Teaching a Series in College Ministry

In teaching College bible study with anywhere from 5 - 60 students depending on the sunday, if school is in, who is dating who, etc.... it is sometimes difficult to do a progressive bible study.  One thing that I have learned is that not everyone has to be present for the study to be considered a "success".  This mindset of mine is different now than it was previously.

Ideally, every person would be present for the length of a study and every person would also read outside material to bring into Sunday morning to enrich the conversation.  Well, the ideal world is not the real world.  Instead, the teacher should change their mindset of how to work with the series around the individuals who are present.  So without further hesitation, I present to you the unofficial list of necessary items and mindsets for a successful teaching series in college ministry:

• Brining donuts (or fruit for the health nuts) helps to get sugar in the young minds.  This sugar turns into talking, which is always good on a rainy sunday morning!
• The series is not about recapping each week and moving on.  Each week should present a take-a-way point that a first-time, nonbeliever AND the every-week, believer can chew on for 6 more days.  
• The series should not build over time until the grand finale at the end of the time.  Every week should have a climatic aspect that engages the students, promotes interaction, and sometimes challenges thoughts and beliefs to make each individual stronger.

That's it!  Simple right?  haha.  The hard part is not the college students.  The hard part is putting yourself into perspective each week, every day while studying the lesson to ensure that God is in control.  Do not be prideful.  Do not worry about reactions or interactions.  Cast your worries upon the Lord and make the time as fun as physically possible!

Passion and Love... or Passionate Love?

It only makes sense for passion and love to be synonymous.  After all, if I love something, I have a passion for it.  And if I have a passion for something, then I love it.  Much thinking, praying, scripture reading, and intentional conversations have went into a new understanding that things are not as I seemed.

I have underwent that process of taking a confusing world view and seeking divine simplicity.  This simplicity has come in the form of the following:

Love = what God has given to us (1 John 4)

Passion = how we give back to God (Colossians 3:23)

You see, the root of Passion in the Greek language can deal with both heart and suffering.  The heart aspect of passion is how love and passion intersect.  Where our treasure is, there our heart is also.  So what we are passionate about and pursue in life is where our heart is.  Doing things with all of our heart (when abiding in God) shows that our passion exists because of love.

Where passion and love differ is in the suffering aspect.  Think of it this way.  God's love for us does not fade, diminish, or fluctuate in any way.  Our passion can though, based upon how much we are willing to suffer for our cause.  The closer I grow to God, the more my passion grows for the calling that God has for me.  The more my passion grows, the more I am willing to suffer for this passion.  But my reassurance comes from Psalm 30, where I know that although I may have to endure the suffering tonight, I can embrace the suffering tomorrow... when the joy comes in the morning.

 

"Spirit-Singing" in the Shower

I wasn't sure on which venue to share this, or even if I should, but here I go!

This morning has been typical thus far.  I woke up 30 minutes after my wife because she tends to drop everything and blow dry her hair, thus creating a type of concert every morning (but I wouldn't have it any other way).  I check my email to see who is wanting things done today and who I can push off another day or two.  I then proceed to the shower.  Now, whether or not my wife has left the house at this point, or even if the neighbor is present, I enjoy singing in the shower.  My dad has always whistled hymns on Sundays, whether or not he even goes to church.  And I think that this process has been engrained in me to sing Jesus songs (English or Spanish) on Sundays, but things like Kelly Clarkson or maybe a little Justin Bieber throughout my week.

Well, today is not Sunday, but I felt the song a'brewin.  Here it came... it was a Jesus song!  Nothing in particular struck my fancy, so I just starting singing and seeing if I could rhyme words... "Jesus" and "the way He sees us" maybe?  Anyways, I just kept singing.  I knew the wife had left and the neighbor was at work, so I sang as loud as I could - voice cracking and all - until it hit.

Something hit me like a train.  I began weeping.  This is different from my crying.  I still cry like a baby- you know, where you can't formulate a word without taking another deep breath in.  But this weeping was such that I was able to communicate.  Now again, this was not my ordinary communication.  This communication came from my heart.  The words that I had been trying to fit into a tune turned into a tune that was being formulated around my words.  These words were not my own (I know, I know... it's a cliche term, but this time it's serious).  I was not thinking of these words.  What I was thinking was... "what is going on?"  What was happening was I was speaking and weeping and I couldn't stop it.  For the first time in my life, I feel as though the Spirit of God had totally taken over.  My heart, voice, and Spirit were in a melody greater than any song, more perfect than I could ever do on my own.

Then, just as quickly as it started, it was done.  I had no tears.  I had no sadness.  My worries had been swept away.  I was overfilled.  Scared?  Very.  I'm a Baptist, I don't hear stories like this very often.  But at the same time... I am new today.  I can't explain it.  Maybe you can see it, but there is a change... starting now.  I just had to tell someone!!!  I first told the one who put on the concert to wake me up, my beautiful wife.  And now I am telling the world.

This life is not my own.  My body is a temple in which the Spirit dwells.  He has made me new.  What I once considered gain is now loss for the sake of Christ.  The old has been thrown aside.  The things of this world, the temporary and insignificant things, are dead to me.  This life is not my own.  What is He doing in my life?  I'm uncertain right now.  But I know that He is setting me up and preparing me for something bigger than myself.

What is He doing in your life?  Is He speaking to you?  Try singing in the shower ever once in awhile - not someone else's words, but your own.  Speak your heart to God today and listen to what He has to say.

Making God a Priority

A couple of weeks ago in Sunday School, I spoke a group of college students who continue to question how to make God #1, or even just more of a priority, in their day to day lives.  WOW!  What a great thought.  Is there a way to do this?  Well... I set out to see if I could be intentional about this matter in my own life.  Although I shared my ideas with the group, I am finding the following to be working out pretty good thus far.

So, I am making a push for being "intentional" in most everything I do.  This is a great example...  I made an "Intentional, personalized, and daily to do list"

_________________________________________________________________________________

1.     Write out 3 prayer requests (1 for myself, 2 for two other people)

     a.     Post them on my bathroom mirror or on the wall beside my bed.

2.     Find a scripture verse/passage for at least one of these requests everyday. 

     a.     Consider sharing that verse with the individual

     b.     Make sure it is in context.  Use other aids to help.

3.     Intentionally talk to someone about some aspect of Christianity 5 out of the next 7 days

4.     Challenge myself daily or weekly

5.     Meditate on my purpose (for the day, for my life.  Doesn’t matter)

_________________________________________________________________________________

Hopefully this will encourage someone else, as this blog post is completing my #5 for today.  I hope you find this helpful and feel free to adapt this list to your personal struggles so that you can make your struggle a strength.  

Philippians 3:7 - But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ (NASB)

The Tough Questions...

I believe our daily lives to be filled with tough questions, such as “Where do we go eat?” and “What time should I get up?”  Until recently, these questions have been daily struggles for me to make decisions on.  But what about those questions that we don’t ask because we may not know the answer?  I’m talking about the God questions: the tough questions for God and about God.  I am embarking on a series of those tough questions because there is a group of about 60 18-25 year olds who need to search for answers.  The majority of these individuals are away from home and at college where they are free to roam (mentally) and formulate their own reality.  I personally would like to see that reality nest in the arms of Christ.  Through prayer, scriptures, and hearing what each person is struggling with, God has led me to these tough questions:

·      Church (the institution, not the body of believers):

o   Why do you go?

o   Why do you go to the particular church / denomination that you do?

o   Why do you believe what you believe?  Just because you have been told to?

o   What makes your way of worship better than another?

o   Why don’t you go somewhere else to worship?

·      Scripture:

o   Why do you read your Bible?  More importantly, why don’t you?  Or is that more important?

o   Why do you read a specific version of the Bible?  Do you know the differences between different versions (NIV vs. NASB)?

o   What strategy do you take to reading the Bible?

o   Do you need to memorize scripture?

o   How often should you read your Bible?

·      Prayer:

o   Why do you pray?  Why don’t you pray? 

o   How often do you pray?  Why?

o   Does prayer work?  If your answer is “no” or “sometimes,” then why not all the time?  Is it our fault when God doesn’t come through?

o   Do you have to get on your knees to show God that you mean business?

o   Why do you keep falling asleep during your prayers at night?

o   Is it best to pray at night or in the morning?

o   Are you supposed to pray silently when someone is praying out loud in a group?

o   Reciting the Lord’s Prayer is good enough, right?

·      God is #1:

o   Why is God not your first priority?

o   Why is it easier to take the Lord’s name in vain before going to Him in prayer?

o   Is it possible to make God your #1 in every situation?  How so?

o   Was the only reason Christ was able to overcome temptation in the desert because He was also fully God?  Can I ever be that strong, or will I always follow the example of Adam and Eve and give in?

o   If God is my #1, then He will heal everyone around me, answer every prayer, and I’ll never struggle reading or understanding the Bible, right?

o   What does having God #1 even mean or look like?

For a starting list, I think this is pretty encompassing of what is going on in my brain right now.  These questions have to be explored prior to one giving up on God, reading the scripture, and praying.  I may be one man trying to tackle these questions from week to week, but I know that through leading and teaching on these tough questions that God has placed on my heart, that at least one person will grow deeper in love with the One who brought us into this world… which is what it’s all about.  

The Challenge

Teaching college-aged Sunday school class is not an easy task.  Sure, I could use the provided curriculum, cover the three points, pray, and go home.  That’s the easy way of doing things. (I’m not saying anything is wrong with the curriculum, but the way the teacher presents the material is what could make or break a lesson).  I remember when I started my college experience in 2005 away from home, my initial thought was that I was going to get into a church, grow on fire for God and be a leader on campus.  Unfortunately my Sunday school teacher was also the church history teacher and I found it difficult to relate to his structure of lesson.  It felt as though I was sitting in class and when I got called on to read, I was going to be getting a bad grade on the way I pronounced the Old Testament names.  Sure, I went regularly and even joined in on a Wednesday night or two along the way, but I grew apart from God during this time. 

I know what you’re thinking… it’s not the Sunday school teachers’ fault that you weren’t growing closer to God.  I agree!!!  But I was blinded to that detail at the time.  I had always relied on my leadership in the church building to guide and direct me.  It took me a couple of years, but by the time I got to my 3^rd year in my undergraduate program, I realized that I needed to make a conservative effort to keep my spirituality in check.  Thanks to an amazing Christian roommate, I was able to get through my struggles and turn to God rather than being converted into the drinking / partying college student.  College provides every opportunity in the world to fall away from your beliefs and although I thought about the worldly pleasures I could partake in, I was able to keep focused on the eternal, living God who remains my stronghold. 

Being in a leadership position in the church is not to be taken lightly.  In Paul’s writings to Timothy, he outlines how a leader is to be set apart.  I pray continuously that God change my heart of a daily basis to be a better communicator of His Word.  I personally struggle with presentation style.  I know that the Word speaks for itself, but it is hard to keep focused on a Sunday morning.  It’s called Sunday “school” but that doesn’t mean the material needs to be treated like just another lesson week to week.  The opportunity is here for me to show someone else how exciting God’s Word is and how it can be discussed in a different format than what we are all used to.  Kudos to those who present God’s Word as it is intended to be discussed; with excitement, energy, and enthusiasm.  I long to do the same.  Maybe this is just “meaningless and chasing after the wind,” but in order for me to get others excited about God, I need to be excited about God!!!

I want to be the guy that the incoming college student looks up to and says, “You helped me to keep focused on the eternal reward in the midst of every possible opportunity that Satan brought my way.  I was looking for a leader and I found one in you.  I was looking for direction and you provided it.  I was looking for a man of God, and I found one.  When I needed someone to talk to, you were always there to listen.”  I need to live up to the expectations of God on a daily basis.  I realize that I’ll struggle and will continue to sin, but because of the forgiveness that I have accepted; God has called me and set me apart from the world to fulfill a purpose.  That purpose right now… is to teach, to live, and to be an exemplar for those who are going through what I have already been through. 

Lord… help me, lead me, direct me, set me apart, and shine through me.  Amen. 

What, what?

"Why Kevin?  Why would you do another blog? Aren't you in over your head already?"  -Words from my wife (when she finds out that I have started another blog...

So, here I am.  Going to be open and breaching the lines of how I share my views with the world.  I have a professional blog, but people may stop following it if I start shouting about Jesus.  So, I am making Jesus His own space, putting Him in the spotlight, and trying to fuse my thoughts with those of the gospel.

I teach sunday school for the College Ministry at Immanuel Baptist Church in Lexington, KY.  After a few meetings this past week, I have been led to do something different.  I'm gonna mix it up, no more sitting around and listening to three points in a sermon.  Stay tuned for fun videos, thoughts, and interesting stuff related to Jesus.  Gonna be about Jesus Things...