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Experiential Worship
Defining A Worship Leader
by Scott Erickson
It’s a good thing for us to define the idea of worship leader. On second thought, maybe we just need to rethink it.
I know that the usual definition of this term is someone who leads the musical performance during a church gathering. I’m not refuting that. But I’m wondering if we can get to a deeper meaning than just during services. Here are some thoughts.
Living a Connected Lifestyle
Worship leaders are responsible for living a response lifestyle. If we don’t pray, if we don’t listen and hear, we have nothing to lead others into. In a video about Rich Mullins, Michael W. Smith said something like this about Rich’s music…
It was like he would go into places that you couldn’t see, into the darkness, and he would go and meet with God. Then he would come out of the darkness and write about what he saw and heard.
Sr. High Ministry
Cognitive Dissonance
by Jennifer Bradbury
Candice is a ball of energy who loves life, laughter and fun. Her friends are an eclectic mixture of people: jocks, nerds, Democrats, Republicans, homosexuals, atheists, Buddhists and Christians of all traditions. She’s the middle child in a churchy family. Candice’s older sister is your typical church kid, who—though not yet 20—knows she wants to become a pastor. Candice’s younger sister is a champion of service, volunteering weekly at our church’s English as a Second Language ministry.
Unlike the rest of her family, Candice is not so sure about Christianity. Her fierce independence makes it difficult for her to simply accept what others tell her to believe. For Candice to believe something, she must wrestle with it herself, carefully and logically examining an issue from all sides before reaching her own conclusion.
Parents Ministry
Removing The Barriers
by Mark Riddle
In your ministry, are the parents advocates or barriers for accomplishing your vision for teens?
It’s a trick question. Both are flawed ways of working with parents. The role of parents is not to align with your vision for their teens. You need each other, but often there are barriers youth pastors unintentionally set up that keep partnership from happening.
I often hear one of these two statements from youth workers:
1. “Most of the parents in my ministry don’t know where their kids are during the day, and they don’t care.”
Parents who’ve checked out of their teens’ lives still have a greater impact on the lives of their kids than you do as a youth pastor. Certainly with an inordinate amount of time and energy of investing in this teen, you can begin to counter this self-defining sense of abandonment. But you are not the cure, and often, absent parents are not the enemies we think they are.
Multi Cultural
School Of Hard Knocks
by Ginger Sinsabaugh MacDonald
Okay, so you have the big outreach event. Jamal, a 17-year-old hoops star, becomes a Christian. Then he shows up at your Bible study. You ask him to read John 3:16. His fluency compares to a second grader’s.
Frankie, who’s as dependable as the Energizer Bunny, is applying for a job at the local drive thru. He’s pumped. You’d hire him in a heartbeat. You peek at his application. Fabian’s handwriting looks like hieroglyphics.
It’s open-mic night at youth group. The topic is explosive and should ignite discussion like firecrackers. But due to their limited vocabulary, your teenagers communicate with shoulder shrugs or “Ya know what I’m saying?”
Justice
Going Green
by Josh Tinely
Turn off the water when you brush your teeth. Ride your bike to school. Take reusable bags to the grocery store. Recycle. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs.
These simple acts are but a few of the ways in which people “go green,” seeking to preserve and improve the environment. But these aren’t just green habits, they’re also holy habits, ways in which Christians show their love for God and neighbor and express their Christian discipleship.
Holiness Habits
Holiness is bringing one’s life in line with God’s will. Often holiness is manifested through habits such as prayer, worship, sacraments, Scripture study, and accountability to a Christian community. These habits enable us to stay focused on God and help us live our lives in accordance with God’s desire for humanity.
Jr. High Ministry
Gospel According To Crazy Bandz
by Titus Benton
At the risk of appearing behind the curve on tween trends, I’d like to tell a story.
Recently we welcomed a new batch of sixth graders into our middle school ministry. This is an annual June ritual, one we anticipate and get excited about each year. While we are sad to see eighth graders move up, the energy and enthusiasm the new class brings is a real pick-me-up. Unlike the eighth graders, who are hungry for high school, the newbies want to be there. Watching their eyes is a thrill.
One of our new girls’ names is Hannah. She’s a really sweet kid, and on the first day she talked to me, I noticed some colorful, elastic bands on her wrist. I asked about them, and she told me they were called Crazy Bandz then took one off and showed me that this was no ordinary bracelet. The one she showed me was shaped like a cat. Then she put it back on her wrist. Then she took it off again. Still a cat! I was impressed. So I asked questions.
Inner Life
Holding On To The Giver
by Libbie Patterson
In the season between Easter and Advent, I have been living with the stories of Jesus’ appearances after his resurrection. One of the things that strikes me each time I read them is their sheer physical quality.
One reason for that “physicality” is obvious. The gospel writers wanted to demonstrate that Jesus was raised from the dead as a living, breathing, eating, walking and talking presence. Clearly there were some unique elements to this—for instance, he seems to have moved in and out of physical space in non-typical ways. But the predominant story is his physical presence, a presence that has made all the difference to us, his followers, throughout the centuries.
Culture
The Fear Driven Church
by Mark Matlock
What drives the economy of a society where the basic daily needs of the majority of its members are met? How does one sell goods and services when what people need to survive is not expensive nor difficult to get?
Like a rousing game of the SIMS, our person begins to seek items that bring comfort and greater return on time, blurring the lines between “need” and “want.”
For those selling goods the task becomes more challenging. When basic needs are met, how do we create demand? How is “need” generated when people have the essentials for living life? Present-day America is the result of the answers to these questions.
While there are a handful of ways to manufacture a sense of need, “fear” is one of the more economical, surefire ways to do so.
If your product can help alleviate a fear, then there’s a good chance you’ll succeed in the marketplace. In the last several years it seems fear has become a way to sell everything from clothing (the fear of looking unfashionable), politics (the fear that _________ will happen!), to the news channels (the fear that other news is biased).
Consulting
Consultant
by Mark Riddle
All of us get to that pivotal ministry moment when we ask those big questions. Do I belong here? Am I being effective? Does God have another position for me?
And the biggest one of all: Is this ministry context healthy for me?
Maybe you feel that no one in your church understands. Maybe you wonder if they know you at all. Maybe your pastor is a jerk. It could be a parent, a grandparent, a difficult kid. Or maybe you’ve hit that life stage where you’re questioning big concepts like calling and purpose and, because of that, you feel like you don’t fit in your church anymore.
It’s these moments where we start feeling stuck. The situation is too complex, the valley feels too long and too remote. No one has a kind word. The team feels combative. Parents look like they’re packing swords. You feel the sting of stones thrown by others. Maybe you’ve been slandered? Maybe you’ve been picked on or verbally assaulted…