• The Problem with the Cause of the Week

    “Oh, I’m so going to use that with my students.”

    This week it was the Kony 2012 video. (And the backlash) Next week it’ll be something else because our cycle of interest is now about 96 hours.

    As the video went viral all of my youth ministry groups on Facebook were littered with questions from youth pastors asking, “How can we best use this video for our youth group?”

    I think that we are too fast to want to use everything as a resource or teachable moment.

    In fact, I think we often hide behind our role as a leader to become plastic. We don’t allow things to impact us because we look at everything from a lens of, “How can I use this?”

    And that’s a very cheap way to engage our life on earth. It denies our own human experience to go from one thing we can promote to another. And we get excited about getting people excited about stuff more than we get excited about getting ourselves to really understand stuff.

    I don’t know all that is behind this leadership instinct to rush to resource instead of allowing ourselves to be impacted. But, for me, I think it’s built around my insecurity. I want to be seen as compassionate to child slavery [or whatever the cause of the week is] more than I actually want to personally do something about it. I am quick to give a few dollars but slow to understand how my daily actions may be funding child slavery.

    No more distractions

    Perhaps the bigger thing, speaking purely for myself, is that I know I need to walk away from the cause of the week sometimes because it becomes a distraction from my cause of every week.

    I cannot escape these priorities in my life.

    1. My own relationship with Jesus is more important than the cause of the week.
    2. Jesus has called me to invest in my family. 
    3. Jesus has called me to love my neighbors as myself. Not a metaphorical neighbor, the people who live on my block.
    4. Jesus has called me to dig in at my church. 
    5. Jesus has called me to my work. 

    In light of this, the cause of the week really isn’t all that important.

    Investing in my relationship with Jesus is more important than leading a discussion about Kony 2012. Having a great conversation with my kids is more important than telling them about Kony 2012. Leaning on the fence and listening to my neighbor is more important than telling them about Kony 2012. Leaning in and engaging with my small group is more important than plugging Kony 2012. Working hard and pushing through my work is more important than caring about Kony 2012.

    See, I don’t think the cause of the week is bad. Not at all. But I do think things like this are a big distraction, for me, from my priorities. And if things like that do impact me, I need to allow them to really and truly matter to me before I think about involving other people.

  • Overcome by Evil

    There’s a whole lot of saber rattling going on these days. Why? Because fear sells better than sex right now. 

    • The stock market is up 80%+ since March 2009.There’s a whole lot of money being made while the media scares you with news of recession.
    • Crime is at historic lows. But there’s a whole lot of money made selling you things you don’t need like home alarm systems and guns. Gun sales are through the roof because the NRA scares people into thinking Obama is going to make handguns illegal.
    • An entire segment of our economy is built around the 401k. A primary method people get you to invest in your 401k? Fear. Fear that you won’t have the lifestyle “you deserve” and fear that Social Security will go bankrupt. Tell me what would happen to a president who ended social security. Yeah, it’s not going to happen. Ever.

    On and on. Much of our society and huge parts of our economy exist because their marketing keeps you fearful so you spend. It’s a distinctly American thing.

    Economic theory says that once you start paying into something, even if it is a factual lie, you believe it because your money is there. (Want to see this in action? Listen to an IT professional try to tell you why a PC laptop is better than a MacBook. They really believe it and it’s completely ludicrous.)

    The church isn’t far behind. We have learned that if we can scare parents that they will stick around. (And the church is infatuated with marketing right now. How many times has Seth Godin spoken at Catalyst now?)

    • Want to raise money? Scare parents by telling them that without ____ their children won’t follow Jesus.
    • Want to plant a church? Cite a bunch of stats about the churches decline. They’ll never ask about your strategy, just give you money.

    You get the idea. We are trying to grow our churches with marketing schemes… and it’s not working, in case you haven’t noticed. 

    Here’s the thing: Creating a culture of fear in your ministry is not good news. It’s fools gold. It might draw some people but you’re drawing the wrong people. This is a major reason you can’t do anything in your church– you’ve drawn a crowd of scared people.

    Last time I checked we weren’t asked to lead people into a life of making decisions based on fear. That’s the opposite of what Paul teaches…

    Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 

    – Romans 12:21

  • 5 reasons I’m stoked about The Summit

    Later this morning we’re officially announcing a brand new youth ministry event called, The Summit. Obviously, it’s a pretty big deal for our little start-up. So I’m excited about it for all sorts of business-y reasons.

    But I’m stoked about The Summit for far more important reasons than business stuff.

    1. We need to dream again. We’re a tribe of dreamers. Since the beginning of youth ministry we have been a body of folks bound by our eternal optimism. But the past few years have taken the wind out of us. We’ve gone into survival mode and it’s time  to shake out of it. Oh, I’m longing to be in a room of people exploring what could be instead of what is impossible.
    2. It’s unlike anything else in youth ministry. It’s true that there are a good number of youth ministry events out there. Creating this one wasn’t a thumbing of the nose at any of them. Instead, we really think that this format/style/vibe is something missing from within our tribe.  We’re taking a big risk on this because we think that’s true. Now we’re asking you to take this risk and join us in figuring out if we’re right.
    3. Electric things happen when you mix these folks with a pile of youth workers. This thing has a crazy awesome line-up of thinkers. Just like the Extended Adolescence Symposium, we wanted to create a day we’d really like to attend. As the line-up has taken shape I just kept going back to look at it. Wow, it’s a group of crazy people who are changing things. (Crazy in my language is good!)
    4. This thing could birth some stuff. Looking at the theme and topics, I’m really hoping that people don’t just consume this thing but that they really are stirred by it to advance Kingdom stuff.
    5. It’s a work in progress. I’ve never announced an event that was intentionally incomplete. But that’s what we’re doing. We’re talking to a pool of people but we aren’t quite sure who we want to add in what session. Don’t touch the walls, we’re still painting!

    Question: What feels new about The Summit? What doesn’t feel new?

  • It’s Here! Good News in the Neighborhood Curriculum

    Big news!

    Jon Huckins and I have been working on this curriculum for youth groups and young adults for several months. I’m excited to tell you that it’ll be out on April 2nd, 2012. Woohoo!

    If you buy it before it comes out… you’ll get it on April 2nd AND you’ll save $15. Here’s the link to buy it now.

    Here’s the description:

    This 6-week series will deep dive your students into the practical realities of a radical life with Jesus. Built around six core postures of community life, students will examine Scripture, gain an understanding of their role in their community, and be challenged by a series of simple experiments they can try. More than a series which teaches your students about being Good News in their community– Good News in the Neighborhood offers practical application based on the life of Jesus and the 1st century Church. Our hope is that your students begin to see how God has called them to become good news in their homes, schools, and neighborhoods.

    Curriculum Outline

    Week 1: Listening (Experiment: Ethnography/Observation)

    Week 2: Submerge (Experiment: Participating)

    Week 3: Inviting (Experiment: Two-fold inviting)

    Week 4: Contending (Experiment: Standing up for our neighbors)

    Week 5: Imagine (Experiment: New eyes)

    Week 6: Entrusting (Experiment: Commissioning)

    What do  you think? Like it? Hate it? Gonna try it? 

  • Giant slayer

    I can’t speak for you. But for me– there are some giants on my radar to slay. 

    I could be introspective and talk about the giants I overcome in the inches between my ears. But if I’m honest, there are some very real giants out there for me to slay. Big, ugly, hairy, scary ones who have an addiction to anabolic steroids.

    It’s not for everyone

    I’ve been on this giant slaying journey for a long time. And I’ve won some pretty good battles. And I’ve met some other slayers along the way.

    One thing that’s been a lesson for me is that there are some folks out there that wear giant slayer t-shirts but are just locker room giant slayers. They talk a big game until the giant looks at them.

    Those people have romanticized giant slaying. They don’t have the skills for fighting nor the stomach for killing. Worse yet, they are paralyzed by a fear of losing.

    They are fans of giant slaying.

    To the victor goes the spoils

    It’s championship time in college basketball. And during this time a fascinating phenomenon is observed. In a close game the final shot goes up. If it goes in there is pandemonium on one side of the bench. If it doesn’t, the other side goes bizerk.

    Have you ever noticed how fast the losing team exits the floor? The winner sticks around and enjoys the moment. But the losing team? They dash for the locker room.

    That’s they way it is in real life, too. Winners survive to play another day. And losers go to the locker room and talk about shoulda, coulda, woulda, and next time.

  • The 6th graders

    One week all 8 of my boys arrived in a mob. That never happened. Typically, they came in groups of one or two as their parents made their way to camp after church. That was my first indicator that this week would be different. Soon I learned their story. This group of 8 boys had come to camp because they had a good time at the camp on their class trip. They had such a great time that they wanted to go back, together, to have a week of camp. Their parents knew it was a Christian camp, were totally fine with that, and wanted their boys to share the experience of the camp together.

    I soon learned that most of them had zero church background. They were great kids. Very polite, well behaved, and stoked for everything that happened at camp. At the same time, most of them had only ever attended church with a grandparent once or twice or gone to a wedding at some point.

    The first couple of days at camp were very normal. This enthusiastic group of boys did all of the ropes course stuff, went fishing on the lake, shot arrows horribly, and played with the animals at the nature center. But I could also see that the fun, skits, music, and Bible teaching were making their way into these boys hearts. As we walked from place to place they talked about what they heard. They asked me lots and lots of questions. And they thumbed through their brand-new Bibles at meals.

    Early in the week the speaker always presented the Gospel. Instead of asking for a response in a public setting, the camp set it up that we asked each camper individually in our cabin time if they’d like to begin a relationship with Jesus. With this group of guys I didn’t know what to expect. They were definitely interested in what was going on, but I didn’t know what that meant.

    On the way back to our cabin to debrief that nights talk the boys were a little quiet. But I had run them to the ground so I figured they were just ready for bed. (This was my strategy… make the first 2 days really physical so I could tire them out and they’d sleep at night.) We got back to our cabin and they all sat on their bunks.

    “So, what did you think about what the speaker said tonight?”

    One of the boys chimed in, “We’re all ready to give our hearts to Jesus. How do we do that?”

    That’d never happened to me. Typically, 1-2 of the boys started their walk with Jesus at camp. (For the first, third, or 23rd time.) But 8 boys from the same small town? Never ever ever did I see that coming.

    That was a week full of fun. But it was also a week that changed the lives of 8 boys, their families, and their community forever.

    This is Christian Camping

    I spent the summer of 1996 at Camp Timber-lee in East Troy, Wisconsin. I made $125 per week. I was at work all but 30 hours per week which basically meant I made less than $1/hour. Each Sunday afternoon a pile of parents placed 8 boys under my care. And then I spent the next 6 days pouring my life into them, in full knowledge I’d never to see them again.

    And it was totally worth it. 

    Serving on summer staff was intense in every capacity. You’re with people all the time. As an introvert the constant time with my cabin group exhausted me. The repetitive food, constant activity, and humidity helped me shed a lot of pounds. And each week I had to spend time around horses, not my favorite barnyard animal.

    More to the point is was intense spiritually. Each week was full of stories. Full of sharing. Full of prayer. And full of lives changed. Each week, unashamedly, the Gospel was shared with the kids. And each week, without fail, kids in my cabin gave their hearts to Jesus.

    Camp Week is Over

    I dedicated my blog to camp week for a single purpose. It’s been my experience that Christian camping is special. I’ve shared stories of my own experiences and the experiences of my friends. The impact of Christian camping is obvious. Lives are changed, fun is had, and a special bond is formed.

    It kills me to know that there are kids who simply can’t afford to go to camp. Will you consider joining me in giving $125 to scholarship a kid to go to camp this summer? Here’s the link.

    Photo credit: Chillon Castle by Jaeseok Lee via Flickr (Creative Commons) 

  • I wish I was still a camper

    This week I’m celebrating the huge impact of Christian camping by asking a few of my friends to share stories and reflections of their life at camp. The following story is from Becky Daye. Becky and her husband Dave have been a part of our life forever. Kristen met Becky on the first day of freshmen orientation at Moody Bible Institute, I worked alongside Becky & Dave at Camp Timber-lee in the summer of 1996, Becky was a bridesmaid at our wedding in 1997, on and on. They now live in Rochester, New York where they pastor a local church. I highly recommend Becky’s blog, Daye by Daye.

     

    We are the Reubens
    And we are really groovin’
    Our feet begin a movin’
    So check out what we’re doin’
    We’re the rootin’, tootin’ Reubens!!!

     

    Nearly thirty years later and I still remember my team’s cheer from my first week of summer camp!

    The memories are palpable- climbing a rocky slope to get to a campfire, scraping my legs on the side of the swimming pool, catching my first fish, laughing with friends, singing at the top of our lungs.

    Camp was a magical place for me. My friends and I could barely sit still through the Sunday morning worship service. We would eat a quick lunch, load the cars and drive through the mountains. The signs for “our” camp were so tiny, but each one was an indicator of the fun that we were about to have.

    This anticipation is still the same for me as an adult and one of my greatest joys in parenting has been the opportunity to see this same camp love growing in my children.

    Because camp can and should be a life changing place. It is an opportunity to get away from the normal pressures of life. To take time to reflect. To be surrounded by people who love God. Who are passionate about Him. Who know the truth of God’s Word and find teachable moments.

    My lifelong love of camp culminated in five summers of being a counselor. As I reflect on that time in my life when I was able to pour into the lives of hundreds of girls, I realize the privilege that this is.

    Camp is the antithesis of apathy! There is an excitement and a joy of life at camp that cannot be fabricated. You can feel it in the air. You can hear it in the conversations. You can catch it in the teaching times, in the songs, through the prayers.

    When you are surrounded by others who are falling more and more in love with Jesus, you want that for yourself. I wanted to know Jesus more as a result of my time at camp. I have watched as countless numbers of campers discovered this same desire in their own lives.

    My daughter came home from her first week at camp and taught me “three blind jellyfish, sitting on a rock”. And then she told me all about Jesus! And how she wants to love Him more!

    From the perspective of a camper, a counselor and a parent, I would say that camp is one of the best investments in the lives of children. And secretly? I wish I could be a camper again…

    Full-disclosure: I’m not getting paid a red cent for this series. I’m doing this because I believe camp is an important element of ministering to children and teenagers in our country. I invite you to join me in donating $125 to CCCA’s Corners of the Fieldcampaign. It’s pretty simple. For every $125 given a kid can go to camp this summer.

    Photo Credit: Liechtenstein Castle – Tony Bowden via Flickr (Creative Commons)

  • Speaking of camp!

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    Speaking of camp week, I’ve been speaking at a camp for a group of Lutheran youth workers near Edmonton this week.

    I’ve never been this far north! So that is cool.

    And it’s always great to hang with passionate people who want to wrestle through issues of extended adolescence, social media, and their implications on becoming Good News to the teenagers in their lives.

  • Katie’s Story

    This week I’m sharing stories of friends whose lives were impacted by Christian camping. Join me in celebrating the Power of Camp. This story comes from a local friend, Katie Dupuis.

    After my dad left we were super poor. We were also super miserable.

    My mom was depressed and working 3 jobs, she would lock herself in her room and cry when she was home, my older brother disappeared into his high school activities and friendships. I was left alone almost all the time.

    I hated everyone; my parents, my brother, God.

    Our church family took really good care of us, bringing us food and clothes. I resented it at the time, I was too proud to want their charity. That is until anonymous donors paid my way to Christian camps more than once. I’d take any opportunity to get away from home– even for just two weeks.

    Those acts of love and sacrifice allowed God to speak to me in a place where I could hear Him, away from my pain filled home life. At camp I could feel God in the passionate worship of other teens, I could see Him in the love of the counselors and other campers, I could hear Him in the messages that were preached.

    What I heard was that my parents divorce grieved God, my pain grieved God, this was not his plan or his doing, but neither was it too much for Him to handle. I was able to start to forgive and heal.

    I am forever grateful to those in our church who gave their money so that I could go experience God in an intimate, impactful setting. I cannot underestimate the effect that their generosity has had on my life.

    Full-disclosure: I’m not getting paid a red cent for this series. I’m doing this because I believe camp is an important element of ministering to children and teenagers in our country. I invite you to join me in donating $125 to CCCA’s Corners of the Field campaign. It’s pretty simple. For every $125 given a kid can go to camp this summer.

    Photo credit: Heidelberg Castle by Zoagli via Flickr (Creative Commons)

  • The Power of Camp [infographic]

    source: http://thepowerofcamp.com/?page_id=10

    Click here to download a full-sized version of this graphic. This would look hot on Pinterest.

    Full-disclosure: I’m not getting paid a red cent for this series. I’m doing this because I believe camp is an important element of ministering to children and teenagers in our country. I invite you to join me in donating $125 to CCCA’s Corners of the Field campaign. It’s pretty simple. For every $125 given a kid can go to camp this summer.