Passionately Following Jesus
I posted a new blog post over at the PDYM Blog today…Go check it out there!
Here’s an excerpt from the article:
There are thousands of youth workers in the virtual world who have a lot to say and a lot to contribute. However the average post on this blog attracts 2 or 3 comments. I personally want to hear from you. We may start a topic, but the point of a blog is to provoke conversation and idea sharing. READ ENTIRE ARTICLE
Purpose Driven Youth Ministry: The Conference is rocking back on to the student ministry conference scene in a big…but small way in 2009. The PDYM Conference took a couple of years off due to some busyness in their ministry and after experimenting with two very successful regional conferences in Florida and Texas.
In 2009 the conference will return, but its going back to some of its roots by focusing on an intamate atmosphere. Even when the conference got big, I always felt it had a much more intimate feel than YS or anyother large youth conference. The Conference is only going to register around 650 649 people for the conference, so if you plan on attending, now’s the time to register yourself and your team. You can register now by clicking HERE. For more information on the conference such as pricing, travel information, Click HERE.
There has been a lot that has been misunderstood and incorrectly conveyed about PDYM and about Purpose Driven in general, this has led to a lot of assumptions and misconceptions. Here is a little of how PDYM helped me and why I believe in its principles.
PDYM is not program driven or program heavy. In fact when I first started looking at PDYM and started to implement it, our student ministry reduced the number of programs we were doing. We looked at the 5 basic principles that PD emphasises and determined what those looked like in our ministry and what we would do to weave them into our ministry. Where our church had people strongly focused on evangelism through a program, we emphasised evangelism being a lifestyle, something that should happen all the time not just in a program. Where our church had a Sunday School program and dabbled in Small groups that focused on discipleship, we simplified our focus and utilized discipleship tools through our small groups to focus on spiritual growth. We did not want to teach the mentality that spiritual growth happens in a program, rather it has to happen on our own, and by providing tools, we encouraged that personal growth, while our small group leaders were there to assist students through that process.
We transitioned our traditional “come and watch while we feed and entertain you” youth group into a student ministry where we encouraged students to own it and to serve the students in the community that we were reaching and those we hoped to reach. We provided opportunities for students to serve and encouraged students to create their own ministries surrounding their passions. We cut out monthly “Events” and “activities” and focused on periodic larger events (Fall Retreat, Summer Camp, Etc.) that emphasized relationships and a theme for our students to grow spiritually around. Instead of providing a baby sitting service we encouraged our small group leaders to invest in their students’ lives by going to their ball games, taking them to lunch, and being a central part of their life as a caring adult.
As a State Mentor I hear a lot of criticisms of PDYM, when I ask, “Have you read the book?” The typical response is, “I’ve read some of it, I’ve read half of it, or No, I have not read it.” Basically, they are saying, I formed my own opinion based on a couple of chapters or they are saying I have formed my opinion based on the opinion of someone else. Typically I hear this when discussing the use of other strategies within PDYM. It is highly recommended that you solely use PDYM if you want to be a student ministry that is balanced (structurally) around Evangelism, Discipleship, Ministry (or Service), Fellowship (or Relationships), and Worship. Some people say they prefer “The Seven Checkpoints” over “PDYM,” and that is great, however I have examined the Seven Checkpoints extensively and it will not do anything for your ministry outside of discipleship. It is not something you would use to build a structure by unless you are going to focus heavily on discipleship. The Seven Checkpoints is great for spiritual growth and we have used it within our small groups and we have taught from them, but it is not strong on structuring to help balance out all of the purposes for the church. A lot of churches are strong on one or some of the purposes, but come up short on balance. Are you there? Do you do a lot of activities, but maybe you are not seeing life change through salvations and spiritual growth? Or are you seeing a lot of salvations, yet you have nothing in place to see those students mature spiritually? PDYM can help!
The Conference is worth going to. You will not walk away without learning something, and if you can carry a team of volunteers I highly recommend you do it, they will come home pumped up and ready to share Jesus with students all throughout your community. The breakouts are awesome and this year if you are attend I hope you will come by the breakout for Kingdom Day.
Remember only 650 spots are available to Register Today!
I am blogging over at the PDYM Blog today, but my post is very relevant here as well. I started promoting Kingdom Day HERE and HERE a while back. Purpose Driven has picked up on it and has allowed me to promote the day within our Network and is helping put an engine to the locomotive. I was given the opportunity to promote the day to our state mentors at the Gathering and will have the opportunity to promote it at the PDYM Conference in March with a breakout session. We are calling it PDYM Kingdom Day, but this day is definitely not limited to student ministries who use the PDYM paradigm for their ministries, this day is for every student ministry that uses the Bible for a foundation of what they do. Kingdom Day is about living out the Gospel, I hope we all believe that to be important. Here is an excerpt to what I wrote on the PDYM Blog, I encourage you to go read it in its entirity there!
200.
Currently, that’s the approximate number of churches that will be participating in the 2009 PDYM Kingdom Day on Saturday, April 25, 2009.Kingdom Day is set to be the single largest Service project in the history of the church, and you have the opportunity to be a part of that history. In a single day, student ministries will unite together despite denomination and regardless of group size to live out the Gospel of love to our communities by serving those who are in need. This is a great opportunity to emphasize the purpose of ministry within your student ministries, as well to promote our individual churches working together united as ONE body to be more effective in reaching our communities, to impact our nation, our country, and our world. READ ENTIRE POST
One of the cool things that we got to do while in California was tour the Refinery; we also held our daily meetings there. Doug expressed his love/hate relationship with the building and I think every youth worker who has a solid focus on growing their students spiritually through relationships would agree with his premise, although we would also love to have a building like the Refinery 🙂 . Doug shared that he has been doing student ministry for over 25 years without a “student building” and in that time he has come to the realization that student ministry can be done outside of a permenant building. I think most of us realize it can be done in a living room, in a gym, outisde under a tree, or where ever else students convene. If we ‘think’ our student ministries can only be effective in a nice building, we run the risk of narrowing our focus of ministry to be program driven. That is not my heart and I know it is not the heart of focus of PDYM. Doug said he made it clear that he did not want the Refinery to be considered the “Student” building, though it has a student ministry theme throughout, he wants it to be considered a “Community Center,” and by the looks of what happens throughout the week, its exactly that. They are using this beast of a building to reach out to their community…and that is awesome! They also host their new service FUSE in the high school auditorium, from what I’ve heard that service for 20 somethings to 30 somethings has exploded and God is blessing it in a huge way.
I’ve included some pictures of the Refinery below, I ripped them from my friend Tom’s Facebook and my friend Dan’s blog (My wife would not let me take her camera). Click HERE to go to the Extending the Vision Blog for more Refinery pics and stories.
By the way, this picture shows a little more about what the Gathering is. Its not a big conference and really not a big youth pastor’s event. (Its big to us) It is a “Gathering” of PDYM like minded youth pastors who Doug Fields and Neely have selected to represent the PDYM philosophy/paradigm for student ministry in their states. Like Proverbs 27:17, we sharpen each other, pray for each other, and have a lot of fun. When its time to say goodbye we are like a bunch of school girls crying that it would not end.
Trust is the emotional glue that binds followers and leaders together.
Warren Bennis and Bert Nanus
A Danger always presents itself when someone who is in a leadership role gains the trust of those they desire to follow them; for it is with that trust that they can lead their followers in a positive direction or in a negative one.
I can think back to many of the wrong ideas I had about life, marriage, church, Christianity and leadership and it usually originated from someone who had earned my trust and used their emotional bond to influence me with their ideas, thoughts, and opinions. The same can be said about the positive influences in my life, they too can be traced back to influencers who have played a major role in my life, my ministry, and my career. Today I am pointing out a handful of people who have had a positive influence in my life, whether small or great, some while I was growing up and others are more recent. Later this week I will name a few more people who have influenced me:
1. My Dad (Tim Carnes): I remember seeing a huge transition in my dad, from a day where he believed Carmen was not godly music to the night we drug him to a Third Day Concert and attempted to get him in a mosh pit (He is a Southern Gospel Nut). My dad was tough and strict at times, but he never forced us to conform to a Biblical teaching just because it was taught. I remember numerous times coming home from a Christian school excited about something I had learned in the Bible and being challenged to back the new found teaching up with scripture. He taught me to believe what I believe because the Bible taught it, not because man said it. He taught me to work hard and to make sure the family is taken care of, even if that means working a 2nd or 3rd shift at Wendy’s. He also taught me that you can overcome any situation in life if you put your mind to a task and work hard, he earned his Bachelors, his Masters, and Doctorate Degrees through Life Scholarships when he was in his 40’s. At the age of 50 my dad ran for the U.S. Senate in South Carolina against Lindsey Graham, which taught me that at any age we should continue to live lives of adventure and risk.
2. My Grandpa (Jack Carnes): A gentle but tough man. He drinks 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar everyday to prevent certain health problems, yet last year he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Yet he does not stop and he’ll keep giving 110% of his life everyday until the Lord takes him to Heaven. My grandpa has two fingers on one hand, because he disobeyed his dad at the young age of 12 and played with a dynamite cap, it exploded taking off his fingers. Through his life story I have been taught that there are times you have to work 2 and 3 jobs to pay the bills and provide for your family. God comes first, your family second, and then your ministry.
3. Doug Fields: I remember when I first got hired full time in Student Ministry; I thought I knew a lot, I didn’t. I got a copy of the PDYM Book and devoured it. I remember being stopped at traffic lights trying to get one more sentence in. I came from churches who’s lifeline was programs and rules, so to hear an approach that focused very little on programs and strongly on relationships, processes, and freedom was liberating to a young and naieve pastor. Doug through his messages and leadership played a major role in that development, though it was from a distance at first.
4. Melvin Minitor: He allowed me at the age of 11 or 12 to be involved in ministry. It was during my involvement in the ministry he led that I felt the Lord call me into full time ministry. I learned how to share my faith with all walks of life as we sent almost every Saturday serving migrants in south Georgia. He has shown me the most genuine love of Christ I have ever seen and it has given him a deep love for people. He is one of the most genuine Christ followers I know. He is now very old and feeble, but I know everyday is a passionate walk with his Savior.
5. Shaney “Waney” Padgett: Shane and his wife Diana have been very good friends to my wife and me. They are such awesome people who love Jesus and love others. Shane has a life motto that is contagious, Biblical, yet short and effective: “Loving Jesus, Loving Others, and Pursuing Both!” I’ve stolen this because it says everything. My deal has always been to passionately pursue Christ because he passionately pursued us, and through that our hearts would be led to passionately pursue others. Shane’s motto says that effectively and in simpler terms. Shane has a passion for Jesus that is contagious and it is evident in the life of the students he has had the opportunity to invest in.
6. Chuck Gordon: My pastor (the Church @ Greenbrier). I have been able to learn many things from Chuck in my year and a half serving at Greenbrier. Nicki and I left a very tough situation, and Chuck (along with our church) provided a breath of fresh air for us when we needed it the most. We started leaving church on Sunday feeling challenged to grow in our walk with Christ.
7. Josh Griffin and Pete Wilson: Josh Griffin (High School Pastor @ Saddleback) influenced me to start blogging and I love it. He is also the happiest guy I know…I never see him without a smile (Live or on Podcast). Pete Wilson (Senior Pastor @ Cross Point Community Church) has influenced me to blog in a different way than the way I started out. Instead of being one sided, I now try to involve others in the conversation. Blogging is much more fun when others are participating along with you. The authenticity of Pete and his team is humbling and inspiring.
Influences (Part 2) will be coming later this week…
Join the Conversation – Who has been a positive influence in your life?