52 Books in One Year!

I made a goal this year to read 52 books, one for each week of the year. A few would be for pleasure reading, many for ministry, and others for personal growth. Here is the completed list, after finishing book 52 today:

 1.     "Autopsy of a deceased church" by Thom Rainer

 2.     "Autism and your church" Barbara J. Newman 

 3.     "Reading it right" by Andy Addis

4.      "Killing Jesus" by Bill O'reilly and Martin Dugard

5.      "I am a Church Member" by Thom Rainer

6.      "Father Fiction" by Donald Miller

7.      "Iscariot: a novel of Judas" by Tosca Lee

8.      "Wake up Generation: You have a life...how will you use it?" Paige Omartian

9.      "Think Bigger: The Call of a Leader" by Pat Williams, Danny Akin, Brad Lomenick, and Mark    

           Miller 

10.    "Go Big" Dude Perfect's Cory Cotton

11.    "Divergent" Veronica Roth

12.    "Insurgent" Veronica Roth

13.    "Hunger Games" Susanna Collins

14.    "Allegiant" Veronica Roth

15.    "Catching Fire" Susanna Collins

16.    "Mocking jay" Susanna Collins

17.    "Elusion" Claudia Gabel and Cheryl Klam

18.     "Creating a Lead Small Culture" Reggie Joiner

19.    "Alone with God" John MacArthur 

20.     "Nuts and Bolts of Church Planting" Aubrey Malphers

21.     "Be all you can be" John Maxwell

22.     "Overcoming Barriers to Church Growth: Proven Strategies for taking your church to the 

   next level" by Michael Fletcher 

23.     "changing diapers" Kelly Wels

24.     "A Simple Way to Pray" Martin Luther

25.     "The Screwtape Letters" C. S. Lewis 

26.     "Real Marriage The Truth about Sex, Friendship and Life Together" by Mark and Grace 

    Driscoll

27.     "Who you are when no one's looking" Bill Hybels 

28.   "The Essentials of and Prayer" E. M. Bounds

29.     "A Cast of Stones" by Patrick W. Carr

30.     "Experiencing Prayer with Jesus" Henry and Norman Blackaby

31.   "Show Them Jesus: Teaching the Gospel to Kids" by Jack Klumpenhower

32.     "Godspeed: Making Christ's Mission your own" by Britt Merrick

33.     "Be Real: because Fake is Exhausting" by Rick Bezet 

34.     "An Unstoppable Force: Faring to become the church God had in mind" Erwin McManus 

35.     "Seven Steps for Planting Churches" by Tom Cheney, J. David Putman and Van Sanders

36.   "Spark: Igniting a Culture of Multiplication" by Todd Wilson 

37.   "You can multiply your church: one journey to radical multiplication" by Ralph Moore 

38.   "Discipling Skeptics and Seekers:why very believer needs to share their faith" by Beau

           Crosetto and James Choung

39.   "Led: Going with the Spirit" by Larry Walkemeyer 

40.   "The Viral Gospel: How finding your person of peace accelerates your mission" Alex 

           Absalom

41.     "Student Ministry Essentials" Steve Vandegriff and Rich Brown

42.     "The end of me" Kyle Idleman 

43.   "99 Thoughts for Parents of Teenagers" Walt Mueller

44.   "#Struggles: Following Jesus in a selfie-centered world" by Craig Groeschel

45.     "Ministry is...How to serve Jesus with passion and confidence" Dave Earley and Ben Gutierrez 

46.     "Dad is Fat" by Jim Gaffican

47.     "The False Promise of Discipleship" by Bill Hull and Brandon Cook

48.     "Disciples who make Disciples" by Alex Absalom and Greg Nettle

49.     "I Will: Nine Traits of the outwardly focused Christianity" Thom Rainer

50.     "Narrow Minded Evangelism" by Aaron Chambers

51.     "It: How Churches and Leaders can get it and keep it" by Craig Groeschel

52.     "Good to Great" by Jim Collins 

I have been planning to do a 4 week series on the animals found in Proverbs 30:24-28! I think it actually would be more perfect for kids than the teens. My current thought would be to stress each animal, their size, their strength, and how even kids can be like these animals...The logo turned out great and I truly think this could be an awesome kid series for the future!

Looking at the 4 animals:

Ants - Not strong but they prepare themselves in season. (by storing up food in the summer)
Hyraxes - Not mighty but have a solid foundation (by building their homes in the cliffs)
Locust - No king but work together for one purpose (by marching in unison)
Lizard - Caught in hands but makes itself part of high places (by living in kings palaces)

Take home: We want the kids to be preparing now to become champions for Christ, we want them to have a safe and strong foundation, working together to encourage and teach each other, and being part of what the whole church is currently doing!

Great leadership insights from Harvest Fest

I could talk about all sorts of leadership areas that I saw at this year's Harvest Fest! I want to take note on two leadership insights that I had little to do with and came from two leaders that have never worked a Harvest Fest. These two leaders happen to be my parents. Yeah I know, I recruited leadership from afar this year; Pennsylvania to be exact. They were perfect candidates for leading a local church event!

My dad just jumped in and where there was a need, he met it. You can teach this; but it is very hard to produce this in your leaders. Reminds me of when I go into the YMCA as a member. If I see a sweat towel on the ground, I leave it there because I know that the Y pays people to pick it up. Though, now as a YMCA employee if I go into the Y as a member and see a sweat towel on the floor; I pick it up. In reality nothing changed within the circumstances of me being a member and the towel being on the floor. What changed was my perspective and taking ownership! In leadership, this is key. Perception for the leader must be changed in order for them to take ownership and lead!

My mom showed another way of great leadership! She was intentional and communicated that she cared. Though she was only here for a weekend, she made people feel welcomed and got to know people personally. One family in particular that she connected with shows us a great example of this. My mom introduced them to me by name, told me a little about their family, and made sure they connected with a pastor. Remembering names has been monumental in making a difference in someone's life; it makes them feel important. Even better yet is when you recall important details about their life and pass it on to another person. It shows that you care. One other important factor that she did was invite them to be there the next morning for church. Guess what, they were there! I can't remember if this has happened at Harvest Fest, where I saw a personal invite and saw that family in church that next Sunday. That means that there was a good connection made and the invite was worth the family visiting. Once again this is a matter of perspective and hard to teach. Though, once intentional living and healthy communication is lived out; impactful change and results appear.

What an honor!

"What!!!!!!! I am on a youth ministry conference brochure! What an honor!"

My journey through youth ministry has been an awesome ride! I have done a variety of internships, camps, community volunteering, boarding school, and student pastor positions! I also spent 6 great years earning two degrees from Liberty University and sitting under great youth professors like; Dr. Vandegriff, Dr. Vukich, and Dr. Brown! All throughout those times; I never thought that I would find myself listed on a youth ministry brochure. It has been a big encouragement to keep doing what you're doing and go big while doing it!

Maturity

Right now, I am holding my baby boy Nathaniel! It's almost 5 in the morning which he is sleeping in my arms while Mom is trying to sleep. He doesn't do too much; sleep, cry, poop, and move around. I wonder when will he sit up? When will he crawl? When will he walk? When will he talk to me? All future thoughts, of course.

You would probably think I was a crazy Dad, if I started telling people "there must be something wrong with this kid! I tried to get him to walk, but he just laid there." Or maybe you walked in the room and heard me talking to Nathaniel "Son, get up and walk over to me right now! Everyone else walks, I walk, Mommy walks and you should be walking." In this case, I would not make a great dad. It's pretty much the same thing when a lost person gives his life Jesus.

I think people are crazy when they expect a new Chrisian or a young Christian too act like they do! I want to turn to them and say: "how many years did it take you to get to place here you are? 20, 30, 40 years? Don't expect them to talk like you, tithe like you, act like you or "dress" like you! Granted, chances are I hope they don't turn out like you because we should want them to turnout like Jesus!"

For me to be a great dad, I need to teach and encourage Nathaniel at the right time. If I were with a new believer; I would have him start reading John and be with him in the growth process. There's a word for that it's called DISCIPLESHIP and it's simple! We teach people what we know about God, the Bible, and how we walk as a Christian. 

Is God involved?

I was thinking about churches moving forward into projects, outreaches, Bible studies, etc. without talking to God before diving in. Reminds me of the boyfriend who doesn’t ask permission from the girl’s father before proposing to the girl! The only thing worse than this would be asking the father for permission, not getting an answer, and still proposing to the girl. Do we do this in our churches? I think it happens more than we would think!

Prayer is huge in ministry! Asking God or even better the Holy Spirit to be involved in our decision making is a must. At the same time, we have to be careful not only to pray; but also be listening for an answer. Now I must say, there are times where we say “Let’s pray about this” and then never do anything about it. This is dangerous! Sometimes the reason the opportunity is right in front of us is because God placed it there and if we don’t act upon it, we miss it. This is    why a continued prayer life is so important because when those opportunities come up; we are ready. Also if we feel God saying do it and we choose to say we will “pray about it” we are sinning against God after the told us to do it. 

The take aways: 1. Work on a continual personal prayer life. If you are part of a ministry team work on a continual team prayer life. 2. Ask the Holy Spirit to be involved and then wait and listen. 3. If you know God is telling you to do something; then do it and ask Him to help you along the way

The good ole days or the good new days?

We have heard it before, talk of the good ole days! In fact, the older you get; you have probably have done it quite a bit. I believe there is nothing wrong with looking back on those days. They tell us how we became who we are and where we came from. I have done this a lot in my life. My problem is when we get stuck and focused on reliving the good ole days.

Problem number one with reliving the ole days is that we don't move forward. We get stuck! Problem number two, which is bigger than problem number one, is that we focus on what God did in the past that we miss jumping on board with what God is doing in the present! It sort of reminds me of a passage of Scripture in Ezra: 

“When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the Lord, as prescribed by David king of Israel. With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord: “He is good; his love toward Israel endures forever.” And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.” Ezra 3:10-13

During Ezra's time, God's temple was being rebuilt! God's people had gone a long time without a place to worship. When the foundation was built, it brought many emotions into play. The older generation that had seen the original temple, they wept. Some might say that they wept from joy; but in all reality once a foundation is laid, one would know what the end picture will look like. This temple was not going to come close to magnificance of the the temple that King Solomon had built. They wept because they were recalling the good ole days. The younger generation emotions were opposite of the older generation and they were shouting for joy! They had grew up hearing about the temple and how it was a place to go for the forgiveness of sins and to worship God. They didn't care what the structure looked like, they were excited to be able to come and worship God.

My Titus 2 Principle would work here! What if the older generation took the younger generation under their wing? Told them the wonders of King Solomon's temple. Talked about God's people falling into sin, being overtaken by their enemies, and the temple was destroyed. But God didn't forget about His people! God rescued us and brought us back here. Now we are rebuilding His temple with the focus to worship God and live for him. Wow, that would be powerful! 

Let's go the other way. What if the younger generation searched to understand more of how they got there and sat under the wisdom of the older generation? What they learned from the older generation could save them from making the same mistakes and falling back into sin! It could teach them that worship and the forgiveness of sins is important! The younger generation would have been equipped to move forward! 

This pumps me up! What would have happened back then, well yeah; but what would happen today if this would be happening on a day to day basis?!?! 

Let me handle one speed bump. The good ole days of the church, God's church; is not the ole days you know! I don't think there are very many Christians that would want to live in the good ole days of the church! Why? For one, they didn't have air conditioners! It's funny, the people that have problems with adding technology and new things to the church; probably didn't think about at one time there was no air conditioning! Should we go back to those ole days? How about your chair or pew seat? The early church stood for the entire service and if they sat down it was on the ground! Should we go back to those ole days? How about persecution? I am not talking about someone saying something mean to you because you love Jesus; I am talking about losing your life for loving Jesus! Could we honestly say we want to live in the good ole days? 

To be completely honest, the good ole days of the church you grew up in, those churches made decisions to change and adapt to their culture. Churches in their days were condemned for singing hymns; especially hymns accomplied with instruments. The piano, air condition, the projector, the tv screens, pews or chairs; all were new at one time and caused controversity in the church. Granted, we don't have problems with these things today! Well; unless the piano is out of tune, the air condition isn't adjusted to our comfort or we are not singing the music we want...then many times we have controversity in our churches.

For the good ole days, it propels me into the good new days. I am excited to see what God is doing today and tomorrow! I do love seeing what He did in the past as well, but I never want to be so focused on the past that I am no good for the future. God is going to do big things in His church, He will continue to have us change and adapt to our culture to be relevant, and He wants you and me to be part of this. Change is good! As long as it doesn't conflict with God's character, His will, His direction for you, and His truth - the Bible! Are you willing to take what you learned from the ole days and be ready for the best to come in the good new days to come? The choice is up to you

Sharing Churches

I could blog on this issue all day! Churches sharing resources has been a big passion of mine for a long time. I love these big mega churches that people seem to hate on (my suspicion is that jealousy is one of the main components of this). The reason I love them is because after they are done using their creative sermons, series, kid movies, etc. they give them to other churches. New Spring Church in South Carolina and Life Church in Oklahoma are two that have done so much sharing resources and the best part is their resources are free.

While I am on my soap box, I have heard many Christians get onto Rick Warren and Saddleback church. My first thought is: How do you know the stuff you're saying? aka what blog have you been reading...My second thought is: Why haven't you flown out to California and talked with Mr. Warren about these things? After all, that's Biblical and you're gossiping if you haven't talked with the person. Third thought is: Do you know how much Rick Warren has done for the church of America? the resources that he has given...One last thought: Did you know that Rick Warren said that he would let you take 100 of the best people of your church and set them up against "any" 100 people of Saddleback? Wow, that is a bold statement! Make sure you hear the truth and not some things here and there; and then talk bad about a man of God and God's church! You're hurting God's church when you make negative comments about another church and you have not even been there!

With that said, I really want to focus in on sharing resources. I have done this a lot with my current church in Green Bay. Many times, the church hasn't even known. This summer we partnered with 2 churches to help them with their VBS decorations. Valley Baptist in Appleton partnered with us by helping to make VBS decorations. We then made our own decorations, added Valley's and when we were done Valley used them at their church! I also ran into a youth pastor from another church. He talked about getting ready for their VBS program and talked about the theme. A carnival theme; perfect I thought to myself; we have decorations from 3 years ago! We allowed them to borrow our ferris wheel, turnstiles, and character cutouts. Today, Pastor Rick and I picked them back up. The report of how it added to their program and how happy they were to be able to use them was priceless.

Really that is how all churches should be; no matter the denomination! My goal is to continue to partner with churches, partner with people, partner with ministries; we need to share resources!

Persistence is Key

Summer Blast is this weekend already; boy, has the summer flown! We are excited to be celebrating the 5th Annual Summer Blast. Who knew when we started Snow Blast 5 years ago; we would be celebrating the 5th year for both events! They sure have been a hit with the kids.

Glen and I were talking about what games we would like to do this year. Always looking for new games and using the best games from years past. "Go Big or Go Home Philosophy!" I decided to do kickball with inflatable pools as bases. Yes, this way of playing the game has gotten pretty big with the sharing of the Facebook video! We won't have the slip n slides for this event; but we wanted four kiddie pools for the bases.

Glen stopped by four stores and reported back to me that he couldn't find any and that the stores had put the seasonal away! I should have figured; after all, don't stores start putting Christmas items out at this time? We needed the pools so I drove all over Green Bay going to every store I could think of. SEVENTEEN STORES LATER...I found baby inflatable pools! They were $13 originally and marked down for $5. Deal!

Sometimes one would have just given up; but when something is worth it, we strive to finish it. This adventure of looking for kiddie pools reminds me of a story in my past:

Ever feel like a Scrat?

Yeah, like a Scrat (the squirrel from Iceage). I mean where something or someone gets you so frustrated and aggravated. Then you start making noises or start screaming or just start losing it. This happened to me days before Christmas. See I wanted to get my Dad a Scrat for Christmas. My Dad loves the little guy. So, figuring it would be a breeze; I started to search for him. I searched for him in Lynchburg, Va; then Gettysburg and York, Pa (where I live); and then finally Harrisburg, Pa. I went to 4 Walmarts, 3 Targets, 4 Toys R Us, K-mart, 2 Kb Toys, JcPennies, Sears, and the list goes on. When I added it up it was like 32 stores that I went to. Oh, and I'd have to mention I did search in the Disney store. Granted, I should have known that Iceage is not a Disney movie; but a Century Fox movie. Anyways, I found one in Harrisburg, Pa. An hour away from my house in the fourth Toys R Us that I went to. He is lifesize and when you push his nose he makes Scrat type noises. Yeah, so for three days of searching for a Scrat; I now can relate to how Scrat feels in Iceage. Scrat and I have a connection. (written December 26, 2006)

I don't think this time, I was willing to drive to 30 plus stores over three states for inflatable pools...but when I have a vision and something worth it: I tend to go big or go home! Persistence is the key to seeing your vision through!

Giving Blood for the First Time

I hate needles! Let me repeat that; "I really hate needles!" There is something about a foreign object under my skin that is not supposed to be there. Side note: I also hate splinters and ticks for this same reason! With that said; I have never went and gave blood, that is willing. Sure I have had my fingers pricked, my blood tested, and I'll never forget all those allergy tests. Shots in the arms, fingers, shoulders, and the butt.

In pregnancy, you have to be careful with blood types of the father and mother. Antigens, Antibodies and Attacking Blood Fights are quite interesting. So you have to make sure that the mom's blood doesn't have conflict with the babies blood. Amber found out hers with all the blood testing and mine I was unsure of. I spent time trying to find paperwork that showed my blood type and came to the conclusion that I was going to have to have it tested. Without knowing the father's blood type, Amber was destined to get a shot.

How can you find out your blood type? Give blood! So that is what I did, I went to the Red Cross and I gave blood. The experience alone was worth it for a future story. I passed the written test, the blood pressure test and even the dreaded finger prick! The next thing was going to be the challenge; the 10-15 minutes of sitting on the table and giving the blood. I survived, ate my pretzels, drank my cranberry juice, and signed up for another appointment to give blood.

I wasn't sure if we would find out the information in time; Amber was scheduled to get her shot soon. I downloaded the Red Cross Donor app and the day Amber was to get her shot; my records were displayed and my blood type revealed! I am O Negative. This developed into good news and bad news. The good news was Amber did not have to get a shot! The bad news is that my blood type is rare; seven percent of Americans have it. Which means if I ever get into a life threatening situation where I need blood; I might be in trouble! I guess my saving three lives with one blood donation, finding out my blood type and saving Amber a shot really wasn't a bad thing...I am planning to man up, face my fear of needles and continue donating blood.

5 Year Mark

I knew the statistics! I helped make the statistics in my younger years! I wanted to break the statistic! It is a known fact that the average youth pastor stays in his position between 6 months to a year and half.

Coming to Green Bay; I committed not only to break that but stay at least 3-5 years. After all, it takes 3-5 years to build a student ministry. It is sort of like a football team and a new coach; it takes time. Here I am: the FIVE YEAR MARK!

It really is surreal to be in one location, one city, one church, one position for 5 years. Prior to this position; I held a boarding school position for 1 & 1/2 years. In which; I helped to start, was a director and was one of the best experiences of my life! The boarding school, at the time, was the longest ministry position I held.

I can't say that it has been easy and there were not times I wanted to throw the towel in. It has been challenging. I mean I was ready for youth ministry; children's ministry not so much. Children's ministry has stretched me time and time again. Living in the North has it's sets of challenges; people here go to church because they want to or they are Catholic. Then there is the cold; wow, those negative temps can take the breath right out of you. Then there is coming up with new ideas, writing curriculum, learning to say no when there are too many irons in the fire, and waiting to see your students develop leadership. I could say more. Ministry takes time.

I wasn't sure when August 8, 2015 came; what feelings I would have. In five years, we have developed a well-rounded student ministry. We have added many more children ministry programs and events. We took Harvest Fest from a year of 60 church members to the 5th year having 420 people (most of them unchurched)! VBS went from averaging 20 kids a night to 50 kids a night (80 percent of kids outside the church). I have had the busiest year of my life. I've been involved in the community, sometimes, even more than church events itself. Which I have grown to love and realize we need to be out there with those that need to hear about Jesus. The last few years; I have played major roles at BLBA camp, coordinator of Green Bay Youth Pastors, a leader of the Called Out Conference, developed Study Bibles for Inmates and led worship services for the juveniles, working with middle schoolers through YMCA programs, a frequent radio guest, and just co-planned a youth mission trip in 2 and 1/2 weeks. I guess those would be just a few highlights.

August 8th has come and has gone. Looking back, for most it was just a Saturday. Granted, a Saturday that I knew meant big things for me. 5 YEARS! What a monumental moment...I was thankful that Amber recognized me the day before on Facebook, Becky game me a hug and a small gift, Pastor Rick recognized me in the service and I received a handshake from a church attender. I've never been a person that likes recognition; I'd rather it was given to my leaders or my teens. Cake, food, gifts, words, handshakes, a pat on the back, a simple congrats; I don't need them, but they would have contributed to make me feel like I made a difference in the last five years. I have no doubt that I have impacted the kids, teens, and the community. I know that my call is from God and what He wants me to do; and it means more to me than recognition. If there is one thing I have learned: is that in ministry you need to continue to move forward without recognition and keep recognizing your leaders when they enter important milestones...these are just my bold but honest thoughts from the past few days

Prayer in the strangest places

I have been convicted lately of my lack of quiet times with the Father! Going into this year; I was solid and my prayer life was developing into a strong area of my life. Then 2015 happened; my busiest year yet and my first born is not even here yet!

Now I should mention that the quiet time I am talking about is the time in the mornings that I spend with God. My prayer life throughout the day and spending time with Him is great. At the same time; having both, the block of time in the morning and a day spent with God, is the best way to go. I have spent my time over the last two years reading books on prayer, focusing on passages of Scripture that emphasizes prayer, and placing myself around people of prayer. Prayer is huge! Sort of like oxogen is needed to live; prayer is needed to survive as a Christian!

I spent some time reading E. M. Bounds and Henry Blackaby books today; while focusing my thoughts on a prayer life and refocusing to get back where I was. Blackaby was talking about when we pray; we shouldn't bring up our agenda but rather fine tune into God's agenda. I read this while sitting in my office "Starbucks." As I kept reading; I tuned into the conversation beside me of two men. I heard the phrase something like "well, I believe that there is a God and Jesus..." and a few other words. Bam, it connected! God's agenda is so much bigger than me; He is working everywhere! At that moment, I put the book down and prayed over both men. I prayed for the man that seemed to be open to the belief that there was a God and Jesus. I also prayed over the words of the man talking with him. I was right where I needed to be today; I just needed to tune in where God was working so that I could be part of what He was doing!

Then the men left; and then I knew I wasn't supposed to stop there. I started praying over the Starbucks employees, customers ordering, those sitting around me. Praying for the volunteer fireman worker, the nurse/doctor in scrubs, the girl studying, the couples, young and old. How is God working in their lives; I couldn't answer but He is!

So here is my challenge to you:

While you're are enjoying coffee at your favorite coffee stop...
While you're sitting in your office with all your co-workers around you...
While you're attending in school, because you have to...
While you're standing in line at the DMV...
While you're waiting in the movie theater for the Minions movie to start...
While you're...

Pray for those around you, pray that they will be able to see God's love, pray that the people He placed in their lives would have the courage to share His love, and always pray for an opportunity to rep Jesus in those locations as well!!!  

Meet Christian the Lion

I am excited to introduce our new mascot, Christian the Lion! He will play vital roles in our student and children's ministry. He is booked for our youth lock-in, VBS Journey off the Map, Summer Blast, and Harvest Fest. You will have a chance to meet him here soon!

Christian's Bio:

First Name: Christian
Last Name: the Lion
Age: Unknown
Gender: Boy
Height: 6 foot on two legs
Favorite Food: Pizza
What is he afraid of: Packer Fans...They sometimes mistake him for the Detroit Lions Mascot
If he could talk: He would tell you that he loves Jesus!

Why a mascot suit?

Well, a couple of things sparked this idea. When I was an intern in the Washington D.C. area, one of my responsibilities as an intern was to play the church mascot! Then, our student ministry has been watching a lot of Dude Perfect. Dude Perfect is a group of guys who do trick shots with basketballs, frisbees, footballs, etc. and then post the videos on YouTube. They even have a Panda mascot, which the teenagers love and who does his own trick shots! I decided we would do our own video at our upcoming church lock-in and call it Youth Perfect. The only problem, we don't have a mascot! Lastly, I started thing of this year's VBS and who would be our new "Rocket Pack Jack" character for this year and relate well with the theme Journey off the Map. That's when I saw a lion mascot suit!

Everything clicked for me! If I buy a lion mascot suit, I can:

1. Have a mascot suit for our lock-in and the student can make a Youth Perfect video!

2. Have a mascot suit to be used in a variety of ways for VBS. Being part of the opening and closing of VBS, have photo shoots with Christian and the kids, promoting VBS, and other things

3.  Have a mascot suit for Harvest Fest, an event that is on Halloween and has lots of costumes! Christian will be the greeter and welcome families

4. Free advertisement for your church! Make a jersey with your church name on the front and Christian's name on the back. Imagine a church booth at a local fair; in comes Christian the Lion. Kids and families flock to meet him, high five, and take pictures. With the invention of the smart phone and social media; that's what I call free advertisement! Your church name will be plastered on Facebook

Problem Solving

We lost our children's leader for about three months and there was a need! Last year, we had a period of time like this and it took a long time to find leaders for that time. This time, I decided to do some problem solving and create a great environment. 

I could teach, but what about the youth ministry? I decided to move the youth to Sunday nights, this way I could lead. My next step was to create a kids ministry program. I took our kids ministry name and added one word to it; Graceway Kids Midweek! It would be a night of games, music, message, and small groups. Now I need leaders! I got it! I will use my teens that I have been investing in for five years. This is how I created a new teen program called Student Leaders. I now had a perfect plan drawn out; now I just needed to draw out the little details.

Last night was the first night of my two programs that was formed into a hybrid plan. 

When the kids got there, they signed in and put their names in our game bucket. Then they were allowed to play ping pong, fooseball, air hockey, pool, or jump in the bounce house. With the end of our Midweek countdown; all the kids found their seats. We started with our game, Game On, and used the game bucket to determine our players. Through a PowerPoint game chooser; Blow Darts was the game they played. Using Nerf darts, the players tried to knock down more targets then the other. The winner received a prize! Then we went into our worship time with 4 PowerPoint worship songs and then our message was delivered by Life Church video curriculum. Closing the night off, we broke the kids up into small groups. We had a craft object lesson, small group questions, application, and prayer. Night complete!

When the teens got there, they grabbed their name badges and were assigned to areas to play and invest in the kids till we started. Then I used them for setup, during, and clean up of the game. They participated during the music part with the kids. During the message video, I took them to another room and left two adults in charge of the kids. This time was designed specifically for them, leadership training. Our first session was "What is Leadership?" There was an activity, training, development of leadership statements, and so much more. My goal was not to just have "volunteer unpaid babysitters," but to create leadership opportunities while providing leadership training. After this, the teens were divided up and helped lead in the small groups. 

This is what true leadership is about! Seeing a need, taking the initiative, casting vision, creating a gameplan, and asking others to come along and lead with you!

Leadership starts with “i”

Student Leaders is a program designed for students to become stronger leaders! Sometimes we see a need; the question is will you be the “i” that steps up to meet that need? Leadership starts with “i”

How did it start? It all started with a need for someone to run the children’s program on Wednesday nights. With no leadership, there would be no children’s program! We made a few changes: moved youth group to Sunday nights, formed a children’s program called Graceway Kids Midweek, and developed a Student Leaders program for teens. The teens are the primary leaders for games, music, and small group for the kids on Wednesday nights. Then during the message time for the kids; the teenager have their own leadership training with a healthy balance of Bible and leadership driven concepts! This whole situation is awesome because many of those kids look up to the teenagers and it presented a win-win for both kids and teens. We didn’t lose a kids program; we actually gained a teen program in the process!

The student leaders program doesn’t stop there. The students will be challenged to lead in a variety of ways. On Sunday mornings, they have the opportunity to lead in the nursery, Graceway Kids, Ushering, Sound and Video, and choir. Then there is also leading at Snow Blast, Summer Blast, Vacation Bible School, Harvest Fest, Service Projects, Mission Trips, and so much more. Imagine the possibilities of student leaders affecting the church today; and then in the future when these teens are the main leaders of the church!

Prom: thoughts for parents and teenagers!

April known for many things; but to many teenagers it is the time for Prom. An event that many have looked forward to and an event that some might think will define their life! Some great things have happened at Proms, granted, many horrific thing have happened as well. Money spent on Prom, teens rejected and not asked, teenage drinking goes up, and the pressure for sex is highlighted more on this night! What pressure! The below radio broadcast is worth you listen; if you're a teenager or if you are a parent of teenager. My favorite episode of Hope Net Radio on Q90 and was I was stoked to be part of it! Give it a listen; it could help you make a decision about Prom, help you set up boundaries, protect you if you go to Prom, open up conversations with your students, etc.


Prom: The Ultimate Trust Bust

A calling, jail ministry, and a decision

God calls! We have the choice to answer! In my life, I have been guilty of running away from opportunities. "Give that individual some money" No, they might use it for something else..."Go tell them about Me" I'm late and I have to get to this place...."Voluneer to serve there and love those people." I will, when my schedule frees up...Though, the more I walk with Jesus; these responses have happened less. My attitude and heart has changed. Jesus has taught me what it means to serve and to love others!

God called a few months ago! The calling was to help start a youth church service in the Brown County Jail. The jail chaplain had reached out and a couple of the youth pastors were going to meet up with her. I had not planned to be part of it, it wasn't me and I was busy. Leading up to this meeting, God had worked on my heart through a variety of ways. The Sunday evening before, I had Becky Larson share her heart about prison ministry and writing letters to inmates. The day of the meeting, I decided to meet up with the youth pastors for lunch and pray with them. I didn't know then, but God kept pushing me forward one step at a time. After lunch, I knew I wasn't able to tour the jail because I had not done the paperwork; but figured I could at least meet the chaplain. I met the chaplain and listened as she shared her heart about what they had been praying for. I was hooked.

Things kept snowballing forward. The jail did a fast background check of me and I was able to tour the jail. I observed and listened as we went through the various parts of the jail. The sound of the first heavy door shutting behind me still gives me an eerie feeling. The individuals I saw, I had a love inside of me, and realized that Jesus loved these people even though they made some type of mistake that put them in there. I kept listening. Then I heard it, need after need! My creativity started to click, my heart felt the need, I saw opportunity, what could we do? We finished the meeting talking about what a youth service would look like and committed to praying over partnering with the jail and left.

What could I do? What could we do? What were the needs? How can we meet the needs? We need to do something. In the time there, I saw three opportunities apart from a youth church service. Two I have acted on and one is still a plan for the future.

Observation One: There was a need mentioned by the chaplain for study Bibles. She mentioned that individuals were giving their life to Jesus and were reading the Bible. The problem was that sometimes they didn't understand what they were reading. The only two options for their questions to be answered was to ask for the chaplain or wait for a Bible study and ask the leader of the study. A study Bible was an answer to this problem. It would help them go deeper and be able to understand with the commentary! In December, I launched a Facebook group called Study Bibles for Inmates. I was talking with people and churches. If we could just get one study Bible into the jail, it would make a difference! I asked and people responded. My youth group responded. From December to February, we have been able to donate 40 study Bibles to the Brown County Jail! One of stories was amazing. One individual donated a 100 dollars and our student ministry kicked in 50 dollars from proceeds of their soda machine. I took that money and went to Christian Book Distributor website. I found study Bibles for ten bucks! I purchased 15 and found a promo code for free shipping. The final cost for 15 study Bibles was $150 and the total retail and shipping would have been $800! God is awesome! 

Observation Two: As we walked through the jail, I asked the chaplain if any church or organization did anything for the juveniles during Christmas? No she replied; I had found another need. I went on to Christian Book Distributor and purchased "What on earth am I here for" by Rick Warren. Then I went and ordered from Oriental Trading Christmas playing cards, Chrismas Carol activity books, and winter penguin pencils that said Jesus loves me. All four gifts were approved by the jail and were handed out on Christmas!

Observation Three: I asked if anyone had done anything creative with the juveniles? I asked specifically about painting. I was told that at one time a college student had planned too, but never followed through. Another opportunity! This one I have not put into action, but it could become a reality down the road.

When I dropped off those last 15 study Bibles, I was asked about a possible fill-in for one of the program leaders. The leaders were going on vacation and the chaplain wanted to open up those nights for youth pastors to lead church services. This would be a trial run for a future youth service and also a great opportunity to build a relationship between the jail and the Green Bay youth pastors! I committed to the first night and was ready to start building that foundation. 

The week leading up to the first youth service, I prepared myself as best as possible. Exchanging emails with the chaplain, talking with Nic (another youth pastor that does jail ministry and invests in students) and getting advise from him, spending time reading the jail manual, and preparing a youth service and getting teaching materials approved by jail administration. I also had my year and a half of working boarding school; which would help with following the jail structure and recognizing potential issues or manipulations. I also prayed a lot, this was going to be one of the hardest things I have done and my fear level was high. I knew a lot was riding on this. I wanted to build great trust between the youth pastors and the jail. I knew the chaplain gave her support of me coming in and didn't want to let her down. I wanted to make sure I followed the rules, respected the officers, and was as serious and professional as possible. I also wanted to invest in students lives and knew that I might not see any results in one attempt. A lot of pressure.

The night of was crazy! I barely slept the night before, waking up many times.  I was really nervous all day and watched the hours slip by. I prayed a lot. I left the house and headed off to church to get my book that had a story I was going to read. As I was leaving church, I realized I was behind schedule. I jumped on the highway and before I knew it, I had missed my exit! I had done this before and I knew how many miles out of the way it would be. I got there ten minutes before I was supposed to be and started the check in process. I was given the iPad connector to connect my iPad to the tv; wrong connector! Man, the enemy was working me over tonight. The chaplain came down and let me borrow her iPad, I was saved! 

The next hour and half will forever go down as one of my biggest wins in life! I was able to lead a game, lead music (those that know my singing ability, would say that was a big win in itself), and a message to the students. I saw them truly connect with the music, game went great, and the message was okay. I walked away encouraged knowing I was in the right place at the right time and doing the right thing. 

I have currently committed to fill whatever weeks are needed. Travis one of my youth pastor friends is doing one of the weeks. I am stoked for him! I have also committed myself to praying for these students and we are still collecting study Bibles. I am excited for this opportunity to come alongside the jail and represent Jesus! When God calls, what is your answer going to be?

Older Generation + Younger Generation = Titus 2 Principle

Spent time today considering what we have been doing in our churches! We have divided our church down the middle; the older generation and the younger generation. I have heard many of the older generation folks say; "it time for the younger generation to take over, I served my time." Ouch, served my time sounds like a prison sentence. Also I have found it funny when it is said that the younger generation should takes over, and when they do and change something; it doesn't go over too well. I don't think these thoughts are healthy or how Jesus intended the older generation to respond!

Now at the same time, I am of the younger generation and I believe that we are just as bad. Let's change everything because everything is wrong and disrespects the foundation that the older generation has built. We don't take the time to sit under the older generation and to learn from them. Changing the music will never bring people into the church; people bring people into the church!

This is where I see the Titus 2 Principle coming into play. Christ designed His church to be made of both the older and the younger generations! The older generation needs to come alongside and disciple the younger generation. Pray for the younger generation. Encourage the younger generation. Live life with the younger generation. Also the younger generation needs to sit and glean from the older generation. Seeking wisdom, direction, knowledge, and whatever they can learn off of people who have lived a life studying their Bible and loving God. The younger generation needs to respect the time the older generation invested in building the church. When we work within the structure of Titus 2 Principle; we do church the way Jesus intended! Then, the church will live long after the older generation passes and the younger generation becomes the next older generation!

The bride wears white; does this help the groom?

So we all know that the bride wears white; traditionally a sign of purity! For the most part, all women wear a white wedding dress. We were in the radio studio the other day talking about teens, proms, dresses, weddings and such; when I thought came to me. Women wear white dresses, so years down the road, men can remember what their bride wore. "Honey, do you remember our wedding day?" "Yes dear, you looked beautiful in your WHITE wedding dress..."

A Conversation on Autism

It started to build last year! Within two of our youth ministry network meetings; the topic just kept surfacing in our conversations. How to work alongside families with Autistic kids? The plan started to form; a plan to have a network meeting that focused on starting a conversation on Autism. "Let's make it a learning process and bring in a professional!" The two things that would determine a professional would be A. They work for a living with people that have Autism or B. Were a parent of a kid that had Autism and became a professional out of love for their child. 

In preparation for this meeting, I did a variety of things. I had many conversations with families that had children with special needs. It amazed me that once I looked around, I just kept running into families. It was great for me to listen to their pains and joys of raising their kid. The one thing that excited many of the families was that a bunch of youth pastors were actually meeting together to learn how to work alongside families and kids with ASD. I also spent some time reading the book "Autism and your Church: Nurturing the Spiritual Growth of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder" by Barbara J. Newman. A recommended read for ministry leaders! I learned so much about controlling loud noises, making structures classes, and working with parents to better meet the needs of their child in a church setting. I was excited for our meeting "A Conversation on Autism!" 

On February 10th, a group of 20 ministry leaders gathered for "A Conversation on Autism." The need was felt! The desire to learn and be educated was shown! You could see the excitement to help families, to reach into the community, to reach all for the Gospel!

Our keynote speaker was Charlie Chivers of Special Touch Ministries. He has had over three decades of experience of working with individuals with Autism and special needs. Charlie spent time sharing what an individual with Autism could experience. Why some react outwardly do to a variety of sensory things that could have caused them to be uncomfortable or even caused pain. He would also go on to talk about the importance of the church building and the need to be thoughtful on the church surroundings. Class rooms with order, no clutter. A family bathroom is a big one for churches that have special needs. Picture signs to help individuals to go through a Sunday School class. One of the most important things Charlie stressed is to get to know the individual. Find out what he likes and does not like; let them get comfortable with you and be there for them and their family.

I hope that many ministry leaders walked away from our meeting seeking to apply some things and desiring to learn more! Hopefully, the conversation on Autism turns into many conversations on Autism! Hopefully, many families in our communities are encouraged and ministered to because churches are working alongside them and their kids. The church is called to reach all!  Keep the conversations going. 

Spiritual Formation is great but be careful not to become a Bible Study Junkie or a Bible Hoarder

I am sure that this could be taken wrongly, but please read everything before you decide. I plan to take from a few things I heard today and things that I have learned.

Talking about investing in teens and working with people in the church Kristin Ivy stated this,

"Is your spiritual formation really about how much Bible knowledge that you have? Or is it about having someone help you, in your relationship with God and apply that in a daily way? Sometimes it's not just about information, there is a few things that Jesus said that if I spent the rest of my life applying them. Two or three simple ideas. I would be set, even if I don't quite understand what the beast of Revelation really looks like..."

Man, this is good stuff! As a youth pastor, I know that many of the teens won't remember much (if any) of my in-depth Bible studies that I bring each week. I still bring prepare and deliver messages, because I want to be remembered in their life that I love Jesus and that His Word is important to study and apply to our lives. My youth pastor, Matt Miller did a great job of this when I was a teen. I can't tell you much about his messages; but I can tell you about his character, his love for God and us, and his encouragement through his messages to walk with God!

I was also listening to a message today and it was mentioned that sometimes we develop "Bible Study Addicts" in our churches. (I might change it to Bible Study Junkie...) Now, there is nothing wrong with Bible Study! People who get hooked on Bible study after Bible study; but yet do nothing with it, is a problem. Bible study is a tool for us to get to know God more and to convict us on what we need to do with what we learn! It is a shame for us to be part of Bible study after Bible study and nothing or not much happens...

In a way, we have to be careful of how much Bible information we do have because we have more responsibility for what we do know! I have seen many times that we collect, collect, and collect some more information about the Bible; and then do nothing with it. This is what I call a Bible Hoarder.

Think of a hoarder for a minute. What do they do? They collect stuff! What do they do with the stuff? They store it! They pile it up! They might never use it! They lose it! Not much different in our walks with Jesus. We collect information from sermons, Bible studies, books, etc. If we never apply that information, then we hoard it to ourselves. We store it with other information. We pile it up. We don't use it. We lose it. The worst part of this is that anyone can become a Bible Hoarder! You! Me! We need to be careful to take what we learn and use it! Share it with someone! Disciple someone!

Disciple someone! Now that gets my thoughts rolling. Logically, those who have stored up years of Bible knowledge probably should also have a long line of disciples behind them. Right? Let's think, how do you know when a disciple is made?

When they become saved? 

When they are baptized?

When they share their testimony?

When they start regularly attending church? 

When they read the Bible on their own? 

When they pray? 

All of those are great and they are just part of the process, but a disciple is made when he or she becomes a discipler. When he or she starts to reproduce who they are, they are discipling someone! Who have you discipled? Who are you currently discipling?

Another thought that I truly believe is that the more we know about God, the more we are responsible to share about God. We would know if we studied our Bibles that as Christians, we are called to fulfill the Great Commission (share the Gospel and make disciples). We would be loving people, sharing Jesus with people, we would be making Christians through the Holy Spirit!

I have been convicted so many times the past few years of not using the information; in fact, when I started to share, God gave me more and more opportunities to share. For instance this week, I spent time studying John 13 for our youth message Wednesday night.  Now, I could have stopped there. Though God gave me a few opportunities to continue to use it! From one on one conversations, talking about it on the radio, and guess what I'm going to do? I'll add a mini-message in the next paragraph and share it with you!

John 13 can show us what it means to love people. It's passover time; Jesus begins by washing the disciples feet. He continues to have a meal with his disciples, the disciples that had spent the past three years with him. Then Jesus starts to tell his disciples that one of them was going to betray him and then later goes on to say that one will deny him! Judas, who we would consider an "enemy" of Jesus would betray him and Peter a "friend" of Jesus would deny him. Jesus, in the matter of chapter 13; loved the enemy and the friend that would soon hurt him with their actions. He loved them so much that he washed their feet. He loved them so much that he ate and drank with them. He loved them so much, that he spent 3 years discipling them! When you can't love an enemy or when you can't love a friend/family member that has hurt us; remember that Jesus knows how it feels to be betrayed! Remember that through Jesus we can love those who we don't feel loving. Remember we can't change them, but we can love them. Remember we can talk with Jesus about it and remember that only He can help them to change. Love Jesus and Love others

So how can I wrap this into a nice little package? Don't be a Bible Study Junkie or a Bible Hoarder; instead take what God teaches you and disciple someone!

I'm back on the air with Jeff and Dave; we are talking on work and what you do matters

Here is last week's Hope Net Radio episode if you missed it. You can catch this episode and other past episodes at hopenet360.com or at iTunes.


Work: What You Do Matters (1/18/15)

Fighting sub-degree temps, trying to be employed by the Packers, and gaining another life adventure

I had many people question my insanity when I told them that I was moving to Green Bay, Wisconsin. It's too cold there! It snows a lot! What in the world would cause you to move there? On days like this, I ask myself the same question; but then on days like this I see what makes the people of Green Bay special.

The Packers are in the playoffs and with all the snow we got; they asked the community for 500 workers to shovel the stadium. They were paying ten dollars an hour and to me sounded like a great life story. I should also say that it was -1 degrees and with a wind chill of like -20! I loaded up my gear and wanted to experience this!

I got there shortly before 10 am which was the start time that Green Bay had said. As I waited in line, I got to know quite a few guys. The line moved slowly and it wasn't very long until we realized that apparently there was already about 500 people in the stadium working. Looking ahead in line there had to at least be 200 people in front of me! I could end my story with I waited in line for an hour and a half, I was able to get close to the front of the line and into the grounds crew room, and then was sent home...Wow, bummer, I froze in line for a long time and didn't get to scoop one shovel of snow! As I think over the time I spent I realized I had a pretty cool experience despite not working or being "employed by the Green Packers."

On the radio this week we talked about work. A question came up if you could do anything you wanted and money wasn't an issue; what would you do? Today, I saw something people would do. Yes, they were paying $10 an hour and there were plenty of people that needed work; but I think the majority of people were there for the experience. Even more amazing, I found out when the first people showed up it was 4:45 am! Now that is dedication. People sure love their Packers and people sure love experience and people sure love a cause. They loved it so much they were willing to wait in line with negative degree temps! They loved it so much to wait despite the chance of being turned away!

You see here in Green Bay, people have learned that you can't do anything about the cold. You can only prepare for it! Wear warmer clothes. Protect yourself. Stay positive and push through the cold. And today, I did it with them! What a story! What an adventure! My only reward might have been to see people who came out for a cause or an experience despite the cold weather. Oh and I might be on the 6 o'clock news as I stood in line...