Youth Worker Post

I'm hoping to change the format of our youth group to include a contemporary worship segment. I don't know if it will go through - I have to get it approved by the Christian Education Committee and Session (Church Elders). I know for most of the evangelical world the fact that I just wrote those last two sentences seems proposterous, but just be thankful you're not in my shoes.

Anyway, here's the Message section from my September newsletter that I'm hoping to run.

I know a lot of you are probably wondering why we changed the name of youth group to F.A.D.E. So I thought I would write the message section on this topic. F.A.D.E. stands for faith, adoration, devotion, and esteem. Worship is all about giving adoration, devotion, and esteem to God in response to the faith He has abundantly given to us. God gives us faith and we respond with praise (adoration). We devote ourselves to His good works (devotion) and value his calling for our lives with most significance (esteem).

Wait! There’s more.

Part of worshipping God is about letting our own selfish desires FADE in order to make way for God’s plans. Check out this passage from Philippians 2:1-11 (I paraphrased for brevity; you can read the whole passage from your Bible).

“If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from love . . . then be like-minded, [love], be one in spirit and purpose. . . In humility, consider others better than yourselves. . . Look not only to your own interests, but to the interests of others.

Your attitude should be same as that of Christ Jesus:

Who, being God, made himself nothing, taking on the form of a servant.
Being found in appearance as man, he humbled himself to death – death on a cross!”

As Christians, as followers of Christ, we are called to follow Christ’s example. That doesn’t mean we’re supposed to die on a cross, but it means that we’re called to put the needs of others ahead of ourselves. We’re called to let our selfishness FADE, so that God’s glory can prevail.

The last couple verses of the passage say this:

“Therefore God exalted [Jesus] to the highest place, and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow . . . , and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

This is my prayer for us as a youth group and as church, that we would let ourselves FADE in order to bring glory to God.

I think the name is fitting, don’t you?