a big move . . . an exciting adventure

God has been challenging me over the past few months to ‘live the adventure’. To take every moment in and to not just go thru the routines of life, but live every moment on purpose. I have been asking Him exactly what this looks like in our life at this point. We were invited to join the staff at Riverside 2 and 1/2 years ago. It has been such a growing experience and a major learning experience for our family. A month ago we were invited to visit The Oaks to see what God was doing in their church and if that might be a place God was leading us to. This past week we have accepted a position to be Pastors for the Gathering which is the young adult ministry at the Oaks. We are so excited, a little nervous, but confident this is the next step God has for us. We are going to miss being in Illinois. We have so many friends spread across the state in ministry that we have made the past 10 years.

I know for us this is living the adventure. This is following the voice of God into the unknown. We already have made so many friends in Texas because that is where I met Sara and attended Bible College. Please pray with our family as we walk thru these next few months of transition. We are stepping out to follow God’s voice. I know that these next days will be the best of our lives.

a show we are “lost” without

thanks to my good friend jeff kossack i now have joined the group of “lost” fanatics.  we feel in love with the characters, the good, the bad, and the hurly [he is one of my favorites].  we watched the first season on a dvd set in two days.  now it has become part of our thursday traditions [i know it comes on wednesday night, but we have church so we download it].  it was disappointing to hear that this year the producers decided to not run the seaon until january.  there was a leap in my heart last week when I saw a preview for season 5.  thought i share a sneak peak for those that have not seen the new previews yet.

LOST SEASON 5 BEGINS IN JANUARY 21

more about “LOST SEASON 5 BEGINS IN JANUARY 21, 9…“, posted with vodpod

a bag full of hair

the heart of the father . . . and mayo

many of you are familiar with my food laws.  [future post to come on complete list of food laws.  stay posted]  we were sitting at the lunch table today as a family and micah made a  comment about his disgust with any sandwich containing mayo.  which led to a conversation between my wife and me about how he is too much like me.  but in that moment i was so happy.  i love the fact that my sons are like me.  [which led to a teaching moment from Horton Hears a Who, but that is a different post].  Sara began to comment that he should not dislike mayo just because i do.  Then because I turn everything into a sermon I broke into my “heart of the father” sermon.

I said it is the heart of every father that their sons would be like them.  That is what God wants from us, for Him to be reflected in us.  He wants us to become more like Him.  so bottom line.   my kids dislike mayo and it brings joy to my heart.  when we start to dislike sin and injustice it brings joy to God’s heart.

are you bringing joy to God’s heart today?

just another twitter post

i am addicted to twitter.  not all addictions are bad.  right?  so just hit the 1500 mark.  and wondering if i can hit the 2000 mark before the end of the year?  some of my peeps said by saturday.  but that might get annoying

and like most of you I check my twitter grade weekly.  i keyed in my location and found that I am number 7 in the whole peoria area.  I was number 2 last week.  not good for one week I dropped 5 spots.  my goal is by the end of the year to be back up to number 2 again.  we’ll see if i can make my goal by the end of the year.

churches that are tearing it up . . . that i am loving

One of my great passion is the bride of Christ.  I am in love with the church.  I love reading stories, hearing sermons about churches that have caught the heart of God in reaching their community.   here are a few
[i have excluded my church, not from a lack of love, but not to sound prideful, this is a look outside of my church]

Cornerstone Church Simi Valley Teaching Pastor Francis Chan
I first got to hear Francis at the Orange Conference.  He was that speaker to me that stood out from among the rest.  He didn’t just come to speak at a conference.  But wanted to speak God’s word into our spirit.  It was different and challenging.  I immediately subscribed to the podcast.  Unstoppable Force:  This church is real and authentic in living out the church in the book of Acts.  I feel they represent what Christ’s church should be like in our nation.  Being Jesus to the broken and poor

Orchard Valley Church  Lead Pastor Scott Hodge
I had a few friends that told me about what Scott was doing in the suburbs of Chicago.  Evan & Tim – I read the story of this church and what God was doing and I immediately felt like this was a powerful story of what the church should be.  I recently got to hang out with Scott during our Related Leaders Conference.  I know that Scott is one of the most innovative and missional pastors I have meet in a long time.
Unstoppable Force:  Creative,  Innovative, and Missional.  Not afraid of change.

Generation Church:  Pastor Judah Smith
I had heard about Pastor Judah from a conference that I was attending.  i also read an article in a youth ministry magazine about spirit filled youth ministries.  Judah Smith’s sermons are refreshing and challenging.  He doesn’t hold back.  In the midst of students ministries that are struggling, and questioning ministry philosophies, Judah is bold in preaching, and calling for a lifestyle of holiness. I love there passion and desire to continue to reach students far off from God.
Unstoppable Force:  Spirit Filled, A call to holiness, and Passion for students that are far from God.

Oaks Fellowship:  Pastor Scott Wilson
This is a visionary church.  This church does ministry on purpose.  Although they don’t claim to have all the answers, they are great at engaging in conversations, and breaking new ground into the future.  They are a church that is striving to find the balance of being creative and biblically engaging.
Unstoppable Force:  Multi-site, Visionary, Creative, and Practical in reaching out.  Growing in structures and systems to become more effective

Are there churches that you are following that are changing their community, and leading the way in new ideas?  Would love to hear about them.

student ministry according to chick-fil-a

Trying to check out ideas from other youth groups.  And I had a chance to check out a student ministry in tx.  in a leadership meeting tim [anemployee of chick-fil-a] was doing a stalling moment in youth ministry.  He shared some wisdom  that he has gained from Chick-fil-a

The questions he started with is what if student ministries used the principles that have made Chick-fil-a succesful:

First:: Operational excellance.
Second:: mile service.
Third:: a commitment to relationship

what would it look like for students ministries to incorporate these principles to what they are doing in their ministry.  what changes would have to occur.  it was challenging as well as funny.

a random call to evangelism

had a great talk yesterday with a youth pastor from a city that is close to us.  he just called out of the blue without much connection before our phone call.  we had a great talk about evangelism.  big events, and large outreaches were the center of our discussion.  how do you cover follow-up?  do you present opportunities for salvation just once during that night?  how do you equip students to be the one that is leading them to christ as opposed to one speaker up front?

my heart was stirred once again with a passion to reach out to students.  but as we talked i was more convinced that no one should ever be at an altar alone.  the purpose is not to get a student to an altar, but into a relationship with Jesus.  i want our students to be a part of seeing their friends coming to christ.  i think that also helps with disciplining those students.  they already have a connection to come back, and someone that can talk with them about what it means to be a christian.  what are thoughts you have on bringing people to christ?  would love more voices in this conversations.

an early christmas box

like a kid waking up on christmas morning is the feeling that i had on tuesday when I came into the office.  i had ordered my next set of books to read.  they came in the freshly packaged amazon box and were sitting on my desk. i was so pumped.  my goal is to read through these all by mid-january.  hoping to have some extra time over christmas break to devour these.  what goals are you currently reading that are rocking you or changing your prespective on ministry.