A refreshing blend of nerd and cool.
One of my favorite Gmail extensions is Xoopit. It sits on top of Gmail and scans for file attachments, then makes them easily searchable at their site or within Gmail. One of my favorite features is the summary email each week. It shows you what you’ve received that week, but it also shows you something from this week a year ago.
Here’s what came to me this week last year, from Darcy:
Made me chuckle.
Wonderful wonderful evening at the Spaghetti Dinner/Talent Show this evening. We’ll end up with less money this year than last because we didn’t have any silent auction items, but we sold about 20 tickets more than last year based on early estimates. More importantly, that’s even more people who got to experience our awesomely talented youth.
The acts included:
It was a wide variety of acts and all were just a joy to behold. I don’t have any video of the event this year, but I think I saw Sue out in the crowd with her fancy new flip video thing. Maybe she’ll post some for us to enjoy. 🙂
I think part of discipling youth is teaching them how to use their gifts at church in meaningful ways. We’ve had youth acolytes forever, but there’s so much more out there. Here are some of the exciting things youth are doing (or will be doing soon!) at First Trinity:
Additionally, we want students to be in the Word on a regular basis. Some fun things going on there:
It’s exciting to see what God is doing in the midst of our young people. What a joy!
A while back, our youth put on a talent show as part of a fundraiser for Workcamp. I was cleaning out some space on my hard drive and came across the video recordings we did. I’m working on getting them formatted for YouTube so you can see the performances if you missed it. Here’s the first one:
Megan was the first to go that night, so the sound quality is a little off for the first 15-30 seconds. After that, we seem to have pretty good audio. This was our first real attempt at recording these types of performances for video. Hope you like it!
Warning: Long post ahead! We’re considering a dress code policy for youth ministry. It could become emotionally charged. It’s difficult, but it’s important. Read on for a lengthy, back and forth look at the problem.
I’m struggling with what to do with regards to a clothing policy for student ministry. The issue has come up as a part of preparing for our Workcamp to Piqua. Just a sampling of some of the questions our leadership team has to consider:
Is forcing a dress code on youth any different than how the Pharisees acted? Jesus called them hypocrites and compared them to whitewashed tombs for appearing to follow the law outwardly while not following it in their hearts. Youth may keep our dress code, but resent it inwardly. Is that doing them or us any good? Is it akin to legislating morality? We may win the battle, but lose the war in the end. We need to be in the world, not isolated from it, so maybe that means inviting people to come as they are.
And yet, we are not the world. We are to be in the world, but not of it.
Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.
We are to set an example for other believers in the area of purity. More than that, our body is not our own. We should treat it with respect not only in how we dress, but also how we use it and how we feed and care for it. Women are called to dress modestly, possibly because guys have a hard time thinking pure thoughts. In the end, purity and modesty matter to God, so they should matter to us.
God does not want empty sacrifice, but rather a broken heart. Do we present the dress code as a Law to follow while at youth trips and say you can’t come unless you agree to dress to our standards while there? Will youth make that meaningless (to God) sacrifice and still participate in the trip?
Or, do we set a minimum (and I think we almost have to), but hold up the high standard and let youth and parents choose to keep it or not? If you don’t want to go beyond the minimum, fine, but know that God has something more for you. You can still come as you are, but know that we want more for you as well. Maybe it’s enough if youth just start considering that God might have higher standards for how they dress and act at this point in their faith-walk.
We aren’t asking youth to dress modestly because we’re no fun. God made them beautiful and living a pure life means caring for and protecting that beauty for their future spouses. It’s about helping our young men, who have surprisingly little else on their minds than sex at this age sometimes. But it’s also about not clouding our message to other believers and, more importantly, to the world. I’m reminded of John’s words:
He must increase, but I must decrease.
Immodest dress is all about drawing attention to ourselves, which distracts from our message. If we are going to share the Gospel with the world, we must decrease and Jesus must increase. And now we get to the heart of the matter and perhaps the answer to our dilemma. Is Workcamp about having a good time with friends, traveling to a new part of the country and enjoying an after-event together? Or is it about bringing God’s Word in physical form to the people of Piqua, Ohio, loving on them and being Christ to them? If the former, we’re no different than anyone else in the world and it doesn’t matter how we dress or act or think. But if it’s the latter, then He must increase, but we must decrease.
I don’t know what the final policy will be. I hate that we have to consider setting one at all, but we can’t just ignore those parts of God’s Word. This is part of living in a world where God’s Word is counter-cultural. It could be an unpopular decision for us either way. But that’s part of being in leadership.
Share your thoughts on either side in the comments. Remember, we’re all on the same team, even though we might have different views on the subject. I’m thankful we’re at a place where we can speak the truth in love, looking to do what’s best for our students and sharing the Gospel.
I’ve said it before. I think our youth are super talented. Two examples this evening:
I love seeing our youth explore their God-given talents and grow into the young men and women God wants them to be. One day, I’d love to see a ministry at First Trinity that would help youth develop their talents and use them in worship and ministry amongst us. My first goal (a big leap!) is to find a college student willing to organize a youth band for Sunday mornings at Sunday School and occasionally at worship. I just need $5,000 and the right person. I’m praying God drops something in my lap. 🙂 Now I’m wondering if I need to also look at starting an art school…
Our next Workcamp Fundraiser is going to be a Spaghetti Dinner with Youth Talent Show and Art Auction. It will take place on Friday, April 11, with dinner being served starting at 6 p.m. and the show starting around 7. I’ve always felt our youth are super talented, and this is your chance to see if I’m right! 🙂
We sent the letter out to the youth asking for them to volunteer this past Wednesday. By Thursday evening, we already had two acts signed up. Kelsey M. is going to be singing for us. Katie G. is going to do an Irish Dance. Should be a fun evening!
Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for kids 5-12. See me if you’d like to purchase tickets or pick them up at church starting Easter Weekend.
I got to spend the better part of two hours sharing with our OPUS (Older Persons Up to Something) group about our student ministry today. I loved my time with them. I love talking about our youth and what we’re doing in ministry with them, and the OPUS gang loved to hear about it. Despite the difference of age, they have a real heart to see our youth nurtured and cared for by the church.
Their love for youth is why our church has been around since 1839. We’ve never stopped caring for the young people of our congregation. Just like the “traditional” family unit, we’re one generation in the church from losing the faith. These men and women have a passion for our kids and love to hear what we’re doing on their behalf in ministry. I wish I could make our youth understand how much their church truly loves them. A great day!
Almost 2 months ago now, I taught a course at St. John’s Lutheran’s PTL on Internet Safety. At the time, I thought it would be good our parents to hear as well, but my schedule was so busy that I never got around to eating that frog scheduling the class. We’ll be having it at First Trinity on February April 22 at 7 p.m. We’ll be covering:
We’ll focus primarily on what the technologies are and how kids are using them, as well as what it means for their spiritual development. We’ll also have some tips for parents as we explore the topics. If you don’t have kids but want to know about these technologies, there’s plenty of good stuff there for you as well.
In case you haven’t heard, teens like using the internet. Some statistics from Pew Internet (Full Report):
I’m going to be teaching a class on parenting the internet generation for St. John’s Lutheran School‘s Parent Teacher League in January. I’m interested in what topics parents would like to know more about in this area. Leave your suggestions below in the comments. I’ll periodically be blogging about this topic up until the class, so look for more updates in future weeks. All entries will be tagged with “CyberParent” for easy searching. Questions you have or resources you’ve found helpful are both beneficial to me!
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