The priority is reconciliation.

March 6, 2014 by Chris Parker 2 Comments

Have trouble letting something go? Do you have a hard time looking someone in the eyes? Are you holding a grudge?

If you get anything right in ministry or life for that matter, get this… reconciliation is THE priority. If you don’t practice this on a regular basis then you are not demonstrating what God has done for you. Unfortunately, the enemy has you right where he wants you too.

Jesus gives us grace. Just as we are, he accepts us in our mess. So, if we are to imitate Christ in our life, why do we sulk and drag our feet when it comes to making amends after someone wrongs us or we know we have wronged someone else. Jesus himself when being crucified said, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do.” Luke 23:24

In ministry you can choose to emphasize or run away from reconciliation. Often you will find those you lead in these situations. After some pretty brutal storms of my own, I now look at these hard times as an opportunity to display what Christ has displayed for us and lead others through it.

Having been wronged or wronging others, my experience has been deep and wide. I’ve had reconciling moments with my wife, senior pastors, direct supervisors, my peers, and even those I lead.

It’s the access to a beautiful gospel that allows this reconciliation.

I love how the Message puts it: “Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.” Colossians 3:13

I have never been shot down in an attempt of reconciliation when wearing my all-purpose garment. People can smell love a mile away. Likewise, they can smell a forced apology.

Keep short, quick accounts.
Be genuine.
Listen to the other party without interrupting.
Follow up with an email, phone call, or text thanking them for hearing you out.

Hoverboard. Real or fake?

March 5, 2014 by Chris Parker Leave a Comment

I’ll believe in it when I get on one myself… which I’m totally open to that!

What’s your take? Real or fake?

The LEGO connection.

March 4, 2014 by Chris Parker Leave a Comment

I loved playing with LEGOs as a kid so I was up for the movie. I went to the LEGO movie last night and didn’t fully appreciate the clip until the very end. The last 10 minutes of the movie makes an astounding statement about our society, processes, worldview and yes…even your ministry.

The ministry your designing and working day after day to build, one day will be picked apart and put back together in a different way. How does that make you feel? Are you okay with that? Is it worth it?

In the LEGO movie we see two different approaches to building, one follows instructions on the diagram given to them because they know it will work. The other type of builder sees a bunch of random pieces and somehow makes something magnificent out of it. While both builders make something great, there are two completely different approaches here and one sometimes will work better than the other.

I don’t believe we need to change our approach to truth, doctrine or the gospel but we need to be innovators in ministry. We need to bring change to our processes in an ever changing culture. We need to use our imagination to look at our current pieces differently, our budgets, our leaders, our students. Your ministry could have the potential of being something MUCH different, reaching those perhaps you never reached before. This will require picking apart your ministry LEGO pieces you have already put in place, or pieces that have been put in place before you.

Be open to change, it’s not always a bad thing.

Empower them!

March 3, 2014 by Chris Parker Leave a Comment

A good leader demonstrates great abilities. A great leader empowers the abilities within others.

If you do not learn this and act upon it you will be consumed by details and will be stuck right where you are at. Once you have reached capacity of what you are able to handle and I’d argue well before that, you need to learn how to extend your ministry to others. Learn how to give it away.

I am fully capable of calling and talking with all the parents represented in my ministry, and perhaps once a year I may attempt to do that. With 17 small groups, and around 175 students representing 350 parents I cannot simply pick up the phone and make a personal phone call. This past weekend I passed out our current rosters and made the ask. I asked each small group leader to call down the list of names represented in their small group and help spread the word about our summer mission trip opportunities.

Instead of calling 350 parents this week I intend to send one email and let those closest to the students call the parents, the small group leaders. Yes, I am leveraging the leadership I have… so that my entire team can carry the weight of responsibility we have been given.

When you empower those around you, there is more buy-in to your mission, more attention given to where its currently needed and you are less likely to burn out! Work smarter not harder.

Your blueprint for student ministry.

March 2, 2014 by Chris Parker Leave a Comment

By no means do I have the perfect student ministry, nor do I believe it exists. Each and every student pastor that is honest will say, “We have strengths and weaknesses.” I do believe there is a difference between an average operation and one that is really firing on all cylinders. The reason being is because the ministry leaders are working off a blueprint that has been set before them.

Whether you are in student ministry or not, I hope you are working off some kind of blueprint or plan in the project you have ahead of you. A blueprint keeps you on task, the must have factors, measurements, desired outcomes, it’s all there. If you are ever lost, just check the blueprint.

At Gateway Church we have a fairly simple blueprint in place for our student ministry. I believe a ministry designed the way we have it can work fairly well, we just need to stay committed to it and see it come to fruition. Like many other larger student ministries, we are somewhat of a small church plant. We have 3 programs to execute every week, a student band to improve, budgets to run, camps to plan, mission trips, volunteers to recruit, families to partner with… and the list goes on. But what does all of this amount to? How can we physically see it happening year in and out? What are we building?

We are building up a generation of students who will own their faith and make it known to others wherever they go in life. I have faith, that through this blueprint, we are equipping the next generation of both the churched and unchurched in what it means to accept God’s love on a daily basis. Not only identifying that relationship but also accepting the challenge to take it into their world and share it with others.

Here’s my blueprint:

Large Group. The weekly hangout. This involves a somewhat non-threatening environment to bring a friend to play some games, hear some music, listen to some funny stories, hear from the Word of God.

Small Groups. This happens every week directly following large group. Everything we do points back to connecting our students faith to an authentic community of peers around them. Students and adults they can explore doubts, ask questions, be real.

Winter Camp. Camp is full weekend of small group time. Long retreat time into teaching, personal reflection, worship…but also tons of FUN. Camp makes memories for our students, we get to help them make positive memories of their relationship with God and the church. A weekend camp vs. a summer camp allows more student participation (it’s cheaper) and more adult leader participation (don’t have to take off work).

GO! Teams. Our mission trips can be life changing moments for our students. Both those near and far from God come back from GO! Teams with new world views and a better understanding of how God’s love permeates the most unimaginable lifestyles and deepest needs.

All of this may sound familiar, because many churches take this same blueprint or concept and add a few tweaks to make it their own. What does your blueprint look like? What works well for you?

Raising the goblet of rock & creating musical fusion.

February 26, 2014 by Chris Parker Leave a Comment

Raise your goblet of rock! I love how the student asks, “Are we going to be goofing off like this every day?” Yes, he is Jack Black and has every right to “goof off” but he was getting the point across and had a personal critique for each student… all the while cutting loose and having fun.

At my church, we have been through the ups and downs of a student band, different leaders approaching leadership of the band from a different angle. Through fun times and not so fun times, we are heading in a great direction now but wonder if this is a struggle among most youth groups that desire to have music as part of their program?

What does your band practice look like? What elements are a must? Do you play any secular music at youth group? Why or why not?

Hillsong United makes history with “Oceans”

February 25, 2014 by Chris Parker 1 Comment

Where do you find an amazing worship song? Among other well known artists…consisting of Beyonce, Jason Derulo, Imagine Dragons, etc. “Oceans” simple yet profound lyrics have drawn a HUGE following of both churches but perhaps even the unchurched in helping it snag a spot in the Billboard Hot 100. What a great achievement to celebrate in making God’s name known among our highly competitive music industry.

“The earth will be filled with knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the ocean.” Habakkuk 2:14

God has used this song, at this time, to unite His people worldwide, while also delivering a message of hope for those without.

My favorite verse of the song is, “Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders, let me walk upon the water, wherever you would call me.” I believe we all have a border of trust… deep down we have some sort of boundary of what we will give over to God. No one has a perfect trust. How often do we stop to ask the Holy Spirit for help?

Ask the Spirit to expand your trust, that you would continually transform into the willing vessel of a servant found displayed in the person of Jesus.

Click here to read more about Hillsong United’s achievement.

Kryptonite.

February 24, 2014 by Chris Parker Leave a Comment

It was after sitting down with some veteran youth pastors and their teams, that I discovered how much an infant in ministry I really am. I am going on 2 years of overseeing my own student ministry at Gateway Church here in Austin. While I do feel accomplished and my ministry blessed in the amount of time I have been on staff, I know many endeavors are yet to come. Like all youth pastors, I continually ask the question, “How do I take this to the next level?”

How can I get rid of the kryptonite that is disabling my ministry from reaching the potential I know it has? The answers lie deep within your vision, goals, prayer, volunteers, and *drumroll* ….other churches. Yup! I said it, other churches.

Whether you are a lone ranger trying to do this on your own, have another partner in crime or perhaps even lead a huge team of youth ministry staff; it’s time you got some fresh air and went on a field trip. Take your team, some key volunteers, or even your senior pastor to another church that you respect or know has certain aspects they thrive in that you are weak in. Don’t fool yourself, this all-star ministry will have its own kryptonite and unique set of challenges but what can you learn from them? What are they doing well? How did they get there? Ask a lot of questions and take notes.

A simple visit to another church can both help you dream and even troubleshoot with someone else in your profession. Pick up the phone and call your fellow peer, let them know you are coming to visit!

If you are ever in Austin, give me a shout, come observe and tell me what we can do better! chris_parker@gatewaychurch.com

Quick Tip: Clean out the inbox and keep it clean!

February 22, 2014 by Chris Parker Leave a Comment

Here’s a spring cleaning idea everyone needs to take action on. The inbox. Why does it always seem full, overflowing, and feel like you can’t keep up? Because 1/2 of those emails are trash, they need to be thrown away. Only a few hours can save you tons of time in the upcoming year.

Last year I spent a few hours setting up filters for my gmail accounts. This has saved me from headache and all those emails I don’t want from a store I bought something at, or that website I thought I really loved until they emailed me every other day. Sure, you can go through and delete all those emails, or try and track down the mailer and “unsubscribe”, but I find another method extremely helpful. Quit playing defense and set up a spring cleaning system that will keep that mailbox clean year round.

Gmail filters are very easy to use once you get the hang of it.

1. Click on the check box of the email you don’t want.

2. Under the “More” tab click on “filter messages like these”

3. Click on “create a filter with this search”

4. Click on boxes you want to apply, in my case, “delete it” (I never want to see you again!)

5. You can also apply to other similar emails in your inbox, I usually click on “apply filter to current conversations”

6. Click on “create filter” – Boom. You’re done…with that filter, now go make another!

It’s tedious work, but well worth it.

Check out this video if the steps above weren’t clear enough for you, there are a few more ways you can use these filters. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2Bk1Q9OquU