Why radical Christian parenting works.

If you haven't read the John Blake article featured on CNN.com, titled "More teens becoming 'fake' Christians", then you should stop reading this blog and read it now.

Kenda Creasy Dean knows her stuff and this warning isn't just for youth pastors. It's for parents everywhere to know and embrace the fact that they are the number one reason why their children will or will not value and live out their faith as adults. If you need proof, just grab a copy of Soul Searching by Christian Smith and you'll be convinced.

The entire article is worth your time but here is where it hit home for me.

Get "radical," Dean says.

She says parents who perform one act of radical faith in front of their children convey more than a multitude of sermons and mission trips.

A parent's radical act of faith could involve something as simple as spending a summer in Bolivia working on an agricultural renewal project or turning down a more lucrative job offer to stay at a struggling church, Dean says.

But it's not enough to be radical -- parents must explain "this is how Christians live," she says.

"If you don't say you're doing it because of your faith, kids are going to say my parents are really nice people," Dean says. "It doesn't register that faith is supposed to make you live differently unless parents help their kids connect the dots."

I want my own kids to grow up thinking that I'm more than just a nice person, I want them to see Jesus in me. I want them to emulate the Kingdom values that I share with them. I don't want them to see God as a therapist that makes us feel better about ourselves. I want them to see God as our deliverer and teach them to live in response to that deliverance that we've found together in Christ.

Go ahead, read the article, be challenged and allow your role as parent to be the main reason why your kids follow Christ for the rest of their lives.

Bienvendidos a Miami

Looking forward to speaking at Mission Encounter in November.

A little birdie goes a long way.

Her name is Emily, she's 12. God spoke to her heart on our mission trip this summer and she responded by saying "yes". After we returned, Emily and her friend Allyson presented a business plan to me. They called it "Birds of Hope, and it involved selling hand sewn birds to raise money for clean water in Africa. Their goal was to sell 100 birds to raise 500 bucks. I helped them documenting their work with pictures and videos, started a facebook page, asked a design company if they would work up a flyer and the rest was all Em and Ally. It's been about a month since they started Birds of Hope and as of last Sunday they've met their goal and taking orders. Partnerships for t-shirts, decals, and community outreach have surfaced and that's just the beginning. Our pastoral staff talked about them today and we all learned a big lesson. If we all do that little thing that we're good at and offer it up...the world would be a better place, more hopeful, and more cared for. God calls us to "fan into flame" the gift that we've been given. I look at these young leaders and say, thanks for setting the example for believers girls. You've got it right. Really right.

Is the church consumeristic?

I like how Lilly Lewin responds. "Ya think?"

Our slant on the subject.

The hands that hold the world.

Tanzania is an older song by Alli Rogers but it's story can lift us up. It also addresses the push and pull of consumerism that we feel in the church and in our families. I love how it takes two very different women and puts them together hoping for the same things. If you're like me and are needing some inspiration as you start your day, this is a good place to start.

"Someday I will wake, where my children will get a break."

HPNY Fall Calendar

Check out more on our website.

How remnants work in church hallways

We have this ominous bulletin board outside of our youth office space. It's one of those things that everyone sees week after week--hundreds of people walk past it as they journey in and out of our church--yet it stared blankly at us most of the time. With the roll out of our yearly calendars, events, and other fun stuff I started thinking about how we could display everything without falling back on butcher paper, newspaper, or even bulletin board paper (how boring compared to all of the layouts you can pick for your blog or myspace page right?)

I have a few leftover pieces of fabric where I miscalculated for a quilt I made. (Ok, I ended up making two quilts on accident. I can't help it I'm not so good at math.) I wondered what it might look like if I took some of the scraps and stapled them to the wall. I tried a few pieces but they weren't big enough. So I asked a friend of mine who sews all the time if she has any leftovers. She told me to come over and grab whatever I wanted. So I went back to our office and told our awesome assistant Matt about my idea. I could see the look in his eyes. "You want me to do what with these?" While he was away at a meeting I stapled them to the wall and loved the outcome. And it was cool to show Matthew what I was thinking in my head. I'll have to post a picture of the board with information on it too. It's exciting to see what a few scraps can amount to.

As I was working on it, a Gungor song I've been singing for a few months rang true in my head. "You make me new, you are making me new. You make beautiful things. You make beautiful things out of dust. You make beautiful things, you make beautiful things out of us." I could see God quilting away my life, taking the scraps and the pieces and making me new. The pieces that don't match or make sense end up working out after all.

I wonder how many loose ends we have lying around in our budget restricted ministries that might be useful to make something truly innovative and wonderful? I'm guessing we've got quite a bit on our hands and probably even enough to share.

Thanks M.E.K.O. for sharing your scraps with me. They have, in a simple way, helped us to think on such a great truth.

"Rev 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Rev 21:5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Want to make a fabric bulletin board? Find the quilter in your church and ask to see the remnants. You might be surprised at what you'll find and the stories that go along with the pieces.

Apps that help in ministry.

There are a ton of applications out there for our phones but here are a few that have been super helpful and I use them often. Most are free, one or two may cost you a buck. Enjoy.

Show off your mission trip pics in the lobby to new parents:Shake It Photo(Take a shot and shake your phone to see a Polaroid looking image.

Learn to speak their language: Spanish for Dummies

Find food, gas, hospitals...quick: Around Me
Never lose your church van in theme park parking lot again!:AUTOPARK (Tags your space by GPS)

Take a break: Words With Friends (My favorite. I love this game because I can leave it sit or play all day.)

Stay connected to the Word of God: YouVersion Online Bible

Sharing my secrets.

I've been telling my closest peeps about this site I've been using for a few years to get free images. I get some of the best designs every week to do our announcement slides, flyers, and other youth ministry projects. So, here you go, I'm sharing my secrets to help a brother or sister in need. Much love.

Brooklyn

What some youth leaders do in their free time.

A blog on short term missions: for Slant 33

Welcome to Slant33

The best four-letter word for your ministry

I was at home sick yesterday. Allergies mixed with general exhaustion collide to make this youth pastor what MTV might call a “hot mess”. I planted myself on the couch for as much as I could, turned off my phone, ignored my computer, and floated in and out of sleep. I could tell by the rapidly changing content of my dreams that my mind was having a hard time slowing down.

Summer is both the sweet spot and a killer for youth ministers of all types. It’s the time when we get to connect teenagers with experiences that they’ll tie to their faith for a lifetime. It’s also the time when we wear down, lose sleep, go the extra mile, and forget that we too are human in need of rest and spiritual renewal.

If you feel like this is you. You probably should quit reading this and go take a nap. I always liked how Mike Yaconelli used to tell us youth workers at convention every year… “for some of you, this is your chance to take your wife and lock your self in your hotel room for four days!” He had a way of telling us the truth and loving us at the same time. (This was also the reason for the conception of more than a few “convention babies”.)

But it’s true. After a thrilling (and exhausting) summer we all need to do a quick check up:

Are you getting enough sleep? (At least 7 hours.)

Have you been eating healthy meals? (The CiCi’s Pizza bar doesn’t count)

Is there room in your schedule this week to pray and to dream?

Have you been able to unplug, for at least a day, from ministry?

Can you name at least one personal friend that you’ve spent time with this week? (youth volunteers, church staff, and teenagers don’t count)

If you have kids, do you remember their names? Just kidding, but have you spent time in their world listening and playing with them?

If you're married, have you spent time doing something fun together?

If the answer is “no” to any of these questions you might want to rearrange some things this week before the frenzy of back to school hits us all square in the iCalendar.

And if it helps, do what I did last week. Ditch being creative. Ditch being innovative. Ditch giving 110% for one Wednesday night and use the tools that are sitting on your shelf. Throw Rob Bell’s Nooma: Lump in the DVD player. Use the questions that are posed in the booklet to spark conversation. Don’t think too much about it. You’re a smart youth pastor and you deserve to let one night of the year breath a little. Order the good pizza. Play games that you know that don’t require any set up or any supplies (Ninja, Human Scrabble, Elbow Tag, Number Clumps, Look Up Look Down,). Call in all your volunteer support to hang out with you and help you get to know the students who show up. Throw on your favorite play list for walk-in music and whatever you do, don’t stress for one night this year.

There’s going to be another Wednesday night when all pistons are firing, let this one be one where you don’t worry so much. Then go home and rest….in whatever way that works for you REST. I needed that yesterday and my gut tells me that you may need it too.