Ancient Truth meets Today's Youth

"CHURCH CULTURE" - Dr. Henry Cloud

2011-05-10T17:08:00.000-07:00

photo courtesy of the Willow Creek Association

Dr. Henry Cloud
“CULTURE”

What’s the culture of my church?
CULTURE comes from the top - down. To get there, ask some questions:
What does it feel like to work here?
What happens to people when they come to my church?
How do we get things done around here?
Where’s the power?
How does action occur?
How are we with each other?
What’s the tone like?
What gets rewarded?
What causes people to grow? - the drivers of transformation
What is “maturity” in this church? before & after
In the culture of my church, can I find God, be myself, and do what God has gifted me to do??
OR
Do I feel like I have to go somewhere else to do one of those? Can the culture contain that?
Do people have to hide imperfection?
We often don’t realize a culture is forming unless we’re intentional.
*personality
*belief systems

I. We often end up with a culture that’s defined by:
           1) the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees
                       a. If you do these things, you’ll get there. If you don’t, then you better hide it.
                       b. Neglect the supernatural realm - the absence of God’s spirit empowering everything we’re doing to work.
   *Either you have to be really holy or “really messed up.” If you start to show brokenness, then you’ll get people who give you terminology like “if you had more faith, you wouldn’t have this problem etc...” -if I show struggle, my group will stomp that out. We don’t want to see too much of that.
Or if everything’s perfect, then “you’re in denial.”

           2) Culture based on truth: “that you will be set free by the truth”
                       a. There is a belief system based on knowledge, but faith without works is dead.
                       b. Our brains are 2-sided: experience / knowledge
                        c. when we hear new information, we have to process it and interact with it and experience it... our minds map new pathways that change patterns - also known as our “character”

Until our 2 brains agree with each other, we’re going to have a disconnect. People can’t be told to “like God” before they’ve tasted God.

           3)TRANSFORMATION comes from need states
Transformational moments: when the experience of someone who walks into my church who’s never been loved-lands in a small group where that happens; then they begin to experience a need for that.

“God you taught me to trust you at my mother’s breast.” -David

If needs aren’t met, people will die. But if a need is met, they will be back. If they’re confused about a relationship, needing guidance about an issue in life etc... - when they come into your church and experience something real, then they will EXPERIENCE the TRUTH.

BUT if we have a SAY-DO GAP, then people’s spiritual life deteriorates.
Life Change happens in the context of smaller groups of believers
2Cor 6 - “We’ve opened our hearts and lives to you... and we want you to do the same.”

We tend to operate on formulas but the teachings of Christ and his incarnation lived out is where transformation happens.

II. Cultivate a Forgiveness Culture
Luke 13 - parable of the fig tree
            1) If we have a bad time, or others aren’t measuring up - then CUT IT DOWN
           2) If teaching is all the people hear, but not how to get there, then:
       -it only produces confusion and more sin. Telling people “how to be” and expecting them to get there - or raising a standard without a method only perpetuates the problem.
   *this is the program for a lot of churches. People feel bad when they fail - and we call it “conviction.” Conviction is something that God does. If I’m under the law, I feel condemned and guilty but if I’m in Christ, there is no condemnation.
               3) I can feel brokenness and loss, which is related to hunger and need, and it will drive me to repentance.
        -This is where the vinedresser steps in and makes a “no fly zone” for guilt. NO CONDEMNATION.
        *THE FOUNDATION for transformation in the Gospel: We are declared INNOCENT, NOT GUILTY, NO CONDEMNATION - BEFORE we even start to get better.
        *Cultures that can’t have people experience this are under the law and the law kills.

Whatever is failing right now: can it breathe where it’s at?
Where is the message you preach being lived out and felt?

The cycle: preach>repent>forgiveness>preach>repent etc...ALL THEY HAVE in their methodology is to understand a position in Christ. As if getting into a mindset one will become the mindset.
But we need to become doers of the word, not just hearers... not just memorizing a position. It’s hard work, but it TRANSFORMS.

III. The Transformation Culture
    digging around the roots - fertilizing the tree
            1) Where can people go to get below the surface. We need to use the Word of God to dig - confess so that we might be healed.
       -sometimes that’s not done so well.
                       a. GRACE: this is the fertilizer - doing for the plant what the plant can’t do for                                 itself.
           Over time, we need to give people truth and grace - this process produces fruit

eg: instead of “accountability,” have someone actually administer grace in its various forms. For someone needing to lose weight, show up at his house and take him on a 45 minute walk at lunch etc... THEN he will internalize it.
   Who’s helping him mend a broken heart? Who’s crying with him?

                       b. MOSES came off the hill with a law, but grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. We can’t just tell people how to be or to read about it, but we need to create a culture that ministers the grace of God in its various forms - making it safe.

EPH 4: -the whole body is healed as each part does its job. The head tells the rest of the body to do for a severed body part that heals that part of the body, it doesn’t tell the severed part to read a book on healing or to “be healed.”

IV. A Culture that Grows People
           1) This culture teaches people Grace & Truth in the context of relationship connection (there is no connection if condemnation involved)
           2) Information: we need to teach - they need to hear it, get it from books, classes, small groups, God says “put it on the doors, talk about it with the kids” - need principals to organize experiences
           3) Experiences: actually go out and practice things you read about - such as the spiritual gifts and disciplined tracks for people to run on: classes or materials - because our brains are organized like this - precept upon precept which produces discipline.
           4) Structure: such as a conference call at an appointed time, a class etc...

There needs to be these things where transformation happens; when immaturity meets maturity from the outside - and from God as the head.

/// APPLICATION ///
ask the following questions:
1) What’s the IDEAL VISION of the church

2) What’s the REALITY of the church

3) Let’s unite that “we might be one” -holding on to the Spirit that indwells us - and we’ll close the gap of 1 & 2.

PART 2: How does our church take people to a place of faith?
stage 1: Non-Faith -looking for answers
stage 2: Institutional / external - they come to faith, but it’s very institutionalized,
*doctrine and truth
*black & white
*rules
*precepts
*discipline
*certainty
*security... finally life fits in a BOX. Very authoritarian - the parent knows everything. But Jesus said “don’t call anybody your rabbi etc...”
    - eventually we start having experiences that don’t fit in our box, which leads to:
stage 3: The desert: there are situations in the universe that cause some laws to be superseded by other laws: “if your donkey falls in a hole on the Sabbath...” *doubt *questions *pain *loss *is God still there? You go through things that don’t fit the formula - the rigid black and white don’t know what to do with some situations.
stage 4: Mystical, worship, principles - back to believing everything in stage 2, but all summed up with “love the Lord your god with your heart, soul, mind, strength, and your neighbor as yourself...”
*We understand that God is unfathomable and uncontrollable. He transcends all we know. Though it looks the same as stage 2, it’s moderated by wisdom and maturity. Guided by love and truth in a different way. Truth is now ultimate truth in the reality of God in his ways.

QUESTION: How do you build a culture where there’s a big enough house to have all their own needs met at each stage? Do you define yourself as “we don’t do desert, we refer them...” or we only reach “non-faith” people then we refer them...
//
THE PROBLEM is when we think we’re all of the stages but we’re only one of them.
Let’s think about our church culture and whether we do want to meet everybody, and set up norms that support it. Such as “people who are questioning their faith” shouldn’t be questioning the faith of people who are non-faith. We need the norms or else we have a split.
HOW DOES OUR CULTURE ADDRESS THE STAGES OF FAITH?

-@coreydrose

Notes by Corey Rose during a “Transformation Intensive” general session May 4-6th. Notes on “Culture” by Henry Cloud may be the property of Henry Cloud.

"TRANSFORMATIONAL INTENSIVE" Dr. Dallas Willard

2011-05-10T16:52:00.000-07:00

Photo courtesy of Willow Creek Association

Dr. Dallas Willard - Professor, USC
TRANSFORMATIONAL INTENSIVE:
“Living and leading in the Kingdom of God - in the Action of God.”

“That people would say “this is it, Jesus is in you, God is wonderful.”

I. As a result of lack of spiritual transformation, we have a culture that doesn’t look very different than our culture.
WHY? a Lack of Intention - that’s not what we have intended. It’s not on the mind of the people in church that would live a life that would cause people to say “God is wonderful”

Others would say that it’s “impossible” for this kind of spiritual transformation. It’s not possible to do the things that Jesus said. But it CAN be done and it HAS been done.
If the early church only did what we do and said what we say today, would there be a church today? > so will there be a church tomorrow?

II. THERE IS KNOWLEDGE of “how to do it.” -How to be transformed into Christ-likeness.
He told us to “make disciples,” not ‘Christians’ *much less Baptists*... but he meant surround them in trinitarian reality. Not that they ought to do it, but teach them in such a way that they do it.

III. It all depends on the Gospel you preach. There are about 3 different gospels being preached today - and “if that’s all you have, then you won’t be transformed.”

a. Your sins will be forgiven because of what Jesus did for you - is not the Gospel...

b. Another is that “Jesus is in favor of liberation and you can join him on that...” - but doesn’t lead to disciples or transformation.

c. and another is “you take care of your church and it will take care of you - with the spirit in the sky. Just be faithful.”

If we want to see what Jesus saw, we need to do what Jesus did. The Gospel is “life now in the kingdom of God.” The Gospel is: “REPENT, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”

IV. TRANSFORMATION is available when we understand that it’s about the life that’s available now. “God In Action.” - and God is here. When we pray “thy Kingdom come-” we pray for His kingdom to come to the only kingdom where it’s not already - my kingdom.

a. Ph. 4:5 - be gentle because “the Lord is near...” -His action with me makes the Kingdom present.

b. 1Cor 13 is the clearest expression of the change that begins to happen. “though I speak with the tongues of men and angels etc...” -it amounts to nothing. BUT LOVE is patient, kind, does not envy etc...

THAT’S THE OUTCOME OF SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION. the Fruit of the spirit, or EXPRESSIONS of the transformation. This is the Kingdom of God - where what God wants done is done.
“Love your enemies” etc... and holy living comes out because of WHO you have become... FOR WHOM IT IS NATURAL TO LOVE YOUR ENEMY.

Your mind has to be transformed - then habits - then emotions. You’ll have to be a person who is not fearful but someone who cares

It would have been hard for Jesus to curse those who were crucifying him because it wasn’t who he was on the inside.

V. You have to do it or it won’t be done.
Grace is not opposed to effort, it’s opposed to earning. Effort is action.
Rom 11:36 - 12:2
TRANSFORMATION comes from renewing our mind. It causes you to take you body - a living sacrifice - into activities such as taking in the written living word of God.

With intention, “I will follow Jesus and do what I need to do.”

// Q & A session

A. “Jesus spent most of his time trying to get away from people, I spend most of my time trying to get people to come. Paul’s Gospel and Jesus’ Gospel are not different. The only difference is that Paul knows more about Jesus then the ppl before him knew (he presents it at the end of Acts).”

A. Jesus taught the Kingdom of God - but what is that and how does that work? Preach and teach what’s in the Gospels - Math 3: Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. I need to teach the people something that helps them.

A. We want to help people to focus on Spiritual life and help them deal with the issue of “what does your spirituality do for you?” Such as the spirituality of Oprah.

“if you stay in the university, the church will stay open to you. if you stay in the church, the university will be closed to you.”

“The soul of a pastor can rest in God - and can STOP ‘trying harder.” It won’t work on our own effort, so what we can do is “give up.” We work with God and he works with us. Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, … I am meek and lowly of heart - (that’s what keeps you from being crushed by the burden of ministry) I will give you rest

“Unfortunately, so much of our seminaries emphasize success.”

Become honest with your intentions for your people. If it’s spiritual transformation, then it’s in the area of means and planning. Think of ways to go beyond regular church services to extend yourself to people in other settings. Regular preaching won’t do it. We have to think beyond that - looking at how transformation happened: The Weslyan movement, some Catholic movements etc...

"LECTIO DIVINA" by Chris Webb

2011-05-10T16:26:00.000-07:00


Photo by Willow Creek Assosiation

“Lectio Divina”
Chris Webb www.renovare.us

The Monastic “Sacred Reading” - reading the Bible slowly, 3x, with a candle ...lol

Moses at the burning bush received Scripture from God, including history, doctrine, poetry... but he took off his shoes and covered his face because he was in the presence of God.

Lectio Divina assumes we are not to receive Scripture when we read the Bible, but that we’re about to meet with God. His word isn’t here as his “secretary’s notes.”

All Scripture is God breathed, so when you meet another person, God is there. He breathed in to Adam. (Google C.S. Lewis’ “Weight of Glory” - a sermon on paying attention to a human being as having the life of God)

The purpose of LD as though God were present - as though the text mediates the presence of God before us: until we are in the presence of God, in the throne room, we have not finished reading.

FOUR MOVEMENTS of LECTIO DIVINA
“Idleness is the enemy of the soul, therefore the brethren should be occupied at certain times in manual labor, and again at fixed hours in sacred reading (lectio divina).” The Rule of St. Benedict
“It’s not reading, or ‘super reading’” but it’s an approach to the Bible with an expectation of God’s presence.

1) Lectio - “read” - attentively and carefully reading this text (mind)
    a. e typically engage with Scripture so we can go do something - the end all is “things         getting done...” Jesus said “the Kingdom of God is near” whether you do anything or not.      God’s timing not ours. It may be that the end point is not the action or “what we can do.”         Will there be Bibles in Heaven? Or is the end game of the Bible to be in God’s             presence..?
    b. Read it 3x, slowly, bit by bit and pay attention to it. We can’t just distill the story of         David and Goliath into 3 action points. Otherwise God would have just put those in the         Bible - be attentive to the text.
    c. Study - “how long is a cubit?” the academic analysis if you wish.
    d. To encounter God in Scripture is easy because God created us for that and the Bible         is for that reason. The default setting is “when you seek you will find, knock and it will be         open...” and it’s a little easier in the Bible than in a commentary.
2) Meditatio - “reflect” - Reflect on this text in the light of Christ ans salvation history (heart)
    a. Turning it over and over in our minds and hearts, chewing on it until it descends from our mind to our heart. LD is to seek Christ and find Him.

If God became human only to save us from our sin, that means that we look at this center of history, the pinnacle of our existence and the focal point of God’s encounter with humans was done only because we sinned.

b. What if from the very beginning it was always his intention to come in human form to have relationship with humans.

This implies that the answer really is “Jesus,” but what’s the right question? He makes humans in the likeness of Jesus, not the other way around. And finally he thinks we needed an environment - the universe - where christlikeness can flourish. There is a push-back to sin, for example you can get drunk you get a hangover - because the universe is created for christlikeness. It’s all about Jesus. What would it mean that it’s all about Jesus, on every page, the life of Christ can be expressed.

c. Monks love praying psalms. They wrote about it constantly that they were sharing in the prayer of Christ. The psalms speak of Jesus and they are the voice of Jesus. We are part of the body of Christ and we want to share in this prayer. For example, Psalm 1 is about Jesus. Not because David knew him but because God did and he inspired the writers.

Paul does this all the time through the NT. He’s convinced that Jesus is all over the whole book.

3) Oratio - “respond” - Prayerfully responding to this text in the context of our whole life (prayer)
    a. This is not intercession for salvation or the troops in Iraq. But as we read and meditate and something of the life of Christ is revealed to us, we become a little more painfully aware of the distance between Christ and I. The specific prayer response is prayer for grace that we might be transformed into the likeness of Christ who we find in the Scripture. Not an action point: “Jesus was like this so I must be like this.” -but we are deprived, no power to help ourselves so there’s no point in trying to be like Him. BUT God in his grace has the ability to transform us.
eg: we’re a tree - but we’ll never actually bare “fruit” no matter how much we study botany. But this tree (us) can choose where it stands - next to the river of Grace and the presence of God to soak it in. THEN the tree bare fruit.

    b. Deliberately seeing Christ in Scripture causing us to rely on the Grace of God to become like Christ.

4) Contemplatio - “rest” - Allowing this text to still in us the presence of God
    a. Prayer in the presence of God when we finally shutup. The longer we’re there, the less and less there seems to be needed to say. That’s transforming - it’s the river of grace. WE don’t know what we are yet, but we will be like him by looking upon him and being in his presence.
    -Imagine a married couple of 50yrs discussing things, then talking about honey-do’s etc... just like usual. BUT what if they made some lemonade and sat next to eachother on a swing and watched the sun set. What did they say to eachother? (nothing)

b. That’s the agenda, being in the presence and company of God, nothing to say.

There is a kind of mystery in Scripture, like it’s a puzzle we need to try to work out. Layer after layer - but you’ll never get to the bottom of it because it’s revealing the living presence of God of whom there is no bottom - and the living presence of God, or even your spouse is perhaps even more mysterious then when you first met. A mystery is something you don’t understand but something you never stop understanding - you never get to the end of it. Scripture is like that.

Scripture is constantly saying “get into the presence of God.”

Lectio Divina in Experience: Take Mark 14:3-9 for 30 minutes and say “Jesus, I’m seeking a lived experience of your presence with this passage... “ -he would love to give you that.

@onlychriswebb

~notes taken by Corey Rose during a workshop at the “Transformation Intensive” conference at the Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago, IL, May 3-6, 2011. This is not the lecture in entirety and some portions may be the intellectual property of Chris Webb and www.renovare.com

"NECESSARY ENDINGS" - Dr. Henry Cloud

2011-05-10T15:59:00.000-07:00

Dr. Henry Cloud


Dr. Henry Cloud

“Necessary Endings”

About 95% of today’s thoughts will be the same thoughts as yesterday.

VISION:
1) GOOD but not BEST -80% - 20% principle
Churches horde activities, ministries, etc... but “it might grow, we might need that...” -we gather activities that are “good” but their season has passed.

Perhaps the real life of the church is in 20% of what it’s doing right now. “What currently exists that’s not aligned with the new vision you’re headed.”

2) Sick and not well
No matter how much we love it, it’s just not going to work. There is a time to search and a time to give up as “lost.”
    -leaders fall in love with their ministry, but it can be codependent and effect the whole team. Reject a divisive person / ministry etc...

3) Prune DEAD stuff
Go through your weekly meeting “above” that thought - and talk about the WEEKLY MEETING for example.

Get rid of stuff that’s just in the way. “We do have a new focus around here, and it’s this vision.”
    -continually have people buy in to the vision with time and resources.

WORKING THE PLAN

1) Clear vision, no confusion, clearly articulated
    eg: as you work on a vision, write down what your new vision is on a sticky note in 1 minute. “If it’s not clear with your leadership team, how clear will it be in the nursery?” It’s got to be clear throughout the organization.

Sometimes each ministry leader has their own vision.

2) If you’re to change it, you must create a sense of urgency.
    -Leaders must create this within the organization.
        a. There must be a fear of “what will happen if we don’t do this”
            -give understanding
        b. then present “Here are the opportunities if we DO do this”

3) Create a Change Coalition or “change strategy team”
    a. The group will look at How the change is going.
        -different people at different levels of the ministry-
            -who do they follow? who matters to them? GET THEM together
            -who do you need to take to lunch?
    b. from the top levels, display, show, and live out your commitment to this.
        -spend time on it
        -don’t spend your time on the “urgent, not vital.”
        -demonstrate by example the change you want people to follow
    c. you’ve got to change the organization where it needs to be changed to align with the new strategy that you’ve messaged.
        -it must change to support the new vision
        -includes the entire flow of how people are empowered to do things

One of the biggest reasons Campus Crusade did so much is that IF SOMEBODY came to the CEO with an idea or vision, he would empower them and set them free. They would go grow it. Empower your entrepreneurial leadership to get it done today.
    d. promise yourself that you’re gonna run in to 3 groups of people
        Leaders get derailed by the resisters
        i. those who are going to love the change
        ii. the sceptics will question and tell you why it won’t work
            -You job is to win them over. They’re honestly sceptical so win them over. DON’T BE AFRAID of this group. This is what leadership is about. It’s MOST of the body - and they’re winnable.
        iii. the “no-no’s” - the people who just say “no.” They’re not changeable. They’ll actively resist and create problems. YOU MUST NEUTRALIZE them. If someone’s not going, they need to get “pruned.” Paul “gave a person over to Satan...” that’s pruning.
            Here’s how to deal with them:
            a. distract them, get them so far away they don’t know what’s happening
            b. get rid of them - I can’t have a foot on the accelerator and yours on the brake. You have 30 days to decide...
            -make short term victories very well noted. When what we’re talking about is really done on a small scale, show them to the body and what it looks like - illustrate short term wins.
            c. integrate them into the conversation in the context of everybody else who’s on board then it will become very clear that they have an agenda

when you hire new people, make sure they’re aligned.

VISION IS REALLY EXCITING
There’s probably a 1:1 correlation with the life-giving of your vision with how much pain that will be associated with it. You must be prepared for some hard moments.

-If the demographics have changed... or ?? and you start “taking away the choir robes,” then you have Messed with People’s lives! And if they’re not Christ centered and it’s about their kingdom, then they cry VICTIM to other people. BUT YOU HAVE GOT TO HAVE YOUR TEAM TOGETHER where you guys are one. Jesus’ change group in the upper room, he prayed “that they might be one as you and I are one.” Our unity will enable us to go through change.

Be sure the changes come through in grace and truth. Don’t give them bullets.

“In the world you have tribulations but take courage.” -God is involved in ending things and leaving things, difficult conversations... but He will empower you.

-@coreydrose

Notes by Corey Rose during a “Transformation Intensive” general session May 4-6th. Notes on “Leading Change” by Henry Cloud may be the property of Henry Cloud.

TRANSFORMATION intensive - the Post

2011-05-10T15:43:00.001-07:00

What's the difference between this and a page?

3 Reasons Why Evolution is a Religion

2010-03-11T13:37:00.000-08:00

A recent debate over whether to put creationism into textbooks has sparked debate among the Church of Evolutionism.

You just may stop reading after my statement, "evolution is a religion." Why wouldn't you stop reading? You disagree immediately, or perhaps you think I'm trying to start a new religion.

But ask the question "what is a religion?" And you'll likely get as many answers as people you ask. But let's boil it down to this: RELIGION is the sum total of the answers to these three questions: 1) ORIGINS: How did we get here? 2) PURPOSE: What's the point of life? 3) DEATH: What happens after we die?

Any philosophy that answers these questions has crossed over into "religion territory," and is ready to start collecting offerings and followers. They're making plans to hire a pastor and teachers, and will soon be broadcasting on radios and TV's around the world. They'll have their own authors, music and prophets. And the followers will be united and identified by their creed.

How does evolutionism qualify as a religion? 1) ORIGINS: 16-20 Billion years ago, nothing exploded, and created everything. That's right. And the rains came down on the planet Earth, which was a rock back then and lightning struck and life occurred in a puddle. The assertion is that all living things have a common ancestor. That dogs, cats, humans and bananas all have the same great great great grandfather. And that the "fossil 'record'" is evidence of this.

2) PURPOSE: Since I am then a product of random chance, there is no such thing as good or evil, and thus right or wrong. So the religion of evolution tells its followers, "if it feels good, do it!" This has become the mantra for generations of Pastor Darwin's church followers. They have written about scores of philosophy books, sang about it in rap videos and now teach it in grade schools. If there is no such thing as a moral law-giver, then there is no such thing as a moral law. So each person becomes the law unto him or herself.

3) ENDINGS: When we die, we return to the earth. That's it. No afterlife, no reincarnation, no angels, no devils, we just cease to exist. In fact, several of the bishops in the church of evolution will tell us that we're part of the problem. In fact, Darwin's Bible, "The Origin of the Species" has a rarely quoted subtitle, ""The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life." This would actually suggest that the quicker some people make it to the grave, the better for all of us (if you're "favoured" of course).

And the prophets of the church of Darwin, holding his Bible have been many, but the most notable? Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin to name a few. These are heroes of the faith, even martyrs.

So I ask you, WHY is it a bad idea to include creationism as a possibility in the question of origins?

IN THE NEWS: "Extra small condoms for 12 year-olds go on sale"

2010-03-05T09:35:00.000-08:00

You heard right.

A Switzerland company has begun selling the "hotshot" 'hat' for little boys who previously haven't had enough knowledge, or the right sized condoms, to prevent STD's and pregnancies. Elementary kids can now trade the candy for condoms to keep in their crayon boxes.

Switzerland has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy in Europe, and in this new effort to "halve" the problem, enter the kiddie condom.

I don't know how effective marketing will be for pre-teen boys to buy "extra small" condoms. I know this is beside the point but consider the audience. It would seem more appropriate to call it something along the lines of "The Big Magic Balloon" with a picture of Harry Potter on the wrapper. Or better yet, Veggie Tales star, Cucumber Larry sporting the body-wrap...

But the logical end of marketing condoms to 12 year-olds would be a self-fulfilling prophecy: "give them condoms and they're gonna have sex." But is that really the case? When I was that age, the local clinic gave out free condoms to kids from my jr. high but that didn't mean I was any more likely to "get some." So where's the debate?

All the arguments for or against giving condoms to children seem to be missing a major point: condoms don't prevent a broken heart. If it's difficult for grown, married adults to navigate the treacherous, dramatic waters that come with a sexual relationship, then how can a child process the emotional baggage that comes with sex? When a 12, or 10, or 18 year-old girl or boy consummate a relationship, they may consider physical consequences, which can be avoided using a condom. But it is rare that they understand the emotional wreckage that could come their way. We've all heard of painful divorces that rip families apart, even if there are no kids involved. The only difference between a sexually active couple who breaks up and a marriage that ends in divorce is a short walk down an isle.

So rather than argue whether it's right or wrong to make condoms available to children, let's do our kids in the United States a favor and educate them before they become victims of an oversexed society that would love for them to "drop trouser" at 12 years old. This responsibility falls first on parents, then on the institutions that have historically been set up around children to protect them: the Church, schools, sporting programs etc...

I would really love to hear your opinion on the subject, don't leave without leaving your comment!

Advertising the Church

2010-03-03T11:00:00.000-08:00

Is it sacrilegious to "brand" religion? What is "branding?"

This is a discussion in response to "Branding Faith" by Phil Cooke.

Top Subjects MISSING from Youth Church:

2010-02-18T17:15:00.000-08:00

WHAT'S THE MISSING subject YOU'VE been waiting to chat about at youth group? Post your thoughts, questions, subjects here>>>

Death's Serenade

2010-01-29T09:47:00.000-08:00

Tonight I stood in the very spot where a kid who once attended Youth Church at Hilltop was gunned down. It was on an asphalt pathway that winds through a park where no children were at play, and mammoth eucalyptus trees cast vast shadows even on this cloudy, cold, windy late afternoon. It was the one year anniversary of his death and was well attended by over 75 friends and family members. Faces were brightly lit by candles as the sun's light, though hidden by the "scattered shower" rain clouds faded into the night, and the cries of a mother could be heard above the wind howling through the trees.

I had been called on to speak at the service. "What do you say at a time like this?" I asked myself... It wasn't a funeral or graveside service. It wasn't a formal setting with cozy chairs and a sound system. God forbid I didn't have any control over the environment or a powerpoint on display to back me up. I didn't even have an outline. But what I did have was possibly one of the most teachable moments that pastors ever get: the shadow of immanent death, of which every person present has a date.

With my heart broken over the sad, senseless death of another young person, I prayed with close relatives and chatted with cousins on the sidelines. And as the crowd gathered, I opened with prayer and asked God to smile upon us from Heaven. Then I read from Hebrews 12 about Jesus enduring death because of the joy He had in knowing that he was going to a better place where he'll be united with everyone who calls Him Lord.

I tried to imagine Jesus standing there, using his surroundings to preach to the crowd: "These trees witnessed the whole thing, they were here long before any of us and they'll be here long after we're all gone. Our lives are more like the candles you hold in front of you, alive and bright, but in a moment - a gust of wind or the wax running out, our lives will be snuffed out quickly. We have only a short time here, like a vapor."

And with the picture of the deceased right behind me, I picked it up and said that "right now, he knows that everything in this book (the Bible) is true... and if he could speak to us, I believe he would tell us: 1) 'Make it Count, - don't lay your life down for a government owned piece of property or for a gang of thugs on your block, but live it in the fullest potential of what God has created you for. 2) You must give up your right to get revenge and your right to feel hatred, and forgive those who are responsible for this murder. Without forgiving them, you will not be forgiven of your sins. 3) Do everything you can to get to Heaven. Strive to get there. Nothing on earth matters as much as knowing God and making him Known.

With a closing prayer, and my heart relieved of the angst of what to say after letting everything out that God had put there, I stepped back into the quiet circle of candles. And waited. After about ten minutes of silence, his mother came forward, having given up on the fighting-back of tears, thanked everyone for coming out.

As I walked away that night, I remembered that God has given us a ministry of reconciliation and that "ministry" comes in moments, not in the day-to-day activities of administration and programming. And I had that overwhelming sense of my own mortality - that I too will breathe my last breath one day - the same sobering thought that I'm sure everyone present sensed that evening. So with the fresh reminder that death has a date with all of us, and sings to us from beyond the grave, comes to us with swiftness and certainty, and has spared nobody since the beginning of time; it is all the more opportunity to re-affirm the relationship with the one who conquered death, hell and the grave. And to be thankful that nobody really "dies" in this life, we just make the transition from mortality to immortality.

"YOU Can't Loose" - Coffee with the Campus Guru

2010-01-18T19:39:00.000-08:00

I had coffee with Jeff Devoll this morning at Peet's coffee in Fairfield. Apparently coffee is the catalyst for all things youth ministry related. I think all of my meetings with other youth ministry "professionals" (if you wanna use that term) have been at a coffee shop.

This guy has years of experience in the public school setting, and has dealt with literally hundreds of issues with principals denying Christian clubs on campus. He tells me that most of the issues come out of a principal's desire to stay out of any kind of trouble in an effort to keep the peace on campus. I agree with that for the most part having been a teacher - realizing the difficulties and challenges of being principal of any school. He referred me to a letter from the Secretary of Education, who has every superintendent of every school district in the USA receiving federal dollars sign-off on a letter which states the following:

"..."[a]mong other things, students may read their Bibles or other
scriptures, say grace before meals, and pray or study religious materials with fellow
students during recess, the lunch hour, or other noninstructional time to the same extent
that they may engage in nonreligious activities." Public schools should not be hostile to
the religious rights of their students and their families...."

So, if after the presentation of the students to the principal, and after the calls from parents, the principal still doesn't respond, it can be appropriate to ask the school superintendent if the district wants to continue either receiving federal dollars, or close the school down. Which is probably why Jeff bats 1000 - and has lawyers lined up for days who take cases like these pro-bono because they can't loose. Of course we don't want it getting to this point, but if this is what it takes for the club to move on (in the words of Principal Kahn), "so be it."

And as is customary, after chatting over coffee about this business, we changed a few topics and landed on missions. Apparently Jeff has been taking kids south of the border for years to a small town called Vicente Guerrero. They drive six hours into Baja and build homes in this small, under-resourced beach community; the perfect blend of work and leisure for young people to have a cheap, transformational time of missions. We'll most definitely be joining him this summer. And I'll keep you posted on the events at PVHS this week.

Step One: Student-Delivered Legal Docs "Bible Clubs are Allowed"

2010-01-06T12:33:00.000-08:00

The quest for justice begins at Pinole Valley High School, with the president of the SWAT hand-delivering legal documents containing the legal precedences below in their entirety. What you'll read is only bits and pieces of the actual seven-page document.

Mergens, 496 U.S. at 244-45 (quoting Mergens v. Westside Community Schools, 876 F.2d 1076, 1078 (8th Cir. 1989) content courtesy of ACLJ.org

"Schools may not discriminate against any students who wish to conduct a meeting ... on the basis of religious, political, philosophical, or other content of the speech at such meetings... If a state refused to let religious groups use the facilities open to others, then it would demonstrate not neutrality but hostility toward religion. The Establishment Clause does not license governemt to treat religion and those who teach or practice it, simply by virtue of their status as such, as subversive of American ideals and therefore subject to unique disabilities..."

The Supreme Court held that student-initiated Bible Clubs of Prayer Groups must be given official recognition on campus in order to satisfy the requirements of the Equal Access Act. Official recognition means that Bible Clubs of Prayer Groups must be treated the same as other club meeting on the campus. Same treatment means equal access to the same media produced to advertise the club, including school newspapers etc... participation in the annual Club Day festival, permission to post fliers and posters in like manner as other clubs including the right to reference Christianity on all printed media.

It is important to note that the "right to persuade or advocate a religious viewpoint implicates the very reason the First Amendment was adopted." And in Tinker v. Des Moines ISD, 393 U.S. at 506, the Supreme Court held that "it can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate." This simply means that school administration can only prohibit student speech if it "materially and substantially interferes with appropriate discipline."

In any light, the rights of religious persons to express their views publicly have been reinforced many times. The situation at Pinole Valley, as was made by the principal, was again based on her unfounded fear that the Muslims and satanic churches would be able to start a club. Which is, of course, their constitutional right. Being the thriving community of students that PVHS is with so many clubs, the only request of your students is that none of them are marginalized or discriminated upon by their princiPAL.

Ms. Kahn, what is at stake is far more than 25 or so kids meeting in a classroom at lunch time, but the rights of American students everywhere. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "a threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

Stay posted for the next step. We'll give Principal Kahn until the 19th of January to meet our request of allowing the SWAT club to regain full access club rights on campus. Fighting the good fight with so many good people -Corey

Christian Club, SWAT, is kicked out of local high school

2010-01-05T15:20:00.000-08:00

Today marked the beginning; and temporary end of my personal involvement - in the fourth month of the weekly S.W.A.T. (Students With A Testimony) club meetings at Pinole Valley High School. The club, organized and run by students at the school is held in a classroom where all students are invited to hear a message based on the Christian Faith, coming from the MyCampus curriculum. During the week, students post fliers and invite friends to come eat pizza during the growing, vibrant club meeting and hear a fellow student or one of several area youth pastors, who have been invited by the students, bring a relevant message blending youth culture with the Christian faith.

This afternoon, however, it all changed. The principal of the school stopped into the classroom briefly during the meeting and told the teacher present that she wanted these sessions to end and to have me come to her office after it was over.

The senior student who initiated the club, Jacob "Bubba" Hernandez, Myself and another youth pastor, Josh Herndon from Central Assembly, went to her office. The principal, Ms. Sue Kahn stated that the SWAT club was initiated several years ago as "a group that meets with a common interest in prayer. That's it." Not Christian. "Because if it were one particular religion," she went on, "that would open up the scary door for every other religion to meet on campus, including the satanists and muslims." Excuse me? They, too have a right to meet on campus.
"This is still America, isn't it?" I asked. She told me that Bubba couldn't even hold a Christian meeting of any kind on her campus. And I, a youth pastor, am "definitely not allowed on campus" at all.

I told her that Bubba knew his rights and I know my rights, and we have a right to meet on campus as a Christian club. Not to mention that the SWAT club's bylaws are written as a Christian club meeting. When I told her that "things don't have to get any bigger than right here in this room if you'll allow us to continue meeting as we have been," to which she replied, "whatever that means, so be it. I'll call the superintendent today."

Today, I too will contact the superintendent, the Lord, and if necessary, the media, the ACLJ...

I'll see you in the classroom soon Bubba, standing with you and your fellow students to "Figh the Power" of the devil, Corey. -I'm out-

New Leaders in the Church

2010-01-05T14:37:00.001-08:00

The 20th century is the name of a train that quit running almost 10 years ago. But during that century, the "builder" generation (before the boomers) built strong ministries in the Christian faith. Many are now elderly and still in the ministry, but they have no successor. So the so-called "generational gap" is again at the forefront of the American Church's dialog...

What are your stories?

Finding Christ's Influence in Music, Culture and the Arts

2008-11-10T10:03:00.001-08:00

This blog is dedicated to making much of Christ in the light of pop culture, and finding evidences of his influence in the arts and among modern prophets (musicians -rappers, rock, gospel etc...), both secular and religious.

And whenever there's opportunity to champion a young person, I'll take it! Jesus said that the youth should be our teachers. So be it.