Actions Speak Louder than Words!

First, thanks to the good people of Casanova's Coffee & Fudge. A veritable Mecca for Caffeine and Sweet-tooth junkies! If you are ever in that area of our District check them out! Your groups can even reserve the whole place any Friday between May 5 and August 18. Visit them at www.casanovascoffees.com or, better yet, stop by!

Much respect and thanks to the good folks at Lewisville UMC for organizing our chance to have a further conversation about how our actions speak far louder than our words do when it comes to sharing our faith with others. Awesome furthering of our conversation from February. Actually, it picks up where we left our conversation last month. We spoke of how we know God and then began the discussion of how we can share that knowledge with others.

So, to offer a further conversation here are some of the questions that were posed last night. Join in the conversation, post to any of the parts of the blog...post thoughts on this month's meeting... Again, this is a place for you!

• Who are the five most influential people in your life and why are they influential?
• What fears do people have when it comes to telling others about Jesus Christ?
• How do you think the disciples felt after hearing Jesus' promise in Matthew 28: 20 (his last words before he went back to heaven... "I will be with you even until the ends of the age.")? How do you feel as a disciple now hearing his words?
• What makes the Great Commission (make disciples of everyone) such an important task?
• What challenges does this commission give us a Christians?
• Challenge Steps: Who in your life right now needs your love, care, and witness of Jesus Christ? List three people. Can you begin to fulfill the Great Commission during this week? What can your youth group do as...well...a group? (Notice that we started by asking who has influenced you and end by challenging ourselves to influence someone else!)

March Meeting

A further conversation...this time we further our conversation in Lewisville (thanks to the good folks at Lewisville United Methodist Church) at Casanova's Coffee Shop (6275 Shallowford Rd. there in Lewisville...this place is like right across from Lewisville UMC). We will gather at 7pm and wrap up at 8:30pm. Come for the conversation, come for the free-coffee-shop-style treats (my favorite adjective in the previous sentence was "free.") If you need more information contact June Hayes (you can get up with her through the church's webpage www.lewisvilleumc.org). This month's conversation is about how "Actions Speak Louder than Words."

Welcome

This blog site is all about "koinonia." (Pronounced: Coin-know-knee-uh) What? Koinonia is the Greek Word used in the New Testament for "community." Koinonia does not only refer to a "community," a group of people (like the one that can gather, in a sense, on this webpage or, more importantly, that gathers in your churches), but also "communion." Communion is the relationship we share with God. As we share community, we share about our communion with God. I just think using one word is way quicker. So, I say, we share in and about koinonia. This site is a place for you to respond to the discussions we have at District Youth Gatherings. You'll find that below I have posted the areas we discussed last Monday (Feb. 27) at Panera in Kernersville. Blog Away!

Experience: God Moments

We talked this past Monday (Feb. 27) about how we know that God is there by sharing our experiences with God. We shared those moments where neither statistical probability or luck could explain the overwhelming sense that God is with us...a moment that can only be explained as a "God Moment." You all shared experiences that were both everyday and extraordinary. Feel free to respond to continue a further conversation by sharing your "God Moments." Of course, you can also respond to each others' stories...remember this site is all about communication.

Scripture: Revelation

Revelation...not the often misunderstood book at the end of the Bible...but, our knowing of and about God because God lovingly decided to "reveal" God's self to us. God reveals' God's self throughout the Bible. Last Monday (Feb. 27) we shared what we knew about God from the Bible. John's Gospel opens saying "that in the beginning the word was with God and the word was God." The word that was with God and is God is Jesus. The Son is the main way that we know anything about God. For example, from the Son, we know that God is love. We also talked about the names people in the Bible used to refer to God. One example I offered was Jesus referring to God as as "Abba." Again, this is Abba the Aramaic word for "Father," not the '70s Swedish Super-group of "Dancing Queen" disco fame. God as familiar to us as "daddy," parent, and as powerful as "Lord." The word "Abba" means both at the same time. So, what other names are given to God in scripture? What other things can you learn about the nature of God from the stories in the Bible? I have given you...yet...another topic...discuss amongst yourselves. (Again, that last line is from Saturday Night Live back in the day (way back in the mid-90s)...extra points if you remember the actor who said that line? I will give you one hint: Austin Powers.)

Did We Leave Anything Out?

Did we leave anything out? Good question! We spoke (Mon. Feb. 27) about our personal experiences of knowing God and how God is revealed in the Bible. However, are there other ways that we can know about God? This is a place to post your thoughts on how else we know about God? To get this blog started, think about...well "thinking"...reason that is...how can we know of God from philosophy and sheer argument. In other words, how can we put forward the argument that "how could God not exist?" Another area to consider is Science (from biology to physics)... Anyway, post your thoughts...be they possible arguments to simply posting another way we know about God.

Sharing the Invitation

Jesus' last words to his disciples (this includes us now) before his ascension was for them (and us) to share the Jesus' story...the good news...the gospel...with all who would hear it. We are to share it with others, inviting them into a life-changing relationship with God. This blog is a chance for you to post your stories of how you have shared Jesus' invitation to a new life with others. It is also a place for you to post your prayer concerns for those people with whom you are trying to share Jesus' invitation. (Remember to be sensitive when posting, sometimes using a person's real name can be considered an "intrusion" and we are all about "invitation.") Finally, it is a place to post comments and questions on ways we can share Jesus' invitation to a life with God. God exists...we want others to know it.

What Next?

It used to irritate me when adults would say, "I was once your age." I only say it used to irritate me because now I am an adult. (Still, there are those that would argue the truth of that statement.) Still, I am an adult, but I will make every effort not to say "I was once your age." Truth be told, I was never your age! Yes, I was once a middle school student (though, it was called "junior high" back then) and then a high school student. Yes, I was once a teenager. Yet, NO, I have never been your age, in this time in world history, in this place, facing the things you're facing. I might be able to sympathize and even recognize similar experiences to your's from my past...but, I have never been your age. With that said, I (and by I, I mean the youth leaders that work with you) don't claim always to know what questions or topics might be of the most interest to you. This blog is for you to simply post your questions. This blog is for you to share with us what you'd like to talk about at future District Youth gatherings. It is your chance to answer the question "what next?" (Photo by Alan Combs)