I have not blogged in some time…..I feel like there has been so much that has taken place over the last weeks or months that I don’t know where to start! I find myself this time of year trying to reflect on the last 11 months wondering, thinking, dissecting to see if I could have done better, made less mistakes or in some way made more of impact on those around me. I answer my own question with a resounding YES! I preach, teach, and do what I say is my very best to model what authentic Christianity is and yet I know way down that I could have given more, prayer more, acted more…….Christ like. I think if we all took a moment to reflect on the past year that we would all say the same thing, at least I hope that I’m not alone!
This year has been, well its been tough. I know that those who read this probably feel the same way, but it is in these times that I learn what I am really made of…..and the reality is that I am a man. A man formed in the image of one who is in a word magnificent! My mom used to tell my that I had a lot of what it takes to get along. I have come to the place where I am aware that in all actuality I have a lot less than what it takes to get along, but there is one who is in a word magnificent!
I had a friend that some time ago he said ” at Christmas time I turn into an 8 year old kid.” I have used this over the years to describe how much I love any holiday involving presents, especially when they were for me, but this year I am incredibly grateful to have been able to buy presents for my boys who like their father love opening presents.
When the Bible says that he who finds a wife finds a good thing, I think that I have the best! I have two sons who love me and a group of students who are hungry for more of God. My prayer as this year ends is that my wife would see in me the man of God that I so desperately want to be, that my boys would know that I love them more than any words could possibly express, and that the students at Thrive would know beyond a shadow of doubt that they have captured the heart of this youth pastor and that the best is just ahead of us!
Merry Christmas to all.
Category: youth ministry
I was doing a little studying today after our staff meeting (which is not something I usually get to do) and was reading in Ezekiel chapter 33. This chapter in my opinion is a job description for each person who considers them self a follower of Christ. This is what I mean:
“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for [a] his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself.
There is a clear charge to each believer that says you are to open your mouth and speak. I understand what Saint Francis was saying to preach the Gospel and if necessary use words, but it seems to be a little contradictory to God’s Word. Still not convinced that you need to open your mouth, let me bring another scripture to attention. Romans 10:14; How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Not sure about you, but I want my feet to be beautiful. I want to tell the world about Him. I have been so blessed to have spent the last year of my life with an amazing group of young people. They have taught me more than they will ever know. My hope and prayer is that each one of them walks in the fullness of what God has for their lives. That they would never forget to open their mouths and tell people about Him, and that they would love with such a passion that all men would know that they are His. To the youth at Thrive you are amazing and Your Youth Pastor believe in you big time and love you. Go after Him today and everyday after this one. much love! PB
I have been thinking a great deal about grace. Have you ever though about it? “Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.” Their was this, if you will great transaction that took place on the cross where this Jesus, who knew no sin BECAME sin for us 2 Corinthians 5:13-21. Did you here that He became sin. It’s not like He just passed by our sin and forgave us, He became our sin! “Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.”
Grace as been used to excuse poor behavior, when it was intended to set us free. Grace is uncomprehending much like the love of God. the same God who cast the stars in the sky, separated dry land from the sea, is the same God who came to earth to display this grace that we all would be hopelessly lost without. “Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.” Take a moment to think about grace and what it cost.
I have been thinking a lot about one’s potential lately. I would gather that people who believe in God would say that He is a creative being. If we say we believe in God, I would argue that we would have to believe in the Bible. Seems really simple i know, but you would be surprised at how many people say they believe in God, but don’t believe the Bible is His infallible Word.
My point is this Scripture says that we are made in the image and likeness of God, and that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. If we hold these things to be true then our potential is only limited to the limitations we place on ourselves through our unbelief or sinful lifestyle. We have the creator of the heavens and the earth living on the inside of us. WOW!!! That is incredible to think about. I mentioned in a previous post how our creativity is tied to our spirituality, and this has everything to do with our potential. When we allow ourselves to first and foremost dream, and secondly allow the Holy Spirit to breath upon our dreams God places His anointing on our potential and creativity is the result.
The question I would pose today is are you living up to your potential, and if not what is holding you back? Potential lies in between what is, and what is not. Today as you set out, grab hold of your potential and let nothing keep you from creating life you have dreamed about. Your dreams are not going to come true with you just sitting back and saying “well if God wants it to happen, it will happen.” He wants you to dream and create, because He Himself is a dreamer.
My wife and I have been here in Florence now for just over five months now. This post comes on the heels of what may prove to be the most important night in our youth ministry. Last night we met with our discipleship group, and it was at time of healing for many. For those of you who don’t know the youth a this church have been through it. the average Youth Pastor stays in one location for 12 to 18 months, and this church has not been the exception. Not only have the students had Youth Pastor after Youth Pastor, according to many they never been challenged or pushed to Chase Him. I am not the average Youth Pastor, and I am here to challenge the norm. I will not be satisfied for the ordinary, as a matter of fact it was that prayer that landed us this opportunity in the first place. Lauren and I would not settle for the ordinary, we wanted the extraordinary! That is what we got. The students here are amazing and are ready to Chase Him.
Healing takes place in His presence. There may have been Youth Pastors that we here before me that were and are more talented, but as John Maxwell says, talent is never enough. My goal is to be a carrier. I want to carry His presence where ever I go. In His presence there is the fullness of joy. I like to stop and think about the fact that in His presence there is fullness. Whatever we have need of can be found in Him. Last night our students let go and moved into a place of healing. It’s out of healing that God will bring to pass the things that have been spoken over this church and this Youth Ministry. It has little to do with Lauren and I if anything. We just get to play a part.
To the power school students, I came to lead a group of revolutionaries, and that is what you are. I challenge you to not settle for the ordinary. I challenge you to stand against the wind. Jesus changed the world with 12 and oddly enough there are 12 in our group….let’s chase Him and change our city. You are all revolutionaries!
I just got done reading one of my students blogs and it was really well written. I thought that I would for the sake of love write on this topic as well. We are often mislead about love. We have good reason for that. All the movies that we watch, the magazines on the stands in the stores and even the interaction in daily life gives us a false image, or misrepresentation of what love really is. I think about movies…a lot, and there are some that come to mind that display a better picture of what love is. the first and really a rather obscure movie is Mr. Hollands Opus a movie about a man who had a dream to be a professional musician and great conductor and writer of music, but instead finds himself working as a high school music teacher. It was just supposed to be a “temporary” job. He ends up staying at the school and becoming a force of change in his students life. At the end his students from years past and present perform a symphony that he had wrote. Love first and foremost bears much fruit. It is a force to be reckoned with. There is no stopping love. we can build barriers and put up walls, but love never fails.
The second movie, one more recognizable is Braveheart. A movie about love from start to finish. William Wallace was a man who was deeply passionate and was willing to lay down his life for that love. He fought to avenge the murder of his love, but more than that he fought for Scotland! A land which he loved until he died with the final words not just whispered, but shouted at the top of his lungs…”Freedom.’ The second things is love will always set us free! This doesn’t always mean we’ll be happy, but we will be free.
Our lives are surrounded by people who have no idea what or more accurately who love is. I have a friend who some years ago wrote a poem called Love hung on a tree. This statement couldn’t be more true. Love hung on a tree, died a death that was meant for us. He paid a debt he didn’t owe, and we owed a debt that we couldn’t pay with a thousand lifetimes. I am humbled, as should you be that He loves us that much. Love is more than just words…..it’s action. He acted on His love and sent His son to die a selfless, obedient, but glorious death, and because of that we are part of the fruit of that love. I want to love like that. to my students at Thrive that read this, know today that PL and I pray for you often and think that you are amazing and you made the move worth it! we LOVE you guys!
Have you ever pondered the idea that we are creative beings? We were created by the ultimate Creator, but he doesn’t expect us to all be the same. Nor does He want us to be robots who are made to mind their master. He wants us to want to mind Him. We can see that we are made to create from a couple of passages of scripture. The one I would like to focus on is found in Matthew 25:14-30. We find here a man who goes on a long journey and leaves some money with three servants. Five bags of gold with one, two bags with another and one bag with a third. He gives them responsibility over them; he entrusts these bags to them. We notice the master didn’t given them specific instructions on what to do with money, only to be responsible.
We see that all but the servant with the least amount of responsibility was both willing to take the risk and attempt to make his master more money and He was undoubtedly creative in doing so. The servant who did nothing, but bury his masters money say back and did nothing. the one with the mos to lose risk much more than the others and was richly rewarded, although not looked at with any greater joy or love from the master.
Creativity is a natural result of spirituality. The closer we get to The Creator the more creative we become. The master was not looking to see who out of the three servant won, he was looking to see which of them lived! When we are alive to Christ, then we will walk in a creativity that this world has not seen. Creativity isn’t a luxury of artist, but a calling of humanity. In my office at work I have a TV which my boys occasionally watch movies on. the one they have been watching lately is Wall-E. There is a line in the movie where the captain of the Axiom says ” I don’t want to survive, I want to live.” Isn’t that the cry of our hearts? I want to know what it is to truly live. Today as we set out on whatever lies ahead for us, lets create the life we have always dreamed of. Like the servants in the parable, let us go an create that our Master might say “enter into the my joy, be my partner.” Go and create!
I felt impressed to open our church for 6 am prayer. To my knowledge this is a church that has not typically had an early morning prayer time. I would consider myself a morning person, and by morning I mean after the sun is up! Of this I am certain, if you want more of God you will need to pray. I know its not rocket science stuff that I am putting out there, but nonetheless we must pray. I remember reading something that Rich Wilkerson’s dad told him; “Rich, God will make a way for a praying man.” We don’t have to be the most talented, or the most gifted, just willing and obedient. Psalm 63:1-3 says O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life. The word earnestly literally means early. I want to give God the first fruits of my day, I want to give my best. God will take the His super and apply it to our natural when we press into Him. We are turning the corner on a 21 day fast, and I have an expectancy in my spirit about what it is that God will do here in Florence. I believe that what we as a church are about to step into is going to be amazing and I am thankful that I get to be apart of what God wants to do. I forgot to state that when I opened the church up it was to the youth group and youth leaders. When you can get teenagers out of bed at 5:30 or earlier in the morning to come and seek God and pray then God will show up and kiss that with His presence. Let’s go after Him today!
We had a great youth service last night. We were for sure feeling the holiday crunch with our service being cut by about a half hour, but it was an amazing time together. It was specifically special for me because my former youth pastor spoke. It just so happens that he is now my father-in-law, but he was and still is one of my mentors and spiritual fathers.
I had a sense of how awesome God really is and how much He really loves us. See my father-in-law is now getting to reap the benefits of all the hours he spent praying for his students as he now has had the opportunity to minister in one of their youth groups, I am looking forward to having that some honor one day as I pour into the students here in Florence. I think about some of the students here and look into their eyes as the press into God knowing full well what lays ahead for some of them……Full time ministry. I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would actually end up in this place, but now that I am here I can think of nothing more rewarding. For those students who have left Faith because of hurts or disappointments, my prayer for you is that you would find God faithful and understand that He is always there and He will never disappointment you. For those of you who are in Florida, I haven’t forgotten you and think of you often. Stay close to God and Never forget that you are the apple of His eye.
Lastly I guess that I want to come right out and say that there has been students that have come and checked out what is now going on here at Faith over the past couple of months and not stayed or come and gone. Maybe you go to another church, maybe you used to come to Faith and for whatever reason have left. I want to take this opportunity to remind you of a portion scripture in the book of John chapter 10:11-18. Jesus refers to Himself as the “Good Shepherd,” a story that we are very familiar with. I want you to know that as the Youth Pastor here at Faith, I am in the role of a shepherd and all that it implies. I am not a hireling. I cannot be bought. If the church paid me more I wouldn’t lay my life down more and likewise if they paid me less I wouldn’t lay my life down less. Pastor Lauren and myself are here to see all of you reach your fullest potential in Christ and just to be here for you. I also don’t want you to think that I am just writing this to grow a youth ministry. I am not moved by numbers and have no intentions of getting into any type of mud slinging contest with other ministries. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for His sheep. Do you have a Shepherd that is willing to lay his life down for YOU!
