A Friend Indeed

Do you have someone you could call in the middle of the night if you needed help? Bible teacher Ray Pritchard calls these people “2 a.m. friends.” If you have an emergency, this kind of friend would ask you two questions: “Where are you?” and “What do you need?”
Friends like that are crucial during difficult times.

Jonathan was that type of friend for David. Jonathan’s father, King Saul—who was filled with envy at David’s popularity and God’s blessing on him—tried to kill him (1 Sam. 19:9-10). David escaped and asked his friend for help (ch. 20). While David hid in the field, Jonathan sat at dinner with his father and quickly realized that Saul did indeed intend to kill David (vv.24-34).


Because of their deep friendship, Jonathan “was grieved for David” (v.34). He warned him of his father’s plan and told him he should leave (vv.41-42). David recognized what a good friend he had in Jonathan. The Bible says they wept together, “but David more so” (v.41). Their souls were “knit” together.
Do you have loving Christian friends you can count on in a crisis? Are you someone your friends would call a “2 a.m. friend”?




Thank God for you, good friend of mine,
Seldom is friendship such as thine;
How very much I wish to be
As helpful as you’ve been to me.




A true friend stands with us in times of trial.

The Marathon

Last night I had a dream. No, not that one, he already had it and made that speech. I dreamed of a marathon and I was running in the race. It seemed like it was a marathon I had been running in my whole life.
I could hear the roar of the crowd and feel the adrenaline pumping through the crowd as their cheers echoed throughout the street. As I turned the next corner, I saw Jesus standing there on the sidelines holding out a cup of water for me. I went over and drank from the cup. I told him, "this is good water. What kind is it?" He said, "living water". We both smiled at that one.
I threw my cup into the garbage can (well, who wants to litter in front of Jesus??) and starting to get back into the race.
I was tired and told Jesus, "I think I'm going to walk for a while". He stepped out and said, "I'll join you my friend". As we started to walk down the street I was telling him how much pain I was in from this lifelong marathon and how it wears on me daily. Sometimes I just feel so tired of it all or of feeling like I'm by myself in this race.
Just then a crowd of runners came up from behind and quickly passed us. I started to run to keep up with them, when Jesus touched my arm gently and said, "no, you run when YOU are ready; not when you think others are watching".
He told me of how far I had come in this marathon and how I couldn't quit now. "But it's just me running by myself and I am tired and hurting", I reminded Him. Jesus said that He had never left me alone, He just used different instruments to speak and touch me.
He smiled and pointed to the left sidelines. There I saw my pastor, Mike, cheering me on; a man who had stayed 6 hours in an ER and then another time 10 hours in the waiting room for me to get out of heart surgery and to comfort my wife for the day. He was yelling, "look how far you've come, brother, look how far you've come!!"
Jesus pointed a little behind me to the right, and I noticed my neighbor, Gary, who when things got hard and pain was intense would remind me that 'tomorrow is going to be a little better than today, a little better than today'. Up head, I noticed people praying for me fervently. I saw my deacon, Daryl, who had come to the hospital just to serve and love on my wife and I.
I was starting to get back a little bounce into my step now. The road wasn't seeming as long as it once did. I saw my older brother, a ferocious lion who turned into a lamb to serve me and become a human leaning post for me to lean on so I could walk down a hall once again to regain strength.
Then I saw her. My heart stopped in the excitement...My wife...My Rachee. The woman who moved into my hospital room and slept in an uncomfortable chair for weeks with little to no sleep so she could be there if I needed anything day or night. And then at home selflessly cooking meals around my schedule for me to eat whatever I asked for and asked for nothing in return.
She was standing on the edge of the street cheering me on, with a radio held high over her head, playing my song.
Jesus smiled at me and said, "My child, you were never alone in this marathon. I have one more for you to see around this next corner". I could hardly wait, I was walking quickly now to see who could be there. My mind was racing. I was quickly scanning the crowd. Who could it be, who would it be, would I remember them, was it someone who knew me that I didn't know? Who? Who? Who?

I turned the corner, dropped to my knees and tears instantly flowed from my eyes. It was my boy, Niko, standing on the corner yelling, "go daddy, go, you can win this, you're invincible!" He ran out to hug me and for a moment time stood still...no noise from the crowd, no running shoes behind me, no music. Just him and me and his arms around my neck squeezing tight. A kiss on the cheek for good luck. He then turned to Jesus and hugged Him tight and said, "thank you for taking care of my Daddy!" Jesus bent down and said, "no, thank you for taking care of him for me."
I looked at Jesus, I looked at the crowd took a long slow deep breath and told Jesus I was ready to start running this marathon called life again no matter the pain, so that I could someday stand in front of him and say, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith"

Great Leaders

Great leaders argue as if they are always right. Listen as if they are always wrong.

The Failure of Youth Ministry

I found an interesting article from the late great Mike Yaconelli from youth specialties. It was an article about the failure of youth ministry. I thought it worth a repost. Let me know what you think...

The Failure of Youth Ministry
by Mike Yaconelli

What is the most important function of youth ministry?

A) Introducing young people to Jesus
B) Providing healthy activities
C) Involving young people in service
D) Abstinence pledges
E) Good theological training
F) Worship

Answer: None of the above.

The most important function of youth ministry is longevity. Long-term discipleship.

It's my contention that the vast majority of youth ministries focus all of their time and energy on the none-of-the-aboves and very little on longevity. How do I know?

Look at the results.

Attend any youth group in this country and notice the "ageing effect."

Attendance is directly proportional to age. The older the students, the fewer are likely to attend youth group. Typically, there are more freshman than sophomores, more sophomores than juniors, and more juniors than seniors.

I'm sure there are many reasons for this phenomenon. Older students are more likely to work, more likely to have a car, and more likely to be extremely busy. But the real reason is that older students are much more likely to lose interest in Christianity, lose the desire to stay close to Christ, or don't lose the willingness to pay the price of commitment. In the everyday battle for the souls of the older students, the lure of the secular is just too strong.

Almost every study out there shows that when it comes to moral behavior, there's no difference between secular and Christian students. They drink as much, screw as much, have oral sex as much, and party as much.

Why?

Youth ministry doesn't have any staying power.

Young people flock to Christian concerts, cheer Jesus at large events, and work on service projects. Unfortunately, it's not because of Jesus; it's because they're young!

The success of youth ministry in this country is an illusion.

Very little youth ministry has a lasting impact on students.

I believe we're no more effective today reaching young people with the gospel than we've ever been. In spite of all the dazzling super stars of youth ministry, the amazing array of YS products, the thousands of youth ministry training events, nothing much has changed.

Following Jesus is hard.

Faith is difficult.

Discipleship requires a huge investment of time. Most of us don't have the time. Or we chose not to take the time. Or our current models of ministry don't allow us the time.

So let's be honest.

Youth ministry as an experiment has failed. If we want to see the church survive, we need to rethink youth ministry.

What does that mean? I don't have a clue. But my hunch is that if we want to see young people have a faith that lasts, then we have to completely change the way we do youth ministry in America.

I wonder if any of us has the courage to try.

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Copyright 2003 CCM Communications, Inc. Reprinted by permission.