Youth Thanksgiving

We had a great time last night. What was dinner turned into a shaving cream fight and I lost! It was awesome to come together and simply have some fun. Special thank you to Jamie and Justin for opening up their home. You can check out the video and pictures bellow! 

Click Here for photos

What I am thankful for

1. The Cross and what it means
2. Family
3. Church Family
4. Relationships
5. Freedom
6. All the pranks pulled on me this year
7. Being pushed into swimming pools and locked out of hotel rooms from camp. Even though I became frustrated they are still memories.
8. Salvation
9. Men and women who fight for our country
10. All the places I have seen this year

Now you add to this and tell me what you are thankful for!

The Big Picture

While flying back this past week I took a picture of this from plane because I was thinking about how God views us and sees the full picture. Even from thousands of feet from the group we still do not have the ability to see all that God has for us.

I am amazed how God uses us when we are SO small next to him. Last-night I took two of our boys to lunch after church and then two others went with me that night. I started doing this with just a couple for a reason. I believe it is one of the best bonding experiences that we could have. Lastnight I had a sixth grader and a sophomore in high school. Next to one another they look like brothers. The sixth grader decided he was going to fight it and say no it's not true! So we ask a few people and they say "what, they're not brothers?" After a while the sophomore comes back and says "We are brothers in Christ, that is all that matters."

How true is that? The big picture is that is that we are brothers and sisters because of his mighty love. It's amazing how something like this can become supper spiritual.

God thank you for the big picture!

The Poor in America

 Many of you know that this week I have been away raising money for Compassion International. As I was doing this I was thinking allot about the great country we live in. The fact that I took a shower this morning, had a Dr. Pepper, and will eat a meal out here in a bit. We are blessed in allot of ways, but at times I ask if we are really the poor ones?

Talking about how a filter could help up to 60 people in an area, this is because they share. Do we even know our neighbors? I spent some time asking God are we just being fooled from the American dream? The fact that people are so selfish to help with their own issues they go shopping, drinking, eating, or whatever else.

Could it be that the rich are poor and the poor are rich? Lets look at it from a realistic stand point. Here in America we have the highest suicide rate then any other country in the world. Why is that? I believe in mental illness, but I also know most of the time it has to do with losing something.

So here is what I started to see as I was thinking, we do live in poverty in America. It's a little different and money cant solve the problem here. This type of poverty is spiritual and very complex and is controlled by each individual.

The poverty is called "Fakeness" we can not let anyone know we have problems because of how it will look. We MUST wear the new clothes and drive the cars to make us feel better. We spend money on bottle water and refuse to drink it out of the tap. Size is what matters and you will see people trying their best to look a certain way.

We will kick our kids out of the house because of disrespect. A young man who is fatherless and does not have a clue of how to be a man will be called names such as fag, queer, gay, or whatever else. A mother will harm their own child for a drug or a drink. You drive by homes and all you see is happiness, when in all reality noone is happy.

The part that gets me the most is that we will have this going on and then come to church and raise your hands at the right time and on que. Then when a teenager stops going to church we will call them "slackers" or say they are falling away from God (like that is even possible).

What is the cure for all of this, simple it's the blood of Christ. You see I believe more and more that God didn't send his son to get our morals together. But that our morals would come together out of worship for him.

Our Church has been telling their stories for a while. At first I was not a big fan of it because they go like this.... "I was so high and drunk and my life was a disaster...Jesus came and now everything is good" What a lie that is. But it has been different for us, it has been a story followed with I am STILL struggling. HOW beautiful is that to understand that the love of Christ is not based off of how Good you are but that he loves you in the middle of the struggle.

The church should be the biggest recovery group in America. We're all in recovery and we are in need of the love of Christ.

Water for a life time

 I am here in Kansas on KQZQ and having a good time. It is amazing that $55.00 can bring drinking water to a family in Rwanda. Please continue to pray for us. I will blog more I promise!

Impact of the Gospel

Many times in youth ministry we tend to give a small part of the gospel and not the whole Gospel. I have set up our youth ministry to where it is okay to not be okay. Small groups are now our big thing and I see many youth groups switching to this style in Abilene. All of my students know who Christ is as an idea, but in reality many times I believe they do not have a clue.

Just this past week I had someone tell me "It takes a special person to work with the youth at The Mission." About a year ago I came to terms with the fact that my students are no different from other church groups. Living in a town where there are churches on almost every street it becomes easy for church to become a hobby.

Today is Wednesday and once a month we all stick together. I have been praying about what I am going to say. What keeps coming to mind is the fact that we can not sum up Gods love with a bumper sticker on a car. The reader board at church can not sum up the compassion that he has on my soul. There is not a speaker, pastor, bishop, priest, preacher, and whatever else I missed that can speak the glory of the kingdom of heaven.

In Abilene, Texas it seems to be all about what you have and your relationship status on facebook. Our Identity is caught up in our hobbies which can include church.

So how to we keep the church thing not a hobby but a place to be encouraged to find our identity in Christ so that we can go and talk to a world that is lost and needs Christ?

Teaching:
Our teaching style come from Titus 2 and I believe this is the most important. We spend most of our time helping our students to live their life around God and not think that God with live around their life. We spent allot of time telling them the opposite of what Culture tells them. We talk allot about that bad things happen to good people. The idea that because of their parents had some issue that they will always carry that around, we try to kill that idea. Yes their will be a struggle, but with the struggle comes grace and forgiveness.

Community:
Community comes with teaching, when I went to small groups being our big thing and not just a service...the kids hated the idea. Last week I was talking to some of them about it and I found out that these groups is the highlight of their life. My small group was the group of those who were always in trouble. Now in six months God has transformed them into a group that care for one another and come now for the Gospel.

I once said do not bring friends just to bring friends. Pray for your friends and allow God to lead you. This has brought not only them freedom but myself as well.

So what is my problem with our group?? Identity issues and believing that happiness is found in a relationship, cars, grades, and school status. I don't talk about these issues on here that often but for the last two weeks it has become heavy on my heart. At one point I had a group that thought they were God's gift to men and not they have started showing that they are hurting and are in a deep need for Christ.

I believe this is a great spot to be.... this year I had a young man that was caught up in football and though nothing could get him down. A injury put him out for the seasons and has forced him to see God for who he really is. Another student crying out for help on facebook because a girlfriend broke up with him, now he slowly starting to see that his relationship with God is more important. Three kids court ordered to anger management and seeing that their eyes are slowly closing to selfishness and opening to grace. 

Here is what is beautiful, I know I CANT do anything about it other then pray. My prayer is that when we teach and show community we do it in away that is different from culture. I have learned that todays teens have had a shift in how they see Church. I have learned that they hate people trying to trick them into the gospel and have a greater respect for those who are honest. They could careless for the building but care more about building a relationship. They have deep concern for the world around them.

When I think about this I am slowly seeing God's love changing his people. It's a Paradox......

I stopped right there because as I was writing this the phone started ringing and it was my mother telling me that they found my cousin dead.

So I will wrap this blog up this way... life is short and in our youth ministries are we truly making the impact that we need to with the gospel of Jesus Christ.