Denver Broncos

Today the season begins. I can't wait for tonight.

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL!


My take on the season - We will go 10-6 because of our defense!

Sabbatical Reading

The three books I am reading this week...

Go Put Your Strengths To Work by Marcus Buckingham
Leading With a Limp by Dan Allender
Small Is The New Big by Seth Godin

It's going to be an awesome week!

Going back to church

Today was a great day for me as I went to church at Southern Gables for the first time on my sabbatical. Here are some thoughts.

- It was awesome to drive to our church together as a family.

- I went to Julie's Sunday school class during the first hour and had a great time hanging out as we broke down the sermon from the previous week.

- It was just fun to hang out with my wife at church!

- Tim Hodges spoke to our high school students and I can't wait to listen to the sgc180 podcast on iTunes tomorrow.

- I didn't go to the corporate worship services.

- I served in Noah and Josiah's Sunday school class during the second hour. Today was there last day together in Children's Church as Noah will move up to the kindergarten class next week!

- Mrs. Kristie has been a great teacher for my boys!

- I love eating Goldfish crackers out of Dixie cups with 20 kids!

Haggard & Williams

Ted Haggard

The potential replacement for Ted Haggard will be showing up this weekend for his first of three "audition" sermons before a church vote. NO pressure, eh? You can read about it here. I think this would be a GREAT idea for our church to embrace before we hire a replacement for Pastor Nelson.

Darrent Williams

Authorities are linking the Williams case to gang members who are are responsible for a drug ring and 11 murders that are unsolved. The article is here. I wonder what's going on inside Javon Walker's heart as this season starts.

Sacrificing for the vision

My friend Charlie is waking up today with a smile on his face for two reasons. First, the Cubs spanked the Rockies last night at Coors Field. Second, he gets to sit at the Willow Creek Leadership Conference. He blogs on the conference every year and I love reading his thoughts. This morning as I am sipping Sumatra I read this blog and it completely stopped me in my tracks. These are Charlie's notes from Bill Hybles talk to kick off the conference. This is what stopped me,

"People who follow you are watching you to see if you’ll sacrifice for the vision. They take their clues from you as to how much they will sacrifice."

Being away from my ministry has created this tension for me. I don't feel like I am sacrificing for what is happening in our student ministry right now. I know my leaders are leading and sacrificing for our students while I am gone. I feel like no ones watching and it's weird. Hard to explain.

These are great words to all of us who are teachers, parents or youth workers. Everyone is watching us. The students. The parents. Most importantly, God is watching. If we have a vision for our sphere of influence, it better not just be for those who are following us, but for us as well. This whole thought leads me to remember what God was willing to sacrifice for His vision. Good stuff for a Friday!

Week 3

Here are some highlights from the third week of my sabbatical

- Spending the night at the Westin in downtown Kansas City.
- Watching the season finale of Lost on the iPod during the last couple of hours of our drive. Actually, Julie was watching and I was listening!
- Sleeping in my own bed.
- Going to my local Starbucks.
- Attending another church in our area.
- The Chart House for the rehearsal dinner.
- Getting the privilege to officiate my cousin's wedding at Green Gables Country Club.
- Eating prime rib at the reception.
- Dancing at the reception. Seriously, I had sooooo much fun!
- Being relaxed.
- Mowing my lawn. Yes, I am obsessed with caring for my lawn!
- Reading the Rocky Mountain News.

Cutler

We believe in our new quarterback!

Naked Run

A Catholic priest in our area got caught jogging naked around a high school track before sunrise! If he's convicted of indecent exposure he will have to register as a sex offender.

You can read about it here. His reason for running naked is priceless! My advice to him, eat more banana's!

I remember reading about David being naked, but I don't think he was running around a high school track naked!

Training Camp

Today we made it to Broncos Training Camp! It was awesome. Here are some pics!

Makai, Noah, Kellen, Josiah and Maddox

The boy's standing in the endzone!

Travis Henry...the dude looked awesome!

HOUSE

One of the great things about being on sabbatical is that I can get the "HONEY DO LIST" done! This week is packed full of that kind of stuff and I am loving it!

On another note it has been really refreshing to be at home. This sabbatical is forcing me not to be thinking about my job all the time and keep most of my attention on my family. I am 100% relaxed! In fact, one of my friends told me over the phone a couple of weeks ago, "Dude...you are relaxed aren't you. I can just hear it in your voice."

I am pumped for what the next four and half weeks will bring.

Calvary Chapel

This past Sunday we stopped by Calvary Chapel to attend their morning worship services with my sister and her husband.

Julie leaned over to me at one point and said, "It's weird going to church where we live and not knowing anyone, isn't it?"

She nailed it! It was crazy to be a few miles south of our church and not know anyone...at least until the end of the service. After the closing prayer I found out one of my college professor's was sitting right behind me, Bill Honsberger.

It was good to be in a church in our community that was preaching the Word of God!

A wedding to remember

Last night I got the chance to officiate my cousin Kellie's wedding. Her husband Steve works on the Furniture Row Nascar engine!

We had a great time. It started sprinkling outdoors when the wedding started but the downpour held off until we were done!

What made this a wedding to remember was the dance floor at the reception. I requested Heavy D & The Boyz "Now That We've Found Love" and started to line up people on the dance floor like at the end of the movie "Hitch!"

I soon realized it was me and about 10 women, of which two were my wife and sister. Soon it was my turn to head down and bust out some moves. I am pretty sure what happened next has never been attempted by a pastor officiating a wedding from Southern Gables Church. I busted out the centipede in my suit!

When I came got up and headed to my table a couple in their 70's asked me, "Do you really work in a church?"

I am still laughing! I had so much fun at that wedding!

Baseball fever

I have it and it's out of control. The Rockies have their best record (to this point in the season) in the team's history! I can't get enough! The way I know I have the fever is the DVR is set to record the game tonight!

I am pumped to get to a game in the next couple of weeks with Noah and Josiah.

Week Two

Reflections on week two:

- Great time golfing with Charlie and his dad on a SWEET course, Coyote Creek.
- Catching fire flies with the boys in Wisconsin.
- Watching HDTV on Lennie's 120 inch screen in his basement.
- The Fish Boil was amazing.
- LOTS of driving.
- Great conversations with Lennie and Bev. We could talk to them for HOURS!
- Landon and Jake were great playmates for our boys in Wisconsin.
- Lauren loved on Adah.
- Discovery World and the Zoo in Milwaukee.
- Lake Michigan.
- Trevor and Michell Lee.
- Eating Taco Bell in the their driveway!
- It was great to see Isaiah and Ayla!
- Stopping by Naperville, IL and First Evangelical Free Church briefly for a peek at their Sunday services.
- It was great to see my birth father and his wife in Lebanon, IN.
- It's so weird to hang out with yourself with an accent.
- Our kids meeting their final set of grandparents.
- Totally disengaging from student ministry.

Adopting Noah

Today is a very special day in our home. Six years ago today we brought Noah into our home. I can still remember driving down to Colorado Springs to get him. I still remember looking into his eyes for the first time and thinking, "This kid has some big eyes!" I remember seeing a rainbow during our drive to get him and thanking God for that reminder of his faithfulness in our lives. I remember holding him in our home for the first time and Julie just standing their gazing into his eyes. I remember 67 people stopping by our house on this day six years ago to see him and so much more. I remember so many people helping us out!

Most of all I remember the unbelievable peace God gave us to welcome this child into our home as our own.

I love this day! I love this kid!

3,456...65:04

These are the totals we logged from the trip. We traveled the entire distance across the United States (3,073 miles from coast to coast) and a little more for fun!

The 65 + hours were packed full of eating, watching movies, laughing, reading Harry Potter, listening to music and watching the season finale of LOST as we were driving into Denver!

We have never spent that much time together as a family. It was awesome. Our kids adjusted everywhere we went! I honestly can't think of a better way to start this sabbatical.

Overland Park, KS

Our last stop to us to my buddy Jim Newberry in Kansas. Our last night of sleep on the trip was at the Westin. Jim hooked us with a $300.00 a night room! Lets just say it wasn't the Super 8 I stayed at the night before.

We spent some time with Jim and his wife at the pool before we hit the road home. Jim has become a significant person in my life because he has the GREAT ability to ask the right questions. Both Julie and I really enjoyed our time in rival AFC West territory!

Lebanon, IN

We made it to Lebanon, IN on Sunday and got the chance to catch up with my birth father and his wife. The last time we saw Scott and Vickie was 1994. He and his wife live in West Virginia and Scott is a florist. Lebanon was the only place we could find a hotel because the Brickyard Nascar race was on Sunday!

It was great to see him. Our kids had a great time with them. Julie and I had a great time with them too. Scott and Vickie are HUGE Marshall fans so they hooked us all up with some Marshall gear!

It's crazy to hang out with somebody that you look like and act like and have only seen three times in your life! It was like hanging with myself with an accent! Yes, I will have gray hair someday!

We are looking forward to them being involved in our lives and the lives of our kids for the next several years! The boys are holding stuffed animals that Noah got out of the machine at the Denny's with claw. Noah hooked Scott into feeding the machine coins until he got 2! It was priceless to watch Noah grab two of them and he only blew about $4 on both!

Aurora, IL

We had a great time Saturday with Trevor and Michelle! They were just finishing moving in the rest of the their stuff as we arrived. We ate T-Bell and talked unitl midnight!

I miss havingTrevor around SGC!

They are living in this duplex which is owned by the full-time bass player at Willow Creek!

Fish Boil

Last night I experienced my first fish boil. We drove a total of 74 miles round trip and it was worth every mile. I had no clue what to expect. Fish boil? What's that? I'm from Colorado, the only think I can give a visitor that seems like a "Colorado food" are Rocky Mountain Oysters. And these only taste descent with lots of jalapeño ranch dressing.

It was a buffet. Plate. Fork. Seven napkins. A boiled potato. A boiled onion. A huge scoop of boiled white fish. Then the kicker. Two small ladle scoops of butter over it all.

Heaven.

After 15 minutes of eating...

Repeat above paragraph for round two.

Drink a cup of coffee.

Pass out and pray Jesus comes because I want to have that taste and memory with me for eternity!

Week One

Reflections on week one:

- Getting ready to leave on our vacation in one day felt like it took a week.

- Driving across the country with Julie is awesome.

- Getting a sabbatical as a student ministry pastor is a HUGE BLESSING!

- iPod video with every song I own...priceless.

- iPod video with kids favorite episodes of their favorite cartoon shows...even more priceless.

- iPod video connected into minivan DVD player playing those shows...even even more priceless.

- The Olson's car top carrier is huge!

- I am so thankful for my leaders at home who are standing the gap while I am gone.

- Bringing the bikes and scooters along have allowed the boys to play all day.

- Loved watching Noah take batting practice from Spencer Absher.

- Josiah playing croquet was priceless.

- Adah hates sleeping in the minivan and wants to eat the entire time.

- Salina, Kansas Days Inn - The indoor pool was 62 degrees.

- Disconnecting from Southern Gables - had to answer a few questions but truly felt like I spent most of the week not thinking about what I was missing.

- Getting the prayer email - I am getting the weekly prayer email for our ministry and I love it.

- McDonald's - Each kid got a free happy meal gift certificate for their birthday!

- Culver's - so good!

- Buying Harry Potter - Julie and Jen went to Walmart at 12:01 a.m.

- Charlie's Chicago style pizza - simply amazing.

- Miles - somewhere around 1,300.

- Chuch at Northwoods Community Church - My kids loved it and Julie and I enjoyed seeing another church and experiencing worship with the Dean's.

- It was great to see Craig and his kids and hear about what's going on with the Harvest Students.

- Corn in Illinois - I thought there was a lot of corn in Kansas...NOPE! Everywhere we went there was corn in Illinois.

MTV, Nick & Microsoft

The article below is a great read!

A big thanks to Anastasia for her post on this. I love her blog! It is by far the best blog to get up to date information on youth culture!

I found that Forbes had one of the better summaries of the story -

New Global Study From MTV, Nickelodeon and Microsoft Challenges Assumptions About Relationship Between Kids, Youth & Digital Technology

Adah's vacation reading

Eagle, WI

We've landed in at Lennie and Bev's crib in the state where being a cheese head is a religion! I had to practically walk to the street to snap this photo.

I am hoping to get out on that boat that's behind the Sedona.

The boys are loving this yard. The backyard is bigger than the front and the golf balls are flying around the yard!

More reading for my sabbatical

Thanks to my good friend Charlie I have been provided with a new reading assignment for my sabbatical! I don't know how I missed submitting this to the elders! :)

The Denver Broncos Media Guide_2007

When he sent me this a tear welled up inside of me.

370 pages of pure bliss!

I cannot wait for training camp to start this weekend!

Family-based youth minstry discussion

Today I met with Gary from Northwoods to talk about how to get families more involved in student ministry. It was a great time. Gary has been doing ministry for years with children and is now overseeing the Jr. high and High school directors at Northwoods. As he is moving into this role he is really wrestling with what it looks like to have parents more involved in the ministry to their students. He's seen it work great in children's ministry and is passionate about seeing it work with students.

I was excited to meet with Gary because one of my projects on my sabbatical is working on a project to get more of our parents interacting with what we are teaching on Sunday mornings. When I return from my sabbatical I am going to present an 11 parent interaction sheet to coincide with our 11 week study of church history that I will be teaching.

I have no clue what it's going to look like or how it will be received, but I walked away more encouraged by Gary to continue to shepherd students believing that all that we do during the three hours we have our students each week should serve and support their parents who have them the other 165 hours.

Brimfield, IL

Staying at the Dean's is better than staying at a resort! We've made it to the house that Charlie built. Seriously, he built this crib. The dude has skills.

I met Charlie when he came to Southern Gables while he was at Denver Seminary. His wife volunteered in our middle school ministry and Charlie played guitar on Sundays during our services. I am happy to say Charlie converted to being a HARD CORE Broncos fan! It wasn't hard, they won two Super Bowls while he was in town and his Bears weren't good!

He was doing the Super Bowl shuffle 5,280 feet above sea level.

It's been great to connect with Charlie about young adult ministries as he's been involved in helping to shape this at his current church, Northwoods Community Church. I am excited to get back to Southern Gables and chat with some of our Relcamation folk about what I am learning!

We are pumped to be here through Monday afternoon.

South Elgin, IL

We landed at the Steiner's on Day 4 of the sabbatical for dinner. We ate Chicago Style deep dish pizza with spinach on his sweet new deck which overlooks at pond. It was heavenly. It was great to catch up with Craig as we worked together at Southern Gables from 1999 to 2001. He's at Harvest Bible Chapel and loving his job!

Jonathan, Micah and Hannah were great playmates for our three kids.

We finished off our time with another amazing meal on Friday which will make it's own post!

Happy Birthday Josiah!!!

Four years ago today God gave us Josiah at 11:33 a.m. It was great timing because I got to watch the British Open that morning while we were waiting! :)

We had just finished watching Pirates of the Caribbean at the movies and it was off to the hospital to get this gift. This guy has filled our lives with joy and laughter as he says the craziest things! He's going to be the kid in our home that will keep us laughing. So here's to celebrating your birthday in Missouri and Illinois today buddy!

Wentzville, MO

Day 3 of sabbatical took us to the Absher's crib 45 miles west of St. Louis. We landed around 4 and played every imaginable game outside you can think of. We ended the night launching some serious fireworks! Big Al taught Jr. High Sunday school for me when I first started working at Southern Gables in 1996. His wife was our wedding photographer. We love the Absher's! The Sedona made it to the driveway of this sweet pad. It sits on 3 acres and the home is beautiful!

We might see them in a few weeks as Spencer is heading out the School of Mines and will start his freshmen year! There is St. Louis Cardinals stuff all over this house! Go Rockies!

Salina, KS

We've landed in Kansas on day two of the sabbatical. It's the birthplace of my mom and step dad and their families. I thank God she moved to Denver! Here a short list of what we saw today:

- farmland
- corn
- a man pushing an empty wheelchair down the side of the highway
- corn
- a billboard stating that Colby, KS is "The oasis on the plains" - this is funny
- cows copulating
- corn
- the world's largest groundhog
- corn
- our kids laughing as they jump from bed to bed in our hotel room
- corn
- biking at a rest stop
- corn
- the cozy inn where we had a bag of burgers in downtown Salina
- swimming in an ice cold indoor pool
- corn
- a billboard of Jesus - seriously the hottest and whitest Jesus I've ever seen
- corn
- a failed cache find with the GPS
- corn
- oil rigs

Happy Birthday Noah

Six years ago today we were in Indonesia when Noah was born! We came home from that amazing trip with our college students to an amazing gift! God's faithfulness in our lives through adopting Noah truly took our breath away and we remember bringing him home just like it was yesterday!

Noah had a Star Wars party last week because we are driving to Salina, KS today! Uncle Chris played Vader! Julie did an awesome job with this party! Each boy got their own Jedi outfit!

They also got to eat R2D2.

Happy 6th Birthday!

Blessing of living in community

Yesterday I headed over to the Olson's to pick up this car top carrier for the Sedona before we head out tomorrow. We were wondering how we were going to be able to fit the bikes and the scooters in the van with only being able to take one seat out! Answer: the car top carrier to store all the clothes.

It's such a blessing to live in community. It's so exciting to see little provisions like this as we embark today on a new journey in our personal and ministry lives.

I can actually fit inside of this so I am thinking that I better be on my best behavior or this is going to be the couch for me!

Last official day

Today marked the last official day I had to be in the office before my sabbatical officially begins tomorrow. It was a crazy day! I think it hit a bunch of people that I was actually starting tomorrow, so there were questions and comments galore.

I really enjoyed seeing the students today as it was the last time I will be in front of them teaching until October 7th. On October 7th I will start our Fingerprints of God series which will be an 11 week study in church history! I can't wait!

Tomorrow begins a completely new experience for me and my family. I can't wait!

Front row seat

One of the biggest blessings about taking students overseas is the seat God gives me to watch Him work in lives of our students...a front row seat.

Everyday of our adventure I got to watch the hand of God carving Himself into the lives of our students, leaders and myself. It's almost breathtaking to have this seat. Seeing the majesty of God interface with the sinfulness of humanity literally takes your breath away. He's relentless in His pursuit of completing a good work in us. I saw His touch everywhere I turned.

I can't wait to see what else He does this summer!

HOME

It's so good to be home today from our trip! It's been great to see Julie and the kids! Now it's time to get everything done at the church before my sabbatical starts on Sunday at 11:45 a.m.

Today it's off to swimming lessons and hanging by the pool all day!

I will reflect more on the trip in the next few days but my heart is filled with joy this morning for all that God accomplished the past two weeks!

Losing a tooth

Here's to Noah for losing his first tooth while I am away in Poland. I loved getting this picture today! I can't wait to hear what he thought about what he'll find under his pillow tomorrow morning!

We want them to carry it

One of our desires at this camp is to push students towards carrying the truth of God's Word and His love with them when they leave. Throughout the week we want to stretch their thinking by speaking from our own lives and the Word of God. We want them to struggle with the truth. We want them to carry it for themselves back into their homes, but we know that many will not want to carry it.

I think this Ancient Hebrew Proverb sums it up well,

"Truth is heavy. That is why so few men carry it."

Amen!

Dan Hash

I just spent the last 24 hours with Dan Hash. What a guy. He drives 13 hours to see us for 24 hours. It's so encouraging to me and our team that he would make the time to come and see us. He didn't just send us off from Krakow and say, "Thanks for everything!"

He spent the evening with us at camp. He was a part of our team meeting. He spent some time with our 180 leaders.

I don't really know what else to say about this guy except the fact that I am deeply grateful to have this 46 year old cheetoh in my life. I pull away from regularly scheduled stuff to hang with him and it's one of the highlights of the trip for me. He deeply cares about our church and our student ministry, but he always asks me about my family first, "How's Julie? How's being a dad?"

Here's to Dan Hash and our church partnering with him and his ministry!

Wawel Dragon

What do you get sons who are turning four and six for their birthdays while you are in Poland? The Wawel Dragon of course! W is pronounced as a V! While we were in Krakow I decided that the boys each needed a dragon to fly around the house. Legend has it that a dragon used to live under Wawel castle shivh e walked around our first day here. Once it was killed Krakow was free from it's curse. I can't wait to tell the boys this story and see their faces.

Off to Poland

I am so excited today to head out for our 7th trip to Poland. You can follow our team blog on the sidebar 180 in Poland and I'll be posting stuff on this blog as we have chance!

Here we go!

Space Shuttle and Space Station

Last night my wife and I went outside and at 10:24 p.m. we saw the Space Shuttle trailing behind the Space Station. It was amazing to look over our house and see these two things appear in the sky for about 2 minutes and then disappear. Probably a once in a lifetime experience.

It got me thinking today about once in a lifetime experiences and really how everyday is one. I am not going to live 9:00 a.m. on June 20th again.

Rockies vs. Yankees

The Yankees are in town. The ballpark is full! Over the last month the Rockies have more wins than any other team in baseball.

I've got to celebrate!

Tomorrow Roger Clemens is pitching and I will be sitting a staff meeting!

Jesus to the World

Today we took our students into downtown Denver to serve alongside Jesus to the World, a ministry that feeds the homeless in our city everyday. Today, we didn't feed the homeless, we cleaned out the building. They needed to get everything out and the floors moped. The city of Denver bought them out and is building a modern art museum. It was awesome to watch our students serving David (founder of Jesus to the World) as he was telling us what to put in his blazer, in the trash and the small room that was going to hold what he wanted to keep. The whole time we were serving alongside him he was praising the Lord for sending our students to help him out. He couldn't imagine doing this all by himself. Today our students were an answer to prayer. When we finished loading up to dumpsters, literally, the trash guy came and unloaded the over packed dumpsters and he took a freezer and a couple of huge trash cans filled with junk. We ended our time hearing about his story of 34 of these ministries around the World - A ministry that feeds leprosy colony of families in India and food ministries in Africa, Poland and Pakistan to name a few. He told me earlier in the day he wants a food ministry in every country!

I am praising God today that our students got the chance to meet David. He wasn't there last year. I am grateful they got the chance to hear his heart for bringing Jesus to the World. I am praying that they will have that same passion to bring Jesus to their world - their families, their friends and to their peers in school.

The value of a team

Today I started my last full week in the office until September 17th. I leave for Poland on June 25th and my sabbatical on July 16th. There are so many details floating around the office this week that it's impossible for me to get my hands around all of them. But they are all getting done thanks to the amazing team I have working and serving alongside of me. Today I was just amazed at the people God has blessed me with to partner in this ministry to students at Southern Gables. All these details forced me to stop and be thankful for the people God has blessed me with.

11 years

11 years ago today it rained all day! It hasn't rained on this day since our wedding. Tonight we will head to Outback Steakhouse and sign up for another year!

My how the family picture has changed in 11 years!

Spurgeon on Prayer

I love this quote from Charles Spurgeon and want our students to live with this attitude towards prayer this summer,

“Beloved brethren, let us pray. We cannot all argue, but we can all pray; we cannot all be leaders, but we can all be pleaders; we cannot all be mighty in rhetoric, but we can all be prevalent in prayer. I would sooner see you eloquent with God than with men. Prayer links us with the Eternal, the Omnipotent, the Infinite, and hence it is our chief resort... Be sure that you are with God, and then you may be sure that God is with you.”

Amazing leaders

Last week as we were driving away from Horn Creek Ranch I was blown away at how amazing the 8 leaders who went with me were with our students. Time after time I saw them playing, talking, challenging and shepherding our students day after day. I can't imagine how many seeds were planted in the lives of our students as a result of their choice to go. We left half of our leaders at home who I know were praying for our time.

Knowing I have this team behind me is a HUGE encouragement to me as I head off to Poland and then on to sabbatical. I am so thankful for the amazing leaders God has blessed our student ministry with! It's amazing and humbling to be surrounded by such passionate people.

Summer Camp 2007

What a group! What a week! Our theme was "Be Still..." I am so excited for what God did and is going to do in the lives of our students that attended this amazing week in one of the most beautiful places in Colorado! We spent hours in the Word alone and with each other! I can't think of a better way to start the summer!

Summer Camp 2007

We're off to Summer Camp at Horn Creek Ranch! Our theme this year is "Be Still." We have no speaker! Each session the students are going to be reading the Word, spending time in prayer and journaling what they experience. It's going to be a great week to connect with God and each other!

More to come when we return!!!!!!!

Bible Geocoding

Bible Geocoding is a great resource to use with your students for your Sunday morning prep or for your small group prep. You could spend a whole night with your small group doing some Bible geography on this site! You can find every location mentioned in the Bible! This was awesome to use during my study of the 7 churches!

Larry the Cable Guy

Yesterday Josiah grabbed a DVD which possessed a picture of Larry the Cable Guy. Here's the dialogue:

Josiah holding the DVD, "Dad is this you?" - Pointing to Larry the Cable Guy.

Me - "No!"

Josiah smiling and laughing, "Dad, this guy totally looks like Dan. That's you!"

I am not lying...I fell off the couch laughing. This kids cracks me up!

Inspecting what you expect

One of the best pieces of advice I have ever received on how to do my job better in student ministry was this phrase,

"You must be willing to inspect what you expect."

So here's to a summer of inspecting how well I inspected what I expected this past year in our student ministry!

Welcome Class of 2011

Today we welcome the Class of 2011 into our spiritual community of high school students. Actually, we started last night. Our seniors hosted the freshmen and did a great job! We ate some tremendous food and played crazy, made up on the spot games with hula hoops (ring the youth pastor, etc...). They also managed a game of Ultimate Frisbee in the dark at the park. Then came the set up. Our seniors brought the freshmen to my house to teepee it but I was ready. Julie was filming from across the street. Jon the Canadian was on one side of my house and I was on the other. My neighbors Andy and Chris got in on the fun too. We let them go for about a minute and the we all blasted them with hoses! The seniors also had water balloons that they were launching at them! It was awesome. The best part of the night is that I didn't clean up the mess. The freshmen did! Upon waking up this morning and walking outside to my car I noticed that they need to hone their cleaning skills!

So I officially want to welcome the Class of 2011 to our spiritual community of high school students! My hope and prayer for you is that by being part of our community you will bear the fruit of what Paul prayed for the Ephesians in 3:14-21,

"14For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

This is my prayer for you Class of 2011!

Isaac Slade - The Fray

He's the lead singer of The Fray. Today's paper revealed that he might inherit a 15 million dollar mansion. I'm guessing on a scale of 1-10, 10 being EPIC, Isaac's year just keeps climbing past 10.

I am waiting to be contacted by Sir William Buckingham Luebcke stating emphatically that I, his lost heir ,should be ready upon his death to receive a mansion worth 14 million dollars! :)

Has anyone received word like this? Maybe not to this degree, but you got a phone call to reveal that you had something somewhere in the world that would one day be yours?

Youth Worker Network Raft Trip

Today was an EPIC day! I took Will, Carey and Jen from our high school ministry with me to the annual Noah's Ark Youth worker Network Raft Trip. Carey got launched out of the boat and was swimming in 42 degree water! She's fine. The weather was perfect. The water was 1,800 cfs. So many new faces and so many familiar ones. Cory, Micah, Todd and Chuck from Noah's Ark did it right. Rich Van Pelt was there! I am so proud to be a part of a youth worker network in my community and in my denomination. I can't imagine not being connected to other youth workers as I serve in the church. Here's to never being a LONE RANGER in student ministry!

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!