Author: Jon

Why Every Youth Pastor Should Watch ‘Spotlight’

Last week I saw the movie Spotlight on the big screen. I walked away thinking every Youth Pastor should see this film.

Spotlight is the story of how the Boston Globe, one of Boston’s most famous newspapers, broke the devastating news of sexual abuse by Catholic priests upon young children in its city. The movie follows the reporters investigating the story and gives an amazing account of their work to uncover such atrocities. It’s a harrowing story and one that needs to be remembered.

As a Youth Pastor I am responsible for the care of children. As I walked out of the flick I had a overwhelming sense of responsibility toward those under my care. Most of the time the role of Youth Pastor is amazing. It’s a privilege to be able to share and teach the Christian faith to those who are exploring it for themselves. Leading those who wish to see their friends come to know Jesus is exciting work. But, there are also times when certain topics or areas of responsibility need to be in order to make the church environment a safe place for young people. With this in mind I found Spotlight to be a good reminder.

1. It’s a reminder of how sinful supposed good people can be.

The Catholic priests in charge of young people were seen as safe people. And rightfully so. The church is meant to be a safe place for all people. Yet, like all people the priests are fallen and sinful people. This doesn’t excuse them of their horrid behaviour of course. But it is a reminder that good people are sinful and fallen human beings. The church is a collective of sinners, not saints.

2. It’s a reminder of how people look to the church for care and protection.

This story broke around 15 years ago. The film depicts Boston as a city that trusts its priests and ‘the church’. It may not be so today but there are plenty of people who still look to the church and its ministers for care and protection, for guidance and help. The Church, as the body of Christians worldwide, should continue to strive in setting the example of love and care for others.

3. It’s a reminder of the responsibility churches have to care for children and their families.

As I’ve mentioned, the responsibility on churches and particularly those ministries dealing with young people should make best practice in child safety a priority. It is just so important to have policies and procedures, to have proper screening, and to be in alignment with government laws regarding duty of care for minors. Most people are trusting of others, but it is the responsibility of those in charge of events and programs to take the responsibility of caring for children and young people seriously.

4. It’s a reminder of how important it is to properly screen people working with children within your church.

In Victoria we have Working With Children Checks and a level higher would be an Australian Federal Police Check. These of course are the official documents, which may or may not pick up on everything. Ideally, we don’t want to have the attitude of suspicion but we do want to make sure we know the character, chemistry and competency of people who lead and have authority and care over young people. With this in mind it would be good practice to conduct interviews and checks regarding the appropriateness of a persons behaviour with and around children.

5. It’s a reminder of how devastating child abuse can be upon the individual and wider community.

The movie doesn’t go into vivid detail about what actual sexual abuse occurred but it let’s you in on enough to get the picture. It also portrays, as well as it can in a two hour movie, the after effects of such abuse and the consequences. It is a very sad situation, and is simply devastating on the individuals and families involved. The breaking of trust, the breaking of relationships, and the emotional turmoil is a stark reminder of why we must provide safe spaces for our young people to grow, learn, and thrive in our youth ministries.

February 29, 2016
Bonhoeffer On Sin And Grace

I’ve recently been reading The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning. I came across this paragraph from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who Manning quotes while describing how many churchgoers aren’t honest with themselves but believe they’re more righteous than they really are.

He who is alone with his sin is utterly alone. It may be that Christians, notwithstanding corporate worship, common prayer, and all their fellowship in service, may still be left to their loneliness. The final break-through to fellowship does not occur, because, though they have fellowship with one another as believers and as devout people, they do not have fellowship as the undevout, as sinners. The pious fellowship permits no one to be a sinner. So everybody must conceal his sin from himself and from the fellowship. We dare not be sinners. Many Christians are unthinkably horrified when a real sinner is suddenly discovered among the righteous. So we remain alone with our sin, living in lies and hypocrisy. The fact is that we are sinners!

(The Ragamuffin Gospel, p136)

While searching for more details about the above quote I found the paragraph that actually follows this. It’s taken from chapter 5 in Bonhoeffer’s work “Life Together”. It provides the answer to the above problem and brings it back to the hope through the Gospel.

But it is the grace of the Gospel, which is so hard for the pious to understand, that it confronts us with the truth and says: You are a sinner, a great, desperate sinner; now come, as the sinner that you are, to God who loves you. He wants you as you are; He does not want anything from you, a sacrifice, a work; He wants you alone. “My son, give me thine heart” (Prov. 23.26). God has come to you to save the sinner. Be glad! This message is liberation through truth. You can hide nothing from God. The mask you wear before men will do you no good before Him.

February 22, 2016
What’s Changed In Youth Ministry In 4 Years?

As I mentioned in my post last week I’ve been supporting and encouraging youth ministry from behind the front lines over the last four years. Working in a young adult role in a missions organisation and as a pastoral care facilitator for my denomination has kept me aware of what’s been going on. Even though I’ve only been back in the grassroots of youth ministry for a month I’ve already noticed a few changes across those years. I thought I’d name five here.

So, what’s changed in youth ministry in four years?

1. Communication

Instagram was still a start-up and not yet bought out by Facebook. Facebook was still growing and working out pages and groups. I was at the end of my iPhone 3GS contract. Snapchat didn’t exist. Twitter was Twitter. Churches using e-newsletters wasn’t really done. Podcasts were only just emerging as a new way to hear content.

As I step into this role, and particularly working with under 25s, I see the huge change in terms of communication tools available. If I wanted to I could add Social Media co-ordinator to my title and job description as Youth Pastor.

The ability to communicate with youth, young adults, parents, and the wider church has exploded and while at times this could get confusing I think it’s terrific. We are in the relational business after all, and these communication tools just help.

Four years ago I was still sending out hardcopies of the term program by snail mail. Part of that was to make sure everyone connected to us received something of their own, but on the other hand, it was snail mail.

Communication has changed heaps in just four years and in many ways for the better, if used well.

2. Experience

I’m really only talking about the Youth Pastors here in the Baptist church in Victoria, this is my experience. Although, I do notice other states and denominations who are experiencing the same.

There have been some great Youth Pastors that I’ve looked up to, rubbed shoulders with, and leant a lot from. They have had good youth ministries and continue to do ministry. Many, however, have moved on to other things, either in the para-church world or up into the Senior Pastor gig.

In my denominational role last year I saw this firsthand. There are plenty of newbies coming into youth ministry, and this is terrific and important and a must. I just pray that they might be able to get the mentoring and development I was able to have through the system.

And as an ageing Youth Pastor myself I know I’m part of that process. The coming five years will be a challenging and critical time to continue to train those coming through the youth ministry system.

3. Methodology

15 years ago many youth ministries were simply running a weekly program with games and a short devotional talk toward the end of the night. 5 years ago games nights were moving more toward small group nights with a social focus. Now I see many youth ministries running a worship service every Friday night.

Variety in youth ministry is important. Of course. But that doesn’t mean I don’t find some approaches difficult to understand. In many ways we need to be thinking through the context of our churches more than we probably do. Like any good missionary we need to be asking the question of ‘why we do the things we do?’

Whatever the case, there has certainly been a broadening out of what youth ministries do with their main gatherings. How are you thinking through the way you do youth ministry?

4. Conferences

There were heaps of conferences four years ago, I won’t deny that. But now there are even more!

When I look at the possibility of taking my youth leaders or youth group to particular conferences I find I have far too many choices. Each conference has its own emphasis and is designed to reach different audiences or theological camps. But even before I started a month ago I could see that on almost any weekend from January to Easter I could go to something.

It’s great to get teaching and training through different conferences. I was inspired to get back into youth ministry after a conference last year, around this time. But certainly when we talk Melbourne-based conferences, there seem to be a lot.

5. Training

Speaking of training, there is now an increase of information and training ready to be absorbed by any Youth Pastor willing to learn.

In four years there have been new books written in the youth ministry field. There is an increase in articles and bloggers focussing on youth ministry. I’ve already spoken about conferences, and now that podcasts are readily available there’s even more input to be had. Speaking of podcasts there’s this really good Australian-based one called The National Youth Ministry with Brenton Killeen and Jimmy Young. 🙂 I’ve also found some of the seminary lectures on youth ministry in iTunes U helpful too.

Training can be found almost everywhere and the better trained we are as Youth Pastors the better we will be. I still don’t think anything beats a mentor or colleague for help with youth ministry and training but there are a fair few more resources out now than there were four years ago.

Well, those are some of my observations over the last few years. How do you see the landscape? Has it changed much in your neck of the woods in the last few years? I’d love to hear you thoughts.

February 15, 2016
The Ageing Youth Pastor

For the last four years I’ve been behind the front lines supporting and encouraging Youth Pastors as they work on the ground in youth ministry. Time out has been good but for a while now I’ve missed it. Hence, I’m back and loving this new season here at Rowville Baptist.

It goes without saying that in the last four years I’ve aged. Everyone has. The guys I tracked with in my previous church were finishing up in Year 12, now they’re about to finish uni. I haven’t been a Youth Pastor in my 30s until now. I didn’t have a daughter four years ago.

This isn’t a bad thing. Not at all.

In fact, I think it is to my advantage coming back from a little break.

As I’ve reflected on this in the last few weeks I’ve noticed three particular things about myself that I believe will help me be a better Youth Pastor this time around.

1. Passion

I’ve realised my passion for youth and young adult ministry in a church setting has stayed strong. It’s where my sweet spot is. It’s what I enjoy doing and where I’m confident in being fruitful for the kingdom.

In fact, it’s off the back of a conference last year where I began to think seriously about getting back into the day-to-day of youth ministry and the low embers were fanned back into flame.

2. Perspective

In four years I’ve been given a lot of perspective.

Through the all-consuming nature of church ministry it is hard to see the forest for the trees. I’ve realised what a privilege it is to be walking with people as they explore faith and seek to follow Jesus. Being part of that can feel overwhelming and monotonous if you don’t have some perspective. I’ve been able to look at what’s important and what’s a waste of time to worry about. It’s been refreshing, particularly for someone who was born into a Baptist church 33 years ago.

There are of course stresses that come in the short-term but it is the longer-term view that is so important to have. The slow growth of the gospel working its way into people’s lives and helping them to become more like Jesus. Youth ministry isn’t a fast game, as much as I’d love it to be, it’s for those who see God building His church in His time.

3. Productivity

Finally, I’ve become more productive.

I’ve learnt how I work best, when I work best, and what tools I need to work more efficiently and effectively.

Tim Challies recently wrote a book called Do More Better, in which he explains a system to help people work more productively. I was pleased that the three tools he uses were the ones I’d been using for a while (FYI – Google Calendar, Evernote and Todoist). It takes time to learn how to work and particularly in a role that is so flexible.

If you’re a Youth Pastor I’d encourage you to work on your system. What are the things in your life that help you work at your best? Are you a morning or evening person? Are you planning well, in life and ministry? Are you getting enough exercise or recreation in order to function at your best?

These are three observations about myself that I’ve noticed since being back in church-based ministry.

What about you, what observations can you make about yourself as you age as a Youth Pastor?

February 9, 2016
The Presence of God

I’m once again attempting to read the whole Bible through in a year as part of my daily devotions. It’s a yearly goal. Sometimes it gets done, sometimes it doesn’t. This year I’ve been inspired by Melissa Kruger to take on this program which allows for the weekends off. If you’d like to join in it’s not too late!

Today’s reading was from Genesis 28-29 and Mark 11. I found it interesting how they dovetailed each other.

In Genesis 28 Jacob, on his way to find a wife, has a vision from the Lord while he is sleeping. This vision is essentially God promising Jacob that he will continue the line of Abraham. After this vision Jacob wakes up and realises that God is present. He wakes and says:

“Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”

As a result Jacob builds a pillar of stone in honour of the Lord and makes a vow to Him.

In Mark 11 Jesus enters Jerusalem with much fanfare. He is praised and honoured and arrives on the back of a donkey. He makes his way around the city and heads to the Temple, the place where God is supposedly residing. Here he comes upon business activities that are unbecoming for a place of worship. He clears the Temple Courts and curses them.

As I read these two passages side by side this afternoon I was struck by the reality of God’s presence in the world. In one God comes through a vision to Jacob and by the time the first century rolls around there is a temple representing the presence of God among the people.

But with the arrival of Jesus these things become redundant.

We may still have visions and we may still have places of worship representing God’s presence but it is the presence of Jesus that brings the presence of God to us. For it is Jesus who is the True Presence, he is the one who is the reality of God in the world.

We celebrate this every Christmas when we remember how God entered the world as a baby. We remember every Easter the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross so that we may know the presence of God in our lives. And we live each day knowing God is present with us through His Spirit.

What a wonderful encouragement for us to know that the very presence of God is with us wherever we are in the world!

January 18, 2016
I’m Back…And It Feels Good

This week I started in a new pastoral role in a new church.

It feels good to be here.

For the last four years I’ve been in a para-church pastoral role and I have to admit I feel ‘church rusty’ right now. The ministerial WD-40 needs to be close by over the next few weeks as I get used to being a church pastor again.

Beginning this role has been a long time coming. Never mind the 44-day holiday I had between finishing my last role and starting this one, but the first conversation I had about this position was about eight months ago. It’s been a process, a good process. I’m excited to be here.

In starting a new job, in a church or otherwise, there is always a mixture of excitement, challenge, and a sprinkle of weird. The learning curve is exponential as new processes and functions of the organisation need to be learnt. There is the attempt to get settled as quickly as possible and try and feel productive, but that’s actually not as easy as it sounds in a role all about people. And as I said to someone this week, “I’d love to be asking you questions right now, but I don’t know what I need to know so I don’t actually have any questions.” As time goes on this will become clearer, right now I’m just enjoying meeting new people and setting up my office.

So in the midst of all these things it is very exciting to be here – I’m actually back in a pastoral position! Sweet!

And there is a daunting part to it too – I’m actually back in a pastoral position! Argh! 🙂

If I was to say what is the most exciting part to it all though it would be the privilege of walking alongside people as they seek to be disciples of Christ. This isn’t an easy proposition but it is something I’ve missed for a while.

Being out of the church role for a while makes you realise how much of a privilege it is when you’re in it.

With this being the case I’m thankful for a great first week back and look forward to many great weeks ahead.

January 15, 2016
Another Year Begins

It’s a New Year.

A time filled with expectation, excitement and possibilities.

For me this means a couple of changes, particularly early in the year. I currently have seven more days of leave before I begin as Associate Pastor for Youth & Young Adults at Rowville Baptist Church. In early March there will be a new addition to our family so that will change things up a bit too!

With the turn of a new year brings the opportunity to take stock of what’s important and bring some focus to the year.

I find I’m not very good at resolutions but I do enjoy taking time to think, pray, and plan the coming weeks and months.

With this in mind there is always the goal of writing and blogging more. I found last year a bit difficult in this regard, mainly due to personal reasons, as can be seen by my posting patterns. Yet, as 2016 has come upon us the writing vibe has gradually been increasing and I hope to see this as an avenue for more blogging.

If you hang around here over the coming months I hope you will see posts about the Christian faith, youth ministry, sport, and some reflections on what I’m thinking through or teaching. It’s a random assortment of material, which isn’t exactly the advice given by the blogging gurus out there. But nevertheless, I do hope it will be a benefit to you as readers as it will be to me the writer. 🙂

January 5, 2016
2015 In Review

The WordPress.com stats monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Considering I’ve hardly written at all this year (7 posts in all) I’m pretty happy with these. Here’s hoping for a better writing year in 2016!

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,800 times in 2015. If it were a cable car, it would take about 30 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

December 31, 2015
My Top Books of 2015

At the start of each year I set out to read, on average, one book per fortnight. By the end of the year I’ve usually achieved this goal. What can I say? I enjoy reading. There’s usually a mix of fiction (40%) and non-fiction (60%), this year is no different. The list of books I read don’t include those I simply dip into here and there. These are the ones I read right through. If you’d like to see every book I’ve read this year then head here. Otherwise, below is a list of the top books I read. These all achieved 5-stars in my subjective rating system. 🙂

Adoniram Judson by Jason G. Duesing

Few books I read significantly shape me. The last would’ve been around a decade ago. Yet, in January one more was added to that elite list, this biographical account of the life of Adoniram Judson. Perhaps it was the timing, just before our miscarriage and a rather painful time for us as a family. It was helpful for that period but also for deeper reflection in what it means to live a life following Jesus and making him known to others.

The book was so good I had to review it. The review gives you a better outline and idea of the book than I can give here. I also quoted him a little in some previous posts. It’s a great read and was significant to me at the time and as I’ve continued to reflect on it.

In brief Judson was the first American Baptist missionary sent out, ever. He had a great impact on current day Burma/Myanmar, fruit which continues to be seen today. He endured so much personal and ministerial hardship, including the deaths of many of his children and two of three wives. He seems like an amazing man and very much worth the read.

Michael Jordan: The Life by Ronald Lazenby

Michael Jordan was the most iconic sportsman while I was growing up. Probably still is. He’d certainly be the best basketballer the world has ever seen. This biography is a comprehensive outline of his life and family. Lazenby begins generations before MJ was born and makes his way through the family tree before spending much of the 720 pages talking about his career. The Life outlines Jordan’s relationship with his father, family, coaches and team mates. It is a great read and even more so if you remember the glory days of Jordan and his Bulls.

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas

Another biography makes the list here too. Can you tell the stories of others interest me?

Bonhoeffer was a pastor during the time of Hitler-led Germany and into World War II. He was one of few who saw Hitler for what he was and went against the traditional German church at the time. This leads him to be a main player in seeking to assassinate Hitler during the war, which he is consequently imprisoned for. Metaxas is a great writer and gives a detailed account of Bonhoeffer’s life. It took longer than I would’ve liked reading this on Kindle but it was still worth the 5-stars.

When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate poverty Without Hurting the Poor…and Yourself by Steven Corbett and Brian Fikkert

As part of my role with Global Interaction I have had the privilege of facilitating and leading short-term mission or exposure teams. This involves preparing people to engage in missions in another culture and with other religions. At the same time questions are often raised as to the validity and method of these trips, quite often seen as a waste of money with little help to others. I have my own thoughts on this of course but this book helps put many of these things in perspective.

This is a good primer on poverty and dealing with people who are impoverished. It also has some good chapters on what non-profits can do to safe guard themselves in dealing with the poor, whether that be processes or programs or finances etc. I was particularly interested in how they approached short-term teams and there is a whole chapter dedicated to that. Consequently they have elaborated that chapter into and entire book now too. In any case, this one was excellent and gave me a real insight into dealing with things regarding the poor and social justice.

Leading from the Second Chair: Serving Your Church, Fulfilling Your Role, and Realizing Your Dreams by Mike Bonem and Roger Patterson

So in January I become an Associate Pastor. I thought it worthwhile to read up on what some of this may entail. This book was rightly recommended to me and very much worth the read. It is written by two guys with much experience in associate roles and delves into three particular tensions those who lead from the second chair may face. It gives a good picture of the realities of this role, whether it be in a church or other place of work.

Knowing God by J.I. Packer

Knowing God is a Christian classic and remains so today. This is a re-read for me but it had been 10 years since I last picked it up. Packer outlines the Christian faith and the central aspects of it. As the title suggests, it helps us in getting to know God, who he is and what he is like. As I read this it reminded me of how ‘lite’ the Christian Living books are today. If you’d like something of substance to read this coming year then give this one a go.

This time of year often produces ‘best of’ type lists on various websites. I mainly stick with books and you can read 2014’s list too if you like.

December 19, 2015
Our Miscarriage, Our Marriage, and Our Master

Dear Babis,

I know today is a tough day for you darling.

It’s a tough day for both of us really.

I know today is really a reminder of what could’ve been. It’s a day that should be filled with love, joy and happiness. Instead it’s become a day of sadness, possibilities and tears.

I’m sorry it hasn’t turned out the way we would’ve hoped.

I remember we were so excited when we found out you were pregnant again. It was a fun few weeks knowing what we knew, all on our own. Our little secret was something we talked about each night, thinking of what the future might hold for the little creature being created inside of you. For me, I was really looking forward to telling the family, and very excited for our first becoming a big sister.

But that week in early February kind of changed everything, didn’t it?

That happy week, where we were going to tell the family, turned sour after the scan and multiple visits to the hospital.

When it all went down, so to speak, it was a devastating time for both of us. I know you felt it and continue to feel it more deeply than I. I just hope I can continue to love and support you in the way that you need.

Today especially.

I reckon the miscarriage is probably one of the tougher things we’ve been through together. It’s been a painful and difficult experience for us, but one that has helped us grow stronger and closer together. I mean, the marriage course this year has also helped us, but this really did bring things into focus.

Having been through this I’m so thankful that the Lord provided a few glimmers of hope and encouragement in the lead up to the miscarriage, and which continue to sustain us at times.

Surely that Sunday sermon has to be the most relevant sermon we’ve ever listened to together. I truly believe the Lord provided sustaining grace for us when we needed it most, particularly through Psalm 91:1-2, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most high will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust’.” I know this passage, and the preaching of it, continues to give us a sense of His sovereign hand holding us, and a peace despite the hurt.

I pray it gives you that grace and peace today.

I know we feel the loss of possibility, the loss of opportunity, the loss of what would have been. I know it still hurts, and will continue to hurt, no matter how many more kids we may have. But I’m thankful that despite whatever circumstances we find ourselves in the Lord is with us and is giving us joy and comfort.

So darling, I love you. And I’m thankful that we’ve been able to grow closer since this happened.

I’m thankful that we’ve been able to walk through this together, and will keep walking despite its challenges.

I know its been one of the more rotten years because of this, but despite this brokenness we cling to God, praying with more clarity and regularity for the brokenness throughout the world.

I know you would like to know what that little creature would have turned out to be but unfortunately we can’t know that. But darl, I’m thankful we can continue to talk openly about the miscarriage and remind ourselves that despite our brokenness Jesus is the one who makes us whole and the who will bring us the comfort, peace, and healing to our situation. He did that in the first week of February and he’ll do it again today, as we remember the one that got away.

Love,
Jonny.

September 1, 2015