This past Sunday in church, I was struck by a comment that our senior pastor made in his sermon. It was more a question really, "How do we know that we are growing in Jesus?
It made me think. How am I growing in Jesus?
How are you growing in Jesus?
So we are in a teaching series where we are going through our new church vision statement. This past Sunday, we covered the third point in the vision..."and growing as dearly loved members of God's Family." The long and short of it comes down to the question, "How are you growing in Jesus?" Okay, so a moment of truth. It's sometimes hard to separate time for personal growth from your time of study and preparation. I am in my Bible multiple times throughout the week, studying and prepping for that weeks teaching. But when it comes time to water the soil of my heart, I have to work a little harder. As pastors, it's our job to study and know the word of God; to teach it, to help our students grow. But if we are not taking the time to care for ourselves, we run the risk of drying out and wilting from the heat of ministry and life. As pastors, it's our job to study and know the word of God; to teach it, to help our students grow.
I start my day with a short devotional reading. Right now I am reading through the book, A Man After God's Own Heart, by Jim George. It's a short, easy read that helps to get my focus on God. I take time to read a different book from the Bible. Right now I'm reading through the Epistles from the New Testament. I also keep a prayer journal and a notebook with scribbles from each weeks sermon. And yet, even with all of this, I still have to make an effort to water my soul.
So I ask you, what do you do to water your soul? How are you growing in Jesus? What disciplines do you practice? How do you measure your growth? Our spiritual growth should be paramount. Watering our souls, growing in Christ, deepening our relationship with Jesus; these are the commitments we must make and keep.
Jay Higham is a 24 year veteran of student ministry; having worked with students in the local church and Christian camping settings. Jay is currently the Youth Director at Hickory Church, located in Western PA. Jay has been married to Amy for 19 years. Together, they are raising 5 kids, 4 boys and 1 little girl. Jay is passionate about student ministry, family ministry, and caring for the hearts of husbands. You can learn more about their ministry to the family and husband by visiting their family blog at, www.TheHighamFamily.com!
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Looking for a few good reads in 2016? Here is a list of books I'm planning to read over the next couple of months! Some are new reads, while others are some old favorites that I want to reread. 1. Thriving Youth Ministry in Smaller Churches, Rick Chromey & Stephanie Caro 2. 99 Thoughts for Smaller Church Youth Workers, Stephanie Caro 3. 99 Thoughts for Small Group Leaders, Josh Griffin (Re-Read) 4. The Lost World of Genesis One, John H. Walton 5. The Historical Adam, Lamouruex, Walton, Collins, Barrick, Boyd, Ryken 6. The Next Evangelicalism, Soong-Chan Rah 7. Divided by Faith, Michael O. Emerson & Christian Smith 8. Homosexuality and the Christian, Mark A Yarhouse, PsyD 9. 99 Thoughts for Parents of Teenagers, Walt Mueller 10. Simply Leading, Ken and Bob Shull 11. Getting Fired for the Glory of God, Collected Words of Mike Yaconelli 12. Family-Base Youth Ministry, Mark DeVries (Re-Read) 13. UnChristian, David Kinnaman & Gabe Lyons 14. Girls' ministry 101, Whitney Prosperi (Re-Read) 15. The Deliberate Church, Mark Dever & Paul Alexander 16. Junior High Ministry, Wayne Rice (Re-Read) 17. The 9 Best Practices fro Youth Ministry, Kurt Johnston & Tim Levert (Re-Read) 18. Creating an Intimate Marriage, Jim Burns (Re-Read) 19. Angels, David Jeremiah 20. To Live is Christ To Die is Gain, Matt Chandler If you have read any of them, I'd love to hear your thoughts on them. Comment below! And thanks for reading! - jay Jay Higham is a 24 year veteran of student ministry; having worked with students in the local church and Christian camping settings. Jay is currently the Youth Director at Hickory Church, located in Western PA. Jay has been married to Amy for 19 years. Together, they are raising 5 kids, 4 boys and 1 little girl. Jay is passionate about student ministry, family ministry, and caring for the hearts of husbands. You can learn more about their ministry to the family and husband by visiting their family blog at, www.TheHighamFamily.com and www.TheGoodHusbandBlog.com! This morning, my quiet time took me to 1 Timothy 6:11-21. I have been slowly working through Paul's first letter to the young pastor, Timothy, for the last couple of months. I've been reading the letter as though Paul, himself, was writing to me, encouraging and challenging me as a pastor. There has been much that Paul has said that has caused me to pause, think, and reflect. This morning was no different. In the closing words of his letter, Paul, encourages Timothy to "fight the good fight of the faith." But it's in the words of verse 11 and 12, that I found myself coming back to, asking, What am I pursuing? Paul writes... "11 But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses." (1 Timothy 6:11-12 ESV) In the earlier verses, Paul warns Timothy of discontentment and the dangers of chasing dreams of money and riches; and how destructive the love of money can be. And so he says in verse 11, 'But as for you, O man of God, flee these things.' Then he says, 'Pursue..." It was this part of the verse that I found myself stopping to ask, am I pursuing these things? Righteousness. Godliness. Faith. Love. Endurance. Gentleness. Think about it for a second or two. As youth workers, we get so busy in the day to day runnings of our ministries. To Do Lists, Phone Calls, Emails, Planning meeting, Study and Teaching Prep Times, and the regular Administrative stuff that we all have to do. It's a lot. And always at the back of our minds; our own spiritual healthy and growth. So we schedule quiet times, sabbath rests, and opportunities to spend time in God's word. As of late, I have been evaluating my own usage of these practices asking, and I really doing this to grow as a Christ follower? Or am I simply 'being faithful' in the little things with hopes that God will 'be faithful' with the the 'bigger things?' This mornings reading brought me to the intersection of the question, am I truly pursuing the things of God; righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness? Are you? It seems to me, that whether we are in full-time ministry or not, these would be the very things that we, men and women of God, should be chasing after. But are we? Think about all the things that you are chasing... - successful ministry, - growing student attendance, - recruiting, training and commissioning volunteers, - spending time with students, - building relationships, - staying current with the latest social media app, - reading the newest student ministry books, - developing healthy parent ministries, - making sure we stay within budget, - and on and on the list goes... and yet the very thing we are called to pursue rarely, if ever crosses our minds. So what are we to do? How do we chase after the qualities that Paul lists for the man or woman of God to possess? I think it comes down to re-thinking why we're in ministry in the first place. We have been called by God to preach the good news of Christ's Gospel to the world, and to do it in love! Too often, we get caught up in the stuff of ministry, and we forget that ministry starts with us. I don't have any solution or 3 step plan for learning how to chase after the things of God, except to say, that we have to want it. I know for me, if it is something that I want, then I usually work harder to get that which I want. With that comes the awareness that I'm not just doing something to cross it off a To Do List, but that I am doing what brings delight, for me and for God. A quiet time or a time of personal study isn't so we can say that we've done such things, but to truly grow us up in the nurture, faith, and grace of our Lord. Righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness are the byproducts of what God does in our lives as we chase after him. It's then for us, with the Lord's help, to live these qualities out in our marriages, and our families, our ministries, and lives. To help remind me of what I am chasing after, I made a little wall poster on 11"x17" paper with these verses on it and taped it up in my office. I want to walk into my office every day, look at these verses, read them, and remember that with each day, I am pursuing something greater than just a successful student ministry. I am chasing after a God who loves me, who has called me to be and do something beyond myself, and to be a man of God who seeks righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. My hope is that these verse might help to encourage you in the same ways! - jay PS...Do you want the same reminder? You can download a .pdf copy of the wall poster which you can then print out and hang on your office wall. The download is free. I only ask that you do not remove the domain name at the bottom of the poster. Jay Higham is a 24 year veteran of student ministry; having worked with students in the local church and Christian camping settings. Jay is currently the Youth Director at Hickory Church, located in Western PA. Jay has been married to Amy for 19 years. Together, they are raising 5 kids, 4 boys and 1 little girl. You can learn more about their ministry to the family by visiting their family blog at, www.TheHighamFamily.com! |
AuthorJay Higham is a veteran youth worker of over 30 years; having worked with students in the local church and Christian camping settings. Jay is currently serving as the director of family ministry at a church, located in West Virginia. Jay has been married to Amy for over 25 years. Together, they are raising 5 kids, (4 boys and 1 girl). Jay is an aspiring author, blogger, speaker, vlogger, and social media junkie. He is passionate about student ministry, family ministry, and training youth workers to love and serve their students with passion and excellence. Archives
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