As everyone now knows, multiple tornadoes recently touched down in the greater Oklahoma City area including a massive EF5 twister which ripped through the town of Moore, OK during the afternoon of May 20^th. We have all seen the horrific images of homes and lives shattered. But most have also seen uplifting stories of heroism, reunited loved ones, encouragement and even hope for the future. For wherever you find pain and destruction; you will also find people reaching out to help one another. LEAD222 has always placed paramount importance on service; that is the purpose of our Servant Leadership (SL) experiences – to help develop servant-minded leaders through hands-on service to those in need. And so we are looking at ways in which to serve the people of Moore.

This would not be LEAD’s first such relief effort. In 2007 LEAD was in Mississippi to assist in rebuilding efforts following Hurricane Katrina. In 2009 LEAD went to Cedar Rapids, IA to help folks affected by the unprecedented flooding of the Cedar River the summer before. And today we are looking for tangible ways to help those affected by the tornados in the greater Oklahoma City area. Physically, the LEAD community will have a presence in Moore with a Servant Leadership Experience the second week of June (SL13 OKC). That event is near capacity, but if you feel led to participate you can contact Tim Mannin (tmannin@lead222.com) to check on available space. Due to time and space restrictions, SL13 OKC will have a maximum capacity of between 150-185 participants.

Beyond the physical (boots on the ground) presence in the Oklahoma City area, LEAD has created a monetary relief fund called “Need in LEAD (OKC Disaster Fund)”. Our initial estimates are that LEAD will lose approximately $5000 through putting on this Servant Leadership Experience. We know the generous hearts of the LEAD community and so we would prayerfully ask you to consider contributing to this fund – whatever you can give: $1, $5, $50 will help make a difference. 100% of monies received will go directly to funding SL13 OKC. Any monies received beyond this $5000 level will be donated to churches directly affected by these tornadoes. All donations will be tax deductible; here are the ways in which you can contribute:

1. Give online by going to our donation page and select the Need in LEAD (OKC Disaster Fund) from the pull-down menu
2. Donate via Text Message.  Consider sharing with your students this Sunday about our efforts. Using a smart-phone and debit/credit card they can donate $5 or more dollars during church. Text 50155 with the message LEAD followed by a space and the amount they want to give to. (For example: texting “LEAD 5” to 50155 will send them to a link to pay $5.)

I also ask for your prayers of protection, administration and execution of LEAD’s undertaking in these relief efforts. As I have said many times in the past, I am so thankful for each and every one of you and for having the privilege of leading this community of Godly men and women. Keep dreaming big to change youth ministry culture through coaching and mentoring.

Serving Together

Bo Boshers
President, LEAD222

For example, it’s easy to get so busy that we miss relationships. Isn’t it interesting that what was supposed to be beneficial in our time has seemed to complicate our lives? Instead of investing in relationships and loving people for who they are, we have jam packed our schedules that we often struggle with putting first things first. (Yes, I am struggling with this right now.) We often are such people-pleasers that we want to make everyone happy, so we have people pulling at us from all sides.

Here are some reminder tips that may help all of us to have integrity with others:

• Set your schedule with your spouse.
• Don’t let others dictate your schedule—the phone is to be a convenience, not an inconvenience. If people need you, they can leave a message.
• Don’t take calls on date nights, during family meals, or family nights.
• Let your yes be yes and your no be no. Don’t beat around the bush to make someone happy. Saying yes to one thing means saying no to something else. Guard your time with your family.
• Make few promises. It’s better to do something you didn’t commit to than not to follow through with a promise. When you tell someone you are going to call them, you are making a promise.
• Delegate. We are not as important as we think we are. Remember, your job and ministry will go on without you and probably do quite well. In most cases, you aren’t the first one in that role. Your family and your health won’t go on without you; you are vital to those areas.
• Fulfill your commitments. If you commit to doing something, follow through. For example, pay your debts on time. Not paying your bills on time, except in extreme circumstances, is not following through on a promise.

We have talked about integrity to God, family, and others, but what about having integrity with ourselves? I know I am about to tread in some deep water, but I think it’s important for us to do some introspection. How much integrity do we have to our emotional, physical, and financial health? As pastors we often can have integrity in our other relationships, but when it comes to ourselves, we don’t. As a professional group, pastors aren’t known for taking care of themselves physically or emotionally. Here are some tips to help us in this area:

• Take a day off to emotionally recharge; don’t do anything ministry related.

• Take a half or full day for prayer time quarterly.

• Take a yearly visioning retreat to recharge.

• See a counselor at least once a year for a checkup.

• Take up a hobby that isn’t connected to ministry.

• Exercise. You owe it to yourself, your family and your people. Little things matter; just twenty minutes four times a week equals dozens of hours of exercise over the year. It will make a difference.

• Watch what you eat, and tell someone you are on a plan. You owe it to yourself and your family to take care of God’s temple.

• Give God 10 percent of your income and save a minimum of 10 percent for the future. You say you can’t on your salary? Then start with some percentage and raise that annually.

• Set a plan to be debt-free.

• Other than house, car, and school loans, be careful about buying anything you don’t have the cash to pay for.

• Set a budget and stick to it.

• Remember, little things matter. 15 minutes a day adds up to more than 91 hours at the end of the year. That’s more than two 40-hour work weeks. Twenty dollars a week adds up to more than $1,000 a year and $10,000 in 10 years.

Integrity isn’t to be compartmentalized in one area. We owe it to God, family, others, and ourselves.

“May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you” (Psalm 25:21 niv).

By Dave Keehn, Associate Professor @ Biola University/Christian Ministries

There is a pressure that is constantly battling around us to give people whatever they want. When you are younger it was labeled peer pressure.  However, as we grow older the peer pressures continues throughout life, we just call them “Expectations”…  and you get them from everyone: family, friends, co-workers, and members of your church, even from yourself.  The truth is we cannot escape all expectations… but we can choose whose expectations we will obey!

Why do we live by the expectations of others, even when sometimes they are harmful or wrong?  Two possible reasons: F.O.F. and F.O.P.  Some of us have a Fear of Failure, and so we assume Perfectionist / Over-Achieving behavior.  We cannot stop producing for others out of the fear that we will be seen as a failure.  This is related in many ways to a Fear of People, and what they will think of us.  This fear causes us to get on the never-ending treadmill of People Pleasing behavior.  Both of these fears create a level of expectations that we try to live up to that cause us to make bad physical, emotional and spiritual choices, eventually leading to catastrophic events.  We run the risk of long-term damage to our health, relationships and ministry, living in spiritual bankruptcy as we feel we can no longer connect with God.

Exodus 32 is an example of the tragic results that come from trying to live up to the expectations of others.  In this season of the Hebrew history, Moses is with God, getting the rules of Covenant (i.e. Law, 10 commandments, etc.), but has been delayed in coming down from the mountain.  The people gathered together around Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us”(vs. 1).  And Aaron obeyed the expectations of the people.  Why?  Was he afraid of them, or in his new leadership was he trying to please them?  Either way, by obeying the expectations of others –Aaron sinned (vs. 2-4) and led others into sin as well.  But God was not pleased – His anger burned against them.  And Aaron and the people suffered dearly for his living by the expectations of others (vs. 7-10).  Moses recognized that this plan didn’t begin with Aaron, but that he gave into the demands of the people and allowed sin to take root in the camp.  “What did these people do to you…?” (vs. 21)  This is why we obey the expectations of others – we are thinking of what others may do to us… We fear their responses, we want their approval, we desire the momentary pleasures they can offer us.

The truth is Jesus has expectations for us too (Matthew 11:28-30).  Jesus expects us to do life with Him, inviting us to “take My yoke upon you and learn from Me”.  This refers to an ancient farming practice of training new oxen to plow the fields but partnering (yoking) the young ox with an experienced, stronger ox to bear the burden of the load.  The younger ox did not feel the weight of the yoke but rather learned to walk in step with another ox; experiencing the process of plowing while the stronger ox did the bulk of the work.  This is the expectation of Jesus… to allow him to do the work of life and ministry, with you present. God’s yoke feels light to us, because He is carrying the full weight of the work.  If the tasks (yoke) of ministry and life are hard and your burden is heavy, then it isn’t God’s yoke or burden, and you are not allowing God to shoulder the burden that only He can be expected to carry.  Jesus said it clearly, “My yoke is easy and My burden is light”.  Obeying the expectations of God brings rest and right focus.  Choose wisely who expectations you will obey!

So what does this mean to us as youth leaders, parents, and pastors? Something has to be done to turn the tide. The tide is not going to turn with a new program or a new set of teaching tools. Those are great helps, but the tide will start to turn with us and how we live our lives—one life at a time.

Integrity implies an incorruptible soundness of moral character, especially as displayed in fulfilling trust. D. L. Moody is credited with this quote, “Integrity is who you are in the dark.”

What does it mean to have integrity to God? What does it mean to love him with all our heart, soul, and mind (Matt 22:37)? What does it mean to give everything we have to be his disciple (Luke 14:33)? What does it mean to take up our cross and follow him (Matt 10:38)?

As I ponder these questions, I have to admit that I often let a lot of other things get in the way of loving God with all my heart, soul, and mind. Sure I love him, but there are things that get in the way—pride, dreams that are more mine than His, and other distractions. Before I know it, my mind has wandered and my heart has become distant from fulfilling the trust in my Savior that he desires. It is so easy to lose focus, and before we know it, we are nearer the slippery slope. I have seen it over and over again: leaders, some of them my good friends, have slid down the slope of moral failure. That is why our “love time” with God (time alone with God) is so important to help refocus us and to help us stay centered on what is really important. We need it so desperately.

This season, I want to challenge us—together—to really examine our lives to see if our integrity with God—our heart, soul, and mind, as well as our trustworthiness—are where they need to be.

How are we going to help students learn integrity? By first having integrity with God ourselves. This is where the greatest teaching lessons are done—one life at a time.

On the journey with you,

Andy

* Josh McDowell and Bob Hostetler, Right from Wrong (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1994) 8–9.

by David Keehn,

Associate Professor, Biola University

There is poignant scene in the movie “Amazing Grace” that pans onto a country field in which William Wilberforce is lying on the wet grass contemplating the magnificence of God.  He is mesmerized by the dew on a spider web as evidence of God’s handiwork.  In this instant he feels the inner tension between staying in the moment, meditating on God and returning to ongoing struggle in politics.  He cannot discern which is better: to sit in solitude with God or enter the realm of politics where he is seeking to bring God’s justice?  It is only later that some abolitionist ministers suggest that he could do both: seek to be with God and serve God – at the same time.  It is this special combination that I believe is the key to living for God’s Kingdom – not at a glorious future in heaven above, but now in this broken world in need of God’s redeeming justice and hope!

Too many of us still wrestle with Wilberforce’s tension.  We are tempted to either retreat into the peaceful sanctuary of our Christian “walls” (whether an amazing school like Biola or a fellowship such as your local church) to enjoy God unto ourselves, or immerse ourselves in society’s needs (often neglecting the power of the Gospel available to us).  I have come up “short” too often trying to keep my feet in both worlds because I have seen these as separate activities.  However, the key to living for God’s Kingdom is to see that in Christ these activities are “two sides of the same coin”.  For in God’s Kingdom – God’s presence is always accompanied by God’s power!  And His power always brings change to a broken life seeking to be redeemed.

Is it no wonder that Jesus states the only task we need to worry about is to seek first God’s kingdom (Matthew 6:25-34).  For in this quest to be about God’s kingdom we seek to do the work of God in the power of God, with all the benefits this entails.  William Carey, the famous missionary to India once said, “Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.”  He was challenging his generation to sacrificial mission service, believing God would provide despite the risk.  I believe living for God’s Kingdom requires similar perspective.  Living for God’s Kingdom starts with a belief I can expect great things from God.  To demonstrate the kingdom of God had come the Gospel of Matthew records, “Jesus went through Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people” (4:23).  The presence and power of God had come to meet mankind’s needs; it is no different for you and I today.  I can expect my Heavenly Father to give me the strength to be still in the midst of a personal “storm”, as I can also expect Him to hold me close as an adopted child, an heir to glories of heaven (Rom. 8:15-17).

Because I can expect great things from God, I am empowered to attempt great things for God.  These attempts are not just the once in a lifetime short-term mission experience to some foreign country, but are rather to be in the regular and routine challenges we find ourselves in.  Whether is it the struggle to find food, or fight against slavery, Jesus instructs his disciples – including us today – to “store up for yourselves treasures in heaven…” (Matthew 6:20).  As we seek to live this way, in the daily grind of Life, we need not worry about the task but rather trust God for his provision.  In seeking to meet our need for food and clothes or our need for significance and purpose, God is able to provide and therefore, Jesus summarizes his instruction to “seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (6:33).

Paul’s promise-filled prayer for the Ephesian church (Eph. 3:20-21) combines the expectation from God and our attempts for God.  In this passage we are affirmed of God’s exceedingly abundant power, that is able to do more than we could imagine or attempt, is at work “within us” – for His purpose, and “glory in the church and in Christ Jesus”.  Living for God’s Kingdom is not an “either-or” proposition: should I spend time in solitude with God or should I seek to care for child abandoned due to the AIDS crisis in South Africa?  YES!  As the ministers said to William Wilberforce, you can do both as we live out the mantra: Expect great things from God.  Attempt great things for God.  For in doing so, we will be Living for God’s Kingdom in all that we do!

What are you expecting from God today?

What are you attempting for God today?

Every Monday, for an hour and a half, we played soccer with kids and shared Jesus’ love through our actions. We eventually started playing a wide variety of sports and games, and as we did that, more and more kids started to come. As more came, we were able to build more relationships and share Jesus’ love. As of this writing, ten to fifteen kids come every week, many of whom now come to church regularly.

As these neighborhood students have come and played games every week and experienced God’s love for them, they’ve realized that they want something more. Because of that realization, God has blessed me with the opportunity to give seven of them a Bible for the first time and lead five of them into a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ! These kids have such a desire to learn more about God and his plan for them, which is so inspiring and encouraging.

As you read this, I want to challenge you to obey God and follow his amazing plan for your life. He wants to use you in ways far greater than you can ever imagine, I know he’s already done things in my life far greater than I ever dreamed, and all I’ve done is be obedient. If you’re young and reading this, I want to challenge you to get out and love people now! Don’t wait or think you’re inadequate because you’re young; God wants to use you now, as well as later in your life. I think of God speaking through Paul as he writes to young Timothy. He says, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity” (1 Tim 4:12 niv). So I challenge everyone to get out and love people with God’s love and to not be afraid to share the greatest thing you know, the gospel.

Austin Shaner

High School Student in Indiana

Juggling family and youth ministry often feels like a competitive struggle between your time, attention, and priorities. In my early days of youth ministry, I went 24/7 until I read an article entitled “The diary of a mad housewife.” This article was about a person who was married to a 24/7 youth director who was very effective at his job but failing at home. This situation, I am sorry to say, has been repeated hundreds of times by many youth directors and some very close friends.

How can we know everything there is to know about youth ministry and read every book on the subject but never read up on how to maximize our marriage and parenting skills. Can I remind us that twenty years from now, our teens will not be in a counselor’s chair saying that they are there because their youth director did not spend enough time with them. But plenty of people will be in that chair because their parents did not spend enough time with them.

After reading this “mad wife” article, I decided to build in some principles that have paid major dividends for me. I commend them to you.

• A full day off is not optional; take it. (This is your Sabbath. Honor it)

• Date your spouse on a consistent basis. (Make this a high priority; it’s the greatest security you can give your children.)

• Date your children. (Guys, treat your girls like ladies; they will marry someone like you. Gals, teach your young men how to treat a lady.)

• Don’t talk negatively about church people or church situations in front of your children—and we wonder why they leave the church when they are older.

• Leave your work at the office, and on your way home, mentally gear yourself up for your most important work.

• Don’t take phone calls during the family mealtime.

• Pick at least one night for family devotions and one night for devotions with your spouse.

• Do an annual marriage retreat—just the two of you—and hold four discussions: How are we doing as husband and wife? How are we doing as parents? How are we doing in ministry? Where are we going from here? Set goals. This is a great Sabbath opportunity for your marriage to focus on what’s important.

• Determine how many nights you’re going to be at home with your family each week and stick to that number.

• The annual family calendar needs to be planned before the annual church calendar.

• Give your children full attention when they speak.

• Prevent the hurried child. Don’t take your children on all the youth activities.

• Establish boundaries, e.g., no alone time with persons of the opposite sex, movies you watch, television shows you allow in your home.

Our spouse and our children know we are the real deal. I know that the hardest place to live out my faith is in my home with those who know me the best. Our relationship with God is our highest priority, followed by our relationship with our immediate family, and then our ministry to teens. We must be intentional; great marriages and great families don’t just happen, but they happen because we have made them a priority.

I am now blessed with a marriage of twenty-three years. I have a twenty seven-year-old daughter, a twenty three -year-old, a sixteen-year-old, and a twelve-year-old son. I love to hang out with them. Build on character and integrity; don’t ever let passion override principles—if you do, you will always lose.

“A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold” (Proverbs 22:1 niv).

Leave a legacy that counts.