Duck Dynasty

My wife and I get addicted to television shows.  We don’t watch much TV when it’s on, we pretty much just watch shows on Netflix and if we happen to catch something as we’re flipping through the channels.  So right now the shows that Alicia and I are keeping up with are Bones and LOST (yes I know we’re a little behind the times but there have all 6 seasons on Netflix!).  However, one night I came home from a meeting at church and found my wife crafting and watching a show that included men decked out in camouflage and talking in deep southern accents.

My immediate questions to my wife was, “What are you watching?”, because for a girl who loves the Food Network and shows like “Say Yes to the Dress” and “What Not to Wear” this show was a little out of her realm.  I wrote the show off and didn’t really give it a second thought, until we caught a marathon on A&E.  We started watching this show that featured a family in Louisiana who turned making duck calls into a million dollar industry.  Just in case you have never seen this show, I want to give you a little sample I wanted to post a clip from the show:

Now I could easily say that I watch this show as research.  I use a lot of television analogies when I speak, in an effort to relate to our students.  Some people may not totally understand this philosophy, but if there is anything that I can do (within reason) to help a message hit home, I will do it.  However, to say that I watch this for research would be more lying than truth.  See I watch this show because it is funny.  I also watch this show because it has amazing family values.

The idea behind this show is to follow a family who works together.  If you have ever been around a family owned and operated business, then you know that it has various complications.  When someone does something wrong you can’t simply fire them because they are related to you.  On this show, when an order doesn’t get made in time it is a brother, uncle, or another family member who is the person to blame.  Confrontation is hard, but family confrontation is that much harder.

The thing that made me fall in love with this show was not the confrontation or the silliness of watching 4 grown men try to catch frogs at night, but the way they end each show.  As much confrontation as each episode brings, this family is closer than most.  At the end of most episodes you see the family (Grandparents to grandchildren) eating a meal together and praying together at the table.  Honestly, I pray that there would be more families like the Robertson clan of Duck Dynasty.

I want not just to build good kids but to build godly kids and godly families.  As the saying goes, “A family who prays together, stays together.”  I would encourage you to watch Duck Dynasty with your family because it is one quality family program.  I also pray that God raises up more families like this one that both struggles and prays together.

-Jason

The Colorado Shooting and the State of Things

Breaking news like the things that have been coming out today really puts ministry into perspective.  My wife and I considered going to a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises last night, but we decided to pull the more adult card, take our sleep, and wait till this evening to go.

I have been really excited about the conclusion of Christopher Nolan’s reiteration of Batman, and I think this has been the best version yet.  The thing is, I’m not alone, and that is why so many people from young to old went to the midnight showing last night.  There is just something about being able to walk into work on Friday knowing that you’ve seen the movie that everyone will be talking about on Monday.  For most of us, seeing a midnight showing is the closest thing to a premiere we will ever see.  Going to a midnight showing represents just how die-hard you are and your willingness to forego sleep for the sake of the show.

Last night, however, was not the celebrated night for some people.  If for some reason you have not seen any news today, a man walked into a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises in full body armor, tossed a tear gas grenade, and killed 12 while wounding 59 people in Aurora, Colorado.  This is not a breaking news blog.  You can obviously tell that by the fact that this article is coming out around 2:30pm, and this story happened at midnight last night.  I am not going to update this post if the death toll increases, because this blog is less about the actual story and more about the state of our world.

Unfortunately, things like this are going to happen for the rest of this world’s existence.  I am not trying to be harsh, because my heart is broken for the families of the people who were shot, but I am going to be honest.  People have been saying since Jesus left that this and that are signs of the end times, but I think that this is simply a sign of a country who is far from God.  You can blame it on the government or the school system or person x in history, but the fact is our ministries need to bridge the gap between the depraved people of this world and our God who is willing to save anyone who comes to him with a repentant heart.

This photo is taken from FoxNews.com’s front page.

There are a lot of hurting people in this world, and unfortunately there are a lot of complacent churches and youth ministries as well.  While people are dying and going to hell, we sit in our office sipping coffee and watching YouTube videos.  How hard do our hearts have to be to neglect the groaning of people who need Jesus?  What are we doing to reach the dying people of this world?  Here people, just like myself, wanted to go to the safety of their movie theater only to have a monster of a person come in guns blazing. But you know what? God wants to save that monster just as much as he wanted to save you and me.  The blood that was shed on the cross was shed just as much for the hurting person who shot up a movie theater as it was for the 4 year old version of me whose “biggest” sin was lying to my parents.

Right now we need a heart check.  Does your heart break for this culture around us or is this blog going to go in one ear and out the other?

-Jason

Extra Curricular Student Ministry

If your church’s student ministry is anything like mine, and I would guess that it is, then your students are probably super involved at their school.  It seems that just about every one of my students is involved in multiple sports.  A christian school that many of our students go, plays one sport each season, and most of our students rotate from one sport to another.  One of my students leaders does a sport every month and juggled both soccer and marching band this past fall!  Our students are very involved in everything from sports, to drama, to band, and sometimes all at once.

I don’t think that much has changed in this regard since I was a student because as I look at my schedule I am always amazed that I, along with my parents, could manage the type of schedule that I committed myself to.  My average week consisted school from 8 hours a day, football practice 3 to 4 hours a day, show choir rehearsals, praise band practice, youth choir, youth group on Sunday and Wednesday nights, and that doesn’t include doing schoolwork to maintain a 3.8 gpa.  Things were busy to say the very least.

This post is not about busyness as much as it’s about visibility.  Now, as a full-time youth pastor, I am on the other side of the fence watching my students over-commit themselves and somehow manage to pull it all off.  I also get to watch the parents who do everything they possibly can to allow their students to do so.

Attention Youth Workers:  Students are involved so why not go and take an interest in what they are involved in?  I can promise you that the football team got a lot more time from me between the weight room, practices, and games, than my youth group did.  I was that student that often missed summer camp for football camp.  In your ministry, going to a sporting event will go a lot farther than your sermons ever will.

Yesterday Alicia and I went to watch a softball game.  Let me tell you that I have absolutely no interest in baseball or softball, but I have an interest in my student who plays softball.  Our student warned us that her team was bad and that they hadn’t gone past the 3rd inning of a game because the slaughter rule had taken effect by that point in every game this season, but we went anyway.  We had a great time and the student appreciated the fact that we had gone to the game.

I want to give you two reasons why you should be going to your students’ activities:

1. Visibility — Your students appreciate seeing you and it also helps them to know that you are willing to do more than simply preach to them on a Sunday or Wednesday night.
2. Parent Contact — Your ministry is just as much to the parents as it is to the students, because the parents are entrusting the development own flesh and blood to us. Many times at least one of the parents will be at the game.  Not only does going to the games mean a lot to your students, but it means a lot to your parents.  Parents trust a youth pastor who goes above the call of duty.

These two elements can be a huge help in your ministry.  Not only is attending a game or play enjoyable for you but it could go a long way in building relationships that will last.

-Jason