Once my schedule shifts into summer mode, I try to capture a variety of random ideas and thoughts into a weekly brain dump.
- Wednesday is the first day of school for four of the school districts in St. Charles County. Praying for a great start to a new year and for our students to invade all of their classes with selfless love and a grace-soaked Gospel.
- This past weekend I was able to experience the Global Leadership Summit simulcast here in St. Louis. So many good speakers, but the one session that stood out to me was Chris Brown’s message. Powerful message, direct, dynamic, and exactly what my heart needed to hear.
- There’s something bittersweet about the end of summer. Most graduates are heading off to college. Some juniors and seniors are back from working at camps or summer jobs around the country. This weekend will be a mixture of both for me. Welcome back. See you soon.
- This blog post called “What’s so uncool about cool churches?” came through my email and news feed earlier today. I’m not against everything he’s saying, but a few things do pop out to me:
- I agree with the claim that youth ministry is where the battle is for the church’s future. That’s why I’m in youth ministry. That’s why more people need to be in youth ministry.
- The idea of segregation in church is not a new idea. Segregation has been going on since the days of Solomon’s Temple. Not a valid argument. The segregation of families throughout the week and abdication of spiritual leadership in the home will always far outweigh any supposed segregation for a couple hours on the weekend. It’s as valid as saying your restaurant experience made you starve to death, instead of the fact that you never bought groceries to feed your family the entire week.
- I agree that the “Christian” label being used on everything from t-shirts to music genres is a label we need to completely overhaul. That’s a soapbox in itself.
- The writer’s premise about cultural relevance vs. transformation is an either/or bias, not a both/and. Neither cultural relevance nor transformation is intended to be exclusive. We have to hold the tension between those two worlds and pray for wisdom on how to best navigate between the two. Comparing the church to a comedy club is an insult to the many, many churches who work tirelessly to share culturally relevant messages grounded in the truths of Scripture each week.
- I could keep going, but in the end, this blog post is only one man’s opinion (much like the one you’re reading). I’ve already heard a variety of people compounding this post with the recent CNN article by Rachel Held Evans about why millenials are leaving the church. A big summary statement would be: the Gospel of Jesus Christ has to be clear, souls are in a deeply spiritual struggle, and how we do ministry matters now more than ever.
- I’m midway through reading “The Art of War”. I strongly recommend it for any leader, ministry or secular setting. It’s available through the Books app on the iPad for free.
Filed under: Everyday Life, Ideas
