by David Hanson | Apr 17, 2014 | The Youth Ministry Blog
What do you do when someone else gets recognition, more responsibility or a promotion? There are days in ministry when what we have been given is enough, but all too often there are days where it isn’t.
The longer I’m in middle school ministry, the more often I see people around me getting promoted and advancing up the chain of command. If I’m honest, I get jealous of them because I want to be recognized for my good work. We in America place a lot of importance on titles and position. We preach the false gospel of meritocracy, “those who are more talented and work harder deserve to move up.” So when you are a 35 year old youth worker, you start to believe that you deserve more. More authority, more recognition, a bigger sandbox.
In Numbers 16, three Levites named Korah, Dathan, and Abiram led a rebellion against Moses. Their complaint was that Moses had acted as if he were greater than everyone else by being their leader. We all know how ridiculous this claim was. Moses RESISTED being a leader. He told God “no”, but God insisted. Korah had it all wrong. It wasn’t Moses who exalted himself, God did. Their beef is with God, not Moses.
Moses’ response is convicting to me. He says, “Is it not enough that you are Levites? Is it not enough that you get to take care of the Tabernacle?” Korah, Dathan and Abiram had their ministry. God had given them a place to serve and yet it wasn’t enough.
In student ministry we can spend a lot of time worrying about the “low” place we hold in the church. We feel as if God has forgotten us or that those around have left us out intentionally.
My response to you is this: Is it not enough that you get to disciple teens and leaders? Is it not enough that you are able to teach the Bible, minister to families, and watch kids grow up? Stop longing for more power and prestige when God has given you a place in His kingdom. Be thankful for the ministry and season God has put you in. Stop striving and start enjoying.
Kevin Libick is a Middle School Pastor living in Fort Worth, TX with his wife Kara and her two cats. He is a novice banjo picker and expert Hawaiian food eater. Kevin loves to connect with other youth workers and equip them to live out their calling in God’s Kingdom. Connect with Kevin on Twitter: @kevinlibick
by David Hanson | Apr 16, 2014 | The Youth Ministry Blog
Have you ever noticed how dumb the disciples are portrayed in the gospels?
It’s almost as if they are on a downward trajectory until the resurrection. Think about it. It must have taken GREAT faith to drop their nets (the family business) and follow after Jesus. This new, unknown, Rabbi preaches a sermon near the lake they fished and when He invites them to be His disciples, to follow Him, they immediately leave their trade. This is nuts! It would have taken great faith and a little nerve. What do you think was going through Zebedee’s head when his two boys (James & John) jump out of the boat and take off (Matt. 4:21-22)?
He was probably hacked off! Who is going to help him man the nets/boats?! Leaving to follow Jesus would have taken great faith. But let’s look a little further into their followship…
In Mark 8:31-38 Jesus lays out plainly what will happen to the Son of Man. He told them that He must “suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priets and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31). Peter’s reaction?
He rebukes Jesus! He rebukes the man who has walked on water, fed 4,000, healed the deaf, cast out demons, and calmed a storm. What?! WHY would he doubt the intentions and words of Jesus? Has He not seen the power behind Jesus’ words? This is a royal example of Peter missing the point. A chapter later in Mark 9:30-34 Jesus again foretells his death and resurrection. The disciples response? Fear. Which this somehow parlays into a conversation about which disciple is the greatest. Again, the disciples miss the point. Now let’s look at the disciples followship shortly before the crucifixion.
In Mark 14:43-50 Jesus is in the garden praying before His arrest. The disciples who know Jesus is stressed, somehow fall asleep. When they wake, Judas is on the scene having Jesus arrested. One disciple begins to defend Jesus, but Jesus prevents the fight. We would think that the disciples would be faithful. That they would offer themselves over as well. “If you are going to take Jesus, you have to take us also!” But verse 50 states, “And they ALL left him and fled.” They ran. A few verses later, we find the story of Peter denying Jesus.
The closer to the cross we get, the dumber the disciples become. However, after the resurrection, the disciples begin to proclaim Jesus with boldness, courage, and faith that would inevitably lead to their deaths.
I encounter many students who are in different stages of followship. I see newbies demonstrate great faith and lifelong followers miss the mark completely.
May we as youth workers use the disciples to encourage our students. May we praise those who drop their nets to follow Jesus, but may we also prepare them for the difficult road ahead. When they fail, and they will fail, may we point them to a Savior that lives. A Savior who doesn’t want selfish conformity, but rather humble warriors on mission to make disciples by offering life through Jesus Christ.
Texas native, Texas Tech Red Raider, M.Div. at Truett Seminary, husband to Ashley, father to Ava & Ben, Student Pastor at
LifePoint Church in Plano, Tx, table tennis (ping-pong) extraordinaire, addicted to coffee. For anything else…you’ll just have to ask,
Email David.
by David Hanson | Apr 15, 2014 | The Youth Ministry Blog
Read it. Embrace it. Live it.
by David Hanson | Apr 14, 2014 | The Youth Ministry Blog
Whew! If I didn’t LOVE what I do, this would be a rant post where I rail about all the things I have going on in ministry that have prevented me from blogging consistently.
BUT, I love what I do! Getting to serve my church body is life-giving. In addition to my normal, weekly, youth ministry activities (including planning for summer! already?! what?!) there have been two major things taking up my time.
1. Multi-site – Our church, is in the process of replicating ourselves in a multi-site. I am super stoked to be a part of this process as we seek to further God’s Kingdom through the vehicle of the local church. To accomplish this, our weekly MLT (Ministry Leadership Team) meetings have doubled over the past month. That’s 2 half-day meetings per week! Yet, when I realize what God can/could/will do through this process, I’m elated to have a seat at the table!
2. Easter Picnic – Each year the student ministry & children’s ministry work together to pull off our annual picnic. This is no small task when you are expecting 3,000+ in attendance. Food, games, seating, music, egg hunts, gospel presentation, volunteer coordination, guest booths, parking, staging, it’s amazing how many small things come together to pull these things off. And it honestly couldn’t happen without the whole staff pitching in!
THE POINT
While these two things have taken up A LOT of my time, it has been an absolute blessing to serve our congregation. I could whine, I could complain, I could make excuses, but this is the task the Lord has entrusted to me, “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12). And this is something I want to do not with bitter heart, but rather “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:2-3).
Texas native, Texas Tech Red Raider, M.Div. at Truett Seminary, husband to Ashley, father to Ava & Ben, Student Pastor at
LifePoint Church in Plano, Tx, table tennis (ping-pong) extraordinaire, addicted to coffee. For anything else…you’ll just have to ask,
Email David.
by David Hanson | Mar 18, 2014 | The Youth Ministry Blog
“To the church in Fort Worth.” That phrase popped into my head this afternoon. Far too often I forget that the Bible was written to specific people living in a specific time. It certainly does apply to my life, but I wasn’t written specifically to me.
The New Testament books are written to the churches in cities like Galatia, Rome, Ephesus, and Philippi. These are geographic locations that had streets, local hangouts, city governments and places to eat. When Paul or John writes to these people he is addressing specific problems that Christians are having in these cities.
This got me thinking. What would a letter written in my day to my city look like? This is the city that I love with the people that I love. What would be included in a letter to the church in Fort Worth?
If I sat down and wrote my letter, it would include hopes and dreams that I believe God has for my city. I would want certain things to change and other things to stay the same. I have certain people in mind when I think about my city, just like Paul and John did. My letter would be different from your letter because your city and people are different from mine.
Each day we have carry the weight of translating the Gospel of peace into a language our students and our city can understand. Because we live in different communities our translations look different. This is the process of contextualization, where we translate the timeless truths of Scripture for a specific people, time and place.
What would you include in your letter? Where is justice needed? What needs aren’t being met? What powers in your community need opposing? Who needs someone to stand in the gap for them?
You are called by God to translate the Gospel for your community. If you don’t, who will? Go ahead, get writing!
Kevin Libick is a Middle School Pastor living in Fort Worth, TX with his wife Kara and her two cats. He is a novice banjo picker and expert Hawaiian food eater. Kevin loves to connect with other youth workers and equip them to live out their calling in God’s Kingdom. Connect with Kevin on Twitter: @kevinlibick
by David Hanson | Mar 10, 2014 | The Youth Ministry Blog
If you are in a position where you can choose the direction of your student ministry and help guide it, this can be one of the most rewarding and sometimes frightening places to be. You feel the weight of shepherding this ministry you have been entrusted with. In the proper frame of mind, this will cause you to listen, pray, and spend time with the Lord. Sure, there are egomaniacs out there, bent on running the ministry in the way they see fit with little guidance outside of their own minds, but hopefully this is not the common case.
These decisions are sometimes large ones (what programs or services you will offer, vision of your ministry, etc) and sometimes small ones (stage designs, to have donuts or not to have donuts, etc). Some people think through every decision, while other people have more of a “Hey, whatever!” mentality, I find myself in the former camp.
This fall I was working on restructuring our small groups and finding ways for our teaching to coincide with them. In the past, our small groups had been some what autonomous in their teaching, with leaders picking different studies they found intriguing. I wanted to streamline this process, focus in on Scripture more, and really dig into certain passages to help them stick in their mind. Side note: I believe that students will not remember much of what I say in my sermons five years from now (maybe five minutes?), but if I can teach them to study and understand their Word, then this is something they will carry with them for the rest of their life.
I started to feel that I wanted my students to really grasp the Gospel of Jesus in a holistic way. If Jesus is the central figure of Scripture, our Redeemer and Salvation, then I wanted my students to grasp His life and hopefully fall deeper in love with Him. I started to feel pulled towards teaching exegetically through a Gospel and I naturally started to look towards Mark. I say “naturally” because I love the flow of Mark and the straight forward nature of it. A professor at seminary had opened my eyes to Mark in a profound way, and I’ve never thought of it the same since then.
This was a big undertaking though, it meant over four months in the book of Mark to teach it adequately in the way I wanted to. It meant not teaching through some of our regular fall series. What if the students got tired of going through the same book? What if staying in the same chapter all week long meant they would check out of groups? I know these may seem silly to you, but these were my thoughts.
I trudged forward with Mark in spite of my doubts, we are three weeks away from finishing, and it has been an awesome Spirit-led decision. I devoured books and studies on Mark. We didn’t skip over the difficult parts of Mark, but tackled them head on. We asked tough questions and didn’t shy away from God’s truth. Our students have come to grasp the life of Jesus in a way they never have before. They read ahead to get a better picture of what’s coming up. When students have gotten saved over the past few months, I tell them to read Mark, knowing that we have a group of students that can walk and guide them through their readings. It has helped to galvanize our ministry and the adults are learning a lot too.
All of this to say, don’t be afraid to teach God’s Word. Don’t be afraid in student ministry to engage the Word in a deep and meaningful way. Make it fun and ask the tough questions. Our students have gotten the most out of the misunderstood passages like the Rich Young Ruler. God’s Word will change you and your ministry. God’s Word is awesome…
Brandon Weir is the Student Pastor at The Fellowship Round Rock near Austin, TX. What does Brandon love? “I love my wife Jules, my dog Ranger, Texas Tech, being outdoors, the Texas Rangers, camping, hiking, reading, Torchy’s Tacos and I love me some Jesus.”
