Andy Stanley & Stuart Hall name “Seven Principles Every Teenager Needs to Know”

Checkpoint #1 – Authentic Faith:

Principle: God can be trusted. God will do all that he has promised to do.
Crucial Question: Are you trusting God with every area of your life.
Key passage: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Checkpoint #2 – Spiritual Disciplines:

Principle: When you see as God sees, you will do as God says.
Crucial Question: Are you developing a consistent devotional and prayer life?
Key Passage: Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God-what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:2).

Checkpoint #3 – Moral Boundaries:

Principle: Purity paves the way to intimacy.
Crucial Question: Are you establishing and maintaining godly boundaries?
Key Passage: For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from fornication; that each one of you know how to control your own body in holiness and honor, not with lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one wrong or exploit a brother or sister in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, just as we have already told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. Therefore whoever rejects this rejects not human authority but God, who also gives his Holy Spirit to you (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8).

Checkpoint #4 – Healthy Friendships:

Principle: Your friends will determine the direction and quality of your life.
Crucial Question: Are you establishing healthy friendships and avoiding unhealthy ones?
Key Passage: Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools suffers harm (Proverbs 13:20).

Checkpoint #5 – Wise Choices:

Principle: Walk wisely.
Crucial Question: Are you making wise choices in every area of your life?
Key Passage: Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is (Ephesians 5:15-17).

Checkpoint #6 – Ultimate Authority:

Principle: Maximum freedom is found under God’s authority.
Crucial Question: Are you submitting to the authorities that God is placing over you?
Key Passage: Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment (Romans 13:1-2).

Checkpoint #7 – Others First:

Principle: Consider others before yourself.
Crucial Question: Are you putting the needs of others ahead of your own?
Key Passage: Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death-even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:3-11).

SEVEN PRINCIPLES EVERY TEENAGER NEEDS TO KNOW:

Andy Stanley and Stuart Hall, The Seven Checkpoints for Youth Leaders: Seven Principles Every Teenager Needs to Know, (New York: Howard Books, 2001).
Andy Stanley and Stuart Hall, The Seven Checkpoints Student Journal: Seven Principles Every Teenager Needs to Know, (New York: Howard Books, 2001).

Reuben Job’s Three Simple Rules

Two years ago, United Methodist Leaders gathered for a “teach-in” at Lake Junaluska. I had my own cynical thoughts about what to do with all the Bishops and District Superintendents required to attend that meeting, but God did some good in those days. They heard from some good thinkers include Gil Rendel and Reuben Job. Below is an outline of the Bishop Job’s book Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living (2007). Bishop Job suggests Three Simple Rules (adapted from John Wesley’s General Rules):

Do No Harm,
Do Good, and
Stay in Love with God.
(In youth ministry I used the slogan “avoid evil, do good, and pay attention to God” to help my kids come to understand Wesley’s general rules.)

The other important thing for me in Wesley’s rules were that they were intended for those “desiring to flee the wrath to come.” I find it indicative of God’s prevenient grace that knowing your life was messed up is the requirement for joining the Methodist movement and not professing Jesus Christ is Lord. Introduction: We begin our conversation with a “duh!” Our world is broken. Our nations, our families, our tribes, even our denominiations are broken. This brokenness hinders our witness to the world and Jesus anticipated this challenge when saying: “ Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one ” (John 17:11b). Wesley’s General Rules follow in the tradition of Paul who offered several sets of rules:

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony (Colossians 3:12-14).

By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another (Galatians 5:22-26).

Do No Harm (or as Wesley says, “by doing no harm, by avoiding evil of every kind, especially that which is most generally practiced …”).

If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another (Galatians 5:15).

Job suggests that following this first simple rule “provides a safe place to stand while the hard and faithful work of discernment is done” (Simple Rules, 21). This will require a radical reorienting of our lives and this leads Job to offer the following challenges to us when conflict emerges in our lives:

If I can do no harm, I can no longer gossip about the conflict. I can no longer speak disparagingly about those involved in the conflict. I can no longer manipulate the facts of the conflict. I can no longer diminish those who do not agree with me and must honor each as a child of God (Simple Rules, 22).

The hardest part of this rule may be relenting from our ideological and theological positions and “bind ourselves to Jesus Christ as both Savior and Lord of all (Simple Rules, 24). Because I may have to give up my “position” we often avoid this rule because the consequences are scary. Yet even “a casual reading of the gospels suggests that Jesus taught and practiced a way of living that did no harm” (Simple Rules, 27). Do Good (or as Wesley says, “by doing good; by being in every kind merciful after their power; as they have opportunity, doing good of every possible sort, and, as far as possible, to all men”).

Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God (3 John 11b).

God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good … (Acts 10:38).

You owe your conscience to God; to one another you nothing but mutual love (St. Augustine).

There is scarce any possible way of doing good, for which there is not daily occasion …. Here are poor families to be relieved: Here are children to be educated: Here are workhouses, wherein both young and old gladly receive the word of exhortation: Here are the prisons, and therein a complication of humans wants (John Wesley’s Journal, March 28, 1739).

To do good is not easy, despite it being a direct command from Jesus and a strong suggestion from John Wesley. We complicate the command with questions like what is it mean to ‘do good,’ where do I begin, or what are the limits to doing good (Simple Rules, 36)? Job takes time to deal with the thorny issue of control and challenges his reader to know that doing good is precisely in our control and that our questions do not allow us to abdicate the responsibility to do good. Stay in Love with God (or according to Wesley, “By attending upon all the ordinances of God; such are: the public worship of God, the ministry of the Word, either read or expounded, the Supper of the Lord, family and private prayer, searching the Scriptures, and fasting or abstinence”).

Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually (Psalm 105.4)

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving (Colossians 2:6-7).

Ordinances, or spiritual disciplines, are the practices that keep “the relationship between God and humans vital, alive, and growing” (Simple Rules, 53). Job takes time to explore Peter and his response to Jesus’ questions “do you love me?” In these moments we are also invited to answer the question individually. Do you love me? If yes, then Jesus says “feed my sheep,” care for my children, do no harm, do good …

Adam Hamilton on Evangelism and the Case for Methodism

In Order to Reach Non-Religious People We Must Answer Three Crucial Questions:

Why do people need JESUS CHRIST?
Why do people need the CHURCH?
Why do people need A UNITED METHODIST CHURCH?

Adam’s answers to the above for the Church of the Resurrection:

Jesus is the answer to the deepest longing of every human heart.
The church is the physical embodiment of Jesus in the world. The church is a community that loves and accepts me, helps me grow, and then go out in service to the world.
Adam turns the final question to us: “What is special about your congregation?”

From Visitor to Member:

Saddleback’ s model: Invite – Disciple – Equip – Mission
COR’s adaptation: Invite folks to change the world, introduce them to who Jesus is, invite them into deeper discipleship, and equip disciples for service.

The Case for Methodism (United Methodists embrace both):

Mind and Heart
Evangelical Gospel and Social Gospel
Grace and Personal Holiness
Conservative and Liberal

You can check out the video at this link: “Evangelism and the Case for Methodism“

Moving forward by saying YES (and often saying NO) …

When you are paying attention, answers come from unexpected sources for often unasked questions. What do I mean. Often I have been asked about what the churches I have served with did to launch something new. For example, how did you get together the band for the contemporary service at Nashville UMC (which doubled worship attendance) or grow the missions budget at Pinehurst UMC (which increased twenty-fold)? In my better moments I answered by saying it was simply a God-thing.

About three months ago I was attending a training event with the Alban Institute which was paying attention to helping organization take the next step forward in the journey. In the midst of the conversation the title of one of Peter Block's books came up, and the title alone floored me. I received in a fifteen second blip the insight in what had worked to unleash such creativity in the churches I have served. The title is The Answer to How Is Yes: Acting on What Matters! When we say YES to taking the next step, the hows often take care of themselves, but we have to be willing to take the next step (or is it a leap?).

Listed below are six questions that Block suggests we need to reframe to say YES:

How Question: How do you do it?
Yes Question: What refusal have I been postponing?
How Question: How long will it take?
Yes Question: What commitment am I willing to make?
How Question: How much does it cost?
Yes Question: What is the price I am willing to pay?
How Question: How do you get those people to change?
Yes Question: What is my contribution to the problem I am concerned with?
How Question: How do we measure it?
Yes Question: What is the crossroad at which I find myself at this point in my life/work?
How Question: How are others doing it successfully?
Yes Question: What do we want to create together?
Bonus Question: What is the question that, if you had the answer, would set you free?

I encourage you to consider asking more YES questions? In my own life, the real adventures began when I made a commitment with God to move forward — especially when I did not have the answers to the how questions that I and others were raising in the moment.

Generosity in America

Martin Marty’s Context always brings (at least) a note worth paying attention to in a fresh way. Today I received January’s issue with this quote from Passing the Plate: Why American Christians Don’t Give Away More Money by Christian Smith, Michael O. Emerson, and Patricia Snell:

“We think most American Christians do possess the financial resources to give generously–say, 10 percent of after-tax income–if they were committed to doing so, although for many such giving would come at a real lifestyle cost to consumer spending. Such generous financial giving by American Christians would require an intentional, principled, upfront decision to give faithfully, consistently, and systematically and would require the support of local church cultures in which generous financial giving is collectively expected and honored. “Most American Christians, we think, do not give generously for a combination of reasons. [All italics are in original.] The first reason is that many have, for various reasons, simply not seriously confronted and grappled with the theological and moral teachings of their traditions to give generously–they are only vaguely aware of or perhaps even avoid those teachings. Second, we think most American Christians do not give generously because many of their churches settle for low expectations of financial giving–there is a simple cultural lack of strong community norms encouraging and celebrating generous giving. Third, some American Christians do not give generously in part because they lack a complete confidence in the trustworthiness of the churches and charitable organizations to which they would give money. Fourth, most American Christians do not give generously because, due to the total privatization and lack of accountability of such issues, there
are few or no real consequences or costs to stingy, intermittent, or no giving. Fifth, most American Christians do not give generously because most tend to practice giving on an occasional and situational basis, not as a disciplined, structured, routine practice.— Passing the Plate, Oxford University Press, pp. 97-98.

To subscribe to Martin Marty’s Context follow this link to Context Online.

Michael Gelb – How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci is recognized as one of the greatest geniuses of all time. He excelled in many areas such as the creation of the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper and other classic works. Besides art, Leonardo was an architect, mathematician, philosopher, and military planner. In How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci Michael Gelb reviews and explains Leonardo's notebooks, inventions, and works of art. He introduces readers to the Seven da Vincian Principles, essential elements of genius that can be developed. The book is a collection of illustrations, passages and exercises designed to stimulate anyone's awareness of their own creativity.

Continue reading “Michael Gelb – How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci” →

7.4 – Assurance of Guidance – 1 John 4:4

Memorize 1 John 4:4

Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them;
for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world (NRSV).

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them,
because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world (NIV).

Reflect on 1 John 4:4

For context read 1 John 4 in the NRSV, the NIV, or The MESSAGE.
Who are the three players in this verse?
Because we are God's children we have overcome "them." Who are they?
Who is the one in you? Who is the one who is in the world? Who is greater? More importantly, what does this mean for your life?

7.3 – Assurance of God’s Guidance – Jeremiah 17:7

Memorize Jeremiah 17:7

Blessed are those who trust in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD (NRSV).

But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him (NIV).

Reflect on Jeremiah 17:7

Read Jeremiah 17:5-18 for context in the NRSV, the NIV, or The MESSAGE.
What does it mean for your to consider yourself blessed?
What does it mean for you to trust God?
Think about a person in whom you have confidence. What actions gave you confidence in that person? What actions give you confidence in the LORD?

7.2 – Assurance of Guidance – Psalm 32:8

Memorize Psalm 32:8

I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you (NRSV).

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you and watch over you (NIV).

Reflect on Psalm 32:8

Pray to god using Psalm 32 in the NRSV, the NIV, or The MESSAGE.
As you pray the psalm consider the following questions:
- Who are the happy / blessed / lucky ones (verses 1-2)?
- When I offer my sin and failures to God what happens (verse 5)?
- The psalmist trusts that God is a ________ (verse 7)?
The psalmist promises that God's hesed (steadfast love) surrounds those who trust in him. Where have you experienced this in your life?

7.1 – Assurance of Guidance – Proverbs 3:5-6

Memorize Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths (NRSV).

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight (NIV).

Reflect on Proverbs 3:5-6

Read Proverbs 3 in the NRSV, the NIV, or The MESSAGE.
Who are we to trust? How are we to trust?
When I am not trusting God, who/what am I trusting?
Reflect on the following quote:
The mission is God's. We are joining in with God's activity, not God with ours … . To forget this is make our practices an idol. God becomes controlled by our programs and expectations and thus no god at all (Pete Ward, God at the Mall: Youth Ministry that Meets Kids Where They're At, [Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1999], page 99).