Last night at Unbound we had a very interesting discussion about the exclusivity of Christianity. The purpose of the discussion was to talk about why God would make it so that there was only one way to heaven. While this premise has been generally acknowledged for the past 2000 years, this generation is greatly questioning whether this statement is true or not. The discussion centered around whether "all roads lead to Heaven" or if there is one way to eternity with God. This was difficult for some of the students who have a number of friends that are actively communicating that everyone is right. We walked through the Old Testament and New Testament story of God and talked about how acknowledging God and the Bible necessitates an "exclusive" view. The problem with that word is that while the view is exclusive to only those who receive Christ, it is inclusive to anyone that will submit his life to God.
What are your thoughts on this issue?
Have you thought about engaging your kids with this? It's ok to talk through controversial questions, even if you don't have all the answers. It is important for the kids to hear you acknowledging some of the difficulties that they face on a day to day basis.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Mexico Outreach Concert
This past Friday night Taylor, AJ, DJ and Joey donate their time and talent to contribute to the effort to raise funds for Mexico 07. The concert was a blast and was highly successful in helping us raise over $250.00 for the Mexico Team. It has been exciting to see these young musicians having fun writing songs and creating music, then using that music to bring glory to God and support his mission to the world. Make sure to thank Taylor and the guys for all of their work!
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Serving God
Unbound student ministries has been characterized largely by student led worship for the past 5 years. As students step forward with musical ability and leadership skills I see true transformation in front of my eyes. I have been so excited to see the students gain a true understanding for what it means to worship God.We have a number of students involved in children's ministry in some capacity (Awana, Sunday School, Child Care, Kidzville Worship, etc). I have been so excited to see this number rise to almost 25 high school students involved in children's ministry. The students are understanding more and more the need that they have to be involved in furthering God's work through his church.
In the past year we've had 6 young men share truth from God's Word. Whether these young men aspire to be teachers or preachers is irrelevant. They are grasping key parts of God's Word and communicating that to their peers and in doing that I have seen immense growth and challenge. I am excited to see what God is doing in these students and I can't wait to see how he will use many of these young men and women to further his work in the future-should the Lord delay his return.
We also have 6 high school students participating on Junior High staff. They are putting gifts into practice by weekly leading small groups, games, teaching, helping with worship, and planning events. These students are a key part of the middle school ministry and they have developed amazing relationships with the kids in that program.
As parents and youth workers I would love to know what qualities you've seen in your kids or in these students that could be put into use for the student ministries and for the church ministries as a whole. We can't continue to think of them as "the church of the future" because I'm starting to see that they are the church of right now. All praise, glory and honor to God.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Counseling Resources
I am in the process of reading a book called "Pleasing People" by Lou Priolo (www.prpbooks.com). As a parent or youth worker, this would be a valuable read if you struggle in the area of seeking approval from people. The book presents an excellent Scriptural basis for understanding how pride affects our self-perception and how it causes us to seek out the approval of people. It also separates people pleasing into two categories--seeking the approval of men and fearing the rejection of men. This is so important as we interact with high school students. We set up our family systems to hinge on our approval and disapproval of our kids activities. I have already seen evidence of this in my own family and my oldest is only 4. In some ways we train our kids to seek out the approval of men rather than to be content in the approval of God.
Part of the problem might be that we ourselves seek the approval of men rather than the approval of God. If this is something you think you might be struggling with, this would be a great book to pick up. It's not perfect, but it does have some great insight into the issue.
Part of the problem might be that we ourselves seek the approval of men rather than the approval of God. If this is something you think you might be struggling with, this would be a great book to pick up. It's not perfect, but it does have some great insight into the issue.
The Will of God
Tonight at youth group we are going to be searching out the question: "Why does God harden people's hearts". I have found this to be an interesting topic with some powerful application.
The ultimate point of the night after looking at Pharaoh, the King of Hesbon and the Israelites in Romans 9 and 11 is to see that any time that God hardens a heart it serves a specific purpose for his Kingdom. Whether we know or see that purpose at any given moment is besides the point. The application for the night is to see that God wants us to focus on doing our part. We are incapable of saving anyone. Our role is to be witnesses, to be ambassadors and to speak the truth in love. We can plant, we can water, but ultimately God will cause that seed to grow.
This is actually encouraging. It takes the pressure off of results. We can trust that if we are faithful to do our part, God will do his part according to his perfect will. Does this mean that everyone we evangelize to will be saved... unfortunately, no. But as a faithful disciple I have to focus my attention on what God has asked me to focus my attention on. I can't focus on the things that are out of my control.
Where to go with this:
1. As a family, what are you doing to fulfill your part? Are there family members (immediate or extended) that you have been praying for and being a witness to? Can you identify what seeds have been planted or what watering has been done? If not, what are some seeds that you could plant? What is some watering that you could do? This would be a great dinner table discussion.
2. As a family, what are some things that you do to display trust in God? Is your giving a family affair? Do your kids know how much you give? Do they know the sacrifice that you make to support the work of the Kingdom financially? This would be a great discussion to have, not to brag, but to teach them the importance of trusting God's provision and his hand in the life of your family.
The ultimate point of the night after looking at Pharaoh, the King of Hesbon and the Israelites in Romans 9 and 11 is to see that any time that God hardens a heart it serves a specific purpose for his Kingdom. Whether we know or see that purpose at any given moment is besides the point. The application for the night is to see that God wants us to focus on doing our part. We are incapable of saving anyone. Our role is to be witnesses, to be ambassadors and to speak the truth in love. We can plant, we can water, but ultimately God will cause that seed to grow.
This is actually encouraging. It takes the pressure off of results. We can trust that if we are faithful to do our part, God will do his part according to his perfect will. Does this mean that everyone we evangelize to will be saved... unfortunately, no. But as a faithful disciple I have to focus my attention on what God has asked me to focus my attention on. I can't focus on the things that are out of my control.
Where to go with this:
1. As a family, what are you doing to fulfill your part? Are there family members (immediate or extended) that you have been praying for and being a witness to? Can you identify what seeds have been planted or what watering has been done? If not, what are some seeds that you could plant? What is some watering that you could do? This would be a great dinner table discussion.
2. As a family, what are some things that you do to display trust in God? Is your giving a family affair? Do your kids know how much you give? Do they know the sacrifice that you make to support the work of the Kingdom financially? This would be a great discussion to have, not to brag, but to teach them the importance of trusting God's provision and his hand in the life of your family.
Monday, March 19, 2007
The Afterlife Part II
Tonight, the students will be hearing from one of our small group leaders, Toni Beherend, on her experience with the paranormal/occult before she came to know the Lord. I am curious to see what she has to say and how God brought her out of that life into her life with him now.
There should be some great opportunity for follow-up conversation after a night like tonight:
-Do any of your friends have stories about ghosts/spells/witchcraft/etc?
-Have you ever had any experiences like this?
-What are some of the fears/questions that you have about the supernatural world?
-How can we as Christians guard ourselves against this world while still being a friend and a resource to people in this world?
On a seperate note, I know the whole "Myspace" discussion has quieted down a bit over the past few months. If you haven't already, take a look at Kristen's and my Myspace to see what we've done to use it as a student ministry resource: www.myspace.com/mattandkristenlarson
If you have any questions about specifics of what we're talking about in the discipleship class, please comment below the blogs or email at Matt@evfree.net
There should be some great opportunity for follow-up conversation after a night like tonight:
-Do any of your friends have stories about ghosts/spells/witchcraft/etc?
-Have you ever had any experiences like this?
-What are some of the fears/questions that you have about the supernatural world?
-How can we as Christians guard ourselves against this world while still being a friend and a resource to people in this world?
On a seperate note, I know the whole "Myspace" discussion has quieted down a bit over the past few months. If you haven't already, take a look at Kristen's and my Myspace to see what we've done to use it as a student ministry resource: www.myspace.com/mattandkristenlarson
If you have any questions about specifics of what we're talking about in the discipleship class, please comment below the blogs or email at Matt@evfree.net
Thursday, March 15, 2007
The Afterlife
This week in the Discipleship Class we had an extremely challenging time of working through what happens after death. Not only that, but we talked through some of the issues of the spiritual world that this physical world deals with regularly. What do we do with ghosts? What do we do with mediums and psychics and all of those types of things that we see on TV (and in the schools). It was a thought provoking and encouraging time together.
Here are some thoughts for how you as a parent could continue this discussion:
Questions
1. What do you think happens in the supernatural world?
2. How should we as Christians approach the modern world of psychics and fortune telling?
3. Do you have any friends that I could be praying for?
Remember when you talk to your kids, you are their parents. You are a source of spiritual wisdom and understanding for your kids.
Keep checking back here for updates on what's going on in Evfree Student Ministries!
Here are some thoughts for how you as a parent could continue this discussion:
Questions
1. What do you think happens in the supernatural world?
2. How should we as Christians approach the modern world of psychics and fortune telling?
3. Do you have any friends that I could be praying for?
Remember when you talk to your kids, you are their parents. You are a source of spiritual wisdom and understanding for your kids.
Keep checking back here for updates on what's going on in Evfree Student Ministries!
Biblical Church
Have you ever thought of what church looked like in the Bible? It looks pretty different from what we know as church today. I wrestle with this. I don't think that the Bible would presume that all church would look similar to what it looked like in the book of Acts, but ultimately, I find it interesting that church looks almost nothing like it did in Acts.
What is church?
Church is the body of Christ. That metaphor is important because it identifies the key parts. Christ is the head of the church. Each individual is a member/part of the body of Christ. Each part must be connected to the head (Jesus Christ) in order to function properly and move the body in the direction that the head wants it to go.
Church is the gathering place (Hebrews 10:24). We are challenged to meet together to stimulate one another to love and good deeds. The fact of the matter is that Jesus Christ has a purpose for us, if we are going to accomplish that purpose, we need to be pushing each other in the right direction. As a youth pastor, there is always a temptation to call hanging out "fellowship". Unless we are pushing people toward God, we are not participating in fellowship.
Church isn't a building, it's a body of people in motion together. You think about that early church (Acts). They didn't have any particular location, but they gathered together regularly, prayed for people, and let as many people know about Christ as possible. They were in motion. They moved forward.
The point of this is to wrestle through the goals for church. We can't get caught up in making church the right place for people. Sure, yes we want to remove road blocks for people to connect with the head, but in reality, church is what it is. Church is the body of Christ. People are going to make a choice to be a part of that body or not. We can't be people pleasers, we have to move in the direction that God wants his church going. He wants us making disciples (Matt 28:18-20), he wants us pushing each other toward him (Hebrews 10:24), he wants us communicating the manifold wisdom of God (Eph 3:10) and he wants us to equip the saints for works of service (Eph 4:11-12). There are other passages that deal with the goals of the church, but these are certainly some key passages as well.
This is just something to wrestle with. Think about it.
What is church?
Church is the body of Christ. That metaphor is important because it identifies the key parts. Christ is the head of the church. Each individual is a member/part of the body of Christ. Each part must be connected to the head (Jesus Christ) in order to function properly and move the body in the direction that the head wants it to go.
Church is the gathering place (Hebrews 10:24). We are challenged to meet together to stimulate one another to love and good deeds. The fact of the matter is that Jesus Christ has a purpose for us, if we are going to accomplish that purpose, we need to be pushing each other in the right direction. As a youth pastor, there is always a temptation to call hanging out "fellowship". Unless we are pushing people toward God, we are not participating in fellowship.
Church isn't a building, it's a body of people in motion together. You think about that early church (Acts). They didn't have any particular location, but they gathered together regularly, prayed for people, and let as many people know about Christ as possible. They were in motion. They moved forward.
The point of this is to wrestle through the goals for church. We can't get caught up in making church the right place for people. Sure, yes we want to remove road blocks for people to connect with the head, but in reality, church is what it is. Church is the body of Christ. People are going to make a choice to be a part of that body or not. We can't be people pleasers, we have to move in the direction that God wants his church going. He wants us making disciples (Matt 28:18-20), he wants us pushing each other toward him (Hebrews 10:24), he wants us communicating the manifold wisdom of God (Eph 3:10) and he wants us to equip the saints for works of service (Eph 4:11-12). There are other passages that deal with the goals of the church, but these are certainly some key passages as well.
This is just something to wrestle with. Think about it.
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