Blizzzog

As you may know, I recently stepped out of 5 years of youth ministry at my local church and into a new role in ministry.  I compiled the following top 9 lessons I learned in youth ministry as a gift to my successor, an anointed young lady who has been on my leadership team for years. This post was originally a document addressed to her, but hopefully you do not need to fully understand our context in order for some of this to resonate in one way or another.

To Sharon!  a.k.a “Share-Bear”

You have been prepared and appointed by the Holy Spirit for such a time as this. You are going to do an amazing job.

1. Leadership is Lonely

There is an old saying, “when you are called, you are separated.”  This does not mean that you are separated into some magical special place of pastor-hood where you and God meet for breakfast on a mountain and He permits you to gaze upon His Glory. No, now that you are the leader, YOU will ultimately be making the calls and that will separate you. Especially the hard calls. When left on the tough side of a decision, you might find yourself at a very lonely place. Grow accustomed to this place; God didn’t call you to an easy job. But don’t grow accustomed to the loneliness.  Loneliness is the first thing that God deemed “not good” (Gen 2:18) and it is still true today. More than ever you will need the Body of Christ. Open your eyes to the support and companionship around you that is not at your church.  These partners will become your lifeline. Remember exhausted Elijah at the end of his rope? God encouraged him by sending him to where and to whom? (1 Kings 19:18,19)

2. A Bad Plan is Better than No Plan.

God has called you to lead His people. That is your job; your appointment is to lead people to Jesus by taking their hand and placing it in Jesus’ hand. There will be times when you do not know what to do and you will ask God what to do and not hear an answer.  That might even be most of the time. But at the end of the day, people are going to follow you even if you don’t know where you are going, especially lambs. In these times, have faith in the God who has faith in you and make a plan. (Prov. 16:3) Sure, there will be times when that plan will be to “wait on/for the Lord” (Isa. 40:) but I have found that this is often more of a cop out than a solution. When you are reluctant to lead, you lead reluctance within your community.  Be bold as Paul was bold and say, “Hi, my name is Paul, and I have been appointed by God as an apostle and called by name, so FOLLOW ME as I follow Christ… and tell your friends too.” You want a bold Spirit filled youth group who is confident in who they are in Christ. Believe in the God who believes in you, he knew what He was doing when He appointed you.

3. Lead from Your Knees.

Two things happen when a pastor leads from this foundational posture of humility:

1. Service is magnified from your knees. When you serve your leaders like Jesus and lay your life down for them, you earn the voice to speak into their lives and you earn the right to lead them.  How can your leaders bad mouth you or question your heart when they are looking down at you as you wash their feet? Servant leadership (Mark 10:45)

2: Prayer sets the tone. Let’s just say you need to start asking yourself some questions when a week goes by that you have not prayed and fasted for your pastor, youth leaders, and youth group by name. The bottom line is, if you don’t lead from this place, something is wrong and ask for forgiveness.  We are talking about kids lives, God’s little ones, and a higher accountability under God as a teacher. (James 1:3)

The truth is, you WILL make mistakes. But when you heart and character is not in question, people tend to let it slide a lot easier.

4. Families Make the Best Disciples

I wish I could give you a scripture about youth ministry from the Bible, but I don’t know any.  The truth is a mom and/or dad is more influential than any program or service will ever be.  Family trumps Youth Pastor. Parents are already (this is not always true obviously) discipling their kids and their love and parenting will make a bigger impact than anything we say. Partner with Parents.  It is not your job to raise their kids. Speak with all the parents you can at church on Sunday mornings, rather than just the kids, you’ll see the youth at youth group. Call them at work, send them a newsletter, have them over for dinner. I have heard it said that “parents are your greatest asset.” Well, that is backwards. God gave a kid parents for their entire life, you are lucky if you get two years. Partner with parents when making disciples to maximize effectiveness and make an eternal impact.

5. Every Youth Pastor’s Endgame is Discipleship

When people talk about “growing” a youth group any other way than discipleship… I get nervous.  Here is the formula: healthy things grow. A “healthy” disciple of Jesus Christ is obeying the Father by making disciples and baptizing them. This is your endgame. Look at your kids, do you have enough leaders assigned to them for discipleship? Are your leaders picking up kids and their friends and bringing them to church? Are they at student’s baseball games and on their Myspace page? I have heard it said, “discipleship is caught, not taught.” Discipleship happens by leaders and students spending time with each other, but you might have to teach them that.

6. Youth Groups Don’t Have Their Own Mission Statements

God has called your entire community of faith to a particular vision and will hold your senior pastor responsible for this vision. If you have submitted yourself to him or her, than the youth group should be an extension of this vision. Honor your pastor with this commitment.  If you have been commissioned by the Lord to serve these people, than you have been commissioned to serve your Pastor as well. Scripture instructs us to make their job easier (Hebrews 13:17) Mission statements can be powerful, just make sure your senior pastor helps you write it. Ask yourself if it is more powerful to re-write your church’s mantra or to have an army of young people who lead the adults into embodying this statement and living missional values centered on the church’s values?

7. The Word of God Transforms Lives, Not Game Night.

There is one particular parable found in Mark that is not recorded in any other Gospel accounts. It is only 3 verses long and you can find it in Mark 13:26-29. In this parable, Jesus illustrates the power of the seed. As you know, the general focus of Jesus teaching in similar parables concerns the soil; rocky, thorny, uncultivated, etc. But in Mark’s version, Jesus illustrates an alternate scenario in which a farmer simply scatters lots of seed and much to his surprise, the next morning wakes up to find a developing harvest.  I have heard it said, “don’t blame the seed, blame the soil.” But only time will tell if that seed has taken root, you may never see the fruit. Always teach God’s word, because there are times when that is simply enough for God to interrupt someone’s life and for that seed to take root for a harvest.

8. Community is A By-Product of The Mission

Is there time for a game night? Maybe. But I have never done one.  I imagine the thinking behind game night is to create an environment to fosters community, giving kids more opportunity to connect.  Community is a pillar of the church no doubt, but chasing community is backwards. Chase mission. Real authentic relationships, the ones that endure, are a byproduct of the common pursuit of mission.  It will be the mission trips, retreats, and outreaches that bond kids together, not Guitar Hero. Remember our first mission trip to Mexico? We called it “camp on steroids.”  Between ripping out carpet, painting, Bible study, and VBS, we didn’t have time to chase community.  But what happened when we got back? We were so focused in Mexico on the mission, advancing God’s Kingdom and loving and serving His people, that we didn’t even notice the glue which had developed amongst us. We returned as a real community with Christ as our foundation.

9. Discipleship Takes Place Within The Context of Discipleship

It always saddens me when a teenager tells me she is not ready to make disciples of her own or that she feels unqualified to do so. Discipleship can begin with nothing more than a foundational understanding of the Gospel message. At that point it is GO TIME. Jesus said, “You will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.” (John 8:32) Does that means that holding back the Truth may in turn keep someone in chains? And I don’t have to tell you that I am not a fan of the “blow horn guy.” Haha, no one is! When I say discipleship, I definitely define that ancient language to include ministry through relationship… relationship coming first.

Jesus has instructed us to make disciples and to baptize them. (Matt. 28:18) One day when we stand before His throne, He will ask us how that went. Think about baptism; what would it look like to have an army of young people leading their friends to Christ and then baptizing them, (young people, not you!) in front of the entire congregation on a Sunday morning.

0o0o0o… I’m getting chills.

CHAOS.

This is the word that comes mind when I think of the upcoming holidays. You can feel it in your bones… its brewing.

Tomorrow we Americans will celebrate our gratitude and appreciation on Thanksgiving Day. And the following day we will celebrate our greed and consumerism on “Black Friday.”  Sprinkle a little extra family time into the momentum approaching Christmas and the New Year and suddenly your November/December makes the new Jackson Five Tour reality TV show look like a Partridge Family bus ride.

This year has been particularly chaotic for my family.  It started with traveling cross-county to Texas to help my parents move back in together after seven years of separation.  But as I watched my family pieces fall together, I found front row seat as my church family fell apart. We made it through, but after a gut-wrenching church split, I am not sure if my heart has mended yet.  And at what seemed like the hardest possible time, I stepped into a promotion as a district youth pastor for our church denomination, consequently leaving my wife and I with our hardest decision to date: to leave our beloved local church and youth ministry after 5 amazing years. 12 years for her. Did I mention that this is the same year I finally graduated college after breaking a school record for taking the most classes online and on campus in a single semester? That somehow I trained for and ran the LA Marathon? Entered the real-estate world? And my wife is halfway through her first pregnancy with a baby boy?

Chaos.

Tomorrow as I sit round the Turkey Day spread and listen to each family member take turn expressing gratitude toward our faithful Father, I might just skip over the part where I thank God for getting me through the chaos. Of course he walked me through it! I am pretty sure He saw it coming and walked me straight into it! No, if I have to pick one thing to be especially grateful for, I will thank Jesus Christ for PEACE amidst all the chaos and transition.

There is a story in scripture about a man named Daniel who faithfully followed God throughout a lifetime of chaos and transition. I am talking about the kind of chaos and transition where your family is ripped from your home, exiled to a foreign country, and your allegiance to your God lands you on the wrong side a King’s temper and walking around inside a burning furnace. But the truth is, when the smoke cleared and the chaos calmed, Daniel came out on top and the king ended up appointing him as one of the highest positions of authority in the most powerful nation in the world.

But eventually that kingdom was overthrown and a new king took the throne.

Which left Daniel, an 80 year man at this point, amidst a whole new realm of chaos. Scripture says that as this new season transitioned, Daniel was so “distinguishable” in all his doings as the new king’s chief of staff, that a promotion was around the corner naming him ruler over the entire kingdom. Well, his jealous subordinates wouldn’t stand for that, so they conspired and formed a hater “fan club.” After hatching a plan hinging off Daniel’s only weakness, his devotion to his God, the fan club approached the new king with a flattering proposition: a straight month dedicated to worshipping him as king! And if anyone prays or bows to any other god other than the new king, then they will surely suffer death in the bottom of a lion’s den!

The king signed the bottom line and made it official.

According to scripture, when Daniel heard the news, he grabbed his cane and waddled his 80 year old butt straight home, slid his curtain out of the way, opened his window as wide as he could so the whole city could see, and got down on his rickety old knees to…

PRAY AND THANK GOD!

I don’t know about you, but I would have a hard time focusing during my prayer time as images of being eaten alive by starving lions flashed through my mind. Not to mention my soggy pants.

Somehow Daniel appears to retain PEACE amidst CHAOS.

Maybe this is what the apostle Paul, the author of Philippians, was explaining as he penned the letter to the church in Philippi amidst his own chaos sitting in a prison cell.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with THANKSGIVING, present your requests to God. And the PEACE of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Maybe there is a connection between CHAOS, PRAYER, THANKSGIVING, and PEACE.

Maybe it is a formula: CHAOS + PRAYER/THANKSGIVING = PEACE

Maybe when we get down on our knees and thank God for all the times He has been faithful to us so far, never once letting us down, our prayer/thanksgiving serves as a catalyst within the chaos. In this place, in this posture, where the future may be blurry but the past is clearer than ever. He is a good God. He is faithful. He loves you. And nothing is going to change that.

Then, as we return to our feet, we can walk peacefully into the chaos He leads us through.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

“So you’re telling me you are THAT guy…. Hmmm.”

This was the response I received recently from a friend as I began to share of my last airplane experience.

If you haven’t noticed, there aren’t too many bucket seats on airplanes. More like rows of couches with armrests jammed in between. Isn’t it crazy how many people cram onto an airplane?

So I guess I am THAT guy who meets my best friend on each flight by choosing the middle seat so I can pin him against the window in conversation… about Jesus.

And no apologies. J As I try to calculate just how many flights I have been on, I would have to say well over 200. And maybe in another blog I will share some cool stories about introducing people to Jesus over the Atlantic Ocean or at baggage claim, but a couple weeks ago I was sitting next to a guy on a flight reading a book (which could possibly be interpreted as the universal sign for “don’t try to engage me”) with an unusual cover.  And I don’t mean unusual because it was unique and drew attention, I mean unique for the opposite reason.

This book was wrapped in plain dark brown paper.  It reminded me of Jr. High when we had to cover our school textbooks using grocery bags and scotch tape.  It was exactly like that, only the purpose, it appeared, was not to protect his paper back novel, but rather to conceal the title in order to keep his reading selection private.  This of course further provoked my attempt to discover his literary preference.  After all, I was also reading… but I was exposed.

It turns out my new friend Jim was halfway through a fascinating book by a Muslim author attempting to compile and cross-reference the origin of ancient religions and there intersection with Egypt.  I found this fascinating and really enjoyed Jim’s brief synopsis.  But what really intrigued me was Jim. And this book was my only window at the moment into his journey. Why would this forty something your old hipster from Glendale, a professional artist with a highly enviable mustache of epic proportion, (it was awesome an awesome mustache… on its way to Looney Tunes’ Yosemite Sam status) secretly read such an obscure piece of literature?

Jim has a kid who is starting to ask questions, I guess that is what two year olds do. And as a self-proclaimed atheist, is on a discovery of sorts to establish an objective framework of faith and morality to help navigate his family’s growth and development.  He and his wife, according to Jim, need some sort of reference point for guiding their family.

“Jim,” I said, “I know exactly the kind of compass you need for your journey… and let me introduce you to HIM!!!”

JUST KIDDING, I DIDN’T SAY THAT! Hahaha. Cheese.

No, I just listened.  Jim said he and his wife weren’t “religious” and though they didn’t despise religion, they obviously had some reservations.

Fast forward two weeks.  Yesterday I had youth group. There is a neighborhood kid who got “saved” under my ministry a couple years ago who is just tearing it up for the Kingdom.  He brought a couple kids to his small group last week and gave them Bibles and such, but later when he called to invite them to youth group one young man said, “are you trying to make us religious? I’m good… thanks.”

Here is what I want to say to the father on an undercover search for a moral compass yet fears institutionalized religion.

Here is what I want to say young people who are willing to “try” small group at their friend’s house but not attend church service.

Jesus came to SAVE you from RELIGION.

Religion is mankind’s attempt to explain God. To reach the Creator.

Jesus is God’s attempt to explain Himself. To reach creation.

That is why we DON’T NEED religion and never will. Because Jesus is enough. To say we need both… well, I guess we could call that heresy.

There is a scene in the movie MEN IN BLACK where Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones visit a coin locker in a train station. When they open the locker we discover an entire tiny alien civilization living inside! I don’t know how these thousands of little aliens got inside this locker but it is obvious they have never left and the inside of the locker is all they know. The moment Will and Tommy open the locker, the extraterrestrial community goes wild, chanting their names and worshiping them as their king. After all, their only vantage point is from the inside of that locker; their entire worldview is limited to this incredibly limited perspective. They have no idea what exists outside the locker and to show them or even try to explain the rest of planet Earth to them would probably cause their little alien brains to explode. I feel like one of those tiny aliens worshipping Will Smith.

And I am now realizing that he is all I need. All I really need is Will Smith. I don’t need to know everything God expects and wants and has planned and trying to know everything would be impossible to comprehend. But God gave me Will Smith and if I keep my eyes on him… I think that is enough of a glimpse for me to start with. I can’t wrap my mind around eternity. I can’t begin to understand or figure out the King of the Universe. At times I barely understand the Bible. But I can follow someone. That simplifies everything.

What if THAT was our Christian agenda: Believe Jesus really is God and follow His every move. What if the somewhat limited and short anecdotes of his life that we DO HAVE from thousands of years ago are enough to get a peak into what and why we were created? Maybe trying to figure out the universe in order to know God and please him is just way to monstrous for a reason and following Jesus is really the most strategic course of action? I know the Christian way is to embrace Jesus ethically and philosophically, but what if we are over spiritualizing his instructions, behaviors, and parables? What if he meant it when he told his followers that we who don’t visit people in prison, or clothe the needy, or spend time with sick, or feed hungry people, we have never really known God and will never know God into eternity? Matt. 25:31-46

Part of my circle of friends have been talking a lot about what is “The Church” and what should The Church look like and blah blah blah blah…. What if we just look at what we CAN see… it may only look like a giant WILL SMITH, but isn’t that enough?

I want to surround myself with people who are content with simply following what Jesus did: Healing, loving, & serving. Being a friend to the lonely and outcast. Valuing relationships where you get nothing out of it other than friendship. Addressing injustice and poverty. Making fun of religious people (just kidding!) I want to spend my time doing things like him; mimicking him, borderline imitating him. Fake it til you make it, right?

I want to posture myself in this way not only because that is what Jesus DID, but that is where Jesus IS! Jesus said when you do take care of the sick, or feed the hungry, or visit the imprisoned, or help keep someone warm… you are not doing it FOR him or just on behalf of him, but we are doing it TO HIM! That is how we MEET him. That is where HE IS. He lives in that place. I’m realizing that I can study the Bible six ways til Sunday, but if I don’t spend time with the lonely, marginalized, impoverished, and abandoned… I become spiritually lonely and spiritually impoverished because that is where Jesus is waiting for me. It is so easy to miss Him.

I am tired of people talking about how to “do church” and Father forgive me for being one of those people. But my ears can’t take anymore talk about methodologies, systems, or philosophies. And please, just take my word when I say that this is not coming from any place of personal bitterness or self-righteousness. Guess you’ll just have to believe me ☺

But for the love of God (literally) will someone put their money in a hat with me and come do laundry for some single moms at the Laundromat in Highland Park? Or baby-sit their kids with me so they can go on a date? Or plan a BBQ with me at the little park on the corner of YORK and FIGUEROIA where all the homeless hang out every single day. Or play some shuffleboard with the retired army veterans at the Community Senior Center. Ill be the first person to admit that I don’t know what having a “RELATIONSHIP with God” means. Sometimes I feel like I am sitting on God the Father’s lap with my arms around his neck and sometimes I don’t even know if he exists or if He is a million miles away in outer space. I know that because of Jesus I am now cleaned up and forgiven, but lately, if I want to visit Him, He has been leaving breadcrumbs leading from my “quiet time” into the dirtiest and most uncomfortable places of my community. And it would really help if I had a team of people (we can call it “church” if you want, I think Jesus would) who would make these issues a priority and do it with me. Because trying to do it on my own just never works out. Never.

Thank you God for giving me WILL SMITH, even if I can only see a short timeline and few dozen stories of his life. And thank you for giving me the local church so we can unite as your body, hands, and feet.

Maybe I am just a nancy pants follower of Jesus.

I certainly can’t compete with the original twelve disciples (ok maybe 11!) that Jesus chose as His roll dogs.  Those guys gave it all up for their Rabbi, till the wheels and the hubcaps fell off.  But honestly, when should we say no?

I was asked to speak at a church this Wednesday- it would have been the third Wednesday in a row speaking at another church other than my own; I declined.  My reasons are irrelevant, “priorities.” But here is my question: is that what Jesus would have done? Or should I just “grow some” for the Kingdom?

I have been reading the Gospels a lot lately, spending a lot of time on what Jesus had to say. This is not to say that the words “in red” are necessarily more inspired than the rest of Scripture, but have you read any of his one liners lately? Jesus was radical and his original disciples were pretty hardcore. There is this one story were Jesus is so completely exhausted from ministry- healing teaching, and confronting the demonic, that scripture say he literally tries to ESCAPE from the crowds on a boat. Someone finds out where he is going, (PAPARAZZI can be crazy!) and they run around to the other side of the lake on foot and catch up with him as he arrives. An entire crowd of people is there when he steps off the boat! Exhausted, but moved with compassion, scripture says, Jesus continues to minister to them.  And you know that if Jesus was tired enough to escape, he must have been at His breaking point already.  Maybe this is the reason he could sleep like baby on a boat that is capsizing in the middle of a storm!  Whatever the case, Jesus is famous for warning people that the Kingdom of God will cost you everything.  Did He mean that?

I have only been in full time ministry for about three years and married about the same.  Here are the two guidelines I have come up with when it comes to navigating busyness and conflicting opportunities.

• Be strategic.  I am pastor and a husband. Ultimately when I stand before the throne, God is going to ask me how I managed what He gave me and who he gave me.  My marriage and youth group come first. I don’t think He is going to be impressed, reward me, or hold me responsible for all the things He never asked me to do.
• Will I see these people again?  Relationship is the only thing I can think of that is eternal in this life. If I am apart of something that builds friendships with people that I am going to see again, I am down.  In a day in age where a pastor has to “earn” influence into a young persons life, this can take time. The most effective ministry I have seen flows through relationships.
• Ask the WHAT WOULD JESUS SAY iphone application!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Like I said, I’ve only been in the game a few years.  There are plenty of pros out there who I would love to hear from; lets make this a marathon not a 100 yard dash. 

            Imagine you are a relatively successful fisherman.  You are running the family business, maybe a couple boats and a few servants.  You just got married and things are beginning to pan out nicely.  A renowned Rabbi with an unusual reputation approaches you at work one day and extends an offer for you to follow him as his protégé.  The only problem is his expectation for you to up and leave behind the life, business, and future that you have created for yourself.  Even though this Rabbi doesn’t have any other disciples yet, you feel compelled to take the offer.  You think to yourself, “Shoot, I’m young and I’ve always wanted the honor of studying under a Rabbi.”

            At first your not sure if you made the right decision; everyday seems to be random yet purposeful.  You’re eating and sleeping arrangements seem unpredictable yet eerily deliberate.  Weeks, maybe a month goes by and you along with a few other equally unqualified disciples find yourselves at the biggest event in Canaan, a wedding banquet.  A few days of celebration pass and things begin to wind down; the food and alcohol are disappearing, when suddenly you witness your new charismatic Rabbi perform a straight up miracle.  He just turned 180 gallons of water into the best wine you have ever put in your mouth! Why?

            You and your cronies leave the party a little soon, (at least you think so) and after a few days you find yourself following your new Rabbi on a journey to Jerusalem. You think to yourself, “Yes, this feels right. We have been spending an awful lot of time with people, socializing and such, I can’t wait to see my Rabbi in action in the temple courts; how he conducts himself… this is what I want to learn.”

            You arrive during holiday season and the city is packed. Next thing you know, your Rabbi is fuming.  He starts frantically looking around all over the place until he finds a few cords, after which he proceeds to braid and fashion a giant whip! It takes him awhile to make this whip, so you just stand there paralyzed. You are used to following and imitating everything your Rabbi does!  Protocol is telling you to replicate what he is doing or at least help him! What are you supposed to do? Do you make a whip too? Should you buy a weapon from the market place? Maybe just a big stick…

            What he does next scares the hell out of you.

            Your Rabbi takes a stand.

            You ask yourself, “What did I sign up for?”

 I recently attended a conference that gathered youth leaders and pastors from around southern California.  Usually with these types of conferences the best part is the opportunity to connect with friends you never get to see; chat in the hall ways, go out to lunch, catch up on the highlights and the not so highlights of the past year.  If you know me, I love this kind of stuff; any opportunity to share a forum for discussion and conversation with people who love Jesus with all of their being, especially that common passion for teenagers.

            The second day’s session had a “break out” that focused on reaching youth.  To be honest, I don’t remember what the name of the session was, but I took some good notes I guess.  What I do remember is looking around the room, noticing the faces of people who have really spoken deeply into my life and thinking, “there are a lot of brilliant minds in here.  A lot of people with tons of experience who could all really bring a lot to the table when it comes to youth ministry.”

            To make a long story short, I went out to IN N OUT afterward for lunch with some of my pastor friends and had a more impacting conversation than the entire conference combined.  I do not say this to knock conferences- both were good, like I said, I took some good notes! But I personally responded better to the discussion afterward.  And maybe this is true of you or someone you know. J

            All this to say, there is a sweet get together of going down for the first time with people I admire and whom I would love to share a DOUBLE DOUBLE.  Its called the IDEA CAMP.  Its FREE and its this weekend.  The format is refreshingly original so I included an excerpt from the website. http://theideacamp.ning.com/

ABOUT:

The Idea Camp is a FREE, open source hybrid conference designed to help people move from the realm of ideas to implementation.

We are gathering some of the most innovative and creative leaders from around the country (this means YOU!) to share ideas, intentionally network, and move collaboratively into idea-making. Whether your passion is church leadership, non-profit work, social entrepreneurialism, technology, media, creativity, culture making, church planting, spiritual formation, compassionate justice, etc., this is the conference for YOU.

The focus of this conference will be on the participants (yes, You!) and not on keynote speakers. We function under the belief that the crowd is always smarter and wiser than any one speaker. In fact, you are invited to create and refine some of the major components of the conference prior to the gathering itself via our web interface. You are welcome to suggest specific topics for our workshops (called Idea Sessions), leave comments, ask questions, share case scenarios for discussion, and even volunteer yourself to facilitate one of our Idea Sessions.

We desire the Idea Camp to be a conference for friends by friends. If you are interested in submitting a proposal to facilitate an Idea Session workshop, please email charles@theideacamp.com.

During the Idea Camp, there will be NO booths, banners, and mascots in funny suits pushing products. If you REALLY want to connect with people and sponsors of the conference, you can always visit our sponsors page (see tab above).

We will have a few general sessions that will highlight the work of some phenomenal creatives from around the world in hopes that these examples will inspire us to stay committed to our dreams. The catch??? We just won’t tell you who will all be there. ☺ You’ll just have to come and see. (Maybe we’ll just call you up on stage to share!) We promise that you won’t be disappointed.

All we ask is that you come with the following posture:

o Be Open & Listen to Others

o Be Communal & Share What You Know

o Be Intentional & Collaboratively Invest in Each Other

o Be Optimistic & Don’t Be a Jerk ☺

For more information about the concept of an unconference (The Idea Camp is an adapted/hybrid version of an “unconference”.), check out the following helpful ideas:

o http://www.digital-web.com/articles/understanding_the_unconference/

o http://scripting.wordpress.com/2006/03/05/what-is-an-unconference/

So, what are you waiting for? Simply register for the Idea Camp by creating a profile here on our network!

One time Jesus was sitting in the temple courts teaching a crowd of people when a group of religious leaders barged in on him and made a big scene by bringing in a woman who was caught in adultery. They started quoting The Law, which is a part of the Christian Bible, to justify stoning this woman to death. They badgered Jesus, trying to get him to respond with an answer or a verdict. 

You see, this was their chance.  Scripture says, this was an opportunity for the “religious leaders” to trap Jesus.  The dilemma was this: condemn the hooker; take the law into his own hands by condoning immediate execution via stoning (illegal) or let her go free, unpunished, thereby denying the Holy Word.

I wonder if Jesus really felt pressured? Scripture says he took awhile to answer; drawing in the sand.  I mean it looks like there is no way out; its like he spent time contemplating what to do next. Or maybe, more importantly, he was trying to figure out how to help us understand.

And what about the crowd? What did they think? Do you think they were rooting for the woman or the stoning? How ridiculously barbaric is stoning? Did some people enjoy that or feel like they were righteously purging the community?  I can imagine maybe one of the married women in the crowd standing up and saying, “YA, IVE SEEN THIS HOOKER AROUND HERE BEFORE! I DON’T WANT HER AROUND MY HUSBAND! I DON’T WANT MY KIDS GROWING UP AROUND JUNK LIKE THIS, STONE HER!”

Maybe other people jeered similar stuff about the community or “bringing down the neighborhood.” Maybe one guy stood up and said, “WE HAVE TO TAKE A STAND! WE CAN’T STAND FOR IMMORALITY LIKE THIS, THE BIBLE SAYS SO!”

And Jesus just sat there listening.  Is he still listening? Are people not still saying stuff like this today? Now that the Prop. 8 is cooling down a bit, maybe we should talk about how our community responded to this?  The bottom line is that Christians, in general, really seemed to get excited about the gay marriage issue.  As a licensed minister and future father (eventually), I understand that Prop. 8 is a monumental event and extremely pivotal for our nation.  But my thoughts keep going back to Jesus, “trapped” in front of a crowd; religious people making a scene.

If you ask me, I think Jesus did take a stand that day.  I think he took a stand for compassion, for forgiveness, for love.

…And if you don’t know the end of the story, it is in the Bible, the book of John, chapter 8. 

     Jesus once told an exciting story comparing the kingdom of God to a wedding banquet. This was not just any wedding banquet, but a royal reception for the king’s very son; an epic event with an incomparable feast hosted by the king himself. The red carpet was rolled out for the most elite of guests, but as we know, not only were the invitations rejected, but even a personal invitation given by the king’s son resulted in the murder of the messengers who brought it! In a turn of events, the gracious king extended this opportunity to everyone in the city, particularly the outcast and rejected. And suddenly a beautiful picture is revealed of the homeless, the sick, the lame, and the unclean appointed as worthy to sit around the table in celebration with the king.  Those that were filthy and begging for food find themselves in fresh clean white robes enjoying the feast of a lifetime at the same table as the king!

     This is by far my favorite description of God’s kingdom, but until recently, I was not sure how accurately this described the reality of our youth ministry.  It is easy for all of us to visualize ourselves as the unworthy guests in the story, who were given an unbelievable opportunity, one that we have already chosen and accepted.  But as pastors or youth workers, do we visualize ourselves as the servants extending the invitation on behalf of the king?  If so, what does that look like?  Are we scouting the city boundaries to make certain that anyone and everyone hears this great news?  Are we treading new areas and uncharted territories to be sure that each potential guest has received an invitation?

     Being raised in the Foursquare family at The Church on The Way and having been a part of Southern California Foursquare Youth (SC4Y), I was given a front row seat to observe an incredible season of our Foursquare history in the making.  But now serving as a pastor to this generation, I can’t help but sense the emergence and magnitude of what God is stirring within the hearts and spirit of these young people.  It was almost one year ago exactly, that I watched a stadium full of teenage revolutionaries walk away from IMAGINE, the Next Gen Summit, impregnated with a heartbreaking compassion for the victimized and abandoned.  This was not just a much needed wake-up call, but rather a newfound sense of ownership that translated into the hands and feet of Jesus Christ. This year, I have been blown away at the utter transformation of my youth group.  They have gone from grateful guests at the party to passionate servants of the King as they wade waist-deep into the Father’s business.

     Yvonne Rodriquez, a sixteen your old girl, singlehandedly organized a school event with HOOPS OF HOPE, arranging for peer volunteers to shoot basketballs that would generate finances toward the development of an AIDS clinic in Africa.  Pablo Lopez, at just 12 years old, is laying the framework and has already begun collecting money for his own nonprofit which he calls “The Integrity Fund,” the proceeds of which directly sponsor families in need within our church’s surrounding neighborhood.   On a weekly basis, our youth group pools their spending money to sponsor a young girl in Nicaragua named Luisa, through COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL, as well as finance a fresh water well project in Malawi, made possible by WATER WELLS FOR AFRICA.  And then there is Project Hood.

     Project Hood (a play on words for “neighborhood project”) is our church family’s effort to reach the lost and the marginalized within our community. I can proudly say that our youths’ passion and ambition has spearheaded this project, focusing on a handful of local opportunities within walking distance of our church building: the city skate park, senior citizen center, and the local laundromat.

     The free city skate park is a hub for the rejected; nobody wants these kids on their property.  I can’t tell you the joy I have experienced after church on a Sunday morning watching our kids drag cases of bottled water down to the skate park, handing them out to these skateboarders with love, no strings attached.  The only condition is that  the youth learn the skateboarders’ names, so they can remember them the next time as they attempt to build relationships.

     The Highland Park Senior Center has also been an incredible arena to watch God’s work.  Every last Saturday of the month, when Social Security money is stretched the tightest; we provide a meal for the seniors, along with friendship and good conversation. The elderly love our kids and utterly radiate with appreciation for their service and company; you simply can’t over spiritualize God’s place for widows and the friendless in His kingdom. But my favorite way we help meet the needs in our community is through our Laundry Love Project. 

     LLP (organized through JUST ONE, a nonprofit directed at poverty, orphans, and human trafficking) is a network of laundromat sites at which we host free laundry service for families once a month. Poverty in our city of Highland Park is an everyday reality, especially for the crippling number of single moms within blocks of our church. After a few loads of laundry with one of these moms a couple months in a row, you can’t close your eyes to very real presence of the kingdom of God that is available in the here and now.

     Imagine with me: you are standing at the King’s unbelievable wedding reception amongst all the guests and servants.  Take a look around,.  Who are the guests you have invited?  What do the servants that you have trained look like?  Where have they traveled? As youth leaders and servants of the King, our mission is not only to invite young people to the banquet, but to disciple, equip, and encourage them in the transformation from fellow-guest to fellow-servant.  Our Foursquare heritage was established by a dream to do whatever it takes to reach God’s people.  As I pull up my front row seat to all that our King is doing through this generation, both this year and the years to come, I can’t shake the feeling that the youth of our Foursquare family are becoming part of legend. 

But that could just be a proud youth pastor talking : )