Month: November 2007

John Woodhouse and Jim French were the two speakers on Tuesday.

Woodhouse spoken on leadership from 1 Samuel 24. He argued that the whole of 1 Samuel is about leadership. From the Judges to Eli to Samuel to Saul to David. There were helpful insights on the contrast between the people’s King (Saul) and the Lord’s Anointed King (David). The take home application of 1 Samuel, and indeed the whole Bible, is that first and foremost we are not to look for what type of leader we are to be, but what type of leader we need. Jesus is the leader that Israel needed. Jesus is the leader I need. Amen.

French spoke on 2 Timothy 4:1-8. Here’s the structure of the talk:

• The Youth you lead belong to God
• 1) The seriousness of leading (v1)
• 2) The nature of the leadership (vv2-5)
• 3) How to finish leading strongly (vv6-8)
• What legacy will you leave?

Some good stuff. Good to think through implicit and explicit training. Good to think through the relationship between Paul and Timothy. Fantastic reminder of the sovereignty of God in our ministry.

YMC07 Blog: #1 – Leadership;#2 – Get yourself a mouthguard, #3 – Get into shape, #4 – Veteran Forum, #5 – Dinner.

Over the last 3 years at this conference, I haven’t ever made it along to the dinner on the first night. That trend continued again this year!

But. Row came down and we hung out with one of Row’s school friends and her fiancé. Good times: Good (Vietnamese) food. Good fun. Great conversations.

YMC07 Blog: #1 – Leadership;#2 – Get yourself a mouthguard, #3 – Get into shape, #4 – Veteran Forum.

“An opportunity to talk about ministry life or the big picture of where youth ministry is going in Australia – it’s up to you.”

That is what was written on the brochure… so I spent a good chunk of time on the train in the morning writing down thoughts and reflections on Australian Youth Ministry and dreaming.

But.

While what we talked about was helpful: how to work with a senior minister; staying fresh for the long haul; getting accountable and similar things, it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. Still good, just not talking about the big picture of youth ministry. I might turn my couple of pages of reflections on the train into a blog post… so stay tuned.

YMC07 Blog: #1 – Leadership;#2 – Get yourself a mouthguard, #3 – Get into shape.

Steve’s second talk was from 2 Timothy 3:1-17. Another engaging and scripture-rich talk.

INTRO – Steve told a funny story about meeting Goran Ivaniševi? 3 times. As a result Steve was influenced by Goran to play tennis. We are all influenced by something…

1A) LEADERS SHAPED BY SELF (2 Tim 3:2-5) these people who are lovers of themselves instead of lovers of God aren’t just some randoms. They are actually people who appear to be Christian leaders.

1B) THE EXAMPLE OF LEADERS SHAPED BY SELF (2 Tim 3:6-9) these are fake leaders with a fake gospel. They gain control over weak-willed women and, like Jannes and Jambres, they oppose the truth.

2A) THE EXAMPLE OF PAUL (2 Tim 3:10-15) Paul is a great example to Timothy and us. Being an example: a great way to learn; and a great way to teach.

2B) LEADERS SHAPED BY SCRIPTURE (2 Tim 3:14-17) There’s nothing more important than having our lives shaped by the scriptures. The scriptures: make us wise for salvation; are breathed out by God; and are useful.

We were challenged to reflect on what influences us… the world or the scriptures?

YMC07 Blog: #1 – Leadership;#2 – Get yourself a mouthguard.

In the first session today, Steve Chong spoke passionately from 2 Timothy 2:1-14. Awesome! We’ve been dealing with some big things lately so it was a timely message that brought me great encouragement.

INTRO – Steve began by making it clear that Christian leadership is hard. The Apostle Paul and Jesus Christ himself each had a tough time and it shouldn’t shock us if our ministry is a bit like theirs!

1) LEADERS NEED STRENGTH (2 Tim 2:1) – this strength comes not from ourselves but it’s the strength that Jesus gives by his grace. We aren’t just saved by grace but we depend on grace for our ministry.

2) LEADERS WORK HARD (2 Tim 2:3-7) – Soldier. Athlete. Farmer. They all work hard. They all lead from the front. Lately I’ve been tempted to give up and so I was particularly struck by the image of the Athlete who finishes the race. (Note to self: keep eyes fixed on the finish line. Continue in single-minded devotion).

3) LEADERS REMEMBER JESUS (2 Tim 2:8-14) – Wow. How good is verse 8: “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel”! It’s easy to get so busy that we forget the big picture. Remember Jesus. Having a tough time? Remember Jesus.

YMC07 Blog: #1 – Leadership.

I’m attending a youth ministry conference run by youthworks this week at moore college, newtown. My prediction (and hope and prayer) is that it will be more cross-centred than the conference on the Gold Coast a month ago.

I’ve really enjoyed this conference over the past 3 years. This year the theme is on Leadership. Bring it on…

Yep. Check them out. Here and here.

j-walk.ccecyouth.com or podcast.ccecyouth.com