Super Summer - Khaki Worship

this post is a list of the songs i used during the khaki worship sessions at super summer.

O Praise Him - David Crowder Band
Christ is Risen - Mia Fields and Matt Maher
Cannons - Phil Wickham
Holy Is the Lord - Chris Tomlin
Before The Throne of God Above - Shane & Shane version
Lead Me to the Cross - Hillsong
Ruin Me - Jeff Johnson
Come Ye Sinners
Everlasting God - Chris Tomlin
So High - Barry & Michelle Patterson
The Greatness of Our God - Stuart David Garrard, Jason Ingram (Hillsong Publishing)
Everything - Tim Hughes
Jesus Paid It All - Kristian Stanfield

The Village Church (click here or here for Village chord charts)
- In My Place
- Hallelujah, God is Here
- Made Us Alive
- Glorious Day
- To the God of Victory
- All I Need
- Only the Blood

if you would like for me to email you specific chord charts, leave a comment on this post and include your email address.

a letter

since february, i have served as the interim youth minister for a church in denton. my last sunday is coming up, may 10th. here is the letter i sent to the parents today...

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Currently, I am reading through the book of Romans. I started over a week ago, and I’m still in the first chapter. It’s just that good. As I attempt to sift through Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, I find myself being constantly reminded of the sin in my life and my desperate need of grace. As Christians, we are good at forgetting who we really are and why we need Jesus in the first place. My heart rejoices that while I live in the midst of my brokenness, my God loves me.

In Romans chapter one, Paul spends a significant amount of time discussing sin and the fact that because we do not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, we find ourselves filled with wickedness (1:28). Paul is reminding them, and us, that if our own spiritual growth is not a priority, we cannot overcome the sin in our lives by ourselves. As I let the truth of that sink in, I continue to return to the opening verse of the chapter. He writes, “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God.” Paul describes himself as a servant; God has purchased him. As believers, we no longer have the right to decide what will become of our lives. The moment you say, “yes” to God, the calling in your life becomes evident. We are called to be set apart for the sake of the Gospel. The Gospel must become such a part of our lives that the saving power of God is spread wherever we go. You see, salvation doesn’t stop with being purchased by God and a calling being put on your life – there must be a response. That response is found in verse 5; because of Jesus we receive grace, and through that, our obedience to spiritual growth and evangelism comes from our faith in Him.

As I come up on my last Sunday with Highland, I praise God for the opportunity to come and walk alongside you as you invest in the lives of your students. I am continually amazed that God allows me, with the sin and struggles in my life, to play a part in reaching the world for Him. I’m grateful that your church was a part of His plan for my life.

I commit to praying for you, your family and your church as you seek the youth minister that God is calling to Highland. As you wait for God to reveal what’s next, I pray that you each remember the impact you have on the spiritual growth of your children. As I shared a few paragraphs earlier, because of our faith in Jesus, we are called and have the opportunity to invest in others for the sake of the Gospel. May your children and the world around us see Jesus and the power of the Gospel in us as we strive to become more like Christ each and every day.

youth ministry gets serious

a pastor of a local denton, tx church emailed me the article, "youth ministry gets serious" that he found on leadershipjournal.net. before i start discussing the article, i want to share with you some of the thought-provoking statistics that it offers:

- Number of teens in U.S.: 24 million
- Percentage who have attended church for a period of at least 2 months: 81%
- Percentage who have participated in at least one psychic or witchcraft activity: 75%
- Percentage of young adults who maintain active spiritual life consistent with high school years: 20%
** Stats from the barna group, www.barna.org

many youth ministers/workers/parents believe that youth do not want to attend church because they find it boring, and to combat that the church youth programs must be heavily entertainment-driven. this article discusses how "entertainment-driven" youth ministry seems to be failing. the barna group shows that "61% of american 'twentysomethings' attended church as teens but no longer attend, read the Bible, or pray."

chanon ross, youth director at knox presbyterian church in naperville, illinois is quoted as saying, "the point (was) not to do anything too weighty that would turn kids off. the old goal was to keep it light; keep it fun... while simultaneously conveying a positive, family-friendly alternative to things like MTV." ross believes that this is the reason for the mass exodus of students from the church (and personal faith). for many teens it is difficult to differentiate between the gospel and the pop-culture box they received it in. the article quotes from the book, soul searching: the religious and spiritual lives of american teenagers, instead of worshiping the holy god of the Bible, most teens follow "a combination Divine Butler and Cosmic Therapist" - someone to solve their problems and ensure happiness." they call this belief "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.

to reverse this trend, Time reports that churches are starting to turn their focus from entertainment to teaching (theology/doctrine). they use youth pastor chris reed's ministry experience as an example of this shift. "when chris reed failed to convert a single student during a 12-month span as youth pastor of calvary baptist church in bellflower, california, he decided to make a change. reed restructured his program around heavier doses of doctrine and adult mentoring. youth rolls expanded from 70 to over 200 in a period of 6 years, with 64 teens accepting Christ in a single year." reed states, "people need to realize that youth are not the church of tomorrow; they're the church of today."

over the past 3-4 years, i have had the opportunities to work in children, youth and college ministries and i can speak from experience about the frustrations of "entertainment-driven" youth ministries. i have been the youth minister who has struggled with balancing doctrine with the pressures of planning events to draw students in. now as i work in college ministry i see first hand the products of poor teaching. as i mentioned earlier in this article, 61% of twentysomethings who attended church as teens no longer attend, read the Bible or pray. i believe that we as believers (the church) must recognize that we cannot expect today's youth (or even the church) to have a strong faith if they are not given a foundation and the tools to build up. faith is more than being able to recite Bible stories. it is more than knowing the words to every song in the hymnbook. it's about constantly pursuing a relationship with God through believing that Christ died for your sins so that you would have the opportunity to come before God. it's a constant pursuit. it's not easy. it can't be based on emotions and feelings. it has to be based on knowledge (which comes from learning). how can they believe if we have not told them (romans 10:14)? if we do not help them find their own foundation for their own faith, then when the questions (personal and from others) come up they will not be able to combat them strongly and effectively.

i will continue with this topic again soon...