Cell Phone vs. Bible

My wife shared this with me the other day...it is a copy of an email forward that makes you think about the prominence and access we give God's Word in our lives.

Some of you may have read this before, but it is a helpful (and convicting) reminder of how we might change some aspects of our day to day lives in order to spend more time with God!

Cell phone vs. Bible
"Ever wonder who at would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?

• What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
• What if we flipped through it several time a day?
• What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
• What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
• What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?
• What if we gave it to kids as gifts?
• What if we used it when we traveled?
• What if we used it in case of emergency?

This is something to make you go....hmm...where is my Bible?

Oh, and one more thing...unlike our cell phone, we don't have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill....and no dropped calls!"

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 "These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates."

Quote - C.S. Lewis

"The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us; just as the roof of a sunhouse does not attract the sun because it is bright, but becomes bright because the son shines on it." C.S. Lewis

Good-things becoming god-things - Idolatry vs. Worship

I watched a great sermon yesterday by Mark Driscoll on idolatry vs. worship. In it he argues that we are all worshipers of something. He defines true worship as occurring when our focus is on the Creator while idolatry is defined by worshiping creation. He pointed out that we all can easily become idolaters when we allow "good-things to become god-things; and that's a bad thing." He also points out that when we idolize something, we are often led to demonize others in order to justify our position. Idolatry, Driscoll points out, is more than the love of money, power, and position...sometimes it can be the worshiping of family, marriage, sex, relationships, politics, sports...anything that consumes our time, energy, finances, or emotions. Idolatry is giving the world/creation what rightly belongs to God the Creator (glory). He concludes by looking at leaders within churches, and how they can fall prey to "ministry idolatry." Here are some of the convicting examples he gives:

1. Attendance Idolatry – Does your joy change when your attendance/giving changes?
2. Gift Idolatry – Do you feel God uses you because you are so skilled?
3. Truth Idolatry – Do you consider yourself more righteous than the ‘simple Christian’ because of your knowledge/experience?
4. Fruit Idolatry – Do you point to your successes as God’s approval of you?
5. Tradition Idolatry – Are you more committed more to traditions than for Christ?
6. Method Idolatry – Do you worship your method as your mediator?
7. Officer Idolatry – Are you motivated by your title?
8. Success Idolatry – Do you desire to ‘win’?
9. Ministry Idolatry – Do you walk with God only to help your ministry?
10. Innovative Idolatry – Does it matter that your ministry be considered unique or creative?
11. Leader Idolatry – Who other than Christ are you imaging? “First requirement of the Gospel is repentance. Anyone who doesn’t repent is a heretic.” J.I. Packer

The below video of Dricoll's message can also be viewed HERE

Romans 1:25 "they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator"

Quote - Ambrose Bierce

"Die: To stop sinning suddenly." Ambrose Bierce

reTHINK: Decide for yourself, is student ministry working? - PART 3

More helpful excerpts from reTHINK by Steve Wright on Student Discipleship:

• “Across the next ten years, some churches will get better and better at doing the wrong thing – with excellence. For awhile, they will appear to be successful. Such churches will build buildings to support segregation – and they will do so with excellence.” (59)
• “Our churches’ values are exposed when the first questions after every ministry event are: ‘How many came?’ rather than ‘Did this event give a glimpse of the glory of God?’ ‘How many responded?’ rather than ‘Were the families and the church championed?’ ‘How many came forward in baptism?’ rather than ‘How will we disciple those who responded to become faithful followers of Christ?’” (62)

Scriptural Principles for Student Discipleship:

• Deuteronomy 6:4-9 - v.7 "Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."
• Psalm 78:1-7 - v.5b-6a"which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children, so the next generation would know them"
• Ephesians 6:4 - "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord"
• Proverbs 1:8-9 - v.8 "Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching."
• Malachi 4:6 - "He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse"
• Luke 1:17 - "And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord"
• Proverbs 22:6 - "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."
• Psalm 127:1-4 - v.3 "Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him."
• Proverbs 4:1-11 - v.10 "Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many."
• Colossians 3:20-21 - "Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged."
• 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12 - "as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God"

reTHINK: Decide for yourself, is student ministry working? - PART 2

Some more excerpts from Steve Wright's reTHINK:

• “We must equip parents with the tools and understanding to disciple their teens” (86)
• “Josh McDowell shares that 78% of churched teenagers say their parents shape their attitude and actions. These studies also show that parents have three times more influence over their students than pastors or youth group leaders” (112)
• “The average teen spends two hours at church per week. That is less than 2 percent of a teen’s time” (153)
• “Resource, Train, and Involve – It is our three-step strategy to ensure parents are no longer sidelined in our ministry.” (158)
• “offer them tools and encouragement in navigating the waters of raising an adolescent” (159)
• “Let’s get our parents and their children on the same page to encourage carryover at home” (161)
• Supports the formation and use of a Parent Leadership Team to “provide wisdom, information, encouragement, and perspective to the Student Ministry Leadership Team” (178)
• “If I could go back, I would seek to build disciples over building crowds. I would seek the applause of heaven over the applause of men and seek a biblical model that produces lasting fruit.” (199)
• “We must champion the parents and point teens back to mom and dad in tough times.” (216)

“The set of principles that guide my ministry are:

1. Everything I do must honor God above all. (1 Corinthians 10:31)
2. We are to be biblical stewards of everything God has entrusted to us. (Matthew 6:19-21)
3. God has ordained parents as the primary disciplers of their children. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)
4. God has ordained the church to support, equip and resource families. (Ephesians 4:12)
5. The goal of student ministry is to make disciples who seek to bring others into a relationship with Christ. (Matthew 28:19-20)
6. The three primary needs of students and adults are alike: love and care, a model to follow, and truth to build their life on. (1 Peter 2:21)
7. Effective student ministry co-champions the family and the church. (Acts 2:42-47)
8. A biblical framework is always valued above cultural relevancy. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)” (122)

reTHINK: Decide for yourself, is student ministry working? - PART 1

Have you ever wondered why churches have student ministries? Why they are only a relatively recent trend? Why the increase in funding and attention does not necessarily equate to a burgeoning, enduring impact on the lives of our students? I just finished an outstanding book that is informative, encouraging, and yet challenging. reTHINK: Decide for yourself, is student ministry working? by Steve Wright with Chris Graves is written to critically evaluate the Student Ministry model that has emerged over the past 50 years and compare it with what Scripture teaches regarding the disciple-making of teenagers. The authors speak so clearly and in such a convicting manner that I'm going to directly share some of the quotes/portions of the book that stuck out for me in a series of posts. Here it goes....

• There is clearly a problem in Student Ministries across the world as seen through four “gauges”: 1) student retention rates, 2) student baptism rates 3)student pastor tenures & 4) student Bible literacy (17)
• “The solution isn’t to kick the traditional student ministry up a notch; the solution is to reexamine how the Bible should guide our framework to develop students and encourage the parents and adults who influence them” (30)
• “Parent ministry needs to be thought through as thoroughly as student ministry “ (51)
• One study showed that students looking for (in order) opportunities to serve, deep conversations, missions trips, accountability, and more time in worship with “a desire for more games” coming in last (54)
• Another study showed "the most common reason students gave for attending church was ‘to better understand what I believe.’” (54)

The author, Steve Wright, has written many other works available through InQuest Ministries and maintains a Blog, Lasting Divergence, "to encourage parents and churches to partner together as they present the whole counsel of God to children (Acts 20:27)" More helpful excerpts tomorrow...