These are in no order, but here are the questions we had from tonight. I always love these nights, and I hope they are as helpful to our students as they are fun for me. We didn't get to answer all of them, but we tried to get to as many as we could.
- Should you judge someone about what religion they have by their skin color or culture?
- Is alchemy a sin?
- How do you tell what to take literally or metaphorically in the Bible?
- Why do I get hurt and they get to be happy?
- Does everything truly happen for a reason?
- If Jesus died to forgive our sins how come we are still threatened to go to hell?
- You're being tortured by insurgents. Your only options are let them torture you to death and suicide. Is suicide then acceptable?
- If an abusive ex-boyfriend comes back in your life, should you forgive them?
- If God knows us before we are born and we are made on purpose, why are the people who have kids before marriage thought down on as if they are under par and less than others?
- Why does God make kids in families that just can't handle kids?
- Should we help people who don't help themselves? Like if the orphans and widows we are helping don't seem to become self supportive; when they have the ability should we still help them?
- I don't want to be. Why am I here?
- Why are Jesus' holy words often put in red in many Bibles? Why not purple or blue or green?
- In the Old Testament, there are various accounts of God turning people into pillars of salt. What did they do with the salt?
- Is having sex before marriage a sin?
- How did God let Adam name the animals but we still give them different names? Is that a sin because we're going against God's decision?
- How come God seems cranky in the Old Testament, but He seems super forgiving in the New Testament?
- If you commit suicide do you go straight to hell?
- How does God know what we are going to do before we do it because if he gives us two options or more to do the right or wrong thing and He knows which one we are going to do then why give us the choice?
- Is there such a thing as premarital sex if you don't plan on getting married?
- What is religion?
- Is it wrong to tell a friend that we think he is on the wrong path? Isn't that being judgmental?
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Saturday, July 31, 2010
great phone call
I got a text from Corey Hoff, a former student here at Grace who has recently been hanging around with our students and serving by playing bass in our praise band. It was unusual, mainly because it was at 8:30 am and I don't recall getting a text saying "call me whenever you get a second" from Corey very often.
Now as a pastor, you never know what you're getting yourself into when you call back in a situation like that. It could be anything from asking for prayer to "can you come get me? my car is broken down." Anything. But what would follow will always be a reminder of why I'm in student ministry.
I could hear the excitement in Corey's voice as he told me that as he was logging off of his facebook account, he received a chat message from a guy he had gone to high school with four years earlier. He told me that this guy was somebody that he went out of his way every day to tell him that "Jesus loves you." He said it had even become kind of a joke between him and the other student. In this chat, Corey's friend told him that at that time in school, he would have basically considered himself an atheist; wanting nothing to do with God. He was chatting with Corey that night because he wanted him to know that he had put his faith in Christ and was trying to figure out what God wanted him to do. He wanted Corey to know that he had been a part of him finding Jesus.
So my first thought was "how cool is that?" That a now-college student would see results from his planting the seed of God's love years earlier.
My second thought was, "this is how it's supposed to be!" I know our students can reach their friends WAY better than I ever could.
My third thought was "how can I get Corey to help us out in student ministry?" We said we'd try to have lunch this next week.
Anyway, I am just so excited to see God still at work in the hearts of our students. Way to go Corey, and way to go God!
Now as a pastor, you never know what you're getting yourself into when you call back in a situation like that. It could be anything from asking for prayer to "can you come get me? my car is broken down." Anything. But what would follow will always be a reminder of why I'm in student ministry.
I could hear the excitement in Corey's voice as he told me that as he was logging off of his facebook account, he received a chat message from a guy he had gone to high school with four years earlier. He told me that this guy was somebody that he went out of his way every day to tell him that "Jesus loves you." He said it had even become kind of a joke between him and the other student. In this chat, Corey's friend told him that at that time in school, he would have basically considered himself an atheist; wanting nothing to do with God. He was chatting with Corey that night because he wanted him to know that he had put his faith in Christ and was trying to figure out what God wanted him to do. He wanted Corey to know that he had been a part of him finding Jesus.
So my first thought was "how cool is that?" That a now-college student would see results from his planting the seed of God's love years earlier.
My second thought was, "this is how it's supposed to be!" I know our students can reach their friends WAY better than I ever could.
My third thought was "how can I get Corey to help us out in student ministry?" We said we'd try to have lunch this next week.
Anyway, I am just so excited to see God still at work in the hearts of our students. Way to go Corey, and way to go God!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
2 things I should've mentioned tonight about Lent
1- If you're diabetic, don't feel bad for not giving up food. Your blood sugar levels will thank you.
2- If you just totally forget, and give in to (listening to music, or drinking Sun Drop, etc.): don't beat yourself up. The idea is recognizing the sacrifice Christ made for us on the cross, not perfectly maintaining your fast.
Here are the notes below from tonight, in case you lost them:
Lent fasting ideas/options
__ TV show (you watch every day or so)
__ Social media (facebook, myspace, twitter, etc.)
__ iPod/Zune/mp3 player __ Music while you drive
__ food __ Favorite beverage (Dr. Pepper, Sun Drop, Milk)
__ Sweets and/or snacks __ texting
Tips:
• Pick something you do on a daily or regular basis
• Sundays are off days, celebrate Jesus being alive!
• Don’t beat yourself up if you forget. Or cave in.
• Pick something that will be a challenge to you.
• WE FAST DURING LENT BECAUSE IT REMINDS US OF THE SACRIFICE CHRIST MADE FOR US. WE SACRIFICE BECAUSE CHRIST SACRIFICED FOR US.
Other verses to explore:
• Matthew 4:1-11 • Luke 2:37 • Ezra 8:23
• Esther 4:16 • Isaiah 58:3-5 • Joel 1:14
• Psalm 69:10 • Jonah 3:5
2- If you just totally forget, and give in to (listening to music, or drinking Sun Drop, etc.): don't beat yourself up. The idea is recognizing the sacrifice Christ made for us on the cross, not perfectly maintaining your fast.
Here are the notes below from tonight, in case you lost them:
Lent fasting ideas/options
__ TV show (you watch every day or so)
__ Social media (facebook, myspace, twitter, etc.)
__ iPod/Zune/mp3 player __ Music while you drive
__ food __ Favorite beverage (Dr. Pepper, Sun Drop, Milk)
__ Sweets and/or snacks __ texting
Tips:
• Pick something you do on a daily or regular basis
• Sundays are off days, celebrate Jesus being alive!
• Don’t beat yourself up if you forget. Or cave in.
• Pick something that will be a challenge to you.
• WE FAST DURING LENT BECAUSE IT REMINDS US OF THE SACRIFICE CHRIST MADE FOR US. WE SACRIFICE BECAUSE CHRIST SACRIFICED FOR US.
Other verses to explore:
• Matthew 4:1-11 • Luke 2:37 • Ezra 8:23
• Esther 4:16 • Isaiah 58:3-5 • Joel 1:14
• Psalm 69:10 • Jonah 3:5
Monday, February 15, 2010
snowboard discipleship
I recently have had a revelation. Don't get too excited, it's not about the end times. But every now and then, God connects thoughts in my mind that hadn't come together yet.
For example, on our annual ski trip we took the group to North Carolina's Sugar Mountain. The first day, we had some beginners, so I offered to help our snowboarders. Only one had never been before, so he and I got our equipment and headed to the mountain. We met up with some other students who had been before and immediately headed toward the ski lift. *NOTE TO SELF* I should never take a beginner straight to the lift. Not that he fell or anything, but we would be starting on a much steeper hill than the bunny hill. Don't let the excitement of the moment get me distracted from the current need.* So we got off the lift with little incident, and strapped on the boards. From here, it was a long process of getting down the hill. This was really my fault, not the new snowboarder's fault.
My whole idea to this post is this: as student ministers, we get all excited about seeing a student come to put their faith and trust in Christ, but what do we do next?
This is what hit me on Sugar Mountain: I get all excited about going on the ski trip and getting the students there, but do I just hand them the equipment and say go for it? Or in another way, I can be part of the process where students come to Christ, but then what?
Here's the conclusion I came to: it's not enough just to get them to a certain point (the mountain/point of accepting Christ); I'm going to have to stay with them and keep coaching and keep encouraging and constantly challenge them. Sure we need to get them the right equipment (Bible, solid teaching,etc.). But we can't give up on them. Even though the process is going to be messy (we're dealing with people here, right?) and can be painful at times, it's so worth it.
When we launch students into college, work, or military life; I pray that they are able to keep growing and learning on their own. And hopefully they can teach the next generation to love God and love others. Or maybe even snowboarding (or skiing for all you ski people out there).
A secondary point is that I know I am not going to be able to disciple everyone, which makes me realize that much more our need of small groups and leaders who love God and like teens.
For example, on our annual ski trip we took the group to North Carolina's Sugar Mountain. The first day, we had some beginners, so I offered to help our snowboarders. Only one had never been before, so he and I got our equipment and headed to the mountain. We met up with some other students who had been before and immediately headed toward the ski lift. *NOTE TO SELF* I should never take a beginner straight to the lift. Not that he fell or anything, but we would be starting on a much steeper hill than the bunny hill. Don't let the excitement of the moment get me distracted from the current need.* So we got off the lift with little incident, and strapped on the boards. From here, it was a long process of getting down the hill. This was really my fault, not the new snowboarder's fault.
My whole idea to this post is this: as student ministers, we get all excited about seeing a student come to put their faith and trust in Christ, but what do we do next?
This is what hit me on Sugar Mountain: I get all excited about going on the ski trip and getting the students there, but do I just hand them the equipment and say go for it? Or in another way, I can be part of the process where students come to Christ, but then what?
Here's the conclusion I came to: it's not enough just to get them to a certain point (the mountain/point of accepting Christ); I'm going to have to stay with them and keep coaching and keep encouraging and constantly challenge them. Sure we need to get them the right equipment (Bible, solid teaching,etc.). But we can't give up on them. Even though the process is going to be messy (we're dealing with people here, right?) and can be painful at times, it's so worth it.
When we launch students into college, work, or military life; I pray that they are able to keep growing and learning on their own. And hopefully they can teach the next generation to love God and love others. Or maybe even snowboarding (or skiing for all you ski people out there).
A secondary point is that I know I am not going to be able to disciple everyone, which makes me realize that much more our need of small groups and leaders who love God and like teens.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
desire to change
Being in ministry(any kind of ministry), it's easy to get comfortable with how things go, to kind of get in a groove, or worse: a rut. Maybe I'm the only one, but occasionally, I start to get upset at things staying the same. We do the same events, see the same students, have the same fun, same, same, same = blah. Nothing wrong with traditions (they actually make my life easier), but ... like Sunday school, ok. Do we just keep doing it the way we've been doing it because it's the way we have always done it, or should we change the format? Like to small groups. These are the thoughts rolling around in my head/heart. I know deep down that we need, let me emphasize NEED small groups for our students' growth in Christ. Some of their classes are not small, by any stretch. All of our Sunday school teachers are fantastic. I trust them. I'm really just wrestling with this now. If you happen to read this, and you have faith in Christ: would you please join me in prayer for guidance on this? I'm not interested in coming up with my own clever ideas (I usually have none- it's easier to borrow someone else's), I'm %100 interested in what God wants to do here at Grace in this town at this time. Help us Lord, to be doing what You're doing.
Monday, November 23, 2009
regrets
Last week, I updated my blog with some serious frustration on my part. I was hurt and reacted out of a place of felt personal injury. I have since deleted my previous post. I appreciate everyone that read it and called or e-mailed or facebook messaged me with encouraging words. I needed to hear that.
From here we move forward. I love every single student at our church. I love their parents. And I'm glad to partner with them. For any who read my now-deleted post, I apologize. I was wrong to react like that.
Looking forward to the future,
dw
From here we move forward. I love every single student at our church. I love their parents. And I'm glad to partner with them. For any who read my now-deleted post, I apologize. I was wrong to react like that.
Looking forward to the future,
dw
Sunday, November 8, 2009
oh the times they are a changin'
Not just a good Bob Dylan song, but a reality for us here at Grace. As I type this, our first service is in progress. Today will be our lead pastor's last Sunday with us as he is following God's call to Westminster Nazarene in Denver, Colorado. He will certainly be missed around here. I'm so glad he brought me on staff here at Grace. I honestly had my doubts before moving here if I could do both high school and middle school ministry again. I'm not saying I've got it all figured out, but God has helped me make the transition (which I still feel like I'm in the middle of). I'm learning that I need to depend on Him more and more.
But my thoughts are really today about what this whole thing means for Grace. It will certainly take some time to get used to even an interim pastor. And then when a new pastor is brought on staff here, it will take time for them to get to know the 700+ people that come here every Sunday morning. One of my hopes is that the next pastor will keep us all on staff, and that I will get along with them, and be able to learn from them as I have previous lead pastors.
Though I know pieces of the machine get moved around from time to time, it's reassuring to me that I know I can count on God through it all. Not because I've earned it- I haven't. But because He is good; despite what the circumstances may currently look like. I have hope for the future for my family, for God's church and for the next leader that is to come. Thanks God, that You are trustworthy and faithful.
But my thoughts are really today about what this whole thing means for Grace. It will certainly take some time to get used to even an interim pastor. And then when a new pastor is brought on staff here, it will take time for them to get to know the 700+ people that come here every Sunday morning. One of my hopes is that the next pastor will keep us all on staff, and that I will get along with them, and be able to learn from them as I have previous lead pastors.
Though I know pieces of the machine get moved around from time to time, it's reassuring to me that I know I can count on God through it all. Not because I've earned it- I haven't. But because He is good; despite what the circumstances may currently look like. I have hope for the future for my family, for God's church and for the next leader that is to come. Thanks God, that You are trustworthy and faithful.
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