Well, it’s late and I’m tired. So much prep the night before we take our student ministry to summer camp. I don’t know whether I will have internet access or not. If I do, I will try my best to keep you updated and give you the highlights of camp. If not, then I will when I return on Saturday.
However, I will be updating frequently my twitter. You can follow me @adamdeanyoung.
Have a great week and get some extra rest for me, cause I know I won’t be getting any!
So this week has been a rather exhausting one
So… tomorrow is a much needed break.
FYI - My hopes are to have the audio up on my blog from my message this morning later this week I hope (fingers crossed)!
The blogging tour I discussed in my previous post has drawn a lot of attention. Here is the list of bloggers who were involved:
Recently, a lot of bloggers have been discussing, promoting, and sponsoring Compassion International. I have known about Compassion International for a long time and the youth ministry I lead together supports our own child.
In February of this year, a team of bloggers, traveled to Uganda to see the work Compassion International is doing, write and record what they experienced, and share the stories of the millions of children who desperately need help financially, but ultimately need to understand the love and hope of Christ. Anne Jackson was a part of the team and is the reason I knew about the trip.
These videos, below, are videos I wrote and my good friend Grant Downing at LifeChurch.tv filmed and edited for me. I wrote these for a message I did about Missions (both local and international). I think they fit well with this topic.
Where’s your treasure? To sponsor your own child go here!
After that last post I would like to clarify something. Not that I should have to explain anything but I will because I want you to understand my heart and where I come from.
One of my ultimate fears as a pastor, is that one day I will look back over my life/ministry and realize that it was spent cheering for the wrong thing. That I spent all my energy, time, and money for things that in the end don’t really matter.
For me, this is the fear that keeps me awake at night. This is the fear that keeps me on my knees in prayer begging God to keep me focused, humble, and willing.
If we were truly honest, how many pastors/churches have filled their pews with conservative, well-behaved, pro-life Republicans who never causes any trouble, all think the same, and pride themselves on the fact that they don’t drink beer. But in the end, are more concerned with their appearance than Christ. What if they just ended up grooming themselves for the trip to hell?
God don’t ever let me start cheering for the wrong thing! Keep me focused, humble and willing to pursue Christ and lead others in the pursuit of You!
After more thought on this subject and reading scripture, I don’t claim to know all or have the ultimate answer for every church. But I will list some scriptures that have impacted my thoughts and then tell you what I have concluded.
Read the story of the “Good Samaritan” (Luke 10:25-37) on your own. Answer this question, “Could this man have provided all the medical care and housing if he had no money in the bank?”
I think there is a fine line between having money for low-giving periods or money to help out people in time of emergency or catastrophe and hoarding money. But I think it’s Biblical and necessary to have an “emergency fund” or whatever you want to call it.
I will leave you with this: swerve.lifechurch.tv is a great blog. Recently, they asked a question about How Economic Uncertainty Affect the Church? It breaks my heart when I read a pastor commenting about how it was making an impact on his church to the point that they were a matter of, ”two to three weeks from shutting the church down.”
What do you think would be the pastor’s response to this topic?
So I had an interesting conversation the other day with some pastors about church cushion (Money). One of the pastors who is very passionate about following God in faith and actually has spend his entire life (is almost at retirement age) either in the Mission Field or as a Missions Pastor. He was saying that the church should act more on faith and give more money to mission trips, organizations, missionaries, etc. as opposed to sitting on a large amount of money for emergencies or for cushion in times of low giving.
I didn’t say anything cause he is much older, wiser and has much more ministry experience. But I was thinking… “Isn’t wise to have an ‘emergency fund’ (Thank you Dave Ramsey) and not put your self in a vulnerable position that could lead to the church having to close its doors?” But then again, maybe we should live on more faith that if your church were following God’s direction, He would provide.
What do you think? What does your church do?
I have to admit up front on this one, this is not my original idea. No shame in using something from someone else as long as you give credit where credit is due. I took this from my former employer LifeChurch.tv. They refer to their “services” as “experiences.” I love that. As the Church, our goal is not to provide a service but to organize, plan and execute everything we do so that people can experience God and community with other believers.
So in FUEL Student Ministry, on Wednesday Nights, we have “The Experience,” NOT a youth service.
This is the video I created to introduce our new student ministry name/philosophy.
Enjoy!
