Words Can Hurt

Found this quote ....


"Words Can Hurt"

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Whoever made up that childhood phrase may have meant well, but they were misguided. Most physical wounds eventually heal. Words, on the other hand, can leave scars that never go away.

Adults forget just how much power their words have with the children in their lives. What may be a meaningless comment to you may be a devastating invalidation to your son or daughter. Remember, once it’s out of your mouth, there’s no retrieving a careless comment, and its impact could last a lifetime.

—Paul S. Williams

Dare to Dance with a Cat

Yesterday I did it. I danced with my cat. Her name is Hope. It was a fast song ...by some group named the Supertones. Anyways, I picked him up and we danced. Not really good and not really too fast. But do know know what happens when you dance with a cat?

Yesterday, I found out quick. It wasn't the pain, nor the clawing that got me. It was the shock. Here I had a peaceful loving pet; and suddenly ...without warning I was toast or rather a scratching post. Will I do it again? Probably not for some time. But some of us would dare to.



Now I got thinking that is how it is with us in our lives. Something looks good, but actually is bad for us. We dance with it; thinking it. (Let's call it by its name ....now Sin). would not harm us. But soon there is the shock, the pain, and the wanting to do it again. So easy to dance with sin than it is with God isn't it? Sometimes in the midst of my own sinfulness I forget.

Dancing with a cat, how silly is that? It's as silly as dancing with sin, but a lot of people are doing that too.

McFranchising of Ministry

Too often I see the McFranchising of Ministry. So how many do you run, how big is your church? (Almost sounds like a Jr. High locker room). What ticks me off is we compare, we go after numbers as the only indication of health and equate that mega equals better. God gives the increase. Numbers in and of themselves is not the ONLY indicator. I think a BIG injustice is done to ministry trying to be the NEXT Big thing or even to BE LIKE Rick Warren. God blesses both big and small churches. BE yourself. Be who God created you to be. Learn from others. Make disciples. Be faithful. But stay away from McFranchising and Business Incorporating your ministry. It's unhealthy, and really gets annoying after awhile. Maybe the better question is not how big is your church, but how DEEP is your church

? Any disciples?

Bible Illiteracy

I've adopted the following statement regarding the Bible:

"We believe in the Bible. We're awed by it, inspired by it, and believe it is Truth. We're also terrified of it. We don't understand all of it, but we believe it. All of it. That's the important part, because if you only believe some of it, if you try to edit out the parts you don't like, then you don't believe it. Of course, believing it all doesn't mean we perfectly live it all. It doesn't even mean we have it all figured out. Mostly we're scared of it, scared in a good way, because whenever we read it and try to live by it, God shows up and that's pretty terrifying … and also pretty amazing, and pretty …uh … assuring."

The one thing that concerns me about Bible literacy is that we'll give Pat Answers
Have it all figured out. I don't want students to be Bible literate. I want them to be Jesus literate. You see, there is a difference. The Bible points to well ...Jesus. And we're to worship Jesus, not the Bible. The one thing that concerns me is we get so focused on learning rather than doing. Bible literacy isn't about facts, figures, and teaching stories. It's about God's story being a part of our story. Having students making their faith journey - well Their's.


Sometimes that means that not teaching Jesus but BEING Jesus. You see some of the greatest moments in our ministries are when well JESUS shows up. We find people being Jesus' hands and feet and our students catching that. What I find is its not the parts of the Bible that I don't understand that scares me, but that ones I do that scare me. Like "Love one another, bear one another's burdens etc"

Sometimes I think we take the mystery, awe, fear of God, and try to put it all into some logical answers and have all the Bible and it figured out. As for me I'm teaching my students the journey along with their families. What I'd like to see more is more Jesus teaching along with the Bible in the homes rather than just a "Church" program. But that's another rant.

The 18 Month Myth

Myth Busters ... So how do we get away from this myth in Youth Ministry?

Here’s an article from Group Magazine.(It is a few years ago but still debunks the myth that is still circulating today) It’s at the bottom of the page after 100 Youth Ministry Gems and 10 Things I Wish I’d Known. (Good Stuff). You can click here to read the rest http://www.groupmag.com/articles/details.asp?ID=3795

THE 18 MONTH MYTH

By Rick Lawrence

"Studies indicate that the average youth director lasts only 18 months." So says George Gallup, the granddaddy of Christian pollsters. I’ve heard the same factoid quoted by esteemed youth ministry speakers, authors, academics, and average-Josephine youth leaders hundreds of times. So it’s gotta be true, right?

Here’s the trouble: I’ve attempted to trace this now-infamous truism back to a specific source, and I can’t find one anywhere. Gallup doesn’t cite a particular study. Neither does Barna. It’s a ghost vampire not even Buffy can kill. The 18-Month Myth is now part of youth ministry lore. It’s been used over and over to describe youth ministers as easily scared gypsies who bolt at the first sign of trouble.

Well, I’m here to tell you it’s all a bunch of bunk.

For years I’ve challenged people who reel off this 18-month statistic to cite their sources. I’ve disputed its authenticity for two reasons: (1) The average group reader has five years of paid youth ministry experience and has stayed at the same church—both as a volunteer and paid staffer—for more than six years. (2) At conventions, workshops, and in casual conversations with youth ministers all over the country, I hardly ever meet one who bags it after a year-and-a-half.

So we here at group decided to find out the truth, once and for all. We asked our research staff to complete a scientific survey of North American churches using a representative sampling of denominations. Here’s what we discovered:

*The average paid youth minister has just over four years experience (4.2 years, to be exact).

*The average paid youth minister has been at the same church for almost four years (3.9 years, to be exact).

So you’re not the lone stable person in a sea of here-today, gone-tomorrow gadabouts. And, if you’re a group subscriber, it’s a good bet you’re even more committed to your profession and your church than those nefarious nonsubscribers out there.
Now I feel all squishy inside—the good kind of squishy. I hope you do, too.

Rick Lawrence is editor of group.


what other myths in ministry do you see circulating out there?

The importance of youth ministry

Found the quote from pg. 33 The Emerging Church

"Contrary to much of our current thinking about the importance of powerful youth ministries to the lifelong spiritual development of future adults, research proves otherwise: a teenager who attends a church's worship service on a regular basis and does not attend youth group is more likely to continue attend church worship services as an adult than a teen who is active in youth group but doesn't attend worship services with other age groups." - Mark Oestreicher

Thoughts? How do you integrate teens in your church?

Top 7 Things I want Said at my Funeral.

The fact there are two sure things in life: death and taxes. So here are 10 things I'd like said at my funeral.


I. Gerrard wasn't perfect, just loved a perfect Savior.

II. Gerrard loved his family.

III. Gerrard loved the church, and the church loved him.

IV. Gerrard loved the church because Jesus loved the church.

V. Canadian, husband, father, but most importantly a Christian.

VI. His obituary maybe short but his Church Family comes from a long line of faithful followers.

VII. Romans 12:1-2 cited from the Message.

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

What would you want said at your funeral?

Ultimately I want people to say He was a man after God's own heart who pointed people to Jesus and not himself.