Rally Week

This week in the community that I serve, there are hundreds of students gathering at lunch to hear the Gospel. It is all student organized and led, and it is pretty amazing. I have had the opportunity to speak at one such gathering already this week, worshiped on a campus today and look forward to another time to be used to bring the word again tomorrow. I am in awe of how this has all gone. Today, it was reported that over 50 students at one of the local high schools came forward because they wanted to turn over their life. That is a staggering numbers for those of us who are not Greg Laurie, Luis Palau or Billy Graham. Over 70 this week, throughout the school community, have said that they wanted to turn their life to Christ. What a great God we serve indeed.

I am excited and energized by news like this. I can only imagine what the conversations, relationships and other opportunities that the students who are organizing these rallies will have in the coming weeks with their peers. And it is movements like this that remind me that I love my job and my calling. But most of all, it reminds me that I am a vessel, a tool to be used and I can only hope and pray that I will continue to be blessed in order to keep being a blessing.

Little Ol' Ladies Prayer Circle

One of my ministry mentors, Brian Aaby, is always hammering home the point with me that Youth Ministry is a three pronged approach. Students, Leaders, Parents. Even though I have seen glimpses of this in my first year and a half of full time ministry, I didn't fully grasp the full idea until about Thanksgiving of 2010. It was also hammered home last week when Kara Powell was presenting her information about the intergenerational "sticky" church. It was in these conversations and presentations that I realized that they were speaking from experience and research, and so instead of being bull headed and trying to do it my own way, it would probably just make sense to follow their advice.

And so, I have been trying harder to do just that. And today was a break through moment for me. Every Wednesday afternoon, some members of our church gather religiously to pray for the hurts, needs, and desires of our church. It is usually older members of our congregation and I very rarely doesn't revolve in the those participating. This means that for an hour every Wednesday, the same small group of people are praying. Every Week. Without missing a beat. Only two weeks of for the Christmas break. And I had never attended....I just walked back to my office and close my door to get work done. I would sometimes pop my head in and ask for a request here or a praise there, but I never spent the time to sit and pray with them. Until today.

I decided it was time to get more three pronged, get over myself and enter the unknown of the Little Ol' Ladies Prayer Circle. And it was one of the most refreshing spiritual experiences of my week. Earnest and consistent prayers, asking for healing on behalf of others, Scripture as prayer and praises for the Creator of the Universe. All I can say is that it was awesome. It also opened up there door for them to pray for me, which was unexpected. All of this to say, I think I am headed back to the Prayer Circle next week.

On Point

Do you ever have one of those days where feel like you are exactly where you need to be? Well not only did I have one of those days, but I had one of those weeks. During the Communities of Hope Summit with the NNYM this week, I had this feeling of "this is what you were created to do, go and be the best Youth Worker you can be." When Kara Powell was presenting, she made me feel like I was at least in the right ballpark when it came to may thoughts and premonitions about Youth Ministry. And then Sunday School happened today...

I would say that most of my students don't really know what the job of a Youth Pastor actually looks like. The day to day "office work" idea doesn't seem to click. Most of them seem to think that I sit in my office twittling my thumbs and cruisn' Facebook. Although some of that is true, I tried to express that my job is so much more than that. We talked about the trips to campus, staff meetings, the events that have to be planned, the two lessons a week that they experience and so on. But then I came to the bottom line: a combination of emotion and Proverbs 22:6. "I love you guys and I care about your souls, I am here ultimately to be some one to help guide you on your own path of faith." The light bulbs went off for many of the students. From there we were tracking...and we had a great time of discussing this years plans and calendar, exploring Matthew 22:34-40 as our theme and loving on each other.

It is after Big House sessions like the one today that reminds me that I am exactly where God wants me and needs me and that I absolutely love my job, even with the downsides. I love my students at WPC and they are growing on me more and more.

The Future of Michigan Football

Some of you may know that I am rather large college football fan. I chose at an early age to be a Michigan Wolverine fan, rather it pretty much chose me. The early years were the good years for the Wolverines. There were Heisman Trophy Winners, plenty of beat downs on the Buckeyes and of course a National Championship.

Well, fast forward to the previous three years of Michigan football...I almost don't want to talk about it. It isn't all coach Rich Rod's fault, but the Wolverines have been terrible. But now we are at a crossroads. Rich Rod is out and we are waiting to hear who is in. Needless to say, I am nervously anticipating the announcement and hope for The Rise of The Wolverine. Back to Big 10 domination PLEASE!

All of this to say...my life isn't all about Youth Ministry. I love my sports too. I love my wife a lot as well...

The Link

I have spent the last few days with several great Youth Ministry minds pondering the idea of Communities of Hope for the National Network of Youth Ministry. There is so much information to work through that it is going to take some time for me to unpack it all, but there were two major themes that kept coming up throughout the summit: 1.)The role of the parent as the first line of Youth Ministry and 2.) The support of the Senior Pastor for the Youth Worker.

These ideas are not new concepts, but we seem to be in a perfect storm at this point in the timeline for these ideas to actually gain some traction and help rework the current state of Youth Ministry.

I am grateful to have a Senior Pastor who loves and supports me in what I do. He doesn't blog. He doesn't have a Facebook. He hasn't written any books (although, I am sure he could). Instead, he focuses on his flock and truly is a shepherd that loves his congregation, all while giving glory to God. I am blessed to be in the position that I am and to have the full support of my Senior Pastor.

I am still working on the parent piece, as I think that there will always be room for us to get better incorporating and equipping our parents in our ministries.

It will be interesting to see where these ideas lead...

Holidays as a newlywed

Can I just say that I love being married? I mean I know that it has been just over three months since that momentous day...but I am truly in love with my wife and really enjoying being her husband.

And this was very evident in our first holiday season together. We got to enjoy family time with both sides, had several house guests and had a very solid time together over the winter break.

And now, we get to go back to the regular work schedule...with a new twist. My present to Marla was passes to 24 hour Fitness for the both of us...and I agreed to go with her whenever she goes. So, looks like I will be adding several doses of gym time to my weekly schedz.

Communities of Hope Day 1

So,

I am at the end of my first day for the Gathering of Communities of Hope that is being hosted here in San Diego by the National Network of Youth Ministries. Today was just the warm up to what promises to be a packed next two days of discussion and brainstorming with some Youth Ministry vets. I hope that I have valuable information to bring to the table as I am interacting with Youth Workers who have a lot more experience and wisdom than I do. However, we all share a passion for reaching young people for the Kingdom and I feel that I have a great deal to learn at the feet of these "experts". Here are a few highlights/Things I learned from today:

- Got to go to Petco Park and hang out with the VP of Marketing
-The Padres are actually a very cool organization, despite their inability to field a decent team on the diamond.
- Speed dating with Youth Pastors is a loud endeavor
- It is possible to be civil with Ohio State fans in the room, something that I didn't think was going to be possible
- I am starting to believe again in the Communities of Hope and I truly believe that there is going to be fruit from the conversations over the next two days
-It is possible to be in Youth Ministry for a long term career. Old Youth Pastors are super cool! Seriously!



I will return with my thoughts over the next few days...