Little League Lessons

As you can probably figure out I am a big sports fan. Specifically baseball. That is why fall is my favorite time of year. Right now on TV is the Little League World Series (LLWS), in about a month we have playoff baseball, football is getting started back up, and a new season of soccer starts in the fall. Today I want to put the focus on the Little League World Series.

As I was sitting there watching these 11, 12, and 13 year old students play the game they truly love, I had kind of a weird thought. Where does their passion for baseball come from? And how can I get the students in my youth group to have that type of passion for our youth group? I see the Little Leaguers celebrate together, cry together, lift each other up, and no matter what they stay together as a team. If you have read my older post Baseball Anyone?, you will know that I view the church just like a baseball team. So why are these students not as passionate as the younger students at the LLWS? I really think we can learn a lot from these teams that have fought so hard to get to far.

The first factor I see is that the coaches and parents create a very positive atmosphere. Even in the hardest times of the season these coaches tell the kids to keep their heads up and move forward. The students are constantly encouraging each other, and that comes from the coaches making it clear that no negative attitudes will be accepted. This generation of students show "affection" by picking on each other. I've even heard other student pastors tell a student "the only reason I pick on you is because I like you." What is this teaching the students? Are we teaching them that as long as we say we like you that we can say anything about each other we want? I think we need to make a conscious effort to make our churches a place where only uplifting words and positive attitudes are accepted. Even when it is done in a joking manner, students don't like to be made fun of or picked on.

Another common factor in the LLWS is that people keep affirming the players. Positive affirmation makes a huge difference. The players are constantly flooded with parents, coaches, teachers, fans, and even media telling them how good of a job they are doing. Almost every single student is there because someone believed in them. I know I have been guilty of thinking it is part of being a parent to support and affirm your child, but I have found that many parents are dropping the ball on this subject. Never underestimate the impact of telling a student they did a really good job on something. Just like adults, students like to be appreciated and recognized.

I like that at the LLWS there is a mandatory participation rule. This rule states that every kid that is on the team must play in every single game. There are no bench warmers in the LLWS. In church there are students that don't want to be involved. I really think it our responsibility as leaders to get those students "into the game." Sometimes we have to gear activities and discussion in a way they want to be involved. In youth ministry I have seen students that just "slip through the cracks." It is incredibly sad, but some students show up, don't feel welcomed, come for a couple weeks, then just drop right back off. For this reason I have made it a special point to go and talk to any student I don't recognize. I don't just introduce myself, I let them tell me about themselves. But do not think that is "enough." Make sure you try to build a relationship with the student to really make them feel comfortable.

Finally, and maybe the most important aspect about the LLWS that I want to apply to my youth ministry is that the coaches push the students. They don't have practice and hangout for an hour and have a short baseball practice at the end. When we have all the students together we should be all about the games and activities and then just tack on a bible lesson at the end. The Bible and Christ should be the focus of everything we do with our students. On top of that we do not need to just keep going over the same things over and over, we need to challenge the students. When the teams at the LLWS have practice they do not keep going over the same things every day, they change it up and challenge the students. Our students cannot get better if we are not there to push them in the right direction. If you are a parent I beg you to talk to your student minister and let him know what your particular student struggles with. This is going to take you talking to your student about church. When a student gets home from school, most parents ask them what they learned that day. Why don't more parents ask their students what they learned at church? But this is a different topic for a different day.

I really believe that if we can create a more positive atmosphere for our students and support and constantly encourage them, our students will take notice and grow together as a team. The teams that win the Little League World Series, are not always the most talented or the best coached team. The teams that win are the ones who work together and believe in each other and are pushed. If we can get our students to work as a team we can really impact this dying world.

God Bless each and everyone of you,

Tyler

Online Socializing

This week I came across an article by Youth Ministry Media (@youthminmedia) called The Secret Life of Your Teenager. It is a staggering statistic about what our teens are doing online. It took me a few minutes to realize the entire implication of these stats.

In my small town only about 50% of the students have home computers with internet. But this last school year our school purchased Ipads for all the students (7th-12th grade). For many of them they had unrestricted internet access for the first time. The school didn't put any restrictions on the Ipads. The students had a portable means of accessing the internet anytime they wanted it. The Youth Ministry Media article points out that 56% of teens say their parents don't know what they do online. There are two big temptations for students that have unrestricted access to the internet: Pornography and chatting with strangers.

Pornography

 According to CovenantEyes, 1 out of 5 mobile searches are for pornography. 24% of smartphone owners admit to having pornographic material on the mobile handset. Porn revenue has declined by 50% since 2007, due to the amount of free porn online. These stats show that teens who have internet access have very easy access to free porn. And with the portability with an Ipad I would have to say it is a pretty good chance that some if not many of the students viewed or downloaded porn with them. Adding to this statistic is the fact that many teenagers now have laptops and smartphones, which puts access at their fingertips. I believe pornography is a serious problem in many youth groups.

Stranger Danger

As the Youth Ministry Media article points out 32% of girls and 24% of boys have chatted with strangers online. These are dangerous relationships. One way we can protect our students is to make sure they know that it isn't a popularity contest. "Friending" random people on Instagram and Facebook is letting them into your life. What most students do not realize is how easy it is for someone to lie on the internet.

"One way we can [protect students] is to talk about who they friend online, and how it's not a popularity contest." - Youth Ministry Media

What Can We Do Now?

Ask the difficult questions. From time to time ask the students what they are doing online. It might take some time but hopefully eventually you will get the truth. The students need accountability. Who knows next time they log on they might just think, "My youth guy is gonna ask me what I'm doing" and they might be safe online. It also shows that you care about what they are up to. Do not be afraid to talk about pornography. It is a real threat. Encourage parents to download web filters on all their home computers. A program that I use and that we use at our church is K9 Web Protection. It is free and you can restrict it as much as you want, from pornography to websites about drugs/alcohol and everything in between. Changing Google and Youtube search options to strict may eliminate many unwanted results. 

Please note that Pornography is not just a problem for teens. Many adults struggle with porn as well.

Keep Calm and Seek God

Greetings,
Sorry it has been awhile since I posted. But I hope this will make up for it!! Open your heart and let these be God's words to you not mine.

"You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart." - Jeremiah 29:13

This is directly after the very famous (often out of context) verse of Jeremiah 29:11 - "For I know the plans I have for you, - declares the LORD- plans for your welfare, not your disaster, to give you a future and hope." This is the God's words to the oppressed Jews of Babylon. In verse 11, God is promising a future peace and a future release from captivity for them. And then in verse 13, He is giving them hope while they are still captives. And in verse 13 is where our true hope is found in this passage.

One of the biggest problems I have encountered in a small town (might just be my small town) is the fact that the students don't think a month in advance. When planning events that are 2 or 3 months away many of the students just think, "I can deal with that when it gets closer." It makes getting people signed up for events extremely difficult. I attribute this to the fact that students wait to see if something better comes up for them to do. In a small town there is no telling what will come up. If you have ever heard of cantaloupe bowling you know exactly what I'm talking about. Who knew that throwing fruit around an empty parking lot (or anywhere you can find) could be so much fun?

But back on topic. Students live for today. They are not thinking about 15, 20 or 30 years down the road. So I think Jeremiah 29:13 is the verse that fits this mentality perfect. Yes God has plans for us in the future, but what about now? What about all the drops and valleys on the roller coaster we call life? This is where our real hope in Christ is found. Whenever we truly seek God, He will always be there. He never leaves.

I think all to many times we seek God when we need something. When we have a crisis or are in a situation that we see no way out. I've never heard someone who is constantly being blessed quote Jeremiah 29:11. It is always the oppressed and struggling. We ask God for help but once we get back to where we have our heads above water we soon forget who was there to pull us up, until we are struggling yet again. If we truly seek Him with our whole heart all the time, we are a lot more likely to keep our heads above water.

Truly seeking God requires everything that we have. All of our heart, body, mind, soul, and strength. If we only seek God for the things we need in life we are completely forgetting all the things He has already done for us. When we seek God with all of our heart it shows. People around us start to notice. I can promise you right now, no matter how smart you are, God is smarter. Sometimes students think they are "Google." They think they have all the answers to any question you can throw their way. And just like Google, they may have answers but they are not always correct or helpful answers.

My prayer is that anytime you think of Jeremiah 29:11, that you also cling to the rest of the passage as well. We have more than just hope for the future, we have a God that is with us always.


May God Bless you in a very special way this week!

Tyler

Are we afflicted...

"As ministers we are called to comfort the afflicted, AND afflict the comfortable."

I had the great opportunity to hear Dr. Alvin Reid speak this summer at SuperSummer Arkansas. He is probably one of the most influential speakers I have heard in my life. It took everything I had not to be on my phone tweeting and facebooking every other sentence that he said. One of the topics that he covered was what true ministry looks like. When he said, "As ministers we are called to comfort the afflicted, AND afflict the comfortable," my heart dropped. I want to share with you a few thoughts I have about this topic.

One of the main reasons I was so brokenhearted over this statement, was because I knew instantly I was guilty. I knew that on Wednesday nights I was all about comforting the afflicted. One lesson I was taught growing up was that if you can leave church after hearing a sermon feeling all warm and bubbly then it was not a good sermon. Instead of telling the pastor "good sermon" after church our response should be "I needed that." I realized I was applying that idea to the "big church sermons" I was hearing on Sunday mornings, but not making that that the purpose for my lessons on Wednesday nights. If we put the emphasis on God our students will walk away changed.

Along the same lines Dr Reid talked all week about truly challenging the students and not watering down everything for them. Again I knew instantly I was guilty. I was guilty of thinking that just because they were in a small town and never had a true youth minister, that they couldn't grasp theology. I thought I needed to water it down for them. I was very wrong. I find it is difficult to balance between the students that instantly grasp the point and those who it takes longer. But one thing that I have found true is that all students are tired of being talked down to. With all the information at their fingertips, this generation can handle the challenge. If the church stops challenging the students, they are going to go somewhere else to find that challenge. We need to stop treating our students like babies and start treating them like the smart students they are.

I could write pages and pages about what Dr. Reid talked about. From family to revival, he covered lots of topics but one quote that sums it all up for me and my ministry, and has been posted on my desk ever since, was this one:

"If we keep doing what we are doing we are going to keep getting what we are getting"