The Teenage Soul

I recently held a fall parent meeting for our Junior High and High school parents. As part of all parent meetings I ask the parents how we as ministry can better partner with them in helping them build a spiritual foundation in their students. Their response was," help us understand where our students are at, and what is going on in their world." There seems to be a great divide that has formed between teens and their parents. Loving parents want to bridge the gap but don't know how, teens want their parents to take an interest in their lives yet don't know how to communicate that to their parents. Thus "The Teenage Soul" was developed.

This blog is a collaborative effort to help keep parents up to date with what is happening in youth culture. We will continually discuss issues and topics that our teens and college age students are faced with. It is our goal to partner with you, the parent, to reach out to your child and to be an active participant in their life. We hope you find The Teenage Soul to be a great resource as you endeavor through the journey of parenting a teen.

Check it out and let me know what you think!!

Tough Question??

I was having a conversation yesterday with a good friend and partner in ministry Leo. And this question came up.

"If you woke up in Hell tomorrow, would you feel like you deserved it?"

Wow! What a soul searching question. Either way you answer it, it forces you to change. What do you think, what would your response be to this question? How will your life change in response to your answer?

J.I. Packer on Young Chrisitan Leaders

I am a huge fan of J.I. Packer, he in my opinion is one of the greatest theologians that has blessed our generation. He is a sage that has much wisdom to pass on. His book "Knowing God" is a foundational study in Christian theology that must be read by all Christians. Mark Driscoll another influential man that I respect for his deep understanding of the heart of Jesus, and our calling as Christian leaders spent some time with J.I. Packer. Mark Driscoll asked J.I Packer which theological issues he would commend young Christian leaders to study in order to be prepared for the next fifty years. Here is the link check it out:http://theresurgence.com/node/1091

What do you think?

When God Moves

The last few days I have been sitting in the midst of the Willow Creek Leadership Summit. A great conference on empowering leaders to be effective in their calling. God has done something in my heart the last two days that I haven't felt in a long time. It wasn't the leadership principles that moved me, not the big name speakers, or lofty ideas of spirituality, but the pictures of God moving in the midst of brokenness and injustice in our world. God using broken, humble people to be his light bearers to a world that desperately needs him. In the eyes of these people I saw life, and satisfaction that honestly has escaped me lately. I feel like I have been living some cheap imitation. I have strove so long to be about God's work and seeing youth fall in love with Jesus, that ministry has stolen my compassion for the things that really matter to him. Something has happened in my heart, a holy discontent with the life that I have lived the last year. I have fallen victim to sacrificing for my comfort and not for my savior. I have failed to understand what true love looks like. When we see God moving in the lives of this world, in his people, there is something that happens, He begins to move in stagnant hearts that have lost passion and significance and meaning in life. Our culture is desperate for significance and meaning. I am convinced that the only life of significance and meaning is found in a love relationship with God. But our definition of love needs to change.

Ephesians 5:1-25:1 "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only son. That whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life."

Love is sacrifice! I ask myself this question: If God sacrificed his life to show his love for me, can I sacrifice my life to show my love to him? This is the true call of a disciple of Christ. To sacrafice your life to take on His life.

I am deeply convicted by this. I have failed to sacrifice for so many people in my life that I claim to love, most importantly God. As a pastor I have found that I have sacrificed many things to follow my God givin calling. But there is one thing that I have failed to sacrifice that has broken my heart and truly kept me from experiencing the life Jesus died for me to live. Comfort! I like being comfortable, and I base my decisions on what will keep me in a comfortable zone. I was reminded of this fact:

"Jesus did not come to make us safe, He came to make us brave"

So often we strive for comfort and safety in our American bubble. In fact we pride ourselves on how safe our communities, and country is. Yet I have realized that when we strive after safeness in the Christian life, we miss the adventure that Jesus is calling us to experience. In the process when we choose safeness we fail to experience God and fail to be a part of what he is doing in this world that brings signifiance and meaning to life that can not be found anywhere else.

God is moving in the dangerous places of our world, in the situations that could cost your life, your possessions, your dreams, your loves ones. But if we love God, we would consider all this worth sacrificing to be a part of his work at redeeming this world and experiencing him.

My prayer is this: Lord may this holy discontent that I feel never leave my life. Move in my heart to be broken for the things that break your heart. Allow me to humbly serve you in your movements. May I never choose safeness and comfort over the calling you have given me. I love you and am willing to sacrifice anything to show my love and gratitude to you.

Finding God in Mexico

I was reminded this last week that God transcends national boundaries. In the midst of a political heightened time in our country and many discussions about the boarder and issues in Mexico, I have forgotten what an amazing country Mexico can be! My wife and I were truly blessed this fourth of July when we received an offer to join a students family at their property in Mexico off a beautiful picturesque river. It was intended to be a little prep trip for an upcoming discipleship camp we will be having there in August. It was just what we needed!! I have forgotten what quiet actually sounded like. It always amazes me how the noise of life can drown out the voice of God, and as soon as we make time to be quite God speaks.

Thank you lord for being so faithful to give me opportunities to meet you in the midst of the noise and busyness of life. You continually offer refreshment and life that I so desperately need yet so often fail to recognize.

Bobblehead

Super sweet bobblehead. Go Padres!!! Make your own here http://www.xmbaseball.com/

Jesus was a Jew

Time Magazine has come out with "The 10 ideas that are changing the world" at #10 Re-Judaizing Jesus. The new idea that will change the world is that Jesus was a Jew!!! It is no new Idea that Jesus was Jewish, the proposed problem is that we in the western world have taken Jesus and his teachings out of the context of an eastern Jewish culture. The Emergent Church has tended to embrace this philosophy of a Jewish Jesus, yet they have done a pendulum swing from the Evangelical world in that they over emphasis the Jewish context in Jesus' teachings often adding more than what was original intended. The Emergent Church has brought some amazing depth to the teachings of Jesus, yet they have often gone too far. The modern day evangelical church has done Jesus' Jewish culture wrong as well. Evangelicals are often found using a few contextual examples of Jewish culture to support theological ideals backing beliefs and values of our western culture. Is it even possible for us to truly understand the complete context of the 1st century Judaism that Jesus grew up in, and then filter our exegesis of scripture through these ideas. In fact Judaism has changed so much that it only has a small resemblance today to the Judaism that existed during Jesus' day. Even the Jews that lived during the time of Jesus did not understand the meaning of many of His teachings and they were immersed in this ancient eastern culture. Those that did understand Jesus' teachings only understood through the enabling of the Holy Spirit. In Luke 8:10 Jesus states "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you , but to others I speak in parables, so that, though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand." NIV. It seems that every few decades since the time of Jesus we have had new ideas about the meaning of the scriptures, yet these new ideas seem to only support a tolerance to current values or a radical pendulum swing from current culture. No matter through whose eyes the scriptures are seen it is the Holy Spirit that gives us eyes to see and ears to hear. The truths of a fallen world and a human race in need of salvation spans across all cultures and times. What do you think?