ELEV8

ENCOUNtER, our Wednesday night youth service, is headed in a very specific direction this school year.  After asking ourselves some important questions, we feel as though our students need a platform or foundation from which they can elevate their lives by living in the Spirit and authority of God and making practical faith applications each day.  Ultimately, this will accomplish our greatest goal which is to elevate the name of God in this community and throughout the world.  

Theme for the Year - ELEV8

What do students need to elevate their standards of living in their current circumstances and surroundings?  Furthermore, by what standards should they be living?  This school year we will seek to elevate our standards to those of God.   How will we do that?

INTEGR8 – This will be our theme of study for the Fall semester of the school year.  We will look at different spiritual disciplines throughout scripture.  I firmly believe that Kingdom living involves disciplined living.  These sermons and teachings will help students not only understand the importance of the spiritual disciplines, but will also give them a practical application and understanding of the spiritual disciplines so that they can integrate them into their daily living and thinking. 

NAVIG8 – With a desire to elevate our standards of living and a practical foundation built upon the practice of spiritual disciplines, the Spring semester of the school year will be built around navigating through difficult issues your teenagers face on a regular basis.  We are going to tackle a number of difficult but relevant topics.  We are going to wrestle with temptations, questions, hurts, and many other issues that challenge the claims and authenticity of Christianity.

John 8:11-12

“Go on your way. From now on, don't sin."  Jesus once again addressed them: "I am the world's Light. No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness. I provide plenty of light to live in." (The Message)

We are called to go and to live a life free from sin.  This is only possible because Jesus is the light.  If we follow him, we will ELEV8 his name in this world.  The practice of spiritual disciplines will lead us to live a life freed from sin.  Furthermore, with Christ as our headlamp, we will navigate through this life in a way that honors God and follows his direction in our lives.  

Follow us on the blog each week to connect with your student and what they learn each Wednesday night at our ENCOUNtER service.  Leave comments, ask questions, and share stories of how your family is connecting.  Take time to be the greatest spiritual influence in your student’s life.  

FUGE Recap

          Whether your child went to CentriFuge or M-Fuge, you can rest assured they had an ENCOUNtER with God during the week.  Everything about the camp is designed to bring your student into the presence of God.  Games, worship, service, and everything else your student did during the week was aimed at embracing the truth of the Gospel.
          Let me brag for a moment...First, our students received compliments everywhere we went.  When we checked out of one of the hotels, the staff commented that we had a group of young adults rather than teenagers.  Furthermore, in the PCY groups (paint, construction, yard work), our kids outworked every other group there.  Yes I am biased, but our kids were the hardest workers at camp - no doubt!  Your kids were well behaved and a joy to be around.  Secondly, no church at this camp had the support of volunteers like our Youth Group.  Our adults easily out numbered every church, even churches that brought more students.  The Fuge staff was even impressed that we had brought a caravan of 9 personally owned vehicles.  What is impressive is that this church rallies together to watch God work in the lives of students.
         On August 7th, we will be baptizing some of our students who have accepted Christ this year.  You will also be given the opportunity to hear from the students firsthand about what God is doing in their lives.  Encourage your student to share with you about their week.  Specifically ask them about connecting with the Gospel, God's mission, and how their life will be lived differently after a week of camp.
          One last note...I think one of the spiritual disciplines we often forget is the spiritual discipline of celebration.  The service on August 7th will be a celebration of what God is doing in the lives of students in our church.  Richard Foster puts it this way, "Joy is part of the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22).  Often I am inclined to think that joy is the motor, the thing that keeps everything else going.  Without joyous celebration to infuse the other disciplines, we will sooner or later abandon them.  Joy produces energy.  Joy makes us strong."  Our students are energized.  They are poised and strong.  It brings me great joy to serve them alongside of you all.

FUGE UPDATE #2

Things have been going great.  We have settled in and are working hard in the community already.  Each of your children miss you dearly!!!  We had some really great conversations last night, and God is clearly working in and through our students already.  The students have been challenged to connect with Gospel and those who do not know Christ.  Last night in our Church Group Devotion time, I also challenged the kids to disconnect from anything that keeps them from connecting with the Gospel.  Our adults also spent some time focusing in on the heart of our ministry and how they can better connect with students.  Brainstorming, ideas, and projects are in the works.  Look for changes and new conversations when we get back.

On a fun note, Scotty and I took five 14 and 15 year old boys to Olive Garden tonight.  We will never do that again!  We laughed a lot but I feel terrible for our poor waitress.  However, your kids tipped well.  Also, last night was a themed cartoon dress up night which featured several of our kids.  We also had a Smurf family from our church including yours truly as Papa Smurf.  We are out and in the community serving.  Continue to pray for us as we press deeper into the heart of the Gospel tonight.

Pray for attentive ears and listening hearts.  Pray for clarity from scripture.  Pray for a connection with the Gospel.  Pray for safety as we travel.  Pray for courage for students to respond to what God is doing in their lives.  

FUGE Update

We made it safely to the hotel last night after 32,567 stops.  All nine cars and 52 people made the journey safely.  After a few "swimming pool showers" we went to bed and woke up this morning to a hot breakfast.  Somebody just burned a waffle as I am typing.  Just a three hour trip today until we arrive at camp.  Everyone seems rested, and we look forward to worshipping tonight.  God is already at work.  Thank you for your prayers and support.  I look forward to sharing some awesome stories with you about the work and transformation God is doing later in the week.

Also, I will buy some candy and a soda for the child of the first parent who comments back with the starting five players of the World Champion Dallas Mavericks at the end of the NBA playoffs.

Effective Affection

         We all have within us a human nature that longs for love and affection.  Deep within us is a fear of not being loved as well as a fear of loving.  Men usually do a good job of suppressing those feelings because they aren't "manly."  Surprisingly, many women suppress these feelings because they have been hurt in a relationship at one point or another and their desire to fill their longing for love is too painful.  Our longing for love could be described as the most fundamental part of our humanity.  At the same time, what we have discovered is that this fundamental part of who we are is also extremely dangerous.  Why?  Because real love is dangerous and risky.  It invites the possibility of our being hurt in one way or another.  And so, to avoid distress or dissatisfaction, we live closed and protected lives.

Why do you think so many parts of the world are so cold and unfriendly?  Why are so many people drawn to Facebook, cable television, and online shopping?  Because it can be done in the protected atmosphere of the home - safe, closed off, and comfortable.  

          What about the love of the Gospel?  Where does it find its place in clammed up living?  Furthermore, what about the love of the Gospel?  Are we really interested in the love of the Gospel?  How does it change us?  How does it set us apart?  How does it work?  How is it communicated?  What about the love of the Gospel...

          Church - we are to be the embodiment of the love of the Gospel.  A Facebook checkup, a friendly text, and a casual handshake at church are not enough.  The self-protective demeanor of the culture of Christianity is causing a lot of people to ask, "What about the love of the Gospel?"  

         I mean, do you know, do you really know the love of God in Christ Jesus?  Once we know that love, nothing can separate us from it.  Once we know that love, we're free to love.  We're never at risk of being unloved.  The only risk we carry as the church is to become unloving.  In doing so, the world begins to wonder, "What about the love of the Gospel?"  

          Back to Gospel Lenses - put them on the next time you look at the world, the next time you walk in to your work place, the next time you walk into your home.  Instead of complaining about how people treat you, instead of protecting yourself from pain or insult, instead of wondering why the world is so unloving, ask yourself the following questions; Who here can I love?  Who needs my love right now?  How can I make the love of the Gospel real in this place?

          We fear the act of giving love because we are not sure if it will be reciprocated.  What we should fear most is that we are not reciprocating the love first given to us by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  "By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers" (1 John 3:16).  Risky, lay-down-your-life, dangerous love, I will argue, is the clearest indicator that one is living a gospel-centered life.  Writing that statement puts a knot in my stomach.  Lay-down-your-life love is impossible.  It's totally and completely impossible.  Unless...

        Unless you know you are eternally loved by Christ.  Then you are free.  Then you become yourself the love of the Gospel.  Then you are free to give of yourself because you have received so much.  What if...

          What if we took the Lord's Prayer seriously in our lives?  What if our mantra was this - "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."  What if we were courageous enough as a Christian body to take this prayer literally and seriously?  What would happen if we as the church sought wholeheartedly to bring the reality of heaven to this earth?  God's mission is to bring heaven to this earth.  God's mission is for people to get so wrapped up in the love of the Gospel that we never forget it, we never forsake each other, and that this world would begin to look more like heaven because people were so changed by HIS love.  This is effective affection.  It is effective because it is from our God above.  It is affective because he chased us down in the form of Christ.  So, what about the love of the Gospel?  If it isn't changing you, if it is what gives you breath each and every day, then maybe you're missing it.  

         Isn't it exciting?  Doesn't it do something to you to think and know that God is choosing to use you to bring heaven to earth?  I mean, how can we as a church become numb to the words of love in the Gospel?  He loved you enough to die for you.  God wanted to show you the affection you need so much so that he came.  Did you catch that?  He came.  He literally came and brought heaven to this earth through Christ.  Church - RISK everything so that no one ever has to ask again, "What about the love of the Gospel?"  Gospel love is effective affection.  Our world needs it so desperately.  Don't hold back.  Don't fear.  Bring the kingdom!

Gospel Lenses Part II

Just like any pair of handy glasses or lenses, Gospel lenses need a regular cleaning so we can continue to see clearly.  This past Wednesday night as we continued our walk through Jonah, we looked at Jonah chapter 3.  I'm not sure if Jonah took his Gospel lenses off when he ran from God or if they had just gotten really dirty and he wasn't seeing clearly.  For most of us, I don't think it's that we take off or abandon the Gospel, but it is more like we aren't quite seeing the Gospel clearly.  That's because things seem to get a little muddy sometimes.  Maybe Jonah needed a good washing and that's why he was tossed straight into the ocean.  A baptism for Jonah?  Maybe so...

By the time we turn to chapter three, Jonah is a washed-up prophet (literally)!  He has seen the depths and been spared.  But God seems to be an advocate of second chances and tells Jonah that his mission is the same (3:1).  God gives Jonah a second chance because He has remained the same and so too has his mission--God in all times and places desires that all creation be reconciled to him.  God calls a second time because he wants the lost saved, even the Ninevites.  Jonah has enjoyed God's grace and mercy, but has been reluctant to see God use that same grace and mercy on the Ninevites.  Sounds like some of us in the church today.  Scary...

So when Jonah finally shows up to Nineveh, God has given him a message to proclaim.  It's a message of coming doom and gloom.  In the Hebrew, Jonah simply preaches 5 words.  Imagine a Sunday morning sermon only 5 words long.  You would never miss a kickoff or wait in line at a restaurant again!  5 Words!!!  So, in a mighty city known for torturing their enemies*, Jonah brings a message of their coming destruction if they fail to turn to God.  He does so seemingly in an earnest way.  This is probably because he thinks they'll never repent, or they're too far gone.  He enjoys the message because he thinks God will overturn them and they will reap his wrath.  However, after 5 words, the people repent.  They are totally overturned!  They turn from sin and to God!  This was not the overturning Jonah had hoped for.  And why should God have mercy on people like this?  That seems like an injustice in the mind of Jonah.

But wait!  It's God.  It's the same God that brought about a storm and a fish to rescue Jonah.  He has done something even more incredible now!  He is changing the hearts of sinful human beings.  Their repentance encompasses all parts of life.  They respond by fasting, wearing sackcloth, and crying out to God.  Even the animals fasted!  They abstained from both food and water, and by having their livestock fast, they put their economy in God's hands as well.  What's even more amazing is that they do all this not knowing whether or not God will spare them.  They respond in repentance to God because he is God.  We should respond to God for who God IS, not because of what we might get or gain!  We don't worship God to get something in return.  We worship God because GOD IS GOD!  That's enough.  They put everything in God's hands, even their finances!  Total surrender to God because God is God.  That is the kind of humility that leads to a true repentant heart.

Perhaps we get like Jonah and the Gospel lenses through which we view life become a little muddy.  They get a little dirty when we come to church and dig deep into religious duties.  They are clouded a bit when we yearn for God's mercy for ourselves, but cry out for wrath and justice on others.  The lenses grow darker when we take the Gospel and keep it to ourselves.  They lose their clarity every time we sin because every time we sin we are living contrary to God's will.  We in fact are turning our backs to God and running toward Tarshish.  You see, sin makes it hard to see through those Gospel lenses, but like the Ninevites found out, God is ready to clean them off for us when we are overturned by repentance.

The real injustice in this life lies not in God seeking the redemption of our enemies.  The real injustice lies in the hearts of those who have the Gospel and keep it to themselves.  Why do you think Jesus tells us to love our enemies?  Because God loves them and God is calling us to share the good news with them.  In fact, every time we fail to share the Gospel, we are running from God just like Jonah.  What if Jonah had never gone to Nineveh?  They may have never had the opportunity to respond.

Perhaps as a church, we need to repent.  Perhaps we have been unjust.  Perhaps the lenses God gave us to view the world have become a bit muddy.  Maybe it's time for a cleaning.  Maybe it's time for humility.   And maybe, just maybe it's time for repentance.  I believe revival springs forth from true repentance.  Where there is true repentance, there is an increase of comfort and compassion in this world.  True repentance is not just about turning from disobedience.  It is about turning all the way back to obedience.  Ask God to clean your lenses so you don't lose sight of him in this world.

Gospel Lenses

         What is the Gospel?  What does the word Gospel mean?  Who is the Gospel for?  What does the Gospel do?  These are basic questions of Christian faith that we usually entertain and answer in VBS or maybe even at youth camp.  Once we "get" the Gospel, we move on to deeper discussions about theology and doctrine of the church.  In doing so, the Gospel becomes the story of the life of Christ and his message of salvation to sinners.  It's almost as if in the church, Christians graduate from the Gospel...to go deeper in faith means to move beyond the simple message of the Gospel right?
          That's the question we've been asking on Wednesday nights with our students as we walk through the book of Jonah.  I have challenged them to read Jonah through Gospel lenses.  As we read Jonah, it's like we are reading the story of the Gospel in the New Testament.  Read it and notice all of the similarities.  No matter how hard he tried, Jonah couldn't escape the reality of the Gospel--grace and mercy to all men.
          The word Gospel literally means good news.  Webster defines the word gospel as the teachings of Jesus and the apostles; the Christian revelation.  It can also be defined as the story of Christ's life and teachings, especially as contained in the first four books of the New Testament, namely Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  The Gospel--what does it mean to you?  I think in our faith, the Gospel often gets lost.  The more you go to church, the more likely you seem to be to move past the Gospel into church politics, church arguments, church votes...somewhere in the midst of that we become numb to the Gospel, our faith becomes about our preferences, the church is supposed to serve us, and the Gospel is just for lost sinners.
          Without the reality of the Gospel, that's exactly what we'd be--lost sinners.  Even though we may not be eternally lost, we often get lost like Jonah when we remove our Gospel lenses.  Jonah was a great prophet, but he also sinned, got lost, and forgot that God's grace was for all people.  So, I invite you to put on your Gospel lenses.  You can't graduate from the Gospel!  To do so would be detrimental.  Yes, the Gospel is for lost sinners who live life outside the kingdom of God.  And yes, the Gospel is for Christians who get lost in sin and think they can move beyond the Gospel.  You cannot move beyond the Gospel, but you can forever move deeper and deeper into the Gospel.  
          I think if we view life through Gospel lenses, we as the church will be much more effective.  These lenses are like a good pair of prescription safety glasses.  They allow us to look into the world and see clearly.  At the same time, they protect us from the debris and dangers of getting caught up in the world.  Finally, they allow us to work in the world.  No one sits around watching TV with a pair of safety glasses.  In the same way, the Gospel saves us from works, but it doesn't save us not to work.  Put on your Gospel lenses and get to work.  The Gospel is for all people, both the lost and the found.  
          Ask your kids what the Gospel means to them.  Sit down as a family and write a family mission statement.  Answer this question--How would we live as a family if we were all wearing our Gospel lenses working together in this world for Christ?  If you feel like somewhere along the way you graduated from the Gospel, it's time to go back to school.  The Gospel should change us, grow us, and impact us each and every day.  It is our source of life and gives us breath.  We cannot live apart from it.  If you've taken off your Gospel lenses put them back on!  If you've been hit by some debris, I know a great physician who can probably get you up and running again.  I saw him save a man from drowning once...