Core Values

What are your core values?
Have you ever given that much thought?
Simply, what standard do you measure your life against. What do you want your life to look like? There are plenty of buzz words that I could throw out: service, passion, sacrifice, giving, grateful, adventure, God, others first, love, joy, etc...
If you've never considered core values, I would urge you to ponder it. It's nothing miraculous, simply something to measure the course of your life against what you would like to see in your story.
I use my values as a measuring stick. Right now I am sitting down and beginning to go through my summer to see how it lined up with my desires.

Think about it. Maybe you have three, maybe you have six. It doesn't really matter. As long as you are able to use them as a tool to steer your life in the direction you want to.

-matt

Overflow

After working for a youth ministry this summer, I have seen very clearly that all good ministry comes from an overflow. Dylan Lucas, the lead student pastor that I am working with has often mentioned this concept, and I find it to be true.

Let me unpack this concept a bit. The concept centers around the notion that as ministers, we are a cup waiting to pour out what we can to those we minister to (which in my case, was youth). What wisdom, truth, and spiritual insight we have to convey to students is merely what flows from us. We pour ourselves out for others in an effort to train them in righteousness and exhort them to lead holy lives. This necessitates that we have something to give. "Every good and perfect give comes from above" (James 1:17). With the presupposition that no part of us is good (cf. Romans 3:11-20), we must admit that we have nothing to give. Wisdom of men is "earthly, unspiritual, and demonic" (James 3:15).

Therefore,

But He Gives More Grace

First a disclaimer; to all of those in Faithbridge's College Ministry this may seem nothing more than a recapitulation of this evening's message. That aside, my reason for writing this is for my own processing. I find that the most penetrating of all truths are discovered through teaching and sharing those same truths with others. To teach is to teach oneself.

Now to the point. Tonight we turned to James 4 and let the Word have its way with us (Read it here). It really comes to the point in verse 4, in which James simply calls his readers (that is, us) adulterers. The truth is that we as Christians are identified as the Church, the bride of Christ.