Rooted

In Psalm 145 it says Generation after generation stands in awe of your work; each one tells stories of your mighty acts. It's amazing how God can use you and your gifts to make the kingdom of heaven bigger and bigger. I am praying that you all will help us take a stand for the injustice in this world. We are going to be asking our students to step out in ways that they never thought would be possible. God is ready to use you in a huge way. Please be praying how you want to take part in this. Each week we will be asking you to do something big for the kingdom of God. We will also take a group of students on Wednesday September 9th to Feed the Homeless.

Now we believe this is not just a program but yet a lifestyle. I am going to ask that you really step out at your school campus. Sit with someone who is alone, take up for that kid that someone is picking on, turn your work in on time so that teachers can see Christ in you, and remember to invite someone to Church. God can use you in a huge way!

father to the fatherless

When truely take the time to seek god for who he is and not what we desire we are able to see his true colors. He is more then an idol or someone we meet with on sundays,he is the living god. We serve a god that is our heavnly father. One of the hardest parts about my life is not having a earthly father. It's strange to me and still hurtful to see people my age having a relationship with their father. The god I serve is a father to the fatherless and he is alive. So many times we almost treat god like his son was never raised from the grave. No,Jesus was risen from the dead to bring how to place that needs it. You and I need Jesus. Will you follow him? Will you allow him to lead you? Go for the highest goal and allow him to be lord!

Important Things?

God has an amazing ability to to show you what is important at the right time. New Horizons just built a foster home and our youth group went out to do some service work. What was amazing about it was how all of our students reacted at the home. I was able to see God really show my students that there were things in life more important then what they might be going through. That's a big deal for my youth because I have a group of students who have been hurt or feel like that they have done to much wrong in life.

For the last month or so we have been praying and asking God what he wanted for our youth group. I am not the youth pastor that is in to the same old games and having a program so I can say that I am doing something. I want to make a real difference in their lives and give them something they will never forget. Through our prayer time what God had revealed to not only me...but our leaders and even some students was the wanted us to do the smallest things to make our ministry something bigger than ourselves. I had one young man that needed help with school supplies and clothes, so I personally helped him out and with out asking he borough a bag of clothes that he grew out of so that he could give back. Even today Tim (the guy in charge of the foster home) told one of my leaders that he has never seen a group willing to serve. Now here me, all we did was tear boxes down and throw them away. God took the small and is starting something bigger than us. The students started thinking about cookouts, spending sundays with them, buying a basketball goal, and just helping clean up.

This is what I find to be important in life....It's not how many students I have or how fancy my program is. It has nothing at all to do with the worship team or my ability to speak or teach. I am finding that the small things is what makes a difference. What if we were to really live the life of Jesus Christ. Serving and taking care of those in need and overlooking our pain and heartache so that kingdom of heaven could come here on earth. My prayer is that our students will continue with this passion. Please pray for them!

Bellow is a video I made of some highlights from the last year in youth group. Please pray for my group! Pray that they would continue to follow God!

Follow The leader

Last night at youth we did an activity asking all of our students to grab each others hands in their seat and start walking. Long story short next think you know we have a group of students in a knot another group going backwards and one who was drinking a coke. This was amazing because I was really able to point out that we are all in need of a leader. Now I know most people would think I am talking about God. Well God plays a role in it because he is the ultimate leader, but I was talking about you and I needing each other. If you ever saw my group of students you would ask “How does this guy lead them?” Now it’s not that they are bad kids, we just came from different lifestyles. I grew up on a dirt rode and in the country. Last night I said “That’s the bomb” I was quickly told that it was not cool to say that. Since when did that not become cool? Is our leadership based off of what is cool? I believe not, I mean Jesus did some real un cool things. He is Jesus and he can heal…but he picks up dirt and spits in his hand and rubs it in the guys face. Maybe it’s me…but that is not cool. We can go on and on about this because I feel that we do such an injustice to today’s culture by trying to be cool.

What is it all about? It’s about standing up for what it right and putting your foot down about what is wrong. The way a kid dresses is a fight that is not worth fighting…Now I have some guidelines, short shorts is a no and clothes revealing things will not fly with me. But the style, who cares. We have bigger issues to fight in life. The direction that we lead people shows who we truly are as people. My students know I hate it when I ask what has Jesus saved you from and their response is “Doing bad things” Jesus came to show us a new way to live, not take away all the bad things in life. Without some of the bad events would we ever know Grace? Grace is not pretty and organized Grace is down right hard to understand. It’s something that you and I can not do alone; we must have a savior to really understand it. I am not trying to put God in a box and I believe he can deliver us from anything. I also believe that God knows what is best for me and he allows us to go through things to see who he really is. What does this have to do with leading? It’s simple why do we spend so much time trying to fit in with the group that we are leading? IT”S OKAY TO BE DIFFERENT! Jesus was different!

My challenge to you is the following:
Ask Jesus Am I being real or fake?”
Do I love people or do I just play people
Am I really in love with God or do I just play the American church game.

These are hard questions to ask, but I believe we will see blessings if we are just real with one another and allow ourselves to lead in a natural way.

Closer to Love

When I write this it has been at a time that I have personally experienced several different emotions. Anger, depression, lonely, and most of all betrayed. Now I am not going to go into details on here what has happened. I will tell you it was to someone in my family and it has changed everything. Through the last few weeks of my life it has brought me closer to the saving grace of Jesus Christ. I started thinking about Jesus in the garden before he was arrested and sent to die on the cross. His prayer is amazing at this point; it’s a prayer of begging the father and a cry out from our savior. "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." At that moment in the life of Jesus Christ, he was begging the father to take something away that was going to cost him pain and suffering. So Jesus is not sitting around looking forward to this event that is about to take place….he is begging the father to take it away. Now we all know how the story ends. Do we ever to stop and think about suffering in today’s world and the pain we suffer? I look back at the life I have been given and I will have to say that if it wasn’t for the hard times I would not be where I am at today. I at times have such a hard time showing emotions to the world. I have an amazing ability to figure issues out and work through things, but when it comes to sharing my emotions and pain with people…I just struggle. Growing up with a learning disability and in a family to where you didn’t ever say I love you and you didn’t dare hug has put something in me that would rather run from that type of affection.

Now because of the love of Jesus Christ I have been able to make some changes in that area. Since starting out as a volunteer at Mission Abilene and now being on staff I have seen many things both crazy and awesome. I have had days where I ask why and days where I know why. In the last five years God has shown me my calling. It’s simple but yet the most difficult task. It’s called love and seeing people for who they can become and not who they are. I have watched students walk away from their faith and I have also seen students hold on to their faith. I have led many students to the loving grace of Jesus Christ; I have also had to give students a reality check. But what I see the most is all of us getting closer to love.

Mat Kearney has a new song out called closer to love….read the lyrics and spend a few minutes thinking about the trials in your life.

She got the call today

One out of the grayAnd when the smoke cleared

It took her breath away

She said she didn't believeIt could happen to me

I guess we're all one phone callfrom our knees

We're gonna get there soonIf every building falls

And all the stars fade

We'll still be singing this song

The one they can't take away

I'm gonna get there soon

She's gonna be there too

Cryin' in her roomPrayin' Lord come through

We're gonna get there soon

Oh it's your life

Oh it's your way

Pull me out of the dark

Just to show me the way

Cryin out now

From so far away

You pull me closer to loveCloser to love

Meet me once again

Down off Lake Michigan

Where we could feel the storm blowin

Down with the windAnd don't apologize

For all the tears you've cried

You've been way too strong now for all your lifeI'm gonna get there soon

You're gonna be there too

Cryin' in your room

Prayin' Lord come through

We're gonna get there soon

Oh it's your lifeOh it's your way

Pull me out of the darkJust to show me the way

Cryin out now

From so far away

You pull me closer to loveCloser to love

Cause you are all that I've waited for

All of my life(We're gonna get there)

You are all that I've waited forAll of my life

You pull me closer to love hu huuhCloser to love hu huuuh Pull me closer to love

You pull me closer to love

Closer to love oh no

Closer to loveCloser to love

Pull me closer to love

The last week this has been my prayer… what’s amazing right now is as I write this the song just came on the radio. I believe with all my heart the Lord will come through. I have been praying this for my family and my students. But most of all I have been praying this for myself. It’s hard for me to understand love and my prayer it that God will show me what love really is. I understand the basic side of love, but I want to understand the loves that Christ had for you and me when he was in that garden. That moment in history brought you and me closer to love. It’s a love that we will spend our whole life trying to figure out. Now I don’t say this just because I am putting this online, but I say it because I mean it. My personal hero is Chad Mitchell our lead pastor. He started praying that I would come over to the Mission and I did. He gave me a chance at our youth pastor position a few years ago. He has set me down to talk with me and has encouraged me to keep going when I need the encouragement. I have been given freedom to make some really good choices and the freedom to really screw up. This is life and all of these events draw us closer to the cross of Jesus Christ.

My prayer is draw me closer to love and show me the way. God’s will is what matters to me and I pray the same prayer for you.

Crazy People

I know we all know who Paul is in the Bible. So many of us think about how he wrote a good portion of the New Testament of the Bible, but i believe he did something more then all that. He followed his calling in life. He traveled started the first Church and stood up for what he believed in. Now I believe people thought he was a fool for believing what he believed. I knew that God could change people. I love looking into the history of the Church in Ephesus. These people were nuts. We are talking about witchcraft, serving other Gods, sexual immorality and tons of other stuff.. Now the reason I love this is because I believe it shows us the American Church. Now I know people we fight me on that one and say "it's not that bad" I would say just because we don't know, doesn't make it untrue." Look around at the world and I believe we can say hey it's messed up. Paul took these churches and towns and showed us that a change can take place. I serve at a Church that reaches out to the outcast and trust me we see some crazy things take place. What we must understand is that Christ didn't come for our building, clothes, or fellowship. Christ came to give the crazy people life. Where there is sin, we will see craziness....but also where there is sin we will see new life. I believe through out the Bible paul was showing people that there was a need for new life and for those who had new life there was a need to reach out.

Outreach is not an event or just telling people about Jesus. Outreach is about compassion and Grace. I hear about millions being saved at an even and I ask myself... Can this be true? Now I am not putting down these events, but I can't remember Paul ever giving a report back and giving a number of how many said a prayer. But I read about new life and Paul wanting to take care of Timothy.

1 Corinthians 16:10If Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you, for he is carrying on the work of the Lord, just as I am.

Philippians 2:22 But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel.

Then when we read 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy all we see is love and concern for this young man. It seems like a great youth story, but I believe it's a great discipleship story. My prayer is that church and youth ministry would focus on the person and not the number or program. What if every church member stood up and said "This is the person I am discipling" and I am not talking about taking them to dinner and buying it. What if we took someone to dinner and shared our heart with them. Now I am thankful because I am seeing this taking place in our community for the first-time in a long time. I use to eat lunch with a group of students in lock-down at JDC. I remember eating what they would eat and them talking about their life and what they had done. It was amazing because it was us being real.

My prayer is that we would go where the people are at and make disciples. Not in events but as a lifestyle and out of worship for Jesus Christ. Paul’s love for Timothy with out of the love of Jesus Christ.

Worship

Worship has always been amazing to me and I remember when I first knew something about worship. It was an amazing feeling to me and I felt good. You have to keep in mind I was 20 when I gave my life over to Christ....I thought everything was going to be perfect from here on out. Oh boy was I wrong, this life is a struggle and anyone who pretends it's not will one day see that they have been fooled. In August our youth ministry was going well and I was all about it. A kid giving their life over to Christ, it was AMAZING! December came along and we started seeing some things take place. I wasn't sure how to take care of it, I read all the book, blogs, listen to all the podcast. Nothing would work and I struggled with that. To make a long journey short I believe for the first time we are seeing worship at it's best. When I look around do I see hands up? no, do I see emotions? no but I see people searching for something deeper in life. You see it's east to worship when life is easy, but the true test is in the middle of trials. There were days where I didn't know if I was going to make it. But my God is mighty to save and we sing about it every Wednesday. Everyone needs compassion and forgiveness and we sing about that. We serve a God that takes us as he finds us and we even sing about that. Worship is not just an emotion or a lifestyle. Now both of those play a role in the big picture....but what is the big picture? It's surrender and admitting you can do this thing called life on your own. I am seeing more and more that worship started at the cross. We focus so much on the death of Christ on that cross, but you see life begun in that same spot right next to Jesus. The criminal on the cross is the reason I gave my life to Jesus. Different events took place, but when I heard about Jesus taking that guy and giving him life I started thinking. Now it took me three years to give my life over to him. I believe has Christians and people we need to make sure we show that same type of compassion and love to people.

This is what we are doing different in youth now to help us truly understand what Christ has done. Instead of me just giving me a lesson, I am having students dig in the Bible and finding verses that catch their attention. I have them draw a picture that reminds them of that verse. Here are a few that I have been returned back to me on my desk.

James 1:22 (The Message) don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don't act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like. 25But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God—the free life!—even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action.

Psalm 27:3 When besieged, I'm calm as a baby. When all hell breaks loose, I'm collected and cool.

1 Corinthians: And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

John 3:16 16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Looking at these and then the pictures they drew, it amazes me to see a search taking place. Before we can ever be rescued, we have to know we are lost. My prayer for people now is for them to see that without Jesus they are lost. There is nothing that any pastor, friend, or family member can do about it. All that we can do is pray for them to see that they need a guide. So what does this have to do with worship? It's simple he has giving us his life and he is the king of this world and I believe allowing him to rescue us and searching him out can be the greatest acts of worship. It's not music, a service, works, or good deeds.... it's loving Jesus because he first loved us.

Knowing VS Living

The last few months it has been amazing for me to see what God can do. Now, hear me I know God is always moving and doing a new thing. I believe I knew that that, but I am not sure if I was able to live like that.

John 13-19 Now I'm returning to you. I'm saying these things in the world's hearing So my people can experience My joy completed in them. I gave them your word; The godless world hated them because of it, Because they didn't join the world's ways, Just as I didn't join the world's ways. I'm not asking that you take them out of the world But that you guard them from the Evil One. They are no more defined by the world Than I am defined by the world. Make them holy—consecrated—with the truth; Your word is consecrating truth. In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world. I'm consecrating myself for their sakes So they'll be truth-consecrated in their mission.

It's amazing how we all understand and know what John says. I mean I bet if I went on to I-tunes I could find several sermons on Joy, The godless world, the word is true, and missional living. Knowing that God is a God of our city and the world. Infact their is a popular worship song called God of this City. The story is amazing behind the song.

Pattaya, Thailand recently. In Pattaya, there are over 30,000 female prostitutes over the age of 18! (That is not counting the ones under 18, or even the male prostitutes there) While they were walking around the town, they walked into a local bar there called...."The Climax Club", which was looking ofr bands to play. They agreed to give it a try and asked how long the owner how long he wanted them to play. The owner said, "As long as your friends continues to buy cokes." So they ended up buying cokes for 2-3 hours.So for over 2 hours this band sang Jesus over these prostitutes who had no idea what they were singing! All of the sudden this song "came down from heaven," as one of the band members recalls. Then spontaneously they started singing:You're the God of this cityYou're the King of these peopleYou're the Lord of this nationYou areYou're the light in this darknessYou're the hope to the hopelessYou're the peace to the restlessYou areFor there is no one like our GodThere is no one like our GodGreater things have yet to comeGreater things are still to be done in this cityGreater things have yet to comeGreater things are still to be done here

I read that and listen to the song once again and it reminded me, it's one thing to say it, but to live it. I don't mean going out and trying to get all of your friends come to Christ or they will go to hell. I mean to love and have compassion on them. You see that has been my struggle for the last six months. I was trying so hard to show students and people that God was the God of this city that I stopped living it. I once was commpassionate and loving and then I started to become frustrated. You see it's not about how many people attend your church or my church. It's not about how man talks I give or better yet how many kids are saved in my youth group. How many am I loving like Jesus? How many do I truely care about? What about my co-workers?? Do I care? The 711 Clerk....do I care?

You see I am a pastor, the answer should be yes?? But then what about lying? I mean I am at a church that caters to the homeless and the down and out. I shouldn't ever get tired or burned out??? I have a quick answer for that....I am not Jesus. We all are a work in progress, I believe we're all hurting and we're in pain. We can all pretend but God is bigger then me and bigger then you. You see God is doing an amazing work in us, because he never stops. We are all running out of darkness into the light because of the cross.

My prayer for all of us is that we don't forget that it's not about status or doing the right thing. It's simple...it is living. Knowing all the right things does not bring you freedom. Worship and a relationship is what brigngs us freedom.