Day: July 5, 2005

everyone had thought that it would be raining around here by now. in fact, i canceled the soil that was going to be brought to my house because both i and the guy at the garden store thought it would be raining and i would be stuck with a huge mud pile in my front yard. of course, it’s still dry outside right now. who knows when it will finally start raining.

i ate lunch with j.t. today (in our never ending conversation to start something new around baton rouge) and he mentioned student life bible study’s six year plan. the plan is what they want a student to know by by six years within their studies. here’s what it looks like:

CHRIST
• the life of CHIRST
• the basis of faith

covenant

• law and grace
• the foundations of ethical living

character

• old testament people
• the development of character

consecration

• the theology of paul
• discipline of a biblical worldview

community

• the new testament church
• essence of fellowship

commission

• wisdom & prophetic literature
• the frameworks for a passionate life

of course, you can also use andy stanley’s seven checkpoints of youth ministry as an example. again this is what their student ministry wants it’s teens to have experienced by the time they leave the student ministry. stanley’s seven checkpoints are:

• authentic faith
• spiritual disciplines
• moral boundaries
• healthy friendships
• wise choices
• ultimate authority
• others first

j.t.’s statement got me thinking about a study i had done four years ago. i went through the gospels looking at every time the word “disciple” occurred. what i discovered was that discipleship isn’t so much a step by step plan as it is walking along side someone else who has been walking with CHRIST longer and deeper than you have yet experienced. during that study i mapped out the basics of what i think a disciple of CHRIST would ideally look like (i.e. nobody actually looks like this because none of us are “ideal” disciples). here’s what i wrote out:

if i were to do this today i would word things a little and focus more on the “walk.” yet i guess it is still close to what i use as a guide directing my goals for what i hope our students learn concerning being a disciple of CHRIST.

over the past month we have had a growing problem of kids getting up during our worship service and going to use the restroom. the problem is that i don’t really want to tell teens “you have to sit down” because i don’t really feel like that’s true. i’m fine with people getting up, moving, leaving and coming back. i want there to be freedom. what i don’t want is things that disrupt people’s worship and i feel like some of the people getting up to use the restroom are doing that. the same people always seem to be the ones who have to use the restroom.

so here’s my joke of a response to the issue. it’s a public service announcement on the size of the human bladder and how that means you shouldn’t need to go to the restroom during the service. i guess i’ll be more forceful later if it’s still needed.