Old

Today is the day. My 30th birthday. Wow. I can no longer be in my twenties. The kids in my youth group have been harassing me for a month now about this day. They have all declared that I am officially old now. I guess someone in their twenties is still just in the age bracket above them, so it isn't so bad. But thirties? Apparently that's ancient.

I went to bed feeling achy, woke up a little sore, went to the gym, and now I feel totally weak. It can't be because I turned 30 can it? At any rate 30 is a good number. It definitely feels a bit different than most birthdays. I've always been a goal-setter. Big achievements, accomplishments, etc. give me cause for reflection. I don't know that you would call turning 30 an accomplishment, but it's definitely a milestone. I am definitely feeling a bit reflective today. I am asking questions like what has shaped me this first 30 years? What did I do for the kingdom? Probably even more pressing a question is what now? I know that despite what teenagers say, 30 isn't old. But it is a pretty decent chunk of a normal life. So what will the next 30 years look like? Where will I be? What will I do for the kingdom? What kind of husband and father will I be? What kinds of joys and heartaches will I experience? How will I push myself to new limits, etc.? You know, Jesus didn't start his ministry until he was 30. So what new things does God have in store for me in ministry? I feel a restlessness stewing inside me. I think God is moving me toward a new stage of my life. Will some things stay the same? I hope so. Will some things change? I hope so.

I know that God's faithfulness to me in my life has been unbelievable. I feel like he has taken me through every stage of my life with a purpose in mind. Nothing has been wasted. Some of the things have been painful, and some of those things still linger. Other things have been incredible sources of blessing, and they continue to bless me every day. But all of it has shaped me. The man I am today is not the same man who turned 20. And I hope it won't be the same man who turns 40. But that is a long way away - and man that is OLD!

Read More

Recovering

So this week has been kind of crazy. Every October 31 is our church's "Harvest Festival". This year's event had more than 3,500 people attend which is I think our biggest attendance ever. Last year we had 2,400 so that's a pretty huge difference. Anyway, the student ministries department is responsible for planning, coordinating, and eventually pulling off everything it takes to make this event happen. It's a long day to say the least. This year was 8am to 11pm non-stop on my feet setting up the event. I'm thankful for all the people that came out to help us this year - we had more help this year than any year I can remember. All of our game booths were set up by lunch time, which allowed me to feel a little less stressed about the rest of the day. Clean up afterwards went just as smoothly with lots of people hanging out to help us out. We had an army of blowers going to clean up the parking lot from all of the trash and hay.

In preparation for this event I designed a new church brochure which would be handed out to everyone who came in the gates. I'm not a designer really, but I enjoy doing that kind of thing. We made it look like a CD booklet. It's fairly simple, with lots of pictures. I like the final product.

This Sunday starts a new service alternative that is happening on Sunday nights in our building. It's just for the month of November, but that means that our sometimes chaotic youth building has to be in better shape than normal because of the service. I'm playing a role in that, mostly because I know the room, the lighting, the sound system, the media, etc. But it also gives us a chance to try out some different things. Our new pastor is eager to start a different kind of service, as right now we are running just one service - and it's pretty tame. He wants to see us do something with a little more life and a different feel. So this month we are trying it. I hope it goes well. I think it's the kind of thing that could be really good for us as a church.

Read More

The YS Conference

This last weekend was the annual Youth Specialties C0nference, this year in San Diego. I've been going to the conference ever since I started youth ministry, so I guess this year's conference was the 8th one for me. Overall it's a great conference. I enjoy the general sessions (most of the time) and the seminars are good. The best part to me is simply being away with some of our volunteers and being able to just talk together, hang out, and deepen those relationships. The conference tends to repeat itself over the years. I found that the seminars this year weren't all that great for me. I was disappointed with the ones that I went to with a couple of exceptions. But the general sessions this year were great. Maybe the best ones we've had in years. I just found the worship times to be great, and the speakers were fantastic. Some of the highlights for me were :

• Gary Haugen with International Justice Mission - I loved his stories of freedom, and how his organization has rescued hundreds from slavery in India. He challenged us that the church should be concerned with Justice, and that it is one of Jesus' primary message to all of us.
• Doug Fields, Saddleback Church - His talk was great. He normally talks about youth worker stuff, how-to _____, etc. but this year he focused on a spiritual theme, which he called Ministry Envy. He talked about how most of the time when we put down other ministries it is because of envy. It was a real challenge to watch my tongue and to not allow envy to creep into my life.
• Francis Chan - the highlight of the week for me. This guy always blows me away. He told us of his fear for his daughters as they begin to grow up. He has come to realize that he can't do anything to make his kids fall in love with Jesus, and that ultimately it is only God who can draw people to himself. I know for me that was a powerful and much needed reminder. I've watched so many students walk away from God and it just kills me. I want to tell them just the right thing that will change them, and yet ultimately it isn't up to me. He called us to be so passionately in love with Jesus ourselves that we can say "Follow my example while I follow Christ." He called us to be people of prayer. He told us about how he had struggled this last year with the Bible and with his church. He realized that he wasn't teaching the whole bible, and wasn't really believing it and acting on what he read. He asked the question "If all I had was the Bible, and it's all I had read, would I come up with the current model of church?" Wow. He told us about how he went back to his church and asked the elders to change some things, including giving away 50% of everything they take in. He had me in tears as he talked about ministers needing to be people who are madly in love with Jesus. He ended by having his daughter come up on stage. She jumped into his arms and wrapped herself around him. He said that this needs to be the picture of us in our relationship with Jesus.

All in all, it was a good conference. I got to connect with some friends from other churches and other ministries, which was really good. I got some new books, a few freebies, and had a good time. Musically, David Crowder Band was amazing, and Phil Wickham was unbelievable. Next year's conference is back to Sacramento, where I once shared a floor with the Sacramento Kings basketball team. One of the players hit on my wife, but that's another story for another time...

Read More