Simul Iustus et Peccator

Question

2012-01-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

John Wesley's Small Group Questions:

6. Did the Bible live in me today?

Cultivating a Life for God (Church Smart Resources 1999)

Flute from the Street

2012-01-23T18:42:00.000-05:00

"Parents... If your kids don't learn flute in school they are going to pick it up on the street."

Props to @ylstash

Resource For Families: What Bible Do I Buy My Teenager?

2012-01-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

This time of the year we begin our Confirmation process. For those outside of the Anglican context here's a link to help better put that in context. With this season beginning another question normally comes up? What Bible should I get my teenager?

I love this question because it means first that parents value God's word enough to want it in the hands of their children and second it means that they are not just picking up the first Bible they see on a bookstore shelf.

So how do you go about choosing a good Bible for a student? Here's some helpful tips...

"Teen Bibles"? are not normally as attractive as they sound. Thanks to Christian publishing you can find Bibles geared towards every make, model, gender, age, race, and flavor or human. Yes they might have some interesting sidebars but the truth is your student isn't going to be a teen forever. Point being buy the Bible not the marketing.
Study Bible Vs. Portability: Study Bibles are great with footnotes, references, concordances etc. however they are large and in charge. Small ones are fine but you sacrifice a lot of helpful information. If you want your student to have it with them everywhere don't get a study bible. I will say that with all the apps, and quality websites available scripture is more available then ever before in human history. I'd go with the study bible.
Translations? Niv, ESV, KJV, NKJV, LMNOP? I can go on. They're all the same Bible right? Well yes. Without getting into geeky greeky points about how the Bible has been translated I'd make it simple. What translation does your home church use? Nothing is more confusing to a young person when things are worded differently.

If you are part of our ministry I'd encourage you to get your student an ESV Study Bible and a good set of high lighters. I'd also encourage you to write in the cover a list of your favorite scriptures and a little note of encouragement. Your 13 year old boy probably won't tear up at this gift but it'll become dear to them as they grow in their faith.

Impact's Back This Sunday!

2012-01-19T17:41:00.000-05:00

Quesiton

2012-01-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

John Wesley's Small Group Questions:

5. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?

Cultivating a Life for God (Church Smart Resources 1999)

DaveLibbon.com Will Not Blackout

2012-01-18T16:08:00.001-05:00

To ease fears DaveLibbon.com will not be blacked out over to SOPA/PIPA. Please don't riot.

Resources for Families : Dinner and the Cell Phone

2012-01-18T06:30:00.000-05:00

The older your students are the more likely their phones have become a distraction. I'm 30 and yes my phone is a distraction. Props to my friend Meg for the find on this great idea. It'll need some tweaking to be used in a family context but I think cleaning up dinner would be a good motivator. Enjoy...

The Phone Stack

We usually take a pretty hard line against phones at dinner, but a new trick just popped up that gives us hope for the future.
It’s called a phone stack, and it’s a buzzing, flashing reminder of every phone-etiquette rule the world seems to have forgotten.
It works like this: as you arrive, each person places their phone faced down in the center of the table. (If you’re feeling theatrical, you can go for a stack like this one, but it’s not required.) As the meal goes on, you’ll hear various texts and emails arriving… and you’ll do absolutely nothing. You’ll face temptation—maybe even a few involuntary reaches toward the middle of the table—but you’ll be bound by the single, all-important rule of the phone stack.
Whoever picks up their phone is footing the bill.
It’s a brilliant piece of social engineering, masquerading as a bar game. It takes the phone out of the pocket—where you can sneak a glance and hope nobody notices—and places it in the center of attention at all times. Suddenly, picking up your phone is the big deal you always secretly knew it was. And more importantly, it comes with consequences.
But if, after the third ring, you decide your call is more important than your lunch tab, we’re sure your friends won’t object.

Article from http://www.getkempt.com/the-code/the-phone-stack.php

The Latest Beauty Secret Will Amaze You...

2012-01-16T19:20:00.000-05:00

As the father of two daughters this is a very important thing for them to grasp. As a youth minister is something I'd encourage every teenage girl to watch and parent to talk to their kids about..

Fotoshop by Adobé from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.

Big Props to Erin Cooley for linking to this on FaceBook

Jesus Vs. Religion and YouTube

2012-01-13T20:16:00.000-05:00

There's this interesting thing inside of me that when something hits the Christian culture and people go a little crazy about... warning flags start to fly in my mind. My inbox / Facebook / Twitter feed was packed with people talking about the below video...

To be honest I haven't watched it yet (call me a rebel (although I have read the poem)).

I did find a really well written and balanced article by Kevin DeYoung on The Gospel Coalition Website He has a brilliant observation that many younger Christians have a hard time seeing grace as more then God's forgiveness of sin. When the truth of the gospel is that it's grace that transforms the believer, sustains the believer, as well as redeems the believer. Below is DeYoung's conclusion. The entirety of the article is well worth the read...

"The strengths in this poem are the strengths I see in many young Christians—a passionate faith, a focus on Jesus, a love for grace, and a hatred for anything phony or self-righteous. The weaknesses here can be the weaknesses of my generation (and younger)—not enough talk of repentance and sanctification, a tendency to underestimate the importance of obedience in the Christian life, a one-dimensional view of grace, little awareness that our heavenly Father might ever discipline his children or be grieved by their continued transgression, and a penchant for sloganeering instead of careful nuance.
I know the internet is a big place, but a lot of people are connected to a lot of other people. So who knows, maybe Jefferson Bethke will read this blog. If you do, brother, I want you to know I love what you love in this poem. I watched you give your testimony and give thanks to God for his work in your life. I love the humble desire to be honest about your failings and point people to Christ. I love that you love the church and the Bible. I love that you want people to really get the gospel. You have important things to say and millions of people are listening. So make sure as a teacher you are extra careful and precise (James 3:1). If you haven’t received formal theological training, I encourage you to do so. Your ministry will be made stronger and richer and longer lasting. I encourage you to speak from the Bible before you speak from your own experience. I encourage you to love what Jesus loves without tearing down what he also loves and people are apt to misunderstand. I encourage you to dig deep into the whole counsel of God.

Thanks for reminding us about Jesus. But try to be more careful when talking about religion. After all, there is one religion whose aim is to worship, serve, know, proclaim, believe, obey, and organize around this Jesus. And without all those verbs, there’s not much Jesus left."

Question

2012-01-12T08:00:00.000-05:00

John Wesley's Small Group Questions:

4. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work , or habits?

Cultivating a Life for God (Church Smart Resources 1999)

Small Group Leaders Training: Gospel Transformation

2012-01-10T13:25:00.000-05:00

Here's a little presentation we put together as part of our small group leaders training. Thought it might be interesting to some.

Culture Alarm !

2012-01-10T13:00:00.000-05:00

Found this to be thought provoking.

Hyper Dog

2012-01-07T19:41:00.001-05:00

File this one under fun family nights. We found a cotton candy machine on the cheap this morning during our Saturday grocery trip. I've made cotton candy before and somehow forgot how much candy goes into the air. As thin wisps of sugar floated in the air and we enjoyed our little project our Siberian Husky Keira was inhaling loads of sugar. She then proceeded to race around the room at lightening speed. Note to self: put the dogs outside next time - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A Little Five Iron For Your Weekend...

2012-01-07T15:27:00.000-05:00

Some of the most powerful lyrics that have moved me....

"The very spark that burns the stars,
drew near to me today,
the God of everything that is,

whispered in my ear that

His love is boundless."

*From World Without End

Things We Didn't Know Last Year

2012-01-06T09:59:00.000-05:00

This came across my reader a few days ago. Thought it was interesting as we kick off the new year...

From our friends at the BBC..

1. Birds binge drink.
More details
2. Bald people grow the wrong type of hair - so fine it's invisible to the naked eye.
More details
3. Aristotle is thought to have been the last individual to know everything that was known at the time.
More details
4. Women's tears reduce ... desire in men.
More details (Guardian)
5. President Kennedy's famous line "Do not ask..." was inspired by the headmaster of his prep school.
More details
6. Princess Diana had two wedding dresses - one a back-up design in case her first choice was revealed before the big day. More details
7. Huskies can smell thin ice.
More details
8. JD Salinger was a fan of Tim Henman.
More details
9. Good cops are better at getting confessions than bad cops.
More details (Daily Mirror)
10. The average hug lasts three seconds.
More details (Daily Telegraph)
11. Cattle once regularly swam between Hebridean islands.
More details
12. Elton John has no mobile phone.
More details
13. Incan brides had to peel a potato to prove they would be a good wife.
More details
14. UK postal workers get through two million red rubber bands a day. More details
15. Artist LS Lowry was a debt collector.
More details
16. The ransom paid to release Richard the Lionheart, captured in 1192 on his return from the Crusades, was the equivalent of about £2bn in today's money.
More details
17. People with full bladders make better decisions.
More details (Daily Telegraph)
18. Chickens feel empathy.
More details (Daily Telegraph)

...

Click here for the rest!

Question

2012-01-05T07:00:00.000-05:00

John Wesley's Small Group Questions:

3. Do I confidentially pass onto another what was told me in confidence?

Cultivating a Life for God (Church Smart Resources 1999)

The 5 Podcasts I Have Listened To In 2011

2012-01-02T08:47:00.000-05:00

Every day I wake up and head to work I'm looking at a solid half hour commute one way. That puts me in the car for an hour a work day. Not bad seeing how the national average in `07 was 46min according to Gallup. The other nuance I should let you in on is that I can't stand the radio. It's been a slow downward spiral from music, to talk, to now I can't remember the last time I actually listened to the radio while in the car alone.

So what I do is use that time to sharpen my skills and challenge my self. Here's an earlier post about how I've come to use Siri to take notes while driving. So what have I come to listen to over the past year? Glad you asked....

5. Mars Hill Audio / Desiring God Audio

These are two sermon feeds I've come to listen to. Each week, both ministries post the sermon from their churches. Both feed me spiritually while expounding great theology and challenging subject matter. It's a great way to start the day off by sitting under two solid gospel centered preachers.

4. Critical Hit Podcast

Ok this one has absolutely nothing to do with youth ministry or leadership. Because of that fact it's really important. For everyone who works with young people in the church context we need a chance to check the brain and just unplug for a while. Critical Hit is a podcast I came upon about a year ago. It's centered around an RPG called Dungeon and Dragons. What I take from it is a great storyline. It's basically weekly installments of a Lord of the Rings type story told with a good bit of improve and chance thrown into the plot. On more then one instance I found myself wishing it would become a movie.

3. Youth Ministry Garage

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away a group of friends sat down around a microphone to talk about youth ministry. Not Youth Ministry Theory, or Philosophy, not ivory town in a perfect church type stuff but real down to earth questions that come up every so often in the ministry. One of those guys happened to be Doug Fields, along with several other notable youth pastors. The show went dark on somewhat of a hiatus and has sufferance being run out of Doug's garage of all places. (told you it was down to earth) It's a great write in your questions and they'll take their best shot at answering them.

2. The Resurgence

This podcast's tag line says it all... "Ministry is tough, and you need training." Important things that need to be thought through. Not so much a "show" as the last few on the list but more of audio from various teachings and conference seminars. The feed isn't updated often but when it is it quickly jumps to the top of my playlist.

1. Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast

Andy Stanley's monthly podcast is short sweet and leadership gold. The principles he communicates are solid and foundational. They are both good reminders yet challenging. Much of our weekly team meetings come from phrases used in this podcast. Quality.

Honorable mention...

- Perry Nobel Leadership Podcast

Love him or hate him there's some good things he has to say. This is a lighthearted talk about leadership in the church. Worth a listen. He posted some audio from a leadership gathering at his church where Stephen Furtick spoke on gratitude. It remains one of the most mind blowing teachings I've heard in the last 6 months.

- Student Alpha Podcast (video)

Not something I listen to weekly but come Fall it gets an hour of my time every week. Alpha is a simple basic course in Christianity that comes out of England. They've taken the course and compressed it into a handful of videos for students (Now remember "students" in Europe are college aged) For our community it works well for our high school crew. Every fall and spring our church holds an Alpha course. Every Fall we tag on a High School Alpha for students who are interested in exploring the fundamentals of the faith. It always is an amazing time.

(All of these can be found on Itunes in the podcast section)

4 Ways to Intentionally Lead Your Family in 2012

2011-12-30T09:30:00.000-05:00

As the year ends it's a great opportunity to look at how we lead our families. Here's some simple thoughts and actions to ponder as the year kicks off in a few days...

Summer is coming. I've found that unless I plan my vacations I never end up taking them. Now's a good time to sit down with the family and break out the old calendar. Where will we spend holidays next year? Who's family? Where will we go / stay together? Any fun day trips we can look forward to?
Where do we want our family's faith grow? For us it's going to be growing as parents as we welcome our second daughter home in March. However there are several other areas that I feel God is calling us to grow in. In what area do you want to see your family have a vibrant and fruitful faith? Maybe a life group to join or to allow your kids to see you reading the Bible or praying.
What goals do we want to set for our family? If the above talk about the direction you'd like to intentionally see your family grow in, then this question is the road map. It's one thing to say we'd like to be more generous in 2012 to put a measurable goal to that would look like.... We want to give 2% more every month or we want to generously serve in our church's youth ministry and see the gospel transform the lives of young people.
What hurdles can we have to prepare for next year? Most of the time we can't see the big ones coming. Sometimes we can. What might be the big trains coming down the track? Mark Twain was once said that..."If you have to eat a bucket of frogs... Eat the biggest one first." What big frogs do you need to address? Maybe it's getting that emergency fund in order to handle the unexpected. Maybe it's adjusting that W4 so you keep more of your own money and Uncle Sam takes only what he needs. Maybe it's getting that life insurance you don't think you'll need.

Question

2011-12-29T11:00:00.000-05:00

John Wesley's Small Group Questions:

2. Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?

Cultivating a Life for God (Church Smart Resources 1999)

My Top 10 Books From 2011

2011-12-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

10. Teen Proofing by John Rosemond

This is a great book written with sound advice and a little humor. It's the only book on parenting I've read where I've found myself chuckling out loud at times. Worth the read before you have teenagers under your roof.

9. Rid of My Disgrace by Justin and Lindsey Holcomb

This book I didn't want to read, didn't like reading it, yet knew it was one of the most important books I'd open all year. If you work with people in ministry this book needs to be in your arsenal. It offers help and perspective to those working with the victims of sexual abuse. It is a hard read due to the nature of the content but with statics proving true something you will deal with.

8. Courageous Leadership by Bill Hybels

This leadership classic came out awhile ago and I'm just now getting around to it. It's great at helping a leader "embody the vision".

7. Radical by David Platt

This book is exactly what the title says. It's challenging, inspiring, and a good reminder of the faith we're called to. The subtitle is "taking back your faith from the American dream."

6. Dug Down Deep by Josh Harris

Actually, I read this last year however I reread it this year with a group of high school students. The takeaway line is "If you want to feel deep you must think deep." It's a well written look at core doctrines of the faith.

5. A God Sized Vision by Hansen and Woodbridge

A little shout out to Randy for the heads up on this book. It's a collection of revival stories. In this day and age I found myself highly skeptical of big spiritual moves. I find myself thinking they are driven by popularity, or money. This book is a great reminder of how God through the ages has sent his Spirit to stir the hearts of believers. It covers the Great Awakenings as well as some contemporary events. Highlight for me was that many of these were touched off by teenagers.

4. Disciple by Bill Clem

A good book that covers what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. It's meaty and a good read. I appreciate how Bill Clem covers the interplay between word and deed. It'll give you something to think about.

3. Seven Practices of Effective Leadership by Andy Stanley, Reggie Joiner, and Lane Jones

One of the best leadership books I've read in a long time. The first half of the book is told as a story which is highly engaging and readable. It's a great answer to the question what's the win? I'd love to walk through the first half the book with a team.

2. Note to Self by Joe Thorn

When I picked up this book this summer I was surprised. I thought it would be a huge book on preaching the gospel to yourself what I got was a small book almost devotional in nature. I approached cautiously. What I found was one of the most challenging, life giving books of 2011. It applies the gospel to life (not self help) in a sweet way that challenges yet encourages. I ordered a stack and gave a copy to my team as well as a few other friends. Here's some other blog post I've put up on this gem of a book.

1. Logos by A ton of people

Ok so it's not technically a book...IT's A WHOLE STINKING LIBRARY. I'm not even sure where to begin but to say it's really been one of the great additions to my study of scripture. I got the super base model and it comes with a huge reference library, commentaries, Greek and Hebrew tools, and a host of other charts, graphs, and gadgets. There's a feature that takes a passage and makes a wordle out of it to highlight key words or phrases.

Fry'n Turkey Downtown...

2011-12-25T10:04:00.000-05:00

Spent yesterday morning with my brother (the bearded redhead) and a crew of men from St. Andrews in downtown Charleston deep frying a ton of birds for an outreach today at the Johnson Hagood Stadium. It smelled and hopefully will taste amazing!!

Born That Man No More May Die

2011-12-23T14:03:00.001-05:00

Born to raise the sons of earth, Born to give them second birth.

Location:Warren St,Charleston,United States

Question

2011-12-22T10:59:00.002-05:00

John Wesley's Small Group Questions:

1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?

Cultivating a Life for God (Church Smart Resources 1999)

Resources for Families: Nativity

2011-12-21T06:30:00.000-05:00

One of our family's favorite Christmas traditions is putting up the nativity scene. For us it's not just an event but a progressive time of teaching our daughter about the birth story of Christ. So for now our scene only includes Mary and Joseph in the manger. On Christmas morning we'll add the Christ child, and shepherds, and then a few days later the wise men show up.

Wayne Rice in his book Generation to Generation has some great things to say about traditions and the importance they play in passing on a healthy faith to our children. Even for parents of teenagers, the simple act of setting up a modest nativity scene can be an important reminder. This fixture in the living room (or other frequently traveled area) can act as a visual for the reason Christmas is so important.

Where to start?

I've seen big money invested in elaborate creche (another name for a nativity scene). I picked ours up a few years ago after Christmas for about $12. Others are great because you can add to them every year.

Merry Christmas

Hitchens Vs. Wilson

2011-12-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

This is a wonderfully done documentary on the exchange between Hitchens (who died last week) and Douglas Wilson. It's over an hour long and riveting. I don't suggest starting it unless you have at minimum 40 min. to spend.