Mark,

I appreciate your heart for students and for God's Word. I understand some of the concerns mentioned above and think they are worth discussing. Here are my thoughts:

1. It is hard to get away from the importance of Scripture in the life of a believer - I think this is why David made it a point to say that God's Word is more precious than gold and sweeter than honey from the comb (Psalm 19:10). Mark certainly emphasized the importance of Scripture so I think it is unfair to insinuate otherwise.

2. I also think Mark offered some wise counsel with regards to forcing or guilting students into reading the Bible. Often our attempts at this become nothing more than legalism. Studying God's Word will flow out of a love relationship with Jesus Christ - too many students (and believers in general) spend their entire lives trying to earn God's favor through religious exercise and fail to recognize they can do nothing to earn God's favor.

3. While I agree that personal Bible reading was not possible for many throughout church history, I do not think that means we should trivialize the tremendous privilege we have today. "Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more" (Luke 12:48). God's Word, whether spoken or written, is the only thing that God promises will not return void. We are blessed to live in an age where Scripture is available in written form and we should be good stewards of this opportunity.

I also think Mark's statement that personal Bible reading cannot be found in Scripture is problematic. Paul asked Timothy to bring the "books and parchments" to him while in prison (2 Timothy 4:13). Virtually every scholar concludes that Paul was asking Timothy to bring him copies of Scripture that were available. We would be foolish to conclude that Paul would not have studied the Scripture personally. We should champion both corporate and personal study of God's Word and both are found in Scripture.

I would keep the bottle 1/5 of the way full. People don't want an empty bottle! They want a full bottle and if a full bottle is not available, most people will use less shampoo anyway!

I hate to disagree but I'm not buying the "Everything rises or falls on leadership" mantra. I think leadership is important and student pastors should seek to follow Christ and lead as effectively as possible. However, the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of students (ie. God's work) is the most important factor in any student ministry. I don't care how great of a leader you may be, without the work of God, nothing built will be lasting!

I would agree with Brandon's assessment. Numbers matter but they can become an idol in our ministry. They can also be a great picture of what is going on in your ministry as well. Ultimately, though, I think we need to realize that numbers do not always represent whether we are doing a good job or not. Paul reminds us that it is God that gives the increase (whether numerically or spiritual depth). My advice for every student pastor is to passionately seek after God, encourage students to do the same, and honestly evaluate your ministry on multiple levels (student involvement, parent involvement, spiritual growth, numerical growth, salvations, integration within the overall church body, etc.).

Congrats Tim and family! My wife has a scheduled c-section for next Monday (October 11th) when we will get to meet our daughter (#2). I guess we will be going through the same sleep deprived schedule together! Praying for you!

Thanks Jeff! I certainly agree about the need to get parents involved in the discipleship process. I have actually just finished writing my DMin. project on this topic. I called it "Parent-Driven Discipleship" and took our parents through a seminar that helped them recognize that they need to take on the primary role of discipling their teenagers. It was awesome and it has been a catalyst for parent involvement in our ministry. Keep up the fight!

Hey Tim! Here is the link to my ministry tip:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9exaKKqHvU