I wanted to take an opportunity this week to compliment some of our students for answering a few challenges that have been placed before them. The first one is the significant increase in the number of students who have been bringing their Bibles with them to class.
Several months ago, I noted that in a class of 30-40 students, we were averaging somewhere between two and five Bibles in class on a given Sunday. With the transition to a new curriculum that is more anchored in the text of the Bible and the challenge to bring Bibles, students have responded. We had 28 students in the high school class this past Sunday. Twelve of the students had a Bible with them. While that is still a little below half, it is a considerable improvement.
For those who have been bringing your Bibles all along, thank you for setting an example. For those who recently started bringing your Bibles, thank you for answering the challenge and showing an increase of devotion towards your study of the Word of God. For those of you who haven’t been bringing your Bible, let me encourage you to start doing so. If you don’t have a Bible, please let me know as we will get you one. One of the keys to improving your relationship to God is having a better understanding of His Word. Bringing your Bible to class is one way to take a step down that path.
The other thing I want to comment on is the increase in the number of students sitting towards the front during worship. While I have not been encouraging this as strongly or as often, it has been something I have mentioned to a number of students over the last several months.
Students who sit in groups towards the back of the auditorium tend to talk much more during service and often pay little attention to the lesson or participate in the singing. When groups of students sit closer to the front they are generally more engaged and get more out of what is happening around them.
I want to commend the students who have taken the initiative to sit towards the front. Not only are you setting a good example for the preteens and others, you are taking actions that may very well help improve your spiritual growth.
When it comes to growing spiritually, so much more often comes from the small, steady things than the big, mountaintop experiences. While there is nothing wrong with mountaintop experiences, if you do not have ongoing, intentional actions in your daily life, your faith will likely not thrive just from spiritual highs. True discipleship and true spiritual growth comes from a life dedicated to the daily development of disciplines and choices that slowly and surely draw us closer to Christ. What these students have been doing is taking them down that path.
shine!
Jason
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
iChristmas Kick-off
With “Black Friday” less than a week away, I wanted to take this opportunity to remind everyone about our annual iChristmas campaign. Here is what has been previously announced:
The ARISE Ministry will once again be celebrating iChristmas. This is an opportunity to live out the true meaning of Christmas. Here is the challenge to our students:
As you are making a Christmas list for your parents, write this on the list: “Please buy me one less gift and put the money you would have spent on that gift into an envelope marked ‘iChristmas’ and put it under the Christmas tree with my other gifts.” The one gift should be more than a pair of socks, but what you are willing to sacrifice is up to you.
Starting on Sunday, December 27, students can turn in their iChristmas money. They can either put it in the ARISE Black Box on the wall in the main lobby, or you can drop the money in the iChristmas gift box.
Each year, the money raised for iChristmas supports a ministry of the Rochester Church. In the past, the ministries we have supported include our missionaries in Rio and Uganda as well as Cass Park. This year, we are planning to contribute all iChristmas funds to the Rochester Church Member Care Fund, which helps our members in need.
Thank you to all of the students who participated in iChristmas in previous years. Continue the iChristmas tradition this year. For those of you who didn’t have an opportunity to give an iChristmas gift last year, make this the year to start a new tradition.
As the push for Christmas begins, please consider what you are going to sacrifice for iChristmas this year. We have around 75 people actively involved in our youth group. Imagine if each person contributed $20 this year. As a ministry we would collect $1,500. That amount could probably pay someone’s mortgage and utilities for a month.
As you think about iChristmas, consider the blessing you could be to another family in our church. You might think $20 isn’t much, but together we could have a huge, positive impact on some of the families with worship with each week.
shine!
Jason
The ARISE Ministry will once again be celebrating iChristmas. This is an opportunity to live out the true meaning of Christmas. Here is the challenge to our students:
As you are making a Christmas list for your parents, write this on the list: “Please buy me one less gift and put the money you would have spent on that gift into an envelope marked ‘iChristmas’ and put it under the Christmas tree with my other gifts.” The one gift should be more than a pair of socks, but what you are willing to sacrifice is up to you.
Starting on Sunday, December 27, students can turn in their iChristmas money. They can either put it in the ARISE Black Box on the wall in the main lobby, or you can drop the money in the iChristmas gift box.
Each year, the money raised for iChristmas supports a ministry of the Rochester Church. In the past, the ministries we have supported include our missionaries in Rio and Uganda as well as Cass Park. This year, we are planning to contribute all iChristmas funds to the Rochester Church Member Care Fund, which helps our members in need.
Thank you to all of the students who participated in iChristmas in previous years. Continue the iChristmas tradition this year. For those of you who didn’t have an opportunity to give an iChristmas gift last year, make this the year to start a new tradition.
As the push for Christmas begins, please consider what you are going to sacrifice for iChristmas this year. We have around 75 people actively involved in our youth group. Imagine if each person contributed $20 this year. As a ministry we would collect $1,500. That amount could probably pay someone’s mortgage and utilities for a month.
As you think about iChristmas, consider the blessing you could be to another family in our church. You might think $20 isn’t much, but together we could have a huge, positive impact on some of the families with worship with each week.
shine!
Jason
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
The View on accountability
This morning while I was sitting in a hospital waiting room, I watched a little bit of the television show The View. They were discussing an interview with Sarah Palin and her reflections on her youngest child, who was born with Down's Syndrome.
Much of the conversation centered around abortion, Palin's pro-life stance, and a woman's decision whether or not to carry a baby to full term, if she discovers during the pregnancy that her baby has Down's Syndrome.
I am not sharing this information to turn this particular post into a pro-life/pro-choice conversation. Rather, I am simply providing a framework for one particular comment which was made in the context of this dialogue.
In the middle of the conversation, Whoopi Goldberg made a statement that captures much of what is troubling in our culture today. I made sure to type the comment in my phone as soon as I heard it, so I wouldn't forget. This is what she said:
"Nobody outside of you can judge you for the decisions you make."
Read that a few times and think about the implications.
Now, let me take the liberty to change the pronouns and alter the perspective, but not the attitude, of the statement. Nobody outside of me can judge me for the decisions I make.
This, in a nutshell, is a philosophy that is undermining our society. And, unfortunately, I think this way of thinking has even pervaded many corners of the Church.
Think about all of the ways this attitude has permeated our society. The abortion debate, where this comment first emerged, is one example. But there are a variety of other areas. Sexuality. Substance abuse. Greed. Selfishness. So many of these issues are supported by the foundation of this attitude. "You can't judge me for (fill in the blank). It's my decision."
But before we start pointing fingers, we should look in the mirror. I have seen Christians defend their decisions by (mis)quoting Scripture. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, "Do not judge others. Then you will not be judged." (Matthew 7:1)
I don't believe Jesus is advocating the "I'm OK, you're OK" philosophy that some Christians use this to advocate. Rather Jesus is calling us to a deep self-evaluation before we evaluate others. Jesus' call is actually the opposite of "Nobody outside of you can judge you for the decisions you make." Jesus demands a significant self-examination because we are all responsible for holding each other accountable. The church is not a place to ignore sin or take it light-heartedly. Rather, it is a place where we first hold ourselves accountable to a higher standard, and then we challenge others to do the same.
The problem Jesus was confronting is our tendency to measure our sin against someone else's "bigger" sin. He was not telling us to look the other way when we sin, but to be so intentional in our own lives about becoming more like Jesus that we can find ourselves in a better position to help those around us.
In this age of humanism, individuality, and relative moralism, so many people want to allow our society to sink to the lowest common denominator instead of striving for the highest possible calling. For those of us who belong to the Kingdom of God, we can settle for no less than living our lives so that our community is a place where everyone is able to judge the decisions we make in the context of the Way that is following Jesus Christ.
shine!
Jason
Much of the conversation centered around abortion, Palin's pro-life stance, and a woman's decision whether or not to carry a baby to full term, if she discovers during the pregnancy that her baby has Down's Syndrome.
I am not sharing this information to turn this particular post into a pro-life/pro-choice conversation. Rather, I am simply providing a framework for one particular comment which was made in the context of this dialogue.
In the middle of the conversation, Whoopi Goldberg made a statement that captures much of what is troubling in our culture today. I made sure to type the comment in my phone as soon as I heard it, so I wouldn't forget. This is what she said:
"Nobody outside of you can judge you for the decisions you make."
Read that a few times and think about the implications.
Now, let me take the liberty to change the pronouns and alter the perspective, but not the attitude, of the statement. Nobody outside of me can judge me for the decisions I make.
This, in a nutshell, is a philosophy that is undermining our society. And, unfortunately, I think this way of thinking has even pervaded many corners of the Church.
Think about all of the ways this attitude has permeated our society. The abortion debate, where this comment first emerged, is one example. But there are a variety of other areas. Sexuality. Substance abuse. Greed. Selfishness. So many of these issues are supported by the foundation of this attitude. "You can't judge me for (fill in the blank). It's my decision."
But before we start pointing fingers, we should look in the mirror. I have seen Christians defend their decisions by (mis)quoting Scripture. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, "Do not judge others. Then you will not be judged." (Matthew 7:1)
I don't believe Jesus is advocating the "I'm OK, you're OK" philosophy that some Christians use this to advocate. Rather Jesus is calling us to a deep self-evaluation before we evaluate others. Jesus' call is actually the opposite of "Nobody outside of you can judge you for the decisions you make." Jesus demands a significant self-examination because we are all responsible for holding each other accountable. The church is not a place to ignore sin or take it light-heartedly. Rather, it is a place where we first hold ourselves accountable to a higher standard, and then we challenge others to do the same.
The problem Jesus was confronting is our tendency to measure our sin against someone else's "bigger" sin. He was not telling us to look the other way when we sin, but to be so intentional in our own lives about becoming more like Jesus that we can find ourselves in a better position to help those around us.
In this age of humanism, individuality, and relative moralism, so many people want to allow our society to sink to the lowest common denominator instead of striving for the highest possible calling. For those of us who belong to the Kingdom of God, we can settle for no less than living our lives so that our community is a place where everyone is able to judge the decisions we make in the context of the Way that is following Jesus Christ.
shine!
Jason
Monday, November 09, 2009
Laying down your life
What does it mean to lay down your life? In the Gospel of John, Jesus uses this phrase to describe real friendship.
We might think about the cross as the ultimate embodiment of this idea. And we would be right. But what does it mean for us as Christians? For many we would think of martyrs who gave their life in defense of their faith. From Stephen, who is stoned to death in the book of Acts, to Cassie Bernall, who was killed in the Columbine shootings in 1999, there are thousands who have died for their faith in Christ.
Is this all there is to laying down your life?
In the book She Said Yes, written my Cassie Bernall’s mom, she recounts something that Cassie’s youth pastor said in one of the first Sunday services after the shootings:
Cassie’s story reminds us that laying down our life is not a one-time event or only a single act of the willingness to physically die. This is a life-long, daily endeavor. Laying down your life, dying to oneself is something we must pursue every day.
It shapes how we deal with gossip and temptation. It impacts our attitude towards our parents and our friends. When we see an outsider or outcast in school, it will determine our reaction.
Jesus tells us, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.” (Mark 8:34) As you consider laying down your life, reflect on Jesus’ words and ask what selfish ways you need to turn from.
shine!
Jason
We might think about the cross as the ultimate embodiment of this idea. And we would be right. But what does it mean for us as Christians? For many we would think of martyrs who gave their life in defense of their faith. From Stephen, who is stoned to death in the book of Acts, to Cassie Bernall, who was killed in the Columbine shootings in 1999, there are thousands who have died for their faith in Christ.
Is this all there is to laying down your life?
In the book She Said Yes, written my Cassie Bernall’s mom, she recounts something that Cassie’s youth pastor said in one of the first Sunday services after the shootings:
Cassie struggled like everyone struggles, but she knew what she had to do to let Christ live in her. It’s called dying to yourself, and is has to be done daily. It means learning to break out of the selfish life…It’s not a negative thing, but a way of freeing yourself to live more fully.
The world looks at Cassie’s “yes” of April 20, but we need to look at the daily “yes” she said day after day, month after month, before giving that final answer.
Cassie’s story reminds us that laying down our life is not a one-time event or only a single act of the willingness to physically die. This is a life-long, daily endeavor. Laying down your life, dying to oneself is something we must pursue every day.
It shapes how we deal with gossip and temptation. It impacts our attitude towards our parents and our friends. When we see an outsider or outcast in school, it will determine our reaction.
Jesus tells us, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.” (Mark 8:34) As you consider laying down your life, reflect on Jesus’ words and ask what selfish ways you need to turn from.
shine!
Jason
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