Small Group Leadership Quick Tip: Order Take-Out

The following is part of the on the go training that I’ve begun to give our adult leaders in our youth ministry. The principles should be transferrable to other youth ministries with small group programs.

“I’ll Take It To-Go”

There is one innovation above all others that will be heralded in the history books that record the events of our time- take-out food.

Perhaps that’s a bit of an overstatement. But it truly is hard to underestimate the impact that take-out has had on our culture, or at least on my own gustatory pursuits. Not only can I dine on tasty and often ethnically diverse culinary delights, but I can bring it home. What a blessed providence take-out is.

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Three Thoughts about Learning

One of the clearest things that I remember about my childhood is how my dad began teaching me to read. Though I don’t remember all the details of our house, I remember sitting and learning my ABC’s from 3×5″ flash cards. I remember sounding out words and putting together sounds. I remember my dad telling me to “say them fast” when he referred to the multiple sounds that formed words.

And I have loved to learn since that time. I have not always been the best student, the most dedicated, but the process of learning has always been exciting.
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Theology, Learned and Lived

After a significant hiatus, I’ve re-entered the world of academia and am taking a course this summer at Reformed Theological Seminary. As a side note, if you’re considering seminary, I heartily recommend RTS.

One thing I’ve been thinking about off and on over the past year is the fact that it is entirely possible for me to be continuously learning things about God, without coming to know God more intimately. This is what I would call theology done wrong, a knowledge of God that you acquire, but don’t reflect in your life.
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Youth Ministry Leadership Quick Tip: Sharpen Your Knife

The following is part of the on the go training that I’ve begun to give our adult leaders in our youth ministry. The principles should be transferrable to other youth ministries with small group programs.

Don’t Cut Yourself

One of my greatest joys as a boy was learning to “whittle” with a knife. On one particular day, my dad took me out to the front porch and pulled out two single-blade locking Buck knives. One was kid sized, while the other was clearly for those with full-grown hands. That afternoon, my dad taught me how to use a knife.

As I learned, there’s one particular danger when you use a dull knife. Knives are meant to cut things, and when they are dull, they don’t do their job well. People will compensate for a dull knife by applying additional force. Because of this tendency to add force and the fact that dull knives just don’t make clean cuts, using them often leads to injuries. So it’s very important to keep your knives sharp.

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Biblical Theology in Youth Ministry

In our youth ministry, we’ve begun a series called, “God’s Timeline,” borrowing from Facebook’s feature of presenting a user’s content on a timeline. The thought behind the series was to present a redemptive-historical view of the Bible. The goal is for our youth to walk away realizing that their “timeline” is not primary, but is part of God’s larger redemptive-historical timeline, where God is the ultimate main character and hero.

On page 27 of Michael Lawrence’s book on biblical theology, Biblical Theology in the Life of the Church, he makes the distinction well between a man-centered and God-centered understanding of the Bible’s narrative:

The Bible therefore is not merely a story told by humans about God’s salvation of them; it is a story enacted and then explained by God about God.

God’s timeline of redemption is an exciting story because we aren’t just spectators. God invites us to step into His redemptive plan through faith in Jesus Christ and so become actors in His grand story.