Categories
Next Generation Ministry

What is working?

Next generation ministry is all about parents, leaders, and students. It’s also about the local church, God, and reaching the community. So much ink has been spilt over the numbers, percentages, and statistics of the the next generation straying or leaving their church or their faith.

Granted, this is a problem. But, in looking for a solution, one must first start with the question, “What is currently working?” Recently, my watch stopped working. Now, I don’t wear watches all that often, but I do on occasion. There was nothing wrong with the band, case, dial, crown, or lugs. All the watch needed was a new battery. So, after a trip to the watch store and spending $10, my watch was up and running again.

Steve Parr recently wrote a book entitled, Why They Stay: Helping Parents and Church Leaders Make Investments That Keep Children and Teens Connected to the Church for a Lifetime. The book is filled with practical advice, but above all, the books tells the church what is working! Steve identifies fifteen items:

  1. Young adult repented and believed in Jesus as a child or teen
  2. Young adult was baptized as a child or teen
  3. Young adult had good relationships with both parents while being raised
  4. Young adult was not a strong-willed child. *Note: Steve clearly notes that strong-willed children can and do stay in the church, but that extra guidance needs to be given to parents with children that have this temperament.
  5. Parents were balanced in their disciplinary style. *Note: think instruction/correction instead of punishment/control.
  6. Parents stayed together. *Note: It was much harder for teens to stay in church as a young adult than students who experienced divorce as a child.
  7. Parents/students were not separated during the worship service.
  8. Pastor was liked by children and teens.
  9. Church had a strategic student ministry with a schedule of activities.
  10. Parents actively served in the church as opposed to just attending.
  11. Church had a ministry geared toward college-aged young adults.
  12. Young adults attended college and graduated. *Note: This stat is not meant to discriminate against those who did not go to college. It’s just what the research revealed.
  13. Church helped college-aged young adults connect to a local church and campus ministry whether the student stayed at home or not during his or her college-aged years.
  14. Students held a high view of Scripture.
  15. Students had made a personal commitment to stay in church and their faith became rooted in a personal experience with Jesus Christ.

See, there is a lot that is working! Don’t throw in the towel just yet. Being a Christ-follower is not for the faint of heart. Wimps and quitters need not apply. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. You are living in perilous times, but God has promised to be with you in this challenging task to reach the next generation!

Jana Magruder also recently wrote a book describing what parents can do the influence the long-term spiritual condition of their kids. Jana’s book, Nothing Less: Engaging Kids in a Lifetime of Faith goes right along the lines of Steve’s book. Jana lists these nine positive influencers of parents:

  1. Parents participated in missions trip as a family as their kids were growing up.
  2. Parents participated in ministry or service projects with their kids as they were growing up.
  3. Parents frequently shared Christ with unbelievers as their kids were growing up.
  4. Parents personally read the Bible several times a week or more as their kids were growing up.
  5. Parents encouraged teen children to serve in the church.
  6. Parents typically asked forgiveness when they messed up as their children were growing up.
  7. Parents encouraged their children’s own unique talents and interests as they grew up.
  8. Parents attended churches that emphasized what the Bible says as their kids were growing up.
  9. Parents taught their children to tithe as their kids were growing up.

Dear parents and leaders, you can accomplish the task of seeing the next generation come to faith in Christ while staying committed to both Jesus and his church! I know because it has been done before! There’s nothing wrong with looking for new methods to accomplish the same task. Just don’t forget to use what has worked in the past.

Or maybe, you just needed your battery re-charged!

Categories
Next Generation Ministry

Fill the Slate!

Barna Research recently conducted a webcast on Gen Z. I want to use this post to share some of Barna’s findings on the largest study done on Gen Z as of date. I also want to include some general highlights or comments about Gen Z that stood out to me as I watched.

Four descriptors of Gen Z are that they are career-oriented, they are screenagers, they are extremely diverse, and their context is post-Christian. Spiritually, they are blank-slates with a third being either atheist, agnostic, or a none (non-churched). Only 4% had a biblical worldview and 12% described their sexuality as non-heterosexual. 33% said gender is how they feel, not their birth sex. 66% didn’t think lying was wrong. 57% use screen media four or more hours a day.

43% said educational achievement was very important to having a strong sense of self. Surprising, this ranked above family/religion (34%). Even more surprising was that 37% identified gender as very important to their sense of self and 29% of Gen Z said they knew someone who had changed their gender identity.

Only 20% wanted to be married by the age of 30 and only 12% wanted to be a parent before the age of 30. Thirty-eight percent just wanted to enjoy life in their 20’s. What Gen Z did want to accomplish before age 30 was finishing education/starting a career (66%) and becoming financially independent (65%). In fact, Gen Z sees financial independence as the primary mark of adulthood, not emotional maturity (as their predecessors, the Millennials did).

51% of Gen Z claimed happiness as their ultimate goal and 43% of these defined happiness in terms of financial success.

The data means next generation leaders need to help the next generation wade through their doubt (science/evolution was causing this generation trouble in their beliefs as they claimed to believe in facts, but not truth), offer more challenge/training (less safety/entertainment for a bubble-wrapped population segment), assist in developing relational (social media is making people less social) and decision-making skills (answers not found on google caused Gen Z confusion/anxiety), while providing vocational discipleship as well as discipleship in terms of gender issues.

A summation of individual responses from Gen Z on why it was hard to live for Christ in today’s world included (1) I feel all alone, (2) I don’t feel I can answer everyone’s questions about my faith, (3) I don’t want to be viewed as an extremist, (4) There are so many distractions, (5) Culture says we are intolerant or judgmental, and (6) It’s hard to defend my faith when challenged.

Thus, next generation leaders need to provide Gen Z with reasons for their faith (truth is not relative and there are consequences for not following truth), emphasize relationships (God is not an abstract idea, but a real person who wants a relationship with you), and provide rhythms where Gen Z can practice their faith (“We believe what we repeatedly do”).

Gen Z was found lacking a moral compass or sense of true north. In a society where a strong opinion can be seen as offensive, Gen Z was often afraid to challenge and afraid to share. Gen Z is extremely sensitive to certain topics and was often found saying, “I don’t know,” “not sure,” or “I’m so confused.” In college, students are often given trigger warnings before hearing about sensitive topics and allowed to leave the room if compelled to do so.

Gen Z often compared themselves to others and FOMO is real. Social medial became their arbiter of happiness and served to remind them that they themselves were not happy. Next generation leaders should teach that happiness is not end-all, be-all in life.

I hope this inside look will help you understand Gen Z so you minister more effectively to them!

Categories
Articles

Praying for the Next Generation

I have written much about how to reach and keep the next generation. However, before you or your church do anything, pray. And after you and your church have done everything, pray some more.

Regardless of where your church is at in reaching the next generation, you should pray. Perhaps the high-speed train is rolling and your bringing in the next gen by the cart loads or perhaps the train isn’t even on the track because you don’t have a train to reach the next generation with. No problem. Wherever you are, begin and end in prayer.

Strategies are important, but even strategies should be saturated in prayer. One strategy I have been using as of late is called “Seven Sundays of Focus” and it comes from www.reachingnextgen.com. I have adapted the strategy some, but my church’s “Seven Sundays of Focus” looks like the schedule below:

First Sunday – Pray for Students in Preschool (Ages 0-5)

Second Sunday – Pray for Students in Grades 1-5

Third Sunday – Pray for Students in Grades 6-12

Fourth Sunday – Pray for Students in College/Career (Young Professionals)

Fifth Sunday – Pray for Leaders of Preschool, Children, Youth, and Young Adult’s

Sixth Sunday – Pray for Parents of all students from cradle to college.

Seventh Sunday – Prayer about where we are and where we are going.

In practice, I spend three to seven minutes talking about each group and then praying over each group. You could bring groups to the front, have them stand, or simply raise their hands before praying over the group.

Churches need to be made aware of the times we live in. Churches need to understand how culture and theology work together. Churches need help in understanding who the next generation is (Milennials and Gen Z are not the same), but more than anything, churches need help in praying for the next generation.

If you do a good job of promoting the “Seven Sundays,” you can expect a spike in attendance. But realize more feet is not your ultimate goal. You are there to do serious business with God because you believe prayer is vital and you believe you need God to answer your prayers.

What will the results be? I think the results will be different for every context. However, I am believing in faith that my small church is going to baptize three or four more young people this upcoming year. For a large church, that number may swell to thirty or forty more and for a mega-church, that number may balloon to three or four-hundred more.

All I do know for sure is that Christianity is on hard times in North America and that the church needs to pray. Next generation leader, this starts with you. Approach your pastor about this strategy or another and I pray you get his blessing. But before you knock on his door, pray!

Categories
Gospel

2018: Know it, Share it, Live it

Happy New Year! May this be the year that evangelism trumps terrorism. About 2000 years ago, a man met 12 of his followers on a mountain, gave them the big idea, and released them to turn the world upside-down. About 20 years ago, another man met his followers in a room and shared his idea of bringing America down. Jesus and Osama Bin Laden both led movements with radical ideas that changed the world as we know it.

My fear in next generation ministry is that students in next generation ministry are not getting the gospel. I don’t mean that they are not hearing the gospel. I mean that they don’t understand the gospel is bigger than them, their idols, the time they have been allotted to live on planet earth. Most people who start movements don’t set out to. Martin Luther King Jr. did not say, “I have a plan.” No, he said, “I have a dream.” God wants his church to reach the whole known world with the gospel! Are you in? Are you all-in?

The idol of our time is entertainment. The average young man plays 10,000 hours of video games before by the time he is 21. Let’s be honest: Another idol of our time is porn. Statistics have shown a large percentage of men in the church (that includes pastors) are struggling with this idol. Our culture promotes tolerance of many sins, including watching porn. With the proliferation of iPhones, etc., without filters, I can only image the percentage of sex addicts we are raising up. Help addicts understand acceptance (from God), not just forgiveness, freedom (in Christ), not just shame. Another idol is sports. I once heard someone say if you spend more time talking about sports in a week than you do talking about God, you have an idol. Not all idols are bad things. Some idols are good things. But when a good thing becomes a God thing, it becomes a bad thing. Idols never deliver all they promise. I always tell people sin will take you farther than you want to go, cost you more than you want to pay, and keep you longer than you want to stay. Sin robs us of our time, talent, and treasure. The gospel is much grander and glorious than entertainment, video games, porn, or sports combined. I know I’m primarily addressing men and young men here but women and young women have idols too. Throw all your idols in one basket and they come no where near touching the affections derived from the gospel.

I don’t think the next generation gets the gospel because we next generation leaders don’t get the gospel. Preach the gospel to yourself first. Immerse yourself in it, read books on it, listen to gospel-centered preaching, saturate yourself in the gospel. Do you not know what the gospel is? It is the birth, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord, but its more. It’s more than propositional truth. It’s more than personal allegiance, surrendering yourself for God’s kingdom purposes. The gospel began before creation and will continue after the world has been restored. Jesus is the good news and there is no end to his kingdom. The gospel is a passion we have that will never go away. Yes, you may go to heaven, but you will never forget how you got there – that’s the gospel! You can never say enough, write enough, hear enough about the good news because the good news of the gospel never becomes old news. The gospel lives inside of you if you know Jesus. I once heard when you read the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), its like your looking Jesus in the eye, face to face, mano y mano. Jesus is the gospel. When you share the good news, you’re sharing Jesus! What else would possess an 8 year-old to share Jesus with an 80 year-old? Why else have people throughout the ages given up their possessions, their family, their very lives? – because of the gospel!

Once you know it, next generation leader, share it! Be like Jeremiah the prophet – let that fire out of your bones. Though the weeping prophet didn’t see results, he couldn’t just keep the message inside of him. Tell it as you go, not just when your at church. Serve, but share. We need less service projects and more mission projects where we serve and share. Evangelism and discipleship go together. Who wants peanut butter without the jelly? Your students will see you sharing the gospel and will follow suit.

Finally, live the gospel. We just celebrated Christmas. We experienced the Word come alive in human flesh. Some people only know about presents wrapped in paper, not the Present wrapped in swaddling clothes: God incarnate – Jesus, the God-man. Live what you are. Live the gospel. Let it be your identity. Paul talked about knowing nothing but Christ. John said he had to decrease. Jesus talked about dying to self. What say you?

Religion says look right, act right, be right. Jesus says follow me. The religion of our day is moralistic therapeutic deism (MTD). We have confused the essence of the gospel with the results of the gospel. Morality says be good. Therapy says feel good about yourself. Deism says God does not involve himself in your life affairs. THAT’S NOT THE GOSPEL! God does care about you or he would not have given up his one and only Son (John 3:16). John 3:16 is the gospel in a nutshell.

Categories
Mentoring

NGM: The Last Christ-Follower

Perhaps you have or have not seen Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Either way, I thought this Star Wars was the best Star Wars out of all the recent Star Wars movies that have been released. Kudos to Disney in taking Lucas Films and taking this film up a notch from the previous trilogy, etc. If you have not seen the movie, I will not ruin the storyline for you by telling everything that happens.

However, I do want to point out a couple of things that stood out to me in the movie that I feel relate to next generation ministry (NGM). The first thing that caught my attention was when the now gray-headed Luke Skywalker wanted to burn the original Jedi scrolls and refused to train Rey. Yoda appears to Luke to not only encourage him to train Rey but also later to place an emphasis on the living scroll (found within the living Jedi’s). Luke experiences some dissonance, but Yoda clears his feelings up by magically burning the tree with the Jedi scrolls found inside. At first, Luke is ok with letting the Jedi’s die out. He is frustrated, having experienced a lot of pain himself, and is ready to give up. But Yoda tells Luke the Jedi religion must be passed down to a new era.

Working with the next generation can be frustrating. You may feel like giving up and not passing down the faith. I recently read this about working with the next generation: “It is not easy. They think differently. They demand attention. They make lots of mistakes. They are immature. They are tough on facilities. They don’t give like we think they should. They sometimes misbehave. They have short attention spans. They are not committed as we think they should be. In reality, they are much like we were when we were young.”

Did you catch that last line? Never forget how you where when you were young.

Next, Princess Leia reminds me of intergenerational ministry. She willingly works with the next generation (Poe, in this case) to patiently guide him in his own journey. Rey is also a bit impulsive, but not as much as Poe. Poe thinks he is ready for leadership when he clearly is not. He leads a mutiny which comes back to bite him in the end. And though this has nothing to do with intergeneration ministry, I can’t help but wonder if Captain Phasma, a senior adult with purple hair, is not the wave of the future when it comes hair-styles.

Whether its Luke working with Rey or Leia working with Poe, the church needs senior adults who are willing to pray for, support, and mentor the next generation. This may come in the form of giving young parents advice or just going to watch a youth’s ballgame. Though the next generation will disappoint you at times (Remember Poe), keep on loving on them. Captain Phasma kept her cool and a good attitude toward Poe. In the end, Leia and Phasma endured Poe’s good qualities.

This all brings me to Kylo Ren, the quintessential postmodern. Kylo is ready for a new day, a day where there is no good or evil, right or wrong, rebels or jedi . . . a day where he rules the day. Kylo wants Rey to join him on his quest.

There are a couple of things that are wrong with Kylo’s proposition. For one, its his quest, not Rey’s. No one can force his or her feelings on another. Secondly, the world Kylo envisions cannot exist. There will always be absolutes this side of heaven. Kylo tries to construct his own meaning as do many postmoderns. Whether postmoderns want to embrace it or not, there is a God and a devil, a heaven and a hell. There is no middle road to choose that will lead to a good destination because God has not provided a middle road to travel down. Jesus is pretty clear that those who are not with him are against him, that there is time to change the road you’re on (we’re all born rebels), and that if you do not, it will not end well for you in eternity. You might think that is unfair, but the truth is you have already chosen one road over another.

Let me explain why I choose the road less traveled with an illustration from another movie, The Wolverine. At the end of The Wolverine, the wolverine is back to his healthy self and goes to rescue the woman he loves. He has to make his way past 700 ninjas in a location that has been heavily guarded for generations. The ninjas ultimately bring the wolverine down after shooting dozens of arrows that stick in his back. Though the wolverine keeps moving forward, he eventually is shot so many times that he falls face forward and doesn’t get up. The scene encapsulated the sacrificial love of God for me on the cross. The wolverine loved this woman so much that he was willing to die for her. Like Jesus, the wolverine would rise up again. I choose the narrow road because of God’s love for me demonstrated through his Son. Jesus not only gave up everything for me (heaven, his own life, etc.), but showed me the grave couldn’t hold him.

Ultimately, this is why we can’t stop sharing the faith or discipling the next generation. Because our Savior never gave up on us! He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!

Categories
Teaching

Who is Generation Z and how are we to minister to them?

Much has been already been written about the generation which follows the millennials, Generation Z. Just google Gen Z and see what happens! The thing that stands out most to me about Gen Z is their shrinking attention span. Though some would label the phenomena a myth, I think most concur that Generation Z’s attention span of 8 seconds is less than that of a goldfish, whose attention span is 9 seconds.

Maybe you are thinking that someone has too much time on their hand if they are staring obsessively at a goldfish to determine its attention span, but I can assure you the business world would disagree. Marketers know how much money Gen Z is worth and how much Gen Z is spending and are tracking their every wireless move on the internet and abroad.
Just like the internet must have a captivating picture, keyword, or video to capture Gen Z’s interest, so too must next generation leaders. If you do not hook Gen Z’s attention in the first seven minutes of a talk, you can forget about Gen Z listening at all.

Darla Rothman notes learning needs of Gen Z and how leaders can engage Gen Z:
• Give fast delivery of content, data, and graphics.
• Provide kinesthetic, experiential, problem-solving, hands-on activities.
• Everything is about speed, convenience, and finding short cuts to obtaining information.
• Integrate interactive multimedia.
• Allow them to Multi-task.
• Give instant feedback, clear goals, challenges, rewards, and positive reinforcement, as found in video games.
• Deliver learning in small “bites” or little chunks.
• Have a trial and error approach in learning.
• Stress problem solving assignments and exercises instead of memorizing.
• Get students working in teams/small groups.
• Ensure engagement in creativity and collaboration, whether it is spontaneous or structured.
• Be flexible to provide learning in the way that works best for them.

Planet Classroom promotes the idea(s) that Gen Z is

• Used to multitasking but are not necessarily very social with in-person groups
• Connects more easily with teachers and professors as facilitators or guides.
• Are highly capable of self-directed learning and critical thinking but only when they feel what they are learning is important or valuable.
• In need of active learning and a student-centered learning environment.
• Wanting leaders to do tasks right along with them and show them that it is OK to make mistakes.

Tim Elmore provides a snapshot of the power social media plays in today’s world:

Social media now plays a central role in:
• How students derive their personal identity
• How students determine their value and popularity
• How students bully, criticize or affirm each other
• How students discover news stories and causes to engage in
• How students communicate with both friends and strangers
• How students find and connect with partners, from hook up to break up

So, Elmore gives tips to next gen leaders on how to utilize social media platforms:

1. When you want to broadcast something, Twitter or YouTube are valuable resources for you to utilize.
2. If you have a more personal message for a handful of select students you know, Snapchat could be helpful.
3. If you want to teach something to students that will open up a discussion later, why not leverage a video on YouTube?
4. Before a performance (a game, competition or show), why not post an inspirational meme on Instagram?
5. If you have an article you’d like students to read, Facebook may be the best platform to use.

Just who is Gen Z? Rothman says,

• They have never known a world without Internet, cell phones, or iPods.
• They are tech savvy and in constant contact with people 24/7 using Facebook or Twitter.
• They want technology that is easy to use and will solve their problems, help coordinate their activities, or provide them with relevant people or information.
• Their brains are affected by Internet use. They find answers to questions in Google and YouTube, but they lack the critical thinking skills to evaluate sources.
• They have low/no tolerance for being without digital resources.
• They have never had to use a library card catalog or rummage through shelves to find a specific book.
• They don’t use a wristwatches or alarm clocks because they use their smartphones for that.
• Instead of reading an article, they want to watch a video (YouTube) that summarizes it.
• They may never send an email: [that is “so yesterday”]. Why email when you can text, instant message, tweet or FaceBook?
• They use a texting “slanguage.” Examples: Cray Cray (when life is too crazy for one word), Probs (other generations say probably), Totes (used to show agreement—totally), XOXOX (used to end any text. For Baby Boomers it means sincerely yours), V (very) and I (because I am the center of everything).

Even Universities are responding to the needs of Gen Z. The University of Hawaii says its faculty needs to:

1. Go with the flow and go virtual
2. Tap into its ‘rock star’ qualities
3. Surrender the soapbox
4. Meddle in the middle
5. Revalue the notion of ‘play’

You may not agree with all of the above assessments, but realize Gen Z is different than its predecessor and they will require a different approach when it comes to teaching and learning.

Categories
Mentoring

Dreams do and don’t come true

Life seems to be made up of dreamers and of realists. Many a dreamer has had the thought of becoming a millionaire but instead lived their life in debt. Many a realist has concluded they will never become a millionaire and thus wasted assets that might have led them to be just that. There is a middle ground. There are more options in life than becoming either a dreamer or a realist. Though it is important to dream, it is also important to be realistic about your dream.

About a year ago, I received a letter in my mailbox that made my heart jump in excitement. The newsletter came from friend and evangelist Craig Church. I had never met Craig, but in 2010, I stepped out in faith to bring Craig in to lead a three-day youth revival at my church. Every night, we saw more teens coming to the Lord than the night before! Back to the letter . . . anyone who knows Craig knows he has a daughter named Leah who loves basketball. Leah has been a national free throw champion, world-record three point shooter, and an individual who works tirelessly at her sport.

Before I continue, I need to say Leah’s dream was mine. Few can match my passion and love for the game of basketball. When October rolls around, most people think of Halloween and of orange pumpkins. Not me . . . I think of midnight madness and orange basketballs! The end of October always marks the beginning of basketball season!

So what was it that Craig wrote that made me jump up like I was grabbing a rebound coming off the glass? He wrote that 2017 would be the 10th year of Craig Church Ministries (CCM), his 25th year of marriage, and the year that his daughter Leah would begin playing college basketball for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels!

Anyone who knows basketball knows that UNC has produced some of the greatest basketball players of all-time, including Michael Jeffrey Jordan. Playing in the Dean Smith Center night in and night out would be akin to walking down Hollywood’s star walk of fame. Many of the jerseys hanging from the rafters are household names around the world.

You may wonder what Leah had to say in the letter? She said, “My early love of UNC is initially what made me fall in love with the game of basketball. For this desire and dream to come true and seeing all the hard work pay off is humbling. All the glory goes to Jesus! “Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” (Psalm 37:4) GO TAR HEELS!”

Dreams do come true, but often not without a lot of time (everything can’t be instant), hard work and sacrifice. For every dreamer who sees his or her wish come true, there are countless others who worked just as hard only to see their dream come crashing down on their head. That’s the moment when reality comes knocking at the front door.

Perhaps you have dreamed of having a large next generation ministry or you have students that dream of becoming famous actors, musicians, or athletes. That’s good – there’s nothing wrong with dreaming! Some dreams do come true! But for those next generation leaders who don’t enlist, invest in, and train other leaders, I doubt your ministry will ever become what you dream about. For those students who don’t practice their theatrics, music, or sport, I doubt you will ever be famous. It’s important for us to sit down with the next generation and first hear out their dreams. Maybe they want to be the next You Tube star gone viral. That’s great! But then we need to talk about statistics and reality and the importance of having a back-up plan.

Another friend of mine, Coach Mark Miller had a dream to start a basketball academy in Raleigh, NC. Like Leah, his dream also came true! I still remember going from school-to-school and store-to-store passing out brochures to help my friend get his new business off the ground and running. It is important that we take time to tell the next generation that they can’t get anywhere by themselves. Though they have an iphone (emphasis on the “i”) and a dream, they still need friends, guides, teachers, and coaches who will mentor them face-to-face. In other words, dreams do come true, but often not without the help of others. Remind yourself and your students that you are to do everything for the glory of God (I Cor 10:31).

I hope all your dreams and wishes come true, but if they don’t, know God has something better in store for you (Jer 29:11)!

Categories
Family

Honor your Grandparents

This past Sunday, my church celebrated Grandparents Day. Grandparents Day took on new meaning for me this year. With so many children today being raised by their Grandparents, I was forced to alter my perspective on this all-important day.

I can’t help but wonder if Grandparents Day has become the new Mothers and Fathers Day. Mothers Day and Fathers Day will always be important. However, many children do not know their father or mother or don’t have good relations with their father or mother if they do.

If you are a God-honoring, Christ-centered family making disciples of Christ out of your children, Praise God! You are following the instructions of Christ. Unfortunately, it seems you have become the exception rather than the rule.

I have ministered to children and youth for many years and am used to seeing students come from single-parent homes. Unfortunately, the trend has become worse over the years and I am all too often now seeing students come from no-parent homes.

Grandparents are the backbone of our society and our churches. We honored our Grandparents on Sunday by giving them a hand-crafted gift and by thanking them for their service.

Proverbs 17:6 says, “Children’s children (Grandchildren) are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.”

Many parents today think that children are a nuisance and look for ways to dispose of their responsibility. However, Scripture teaches that children are a reward from God and happy is the man whose quiver is full of them (Psalm 127:3, 5).

Church, we need to take care of the widow (many are grandparents) and the orphan (many are grandchildren) and they are supposed to be taking care of each other. Here is a verse you don’t hear much anymore: “But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God” (1 Timothy 5:4).

One day, we will look up and our Grandparents won’t be there. Mine have already passed. But while they are here and are steadfastly serving the Lord by taking care of their own, let’s honor them. They may be the only mother or father their grandchildren have ever known.

“But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children (Psalm 103:17).”

“One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts” (Psalm 145:4).

Categories
Hope

Making sense out of the storms

I live in and am from the southern US. For the past couple of days and weeks, I have had to sit back and watch the devastation brought upon my heartland from both Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma. My relatives are from Texas, I have many friends that live in Florida, and I once lived the Charleston, SC area. Not to mention that my current home state of Georgia is still feeling the pain. It hurts. It hurts to see the people and places you love ravaged by the storms of this life. It hurts to see and hear about those who have lost everything.

Is there any good that can come out of natural disasters? Sure, there is. On my way to church every Sunday, I read a church sign that says, “turn off the news and love your neighbor.” It took two hurricanes, but for the first time in a while, the news has actually been worth watching. Why? Because humanity’s love for one another has been accentuated. People are pouring in from all over the country to help out their fellow man and the news is capturing it! I would rather hear about people helping each other out than Antifa or Trump or whatever is happening out at the University of Cal Berkeley.

Is it fair that some people have lost everything and others have not? No, but life is not always fair. There are some who question God in times like this. It’s ok to question God. But you will hear some people say they don’t believe in prayer because they don’t believe in a God who would allow suffering to happen. Some of these people get angry at God and allow the root of bitterness to seep in. God has not asked us to be able to understand everything that happens in this life. However, he does ask us to trust him.

I have three major takeaways from the storm that you can share with the next generation:

  • We all face storms in our life whether they be emotional, relational, financial, spiritual, or physical storms. Jesus too faced a storm one time while out in the middle of the sea (Mark 4:35­41). Where was he when all the disciples were worried for their life? He was in the bottom of the boat, asleep. Relax! Jesus has got this. He is in control and you are not.
  • In Luke 13:1–9, Jesus tells those who are present that yes, there are freaky things that happen to some that do not happen to others, but that neither party is better than the other. Some people’s houses were completely torn apart and their life taken away by the hurricane while all the houses down the street were left completely intact. Jesus’s message to the group left alive is simple: “Unless you repent, you too will likewise perish.” The time to come to Jesus is now.
  • In a postmodern society where everything seems to be either a joke or inconsequential, a storm such as Hurricane Irma can knock a sense of seriousness into people who have lost a grip on reality. When you lose everything you have, you don’t care if the person helping you to rebuild and restore is a Republican or a Democrat.

Let’s use moments like these to teach the next generation that God is good, even when things in the world are not. “And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings . . . “ (Romans 5:2b–3a).

 

Categories
Jesus

Who is the Answer?

Recently, I made a trip to Alabama. The trip served as precursor as to what is taking place in our country today. During my stay, I met a distraught African-American pastor who shared with me how some people had burned his church down. These people had pulled the pews out of his church and left a swastika sign to notify everyone of who was there.

The encounter was ironic because before I had left for the trip, I had reminded someone that prejudice and racism still exist in our country. Call it confirmation or what you will, but the incident served to remind me that many people still act as if it is 1861.

Let’s face the facts. Slavery is a part of our nation’s history, but slavery is not the issue. The Civil War is a part of our nation’s history but removing the statues that act as symbols of the confederacy is not the issue. The issue is and always has been man’s heart. Jesus taught us that it is the things inside of a man or woman’s heart that defiles the person (Mat 15:18-20). These things include murder. Recall that Jesus taught that hating one in one’s heart is equivalent to murder (Mat 5:21-22). Jesus could look at a person and know exactly what was in a person’s heart. This is why Jesus could look at the Scribes and Pharisees and call them, “fools, hypocrites, blind guides, murderers, and a generation of snakes.” Because they were.

When I look at David Duke, leader of the KKK, I see a man spewing over with hate. Jesus would call him a murderer. Why? Because Jesus said that harboring hatred for another in one’s heart is akin to murder. God doesn’t see color! It’s not that God doesn’t know if we are white, black, or brown. It’s that God is looking into our heart. I Samuel 16:7 teaches that “the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

David Duke is a murderer, but so are we. We have “all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). In that sense, we all murdered Christ as he would not have had to go to the cross if we had never sinned. We’re all born into sin, we’re all evil, and we all need a Savior. Praise God that Jesus came to save us from our sin! Pray that David meets Jesus, full of grace and of truth and repents before it is too late. When is it too late? When he’s 6 foot under. Some of you may not like me saying this but yes, David Duke can go to heaven if he will repent and believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ. He may not have many rewards, but at least he could say that he arrived. God’s free gift of salvation is offered to the worst of sinners. Just ask Paul the apostle after he was known as Saul the murderer.

The verses after John 3:16 teach that you are in either in the light or the dark. You are either full of love or full of hate. You either have believed in Christ and are not condemned or you have not believed and stand condemned already.

I would love to write how we as adults can pass down to the next generation our love for God and our love for others. But adults in our nation aren’t doing a good job of leading the way. Adults in the alt-right camp and adults in the alt-left camp can both be found in the wrong. There are those who are protesting and there are those who are protesting the protest that have both gone too far. When either camp makes advances toward the other, the line has been crossed. Police have a role to play and even they have failed as it relates to lack of foresight of what was to happen in Charlottesville. It’s no time to blame though. It’s time to pray. Pray for our nation. Pray for Charlottesville and other cities. And pray for those in both camps, including David Duke to come to faith in the Lord of love.

Let’s instead take a lesson from our children and sing with them: “Jesus loves the little children, All the children of the world, Red, brown, yellow, Black and white, They are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world.” The lines we often don’t sing in church are the second and third stanzas – “Jesus died for all the children . . .” and “Jesus rose for all the children . . .” Jesus didn’t just love the children of the world by dying and rising, but Jesus loved the whole world, adults included, that if anyone should believe in him, they will have everlasting life (John 3:16). “What is the answer?” is the wrong question to ask today because the answer to the world’s problems is found in a Who.