Author Archives: Josh

Why Belonging To A Church Is Not Enough

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Josh

One of the things that surprises me as a minister is the number of people who belong to a particular church but never actually attend that church. I meet so many people who claim membership at a church here in town, but the last time they went was two to three years ago. The issue I have with this is not that I equate attendance with faith, but I do believe that a fruit of faith is participation in a Gospel community. I also believe that failure to invest in a local church severely diminishes opportunities for discipleship and growth.

This poses a challenge for me on several levels. First, it reminds me that we have a responsibility to keep track of our fringe kids. There are several students who pop in a few times a year or who I only see in the back of the worship center on Sunday mornings. I want to do my part in helping them know that they are always welcome to jump into our ministry or just hang out sometime. It can be so easy to forget about the student who only comes to one event a year or who has simply stopped coming for several months. A very practical thing that I have started doing is to develop a database with every student remotely related to our program. This database allows me to track participation and keeps me accountable for contacting students who have not been around lately.

Another challenge that I experience is speaking the truth in love to people who claim membership but lack participation. As a minister I find that it is my role to challenge the assumption that having a name on a roll is all that is asked of a Christian. While it is difficult, I know that it is important to push people to really evaluate if they are satisfied, or if they should be satisfied, with simply belonging to a church.

One other challenge that I face is that I need to make it clear in my teaching that participation in the local church is part of their calling as a Christian. I want my students to know that this is an expectation. It’s not that I think their attendance is some sort of legalistic requirement for salvation, but I do believe that if they want to see growth in their faith, they must be actively involved in a congregation of faith. As a college student I failed to understand this. When I went to college I did not see church participation as a priority. I went to church most Sundays, but I was simply an attender at those churches. I was not being discipled beyond the sermon and worship. I had no accountability or a community of faith that could encourage me to go deeper. I lost a few years there where I would have definitely experienced growth. I don’t want anyone’s discipleship process to plateau or flat line. That’s why I believe that belonging to a church is not enough.

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Setting the Example

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Josh

Sometimes you read a passage in the Bible and you realize that it says something you have never noticed before. This week I was reading in 1 Timothy and came across the classic young minister’s verse at 1 Timothy 4:21, which reads:

¹² Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. (ESV)

As a relatively young pastor, I have often considered the first part of the verse to be an encouraging piece of advice that allowed me to see my youth as irrelevant to my ministry effectiveness. As a student, this passage was often given to mean that even teenagers can serve God in powerful ways. Perhaps the verse has even offered some swagger for young ministers who are out there doing ministry among people who are two to three times older as if it is some kind of get out of immature ministry free card, but I am not sure that it is saying any of these things, at least without clarification.

It was not until I began contemplating the second part of the verse that I started to recognize how the first part was supposed to work. Paul calls on Timothy to set a tremendous example for the other believers so that his youth would not even be an issue. If taken as 4:12a (which I really hate because that little “a” can make a verse say a whole lot of things it is not supposed to say), then the verse could read as a sort of “shake it off” platitude. Instead, the “b” part decides to make things just a tad more difficult as it challenges Timothy to set an example in the five hardest areas that exist when it comes to setting an example.

Speech: Use words that glorify God and His work. Use words that demonstrate the character of Jesus. Speak in a way that is both true and compassionate. Speak words that always build up and never tear down. Speak words that are consistently gracious to all people all the time.

Conduct: Even if your words are good, your actions must also be setting the correct example. Do good works. Treat people fairly. Act justly. Use time wisely. Pray all the while that your actions demonstrate the character of Jesus.

Love: At all times desire the good for the other person, regardless of their speech or actions. Have compassion. Experience anguish over sin and rebellion while offering grace and mercy. Sacrifice your own personal comfort.

Faith: Believe and be strong in your belief. Allow your faith to keep you from worry, pride, or judgment. Trust God in everything, and allow people to know where your strength comes from. Let your faith permeate every part of your being.

Purity: Don’t sin. Focus on what is good. Reject what is bad or might have the appearance of evil. Keep your thoughts and actions pure and reflective of a holy God.

The emphasis of this verse seems to have more do with setting a good example than age. This good example will allow us to use the influence we have as leaders to build our people up. As a leader you have influence. With influence comes responsibility. A large part of that responsibility is to set an example that others might follow and find themselves becoming more like Jesus. As a student minister, you have become an important part of a student’s spiritual development. However, we must be good stewards of this role if we are to see the transformation in our students or parishioners. Your presence creates an impact, but your effort and example determines what kind of impact you will make in a person’s life.

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4 Reasons Why We Don’t Feel Like We Do Enough

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Josh

One of the earliest things I learned about ministry is that if you do not take initiative, you will fail. While there are ministry responsibilities that must be accomplished, there is also a good bit of time where you must use your time wisely. Whether it is getting a jump on a future talk, visiting a school, or communicating with parents, there are always things that need to be done. Sometimes I feel like seminaries should offer time management seminars to prepare future ministers for the immense demands on their schedules. The truth is that the minister’s work is never done. Usually there is more to be done than can be done. This can be tough if you are a personality like mine where you want to do it all but simply run out of time and energy to accomplish everything. Something that helps me to reconcile this is to think about why I am not accomplishing all that I need to accomplish. Here are the reasons that I have found cause us to feel like we are not doing enough:

1. We are not working hard enough. Let’s be honest, sometimes we can just be plain lazy. Maybe we are just coasting through because we think we have it all figured out. Maybe we feel like we deserve to slow down a bit after a crazy season of ministry. The problem is that because there is always something to be done, we must find ways to continually expand our ministry impact. It drives me crazy when ministers fail to respect the position that they have been given. Ministers must be professional and diligent in our work ethic if we are to maintain the standards set forth for our office.

2. We are trying to do too much on our own. I confess to doing this so often. Sometimes I feel like I cannot get to the important stuff because I am stuck doing the busy work. The truth is that if I had leaned on a ministry team, I would not be running around last-minute to get cups because they could have been picked up. Over the past year I have realized just how many things I should actually be able to delegate to small group leaders or to volunteers. I would love to have more time to dream and to get creative, but so often I am exhausted from getting all of the little things done like fueling the vans. Allowing others to do ministry alongside you allows you to do more ministry.

3. We are doing pointless things. We are all stewards of our time. We must decide how to use it and how to prioritize the things we do. As a result, we must also take some time every now and then and think about whether we are actually doing the things that will have the most impact. I have spoken with student ministers who use 16 hours a week to prepare their talk on Wednesday nights. That seems unbalanced. Other ministers I know spend the majority of the time on a program that has terrible attendance, but it is part of church tradition. It is so important to make sure that you are making the maximum impact that you can make. Truthfully, a quick lunch with a student may make more of an impact than twenty Wed. night talks. I tried to make a list of everything I did throughout a whole week. When I looked at the list, I realized that I was spending too much time keeping one program working so I purchased a curriculum that cut my work on that program down by 75%. Now I have more time to write thank you notes or hang out with students after school.

4. We don’t plan ahead. I actually love to make the calendar for the year. I love looking at the blank squares and seeing them come to life with activities and teaching topics. I do this because I understand that if I can plan June in December, I will be saved from running around like a headless chicken when June comes along. Planning ahead allows us to have a distinct advantage of getting our tasks accomplished because we have the time to think about all that is involved. Planning ahead also allows us to get people into place that can help make the event or program happen. We did so much planning ahead this year for our Fall Retreat that I actually got nervous the day before because everything was done and that seemed impossible the first year that we did the retreat.

In college I worked at a camp where I had to use every bit of energy that I had each day. The last bit of life I had in me was that which allowed me to lay my head on my pillow. I was exhausted, but I was also proud of the fact that I left nothing on the field that day. I try to have those kinds of days in my current job. I want to leave the office with no regrets. I want to feel good about taking that day off because I maximized my ministry time and was able to accomplish all that I could possible accomplish. I hope that is your goal as well. Your church and the Kingdom of God will be better off for it.

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Why You Need a Network

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Josh

One of the unexpected blessings of this past year has been the opportunity to spend time with other youth ministers in our area. It’s unexpected because I would not have guessed that it would make such a huge impact on my own approach and understanding of ministry. I have gained so much from spending time with my fellow ministers.

Truthfully, the idea to get the network going came out of my own shortcomings. I was noticing that I had a hard heart towards many of the other local youth workers. When their programs out shined mine or when I lost students to their ministry, I sat in judgment rather than celebration that the Kingdom of God was increasing. As I recognized this dark place in my heart, I knew that the only way to resolve it was to open the doors of relationship with these men and women who were, after all, trying to accomplish the same goals that I was. All it took was a few phone calls to recognize that restarting the network was something that resonated with all of the other youth workers in our area.

The previous network failed primarily because it was not built on relationships. It was more informational or sales oriented. With this in mind, we have tried to keep our meetings agenda free where we can discuss ministry and life in an organic way. Over the past year we have become more comfortable with one another. We have also gained more respect for one another. Great evidence of this is that we are developing an unwritten rule that calls us to communicate with other ministers if a student comes to our church from theirs. Imagine the benefit this brings as we seek to help the student down the journey of faith.

Over the course of the last year I have received ideas, encouragement, ministry opportunities, and friendship from our ministry network. It continues to amaze me how easily things came together after just a few phone calls. God has blessed our fellowship as we seek to work together to reach the students of our communities. If you have not found a network of ministers in your area, maybe it is up to you get the ball rolling. I guarantee that it may be one of the most beneficial things that you do in ministry.

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The Power of Encouragement

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Josh

It is no surprise that words have power. Even my two-year old knows that his words affect other people. Some of the most powerful words I have experienced have been words of encouragement. So much in life and ministry can be discouraging, but it is often the words of encouragement that remind us that the hard work is worth it and that we should stay the course. I am blessed to have some great encouragers in my life and in my ministry. My parents and my wife are a great source of blessing for me as I can always look to them to pick me up when I hit a slump. I am also blessed to have some great parents, volunteers, and staff members who are constant sources of encouragement for the work that we are doing in the student ministry.

Recently I have encountered several fellow ministers who are struggling with discouraging circumstances in their ministries. I totally get this as I have had times where my confidence was shaken or I felt the frustrations overtaking my perspectives. When these times begin to creep in I turn to my encouragers. I find encouragement from talking with people who have experienced transformation in our ministry. I find encouragement in reading the letters or notes from students that have taken the time to write a note of thanks or blessing. I find encouragement from simply talking about my discouragement with my encouragers. My hope for people who are struggling with discouragement is that God will put some people in their lives who can cheer them on and help them celebrate the positives while seeking to work out the negatives.

Knowing how much of a blessing it is to have encouragement also challenges me to be a better cheerleader for my students, ministry parents, and volunteers. Letting a student know that you are proud of them or that they did a great job is so simple and yet so powerful. Students can receive so many negative words that the positive words from an adult leader or parent can make a huge difference. Adolescence is also a time when students are defining their self-image, and we have a responsibility to help them see themselves as God sees them. There is nothing like seeing a student light up because you let them know that you think they are awesome. May God provide encouragement for you today as you seek to be an encouragement to others.

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Lessons from Orange

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Josh

This week we had the privilege of attending the Orange Tour here in Nashville. This one day conference gives you some great insight into family ministry and how to develop a strong philosophy of discipleship for the next generation. Below are some of the takeaways I received from the conference.

1. Every discipleship ministry must have an end in mind. What do you want your students to value when they leave for college? What do their lives look like? Can they point out key insights gained through your ministry? Once you have an end in sight, you will hopefully be able to determine whether what you are doing will lead to that end.

2.There is great value in crafting particular messages within your ministry. Orange uses the words Wonder, Discovery, and Passion, as central themes for all of their teaching. In our own ministries, we would do well to have some central lessons that we want our students to have mastery over. Sometimes we can present so many lessons that the larger themes get lost in the details. We are now working to determine what are the three main things that we want our students to deeply understand. I am realistic in my understanding that the students will not remember many of the talks that I give or the lessons from Bible study, but I want to be sure that they leave our student ministry knowing what it really means to be a disciple.

3. Every program must be working towards our big goals. Just because a program is popular or tradition does not mean that it is what we need to be doing if we want to maximize our ministry efforts. Truthfully, we have a couple of programs that could be reworked or replaced with more effective ones. This would be difficult and perhaps unpopular, but if our goal is to truly make disciples, we must be willing to go with what we feel will accomplish that goal.

4. We must be good stewards of technology. As we seek to serve our community and reach the people around us, we must realize that technology is a major point of connection. Technology allows us to spread our message and communicate to the people who have invested in our ministry. I also learned that it is a little exhausting to try to keep up with all of the emerging tech pieces. I was convinced, however, that it is worth it.

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Be Professional

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Josh

This summer my group and I were preparing to make the long trek back to our rooms when I spotted one of my biggest pet peeves in the world: the irresponsible youth minister. He had chosen to demonstrate his unprofessionalism by jamming nine of his students in an SUV and then topped it off by riding on top of the vehicle with his legs hanging in the sun roof. I did not hear any ambulances in the next few minutes so I assume that he made it down the incredibly steep mountain just fine, but damage was still done.

There is a difficult balance that all student ministers must manage. We want to be cool, hip, and laid back. However, we also want to be respected and trusted. Unfortunately, in trying to develop our appeal to our students, we tend to lose our influence with the parents and church leadership. The sad part is that our lack of professionalism so often diminishes our effectiveness in ministry. When it comes to acting professionally in ministry, here are a few things to keep in mind.

1. Being young is not an excuse. This is the regular excuse that is offered for why youth ministers tend to do really stupid things. I’m not sure why this would work in our ministry context when it would never fly in most professional careers. Imagine if a young doctor or young accountant showed up whenever he or she wanted to. Imagine if they were the people doing wild and crazy things in the office during business hours or in staff meetings. How long would they have a job? Why is our standard for accountants, store managers, or lawyers higher than our standard for ministers?

2. Being a minister means setting an example. In addition to the fact that you are teaching and living out the gospel, you are also setting an example for your students. You are responsible for showing your students what it looks like to be a follower of Jesus. This means that you must have personal standards that reflect faith in Christ. It also means understanding that students are always watching you whether you are online or at a football game.

3. Just because you work with teenagers does not mean that you need to act like one. Again, there is a difficult balance when it comes to working with teenagers. I love to do some of the things that my students do like go to high school football games or play Call of Duty online. I also realize that things that teenagers like to do such as pranks, breaking traffic laws, and listening to profane music are pretty much off-limits if I want to have influence.

4. Ministry jobs are actual jobs. If you want to get paid and desire job security, it would probably be great to complete your job related tasks. While ministry means hanging out and preaching the gospel, it also means planning, paperwork, and communicating. If you don’t want to work in an office, become a volunteer. I get so tired of hearing about youth ministers who are the class clowns of their church staffs. Wouldn’t it be great if the student minister was the most organized one on staff? Let’s raise the bar a little bit.

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Recent Reads: August

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Josh

I am a book guy. I may like books more than I like reading, but that is a different post. Recently, I have come across some great reads that have been very helpful. I thought I would share some as suggestions for you on your journey.

Discipleship, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. This is not a new read for me, but this is perhaps my favorite book ever, and I completed in once again a few weeks ago. It is essentially an in-depth exposition of the Sermon on the Mount. It is deeply theological and deeply practical. I try to read this book at least once a year. I recommend the more expensive but more helpful Bonhoeffer Works edition which has helpful footnotes and a great introduction.

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, by Eric Metaxas. Sticking with the Bonhoeffer theme, this newer biography is an incredible read that approaches Bonohoeffer’s life from a bit more of a historical perspective than Eberhard Bethge’s biography. Whereas Bethge wrote as a student and friend of Bonhoeffer, Metaxas writes as a historian and theologian. This was a great read that really allowed me to see the struggle present in Bonhoeffer’s life over how church intersects life.

With Open Hands, by Henri Nouwen. This is a fantastic little book on prayer. It is simple and profound. I found it incredibly helpful in expanding my understanding of prayer.

Faith Without Illusions, by Andrew Byers. As a 30-year-old Christian who has grown up in the church, this book might be one of the most important books that I have read in terms of understanding how I perceive the church and Christianity in general. This is a must read for anyone who works with young adults. It is deep, but it is incredibly helpful in the way that it answers some of the questions of why we think the way that we think. Written by a Beeson Divinity School graduate, I often found myself in Andrew’s story.

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The Past You

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Josh

Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and save my past self from himself. I wish I could give him more wisdom or keep him from making some really poor decisions. Sometimes I want to go back and comfort my past self and tell him that his worries were pointless. Sometimes I also want to be able to erase the past and just be known as the guy that I am now.

Over the past year or so I have had the ability to reconnect with a number of people from my high school and college years. Some of this has been through social media, but I have also had the fortune of spending time face to face with people who I spent a significant amount of time with during my formative years. I love rehashing old stories and discovering what their lives look like now. What is funny is that I am always surprised when they are so different from what I remember of them thirteen years ago. I guess we tend to just freeze our impression of people. This tendency, however, also brings me some unease.

I would like to think that I am very different from the person that I was thirteen or even five years ago. I am sure that I have some of the same mannerisms or even some of the same interests, but I often want to think that I have grown into someone who is much more confident, more competent, and more social. I think that God has allowed me to grow and mature into someone much different from the awkward teenager that I once was.

We often hear that people cannot change, but I am not so sure that this statement can be valid in light of who God is and what God can do in or lives. The very essence of the gospel is that we become new creations who are given a new purpose, new gifts, and a new hope. God has brought me along in so many ways, and I would be stealing His glory to think that I did all of this on my own. When I excel or when I see growth in areas of my life, I know that God has brought about the change on my behalf for His purpose. I am also reminded that while I would love to erase my past, God has used it to help me become the person He intended for me to become.

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Relationships (The Romantic Ones)

Posted on August 30, 2011 by Josh

When I was in high school, dating and church seemed to go right together. During my junior and senior year, our youth group was essentially a spin off of the show Friends with everybody having dated everybody at some point. There were more love triangles on our trips than there were Bibles. This type of thing was never really encouraged, but I can’t really recall anyone ever addressing it either. Unfortunately, this prevalence of relationships most often resulted in drama and pain rather than spiritual growth and community.

When I came to Bluegrass, I hoped that we might be able to avoid this pitfall. Fortunately, we have not really had this issue. I’d like to think that it is somewhat due to my efforts in helping students acquire a healthy perspective on dating. It’s not that I think dating is evil, I simply find it to be unwise if the couple fails to keep their relationship in perspective.

If you ask many of our students what I think about dating in middle school and high school, they will likely say that I think it is kind of stupid. And I do. Besides the fact that only about 0.1% of the high school couples will get married, I also think that dating has the ability to take over a kid’s life, lead them into temptations, and skew their future relationships.

Romantic relationships, particularly within the church group, also create a whole new avenue for drama. Recently we had a guy who just sat by himself in the corner for a whole night refusing to be a part of the group. Turns out one of the girls in the group decided to stop texting him that day. Having experienced what I have and having seen what I have, when dating does arise in our group, I have a simple guideline that I ask to be followed. I ask that if a romantic couple forms in our group, that they would meet with me for a quick ten minutes so I that I can remind them of a few things such as:

Church events are not dates.
Physical contact and church events don’t really go together.
They are responsible for not letting this relationship cause drama while they are together or when they break up.
I expect them to be able to act as independent people in separate groups and at events when necessary.
They are not married, nor should they act as if that is the case.
I want them to make wise choices when they are together and always honor their parents’ wishes in their relationships.

I don’t mean for this to be an embarrassing thing, but I do want the students to understand that they are engaging in something that has consequences and needs to be handled carefully. Relationships are a big part of the student experience, and I want to help students develop a healthy perspective on this big issue. I love helping students understand the Gospel and what it means to follow Jesus, but I also think that it is part of our role to speak truth about some very practical life issues. With all of the messages that they receive from the world, it is important to use our influence to help them navigate and make choices that will honor God in all that they do.