Chapter 10: Deep Worship

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Chapter 10 Deep Worship

• Who are students becoming when we lead them in
  worship?
• Worship can become a tool of oppression when
  leaders see it as an opportunity to control
  others or push their own agendas
• Identity formation is one of the transformative
  processes that takes place through the mystery of
  worship
• Its not the goal worshipping God is but its
  something that does happen to us and in us when
  we worship

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• Individuation is an experience revolving around
  identity, autonomy, and belonging
• Reflecting on Gods redemption means were doing
  theology when we worship
• Worship becomes a transformational acting-out of
  theology
• As adults who care about kids, we help guide
  students away from the cultural baggage theyve
  accumulated and toward the heart of their
  God-created identity in Christ

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• A key question How is God forming a new identity
  among this specific people, in this specific time
  and place?
• Survey
• -How important to you is being a part of a group
  of people who regularly worship God together?
• -What have you grown to understand about
  yourself, other, your church, and God through
  worshipping with others?
• -Why do you worship with others?
• Students long to know the answer to the question
  does it matter if I show up?

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• Ritual
• Practicing liturgy invokes acts of remembrance, a
  key theme of the biblical worship narrative
• Rites of passage that recall Gods activity are
  important teaching tools in worship that speak a
  new identity into believers lives

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• A few warnings
• Self-discovery is never the point of our worship
• Glorifying God must remain our central focus
• (Yet as we glorify God, we will inevitably learn
  about ourselves)

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• 3 Who questions
• 1.What are some ways others are applying these
  new insights to their ministries?
• 2. In what ways are their situations similar
  to ours?
• 3. In what ways are they different?

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Application Questions

• What do you think your students are learning
  about God and themselves from your current
  worship experiences and services? What is good
  about what theyre learning? What do you wish
  they were learning?

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Application Questions

• What rituals do you have that are particularly
  meaningful in worship? What do you think students
  are learning about themselves through these
  rituals? What ideas do you have about other
  rituals that could help students go deeper in
  their worship and personal growth?

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Chapter 11 Deep Expectations

• Why am I exhausted so much of the time, and what
  can I do about it?
• There are three clusters of expectations for
  pastors now that are different than most other
  jobs
• 1. We can do it all
• 2. We are the perfect examples
• 3. We are always happy

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• Leaders and youth workers with Superpastor
  tendencies often feel the following
• You cant rest (or at least youre very bad at
  resting)
• You want to be the best, and youre jealous of
  others
• You take a while to shake off criticism
• You have few real friends, especially in your
  ministry
• You place pressure on your spouse and kids

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• Omni-temptations
• 1. Omnipresence
• 2. Omniscience
• 3. Omni-giftedness

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Sabbath and self-care
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• Quotes from Dallas Willard, The Spirit of the
  Disciplines Understanding How God Changes Lives
  (San Francisco Harper, 1991).

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• One aspect of formation is the faithful
  acceptance of everyday problems. By enduring
  trials with patience, we can reach an assurance
  of the fullness of heavens rule in our lives.
• The second side of our triangle in interaction
  with Gods Spirit in and around us.

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• Both gifts and fruits are the result, not the
  reality, of the Spirits presence in our lives.
• We are to find out, that is, what prevents and
  what promotes mercifulness and kindness and
  patience in our souls, and we are to remove
  hindrances to them as much as possible, carefully
  substituting that which assists Christ-likeness.

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• We will come to understand that for the most
  part our hurry is really based upon pride,
  self-importance, fear, and lack of faith, and
  rarely upon the production of anything of true
  value for anyone.
• The abundance of God to our lives, our families,
  and our ministries is not passively received or
  imposed and does not happen to us by chance.

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• It is claimed and put into action by our active,
  intelligent pursuit of it. We must seek out ways
  to live and act in union with the flow of Gods
  Kingdom life that should come through our
  relationship with Jesus.
• What is Sabbath? Biblically, it is mainly a day,
  once a week, when we do not work.

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• Very practically, Sabbath is simply casting all
  your anxiety on Him, to find that in actual fact
  He cares for you (1 Peter 57 see also Psalm
  373-8). It is using the keys to the Kingdom to
  receive the resources for abundant living and
  ministering.
• Three practices or spiritual disciplines are
  especially helpful in making Sabbath real in the
  midst of our life solitude, silence, and
  fasting.

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• For most of us, Sabbath will not become possible
  without extensive, regular practice of
  solitudewe must not take our work with us into
  solitude, or it will evade us-
• Silence completes solitude, for without it you
  cannot be alone.
• When we stop talking, we abandon ourselves to
  reality and to God.

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• You rarely find any person who has made great
  progress in the spiritual life who did not at
  some point have must time in solitude.
• Fasting is another long-proven way of finding
  out way into Sabbath, where we live and do our
  work from the hand of God.
• Fasting is one way of seeking and finding the
  actual Kingdom of God present and active in our
  lives.

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• God does not give you too much to do. If you are
  over-worked you either did it to yourself or
  allowed others to do it to you.
• What will be your approach in ministry to
  assuring that you have an adequate Sabbath to
  maintain spiritual health?
• What will this mean as far as your calendar
  priorities for your ministry?

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Application Questions

• If you were on trial and accused of being a
  Superpastor, what evidence would people use
  against you? Do you think youd be convicted?
• How do you feel when you think about the fact
  that God is the great I AM and youre the great
  I AM NOT?

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Application Questions

• Which of the omnis is the greatest temptation
  for you? Why do you think that is?
• As you think about stepping out of the
  Superpastor Syndrome, how do you think your life
  or your ministry needs to change so you can go
  deeper?

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Chapter 12 Deep Focus Groups

• In the midst of busyness and crazy expectations,
  how can we maintain deep ministry?
• The question is what is it that will keep us
  from living and ministering with the same
  metaphorical mud in the same allegorical slum?
• What will keep us from returning to the shallow
  ways of youth ministry as weve always done it?

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• Imagination
• Newness
• The God we serve is relational
• He models what it means to engage in this
  creative process with others
• The Trinity

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• Focus groups
• Some basic and established focus-group
  practices
• 1. Figure out the goal and scope of your focus
  group
• 2. Determine who youll invite
• 3. Find one or two facilitators
• 4. Develop your questions
• 5. Have someone review your questions in advance

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• 6. Choose an appropriate setting and atmosphere
• 7. Start the meeting well
• 8. Listen. Listen. Listen. Probe. Probe. Probe.
• 9. Process by asking What? So What? Now What?
• 10. Share the results

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Application Questions

• Do you ever wish you could just figure out the
  right depth for your ministry, get there, and
  then stay there until you retire? What is
  appealing to you about that? What makes it
  unrealistic?
• What ministry issues are percolating in your mind
  that you think could be addressed through focus
  groups?
• Whom would you want to invite?

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• Who would be a good facilitator and
  cofacilitator?
• What specific questions would you like to ask?
• How would you like to share the findings and with
  whom?
• What makes the Deep Design process a wild swim?
  Are you ready to try it? If not, what obstacles
  do you still need to overcome? If so, what are
  some good initial steps?

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• The Like Jesus But Not the Church
• - Dan Kimball
• Why I dont like this title
• Kimball and his ministry

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• The world has changed dont be a weakling!
• No longer are Christians and ministers the good
  guys in films and in the media. Most church
  leaders now actually feel embarrassed to tell
  people they are pastors. Some even choose titles
  other than pastor so they are dismissed by people
  outside the church. Some people arent even
  comfortable they are a Christian but come up with
  new terms such as Christ follower to avoid
  negative and distorted associations.

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• The world has changed dont be a weakling!
• Do some research and see what percentage of high
  schoolers remain part of your church after
  graduation. You may get a sobering wakeup call.
• American culture no longer props up the church
  the way it did, no longer automatically accepts
  the church as a player at the table in public
  life, and can be downright hostile to the
  churchs presence.

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• I probably wouldnt like Christians if I werent
  one
• Christians are now the foreigners in a
  post-Christian culture, and we have to wake up to
  this reality if we havent.
• Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?

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• The world has changed dont be a weakling!
• What does it mean for the church to missional?
• Cf. p. 20 in Kimball
• Overview of presentations