The Gospel of Sin Management

Galatians 5:1-6

¹ So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.² Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you.³ I’ll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses.⁴ For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.⁵ But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith (trust) the righteousness God has promised to us.⁶ For when we place our faith (trust) in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith (trust) expressing itself in love.  Gal 5:1-6 (NLT)

Red Bull Gospel

I have in my hand a can of an absolutely terrible beverage known as Red Bull.  Now Red Bull consists of copious quantities of both caffeine and sugar.  If I were to drink a can of Red Bull first thing in the morning we all know what will inevitably happen don’t we?  It might take a couple of hours or maybe a little more but we all know what will happen long before the end of the day.  I am going to crash right?  That sugar and caffeine is going to leave me and I am going to be worse off than I was before.  A Red Bull is not going to give me the sustainable energy I need to make it through the day.  In order for that to happen I need to get a good nights’ sleep and consume the right nutrients throughout the day. 

Oftentimes we find ourselves following a version of the gospel that has a Red Bull effect on our faith.  This Gospel might be enough to sustain us for a period but eventually, usually during one of life’s trials, we find ourselves crashing.  This Red Bull gospel can’t get us through the whole day, with all its challenges. 

The Gospel of Sin Management

Author and Philosopher Dallas Willard described this Red Bull Gospel as The Gospel of Sin Management.  In his book The Divine Conspiracy Willard states:

History has brought us to the point where the Christian message is thought to be essentially concerned with only how to deal with sin: with wrongdoing or wrong-being and its effects.  Life, our actual existence, is not included in what is now presented as the heart of the Christian message, or it is included only marginally…The current gospel then becomes a “gospel of sin management.”

This Gospel of Sin Management reduces the Good News of Christ to a list of do’s and don’ts.  This is what the apostle Paul was fighting against in his letter to the church of Galatia, and it is a false gospel that we need to continue to fight against today.

The Problem with the Gospel of Sin Management

At the core of the Christian faith is the message that we cannot possibly live up to the expectations of God and…that’s okay because of what He did for us.  It’s what this Advent season is all about.  God has sent His son to save us, to make up for the reality that we are not good enough.  Christianity is the only world religion that is not based on humanity’s ability to do the right things and avoid the wrong ones.  The problem with the Gospel of Sin Management is that it reduces Christianity to just one of the many works-based religions in the world. 

Similarly a faith that is built on our own ability to perform becomes unappealing and worse irrelevant when (not if) we fail to live up to the expectations.  You see if we buy into the Gospel of Sin management than we can’t help but have a superficial view of the Christian Faith.  If my relationship with God is solely dependent on my ability to perform than it will be an external, part-time, powerless one.  This is a faith that doesn’t work for us so we shove it into the corner and forget about it, temporarily or perhaps for good.  

Paul’s Response

Paul was well aware of the damaging effect this Gospel of Sin Management has.  It was why he repeatedly challenged it and made it abundantly clear that trust in Christ and not our own efforts is the key to the Christian faith.  There are some who believe that the first verse of today’s second lesson is a summary of all of Paul’s writings:  “¹ So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.”  In the following verses Paul preaches freedom from circumcision, a religious practice that was a necessary act according to Jewish Law.  Paul is telling us that we are not only free from sin; we are also free from the need to “measure up.”

Bonhoeffer

In his final work, ironically called Ethics, German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer claims that Christian Ethics is an oxymoron, a giant contradiction.  He rightly points out that the in the Garden of Eden, humanity's first sin was to eat from the tree of what? The tree of The knowledge of good and evil. So the very fact that we are able to discern between right and wrong is a reminder of our sinfulness.  The Spoken word poet and Christian rapper Propaganda puts it this way “Even your good works are an extension of your selfishness.”  We were never supposed to be the judge of right and wrong. The Gospel of Sin Management takes God right out of the equation.  God has nothing to do with our faith, it’s all about us.

Galatians 5:2-4

It is with this in mind that Paul says “If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you.” You see, it is not anything that we do that makes us pure enough to please and come close to a holy God, but it’s what God has done and continues to do in and through us.  We have to choose what we are putting our trust in.  Is it in the work of Christ and Him crucified or are we putting our faith in our own ability to do the right thing. According to Paul we can only have faith in one thing.  Either we will put our trust in Christ as the Lord who saves us and makes us righteous by His spirit, or we will put our trust in ourselves, meaning our ability and our commitment to live in obedience to the law.

Galatians 5:5

Paul’s message of freedom from good works can seem somewhat counter intuitive to us.  We so easily fall into believing the gospel of sin management because we think that Jesus has done his part, and that our part is living up to God’s expectations. But this message doesn't really mean freedom, but rather switching from one form of bondage (sin) to another (sin management). 

In Galatians 5:5 Paul describes a completely different scenario when he writes “But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us.”  Paul is saying that it is God’s job to work in us to make us righteous, to make us a people who do the right things and it is our job to learn to trust God and to let Him make the changes in us.  According to Paul we need to stop focusing on how we can live righteous and holy lives and start focusing on how we can strengthen our trust in Jesus Christ.

Trust

The Greek word translated as faith in this verse, and throughout the New Testament, pisteuo (pis-TAY-u-o) can also be translated as trust.  So when we talk about faith we are talking about trust.  I think it is a lot easier to think concretely when we talk in terms of trust.  Having faith means that our actions are determined by our decision to trust God with a given issue, relationship, or circumstance.  So then the question we need to ask ourselves in any situation is “where do I place my trust?  Is it in my instincts, desires, and convictions, or do I trust Jesus Christ?”

Spiritual Practices

So, you see, EVERYTHING we do to grow in our faith is about trusting God .  In contrast with assuming that it is our work that gives us deeper faith, the process described by Paul in our second lesson shows that the way we deepen our trust in our savior is by putting ourselves in a position to be drawn close to God.  This is the real purpose of the spiritual disciplines.  They do not make us righteous because we do them; instead, they put us in a position to be drawn into trusting God more fully.  We attend worship every Sunday, read the bible and pray daily not out of obligation but because we trust that these practices will put us in a situation to better trust in God when the insanity of life comes our way.  If we do these things because we think they will make us more righteous then we are saying we don’t need God because we can and do change ourselves.  We are putting our trust in ourselves as we do these practices.

Conclusion

St. Augustine once said “Love God, then do what you please”.  In verse six of our lesson Paul said “For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.”  I believe they are saying that when we put our trust in God we naturally learn to love Him more, and when we love God more and trust Him each step of the way, right behavior naturally comes next.  But when we put our trust in doing the right things, our relationship with God can only be sustained for so long, like the energy from a Red Bull.  Eventually, though failure, pain, insecurity or inner wrestling we will not have the power to keep the sin management treadmill going, we will crash.  In Disney’s version of Aladdin there is a great scene where Aladdin holds out his hand to the princess, Jasmine and asks “do you trust me?”  It is time for us to stop seeing God as a task master with a bull whip in His hand and to start seeing Him holding out an open hand, asking us “Do you trust me?”  We all have a choice to make, where does our faith truly lie, who do we really trust.  I don’t know about you, but I think it’s about time that I stop trusting myself and start trusting Him.  

Advent Lesson Three: The Messiah is here

Game Idea: If You Love Jesus Please Smile:

Students will sit in a circle.  One student is "it" and must go around the circle and say to each student "if you love Jesus, please smile."  They can do anything to a student to smile as long as he or she does not touch the student.  The other player must resist smiling and say, "I really love Jesus, but I just can't smile."  If a smile is cracked the smiling prayer is now "it."

Bible Passage 1: Luke 2:21-33

Video: Advent-Hope - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c6qfU_QCXc

Bible Passage 2: Luke 2:36-38

Discussion

1. Why do think people use advent calendars or paper chains during the Christmas season?
2. Could you imagine waiting years to celebrate Christmas? If you knew that it was coming but didn’t know exactly when, how would you feel about waiting?
3. Why do you think Simeon and Anna were willing to wait so long for the promised Messiah?
4. How do you think they handled the moments when they got discouraged?

5.      Do you feel like you are waiting for something from God? Explain.

6.      Does our ability to wait for things, people, or promises say something about our hearts? Why or why not?

Wrap Up

Say: Waiting for Christmas is fairly easy for us because we know exactly when it is and how long until the day arrives. Imagine that you have been waiting years for the birth of the promised Messiah. Anna and Simeon waited years to see the Messiah; they never lost hope and they never stopped devoting themselves to God. They likely faced discouragement and frustration, but they continued to listen for God’s leading and God’s comfort and God’s direction. When we listen for God’s voice and God’s leading, we discover amazing truths and witness God doing incredible things.  The Christmas Season is not just about looking back on what God has done by sending His Son, it is also a time to recognize what God is doing in our world and in our lives today as well as a time to hope and wait for what God will ultimately do when Jesus returns a second time. 

Prayer

Give the students time to share prayer requests AND praises (strongly encourage students to contemplate their blessings).  Close by thanking God for sending His son and asking Him to help us remember what that really means and to trust in Jesus.   

IS YOUR YOUTH GROUP PREDICTABLE? MAYBE IT SHOULD BE.

While it’s true that creativity is an important part of student ministry, so is predictability. Young people crave consistency and an effective youth ministry will provide it.  This is especially vital when it comes to the discipline policies and basic structure of a youth meeting.  One of the easiest improvements any youth group can make is increased consistency.  Here are 10 “predictability check” ideas on what I mean:

1)    Make sure all parties involved know the process for misbehavior and make sure that all leaders follow it to the rule.  This will minimize distractions and you might find that it brings out the best in your students.

2)    Create a basic outline for youth meetings and follow it every week.  I would suggest opening with some fellowship time and a fun activity/game.

3)    If you have snacks at your youth group, build in specific times for munching and limit students to this time.

4)    As you move into the content, have a specific flow that you stick to.  I suggest opening with the scripture.  Here’s a hint, use the scripture that your pastor is preaching on.  You can choose to prep (the lesson before) or reinforce (the lesson after) the sermon with your youth meeting.

5)    Next, reinforce the sermon with some sort of media.  You can find clips for every situation on Youtube or Vimeo (even if it is from a cheesy bible movie).

6)    If you have a second text, sandwich the media piece with the two readings.

7)    Now create four or five open-ended discussion questions for the group to explore.  Yes/no answers should be treated as if they are the black plague.  Don’t try to steer things too much; you will be able to take things in the right direction with a wrap up (5 minutes or less) at the end of the night.

8)    You may pray at other times during the night but always close the night with prayer.

9)    Give students a few minutes to share praises and requests.

10) Challenge students to pray but don’t push them to hard.

Advent Series: Weeks 1 and 2

Advent Lesson One: The Word Became Flesh

Game Idea:  Four Square – see rules at: http://www.thatyouththing.com/resources/crowdbreakers.htm

Bible Verse 1: John 1:1-14

Video: 8 lb 6 oz Baby Jesus: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6AlEYreD6k. Make sure to stop right at 2:20 (to avoid language).  If you can’t project a computer you can play this segment from the movie Talladega Nights.  If you decide to skip the

Discussion

1)      When we think of Jesus at Christmas what do we think of? (Baby, human, etc)

2)      How does this compare with Ricky Bobby’s Jesus? (Similar in a lot of ways)

3)      What does John 1 have to say about Jesus? (Existed from the beginning of time,

4)      Why is it important to remember what John has to say about Jesus during the Christmas season? (Jesus is not just a baby, He is our savior and He is the son of God.)

5)      How does the way we think of Jesus affect our personal relationship with Him?

Wrap Up

Say: The season of Advent (or Christmas – if students aren’t familiar with Advent) is all about trust.  If we trust that Jesus is our Messiah/Savior than we trust that baby Jesus was also the Son of God and the co-creator of the universe.

Prayer

Give the students time to share prayer requests AND praises (strongly encourage students to contemplate their blessings).  Close by thanking God for sending His son (in all his glory and power) to earth as a helpless baby to save us all.  If Jesus was just another baby than He cannot be the messiah.  

Advent Lesson Two: Crazy News

Game Idea:  The Clap Game – see rules at: http://www.thatyouththing.com/resources/crowdbreakers.htm. 

Bible Passage 1: Luke 1:26-28

Video: A Social Media Christmas - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sghwe4TYY18

Bible Passage 2: Matthew 1: 18-25

Discussion

1. Ladies, what would it be like to be in Mary’s situation?
2. Guys, what would it be like to be in Joseph’s situation?
3. How do you think your family and friends would react if you were in Mary or Joseph’s situation?
4. How did trust, or faith in God play into Mary and Joseph’s situation?
5. How do you think God’s past faithfulness played into Mary and Joseph’s trust in God?
6. How does trust play into our own situation as we prepare for Christmas and how does that trust effect the way we live our lives? 

Wrap Up

Say: It took a lot of trust in God for Mary and Joseph to go along with his plan.  We saw from the video that Mary and Joseph probably lost a lot of friends and family and respect because of God’s plan.  Mary and Joseph had to trust that God would do what He would and also trust that we would get them through their rough situation.  It takes a lot of trust for us to believe in Christmas message too.  If we do believe that Jesus is the savior than the trust should affect what we believe about many other things and how we live our lives too.

Prayer

Give the students time to share prayer requests AND praises (strongly encourage students to contemplate their blessings).  Close by thanking God for sending His son and asking for help to trust in Him the way Mary and Joseph did.    

The Shema Initiative: Engaging Parents

It’s a phone conversation that every veteran youth worker has had on multiple occasions.  The players change but the story always stays the same.  I had on the other line an upset parent who had some serious concerns about their soon to be teenage child.  It was not directly said, but there was an implied undertone, a hope that I would be able to step in and do something to remedy the situation.  Now, I have to confess that my normal course of action would have been to swoop in like superman and try to fix things in an hour or two…I bet you can guess what kind of success rate I’ve had with that approach…

But instead, in a moment of uncharacteristic Godly wisdom, I took a different approach.  I asked this parent about Christian practices in the home.  During this conversation I learned that though this parent, and their spouse were actively involved in the church's children's ministries, little or nothing was being done in their home throughout the week to reinforce their family's walk with God.  I couldn’t help but think that this fact played some role in the struggles they were having with their child, and I told them so.  I think that many parents would tell the same story if asked.

1.       By explaining that the current church staff driven model is not working. We can share that the surveys show that up to half of our students will “shelve their faith” in college. We can state that the average youth in our programs will only have roughly 2 hours a week with us and that is shared with all the other students present. We can tell parents that if they 15-30 minutes a day praying and doing devotions as a family then they have just matched that amount of time, not taking into account the many hours of possible informal faith sharing parents can have with their children.

2.       By giving them practical suggestions.  Encourage parents to consistently pray and have devotional time with your children. Make sure they don't beat themselves up if it doesn't work to do it every day but tell them to commit to do it when it does work by finding a pattern.  Inform parents that it is just as important to show their children how their faith is a part of their everyday life (even if it's in small ways). Sugguest letting students catch them reading the bible, and share with their children about how they experienced God during the day and ask them to do the same.

3.       Reassure parents that this idea about children's and youth discipleship does not diminish the role that that the church’s youth group has, it makes it more effective. Plead with parents that whenever it's feasibly possible BRING THEIR CHILD TO CHURCH ACTIVITIES!!! State that you are not saying that their child can't be involved in activities that conflict with youth group night activities, but be clear that the various church activities have to be a priority, and your children have to know it's a priority.  Challenge parents that their family priorities will impact what they do with their time.

4.       Finally, identify parents who already understand and live out “the Shema initiative” and task them with helping to spread the vision to others. 

Attempting to engage parents can be a frustrating process but it is well worth the effort.  If youth workers are serious about making life long disciples than they must be serious about engaging parents into the process of discipling their children.  

Thinking Small: Effective Youth Ministry for Small Churches

Small church youth groups should be encouraged to hear that many recent youth ministry trends- highlighted by resources like Fuller Youth Institute’s Sticky Faith Initiative  and Mark Oestreicher’s book Youth Ministry 3.0- are actually quite favorable to them (intergenerational experiences, for example).  It’s time for these smaller youth ministries to reject youth ministry models that are impossible for them to create and hone in on trends that are conducive to their current situation.  Small churches can have vibrant youth ministries by:

1.      Remembering the true purpose of your church’s youth ministry.  Any student ministry “worth its salt” has planting seeds to be used by God to transform students into devout, life-long disciples of Christ as part of their mission/vision.  This is a mission that can be fulfilled regardless of the size of your ministry.  If you believe that your ministry cannot be effective in its current condition, than it won’t be!

2.      Making your youth group predictable.  It is true that creativity is an important part of student ministry but equally so is consistency and the two can coexist.  Young people crave consistency and an effective youth group will provide it.  This is especially vital when it comes to the discipline policies and basic structure of a youth meeting.  Make sure all parties involved know the process for misbehavior and make sure that all leaders follow it to the rule.  This will minimize distractions and you might find that it brings out the best in your students.  Create a basic outline for youth meetings and follow it every week.  I would suggest opening with some fellowship time and a fun activity/game.  If you have snacks at your youth group build in specific times for munching and limit students to this time.  As you move into the content have a specific flow that you stick to.  I suggest opening with the scripture.  Here’s a hint, use the scripture that your pastor is preaching on.  You can chose to prep (lesson before the sermon) or reinforce (lesson after the sermon) the sermon with your youth meeting.  Next, if at all possible reinforce the sermon with some sort of media.  You can find clips for every situation on Youtube or Vimeo (even if it is from a cheesy bible movie).  If you have a second text sandwich the media piece with the two readings.  Now create four or five open ended discussion questions for the group to explore.  Yes/no answers should be treated as if they are the black plague.  Don’t try to steer things too much you will be able to take things in the right direction with a wrap up (5 minutes or less) at the end of the night.  You may pray at other times during the night but always close the night with prayer.  Give students a few minutes to share praises and requests.  Challenge students to pray but don’t push them too hard.  

3.      Making hospitality a priority. I have a friend who is a part time youth director at a small church.  His youth group is booming.  So what’s the secret?  The vast majority of his students aren't from the church.  The days when you had to be a big fun group to attract students is all but over.  If a student knows that his or her friend will be welcomed and loved in your group no matter what than they will be willing to invite them.  If that student feels comfortable and that he or she belongs than he or she will keep coming.  In order for this to happen hospitality has to be more than an afterthought. 

If a youth ministry, no matter how small, is discipleship driven, consistent and hospitable it will not only be an effective ministry, it will also be one in the position to experience numerical growth.

Thanksgiving Post: Selfishness is Faithlessness

“That’s not fair” has become my three year old son’s favorite phrase.  He undoubtedly learned the saying from his older brother, who probably learned it from a peer.  While he learned the phrase from another, his desire to stand up for his rights was developed all by himself.  It is both comical and disheartening to watch my children fight diligently to make sure they don’t get “the short end of the stick.” 

I can’t really throw stones, can I?  My self advocacy might not be as obvious, but it is no less prevalent.  We’re all guilty of it, aren't we?  I've seen the most literal of Sola Scriptura Christians easily and quickly dismiss the example of the church of Acts in chapter 2 with a “why would I give away my stuff, I earned it!’  We are a selfish people living in a selfish world.  It might be why the majority of “givers” in our church tithe (and I use that word WAY to loosely) less than one percent. 

Why do we struggle so much with this?  Why are we so selfish?  Is it just because we are so wicked?  I propose that this is not the case (and yes, I know all about the doctrine of original sin).  We can go into the ridiculous lifestyles we live and our insane idea of what our needs are (most of which are actually wants) and we can rebuttal that our less selfish ancestors were more generous because “back in the day” able bodied workers making a living was almost a guarantee. 

And that gets to the heart of it doesn't it.  Greed is about looking out for me, because I don’t have faith (or trust) that my needs will be met otherwise.  The implications are huge; I am selfish because I don’t trust God.  My three year old son is obsessed with making sure he gets a fair shake because he thinks (in part) that he will not be taken care of otherwise.  What a crappy thing to learn and such a young age!

This is what makes the Thanksgiving holiday (and more importantly, a spirit/heart of thanksgiving) so important.  Thanksgiving helps us spend time reflecting on God's faithfulness allowing us to place our trust in Him and acknowledge His faithfulness.  If I truly trust in God and believe that He is faithful than I don’t need to fight for myself, I don’t need to be greedy, and I don’t need to worry about things “being fair.”  So during this season of Thanksgiving let us take seriously the task of helping our children and the young people of our church reflect on God’s faithfulness revealed in their past so that they can gain perspective and learn to trust in Him.

Church as Department Store

Consuming the Church...

I am seeing more and more that individuals are approaching church from a consumerist perspective.  I hear phrases like “What I need from a Church...” and “When I was Church shopping...”  Now I have heard this phrase from some amazing people.  People devoted to service and to this church.  They just don’t realize what they are doing...comparing God’s church to a pair of jeans.  Even the last few Sundays’ attendance speaks to this idea.  Pastor has been on vacation so many congregants have opted to miss church.  So then, worship is about hearing a phenomenal message from the pastor, instead of a mediocre message from that other person.  Is this what it means to be part of a Church?  Is it nothing more than a support group, or glorified country club? 

It’s my belief that these conceptions are, in reality misconceptions.  I believe that God expects something more from and for His Church and today’s scripture lesson supports that belief. 

The Church of Acts

Acts 2:42-47 is packed full with functions of the first Christian Church, but is being an ACTS 2 church as straight forward as that?  After all, many if not most American churches mimic much or all of the church functions described in this passage.  But let’s take a closer look.

Acts 2:42

·       It was a Learning Church: Christian Education – Apostles Teaching

·       It was a Church of Fellowship

·       It was a Church that broke bread together, Sharing of Meals and the Lord’s Supper

·       It was a Church of Prayer

Acts 2:43-

·       It was a reverent Church; they had a since of Awe over what God was doing. 

·       It was a Church where things happened; they witnessed miraculous signs and wonders performed by the Apostles.  Ya know, Jesus indicated on multiple occasions during his ministry on earth that the miracles he performed were due in part to the faith of the recipient.  I wonder if we could see signs and wonders today if we had more faith, and a since of Awe over what God is doing and has already done.  I wonder if we have already seen signs and wonders and have not even recognized them because we were too busy, or too quick to explain them away.

Acts 2:44&45 –

·       It was a Sharing Church.  Those who had access shared with those who were struggling to provide for themselves.  I have witnessed this and it is such an amazing thing to see

Acts 2:46 -

·       It was a worshiping Church

·       It was a happy Church

Acts 2:47-

·       It was a church of people whom others could not help liking. It is clear that the Church was visible, that those who were not a part of the church were aware of and even impacted by what the Church did.

·       The Result: The Lord worked through what the Church was doing to add new believers every day. 

It’s natural when we look at the first Christian Church to hone in on the regular public practices of the Church but in doing so we miss a lot about what this passage has to say about the Church.  As I alluded to before, there are many churches that are doing these regular public practices without the miraculous results.

For this reason, I want to begin with the result of what the Church was doing; The Lord was adding new believers daily! 

Why and how was the Lord adding to their numbers daily?

Was it because of the functions of the church?

Was it because it was learning, praying church of fellowship that broke bread together?  Was it because it was a reverent, sharing, worshiping church?

Certainly all these reasons were in part why God was moving in such a powerful way through this church but they don’t seem to guarantee the miraculous results.  There was something more going on than that.  So, I am going to focus in on one of the characteristics of the church of Acts that was not a function of the church and I believe the one characteristic that gets the least attention.  This church was a church of people whom others liked and were drawn to. 

What does that mean?  What does that look like?  Well I think it was a church of people that could not go unnoticed by the community around them because of their positive uniqueness.  It was a group of people who were living examples of the good news of Christ. 

Now we need to pause here a second, there are plenty of churches today who cannot go unnoticed, but for all the wrong reasons, right? As a result these churches are not liked, and sometimes even detested by those looking into their community from the outside.  It’s sad isn’t it, when the gospel is reduced to a scare tactic or a message of hate. 

But that is clearly not what is going on here.  Rather, living the gospel means that this group of people and the church they made up were so radically different from the culture’s status quo that the people outside of the movement couldn’t  help but notice what was going on and be drawn to it.    

There are several examples in the history of the Christian church of followers who fit this description:

Celtic Missionaries

One such group was missionaries led by St. Patrick who brought the gospel of Christ to the Celtic world in the 5^th Century A.D.  These missionaries created communities similar to monastic communities, that is communities of Christian monks.  The difference was that these communities were not for the primary purpose of deepening ones spiritual disciplines, like the communities of monks, but rather were for the primary purpose of evangelism.  These communities were formed within a village rather than in some secluded place and were constantly welcoming the surrounding village to come and witness what was going on.  The community was visible and available to the village thus making the gospel real to them.  

Wesley’s Societies

For those who have studied John Wesley and his societies you might be thinking that there are some similarities between the Celtic evangelists’ communities and Wesley’s societies, and you’d be right.  To be sure, Wesley had high demands on those who were part of his societies, but there were no initial restrictions or exclusions for those who wanted to experience and join the societies. 

Wesley was so convinced of the transforming power of experiencing the societies that he even went to far as to offer communion to non-Christians.  Wesley believed that the act of communion would be evangelistic within the setting of the societies.

The Point

It is clear from these examples that the Gospel of Jesus is spread when His church immerses itself in the unbelieving world not to assimilate but to create a sub-culture.  The Church and its congregants are called to be a counter-cultural beacon amidst the surrounding culture beckoning the world around to come and experience something different.  The Church is called to be a living example of the Good News to the community around it. 

If Christ’s church and His followers are engaged with the world around them seeking to show the community something completely different, to show them the Love of God and His good news, then the people of the world can’t help but be drawn to the church and its way of life

When I was thinking about this reflection and its concept several months ago my lovely wife said to me “that’s great Chad, but what does THAT look like?”  So, what does that look like in 2012 in our communities?

I think I have an idea what it looks like, because I’ve seen several examples of it in resent months.  I think it looks like a freshman girl, who upon learning that separation of church and state does not mean that she is unable to pray and talk about God at school, started a prayer group and bible study that takes place before school once a week at the freshman center. 

I think maybe It looks like a college student who decided to share the hope God had given him during the worse year of his life on YouTube sharing the good news of Christ in a very real way to literally thousands upon thousands of young people.  To date that video has been viewed more than 1.2 million times and has about 11,000 comments about it, not taking into account additional comments referring to it on other social media sites, like facebook, which undoubtedly must number in the thousands.   Amazing!

Perhaps it looks like a family from this church who brings the children of their neighbors or family friends to church activities with the hopes that eventually the entire family will accept the good news of Christ and become a part of this church family.

The point is that this Acts 2 vision has to start with each of us as individuals.   We must begin to see the lost people of this community as God does. 

This church as individuals and as a collective body must decide that they will engage with the world, not to be like it, but to draw it to us by being something completely different.  We must be the revelation of God and his good news the way the church of Acts was, and the way Christ was during his ministry on earth.  We must call these individuals to a new way of life!  We must show them God’s love.  Did you catch that?  The church is called to be the revelation of God to this world the way Christ was when he was on earth…Wow!  That's heavy!

How?  Well, what if a couple of congregants from this church who lived in the same neighborhood decided that they were going to show a fellow neighbor the unconditional love of God in concrete ways.  Do you think that would get their attention?  What if students from our youth ministries decided together that they would befriend a peer who has been labeled as an outcast and invite them to youth events?  Do you think that teenager might consider becoming a part of this church?  I’ve got more ideas, but I think you are starting to get the picture. 

I can tell you what it doesn't look like; it doesn't look like a group of people sitting idly by waiting for someone else to do it.  So will you make the decision today to become an active part of a body of Christ that impacts this world in a way that can’t be ignored and can’t be looked at any other way than favorably?  Are you willing to do what it takes to draw the lost into our fold on a daily basis? 

Ministry First, Youth Ministry Second

Last Thursday marked one of the most amazing days of my life. In the span of just a few hours I had two amazing encounters with young adults who were part of students ministries I have been a part of in the past. The encounter was a much needed reminder of just the lasting impact we can have on young people, even if in the moment it doesn't feel like anything "special" is happening. God is not necessarily done using us to minister to young people when they leave are programs. I'm sure we all realize this intellectually, but I think a Godly reminder was still in order for my life.

So, a college student asking questions about where God fits in the messiness that is their life and a former special needs student finding my long lost number in an old cell phone some 5 ½ years after I son him last more than made my day. There is nothing profound about this, but I need to say it, we are involved in ministry first, youth ministry second. Me we never again forget how big God is as we think about the specifics of are ministry job description.

Youth Ministry and the Great Emergence

Upon reading Phyllis Tickle's wonderful little book The Great Emergence something became quite clear to me. Long before I had ever heard the term "Emergent Christianity" I was being taught to wrestle with it through formal religious academia (the most poignant being the de-Hellenization of Chrisitianity). While I would in no way define myself as an Emergent Christian (if we must find a label, it would probably be re-traditionalist or progressive Christian) I must confess that this discovery was not at all troubling to me.

We must realize that "The Great Emergence" is a historical fact (though fluid) and that it is in part, a product of a cultural shift. This means that those in Christian Ministry have no choice but to engage/wrestle with it (if they actually want to minister to the emergent generation, that is). Perhaps what was even more surprising how Tickle's book gave a name to my oppositional behavior in college, the fights with the university chaplain, the uncomfortable conversations with my parents (uncomfortable for them anyways). While it could be argued that my personal tacking of emergent issues was caused or at least kick-started by my formal exposure to it, but I believe a huge part of it was that I was organically part of the struggle. I am a part of the emergent generation and understanding of faith is inherently different from that of my parents, even if I do still call myself and evangelical.

Youth today are even more attached to this emergence, which is why ignoring or viscously opposing it is just not a viable option for today's youth worker. The need to oppose the popular views of science to defend God's sovereignty will absolutely baffle and "turn off" many students. This does not mean that Christianity has nothing to offer this generation, indeed the Emergence is a movement proving that is not the case. Young people wrestling with the emergence will resonate with Christ the center, the unity of the body of Christ and the greatest commandments. Though we cannot ignore or attack the great Emergence we can engage it with our youth without encouraging them to blindly follow suit. Still, engagement is the only option.

An Orthodox Prayer for One’s Enemies

⁴³ "You have heard the law that says, 'Love your neighbor'
and hate your enemy.⁴⁴ But I say, love your enemies!
Pray for those who persecute you!" Matt 5:43-44

Lord,

Today marks the anniversary of a truly tragic event and it should be remembered as such. It should not, however be used as fuel for hatred. We must confess that we are often guilty of the same anger, hatred and fear that created this awful act.

Please accept this feeble attempt to take a break from the hate to love as You would have us love. We may not fully mean it in our hearts, but we take this time to pray for the sect of people who were a part of or were in support of this heinous act. We ask that you would reveal Yourself and Your good news to them and remove strong the hatred and fear that is in there hearts. We ask that you would show them the same mercy that we would have you offers us. We confess that there may be some validity to the anger they have towards our nation.

We do not know how it is possible to love our enemies, but also don't know how it is possible for a perfect God to love us, a group of sinners so we will continue to try. We recognize that in order for "Your kingdom come and Your will be done on earth like it is in heaven" love and mercy must replace hatred and fear. So we ask that you would transform are hearts. In the mean time Lord, we ask that Your love and mercy would shine on both us and our enemies.

In name of Jesus, the beacon of your Love and Mercy,

Amen

Sola Scriptura, Scriptura Sola…Maybe Not

In writing something like this I think I must begin by saying that the aim of this writing is not to make the claim that the Holy Scriptures are not authoritative, not truth, or no longer relative. I would ask that this writing be read in its entirety before it be judged, upon which feel free to judge it as critically as you like.

Sola scriptura, scriptura sola (Only the Scriptures and the Scriptures only) is a creation of the reformation. It is a reaction to what the Catholic Church was/had become. Indeed me must recognize that prior to the 15^th century and the invention of the printing press Sola scriptura was not a possibility because having individual access the scriptures was not possible. It is also important to note that even the early reformers saw problems with sola scriptura, scriptura sola which is why so quickly after its creation it was changed to sola scriptura and the sainthood of all believers. When this change took place it invited tradition and, I believe, experience into the equation.

As someone who came out of the Wesleyan tradition, my roots teach that the authority of scripture is married to reason, experience and tradition (The Wesleyan Quadrilateral). This is not only saying that church tradition, personal experience and reason are valid components of the Christian faith, but I argue that it also recognizes the effect that our understanding of church tradition, our experiences and our reason has on our understanding of the sacred text. Strong arguments have been made for the impossibility of an individual to "just read the bible." What I mean by this is that each individual brings something with her/him as they enter the text. To put it another way, if I had 5 people read a passage from the bible, odds are there will be 3 (or more) variations on the meaning of that text.

For those of you who are uncomfortable with this I ask you when is the last time you buried your poop in the back yard or perhaps attempted to send you wife away into the woods until she was done with her period. You dismiss the scriptural instruction because church tradition, your reason and personal experience all tell you that it is no longer necessary for God's people to follow these biblical instructions. Even those people I hear argue that we must take all of scripture literally and that every word of text is God's breathed have allowed those three factors to "trump" these portions of text.

Here also I add Karl Barth's weigh in on the word of God. For Barth, Scripture is one of three forms of the word of God (the others being revelation and proclamation). Barth argues that when God genuinely speaks through his followers (experience and tradition) it is every bit as much the Word of God as scripture. Here we should consider the power that His prophets' messages often had (consider Jonah's reluctant message that changed the thought process of an empire). Likewise when God's revelation brings us into His presence (experience) it is as much The Word of God as scripture. We can see from the Bible itself that the Patriarch's only communication with God and His Will was through revelation. Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Paul  all became followers of God not because they encountered the Sacred Text but because they encountered God through His revelation.  Many of today's "conversions" occur the same way.  It is my opinion is that many of the Catholic practices (tradition) which have been rejected due to the Reformation served the purpose of revealing God to practitioners by ushering them into His presence (experience).

Again, I am not saying that Scripture is not The Word of God and authoritative. I myself am currently reading the 4 gospels alongside themselves so that God might use them to speak to me so that I may be transformed into a more faithful disciple of Christ by exploring what He taught and how He and His apostles lived. But again, my reason tells me that I am not to try to change my life circumstances to be more like Jesus' (quite my job to become a carpenter), rather I am trying to faithfully approach my life situations as Jesus would (how would Jesus do things if he "had my life").

The practically of all this for parents other youth workers and myself is that we need to stop telling young people to ignore their reason and their experience and instead learn to understand them in the context of God's Word (Scripture, Proclamation and Revelation). I truly believe that if a Seventeen year old believes in the physical death and resurrection of Christ, and that through that event sin and death, his/her sin and death, has been defeated by God's Holy gift - that repentace of his/her sins will lead to enternal union with this God - and if this person believes that God is the Sovereign Creator and Ruler of the universe, then maybe it's not the end of the world if he/she doesn't know if they believe that Genesis 1 and 2 is a literal depiction of the earth's creation.

Finally, we must recognize that Christ-followers of 1,000 years ago would be just as horrified and uncomfortable with what Christianity and the Church has become as we are about where we fear it is heading…


Reading Suggestions

1. Phyllis Tickle's The Great Emergence.
2. Karl Barth's Church Dogmatics I:1-The Word of God as the Criterion of Dogmatics.
   
3. Mike King's Presence-Centered Youth Ministry.

Divorce: Insights from My Life

I think that so often we look at the event of divorce without considering all the things that a child goes through as a direct result of that event. The goal of this short writing is not to throw a bunch of persuasive facts and figures at you though there is plenty of that out their (perhaps consider reading The Broken Hearth, by William J. Bennett). In the same token this post is not attempting to be an in-your-face argument for those considering divorce or an indictment of parents who have divorced. I recognize that there our times when divorce is unavoidable and on occasion the right thing to do. I would be lying if I did not admit that I do hope what follows will make parents think long and hard about the real ramifications of divorce. Specifically, I hope to highlight the ongoing adverse effects that divorce has, or more accurately the series of events and experiences that I child must endure as the direct result of divorce.

My parents separated when I was just four years old and their divorce was finalized before my sixth birthday and yet, that event had an adverse and direct effect on several key moments in my life spanning all the way to my wedding some 18 years later. As a 30 year old adult this event has continued to add strain in my life affecting everything from time (my wife and I have 3 sets of grandparents to juggle during the holidays instead of two) to household duties (I missed out on a lot of the manly life lessons growing up…). I have not even mentioned the ongoing insecurities and additional issues I still struggle with as a direct result of my parents' divorce that have so strongly impacted my marriage and led to real doubts about my calling into ministry resulting in a 3 year hiatus from church ministry.

I think the church and society at large attempts to help individuals (both parents and children) through the event of divorce without addressing the ongoing effects of that event. Now here's the twist, I find that reality encouraging. This means that divorced parents, churches and other Christian role-models have an opportunity to do much more to help students through the whole process of divorce and protect from some of the negative experiences that I encountered. And this ultimately is what I am driving at in writing this. I do not want to beat parents up over what they have already done, I want to empower them to give their children the support they need (both spiritually and emotionally). The key do this is to see divorce not as a finite event in a child's life, but rather a process that truly has lifelong implications.

The Shema Initiative Sermon

Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Mark 12:31b;

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 (NLT)

"Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. ⁵ And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. (And 'Love your neighbor as yourself.') And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.⁷ Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.⁸ Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders.⁹ Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

 

Outsourced Faith Formation
It's a phone conversation that every veteran youth worker has had on multiple occasions. The players change but the story always stays the same. I had on the other line an upset parent who had some serious concerns about their soon to be teenage child. It was not directly said, but there was an implied undertone, a hope that I would be able to step in and do something to remedy the situation. Now, I have to confess that my normal course of action would have been to swoop in like superman and try to fix things in an hour or two…I bet you can guess what kind of success rate I've had with that approach…


But instead, in a moment of uncharacteristic Godly wisdom, I took a different approach. I asked this parent about Christian practices in the home. During this conversation I learned that though this parent, and their spouse were actively involved in the church's children's ministries, little or nothing was being done in their home throughout the week to reinforce their family's walk with God. I couldn't help but think that this fact played some role in the struggles they were having with their child, and I told them so. I think that many families here today might tell a similar story if asked.
We live in a world where parents are encouraged to delegate the responsibility of the development of their children to others. It is now generally expected that the church will take the primary role in forming the faith of children and youth. But is this what God intended? Is this what the bible teaches? Is this what is best for the young people of RUMC?



It seems to me that this passage, known as the Shema, has something very different to say about the faith formation of young people. Let's take a closer look.


The Shema
There are three clear statements that the Shema has to say about Christian discipleship.
First, we must love God with all that we are and with Jesus' amendment in Mark 12:31 we must also love the people around us. If we were to flip back a chapter to 
Deuteronomy 5, we would see that the commands given to the people of Israel were the Ten Commandments. It's interesting; the first 4 commands address how we are to love God, and the final six addresses how we are to love our neighbor. Perhaps they are one set of commands because we cannot love God as we should without loving are fellow brothers and sisters as He has instructed us.


The second statement made about following God is that is an all day, everyday affair. The things of God are to be with us morning, noon and night. It is not enough to come to church for an hour on Sunday to get our weekly "God-fix."


And finally, passing on the faith to the next generation must come in the same manor. We must bring our children into contact with the things of God again and again, day after day. A one hour a week Sunday school class is not enough in itself to foster a lifelong relationship between a child and the Savior. This means that Pastor Riley, Michael Walden and I can't be the sole, or probably even the primary adults concerned with the faith formation of our young people.


I know this seems like a radical statement. This might sound different than how we understand passing on the faith to children. After all, this isn't what our church has taught…or is it? Let's consider our Infant Baptism vows:

Of course these vows begin with what the staff at Rockford United Methodist Church will do to raise a child in the faith, right? They don't! How do they begin? Let's take a look (Slide is brought up).

1. Dad and Mom, do you in presenting your child for Holy Baptism, confess your faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? If so, say, "I do."
   
   
2. Do you, therefore, accept as your great responsibility and privilege to live before your child, a life that is Christ-like; to exercise all Godly care that he or she be brought up in the Christian faith; that he or she be taught the Holy Scriptures; and that he or she learn the importance of both the private and public worship of God? If so, say, "I do."
   
   
   3. And will you endeavor to keep your child under the ministry and guidance of the Church until he or she, by the power of God, shall accept for himself or herself the gift of salvation and become a full and responsible member of Christ's Holy Church? If so, say, "I will."

 
Friends, our current church staff driven model is not working. A recent survey of several hundred committed church going teenagers done by the Fuller Institute showed that up to 50% percent of them either put their faith on the shelf or permanently walked away from it during their college years. Prior research has yielded similar results. 

Consider this: in one year the average youth here at RUMC has the opportunity to attend 52 worship services and roughly 40 Sunday school classes and youth group nights. With 80% participation that comes out to just 2 hours a week. Two hours…if a family spends 15-30 minutes a day praying and doing devotions they have just matched that amount of time, not taking into account the many hours of possible informal faith sharing parents can have with their children. The Vision of our Christian Education ministries is to nurture and grow Disciples of Christ through lifelong discovery of the bible. I am telling you now, if it's just up to your church staff, we will fall short of this vision…

At this point you might be asking yourself "Chad are you saying it's entirely up to me to make sure my child becomes a follower of Christ? Are you saying I have to be resident pastor, biblical scholar, and theologian?" 

The answer is no, I am not saying that. What I am saying is that the faith formation of children and youth is like a puzzle, and parents you are the most crucial pieces. 

Study after study has shown that parents are consistently the most influential presence in young people's lives, not friends, not the media, and certainly not the pastor and church staff. 

I know that can be a scary thought parents, and that often times we don't feel qualified, but consider this…If you decided that your family needed to be healthier you wouldn't wait until you have trained for and completed a marathon before doing things as a family to be healthier, right? In the same way you don't need to wait until you feel that you have become a spiritual giant (which will never happen…) to begin sharing the Christian faith with your child…

Start by consistently praying and having devotional time with your children. Don't beat yourself up if it doesn't work to do it every day but commit to do it when it does work…find a pattern and be consistent. Also, consider finding ways to do Christian service as a family. Be greeters at church or maybe find a food pantry to distribute meals at. Try to find a service opportunity that your children will be interested in.

 
Next, show your children how your faith is a part of your everyday life outside of formal devotional times (even if it's in small ways). Let them catch you reading the bible or praying. Share with them about how you experienced God during the day and ask them to do the same. Find a way to serve at the church and talk to your children about why you volunteer. 

At this point we may need to be reminded of the work of the Holy Spirit. We must remember that we plant the seeds, but it is God who makes them grow. So, PRAY FOR YOUR CHILD'S FAITH DEVELOPMENT. Ask that the Holy Spirit would fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle.

And finally, realize that this idea about children's and youth discipleship does not diminish the role that the other staff and I have, it makes it more effective. We are additional pieces of the puzzle and we are faithfully, diligently and prayerfully trying to fill that role as God intends us to, now more than ever.
So…Whenever it's feasibly possible BRING YOUR CHILD TO CHURCH ACTIVITIES!!! My lovely wife was forced to go to youth group when she was in high school (yes you can make you high school student do things…try threatening to take away their cell phone), and now she is grateful they did. I am not saying that your child can't be involved in activities that conflict with Wednesday night activities, I'm saying that the various church activities have to be a priority, and your children have to know it's a priority. Make no mistake, your family's priorities will determine what your family does with its time.

And parents, please, please realize that the staff of this church is here to help you. If you have questions about how to be a spiritual mentor to your children don't be afraid to ask us for help!

At this point I must say one more thing about this passage. The Shema was originally recited to the entire nation of Israel. The idea that it takes a village to raise a child was implied. And so, before all of you who are not parents of children and youth completely check out, I need you to do something for me. All of you who are not parents if possible please stand up, or if not raise your hand. Now sit down if you are a grandparent, aunt or uncle, cousin, neighbor, older sibling or if you are a member or regular attendee of this church.
Now you may be wondering why I mentioned members and regular attendees…let's take a look at the rest of the infant baptismal vows.

After naming and baptizing the child/ren in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the pastor then says to the church:

(Slide) Friends, I commend to your love and care this child, whom we this day recognize as a member of the Family of God. Will you endeavor to live that he or she might grow in the knowledge and love of God, through Jesus Christ?

And to this, the congregation replies (slide)


WE WILL, WITH GOD'S HELP, SO LIVE OUR LIVES AFTER THE EXAMPLE OF JESUS CHRIST THAT YOUR CHILD, SURROUNDED BY STEADFAST LOVE, MAY BE ESTABLISHED IN THE FAITH, AND CONFIRMED AND STRENGTHENED IN THE WAY THAT LEADS TO LIFE ETERNAL.


Remember the number 5. A study has shown that this is the number of Christian mentors a child needs in their life to have the best chance of becoming a lifelong follower of Christ. Ideally two of those adults will be parents. Certainly for many students Michael Walden or I will be one of the five. But understand this, for every child who walks through these church doors to have 5 Christian role models in their lives everyone here today has to in take seriously the responsibility to be one of those role models for one of those children. It may be that for you the best way to fill that role is to volunteer in the children's or youth ministries (It's August, you know I all about new volunteers). But it may very well be that you can successfully fill this role by informally connecting with young people from RUMC.


(slide) So, as this service comes to a close, keeping in mind the infant baptismal vows, will each of you embrace your role in the discipleship of the young people of this church? Will those of you who are parents of children and youth take seriously your role in the faith development for your children? And for those of you who are not parents of children and youth, will you endeavor to be a role model for the children you encounter? If so, say I will (congregation responds)


Amen! Please join me in prayer.