Let's Talk About Nothing

I’d like to take a moment and talk to you about nothing. You’re probably saying to yourself that I normally talk about nothing…but I want you to consider the subject just for a few moments. When was the last time you did nothing? I don’t mean, “Tried to do something and ended up doing nothing.” What I am saying is…when was the last time you took time to do nothing? The next thing you are saying to yourself is…“Ryan, I don’t have time for nothing.” I am doing my best to add nothing to my schedule from time to time (you’re thinking that this is easy for me since I’m a youth minister and nothing is the majority of what I do.)

We live in a world that is constantly improving our electronics…causing life to become more and more hectic. You can check your e-mail and talk on the phone while watching two channels at the same time on the same TV. With each advance in technology life simply becomes more complex because we are expected to do more with our minute than our ancient forefathers of 10 years ago. So…before you throw away the idea of nothing I want you to try it on for a moment.

I am convinced that if we took a moment to do nothing before taking on major tasks, we would find ourselves working with more efficiency than one iota of technology can give us. Your mind becomes more focused. You will be opened to the direction you may need to go with what you are doing.

Here is how it works…Set aside a few minutes, sit in a relaxed position, close your eyes, breathe deep and allow everything to exit from your mind, then just simply sit there doing nothing. The idea is that you begin to silence the noise that is going on inside of you. The noise that our culture presses on us leads us into crazy ways of living. This noise also keeps us from hearing God speak into our lives. Allotting for times of nothing into your schedule will help keep you sane and help you listen more clearly to God.

I have heard a lot of people say, “When I do actually read my Bible, I often don’t get anything out of it.” I challenged the teens on Wednesday night to try this before entering into times of reading or times of prayer and to see how their experiences change. I’d like to extend this challenge on to you as well. Take time this week for nothing. Sit in the presence of God and be still.

I'm in, You're in, I'm in

It was around 4 in the morning. I had just finished Morning Vigils with the Brothers at Mepkin Abbey and set out for some solitude. As I focused on scripture that early morning I began to notice how God seemed to work through people in the Bible…not people doing amazing things for God. That was mulling around in my head as I had another cup of coffee.

I walked in the dark for some time simply repeating the words of Jesus found in John 14:20, “I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” I kept repeating what Jesus said…letting them work on me as I prepared to meditate and to listen to God’s voice through these words. We are interwoven with God…the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. What an amazing thing! But…what does this have to do with God working through people…not people doing amazing things for God?

As I sat in the middle of nowhere in this retreat center I did everything I could to empty all distractions from within me so that I might clearly listen to God. “You will never be a great Youth Minister” is what I felt God was pressing on my heart…among other things that I will never be great at. Some of you are probably agreeing with God at this point…but I still love you. “You only need to be concerned with being the best Child of Mine that you can be. I will make you what I need you to be.”

As I look back on the wisdom in scripture that had been poking at me all week, “He must become greater, I must become less,” and “whoever loses his life for me will find it,” I began to understand what God wanted me to hear. I shouldn’t be concerned about being and doing great things for God but be concerned with being the best Child of His I can be…He’ll make me exactly what He needs me to be.

When I start looking at people, seeing how God is already working in their lives, I will no longer be concerned about changing the world…but be concerned with working side by side with God as He changes it. I want to challenge you to find presence: Presence of God in your life and your presence in the lives of those around you…those whom God loves. Because, He is in the Father, He is in us, and we are in Him.

Inside...Out

The National Conference on Youth Ministry was a great conference this year. It isn’t a week of a bunch of youth ministers getting together to compare shorts and sandal combinations and to talk about different approaches to wearing a new style of facial hair. It is an amazing week to get filled, see some old friends, and sit at the feet of veterans who have been in the trenches for 15 and 20+ years. The unbridled worship that takes place there, when hundreds and hundreds of youth ministers get together, is incredibly uplifting.

One of the greatest things about going to this conference is the reminder of why we do what we do. I feel like, at times, that I’ve done my ministry out of commitment to the church rather than something much deeper. Commitment is not a bad thing but it can be shallow. It is something that I have to keep in check from time to time. What I continue to strive for, and this week was a constant reminder of this, is to do my ministry from the inside out, to be so filled with God so that I am working from the overflow of God in my life, and not the outside in.

The world wants us to be crazy…Believe it or not, ministers even get crazy…We are called to step into the peace of Christ…where craziness ceases to be. Take a moment and look at your life. How often do you stop and sit in the presence of God? Would you consider your life to be crazy? We live in a world where we get frustrated when the microwave takes too long…or the fast food isn’t as fast as we would like. We live crazy kind of lives…and as a minister I find myself ministering out of this craziness. Something has to change and I have to keep this in check.

I know this is a little late but here is one of my New Years Resolutions for my ministry in 2008:

- Find my Song – that will drive this year
- Find my Passage – that will motivate this year
- Find my Literature – that will keep it all in perspective
- As I continue in my personal Bible study I want to look for how God is already working in people’s lives and see what He wants me to do