Raging Fire Conference–Saturday Afternoon Workshop

Youth Ministry

Kristen Williams

• Nelson
• (Adult) Youth Pastor

Malachi 4:5-6

• The purpose of Fathering (Parenting) is the establishment of identity.
• Even the most secure individual on the face of the planet, heard a voice from heaven declare “this is My Son!”
• You cannot establish security from a basis of insecurity.  Peers cannot establish identity.

Relevance

• “Jesus, Kill My Church” by Randy Bohlender
• Social-based, non-confrontational, status-quo reinforcing ministries == we don’t want
• http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/6706471/Teens-tuning-in-to-Gods-new-beat
• Not “I’m a Christian but I’m normal.”
• Is “This is worth your entire life.”

Honour

• Not flattery
• Psalm 42 – Deep calls to deep.
• 1 Corinthians 14:24-25
• He will be convinced he is a sinner – conviction leading to repentance
• The secrets of his heart will be laid bare – the gold in your heart.  Pull it out and work to make it happen.
• You can’t build a new generation by criticizing the old.  Esteem what went before us.

Insecurity

• One of the greatest threats to authentic Christian living is stereotypical Christian ministry focussed on Goals, Targets & KPIs.
• You can’t fulfil an eternity purpose with a raft of non-eternal tools.
• Goals are good; but not the first priority.  His plans are.
• Don’t lower the bar in order to fill the seats.
• Fear of man, results in fear to confront with the Truth.
• Fear of losing the tithe, results in a wishy-washy message.

Eschatology = study of The Last Days

• Chris Valeton vs. Mike Bickle
• If you only drink from one stream, you won’t know what you believe.
• You must decide for yourself where your beliefs lie.

One methodology

• Teach your students what the cults believe.
• Challenge your students to refute them.
• Not recommended, but worthy of consideration.

Raging Fire–2nd Saturday Morning Session

Michael Livengood

• Resident of NZ
• Citizen of USA
• Lives on a plane

Gives testimonies of witnessing miracles

• The dead are raised to life
• Words of knowledge – bringing healing
• Words of wisdom – bringing conviction of sin and repentance and conversion and salvation

Gave a message of slogging through a difficult time with his church:

1. His marriage is more important than their ministry.
2. We’re unalterably committed to obedience to the will of God.

There was a conflict in these two duties

• We want to be comfortable.  We don’t want to be challenged.
• The price of leadership is to be misunderstood.
• No matter how successful you become, Satan will continue to accuse you: “You don’t have what it takes to go to the next level.”
• Their resolution was the realisation that in their career, there will be more than one church.

Don’t stay in a toxic environment

• James says, this is an interesting teaching.  To be taken with a grain of salt, so to speak.
• Sounds like running away from your problems.
• Wouldn’t it have been better to confront the source of the accusations?

I may have completely misunderstood the purpose of this message.  I have heavily paraphrased what was said, because he gave many examples, so I was disjointed.

Raging Fire Conference–Saturday

1 Corinthians 2:13-16

• If you think you understand the mind of God, you’re probably wrong.  Why would you think you can understand God, when you can’t even understand women?
• “These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.  But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.  But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.  For ‘who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?’  But we have the mind of Christ.”

Mark 6

• Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
• Because they grew up with Him.  There’s familiarity.  “Familiarity breeds contempt.”

Luke 4:14-30

• 14-15: Jesus Begins His Galilean Ministry
• 16-30: Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
• It shouldn’t be this way.  But we still do it today.  Why do we flock to hear a Canadian speaker, when there are others equally anointed here in Wellington?
• Because we all want to catch the anointing we don’t have.  (“The grass is always greener.”)
• Remember the story of the little donkey: he thought all the adulation was for him.  It wasn’t.  It was for the One he was carrying.  AODWD: Any Old Donkey Will Do.
• Jesus wasn’t deliberately provoking the people.
• He was merely proclaiming the Gospel truth, which they weren’t prepared to accept.  Incidentally, this was what eventually killed him.
• He was probably looking for a home base from which to launch His ministry.

2 Kings

• Naaman the Syrian
• Needy people get desperate.
• See my earlier post for the same message.