as they hear her voice Anaya our two year old goes tearing down the hallway giggling and squealing with shouts of joy and jumps into her moms arms.  Ty, while not quite to the point of running, also heads down the hallway crawling as fast as his body will allow him giggling and squealing with shouts of joy until he gets to mommy's arms!  It is a great experience to witness and it is an appropriate response for the one who loves them, provides for them, gave birth to them, takes care of them, plays with them, and on and on I could go about why it is an appropriate response.
      A couple mornings ago the same scene began to unfold with mommy as Anaya tore down the hallway to jump into her arms.  Ty, as usual, also began the journey with excitement, working on getting those legs and arms moving as fast as possible, but in the journey down the hallway something happened.  Something was on the ground between him and mom, a play cell phone, and it was successful in distracting Ty from getting to mommy even though a play cell phone can't even begin to compare to mommy.  Instead of finishing the journey by falling into mom's arms, he stopped and played with the cell phone instead.  He got distracted, and ultimately settled for something that cannot even begin to compare with mommy.
     As I watched this scene unfold my first thought was we do that all the time with God.  We are going to God the one who created us, sustains us, loves us, provides for us, and we get distracted along the way, and we settle for something that cannot even compare to the greatness of God.  It would be good for all us to spend some time thinking about things that might be distracting us from God, and than begin taking action to remove those things.  After all, how silly would it be if something as simple and pointless as a toy cell phone were keeping us from running into the arms of God!

Football, the Bible, and following Jesus.

       This post is a result of questions I have had for a couple years now, and have once again been pushed to the forefront of my mind because of the events that have transpired in the past couple weeks involving professional football players.  The question is simply, how should we as Christians engage with football (and other violent sports).  Is it something that we should embrace, enjoy, participate in, support, as God given recreation and enjoyment that has simply been tainted by sinful creatures.  Is it something that we should be careful not to embrace, enjoy, participate in and support too much, but not lay it aside all-together?  Or is it something that we need to move away from, not support, enjoy, participate in or encourage?  Here is what has led to this question.
       First, football in a violent sport and it takes a toll on bodies in dangerous and life altering ways.  I don't need to elaborate on this one as it is common knowledge to all who follow football.  Yes, the NFL has made some great strides in the past couple years about dangerous hits, concussions, etc.  But what about the countless athletes whose bodies never get back to normal because of the violent nature of the game of football.
       Secondly, in most cases football seems to bring out the worst in people.  Fans, coaches, players.  I get that there are exceptions, and the reason we love hearing about those stories is because sadly they are the exception, not the norm.  I can safely say that I would not want any of my kids to be like the vast majority of football players both on and off the field.  I have been to a couple NFL games, and fans are pathetic.  I would not want to bring my son into the environment of a regular season football game simply because of how fans react.  Coaches from 5th grade to the NFL have also demonstrated how football tends to bring out the worst in people.
       Thirdly, somehow so many things that Scripture describes as sin is glorified in football.  Pride being the greatest of many examples.  Watch a football game and watch the pride of the players, fans, and coaches.  Rejoicing in the demoralizing defeat of the opponent.  Pridefully celebrating after making a play.  Rubbing their success in the face of the one that was just defeated, trash talking, and on and on I could go.  Yeah, we say it is a part of the game, but is that ok when what is just a part of the game in the Bible is clearly described as sin.
       Fourthly, is the attitude of ignoring huge character flaws in individuals as long as they perform and help us accomplish our goals.  This is an attitude of succeeding at all costs and that ultimately character doesn't matter as long as we produce results.  As the Bible makes abundantly clear it is the heart that matters, not what an individual is able to accomplish on the football field.
      I could go on but I won't.  As I stated at the beginning this is based on thoughts I have had for a couple years now.  I have not talked much about it with others, because I guess I am afraid of the conclusion that I might come to, because quite frankly I love football (and hockey).  However, I love Jesus and the Word more.  If you love football, and Jesus, I would love to hear your thoughts.  Have you wrestled through these issues?  What have you decided?  What Scripture has informed your decision?  Please respond, here or on Facebook.  I would love to hear your thoughts.