I am a slave...

Jesus says in John 8:34 that "everyone who sins is a slave to sin."  He says this because sinners cannot break free by their own strength.

In the book of Romans (chapter 6 verse 18), the Apostle Paul writes this: "You have been set free from sin (AMEN!) and have become slaves to righteousness."

As Christians, we have changed masters.  Instead of being mastered by our sins, we are slaves to obedience to Christ and His will for our lives.  

What I really like is the word that is used there for slaves.  That words literally means "willing servants."  The picture there is so beautiful because in Jesus' time slaves had to serve their masters for a period of time and then they were set free.  However, after being set free, many of the slaves became "willing servants" beause their masters were so good to them.  How beautiful and true is that picture of our lives and relationship with Christ Jesus...

My first funeral...

Today I conducted my first ever funeral.  "Thankfully" it was not for one of my students.  I say "thankfully" because funerals are tough no matter who they are for.  I think funerals are always hard; whether you are the one conducting it or just attending.  I never know what to say because I know that there is nothing I can say that will truly make them feel better.  While I know that isn't the goal, I think it is just my personality.  I like to "fix" things.

RIP Mr. Frank Barnhart.  The good news is that your battle with cancer is finally over.  For you, there is no more pain and no more sorrow.  Now dance on those streets of gold like you've never danced before.

Congratulations and Thank You...

A few days ago, I asked via twitter and Facebook if anyone would be willing to create a nice looking banner for the top of my blog.  I was tired of it looking plain.  Well, two of my friends from my days in California came through with some pretty nice stuff.  While both submissions were great, I ended up picking the one submitted by my good friend Jeremiah Vik:

Jeremiah is the director at Youth for Christ in El Centro, CA.  He's been in youth ministry since before youth ministry was even "cool." He and his wife Debbie had their first baby boy, Josiah, on January 22nd, 2009.

Both Jeremiah and Debbie were good friends of mine in CA and I can say that my life has truly been blessed by having them in my life.

Let the revolution begin!

The longer that I work in student ministry, the more I realize the HUGE importance that needs to be placed on relationships.  A very humbling revelation that I stumbled across in reading Jeanne Mayo's "Thriving Youth Groups" is that students will hardly ever commit to your student ministry because of the music, the sermon, etc.  9 times out of 10, students will commit to your student ministry (and more importantly to God) because of the relationships that are fostered within your student ministry.

Knowing this, I sat down with 30 of our core students and shared with them my heart and vision for our student ministry.  I shared with them how important it is that students (new and old) feel loved and accepted or they will not continue to attend our student ministry.  From there, I laid out a game plan with some key elements that we will begin implementing this weekend at our student ministry gathering.  Some of these essential key elements were:

• Greeters
  
• "Tour Guides"
  
• Row leaders
  
• A guest reception
  
• A strategic follow-up plan

While very basic, these elements can go a long way in helping new students feel like our student ministry is a warm and welcoming place.  

I can tell you that in my 10 years in student ministry, I have NEVER had students cheer in the middle of a meeting like they did as I unfolded the future.  On top of that, we ended the meeting by doing an old-fashioned group huddle and stacked our hands in the middle.  I loved the feeling because I knew that these 30 students were committed to this revolution.

So let the revolution begin!

Are you willing to go "out of your way" to tell others about Jesus?

This morning I was reading the story in the Bible of Jesus and the woman at the well (John 4:1-26).  I have read this story what seems like 100 times now and for some reason this morning a few things jumped out at me.

Jesus goes out of His way...

1.) It was custom for Jews to cross over the Jordan river and NOT pass through Samaria because the Jews and the Samaritans didn't really get along.  John 4:4 says, "Now He (Jesus) had to go through Samaria."  Perhaps the necessity lay in Jesus' mission rather than in geography?

2.) Jews and Samaritans didn't associate with one another.  There was a lot of bad blood between the Jews and the Samaritans so Jesus' request to this woman was unheard of in those days.

3.) John 4:7 says, "Jesus said to her, 'Will you give me a drink?'"  This was even more interesting because the Jews believed that they would become ceremonially unclean if they used a drinking vessel handled by a Samaritan, since they held that all Samaritans were ceremonially unclean.

4.) Jewish religious teachers rarely spoke with women in public.

You may be asking yourself at this point, "What is he getting at?"  It just occurred to me how much Jesus was willing to go "out of His way" and against the cultural "norm" to share His love with anyone and everyone.

How often am I willing to go "out of my way" to tell others about Christ?

How far am I willing to go to tell others about Christ?

What books have had an affect on your life?

This weekend we are talking about the spiritual discipline of Bible study.  I am opening up the message talking about books (other than the Bible) that have had a dramatic affect on my life; and not just spiritually.  Which raised this question: What books have truly had a dramatic affect on MY life?

[Here on mine, but not in any specific order]

1.      Never The Same – By: Steven James – This book was incredible for me because it made the stories of Jesus’ life and His ministry really make sense.  Before, I thought they were just some cool stories.  This book helped me grow closer to God and to deepen my faith.

2.      Living a Life That Matters – By: Mark Matlock – The book is written entirely on the life of Solomon and his pursuit of all that the world has to offer.  With each encounter, Solomon claimed that the things of this world are “Meaningless.”

3.      Enjoy the Silence – By: Maggie & Duffy Robbins – This book was a 30 day experiment in learning how to listen to God.  My life got flipped upside down the summer of 2007…and this book was where it all began.

4.   I Can’t Accept Not Trying – By: Michael Jordan – This book may be the only book that I pick up and read every year.  It is written entirely by Michael Jordan and he shares some of his successes and failures in his pursuit of excellence…but not just on the basketball court, but in every aspect of his life.

What are your books?

Resurrection Monday?

The POWER of THE GOSPEL…

...Is still as potent

...is just as relevant

….is just as life changing

...on Monday as it was on Sunday.

Why do we act as if Easter is that much more important than any other day of the year?  Have you ever wondered that?

     Now, don’t get me wrong, I understand that Resurrection Sunday had to happen so that the Gospel could still be potent, relevant and life changing.  As Christians, we know that.  It has always just been a peculiar thing to me that so much more emphasis is put on that one Sunday a year.  It is the one Sunday that everyone feels more compelled to invite a friend.  It is the one Sunday that those who don’t attend church regularly feel the need or desire to be in attendance.  Why?  Isn’t the Gospel just as important every other Sunday?  For that matter, isn’t the Gospel just as important every other day of the week?  Of the year?  How different would our churches be if everyone invested in every day of their lives as if it were Resurrection Sunday?