More News That Bothers Me

Longtime readers of this blog will remember a post from last April 23rd called News That Bothers Me.  Everything I said in that post still applies to this year and I won't rehash it.  Just follow the link and read it again for a refresher.

Here is the bad news.  With the publishing of the newest ACP is is official, The Southern Baptist convention baptized fewer people for the fourth consecutive year, and for the second year in a row overall membership has declined.  This is very bad news and it really bothers me.  What follows is a bit of commentary on the subject.

I do not want to overanalyze the convention, but I do want to maybe diagnose it based on what I know.

I will begin with a bit of optimism.  I am very encouraged by the movement towards a great commission resurgence.  I suggest all Southern Baptists go to the website and read the resolution.  Sign it if you are so inclined.

Secondly I'll say this, I am sure that there are no churches that purposefully avoid evangelism.  Every SBC church I know anything about would say that evangelism is a key tenet of the faith; that evangelism is necessary.  I believe that what happens is that there are a lot of necessary functions of the church, and it is easy to get distracted by finances, politics, and internal issues so that we find ourselves dealing with these things rather than witnessing.

I also believe that most preaching is gospel preaching.  I believe that the message of hope in Christ rings from most SBC pulpits on any given Sunday.  Admittedly however, Churches have less impact within their communities than they once did.

Why then do I think the convention is declining?

I believe that, at the core, this problem is really a youth problem.  I am not just saying that because I am a youth minister.  What I mean is that there is a problem with the graying of congregations.  When a church has less youth and children it will baptize fewer people.  It's that simple.

Who do we blame for this graying of the church?  We certainly don't blame the children who cannot come to children's church when parents won't bring them.  Do we blame those young parents?  Maybe we blame the young parents' parents.  They obviously didn't instill in them the importance of passing on the faith to the next generation.  Maybe we blame the church and its old-fashionedness, or its out-of-touchness.  Maybe we blame the publishers of the hymn books.  Don't they know that hymns are too boring to be worthy of worshiping the 21^st century God?  Maybe we blame all the hypocrites.  You people should be ashamed of yourselves. :-)

I said last week that I think a worldview problem is responsible, in large part, for the lack of evangelism.  People have accepted the idea that there can be no claim to religious truth.  Acceptance of this world view has lead to the graying of churches.  Why pass on what you believe about the world and salvation to come if it is no more true than whatever your children decide to believe?  When parents fail to teach their children about God they teach them that God doesn't matter.

Although the culture is shifting further from Christianity, one thing I'm sure of is that the basic problem is not a failure to relate to culture.  In fact I believe that we have just the opposite problem.  We are far too worldly and far too culture-driven.  Do you honestly think the people in the 50% of SBC churches that baptized no one in the last year would not be able to have a conversation about American Idol or CSI: Montpelier with their lost co-workers?  Look at the books on your shelves, or the DVDs you have.  Are they products of the out of touch church?  Not likely.  They are almost certainly products of the culture we live in.  And they almost certainly teach messages that you would disagree with.

Another thing I'm sure of is that the problem is not that the message of Christianity is irrelevant.  In fact, the message is inherently relevant.  There simply is nothing more important to the lives of people than the peace, hope and purpose that comes from knowing Christ. What was our President's campaign slogan?  One four-letter word - HOPE.  That message was incredible powerful and popular.  That fact should tell us something.  People are looking for hope.  Christianity, or rather, Christ offers real hope that won't fade.  Hope in the government is pointless and will ultimately fail, but the hope from our salvation is real.

Do I have any solutions for the depressing news at the beginning of this post?  The same ones I had last year.

Take this test.

• Do I know somebody who doesn't know Jesus?
• Do I know somebody who doesn't know Jesus that I haven't witnessed to?
• Do I love this person?

If you answered yes to these questions, you are officially part of the reason for this news story. I have been deeply convicted lately that I don't witness enough. And I wanted to share.

BTW: If you are reading this and don't know Jesus please read here or here

Thanks for reading and feel free to comment.

What's coming on this blog this week

This will be a 5 post week.  Monday through Thursday posts will center on the same piece of news.  For a heads- up, you can read it here. Then on Friday you will get the standard - best web junk.

Best Web Junk (April 24)

You have to have the right priorities in life Ever wonder what it would look like if a venus flytrap got owned?

Everybody needs a body snake

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaoO9jlxLXE]

This guy does a lot of cool stuff on this bike.  It's funny that it begins to look routine.  [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z19zFlPah-o]

Evangelism and Offense

This post is brought about by reading this.  This is not intended as an interaction with that post.  That post merely started the wheels turning in my mind. First, let me say that I believe the most important duty for a Christian is to evangelize, to make other Christians.  But this post is not even about that command or necessity.  This post is about answering the question, "What is the most loving thing to do?"  This answer would be the same whether you are a Christian or a Jehovah's Witness, or a Mormon or a Wiccan.

Now, to my point.

The fact is, if I deeply hold a belief that is so important as Christian faith, then I am obligated to share it with those whom I love.  I might add here that it is even more important than just life after death.  Faith in Christ and His sacrifice for my sins gives me peace and purpose in this life, as well as a certainty about my future in heaven.  If I knew where people could obtain a million dollars with no strings attached, I would certainly tell my loved ones how to do that.  Why?  Because I love them and it could make their lives better.

I don't really want to be the five millionth blog to post the Penn Jillette video, (click here to see it) but in fact Penn, an atheist, understands the necessity of evangelism better than many of the Christians I know.

Why is it that so many Christians don't share their faith?  I believe that it is a combination of things.  First, I think that many of us don't really think about the gift of salvation as we did when it was new.  Next, I think we don't live with urgency, understanding that life could be over for any of us very soon.  Finally, I think that many of us are so worldly that our thinking is warped.  Survey after survey shows that Christian church-goers deny the truths of the faith.  Not because they don't believe them, but because of the illogical notion that there is no such thing as religious truth.  This post is not about apologetics but I will say this.  If there is any such thing as truth at all, then there is religious truth.  (Everybody believes in truth and they certainly want a banker who believes in truth.)

Another symptom of this worldliness is that we are worried about offending people to whom we witness.  I understand their view, if there is no such thing as religious truth then how dare I hold my view as certain.  Again, I'll say this, if I'm not certain, then why bother?

After saying this let's look at my hypocrisy meter.  Do I get annoyed when the Mormons or Jehovah's witnesses come knocking at my door?  Sure, but I am not offended, and I always pray for them when they leave and I understand why they are there.  I believe that they have a message that is false and ultimately hopeless, but they believe it deeply and are right to share it.

Any religion worth having is worth sharing. Share Christ with someone this week.

Hugo and the Platypus: A Mad-Lib

On Wednesday nights in youth I am teaching on the minor prophets.  Tonight I was in the book of Jonah.  Since every student knows the story of Jonah so well, I decided to make it into a mad-lib.  I cheated a bit for the purpose of having it make sense.  (Instead of just a noun I would ask for a mode of transportation for example.)    It turned out very fun.  Feel free to use this for your own youth group, all I ask is if you do, post it in the comments so we can all enjoy.  Without further ado, here is how mine turned out: 1. Name: ___Hugo____________

2. Place: ___Tokyo_____________

3. Verb: ____Eat_____________

4. Mode of Transport:___wheelchair____________

5. Adjective: _____unique_____________

6. Place: _____Wal-mart______________

7. Adjective: __Fluffy_______________

8. Disaster: ____Ice Age_____________

9. Noun: _____Ramen_____________

10. Animal: ___Platypus______________

11. P T verb: ___Picked______________

12. Noun: ____Fleas________________

13. Adverb: ____Extremely________________

14. Verb: _____Drive________________

15. Verb: _____Roll________________

This is the story of a man named (1)___Hugo__.   (1)____Hugo___ was very close to God, in fact, he could (3)___Eat____ to God directly.  One day God said, "(1)___Hugo_, go to (2)__Tokyo__."  But he was (5)___unique__ and didn't want to go to (2) ___Tokyo__.  So instead, he got on board a (4)___wheelchair_ bound for (6)___Wal-mart__.

Once (1)__Hugo__ began his journey, he became even more (7)__Fluffy__ because God caused a (8)__Ice Age___.  The (8)__Ice Age___ was so bad that those around him were frightened and decided to kick him off his (4)____wheelchair__ and into a (9)__Ramen____.  Once in the (9)__Ramen___ God caused a(n) (10)__Platypus__ to attack him.  After a bit of a struggle, the (10)___Platypus___ swallowed (1)___Hugo__.

From inside the belly of the (10)___Platypus____. He (11)___Picked__ and asked God to show him (12)___Fleas____.

God made the (10)___Platypus__ vomit (1)___Hugo____ up.  He landed on the ground (13)__Extremely__, and went directly to (2)___Tokyo___.  To preach this message, "(14)____Drive____ or you will (15)____Roll___."

Be careful how you read the news pt. 2

Anybody who says that their choice of a news source is unbiased is kidding themselves. Consider this identical story from the Baptist Press and the Associated Baptist Press. I'll bet you can pretty much guarantee which source wrote which story based on the headline alone.

Southern Seminary closing School of Church Music

Southern Seminary combines two schools, creates Church Ministries School

Feel free to make your own commentary from here.  I'll just say that discernment is a gift from God.

Book Review: Growing an Engaged Church

I recently read Growing an Engaged Church: How to Stop "Doing Church" and Start Being the Church Again by Albert Winseman.  Here is my official review. The best part of this book is the title.  Read Simple Church instead.

Obviously that is a bit harsh and a bit facetious, but I was really disappointed.  There are few good things pointed out in the book, and overall it felt like the theme was that pragmatism is more important than the Spirit's leading.  It seemed to suggest that, churches should operate by survey and giving the people what they want.  The best point made by the book is that churches where expectations are clear are more effective at ministry.  However, Simple Church makes the same point, and does so more clearly and biblically.

To sum it up, I do not believe that this book on how to make a church more effective even contains one quote from Scripture. That is always a bad sign.

This is not exactly a full review, but I really didn't feel that one was warranted.

If Albert Winseman happens upon this review, I invite him to defend the book in the comments.  Explain to my readers how I missed the point of the book.

Best Web Junk (April 17)

This story is simultaneously disgusting and fascinating Most things on this blog look gross, but this is a perfect example of bacon making everything better

Without question I can say that this is the best flowchart ever to appear on graphjam

Well finish up today with a really neat stop motion video.  There is no telling what it cost in either prints from a developer or photo printer ink

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmkLlVzUBn4]

A little something to brighten tax day

I know you have already seen this everywhere on the web this week, and I know that 7 minutes for a web video might as well be 3 hours, but I promise this it worth it.  I am certain it will make you smile.  In fact, I guarantee you will enjoy this* [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY]

Update - I cannot seem to find a version of this vid that is not embedding disabled, so you'll just have to click on it. - /update

You can also enjoy the best drumline I've ever seen

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wzmdHc5GIs]

*if you don't enjoy this you can apply for a full refund

An Observation About Life

There is a phenomenon in my life that I would guess everyone has experienced at one time or another.  I'm pretty sure it started when I was 16 and got my drivers license.  The phenomenon is this; I often don't feel old enough to be as old as I am.  What I mean is that on a lot of occasions, usually firsts, it seems like I am too young to be doing whatever task it has fallen to me to do.  I know it is ridiculous, I'm in my 30s, but it is real. Although I remember the first time I ever had the conscious thought that, "Now I am an adult."  I still occasionally get this feeling.  I feel like this on tax day, any time I am about to take a church trip, and whenever I have particularly heavy responsibilities.

I think one contributing factor for this for me is that I am behind the curve in many ways.  I am 33 years old and still single.  I have very few friends who are single.  Most of my friends have been married for a number of years and have children.  So I feel like I am younger than them, even if I am actually older.  This would have been worse a generation ago.  For example, when my dad was 33 he had ten and 12 year old sons.   (By the way, I can pretty much guarantee I feel like this if I ever get to have children.  Who could feel prepared for that?)

Another contributing factor for this is that I teach teenagers and spend much more time with teens than others my age.  So when I have to teach or lead adults, I feel a bit unqualified to do so.

There is no question that the older I get, the less I experience this.  However, I do still experience it.  I just thought I would share my freakish insecurity with the world.  (Because what else is a blog for?)

Here's two questions for my commentors.  Am I the only one who ever feels this way?  If you are over it, when does it fade?

Best Web Junk (April 10)

Not much web junk this week and I'm not really sure why.  But enjoy these 2 links and a classic video.  One of my all-time favorites. I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've ever seen "the cheese placement was all wrong," listed as the reason for a crime

This cracked me up and I'm sure every guy in the world would like a good answer

I've posted this video before, but it's pretty much hilarious so enjoy it again.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQt-h753jHI]

Improving Cooperative Program Giving

Yesterday I promised that I would write about how my church, as small as it is, gives so generously to the Cooperative Program. Here is a bit of context before I begin.  LaGrange Park Baptist Church is a small church.  We average less than 100 in Sunday school.  We are in an association of 100 churches.  In our association, there are a couple of churches that are literally 10 times our size .  Last year we led the NSRBA in giving to Annie Armstrong and were close to the top in Lottie Moon giving.  We give 11% of all undesignated gifts to the CP.  (I just realized that this entire paragraph would be gibberish if a non-Southern-Baptist read it.)

What is the key to this giving?  I believe it begins with our pastor.  All preachers say they are committed to missions, but our pastor demonstrates it.  His home plays host to missionaries when a home is needed.  One of his children served as a US/C-2 missionary, another was a NAMB employee for a number of years.  He regularly participates in short-term missions and makes no secret of the fact that he hopes to be able to do mission work after retirement. His view is that if you are not willing to go on missions, the least you can do is to give.

As in all churches, our WMU does a wonderful job of keeping prayer for missions in the forefront.  We have adopted a people group and regularly hear updates about them.

Yesterday I said that one of the reasons I believe mission giving has fragmented in many churches is that the vision of accomplishing smaller tasks is easier to see.  How can you motivate people to give to a Lottie Moon goal that last year was $170 million?  By putting a reachable church goal before the people.  Our church goal is posted all over the church.  In the sanctuary we chart our progress toward that goal.

Probably the most important factor in our church is the fact that we let people know the good their money does.  We show the promotional videos, we participate in mission studies, and we read the missionary moments produced by the mission boards.  Whenever missionaries are available they speak in our church.  There have been at least 10 missionary speakers in our church over the last 4 years. (More if you count military chaplains.)

As for the 11% we give to the CP.  We make it known what a gift to our church does.  This may again come back to the pastor, but his view is that if we ask our people to tithe, the least the church can do is to tithe.  (We also give 5% of our undesignated offerings to the NSRBA.)  When, a few years ago, the state convention introduced their 3 years to add 1% initiative, we just added one percent on the next budget.

People in our church know how the cooperative program works.  They may not have percentages memorized, but they certainly understand the concepts.  They know what their giving does.  And that I believe is the key.

Any of you from my church feel free to chime in and tell me what I left out.

Cooperative Program?

Before I get to the actual point of this post I need to be clear about something.  I do not intend this as a polemic.  I am not writing to unite myself with any movement or to denigrate any movement.  I am merely writing about a trend I see that I am not quite certain how I feel about.  Also, I hinted at my feelings on this topic with a post at Christmas. In 1925 the Southern Baptist Convention put in place the cooperative program (CP).  This simple and brilliant concept has allowed us to become the greatest mission sending organization on the world with about 11,000 Southern Baptist missionaries.  It has made the Southern Baptist Convention the third largest relief organization in the US.  It funds 6 theological seminaries providing solid conservative theological education, and it funds countless other ministries done through state Baptist conventions.

The beauty of the cooperative program is that we can do so much more as a group of cooperating churches than any of us can do alone.  Who has not heard the story of an independent Baptist missionary who had to leave the field and find new funding after his sponsoring church split or simply changed leadership?

Are there problems with the CP?  Sure.  Alvin Reid said it well in his blog:

The Cooperative Program still matters. But simply giving because one is "supposed to" has passed. Momentum is gaining for real accountability and much more effective stewardship. I meet no one who wants to take away from the support of missionaries or the training of ministers. But I meet plenty who say something like these words from one of the brightest young men I know: "In the Conservative Resurgence, many pastors and churches expressed frustration when their giving supported liberal professors in our schools. Now, many I know have the same frustration over giving to a bureaucracy that wastes precious money that could be more focused on the gospel." I remember as a young minister thinking that if the average person in the pew knew some things being taught in our colleges and seminaries, they would want a revolution. Recently, one of the most recognized leaders of our time commented that if the average Southern Baptist knew how every penny of their money was being spent, they too would want a revolution. The category has changed, but the sentiment of dissent is the same.

I agree with the need for much better stewardship of the funds.  I'm especially talking to you, BSCNC.  Only 37 cents of every dollar goes out of the state.  Really; is that the best you can do?  I would strongly support a motion to move the BSCNC to a 50/50 split.  I would even consider making that motion from the floor if I had the proper help and encouragement.  (Sorry, I got a little distracted there)

Churchill famously said "democracy is the worst form of Government except all those other forms that have been tried."  This is very much how I feel about the CP.  Even though there are some problems, it is the best method of funding missions.

Having said all of that, there is a trend I have noticed in the last few years.  This trend is the fragmentation of giving.  I see it most in new church plants, but it can be seen in other places as well.  Most new church plants have missions giving at the forefront of their plans.  However, it seems that very often this giving is in the form of specific projects.  Some have goals of planting a certain number of other churches, some say that they will accomplish some project in a place where the gospel is not known, or they will build church buildings in places where believers need the financial support.  All these are things that the CP does, but these will be done through some avenue specific to the particular project.

I know that churches have to have other mission projects besides just the CP.  Recently I attended a meeting in which we talked about a specific ministry project in Bihar India.  This project is part of a partnership with NC Baptist Men and the Transforming India Movement.  I believe in this ministry and will be proud to support it.  I think it likely that our VBS offering will go to this ministry.  (Hopefully our VBS students will be able to drill a well in Bihar.)

Does this make me a hypocrite?  Again, I know that churches have to have other mission projects besides just the CP.  Virtually all local ministries fit this category.  The problem is when they are done as a replacement to the CP.  I am not even saying that these other projects are not worthy or good, but when they replace CP giving we all become less effective.  Why does this fragmentation make us less effective?  Because regardless of where missions funds go, there will be a need for administration.  The more fragmented the giving becomes, the more administration is needed.

One of the things I learned from Baptist history is that one of the reasons our Southern Baptist ancestors separated themselves was a rejection of the mission society model.  The society model was inefficient and overly fragmented.  I do not know why our churches would willingly return to this.

I have one theory on the cause.  I believe it is an easier vision to cast to say, let's raise $5,000 to provide 2 clean-water wells in India, than to say let's give $5,000 to the LMCO when it's unclear exactly what that money will do.  People wonder when Lottie will ever be paid off.  The goal in this type of giving is less clear and more nebulous.  There is no denying that people work harder toward a goal that is reachable.  (Tomorrow I will write about how my church, as small as it is, gives so generously to the CP)

I support church planting but I believe we can plant more churches through the CP.

I support missions giving but I believe we can support more missionaries through the CP.

I would like to hear from some of you whose churches practice this.  Do you think I am wrong?  Is my theory about vision wrong?  Am I just too old-school and beholden to the cooperative program because of how cheap my M.Div was?

Best Web Junk (April 3)

Is your computer screen a little dirty?  This might help Please sign this petition and reunite the cast of Saved by the Bell

I'm a total hippie because I observed Earth Hour.  Here's a really neat photo gallery of some cities around the world as they observed

I almost posted an April fool's joke here complete with a snarky comment.  It's the only one I bit on, and now I feel stupid

Speaking of jokes, is America being punk'd? Because this story says if every penny we generate this year goes to the bailout, we could actually pay for it.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2FX9rviEhw]

This will be worth your 5 minutes.  Especially the part with the chess board

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srRec16PfpA]

Knowing God's Will

As a youth minister I get the opportunity to influence young people at times in their lives when they are on the cusp of great change.  For a high school senior, life is a time of change. If you can, put yourself in the shoes of a HS senior.  Soon, you will accomplish the thing you have spent 12 years working on.  Most likely it is the only thing you've ever worked on for years.  You only have a vague sense of direction in life.  You want to go to college, but you are not sure where or why.

Now put yourself in the shoes of a  HS senior who is also a Christian.  You are in the same predicament, but you desire to honor God with your choices.  You have questions like where should I go to college?  How do I pay for it? What about the military or some sort of missions work?  All these questions are valid and important.  In fact they are the most important questions at this stage of your life.

Currently I am reading a fascinating book called Predictably Irrational.  It is about how all of us act in ways that are actually not to our benefit.  Chapter 8 details the way that we want to hang on to options and not let doors of opportunity close.  We always seem to think the opportunity is better somewhere else, or at least, we want to keep lots of options open in case the one we select doesn't work out as we hope.   This problem plagues Christians as well, but once we hear the voice of God it is wrong to hold on to those other choices.

The question I hope to answer is; how can I know the will of God?  If you'll hang on through a very long post, I'll answer it the way I would for one of my students.

The first thing to realize is that God does, in fact, have a plan for your life.  I will let that statement stand on its own.  God cares about everyone and how everyone spends the gifts He has given.

Sometimes determining God's will is easy.  It takes nearly no effort from us.  Here are a few examples of times in which knowing His will is simple.

• Go to church or go fishing
• Witness to my co-worker or keep my mouth shut
• Lose money or cheat someone for gain
• Speed or leave for work earlier

What makes these instances so easy to determine the will of God?  And how dare I try to tell you what God wants for your life?

These were easy for one of 2 reasons.  Either they are clearly stated in the Bible or they are based on biblical principles.  We can know what is God's will because the Bible is His word to us, it teaches us His principles, and He cannot act in any way contrary to His Word.

I hope that point is simple enough.  God always acts in accordance to His word.

We all know that in other situations in life it is not so easy to determine His plan for us.  Changing jobs, moving, and where to go to college are all in this category.  There is nothing in the Bible commanding us to go to Mid-Continent University or to go into youth ministry.

So, when you find yourself in one of these situations, how do you figure out His will?

First, have regular Bible study and prayer time.  Also, have some time when you can be quiet and hear God's voice.  Second, seek out godly advice.  Respect the wisdom of those more mature in Christ than yourself.  Weigh this advice  heavily against the advice you may get from non-Christians and immature Christians.  Third, examine your situation.  If the circumstances prevent one choice and you honestly are seeking God's will, let that be a sign.  I am not one to always look for a sign, but if a college rejects your application or a seller rejects your best offer, it is fair to say that it wasn't God's will for you to attend that school or buy that home.  Finally, make sure your decision is in agreement with the Bible.  God is not calling you to get divorced to go on the mission field.

What if after doing all this, you still don't know God's will? Now things are trickier, this is where learning to hear God's voice comes into play.  Many Christians don't know how to hear Him, though if you follow the previous instructions most likely you can.  Here is what's left.  You may just feel led to one choice, in some way you cannot describe, one option seems more correct than the others.  This is probably the voice of God.  (That is how I would describe my call to summer missions)  The other thing is this; listen for that thought that you are certain didn't come from yourself.  Let's look at Matt 16:13-20.  In this story, Peter speaks, and Jesus tells him that the words are not his own, but they came from the Father.  This is the best way I know how to relate this experience. If the thought that comes in would have never been your own, this is likely the voice of God.  (An example of this would be conviction for a sin that is hidden even from yourself.)

One final question; what happens if I go through all that and still don't know? That is why we have faith.  Sometimes we just have to make a decision and live with the consequences.

Thanks for hanging in through a very long post.  I hope it was helpful

What you people come here for (March Edition)

This is your monthly list of the interesting the searches that bring people to my blog. As usual I become a temporary go-to source for certain questions.  I am clearly a wealth of information on Bell's palsy.  There are searches every day on that topic.  But this month I also became fluent on Baptists and Lent as well as churches and Twitter.  There were searches daily on those combinations.  Also, as spring arrives I see the leaning peach tree searches returning

Here is a partial list.  As always, just cut and pasted, not edited in any way  The parts in parenthesis are my own notes:

• why don't baptists observe lent
• give up facebook +"great lent"
• bell's palsy + bell's palsy: + bells pal (this one might be a bit of overkill)
• books by john mclamb (To my knowledge he hasn't written a book, but I'd buy it if he did.  Especially if it contained lots of stories like this one)
• full paralysis bell's palsy
• lent and the southern baptist
• "mid continent university"
• why are kentucky fans the best (easily my favorite search of the month)
• worst fear for bell's palsy
• peach tree leaning

Best Web Junk (March 27)

This kid is seriously named Jed I. Knight And this is seriously the greatest Star Wars action figure of all time

While I'm on this science fiction theme, here's some answered questions from the Battlestar Galactica finale.

I have no idea what tilt-shift is, but it makes really neat pictures

This graph pretty much describes my kitchen perfectly

I didn't see a lot of good web videos this week.  But this was the best.  [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ywu1DeqXTg4]

A New Type of Scavenger Hunt

Last weekend I tried out a new type of scavenger hunt.  Because of the technology we used, it would not have been possible a few years ago.  I thought I would share the details of it here on my blog for others to copy and improve upon.  Why would I simply give away my hard work?  Because many others have been generous to me in this way.  All I ask is that if you try this and successfully improve upon it in some way, leave a comment and tell us how you made it work better. I will call it the reverse bingo scavenger hunt.  Here is how it works.

First I went around town and took pictures of both public places and homes of church members.  If those things were obscure enough, then I left them as they were.  In other cases I cropped the context out of the pics.  For example, in one case I took a picture of a lake behind an apartment complex, that is completely beautiful and completely public, but there's no reason to assume that anyone in my youth group had ever seen it.  That photo I left intact.  But then I took a picture of just one panel of a window in a nearby school, or the back side of a sign, leaving very little contextual clues surrounding it.  Then I assembled the photos into a bingo board.  Here it is:

The reason I am calling it reverse bingo is because in normal bingo each player has a different board and everyone has the same numbers to cover it.  In this case there is only one board and the teams get their pieces separately.

I gave the teams a 10 second look at the board.  Then I provided them a handout with all the pictures printed on it, but not in any order.  I also gave them a sealed copy of the bingo board with instructions not to open it.  The sealed board was only to be opened when the teams were notified.  (My plan was to allow them to open it after 1.5 hours, or if it was obvious that no team was going to get a bingo.)

Now you see the challenge.  The teams knew how to get the pieces, but not where they fit on the board, only I knew that.

Here's where the technology comes in.  Each team had a camera phone, and the email address of a flickr account and a twitpic account.  Their instructions were to take the same picture with one of the team members in it, then they send the pictures to the 2 addresses.  I would place a chip on their board as soon as I received it, and the first team to get a bingo was the winner.

The weak link was definitely with the phones and photo services.  Flickr worked perfectly.  However, twitpic was not up to the task; it only received the updates from one team.  (My hope was that twitpic would get the photos and twhirl would alert me when they arrived.  That plan was an epic fail) Another team had to switch to a new phone, because I was not receiving any updates from them.  After a couple of adjustments however, I was receiving photos from all teams.  Then it was jut a matter of covering the right square.  As soon as a team got a bingo I texted out bingo and they returned to the church.

Our church is in an urban environment and no picture was more than 6 miles from the starting point.  It took only abuot an hour to complete.

Book Review: reThink

I recently read reThink by Steve Wright and Chris Graves.  It is a book that has been recommended to me more than once by friends.  In fact, I even attended the reThink conference in Raleigh last year and was very familiar with the concept of the book even though I had never read it.  After having read it, I would say that it is one of the best books I have ever read on the topic of youth ministry. The author, Steve Wright is the founder of InQuest Ministries and the pastor of student ministries at Providence Baptist Church in Raleigh NC.

The thesis of reThink is that student ministry, as it is currently done, is broken.  This is not an attack on youth ministry, but an honest evaluation.  And, by the way, the statistics on 20somethings in church alone are enough to convince me this is the case.  The book then examines the biblical model for youth ministry and suggests ways to implement this model in your church

The authors argue, quite successfully, that the biblical model of ministry puts the job of discipleship on the family.  Deuteronomy 6:4-9 probably illustrates this model best.  The family is to make the law of God so central to the life of the family that the children cannot help but absorb it.

The balance of the book is about how student ministries can partner with parents and transition into a biblical model and away from a "separate and entertain" model of ministry.

The only weak point of the book is that it only addresses methods of ministry to students whose parents are either non-believers, or who are unwilling to step up and take their role as primary disciplers in a fleeting way.  This is a substantial problem in modern youth ministry.  Even though it is largely the fault of a couple of generations of broken ministry, it should have been dealt with more fully.

I am fully in agreement with reThink, I would recommend it to anyone interested in youth ministry.  I hope it becomes part of the curriculum in youth ministry classes in Bible colleges everywhere.  I look forward to reading the follow up book, ApParent Privilege, soon.

Solving the Economic Crisis

Wow, it's so simple, that Dr. Spaceman (pronounced spu⋅chi⋅man) has solved it.

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He really should write a corporate edition of this book.  It would be a bit more complex.  Don't loan money to people who cannot pay it back, don't say you have money that you don't have.