1 John and Youth Ministry

In our youth ministry, we are going through a series on the book of 1 John.

God Is Both Outside and Intimately Involved With Creation

As we have looked at 1 John, one of the first things that comes across is this: Jesus exists outside and within creation. Jesus existed from the beginning (1 Jn 1:1, Jn 1:1). Paul tells us in Colossians 1:16 that everything was created by Jesus. Yet he did not remain outside creation, uninvolved. God invades our world and he does so most clearly through the incarnation of Jesus Christ. God, who is creator (Gen 1:1) and distinct from creation, enters the world he created as a child.

God is wholly separate and distinct from creation. Since he is the author of creation, he has authority over it (Ps 24:1-2). And since Jesus exists outside of creation, he has power over it. What a hope-filled truth, that we can trust a God who has power to do as he pleases in creation, and who pledges to work everything for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purposes (Rom 8:28)!

But God does not remain outside creation. John tells of hearing Christ, seeing Christ, witnessing God in the flesh, Jesus Christ. God has been revealed, not only through prophets or writings, symbols or shadows, but through a person.

Why This Matters for Youth Ministry

We serve the one being who is without equal, who has absolute authority over all things. In youth ministry, our job is to encourage youth to worship this God in word and deed. To worship anything less (self, beauty, fame, money, relationships, sports, games, intellect, family, etc.) is to fail to worship God- idolatry.

We don’t worship a concept. We serve a God who has come in the flesh, who we can see, hear, and experience through God’s word and by His Spirit. When we proclaim Jesus in small groups and one-on-ones and in other venues, we should be proclaiming the one whom we have personally seen, and heard, and ultimately worship.

Not only this, but we have a God who can sympathize with the hopes and hurts of our youth. Jesus faced every temptation common to us and overcame them all (Heb 4:15). He experienced rejection, loss, hurt, and betrayal to name a few things. And when we see our teens worshiping God, trusting him completely, it will complete the joy that we ourselves have in Jesus our Lord.

Proclaim the Gospel Now

Do you remember a time when as a kid you had to wait for something. I remember being at a friend’s house during one particular summer. It was on this day that my friend’s mother declared that we would have some “rest” time. What this amounted to was about thirty minutes during which we must be silent and she could pretend there was sanity to be had in her household. Of course there was not, and in thirty minutes, I’m sure loud, tromping, boyish madness ensued, but for thirty minutes, she experienced what some people must consider a moment of “zen.” Or at least quiet.

But for me, it was an eternity. An eternity of mind-wrenching boredom. An eternity from which I was afraid I would never escape. Time slowed to a sloth’s pace. Out of the inactivity of the household, sounds we had never noticed began to surface. Creaks in the floor. The obnoxiously repetitive sound of my own breath entering and leaving my nostrils. And I imagine the light thip-thump-thips of the two evil cats that my friend sheltered.

But finally, eternity ended and play resumed. Thirty minutes. I look back on that moment, and notice how rarely time slows down as it once did when I was younger. With kids and a job and life’s responsibilities, time seems more to be sand slipping through open hands.

I recently spoke with a friend-mentor type person who made the helpful observation that of all the things we will gain in heaven, we will lose one thing in particular- the opportunity to share the gospel. We have 85 years, give or take a decade, and then eternity. A breath. A mist. And in that short span, God has commissioned us to share the gospel.

Of all the things that I may accomplish in my lifetime, I hope that I am faithful to share the gospel as clearly and consistently as I have been given opportunity.

One thought for 2012 from a Rookie Youth Pastor

The close of 2011 was a busy time. Between Christmas services and preparation for our annual New Year’s Eve event, I entered 2012 in a blur. But after about a week, I think the dust is beginning to settle as I survey the promise of a new year.

I’ve been mulling over 2 Peter 1:2 over the past few days. In it, Peter prays that grace and peace would come to the Christians to which he write in abundance. And the means by which that grace and peace is given is “the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” Without making too much of a fairly standard opening greeting, I think it is significant that Peter connects grace and peace with the knowledge of God. It’s also interesting that the word for “knowledge” that Peter uses carries an experiential connotation to it. It’s more than just book-knowledge.

I want for 2012 to be a year in which the knowledge of God that I pursue in study would be reflected in personal holiness. It is so easy for me to learn exciting new things and read the latest book and seek to know God, just to know stuff about Him. I don’t want that.

As Michael Green puts it in his commentary of 2 Peter,

“True knowledge of God and Christ produces grace and peace in the life; what is more it produces holiness.”

May that be true of my life.

A Short Book Review: Purpose-Driven Youth Ministry

Purpose-Driven Youth Ministry (PDYM) is one of those foundational books that I would encourage any serious youth worker to read. Written by Doug Fields, an experienced youth worker and ministry builder, it covers the gamut of youth ministry topics in a coherent, systematic way.

###Overview
I was first introduced to PDYM when I was a volunteer at our youth ministry three or four years ago. Unfortunately, I didn’t make the time to read it. It wasn’t until I listened through Covenant Seminary’s youth ministry course (which, incidentally, is available for free online) that I was reintroduced to the book.

The book’s subtitle gives the thrust of the book: *9 Essential Foundations for Healthy Growth*. In it, Fields lays out a framework for doing youth ministry in an intentional way. The nine components are:
1. The Power of God
2. Purpose
3. Potential Audience
4. Programs
5. Process
6. Planned Values
7. Parents
8. Participating Leaders
9. Perseverance

The chapters on student leadership and adult volunteer leadership are worth the price of the book alone. And overall, the book provides a helpful starting point for thinking through a systematic approach to youth ministry.

###The Details
Fields builds on the Purpose-Driven paradigm first coined by Rick Warren. The basic idea is that the Great Commandment and the Great Commission provide us with five purposes for ministry: evangelism, worship, fellowship, discipleship, and ministry. A youth ministry must address these purposes in their programming. Purpose leads to programming, rather than having aimless or good-but-unintentional programs.

Fields goes further to consider different audiences and suggests that the combination of the appropriate purpose with an audience should give birth to a meaningful and focused program.

The remainder of the book fleshes out this framework, adding the other needed components: adults, parents, and other youth ministry concerns.

###Why I Liked It
One of the greatest challenges in beginning in ministry is knowing *what* to do and *why* to do it. I wish that ministry only consisted of studying and preaching, but there is so much more that has to take place to disciple-making than just giving a message. Without disparaging the place of biblical, gospel-centered preaching, there simply are other things that have to be considered. And it can be a daunting task to figure out where to begin and how to begin. PDYM provides a helpful starting point. It addresses many important aspects of youth ministry in a cogent, logical progression. I don’t know that I agree with Fields at every point, but PDYM forces one to think through those points that might otherwise get left out.

It was helpful to consider what the purpose of ministry is and to verbalized that purpose. I think that it is a helpful baseline for measuring success as well as the direction of youth ministry. Without some central statement of purpose or mission, it is easy to drift from one focus to another.

###Final Words
This is one book I encourage serious youth workers to read and engage at a critical level. It is a helpful reference and nearly exhaustive primer for youth ministry.

Our Ministry Is Not That Impressive

Recently, my eldest son has taken on the habit of trying to pick me up. In the morning, I will often come into his room and lay down in his bed beside him. But by this time, he has usually climbed out of bed, ready to take on the world.

So, there he is, standing beside his little twin bed at under three feet tall. He takes his tiny, toddler hands and reaches under my ankle to lift me up.

“Get up, daddy,” he’ll say. “I get up daddy.”

And so I’ll sit up in the bed.
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