Tag: student ministry

When Church People do Bad Things

On By pastorjonathanIn Ministry, Thursday Post2 Comments

from-flikerSo here is the deal.  Most Wednesdays I teach and part of our strategy of discipleship is reteaching.  Which means that we challenge our students to take what they learn on a Wednesday and introduce it into conversation or get two or three of their friends together for a small groups Bible study using the Revelation Application Guide as teaching guide (its something we are working on and not a finished product).  So what better way to readdress the issues we discuss than to put up a blog post on Thursdays that highlights what we have learned on Wednesdays?

When Church People do Bad Things

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.  But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.  If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” – Matthew 18:15-17

It’s Not about You

One of the best things that can ever happen is for a believer to truly understand that it is not about being offended or hurt, but about individual relationships with God and each other.  Many times we are too easily offended because we love ourselves too much.  Self-love is not what should motivate us to seek out a right relationship with our brother in Christ, it is God-love.

For this reason it is important that that offended party (or the one who witnessed the brother in sin) go to him.  You should not wait for an apology before you attempt to reconcile with a Christian brother.  This models the way that Christ has come to us (Romans 5:8).

You Should Go Alone

It is not about you when someone has sinned against you.  It is about their relationship with God.  You should approach them about their offense in private in a way that makes much of God and minimizes your pride.  You should not use the world of social media (Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc…) to defame the person who has offended you.  You should seek to reconcile things in the peaceful quiet of a one on one conversation.

The Goal is Restoration

The aim is to gently and persuasively pull your brother back into right relationship with Jesus Christ and others.    The gospel is preached and the drama of redemption is played out when we lovingly confront our brother’s sin for the purpose of restoration.  Real love does not allow sin to go unchecked but holds others accountable for the purpose of godliness.

I love my daughter and because I do I will prevent her from doing things that will cause her great harm and pain.  It is love to restrain and compel my three year old daughter that playing with knives is wrong.  It is hate to let her contently play with knives to the point that she causes serious harm to herself or others.  In the same way love compels us to reach out to our brother in sin and bring him back into the fold (Matthew 18:12-14).

. . . . . . .

Obviously there is a lot more to this passage that I have time for here.  We can pick up the debate about the later stages of this process later, but in the meantime check out some of the following passages that address this issue.

  • Matthew 7:1-7
  • Galatians 6:1-2
  • Romans 12:19

5 Growth Challenges

On By pastorjonathanIn Manhood, Ministry, Prayer, WomanhoodLeave a comment

300819410_8dfff801d5_m Are you looking to grow deeper in your relationship with God?  The challenges below are a great place to start.

1. Proverbs Challenge… Read a chapter of Proverbs each day.  Read Proverbs chapter 7 on the 7th of the month; chapter 8 on the 8th of the month and so on.  Our pastor Chris Aiken does a daily blog commenting on one chapter of scripture and a daily take away from the book of Proverbs.

2. Journal Challenge… Take the Bible reading one step further and keep a journal that you can record your thoughts in.  I like to ask myself two questions after I have read and prayed thought the scripture: 1. What does this say about God? 2. How will I respond?

3. My Story Challenge… Write out the story of how you became a Christ follower in 100 words or less and let me review it. Try use every day language and avoid words that are church specific.  Highlight three things:

  1. Life before you met Christ.
  2. How you met Christ.
  3. How your life is different now.

You can see a version of mine in the “About Me” section of “Meet Jonathan.”  After it has been reviewed take the opportunity to tell others your story and get their input.  Post it on your facebook and myspace profiles.

4. Teach others challenge… I encourage our students to take notes on the Sunday Morning sermon and the Wednesday night message.  Study their notes and then either through intentional study (like an established Bible study) or in regular conversation (“guess what I learned this week”) share what they have learned in a way that teaches others.

5. Accountability Challenge… I challenge our kids to encourage one another with what they have been learning and doing in smaller groups.  I do this by sending out a mass text each asking for prayer requests from those who subscribe and sharing a verse that stuck out to me that day from my daily bible reading (usually from Proverbs since that is one of the challenges).

Resources on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood

On By pastorjonathanIn books, Family, Manhood, WomanhoodLeave a comment

15813429181 Since hearing about the upcoming Disciple Now at Calvary, many of you have been asking, “What is Biblical Manhood and Womanhood?” and “Where do I find resources on this stuff?”  Here are just a few things that have come across my radar in the last ten years.

A great place to start is John Piper’s book “What’s the Difference?“ it was written as an introduction to a much larger volume entitled, “Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.”  You can download a free copy (PDF) of the book here.

There is also an official website for the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood that is full of free information.  Make sure you check out the resources page.

Boundless a webzine published by focus on the family has compiled a little book out of various articles they have posted over the years entitled, “Guys Guide to Marrying Well.”

Of course there is also Men’s Fraternity that was started by Robert Lewis.  Lewis has also written a book for women entitled, “The New Eve.”

Specifically for the teenager’s, the Rebellution has a great compilation of resources on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. While you are there check out there blog and their incredible book “Do Hard Things.”

As you will note, each one of these resources is in and of itself a treasure trove of information concerning biblical Manhood and Womanhood.  There are several other great resources out there, but this should be more than enough to get the conversation and thought process started.

Your Partner in the Gospel,

PJ

ApParent Privilege

On By pastorjonathanIn booksLeave a comment

apparentfrontcvr

I just read Apparent Privilege by Steve Wright and Chris Graves.  I recommend this book to parents with children of all ages, but especially parents of teens.    The book is written with a relevant straight forward style and if full of practical application parenting teens.

Apparent Privilege is also a great read for student pastors reminding them of their call to come along side parents.  The book is full of scriptural insight, recent statistical information, and compelling stories that are sure to be useful in any ministry to parents.