Reformation Day

I strongly dislike halloween. There, I said it. Now all of you can put rocks in my candy bag. The reason why I dislike it, however, is not solely based on what happens during Halloween but what we have allowed halloween to eclipse. October the 31st should be remembered for a far greater reason.

490 years ago to this very day, Martin Luther authored a list of discussion points called the 95 Theses and nailed them to a church door (which was not impolite considering that church doors in those days were the equivalent of our modern day blogs). In a way you could say that Martin Luther was one of the first bloggers of note.

These 95 Theses fed a groundswell that had been brewing in Europe for many years. The result was a movement we call the Protestant Reformation. I could take hours to enumerate the many wonderful benefits that came about as a result of the Reformation including the restoration of the gospel as the message of salvation and the translation of the Bible into languages the masses could understand. So what am I getting at? Well, in my humble opinion halloween should be replaced with Reformation Day. Think of all the valuable lessons and prayers that we could incorporate to turn this pagan and commercial endeavor into a Kingdom building endeavor. The possibilities are limitless and have far more virtue and value than just pranks and candy. So its out with halloween and in with Reformation Day! Who is with me?

Legacy

In my desk is a yellow sheet of paper. It is fitting that this sheet of paper is a golden color, because that is what this paper is worth to me. I have many heroes in life, but my top two are my dad and my granddad, Jack.

Jack went to be with the Lord a little over a year ago. He taught me many things. He taught me to fish. He taught me to drive. He taught me to sacrifice and be disciplined, although I hated it at the time. He was oldschool and as my brother said to me at Jack's funeral, they don't make men like Jack anymore. He was from Deep Creek, VA which is in the Chesapeake Bay area. The picture above is of Deep Creek. He was a self made man and was very successful.

Jack gave me many gifts throughout my life, but none is more valuable than that yellow sheet of paper. The day I graduated highschool Jack presented me with that sheet of paper. It was in a leather dop kit and I didn't pay it much attention at the time. Now it represents a legacy from grandfather to grandson and from grandson to my sons. The words on the page are simple. It is a to do list of 7 things. These 7 values govern who I am and they will be invested in my kids as they grow up. Jack wanted me to sacrifice, be disciplined, be motivated, have ambition, get an education, establish priorities and to KNOW the book of Proverbs.

This is Hickman family legacy for success from one of the most successful men I have ever known.

Weekend Update: Huckabee Gaining Ground

Let me be clear that the authors of this blog are in no way endorsing any candidate for president...yet, but there is one who has been getting our attention lately. Gov. Mike Huckabee has certainly made it clear where he stands on moral issues such as the sanctity of life, and marriage. He is gaining ground despite the lack of commitment he has received from the people who share his values. Here for your consideration is a video and an article from Townhall.com by noted conservative columnist Michael Medved that can be found here. Many are squawking that Huckabee is a long-shot who is underfunded and unelectable. My response: Me thinks thou dost protest too much.

My Truth: A Sign Of The Times

The old phrase that goes, "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth" has reached its expiration date. Like the milk in the old carton way back in the refrigerator, truth has been sniffed on and succinctly discarded. I saw this relativistic mentality so poignantly demonstrated in the book display in the picture you see here. No longer, so we are told, should we refer to the truth but should refer to it as "my truth".

I have no gripe with Stephen Colbert per se it's just that his attempt at humor represents something that has gone horribly wrong with our values system. What's really scary is that its not just non-Christians who accept this view of truth. The "my truth" philosophy has its claws deeply entrenched in the Church and in the family. It takes a soul that is sensitive and alert to Satan's subtle encroachments to see how the Christian milk carton is also starting to sour.

The only means for preventing this spoilage in our families and churches is to be pasteurized by exposure to God through prayer and meditation on His Word. For student pastors that may mean spending more time planning and conducting Biblically grounded teaching than pizza bashes and lock-ins. For parents this may mean dad turning off the TV and getting the whole family around the couch for family worship. Whatever measure is called for, the time for implementing it is now before "my truth" becomes the only truth and leaves us with no truth.

Mea Culpa: Clarity Matters

There is an old saying that goes, "If you don't like the message, don't shoot the messenger." Well in this case, this messenger deserves to be shot a couple of times. I'm afraid that in my eagerness to follow a lead, I have overstepped my bounds. Having thus confessed, let me make something crystal clear.

This blog and its authors do not agree with the particulars of how Dr. Patterson handled the firing of Dr. Sherri Klouda.

What we have a real problem with are the un-Christian tactics that many have resorted to because of this action. Further, we affirm the Biblical teaching of proper male leadership in both the home and the church. That's all we are saying. I apologize if I confused anyone in this regard. So I invoke the words of good old Alexander Pope...

To err is human; to forgive, divine.

God's Organizational Chart

I'm always a bit hesitant to broach this subject if for no other reason it can be so easily misconstrued. Whether you like it or not, God has a structure for how families and churches are to be led and that structure rests on males and females fulfilling their given roles. When that order is compromised for the sake of being "politically correct" or "culturally enlightened" then nothing but moral breakdown ensues.

This issue has recently come to the fore-front by the decision of Dr. Paige Patterson to release Dr. Sherri Klouda from the faculty at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. According to an interview in the Associated Baptist Press, Dr. Patterson was quoted as saying...

"This is not a question of occupation. It is a question of an assignment from God, in this case that a woman not be involved in a teaching or ruling capacity over men."

As a result of his statements many liberal individuals and agencies have used hateful and slanderous language as a means to assassinate Dr. Patterson's character. Now while Dr. Patterson and the authors of this blog may not see eye to eye on the issue of the doctrines of grace, we are passionate about defending his character and moral fiber. I applaud Dr. Patterson for his stance and I pray that all evangelicals regardless of denominational difference will rally behind him for his decision to follow God's organizational chart even at the expense of his privacy and well being.

reThink: It Makes You Go Hmmmmm?

There is a collective hmmmmmmm that is emanating from the student ministry community. It seems to be caused by a sudden desire of many student ministers to reThink student ministry. I am very pleased to have had a small hand in this endeavor and I highly encourage you if you haven't gotten your copy or if you have no idea about what I am talking about to surf on over to www.inquest.org and see what all the buzz is about.

If you have already gotten and read your copy of reThink, be sure to go to the amazon page here and rate the book and leave comments. If you have friends who haven't read the book be sure to pass the word along. I hope that reThink will get in the hands of anyone who is involved in student ministry.

If you would like to see what others are saying about this book click here. If you would like to purchase a copy click here.

Just being honest...

As Mike and I set about promoting the newly released book reThink I feel it is necessary to admit a couple of things. First and foremost this book is written by my boss, Steve Wright. Steve is the student pastor at Providence Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC. This is where I serve as middle school pastor and where Mike leads the discipleship arm of our student ministry. Whenever your boss writes a book and you have any sort of platform to promote it, you ought to do so. That is a secondary reason for honesty here.
A primary reason for honesty is that not only is Steve my boss, he is my mentor and one of my greatest friends. I met Steve just over 12 years ago when I was an 18 year old seeking to find my way back to my faith. Steve, Tina and their two kids at that time, had recently come to my "home" church to serve as student pastor. My sister, who was active there, saw the many errors in my life and had a heart to see her big brother loving Jesus again. She went to Steve and he stuck one of his leaches (who still to this day is one of my best friends) on me and 12 years later Steve still can't get rid of me.
Mike and I have written much over the last few months about the state of student ministry to be sure, but larger picture the state of the church in general. The goal of this book is to get our church leaders today to rethink the way they do ministry.
I want to encourage anyone in ministry to read this book and to make sure that all of their friends in ministry read this book. I want this to happen not because I want my friends book to do well, but because honestly, we really do need to rethink the way we do things.

If you would like to see what others are saying about this book click here. If you would like to purchase a copy click here.

Special Weekend Update: reThink release

TwoInstitutions.Org is excited to announce the official release of reThink. We will be featuring this revolutionary work on student ministry by author Steve Wright over the next few posts. In the meantime if you would like to see what others are saying about this book click here. If you would like to purchase a copy click here.

It's The Gospel Truth, Really, I Mean It!

Your youth calendar is irrelevant. Your facilities, yep, they are irrelevant too. Dare I say it, even your magnificent charm and personality don't matter. The only real thing of value that you have to give your students is the Good News of Jesus sinless life, death, burial, and resurrection on the third day. That my friends is the Gospel Truth!

I came to this realization a while back and it has totally transformed how I approach ministry. Somewhere in our education we pick-up this nasty disconnect that leads us to believe that with the right youth event we can change the world. So we go to conferences, buy books, and network with big time youth ministry players to find the secret recipe to youth ministry success. The sad thing about it is the answer has been right in front of our faces all along. Only the gospel has the power to change a life. Whats even more profound is that this transformation is not limited to salvation. Not by a long-shot. The Gospel is just as crucial to sanctification as it is to justification.

Now before you start accusing me of progressive salvation, hear me out. Justification is a one-time irrevocable decision that is based on the sovereign election of God. (Okay, now I've already ticked off you arminians and free-willers) Sanctification, however, is a process. It is a process of grinding out the gospel everyday. It is a process whereby we begin to die daily to sin, deny ourselves, and take up our cross so that we can experience life more abundantly. That is the gospel message. It saves once and for all and it sanctifies us day by day.

Think back to that ordination service. I know for many of you that seems like forever ago. Do you remember what you were charged to do and what you were called? A minister of the gospel. So either your ordination board thought that you would only ever preach to lost people or maybe the gospel should be the centerpiece for our ministry to believers as well. The plain fact is that everything we do in ministry should be tainted by the gospel message. We should never tire of the gospel and it should drive how we approach ministry. So before you spend another 50 bucks on a handbook for youth games don't forget that the most important element required cost you nothing but cost Jesus everything.

Why Ministry Stinks

Yesterday our church celebrated its 29th anniversary. Praise God for His faithfulness and his protection. Last night at our celebration service I was reminded once again why being in ministry stinks.
There is a young couple that goes to our church and recently they found out they were pregnant. To get quickly to the point, there were some complications that arose. Everything is fine now and mom and baby are in the clear, but I forgot about that for some odd reason last night. Since I forgot that point, my focus and attention was on them last night as we sang "Blessed Be Your Name", especially the part that says "You give and take away." My emotions were getting the better of me and I was wishing more than anything that at that moment I didn't know what that couple was going through. Had I remembered that all was well, I could have been rejoicing for that couple instead of letting my heart hurt for them.
The point of all of this is that whether good or bad in my human mind, God works His will. To me that makes ministry stink. As a human being I long for things to work out the way I feel they should. I don't like the fact that God receives glory and pleasure when things go bad. Not only do I not like it, I often times despise it. And yet God is calling me to love, praise and adore Him and celebrate His goodness in the storm as much as in sunshine.
In ministry you not only know about your own storms, but you also find out about way too many other people's as well. I'm sorry, but my storms are bad enough. I don't want to know about yours, but unfortunately I have to and I have to like it. That is why ministry stinks.

Leaving A Legacy

I am not married and I have no children of my own. I am blessed to have a niece and nephew that I love as if they were my own. It amazes me how much, even as an uncle, I wish I could spend more time with my brothers children. What is even more astounding to me is how some dads can leave their kids in day cares or after school programs so that they can work that job and make more money. I guess its easy for me to ask, but will a dad ever regret losing a promotion or a raise so that he can know and be known intimately by his children? Let me get even more personal; will a student pastor ever regret brushing off his kids so that he can spend more time with other peoples children? Just a question for thought.

I would love to get some feedback from you youth pastor or pastor dads on how you balance or balanced your ministry and your family? What are priorities that you have established to maintain your integrity and leave a godly legacy for your children. I think single guys like me could learn from you and maybe there are some dads out there who need your admonishment. Lets get a dialog going.

A Follow Up

As a follow up to Mike's post from the weekend, I wanted to comment on intelligence. Many of us out there are probably like the guy with the shovel. Somtimes it takes intelligence hitting us in the face for us to realize that we don't have any. The church is like that as whole sometimes as well, and that shouldn't come as a shock when we see the people that are leading it today. I think many times we need to examine ourselves to make sure we aren't a shovel hit away from hurting ourselves and others for the sake of the Gospel.

If you are a subscriber to Group Magazine or if you can just get your hands on one, I would encourage you to go and read their July/August issue. It has an article titled "5 Unforgivable Mistakes". Sometimes all it takes is for us to admit that we lack intelligence to begin gaining it.