Meeting new students

Last night we had our fall kick off at Clement Park - The Amazing Race! It was a great event for many reasons, but there is one reason that grabs my heart this morning: meeting students who don't go to church! They were everywhere last night! It was great to see students from several high schools showing up for this cultivating event! I got the chance to meet everyone and actually have conversations with them before and after the event. One thing I am finding at these events is that there are more and more students in our area that have never been to church! It wasn't “church” last night, but it was God's people! It was our students cultivating relationships with new students. It was beautiful to watch! It is nights like these that ignite my passion for student ministry and remind me that I am still plowing in the right field!

Tomatoes on your butt

I was encouraged by Jen after The Amazing Race last night to post, on a limited basis, some of the things Noah and Josiah say. You can thank her or curse her! Sunday Josiah saw a young mom pushing her kid in a swing and she had a tattoo of a rose in some vines along the lower portion of her back. As I started pushing him in the swing he said in a loud, and somewhat shocked voice as he pointed to the young lady, “Dad, that lady has a tomato on her butt! That’s funny!” It took everything inside me not to burst out in laughter, but I just looked at her and said, “Kids!”

Standing at the door

I was standing at the door of my office last week and I saw something for the first time. I looked out and saw three new people sitting at their desks working that weren't there last year! Matt was working on the calendar for the jr. high ministry. Kelly was working on getting our i2i retreat homes lined up and Carey was cranking on stuff for the Amazing Race which is later today!

I just stood there thanking God for the gift of these three individuals. I am looking forward to building into these three gifted individuals over the next year. I am realizing that having three new people in the office changes what I do when I am in the office. My routines from the past couple of years are gone! I need to be there to answer questions, talk through issues, etc…

Standing at the door and seeing the change made me realize I can embrace the changes or fight them. Even though I stayed around it doesn't mean my old habits of doing things can!

Atv's and the Ramsey case

Yesterday we were up in Boulder with at my dad’s crib riding ATV’s and eating deep fried turkey! It was great to get away for a few hours and be in the mountains! We got all three kids on for the picture and Julie and took the boys up the mountain! Adah chilled at the house! We had to get home because Noah had his first soccer practice at 6! I officially feel suburban now that one of my kids plays soccer!

As we headed back home we drove right by the courthouse that was supposed to host Mr. Karr, the lead suspect in the Ramsey case, but he didn’t make it! As you know, he’s free because his DNA sample tested negative. We took this picture as we were driving by! The only other time I’ve seen this many media tents was during Columbine.

The Insider

Our pastoral staff just finished reading The Insider – Bringing the Kingdom of God into your Everyday World. This book is all about what it means to be incarnational, as one of God’s insider’s, in the community you’ve been blessed to live in. It is a must read as I think we can’t get enough encouragement on what it means to live incarnationally in our communities.

The authors suggest that there are six life patterns that make an Insider:

1. Taking little initiatives
2. Praying and responding
3. Serving and being served
4. Teaming up
5. Conversing the faith
6. Letting the Scriptures speak, and
7. Midwifing the conversion

All seven of these are great and it was awesome to listen to each person on our staff speak to which one of these caught their attention on the first read. For me it was taking little initiatives with people. I will read this book once a year!

Tiger Woods - Swing Portrait

In light of Tiger’s fourth straight win yesterday I thought it would only be appropriate to point you the Nike commercial that’s been running on television. Thanks to Dave, one of high school leaders, for pointing me to this amazing video (below). Trust me, it’s worth at least one look, if not four and from different viewpoints!

Watching this video made me stop and think about what it would look like to watch what I do in slow motion. I know it sounds weird, but I think there’s some great value in being able to film every movement of your “swing” to see where you need improvement. I can’t film all that I do, but I can seek the advice and counsel of those who watch me every week. I can take time to get away once a month to see where I’ve been and where I am headed. I can read books that challenge me. I've got close friends who watch over me. I've got a wife that sharpens me.

I never want to stop looking for my perfect “swing” in ministry.

Tiger Woods - Swing Portrait

What a weekend!

This weekend was absolutely GREAT! It started off Friday with a birthday party for my buddy Paul! Saturday morning I got the privilege to perform the baby dedication for my niece Logan. Saturday night we celebrated Jan’s 60th birthday with dinner at Hops and a night at the Heritage Square Music Hall. Sunday morning I got the privilege to preach in our summer series on Psalm 27. That was followed up by lunch with some families from the Adult Community Julie attends on Sunday mornings…and FINALLY, we ended the night with our nephew Tanner’s first birthday party! I slept REAL well last night!

Six months ago

We were given this gift!

A thirteen year old?

Tim pointed me to an article about this 13-year-old first baseman for Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, who stands an imposing 6-foot-8 and weighs 256 pounds. You’ve got to be kidding me. It’s worth seeing to believe. He played in the Little League World Series.

My second office

I love my second office. It has four different kinds of coffee. It has free whole grain bread sliced that I can dip into olive oil. It has a huge table I can spread out all my stuff. It has ice-cold water that always has a fresh lemon in it. It has HIGH SPEED wireless. I can check my email. I can study. I can read. I can prepare my Sunday messages. I can meet students from our community. I can meet people in our community that don't go to our church. I can eat lunch...I always pick two. Basically, I can be ADD!

I love Panera Bread Company!

Is small the new BIG?

Seth Godin just released his new book which I have yet to purchase, but the title has caught my attention, “small is the new big.” The first thing I think of is the church and whether or not that that statement is true. Are smaller churches the new big? In an age of church growth and youth ministries with 100,000 dollar budgets, could it be that smaller churches and smaller youth ministries are the new big? Could it be that small now has the advantage? What are the advantages to being small? Thoughts from those who are small and from those who are big?

Yeah, I’ll be buying this book! Here’s a riff from Seth Godin’s blog on small being the new big!

Football, seniors and spiritual leadership

I had the privilege to grab Starbucks yesterday with a senior from our group who is gearing up for a run at the state championship in 5A football as the quarterback for his team. We had a great time talking about everything and at the end of our time I wanted him to know that I was praying for all of our seniors weekly by name. I asked him what what was on his heart for the up and coming fall. His answer, “Being a spiritual leader.” He went on to describe how he used last year’s team silence before games to inject praying into what his team does before games. It spread. Other guys wanted to start praying. One guy cussed while he prayed.

What a prayer request to start the year off! Today marks the start of school for the students in Jefferson County (the largest number of our students attend Jeffco schools) and I can’t think of a better request to pray for him and all of our seniors as they head into the new school year!

Einstein Bros. Bagels gets it

Yesterday marked the start of a GREAT relationship with Einstein Bros. Bagels in our community. Twice a month they are going to give us (AT NO CHARGE) bagels and breads for our high school and middle school students to consume before our teaching from the Word begins! They get it! They get that it’s not just about making a profit from those of us who show up early for a killer cup of joe, a bagel and a great time with a small group of guys! It’s not just about getting high school students in for lunch from Columbine, Dakota Ridge and Chatfield. It’s about them showing the students from our church that they care that they got out of bed and are in church! I am excited to start building more of a relationship with the managers and employees this fall!

The Jesus Creed

I read this book in July and I’ve been reading it again this past week. Does this tell you what I think of this book? I bought this book for my staff and I can’t wait to get their feedback. The Jesus Creed is about loving God and loving others. This book is about spiritual formation and it points us on every page to the One we are being formed into! It’s a clarion call to every youth worker to make spiritual formation about loving God and loving others first! What’s more, it’s the book that I think articulates what I want our high school students to look like when they start college. We want students to possess a Great Commandment Heart and live a Great Commission Life!

Here’s the clincher…after I read this book I emailed Mr. McKnight to thank him for writing this book and he emailed me back the same day! I can't get people down the hall in the church to do that! :) Buy two copies of this book! Buy one for yourself and one to give away! You can also check out the Jesus Creed blog under my links!

Is Starbucks starting to lose?

Jon the Canadian points us to the reason he fell in love with Starbucks (he doesn't like their coffee) and the reason his love is fading in an interesting letter here.

Starbucks was ahead of the curve when it created an "experience" for everyone, even those who don't like their coffee. They nailed the right brain function of design which Daniel Pink believes is going to be crucial to possess if you're going to make a difference in the future. It made a difference for Jon, but is it possible for Starbucks to start losing people because they are seeking so many avenues to make an influence in? How do you stay what made you who you are while seeking to grow? Jon proves the point that design matters and it can create tremendous amount of loyalty.

I love my day off

Can I just tell you how much I love having Saturdays off? It's the one day where I feel like I get to be what I love the most, a husband and a father! I get to wake up with my boys, we make coffee, get breakfast, play friends, I read the paper, get some reading done in some books, get the kitchen cleaned, laundry downstairs, play some legos, play some more friends, wrestle, turn on some golf, look forward to a Broncos game and it's not even 11:00 a.m.

I love Saturday, but Sunday's coming!

Practicing Greatness

Fritz gave me this book in Minnesota two weeks ago and I finished it yesterday. McNeal suggests that there are seven key disciplines that make up extraordinary spiritual leaders:

1. Self-awareness, 2. Self-management, 3. Self-development, 4. Mission, 5. Decision-making, 6. Belonging 7. Aloneness.

On the whole, I didn't take much away from this read. Although, the chapter that spoke most to my heart is the need to practice being alone, but this isn't anything new to me or anyone who knows me well. I realized that I need to plan being alone in my calendar or it's never going to happen.

I'll keep this book because I can forsee that in the future I'll need reminders from all of the chapters about what I should be practicing as I lead.

Mousetraps and makeovers

Daniel Pink suggests that one of the six senses we are going to have to possess to make in the future is the sense of DESIGN. It’s not just about functionality; it’s also about whether or not it’s beautiful and whimsical.

“Ralph Waldo Emerson said that if you built a better mousetrap, the world would beat a path to your door. But in an age of abundance, nobody will come knocking unless your better mousetrap also appeals to the right side of the brain.”

“A study at Georgetown University found that even if the students, teachers, and educational approached remained the same, improving a school’s physical environment could increase test scores by as much as 11 percent”

How is our mousetrap (student ministry) appealing to the sense of design? Would a change in the physical environment in the room I teach in on Sundays allow students to remember 11 percent more of the message from the Word?

A theology of hell

The more I do youth ministry the more I am convinced that we need to be teaching a proper understanding of what hell is to our students, especially to those who have grown up in the church. I am finding more and more that if you’ve been a Christ-follower since you were 5 and your 17 now, there is no understanding of being "saved" from a lifestyle that leads to eternity separated from God. Sure they know that Jesus paid for their sin on the cross, but most don’t feel the weight of what that sin leads to…eternity in hell if they didn’t have Jesus! How can you when you're five. I am sure that Noah understands that there is a problem and it's name is sin, but I wonder if he feels it? I think this is one of the reasons high school students who’ve grown up in the church don’t share the gospel. They’ve never felt what it was like to be lost in their sin and then ambushed by the love of a Savior who found them. They've never felt the darkness and been stunned by the light. Thoughts?

A Whole New Mind

I absolutely loved reading this book by Daniel Pink. Man has it got me thinking about myself and my high school ministry! The quick overview today and then some specific applications later in the week and next as I see them in student ministry! Pink suggests that we are moving from the information age to the conceptual age, or moving from a left-brain dominated world to a more right-brain dominated world. He suggests that there are 6 aptitudes we should be exploring, in addition to what the left-brain offers, if we are going to make a difference in our high-concept, high-touch world.

1. Not just function but also Design.
2. Not just argument but also Story.
3. Not just focus but also Symphony.
4. Not just logic but also Empathy.
5. Not just seriousness but also Play.
6. Not just accumulation but also Meaning.

Design, Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play and Meaning.