What A Ride

There are many posting about Mike Yaconelli this week. Mike, the founder and former president of Youth Specialties went home to be with his Lord four years ago this week. I never knew Mike. I wish I had. He was a man who embraced who he was, embraced Jesus and loved the ride!

He had a heart for people and a real heart for youth workers. I love what Justin wrote on his blog about his experience meeting him. It gives a real glimpse into his heart.

It was just days before Mike was killed in a car accident on October 30, 2003, that he said at the Charlotte National Youth Workers Youth Convention, "If I died right this minute, I would be able to say, 'God, what a ride! What a ride!" When I stand face to face with my God, I want to say the same.

As I reflect on my own ministry over the years, and look at where it has been, where it is now, and where it is heading, I am growing more an more convinced that it is not about programs. We are great at creating programs, but it is not programs that changes lives. It is serving. It is serving our God, in community with one another, that brings about real life change and a smile on the face of our God. If you can spare 9 minutes, I hope you will spend them watching this video. It is primarily clips of him speaking at the National Youth Workers Convention, and is amazing. One of my favorite quotes is, "If we gave up a bunch of our programs and just got kids serving then maybe Jesus would show up in a way that we never thought possible." Agree.

May we all enjoy the ride.

First Memory Verse

My little man Benny has memorized his first Bible verse...Psalm 119:42.

Notice the "preachers flare" he possess!



"I trust in Your Word."

Think On This

The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible - and achieve it, generation after generation.
-Pearl S. Buck

NYWC Days 3-4

Due to the fast paced nature of the convention and less than desirable internet access I was unable to post on days 3 and 4. Here are some of things I am still chewing on.

Day 3
Gary Haugen, president of International Justice Mission spoke and got me thinking seriously about following Jesus into areas that are beyond our control. Following Jesus is an adventure, an adventure into places that are dangerous and beyond our control. It is in those places that we will experience Him like never before. It is in those places that we must remember that His power is made perfect in our weakness. Following Jesus is not safe, but it is good.

Mark Matlock, president and founder of WisdomWorks Minstries, spoke on the Church and culture. He compared the values of Culture to the values of the Kingdom.

Culture Values
• Identity
• Controlling the process
• Critique of others
• Achieve outcomes

Kingdom Values
• Deny self
• Submit to God and others
• Serve others
• Trust God for outcomes

His comment to both of those, was both inditing and by in large, true, "The institutions that house the Church have become works of culture, not the Kingdom." May we strive to be more Kingdom minded and less guided by culture.

Day 4
Marko, Youth Specialites President, wrapped things up with a great talk on the future of youth ministry.

Youth Ministry 1.0 the early years of youth ministries in the sixties and seventies was Proclamation Driven. It was primarily driven by mass evangelism and numbers.

Youth Ministry 2.0 in the eighties and nineties was Program Driven. This era was driven by fancy programs, and even gimmicks all designed to attract.

Youth Ministry 3.0 (today) needs to by Not Driven. Instead of being driven we need to be present. We as youth workers need to be present with God and present with the students we minister to. Our ministries should be characterized less by numbers and programs and more by relationship. Our ministries should be more community oriented (I believe the word he coined was "communial") and incarnational. He based both approaches on Acts 2:44-46a and John 17:18.

We need to be willing to go against the flow of culture and past paradigms, and work toward contextualizing our ministry by making it more appropriate to our communities context.

He used this rather humorous yet poignant Wendy's commercial to illustrate what is taking place in the American church and how we need to be willing to make a change. The point isn't that the Church is blindly running itself into a hole, rather that we need to take a look at how we are approaching youth ministry and be willing to make changes to more effectively reach today's students. Powerful imagery.




Lots to think about. And those were just the General sessions! It was a great weekend. I am thankful Aaron and I were able to go and I am thankful to the YS Staff for putting together such a quality experience. I am better for it.

NYWC Day 2.2

World Vision's 30 Hour Famine had an exhibit down in the Exhibit Hall so naturally we had to stop in and say hey. It was pretty cool because as soon as I mentioned that I am one of the rally organizers for the Portland 30 Hour Famine Rally and that I knew Ruth Nottingham, World Vision's church relations person for the Northwest, they started hooking us up with all kinds of free stuff. You just gotta love free stuff!

At their display they also had a little area set up for people to tape a promo spot for their group's 30 Hour Famine event, so naturally Aaron and I looked at each other and said, "Why not?!"

We had no idea what we were going to say or do, we were pretty much told you have 20 seconds...go! So for all you 180 people reading this, you got yourself a "cowboy cheer" coming this year if we raise more money that we did last year!

NYWC Day 2.1

One of the fun things about the convention is the exhibit hall; a plethora of organizations and ministries that all offer the product or service that promises to make my ministry more successful. Not sure they will, but still fun to learn about new things.

Adam wanted me to get pictures of some of the best displays. Well I'm going to have to go with the ones that offered up the java! In my book, the ones that get me to stop, are the ones offering up the free jo! Of course all the displays that want to offer me a chance at a free iPod Touch get my attention as well. I think Aaron and I have filled out every available drawing. We're gonna get one this year!

NYWC Day 2

This morning in the first General Session Francis Chan spoke about modeling our lives and ministry after Jesus. He asked some great questions. What would the church look like if we took what Jesus said literally? What would our church look like if we said the things Jesus said? The conclusion...much different.

He made a comment that I can't stop thinking about. I'd love your thoughts on it.

He said, "If Jesus had a church in my town, I bet mine would be bigger." I agree. Do you? Jesus said some very radical things. Jesus calls us into a very radical life; a life that the American Church struggles to live.

What are your thoughts?

NYWC Day 1

Convention registration - $245
Airfare to San Diego - $306
Room at the Town & Country Inn - $360
In room bottled water -$2.50

Being with people that understand you - PRICELESS!

Man is it great to be with thousands of others that share your passion. We just got out of a great time of worship led by David Crowder, along with a crazed concert with Family Force Five.

The theme of the convention is "Storyline" We all have a story, a story we must embrace and a story we must share and use for God's glory. We may not like our story yet we must own it.

Phil Vischer, producer of Veggie Tales shared his story to night. It's a story of a big dream that crumbled. A dream that was taken from Him to drive him back to what is most important in life, that being in the center of God's will; complete surrender and Lordship. Phil was at the pinnacle of his career, event touted as being the next Walt Disney. God saw different. God saw his pride, and God took it all away. His story was one that resonated with me at a very deep level, as I too had to come to a similar that point in my life. I hope to share that story here in the days to come.

A quote that stood out to me "If you are in the will of God then where you will be in five years is none of your business." We often spend more time trying to chase our dream, our "vision" instead of just being with and seeking God.

Today has been a great day. We have just begun. I anxious for the rest of the weekend.

National Youth Workers Convention

Aaron and I will be at the NYWC in San Diego this weekend, October 19-22. I'm looking forward to being there for so many reasons. We went two years ago and returned so refreshed, blessed, and challenged. There is just something very cool being with thousands of other people that share your passions and are just as freakish and crazy as you!



Watch this space. Wi-fi permitting, I plan to blog from the event.

Grace Point Staff

We as a church staff recently had our photo taken.


I have been a part of the team for nearly 8 years now and feel so blessed to serve with such great people...my friends.

What Teenagers Look For In The Church

The Barna Group has just released the results of their recent study on "What Teenagers Look For In the Church." What they found is very interesting and I believe very insightful to those of us that minister to teens.

I thought what the president of The Barna Group concluded was dead on. "Helping them connect with God, learn about their faith, and serve others, in a loving and relational environment are their top desires from a church. Keep in mind that young people are not spiritually transformed merely by attending a church, knowing a few Bible stories or being friends with the youth pastor. It takes addressing teens on a much deeper, personal level - such as developing their intellect and vocational passions as well as cultivating their curiosity for the complexities of life."

You can read the study summary here.

Connections

One of things I enjoy most about blogging are all the connections I have made. I have made many connections, and friends, with people all over the country as well as around the globe. Most of which are fellow pastors. I have now made another connection and a very fascinating one at that.

I received an email the other day from someone I had never met. She asked me if my great grandmother was Nina Brenizer, and had enclosed a picture of her. She asked if Nina was my great grandmother and if the little boy on her lap was me. Much to my surprise when I viewed the photo...it was me!

Seems this person has been doing research on her family tree and came across this photograph that had my name written on the back. She then googled my name, found this blog, and sent me the email! The picture was taken in Salina, Kansas in 1968 when I was 1 1/2 years old. Pretty cute kid eh?



After I confirmed with her that that was indeed me, she then sent me a scan of the back of the photograph as well as an early picture of my great grandmother and great great grandfather. Turns out her great grandmother is my great grandmother's sister, and that apparently, makes us 3rd cousins. Fascinating connection!