Pressing Forward

I have been challenged lately to put things from my mind into print. It helps to write things down, not just think them. I’ve been taking my thoughts about what I do and why I do it and writing them out. This is the second part to my previous post, “Why I Do What I Do.”

Whether you’re a parent, student, pastor, or stranger, here’s my philosophy of ministry- how I believe it should be done. Some of it is specific to youth ministry, most of it is not.
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I believe ministry should be…

Relational, allowing the life of the leader to show Christ through his life as he interacts with others.

Scriptural, not neglecting the power and clarity of the Word of God for entertainment or fear of upsetting someone.

Practical, making Scripture relevantly come alive so that people can understand the power it has to change their lives.

In the end, when someone leaves a ministry that I am in leadership of, I would hope that I have done everything possible to help their faith mature to the point where they would stand firm if they were persecuted, even to the point of death, because of their relationship with Jesus Christ.

I got a call from one of my high school girls one night to ask me questions for a paper she had to write for school. She was supposed to interview a ministry leader, and I was grateful she thought of me. In fact, I’m really glad she did, because it has helped me define why I do what I do.

So what do I do? I pastor (shepherd, or lead spiritually) students mainly. I’m privileged to pastor parents. I’m blessed to pastor in a church.

So what was the question? This girl asked me this: “What is the scriptural basis for what you do?”

Wow. I thought for a second, then chimed out the first thing that came to mind because I really had not thought about that before. It’s sad, I know, but I’ve honestly never thought about it. I’m glad she asked. I told her the scriptural basis for what I do is found in 2 Timothy 4:12: “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” I lead student ministry because I really do believe the impact this verse can have in our churches today if our student’s would understand it and live it out.

But could there be more of a reason behind what I do? I know God has called me to pastor, but I’m not writing to share that story. I’m writing this to share what God showed me when I started searching out a more sincere answer to this question.

So what is the scriptural basis for what I do? I found it. Look at what God showed me.

Ezekiel 2:1-7 (with my emphasis)

1He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.” 2 As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. 3 He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their fathers have been in revolt against me to this very day. 4 The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says.’ 5 And whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6 And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house. 7 You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious.

Ezekiel 3:8-11 (with my emphasis)

8 But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are. 9 I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house.”

10 And he said to me, “Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you. 11 Go now to your countrymen in exile and speak to them. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says,’ whether they listen or fail to listen.”

Ezekiel 3:17-21 (with my emphasis)

17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 18 When I say to a wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. 19 But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.

20 “Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die. Since you did not warn him, he will die for his sin. The righteous things he did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. 21 But if you do warn the righteous man not to sin and he does not sin, he will surely live because he took warning, and you will have saved yourself.”

So why do I do what I do?

Because there is a bunch of rebellious people out there towards God.

Because there are obstinate and stubborn people out there towards God.

Because there is no reason to be afraid of this rebellion, obstinacy, and stubbornness.

Because God’s Word must be spoken, whether they listen or not.

Because God gave us the responsibility to warn people of their rebellion, whether they listen or not.

Thanks, Nicole, for asking such a thought-provoking question.

Last weekend, I was blessed to be able to take a couple youth down to Woodbridge, VA, to the “Survive” conference put on by Dare2Share.  I have to say that it was the best conference I have ever taken youth to!  It was my first time at this conference, and I loved what they did.

The focus of the conference was all about sharing our faith.  They challenged everyone there to be more bold in telling others about Jesus, and even asks people to do some things that had to be way out of their comfort zone.  I know it was out of mine!

Dare2Share understands that the change our churches need is going to come from our teenage generation.  We (people who work with teenagers) have to do everything possible to develop our teens to become the kind of people who care enough to bring about this change.  Dare2Share understands this, creates resources for this, and comes alongside of churches and youth ministries to accomplish this.

If you work with youth, check out Dare2Share.  They have some great resources that keep the focus on where it needs to be.