SimplyYouthMinistry.com Articles

are you listening

I was recently at Weinersnitzel eating one of America's finest meals-the tube steak kabob...affectionately known by connoisseurs as a Corn Dog. As I moving to my seat, I see a high school student reading the Di Vinci Code. I asked him, "How do you like that book?" Honestly, I thought that it was a very easy question and I would get a very quick response! That's not what happened!

I expected this guy to say, "It's an interesting read... not as a good as my chili cheese dog with onions. Have a nice day. Go about your business. Don't you know this is Southern California and we don't really want to talk to strangers here?"

Instead, this 17 year old perks up and says, "I love it. I believe it. The church is corrupt. Priests and pastors are all a bunch of phonies-you know that big church down the street? All they want is your money! You know which one I'm talking about?"

Well, I knew which church he was talking about-the one I where I'm the pastor to students-kids like him. Interesting perception. Our church looks good on the outside and I can see how he connected money with the look. He's not the first to perceive it that way and he won't be the last.

I said, "It sounds like you've got some pretty strong feelings about the church-where do those feelings come from?" For the first time in a long time, I asked a pretty intelligent question (a lot of times I say, "Uh...what school do you go to?" and think I'm a relational giant). Once again, this intellectual didn't shrug off my question with a teenage grunt. Rather, he talked about his feelings about the church.

I listened. And listened. And listened. This kid had a story! A wild one. A sad one. One that has not only turned him off from church...but also from God.

One of the areas that I've been trying to grow as a youth worker is to be more blunt and upfront with my questions and equally as assertive with my listening. I've really been learning that kids want to talk about their spiritual stories and feelings (especially those outside the church) but few people (especially adults) care enough to ask.

I want to challenge you to ask some deeper questions if this doesn't come naturally to you (it didn't to me). Ask them this week. Maybe tonight at youth group. Ask a probing question and then listen to their story. As you listen don't have an agenda. Just listen.

After you listen, you might be able to share some pieces from your own spiritual story and shed light on God's amazing love story. Probably, somewhere between those three stories is an intersection of faith. As I spoke with this kid I realized that he likes to read (I know, you're thinking, "It was a teenager?") so I went out to my car and got him a copy of my pastor's book, Purpose Driven Life. [If my pastor reads this I want him to know I have one with me at all times ?]

I told his guy, "If you read it, call me...I'd love to talk about it. I work right up the street at that church and I make enough money to buy you lunch--as long as you don't eat more than 2 corn dogs." He smiled. We exchanged names and I wrote my cell phone number inside the book.

He hasn't called yet...but something about our time together makes me think he will. I'm praying he does. I'm also praying that you'll experience a great spiritual conversation this month with a teenager because you asked a great question and were slow to speak. Kids are waiting for a caring adult to listen...to really listen. I can do that. So can you! Let's commit to being a part of youth ministries where listening to kids is a high value.

volunteers...3 simple questions

I've often been asked what makes a good junior high volunteer. And the truth is I have often asked myself the very same question. If you're like me you have probably had a few experiences where a volunteer you thought would be a great addition to your team turned out to be anything but. To pretend there is some perfect application and interview process or an ideal set of questions to ask a potential volunteer that will guarantee a good fit in your ministry is unrealistic. There simply isn't a formula for finding the right volunteers because adults are messy, junior higher are messy and blending the two together is messy, messy, messy!

But I do have three questions that I think are a good starting point when thinking about a potential adult leader. Again, no magic formula....just a launching pad as you prayerfully add adults to your junior high team.

DOES THIS PERSON LIKE JUNIOR HIGHERS? Lots of adults in your church "Love" junior highers...they have to after all because they are mature Christians and they know they are supposed to love everybody. But actually liking young teens? That's not as easy to find! I think a fundamental requirement for a junior high volunteer is that they actually like junior highers. They like that they are immature. They like that they are emotional roller coasters. Lots of adults will tolerate junior high students, very few actually like them.

DOES THIS PERSON HAVE SOME SPIRITUAL DEPTH? One of my pet peeves about the local church is that we have a tendency to view junior high ministry as the perfect place for a volunteer leader to "Cut his/her teeth", and often are willing to let just about anybody serve in junior high ministry. Because junior highers are in the midst of incredible developmental (intellectual, physical, emotional, social and spiritual) changes it is really important to consider the spiritual maturity of the adults we allow them to interact with at a significant level.

DOES THIS PERSON TRUST OUR MINISTRY AND ARE THEY WILLING TO FOLLOW MY LEADERSHIP? I'm sure you really, really need volunteers in your ministry. But you don't need parents involved who don't trust your ministry and want to keep an eye on you. You don't need parents who don't trust their kids and want to keep an eye on them. You don't adults with their own set of agendas, priorities and notions about what your ministry should be doing. What you need is a team of caring adults who like junior higher, who have some spiritual depth and who trusts your ministry and wants to support you as you prayerfully lead your ministry.

I'm sure the possibility exists that a potential volunteer could score a "Yes" answer to all three of these questions and still turn out to be a poor fit in your ministry....like I said, it's messy stuff. But, I've found that these questions have served me well over the years. I hope they do the same for you.

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teaching your students the purity code

In honor of God, my family, and my future spouse, I commit my life to sexual purity.

This involves:

- Honoring God with your body
- Renewing your mind for good
- Turning your eyes from worthless things
- Guarding your heart above all else

What if a million students committed their lives to the Purity Code? What if a majority of kids in your youth group did? Personally, I think it could radically change the way students do relationships and, this may seem incredibly idealistic, but save an amazing amount of couples from carrying excess baggage into their marriages.

All studies show that the more positive, value-centered sex education kids receive, the less promiscuous they will become. Youth workers and even parents are doing a better job but the results still aren't that impressive. We can definitely be more effective in communicating healthy, God-honoring sexuality.

Here are two things we can do:

1. Give Your Students a "Theology of Healthy Sexuality"

Far too many adolescents view sex as unspiritual. They are told not to do it because it is dirty, ugly and sinful without the benefit of ever understanding that God created our sexuality. In the context of a loving marriage relationship, sex is beautiful and God-ordained. I'm convinced that people make healthy sexual decisions more often when based on a spiritual component, rather than just refraining physically. We need to teach our students what the Bible does say about sexuality. (Genesis 1:26, 31; Exodus 20:14, 1 Thessalonians 4:3, Matthew 19:4-6 and 1 Corinthians 6:18-20)

2. Help Students Set Standards

Too many students make sexual decisions based on 1) the pressure to conform; 2) their emotional involvement that exceeds their maturity level; and 3) lack of value-centered sex education. With this in mind, we can help young people make healthy decisions and create healthy boundaries regarding issues like modesty, how far is too far, media, pornography and much more. We can't do it by just telling them it's all bad. Rather, students learn best when they talk, not us. We have to listen, dialog and then give them standards to fit with the Biblical worldview.

Dr. James Dobson wrote the book Preparing for Adolescents in 1984. It was the book we used with our kids. I reread it this summer and frankly, he did a great job for 1984. Back then we didn't have issues like internet pornography, HIV, or the increase of dealing with "friends with benefits." Today's youth workers and parents must speak to the relevant issues of the day and help steer kids' minds and hearts toward the Purity Code. I love the scripture in Proverbs, "Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life."

Jim is willing to take on your questions and dialog on this subject by writing him at Jim.Burns@HomeWord.com

Bio on Jim

Jim Burns new claim to fame is that he was Doug Fields youth pastor. He is the author of The Purity Code, Teaching Your Children Healthy Sexuality, Accept Nothing Less: God's Best For Your Body, Mind and Heart and a bunch of other books. He is also the President of HomeWord and has a daily radio broadcast.

the youth ministry draft

So a few weeks ago was the big NFL draft. With the first pick, the 0-16 Detroit Lions selected quarterback Matthew Stafford and gave him a 6-year deal that includes $41.7 million guaranteed-a record amount of guaranteed money for any player-rookie or veteran-in NFL history. The last pick in the draft-selection #256 was South Carolina kicker Ryan Succop. And hundreds of [other] guys [were] sitting around their TVs at 7:30 p.m. [that evening] wanting to hear their names get called, but the call never came.

Every year there's a lot of hype about the players in the draft. Many of the top picks live up to their hype, but a lot of top picks also end up as busts. A lot of average players end up great. A lot of undrafted guys get into the NFL as free-agents and go on to have solid to outstanding careers. As they say, don't judge a book by its cover.

It all got me thinking...if you were to look at the kids in our church, or in our neighborhoods, and were asked to choose some of them to be in our youth ministry, who would you choose? Who would be your first pick? Who would be your last pick? Who would you brush off and leave undrafted? Who do you see tremendous potential in? Who do you consider worthy of your investment in terms of time, energy, and resources? Who might be a real surprise if you just gave them a shot? Who do you think is more-or-less a lost cause? Who's the kid that drives you nuts-the one that doesn't seem to get it? The one you want to give up on?

Now that you've considered these questions, ask yourself: What round do you think the 12 disciples were in? What did Jesus see in them? Why did Jesus pick them? Were they the cream of the crop? Were they just the best available to him?

I was out to lunch a few days ago with Ron, one of my predecessors as youth pastor at my church. Next to him sat a guy named Danny who is about my age. As Danny went to the buffet to get his food, Ron said to me with a smile on his face, "He was that junior high kid that drove me nuts." He told of the crazy things Danny would do that would make him want to pull his hair out. (I smiled, because in many ways, I was that kid too!) But he also talked about how he saw Danny's potential and gave him a shot. Today, Danny has a great family and is involved in a tremendous ministry that reaches thousands of students around the world because Ron picked him in the "youth ministry draft" all those years ago.

Here's the point: Jesus picked you. Jesus believed in you. Jesus still believes in you. And Jesus calls you to turn around and do the same with students. Whether you and I get the kids who are everything we're looking for, or whether they are simply the kids we have to work with, or even if they're the ones nobody else wanted, our job is to see their potential, to believe in them, to breathe words of life into them, to give them a shot, to let them disappoint us, to let them surprise us, and most of all, to let them know that we love them no matter what. That is youth ministry!

Kevin Mahaffy, Jr. is a youth pastor in Long Island, New York.

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does it always have to be a sermon?

Kurt's article really got me thinking about how I view the "teaching" piece in ministry. I truly understand the importance of teaching junior high students God's word...and I know that Kurt has taught some amazing Sunday morning messages that have seriously impacted student's lives. However, I think we need to break out of the mold of "teaching" only coming in "message" form from the junior high pulpit...and think of the teaching piece as something that can happen at any moment or in any place with students.

I have been to countless youth ministry seminars and heard a number of student testimonies that state this fact over and over....."I don't remember any messages my youth pastor gave" or "I don't remember any small group lessons that my leader taught"...BUT..."I do remember the relationships I built...I do remember my youth pastor driving me home and talking to me about God...I do remember my leader being there when my parent's divorced...and so on and so on. I truly believe that some of our best teaching moments don't have to be in the form of a prepared message. Sometimes, it's just be willing to journey with students and TEACH along the way.

So, here is what I am thinking....how can we teach junior highers outside of the "norm" teaching times? How can we journey with them and teach them in the midst of their life moments? How can we use the relationships built in our ministries to become powerful teaching tools? I really believe that some of the best teaching...is done through strong, trusting relationships with leaders.

What are some ways that we can be teachers in student's lives outside the "the normal" teaching platforms.

Time can be serious teaching tool...
Make the most of your time with students. Whether it is a trip to the store or Taco Bell, recognize that your time together can be full of teaching moments. Ask questions, experience & share life together ....TALK. So many teaching moments arise in everyday life situations. Now, I don't spend every waking minute with students....I definitely have boundaries in this area...but I do try to make the time I do spend with students worthwhile. Student + Time = Opportunity to teach.

A good listener is a good teacher...
If you are around students, I guarantee there is a teaching moment waiting to happen. Listen and observe your students...just by watching them talk and interact with one another you can learn about areas in their life where they need instruction. Pay attention and respond. For example, I overheard a group of girls at youth group on Sunday talking about another girl in our youth ministry. Let's just say they were not affirming her....they were in total girl mode viscously talking about this other girl. One of the girls talking was a student leader and a girl I knew very well. Later on, when I drove her home, I asked about the conversation. She was defensive and embarrassed trying to explain to me why her words were warranted. This was a teaching moment...we had a long conversation about words, gossip, etc. Even though we didn't resolve anything in the car...we had a great talk and there was an opportunity for guidance and teaching. Just by observing a simple situation...a teaching moment came to light and some seeds were planted in a student's life.

Let your example speak for itself...
In Kurt's article he talked about the power of sharing stories...I love this point. But lets take it a step further....your life story can be a very powerful teaching tool in the lives of students. Share not only your stories, but who you are with students. The way you follow God, pray, interact in friendships/marriage/ relationships, respond to conflict, grow, fail, and so on and so on. I think students can learn so much from just watching us live life. They don't want to follow and learn from perfect youth workers they want to follow authentic, imperfect people. Expose students to your faith...the way you follow God. Teach them and show them through your own journey. Tip: Make sure that you set boundaries for yourself in this area....your students don't need to know everything. There is definitely a line of appropriateness.

Teaching moments are all around you....
You are ALWAYS teaching! What Kurt says about 1/3 of the time being dedicated to the lesson is really only partially true. The fact is your entire program is teaching students something.....that you care, that you'll listen, that you are glad they are there, etc. Whether you are at an event, a small group meeting, or your regular weekly meeting - let the all of the elements become teaching moments. You can find teaching moments in...

One on one conversations
Discussion Questions
The message
The music you listen to or lead
The games you play
Small group lessons you write
What stuff you hang on your walls
Etc.

summer success

Schools out and it's time for summer vacation-or is it? Teenagers everywhere will struggle to balance jobs, a full schedule of athletic and other activities, camp, volunteer work, missions trips, and music lessons. None of these activities are in and of themselves to be frowned upon. In fact, they're all good things for our teens to be involved in. . . as long as there's still time to relax a bit and do things together as a family. But the summer busyness sometimes gets so extreme that cell phones might be the only way for their parents to track them down in the midst of their chaotic schedules.

The primary goal of all this madness is all too often parent-driven, as we try to better our children and improve their ability to be "successful" in their futures. Unfortunately, the end result of this parental pressure and pushiness is not what was always intended. Some kids stress out. Others start to believe that their parents' love for them depends on their performance (sometimes kids read the signals correctly). As the stress builds, the parent-child relationship weakens and often breaks as a result of rebellion. Forcing children to bear an unrealistic burden can also lead to depression and/or suicide. Perhaps the worst result is that our kids will fail to learn the true meaning of "success."

One summer, as I sat around the campfire with a dozen or so high school students I had known for years, the kids began to share openly about their struggles at home. One of them was a 15-year-old who had never really opened up with any of us about anything, but always seemed to have it together. She was a smart kid who ranked number one in her high school class. Her parents both had multiple advanced degrees. I'd assumed that her previous silence was due to the fact that she was always thinking and a bit shy. But then, as the fire crackled, years of emotional heartache poured out as she shared her frustration with feeling like she would never be able to measure up to the academic and vocational expectations her parents had placed on her over the course of her life. We were amazed at her openness, yet saddened by the reason for it. The stress of parental pressure and pushiness had become too much for her to handle.

Developmental expert Cliff Schimmels offers parents some of the best advice I've ever heard: "The one prayer I pray most frequently as a parent and a teacher is that the Lord will give me the wisdom to know how much to expect of my children. If I expect too little of them, they may waste their creative gifts. If I expect too much of them, I may destroy them with an unrealistic burden."

Now that three of my own children have grown out of their teenage years, I've had a chance to reflect back on how they were raised. I've thought about things I might have done differently if I had known then what I know now. Some of those changes would have come in the area of how we encouraged and allowed them to spend their time, particularly over summer vacation. All of my kids have had interests and skills in athletics. Our kids have literally spent thousands of hours practicing and playing a variety of organized sports including football, baseball, softball, field hockey, basketball, lacrosse, and soccer. We've spent thousands of hours coaching and watching. At one point, overlapping seasons put Lisa and I in a situation where we had a day in which three of our kids had to be shuttled to eight different places in order to fulfill the responsibilities of the teams they were on. While we were always careful to not push our kids into negotiable things that they didn't want to do, we should have been more diligent about saying "no" to some of the things they wanted to do. There was a point where there was just too much going on. It cost us family dinners, gas money, and loads of time. . . . time that seemed to have flown by because it was so full of activity.

In hindsight, I think I should have said "no" to the summer busyness in our family more often. Sometimes a well-placed "no" is great big "yes" to family time, a summer vacation that's truly restful, and a wonderful opportunity to spend a few months teaching your kids about the true meaning of "success." What is success? True success in life is faithfulness to God and obedience to his commands. What do you and I want our children to become? Our desire for our children should be the same as our heavenly Father's desire for them: that they become like Christ in all things. What must you and I do to make this happen? We must know the truth as it is contained in God's Word, talk about it with our teens, live it with our teens, model it for our teens, experience it with our teens, and prayerfully trust God to change our teen's hearts and minds.

Dr. Walt Mueller is the founder and President of the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding. To learn more about today's youth culture, visit them on the web at www.cpyu.org.

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start to move mountains in your life, ministry and family

On the bottom of every email send, I have written my life verse. Tonight, as I was typing my weekly email to my volunteer leaders, I just had to ask them: When was the last time you read the verse attached to my signature at the bottom? Then I asked them to go ahead, read it word for word. Below is what my valediction reads. Would you read it too? Skip to the verse. Really. Do it now. I'll wait...

Megan Hutchinson
Minister Life Hurts God Heals for Teens
At Saddleback Church: www.saddlebackfamily.com/lifehurts
Global Locations and Frequently Asked Questions: www.lifehurtsgodheals.com
Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, Ephes. 3:20 (NASB)

Do you believe it? I mean, do you really believe it? I do. And with all my heart. I've been thinking...

with 12 men, the Good News spread about Jesus Christ!
with one faith-filled woman, the entire Jewish nation was saved. - Thank you Esther!
a sprouting 12-year old shepherd boy would believe he would unquestionably defeat a giant because the Almighty One was him. - Go David!
a courageous prophet and judge would help bring victory over the powerful Siseran army unapologetically claiming 'it is God who has marched before us [in this battle]." - Deborah, you're a stud!
a former murderer - turned Jesus lover - would travel feverishly to start "church" as we know it today. - Paul, you're amazing!

The list goes on and one. And you know what? I want my name on that list. For without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. (Heb 11:6 NASB) These men and woman were just like you and me. They were simple, complicated, gifted, broken, messy, talented, imbalanced and compassionate men and woman like you and me. BUT, they believed in the One who could do exceedingly, abundantly, beyond ALL that they would ask or think, according to the Power that resided within them.

Last I checked, God was in the business of moving mountains - in your life and mine. So, here are three questions for you to consider:

What stops you from really believing and claiming his power in your life, ministry, and family?
When is the last time you directly and authoritatively told the enemy to get lost?
Since there are no limits to what God can do, what small or big step would you prayerfully take next?

All I know is that six years ago God called me to help hurting teenagers at my home church and now around the globe. Is it a mountain far bigger than I can handle? You'd better believe it. Do I feel overwhelmed at times? Ahhh...yes! But do I passionately believe anything is possible in my life, ministry and family, when I believe? Without question - YES.

So, I leave you with Dr Seuss who so eloquently wrote in his best seller, Oh the Places You'll Go

So ...be your name Buxbaum or Bixy or Bray or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting
So ...get on your way!

We climb together,
Megan Hutchinson

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advice for dividing small groups

I'm always afraid to answer small group questions with a "this is how you do it" answer. Why? Because all small groups are unique and I'm not convinced there is "a" way to do it--there are several ways. Here are some of my thoughts:

1. Breaking students into small groups is never easy.

2. Breaking students into smaller groups when groups grow is never easy.

3. You can lessen the pain when you use the term "launch" instead of "split" (i.e. "we'll be launching a new group out of this group because great things are happening in here."). Launch can be positive. Split can be negative.

4. Let small groups know from the beginning that "launching" new groups is an exciting thing. Tell them it's a real possibility when the size of the group reaches ___ number of students (___ = whatever you decide on).

5. There will be a natural decline in intimacy when students start a new group--that's normal. But, if the groups just started 2 weeks ago, most likely your groups haven't begun to scratch the surface of intimacy. The sooner the better is the time to launch the new groups.

6. If your groups are "open groups" (meaning students can be added as they arrive) you'll always face this "problem" (what a great problem to have). As students in their small group grow spiritually, they will most likely reach out to their [lost] friends and invite them to join a small group. The only that I know to keep the numbers small and not disrupt the small groups is to change your philosophy to a "closed group" (meaning that once a group starts, it stays that number until the quarter/semester/school year is over (whatever you decide on)...and when a new student come, the student begins in a group that isn't "full". There are pros and cons to every youth ministry strategy.

7. Don't really have anything else to write here for #7...it's getting late (it's midnight) but it seemed like have 7 points would be a cool thing. Not sure if any of this is helpful...Oh, here's a thought; term your changes "experiments" and be willing to allow them to fail (who cares if something goes wrong--if it was an "experiment"). Learn from your experiments and begin to develop principles for small groups that you're passionate about and/or ones that work for your particular youth ministry setting.

christians are to the world as dwight Is to the office

One just has to sit back and admire the comic genius that is The Office. Week after week this program gives us a look into the real world of employment in unbelievably humorous and sadly accurate ways. In every episode there are money quotes, but I have to say that my favorite character is Dwight. Maybe it's just my sick and mostly misunderstood sense of humor, but I think Dwight brings a level of comedy to The Office that is largely unmatched.

Here is a sample platter of what I'm talking about

"In the wild, there is no health care. In the wild, health care is, 'Ow, I hurt my leg. I can't run. A lion eats me. I'm dead.' Well, I'm not dead. I'm the lion. You're dead."

"I come from a long line of fighters. My maternal grandfather was the toughest guy I ever knew. World War Two veteran killed twenty men and spent the rest of the war in an Allied prison camp. My father battled blood pressure and obesity all his life. Different kind of fight."

Jim Halpert: "Dwight, if you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?"
Dwight Schrute: "I can travel anywhere, except Cuba, and I will travel to New Zealand and walk the Lord of the Rings trail to Mordor and I will hike Mount Doom."

"I have been Michael's number two guy for about 5 years. And we make a great team. We're like one of those classic famous teams. He's like Mozart and I'm like...Mozart's friend. No. I'm like Butch Cassidy and Michael is like...Mozart. You try and hurt Mozart? You're gonna get a bullet in your head courtesy of Butch Cassidy."

The thing that strikes me about Dwight is that, even though people think he's a few hamburgers short of a Happy Meal, he still just sticks with his quirky personality and obviously different view of the world.

And then I thought, You know what? Christians in the world are a little like Dwight! No, not in the Looney Tune, legend-in-his-own-mind sort of way-rather that Dwight takes teasing, insults, and social rejection and sticks with who God made him to be.

And so should we, folks. You must remember that to say yes to following Christ is a simultaneous no to being accepted by the world. This is a promise from the very lips of Jesus Christ:

If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you (John 15:18-19).

It's not that we should go out of way to be rejected; it's just that when you pledge allegiance to Jesus Christ, you get voted off the island.

Why? Because now you're no longer a part of the self-seeking, pleasure-driven, materialistic culture that permeates our entire world. Suddenly you're saying no to things that displease God, and probably coming off like you're better than everyone else. And even though you're not better than them-and you know that-others won't quite see it that way.

So at that point, you have two choices. You can back down on your commitment level and play Christian when there's no risk...or stick it out and find hope in these words from Jesus:

What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man. When that happens, be happy! Yes, leap for joy! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, their ancestors treated the ancient prophets that same way (Luke 6:22-23).

So if you are feeling like a Dwight in "the office" of this world because of your loyalty to Christ, take joy in the fact that you're on the right team. You may not be the bomb-diggity with all the folks around you, but you can be sure that one day Jesus will look you right in the eye with a proud look on his face and say, ''Well done, my good and faithful servant" (Matthew 25:21).

To me, that's worth being a Dwight for the rest of my life!

Flashpoint: Ignite into Action

Even though the world may reject us when we stand for Christ, there are always people watching us and looking for a hope that goes beyond this life. This week remember that when you stand for Jesus, God uses that to open people's heart to the gospel message. For a great example of this, check out this amazing story:

http://prayerfoundation.org/favoritemonks/favorite_monks_telemachus_coliseum.htm

Accelerant: Feed the Flames
And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated- the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect (Hebrews 11:32-40).
Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ (Galatians 1:10).

The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name (Acts 5:41).

Lane Palmer serves as a writer for Dare 2 Share Ministries International (D2S) in Arvada, Colorado, a ministry committed to mobilizing teens to relationally and relentlessly reach their generation for Christ. For more information about D2S, please visit www.dare2share.org.

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