My first class of my first semester at Moody Bible Institute was Old Testament Survey and it changed my life. Dr. Paul Benware was the professor and early on he said something that changed my whole understanding of the Bible. When we got to Genesis 12 he explained that God's promises to Abraham (the Abrahamic Covenant) were the overarching framework that the rest of the Bible was built upon.
1) "I will bless you; I will make your name great..." - Genesis 12-50 2) "I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you..." - the rest of the Old Testament 3) "...and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." - the New Testament All of a sudden the Bible changed from a book of many stories about one God into a book that was one gigantic story with many chapters about the One True God. From that point forward I've been obsessed with helping people see the Bible in that way. When I teach or preach I almost always come back to the Bible as God's great story. I just finished doing a walk through the Bible with my youth group now centered around God dwelling with man. I gave my students Revelation 21:3 as a verse that I believe summarizes the message of the entire Bible - "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying 'Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God." So my idea was to look at this theme from the beginning of the Bible to the end. I came up with 8 major times God has dwelt among man. 1) God was with Adam & Eve in the Garden - This is the first time we see God with people. He created us for relationship! We were made to live in paradise - a perfect world, a perfect relationship with our Creator, and perfect relationship with each other. But it was short-lived. 2) God dwelled with people in the Desert in the tabernacle - The next time we see God on earth the setting is very different - God is with his people in a barren desert, dwelling in the tabernacle, after rescuing them from slavery in Egypt which was part of God's plan and promises revealed to Abraham which launched God's rescue plan for humanity after the devastation of the fall and the flood. 3) Next, God dwelled with His people in a City in the Promised Land - God's relationship with the people of Israel reaches a high point when a more permanent dwelling for God's presence is built in Jerusalem, the geographic center of the earth, by Solomon. The Temple and the people who worshiped there were meant to be a light for the rest of the world. When God's presence fills this Temple in a truly dramatic fashion it is a great culmination of their journey as a nation. And yet their whole culture (the priesthood, the sacrifices, the Temple, their celebrations, etc.) are all pointing to something more that is coming. 4) God even dwelled with His people while they were in Exile - Unfortunately, the rescue plan appears to have failed when God's people rebel against Him repeatedly and are taken away into exile, but God's not done yet. He is with them even in exile (Fiery Furnace, Lion's Den, King's Palace) because He's getting ready for the best part of His plan. 5) God came even closer and dwelled with us in the Flesh - God comes to earth in person, in the flesh, to live among people as one of them! The incarnation is astonishing - Jesus is Immanel, God with us. But there's more - the God who made us becomes the God who saves us by being the God who dies for us and rise again. 6) All of this culminated with God dwelling in our Hearts through the Holy Spirit - When Jesus dies, the veil in the Temple separating God from man is torn in two clearing the way for man to come to God, but more importantly for God to come to man - to each man (and woman) in the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. Our very bodies become temples of God! It's incredible! 7) But it get even better - God dwells among His people in Community as the Church - As if God's presence in our very bodies isn't enough, the New Testament teaches that each person is a living stone being built into a living Temple with fellow believers. Something powerful happens when God's people come together. By loving each other, forgiving each other, bearing each other's burdens, encouraging one another and more, we show the world the goodness and greatness of our God. The church, filled with God's Spirit, is God's presence on earth! 8) It all ends with God dwelling with us in Eternity - Finally, a time will come, when God's rescue plan is complete and we will once again dwell with God in paradise, but this time there will be no more chance for sorrow, pain, sin, or death. This time, the perfect relationship with our loving God will be permanent. We will be finally be home. There are certainly other ways to outline and understand God's big story, but this framework has helped me see the big picture in a fresh way - Christianity is the story of God wanting to dwell with man and God's work to make that possible. And nothing will make us right or the world right til we realize that dwelling with God is what all of us long for most even if we don't know it.
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Here's the thing - we have our students for an hour or two a week, but they spend 40 or so hours a week surrounded by people who need Jesus at their schools. If we are going to do student ministry, we have to take their schools into account. Here's why -
1) If your students can live out their faith at school, they can probably live it anywhere! It's really easy to live our faith at church when surrounded by other believers. Anyone can do that. They real test of a genuine faith is, are we are able to live it surrounded by people uninterested in our faith or even hostile to it? If your students are living their faith at school, you can bet it's real. 2) If your students can share their faith at school, they'll be able to share it anywhere Similarly, if your students can share their faith at school (a mostly non-friendly environment), they can probably share it anywhere! Seeing school as a daily mission will prepare them for whatever situation they may find themselves in - mission trip, college, business, human services, government, entertainment, etc. Once they begin approaching daily life missionally, chances are good that they will likely continue to do so throughout their lives. 3) Your students need to know they are not alone! We all know the saying - there's strength in numbers. If your students can know that they don't have to do all of this alone, so much the better. Having a church family to retreat and regroup with is life giving. But having godly friends that they can go out into battle with - that's life saving! Being involved in a campus ministry helps your students know they are not alone in the most difficult arena for living a life of faith. 4) You need to reach students where they are - almost 90% of Americans go to public schools If you have any desire to reach lost students, you have to go where they are - the problem is, youth pastors can't go there. The only way to reach lost students where they spend the majority of their time is to equip our students to love and serve their friends in the name of Jesus. Your youth ministry is not just what happens within the four walls of your church - an effective youth ministry must include a mission field and that is exactly what public schools are. 5) If you impact the school, you impact the community. When reaching schools is part of your ministry strategy you don't just reach students - you begin to touch the community. Go to a high school football game any Friday night in the fall or go to a spring musical - schools have become the centers of community life. You want to impact the community? Make a point to have an impact on local schools. All of that to say, God has given you a bigger ministry than you realize. Hundreds and hundreds of students are waiting for someone to reach them! I hope that will be you and your church. 1) We have a great diversity of churches here - everything from the mega/cutting edge church to the small town community church can be found here. We've got urban churches, hipster churches, rural farming community churches, and churches of every theological stripe within a hundred mile radius. 2) We have a rich history of youth ministry innovation here - Fellowship of Christian Athletes had its beginnings in Pittsburgh, Young Life has been here since its beginnings and gave birth to the Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation which has given birth to leadership foundations in other cities. The oldest youth ministry network in country, the Pittsburgh Kids Network, was born from that same legacy. The Silver Ring Thing (nation-wide purity ministry) was also born here. 3) We have strong youth ministry networks here - youth pastors in Pittsburgh and all around the city love to connect with each other. There are 8 youth ministry networks functioning around the region currently in connection with the National Network of Youth Ministries. 4) We have active campus ministry organizations here - Youth For Christ, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Young Life, Youth Alive, and Teens For Christ all have a strong presence on high school campuses around the region and are reaching students far from God in creative ways. 5) We have beautiful camping facilities - when it comes to summer camps, fall retreats, and winter weekends, there are a lot of options (at least 12 that we know of) for helping your students get away and get with God. 6) The activities are endless - amusement parks, water parks, bowling, paintball, mini golf, skiing, rock climbing, obstacle courses, and much more is all here and very affordable. 7) The concert / music scene is better than ever - some years ago Pittsburgh was a blackhole of Christian music, but no longer thanks to Generation Exodus, Winter Jam, WORD FM, and KLOVE. Chris Tomlin, Casting Crowns, TobyMac, Skillet, Hillsong United, the Newsboys, Lecrae, Tenth Avenue North, and others have filled our concert venues here for the last several years. 8) We've got excellent service project / short term mission organizations - we have amazing organizations that will help your students serve the community in creative ways like Urban Impact, The Pittsburgh Project, Light of Life Rescue Mission, World Vision Pittsburgh, The Dream Center, Living Ministry, YWAM Pittsburgh, and more. 9) We have a ton of other great resources to help your ministry - there are excellent local bands, several highly recommended professional Christian counselors, talented local speakers, and some awesome t-shirt/graphic design guys in this area. 10) We have the Steelers, Pirates, and Penguins! And if that's not enough, we have Primanti Brothers, Quaker Steak & Lube, and pizza places out the wazoo! So if you're not here already, consider coming to Pittsburgh to do youth ministry! BTW, that's my son Micah in the picture above at the water steps on the north shore.
Check out this AMAZING video about Jesus! I don't know who made this, but illustrating and scoring old sermons is genius. This reminds me of why I'm a Christian. Please watch it!
I've been thinking about marriage a lot lately - here's why...
- My wife and I celebrated our 11th anniversary this past November (love you Honey!). - I did a wedding and marriage counseling for a young couple this past September - I recently attended a funeral for a woman who was married to her husband 67 years! I've learned a lot from helping a couple just starting out and from a couple who've gone farther than most ever will. And being somewhere in between - I am praying that God will give me strength and wisdom to make it for the long haul. Marriage is about so many things - companionship, love, romance, sex, joy, life, family, kids, etc. but for those who believe that God created marriage, there's more, much more. Here's what I shared with that younger couple this past summer. Marriage does 3 big things: 1) It reveals the plan of God Exodus 6:7 says "I will take you as my own people and I will be your God." That phrase or something like it is repeated many times including Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Revelation - it sounds familiar doesn't it? It sounds like marriage vows. Paul says in Ephesians 5 that the relationship between a husband and a wife represents the relationship between Christ and the church. In other words, the joining of a man and woman together in marriage is reveals something God has been working toward for all of human history - rescuing and uniting with a people who will be his very own. 2) It accomplishes the purpose of God Someone has said that while God loves us just as we are, He loves us too much to leave us that way. Romans 8:29 tells us that God's eternal purpose is to help his people become like His Son Jesus. Nothing reveals our shortcomings and our need for growth like marriage. Two people doing life day in and day out brings out the best in us and the worst in us. Nothing will force you to come face to face with selfishness, brokenness, pride, envy, etc. like marriage. On the flip side, nothing gives you the daily opportunity to become selfless, humble, giving, etc. like marriage. Marriage is a powerful tool God uses to transform us into His image. 3) It paints a picture of God Genesis 1:26-27 says that God created us in His image, male and female in His image - as author John Eldredge points out, there's something about the image of God revealed in maleness and femaleness. And so, when a man and woman come together in marriage, a more complete picture of the image of God is revealed. A man and woman loving, forgiving, and serving each other show us what God is like in a powerful way. Bottom Line: our marriages matter to God and our marriages have significance far beyond what we can understand - much more is at stake in the success of our marriages than we realize. I hope that will help motivate you and me to invest more in the one God has given us to live with and love. Winter Jam is the largest and most successful Christian music tour going. I've taken my youth group many times and here are 10 reasons you should take yours!
1. It’s $10! How easy is that! (disclaimer: They do take up an offering at WJ) 2. You don’t have to order tickets! You just give your $10 at the door. 3. There are 10 artists/bands – $1 per concert is a GREAT price. 4. For King & Country! 5. The Gospel is clearly presented and students are given an invitation to receive Christ. 6. There’s a youth pastors only gathering where you get to hear from a few artists in person. 7. It’s supports a great cause – HOLT International (an adoption agency) 8. It’s in cities all over the place. 9. No planning necessary – just show up! 10. Go to your city’s event this year so they can come back next year! Visit www.jamtour.com for more information! This fall, I took students to the Silver Ring Thing for the second year in a row. It's a relatively new event for my students so their excitement to go and their excitement afterwards was encouraging to me. Here are the top reasons I will take students to SRT again:
1) The topics of sex and dating never go away - youth workers and parents will ALWAYS have to address these topics - why not get some help from a ministry that focuses on this 24/7. 2) It was funny - so many moments for laughter were built into the program. That's important for this topic and my students found lots of humor in the videos, the speaker, and the drama. 3) It was fast-paced multi-media - for 2 hours the SRT program kept the students attention with videos (lots of funny commerical spoofs), dramas, personal testimonies, music clips, audience participation, and a great speaker. 4) The people on stage were young - let's face it, teenagers are going to hear the message of purity better from people closer to their age who are still waiting than from older married people who are having that desire fulfilled already. The presenters on stage were all around 20 and that seemed strategically planned - and it was powerful to hear them share their hearts. 5) They presented the Gospel - sure they were talking about sex, but there was also a clear presentation of the Gospel and how to begin a relationship with Christ. And many responded to the invitation. That was awesome! 6) Clever use of technology - several times students were encouraged to use their cell phones during the program including signing up for ongoing follow up from Silver Ring Thing. Love that! 7) The rings can be bought at the event - as the name implies, silver rings to symbolize their commitment to wait were available for students to buy right after the show. Immediate application of what they were learning through the event - this was powerful. 8) Road trip! It was an hour and a half for us to get there but who doesn't love a road trip? My students do, so that worked out well (plus we ate at Five Guys which ratchets up the level of awesome pretty quickly). 9) The price was right - for only $6 online or $8 at the door, you get a great experience. This is a blessing to budget strapped youth ministries. 10) This decision affects their whole lives! Their future spouse, their future kids, their future grandkids, and their very own souls are impacted by deciding to wait for sex until marriage. Next to deciding to follow up Jesus, this is the biggest life impacting decision that our kids our going to make so we need to do EVERYTHING we can to help them make the right decision now. 11) BONUS: The Silver Ring Thing is a nation-wide ministry conference that was born in Pittsburgh and is headquartered here! How cool is that? They've been doing this 20 years and we need to support our local ministry entrepreneurs! Check out www.silverringthing.com to learn more The shootings in Charleston, South Carolina a couple weeks ago were horrible beyond belief. Absolutely heartbreaking. How do we respond to so much evil here at home let alone what is happening around the world? So many responses to the Charleston shooting are unfortunately external responses that I don't think will change much about how people feel toward each other - in fact, it seems like things are just getting worse. What I need, and what we all need, is our hearts changed from the inside out!
The change we are all trying to achieve cannot just be legislated - a hard lesson that Christians have had to learn the past 30 years. The human heart can only be changed from the inside out! Schools can provide education, doctors can provide medication, government can provide legislation, but only a relationship with God through Jesus Christ can provide transformation of the human heart. Nothing can replace God's forgiveness, presence, and power in our lives. Want evidence? Look at the families of the Charleston shooting victims. In the midst of extreme pain and loss they offered forgiveness to the one who committed such evil. They demonstrated for all to see how God transforms the human heart (and I applaud them). So let's keep sharing the Gospel and ask God to change people's hearts and lives. Occassionally, I hear the question asked, "Why do we even need denominations?" I personally love helping people from all over the body of Christ work together, but I do believe that denominations serve several good purposes. (DISCLAIMER: I'm making lots of generalizations here and these are non-research based opinions).
First, local churches need some kind of structure and accountability. Denominations provide local churches with an oversight, resources, and a kind of stability. And as I think about the history of the church, it seems like a de-centralized authority structure is necessary to provide checks and balances for the entire Body which we'll need until Jesus returns to earth. I think only Jesus could rule the entire Church. Second, I think denominations help keep the whole church balanced theologically. When one part of the church emphasizes one aspect of the spiritual life too much, another part of the church brings emphasis back to forgotten aspects. It's so easy for us to go off on theological tangents that we need other believers to remind us of the other importants parts of the gospel (i.e., truth and grace, faith and works, God's part, our part, etc.). Third, and this is similar to point 2, I think God uses different churches to bring good things to the rest of the body. Reformed churches have given all of us some solid theological thinking. Baptist churches remind us to keep winning souls. Pentecostal and Charismatic churches have given us fresh forms of worship and reminded us of how much we need the Holy Spirit. Anglican and Lutheran churches help us connect with our history (including emphasis on the practice of communion). Methodist churches have helped us keep our social conscience. Non-denominational churches have inspired us to stay on the cutting edge. My point is God has a lot of gifts for the whole body of Christ in these different churches. Although some churches and some entire denominations have left the faith, lets diligently stand for truth AND diligently connect with others who are doing the same even if they are in a different church. And let's appreciate what the different parts of the Body of Christ have to offer to the rest of us! Instead of focusing on what divides us, let's focus on what unites us. Let's learn from each other and benefit from how God has blessed all of us. I had never heard of Louis Zamperini until I heard about the UNBROKEN movie coming out. My wife bought the book for me for Christmas. I started reading it on Thursday and finished it on Monday - it was incredible as well as gut wrenching. A week later we went to see the movie - it was really only cliff notes of the book, but it was powerful. If you haven't seen the movie (or read the book), I strongly recommend that you do! Here are 10 reasons:
1) It's a classic underdog story. 2) It's an inspiring story of determination and strength. 3) It's a mind blowing story of survival. 5) It's an horrifying picture of realities of war and suffering. 6) It's an incredible reminder of the sacrifices that so many made. 7) It's a window into another time and world. 8) It's a testimony of the power of perseverance and endurance. 9) It has a great "rest of the story" that you can read in the book or see here. 10) It's a great story of redemption. So, go watch it! And read the book too. The book is amazing. |
WHO I AM
I'm a follower of Jesus, husband to my lovely wife Judy, father of Evangelina, Micah, Josiah, and Jeremiah, missionary to the northeast United States and advocate for all things youth ministry. WHAT I DO
I am the northeast regional coordinator for the National Network of Youth Ministries. I've worked for the last 24 years as the co-executive director of Teens For Christ, a ministry that equips teenagers to share their faith in their schools. I also served on staff at Cherry Tree Alliance Church for 15 years as youth pastor and family life pastor. My Websites
Youth Ministry Consultations Youth Ministry Networking 9 Month Mission Trip Speaking at camps, retreats, youth groups, etc. Archives
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