Hey parents!
Last night the high schoolers watched me throw all my plans out the window and we found ourselves reading from Philippians and praying for each other in Culvers over ice cream! Yesterday morning I chatted with a few students who were having less than wonderful weeks, and when I walked downstairs and saw a further 3 students who were obviously not having a great day, I felt like it might be a good day to focus on the people rather than the program. After floating the idea to a couple students I grabbed the van keys, loaded them into the vans, and off we went! Once we had made it to Culvers and ordered I read Philippians 2 as a devotional and challenged the students to continue looking for the interests of others throughout their week. We ate our ice cream, took prayer requests, and our students prayed for one another. It’s an honor to do ministry with your students, and I hope that interactions like these continue to reinforce the idea that faith is more than a set schedule or expectations, but a way of life. Next week we will be talking about temptation, and I will have some updates about the Christian Sexuality material! Have a wonderful week!
0 Comments
Happy Monday!
Last night we ate some walking tacos, I was mocked for using a plate instead of a teeny tiny chip bag, Eli led us in some beautiful worship, we prayed together, and I went off script to tell a story about what I am learning right now. Some of you may have noticed that there wasn’t a parent email last week. Last Monday was a strange day in my life, and I have an overwhelming sense that God is teaching or revealing something to me. I walked into the office like usual, and Matthew wasn’t far behind me. We spent some time talking about ministry plans, measurable goals, and all sorts of things that were floating around our heads as we looked forward to the upcoming leadership retreat. Somewhere in that conversation, we both felt moved to pray for surrender and revival, so we did. I typically wouldn’t want to be the kind of person who tells a broad audience that “I pray, so im #holy” for fear that people would think I was bragging somehow. I share it here because that time of prayer shifted a block in the way that I think about youth ministry and has sent me hurtling down a path that has been filled with introspection, prayer, and so many excellent books. For years I have lived with this nagging sense that the Church was meant for more - specifically as it relates to youth and family ministry. I couldn't tell you what “more” was, or even what “more” might look like in practice, and even now as those feelings bubble back up I’m not sure that I have an answer. For the first time in my adult life though I am allowing myself to live in that uncomfortable tension of unknowing, where I would typically run from it and return to the comfort of status-quo youth ministry. How does this all relate to what we talked about Sunday night, or even NextGen ministry at Remembrance though? Well, on Sunday night I tried to share with the high schoolers what I feel God is teaching me. Story is an incredibly powerful tool and as I go through this season of learning, I wanted to invite our high schoolers (and you guys) to simply come with me and listen if you’re interested. I shared that one of the things I struggle with on a week to week basis is choosing the right words or the right phrases that I hope will resonate with students, and ultimately help them come into an encounter with the living God. I spend an embarrassing amount of time trying to put myself in the shoes of a high school or middle school student and then writing or re-writing the words that I think will help that student most clearly understand or comprehend a God who by his very nature cannot be fully understood or comprehended. When the night is over I'll typically spend the drive home thinking of ways I could have phrased something differently and kick myself for it. I’m not suggesting that the words are unimportant, or that trying to know or comprehend God is a futile exercise that we should abandon. On the contrary, one of my favorite things about being a Christian is coming up against this wall in my thinking about God and (instead of becoming frustrated that I can’t fully understand Him,) simply standing in wonder at how vast, good, beautiful, merciful, and rich He is. Words can’t even begin to capture the depth of feelings or the outpouring of worship that happens in that space. If there was a way to sit in that space with you and your students, I’m not sure that words would even be necessary. In a world where youth group is likely just one more thing that is piled onto the already mind-numbing list of obligations or expectations that are placed on our students, I want it to stand apart as a place of rest, belonging, and utmost value. A place that is centered on Christ, rooted deeply in the Word, and worshipful by nature. I’m not sure that is a space I can manufacture for our students, but I want to do everything in my power to make room for it. If you’re still reading this, bless you for your perseverance. My heart aches for revival and I have a deep sense that God is moving. At the end of all this rambling, I hope you feel similar stirrings. I’m beyond excited to see what God has in store for us this year, and I am honored to be surrounded by such great volunteers, parents, and students as we seek Him together. Next week we will return to our conversation about spiritual gifts, and I hope to see you at the parent meeting after the service this Sunday! Have a wonderful week Last night in youth group we ate pizza, baked cookies, sang some Christmas hymns, prayed for one another, and spent some time reflecting on how to talk about Jesus with our friends!
The kitchen has become our default hangout now, in no small part to the presence of food every week, and it has been fantastic to see our students begin to form stronger relationships with their peers and the volunteers. After some quality time together Eli led us in some Christmas hymns, we took prayer requests and prayed for one another, and then we jumped right into one of the topics that was requested last week! I started by asking students what they picture when they hear the words “share your faith.” Most students pictured something that looks like downtown outreach, or thought back to this past summer's trip to Myrtle beach. I think we all probably have different ideas of what sharing faith “should” look like, but I wanted to challenge the assumption that there was one “correct” way to share faith. Most students were familiar with the idea of the Romans road, and how to lead someone who doesn't believe through the basic tenets of faith, but one student jumped 5 steps ahead of me and expressed how he didn't think making disciples was a one conversation kind of thing. We spent the next few minutes talking about what making disciples looks like in practice, the inherently relational nature of discipleship, and how sharing our faith is something that we should practice with other believers. I’m afraid that much of the awkwardness we feel when we talk about sharing our faith is based on some assumption that it only “counts” if we are sharing with someone who has no faith at all. Jesus’ life models a more holistic view of evangelism and discipleship than I tend to picture. Jesus met people's physical needs, forgave them, called them to repentance and often - to follow him. It wasn’t a one-off conversation on a street corner, but an ongoing invitation to something greater. As we wrapped up I went on a bit of a rant about how the word Gospel literally means good news, but it seems to lose its luster over time. We have heard that Jesus came to die for our sins countless times if we have grown up in the church, and the absolutely wonderful insanity of that message shouldn't lose its shine for us. The God of the universe looked through the scope of creation before the world even came to be and saw us, and while we were yet sinners and completely unworthy - took on flesh and lived and died to pay the price for sin that we could never pay ourselves. Not only did he justify us though, he also went and made us co-heirs with Jesus himself to the kingdom of Heaven and sent His spirit to dwell within us! This is an unthinkable grace! How have we let the good news become commonplace?! (I’m mostly preaching to myself here, but maybe you’re in the same boat.) If the Gospel is good news, sharing it is almost natural. When we get good news, we share it with people! Overcoming the shame or the awkwardness of sharing Jesus isn’t so much about a tactic or a 12 step plan to get someone saved, but an overflowing of the good news we have already claimed for ourselves. We just need to be conscious of it :) Next week we are having our year end Christmas party before taking a few weeks off for the holidays! Thanks as always for stopping by and checking in, have a wonderful week! Happy Monday parents! Last night in youth group the high schoolers ate some grilled cheese, prayed for one another, and spent our large group time brainstorming topics that they would like to cover and finishing up our conversation about doubt from two weeks ago! One of the things I mentioned in the parent meeting was my desire to give high school students ownership of the program as much as possible. What that looks like in practice is using some of our time together to get their input and feedback on how things are going and the topics they would like to talk about! You can see a picture of the requested topics below. After establishing that doubt is not sinful, and actually fairly common, we spent some time reflecting on how supporting one another through periods of doubt can actually be
We are still working to build trust and encourage open discussion, but I see more and more openness every week. As we head into the new year, I hope to keep trying to generate conversation between students as much as possible to break down the stigma surrounding talking about our faith openly. I’ll have a calendar together with those topics on the website by the end of the month :) One of the other things we are throwing on the calendar is a weekly coffee time on Wednesdays from 3-4pm in the pit. Students are welcome to come to work on homework, prep for Wednesday night if they are volunteering that week, or simply hang out and drink coffee or hot chocolate! This is our first step toward building a stronger community, and will serve to be another entry point for the widest part of our funnel alongside monthly events! This is not obligatory and there won’t be any formal teaching, so no worries if your student can’t make it! Next week we are going to talk about how to practically share Jesus (or faith in general) with our friends, and dodge some of the awkwardness that tends to go along with that before having our year end celebration on the 18th! Thanks as always for stopping by and checking in! Have a wonderful week! This past week in youth group the high schoolers ate some BBQ (thank you Ritsema fam!), played some Mario Kart, prayed, and kind of finished our conversation on whether or not Jesus is the only way to heaven!
After some delicious food, we took prayer requests, prayed for one another, and then jumped back into our “Can I Ask That” books! As the students and I continue to feel each other out and get to know one another, it's been clear that our group is mostly made up of lifelong Christians who almost exclusively hang out with other Christians. This is both a huge blessing and a subtle curse. Growing up in a Christian culture with Christian friends is certainly a good thing and students who grow up in the church typically have a ton of “head knowledge” when it comes to the Bible, but those cultures can also breed complacency or comfortability. When we first started asking this question, I think students felt like it was a little silly - of course Jesus is the only way to heaven! The deeper goal is making sure our students can articulate why they believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven, biblically, and with grace. They will inevitably leave this place and encounter people who do not think or believe the way we do, and their ability to process why they believe that the Bible is true, Jesus is lord, and the only way to heaven will be crucial. More than anything, I want our high schoolers to fall in love with Jesus, know how to make disciples, feel comfortable reading the Bible, and prioritizing the things that really matter. I’m so encouraged though by their willingness to engage in these kinds of conversations and talk about the things that truly matter. I’m even more excited to see where we are a year from now, and the kinds of things that come about as we establish ourselves as a healthy community centered on Christ! Next week there is no youth group, because we get to meet instead! The following week we will be choosing a new topic to dive into in the new year! Thanks for stopping by! Last night we ate some pancakes, made some unorthodox mac n’ cheese (I’m sensing a theme here…), played some mario kart, worshiped, and took some time to pray for one another.
Last week in youth group we discovered some giant bags of pancake mix in the youth snack closet, and this week we put those to good use! Unsurprisingly, chocolate chip pancakes were a hit. Some students also decided to put their culinary skills to the test and make some boxed mac n’ cheese. It’s been fantastic to see the students start to come out of their shells and get more comfortable as a large group, and the packed kitchen was evidence of that last night. When food was done Eli led us in some worship, and I am continually inspired by how loudly our high schoolers sing praise :) We took prayer requests, prayed for one another, and then jumped back into our game of “We’re not really strangers!” Many of the questions that we asked each other last night could be answered at varying levels of vulnerability. At first, questions like “have you changed your mind about anything recently,” got some surface-level answers like “I snoozed my alarm and changed my mind about waking up.” Eventually though, some really honest answers came through with questions like “how are you, really” getting some beautiful answers. As we continue to try and build a sense of Christ-centered community I am hopeful that these students will keep trying to love one another like Jesus loves them. I feel so strongly that a strong and authentic community will foster more helpful conversations, a desire to serve together, and a beautiful place to invite those that may not know Jesus to come and experience what faith in practice looks like. Next week we are returning to some of the deeper questions students have had about other faiths, relationships, and how to talk about Jesus with their friends! I’m still feeling like I’m learning on the fly and trying to play a bit of “catch-up,” but I am looking forward to meeting you all on the 27th! Thanks for checking in, and have a wonderful week Happy November! Last night we determined that Banquet mac n’ cheese is not food, had chips and dip, and continued to try and foster a sense of vulnerable community by asking each other some crazy questions! I had the opportunity to spend some time with a smaller group of students this past Friday who came to help with a trunk or treat at Appletree Estates, and it was fantastic! One of the themes I sensed in the conversations we had that night was a lingering sense that our students still don’t feel like they know each other very well. After reflecting on those conversations, I think I may have put the cart before the horse a little bit in my effort to have students engage in the kind of conversations we have been having the last two weeks. Faith is inherently an intimate thing, and expecting students who may not feel comfortable with one another (let alone me as their youth leader) to share openly was probably naive. It’s been my experience that the most valuable conversations (especially about faith) happen when people feel safe enough to be vulnerable with the other people in the room, and I desperately want to foster that kind of environment in our high school youth group. If it’s not obvious already, I dream about youth group being a place that is free of cliques, unafraid of hard questions, and defined by the kind of community that we see Jesus foster with his disciples. I can’t imagine our students being fully formed into disciples without the trust and support of you as their parents, the volunteers at church, and their peers in youth group. So in order to start building that kind of community, we have to know and feel comfortable with one another! So after our weekly prayer requests and taking some time to pray for one another, we tried to take an intentional step toward that kind of community. To make that process a bit less awkward and more fun, we played the first round of a game called “we’re not really strangers.” This is a game I’ve played with groups in the past, and it has always led to deeper trust, inside jokes, and more friendships. The first round is “skin deep” and just focuses on our impressions of one another. Every person draws a card and chooses two people to answer the question written on it. They are questions like “Do you think I am a cat or a dog person? Why?” or “What do my shoes tell you about me?” You can see a few more here. They are simple icebreakers that the whole group can benefit from and giggle at, and everyone managed to get a turn before we ran out of time. As silly as it sounds to spend time in youth group just playing a get-to-know-you game, I think that we are laying the first bricks of a foundation of trust and authenticity. I want our students to feel comfortable expressing doubts so we can address them or even comfortable respectfully disagreeing with one another to prepare them for a world that will certainly disagree with them. Those kinds of conversations would be much harder or even impossible without that foundation in place. Round two is much more intentional, and you can take a sneak peek at the kind of cards we will be answering next week below. It’s my prayer that as we get to know one another better our students and volunteers will come to love one another as Christ loves them, and as a result, be better prepared to pursue Him in earnest together. Thank you all for checking in! I hope your students are finding our time together as meaningful and enjoyable as I do. We’ll keep pressing into relationships with each other next week, and then try to capitalize on those relationships with more great discussion!
Have a wonderful week! Happy Halloween parents!
Last night in youth group we ate pizza, worshiped together, prayed for one another, and dove into the question “Is Jesus really the only way to God?” Our students live in a world full of mixed opinions on faith, especially when it comes to what someone needs to believe to be saved. When we say that Jesus is the only way to heaven, there are many people who hear “your religion is wrong, you are wrong, I am right, convert or burn.” Finding a way to maintain the Bible as our standard of truth, communicate the Gospel as good news, and not cause people to be defensive or offended is hard! One of the major goals in the conversations we have is helping students understand why they believe what they believe. I want them to be able to articulate why they affirm that Jesus is the only way to heaven outside of pastors, parents, or other mentors having told them that was true. There will inevitably be a time where our students have to face someone in their lives who believes differently, and knowing why they believe something for themselves is of utmost importance. We had some good conversations about Mormonism, Judaism, Buddhism and all the things that they believe about who Jesus was before we ran out of time for the evening. I challenged students to think about why they believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven this week, and whether or not they believe that Christians who hold to that belief are “narrow-minded.” Obviously, we believe that scripture outlines very clearly that no one comes to the Father except through Jesus, but helping students examine and even embrace some of their doubts about this belief allows us to work through those doubts in a supportive and safe setting. I’m excited to continue this conversation next week! Thanks for checking in, and have a wonderful first week of November! Last week our high schoolers requested mac n’ cheese and apple cider slushies, so this week we had both! After some quality hang out time, we took prayer requests and spent some time praying for one another. I can’t tell you how proud I am to see your kids praying corporately for each other. Each week it feels more natural and students are more willing to pray and share deeper requests.
As someone who deeply values community and giving ownership to the high school students in particular, I began the night by asking if there were any “big” questions they wanted to talk about that our book didn’t cover. A few weeks ago there was an excellent conversation about swearing, and it came back up last night. So we spent the majority of our time together discussing what swearing was, the strange nature of language as attributed meaning, and what the Bible has to say about it. I think we eventually settled on swearing being defined as strong, impolite language. We made a distinction between taking the Lord’s name in vain and swearing, with the former being the more serious of the two. We reflected on Eph. 4, and some of the things we talked about last week in our conversation on taming the tongue. Much of the language we use regularly might not be considered “swearing” in our culture, but it probably qualifies as "unwholesome talk that tears others down." In the same way, there are some strange ways I have experienced students swearing at me in wholesome ways. I had a student in Chicago named Damien that once said, “Noah, you’re the s#!&.” While that was definitely strong and impolite, what he meant with those words was actually wholesome and uplifting. I made sure to clarify that I’m not advocating for swearing in any context though. I do think that we are called to be in the world, but not of it, so when I responded to Damien, I just said “You’re pretty awesome too.” I took what he meant behind those words without offense, and I upheld my moral beliefs without responding in kind. This led to what I would consider the most vulnerable conversation we have had yet, even though it was a bit of a rabbit trail. One student admitted that they felt stuck between two friends, one who believed that tattoos were sinful, and another who didn’t. The friend that believed they were sinful was encouraging this student that it was their job to go and convince the other that they were sinful. Regardless of the topic, this kind of tension feels so common in our culture. Christians who believe one way silo themselves and pit themselves against Christians who believe differently, and mudslinging ensues. I’ve been wrestling personally with the idea that Christians are called or directed in Scripture to change each others minds about things like tattoos, methodology of baptism (infant vs believer, immersion vs sprinkling, etc.), or worship style. I’m not sure that any of those things are so important that a difference in belief would warrant chastising or excluding a brother or sister in Christ over them. If the crux of the disagreement was something like “Jesus did not bodily rise,” or “Jesus was not fully God,” I would see it way differently, but I wonder if the culture our students are growing up in now is similar to some of the behavior we see in the Pharisees. I’m always struck by Jesus’ response to known sinners in the Bible, and how we seem to miss that mark in our treatment of people we deem sinners. He demonstrates a pattern of “love first, give grace, and call them to repentance and a changed life.” We seem to reverse that order, and require a changed life to give grace, and love follows after they meet our self-imposed criteria for holiness. So what started as a simple question about swearing and tattoos turned into an excellent discussion of how we interact with one another, how Jesus approached sinners and what He requires of His followers. What a wild ride :) Next week in youth group we return to our series in James to talk about fighting for peace! If you made it through that giant wall of text, thanks! I’m so grateful to be walking alongside you and your students as we pursue Jesus together. Have a wonderful, restful week! Happy Monday friends! Last night in youth group we defused some bombs, worshipped together, took prayer requests and prayed for one another, and spent some time talking about the importance of taming our tongues! Defusing bombs sounds much more serious than it really was. One of my favorite party games to play with youth groups is "Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes." Its a game where one person is the "bomb defuser" and a group of people nearby called "bomb experts" use a manual to tell the defuser what to do to defuse the bomb! It's a game that requires clear communication and teamwork under pressure, and that fit in really well with our lesson for the evening! If you want to see the game in action, this is a great video! After grabbing some snacks, Eli led us in a time of worship, and we settled down to continue our conversation on the book of James. We were in chapter 3 this week, and spent some time reflecting on how James describes our tongues. He calls them "a world of evil, set on fire by Hell," which can sound a bit extreme until you consider the lasting impact that our words can have. I shared briefly about times that people said both positive and negative things to me that have stuck with me for many years. Most students had similar experiences and could relate. One of the most unique opportunities given to us as followers of Jesus is the power to bless others, and call forth their true identities as God's beloved children. To drive that point home, I spent some time reading a portion of Henri Nouwen's The Life of the Beloved. If you are unfamiliar with who Henri is, he was a Dutch priest who spent much of his adult life teaching in the divinity school of Harvard, Yale, and Notre Dame before spending the last 10 years of his life in a community of adults living with disabilities. I like to joke that Henri is my spiritual father, as his writing has been incredibly influential in my life. In the chapter called "Blessed" Henri reflects on a time when a woman in his community named Janet approached him and asked for a blessing. Being a priest, he responded in a somewhat automatic way by tracing the sign of the cross on her forehead, but she protested saying, "No! That doesn't work. I want a real blessing!" So later that evening in a prayer service, Henri invited Janet to come and receive her blessing. He wasn't sure what she wanted, but Janet didn't leave him wondering for long. She left her place in the circle and buried her face in Henri's chest with a hug. As he embraced her, he said, Janet, I want you to know that you are God's Beloved Daughter. You are precious in God's eyes. Your beautiful smile, your kindness to the people in your house, and all the good things you do show us what a beautiful human being you are. I know that you feel a little low these days and that there is some sadness in your heart, but I want you to remember who you are: a very special person, deeply loved by God and all the people who are here with you." These kinds of blessings are SO powerful. They remind us that we are not our own, and even in the midst of all the struggles of life - God is with us.
I ended the night by encouraging students to be mindful of the way that they speak to the people they come into contact with this week, and try to intentionally bless one person every day. Next week we will return to our "Can I Ask That?" series, and talk about why we can trust the Bible! Have a wonderful week, and thanks for checking in! |
AuthorI'm Noah. I like Jesus. Archives
November 2023
Categories |