#1 – Procrastination!  (Remember, procrastination is assassination on the amazing future God has for you – James 1:22!)

#2 – You are allowing your past to identify you rather than Christ to identify you!  (See I Corinthians 6:9-11!)  You are not who you were…you are who you are in Christ (II Corinthians 5:17) and if you don’t let your past die then it won’t let you live.

#3 – You are more obsessed with what others think about you rather than what Christ thinks about you!  (See Colossians 3:2-3, Galatians 1:10)

#4 – You do not understand the fact that God’s Holy Spirit lives inside of you (Ephesians 1:13-14) and has gifted you and is calling you to do something greater than you could ever imagine (Ephesians 2:10, Ephesians 3:20)

#5 – You are afraid (see Isaiah 41:10) – and remember, no one who ever accomplished anything significant for Christ didn’t have to take a significant step of faith (Hebrews 11:6!)

#6 – You believe the lie from hell that says you are an accident when Scripture says that God custom designed you (Psalm 139:13-16) and that you were clearly created on purpose, with a purpose and for a purpose.

#7 – You are obsessed with things that have ZERO significance when it comes to eternity (I John 2:17).

I just got this book in a few days ago… I have not even started reading it yet. But, as I was looking around the web this morning I came across this Blog at www.rethinkingyouthministry.com  and a blog that was Posted by Brian Kirk. I’m even more intrested now to finish this book and write my thought on this subject….More on this in the coming days! 

#winning has not been a trending topic on twitter for a few weeks, Charlie Sheen is still alive somewhere, and no one has listened to a MGMT for at least a month. If ‘Kids’ is still your ringtone you better change it now. The current trends of today will be irrelevant tomorrow, the issue is, in the church, specifically youth ministry we get so caught up in current trends, only for those trends and our ministry to fade away as fast as they came.

Exhibit A: Skateboard ministry. We all have noticed skateboarding come and go, and come and go in our communities. It seems one day every kid skateboards and the next day no one skateboards. A skateboard ministry is born, free gear, stickers!, sodas, and skateparks trips. In weeks the skateboard ministry grows to over 30 kids, who all love skateboarding. What was the focus of the ministry? Skateboarding or showing kids the Gospel through skateboarding? How long does that ministry last? What happens to the students when that trend fades away?

The skateboard ministry peaked in a matter of months and slowly diminished along with the students (so we started a pokemon ministry).

Exhibit B: Napoleon Dynamite. I am guilty as charged. For a few months Napoleon Dynamite was the lead into our sunday morning program. Who can stop growth when you have The Postal Service blaring over the sound system with Napoleon Dynamite clips playing all over the walls because you have the best projectors ever. The students loved it, they brought friends, friends brought friends, and our group at the time went through a serious time of numerical growth. What was the focus of the ministry? Napoleon Dynamite or showing kids the Gospel through Napoleon Dynamite? How long does that ministry last? What happens to the students when that trend fades away?

Napoleon Dynamite was funny for a few weeks but then the students just wanted something else (How can you match Napoleon Dynamite?).

For some of you, I lost your attention when I used 2004’s church buzz word, ‘relevant.’ I hope the rest of you are still reading. The face of youth ministry is always changing but the core should remain regardless. We try so hard to stay current with the culture and times, that we almost completely forget about the gospel message. Short term growth can be found in current trends, but it is almost impossible to stay on that growth path, because just like trends our students are always changing as well. When we focus on the Gospel message, and bringing about a Christ-like community, the trends can come and go but the students will remain. Is your ministry based on current trends or on the Gospel message?

 Now I have been in Student ministry full-time for 11 years….I’ve seen some really great Ideas and some really bad ones! Here are a few videos I’ve found that really drive this point home. I’ll let you be the judge. Let me know what you think!

You Know this guy got fired!

Few of you have ever heard of Ron Wayne.
A lot of you have used the products that stem from his creation.
All of you need to know his story because it’s a warning to all of us.

Along with Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Ron Wayne cofounded Apple Computer Inc. on April Fools Day, 1976. Yes, there was a third founder of Apple. But few people know that because just twelve days after he signed the agreement he himself drafted that would have given him 10% ownership of the company, he sold back his shares. For $800. If he had stuck it out, today he would be worth around $22 billion.

Instead he now sells stamps out of his home. And plays penny slot machines after midnight. A poster child for what could have been.

Ron bailed on Jobs and Wozniak because he wasn’t sure about the future. Jobs spent a lot of money that Ron was going to have to pay the tab for initially. Wozniak was non-committal. And the prospect of starting a computer company just seemed too difficult and taxing.

Basically, Ron was afraid. Afraid that the payoff wasn’t going to be worth the work. So he quit. And missed out on billions.

Most of us are never going to really experience Ron Wayne’s story on the level at which he experienced it. Most of us are not going to be able to say that we missed out on being responsible for the birth of cool.

But I am afraid that many of us are going to sell out and accept an $800 payoff when we could have made billions. Not literally obviously. But I worry that instead of putting in the hard work and pushing through periods of uncertainty and difficulty, you’re going to take the easy way out and walk away. From your marriage that is struggling. From the calling you know you have received but is tougher than you thought it should be. From the risk you’re supposed to take.

That’s not to say that some people aren’t sometimes called to sell back their shares. The wife that is getting beat by her husband should not wait for a payoff down the road. Sometimes God calls you to a different ministry or career. To move to a new city. To play conservatively.

But more often than not, we sell out before the big payoff because we’re scared. Or we don’t want to do the hard work. Then we use God to justify a decision we have already made out of fear or apathy. And we never know what could have been down the road if we had kept persevering.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Your story is not destined to be a cautionary tale of what could have been. God would rather raise you up to be an example for others of what can be. Of the incredible marriage that is possible through God’s grace and power. Of what God can accomplish through people who stay true to their calling.

God has a much larger payoff for you than the one you’ll receive if you give up now. Persevere. Stick it out. Push through. When the payoff comes, it will be worth the work and the waiting.

An awesome Blog that I read daily.. Read this and couldn’t help but to think of the Church God has called and placed us at in SLC Utah…

#1 – They have leaders that lead!

“For God so loved the world that He did not send a committee!”  Not sure where I heard that…but its true!

#2 – A desperation for God’s power!

Prayer isn’t a good luck charm that is attached at the beginning or at the end of something…people are legitimately desperate for the power of God.  They pray Habakkuk 3:2 prayers every day and…

#3 – They believe that greater things are in store.

They don’t just pray big prayers…but they have a sense of anticipation that is contagious!  They don’t read Acts 2 and think “those were the good ‘ole days” but rather they think, “that’s where God STARTED this thing…we should be WAY ahead of this!!!”

#4 – They are full of ordinary people.

God always uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things.  Jesus didn’t choose one scribe or Pharisee when He launched the church…and Acts 4:13 talks about how He used ordinary people to absolutely turn the world upside down.  The staff LOVE the church…so much so that they would actually attend there even if they were not on staff!

#5 – They leverage technology.

They don’t view technology as of the devil but rather as a tool given by God to reach as many people as possible for Jesus.  (Btw…isn’t it funny that some churches are against the use of technology yet all of them rode to their church in a car and their church building has air conditioner?)

#6 – The church is full of passion.

People in the church actually LOVE the church and do not attend because they feel like they have to!  (The only reason people get angry with the fact that you love your church is probably because they have no idea what it is like to actually love their church!)

#7 – They take ownership of the great commission.

They REFUSE to be “keepers of the aquarium” and instead embrace the COMMAND of Jesus to reach the world for HIM!

#8 – There is a willingness to change and adapt, even when it means they have to go against the very “innovative” ideas that they themselves once established!

Anyone can change the traditions of the past…but true innovation occurs when we’re willing to change the ideas that we once thought were innovative and ground breaking!

#9 – Generosity is embraced.

The world has never been impacted in a positive way by people that were greedy.

#10 – The people in the church are OWNERS, not merely “members.”

Members have rights, owners have responsibilities.  The people in these churches understand that it is not the pastors job to minister to the people but rather the bodies job to minister to the body!  And as a result people serve Jesus by serving others instead of sitting on their “blessed assurance” and expecting to be waited on hand and foot. Respect for tradition, Desperation for God’s power. Use of technology. Passion filled leaders. Belief that greater things are in store. Ownership of the church – staff would actually attend if they were not on staff.

I’m sitting here in Paris TX at my wife grand parents house, at 1:00 a.m. and it hit me like a truck full of bricks…God has brought me so far! I never thought I would have the life I have right now…A wife as awesome as Kym, a son as amazing as Kaden. I mean God is so good to me. Sure this past 6 months have been six of the hardest months of my life…But we have grown so close as a family, I would not trade this trial for anything.  I’ve learned that every test turns into a testamony.   

  Verse 2
There’s so much about You
I might have never known
But I have faced the wind and waves
And I see how faith has grown  

Chorus 1
If not for the storm
I couldn’t say that You’re my shelter
If not for the storm
I would have never known Your strength
I found You so faithful
Through all that You allowed
If not for the storm
There’s no way I’d know You
As I know You now   

“The days of the years of our lives are few, and swifter than a weaver’s shuttle.  Life is a short and fevered rehearsal for a concert we cannot stay to give.  Just when we appear to have attained some proficiency we are forced to lay our instruments down.  There is simply not time enough to think, to become, to perform what the constitution of our natures indicates we are capable of…How completely satisfying to turn from our limitations to a God who has none.  Eternal years lie in His heart.  For Him time does not pass, it remains; and those who are in Christ share with Him all the riches of limitless time and endless years.”

A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy. Quoted by Kenneth Boa, Conformed to His Image. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001), 62.

1. I want to say I LOVE MY WIFE! she is the most amazing person on the face of this earth!

2. Being a dad is amazing!

3. To all the young people from Oneighty…I love yall. Keep your eyes on Jesus. He will never LEAVE you or FORSAKE you..and that you can count on. He is the same today as He was yeaterday and He will be tomorrow….Just remember, NOTHING ever surprizes God He know’s what you are going through!

4. It’s been a crazy week, lot’s of ups and downs…So Kym and I decied to head here to Texas just to “get away”. In the bible on thing I’ve read over and over agian is REST> Jesus tells us to Rest. So that’s what we are planning on doing resting!

5. Another thing I discoverd lastnight and today, Taking a trip with a newborn is AMAZING!

a.  you stop A LOT!

b.  ”dad” get’s to sleep more often due to all the “stoping”

c.  a 10 hour trip turns into a 15 1/2 hour trip.

But so thankful to God for getting us here safe in the midst of horrible weather!

6. I also want to thank God for all the people this week that have blessed us with money, times are a little hard right now, but GOD IS FAITHFUL! in 4 days we recived over $1075.00 from diffrent people, and a check writen out for us to “GO TO TEXAS” so thank you for blessing us with your gift!

7. I’m also overwhelmes by all the pastor that have called over the past 4 days asking me to come preach @ thier church….WOW WOW WOW>!

8. And now a few videos of a couple of songs that have been on my mind here the past few days!

High upon the mountian the sun is shining bright
My heart is filled with gladness
here above the cares of life
but ive just come through the valley of trouble fear and pain
it was there i came to know my God
enought to stand and say…

Even in the valley God is good
even in the valley he is faithful and true
he carries his children through
like he said he would
even in the valley God is good

This road of life has lead you
to a valley of defeat
you wonder if the father
has heard your desperate plea
there is hope in that rugged place
where tears of sorrow dwell
cant you hear him gently whispering
im here and all is well

even in the valley God is good
even in the valley he is faithful and true
he carries his children through
like he siad he would
even in the valley God is good

Even in the valley God is good
even in the valley he is faithful and true
he carries his children through
like he said he would
even in the valley God is so good
God is so good
he carries his children through like he said he would even in the valley God is good

To me being like this is more of an inconvenience than anything else. Just in case you didn’t know–I only have one speed–WIDE OPEN! I know, I know, some people say I need to do something about that, and I will…one day.

I used to let being a little under the weather get me down. I would have the idea that because things were not perfect in my life then I had a right to be depressed…and not only that, but to try to depress everyone around me as well.

Have you ever felt like that? (Sure you have–you’re human right?) We want things to be great in our lives, and I am not being critical of that desire–it’s natural. However, a serious problem occurs when we begin to expect daily perfection…and when that expectation is not met then we develop this thing called an ATTITUDE…and we become, well…jerks…and jerks are no fun to be around.

I remember being like this for the longest time…and then one day reading in Philippians 2:5-11 that my attitude should be like Jesus’. As I continued to read in that passage I was reminded of how mistreated He was…yet His attitude did not change. When the repentant thief called out to Him on the cross He didn’t reply, “Hey buddy, you’ve got your problems…I’ve got mine, so quit your whining!” Nope…He had an incredible attitude.

We live in an imperfect world–and we as followers of Christ can’t let that get the best of us. Face the fact–people are going to drive slowly in the fast lane, people will carry 15 items in the 10 items or less lane, your cell phone will drop calls (I can hear all of you moaning right now!) However, none of these things are reasons for us to lose our cool, begin to scream, cuss, throw things…and possibly damage our reputation with those outside of the kingdom.

We must strive to have incredible attitudes. It amazes me when people say, “Well, I guess I just got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning.” The fact is that you bed has nothing to do with the fact that you are acting like a rear end…it’s YOUR attitude…YOU chose it…and YOU could choose an alternate one…one like Jesus.

My prayer for today, and for my study time this afternoon…and for when tonight the most awesome woman in the world comes home is that I will have an awesome attitude, one that reflects Christ–even though I do not feel well.

How about you–how’s your attitude?