Out of Leaders
The Church is ONE Generation from Being OUT OF LEADERS
I was selected (voted) to be on the Elder Selection Committee for the church I attend. So far it has been a very powerful experience for me spiritually. I have been praying more, more deliberately studying leadership passages from the Bible. I’m thinking and seeing things on a different level from within the church.
As a committee we were voted on by the members of the congregation and we had our first formal meeting. Two of our existing elders joined us, giving us some much needed guidance, direction and prayer. After the elders left our meeting we discussed process over the next several months before the selection process would wrap up with our recommendations to the elders for their consideration.
Yet I was surprised at one major flaw in the process. There is a lack of a leadership development process of potential elders. There is no plan, no process, no mentoring, no equipping, no intentional leadership development of leaders who could be potential elders.
Now I’m a huge sports fan and there are many profesional leagues that have farm systems. Why doesn’t the church have a farm system of developing leaders for specific areas of ministry based on their spiritual gifts? Why?
So what does your church do or your youth ministry do to help develop people based on their identified spiritual gifts for the next generation to replace the current generation?
The NEW ThinkYouthMinistry.ca
Think Youth Ministry has joined forces with Jesus Canada to create WorldsApart.org
Think Youth Ministry blog is now under the CONNECT banner of the main page of WorldsApart.org
You can Sign-In by clicking the Login/JoinUs! in the top right. You can leave questions and suggestions regarding youth ministry and the church as a whole in the Empower section.
Book Review: The Vertical Self
by Adam Clark: theemergingnetwork.org
The Vertical Self: How Biblical Faith Can Help Us Discover Who We Are In An Age Of Self Obsession by Mark Sayers
Note:Disclosure of Material Connection: This book was received free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program.
The title is a mouthful…
“The Vertical Self: How Biblical Faith Can Help Us Discover Who We Are In An Age Of Self Obsession”
…but if you can look past the length, the title gives away some great insight. First, Mark Sayers is going to base everything he says biblically, faithfully and with a strong theological basis. Second, we are obsessed by our own narcissistic views and, thirdly, how he can help. I love long titles so far as they hold true to the book. This does it perfectly.
When it comes to content, watch out Perez Hilton…
When it comes to content, watch out Perez Hilton, we may now have a new king when it comes to celebrity culture. Sayers nails it on the head: We are obsessed with being sexy, cool and glamorous, but that leaves us with nothing more than idolatrous viewpoints of those around us that we see as cool, sexy and glamorous. In the end, we strive for the mystery that comes with these labels, but instead of looking up to the eternal mystery that comes from God, we look out to the horizon to seek out how we can best fit in with those around us.
We have stopped looking up at God to find who we are (based on the created order that God himself declared as good). We see the world and creation as tainted and can no longer seem to piece together the “Christian” and “Society” puzzle pieces that we wrestle with everyday. We canʼt be sexy if we are Christian, can we? Well, God made everything including what we view as sexy, so sexy is good. It is what we do with the desires and understanding of sexy that is bad. When we throw around words like cool, sexy and glamor without thinking, they lose all meaning. When we can check our desires under the Lordship of Christ, in community, in their worthiness and by the fruit they produce, we begin to live once again as a vertical being seeking our meaning in God.
Mark Sayersʼ book illustrates that a life sought out in the horizon of our lives is tiring, wasteful, meaningless and without any input into the society to which we so desperately want to feel connected. I saw this because the images we try to perfect in order to be accepted are constantly changing. It does make more sense to allow the cool, sexy and glam lifestyle to come out naturally. Those who truly have it are comfortable in their own skin – they live looking upwards.
Being holy does not have to be dorky. It does, however, consist of looking up to our creator and finding our order in creation. Any youth leader should give it a read, or even use it as a study as the study guide in the back provides a great starting point for any accountability group.
Teens Don’t Sleep Enough: New Study Pt.2
Teens Pay Price For Lack Of Sleep
Poll: Few Get Enough Shuteye; They’re At Risk Physically, Emotionally
(CBS/AP) They drive while drowsy, oversleep, and doze off in class: Many of America’s adolescents are going through life sleep-deprived.
Only 20 percent of teens get the recommended nine hours of shuteye on school nights, and more than one in four report sleeping in class, according to a poll by the National Sleep Foundation released Tuesday.
What’s more, the poll finds that parents are mostly in the dark about their adolescents’ sleep habits. While most students know they’re not getting the sleep they need, 90 percent of parents polled believe their adolescents are getting enough sleep on school nights.
A quick sampling of teens… (read full article)
HT CBSNEWS.COM
Teens Don’t Sleep Enough: New Study Pt.1
Sleep-Deprived Teens’ Disturbing Thoughts
Study: They’re More Likely to Be Depressed and Think of Suicide
(CBS) A new study shows that teens who don’t get enough sleep are more likely to suffer from depression and have suicidal thoughts — in some cases — much more likely.
Researchers at the Columbia University Medical Center in New York found that earlier bedtimes can help protect adolescents from such tendencies, reports CBS News Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton.
That flies in the face of the common perception that teens need less sleep than people in other age groups.
It’s been estimated that adolescents need a little more than nine hours of sleep per night.
Those in the study whose parents set bedtimes of midnight or later were 24 percent more likely to suffer from depression and 20… (Full Article)
HT to CBSNEWS.COM
Book Review: The 5 Love Languages
So I began reading The 5 Love Languages for the second time. The first time I read it I
was single and knew everything. This second time I am 8.5yrs married and know nothing.
I really enjoyed the updated version of this book. Gary Chapman is a clear communicator and the chapters semed to flow quickly. I finished the book on my third night of reading it. As far as the love languages go I’m still the same as I was when I was single but the other four love languages jumped out at me as I started to think about where I would place the various members of my family and those closest to me.
Here’s a rundown of the five love languages:
Words of affirmation–Actions don’t always speak louder than words. If this is your love language, unsolicited compliments mean the world to you. Hearing the reasons why someone loves you sends your spirits skyward.
Quality Time–In the language of quality time, nothing says “I love you” like full, undivided attention. Really being there, with the TV off and all chores on standby, makes your significant other feel truly special and loved.
Receiving Gifts–Don’t mistake this love language for materialism; the receiver of gifts thrives on the love, thoughtfulness, and effort behind the gift.
Acts of Service–Can vacuuming floors really be an expression of love? Absolutely! Anything you do to ease the burden of responsibilities weighing on an acts of service person speaks volumes.
Physical Touch– Hugs, pats on the back, holding hands, and thoughtful touches on the arm, shoulder, or face can all be ways to show excitement, care and love to a person whose primary love language is physical touch.
This book is must read, however, the exercises in the book are a “must-do.” It’s one thing to read a book and agree or disagre with it. What I would suggest is that you use the exercises in this book over the course of the next six months to a year in you life and see what happens.
My only complaint about the book having such a world-wide audience is that it is still very American.
“Available now at your favourite bookseller”
