Had an opportunity to meet with some of our small group leaders I coach last week.  It was really cool to hear them talk about the students in their life groups.  I sat and listened to story after story about how God is working in and through their group.  It was fun to see the leaders faces light up as they talked about the students who are stepping up and leading the group in certain areas.

This really got me thinking about how thankful I am for our leaders and how much of a big deal it is for them to invest in our students. I also thought about the fact that I was meeting with volunteers who were in their first year of serving and volunteers who were in their 20th year of serving.  So I thought I would list a few things I believe are important when turning new leaders into veteran leaders:

• Affirm - One crazy night with a group of students can throw any feeling of affirmation you thought you had about being a volunteer in student ministries out the window.  So it’s important we continue to affirm our leaders throughout the year.  They need to know that they are making a difference.
• Equipp - Your leaders must feel equipped.  You can do two things when it comes to training volunteers. You can over train or you can under equip.  You don’t want to do either so when thinking about training think about the expectations you’ve set for your volunteers.  Allow the expectations you’ve set to dictate training.  They need to be trained for whatever you expect them to do.
• Appreciate - A simple thank you will do.  They are volunteering because they want to make a difference, not because of what they can get from you.  So don’t think you aren’t appreciating your volunteers because your budget only allows for a written thank you card.  They will appreciate it and it will mean the world to them.

hope it helps

ac

Self serving leaders are usually self serving way before they become leaders and you can definitely find servant leaders serving way before they are leading. Now, that doesn’t mean that a self serving person can’t learn to become a person that values serving others over themselves.  Also, that doesn’t mean a servant leader cant’ have moments of being a self serving leader.  As a leader, you have a choice to either serve others or yourself and if we are not proactive in checking our motives concerning the things we do and the decisions we make, those who are servant leaders or those who are pursuing servant leadership can easily have moments of being self serving.  There are a number of self serving leaders in the bible. There are also leaders in the bible who had a heart for serving the people but allowed unchecked motives to run wild and ended up having moments of being self serving. King David of the bible, slept with another man’s wife and got her pregnant and then had him strategically killed to cover up what he had done (2 Samuel 11:1-27).  Now, maybe you’ve never done anything that bad but I can easily look to times when I was definitely being self serving. We must remember that God places no value on sin. God views it all the same. There’s an old saying that I’ve seen proven true over time: “If a person will lie, they will cheat and if they will cheat, they will steal” .  Sin, as well as being self serving, is progressive and leads to destruction (James 1:14-15).

Now, I’m not saying being self serving is completely wrong. It’s the motive that corrupts the act of being self serving.

There are a lot of verses and stories in the bible that come to mind when I think of self serving leadership.  There was one king who threw a man into a den of lions because he wouldn’t stop praying to God (Daniel 6:1-24).  Another king threw three guys into a furnace because they wouldn’t worship him (Daniel 3:1-30).  Even if you look in the new testament you can see a theme with the religious leaders of the day. They were so caught up with leading and the authority they had over people that they couldn’t even see that the Messiah had come.  They ended up oppressing the people just like every other self serving king/leader.  Here’s list of a few things that you want to watch out for concerning self serving leadership:

• Value the title more than the duties that come with the title.
• Lead for their own benefit.
• Have an unhealthy need to be seen and heard.
• Abuse their authority.
• Instead of doing what’s best for everyone, they do what’s best for themselves.  
• Will manipulate situations and people for their own purpose.
• Values the credit given over the results produced.
• Will ultimately do whatever it takes to keep the leadership role they’ve been given. 

Matthew 20:25-26  25Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, Christ is saying that there is a system in culture that says those who are leaders should have and deserve the glory , honor and praise from those that serve them.  There is a system in culture that says that the people the leader oversee are there for the leader and not the other way around.  Then He says but that’s not the way it is for you. You must see it differently than the world’s culture. “Those that lead in my kingdom will be the greatest servant.” Here are a few things servant leaders value and do:

• Servant leaders understand it’s not about them but it’s about the people they serve.
• Servant leaders are more interested in the needs of those they serve than their own. I’m not talking about neglecting their own needs for the sake of others.  I’m talking about making choices for the betterment of others whether they receive credit for it or not.
• Servant leaders count it as a privilege to lead others and not a right based on their title.
• Servant leaders value the results produced more than the credit given.
• Servant leaders value the responsibility of the title given more than the title itself.
• Servant leaders are life long learners.
• Servant leaders value doing what’s right even if no ones paying attention.
• Servant leaders understand that any notoriety given is to be used to further the cause and not your career.
• Servant leaders are disturbed by injustice.
• Servant leaders look for ways to serve

Matthew 20:28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.  If our pursuit is be like Chrsit in leadershipthen our pursuit is to simply be the greatest servant ever no matter .

What are some other attributes of a servant leader?

hope it helps

ac

So great hanging with these guys!!!!

hope it helps

ac

I have a lot of students who parents are not christians and it’s tough for them.  A lot of them are the only one in the family who have accepted Christ.  I’ve had to navigate the waters of parents who don’t understand why we do what we do or question why has their child joined the youth group!?!  I’ve learned that we minister to non- believing parents through the impact we leave on their children.  I’ve seen parents come to know Christ through the changes Christ has made in the child’s life.   So here are just a few of many key elements to think about:

• Prayer is key - Continuously pray for the parents that they may find Christ.  Also, pray for the students that God would use the student to be a light to their parents.
• Be available – Be available to meet on their time if at all possible. Remember, we are partnering with them.  I don’t want to be a ministry that just says we partner. I want it to be evident in the way ministry is done.
• Share beliefs and practices – Make sure parents are able to access what you believe and your event calendar is super easy.  Also, if you can give some kind of synopsis of what you are teaching that would be great.
• Impact –  It’s the non-flashy youth group stuff that impacts the heart of parents.  Staying after group to talk through a crazy family situation, the unexpected phone call just to let them know we are here to support them, showing up at a sport event, spelling bee or graduation.  Never underestimate the power of just being present and attentive.

Also, we must remember that when we step into leadership in any capacity we are held with the responsibility of being responsible.  Our actions can hurt or heal, include or exclude, show love or judgement.  You must know that the parents will hear about the good things that happen and they will also hear about the bad.

How are you ministering to non-believing parents?

hope it helps

ac

I know a lot of churches that participated in the harlem shake as a element of fun and outreach by having their students invite their friends to be part of it.  If you have no clue of what it is just google “harlem shake”.  After the initial release of the first video there were 44,000 copycat versions three weeks later bringing in a 175 million views.  I’m sure those statistics have been blown out of the water by now, but i wanted to give you some type of idea of how much exposure the harlem shake was getting.  I’ve also noticed a lot of debate about whether we should as christian youth groups participate in things like that.  I love it when we all weigh in on things like this.  We are called to sharpen each other (Proverbs 27:3) even if that means disagreeing and expressing a different view.  I do believe there is room to have healthy debates about things like “Is the harlem shake ok for youth groups to do?”.  We just have to make sure that it is done in love.

Out of all the debates I’ve read it seems like there’s a common question that is being asked. Would Jesus do the harlem shake?  I thought it would be a great idea to explore this question by looking at how Jesus evangelized.  As I read through the different accounts of Jesus reaching out to evangelize, two themes jumped out to me. Lets look at them.

Jesus came to save and not condemn – John 3:17 - Jesus was careful that He did not perpetuate the mob mentality that the Pharisees had.  His objective was to extend grace to everyone who would receive it, as He reached the lost.  Now, in no way shape or form am I saying that Jesus didn’t speak out and take a stand against areas of culture because He did.  However, most of it was about the church who created a “us against them” mentality that needed to be broken.  Jesus never allowed the sinner to be identified with their sin, but He always spoke to how God viewed them.  Jesus was great at hating the sin and unconditionally loving the sinner.  He saw everyone as God’s beloved.  He treated everyone as God’s beloved.  He came to save and not condemn.

Jesus was completely counter-cultural to the church of that day- Matthew 9:10-13 - Jesus hung out with sinners and was unapologetic about it.  Now, of course he did not participate in sin (1 John 3:5), but He wasn’t afraid of those that did. Neither did he condemn them, but showed unmeasurable grace, forgiveness and acceptance. He loved them and wanted the best for them just like He does for you and me.  If Jesus was here today I wonder how He would share the message of God’s kingdom.  Lets look at how He dealt with people.

• (Mark 2:1-12) There was a crippled man who was lowered by his friends into a crowed room so that Jesus could heal him.  When Jesus saw the man He stopped what He was doing and healed the man in front of everyone and forgave his sins.
• (John 4:7-42) Now, culturally Jews didn’t mingle with Samaritans.  Jesus was a Jew and the woman was a Samaritan, yet Jesus approaches and talks with the woman at the water well and lets her know that He knows all about her past and even her present state-of-being.  He still doesn’t condemn her but offers her a better life, and because of a conversation that was unacceptable by culture many more came to Christ.
• (John 8:1-11) One day Jesus was teaching a group of people.  There was a woman who was brought before Him about to be stoned.  She was caught in adultery.  Jesus stops what He’s doing and stops the stoning and tells the woman “I do not condemn you, now go and sin no more.”

Now, Jesus did something in each of these situations that we should think strongly about when it comes to evangelism.

• Jesus understood the dangers of living in sin and had no problem with challenging people to pursue a sinless life.
• Jesus was engaged in culture.  He befriended and cared for people who’s lifestyle He disagreed with.  He also did things that would attract those who needed know to him.
• Jesus was full of grace – the words “you are forgiven” did not just come from His mouth but also from the way He interacted with people.
• No matter what Jesus was doing, He made the time to conversate with people.

Now, while I posed the question “would Jesus do the harlem shake”, I intentionally didn’t answer it.  In light of what you just read, what would a youth group outreach ministry look like if it was led by Jesus in 2013? Would He have thought the Harlem Shake was ok to do?

hope it helps

ac