Psalm 23

The other day, a friend of mine mentioned Psalm 23.  I've heard this Psalm hundreds of times but I don't think that I have ever REALLY studied it.  In today's post, I'll dissect it and take a closer look at it.  Maybe we'll see something new together.

"The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing."

No matter how bad things have gotten in my life, I have never been without a warm meal.  I have never been wondering how I'm going to keep warm or how I'm going to get clothes.  I have never been without a roof over my head.  I may have wanted a steak instead of Mac and Cheese or nicer clothes or a cooler house, but I have never been without a basic need.  I don't have much, but God has always taken care of me.  He has always provided for me.

"He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters"

I never thought about this line before, but it was really brought to my attention a few weeks ago.  When I am working in full-time ministry, I average 55-60 hours per week.  Ministry is not a 9-5 job Monday through Friday.  It's late nights.  It's weekends.  It's a week away from your family.  A friend of mine told me that my current "release" from ministry may be God's way of "making me lie down."  I never take time off for myself.  I never take time to rest.  I have really tried to rest these past few weeks.  To understand that God is in control.  It's not God's desire for me to be stressed out and burned out.

"He refreshes my soul."

Burned out.  That's what I have been these past 5+ years of ministry.  These last two weeks have given me time to rest in God.  They have given me a new perspective.  They have allowed me the opportunity to rest and relax.  I've played video games, watched TV and movies, cleaned the house, played music, had lunches with old friends.  I am truly being refreshed at this moment.

"He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake."

God has always provided wise council for me.  Family, friends and old professors have always been there for me to lend an ear or some advice.  God has used these people to help guide me through my life.  

"Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

I've been through some pretty dark times in my life, but I've gotten through them.  Bod has gotten me through much tougher times than this, that's how I know that he will provide.  In fact, I have already seen him provide in so many ways.  God's got my back and no matter what.  It's very comforting that the creator of the universe cares about you and will protect you.  It's pretty reassuring.

"You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies."

We all have people in our lives that want to see us fail.  we all have "enemies." But God will show them that no matter what rocks they throw at you, that He will be there to protect you.  No matter what the people of this world do to you, He will guard you against their desires to harm you.

"You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows."

When we are blessed by and trust in God, He will give us all that we need and more.  He will provide you with so many blessings that you won't know what to do.  It may not be a Lexus, but it may be a new car.  It may not be a mansion, but it may be a home.  It may not be a million bucks, but it may be the money that you need to get by.  God has always provided for me in miraculous ways.  

"Surely Your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever."

When you put your faith in God, life gets a little easier.  Don't get me wrong; it's not all "rainbows and unicorns," but you are able to rest in the assurance that God is in control.  Sure, I lost my job, but I'm not worried.  God will open doors for me.  God has a plan.  Sometimes things in life will hurt: a lost job, a loved one dies or is sick, etc.  I know that God is ruler of the world and that those experiences happen for a reason.  Sometimes they happen to make us stronger.  Sometimes they are to help us appreciate the things that we have.  But no matter what happens, God is in control.

A Sunday Off

My current situation has afforded me the much needed opportunity to visit other churches.  Needless to say, it has been refreshing.  No Bible studies to lead.  No music to lead.  No administrative or technical problems to fix.  It has just been my wife and I...simply worshipping.

I have asked Pastors at my previous few stops if I could take a week away every now and then to go visit other churches and see what they do on a Sunday morning in order to get ideas and see what other places are doing.  I have always been told, "Sure, great idea" but when it comes to practicality, I can never seem to get that Sunday free.  So I continue...spending 52 Sundays inside our church walls, never affording the opportunity to get new ideas to bring to our congregation.  So where does that leave us?  Most likely stuck in the same ruts that you have been for decades.

My wife and I usually vacation in Florida, and when we do, we take our Sunday mornings and head to Real Life Church in Clearmont, FL.  I take notes during the service: what songs they sing, what their stage looks like, what new events they have planned.  Even though I'm on vacation, I'm still "working."  Due to the fact that I haven't been able to see other congregations in action, I take advantage of the opportunities when I can.

Why don't more churches allow their staff members to do this?  It's a shame really.  The times that I have been able to get out and see other churches, I have come back with new songs by artists I haven't been exposed to yet.  I have gotten great ministry ideas on everything from Youth Ministry format to bulletin layout.  Some of the ideas that I have brought back have saved the churches money.  I am able to say, "Look at how these guys write their bulletins out.  We could do something like this and cut our printing costs in half!"

But no.  Time and time again, I see church leaders that are stuck in their same routines.  If they only were afforded the opportunity to see how others do ministry, they might not be spending so much time spinning their wheels.  I'm not saying that we should steal ideas, but we can borrow ideas that work.  Maybe think about ministry in a different way.  If we can get the chance, talk to other leaders.  See what they did that works and what they tried that didn't work.

You see a "Sunday Off" can be a good thing.  It can give your church leader a chance to refresh; to recharge their batteries.  But it can also do so much more.  It could provide the answer to an issue that your church is dealing with.  It can provide an opportunity to get new and creative ideas and bring them back to your congregation.  It can provide a spark to light the fire in the ministry that your church has been missing.  

A "Sunday Off"...what a novel idea,,,

Planning Ahead

Up until about 3 years ago, I was a "last minute" kind of guy.  I remember writing 30 page papers in college in two days.  I also took notes on the entire Old Testament in a weekend.  When I took New Testament, I vowed to not do that again.  That lasted about 3 days.  So, I only did 95% of the New Testament in one weekend.  When I got my first job at a church out of college, I tended to procrastinate.  I didn't have any deadlines.  I worked very last minute.  But then I discovered something, the joys of planning ahead.

Let me tell you, I wish I would have done it from the start.  It makes everything SO much easier.  I sat down with the other leaders over lunch and dinner and planned out a whole year of ministry.  We planned out sermon series.  We decided who would speak.  We plotted out main ideas.  We thought about possible videos.  Why?  Because it allows you to maximize your efforts in ministry.

It's the end of November, but I already know when I'm preaching in May and what the topic is.  It gives me time to be creative with multi-media.  It gives us the opportunity to be more creative.  I know when the "heavy message" weeks are so that I can be "extra light" on the weeks surrounding it.

I remember having 4-5 heavy weeks in a row and not even realize it.  Planning ahead can provide a road map for your ministry year.  In the past few years that we have been planning ahead, I have felt a huge burden come off of my shoulder.  You can provide room for flexibility, but when you are planned so far ahead, you almost take advantage of the fact that you have the road map of you ministry year.  When something comes up, in your life or others, you can feel secure that ministry will continue.

The best part, is that it takes the bulls eye off of you and puts it on everyone else.  I can't tell you how many times parents have come up to me saying that they "didn't know about an event."  When you pass out calendars 3,4,5, even 6 months in advance, they can't say that to you.  People can plan their vacations around the calendar.  You can schedule time off.  It takes the unwanted "mystery" out of scheduling.  No one asks if they are "playing in the band this week" on Wednesday.  They know months ahead of time.

There is one disadvantage (if you work with students) though.  Sometimes when you plan ahead, you get ahead of the school system and their schedule.  I remember one year, we planned a fall retreat 11 months before the date.  We put a deposit down and had a majority of it paid for 3 months before the retreat.  One month before the event, the school released their schedule and Homecoming was on the same weekend.  We stuck to our guns and still had the retreat.  Our position was that our calendar was out first, LONG before the school released theirs.  Parents were angry that I wouldn't move it, even though we would have lost thousands of dollars.  I was still catching heat for that years later.  But they had no argument, my event was first.  Even though they were mad, they knew deep down that I was right.  Planning that far ahead saved me a lot of grief in that situation.  It saved my butt.

I can't beg you enough: Plan Ahead!  No matter if you are in youth ministry, worship, pastoral leadership, a parent, a teacher, whoever...plan ahead!  It allows you to have the freedom to live and work in a creative and positive manner and frees you up to "be Jesus" to those around you without having to daily work through where you are in your ministry.  I can't recommend it enough!

The Juggling Act

I am a guy who pours himself into work.  When I worked for Gap, I wanted to be the best cashier there was.  I took pride in my work.  When I was asked to clean up a section, it looked spotless...or just like the book told me it would look.  I took customer service to a new level.  I was all about Gap.

As I have served in ministry full-time, I have done the same thing.  I would go above and beyond what was asked of me.  To fulfill my job description, I could have done a weekly Bible study from a book and one event every month and done "my part."  Instead, I spent 55-60 hours per week writing sermons, creating videos, writing curriculum for two Bible studies, held weekly open gyms, organized mission trips, held multiple events per month and spent countless hours mentoring students.  I poured myself into my job.

That was great...when I was single.  When I got married, that had to change.  My wife is a teacher.  She works during the day and is home at night.  As a Youth Pastor, I am home in the morning and am at work during the afternoon, most evenings and weekends...basically, we're like two ships passing in the night.

Now, we have a baby on the way.  How am I supposed to juggle this as well?

I have been blessed with a very understanding wife, but I know that it has been hard for her at times.  She even volunteers to help out in the Youth Ministry so that we can spend more time together.  But, overall, being in ministry is tough on a relationship.  Where most people work 9-5, my hours sometimes include lock-ins with 50 teenagers and being away for a week at a time on a mission trip.

"I want you to be free from the concerns of this life. An unmarried man can spend his time doing the Lord’s work and thinking how to please him. But a married man has to think about his earthly responsibilities and how to please his wife. His interests are divided." 1 Corinthians 7:32-34a

Paul makes a good point.  I do have two (soon three) very important "interests" in my life.  I may never find the perfect balance, but I know that if I continue to put God first in my life (God, not ministry), that he will help me find it.  And I know that if I am leaning more toward ministry and not my family, my wife will definitely put me in my place!

Encouragement

The other day, I received a phone call from from a friend.  Not a text, email or Facebook message, but an actual phone call.  I usually only get phone calls from my wife and my mom.  All of my guy friends tend to text me.  I think that's just a guy thing.  I even have a friend that won;t answer the phone when I call him, but he'll text me 2 seconds after I leave a voicemail.  I digress.

The friend who called me heard through the grape vine that I was going through some tough stuff and decided to call.  Throughout our 20 minute conversation, we caught up on life over the past few months since it had been a while since we last talked.  But the majority of the time, he was encouraging me.

As I think about it now, how often do we spend time encouraging each other?  Why do we only do it during a crisis situation?  I know that I am extremely guilty of this.  I miss those opportunities for genuine encouragement.  I miss the moment to tell a student that they "made a great point" in a conversation.  I miss the opportunity to tell a band member that they did a good job today.  I have really tried to be more encouraging, but it's hard.  Maybe it's just that I'm a guy.

When I was playing sports on a consistant basis many years ago, my coaches always told us to encourage our teammates.  "Good hit" or "Nice pitching" was easy to say.  But now as an adult, it sometimes feels weird.  When a member comes up to you and says, "Nice sermon this morning" I can't help but think..."This morning?  What about all of the other mornings?  Were they not as good as today?"  Why is that the first place I go?  Probably because I haven't received a ton of encouragement.

Now, now, now, don't think I'm begging for compliments...I'm not.  But I bet you, I'm not alone.  So often, I think that ministry workers lack the encouragement that we need.  A simple "Nice job" or even a smile goes a long way.

There was a member in my previous congregation that put a hand written letter in my mailbox one day.  All it said was, "Thank you so much for all that you do."  Wow.  I couldn't believe it.  I never felt more appreciated than I did at that moment.  That simple gesture gave me the fuel for the next few weeks.

"Kind words are like honey—sweet to the soul and healthy for the body." Psalm 16:24

When's the last time you encouraged someone?  Maybe it's a co-worker.  Maybe it's your spouse.  Maybe it's the volunteers in your church.  Whoever it may be, I hope that you take time to encourage them.  You never know how a simple gesture can change someones life.

Rockstar

A couple of months ago, a friend of mine called me up.  He was on the search committee at his church and they were looking for a new Youth Director.  He was calling to pick my brain on a few things: what should they be looking for, what should some "red flags" be, etc.  We started talking about some of his candidates and I was blown away by what one of them had said.

Shortly after the candidate arrived at the initial interview and exchanged pleasantries, He told the search team, "Look, before we get too far into this...I want you to know something...if you're looking for a 'Rockstar' to come in here and get the congregation riled up, I'm not your guy.  I'm really into mentoring students and giving them something that will last."  I told my friend that he should have hired this guy on the spot!

There are so many churches out there that don't "get" youth ministry.  For the majority, they feel like fun events and lock-ins are the way to get students excited about Jesus but that just gets kids excited about events.  So many churches feel like all they need to do is bring in a 20 something guy or girl to make Jesus look "cool."  That's not it either.  The churches that hire these "rockstars" might see numerical growth in their ministry, but odds are, they won't see too much spiritual growth (for more info on this, read my previous blog on "Real Growth").  If you're a church that's all about events, why not run a YMCA?

I have been accused more than once in my tenure as a church worker that I give kids "too much Jesus."  On average, I would have 2-3 Bible studies a week and spend a majority of my time getting prepared for a weekly service specifically designed for students.  We would still have fun things: a weekly open gym, semi-annual paintball trips, 2-3 "fun" events a month.  But I believe that the lasting spiritual growth is the most important aspect of ministry.

Small groups, Bible studies, weekly services; these are places where real life change happens.  These are the places where students see Jesus.  A lot of parents say that these kinds of elements are boring.  Sure.  They can be.  It depends on how they're structured.  And for some kids, you have to admit that they are not ready for something like that.  Spiritual growth can't be forced, unless God is the one doing the pushing. Let's face it, give a 13 year old boy the option to play video games or go to a Bible study, guess which one they'll choose?  Haha.  Guess which one I would choose?

No, Bible study isn't always the most exciting thing.  But neither are fruits and vegetables.  You need fruits and vegetables in your diet to keep you energized and your body well nourished.  If you only fill your body with candy, sure you'll get a quick rush, but in the end you'll get tired and have a stomach ache.  "Rockstar" Youth Pastors tend to give students more candy than fruits and vegetables.  They tend to give students the things that they want more then the things that they need.  They enjoy being "liked." They don't realize, the best thing you can do is give people what they need more of; and that's Jesus!

"We are the world...We are the children..."

About seven years ago, a friend of mine took me to a church that I just "HAD to see."  I've been in ministry for a long time.  It's hard to shock me.  I've seen it all.  But, he said he would buy dinner beforehand so I agreed (I'm not one to turn down a free meal!).

We drove up to the church just as everyone was arriving for the mid-week service.  It was a fairly new building.  The lawn was well kept.  Not too many trees around.  The building itself was pretty "boxy" and didn't have much character to it.  As we entered the foyer, it had even less character.  The two story high lobby had bare walls and were painted a boring color of light brown.  I was not impressed.

We entered the auditorium.  It was a large space that seated about 600.  More drab walls.  The seats were comfy, but seemed to match the color scheme of "boring" that seemed to be thematic of the structure.  I was not impressed.

The band began to play the contemporary top 40 worship songs that I've heard over and over again.  Nothing self written.  Average musician skills.  Ok singers.  The band could have been a mold from 85% of the churches in America.  I was not impressed.

The pastor got up and gave his message.  Right now, I couldn't tell you what he talked about.  It wasn't a life-changing sermon.  He was a decent speaker, but a far cry from Louie Gigglio or Francis Chan.  Yet, as I looked around, the room was packed.  I didn't know what my friend saw in the church.  I was not impressed.

After the service, we went back into the lobby.  He knows I'm a straight-shooter and still asked me, "So, what did you think."  I did what any teacher would do at a parent teacher conference: say the good stuff first.  I gave him a half-hearted, "Well, the music wasn't bad.  Nice message..."  "No," he said, "I didn't bring you here for a mundane answer.  What did you REALLY think."  "OK," I said.  I went on to tell him what I thought of the lobby that we were standing in.  Then gave my honest assessment of the music and message.  I told him that this place was PACKED for a mid-week service.  There had to be something special about this place.  I told him that overall, I was not impressed.

"Good," he said.  "Now let me take you downstairs."  What was downstairs?

As we started down the stairs, I heard the sound of kids screaming and laughing.  We continued walking down each step and the sound of kids got louder and louder.  When we turned the corner at the bottom of the steps, I finally saw the "draw" of this church: its children's ministry.

My jaw dropped as I saw an elaborate town specifically designed for kids.  The registration and check-in area was an old school train station depot.  There was even a steam engine slide that kids could use.  As we walked through the "town," I saw the main meeting room which was a theater, complete with a marquee sing out front.  I looked to my left and saw a pet shop with stuffed animal pets in the window.  I saw a Fire House and a bank and any other store that a small town could have.  These were not functional stores, these were classrooms.

Each classroom had a theme, and not just a theme but a full dedication to the idea.  A COMPLETE contrast to the drab colors and chairs I witnessed that was currently one floor above me.  I started to tear up a little bit.  I was speechless.  Here was a church that finally got the idea of Children's ministry!

Before that experience I never saw such dedication to children.  Since then, I have never seen a replication even close to it.  Why?  Here is a church that FINALLY figured out how to reach young families and no one wants to join in.  I'm not saying that you have to dedicate an entire floor or $1 million dollars to children's ministry, I'm just saying...show that you care!

I have seen it time and time again in churches.  Five minutes before Sunday School starts, parents arrive in the designated area with their children and the lights are off with no teachers in sight.  Teachers and volunteers that walk in at the exact time Sunday school starts.  Teachers still 5-10 minutes away from getting ready; some are still making copies when children walk into their classroom.  A half-hearted attempt at opening worship...if there's any opening at all.  Attitudes of volunteers that reflect to the kids that they don't want to be there.

Why is it that we put SO much effort into our annual week of Vacation Bible School (VBS), yet throughout the rest of the year, we "phone it in?"  I, more than most, understand the challenges of ministry.  There's not enough hours in the day to do the things we need or want to do.  But if you volunteer in children's ministry or any other ministry for that matter, let me challenge you with this: what would taking 15 minutes during the week do for your kids on Sunday morning?  What would you arriving 15 minutes before Sunday School starts say to the parents dropping their kids off?  What would happen if teachers were not talking with fellow volunteers before Sunday School starts, but engaged with parents?

We don't need to spend $1 million dollars creating a small town (but wouldn't it be cool if you could?).  Sometimes all it takes is 15 minutes to create a ministry that will change a child's life.  Sometimes all it takes is a 5 minute conversation to show a parent that their kid is valued in your ministry.  Sometimes all it takes is 15 minutes to be the difference between a "functioning" ministry and a "dynamic" ministry.

Thankfulness

It's Thanksgiving week and I'm sure that EVERY church in America talked about "Being Thankful." yesterday.  The church we went to was no exception, but It wasn't the typical message that I hear every year.

Yesterday, my wife and I went to our "home church."  For those of you that don't know the expression, it's the church you grew up in.  For those of us who are in ministry full time, our "home church" is the place we can always go to.  We're always welcome with open arms.  We get to see old friends.  We get the encouragement we need to get back out there into full time ministry.  

I have seen a few pastors come and go at Arlington Countryside, but Pastor Dave Corlew is the real deal.  He's never afraid to challenge his congregation.  Most members wouldn't like that on a Sunday morning, but he knows he's not there to give people "warm fuzzies;" he's there to give them Jesus.

Where most sermons yesterday probably focused on being thankful for the good things you have (health,  family, job, etc), Dave challenged the congregation on a deeper level.  

"And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Ephesians 5:20

Give thanks for EVERYTHING...good or bad.  Think about the apostle Paul.  The guy spent a good part of his ministry years in prison, but...that's where his ministry continues to this day.  The words that Paul wrote down during his myriad of prison terms make up a good chunk of our New Testament.  Essentially, his imprisonment provided an outlet for his best ministry.  Weird how God works sometimes.

These days, I have every reason to be mad at God and I don't think many people would blame me.  But I know God.  I know that he's got something up His sleeve.  Here's the way I look at it: If Paul can be thankful for being chained up in a damp dark prison, I can be thankful for being unemployed.  I do have SO much to be thankful for: An amazing wife, a heathy baby girl on the way, great family and friends, a roof over my head, heat, food, my health, and a place that serves bacon tacos down the street.  

Yeah, I'm thankful for all that stuff, but I'm also thankful for being unemployed.  It's given me the opportunity to write again; something that I lost a while back.  It's given me the opportunity to see and appreciate how truly amazing of a support system of friends and family that I have in place.  It has given me the opportunity to rest; something that I haven't given to myself in quite a while.

Psalm 23:2 says "He makes me lie down in green pastures..." 

Thanks God for "making" me lie down.  

Real Growth

These days, so many churches are run like major corporations.  We have big budgets, "performance incentives" for the staff members, and we judge success by the amount of people that attend our events.  I can think of all of the youth pastor events and conferences that I've gone to over the years.  Every person has the same answer to this question: "How is your ministry going?"  Their answer is always "Well, we have _____ number of students in our ministry..."  That's how we start a conversation!  Why do our numbers define us?

Let's do an analysis of a church leader: Self taught pastor that never attended seminary.  He had a small group of 3 leaders that he mentored and had 9 others job shadowing him.  His church fluxuated in numbers on a weekly basis.  Some weeks it would be a few hundred.  Other weeks, it would be 10,000.  The large amount of people would only come to hear him speak when he was offering free food and medical attention.  When he challenged the crowd spiritually, they would attempt to stone him.  He was betrayed by one of his "interns."  At the end of his ministry, he was surround by 2 people, one of them being his mother.

How would you grade this pastor?  Probably not very high.  But in the end, we look at this person as the "guru" of ministry.  Of course this profile was about Jesus.  But seriously, say you didn't know it was Jesus...would you want Him as your pastor?  Most of us would say, "Of course!  Why wouldn't we?"

But think about it.  How many times do we throw stones (not literally) at our pastors for a challenging message?  If they do something that WE don't agree with, we have them put on notice or try to get them fired.  We want our pastor to give us "warm fuzzies" and keep us happy.

Jesus never promised "warm fuzzies;" in fact, he promised the exact opposite.  He says in Matthew:

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.'” -Matthew 16:24-28

I don't know about you, but those verses don't give me any "warm fuzzies."  When people came to Jesus asking for free food and health care, this is what he would tell them.  He would say that the "Cost of Discipleship" is not easy.

So, I ask you, "What does REAL growth look like?"  Is it how many people attend church on a weekly basis?  Is it how many people read your blog or search your website?  OR should growth be judged on how each persons relationship is with Jesus?  Should real growth be judged by life change?  Jesus was never about numbers...so why are we so concerned with them?

Scars

We just completed a message series with our students about "Scars."  I've dealt with pain and sorrow my entire life...I mean, I am a Cubs fan!  There have always been internal scars that I have carried around with me.  They effect my relationships with others.  They make me more cautious than I should be at times.  That is what hurt and pain does to us.  It turns us into someone that is not ourselves.  The story that I'm about to share, I haven't told many people.  But, because of a healed scar, I think now's a good time.

I had a close friend that I worked with a number of years ago that hurt me pretty bad.  We worked side by side to build a successful ministry together.  After a year or two, we started growing a part.  He was making questionable personal decisions and ultimately made ministry decisions I didn't agree with.  One day, I came in to work with him and was told that he was kicking me out of "his" ministry.  He called all of the other volunteers, lied to all of them and made me out to be the bad guy.  He even called my girlfriend and lied to her, I know this because she put him on speaker phone while I was right there.

This guy was my friend.  We spent so much time together.  We partnered in ministry together.  I was hurt.  For years, I carried around that scar with me.  I didn't know if I would ever be able to work with someone that closely again...then I met Ben.

Over hotdogs and Italian beef sandwiches at Portillo's, Ben pitched a few ideas to me.  The ideas that he talked about (a service dedicated to students, collaborative ministry, etc) all sounded great, but they sounded like the ideas that I had been pitched by someone from my past.  But, Ben was different.  You could tell that everything that he said was drenched in prayer and that he was someone who was being led by the Spirit.  After I spent some time in prayer myself, I realized that it was time for that scar that was left to heal.

You see, Ben thought that he wanted to start a new ministry with me.  In reality, he helped heal a scar that had been there for years.  Because of his character, I can trust others again.  Because of his friendship, I don't even notice the scar that was left from before.  

You see, we all have scars.  They might be from friends or loved ones or even your enemies.  We just need to trust that God will heal us.  It might take some vulnerability on our part, but in the end, it might ultimately bring healing to our wounds.

Advertising vs. Evangelism

The more that I am involved in full-time ministry, the more I understand that Christians have trouble distinguishing between advertising and evangelism.  I witnessed the difference the other day when I was hanging out with a local pastor.

As we went into the local Caribou Coffee, he told me that he requires his staff members to be a part of the community.  Every pastor that I have ever met says the same thing, but this particular pastor lives that.  By the time that we arrived at the front counter to order our coffee, he had already ran into 3 people that he knew by name.  He also knew 2 of the barristers by name and they knew his.  The thing that caught my eye was what he did after we ordered.  He noticed that the cashier was new and introduced himself.  At that moment, this pastor made a new friend, Drew.

We then sat at that Caribou for the next few hours.  We talked about our hopes and dreams of ministry, our spiritual journey, and the daily challenges that we face in ministry.  During that time, we were interrupted countless times by people that he knew.  He knew each person by name, their story and their family.  Some were members of his church, others were people that he knew that worked at that Caribou or in the downtown area.  

As Drew was leaving for the day, he stopped by our table.  He asked, "Are you guys Christian?"  We laughed and said, "Yes.  Why do you ask?"  Drew then stated that he too was a Christian, but he never met anyone like us before.  No one usually exchanges names or talks with a cashier.  He stayed a few minutes and told us his story.  That was ministry.  That was evangelism.  After my meeting with this pastor, I realized that he "got it."  Evangelism is about relationships.  

So often, church "evangelism" takes place at places like a business expo.  We hand out pens, brochures, or candy as people walk by our booth.  They look at your church like another "business" when you're surrounded by a local bank and a plumbing company.  Once you put in your few hours at the expo, your "evangelism" is done for the year, you pack up your candy and you head back to the four walls of the church.

Today, I wonder what that pastor is doing.  I bet he went into that same Caribou to order his Mint Mocha and talk to Drew by name.  I bet they are building a relationship.  I bet that if and when Drew hits hard times in his life, he'll look for "that pastor who knows his name."  That's ministry.  That's what real evangelism looks like.

Why "Relentless Discipleship?"

I have been meaning to start a blog for a while.  But..you know...life happens...  One minute, you're planning your wedding; the next minute, you're painting the baby's room.  That's life.  It passes us by in an instant.  It seems like last week that I was throwing the softball around for the first time in 2011.  Now, it's almost time for our Annual Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl Football Game.

You see, no matter how busy we are, or how fast life passes us by, making time for God is important.  I'm not talking about going to church once a week or maybe even fitting in that weekly Bible study that you only go to when Big Bang Theory is showing reruns.  Do you daily make time for God?  I can honestly say that I don't.

I work in a church for a profession.  It's very easy for someone like me to count sermon prep or writing Bible study curriculum as "God Time."  But it's not.  I could spend 3 hours drenched in God's word, but forget to take those 10-15 minutes for myself; to take that time to rest in Him.

When blogger asked me "What do you want to name your blog?," I struggled with that.  I struggled with the name, but I knew exactly what I wanted to write about.  I want this blog to be an open forum.  Here, I'll talk about the trials and triumphs of being in ministry.  I'll bounce some ideas out into the world to see what comes back.  I'll talk about my short comings and successes as a leader, and have an open mic to tell about how God has brought me to where I am today.

I'm not perfect, nor will I ever be.  I'm just a guy trying to figure out what God wants me to do, and where He wants me to go.  And even though I'll fall flat on my face at times, I'll pursue God with a passion.  I'll be just that...A Relentless Disciple.