In the Zone

When I was younger, I was always jealous of the other kids. While they would play with Nintendos, I would be stuck with an old Atari.  Later when they had Super Nintendos, I had the regular NES.  I never had the newest games, even when I had the latest consoles. Eventually that changed as my family got into better financial situations as I grew older, but I always remember being behind in the technology game.  Perhaps that's why, now, as an adult, I tend to keep up with the technological trends of the day.  I have an iPhone and a XBOX 360.  (Sadly, I still don't have the newest games, but that has more to do with my being a cheapskate more than anything.) It's so easy to get jealous of what we don't have.  We're always told on television that we need to have the next, best, biggest thing there is or we'll be left behind.  And no one likes to be left behind.  We all want to be in the loop. So we get jealous.  Of a new phone or tablet.  Of a new car someon

I've spent that last few weeks blogging about Christmas, because that has been the tint of our Wednesday night lessons.  We've been asking and answering this question:  what is the point of Christmas?  But since we're not meeting with out student again until after Christmas, I find myself at a crossroads on what to write.  What I decided to do is simply tell you about some books I've read recently (or are currently reading) and give you brief review.  If nothing else, they can make some great last minute gifts or you can get them after you return the stuff you really don't want.  (You can always use your gift cards too.) Radical by David Platt.  I began reading this because our pastor at Gracey has been going through the book each week for his sermon series.  I had heard a lot of good reviews, so I decided to pick it up and follow along.  I finished the book before the sermon series was done.  Good, quality stuff in there.  Perhaps I wasn't "wowwed"

It might sound weird, but for me, Christmas is a witnessing opportunity. I'm not talking about saying "Merry Christmas" at Wal-mart when they say "Happy Holidays."  I mean our Christmas celebrations are witnessing opportunities. When we visit family for Christmas, I know many of our family members don't have relationships with Christ.  I know that if they died today, they would spend etertnity in hell.  I have lost family members.  So does Sara. It's not something we like to talk about, but if we're honest, I'd say you have several lost family members as well.  We all know someone in our family who does not have a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ.  If this is the last Christmas we see them on earth, it could be the last Christmas we see them EVER. That's why, for me and my family, Christmas is just as much a mission field as it is a family holiday gathering.  I'm keenly aware that while at Christmas dinner or unwrapping Chri

I've seen a lot of small miracles at Christmas-time. A few years ago, Sara and I (and our dog and cat) were driving to Owensboro from Northern Kentucky.  Northern Kentucky had a few inches of snow, but no big deal.  Central Kentucky had barely an inch.  Western Kentucky, including Owensboro, had nearly 2-feet of snow.  As we got closer and closer to Owensboro, the road conditions worsened.  The storm had moved through the day before and we thought roads would be clear.  We thought wrong.  Thirty miles after passing Elizabethtown (the last decent-sized city until Owensboro) the interstate went from wet to having a foot of snow on the road.  We passed car after car stranded on the side of the road as the interstate got progressively worse.  The radio, tuned to the trucker overnight show, talked about treacherous travel just to our north.  Then it happened, just after midnight, Christmas Eve morning - the back end of our car started to fishtail.  With Sara asleep beside me, I ma

I'll admit it.  I'm not a BIG fan of Christmas.  (And that might be putting it mildly.) The "Christmas season" has not been kind to my wife and I over the years.  It was Christmas 11 years ago when my parents impending divorce hit home (talk about a solemn "family" celebration).  It was a few years afterward that Sara's grandmother passed way two days after Christmas.  Then there was the 360-degree spin-out on the interstate on Christmas Eve while driving through 2 feet of snow.  Last year, my father-in-law died a week before the holiday.  That's just a cliff notes version and doesn't include some of the minor debacles and my two-year experience of working in a toy store during the Christmas shopping season.  (Trust me, that will jade anyone on Christmas.) Needless to say, Christmas holds a lot of bad memories for me.  I love Thanksgiving, but from Black Friday until New Year's Eve, I struggle with depression, anxiety, anger and frustra

Ecclesiastes 3:1 teaches us that there is a time and a season for everything.   This week is our time for Thanksgiving.  Yes, I know Thanksgiving should be an attitude we maintain throughout the year and not one day in November, but I also think it's helpful and healthy to take at least one day out of the year and focus on God's blessings.  Those blessings aren't just material possessions and the presence of family, but also include the hurts and pains and trials you've come through and the lessons you've learned.   For me, the biggest event in our lives in 2011 (so far) was the move from Immanuel Baptist to Gracey West Union Baptist.  It was a whirlwind adventure.  Announcing at one church and town, and moving to another town (6 hours away) in less than a month is no small or easy task.  Yet, God worked in that quick time frame.  Here are just a few things I'm thankful for from that event:   We got a good house, located not far from most of the schools my

It doesn't take long for us to learn dishonesty. My little girl is almost three years old.  I know when she stands in the corner and gets silent, that she's trying to quietly use the bathroom in her pull-up without me noticing.  Now if I notice her in the corner, I ask her if she is using the bathroom. "No," she quickly replies, yet another giveaway. Then I threaten her, usually using candy or something else she wants. "If you are, and you're lying, no Halloween candy for you for the rest of the day." Only then is she honest.  Sometimes. And so goes the beginning of my little girl lying to me.  That, by far, is not the only way she's disobedient.  (Trust me, I have to get after her quite a bit.)  It is, however, a clear example that we learn to lie and be dishonest from an early age. That's why God put lying in the Ten Commandments. Exodus 20:16 says we are not to give false testimony about our neighbor.  Don't say they did so

I'll admit. I've been transfixed on the Penn State story this week. Everyday this week I've watched a segment on sportscenter about it. I've poured over various twitter updates on the subject. I've read numerous columns. I watched live on Wednesday night as students rioted on campus to protest the firing of Joe Paterno. I have spent a lot of time this week on the Penn State story. One thing has stuck with me as all of this unfolded. The media spent story after story on the fate of Joe Paterno and other coaches on the Penn State staff. Commentators and former players weighed in on what should or should not be done. Students gathered in protest over a coach's firing - a coach who knew about sexual abuse taking place involving children and one of his former assistant coaches. If this were a church instead of a national college football program it would be a much different story and a much different tone. There would be no question about if a minister shoul

I remember WAYYY back in the early 2000s.  File sharing was all the rage. A co-worker of mind talked about how easy it was and convinced me that it wasn't so bad, since you're only getting a few songs you hear on the radio anyway.  (I'll be honest, like most temptations, it didn't take a lot of prodding to convince me it was "OK.") So, a couple of days later, there I was setting up an account on a file sharing website and finding music online FOR FREE.  I didn't download hundreds of songs, but I downloaded enough, about 30 or so, to fill up two burnable CDs.  (You have to remember, this was pre-iPods.) So for weeks, I listened to my new CDs full of musics I didn't have to buy. I justified it because I wouldn't have bought these songs on my own anway.  Most of it was just one or two songs I liked from a band that I otherwise didnt like. (Remember, pre-iTunes too, so the only way to buy music was on full CDs.) It wasn't long before I was

"Hey Elvis," they'd say. "Sing a song." It wasn't meant to comment my non-existant singing ability. Instead, they poked fun at my long sideburns. They reached halfway down my cheek, thus the Elvis quip. Truth be told, I didn't have long sideburns by design. My family simply could not afford frequent haircuts, so often I would go two or three months between clippings. By the time I got a haircut, my hair was quite lengthy in the back and, of course, on the sideburns. It's why today I hate having any kind of length to my hair and have my wife trim it about once a month. I don't want to see it that way again or dare to hear remarks about it. You see, sticks and stones can break your bones but words can sometimes hurt more. Those wounds don't heal as easily as a bone or cut or scratch. Words leaving lasting scars that really never go away. In exodus 20, in the sixth commandment, god says you shall not murder. Jesus takes it one step furt

Being a parent has opened up my eyes to so many new revelations. I remember when I held my little girl in my hands for the first time.  It was overwhelmed.  I loved this hours-old infant more than anything, yet I had never truly met her.  I would give my life for her.  I realized, in that instant, just how much God loves me. As my daughter has grown, I understand the patience God has with me.  I have to have patience with my own daughter, as she figures things out for the first time, finds her footing on unfamiliar ground and learns a new trait or word or action every day.  Sometimes I just want to go ahead and do something, but I have to have patience to allow her to learn.  God does the same with me. Lately, we've been potty training.  I struggle with it because often it seems my daughter regresses rather than progresses.  For every one time she pees in the potty, there are 100 times she doens't.  And don't get me started on the other side of that equation.  In fact

I remember early in my ministry I was constantly working. Monday thru Friday, I had daily office hours I had to keep at the newspaper, where I worked as a sports writer.  Covering sports also meant you worked a lot of nights.  A LOT of nights.  I covered all the sports in high school, plus a few non-high school sports.  I worked Monday nights at games or on the sports section.  Tuesday nights at games or on the rest of the paper.  Thursday and Friday nights were usually game nights too.  Plus there were Saturday morning and afternoon events.  On top of that, I was serving as a bi-vocational youth pastor.  I had youth each Wednesday night.  Office hours at church on Wednesday and Thursday.  Saturday events (when I wasn't covering sports) and all of my assigned duties on Sunday (including roles in both morning services, teaching Sunday School and weekly Sunday night meetings.) I literally worked seven days (and nights) a week.  When I wasn't busy at one job, I was busy at t

I read an article yesterday from Relevant Magazine that really opened my eyes as a youth pastor. It's not about youth or youth ministry, but nonetheless has implications that echo down into ministering to teenagers. The article, entitled Almost Everyone's Doing It , reveals that a recent Gallop Poll study shows that 80 percent of single Americans, aged 18-29, who identified as evangelical Christians, have had sex before marriage.  That's only down 8 percent from non-Christians.  (Eighty-eight percent of non-Christians 18-29 say they've had premarital sex.) That's a pretty scary number.  That means 8 out of 10 students, in our churches, will have sex before marriage.  What's almost as startling, 42 percent, just under half, say they are in a current sexual relationship. There are many factors, including an increased amount of sexual messages in pop culture, ( Another study shows that 92 percent of last year's Billboard Top 100 songs contained some t

Have you ever stopped to think about how awesome God's name is? Scripture says that at the name of Jesus, demons tremble.  We pray, and we end by praying in the power of Jesus' name.  When we are in trouble or crisis or in a panic, we will call upon the name of the Lord. The Lord's name is powerful and meaningful.  It is full of hope and comfort.  It has the ability to comfort and convict.  No other name evokes a reaction like God's. Yet, we are so casual with his name.  We use it when we're surprised.  "Oh my God," we'll say.  We say it when we're upset or mad.  "Jesus Christ," we'll exclaim, but not in an act of worship.  We even use it as a curse. God is firm in his word in Exodus 20:7.  "You shall not misuse the name of the Lord, your God."  That means we are to uplift his name.  We are to worship his name.  We are to magnify his name. We are not to make it common or meaningless or devalued.  We do that when we

One of my favorite movies is Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. If you've seen the movie (and really, who hasn't), it starts with Indiana Jones navigating a booby trapped cave in search of a pagan golden idol.  After surviving spears, pits and even a rolling rock he must flee from, he makes it out of the cave with the idol in hand, only to have to turn it over to a rival who has recruited the local, native population to surround him. Yes, I know it's just a movie.  But in our society and culture today, we're still chasing after idols.  We may not have to plow through bobby trapped caves, fight off spiders and snakes, or even run from a giant rock intent on squishing us flat, but we chase after idols nonetheless. Don't believe me?  Let's look at few statistics. The average American spends 8 hours a week playing video games.  We spend anywhere between 13-18 hours a week on the Internet. (Including you, right now, since you're reading this o

Where I grew up, I often saw a barn with this message on it's roof:  "There are many paths to God, pick one." At first, I didn't quite understand what it meant.  But as I got older, I realized it's meaning: "God can be found in many religions, so just follow one and you'll be OK." Now, it just makes me angry.  I wonder how many people drove by that barn, read those words, accepted them and will spend eternity apart from Christ because they served a false god. Make no mistake about it, God is clear in his Word.  Exodus 20:3 says we are to have NO OTHER GODS.  Jesus says it again in John 14:6 when he says "I am the way, the truth and the life.  No man may come to the father EXCEPT through me." There is only ONE God.  There is only ONE path to God.  That is through a relationship with Jesus Christ, who lived a perfect life on this earth, submitted to human authorites and died on a cross for our sins and mistakes.  Jesus is the only way

I'll never forget the e-mail I got one morning. It was from a parent of a new student who had been attending youth.  The parent had no connection to our church, yet the student had been consistently coming and interested in learning more about Jesus.  The student became more involved in our program as the weeks went by.  I was excited about their potential. That's what made the e-mail heartbreaking. It described, in detail, how this student was being bullied by some of our students after youth group was over.  It concluded with the following sentence:  "I want the student to be involved in things like church, but if this continues, I cannot allow him or her to come back." I quickly e-mailed the parent back that it was not acceptable behavior and would be dealt with.  I even thanked them for letting me know.  I never saw this student at youth group again.  When I saw them a few weeks later, he or she simply said, "I'm not allowed to come anymore.&quo

          “It’s time to move on.   It’s time to get going.   What lies ahead I have no way of knowing.   But under my feet, the grass is growing.   Yeah, it’s time to move on.   It’s time to get going.” From “Time to Move On” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.            You don’t often see me quote secular music, but that song, and those lyrics, by Tom Petty, tell the whole story.   It’s time for me to move on from Immanuel Baptist Church. A few weeks ago, I announced my resignation as youth pastor of Immanuel Baptist effective August 7, 2011.   Sara and Elizabeth and I are leaving to take a youth pastor position in Western Kentucky that is much closer to Sara’s family.   After her dad’s death in December, it became increasingly important for us to get closer to the family. Know that it was not an easy decision to make, and came only after much prayer and discussion and fasting, but I feel it’s the best decision for my family and I.   As I wrote in my resignation letter, it has been

It's not November, but that doesn't mean we can't give thanks. For whatever reason, we tend to limit our "Thanksgiving" to one day a year when we gather for turkey and football.  But Thanksgiving isn't a one-time occurance.  We can give thanks to God (and we should) year-round. I'm thankful for many thing.  My relationship with Jesus is first and foremost.  As we head toward Easter, I am so thankful that God chose to dwell among human beings, chose to be around our filth and dirt and sin and disease, and chose to willing give up his life for me - a sinful, disgraceful human being. That's not to say I hate myself.  Quite the contrary.  I love me for who I am, but compared to the holiness and perfection of God, I'm a pitiful and worthless.  It takes the blood of Jesus to make me acceptable to God, and I thank him for that every day. Maybe that's what we need more of this Easter - some Thanksgiving.  I'm thankful for the love of Christ

Fasting is a lost art in Christianity. For whatever reason, I just don't hear many messages on fasting.  I don't see a lot of pastors advocate it from the pulpit.  I don't see a lot of believers make it part of their lives. Now, don't get me wrong.  I don't think we should fast all the time.  It would lose meaning if we did.  But when I look back over scripture, in both the Old and New Testaments, I see fasting before major decisions and events in the lives of believers. Israel entered into national fasts at times of grieving or when an enemy was at the gates.  The early church leaders prayed and fasted before making major decisions, like sending Paul and Barnabas as missionaries.  Yet today, fasting has become a lost discipline in the Christian faith.  I had never heard of a fast until I got to college.  I didn't engage in my first fast until years later.  I was simply taught to read scripture and pray.  Both scripture reading and prayer are essential

For a lot of believers, "prayer" is a four-letter word. What should come easy to believers, often time becomes a struggle or burden.  I don't know if that's due to time management or intimidation or a lack of understanding, but I know many believers in Jesus struggle with prayer. God never intended prayer to be so hard.  That's why Jesus includes the Lord's Prayer in his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6.  It's meant to be a guide for us - a way to make prayer easier and God more accessible. Prayer is actually rather simple.  It's a conversation with God.  He wants us to worship and praise him in prayer.  He wants us to seek forgiveness so we can have a right heart to speak to him.  He wants us to pray for things according to His will and not ours.  He also wants us to seek advice, because he's willing to provide.  (After all, God knows more about everyone and everything than we do.) Basically, God just wants to talk to us and He wants us to

I am an alien. I don't have green skin, antenna on my head and I don't fly a space ship.  Nonetheless, I am an alien to planet earth.  Earth is not my home. As a believer in Jesus, I know that he is perparing a place for me so that I may join him also.  I also know I will live eternally - that means forever and ever and ever. My home is in heaven.  I'm just passing through on earth. That's hard to understand sometimes.  We are linear beings - that means everything has a beginning and end.  We start school and we graduate school.  We begin a new job and evenutally leave that job.  We're born and we die.  Everything we do has a starting point and an ending point.  Everything we do revolves around time. God created time, and therefore, is not bound by it.  He exists outside of space and time and one day, we too will spend eternity with God, not limited by time.  I can't seem to wrap my mind around that concept, because I'm linear.  Everything I've

I can't help myself.  I'm glued to the TV and Internet watching images and news from Japan amidst the devestation of an earthquake and a tsunami and now the potential nuclear disaster. My heart goes out to the Japanese people.  Estimates put the death toll at 10,000.  Who knows what the property damage will be.  And if the nuclear plants meltdown, I can't think of what that would do to the country and the world. Yet, amidst that destruction and chaos and fear, I know there are miraculous stories of survival.  It reminds me, once again, that God specializes in miracles. This past Sunday, we studied Sarah and Abraham.  God provided them a miracle in the form of a son, Isaac, when both of them were in their 90s and way past child bearing years.  Both of them laughed when God said they would have a son.  Yet, God did just as he promised.  He provided them a miracle child. God still deals in miracles today.  Whether its a tale of survival in Japan or a healing from cance

I see it on the news all the time.  This Celebrity raises awareness for this disease or this war-torn country.  That Celebrity couple goes to a foreign country, with cameras in tow, to adopt some poor orphan.  This band plays a charity concert for some cause. We are in a culture and society where we are eager to tell everyone how much we're helping the less fortunate, the environment or even the local animal shelter.  My daughter watches the Disney Channel.  Everyday I see their "Friends for Change" campaign to promote a healthier environment.  Every commercial for it is filled with Disney celebrities. And I don't blame them for taking credit.  It feels good to be patted on the back.  It feels awesome to help someone in need.  It's fun to be apart of a life-changing event. As believers in Christ, we have to be careful about that.  Why?  Because we serve Christ and not our own egos or pleasure. Ephesians 2:10 - "For we are God's workmanship, crea

It is human nature to escalate events. Whether that's a grand scale, like events that lead to wars, or on a smaller scale, where we constantly try to "one-up" the other person.  As humans, we just can't seem to let well enough alone.  We've always got to hurt someone more than they hurt us. That's why Jesus' words in Matthew 5:38-42 are so radical.  He teaches that not only should we not escalate a conflict, but that we should go above and beyond to not retaliate at all.  He says if they strike your cheek, give them the other cheek.  If they sue you, give them more than what they ask for, if they require you to do something, do it for a longer period than they ask.  That's more than just passive resistance.  That's out-right love and forgiveness.  It means serving them, even though they oppose you.  It means loving them, even if they hate you.  It means going the extra mile to show them how much God loves them through you. It's also muc

I remember when my mother broke the news to me:  her and dad were getting divorced. It hurt then.  It still hurts now. Divorce is a no-win scenario.  Everybody loses.  The couple loses.  The children lose.  Their friends and family members lose.  Everybody loses.  There are no winners or unscathed people in a divorce. That's why Jesus, in Matthew 5:31-32, is so adament that divorce is a bad thing.  He knows that divorce hurts his children.  God hates to see his children in pain, suffering and dealing with broken relationships.  God knows all about broken relationships.  Jesus came to earth to die for our sins just to heal humanities broken relationship with him.  Divorce is messy.  It means we don't get to spend time with both of parents.  It means separate Christmases and other holidays.  It means bickering and bitterness.  And that's why God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16).  He hates divorce because it causes pain for his children.  He hates it because of the probl

Patience is not one of my strong suits.  You can ask my wife.  She'll tell you I'm not a very patient person.  Maybe it's the fast food society I grew up in where everything was instant and easy access.  Maybe I just don't like to wait. Either way, I'm not a patient person. Right now, we're potty training my two-year-old daughter.  She's doing rather well, but often times I'm not patient enough.  She'll sit on her potty, and after a minute or two, I'm ready to go.  My wife tells me to wait and let her take her time.  (She's right of course.)  After a few minutes more, sometimes my daughter will then use the potty.  Patience, in those cases, works out. But God calls us to patiently wait on him. Starting in Genesis 6, we see the story of Noah.  God called him to build an ark to save his family, the animals and all of humanity.  It took Noah 120 years to build the ark to God's specifications.  All this time, it didn't rain.  He

In light of missing church Wednesday due to weather, I thought I'd post our camp information sheet that was due to be handed out yesterday.  This sheet has all the information on camp so students and parents can make an informed decision. Camp Information Sheet Location:   Jonathan’s Creek Camp, 3043 Beal Road, Hardin, KY 42048 Dates :   June 19-24, 2011 Requirements: Deposit:        Students must sign up and pay a $50 non-refundable deposit by Feb. 6, 2011.   If students cannot pay all or part of the deposit, other arrangements can be made.   (If money is an issue, we will NOT allow that to keep a student from attending camp.   Talk to me and we will work something out.   DO NOT LET MONEY key your student from attending.) Attendance:   We have a 75% attendance policy to attend camp.   If you want to go to camp, you must attend at least 75% of our youth gatherings from Feb. 6 until June 19.   We only count that as 75% of gatherings you can attend.   For example, if you’re on

We live in an unbelieving world. Just watch any show on the History Channel or an episode of Ghost Hunters on SyFy.  You'll see people who don't believe in God or question the teachings of the Bible. But I don't need to tell you that.  You encounter it everyday at school and work and hanging out with your friends.  People just don't want to believe the Bible.  They don't want to believe in a God who has an absolute standard.  They don't want to believe in a God who says there is only one way to heaven - and being good enough is not the way. Sometimes it feels insurmountable.  Sometimes it seems you're in the minority. That's a little how Enoch felt. We read in Genesis 5, that Enoch worshipped and followed God amidst a wicked generation.  So wicked, in fact, that God would eventually wipe out all of humanity (with the exception of Noah and his family) with a flood to purge the earth.  That made Enoch stand out.  He alone stood up for God.  He

I'm an avid Cincinnati Reds fan.  I don't hide that fact.  After moving to Pikeville, one of the things I started to miss was my daily dose of Reds news and notes from local sports talk radio.  I missed listening to the Reds on Radio broadcast in my car on the way home from church on Wednesday evenings.  No one can call a game like Marty Brennaman.  I grew up listening to Marty and Joe (Nuxhall) call Reds games on the radio.  I love to listening to Marty just talk baseball while calling balls and strikes. At the start of each game, usually after the first pitch, Marty does a public service announcement.  He'll remind listeners in their cars to make sure their safety belts are buckled.  "What's holding you back," he'll say.  (It's the tagline for the seat belt campaign.)  I love it because it has a double-meaning.  Literally, what's holding you back from getting killed in a car accident?  (Hopefully a seat belt.)  But it's also asking anot

It's an interesting question.  If I asked your friends about you - and I'm not talking about your Facebook friends, but the people who truly know you - what would they say about you? Oh I'm sure they could share some funny stories about you.  They could tell me about your favorite movie.  They could probably give me the playlist of your iPod. (Well, some of it anyway.)  But what could they tell me about your faith? And no, "He/She goes to church" is not enough.  Could they tell me your basic theology?  Could they tell me where you go to church?  Your favorite Bible verse?  What God has done in your life that's changed you most? Those are questions that really matter.  If someone really knows you, they should know about your faith, not just your favorite band. In Hebrews 11:4, it says the faith of Abel speaks out, even though he is dead.  No one doubted Abel or his faith.  They all knew where he stood.  Does your faith cry out?  Do your friends know

Well, I guess it's time to try something new.  So, I've entered the BLOG world. The hope of this blog is to help advance our ministry, share some thoughts from God's word and share about youth ministry in general.  One thing we're going to do is reflect on my Wednesday and Sunday youth lessons during the week, giving students and adults a way to connect with our lessons beyond our meetings. You may also see me venture into some thoughts about youth ministry and other things that God brings to my mind. This is a grand experiment for me.  It's a new adventure.  Let's see where it goes...