Post #100

I'll just go ahead and unceremoniously batter down that 4th wall once again to start things off -- hopefully for good reason.  After five years, with this entry you're currently reading...

Häxprocess has officially reached its 100th post.

(much rejoicing, fanfare, etc)

It seems not all that long ago that I was self-consciously clicking "publish" for the first time on 4 April of 2012.  The blog has covered lots of ground since then, as its solitary author has more or less adhered to a more or less frequent posting schedule.  My goal for 2016 was two posts per month, an objective that -- if you let your eye wander to the lefthand side of the window -- you'll note I failed back in April when I posted only once.  June, seeing his opportunity, soon thereafter disappeared entirely from the calendar.  Which means July's now my month to get back on the ball.

At the same time 100 posts is a milestone, however, it also seems like such a paltry number when compared to the avid, multiple-posts-a-week sites that comprise the blogosphere.  Thankfully, I can say with complete honesty that lack of activity on Häxprocess is not a reflection of inactivity in the other areas of my life -- more often than not, life itself has been the single biggest factor in my absence from writing.  My struggle with consistency is not so much a struggle with laziness as it is a lack of quality time: when I've sat down to write these past few months, I've had minutes and not hours, or I've been exhausted and unfocused, or I've had other things to work on.

But motivation and time usage has a lot to do with what I thought I'd briefly discuss with this, Häxprocess' 100th post.  That is the importance of understanding that, at any given choice, we have a choice between consuming or cultivating.  Before you close the tab, let me assure you that this isn't some kind of socialist philosophy I'm talking about, even if comparisons can be drawn.  Simply, what I intend by this specific terminology is that we should evaluate the use of time by whether we are getting something or giving something.

Am I consuming or am I cultivating?

Am I taking or giving?

Am I receiving or serving?

Am I being passive or active?

These are some good evaluating questions to ask ourselves, especially in our free time.  Most (though not all) of us don't have a problem putting in a little effort when we're being paid for it.  However, when I clock out and head home, what characterizes my activities and attitudes?  Do I drop onto the couch and turn on the TV or fire up the PS3 (yes, I'm a generation behind), because now is "my" time?  Maybe there's nothing explicitly wrong with that decision, but I should realize that I'm choosing to spend the time consuming, not cultivating.

The issue here is not necessarily an issue of right vs. wrong -- unless of course laziness is an idol you wrestle with -- but rather an issue of right vs. better.  In that regard, some who are reading this simply won't care.  Good enough is good enough.  But for those of us who are striving to bring every nook and cranny of our hearts and lives into submission to Jesus Christ (2 Cor 10.5), this is a great way to impact the area of productivity as well as cultivate an attitude of selflessness.

Why?  Because if I'm thinking in terms of consuming/cultivating, evaluating the way I'm spending my time according to these parameters, it's much harder to simply zone out -- at least, not without feeling convicted about it.  If I know what the better thing to do is, and I'm clearly identifying whether what I'm doing at any given moment is self-serving or self-sacrificing, then suddenly the choice is much easer to make.

For me, my leisure time is when I am prone to be the most self-serving.  Because, like a consumer, I think it exists for me.  It's my time to rest.  It's my opportunity to do things that I want to do.  Therefore, it's easy to enter a vegitative state until (and sometimes after) my wife comes home, even when the dishes aren't done, the lawn needs moving, and there are unfinished projects as far as the eye can see.  With that kind of operative mindset, irritation when something interrupts my "earned" repose is only a snap of the fingers away.

With everything, there's a balance.  There's time to unplug, to sleep, to consume.  Resting is both a gift and a command (Matt 11.28; Ex 20.8).  However, if American Christians were to honestly evaluate their time usage, I think we would unanimously come to the conclusion that we're merely passing, not exceeding expectations.  Our habitual patterns -- inbred, learned, and adopted -- are consumerist; our norms are far from self-sacrificing.  The moments when we do choose to serve others are the exception, not the standard.

But we're not really doing anything wrong, we say, sipping our comfortable cappuccino.

We're not sinning, we insist, folding our hands over the gospel according to Self-Interest, we could just do a better job caring for others.

This thought process reveals our low estimation of God's standard of holiness, and our high estimation of our own goodness.  We forget that any righteousness we might know is His anyway, attributed to us through the blood of Jesus, and therefore we don't get to set our own parameters on what is "good enough" for the Kingdom.  The new reality for a follower of Jesus is that we are freed from sin not to be self-interested, but to be servants, to live to glorify God and meet the needs of others before we even consider our own.  The fallacious "in order to love others you must first learn to love yourself" philosophy has sunken in deeply into our culture, purchased in the package deal that proclaims the almighty "I" as the center of the universe.  In order to develop cultivating patterns, we must see through this arrogant self-deception -- otherwise, we will never be anything more than consumers who occasionally give back whenever we might feel charitable.

The concept of self-denial is more often seen as some kind of radical self-abuse in our day and age, rather than perceived as a form of focused discipline.  That's probably a topic for another post, but it is embedded in this issue as well.  Being a cultivator isn't just about serving others, it's also choosing to be productive when I could instead be passive.  I can come home from work drained and flop onto the sofa... or I could teach myself to be dedicated, sit down at the computer and do some writing, pick up the guitar and work on my craft, do a project around the house... etcetera.  There's lots of specific ways to think about this, but the core issue is simply that we should be far more inclined to be at work than at repose.  That doesn't mean we should be workaholics who don't have the ability to rest, but it does mean that we should much more strictly regulate our time consumption.  I know my own inclination to use weariness as an excuse for unplugging -- physically, mentally, or otherwise -- but "rest" doesn't need to be synonymous with "passivity."  I should instead train myself to challenge my own sense of limitation by applying myself to productive, cultivating ways of resting -- using my free time to invest in service, craft, hobby, or project.

At the core, this post is actually only connected to the idea of productivity, and not directly about it.  It's really about being a servant -- a mentality that is cultivating by default: it sees and meets needs, it understands and handles problems, it prioritizes, it is proactive.  A servant mentality removes ill-conceived notions of ownership and entitlement.  A servant heart asks, "What can I do for Your Kingdom by serving others?"  By contrast, a consumer heart can only ask, "How can I make life more comfortable for me?"  Both of those pursuits have eternal consequences, but only one of them has a happy ending -- the deep joy and satisfaction of knowing and being known by our Savior, and receiving from Him the only affirmation our hearts should ever crave: "Well done, good and faithful servant.  Enter into my rest."

My intent for Häxprocess when I started it remains the same: that is for it to be a blog for personal, creative expression, with special emphasis on writing about Christian living and accurate biblical interpretation.  It's not a strict goal, but it is driven by the purpose of glorifying God through an ability He's given me.

It's a small way for me to be a cultivator rather than a consumer in my free time.

For the next 100 posts and upward, may God continue to use me and Häxprocess in a way that is pleasing to Him.

Three "Don'ts" for Youth Ministry

Nothing quite terrifies a student like making eye-contact with their small group leader and knowing he or she hasn't done quiet time in a week.

Nothing quite chases an kid off the basketball court like knowing his youth pastor is going to seize the opportunity while guarding the 3-point line to ask that question again.

Such can be the mindset of the teens in our youth groups, even ones whose hearts genuinely want to pursue Jesus, and especially those who are merely trying to keep you from asking uncomfortable questions, when we become spiritual badgers rather than patient shepherds.  I remember being on that side of the table or court, swallowing my Adam's apple as I tried to think of reasons (as opposed to excuses) why I hadn't done my quiet time.  And often a student's own embarrassment is what causes them to be defensive -- far more than any question I might ask.  But the difference between a student who, through the power of the Spirit, learns to overcome weaknesses and pursue Christian maturity and one who falls away because he/she can't overcome a sense of deep moral failure, often has much to do with the operating methodology of well-intentioned youth leaders.  Often, those of us who find ourselves in youth ministry don't take into account the long-term impact our modus operandi will have upon impressionable students' lives.

Be mindful: I didn't say it's our fault as leaders that some of our kids walk away from the faith.  We can't change hearts even if it is our privilege to shepherd them.  But we are responsible to be faithful stewards of the roles we've been given.  In this regard, faithfulness means hearing and understanding students' struggles and thought processes, meeting them where they are, helping them to see clearly how the truth of the gospel directly impacts the nooks and crannies of their lives, introducing them to the powerful aid and presence of the Spirit abiding within them, and resolving to be edifying even in moments of stern rebuke.

In my case, the youth pastor who often had to tell me to buckle down and do my quiet time eventually became my mentor, and later my boss and one of my closest friends.  But not everyone has the same rosy experience.  Not every student walks away from youth ministry feeling like they were cared for, or that their spiritual needs were met.  And we won't reach every student who passes through our doors.  But we should commit ourselves to removing all possible obstacles in order to effectively reach teenagers with the gospel.

Here are three simple "don'ts" I've experienced in one capacity or another, both as a student who grew up in a church youth group and as a servant of God's Word to teenagers.

Don't terrify your students.  Picture a puppy who knows it's bathtime.  Can you see the ears back, the tail tucked between the legs, maybe even the trembling paws?  Big dog or little dog, the knowledge that you are approaching with a big towel and a bottle of canine shampoo can debilitate them all.

Conversations with our students shouldn't always be "bath time."  We need to temper our approach to asking tough questions and giving stern warnings.  For example, there's a difference between the way I directly ask questions of a boy in my office who, of his own volition, asked to talk to me about his troubles, and the way I ask questions of a boy who hasn't asked my advice and is talking to me in the hallway about a girl he's dating.  Counseling students in either regard requires sensitivity and discretion.  I can't just be an unwieldy spiritual wrecking ball, crudely smashing down their humanistic walls without considering the potential destruction such an approach could wreak.

I think I should take a quick step back and qualify what I mean by "counseling."  I believe that all of youth ministry is a form of counseling -- whether I'm playing soccer with my students, hanging out at the sign-in table with them, teaching them from the pulpit on a Wednesday night, or actually sitting in my office with one of them who has asked for help, I'm engaged in an ongoing counseling process.  In that regard, in each of these settings I need to learn to ask good questions, carefully and strategically, and to give advice with sensitivity.

In other words, you don't need to ask your students every single time you see them whether or not they're up-to-date on their quiet time, whether they've engaged in that difficult conversation with their parents yet, if they've made up with so-and-so.  Those conversations can arise organically, certainly, and I shouldn't be afraid to ask the tough questions, but I also don't want to give my students reason to duck into a classroom when they see me coming down the hallway.  Like Jesus was with His disciples, we need to be ready to seize teachable moments for what they are.  But not every conversation you have needs to be invasive.  Surgeons don't just dive right in and start cutting, even when they know there's cancer in there somewhere.

I'm of the opinion that we do a lot of damage to our long-term relationships with our students by failing to engage in small-talk with them and simply getting to know them.  This is not a waste of time, nor is it putting off the hard stuff.  It is trust- and relationship-building.  Talking with your students about their school, sports, activities, relationships, and their hobbies demonstrates to them that you do care about what is going on in their lives, and aren't simply pursuing one agenda.

And by doing this, the moments when you do choose ask the tough questions will become all the more potent.

We aren't trying to create negatively-encourageable legalists who check the Quiet Time box every day and in order to feel good about their spiritual temperature.  We are trying to inspire passion for Jesus Christ, for living righteously and digging deeply into the Word of God.

Don't terrify your students.  Engage your students.  Learn to encourage and challenge without being a nagger or a Big Bad Wolf.

Don't just be your students' buddy.  This is the flipside of the same coin.  It's great to be friendly with students, laugh at their jokes, tease them, and otherwise enjoy their company.  This is a huge benefit to youth ministry -- the ability to simply enjoy spending time with the students God has placed in your youth group for shepherding.  I personally am blessed and honored to serve a wonderful, wonderful group of teens as well as a mature and engaging group of college students.  But as fun as it is to play games, share jokes, and talk about the upcoming Marvel movies, you absolutely must remain the leader and authority figure for your students before you are their friend.

This is accomplished through a number of different approaches.  My list is by no means exhaustive.

One way is simply by intentional use of a title -- i.e. "Pastor Dave."  Maybe this seems obvious, but a title conveys authority.  I actively, consciously, and verbally submit myself to Pastor Dave when I address him by this title.  I speak differently to Dave when I address him by his first name alone.  In that moment, Dave becomes an equal, not an authority figure.  Of course, if you're like me and your official title is "Youth Director," not "Youth Pastor," the nickname needs to be a little more creative.  Youth Director Dave is wordy, so he could just go by Mr. Dave and that would work too -- especially if there's a significant age difference between Dave and his teenage students.  I violate my own rule because I'm just "Justin" to my students (both teenagers and college students), but I maintain that where a title is given by your church or organization, it should be used appropriately.

Two, don't waffle on rules.  This applies as much to a rule you make up during a ridiculous game, as it does upholding standards for youth group conduct.  If your students see you going back and forth on rules, they are more likely to challenge you when you attempt to put your foot down.  And the more you are prone to waffle, the more likely you are to concede the point and allow your students the final say on things.  Maybe it seems like a little thing, but a leader who sticks to his word is a leader that garners respect.

Third, find the appropriate balance between leadership and friendship.  I don't think this is a matter of turning the authority on and off: I think this is a matter of the consistent character you display to your students.  If you lead a college group, this can be an increasingly difficult line to find, most notably when you're not all that much older than those you're leading (as is my case).  Be a leader.  Don't just try to act like one.  This requires a level of maturity and self-discipline that many who find themselves in the position of youth director or youth pastor unfortunately don't possess.

I deeply value the relationships I have with my students.  In fact, there are a number of my college-age young adults whom I would consider friends and partners in ministry.  But as much as I enjoy the time I get to spend investing in these particular individuals, I'm still their leader.  I still have a responsibility to guide and direct, a priority that surpasses simply hanging out.

Fourth, discern, understand, and manage the climate of your youth group.  Are your students a bunch of troublemakers who openly disrespect your lay staff?  Then you need to be firm, ALWAYS back up your leadership team, and maintain an authoritative stance even during game time.    Don't hesitate to rebuke -- gently but sternly, in private or in public, and involve parents where problems persist.  Is your group a bunch of laid-back, churched kids who have no problem taking instructions?  Then you don't need to be nearly as heavy-handed and authoritative.  Are they naive and suggestible?  Then engage with them with clear focus: take advantage of the teachable moments and give instructions where appropriate.

Don't just be your students' buddy.  Be a mentor.  Shepherd and cultivate.  We do this by being burdened for our students' spiritual growth -- to the point where we aren't hindered by fearing what they think of us.  Love them enough to address their shortcomings head-on.  Love them enough to know when speaking into these situations is appropriate.  Love them enough to walk with them through repentance.

Don't be a pacifier.  At the church where I serve as youth director, we have always operated under the principle that teens should be treated as young adults.  That means we don't have a separate "teen service" on Sunday mornings, and it also means that our two-hour youth group meetings consist of a full forty-five minutes of worship, prayer, and teaching.  We also have game time and maintain a regular calendar of fun, fellowship-oriented events -- certainly.  But these are not the emphasis.

Our "draw factor" is not our bottom line.

Here's what I'm getting at.  We can't sacrifice preaching.  Furthermore, we can't sacrifice mature preaching.  That is, we must not mistake palatable and relevant preaching for watered-down preaching.

We don't have to cut the wine, we just have to offer it in sips.

The richness of the gospel -- its cover-to-cover, Scripture-wide implications and nuances -- are things I want my students to know, understand, and experience in their own lives.  This goes far beyond the typical, true-yet-blandly-oversimplified news wrapped in a bow that knowing Jesus makes life better.  In order to teach teenagers about an infinitely majestic, powerful, loving, and active God, we need to whet their appetite for deep, intangible things.  We need to teach out of our passion for our own relationships with God as well as our own hunger to know Him more deeply.  But as we delve into theology, we also have to wade out into the deep end with our students.  Of course, this assumes we are studiously practicing the self-same, nose-in-our-Bibles methodology that we should be preaching each youth group gathering.

Now, by "mature teaching" I'm not saying every series you do should be a discourse on free-will/predestination, communicable/incommunicable attributes, cessation/continuity of Spiritual gifts, eschatology, angels/demons, or church government.  But we can teach on those things if we are actively leading our students into deeper relationships with Jesus Christ.  Of course, if we are to touch on any of the aforementioned topics, that means we also have to scrap the prototypical youth ministry "get-em-in-and-get-em-saved" mentality.  If each week you have a room full of regular attenders, you don't need to beat them with a salvation message every week.  That's not being sensitive to your students' needs, nor is it building upon an already-laid foundation.  If, on the other hand, you have lots of visitors each week, it's great to touch on the good news -- especially if the Spirit is blaring all kinds of internal alarms that you should -- but the goal of youth ministry isn't (or shouldn't be) to have large numbers of students coming to Christ.  It should be to consistently preach the gospel in a way that leads in spiritual maturity.  Don't fall into the numbers trap -- that is, counting raised hands during every invitation so you can feel like God is working but never move on from a five-point gospel presentation.  Developing spiritual maturity in your students is far less quantifiable than raised hands, sure, but it is not immeasurable, and it certainly shouldn't be our secondary priority.

Jesus told the apostles to make disciples, not converts.

Does your teaching encourage students to actually open their Bibles during your lesson?  Does your teaching encourage them to get into their Bibles outside of youth group?  Does your teaching explicitly challenge erroneous ways of thinking and living?  Does it encourage students to sacrifice their own needs for the needs of those around them?

Does your teaching just till up the soil or does it also plant seeds of truth?

Does it even break open the surface of the ground?

Why we as a church assume teenagers aren't capable of growing in spiritual maturity is somewhat baffling.   Teenagers don't need to be spiritually coddled.  To the contrary, they need to be instructed in how to begin walking with the Messiah who saved them at VBS when they were eight.  They need to be warned of the dangers of temptations that will mercilessly ambush them as they step out in greater and greater independence from their parents.  They need to be reminded that Jesus died for the sake of followers who would follow Him carefully and self-sacrificially -- not for their right to watch Netflix and only dust off their Bibles when life gets difficult.

Far too many youth ministries relegate to themselves the duty of keeping a calendar of fun events, sharing some uplifting, moralistic thoughts, and not much else.  Far too many youth directors think it's enough to simply get teens in the doors of a church (and maybe that is an accomplishment for your students!).  But if we never crack open the Word of God to directly challenge our teens' way of living and thinking, then we are only validating the underachieving American mentality that all we need to do to be "spiritual" is be kind to others and considerate of alternate ways of life.

Fun events and gentle, peaceful messages can pack the couches and folding chairs on a Wednesday night, but it can't give teenagers what they truly need on a spiritual level.  On the flipside, we can also be aggressive manipulators who attempt to do the work of the Holy Spirit, guilting kids into raising hands during invitations rather than speaking to the heart of the gospel and allowing God Himself to reap the harvest.  Don't settle for either of these -- being an energetic leader with a great calendar of events who merely gives teens a good feeling about who they are, or a tough-cop bully who makes students feel like they have to earn God's love or squirm beneath His wrath.

Be more.  Be a discipler.

~*~

I'll freely confess that I am imperfect in each of these areas and continue to grow in my understanding.  But praise God for the freeing and humbling knowledge that I am merely a servant -- that this ministry is His, not mine, and it does not need me.  God can just as easily raise up someone else to shepherd FBC's teenagers.  Yet He has chosen to use me for the time being, and that is an enormous privilege.

May we each be faithful to uphold our individual callings with joy, with fear and trembling, with sacred and somber regard for what is required of us.

To Him be the glory!

Reviews, Part 9

Part 1 -- Part 2 -- Part 3 -- Part 4 -- Part 5 -- Part 6 -- Part 7 -- Part 8
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Next on the playlist!

Here are the album reviews I've written since the beginning of February.  As usual, clicking on the album covers will take you to the band's music where you can listen to and/or download the album in full.  The hyperlinks will take you to my reviews.

~*~

Godsticks - Emergence (UK)

[PROG Mind / Tollbooth]

The UK metal band’s third studio-length release, Emergence is a polished album, showcasing more of the quality music that Godsticks is dedicated to writing.

Bruce Soord - Bruce Soord (UK)

[PROG Mind / Tollbooth]

Bruce Soord’s self-titled solo debut blends a singer-songwriter mantra with art rock, electronica, and ambience.

Aunt Mary - New Dawn (Norway)

Aunt Mary’s first original studio project since 1973 struggles with self-identity.

Ed Bernard - Polydactyl (Canada)
[PROG Mind / Tollbooth]

Polydactyl is a strong showcase of Ed Bernard’s mature musicianship, caliber of songwriting, and clear musical vision.

The Barstool Philosophers - Crossing Over (The Netherlands)
[PROG Mind / Tollbooth]

Crossing Over waxes eloquent both lyrically and instrumentally, combining atmospheric elements with a strong metal vibe.

Davina & The Vagabonds - Sunshine (USA)

Alternative, Americana, New Orleans, blues, and – of course – jazz, all presented by one charismatic, modern big band.