20 Ways to Grow Spiritually with Your Teen in 2013

As I was thinking and praying about this upcoming year, I began thinking of ways that my family can grow spiritually together in the year 2013 and then I thought about ways that families at Stillmeadow can grow together too. It's important for me to say "together" because I really believe that my role as a father is not just to teach my children, but also allow them to teach me.  By learning from them I affirm that they have something to contribute and encourage them to do so!

So here is a starter list of ways that teens and parents and children can grow in Christ together in 2013.  

Pray Together

1. Pray for your school district officials and teachers. Find a list of people who serve in your district, put it on the fridge and pray.
2. Take time each day to look at the news headlines and choose one or more situations to pray for.
3. Go for prayer walks in your neighborhood.  What's a prayer walk? It's when you walk and pray for the people or places that you pass or that God comes to mind.
4. Pray over the prayer requests listed in the Stillmeadow weekly bulletin.
5. Ask your parent or teen how you can pray for them. Then do it. Right there. Right then. And through the week.

Serve Together

1. Find a way to serve your parent or teen in a way you normally don't.
2. Choose a ministry to serve in together.
3. Bake cookies and give them out to neighbors.
4. Visit a shut in from your church together.
5. Serve at the York Rescue Mission with the Stillmeadow youth ministry. We go the first Friday of every month (including THIS Friday!)

Engage Scripture Together

1. Tell your teen or parent what God is teaching you through the Bible and ask what God is teaching them.
2. Memorize a scripture per week.  Want good verses to memorize? Just check the back of your bible or google "Scripture Memory Verses" and you'll find a ton of places to start!
3. Read a passage at whatever meal you regularly eat together. You can find great memory plans on Bible Gateway or on the YouVersion Bible App. 

Practice Gratitude together

1. Take a moment each day to thank your parent or teen for something they did.
2. Write thank you notes to the teachers and volunteers and supervisors in your life. List specific ways they have blessed you.
3. Write thank you notes to fire fighters and other civil servants.
4. At each meal or before school or bed have every one share one thing or person they are thankful for.

Do Justice Together

1. Adopt a compassion child as a family.  You can go through Nazarene Compassionate Ministries or Compassion International.
2. Buy double the ingredients for one meal a week and leave the doubles in the Stillnaz Food Pantry or at the drop bin in the front of your grocery store.
3. Strategize and practice random acts of kindness together.

This is just a starter list.  There are many other ways to grow together.  If you think of some, I'd love to hear them!

Invitations to be still

Was just looking through some old notes and found this compilation of scripture invitations to be still.  It seems that drama increases and things get busier as the holidays arrive.  These scriptures are great invitations to remember that there is more to life than the craziness that's around us.

Exodus 14:13-14

Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."

Nehemiah 8:11

The Levites calmed all the people, saying, "Be still, for this is a sacred day."

Psalm 37:6-8

He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,

       the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;

       do not fret when men succeed in their ways,

       when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;

       do not fret—it leads only to evil.

Mark 4:37-39

A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

Psalm 46:9-11

He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;

       he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,

       he burns the shields with fire.

"Be still, and know that I am God;

       I will be exalted among the nations,

       I will be exalted in the earth."

The LORD Almighty is with us;

       the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Zechariah 2:11-13

"Many nations will be joined with the LORD in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you.  The LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem.  Be still before the LORD, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling."

Our current Sunday morning series: using SOAP on Matthew

We just started a new journey with the teens at Stillmeadow.  From now until April 13 (Palm Sunday) the teens at Stillmeadow are working through the book of Matthew. 

We're proceeding through the book from front to back (although...reading it from back to front might be an exciting adventure at some point) and encouraging the students to read a portion each day.  Students can sign up for texts which the passages for each day.  I'm also updating my twitter and facebook status every day with those same texts.  Feel free to follow along!

The Method

We're also trying something new with the kids by giving them basic instructions on how to read the text.  There are sooo many ways, but right now we are emphasizing the SOAP method!  We are encouraging the students to use this method on their own during the week.  Then when we gather on Sundays we practice it together.  I'm stoked about it!

What is SOAP?  I'm glad you asked!  See the explanation below!

SOAP is an acronym for a simple way of reading scripture.  The intention is to guide you purposefully through scripture, taking time for and allowing God to speak through the reading.

Scripture: Before you read, take a couple minutes to sit in silence before Christ, remembering His sacrifice in the past and His ever present love.   Then read, knowing His Spirit is with you, opening your heart and mind to His truth.

Observe: Ask the who, what, when, where, how and why questions.  What does this passage say about God and/or humanity? How does this passage fit in with the passage before and after? Is there anything that stands out or that I have not noticed before?

Apply: What is God saying to you through this passage?  What does He want you to learn?  How does He want you to live differently?

Pray: Based off what you sense God is saying to you from this passage, take time to write out or form a prayer that focuses on the content of what you read and what you sense God calling you to do.  Then pray for family, friends and enemies.  Pray for your church and smaller group.  Pray for yourself. 

Hint #1: You may find it helpful to write your responses in a journal or on paper…

Hint #2: You will find some passages more difficult than others.  That’s okay! Bring any confusions or difficulties to class for questions!  More than likely others will have similar questions!

This method is adapted from something our worship pastor, David Brown, gave to me.  He adapted it from Wayne Cordeiro's book The Divine Mentor.

Experiencing the Holy Week as a Family

Today is the first day of Holy Week, when we prepare our hearts to remember again Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Here are some suggestions I gave to our teen parents and guardians for experiencing this together as a family. The first two are activities at Stillmeadow and the final three are activities you can do at home.

Go through the Stations of the Cross together. They’re open Monday-Thursday from 6PM-9:30PM and on Good Friday from 9:30AM-9:30PM.

Attend the Passion Play together. Remix is going to the Passion Play on Tuesday. Feel free to join us in this!

Read Scripture Together

a. Monday: Isaiah 42:1-9, Psalm 36:5-11, John 12:1-11

b. Tuesday: Isaiah 49:1-7, Psalm 71:1-14, John 12:20-36

c. Wednesday: Isaiah 50:4-9a, Psalm 70, John 13:21-32

d. Maundy Thursday: Isaiah 50:4-9a, Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19, John 13:1-17, 31b-35

e. Good Friday: Isaiah 52:13-53:12, Psalm 22, John 18:1-19:42

f. Holy Saturday: Job 14:1-14, Psalm 31:1-4, 15-16, Matthew 27:57-66

I found these scriptures neatly laid out here.

Have a special family meal on Thursday Night, remembering Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples. Read Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14 (explanation of Passover Feast) and Matthew 26:17-30 (the Last Supper).

Traditionally the church has kept Friday and Saturday as days of quiet remembrance. Invite your family into quietness. Stay at home on Saturday or go to a park together. Watch a movie at the end of the day. Relax.

What are some traditions that you do?

www wanderings 02.17.2010

Lent:

It's Ash Wednesday. If you'd like a scripture guide through the next forty days, you can go here to join what many Christians around the world are engaging with. There are some quality prayers and artwork links as well (the pic on the right came from there). If you're at Stillmeadow, I'd recommend the FaithForward Guide that we are using for our community. We gave it out on Sunday and it's available at the welcome desk.

Stillmeadow's on Twitter!

Our church is checking out what it looks like to be a presence on twitter. We'll see how this goes...but it could be fun. If you want to follow, click here or just go to www.twitter.com/stillnaz.

Child Soldiers and American Slave Trade:

Learned from Project AK-47 (follow on Twitter) that one third of the world's child soldiers are in South East Asia. They say "100,000 kids are carrying machine guns" in this region.

Then Relevant posted a study which showed that Ohio is a major hub in the US for human trafficking. Ohio is our neighbor state! 1000 Americans are forced into labor or the sex trade and "800 immigrants are sexually exploited and pushed into sweatshop-type jobs" just in Ohio! Check out what Doma is doing to protect these people.

Some good posts from good friends

So my friend Doug who is a part of the Eikon community in Richmond has been on a posting frenzy of late, and in the middle of it all has posted some of his perspective on how younger evangelicals are affecting the evangelical landscape. Quality thoughts on politics and theology...

Check out his thoughts:
Post 1
Post 2
Post 3

My other friend (I only have two) Brian Hull has put up some insightful thoughts on Youth and Scripture.

Check out his thoughts on how to help today's youth engage and encounter God in scripture:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Colossians Remixed and Grapes of Wrath

I've found that I can never read just one book at a time. (That brings up a funny mental image, of me actually holding a book in each hand, moving back and forth between the books...) While this can get confusing when I read two novels at the same time (which I don't do very often), I've actually discovered that reading novels supplements my reading of non-fiction, especially philosophy or theology. A theme that is developed in a book on theology will stand out in the work of fiction.

For instance, I'm reading Colossians Remixed and I just finished Grapes of Wrath. Colossians Remixed approaches the letter to the Colossians with the fundamental assumption that we don't come to the text naked, but clothed in the culture we find ourselves in, which in turn affects our interpretation of the text. So in order to fully understand and live out the text, the reader must understand her surrounding cultuer. So the authors take us into the N. American mindset, which is characterized by two dominant and seemingly opposite themes. The first is the often discussed post-modern worldview which is aptly described as "carnivaleque" and a "mall culture" (24) where "anything goes" except an overarching unifying story (metanarrative) that everyone buys into. The unifying story is that there is no unifying story. The modern absolute confidence in the promise of the corporate machine has died to be replaced by discontent and a sense that nothing is left to be done (22).

Yet at the same time, a very different yet dominant worldview is thriving: globalization. Behind this is the idea (and reality) that all can be connected and through connection all can be solved...simply with the touch of a button. Modernity has extended itself into the optimism of a technological and network culture (27). Think about the ads for gadgets. Office Depot promises simplicity and efficiency. The iPhone will put everything in the palm of your hand. And under these advertisements is the hidden (or not so hidden) assumption that productivity is the greatest value. Hence, efficiency is important, because you can be more productive. My value is connected to what and how much I produce. So I consume in order to become more productive.

So these seemingly opposite worldviews are actually held together by many N. Americans. Post-modernity and globalization don't clash as much as they show our dedication (willing or unwilling) to an unfeeling force (consumerism). The authors point out that this dedication exhibits the same structure as a religion. "Progress is its underlying myth, unlimited economic growth its foundational faith, the shopping mall (physical or online) its place of worship, consumerism its overriding image, 'I'll have a Big Mac and frieds' it's ritual of initiation, and global domination its ultimate goal." (30) The authors poinantly remembered that George W. Bush's response to the attack on the World Trade Center was to tell Americans to show the nations strength by going out and spending money.

The most ridiculous aspect of consumerism is that it is callous to everything that stands in its way.

While reading this, I also read the story of the Joads, who are kicked off their Oklahoma land by a corporate giant during the Dust Bowl period. The Joads have farmed the soil for years as tenants, but machinary has proven to do the work of many men, making tenant farmers unviable options for the money hungry company to employ. The company wants profit more than meeting the needs of folks and caring for the land. This unfeeling nature is characterized best when the tractor operator is instructed to only plow in straight lines even if people and houses are in the way...so the tractor mows over houses, bumping them off their foundation...just to keep a straight line.

In the midst of this turmoil, fliers from California are advertising unprecedented opportunities to be found in their state. The ads lead to a mythological view of that land where oranges and graps are in such supply that they hang over the roads and can be picked anywhere.

There is an eerie similarity between their time and ours. People aware of the brokenness of the current system but hoping for somehting brighter and better, something advertisements are selling.

What strikes me about GOW and our time is a desire for some type of hope, some type of change. Even behind the postmodern malaise lies the realization that what is our reality isn't teh greatest possibility. Everything's been tried and found wanting, but the fact that we're trying anything at all betrays an underlying assumption (or maybe it's a hope or desire or longing) that something better is out there (or in here). So the Joads sell most of their belongings, pack everything they can onto a half spent car, and burn the rest of their history, all in their effort to get to California, the land of promise. If you've read the book, you know that the Joad's get to California to discover that there is plenty of fruit and cotton, but not a ton of work and where there is work the wages are unbearably low. The promised land isn't so promising.

It must not go out!

Leviticus 6. Priests instructed to not let the fire on the altar go out. The command is repeated within two verses.

For some reason, this verse has been banging around in my head ever since I read it 4 weeks ago.

Further Thoughts on Just Worship

"An ancient saying suggested that there are two wings by which we rise, one being personal piety and the other community charity. No one can fly by flapping only one wing. It is impossible to be sincere in our worship of God without expecting to do the will of God. It is equally impossible to do the will of God without the guidance and empowering of a vital personal relationship with God."

Harvey and Lois Seifert "Liberation of Life"

I have been reading Ephesians 5 where it talks about imitating Christ. I had never noticed before, but in verse 10 Paul talks about finding out "what pleases the Lord", and in 17 he says "understand what the Lord's will is." I believe these two are connected. What pleases the Lord is what his will is. Worship that pleases God is worship that flows out of a life that understands and lives His will.

By the way, I am posting this from Panera Bread...yeehaw free wireless...thanks Brian for the enlightenment...