Kyle Gets Broke

I was especially proud of this illustration, I had been preaching for a month about not living a double life and allowing God to enter every area of your life.  This was all leading up your Youth Vision Sunday, the day when we take over Sunday morning service and let the church know what we are doing.  I was comparing the Apostle Paul’s apparent dual identity in Romans 7 with James’ double minded man in James 1:8.

            Romans 7:15-20 (NIV)
15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.
17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.
18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do–this I keep on doing.
20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

Or I have come to affectionately call it the “Who’s on First Verse”

            James 1:8 (KJV)
8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

            Making the point that the first man has made up his mind but is struggling against his flesh to be whom his spirit desires to be, whereas the second man has not made up his mind as to what type of man he wishes to be.  To drive this point home I asked for a volunteer to help me demonstrate.  Kyle jumped to his feet eager to assist and get out of his chair.

Every Youth Pastor should have a Kyle.  At this time Kyle was twelve or thirteen, typical JR high boy, youngest of three brothers.  He eagerly came to the front for his instructions.  I explained to the group that first Kyle would demonstrate for us the double minded man.  “Go to your destination,” I directed.  Kyle turned and looked at me confused, “Perfect,” I explained as the group began to chuckle.  Kyle was always a good sport when it came to a laugh.  I then instructed him on how to be the Romans man, I told him is goal was to get the right side of the sanctuary.  He casually strolled to that side of the stage to the thunderous applause of the Youth group.  I called him back and then asked for volunteers to represent the struggle Paul was facing.  I had a dozen or so students and leaders of various sizes come forward.  I, again, point out to you that Kyle is a shorter JR high student.  Then I asked Kyle to go to the right side of the sanctuary while the other group tried to detain him.

I assumed that the group would form a wall or grab Kyle and hold on to him as he tried to walk to his destination.  I was wrong.  The group decided the best way to arrest Kyle’s movement would be to for a dog pile on top of Kyle.  I saw my life of a youth minister passing before my eyes not to mentions Kyle’s short life.  As I dug through the pile like a referee looking for the fumbled ball I was relieved to see that Kyle was only a little worse for the ware.

I was able to share same concept, and the story of Kyle’s near death experience with the entire church at our Youth Vision Sunday and begged Kyle’s mom to still let him come back to our youth group.

Heather and I have decided to change some of the way we live, we have decided to eat less processed foods and junk and move toward a healthier more organic diet.  As we were shopping at Whole Foods, our local organic market I thought about something I have thought about a few times before and that is how things are changing. Read the rest of this entry

We continue through the bible by chronologically by hitting the intro of each of the Gospels.  Notice the differences between each of them.

Read the rest of this entry

We are beginning our journey through the Bible this week we have decided to do it chronologically the chart we are using can be found here. We are starting on their day 75. (Thanks to Black Hawk church) If you would like to add anything to the conversation please do.

Read the rest of this entry

I have had the idea for this book since I began as an intern Youth Pastor at my church, which for the protection of the innocent will remain unnamed.  I have been in youth ministry for over ten years now and I have worked with some of the greatest Youth Pastors and leaders a young man could ask for.  I studied for two years at my Bible College, interned in a Youth ministry of five hundred students, and volunteered as a right hand for a ministry of one hundred and nothing could have prepared me for the things that took place when I became “The Man” of that ministry, so to speak.

No one ever includes these events in their sermons or books.  I do not know if they are forgotten because they want to paint a rosy picture of Youth ministry or like so many who suffer post-traumatic stress they block out those memories from their mind.  But my experience is made up of good and bad alike, and I wanted to share those memories with you so you could know you are not alone, and it can always get worse.

So I wanted to write this book (Which is now my blog) with the hope of better preparing some soul who comes after me to the always noble, always exhausting, always rewarding calling that is youth ministry.

Illustrations Gone Awry

The Hammer

I was asked to speak at a youth my youth ministry and God lead me to speak about using the proper tool for the proper job.  I asked for a guy and a girl to volunteer to have a little contest, a battle between the sexes if you will.  I quickly had my volunteers and was ready to begin.  I gave each a 2×4 and a 3” nail, and instructed them to use their hands to put the nail into the wood.  I said go and then handed the girl a hammer she would then pound the nail into the wood proving that if you use the correct tools for the correct job you would be better off.  Unfortunately, the young lady was fairly unskilled with a hammer and the young man turned over nail and hit it with his 2×4, pounding it quickly through the wood.  Did I mention this completely ruined my illustration and proved the opposite point?

When you were in school, your English teacher would give you a text book and there would be assigned reading, practice questions, review sections, and assignments. Segments of great writings would be included in the text book, but never the entire story. Just the parts you needed to study the method of writing, the verbiage, the rhythm and pace of the story, would be included. We are taught to answer questions like, what did the author mean when he put this in the story, and why did the author choose to say it this way instead of that way, etc. Everything is sanitized and isolated.

How many classics have you only read those passages that were required reading in high school or college? There is value in this method of study, but what a shame that we have neglected so many great books, because we see them as ‘required reading’. We forget that they are great books! Sadly, the Bible is often lost in this same method of reading.

The Bible is a wonderful collection of writing that should be read in its entirety! Did you read the Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye? Or maybe the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis? Imagine if we read those books like we read the Bible. You could certainly study them, pulling out passages to be dissected, gaining better understanding of what the author was saying. But would you then say you had read them? You wouldn’t think of starting in chapter 8 of Book 3 of the Left Behind series. And so we ask, what does it mean to read the Bible?

That’s a simple question right? Well, maybe not. Most Christians read the Bible like a text book. We are told often that the Bible is a Life Manual, a guide to Righteous living. Life’s How-To Guide. The problem with looking at the Bible this way is that we start to read it that way. Nothing kills the story of a great book like studying it.

Bible study and Bible reading are different both in purpose and process. When I read for the study of a work, I pick it apart. I contemplate things like why did the author say “dread poured into me from my head to my toes” instead of “I found I was gripped with fear, unable to move”. I look for symbolism and parody. I don’t read the whole story again, and I’m not concerned to start from the beginning. I can jump from chapter 8 to chapter 3 without stumbling over the story itself.

When I read for the sake of the story however, I look to understand the whole story. I want to meet the characters, the antagonist and the protagonist. I want to understand the conflict, get lost in the struggle, hope for the hero, and despise the villain! My purpose is to experience the story being told. When I read for this purpose, I read from the beginning. I try not to stumble over the mode and method of the work. They are details that don’t add to the story and so, I don’t focus on them. My purpose determines my process.

The Bible is one of the greatest stories ever told! Everything you could hope to find in the latest novel is found in this Book! Have you ever read it? Maybe you have studied it, and covered the ‘required reading’ but never enjoyed the story itself. If you have never read this Book in its entirety, allow me to recommend it to you. It truly is the Greatest Story ever told.

As I invite friends and family to join me in reading the Bible from cover to cover in six months, I often hear the same questions and concerns and wanted to take a moment to address those issues. I hope this benefits you in your journey to read through the scriptures with me.

Why not just get a one year Bible?

That’s a great question. I’m not against the idea of reading through the Bible in a year. I would rather you read through in a year than never read at all. Having said that, I have two issues with one year Bibles:

1. I believe three to five chapters a day is too slow. Most of the Bible is written in story format. It is the greatest story ever told, and we often miss a great deal of it, because we do not read it like one (For more on that thought please see What does it mean to read the Bible?)
2. One year Bibles often have the reader reading one book in the New Testament and one in the Old at the same time. Maybe you have three novels on your night stand right now and reading multiple books at the same time comes natural for you. Many of us don’t however and even if you do, I bet they are not three books of the same series, right? The New Testament builds on the foundation laid by the Old Testament. There are many OT references in the NT that we often miss if we haven’t read the OT first. Did you know that Jonah was a type of Jesus? Jesus himself tells the Pharisees that the only sign they will have that He is who He claims to be is that of Jonah. Throughout Jesus’ entire ministry, He made references to the OT. References that you may read over without understanding them if you haven’t read the OT first.

But reading from cover to cover is too much OT at once – I want to read about God’s grace and mercy found in the NT.

I’ve heard this from a lot of people. To quote a good friend of mine, “That comment is spoken like someone who has never read the Old Testament.” There is so much grace and mercy in the OT but many Christians never experience that because they rarely (if ever) read the OT. Consider this, when God created Adam, He commanded him not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge or “you are sure to die”. But when Adam did eat from that tree, God allowed him to live another 900 plus years. That’s Mercy. When Cain killed Able and God cursed him, Cain cry out that the punishment was too much to bare saying “all who find me will kill me”, so God marked him so no man would touch him. That’s Mercy. We haven’t even gotten out of the first four chapters of the first book!

Why should I read the Bible that fast? or When I read that fast I don’t get anything out of it…

To answer this question, I must challenge the term “fast”. First, let me say I believe it is impossible to read the Bible at any pace and not ‘get something out of it’. I understand if you currently read very rarely, or not at all, this could seem like an extremely fast pace. Well, consider this:

• The King James Version (KJV) Bible is read aloud in about 70 hours for most Audio Bibles
• The New International Version (NIV) Bible is read aloud in about 77 hours for most Audio Bibles
• By reading just one hour a day out loud, you could finish the bible in about 70-77 days (2 ½ months)
• At seven chapters a day, you will finish the 1189 chapters of the Bible in just 5 ½ months!

Reading through in 6 months should only require about 30 minutes a day. You may not read as fast as they do on an Audio Bible, but remember reading out loud takes longer than reading to yourself, so even if you are a little slower, you should still be able to keep up with about thirty minutes a day.

It sounds like you want me to commit to 30 minutes a day; where am I going to find that time?

Reading the Bible should be a priority in your life as a Christian. Psalms 119:105 says “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path”. The Bible says in 2 Timothy 2:15 “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” Romans 12:2 commands “Do not conform … but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”. I could go on but you already know the importance of Scripture. Your concern is how to make time to do what you already agree should be done, right? Consider this; a one hour television program has over 15 minutes of commercials. The average American watches 3 hours and 46 minutes of TV each day! (See TV Stats). If that’s you, reading during commercials would be more than enough time to complete the daily reading.

OK, you’ve convinced me but I have tried reading the whole Bible before and failed. How can I succeed this time?

I completely understand this concern. I have been there. I have tried to read my Bible many times before and always failed after only a few weeks. I have put together a list of helpful tips that I hope will help you in your journey to read the Bible:

• JOIN WeReadTheBible.com
• GET AN ACCOUNTABLITY PARTNER!!!
• Don’t read KJV Bible, Read a plain English bible. Preferably a Translation (NIV, CEV, NLT) and not a paraphrase (The Living, The Message)
• Get LARGE print edition (trust me, it will be easier on your eyes and easier to read)
• Pick a time, read on a routine, the beginning of the day is better than later
• Don’t get hung up on difficult words (places, people, locations), use an audio bible to help with pronunciations, to make it smoothly over difficult passages. Biblegateway.com has the audio for most versions of the Bible available for free when you listen online.
• Don’t stop for a word study – most of the time these are tangents that distract you from reading your bible (see What does it mean to read the Bible?)
• Take quick short notes so you can go back to study more in depth after your normal reading time. Use those notes to post to the forum – We want to know what stood out to you!
• If you miss, don’t be discouraged and don’t try to make it up all at once! If you missed 7 chapters today, don’t try to jam 14 chapters in the same reading time tomorrow – maybe 8 chapters, or 9, OR just 7. The key is to keep going!
• If the Bible Forum group is moving into a new book, and you are behind, start the new book with the group. You can always back fill the book you leave behind, and it’s easier to keep going when you are reading with friends.
• Get the Bible Book Mark Excel spreadsheet from the site – if you don’t have excel, email the forum admin for other options. You must keep track of your daily reading or you will not read!

For many of you this seems like an enormous endeavor. The first time though, it can be overwhelming, but trust me, it is worth it! You will find yourself thinking differently, acting differently, and living differently because the Bible renews your mind! I know you can do it, and the Bible Forum is full of people ready to cheer you on as you journey with us through The Greatest Story Ever Told!