To The Youth Leaders

INTRODUCTION

LET THE DISCIPLING BEGIN

Greetings to my fellow young disciples in the Body of Christ. I pray that you are still holding fast to your faith and commitment to the Father. This road is for God’s elect. Hype dies down, trends change and fads pass. These things will not sustain you on this road. Only what you prefer in your heart. Do you prefer holiness and righteousness? Do you want to be clean? Take your time to answer these questions. Examine yourself for a moment. Which do you prefer? A life that is clean from sin such as fornication, lying, strife and malice, or have you come to like sin? Do you like deceiving? Come on. Tell the truth. You like some things in the flesh, don’t you? I am only making you examine your preference.

The definition of preference is something you really want. You see what you really want can either make you or break you. Sooner or later, what you really want comes to light. My job is to weed out the real disciples from those who are just going along for the ride. How will I do this? I will not do it, but the Word of God will. I will just be the mouthpiece for the Word.

THIS LIFE IS REAL. GOD IS REAL. He is not some good idea. He is real and we must be real also. Yes, God wants to use us as His army. We witnessed this at the last Youth Advance. We took over the streets. God really worked with us that Saturday, but there is so much more God wants to do with us. But before He really makes a statement with us like He wants to, there are some things we must do.

Let us find out what they are . . .

TO THE YOUTH LEADERS

This I write to the leaders of the youth ministry. Where are you leading? Can you take the youth to a place you have never been? Do you know where you are going? Are you going anywhere? The reason I asked you these types of questions is because I want everyone to examine your Youth Leader Group. Acknowledge what you see. Better yet, let me tell you what I see. Some of you have a day and time for the youth. On this day you all meet and someone teaches and then you have a transmittal session where you try to get the youth to be honest. For those who have cell groups, you pretty much do the same thing. This is good but this is not the extent of discipleship. After the meeting and transmittals, what do you have? Young people who met and talked for a while. That is all. The reason you cannot take them any further than this is because you have not been any further yourselves. But you are going, I promise you.

Now, I know it is not joyous to read this type of address, and it may seem that I am attacking the methods you all have in place for the development of your youth. But please understand I am not attacking your methods, but rather trying to get you to see there is something missing in them. Remember the questions I asked you in the beginning? If you do not know the answer to them, it is due to a lack of vision.

Proverbs 29:18

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Now, do not define vision as some personal goal or dream. Keep its definition simple. VISION IS SIGHT. Please do not get offended when I write this, but some of you cannot lead because you simply cannot see.

The only thing I have to follow is the blueprint that God has laid out for me. So let me allow you to see what God showed me. Okay. Let us go back in time almost 3 years ago. The year was 2000. I had just gotten married to Micheka and also had been appointed as head of the youth leaders internationally. My leadership began at B.T. Ft. Lauderdale with Annette, Greg, Tray, Patty, Clay, Daryn, Theo, April, Sharon, Belinda, Angie, Lisa and the late Tracey Caesar, may God bless her. These were the ministers who God had put over the youth in Lauderdale, and they were wonderful.

I had been trained and groomed for this by Pastor Cameron. He taught me to have patience with people . . . especially these people. This was a costly lesson, but one I could not bypass. My patience with people was always a problem. And now God had me in a position that would take much patience. But I had one thing going for me. I could see God, therefore, I believed God. I could see Him and I could hear Him. The first thing He showed me was that the youth leaders had no relationship with one another. We just saw each other in church or at church functions and that was it. No real bond of love was between us. How could we bring the youth together if we were not together? Sound familiar? Relationships had to be built between us. God instructed us to meet on Sunday afternoons after church from 3PM-6PM. Youth Leaders, if you all are not on one accord, those whom you lead will not be on one accord either.

FELLOWSHIPPING WITH THE FATHER

John 17:20-23

20. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

21. That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

22. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

23. I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

One of Christ’s most famous prayers was in St. John 17:20-23 when Jesus prayed that we all become one. This is what the Sunday meeting was designed to do. This meeting was making us one and we were building relationships with one another. Do you all have this already? I hope so. At first, the youth leaders were not eager to give up three hours of their Sunday afternoon to be in another meeting. But because we were obedient, God met us there every Sunday, and after a while, we would come to the meeting and did not want to leave at six o’clock. The Word that was coming out in the meeting was carrying us from week to week. We began to look forward to the meeting because we knew Christ was going to show up there. We were eager to see what the next meeting would hold.

I John 1:3

That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

What I am trying to show you is that if you obey God’s instructions, He will fellowship with you. Christ learned obedience through the things He suffered. We learned all the ramifications of obedience and what it would bring just by sacrificing our Sunday afternoons. GOD BEGAN TO FELLOWSHIP WITH US!

What God was saying in those meetings kept our attention. He first brought us to believe we could be sinless. We did not have to sin any more. Most of us were still struggling with sin. I know none of you are there but we were there at the time. God had to first bring us to a place where we would believe this. Then, and only then, could we bring the youth to that place. We were in pursuit of something and that was to be like the disciples in the Bible. We saw this as attainable because we believed God. God showed us that He was going to use the youth mightily. Has not this come to past? But it was belief, which equals obedience that caused us to travel in God. Now do you see why I asked if you knew where you were going or if you were going anywhere at all?

Youth leaders, you must see that you are the vessels that God wants to use to disciple His leaders. Pastor Cameron would always tell me, “Michael, as the leader of this group you must give yourself totally to them. You must be their example of faithfulness. You must take them on as your responsibility. You must sacrifice your time, your agenda and everything.” Thank you, Pastor Cameron.

Leaders, the first thing you must do is become vulnerable with the group about your spiritual weaknesses. Be honest. Do not deceive yourself. If you are not honest, they will see your weaknesses anyway. It does something when you are honest and acknowledge your weaknesses yourself. This causes the group to see your weakness as weakness and motivates them to gird you up with prayer and counsel.

Secondly, you must point the group to the Word of God as the standard and law for your lives. Whatever the Word says is law. A law that should not be compromised, and by not compromising the Word, you force your flesh and the flesh of others in the group to respect the life of Christ, hereby fulfilling the scripture:

Romans 13:14

But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make NOT provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

Youth leaders, you must be an example of this for the group.

TRANSMITTALS

Concerning your transmittals among the leaders, do not continue to waste time by listening to everyone’s problems about living holy. The reason this is a waste of time is because no matter how it is explained or described, to not live holy after the messages on walking in the Spirit, is by choice. In your transmittals, begin to take the message and challenge yourselves to meet its criteria. Confront unrighteousness in one another in love. This is true discipleship.