• September was mine and Dana’s first month living on a written budget. We’re following Dave Ramsey’s financial plan to eliminate debt and save for a house. The budget thing was easier than I expected, although my blow money was gone within the first four days!
• Dana and I are registered for the National Youth Workers Convention in St. Louis. Anyone else going?
• We’re looking for new health insurance coverage for Dana. Not fun.
• Since moving to Minnesota, we’re enjoying the benefits of living close to my brothers and their families. We get together about twice a month now.
• Fall in Minnesota is such a beautiful time to go on bike rides.
• I’m only 3 referrals away from getting my FREE Xbox 360 Elite!
• I’m working on my own Facebook application. After a little more testing, it’ll be finished and I’ll release it to you guys.
• Doh! I’m teaching at our monthly city-wide youth meeting this Sunday and I haven’t started preparing yet. Okay, enough updates, gotta work…

I dunno what it is about Sundays, but they leave me totally wiped out on Mondays. Maybe it’s because Sundays keep me running around all day long. Maybe it’s the constant energy and adrenaline I maintain through Jr. High in the morning and Sr. High in the evening. Maybe it’s because I’m around a large number of people. Maybe it’s because I’m responsible for so much of what’s taking place. Maybe it’s because I don’t work out enough and need to get in better shape. Maybe it’s a combination of all those things, but regardless, I’m always plumb-tuckered-out on Mondays and seem to be lacking energy. It’s a great feeling, although I still wish I had more energy on Mondays.

Can I be honest for a second? (Of course I can, it’s my blog.) My church launches all our fall ministry programs this Sunday morning and I still don’t have everything lined up. It’s not because I’ve been lazy or slacking off, but because everything is moving and growing so fast. I started at this church last February with about 20 adult volunteers, but since I wanted to drop our adult/student ratio to about 1/5 in order to start jr. high small groups and be more intentional about building relationships, the existing volunteers and myself started hand-picking new volunteers that we thought might be a good fit. Well, we now have about 50 adult volunteers on our youth team, but due to growth, I still need to confirm 6 additional volunteers by this Sunday just to operate! Fortunately I’m in touch with a couple people who are thinking about making a commitment, so this may just all come together at the last minute, but still… And our church is completely out of space on both Sundays and Wednesdays. I even have some 9th graders meeting in the gym’s basketball closet. By January we definitely need to start meeting at different times, utilize homes more often or start using the hallways.

I guess it’s a good problem to have, but I’m totally confused about how we got to this point over just one summer. My church traditionally slows down their ministry programs during the summer, so I followed suit by having nothing more than two Bible studies at my house each week and a couple big trips. Most of our expansion is with the jr. high and I know several of them got fired up by hanging out at my house. Without any initiative, the jr. highers invited many friends to my house (some of them said it was the highlight of their summer!), but that doesn’t account for all the growth. Our youth ministry also made some pretty significant scheduling and programming changes based on months of dreaming a new vision, several volunteer trainings and solidifying as a team. We communicated well with each other, with parents, students and church staff, so it all seemed to flow pretty naturally as we progressed to this point. I know there also were several teams of incredible volunteers working diligently to overhaul programs, organize new ones, plan events and a secretary who took over many of my administrative tasks just so I can focus more on students. Having a new youth pastor in place naturally adds excitement and everything we do is based on prayer, asking for God’s wisdom and guidance.

So why all the growth? I don’t know. I’m not complaining, just perplexed, but maybe I shouldn’t be. We didn’t plan for this on purpose, we just wanted to be as effective as possible in all that we do in order to bring glory to God throughout all generations. I guess He’s honoring that and deems us as faithful stewards. What a tremendous responsibility; what an overwhelming privilege.

I read Ezekiel 33 this morning and was pretty convicted:

Once again a message came to me from the Lord: “Son of man, give your people this message: ‘When I bring an army against a country, the people of that land choose one of their own to be a watchman. When the watchman sees the enemy coming, he sounds the alarm to warn the people. Then if those who hear the alarm refuse to take action, it is their own fault if they die. They heard the alarm but ignored it, so the responsibility is theirs. If they had listened to the warning, they could have saved their lives. But if the watchman sees the enemy coming and doesn’t sound the alarm to warn the people, he is responsible for their captivity. They will die in their sins, but I will hold the watchman responsible for their deaths.’

“Now, son of man, I am making you a watchman for the people of Israel. Therefore, listen to what I say and warn them for me. If I announce that some wicked people are sure to die and you fail to tell them to change their ways, then they will die in their sins, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. But if you warn them to repent and they don’t repent, they will die in their sins, but you will have saved yourself.” Ezekiel 33:1-8 (NLT)

I’m surrounded by Christian subculture! I can probably count on one hand the number of unsaved people I regularly spend time with. That’s pathetic. This needs to change…

Last week I was reading from Ezra. Chapter 8, verse 22 made me chuckle because it sounds just like something I would do. It says this:

And there by the Ahava Canal, I gave orders for all of us to fast and humble ourselves before our God. We prayed that he would give us a safe journey and protect us, our children, and our goods as we traveled. For I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to accompany us and protect us from enemies along the way. After all, we had told the king, “Our God’s hand of protection is on all who worship him, but his fierce anger rages against those who abandon him.” So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and he heard our prayer. Ezra 8:21-23 (NLT)

I can just picture Ezra kicking himself and thinking, “Shoot! We told the king that God is in control and will protect us, but now we actually have to stake our lives on it.” To make matters worse, they had over 36 tons of gold and silver to transport with them (verses 26-27). Now, I’m no genius, but if I were a bandit it wouldn’t take me long to figure out that 36 tons of gold and silver is a pretty good loot. If I’m going to attack anyone, it’s them!

So Ezra orders everyone to fast and pray for God’s protection. The best part is verse 23: “…and he heard our prayer.” They don’t leave camp until verse 31, but they are confident that God heard their prayer and are ready to act on it. The result?

And the gracious hand of our God protected us and saved us from enemies and bandits along the way. So we arrived safely in Jerusalem, where we rested for three days. Ezra 8:31-32 (NLT)

Ezra took a astronomical risk. He risked the lives of many people and all the treasures for the temple, but even more important, he risked the reputation of his God. He laid it all down on the line. He told the king that God is in complete control and then was placed in a position where he had to prove it. Through prayer and fasting he put his actions where his mouth was and watched God prove His faithfulness in astronomical ways.

As a Bible teacher, I challenge the students in my youth group to do a lot of things. I tell them how God is in complete control, how powerful He is and that He is always faithful. But then in my own life I work hard to maintain control over everything I can. I don’t take some risks because the outcome is uncertain. Some risks seem so foolish I immediately dismiss them as illogical, but how illogical was it for Ezra to take off through the desert with all that gold and silver and no military protection? That seems pretty stupid to me, but God called them to go to Jerusalem and they went, no matter the cost, and God took care of all the details. I wish I had that kind of guts, the kind of faith that would cause me to fast and pray and follow in obedience even if it may cost me my life. I’d rather die following God than live in spiritual disobedience.

Maybe I don’t see the power of God at work in my life as much as I’d like because I don’t often give Him the opportunity to do so. In the words of Mark Batterson, “The problem with 100% guarantees is that it completely removes faith from the equation.” I desperately want to be like Ezra. I want my personal life and my ministry to both reflect Ezra’s guts and Ezra’s faith in God.

Yesterday I was reading through Ephesians with one of my youth workers and 1:19-20 and 3:20-21 really convicted me in a way it hasn’t before.

Ephesians 1:19-20
“I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.” (NLT)

Ephesians 3:20-21
“Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. May he be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages. Amen.” (NLT)

This mighty power, the same power that raised a dead man back to life, is for me. God is working in me and wants to accomplish infinitely more than I can ever hope for or imagine. Not so people will think how great I am, but so that he will be glorified through me and people’s eyes will be directed toward him because of it.

This really challenged my approach to ministry. Too often I place unfounded limits on what my service in youth ministry can accomplish for Christ. Common excuses relate to a lack of funding for different ideas, not enough man-power to execute the plan, or how uncomfortable/offensive it might feel for me or others involved. However, I think the biggest reason I don’t dream outside all boundaries is because I really don’t believe my dreams will actually fly. They’re too big, outside the limits of my resources. And if I try anyway, I’m afraid they might fail and erode my credibility. I’m afraid of the criticism that will come as a result. Plus, it’s just so much more comfortable to work within the human boundaries I set for myself. I like to talk a lot about vision and passion and I highly respect those who dream and run with their calling in life, but so far I’ve been too timid to do likewise. I’m really my own nemesis.

As I read through Mark Batterson’s book, “In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day,” a lot of my erroneous thinking process continues to be challenged in this area. It will be interesting to see how all this plays out as I transition to a new ministry in Minnesota over the next couple months.

I pray God gives me vision, passion and an unstoppable drive to “accomplish infinitely more than I could ever dare to ask or hope” so that he might be glorified through me.

The year 2006 was probably the craziest year of my life, full of major transitions that have been pretty emotionally taxing.

• December 2005: Dana and I started dating again after taking an 8-month break.
• January 2006: Dana starts student teaching and moves in with a family from church.
• April 2006: Dana and I are engaged.
• April 2006: The realization sinks in that I’m getting married and am no longer responsible for only myself.
• April 2006: Dana passes her ESL certification test.
• May 2006: Dana graduates from college and moves back home.
• May 2006: Churches start contacting me about youth ministry positions.
• June 2006: I direct the 7th-9th graders at church camp for a week.
• June 2006: I spend two weeks in the Ukraine right before the wedding.
• July 2006: I arrive home from the Ukraine to find out that my part-time IT job no longer exists.
• July 2006: Dana and I get married, become part of new families, and start learning how to live with each other.
• July 2006: As a married couple, we begin living with a totally different budget.
• August 2006: Dana’s search for a teaching position becomes pretty frustrating.
• August 2006: Dana starts a temp job.
• October 2006: Our pastor moves to a new church, which starts many ministry transitions in my current church.
• December 2006: I accept a new youth ministry position in Minnesota.
• February 2007: We move across the country to a new ministry.

I am so looking forward to settling down and hopefully enjoying some stability in 2007.

This Christmas my mom asked that my brothers, sisters and me write a list of affirmations about my dad for her to compile together for him in a book. Since “words of affirmation” are his primary love language, she thought this would be the best way for the family to communicate our love and appreciation for all he’s done for the family. How fitting to begin my blog for 2007 by expressing my thanks and gratitude to him publicly.

Thanks, Dad, for everything and your influence that has helped shape me into the person I am today!

• You’ve modeled servanthood to me.
• You’ve shown me what it means to be the spiritual leader of a family.
• You’ve demonstrated that church and God should always be our #1 priority.
• You’ve instilled positive spiritual experiences within me.
• You listen to our tough decisions and respond with wisdom.
• You set an example for humility.
• You’re dedicated to your family.
• You’ve shown me that serving others is more important than serving myself.
• You’ve challenged me to take every situation to God in prayer.
• You showed us respect by listening to us while disciplining.
• Your love and support for me is very evident in all that I do.
• Thanks for teaching us family values and investing into me personally.
• Thanks for modeling diligence and faithfulness in spite of difficulties and opposition.
• You’ve challenged me to pray about every decision, big and small.
• Your love and support is always evident.
• You taught me that scripture is dependable and is the foundation of life.
• You’re a great model of the necessary balance between ministry, family, relaxation and staying fit.
• Thanks for caring so much about our upbringing that you invested countless hours into home schooling us.
• Your continued quest for knowledge and understanding inspires me to do the same.
• You willingness to try new and sometimes uncomfortable things challenges me to do the same.
• I pray that one day I will be able to pass on to my children the abundance of spiritual knowledge and insight that you’ve passed on to me.
• Thanks for modeling a life that is devoted to God.
• Your constant availability to your young children shows how much you care for us in being a stable presence in our lives.
• Thanks for immediately changing your ministry responsibilities when I asked you to attend my wrestling matches.
• You helped me choose friends wisely and encouraged me to be the one to influence them.
• You taught me that the heart and romance are immensely valuable and should always be addressed with prayerful consideration.
• You demonstrated that your wife always comes before children and ministry.
• I figure if you can find time to exercise and stay in shape, then there’s no excuse why I can’t either.
• Through your example I’ve learned to be wise with the financial resources God’s provided, as small or large as they might be.
• While growing up I was greatly influenced by watching you trust God with little details.
• You’ve shown me that gifts from the Lord are always meant to be shared with others.

“Let no one despise you for your youth…” (1 Tim. 4:12a).

I am a young pastor (26 years old) and have found that my peers in ministry often throw this verse around in order to justify themselves when any type of criticism comes their way. Rather than heeding advice from those older and wiser, they let wise input bounce right off with this verse in mind. They think, “The church elders are just looking down on me because I’m young, but scripture says I shouldn’t let them despise me, so I’m right, they’re wrong.” This attitude is so dangerous and feeds arrogance like nothing else. As a young pastor, the balance to this passage is knowing the difference between legitimate criticism and illegitimate criticism, heeding what’s said with wisdom and respectfully disregarding what’s not.

Throughout college and seminary I noticed I was a little different than most of my classmates. Most of them would vigorously take notes, copying down word for word whatever the professor taught. If he put some bullet-points on a screen, its guaranteed that everyone would promptly replicate it in their notebooks, except me. For some reason my note-taking often looks like random thoughts scribbled in random blocks across the paper. If I want to connect two thoughts, I circle them both and draw a line between the two.

Likewise, in seminary we were given clay to play with as an example of the kinesthetic learner. As soon as the object lesson was over, everyone put the clay away and immediately took up pen and paper to start writing notes in a neat linear fashion. I, however, was the only one who continued to play with the clay throughout the entire class period. (The prof actually pointed me out at the end of class as a positive example, too. Apparently most seminarians aren’t kinesthetic.)

A couple weeks ago I posted a review on Shane Hipp’s book, The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture: How media shapes faith, the gospel, and church. In it he makes an interesting observation about the influence of the Internet and, having grown up with the Internet, I think he’s accurate.

A book presents an extensive, in-depth monologue or a thorough argument carefully crafted in linear, successive paragraphs and pages (left brain). In contrast the Internet presents a nonlinear web of interconnected pages and a vast mosaic of hyper links with absolutely no beginning, middle, or end (right brain). (page 132)

I’ve been playing on the Internet for most of my life. Maybe this non-linear influence is part of why I prefer magazines and blogs over books. It’s also why my notes are randomly spread out over a sheet of paper “linked” with lines. Looks like my thought-formulating process has been significantly impacted by the web. Kinda scary how technology unintentionally influences us.