I promise that I won't usually make a habit of including political ramblings in a predominantly religious blog, but one issue has been on my mind as of late- Immigration.
Unless you have been living in a cave for the last couple of years, you know that immigration has become one of the premier hot-button political issues as of late. Why has it blown up into such a huge issue lately? Haven't illegal immigrant been crossing the border since the annexation of Texas? Is it really a new phenomena?
An idea that I haven't completely worked out in my head yet, is that the government is capitalizing on the subtle, maybe unconscious racism of many Americans.
It's no secret that this administration is in trouble. Last I heard, President Bush's approval rating was fluctuating between the high 20's and low 30's. When someone has drawn the ire of that many people, their every move is watched more carefully- with the audience just waiting to tear them apart for their next misstep.
So then, what should an administration in that position do? Avoid polarizing issues and start to really stress one or two issues that most Americans already agree on. I think it's safe to say that most Americans are in favor of stricter immigration laws, and some are even in favor of building a giant wall on the Mexican border.
Why are we so obsessed with keeping Mexicans out of our country? The current administration refers to this situation as a matter of "national security," or of "securing our borders." Both terms have been thrown around a lot lately, because the scars of 9/11 are still fresh on our minds. They are using the average American's knee jerk reaction to defend their country in order to increase the government's power and involvement in our every day life to unprecedented levels. It seems they have used our fear for their own profit. I seem to be getting a little off subject here. Maybe a new paragraph will help...
Do Mexicans really pose a threat to our national security? Is anyone really concerned about Mexican suicide bombers running through their town's square? Has there been a rise in Mexican terrorist activity that I am unaware of? Not that I have heard of. Mexicans cross our border to improve their situation, and whether or not we like to admit it, they improve our economy in the process. Now, I would prefer that they go through the proper channels to cross the borders legally- but I think it's ludicrous to label this a "national security" issue.
Some say that we build a wall and tighten security measures in order to keep terrorists who try to enter our country from south. In other words, a Iranian extremist group would fly to Mexico first, and then enter America illegally. If that is our concern, where is the proposal for a wall on our Canadian border as well? Theoretically, aren't we just as vulnerable to those coming from the north?
My yet-to-be-developed idea is that Mexicans are the new Blacks. Across the history of our nation, there has always been a contempt for a group of people abroad and a contempt for a group of people within our borders. The groups abroad have ranged from the Brits, the French, the Germans, and the Japs. These days, our most hated group abroad are people from the Middle East. As far as our hatred for a group within our borders, we have been pretty consistent (until very recently) in considering black people the "lesser" race. I truly believe that Mexicans have taken their spot, and are now receiving similar vitriol.
Even in what are commonly assumed to be the more racist southern states, it is taboo to refer to black people in a derogatory manner. Of course, there are some exceptions- most notably with older generations. For the most part though, we have welcomed black people into our society as equals. Seventy years ago, no one would bat an eye if they heard the word "nigger" in a public place. Nowadays, it would be shocking- just ask Michael Richards.
I've noticed that it isn't taboo to refer to Mexicans in a derogatory manner. From slang terms describing them to assigning them poor moral and social qualities because of preconceived notions and broad generalizations- we as a nation have begun to look at Mexicans as a lower class of people. We Americans are the elite, and the Mexicans aren't worthy to tread our soil.
Think about it this way. You have probably been around a Hispanic person somewhere, and innocently wondered if they crossed the border illegally. I know I was guilty of this way of thinking. What if you met a British person, or a Canadian, or an Irishman? Would you even think twice about the means by which they entered the country? Probably not- and yet we look at Mexicans and wonder if they are really supposed to be here.
I am not referring to a racism where a group of people is physically abused and ostracized by society as a whole. I'm talking about a form of racism where we didn't even realize that we started looking at Mexicans as second-class humans. It is a form of racism that assumes that since we are American, we are entitled to more than others.
I believe it's possible that a flailing administration is using this mindset to help bolster support among the American people. Long our subconscious opinions of Mexicans have laid dormant, but it seems they have been stirred up in order to have a majority agree with something this administration stands for.
I would ask only that you consider why you are in favor of making it harder for illegals to cross the border. Is it because you are concerned for your own security? If you look deep within yourself, you may realize that isn't the case at all.
Then again, maybe a wall is a good idea. I'm sure the remaining American Indians are kicking themselves for not thinking of that a couple hundred years ago...
I'd love to hear some feedback- negative or positive.
Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free; send these, the homeless tempest-tossed, to me; I lift my lamp beside the golden door.
--inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Yeah... I wasn't trained for this...
Over the past 2 months or so, a new family has been attending my church. They have a 13 year old girl who has started coming to youth group, which is usually a great thing. It didn't take long to figure out that there was something different about this girl.
The first Wednesday night program that she attended was interesting to say the least. She first raised her hand in the middle of the lesson to ask who in the group were siblings. After we established who the brothers and sisters were, I continued with the lesson. A few minutes later, her hand went up again. She then pulled a cd out from her purse and asked if she could "share" it with everyone. I asked exactly how she intended to share it, seeing as how there is no cd player in our area.
The whole time, you could just tell that she wasn't aware of anything going on around her. She was in her own little world, and would come back into ours every few minutes to bring everything to a screeching halt to answer her random questions. As she keeps coming to church, it is increasingly becoming the norm.
She doesn't ask as many questions now, but she desperately tries to get the attention of other members of the youth group all during the lessons. Ways of doing this include slapping her own face, choking herself with her scarf, breaking out into random laughter, and a few other ways as well. Another issue we face is that when there is food around, she absolutely gorges herself. At our superbowl party, she had 3 plates of food and an entire box of Kroger cookies by herself. Her parents had to come pick her up early because she ate herself sick. I didn't see all of that, or I would have stopped her.
I spoke with the pastor and his wife about the situation. There immediate reply was "Oh, yeah- that girl has some major issues..." Turns out that she may be suffering from turrets, aspergers, schizophrenia, or some combination of them.
Needless to say, here is what I know for sure. She doesn't seem to be even remotely aware that there is a lesson going on. I know for a fact that she doesn't listen to a word I say. I am basically baby-sitting her for an hour on Wednesday and Sunday nights. I also know that her interruptions absolutely bring any teaching or spiritual moment we may be having to a halt. Her parents aren't big fans of having conversations about their daughter, so they haven't been much help. I do know that she isn't being abused in any way.
So my question is this... how do I handle this situation? I have never cut her off or dismissed any of her random questions, but they are seriously impeding any learning or worship that may occur with the rest of the group. Is it fair to the rest of the group that they cannot possibly keep a train of thought for more than a couple of minutes because she distracts us some way? I want this girl to feel included, but at what price?
Any advice or insight would be awesome
The first Wednesday night program that she attended was interesting to say the least. She first raised her hand in the middle of the lesson to ask who in the group were siblings. After we established who the brothers and sisters were, I continued with the lesson. A few minutes later, her hand went up again. She then pulled a cd out from her purse and asked if she could "share" it with everyone. I asked exactly how she intended to share it, seeing as how there is no cd player in our area.
The whole time, you could just tell that she wasn't aware of anything going on around her. She was in her own little world, and would come back into ours every few minutes to bring everything to a screeching halt to answer her random questions. As she keeps coming to church, it is increasingly becoming the norm.
She doesn't ask as many questions now, but she desperately tries to get the attention of other members of the youth group all during the lessons. Ways of doing this include slapping her own face, choking herself with her scarf, breaking out into random laughter, and a few other ways as well. Another issue we face is that when there is food around, she absolutely gorges herself. At our superbowl party, she had 3 plates of food and an entire box of Kroger cookies by herself. Her parents had to come pick her up early because she ate herself sick. I didn't see all of that, or I would have stopped her.
I spoke with the pastor and his wife about the situation. There immediate reply was "Oh, yeah- that girl has some major issues..." Turns out that she may be suffering from turrets, aspergers, schizophrenia, or some combination of them.
Needless to say, here is what I know for sure. She doesn't seem to be even remotely aware that there is a lesson going on. I know for a fact that she doesn't listen to a word I say. I am basically baby-sitting her for an hour on Wednesday and Sunday nights. I also know that her interruptions absolutely bring any teaching or spiritual moment we may be having to a halt. Her parents aren't big fans of having conversations about their daughter, so they haven't been much help. I do know that she isn't being abused in any way.
So my question is this... how do I handle this situation? I have never cut her off or dismissed any of her random questions, but they are seriously impeding any learning or worship that may occur with the rest of the group. Is it fair to the rest of the group that they cannot possibly keep a train of thought for more than a couple of minutes because she distracts us some way? I want this girl to feel included, but at what price?
Any advice or insight would be awesome
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Youth Revival Last Weekend
This past Friday and Saturday, I was asked to be the evangelist at a zone youth revival at a Nazarene church in my home state. This was the first time I have ever done a youth revival per say, so this was new territory for me.
It was only a two service revival, which turns out to be very limiting in your overall theme and delivery. Usually with a revival, you have at least 3 or 4 days to flesh out an overall theme for the week. Having only two sessions is a different monster; you have to get in and get out. My plan for the two services was to have the first service focus on getting right with Christ, and the second lead into the "What now?" discussion. Below are brief synopses of both sermons. Neither is a complete manuscript of the sermon, but I do have those available if you are interested.
Session 1.) Ezekiel 37:1-14
I used the "Valley of Dry Bones" passage to kick off the revival. I can think of no other scripture that better illustrates revival than this one. I spent a few minutes placing them in the middle of this valley with Ezekiel, where they are surrounded by nothing but death and hopelessness for as far as the eye can see. But then we see God's command to Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones, and then we see these dry bones coming back together and eventually having their life breathed back into them by God Himself.
In verses 11-14, God explains to Ezekiel that the bones represent Israel and that he would restore them in the same way that he restored the dry bones. I then spent some time talking about where we are in the history of Israel when Ezekiel receives this vision. They had already been delivered from Egyptian bondage, spent time in the desert, and settled in Canaan. Things were wonderful for many years, as the Israelites walked with God and enjoyed such great leaders as David and Solomon. Eventually, the Israelites fell away from God, and introduced pagan religions, idols, and rituals into their culture. Internal fighting ensued and Israel split into two parts. Eventually, both parts were overtaken by the Babylonians and the Assyrians respectively. Israelites were transported all around the Babylonian empire, and they were nothing but an empty shell of who they once were. Surely we can see why they were dry bones.
Nevertheless, God tells Ezekiel that he will revive and restore their dry bones. I then transitioned the discussion in order to talk about the interconnectedness of the Old and New Testaments. I explained that even though we often see them as two completely different books, that they essentially tell the same story- the story of God rescuing his people from bondage (slavery in OT, sin in NT) and delivering them into the Promised Land (Canaan in OT, Heaven in NT). I explained that when God told Israel that He wanted to restore the nation who turned their backs on Him, that we can be assured that God wants to do the same with his New Testament Church.
I asked the teens to think about where they were spiritually. Were they in a "dry bones" period in their lives? As they looked back over the past year, could they point to where they were on fire for God after camp, but slowly fell away over time? God wants nothing more than to take His children and to breathe the breath of life into them. He wants to restore and He wants to revive us all spiritually.
Session 2.) Ezekiel 37:10; Matthew 5:13-16
We begin the second service by looking back at verse 10 of last night's Ezekiel passage. The Scripture reads that after the dry bones were brought back to life, they stood and formed a great army. The fact that they formed a "great army" implies that there was some sort of action or mission to accomplish yet. Surely God would not a revive a great army simply to have them stand in a valley forever. So the question is, "What is their mission? What is their objective?" What could the purpose be of this newly revived army of former dry bones?
Too often we (youth pastors, pastors, camp speakers, revival speakers) fail our teens. We tell them, "You have to get saved. You have to get saved. You have to get saved. You have to get saved." We set the goal as having this big moment at the end of camp where everyone gets saved. Where we fail is that we don't tell them what to do next. Ok, I'm saved...now what? Is it any wonder that a majority of teens experience only a "camp high" and fall back to their pre-camp state within weeks of returning to the real world? We treat conversion as the ultimate goal, but in reality it is only the beginning of our individual spiritual journeys. It is upon our conversion that the heavy lifting truly begins. The problem is that telling teenagers how much work is involved in being a Christian may not send them flocking to the altars, so we leave that part out. We fail them.
We are the army of former dry bones. What is our mission? What is our objective? From this point I turned to Matthew 5:13-1 and looked at the popular "salt and light" passage straight from the mouth of Christ. I went into detail about the nature and value of salt in the ancient world, concluding that by being the salt of the world we should be having an effect on the world around us. We look at the light passage for some time and conclude that we should look different as Christians. We should act differently, we should speak differently- in essence we should stick out like sore thumbs if we are truly living the Christian life. We are to be noticeably different, and we are to have an effect on those around us. Our mission, our objective is simply to expand the Kingdom of Christ- to see more dry bones revived.
I asked the teenagers to stand up right where they are if they were willing to stick out and make a difference in their homes and in their schools for Christ. While they were standing, I told them one last thing about salt. Salt effects only what it is put on. It starts small and makes a difference where it is placed. Likewise, the best way for Christians to have a positive effect on the world is not to try to save the entire world at once- it is to make a difference where you are already planted. I asked everyone standing to think of one person in their inner circle who they knew needed the saving power of Christ. It could be a friend, parent, family member, whoever... so long as it was someone who was close to them. I explained that a successful revival was not measured by a great speaker or even by numbers at the altar. A successful revival is measured by whether or not the people at "ground zero" (people who attended the revival) carry on the spirit of revival and go out and make a difference themselves.
Instead of a traditional "come pray for yourself" altar call, we did something different. I told them that if they truly wanted revival to break out in their community, that they had a job to do. I asked them to come to the altar and pray for the name that they had in their head from their inner circle. I asked the to pray that the Lord would start working in their lives and that they would have an opportunity to share Christ with them in some way. This is how revivals are started. It starts with a small group of committed individuals who are willing to make a difference in the world around them.
And that's how we ended the youth revival; On our knees, at the altar, praying for someone close to us that we knew needed Christ. We cannot look at revival as something that takes place within the Church. It has to be something that the Church takes out into the world.
It was only a two service revival, which turns out to be very limiting in your overall theme and delivery. Usually with a revival, you have at least 3 or 4 days to flesh out an overall theme for the week. Having only two sessions is a different monster; you have to get in and get out. My plan for the two services was to have the first service focus on getting right with Christ, and the second lead into the "What now?" discussion. Below are brief synopses of both sermons. Neither is a complete manuscript of the sermon, but I do have those available if you are interested.
Session 1.) Ezekiel 37:1-14
I used the "Valley of Dry Bones" passage to kick off the revival. I can think of no other scripture that better illustrates revival than this one. I spent a few minutes placing them in the middle of this valley with Ezekiel, where they are surrounded by nothing but death and hopelessness for as far as the eye can see. But then we see God's command to Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones, and then we see these dry bones coming back together and eventually having their life breathed back into them by God Himself.
In verses 11-14, God explains to Ezekiel that the bones represent Israel and that he would restore them in the same way that he restored the dry bones. I then spent some time talking about where we are in the history of Israel when Ezekiel receives this vision. They had already been delivered from Egyptian bondage, spent time in the desert, and settled in Canaan. Things were wonderful for many years, as the Israelites walked with God and enjoyed such great leaders as David and Solomon. Eventually, the Israelites fell away from God, and introduced pagan religions, idols, and rituals into their culture. Internal fighting ensued and Israel split into two parts. Eventually, both parts were overtaken by the Babylonians and the Assyrians respectively. Israelites were transported all around the Babylonian empire, and they were nothing but an empty shell of who they once were. Surely we can see why they were dry bones.
Nevertheless, God tells Ezekiel that he will revive and restore their dry bones. I then transitioned the discussion in order to talk about the interconnectedness of the Old and New Testaments. I explained that even though we often see them as two completely different books, that they essentially tell the same story- the story of God rescuing his people from bondage (slavery in OT, sin in NT) and delivering them into the Promised Land (Canaan in OT, Heaven in NT). I explained that when God told Israel that He wanted to restore the nation who turned their backs on Him, that we can be assured that God wants to do the same with his New Testament Church.
I asked the teens to think about where they were spiritually. Were they in a "dry bones" period in their lives? As they looked back over the past year, could they point to where they were on fire for God after camp, but slowly fell away over time? God wants nothing more than to take His children and to breathe the breath of life into them. He wants to restore and He wants to revive us all spiritually.
Session 2.) Ezekiel 37:10; Matthew 5:13-16
We begin the second service by looking back at verse 10 of last night's Ezekiel passage. The Scripture reads that after the dry bones were brought back to life, they stood and formed a great army. The fact that they formed a "great army" implies that there was some sort of action or mission to accomplish yet. Surely God would not a revive a great army simply to have them stand in a valley forever. So the question is, "What is their mission? What is their objective?" What could the purpose be of this newly revived army of former dry bones?
Too often we (youth pastors, pastors, camp speakers, revival speakers) fail our teens. We tell them, "You have to get saved. You have to get saved. You have to get saved. You have to get saved." We set the goal as having this big moment at the end of camp where everyone gets saved. Where we fail is that we don't tell them what to do next. Ok, I'm saved...now what? Is it any wonder that a majority of teens experience only a "camp high" and fall back to their pre-camp state within weeks of returning to the real world? We treat conversion as the ultimate goal, but in reality it is only the beginning of our individual spiritual journeys. It is upon our conversion that the heavy lifting truly begins. The problem is that telling teenagers how much work is involved in being a Christian may not send them flocking to the altars, so we leave that part out. We fail them.
We are the army of former dry bones. What is our mission? What is our objective? From this point I turned to Matthew 5:13-1 and looked at the popular "salt and light" passage straight from the mouth of Christ. I went into detail about the nature and value of salt in the ancient world, concluding that by being the salt of the world we should be having an effect on the world around us. We look at the light passage for some time and conclude that we should look different as Christians. We should act differently, we should speak differently- in essence we should stick out like sore thumbs if we are truly living the Christian life. We are to be noticeably different, and we are to have an effect on those around us. Our mission, our objective is simply to expand the Kingdom of Christ- to see more dry bones revived.
I asked the teenagers to stand up right where they are if they were willing to stick out and make a difference in their homes and in their schools for Christ. While they were standing, I told them one last thing about salt. Salt effects only what it is put on. It starts small and makes a difference where it is placed. Likewise, the best way for Christians to have a positive effect on the world is not to try to save the entire world at once- it is to make a difference where you are already planted. I asked everyone standing to think of one person in their inner circle who they knew needed the saving power of Christ. It could be a friend, parent, family member, whoever... so long as it was someone who was close to them. I explained that a successful revival was not measured by a great speaker or even by numbers at the altar. A successful revival is measured by whether or not the people at "ground zero" (people who attended the revival) carry on the spirit of revival and go out and make a difference themselves.
Instead of a traditional "come pray for yourself" altar call, we did something different. I told them that if they truly wanted revival to break out in their community, that they had a job to do. I asked them to come to the altar and pray for the name that they had in their head from their inner circle. I asked the to pray that the Lord would start working in their lives and that they would have an opportunity to share Christ with them in some way. This is how revivals are started. It starts with a small group of committed individuals who are willing to make a difference in the world around them.
And that's how we ended the youth revival; On our knees, at the altar, praying for someone close to us that we knew needed Christ. We cannot look at revival as something that takes place within the Church. It has to be something that the Church takes out into the world.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Getting You Up To Speed...
Welcome to the new blog! In this humble space, I will chronicle the day to day joys, struggles, and happenings of being a youth minister in the Church of the Nazarene. In addition to updates, I will also post lessons and sermons that I use in my ministry. Feel free to use them at your discretion. Before we jump right into it, I should get you up to speed on the current situation.
Currently, I am a part time youth pastor with a full time job that isn't ministry related. On March 18th, I will be moving to a non-neighboring state to start my first full-time position. Until then, we will be tying up loose ends here at the church and making preparations for the big move.
I wish to maintain a level of anonymity on this site, but I will give a few tidbits about my life. I am a recent graduate of a Nazarene university. I have also been married for about a year and a half. I am also ridiculously good looking.
Currently, I am a part time youth pastor with a full time job that isn't ministry related. On March 18th, I will be moving to a non-neighboring state to start my first full-time position. Until then, we will be tying up loose ends here at the church and making preparations for the big move.
I wish to maintain a level of anonymity on this site, but I will give a few tidbits about my life. I am a recent graduate of a Nazarene university. I have also been married for about a year and a half. I am also ridiculously good looking.
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