Posted by Mike

Here is a blog post by a friend of mine (and also one of the smartest youth ministry guys I know) Matt McGill.  The post is about anger which honestly I find is super useful in times like this where we find ourselves angry with our parents, with friends (or people we thought were friends), school, injustice, ect.  Anger isn't wrong, and in fact reveals a lot about us.  I hope this helps you as much as it helped me.

Mike Brook

I know anger means something slightly different to each of us. As I talk about anger, I’m talking about  response we have when our  sense of justice has been wronged. We each handle our anger differently, but I want to look at what’s common to all of us.

Think about the last time you were angry. What was it that really flipped the switch?

Anger can be useful. It has to be since we can become angry and not sin, using it as a time to evaluate our hearts (Ps 4:4). Jesus got angry (not often, to be sure). I think anger ought to become a path with a huge sign that says, "HERE BE SOME WISDOM TO BE FOUND."

We can become more like Jesus: anger doesn’t have to be avoided or endured or denied and repressed. It ought to be examined. In some cases it ought to be embraced (now do you think I’m sick? I am. But that doesn’t mean you should stop reading.).

I love growing and here’s what I love about anger:


1. Anger is pure and without pretense. Anger reveals how we really feel and what we really think. And: The world needs more honesty; more authenticity. More revealing and less concealing.

Beware the angerless, they have discovered nothing important, and therefore have nothing to loose and therefore have nothing to give. The heart may beat, but it’s nothing more than a muscle that pumps a numb mock-mimicry of life.

Anger can only come from one place: priority. The human heart and soul and mind is so very difficult to discern, so tough to know. It is difficult to wade through the confusion that is left in anger’s wake: but it is not trivial.

Make no mistake, God’s name is Jealous, and he wants nothing else to hold our hearts.

When you learn to look, anger will reveal a person’s gods. I want no false gods or idols in my heart. When I know the God or god’s in another person’s heart, I’m prepared to help.


2. Anger is action and rejects apathy. When we’re angry, some part of your brain, releases something I can’t pronounce, into your blood. Your heart beats faster. Your fingers curl, then clutch, into a fist. You can’t sit still. It’s a little different for all of us, of course, but anger THRUSTS US TO a magnificent place called, "THIS HAS GOT TO STOP, NOW."

Break the cycle, climb out of the rut.

3. Anger is personal and demands response. We need acceptance and fear rejection. I feel like there’s no better time to build a bridge with someone than in the aftermath of their anger (assuming they aren’t angry with me!!). I know you, the real you, and I still love you. Do you know what your closest friends treasure? Is that not a measure of true friendship?

All of these are true most of the time, but some of the time:

Anger is staged and faked 
Anger is the cycle and only reinforces more of the same 
Anger is settled by a false acceptance

How can you ABNORMALIZE your anger-response?

Posted by Mike

With Christmas fast approaching I thought I would pass along my top three things to think about and do this Christmas to make it great!

1.  Stop and enjoy the season.  It is really easy to get caught up in the gifts, the fun, and just the noise that happens.  Schools on break, there aren't to many sporting events, and it is easy to fill that time with fun trips, days with friends, video games and everything else.  Take some time in the coming weeks to spend with your family, and with God.  Don't get so busy doing stuff that you never get a chance to soak it all in and remember what Christmas is about.

2.  Be creative in gifts for your parents.  Money is tough, and your parents are probably struggling financially like most people.  Instead of asking them for money to buy gifts for them be creative in what you can make or do for them.  I know it might sound cheesy, but some of the best gifts a parent can get don't cost a thing, and when you have to put thought and effort into a gift instead of just money it really shows how much you care.

3.  Be a leader in offering to make this season less about gifts.  Imagine walking into your parents room and saying "this year can we do less gifts."  Besides them checking to see if you had a conussion they would be stunned!  This might sound opposite to what we have grown up doing, but honestly how many of us really remember the gifts we have gotten for Christmas.  Many of your parents are stressing about how to save money this Christmas without disappointing you.  How amazing would it be if we championed the fact that Christmas isn't about getting gifts, but is about God's gift to us?

I know that for many of you that read this, you feel a little torn.  You want to do these things, but you also hate the sacrifice that it will cause.  I really pray that you will consider how much our parents already sacrifice for us, that we remember that this season is about the sacrifice and gift of grace that God has given us, and that we maybe rebel a little against the society that is screaming for us to focus on us.

Mike Brook
Posted by Mike

Every school year held tons of hope for me.  There was the hope that my grades would improve, the hope that I would finally get my guts up to talk to the girl that I liked, the hope that my teachers were the coolest, the hope that the seagulls at my school would not poop on my head (yes even in Chino Hills there were seagulls at school), and honestly my biggest hope going into every year was that it was the year that everything came together.

Junior High was the toughest on me in terms of being picked on.  Other students were relentless with me about my acne, and my greasy hair, but I survived.  High School changed all of that though.  I wasn't worried about being picked on, but what I usually hoped changed was me.  I wanted to be different.  In high school I changed.  I was the jerk who picked on people, I was the one that craved attention, I was the guy who I really hated when I was in middle school.  The thing is that I always just thought that "I'll get better when I am older."  The problem with a someday attitude is that Someday is never today.

This school year you might start out with tons of hope for everything I listed above but I want to encourage you that you can change.  You can be the light on your campus.  You don't and shouldn't have an attitude of waiting to be older in order to have an impact.  My prayer for you is that this school year this verse maybe becomes the theme for your year:

“Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you teach, in the way you live, in your love, your faith
and your purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12

Know that you are being prayed for and that we love to support you.

Mike Brook
Posted by Mike

Welcome to the SSM San Clemente website and blog!  My name is Mike Brook and I am the Student Pastor for Saddleback Student Ministries in San Clemente.  I have been very excited for this website ever since our IT team began working on it a few months ago.   

I hope is that this blog is something useful for you as students, and helps you grow on your own.

We are so excited that you are checking us out and am excited for the possibilities of posting events, fun videos, and recaps as well as great things to think about throughout the week.

Mike



 

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