youth ministries congres notes... day 1

"Leaders must model what they want to see in their ministry"

Matthew 10: 24-25- a students is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant to be like his master, if the head of the house has been called beelzebub, how much more the members of his household.

a leader must go duck hunting...

not in the original sense of hunting with a rifle, boat and a dog... but we need to aim small miss small at students, we cannot worry about the ducks(students) we miss, we need to be thankful for the ones we get!

what direction is your ministry going?

is your ministry moving like a river? In one direction all going towards a single cause.

OR...

is your ministry like a flood? going all over the place, destroying everything in its path?

this generation doesnt want to grow up...

7 reasons for this phenomenon
- video games make them lazy
- damaging parental styles
- too many prescription drugs
- the media... tv, movies, music
- endocrine distruptors, testosterone in teens is half of that of men 2 generations ago.
- teaching methods- we arent culturally relevant
- affluence and social liberation

the paradox?
- biological teens are advanced
- cognitive teens are advanced
- socially teens are advanced
- emotionally teens are behind

the greatest needs for this generation?
- emotional intelligence
- Character development
- leadership perspective

Day one was awesome... Ill post day 2 tomorrow and day 3 on sunday or monday... cant wait for our worship set tonight!

Its just Disgusting

Have you ever had an experience where something in God’s Word simply came alive? You know, those times in life where something happens that triggers one of those spiritual lightbulb moments and something in the Bible makes perfect sense?

I had one of those moments last week.

My Mothers dod Bruiser (not pictured because he is a chihuahua and named bruiser) was having some stomach issues. Maybe he ate something that did not agree with his stomach. Maybe he was simply trying to drive my mother crazy. All I know is that he was throwing up all over our house.

Bruiser went into another room to vomit for the first round. Before my mom could realize what was going down, he had already started to lick up his own vomit. It was an extremely disgusting site. She sternly told him to never do that again. However, minutes later after round two, he was trying to lick up his own vomit yet again.

As I was being told of this, all I could think about was Proverbs 26:11 – “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.”

As gross, stupid, and ridiculous as it is for a dog to lick up its own vomit, it is just as gross, stupid, and ridiculous for us to return to our life messes – sins, foolishness, mistakes, etc.

Do not be like Bruiser. Sure, you and I probably are not going to lick up our own vomit. But we often keep returning to those sins that give us temporary satisfaction, keep making the same decisions that leads towards trouble and dissatisfaction, and keep returning to the same messes over and over again.

Let me encourage you with these words from Romans 8:37, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerers through him who loved us.”

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Have you had any verses of the Bible come alive recently?

Have you had any spiritual lightbulb moments?

Legacy game...

GO...



The greatest Quarterback to ever live is playing tomororw in what could amount to the biggest game of his career. I say that because this is in my opinion a legacy game. If the Vikings lose, Favre's legacy could be tarnished, but if the Vikings win, everyone will say "good for Favre, he came back and did it". I have much faith in Brett Favre and know the Vikings will do it for Minnesota!!!!

Porn affecting our teens

Pornography is drastically affecting America and the church. It is often the “dirty little secret” that is constantly being ignored and swept under the rug while it kills intimacy, marriages, and purity. The porn business is a $14 billion dollar a year industry. It is supposed to be designed for mature adults, but the reality is that it is killing America’s youth. The average age of a porn viewer is between 12-17years old. The average age a person is first introduced to pornography is 11 years old. The reason for these startling stats is because it is only a few clicks away now. It’s not like 20 years ago, when you had to look under your dad’s mattress or go into the XXX store with a ballcap pulled down low to cover your face so nobody knew you were there. Anybody with an Internet connection can have porn available in a matter of seconds without anybody knowing.

One of the best resources I have found that is fighting the fight against pornography and calling people back to God and holiness is www.xxxchurch.com. I strongly support these guys (one of the guys, Craig Gross, is on the Nightline debate mentioned above). Check them out.

Whether you are in ministry or not, we have to be proactive about protecting our purity in ministry. Here a couple of practical suggestions that I recommend you put into practice immediately in your home:

1.Put your home computer in a public area. This definitely applies if you arent married. Or don’t have a computer in your home.

2.Put some sort of filter/accountability software on your computer that monitors what websites are being viewed. XXXchurch.com has a FREE software for Mac and PC that is called X3 Watch. That software is an accountability software that sends a weekly email to an accountability partner of what websites you are looking at. The key is that your partner is somebody that will hold you accountable and you don’t want them to know you are looking at porn (I recommend your best friend, your pastor, your mom, etc).

I personally have X3 Watch on my personal computer. Mack (my best freind) is my accountability partner. Every week he gets an email that reports any questionable websites that I may have viewed that week.

It’s time we stop sweeping this epidemic that is drastically affecting our churches, our marriages, our teenagers, and our culture under the rug. Pursue holiness. Pursue purity.

Worship as the benchmark of Integrity

I am in the middle of an intense 40 day Bible study called “A Call To Die” by David Nasser.

Yesterday’s section of the book was all about worship.

Too often, the concept of worship is confusing to us. We think that it is the hour on Sunday morning when you put on your Sunday best to sing songs. We often miss the point of true worship. Some may be confused that raising your hands or being expressionate during worship songs is the highest form of worship. Raising our hands when we sing is not the highest form of worship.

When we are walking with Christ, our lives are acts of worship all day every day. Every single thing we do to honor God is worship. Worship is a lifestyle, not just a group of songs. (Romans 12:1)

However, during a section of yesterday’s reading, Nasser did talk about the importance of corporate worship. His main point was that we need to pay close attention to what we are singing.

He suggested that the worship songs we sing should be the benchmark of integrity in our lives. He writes…

"Think about the words and the message they express. If they don’t communicate your heart, and if you don’t want to use the song as a prayer for God to change you, be honest about it. Don’t sing. I hope some of us will have the courage to close our mouths and sit down when a song doesn’t match our heart’s desire. When those around you are singing, “Lord, you are more precious than silver,” be honest with God and with yourself about the condition of your heart. If you want your heart to change, sing passionately. If you’d rather value other things more than Jesus, don’t sing. Worship in spirit and truth (John 4:23). Be authentic in your heart. God can handle your honesty, and being real with him might be a turning point in your walk of faith."

What do you think? Are you letting worship be the benchmark of your integrity?

You're Blessed

something to think about, I was reading this, this morning and wanted to share it. Be Blessed by it.

"You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are – no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.

You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.

You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being “care-full,” you find yourselves cared for.

You’re blessed when you get your inside world – your mind and heart – put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.

You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom."

~ Jesus, Matthew 5:3-10 (The Message)


How are you blessed today?

lesson to learn... Dont mess with Jesus when he is hungry

Mark 11:12-14, 20-21 (The Message)

As they left Bethany the next day, he was hungry. Off in the distance he saw a fig tree in full leaf. He came up to it expecting to find something for breakfast, but found nothing but fig leaves. (It wasn’t yet the season for figs.) He addressed the tree: “No one is going to eat fruit from you again—ever!” And his disciples overheard him.

In the morning, walking along the road, they saw the fig tree, shriveled to a dry stick. Peter, remembering what had happened the previous day, said to him, “Rabbi, look—the fig tree you cursed is shriveled up!”


WHAT TO LEARN FROM THIS SCRIPTURE:

Don’t mess with Jesus when he is hungry. (Pretty strong reaction who earlier spent 40 days without food.)

Jesus often resembles a ninja or jedi.

WHAT TO REALLY LEARN FROM THIS SCRIPTURE:

Jesus was matter-of-fact: “Embrace this God-life. Really embrace it, and nothing will be too much for you. This mountain, for instance: Just say, ‘Go jump in the lake’—no shuffling or shilly-shallying—and it’s as good as done. That’s why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you’ll get God’s everything. And when you assume the posture of prayer, remember that it’s not all asking. If you have anything against someone, forgive—only then will your heavenly Father be inclined to also wipe your slate clean of sins.” – Mark 11:22-25 (The Message)

the best part first?

were you one of the 29.8 million people who watched this week’s debut of American Idol on FOX?

I cried from laughing so hard at the terrible singers. It was great. In my humble opinion, there is not much better television than the first few episodes every season of American Idol during the opening auditions.

I see a lot of similarity between American Idol and March Madness (the NCAA men’s basketball championship tournament). They both possess a quality that is very unique…THE BEST PART OF BOTH ARE THE BEGINNING.

Think about it.

The best part of March Madness is the opening round. Making last minute changes on your bracket. 64 teams all playing in do-or-die games. 12 hour a day college basketball coverage. Buzzer beaters. Small schools that you have never heard of upsetting a major basketball powerhouse. The opening round is way better than the Final Four.

Tell me another sport where the opening round of the playoffs is better than the championship.

Is the opening round of the NBA playoffs better than the Finals? No.

Is the the divisional round of the MLB playoffs better than the World Series? Nope.

Is the the wild card round of the NFL playoffs better than the Super Bowl? No way.

Is the first round of the NCAA college football playoffs better than the BCS Championship? Wait a second…a computer decides that one. Good call, college football. Maybe next year you can let a facebook poll determine who plays in the championship game. (Sorry…that is a conversation/rant for another day.)

Like March Madness, the best part of American Idol is the first few episodes. The opening auditions are much better than the finale. The laughter. The stories that tug on the heart strings. The people who sincerely think they are great because their mom tells them everyday but are really terrible. The obnoxious people.

Whats inside a sponge?

Last night I was doing the dishes at my house and I started thinking about sponges. Stay with me, it will make sense.

How do you know what is inside of a sponge?

You Squeeze it right?

How do you know what is inside of a person?

You sueeze them right?

I have come to find the comparison between this common household cleaning item and humanity is quite true.

When life is great – our finances are good, making good grades, job situation is perfect, etc – it is easier for us to wear masks. When things are going our way, we are much better at guarding and filtering our outside actions and words to make ourselves look better.

However, if you want to find out what truly is inside a person, put them in tough situations. When we go through a crisis, stressful situations, and difficult circumstances, we lower our guard to our selves and inhibition takes over. In other words, we see what is truly on the inside when we are squeezed.

I am convinced that God cares about this. I am convinced that God cares way more about the inside than the outside. I think that is why Jesus is so serious and stern when he goes ballistic in Matthew 23:25-28…

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blink Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness."

What are you like on the inside? When you are squeezed, does love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, and other things of God come flowing from the very core of who you are? Or does hate, bitterness, jealousy, anger, impatience, and other negative things come flowing from your inside when you are squeezed? God cares a lot about the inside…so should you.

How do you find out what is inside a sponge?

You squeeze it.

How do you find out what is inside a person?

You squeeze him/her

Memorizing scripture

I am guessing that some of you may be somewhat intimidated by just the title of this blog post. Don’t be. This is not something to make you feel guilty for not doing enough of something or something to make me feel better about myself. This is simply one follower of God being honest about a subject that is often silent in common American Christianity.

Scripture memorization is often looked at as being only for “hardcore” Christians. It is only for the ultra Bible freaks. Maybe if you are a minister, elder, pastor, or serious Sunday school teacher, then you would sometimes memorize Scripture. That is simply not true.

I think it is safe to say that the majority of people have memorized a lot of songs. Now we do not think that only hardcore music freaks should be the ones memorized song lyrics, right? No, there is a good chance that you and I have hundreds (if not thousands) of songs memorized in our heads. Why is memorizing God’s Word looked at so differently?

Memorizing Scripture is so much more than just a discipline. It is a weapon. You will be more equipped to fight sin and temptation.

If you get time today, take a look at MATTHEW 4:1-11 – the temptation of Jesus. After Jesus had been fasting for 40 days, Satan decides to throw his all-out blitz of temptation towards Jesus. Every time Jesus is tempted, how does he respond? He counters the temptation with quoting Scripture. Trust me, he did not have time in those moments to break out his Old Testament or roll out his scroll of Deuteronomy and find those passages. He had them hidden in his heart. In his moment of greatest weakness and temptation, Jesus relied heavily on memorized Scripture for strength and victory.

I have recently put this spiritual discipline more into practice in my life. I do not say that to puff myself up, but to encourage you. You can do it. Do not listen to the lie that Satan whispers in our ears that we cannot do that or that it is too hard. Start small. Do not get discouraged. You can do it.

Bless God today.

number one songs...

What was the number one song on the day you were born? The day you graduated high school? The day you were saved? The day you stepped foot in ministry? The day you accepted Jesus as your savior? The date you did something awesome? Any other important or significant day in your life? Here are mine...

I found a really great, fun website that answers all of those questions. CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT A WEBSITE THAT GIVES THE #1 SONG ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY.



January 20 1984: owner of a lonely heart by Yes- I was born
January 20 2002: U Got it Bad by Usher- I am 18
January 20 2005: Let Me Love you by Mario- I am 21
May 5 2002: Foolish by Ashanti- date I graduated from High School
March 28 2007: Glamorous Fergie featuring Ludacris- First dodger game ever
July 24 1994: I Swear All-4-one- the day I got saved
May 2 2009: Boom Boom Pow by Boom Boom Pow- the day I graduated college
January 14 2008: Low by Flo Rida featuring T-Pain- the day I moved to minnesota
October 4 2009: I Gotta Feeling by The Black Eyed Peas- the day I started ministry

Those are just a few of the important dates in my life and the number one songs on those dates. There is nothing deep or significant about this; it is only really fun and possibly very time consuming.

Now it is your turn. What were some of the number one songs on your important days? Please share.

sleep = spiritual act?

“Taking a nap may be the most spiritual thing you do.”

That was the quote that I remember hearing at one time. I am frustrated because I cannot remember if it was something I heard in a sermon or lecture or if it was something I read in a book. Either way, the point is that I did not have this original thought.

Last night, I did something I have not done in years – went to sleep early and got a good, long, full night’s sleep. I woke up this morning without yawning and without hitting the snooze button five times. I feel good. I feel focused.

I normally do not sleep that much. I usually stay up pretty late and I usually wake up fairly early. I seem to function really well despite my lack of sleep. I normally think that is another reason why I am doing exactly what God wired me to do (ministry). However, I understand that my sleeping patterns are normally not the most healthy of habits. I wish I was more self-disciplined when it comes to sleep.

After my long, hard night of sleep I began to remember the earlier quote. I began to ponder, “Is sleep spiritual?” Why did God create us with the natural need for eight hours of down-time each day? God put us down here for a limited number of years; and approximately one-third of that valuable time is spent dreaming rather than producing.

If sleeping is spiritual, we are not very good at it. According to the National Sleep Foundation (by the way, very interesting website), the average adult sleeps 6 hours and 58 minutes per night during a normal work week. Compare this to 100 years ago – before Thomas Edison’s marvelous invention – when the average adult slept about nine hours a night. Indeed, we are a nation of people who are chronically sleep deprived. Sleep specialists recommend that we need eight to ten hours of sleep nightly. I do not do well with that recommendation. Do you?

More importantly than the physical effects of sleep, what about the spiritual effects of sleep? The person who made the sleep being spiritual quote explained that when we go to sleep, we complete surrender all control and place our unfiltered trust in God’s hands. The idea is that God will take care of you and the world while you sleep and that you trust that he will wake you up. This makes sleep spiritual.

Lauren Winner, a writer for Catalyst, explains that “to sleep, long and soundly, is to place our trust in Him without whom we labor in vain.”

So what do you think? Is sleep spiritual?

The irony here is that I am posting this subject at 12 AM.

What a debut!

New York Jets quaterback Mark Sanchez just finished his first season on the NFL. He threw for 2444 yards, 12 touchdowns, had a passer rating of 63% but more impressive is that he is taking his team to the playoffs as a rookie. Talk about a debut.

The Disciples had a pretty amazing debut themselves in Acts 2.

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the story, God’s Word says that the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and then Peter stepped up to the plate and hit a touchdown of a sermon that resulted in more than 3,000 coming to accept Jesus as Savior that day. What a debut, especially considering the expectation that was given to them by Jesus. He set the bar pretty high for those guys. Remember the words of Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV):

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

That was their mission. That was their goal. That was what was laid on their shoulders. What a God-sized mission!

After looking at their mission, I asked myself two questions:

How did God prepare them to do something huge for Him? When thinking about this question, God revealed something to me: the disciples were on spiritual cloud nine. Think about what happened in their lives in the past three years: they followed Jesus around for three years, they witnessed miracles, one walked on water, they were there when Jesus was arrested, they saw Jesus crucified, they saw Him die, they saw the empty tomb, they hung out with the risen Jesus, they saw Jesus ascend into heaven before their eyes, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit.

Talk about a spiritual high! God had prepared them and equipped them to do something huge for Him.

Now the other question…

Where did they start? You know after they saw Jesus ascend into heaven, they all looked at each other scratching their heads, all thinking “now what?” How overwhelming that feeling and pressure must have felt in that moment. I can imagine John thinking, “Jesus told us to change the world, but how? Where do we start?”

If you look back at Acts 2 (their start), you will see that God brought the people to them. I guarantee you Peter looked over that huge crowd, felt butterflies in his stomach, nervously cleared his throat, and boldly opened his mouth and out spilled the Gospel and message that changed the world. God let them start changing the world right where they were, one person at a time.

I believe God has called all his children to be world-changers. Looking at your life, how has God been preparing you to change this world? All the spiritual highs and incredible God-moments where given to you to share with others. How are you doing with that?

Finally, I understand that the mission to change the world can be intimidating. Take comfort that God (like with the disciples) will open doors and bring people into your life to start accomplishing that mission. You have to start where you are first, one person at a time.

I like to write out and set my world-changing mission like this:

HOW I WILL CHANGE MYSELF -
HOW I WILL CHANGE MY FAMILY -
HOW I WILL CHANGE MY FRIENDS -
HOW I WILL CHANGE MY WORK/SCHOOL -
HOW I WILL CHANGE MY CITY -
HOW I WILL CHANGE MY COUNTRY -
HOW I WILL CHANGE MY WORLD -

Any of that hit home today? This was pretty fresh on my heart if you could not tell. Hope this helps you in your journey.

the bible can be funny?

The Bible can be funny. If you are one who thinks that the Word of God is stiff, boring, and forever serious, you are not reading what I am reading. I’ll give you an example that I was thinking about the other day…

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”


So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. – John 20:1-6 (NIV)

Here’s the humor in this…

The book of John is written by John the disciple. In his gospel, John remains “humble” by never mentioning himself by name (even though he is the second most mentioned disciple in the other gospels). Throughout his gospel, John refers to himself as “the disciple who Jesus loved.”

So when John is writing about the all-out 100 yard dash between Peter and an unnamed disciple (who Jesus loved) to see Jesus’ empty tomb, he is talking about Peter and himself. Apparently John was a runner or Peter was really slow, which he liked reminding people of that. He mentioned not once but twice that he was faster than Peter. He said first that “the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.” Then to rub it a little more, a sentence later says “Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb.” Apparently Peter was no Usain Bolt.

Basically John was saying in his “humble” way, “Who’s your daddy, Peter?!?”

See…the Bible can be funny.

Joy vs. Happiness

what are the difference between joy and happiness?

Frequently these two words are used as one and the same. While they do share some characteristics, they are actually different. Happiness is an emotion usually directly related to circumstances that are currently happening. So when the circumstances are good and going our way, we feel happy. On the other hand, when things break, get old, disappoint, when we do not get what we want, or when things do not go our way, we feel sad and are not happy.

One exercise I went through to help me get this concept was to write down specific things that make me happy. Here was my list in no particular order:

Seeing things set to record on my TIVO. Not things recorded, but things scheduled to record.
Watching Clayton Kershaw pitch.
Preaching a good sermon.
talking on the phone to someone awesome.
Listening to good music.
Getting comments on my blog. (very rarely happens)
Drinking a perfectly blended Starbucks drink
Having a secret $100 in my wallet (very rarely happens).
watching sportscenter all day.
Hearing The Heroes theme song.

If I had more time to think, I could have filled up pages of specific things that bring me happiness. You could too. Think about all the things in this world that makes you happy. It could be small things or big things. Anything from a good cheeseburger to when a baby wraps their tiny hang around your finger. All these are temporary and bring temporary emotional happiness.

Joy is something entirely different from happiness. Joy, in the Biblical context, is not an emotion. Joy is attitude of the heart. It is not necessarily based on something positive happening. Joy is something that lasts; happiness is something that is temporary. When happiness fades away, joy remains. Joy is something that is bigger than you and I and our current circumstances. Joy brings us peace in the middle of a storm. Joy is something that God deposits into us through the Holy Spirit. The enemy tries everything in his power to steal your joy because it is that important. On the other hand, the enemy will tempt you with things that will temporarily give you happiness but at the same time drift you away from God.

There is a big difference between joy and happiness. Happiness is an emotion and temporary; joy is an attitude of the heart. Hold on tight to your joy.

BIBLE VERSES THAT TALK ABOUT JOY YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

Habakkuk 3:17-18, James 1:2, Philippians 4:4, 1 Thessalonians 5:16, John 16:19-24, Galatians 5:22, Hebrews 12:2, and much more (joy is mentioned 242 times in the Bible).

superbowl prediction

Thats my prediction for superbowl 44. Not gonna say who I think is going to win or guess a score but these are the top two teams in there respected conferences in my opinion...

The new most overrated thing in sports...

Is there anything in sports more overrated than Gatorade dunk?

You know…when a coach gets a five-gallon cooler full of ice cold Gatorade dumped on him after a big victory?

With the combination of some extra time off from work for the holidays, and the lack of anything good on TV, I have been forced to watch some of the 34 college football bowl games. (The fact that there are 34 college football bowl games is ridiculous by itself, but that is a conversation for another day.) During these bowl games I have noticed an alarming trend – every winning coach is getting the Gatorade Dunk

I watched the tail end of the Eagle Bank Bowl between UCLA and Temple. UCLA won the game 30-21 and sure enough UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel got the Gatorade Dunk from his players. UCLA’s victory in the Eagle Bank Bowl improved their record to a whopping 7-6. 7-6! 7-6 and you are giving your coach a Gatorade Dunk for winning the Eagle Bank Bowl? But it doesn’t stop there.

8-5 University of Connecticut’s victory in the PAPAJOHNS.com Bowl – Gatorade Dunk

7-6 Wyoming’s victory in the New Mexico Bowl – Gatorade Dunk

7-6 Marshall’s victory in the Little Caesars Bowl – Gatorade Dunk

Cleveland Browns coach Eric Mangini was on the receiving end of a Gatorade Dunk yesterday after finishing the 2009 season with a 5-11 record.

And the list goes on and on…

I refuse to even watch any more college games because inevitably the winning coach will get the Gatorade Dunk.

I understand celebrating with the Gatorade Dunk when a team wins the Super Bowl or the college football national championship game. But the Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl? C’mon man, enough is enough.

Please America, we have got to stop the overuse of the Gatorade Dunk.

Because the Gatorade Dunk – dare I say – is becoming watered down.

There I said it. Somebody needed to take a stand.

What do you guys think? Should every coach get it or should it be held to only big games?

Playing Church?

Have you ever played church?

You know where you (if you attend a more formal church) put on your best Sunday suit/dress or (if you attend a more postmodern, casual church) you put on your best tshirt/jeans. You also end up putting on your best “everything is great” smile and casually work the room only to see everybody else’s “everything is great” smile. Playing church is where you are content with showing up for an hour, getting your God-fix, checking off another Sunday of perfect attendance, and leaving without really connecting with God or another person. It’s where the church stops being the body of Christ and becomes a building or a service. Playing church is putting God in a two hour a week box (or a three hour a week box if you are really hardcore). It’s where you ask people “How are you?” without really caring to listen to the answer. Playing church is when your Sundays look a lot different from your Mondays through Saturdays.

I must confess that there have been times when I have been guilty of playing church.

Over the past few days, God has been stirring something inside of me – a real discontent with playing church. I have been searching God’s Word for what the body of Christ – known as the church – should look like, should act like, and should love like. The Lord has led me with fresh eyes to read the book of Acts again. Here is a beautiful description of the early church from Acts 2…

"They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as they had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

I have been in a lot of churches in my life. I have yet to be in a church that looks like that. Does your church look like that?

Now this post is not intended to blast and tear down the American church. Rather, it is intended to raise awareness to the fact that maybe, just maybe we have messed church up a little. This is intended to raise curiosity to the possibility of there being more to this thing we call church. What if our churches started to look more like that Scripture? Would you want to be a part of a community of faith like that?

I am tired of playing church. How about you?

Jesus ruined my life

Jesus ruined my life.

Listen, I know that is a harsh statement…but it is true. Because of Jesus, I chose a profession that will never make me a millionaire. Because of Jesus, I moved a couple hours away from all my family and friends who unconditionally love me. When I finally got to know Jesus, my life was never the same. What I wanted for my life took a back seat to what God wanted for my life. I became second.

Too many times we try to compartmentalize our faith and Christianity into a neat little section of our life. We try to make it fit what we already do. We too often label those who give more than a few hours a week to God as radicals.

Too often the life of a non-Christian and the life of a follower of God looks very similar. Sure most Christians probably drink and swear less then average, but besides that, really aren’t very different from your typical unbeliever. We equate our partially sanitized lives with holiness, but we couldn’t be more wrong. That would be like working all day at a garbage dump, and when you get off your 8 hour shift, cleaning your hands with hand sanitizer and saying you are clean.

We have a tough time with surrendering all to God. We struggle to give up control of our lives. We want to have our lives (what we want, when we want it) and have Jesus on the side. However, we get this concept in other areas of life. Francis Chan tells this story in his book Crazy Love…

"When I was in high school, I seriously considered joining the Marines; this was when they first came out with commercials for “the few, the proud, the Marines.” What turned me off was that in those advertisements, everyone was always running. Always. And I hate running.

But you know what? I didn’t bother to ask if they would modify the rules for me so I could run less, and maybe also do fewer push-ups. That would’ve been pointless and stupid, and I knew it. Everyone knows that if you sign up for the Marines, you have to do whatever they tell you. They own you."

Somehow this realization does not carry over to our thinking about the Christian life. Jesus didn’t say that if you wanted to follow Him you could do it in a lukewarm manner. He didn’t say that you could follow Him when it is convenient.

Jesus made it clear when he told us in Matthew 16:24, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” He also said in Luke 14:33, “Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”

Pretty clear to me.

Like I said, Jesus ruined my life.

Thank God

decade in review

so I wanted to do a decade in review, it really got me thinking and its really fun, interesting, crazy to see how far I have come in 10 years. I started the decade wanting to go to APU to be a biology teacher, God led me to Bethany to be a pastor. the last 3 years 07-09 have really been the shaping years for me in my life. They have not always been fun or times I can look back and are filled with joy, yet they are the years I can look back on and say they formed who I am today. In the last 10 years, I have graduated high school and college, met life long friends, lost some friends, fallen in love, become a pastor, gotten a car, a cell phone, a pastoral job, had 4 spiritual mentors and gotten closer to my savior, friend, and my real true love Jesus Christ. here is a breakdown of how I remember the last 10 years. Im sure I have missed alot of stuff but this is what I remember...

Decade in review 2000-2009

2000

I survived Y2K
Sophomore in High School

2001

Jr. in High School
I got my first job at BK
9-11 (big for me because it was the first time I had witnessed anything like this)

2002

Graduated from High School
Went to first concert (switchfoot)
God called me into ministry after rededicating my life to him
Got my first cell phone
Bought first car!

2003

Went to Jr College for a semester and realized how terrible of an idea it is

2004

Started working at smart n final
Started college at Bethany University

2005

I turned 21
Started working with the youth at CLC Santa Cruz
Spent my first summer away from Merced
Started hanging out with Matt and Nathan

2006

Steelers won the Super bowl (big for me because this was the first time I had seen one of my teams win a world title)


2007

Started an internship that would lead into a mentorship
Attended my first game at dodger stadium
Met Mack!
Summer camp job
Started blogging
Went to my first college football and NBA game
Had a rough end to the year but I learned a lot from it

2008

Moved to Minnesota to attend North central University
Broke my first bone ever
God taught me what real faith in him looks like
God led me back to Bethany
Started working with the youth of CLC again

2009

Started the year in Mexico on a missions trip
Steelers won super bowl (that’s 2)
Went to first ever pro Hockey game
Mack became my true BFF
Graduated from college
Received my credential to preach from the Assemblies of God
Started my ministry at Fairfield First Assembly of God
God led me to Pathway

im tired...

2009/2010 lock in was awesome... here are some of the high lights.

6 Youth ministries
116 kids!
ice skating
games, games and more games
2 wii's, 3 xbox 360's, 1 ps3 and a NEW(old school)
25 hours awake
snacks
fun and laughs
100 dollars worth of energy drink (youth pastors lounge)
Dennys trip
sardines with 100+ kids
kids playing poker and betting with cheetos
communion time
great time getting to know other youth pastors in the area!