Book Review - A Radical Idea by David Platt

I recently finished the booklet A Radical Idea by David Platt. Platt is the pastor of a church in Alabama, as well as the author of Radical and Radical Together, both of which have been bestsellers and have had a profound on the way that many do church in America.

The booklet A Radical Idea is a short consolidation of the ideas that were presented in Radical and Radical Together. Platt is seeking to convict individuals of the way that most view the church. Instead of viewing church as a gathering of individuals who are equipped to serve and minister to others, many view the church as an opportunity to be ministered to and to bring their friends so that they can be served by the professionals who run the church. Platt wants to turn this idea on its head. His desire, using Scripture as his basis is to have the pastors equip the people of the church to mobilize and serve those around them, sharing the Gospel as they go.

Most, if not all, of the material presented in this short booklet was culled from his previous two books. As such, if you have read Radical or Radical Together, very little of what is presented here will be new or groundbreaking. These booklets are, however, an excellent introduction to the writings and ideas of Platt. It is my belief that they would serve great for a discussion group or a discipleship program. I would suggest them, but not in place of the full discussion provided in the full texts.

I was provided with a free copy of A Radical Idea by Waterbrook Multnomah in exchange for a review of the book. I was asked to provide an honest review of the work, not necessarily a positive one.

You can read my review of Radical Together here.

Youth Ministry Games - Mystery Meat

To be honest, this game has absolutely nothing to do with the delicious canned meat product known as Spam. I just used the picture to get your attention. Clever, huh?

Mystery Meat is actually a game designed to get your students up and moving around. The goal is to have all of your students find their partners as quickly as possible.

Here are the items you will need in order to get the game going:

• Note cards
• A black marker
• Tape

On the note cards, write the name of a fast-food restaurant (McDonald's, Chick-Fil-A, Burger King, etc.) and an item that is specifically found at that restaurant on another card. For example, one pair might be McDonald's and Big Mac or Chick-Fil-A and waffle fries.

Have the students line up and tape a card to each student's back. When the signal is given, students may walk around and ask Yes or No questions about their cards, but they may not look at the cards. Questions can include, "Am I served on bread?", "Am I opened on Sundays?", or "Am I made of beef?".

Continue the game until all pairs have been matched.

I Can't Even Begin to Tell You How Exciting Last Night Was

Our church has Bible study on Wednesday evenings. At the present time, we have Bible study for adults and for our teenagers. There are plans to branch that out, but those things take prayer and time.

For the first two months that I have been on staff, our youth group has averaged about four people each Wednesday night. I am extremely thankful for those students and their faithfulness. Tonight, however, was different.

I have been teaching off and on, but I will be taking over the teaching full-time at this point. With that in mind, I began to make a concerted effort to invite the students out. I fired off text messages and Facebook comments, inviting all the students I have on Facebook. I was hoping for about 8-10.

Imagine my surprise when THIRTEEN students came in! It was incredible! We did some announcements, played a game called "Mystery Meat", and voted on a name for our Wednesday evening service. Our time together is now called, "Awakening!" After those activities were finished, we studied Colossians 5:1-17, looking at how we are free from the slavery of the law and how we should be sharing the good news of our freedom from sin.

Last night was a win for God's Kingdom. It was an answer to prayer. My heart is bursting with excitement. Our God is good!

Do You Remember Getting Your First iPhone?

Okay, I don't, but that's because I don't have an iPhone.

I do remember getting my first iPod Touch. It was a gift from a wonderful family who I had the privilege of teaching both their children. I remember thinking it was the most amazing invention on the planet. I spent all kinds of time reading about it, playing with it, downloading apps for it, loading music onto it. My iPod Touch was incredible. I was completely in awe of such an amazing tool. The day my iPod broke was devastating to me. I couldn't wait until the time came when I could purchase another one.

How many of you have felt the same way about something? Maybe it was a new toy. Maybe it was a new car. It might have even been a girlfriend or boyfriend. Everyone can remember something that they had or wanted that absolutely consumed them.

That is the feeling of desire we should be attempting to foster in our students. We should be teaching them the Bible in such a way that they are hungering and thirsting for more of it. They are so excited about hearing the Word of God that they cannot wait until Sunday or Wednesday and they are telling all of their friends about it and inviting them to church.

So why isn't that happening? Why aren't our students that excited about church and the Bible? Could it be that we don't exhibit the same desire we want from our students? Are we so consumed with the desire for God's Word that it is spilling out of us?

If not, let's start there.

Reflections on Spirit Night at Chick-Fil-A

This past week, our youth ministry partnered with the local Chick-Fil-A to host a Spirit Night. For those of you unfamiliar with Spirit Night, the concept is that Chick-Fil-A will allow your group to come into the restaurant for dinner. For every patron who purchases food and tells the cashier that they are with your group, your group will receive 15% of their bill. The more promoting that your group does in conjunction with the event, the more people who will attend and the more money your group will raise. It is also a benefit to Chick-Fil-A because the increase in business results in an increase in revenue.

We promoted the Spirit Night like crazy. Some kids from the youth group and I made a promotional video that we showed in church. It was a big success and we are still getting compliments on it. We posted reminders on our church's Facebook page and put a flyer in the church bulletin.

The night of the event, the restaurant was full. It was a wonderful to visit with families and to enjoy a meal together. There was a lot of laughter, smiles, and hugs. I am proud to say that the good people of Charles Town Baptist Church came out to support the youth ministry in a huge way. I was so happy to see so many of my friends there and it was obvious that they were enjoying themselves.

While I don't know the exact amount that our youth ministry was able to raise just yet, I am confident that it was a substantial amount and will go a long way to help cover the costs of the events we have planned in the coming months. I also received many positive comments from members of the church and I am confident that another Spirit Night in the future will be an even greater success.

If you haven't seen (and didn't follow the link above!), here is the video we made.

Youth Ministry Games - Blind Pudding Cup Challenge

When I was in college, I remember the campus pastor telling a story about a youth group game that he did where he blindfolded some students and had them feed bananas to each other. There was a serious point to the story, but I don't really remember what it was. Anyway, that story gave the idea for a great game. It is called the Blind Pudding Cup Challenge.

Here is what is needed for each team:

• Two players
• A chocolate pudding cup (other flavors can be used)
• A plastic spoon
• A blindfold

The players line up front to back. The student in the back puts his arms through the student in the front's arms. The student in the back is then blindfolded and handed a cup of pudding and a spoon. When the signal is given to begin, the student in the back must use the spoon to feed the pudding to the student in the front. Hilarity will ensue when the pudding ends up everywhere but inside the front student's mouth.

It might be a good idea to provide the students with aprons or shirts to keep their clothes from getting covered.

Giveaway Winner Announcement

I am happy to announce that the winner of the giveaway is Josh Evans. Josh left a comment and "Liked" the Facebook page. For being selected, Josh will receive a free copy of Viral by Leonard Sweet.

I appreciate all of you entered the giveaway. Please be on the lookout for more giveaways in the future.