Cultivate is...

Is an internship program that I am developing by the faith and leading of God's guidance. Cultivating the next generation of Christian leaders is imperative to their success as they transition from a full time student to full time ministry.

What an internship is NOT:

Busy work.
Hanging out.
Giving someone else a break

What an internship IS:
Experience
Equipping
Empowering

Today I was going to be interviewing interns at ACU who would be willing to invest in themselves and others by  partnering with us in a one of a kind internship experience. However, due to the weather we are currently rescheduling interviews. 

It is my desire to have an internship program at High Pointe Church of Christ over the next few years that provides an experience, equips and empowers leaders for an eternal purpose. I pray that God will give us two people this year who have a desire to be mentored and cultivated into the next Christian leaders.

For more information please use the contact link above.

Book Review: Out Live Your Life

 Outlive Your Life: You Were Made to Make A Difference by Max Lucado was a very enjoyable and challenging read.

Max takes the reader on a journey through the book of Acts and takes one or two key verses and builds each chapter on that particular verse. As Max puts a narrative spin on the book of Acts he draws the reader in by making a modern application out of each chapter and moves the reader forward to live out the gospel of Jesus Christ in his or her own personal journey.

Here are a few verses that he builds various chapters on:

Acts 5:1-2--the story about Annanias and Sapphira selling their land and not being honest about what they sold.

Acts 8:36-37--"See here is water. What hinders me from being baptized? Then Phillip said, If you believe with all your heart, you may."

Acts 12:5--" But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him."

There is a great discussion guide at the end of the book with several questions and applications to put one's faith out on the front line. You could use this book in many settings; personal or even a small group Bible study.

The early church lived with such great passion and changed the world. What would happen if we had the same courage to change the world for the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is not about us out living our life, it is about making a difference so that the message of Jesus Christ will continue to change hearts and relationships that glorify the Father.


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This book was from Book Sneeze provided by Thomas Nelson. 

1st Year vs. 6th Year of Youth Ministry

The early days at my first job as a youth minister was very unusual, despite the fact being newly married and out of state this was a very joyful and stressful time. I clearly remember one time stating to Jessica, "What am I supposed to do?" You see when one does not have clear direction, and a church does not have a clear direction, a minister can be left wondering what their purpose is on a daily basis during the 9 to 5 work week. I knew I had to prepare a lesson for Wednesday and Sunday, but I was not real sure what to do beyond this small window of time each week. 


Now after 5 years of working as a youth minister and transitioning into a new church here are a few things I would recommend a new minister do and this is what I am trying to do currently as I enter into my sixth year of youth ministry at a new church.

Communicate: At every level of the church you want to provide clear and concise information often, to the elders, ministers, staff, parents, and the students you are working with. You cannot communicate enough. Everyone is experiencing a change and transition, but if you communicate with honesty and transparency people are more likely to trust you.

Accountability: What are the goals for yourself during the initial months (3, 6, 9, 12)? If there are not any goals then set up a structure of accountability for yourself. Leaders are accountable for their actions and the direction they are leading. Place yourself around others who can help you achieve the goals and provide accountability. Ministry can be an ambiguous job for others to understand, but providing the right framework of accountability will help you monitor your job performance and responsibilities.


Strategy: You are communicating, you have accountability around your goals, but do you know your strategy to your your destination. Asking yourself what is the end result of everything you do will help you question why you plan and implement a specific vision for your ministry. Beginning with the end in mind will help you build a strategy on how to get to your destination.


Relationship: This is by far the most important area in any ministry related job. If you do not take the essential time building relationships at the beginning no one will care about your vision or desire you may be trying to initiate.


This is not a comprehensive list, but just a glimpse of a few things that have been on my mind.

Rules Without Relationship

This is the second guest post from the D6 Conference by Josh Kellar.

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I leaned over to my friend sitting next to me at the D6 conference and asked, “Have you ever heard this guy?” He gave me a skeptical, “no” with an eyebrow raised right about the time an older gentleman in a wildly colorful shirt approached the microphone. “He’s so fun-,” I began but was interrupted by Dr. Kevin Leman’s first words, “I’m colorblind.” The audience chuckled and settled into their seats, excited that the second day of the main conference was beginning with a laugh.

How do we get our children and teenagers to understand the authority of the parent and the ultimate authority of God in the home? “Give your kids a little vitamin ‘N’,” Dr. Leman would interject into one of his role-plays of a 4 year old asking for a cookie. “An unhappy child is a healthy child.” The time seemed to pass too quickly.  I had to look back to the gigantic screen to remind myself the question he was addressing.  

While Dr. Leman’s address was light-hearted, the question is one of enormous magnitude.  The rising generation seems to be going through a fundamental shift in their view of authority.  Pinpointing the reasons behind the change did not seem to concern Dr. Leman.  He didn’t look or talk like someone who desired to philosophize on the post-modern paradigm.  His advice was simple and practical. “Rules without relationship lead to rebellion.”  The takeaway was manageable.  Dr. Leman gives parents the permission to assume an authoritative role but cautions parents to only use it through a healthy relationship with their child.

A healthy relationship for Dr. Leman is one where boundaries present clear lines of who is in charge. “If you bring up a kid thinking he is the center of the universe there’s no room for God.” The connection he made was simple.  If parents do not assume an authoritative role in their home, children grow up thinking they are their own authority figure.  This leaves little room for God as a voice to be listened to.  Being an authority is not simply about exerting power over our children.  When we tell children, “no” and establish boundaries, they learn that there are expectations of them.  Failing to live by these expectations produces consequences.  When parents fail to establish boundaries and carry out consequences, the hidden message communicated to the child is that they can live by their own set of rules.  If there are no consequences for a parent’s rules, children are not going to learn that there consequences for sin. This rules out a need for God’s grace and in turn a need of a savior. 

“Hey! Would you kids turn that TV down! I’m trying to do your homework!”

A world where kids are the center of the universe puts kids in the position of authority.  Parenting through boundaries and relationship not only helps kids understand the authority of the parent but sets the child up to know the ultimate that God is the all-powerful one.

Josh Kellar is the Children’s Minister with the Fourth Avenue Church in Franklin, TN.  He enjoys listening to God on the journey of parenting. He blogs at www.joshuakellar.blogspot.com

Why Do Students Walk Away from their Faith?

This is a guest post from Gina McClain. I am honored to have Gina willing to post her thoughts from the D6 conference. She hits on the high points from Vicki Courtney's keynote. 

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Why Do Students Walk Away from their Faith? 

As it relates to teens, we’re in a culture where we need to be honest with parents.  Parents are scared. They don’t know what to do.  We can be there as a church to let parents know , “We want to come alongside you to help."

This statement caught my attention quickly.  Vicki Courtney, author of books like 5 Conversations You Must Have with your Daughter, launched into a great conversation about the underlying causes that encourage our kids to turn their backs on their faith. 

Vicki believes the primary root cause of youth leaving their faith behind is simple. 

They don’t know Christ to begin with.

Because we call them ‘churched’ youth does not mean they are Christians.  We do so much harm (eternally speaking) when we make assumptions that ‘walking the aisle’ at a young age = life changed if their life does not reflect change.

A bold theory.  And I think Vicki makes a great point.  We make many assumptions about a student’s/child’s spiritual decision simply because they followed a prescribed pattern.  (I.e. they recited a prayer, walked the aisle, responded to an alter call, etc, etc)

I’m one of those odd people that is really okay with the messiness of ministry.  In my opinion growth in Christ is rarely formulaic.  There are certainly disciplines/habits that lend to increased intimacy with Jesus.  However, we all know that when they become ritualistic it’s no longer about Him and more about me.  The depth of my relationship with Christ is reflected in the extent of my life-change.  The transformation brought about by the Holy Spirit through the renewing of my mind. 

And the proof is in the pudding… or (more scripturally speaking) in the fruit. 

As ministry leaders we will always exist in that tension where we encourage parents, kids and students.  But ‘encourage’ doesn’t mean we don’t ever level with them.  The challenge is figuring out how to lovingly communicate to mom or dad that if their student’s behavior/actions don’t align with that of one who knows Christ then they have to ask the question… do they truly know Christ? 

The truth is too irresistible to not be transformed by it. 

Gina McClain is the Children’s Ministry Director of Faith Promise Church.  She’s addicted to coffee, stumbles over her words and often leaves people with lots of material for a comedic routine.  She also blogs at ginamcclain.com

Parenting Beyond Your Capacity

Parenting Beyond Your Capacity on Prezi

D6 Conference Review

I will post one or two specific thoughts about the conference, but this a quick highlight of 3 days. Coming up I will have 3 people who will write their perspective about the D6 Conference. Oh, and this will be the first time to have guest bloggers. 

Overview:

The overarching theme of the 3 day conference last week in Frisco was that faith must start at home. The church needs to provide scaffolding for families so they can be the ones who are seen as the primary spiritual role models and influencers. The “D6” model is based upon what we find in Deuteronomy 6 about the family.

Key Concepts:

You reach a family for Christ you can change the world or at least another generation.

The church must equip mothers and fathers to equip their children.

 A D6 model must return to the natural authenticity of the early church and not consume a program.

 Connect people to three simple themes. As an example if everyone can identify these questions: Who is God? What is true? Why am I here?

Creating environments for connection.

 Family groups--Small group idea, but it incorporates the entire family instead.

 Celebrating life stage milestones as a church community.

 The current generation view God as a Moralistic, Therapeutic, Deism.

 The church has created silos of ministry, but must integrate them in a strategic way.

 Add a faith skill per year for parents. You motivate, model, practice, and provide. 

 Faith at home is a simple strategy containing only 3-4 components in a language that everyone understands    for the entire church.

 Discipleship and missions begins in the home.

 This is a process to see our life in Christ as a way, not a program.

Personal Takeaway:

My primary ministry is my family!

As a minister I must align, equip, resource, and provide wins for the parents.

Steps to any transformation must start on on our knees. Neh. 1:4 (starts with prayer and fasting), theology, personal, buy in, implementing practices, start it to see it through for many years to come. It is like turning a cruise ship.

·         Reclaiming and Rediscovering the beauty and connection between the great commission and families could change the world.

Th

     The nature of any conference is that it is similar to drinking from a fire hydrant. This is brief, but I will continue to process from the fire hydrant and maybe narrow it down to a glass. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. 

Are teens really 'fake' Christians?

Are some adults really 'fake' Christians?

Yes.

So it would only make sense that teens are going to be 'fake' Christians as well.

Jesus called these people hypocrites.

Are there Christians both adult and teen who need to own up to their faith walk with Jesus Christ?

Yes.

This article from CNN is circling the social landscape about how more teens are becoming 'fake' Christians.

Some of the most mature and Christ like people I know are teens. I have seen teens put on Christ in baptism who are ready to storm the gates of hell, but often times their faith, desire, and passion gets smashed when they realize that the church and parents sometimes do not follow Christ into the same baptism of dying to self to live in Him.

However, this article does have a few good talking points.

"We think that they want cake, but they actually want steak and potatoes, and we keep giving them cake," 


"Many teenagers thought that God simply wanted them to feel good and do good -- what the study's researchers called "moralistic therapeutic deism."


Two different perspective. Both of which I have seen in youth ministry. Teens are longing to wrestle with the truths of the Bible, but often times we are focused on the wrong objectives in youth ministry. The other being MTD or moralistic therapeutic deism, it prevalent because we have shifted our paradigm of who God truly is in our life. 




What are your thoughts about 'fake' Christians in light of the article? 






(Picture: sxu)

Launching Into Adulthood

One of the responsibilities I feel as a youth minister is mentoring high school students as they prepare for college and adulthood or what many would call their next phase in life. For several years I have been confused with many young adults or late adolescence who seem like they have no desire to grow up and move on from their parents womb. The occurrence appears to be a major talking point now for ministry leaders and the national media. This article in the New York Times Magazine section has been circulating across Facebook and I even have had two people email me the article last week.

There are a couple of things that we should be having conversations about whether you agree or disagree about late adolescence going into early to mid 20 year olds. Here are a few questions:

How can we as ministers help teens navigate life's journey into adulthood?
One thing we must do is build a network of adult mentors who are involved in the teens life starting in high school and going through college. This idea is not new it is actually found in Titus 2 about the older men teaching the younger men and likewise the older women should teach the younger women.

What is the church going to do about this group 18-25 who does not feel as if they belong to a church?
Other thing discipling or mentoring, the church must start to put young adolescence in a service role in the body of Christ. They must learn and grow to realize that they are not a segment of the body, but they are the body. We must move beyond teens consuming church, to being consumed by an Almighty God.

Why are some parents choosing to allow their kids to be dependent on his or her parents finances beyond what is appropriate?
I will never forget getting the phone call from my mother about a month before I graduated from LCU how how she revealed the news to me that I will be responsible for my rent after May and that I might want to look into health insurance because I would no longer be covered. In essence, a huge element to one growing into independence is cutting off the ATM machince or should I say the parents must turn the ATM off.

What are your thoughts about the article on the late adolescent conversation that is happening?


(Picture: sxu) 

I Am Alive...Again

Over the last several weeks there have been peaks and valleys. The valley that happened I will share about at another time, for now I want to share with you the next adventure God is leading me and my family on. 

Starting around the first of August I will be the youth minister at the High Pointe Church of Christ in McKinney, TX. 

God has paved the way for doors to close and open in unusual ways. This is an opportunity to enter into a fresh ministry and work with a staff and church who desire to do Kingdom work for His glory.

The church at High Pointe is missionally focused to reach out to the surrounding community to share the good news of Jesus Christ with friends and neighbors and to restore community with God and one another. High Pointe is a church with a purpose and they realize what is at stake if we do not focus on reaching others. I praise God for this opportunity and look forward to the days and years to come at High Pointe.

There are many things that I am excited about, such as the ministers I will be working with, the teens who I will be reaching out to and the families who I will be partnering with.

As some of you may know McKinney is the hometown of Jessica and practically all of her family still lives in McKinney. We are looking forward to being close to her family, as well as mine. Most of my family is 2 to 3 hours away. Not to mention the amazing friends in the Dallas metroplex area and the friends in Abilene and Lubbock who we will be close enough to do weekend events together (triathlons, golf, hunting, etc).



The blog may be quiet for a few weeks between moving and packing. I will get back into a rhythm in August.  

Gang Member Attended Church

This is an excerpt from Francis Chan's book Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit

A gang member attended Cornerstone Church and when Francis found out why the young man had stopped going this was the response.

"I had the wrong idea of what church was going to be like. When I joined the church I thought it would be like joining a gang. You see in a gang we weren't just nice to each other once a week, we were family."

The world offers several places to go and join where people will be nice to you. However, this generation wants to feel connected and wants to know that our lives as Christians can only be explained by God.


The church in the book of Acts was not a coordinated and planned event. The church in Acts was an unstoppable force led by the Holy Spirit. Many churches today have been driven by various motives other then God. Francis talks about in the book how you can get a great speaker and a great worship leader together and combine it with a well coordinated service, people will come. The pitfall is, this is what the world offers.  

Can we not offer the world an event that is only explainable by God?



I listened to the free audio version this week from Christianaudio.com and wanted to share this with you. Once a month Christian Audio offers a free audio book. This month it is Forgotten God listen to it on your iPod this week.


(Picture: hoefi) 

Book Giveaway: The Hole in Our Gospel

Really? There is not a hole in our gospel. I mean look around in any city throughout the US and you will see churches, non-profits, rescue missions, and social services provided by the state helping and serving the poor and downcast. Surely there is not a hole in my gospel. Richard Stearns has written a great book that exposes the hole not only in my gospel, but most US churches.

We live in extreme wealth, comfort, and contentment, which has led us to our own idolatry of money. When there is an idol there is also a firm grip on the idol. In the book Richard tells about his personal resistance in his life to leave the corporate world as CEO and take a job with World Vision. He writes with humility, honesty, and transparency about his struggle to leave the "finer" things of his extravagant life and serve alongside an organization that reaches out to the downtrodden of the world.

My journey of the poor and outcast started when I was in the 3rd grade. My parents took me to Impact Church to be exposed to the orphans, widows, and those that society has cast out as "the least of these." I remember my first encounter walking under a bridge in downtown Houston and experiencing tent cities and shelters that mark all of our urban centers across the world. Years later I spent a summer at Impact working with the children in the inner city and reaching out to their families through various ministries. Not sure that my parents really grasped the full extension of the experiences they gave me as we visited different churches who truly reached out and ministered to the whole person. Today my life is not the same because of my life experiences and now "The Hole in Our Gospel" is a part of that overarching story of my life.

You cannot read this book and not be moved closer to Christ and those stricken by AIDS, hunger, malnutrition, disease and lack of educational opportunities.

Read Isaiah 58 and Matthew 25; if that does not move you and shake you then please give this book a chance. There actually my be a chance that your heart is hard like Eph 4 talks about. If that is the case then cry out to God to break your heart from your ego, pride, and idol of self.

Now for the book giveaway:

You have a really good chance to win this book; my analytic count is not high and I do not have many people subscribed via my RSS. Therefore, there may only be 3 comments and that would leave you with a 1 in 3 chance of winning.

Four ways to enter:

1. Tweet about the book giveaway and be sure to use @lantzhoward in the tweet so I can keep up with you.
2. Leave a comment below.
3. Post on Facebook about the book giveaway.
4. Write on your blog your first experience with the poor and downtrodden and link to this giveaway in your blog post.

You can do one or all four. Be sure to leave a comment for each one that you participate in. Next Wednesday I will use a number generator and try to figure out who won. Please keep in mind this is my first giveaway and there my be a few glitches, but I will contact the winner and send the book to you via the mail after you win.

Giveaway ends Wednesday March 17th at 12pm pacific time.

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Book provided by Book Sneeze and Thomas Nelson.

Book Review: The Feast by Josh Graves

Though I have never met Josh Graves I feel as though we could be great friends. Endurance athlete, avid basketball player, and lover of Christ, Josh hits a home run with his first book published by the guys and gals over at Leafwood.

Josh writes with great humility, boldness, and clarity. His writing style is fresh and conversational, as if I just finished a cup of coffee with him.

Many today are struggling to find an authentic path of being a follower of Jesus Christ. There seems to be a polarization that is happening with those who desire to walk with God. On one end people are searching for a simple way to follow Christ that is not bound by religiosity, but a way of living one's life. Then on the other end people work tirelessly at justifying themselves by rules or knowledge that keeps the "ship at bay."

Josh tries to paint a picture of a place in the middle. He does not abandon scripture, instead he displays a huge desire to meet God in His truth. However, he does not stop with only the word of God he goes on to share stories of what it may look like to practice Matthew 25 in today's context. If you desire to have a fresh voice of encouragement in your walk I am sure you will not be disappointed.

The Feast is intended to help the reader find a way to be an authentic Christ follower today and leave the polarization behind. I hope you will find refreshment in the author's word as he draws you closer to Christ and leaves you with a desire to "feast" upon His word and be relational with Him and others.

Sidenote: There is a brief overview of each chapter and study guide found at the end of the book, which makes this book a valuable tool for class settings or small groups.



Thanks to Leafwood for the opportunity to review this book.

Have you thought about your eulogy?

Me neither...

Ok...I have thought about what people will say at my funeral, but I have never thought about the eulogy or the words the speaker, preacher, pastor, or friend would give during the actual speech or eulogy.

I finished Mitch Albom's book Have a Little Faith
over the holiday's, in fact it was a gift given to me as I was leaving town by a dear friend.

Mitch was asked to do a eulogy for a Rabbi and three faiths collided into one world during the course of 8 years.

Simply put, we are all more connected than what we think, but we have to move from our selfishness into community with others.

So what does this have to do with thinking about your eulogy...not sure...but maybe your eulogy is not about you, but the people who will be gathered together to here the eulogy. Read a recent eulogy by Don Miller about the man who connected Don to his faith.

What would your eulogy say about you in 2010 if you were to die at the end of this year?




(Image: bg&emese)

One Way to Start to Living

If you are tired of the same ole stuff. Yeah, you know what I mean.

You read your Bible, study great theological truths, go to church, and do all the right things that you think God cares about.

Guess what? He does not care as much as what you may think.

He will only care when you get off that chair you are sitting in and start practicing what you read, study, and go to church to learn about.

In Matthew 23:3, I think that is called practicing what you preach!

So if you want to start living, start practicing what you read, study, and go to church about.

Now it is time to get off that chair and start living.

Oh yeah, I forgot I think Jesus said something about loving, treating, and caring about people the way you love, care, and treat yourself.

Now you can go...start living!

So Beautiful

So Beautiful: Divine Design for Life and the Church by Leonard Sweet comes with mixed emotions neither good or bad, just undecided.

To summarize the book with one quote from page 162, "When the one lung breathes in the Missional (God's Power) and the other lung breathes in Relational (God's Presence), the body comes alive and exhales the risen incarnate life of Christ."

Leonard paints a picture throughout the book of this DNA of MRI or Missional, Relational, and Incarnational. Nothing new, right?

Some think that this is a new way to look at the church or an old way recently discovered. Many people are searching for a meaningful body of Christ that not only worships on Sunday morning, but breathes with a mission, that extends to relational communities, and takes the message of Christ out into their everyday life or what Sweet calls MRI.

This is a very wordy book. I am not into repeating oneself. Sweet early on even mentions that if "you have not noticed I am saying the same thing in a different way (paraphrased)". One can simply turn to the book of Acts and read about this Missional, Relational, Incarnational way of the church. Sweet is humbly putting modern words into a language that some seem to have forgotten.

Keeping with the Sweet writing pattern he weaves multiple quotes throughout the book that unites everything together in a seamless manner. If you desire to have a renewed vision of the church reread Acts first and then read So Beautiful by Len Sweet. If you have not begin to ponder a deeper meaning for the body of Christ this may jump start your engine. Enjoy Len's words as he casts a vision that needs to be renewed for the body of Christ so others will begin to know, see, and hear that God is really among us (I Cor 14:25).

Look in The Mirror

See that person in the mirror? Yeah, that's you!

You have a choice...

You can either make a positive step in the right direction.

Or you can go do nothing to change and go insane.

You...be the change!

Inside Out

I am wrapping up a book that I have been tacking this summer with joy. Unfortunately I have only got around to this book a few times this summer. I wanted to share a brief quote with you from the book that I read on Friday.

"The gospel's power today lies in its resources to help us overcome a demanding spirit and to replace it with trust as we await the full revelation of its power, the day when sinful people will enter heaven as loving worshipers of God, when further sin will be unthinkable and pain will be unknown."

Dr Larry Crab
Inside Out

Restore What?

As I mentioned earlier about my parents restoring a 1906 house and the lessons I have learned to this day have helped shape me in my personal beliefs about a number of issues.

Without going headlong into misunderstanding we need to be careful and ask ourselves what are we restoring?

My parents are good at having multiple jobs or projects on the house that they start with intentions of finishing sooner rather than later, but after they start a restoration process on the bathroom, kitchen, and dining room one has to wonder were they are spending their time and energy. The sooner aspect quickly becomes the later when one has many projects. To this day I do the same thing, I am good at starting projects, but terrible at finishing and this has been a personal goal and intention of mine over the last two years or so.

The Churches of Christ are known as the ones who are Restoring the New Testament church and this has caused a great deal of fury, church splits, and arrogance among many. The intentions may be good, but intentions are not what following Christ is about.

What are we restoring? We have focused much of our energy and attention on many particular areas of what defines a church, but last time I checked Christ is in the business of restoring people to Him.

I wonder if we have lost our focus and spent much of our time and energy on restoring external matters and not focused energy on the one thing of restoring people to Christ about internal matters of his or her soul.

What is Renovatus?

Renovatus is a Latin word for renovation and restoration and I understand the deep longing of being part of a renovation and restoration process that my parents started when I was 14.

You see my parents started this small project (or so they thought) of buying a 1906 Victorian Farm House when I was entering the 8th grade, approximately in 1994. They had this grand dream and idea to renovate this house to its intended beauty. Well, true renovation may never end because to this day they are still working on the house. I have many stories to tell and will resume to blogging about renovatus when the summer youth calendar slows down. (You will not want to miss the story about me taking baths with a water hose. Not kidding!)

Many people have misinterpreted and have been misled to think that renovation and restoration is a external process to an internal joy. We know from Jesus words in order for renovatus to happen in one's life you must begin from the inside out.

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence."

Matthew 23:25

Please join me to explore a deeper meaning to restoration that looks beyond the external structure.