The Personal Weblog of Travis Kaiser

We have some of the best youth workers in the world! Last night we had one of our high school youth worker meetings. We had a special guest come to train our group in a new curriculum that LifeWay wants us to test run. As the guest was teaching, I was looking around the room at the people who invest in our students on a regular basis. We have adults from all different backgrounds, experiences, life stages, and yet, God has unified us to serve the common purpose of shaping the lives of young people for the Kingdom! The team is so talented and I’m truly grateful that God has brought them to us.

I was reminded again how thankful I was for our adults in the middle of our meeting last night. We provided childcare on-site in order to make it easier for more adults to attend. One of the kids that needed to be watched was my own son Will. I wasn’t sure how many kids there would be (we have some young families who keep having date night) so I asked four of our high school girls to watch the children in the bonus room. As we were meeting you could here the pitter-patter of feet and bouncing balls. Our student ministry was coming full circle. The adults I was speaking to last night invest in our students, who were investing in the life of my son -RIGHT THEN. I was truly grateful!

If you’re a parent reading this, I wouldn’t wait one more week to meet the adults who invest in  your student(s). You owe a great amount of gratitude to them. They all do a lot that I know about, but I’m also sure they do things that I will never be aware of: phone calls on the way home from work, an arm around the shoulder of a teen just to encourage them, letters and cards mailed to students, events at their homes so teens can hang together, giving up family time to go on a retreat, giving up vacation time from work to go to camp, and the list goes on.

If you’re a student reading this, you better say “thank you”……often! Youth ministry is a thankless job. It’s very similar to parenting. You plan, you drive, you pay, you clean-up, you serve - and in the end you just get a wave out the door and a “see ya later”. Ha! A “thank you” to your Connect Group Leader will mean more than you know.

We are blessed as a church to have such great adult volunteers week-in and week-out working with our high school students. I’m confident that I could take this group of adults and go anywhere, do anything, and be successful.

Hey team - you guys are the best and thanks for being passionate about teenagers with me! Let’s go change the world!

For you parents reading this “rents” is a short form for you - parents!

I love parents. I love my parents. I love Mary Julia’s parents. I love my parents’ parents. And I love the parents in our church. For me, my parents have been the most influential people in my life. They trained me, guided me, encouraged me, disciplined me (see post from 10-17), supported me, and honestly, just loved on me.

 As I talk with parents today many of them do not feel that they are the most influential people in the lives of their teenagers. I know teenagers fold thier arms, say “I know” more than they should, and act like they’re giving the cold shoulder - but they’re listening. From our society, research, and the Bible, parents rule! Parents are the most important influencers in the lives of their children. Everyone knows it…..except parents.

For a great article on the importance of parents by Steve Wright click here. This is one of the best concise articles on parenting that I have seen in a long time.

As a youth pastor I have seen my fair share of worship bands. I have seen those who are in it for themselves - this is unfortunate. However, I have also seen plenty who love to do it for the Lord. One of those is the Chris White Band. These guys ROCK! The band members are Glenn Smith - bass, Chris Wang - drums, Taylor Martin - electric, and Chris on guitar and lead vocals.

I had the privilege of meeting Chris two summers when the band came to do our summer high school camp. It was a God moment - not because Chris is so cool but because of the great friendship and “iron sharpening” that has come out of that camp experience. Chris and the gang just wrapped up our fall student crusade and will be coming back next summer for another go round at summer camp.

Here’s why I love these guys:

1. They love Jesus - Chris and I go round and round with some Scripture and as a whole they love seeing students come to Christ, worship Him, and live radical lives for the King. It was out of a conversation with Chris that I developed the subtitle of my blog - Training Students to Be God-chasers!
2. They love Missions - Since Genesis God has been on His mission, the Missio Dei! As we live out Acts 1:8, making God famous from here to there, we are taking part in the Missio Dei. Out of Chris’ passion for missions he started Mobilizing Students to “help students spread the glory of God through global ministry.” If you use organizations to help with your mission trips this is the guy to do them with!
3. These guys are GOOD! Our students love the Chris White Band! They can sing, play, and lead people in worship. Those three things on top of a pure heart for the Lord makes for a dynamic worship band.
4. They’re fun! Who doesn’t love fun people?

As a youth pastor I greatly appreciate what this band is all about - making Christ famous all over the world and doing it through students!

Mary Julia and I were having a discussion the other day about our son Will and discipline. God brought to mind one of my favorite passages of Scripture, Psalm 127:3-5a which says, “Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.” I’m not sure what a “full quiver” will be for our family but I do know that we would like a lot of kids. Part of raising children is the undeniable fact that they need to be disciplined. When Will disobeys I can guarantee there will be consequences. It’s just a fact of life and sometimes those consequences include discipline from his parents. If I love him enough I will get beyond that cute, adorable face of his and discipline him. It’s tough sometimes but I want to be an arrow maker.

As our conversation carried on, Mary Julia brought up Hebrews 12:5-6, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those the loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.” When first reading those words they sound kind of painful. However, they are really words of love. I discipline my son out of my love for him. It is my God-given responsibility to make him a sharp arrow for the Kingdom. In order for that to happen I must guide him and discipline him to chip away everything that doesn’t look like an arrow. Remember, crooked arrows don’t fly straight. Our conversation ended with a greater sense of God disciplining us in order to make us more like Him. If He needs to, God will painstakingly chip away from us those things that do not look like Him. Why? Because anything that does not look like Him in our lives is only harmful to us. How mighty is His love that He would love me enough to discipline me!

PS – If you’re wondering – NO scripture does not come up in all our conversations. I’m not as spiritual as she is.

After much consideration I am now joining the blogosphere. I must admit that I have harassed my friends Dustin and Brandon about their blogging for a long time. I have now been sucked into this crazy world of posting my thoughts for everyone to see. It is actually from Dustin’s blog that I want to start my first post, a list he created about actively participating in worship.

For weeks now before Connect Groups our high school students have heard me say “engage today”. By “engage” I mean squeezing out every opportunity of the morning to learn from God’s Word and enjoy spending time with each other. As our pastor blogged a few days ago about being at war, we cannot take too lightly our privilege to be together in worship without fear of persecution.

In Hebrews 10:23-25 it says “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur on another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Whether you are in a Connect Group, a worship service, River’s Edge, camp, retreat, or conference, here are some tips to help you actively participate in worship.

1. Bring your Bible, a notebook, and a pen – everytime
2. Be consistent in attendance – that means weekly
3. Invite and bring friends and neighbors to corporate worship
4. Sing ENTHUSIASTICALLY - especially the men!
   • Think about the lyrics
   • Focus on worship – don’t get distracted by later activities, work, etc.
   • Feel free to raise your hands or close your eyes while you sing
   • Draw others into corporate worship
5. Do not be a distraction – this includes talking, using the phone, and writing notes
6. Look for visitors around you and make them feel welcome
7. Greet people around you who seem disconnected
8. Take good notes
   • Write down key points and supporting ideas
   • Keep eye contact – except when you’re writing of course!
   • Jot down specific areas of application
   • Focus on your time of prayer
   • Don’t be afraid to respond publicly
   • Take points of impact with you
9. Do not close your Bible and put your things away towards the end of the sermon – it’s distracting
10. Stay until the end – often times great things happen at this point
11. After corporate worship, look to minister to others

You can check out Dustin’s blog here - http://eaststudentministry.wordpress.com/