How to handle negative people in the church

June 5, 2013 by Robbie in Church Unity, Conflict Management, Criticism, Faithfulness, Fellowship, Forgiveness, Friendships, Frustration, Gospel, Incarnation, James, Kingdom of God, Pauline Theology, Power of God, Synoptic Gospels | 2 Comments

The church is full of wonderful people who are gifted kingdom-workers and the harvest is dependent on those workers. But the church is still full of people and any system will have its negative components. If you think of the church in terms of a body then negative people can be either a virus or a bacteria. Viruses often are sifted out on their own terms and not much is required other than time and rest whereas bacteria can only be treated with direct medicine to weed the bacteria out.

Such could be said about negative people. Why are they negative? Sometimes it is their personality. They are just negative because they just do not know how to be positive. They are glass half-empty people. Sometimes it is because something happened to them from a member of the church and now they wish to hold the entire church accountable. Sometimes people have agendas and their utopia-like version of what the church should be is not what it is and they become disgruntled at the work of the church. Sometimes people do not mesh with other people. There are some people who I just do not like yet I will serve them as a brother or sister in Christ.

The blood of Christ is bigger than our nuanced idiosyncrasies.

So how do you handle people who are just so negative? I have some suggestions.

Give them space. Sometimes people are just in a funk and (speaking from personal experience) they just do not want to talk to anybody. They need space to work things out themselves and perhaps humble themselves to let the Spirit of Christ dwell within.
Love them (1 John 4:20). That scripture is piercing. Before we open our mouths and reveal the character of our heart we better make sure our valves are pumping the love of God.
Serve them (1 Pet. 4:10). Find some way to serve them even when things seem most difficult. No need to lie to them but write them a note encouraging them letting them know you are genuinely praying for them.
Help restore them (Gal. 6:1). Perhaps they are negative because there is a sin which they have not worked through. This sin has continued to ruin their relationships and that includes the church. Help them work through sin. But to do that you must…
Listen to them (James 1:19). Say this aloud while you are reading….SLOW TO SPEAK…SWIFT TO HEAR. Insert two ears one mouth preacher joke here. It is serious though. Listen not only to what they are negative about but what you hear between the lines.
Rebuke them (Matt. 18:15-17; 1 Tim. 5:20). Rebuke seems like such a harsh word but the Greek word (ἐπιτιμάω) carries the idea of discouraging someone from further wrong. Sometimes you do not answer a fool according to his folly but then there are times when you must answer a fool according to his folly (Prov. 26-4-5). Do this in love though with all the above suggestions I have given. Don’t stop there though…
Forgive them (Eph. 4:32). We all need forgiveness and as much as we have received it we should hand it out as well. Freely you been forgiven freely you shall forgive.

We are supposed to live incarnationally which means our lives should, as best we can with the Spirit, embody Jesus (1 Cor. 11:1). Jesus was patient with negative people but also quick to point them out in their error. We must use our wisdom and the help of others when it comes to negative people.

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Photo Credits: Sean MacEntee on CC

A Look into my Spiritual Life – A post from a Former Youth Group Member

June 3, 2013 by Robbie in A Word from a Teenager, Discipleship, Frustration, Gospel, Holy Spirit (Pneumatology), Jesus, Kingdom of God, Power of God, Reconciliation, the Father, Theodicy, Trinity | 3 Comments

The following post is from a former youth group member who has graduated. The confessions here are honest and the struggle is genuine. I would love for you to respond. Obviously I have permission to post this but will keep anonymity for the sake of privacy.

A look into my spiritual life.

It is amazing when you take a step back and look at where life has taken you. What makes life even more amazing is when you realize you are not the person you thought you would have been a few months ago. Last summer I was at the peak in my spiritual health. I was all about being a Christian and set out a mission to be a light to others and change the world by doing as many good deeds I could. I had never had so much faith in what God was all about and where I stood in His plan. To top everything off, I was blessed with some of the best friends and family anyone could ask for. Everything was great. But, with time comes change.

Somewhere in the midst of my senior year, I became caught up in all of the good feelings that came along with it. But, unlike most teenagers my age, I continued to make myself aware of the things going around in the world. I always knew the world was a very messed up place and felt that god was the answer, thus wanting to spread His love. But, I found it hard to justify my god when there is so much evil in the world. If God is supposed to be this omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent being, then why does he create someone who is destined to strap a bomb to their chest and kill dozens of people? Why does he knit an innocent child in their mother’s womb, only to live a peaceful life in a secluded region never hearing this “good news” and go to hell? As questions like these ran through my head and I wrestled with my faith and would demand answers. I would yell telling this big man in the sky that he isn’t giving me much to work with. Eventually, I could no longer pray to a god I no longer believed in. I remember talking to my youth minister about it and he told me something along the lines of “Maybe God is trying to see how far he could push me.” But I saw no end to how I was feeling. My disbelief in God never originated on the basis of creation vs. science, or any other arguments that in my opinion shouldn’t even contradict each other (but that is a whole new subject in itself). My disbelief simply came from the realization that the Bible is extremely contradictory, and that I saw what I believed was others inventing a God that fit in their life.

So, I guess for the past five months I did not believe in the Christian God. . I somewhat accepted where I was, and looked forward to my future. A few more months and I would be out of this town and could focus on what was and would always be real. I kept it secret though because I’ve noticed that the disbelief in God among teens has become a cool thing to do. Times have changed and intelligence has become cool. With scientists gaining celebrity status and liberal propaganda sending messages through music and tv, it has become a popular idea that with intelligence, you must outgrow god. I mean, how could anyone believe in god now days, right? You must be STUPID if you believe in GOD. What really didn’t help was watching fellow Christians make absolute fools of themselves as they attempted to justify their faith to nonbelievers. I couldn’t even back them up because in no way did I support any bit of the message they tried to get across. Of course I never believed the same thing the masses of atheists and agnostics concerning god. I still had my unique testimony, I still believed in A god, and I still believe that life has a purpose. Everything was complicated. When I wasn’t busy with school or having a good time with friends, I had a million thoughts running through my head about where I stood in my faith. I would have never dreamed that ME, a boy raised in his church and by his church would reject his faith. Especially with the uplifting experiences in the previous summer.

What I believed was acceptance of the truth led me to the conclusion that there was no turning back. My free thought had become a poison to my faith. God “trying to see how far he could push me” was only another delusion, and there was no way I could return to my previous faith. But, as I overheard a discussion between two friends concerning god, a simple connection was made. I found answers to my questions. The conversation was about the omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence of God. This conversation was key to my battle because the topic was the origin of my doubt and ultimately my disbelief.

Basically I realized that I am human, a mere creation of god and miracle of nature. I would say that I understand very much about the world around me and I am a pretty smart guy. But God is not something to be understood by humans. We cannot fathom his omnipotence, omniscience, or omnipresence because we are human beings. Before you assume that I am accepting ignorance, let me explain in human terms as explained by a good friend of mine. God is like an ultimate chess player. He knows every move you can make, and whatever move you make he isn’t surprised. This isn’t because he knows, but rather he his all-knowing. Our freewill plays into this game of chess, but we are humans. We care confined by this thing called time. I know that someone with intelligence exceeding mine might find a flaw in this comparison, but I don’t care. If there is anything repeated the most in that flawed ancient book called the bible the most, it is that we are supposed to trust in God. I suppose I never understood what it meant to trust in God. I thought that I knew it all when really I just wasn’t humble enough to accept that something that seems nonexistent could have power and knowledge that was beyond my own. But, who am I to call out God on something I can’t even understand?

As the world continues to be a disastrous little rock flying through space, I believe that God knows what he is doing. He has everything taken care of. John 14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.”

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PHOTO CREDITS: Paro for Peace on CC

5 BIG Reasons why you SHOULD go on a Short-Term Mission Trip

May 22, 2013 by Robbie in Kingdom of God, Mission Trips, Youth Ministry | Leave a comment

Yesterday I left you hanging trying to convince you why you should not go on a short-term mission trip. Today I want to try to give you 5 big reasons why I think you should go on a short-term mission trip. Before you castigate me as a hypocrite realize that with every decision we make there are (as my dad drilled into me for years) pluses and minuses and we have to weigh them accordingly. I promise I won’t start each one with the same letter this time!!!

#1 EXPOSURE

Let’s be a little frank here, most of us live a coddled life free from exposure to risk. We even pray for safety (the “unmolested” prayer), security and freedom from any and all harm. From Christian schools, to home-schools to private neighborhoods we live a sheltered life. Going away forces us to experience new culture, new Christians and different ways of living. All of which is good.

#2 OBEDIENCE

Not all of us HAVE to go on a short-term mission trip to follow Jesus’ Great Commission (Matt. 28.18-20) but to do so is a form of obedience to that command. The problem, as stated in the last post, is when we leave our obedience in the country or place we served. Nevertheless, doing so is a form of obedience.

#3 CAMARADERIE

Or, fellowship. Some of my fondest memories are on short-term mission trips serving alongside of people both young and old. Look, we hide who we really are in the three times (or how ever many) you gather during the week. But, working alongside of someone for a week exposes you to more of who they are and this is a good thing.

#4 MOMENTUM

Once you create a fire for mission in someone often it sets a course along a line that cannot be quenched. Countless people have decided to do more mission work because of a short-term mission trip. It’s like tasting something amazing and wanting more.

#5 EDIFICATION

Both the individual and church is edified (built-up, developed, strengthened) when we do these short-term mission trips. Paul commands the Romans to edify one another and we are also included in the extended context of that verse (Rom. 14.19). When we go on trips it allows the local church to gain strength but it allows the individual to do so as well. I am not a leadership guru but that seems to me like a WIN-WIN.

There could be more so what would you add?

5 Big Reasons You Should NOT Go on Short-Term Mission Trips

May 21, 2013 by Robbie in Kingdom of God, Mission Trips, Youth Ministry | 2 Comments

Let’s first define what I mean by “Short-Term Mission Trip.”

SHORT-TERM MISSION TRIP: A temporary period of time where a church group (or group of Christians) travel domestically or internationally to come alongside a church or para-church organization to help advance the kingdom of God in that specific geographic location.

There are examples of short-term mission trips in Scripture as Paul, Luke, Barnabas, Timothy, Mark and others went to different cities for short periods of time starting churches (Insert book of Acts here). Short-term mission trips seem to be the norm now for many churches and just about every youth group has their own place(s) that they go to each year. I love short-term mission trips and in the next post I plan on discussing why we SHOULD go on a short-term mission trip. But today I want to discuss 5 reasons why I believe you should not go.

#1 – CONVENIENCE

This may be the top reason as many of us find it “convenient” to do mission work somewhere else rather than right where God plants us. Sometimes we travel thousands of miles to do mission when all we have to do is walk next door. Short-term mission trips tend to be convenient.

#2 – CONFINEMENT

As a youth minister I have been guilty of placing too much stock in events like camps, retreats and trips to place the hype of our spirituality in these weeks. What happens? We leave the trip, retreat or camp and we also leave God. Sometimes we confine our spirituality into events not understanding that we are called to “go” AND to “BE”.

#3 – CAPITAL

I am not trying to be critical at all but what would it look like to send our plane ticket money to the churches who already know the work and are indigenous to the culture instead of buying a ticket and going to a place where we do not know the culture nor the language? Why not work locally (assuming you do) and save on travel, hotels, and other costs.

#4 – CONSUMERISM

We tend to view mission trips sometimes through the lens of what it can do for us. Whether it is an experience, sites to see or places we enjoy we often look at it in terms of consumerism. Most of all, we miss out on developing real relationships because we go on the trip, develop friendships, and hardly keep in touch (because of the nature of the trip).

#5 – CONTROL

There is this sense that as “American Christians” we are the better way of doing church and so we are going down there to show how good of a church we are. It becomes a twisted power structure and we want to control how they do church down there. Such could not be farther from the truth as most often “American Christians” have a distorted view of church and they actually teach us how to do church.

Now…stay tuned tomorrow for why we SHOULD go on a short-term mission trip.

Relationships and the Unchurched

March 28, 2013 by Robbie in Incarnation, Kingdom of God, Missional Conversations, Neighborhood | Leave a comment

The first step to taking the Great Commandment literally is to move from stranger to acquaintance in your relationships with those who live nearest to you.

Pathak, Jay; Runyon, Dave (2012-08-01). Art of Neighboring, The: Building Genuine Relationships Right Outside your Door (p. 75).

I don”t know about you but it is difficult for me to develop new relationships. I like my consistency. I like my routine. I like my “ruts” of religiosity and when pushed to meet and greet new people I get, to be honest, exhausted. Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon’s book has been most helpful to me because it forces me to look at the most obvious primer of missional living as my neighborhood. When I lived in Marietta, Georgia we knew everybody in the neighborhood and we did everything together. We played tennis, swam on the swim team, went to school and did all things together. Neighborhoods have changed now and I know my next door neighbors and that is about it. Even in our churches I would say we are no more than acquaintances. That’s why when John Doe cheats on his wife we become shocked because after all, “How could John Doe do such a thing as he seemed like such a good Christian?” Well, it’s because he was only an acquaintance and we barely knew him.

That’s just with the church people.

What about the unchurched?

Dan Kimball had a graph that speaks to our predicament.

So the task of every Christian is to look to their own “hoods” (as a friend of mine said) and develop relationships with them. Pathak and Runyon state it this way…

Stranger → Acquaintance → Relationship

So what are some steps you are doing in your own “hoods” to move, as they said in their book, down the line? Any ideas?

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Photo Credits: Andy Wright on Creative Commons

The Hardest Job of a Youth Minister

February 27, 2013 by Robbie in Discipleship, Kingdom of God, Youth Ministry | 4 Comments

I have been a youth minister for 8 1/2 which is less than many but more than most. I have stayed at the Main Street Church of Christ the entire 8 1/2 years which is rare for people these days. I have had many ups and many downs and I think I have come to grips with what I call the hardest job of the youth minister. It’s probably not what you think. I think it is easy to get kids to attend events, it is easy to come up with curriculum that the kids will at least appreciate, it is easy to have meetings, keep parents informed and it is easy to run the organizational aspect of the youth ministry. It really is. Guys like Jonathan McKee, Doug Fields, Tim Schmoyer, Mark Devries, Jim Burns and Josh Griffin give you plenty of resources and networks to run a ministry like it should. For you not to run an effective ministry (administratively and organizationally) means you are either lazy or simply just not listening to the pros.

The hardest job of a youth minister I have learned is discipling teenagers.

Notice I didn’t say “converting teenagers.” I even think that is relatively easy as you get a teenager involved, socially connected, and then plant opportunities for them to serve and connect and they will most likely make a decision. Yet, like you, I am seeing more and more Christians who are still attending services but could be described as nominal Christians at best. They really, if they were to be brutally honest, have no need for God because their lives do not call for the God of Scripture. Maybe the god of America but not the God of Scripture. This is what Christian Smith, Kenda Creasy Dean and others have defined as “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism” which means:

A God exists who created and orders the world and watches over human life on earth.
God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.
The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about one-self.
God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when he is needed to resolve a problem.
Good people go to heaven when they die. (ibid)

What we have created, as Kyle Idleman suggests, fans and not followers. People who like the idea of Jesus but really don’t know what it means to follow him. If you were to ask people who have cycled through our youth group here I think it would be safe to assume that many of them enjoyed their experience and felt like they were exposed to a lot of positive things but few of them would say that we were dangerous for God in what we did.

Which leads me back to the hardest job of a youth minister: discipling teenagers. Why? More questions loom…

How do you disciple teenagers who are undiscipled at home? Do you disciple the parents first?
How do you disciple teenagers who are new to the faith?
How do you disciple teenagers when the church context does not model discipleship? In other words where do you disciple them to?
How do you disciple teenagers when there is so much change among them physically, emotionally and mentally?
How do you disciple teenagers cross-culturally bridging ethnic and socioeconomic gaps?
How do you disciple teenagers when you feel like you are inadequate as a disciple?

It is the hardest job of a youth ministers. Period. Of course, the comfort should come that it is not up to us to disciple teenagers as we come along side of the Spirit who works in people. We also have a powerful tool that we can offer: the gospel. The good news that Jesus Christ died on the cross for the sins of humanity to loose the chains of any gap that separates us. So while the toughest job of a youth minister is to disciple teenagers it is a job that we must do with the help of a Savior, the Spirit and the Sword.

I hear the Savior say,
“Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.”

Refrain:
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

For nothing good have I
Whereby Thy grace to claim;
I’ll wash my garments white
In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb.

And now complete in Him,

My robe, His righteousness,
Close sheltered ’neath His side,
I am divinely blest.

Lord, now indeed I find

Thy pow’r, and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots
And melt the heart of stone.

When from my dying bed

My ransomed soul shall rise,
“Jesus died my soul to save,”
Shall rend the vaulted skies.

And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete,

I’ll lay my trophies down,
All down at Jesus’ feet.

Photo Credits: Ocad123 on Creative Commons

What does this say about prayer? Evan Almighty

January 24, 2013 by Robbie in God, Holy Spirit (Pneumatology), Jesus, Kingdom of God, Power of God, Prayer, the Father, Trinity, YouTube Videos | 2 Comments

National Conference on Youth Ministries – Day 3

January 10, 2013 by Robbie in Decision-Making, Discipleship, Friendships, God, Gospel, Kingdom of God, Ministry, Power of God, the Father, Youth Ministry | 2 Comments

I am writing this from the Denver airport as my time to fly is upon me. I will give a few highlights from Day 3.

**Wednesday Morning Mike Cope “Community in Lars and the Real Girl” – Hebrews**

It’s a movie about church, it begins in church and ends in church.
Hebrews
- Imagining a world where we are not our own.
- Somebody who watches for you.
- The real test for community is the worst things you have done who is up there watching you.

Wednesday Morning Keynote Scot McKnight @ScotMcKnight “Did Jesus Found the Church?”

Major Idea: The church is naughty and the kingdom is nice

- People today love the kingdom but are embarrassed by the church

- The kingdom has come to mean “good things Christians do in the public sector usually involved in the political process.”

It has nothing to do with the church…people say
Social Justice? Where did we get this idea of social justice? There is one idea of justice in Scripture. Justice is connected to righteousness and justification.
Peace…compassion…walking from Cape Town to Alexandria raising money for water.

- Kingdom has been flattened into an ethic: peace, justice.

- “When we flatten kingdom to an ethic we deny the gospel.”

- We have a young group of Christians whose kingdom theory has to do with changed political processes and are neglecting the church.

But…doing good in a society is a good thing.
Being compassionate is a good thing.
Working for peace in our world is a good thing.
But we do this because we are disciples of Jesus.

- Good work versus Kingdom work

Did Ghandi do kingdom work?

- The most profound act of kingdom work is when we celebrate Eucharist on Sunday morning.

- “You cannot be committed to kingdom unless you are committed to the church and your commitment to the church is the sum total of your commitment to the kingdom.”

- It is far too easy giving money to Rwanda and not to local people in the church.

- Matthew 16:13-20

Their options to the question were not good enough.
Jesus was more than a prophet. Prophetic Christianity is not enough.
The answer is that Jesus is messiah.
1 Samuel 8—“They want a king because they want to be like other nations.”
- Saul collapse
- David…
- Eventually they realize that Jesus is the king.
Peter labels Jesus with the right title. When the Messiah was said all the ideas came to completion: Temple, Torah, Land, Citizens, Command, Covenant.

- When Jesus is the Messiah kingdom will always mean more than social justice.

- Peter had no idea what Messiah really meant.

Messiah –> Kingdom –> Cross –> Resurrection –> Kingdom
Kingdom and social justice does not mix well.

- Jesus came to establish a whole new social order. The ekklesia….the church.

- There is an inextricable connection between kingdom and church.

- Church is the only place kingdom work can occur because in the church is the only place where Jesus is king.

- Kingdom never refers to social action in Scripture.

We have become intoxicated with social power and justice.

- The kingdom is more than an ethic because Jesus is more than a prophet.

- Kingdom work is about telling people about King Jesus. Summoning people in the church as the place where God’s redemptive work is now alive.

Wednesday Afternoon Jon Acuff @JonAcuff “Our Relationship With the Gap”

Our job is hard because…

1) We never feel it is over…

2) There’s no manual for most of the things you do

3) The success rate is really low for youth ministers

4) You run into a period of life most people run from

1 out of every 4 girl will be raped by the time they graduate

5) We don’t get to see the end of the song.

Three things of the challenges

1) SUCCESS

- It’s so easy to compare.

- Never compare your beginning to somebody else’s middle.

- Always play to the size of your heart not to the size of your audience.

- If you tie what you do to the success/failure of it you will disappoint.

- Measure your obedience not your results

- God will not be handcuffed by my failures or unleashed by my successes.

2) FEAR

- It only bothers you when you do things that matter.

- Voices?

You are not a youth minister…
You are woman.

- The best way to fight those is to share those. Fears fears community.

- The higher you climb in leadership the harder it is for you to be honest.

- “Enough” is a slippery slope

- If you ask “fear” when you will have enough experience it will be later.

- Fear always says, “This is forever.”

- What to do with voices

Write down the voice…
Answer it with truth
Share them

3) HATERS

- We are not good with criticism and compliments

Critic’s Math – 1 Insult + 1000 Compliments = 1 Insult
We have the ability to lose heart with insults.
Are you giving power to the very people you don’t need to give it to.

Those were the extent of my notes. I did not attend an afternoon class because I had the wonderful opportunity to sit down with Scot McKnight and Rusty Pettus for an hour and talk theology. Scot was gracious enough to extend some time just to talk and share some coffee. He even bought my coffee which he did not have to do. Before I close this blog I want to share something I did on my way back from Denver. I visited the Century 16 Theater in Aurora where 12 people were killed by James Holmes. Tragedy. Just like praying at Columbine I wanted to reflect and pray at the theater. To the left is a picture I took while driving to the theater.

Tomorrow I hope to reflect on the week with some implications.

National Conference on Youth Ministries – Day 2

Great day I experienced with classes, super-sessions and keynote messages from some of the finest people in Christianity. I typed 10 pages of notes yesterday so I cannot include everything here but I want to give you some highlights that stood out to me.

Tuesday Morning, Mike Cope “Spiritual Intubation: How Community Keeps Us Alive” The Wizard of Oz: Revelation’s View of Community

“No church ever existed in a pure state. The church is made up of sinners. The fleas come with the dogs.” (Eugene Peterson)
Four characters who are known by their deficiencies. Much like Christians today.
Showing of who Oz really is. “The great Oz has spoken, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.”
Pergamum
- It’s a great distance from Colorado Springs to Pergamum.
- In Pergamum it was very, very different.
- Everywhere people went they told two stories: the power of Rome and Greek gods and goddesses. Everywhere they went they are told that they are caught up in and how could they not believe it. It “has to be true.” Every market, athletic event, silver item told them about temple worship.
- Where is the Pergamum church of Christ?
  - A tiny…insignificant few.
  - Imagine holding on to the story of Jesus while walking among the temples and other places where the minority is huge.
  - Have you been the minority?
  - Power, honor, identity was wrapped up into gods and Rome not Christ.
- Persecuted Christians get it
- “Though St. John the Evangelist saw many strange monsters in his vision, he saw he saw no creatures so wild as one of his own commentators.” G. K. Chesteron
Deep Community is anchored in Jesus
Deep community has to be eschatological in nature.
Deep community is at its best when it is part of a mission…a larger story.

Tuesday Morning Keynote Kurt Johnston @kurtjohnston “Deep, Redefined”

Have you ever stopped and thought about all the things in youth ministry that you don’t do very well? We are great at trying to control the perceptions of other people. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are great at creating perception of us.
Four truths I have learned that have 1) pointed out my shallowness and 2) led him into a deeper experience in faith.
- Life is a squiggle
- I need a travel partner
- Busyness will keep you in the shallow end.
- When you begin to have a long view of youth ministry

Tuesday Super Session Frank Viola @FrankViola “The Missing Ingredient”

Observations about ministry to young people:

Catch30 Crisis – Human beings go through developmental stages as they get old. When they are 30 they reassess every decision they made in their 20s and they either abandon what hey believed or abandon them. You don’t know where someone is spiritually until they are thirty. You could not serve in the house of God until you were 30. Jesus did not begin his ministry until he was 30. Young people need to be prepared for this.
There is a difference between youthful enthusiasm and spirituality. Most of the big Christian movements are built on youthful enthusiasm. The problem is that many operates on youthful enthusiasm and the well runs dry
You can’t pass on to those whom you minister to what you have not experienced yourself.
I have to prepare them for the forgotten beatitude. Blessed is he who is not offended by me.

Other Notes from class…

If you cut the bible in any place it will bleed Jesus Christ.
Moses and Christ
Creation and Christ
Isaac and Christ
Jacob and Christ
Conclusion – #1 – Find Christ in the bible. #2 – Do business with the Lord

Tuesday Afternoon Class 1 Josh Graves @JoshGraves “The Bible Jesus Read: Genesis 1-2”

2 Timothy 3:14-17; John 5

We need a more mystical understanding of Scripture. But also how it calls us to new spaces.
“All Scripture” does not exist yet and he has in mind Torah.
Inspired…he does not infallible, inerrant. They never show up in the bible. Sometimes the most important work we do is not learning new things but relearning old things.
2 Timothy is not about proving Scripture over science but it is about inviting people into God’s world in order to see the world differently and “to do something about it.”
These stories carry the freight in any given culture.

Genesis 1

God can’t help but to create. He is in control. The things God creates would not be believable if we have not seen them.
Everything else that has creativity or imagination that somehow it is all linked back to the God who started.
One of the ways Genesis invites us to go deeper and that we live in a good creation. Does not deny the dark side of life but he made everything and called it good.
Most people who tell the story of God begin with Genesis 3 and not Genesis 1.
We have to introduce paradox to our students. Life is full of joy and pain. Paradox is one of the greatest contribution to the Western world.

Tuesday Afternoon Class 2 Sally Gary @centerpeaceinc “Reaching out to Teens Who Identify as Gay and Lesbians”

Many who struggle with same sex attraction but still love the Lord. Struggles do not divide us.

Starved for Intimacy. Facebook and its struggles for intimacy. Question is: How can we meet this need? This desire for community. There is a great need for this connection.

What teens learn from the world: Glee, Modern Family.

What teens learn from the church: Nasty messages about homosexuals from the church

What they need is looking for a safe place.

How to be a safe place?

Deal with our own fears.

Change our thinking
Change our language
Listen
Be consistent
Model the Love and Acceptance of Christ

Tuesday Night Keynote Frank Viola @FrankViola “God so loved the world vs. Love not the world.”

The world in the New Testament is used in two ways…

Speaks of the material universe. Jesus of Nazareth is this world’s true Lord.
A system or network or order of things designed to draw us away from God.

Historically Christians have taken two postures: 1) Retreated from the world’s system (Isolationism) 2) Enmeshed by the world and married to it.

The most miserable person is a Christian who is living in a way where deep inside them they are told to give something up and they can’t. When we are in community with other Christians the Holy Spirit is clearest.

The Holy Spirit will reveal to you what is of the world.

2 Kind of legalists: 1) Salvation by works 2) I am going to take what the Holy Spirit has shown me personally and make it a law to you.

“The gospel spreads best not through force but through fascination” (Shane Claiborne)

Dinner in Colorado Springs: Uchenna Ethiopian Restaurant

This was ranked #2 in Colorado Springs by TripAdvisor and it was awesome. I had Yebeg Alecha which was tender pieces of lamb marinated with butter then sautèed with ginger, garlic, and 12 spices. There were no forks but you had this roll that you put the meat and the sauce in. It was excellent. The owner’s name is Maya and they cooked everything to order so it took a while but the food was worth it. They have mostly organic food and a substantial vegetarian menu. I have never tried authentic Ethiopian cuisine but this was a must! Went a left the owner looked at me and said, “Go in peace.” I love her already.

10 Things Satan will do to destroy 2013 for you (Part 2)

January 3, 2013 by Robbie in Cross, Kingdom of God, Satan, Sin | Leave a comment

You can read the first post in this series by clicking here.

Satan is doing his best to make sure 2013 is a year you wish would never have occurred. He is using his schemes to concoct the deadliest, most sinful potion imaginable with one purpose alone: to thwart the plans of God for you. Here are the remaining things Satan will do to destroy 2013 for you.

4. He will confuse you with success

What? You heard me right. Success. The “American Dream”, the do-it-yourself mentality, the “if it’s to be it’s up to me” kind of attitude will haunt you this year. Success is not bad but the confusing point of success comes when we think all of it came at the hands of our own initiative. Then we think we are invincible and pretty soon there is no need for God. In a nutshell we become deists (And all of this talk about returning to our forefathers who were essentially a bunch of deists) .

3. He will specifically cater his onslaught to something you struggle with that nobody even knows about

The Hebrew author calls it the “sin that clings so closely” (12:1). I don’t have to define that for you do I? Odds are, you know exactly what I am talking about. That pesky little critter crawling in your heart has done some serious damage and besides you, two people know about this: God and Satan. On one hand God is trying to offer you freedom from that depravity but on the other hand Satan is trying to enslave you holding you tight to that sin. 2013 will bring a lot of different things but one thing is for sure: your sins will find you out one way or another.

2. He will try to divide your relationships

Unity is something that will be a challenge for every organized group. Satan finds some of his best work on the front lines of churches who are fighting for the kingdom of God. Satan tries to divide marriages by creating atmospheres of disloyalty and distrust spreading lies and causing couples to end what used to be a strong relationship.

1. He will do his best to freeze your dreams

The other day I was watching my girls talk on this phone (an old iPod of mine that broke) and they were carrying on two different conversations with people who did not even exist. I chided, “What in the world are you girls doing?” They responded back, “We are imagining dad, leave us alone.” I smiled. Grown-ups quit dreaming and I think they do this because fear grips them into a state of paralysis and what could be becomes, at least to them, what will never be. Satan freezes dreams.

So there you have it. The good thing is that the power of Satan has already been defeated at the cross. Satan has no control over those whom God has chosen in Christ and if we place our allegiance to the lordship of Jesus then what can Satan do to us? Make 2013 the year that you finally become a servant to the master and do not let Satan destroy you.

Kingdom of God