This is an excerpt from a message John Byrne did at Launch a leadership conference for students. The title of the message was “What is the Gospel?” Feel free to check out the Launch web site www.launch2012.com

I’m on vacation.  It’s been great, really great.  Before I left Colorado (where I live) for Minnesota (my state of origin) I wasn’t sure if I would know how to vacation.  I have never been good at taking time off, but I have realized that I am better when I do.  As it turns out, it isn’t just pastors in the 21st century that have a hard time taking care of themselves, there were some Biblical characters as well.

Moses reached a point where the word suicidal may best describe his frame of mind.  Now Moses didn’t have a youth group or a large church on his shoulders, he had a nation.  While it may seem that, that kind of a burden is much greater than what we face, it is also true that God gave Moses some unique opportunities to commune directly with Him that the rest of us don’t have…at least I don’t.

For our purposes it doesn’t matter why Moses reached the end of his rope (so to speak).  What matters is this, he got there (Numbers 11:14-15).  God gave Moses gifts in ministry and Moses used these gifts and as he did the weight on his shoulders became unbearable.  It got so bad that Moses asked God to take his life.  I have never been that far down the burnout road, but I have wanted to quit my job and even leave the ministry all together at times.  A few times I have slipped into depression and acted in ways that had the potential to harm my marriage and my ministry.

What is the answer?  Some times it is getting a good team around you.  This was the answer for Moses (Numbers 11:16ff).  Sometimes the answer is some sort of vacation or sabbatical.  This was often the answer for Jesus.  When he got tired and worn out he would often go off and be by himself with the Father, spend time in prayer, and fast.  For some there needs to be accountability for rest.  People who are successful are often driven and don’t need to be reminded to work, but they do need to be reminded to rest.

Whatever the answer is for you, you must find it and embrace it.  Find people to hold you accountable to the answer.  If you don’t, in the end you will do harm to yourself and your ministry.

It is difficult to create momentum in ministry.  In this video John Byrne talks about what he is doing to create and maintain momentum.

These are non-youth ministry podcast I listen to almost every week, and some of them every day.  I have found them to be helpful in life, faith, and ministry.  Perhaps they will be beneficial to you as well.  You can find them all on iTunes:

• Stand to Reason is a radio show with Greg Koukle.  Greg is great on issues related to apologetics, morality, and does a pretty good job with theology as well.  He takes phone calls as well as delivers comments related to current news.
• The White Horse Inn is an excellent program dealing with reformed theology.  The host Michael Horton is a prolific author.
• Wall Builders is a podcast dealing with faith, politics, and culture.  This podcast is useful in many ways, but perhaps it is most helpful in its presentation of American history as it relates both to culture and politics.  I learn more American history listening to this podcast than I ever did in school.
• Mars Hill Church:  Mark Driscoll Audio is a great resource for solid biblical preaching.  Though I don’t listen to this one as often as some of the others his preaching is solid.
• Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast This leadership podcast is practical and insightful.

I would love to hear what your favorite podcast is.

When a parent comes up to me and says, “my son/daughter had so much fun at youth group the other night…good job…thanks.”  I want to say, “you’re welcome, but I’m really not that concerned about how much fun they had.  Were they challenged spiritually?”

The assumption on the part of the parent is that if they are at church and having fun then they must be growing spiritually and maybe this will keep them off drugs and stop them from having sex.  The reality is this, if we are spending all of our time making sure kids are having fun we aren’t spending any of our time teaching them and helping them grow in their faith.  Fun and growth aren’t mutually exclusive, but they are not synonymous either.

My goal as a pastor to students is to reaching them with the gospel of Christ, teaching them to love God and others, and helping them impact the world.  Fun is somewhat of a strategy, but it is not “the” strategy.  The gospel, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit is “the” strategy.

If you are a parent who wants to compliment a youth pastor/leader tell them about the spiritual impact they are having, not necessarily how much fun your student is having or how creative the leader is.

If you are a youth pastor/leader take heart.  Sometimes parents don’t know how else to let you know they appreciate you.

Perhaps these will not be new ideas to you, they weren’t to me, but they were encouraging.  The following is the result of listening to Scott preach, watching the students I brought, and listening to their comments in response to Scott’s style and content.

First some observations about Scott and his preaching style.

• Scott was not especially energetic.  That is not a put down in any way, I just didn’t see Scott running and jumping on stage.  He didn’t wave his arms incessantly, dance, or yell.
• Scott was not that funny.  Again, not a put down.  He was funny at times and he certainly wasn’t dry either.  When he was funny, it fit with the message and often made a point.  It didn’t seem like he got up on stage with the focus of making everyone laugh the whole time.
• Scott taught Biblical truths.  As I sat there and listened I got the feeling that he was more concerned about the content then he was about the delivery.  He did a good job with his delivery, but the content of his message carried with it a depth and simplicity that made it accessible to everyone and yet he preached deep theological truths important for every believer.
• He didn’t use movie clips, lyrics from secular songs, or some other form of secular media.  Granted I didn’t hear every one of his messages, so it is possible that he did this once or maybe twice, but it wasn’t a theme.  I don’t remember a single instance of any of these things.  Scott did tell some stories and use good illustrations.

My general impression of Scott’s teaching is that he really didn’t try that hard to be relevant.  Yet I think he was exactly that!  Perhaps some observations about the students I brought and their response to Scott will explain things.

• The students I brought took notes.  I know that seems crazy, but for the most part they were writing things down.
• These students seemed like they wanted to hear the word of God.
• They were seeking to hear how they could apply God’s word in their day to day life.

After the sessions we would often have some small group time where we would talk about the message and how it applies to us.  I love how my students responded to the messages.  Not only were they willing to be open and honest about their own struggles, but they showed a desire to understand more clearly what God’s word said.  They said a lot of good things about Scott and the other speakers, but the one that I most remember is, “he makes God’s word so…relevant”  followed by agreement from the others.

What made Scott great wasn’t his delivery (though he was technically solid), his familiarity with pop culture, or his energy.  What made Scott great was his desire and to teach the word of God, bring out the theological truths found in it, and explain those truths in a way that helps students apply that truth.  It has been my belief for a long time that we don’t have to make God’s word relevant; all we have to do is explain it and let the Holy Spirit do the rest.  Greg Koukle puts it this way, “preaching is reading and explaining.”  As ministers, teachers, and leaders in the Kingdom of God we don’t have to make Scripture relevant to people, we instead need to help people realize how relevant it already is.

Last Tuesday a new student came to our High School ministry.  He was very early, so we hung out and talked for a long time.  I began our conversation by asking him about his family and after talking about that for a while, we moved on to talking about what he did for fun.  His answer was “watch movies.”  As our conversation continued, it became abundantly clear that he either didn’t have any hobbies, or he didn’t want to tell me about them.  Either way, I realized that this student, like many other teens, had created idols to worship.   It seemed that those idols were not created out of an over active imagination, a desire to be great, or some other ambition, but out of boredom.

I am constantly amazed at the attitude many teens have towards life in general.  There are still those who worship accomplishments, lifestyles, and various other idols, but there seems to be this other group that must create that which they will worship because they are bored.  Perhaps there have always been those who were bored, but the number seems to be growing.  It is not the idea of people being bored that is alarming, but the fact that this boredom has spilled into the spiritual life of the person and even more alarming into the church.

So many youth ministries have focused on entertaining those who are bored and as a result the level of entertainment must constantly increase in order to keep those same students involved.  They aren’t lovers of Jesus, they are lovers of Jesus entertainment.  This isn’t effective ministry, it is crowd gathering.

Boredom isn’t solved through excitement.  The flashiest videos, coolest games, and most amazing outreach events entertain for a moment, but it isn’t long until the boredom sets in again.   What is the cure?  The cure is simple, it is a reason, a motivation, a CAUSE.  Athletes dream of a two minute drive to win the game, those with business sense dream of a day when they are the boss and the company runs smooth, and many of those with musical ability dream of playing for large audiences.  People who have a cause to work for work harder than those who don’t.  It seems obvious, but we often spend more time entertaining than we do providing an opportunity to be part of something bigger, a cause.

Jesus last words before leaving earth were vision words, mission words, and cause words.  Pick your synoptic gospel or the first chapter of Acts, the message is clear Jesus gave us a cause for which we are to live.  Simply put it is to be a witness to the gospel and make disciples.  That’s it!!

Every year we battle to keep students attention on spiritual things while coaches and teachers provide a cause or vision for those same students.  Youth group is relegated to the list of things students do if they have time rather than the thing they won’t miss even if it means they stay up late to finish homework.  The answer is not to get upset with parents, it is to provide a vision of expanding the kingdom of God so that we can rejoice together every time one more person enters the kingdom of heaven!

For more on how to get your students involved in “The Cause” go here or develop your own strategy, either way give them a reason to commit.  Everyone wants something to live for and if students are bored they will worship the latest Xbox or PS3 game, the latest top 40 hit, or whatever sport they wish to be involved with.  Jesus is not boring and being a Christian is anything but boring, we need to give teens Jesus and the cause of Jesus.

A few days ago I was sitting in a meeting for Converge World Wide (Our denomination formerly known as the Baptist General Conference) and we began to talk about the issue of women being ordained.  As we began to bring up specific names I learned that Christine’s (The lady running the meeting) husband was my pastor when I was 8 years old.  As we began to talk she made a statement that caused me to pause.  She said, “We did a lot of praying for you!”  At that time in my life I lived in an abusive home.  My step dad (at the time) was not a good man.  After the meeting I called my mom and we began to talk about prayer and how God has protected me because of the prayers that were offered on my behalf.

I was suppose to be the kid who was strung out on drugs, sleeping around, and generally messing up my life.  Statistically, that should have been me, but it wasn’t.  Why?  I think the answer is simple, prayer.  You see my mom prayed for me daily (and still does), my grandparents prayed specifically for God to protect me from the environment in which I lived, my aunts and uncles were praying for me, and apparently my pastor and his wife were praying for me.  I believe it is God’s ability to intervene in the affairs of mankind and the prayers of those around me throughout my life that moved God to work in my life.  Prayer works, not because it is a magic incantation, but because of the God who hears the prayers.

I’ve always known prayer was important, you’ve heard the pleas from speakers and pastors forever.  I’ve made those pleas myself, but I don’t know if I have ever taken prayer as seriously as I should have.  I wonder, are you praying for your staff and your students?  Are you doing it enough?  I pray, but not as much as I should!

If you are like me and you don’t pray as much as you should, maybe some self evaluation would be helpful:

• Why don’t you pray?

I think I don’t pray as much as I should because I didn’t believe it really mattered that much.  I would rationalize it, God knows my thoughts anyway…right!  I believe now both because of Scripture and because I have seen it.

• How do you pray?

I most often pray as I go through the day, but I now realize that I need those focused times of prayer in my life for my staff and students.

• Why do you pray?

I pray because I need God to intervene in my life and in the lives of others.

Let me close with a prayer for you

Dear God, we all need you to work in our lives.  Our arrogance and self reliance cause us to think we can do ministry without you…forgive us!  Remind us to pray for our staff, our students, and our families.  Help us to pray as a way of life with our staff, with our students, and with our families.  Ultimately you are the source of power and we can really do nothing without you and when we depend on you, you are glorified for what you do and not us.  Thank you for the cross, for the resurrection, and for eternity.  In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen

This is part two: