Don Wilton is the pastor at FBC Spartanburg. His son, Rob, spoke at Parkway’s Disciple Now in 2007.
December 21, 2009
Walt Mueller wrote a great blog post on Tiger Woods. You can read it by cliciking here. One line that jumped out at me was:
Yes, we were created to worship. The only problem is that we consistently get the object of our worship wrong. . . over and over and over again.
December 21, 2009
A youth ministry topic that’s being debated right now is: what to do w/ cell phones. Some ministries are banning them totally. Kids have to turn them in at the door or before loading the bus to go to camp or a retreat.
Others don’t take them up prior to small groups or worship, but will take them up if a teen uses during the meeting.
My personal philosophy: use them to your advantage.
Our student ministry has been using YouVersion Live since it was released. We’ll ask for teens to post status updates while they are at church. We’ve used them as an outreach tool (ask teens to send a text to a friend during the worship service). We’ve also used them as a way for teens to pray for one another. They are really useful in having teens send prayer requests or questions to us during a student worship service.
I’ve even had Sunday School teachers who didn’t have any luck w/ teens verbalizing their response to questions that began texting the group questions. The result? Almost every teen responded to the questions.
Each philosophy has its positives & negatives. Why not leverage them to help us accomplish our goal.
If you don’t see the video below click here for an interesting news story on the same topic.
more about “Bring Your Cell Phone to School“, posted with vodpod
December 19, 2009
I got to spend last night w/ the Parkway class of ‘09. Great time. Great group of teens/young adults. I’m proud of how they are growing in their faith & serving others.
I cooked supper for the group. We exchange presents (they had to be bought at Dollar Tree; 1 guy forgot a gift. He retrieved 2 golf balls from his truck & “wrapped” them in a saltine crackers box.). Made the short drive to the Canton square. Told a lot of old stories.
Amanda missed out on hanging out w/ the group. She was serving as an emergency bridesmaid fill-in in a friends wedding.
December 18, 2009
Christmas is actually a slow time for our student ministry. No Sunday night (discipleship groups) or Wednesday (worship) activities. Most of what I’m working on are big events for 2010 (Krave, Summer Camp & Disciple Now).
The relaxed schedule has allowed me to spend a few hours reading each afternoon. While I was reading (& holding a very hot cup of coffee) on Tuesday this hit me:
My faith is too often like the cup of coffee I’m holding.
It gets really hot at times (great quiet time, good worship service, retreat,…). It feels like I’m making a difference. I get energized to serve, love, & obey.
Then it cools off.
My cup of coffee cools because it’s not connected to a heat source. My faith cools becuase of a lack of connection to it’s source.
John 15:4-5
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
December 17, 2009
Even though I grew up in Clinton I seldom made trips to downtown Jackson. Just wasn’t much going on besides a couple of good places to eat. That’s changing.
Working downtown for the past 8 months has made me more aware of all of the development that is occurring. Check out Downtown Jackson Partners for all the info. If you’ve lived in the metro, but haven’t kept up w/ downtown I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by it’s resurgence.
Today, also marks the opening of the King Edward (click here for the wiki article). 1 news story that has been constant for the past 20+ years is what to do w/ the King Edward? A variety of developers & government groups would dream big plans that never moved beyond the drawing board. Today, that all changes as the King Edward opens its doors. For more info on the King Edward check out the following:
December 14, 2009
That’s the claim that was made by Scott T. Brown, director of the National Center for Family-Integrated Churches. I encourage you to read the entire article.
Here’s a few of his quotes:
“Modern youth ministry is also inherently destructive in its impact. It divides the church by creating generational division and multiple cultures instead of a unified ‘body”
“This slippery slope of age segregation leads to the isolation of an individual’s perspective to one that only looks outward from within the confines of their age group and excludes the lessons that can and should be learned from previous generations,”
“I hope that we are now at the end of this 50-year failed experiment,” he stated. “We now have almost three generations of children who had no father who walked beside them but a youth group instead. It is obvious that half a decade of youth group does not produce young people who are passionate about the church.”
December 11, 2009
- This story on The Bear written by Rick Cleveland
- Stop Doing Ministry by Tony Morgan
- Do Ministry Leaders Need a Social Media Presence? by Adam Mclane (check out this related post on social media by Seth)
- The Worst Nativity Sets by Mark Oestreicher
- The Biggest Hindrance to Change May Be You! by Kurt Johnston
December 10, 2009
Remembering the past is a big deal to God (not remembering is a big deal to, but this post isn’t about that). As you read through the Old Testament God is always reminding the Israelites to not forget past victories that He has given them. He would tell them to remember the Exodus story or another story of how He had provided for them. He instruct them to build an altar so that they would not forget what He had done for them.
I’m much like the Israelites. I’ll be in the midst of a new battle. Doubts & fears will come. I find myself forgetting God’s faithfulness in the past & how He has delivered me. I have to be reminded to remember the past victories.
A few weeks ago Amanda’s youngest brother was married. The ceremony took place at Beulah Memorial Baptist Church. The church Amanda grew up in & the 1st church I served. It was/is a great church. It was founded in 1818 & until June 2000 they had never had a paid youth minister. They took a chance on me. No budget (as in a youth ministry budget of $0.00). Very limited meeting space. Very few teenagers (0 my 1st night & 1 my second week). We saw God do amazing things in the lives of teens & families.
During the wedding reception I took a few moments to make a stop by my old office (see photo below). It looks like it’s now used as a preschool room. It still has the same lovely green carpet (& the duct tape patches) though.
I took a picture of the place to remind of what God has done in the past & how He is still faithful. What victories can you look back on to give you courage/faith/hope in your current circumstances?
