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.

10 Super-Cheap But Super-Awesome Ideas for Dumb Men like Myself on Mother’s Day

May 8, 2013 by Robbie in Family, Ideas, Life's Lessons, Parenting | Leave a comment

This is a random post and a little out of my comfort zone as this borders on Pinteresty idea0sharing but I thought I would share some ideas to help the pitiful dads out there getting a gift for their wife or mom. The caveat is that if you are like me you never save for this occasion and the last thing you want to do is throw this on the credit card so what can you do? First of all, you are a man so suck it up, quit your whining and use your survival skills. Pull it together dude! Secondly, you need to be creative and that means you are going to have to get off the recliner and think a little bit and do some work. Thirdly, involve your kids in this one so it becomes a family affair. Finally, do something for a widow in your church, community or neighborhood. Especially do something for a mother who has recently lost a child.

You ready men?

Or should I say, “Spartans READY?”

Ok…

10. Make all the meals the entire day.

Forget going out to eat. That is too easy and every man resorts to that. All that does is confirm that you didn’t think about it and the worst part is that you are going to have to wait in line for 2 hours to eat. What’s worse than hungry kids, a hungry wife and a wasted day? Let me answer that for you…nothing!

9. Clean-up.

This goes a long way. Do the dishes, do the laundry (ask how to do it first), be Mr. Mom and help a sister out!

8. Create a video especially for her.

This is where you get the kids involved. Record reasons why you love her and why she is a bucket full of awesome and put it on a video and give it to her. Flowers fade but a DVD lasts a long time…at least until your youngest son uses it as a weapon of mass destruction.

7. Have your family do a collage of photos and frame it.

This is so easy. Get pictures, cut pictures, put in frame. Give to mom. So easy a caveman could do it.

6. Make a CD of songs that remind you of her or make a playlist on her iPod.

Music is the keys to a person’s heart and remember the romantic courting you did back when dinosaurs roamed the earth? Try a little of that.

5. Go down to a park and have a picnic.

If the weather is appropriate pack a picnic, play some games and have fun. Just leave your fancy gadgets at home.

4. For your own mom, put together a booklet of 13 reasons you are thankful for her in 2013.

That may be dumb and cheesy but I am going to do it…hope you are not reading this mom.

3. Plant a tree and call it _____________’s tree.

That could be as cheap as $20. Have your kids dig the hole, you plant it, put dirt around it, make a cute plaque from wood and call it ______________’s tree. Ignite the inner tree-hugger in you!

2. Take the kids away to a park and let her stay at home and do nothing.

We DO stuff all the time and my wife is around kids 24/7 and so sometimes she just needs to detox. Make her breakfast, go to church together (you better go to church with her), take her home…and leave and don’t come back for 3-5 hours. Or more.

1. Google an idea you lazy poor excuse for a man!

Click on this link (Super-Cheap Ideas on Google). You’re welcome. A ton of ideas that are cheap, cost effective, and friendly.

I hope these help and give your mom or wife that special recognition she deserves. Before I close I want to address criticism you may have for dads being “cheap tight-wads.” Remember it is the media that is pushing you to do more, spend more because it is your mother/wife after all. Ignore them and do somethign special instead of just buying her something. I am a minimalist and I married a minimalist but we still like to do nice things for each other. Here’s a thought that the media does not tell you. The money you are saving on Mother’s Day goes to that PAID-FOR vacation down the road, perhaps a PAID-FOR car or just being in a good financial state. Put that in your debt-pipe and smoke it.

Happy Mother’s Day!

__________________________

Photo Credits: Marc Falardeau on Creative Commons

Ministry as a Millionaire – Part 2

April 23, 2013 by Robbie in God, Humility, Ministry, Youth Ministry | Leave a comment

So I asked the troubling question about doing ministry as if your salary was not an issue and didn’t get many takers. I was fishing for some responses and really looking for some takers. Heath had an excellent comment: “The truth would be the truth not matter how anyone would choose to feel about it.”

On the flip side of the issue I would like to offer you that if we are waiting on being a millionaire to do real ministry then we are fooling ourselves and even worse, we are making a mockery of the power of God. Here’s the truth as Heath alluded to:

If we are doing ministry according to the response of man then we are operating under a spirit of fear and in these times God does not need fearful ministers…he needs fearless!

Why are we so afraid of men?

They put their feet in socks just like we do?

They breathe the same air we do?

They have an expiration date just like we do?

They are sinners just like we are?

They are just as dependent on God’s sovereignty as we are?

Yet we cower in fear because they have our jobs in the grips of their hands. The answer to that is, “No they don’t!” God does. God always does. Any they may take your salary away, your benefits, your title but they cannot take away the one thing only God can do…your destiny. Consider the pondering of the Psalmist:

¹You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
²You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
⁵You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
⁶Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain. (139.1-6)

In other words, God is sovereign, we are not.

Along those same lines…

Perhaps many of us need a good ole’ fashioned attitude check.

It’s not about us anyways. Perhaps your leadership stinks. Maybe your ministry has some really cantankerous parents. I bet you don’t make enough money (you never will right?). I get all of that. Yet, somewhere down the road we are going to get to a point where nothing is going to satisfy us. That’s OK because it’s not about us. Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh, Daniel probably didn’t want to jump in the den of lions, Jeremiah didn’t have fun prophesying to a godless nation, Jesus didn’t enjoy suffering on a cross, Ananias really didn’t want to talk to Saul who would be called Paul, Peter really didn’t like Gentiles and Paul really didn’t like beatings.

Yet…

It’s not about us. That’s not why we minister.

We are servants.

I will leave you with Brother Paul…

²⁷Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit,striving together as one for the faith of the gospel ²⁸without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. ²⁹For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, ³⁰since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have. (Phil. 1.27-30)

_________________________________

Photo Credits: Ed Bierman on Creative Commons

Students, you might be in the wrong Youth Ministry if….

April 2, 2013 by Robbie in Youth Ministry | 2 Comments

I have been thinking for a while about warning signs or red flags for students to look for either when they visit a church or a particular youth ministry. As a parent I know the tension of letting your child go somewhere that is unfamiliar and so I have often thought about how parents might perceive our youth ministry and I have diligently tried to affirm and comfort the parents that while we do not apologize for being Christians we also are not as crazy as you might think. Having said that, I think there are some warning signs that you need to take into account and run if you see a youth ministry doing any of these things.

Students, you might be in the wrong Youth Ministry if…

…you were baited with a prize, game or free “whatever” to come to a youth event (insert shameful marketing ploy comment here).
…you notice 50 people come to fun events and 5 are in a bible class.
…you were ever told that God wants you to be wealthy and healthy if you just have faith in him.
…you rarely talk about the Word but that dodgeball tournament was fun.
…you see a high emphasis placed on your effort in Christianity and a low (if visible at all) emphasis placed on the cross.
…the youth minister dresses, talks and acts like one of you.
…there is no emphasis in disciple-making.
…they do not visit widows, orphans and shut-ins.
…they spend more time talk about their amazing ministry and less time talking about the church.
…the discussion is about that cool, funny, extroverted youth minister instead of God Almighty.
…parents are absent.
…the youth ministry is about a cool youth building and not a community.
…they read from the KJV only…just sayin.
…they internally focused.

We could go on…what would you add or take away?

_______________________

Photo Credits: David Goehring on Creative Commons

10 Things That Are Killing Your Youth Ministry Right Now

March 1, 2013 by Robbie in Ministry, Worry, Youth Ministry | Leave a comment

You are making it about your ego and not about God and others (Phil. 2:1-11).
You are not listening or seeking advice from wise people (Prov. 15:22).
You care more about what others think than what God thinks (Prov. 29:25).
You are lazy (Prov. 13:4).
You have not cast a vision (Prov. 29:18).
You have “that sin” you are not confessing and it is murdering your ministry (Heb. 12:1-2).
You are not supporting your senior minister or your senior leadership (1 Tim. 5:17).
You spend too much time at the office, or too little (Col. 3:23)
You spend more time with your church family than you do your own (Eph. 5:25).
You really don’t trust God…you say you do…but you really don’t (Prov. 3:5-6).

What are you going to do about it?

___________________

Photo Credit: Diesel Demon 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

Youth Ministry and Background Checks…Help me out…

February 6, 2013 by Robbie in Youth Ministry | 6 Comments

I have never done these but feel compelled to have ALL those who chaperone and volunteer to do this. But, I need some feedback…

What is the best company to do this with? Cost-effective…
Do you keep this stuff on file?
How do you deal with the criticism of “Well I guess you don’t trust us anymore”?

Would you help me out?

How do I write curriculum for Youth Ministry

January 30, 2013 by Robbie in Bible Class, Youth Ministry | 1 Comment

Like many of you, we have a set curriculum flow in our ministry and we use LIVE curriculum from the guys at Simply Youth Ministry. It has been an awesome tool for us to use and simply to put in the hands of our teachers who have material that is engaging, biblical, concise and relevant. Yet, we also have class on Wednesday nights and sometimes we have a special focus we do on Sunday mornings. I probably write 4-5 series a year that is mostly topic but every now and then I will spend time in a book. Often though I get asked, “How do you write so much material for your students?” I would like to give you some ideas that might help you in this and might spurn you to some amazing works. Only you can write the best curriculum for your group because only you know the DNA of your folk. Here my suggestions:

Jot down what your group is struggling with.

It could be a massive catastrophe that happened and you need to take some time to process it or it could be that your group is experiencing a lot of sexual temptations. What are their struggles?

Think biblical principles for growth

We need to move on having “neat ideas” and have something that will help them grow as a disciple. Don’t talk about faith, show them.

Think of different learning styles.

Do not write curriculum to be read to students with discussion questions at the end. Some students need that, some students need video, some students need games, but most need some type of physical engagement. Also have discussion questions that are thought provoking. Move past the “what do you think about that” questions.

Write a little bit each week

Have a schedule where you write a lesson a week. That is pretty easy to do. If you can’t do that then something is wrong with you. Seriously.

Ask feedback from the kids

They will tell you if they got something out of it or not. Let them process it with you.

Just keep doing it…

Some of my early series I wrote just stinks. I might even be judged for that kind of crap. Growth comes from consistency, persistence and the Holy Spirit.

What would you suggest? or…

What do you think about that?

Youth Ministry and Evangelism – Part 3 – Mistakes

January 25, 2013 by Robbie in Blog Series, Evangelism, Evangelism and Youth Ministry, Youth Ministry | 2 Comments

Often we know what to do by what not to do. For example, Heather and I have told Samuel over and over not to touch the eye on the stove as it will burn him. Two year olds do not comprehend directions and the implications of danger. Sometimes they just have to learn it themselves. When we weren’t looking Samuel touched the eye of the stove and burned himself. Now he knows what to do based on what not to do. Evangelism is the same way it seems and there are some pitfalls in the way we are mission-minded. A bit of clarification in these studies: I am no missiologist and these are purely subjective based on experience. Some of these also might be contextual (i.e., what works for Eastern Christians might not work for Western Christians) both geographically and generationally. I am coming at these from the standpoint of youth ministry but some of them span the generation gap. For better research and methodology I suggest you peruse Ed Stetzer’s website for various “missional” topics. I am still a babe in the missional discussions but here are some evangelistic mistakes…

#1 Doing nothing at all

This is a pitfall many of us get into as the ruts of life tend to deter our focus. Whether it is based on fear, apathy, rejection, lethargy, apostasy or whatever one of the worst things we can do when it comes to evangelism is to simply do nothing. But…

#2 Doing instead of being

Us westerners are good at doing things as we are used to tasks, accomplishments, projects and goals. We are always at the cusps or precipice of the waves of doing. The church is no different as we have this program, that trip, this initiative, this goal or that yearly theme (“Saving Souls in 2013″) all border on idolatry. Mission-minded people do a lot of things but not to the neglect of being a lot of things. Jesus said the harvest is ready and that we needed more workers but he also told us to pray about this harvest. In other words we need people who are ready not who simply do things. Which reminds me…

#3 Making evangelism program-oriented or staff-oriented

Evangelism is the work of every member as we are a part of the priesthood of all believers. Comments like, “That’s why we hired you” or “that’s what we pay you for” are statements coming from people who are too lazy and selfish to do the work God requires them to do. Evangelism should flow effortlessly from the leadership and from every member in the church. It’s not a “class” or a “day” or even a “Service-project.” Evangelism seems to be a part of the spiritual disciplines much like prayer, fasting and giving.

#4 Evangelism as systematic theology class

I once thought evangelism was about knowing things in Scripture and when they figured these things out they would eventually become Christians which I equated to evangelism. It never occurred to me that sitting with someone in the hospital was evangelism. It never dawned on me that praying with someone over the phone was evangelism. I never grasped that maybe going to a football game to watch a kid play was evangelism. Knowledge is important but it also puffs-up. Transformation, submission and obedience seem to be key components of evangelism.

#5 Thinking it is up to you to save people

We have many people out there who have Messiah-complexes and that if they don’t save someone then the world, as they know it, is over. News flash-you are not Jesus and the redemption of this world is not up to you. If Jesus wanted all of this world to be saved he would have died on the cross for our sins. Wait a minute…

What would you add?

Youth Ministry