Comments on: [Creativity] The Curse of Invisibility

By: Rick Lawrence

Rick Lawrence — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 01:27:09 +0000

Thanks for weighing in on this, Claire… Humble acceptance of the truth is bravery…

By: Claire Smith

Claire Smith — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 01:23:08 +0000

Hi. Rick. Great breakdown on “home-blindness.” It sounds a lot like what afflicts the church. It raises the question of how we get the church, and that includes youth ministry, to understand, recognize, accept, and turn from home-blindness. Lots of work to be done and it starts with us/me.

By: Rick Lawrence

Rick Lawrence — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 21:35:09 +0000

In reply to Tony Myles.

Tony, that’s exactly it… I think our best work almost always starts out with “I wonder…”

By: Tony Myles

Tony Myles — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 21:15:30 +0000

Great stuff, Rick. I actually noted yesterday how many of our church announcements were full of insider’s language. Our guy who does them always does a great job with presence and personality, but when we say things like “See Jon on this” or “Turn in your Connection Card,” we leave people who don’t the “who” or “what” feeling invisible.. and then we wonder why they don’t assimilate in.

I wonder how many inside jokes in youth ministry leave students feeling like outsiders.

By: Rick Lawrence

Rick Lawrence — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 20:50:16 +0000

In reply to Richard.

An honest revelation, for sure… In my own experience, I’ve never seen anyone (students included) not be drawn to Jesus when the environment is infused with wonder and awe toward Him… The hard, self-revelatory, question is: “Am I more or less passionate about who Jesus is, and what He’s doing in my life, than I was last year?” The answer to that question isn’t fodder for “shoulds” or “shaming”—it’s planting a seed for a longing that has slowly escaped us… To paraphrase the honest man seeking healing for his son in Mark 9: “I do love You Jesus, but help my lack of wonder.”

By: Richard

Richard — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 19:35:08 +0000

In reply to Lynn. There are times I think our kids really don't care to know Jesus. He is invisible and hard for them to grab on to sometimes. Developing a relationship with someone you can not see or even know is hard for anyone.

By: Rick Lawrence

Rick Lawrence — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 19:10:18 +0000

In reply to Lynn. Lynn, this is exactly why I wrote (and am right now re-writing completely, for a March 2014 release) a book eight years ago called Jesus-Centered Youth Ministry. We are inundated with competing goals and imperatives in ministry, but as Jesus said to Martha: “Only one thing is necessary.” If our only goal was channeling everything we do into an environment that deepens knowledge about, and intimacy with, Jesus—then our mission is clear...

By: Lynn

Lynn — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 19:05:43 +0000

Always trying to stress the importance of a RELATIONSHIP with Jesus. How can we have a relationship with someone we don’t know? The importance of knowing all about Him and His love for us is key to nurturing that relationship. Packing all of this into the short time we have with these precious kids is truly a challenge!

By: Rick Lawrence

Rick Lawrence — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 18:54:19 +0000

In reply to Patty J Kernstock.

Patty, I think you’re dead-on about our diminished “awe factor” and the unsuspecting ways we communicate a kind of “diminishing” message to kids.The other night a friend said it was hard for him to imagine doing what the Bible suggests we’ll be doing for eternity in heaven—worshipping Jesus. I said it’s impossible for us to imagine doing something like that and not getting bored pretty quickly—unless worship in the presence of Jesus is almost an involuntary physical response. What if we are so continuously attracted to Jesus that we don’t even realize we’re worshipping Him? An eternity of that is possible. And that’s the essence of “not losing our awe”—to be continually impressed by, and drawn to, Jesus…

By: Patty J Kernstock

Patty J Kernstock — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 18:48:09 +0000

I often think about losing the “awe factor” when we do things with kids that for them is the first (and many times only) opportunity they will get. We take them on their first mission trip, for example, and they are blown away by what they see- while we think (and stupidly, sometimes say!) “Oh, this is NOTHING! You should have seen when we were in ______________” or they are deeply moved by a retreat or camp experience and we think (and stupidly, sometimes say!) “Last year’s was way better.”

God forgive us for letting the air ( or spirit, or Pneuma!) out of tires and balloons!!!