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

I have been told by many people that they have “never seen anyone come to Christ because of apologetics.”  This is an amazing statement to me, because virtually every person I have ever lead to Christ has come to Christ because of apologetics.  For a long time I had a hard time with this statement.  I couldn’t figure out what people who made this statement were thinking.  Why did people come to Christ if it had nothing to do with reason?  Now I know people have all kinds of different reasons for believing things.  Sometimes people believe things because their parents believed them, they are looking for approval, logic, etc…  I wonder if peoples definition of apologetics is too narrow.  Let’s define apologetics as giving reason for ones beliefs.  It seems this is exactly what Peter had in mind when he wrote, “Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, ¹⁵ but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; ¹⁶ yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.”

It seems to me that when we are witnessing we are giving testimony to the story of God and Man.  We are in essence telling people why we believe in Jesus.  Isn’t this apologetics?  Apologetics doesn’t mean arguing, spewing facts, appealing to archeology, or being obnoxious.  When apologetics is done well it sounds a lot like a normal conversation.  Asking questions, talking about what Jesus did, why we need to be saved, and when it is helpful providing useful information for someone who is contemplating making a decision are all forms of apologetics.  In the process of sharing the gospel I have answered all kinds of questions giving reason for what I believe.  Once while sharing the gospel, the person I was talking to expressed to me that they had asked all kinds of people about the problem of evil and had never had a satisfactory answer.  After spending some time in conversation answering that question he told me that his question had been satisfied.  Though he didn’t accept Christ that day, one objection was removed and maybe the next person will lead him to Christ.  Apologetics when rightly understood and practiced is not arguing or debating, it is giving reason to why a person should trust Christ.

Students need to learn apologetics as part of the Christian story, not as an add on to the gospel or a separate track.  When we share the gospel we should be reminding people that Jesus was a real guy, who really died on the cross and rose again.  Paul believed this was pretty important (1 Cor 15).  Just as my parents continually spoke truth to me when it came to eating vegetables, so we must continually speak truth about who Jesus is, what He did, and what He will some day do for those who believe.  In essence that is apologetics.

This is part two:

My daughter follows along during the sermon filling in the blanks in the outline and reading the passages in her bible.  My son usually plays quietly with a car, but he sings and pays attention some of the time (not bad for a four year old).  This week he was very interested in watching mommy sing.  The choir got up and sang while a montage of clips from “The Passion of the Christ” played in the background.  Jo, my son, was a little upset about what they did to Jesus.  When my wife sat down he started to ask questions about the “movie.”  My wife took him out of the room and began to explain why Jesus had to go through that.  Before you call us irresponsible parents, please understand that the clips shown were not the really bad clips, but they were bad enough.

Jo gets a daily does of Bible reading every night at home.  He has heard the gospel many times, but it never really impacted him until this day with those visuals.  At the tender age of four, he accepted Christ.

I know what some of you are thinking.  It is true that it would be easy to manipulate him into saying a prayer.  That is not what happened here.  As parents we have been very purposeful about telling our kids about Jesus and very careful regarding their ability to understand what is being communicated.  I accepted Christ when I was four and I can still visualize that moment to this day.  Some of you are thinking this is the first of many times he will “accept Christ.”  Maybe, but it would be irresponsible on our part to not explain the gospel to him, and to not allow him to “accept Christ.”  Maybe there will be 20 more times, I don’t know.  What I do know is that on this day I am glad this little person was in Big Church.

As parents we must take seriously the task of teaching our kids to go to church.  This is true when it comes to teenagers as well.  What are you doing in your church to teach people how to go to church?  If my four year old can get something out of it, then so can teenagers.  People will only get out of it what they put into it.  Taking notes and looking up passages is an essential part of attending church and listening to a sermon.  In an entertainment driven world, people need to be taught how to do this from a young age, it is not intuitive.

Hi John!

I was recently remembering with Susie what a hard time I gave you and your wife about modesty realized perhaps an apology was in order. As I get older (almost 24 whole years!) that whole teenage scene just makes me more and more sick; how brave you and Christa are to be in youth ministry!! I realize now that “trying not to make our Christian brothers fall” is only half of it. We are not to present ourselves in that manner because it is actually demeaning (not empowering) to the female half of the equation (epiphany!). Why would I ever want to present myself as someone who is only worth my sexuality when God has made me such an amazing whole person – spirit, intellect, and in last place, body. The more I keep for God and myself (until I am married of course) the more I am treating myself as someone who is priceless as a creation of God. Trying to gain boy’s approval for my outward appearance is a poor substitute for both God and I agreeing that I deserve the utmost respect inside and out, just as I should give it to others. Anyway, please share this with Christa, hopefully you can feel some hope as you look at your youth acting so crazily. Thank you for your sacrifice!

Grace and Peace,

Jenny

Who am I?

“Who am I?”  This is the question virtually every teen asks themselves.  Identity is important in more ways than most could imagine.  It isn’t just about a sense of self worth, it is much more.  Students gather into groups based on ethnicity, dress, activities, and all kinds of other things in an attempt to fulfill their need for an identity.  Everyone wants to belong, they desire a purpose for their own existence or at least a group of people to exist with.  Growing up my mom used a phrase with me, it was “guilty by association.”  The principal is simple, you are who you hang out with.  This certainly has limits, but lets think about this.  We tend to act like those we are around.  When I travel to the south after a few days I start talking slower, saying “ya all,” and if I am there long enough I might even develop a little bit of an accent.  This is especially true for teenagers.  They want desperately to be accepted, to belong!!

When it comes to identity, it can be one of the biggest obstacles a person faces in sharing their faith, it can also be their sources of strength.  Let me explain.  Who we are, and who we identify with isn’t just about self –esteem, it spills over to how we behave and what we believe.  This is exactly why Jesus said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”  The point was clearly not hate, but identity.  Jesus knew that a person who found their identity somewhere else would not allow him to be the most influential person in their life.

Think about being in tenth grade.  You go to school and you find yourself surrounded by others who love _____________ like you do.  They believe in God, but they certainly don’t practice their faith or they believe in a different god.  You attend youth group and your youth pastor, or leader tells you that you need to tell others about Jesus.  You begin to get excited, but then he says, “let’s start with your friends at school.”  When you think about it, when we ask many students to share their faith, we are asking them to abandoned their identity.  If they share their faith they might be ostracized by the very people that give them their identity.  It is in circumstances like this that identity can be a huge obstacle for evangelism.

This is why it is so important to develop a place where students feel like they belong, a place where they find their identity outside of school, a place where believing Jesus and telling others about Jesus is celebrated.  If this is the case and a student begins to find their identity at church and, most importantly, in Christ, their identity becomes their strength.  Making a decision to follow Christ is not only about heaven and hell, it is about finding our understanding of who we are and who we were created to be in the God we serve.

Fear of rejection is a symptom of false identity.  A closer look at 2 Corinthians 5 helps us to see this:

Versus 1-10

These verses are filled with what is commonly called eternal perspective.  Our earthly bodies or tents (as Paul calls them) are not permanent.  Ultimately our identity should be based on our relationship to Christ.  One day we will lose these bodies and get new ones, and when we do we will be with Jesus.  That is the day we should look forward to.  Until that day comes, we must realize the purpose we were created for, to please God.

Versus 11-15

Because our identity is found in our citizenship in heaven, our eternal bodies, our never ending, glorified tents given to us by God, our lives are to be lived for Jesus because it is in Jesus that we also died.

Versus 16-21

Though we died in Christ, we were also raised with Him, made new creations, and given the ministry of reconciliation; that is reconciling people to God.

So in this passage seems to be a logical order, first we realize that this life is temporary, then we begin to understand that our focus need to be long term, eternal, then we are free to do the ministry given to us in Christ.  So where is identity in this?  It’s all over.  Our identity is in the eternal not the temporal, rejection on earth is not important because we find love and acceptance in the eternal.

Helping Students think through this

Have students read verse 1-10 and ask these questions:

• What is death?  What happens to us when we die?
• One hundred years from now, when we are all no longer among the living, what will be our relationship to our friends?
• If we wer to say that our life here on earth in some ways prepares us for eternity future, what should we be doing with this life?

Have students read verses 11-15

• If we were to think of death as a doorway between what is temporary and what is eternal how should we live now?
• Considering that this life is temporary, and that the next life is eternal, where should we find our identity?  Which life should be more important?

Have students read verses 16-21

• What one thing stops you from telling your friends about Jesus?  Is it rejection?
• Should we find our identity and self worth in our friends or in Jesus?    Why do you think Jesus says, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”?
• What friend are you going to try and have a conversation about Jesus with this week?

Things I Don’t Do:

• Make announcements (they almost never work)
• Put inserts in the bulletin (see above)
• Take anyone who want’s to help
• Ask people to be a volunteer (sounds too much like babysitting, who wants to do that?)

Things I Do:

• Build teams.  People want to be part of a team, but they don’t want to be babysitters.  This approach takes longer, but the results are better.  Sometimes there is a rebuilding year…or two, but the team members stay longer and do a better job of ministering to the students.
• Spend time getting to know adults.  If i take time to get to know them, they will want to work with me (as long as they don’t know me too well).  I can also get better team members because I know their heart, their maturity, and so on.
• Start simple, ask for help with short term specific things an event, trip, or project.
• Invite them to be part of a team on a mission.  Full team members
• Realize I need to get to know a lot of people to find “a few good men (women)”
• Encourage my staff to do the same thing.
• Always keep my head on a swivel looking for fresh talent, I never have enough team members (even when I do, I will find a place if they are good).

Follow these principals, and you will be well on your way to having a great staff.

In this video John talks about how to get students reading their Bible and why it has become so difficult.

The question is why?  Why would someone do this?  Why would God allow it to happen?  The answer is simple and not always satisfying.  We as humans have a sense of right and wrong, justice, and purpose built into the fiber of our very being.  The simple answer is that we live in a fallen world where people do terrible and bad things.  It is a result of the fall.  Intuitively we know this is not the way things are suppose to be and so we find it unsatisfying.

Things are suppose to be good, we are supposed to live in a world wear peace reigns and love for God and others is the ultimate good.  We weren’t created for this world, but the previous (the Garden of Eden) and the next (The new heavens and the new earth).  There are no answers that are satisfactory because there shouldn’t be.  As we go through life tragedies happen.  Most of the time they are somewhere far removed from us.  We watch the news and learn about natural disasters in Haiti or some other part of the world and we may feel sad or upset, but we get over it quickly.  When it hits home our emotions run high.  We aren’t just sad, but sometimes angry.  We are angry because deep in the fiber of our being we know we were created for something better.

There may not be any words that can make all these feelings go away, but there is hope.  The hope of redemption found in Christ.  The hope of a world where peace and love reign will one day be realized when Christ returns.

Yes, we live in a fallen world, but that is only part of the answer.  Without hope, without Jesus, that answer isn’t enough.

At the time I am writing this it appears both of the students who were shot will recover.  Still let’s be in prayer for the students and families who were connected in some way.  The only real answers for this kind of event are found in Jesus.