Posts Tagged ‘Discipleship’

I met some visitors in church a few weeks ago. I like meeting visitors and making them feel welcome at church.

This couple had been believers for many years and were looking for a new church home. We talked about what they thought about the service and where they lived.

Then I noticed something about the way I was talking. It wasn’t like I had become rude or mean, but something was different. Without realizing it, I got a little weird.

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Guest post from my amazing and beautiful wife, Christa.

I just finished another semester of graduate school in my quest to become a professional counselor. Most of my classes are a mix between counseling students and people that want to be youth pastors and pastors. Some of the students are currently in ministry and came back to school because they realized they were doing more counseling than preaching.

It can sometimes be tough to be the go-to-girl or guy when someone has a problem, but dealing with sticky issues is a part of youth ministry. There are a few simple techniques that can very helpful when you are having those deep conversations with students. Read the rest of this entry »

There’s a movement in this country that’s making our work in youth ministry very interesting. This movement is trying to make relativism and multiculturalism the norm, demonizing fundamental Christianity for its claim to absolute truth.

With more and more people preaching that there are many paths to God, it’s amazing to me to see so many religions fold under the pressure.

Forgive this over-generalization, but you don’t see many other faiths putting up a big stink about absolute truth. It’s becoming the norm to encourage spiritual interest and explore “faith” in any sense of the word, but it’s becoming very unpopular to suggest that any one religion can claim the title of “truth.”

Nobody seems to truly believe in their faiths deeply enough to stand on their holy books and say, “this is what I believe.” Nobody, that is, except for some Christians. (I say “some” because many Christians have definitely gone the route of relativism.)

Different people, they encounter god differently, and if some people at a certain stage in their life need to focus strictly on Christianity, then that might be appropriate for them, as long as they don’t take anything away from those of us who feel differently.

Different people do not–cannot–encounter God through false belief systems. It’s doesn’t happen! If you think you’re encountering God through a seance, meditation, yoga class or a prayer session, and Jesus is not at the center of it, that experience has nothing to do with the true God.

What really gets me is what this quote implies, and what I think many people believe: That Christianity is a domineering, elitist religion because we’re not willing to fold and say what we believe is just one option on the path to enlightenment.

Your students probably have friends that openly and confidently tell them that Christianity is just one way to get to God, and criticize them if they don’t believe that. I guarantee your public school is filled with students that sincerely believe that they can figure out whatever they want to believe, and that to them, that is “truth.”

And your students aren’t protected just because they go to church a couple times a week. Some of them are probably even afraid to admit that they are followers of Christ, or that they believe there is only one way to heaven. Some students in your youth group are still deciding whether they believe that there is only one way to God.

This is a tough time to be a Christian, and it’s only getting tougher. Youth ministry must:

• Teach absolute truth. There is only one way to God. The truth of scripture is 100% true. Other “truths” are not.
• Focus on worldview. Our paradigm of existence determines everything else we believe.
• Get dirty spending quality time with students. We must listen to truly understand the journey our students are in, and then carefully respond with questions and challenges to help them discover the wonderful reality of Christ.
• Pray!!! Faith is not something we can muster up in our students. We need the Holy Spirit to work through us and even in spite of us.

After reading a few chapters in Colossians, I felt encouraged to write this simple encouragement.

Remember the enormous grace that God has so freely given us. We stand today as ministers to youth and children of God because of His endless love for us.

He has given us everything: life, food, even the air we breath, and purpose to live for. And He continues to freely give to us and love us, not to make us rich or comfortable, but because His love for us is so deep.

Remember today that we were first called to know and love the Lord. As we strive to make Him known in the lives of students and through our youth groups, let it not be at the expense of our relationship with Him. That is our greatest treasure and most wonderful adventure.

Lord, please help us to never lose sight of You.

How does a mature Christian student look/act/smell? This is one of those questions that has been tossed around for ages. There are a lot of opinions out there. Wouldn’t it help if we had a solid answer?

Barna says that church leaders today struggle to define spiritual maturity. I wouldn’t doubt that. Spiritual maturity is a fuzzy concept, hard to specifically define and quantify. (Maybe it was never meant to be defined or quantified, just pursued…?)

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Lex posted a great post on offense and truth, so I got her permission to repost it here:

Dennis brought up an interesting thought during staff prayer time this morning. I’d heard this once before – I think Zahnd preached it – but Dennis emphasized some different aspects.

All of the gospels record Jesus feeding 5000 men (plus women and children), but only John records the exodus that followed.

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“What are you doing to disciple your students?”

“We have a youth group meeting every week as well as a Bible study on Sundays.”

I’m going to state an opinion of mine here. You are more than welcome to disagree with me, but I wanted to warn you first that I’m going to be brutally honest.

Discipleship does not equal a meeting. Discipleship was not intended to happen “one crowd at a time.”

I’ve asked youth pastors all over the country about what they do to disciple teenagers. Few mention efforts to get to know students personally, to build strong relationships with them and even with their parents. That’s usually an afterthought. Most youth pastors list off their weekly meeting schedule.

What if we went back to the basics, set aside all our perceptions, and looked at the model of discipleship we see in the New Testament? The model of discipleship I have gleaned from scripture includes a few things, like living life together, growing strong, intimate friendships, and in reality, only discipling a few people at a time.

Examples of Discipleship
Jesus spoke many sermons and did many miracles, but when it comes down to it, the people He touched the most were His 12 disciples. He didn’t create a program, schedule weekly meetings or even write a curriculum (all good things, mind you). He lived His life with His disciples, and they gave the rest of their lives for Him.

I am refreshed every time I read one of Paul’s letters to his friends because it hints of the deep, intimate relationships he had built with those he writes to. He writes to Timothy as an older brother, and he writes to the churches with sincerity and deep longing to be with them again.

The discipleship model I see in scripture is one of strong personal relationships. It’s slower, dirtier, and takes a bit more effort than just planning another meeting. And you might spend a lot of time investing in a student that later turns their back on you. That hurts.

Intentional Ministry
What sealed the deal for me was realizing the impact of the sermons I preached at youth group. 90% of my students couldn’t remember the topic of the sermon even a week later. Yet a huge majority of the time I spent on “youth ministry” was to prepare that sermon.

Meetings are important and we can’t stop teaching truth to our youth groups. Let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water. But let’s also be honest about what really makes a difference in the lives of our students.

I love anybody that is willing to take the plunge and wear that name badge that says “youth pastor.” I just hope that some of these thoughts about discipleship might help you focus your limited time and energy on what will have the greatest impact on your students.

My perception of youth ministry is beginning to shift substantially. I still believe that it plays an important role in students’ lives right here and now.

But I am beginning to realize that we must also focus heavily on the challenges of faith, beliefs, character and integrity that students will face in the future–particularly when they take the plunge into the world we call “college”.

Why?

• College is a time when people get serious about spirituality, in whatever form.
• Secular colleges are dominated by secular worldviews. Christian values and beliefs are often shunned as childish and immature.
• There’s always news about, frankly, strange stuff happening on college campuses. Recently, students and professors at the University of Maryland rigorously defended their rights to publicly screen pornographic films and to discuss their educational qualities.