A Smile on My Face

                I recently took some college/career types along with some High School Students on a trip to San Francisco for a mission trip with CSM (They did a great job).  The trip was really good.  You can read about it at the Theology, Lockers, and Life blog if you are interested.  When I arrived home I was faced with a tore up basement (it flooded while I was gone, thanks to one of our elders and some good friends for helping get everything dried up) and an empty house.  My wife and kids had left for Minnesota for two weeks.  I believe this is the longest time I have been away from them.   I miss my family.

                My personal thoughts have a purpose.  I sit here with my two dogs lying on the floor next to my bed with a quiet house.  No kids playing and no wife to cuddle with before falling asleep.  I have never really lived alone.  I went from a house with parents and four brothers to a college dorm with a roommate.  After a couple years of that I got married.  Perhaps for the first time in my life I am realizing how much God has wired us for relationships.  Earlier tonight I connected with my family through Tokbox a video conferencing web site.  It was great to see their smiling faces.  About twenty minutes ago I looked at a photo from our vacation early in July and saw my son holding a fishing rod with Mt. Massive in the background.  It put a smile on my face!!

                My family makes me happy (most of the time).  I love them and I know they love me.  In the midst of all this I hear the words of Jesus resounding in my head, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”  Some days that doesn’t seem so hard, but most of the time and especially during moments like this one it is not only hard, it makes me question my own love for Jesus.

            A little self reflection from time to time can be good for the soul.  I want to keep this short so I am going to wrap it up here.  What if you had to choose between your loved ones and Jesus?  What if you had to give up that which is most precious to you in order to follow Jesus?  At this moment the very thought creates pause in my spirit.  Yet, I want more than anything for my family to follow Jesus with that kind of love and passion.  Perhaps my own love and passion for Jesus needs to burn hotter.

Human Arrogance

I had an interesting conversation with one of my High School Students about the influence teenagers have on culture.  It was her belief that teenagers set the standards for culture.  They have more influence on culture than any other age group.  Certainly when it comes to pop culture there is some truth to what she thinks.  It is also true that pop culture has some influence on culture overall, but what kind of impact do teenagers have on the culture overall?

I think the popular thing to say here is that they are the trend setters and they determine where culture will go.  There influence is so significant and important that we must pay close attention.  I am not so convinced.

The title of this piece may have tipped you off to my view.  People are naturally arrogant, as a people we tend to think we deserve everything and the world revolves around us.  Actually the truth that mankind is arrogant is a Biblical truth.  Arrogance is why Satan fell from heaven (Isaiah 14:12-14) and it was arrogance that Satan used to tempt Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:5).

The truth is every age group has an impact on culture.  Parents raise kids and impact the current culture, teachers teach them, and so on.  Only adults can vote and impact the political culture and they pass laws and bills that impact us, impact teens, and impact our ability to do ministry.  Culture is all encompassing.  What students are taught in school has a huge influence on what they believe in almost every area of their life. 

For those of us in youth ministry we tend to have a passion for teenagers.  We love to hang out with them.  They are old enough to ask great questions and dive deeper into their faith.  They have the ability to begin owning their faith and they make decisions that will impact the rest of their life.  They are still young enough to be influenced and we want to be part of that influence and help them become men and women that honor God.  In the process I wonder if we sometimes unintentionally send the message that the world is all about them. 

So what am I saying we should do?  I don’t exactly know.  I know your not suppose to say that when you are writing something like this, but it’s true.  I think there are some things we should be doing in general, but I don’t know if our narcissistic culture can be easily changed.  Here are a couple general ideas:

• Make sure when we worship it isn’t about what God has done for us as much as it is about who God is.  I realize the two cannot be completely separated and really shouldn’t be separated.  It is however easy to become too focused on the “what God has done for us” side of the equation.
• When we teach, make sure we are teaching a God centered theology and not a man centered theology.  This Christianity, Jesus thing is not about living our best life now or figuring out how we can manipulate God to benefit ourselves.  It is about realizing that the God we serve is sovereign and deserving of worship in spite of what circumstances we find ourselves in.
• Draw students to a cause bigger than themselves, namely the cause of God’s kingdom.  This is so countercultural that I believe they will be attracted to something so farfetched, so different, and so huge.
• Be willing to challenge the cultural norms with Biblical truths.  I know it sounds obvious, but I think some of us don’t want to offend so we become shy with the truth.  Be kind and gentle, but don’t be afraid to be blunt.

A Needed Vacation

                Recently my family and I took a much needed vacation which is why it has been a little longer since the last newsletter.  You know how everyone comes back from vacation tired and speaks of needing a vacation from the vacation.  Well, we actually made that part of our plan.  We came back a little early to relax and get some things done around the house before it’s time to go back to work.  One of the things I had to do was take my “Herby Blue Ramcharger” (as my son calls it) in to pass emissions and get plates.  Before I took it in I changed the oil and put a new air filter in to make sure it was going to pass.  I put the used oil in a container in the back to take it to the parts store (Yes, I change my own oil among other things).  On my way to get the emissions checked I got pulled over, then I failed emissions because of the gas cap, quick bought a new gas cap and went back to do it again (passed the second time), then trying to get to the doctor for a 3:30 appointment the used oil container spilled all over my vehicle.  I have to admit I kept going over my day thinking it was top 10 in worst days of my life.

                In the end I realized it wasn’t even close.  I’ve had much worse days.  I kept looking at the oil all over the floor and realized it wasn’t on the driver’s side, so at least it wasn’t getting on my shoes.  My truck did pass emissions and with a little power washing on the inside it will be just fine.  My wife ended up cooking some great chicken.  Last, I am still on vacation and tomorrow I will get all of that fixed up. 

                So why am I writing this.  I have had those days in youth ministry.  Days where I go home and if I was honest I would curl up in a fetal position or cry on my wife’s shoulder like a little baby.  More often than not if I think about the day and the things that went wrong there is a silver lining somewhere.  Things didn’t go quit as bad as I thought or at worst I learned some lessons that will help me in the future.  Sure, I feel like quitting, but if I just sleep on it for one night and get back at it the next day things begin to take care of themselves and after a couple of days or weeks it all gets worked out.  God is faithful and if we continue to work for His glory and trust in His provision it will work out.

The Boundaries of Truth

                I have two dogs, a Black Lab and a golden Retriever.  The lab we have had since the time it was a pup.  He now weighs close to 100lbs.  When he was a pup we had to lay down some boundaries.  There were certain things we wanted Crash (the lab) to do and not do.  There were also certain things we wanted Crash to believe.  For instance it was important for Crash to believe that I was the alpha male.  In order for me to train Crash he needed to know that I was the boss.  What crash believed was equally if not more important than his actions.  If Crash rightly believed I was the boss, I could teach and train him.  If He believed I was abusive and would do harm to him he might be obedient, but at some point it is likely that he would strike back.  He might attack me, or worse, someone in my family.  If he believed he could do whatever he wanted with no consequences, he would be untrainable.  What he believes is important.  What students believe is important.  Leaving them to find truth on their own while trying to get them to live moral lives is like training a dog that doesn’t believe there are consequences for disobedience and rewards for obedience.  I realize the analogy breaks down when taken too far.  I am not saying students are dogs nor am I saying that we need to train students in the exact same way we need to train dogs.

As it applies to students, some have taken the approach that orthodoxy is not really that important.   Instead praxis is much more important.  Words like Atonement or trinity have become the answer to trivia questions rather than important theological truths that must be taught to God’s people.  As teachers and pastors to students we have a high calling to help students find truth, understand truth, and believe truth.  Though some would say truth is subject to opinion, it is relative to one’s own experience, or at the very least it is flexible; it is not any of those things, truth is reality.  Orthodoxy could be defined as believing the essential truths of the Christian faith.

If we start with the premise that Scripture is true we must also conclude that teaching good doctrine (I would define that as what is orthodox) is of the utmost importance:

·         Titus 1:9 He must ^whold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in ^xsound⁵ doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

·         1 Timothy 1:3 As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus that you may charge certain persons not ^hto teach any different doctrine,

·         Ephesians 4:11-14 And ^mhe gave the ^napostles, the prophets, the ^oevangelists, the ^ppastors and teachers,^{3 12 q}to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for ^rbuilding up ^sthe body of Christ, ¹³ until we all attain to ^tthe unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, ^uto mature manhood,⁴ to the measure of the stature of ^vthe fullness of Christ, ¹⁴ so that we may no longer be children, ^wtossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in ^xdeceitful schemes.^[1]

·         Romans 16:17-18 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles ^xcontrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; ^yavoid them. ¹⁸ For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but ^ztheir own appetites,⁵ and ^aby smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.

·         John 4:23 But ^bthe hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father ^cin spirit and ^dtruth, for the Father ^eis seeking such people to worship him.

·         John 8:32 …and you will ^dknow the truth, and the truth ^ewill set you free.”

·         John 17;17-19  Sanctify them² in the truth; ^myour word is truth. ^{18 n}As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ And ^ofor their sake ^pI consecrate myself,³ that they also ^qmay be sanctified⁴ in truth.

The list goes on, truth and doctrine are weaved throughout scripture.  Teaching Orthodoxy is an essential part of our jobs as people who love Jesus and love students.  That means helping students understand the boundaries of the Christian faith.  Certainly we cannot know all truth regarding God or even come to the same conclusion on every doctrine found in Scripture.  What we can do is teach the core essential truths of the Christian faith.  Those truths are defined for us in key scriptures like 1 Corinthians 15, Phillipians 2, and Colossians 1.

Just a cool Story!!

I went to a wedding today that was unlike any wedding I have attended or performed. I have had the privilege of officiating for some great couples. I have attended weddings of people that will go on to have great marriages, but todays wedding was unique.

The couple that got married today has been married before...to each other. Almost twenty years ago they got married. They had two kids and then after about four years they were divorced. During the next 15 years (yes, that said 15) they remained divorced. First Bob committed his life to Christ, then the boys (one of which is my YM worship intern) and over the last couple of years Dorthy trusted Jesus and today (June 6th) they were remarried.

Collin and Terrance (their boys) sang "All The Way My Savior Leads Me" That is where I smilled big, these young guys get it. They understand the importance Christ plays in a relationship and much of that is by watching God work in their parents lives. The impact of family is undeniable, and the need to fight with everything we have for every family is great. The reward though not always seen in a day, month or year is always worth the struggle. Don't give up on God or families, He is capable of bringing back to life that which was dead. We must trust in the power of God to do what we cannot.