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Josh GriffinMore Posts GUEST POST: Forgiveness through Second Chances

Just yesterday, I took a US Government test and made a 60. Good news is though, the instructor told me what I missed, I got to go back and study and I was able to retake the test and I bumped the grade up to an 88. If it were not for retakes and second chances on this test, I would not have done so well. If it were not for retakes and second chance in life, every one of us would be left beaten down and abandoned because we all make mistakes. We all fall short somewhere in our lives.

God forgives
No matter what we have done or how far gone from God we may be, He still loves us. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This kind of love shows us that He has forgiven us from the beginning of our sin. He sent His son and washed our slate clean. He will not stop loving you when you abuse yourself or abuse others or even when you are angry with and protesting against Him; He is too wise and all-knowing to turn His back to you when you are down. When you are scared and all alone, He walks with you through the darkness. He will never leave you nor forsake you. He is in love with you.

We should forgive
When I made a 60 on that test, the instructor could have said, “you should have studied harder.” or, “I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can do.” But she didn’t. She chose to show grace, forgiving my low score and allowing me to retake the test. In turn, I made a much better grade. Imagine if she would have forgiven my score again…and again. Imagine how much better I could have done, how much I would have grown in understanding. God says forgive 70 x 7 times. Matthew 18:22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven.” One of the reasons I believe He wants us to forgive others is because He knows how much we learn and grow from our mistakes when forgiven and are shown grace and redirection from each other. The temporary discomfort we get from forgiving another and giving them a second chance far outweighs the bitterness when we live in a work where cycle is never ending torture.

Thankfully we serve a God who is forgiving and loving, one who will continue to guide us in the direction we should go no matter how many times we turn around. This same God will guide you to a lifestyle of forgiveness and freedom. Just ask Him! And it won’t be long before you are the one giving second chances!

Ashley Fordinal is the Children’s Church volunteer at Family Life Church in Sulphur Springs, TX.

Add Comment March 3, 2013

Josh GriffinMore Posts GUEST POST: Where God is Taking You

Sometimes it’s maddeningly difficult to discern where in the world God is taking you. Other times, it’s painfully clear to see where He’s leading. I’m stuck in a furious limbo between the two. So where does that leave me? or lead me rather?

This past September, I just finished out a summer internship with Saddleback Student Ministries worship (Cluster of Students). Before the fall semester started, I was asked by the worship pastor if I’d like to continue interning through the year. I decided to think and pray about it before giving an answer, and after a couple weeks of prayer and counsel I didn’t have total peace about continuing as an intern. As a result, I did what I thought was best for me.

I ignored the Holy Spirit’s conviction. Sure enough, I could feel fatigue setting in. I was spread thinner than a crepe (those really thin pancakes). Between all of the responsibilities that I had, I can’t believe I knew which day was which. It’s funny how tightly we hold onto our own plans. Let’s face it though, we all do it. God says “No,” and we say, “sweet, I was thinking yes too.” By the grace of God, He redeemed the next few months for His glory, like He always does. He also convicted me and the pastor that I was working with that God wanted me elsewhere. We communicated after heavy prayer, and we both heard the same thing. He knew that I couldn’t be a key contributor everywhere. He KNOWS what you need.

What an example of God’s conviction and His grace! I disobeyed; He redeemed it. Next time you find yourself at a crossroads, between decisions (Del Taco or Carl’s Jr?), here are a few things that you can do first to save yourself from your plans.

Ask Your Dad . . . your heavenly one. Trust me, He has a better way. We don’t consult God because we want to include Him in OUR plans as if we have any idea what we’re doing. We invite God in because HE has a better plan than we do, and He wants to guide you for your benefit.

Address Your Sin . . . like I didn’t. I desperately wanted to be, well wanted. As soon as I found out that somebody wanted to work with me for the next year, I had an opportunity to fulfill that insecurity. Instead of listening to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, I listened to that little voice that craves the approval of people. Sin has a habit of blinding you to the picture that God is painting. It’s a beautiful picture, it’s worth seeing.

Abide . . . in the vine. Allow yourself to be overwhelmed by the joy and peace of God. He has an abundance to give, and He wants you to overflow with it. Be in the word, be in fellowship, and be in REST. Practice sitting in your room or on a couch, and soaking in the Lord’s presence. No pretense, no rules. Just soak. Some hang time with your creator will make any decision sound much less daunting.

Chance Espinoza is a college student from Orange County that loves Jesus, music, and eating breakfast until he falls asleep. He has been serving in youth ministry for 7 years with a heavy heart for worship and creativity.

Add Comment March 3, 2013

Josh GriffinMore Posts GUEST POST: Leading by Example

When God places you in a role of leadership, it is not to be taken lightly. He wants to live through you and wants to make a life changing impact in the lives you come in contact with. To do this, you have got to be willing to lead by example so they will have someone to imitate. “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.” (Hebrews 13:7)

Living in transparency
We all have short comings. It is important to allow others to see that in you. It is especially when you are in a role of leadership and all they ever see is the perfect side of you. I like to invite the children in my ministry into my world and allow them to live in my imperfect world if only for a moment. I show them it is okay to be imperfect and God can and will still use you anyway. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Love when it hurts
“Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is born of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God–for God is love.” (1 John 4:7-8) Love does not stop loving when it doesn’t feel good anymore. Love keeps on loving even when it hurts. It goes to enormous lengths to comfort, to guide, to protect and to lead. With God’s love, we can lead our youth to Jesus.

Speak life
Whether with your youth at church, at a concert or at home; you should watch the words you choose. Words have the power to either lift someone up or drag someone down. It is never okay to speak down on someone even if it is only meant for fun. We are raising up planet shakers and our words should reflect just that. Speak life into your youth group. Speak life to the kid who no one would give a second look. God has incredible plans for each of them. Speak life, see life.

Let’s take our leadership role seriously and choose to lead by example, allowing God to use us to positively impact the lives of the youth of tomorrow.

Ashley Fordinal is the Children’s Church volunteer at Family Life Church in Sulphur Springs, TX.

Add Comment February 23, 2013

Geoff StewartMore Posts GUEST POST: Rick Warren’s Bible Study Methods

One of the books that I have been recommending a lot to students recently is “Rick Warren’s Bible Study Methods” by… Rick Warren. In the book, Rick gives 12 different ways for us to dig into scripture. It is the perfect book for a student who wants to switch things up with their time in the Bible. The methods are:

1. Devotional- Meditate on a short piece of scripture and then find a personal life application for it.

2. Chapter Summary- Read a chapter of the Bible at least five times and then write down your thoughts about it.

3. Character Quality- Pick a character trait that you would like to have/grow in, then look at and study what the Bible says about it. Find out how you can apply that to your life!

4. Thematic- This is one of my favorites! Start by picking some theme of the Bible and write down a few questions you have about them and try to answer them by looking up the theme in various areas of the Bible.

5. Biographical- Choose a character from the Bible and read all that you can about them. Take notes about their traits and character and see how you can apply them to your own life.

6. Topical- Organize a list of scripture about a certain topic. Put it into an outline from that you’d be able to share with another person.

7. Word Study- Choose an important word from the Bible and see how it is used and how many times it comes up. Go and find out what the original meaning of the word is!

8. Book Background- With the use of Bible reference books, study the historical context of a book of the Bible to understand how the history affected the meaning.

9. Book Survey- Read an entire book of the Bible several times to get a good idea on what the book is about and then study the background of the book and take notes.

10. Chapter Analysis- Take a careful look at one particular chapter of the Bible. Take it apart word-by-word, verse-by-verse.

11. Book Synthesis- After you’ve used the Book Survey Method and the Chapter Analysis Method on every chapter of the book, summarize the contents and the main themes of a book.

12. Verse Analysis- Select a passage of Scripture and examine it in detail by asking questions, finding cross-references, and paraphrasing each verse. Record a possible application of each verse you study

I love this book because there is really something in here for everyone, no matter if they are in high school or seminary! Each method is unique in its approach and in its complexity. The methods are organized from simple to complex, so I usually advise that students start in the front and work their way back. So far, students have loved this book! It has helped many of them get out of their quiet time “slumps” because it shakes up the way that they have gotten used to looking at scripture. It is perfect for a student that is looking at taking their time in the Bible to the next level!

Some people that often hit “slumps” are college freshmen. This could be a really great gift for some of your recent graduates!

What is a resource that you have been giving your students recently?

Colton Harker is the Student Leadership Director at Saddleback HSM. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact him at coltonharker@gmail.com or on twitter at @ColtonHarker.

Add Comment February 19, 2013

Geoff StewartMore Posts GUEST POST: Living in Unity

I am increasingly convinced that one of the most powerful things a church can do in their area is live in complete unity with other churches.

We have all experienced moments where churches were anything but unified. Times when you instantly understand that we have somehow missed the point. I’ve also seen communities where churches do a decent job of being at peace with one another. As in, you do your thing and we’ll do our thing and as long as your thing doesn’t mess with our thing, then its all good. That is nice and all, but I do believe that it is possible to do more than just get along. I do believe it is possible to live in unity; joined together as one.

Here are four things I think will help you fight for unity among churches in your area.

Pray - Jesus prayed, in John 17:20-23, that the disciples would experience complete unity, so that the world would know the truth about God’s love for them. We should pray for the same thing. Pray that God would break down the walls of territorialism amongst churches in your area. God, remind us that we are on the same team.

Celebrate the Wins - Often, it is easy to celebrate the success of a Church, or a Student Ministry, on the other side of the country, but what about the one across the street or down the block?

One thing that we do in our area is host Quarterly “All-Staff” Meetings. It is basically a collective staff meeting. Each time a different church will host as we come together for prayer, free breakfast (provided by the host church, or a local Chick-fil-A), worship, and teaching from the hosting Senior Pastor. It is absolutely beautiful. We celebrate everything that God is doing in our churches, in our region, and we remind ourselves that we are in it together as we attempt to minister to the 1.3 millionlost people in our County.

Youth Ministry “Network” meetings are another invaluable thing you can do in your area. Simply bring local Student Pastors together regularly for prayer. Consider hosting community-wide events together.

Ask the Hard Questions - How many students and/or families do you have that come to visit from other churches? What do you say when they tell you where they are from? Do you know the pastor’s name? Do you know what is going on there? Can you encourage them, “Man, we love your church. Do you know Pastor Dave? He is a great friend of mine. Loved hearing about your Mission Trip last summer, were you a part of that?” As much as it depends on you, encourage students and families to bloom where they are planted.

Ask yourself: Is our ministry constantly welcoming Christians that we’ve traded with the place down the street, or are we consistently welcoming the lost? If you’re doing a lot of trading, what you have to realize is that, at some point, for your ministry to “succeed” the one down the street has to fail. That’s not right, and something has to change.

Guard Your Tongue - The extent to which we are prone to tear down brothers and sisters in Christ never ceases to amazes me. It happens in casual conversation, it happens on blogs, it happens in 140 characters or less… Very simply, there is no room in the Kingdom of God to bash other believers. Lovingly correct them? Yes. But that is done directly and privately before anything else.

I just wonder if it is time for people to know churches less by what divides us and more by what unites us. If the goal is to grow in the image and likeness of Jesus, and point others towards a saving knowledge of Him, then I’m in.

May our churches be marked by a spirit of unity.

Ryan McDermott is the Director of Student Ministries at the Royal Palm Campus of Christ Fellowship Church in South Florida. Follow him @ryanmcdermott and check out the church at gochristfellowship.com.

3 View Comments February 18, 2013

Geoff StewartMore Posts GUEST POST: Where Did You Come From?

When I read Josh’s poll about ministry education it got me thinking about who I am and where I have come from. It got me thinking can I integrate my lessons learned from the past to make me a better student pastor?

Now I have a varied background when it comes to how I got to where I am now working with students from grade 8-young adults (18-25). I started volunteering in ministry as soon as I could, when I was in Jr high I helped out with Sunday school, as I progressed to high school I helped out with junior high students when I moved on to college I began to help out with high school students.

My education is also a bit of a mess if you looked at it on paper. I spent time in Bible school obtaining a Diploma in Christian Studies at which time I decided to take time off of school to work in full time camp ministry. I eventually returned to school to take a Wilderness Leadership certificate. My thinking was if I have more technical experience I would become a better outdoorsman. After returning to camp ministry for a brief period I believed God was calling me on to something different. I worked for 3 years in the death care industry, learning simple lessons from working with people grieving. After this I ended up going to school to become a Paramedic, and right after I finished my practicum, training and licensing as a Paramedic I landed in my current position. Now I am working full time with students but also working on my Masters in Christian studies with an emphasis on Biblical exposition.

Now I am sure if a lot of churches looked at this they would laugh and move along in the pile of resumes that came into them for a position, but where I have come from gives me a lot to stand on.

My Christian studies are used daily as I teach and preach, these skills are closely tied to my job. It is without question in my mind that some type of biblical training whether formal or informal greatly helps one in their ministry.

My time in camp ministry and taking wilderness leadership has given me the unique opportunity to take students into the outdoors and use nature to teach about God. I take students whitewater rafting, hiking, snowshoeing, skiing, my goal is to even do a canoe trip or a multi-day wilderness excursion.

Working in the death care industry helped me understand working with grieving people. Now I am not a gifted counselor but students are going through a lot, and sometimes they are grieving. With having experience in this area I can feel comfortable talking to them. I might not know what they are going through but I can navigate through this area of trouble.

Training as a paramedic is useful. At All-nighters I have dealt with concussions, cuts, breaks, sprains and the list will continue to grow, with my understanding of first aid and medicine I am equipped to hand these injuries and it has given me a lot of credit with parents. I would encourage you if you don’t have any first aid, take a class it will increase your credibility with parents in your church.

It is hard to see for many how my journey has ended up where I am at along the road. But when I look at it, I see areas where I have unique strengths that help me in my ministry. I also see where God has taken me to help patch up weaknesses to make me a better servant.

Please take some time and share where you have been. I think it would be encouraging to hear the stories of how God has tailored each one of us to be the servant we are today.

Kyle Corbin has been serving youth as a volunteer or pastor for over 10 years. He is currently the youth pastor at the Bridge Church in North Vancouver B.C. You can follow his blog at: kylecorbin.blogspot.comor Twitter: @CorbinKyle.

Add Comment February 17, 2013

Geoff StewartMore Posts GUEST POST: The Desire for Victory

As a kid I used to dream big, and you probably did too. Not NHL or NBA big. I’m talking hero to thousands big! Someone who would receive global recognition for their efforts and heroism. As I grew up these dreams changed and altered to varying degrees but more or less, I always wanted to be a hero. If I heard on the news that there was a devastating Tsunami with millions injured or political wars over economic crises, I often dreamt of being the one to come up with a solution and being recognized as, you guessed it – the hero. Or, on road trips with family I would stare outside the window watching telephone pole after telephone pole with a glossy look on my face not paying attention to what I was looking at but letting my imagination run wild. Dreaming of someone in need of a knight in shining armor, thinking of those who needed a savior. Wanting to be like Spiderman or Superman there was something in that desired victory. Heroism wasn’t something someone told me to think about, it was just there. It is just there even today.

Why bring up this desire for victory? Because it is likely that many students across the world have these same desires. I have been in church for many years now. And I want to submit this notion that the victory of Christ at the moment of the Resurrection should not be highlighted solely on Easter Sunday. In my studies I’ve come across a picture of Jesus known as the Christ Pantocrator. Pantocrator in Greek simply means “Almighty” or “All-powerful” and the image is one that emphasizes the all powerful victory and strength of Christ at the destruction of sin and death at the Cross and Resurrection. Students who desire victory need to know that they can live in Victory - Christ’s victory. The yearning for victory and the success of the greatest victory is exampled in Jesus Christ. Preaching victory is preaching the Gospel. Students of all ages need to be reminded that the greatest victory has been accomplished and as we dream of victory, the reality is we can have victory in Christ.

If a students desire or vision for victory is never encouraged how does one expect that student to walk victory in their life? If there is no constant reminder that Jesus is victorious, what encouragement do we have to be victorious in a fallen world? The victory of Christ is central to the Christian message. If Christ has not been raised, Paul would argue, then our faith is futile and we are still in our sins; in other words, we have no victory (1 Cor. 15:17). As a kid, the desire for victory was always there but I constantly dwelled upon what my victory could look like for my name, fame and glory. That desire for victory in light of the work of Christ enables students to walk in confidence for the name, fame and glory of Christ. The desire for victory is present within us all. Lest we forget that Christ actually was, and is, victorious.

Ryan McCurdy serves as a volunteer at Revolution which is the Youth and Young Adults Ministry at Christian Life Assembly in Langley B.C. You can follow him at Twitter here.

-GS

Add Comment February 17, 2013

Geoff StewartMore Posts GUEST POST: Authentic Encouragement

Authentic encouragement is an important part of a successful youth ministry. Here are some tips to effectively encourage students.

1) BE SPECIFIC

Don’t just tell a student that they rock. Tell them why they rock. The more specific you are the more encouraging it is to the student.

2) DON’T BE or SOUND CONDESCENDING

It’s very easy to sound condescending when you are trying to be encouraging. Make sure that you are not talking down to them, and be aware of your tone. When in doubt practice the statement with yourself or another adult leader to test if it is condescending. I know that may seem weird, but it is better than inadvertently being condescending to a student when you are just trying to encourage them.

3) MEAN WHAT YOU SAY

Students can tell when you aren’t being sincere. Don’t try to fake it, mean what you say!

4) WATCH FOR THE MIDDLE STUDENTS

Middle Students are the students who are not the rough students, but also aren’t the really outgoing talented ones. These students are the most neglected, and need the most encouragement.

5) KEEP THE ATTENTION ON THEM

This is not the time to talk about yourself, or sneakily brag about yourself. This is all about them and for them.

6) ASSUME THEY ARE NOT GETTING ENCOURAGEMENT ANYWHERE ELSE

You may be the only person that ever encourages them. So go in with that mindset with every student, because it may be true.

7) ENCOURAGE OFTEN

Make encouraging a common practice in your life. You may not be a natural encourager, but the more you do it the easier it gets.

Derek Parson is the youth pastor at Shippensburg Church of the Nazarene in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. He has a youth ministry blog:www.youthministrycafe.com.

-GS