DIDN'T THINK I'D MAKE IT THIS FAR!

I’m a Pastor. 

I’m not a Pastor at a mega-church. I’m not a Pastor of a mega-ministry. My name is not on the tongues of countless fans and devotees. I don’t have 5000 followers on Twitter. I’m not in high demand to speak at camps, conventions and conferences. I am here where I am, right where God called me, and I’m doing the best I can.

I’m not a Senior Pastor, Executive Pastor or Lead Pastor. I’m an Associate Pastor, a support staff member, loyal to my Pastor over me, whom I have served for 11 years at the same church. I’ve been serving in ministry in some capacity for over 16 years. I’ve served in many various positions and purposes covering nearly every possible facet of church ministry. I’ve cleaned up messes, mopped up spills, unclogged toilets, repaired broken parts, replaced damaged elements and waded in sewage up to my waist (and YES, that IS in reference to both literal and figurative work in the church). I’ve counseled couples, commissioned ministers, corrected insolence (in love of course) and done all I could to preach the Word with passion, conviction and love.

I’ve faced victories and defeats, triumphs and challenges, blessings and woes. I’ve been built up, and torn town, and built up again on more than one occasion. I’ve seen the best and worst of people – their amazing potential for good and their limitless capacity for evil, and through it all I have somehow maintained my love for God, my passion for ministry and my love of people.

In the last several years I’ve received many questions about ministry from people, especially other ministers, all asking the same thing in many different ways: How have you made it this far?

My answer to that is, well, I don’t know… Honestly, I didn't think I'd make it this far.

There’s a moment in the Dreamworks film Kung Fu Panda 2 where Po the Panda, the Dragon Warrior, is facing his greatest challenge yet. His friends captured, wrestling with his past and facing a far superior enemy who’s already beaten him before. Po steps forward, against all odds, and somehow makes it past his enemies’ defenses to to free his friends. Immediately after he frees them they have this conversation:

            Tigress: “Impressive, Dragon warrior. What's your plan?”

            Po: “Step one; free the five.”

            Viper: “What's step two?”

            Po: “Honestly, I didn't think I'd make it this far!”

Have you ever felt like Po? Facing your greatest challenge, all of your friends and allies seemingly gone, wrestling with your past and facing a strong enemy who has likely beaten you before? What do you do now? Where do you go from here?

I’ll be honest, that’s entirely up to you. But no matter what you may be up against, you can only do one thing to get through – just like Po the Panda, take it one step at a time. What are the steps? You’ve got to figure that out for yourself. For me, I’ve found a few vital steps in the Word in the Book of Hebrews.

Hebrews 12:1-13 has become one of my life-passages in God’s Word when it comes to discipleship and lasting ministry. I encourage you to go read the passage in its entirety yourself but for time and space I will simply touch on the following verses:

Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)

…let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Step 1: Keep Running

Run with perseverance. What that means is you KEEP MOVING FORWARD and don’t stop. Even when you find yourself on the ground and your run is not a run at all, CRAWL! Whatever happens, whatever you face DON’T GIVE UP - keep moving forward, keep pressing on and keep pursuing the path God has called you to.

Hebrews 12:2 (NIV)

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…

Step 2: Follow the Leader

Follow Jesus as Close as You Can. Fix your eyes on Jesus. He is the Guide. He is the Leader. And when you follow the Leader as close as you can you will not get lost. He will lead you down some scary and weird paths for sure. He will take you down some trails that you may definitely question along the way. The problems come when we try to trek on our own with an “I got this” attitude.  Trust me, you DON’T got this, but He does, so let Him lead, then follow as close as you possibly can.

Hebrews 12:12-13 (NLT)

So take a new grip with your tired hands and stand firm on your shaky legs.

Mark out a straight path for your feet. Then those who follow you, though they are weak and lame, will not stumble and fall but will become strong.

Step 3: Lead the Followers

Someone is following you. You may not know who it is, but they are. And you are leading them somewhere, so where do you want them to go? Be the leader you’re called to be and do everything you can to lead them to Him. Keep running and follow as close to Jesus as you can, because HE is where they will follow you to. On this path you will get tired; you will get worn out; you will get beat up. But when you take a new grip with your tired hands and stand firm on your shaky legs you will mark out a straight path and lead those who are following you closer to the Leader.

This is the picture of true discipleship, committing myself to be a disciple who makes disciples, to fix my eyes on Christ and follow Him as close as I can, making every effort to lead others to Him and to raise up future leaders who I know may one day surpass me, all for the Kingdom of God.

I believe the greatest victory a leader could achieve is to find themselves one day following one of their former followers who have surpassed them on this journey.

What’s the next step? I don’t know. Honestly, I didn't think I'd make it this far! So, for now I’ll keep running and I won’t give up. I’ll follow the Leader as close as I can. And I’ll lead the followers to Him. I’ll do my best. I’ll do what I can, right where I am. The rest is up to Him.

Steve Withey serves as the Student Ministries Pastor at 

Green Valley Christian Center in Henderson, NV and 

serves on our Regional Board, serving the Nevada Region.

LEAD LIKE DISNEY

Have you ever noticed the difference between Disneyland and Six Flags?  Besides Disney’s obvious obsession with mice, they have distinct differences between pretty much every other theme park you will visit.  My family had recently visited Six Flags during a recent vacation, and the differences became quickly noticeable.   

From Disneyland's inception, Walt Disney placed a great emphasis on customer service.   He was so detailed, you will even find a Mickey Mouse logo on the manhole cover.  You will never find trash in the park, and you constantly and consistently greeted by everyone who works at Disneyland.   At other theme parks you are often greeted by the disdain of employees who seem rather upset that you decided to visit their park.

On our twins’ most recent birthday, we took our whole family to Disneyland in Southern California.   At the gate, the birthday boys were given big buttons saying “it’s my birthday.”  Every person who worked for Disneyland made a point of stopping and wishing them a ‘happy birthday.’  Even during the parade, characters on top of floats, would notice, point out our boys, and wish them a happy birthday.  This was an amazing attention to detail.

It reminded me of a verse that we all know quite well.  It is in Matthew 7:12:

 “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.”    

It is a simple and well known verse.    Yet how often do we see the world or view the world this way?  In a world focused on the self, this verse serves as a refreshing reminder the Christ called us to put others before ourselves.

Here are some things Disney applies to their parks.  They used the 7 Dwarfs to establish their model:

Be Happy – Make contact with everyone and smile!

Be Sneezy – Greet everyone and be contagious with your attitude.

Don’t Be Bashful – Make a point of connecting with people; do not avoid them.

Be Like Doc – Be a part of the solution, not the problem.  Help solve problems when they arrive.

Don’t be Grumpy – Your body language communicates louder than you think.

Be Sleepy-  Create dreams.  Help students discover their God-given potential.

Don’t be Dopey-  Treat everyone with respect and grace.

How can we apply this to our ministries?  What are we communicating in how we greet others, treat one another, or through our body language and the other non-verbal ways we communicate?  How do your volunteers greet and treat people?  What is your facility say about how you value it and therefore those who would come through your doors?  

Walt Disney paid attention to detail because he valued everyone who would come through his doors.   Let us put value in all that we do so we too communicate to all who walk through our doors that we place great value on them, and in so doing, we gain the opportunity to pour into them and help them become who God created them to be.

Abe Daniel

District Student Ministries Director - NCN Student Ministries

PLIGHT OF THE BIRDS

The bird used the stairs.  I used them too.  The difference between the bird and myself was that I didn’t have wings.  It would have seemed much easier for the bird to flap it wings and quickly escalate the stairs, avoiding the unnecessary hop up each step (I’ve done this as a kid, it’s quite a bit of work.)  I don’t know why it used the stairs, it didn’t need to.  Maybe for the bird hopping up the steps was akin to us flying in a plane.  Maybe the bird had a great fear of stairs and wanted to get over this fear.  Maybe it was taking a break from flapping its wings, or maybe it was injured.   Whatever the reason, it simply struck me as ironic.  He had wings.  He would have made pet birds angry. 

I remember the kid who sat in the back of the room and refused to use his talents because things didn’t go his way.  I remember the girl who sat on the side not even aware of her own beauty because she believed the lies others have told her over and over and over again.  They simply hop up the stairs either unaware or just simply refusing to use the wings that are right there for them to use.  It seems we live in a world of clipped wings.  The reasons are endless but the results end up being the same:  we hop up the stairs. 

For many, they know they have wings, they simply refuse to use them.    It’s too much work.  They don’t like how they look or they don’t want to use them they way others are asking them to, or how they were designed to.  I heard one bird got his wings clipped because it was the latest trend.  The bird kind of regrets that now.  Perhaps they don’t think they will work right, or they are embarrassed to use them.  Maybe that was the bird’s problem.  There were a bunch of people around, and it was too busy worrying about what all the people would think of how he flapped his wings.  One awkward flap and it becomes a bad day.

Others are not even aware of their wings.   I’ve often wondered how many Mozarts we’ve never heard or how many Rembrandts we’ve never seen because they potential artists never knew they had it in them.  How many worship leaders have never led, how many missionaries never leave their homes, or how many preachers never preach a sermon?  How many doctors never heal, or teachers never see the light bulb go on in a child’s eye?  They never knew they had the wings to do it.  No one ever bothered to tell them.

Both are equally frustrating.  How many times have we seen a student’s enormous potential, and they remain blind looking in the mirror.  Or how many times has a student seen it, and the take the path of least resistant or in some cases worst resistance, only to clip themselves through poor decisions, never knowing their full potential. 

As leaders, we must help students discover their wings, and to use them as God intended.  Can you imagine the impact they would make if students truly lived up to their potential?  I think the world would be just as impacted now, as it was 2000 years ago when Jesus took 12 cast offs and made them world changers.  He simply showed them their wings, and what an impact they made. 

The reality is the world is greatly impacted by the missionaries, pastors, teachers, doctors, and laypeople every day many times over who have simply used their wings and trust the Holy Spirit to do the rest.  If we can convey to our students to simply trust God, being willing to grow, and know that our failures are not fatal, there will be no holding them back.  They just need to stretch their wings.

A while back, I sat in a coffee shop and in hopped a bird.  He was pecking the crumbs off the floor.  I sat at the table eating a scone, which was right above him.  He had also hopped in.  A hot warm scone sat right above him, and he was settling for crumbs on a floor.  He and the hopping bird seem to have the same problem.  They didn’t know what they had right in front of them.

I wonder if it was the same bird.  

Scott Tuttle

Operations and Events Director - NCN Student Ministries

AS SEEN ON TV...

Television is a driving factor in today’s culture. It has more influence than anything we have ever seen, to the actors, sports players, and politicians it is a constant flow of social media being watched and influencing billions. 

66% of children (ages 10 to 16) surveyed, say that TV influences their peer’s. This is an alarming stat and the worst part is, its not coming from an over protective parent or a grandma who is not in tuned with today's youth; these are members of the Mosaic generation. Pre-teens and teens admitting and know the influence a square box has on the minds and hearts of kids today. 62% say that sex on TV shows and movies influences kids to have sex when they are too young! 

The “box” has become a very familiar friend to 99% of the homes in America, the results…number of hours per day that TV is on in an average U.S. home: 6 hours, 47 minutes, percentage of Americans that regularly watch television while eating dinner: 66, number of hours of TV watched annually by Americans: 250 billion 

Our family time is being sucked away by adopted parents (Television). I understand it is easier and at times more relaxing but Satan has used it to slowly sneak into the homes and hearts of your students. This is something we can’t just look past, it must be addressed.  

The average child will watch 8,000 murders on TV before finishing elementary school. By age eighteen, the average American has seen 200,000 acts of violence on TV, including 40,000 murders. If your eyes are the gateway to your soul and if what the bible says in Matthew 6:22 "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light” is true, then we are in trouble.

John Zick - Youth Culture Specialist

NCN Student Ministries