Diary Of A Youth Worker

Ins, outs and roundabouts of a newby youth worker

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A Guitar For Christmas

I remember, at the age of eleven or twelve, my brother and I receiving guitars for Christmas from our parents. I was given a red Stratocaster rip-off and Dan was given a black bass guitar. We'd been asking for them for months because we had a dream to play in a band.

The Christmas day service at our Church always includes a slot for children to bring up their favourite new toy. We proudly marched up to the front with our new instruments and displayed them to the congregation. It was probably the best Christmas present I've ever been given.

A couple of months later and we'd formed our band and started to write songs. At about thirteen or fourteen, we were first unleashed to play in a service at Church with distorted guitars, lots of loud drums and some squeaky voices. We were honestly terrible (I know, I have recordings), but our Church encouraged us to continue and grow and keep writing songs.

A few years later we released an album and started gigging. A few years after that we got to play at Greenbelt Festival (albeit on the smallest stage) and a few years after that we went into the studio with a producer to record our latest EP.

I don't know if our Church knew when we walked down that aisle that this is where we'd end up, but I thank them for all they have done for us. We had somewhere to refine our worship leading and grow to know what worship was really about. We had the best training ground, something that not all young people are given.

It's been over ten years since we formed our band and it seems incredible how far we've come and the things we've done. I feel privileged to say to people that, by the age of twenty two, I've done all these things. I know it's because of God that we have been so blessed. It's been an adventure.

So over ten years on and we're trying to pass on the gift of music and worship training to a new generation of young people. We've started a project called The Chorus Congregational, a youth worship collective, as our way of giving young people the space to develop their gifts and callings. I feel so passionate that with the right encouragement the young people we are working with will be outstanding worshippers and leaders for our nations future.

You know God is moving when the generation you are teaching are more impressive than any generation you have seen before. When they are more passionate about the project than you are. I believe that is true for the generation of young people we are working with. Thank you God!

Ben

A Youth Worker

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Validity Of The Old Testament

The other day I listened to a UCB show on which a Christian Bible lecturer, a Jewish leader and an atheist debated the Old Testaments validity and morality.

The atheist happened to be none other than 'Sir' Richard Dawkins who, for himself, was quite mellow in his arguments on the show. Most of the time his arguments are offensive, unstructured and unresearched. I once watched a video in which he attempted to tear apart the ten commandments by pulling contradicting Bible verses out of context. But anyway, in this debate he was fair to a point.

His quarrels with the validity of the Old Testament were mainly; it's historical correctness and it's morality. I want to spend some time on both of those but I'll start with it's morality first.

Dawkins stated that the God in the Old Testament was abhorrent and mean. He asked how you could believe in a God who would want to kill first born children and thousands in Sodom and Gomorrah. It's a pretty reasonable question but I'd like to throw in a curve ball.

We believe in an all powerful God who created the universe, all of the atoms that make us and everything else. He invented the idea of man, life, emotions, death and everything we could ever experience. If He has done all of this, then who are we to question His judgement?

In Psalm 139: 13-14, David writes;

'For you created my inmost being;     you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;     your works are wonderful,     I know that full well.'

The poetry of these verses describes beautifully how careful God was when he made you. David, an Old Testament character, talks about a God who he knows is capable of doing the impossible and writing any plan He likes.

It's like when people say 'my house, my rules'. God could say 'my creation, my rules'. It is a matter of who has authority. If you're a Christian then the answer is 'Yes God, you have all authority'. If you're an atheist then I'm sure that your power battle is one of the reasons for your dislike of an omnipotent being. Deciding whether human moral is higher than Godly moral is a choice we have to make. 

Now coming on to the historical correctness of the Old Testament. Quite reasonably you might question the reality of a man and his family building an ark big enough for all the types of animals on the Earth and a guy surviving after being swallowed by a large fish. It sounds pretty wild, agreeably. 

This is where I refer to the New Testament. If we truly believe that Jesus, a historically proven person, was the son of God then isn't the Old Testament validated by his silence on much of it? Nowhere in the New Testament does Christ deny Old Testament scripture, in fact he comes to fulfil much of it's prophesies. 

In Matthew 5:17 Jesus says; 'Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.'

Of course, Jesus spends much of his time telling people how God originally intended the law to be, but at no point does he disregard the history of the Old Testament. If you were Christ, would you not want to tell people that they were barking up the wrong tree about Noah and Jonah? I would.

As a Christian, Christ validates the Old Testament. If you're an Atheist then you won't believe in Christ as the son of God but please don't come running to me with all of the reasons why you think the Old Testament is 'tosh'. I believe that it is validated through Christ who gave his life for mine.

Ben

A Youth Worker

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Bored Of The Cross?

Last week I watched Billy Graham's Message To America 'The Cross'. It's a great video from the renowned preacher and evangelist, including testimonies from rapper Lecrae and musician Lacey Sturm.

It's about half an hour long, but completely worth a watch. I found it inspiring and uplifting. Billy uses this line 'The Cross is offensive', over and over and it really struck me how impacting the cross is, whether you think it's good or bad. The repetition of 'The Cross' in the film is powerful and as Christians, this message should be the centre of who we are. 

The cross is where salvation was complete, death was beaten and love overcame. The cross, where Christ died an undeserved and brutal death for our sake. The death of a man prophesied for thousands of years before hand and written of millions of times since. The cross stands at the pinnacle of our faith. It is the sign of a God who would rather sacrifice his only son, than see us perish. 

My father once cried publicly while preaching about Abraham being asked by God to sacrifice Isaac, his son. He drew a line of symmetry between the events of that passage and the death of Jesus on the cross. Abraham is in agony at the thought of sacrificing his son but just as he is about to, God provides a ram. God sees how faithful Abraham is and stops him before his son has to die knowing that His only son would not be saved from the pain of death. Christ goes further. It's a beautiful comparison and another reason why the cross is so important.

After watching the Billy Graham video, I was sad to see a comment by a Christian in the section beneath, that said something along the lines of, 'oh it's this old message again'. What?! If the cross is boring to a Christian, then what hope does the World have? The cross is the reason for our freedom and salvation. It is the epitome of God's love for us.

I totally understand when, as Christians, we get complacent about the cross and Christ's death for us. If you've been brought up in a Christian family (like me), it's easy to take it for granted because it's a commonly talked about thing. Sometimes we need to kick-start that passion and thankfulness inside ourselves again. The best way to do this, I find, is to get honest with God and ask him to give you that passion back again. Spend as long as it takes to get your focus back on the cross.

If you're bored of the cross, get un-bored. The message of the cross is hope for all, we need to be excited by it! 

Ben

A Youth Worker

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The Art Of Productive Resting

Do you ever have those days where you know that you could be doing something better, but instead you just spend hours refreshing your Facebook feed or reading every tweet that pops up onto your stream?

I have those days too, so I want to introduce you to a new way of spending them. Productive resting. 

We all know that resting is good. Sleep is God's invention to purposely make us stop, rest is God's way of giving us time to think about Him. If we don't get to rest, when else would we have time to mull over all that God is? Often though, we use rest wastefully; worrying, thinking about work, watching TV rubbish, playing the latest internet game fad and refreshing those social media home pages. Usually this type of rest really doesn't feel like rest when you've finished.

If you're like me and you like being busy and having things to do, then rest is regularly passed over for more interesting things. This is not always helpful though because resting is when we can encounter God personally. I treat it like my relationship with my fiancé. If I don't spend personal time with her, then our relationship sucks. Likewise, if I don't spend time with God, then our relationship never grows or flourishes.

In the Bible, Mary and Martha were sisters. Mary loved to sit at Jesus' feet and hear everything he had to say but Martha rushed around a lot trying to get everything done. To a work-a-holic, Martha sounds like the saint, but Jesus commends Mary. She had her priorities right. Stopping to listen to Jesus.

Try to treat your rest as another opportunity to sit at Jesus feet.

I like simplicity, so here are some things I've found that really make my rest productive. Maybe you have you're own things.

- Read a book (preferably one about God)

- Take a walk (time to clear your mind and hear God)

- Pray about things

- Make something (express your worship)

- Meet with other Christians (fellowship)

- Write down your thoughts

- Spend time with your loved ones

The list could go on, but those are just some of the best things that I have found. Try a few and see what happens.

Now I bet you're all thinking; 'But Ben, don't you watch TV'. Yes yes I do, and sometimes it's productive (i.e. spending time with my family and friends, being inspired). Occasionally though, I do waste time and watch rubbish, but I guess God likes us to have fun while we're here. Make of that whatever you like.

Finally, for all you Facebook 'scrollers', here's something that my fiancé and I have tried to implement lately (I say 'tried' because it's harder than it sounds). Every time you feel the need to scroll, open up your bible app or webpage and read a verse. (tweet me @BenTheJamming, if this works!...I'm joking). 

Ben

A Youth Worker

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Your Church Is...Not Your Church

I'm sure most of you know that the Church is not our own but God's. No but seriously, you know it's God's, right?

Over the past few blogs I have been discussing a few things that I think our Church culture could tighten up on. You can read about how your Church is not professional enough here and my last blog exploring competitive Church nature here.

So let's get this out in the open and be honest about it. Some of the time it's hard to accept that, however much hard work we've put in or length of time we've been attending (this is important so I'll come back to it), the Church we go to is not ours and it's not anyone else's either. It's God's Church and it's part of a bigger picture. We need to remember this in every bit of what we do in and for our Church.

Many of us sacrifice a lot of time, energy and money on our Churches. We know it's our duty to do so, and to many it's no 'biggy'. Others see service as a chance to show-off or make a mark. Now, truthfully, I spent quite a while once wondering why things at the Church I go to weren't how I wanted them to be. My thinking was along the lines of, 'I've put loads of effort into this, so I deserve to have my say and have things my way'. Have you ever thought this?

Recently I've been reading 'The Purpose Driven Life' (I had to at some point, I guess). In section four, Rick Warren explores service and states that it is our purpose to serve God. Therefore it isn't something that some do and others don't. If our Churches are sticking to this duty, then we shouldn't have any reason to think we are more deserving of getting our voice heard and having our own way.

Let's talk about Church in-fighting. 'Oooh' you say, the taboo subject for Christians. I'm young but I've been about in Christian circles long enough to know that the wider Church is not always happy-clappy. Sometimes people are just annoying and stupid. Sadly, too many times this ends in disaster. I think one of the reasons why this happens is when people forget who's Church their in.

So you're a pastor who's set up a Church with a group of trustees, friends, etc. One day you have a major disagreement on a decision about the direction of the Church, with one of the other leaders. But you're the pastor, the guy who set up the Church, how dare they disagree with you on what happens in your Church. There's a split and they end up making a rival Church in the next village. You both hate each other and never turn up to united prayer services.

Uh-oh. Sadly, I've heard of this happening too many times. Why in a culture where we are supposed to copy Christ, who's first rule was 'Love', do we have disagreements on this scale. We could go into this further, which we won't for now, but I can imagine you already know why.

Part of me would like to see leaders of Churches like those quit and let someone takeover who actually understands what this is really about. Another part of me just can't be bothered to join the squabble. If having things 'their' way is so important to them, rather than joining an army of true loving believers, then I say leave them to it. Maybe they'll get it one day.

God has a master plan. His plan is fool proof and He doesn't need a plan B. If we want to see amazing things happen then we should probably listen to Him for guidance on the next step. We are part of His plan, but if we don't follow it then He'll get it done another way. Our Churches are part of His plan, but too much of 'having things our own way' halts His plan and means we derail. 

If you want to see The Church grow (notice I said 'the' not 'your'), you need to understand that being 'in this together' is not an option. We are The Church; reflectors of the light of Christ. Imagine if you were a mirror with a candle beneath you. If you angle yourself towards the ground, the light from the flame won't go anywhere, but if you aim yourself outwards then the room is illuminated.

If we are to be the best reflectors of God's light, we first need to kindle a strong flame by being a Church who lives love. This love is our fire. Then we need to polish our mirrors to be a truthful reflection of Christ. That doesn't mean we should look perfect on the outside, but we should reflect our intention and dedication to love.

Now to those who've been in a Church for a long time. You might like your tradition but don't let that get in the way of a move of God. Who owns the Church if you say, 'we've been doing it this way for thirty years, we're not changing now.'? Too many times have I been frustrated by people getting 'human tradition' confused with what God actually tells us to do in the Bible. Stubbornness is not next to Godliness, so how can a stubborn Church be next to God?

Your Church is not your Church, it's God's and He calls the shots. Don't let anything get in the way of letting God have His way, he'll just get it another way. Do you want in on God's plan? Chuck out yours first.

Ben

A Youth Worker

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Your Church Is...Not As Good As Mine

Don't you hate (in the most Christian way possible) those kind of people who always have something better than yours? What if that thing was their Church?

This is my second blog in a series exploring Church cultures and some things that you're Church is (or maybe not). You can read part one 'Your Church Is...Not Professional Enough' here.

I go to a suburban Methodist Church. It's been here for years and has a mixture of ages, service styles and 'after-Church activities'. We have Sunday morning and mid week youth and kids work and groups for art lovers, older ladies and men who like breakfast. We're not flashy and we don't feel the need to be. We're not perfect either and I'm cool with that. Of course there are always things that we wish our Church would be better at, but there's a difference between saying 'bring it on', rather than; 'let's find somewhere better'.

I work for some rural Anglican Churches where the congregations are usually forty-plus-years-old and don't like change. When I started, I sought to find a way to change their view of young people and Church, but you know what, it didn't work. And here's why:

The Church serves those older people's needs, much like our younger revved up Churches suite ours. So by me trying to change it, I'm only forcing my view of how Church should be upon them, and consequently I doubt they would get anything from a media filled, loud worship service. They like the stillness, it's how they meet with God.

How do you feel about your Church? Are you ready to bail at the first sign of someone obscuring your perfect service style or a change of leadership? Or are you ready to act humbly and sensibly to make your Church more accessible and suitable for your needs?

I get so annoyed when people rave about what their Church is doing. They come out with pretentious phrases like: 'We're pioneering something big', 'We're launching a new mission season', 'We converted twenty people the other night at our Holy Spirit service', 'My pastor has a new book...'. Then it gets worse when they encourage you to leave your Church to come to theirs. Well why wouldn't you? There's is so much better...they've just started a new mission season.

Here's two problems with this:

1. If everyone left their Church to go to a better one, no one would be left to run the other Church.

2. It is not in your authority to tell people where they should go to Church and how they should worship. It's God's.

I think in some ways, comparing Churches actually shows spiritual immaturity. If you're more concerned with what your Church makes you look like, so much so that you have to brag about it, then take a rethink. 

I work with young people and sometimes you meet one that has to win at everything...even if they're not good at it. The other night I played ping-pong with a young guy who smack talked for ages about how he was winning against everyone. To be truthful (without being harsh), he wasn't that great, but something inside him wanted everyone to know that he was good at it. Do we view our Church like that thing we have to 'big-up' just in case it makes us look bad?

We've got to take a backward step and remember that the Church is a whole. A sum of all it's parts (Ref: 1 Corinthians 12: 12-27). Each individual gathering of believers has their own purpose. Maybe it's to be visible in their community, to serve the needy, to provide for young people, to help those living in an impoverished area. Whatever it is, it's got to be important or otherwise they wouldn't be there, and if so, then who are we to judge and try and make changes.

You are at your Church for a reason. Stick at it.

Now obviously, some Churches get things wrong. Seriously wrong in some cases (lets not mention Westboro...woops) and in those cases leaving and distancing yourself from them is sometimes the only option. Equally helping to correct them as your brothers and sisters is important too. Alternatively, complaining that a Church doesn't do youth work as good as yours, is not acceptable.

To quote a fantastic song by High School Musical: 'We're all in this together'. We are the Church; the hands and feet of Christ on this Earth and we need to work together, striving for Godliness in what we do and helping others along when they fall behind. It's not a competition or a comparison. When so much of what the World says is 'be better than others', God says 'Better yourself, not others'.

God really won't care whether your Church did things like 'the pioneers' down the road. He'll care whether you did your bit, your duty and what He called you to do. 

Stop smack talking about your Church and remember it's our Church and all of our responsibility. Your Church is what it needs to be.

Ben 

A Youth Worker

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Is Revivalism Christian Consumerism?

So revival is a pretty big subject among Christians, but it’s never actually mentioned in the Bible. Indeed there are times when the work of God results in mass salvation, such as in the early parts of Acts (ch 2:47), but it’s mentioned quite casually and as if it was the norm. It also happens a lot when Jesus is about, so I’ll come back to Him later.

Is our idea of revival just a regurgitation of our human desire to consume? Well here’s my thoughts.

Our society revolves around a more more more culture. Once we get something we are almost always looking forward to the next thing straight away. The thing we have is never enough or the best, so we automatically strive to have the next upgrade. This is like a perpetual roundabout, but sadly we’re pretty much prone to it.

What if I told you, that I think, that is exactly how many ‘revivalists’ consider bringing people to the Lord. One new Christian is never enough for a high flying ‘revivalist’ concerned with bringing mass salvation to the world. Sounds crude, but honestly I think this sort of thinking can quickly become the focus of our Church and that’s not good. 

Put it this way; a new Christian walks through the front door of our Church in need of quality teaching and discipleship, but we don’t see him or her because we’re too busy looking at the crowd of non-Christians ready for the picking. Sadly that new Christian never develops or grows in their relationship with God because we got greedy.

I’ve always had a problem with street evangelism (shocker!). Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with evangelism (not even public evangelism), but I find street evangelism to be unaccountable and fanatic. Done properly with the right regulations, leadership and guidance in place, it can be carried out effectively. But standing on a soap box or aimlessly walking up to people and trying to convince them about Jesus, seems awkward and unhelpful.

My fiancé and I were once eating lunch in the city centre when a man walked up to us and started showing us a booklet with a riddle or something similar on it. It turned out that he was from another city and a team of ‘street evangelists’ had come to Norwich. He talked to us for about five minutes, non stop, before I told him that we were already Christians and he’d just wasted his time (he was literally preaching to the converted). Why would you send a team of evangelists to another city? How can you disciple those who you talk to when your Church is miles away? My take upon this situation was much like this: ‘is your city not big enough that you had to come here…?!’.

This is the kind of thing that convinces me that revivalism is more about self gratification than saving lives. If you’re so unsatisfied with that one person who’s made a commitment, that you go off in search of more instead of building them up, then you’ve got a problem.

Imagine this; you and a team of street evangelists go out on a Saturday and convert fifty new Christians. You all come away ecstatic and hyped up on your success and post a nice Facebook status along the lines of ‘50 new Christians, woop woop’. What percentage of that fifty will you see at Church tomorrow? 40 percent, 20, 10? Getting a buzz from seeing people saved is fantastic if you have the follow up to support it. Otherwise you might as well have converted them from Sky to Virgin. It’s like a cricket player, with the World’s best bat, who doesn’t know how to swing it.

My thinking goes like this. One disciple who truly understands faith, believes, trusts, surrenders and serves is much more worth while than one hundred people we’ve aimlessly and greedily told to love Jesus that never go on to do anything with their faith or just lose it. Luckily with the right approach creating lots of disciples from believers can be done, but we need to get our priorities right. 

Jesus had twelve disciples for a reason. He could concentrate on them, build firm relationships with them and teach them everything they needed to know to go out and make more disciples (Mat 29:19). He started small so that eventually His Church would be big. We need to copy His approach. 

Stop consuming the next big thing, looking for the next revival or hunting down the next notch on your pulpit post and start concentrating on those you already have, the here and now. You won’t be so worried if revival never comes, because revelation has already come to those close to you.

Ben

A Youth Worker

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Your Church Is...Not Professional Enough

Recently my brother told me of a relatively small Church that had spent £25,000 on a new media and sound system. I questioned why they thought that it was necessary to spend that much just to make two hours on a Sunday look and sound better.

Over my next three blogs, I'm going to nit-pick at a few things that really frustrate me about some Church's culture. This is not a one-man moan but more an attempt to open our eyes and build a Church that's concentrating on the right and important things.

I hate formality, in fact I actively seek to avoid it. Perhaps that's why I'm a youth worker. Formality never lets itself go and it puts up a big fat wall to anything that doesn't conform to the expected standard. It makes me cringe a bit too.

Last year I visited a nearly newly built 'Mega-Church' (to coin the phrase) and I had to admit that the building was fantastic, it had a great auditorium, good break out spaces and ample room for more than five hundred people. But, here's what disappointed me. As we were being shown around, the person giving us the tour starts to explain how he'd like the Church to be like 'Hillsong'. This worries me. So lets backtrack.

My brother and I have a code word for corny wannabe Church's, it happens to be 'Hillsong'. It's not an attack at Hillsong because we know that they do great work where they are...which is my point. Hillsong is Hillsong. They do what they do, where they are, for their communities, in the style that works for them. A mega-Church in Norwich is not Hillsong, will never be Hillsong and, most importantly, shouldn't be Hillsong! They should be the Church that their community needs, not a cheap tacky copy. Tribute bands are never the same as the original because the songs they sing are not authentically theirs. So neither should a Church be like a tribute band to another Church, that's silly. It's like saying, 'Oh Hillsong jumped off a cliff, let's do that too just in case that's what's in right now'.

I fear that as a Church we've lost what makes us truly appealing to people by trying to be what we think people want. The media tells us that big shows, lights, loud music, pitch-perfect singing, swanky buildings and pristine outfits are what people are looking for and we've been drawn in. The truth is, I used to believe that. I used to think that our youth clubs and events had to look the part and be professional, but they don't. When I tell people what it takes to be a youth worker now, I say, 'You just need to know how to listen' and it's the same for the Church. People want to be heard, they want to feel loved and be a part of something.

The media sucks us in to an imaginary perfect existence, but the Church is the people and we're not perfect. By trying to look professional we lose everything that the Church is meant to be. We're a community of real hurting broken people. We need to let go of the fear of people knowing what we're really like and start showing off our bad bits.

Imagine this; Someone walks in to a service, drowning in shame and guilt. He wants to be loved and accepted even though his self image is battered and ugly. He is greeted by two white teethed, perfectly dressed people, who guide him into the main auditorium. The service begins and the £25,000 sound systems launches to life with Chris Martin's protégé leading the first set of note perfect worship. Then the gleaming pastor jumps on stage, welcomes everyone and proceeds to tell the Church about his perfect life, using a few bible verses to explain how they can have a life like his too. The service ends and the newest attendee slips out the back, passing the Costa-rivalling coffee bar, trying not to be noticed. Nobody sees him but a man in the car park honks his BMW's horn as he crosses the road.

Okay so this is an exaggeration, but I've seen this kind of thing happen. I've seen people in Church's who care more about the sound system than they do about having real deep and meaningful relationships. This is crazy! If I cared more about my computer and TV than my family, we'd have no relationship at all and everyone would hate me. Apply this to those Church's who care more about their projector and iMac than their community and you get the same reaction.

If you want to spend £25,000 to get more people into your Church, don't spend it on looking professional. Spend it on things that people will really see. Give it to the family who've just lost their Dad. Give it to the old lady who's house just got burgled. Stop aiming for standards and aim for what counts most; people coming into a true and loving relationship with Jesus Christ. This will never happen if we care so much about our appearance that we never let our guard down to show people what we're like inside.

In the Bible, Jesus chooses a guy called Peter to build His Church on (Mat 16:18). Peter was a smelly fisherman, who denied the Messiah three times and started to sink, when he lost his faith, while walking on water. If he's our example, then perfection is not necessary for our Churches.

Your Church is not professional enough and that's fine by me. Be yourself, be accessible and be real.

Ben

A Youth Worker

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Change (Getting Engaged)

I want to be like my fiancé. See, unlike me, she had no idea when or how I would propose, only the hope that I would. When I finally plucked up the courage and asked her, she didn't even think about it but instead she yelped and said ‘yeah!’. No hesitation, just pure excitement and a little relief I guess.

I, on the other hand, had weighed up when, how and if I should propose to her for months before then. My excitement was more subtle and gradual as I had plenty of time to think deeply about what getting engaged would be like and how much she really means to me.

My relationship with God is a bit like that too. I became a Christian (officially*) in my early teens but I can’t pinpoint exactly when I decided that God was worth living for. It was a gradual change and I think that approach has stuck with me through other circumstances.

Now don’t get me wrong because I don’t think that it is always a bad thing to be slow and steady. Remember the Hare and the Tortoise. But in situations where God’s calling comes into play, I want to be like my fiancé. No hesitation, no chance to think about it for a long time before hand, no weighing up other options, just a big yelp and a yes!

I want God to make snap decisions for me and for me to take those decisions and go for it.

Ben

A Youth Worker

*If there is such a title for it

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The Hot Air Balloon

The other night, I was leaving Church after helping set up our youth club, to head off to one of my youth clubs in a village outside Norwich. As I was walking out of the door one of the leaders pointed at a hot air balloon in the distance through a gap in the trees. I quickly glanced, didn’t think much of it, said ‘oooh’ and carried on saying goodbye to everyone.

The youth club I run is about 25 minutes drive from where I live and I travel down the A47 looking out from the flyover across the city. Sometimes it’s beautiful, especially in the golden hours.

As I neared the villages where I work, I spotted the same air balloon from earlier and realised I was heading exactly in the right direction towards it. I ended up at the hall where I hold the youth club and the balloon could have only been a few more miles away from me. It got me thinking about my relationship with God currently. 

Do you ever feel like your trying to get closer and closer to God and what He has in store for you, but you never quite reach it?

I once wrote a song called 'Pull Me Closer', at a youth camp, when I was frustrated about not being able to get closer to God in the sung worship times. I would find myself standing on tip toes to try and reach higher. The song also explores some of my quirks, fears and worries, but explains how God is the only one who understands them and can come between them. I wanted Him to pull me closer and be the thing between me and my problems. 

The other night, I had to drive for nearly half an hour to get closer to the hot air balloon, but God is doing the opposite. He isn't waiting for us to draw nearer, He's actively seeking our love and attention. He's pulling us towards Himself because He's Jealous for our hearts, something He is very worthy of having. The ultimate example of this, is how He sent His son to die for us. If we are told to give our 10% tithe, He gave 100%, to prove His love and zeal for us.

So when your feeling far off from God, remember He's the one in control. He's like a cowboy with a lasso and He's not letting go.

Ben

A Youth Worker

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The Pigeon Man

Do you ever meet someone, and think, where did you come from? Well, that's what happened to me the other day.

I'd spent the day at a training course in the city and needed to walk from there to our band practice at a Church in Heigham Grove with laptop and guitar in hand. The weather was great and, I have to admit that while walking along Dereham Road I did my fair share of people watching, a fun sport. Someone had driven into a traffic light and pushed it over and a police lady called me 'Sir'. Good game, I think.

The community around that area of the city has a real buzz to it. I don't know if it was the good weather but everyone was friendly and chatty. The pubs were bubbly and people were even saying hello to the guy that you'd class as the resident 'crazy' (in the nicest way possible). 

I arrived at the Church about ten minutes too early, so I perched myself on the bike rack outside and pulled out my phone (today's boredom beating norm). As I was doing this I heard quite a few pigeons above me flying in and out of the small Church spire.

Just after realising I might be their next target, a guy with curly grey hair and a few golden teeth comes round the corner and calls over to me, "Make sure they don't s**t on ya'!". I laughed back as he opened the door to his house across the street. Moments later he comes out again with a tub full of bird seed and starts to feed the pigeons. He explained to me that they always recognise him and know when he's about to feed them. This started a long conversation and he asked about what we were doing at the Church tonight. He'd met many Christians from the Church before and it was good to talk to him about it. 

Eventually we shook hands and I walked in to band practice. It was interesting to meet someone who'd lived across the road from a Church for so long and heard a lot about what goes on there, but hadn't been before. I was glad that he had an open mind to what the Church does and I hope that one day he'll stick his foot through the door. 

I believe that Christianity is a life long walk of discipleship and discovery. Getting 'saved' is the first bit, not just a splash in the pan. We need to provide a community and family for people to grow in faith and love with Christ. For young people, this is more than essential in helping them to feel safe and develop, but just like the guy I met, knowing that people love and accept you is something we all need, even just to get us through the door.

The pigeons knew the man I spoke to, even when he looked different or walked the other side of the road. That is what our society needs to find in the Church. Even when we look different or sound different or act different, we carry the same seed, life giving seed from a God who loves us.

Pray for the pigeon man *winks*. 

Ben

A Youth Worker

[ayouthworker-blog]

The Day I Met Two Dinosaurs

This past weekend has been a busy one. It ended with a worship leading gig in Ipswich as part of our Chorus Congregational youth project, which was great fun, but started on Friday with a Mission Academies overnight residential.

For those who aren't up to date with the latest youth work initiatives (don't worry we aren't either really), Mission Academies is a part of Hope 14, encouraging young people to take up the banner and create their own missions. It's exciting to see brilliantly able young people getting active for the Gospel.....they do our jobs better than us....

On the Friday evening I'd finished leading worship and whilst walking to my van to drop off the guitar, I was approached by two young guys, dressed in dinosaur onesies, who had been camping with the Scouts on the same site. One was green and one was orange. We started a conversation and they asked what we were doing, so I explained that we'd brought a group of young people for an overnight Christian training residential. Green then started to say something to me in Jewish, but Orange quickly reminded him that Christians aren't quite Jews and I laughed but this started an interesting conversation.

Green went on to ask about communion and compared drinking Jesus' blood to a 'Dracula' type character (a classic question right....?). I told him that it was symbolic and we continued to chat for a while longer about music and what happens at Church. 

Eventually the dinosaurs said they needed to be off so we shook hands and I asked their names. Orange turned out to be called Tom and Green professed to be 'Stumposaurus'. I said that I'd hope to see them the next day. It was cool.

This experience taught me something great. By being accepting, open to questions, non-judgemental and relating through common interests, we can engage with young people on a human and real level. Young people don't want to know about our traditions, they want to know who we are and why Jesus has such an impact on our lives.

Forget the mumbo-jumbo and get real.

Ben A Youth Worker

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Deers, Headlamps & Moons

I'm writing this sitting on the floor of my room stareing up through my veluxe window at a beautifully clear and bright moon. There is no cloud cover and, as the house is asleep, there are no lights to distract me from its illumination. This is the most relaxed I've felt in a few days. On Saturday my brother and I were returning from a gig in North Walsham in both of our shared cars. Ones big and ones little, so they are both good for different things. As we travelled down the B1150 my brother, who was first in the convoy, was hit by a large deer and had to make an emergency stop. I managed to dodge him and pulled over by the side of the road, at which point I darted out of my car and ran to his rescue, like in some movie. Gladly he didn't need rescuing and was completely fine, the car sadly was not. Most of our small cars front bonnet was imprinted with the shape of the deer and the entire left light had disintegrated. We waited for about an hour to be recovered and thankfully we and our gear got home safe. In the wake of the accident, which truely was an accident, we've had the experience of handeling an insurance claim that has left us a good amount short of the original value we had paid for the car. Not a perfect situation for two young youth workers. It's made me feel a bit cheated and as if the whole insurance system is floored and possibly unfair. A discussion for another time maybe. But as I sit here looking at the moon, I remember how small my car and my money is in comparison to the greatness of our God. Put into that context I think that God can handle this little problem and get us back out there doing our work for Him. Maybe it's that time of year or maybe it's because we're doing some stuff that's dangerous in terms of stepping out in our faith but we've been hit hard lately with lots of problems. It's something that we're told can happen when the competition gets jealous of your passion and drive. If that is the case then I'm ready to fight back and keep going. I like competition. To quote the words of a good songsmith 'Keep your head up, keep your heart strong'. Ben A Youth Worker

[ayouthworker-blog]

A Privilege.

Yesterday evening, at one of my youth clubs, I had the privilege of starting two young people off on there journey of faith. The opportunity arose after the two of them had knocked on the door of their local incumbent vicar (one of my bosses) and asked to be confirmed. He then notified me of their intentions and the chance to talk to them came along.

My main aim of talking to them was to suss out where they were at with Jesus and the whole Christianity thing, because I didn't want them to jump in not really knowing what being a disciple is all about and the sacrifices you have to make to be a follower of Christ. The one thing that I have really noted from young people is that when they properly own something then they respect it and use it well. If knowing Jesus can be describe as "owning faith", then it is something young people need to do to have a life full of Christ where they respect the values and grow in Him. If they have just inherited faith from their parents then they might not feel that they own it or that they've made their own decision. They have to make the decision.

I'm hoping to get these young people (and even more hopefully!) to a point where they own what they believe and can honestly say "Yes, I believe Jesus died for me.". I want to see young people doing what I do by the time they're my age or even younger because they have a faith that knows no boundaries and can't be broken.

I have to say that the experience has probably been my favourite in the time I have spent in the job so far. The only thing that could top that is seeing them coming to know Christ as there true Lord and saviour and watching them grow into their own ministries. Happy days.

Ben

A Youth Worker

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This is my drive home from work after a youth club. Photos taken over a few weeks. It's good being a youth worker.

Ben

A Youth Worker

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A Divine Duty, A Problem (+ a new start)

As well as being a youthworker I’m also a worship leader (the musical type if you’re CC*). Maybe I should add that to my blurb? Although, if I added all the things I am to it, I might be in competition with one of Paul the Apostles opening chapters.

Lately I’ve been thinking about worship and why we do it. Lots of the time we get stuck in the idea that worship is there to make us feel better. That is correct, yes, but that shouldn’t be the reason why we do it or want to do it. Worship is about praising God for the wonders of His creation and thanking Him for sending His son to die for us.

My Church has morning and evening services. The mornings are usually more traditional and the evenings a bit more modern, with a worship band. I am guilty, as are probably most of us, of standing and singing hymns and not actually worshipping. Maybe because they're 'boring', slow or not 'modern enough'. Sometimes we can feel a bit tired and therefore standing for 20 minutes to sing might not be our first choice or maybe our friends aren't singing and we don't want to look 'uncool'. But here's the point (and maybe a problem), if we believe in God and Christ, we have an obligation to worship.

It is our divine duty to worship God.

God deserves the highest placement in our lives. He deserves our most honest and heartfelt love and adoration, because afterall He has done a fair bit for us! If we can't lay down our lazy habits or throw aside our 'morals' or 'image' for God, the one who has done immeasurably more than we can imagine, then we've got a problem.

I personally am trying my hardest in those morning services to keep my focus on the words and my worship. There are no penalties for when we forget or get lazy but the point is to keep on pursuing true worship every moment of the day.

On a side note. Today I start more hours for my job as a youthworker! Yay! It's like a new start because I can feel freer in my role. The future looks fun.

Ben

A Youth Worker 

*Churchically Correct

[ayouthworker-blog]

I'm off to work.....

Today I have two meetings, A youth group and band practice. I feel like a proper working man. 

Ben

A Youth Worker