Creating a Sermon Series

October 26, 2011 — 3 Comments

Sermonseries

Preaching is an important part of youth ministry.  We spend large portions of our time creating, writing, and giving sermons to our students because we believe that God’s word is powerful.  As you work with students, you likely not only want to preach God’s word, but you want to do so clearly and creatively.  You want students to be engaged with the scriptures, not bored by something that they think doesn’t relate to their life.

One of the most valuable ways, in my opinion, to preach through the Bible is by organizing it in a sermon series.  This isn’t something mandated by the Bible, so it is by no means the only way to organize your teaching calendar.  A sermon series is in essence a way to organize a group of messages that are tied together by some common thread and preach through those in succession and with a similar branding so that the messages are more memorable for the hearers.

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Theology Matters

October 25, 2011 — 1 Comment

You are a theologian.

You may not think of yourself as one, but the truth is you are one.  Theology is the study of God; since you are bound to have some opinions, beliefs, or practices related to who God is and what he has done, you are a theologian.  Good theology can give a person peace in a time of tragedy, hope when things seem hopeless, and grace when a person should feel guilt.  On the other hand, poor theology is toxic for the soul, leading individuals down paths that are dangerous both spiritually and also practically.

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[This post is a part of the Youth Ministry 101 series]

If you are a part of youth ministry, you are also likely in some way involved with leading some type of small group discussion. The conversations that take place in youth ministry are a critical element of any youth ministry. Small group discussions may be built in as a small or large part of a weekly program; they may be something entirely separate from any program. Allowing our students to participate in discussing and discovering the truth of scripture as we lead them through a bible study can be both a difficult process and a rewarding one.

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“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things.”

- Steve Jobs in 1995 interview (HT: Austin Kleon)

Converse

Being around a group of other middle school ministry pastors for a weekend inspired me to make a list of random generealizations about what is true of many of us who find ourselves working with middle school students.  All of these things came from observations that I had about middle pastors while at the campference; they are all at least true of myself.

You Might Be a Middle School Pastor If…

  • You own a pair (or two) of a converse.
  • You cannot walk through wal-mart without thinking of game ideas.
  • You think poop is funny.
  • You have a nerf gun in your office.
  • You think any object can become a game.
  • You think you’re awesome at dodgeball because you normally dominate middle schoolers.
  • You love to meet other people who love middle school students.
  • Your crazy enough to believe junior high students can change the world.

What should I add to the list?

Photo Credit: Varjakkk

Middleschool

If you work with middle school students, it’s always helpful to think back to what life was like when you were in middle school.  I spent some time thinking about it, and here is the list that I came up with:

  • I wanted to be in the NBA.
  • I bought an mp3 player for $300 that held 8 songs.
  • People freaked out about Y2K.
  • Gas cost a little over $1/gallon.
  • I started using AOL Instant Messenger and created my first ever SN: rjgrune2000 still works to this day.
  • I didn’t own a cell phone.
  • My computer ran Windows 98.
  • My grandma had this crazy computer called an iMac.
  • People in schools started worrying about school shooting.
  • Pirating music became popular due to a program called napster.
  • Beanie Babies and Tamagotchi were popular for a short time.
  • I made a website dedicated to Britney Spears.
  • A teacher told me I’d make a good pastor someday; I thought she was crazy.
What was your life like in middle school?

The Great Designer

October 19, 2011 — Leave a comment

I was recently watching the documentary Objectified, which is all about the design of everyday objects throughout our culture.  Design is integrated into everything that we touch and see.  From everyday objects that we think little about to the objects that we look at and are blown away by their design.  Chairs, cooking tools, light switches, computers, phones, buildings, and so many more.  Each item was designed by somebody.  And the design of each item speaks to the one who designed it.

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Luther on Preaching

October 18, 2011 — Leave a comment

Luther preaching

Throughout history God has used the spoken word to transform lives.  Preaching has been an avenue that the holy spirit has worked through for thousands of years.  Certainly over these years, many elements of preaching has changed.  The context of the preaching is significantly different than it once was, yet at the same time many elements of preaching have held true over time.

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MSMC Logo 1024x614

This past weekend I got to be a part of the Middle School Ministry Campference put on by the Youth Cartel.  This event was unlike any other youth ministry conference that I’ve been to.  The main reason for this was that it took place at Spring Hill Camps, allowing it to take the best elements of a conference and mix it with the best elements of camp.  Because of the camp environment, the conference was less about listening to keynotes, although that was important, and more about spending time with the middle school ministry tribe.  I loved to be able to go to breakout discussions, play dodgeball in the gym, hang out throwing pizza boxes into the fire, or just hang out talking about life and ministry, all with other people who love middle school students.  Being at camp, all of the speakers hung out with us, which gave us a great opportunity to not only learn from them as they led breakouts or keynotes, but also to learn from them personally and get to know them as friends.

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HT: Adam Reed