Why I Will Never Apologize for Reaching Out to Young Men

I was recently caught up in a disagreement about my desire to train and reach young men, as well as to develop adult male leaders. This is something that I will never apologize for doing.

this does not mean that I am a misogynist or that I believe women are inferior to men. God has blessed both men and women to serve the Body of Christ; we are all blessed to have different roles and abilities that have been uniquely given in order to complement those around us.

I will reach out to young men because I believe that God has called them to lead the church. We need young men who will step up to that responsibility. Too many men in our society (and church) have shirked their God-given responsibility to serve as leaders. I want to reverse this.

I will reach out to young men because God has called them to lead their families. While they may not have family leadership responsibilities yet, the training in the Bible they receive will assist them in the future.

I will reach out to young men in order to train them to be an example to others. I desire a student ministry that is a shining light to the dark world around them, and I want to see the young men stepping up and leading that charge.

I will do these things, but never to the exclusion of the girls. I will seek to disciple and train the young women to be godly young women. Of course, I can only go so far because I am a man. I can, however, train the young men to be godly men.

I will never apologize for doing that.

Tips for Using Humor in Youth Talks

It's always a good thing to make students laugh. When you get them laughing, they are much more likely to listen to what you have to say. That's why even the most serious movies have humorous parts. What are the two memorable parts of The Avengers? Those funny scenes with the Hulk.

However, it's not easy to use humor in your talks. Some people can do it, some people need to practice. Here are a few tips to remember when you are using humor with your students.

• Make sure your humor fits the occasion. Some people try to use humor just to use humor. I once heard a sermon where the speaker spent 10 minutes telling jokes that had absolutely nothing to do with his message. I'm not sure if he was nervous or what, but he lost a good portion of his audience before he even got started. If you have a humorous story, make sure it fits the flow of your sermon and not just being used to kill time.
• Make sure that your humor is appropriate. This should be a no-brainer, but you would be surprised at how many people don't get it. Your students don't need to hear your sexual innuendos, your political jokes, or your slightly off-colored comments. Yes, most of us have middle-school (and high school boys) who love the sound of bodily functions, but they are best to be avoided. Remember, when you stand in your pulpit or platform, you are representing the Almighty to your students.
• Make sure you can pull off the humor you are attempting. You might think you are Mitch Hedberg or Jim Gaffigan, or even Dave Chappell, but you aren't. And since you aren't, it's best not to try to act like them. Just be yourself and attempt humor that fits you. If you can't do it, don't attempt it. You'll just look foolish...and not in a good way.

Hopefully you are attempting to use humor in your youth talks and sermons. There is no better way to win over a crowd. Just make sure that you are using the humor correctly and in a God-honoring manner.

Thank You, FBC Kingstowne

Over the past two years or so, I have had the opportunity to preach at First Baptist Church of Kingstowne. I was called and asked to preach there yesterday. As always, it was a wonderful experience. There are some great people at this church and I always leave feeling encouraged from being with them. Even though I don't see them but every couple of months, I feel like the members of the church are good friends and I look forward to the next time I can be with them.

I would ask that you pray for the church. They have been looking for a pastor for some time and I believe that the right pastor is out there for them. Please pray that God shows the church leadership who that individual is. They are located in a great area and it is my belief that they will continue to be a light to their community, one that will glow even brighter in the years to come.

Thank you, FBC Kingstowne, for your friendship and encouragement. I am truly blessed from my time(s) with you.

Preaching from a Tablet - Yes or No?

There has been some discussion as of late as to whether a preacher should use an iPad or other device when speaking to a group. Some say yes, some say no. Personally, I nearly always preach from either my Kindle or an iPad. Here are some reasons why.

1. Preaching from a device keeps me on track. I type up my notes and load them as a PDF onto the device. This prevents me from losing my notes or having the pages get mixed up. There is nothing worse than losing your place on the paper or having one of your sheets fall out.
   
2. The device is more efficient. With just a swipe of my finger, I can go to the next page or go back to a previous page. There is no shuffling of notes or pages to drop.
   
3. Putting my notes on a device is more economical. Let's face it, paper and ink cost money. The average sermon outline is around 4 pages and the average manuscript can run up to about 10 pages (well, if you are verbose like me). Those little ink cartridges are expensive and they always seem to run short on the day I am supposed to preach. Putting my notes or manuscripts on my device lets me use as much color and "ink" as I want without the fear of running out or having to shell out $20 just to print my maunscript.
   

I have had the privilege to preach from a Kindle, Kindle Fire, and an iPad. All have their benefits, but I think the best option is the iPad. The screen is bigger and it is much easier to flip to the next page just by swiping. The Kindle Fire is also a good option, but the screen is a bit smaller.

How to Handle "Well, How Did It Go?" After a Sermon

I don't get to preach nearly as much as I would like. I am assuming a lot of that has to do with the fact that I am not even a pastor yet (I'm sure you probably gathered that from the blog title). Anyway, when I do get to preach, inevitably I'm going to be given a lot of encouragement, followed by the question, "Well, how did it go?" I never know what to say in these instances. Thankfully, Brian Croft has offered some great suggestions. I will list the headlines and you can visit his blog to get the details.

• Receive the encouragements now.
  
• Store away the criticisms for Tuesday morning.
  
• Look forward to Service Review later that evening (something I need to implement).
  
• Recognize your work is done.
  

If you are interested in reading the full article, please visit the site.