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Sabbatical Plans

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Alvin Reid in Blog | Leave a comment

This spring I will miss teaching my beloved students while I take a sabbatical. Several have asked what I will be doing during this break from teaching full time, so for whoever might be interested here is a summary.

At Southeastern, a sabbatical is offered (it is earned, not just given because the calendar turns) either for a semester after 3.5 years, or the seventh full year. I cannot imagine being away from our students for a full year so I have always opted for the half year. For me, someone who keeps a fairly hectic schedule, I have learned the value of a sabbatical. Taking time to study afresh, to learn, to grow, and to spend some time on the back porch just reflecting, all add to my appreciation of and effectiveness in ministry. Here are my plans:

First, writing: I have a contract from NavPress for the book Missional Student Ministry: Turning Millennials into Missionaries (tentative title). This book will be a strategic part of student ministry training at SEBTS. It is due the publisher April 1.

I also have plans to work on a book tentatively called Missional Families with my former student and current church planter/pastor Winfield Bevins. I plan to continue and improve other writing assignments including a quarterly article for MORF, a magazine by NavPress/Student Life that goes to 50,000 youth leaders.

Further, because of the success of the three ebooks I have already written I hope to complete several between now and summer’s end. One has to do with relationships and is for young adults, tentatively called Gospel-Centered Relationships. It is co-written with a very talented SEBTS student named Ashley Marivitorri who works with the ministry Campus Outreach. Another will look at health and fitness as a vital part of our spiritual formation (no surprise I am writing that one), and another will look at the need for young men to be men of God. I also hope to finish a simple primer on gospel centrality with my colleague Steve McKinion. Please continue to pray for his son Harrison who is battling leukemia.

Next, teaching: I am scheduled to teach in two nations on two continents during my sabbatical and at a university in the states this summer. In late March-early April I will teach a course on prayer at the Kiev Theological Seminary in April 2012 as part of a mission trip we call Team Ukraine. In May I will teach a course on spiritual awakenings at the Canadian Baptist Seminary, and a course on evangelism for Anderson University in July.

Third, I will be presenting a lecture at the George Washington University in Washington, DC, in February. GWU was actually founded by Luther Rice, and I will lecture on the impact of the Second Great Awakening on Rice’s ministry and the founding of the school. The lecture is part of a greater vision by some Baptist leaders in the area to give a stronger Baptist identity at the university.

Fourth, I plan to rebuild certain key courses. First, I want to rework my DMin seminar on historical and contemporary models of evangelism. Next, my Foundations of Student Ministry Course needs to be retooled. Third, the foundational evangelism course needs an overhaul. I will be consulting with colleagues at other schools for feedback in this process.

Fifth, I plan to sit down with leaders in strategic student ministry organizations to explore potential partnerships with SEBTS. This would include Student Leadership University in Orlando and Student Life in Birmingham, among others. Southeastern is increasingly recognized as a place of theological, missional, and strategic training for student pastors, and I hope to advance this influence significantly.

Finally, denominationally, I will be speaking at several evangelism conferences in state conventions such as Montana, New England, and North Carolina, and at strategic churches including Christ Fellowship in Miami, Idlewild in Tampa, New Antioch in Baltimore, and leading The Story training at Lifepoint Church in Ozark, Missouri, and First Baptist Church, Arnold, Missouri, along with several DNows.
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For the Missional Students book (primarily) and for my general growth I will be reading , or in the case of many I have read, reviewing the following books:
Acuff, Quitter.
________. Stuff Christians Like.
Addison, Movements That Change the World.
Amen, Change Your Brain, Change Your Body.
Beaujon, Body Piercing Saved My Life.
Belcher, Deep Church.
Boshers, The Be-With Factor.
Brafman, Starfish and the Spider.
Bridges, Gospel for Real Life.
Briner, Roaring Lambs.
Carson, D.A. Scandalous.
Clark, Hurt.
Colvin, Talent Is Overrated.
Couch, Culture Making.
Dean, Almost Christian.
Devries, Sustainable Youth Ministry.
Fields, Your First Two Years in Student Ministry.
________. Purpose-Driven Youth Ministry.
Fikert, When Helping Hurts.
Folmsbee, A New Kind of Youth Ministry.
Frost, Road to Missional.
________. ReJesus.
Gilbert, What Is the Gospel?
Gladwell, Blink.
________. Outliers.
________. The Tipping Point.
Godin, Linchpin.
_______. Tribes.
_______. Insubordinate.
Greear, Gospel.
Groeschel, Weird.
Harvey, Rescuing Ambition.
Hirsch, Untamed.
Hunter, To Change the World.
Idleman, Not a Fan.
Joiner, Think Orange.
Jones, Perspectives on Family Ministry.
Kelly, What Technology Wants.
Kimball, They Like Jesus but Not the Church.
Kostenberger, Excellence.
Lancaster, The M-Factor.
Lyons, The Next Christians.
MacMillan, The Performance Factor.
Mahan, Awakening Youth Discipleship.
McNeal, Missional Renaissance.
Noll, New Shape of World Christianity.
Owen, Mortification of Sin.
Qualman, Socialnomics.
Patrick, Church Planter.
_________. For the City.
Patterson, Crucial Conversations.
Pink, Drive.
Piper, Think.
Platt, Radical.
_______. Radical Together.
Pressfield, The War of Art.
Rah, The Next Evangelicalism.
Rainer, The Millennials.
________. Essential Church.
Ratey, Spark.
Rice, The Church of Facebook.
Root, Revisiting Relational Youth Ministry.
Ross, Student Ministry and the Supremacy of Christ.
Sandler, Righteous.
Schwartz, The Paradox of Choice.
Senter, When God Shows Up.
Senter, etc, Four Views of Youth Ministry.
Smith, Souls in Transition.
_________. Soul Searching.
Stetzer, Lost and Found.
Stier, Outbreak.
Stott, Christian Mission in the Modern World.
Tapscott, Growing Up Digital.
Thorn, Note to Self.
Veith, God at Work.
Wax, Holy Subversion.
Wilson, Gospel Wakefulness.
Wright, The Mission of God.
Wright, Rethink.

For me, a sabbatical is not a time to kick back and waste time, although I will enjoy some R and R for sure. It is a time to grow, reflect, and retool for the primary ministry assignment the Lord has blessed me with, that of teaching a generation of leaders. Pray for me that I will think, write, and learn well.

The Global/Great Commission

Posted on December 30, 2011 by Alvin Reid in Blog, Leadership, Missional, Movements, Vision | 1 Comment

In 1910, roughly two-thirds of the Christian population of the world lived in Europe. According to a recent Pew Forum Study this has changed dramatically:
–about a quarter of the population of Christians (26%) now live in Europe
–24% live in sub-Sahara Africa
–37% live in the Americas
–13% or about one-eighth live in Asia and the Pacific.

These numbers are encouraging on many levels. However, the vast population of Asia and the fact that most of the population of the 10/40 window resides there screams of the unfinished task of taking the gospel to the nations.

These numbers also illustrate why this week I enjoyed a remarkable yet rare opportunity. I had the joy of speaking to about five thousand Korean young adults at their annual missions conference, an Urbana-type gathering in Rochester, New York. God has been particularly at work among Koreans over the past century, so challenging this group encouraged me greatly.

When you read the great commission passages in the Gospel records and Acts you see a straightforward, clear mission. Read them, or better, memorize them:

Matthew 28:19-20
Mark 16:15
Luke 24:44-48
John 20:21
Acts 1:8

While each passage offers its own unique focus, what is clear in them all is this:
we have a mission to take the message to the whole world. If you stood before a group of believers and asked them to raise their hand if they were called by God to tell others about Christ, all having read these verses would raise their hand. But if you asked them whether they were called to take this message to the nations, you might get a different response.

I know. I have asked this many times. When I ask a group on a college campus, in a church service, or a youth meeting to raise their hand if they are called by God to reach the nations, most do not raise their hands. But the correct answer is that we are all called in some way to the nations. The verses above and the tenor of all Scripture make this more than clear.

We seem to think that the only people called to reach the nations are those who are going as international missionaries, appointed by a mission board, a church, or a ministry. But read these verses again. We are commissioned by God to:
-make disciples of all people’s ( literally “all ethnics”). Matthew
–preach the gospel to the whole world. Mark
–preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins to the nations. Luke
–go out even as the Son was sent forth from the Father. John
–give ourselves as witnesses to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth. Acts

In other words, the mission of God compels us to go to the nations. Yes, we can help do that by praying. Yes, we can help by giving. But we can also go, many of us. We can:
–help businessmen who love Jesus and travel abroad see themselves as missionaries and equip them in that role
–challenge young people to get out of the country before finishing high school
–give young adults a vision to spend some or all of their lives overseas
–challenge retired believers to take trips to the nations
–set aside a part of our time and resources to go ourselves
–seriously consider whether we should spend our lives elsewhere for the gospel
–ask ourselves what talent, gift, and/or passion has God given to us that we can use to reach the nations.
–and, we who live in the US can also “go” by reaching those who have come from all over the globe to us.

I read Radical Together by my friend David Platt, and the thing that hit me most was how many in his church committed 5% of their year, roughly a week, for specific missions focus. I prayerfully committed to spend 10% or the rest of my life going outside the US and doing what I am most passionate about: equipping leaders and reaching people through church planting. So in 2012 I will spend two weeks in Kiev teaching at a seminary and helping church plants. I will spend another teaching at the Canadian Baptist Seminary. That is my giftedness and my passion. I hope to do this until my last breath.

What is your plan to reach the nations? How are you using your influence to encourage others in this focus? Is your vision as big as the planet? I can tell you when I finished seminary I had a keen awareness of the need for a church to reach its community with the gospel. I also had a conviction about the nations which basically consisted of having some focus annually on missions abroad. But now I think our local church vision should be global from the start. We need a vision as big as the heart of God, and a desire to build the Kingdom more than our own little empires. Fortunately many pastors and leaders get that. I still run into the occasional believer who questions why we focus on the nations. But those are rare, and far more common are those who have a vision for the gospel like that in the Gospels.

As you reflect on the coming year, what can you do to reach the nations?

Young People, Remember Those Who Came Before You

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Alvin Reid in Blog | Leave a comment

I love sports, especially football. I do not love the obsession bordering on idolatry sports sometimes creates in our culture, with grown men spending hours when they should be working at their real job playing fantasy sports, for instance. But sports can teach a lot. And the Scripture has more than a few illusions to sports, including the marathon motif in one of my favorite verses, Philippians 3:14.

The NBA season began belatedly on Christmas Day. I caught some of the action. The best part of the viewing for me was the greatest basketball commercial I have ever seen (apologies to Spike Lee and MJ). The commercial, shown below, features the combination of the greats of my youth (and earlier) with the stars of today. Yes, it is simply a commercial that promotes the NBA on TNT. But it, like sports does at times, brings just a little bit more.

Young people, in your haste to make a difference, to change the world, to live for Jesus, do not forget those who went before you. The best at understanding movements today are those who know well their history. This is why I will never read enough biographies, because they inspire me and often convict me. Remember your own role models, your heroes, those who loved you, mentored you, and showed you how to live.

No, you do not have to do everything just like them. Please do not. Please do not confuse the surface of these NBA players, like the style of the jerseys, for their ability to play the game well in their time. Some things do not change: in basketball the goal is still, well, to make a goal. If you are a young adult following Christ, learn from your heroes while following Christ. His gospel does not change, but chart your way for your time by God’s guidance, for we humans tend to confuse the timeless with the timely, and our preferences sometimes get in the way of gospel truth.

Enjoy the commercial, but even as you do and as you look to a new calendar year do so with a robust awareness of those who came before. And remember, those who come after you may well look to you for guidance, too.

P90etc… A Review

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Alvin Reid in Blog, FItness | Leave a comment

On Sunday, January 1. 2012, I officially start P90X2, the latest in the fitness revolution led by Tony Horton, who by the way is my age (52). Because I have several friends beginning one form or another of the fitness programs offered by Teambeachbody (Horton’s helpful online community) I thought I would offer a review of the major programs.

Note: by signing up for a free membership at teambeachbody.com you have access to all kinds of helpful info on diet and fitness.

I hit 50 in 2009 and did the mid-life male evaluation. I was overweight, out of shape, with an artificial hip and a travel schedule that gave the added excuse of lots of meals in restaurants. I was also sick and tired of being sick and tired. I have no idea where or how, maybe an infomercial, but i saw this Horton fellow advertising the Ten-Minute Trainer. I figured that was about all I could handle, so I tried it.

10-Minute Trainer: it is what it says it is. 10 minutes a day. I was not a big fan as I had no experience at that point with exercise bands and thought they were for sissies who could not handle free weights. Yes, I was an idiot. I began to like the program just about the time I lost the DVD. But I was hooked to the idea that one could use exercise bands and a DVD and get in shape even if you traveled and stayed in hotels a lot. That summer I bought Power 90, or P90.

Power90: This was the first generation of what has become P90X and now P90X2. Still out of shape but more motivated, I got the DVDs, the right bands, and got serious. I was going to finish all 90 days, and I did. This plan is FANTASTIC for those of you who are not in very good shape but are ready for a change. Do NOT jump into P90X or X2 if you are seriously overweight or out of shape unless you can really modify dramatically.

Power90 offers a good, basic weight training and cardio routine. two basic workouts, one called Sculpt (more weight training) and one called Sweat (cardio), in tw2o stages. Stage 1 is for the first 45 days, Stage 2 the last half. It features basic exercises like pushups, situps, curls, military press, etc. One thing I noticed about the program is how it takes stretching far more seriously than I ever did.

My ego took a blow early as I could not do all the exercises the first time through. If you cannot humble yourself and take a 90 day look at these routines you will just become one more quitter. Check your ego and buy into Tony’s littles sayings like “just hit play” and “do your best and forget the rest.” I did. And I finished. And I lost over 15 pounds. I had to modify the cardio. NOTE: this is key to all these workouts. Unless you are an elite athlete who actually does not need this, you will have to modify something. Because of my hip I had to be careful on the cardio, taking breaks, substituting stepping for jumping, etc. But I did finish the program. In fact, the following fall of 2010 I led an exercise group at Southeastern where we did Power90 as a group, and we did it again in spring 2011. This program requires only bands or dumbbells and can be done with a group. I highly recommend this.

P90 advertised this new program called P90X on its DVDs. Christmas 2009 our son Josh bought it for me. That was the next big challenge beginning 2010.

P90X: This program is brutal. You will modify. You will not finish it the first week. Most people I know failed to get past week 3 because they felt success meant competing with the people on the DVD. No sir. You do your best, take breaks, and modify. But if you set as a goal to finish all the workouts by the last week, you can do it. Be sure you get a physical before trying these programs, by the way.

P90X requires a pullup bar (I still put my foot in a chair) and weights or bands. I used bands the first time through and weights after. There were many times the first few weeks I stared at the screen incredulously. LIke when I tried and failed Plyometrics the first time, even though one of the athletes in the video had a prosthetic leg. That will mess with your head. But my artificial hip simply could not do it for about 6 weeks. So I did Cardio X instead. The first time I tried Core Synergistics I was at a beach house doing a DNow and I literally wanted to cuss. Superman and Banana looked impossible. But now I can do them without a problem! Think tortoise not hare on this program.

I kept pushing play. I told too many people I mentor I was doing it so I had no choice but to finish. I learned to modify often. But when finished I had lost another 15 pounds, and could do something I thought I would never do again: I could jump. I can now jump rope and do jumping jacks, things I thought I would never do with a fake hip.

I had to sit down and plan out my schedule to complete the 90 days. It was not easy doing 6 days on and 1 day off. But I did it and have done it again.

Which leads me to the mother of them all, P90X2. I begin January 1, but I have begun doing the exercises at about 75% so I could be prepared to modify. P90X2 is amazing. SO focused on the core, on whole body health, and especially helps me with my hip. It requires the large stability ball which is amazing, some smaller medicine balls, and a foam roller. You can get all of these and the program for under 200 dollars, and it is worth it.

I learned something the hard way in my early efforts: my hands, and especially my thumbs, have issues. I tried putting my hands on the med balls which works amazingly, but it caused a lot of hand and thumb pain. So for me, at least at first, I will use pushup bars and other means besides the med balls to avoid being sidelined. I also have weightlifting gloves and some athletic tape. This is frustrating but I will not be deterred!

P90 is 13 days on, 1 day off. P90X is 6 days on, 1 day off. P90X2 is 5 days on, 2 days off, making it more manageable for your schedule. It also offers more helps on modifying for those like me who travel.

I have not spelled out all the workouts, the meal plans, etc because they are easily accessible online. I have not followed the meal plans as I should, but I have cut out a lot of sweets, fried foods, and bread. I do plan to follow the diet much more carefully these first 90 days in 2012.

In summary, if you are in pretty good shape and want to push hard and get stronger, jump in with P90X. If you are a beginner or just starting back exercising, by all means get Power90. But if you are in good shape and want to get whole body health like never before, jump into P90X2. And if you try these or other beachbody products like Insanity (I did it for a while but it simply was not wise with my hip), buy though me as your teambeachbody coach and I will donate the profit to missions!

Your body and mine are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We should take care of the temple, and these programs can help.

Bring it!

Want a Stronger 2012? Start NOW

Posted on December 23, 2011 by Alvin Reid in Blog, FItness, Vision | 1 Comment

It is coming.

It is near.

2012.

January 1.

The time of we lie more to ourselves than any other time of the year. You know, those New Year Resolutions.

I like to set goals. I like a new challenge, so I always enjoy the turning of the calendar and the beginning of a new year. Like you no doubt, I have set my share of resolutions only to cave in and fail.

I want to give some simple, practical advice about starting the New Year better. It is the advice I am following as well.

But first a vital disclaimer: if you follow Christ, you are already accepted by Him. You don’t need to be better in 2012 to earn His favor, or to impress others or yourself. But, as Paul in Phil 3:1-13 made clear how the gospel changed everything in his life, including his ambition, he then wanted even more to “press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (v 14). So, it is normal and expected to want to be more effective, have more character, and make a greater impact for the gospel. But our motive for doing so is to bring glory to God, not to fill some void in our life Christ has already more than satisfied.

Therefore, I want to know the Scriptures more. I want to be healthier. I want to reach more for Christ, mentor better, and more than that, be a better man to my wife and dad to my children. And I am guessing you do as well. So how do we do that?

Here is the simple advice. Start now. Not on January 1. And not as some are on January 2–starting the year with a day off is hardly a good beginning, after all. Here is my process, with a few tweets thrown in for encouragement:

First, the Scriptures. Over 20 times in my adult life I have read the whole Bible in a year. I have found this to be helpful to me as a Christ follower and as a professor. It has given me a greater affection for my Lord and a greater appreciation for the centrality of the gospel in all the Bible, as this recent tweet testifies

“@PastorTullian: The Bible tells one story & points to one figure: The whole OT predicts God’s Rescuer, the whole NT presents God’s Rescuer.”

This year I did not read the Bible in its entirety and wanted to do so in 2012, so I started my one-year reading plan—last week. I am already over a week ahead. I am using the Read the Bible for Life plan you can see here. This way if I miss a day here or there, as I know I will, I will not fall behind, but will still be ahead!

In other words, I prefer setting myself up for success not failure.

Next, exercise. I am committed to doing P90X2 for 90 days beginning January 1. I have a couple of groups going for accountability, so if you want to do some form of rigorous exercise for 90 days beginning January 1 email me at areid@sebts.edu.

I officially start January 1. But I already started, sort of. I got the P90X2 package a week ago. I have started working through the exercises, not all the way through them, but to get acquainted. I have an artificial hip and have to modify some, so I am already working on that. This workout is very different, very brutal, and I love it already! If you are not in really good shape or able to check your ego and modify, stay away from this beast. But find some form of consistent workout and do two things: 1) get someone to hold you accountable. I am a coach for the social media site run by the P90X folks here, so join up for free and let me coach you. And 2) start NOW.

If you plan to exercise and/or diet (you should do both) with more diligence in 2012, by no means should you start in January. Start now. You can enjoy your family and all that food, but begin now teaching yourself that gorging is not to be confused with being godly. Get some confidence and momentum. Pick a plan (I will be reviewing P90, P90X, and P90X2 shortly) and start early.

Here is another practical tip that has been revolutionary for me: if you have a smartphone, get a calorie counting app . I use loseit.com. It allows you to have friends and hold each other accountable. Note this tweet from my friend Matt:

“@mhenslee Matt Henslee Getting healthy a goal in 2012? Join @dwpoyner, @alvinreid, and myself over at loseit.com. I’ve lost just a hair under 130 pounds.”

There are other examples of starting early, such as my efforts on a new book already begun ahead of schedule, and more importantly, a couple of major trips planned with my wife to have time with her.

Want to read more in 2012? Read that first book in 2011. Want to be more of an encourager? Intentionally encourage someone daily, and start today.

My pastor recently tweeted:
“@pastordavidsims David Sims The largest “nation” on the Earth – procrastination!”

Don’t set yourself up for failure by procrastinating the start of the new year. Start now. Get ahead. Gain momentum. Be the change you seek.

And take a few others with you.