Just Get Up!

"David got up from the floor, washed his face and combed his hair, put on a fresh change of clothes, then went into the sanctuary and worshiped." II Chronicles 12:20 (Message)

This passage has been extremely important to me lately! I hope you are familiar with it. If not, David had his affair with Bathsheba, had Uriah, her husband, killed, lied to everyone, ignored his spiritual counsel (Nathan), and rebelled against a Holy God. The child that Bathsheba conceived had become ill and died. David had been in great mourning the entire time of the child's illness, he fasted, prayed, and kept himself isolated from the community. At quite possibly the lowest time in his life, when all seemed lost, when hope was no more, HE GOT UP! We have all heard the old adage, "You got back on the horse.", But not if its the wrong horse! Notice though in this passage, David GOT UP and what? Yelled? Shook his fist? Fired everyone employed in the courts? Took his anger out on his subjects? NO! He washed up, got fresh clothes on, and worshiped!
There is no shame in some solitude when times are tough. Often times it is healthy. But the greatest way back after a difficult journey in life is to GET UP, and GO WORSHIP! I don't mean go to a nifty church service. Notice in the passage David went "into the Sanctuary" The place known in his day as the very presence of God, where He dwelt!
No matter if your circumstances are due to your own sin, someone else's sin, or just Gods good ole providential dealings, the way back may include grief, agony, loss, and pain. But at the end of the day, GET UP, GO TO GODS PRESENCE, and WORSHIP my friend!

To Be or Not to Be?--That really isn't the question

I have had my share of ups and downs! The last 8 months of my life has "seemed" like a down, but upon a deeper look, it has and continues to be the most "up" time of my life. After you drag through a desert for a while, a trickle of water can be mighty refreshing.

I have those very "small" (as If a moment with God is ever small) moments with God that seem inconsequential, minuet, and even arbitrary at times. But as I reflected today, God has been pumping new life into my old bones. As I reflected on Jeremiah's prophecy, I realized that even a little bit of breath is better than none at all. God has surrounded with me people lately that have breathed those "small" breaths, He has given me those "small" 'revelations', those "small" victories. As I stand on the other side of the stream from the desert journey I just emerged from, I see SEVERAL sets of footsteps, all leading down to that one stream, all crossing it together, and now as I bend to drink from the deep waters of the spring of life, I am more alive than ever. My old "dry ones" are up and moving, full of life, I am not a "human-doing" anymore, I am once again a Human-Being!

"Praise you Oh Lord for your faithfulness, your mercies are new every morning, as the deer craves for water so too does my soul, Lord Jesus, you have given me water that I may never thirst again, I pray I never drink from another well but yours my savior, friend, and Lord! Finally, I can BE again, I am done 'doing'!! I Love you Oh Lord!--Amen, and Amen"

A voice that thunders is as quiet as a whisper

In my journey of faith I have spent my fair share of time "begging" God for an answer to something. Recently as I have been on a new search for purpose and meaning personally I have on more than one occasion asked "what now God?"
You see a life after "burnout" is certainly full of challenges. Yep, that's right, I'm a statistic too. After 13 years of great ministry and service to teenagers I got comfortable, let me guard down, and put my relationship with God on the proverbial back-burner. It cost me my job, my house, my friends, and almost my family. (Praise the Lord he kept us safe from infidelity) None the less though, it cost us greatly.
So now what? Are you done with me God? Am I a has been? washed up? well, no!

I have been asking "now what?" for a while and God "hasn't answered". Or has he? I still have my wife and kids, he has provided for me to go to school and finish my seminary education, giving me new friends, and most of all I still have him!
I have been asking what now, he has been saying, "I'm here!" what I am realizing, is that God is not really concerned with my future career plans, he is much more concerned with my daily soul plans and when I fully rest in that "small still voice" that thunders "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Then and only then will I truly hear His voice

The YM Exodus

Have you ever felt like the guy in the pic? As if you are the only one out in a desert waste land running hard, trying to get somewhere but there is no end in sight, and there are certainly no other people trying as hard as you are?

First I want to be Theological here, God is always with us! (Deuteronomy 31:6) God will never leave you, nor will he forsake you. We do not journey alone, even if we desire to! So when you are in the dry and lonely place, cry out to the God who is right beside you.

Secondly, I would like think practically. Observe the picture, do you think that guy made all those tracks himself? In YM, there have been many who have tracked before us and many who still do. I encourage you, if you are in a desert place, find an oasis of support through a local network of YM's. If there is not one, create one, just call some local YM's and ask them to meet once a month, grab some lunch and talk, share and encourage one another. I have had the great privilege of being apart of two great networks, that have been very valuable to me and formed life long friendships.

Maybe you have not yet experienced the desert of YM, but if you stay in it you will. Just remember these two principles when you do and you will come out of your desert experience better than ever!

Look at www.youthworkers.net for info on networking, mentoring, and more.

A Deep Breath

Summer is over, camp is in the books, mission trips have been reported on and celebrated. Now GO REST! That's right YM of the year, there is nothing happening on campus for the first few weeks, sports haven't started yet, and the food at the cafeteria is still impressive for the new students-lol. Anyway, my point is to use this down time to rest, refresh, and get ready for the school year. No matter what situation you find yourself in you can find/make time the next few weeks to just go and be with the Lord, sit at His feet, and prepare your heart and life for the students that God has entrusted to you this year!

DO NOT spend time writing sermons, or planning the year, sit at the feet of Jesus. You are no good to your students if you don't prepare yourself spiritually

Phenias and Ferb...and the "Candace's" in our lives

In case you haven't seen this hilarious cartoon, it's a Disney channel show that my kids love (and I must confess, I do to.) The gist of the cartoon is that two brothers, Phenias and Ferb have huge imaginations and visions of great things to accomplish for the summer, the entire time, their older sister Candace is trying to ruin their plans by showing their parents that the boys are up to no good. Now never mind that these plans are usually harmless and quite clever, but Candace has one focus, Jeremy and never can appreciate the genius of her two younger brothers.

Ever feel like that in YM? Have great vision and ideas that seem to be God given and fun, yet someone comes along and wants to stop them from happening simply because their life isn't as interesting or "fun" as yours. I have encountered "Candace's" in my life and ministry. Often time they are the "thorn in our side" when we have a great idea for fun, or an event. A few years back I came up with this great idea for a back to school event called Mudstock. Basically we dug huge pits in our back field at the church and filled them with tons of water- It was awesome! Anyway, we had planned to have Mudstock on Wednesday night which was usually our mid-week student gathering. The day before this event I had a parent walk in my office and protest the event, because it was "fun and games and we should be giving the gospel". Now without getting into everything that went through my mind or the rest of that conversation, I'm sure you have had a Candace like this before , if not you will!

How do we deal with the "Candace's" in our ministry?

1. "Candace's" normally are well intentioned even if ill motivated.

Col. 3:13- Make allowance for one anther's faults- when we encounter "Candace's" in our ministry we must first react spiritually in love and understanding. A good conversation usually can be an opportunity for both parties to give their view and come to an agreement.

2. "Candace's" normally can be handled with good communication and proper planning

Prov. 15:22- Good plans succeed with wise counsel. If you have a "Candace" in your ministry try talking with them up front and maybe even include them in the planning, therefore eliminating any last minute complaints and obstacles, not to mention what this can do for the over all relationship.

3. Sometimes "Candace's" have a point

Exodus 18:17- This is not good. Often times, God puts "Candace's" in our lives to keep us on point. There is nothing like a "Candace" to help us really self examine and be sure our own motives for what we do in ministry are in line with God.

Either way, for you "Phenias and Ferb's" out there, keep dreaming, keep having fun in Christ, but give the "Candace's" a chance, you just might learn to love them..........

The Pain of it all

No one who has served in ministry for any amount of time has been unscathed by heartache. Whether circumstances were self-inflected, brought on by a well-intentioned parent or parishioner, or perhaps due to no fault of anyone or anything; when you give your heart to other people in ministry it will get broken. How do we deal with this hurt? There are several ways that come to mind.......
1. Never let it happen again!
In this approach, we get hurt and therefore decide to never let anyone close again, the old hurt me once shame on you, but hurt me twice shame on me" mentality. Now this is certainly effective for heart break prevention but will always lead us to a place of living outside of community which always leads to an unhealthy life of no accountability, love, or encouragement!

2. Keep your eye on that one!
In this approach you never say never, but you sure are quick to judge others and measure them against that person(s) who hurt you before, often times even the church as a whole. You got hurt in church once so therefore all churches are hurtful! now this may seem obvious, but most often life can bring justification to this mindset. Eventually we begin to live life in such a way that we have it figured out, and everyone else is wrong and this too is contrary to the way students of Jesus must live.

3. From Simon to Peter......
In this approach it helps to look at the ministry of Peter. He was hurt by his hero's final day and the disappointment of no powerful ministry movement. When the circumstances got difficult he denied that he even knew Jesus. The loud mouth, first to speak, always right Simon, had shown glimpses of greatness but failed. This was his fault, no ones else. He gave up and went back fishing (John 21:3) Now it was in this encounter that Jesus once again asked Peter to join him in ministry.

What's all this got to do with me? It has a lot to do with me. I've been hurt, I've inflicted heartache on myself, and at times I have walked away to just go back to what is safe. No matter where God finds you right now, he asks..."Do you Love me?" then feed, Shepard, nourish my students! don't give up, take heart, sit at the feet of Jesus for a while but don't give up! You may have been hurt by a parent, a leader, a pastor, or the Church, but don't give up on her, the Bride is still beautiful, she is still the Bride, as ugly as she might be at times, she is still the Apple of Jesus' eye, love her, forgive her, cherish her and lead her to the wedding feast of the Kingdom!

The Primal Search

Without getting into a lot of philosophical tangents, we all have basic needs and desires that we seek to be met. These "primal searches" are natural and instinctual and life becomes unhealthy if these pursuits are not fulfilled.

For a "lifer", YM is the same. It's a primal yearning that we must influence students, leaders, and parents with the truth of Jesus Christ. As I walked across campus this morning, a fellow brother and I discussed our primal searches, his for a holistic family approach to ministry and mine to see real biblical community (pardon the phrase biblical community, as in recent passed many "church models" have twisted and sickened most peoples view of community, but still its a primal call for students of Jesus) lived out with students.
AAAnyway........ back to the point, in the local church as we know it here in the good ole U.S. of A, can true biblical community be achieved on a large scale? Let me clarify.... I know Jesus created Christian community with his first followers, it was small scale, they in turn changed the whole world, but through small "cells" of their own. In the church today what would it look like/or take, to achieve this when we have multi-million dollar buildings, budgets, and staff salaries to provide for? What about these great programs we have going, can't let our kids miss something here, they might go to another church on Sunday night! My point is, what will it take for the primal search for authentic community to be the ministry focus of YM again, to look into the eyes of students, listen to their stories, and minister to them like Jesus? What does it take?

Unfortunately too many accolades come for large attendance, great services and programs, a great camp or DNow. How many times does a YM get praise for crying with a student, for walking with a student through a divorce of their parents, for eating that lunchroom food just to spend some time? It is this primal search for authentic, biblical, life changing, relationship that we were all created and will not be satisfied until we enter it!
But can we "make a living" and stay true to this primal search? I just don't know.............

Church "shopping"

For the first time in my entire life, i am looking for a church home. i grew up in a small country church in Moody Alabama where i eventually became the YM at 17/18 years of age, from there i only attended/belonged to churches that i was hired at as a staff member. upon moving to Texas and "semi-retiring" from vocational YM in the local church, and beginning my cemetery-i mean seminary career, at 31 years old i am looking for the first church ever to attend as a member.

we visited a "seeker" church last week and really enjoyed it, its small, but growing very rapidly. i have had several conversations with the pastor and feel a connection to his ministry style and call.
today, we visited a local body with a rich history and a pipe organ-hehe. yeah i snickered at the pipe organ. still, i enjoyed the fellowship with the SS class and they have great facilitation for my kids.

both had pros and cons. with literally hundreds of churches to "choose" from here in our area, i still struggle with what it is God is calling me toward in a faith family. i want a great ministry to my kids, i want a relevant small group community to belong to, and i want to serve in some capacity in YM as a volunteer. how do you weigh all this?

Why the Maven?

my wife asked was it presumptuous of me to be an "expert" in youth ministry? though i wanted to say no-lol, i knew i should explain . I first encountered this word in Malcom Gladwell's great work Tipping Point. (highly recommended reading btw) now, i do not presume myself to be an expert at anything, except maybe eating-lol. i do however want to stay true to the epistemological roots of the word. per Encarta:

noun
Definition: expert or enthusiast: an expert or knowledgeable enthusiast

[Mid-20th century. Via Yiddish meyvn< Hebrew mēḇīn "somebody who understands"]

though i would love to become an "expert" in some ways, i really just want to be what the Hebrew word intends, "somebody who understands"

After 13 years of YM (this will always stand for Youth Ministry or Minister) i have served in small country churches, in the bible belt, in "catholic country" of Louisiana, 5 different churches, in 4 states, a "big" church yada, yada. my point is , i want this blog to be a resource for all of us who want to talk, vent, encourage, love, confess, and become all that Christ has called we YM's to be! so i hope this explains the name and forgive me please if it seems presumptuous, i humbly submit my life on this blog not for accolades, but for true community and friendship in the journey Christ has called me and others.............

The Beginning..............

well, here i am. one week after moving my entire family to a major seminary in Texas, i sit at my pc wondering......wondering what the future holds, what am i going to o for a "living", how am i going to pay for grad school-lol, etc. but really a larger question looms in my thoughts, as i look out the window of my humble apartment on campus, i see lots of kids playing as if they not a care in the world, much different than the kids i have seen before. i see my neighbors (we live in a huge townhouse complex on campus) they are smiling, loving life! the questions looming for me, is, what am i so apprehensive about? why am i so hesitant to "enjoy" this new lifestyle. i mean, we have seen economically scarce times before, is it the lack of financial resources that bother me? i don't think so.

i think, that after 8 years of running, and especially a last year of pure desperation, i am finally Home! this is where i was meant to be, this is the place God offered me many years ago, and i went the road more traveled instead. This Blog will be the beginning of a long journey for me, as i journey i will be sharing different parts of what brings me here, so this will read much like a great movie that plays back and forth in the present and past of the main character(s)

Also i want this to be the beginning of a work i am here to do, to become a mentor and leader of youth ministers, to help cultivate the next generation of YM's that will themselves become students of the Lord Jesus. hopefully, there will be many great minds, from many different arenas that will join this conversation, and i welcome and look forward to all those who like myself, have dedicated their lives to making the lives of teens all that God wants them to be.............. welcome to the YM Maven