Trying blogging out

I’m making a commitment to blog more regularly. So I’m giving up some video game time to do it. There are just so many things I would like to go on and on about but I’m just not all that good at getting my thoughts articulated into print. So in many respects this is about me practicing a discipline and not about the content in it. Well, let’s start simple. Maybe something I spend a lot of time thinking about, like the church. Yep, sounds good I’ll start with that.
The Church, what is it? I think the Bible is pretty clear that it is a group of people deepening their understanding of God through Jesus Christ, bringing the Kingdom of God to earth, and offering this way of life to others. Community, Lordship, Obedience, Discipleship (thought about using evangelism here but that seems too superficial and doesn’t connote the depth we need to reach with those who haven’t yet chosen Jesus’ way).
There is a lot more I want to say on the church like how is it different from today’s church that we see in the culture. How different it should be than anything in western civilization. I mean come on… Jesus would never have said… “Greed is good”, which is what the free market lives by. I can’t wait to think more on this and try and distil my thoughts into something I can quickly right down. Well, just like working out or any other discipline I don’t want to wear myself out on the first day. Kool.

RISE Spring/Sumer stuff 2010

Hey, wanted to let you guys know about some of the things coming up and a few plans for the summer. RISE continues to grow in numbers, depth of faith, and discovering purpose. While most youth groups seem to have the most students when they do big events we have the most students at our regular meetings on Wednesday nights. So we could always use help on Wednesday nights. If you can’t be there consistently… don’t worry about it. Just get the Jesus in you around the students so they can become more familiar with Him and you.

March 26 is Ignition at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion. It is a fantastic event to turn kids on to Christian music so they know they can have alternatives to the pop music that is around them. Switchfoot is the big name that is going to be there. You can go to www.indwes.edu/studentministries to get more info it you would like. The group will leave about 6pm and return about 11:30. Tickets are $10 but if you volunteer RISE can help out with that for you. This outing is limited to 12 students with two adult chaperones at least.

April 10^th to 11^th will be our annual Lockin at Courtland Friends Church. This year the WYM Youth Cabinet Road Show will be at Courtland for the Sunday morning worship service. This is one of those events in which volunteers just coming for a short amount of time can help me get a bit of a nap. Generally if you don’t mind getting up a little early on Sunday morning this helps with a nap for me! But if you have anytime to give that would be great. The students will be locked in for the evening. It will begin with dinner and organized games. As the night goes on games become less organized and eventually deteriorate into playing around on your own, movies, or falling asleep.

May 7 and 8 will be Never Too Young again this year. This is an overnight trip to Indiana Wesleyan University. Everything is planned out by IWU we just need to keep the kids from getting lost and make sure they go to bed… eventually or whenever you want them to. Beds are available… just tell the kids you are old and need a mattress and when they are as old as you they can boss kids around and get the mattresses too. Works for me. J

This summer we have paintball on the agenda and so far I have a wonderful person that has made one boat available for tubing or skiing this summer. We will probably do so fishing as well. We also have three of our own canoes that we will try and get out a little earlier this summer. We will be looking to attend World Pulse Fest this summer as well so if you like concerts you might Google that. At this point it looks like we will be able to have some kind of paid high school intern for a year beginning with the next school year but finances are tight all over so we will see. There is a good chance we will scale back the regular meetings of RISE this summer but I do not know to what extent. We have never taken the summer off but the number of students that we are serving has never been higher and it may be a good time to plan and prepare for the next school year.

Our calendar can be found by clicking RISE at the www.iminister.us page and calendar is on the right.

If you are interested in any of these opportunities let me know and please, please, please keep RISE and the students whose lives need to be changed by Jesus in your prayers. God’s doin’ somethin’ that’s for sure.

Raw notes from Frequency at Indiana Wesleyan University - IWU

Well I noticed that the blog could not handle Word formatting so you are on your own to read this. If the word looks weird it is probably a website. Again these are the raw notes it you have any questions please email me. Thanks!

Frequency 2009

Session One
• We can be the voice of God speaking into others lives
• Describe youth workers in one word as discouraged juxtaposed with carrying the gospel forward

Ephesians 2:8-9 - by grace through faith

Strippers playing worship music behind the stage through one makeup artist and one stripper saved by grace

Grace of God is so magnificent
• We are the conduit

We are part of the church
• Till Gutenberg printing press people heard word of God in groups
• Being a Christian unthinkable without church community

Morning questions
• Rootworks study series
• Callingpost.org
• Stuff Jesus said
• Students are under challenged

Public.me.com/cfstudentresources

Small groups
• Trainings for group leaders
• Study word, accountability, community
• Build both unity acceptance

• Sermonspice
• Mpegstreamclip
• Istockphoto
• Programs, outgoing stuff,
• Layers of photoshop and after effects
• Train kids to edit information
• Telling stories always use made design
• ModelAsistWatchLeave adobe
• Propresenter

• Peacemaker Sande
• Institute check in
• Churchmetrix.com
• Sysco food company
• Student leadership university book by Strack

 
Morning commissioning service - dr. lo
Note here that notes were given as a table with two columns – column 1 is numbered / column 2 is lettered and italicized – columns are titled by 1 and a
1. Our focus should not just be
a. But...
2. Externals 1 Sam 16
a. Internals
3. Sin rev 3:4
a. Spotlessness
4. Point in time phil 3:9
a. Process discipleship
5. Not number one
a. Others outside
6. Not just fun
a. Faith
7. Stories
a. Scripture Biblically illiterate
8. Methods
a. Message
9. Milk heb 8
a. Meat
10. Comforts sheep among wolves
a. Commission
11. Self interest
a. Sacrificial investment
12. Human might psa 77
a. Gods miracles
13. Human adulation
a. His applause God pleased
14. Head
a. Heart passionate
15. Programs
a. Prayer
16. Competition
a. Community
17. You
a. Ultimate one God Christ is the main speaker

Western Yearly Meeting Pastor's Retreat: Discernment Conference

I wanted to share a little about the pastor's retreat I went on this weekend. The focus of the retreat were two training sessions one on discernment and the other on a product called Financial Peace University.

Briefly on Financial Peace University. It is an excellent program to help you learn to pay down debt and slowly but consistently grow wealth. Allison and I went through it before we were married and it has colored the way we think about our finances. One day we will yell "I'm debt free!"

Also I want to highlight the most important reminder I received on discernment - Everyone on the committee must be focused on being in the middle of God's will.

I want to spend some time on a overly stretched metaphor used in regard to discernment. I appreciated the speaker's presentation and thought it was a lot of useful information but it left me wondering if we have dumbed down our faith in a supernatural God and traded it for well thought out mechanisms we try and pass off for supernatural spirituality. Not only this conference but others who speak on discernment cross a line by saying we are trying to hear - God speaking to us. I believe it is more accurate to say that discernment is seeking what God's will is. God's will is always there and working in our world to bring God's kingdom to earth. In our particular conference I think the boundary was overstepped when the speaker used 1Samuel 3:1 "The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions." to say that it wasn't God who wasn't speaking but it was the people who were not attuned to God's voice. When this metaphor goes here it seems that it discounts the actual direct revelation of God, visions, dreams, and epiphanies replacing them with a more humanly understandable mechanism. Perhaps this comes from a Christian heart that is a little too charismatic but it believes that God indeed, still brings these kinds of revelation. I believe God is quiet at this time in the West because of our prosperity and all we simply have to do is obey. While our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world need this type of revelation to direct followers and demonstrate the power of the Gospel in the face of death throughout their lives.

Discerning the will of God is oh, so important. But it is not the same as hearing the voice of God. If we truly want God to show up in dreams, visions, and epiphanies then we must be one thing, holy; and do one thing ask. And I don't mean the mamby pamby-on my way to work-in the car-please help me God-asking. I mean it becomes the most important thing you do for a season-sackcloth and ash-fasting-unceasing prayer-on your face-using your vacation time-vow of silence-asking.

Though both of these are important, my hope is that people do not pass by the hard discipline of seeking to hear God's voice for an easy to package mechanism that helps us understand God's will.

Doing what I love

"I will have completed my job volunteering when I can sit in the audience and see a student I mentored receive this award." This is what I would have said given a chance to think about it.

There is no point in serving others if you can't transfer that heart for service to someone else. As a Christ follower that heart has been changed by the Spirit of God and that's what I want to impart to others.

There is no way I could have received this award without the church of Courtland Avenue Friends allowing me to work with Bridges Outreach and especially the discernment that the leadership of Courtland Avenue had to keep me connected with them. I am thankful for the honor but it certainly reflects the faith of those around me especially my wife Allison who is currently singing to one of the students we minister to.

Filling in for the Pope

It was hard for me to imagine that stuff that old could still be standing. However, it was awesome to think about those who have gone before me in the Christian faith.

I had hoped to keep things updated as we went along on our trip however, internet access was was hard to come by over there. So I will just mention a few highlights here from my trip to Italy.

Venice: The streets really are that narrow! It is not just pictures that make them look narrow but some of the streets would have trouble with three people walking side by side. No cars are allowed on most of the islands making feet and water the most prevalent means of transport. They have all kinds of shops there and everything must be carted to the stores by hand. That would certainly get old.

Pisa: I walked along next to a tall, dingy brick wall, probably 50-60 feet high. Turning to enter through the expansive archway startled me with white shining buildings in a sea of grass. Three main buildings stand gloriously, white, a baptismal building, a cathedral, and the Leaning Tower all covered in perfect marble. A sight to behold. And to think all of Rome used to be covered in this stuff and not just the brick bones of once ornate homes, temples, and government offices.

Rome: Above a large field roughly 6 football fields long by 1 wide we ordered our sandwiches and soda and noticed a drum beat coming from the field below. The old Circus Maximus situated below what's left of Cesar Augustus house came alive again. Roman Centurions led their companies of soldiers down the grassy field once again, honoring the day Rome was born.

Small Group Depth

I have been very blessed in the past few weeks through exploring the depths of my faith with my fellow Purple Book sojourners.


There certainly isn't one among us that has everything figured out however, through fear and trembling we are working out our salvation. We are grappling with what it meant for the disciples to be of one heart and one mind from Acts 4:32. I really think this group is finding itself in the midst of this due to forging Christian community. It is almost a byproduct of taking the risk of trusting one another with our own transparency especially when it comes to sharing where we are with our faith. How beautiful this time is.