Mike King

Recovering and Discovering Ancient Manuscripts, A Project I'm Working On.

The following video features Mike Phelps, Director of Early Manuscripts Electronic Library. I'm working with Mike and others to create a Laboratory at MOTB where scholars all over the world can do the amazing work of discovery, restoration and learning about ancient manuscripts, scrolls, pamplimpsests (a manuscript or piece of writing material on which the original writing has been effaced to make room for later writing but of which traces remain) and other important work.

Remember You Are Dust...

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent in the Christian liturgical calendar. This is a time of reflection and repentance in preparation for Easter and Eastertide.

Ash Wednesday is one of the most meaningful services for me. It is the time when we are deeply reminded of our mortality and utter dependence on the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Last night at Jacob's Well, Tim Keel shared Romans 12:2 from Eugene Peterson's The Message.

"Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you." Romans 12:2

I had been contemplating and praying what my focus would be during Lent and this verse solidified my thoughts. I want to "Put On" faithful and consistent "Fixed Hour Prayer" during Lent. I want to "Put Off" contempt toward the "other."

The current realities in our cultural environment is pregnant with "contempt." I find myself constantly getting angry watching the news. I find myself getting upset when it feels like Christians have allowed their agenda to be co-opted by partisan politics. I believe there are so many great people and committed Christians who hold positions across the political spectrums but we don't know how to understand the other and therefore we don't feel we are understood. Followers of Jesus should confound both political parties with a different way of interacting in our world. I need to sit at the feet of Jesus and allow Christ to overcome my contempt for those who think differently than I do. This doesn't mean I don't have strong positions but it does mean that I don't allow the propaganda machines of this world to control my emotions and the way I interact with those who see the world differently than I do.

Youth Worker Training Day with Dr. Scot McKnight in partnership with Nazarene Theological Seminary

Youth Worker Training Day in partnership with
Nazarene Theological Seminary

Tuesday, March 20, 11a – 3p, $10 (includes lunch)

For our next Youth Worker Training Day, Youthfront is pleased to partner with Nazarene Theological Seminary’s Earle Lectures for a training day with Dr. Scot McKnight. Dr. McKnight is a highly sought after New Testament scholar. His blog, Jesus Creed, is a leading voice for thoughtful and reflective Christianity, helpful for youth workers who want to guide students along a path of finding present-day relevance for a faith in Jesus. His book, Jesus Creed for Students, is a critically acclaimed book geared toward young adult spiritual formation.

McKnight’s three sessions on Paul as Pastor are applicable for those who pastor any age group, including teenagers. For more information and to register, click the link below.

REGISTER NOW AT NAZARENE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

 

Youthfront Youth Worker Training Event - Faith Formation in a Secular Age with Dr. Andy Root

Teen Staff - Make An Investment

For years, we have offered our Teen Staff program to high school students. It has been said to be one of our greatest strengths. This program is one element of our high school ministry. We believe, as many of you have said, that this program is a rich program that contributes to the spiritual growth of our teens in a way no other program can. 

 

As a result, we are dramatically expanding our Teen Staff program, not only at camp but also throughout the ministry of Youthfront. With the expansion of Middle School Camp programs moving to both Youthfront locations, the launching of a new Day Camp Program, the expansion of our Something to Eat initiative and other programs being developed, more opportunities are available for teenagers to serve. And, we can involve a lot more high school students in our Teen Staff program each week! It's a great win-win!

In order to grow, we have to fund this program. As with any program, Teen Staff requires significant resources to operate. To help us offset the significant ministry costs, we are creating a Teen Staff Fund where donors can sponsor a Teen Staffer. We need to fund each position at $100 per week. Teen Staff students are covering the first amount by contributing $25, leaving $75 that we need you to fill. Your $75 donation sponsors a Teen Staff position for one week. We have 700 positions to fill for the summer at all our camp locations. We need you. Will you consider sponsoring one week (or more) for a gift of $75 per week?

 

Saying is Believing: The Power of Testimony and Storytelling - Youthfront Youth Worker Training with Dr. Amanda Drury

When we talk about our faith, we become more faithful people. Dr. Amanda Drury will present about the power of our story. She'll share why and how it is important to create an environment where young people learn to tell their story and share their faith, to each other, to the church and to the world.

 

                       

A very special thanks to Museum of the Bible for sponsoring our Youth Worker Training Events:

           

All Youth Workers and Pastors in the Kansas City Area Who Want to Understand the Emerging Generation of Late Adolescents Should Come to this Training Day with Dr. Steve Argue from Fuller Theological Seminary

Emerging Adults, Spirituality, and the Church Featuring Dr. Steven Argue | 9a - 1p | Colonial Presbyterian Church (Wornall)

Emerging Adults are those who self-identify as no longer being adolescents but have yet to see themselves as adults. They are living in one of the most significant developmental periods that often determine the trajectory of the rest of their lives. Currently, they may be one of the most misunderstood populations in the church. In conversations with ministry leaders, there seems to be three recurring questions regarding emerging adults. The first is “Why are they leaving us?” This only adds insult to young adults’ already-vulnerable dispositions. The second, is “How do we get emerging adults back?” The third is often asked in whispered tones, “If they do come back, what do we do with them?” This reveals an honest apprehension about what it really means for churches to connect with emerging adults. Sadly, there are some narratives where churches bemoan emerging adults leaving them and emerging adults condemn churches for abandoning them. There are more thoughtful and hopeful ways to move forward if we are willing to listen to the voices of emerging adults, consider their quest for meaning, and envision what “good news” might look like for them. We will explore the research and reimagine the Church’s posture toward emerging adults.

Dr. Steven Argue joined the Fuller Theological Seminary faculty in June 2015 in a hybrid role as assistant professor of youth, family, and culture and as applied research strategist with the Fuller Youth Institute (FYI). A thought leader and researcher with decades of on-the-ground ministry experience, he comes from Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he served since 2009 as pastor and theologian-in-residence. Prior to that he was executive director of the Contextual Learning Center (CLC) at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, where he designed the seminary’s residency program that provided experience and assessment for seminary students. He has worked and led parachurch organizations that focused on youth ministry strategies and leadership development. Also, he was associate pastor of high school ministries at Elmbrook Church. Prior to his ministry experience, he worked for Hewitt Associates, a firm that provides human capital and management consulting services. 

Dr. Argue has worked with FYI for the past five years: as a Sticky Faith coach and speaker, a contributor on projects such as the Churches Engaging Youth People Project (CEYP), and as an Advisory Council Member. He has also taught as an adjunct at Fuller Seminary, as well as at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, Cornerstone University, Bethel College (Indiana), Biblical Theological Seminary, Northern Seminary, and Jos Evangelical Theological School (Nigeria). His speaking engagements include Youth Specialties’ National Youth Workers Convention (NYWC) since 2008, and his publications range from numerous blogs and articles on the Fuller Youth Institute website, in Group magazine, Inside Track magazine, andYouth Worker Journal to coauthoring a five-volume set of training materials for youth workers. Argue is also a chapter contributor to Adopted, edited by Dr. Chap Clark (forthcoming in 2015). 

Argue’s doctoral research focused on how undergraduate students who attend public universities perceive and work through spiritual struggle. He hopes this work can contribute to better understanding emerging adults—one of the most misunderstood groups of people in our churches today—and provide more meaningful ways for faith communities to support emerging adults in one of the most important periods in their lives. 

His professional affiliations include the Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood, Association of Youth Ministry Educators, International Association for the Study of Youth Ministry, National Network of Youth Ministries, and the Association of Theological Field Educators. Argue was ordained in 1994 by Elmbrook Church, Brookfield, Wisconsin, as an Ordained Minister of the Gospel.

Jesus Christ, the Incarnation, God With Us, Was Something New Under the Sun

"Jesus Christ the Savior, Emmanuel--God with us--is born today as a tender babe upon whom the Angels gaze with awe (Is. 7:14; Matt. 1:23). The true light that enlightens every man coming into the world (John 1:29) has shone in the darkness of a poor stable, and the time of death and corruption is nearing its end. Solomon no longer has cause to exclaim that there is nothing new under the sun (Eccles. 1:9), for this small child is the second Adam, who has brought a new creation, a new man, into being (Eph. 2:15; 4:24). Henceforth by following Christ, by obeying His commandments and by suffering with Him, in order to arise through Him, mankind is called to find immortality."

(Orthodox Synaxarion, December 25)

 

Source, the Fellowship of St. James

I Love this Spoken Word Video - The Future Glory (Romans 8:18-30)

Youthfront Youth Worker Training - More Than Getting Together: YOUTH MINISTRY AND RACE

 

REGISTER NOW for the rest of our Youth Worker Training Events for the 2016-17 season!

 

We are excited about the lineup of presenters scheduled, from nationally known presenters like Andy Root and Steven Argue to local leaders like Tina Harris. This season you'll find a range of topics that will inspire, challenge, and equip you for ministry with youth and young adults. 

• Thursday, DECEMBER 1: More Than 'Getting Together': Youth Ministry and Race, by Rev. Tina Harris and Dr. Brandon Winstead. Location: Nazarene Theological Seminary
• Thursday, JANUARY 26: Emerging Adults, Spirituality, and the Church, by Dr. Steven Argue. Location: Colonial Presbyterian Church
• Thursday, MARCH 30: Saying is Believing: The Power of Testimony and Storytelling, by Dr. Amanda Drury. Location: TBA 

 

Individual sessions are $10/each. Find more information and register for sessions here! 

 

A very special thanks to Museum of the Bible for sponsoring our Youth Worker Training Events: