Go ahead, you know you want to sing it.
HT to Dweebist
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You aren’t going to change
On Evolution, Biology Teachers Stray From Lesson Plan
Researchers found that only 28 percent of biology teachers consistently follow the recommendations of the National Research Council to describe straightforwardly the evidence for evolution and explain the ways in which it is a unifying theme in all of biology. At the other extreme, 13 percent explicitly advocate creationism, and spend at least an hour of class time presenting it in a positive light.
That leaves what the authors call “the cautious 60 percent,” who avoid controversy by endorsing neither evolution nor its unscientific alternatives. In various ways, they compromise.
Here’s the kicker to the article: (read carefully)
But Dr. Moore is doubtful that more education is the answer. “These courses aren’t reaching the creationists,” he said. “They already know what evolution is. They were biology majors, or former biology students. They just reject what we told them.
No doubt this article will make a lot of Christians chuckle. As a whole we aren’t big fans of evolution, nor are we fans of the compulsory indoctrination of children to the theory.
In truth– we should cringe at what this reveals about our condition in youth ministry. We do the same thing.
Just like schools can’t get biology teachers to teach evolution the way the government requires, we often refuse to change the ways we minister to students. Just like America’s biology teachers, we can read study after study or attend seminar after seminar… but we are ultimately going to teach the way we want to teach using methods we want to use. To quote the article, “They just reject what we told them.”
If it was good enough to reach us, it must be good enough to reach today’s teenagers. Right? Wrong.
Truth + human behavior = no change
- I could overwhelm you with evidence that your communication methods are ineffective. And you wouldn’t change.
- I could show you longitudinal research proving that your programs don’t deepen a students walk with Jesus. And you wouldn’t change.
- I could prove, from your own experience, that other methods of teaching Biblical truth could deeply impact your students. And you would not change.
- I could show you study after study that shows that the way you do youth ministry reaches a decreasing percentage of students in your population. And you wouldn’t change.
- I could point you to studies which show how certain types of strategies affect long-term change while others seem like they affect long-term change but ultimately don’t. And you wouldn’t change.
That’s not how change works. You and I don’t change for rational reasons. We say we do. But we don’t.
You can’t expect change from people who won’t acknowledge their failure.
Some of you will read that list above and say… “But if you showed me that evidence, I’d change.” No– you probably wouldn’t. You might say you will. But if I come back to you in six months you’d fill my time with excuses.
- This is a big organization, it takes time to turn the Titanic. (True, but it sank in just a few hours.)
- I couldn’t convince leadership to make any of those changes. (Um, and they call you a leader?)
- We already had a plan when we learned those things, but we are planning on implementing them this summer. (Really? I bet if the internet broke in your building you’d get it fixed today.)
- I want to do things differently but we run this ministry as a team. (Consensus is the way to go. Just ask the federal government how that’s working for them.)
Change is intrinsic. That’s why extrinsic evidence is often a waste of brain cells.
You won’t change who you minister to until something changes in your heart. You won’t change how your programs work until something changes inside of you. Your behavior won’t change until you take the time to internalize who you are, what you believe, why you do this, and count the cost of change.
Take a moment to read this from Alcoholics Anonymous. They deal with the same problem every day. Change starts inside of you!
Each of us in youth ministry is faced with the same challenge. We are called by God to help adults form meaningful connections with adolescents. And we are called to go and reach students with the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Will we continue to do things the way we have always done them and watch the church reach 8% of the population. 7%, 5%, 2%… 1%. Or will we snap out of our trance, look in the mirror, and make the changes in ourselves needed to reverse that trend?
“Wake up, sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.” -
Exit Strategy
Over the weekend it was announced that the Huffington Post was selling to AOL for $315 million. The press release will reassure fans that the change in ownership won’t change the core of the business. But it will. The only party who really believes that nothing will change is AOL.
From now on a line has been drawn. There will now be three audiences. Those who loved the Huffington Post before the sale. Those who became fans after the sale. And those who have transcended their love of the Huffington Post through the transition.
And things will change among the team there, too. They have played their card. The exit strategy now lives in their bank account.
Why? Its tough to go back to a job in the same way and work for thousands when you know you have millions in the bank. Certainly, they will go back to work. And they will try their hardest to work in the same way as they always have. But everything will slowly change as the fight changes from “beating the man” to “becoming the man.”
People in ministry know exit strategies, too well
We live in a low-trust, highly transient culture. Everyone has a price and everyone has dreams that include not working where they work or living where they live. (Some will shake their head and swear it isn’t so. But deep down we all know its true.)
The dirty little secret of the American Dream is that it implants a deep seeded dissatisfaction with our current situation and a heads-up mentality that to succeed you might need to go where the grass is greener.
And people in ministry are quick to make moves. I rarely meet a staff person who isn’t willing to at least feel out another opportunity somewhere else.
Let’s be blunt: This kills your ministry.
While people who are in your ministry don’t know that you are passively looking, you exude a mentality that people pick up on but can’t quite articulate. It’s like they walk into your office and smell something but can’t quite put their finger on what it is. But if they looked under your desk they’d see boxes ready to be shipped off somewhere else.
And then when you play your exit card… it all clicks. They knew you were a fake all along.
What people need
2008-2010 taught people that the American Dream is largely a lie. We learned that you can’t mortgage your way to wealth. We learned that companies have no loyalty to employees. We learned that more education doesn’t guarantee you lifetime employment. We learned that corporations can steal houses from hard-working families. And we learned that the next generation will likely not be wealthier or more educated than their parents.
This has knocked our country off its equilibrium. It has forced Americans to do very un-American things like reject the notion that all people are equal. (Core to the health care debate) Or the central theme that our nation is built on accepting immigrants. (Rejection of the DREAM Act and all forms of immigration reform) I could go on… but it’s not the point of this post.
We need bedrock. We need leaders in our community who have hitched their horse in our neighborhood. Who declare that they won’t leave our community. We need the talents, voice, intelligence, passion, and tenacity of church leaders who see themselves as ministers to the community at-large and not just the few who pay their rent.
We need activists. We need leaders who will stand up for the rights of the minority in our communities and hold their hand in the public arena in Jesus name. We need people who have stood the test of time and been the pain in the neck of the good old boys for long enough to see real change.
We need retirement parties. We need leaders who are willing to stick it out for their career. Who aspire to have a street named after them more than a book with their name on it. We need leaders who recognize that long-term ministry means good times and bad times. We need leaders who recognize that their role may morph. We need leaders who dream that one day they will be recognized for 40 years of service with a cake and a party. (And maybe we won’t be, and that’s OK, too.)
That’s where church leadership will be in 20 years. The question for you is simple: Will you be here in 20 years or will you be doing something else? It’s up to you.
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Late night at SDSU vs. TCU
We had a good time at the game last night. But a 7:30 PM tip off is just a little too late for a 7 year old.
Context: This picture was taken after everyone had left the sold out arena. We were seated directly next to the student section. They were loud and crazy from 30 minutes before tip off until the game was over. Like 100+ decibels.
Paul passed out at halftime. Yeah, right after Coach Steve Fisher caused the place to nearly explode by arguing to get the final play of the half reversed and SDSU to make a tip in basket. And he slept through the whole second half.
I carried him on my shoulders about a mile to our car. Through campus and rowdy students, over the bridge, and past all of the freshmen dorms. (Because I’m too cheap to pay to park in the lot.)
This morning, he was bewildered at how he got from the arena to the car. But I didn’t carry him because he can’t remember that.
I wouldn’t have traded time with him for the world.
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Basketball fever
I’m an Indiana kid. Growing up, I played 21 from the time the neighbors driveway thawed until school started. Sometimes dozens of games per day. Not to sound like a John Cougar Mellencamp song, but we played until our fingers bled. Then we’d have lunch and play until it got dark.
Where I went to school everyone went to every high school basketball game. This culminated in 1994 with Clay High School making an improbable run to the state Final Four and winning it all in a come-from-behind thriller.
That love of the game carried on into college when I played endless games of pick-up basketball and even had a little stint as student sports information director for both men’s and women’s basketball teams. I’ve sat on the sidelines, keeping score, operating the shot clock… hundreds of games. I love it.
Not quite like my love for Notre Dame football. (Or cheddar cheese) But love nonetheless.
Finally, this year I have a lot to cheer about on the hardwood.
Notre Dame is very good. At 18-4, having beaten some very good teams, they are a lock for the NCAA tournament with 5 weeks to go. I’ve watched them play on TV a bunch. They might not be the most dynamic team in the Big East but I think they may be the most feared. No one wants to try to stop Ben Hansbrough. Because if you do he’ll just pass it off to someone else who will light you up. I’ve not seem them play better, top to bottom, in the Big East than with the squad they have this year. If they keep this up they would be a disappointment at anything less than a Sweet-16 berth.
San Diego State is ridiculous. I know that many people outside of the West Coast have been able to see them play yet. The Mountain West has a horrid TV deal with its own network which keeps them off of ESPN. But they are 22-1 and easily the best team in the west. I have kicked myself since November for not getting season tickets when I had the chance. But tonight will be my third game and I have another game next week to go to… but that’s it. They are sold out the rest of the way. The thing most people don’t understand is that SDSU has no star. They have 8 guys who could each start and one of them goes off to dominate each game. I’ve seen Billy White take over a game. I’ve seen Malcolm Thomas destroy teams. I’ve seen Kawhi Leonard make teams look silly. And D.J. Gay has ruined some teams from the point. It’s the craziest thing. But Coach Fisher has somehow kept the whole thing together, kept everyone focused, and been quick to remind his team that NO ONE outside of San Diego respects them. They barely even make it onto SportsCenter!
My biggest fear is that these two teams will play in the 2nd round of the NCAA. Ideally, they will meet in an Elite 8 or (be still, heart) the Final Four. Both of them are that good. And neither would surprise me to be there.
Let’s go Irish!
S-D-S-U! Aztecs Fight!
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You Will (AT&T ads from 1993)
Intrigues the conspiracy theorist in me. Imagine how smart I would be if I could go back and make a commercial that everyone thinks they saw 30 years ago predicting everything we are currently doing.
Good idea?
HT to Gavin
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Living the Gospel Physically
Permissiveness prevails in the church today. Obedience is mostly viewed spiritually, rarely physically manifesting itself.
It’s almost a foreign concept today that walking with Jesus would mean be tied to physical obedience. We’ve cheapened a relationship with Jesus down to the point where we aren’t really asking new followers of Jesus to do anything more than raise their hand or bow their head. If we are honest with ourselves, most of our churches expect little more of congregants than to show up and write checks to fund the church.
We want to prosper but we don’t want to sacrifice.
Maybe, just maybe, a walk with Jesus is supposed to be as physical as it is spiritual? In other words, we lie to people by reshaping the Gospel around what Jesus can do for them. More importantly, we lie to ourselves when we walk with Jesus safely and justify our safe-walk with Jesus with cultural answers to Scriptural truths.
Allow me to show you three examples of extreme physical obedience to God.
#1 Give it all away – Acts 2
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47
I hear Christians say all the time, “If we could just go back to the way it was in Acts 2, the church would grow.” I agree. Let’s start by selling all your property and possessions and lets live together in a community where we share it all.
“Well, well, well… that’s too extreme. This is the modern age. We couldn’t just do that anymore.” If it’s so extreme why did the Holy Spirit inspire Luke to write it down in Acts?
Lesson #1 – Physical obedience to God may be risky to your possessions.
#2 Move somewhere unsafe – Nehemiah 2
Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me.
They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work.
But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. “What is this you are doing?” they asked. “Are you rebelling against the king?”
I answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.” Nehemiah 2:17-20
There’s nothing wrong with living in the suburbs. But if God has called you to the city you are going to have to deal with city realities. You are probably going to have to send your kids to “those schools” and live in “that neighborhood” and you might have to deal with “those people.” If God called you to it, than He has declared to you that those schools are His schools, that neighborhood is His neighborhood and those people are His people.
“But, it’s my responsibility to make sure my family is safe and my kids get the best education they can.” Actually, that is crappy practical theology. There is no where safer for your family than in obedience to His will. And there is no better education you can offer your kids than your obedience.
Lesson #2 – Physical obedience to God redefines what it means to be safe.
#3 Cut it off – Genesis 17
Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” Genesis 17:9-14
Let’s be blunt here. As a pastor, I had a hard time getting people to show up for Spring clean-up. How do you think it’d go if I stood up on Sunday after my message and said, “If you are ready to walk with Jesus in obedience to what you just heard, and you are a male, please stay after the service today. We are going to cut off some skin from your penis as a symbol of your commitment. Doing this won’t save you, but it will show God that you are serious. Not the whole thing, just a little bit of skin.”
Done. Empty church. No need to vote, I’d be fired! There are news trucks in front of my house by the time I get back from Applebees. The byline of the story would probably call me the perverted penis pastor or something like that. There would be talk shows on CNN accusing me of being a cult leader. Congregants would line up to talk to Katie Couric, “He’s a nice guy and we love him as our pastor. He was always trying to get us to be dedicated to walking with Jesus, but it was just too far to make it some sort of physical thing.”
And yet, this is exactly what God told Abraham to do. You want to be God’s people? Let’s seal the deal by making it personal. Line up every male and prove you are serious about this covenant. We’re not talking about taking off a digit of your pinky. We’re talking about cutting part of your penis off! As a Bible college student we were studying this passage and I raised my hand to ask a question. “I’m not trying to be smart. But do you think God gave Abraham some sort of instruction manual with this? I mean, how did he know if he cut enough off? And… who do you think went first?”
I have a feeling Abraham went first. He was a leader… so he lead the men somewhere they were unwilling to go on their own.
Lesson #3 – Physical obedience to God is a personal, willful sacrifice.
Discussion questions:
- Gut check. All excuses aside, how are you doing at physical obedience to Jesus?
- What does Scripture reveal to me about what I need to do to physically live out the Gospel in my life?
- What are some first steps of obedience?
- What does this have to do with living in community?
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Grounded
According to Tripit, my travel tally for 2011 looks like this:
2011 Trips 3 Days 18 Distance 9,959 mi Cities 18 Countries 1
That’s as of February 2nd.
And it doesn’t include all of the cities I’ve been to… just the places I’ve spent the night.
The first 33 days of 2011 have been a total whirlwind. This was something I did intentionally to try to get as much done before the baby arrives so I won’t have any pressure to go anywhere. Anyone who knows me knows that I push myself 10 times harder than anyone could possibly push myself.
33 days into 2011. 18 days on the road. 15 days at home.
Yesterday, waiting for my bags in San Diego I habitually popped open Tripit, my app and travel companion. (Because it always tells me where to go and what to do next.)
It said, “No trips planned. Want to add one?”
Nope.
I hit the home button and shoved my phone in my pocket.
Symbolically, I’ve hit the home button for the next few months. My hope is to not have to travel for work for a while. I have no need to leave San Diego County until mid-April. And I don’t think I’ll spend a night away from my family until May. That’s plenty of time to regain footing in our family routines and work hard to bond as a family of five instead of a family of four. (2-3 more weeks!)
Last night, as I was talking to Megan and getting her ready for bed, I said, “It’s really nice to be home. Did mommy tell you that I won’t be going anywhere until after your birthday?”
The smile said it all.
I’m grounded. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
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Lord, change me first
What motivates people to change?
Here’s a list of things that I’m coming to terms with…
Things that I see which don’t change people or organizations but should: (Generally speaking)
- Biblical truth
- Their current reality, state, or condition
- Current position, authority and/or aspirations of
- Scientific research or law
- Reading books about other organizations or people who change the world
- Inspirational stories on the internet, television, or radio of success and/or failure
- A new program at their school, work, or place of worship
Now, if you are part of an organization, think about the amount of money you spend on the list above. Probably most of it.
Chew on this…
Things that I see which do help people and organizations change behavior: (Generally speaking)
- Selfish ambition, money
- Accessibility to something which feeds their ambition, money
- Fear of losing their family, friends, position, income
- Losing family, friends, position, income
- Fear of being discovered
- Being discovered
- Peer pressure, positive or negative
- Cultures laws, mores, and taboos
Thought #1: Behavior change isn’t the point of the Gospel.
Thought #2: Behavior change can be a manifestation of the Gospel in an individual or organizations life.
Thought #3: The majority of my time/my resources/my energy is invested in things that should change behavior but don’t. There’s a gulf between “ought to affect change” and “does affect change” that people I need to wrestle through.
Thought #4: When I stop trying to be the answer for the top list and start building community where the bottom list is shared openly, then I see the Gospel go places I never thought it would.
Thought #5: As a believer, according to Scripture, I am the answer to the change the people in my life so desperately search for. The question for me to wrestle with is this, “Do I want to be the person people expect me to be and focus on the things that ‘ought to affect change’ or do I want to look in the mirror, deal with my own mess, and help people exchange solutions that don’t fix a thing for solutions that are really hard but affect long-term change.”
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What does restoration look like?
Here is our old youth pastor, Adam. Photo by Ann Larie Valentine via Flickr (Creative Commons) My heart breaks for those hurt by the church. Specifically, for people called to full-time ministry, but gravely injured by the people they were called to serve.
Hardly a day goes by when I don’t interact with a youth pastor or former youth pastor who was deeply wounded by their church.
The church treated them like a couch. One day they are the centerpiece of the metaphorical living room and the next day they were moved to the curb and left for the garbage truck to pick them up.
When you are called to a church you are applauded publicly. People pray for you. You are brought up front to acknowledge that the leadership feels you have been called to be a central figure in the church. But when they no longer need you? They basically kick you out of community, shame you, and write a small check for your private pain, and pretend you never existed.
While I recognize that there is always another side to their story– it nonetheless paints a vivid picture of what that church really believes.
- You have to behave a certain way or perform to a certain expectation level or we will kick you out.
- When we wrong someone, we cover it up with hush money, and we never ask for forgiveness, even when we are clearly wrong.
- When we wrong someone, we never restore either them or the relationship privately or publicly.
It just leaves me to wonder about the state of the church. We reach less than 10% of the population on a weekly basis. And we don’t think our private institutional sins impact that at all!
It leaves me with three questions to ponder as I begin my work week:
- What does it look like for the institution to seek forgiveness?
- What would it look like if we restored people?
- What do I need to do to seek forgiveness and restoration of both relationship and position in my life?
May we become a church who loves its staff as fellow men and women on the journey.
