Experiential Worship Services, Part 2

For most of my life I thought that the best and most biblical way of conveying the precious truths of the faith was through preaching/teaching.  And by preaching/teaching I mean lecturing. It was how all of my previous pastors, youth ministers, and Sunday School teachers did it.  It was the way all the camp pastors, guest evangelists, and featured speakers at conferences did it.  Wasn’t it the way Jesus and the Old Testament Prophets did it?

Now THAT is the question.  And HERE is the answer:  NO!  If you look at the teaching methods of Jesus, He did speak a lot (hence all the red letters!) but when He spoke it was usually in the form of stories, question and answers, and explaining object lessons.

• Jesus loved object lessons–whithering fig trees, fields of grain, water wells, stormy seas, unleavened bread, wine, money in fish mouths, etc.
• And Jesus loved stories: good Samaritans, prodigal sons, foolish and wise builders, weddings, and treasures buried in fields.
• Even the Prophets used stories and object lessons, and visual displays…weird things like eating scrolls, lying around on your side naked for years, wearing yokes around your neck, and stories about rich men killing and eating their neighbors pet lamb.

In fact, many of the teaching methods of Jesus and the prophets were very hands-on, multi-sensory experiences that involved food and drink!  Take the feeding of the 5,000…or the woman at the well…turning water into wine…or, naturally, the Passover meal.  They obviously understood something that many of us in the Church have forgotten—people are more than just empty minds waiting for us to poor information into.  People also have bodies…hands and feet and eyes and mouths…full of billions of nerve endings and sensory receptors that convey information as well as (or even better than?) the ears!  So why not use all the senses in teaching?  Why not involve the WHOLE PERSON in telling and retelling the stories of the faith?

And so as part of our great experiment this year, we observed a Seder Passover Meal as a student ministry.  We timed it to coincide with Holy Week and our Storying of the Last Lord’s Supper in our Bible Storying process.  It couldn’t have timed out better!  Imagine students hearing the story of the Last Supper, then experiencing it in a Seder Meal together the next week, then going through a “Walk to Golgotha” Prayer Experience the next week, and then after celebrating Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday storying through the Death and Resurrection!  If they don’t get it after all of that…well, we’ve got issues to say the least!

This was such an amazing experience for our students and adults.  Not only was it multi-sensory, but it was completely emersive, totally collaborative (everyone was involved), celebratory yet serious, and it was intensely worship and thoughtful.  We sang together, retold the story of the Exodus, read Scriptures, prayed, served each other, retold the Last Supper, and worshiped the Risen King.

Many of our students commented how fun and interesting it was.  And for some, that may be as much as they got out of it.  But several more talked about the connections between the first Passover and how Jesus fulfills so much of that story–how He is our Passover Lamb.  Many were amazed at how much of the Seder Meal is fulfilled in Jesus, and some even wondered out loud how any Jewish person could celebrate this meal and NOT see the connections with Jesus!  The meal certainly raised good questions and provided opportunity for great discussion and reflection.

If you are interested in doing a Seder Passover meal with your students (or your whole church) visit this link for an indispensable resource to help you plan and take a group through the experience.

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Experiential Worship Services, Part 1

I’m tired of being a program director!  I’m tired of being a glorified cruise director!  God has called me to be a DESIGNER, not a programmer…a Designer of opportunities for students to experience spiritual growth and transformation.  WE don’t cause that growth or change…God does.  But we are to partner with God in that process.  We can create environments where growth is likely to occur.  We can create opportunities for transforming experiences to happen.  

That has been the goal of our student ministry this year.  We’ve been experimenting this year with several hands-on, experiential, multi-sensory and collaborative approaches to discipleship and worship with our students. 

We’ve been employing a “Storying” approach to teaching Scripture, taking all school year to walk students through 22 key stories of the Bible in order.  We began with Creation back in August, and this week have concluded with the story of Restoration/New Creation.  It has been a fascinating experience for us, and a valuable one for the students.  Each week we review the overall Story up to that point, narrate the new story, the students do a creative retelling of that story, and then we spend time in small groups discussing the story’s implications for us and how it fits into the larger Story. 

We have also had some experiential worship opportunities using Prayer Stations and a Seder Meal.  Below are some pictures from the “Follow the Star” prayer stations.  We used Lilly Lewin and Dan Kimball’s excellent resource Sacred Space to plan and prepare this worship experience.  I highly recommend this book w/ resource CD.  It explains very well the ideas behind and benefits of this form of worship and learning as well as helps you through the process of preparing these kinds of experiences.  They include over 15 different themed worship experiences, each consisting of anywhere from 3 to 10 different parts/stations.  

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It was a powerful and moving experience taking down these stations, reading the things students wrote on the strips of duct tape about the things in life that keep them stuck in their spiritual walk, the prayer requests they put on the world map, and the things they said they would do less of and do more of in the next year to help them better “follow the star” of Jesus.  

It’s amazing how middle and high school students can surprise you with their depth and how seriously the take their Christian faith and walk with God!  We seldom give students opportunities to wrestle with these issues and express their struggles and hopes and fears.  But they need these opportunities.    And as youth ministers, we’re called to design these kinds of opportunities for spiritual growth and transformation.  Here are some invaluable resources that are transforming how we approach student worship and discipleship.  I can’t recommend these to you too highly!  They are revolutionary.  

• Shaped by the Story and Enter the Story by Michael Novelli.  Learn more at his website, www.echothestory.com 

 

• Sacred Space by Lilly Lewin and Dan Kimball.  Also visit Lilly’s blog, or Dan’s blog.   

 

In my next post, I’ll talk about the Seder Meal experience and share some pictures.  And then I’ll wrap up this mini-series of blogs with some of the thoughts from our students about our process this year.

Making Room for New Life

Here are the most joyful words I think I’ll ever type:     I’m going to be a DAD!       Woohoo!!!

My wife and I are finally going public with the great news!  And I’m so glad, because I’ve had this idea I wanted to blog about for a month now.  The child hasn’t even been born yet, and I’m already learning some great spiritual truth from him/her.

After almost 9 years of marriage, we’ve accumulated a lot of  “stuff.” Our house is of modest size, and we have no intention of moving anytime soon.  So…when we found out we were having a baby, we began discussing the question, “Where will the nursery be?”  Good question.  We have two guest rooms, one of which is the office/catch-all room.  Closet space is at a premium in our house, and both of those rooms’ closets are STUFFED to exploding!

Thus began the painstaking work of cleaning out our junk.  And I use the word “junk” lightly, because a lot of the stuff we’re having to part with is good stuff, some of it very sentimental.   Both our parents long ago dumped all of OUR childhood memorabilia on us.  So we’ve weeded through photographs, certificates, trophies, Pinewood Derby cars, greeting cards, things I made in 2nd grade which my Mom graciously kept hidden in her sock drawer for 25 years, you know…junk.

So as we have been trying to whittle down two “junk rooms” worth of stuff into one–making the guest room a guest room/office/catch-all room–I’ve been reflecting on life and ministry (as I am often want to do).  And here’s my thought:

In order to make room for new life, we have to clean out our junk.    (Well, I never claimed it was profound.   But maybe it’s profundity is in its simplicity.)

In order for us to be able to have a baby (and all the gear that seems to go with it) and in order for us to be able to hang on to trophies, certificates, and Pinewood Derby cars (or tea sets and stuffed animals, whichever the case may be) for our child, we have to get rid of our own stuff.  We have to prioritize and decide what we need, and what we don’t.  What can we sell on ebay, garage sell, give to Salvation Army, or throw way, and what do we really need to keep?

And it’s equally true in life.  Life can become so cluttered with junk:

• nostalgia for the “good ole days,”
• burdens of hurt and regret,
• fears of the future,
• out-of-order priorities,
• myths and out-right lies about ourselves or God or the world,
• schedules too full of work,
• schedules to light on rest and reflection and just being with those we love,
• greed and materialism, I could go on. 

And we hang onto these things so tightly…craming them into the closets of our heart, until there’s no room left for God to do anything NEW in our lives!  We feel cold, barren, and adrift in life.  We cry out to God for revival, for direction.  But until we clean house and get rid of the junk, new life won’t come. 

The same is true in our ministries. 

• What programs or events need to reevaluated? 
• What goals or agendas need to be questioned? 
• What presumptions or principles need to be inspected? 

If we want new life to come to our ministries, we need to make room.  Sometimes we need to take those long-held and well-loved traditions, and put them away for a while.  Take that annual event that’s been done since Noah left the Ark and just…NOT do it this year {Gasp}!  Take that sacred cow and make some hamburgers for your next youth fellowship.  You’ll be suprised how good it’ll taste!

God is birthing something new into our lives…literally.  But God is also bringing about a newness of life in me spiritually.  And I need to throw out some stuff to make room.  God has been birthing some new things in our Student Ministry as well these past couple of years, and we’ve had to do the hard and painful work of cleaning out the junk (and some of it is good junk).  But it’s been worth it!

May you go…and do likewise.

A Few Thoughts on Mass Evangelism

Our student ministry partnered with the high school FCA recently and took a group to a Christian music festival.  We enjoyed great music from oldschool bands like Third Day and Newsboys as well as some new ones.  First let me say that when it comes to attending loud and crowded Christian concerts, in the words of Danny Glover, “I’m getting to old for this stuff.”   Not that I can’t enjoy some concerts, just not this kind so much.  But like I said, I guess I really am getting old!  Afterall, three of the groups here I actually saw in concert when I was a teenager. Well…I guess that actually makes those bands old, doesn’t it?!

Well, the kids were having a great time at least.  Both the music and the showmanship was at least entertaining and even made me feel a little nostalgic at times. Until…

A popular youth evangelist at these kinds of events got up to bring the “evangelistic message.”   He opened with a sensational object lesson, used some shocking illustrations, told some corny jokes, and then before I knew it every head was bowed and every eye closed!  And all these students around me are repeating his “sinner’s prayer” after him.   Some girls behind me are giggling and repeating in unison like it’s some kind of game.   And these are MY girls!   I know as much as anyone can that they’r already Christ-followers.   And then he tells all those who just prayed that prayer that if they don’t confess Jesus before everyone here by standing up, Jesus will reject them before the Father!  So on the count of 3 half the room stands up!

Now, excuse me for my cynicism, but aren’t most students who come to a Christian concert, um…Christians?!    And then without missing a beat, the evangelist  welcomes them all “to the family.”   No mention of baptism or joining a church.   Nothing.   Just a “praise God.  Angels are partying in Heaven now.  Goodnight!”

I don’t know about you, but I have a serious problem with this blanket-one-size-fits-all approach to “evangelism,” if you can call it that.  “What’s your biblical basis for your objection?”  you may ask.  Well, here are a few thoughts:

First, using a few cute or shocking illustrations and rattling off a list of propositions can’t begin to do justice to the amazing story of God’s unfailing love for us!  I’m not saying you have to take someone through a survey of the Old and New Testaments before you can help them begin a life-changing relationship with Jesus.  But I do think that you need to communicate to them something of the Gospel Narrative to give them a frame of reference for God’s unmeasurable love and our unmistakeable need!

Second, manipulative techniques for getting a huge number of kids to stand or using guilt to get kids to sponsor a child do more harm than good.  Teenagers are already on an emotional rollercoaster.  Satan is the master of doubt and confusion.  And this approach feeds into both of these obstacles to a mature and grounded faith.  Ususally after events like this I’m left to help kids who have professed faith in Christ, been baptized, and are living out their faith try to sort through confusion and mixed emotions.  Makes me wonder why I continue to bring students to stuff like this!

Third, how many times in the New Testament do we see mass groups of people profess faith in Christ?  I can only think of one off the top of my head.  And it was followed immediately by baptism and discipleship in the Jerusalem church.  I don’t recall Jesus ever asking anyone to bow their heads, close their eyes, and repeat anything after Him.  Instead, Jesus called people to deny themselves, leave everything behind, take up their cross, and FOLLOW  Him.  His style of evangelism was to Make Disciples!  Novel idea, huh?

Evangelism should be done in community, built upon relationship, and viewed as a process or journey rather than an event.  Can anyone tell me when exactly Peter became a “Christian?”  Was it when he left his boat and nets to follow Jesus the first time, the second time, or that third time (after the Resurrection)?   Or was it when he declared Jesus was the Christ?  Was it before or after Peter denied Jesus?  The point is, Peter’s journey from Jewish fisherman to Christian missionary was just that…a journey.  And we rob our teenagers and the church when we try to make evangelism a one-time, tie-it-up-in-a-bow moment.  Life,  Christian spirituality, and teens are just a little messier than that.  But what a beautiful, wonderful mess it is!

Lessons on Leadership from New Orleans’ “Patron” Saint

I imagine that Drew Brees’ youth minister is really proud of the man his former youth has become.  And certainly that pastor who preached about the “few good men” God was looking for, had no idea that someone would be talking about that Sunday morning message so 16 years later!  There are several lessons we can learn from the “Patron Saint” of New Orleans.  The first of which is you never know what God is doing in the life of each young person in your ministry nor what God has planned for their life.  And second, never underestimate the impact one message, one comment, one visit over lunch, or one service project can have in the life of someone.  God can take anything and use it to “turn on the light bulb” in someone’s life.

Drew Brees, the star quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, has a pretty interesting story, full of potholes and detours, setbacks and victories.  As a Boilermaker, Brees’ college career included setting five Big Ten Conference quarterback records including career passing yards (11,792) and total touchdown passes (90).  And then in 2001, the San Diego Chargers nabbed Brees in the first pick of the second round in the 2001 NFL Draft.  I can imagine that for Brees, it must have seemed like a dream come true.  But his time with the Chargers was up and down, and ended in an injury that must have left he and his family and fans wondering what his future would hold.   What team would ever take a risk drafting an injured quarterback?

But God had bigger plans for Brees.  And God, as He often does, worked this bad situation into something amazing…not just for an injured NFL quarterback, but for an injured city as well.   Brees says about that unfortunate injury:

“At the time, I felt like that was the worst thing that could ever happen to me at the worst time. I started to feel sorry for myself and ask, ‘Why me? Why now?’ All those things were very easy to ask. But, as I look back now, I can say, ‘God, that was probably the best thing that could ever have happened to me.’”

In 2006, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Saints’ future was just as unsure as their soon-to-be quarterback.  The Superdome suffered some damage and was being used as a homeless shelter for thousands of displaced residents of New Orleans.  And their record was in  as much turmoil as the city.  At the end of the season, the team was homeless, without a coach and leaderless.  So it was fitting that they would place their hope in Brees.  Who better to help a struggling, demoralized team recuperating from their own injuries from a hard hit?

As Breese said about the move, ““At the time, we were all in the process of rebuilding. The Saints were trying to rebuild. The city was trying to rebuild. And I was trying to rebuild, literally, a shoulder and a career.”  And so together, Breese and his team and the city itself found healing in each other.  Brees and his wife jumped in all the way with their new community.  They began a foundation to help in the rebuilding of New Orleans, and Brees would often be found right beside residents and construction workers sawing boards and hammering nails.  They become involved in the local school system helping encourage and motivate students and teachers.  And of course, Brees become the leader the Saints needed to turn them around from an abysmal 13-loss team into 10-6 division champs and NFC runners-up! And of course, this season Brees lead his team to the big game itself, facing the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl on February 7th.

What impresses me the most about Brees is how he leads his team.  He really does put his team (and his family and community) before himself.  Heath Evans, a Saints fullback said of Brees:

“What makes a man is the ability to sacrificially give expecting nothing in return, and what makes a leader is someone who is willing to die to self every day for the benefit of the team. Drew has that down pat.  Real men of God are always trying to find ways to draw closer to the King.  Drew never misses a chapel, team Bible study or couples’ Bible study. His focus is always team-focused instead of Drew-focused. That is the make-up of a true leader.”

As youth ministers and leaders in our own churches and student ministries, we can take a page out of Brees’ playbook (if you’ll pardon the obvious pun).  Too often at conferences and in networks, I hear youth ministers puffing themselves up by talking about how big their groups are, how many big things they’ve done, how awesome their youth buildings are, and how cutting edge their ministry approach is.  I also hear them undercutting their pastors or gripping about their churches, as if the church they were working for was an albatross around their necks holding them back from really doing great things!  This is NOT working as a team!  This is not leadership!  Our ministries do not exist for us.  They aren’t there for our career or to pad our resumés. 

If anyone had a right to gripe about their team and blame any losses or mistakes on them, it was Brees.  If any team had a good excuse for a lack luster season, it was the Saints.  But that was not their approach.  And it should never be ours.  You may be the Drew Brees your church is looking for, the leader who comes alongside his pastor, takes the ball, and helps his church run the plays to make a difference in your community for God’s Kingdom.

Brees said that every member of the team has a role, and then he said his role on the team  “is helping others and putting them in positions to succeed. Obviously, I have to work to be the best quarterback I can be for the team, but, if there’s ever a time when I can help a guy by pulling him aside and talking to him about a route or showing him something in the weight room, I want to do that. But not only with things on the field, but also things in life.”

Let’s model this kind of leadership, this kind of teamwork, for our students and churches.  Be the kind of youth minister your pastor dreams of–a Drew Brees kind of quarterback–who understands it’s not about me or “my” ministry.  It’s about the team.  It’s about God’s Kingdom.  Remember, we are all just members of One Body, and that is Christ (1 Cor. 12:12).  It is for Him, to Him, and through Him that we exist and serve together.

For more information about Drew Brees and more video clips to use with your students, visit the FCA’s website HERE.