This is why we do what we do...

Last night 29:11 (our college & young adult small group at Forest Park Church) met at my house for the start of a new series in the book 'Ask Me Anything,' which I highly recommend. This book is a collection of actual conversations that J. Budziszewski, a professor at Texas University, has had with his students on topics such as Science/Reason vs Faith, Homosexuality (actually a tense argument he recorded with a homosexual), Cohabiting, Just War vs Pacifism, Abortion & Stem Cells.

The best thing about this book is that he doesn't give politically-correct or only Bible-based reasoning. He's ultra-practical and makes a lot of sense.

Last night we talked the assumption many non-Christians believe that we are "uneducated and easily misled." If that we're true, I would believe that statement right away. It was and will be, by far, the most philosophical and abstract conversation we'll have regarding this book. It was even challenging for me to stay on top of it and I WAS LEADING IT!!

Anyway, without going into all the specifics here is what the bottom line was. You can, and DEFINITELY SHOULD, use reasoning and skepticism to test everything within the Christian faith (what books you read, what advice you take, which pastors you learn under, etc). You can test the faith and yourself without testing God.

Take the story of "doubting Thomas" for example. Thomas wasn't there in the room when Jesus first appeared to all of the disciples so when they saw him next they told him that they had seen Jesus resurrected! Thomas didn't believe them. He told them that he would have to see and put his fingers in the nail holes and the spear hole in Jesus' side before he did.

Jesus appeared again, this time in front of them all, and without chiding, ridiculing or belittling his doubt, he asked Thomas to see and touch as he requested and then he said, "NOW STOP DOUBTING! And blessed are those that believe without seeing (the answer right in front of their face)!"

GK Chesterson said, "Merely having an open mind is nothing. The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid."

But, when you have been sufficiently answered or if you feel as if you have confirmation about an answer you've been seeking or praying about for a while DROP IT! Accept it by faith and move on!

Doubt is fine, even encouraged in my opinion! But once you get an answer, be appeased!
But when nothing but doubt spouts from your mouth, then that's a problem because you can become a hindrance to others who are seeking real answers.

But in the church is where doubt belongs, not where all the religious skeptics and atheists are lying in the wings! It is within the family of God where skepticisms should be discussed. But, isn't it funny that people feel as if its the last place that they should. Yeah, Jesus never said, "Come to me all who have it all together...."

Everyone had questions throughout the study, which was refreshing. Six of the 9 of us went out to eat at 3 Amigos and about 20 minutes after arriving I got a text saying that Amanda had just accepted Christ!

That's what I meant by 'we' in the title of this blog. Even though she probably was thinking through what I had said, it was Katrina that ultimately led her to Jesus!

That makes everything, all the studying, the stress, the planning most definitely worth it!

My Dance Moves

Yes, they are limited but I sure look funny doing 'em.

Check out this little number called "My Sunday Routine" to the tune of Just Dance by Lady Gaga:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqJ6dGFiYZ8

This was "performed" at THE BRINK, the Student Ministry at Forest Park Church on Wednesday nights.

Feel free to diss my moves, I'm not easily offended:)

No One Over 30 Review

It's been a week since we've returned from Asheville on our first annual No One Over 30 summer trip.

It is cleverly named No One Over 30 simply because no one, chaperone nor student, was over the age of 30 (or 28, because I was the oldest).

Instead of giving you a long summary of what happened and didn't happen, I'm going to give out grades for different aspects of the trip (with a little commentary, of course).

Students: A
All the chaperones were blown away with how little all the students complained and were willing to change plans on the fly...and there was a lot of that on this trip. I actually had one 23-year old chaperone say, "I only came because TJ begged me to. And I thought the kids were going to be really annoying, but I was wrong. They were great!" I was also given compliments by employees of different businesses regarding our students' manners. Kudos to you, BRINK family!! The only reason why you didn't get an A+ was because of the ocassional flatulence in the packed vans. :)

Chaperones: B+
Our oldest chaperone (other than me) was 26 and the youngest was 18. For most of them it was their first time being a volunteer with no one else looking over their shoulder. The chaperones jumped right in and had fun at every stage of the trip with the students. They definitely brought the youthful energy from that I wanted. I only have a few criticisms. Most of the complaints I fielded came from volunteers, not students. The chaperones also tended to clump together. It was evident when I had six of the 12 riding in the van I drove. But Myraida and Andrew were exceptional. Like they had parental instincts turned on all the time. But hey, for the first time, without much training from me, all the others did excellent!!

Our host families: B+
If you went on the trip, you might be questioning this grade. Let me explain. This grade is for the families that housed all the students, not for the ones that didn't or for Beverly Hills Baptist as a whole. BIG THANKS TO the Greene's, Kiser's, Caldwell's, Lee's, Ann Kellington and Annabelle White!! Once the housing situation was finally settled (on the third night) the trip went much more smoothly. Some houses were a little crowded but it was good! Other families totally pampered our students and refused to be reimbursed, oh my goodness what a blessing:) Most of these households will definitely be asked to house us next year!

The grade would've been an A if things were like they were from Friday on at the beginning.

Beverly Hills Baptist: C
I was sorely disappointed in some of the feedback I heard from certain students and chaperones. The one that continually stuck out was, "We felt excluded." Out of nearly 300 people who attend BHBC, we had the hardest time finding room for 39 students. The first two nights 15 girls were staying at one house with only floor space to sleep on and only one bathroom! Even though the pastor & youth pastor asked for host families for nearly a month, flashing a sign up sheet all the time, NO ONE SIGNED UP!!! I later learned all but one of the families were last-minute additions!

On Wednesday night, our band was unable to play because there wasn't an amplifier or a drum set upstairs. The youth from BHBC were told NOT to come and join us for a message, music and fun so we pretty much had OUR meeting in THEIR church....weird. Jared (from BHBC) decided to join us anyway, for which I'm very, very thankful. And he was the only student from BHBC that ended up connecting with our students very well (Jeffrey, you did too). Other than that, our groups were in the same rooms but completely separate from one another.

We felt like a burden, not brothers and sisters to Beverly Hills.


After reading this maybe you'll understand why I answer the way I do when people ask, "How was the trip?" I'll definitely say "good" or "great" but I know that it could've been better. This trip gave me a very strong confirmation that at Forest Park Church is where I am meant to be. I love this church and I love our students and volunteers! I am completely committed to seeing our church reach so many more than other churches that are afraid to change and progress (notice I didn't say compromise and disregard traditions).

Once again, thank you Jessica, Kaylin, Chelsea, Ashley, Myraida, Amanda, Jasmine, Leanna, Ryan, Jordan and Andrew! Thanks to you students who made the trip totally worth it! Thanks to our host families! I owe you all:)

We definitely will go back to Asheville because we had so much fun on the hikes, at Sliding Rock, Fun Depot and the waterfalls. I'm already making plans for next year's trip! Check out Turtleback Falls on Google Images, for example!! It's gonna be even better!! I wonder how many we can bring then?
60? 70?

Dude, I'm pumped just thinking about it!

Top to Bottom Part 1

Its been a pretty good day today. It has been an up and down week for me personally, though. I have no logical explanation as to why I've been so moody over the past couple of days. I've wanted to get out of the house and do something every night but with little to no resources to spark some action.

This got me thinking about the devotion material that I'm producing for our student ministry trip to Asheville coming up on the 29th called Top to Bottom. We're doing a 4-part study on Elijah's stage of life through 1 Kings 18-19. We'll see moments where he's praising God and then other times destraut, asking God, "Where are you?!" He goes from jubilation to depression in a heartbeat and back. This study is to show that Christians are not different in the way that we have highs and lows, just like everyone else. With God all moods are possible. And God can handle it because he created those emotions.

This is where we start...

In 1 Kings 18 God lets him know that there's going to be a drought. He is told to drink from a brook. It gets worse, the brook dries up. Then God has ravens to feed him, but that only lasts for a little while. God tells him to go into the town and ask this widow for food. She has just enough for one meal for him, her and her son, but just like the bread loaves and fish the oil and flour last for much longer than that.

But it gets worse. The son gets really sick and dies. The widow is hysterical and blames Elijah for his death. First he's starving and now being called a killer. Imagine the crap he's feeling. (This is the "bottom" per se). Elijah cries out to God, asking him, "why did you take this woman's son?"

And it's my firm conviction that God doesn't just kill people to make some other people learn their lesson. Did God kill thousands of people in New Orleans to prove a point? Or do we consider the Earth as being a victim of the Fall, too? Oh yeah, the Earth does produce thickets and thorns because of humanity's sin, doesn't it? If the Earth makes thorns because of a couple people's sin, then it will make hurricanes when you multiply sin. Makes sense. Its mighty funny that people want to blame God for humanity's sin!

Did God kill thousands in the World Trade Centers just because New Yorkers are in the center of attention and particularly evil? Or do we consider the relatively small number of radical Islamic extremists to be completely insane? So, it was God's plan for a plane's fuel to incinerate people in a high-rise building before the world's eyes? NO, that was the terrorists' plan! The devil has temporal success, right? But not for long...

Anyway.....sorry to rant. But God hears Elijah's prayer and brings the son back to life. Satan has no victory here because God is the only one that can actually GIVE life. Immediately after that, Elijah must've been on the highest high. All the crap he just went through was worth it because, think about it, it all lead him to be the avenue for healing to this boy. Amazing!

Like life as we know it...Elijah's emotional state was not constant. Check out what happens next when I share with you part II!

Six Steps for Success in Small Groups

Last Monday night at our Student Ministry meeting, a place where all the volunteers and I get together, we had a discussion regarding small group discussion. On Wednesday nights, after a couple of hours of food, activities, contests, music and a thought-provoking, side-splitting message we give our students a 1/2 hour of small group time with 2 volunteers.

I had noticed that the small group time had become stagnant in a few of the groups. Just to give you an idea, this is what we do:

- We have no more than 10 students in one group with 2-3 volunteers
- We split middle school boys and girls up into two separate groups
- The high school groups are co-ed
- Each volunteer has questions that are developed from the night's message
- Discussion is made from the responses to these questions

Even though this seems pretty straightforward, I noticed a few things happening in some of the groups:

- Small group time was becoming more instruction time (students talking less, volunteers more)
- Some groups were dwindling in size (especially the group for middle school boys)
- Some volunteers were uncomfortable with silence, which led them to talk more
- Some volunteers would transform open-ended questions and solicit one-word answers (a discussion killer)

In light of these, I gave a few pointers on how I felt we could effectively engage and inspire our students into discussion. Of course, this formula doesn't work overnight, nor does any. However, I truly know that if these principles are in place coupled with spending any time you can with your students then this will work.

I don't believe for a second that we're failing at Forest Park at anything in particular, but with that said, I know there's always room for improvement. And I totally don't have this all figured out. But I do know that, in our college/young adult ministry, discussion makes or breaks an effective interpersonal & relational ministry.

Even though I gave them in less detail last Monday, here are my "pointers":

1) IT IS THE STUDENTS' TIME The time during the message is OUR time to talk. 90% of our instruction is during that time. The small group is the students' chance to respond, complain, express doubts, have the freedom to say anything. Think of it this way. Would you rather your young believers express doubt in the confines of the church around other believers or outside those confines to ones who, most-likely, will confirm and encourage those doubts? If they can't say anything doubtful in church, then what good are we? It ain't like you have it all together, either...

The remaining 10% should be used to coax students into discussion regarding the message and/OR relevant life and faith issues. Coaxing doesn't mean just reading the question and asking, "what do you think?" and especially not asking questions that have a yes or no answer.

2.) BE WILLING TO HUMBLE YOURSELF The 10% of instruction time within a small group discussion is crucial!! You help the students process what they just heard by being transparent, honest and open (all things you want them to be). You can do that by expressing how the message challenges you, makes you think about how you've failed at ____ in the past, how you struggle with ____ continually now, etc.... I don't know exactly why but the culture has changed in the way that being humble and expressing your imperfections has become inspiring and garners respect. I mean, who enjoys a pompous, holier-than-thou anyway, right?

3) BE INTENTIONAL, BUT ALLOW FREEDOM The goal is not mindless chatter but intentional conversation. However, you may have a group of students who seem to never talk. If, on one night, they begin to talk (with you included in the conversation) about a topic that might be a reach from the message, LET THEM TALK!!! It will pay off the next time you meet! The worst thing you can do, with a group that seems to never talk, is to shush them and give the impression that "religious" talk is the only thing you want.

There's no denying that some nights a small group leader will talk more than everyone else, it's fickle that way sometimes. Who knows exactly why they talk sometimes and not others...

4.) BE PATIENT AND COMFORTABLE WITH SILENCE Don't move too quickly from question to question. Too many times I remember being at student meetings being a few seconds away from speaking up, praying aloud, etc but due to the leader's discomfort with silence I was muted at the last second. Don't let that happen! You may mute the one kid who finally surprises you by speaking up!

5.) BE FUNNY, NOT NERVOUS Show me a leader who is nervous and I'll show you two things: the extroverted students who will respond with, "Are you serious? This person is clueless! I'm not talking" and the introverted students who will think, "You think he/she's nervous? I'm now 10x more nervous about saying anything. I'm not talking." All students don't fit snugly into one of these two categories, but most do. What do they have in common? If a leader is nervous, they are less likely to talk.

Be yourself, be genuine. If you are a leader that is concerned about what a student will think about what you have to say, then maybe this ain't your gig...

Laughter will ease the nerves of the introvert and endear you to the extrovert;) Everyone loves to laugh. Try to make that a universal way to keep your students' interest. Do whatever you gotta do! Getting a book of jokes and practicing on your younger siblings, cousins, etc is a good way to start. This book isn't to be recited but to give you ideas about what is funny and what isn't.

Here's an interesting, and nearly universal, truth. If you think about it, it's not that a stretch at all. Everyone wants to hang around with someone that make them laugh. It's what women look for in men and vice versa, the same is true for students in their mentors:)

6.) DON'T SKIP THAT ONE!! The last question that is on the list is definitely the most important question on the handouts. Most discussion guides give the first couple of questions as icebreakers, thought-provokers and questions that reinforce the key phrase of the message. The last question has the meat, the thought that hits you in the gut and keeps it in your mind for the next couple of days. That's the one that if all else fails, bring out all your guns for this one!

I've been there and I still lead discussion groups often. None of these skills are fool-proof as a remedy but I guarantee they will work in the long run.

Invest in yourself so you can effectively endear yourself, facilitate discussion and provoke introspection, life-change and trust in our middle and high school students. By investing in your small group discussion skills, you invest in the lives of those students!

I Could use your opinion...

If you look to the bottom of the page there are two designs I have posted of t-shirts for our student ministry at Forest Park Church called THE BRINK.

The black/white is for the guys and the blue/white is for the girls...

The caption on both shirts says, "you pulled me from the brink and away from the edge," which is the Message's version of Psalm 56:12.

My question to you is....would you buy either one of these shirts and think it's stylish enough to wear for the price of, say, $12 - 15?

If no, why? (other than "Im broke")

Either post your opinions here or email me them at tj@forestparkchurch.com.

Thanks;)

This certain quarter wasn't worth 25 cents...

So most of my friends in Pasadena know this story but it definitely is great enough to share with all my new friends in Elizabeth City.

2 summers ago I walked down to the bank to get some quarters for the laundry room at Fuller. I noticed immediately that I got a roll of brand new, shiny quarters....no biggie, though.

I got home tore into the plastic that was holding my quarters together and noticed something weird about one quarter in particular. The front looked normal a shiny strike of George Washington but the reverse side of the coin was where the action was at.

The reverse side of the coin was COPPER! No lie! I had never seen one before like this.

I kept the quarter and showed it to about everyone who visited me that week. I came moderately close to giving it away to my roommate's grandfather who stopped by and mentioned, "oh I collect coins just like these," with a definite tone of hint-hint in his voice.

I refrained and thank God I did. I went online and researched other coins like mine. Some dealers were selling quarters with a "layer" missing for $350!! Turns out there is a piece of copper sandwiched between two pieces of silver-like metal to make every quarter. Interesting...

I took my quarter to a local dealer to get it appraised. The dealer was pretty excited about seeing a brand new, uncirculated Washington state quarter with this mint defect. Unfortunately, he was unable to specify with certainty that it was uncirculated so we had to send it back to the mint in Denver to get it appraised by the mint itself, which actually cost $70!!

I was thinking, "this thing better pay itself off!" Oh it did! I got the quarter back a few weeks later, encased in a nice plastic, retangular case with a hologram seal from the mint on the front. Immediately the dealer went into his little song-and-dance.

He told me, "you know, with this grading I don't think you'll get any more than $300-350 for it. Wanna sell it to me today and not worry about advertising for it?"

I actually thought about it for more than a second...but probably only 2 seconds. I told him, "no thanks."

The dealer didn't stop there because he asked, "well could I, at least, help you take pictures of the coin?"

I asked, "how much?" He said, "only $30." I smiled while I replayed his "only $30" in my head, thinking it was ridiculous! I instantly remembered that a friend of mine right across the street was a photographer in the making.

I left that place soon after and didn't waste any time in asking Matthew (his website is matthewcline.net, btw) to take some shots, which he did graciously and FREE OF CHARGE!!

The next day I put the quarter on Ebay with the starting bid for $200. The next day I got an email from Ebay with an offer from a buyer for $1000!!! I told him that I would wait and see how the auction progressed and that I would get back to him.

That evening I got another email from another buyer who offered $1100!!! I told that person the same thing, knowing that I could get some leverage and get a private auction between these two loaded creatures:)

I emailed them back and forth and finally got a selling price of $1250! Glad pops nor the dealer got the better of me:)

I discovered that out of the hundreds of millions of quarters in the USA, there are only approximately 250 like the one I sold!

So, you might ask, "what did you do with the money?" Ehhh...nothing too exciting actually. I paid my car insurance up for 6 months, my rent for 2 months, went out for sushi and bought an Ipod. It was a good week:)

There's my little, non-monotonous story:) Hope you enjoyed it!

Check out the quarter here --> http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=38272159&albumID=215414&imageID=12765359