I don’t blog often enough about my own spiritual journey. This weekend has been a time when God has especially called me into fellowship with him through worship, though. That sounds very churchy… “called me into fellowship with him through worship”. However, I believe that’s exactly what happened.

Since I work for my church, I tend to be in task mode when I’m there or resting from the craziness of working for a church… and admittedly tuned out more than I should be. This weekend, however, our church services were cancelled so that we could perform an act of service for our neighbors. It was named, “Good Neighbor Weekend.”

Ironically, on a weekend when we did not have church services, this has been a weekend when I felt especially called into a connection with God. It wasn’t something I sought; it was more like a conviction of something that’s been lacking in my life.

Saturday was spent listening to worship music on Pandora and watching some worship videos of Hillsong United online. It was great, but I didn’t really feel all that connected. Something wasn’t quite jumping the synapse between me and God, but the mechanics of worship were there.

Tonight, however, through a movie called Leap of Faith (Steve Martin), I was called into the presence of my Creator and convicted. It was kind of like Matt Redman’s song, “The Heart of Worship”, we’re offering shallow, or even artificial, stuff up to God as a “sacrifice” of worship. However, when God decides to move in us as we worship, there’s nothing that can stop him.

In Leap of Faith, there’s:
- A crook of an evangelist
- A location not on the schedule
- A list of desperate needs gone unmet in the hopeless community
- A community that, on the brink of destruction, has nowhere to turn, but God
- A kid who steps out of his good reasons to be skeptical, and goes passed the evangelist to the cross where he finds genuine healing
- A miraculous rainstorm that ends the community’s literal and figurative drought
- A crooked evangelist destroyed internally by the awesomeness of God

Here’s worship as I was drawn into it:
- God uses a flawed person like me (or even a flawed Hollywood movie like Leap of Faith) to worship him and lead others into worship
- God enables us to worship him and even calls us into it
- God moves as he sees fit and when he chooses in spite of me
- God is always the rightful object of worship
- God is amazing – sometimes we need to be spiritually dry and restless to be in a place where we are ready to worship. It’s at that time God is praised not only through worship, but for enabling us to worship and draw close to him because of his calling.

I came across this nugget tonight as I’m prepping to teach my small group. We’re studying Nehemiah 9. Verses 35-37 are about how the Israelites are living in the land God gave to them, but kings are enjoying all the blessings God intended for them. This was such a great reminder for my own life that when I allow other people or priorities to take God’s place in my life, the rewards and blessing that come with his presence go to somebody else. I, in effect, enslave myself to that object of my focus and have freedom from God’s plan instead of being a slave to God and free of the world’s plan for my life. This is so helpful and true. Now if I can just live it out, I’ll be so much better off.

Luke 4:14 has given me some new perspective about temptation and how my obedience to God’s commands enhances the Holy Spirit’s power in my life. My mind is opening to a source of God’s power where I didn’t even think he was present. This new perspective is revolutionizing how I look at temptation.

What’s been on my mind is how the process of going through temptation, using God’s word to combat it, enables the Holy Spirit’s power to increase in my life. I’m internalizing this concept of the reward of the Holy Spirit’s strength in exchange for my obedience through temptation (Luke 4:14 – Jesus emerged from his temptation in the desert full of the Holy Spirit’s power). Typically, regardless of having victory over temptation or being defeated by it, I feel beaten up, weak and ashamed for being tempted.

The revolutionary aspect of this, in my mind, is seeing God’s role in temptation. While he doesn’t cause temptation (James 1:13), he can strengthen me through it. The typical perspective I’ve had is because temptation is evil, as long as I’m in that place of struggle, God takes a hands-off approach. He gives me the choice to embrace or resist, but leaves it at that. However, as I read in Jesus’ time of temptation, Jesus is led to the desert by the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:1) and is full of the Holy Spirit power when he returns victorious from it (Luke 4:14). The Holy Spirit plays an active role during our temptation directly related to our response to being tempted: We are strengthened by the Holy Spirit as we resist.

Bringing the concept of the strengthening of the Holy Spirit through my desert experiences gives me a whole new perspective on temptation. I can grow spiritually through temptation and emerge stronger instead of feeling shame for having gone through it regardless of the outcome.

While these are not new ideas, it is a new perspective for me. I’d love to know your thoughts on the subject.
- Have you seen temptation as a chance to be strengthened by the Holy Spirit or simply a curse caused by original sin?
- As youth workers, how do our students see temptation. Are they defeated or strengthened through the experience?

Let’s be sure to be renewed as we are delivered from temptation instead of defeated for having gone through it. Then let’s pass on the perspective to our students.

When it comes to small groups, there are lots of variables: Should they meet on campus or in homes? Should they be co-ed or same sex? Should they all study the same curriculum or be allowed to pick their own? Should they meet all year round or take the summer off? While these are all good questions, and worth thinking about, the truth is that none of these are the factors that most contribute to a successful small group ministry. Over the next couple of newsletters, I want to take a look at several key small group components that I believe make small groups work best.

Click this link to read the rest of  this article: When Small Groups Work Best | YouthMinistry.com.

One of our pastors records a daily Drive Time Devotion. It’s a short, free audio file devotional thought I can put on my iPod or burn to a CD to listen to in the car. I choose to listen to them using iTunes.

These messages have been a great break from my routine. My ministry to students suffers when I’m not growing spiritually. This is one more option I have to continue on the path of spiritual growth. I know it will be helpful for you, too.

Click here to download Drive Time Devotions

Other message downloads available on that same page:

• Crave is Saddleback Church’s College-Age Ministry, listen to messages from Pastor Brad Baker and other fun stuff.
• The Herd is Saddleback’s Men’s Ministry, listen to messages from Pastor Kenny Luck.
• The Saddleback’s Women’s Ministry, listen to bible studies and more.
• Element is the monthly event for singles at Saddleback Church, listen to Pastor Clayton Coates.

Refuel: An Uncomplicated Guide to Reconnecting With God

Lately I’ve had a deep desire to reconnect with God. Sometimes as a youth ministry volunteer I feed spiritual scraps to my small group students because that’s all I have to give. When I was the paid professional youth worker I went through times like this, too. I know we all do. Unless I continually renew my passion for God, I won’t be able to serve out of an overflow of God’s work in my life.

Fortunately, Doug Fields just came out with this new book called Refuel. Refuel has been very helpful for me as I journey to renew my passion for God.

I want to be what God wants me to be and do what he has in store for me to do. Unless I do it out of an abundance of what He is doing in my life, I’ll head toward discouragement, my students will be cheated and under-challenged, and my ministry will be a burden instead of fruitful. Refuel has helped bring me back to the basics of connecting with God and it’s making a difference.

Click here for more information about Refuel. I know it will help fellow youth workers reconnect with God like it’s helping me.

This year I had considered giving the book Blue Like Jazz to my students. I want to finish reading it first, though, to make sure I like it enough to give it to them. I’m not finished reading it so I went with something better… time. Most ministry happens through experiences rather than through teaching. I’m giving my students a coupon for a free meal with me at the time of their choosing. This will probably be a little more expensive than a book, but will bring in more rewards on the relational side of ministry.

This is what I’ll put inside their Christmas cards:

Christmas Gift for Students - Free Meal w/Me

When I was a teenager I developed the habit of journaling. I’ve done it off and on since that time. I drill it into my students that they need to do it, too.

I’m glad I practice what I preach. Today I read through some entries from May of this year. It reminded me of some lessons I was learning at the time and encouraged me to get back on track developing those things in my life.

Journaling for me is like a time capsule to my past, a point of reference to measure progress and a kick in the butt to use what I learn.