Make Me A Diligent Seeker
When my boys were younger, I only allowed myself to travel two days out of every month. Each time I returned from a trip, my precious children scurried, squealing, "Momma, Momma, what did you bring us?" As the young boys ravaged through my suitcases to find their long-awaited gift, I always looked up to see my amazing husband standing there in the living room with a serene look on his face. While he was slightly amused at our giddy children, I knew he wasn't about to ask what gift I'd brought him nor did he inquire about how many attended the services or what new exciting things were going on in the world of ministry. Without fail, as our eyes met each time I came home, I knew all he really wanted was to spend time with his wife. I was his gift and all the details remained immaterial in light of our relationship. With each return, I became reminded all over again that in some way this must be how the Lord is with us.
In ministry as well as in Christianity we often become so enamored with the gifts of God we forget the real treasure is found in simply knowing Him. Only a few rare individuals choose to become a student of God's character. Purposing to know God's ways, not just His acts, is something we all need to strive for, but it's not something that just happens overnight. The difference between knowing what God does and who He is, stands as different as a friend and an acquaintance. Our real friends know us by far more than our actions, they know our emotions and the premeditated thoughts behind why we do the things we do.
Today in the church world in which we live, we've lost sight of being God's friend and instead have turned Him into a Santa Claus in the sky or our own cosmic bellboy. As the years have gone by in youth ministry, instead of focusing my attention on who came to the altar, who got healed, who was delivered, I asked the Lord to help me keep coming back to one core purpose – to know Him more intimately. As I concentrated on His character, I made my prayer, "In a world of casual inquirers, Lord help make me a diligent seeker."
When my boys were younger, I only allowed myself to travel two days out of every month. Each time I returned from a trip, my precious children scurried, squealing, "Momma, Momma, what did you bring us?" As the young boys ravaged through my suitcases to find their long-awaited gift, I always looked up to see my amazing husband standing there in the living room with a serene look on his face. While he was slightly amused at our giddy children, I knew he wasn't about to ask what gift I'd brought him nor did he inquire about how many attended the services or what new exciting things were going on in the world of ministry. Without fail, as our eyes met each time I came home, I knew all he really wanted was to spend time with his wife. I was his gift and all the details remained immaterial in light of our relationship. With each return, I became reminded all over again that in some way this must be how the Lord is with us.
In ministry as well as in Christianity we often become so enamored with the gifts of God we forget the real treasure is found in simply knowing Him. Only a few rare individuals choose to become a student of God's character. Purposing to know God's ways, not just His acts, is something we all need to strive for, but it's not something that just happens overnight. The difference between knowing what God does and who He is, stands as different as a friend and an acquaintance. Our real friends know us by far more than our actions, they know our emotions and the premeditated thoughts behind why we do the things we do.
Today in the church world in which we live, we've lost sight of being God's friend and instead have turned Him into a Santa Claus in the sky or our own cosmic bellboy. As the years have gone by in youth ministry, instead of focusing my attention on who came to the altar, who got healed, who was delivered, I asked the Lord to help me keep coming back to one core purpose – to know Him more intimately. As I concentrated on His character, I made my prayer, "In a world of casual inquirers, Lord help make me a diligent seeker."
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I wish someone would have taught me much earlier in my walk with Christ that "desert" experiences do not necessarily mean you have done anything wrong, but are often times part of God's plan for spiritual growth.
There are Godly purposes and responses to our desert times and in this Youth Leader's Coach we'll discover them. For often times, the Lord speaks the loudest while in the desert. And, as long as we learn to listen with a different set of ears, the experience and growth can be profound.
So grab a cup of coffee and let's dive in...together!
Listening intently,
In the church world, I think we "motivate" well toward growing closer to Christ, but sometimes don't "lead" well when we fail to give students pragmatic steps for success. Our continual "10 & 10" (10 minutes in the Word and 10 minutes in prayer) challenge is one of our attempts to do just that, but in this Youth Leader's Coach, "Stood Up Again," we take it a step further.
Through a simple but powerful drama, the reading of David's heart cry found in Psalm 42 and the sharing of a transferable illustration involving deer, we try to help students become more aware of and responsive to the Lord's constant presence. Specifically, drawing upon the wisdom of Brother Lawrence, we encourage them to transform their prayer lives by "Practicing The Presence Of God." And finally, in the giving of a 30-day challenge to have a secret, silent, running conversation with the Lord, our hearts' desire is to stir up a deep longing in them to be in His presence and submerged in Him daily, not just in times of trouble.
This message, however, is not just for students...it's for us too! In the chaos of life, I know too many leaders who are better at being youth pastors than they are at being Christ-followers. May this message serve as a reminder to be "Practicing The Presence" ourselves.
Lovingly,
We're wired to feel...we like it...in fact, we love it! I would go so far as to say that we have an "addiction" problem. We want to "feel" when it comes to our music, media, friendships, etc. Unfortunately, with it typically comes the desire to abandon it or them once we no longer "feel" the same way.
If we're not careful, we can have that same faulty mentality when it comes to the Lord. Most of us can tell you an exact time and place where we felt God the most, maybe on a retreat or during a worship service. But, we can also tell you that the "feeling" wore off a few days later and, if we're honest, how we secretly longed to have it back.
I guess I wish some of my leaders would have been more forthright regarding how to handle "non-feeling" times. I think that's why I am so impassioned about walking through them with my students. In this Source, "God, I Can't Feel You Anymore!," we navigate through causes and solutions for those times. An eye-opening Whitney Houston interview, a heart-wrenching Holocaust story, an honest excerpt from, Uncensored: Finding God When He Feels Far Away, and Jesus' own story, help students understand that when they feel God the least, they may be pleasing Him the most.
Lovingly,
As leaders, it’s easy to make divine guidance too complicated. But I don't think it has to be. In fact, I believe the supernatural will of God, is actually more super natural. Yet, it's so easy to over-think it or wait for the heavens to open and yell down to us and tell us what we are meant to do.
In this month's Youth Leader's Coach, "Divine Guidance In A Complicated World," I'm sharing with you three GUIDANCE KEYS to help us navigate the Lord's leadership both in our PERSONAL lives and in our MINISTRIES.
Lovingly,
