Youth Pastor Lifer (Notes of a Youth Pastor #9)

"I am using my current position as youth pastor as a stepping block to becoming a senior pastor."

Ugh that has always made my ears hurt! A call to a youth pastor role is not a stepping block, it's a calling to what God wants you to do in those teen's lives. God might call us later to a senior pastor role; but if He has us within a youth ministry, you need to commit.

For the longest time, I told everyone that I was a youth pastor lifer. God called me into this at the age of 17 and that is what I have pursued. No stepping stones, no distractions, no excuses; teens are my focus. Then it happened! A question! I had just turned thirty and spent my birthday reflecting on the last decade of youth ministry. I decided to dedicate the next decade to God's will and was excited to see what would happen in the next ten years. Then I felt like God asking me this question: "If I want you to plant a church and be the lead pastor, will you stand in My way?" Well, no God, of course not.

That question hurt, because I was convinced that I was a youth pastor lifer. At the same time, I realized that God sometimes shapes and remold His callings on our lives. So I am moving in the direction of planting a church and becoming a lead pastor the past two and half years. Even if this was just a move of obedience and I never plant a church or become a lead pastor; this process will stretch and grow me.

What I have learned:

1. Don't use any ministry as a stepping block; serve full-hearted in the ministry that you are in
2. Never say you are a lifer and will never do anything else; because God might just make you humble and ask you a hard question

The Lock-in Debate (Notes of a Youth Pastor #8)

In the past, the Lock-in was the must do for youth groups! I remember the days of my youth! Capture the flag was the highlight year after year. One year, we had a leader randomly decide to do wacky olympics; wow, was that lock-in a lot of fun. Then there was that time where we did a Fear Factor lock-in, where I ate octopus and all sort of gross stuff.

As a youth pastor, I have led some epic lock-ins. While at Liberty University; I led two college teams to partner with churches for lock-ins. I also interned at a church in the D.C. area that had inflatables, karaoke and a crazy game of glow in the dark football. One of my favorites was recently; we did our own Dude Perfect trick shot video called Youth Perfect, borrowed a bounce house joust set from the YMCA and had Nerf Wars!

Among youth pastors, and you ask them what they thing of lock-ins; you normally have two groups. Yes, I am young and live for lock-ins or no, I am getting older and would rather sleep. As I get older, I am starting to dread the word lock-in. Sometimes I dread it because I, my wife and maybe one young adult are willing to chaperone crazy teenagers. Sometimes it is because high schoolers like purpling (blue + pink = purple...boy + girl = issues). I remember one lock-in looking for a couple and finding them under the pews; which was crazy because we are always fast pace and had no time to disappear. When it comes to lock-ins, my thought is, always better to do a middle school lock-in than a high school.

One of the best alternatives I had was partnering with an outside organization. I actually did two lock-ins that year; and this partnership was way less stressful and I actually had fun! I partnered with an organization called Badger Park. They do lock-ins from 11pm-6am. They have go-karts, mini golf, batting cages, laser tag, arcade games, inflatables, etc. They bring out pizza and sodas at midnight; oh and they have coffee for the youth leaders! Everything was planned, the teens were occupied and I got to go around and interact with my students as I downed cups of coffee.

I am pro lock-ins if the circumstances are healthy; as a new dad, I have yet to do one at this stage of my life. It's okay to take breaks from time to time. I think though as I get older; I will recruit younger leaders to lead. Train them in the arts of watching for purpling, being creative with games and who knows maybe let them run with it as I head home to my bed at 2am????? I might be 60 years old when I start that though :)

Youth ministry is what I get hired for (Notes of a Youth Pastor #7)

"I just got a position as a youth pastor and that is what I will be doing!" Well, yes and no...

A church hires you on to it's staff to minister to the teens, families and volunteers; but many times you will find that you are a hired gun for a long exhausting list of other things! Plunging toilets, cleaning overflowing toilets, planting grass seed, painting rooms, shoveling snow, building cabinets, moving things, etc. are just a few of the things I have done over the years.

When to do it? when your leadership tells you to! In any job, you listen to the boss and if you don't, "you're fired!" In ministry, that same principle applies. You need to play by house rules and if leadership asks something of you; do it. If it comes to a point where you are abused; then you need to leave.

Example of this: I served a church when I was single. Being single is dangerous, because that means you have more freedom than a married youth pastor or a married youth pastor with kids. I ended up working every day of the week and would come in at the strangest times; my hours were through the roof. I was exhausted! I thought to myself; if I was married or had kids I wouldn't survive at this pace. I am glad that I am no longer part of that scenario. When I read the Bible, I see the Sabbath as an important decision. People were supposed to have breaks, even land was required to have a break. You need to have a day or two. For me, I currently guard Mondays. Mondays are for me, my family and for playing basketball. You need to have a day off and guard it. Now events do fall on Mondays for me, so I pick another day of the week and take that off when that happens.

Learn that it is okay to say no! I believe that you don't have to be at every church event or every time the church doors are open. At times, extra programs and events can hurt our production of our specific ministry. Other times, attending these events will give you support. One of the events I currently attend in called Prime Timers. It is for the older people of the church and they meet at Denny's for lunch. I attend many times a year, but at times I say no I won't be at this one. Those times I am there; I am building partnerships and relationships with older people. They support my ministry in prayer and financially time after time. They care about the children and teenagers. If I have a busy week, I don't attend and they understand that I am busy. At times, I say no. In this case, meeting with the Prime Timers isn't under my job description; but I see the value to my ministry.

Attitude plays a big factor! When asked by leadership to do something outside your job description; doing it or not doing it is just one part of the equation, your attitude is the other part. You might not have anything to say about what is asked of you; but you have the choice to have a great attitude. When I was plunging a toilet, I remembered it need to be done and what would a guest think if they walked into our bathroom? While working at the YMCA, I was taught that if you see it you own it. Pick up the trash, use your umbrella to help a person stay dry on their way to their car, set up the chairs knowing that the small group will benefit from it, etc.

Your decision making and your attitude will set you up for success. It will help you to create a healthy work environment. The ministry that you are in charge of will reap benefits. Be ready to do the things you weren't hired for and do them with the right attitude.

Better safe than sorry (Notes from a Youth Pastor #6)

Don't take unnecessary risks that could endanger your teens! I've heard the stories prior to becoming a youth pastor. "A teen standing in front of a youth pastor's car, so he hits the gas..." "Running tiki oil down the hallway of the church and lighting it on fire..." Story after story!

I was fortunate not to have many stories, because I am a low-risk taker; but with that said you can't be perfect. My first youth ministry gig was a summer youth pastor job for a church that didn't have a youth pastor. It was a win-win situation; they got a youth pastor and I had a summer ministry. One Wednesday night I was preparing my message and I was stoked to have this perfect object lesson for my message. As a college student, I had seen my share of milk chugging contests on my college dorm. It seemed like a great illustration of how something good going in could become something bad coming out. My thought was that is how sin is; it seems great and even fun, but then what it becomes is ugly and tears a person apart. This was going to be an epic night!

That night, I asked for a volunteer to chug a gallon of whole milk. I explained that according to doctors this was an impossible feat and no person could finish a gallon. I had a trash can around, knowing that there was about to be a teen tossing his insides into it. This illustration was about to get real. The teen that volunteered was a good sport and a really nice kid. Well, to say the object lesson worked perfectly, would be an understatement. It worked well up to the moment I realized that the teen was real sick. I had everyone's attention with the object lesson; but I think the teens were thinking I'm never trusting him, my leaders were about to be talking to the the senior pastor and I was most likely going to be fired in the next few days.

The teen went to the bathroom and we had a leader stay with him to make sure that he would be okay. I ended up teaching the message and was really relieved by the end of the message to see the teen walk back in. I earned the teens and leaders trust back eventually; and I never lost my job, but it was an experience that taught me a lot.

Object lessons, games, ice-breakers, lock-ins, events, etc. I tend to plan with the thought process, "What is the worst thing that can happen?" If there is a chance that someone could get sick, hurt or end up in the ER; I pass or set up a lot of safeguards! It is better to be safe that sorry. It better to have a job than no job. It is better to have the trust of your teens and leaders than an angry mob about to tar and feather you.

You can't change a teen (Notes of a Youth Pastor #5)

This is a tough pill to swallow! I realized this while working at a boarding school in California. I could invest, invest and invest in a student; and see no change. I could correct, guide, discipline, instruct, encourage; and still see no change. What I learned there was simple: "At the end of the day the only person that can change the student is the student!"

I might want to make the right decision for them, but at the end of the day they are the only one that can make that decision. God also plays a huge part in this, but I believe God allows the individual to make their own decision. I can't save a student, change a student, make a decision for a student; at the end of the day, only the student can. The sooner you learn this, the better you can strategize your ministry. Encouraging students, pointing them to God and the Word, and modeling a lifestyle worth following.

Playing by house rules (Notes of a Youth Pastor #4)

This is a hard lesson for a young youth pastor! Well, to be honest for anyone...Playing by house rules is something I coined as a teachable lesson for teens. As a teenager, you live under your parents house and need to play by their rules. Even if you don't understand their rules or agree with the rules. Same thing goes for school, jobs, pretty much any system that you fall under.

Let's look at it from a youth pastor position. Once you accept the position of a church; you fall under the "House Rules" of that church and leadership. You need to accept the rules and requirements that your leadership asks of you. If for some reason you feel like you cannot sit and play by house rules; then you should consider removing yourself from the house.

One of the biggest things I have learned within this; is trusting that your lead pastor is in conversation with God and moving in the direction that God wants for this church. The youth pastor can play a huge part in this by backing the lead pastor even if he or she doesn't grasp the whole picture or vision. To work against the lead pastor, especially one that is faithful to get God's vision correctly, is one of the biggest mistakes that a youth pastor can make. You need to trust your lead pastor and play by house rules. If for some reason there is no trust with the lead pastor; then my recommendation would be considering removing yourself from the house.

Many times, a youth pastor gets stuck with a bad thought process. "I know how to it better." "My way is the right way." "If I were the lead pastor I would..." Whatever their reasoning, they allow their thoughts to dictate their actions. When this happens, division in the house happens. Rules will be broken and the house will evenly crumble when it is divided. It is better to leave than to divide. Sometimes you will be able to realign yourself to play by house rules and other time you will have to remove yourself from the situation.

You need to network! (Notes of a Youth Pastor #3)

Network was not a word in my dictionary as a young youth pastor. I found myself on islands and stranded early in ministry. Thought now I would preach it as a must need for all youth workers!

I found out about a youth ministry network while serving in Green Bay, Wisconsin. I went to my first network meeting; and that was almost my last time. I remember the conversation turned to married youth pastors, how everyone in the group was married and how it should be a requirement to join the group. I was a single guy, could not relate and felt out of place. I gave it a second chance; I couldn't have been more wrong. A conversation that was more of a joke the month before almost led me away...I connected in and these guys have had my back for the past 6 years!

I would have walked out of the ministry, maybe thrown in the white towel or perhaps punched a deacon; NOT REALLY, but they kept me focused and encouraged. Our network focuses on building relationships, sharing resources, strategizing and praying together. My ministry and walk is so much stronger with a healthy network in my life. In return, the last few years I have been one of three network coordinators in Green Bay. My desire is to connect youth workers, encourage longevity and encourage them as they serve their churches and community in Green Bay. We truly are better together. 

Be creative when things fall apart (Notes of a Youth Pastor #2)

One of the worst phone calls I received as a youth pastor was a conversation about canceling our youth mission trip! When I got off the phone, I thought to myself how can this be happening? We are two and half weeks out from going on this trip; what am I going to say to my teens and parents?

In this spot, I saw two possible solutions. Be discouraged, tell my teens and parents, and officially cancel the mission trip for the year. The second solution was go back to the drawing board and find another mission trip before the summer ended. I looked into a few different mission trip organizations; but most of the dates, costs, or locations didn't match our needs. I got on the phone with another youth pastor that was planning on taking his team on the canceled mission trip. Over that conversation, a vision was cast and a game plan started to take place. We were going to plan, organize and execute a mission trip in two and half weeks!

Things just started to fall in place! In my research, I found this t-shirt company that had the perfect logo. It was a pair of chucks with the verse Romans 10:14 on it; we would then add our mission trip name "Hope for the Fox Valley" to it. It was a start. I knew that planning a trip would take forever; but if we could partner with organizations in our areas, we could save lots of time and help reach better. I researched Green Bay; and found 4 partners that were open for us helping out (a homeless luncheon event, a food pantry, a mission for homeless and ministry food truck that ministered to kids in the park). The other youth pastor was able to connect with a woman's shelter and veteran's home in his area. This was the right decision; these organizations have been in their communities and will continue to be there long after we are gone. We could encourage them and they could encourage us. Another conversation was with our students: "These organizations are reaching people in your backyard! If your parents are okay with it, you can volunteer at anytime. You don't have to wait for the mission trip or service project; reach your community!"

Food, lodging, leaders, schedules, money, etc. all fell into place and without a doubt God's hand was in everything! Many times when I read the Bible, I see this all the time. Something bad happens, God asks an individual to do something despite things being over their head and in the end everything works out perfect and God receives the glory. Gideon and the 300, Moses leading the Israelites, David and a giant; the list goes on.

In youth ministry, I can guarantee things will fall apart! A mission trip might be canceled. You might get angry emails form parents. A teenager might unfortunately get pregnant. You might have a teen that dies. Sad things do happen in youth ministry. When my mission trip was canceled, creativity came into play. You can use creativity to handle angry emails not with angry responses; but maybe with a parent dinner, a parent sit down, etc. Use creativity to keep a pregnant teen included in your youth group. As young youth pastor, I had a fourteen year old teen who had a baby. We kept her involved and the youth ministry made her feel part. It can happen. Death has to be the hardest of the hard! Creativity can still come into play; hold a prayer vigil, partner with the school, be there for the family, etc. Bad things will happen; and as a youth pastor following God, we have the opportunity to be creative and find healthy solutions.

Be who God Wired You to be! (Notes of a Youth Pastor #1)

If you try to be everything that people want you to be; you will crash and burn! Sorry to say even Red Bull cannot give it's wings and save the youth pastor. Dig deeper into this issue and you will see this is the point where many youth pastors walk out the door, never to return to the ministry. How does the youth pastor prevent this?

First thing is to recognize it is impossible to be everything people want you to be!

Early in youth ministry I tried this. I wanted to be the cool youth pastor that played paintball, went to their sports games and stayed up all night playing Call of Duty with my teens. I also wanted to be there for my parents and partner with everything in helping their teens. Then I also had all my leaders in youth ministry, leadership of the church, my partners and my critics; all looking for something as well. At the end of the day; I felt like I needed to clone myself to meet every need, check off every detail and one clone just to sleep for me. In the end, I recognized there is just not enough time in the day for everything people want you to do and be.

Second thing is to recognize that you don't have to do everything people want you to be!

In ministry, everyone thinks they know what you should be doing and sorry to say it, many times it has nothing to with why the church has called you there. I have coined something that I share with my teens to help them; "play by house rules." Curfew, school, jobs, etc. the system you are under has rules and while you are under that system you need to play by house rules. A youth pastor needs to play by the house rules of his leadership. Whoever that might be; the senior pastor, a family pastor, etc. If you disagree with your leadership and don't want to do what they ask; then it's time for you to leave the house and resign. Play by house rules. If you're following house rules, working within your job description; then everything else has been determined and will be easier to filter.

Third thing is to recognize that you need to be the person God has wired you to be!

Hopefully this was one of the reasons the church brought you on board. God has wired you in a way to reach people with the Gospel, in a way to minister to specific people (youth and their families), in a way to meet the purpose He has for you! The Bible talks a lot about doing things that please God rather than man:

Galatians 1:10 "Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ."

I Thessalonians 2:4 "On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts."

Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters"

2 Corinthians 5:9 "So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it."

To be honest there are a lot more verse than these and even if we were to digest the verses around the above verses...we would see that we need to please God than man. I picked these 4 verses because they came from the same author; Paul! When I read about Paul, he is always busy in ministry! I think that he had to learn this lesson many times in the ministry and why many times he talks about doing things for God and not man. From Scripture, we see that God wired Paul to reach the Gentiles, to plant churches, to bridge unity among Jews and Gentiles or the church in general, to call out false teaching and to spread God's message and love! If Paul listened to all the people, I don't think Paul would have come close to doing the things God intended for him. There is just not enough time in the day to do what God wants and what many people want us to do.

The Wrap: 

Be who God has wired you to be! Reach who He has wired you to reach! Lead as He has wired you to lead! Filter down what you should be doing by what God or the leadership of your church wants!

Harvest Fest 2016 Aftermath:

1. Another successful event that invested back in the community

2. We "tithed leadership" once again this year. This year, we only had 25 leaders and around 200 people walked through our doors

3. Temperature was great for trick or treat; many churches had events...which made me happy! Why? Our numbers might have been cut in half, but many church people could go to their churches while the good weather brought many from our community in our doors! Reach and invest in your community!

4. We had enough donated food, candy & prizes to sustain our guests

5. Clean up after was quick by many hands and this is the first year that my office isn't totally piled up with things to put away this week :)

Nearly a year ago, we almost planted a church

Church planting has always been a passion of mine. Ever since taking church planting class under Dr. Dave Early. Since moving to Green Bay, I have assisted multiple church plants and planters! I went through the long gruesome SBC/NAMB church planting assessments. We have been approved to plant. One year ago, we were a month away from planting a church in Southern Wisconsin.

It was a long journey to get to this point. All those assessments and then a long weekend of a church planting board questions and conversations. From conversations with church planters to reading church planting books to preparing to plant; we were exploring opportunities. An opportunity presented itself to plant a church in a YMCA. We visited and it was us! We had a mission field, we had a team, we had a church sponcor and we had the partnership with the YMCA. Everything looked perfect. Then I received a phone call that sent everything spiraling down. 

Something happened internally within the sponcor church, we lost our team and on that team our connection that would glue the partnership with the YMCA. We were one month away from packing up everything and diving in. Depressed and frustrated, but at the same time relieved that God had His hand in it all. Would have been bad if things fell apart one month later, we would have been living without a purpose, partnerships and about to have a baby. 

Will we plant in the future? Not sure, only God knows that. I know, I won't do it alone. I want a team, a sponcor church and God's hand in it. Till then, I will still be helping church plants and planters! They are part of the future of the church. 

Aftermath of the student ministry teaching series "Gideon: Least to Leader"

Wow, what a great series! The idea for this series came from the understanding that Gideon came from the smallest tribe, the weakest clan and the youngest; God took him from that position to leader of Israel's army. Here are a few observations and take aways that came to the surface!

The story starts with Gideon threshing grains in a wine press. To me this a funny picture. A wine press is a hole in the ground and here we find Gideon hiding for fear of losing his grain or worse his life. Threshing grains was successful only if the wind blew away the garbage and the grains fell to the earth. In a hole this was not going to happen. Gideon was probably tired from working many times more, dusty from everything falling back down on him and wondering to himself who will stand up to these Midianites bullies? 

Who will stand up against the bullies? Who will feed the poor? Who will protect the innocent? Who will fight against sex trafficking? Who will reach out to that cancer patient? We find ourselves with those questions, who will decide something? Who God? "You will! I have given you my eyes to see! I have given you my heart to hurt?" God called Gideon from the least position in all of Israel, from a hole in the ground. Sometimes those people are the most dangerous; all in and relying on God to follow through.

Before God even had Gideon raise an army and lead, He gave him a small task. Tear down the idols and alters in his village. Gideon took 10 servants at night and destroyed everything God asked Him to. At night, not much courage? Actually yes, this is Gideon who was hiding in a hole. He was taking a small step into leadership. God gives us many opportunities to grow our leadership and courage!

The next two things are taught on a lot: the fleece and the raising of the army. One thing, I never caught before was that Gideon tested God twice with a fleece and then God tested Gideon twice by cutting his army. I think this was with purpose, because many times that is how God does things.

Gideon took his 300 men and waited near the enemy's massive army. God tells Gideon to go down to enemy camp. Upon arrival, Gideon overhears one soldiers dream and another who interpretes the dream. The dream means Gideon is going to come and destroy us all...what a confidence boost for Gideon! What did he the do? He rushed back to his 300 men? Nope, he fell and worshipped God! Gideon recognized that this was all bigger than himself, he wasn't going through it alone and God deserved the credit! 

We know the rest. God uses Gideon and 300 men to cause a panic in the enemy's camp. They fought each other and fled from an army of 300 men. God got the glory and Gideon went from the least to leader. He can do the same for you.

God provides in ways that you can never imagine!

This year has been an interesting one...one of the book biggest blessings has been God's provision and love. Material things are not necessary important, but when you are blessed; sometimes it's hard to stay silent.

I have been spending a lot of time on leadership podcasts. My favorite is Perry Noble, a pastor I have followed and has mentored me through his preaching and books. During one of the leadership podcasts, they were talking about his new leadership book and an opportunity to win a signed copy. I won! The best part is what happened after. I got a shoutout on the leadership podcast and decided to respond. I sent Perry a cheesehead and an encouraging card about the investment in my, my wife's and teens lives. 

You never want to lose your laptop in ministry...my 6 year old Mac was on its last leg. I spent a day working on it, knowing I had little time before it would never turn on again. The next day, I went on a bike ride to clear my mind and try to focus on my Sunday morning sermon. As I was leaving; I received a text, would you like a new laptop? How? When? Why? Absolutely! The Mac I was given was 3 times better than my old one; more memory, more storage, better hardware and one of the best gifts I have received.

I got a text about what I was doing one night. Only to find out a friend had an extra pre-season Packer ticket. We parked for free on the streets and I was able to go to a Packer game for free!

Out of the blue, I was Facebook tagged. Michael Ott congratulations you won a free year's worth of youth ministry curricululem! Wow, being part of the DYM Facebook page has just blessed me. Not just curriculum, but PowerPoint games and graphics. 

I could talk about checks in the mail, giftcards showing up or encouraging words from others this year...the point is: God provides and in some seasons He goes way farther than you can imagine! Not every season will you see this; but God uses a variety of things to show of His love!

I created this series for our 0-4 ages that are in our nursery program. Currently, we might have a Veggie Tales video or a Bible story read; but nothing God-related that is planned in advance. This series will take maybe 10-15 minutes of the nursery time. There is a four part learning: shapes, colors, themes and Bible verses. For 5 weeks, we will focus on one shape, one color, one theme and one Bible verse. Then there is a coloring page each week for them to color and have a take home with what they learned (I used a variety of free internet coloring pages for this)

Starbucks is doing what!?!?!?

I had a moment of envious today when I went to “my office” to write children’s curriculum. I have been a gold card member of Starbucks since 2009 and I knew they were changing their point system. It was going to be harder for me to get free drinks, but this new thing seems so UNFAIR! To make it worse; Starbucks is advertising for the month of April, any drink gets you gold status. 

My flooded thoughts:

It took me 30 drinks of green status to get Gold status; and now it only takes one drink for other people to…UNFAIR!

I have to keep drinking 30 drinks a year to keep this status and now they are giving it away to anyone…UNFAIR!

The point system changes, everyone is now on gold status; I lose out with the change…UNFAIR!

Should I keep going to Starbucks…

Then a story hit me, yes, a story from the Bible. It is a story of what most would see as unfair! In Matthew 20, we find the parable of the workers in the vineyard. It goes like this: landowner goes out early in the morning and hires workers promising to pay them a days wage. He must have had a lot of work because he does the exact same thing at 9am, noon, 3pm and 5pm. At the end of the day, the wages are handed out. They start with those who were hired at 5pm and move to those hired at the beginning of the day. What did each person get? What was promised, a day’s wage. You can imagine the grumbling that took place and the UNFAIR thoughts that took place. But the landowner reminded the workers that each were promised only a day’s wage and that is exactly what they received. 

In this story, Jesus was using a parable in reference to the kingdom of Heaven. God promises those that come to Him will be saved and can come live with Him. Doesn't matter it they come at the beginning or the end of their life. It doesn’t matter how much they did during their lifetime for Him. All that matters is that they accept Him!

For some Christians this is hard to swallow! It seems UNFAIR! I got saved when I was young and have led a long life of obedience, reading my Bible, praying, going to church etc. Then this guy who led a life of disobedience, never read the Bible or went to church, but prayed a prayer at the end of his life gets in?!?! UNFAIR! Status doesn’t matter! What we did in our lifetime doesn’t factor into this promise. God made the promise that WHOEVER comes to Him will be saved and spend eternity with Him! 

This is a very dangerous trap for Christians! UNFAIR is really leading into a spirit of enviousness! In reality, we should be excited that God keeps His promises! That any person can come to God and be saved! To be honest: who really deserves for God to save them? None! Fairness is subjective to the person looking at it. We are all doomed with no way to save ourselves and God intervenes to save us. 

Perry Noble sent me a signed book!

Pretty stoked when I received in the mail a signed copy of Perry Noble's new leadership book "The Most Excellent Way to Lead!" Amber had bought me a copy for my birthday a few days before. So now I have one to mark up and make notes in; and the signed one to treasure on the book shelf. As we were traveling down to St. Louis, I was listening to his leadership podcast and received a shout out! "Michael Ott from Wisconsin" Apparently, I am a Packer fan, who eats cheese and read Perry's book; because that is all there is do up here.

Go to the source

People need to learn to go to the source. I'm really disappointed in people who read blogs, news articles and run with it whatever direction they want to go! It really reminds me of the student who writes his doctorate paper and uses WikiPedia for his or her sources. GO TO THE SOURCE!

Mark Driscoll this or Rick Warren that; Christians are constantly putting down pastors and churches. Where did you get your information? From blogs? From your senior pastor? From another Christian? From 2nd, 3rd or 15th person handed down information? GO TO THE SOURCE!

Mark Driscoll made mistakes, sought forgiveness and moved on. Rick Warren has done so much for the local church than people realize. I really don't understand Christians who gossip and tear down other believers in Christ! The worst thing is that they are sinning themselves. Yes, I said it. A Christian who talks about another Christian behind his or her back is guilty of gossip and slander. If you were being Biblical and had an issue with this individual; you would have sought this person out and not gossiped about them. It amazes me that when WE GO TO THE SOURCE, we realize how much truth is clearer than the passed on information we heard. And even if what we heard was true, we should seek to help the person with repentance and forgiveness rather than tear them down and talk about them.

Liberty allows Donald Trump to speak

Tired of hearing "Christians" slam Liberty University for allowing Donald Trump to speak...I would have thought I would have heard more when they let democratic socialist Bernie Sanders speak! Liberty is known to bring in politicians to let the students hear them. The invites have been extended to the democrats Obama, Hillary and O'Malley as well; and Republicans Romney, Trump and Carson who have all spoken. Liberty does not endorse candidates, they never have. But yet you listen to the news, read blogs and make your own comments that helps no one.

I was asked one time by non-Christian if Jesus would have been a Republican or a Democrat. To which, I responded neither. Jesus was focused on God's kingdom than on earthly kingdoms. Something that we should be more focused on. When it comes to the election time, I will make my vote like every other American based on my beliefs and convictions. BUT then I am called to respect that position and pray for that individual as they lead the country. I can guarantee you if you are praying every day for that leader; you won't bash them throughout the day.

Top 25 Adventures and Life Stories of 2015

1.  Another year of building a stronger relationship with Jesus

2.  Hitting the third year of marriage with my beautiful wife

3.  Holding my newborn son in my arms and being part of his life

4.  Being ordained by the local church

5.  Writing my second book "Student Leaders: Leadership starts with I"

6.  Staying in one place of ministry for 5 years

7.  Read 52 books, that's one a week

8.  Being on the Recharge Conference Leadership team and bringing in training to Green Bay for youth/children workers

9.  Visiting friends, see my best friend get married and making more memories with best friends

10. Creating a church mascot, Christian the Lion; using him for promotions, videos, events, etc.

11. Planning a successful mission trip after ours got canceled; it will go down as some of the best moments in life

12. I always wanted to meet Tim Tebow, came close by watching him play at Lambeau Field

13. Developing and creating my own basketball shoes, my KD's looked awesome

14. I hate needles, but I gave blood for the first time and became a consistent donor

15. Participating in a leadership conference, visiting Abraham Lincoln's home and ate a Cozy Dog (claimed to be the first corn dog)

16. Winning back to back fantasy baseball championships 

17. Attending my first Packer practice and watching the kids transport Packer players on their bikes

18. Preaching juvenile services, one of the hardest things I have done

19. Door County getaway; relaxing weekend, mini golf, walks, long drives, great eats, etc.

20. Building a ga ga pit for camp

21. Making Yoda and Death Star piñatas; and a deep sea mask

22. Circulating 60 Bibles (study, devotion and Spanish) into the Brown County Jail

23. Orchestrating a Special Needs training for youth/children called A Conversation on Autism

24. Getting pied in the face by middle schoolers at Y Night

25. Rolling up my first Sushi roll 

How to overcome sin...

I've been asked numerous times how I lead teens out of specific sins...My response has always been to address it, but pound into the teenager the importance of building their relationship with Jesus. After all, I can't change them or re-correct their behavior. I know at the end of the day, they are the only one that can make the decision through the power of God.

In studying today; I came across something similar and powerful:

"How can we keep from sinning? We must focus more on our relationship with God than on defeating sin. When we are in an intimate, growing relationship with God, we will be better able to resist many temptations."

Showing God's glory and following leadership

I've read the story of Jesus turning water into wine, heard many sermons and listened to many debates of wine vs. grape juice...I am not sure if I ever grasped the end results...

In verse 11, it mentions that it was His first sign...yep, knew that. Then the verse goes on to say: "He displayed His glory and His disciples believed in Him.

That will preach, well, a two point sermon!

1. "The miracle showed His glory!" In our lives, in our churches, in our small groups, in our services; the main thing we need to do is display God's glory! It's not about us. It's not about how I want to do it. It's not about what it makes us look like. It's about giving God the glory.

2. "His disciples believed in Him!" Jesus told Mary His time had not yet come, granted, she didn't listen...Jesus performs the miracle and His disciples buy into His leadership. Leadership is key to moving forward! His disciples would do big things for God's glory and it all started with the disciples believing in Him. I always wonder if we truly want to follow Jesus; why don't we buy in? The disciples didn't know everything that day. In fact, it took them awhile to even realize that He was the Messiah; but they followed His leadership from this point on.