Camp will Kill You

 Months and months of planning, two straight weeks of final prep, the day of leaving full of last minute add & drops, the 8 hour bus ride filled with smells that shall never be described by scientists.... Camp will kill you!

The rooming woes, the Jr high kid who is hanging off the balcony, that kid who "never burns", the plans that never work, the food mishaps, the leader who never listens to instructions.... Camp will kill you!

 The lights go down, the Spirt moves, Jesus is lifted high, students meet with Jesus and are changed, the hearts of students and leaders are awakened to their kingdom purpose, a great awakening begins NOW.... Camp will kill you AND it's worth it!

Can't wait to get to camp tomorrow!!!!!!

Help, Don’t Hinder

Wanted to share this helpful article with all the @fbcmidland parents

Help, Don’t Hinder

Scratching the Itch

Have you ever been restless? I have! Every time I have ever felt restless I always assumed it was because God was "moving" me somewhere. That it was time to polish up the ole resume and start house shopping. I was reading 1 Timothy 3:14 and noticed something, Paul was restless. His heart yearned to go and see what God was doing, but he stayed where he was. I have realized this week what a great blessing longevity in ministry can be. To date 4 1/2 years is the longest run I've had. I don't doubt that my intent was to stay and I also trust that everything happened the way God wanted, but in this season of life and
Ministry I see the value of going the distance, staying put, but not "settling". This restless feeling, I have come to learn may very well be God showing new things he wants for my current location, not for me to move to a NEW location. Often it's easier to move and start over, but I believe that restless feeling may just be something new God is going to do right where I am both in ME and in ministry. Can't wait for the next chapter...

Wild Week... of rest??

There are always THOSE weeks, but this week was exceptionally crazy but in a good way. Time spent readying for summer, hearing the hearts and plans of graduating seniors, connecting with an old friend in ministry, and more. It was just a good week! It was however, in the midst of it all peaceful! God gave me rest in the craziness and encouraged me with this passage Isaiah 43:2. I pray that in the busyness of the day/week/month/year you will find rest in Gods faithfulness!

Finish What You Start

 I see its been over a year since my last blog post… not a hot demand from people just waiting on my next post or that I have anything remotely striking to talk about. I'm no Seth Godin or Michael Hyatt so who really cares about my blog? Well, I should! God has put things in my heart and life over the last few years that I have failed to run with, failed to seize, and neglected to follow through on. Between transitioning into a new journey in Midland, buying a house, settling in, taking a long look at the SM culture here, continuing work on my PhD, I simply "forgot" that God told me to blog!

 A few years ago, when I was struggling through a period of ministry, God reminded me of a verse:

Philippians 1:6-  "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ"


Now, this is not meant in any way to be an exegetical treatise of this passage, but there are a couple of things that convicted me to the core when I read this passage this past week and I asked myself these questions:


1. Have I been totally faithful in every way to the mission God has called ME to?
     (raising up a generation of Kingdom builders, releasing students to IMPACT the world, equipping  
      parents to champion their kids)


2. Have I been a good steward of EVERY gift entrusted to me by God? 
     (education, family, leaders, resources)


3. Have I pursued with all that I am to look more like Jesus today than I did yesterday?
     (as a husband, dad, pastor, leader, friend and follower of Jesus)

I would like to be very Holy and say that all these above got a resounding 'YES!", but I would be a liar. the truth is, I am not real sure about these above because I haven't been faithful in keeping up with it. I have not journaled, blogged or written any of the great things that happened in the last year or so down.

I pray that for the sake of letting Christ finish his work in me, I will be faithful to record it and share it, for maybe none else but He and I to read! Let the journey begin again...

Why the Maven?

A re-posting of a blog from Aug, 2008-

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.............

A New Era

Time to resurrect the blog! As we plan and prep for Easter this week, I have been thinking about the new life, new creation, fresh starts, and fresh wind in the sails!

If you thumb through the archives of this blog you will see its been quite a while since I posted, however more so you will find that I have been on quite the journey. Subsequent posts will flesh this out, I just wanted to get back in the saddle, update some info, and send a post out. I am now committed more so than ever to stay up to date here, this blog will become my creative writing outlet for this season in life- enjoy, comment, challenge, and encourage

I will begin by reposting the initial blog that I launched with- this will framework things a bit and help guide my own thoughts on the purpose of this blog ( I tend to ramble ;)