Tag: Jesus

Posted in Uncategorized

I’m giving this one up. (a youth ministry post)

Posted on by Wick

There are a lot of ideas and programs I come across as a youth pastor.  Some of them inspire me, some of them challenge me, and many of them don’t interest me.  But some of them are so incredibly good that I want to take a time set aside with our youth group and gather as many teenagers as I can around it.  I want to infuse so much about who we are, and what we’re doing with that resource, and enjoy the fruit of what can happen from it.

But not this time.

This time I’ve found a resource that is too great for me to shape a youth ministry night around.  Something that you should be upset if I stole these moments from your family.  It comes from what you might consider a surprising source…me being a 32 year old cynical yet starry-eyed youth pastor.

That source?  Billy Graham.

In advance of what airs tomorrow night (Thursday, November 7th, 2014) as “My Hope America“, Graham has pre-released several smaller programs that present invitations to Christ.  I’ve only watched one, so it’s the one I’m recommending today.  But I’m sure there’s great content in many of the other programs, and the primary show being aired tomorrow evening.moment

My challenge to you as a parent is this:  If you’ve got kids….or grandkids….aged 11 or 12 or above??  Watch this together.  Watch it first yourself, and then think of what questions God might want you to ask, to connect to their hearts.  It’s a short program…only about 24 minutes.  Also plan on having at least a half hour afterward to talk about each of the 3 characters, and close in prayer together as a family.

This short video, combined with you communicating how important this moment is to your family…can be used by God to do something very important.  Both in connecting your heart with the hearts of your children, and especially connecting the heart of your family to the heart of God.

Simply put: This is an amazing youth group moment that I’m giving up – because I believe it was meant to be even more amazing in YOUR home.  Please, please please…..take it.  Whether you think your kids are doing fine….or you and your family have nothing to do with God….these are still important conversations to have.

“But what about the kids in our youth group without parents who will do this?”  I’m glad you asked.  As you put this night together, ask your kids/teens if they have friends who they’d want to invite to watch a short message from God with.  Or ask your youth pastor if there are any teens who’d benefit from coming to watch this with your familiy….I’ll bet they could offer a suggestion or two.

So there’s your assignment.  You can stream the video live from here.  Or you can download it quickly and easily and watch on your own/burn to DVD.  (Or ask your youth pastor to give it to you on DVD…I think he’s making a few copies…)

Posted in Different Learning, Different Thoughts

trendy witches?

Posted on by Wick

A new article in “Newsweek” recently caught my attention, talking about a growing number of young people (teens through 30’s) who are interested & participate in the occult/witchcraft.  I’ll be honest…most of the time when someone starts talking to me about witchcraft, or the occult, or even the “wiccan” people….I have flashes of this movie play in my head:

But apparently, it’s gotten more hip.  At least, in big cities that define “hipness” for the rest of us.  I’m not too worried, really.  A news-source is supposed to do what it takes to tell stories that sell more copies.  Getting the general public worried about witches, or making the average Joe who’s looking for something new that’s socially acceptable….will definitely move issues.  Especially around Halloween.

But what caught my attention was toward the end when they had statements from a woman who’d recently moved to Brooklyn.  First she says, “It’s embarrassing to admit you’re religious….But I think a lot of people my age are sick of being nihilistic.  Spirituality is a lot cooler.”  (nihilism = believes values are baseless, and nothing can be known…denies all established authority and institutions)

So she and many others in our culture have thankfully come to realize the result of nihilism…and how empty that approach is to…well, anything.  But to jump from that to the trendiness of a vague “spirituality” definitely seems to be the move our culture is making.  Whether you follow this article as highlighting an actual trend, or you look out your window…we know people are searching for “something”….and it’s much more socially acceptable to keep calling it “something” than Jesus.

Unfortunately, we find a result toward the end of her interview…as she follows up with:  “It’s hard to say if anyone is actually invested in any of this occult stuff they meddle in…it almost devastates me to say this, but daily life can be so mundane.  Applying thematics of epicness to your life makes it more exciting.”

It’s amazing how spot on she is, and yet because of her rejection of “traditional religion”, she’s missing out on the “epicness” of a life lived for Christ, and joining God in His story of redemption/New Creation.

More than anything, her statements and this article can be an encouraging invitation.  Our world is recognizing now more than ever the internal desire to be a part of something much grandeur than ourselves.  Something powerful.  Something that I can actually live for…instead of just wait to die for.  May we, our families, and our churches continue to be places where the story of God is happening in ways that testify to the power of His Spirit…the Love of God….and the New Creation possible in Jesus Christ.  No goat-leggings required.  🙂

Posted in Uncategorized

asking for saints.

Posted on by Wick

“Daddy, “dead” means “died”.”  My 4 year old was talking to me from the back seat of our mini-van.  She’d just internalized a basic truth about the end of life, and was repeating it back to me.  She said it confidently, but still with a slight question mark waiting for me to confirm what she’d said.  So why was our 4 year old talking to me about such a weighty topic?

The girls had helped me get the candles out for youth group this past week.  They asked me what it was all for, and I told them I’d explain after evening services.  So as we gathered in the minivan after church and kids programming, I explained.

“Tonight I invited the teenagers to come and light a candle.  They would each light a candle for someone they wanted to remember, who had died and gone to be with Jesus.  We talked about the people we loved, who were not with us anymore because they were with God now.”

It’s true.  For our monthly scheduled “prayer experiment” this month, I offered our teens almost an entire night where we gathered chairs in a circle, and just remembered together.  Some chose to remain quiet, but obviously reflecting on someone meaningful.  Others may have been bored off their rockers, but at least they were respectful of the moment.  But several chose to step out and light a candle, and share with us a memory of someone who’d made an impact on their life.  I’d been nervous and not known what to expect…but felt God was smiling on the idea.  (probably even gave it)  We thanked God for these people, and closed in prayer that someday, someone might remember us as having made an impact on their life for God.

The good news is…I was way ahead of schedule.  We’ve got an “All Hallows Eve” party next week with pumpkin carving and what-not.   So you’ve still got plenty of time to ask the people/youth group/children in your life:  “Who is someone you’d like to remember, who’s gone to be with God?”

For my kids….it was Grandpa Nicol.  They knew his smiles, his laugh, and how much he loved baseball.  Then, they went through a short list of relatives they haven’t seen in a while….and I confirmed they weren’t dead yet. 🙂  Here are a few words that might make you thankful for someone…