| "What if?" |
From Dare 2 Share Ministries International on Friday, May 24, 2013 @ 6:03 PM PST
in the "Blog" Category.
I posted this video awhile back. It's worth posting (and watching) again!
How do you make disciples? We can help! |
| Book I"m Currently Reading - Taking your church to the next level. |
From Deep Thoughts by Gman on Friday, May 24, 2013 @ 7:34 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/ZioO |
| Next Door Savior - A Review |
From Deep Thoughts by Gman on Friday, May 24, 2013 @ 7:32 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category.
Just finished Reading Max Lucado's Next Door Savior.
I admit I'm an avid reader of Lucado's. I like his style. Very simple to the point. The point of the book's premise is easy that our Savior wants to know us. Our great Commander In Chief wants a relationship with us. Max takes scriptures, stories and helps point us to well, Jesus.
This book helps not dumb down the gospel but simplify it to let us know that Jesus - 100% God and also 100% man understands us and what we go through.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/ZioO |
| Why apologetics still matter in youth work |
From Youth Leaders Academy on Friday, May 24, 2013 @ 2:13 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category.
Apologetics, also known as the ability to 'defend' your faith, has gotten a bit of a bad rep over the last years. Many have argued that this generation of young people doesn't care about facts anymore, that it's not logic that will convince them of God, but experiences. At the Youth Work Summit, Ruth McGarahan [...]You just finished reading Why apologetics still matter in youth work! Have you subscribed to our free biweekly newsletter yet? |
| How four teenagers changed the world |
From Dare 2 Share Ministries International on Thursday, May 23, 2013 @ 8:52 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category.
Thousands of years ago four orphaned, Jewish teenagers were forced to march to a hostile country and immersed in headfirst into paganism. They were taught the dark arts and learned the inner secrets of the magicians and soothsayers of their powerful captors.
Did they protest? No! Instead they studied hard and advanced to the top of their class. In the midst of the idolatry around them, they never lost their passion for God, theological convictions or moral core. Instead their passion for God grew stronger, their theology grew deeper and their convictions became clearer.
Soon they were in leadership positions in this polytheistic culture filled with violence, sex, witchcraft and idolatry. When three of them were commanded to bow before an idol they refused. But they survived the fiery wrath an an angry tyrant by the power and presence of Jesus Christ.
These four teenagers were stellar examples of having burning hearts for God, bright minds for learning, calloused hands for working and strong spines filled with the molten steel of uncompromising resolve.
By now you probably know who I'm talking about: Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego and, the leader of the wolf pack, Daniel. What may surprise you is that they were most likely between 13-15 years old when they were taken into captivity which means that, after three years of training, they were in leadership positions by their late teens.
Imagine these four teen friends being chained and marched to Babylon after the fall of Jerusalem. Imagine their conversations among themselves as they made the long, long walk. It may have been during this time they resolved among themselves, not just to refuse to compromise, but to reverse the very culture they were being immersed in.
And that's exactly what they did.
After seeing three of the four survive the fiery furnace (with not even a singed beard) and hearing Daniel prophesy seven years of humbling insanity for the proud king, Nebuchadnezzar had a full mental break down. For seven years he became King Crazy Hobo. He slept outside, grew his fingernails as long as talons and ate grass with his bovine buddies.
After seven years of pure craziness the king came to his senses, humbled himself and turned to the true God of the universe in faith. He actually wrote Daniel 4 to share his salvation story. He ended the chapter with these words, "Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase."
The mightiest King of one of the mightiest empires in human history was brought to his knees by the testimony of one prophesying young man, three uncompromising young men and seven insane years of judgment.
Imagine the implications throughout Babylon at the conversion of the King. No longer would Jews have to hide or hold their heads in shame. The king served their King! And it all started because four teenagers made a pact to serve God wholeheartedly when they were whisked away to a foreign culture.
In the same way, a small but determined team of uncompromising teenagers can learn to reverse the pagan culture they have been immersed in. They don't need to protest or picket the pagan culture around them. They don't need to burn their laptops or throw their smartphones in the trash. Instead they need to infiltrate this culture, accelerate in it and then reverse it through the power of prayer, uncompromising conviction and a bold-meets-loving-meets-shrewd proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Four teenagers changed the world back in the Old Testament. Four teenagers can change the world again today. If you're a teenager, get your cause crew ready to live in reverse. If you're a youth leader get your teens signed up for the brand new conference tour from Dare 2 Share called The Reverse Tour. |
| 10 preaching tips from Tony Campolo |
From Youth Leaders Academy on Thursday, May 23, 2013 @ 1:47 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category.
When I saw Tony Campolo was leading a preaching master class on the early day of the Youth Work Summit, I immediately booked this stream. He's a brilliant communicator and I was pretty stoked to be able to spend a whole day learning from him. And I have to say: he didn't disappoint. He was [...]You just finished reading 10 preaching tips from Tony Campolo! Have you subscribed to our free biweekly newsletter yet? |
| Junior 2 week of Camp - Oak Hill Christian Service Camp |
From Deep Thoughts by Gman on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 @ 11:53 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category.
I'm going ...how about you?http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/ZioO |
| Hebrews Sermon Series |
From Deep Thoughts by Gman on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 @ 11:52 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/ZioO |
| How To Effectively Change Up Your Summer Youth Ministry Schedule |
From YouthWorkTalk.com on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 @ 5:00 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category.
One of the age-old debates in youth ministry is, "Do we take the summer off?" I have always landed on the side of NO! As a matter of fact just last week I asked some of my students if they would like to have an intentional "leadership" group over the summer. Crickets. Then came the [...]You just finished reading How To Effectively Change Up Your Summer Youth Ministry Schedule! |
| What young people look for in religion (YWS13 part 2) |
From Youth Leaders Academy on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 @ 1:27 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category.
Tony Campolo kicked off the early day of the Youth Work Summit with a general introduction. He quoted Pew research that has discovered three things that young people look for in religion, but usually don't find: Spirituality Authenticity Hopeful eschatology If we want to reach young people with the gospel, if we want our youth [...]You just finished reading What young people look for in religion (YWS13 part 2)! Have you subscribed to our free biweekly newsletter yet? |
| Interview With Craig Gross |
From YouthMinistry.com on Tuesday, May 21, 2013 @ 9:56 PM PST
in the "Blog" Category.
Our longtime friend, Craig Gross, founder of XXXchurch.com has a passion for helping men and women break free from the grip of pornography. XXXchurch.com has helped thousands of people develop a deeper level of personal accountability as well as providing some safeguards for the ever-increasing amount of time they are spending online. It's with this backdrop that Craig wrote his newest book, "Open", which is dedicated to helping people develop a lifestyle of honest, real, accountability with one another. Today, we thought we'd let Craig tell us a little more about this fantastic new book.
So, this book is for everyone: male and female, young and old. Why do you think the Christian community, and the world at large, needs this book today?
Today we live in a world where people can sit face to face over a meal, but their heads are buried, looking down at their phones, tweeting about what they are eating or who they are with or taking Instagram photos of both.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sex sells. Sex tempts. Sex lies. Sex glorifies. Download Best Sex Ever from Author Doug Fields.
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We are connected more than ever, but the surface-ness of those connections often leave us feeling completely disconnected. We share, tweet, and like things online, but not very often do we do those things in real time with real people over real topics that are sometimes heavy. We are not meant to do life alone and the Christian community should encourage people—the rest of the world, really—to try and be open and real and honest with people. Those things are difficult and don't come naturally, so I tried to share some practical ways how to do that in Open and help people see that it not only is it worth it but that it's necessary and doable. Anyone can be open.
You've built a ministry and a name around the concept of sexual purity and the dangers of pornography. Why this book, now? Why expand your message to a broader audience?
We deal with people who have secrets every day, and at the end of the day secrets will kill you. Secrets will tear apart your family and your relationships. This book is not just about porn and it is not just about secrets and the bad things but rather encouraging people to see that we are better together.read more |
| Flipping off the Devil |
From Dare 2 Share Ministries International on Tuesday, May 21, 2013 @ 6:55 PM PST
in the "Blog" Category.
When I was in the 3rd Grade at Brown Elementary School I put my faith in Jesus. From that moment on I knew that I had a loving Savior, a Heavenly Father and a mortal enemy. Jesus became my obsession and Satan became my nemesis. I knew from early on I wanted to spend the rest of my life serving Jesus and ticking off Satan.
One time while walking down the hallway of Brown Elementary on the way to class I started thinking about how much I hated Satan for having kept my mom, and much of my family, spiritually captive for so long. I started thinking how he had blinded my eyes to the light of the gospel for nine "whole" years. I reflected on the damage he had helped to bring about in my own high-crime rate neighborhood.
When my mom turned on the news during dinner, I thought about the violence, crime and sin Satan was triggering and reveling in, not only in my family and neighborhood, but in the world at large. As I walked down the hallway thinking all that Satan had done to destroy the world and my family I did what any 3rd Grade Christian young man would do, I flipped off the devil. In my mind I was simply giving the devil his due...double birdies from my tiny middle fingers.
And I didn't just flip off the devil once and then stop. I kept my middle fingers extended straight down toward what I thought to be his hellish home. With streams of elementary school kids walking by me in the hallway I'm sure there were a lot of scratched heads and strange looks, but I was too busy to notice. That was, until a teacher stopped me and asked me what the heck was going on. He saw my furrowed brow, my intense gaze toward the floor and two downward digits in the 6 o'clock position.
"What are you doing young man?" the teacher asked.
I looked up, disgusted by his interruption (of what I considered to be a holy moment), and responded matter-of-factly, "I'm flipping off the Devil."
If I remember right he told me to stop and then kept on walking down the hallway. I'm sure he was wondering what kind of strange kid he had at his school.
He was right. I was strange. But I did have a very real God awareness and, therefore, a real Satan awareness too. The reality of God enthralled me and the reality of Satan enraged me. I was dealing with this rage in a way that wasn't unimaginable for a kid who was raised in a verbally and physically violent family.
I hadn't read Jude 1:8-10 yet, "In the same way, these people—who claim authority from their dreams—live immoral lives, defy authority, and scoff at supernatural beings. But even Michael, one of the mightiest of the angels, did not dare accuse the devil of blasphemy, but simply said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!' (This took place when Michael was arguing with the devil about Moses' body.) But these people scoff at things they do not understand. Like unthinking animals, they do whatever their instincts tell them, and so they bring about their own destruction."
Suffice it to say that Jude would have spanked me for my insolence toward Satan if he were in the place of that teacher in the hallway that day...and rightfully so.
Of course now I know that Satan is not to be toyed with, trifled with or taunted. He is to be defeated by the blood of the Lamb and a humble reliance on the Lord. Those who mock him do so to their own demise.
But God had grace on a well-intentioned elementary-aged kid that day.
No, we shouldn't flip off the devil with our fingers, but we certainly should upset him with our lives. We should live lives that so reflect Christ that others are drawn to Jesus. We should share the good news in such a way as to depopulate the kingdom of darkness and overcrowd the kingdom of light.
Do I still think about giving the devil the bird anymore? Not really. Now I'm more consumed with advancing the gospel of Jesus through an army of teenagers who are passionate about Christ and His Cause. I'm more concerned with giving God maximum glory than blowing out Satan's flickering light.
But sometimes I'm afraid that, underneath all of my ministry activities, there's still a little 3rd grader giving the devil the finger. |
| Responding In the Wake of the Oklahoma Tornadoes |
From YouthMinistry.com on Tuesday, May 21, 2013 @ 1:17 PM PST
in the "Blog" Category.
Monday afternoon a massive tornado tore through a southern suburb of Oklahoma City, hitting homes and schools, and leaving death, destruction, and sorrow in its wake. The death toll is going up and down as rescuers and officials try to sort through conflicting reports and possible double-counts of the dead—but they do know that some of the children from that decimated school are among them. Search-and-rescue crews are still searching the rubble for survivors. These sort of natural disasters are ripe for teenagers to question why a loving God would "allow" this to happen. We've offered links here that will help you navigate this disaster with your students—news like this diminishes the distance we feel from those who are hurting, and your teenagers may appreciate the chance to talk about their experience of this tragedy.
http://www.youthministry.com/articles/families/helping-students-navigate-through-tragedy
http://www.youthministry.com/articles/families/responding-tragedy-redemptive-presence
http://www.youthministry.com/articles/families/dealing-death
http://www.youthministry.com/articles/families/how-talk-teens-about-tragedy-and-terror
http://www.morethandodgeball.com/2010/03/05/guest-post-5-ways-to-help-students-deal-with-tragedy-and-pain/ |
| Instagram Will Kill Your Youth Ministry |
From YouthMinistry.com on Tuesday, May 21, 2013 @ 8:25 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category.
Social media has swept across this great nation like wildfire. Facebook is on its way out. If you still use Myspace you're most likely a stalker—or very lonely. Twitter is still rocking along quite steadily and has yet to be completely infiltrated by preteens and stay-at-home moms. Vine represents the latest trend in video social media. And Instagram has firmly captured the market on pics. All of these sites host the massive "no, no" that I would like to delve into for a brief moment, but perhaps Instagram and Twitter host the largest majority of the crimes.
I am, of course, talking about the local male youth pastor taking a "selfie" with one of his female students. Some of you might not think that this is a big deal, but it carries major implications. And quite frankly, it seriously ticks me off. Every time I see this pop up on my timeline I want to throw my iPhone and kick a puppy. Seriously bro, how could you be so dumb? Here are some of the reasons why this is inappropriate.
1. A description of the crime
I'm not talking about posting a group pic of several students or even a group pic of several of your female students and you along side them. I'm talking about the pic that only includes the youth minister and a female student. This crime is only intensified when the two are extremely close. To make matters worse, I often see the youth minister and the female student hugged up on each other. The youth minister further brings criticism against himself if this offense is repeated on a weekly basis. Seriously bro, stop now.
2. It's straight-up creepy
Every time we see that pic pop up on our timeline we all think, "That dude is a creep."
3. Rumors spread quickly
If a crazed teenager grows angry at you, it is not uncommon for them to make up horrific stories about you. You can read real-life stories of this on the Internet. Don't give anyone ammo to use against you.
4. Ministers of the gospel must be above reproach.
First Timothy 3:2 tells us that "an overseer must be above reproach…"
Ephesians 5:3 states, "But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints."
Posting picks of just you and a female student certainly leaves room for speculation. As a minister and a Christian, we must work to remove any room for criticism in the realm of sexual immorality. Don't ride alone with a female student. Don't counsel alone with a female student. And don't post selfies with female students.
Daniel is the Student Pastor at Clearview Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL. You can join the conversation at danielbeckworth.com. |
| 3 Ways Your Youth Ministry Can Help In The Aftermath Of The Oklahoma Tornado Tragedy |
From YouthWorkTalk.com on Tuesday, May 21, 2013 @ 4:30 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category.
We can hardly believe it when we see the images on our TV screens can we. As I watched this tragedy unfold last night, I honestly had many questions for God and spent time praying for the people impacted by the disastrous tornado in Oklahoma. While we can't understand all that has happened, we can certainly [...]You just finished reading 3 Ways Your Youth Ministry Can Help In The Aftermath Of The Oklahoma Tornado Tragedy! |
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