I have not yet succeeded...

St. Augustine's quote has stopped me in my tracks today at Princeton, “Those who think that they have understood the divine scriptures – or any part of them – but cannot by their understanding build up the two-fold love of God and neighbor, have not yet succeeded in understanding them.” On Christian Teaching, 1.86

Columbine Remembered - The Memorial Ceremony

I will never forget the Columbine Memorial Ceremoney at the Bowles Crossing movie theater. One of the highlights for me personally was seeing my senior pastor up on the stage sitting next to Colin Powell and delivering an unbelievable message of hope to our community - "Seek Jesus." Here is part of Dr. Jerry Nelson's transcript from that day,

There is only one rational way to live without despair in a world of pain. That way is to know the Son of God, Jesus Christ - the one who truly loves us and gave Himself for us. Temporary comfort can come through many means and it is appreciated but genuine, lasting comfort - real hope for the future - comes only through Jesus Christ.

Whether you are a family member grieving the loss of a loved one or a neighbor who hurts deeply for them or a member of community shocked over the evil perpetrated - we, the pastors of your community, appeal to you today – Seek Jesus.

He said, “I am the way the truth and the life…” He also said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have life everlasting."

5280 the Magazine Remembers Columbine

I am thankful for 5280's video. Anne Marie and Kacey says some powerful things in this video. It's great to see Kacey's hubby and baby girl! She was hoping they were going to be in the photo shoot!

Columbine Remembered - Kacey is my hero

I remember Kacey showing up for Big Hair Bowling on December 2, 1995 and going absolutely giddy over the fact that her jr. high youth pastor proposed to her small group leader that morning! It was the day Julie and I got engaged and I still have a picture of Kacey with BIG HAIR! She's pictured here with her sister Britney who is on the left at the Rose Parade in 2005.

Kacey was shot in the library 10 years ago today and lived. She is my hero. She made it on the front cover of USA Today on April 21, 1999. Two months ago she was featured in Good Housekeeping and last month she was feature in 5280 the magazine to remember the 10 year anniversary. I still remember the huge security guard posted outside her hospital room. N'Sync came to visit her. Colorado Avalanche players stopped by to comfort her. Peter Forsberg gave her a signed jersey! So many things happened so fast.

When I read what transpired that day I can't believe she lived. She's married now, with a beautiful daughter. Repeatedly she has opportunities to look patients in the eye who are facing death and tell them that she not only sympathizes with them, she empathizes with them. She spoke at Virgina Tech two years ago after their shooting took place. I got the privilege to see her last month at her sister's graduation party and she is doing fabulous. What a woman! What a story! What a God she is madly in love with to this day!

Kacey, you are my hero!

I truly believe that Kacey can communicate what Corrie Ten Boom said, "There is no pit that God is not deeper still."

Great supply

1 Thessalonians 3:10 “Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.”

I want our student ministry to be a place of great supply. I want our leaders showing up being people of great supply. I want our students to see God as the ultimate supplier of what is lacking in their faith. I want to be a student ministry pastor that is praying night and day for this supply.

By His Poured Out Blood

I am becoming more convinced that our students need to understand the rich theology that is locked within the Lord's Supper. We take the Lord's Supper twice a month in our church. Twice a month our students get a reminder of what Jesus' poured out blood did for them.

The Lord Jesus on the night he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body given for you;”

In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you."

Jesus Christ gave us His body for what His blood would be poured out to do.

By His Poured Out Blood…

We have been purchased – Acts 20:28
We have been justified – Rom. 5:9
We have redemption – Eph. 1:7
We have been brought near – Eph. 2:13
We have peace – Col. 1:20
We have been sanctified – Heb. 13:12
We are ransomed – 1Pet. 1:19
We have been cleansed from all our sins – 1Jn. 1:7

I want to be a part of this kind of church

“Where the Holy Spirit is poured out on the church, it sweeps the believers along as though in a great river of obedience, praise and mighty works. Empowered by the Spirit, the community can dare and hope great things, seeing visions, dreaming dreams, turning the world upside down. Where the Spirit is at work, liberation is under way, good news to the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind and deliverance to the oppressed.” - Richard D. Hayes

Don't Rob Jesus of His Glory on Good Friday

“…No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28Father, glorify your name!” (John 12:27b-28).”

Jesus was whipped by a whip that had small pieces of metal or bone at the tips.
He was mocked by the soldiers.
He had a crown of thorns pressed into His skull.
He physically carried the cross that He would die on.
He stared from the cross into the eyes of Mary, His mother as He was dying.
His last words were, “It is finished.”

For this hour Jesus came to be glorified and to glorify the name of the Father. For this hour of deep pain and suffering Jesus came. On this Good Friday we remember that deep pain and suffering. Why?

We embrace the suffering because it leads to glory.

The deeper and more profound the sorrow we feel tonight, the deeper and more profound the joy we will feel on Sunday morning. To experience the jubilant shout of “HE IS RISEN” on Sunday we must cry the prayer of Jesus in the Garden, as he quoted Psalm 22, “My God, my God why have your forsaken me?”

Charles Spurgeon challenges us to never forget the passion of Friday,

“….His glory was to come to him through shame...that the greatest fullness of our Lord’s glory arises out of his emptying himself, and becoming obedient to death, even the death of the cross. It is his highest reputation that he made himself of no reputation. His crown derives new luster from his cross....We must never forget this, and if ever we are tempted to merge the crucified Saviour in the coming King we should feel rebuked by the fact that thus we should rob our Lord of his highest honour.” - “The Corn of Wheat Dying to Bring Forth Fruit: John 12:23-25,” Charles H. Spurgeon, Farm Sermons (c 1875),

Reculturing youth ministry and life

Recently I have been consumed with this idea of reculturing. What does it mean to reculture a student ministry in the context of the local church? For that matter, my life, marriage and parenting have been included in my thoughts.

“In his book Leading in a Culture of Change (Jossey-Bass, 2001), Fullan notes that reculturing ‘does not mean adopting innovations one after another; it does mean producing the capacity to seek, critically assess, and selectively incorporate new ideas and practices.’” - I came back to this quote this morning in my friend Chris' book, A New Kind of Youth Ministry.

Therefore, I am asking these questions.

1. What am I seeking?
2. When was the last time I sat down and took a critical assessment?
3. What are the new ideas and practices that will help me get to what I am seeking?

Our greatest need...

“If God had perceived that our greatest need was economic, he would have sent an economist. If he had perceived that our greatest need was entertainment, he would have sent us a comedian or an artist. If God had perceived that our greatest need was political stability, he would have sent us a politician. If he had perceived our greatest need was health, he would have sent us a doctor. But he perceived that our greatest need involved our sin, our alienation from him, our profound rebellion, our death; and he sent us a Savior.” D.A. Carson, A Call To Spiritual Reformation, pg.109, 1992).

I am excited to share this quote with our students on Sunday from our study of Colossians 1:9-14.