I've been doing youth ministry now for 14 years. It is something that I love doing and feel like I'm good at it (at least somewhat). In all those years I have heard the question(s) about when am I going to do "real" ministry or when am I going to head to seminary or when am I going to get my own church many times. Thankfully, as the years have gone by these questions have gotten to be fewer and farther between.
I have a whole list of people that I am thankful for who have influenced me in my path and have invested in me over the years. I won't start naming them here for fear of 1) leaving out many along the way and 2) sounding like it's the Friday "testimony/share" time at camp or on a mission trip. But know this, I am thankful beyond anything I could ever express to those who have played a part in who I am as a Christ follower as well as a youth minister.
That is why I wanted to post this link to today's post on Stuff Christians Like.
http://stuffchristianslike.net/2010/07/treating-youth-ministers-like-silver-medal-ministers/
Peace, Grace and Love y'all.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Hellooo Ladies....
This one is kind of for the ladies out there. This is how we guys often times feel when it comes to you, the fairer sex.
Who better to deliver that message to you than our friend The Old Spice Guy. I think he speaks for most men in the world when he says that YOU know exactly the next step for us to take, because you're women, so please let us know.
Peace, Grace and Love y'all.
Who better to deliver that message to you than our friend The Old Spice Guy. I think he speaks for most men in the world when he says that YOU know exactly the next step for us to take, because you're women, so please let us know.
Peace, Grace and Love y'all.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Here Comes the King...But Who Really Cares?
So who really watched "The Decision" tonight on ESPN? Who really cared that much about where LeBron was going to end up signing? To be honest, I lost interest in all of it a long time ago. To me it was just wasn't that big of a thing. So the LeBron is leaving Cleveland via free agency and heading to the Miami Heat. Bully for him, but did we really need an hour long "special" to make that announcement? What did they do for the other 58 minutes that weren't him saying he was going to the Heat? Was there a montage of his life and career up to this point?
This was simply another way for LeBron to draw attention to himself. This was not ESPN's idea from what I understood. It was LeBron's. I really think it is the kind of thing that can backfire on him, if for no other reason than it will become to butt of jokes. Maybe LeBron will be one of the first to make the jokes but I don't know that I see that.
I think the next thing we are going to see like this will be Brett Favre convincing ESPN to give him an hour long special to announce his decision about whether he's going to retire or not. At least that special could have some real intrigue to it. Even Favre wouldn't know how it was going to turn out. And then the next week he could get a second special to reverse his decision from the first special.
In the end this was a self-absorbed and narcissistic display. As many others have written better than me, it was something that simply was not needed. Congratulations Miami, you know have a the "King". Good luck with that.
Peace, Grace and Love y'all.
This was simply another way for LeBron to draw attention to himself. This was not ESPN's idea from what I understood. It was LeBron's. I really think it is the kind of thing that can backfire on him, if for no other reason than it will become to butt of jokes. Maybe LeBron will be one of the first to make the jokes but I don't know that I see that.
I think the next thing we are going to see like this will be Brett Favre convincing ESPN to give him an hour long special to announce his decision about whether he's going to retire or not. At least that special could have some real intrigue to it. Even Favre wouldn't know how it was going to turn out. And then the next week he could get a second special to reverse his decision from the first special.
In the end this was a self-absorbed and narcissistic display. As many others have written better than me, it was something that simply was not needed. Congratulations Miami, you know have a the "King". Good luck with that.
Peace, Grace and Love y'all.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Reborn
What does it mean to be "born again"? Does that mean that that you have to actually be born a second time? How is that even possible? Where does that term even come from?
This past week at the Sr. District Camp I was at there was a...discussion...about what this means and what the importance of it really may be. One of the people involved in the discussion was of the mind set that the term "born again" isn't really all that important. After all it is used only one time in the Bible in a conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus . Jesus tells Nicodemus that in order to see the kingdom of Heaven one has to be born again. Here is the thing on this as far as I am concerned (and one of the other counselors at camp make this point as well) Jesus is the person who said it, who coined the phrase if you will, so that is really all we need. If Jesus said it, and we are trying to live a life that exemplifies Him and his teachings, then if he says we need to be born again, then we need to be born again.
Here is my take on what happened at camp though. It has more to do with the terminology than the actual concept of being born again. I really think that the first person in all of this simply has a problem with the terminology "born again" rather than the truth behind it. Here is what I mean by that: There are certain terms in our language that simply aren't the best for conveying what is actually meant. This in some ways is one of those terms. People hear "born again Christian" and the Hollywood idea of what that means comes to mind. That image is one of a person that is a goober, a Ned Flanders type if you will. Someone who is judgmental, "holier-than-thou" and doesn't believe in "fun". In that case I can see where the problem lies with the use of that term.
When we look at the truth behind the term, we begin to see that it means so much more than what we usually have in mind. The truth of this means to be changed. It means that we are no longer the old person that we were before Jesus and the Spirit found us and changed us. This same truth is found, worded differently, in 2 Corinthians 5:17 where Paul is talking about what a changed life looks like. The old us goes away and in it's place there is someone new.
We have an example of this truth in nature itself. It is what happens when a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. The caterpillar begins as one thing and then through a series of events becomes something new and different. This is a great illustration of what the idea of being "born again" is really about.
In the end really the term means very little. Regardless of what we call it, the truth is the same: unless we have accepted the life transforming, rebirthing power of Grace through Jesus and the Spirit we are still stuck as the old caterpillar.
Peace, Grace & Love.
This past week at the Sr. District Camp I was at there was a...discussion...about what this means and what the importance of it really may be. One of the people involved in the discussion was of the mind set that the term "born again" isn't really all that important. After all it is used only one time in the Bible in a conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus . Jesus tells Nicodemus that in order to see the kingdom of Heaven one has to be born again. Here is the thing on this as far as I am concerned (and one of the other counselors at camp make this point as well) Jesus is the person who said it, who coined the phrase if you will, so that is really all we need. If Jesus said it, and we are trying to live a life that exemplifies Him and his teachings, then if he says we need to be born again, then we need to be born again.
Here is my take on what happened at camp though. It has more to do with the terminology than the actual concept of being born again. I really think that the first person in all of this simply has a problem with the terminology "born again" rather than the truth behind it. Here is what I mean by that: There are certain terms in our language that simply aren't the best for conveying what is actually meant. This in some ways is one of those terms. People hear "born again Christian" and the Hollywood idea of what that means comes to mind. That image is one of a person that is a goober, a Ned Flanders type if you will. Someone who is judgmental, "holier-than-thou" and doesn't believe in "fun". In that case I can see where the problem lies with the use of that term.
When we look at the truth behind the term, we begin to see that it means so much more than what we usually have in mind. The truth of this means to be changed. It means that we are no longer the old person that we were before Jesus and the Spirit found us and changed us. This same truth is found, worded differently, in 2 Corinthians 5:17 where Paul is talking about what a changed life looks like. The old us goes away and in it's place there is someone new.
We have an example of this truth in nature itself. It is what happens when a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. The caterpillar begins as one thing and then through a series of events becomes something new and different. This is a great illustration of what the idea of being "born again" is really about.
In the end really the term means very little. Regardless of what we call it, the truth is the same: unless we have accepted the life transforming, rebirthing power of Grace through Jesus and the Spirit we are still stuck as the old caterpillar.
Peace, Grace & Love.
Friday, May 28, 2010
I'm Sorry
Saw this today on Wes Molebash's blog, Max vs. Max and thought it should be shared here.
I'm wishing it was always that easy to be an "apologist." Hope you have a great, safe Memorial Day weekend. Peace and Love y'all.
I'm wishing it was always that easy to be an "apologist." Hope you have a great, safe Memorial Day weekend. Peace and Love y'all.
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