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We had an impromptu youth council meeting on Sunday and decided to move the Chick-Fil-A & LazerTag to November 7 in place of the game night.  For more information, email me or give me a call.

- Matt

During youth group, at 4550 Palm Avenue, we will have a birthday party for me, Matt. Ann is bringing a cake! Please, no gifts. But, if you would like to bring some chips or 2 liter or healthy snack, I would not say no to that. Thank you. 5-7pm.

Failure as a Path to Success

La Mesa First United Methodist Church Youth
8.23.2009

Works Referenced:
Phil. 4:10-12
John Maxwell, Failing Forward, Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2002.

“The secret to your future is wrapped up in your daily routine.” – Unknown

What is Failure?

Has there ever been anything you have failed at?

Three personal failures:

1) Nearly getting fired from my first youth director job.

2) Getting thrown out of school.

3) Not being accepted into a Ph.D. program.

Why did I fail?

1) I had a problem with a parishioner. I knew I had a problem, but ignored it. I didn’t tell the pastor of my issue. I didn’t talk to the woman with whom I had the problem. I let it fester in her for six months until she found a fault in me that she could ’stick-it-to-me’ with.

2) When I was in high school, I NEVER did homework. I would do the big projects and get A’s on tests, but never do homework. The same happened when I went to college. The first semester went okay, I received two B’s and a C. But the next semester, when I had coursework I had not studied before, I earned two C’s and two F’s. The following semester, I paid more attention, but still did no homework. I earned an F in spanish. That placed me on academic probation. That means, if I didn’t get at least a 2.0 the next semester, the school would kick me out. The next semester, I did even less work, attended class even less and I earned three F’s and a D.

3) I didn’t do the necessary legwork. I knew that I had to find a mentor willing to work with me and I was more interested in living somewhere specific than attempting to find a mentor. I knew what I needed to do, but didn’t do it.

Segue: As I look back on these failures, it seems they all stem from one issue: ignoring problems and/or past failures. Does that mean that paying attention to failures could lead to successes?

What is your greatest achievement?

Three personal successes:

1) Finishing my master’s thesis.

2) Paying off my car.

3) Losing 40 lbs.

How did I do it?

1) One page at a time. Over six months, the time I took to write it, it was less than one page per day.

2) One double payment at a time. Each paycheck for one year, I paid a payment. That meant that when I got paid twice per month, I paid twice. I had two jobs, therefore, I might make four payments per month.

3) One pound at a time. Each day, I focused on completing one hour’s exercise (~500 calories burned) and cut out junk.

How do you get over your failures?

PHI 4:10-12, “Now, I have received much inner happiness by means of the Lord greatly, that now at length you have revived your concern or thinking for me; indeed, you also were thinking about me, but you lacked the opportunity to express it. Not because I am speaking with reference to poverty or lack; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am in. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.”

But how do MOVE on?

John Maxwell, in his book Failing Forward, writes that “To conquer fear [of failure], you have to feel the fear and take action anyway” (p. 41).

How do you feel fear and take action anyway?

Maxwell quotes a medical journal he read: “The whole idea of motivation is a trap. Forget motivation. Just do it…. After you start doing [a] thing, that’s when motivation comes and makes it easy for you to keep on doing it” (p.41).

Steps to take after failure:

Do:

1) Figure out why you failed.

2) Learn how not to make the same mistake again.

3) Move on… do something proactive.

4) Know you will make more mistakes.

Don’t:

1) Get paralyzed – remember to keep moving and doing.

2) Procrastinate – do it NOW.

3) Make excuses.

Remember, “The person who makes a mistake, then offers an excuse for it, adds a second mistake to his first” (p.40).

Matthew 25:14-30
Luke 12:42-48
FWS 2174 – What Does the Lord Require of You?

We have often talked about the role of Christianity, through Christ, in the restoration of the world. Can you remember what that means?

What does God ask of us as Christians? In other words, “What do we, as Christians, owe the world?

Jim Strathdee wrote a song we sing on Sunday mornings called, “What Does the Lord Require of You?”

He says, “To seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.”

What does it mean to seek justice?

What does it mean to love kindness?

What does it mean to walk humbly with God?

Our quote from Gandhi says, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” What does that mean, exactly?

Warning: I don’t often have negative things to say about the Church, but tonight is an exception.

Much of our religion is centered on ‘why’ questions.

Can you think of a why question that we talk about?
a. Why are we here?
b. Why do we love?
c. Why does the snake slither on its belly?

Okay, why are human beings capable of evil? … Even if God is good?

Okay, why do we die?

A musician named David Bazan takes issue with Original Sin in his song, “Hard to Be.” [See Him Play it Live @ YouTube]

You’ve heard the story
You know how it goes
Once upon a garden
We were lovers with no clothes

Fresh from the soil
We were beautiful and true
In control of our emotions
‘Til we ate the poison fruit

And now it’s hard to be
Hard to be
Hard to be a decent human being

Wait just a minute
You expect me to believe
That all this misbehaving
Grew from one enchanted tree?

And helpless to fight it
We should all be satisfied
With this magical explanation
For why the living die

And why it’s hard to be
Hard to be
Hard to be a decent human being

Childbirth is painful
We toil to grow our food
Ignorance made us hungry
Information made us no good
Every burden misunderstood

So I swung my tassel
To the left side of my cap
Knowing after graduation
There would be no going back

And no congratulations
From my faithful family
Some of whom are already fasting
To intercede for me

Because it’s hard to be
Hard to be
Hard to be a decent human being

I don’t like the answers Christianity has given us for this.

I think Winnie the Pooh has given a better answer for me. – Read. The Tao of Pooh

A fly can’t bird, but a bird can fly – Things just have a natural place and function.
A fish can’t whistle and neither can I – I just have limitations.
Why does a chicken, I don’t know why. – Things just are as they are.

Notes:

“The purpose of an open mind is to close it, on particular subjects. If you never do — you’ve simply abdicated the responsibility to think.” – William F. Buckley

Relevant Bible Verses:

Romans 5:12-21
1 Corinthians 15:22
Psalm 51:5, 58:3

Teens Dont Tweet

A new study from Nielson says it all, teens are not the biggest group of growth for Twitter. This is a new phenomenon when it comes to web social media. Myspace and Facebook grew because of people under the age of 25; Twitter’s growth comes from those older than 25.

Well, do you tweet? Let us know in the comments.