40 days of Prayer

Over the past few weeks we have been talking about Lent in the Boso household. Carmen has been blogging recently about Philippians 2 and not complaining. Although that has been a challenge to me in my attitude about many things, I do not feel as if that is the area I need to focus on during the next 40 days known as Lent. I have contemplated giving up foods, things, thoughts, etc. and even looked at adding things to my life, but with 2 seminary classes and multiple youth activities and family obligations on my plate I really could not add anything else to my routine.

I have felt really bad leading up to today when I was asked, "what are you giving up for Lent?" I would answer "I don't have a clue." I even resigned myself to just going through the next 40 days as normal. This morning, however, in my time with God felt that the most transforming thing I could do for the next 40 days is pray. I am ashamed to say that prayer occupies a very small percentage of my time. This is no doubt very disappointing as a Christian, but even more so as a minister who tells people that prayer changes things and the first thing we should do is pray.

My lame excuse for not praying has been "I'm very busy, have lots to do." Then I stumbled on this quote by Martin Luther about prayer:"If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day. I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer."

I am no where close to spending 3 hours a day in prayer, and the thought that I have so much to do that I cannot afford not to pray is very much true. I am so busy and have so much on my plate that if I am going to be effective at anything I must rely on God to work in my life and through the situations of every day.

So I am making this commitment for Lent, to spend an hour each day in prayer. My plan is to give up my lunch hour every day to get away and alone with God. Jesus spent 40 days alone in the wilderness and so through this season I will spend 40 hours alone with God being transformed and shaped into the man he wants me to be. My hope is that prayer becomes a necessity in my life that grows to even more time each day so that I can say like Luther "I have so much to do, I cannot get it done without spending my time daily in prayer."

Every Student, Every School

After attending the Dare2Share Un-tour conference in Columbus, experiencing some hard situations in youth ministry, and watching the movie "To Save a Life" I have been wrestling with how we as adults can reach out and make a difference in the lives of teenagers.

Last week I posted this on my facebook: "I need some help from the teen crowd. If you could tell a church full of adults the moat (should have said most) important thing they should know about you what would it be? Email me or send me a private message so you can have the freedom to share your heart. Thanks!"

In response to this question I got a variety of answers and developed a sermon that spoke to these situations. I also got a host of adults that wanted to see the responses. I feel it would be inappropriate of me to resend those posts or give out names, but I used the information I gathered in this sermon that I hope does justice to the responses I received. The overwhelming response from teens is that they want adults to understand them. I have sought to reinterpret what understand means and figure out how we can connect with teens in a relational way. I know this isn't the way most blogs go, but I think the text from this sermon has started a response from teens and adults alike that should be shared.

I preached the following sermon at Summersville Baptist Church on Sunday February 27, 2011.

Very rarely do I use the pulpit as a place to advocate for the teenagers I serve. I know you are used to hearing me make announcements, beg for food, or see goofy pictures of us playing messy games. But today I want to share my heart with you. Obviously there is a huge place in my heart for teenagers or I would not be a youth pastor. In the past few months I have been confronted with the hurt and pain that teenagers deal with regularly. To some teenagers are like aliens, you aren’t sure how to deal with them, to others they might be a nuisance, and others see them as a blessing and joy.

I read a blog this week about a teacher named Natalie Munroe from Philadelphia. Some observations she had made about students were discovered on her blog and have made national headlines. Among her observations she said "My students are out of control. They are rude, disengaged, lazy whiners. They curse, discuss drugs, talk back, argue for grades, complain about everything, fancy themselves entitled to whatever they desire, and are just generally annoying. Kids, they are disobedient, disrespectful oafs. Noisy, crazy, sloppy, lazy LOAFERS.[1]"

If you are a parent, teacher, or just general observer who deals with teenagers on a regular basis you might agree with Munroe. However there are teenagers who are motivated, passionate, polite, loving, selfless, etc. I can point you to teens in our church who give up their time to babysit so parents can attend church activities, who teach younger kids the sports they love instead of investing completely in their own success, our youth group supports a girl named Marwa in Israel with the spare change they bring every week. More than 50 kids will give up food for 30 hours in a few weeks to raise money and awareness for world hunger, and on a weekly basis I have a student tell me a story about a conversation they have had telling a friend about Jesus.

There are a great deal of people who want to jump on board with writing off teenagers because of the lazy, disrespectful, selfish, entitled stereotype, but the reality is, these kids need a transforming relationship with Jesus and need someone who will walk with them and show them how to live a life that honors Jesus. The rants of Munroe and other teachers might be a cry of frustration or disillusionment as they have set out to make a difference in the world, for others it might be the lack of understanding of teenagers that deters your interaction with them

I did an informal survey this past week to find out what teenagers wish a church full of adults would know about them. Needless to say I got some interesting responses like this one:

Facebook post “I would tell them that even though I'm a teenager doest mean I don't have time for God. I always put him first. He is and always will be my main priority.p”

“don’t underestimate us!”
“I feel like we’re constantly judged by little things”
“I wanted to talk more about Jesus, but it's hard because it seems like a lot of adults want us to be quiet”

We might expect they wanted things done their way or more freedom, but the overwhelming response was that teenagers want to be understood. I know what you are thinking, “I wish I could understand them”. If I can add my interpretation into this, I don’t know that understanding the lyrics to their music, or the way they dress, or how to tweet, flikr, myspace, blog, txt, or facebook is what they mean. In a world where teenagers are harsh to each other and trying to figure out who they are, they desire to be heard and seen and know that someone values them for who they are.

This hurt is present here in Nicholas County. We have kids that are resorting to drugs, alcohol, hurting themselves, and hurting others all because they feel invisible, unloved, outcast, or misunderstood. And please hear me, this isn’t those kids from somewhere else, it is here, in our church and in our schools and we have the ability to make a difference.

In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses was reminding the people of Israel of how God had rescued them out of the slavery of Egypt. How God had provided a path across the Red Sea with the Egyptians chasing at their heels, and how God had provided food and water in the desert. The men and women listening to Moses had experienced the salvation that God offers and so were told in Chapter 4:

Deuteronomy 4:9-11 (New International Version, ©2010)

⁹ Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. ¹⁰ Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.” ¹¹ You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.

Out of experience, God wanted the people to pass on their experiences to their children. The hope that Israel has in God is to be passed from the parents on to the children and grandchildren. The love of God and the relationship that you share with God, share that with the children.

The burden of responsibility lays on us as adults to share the hope that we have. The experiences we have gathered through our lives help us to look at breakups, homework, chores, friendship problems, athletic disappointments, and other monumental events in a teenagers life and see that they are mild compared to other things life offers, however my hope is that our experience of survival and hope in the midst of these situations enables us to provide hope and comfort when a child or teen experiences these hurts. After all, these are the experiences that will shape them. The lessons we help them discover in these times will develop their character.

Ultimately, we hold the burden to share Jesus with these kids. And in this changing culture a weekly church service is less influential than a personal relationship in leading someone to Jesus. Barna.org did research in 2004 that said that more than 75% of adults who make a decision to follow Jesus do so before the age of 18[2]. This is good news. We have lots of opportunity around us.

What this means is that we need to be involved with kids in a way that makes a difference. Being a coach, writing letters or cards, taking them out for icecream, showing your appreciation when you see them at church, teaching Sunday School, working with AWANA or the youth group on a regular basis. Going to games or band concerts to encourage our kids, reading to school kids or volunteering at the High School or Middle School. These are ways that we can pass on the hope and experience we have because of our relationship with Jesus Christ.

In the midst of social media like facebook, myspace, twitter, texting, and cell phones, studies have shown that although a younger generation is hyper-connected with technology, they feel more alone than ever. It is hard to convey the full truth of love, hope, and worth in 140 characters. So I offer hope. For those of you who do not tweet, text, blog, or facebook, your ability to relate to someone face to face, say hello, give a hug, high five, handshake or smile is exactly the qualities that teenagers today need. If you write letters or send cards you could pass on an art that is fading away in the face of technology. Your ability to quilt, crochet, bait a worm, or identify a tree while on a walk could be used by God to speak love and truth into a life that feels invisible or alone.

I got a text from a college student this week that said “I don’t check my mailbox much, but I did this week and it was full of letters from people at the church, thanks!” Overwhelm them with love in ways that are unexpected.

Now don’t get me wrong, not every teen feels invisible or alone. There are a lot of kids that are on fire to tell their friends about Jesus and want to change Nicholas County and the world for Jesus. These kids need your help as well. They need prayer, ideas, resources, and encouragement when they succeed, struggle, or fail to do what God has called them.

In 1 Thesselonians 2:8 Paul says that “Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.” The idea of sharing your life, your experience, your knowledge, your heart is what kids today need. The overwhelming response from the kids I talked to shows that they really want you in their lives. They want to see you living out your faith and encouraging them to do so as well. They want to hear your successes and failures so that they can learn from them.

We have been challenging our students to reach out to other students to share the Cause of Christ, telling them the good news of Jesus and making disciples who make disciples. There is a website printed in your bulletin: www.everyschool.com. I want to challenge you to visit that site and adopt a school. You can sign up to pray for the students, to help equip and train students, to start or help with a campus ministry. This is a way that we can connect students, adults, and ministry leaders to reach every student and every school in America for the Cause of Christ. If you aren’t web savy and want some help, ask a kid or teenager to help you, enjoy the time that you get to share together.

Our youth ministry has over 80 middle school and high school students that have attended at some point since September. In the upcoming months I am going to print cards with a name, picture, and address and give you an opportunity to adopt a kid to pray for, send cards to, and encourage in their relationship with Jesus. If you want to be even more involved than that, talk to me and I’d love to help you get connected with the ministry that God can use you to make an impact.

As Christians it is our task to give an answer to anyone, teenager, child, or adult, who asks the reason for the hope that we have. We can take on the example of Paul and more importantly Jesus to not only share the Good News of salvation, but to share our lives as well. We have a great opportunity to reach a generation that is searching for something a lot deeper than TV and video games.

Let me close with this plea and challenge from a teenager: Not all teenagers are "bad" kids. Even though we don't say it most of the time, we definatly look up to you for guidance. We don't always need you to come up with great pieces of advice to give us; but to just listen to us when we have a problem can mean the world sometimes. When you mess up, don't be afraid to admit it. We all make mistakes and it makes me admire you more when you can admit when you've done something wrong to try to fix it. If you don't have the answer to a question it's okay to say you don't know the answer. I love listening to your stories about when you were in high school. I love it when people tell me they are praying for me. In my opinion that is one of the nicest things you can do for someone. Trust me, we definatly need all the prayer we can get! :)

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[1] Walt Mueller, learning my lines…http://learningmylines.blogspot.com/. Accessed 2/26/11.

[2]Barna Group, Evangelism Is Most Effective Among Kids. http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/196-evangelism-is-most-effective-among-kids?q=conversion+age. Accessed 2/26/2011.

I just finished my last big paper for the semester. I have completed 5 classes this spring. With all of the papers I have been writing, I have also been amazed at the amount of books I have read already this year. This is definately not me bragging, but I have read some pretty good stuff. I figured I would throw some books out here that I have enjoyed in the past couple years just as suggestions and food for thought.

Marva Dawn. Joy in Divine Wisdom.

Jim Henderson & Matt Casper. Jim and Casper go to Church.

Neil Cole. Organic Church.

Frank Viola and George Barna. Pagan Christianity.

Barbara Brown Taylor. Leaving Chruch.

John Shea. An Experience Named Spirit.

Mark Labberton. The Dangerous Act of Worship.

Francis Chan. Forgotten God.

Kenneth Curtis, Stephen Lang, and Randy Petersen. The 100 Most Important Events in Christian History.

Jesse Rice. The Church of Facebook.

Mark DeVries. Sustainable Youth Ministry.

Chinua Achebe. Things Fall Apart.

It is always interesting to see what people are reading, because these are the things that have been shaping my thoughts over the past many months. I would have to say my top 3 most influential have been:


3: Sustainable Youth Ministry
2: Organic Church
1: The Dangerous Act of Worship

So there it is, this is what is shaping me.

to Blog or not to Blog...

Over the past month I have cranked out over 50 pages of written material for seminary classes. I only have about 30 more pages to write in the next two weeks. In all of this I keep wondering, "do I really have that much to say?" I have started using the blog reader on iGoogle and enjoy gaining bits of info and life from all kinds of people. But one question I keep asking myself is "can I contribute anything?" Well I don't know if I can contribute, but I guess if I can write papers about nonviolence, worship, ethics, and reflections of my personal and theological experiences, I might as well put something in blog form in a way to journal out loud. Maybe something I say will touch someone else, and maybe it is just therapeutic. Either way, I am going to give this a shot.

This past week I had a conversation with our revival speaker, Mark Allen, and we talked about the use of blogs. I guess some people use their blogs as a soap box, and I'll probably do that occasionally, some might ask questions, and others share too much personal info. I'm sure I will be guilty of all of these as I chart my path through the world of blogging. Well back to writing papers.

Water

I have been thinking recently how big of a role water plays in my life. Ok of course I have to drink water in order to survive, but I also rely on water in a lot of my lesiure activities. In the winter the frozen water is a pleasure to ski on, and after this past winter, I can be ok with that white blessing taking a vacation from my driveway. In the spring and summer I get excited about being in my kayak following the water down a river. I also enjoy swimming, boating, and being around water as often as possible.
I just read an article on MSNBC where the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) said "The sheer scale of dirty water means more people now die from contaminated and polluted water than from all forms of violence including wars." In my recent trip to Nigeria, I experienced the value of water in a different way than just enjoying a cold drink or a clean swimming hole. Getting to experience treating well water to make drinking water, taking short showers to preserve hot water, and seeing people draw water from a mudhole to carry it miles back their homes for their family to drink.
I am excited about an organization called SSE, www.sseinc.org, who is working to bring clean water and economic stability to villages in Nigeria. Water is such a crucial part of their mission. As much as I enjoy water, I also want to help others have water that brings life, health, and stability.
Micah 6:8 says: "He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God."
What does this verse have to do with water, you, or me?

Making Water

Today has been a pretty laid back day. The 5pm-10am curfew was still in place, which makes doing anything very difficult since everyone in town is trying to get their stuff done in those 7 hrs. So this morning we had some extra time before we left so I got to help John "make water". They have a well here, but the water is still not clean to drink, so we have to go through a purifying process to get it clean. They use a product called Pur, which attracts all the bacteria and then you filter them out. The process is take 10 liters of water in a bucket, add the Pur packet, stir for 5 minutes, then let it sit for 5 minutes, then pour the water through a filter making sure the clumped up "flock" or bacteria and additive, doesn't get into the water jug. After 20 minutes it's good to drink.

This is just a reminder of what we have to be thankful of in the USA. We turn on our faucet and take for granted that drinking the water is safe. I thank God for the technologies that make quality of life better for all.

Although I cannot make water, I thank God that he did. I thank God that he has given people the insight to create things that allow people to make the limited supply of water they have safe for them. It's funny how the little things make a huge impact.

Although we haven't been able have as many meetings and see as many things as we had planned, we are able to spend genuine time with people. I am learning so much about community and how important relationships really are.

Safety

A Mighty Fortress is our God. Psalm 18:2 says "The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." It is only after the last few days that I can begin to get an inkling of understanding what this scripture means. On Tuesday morning we learned that things had gotten more intense here in Jos and they were about to enforce a 24 hour curfew. We were given about 5 minutes to pack and load the van before fleeing Jos to stay in Miango, about 10 miles out of town. Miango is the village that Dr. Itapson held his first position as an associate pastor. We stayed at Kent Academy Tuesday and Wednesday night. So much has happened over the last 4 days, but I am not going to be able to write about it all right now. We spent Wednesday resting at Kent Academy and enjoying the village. I was asked today if we were ever in danger. On Monday we saw the expressions of hurt, fear, and anger on the faces of the people in Jos. As we left on Tuesday, we never saw any violence or even remnants of violence, since we took backroads out of Jos. I know that God had protected us, but there was always the thought that driving up on the wrong group of people could have turned the situation on its head. I am so thankful for the protection that God provides. God truly has been my fortress this week. The ride to Miango was quiet and somber. As we were coming into the village, the young people had a series of road blocks set up to ensure that no unwelcome guests traveled inside to cause trouble. After watching the boys expressions change to smiles and waves when they found out we were Christians seeking refuge, the uneasiness slipped away. We pulled into Kent Academy and had the opportunity to see a group of kids playing soccer. My body and spirit finally relaxed and relief flowed over me, I was safe.

During our stay at Kent, we were blessed to have Rev. Zane and his wife open their home to us and provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner. For the first time since Sunday night, I was able to enjoy the feeling of safety that I had felt when we first arrived in Nigeria.

Today we traveled back into Jos. I had a feeling of anxiety, wondering if we would come back into the same town that we left Tuesday morning. As we entered the city we found that people were bustling in the market, since they hadn't been able to buy or sell food since Tuesday. The faces were light, the feeling was easy, and I felt very comfortable as we entered town. There is a much higher military and police presence than there was when we left. If only that power had stepped in on Sunday, this situation would have never gotten this out of control. We still have curfew from 5pm-10am just to ensure continued peace in Jos.

Although I know there are still people in Jos who are without homes and are living with fear, hurt, and anxiety, I feel safe. We are in a safe area at the SSE house and things have been very quiet here since we arrived this afternoon. God is my refuge, I am a refugee in life and my only protection and safety is provided by God alone who has been moved by the prayers of everyone reading this and is connected to me and my family. Thank you for praying.