Washing the Feet of Youth

Have you ever considered the immensity of Jesus' act of total selflessness when he washe dthe feet of his disciples? I think about some times this past summer (I love wearing sandals!) when upon removing my sandals, I had to put the shoes outside on the porch! There is nothing especially high or mighty about my feet! To get down on my hands and knees to wash the feet of anyone, even my friends, seems counterproductive to building relationships. After all conversation and time spent with the person face-to-face are the great communication aspects of growing together right?

Yet Jesus demonstrated that the disciples were important to him when he got down and washed feet at the dinner table. How strange! What did this act signify to the disciples? May I suggest some things?

1. He was not grasping at a position of superiority or dominance over others.
2. He was interested in meeting needs and modeling servanthood to the next generation of church leaders.
3. He ministered out of personal interest and affection for these men.
4. He modeled his prescription for correction and cut through their objections precisely.

What great patience as a teacher! What dedication to his students! Doug Stringer has nailed this thought when he writes:

"While men reach for thrones to build their own kingdoms, Jesus reached for a towel to wash men's feet. We must have a servant's heart toward each other and toward this generation. Only with this sacrificial attitude will we see the needed breakthroughs in the Church and in our cities, and souls added to God's kingdom."

Somebody Cares, p.93

I need to focus on being that kind of leader and example for these teens. I expect so much out of them, because I see their great potential for God. Yet do I regularly wash their feet? I need to follow Christ's example more closely. I need to have my attitude and interaction with teens stretched. Lord, increase my faith and build my ministry muscles!

Longing to be like the Master,
Pastor Mike

Is prayer enough?

Maybe your church's prayer list is different. But ours has a portion on the bottom for the names of unsaved people. We pray often for the lost and put the names of loved ones in this category. But is prayer enough? Should we just continue to pray hoping that God will intervene in their lives in a miraculous way? I submit to you that there is another part of this equation taht we have left out -- sharing in their lives!

We must have both prayer and personal appearance in our evangelistic efforts. We must pray before we go, while we go, as we are there, and after we have left; but we must go! After all that is the great commission is it not? "Go and make disciples" (Matthew 28:19-20)

Stringer puts it very succinctly in this statement: "How will our communities be reached? By our intercession and then our intervention for the multitudes hanging in the balance of eternity." p. 51

Well said. Will we hear "well done" as well? Prayer is vital to evangelism. Let us not make it our only evangelistic effort!

Father,
As I go today, would you alert me to the need of others around me so that I might invest your glory into their lives. Help me to reconcile others to you through the grace that I show today. May these prayers and thoughts be the start, not the end of evangelism today. Help me to be intentional in my witness for you by intercessiona dn intervention. May my face shine, reflecting your glory to a dark and dying world, because I have been in your presence today.
Amen

I am praying for you as you pray for others, and I am going too!

Your fellow journeyman,
Pastor Mike

The Value of Relationship on Evangelism

I have been studying the book of 1 John again (in order to complete a writing assignment). The central tennets of the books are exactly where Stringer has placed his emphasis in Somebody Cares. He writes:

"There are so many still to be reached! Together, with each of us doing our part, we can make a difference. If we walk in a right relationship with the lord and with each other, His light will shine through us and draw people to Him." p. 51

1 John is all about bringing others to know for sure that they are forgiven and part of God's eternal family. In fact, the stated purpose of the book is found in 1 John 5:13 (NIV)

"I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life."

John's book is both evangelistic and discipling. He begins his book describing how to have this fellowship and partnership with God and with others.

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched--this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete."

1 John 1:1-4, NIV

That 1-2 punch of fellowshipping with God and with others is the strength of the Christian faith. Without a relationship with God, our relationships with others are left to be controlled by our own special interests. This basis for relationships is doomed and destined for ruin! Without a relationship with others, our faith in God is hidden and unusable! We must have both. We must love horizontally and vertically if we are to love in either direction.

My relationship with God allows me to share that relationship with others and model that relationship in the relationships that I have with others. Wouldn't it be great if I handled allof my friendships like God deals with me? That is the goal exactly! I need divine enablement to overcome my natural self-protecting, self-promoting, self-fulfilling motivations. A perfect marriage, a perfect working relationship with my co-workers, a perfect friendship comes only through a growing relationship with God!

Here are some thought questions for us all in this area:

1. Do I have a personal relationship with God through his son Jesus Christ? (1 Jn. 5:12)
2. Do I spend a sufficient amount of time developing that relationship through the spiritual disciplines of Scripture memory, Bible reading, and prayer?
3. Have I neglected my relationship with God in order to pursue a relationship with others? Or perhaps vice versa?
4. Is my love for God and others in the category of sacrificial? (Jn. 15:13)
5. Have I asked for God's help to use my relationships to draw others to him?
6. Have I accepted my responsibility as a reconciler of relationships and thereby demonstrated God's reconciliation to those around me? (2 Cor. 5:18-20)

Thanks for thinking about the importance of relationship to evangelism (1 John 4:7-12). My desire is that I will live the goodness and mercy of God before others, forgiving those that offend me in the same way that God did that for me (Matthew 6:12, 14; Ephesians 4:32). There is no greater love than a man giving his life for his friends (John 15:13).

There is no greater force for evangelism in our postmodern world than that of friendship. Will you be a friend (of God and of others) for the sake of Christ and his kingdom?

Your friend,

Pastor Mike

Why I need to be a farmer

I think I have posted this before. I hate waiting! I am so success-driven that I want to see it all happen -- goal set, action taken, results recorded -- and quickly! But, as I see over and over again, it is not the rapid response that is best. It is the "established" response that is so much better. Scripture says it this way:

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness."
Colosssians 2:6-7, NIV

Paul knew that spiritual growth takes time and that like a farmer he had to be patient with that process. Faith (or at least the faithful believer) it seems is like a plant -- requiring foundation in the soil, proper roots and lots of T-I-M-E to continue to grow.

Doug Stringer wrote about that frustration of watching some of those we invest in die out anyway. He gave some great words of advice that are like a well-timed drink of water to quench the thirst. He writes:

"We may work with an individual off and on for many years before the breakthrough comes in his or her life. Sometimes we never see it. Yet no labor for the Lord is in vain. God is faithful to watch over every seed sown into a soul."

Somebody Cares, p.39

Jesus told a parable that echoes this sentiment.

"This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain--first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."

Mark 4:26-29, NIV

I am so looking forward to harvest, especialy in the lives of the young people that I minister to. But I am in all probability reaping the benefits of someone else's planting, watering and weeding right now. So, I must just be content to do my work knowing that some of it falls on rocky soil, some on weedy soil, some on good soil. (see Mark 4:1-20)

I must say with Paul, "[I am] confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6, NIV)

Thanks for planting, watering and weeding,
with patience in the lives of young [and old] people,

Pastor Mike

A mission statement for Turning Point Ministries

As I mentioned before, Doug Stringer has written a book that describes his passion for ministry to young people on the streets of Houston, TX. He has included the Turning Point Ministries mission statement:

"Preparing a people for the coming of the Lord through a message of consecration, commitment, and action." p.45

He further defines each part of that mission statement this way:

"Consecration: being separated unto God, recognizing His holiness, our own unrighteousness and His grace;

Commitment: not just "romancing" God and His work but acknowledging our responsibility to obey Him and letting that knowledge provoke us to action;

Action: turning our responsibility into concrete obedience" p.45

What a great way to describe what he is trying to do and what he is encouraging others to join him in doing! Doug describes this statement as a trumpet blast, used to call others to action -- to the front. Again, while I cannot agree with all of Doug's ecumenical activity, I can agree with his premise.

In fact, I could have just as easily written these words instead of Doug. IWe are striving to the very same things with the Sr. Hi. Youth Group at Wyoming. I might say it a little differently. The goals that we are aiming at, here at WyBC, are:

1. A personal, vibrant relationship with God through Jesus Christ
2. A growing understanding of the Word of God, its relevance to our culture, and its direction for every area of life
3. A passion that motivates me to tell others about the purpose, peace and promise of this relationship with God

It also fits well with my own personal mission statement: Being conformed to the image of the Son, through the power of the Spirit, to the glory of the Father.

I would love to hear/read your mission statement. How do you define what it is that God has called you to do?

Pursuing the purposes of God,

Pastor Mike

Bibliographic Note

To those of you who may be interested in reading about Doug Stringer's ministry from Houston TX, his book information is posted below:

Stringer, Doug. Somebody Cares: A Guide to Living Out Your Faith. Regal Books: Ventura, CA, (c) 2001.

www.regalbooks.com

Send me your thoughts after you've read the book! :)
Pastor Mike

Somebody Cares

I just finished reading Doug Stringer's book, "Somebody Cares". What a stirring challenge to me about reaching out to those who have no hope in my community. I would like to post and reflect on a number of quotes form that book that I hope will stir you as well. As with any book that I read, there are portions of Doug's theology that just do not fit with my personal understanding and/or practice. However, as I was recently reminded, I must not criticize and do nothing to improve it. I may not do it the way that Doug does, but I must do something else!

Here's quote one:

"The Creator of the universe intends for your life and mine to shape the destiny of this world. ... My life [is] not my own. ... Our Father has a job for us to accomplish." p. 31

Wow! Talk about enlarged borders! I had a professor at seminary that used to talk like that. Lee Wise just soaked that challenging motivational speech right up and oozed it back out to us as young men. I love that kind of speech! But it must go beyond that "speech" level to "shoe leather" level.

I hope to add posts in the next few months that will point back to this one and will testify of God using my life, no HIS life, to move others toward heaven.

Thanks for listening,
Motivated to shape the destiny of this world from Wyoming, NY
Pastor Mike

Fear of Parents

We are headed off for a training conference next weekend with our teens. The theme is "Faith Factor: No place for fear". The workshops will be addressing the fears that teens face in their lives. Our teens have signed up for three workshops apiece. I was surprised that 5 out of 8 teens attending the seminar are choosing a workshop about the fear of parents.

I am not sure what the speaker will address in this arena. I am hoping that he will be remarking on the Biblical pattern for parenting and the place for a rightful fear of parents as the delgated authority in the teens' lives. But I wonder if our teens have really become afraid of their parents. What would cause that kind of reaction?

Here are some of my thoughts:
1. Fear is generated through a lack of love (1 John 4:18). The fear of parents may be generated through a longing for love. Teens not being sure that they were loved would create a fear factor. Thoughts of "what will my parent do to me next? They are always out to ruin my life!" would be consistent with this view.

2. Fear is often grown in the absence of faith (see Mark 4:40). The fear of parents may be created by a failure to have faith in God or in the parenting of the adults. How often do we crush the faith of our teens by not leading them well. They are not really reacting to God but to us -- their representatives of God in their life. Or maybe our teens do not have any faith. they are panicked about the ir parents because they do not understand the proper place that they have in the teen's life.

3. Fear is uncertainty about the future. Teens face a host of issues with their parents today. With the Christian family unit being as likely to break apart as the unsaved family, teens are scared about the future of their family. They have a tough time thinking "this won't happen to us" when it just might! The family is no longer a place of assured rest and safety.

4. Fear may be generated by the teen hiding something from their parents. This too is anticipated by the Scriptures (cp. the reaction of Adam and Eve when they had their eyes opened; Gen. 3:8-10). Teens need to come clean with their parents. They need to rely on their parents to help them work through their sin issues, Biblically. But as parents we need to give them that confidence by not giving them a tonguelashing, but by graoning with them over their sins and working and walking with them through their consequences. (Gal. 6:1-2)

What do you think? Why would teens be scared of parents? I would love to know.

As a parent and a youth worker,
Pastor Mike

Beating the Teen Rebellion Stereotype

I have been meditating on a really key psalm this week. It is Psalm 78. It occurs in the middle of the psalter near the beginning of Book 3. Unfortunately, its obscure location does not afford it the press that I think that it should get. This psalm contains some great scriptural challenge for youth ministry and should therefore be adorning every youth worker's office wall, earmarked in every youth worker's Bible, and posted in every youth worker's blog (thus my post :) ).

The psalm is a maskil -- that is an instructional psalm, based heavily in the form and function of the proverbs. It contains a typical proverbial opening call for the reader's undivided attention. (See the "my son" speeches in Proverbs 1-9) In the next 8 verses, it describes in beautiful Hebrew poetry, the great commission for every adult with any contact with young people (parent, teacher, guidance counselor, pastor, mentor, etc.). May I share some observations with you?

1. I have been given something of value to say to young people. (2-3)
2. I must engage young people within the culture so "that the next generation may know". (4-6)
3. I must encourage them to be involved in youth ministry too. (6)
4. Trust is the cure for stubbornness and rebellion. (7-8)

I have been meditating on the the last verse (8) of this section. My goal as a youth minister (or as a parent, teacher, etc.) is to get the young people, that God has entrusted to me, to not repeat the failures (my failures) of the past. The measure of success in youth ministry ought to be number of ah-ha moments in our young people's life and not number of group meetings attended. Success should be marked out in terms of pitfalls avoided rather than number of events planned or teens in attendance.

The problem with measuring with these markers of success is that they are out of our control. We can't make our teens listen. We can't make the student learn. In the terms of the psalmist, we can't make their hearts loyal or their spirits faithful. The best that we can do is to model loyalty and faithfulness that comes out in front of the teens. The second best thing that we can do is to keep telling them the parables, and dark sayings that our fathers (mothers, teachers, etc.) told us. The measure of success is reproduction of well-adjusted, Godly young people to the third and fourth generation.

I am committed to helping teens break the rebellion stereotype by showing them how to live in submission to God's authority and to share with them the joys of God's wondrous work in my life. Are you committed to do the same? E-mail me your response, your support, and your own commitments.

For the love of God (and of teens),

Pastor Mike

Ultimate Capture the Flag 04

What do you get when you mix one group of leaders who really want to minister to teens with a local community park and a group of teens who love to play? You get Ultimate Capture the Flag 04! It is an outreach to our community that we are hosting this weekend (Friday night 6-8:30pm). We hope to have 30+ teens running through the local park and then invite them across the street to our church to share refreshments and a gosple message with them.

Would you like more information? E-mail me!
Would you like to be part of the event but don't know how to get from your location to Western NY? Pray for us!
Watch this site for posts of pictures! :)

For the love of teens,
Pastor Mike

The Thrill of Power Tools

I am working on projects in Rochester, NY this week at my in-laws new house. We are attentive to renovate their basement. I really do not know much about the art of remodeling. I do know that I love power tools -- especially that compound miter saw that I borrowed. I should get one myself.

There is no cologne so sweet as the smell of fresh pine sawdust!

Still able to count to ten on my fingers,
Mike

Rev. Mike & Mrs. Sue Paris @ Niagara Falls 

What are you doing to me?

Ministry is not without its twists in the road. You know the feeling? Driving along the perfectly planned road of youth work and then you see the sign. The one with the S-curves on S-curves! The one that looks like there might be some serious slowing down to be done ahead.

I don't like slow downs. They frustrate me! I am a top-down-Porsche-911 (black with camel colored leather interior and real wood dashboard and accessories)-open-'er-up-and-let-'er-rip kind of guy. And youth ministry is no different.
Yet it is exactly those curves, those speed bumps, those traffic lights that God wants there. If left up to us, we would blast through the neighborhood at 100 mph on our way to the next big event or conference or vacation spot. So God slows us down with a speed zone in a quaint little town or even in the inner city to make us wait and watch and be on the look-out for people that need ministry.

Last night we kicked off our first of 4 training sesssion prior to going on our summer missions trip. I had envisioned a great group of teens excited about ministry and about God's Word who were on fire and waiting to be infectious fervent zealots for the cause of Christ. What I got was two pair of siblings, a gog-goo eyed couple, half of the 6 teen team signed up for summer soccer on the evenings reserved for training, young, inexperienced underclassmen who didn't bring Bibles or persmission/consent forms to the first meeting. God what are you doing to me? I asked for zealots and you gave me these teens! Are you sure I need a slow down? ARe you sure about these s-curves? Couldn't you straighten them out a bit?

And then it hit me... God is giving me the next generation. I get to lead them into zeal. I get to light their fuses. I get to see them explode into fervor. But I don't want to wait -- remember the Porsche, God?? (By the way, I'll take red if that's what you have planned). What do you mean 1st gear? okay. okay. I'm slowed down now.

Help me Lord to see the needs of these teens clearer than I ever have before. Help me to give them little sips of refreshment from the fountain not turn the firehose on them. I want so much to give them all of the joys (the end) first, but help me now to train them to serve. So that they will outrun me later and be spiritual giants in the future. Help me to be patient with them. Help me see the flaws that need work in me too. Help them to be patient with me.
Amen

To plan or not to plan

That is the question. Whenever I delegate, I seem to be anxious to retrieve the balls that I have passed off. There is a aprehension that comes with waiting for someone else to come through in the clutch. I rush too quickly to the rescue.

Delegation is not my strong suit. It is an area that I do need to get better at. The ability to say "would you help here" is as powewrful as the ability to say "no". Oh that I would expand my leadership vocabulary to include these phrases and give them a "frequently used" status.

I found another ministry partner today who feels the same way. Her response is to cover the bases that someone might have dropped. But inconfirmed drops and leadership covers make the students and the learners never learn. The person who has a task delegated and then who never is held accountable or who is chronically rescued may never learn the art of completion.

I cannot plan for everything. I must plan for most things. I must be flexible enough to roll with the contingencies, but be ready enough to minimize them. If you build it (the master plan), they (the contingencies) will come!

So what do I get from all of this open musing?

God is in control of my ministry and I must relax in His ability to take even an imperfect job done by me and make it minister. I must prepare and present my best to God in each day of ministry. But I cannot see all of the turns in the raod. God can and he has ordained them for my growth today. His grace is indeed sufficient for this hour!

The Angst of Youth

I am reading the book of Job for my personal quiet time in the mornings. I read chapter 32 today which introduces the character Elihu. Elihu is a young man with a mission -- to correct the wrongs of his elders. That sounds like a lot some teens in youth ministries that I have led! The adult is guilty of gross incompetence until proven innocent! The teen's commentary usually goes something like this, "you don't understand us". They want to see something else happen and they're upset that they haven't gotten their way in the matter.

As I am reading, I want to reserve judgment about whether Elihu is right or not until I have heard his complete message. This conclusion is key to having a great rapport with teens, especially disgruntled teens. I have found that we often need to let them vent and get it off of their chest before we jump in and defend or explain our choices as leaders. There needs to be an avenue for teens to have ownership of the group. There needs to be an appropriate means by which they may appeal to their authority. Teens can learn about ministry decisions by asking good questions of leaders and observing solid decision making discussions. These are the good points of Elihu's conversation.

But there is a bad side too. Elihu is described as "angry" three times in the first five verses. Anger is a very volatile emotion. Righteous anger, or anger for the sake of purity, is endorsed by God -- He demonstrates it perfectly (Ex 4:14; 15:7; 32:10-11; Num 11:1,33; Hos 8:5; cp.Jn 2:13-17). There is a right way and a wrong way to "explode" and be "burning up". The emotion of anger can make us think, say and do things that are rash and impetuent -- things that we will regret when the dust settles. (Pr. 29:22, Ps. 4:4; Eph 4:26)

I believe that Elihu may have actually taken offense for God. He believed that the other friends had not spoken for God accurately. 32:2 narrates that the reaction of Elihu was because of a misunderstanding -- he thought that Job was justifying himself rather than God. If Job is guilty of this charge, then Elihu has some justification for his Popeye response (I cantz standz it no more -- :)).

>> Have I exhausted my listening time before becoming angry? Have I been swift to hear, slow to speak and slow to wrath (James 1:20)?
>> Will my anger accomplish God's work? (James 1:21) Or is this anger to accomplish my own agenda?
>> Have I appealed to my authority or have I just blown up on him?
>> If someone is upset, have I worked through the cloak of anger and discovered the heart of the concern? Am I listening to the issues beyond reacting to the heated emotion?
>> Am I an angry man? Or are my friends angry men? (Pr 22:24-25)

Some of the guys working on polishing off those homemade pizzas 

Whenever the WyBC Youth Group gets together, the soda of choice has got to be Mt. Dew. 

My daughter, Lauren, enjoying her new blow-up dog at the yr-end pool party for the WyBC Youth Group 

1 Peter Sermon Series

I am concluding a series of messages on the book of 1 Peter. What an encouraging book, especially for those going through some oppressive times!

Peter wrote his book as a challenge to believers in the first century who were spread out all over the known countryside. They were called pilgrims and strangers because this world was not their home. They were simply visiting, passing through, and on their way to their home in heaven. They weren't in a rush to get there even though it would be so much better than where they were today.

Ever feel like you wanted to leave this life because of all of the junk going on in your life? Troubles getting along with a bullying father or an unfair boss? Hate the restrictions put on you as a citizen of the US? Want to know how to have a great fulfilling relationship with members of the opposite sex? It's all in 1 Peter!

Would you like outlines of my messages for all or a portion of these messages? E-mail me and I'll forward them along.

Your fellow journeyman,
Pastor Mike
PastorMike33@yahoo.com

Welcome

To all who venture in here,

I hope that this little experiment works and that you all become frequent posters online at my blog. I look forward to making many new friends via this great medium called blogging.

I am an associate pastor in Western NY, in a rural village called Wyoming. I have ministry emphases in youth and worship. Both areas of emphasis require a lot of attention and energy -- but I love each equally! I really, in a lot of ways, have a dream job! :)

My journalling will of course then be centered on ministry and the Word of God. However, I am not above throwing in the occasional comment about golfing, juggling, family rearing, or baseball (go Phillies!). See, it's already begun! :)

I hope that you will bookmark this site and visit often sharing the joys of my life with me and even interacting about some of your own!

Here's to our joy in the journey together,
Pastor Mike