Starbucks…
Read this great short article from another youth ministry blogger that I thought was good. Here is his website if you want to read more. http://joshpease.wordpress.com
I’ve gotten really tired of comparing the Church to corporations. And I’m just tired in general of critiquing the Church. It’s starting to feel like poking fun at your old, slightly senile grandma. Sure she’s a little crazy, but you love her not just because she’s family, but because we’re all a little crazy right, and who are we?
I just felt like I had to get that out of the way before saying …
… that I was at Starbucks today getting some writing done. And as happens every holiday season at Starbucks an employee was cruising the store, passing out dixie cup shots of caffeinated holiday cheer. Today’s was egg nog coffee. Bad idea.
Anyway, Promotional Barista Guy offered a sample to these two ladies who were sitting at a couch talking and one lady turned him down saying “I’m not really a coffee drinker.” And all I could think was “really? You know you’re at Starbucks right?”
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Starbucks is absolutely brilliant. They’ve managed to create a space so inviting, that people who really want nothing to do with their product, who passionately are AGAINST consuming coffee, will come to their place to catch up with a friend, to find a quiet place to read or work, to do life.
And what Starbucks probably knows is that, given enough time, this non-coffee drinking lady will eventually come around to coffee. It will start subtly — ordering a chai tea, or one of their smoothies or something. But then one day she’ll eventually accept Promo Barista Guy’s free sample, and to her surprise find she likes it, and next thing she knows she’s a coffee drinker without even knowing when that change happened.
And this really isn’t anything new, but it hit me in that moment this is what the church should be like (and in its better moments is ) — a place where people might not be all that interested in Jesus, but where they feel comfortable, and connect with others, and experience community and maybe — over time — realize they developed a love for Jesus without even knowing how that started.
Creative Teacher Video
Here’s a creative professor at Biola University in La Mirada, CA. I love the creativity used to engage students. How are we as teachers of the gospel communicated it effectively? Are we still using the same methods that we’ve always used? Youth culture is consistently changing… so should our means of communication.
Twentyfourseven Week in Review: Volume 13
Weekly Teaching Series:
RE Part IV: REthinking the Paranormal
Tonight we took a tough topic and talked about the paranormal (ghosts, spirits, fortune telling, etc.). We talked about an uncomfortable scripture found in I Samual 28, where Saul sought out a spiritist who called up the dead prophet Samual. We talked about how fear can drive us to dark places sometimes and that we are spiritual people first. We are not “body” with “spirit”, but “spirit” with “body”. We all can recognize that there is more to this life then just the physical. God has given us a natural desire to WANT to connect to Him, but when we don’t, we open the door for other spirits to fill us up. We also looked at the story in Luke when Jesus cast out a demon from someone and talked about how our physical body is a house and we can do ALL we want to clean up the house, but when we don’t let the spirit of God do the work He needs with our souls, then we can get caught in the frustration of bondage and can seem even worse than it was before.
The final question we asked was… “what kingdom or spirit are you walking in?” Because if we’re not walking in the spirit and Kingdom of God, then we are walking in the spirit of darkness.
Overall we had an awesome night and prayed with a ton of students who are making huge changes in their lives. God just blows me away each week.
Sermon In a Sentence:
When God interrupts, you have the choice to switch.
Element of Fun:
Tonight Blake and the team led us in a simple and always fun game where each tribe takes their shoes off and piles them in the middle of the gym. The first team to have all their shoes on and in a line wins. CRAZINESS. You have to have leaders watching because a dog pile with over 100 people can get crazy. Lot’s of fun though!
This Week’s Scale of Difficulty:
4 out of 10. A fairly good week of preparation. We have so many excellent leaders in place who are playing their part and contributing so much to each week. Because of this, I can really focus more on the message and not the other details. The message was one that has been on my heart since the beginning of the year, it just took some time to flesh out.
Attendance:
The attendance was up 176% from last year.
Service length:
95 minutes
Music Playlist:
Life Redefined
Break Free
You Hold Me Know
The More I Seek You
Wednesday Night Video:
Funny video Jordan and his video team did that ties into topic of the paranormal.
Overview of the Night:
We officially ended the series with a bang. Great night with an amazing team of leaders and student leaders. We also had 8 students who have signed up to be baptized next month. Student leaders were all over the place helping out and serving. This fall term we have 40 students who are participating in OT (student leadership). We are growing so much each week that next week we will have to push back our pipe and drape to make room for more chairs.
For those interested, here is the schedule for last nights service..
Here is a download link of all the media stuff that we used for this series. Feel free to use it and customize it to your ministry or group needs.
Things That Waste My Time…
Here is a short list of the simple things in life that when added up waste HUGE amounts of my life.
1. Software updates (in particular, iPhone updates)
2. Any and all lines at WalMart
3. Special orders at Taco Bell
4. Going in to pay for gas when the credit card machine outside does not work
5. The Broncos 2008 season… all of it!
6. THE DMV
7. Playing Monopoly with people who take their time
8. Making the bed in the morning just to mess it up at night
9. Pre 90’s movies that showed ALL the credits before the actual movie
10. Trick candles… really, what’s the point?
More to come… or maybe I’ll keep you waiting anxiously for nothing. That would be a waste of time.
Twentyfourseven Week in Review: Volume 12
Wednesday Night Youth Service: Part Three
Weekly Teaching Series:
RE Part III
RE is a 3 part series we have been doing that covers three topics all centered around discussing revival. This series topic was something God put on my heart to teach and so we broke the series down into 3 parts. REform, REspond, and REvive. This week we talked about “responding”. Our theme verse for the series has been from 2 Chronicles 7:14… “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Tonight I shared about how God is in the business of interrupting. And in many cases when He interrupts us it’s because He is desiring a change. When we are confronted with this change we are always given a choice to respond. In many ways it’s like an internal lever that we decide to leave be, or switch. When we turn this lever, 2 things usually occur. The first is “repenting” of our sin. We begin to see and recognize sin in our life and work towards it’s removal. We also “release” our dreams, desires and plans to God and receive His desire and plans. When we wrap ourselves in God, He wraps Himself up in us. But we can always choose to do nothing. It’s always our choice. Revival is simply our choice to respond to God’s interruption in our lives. Will we respond?
Tonight I also had Chris Kremski (one of our students who God has TRANSFORMED recently) read about a dream he had that related to everything we talked about tonight. He did an awesome job and the students seemed to really respond. Change is infectious!
Sermon In a Sentence:
When God interrupts, you have the choice to switch.
Element of Fun:
Blake led us in a tribal competition of “Roadkill Chubby Bunnies”. Yes, 1 student from each tribe stuffed as many ketchup covered marshmallows into their mouths while saying “Chubby Bunnies”. It was possibly one of the grossest things I’ve ever seen or smelled at that! It was also hilarious! We even had one of our new visitors volunteer to win (and almost did).
This Week’s Scale of Difficulty:
5 out of 10. This was one of the final week’s of doing the video editing before our new video team led by Jordan takes over. I worked on two videos and had a blast with it. I’m so pumped to see what our video ministry comes up with from here on out! Overall it was a great week. Every leader and student leader jumped in and worked hard! We saw 7 students out of 115 make decisions to follow Christ tonight and that was due in part to the work and prayers of the incredible leadership team we have here. I’m so blown away each week at how much they pour their lives into these teenagers week in and week out.
Attendance:
The attendance was up 167% from last year. No lie! God is doing some amazing things in the youth ministry at Freedom Life. We had 5 new visitors and 7 students who made the decision to follow Christ for the first time! We also had 7 students who signed up to be baptized next month on November 15th! God is shaken up this generation… sorry, I just get excited thinking about it!
Service length:
90 minutes
Music Playlist:
Salvation is Here
The Great I Am
Everything (themed worship song for the series)
How He Loves
Wednesday Night Videos:
Our Wednesday night movie this week was based off of an SNL skit that we tweaked to make our own.
This week Chris and Victor opened up the welcome with a short excerpt of “A day in the life of Victor” before we divided into tribe huddles. Too funny, especially if you know Victor.
Overview of the Night:
What a great night of change. One thing I love about youth ministry is the fervent passion that teens possess. It’s no wonder Jesus said to feed my lambs before he said to feed the sheep. I get inspired every week when I hear the stories of what God is doing. Every week I’m amazed how God just tops the previous. He keeps stretching and molding. I can’t wait to see what He does next week!
For those interested, here is the schedule for last nights service..
Wednesday Night Youth Service: Part Three (October 14, 2009)
