I Am Sure Some Did Not Work That Hard

I was busy the other day reading the youthworks newsletter - The Buzz and came across these words:

" Over two years a Diploma of Theology student will spend about 438 hours in classes, 15 hours in written examinations, complete 40,000 words of written assessment, spend 336 hours in private study and 48 hours in critical reflection groups."

Now I thought to myself there is no may some of us would have done that much work. Speaking on my own behalf I would think that I would go fairly close in some respects, but if I was a beating man, I would put money on that fact that others I  know that would not go anywhere near these amounts.

Some would have missed class time, I know many left exams much quicker than the allotted time allowed and did nowhere near that much private study. As for critical reflection, (and this is the category I fit into) I think I would have reflected all of 12 hours and not 48.

In hindsight though critical reflection is not such a bad thing. I probably do it more now than I did at college, but too often I do it in my head rather than write it down so it gets forgotten. Maybe if I did more at college then I would be better off. Something to reflect upon anyway.

Out of interest where do other people from college think they fit into this?

Baptism and Thanksgiving

I conducted my first baptism last week and also my first thanksgiving service. Both of these services were for infants.

These got me thinking a bit more about each of these  services - the meaning behind them and why different people choose one over the other.

Let me clarify the two services. Baptism - the parents make promises before God and the church that they will bring their child up knowing God. They will endeavour to do this by reading with them and teaching them amongst other things. They themselves must also profess their faith.

A thanksgiving service on the other hand does not include promises, but more an opportunity to give thanks (as the name suggests) for the birth of the child and pray that one day that child will indeed make up their own mind as to what they believe. It also gives opportunities to pray for the child and the parents as they raise the child. This would be similar to what is done in a baptist church even for believing parents.

For me I believe in infant baptism and bringing the young people of believing parents into God's covenant family. I then believe that those who do not believe should have a thanksgiving service.

Let me digress for a moment and let you know what occurs within this diocese. (this is from my understanding and I am willing to be corrected if I have any of this wrong) Parents wishing to have their child baptised contact the minister and they arrange a visit or send out information (the first being the better alternative) During this visit, the parents are informed about the two different services and what they both involve. From here the minister leaves them with information and invites them to come to church where they hand their form back in indicating which service they would prefer.

If thanksgiving is chosen, then a date and venue can be determined and usually one more visit is conducted which gives an extra contact with the family and also allows for a small gospel presentation to be made. Also at this time the service is run through so the parents know what will be occurring on the day.

If baptism is chosen, the parents understand that their will be 3 further meetings with the minister or another member of the congregation to prepare them for the baptism. (Unless already a regular member of the church and clearly a follower of Christ) These visits allow for the chance go through a more in depth gospel presentation such as 2 Ways to Live broken down in parts or Christianity Explained. From this they may become Christians and understand what it means to be a follow of Jesus. If this is the case then that is awesome. Others though have some idea about it all and just know that to have their kid "done" would please their parents/grandparents.

I have so far seen both sides of this.

I struggle though with baptisms for children of non-believers. In the end even if we know they are not Christians, we still go ahead and baptise their child. They get up, say the words have the water splashed on the child and more often than not then leave after the service is over as quickly as possible. How can we as a church family say that we will support these people and the child when it is unlikely that apart from around town we will not see them again until they come to have their next child done. I mean it is a great opportunity we get to sit down and share the gospel with people, but maybe we need to be more hard-lined as some churches in Sydney are and not baptise children from unbelieving parents.

Do we need to gently guide them into having a thanksgiving service instead? If so how can we do this. We do not want to present two options for them and then tell them that one is no longer available to them. We need to assist them to see/come to terms with the sort of promises that they are making for their child and ask them to think seriously about what they are saying. The words they are saying are not just for fun, but they are like vows that they took at their wedding. They are promises that they should keep, but how can they if they do not believe? This is the struggle I am facing.

One thing that needs to be kept in mind though is that unlike in Sydney it is more than likely that you will see these people around town again. We want to show as a church that we are welcoming etc, but are we doing it at the expense of what we believe? If we turn people away, what does that say about us as a church? Will they just go somewhere else to get it done?

Anyway I should be asleep, and now this is down maybe that will help a bit. I do apologise for the longer blog too for those who do not enjoy reading that much, but I hope at least that it is clear what I am saying.

I know one thing though I have not yet figured this one out, but that also goes for leaders of communion services must be ordained priests, confirmation services being done by bishops and a whole host of other things. But enough for now.

Youth Leaders - Country Style

One of the hardest things that I have found thus far in country ministry is the lack of leaders for youth ministry. Let me first of all go on the record though and say at our youth group we have a small team of dedicated leaders who I am ever so grateful for. Guys if you happen to read this, then thanks heaps for everything you do.

The dilemma that I am faced with however is expansion and how to be able to do that. While most people in suburban areas have a large number of people to pull upon as leaders, the country lacks that to a degree, especially when you are talking about younger people.

Now I know what you are saying at the moment - a youth leader does not have to be young, and I agree, but I would say the majority of older people in our church are already involved in other areas of ministry currently. So then what do I do? Where do I find more leaders for the ministry so as we are able to grow, both numerically, but also more importantly spiritually? Leaders that will be willing to run small groups, mentor kids, go and hang out with them etc.

One thought that has been passed by me is that I should take some time and train up the older youth - years 11 and 12 and get them to then assist and be leaders with the younger group. Whilst I can se merits in this, I can also see downfalls.

Merits

1. Trains the older ones and prepares them for leadership roles in other churches once they leave.
2. Fills a potential gap (currently this would be the case, especially for the girls as we are unsure what the current female leaders will be doing next year.)

Downfalls

1. We make them leaders before they are ready and take away them being youth therefore separating them from the others.
2. What happens when only some of that year group would be suitable to be leaders. What happens to the rest. Does this then seem to show favoritism?

These are just some that I have come up with, but I am sure there are more in both fields that could be added. I think though that the downfalls outweigh the merits in the end. (even if that is not the case above)

What other solutions are there? If anyone has one then I would love to hear about it and discuss it with you further.

In the meantime I will continue to commit this to prayer and trust God that he will raise up the right people at the right time.

Enriching our Marriage

Jenny and I are about to go on a 2 day marriage course in Tamworth. Not really sure what to expect at the moment, but do know that it will be a refreshing time away from the kids and a chance for the two of us to have some time together. Maybe the last chance before our next one arrives.

Will try and write some more on my return though and give some more insight into what we did.

Another Addition to the Clan

Well for those of you who may not know, either through facebook, the grapevine or whichever way it may have come to your attention, Jenny and I are having another kid. This one will be due mid April 2009.

We are excited about the new addition, but in a way it has not as yet become a reality for me. (Jen on the other hand has had morning sickness worse than before and for the first time actually vomited) So much is going on at the moment ministry wise that the idea has not yet really sunk in. I do know though like all our other kids I look forward to the day when I can eventually meet it in person. The joy that that moment holds seeing your new son/daughter is one of the best feelings on earth and I look forward to experiencing it again. It is one of those simple joys that God has blessed us with.

And by the way for the record and I am stating this early - I think it is going to be a girl. Will let you know in April though.

So Long

Well it has been a long time since I wrote here, but I have just spent most of the night reading other peoples blogs and especially some old friends who I have not seen for probably close to 9 years. So I thought I should update this a bit more and tell of other things that are happening, not just ministry wise, but family wise as well.

So with that in mind keep an eye out for future blogs coming soon.

Reflections on ...

I have now had a week to think over my experience from last week so thought it was time to write a reflective blog on it rather than an emotion driven one.

Some of you may not be aware what happened last week so I shall fill you in.

Last Sunday night there was a combined youth event at the Assemblies of God (AOG) church. At the event they began with some games which I missed most of, but came in at the last minute to find an interesting one being played. More on that later. Then a band - New Empire got up and played some songs and then a guy called Darren McMahon got up and spoke. His talk also involved an altar call.

The band and Darren also appeared on Monday at the high school and did a similar presentation without an altar call and with little mention of Christ. (which they may not have been able to do due to restrictions)

I am going to address each of the three components listed above.

Firstly the games. As I did not see much of them, I can not make too much comment, but what I did see made me cringe a little. I firstly came in to see what looked like 2 people with a piece of string in between their mouths and they were pulling at it without their hands. I later found out that the string had a lifesaver on it and they had to chew the string and the first one to get to the lifesaver won. It also so happened that it was a guy and girl involved. One of the leaders made some sort of comment about getting to the middle at the same time and how good that would be. Next the leader decided to do a similar thing, but instead as individuals they had to suck the string into their mouths and then eat the lifesaver at the end. Not many people volunteered especially after the previous event.

I wonder as a number of people I discuss youth ministry with also wonder as to the reason behind these seemingly meaningless games. Not just meaningless though, but also they can be downgrading and harmful. There seems to be no point in them. My view is that if games are played, then they should have a point to them such as to build community, point to the message about to be taught or similar.

The band next. Although I did not really like them, the kids seemed to. I could not understand the words very clearly (could be that I am getting older), but got some impression that they were a Christian band. What I was disappointed about though was that they did not take any opportunity to speak openly about their faith either at the Sunday night event or during the school time.

Darren then spoke and he began by talking up the Big Exo Day in Sydney in September. (I will post about my thoughts on this event separately) His main thrust of his talk seemed to not be so much a gospel presentation, but all about having a dream for your life a purpose and that too many young people do not have dreams. Then moving through this into the choices we make effect us and our dreams. 

Throughout this time he was ultimately sharing his life story and after once section when he shared about a time when he was in the surf and almost drowning, he ended up asking himself, "What would have happened if my life ended today?" He had no answers. It was at this stage he got one of the band members to come back up and play quietly in the background on his guitar.

Throughout the next bit,  he began to speak about God. (He previously had not mentioned him to this point or anything associated with Christianity) He spoke about how God has got so much for you, that he loves this world so much that he sent his son for us. This son Jesus walked this earth and did good things, but also came with a mission - to have life more abundantly. He spoke about how when he encountered Jesus he then got his life back and now had abundant life in being able to speak at events like this and to many schools across Australia. He reiterated that God loves you he is the ultimate best dad, he has so much to give you. He said "Maybe you are out there and thinking that I want what Darren's got"  and he spoke about how to get it - confess with your mouth and believe in your heart then you will be saved. This was followed by the altar call.

My main concerns with the talk were as follows.

1. Talks on goals, dreams and choices are all good and well, but it is talks like this that make me think - well what about Christ, open the bible and talk about him not about our choices, but his choice to come to earth and die for us even though we were still sinners. This being especially the case on Sunday night. Yes he did get around to it, but that brings me to point 2...

2. Nowhere in the talk did he mention about God's anger or his wrath. He mentioned that God loves us, but did not mention that God does not love our sinful nature and it was because of our sin that he had to send Jesus in the first place not so we could have more abundant life. Some of the kids responded to his message and his call to come down and commit their lives to Christ, but I am uncertain if they knew fully what they were committing their lives to.

3. He never mentioned that life as a Christian is not always easy. He seemed to paint a rosy picture that life with Jesus is excellent not about the struggles that come with it. The bible is filled with people who struggle, no more so than Paul throughout his life as he preached about Christ.

4. What was the deal with the music? Why when he began to speak about God did he have to have music playing? The only reason I can guess is that with music playing it appeals to people's emotions more. If others know why then I would appreciate hearing the reason behind it.

I suppose in all that I felt that they were trying to sugarcoat God. Make him seem so nice and loving. I agree God is a god of love, but not just that he is a God who hates sin, a God who if we do not turn to him will mean having eternal separation from him.

I felt that the night lacked the full gospel message and in the end that people seemed to lack confidence in the gospel message.

Romans 1:16 - For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.

Good Words From the Past

Some of you may not know it, but I am a regular attender at our 8am service for our parish. Now this service is predominately for the oldies, (and when I say old, the youngest apart from myself and the minister would probably be over 50 and average age around 75) but I find great encouragement from going for a number of reasons.

Take this morning for example - we sang a song written in 1964 by C Simmonds. The words are as follows (I have not put in the chorus)

I want to walk with Jesus Christ,

all the days I live of this life on earth;

to give to Him complete control

of body and of soul.

I want to learn to speak to Him,

to pray to Him, confess my sin,

to open my life and let Him in,

for joy will then be mine.

I want to learn to speak to Him,

my life must show that He lives in me;

my deeds, my thoughts, my words must speak,

all of His love for me.

I want to learn to read His word,

for this is how I know the way

to live my life as pleases Him,

in holiness and joy.

O Holy Spirit of the Lord,

enter now into this heart of mine;

take full control of my selfish will

and make me wholly Thine!

What fantastic words these are and a challenge to us in our daily lives. Have we given our lives completely to him? Do we speak to him regularly through prayer confessing our sins? Do our lives reflect him and all his love for us? Do we read his word so we know how to live? Do we let the Spirit take total control of our lives and make us wholly His?

I fall short so often, yet continually strive to do better in many of these ways. What I can continually be reassured of though is that Christ has done all that needs to be done through his death and resurrection. All of these other things though help me to follow him and surrender my life to him each day.

Please pray for me as I do for those of you that are Christians that we will be able to do these things and surrender our lives to him each day.

What's in a Name

I have been tossing up what if anything to call the youth group that I am working with here in Narrabri. I thought of different names, ones that my Sydney friends had used, search the net and even asked the kids what they thought (not always the best option this last one they come up with some strange things)

Whilst wanting to have something that was catchy, I did not want something that was degrading or had some other sort of innuendo attached to it. Friday Night Live was mentioned, but all I thought of was Big Brother and I want to keep as far away from that as possible.

I also wanted something that would reflect who we were and what we were on about. I ended up with ENGAGE (which I used off a friend in Sydney). I thought it reflected what we are wanting to do every time we meet up with the youth - engage them in Gods word, engage them in their relationship and engage them in prayerful response to what they hear.

The Importance of Saying NO

Sometimes in ministry it can be really hard to say no. Take for example today. A minister from a neighbouring town was in a bit of a jam as the person he had lined up to do the kids program at his church camp pulled out at the last minute. (2 weeks until the camp) He asked me if I could help.

It was a really difficult decision to make.  I had the day free to be able to go and do the program, it was a worthy, gracious and even generous thing to do. It made sense to do it, to help them out. I felt pressured (from myself) to say yes. But in the end I had to say no. The lead up time would not be adequate and other ministry areas would then suffer because of the time that would be devoted to organising the program.

This was an extremely difficult decision to make. Yet even though it was  difficult I realised that it was the right decision to make and also realised the importance of being able to say no.

To be able to say no in ministry or for anything for that matter means that we do not over commit ourselves to the detriment of ourselves (burning out) our families or our other ministries that may suffer. We need to be able to pace ourselves and be able to run the race faithfully to the end and in the meantime be fit and able for a lifetime of ministry.

A Whole New World ...

You may be wondering why I have started this blog, but basically it is due to the fact that I am sick of Facebook and trying to keep in touch with people through that. I spend far too much time scrolling through things that are pointless and/or meaningless. There are basically far too many distractions on it for me.

With that in mind I thought that a blog site would be a better way for people to keep in touch and also then to be able to record different thoughts that I am having etc in terms on youth (and young families) ministry in a country town.

So I hope that many people will read this and be inspired and encouraged by it, but as this is a whole new world to me, it may take some time to get used to it all and use it to it's full potential.

Keep an eye out though and use the RSS feed in your email to keep you up to date whenever I write. If you do not know how to use them then ask someone, and maybe not me because I am only just getting used to it also.

Catch ya all later

(The photo is of Sawn Rocks - about 50km out of Narrabri for those who may be wondering)