Kingdom Living

So, this year for Lent, our church decided to have Wednesday night soup supper and small groups. This was a break from routine for our Sr. High youth group, as they were willing to give up their normal time to include adults. The adults, however, came to the community center, where we normally hold youth group, and joined us for dinner. After dinner, we split into cross-generational small groups where our teens served as small group leaders. We shared highs & lows, watched a video, had a Bible Study/discussion, sang together, and prayed for one another. The small groups ended at 8:00 each night and our youth continued with youth group until 9:00. Through it all, I believe that we got a taste of the Kingdom! Our culture naturally leads us to separate ourselves. We separate by age, gender, race, interests, etc. Churches, in many ways, are no different. Too often, our young people and older people don't know each other. We may sit near each other on Sunday morning, but we are not sharing lives. Through intentionality our Wednesday small groups did just that. For 5 weeks, we shared our lives together, as youth and adults took time and entered into meaningful faith conversations. I call this "Kingdom Living" because I believe this is what God had in mind when He was thinking about his Kingdom. I believe our churches must create space where people of all ages are sharing faith together, reading scripture, praying together, and building relationships that are rooted in Jesus. Our youth were sacrificing their normal youth group night, and could have had a skeptical attitude. To their credit, they participated with optimism and were not disappointed. Many of them felt affirmed, accepted, and listened to. They even asked if we could do this more often! Our adults who participated were also pleased with their experiences. Many were very impressed with our youth and were pleased they were able to interact with them. Multiple adults told me that they didn't really know our youth at church, but now feel like they can interact with them more and hopefully build on the relationships that were formed.
As I consider what builds faith in young people, and what keeps them connected to church, I am convinced that more cross-generational/"Kingdom Living" experiences will go a long way to growing faith that lasts and building healthy congregations. I am thrilled that our church got a taste of the Kingdom. I am looking forward to more! Amen.

Extravaganza-Final Take

Well it's over now, and I am on my way back to Grand Rapids. It has been another wonderful experience learning, networking, having fun, worshiping, and making new friends all in the name of Christ and furthering His kingdom.
The other workshops I attended was one led by Lost & Found. It was about creating cross-generational events and opportunities in the congregation. It was discussion based and there was great input from people in what they were doing and why we should do it. There is great value when we consider the mission of the church to be inclusive and separatist. There is great value when a church believes that "youth ministry" is everyone's job. We make baptismal promises don't we? We promise to be a family to the young ones when  they get baptized in our midst. Also, we can learn and grow from one another. I also went to a workshop on re-thinking discipleship with our young people and their parents that was led by Tiger McCluen. And I had a few good conversations with Dr. Rich Melheim about killing Sunday School. These all had to do with a congregational & family approach to youth ministry. Adults. teens, and young ones must share faith together! We must be in conversation together. The journey is ours to do together. I am looking forward to coming back to Mamrelund to expand on these ideas. I am ready to celebrate, tweak, and add. We can celebrate what we do well, tweak what we do pretty well, and add things will benefit our congregation!
But first...I think I will stay home with my kids tomorrow! Thanks for sending me Mamrelund.
Amen.

Extravaganza: Take 2

Wow! Yesterday was a full day. I have enjoyed being on a worship team filled with excellent singers and musicians. We are singing a variety of hymns, folk songs, and praise jams! It is good. The speakers are diverse, and we even have a comedian keeping us laughing. I have networked and connected with many old friends and few new faces. I am picking brains and listening in on good workshops. Here is what I have so far...
1. I had lunch with Lyle Griner from the Peer Ministry group. He is passionate about creating leaders in ministry among our young people. We talked about doing a training in the summer. A great way for young people (any people for that matter) to stay connected to the church, and more importantly Jesus, is to equip them, empower them, and energize them for leadership. There is much more we can do with this!
2. I went to a workshop called "The Jesus Gap." This was an amazing workshop that was research based, identifying what our young people in the ELCA truly know about Jesus. We use many churchy words, and talk about God in general, but if our young people and parents don't know who Jesus is, then we are failing! The results were alarming, but all is not lost! It was a great reminder to never assume people know, and to always, always make our ministries about Jesus! I am looking forward to sharing this when I get back!

OK, that is all for now, but I do have much more to share. Right now I have to go to worship!!!
Amen.

Extravaganza- Day 1

Hey Friends! I am in St. Louis at the ELCA Youth Ministry Network Extravaganza. This is a conference for youth workers, pastors, lay leaders, etc. - anyone who does youth ministry. It is a chance for us, from across the country, to gather for refreshment, renewal, networking, worship, and learning. It is a great opportunity for me to keep growing as a minister to and with our young people, their families, and our congregation.
I arrived yesterday, got settled, found out when and where I will be leading my workshop, exercised, and started getting in the groove. Today, I met and practiced with a group of musicians who will be leading worship. Yes, I weaseled my way into some stage time as part of the worship team. It's OK, they invited anyone to join. This afternoon I am looking forward to attending a couple of early bird workshops and then will be at worship tonight!
In the meantime, I am getting ready to go on a free brewery tour! Gotta have a little fun too!
Thanks for reading.  There will be more to come later.
Amen.

Shine!

Matthew 5:14-16: "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

Shine! That was the theme at our ELCA statewide youth gathering in Michigan last month. I have blogged about this event before. This year was amazing! The event had over 600 youth and adults in attendance, and many lights were shining. I am very proud to be a part of the planning team for the the event we call "The Gathering." The speaker, Tasha Schuh, was inspiring. The main musician, Agape, was invigorating. The entire event, from worship to recreation was excellent! As a youth minister I was extremely proud of our youth from Mamrelund Lutheran Church. They were wonderful lights shining brightly.
Warning: Proud leader about to brag!!
We took 15 youth and 5 adults to the 4 day event. 7 of our youth served as small group leaders. 4 of our youth were victorious in the "Olympics" game called the chariot race. Our praise band was asked to lead worship on the last night. We have a H.S. guitarist (Kelsey) and vocalist (Meg) that were on stage leading the masses in praising God. Our entire youth group led a section of worship that we did on Easter morning a couple years ago, called "Easter in 3 Words." Check it out on YouTube.
Our kids were leaders up front, but they were also lights behind the scenes. They were welcoming of strangers from Alpena who became friends quickly. They were active participants in all areas of the Gathering, and they came home renewed, refreshed, and ready to "Shine." I have taken larger groups to the Gathering, but this group was definitely shining with the best of them.
After we returned, we shared with our congregation, in worship, how the Gathering impacted us. Again, our youth stepped up to shine. They had the listeners laughing and crying. The Holy Spirit was moving and our young people were moving with it.
In our culture today it is true that young people involvement in mainline churches is declining. This is very troubling to me, and as a full-time minister, I am working to fight back against the trend. But this month, at our church, our young people are leading the way. They are shining and ready to keep growing. The mission for me, our parents, and our congregation, is to keep 'em going. We must empower, equip, and energize our young people for ministry. The leaders today will lead our church tomorrow as well. If we show them how to "Shine," and give them opportunities to "Shine," I believe they will "Shine" brightly. What better could we do for our youth and the world today?
Keep shining Mamrelund youth! Amen.

Wrecked Again!

Hey all you faithful blog readers. I am back after a few month hiatus. Sorry it has taken me a while to blog, but here we go again...
Well, it happened. I got wrecked by God. Again! In a good, wake up kind of way, though. I had the privilege of taking my Sr. High youth to LiFest a few weeks ago and it was awesome! LiFest is a huge Christian music festival held every year in Osh Kosh, Wi. We camp for 4 days and listen to some of the best artists in the Christian music industry. It is very uplifting and inspiring. In addition to being inspired, I got wrecked! You see, LiFest is much more than just the music. It includes great speakers, workshops, video presentations, and a strong presence by Compassion International. I have been to LiFest at least 5 times now, and have always had a wonderful experience, but this year God got me again. It wasn't that I didn't expect to hear God speak to me, or that I was blindsided by something new. Maybe it was just the right time in my life for listening, or hearing God call to me in a different way.
On Friday I went to hear Shaun Groves, national singer/songwriter and Compassion International Advocate, speak at one of the side stages. God used Him to pry open my heart and my ears. He taught from scripture in ways I had not heard before. He was teaching from Exodus 16, where God provided Manna for the Israelites. Every day, God provided enough for everyone. He clearly instructed His people to take only what they needed for their families for that day. Those who were greedy, or didn't trust God, and took more than instructed, had their leftovers turn to maggots. I was immediately challenged to think about the "leftovers" in my life, and how they can become "maggots" to me and my family.
After this teaching on Exodus, Shaun took us to the Apostle Paul in Galatians where he was remembering his commissioning from the Apostles who told him to "...always remember the poor, which I was already eager to do." From there we opened to II Corinthians 8:13-15, where Paul was talking about equality. Paul says that nobody is to leave themselves hard pressed, but that we all should strive for equality. "At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn, their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality. As it is written (Exodus 16), 'He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little'."
This was the beginning of my wreckage! Who am I that I live in such excess? Why do I have so much when others have so little? What do I really need? What is really important to me? Will the things I think are important turn to maggots? Maybe they already are, and I just keep filling myself with things that aren't truly satisfying. The word that stood out to me was "enough." Is God enough, and do I trust Him enough with my life?
The next day, the entire youth group went through the "Compassion Experience," an air-conditioned trailer run by Compassion International that sends participants through an audio guided journey which details the life of one of three Compassion "graduates." These are real success stories that show those on the guided journey the impact that Compassion has on thousands of lives across our world. This was the culmination of God wrecking me that weekend. The end of the journey in the experience places the participant in a room with sponsorship packs all over the walls. It is our opportunity to respond to the challenge we just received "to change their world" through Compassion. Now, this is not nearly my 1st experience with Compassion. In fact, Jen and I have sponsored Munga from Kenya since 2005. But this time I broke down in tears as the 1st packet I encountered was a little girl from India who was the same age as my daughter Allie. They are both 5 years old. I couldn't fathom Allie having to endure the hardships that Saraswati was enduring. I couldn't imagine Allie not feeling loved and not knowing Jesus. I could hardly breathe when I read that Saraswati lived in an area that is a high risk for human trafficking. That was it! I (Jen and I) was sponsoring another child. I left that trailer with a sponsorship packet in hand, wiping my face of the tears & snot, and holding a free T-shirt. Yeah, free T-shirt!
The final piece of the wreckage was when I called and told Jen that 1. We sponsored another child and 2. I was willing to cut out some of the "leftovers" in my life to do so.
 So God wrecked me enough to give up Direct TV. Considering my sports watching addiction, this is significant in my world. But I don't want maggots! I want to be the person that I challenge and encourage others to be. Mostly, I want to trust God with everything in my life, and be able to tell everyone that He truly is "enough."
Now pray for me as I muster the courage to make these changes!
To God be the glory! Amen.

Death and Resurrection

I Corinthians 15:54-55: When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."
"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"

With this being Holy Week, I thought it was a good time to reflect on death and resurrection. Frankly, I have been thinking about that lately, anyway. We celebrate resurrection and new life this Sunday on Easter morning. But we must realize that their is no resurrection without death. It seems obvious to say that Jesus had to die before he could come back to life.  As Christians we should know that Jesus, through His death and resurrection, has conquered sin and death. Our faith tells us that His grace provides eternity for us. But death and resurrection isn't just an end of life proposition. What if we thought of death and resurrection in our everyday lives. I believe that Jesus is calling us to resurrection in the here and now.
2 Corinthians 5:17: "So if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come."
In Christ, we are made new. In Christ, we experience resurrection. But remember, there is no resurrection without death. This can be tough because we all want to experience newness and resurrection, but many of us fear the death part. Not only are many of us afraid to see people die, but we are also afraid to let habits, attitudes, rituals, programs, biases, and even traditions die as well. In many cases, we even struggle with letting our sinful ways die.
So as I ponder Christ's death and resurrection this week, I am asking myself, "what needs to die in my life so I can experience resurrection?" I want to have new life as a father and a husband. I want to feel new life in my ministry at Mamrelund Lutheran Church, in my relationships with others, and in my relationship to Jesus. Not that any of these areas are terrible, but I can't wait until death is at the doorstep. Jesus wants us to experience life abundantly! Now. So, in order to truly live an abundant life in Christ, I have to be willing to examine my life to see what needs to be put to death. I have to be willing to put to death the things that I think are important, in order that Christ can bring new life to the areas that are truly important. And I must trust that whatever dies will pale in comparison to what Jesus is waiting to resurrect.
This is not an easy process, but it is a worthwhile one. I believe that the church, both the body of believers and the individual members, should always be thinking about death and resurrection in this way. There is much new life to be lived, but the question is, "what are we willing to put to death?"
I pray this Easter season that we all would experience death in life-changing ways and resurrection in life-giving ways, to the Glory of God the Father. Amen!