Building Social Credit

This week I read a blog post to do with building "social credit". I wish I remembered which blog roll it was on so I could share it but I am afraid I do not. I am assuming it is morethandodgeball because I spend a lot of time there, both writing and learning.

Anyways, the idea of social credit is that students listen and understand what you talk about when you build up a reputation with them. The only way to build that reputation is through spending time with them in a meaningful and social way.

I believe this dynamic works for youth workers, high school teachers and even parents. By putting in time with students in a neutral setting where you can be yourselves together, you build a positive relationship. And well, you earn a credit.

I am not saying the only reason we spend time with students is to earn credit, but it is a byproduct of doing so.

Tonight I brought a group of girls to play a game at a local coffee shop (JJ bean), in order to meet a new potential student. It was a lot of fun and was a good introduction for the new student. Afterwards I also headed out to a soccer game 3 students were playing in. It was an awesome experience because I got to cheer on the girls, and socialize with their parents at the same time.

I was reminded while driving home; by a gentle nudge at my spirit; that it was the right thing to do and I need to keep on doing it.

I hope that if you are a youth worker, teacher or parent reading this that you are encouraged to spend some time with a student or your kid, just being together. It will make you feel great, and have a positive impact on that persons life.

The Church is bleeding out

I just finished reading a study done in Canada called Hemorrhaging faith. The hope of the study was to understand "why & when Canadian young adults are leaving, staying and returning to the Church."
Now my assumption is that the information contained within the study could be fairly accurate in the US as well (perhaps different percentages but our teens are very similar).

The study in my mind has no unknown information, but it packages it quite well and helps us extrapolate some thoughts that may have been blurry.

It seems evident when we talk about young people and church, that we need to talk about the church getting smaller. But what we forget to talk about is not why or how we can control the bleeding, but rather how can we increase the numbers not keep them from leaving.

As a Church (universal) we have tackled issues such as "church is too feminine", "what type of music should we play", "church is to masculine". But what about the issue that church is not a place where young people feel connected.

Sure kids and students go because their families go but would they go if it was just themselves. Some would and I know two students who have no family affiliation with church and are passionate about going and being part of the body. But the majority of my students find it hard to engage and feel part of the body.

When I look at an organisation such as Young Life, they draw students in like crazy. Students want to be a part of the body of Young Life. My criticism for young life is they don't plug students in enough and there is little discipleship in most of the regions I know. But they know how to draw in students and help them find Jesus.

Or take a non-christian cause look at the Occupy Wall Street protests or the Kony campaign. People wanted to be a part of a movement. People wanted to belong to something.

What are some ways that we could learn from organisations like Young Life? How can we glean ideas from Occupy Wall Street or the Kony Campaign?

How can we as a church become a place where we aren't concerned about young people leaving, rather we are concerned we need to find ways to be a part of all the lives pouring in?

Doing what is right

In case you have been living under a rock, you may not have heard that Pope Benedict XVI has resigned from his position. He is the first to do so since 1415, that is a long time! 

While I am not part of the Catholic Church, I am a part of the catholic church. I believe that God uses different sects and denominations to accomplish his will. And while if you asked me down to the gritty details where I sit on some theological issues I would disagree with some things the Catholic Church believes. But I do believe that as long as a priest is teaching that the only way to God is through Jesus Christ and his sacrifice and that we need to strive to live a life holy and pleasing to God, I support them. 

Anyways enough of that soap box, This post is about doing what is right and I believe the pope did the right thing. Too often we see people with power failing to relinquish it when they should. They will hold onto it often until death. I am not one to judge who God or man has put in an appointed church position, but I do believe it is up to the individual to seek God's calling in their lives. What I love about Pope Benedict XVI is that he has decided to step down because of failing health, but his plan is to live the rest of his life out in a monastery praying for the church and its appointed leaders. 

Wow what an example! A person who will give up their power and spend time praying for their successor and the church. We need more people like this in every area of the church. We need it in the evangelicals, the catholics and the mainline churches. 

I think their are too many problems with the church! We fight and argue, we grapple for power, we put each other down and are often too quick to judge. I would love to see more people spending time in prayer (and I need to be the first to change this in my life). If we in the church didn't fight to be the best known leader, or the most recognized church in our community we could probably work together a lot more. And image the kingdom impact it would have if we could work together to heal the hurt caused by the fighting within the church.

I believe a little move like this; if dealt with positively by other churches; could really create healing and make a huge impact for Christ in our world.

Speaking to Seniors

Now you may think that because I am youth pastor this blog post will be about graduating students. But it is not. While I love speaking with high school students, they aren't always the most encouraging group. The group I spoke with this morning is however, I spoke with a group of individuals 65+.

Every wednesday morning from 1030-noon we have a group of seniors which come together to sing some hymns and hear a message. All the pastors on staff take turns preaching to this group throughout the year. I am always happy to preach but this group really makes it fun.

The first time I got up to preach I was blown away by the fact that the nearest person to my age that week was 50 years older than myself. I didn't know what to say, I thought I should be the one to be sitting and learning from the wisdom of those older than myself. But I got up shared my testimony and then began to preach from it. When I was done, I thought to myself how bad it went. Then everyone started sharing how that impacted them and what they learned from my story. I didn't bomb in their mind, they hadn't heard it all before but they really enjoyed it.

Over the few times I have spoken at Wednesday worship I have been corrected (by a guy who knows more about the Bible than me) I have been encouraged and I have had some good jokes pointed in my direction. But the best part is it is all from love.

By spending an hour every few months with my more mature friends I have begun to learn a lot about christian living, and I have got to hone my craft of preaching more. I never feel nervous in front of this group because even when I preach and things don't go as well as I hoped, the seniors always have a kind word of encouragement, a lot of insight and sometimes they even help me fine tune my thinking for when I teach a similar message in the future.

So I would encourage you, if you ever have the opportunity to speak at your 'Wednesday worship', take the chance and get to know these older people. They will love you, encourage you, pray for you, pray with you and will be good teachers and listeners. And it might surprise you but they will learn from you to (and as a preacher that always feels good).

How Hungry are you?

I was flipping through the Book "The Pursuit of God" by A.W. Tozer and was struck by a simple couple of sentences.

" The man is 'saved' but he is not hungry nor thirsty after God. In fact, he is specifically taught to be satisfied and is encouraged to be content with little."

Does that summarise you? It certainly summarises me a little here and there, and often for longer periods than I would care to admit.

I think one of the signs we are failing as Christians is by not being hungry. We live in a culture that says eat until your stomach is full, consume until you cannot take anymore. But when it comes to faith we are happy with just skimming the surface. Oh I took the little bit of cream off the top that I wanted and now I'm content.

With consumerism in the world we need to stop, the more we are taking for ourselves the more we are harming others. The opposite is true when it comes to our faith. The more we take for ourselves the more we have to give to others. If you aren't filling yourself up with God, his word and his life giving bread, you are running out of anything you can possibly give.

If you truly want to connect with God, you need to increase your hunger. And as easy as that sounds for eating food here on earth, it is harder with our spiritual diet. It probably means that you need to eat as much as you can to expand your spiritual stomach. Once your Spiritual stomach has been expanded you will grow a deeper sense of hunger.

So what are you doing to do today to increase your hunger for God? For me, I am going to crack open the word and read more than I planned on reading today. Because I want to not be satisfied with a little but to always be hungry for more of God.

Knowing how you worship

Seems like a stupid blog post title doesn't it. Of course I sing at church to some music and if I am really charismatic I raise my hands above my head and close my eyes (because real Christians know all the words to the songs)

But I was challenged; in a course I took a couple weeks ago; to start thinking about how I worship. Gary Thomas wrote a book a while back that played a little bit off of The Five Love languages. It was called Sacred Pathways, it has to do with our own Worship Languages.

What are the best ways for you to relate and draw close to God? 
I thought I'd share the list with you and you could think about how you worship God, and what ways you can grow by really committing to relating with him. I know I am not a morning quiet time with journalling person, so this gave me freedom to figure out why and where I grow.

Naturalists- Love God outside

Sensates- Love God using the senses (perhaps incense, music, lighting help you feel in the presence of God)

Traditionalist- You love God by going through rituals and doing things in routine. You may also love significant symbols.

Ascetics- You love solitude and simplicity- it is there you hear God's voice

Activists- You are loving God through fighting for Social Justice and confronting injustices.

Caregivers- You love God through the loving of others (Think Mother Theresa and some longstanding Sunday School Teacher)

Enthusiasts- You love God with Mystery and celebration

Contemplatives- You love God by being contemplative on your life. You love God through Adoration

Intellectuals- You love God with your mind. Studying scripture and books really gives you a better sense of God.

The cool thing is none of these works for anyone, but I am pretty sure anyone can find one or more they enjoy. Perhaps if you have never really found a way to connect with God that feels right, you aren't in a place that is letting you worship one of these ways (either at home or at church).

Find what is right for you. Because God made you to be unique.

-Kyle

5 things God uses to Grow your Faith

This week we started using the resource by this blog titles name by Andy Stanley in our Young Adults small group.

The reason I chose it is because it has a powerful message and great teaching.

Great Teaching: Andy Stanley is one of my favourite speakers. He hits home about a lot of things and is engaging to watch and listen to.

Powerful Message: Its simple there are 5 things that God uses in our lives to grow our faith. If we are aware of them and glean from them we have a good chance to grow deeper in our intimacy with God.

The 5 Things are (All starting with 'P' so its fun and easy to remember):

1.Practical Teaching
-Listening to teaching that points us in the right direction. Not only is it God honouring but practical advice for us to follow

2. Providential Relationship
-People who direct us towards God. Maybe your parents, a colleague or that little old grandma figure who inspires your faith

3. Private Disciplines
- Yep, you guessed it. Bible reading, prayer, fasting, tithing, listening to God's voice, praising him

4.Personal Ministry
-We often like to ignore this one in the church, but we are all called to have a personal ministry. I think it is important to have a ministry you pour into in your church and outside the Church.

5. Pivotal Circumstances
-Some events in life just point us towards Christ more than others. Some of these things are good, but often they seem bad at the moment. Just remember God uses all things for his good. It might not be a good thing, but if we follow His guidance there can be some light at the end of the tunnel.

Cool things to think about. Looking back at your life seeing how God has shaped or begun to shape you.

-Kyle