Practicing Passion: Youth and the Quest for a Passionate Church

If you are in youth ministry or are a church considering to hire someone for youth ministry you should read this book. It presents a method/mindset of ministry that centers youth on the passionate (suffering) love of Christ. Kenda Creasy Dean does an excellent job of exploring issues that are unique to adolescents, and presenting a ministry and church mindset that values youth and their unique role in the body of Christ. It also explores areas of theology that are particularly suited for adolescents. I love how Dean bluntly states that youth ministry isn’t about youth, it’s about Jesus and that the standard for self-sacrificial Christian living that she sets forth for youth is really a universal standard for followers of Christ. A good part of this book is a call to the church to ignite passionately by refocusing on the “pathos” (suffering love) of Christ as showed through his sacrifice on the cross. The concept is that if the church is burning for Christ, then the gift of passion in youth will draw them to Christ through his bride. She also rightly states that the primary relational question facing youth today is a question of fidelity and faithfulness (“Will you be there for me?”) to which Christ is the ultimate answer (“I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Mt. 28:20b). Overall I give this book very high marks and suggest it as an excellent resource for those interested in being educated for work with adolescents in Christian settings.

Signs of Maturity

As I was thinking and talking with a friend recently five areas of life that evidence Christian maturity came to mind:

1. Generosity – Giving where there is need

2. Hospitality – Welcoming in all who come

3. Humility – Serving others, considering them better than yourself

4. Gratitude – Being thankful in all things at all times

5. Suffering/Sacrifice – Loving in a way that risks and suffers gladly

What would you add to the list? If you are a believer, how have you seen these displayed in your life and Christian community? Where have they been noticeably absent?

Praying or Jerking Off?

I’m incredibly frustrated with prayers that sound good on the surface, but have no meat to them. These types of prayers call on God for quick fixes, instead of listening to God for what His heart is for a circumstance or situation. What would it look like if we invested time in our prayers seeking after God’s heart instead of praying for instant gratification? I want to speak and receive powerful and effective prayers, ones that are spoken in deep relationship with the Father. Otherwise I think that we’re not really praying, but more or less just jerking off.

Then again (probably more lovingly), many people may have never been taught to consider the relational substance of their prayers. If you think you fall in that category consider taking time in private prayer to “feel” God. How does He seem (e.g. distant or so close that you could touch him)? How do you feel towards God (e.g. loving, hurt, angry, euphoric, vulnerable, ashamed)? Are the way He seems and the way you feel in line with where they should be as is revealed by Scripture? If there is a disconnect, ask God to help you come into alignment – and actually listen for him to give you guidance (if listening to God doesn’t make sense to you ask and I’ll gladly explain more). After doing that in private, the next time you pray over someone in public consider how God “feels” at that time and compare it to your private prayer time or another time in which you encountered God. After that reflection, listen to God and then pray.

If this seems a little over the top or like an unnecessary rant consider the following questions:

• Are you really listening and responding to God in prayer?

• Are you listening to the same god when you are praying out loud as you are when you pray in private?

• Is that god truly outside of yourself?

• Is that god actually God?

Missionary Couple Suffers Greatly in Kenya

I tried to come up with some sort of catchy phrase to use as a title for the news article linked to at the end of this post but they seemed to come up short in honoring the gravity of the article. A missionary couple in Kenya were brutally assaulted recently, and need our prayers. Jesus never said that we would be safe; he never said that we wouldn’t suffer. What Jesus did say is that he would be with us to the end of the age. God’s love didn’t fail for the missionaries in this article, and His purposes will come out of their suffering. I write that with grief, with somber joy and with hopeful expectation. If you are a believer, please join me in lifting up this brother and sister – that Christ’s forgiveness and passionate (suffering) love might be displayed powerfully through what has happened. In prayer we can take time to be with them as Christ has promised to be with us all.

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=43583b69-3794-42c4-b0ec-72b90f91bdf2

Trying to Define Healthy Community

Community should be

…where you trust enough to admit that you don’t trust fully.

…where you can admit your current failings – not just your past failures.

…safe for voicing pain, anger, grief, annoyance, depression, and brokenness.

…dangerous for maintaining pain, anger, grief, annoyance, depression, and brokenness.

…open, honest, and real.

…a space where listening is more valuable than speaking and silence is more valuable than noise.

…playful and serious.

…passionate in how members suffer for one another.

…where truth is spoken and grace is extended.

…a group that accepts members based on humility, submission, and brokenness.

…a group that rejects members based on hardheadedness, unrepentant pride, and divisiveness.

…forgiving of those it rejects.