Looking Forward to This

Vibe

Found myself reading through first time guest surveys today which has really got me thinking about our VIBE (the feeling students get when they walk-in and hang out in our space.) From the moment students walk into our space we want them to be engaged, excited, comfortable, anxious...maybe. And most importantly we want them to experience God. Now what happens when a student isn't engaged, excited, and comfortable...it makes our roles a lot more difficult, and the students are probably not going to: a.) Come back. b.) Tell their friends. c.) Be very excited about church. One of the comments I read today really hit home, "It wasn't what I expected." Let's be intentional about evaluating our "vibe," is it something that students enjoy, is it relevant?

A Tragedy In the Making

"You may not be sure that you want your life to make a difference. Maybe you don't care very much whether you make a lasting difference for the sake of something great. You just want people to like you. If people would just like being around you, you'd be satisfied. Or if you could just have a good job with a good wife, or husband, and a couple of good kids and a nice car and long weekends and a few good friends, a fun retirement, and a quick and easy death, and no hell---if you could have all that (even without God)---you would be satisified. That is a tragedy in the making. A wasted life."

---excerpt from "Don't Waste Your Life"
John Piper

What Seems Good

In 2 Samuel 10 the Amalekites shamed the messengers of Israel and made themselves detestable in the sight of David. To protect themselves they had hired the Syrians to fight with them against the Israelites. Joab, the commander of Israel's forces, found himself surrounded with Amalekites on one side and Syrians on the other. So he divided his troops, put his brother Abishai in charge of one troop of fighters, and led the other himself. In verse 11 they pledged to help each other. Then comes this great word in verse 12: Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and may the LORD do what seems good to him." What does that mean? "May the LORD do what seems good to him"? It means that Joab had made a strategic decision for the cities of God, and he did not know how it would turn out. He had no special revelation from God on this issue. He had to make a decision on the basis of wisdom. He had to risk or run. He did not know how it would turn out. So he made his decision, and he handed the results over to God. And this was right.

Mission Fuge

So You're Dead Now What Week 3

BIG

Each one of us will have a different expression of God's dream. Your dream will be different from everyone else's and that is great. But, we mus all aim at something BIG! And the world is a pretty big thing to aim at. If our purpose is smaller than reaching the world, then the students in our ministry will find a bigger purpose that will demand more of them. If we don't give them something huge to be a part of, then they will find it elsewhere. If you and I don't share God's big purpose with them, to reach the world, they will find something bigger than our churches, in other words, they will find their identity in the counterfeit things of the world rather than the authentic things of God. When we set a God-sized big vision for our ministries, our students can be a part of something significant, something that requires their all.

People think that teenagers are self-centered and lazy, but that's mainly due to them not having a vision to rally behind. Teenagers today wil spend hours a day working hard for a sports team or drama practice. They'll do the same if the church gives them something important to work for. I feel God is calling me now more than ever before to set up a vision for our ministry that is an expression of God's dream for the world. I belive when we challenge the students in our ministries to change the world for Christ, they will identify with a purpose that is bigger and more compelling than any school, ball team, or club.