Today in our staff meeting, one of the things we talked about was understanding the end game of why we do some of the things that we do. The context was actually children’s ministry more than student ministry, but it applies to the daily activities of pretty much each and every one of us as we move through life in various roles.
One of the questions that was discussed was, “What does your ‘do’ do?”
It’s a funny question at first, but it really allows you to think of your activities (even the mundane ones) as part of the larger whole. It is important to think through what your activity means in the Kingdom of God.
We tend to see people in categories. Never is this really seen more than in high school. I remember the following scene from the movie Mean Girls…about the high school lunchroom…watch it below.
It’s interesting because humans naturally “group up.” We tend to gravitate toward people who are like us. In anthropology, we call that our “primary group.” It’s really okay to group into those small groups of people who are like us or have similar interests. Community actually happens because we have something in common.
I just returned from another trip. This time we took a team of eleven of us from our church. We were certainly a diverse group. We had an engineer, two students, a hair dresser, two pastors, one pastor’s wife, a missionary with YWAM, and a very special six year old.
One of my favorite times on this trip was when each one of our team members were using their passions, talents, and experience to the maximum to serve those around them. I was walking around watching the six year old playing and dancing with students, making friends the way he knows how. The engineer was teaching teenage boys about hammering and helping them build cars out of pine. The hairdresser was teaching girls how to style their hair. The pastor led a workshop on how to study the Bible. His wife shared with teenage girls about what it’s like to be a Christian woman. The YWAM missionary used his training as a clown to share the love of Jesus with children.
It was a magical moment as each one of us were in our “zone,” sharing about Jesus through our actions (without “preaching”) and “being the church” that God has created us to be. (more…)
At the end of my trip to Cuba I was approached by a guy at church who was so excited to see me. I couldn’t remember having met him before, but he definitely knew who I was and came up to me with a big smile on his face.
He said, “You came here eight years ago and spoke at a youth ministry training conference. You were here for a Seminary graduation and spoke about the heart of a youth leader at an event that same week. I was in the crowd and heard your message. Encouraged by you, I studied youth ministry at the Seminary.”
Dencil Robinson is now the youth pastor at the Third Baptist Church of Santiago. He studied at the Seminary under professors that were trained by Youth Ministry International (my students), and now his ministry is reaching and discipling young people in one of the most important cities in Eastern Cuba.
What a privilege to play a small part in the formation of this youth leader!
I was flipping through the channels yesterday, and I saw that the original Karate Kid movie was on. I remember that movie from when I was a kid, so I watched the end…right where Daniel Son was entering the tournament, gets his leg swept by the Cobra Kai, goes into the locker room and gets told there’s no hope, and then stares at Mr. Miyagi and asks him to “do that thing you do” to heal up his injured leg.
Then he hobbles out to the match to fight the final battle and delivers a Crane kick to Johnny’s face and wins the trophy.
What a great movie! I quickly posted this on my Instagram story: “Everyone needs a Mr. Miyagi.” If you’ve seen the movies, you’ll know that Miyagi helps young Daniel through life.
Here are a few things a Mr. Miyagi does for your life:
Teaches you the basics
Piques your interested in the subject
Let’s you learn on your own while guiding you
Puts up with your immaturity
Helps you when your hurt
What else did Mr. Miyagi do that you think is useful life?
Do you have someone who helps you like Miyagi helped Daniel?
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