SURGE in Review 1/25/12

Last night at SURGE we began "The Journey".  This is a new series based off of the missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul.  Last night we focused on Acts 7-13 as we looked at how we were first introduced to Saul in Acts 7 as he was giving his approval to the death of a Christ Follower named Stephen and how his life was totally transformed by the time he is set off on his first missionary journey with Barnabas in chapter 13.  Our key theme for this series and for last night was: Where have you been?, Where are you currently?, and Where are you going?

We also talked a bit at length about the fear that spread through Jerusalem by the persecution by Saul.  What if the government decided to imprison all Christ Followers again like they did during this dark time in Jerusalem in Acts 8.  I did some reflecting myself as I filmed some of my worldly possessions and wondered how much of it I'd leave behind.  You can check that video out here:

Last night we talked about 4 cities that either impacted Saul's life or was impacted by him.  The first student that can name all 4 cities in order will get a surprise next Wed. at SURGE!

SURGE Review 1/18/2012

Last night at SURGE we wrapped up our series on "Faith".  I talked about 2 distinct promises that God gives us.  We can approach His throne with boldness and confidence and there we will find mercy and grace in the times we need it the most.  We compared this a bit to The Hunger Games movie that will be released in theaters in March.  You can check out that trailer here:

During the Hunger Games, Katniss (the main character) is fighting for her life.  She has to be the sole survivor of 24 other 12-18 year olds.  In order to do this she has to outsmart her competition.  Each district has previous winners who coach the current "tributes".  District 12, where Katniss is from, only has one.  His name is Haymitch.  Haymitch knows exactly what Katniss is going through and has the ability to see all the other opponents that are in the game.  He can see the long term picture and can send Katniss gifts or refrain from sending them based on her current circumstance.  Sometimes she wonders why he doesn't send a gift right away and she sometimes wonders why she is getting certain gifts when she hasn't asked for them.  

This is how it is with God.  Jesus has been in our shoes.  He can see the big picture and the other people in our life.  Sometimes we wonder why God isn't doing exactly what we think He should do.  Other times, we wonder why He chooses to give us certain blessings.

Christine Holt reminded me of a song that goes perfectly with this.  It is "I have been there" by Mark Schultz.  You can watch it below:

Out with Old...In with the New...

This is a theme that I've been reminded of a ton lately.  Obviously, one reason is that it is a new year and most everyone is making some sort of lifestyle change that will last for a little bit.  This is also a theme that runs straight through the heart of being a Christ follower.  Out with the old sinful life...in with the new life that reflects the heart of Christ.  I am in my 11th year of youth ministry and in my 8th year at LifeQuest Church.  Although the years have gone by exceedingly fast, I am quickly realizing that I am not the same youth pastor today that I was 8 years ago.  I believe there are pros and cons to both and that is what I am going to list out here in this blog.

11 years ago I was:

• Young and able to stay up all night for lock-ins and such
• Just getting married but no kids so I was extremely flexible with my schedule
• Extremely passionate about changing the world for Christ and pretty confidant that I knew exactly how to do it
• Willing to fundraise thousands of dollars per year
• More focused on events instead of programming
• Did not have any volunteers for the programming that I had
• Dumb...made some really poor choices that could have resulted in some youth ministry nightmares  (for instance...playing hide and go seek in the dark...with teenagers...)
• Paid very little

Today I am

• Old...well in youth pastor circles...Not the oldest I know (Greg Mason you are AWESOME!) but older than most
• Still married but I have 2 kids so my schedule is now mostly inflexible
• Not willing to do lock-ins (have had some video game all nighters at my house but not a full blown lock-in in a couple of years)
• Still passionate about changing the world for Christ although I have submitted to the fact that I may not know how to change the entire world but am willing to keep trying to change one life at a time.
• Not willing to fundraise any dollars although I am willing to ask for more budgeted funds and special donations
• More focused on programming than special events
• I have volunteers for half of my youth ministry programming but still unsure on how to recruit, train, and use effectively
• Cautious...today I am extremely cautious in all the activities or events that we have.  This leads to less excitement and less injuries...
• Paid a lot

I have heard that youth ministry years are equated to multiplication and not addition.  Every year you are at the same church you are supposed to be multiplying your effectiveness instead of just adding to it.  I have heard from other youth pastors that the longer you are somewhere the easier it gets to recruit and retain volunteers.  Let me state here that I have some top notch volunteers.  With that being said, part of me senses that they are wearing out and burning out.  But me being at the same church for 7+ years now has not magically produced a plethora of volunteers to help carry the other volunteers' load.  Also at LifeQuest we have 4 awesome people who are on staff and just like almost every other church right now there isn't a ton of extra ministry dollars (and by "isn't a ton" I mean zero).

So after all that is said...in general...would you rather have a rookie youth guy/gal who takes huge risks but makes a ton of mistakes for very little pay...or would you rather have a veteran youth guy/gal who is older than most youth pastors, has experienced a ton now, but gets paid substantially more than the rookie?  I will hopefully put this poll on the side bar to this blog...I'd love to get your feedback and I am pretty sure it is totally anonymous so I won't know if your voting for me or against me! LOL!

Disclaimer:  I am not leaving youth ministry...I am not leaving LifeQuest...just very curious...

Seasons

It is Friday night, 11:53pm to be exact.  It is the last night at Sr. High Camp 2011.  It has been a great week.  God has done some tremendous things.  Jerry Webb (JerryWebb2.com) who is the Pastor of Student Ministries at St. James First Church of God directed this week and he has done a fantastic job.  Being here this week has reminded me that youth ministry is awesome.  I mean even if God one day calls me to speak in an "Adult Service" on a weekly basis, I believe youth ministry will still be at the core of that.

So, why the title of seasons?  Well, it is camping season here at Camp Sharon for one and two, this year will mark the end of (for now) my responsibilities as a Camp Directer.  This will be my 6th year to direct the middle school camp.  Over those years, through this camp we have seen around 60 students come to Christ and around 300 re-dedications.  I have directed for one reason and one reason only...To bring Glory to the One and Only Lord and Savior, Jesus.  I have felt for a while that God has released me of this calling...at least for a season...The state is thriving right now with great young youth pastors who will be able to carry the torch.  After speaking on having Margin in our calendars at LifeQuest on June 26th (check it out at YourLifeQuest.org), I decided it was a great time to begin creating Margin in mine.  This is something that has been missing for several years now.  I believe that I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off...even though it looks cool by all the spectators...it is very unfortunate for the chicken...you see he doesn't even know he has lost his head...Even though the ministry of Camp and Youth Convention has looked cool to spectators and participants it has been very hard on me and the family in finding an adequate balance between ministry and family.  So in just 4 months I will just be an associate pastor again...no pluses...just LifeQuest...and I am really excited about it.  I am excited about carving out time to spend with family.  I am excited about not being so stressed around Abi, Clay, and Amanda.  I am excited about the new season.  I know in ministry this particular season is a rarity...Most new seasons in ministry involve more time commitment to ministry and less to family.  I am creating Margin.  I pray that you will take the time in your life to evaluate the headless chicken syndrome and choose to know where your head/mind/heart is.

3 days til Jr. High 2011 begins...I am excited once again about watching God work among middle school students.

Lawn Mowing

     In ministry there are always factors beyond the normal job description.  Currently, I am in a season of vast and wide ministry.  In the past month, I have had to perform my "normal" job (if that is even possible for a youth pastor to have a normal job) plus I have put a ton of hours into our State ministry.  Last month I spent a Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday planning and dreaming with our State Leadership.  This month I have had a ton of phone calls and emails in preparation for our 2011 and 2012 State Youth Conventions that I help to oversee.  I spent part of my day Thursday in a lunch meeting trying to secure a spot for our 2012 event.  The last 2 weeks I have spent countless hours creating and producing my poster for the 7th and 8th grade camp that I direct every July at Camp Sharon.
      By far one of the greatest honors I have received thus far came today.  I was asked to speak at the Glendale High School Baccalaureate.  This immediately made me think back to my Baccalaureate 12 years ago now.  I don't know what I will say yet but one thing that comes to mind is that those Graduating Seniors should never give up on God's dream and plan for their future.
     Since graduating, I have been working at being God's hands and feet for the last 12 years...some days I see hope...some days I see people who are lost and hurting...some days I see joys...some days I see pain...some days I see nothing but emails and a computer screen.  Some days I feel like I have accomplished a ton...but those days are few.  Most days I feel like the task is too big, the job is too overwhelming, there is always work left to be done, those who are lost who need to be found.  I feel like I am constantly mowing my lawn.  I complete the circuit just to discover that the grass has already overgrown the place where I began...so the mowing forever continues.  I have discovered that ministry is all that...except...I have God at my side giving me the strength to continue the work until He says ''Well done, good and faithful servant!  You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.  Come and share in your master's happiness!" (Matt. 25:23) So I will continue to mow until I am put in charge of more yards and then I will keep mowing until the Lord tells me to stop. One thing I have found through daily servant-hood is that God reveals himself in the laughter and in the tears.
     Speaking of tears and laughter, this year is a special year for me in ministry.  This is the first graduating class that I have been a pastor for all the way from 6th grade on through graduation.  I will be attending several graduations this year but 2 in particular are going to be extra special: Sarah's who attends Glendale and Craig's who attends Central.

This is Sarah and Craig in 2005

     This has me thinking about the new 6th graders who will be coming into Connection Youth Ministry in May...Time to start on the next lawn...

Where has the time gone?

    It has been nearly a year since my last blog.  A lot has happened in that year.  Some good...Some bad.  For instance my son Clay was born...This has been all good except the very smelly diapers that he occasionally produces.  I have had to take a step back from things because of his arrival.  I have been telling most people of late that when it was just Abi...I could get her dressed and out the door in 10 minutes.  If I am getting just Clay ready, it takes about 10 minutes.  If I have to get both of the kids ready...It takes an hour and a half.

     Abi is almost 4 now...I cannot believe how fast those 4 years have gone.  I am so afraid that if I blink, she will be graduating from High School, getting married, having kids, and putting me in a nursing home.  She truly has been "A Father's Joy" for her entire life thus far.  Amanda continues to be the awesome faithful wife that I always dreamed of.  She is a great mom.  She works hard for our family and is truly a full partner in ministry.

     I am continuing down the path of the road less traveled in my ministry area.  I have heard it said that the average stay for a pastor at any one church is around 3 years.  This is even less among associates.  I have been on staff at our church for 6 and a half years.  I have found that there really is ups and downs to everything in life and youth ministry is one of them.  I have been a youth pastor for nearly 10 years now and I am still wondering when people are going to catch on that I have no idea what I am doing.  Youth ministry changes so fast.  You may only have one, one hour segment in life to impact the life of a student.  That last statement in and of itself should really make us feel the weight of how excellent our programs should be as a church.  I have found that students come and students go.  There are students who are committed, faithful, ready to get plugged in, willing to go deeper in the faith, and responsible.  And there are students who are not...

     My current ministry position is quite unique.  I have the great opportunity to work in a "partnership" with 2 other pastors.  We are all pastors and we treat each other equally.  We have found what each Pastor is gifted in and we work from those gifts.  Rick our Lead Pastor is awesome!  He tackles most of the preaching and all of the counseling.  I can't imagine another scenario where a Lead Pastor would be willing to share so much responsibility with his staff.  For instance, Neil (Our Worship Pastor) (Who is also Awesome and a great friend) oversees all the Growing Team Ministries, all the administration duties, as well as overseeing all the Worship Ministry.  I tackle the Student Ministry, but oversee kids birth-college.  I also have the great privilege of overseeing our church's Leadership Team along with the Stewardship Team.  It is as though I am in training for an Executive Pastor gig sometime down the road.  I would love for that to become a reality at LifeQuest Church.  That is another "good" that has happened  in this past year.  We have officially changed our name from First Church of God to LifeQuest Church.  That was about a 3 year process for us leaders and it was not easy but the Lord is faithful.

     Part of the past year did have its hurts and broken hearts.  For instance, the day when my brother-in-law came to my office and told me he and his wife were getting divorced.  They have a 5 year old son.  As the tears came to my eyes there was nothing I could say but let him know that we are here for them.  My brother's story isn't much different.  He and his wife are going through a divorce after 10 years of marriage.  They have 3 kids.  I am always torn on my end of the spectrum...I never know what to do, what to say, how to act, how to love, how to serve, but I pray that God will continue to show me how to impact my family as much if not more than those who are in my flock.

     I want to finish this "year in review" post with acknowledging that God is my provider, my sustainer, my shield, my comforter, my hope, my greatest passion, and my guide.  He has blessed and continues to bless us more than we could ever deserve.  I know that my life would be nothing without Him.  So I leave you with this:  "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you (and I) have been saved.  Ephesians 2:4-5

 Two weeks have come and gone and that means more stats!  We have played 4 games and have went 2 and 2.  I have gone 8 for 12 with 6 singles, 2 Triples, 5 RBI, 8 Runs Scored, 2 Stolen Bases, and 1 walk.  I made 9 put outs in the field with just one error.

So for those of you keeping track I am 14 for 21 on the year. Batting .667 with 10 singles, 2 doubles, 2 triples, 0 inside the park homeruns, 0 out of the park homeruns, 1 walk, 11 RBI's, 12 runs, and 2 stolen bases. I am also 16 for 17 in the field with a fielding percentage of .941.

Totals since April 1st 2006 (not including 2008 or 2009 tourney)-I am 217 for 336. Batting .646 with 151 singles, 36 doubles, 23 triples, 6 inside the park homeruns, 2 out of the park homeruns, 13 walks, 133 RBI's, at least 150 runs, and 3 stolen base. I am also 248 of 272 in the field with a fielding percentage of .912.

Softball is back!

We had our first tournament over the weekend. Without any practice or even throwing since the Labor Day Weekend tournament...that we finished first in by the way...I went 6 for 9 at the plate with 4 singles and 2 doubles...one off the top of the fence in right center...I had 6 RBIs and 4 Runs Scored. I also had 6 catches (one diving) in the field and I threw a runner out at third base trying to tag up.

So for those of you keeping track I am 6 for 9 on the year. Batting .667 with 4 singles, 2 doubles, 0 triples, 0 inside the park homeruns, 0 out of the park homeruns, 0 walks, 6 RBI's, 4 runs, and 0 stolen bases. I am also 7 for 7 in the field with a fielding percentage of 1.000

Totals since April 1st 2006 (not including 2008 or 2009 tourney)-I am 209 for 324. Batting .645 with 145 singles, 36 doubles, 21 triples, 6 inside the park homeruns, 2 out of the park homeruns, 12 walks, 128 RBI's, at least 142 runs, and 1 stolen base. I am also 239 of 262 in the field with a fielding percentage of .912.

Taking a Break...

Last night I got to the breaking point...no, not with my job as some might think considering youth convention is less than 1 week away. I took up a love with Madden NFL football several years ago back to the days of the Sega Genesis. I would have even called myself somewhat of an expert of the game. Ok just thought about something...I started playing football video games back on the original Nintendo...Techmo Bowl and then Techmo Super Bowl...by far my favorite...Last year I purchased the Playstation 3. One of the first games that I picked up for it was Madden 09. The playstation 3 was the first system that I have owned that I could actually go online and play against anyone else in the world with the same game and station as myself. I loved this considering easports kept track online all your stats (I am a stat geek) and your level advancements. Last year I never got past level one and I thought this was because I bought the game late in the season and just couldn't catch up with the veterans. This year...I bought Madden 10 the day it came out and went right to playing online because I wanted to see how high I could get in the levels. So for the past 3 months I have been spending all my "extra" time trying to beat people online at Madden. My record currently stands at 59 and 59...All but 5 or 6 wins comes against level one opponents like myself. I am still level one after 3 months...Last week I discovered that easports would email you your stats so I checked the box...In my first email they told me that I was only 200 points away from going to level 2...The goal I have been shooting for for 3 months...So for the past week the games that I won and lost meant a little more than before...I saw the goal...After the past week of playing I am now some 500 points from getting to that level 2. I have backslid...

Here is the deal...My attitude has been less than stellar for the past couple of weeks. I am sure there is more to it than Madden but after my loss last night at 7:00...I thought I was going to throw my ps3 remote through my TV. Then I had plans of launching my Madden game out the door like a frisbie to see how far it would go and then I would finish the night off by taking a sledge hammer to the PS3 system...

I refrained and ejected the disk...put it in the Madden 10 box...and handed to my wife. I told her to hide it for a week because it is affecting my attitude. Today is a brand new day. I woke up early, before Abi and Amanda, and right away I had the bug to play. But I decided to begin cooking breakfast instead. I feel like I am an addict...disappointed that I am not playing but I know that this week will be better if I don't. Who knows...I may have a copy of Madden 10 to give away after this week...

Slip N Slide