Young Christian Leaders' Alliance

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By Samuel Young, WA

One secret to wisdom is not knowing what you know, but rather understanding what you don’t. Man’s quest for knowledge on God’s earth has always been a push against the unknown, a digging and bringing to light of truths that would be hidden, and of lies that would cover them up. It is essential that as leaders we learn to accomplish this quest through asking powerful questions; ones that will challenge ideas brought forth in our conversations, in our writing, and especially, in our interacting with public speakers.

You see, questions are a powerful tool.  They can encourage a speaker or rip him to shreds; they can refine a point or reduce it to idiocy.  Like a gun, a bad question in the wrong hands can do as much damage as a good man shooting at the wrong target. The challenge in forming a powerful question is to listen, research, and strategize.

One of the biggest reasons that many people struggle with asking powerful questions is that they hear too much and don’tlisten at all. This may seem obvious, but if you don’t know what a speaker istalking about, you won’t be able to ask any intelligent questions. The thought process does not begin when a speaker asks for questions, but rather as soon as the speaker begins his presentation. To ask good questions, it is essential that you focus on the speaker’s train of thought, understand his logic, and take good notes.

Even though the thought process of a question begins when the speaker starts, the foundations of a good question originate much earlier. A speaker may give you an overview of his subject matter, but many times his weakness lies not in what he says, but rather in his unstated assumptions. The only way to catch this is to research the subject ahead of time and know the points of controversy. Many times a simple internet search can provide talking points.  If the speaker tries to falsely define where the battle-lines are, remind him where the hottest fighting is.

Strategizing is the third element, and arguably the most important. When we start asking speakers powerful questions, we must remember to identify both our target and our objective. At the end of the day, we’re going to hear speakers that we agree with and disagree with and we’re going to face arguments that bless the Lord and curse Him. Targeting our questions to the situation is essential, and to do that, we must consider two types of questions.

On the one hand are questions that would build a speaker up. Asking for clarification, requesting a practical application, or even submitting a common objection, are ways to accomplish this. These types of questions allow a speaker to expand on his argument and give him opportunity to shore up weak areas. On the other hand, questions may tear down and discredit an ungodly argument. These include drawing attention to contradictions, requesting sources, pointing out a conflict with other authorities, or raising logical objections.  If we are not discerning in the questions we pose, we may end up giving ungodly arguments a free pass, while our own men are shot down in friendly fire.

Finally, we must consider the reason that we ask questions at all.  If our motives lie in lifting ourselves up in pride or instigating fruitless controversy and debate, we are no better than those we fight.  It is essential that we stand firmly in our mission to glorify Christ through our acts and honor Him through our lives. In Christ lies our strength, and through Him we will tear down strongholds.

If you’ve been to a YCLA “Lead the Lemon” event, you’ve probably heard of the leadership acronym with the all-important word “L.O.V.E.”  This acronym stands for Look out for others, Organize to meet their needs, Visualize success, and Enter action.  However, this acronym does not give an applicable leadership model for everyday influence and service.  How does one actually practice servant-leadership? 

The quick answer is that servant-leadership is more a spirit or attitude than a set of actions.  The best goal is simply to exemplify character qualities such as meekness, wisdom, diligence, and yes, compassion and love.  While this answer is correct, the YCLA realizes that actual actions will result from such an attitude.  Thus, we have put together the acronym S.E.R.V.E. to help you remember how to face leadership issues in your everyday life. It is as follows: 

1. See a problem that needs to be fulfilled. 

2. Envision a solution to the problem. 

3. Respond to the problem with appropriate action. 

4. Verify the results of your response. 

5. Equip others to do the same thing.  

Look for more detail on this newly formulated “cycle” of service principles in future YCLA resources!

Find out more about YCLA church/school events like Lead the Lemon

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Dear friends,

July 2010 marks the third year that our YCLA group has existed as such. We praise God for the great impact we have been able to have so far, and pray that it will continue to grow in the future. Our vision for the next few months includes audio-video productions, increased church events, expanding Operation Pi (Prayer Initiative) for the coming school year, and re-creating the YoungChristianLeaders.org website as a leadership resource location.

Please join in prayer with us that God will give us opportunities to serve Him, and that others will catch the vision of young people mobilized for Christ!  You can now download one or more of our newest brochures. Then, print them out and give them to three of your friends!  There is one advertising the BEAMS system, one on the YCLA itself, and one presenting Christ as the Creator and Savior.  If you would like more information on how to support us, please email us at yclalliance@gmail.com.

Thanks so much!  We can't do it without you.  Keep leading for Christ as you follow Him.

For His Service,

The YCLA

The YCLA is happy to announce that our long-awaited Handbook is now available for distribution on compact disc. The disc contains the full edition of the BEAMS Handbook in PDF format. It also features printable sheets with all the required Scriptures for memorization, the BEAMS info sheet, and several other resources such as a download of the shareware Bible study program SwordSearcher.

Several months ago, we made the decision to forgo the option of paper publication for the time being. Instead, God gave us the idea of placing BEAMS on CD-ROM. More than a simple book, the Handbook will be a part of an interactive system.  Throughout the document, active links will be posted which will connect to other valuable information online. As a PDF, it will be completely searchable, and the Table of Contents will link directly to each page listed. Even better, such an arrangement allows us to include audio and video files which will no doubt play an even greater role in future CD editions.

Another important feature of the CDs will be a link to the login page of the YCLA site, www.YCLAlliance.org. By clicking on a picture of a golden telescope which also appears on the book’s front cover, users will be able to immediately connect to the YCLA online members’ features to post blogs and discuss issues on the forums, and to browse the archives of past newsletters.  If they are not yet members online, they will be able to join through this same link.

The Handbook ranks and material remains the same: a guiding set of achievements which build leadership, teamwork, and trust in God. The Handbook promotes courage by proclaiming God’s power to conquer every possible enemy.

Please pray for and join us in distributing this CD to churches, groups, and individual youth as we seek to train them in Biblical impact strategies.  Also, please consider ordering a BEAMS CD. The CD is $10.00 for members, and $12.00 plus shipping for non-members. You may order one or more at www.youngchristianleaders.org/contactus.aspx. The Handbook, with writing and compilation work spanning close to two years of YCLA effort, will undoubtedly prove to be an important resource in your arsenal of leadership skill for the Bible and its ageless principles.

Although Evolutionary scientists will assert that they have no biases or pre-existing ideas for their research, they are indeed biased towards a naturalistic worldview. Evolutionists believe that the origin of everything should be explained by natural means, apart from God. They are fitting their scientific theories to a prior view. On the other hand, many Christians believe the Bible simply because they have been taught it, and thus have the same kind of preexisting ideas.

How can we learn what the beginning truly was? It is important to note that the kind of science which puts men on the moon or explores a DNA genome is not the same as the "science" which attempts to explain where humans originated or how the universe was birthed.  Science is based on observation. Simply put, no one alive on Earth was there to observe how life began and continued through time. There are just some things pure science cannot tell us.  The key to finding truth on a past event is not setting aside our existing ideas, but finding an eyewitness account and testing it with logic and our current observations.

When we take our here-and-now observations and look at them through the Biblical Creation account, we come up with a consistent interpretation, but when we look at them through the Evolutionary view, we see a contradictory and unworkable interpretation.  

One example of this contradiction is that if Evolution were true, we would never be able to know it.  We would not be able to trust our brains if they are the result of millions of chance mutations, created in an unguided or Intelligence-deprived process.  What if the laws of logic were simply Evolutionary survival tools, but did not actually convey truth?  We could never find out, because to do so would be to assume logic to be true.  Also, the naturalist states that the laws of science have always been the same – and thus, he states that the universe must have formed in keeping with processes seen today.  However, the naturalist actually borrows from the Biblical system, because he assumes that the laws of science were established before the universe and everything in it began to form.  

In objectivity, the Biblical framework far exceeds the Evolutionary one in its ability to account for the evidence. God’s version of history is consistent, because He is its ultimate eyewitness! Just as in any historical research, we must allow the account of the One who observed the event to have precedence over ever-changing (and illogical) modern opinions. Ultimately, it is true that belief in Creation requires faith; but, belief in Evolution requires much more.

Adapted from the BEAMS Handbook

I just bought a really good mic for my computer today.  I've been practicing and experimenting with it to see how to make good recordings to put online - hopefully I can put a lot of Bible and/or YCLA articles on audio so people can hear them expressed.  (There are of course a lot of good Bible recordings, but most don't sound like a book - they tend to be monotonous it seems like.)  Here's an attempt at something different: http://youngchristianleaders.org/Documents/Proverbs%203%201through17.wma  It will improve with time no doubt, but see what you think.

-Josiah M.

We are pleased to announce that the 2010 BEAMS Handbook is now available online in its current form.

It's entitled "Upholding the Light."  Click here to view it.

We welcome those interested in the YCLA to learn more about us onthe About Us page and join the site by clicking "register" at the top left of the page. YCLA site members can connect with other young Christian leaders and work together on creative projects and goals. You will be able to share your ideas and insights and collaborate with other energetic, equipped, and educated young people; and mostimportantly, older authorities and advisors.

Signing up is fast and free. Thank you.

In Christ,

AV Fundamentalist

YCLA Web Master

Our new YCLA site will be launched within the next 2 weeks. Our new YCLA email address is yclalliance@gmail.com.