Switching it off

I am going on sabbatical July 16-September 16, 2007. I can't wait. Scot McKnight pointed me to this article, Exhaustion: the modern malady and it asked a question that is haunting me as I draw closer to it,

"Could it be that we are scared of switching off?"

I am honestly wrestling with this. Sure I am talking about how I can't wait to switch it off, but I truly wonder what it's going to be like to switch off the FULL-TIME, POUND OUT THE HOURS, mentality while I am on sabbatical. There is no question that I have been scared to switch off since I started in full-time ministry.

Sublaxation

Today I had my first adjustment. It was my first adjustment by a chiropractor. Tomorrow is my second. I learned about sublaxation. Bottom line: THE SPINE IS IMPORTANT. It was amazing. I looked a my spine on x-rays. I've got some minor adjustments needed in the middle of my back...not bad. My neck on the other hand is perfectly straight, and I found out today that it's supposed to be curved. Who knew I was so messed up on the inside? Don't answer. So we headed to the table and I got adjusted. Several pushes up and down the spine, several cracks, twists, two grunts from a me and an "Oh Jesus help me" after he twisted my neck twice (I thought I was paralyzed) and I was done. The picture in this post represents the chiropractic care I've had for past 32 years...not good.

I had never in my life walked into a chiropractor's office. I've always been told that once you go you'll go the rest of your life. They just mess you up to make money off you. I told the Doctor that and he asked me if I was serious. Do you really believe that?

Today reminded me of a student who came to our church recently for the first time in his life and met me. He told me that he'd always heard that once he went he'd be convinced that he'd have to go to get right with God for the rest of his life - to feel guilty about his sins. That we just mess with people by telling them they're bad and they need God so we can pass the plate on Sundays and make money! I looked at him and asked him if he was serious. Do you really believe that?

Presuppositions have consequences. According to my Doc mine were wrong. According to the student ministry pastor this student met at church his were wrong.

wrecking lives

Seth Barnes' Cost-me-nothing post is worth saving and using in your philosophy of missions in your student ministry. This quote nailed me and challenged me towards our trip this year.

"Cost-me-nothing missions that don't bear the fruit of a more profound commitment in Jesus-followers are a sham and should be stricken from your schedule immediately. They are watering down the and undermining our overall missions effort as the Church of Jesus Christ.
My standard is that if a mission trip doesn't wreck the lives of at least half the group, then the leaders need to re-tool it next year and add back the missing ingredient of challenge . Tepid, easy trips probably do more harm than good, inoculating students to the real thing, leading them to a watering hole that's run dry."

Dare a pastor of student ministries pray that trips will "wreck the lives of at least half the group?"

7 worst

I started off this morning reading The Seven Worst Communication Habits for Church Staff by Todd Rhoades at Monday Morning Insight.

Godd stuff. Guilty.

Nothing like starting off a short week after a long weekend with guilt!

Grad parties galore

I love grad parties! I feel so honored to be invited by our grads and their families. I've got parties over four weekends and I wouldn't miss one of them. Sure I love the food and the community that is present, but grad parties are part of my saying "goodbye." I know it sounds weird, but it's part of my grieving process. I've been praying for a lot of these students for four years. We've experienced a lot of life together on Sundays, Wednesdays and on trips. Being at the party helps "seal the deal" in my mind and heart that they are moving on. I am so excited to see this class leave their mark of sacrificial love on this planet!

Hurley and our leaders

Wednesday night was EPIC! A bunch of our high school leaders huddled up at my in-laws and watched the season finale of LOST after consuming some tasty morsels. Everyone in the room started cheering when Hurley came from out of nowhere and plowed some dude over! It was like we were watching the Superbowl! What a night! Charlie died. Others were blown up! Hurley in the VW Van was epic. Future Jack is messed up! Looks like he gets off but was in better shape on the island. Jack pounds Ben's face into the sand. Rousseau and Alex meet. We saw Penny! Walt? Locke couldn't walk, then he could? Who's in the casket? Okay...enough...back to my point.

Julie and I woke up the next morning enjoying the time with our leaders more than we did the season finale. It's an amazing feeling to be a part of a student ministry that has leaders that enjoy being around each other outside the context of church. It does wonders to my soul to be a part of times like this where the only agenda is food, community and LOST! I love serving alongside these leaders. It makes me think how hard ministry would be if I didn't have a strong team. What if there were elephants in the room, etc...? What's been your experience?

Educating not legislating

This is an insightful interview from Guy Kawasaki on teens being totally wired. He was interviewed by Anastasia Goodstein from YPulse.

Question: Is banning MySpace and other social networks by schools a smart thing?
Answer: I advocate educating as opposed to legislating.

Guy's answer really struck a cord with me as it relates to parenting and serving in student ministry. I like the thought of responding as much as possible to situations with the mindset of educating rather than legislating. Sure, there are going to be times when legislation is needed, but how often? How would our approach to parenting and student ministry change if we took a more "educating" approach than a "legislating" approach? If we want our kids and students to own their faith, which approach will work better?

Mature student ministry pastors?

I was reading Scot McKnight's blog on Educating Youth Pastors this morning and found this comment from him,

"...it has frequently occurred to me that it takes more maturity to pastors junior highers and high schoolers than most adult groups. Why? A youth pastor has to render moral judgment and exercise discerning wisdom constantly — just ask one."

He makes an interesting point and I am wondering if anyone wants to chime in on this comment from their experience in a student ministry as a student or someone who serves in a student ministry as a leader or a pastor.

The value of a website

Jon's post is worth reading about the value a website can and does bring to your student ministry. Our student ministry website has gone through at least four changes in the last four years to get to this point. I am grateful to be partnering with a guy like Jon to give us a presence on the web for those who are a part of our high school community.

Financially supporting young life

Yesterday I played in our area Young Life Golf Tournament at Red Rocks Country Club. Will, Dave and Jason joined me. Dave and Will are leaders in our high school community and Jason Shade works for Edward Jones. We shot a 61 and came in sixth! Only by luck and a gust of wind did I happen to win the closest to the pin contest. Hey, it won me $25 and it got me the hat pictured. Dave stepped it up and brought his A game. He was incredible!

Our high school ministry supports Young Life in our area because we believe we need their presence and influence in the lives of the students in our public schools. Jacque and his team are great people and doing a good work here in Southwest Jeffco. I believe it's imperative that student ministries start financially supporting some kind of non-profit in their area that is reaching students. I want our money to match our priorities. I can't wait to tell our students this Sunday how our high school ministry is giving back! It is awesome to be a part of the Kingdom of God!

So next year plan to take $600 of your student ministry budget and give it away to Young Life, or some other non-profit that is effectively reaching students in your area with the gospel message!

Myth of the Teenage Brain

If your ever around teenagers you must read this article by Robert Epstein, The Myth of the Teenage Brain. His research is challenging, thought provoking and in my opinion needs to be practiced. I loved this quote,

"Isolated from adults and wrongly treated like children, it is no wonder that some teens behave, by adult standards, recklessly or irresponsibly. Almost without exception, the reckless and irresponsible behavior we see is the teen's way of declaring his or her adulthood or, through pregnancy or the commission of serious crime, of instantly becoming an adult under the law. Fortunately, we also know from extensive research both in the U.S. and elsewhere that when we treat teens like adults, they almost immediately rise to the challenge. We need to replace the myth of the immature teen brain with a frank look at capable and savvy teens in history, at teens in other cultures and at the truly extraordinary potential of our own young people today."

May God grant every youth worker who teaches the Word of God week in and week out, the ability to remember that our students can handle digging deep into the treasures found in God's Word!

Catching up with an former prof

Last night our church hosted the memorial service for Dr. Steve Young. He attended our church for years and was the director of the leadership program at Denver Seminary. After the service everyone was hanging out in our welcome center eating food, drinking punch and coffee and catching up. I was standing with one of my high school leaders when a heard a voice behind me saying, "How's that Ugaritic study coming?" I turned around to find Dr. Rick Hess smiling at me. You have to love that hello from the OT prof! Stacy graciously stepped away and gave me some time to hang out with him. It was great to catch up. I started talking about my kids and their OT names and he gave me a short lesson on each. It was awesome! It was like using Google on a human being! I said their names and got information within seconds!

He is going on sabbatical while I will be on sabbatical. He's writing a commentary on Kings and I am hoping to write a commentary on Numbers! :) Yeah right! I thanked him over and over for giving me a passion for the Old Testament. I owe a lot to him and Dr. Danny Carroll for their leadership in this department. Thanks men. As we closed our time I was thinking that I could co-write my first book with Dr. Rick Hess while we are both on sabbatical, Transformational Student Ministry - How Hebrew and Ugaritic language study will transform you and your students.

Teenage Holy War

I've been waiting awhile to post this article, but it's worth a read. I actually found this article after I took a phone call in my office from an ATF person last month encouraging me to attend their conference in late April if I was a seriously committed youth pastor and wanted to see the teens in my group impact our city by standing against the cultural evil that is waging war against their souls. I respectfully declined and briefly shared how I am on a different page, actually a different planet.

Rolling Stone, April 19th edition - Teenage Holy War. Subtitle "Jesus is really, really pissed -- at Hollywood, at the media, even at most Christians. But BattleCry, the nation’s largest and most radical youth crusade, is recruiting a new generation of Christian soldiers to fight back. "

Please click on the video link and watch the Nightline clip and listen to the female student talk about what changed her life and then listen to what the reporter says about what changed her life at the end as she is summarizing the story. May the students in our ministry walk away changed by the passion of Jesus Christ, who waged a different kind of holy war, making himself nothing, becoming the slave, and dying on a cross. More thoughts on this here.

Season of Change - 2

The last time our church searched for a senior pastor was 29 years ago! This isn't something we are used to doing. It's been fun this week to talk with people now that the word is out that our Senior Pastor could be potentially (depending on the vote June 24) be our new missions pastor. I am going to be blogging on the topics that come up in my conversations. This week question, "How old should the new senior pastor be?" Early 30's? Mid-thirties? Late 30's. Early 40's. Mid-forties? Late forties? I've received all six of these answers from people this week. People are all over the board thinking the new guy should be young (limited or no senior pastor experience) with the potential of having him stay for a long time, to someone in their forties who is more seasoned and been in the role before! All six answers are valid and have their strengths and weaknesses. Thoughts?

Dog Bones, suckers and a sticker

On Tuesday, I pulled up to one of the open lanes at one of the banks I use to take some cash out of my lucrative student ministry pastor paycheck. It was the 15th of the month! After the lady behind the glass processed my request she asked me, "Sir, is there anything else I can do for you?" I replied, "Yes, my son Josiah would LOVE a sucker!" She was quick to jump in before I could finish my sentence, "We don't give away suckers anymore." I screamed (not kidding), "You've got to be kidding me!" From the back I hear Josiah make a comment about what he saw in the window, "Ugh, dog bones...I don't want a dog bone." My eyes were frantically searching for...dog bones...and sure enough, there was a huge container of them where the suckers should of been. WHAT? My bank now has dog bones for dogs coming through the drive through but not my kids! How can a bank not give away suckers? This is almost "non-American!" The lady threw in a heart sticker for Josiah and when he got home he threw it in the trash.

I wonder how many people attend church on Sunday, pulling up with expectations that don't get met, and then go home and trash their experience. There is something to be said for tradition and being a part of a story today that helped shaped us in the past.

Getting worked at home...spiritually

Barna released a new report last week, just in time for Mother's Day, stating that the spirituality of moms is OUTPACING the spirituality of dads in the home. Or in Dan English, dads are getting worked at home...spiritually. Here's a brief section,

"According to a new Barna study, women who are raising children are among the most faith-minded and spiritually active segments of the American population. The study explored faith-related activities, commitments and perspectives, relying upon nationally representative interviews among more than 10,000 adults and nearly 2000 women who are currently parenting children under the age of 18. The study shows that more than three-quarters of moms identify "family" to be their highest priority. At the same time, a majority of mothers strongly agree that their faith is very important in their life. In contrast, fathers also tend to list family as their top priority in life, yet they are much less likely to equally attribute importance to faith."

Thoughts about this study:

- Discipleship begins in the home with mom and dad. We must never forget that our student ministries exist to support this God-given structure.

- The mom in my home is amazing!

- After having my ministry assessed by Kara Powell (more on this in later posts) she found the the spirituality of our girls is OUTPACING that of our boys.

- Moms see their legacy (children) more than the dads. Every day they get the privilege to wake up and remind their kids that God's faithfulness is new again. They get to explore God's revelation of Himself every time they get in the car and drive around during the day - general revelation. They are always talking about their kids.

- Moms, who've been blessed to carry a child, have spent nine months more with the kids than the dad. I can't even get my mind around having one of my kids inside me. What an unbelievable connection. They've felt the omnipotence of God inside of them (see Psalm 139:13-18). As a side note, we adopted our first child and I think Julie bonded with Noah quicker than I did.

- How does this research sit with those who believe that the man in the home is supposed to be the spiritual leader?

- It's belated on my blog, but Happy Mother's Day Julie! You're wonderful! I can't wait to see Adah turn out to be like you!

More connected and more alienated than ever

Sherry Turkle on Forbes.com has an amazingly insightful article on how people who live in this culture, because of technology, are more connected than ever and more alienated than ever. It will speak to you and it will speak to you about the students you serve.

Can You Hear Me Now? - The opening illustration is priceless. This is a must read this week and worthy of several posts to process all she says. Two quick quotes that grabbed me on this Tuesday:

"The self that grows up with multitasking and rapid response measures success by calls made, e-mails answered and messages responded to. Self-esteem is calibrated by what the technology proposes, by what it makes easy. We live a contradiction: Insisting that our world is increasingly complex, we nevertheless have created a communications culture that has decreased the time available for us to sit and think, uninterrupted. We are primed to receive a quick message to which we are expected to give a rapid response. Children growing up with this may never know another way. Their experience raises a question for us all: Are we leaving enough time to take our time on the things that matter?"

"Adolescents naturally want to check out ideas and attitudes with peers. But when technology brings us to the point where we're used to sharing thoughts and feelings instantaneously, it can lead to a new dependence. Emotional life can move from "I have a feeling, I want to call a friend," to "I want to feel something, I need to make a call." In either case it comes at the expense of cultivating the ability to be alone and to manage and contain one's emotions."

Thoughts?

Season of Change

Earlier this week our pastoral staff received a letter from our lead Elder. It states that he and the Elders are going to make a motion at our June 24th business meeting that our Senior Pastor, Dr. Jerry Nelson, be moved to Missions Pastor upon the arrival of his replacement! When his replacement arrives, Pastor Nelson will travel for a few months abroad to visit our missionaries. When he returns he will assume the role of Missions Pastor at our church.

GULP!

Southern Gables is headed into a season of change. A change that last took place 29 years ago!

So many thoughts and issues come to mind. I'll be reflecting on it over the next few weeks. I know this for sure, this decision will affect and effect everyone pastor on staff!

Hold on!

Kids and the Kingdom of God

A new report suggests that over half of 12-14 years-olds have cell phones. What stood out to me in this report was the fact that marketers are no longer worried about tweens (12-14) in this area, but kids 10 and under! This short article got me thinking...

If the business world sees kids under the age of 14 (especially late elementary) as their target group to reach, should the church? How much of it's resources does each local church put into reaching elementary and middle school age children? If the world they live in slams them with messages about how important they are in the global economy, what message is the church sending about how important kids are in the Kingdom of God? Are 10 year-olds the new age group the church must plan on reaching in the next 5-10 years? I will have a 10 year-old in 4 years! AHHH!

One day...I'll give an account

I was reading USA Today this evening on the Pope telling drug dealers, "God will call you to account for your deeds."

Tonight I have can honestly say I have something in common with the drug dealers the Pope was addressing. One day I will give an account of my deeds. Tonight we all can say we have something in common with drug dealers.

I am longing for our high school students to get a picture of this in their mind. I can't wait to read Jesus' letter to the church at Sardis tomorrow.

The letter

Just got the mail...hanging out at home today. If attend SGC you'll definitely want to get your mail and read it. Trust me. I liken this letter to how I felt after watching Lost on Wednesday night...SHOCKED!

More to come on the contents once everyone has had the chance read it...stay tuned.

What do you want your volunteers to yearn for?

I don't just want people who are yearning to be small group leaders in our student ministry. I also want people who are yearning to be a part of establishing God's Kingdom here on earth. I want them to see that small groups is one way for us to help accomplish this. I want them thinking eternally. Every Wednesday night I want our students getting a small taste of heaven! I owe a lot of this thinking to Antoine de Saint-Exupery who said this,

"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea."

I am so grateful that I have a team of volunteer leaders who yearning for the vast and endless sea!

Underclassmen Night

Last night the underclassmen dawned our doorstep in a large heard. Where did they all come from? They just kept jumping through the door. There was so much energy in my house and outside my house I am quite positive my neighbors must of thought I was throwing a Kegger! :) There were red cups everywhere!

At one point I saw my neighbor Andy looking out from his porch smiling at me, shaking his head in disbelief at the mass of pubescent humanity that decided to settle in our humble neighborhood for an evening.

The sheer volume that was spewing forth from their mouths had to have been heard at C-470 and I-70. I was expecting to wake up and see in the paper that the National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Co. recorded a slight shift in the Earth's crust near Red Rocks Amphitheater due to the Rugby/Football/Lacrosse game that was played in my backyard for and hour and a half.

Watching them eat my wife's EPIC chocolate chip cookies reminded me watching Adah, who is one, learn to eat a cookie. More was on my floor than in their gut.

We spent a total of seven minutes together on my porch catching up on the calendar and praying. The prayers were short and sincere. My announcements were short and sincere.

Finally, they did all of the above texting their friends who were across my lawn or inside while they were outside! :)

I love underclassmen! The next two years are going to be fun with these loose canons! They are SO much fun!

My Celebrity Look-Alikes

Upperclassmen Night

Last night we had the upperclassmen over to our house to build community and eat some of Julie's famous chocolate chip cookies. I am not overstating how amazing my wife's cookies are. We had a great time hanging out. I particularly enjoyed our prayer time on my back porch for the up and coming year. It was awesome to hear the class of 2007 pray for the class of 2008. We capped off the night brainstorming freshmen initiation. It's going to be epic this year.

I'm an Omnivore

I took this test from Pew Internet and I'm an Omnivore. We make up 8% of the population. Our median age is 28. We have at least 6 IT devices. 89% of us have broadband Internet at home. Our basic description : "They have the most information gadgets and services, which they use voraciously to participate in cyberspace and express themselves online." - YEP!

What kind of information technology user are you?

I wholeheartedly agree that being an omnivore has increased my ability to do my job better! This survey got me thinking today about something: I can see how the IT world has changed me, but what is it like for our students? What has changed me is "normal" for them. What will the test look like when they are in their 30's? How will they be changed?

Hide and Seek

This past week I wrestled through playing hide and seek with God. It isn't just a game my boys play with me at least once a week. Rather, it's a spiritual game all of humanity has been playing since Adam and Eve first ate the fruit from the tree. Genesis 3:8 "8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. "

In student ministry it's imperative that we build into our philosophy of ministry the doctrine of Harmartiology - the study of sin. Our students need to know that their attempts to hide among the trees when they hear the sound of the LORD through our teaching, small groups, times of prayer and one on one conversations, is dare I say, normal? Conversely, our students need to take heed of C.S. Lewis' words, “Do not let us deceive ourselves. No possible complexity, which we can give to our picture of the universe, can hide us from God. There is no forest, no jungle thick enough to provide cover.”

David summed up well why we should stop playing hide and seek with God with the words he penned in Psalm 139: 7-12, "7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there our hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you."

May our students experience the freedom that God's omnipresence can bring to sinful human condition!

Senior Study 2007 is Over

Last night we finished our senior study with the class of 2007. For 8 weeks we had the students in our home to study Paterology (The study of the Father), Soteriology (The study of salvation), Christology (The study of Jesus Christ), Ecclesiology (The study of the church), Apologetics, Finances, Soul Care and Relationships. It was an amazing time for Julie and I to spend one last extended period of time with them before they go to college. Last night was probably the most entertaining time, as we spent almost three hours in a Q & A format discussing relationships in college - family, friends, opposite sex...you name it! We laughed several times to the point of crying. It's been some of the best 8 weeks in ministry I've ever spent with students and my wife! Thanks seniors!

Senior Salute 2007

Each year we celebrate our seniors by throwing them and their parents an amazing breakfast! Dave made an amazing compilation video of their time in our ministry. Each student got a life verse from me, a copy of the DVD compilation video and a Congradulations CD. Our breakfast was amazing! Check out this line up that was spear-headed by Michelle and a bunch of volunteers:

- Mesa Verde Potatoes (crispy shredded hash browns seasoned with chili powder, garlic, onions, and olive oil)

- Denver Scrambler (eggs with cheese, sausage, green peppers, tomato garnish)

- Aurora Scrambler (eggs with cheese)

- Great Divide Caramel Rolls (caramel glazed pull-apart rolls with and without pecans)

- Rocky Mountain Parfaits (vanilla yogurt layered with granola and mixed berries)

- Pikes Peak Ham (warm ham slices garnished with parsley)

- Western Slope Fresh Fruit Tart (cookie crust spread with sweetened cream cheese and topped with glazed fresh fruit)

- Grand Lake Punch (sparkling pineapple orange juice with frozen raspberries)

It was an amazing day for an amazing class! Thanks for letting me walk alongside you, behind you and in front of you the past four years!

Supper Six

My wife's Adult Community that meets on Sunday a.m. while I am teaching high school students does Supper Six. Three couples sign up to hang three times at each others houses. Last night we hosted or Supper Six and it turned into a Supper Eight. A brand new couple to our church jumped in our group. I am not overstating this, I had a blast! It was awesome to hang with people from the church that I don't know, but know my wife! I am so grateful my wife has this spiritual community to plug into. What a great class! Last night made me wish I could be part of that class with her.

What's more, last night made me realize how amazing my wife is when it comes to getting to church. She doesn't go to church "normally" - She gets up by herself every Sunday, gets the kids ready, drops them off at their classes, goes to her Adult Community by herself, and then picks up the kids in her classes by herself. I am so grateful that my wife has this group of people who care for her and our family.

The most praised generation goes to work

This article is long but worth the read and I owe a big thanks to my boy in Charlotte, and former leader in my ministry, Brian Stephens for this link. After I got done reading this article I sat back and kept thinking, "You've got to be kidding me!"

This article details how the "everyone is special and gifted" generation is functioning in the work place. Here's how two businesses are responding, "The 1,000-employee Scooter Store Inc., a power-wheelchair and scooter firm in New Braunfels, Texas, has a staff "celebrations assistant" whose job it is to throw confetti -- 25 pounds a week -- at employees. She also passes out 100 to 500 celebratory helium balloons a week. The Container Store Inc. estimates that one of its 4,000 employees receives praise every 20 seconds, through such efforts as its "Celebration Voice Mailboxes.""

Manufactured celebration?! Confetti? 25 Pounds a week! I couldn't throw that much at a Broncos game! Who would our church hire as a celebration assistant? Who would clean up the confetti? Praise every 20 seconds? Our pastoral staff meetings would be absolutely hilarious!

This article made me stop and think about what does real encouragement and celebration look like, especially in the context of student ministry. Am I manufacturing celebration just to keep our students in community? What does it look like to praise a student, especially in the context of spiritual formation? How do you incorporate Jesus' call to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow him in the context of this cultural norm? You denied yourself....confetti! You took up your cross...celebration voice mail! You're following Jesus...$5 Starbucks gift card!

What happens when the most praised generation goes to church?

According to Jim

As I stated in an earlier post, I have a new friend in ministry that is going to sharpen me over the next several years, Jim Newberry! He happened to be a part of our assessment two weeks ago and I spent time with him last week in Orlando. Here's one of the things I appreciate about Jim, he wants to grow. I love his posture towards things. He's a pruner. He's always looking back so he can leap forward!

We spent about an hour walking through his assessment of our ministry, the things we need to work on, and I got some great feedback. He threw a post up on his blog about his time with us and it's his assessment about the leaders I serve with. I agree with Jim!

Jim's Blog on Assessment

Praising God for mentoring

I've had the unbelievable chance to mentor students at Denver Seminary for the past six years. Words cannot describe what a blessing Than, Seth, Tyler, Ryan and Matt have been in my life. It's been awesome to get a front row seat to watch God move in them and through them as they pursue their degrees. One of the biggest blessings of spending time with these men is that every time I meet with them I learn something new and I walk away challenged to pursue Christ more deeply in my personal life and ministry. Sure I am their professional mentor, but I am also getting mentored every week as they allow me to see into their lives and ministries. Tonight I am reminded of all the time Fritz and Michael spent with me during my years at Denver Seminary and I am grateful for their investment.

Front Page

What a surprise on Monday morning to find this article, Heart grows beyond borders, on the front page of the Denver Post! It's a great story! It's about the oldest son of one of our pastors and his story that got him a spot on a 15-kid National Geographic Expedition Team, which will explore South Africa for 10 days in August. Way to go Luke!!!!!!!