Author: Heather Lea Campbell

Christian-Speak #3–Apologies

christian-speak series, identity

To me, one of the greatest proofs of the unity of the Body of Christ is when we humble ourselves and come to each other when we offend each other.

I realized this over the past month, when a member of my church came to me when they thought they offended me.  They didn’t even need me to say anything, they knew they messed up. I almost cried because I thought it was so beautiful for them to come to me, admit they screwed up, then proceed to tell me what God is doing in them and how I could pray for them. Wow!  The other day, I had a professor apologize to me, which I thought was overwhelming–that a professor humbled himself to my lowly, undergrad level when they knew they said the wrong thing.  I realized that this is what the Body should be doing–humbling ourselves when we have done something wrong.

What I think is ridiculous is this:  When we come to each other, and say, “You know, this certain thing you said to me really offended me.”  Maybe explain why it offended you, maybe say that you’ve been struggling with that thing for a while.  And what does the other person say?  “You need to find your identity in the Lord, not in what I say.”  What?  No apology?  You’re not going to admit you were wrong?  So, I can say whatever I want now, offend whoever I want, and I can smooth it over with “Don’t find your identity in what I say, but in God.”

That is one of the most unloving things I have ever heard.  Even if the person does struggle with identity issues, is this really a result of that?  Could it be possible that you just had a moment of word-vomit and said something out of love?

Think before you speak, Christians.  If we aren’t humbling ourselves with each other, how are we going to humble ourselves in order to serve the world?

Comment and tell me what you think!

Stormageddon :)

music

I hate posting twice in a day, but I wanted to write this on facebook and it wouldn’t let me write all that I wanted:

Every time it storms, it makes me think of this song. Last summer it stormed a LOT. I would be driving home from my internship in the evening (about a 30-min drive) and it would storm like crazy, lightning crackling and just craziness. I would listen to this song as it the sky lit up. It was such a beautiful reminder to me that the God I worship is so much greater. That right now, there is lightning, but in a while there will be peace and stillness.  God is glorified rain or shine, and it is all for his glory.  I take this metaphor both figuratively and literally.  The God I serve is powerful. So much higher than anything else in and outside this world we dwell in.

Plus, when the lighting is thundering and this track is bumping, it makes a great pair :)

Spiritual Gifts in Youth Ministry

lessons, spiritual gifts, youth ministry

As a youth minister beginning a ministry basically from scratch in the church I began serving in five months ago, I knew that I needed to create a mission statement.  Not just to be all Baptist and cool like that, but I knew I needed something to focus on–something as a template and frame for the ministry.  I came up with, “Grace Fellowship Baptist Church Youth Group exists to unite teenagers together in the Bolivar community to teach them Biblical Truths, disciple them into mature believers, and equip them to express their faith through the use of spiritual gifts to reach the lost world.”

So far, I had been teaching them Biblical Truths. I believe (and hope) that I had been discipling them into mature believers.  But that last part?  Equip them to express their faith through the use of spiritual gifts? Whoa. Spiritual gifts?  Yep, that hadn’t been done for the first few months of ministry (unless you count our epic Christmas skit).

So I knew I had to start somewhere. The first night, we looked at scriptures from Ephesians, Corinthians, and other passages and came up with a list of gifts. I gave them an inventory (you can find one like it here) to begin with.  Although I know these tests aren’t completely reliable, it helps us think about what our gifts could be.  I have a notebook from when I was 13 and first took a test; and the gifts that I scored “high” in then, I score high in now and actually consider them my gifts.  I had completely forgot that I even took one then, so it’s kind of cool to see that the test was “right.”

The next week we talked about the inventory, and laid out the “biblical foundation” for spiritual gifts.  I gave them the following list of spiritual truths:
1. Every Christian has at least one Spiritual Gift (1 Peter 4:10)
2. No Christian has all the gifts (1 Corinthians 12:28-30)
3. We cannot choose our gifts; God does that job (1 Corinthians 12:7-11)
4. There is no gift that every Christian possesses (1 Corinthians 12:29-30)
5. Believers will account to the Lord for how they use their gifts (1 Peter 4:10)
6. Spiritual Gifts indicate God’s call and purpose for a Christian’s life (Romans 12:2-8)
7. Gifts used without love do not accomplish God’s intended purposes (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)
8. Spiritual Gifts are for the common good to build up the Body (1 Corinthians 12:27)
9. We must use our gifts. (2 Timothy 3:16; Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12-14; Ephesians 4; 1 Peter 4)
10. There is affirmation and positive feedback within the Body of Christ for the expression of the gift (1 Corinthians 12:7; Ephesians 4:16)
11. There is agreement within the Body of Christ that the Holy Spirit is at work (1 John 4:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:21)
12. The Holy Spirit provides peace in our spirits as we offer our gifts to the Body of Christ (John 15:26; Romans 8:16)
13. There is evidence of godly fruit in the life of the Body (John 15:8; Matthew 7:16-20)
14. Believers offer their gifts for the common good as others have need (Acts 2:44-45; 1 Corinthians 12:7)
15. Unless gifts are offered in love, they have no worth (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)
16. We should strive to live a life worthy of our calling (Ephesians 4:1)

(I understand that some of those are redundant, but hey.)
When we were discussing that, I came up with a diagram. I’m big into diagrams, and I made this one up on the spot (and have tweaked it every week since). I’m actually quite proud of it (not in a prideful kind of way, haha).

It might seem confusing to you, but it is based off of all the verses in the “biblical foundation” I expressed before.
That took a night or two to go through, because I wanted them to really get into what the bible says and read almost all of the verses.

After that, we went through the gifts in depth.  (You can download the workbook I gave them here…I used “Baptist-friendly” gifts, haha).  We have spent a few Sundays going through it.  We aren’t reading all the scriptures associated, because they already understand that the gift exists through earlier scriptures.  We have spent more than a month of Sunday nights doing this.  I’ve been doing it with the Sunday night crowd for one main reason–the people who are most devoted to the church and to growing spiritually tend to come then.  On Wednesday nights, you never know who is going to come, so it’s easier to do it with the “regulars”.

This won’t be the first time we go through this sort of study.  The hardest thing is trying to get them to think of ways to use their gifts now.  It’s hard when you say, “I have the gift of administration, what can I do with that as a 14-year old?”  Part of my job is to help them come up with ways. Rethinking Youth Ministry posted a blog earlier today about how one youth pastor is trying to do it. I want them to get involved in any facet possible–music, ushering, recreation, leading studies/devotions, tech, prayer, etc.

What ideas do you guys have to help me out?  How do you discuss spiritual gifts with your youth group?  As a young minister, I would like help from those who have been through this before.

Christian Speak #2–Pray For Your Enemies

christian-speak series

Pray for your enemies.

We say this all the time as Christians, and a lot of time it’s our way of saying, “I can’t stand them, so I’m going to say the right Christian thing so that I can keep talking bad about them in a seemingly Christian manner.”

I think that we also peg non-enemies as enemies, as well.  Someone cuts us off?  Pray for your enemies.  Someone confronted you?  Pray for your enemies.  Someone stole your woman?  Pray for your enemies.

And what if we really are true to what we are saying?  That we really do pray for our enemies?  What do we say?  “Dear Lord, I pray for Betty Lou, that you can destroy her tomorrow.  That you can expose her hypocrisy to those around her, and that people will start understanding her for who she really is.”

Wow.  I have prayed that prayer.

But wait, the verse that we quote “pray for your enemies” says this:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43-48)

This verse says to treat our enemies the same way we treat our friends.  Is that prayer loving our enemies?  Do we pray that prayer for our friends?  “Dear God, I pray for my best friend, that you can expose her ignorance and make people see all her flaws.”  I don’t think that’s what I say when I pray for my best friends.

What is it going to look like then?  “Lord, I pray for John.  I pray that he can have a good day today.  I pray that there will be people who surround him today with love.  I pray for this situation that I know he is struggling with, that you can give him discernment. Lord, I pray that I can show him that I love him.”

That hurts, doesn’t it?  Praying such a prayer for people we can’t stand?

But try it.  I have lately.  I realized that I wasn’t praying for my “enemies” like I should.  And now I’m able to see some people in a different light.  It’s humbling, and I hope that I can continue praying for my enemies and those who have really hurt me.  And I hope that those I have hurt can pray for me in the same way.

A Pride of Pride

identity, testimony

I don’t think I knew I had a pride problem up until a month or so ago.  I thought I had a “normal” amount of pride, but I didn’t realize that this is something that I struggle with, something that I have to put an “extra” amount of fight into.

Pride is like a dandelion.  Dandelions root deep into your yard.  They are terribly hard to get rid of.  It requires digging them deep from the root, or even chemicals.  If you have just one dandelion, it could spread and infect your whole yard.  And if you are living next to a yard with dandelions in it, it WILL spread to your yard.  So sometimes we just ignore the dandelion.  Call it a “flower” when it’s really a weed.  We let it grow all over the yard, blend into our flower beds, and it gets out of control. Very easily. In order to get it under control, it requires almost daily maintenance.  It sucks.

Pride roots deep into us, and is incredibly difficult to get rid of.  In order to get rid of pride, we have to dig into the root of it (our innate desire to sin?).  It requires deep cleansing, deep chemicals to get rid of it.  It requires finding our identity in God, soaking ourself with the word.  If we are surrounded by people with pride issues, it is going to impact us and we are going to struggle with pride as well.  Sometimes, we choose to ignore that we have a pride problem.  We justify it by saying that our behavior is part of being someone in authority; or that it isn’t pride, it’s happiness or loving who we are.  When in fact, it’s our own conceit.  By justifying it, pride turns into other sins, and chokes the progress we have made and negates our progress.  In order to get rid of pride, we have to daily remind ourselves to be humble and get in God’s Word.

I don’t know when I started being prideful.  Perhaps it was there all along, perhaps it just developed, but that doesn’t seem to matter anymore.  I know that it roots in my lack of self-confidence, so I would buff myself up to make myself feel better.  I know it roots in that I do a lot of things, yet I forget to include God in it all the time.  I know that my pride has crept into my schoolwork, my relationships with my friends, my relationships with the opposite sex, and my position in church.  I know that in order to fight this, I’m going to have to remind myself every day of humility.  I’m going to have to fight this problem as if I’m fighting dandelions.

If you are reading this, and you have been hurt by my pride and snobbery, I am deeply sorry.  Pray for me to grow and become humble.  I have taken some steps already, but I know that I can’t do this without God and without a community of believers praying for me.

I thought this was a funny tattoo. and appropriate :)

God’s Love

Uncategorized

If I am teaching Jesus’ words, if I am prophesying in God’s name, if I am doing service projects and going to Bible school, but have not love, I might as well be doing nothing at all; for I am nothing and am doing nothing if I’m not doing it with love.

God so loved the world that he sent his only son to die for us.

What great love God has given us, that we might be called his children!  His friend! His bride!

A man said to Jesus, “What must I do to get into heaven?” Jesus said, “First off, love God with all that you have. Second, love your neighbor as yourself.  This is the most important thing you can ever do.”

For true love is this: Jesus laid down his life for us. So that we might also do the same.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

Love is greater than hope and even faith.

If you do not know love, you do not know God.

The greatest love is to give your life for your friends.  For your enemies. And for your God.

God is Love.

Love comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.

God will know his followers by love.

Love covers a multitude of sins; if we have sincere love for one another, we’d be committing a lot less sins.

Nothing. Nothing. Absolutely NOTHING can separate us from God’s love.
——————————————————-
As I was going to bed tonight, I started asking God, what do you want to tell me?  And all these verses started coming to me.
The other day I was thinking about unconditional love.  Love without conditions.  We think that love has to be earned.  But true unconditional love STARTS OUT without conditions.  Did God have any conditions for loving you?  No.  He started loving you even when you “didn’t deserve it.”
The truth is, God is WILD about you.  And if you don’t know that, believe it.  It overwhelms me at times.  I don’t deserve it.  But he loved me for no reason at all; he loved me even when I made a mess out of my life.
And now, my mission is to love others.  For God will know that I am his follower by the way that I love.
If you want in on this love, please message me.  Facebook me.  Email me.  Get in on this love.  Nobody can love you like God can.

Why I Love Luther

christianity, theology

I never used to like history. I thought it was boring. I used to hate knowing different theologies of different people. I thought it was a waste of time. All I wanted to do was love on teens, and give them the gospel.

But I’m loving history more and more, and loving learning about theology more and more (so much I now minor in it).  I groaned at the thought of taking “History of Christianity” this semester, but let me tell you–my heart is changed. I am fascinated.

The other night I read about Martin Luther. I’ve read about his guy 30487 times, but something really hit me the other night.  Luther wanted so badly to obtain salvation.  He desired more than anything not to go to hell and to have a restored standing in God’s eyes.  Luther went on pilgrimages, beat himself, and was constantly confessing his sins to become closer to God.  I can’t even begin to wrap my mind around it.  In his quest, he ended up denying the church’s means of atonement through indulgences.  Luther desired God so much that he even spoke out against the church’s practices and began a movement of reformation.  And this inspires me.  Do I desire the Lord that much?  What have I done that shows this?

Christian-Speak #1–"I’ll Pray for You"

christian-speak series, christianity

(this is a start to a series!  I think as Christians, we sometimes say particular phrases thinking that it sounds super “Christian”, but it ends up being heartless through our abuse of words. I’m not sure what I’ll call the series permanently, but look out for more posts!)

I think we can all relate to the following situation: Someone who isn’t necessarily close to us comes to us with a concern, and pours out their heart to us. They kind of smack us in the face with this situation, and whether we really care or not, our response is, “I’ll pray for you.”

But do we? Or do we “forget” about it?

How many times have you told someone you would pray for them, but you “forget”? How many times has it probably been important for you to pray for them? And since when has “I’ll pray for you” become a substitute for “Convo over, get out of my face”?

I am guilty of this. Verrrrry guilty. I’m trying to make a practice out of, if someone genuinely needs prayer, to stop whatever I’m doing and pray for them. Even if they “pop” me on Facebook chat or send me a text message and pour their concerns to me, I can type a simple prayer to comfort them. Prayer is powerful, and it connects the body together and does some fantastic things. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve just stopped and prayed “anyway”, even though I didn’t really “care” for the situation; then after praying for them my heart breaks for them. I feel like if we truly mean it when we say to our brothers and sisters, “I’ll pray for you,” the body of Christ will strengthen. We will begin to understand each other’s concerns more, as well as creating an atmosphere of comfort.

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”  James 5:16

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”  Romans 8:26

“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.”  Matthew 6:7

“Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.”  Matthew 18:19

“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.”  Colossians 4:2

Barriers in Youth Ministry…that YOU put up!!!

youth ministry

Update: This post was nominated for YouthMin.Org’s “Top Youth Ministry Blog Post of 2011.” Unfortunately, I didn’t even find out about the contest until February, and didn’t have time to “campaign.” Ha! But apparently some people were blessed by it, and voted for it. Thanks!

 

When we think of barriers in youth ministry, we automatically think of…what? Time? Money? Parents? ;)

But have you ever thought of how YOU are contributing to these barriers? And what barriers are you setting up yourself?

Age

So you’re a few decades older than the students. Or maybe you’re only a few years older than the students. Age is nothing but a number, right? Age indeed puts up a barrier, but perhaps we make a bigger deal out of it than it really is. I know, as a very young minister myself, that I often struggle with, “How am I going to be a cool mentor and an authoritative adult at the same time?” One of my biggest pet peeves is ministers or adults who call teenagers “kids”. Teenagers don’t need another person calling them a kid. They want to be seen as adults, want to be seen as more mature, and “kids” degrades them. It also sets up the barrier of “I’m soooo much more older than you.” Another way you can set this barrier is talking about events in your life as if they were SUPER long ago. Maybe they were, maybe they weren’t. But if you talk about events as if you are 137 years old, you are probably going to lose your rapport with the teen.

Sin

This seems pretty obvious. Yet I’m not necessarily talking about the sin you currently struggle with; I’m talking about the sinful life you once lead. Sometimes we glorify our sin so much, that people can’t relate to us. It’s good to talk about how you were completely different before we met Christ. Yet sometimes in the midst we separate ourselves from our audience in the process. And not just our sin, but our whole testimony. I’ll give an example: Last summer I worked at a church in the suburbs. Most of the teens I worked with had nice houses, nice cars when they turned 16, had Christian families, and lived pretty nice lives (on the outside, of course. they still had problems). So I came in, and from the bat presented my testimony–this girl from the hood, grew up very poor, committed every sin possible. Was that wrong? No. Yet I dwelled on my past, I brought it up a lot, and created a gap between my girls and I. I made myself un-relateable. I have fought hard and God has done a great work in me, so that I don’t HAVE to think about who I once was anymore. This race is about pressing forward, not running backwards. I have seen a lot of other leaders at conferences and such make this same mistake.

Time

If we have a second job, or also are going to school, or have a family, sometimes we make it seem like we are completely busy all the time. Even if we are, if we convey that the wrong way to teens, they might think that we are too busy to help them. They might think that they are not worth our time, so if they really do have a big problem they need help with, they might hesitate to come to us. After all, we are really busy, right? So there is this barrier of “I have too much to do” that turns into teens finishing off your statement with “to help me”.

What are some other barriers that you put up unintentionally? I”m guilty of all three of these (not that I’m trying to glorify it!)