Where Have I Been?

Ok. Ok. I know that it has been awhile since my last post. (2 months to be exact!) To the thousands and thousands that have visited my blog daily in search of my next post, thank you for your support and dedication. Honestly, I've just been so busy I haven't had much time to even think. Now my head hurts because I'm thinking again.

Anyways, my wife and I had a great discussion this morning about our priorities. I believe everyone would agree that God is first, Family is second, Ministry (church) is third. However, in efforts to please people, we have moved Family down the list. My daughter suffers. She doesn't know any different other than being at church 24/7 but I don't want her to miss out on things. Her friends are doing things she doesn't get to do. Soccer, Dance lessons, Gymnastics, and other stuff any other just turned 5 year old wants to do.

She turned 5 yesterday and boy is she blessed. She got so much stuff. She got several Board Games for her birthday and my wife and I realized this morning that because we stay so busy, my daughter (an only child at the moment) will never get to play unless the stuffed bear or Barbie comes to life.

So to all who read this and have a family. Always keep God first and then make FAMILY number 2. I've had some people say that putting God first means putting Ministry first. That isn't true. Putting God first means putting your personal relationship with Him first. If God isn't first in your own life, then your family will suffer. If you can't keep your family in order, then how can you minister? It's the domino effect.

Priorities, Priorities, Priorities

Wrapping Up Wednesday Night

Ok so this past Wednesday night was amazing. The band sounded great. During the first song, not many were worshipping so the band stopped and everyone was challenged to truly worship "in spirit and in truth". The band then continued the song and people began to worship like I had never seen them before. It was truly amazing to me. I love to see young people worshipping God with everything within them. Without focusing on time, when the band finally finished, we only had 5 minutes left of service. So we took up offering and during the offering video, my wife and I discussed whether we should "call it a night" or continue. She mentioned that while she was leading worship, she felt the Lord telling her to read a scripture and speak on it. Who am I to get in the way of God's Word (and my wife's). So the video was complete and we went on stage and I informed everyone that this wasn't planned but she had something she wanted to say. She began to speak from Revelation 3:15-16 and challenged the young people not to be Lukewarm. Several came to the altar and they didn't just cry and pray but there were a few that sobbed and sobbed. It was truly amazing to see God move throughout the entire night. I love it when He shows out.

I also thank my wife for her obedience to the Lord. She makes me look good.

Journey Back in Time

Yesterday, I took a little trip back to the Stone Age and not really by choice. I had a meeting with another Youth Pastor on Saturday and decided to take my laptop with me. Leaving the meeting, I decided to go home. When Monday morning rolls around, what do I do but leave my nice leather bag and laptop in the house. Yes, I realized I had left it at home before making it to work but it was while I was waiting on traffic to clear so I could turn in the church parking lot. So, yesterday, I spent the entire day in the Stone Age. The only things missing were Pebbles and BamBam. It's nice being back in TechnoLand. I've missed everyone.

Wrapping Up Wednesday Night

Josh Lane is a fellow youth pastor and someone I consider a friend. (I've linked his blog under "Friends"). I frequent his blog and really enjoy his weekly blog "Wednesday Night Wrap Up". Here he writes about that weeks youth service. I like the idea so much that I'm going to do the same. Thanks for the idea Josh!
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Last night's service in a word "Different". I even had the teens yell "Different!" at me when we got to the "different" part. Last night we started Small Groups within our Student Ministry. I have been excited about this for some time and the leaders have been excited too. Many of the teens had no idea we were starting them but just knew that the night was going to be different.

Everything about the service seemed to be normal. Announcements, Praise & Worship, Offering & StupidVideo. But after the video is when I normally speak. That is when we broke up into our groups. I could tell everyone was nervous to see who was in their respective groups but I explained to them that the groups were completely random. (I listed everyone alphabetically and then assigned the first person to Group 1 and the next person to Group 2 until everyone was assigned.) I ensured no brothers or sisters were together which did not happen. Hopefully that would allow them to open up a bit more and not feel pressure about going home knowing what was said.

Group Time: Every group was in a different part of the building so they wouldn't disturb other groups. Also, every leader was discussing the same topic: Loving God and Our Neighbor (Matthew 22:34-40). There were times for them to sit and listen and also times for open dialogue.

I have heard many positives from the night. I have also heard only one negative so far and it came from two people. A leader said that it was like "pulling teeth" to get them to talk and a teen said that he isn't one to open up and talk. Hopefully he will begin to feel comfortable opening up. When parents came in to pick up their teens, they were confused not to see us in "service". But when it was explained to them, they were really excited and loved the idea. Overall, I believe it was a very successful night and I am really excited about continuing small groups. We plan on breaking into our small groups once per month.

Lunch at School

It finally happened. Today, I got to eat lunch at Riverbend High School which is one of the local high schools. I was invited by a student from our ministry. Her class has a project once a month where they "run a business" and the business is a restaurant. The menu was pizza, salad, and drinks. There was a cost but it was very small. Drink: $0.50 Pizza: $1.50. That was what I had. I didn't get the salad.

Anyways, you're probably wondering why this was so exciting for me. For over two years I have been trying to get into this school. I have been to a few other schools here in the area even to the point where one local middle school has given me "free access" to the school. I put that in quotes because once I check in at the office, I can roam free. In between lunches, I'm allowed to roam the hallways and look around and talk to people I meet. But for some reason, a few other schools haven't jumped on board.

I just want to thank God for this opportunity. I don't know if it means I will be able to visit regularly, but it sure is more than what I was allowed to do before. Please keep praying that God will open up more doors for me to get into the schools of Spotsylvania County.