SURGE in Review 1/25/12

Last night at SURGE we began "The Journey".  This is a new series based off of the missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul.  Last night we focused on Acts 7-13 as we looked at how we were first introduced to Saul in Acts 7 as he was giving his approval to the death of a Christ Follower named Stephen and how his life was totally transformed by the time he is set off on his first missionary journey with Barnabas in chapter 13.  Our key theme for this series and for last night was: Where have you been?, Where are you currently?, and Where are you going?

We also talked a bit at length about the fear that spread through Jerusalem by the persecution by Saul.  What if the government decided to imprison all Christ Followers again like they did during this dark time in Jerusalem in Acts 8.  I did some reflecting myself as I filmed some of my worldly possessions and wondered how much of it I'd leave behind.  You can check that video out here:

Last night we talked about 4 cities that either impacted Saul's life or was impacted by him.  The first student that can name all 4 cities in order will get a surprise next Wed. at SURGE!

SURGE Review 1/18/2012

Last night at SURGE we wrapped up our series on "Faith".  I talked about 2 distinct promises that God gives us.  We can approach His throne with boldness and confidence and there we will find mercy and grace in the times we need it the most.  We compared this a bit to The Hunger Games movie that will be released in theaters in March.  You can check out that trailer here:

During the Hunger Games, Katniss (the main character) is fighting for her life.  She has to be the sole survivor of 24 other 12-18 year olds.  In order to do this she has to outsmart her competition.  Each district has previous winners who coach the current "tributes".  District 12, where Katniss is from, only has one.  His name is Haymitch.  Haymitch knows exactly what Katniss is going through and has the ability to see all the other opponents that are in the game.  He can see the long term picture and can send Katniss gifts or refrain from sending them based on her current circumstance.  Sometimes she wonders why he doesn't send a gift right away and she sometimes wonders why she is getting certain gifts when she hasn't asked for them.  

This is how it is with God.  Jesus has been in our shoes.  He can see the big picture and the other people in our life.  Sometimes we wonder why God isn't doing exactly what we think He should do.  Other times, we wonder why He chooses to give us certain blessings.

Christine Holt reminded me of a song that goes perfectly with this.  It is "I have been there" by Mark Schultz.  You can watch it below:

Out with Old...In with the New...

This is a theme that I've been reminded of a ton lately.  Obviously, one reason is that it is a new year and most everyone is making some sort of lifestyle change that will last for a little bit.  This is also a theme that runs straight through the heart of being a Christ follower.  Out with the old sinful life...in with the new life that reflects the heart of Christ.  I am in my 11th year of youth ministry and in my 8th year at LifeQuest Church.  Although the years have gone by exceedingly fast, I am quickly realizing that I am not the same youth pastor today that I was 8 years ago.  I believe there are pros and cons to both and that is what I am going to list out here in this blog.

11 years ago I was:

• Young and able to stay up all night for lock-ins and such
• Just getting married but no kids so I was extremely flexible with my schedule
• Extremely passionate about changing the world for Christ and pretty confidant that I knew exactly how to do it
• Willing to fundraise thousands of dollars per year
• More focused on events instead of programming
• Did not have any volunteers for the programming that I had
• Dumb...made some really poor choices that could have resulted in some youth ministry nightmares  (for instance...playing hide and go seek in the dark...with teenagers...)
• Paid very little

Today I am

• Old...well in youth pastor circles...Not the oldest I know (Greg Mason you are AWESOME!) but older than most
• Still married but I have 2 kids so my schedule is now mostly inflexible
• Not willing to do lock-ins (have had some video game all nighters at my house but not a full blown lock-in in a couple of years)
• Still passionate about changing the world for Christ although I have submitted to the fact that I may not know how to change the entire world but am willing to keep trying to change one life at a time.
• Not willing to fundraise any dollars although I am willing to ask for more budgeted funds and special donations
• More focused on programming than special events
• I have volunteers for half of my youth ministry programming but still unsure on how to recruit, train, and use effectively
• Cautious...today I am extremely cautious in all the activities or events that we have.  This leads to less excitement and less injuries...
• Paid a lot

I have heard that youth ministry years are equated to multiplication and not addition.  Every year you are at the same church you are supposed to be multiplying your effectiveness instead of just adding to it.  I have heard from other youth pastors that the longer you are somewhere the easier it gets to recruit and retain volunteers.  Let me state here that I have some top notch volunteers.  With that being said, part of me senses that they are wearing out and burning out.  But me being at the same church for 7+ years now has not magically produced a plethora of volunteers to help carry the other volunteers' load.  Also at LifeQuest we have 4 awesome people who are on staff and just like almost every other church right now there isn't a ton of extra ministry dollars (and by "isn't a ton" I mean zero).

So after all that is said...in general...would you rather have a rookie youth guy/gal who takes huge risks but makes a ton of mistakes for very little pay...or would you rather have a veteran youth guy/gal who is older than most youth pastors, has experienced a ton now, but gets paid substantially more than the rookie?  I will hopefully put this poll on the side bar to this blog...I'd love to get your feedback and I am pretty sure it is totally anonymous so I won't know if your voting for me or against me! LOL!

Disclaimer:  I am not leaving youth ministry...I am not leaving LifeQuest...just very curious...