This week we start a worship experience for our Jr. and Sr. High students. I’ve been working with the group that will lead pretty much since I got here and they had been working together on and off for some time before that. I’ve been a part of church that had a huge passion and desire for people to experience God through a time of music and singing but I’ve never lead a group and been the main influencer and sometimes I’m at a lose for what to say and where to direct them. Tonight they had no energy and one girl said, “were trying to be serious”. What? When did energy lever and seriousness enter the same category when talking about youth worship? I encourage them and gave them some samples of great worship to learn from and see how others do it. I’m planning on taking them to see some other youth worship experiences in action to give them a taste of where we can go and I need to make a few phone calls and talk with some guys that have been there in the past. This is one area where I am glad to fall on my face and pick up and try again because I know the power of experiencing God for teens through worship and I also believe they can do. We only train up leaders when we help them and let them do it.

**This isn’t an actual photo of our group. I’ll post one of those later.

[tags]youth worship, worship experience[/tags]

Absolutely hilarious! Pass it around.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXth2coN92M 425 350]

J-Reezy Hotel Hotel

[tags]youth ministry conferences, j-reezy, hotel hotel[/tags]

Last night Dawn, the kids and I drove over to Ocala for an Andrew Peterson concert. We stashed the kids at Nana’s and headed for the concert. It was at Good Shepard Presbyterian Church, way in south Ocala tucked into horse country. The building was really cool. It was very modern but subtle elements of tradition church architecture. Very nice. We got their a little late and heard the end of the local band, The Well. They had a great sound, interesting lyrics and made great music. But we were there to see Andrew Peterson. I let myself be heavily influenced by music which make me very picky about what I listen to. I went to the same college and Andrew (he was a few years ahead) and meet him a few times while I was in high school when he traveled for the school. He’s a great guys with an amazing gift for song writing. I love to listen to his stuff and see what is on his mind and how it makes him feel, its great. He made a comment last night about some people are plastic smile Christians that think you always have to be happy and make music that reflects it and he nailed how I’ve been feeling lately on the head. It was a great concert. It was good to see him and he remembers me. It was a great evening with Dawn alone which we haven’t had in awhile. Make sure to check [Andrew] out if you don’t know his stuff yet.

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Click on it to see a bigger more readable size. Let me know what you think. Any thing I’m missing, got wrong, is it to much, could there be more?

I’m writing my message for this Sunday morning and decided that we need to start talking about the future of CCDS. We used a cool video about training fleas at Beachside that I want to use and I’m thinking of ending with the Chasing the Lion Manifesto. This is a cool time in my mind for CCDS. We have an opportunity for a breath of fresh air to come in a send us in a new direction and fan back in flame the fire that started when we first fell in love with Chirst. I feel a little odd because most of the time these ideas come from the lead guy not the youth minister. But its steam in my bones trying to get out and I have an opportunity to share what is on my heart that God is ready to use us to reach the lost, the hurting and people in our community through love and service. Just some thought that are running through my mind as I spend some time this morning in message preparation and time with God.

It’s kind of weird around here now that I’m the only one on staff at CCDS. It was sad to see Mark and Mari leave this ministry but when God calls you’d better go. I know that He has great opportunities for them up there and it benefits His kingdom. I also know the same is true for us here at CCDS. The future us wide open if we just have to see that work that God has for us to do and be willing even if it is different from what we are used to. I also know God is preparing someone for this the ministry to be accomplished here, we have begun to pray for him and his family and know God will send us the right man for the job. Please pray for our church and our elders as we begin this part of our journey though uncharted but we follow God where He leads.

I look around sometimes at the events that we see day in and day out and wonder where is the compassion. My 4 yr daughter picked out an Easter story for bed time last night and as my wife got to the point where Jesus is nailed to the cross she said that she began to cry. And then today when I got home for lunch they were watching Prince of Egypt and Moses’ was dreaming about how [Pharaoh tries to squash the Hebrew population and they cast all the male Hebrew children into the Nile][1] and she saw the hieroglyphics of the crocodiles in the Nile and the babies in the river she began to cry and ask why. We have worked on compassion with her but I really didn’t think that she would shows signs of it so soon. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for her and the heart of compassion.

Man did we have a great time this weekend at Florida Christian College. They hosted their 20th annual touch football tournament and 3 sessions of worship and teaching for Jr and Sr High students. Josh Finklea did an amazing job of convicting and challenging not only me but also the sponsors that went with us and our teenagers. I think I can say that Impact finally was able to accomplish at least for me a spiritual impact not just the physical. We played in the fun division, not because we needed to but it forced our team to have fun and not get heated competitively because we play for nothing but a good time, but we did end up winning 3 out of our 4 games. I was so impressed with our teams attitudes and all the time spent talking about going out onto the field with a Christ like attitude really must have sunk in. This was great weekend early on in my ministry here that I think is going to help develop relationships and trust with my group and sponsors. We had some great fun pulling a few pranks and I absolutely love (during appropriate times of course) that I can pull some of their legs with wit and sarcasm. Over all it was a great weekend. Its one of the great joys of ministry to be able to connect with the students about God and help them see that God is interested in every part of our lives even the simple touch football tournament that we played in this weekend.

[tags]youth ministry, florida christian college, josh finklea[/tags]

I am very much ashamed to say that today was the first time I have ever served in a food kitchen for those less fortunate. The program here in DeLand is called Feed the Hungry, a warm meal offered 5 nights a week to those less fortunate in our community. I left so overwhelmed and emotional. Listening to Rich Mullins on the way home almost brought me to tears. It felt so good to take food to there table, clean and help out where I could. I never imagined that it would feel like this. I am humbled to be used by God and it has made me begin to think about what can I change in my life to make sure that these people are on my mind and heart daily.

I’m and trying to work through and build a God-given vision for our youth ministry that revolves around others and not ourselves. I just hope that they will begin to feel burdened for those less fortunate than they are and not feel as this is a hand out but serving our most gracious Lord and being able to answer Him that we did feed Him when He was hungry and we did give Him a drink when He was thirsty and clothed Him when He was naked because we did for the less fortunate in our community.

[tags]social justice, poverty, youth ministry[/tags]

Its been so long since I have posted regularly that I’m having a hard time figuring out how to sounding same old, same old. I’m getting to know more people which is my utmost goal here starting this new ministry. Working hard to build relationships first and other aspects of ministry second. God is moving in the church as the preaching minister at our church has taken a ministry in Jacksonville so we are dealing with him leaving and me being new. I know God is preparing the man who will come and serve with us and can’t wait to see His plan for the future of CCDS. I’ve stepped into some new territory trying to guide our youth worship team. The hardest part is getting them to understand their role as lead worshipers and not anything else. I’m racking my brain daily to figure out how we can serve our community not only the youth ministry but also the church. I read an interesting line in a book and then heard someone say basically the some thing a few days later that has really stuck with me. Is your community being impacted by your church daily? I’m trying to flesh it out in my own life and working to impart that on our people. I’m struggling with old church ways that are ingrained on my thought patterns for evangelism verses knowing that they don’t work and cost way to much money. Sorry for the jumbled thoughts here this morning, that’s just about how they are floating around in my head and keeping me up at night.