A New Kind of Youth Ministry

I just finished Chris Folmbee's A New Kind of Youth Ministry, he obviously is trying to focus on using Brian McLaren's A New Kind of Christian identity to associate himself with Emergent thinking, but never actually claims that he is coming from that perspective. He does, however, mention that he and Brian talk quite frequently.

Chris is the president of Sonlife Ministries.

I felt as though he had some great thoughts on where Youth ministry should head. I personally enjoyed his thoughts on how we should teach students. No one learns anything great when somebody just stands in front of you and speaks. He called for youth pastor's to become more learner-centered instead of teacher-centered.

He called for the youth ministry to change the way it does evangelism in order to teach students to evangelize rather than just bring unsaved friends and relatives to an appropriate program where the gospel is being presented. He actually asks the question. If all we do as youth pastors is give students opportunity to bring lost friends to evangelistic events when will the students learn how to witness to their friends.

His perspectives come from a wide variety of experience and conversations. Chris gives some very practical ways in which youth leaders, workers or pastors can make some greatly needed changes in youth ministry.

All in all I would recommend this book to any who have an interest in serving in Youth Ministry. I believe that he asks questions that each youth worker must answer in conjunction with their involvement in youth ministry.

Vanessa...I finally took the quiz!

Emergent/Postmodern		82%
Fundamentalist		54%
Neo orthodox		50%
Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan		50%
Modern Liberal		39%
Classical Liberal		36%
Reformed Evangelical		29%
Charismatic/Pentecostal		21%
Roman Catholic		14%

What's your theological worldview?
created with QuizFarm.com

Take it for what it's worth!

The Missional Church

I have been confronted with this phrase many times since coming back from Poland. This concept isn't new in fact I've been taught it in every church that I've been associated with. I've heard it said, but I really don't know that I've seen it lived out in the hearts and minds of the people. In fact many times I've heard statements completely opposite of the missio dei and it is frightening to me. I found this blog post today and it really got me thinking about how things have got in the way of the missio dei. Here are ten things that we should not expect in a truly missional church.

TEN THINGS ANYONE WHO JOINS IN A TWENTY FIRST CENTURY MISSIONAL CHURCH PLANT SHOULD NOT EXPECT

1.) Should not expect to regularly come to church for just one hour, get what you need for your own personal growth and development, and your kidss needs, and then leave til next Sunday. Expect mission to change your life. Expect however a richer life than you could have ever imagined.

2.) Should not expect that Jesus will fit in with every consumerist capitalist assumption, lifestyle, schedule or accoutrement you may have adopted before coming here. Expect to be freed from a lot of crap you will find out you never needed.

3.) Should not expect to be anonymous, unknown or be able to disappear in this church Body. Expect to be known and loved, supported in a glorious journey.

4.) Should not expect production style excellence all the time on Sunday worship gatherings. Expect organic, simple and authentic beauty.

5.) Should not expect a raucous "light out" youth program that entertains the teenagers, puts on a show that gets the kids "pumped up," all without parental involvement. Instead as the years go by, with our children as part of our life, worship and mission (and when the light shows dim and the cool youth pastor with the spiked hair burns out) expect our youth to have an authentic relationship with God thru Christ that carries them through a lifetime of journey with God.

6.) Should not expect to always "feel good,"or ecstatic on Sunday mornings. Expect that there will ALSO be times of confession, lament, self-examination and just plain silence.

7.) Should not expect a lot of sermons that promise you God will prosper you with "the life you've always wanted" if you'll just believe Him and step out on faith and give some more money for a bigger sanctuary. Expect sustenance for the journey.

8.) Should not expect rapid growth whereby we grow this church from 10 to a thousand in three years. Expect slower organic inefficient growth that engages people's lives where they are at and sees troubled people who would have nothing to do with the gospel marvelously saved.

9.) Should not expect all the meetings to happen in a church building. Expect a lot of the gatherings will be in homes, or sites of mission.

10.) Should not expect arguments over style of music, color of carpet, or even doctrinal outlier issues like dispensationalism. Expect mission to drive the conversation.

O AND BY THE WAY¦ Should not expect that community comes to you. I am sorry but true community in Christ will take some "effort" and a reshuffling of priorities for both you and your kids. Yes I know you want people to come to you and reach out to you and you're hurting and busy. But assuming you are a follower of Christ (this message is not for strangers to the gospel) you must learn that the answer to all those things is to enter into the practices of "being the Body" in Christ, including sitting, eating, sharing and praying together.

Sanctioned Gay Unions in Medieval Europe....So!

Sanctioned Gay Unions in Medieval Europe

Civil unions between male couples existed around 600 years ago in medieval Europe, a historian now says.

Historical evidence, including legal documents and gravesites, can be interpreted as supporting the prevalence of homosexual relationships hundreds of years ago, said Allan Tulchin of Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania.


If accurate, the results indicate socially sanctioned same-sex unions are nothing new, nor were they taboo in the past.


“Western family structures have been much more varied than many people today seem to realize," Tulchin writes in the September issue of the Journal of Modern History. "And Western legal systems have in the past made provisions for a variety of household structures.”


For example, he found legal contracts from late medieval France that referred to the term "affrèrement," roughly translated as brotherment. Similar contracts existed elsewhere in Mediterranean Europe, Tulchin said.


In the contract, the "brothers" pledged to live together sharing "un pain, un vin, et une bourse," (that's French for one bread, one wine and one purse). The "one purse" referred to the idea that all of the couple's goods became joint property. Like marriage contracts, the "brotherments" had to be sworn before a notary and witnesses, Tulchin explained.


The same type of legal contract of the time also could provide the foundation for a variety of non-nuclear households, including arrangements in which two or more biological brothers inherited the family home from their parents and would continue to live together, Tulchin said.


But non-relatives also used the contracts. In cases that involved single, unrelated men, Tulchin argues, these contracts provide “considerable evidence that the affrèrés were using affrèrements to formalize same-sex loving relationships."


The ins-and-outs of the medieval relationships are tricky at best to figure out.


"I suspect that some of these relationships were sexual, while others may not have been," Tulchin said. "It is impossible to prove either way and probably also somewhat irrelevant to understanding their way of thinking. They loved each other, and the community accepted that.”

Of Rain and Indiana...

So I went to Meijer this morning to pick a couple of things up and it was raining - not really hard, but harder than sprinkling. I didn't remember to wear a jacket or really anything but a t-shirt and I regretted it. The interesting thing is that when I got out of my car no one was wearing a jacket, in fact I saw many people just standing in the rain talking. I thought it was rather odd but decided that I wasn't going to care.

The funny thing is that for my next morning errand I had to run to the bank. Now funny thing is that our bank is natorious for having a very slow drive though. In fact several of the other pastors and I kid about it. I wont go into the drive through unless there is no one in line. Since going to Meijer the rain hadn't picked up or slowed down much, but the one drive through lane that was open had a line of six cars while no one was in the parking lot to go inside.

I found it odd...

I'd have bought a Jersey

After two weeks of workouts, Miller to stay retired

Reggie Miller's comeback has ended before it began.


Miller
The former Indiana Pacers star and TNT hoops analyst has decided he won't make a comeback with the Boston Celtics or anyone else, according to The Indianapolis Star.

"That's it,'' he told The Star. "Physically, I know I could have done it. But mentally, when you do something like this, you've either got to be all in or all out. And I've decided I'm all out."


Miller told the newspaper the decision came after two weeks of workouts designed to see how his body might react to the stress of an entire NBA season.


"Earlier [Thursday], I was ready to come back. I was going to do it. But then I flew back here, I thought about it, I talked to a lot of people, and honestly, most people told me I should come back," Miller said, according to the newspaper.

"Charles [Barkley], Mark [Jackson], Doug [Collins], they all said I should do it. And when I was back in Indy this week [for the Peyton Manning charity bowling event], people on the streets, they'd tell me to do it," Miller told the newspaper. "But as the day went on, I just realized I wasn't ready mentally to put myself through the grind again."

Miller, the NBA's all-time leader in 3-pointers, retired in 2005 after 18 seasons, all with the Pacers. But he considered a return when the Celtics picked up Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett and asked Miller if he was interested.

The answer is no, Miller told the Star.

"Please write, 'I will never, ever, ever try something like this again,'" he said laughing, according to the newspaper. "Any of the 30 teams in the NBA, if you're interested, please don't call."

Reculturing Evangelism

So, it's nice to get some affirmation about what I've been saying. I've started a new book, A New Kind of Youth Ministry. Its interesting because the author, Chris Flomsbee, is the director of Sonlife ministries, Sonlife is natorious for holding large evangelistic events that don't produce disciples just converts.

In the first chapter of the book he calls for youth pastors to stop doing big event evangelism and to start doing relationship evangelism. Just get to know students as much as possible. He calls it a move to friendship evangelism. You meet friends and share with them how Christ has worked in your life by just living it. It's amazing to see what happens!

This fall we are starting a Friendship Evangelism program. We are getting teens together and teaching them the skills necessary to help their friends get to know Christ. Chris talks about how if all we do is large event evangelism how is one-on-one evangelism modelled for today's teen.

Growing up I was very close to my youth pastor. I watched him like a hawk! I don't know that he even knew it. But I was amazed at his ability to build relationships. It seemed as though every other year or so another family or person would start coming to church because of the relationship that he had built with them. I saw him do it, so now that I am in the position I have been challenged to do the same.

I am praying that many of the students that I come into contact with will live missionally. That everyone they come into contact with will understand that they are a follower of Christ and that their friends may understand that that it a better way to live!

Pretty Good for Not Being There!

I didn't get to participate in the draft this year, but Yahoo did the picking and it didn't turn out too badly!

Drew Brees - QB
Vince Young - QB
Steve Smith - WR
Larry Fitzgerald - WR
Braylan Edwards - WR
Lee Evans - WR
Ladanian Tomlinson - RB
Brian Westbrook - RB
Ronnie Brown - RB
Carnell Williams - RB
Chris Cooley - TE
Benjamin Watson - TE
Shayne Graham - K
Josh Brown - K
Baltimore - DEF
Miami - DEF

Pretty good I think!

Dear Church

So, I just finished reading a book called, Dear Church. It is writen by Sarah Cunningham who is from Jackson, Michigan and was 28 at the time she wrote this book.

Its an interesting look at the "twentysomething's" view of the church in our culture. She wrote each chapter as if it were a letter to the universal church at large, spelling out her critisms and frustration with the church. She also wrote it from her experience and therefore wrote it to those who are "twentysomething." I found it engaging and enlightening. I found that it helped me articulate my thoughts, feelings, and critisms toward the church. What I found that I didn't really expect was that it was that it was challenge for me to start working on the holes that the church has and that gaps that the church is not filling. I feel as though my cynicism was not needed. And therefore, is something I should be apologizing for.

This book gave excellent and practical ways that we can minister to those who are "twentysomething" and also challenges those who are "twentysomething" to get involved in authentic Christian community.

Overall its a good read. I'd really recommend it to everyone in church ministry, as well as those who are "twentysomething".

A New Day Off!!!!!

Since I've been here at Sugar Grove I have had Thursday as my day off. It isn't the greatest day to have off, but that's what you get when you are the low man on the totempole! Anyway, I'm told today that all of the Pastoral staff will take Fridays off starting at the end of September. I am so excited about that you can't even believe it! Two day weekends! What a great idea!

The Irresistible Revolution

In the aftermath of September 11, 2001; it came out that these "extremists" bombed the United States because it is a Christian nation. I laughed at that statement thinking, "don't they know anything about seperation of church and state..." or some other ignorant thoughts. Then the presidential election of 2004 came along and it seemed as though the conservative Christian minority was really a slight majority. I was a little shocked to see that Bush was reelected (even though I voted for him), but soon afterwords we see mainstream companies focusing attention on this Christian majority. New blue laws were passed, Hollywood has started to produce "cleaner" movies. It has been interesting to watch as events have unfolded over the past couple of years.

The Irresistable Revolution begs me to answer the question why not just forgive them? Why not hold a press conference and extend grace to Osama Bin Ladin? If we called off the search and made it widely known that we weren't going to hunt him down, take him off the 10 most wanted terrorist list, offer him anonimity and an open invitation to dinner at the White House, would it accomplish the end of the war on Terror? I struggled with that on the day of the terrorist attacks. I was asked that question and almost hated the person for saying it. I was so upset and confused and ready to join the army. As I ask myself that question, I want to say that if I were in the White House today that I would not only extend grace to Osama, but I would pray daily for his salvation (as I do now). Would that be the end of the war on Terror - if I had anything to say about it - yes! But it wouldn't end terrorism, or even terrorism in the United States. But it seems to be the teaching of Jesus. Forgive them no matter how many times they offend you.

The book makes me want to stop what I am doing and change the world one relationship at a time. An ordinary radical is a person who lives their life fighting injustice here and around the world - one relationship at a time. It is honestly the best book so far of 2007. I really don't know what to do with it. I really don't know what I should say or do after finishing such a thought provoking book. I am amazed at how much I can learn about the bible and not learn anything from the bible.

Lord, cleanse me of inactivity. Help me to use the authority given me to make this world a better place. The place you originally intended it to be. Thank you Lord, for making me new everyday. Thank you for your challenges and your trials. Thank you for sending people into my life to lovingly confront me. Lord thank you for creation, without it we wouldn't understand what life is really all about! Amen.

Philosophy Waltz

You Will Know It

Ms. Misunderstood

A Chucklement Revisited (A review of the Harry Potter Series)

In college we had many different ways that we could fill our Chapel quota for the semester, some were the regular morning chapels and some were evening chapel supplements. One of those chapel supplement series was hosted by our college pastor, Chuck, so they became affectionately coined, "Chucklements." Even though the guy officiated our wedding I didn't go to many of his chapels. One, however, sticks out more than any other.

I don't know what he was speaking on, but I do remember this statement (or something very close) If you want to be a writer leave the Christian fiction to someone else, write in the secular media and point people to Christ. He said the same about the movie industry and then talked about a former student of his who was currently working on many major motion pictures.

I have never forgotten about those statements.

I have just concluded the seventh and final story of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series and I couldn't be more amazed. Not amazed in the "I love to be entertained" sense, but in the "way that the she was able to put the Christian story into the hands of millions and millions of people around the world!" Without letting the cat out of the bag, lets just say that Harry Potter is right up there with The Chronicles of Narnia in the British Fantasy Christian Allegory category.

I loved the series and am blessed to have read them.

Check this Out!

DUNLAP -- Inspired by a recent church mission trip, recent Concord High graduate Matt Schnaars decided to get moving.
"I just realized the need to start giving back what I have and start helping out others," Schnaars said. "I had plenty of time and resources and just decided to start using those."
Schnaars' youth pastor at Sugar Grove Church, Joel Wolfgang, gave him the topic of AIDS relief as a challenge, a concept Schnaars viewed as "a good place to start."
Wolfgang said Schnaars was motivated from the start.
"He came back (from the mission trip) really like 'I want to do something,'" Wolfgang said. "I told him about Blood:Water Mission and he decided to go for it."
Blood:Water Mission is an organization that contributes to AIDS relief in Africa by providing money to dig wells in villages without a clean water supply. A clean water supply fosters a clean blood supply, which leads to fewer AIDS cases transmitted through blood transfusions, Wolfgang said.
On Saturday, Schnaars will head up a walk-a-thon, rummage sale and bake sale from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Concord Junior High School practice track, 24050 C.R. 20, with all proceeds going to the organization.
"We're definitely hoping for over 300 people to show up," Schnaars said. "And a total of at least 1,000 miles walked that day. We're hoping to raise over $3,000."
Wolfgang said participation is easy, from shopping at the rummage sale to taking a few laps around the track. Because several local businesses have offered per person or per mile pledges, Schnaars will be asking all participants who walk to sign in and then record how many laps they walked.
"He's got fliers up all over this area asking people to come," Wolfgang said.



I'm really excited about this. When I was in college it was drilled into our heads that we would never see real success from youth ministry while the students were in our groups, but here is a great example of success. I'm so pumped about this. Shari and I are walking from 3 to 6 tomorrow.

If you've never heard of Blood:Water check out their site. They are doing some tremenous things!

Bridge Walking

When I was younger my family would take vacations to Mackinac City and we would have to cross the bridge at least once per day. It was thrilling! We loved it! My brothers and I would beg my dad to drive on the green part just to drive my Mom crazy! It was awesome. I don't remember when I heard that you could walk across the bridge on Labor Day, but I do remember my reaction. "I'm going to do it one day!"

Fast forward 6 years.

One day in youth group our youth pastor announced that we would be taking a trip to the bridge and walking across it to hand out tracts. I was the first to sign up on the list! I wanted to go more than anyone. The only problem was that I was supposed to hand out tracts. Well, I went I was given a large amount of tracts and a matching T-shirt and we went across. We were supposed to walk a little faster or slower with the crowd so that we were able to walk with several different people in order to share the gospel with them. The tracts we were given had a few tidbits of information in them about the Mackinac Bridge. So when we would come up to people we would ask "Do you want some free information about the bridge?" Most of them would say yes, and keep and we would keep moving. Well, the first person I came to I asked her if she wanted any information about the bridge and she quickly said that one of us had already gotten her. She was a little snippy and was probably upset after being deceived. I was a little thrown off by her and went further ahead and went to hand a father pushing a baby carriage 'some free information' when he stopped me told me that he didn't want it and that he was upset that he had been deceived already. He then asked me a question that I've never forgotten, Why do you feel as though you had to hide your message behind bridge facts? I didn't know what to say, so I asked him if I could tell him my message. He quickly said no, and I ran on ahead. After that confrontation I couldn't give out another tract, half scared and half thinking that we had evangelism all wrong, I just couldn't do it. Right near the end I just wanted to get off of the bridge so I ran the last 100 years or so and I tripped and fell on one of the bridge extension points I fell hard! 100 or so tracts flew into the air and went everywhere. People of all ages started laughing heavily out loud and in my direction. No one helped me up, no one helped me pick up my tracts. It was absolutely miserable. I think what I realized is that these people had all been deceived by our group by given them information on the bridge that they were happy that something had happened to one of us.

The problem is I think that they had the right to laugh. They had been deceived by Christians.

There was no relationship. I didn't work on a relationship with anybody on that walk. I just wanted to talk about how Jesus died and rose again, but I didn't want to act out how he lived. I just finished reading the book of Matthew and I was absolutely amazed at how Jesus lived, and how that is a part of the GOSPEL of Matthew. We neglect that Jesus spent years with people building relationships with those around him.

Evangelism is hard, because it involves relationships.