cow tipping: wrestling with youth ministry

Does God answer prayers for bulldog adoptions?

Isn't this the theological question that everyone wants to figure out? I've been trying to adopt a bulldog for the past 2 years. We kept getting passed up because we had a new house and a new baby. Now that we're more stable, I think we have found a good match. I'm not sure if I should tie up the lines praying for a bulldog, but I feel like it is a big enough deiscion to seek God's direction. If you have a gap in your prayer list, pray for The Jack Family and Brewster.

Fall Institute on Creative Teaching & Discipleship

I'm teaching a seminar at the Greater Chicago Sunday School Assocation's Fall Institute on Creative Teaching & Discipleship this Saturday. It is a one-day conference for teachers of all age levels. After the opening general session, each teacher will receive thorough training in disciple making in various age-appropriate formats. The sessions are all taught by nationally known seminar leaders and are very participatory, providing live demonstrations of teaching ministries. A special highlight of the conference is the free lunch, during which time the networking groups will meet, comprised of teachers and leaders of each age group.

My seminar is: "Sticking to the Story: A Narrative Approach to Teaching Students." Exploring the Bible through story-telling, drama, media, and interactive group dialogue will help students grow toward intimacy with each other and Jesus Christ. This narrative approach to teaching helps students understand, experience and intersect their story with the story God is telling.

I think you can still register and find all the info on their website: GCSSA Fall Institute on Creative Teaching & Discipleship

The Hilarity of Community

I had lunch with our fall retreat speaker and worship leader, Josh Weaver. We talked about the purpose and theme of the retreat: worship. I've been looking at a book by Marva Dawn, Truly the Community. The book is a study of Romans 12. She uses the word Hilarity to describe the Christian community. She is referring to the Greek word hilarotes in Romans 12:8 where Paul invites those with the gift of mercy to exercise it with "cheerfulness." She uses the word Hilarity to describe the spirit of Christian community, to name the glad hope that should characterize God's people. Some languages translate it as "one's heart is laughing." She asks the question, "What would it be like if the Christian Church were truly a community that thoroughly enjoyed being itself?" Our students have no problem with Hilarity, but I'm wondering what would it be like if our middle school students directed that towards their community. Could our Hilarious celebration be an apologetic for the gospel? Now I just have to design a really cool t-shirt to go with it.

What a day

I almost forgot to blog today. I really feel like I got rhythm going with this 100-word blog project. Today was exhausting. I woke up at 4:45am (bad back) and decided to get up and start my day. I went to Timothy Christian School and did the middle school chapel service.I had a lot of fun doing an old talk I brushed off and polished up. I then spent the day preparing for the parent meeting. It was a good night. We had all our staff in the house (first time this school year) and a lot of parents and students. I would say a 1/3 of our parents were there (that's great for us). Maybe the highlight of the day was going out with my staff for appetizers. I finally could relax and breathe. Now on to my next project. [98 words]

Embracing Parents

I spent the first half of my ministry avoiding parents of students. I made the mistake many youth workers make thinking I knew more about kids than parents. My second time around, I have embraced parents. With the support of a solid core of parents you can do just about anything. I have adopted Kurt Johnston's parent model - using parents as the Hands, Head, and Heart of our ministry. Tomorrow is my first parent meeting – ever! This meeting will serve to introduce our staff, philosophy, programs and vision for the year. Now if only the parents will show up! [100 words]

I'm tired

I think the past 3 weeks have finally caught up to me. The tornado, clean-up, ministry launch, and the retreat crisis have all worn me out. I sat in the office today trying to figure out what to do. I decided not to come back from lunch, I just went to the bookstore to kill the afternoon. I found myself dreaming about how much money we'll get from the insurance company. I’m thinking about screwing the roof repairs and just going on vacation. We haven't had a real vacation in 5 years. I'm exhausted and the school year just started! [100 words]

I just can't win!

We had our staff meeting this morning to discuss the change in our fall retreat. We discussed 2 dates that my parent team proposed. The staff decided on a date that was best for everyone involved. I reported back to my parent team only to hear that the 8th grade trip to Washington DC is that weekend. Why didn’t they tell me that in the beginning? Do I overturn the staff decision or do I go with the new date and leave out a dozen of my 8th grade student leaders? It feels like a “students or staff” decision. Help! [100 words]

Ruminating

I spent two years in graduate school learning how to teach, but when it comes to middle school students it all goes out the window. I find myself throwing out theory for attention grabbers, funny stories, and video clips. I went to a seminar on teaching by Rob Bell a few years back. He said that he ruminates on a Scripture passage for months prior to teaching it. I've taken that advice this summer as I've been writing this series. I feel like it’s more of a living organism and less like content to be shoveled into young minds. [99 words]

I want God, not my idea of God.

We're starting a new series on the attributes of God. It was inspired by many of our students’ questions about God. A.W. Tozer also inspired me with, “WHAT COMES INTO OUR MINDS WHEN WE THINK ABOUT GOD IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT US.” Our students’ image of God will determine who they are and how they live. Most of us are walking around with a pretty small God. I know that most days I am. I will use C.S. Lewis’ words as my personal challenege this school year, “I WANT GOD, NOT MY IDEA OF GOD.” [97 words]

Sweaty

Last night was the beginning of our ministry year. I don’t know if it was nerves, high blood pressure, or obesity, but I perspired non-stop all day. When 7:00 rolled around, I was exhausted. However, when the students arrived, my energy spiked back up. We focused most of our high-energy night around introducing our staff. We have 3 new staff this year – a mom, a college student who is a former student of mine, and a college student I met a day ago when I taught over at Wheaton. All three of them are amazing gifts to our ministry. [99 words]