Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Vacation/Spiritual Renewal

Takin some time off, so I won't be posting over the next several days. This is one of the perks of saving most of that vaca until the end of the year ;)

Just wanted to give a heads up. Peace to you!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Matthew 2 Notes

To Think and Know:
1. Herod wasn’t the only one disturbed, all Jerusalem was. Despite the promised Messiah’s birth, all Jerusalem is disturbed? How complacency breeds disillusionment.
2. There is more to life than survival and holding on to what has already been given.
3. The star moved in front of the Magi. It didn’t just sit over Joseph and Mary’s place the entire time.
4. Unforeseen treasures of great wealth were given to Jesus. I wonder if these were provisions for the days ahead in Egypt?
5. Hearing from God demanded a different, perhaps longer and harder, route than the way they came.
6. Infanticide to protect a kingdom. Interesting that salvation to all mankind came amidst the same circumstances that salvation to the Israelites would come many centuries earlier. And how cool that Egypt is now the refuge this time around!

To Feel:
1. Awe and wonder: God’s redemptive plan is amazing
2. Reflective: God routinely used dreams to speak to people in the scriptures. How numb am I to his voice?
3. Shocked: Israel went from being rescued to being the executioners.

To Do:

1. Be more sensitive to hearing God’s voice. I long for the interaction of the ancients.

Happy Birthday MOM!

Today I celebrate the birth of my wonderful mother. She celebrates her 35th birthday-give or take a few! I love you mom!

Monday, September 28, 2009

2 Timothy 4 notes

2 Timothy 4


To Think and know:

1. Perhaps my favorite passage of scripture in he entire Bible is 2 Timothy 4:1-5. I know of no other verses that speak so clearly to what a Pastor is called to do.
2. “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.” The word ought to be on ever word I say and every breath I take. A reminder of Deuteronomy 6:4-9
3. People pleasing helps no one
4. How I hope I can say the same as Paul at the end of my life, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
5. At the end of Paul’s life, he is reminding Timothy to hold no grudges, to be wise, and to be forgiving. I can’t help but believe God wants the same of me, regardless of the challenging people and hurtful situations I face.

To Feel:
1. I read this and I can’t help but feel called!
2. Excitement: I always read this and feel ready to attack Hell with the good news of Jesus Christ!
3. Reprimanded: Am I keeping my head, enduring hardship, fighting the good fight as I know I’m called to do. This serves as such a great reminder.

To Do:
1. Live out verses 2-5 every moment of my life.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Susan Boyle clip

Here's the clip I used for tonight. You can't help but be overwhelmed by this story...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

CRASH reflections from tonight

Despite my being ill, I felt like tonight's CRASH was great. Students seemed to be really engaged and I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. I also felt like the message was really relateable, so I thought I'd share the outline for anyone who might be interested. Here's the notes I took with me up on stage. Blessings to you!

INTRO:
Two weeks ago we began this GodView series, and Catherine Sharpe did a great job talking about how our view of God shapes every area of our life.

Last week I talked about what happens when our GodView gets distorted because of circumstances in our lives.

Tonight I want to talk about what happens when we live life with a healthy, ever-growing view of God.

TENSION:
I think we walk away from God because we think we know all about Him. The mystery is gone. We make assumptions and we think we’ve got it all figured out.

We do that a lot, don’t we? People make a lot of assumptions. We judge a book by it’s cover…

VIDEO: Britain’s Got Talent-Susan Boyle premier


So what are we to do? We’re to live our lives with our eyes wide open!

TRUTH
Exodus 3:1-10

God showed up in ways no one would have expected.
-He was a friend to Moses
-He provided food in the Widerness
-His presence was displayed in a cloud by day, fire by night
-The ten plagues
-describes him as a loving father

All these things would’ve been missed by Moses, if he’d just said no. If he’d just overlooked the bush, I believe God would’ve provided their salvation in a different way

For a God who had revealed Himself in so many ways to His people, there was still more for them to discover.

APPLICATION:
When we think about an extraordinary life it can sometimes sound overwhelming. I understand that normal is pretty appealing sometimes. But God is big enough to make extraordinary things out of our ordinary lives. It all begins when we have a big and ever-growing GodView and when we say yes to God’s request. When I know the big and ever growing God, when I spend time with the One who loves deeper and wider than I can comprehend, then my life can be nothing short of extraordinary.

LANDING:
If you want to live a secure ,normal, ordinary life, you best not follow Jesus. People who live with an ever-growing picture of God live amazing lives. If you want to live an amazing, adventure-filled life, follow Christ.

“God surprise me. Wherever. Whatever. I’m in!” That is the prayer of the follower of Jesus.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

One of the blogs I read on a daily basis is More than Dodgeball by Josh Griffin. Josh is a veteran Youth Worker who serves as the High School Pastor at Saddleback Community Church in Lake Forest, California. He has a heart for the church, and he's a SICK leader! He regularly has great insights into youth culture and the heart of student ministry.

This is a post of his from earlier in the week that is too rich to be ignored. All the information is his, so for clarification on copyright and everything else: he wrote it! I hope this helps some of you youth workers out there in the blogosphere....

3 Things Youth Workers Need to be Good At

It is easy as youth workers to get bent out of shape when we don’t get recognized for something we did. There’s nothing more painful to be forgotten in the wake of the other initiatives and projects of the church. At times, affirmation seems to be elusive, in fact, sometimes we tend to feel that we hear only criticism.

Knowing and experiencing this reality on a regular basis should give youth workers cause to develop these muscles to be used on a regular basis. Here are three things you probably don’t get enough of that we need to make sure as youth workers we give out generously:

Followup
Who needs a call back this week? What email has been sitting in the bottom of your inbox that needs a reply? What made it on your task list, but sits there with persistence week after week? Who did you promise something to, but haven’t delivered on? Follow-up is a scare commodity in our fast-paced, disorganized world.

Thank yous
Who needs a note from you this week? Can you crank out a couple emails that would mean the world to people who receive them? Who did something for you that needs to be appreciated? Build this into your routine of the week, or chances are you’re unintentionally burning bridges behind you if you say nothing after the ask.

Affirmation
To me this is different than thank yous – thank yous are for people who have given you something and need to be appreciated for something they did. Affirmation is for who someone is. It is an appreciation of their legacy and character that is making an impact. Affirmation is also ultra powerful way to build up someone’s self-esteem.

Take a second and create a short list of people who need one of these actions this week.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Wedding and a couple of days off...

Just an FYI-Carrie and I are part of a wedding in California and then will follow up the weekend with a few days of vacation before heading back to Friendswood. That should account for the blogs missed coming up over the next week or so.

As for this week's posts....

;)

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Acts 16:25-34

Did you catch the scene in this story?

Paul and Silas are in prison. They had cast a demon out of a slave girl, she lost her allure to her owners, who proceeded to incite a riot. Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into jail. In the middle of the night there's an earthquake. The jail doors jar open. The jailer discovers this and prepares to end his own life. Only a fool would've stuck around when given a chance to escape. Why? The normal person runs when given an opportunity to get out of jail free. The average person doesn't consider the well-being of the jailer who ensures his captivity.

Now if I'm Paul or Silas, I'm talking to God about getting me out of there. I'm expressing that it's not fair that I'm in prison and that he should definitely send a way of escape. And when the shackles become open, I'm not questioning why, I'm simply saying thanks Jesus as my feet hit the ground running.

I wonder how many people have come to Christ because I didn't do what was the norm? I wonder if any?

When we act differently, people want to know why! What are we doing to ensure that people see we're not normal.

Paul and Silas were freed the next day. There entire purpose of prison this time around was to share the gospel through an act of lunacy.

Don't be normal. Allow God to show the extraordinary through your unnatural choice to follow him and listen to him!

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Going deeper....

I read a great post this morning from a Groups guru named Heather Zempel. Check it out by clicking here I'm sending it to my entire team that works with students!

Monday, August 31, 2009

John 20:19-29

Poor Thomas gets such a bad rap, simply because he wants to see with his own eyes to all the miracle of Jesus' resurrection. Can you blame him? He'd been an eyewitness to so many other things. He had seen Jesus raise people from the dead. He had seen people be healed of all kinds of diseases and ailments. He'd seen demons cast out of tortured individuals. Of course he wanted to see with his own eyes! He wasn't willing to be told about it. He wanted to live it. He wanted the experience. And until that happened he was going to base his belief on what he had last seen-Jesus dead!

I understand that. I'm the same way. I'm not willing to take somebody else's word for it. I want to breathe it in and out. I want to experience it myself. And maybe that's our role as followers of Christ-to help others experience God themselves.

I firmly believe that the vast majority of agnostics and atheists fail to believe in God because we, the Church, have failed to demonstrate his power and presence in our own lives. Too often we're telling unbelievers a story we've failed to live ourselves. I fail at this regularly! More common than not I find myself doing God's work rather than rather than living out my journey with God-my story of relationship with him.

Thomas got his wish! He got to experience Christ after the resurrection first hand. And Thomas believed because he saw and experienced it for himself. He wasn't scolded or labeled by Jesus. May you live out what you hope for, and may your faith lead to intimacy with the very real God who love you!

Sunday, August 30, 2009

CRASH 8/30

Getting ready for tonight's CRASH in the Foundry, and I was thinking through the message. The message is on wonder, discovery and passion-three things teenagers desperately seek out but often is lacking in their worship. I can't help but wonder why? More often than not, I think we accidentally create avenues of worship that lead to destinations of ordinary, knowledge and apathy! Unknowingly we disqualify ourselves from the race prior to the gun blast.

Could the true measure of a follower of Christ be measured by what the Holy Spirit invokes in another's life through you? What are we doing to lead people to the God of all mysteries, the God who is a consuming fire?

Friday, August 28, 2009

John 12:20-36

Change demands sacrifice. Whether the change is good or bad, the catalyst is a spirit of surrender.

Regardless of what we say, we all want change. We all want to be thinner, better, greater, stronger, healthier and faster. But we would like those things at the cost of nothing. We may sacrifice good things for a change in the immediate. Circumstances weigh on us, and we pick what is going to bring the most comfort rather than what's best. We pick the easier path.

Honestly, I just don't like change that costs me anything. Change scares me because I hold so tightly to the illusion of control. I may even allow circumstances to get so bad that an overhaul is demanded, due to my own pride or obstinance. Had I only had a looser grip I could have seen the necessity of the tune-up earlier. Now the cost is so great and I'm overwhelmed by the weight of it.

I think this is why pride is at the core of my every sin. And I think this why God demands my service, because it forces me to look at the needs of others first.

Jesus asks that we sacrifice our rights in order to serve him. This isn't unusual for a king. But Jesus offers the keys to the kingdom-something no other king would ever do. We are called joint heirs with Christ: children of the King

The choice to follow Jesus is hard. All change is. But the reward is so much greater. May we learn to become loose-handed on the reins of our life, choosing to hold the hands of the savior instead.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

I hate snakes.......

I'm thinking about using this for a series we're doing in the Spring. ANd I couldn't agree more. I hate snakes!!!!!!

Thanks to Perry Noble and Newspring church in Anderson, SC!


5 Lies of the devil message video, the snake from NewSpring Production on Vimeo.

John 10:1-18

John 10 conjures up good memories for me. The first bible study I ever led was on John 10 and no, it was not very good! My youth pastor had to bail me out as I struggled with the passage. He simply drew a circle but didn't completely connect it-he left a very small gap. He told me this was the pen in which the sheep were kept. Then he asked me one question: "Who's in the gap?"

The gap is an important place. The walls provide safety and security, but the sheep can only enter and exit through the narrow gap. At night, when the sheep are fast asleep, the gap remains open. The sheep need the gap. Life can't be lived exclusively inside or outside the pen. It's necessary to have both. Only the shepherd stands in the way of anything going in or the sheep wandering out. Only the shepherd knows the right time to be within the safety of the walls and when the sheep need to graze or find water.

You get the point: Jesus is the Good Shepherd. John 10 tells us the sheep know him, follow him in and out, and he's in the gap. It's a very good thing to be in the hands of the Good Shepherd.

But Christ asked us to live as he lives, to do as he does. My question is this: Who are you standing in the gap for? Whose soul are you the first line of defense for? Who are you leading and influencing? Who are you caring for and watching after?

I'm grateful for many people who've done this for me, but I want to send special thanks to Kenny Hale for being a shepherd to me and bringing this lesson home to me when I was only a teenager!

Monday, June 15, 2009

Baptism

At FCC we take baptism pretty seriously.

For a student to be baptized they have to go through a class to ensure they understand what baptism is and isn't. We know there's gravity with a choice this big, so we want them to have the facts.

Yesterday I got to baptize 15 students who had made decisions to follow Christ in the last year. Last month I had the privilege of baptizing 2 others. 17 students made the choice to follow Christ-not just with their words but with their actions.

That never gets old!

Seeing students make this choice is one of the most fulfilling things I get to experience in ministry. What a weekend. God is doing some amazing things in the hearts of students here in Friendswood and I'm so grateful to be a participant in his activity.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

The Notes you don't play by Steven Furtick

This is a great read...

http://www.stevenfurtick.com/uncategorized/the-notes-you-dont-play/

Friday, June 5, 2009

Long-Term Memory

I read this and felt it needed to be passed on...

Long-Term Memory | Evotional.com

Shared via AddThis

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

"Why blame..."

"Why blame the dark for being dark? It is far more helpful to ask why the light isn’t as bright as it could be." — Rob Bell (Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith)

I awoke to a terrible pain. I had gone to bed just a few hours before, and after very little sleep, I was jarred awake by this ache in my gut. Just barely moving made the pain worse, but I had to get up. I vowed to myself to never again drink so much Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper right before bed. I stumbled out of bed and made my way to the restroom to relieve my stretching bladder. As I walked into the bathroom, I made a semi-conscious decision to not turn on the light. I didn’t want to blind myself and every extra movement was making my bladder scream. I hurried as quickly as a man can at 2:00 in the morning and I was almost to the toilet when, suddenly, I felt the pain in my abdomen no more. Now, I didn’t have an accident, (so stop snickering) and it wasn’t a miracle (imagine trying to explain that one to the Pope.) I simply tricked my brain.

The human brain is an amazing organ. God created it to automatically prioritize. The brain always has the body in mind (pardon the pun.) It responds to the greatest need first, and that typically is pain. In this particular case, the pain in my bladder was no longer the priority. My brain had now shifted to my toe, which I had conveniently just slammed into the wall. It took everything in my power not to scream as my toe hit the plaster at around 200 mph. Immediately, and almost instinctively, my mind turned in rage toward the darkness. I burned with hatred toward it. This was all the dark’s fault. If I could have just seen where I was going...You get the picture!

A few minutes went by, the pain lessened, and rationale began to come to mind. The light was available at the flick of a switch, I just chose not to turn it on. It was my fault and no one else’s.

Too frequently, I find myself getting angry at the circumstances of this world. I get frustrated that things are the way they are, and my human nature screams that it’s everyone else’s fault but mine. In order to avoid accountability, I blame the left, the right, the poor, the rich, the environment, the economy, religion, philosophy and relativity. But the fault does not lie in the darkness (the world), the fault lies with the light (me!)

Jesus called us to be the “light of the world.” We are to be light in dark places. The reason that I failed to turn on the light in the bathroom was because I know that light drives out darkness, and that might hurt a little. When we fail to shine, we have no right to complain about the darkness. We must be held accountable for our own actions. So stop asking why the dark is so dark. It isn’t being exposed to the light, and that’s my fault. Instead, start asking why the light isn’t brighter.

As for me, I’m going to nurse my toe back to health and pray that I will never blame the dark, but instead I’ll ask “Is my light shining?”

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Rain...

For the past 3 days it has rained non-stop in Houston! This is a little disheartening considering Carrie and I were off a couple days and were looking at doing a couple of projects around the house.

But thanks to a friend I ran across an old devotional that put a fresh perspective on the rain. If you're going through a rainy season, I hope you'll find encouragement by clicking here!

Saturday, March 14, 2009

At the feet of a Giant: Q & A with Erwin McManus

Click for an amazing look into the psyche of a brilliant leader. Dude's one of my heroes!

Q&A with Erwin at Idea Camp

Posted using ShareThis

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Catalyst Weekend update

I never get tired of being surprised by God's goodness. I should really expect it, because it defines his character! Nevertheless, I'm regularly awed by is activity and generosity to me and those I spend my time with.

Catalyst weekend was amazing. Students responding to the call of God was more than heartwarming. It was impacting! Watching high school students choose to leave their seats, gather around, and pray for one of their own-completely unprompted.

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!!!!

I can sum up the entire weekend with that one word.

Thank you God for allowing me to be taught by teenagers what it means to move with compassion! Thank you students for being like Jesus!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Influential reads

Threads, LifeWay Young Adult's arm, has put together a really interesting collection of books based on the four major searches in a Young Adult's life. I'd encourage you to check them out here. I've read several of the books and would highly recommend most. So if you're looking to catch up on some reading, here's a great place to start! Happy reading!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

a quote to pass along...

Heard a great quote and wanted to pass it along:

“For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible.” - Stuart Chase

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Mobile, Global, and Change

This is one of the scariest, yet most exciting videos I've ever seen. Just wanted to share...click here

Monday, January 26, 2009

Are you a Lone Ranger Christian?

Just ran across an Old Latin saying: "Unus christianus, nullus christianus"

It's meaning: "The single Christian is no Christian."

Don't try to do this alone! Include others in the journey you're on. Share with me, share with others what God is doing in your life. Just thought this was worth repeating!

Monday, January 19, 2009

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. day!!!!!

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. day, thought I'd share one of my favorite Martin Luther King quotes...

“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the host of heaven will pause to say, 'There lived a great street sweeper who did his job well'."

Saturday, January 3, 2009

A real life hero...

If you want to see one of my personal heroes, click here

He's the real deal guys. Can't tell you what he means to me!