Number One Priority

“You must love the students… that’s what matters the most in youth ministry!”

That’s the common statement I face with parents and church leaders in youth ministry. This is one of the major struggles I face – what is the most important priority in a youth ministry? Loving our students unconditionally? Being there for the parents (and making them happy)? Keeping a open communication channel with the church leaders about our activities?

Sure all are important in youth ministry, but are any of them my number one priority?

Jesus faced similar questions when standing before an expert of the Law. Seeking information on how to inherit eternal life, Jesus gave him an uncluttered and succulent answer:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind”; and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27).

Jesus stresses the importance of one’s relationship with God above loving or serving others; this principle applies to everyone, youth ministry or not. If anyone reverses this order, it can have a devastating effect on one’s spiritual life.

Loving God might not be difficult if done so in a static environment; it can become quite challenging when pressures of life and conflicting expectations takes hold in our lives. I’m guilty of this because it is easy to serve others under the guise of “I’m loving others because I want to show my love of God.” While there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with this, I find it easy to push aside my personal spiritual growth and time with the Lord when things get busy. In fact, I do this so often that I find myself burnt out and exhausted, wondering what happened.

Doug Fields explains it clearly:

“Failure to see the difference between loving God (focusing on him) and loving others (doing ministry) can result in a ministry-focused life rather than a God-focused life” (Youth Leader Training on the Go).

I preach to my ministry colleagues that the greatest aim for a youth worker – no matter what happens – is to pursue and love God. Once this is achieved, people can reveal God’s love clearly by serving others.

The Potter Works Only with Soft Clay!

It has been a while since I updated this blog the last time, and many events has transpired in my life. However, I came across this delicious piece that I couldn’t resist sharing with you from a special edition of the Gospel for Asia News Magazine. This piece was written by K.P. Yohannan, the Editor-in-Chief. Enjoy, and be refreshed!

When I was a boy, growing up in India, I often went to a potter’s house near my high school. I was fascinated to watch him make clay vessels. During those visits, I never saw the potter take a hardened lump of clay and put it on his wheel to make something out of it. He, just like every other potter in the world, used only soft and tender clay to work with. So does God!

The prophet Jeremiah tells us that God is like a potter and His people are the clay He wants to form into a beautiful vessel. In order to accomplish this, God looks for soft and pliable hearts.

Man measures the quality and usefulness of a person by his education, ability and expertise. Yet God determines his true value by the condition of his heart: “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

What happens if the Clay Is Hard?

If the clay is hard, the potter will spend days pouring water on it and pounding it thoroughly until it becomes soft. It took God 20 long years of “pouring and pounding” until Jacob’s heart became soft enough. Moses needed 40 years of desert life to become the meekest man on earth (Numbers 12:3) who could lead Israel out of Egypt.

The Bible warns us not to harden our hearts: “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 3:15).

It is possible for us as believers to have a tender heart for a season, but then when God speaks to us about an issue, to choose not to humble ourselves but rather to harden our hearts. This is not a good place for us to be, because the Bible declares: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).

The Lord will not let us go. He will allow circumstances to pound us so our hearts will once again become soft and pliable. The people of Israel are the perfect example of this. Just think of how many times God allowed them to face famines, hardships, oppression, defeat, and captivity in order to soften their hearts and help them return to Him!

What Causes Our Hearts to Become Hard?

Being poisoned by negative talk. One person in a church or ministry is dissatisfied, bitter, critical and unwilling to change. He starts to talk negatively and poisons others. Soon the atmosphere of love among the brothers and sisters is replaced by disunity, anger and hardness of heart toward each other and the Lord.

An elevated view of ourselves. We feel important because we do something significant for God’s Kingdom, and we don’t recognize that our hearts is filled with pride, arrogance and an exalted view of ourselves. Often the symptoms don’t show up until years later when our heart is no longer soft in the Potter’s hand.

Rebellion. Any form of rebellion is like a tiny seed that, if not dealt with, will grow and eventually harden our heart and bring destruction. It begins with a tiny issue or a thought like this one: “Who does he think he is to tell me what to do? My life is none of his business!” – and it ultimately ends in death.

What Should We Do to Keep Our Hearts Soft?

Don’t take God’s grace for granted. Grace is given to those who are humble, not to those who are right or feel indispensable.

Watch over your heart (Proverbs 4:23). Don’t keep company with those who spread negative talk, sow disunity or have a rebellious spirit. Love them and pray for them, but have no part with them. Believe me, you and I are not strong enough to withstand the poison they spread. It’s in the atmosphere, and we breathe it in whether we intend to or not.

Submit to one another (Ephesians 5:21). Don’t fight for your rights. Be willing to give up something. Learn to let it be.

Don’t think of yourself more highly than you should (Romans 12:3). Remember that all the gifts, talents and ministry you have are given to you by the Lord. Nothing is of yourself. It’s all God’s grace.

Be careful from whom you receive your counsel. That’s especially important when you are disappointed because your expectations are not met. Don’t go to a brother or sister who is not mature in the Lord and who sympathizes and agrees with your complaints and tears. Instead, go to someone who is mature and who can help you see the hand of God and His purpose behind the things you face.

Repent and run to the cross. If need be, do this a thousand times a day to maintain the tenderness of your heart. Whenever you seek the limelight, want to take credit, get hurt or when your expectations are not fulfilled and your plan don’t work out, don’t fight; go to the cross.

God always seek to do one thing with us on the Potter’s wheel – not to make us more powerful and famous, but to make us more like HIs Son, the Lord Jesus.

www.gfa.org/5minutes

Our Situation - from Ransomed Heart

Let me say this again: the story of your life is the story of the long and brutal assault on your heart by the one who knows what you could be and fears it. I hope you are beginning to see that more clearly now. Otherwise, much of the Bible will not make sense to you. Much of your life will not make sense to you.

I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. (Isa. 45:2–3)

Doesn’t the language of the Bible sometimes sound . . . overblown? Really now—God is going to level mountains for us? We’d be happy if he just helped us get through the week. What’s all that about breaking down gates of bronze and cutting through bars of iron? I mean, it sounds heroic, but, well, who’s really in need of that? This isn’t ancient Samaria. We’d settle for a parking place at the mall.

If we are in an epic battle, then the language of the Bible fits perfectly. Things are not what they seem. We are at war. That war is against your heart, your glory. Once more, look at Isaiah 61:1:

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners.

(Waking the Dead , 149–50)

(www.ransomedheart.org)

DTQuest's 10/20 Monday Memo Devotional

Part II - Practical Application

"There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call - one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." (Ephesians 4:4-5)

Paul was explicitly clear about oneness (unity) - one body... one Spirit... one hope... one Lord... one faith... one baptism... one God and Father of all - so we cannot neglect the importance of being unified. What are some of the ways by which DTQ can work with church-based youth ministries? Here are some do-able and useful suggestions:

• Sign up for an account through National Network for Youth Ministries (if you have not done so already, here's the link: www.nnym.org) and join Deaf Teen Ministry affinity network (www.deafministry.org). Encourage the churches with Deaf ministry to join as well! This is one of the main tools I've used this as a youth worker to communicate with various ministries across this region, and this is also the main venue by which we plan our retreats, our second one coming up in January. Very beneficial if everyone's committed to it!
• Actively seek out churches with Deaf ministries. Look up on the yellow pages, Google them up, check out their websites, and even go up to Deaf people to see if they know any! The churches won't come to parachurch ministries for help (except for a few rare cases), so you will have to reach out to those people. Many churches are willing to collaborate with other ministries and missionary organizations because they want people to know Christ. So, be the initiator!
• Connect with Deaf ministry program leaders who are passionate about the youth, and tell them what your vision is all about. Maintaining a regular contact with the church about DTQuest events is also important. Encourage the churches to support your local YFC DTQuest chapter (like ours for YFC-CM DTQuest program) either financially or by providing the usage of facilities. Want to go an extra mile? Set aside an hour for each church every month to sit down and develop or maintain a relationship - a major plus!
• Communicate clearly, communicate well, and communicate often - the churches need to know what you are doing with your ministries! First, tell them your vision using crystal-clear terms! If the churches know exactly what you envision - clear communication - they will be more willing to lend a helping hand either financially or materially. Second, choose several vehicles of communication in order to maximize your message delivery to the churches. Use e-mail newsletters, written letters, catchy flyers, announcement boards, church brochures, a biplane with a sign trailing on its back on Sunday mornings - use whatever it requires for you to inform all the churches about your needs - thus communicating well! Finally, make a mental commitment to keep churches posted about how God has been working in your personal lives and ministries - hence communicating often. The church leadership will appreciate it and might even be willing to invest more into your ministries! All you have to do is tell! Ask, seek, and knock... sounds familiar?
• Pray - this is the most crucial aspect of all ministries! Pray that the One who promises unity will bring local churches together to be the brilliant light of the world. Pray that a true and lasting unity will permeate both your and the church ministries to be an excellent example to the world. Pray for His guidance and wisdom daily. Be honest about your needs. Samuel Chadwick writes: "The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He laughs at our toil, mocks our wisdom, but trembles when we pray." Never underestimate the power of a praying saint!

Of course, our ministries' context will differ from region to region, and from individual to individual. Those suggestions are meant to encourage you to seek support from a church (don't limit yourself to only one - be bold), and to give you some tools by which you can experience unity. A final word here: unity is not easy. That's why Jesus prayed for it before he died on the Cross. Paul knew the difficulty of this, and exhorts the early church to pursue this. But the good news is this: unity is made possible through the indwelling Holy Spirit that lives in each one of us! AMEN

DTQuest's 10/13 Monday Memo Devotional

"I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me." (John 17:20-23)

Jesus, in his famous prayer before he was arrested, prayed specifically for a lasting, unbreakable unity among all believers who profess Christ as Savior and Lord. Jesus knew that unity would not come naturally for humans. It is a great thing to actualize in principle, but it can only be achieved with the presence of Holy Spirit in our lives, bridging whatever our differences are to bring us together with a common mission.

As a friend of YFC DTQuest and a leader for a church-based youth ministry, I would like to delve into a question that has been asked by many of you: How can a DTQuest and church-based Deaf youth ministry work together to reach our teenagers for Christ?

First and foremost, all believers within DTQ and the Church (I am not referring the "Church" as an institution, but as a group of people who declared Christ at their savior and lord of their lives) must have a firm grasp on the core doctrines taught by Jesus Christ. Christ died for us because He loves us and wants us to be one with our Father. It is essential for all believers to believe that we are only saved only by Grace through Christ's death on the cross. That is the fundamental Truth we all must share to be able to reach our teenagers for Christ. If a church or a ministry doesn't share basic biblical truth about Jesus Christ, then unity will never be achieved.

Second, it is important to recognize that DTQuest is an "outreach arm" of the church. I won't deny that it is crucial for teenagers to be with a group of like-minded peers - one of the hallmarks of DTQuest's GROWgroups - but the Bible also teaches and shows us (most clearly in Acts) the important role of the church in the lives of all believers. Only in the context of a local church will people grow closer to Christ. Teenagers won't stay teenagers forever; there will come a time when teenagers will need to become plugged into a local Body of Christ.

DTQuest is part of the fulfillment of the Great Commission that Jesus proclaimed in Matthew 28; the Church also has a commandment to encourage, support, and challenge all people to know God and to fall madly in love with their Creator. AMEN

An Enslaved Freedman

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among them are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." (Declaration of Independence, July 4th, 1776)

Hailed as one of the greatest philosophical documents ever written, Thomas Jefferson (along with the help from John Adams and Benjamin Franklin) wrote the Declaration of Independence and made a bold move against the British Empire to dissolve the colonies' relationship with the Crown. Colonists were fed up with paying taxes, dealing with ignorant Parliament who believes that England is entitled to world dominion, and religious intolerance - expressed through the now infamous Boston Tea Party and witnessed through the mass migration of Puritans. After the submission of this Declaration to the British Parliament, the American Revolution did not conclude until the Treaty of Paris was formally ratified and exchanged by the British and United States parties on May 12, 1784 in France. It required America eight additional years after the signing of the Declaration until she was fully emancipated from England. The effect of the Revolution can still be felt not only in America, but all over the world.

I am eternally thankful for the liberties I enjoy in America. We have achieved a great amount of equality in many ways, let it be racial, economical opportunity, and equal employment opportunity. We are allowed to practice whatever belief system we want to without being threatened by our government. We can bear arms in our houses and use it to defend ourselves against people who intend to do harm toward us. We do not have to fear any unwarranted searches and seizures of our personal property. An impartial jury, by principle, is guaranteed to any of us who have been accused of any wrongdoings, and we are presumed to be innocent unless proven guilty. There are enumerated powers assigned separately for the federal and state governments; no single governmental agency in America has the right or power to usurp the powers reserved for a lesser government. You can say that I am free in America, and I won't deny that. There are many people in the world who are hungry, oppressed, and shackled in a society. I'm grateful for the utterly high price our soldiers who fought in all wars to defend our freedom and perished.

Yet the more I thought about my liberty, the more I realized that it was temporal, only to be enjoyed in this lifetime. Although it makes me feel elated to be blessed in such a way, I realized something crucial: I was still a miserable prisoner. After I take my last breath, what will my liberties meant to me? I cannot bring the freedom I have here into my death. I was still controlled by Death.

In other words, I was a prisoner of hate, greed, jealousy, lust, desires, fear, material items, and fruitless dreams. I was set on pursuing the American dream, to become wealthy and enjoy my life to its fullest. However, I finally realized something: no matter what I do, I cannot get rid of my nagging sense of despair and hopelessness. There was a void in my heart that I cannot fill by things found in this world; this hole, I realized later, was a God-sized one.

I am an enslaved freedman. Although free, my heart is held captive to a higher principle that is apart from this transient world. Just when I thought that the cold iron shackles of slavery would burden me when I sworn my allegiance to God, the freedom I found greeted me like a dear friend. I am not bound to any laws, but to the Law that is characterized by a mind-boggling Grace and unconditional Love. As a captive, I am free to shout. I am free to run. I am free to dance. I am free to live my life aiming to honor, praise, and glorify my King: Christ Jesus, my Lord, Savior, and Friend.

And here's why: my King laid down all the splendor and glory of his God-ship only to come here on Earth as a lowly human, a man who was tempted and tried in every possible way, yet never sinned. He was born under the law, lived for thirty-three years under the law, and died uneventfully under the law. My King was able to heal the sick, make the lame walk, restore the blind's sight, and make the dead walk again. He was arrested, accused and convicted; He suffered unimaginable agony and pain, all while hanging on an accursed tree, the cross, like a common criminal, as a completely innocent man. He did no crime, except for this: He brought forth true freedom into this world. He makes this freedom available to all who choose to believe, receive, and declare Him as their personal savior.

As I meditated on what Christ did, I am reminded that only true freedom can be found in Christ alone. No governments of this world can offer us this assertion. No kings that has lived, is living, and will come in the future can give people a 100% certainty on their freedom. Even the founding Fathers who boldly wrote the Declaration cannot - only Christ can. Apostle Paul sums it up:

"[W]here the Spirit of Lord is, there is liberty. " (2 Corinthians 3:17)

"For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord's freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is Christ's slave." (2 Corinthians 7:22)

I have sworn allegiance to my King, and a Declaration of Independence has already been written, ratified, and sealed with my name through the blood of Christ. Will I find your name among the signers?