Threads

Happy Birthday, America

staff — 2009-07-02T17:47:08-06:00

In honor of our nation’s birthday, we’ve rounded up a few of our favorite 4th of July traditions and memories. We hope you have a safe and happy holiday weekend!

Jason (Hale): In my small town in Kentucky we had this fireworks show every year that I thought was so big until I went to a real fireworks show later in life. My grandpa would make such a big deal about this fireworks show and we would picnic and wait for those fireworks all afternoon with our family. One of my favorite childhood memories.

Angel: When I think 4th of July, I think POOL DAY!!!

Jason (Hayes): My family’s traditions include spending the day at the lake, having a big cookout dinner with friends, homemade ice cream for dessert, and a huge fireworks show over the water. And sparklers with the Threads team, of course.

Juliana: My family always gets together at my parents’ house for BBQ and homemade ice cream. Just before it gets dark, we pile in cars, or in my case, on the scooter with my husband, and head to the civic center to listen to live music and watch the fireworks.

Heather: Three words. Bottle. Rocket. Wars.

Lindsey: Our neighborhood has a children’s parade, block party, and potluck. From our hill we can see three town’s fireworks, so we watch together once the shows start. There’s also a small town about an hour away that hosts a jamboree every 4th of July weekend. It’s full of down home spirit, arts and crafts, and enough fair food to last you the rest of the year.

Laura: Growing up, my dad always ran in a 10k every 4th of July morning, so the rest of us would go watch the race and eat doughnuts all morning, in honor of that fact that we weren’t running. We’d end the day with our own “Thunder over Louisiana Ave.” fireworks show. My newest favorite tradition though is the jamboree Lindsey mentioned. As far as small town festivals go, it can’t be beat.

Michael: Every 4th, my small home town has a “fair on the square.” Corn dogs, meat on a stick, trashy antiques—pretty awesome.

Stephanie: I grew up on a lake where the 4th of July was the biggest holiday of the year. Every year they had a “flotilla parade” where people decorated their boats according to some randomly chosen theme (I’ve seen boats transformed into chickens, huge shopping carts, Hawaiian islands) and putt around the perimeter of the lake. As spectators, it was our job to sit on our pier eating the first picking of Indiana Sweet corn and waving like maniacs at the people in the floats. It was the most ridiculous, small-town thing in the world, but it was the highlight of our day as kids. Watching the fireworks over the lake wasn’t too shabby either.

The Path to Freedom in Christ

Jason Chatraw — 2009-07-02T15:19:38-06:00

I chewed. Plain and simple. Using smokeless tobacco was a popular pastime in my rural hometown, even though I had been well warned of its dangers. As I worked on the farm during the summer, tobacco was a diversion from my task in the fields—and I embraced it. It wasn’t long before I couldn’t quit.

My unattractive vice followed me to college. I remember feeling shameful in leading others spiritually when I had such an obvious addiction facing me daily. In my eyes, I was a hypocrite, sharing the gospel with passion one minute, and sneaking out back to soothe my troubled mind with a pinch of tobacco between my cheek and gum the next. For years, I was caught in the powerful web almost all of us find ourselves in at some point in life: bondage.

Bondage comes in all shapes and sizes. It can come in obvious sinful addiction, or it can come in something that quietly steals us away from intimacy with God. We can be held captive by a degenerating relationship or an insatiable need for approval. We can even hold ourselves captive, determining to succeed on our own apart from God. Bondage can come in sheep’s clothing, often disguised as good works.

Regardless of what may be gripping us right now in our lives, there is hope. But the pathway to freedom in Christ is an unlikely one: willingness to be bound to Christ. To be free from the bondages the world offers, we must be bound to Christ. It sounds contradictory, as if we are simply trading one type of bondage for another. But God’s guidebook to life, the Bible, specifically maps out the road to recovery. And it promises complete freedom. However, as we venture down this road, we must understand that this is not a road that can be traveled half-heartedly. In fact, it might be difficult at first. But we soon understand that to experience the depth of freedom that God desires for each of us, we must be willing to submit to His plans, His principles, and His purposes for our lives.

Bondservants of Christ

The apostle Paul explained this concept of freedom in Christ through the analogy of a bondservant. He wrote: “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ” (Gal. 1:10, NKJV).

Most of us would love to be able to say what Paul said and mean it. But anyone caught in the cycle of bondage knows that desiring to be free is vastly different from actually being free. Though we may have a great desire to break the chains that bind us and more deeply follow Christ, we must take a step forward into what God desires for our life. It’s a lot easier to steer a ship that is already moving than an anchored one. And our first step consists of letting go of the things in our lives that hold us captive.

Sin is powerful. We all experience its power on a daily basis. But what we may not understand is how tightly we cling to sin. Part of its power is held in our initial association with it. When we find ourselves caught in a pattern of sin, we are both in sin’s grip and gripping sin ourselves. We hold onto it, which keeps us in that place without freedom for long seasons. To begin this process of releasing the things that hold you captive, pray and ask God to begin changing your heart so that it is aligned with your actions.

As we begin through prayer to release the chains that have bound us, we know that we are far from home free. That’s why we need people to come along with us on this journey to freedom. We need people who will support us, encouraging us to stay the course despite our desire to return to a familiar comfort—even if it’s the comfort of bondage. We also need people to tell us the truth, whether we like it or not. Those in bondage often have distorted views and need to be told the truth. This kind of support only comes within the context of community.

Filling the Void

After we have prayed to release our grip and asked others to assist us in this journey, it’s common to wake up and face a stark reality: There’s a void in our hearts that needs to be filled. This feeling is what normally causes our best self-efforts to break free to crash. We mistakenly assume that since we feel a void, we must fill it back up with what was once there.

We are made to be filled, which is why detachment is difficult without attachment. You might know of someone who quit drinking but replaced it with smoking. The idea of detachment from something must always be accompanied with the idea of attachment to something else. And for freedom to occur in our lives through Christ, we must detach from our sin and attach to Him.

The Power of the Truth

After struggling for years to overcome my addiction to chewing tobacco, the moment it lost its grip on me was not earth-shaking as much as it was heart-shaking. It rattled my self-reliance to the core. I had no fight left in me, and I realized I needed to turn to my source of strength: Jesus Christ. In a simple prayer, I asked God to forgive me for allowing this into my life and asked for His help to conquer this addiction. After all, it was quite obvious I couldn’t conquer it on my own.

Becoming free wasn’t a quick or easy process. But now I know through the power of the truth I am living life’s greatest adventure—experiencing daily what it means to walk in freedom in Christ as I live out His principles, plans, and purposes for my life. In the mystery of God’s kingdom principles, the more I experience His freedom, the more I become solidly bound to Him.

Adapted from CS magazine.

A Bike is Better Than Candy

Chad Jordan — 2009-07-02T15:17:47-06:00

My three-year-old daughter, Macie, is now riding a bike. Sure it has training wheels, but it’s a big girl bike for sure. Watching her race up and down the street has become an evening ritual in our home. She joins a pack of little helmet-clad girls riding a wave of pink burning up the pavement.

About a month ago (pre big-girl bike), I wanted to reward Macie for being such a wonderful big sister. She has taken to her little sister better than we ever imagined. As we were getting ready for church, I decided that on our way home we would stop and let Macie pick out a real bike. I knew hours before it happened what that afternoon was going to bring for her. As she began to fuss about getting dressed, I told her we were going to do something special that afternoon and that she better stop fussing and make sure she acted like a big girl.

As we pulled into the parking lot, I was more excited than she was because she didn’t yet know what we were going to get. I felt like I was the one getting a gift as we headed back to the bike area. Standing in front of a bike rack stocked fully to the ceiling with various sizes and colors of two wheeled vehicles, I asked Macie if there was anything that she would like as a special treat. Here’s what she said: “I would really love something to chunk on,” which is her way of asking for candy. Candy?

It took a bit of conversation to persuade her that what I was offering her was greater than what she was requesting. When Macie finally gave up on the candy and realized I wanted to get her a bike, she was glued to the seat. She rode it around the store as we grabbed a few things. When we got home, she was ready to fly around and show it off.

God really opened my eyes to several things that day. The first is that He knows what my afternoons are going to look like before I do, and He is constantly preparing me for what’s next. Macie didn’t know she would be getting a bike that afternoon, but I did. So I didn’t want her to get in trouble and change those plans. I’m learning that my Heavenly Father is preparing me in much the same way.

I also learned that my Father often holds His hands out offering me greater things than I can comprehend, yet I stand before Him asking for candy. I settle for less too often and don’t dream big enough. The Creator of the universe is my Father; why settle for candy?

I also realized that God loves. That’s what a father does above everything else. God desires the best for us. He doesn’t bring things into our lives to hurt us, but to draw us closer to Him.

This week, we begin examining the Trinity by focusing on the Father. I don’t know what your experience with your earthly father has been like, but I do know what your experience with your Heavenly Father is supposed to be like. Spend some time thinking about God as a Father and you as a child. How does a good father respond to a child? What happens when a child is hurt? Crying? Succeeding? And then think of what that would like perfected. Imagine God as the perfect Father, and when He decides to bless you, ask for the bike, not just the candy.

Are You Practicing?

Jim Johnston — 2009-07-02T15:09:41-06:00

If you make it out to a Little League baseball field this time of year, you’ll inevitably hear 11- and 12-year-olds talking about their heroes. Watch them long enough as they swing their bats and throw baseballs around, and you’ll hear comments like these:

“I want to pitch like Tim Lincecum.”
“I want to hit like Albert Pujols.”
“I want to be a great outfielder like Curtis Granderson. I want to rob home runs off the wall just like he does.”

They mimic their heroes’ batting stances, pitching windups, and leaps against the outfield fence. There is joy and devotion in the way they talk. And there is also practice, repetition, and discipline as they strive to be like their heroes. I know. I’ve been coaching Little League baseball since I was 18. Interestingly enough, I’ve never heard a parent or a player complain about one of my teams practicing too much.

My question for you is, do you practice in your young adult ministry? More specifically, does your young adult ministry practice discipleship?

Some labor under the illusion that discipleship is a class that meets every Sunday at 6 p.m., and after you finish 12 core studies, you’ve arrived as a disciple of Christ. You walk in by yourself and you walk out by yourself, with academic knowledge your primary takeaway.

Others resist the notion of doing anything that bears any resemblance to a program, preferring a random approach to making disciples. They hope something happens in the course of a small group, a Sunday School class, or a worship service that helps someone become more Christ-like than they were the week before.

However, neither approach cuts it in the 21st century. A “Great Commission” approach to discipleship requires both genuine Christian community and a high degree of intentionality.

Here are some non-negotiables for discipleship in young adult ministry:

A commitment to study, meditate on, and memorize Scripture—both individually and in small groups of believers. You can do it strictly using the Bible or you can supplement it with solid, theologically sound Bible studies like the ones developed by Threads, LifeWay, or any other reliable Christian publisher. But this is not about purchasing books, attending groups, and consuming Bible studies. It’s about having the living Word of God take over your mind, heart, and soul. Help your young adults get on a regular Bible reading plan, help them get on a plan to memorize Scripture, and ask them to engage in regular Bible studies together.
A commitment to pray—both individually and corporately. Do your people know how to pray? Have you taught them? This is an absolutely vital part of their growth in their faith.
A commitment to meeting regularly in groups of three or four to discuss and pray over what God is teaching all of them through His Word, what He is doing in their lives, and the struggles and decisions they’re facing. This is not sin management. This is discipleship the way Jesus did it. You can call them accountability groups, growth groups, or mutually supportive relationships. Whatever you call them, they are essential. They are usually most effective when they are gender specific.
A commitment to multiplying discipleship. Every person in your young adult ministry must understand they’re expected to disciple others as they become properly equipped. They don’t have the luxury of merely “being fed” without leading others to the feet of Jesus, feeding them and preparing them to disciple others.
A commitment to a lifetime of discipleship. Discipleship doesn’t end with the completion of a 101 or 301 class or a six-month commitment to meet with another believer to study the Bible. It’s a lifetime commitment to learn how to imitate and become like our Master, Jesus Christ. We don’t stop learning and we don’t stop growing until we meet Him in heaven.
A commitment to understanding that discipleship is not just about reading and discussing. People grow to become more like Jesus in thousands of ways, from digging wells in Liberia to supplying clean water to people who need it, from helping with recreation at VBS to serving coffee to people who visit their churches. Serving others in the name of Jesus is just as important to becoming like Him as reading about His ministry in the Gospels.

None of this is particularly easy; it’s no easier than fielding endless ground balls on a 90-degree day and having a few bad hops create several bruises on your arms and legs. But if you love baseball and dream of playing like the guys who do it at the major league level, you endure the days like that.

If you truly want to follow Jesus, to become His servant and to help others follow in His footsteps, practicing discipleship is required. Don’t leave discipleship to chance. Don’t make it a program. Make it a living, breathing part of your daily ministry. Make it a practice.

Does Your Church Have a Place for Val?

Jim Johnston — 2009-06-30T19:32:55-06:00

As a part of my church duties, I work the café, greet guests and generally try to make the lobby of the middle school we meet in as friendly and welcoming as possible.

For the past three weeks, my café partner has been 20-something Val. During a lull, she asked me what I did and I told her about Threads and how our entire mission is about encouraging churches to reach people just like her.

Here is a sampling of what she told me between serving up drinks for our guests:

“I had a great youth group at my church, but when I went to college, there was nothing for me. It was a tough transition.”

“Most churches don’t have anything for anyone who is single. When you get married and have a family, that’s when a church begins to notice you again.”

“You begin to wonder if churches really want you to come once you’re in your 20s.”

“Do you know how hard it is to find any church that has a Bible study or anything for people my age?”

There are 93 million people in the Millennial Generation ages 15 to 37 in America today. Many of them are asking the same questions Val is asking.

So what’s our answer?

Lanae’ Hale

Lindsey Bush — 2009-06-30T13:34:09-06:00

If you haven’t heard of singer/songwriter Lanae’ Hale, you’re missing out. She’s got a fresh, sweet sound that keeps replaying in the Collegiate team’s heads. Lanae’ is on tour this summer with Building 429, 33Miles, and Kimber Rising. She’s doing a mini tour called Moments of Worship with Jaime Jamgochian and Daniel Kirkley in August, and is confirmed for a Christmas-themed Bethlehem Skyline Tour in December. But if you aren’t able to catch a concert, read more about Lanae’s story in the Fall 2009 issue of Collegiate, available now for purchase.

Hungry, Hungry Humans

Juliana Duncan — 2009-06-29T18:03:02-06:00

Food—I’m a big fan of it. It gives me energy; it makes me feel satisfied; it helped me grow when I was little. But my favorite thing about food is the taste, the experience of eating something delicious. Food is both essential and enjoyable. Jesus knew we would be able to relate to a basic need such as food, so He talked a lot about it—spiritual food, that is. So what does it mean?

The very concept of spiritual food indicates that there, too, is spiritual hunger. People are born incomplete, and we put a whole lot of effort into finding out what life means, why we’re here, and how to be happy. So we walk around hungry, feeding ourselves all kinds of things we hope will fill us up: money, relationships, stuff. But nothing satisfies—until we sit down with Jesus at His table and eat the food He has laid out for us.

Jesus’ food, in my opinion, comes in three basic forms: God’s Word, conversation with God, and fellowship with other Christ-followers. Each of these types of spiritual food, like physical food, is essential and enjoyable. Check out this passage from 1 Peter:

Like newborn infants, desire the unadulterated spiritual milk, so that you may grow by it in your salvation [essential for growth], since you have tasted that the Lord is good [enjoyable to experience].

2:2-3

We need all three types of food to grow. If we don’t read God’s Word, it’s hard to understand His nature. If we don’t talk to God in prayer, it’s difficult to hear His voice when He wants to tell us what’s best for us or simply that He loves us. And if we don’t invest in other believers, we forego the encouragement God wants us to give and receive from others who are trying to grow too.

As we grow spiritually, our appetite for spiritual food increases. The more we eat, the more we want. Filling up on food that satisfies our hunger becomes so significant and so enjoyable that we start realizing that we shouldn’t keep it to ourselves. We begin to notice the spiritually hungry around us and we desire to make sure they know about the food Jesus offers to them. And that’s exactly how God designed it:

“Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said to Him, “You know that I love You.”

“Feed My lambs,” He told him.

John 21:15

As we grow, we love God more and more; as we love God more, we love others more. In our love for others, we do what we can to make sure everyone who’s empty knows where to find Jesus’ food—the only thing that can satisfy our hunger.

When I start to feel empty, I ask myself these things: What am I filling up on? Does anything but spiritual food satisfy? Am I intentional about feeding God’s lambs?

The Highest Goal in Relationships

Michael Kelley — 2009-06-25T17:16:23-06:00

Paul had a somewhat tenuous relationship with the Galatians. He loved them, but when they abandoned the gospel for a hybrid of Christianity, he had to come down on them. Hard. And through the first three chapters, Paul is angry, irritated, and direct. But in chapter 4, his tone starts to ease up a bit. That’s when you get this verse:

My children, again I am in the pains of childbirth for you until Christ is formed in you.

Galatians 4:19

In that statement, we find what should be the end to all our relationships. Our highest goal in any relationship must be the formation of Christ in another to the glory of God. That’s great in theory, but when you start thinking about all the practical implications, it’s staggering. It’s overwhelming to think that the goal in relationship isn’t just companionship, love, shared benefit, or pleasure. Those things are part of it, but the ultimate goal is the formation of Christ in another—to see that person grow into a true follower of Jesus.

Your wife. Your husband. Your kids. Your dad. Your coworker. Your boss.

All to have Christ formed in them. Here are some of my practical reflections along those lines:

It means I have to tell the truth. It’s a lot easier to not tell the truth, especially when someone is wandering down an ill-advised or flat out wrong path. But I have to tell them the truth about themselves, the world, and God because my goal is to have Christ formed in them.
It means I don’t leave. Relationships are life-long affairs. I can’t just drift in and out of people’s lives, here one day and gone the next. I have to be there for the long haul because Christ isn’t formed in someone overnight.
It means I don’t have to tell everyone everything about Jesus at our first meeting. Because Christ-formation is long-term, there are moments when I need to just sit and listen rather than speak.
It means I must preach the gospel to myself every day in order to prepare to be in relationship. If I don’t, I’ll try to use people to meet my own ends and make myself feel better rather than loving them as Jesus has loved me. I’ll be insecure and need their affirmation rather than be able to encourage them in a non-self-seeking kind of way.
It means that when I’m committed to the formation of Christ in another, I’m imitating God’s relationship with me. His goal is to have Christ formed in me. I am to love as He loves.

Redemption at the Cineplex

Christa A. Banister — 2009-06-25T17:00:30-06:00

While some movies are clearly meant to be nothing more than escapist entertainment enjoyed with a big bucket of popcorn, there’s an ever-increasing number of films that have far more substantial (and spiritually charged) take-away value.

A quick glance through the Gospels reveals that Jesus was a pretty big fan of a good story. While He could’ve easily resorted to blasé, timid preaching to get the message across (He’s the Son of God, after all. Who was going to argue with His methods?), He instinctively resonated with the idea behind that popular Mary Poppins ditty long before it made its way to the big screen: “a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.”

Simply put, Jesus understood the power of narrative and effectively used it to connect with the masses. And He even did so without a team of special effects experts—imagine that!

Technologically speaking, much has changed since the days Jesus walked the earth in those well-worn sandals, but stories are still a tried-and-true, attention-grabbing device for communicating timeless messages of truth, beauty, love, and redemption.

In our ADD society, a few bells and whistles along with the story definitely help considerably, hence the mammoth success of recent superhero flicks like 2008’s The Dark Knight and Iron Man. But even with all the pomp and circumstance that a multi-million dollar budget can buy, the absence of a compelling story line wouldn’t have warranted so much repeat business.

“Most people went to The Dark Knight to see a big-budget action movie. Instead, they got a Shakespearean tragedy,” says Ryan Smith, cofounder of Seabourne Pictures. “It had so much to say about human nature—far more than in most movies.”

Truth be told, people are looking for a human connection in the movies they watch, and according to recent Barna Group research, nearly one-third of adults contend that “movies have had a substantial impact on the development of their personal morals, values and religious beliefs.”

Raising the Bar

A statistic like that can be sobering for many believers who don’t necessarily appreciate the approach that Hollywood has taken in helping to shape mankind’s worldview. But for Smith, it’s provided an exciting challenge for him to help raise the bar as a Christian in the filmmaking business.

“We’re [at Seabourne Pictures] not very happy with the direction Christian filmmaking has taken in the last few years. Christian films are generally poorly made and have a terrible habit of spoon-feeding their message to the audience,” Smith says. “When Jesus told stories, the truth was artfully buried in the narrative, and this is true of all great Christian artists throughout history. We want to encourage people to engage in art that requires more of a participation from its audience.

“There’s a passage in Exodus that talks about Bezalel, who was appointed to create the artistic designs for the tabernacle. It says that God filled him with ability, intelligence, knowledge, and craftsmanship. So there we have the four prerequisites for good art,” Smith shares. “When critiquing a film, we should be asking ourselves, ‘Does the filmmaker exhibit ability, intelligence, knowledge and craftsmanship?’ I hope our films qualify.”

Where Faith and Film Collide

What’s often considered “good art” doesn’t always espouse the values that Christians hold most dear, which inevitably begs the question, should those movies be avoided?

In his book, Into the Dark, Craig Detweiler discusses 45 recent films that he believes have a strong theological message. Utilizing Internet Movie Database, the go-to resource for millions of movie viewers around the world, Detweiler investigated the flicks that are considered some of the top picks of the 21st century. “I thought, ‘What does the next generation think are the most important movies?’ Then I went from there—I watched each movie and said, ‘What’s this movie about? What does it say?’” Detweiler says. “There were a lot of themes of darkness in many of the films. In There Will Be Blood, The Departed, and 2008’s Oscar winner for Best Picture, No Country for Old Men, they deal with the human condition and all its brokenness. With Memento, I was surprised to find the theme of deceiving ourselves. We have an endless capacity to make ourselves feel like we’re doing the right thing even when we might be a murderer. I looked at that as an example of original sin.”

But given the R-rated level of violence and coarse language in many of the aforementioned movies, what would Detweiler say to Christians who may overlook these positive themes because of the unsavory elements? “I think they’re missing the point of the film. Maybe they’re missing the whole Bible,” he says. “The Bible is a book about sinners in need of redemption. It’s about a society that doesn’t work, the things we do to each other, and our need for restoration and hope.”

For Crosswalk.com film critic Christian Hanmaker, he found redemption in an unconventional place in 1999’s Magnolia. “The movie is a tapestry of deeply wounded characters, many of whom find a form of peace, and some of whom receive a form of justice by the end of the film,” Hanmaker says. “The film’s milieu is specifically spiritual, although the director has said he didn’t intend to make a spiritual film. If you can handle the rough language and mature themes—and I’m not saying every Christian can or should be able to handle these elements—the cumulative impact of the film is astonishing.”

Books on Film

It’s no surprise that the collision between faith and film is a popular topic in our entertainment-driven culture. Here are a few books worth checking out to continue the conversation:

Finding Jesus in the Movies

This small group study, from Serendipity by LifeWay, looks at how four different films tell the epic story of betrayal and redemption, and how those stories mirror the story of Scripture. Movies include The Legend of Bagger Vance, Signs, Gladiator, and The Last of the Mohicans.

Finding Redemption in the Movies

Another small group Bible study resource from Serendipity, this book studies the theme of redemption in The Count of Monte Cristo, Secondhand Lions, An Unfinished Life, and Seabiscuit.

Into the Dark: Seeing the sacred in the top films of the 21st century

From The Lord of the Rings trilogy to Crash, Craig Detweiler examines the “theology of everyday life” present in 45 of this century’s most popular films.

Reflections on the Movies: Hearing God in the unlikeliest of places

Everyone loves a good story, and movies seem to be the best place for one. Ken Gire writes that movies are our culture’s parables, and we need to train ourselves to see the spiritual in the stories movies are telling.

This article originally appeared in the Spring 2009 issue of Collegiate magazine.

Downloadable June 28 Lesson

Chad Jordan — 2009-06-24T19:38:45-06:00

We were thinking about running a promotional campaign similar to the one Willy Wonka did, but instead of inserting Golden Tickets, our printer decided to insert the July 12 lesson twice. While this was a thoughtful gesture on their part, a problem was created when they decided to leave out portions of the June 28 lesson. So, if you are one of the lucky ones to have received a “golden” book, then your prize is this wonderful free pdf replacement lesson. Seriously though, I do apologize for the inconvenience and if you have any other thoughts or problems, feel free to email me or post your thoughts on my blog. Enjoy your free download!

I want to be like Tiger

Chad Jordan — 2009-06-22T22:29:37-06:00

In order to justify the long hours I spent watching the U.S. Open this weekend, and Monday morning, I want to share a few things I learned. Please note this is not a theology paper but more of a story.

As I watch golf, I see two superstars that are polar opposites. Both are great but very different. Tiger plays confident golf. No matter how bad things seem or how many strokes he is behind the leader, he knows he is going to be around at the finish and there is a good chance he will come back and win. No matter how poorly he is playing, you just have the feeling at any moment he is going to turn it around. He can stink it up for three days but you always know he will still do something amazing. He never doubts himself even if he is playing poorly.

Phil Mickelson is the opposite. He seems to play more on emotion and has great highs and even greater lows. No matter how great he plays, you always feel like the wheels might come off at any moment. He has flashes of brilliance like making the most impossible shot from the rough, but he’ll turn around and miss a four-foot putt. The great shots are great but he always seems to make a huge mistake and it costs him greatly.

So what does that snapshot of golf have to do with spiritual matters? Well, I see myself too much like Phil and I want to be like Tiger. As I am living my life, I want to be the guy that is on the verge of greatness. I want to walk confidently through life because I know who I am and whose I am. As the angels watch my life, I want them thinking, “I know he just messed up, but just wait. I’m telling you, he finishes strong. He will get things back on track.” That is a Tiger lifestyle. Unfortunately, I think I’m more of a Phil guy at this point in my life. As the angels watch my life some moments sound like, “Yeah that was an incredible shot, I can’t believe he just did that. That was nearly impossible but he did it,” while other moments go more like this, “That was a no brainer, how in the world did he miss that putt?” or “He was doing so well, why did he hit that club and bring trouble into play.”

Please understand, this is not about earning salvation. This is more about the way we live. I want to live like the guy who is going to get it right no matter the hurdles along the way not the guy who always seems to ruin a good thing. I want and should have the confidence in my Savior and Lord to keep going no matter what, fueled by His grace and love. I want to live knowing that the bad moments and mistakes are the abnormalities not the norm, instead of the highlights and great shots being the abnormalities.

Does any of this make sense to you or is my brain a bit water logged from the all the rain at Bethpage this weekend? What are your thoughts, feelings? Which lifestyle seems to describe you best? How confidently do you live your life?

A Fresh Look at the Lord’s Supper

Jen Hatmaker — 2009-06-18T17:52:10-06:00

Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from Interrupted: An Adventure in Relearning the Essentials of Faith, the latest short-term study from Threads by author Jen Hatmaker. Pre-order your copy today!

I re-discovered another passage in Luke 22, the story of Jesus’ final meal with His disciples, a meal Jesus used to help close the normal/un-normal gap. This is the seventh recorded meal scene in Luke and two more remain. Evidently, Luke loved meals. So much happened around the dinner table.

Jesus was seriously making a point with His statement in verse 15. In Greek, He literally said, “I have desired with desire to eat this Passover with you.” Jesus was underscoring His great anticipation for this moment. He had been waiting, and this was it. This was monumental. He would become living theology to change the course of history. It was time to make old things brand spanking new.

This was a radical moment for the disciples. Jesus redefined a Jewish ritual with a 1500-year history. In a culture that revered ancient feasts and festivals as is, Jesus transformed the untransformable. It’s hard to imagine how bizarre this must have sounded to the disciples, which helps us understand why they shifted their focus to arguing about “Top Disciple” three minutes later.

This is My body. This is My blood.

Jesus didn’t just host and serve the meal; He became the meal. He was the sacrificial Lamb, broken for the redemption of humanity, forever our feast and sustenance. He was the sacrifice, the High Priest and Reigning King. He alone understood the necessary tension between His submission and dominion. The Lamb went willingly, embracing sacrifice.

No one takes [My life] from Me, but I lay it down on My own.

John 10:18

That’s right, Judas. You were but a pawn in the sovereign plan of the Most High. The singular reason you were allowed near Jesus in betrayal was because this was your preordained hour of darkness—not before or after. The angry mob didn’t “catch” Jesus. The high priest didn’t decide His fate. The false witnesses, Herod, Pilate, soldiers—none took His life. Jesus eluded death countless times before the cross.

He laid His own life down at the appointed time—not under coercion or because His reckless message finally caught up with Him. Jesus assured us that every time it seemed He was forced against His will, He wasn’t. He chose and embraced that moment. It was the culmination of God’s redemptive plan for mankind. All of heaven waited with baited breath as the King became the Lamb and humanity was finally rescued.

Jesus desired with desire to offer His body, His blood—this bread, this cup.

“Do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19). Here I got stuck. Do what? What did He mean by do? Is this a simple matter of observing the Lord’s Supper once a quarter? Was Jesus emphasizing the Jewish custom of ritual, just with new symbolism?

The important “do” aspect is how Jesus used the present tense, indicating continuous action, as opposed to the aorist imperative, implying a single action. (What?) It’s the difference between “I’m going to Sonic” and “I’m going crazy.” Once versus perpetual. When Jesus said of the wine in verse 17, “Take this and share it among yourselves,” that was a one-time command. But when He said, “Do this in remembrance of Me,” it required continuous action.

Not only does Jesus’ statement require a constant response, but “remembrance” is from the Greek anamnesis meaning “to make real.” Communion is more than a memory, more than a reverent moment when we recall Jesus’ heroic sacrifice. Remembrance means honoring Jesus’ mercy mission with tangible, physical action since it was a tangible, physical sacrifice. In other words, “Constantly make this real.”

That’s the command of Jesus.

Not only was Communion a symbolic ritual, but it was a new prototype of discipleship. “Continuously make my sacrifice real, by doing this very thing.” But what? What was the very thing Jesus was doing? He was becoming broken and poured out for hopeless people. He was becoming a living offering, denying Himself for the salvation and restoration of humanity. Obedience to Jesus’ command is more than looking backward; it’s a present and continuous replication of His sacrifice. We don’t simply remember the meal; we become the meal too.

Now you are the body of Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:27

Doesn’t this concept of being broken for others ring true? It’s a spiritual dynamic manifested physically. Why is it so exhausting to uphold someone’s heavy, inconvenient burden? Why are you spent from shouldering someone’s grief or being an armor-bearer? Why is it that lifting someone out of his or her rubble leaves you breathless? Because you are part of the body of Christ, broken and poured out, just like He was. Mercy has a cost: Someone must be broken for someone else to be fed. The sermon that changed your life? That messenger was poured out so you could hear it. The friends who stood in the gap during your crisis? Each embraced some sacrifice of brokenness for your healing. Anytime you say, “That fed me; that nourished me,” someone was the broken bread for your fulfillment.

Carrying on the life of Christ is integrated with the concept of death. There is a death/life rhythm that sustains creation. Much like a seed is destroyed to produce a living tree, or a vegetable is plucked from its vine to nourish a living body, self-sacrifice is hardwired into the mission of a believer. It’s paradoxical, but it fits into the economy of God. Think about it—it’s only through death that we see life. It’s only through weakness that we see strength. It’s only through meekness that we see power.

That helps me better understand Paul’s teaching to the Corinthian church:

We always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who live are always given over to death because of Jesus, so that Jesus’ life may also be revealed in our mortal flesh. So death works in us, but life in you.

2 Corinthians 4:10-12

5 Tools to Help Bring Depth to Your Bible Study

Michael Kelley — 2009-06-18T17:39:34-06:00

One of the four markers we talk about in young adult ministry is “depth.” Depth of Bible study is more than just knowing the whos and whats, of the Bible; it’s also being able to talk about and wrestle with the whys. The goal of depth is not just intellectual stimulation; true depth is measured by the level of encounter one has with the information.

Given that, someone can facilitate a group of depth whether or not they have a seminary education because the question is more about how deeply you encounter the Bible personally and, consequently, how deeply you can lead others to do the same. Though seminarians may be more equipped to dig into the biblical text, it’s often because they have more resources at their disposal. The good news is that many of these tools are self-explanatory and user-friendly. So here’s a list of great study tools that are easy to use and helpful for any serious student of Scripture.

Concordance: Bible concordances help to locate important Bible references by indexing every verse that contains a particular word. These entries are listed alphabetically, and when you use a Bible concordance you can quickly assemble a list of Bible references on just about any subject.
Bible encyclopedia: These are often massive in their scope—they present, in an organized fashion, page after page of information about Bible times and customs, important historical periods and persons.
Bible dictionary: Arranged much like a typical English dictionary, it contains valuable entries which will help you to learn the proper pronunciation of obscure biblical words, will provide information on important biblical persons and summaries of various books of the Bible as well as its important teachings.
Commentaries: A commentary is a compilation of many of the same things you might find in resources like the Bible encyclopedia or dictionary, but it’s much more focused and in depth about a particular book of the Bible. A good commentary balances information with readability and practical application, so spend a little time researching online reviews before deciding on one.
Online study tools: There are thousands of resources currently available online at no cost to you. Spend a little time searching for Bible study resources and you can bookmark your favorites. Here’s a list to get you started: crosswalk.com; biblestudytools.com; studylight.org; bible.org.

Editor’s Note: This article was taken from the upcoming Threads release, Context: Engaging the Young Adults of Your Community. Context is a practical manual built as a desk reference tool for leaders in young adult ministry, releasing September 1.

An Attitude that Reflects Christ

Regina Gibson — 2009-06-17T19:21:55-06:00

Seeing Is Believing

Beth Clayton Luthye — 2009-06-15T14:19:45-06:00

They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the feeding trough. After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

Luke 2:16-18

Remember back in the day when MacBook Air computers came out? They were so remarkably thin that Newsweek writer Steven Levy even managed to lose his. He thinks it was so thin that either he or his wife (she’s the only one to blame, right?) threw it out with a stack of magazines. Amazing.

Oh wait, that wasn’t very long ago. Only, the “amazing” factor has long since worn off and we’re off to the latest technology trick du jour. We’ve become a pretty jaded lot, and it takes a lot to keep us amazed. Yet how often do we miss the miraculous in the every day? Like sunrise and sunset. Like laughter and friendship. Like love and forgiveness. Like life itself. Or the fact that the God of the universe wants to connect with us.

Luke 2:16-18 tells us that everyone who heard the news about Jesus on the night He was born was amazed. And rightly so. A Messiah coming to bring salvation? That’s definitely amazing. God’s Son coming to live here as one of us? Absolutely amazing. A Person coming to usher in a new way of existence? Also amazing.

But have we forgotten what it means to be amazed by that news? Has it been awhile since you’ve noticed the presence of God in your life? Keep looking. God is with us, and that’s no less amazing today than it was 2,000 years ago. This Christmas season you may just find yourself authentically amazed. What are the things that amaze you? Is there anything that amazes you over and over? Where do you see the miraculous in your every day?

Excerpted from the Personal Bible Study section of LifeMatters, December 2008.

I’m Certain of One Thing

Chad Jordan — 2009-06-12T17:36:51-06:00

Do you know that you know that you know? Do you remember the day and the time you got saved? If you died tonight, do you know where you would go? Are you 100% sure?

What do all of these questions have in common? They used to scare me to death and they have been used at the end of youth services and camps to manipulate students into “making decisions” for years it seems. Growing up in the church, there was so much importance on this thing that happened at one point in time and if you couldn’t remember the details of that moment when you accepted Jesus—what the preacher was wearing, what the weather was like, what time it was—then maybe it wasn’t genuine. So flocks of youth would race down the aisle of salvation again and again, pray another prayer, and go forward every chance they got.

I was stuck in that pattern for a while, seriously doubting my faith many times. No one ever asked how my life had changed, or if I was growing in my faith. All the importance was on that moment, which for me had happened when I was 7 years old. How was I supposed to remember everything that happened when I was 7? What I always did remember though was God’s hand being on me, guiding me while I was in school. I did remember wanting to live a certain way and pursue certain things, but no one ever asked about that stuff, so there I was surrounded by church but still doubting my faith all the time.

It wasn’t until much later that I was taught how to actually be certain about where I stood with God. I learned it wasn’t about remembering a day, but knowing someone. It wasn’t about praying a prayer; it was about following a Savior. It wasn’t about a list of do’s and don’ts; it was about choosing the best. And this week as I studied through 1 John again, I was reminded of what it looks like to be certain. This week’s lesson is huge. Far too many followers of Christ don’t live their faith because they’re too busy doubting their faith. But there’s also that crowd that thinks they know God but really don’t. So is there a way to really know? Absolutely.

Three questions to ask yourself:

Do you obey Christ? Easy question, many ramifications. To obey Christ, you have to be able to hear His words and understand what He’s saying. So, at some point in your life, you had to choose to accept His offer of salvation and have your eyes opened to His love and grace. You have to also know His words, which requires reading the Bible and spending time with Him. 1 John 2 makes it really clear that if you have come to know Him, you obey His commands.
Do you love others? If you walk in the light, if you know Jesus, then you can’t hate your brother. Our culture teaches us to take care of ourselves and look out for number one. Christ teaches us to look after others, to be a servant of all. Do you show the love of Christ to other people? If you are His child, you will.
What is Jesus to you? Do you prefer Him to the world? Does He satisfy you? Watch this clip as John Piper speaks with amazing truth on this point.

Who have you received Him as?

These are questions I’m learning to ask myself on a regular basis. There’s a constant pull from the world to return to our old ways and choices. So even though we can be certain about our faith, we have to make sure we’re living it also. It is my prayer that my life is always moving in the direction these questions are pointing. I’ll never get it completely right, that’s what His grace is for, but this is the direction I am certain I want to go. What about you?

Effective Mentoring Relationships Defined

Jason Hayes — 2009-06-11T14:48:58-06:00

One of the markers of young adult ministry we talk about often is “connection.” When we say connection, we’re talking primarily about intergenerational ministry—the connection and relationships between young adults and those who have been before them in life and ministry, and generations younger than them who young adults have the chance to influence. Mentoring relationships are one of the best ways for intergenerational ministry to happen. But what actually makes an effective mentoring relationship?

A mentor is someone who:

Will pray faithfully for the person or people they are mentoring.
Has a sufficient awareness of Scripture and can provide biblical counsel.
Is positive and is an encourager.
Is open to mutual accountability.
Is willing to commit the time needed to mentor someone effectively.
Can listen and provide a non-judgmental attitude.
Is confident in themselves and is willing to establish their life as one to be modeled.
Is faithfully seeking the Lord as to be able to more effectively encourage others in their own faith.¹

In addition to these characteristics, it’s also important that mentoring relationships don’t have to (and often don’t need to) sit within the confines of a formal program. Some of your greatest ministry may not be found in the programs of your church, but rather in your presence in the lives of people. This certainly doesn’t devalue or disqualify the work that God has done or is doing within your church programs. But, you also must not lose sight of all the opportunities for ministry that exist within the everyday lives of people.

We’ve used a “Sherpa” metaphor in leadership articles on our site before when discussing mentor relationships. Sherpas are natives of Nepal who have served as essential partners for the climbers of Mount Everest for nearly a century. They know where the dangerous crevasses lie. They know where to camp on the mountain for the night. They know when the storms are most likely to strike. Although you may not be leading someone to the peak of Mt. Everest, you certainly can be a part of leading them closer to God. And in order to do so, you need to provide them both spiritual and practical mentorship. When you consider both of these matters, some humbling questions arise:

Where does a 24-year-old young woman turn to learn to cook when she’s never met her mother?
How does a 29-year-old new dad be a godly father when his was not?
How does a 22-year-old new believer learn the Bible when he’s never been taught it before?

The reality is that we, the body of Christ, can be the answer to the questions above. While one might look at these things as inconvenience, our churches must look at questions like these as opportunities to connect with this young adult generation.

List was loosely adapted from http://www.crusaders.org.uk/mentorwhy.html. ↩

Threads Staff Blogroll

staff — 2009-06-11T14:36:00-06:00

In the search for new ideas and ways of doing life and ministry, we seek out insights from a variety of sources. It’s no surprise in today’s social media obsessed culture that there’s a blog for everything. So how do you weed through the clutter and get to thoughtful and compelling ideas?

Whether we’re navigating through our personal lives or helping to lead people in young adult ministry, we have several blogs we turn to for helpful insight and entertainment in our day-to-day lives. So, we’ve compiled a list of our favorites; and trust us—we’re always looking for new blogs we can add to our list, so let us know your favorites.

For spiritual insights:

For cultural insights:

Author insights (shameless plugs for our Threads authors):

Adam Thomason, Red Revolution
Derek Leman, Feast
Ed Stetzer, Sent
Jason Hayes, Blemished
Mark Batterson, Chase the Lion and Chase the Goose
Michael Kelley, Tough Sayings of Jesus I and II
Mike Harder, In Transit and Jaded
Mike Hurt, Connect the Dots and Repurposed
Todd Phillips, Get Uncomfortable

And for a few more, check out Time’s list of the 25 best blogs of 2009.

Community, more than just a new buzz word?

Chad Jordan — 2009-06-05T19:22:12-06:00

One of the buzz words finding its way through many Christian circles right now is “community.” Buzz words come and go like fads, disappearing as soon as other ones catch on. But community, in relation to our faith, is nothing new. It’s been around for quite a while. In fact, community is supposed to be a huge part of our faith journey. We all know we’re supposed to walk with other believers and help each other through life’s stuff. Hanging out with other believers is easy. The church is really good at this as well. You can pretty much count on the three Fs of a good church: food, fun, and fellowship. At my church, we play Cornhole. It’s a great game that requires Lebron James like athleticism mixed with Tiger Woods like concentration and all around catlike skill and reflexes. OK, that was an exaggeration. All you have to do is stand in one spot and throw beanbags at a board with a hole in it. Watch this little video to capture to essence of Cornhole.

So, we’ve got fellowship with other believers down to a science. And that’s a good thing. But we’re missing the fellowship with our Creator. We understand the importance of connecting with other believers, but hanging out with God can be difficult to grasp and therefore difficult to live out. You see, we can keep people at arm’s length and still say we have community, but we can’t have fellowship with Christ that way. He knows our hearts, and honestly, being in fellowship with Him requires a lot. Perpetual sin can’t be a part of our lives; it has to be constantly dealt with. We can’t walk in the darkness and say we have fellowship with Him. You see, fellowship with other believers can technically, though incorrectly, be squeezed into the few hours a week we see people. We can act right for those few hours and hide behind our churchy masks. But fellowship with Christ calls for genuine, around-the-clock interaction.

Are you settling for potluck fellowship with God, enjoying a few minutes here and there with Him, or are you living interacting with Him all day, every day? These passages in 1 John lay out what real fellowship looks like. And guess what—it’s black and white. There’s no gray area. Spend some time this weekend hanging out with God, reading His Word and talking to Him about what’s going on in your life. Having genuine fellowship with Him allows us to have real community with others, just like God designed it. Are you connected?

Tips for Managing a Large Sunday School Class and Young Adult Ministry

Brent Hutchinson — 2009-06-04T18:35:37-06:00

This week we’re answering the following question raised at last year’s Connect Conference:

When your Sunday School class/young adult ministry is large and only has a couple of leaders, what are some tips to help organize and manage the class effectively so that the leaders can connect with each person individually?

A large Sunday School class or ministry offers some interesting rewards while simultaneously posing a few unique challenges. On the one hand, there is great energy in most large crowds, so getting people to talk, have a good time, feel they are not alone … this is easy for you. On the other hand, though, you have some real, significant relational challenges. Every leader has a relationship capacity—that number of people who they can know well and by whom they feel known well.

However, leadership is all about the ability to influence, and when a leader’s flock gets too large to be influenced easily or effectively, it is time to figure out how to multiply oneself within the group, particularly if the success of the group has been built on strong personal connections. Many ministry leaders tend to feel the stress of relationships when the group reaches around 30-40 people. If your class is larger than this, no wonder you feel tense!

Share responsibilities. Primarily, begin to identify others who have some of the skills and talents for the tasks you would like to pass along. Playing to the strengths of your volunteers and group members will free up some time for you to be with each person in your class or ministry. Undoubtedly, there are people in the group eager for a place to serve who are simply waiting to be asked. Maybe you find administrative tasks to be a drain on their time and energy. This would be a great place to start plugging in others to help. Examples of such tasks include finding others who will keep up with group communications, scheduling, sending birthday notes, planning and executing social events, making phone calls, and so on. Many leaders find that when they have trusted ministry partners who not only serve in an area they enjoy but who also free up the leaders to do more of the person-to-person part of ministry, everything just runs smoother.
Encourage your core group members to connect with new people. As a ministry grows, leaders find in increasingly more difficult to maintain the level of contact they had with people in the ministry when it was smaller. Unfortunately, sometimes the group members who have been around for awhile don’t understand the pull of leadership to spend time with those who are newer to the group and those who need more attention from the leaders than, perhaps, they do. This will always be a tension, and there is no way to avoid it. Leaders should listen well to the people who have been around through growth times, but also understand that once people get connected, they share the role of reaching out and connecting with new people. They must lead these faithful ones to understand this.
Pay attention to your group members’ needs. It may be beneficial for leaders to spend some time categorizing their group members into three distinct groups—those who need a lot of direct contact (like those who are struggling personally or who are newer to their faith and need more coaching and guidance), those who need occasional personal contact (people who have been around for a while, are relatively well-connected to others in the class, or are simply more self-sustaining), and those who are new or just visiting. The last group is one that certainly requires pointed, personal attention, but in different ways than the group who needs a lot of direct contact. Let new or fringe people set the tone on how much direct contact they want, but don’t lose sight of them for long. In these relationships, a little tends to go a long way, and usually people don’t feel so new or “peripheral” for long.
Incorporate smaller group activities into your class time. If your ministry or Sunday School class is ordinarily conducted by lecture in one large group, you may want to consider transitioning these sessions into what is known as a “master teacher” format. In this structure the main teaching point is still presented in a lecture, or front of the class/teacher to group format, for about one-third of the total teaching time, then the group breaks into a number of smaller groups, each facilitated by a small group leader. In essence, as the class grows bigger, you must “grow” smaller in order for relationships to form. There is no way to do this in a large group format. To ensure you are also forming relationships, consider moving from group to group either within sessions or from week to week, allowing more direct contact between small groups of participants and the leadership of the ministry or class. This model also allows people to encounter more directly the content being presented. Small groups, in this model of teaching, would meet for the majority of the remaining session time, with a brief large group wrap-up to end the teaching time.

Knowing your relationship limitations, identifying and calling out ministry partners, balancing levels and frequency of contact with the various subsets of your group, and altering the way you connect with your people, even in a teaching setting, will allow you more access to your ministry participants. These things will also allow you the room to make the types of personal connections you know are necessary to sustain intimacy with an expanding ministry. It’s all about relationships, so every effort you can make to keep relationship building at the forefront of your leadership responsibilities will bring about rich spiritual fruit in your life and in the lives of those you lead.