Archive for February 2010

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Things i love about Simply Youth Ministry Podcast

Here's a couple things I love about the Simply Youth Ministry Podcast. -Its unscripted. (this can be good and bad) -The show is driven by questions from youth workers. -They are sincere. -There is good wisdom as you enjoy the humor. -People get roasted. -Josh Griff's calves! Booyah!

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SYMC2010 Friday Night Session Notes & Photos

I POSTED A FEW OF MY RANDOM PHOTOS FROM FRIDAY HERE.

Session 1 - PASSION - by Duffy Robbins

MY FAVORITE LINE OF THE WHOLE TALK: "Jesus doesn't need us to die for him, he needs us to LIVE for Him!!"

OPENER: "Memory Makers" - book by Doug and Duffy

1. * One of the ways God shapes our faith is by giving us a rich reservoir of memories.
2. * God uses these moments of surprising memory to speak to us (the bus broke down, etc.) 2 tim. 2 "you know the persecutions i've been through" - it's lists of memories.
3. * The odyssey of faith is marked by milestones of memories. (Legacy)
4. * Paul takes great pains to remind us of legacy Phil 2 (started in verse 5)

STORY: He told a story about a man who loved his wife faithfully! Even once his wife had Alzheimer's. She loved me so well that it was a privilege to be able to love her back." (he called it "Real-life passion".) He showed a video of a guy from Microsoft who "LOOOOVED his company/job". (He revealed at the end of his message as he was summing up the message that this guy was his dad. This was POWERFUL! HE SAID, "MY DAD WAS A MEMORY MAKER BECAUSE HE WAS PASSIONATE.")

1. * The images we see are only a fraction of real passion.
2. * Only in Christ can we see the legacy of authentic passion.

The legacy of Jesus Christ helps us understand "Holy Passion"!

The Legacy of Christ is IRRATIONAL!

1. * Real Holy Passion always looks a little bit IRRATIONAL.
2. * Phil 2:6 - "Who being in very nature God did not consider equality with God something to be grasped..."
3. * Equality = Isosolese (Sp) Triangle like the triangle...(has two sides that are exactly the same...Jesus was absolutely equal to God.
4. * Doing student ministry is IRRATIONAL.
5. * He kept saying "it's not irrational it's PASSIONAL"

The Legacy of Christ is EXCESSIVE!

1. * There is something about passion that is EXCESSIVE!
2. * Phil 2:7 "...but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness."
3. * Jesus came in humility....in a manger...He emptied himself!
4. * what would it look like if our student generation would live out an excessive passion to Christ!

The Legacy of Christ is COSTLY!

1. * We have to understand this...passion is costly.
2. * Love something enough to suffer for it!
3. * Phil 2:8 "And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross!"
4. * We can't forget that genuine passion is costly.
5. * For most of us passion won't play itself out in death...but it might play itself out in the way we live our lives.
6. * Jesus doesn't need us to die for him, he needs us to LIVE for Him!! (One of my favorite lines in the whole talk!)
7. * Enduring the real present suffering that comes with life. (Ex. Parents who don't seems to really appreciate us, etc.)
8. * They pursued passion ("press on to take hold of that which Christ pursued")

This passion is ours by the legacy of Christ IN US.

1. * God is at work in you.

I PUT SOME PHOTOS HERE!

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One Day until SYMC 2010

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If student ministry continues this way...

I'm loving Luke 9 today.  GSM Journey tonight we're studying the truth that Jesus calls us in AND sends us out!  It's got me thinking about this next wave of Student Ministry in America. It's easy to grasp that Jesus draws us to himself because it's something that we can feel, it's tangible, lots of people/preachers talk about it...it's a draw.  But there is an equally important truth about the message Christ that has everything to do with bringing the kingdom.  It's this notion of being SENT by Christ into culture to transform it. I do student ministry because I believe both are possible and necessary!  Jesus wants this generation to be drawn to him, so we work like crazy to help students see the reality that Jesus pursues them BECAUSE he pursues what's valuable to Him!  But also, I want students to know that once he draws you in he will in turn send you out!!! Luke 9 gets right now down this Truth.  Jesus had 12 disciples that he drew close to Himself.  He asked them to whole-heartedly follow him at all cost....and in Luke 9 he "SENT THEM OUT to proclaim the Kingdom Of God..."

In this next wave of student ministry, I wonder if we need to focus a little more on SENDING students out equipped to transform culture rather than just focusing on bringing them into our buildings.  I think it's not one or the other, i think it's BOTH/AND.  But we shouldn't do one without the other.

If we continue with the institutionalized model of student ministry, do we lose some of our effectiveness in a culture that needs a lean model for radical transformation?

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Persecution in India Videos...God open our eyes!

Saw these two videos on my boy Brad Coopers blog and HAD to repost them.   BE WARNED: Images in these videos are unedited. I need to repent for thinking working long hours is tough. I need to repent for being flippant in my Americanized thoughts of persecution. God open my eyes! (Posted updated 2-24-10: Sorry these two videos were made private by the Cornerstone Church) Persecution in India: Unedited Footage from Cornerstone Church on Vimeo. Persecution in India: Francis' Response from Cornerstone Church on Vimeo.

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So excited for my boy!!

So excited for my boy Seth who got engaged tonight!  This boy is IN LOVE and it's obvious!  He loves Jesus (a LOT), loves Sarah (A LOT), and loves zebra cakes (A LOT). SO HAPPY FOR HIM! (Seth's one of my great friends and is also our GSM Worship Leader.)

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YCM: 1 of 4 students say religion not for them

Just read an interesting article OVER HERE. Excerpt: New data released this week from Pew Research on Millennials and religion quoted in USA Today,Denver Post and elsewhere, says one in four Millennials (25%) do not identify with any one faith, instead describing their religion as “atheist,” “agnostic” or “nothing in particular.”  This level of non-affiliation is much than was seen for other generations at the same age. Read the full article HERE. (YCM = Youth Culture Mashup)

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The Missional Church isn't new but it's foundational.

Great video on The Missional Church. I believe it's easier said than done, but it is essential. It will take reshaping the minds of churches who have been operating the way we currently are for hundreds of years. In the fourth century Constantine paved the way for Christianity to be the state religion of Rome and everything about the way the church moved changed. We went from missional to institutional. This video is a glimpse into what the church was before the fourth century. So this "missional church" talk might be new lingo, but it is FAR from new to the movement of the Kingdom of God. Enjoy!

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How can we be blessed?

James 1:25 "But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does."

Want to know how to be blessed?

1. Look intently into the perfect law (The Word of God)
2. Don't forget you see/hear/read when looking at the perfect law
3. Do what it says

Simple enough to understand, harder to practice.

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God's words were meant for application

While teaching this "It's official" series in GSM, I've been thinking nonstop about the reality that God meant his words to be taken and used for application not merely consideration. "70% of his words were meant for application" - heard this earlier in the year.  Not sure if it's completely accurate but it made a great point for me to remember.