Archives for 2011

God Bless Us as We Bless Others

Last week I shared about a family I have come to know that is in need. I put a donation button on my site and asked for help. I didn't know if anyone would give but I've been blessed to see how people responded. That night my heart was heavy. I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about this family, and then all the other families in need. I know we made a difference for this family. But my heart was crushed at all of the families out there who need more from those who can help. I kept getting up to pray, then trying to sleep, then getting up again. I finally gave up on sleep at 4am and saw … [Read more...]

God Bless Us Everyone

I imagine most people have watched some form of a Christmas Carol in their life. My favorite version is the Muppet's Christmas Carol. It is an annual holiday tradition. We had watched the old VHS tape till it started getting off track and fuzzy so a couple years ago we picked up the movie on DVD. On the off chance that you have never heard of the Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, here is a short synopsis. *****Spoiler Alert***** Not sure I'm actually required to do that, over 100 years has come and gone since this classic was written, which I believe is well past the statute of … [Read more...]

Church 2 Point Oh

First, I want to say that this is an attempt at humor, quite possibly a squalid attempt. It is not social commentary not even remotely an attack on any church or person. I am familiar with churches and person's following God's will through a wide variety of means. Second, this is not a new concept. It is a conversation I've been having since college, but a random comment a couple of minutes ago brought it to my mind and I realized I've never blogged on this. I'm hoping the age of this makes it retro chic, not just hopelessly out of date. Church 1.0 aka Church Classic Over 2000 years of … [Read more...]

Sick and tired of throwing Jesus under the bus to support my cause

I'd say "Jesus doesn't want you to use his name to support your cause" but guess what? That's doing exactly what I said not to do. It's messed up though. "Jesus would feed the hungry so you need to do what I say because I'm starting a soup kitchen." "Jesus talked about hell so that is the most important thing." "Jesus talked about love, so that is the most important thing." "Jesus would have been a republican." "Jesus would have been a democrat." "Jesus is pro choice." "Jesus is pro life." "Jesus wants us to save the whales." The list goes on and on. The past 2 days I've been seeing the … [Read more...]

I am participating in a new series, God Says …, over at Make a Difference to One. In my first post I address the lie that I am unloved and show that God says I am loved. Click through for the article.

Aug

God Says I am Loved #MyExperienceAs #GodSays… #JesusFreak #YouthPastor via @Nick_theGeek

God Says … I am Loved

Camp Preachin

Youth camp has to be more than just fun, games, and pranks. We do 3 sessions each day to devote time to God. Quite Time and Small Group The first session is just after breakfast. We have our students broken up into small groups and have them get into their groups and have personal quite time and group devotions. Each day the leader speaking in the evening service put together this session for the students. For example, during my session I had them read Acts 6 and 7 during their personal quite time and go through these questions Read: Acts 6 & 7 (You can take some notes here) In … [Read more...]

I’m trying to get a new Middle School group started on Thursday nights. I’ve got one family on board with 4 kids and their friends, but when they can’t make it, like tonight, then no one shows up. I was pretty disappointed when I heard they weren’t coming, but I showed up anyways. Sure enough, no one. Then 3 neighborhood kids, right in the age group I’m reaching out to, walked up to start playing basketball on our outdoor court. My wife was leaving with the kids, but I had driven separately, so I went to hand out and play a little ball with them. I know, not like ti was this huge group, but I gotta say, I’m very happy I had to opportunity to meet them since they literally live a few houses down the road. God is good.

Aug

Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining #MyExperienceAs #Ball #GodisGood #MiddleSchool via @Nick_theGeek

Mood: Impressed with God

Camp Pranks

Camp would be camp without pranks. Most of the time they are stupid and juvenile. I can't complain too much I guess, the students are juveniles after all. This year we had plenty of dumb pranks, but a few were really good. Most of those were from the staff though. Lame Pranks As I said, there were many lame pranks. I had some left over bacon put in my bed, a stolen trophy (the golden plunger of power) places under my pillow, and the cabin was messed up with bedding pulled half way out or flipped up. One of the other leaders had his stuff moved into the bathroom, the stuff on his bed … [Read more...]

Last night we concluded the series “The Truth About Sex.” This was a video series from BlueFish.tv led by Doug Fields. I don’t use the leaders manual so much. Instead I used an illustration with glow sticks, asking the students to keep them un-broken. Most of the students didn’t make it through the video. Then I gave them brand new ones to illustrate God giving us new life instead of repairing our broken life. Cool part, a young woman was there that hasn’t been to church in a couple of years. She responded during my “altar call.” More later.

Aug

Great Time at Youth #MyExperienceAs #wednesdaynightfollowup #YouthPastor via @Nick_theGeek

Mood: Excited

Camp Games

Well, it was this time of year again, when youth pastors eschew sleep in nice comfy beds, or sleep in general, in favor of taking a group of students to sticky, hot cabins. Actually I can't complain too much about the sleeping arrangements. While I got less sleep than any of the guys (I think some girls got less than me) I did get more sleep this year than any previous camp. The dorms had huge attic exhaust fans, which really helped with the heat. One night I even considered zipping my sleeping bag, but then just rolled over and went to sleep. I am usually the last to go to sleep and was … [Read more...]

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Archives for 2011

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