My Problem with Fun

June 19, 2013 — Leave a comment

“I came from the youth service of [insert name of youth ministry] and it was fun!”

You’ll hear this statement from some teens. They came from a youth service where the praise and worship was like a concert and the music team was like one of the famous alternative band. The production was superb and the sounds and lighting were really state-of-the-art. And the preacher sounded like a stand-up comedian. It was really fun!

A lot of youth ministries have adapted (and are adapting) a ministry philosophy that revolves around fun. They spend lots of time, energy, and resources making their activities and even their entire ministry fun (or entertaining). It actually bothers me. Why? Because fun, as attractive it may be, is a shallow philosophy. It produces fun-loving, shallow disciples (if we can really call them disciples). I begin to wonder what will happen to those kids when the day comes where the activities cease to be fun. Will they still stick around?

Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). Deny oneself? Take up an instrument of death? Follow? Doesn’t sound fun to me. Yet this is what Jesus requires if we would want to become his disciples. And our youth ministries went after fun instead.

Now hear what I’m not saying. I’m not saying that our youth services shouldn’t have excellent production. And I’m not saying that we shouldn’t invest in good equipment. And I’m not saying that the preacher shouldn’t incorporate humor in his message. They all have their proper places. We are serving a glorious God and, by all means, we should have excellent worship services and activities.

What I’m saying is that we shouldn’t major on fun. Rather, let’s focus on other more important things, such as sound teaching and intentional disciple-making. Instead of making fun-loving, entertainment-driven kids, let’s produce biblically-grounded, missional-minded disciples. I challenge youth pastors/leaders to do this.

Recent blogs on Youth and Youth Ministry:

- Students are Smart
- Explain the Word, Not Entertain

In Youth & Youth Ministry
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Marrying Someone Older

June 17, 2013 — Leave a comment

The Single Holy and Happy 1024x317 Marrying Someone Older

I love talking to pastors and their wives. Every time I strike a conversation with them, I learn a lot. Last week, I went to an out-of-town trip with a couple of pastors, their wives, and some friends. On one morning conversation, one of the wives asked me out of the blue, “Are you willing to marry someone who is older than you?” By “older,” she meant someone who is at least five years older than me.

This is not really a “caught-off-guard” question for me. By chance, I’ve been reflecting on the matter recently. So it wasn’t hard to answer. I replied, “I’m open to that idea. But I’d prefer someone younger than me.”

I’d rather choose someone younger because I desire to build a Christ-centered family with 4-5 kids. I’m hoping that when I marry, the woman is still at her “prime” years. So regardless of my marrying age, I hope the she’s at least in her early- to mid-twenties, strong enough to raise a godly family with me.

So let’s go back to my situation. After I answered, the wife told me stories of young couples who were married for years but can’t start a family, and of older couples (in their forties!) who were able to start a family. She pointed out that children were indeed a blessing from the Lord (Psalm 127:3). So even if the woman is old, if He chooses to open her womb, she’ll have children. I can’t help but remember the Bible characters who gave birth at their good old age.

The wife was right. Thanks to her, I’m now more open to marrying someone older than me. After all, God is sovereign, even over a woman’s womb.

Recent blogs on The Single: Happy and Holy:

- Single and Flexible
- Men as Risk-Takers (Part 2)
- Men as Risk-Takers

In Marriage, The Single Life ,
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Disciple-Making: Quantity or Quality?

June 14, 2013 — Leave a comment

As a disciple-maker, I place a premium on the quality of disciples. That’s why I work hard studying the Bible, prepare a good lesson, and “feed” (teach) them to my small group. “Even though I have a few disciples, as long as I’m teaching them the Bible, I’ll be fine,” I thought to myself. Admittedly, I look down on disciple-makers who seems to be after quantity and not quality. I say this to my shame.

Disciple-makers seem to have a dilemma. They choose between quantity of disciples and quality of disciples. But should they really choose between the two? Let’s take a look at Matthew 28:19-20:

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Nations refer to people groups; that’s plural. This talks about quantity. Teaching refers to the method of rooting the disciples in the faith. This talks about quality. So to be faithful to the Great Commission, a disciple-maker must be committed to both quantity and quality.

So the choice is not between many disciples versus deep disciples. Rather, it is between many or deep disciples versus many and deep disciples. And no one in his right mind would want the former over the latter. What are your thoughts?

In Disciple-Making
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Students are Smart

June 12, 2013 — Leave a comment

Recently, a couple of students approached me (or texted me) and asked some questions. The questions weren’t simple; they’re actually theological in nature. They ranged from “Why did God commanded the Israelites to wage war against pagan group?” to “What or who caused Satan to sin?” While I can answer few of the questions, I have to admit that I’m clueless with most of them.

So I worked hard figuring the answers, fully depending on the Spirit. I slept or went home late due to research, and this happened for days. Finally, I met with the students and we discussed their questions. Admittedly, I was nervous. Thoughts like “What if they asked this or that, and I don’t know the answer?” were bugging my mind (and yes, that happened). But in general, we had a meaningful discussion and they were satisfied. I’m glad it’s done.

I learned lots of lessons along the way. Let me share three. First, I learned that students are smart and I cannot (and should not) underestimate them. They are able to ask deep questions about life and faith. They can be trained to feed on the deep things of God. I’m just glad that the students in my ministry are smart. Youth pastors should be grateful for them.

Second, I learned that as their pastor/leader, I must be willing to wrestle with their questions and doubts. If these are left unaddressed, these may hinder their growth. But when dealt properly, it will cause tremendous growth in their faith. In this vein of thought, I made sure that I relied on the Spirit.

Lastly, I learned that I must be committed to continuous learning. This means more reading, more thinking, more books, more blogs, more engaging conversations, more intellectual discussions. I need to be prepared for more questions in the future.

Before I end this blog, let me leave you a quote from Tim Keller, which motivated me to work hard in researching for my students’ questions:

A faith without some doubts is like a human body without any antibodies in it…A person’s faith can collapse almost overnight if she has failed over the years to listen patiently to her own doubts, which souls only be discarded after long reflection…Only if you struggle long and hard with objections to your faith will you be able to provide grounds for your beliefs to the skeptics.1 (Emphasis added)

1Timothy Keller, The Reason for God (New York, NY: Dutton, 2008), xvi-xvii.

Recent blogs on Youth and Youth Ministry:

- Explain the Word, Not Entertain

In Youth & Youth Ministry
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Dealing Through A Name Change

June 10, 2013 — Leave a comment

Recently, the student ministry of our church had a name change. After bearing the name Jzone for almost a decade, the leadership of our church and of the student ministry changed it to Elevate, with the tagline of Taking Students to the Next Level.

Elevate Dealing Through A Name Change

We in the leadership have been systematic in our approach to the name change. We started casting the vision to our teams, then to the students. But as expected, not everyone will readily accept the idea. In fact, many from different groups (parents, small group leaders, and current students) questioned the change. One reason for it is the removal of Jesus from the name (Jzone stands for Jesus Zone).

This issue got my blogging juices running. So in this blog, I’ll be laying down some personal thoughts about the name change (I hope to be of help to ministries who are planning to do a name change or are going through it). Let me be organized:

  1. The Philippines is a predominantly Catholic nation. Many schools (and big ones) are run by priests and nuns. The former name hinders us from entering these schools, since it would be merely seen as an evangelical, student-converting group. The new name is less intimidating, if not unintimidating at all. With it we believe that we can enter schools more easily, allowing for the propagation of the Gospel. We don’t want to hinder Gospel progress, right?
  2. Just because the ministry does not bear the name of Jesus it automatically deviates from Him. God forbid! There are many religious groups and “churches” that bear the names “Jesus” or “Christ” or “Christian” but are doctrinally unsound and are unfaithful to Jesus, which is an irony. Some are even cults masquerading themselves as a true church. The issue here is doctrinal soundness and faithfulness to Christ, His Word, and His mission. So before you judge a ministry and its leaders regarding a name change, be sure that you have checked their doctrine and their faithfulness to Christ, the Bible, and the Great Commission first. (I owe lots of the ideas on this point to John Piper. He appealed to the supporters of Campus Crusade for Christ [CCC] not to drop their support just because of a name change to Cru.)
  3. The name change was approved by the leadership. So before you strike a blow to your pastors and leaders—the Lord’s anointed—or start some kind of an underground revolt against their decision, you better think twice.

Some will even cite what happened or is happening to America, like the lobbying for the removal of “In God We Trust” in their national currency, or the banning of saying “Merry Christmas.” But the motives behind those removals are far different from the motives of the name change. The name change is not the removal of Jesus from our ministry (again, God forbid that to happen!). Rather, it’s for the removal of the hindrances to His Gospel.

For everyone directly and indirectly concerned with our student ministry’s name change, I humbly appeal for your support. For those ministries planning for a name change or are going through the same experience, I pray that the principles in this blog helps.

In Church & Ministry
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