"Instant" Success?

I used to take a picture and then drive it to the photo shop, drop it off, and wait for a few days while it was processed. Then I would wish I had taken two.
To make a phone call when I was out, I needed to pull over at a gas station, go through my car to find some change, go into a booth, and use a pay phone.

Now I can take a picture, while I make a phone call, while I am driving (not that I would).

I grew up making home movies on an old 8mm camera. The film needed to be threaded through the camera on spools. No automatic colour correcting - was it daylight film? or indoor film?  There was no automatic light control. If it was low light, I wasted my money. Once exposed, I'd unspool the roll of film in the dark, package it up, and send it in the mail to Kodak. Three weeks later it would return in the mail. To watch it, I needed to thread it through a projector and hope it didn't get shredded as it passed through the 'technology'.

We knew what 'process' was. We knew how to wait. We knew the joy of it finally all coming together.

Where has the idea of 'process' gone?

- I live in an INSTANT world -

I remember when I was in college and 'video' machines were hitting the consumer market. It was so confusing to think that I could shoot a film and watch it right away! I could even play it back instantly, on the camera itself! Sounds silly today, right?

Emails replaced envelopes and stamps, making communication instant. No longer waiting months for a letter from a missionary in Africa. Microwaves replaced popcorn machines. Computers replaced typewriters. Quicker, faster, sooner. Everything in an instant.  The only 'instant' thing I remember was cup-o-soup (instant noodles with some powdered flavoring). 

It's a fast food world now. If something takes time, we are impatient and annoyed. I need it now. I want it now. Poor wi-fi makes my kids more angry than almost anything else.  

GROWING AS A PERSON TAKES PROCESS

We all know that working with people isn't instant. But are we willing to put in the long term work? Are we thinking 'process'? 

Is there a process to maturity? Absolutely.

Is there a process to discipleship? Absolutely!

       - - no brainer, right? 

What is the process of discipleship? Can we articulate it? Where does it start? What gets added, and added? Where is it going? How does it progress and mature? What does it look like when it is done?

If we can define the process of spiritual maturity (or even the process towards spiritual maturity) then do we plan according to that process? Do we create programs that intentionally move people forward in that process? I wonder.

As I look across the youth ministry world, I think we are much better at this than we used to be; but I think there is still so much hard work necessary to really be on task. The strategy part of our work is SO necessary. The intentionality of taking people towards Christ-fullness in life and experience can't be overlooked. Spiritually, youth are the most pliable, changeable, and responsive of all age groups - are we leaving it to 'hope' and 'chance'?

Here's my questions for you:

1. Can you articulate the process (1,2,3,4...) of discipleship?
2. Does the program you are leading actually move people along in that process? Or does it accidentally move people along?
3. How can we create ministry 'vehicles' that help transport people from step to step, constantly challenging them forward?
4. When was the last time you sat down with somebody and painted the picture of where you want to take them in discipleship? Do you expect them to follow you blindly?
5. Are you willing to put in the hard work and processing time to make a long term process come to fulfillment?

Making an old 8mm movie happened in stages. Each stage took time and required patience. Because of the cost and time involved, it had to be done right the first time. In somebody's life, we can't afford to 'hope' they move forward in growth and development. Hinds sight doesn't help much and nothing - is - instant.

Nothing is instant in maturity.

these are my thoughts, as a lead pastor, looking around and back into the world of youth ministry

dave

Dave Brotherton now lives in Sauble Beach, Ontario and is the Lead Pastor of Sauble Christian Fellowship. Dave was a youth pastor for 20+ years, taught youth ministry at Ambrose University in Calgary for 8 years, and was the National Youth Director for the Alliance Churches in Canada since 1999. Now Dave leads a church and speaks into youth ministry from the Senior Pastor's perspective.

The RENEGADE and SPONTANEOUS Nature of Youth Workers.

20 years ago working with youth allowed for a far more renegade and spontaneous approach than it does today. 
The spirit is still there but the world we live in has seriously crimped the flow of that freedom.

20 years ago we constantly made things up as we went.
We spontaneously packed cars full of kids and headed for ice cream, we sat on the roof of the church to watch fireworks, got on the phone and pulled off last minute camping trips, car rallies (really a race) with kids driving other kids, we duct taped kids to the hood of a car... and left them..., we made up games with balloons and bows & arrows....  oh, those were the days... right? 
The world has changed. Supervision ratios, release forms, approved drivers, informed letters of consent, law suits, lawyers and policy are normal and not going away. In some ways it has put a strangle hold on youth programs. In other ways it has raised the bar for purpose and effectiveness.

  
The Good:
Our church uses a personalized 'Plan To Protect' approach to everything with minors.  More than anything, it has forced us to think ahead, plan in advance and be prepared in a way that was unheard of in the past. This is a good thing! No... this is a great thing! 
The killer of 'safety policies' is poor planning and last minute planning. Let me say this: proper planning, in advance, does just as much to intensify the seriousness of purpose as it does to keep our people safe. When we think ahead, we are more likely to know where the program is going and what the desired outcomes in the lives of participants is.  Good, advanced planning should result in staying 'on' purpose and focusing in on 'why' we are doing these things. Pre-planning should also give us a focus on intentionality. I can't honestly say that even a portion of my ministry was really thought-through, intentional for years and years. Good things did happen! But how much more fruit could there have been if I knew where I was going and planned according to that. THEN, AND ONLY THEN do I actually have time to easily align the due-diligence dominoes to make sure that there is adequate supervision ratios, release forms, approved drivers, and informed letters of consent. Lawyers and policy shouldn't be the focus - they should be an invisible support.

The Bad:
The policies need to work. Youth work is different than working with children - - and likewise, the policies need to be different. We need to create policy that works. Get engaged in the policy process. Think through best practices - and stick to them. Be realistic, be practical, and think like an adult.
Climb out of the 'protect me from lawsuits' mentality. It's really not about that at all. It is about creating an environment where kids can thrive and be vulnerable with minimal risk; where adult volunteers can serve and thrive without having to look over their shoulder; and where staff can soar without worrying about the next complaint or lawsuit. Create the right environment for your people to thrive in safety and love.
Stop apologizing for screening volunteers, and for all the parental permission paperwork. By handing a new volunteer the police check forms with an apology, you are proclaiming that this is a waste of time and more of a nuisance than a benefit. A passive-aggressive here approach to this will kill you and your work.

The Ugly:
Feeling like the 'safe place policies' are killing your work? Then you have a problem... and it's not what you think. If you are pouting because you can't do what you've always done, or you can't do what you want to because the policy is killing ministry, then you might be the problem. 
We often criticize our churches or organizations because they won't change with the times - they live in the past - they don't understand the world that our kids live in. Did you just hear that? This is you. The world has changed. This stuff isn't going away - it probably will even get tighter. So, be creative! Think! Get with the times and catch up your head to the reality of the world. Change what you do! Change how you do it! If you can't do your work because of this stuff, then change how you do your work! Youth workers fancy themselves as being brilliantly creative. Find a new way. Here's an example: we used to drive around the neighborhood looking for kids, convincing them to come with us, bringing them to the church, and engaging them in our programs. Obviously (for a million reasons) we can't do this anymore. Do I pack it in? Do I whine that I can't get kids here? Do I forget about all the kids out there? Clearly, no. Change is necessary in HOW I do this - WHAT I do to collect these kids needs to change. Get off the complaining wagon and run to catch up with the world.


Embracing today's reality with creativity, maturity and way-in-advance planning will super charge the potential effectiveness and intentional life change.

Final word:
The law of love must be over the law of downtown. Planning to Protect is not about lawyers and policy - its about thriving in safety and love.



my thoughts as a lead pastor, as I look around, and back at youth ministry
dave



Dave Brotherton now lives in Sauble Beach, Ontario and is the Lead Pastor of Sauble Christian Fellowship. Dave was a youth pastor for 20+ years, taught youth ministry at Ambrose University in Calgary for 8 years, and was the National Youth Director for the Alliance Churches in Canada since 1999. Now Dave leads a church and speaks into youth ministry from the Senior Pastor's perspective.

Intentionally Connecting With More Than The Kids

Sitting in the Senior Pastor's chair, I getting a new perspective on the importance of cross-generational connections. Youth workers can find it pretty easy to spend all their time and energy with the kids. After all, that's what the role is, right? Spending intentional relational time with the adults (even sr. adults) in your church or organization makes all the difference in the world. Let me look at just two if these as examples....

 Parents of teens
How important is it to spend quality connection time with the parents? I hope that this is obvious! I didn't even begin to think about this until I was about 40 years old and still a youth pastor. At this point, the parents of the kids I was working with were all my age - and my friends. After 40, the ministry with parents became easy. I started to see that connecting with, supporting, networking, and communicating with the parents is absolutely crucial to my effectiveness with kids.  It really had a multiplying effect on my effectiveness.
Parents need to trust you. As they see your heart, understand you, and your vision, they will be far more likely to support your programs and invite your influence into the lives of their kids. Parents need to see you as "on their side" as they raise their families. You are not raising their kids, nor are we responsible to! Parents need to feel that you are on their team! 
Intentionally hang out with the parents, share your heart and vision, tell them what you see in their kids, describe the spiritual direction/jouirney that you are taking their kid on, listen to their heart, understand their family dynamics, hear about the kid from the parents perspective! Have fun with them and get to know them as people and as friends. This will pay huge dividends in ministry effectiveness.
We would all agree that it really is the parents responsiblity to raise, teach, and train their own families in the ways of Christ. Work to set the family up to be successful in that. As long as I avoid parents, I am stealing it away for myself and potentially undercutting the overall fruitfulness.
Ideas? Constant/regular parents meetings for communication and prayer. Communicate clear avenues to hear complaints and suggestions. When you visit a kids home, don't just disappear downstairs with the kid - spend intentional, pre-thought-through time with the parents too. Try parent/teacher interviews just like the schools do - work together in developing kids, ask about how their kid learns and reacts, talk about the progress you see in the kid's life. Make short videos where you can share your vision and your heart or just communicate purpose and reasons... and post them for parents to access - you can do this often! 

Seniors/retirees
Churches are famous for poor communication with and little relationship between the youth groups and the older folks. This really makes no sense to me. The best way to keep these folks happy, keep them praying and supporting your ministry to to open a constant conduit of information. These folks need to hear that God is at work! They want to see life transformation, vibrancy and growth. Often their complaints or suggestions come from the simple longing for evidence of the Spirit's moving.
We know that kids are coming to Christ and lives are being transformed, we see if day to day. Then we hear complaints about the noise, the mess, the drums and get suggestions that we should be doing what they did 40 years ago - - -  I'll bet that most of those comments come from the simple fact that they don't see any evidence of God's transforming power in the church!!! They long for this! Tell them! Share it regularly! Be intentional in communicating with these folks. Get them excited that God is alive and active and that the youth ministry is expereincing God and lives are changed. Chances are, if they know that God is at work, we will get less criticism and more support - they might not like the music, but they will beam with enthusiasm because they see God's hand at work.
Relationship is this is critical. Communication in this is critical.
Ideas? Create some events where the youth and the seniors can be together and have fun. Go to their bible studies and prayer times, drop in on the quilting meeting... share the stories of successes. Put names to the faces and the prayers. Make some of them "greeters" (like walmart) at youth events and have them stay to pray.

Two examples of many needed relationships.

Get my drift? As a senior pastor, I get a different view of the congregation. I want to see people on the same page. I want to see the different generations working with and for each other.
I'm not interested in the different ministries functioning as islands in the church.
I want my youth workers to be loved, supported, and gushed on by the rest of my church. I want to see God at work in people's lives - and I want everyone in the church to hear it, recognize it, and expereince it.

Youth Workers, spend intentional thought and time in building relationships, pouring into, communicating, and exciting the rest of the church. You will see the result - you will like the result.

dave

 

Dave Brotherton now lives in Sauble Beach, Ontario and is the Lead Pastor of Sauble Christian Fellowship. Dave was a youth pastor for 20+ years, taught youth ministry at Ambrose University in Calgary for 8 years, and was the National Youth Director for the Alliance Churches in Canada since 1999. Now Dave leads a church and speaks into youth ministry from the Senior Pastor's perspective.

Precision

Not very often we hear about precision in our business. For a surgeon, yes. For a diamond cutter, yes. For a tree feller... A tree feller?

Discipleship does not happen by accident. Too many ministries keep busy and have lots of fun, but aren't very intentional or precise when it comes to the real Christian maturity process.

Dave Brotherton now lives in Sauble Beach, Ontario and Pastors Sauble Christian Fellowship. Dave was a youth pastor for 20+ years, taught youth ministry at Ambrose University in Calgary for 8 years, and was the National Youth Director for the Alliance Churches in Canada since 1999. Now Dave leads a church and speaks into youth ministry from the Senior Pastor's perspective.

Transitioning in your job? Finish what you came to do.

John 17 is Jesus' prayer just before his betrayal and arrest. In verse 4, he prays "I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you sent me to do". Jesus hadn't gone to the cross yet, so what was it the he came to do? - - The rest of the chapter gives us a clue.

When you are called to work in a church, or an organization, or even volunteer, God has set you apart with a job to do. How do you know when it is time to go? How 'bout - when you are finished what he called you to do?

Last year I built a great two level deck with cool retaining wall and now we are moving... I don't even get you use it! Ever finish something for God and not get to experience the fruit of the labour? I moved to a new city for the sole purpose of ministry... why else am I there? Finish the work and leave when you are done.

Here are my ramblings for this week. Time for transition... here we go.

When you have completed what he sent you to do, you'll know - or He will release your heart - or your boss will 'inform' you.... either way, finish well.

Dave Brotherton was a youth pastor from 1984-2006 and now teaches youth ministry at Ambrose University College in Calgary. Dave is also the National Youth Guy for the Alliance churches in Canada, the director of Legacy Youth Conference, and a junior high volunteer in his church. Dave is married to Lisa and they share 2 of the greatest kids in the world. Fishing, camping, and cheering on the Leafs are some of his favorite things. 
This summer, Dave is transitioning to lead the ministry of Sauble Christian Fellowship, Sauble Beach, ON. 
twitter: @oldbrotherdave 

Cruise Control: some good & some bad

 My ramblings this week were spawned after driving through a speed trap without getting a ticket. After celebrating, I thought of 2 ways cruise control happens in my life... one good and one bad.

Here's my thoughts...

Dave Brotherton was a youth pastor from 1984-2006 and now teaches youth ministry at Ambrose University College in Calgary. Dave is also the National Youth Guy for the Alliance churches in Canada, the director of Legacy Youth Conference, and a junior high volunteer in his church. Dave is married to Lisa and they share 2 of the greatest kids in the world. Fishing, camping, and cheering on the Leafs are some of his favorite things. 
This summer, Dave is transitioning to lead the ministry of Sauble Christian Fellowship, Sauble Beach, ON. 
twitter: @oldbrotherdave 

Revive Us Part 1: Houston We Have A Problem - The School Project

At a local Christian School, Senior High students were given a project to start their own church from scratch.
If money was not an issue what type of church would you build? Who would come? What would your church look like? 
Students got together in groups of 4 or 5 and began to brainstorm with a month to complete this project. They had to come up with a mission statement, a vision statement, and a weekly schedule of events. Students needed to figure out what the worship service would look like, how they developed their church leadership, how they would handle the offerings, who will their church target, and students were to draw a floor plan of their building. What a project! Great concept right?

The students would then deliver a verbal presentation on their church in front of an adult panel made up of those who were involved in church, Para-church or youth ministry. That’s where I came in along with 8 others. There was a rep from the Salvation Army homeless shelter, a youth pastor from one of the local churches by the school, a young adult pastor who oversees a city wide interdenominational service, a missions outreach minister from a local church, a rep from Youth Unlimited, a dancer and author who started her own dance studio to reach the hip hop community. Incredible people were in the room! The panel was invited by the teacher in hopes that we would give valuable feedback to the students but as well to help us minister to youth by gaining valuable information from the students.  I was eager to hear what students would say, and hear their voice of what they would like to see happen in the church. I was expecting to gain fresh ideas that I could implement and even pass on to my own church that would help us reach this generation. I viewed it like a teen focus group on church. That’s what I had in mind but instead I am now sounding the alarm, "Houston, we have a problem."

After listening to the first presentation I was blindsided by what I heard. I came in looking for a little insight, but instead Holy Spirit gave us youth workers a snap shot of bigger problem, one that we created. Have you seen Dave Brotherton’s Vlog The Old “Attraction Model” of Youth Ministry? He wonders if we are tricking students into the gospel by “creating fabricated events… that are not related to what we are about in order to attract people in so that students will bring their friends.”  How has this type of "green screen" ministry made an effect on our youth?

We have been making disciples who do what we do, but they lack the heart of Jesus which is reflected in why we do what we do. 

Youth workers, I believe that the majority of our students are not where we think they are. They are not actually with us in our faith. They have a form of godliness but deny the power. (2 Timothy 3:5) The New Living Translation says, "They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly." After witnessing these presentations a couple of weeks ago, this verse takes on new meaning, along with Jesus' call to “Go and make disciples.”

In short, our students know how to “Do Church” or “Play Church” but they are lacking the authentic heart of the why we do what we do. Since then Holy Spirit has been opening my eyes to see that it’s not just the students that need revival, it is I.

As a result, I’m starting a new Blog series called Revive us. I’ll be sharing about the different churches students put together for their projects so you too can catch a glimpse on whether the students under your care are picking up the same mixed messages. I hope to have some of my colleagues who served on the panel to share their experience along with a “Now What” 

Personally, I am reexamining and evaluating all that my hands have done as 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 weighs heavy on my heart.

Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.

13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. 14 If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward.

What I’m sharing I believe God is already speaking to many of us about. God is speaking to his church about getting back to the basics, our First Love Jesus Christ. Revive Us O God.

* The purpose of this blog series is not to tear down the students projects for they worked hard on them.  This problem is not a reflection of a school or isolated to the specific city or an age demographic. The views and concerns addressed in this blog are bigger than our youth, I believe it is a reflection of how Christians young and old view the church and what we feel we need to do to make Jesus look cool. 

The Founder of the Young Woman of Power (YWOP), Alison develops programs that are designed to build girls confidence such as the YWOP PivotFWD workshop which she delivers in Calgary’s Youth Judicial System and a citywide Conference. Alison’s heart for young women is to see the statistics of violence against women decrease and to see females become counter culture/culturally dangerous by growing in true confidence. For more info or to book Alison as a speaker visit www.ywop.ca 

Following while I'm supposed to be leading?

Commitment is about what I can do.
Surrender is about the other person.

Surrender is about following.
Here is my ramblings about the skill needed in this delicate balance....

Matthew 26:19-46 
betrayed, asleep, deserted, denied. commitment leads to frustration and failure

John 21:12-19 
When peter arrives at the attitude of: "no more commitment! Just surrender..." then Jesus says, "Bingo, follow me"  "On THIS I will build my church"

Isaiah 30:21
As you go, the quiet voice behind you will say, "yes, this is the way".


Dave Brotherton was a youth pastor from 1984-2006 and now teaches youth ministry at Ambrose University College in Calgary. Dave is also the National Youth Guy for the Alliance churches in Canada, the director of Legacy Youth Conference, and a junior high volunteer in his church. Dave is married to Lisa and they share 2 of the greatest kids in the world. Fishing, camping, and cheering on the Leafs are some of his favorite things. 
This summer, Dave is transitioning to lead the ministry of Sauble Christian Fellowship, Sauble Beach, ON. 
twitter: @oldbrotherdave 

The 'attraction model' of youth ministry that we all used to live by....

In this video, I'm rambling on about the 'old way' of doing youth ministry. Building specific events to attract new kids was common place. For a while, periodically, we'd have great results. More often than not, we just had great programs... 

1.  in my experience, few kids ever really shifted their attendance/engagement from the big, crazy Friday night event to the weekly discipleship/growth meetings. The different programs we offered were just too different. Kids that came for the fun just came for the fun. Only a few shifted like we intended.
2.  kids have told me that they didn't appreciate getting invited to a fun event and being blindsided with a serious, invitational 'God talk'.  This changed how we invited kids - not what we did. We started inviting kids to 'a big fun thing where we will talk about God'... that didn't really work either.
3.  my youth group just ended up bringing the same kids over and over... they got used to it, accepted the deal and had fun; but results diminished. Some of those kids finally accepted Christ because of the relationships built - could we not have done that much more effectively?
4.  I spent a TON of time and money on attracting kids. Kids came for the program, not for relationship, not for growth, not for the message, not for God. I was a program director more than a shepherd.

 Here's about 5 minutes of my ramblings...

 

How should we respond? Create healthy, authentic followers of Christ who will work at following Christ well. Then, in the relationships they have, invite friends into the community who practices following Jesus well.... Get good at doing what Christians do... let the world see that!

Let's not 'green screen' folks into hearing the gospel.  
dave


*********
P.S.
After shooting this, I remembered where I got the ideas I mentioned in the video. The article that talked about the choir and the debate team is by Ken Moser. His article on tearing down the house is awesome! So, Ken... I'm not stealing your material; I'm pointing it out! Good job.

********


Dave Brotherton was a youth pastor from 1984-2006 and now teaches youth ministry at Ambrose University College in Calgary. Dave is also the National Youth Guy for the Alliance churches in Canada, the director of Legacy Youth Conference, and a junior high volunteer in his church. Dave is married to Lisa and they share 2 of the greatest kids in the world. Fishing, camping, and cheering on the Leafs are some of his favorite things. 
This summer, Dave is transitioning to lead the ministry of Sauble Christian Fellowship, Sauble Beach, ON. 
twitter: @oldbrotherdave 

Stop Developing Leaders????

For the last 15 years, North American Christianity has been fixated on developing leadership. Don't get me wrong... this has been a fantastic thing! The resources and training available is brilliant! 
But, think for a second. As great and as important as leadership development is, I have problems with this crazy level of emphasis we are putting on it.

(pic is from google images)

I want my people to be followers. 

What has happened that we put more emphasis on training leaders than we do on training people to be great followers of Christ? This is called discipleship. Did Jesus train his 12 to be leaders? Yes, but I think primarily, He was training them to be followers. Am I wrong? We sure use that discipleship word a lot, but I see a heck of a lot more intentionality in leadership development than I do in followership development. I want my people first and foremost to become examples of Christ in character, attitude, purity, thoughtfulness, depth, boldness, prayer, listening to God, service, humility, etc, etc.  

I want my people to understand and step into who they are in Christ. 

We constantly look for up and coming leaders, we call for leaders, and we encourage people into leadership. Leadership, as I see it, is ONE of the many gifts of the Spirit. Isn't it true that as people become good followers, as they understand themselves and the way God has wired them, gifted them, and placed them, then we will begin see who the real leaders are? What if we gave 'giftedness' that the crazy level emphasis that we give to 'leadership' development?  As people live out their own followership; the God-gifted leaders will be discovered because they will naturally rise. THEN, once we determine who the Holy Spirit has gifted that way, let's focus on training them to be great leaders AS WE train the hospitality people to be great hosts, the shepherds to be great shepherds, the evangelists to be great evangelists....  Should we treat leadership as equal to the other gifts? In the church tradition I grew up in, we criticized others for putting too much emphasis on some specific gifts; now, I think we are doing the same.

Spend the same intentional time and energy in training all people in their giftedness.

So, I actually don't want all my people to become leaders. I want them all to be great followers of Christ.

Will this era go down in history as the one that spent so much time and energy on leaders that we left the rest in the dust? Will people leave our churches in droves because they feel that there is no place for them if they are not leaders? If there is no place for thier gits to be used? Jesus took rabbi school rejects (young men not culturally designated for leadership) and made them into great followers. These followers became.

I know that this is overstated. I simply want to make us think. 


In youth ministry, I have only seen a few situations where students are really trained in the areas of their gifts (in a real breadth of gifts). I do see lots of places where kids are challenged towards leadership - and in most of those places, leadership means "be my slave, finish these tasks, run this game..."    

Let's not be known for developing great leaders. Let's be know for calling out God's uniqueness in each kid, recognizing the gifts of the Spirit, and pouring into them in "the way they should go"... they won't depart from it. 

Stop training leaders??? No. But let's put it back into its proper balance.


Dave Brotherton was a youth pastor from 1984-2006 and now teaches youth ministry at Ambrose University College in Calgary. Dave is also the National Youth Guy for the Alliance churches in Canada, the director of Legacy Youth Conference, and a junior high volunteer in his church. Dave is married to Lisa and they share 2 of the greatest kids in the world. Fishing, camping, and cheering on the Leafs are some of his favorite things. 
This summer, Dave is transitioning to lead the ministry of Sauble Christian Fellowship, Sauble Beach, ON. 
twitter: @oldbrotherdave 

Canadian Youth Worker 'Parent Huddle' launches in Calgary

Hey folks, happy Saturday. Today marks the first of what I hope to be several regional CYW Parent Huddles. These are opportunities for parents of teens to gather, learn, grow and connect.

Dave Brotherton was a youth pastor from 1984-2006 and now teaches youth ministry at Ambrose University College in Calgary. Dave is also the National Youth Guy for the Alliance churches in Canada, the director of Legacy Youth Conference, and a junior high volunteer in his church. Dave is married to Lisa and they share 2 of the greatest kids in the world. Fishing, camping, and cheering on the Leafs are some of his favorite things. This summer, Dave is transitioning to lead the ministry of Sauble Christian Fellowship, Sauble Beach, ON.
twitter: @oldbrotherdave

What can I do to be saved?

If you are like me, you understand that your salvation is a gift of God's grace and that you can do nothing to earn it. I understand this, I teach this, I love this... but I actually have difficulty living this. More often than not, I end up (consciously or unconsciously) "doing" all that I can to show God that I am worth saving.
From a sermon by Ryan Graham (Pastor of WestLife Church in Calgary), coming to grips with the correct definitions of the vocabulary surrounding our salvation can actually solidify the reality that "I have nothing to do with this". 

Salvation:  the "saving" of a sinner from the righteous judgment of God. When someone appeals to God and seeks forgiveness in Jesus, his sins are forgiven. He is cleansed. His relationship with God is restored, and he is made a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17). All of this is the work of God, not man. Salvation is a free gift (Rom. 6:23). We are saved from damnation. When anyone sins, and we all have (Rom. 3:23; 6:23), he deserves eternal separation from God (Isaiah 59:2). Yet, because of His love and mercy, God became a man (John 1:1,14 ) and bore the sins of the world in His body on the cross (1 Pet. 2:24; 1 John 2:2). We are forgiven when we realize that there is nothing we can do to earn the favor of God and we put our trust in what Jesus did for us on the cross (Eph. 2:8-9; 1 Cor. 15:1-4). Only God saves. The only thing we bring to the cross is our sin. Both God the Father (Isaiah 14:21) and Jesus (John 4:42) are called Savior; that is, deliverer from sin. Remember, it was the Father who sent the Son (1 John 4:10) to be the Savior.

 Is this something I can do?  no



SALVATION DEMANDS EACH OF THE FOLLOWING THINGS IN PROCESS:

Redemption: to free someone from bondage. It often involves the paying of a ransom, a price that makes redemption possible. The Israelite people were redeemed from Egypt. We were redeemed from the power of sin and the curse of the Law (Gal. 3:13) through Jesus (Rom. 3:24; Col. 1:14). We were bought with a price (1 Cor. 6:20; 7:23).
         
 Is this something I can do?  no

Justification: To be justified is to declared legally righteous. It is a divine act where God declares the sinner to be innocent of his sins. It is not that the sinner is now sinless, but that he is "declared" sinless.  The sinner is not made righteous in that his soul is changed or that his soul is infused with God's grace.  Instead, justification is a legal act of imputing the righteousness of Christ to the believer (Rom. 4:11; Phil. 3:9). This justification is based on the shed blood of Jesus, "...having now been justified by His blood..." (Rom. 5:9). When God sees the Christian, He sees him through the sacrifice of Jesus and "sees" him without sin. This declaration of innocence is not without cost for it required the satisfaction of God's Law, "...without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness," (Heb. 9:22). By the sacrifice of Jesus, in the "one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men," (Rom. 5:18, NASB). In justification, the justice of God fell upon Himself--Jesus. We receive mercy--we are not judged according to our sins. And grace is shed upon us--we receive eternal life. This justification is a gift of grace (Rom. 3:24), by faith (Rom. 3:28) because Jesus bore our guilt (Isaiah 53:12).

 Is this something I can do?  no

Propitiation: This means the turning away of wrath by an offering. It is similar to expiation but expiation does not carry the nuances involving wrath. For the Christian the propitiation was the shed blood of Jesus on the cross. It turned away the wrath of God so that He could pass "over the sins previously committed," (Rom. 3:25). It was the Father who sent the Son to be the propitiation (1 John 4:10) for all (1 John 2:2).

 Is this something I can do?  no

Regeneration: The act of God whereby He renews the spiritual condition of a sinner. It is a spiritual change brought about by the work of the Holy Spirit so that the person then possesses new life, eternal life. Regeneration is a change in our moral and spiritual nature where justification is a change in our relationship with God. Also, sanctification is the work of God in us to make us more like Jesus. Regeneration is the beginning of that change. It means to be born again.

  Is this something I can do?  no

Sanctification: To sanctify means to be set apart for a holy use. God has set us apart for the purpose of sanctification not impurity (1 Thess. 4:7), and being such we are called to do good works (Eph. 2:10).
Christians are to sanctify Christ as Lord in their hearts (1 Pet. 3:15). God sanctified Israel as His own special nation (Ezek. 27:28). People can be sanctified (Exodus 19:10,14) and so can a mountain (Exodus 19:23), as can the Sabbath day (Gen. 2:3), and every created thing is sanctified through the word of God and prayer (1 Tim. 4:4-5).
Sanctification is 2 things:

The position in which you are placed by God of purity, righteousness, perfection.

It is also the process by which the Holy Spirit actually makes us, in experience, that righteous, pure, perfect. It is to become more like Christ in all that we do, think, and desire. True sanctification is impossible apart from the atoning work of Christ on the cross because only after our sins are forgiven can we begin to lead a holy life.

  Is this something I can do?  no 

Lordship: surrendering to the authority, power and dominion of a lord. Salvation involves a turning in the heart from sin and, as a part of faith, a submissive commitment to obey Jesus Christ as Lord. Lordship has implications for evangelism, assurance, and the pursuit of holiness. The grace of God in salvation not only forgives, but transforms, and a lack of obedience or transformation in a person's life is warrant to doubt that they have been born again. 

 Is this something I can do? ahhh, yes!  Finally, I get to be part of this!  
But wait, for some strange reason, this is the part many Christians really, really never get to.



Awesome truth? Salvation is a gift of God's grace. Live it forward with Christ as Lord.
dave


Dave Brotherton was a youth pastor from 1984-2006 and now teaches youth ministry at Ambrose University College in Calgary. Dave is also the National Youth Guy for the Alliance churches in Canada, the director of Legacy Youth Conference, and a junior high volunteer in his church. Dave is married to Lisa and they share 2 of the greatest kids in the world. Fishing, camping, and cheering on the Leafs are some of his favorite things. This summer, Dave is transitioning to lead the ministry of Sauble Christian Fellowship, Sauble Beach, ON.
twitter: @oldbrotherdave