Time & Our Kingdom Purpose

I recently spoke at the Men's Bible Study here on Saturday and wanted to post a little bit of what I talked about.

“Time Management is arranging my life so that God can use me to my fullest potential"

Time. You’ve heard the expression time is money. Actually, time is more precious then money, because time is a non renewable resource. If you have some money and you waste it, if you know what you are doing you can get it back. But time you can’t get back.

James 4:14 “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”

Think about your past. How many of us wish we could go back and do something different? Whether it was a dumb decision you made in high school, a stupid thing you said in a job interview or on a date, or maybe it was sacrificing time with your family in order to get something else accomplished.

So how do we best utilize the time given to us with the millions of things we have going on each day?

Perhaps the best known verse in the Bible concerning the proper use of time is found in Ephesians 5:15-17 (NASB).

"Therefore, be careful how you walk not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what will of the Lord is."

According to Paul a wise person is one who makes the most of his time he has here on earth. An unwise person lives with no time aspect in mind or doesn’t make the most of the opportunities given to them.

We are going to look at a few principles or pillars that I think that will help each one of us, in balancing our time between God, Work, our Family and other activities. When everything is in the right place and we make the most of the time God gives us then we accomplish more for His Kingdom.

1. Prioritize your Life & Relationships

• List your top 5 priorities based upon the time you commit to them, not what you want them to be but what they are.
• 5% Rule- I can't delegate these things out.

85 % of what you do anyone can do (meetings, answer phones)

10% of what you do someone with a modest amount of training can do

5% of what you do, no one else can do for you. (husband to your
wife, Father to your kids, Grow your relationship with God)

from Leading on Empty by Wayne Coreiro

• You can pay people to mow your lawn, fix your food, cut your hair, even potty train your child
• We often neglect the 5% and throw ourselves headlong into the other 95%.
  

2. Make more Deposits than Withdrawals

• In the workforce you’re expendable. At home you play a unique role. (You are the only Father your child will ever have, The only Husband that your wife should ever have, husband, father, mentor, primary discipler, financial supporter).
• When you take what is expected at home and give it to someone or something else you make a withdrawal
• If the deposits do not outnumber the withdrawals, you’ll have a negative balance and increased tension.
• Likewise you must continually invest in your spiritual life (deposit) and keep the withdrawals to a minimum.

3. Accomplish one productive thing a day in each category

• Strive to accomplish one productive thing in the categories of God, family, & work
• Invest in your own spiritual walk and pour out into others.
• Family do something together daily. Above and beyond praying and reading the Bible together. Dinner, play outside, go to a game, give positive encouragement, tell them how proud of them you are.
• Work- accomplish a task that has to get done.
  

4. Don’t be a “Yes” Man!

• We live in a world where everyone has an agenda. Our time, our money and our very lives are all viewed as resources to be tapped and exploited by others.
• If we do not begin each day with a clear understanding of what God wants us to accomplish for Him with our time, we will become the recruits or casualties of one evil scheme or another.
• You don’t have to say yes to everything that everyone asks you to do.
• No is a good word to get used to saying.
• If you say yes to everything that everyone asks you to do you will crash at some time.
• Showed a clip from Yes Man after Jim Carrey crashed from his night of partying and drinking red bull.

5. Learn to Disconnect

• Exodus 20:10- Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
• How often do you disconnect from everything and rest and recover from a hard week?
• If you are a task oriented person this is hard. But you need to get into the habit of having a Sabbath.
• Mark 2:27- "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
• The Sabbath was instituted by God for man. For our benefit. He knew we would get tired and wants us to focus on a day of joy and refreshment.
• Do what you need to remove the distractions, No cell phones (screen your calls), lock your doors, turn off the TV, leave the computer alone.
• Remember that you can’t get time back once it’s gone.

6. Work for God’s Kingdom

• Matthew 6:19-21- Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
• Col 2:2-3- My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
• Matt 13:44- The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
  
  
  

Overcome

I have been listening to the new Jeremy Camp CD and all I can say is wow. I love it. There are 2 songs on here I really love to hear. They give me goose bumps just listening to the words. The first song is called "The Way," and the 2nd is called "Overcome." Listen to the words behind this great song and I'll post "The Way" later. I hope you enjoy!

Words of Confusion?

I saw this video and couldn't help but think about how confusing Christians may sound at times, to people who don't know anything about Christ or the Bible. Did you know that when we communicate the truth of the Gospel that the Holy Spirit is right there beside you giving you the words to speak to those who are in need of the life giving truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I hope you enjoy this video and think about how we may sound to those who don't understand.

How to Encourage Apathy in Your Kids!

I wanted to update this and all I can say is wow. Talk about hitting the nail on the head. I thought everyone ought to read this. It may hurt, but the reality is there. We spend alot of time, energy and money on things that are going to pass away in the long run. I would love to hear what some of you think. This is not my post, but one I came across.

Fantastic article for parents. Find the article in entirety here http://scottlinscott.wordpress.com

Your Kid’s an All Star? Wow! Someday He’ll Be Average Like the Rest of Us.

The church in America is puzzled. Young adults are leaving in droves. Magazines, books and blogs are wagging the finger of blame to point out who is responsible. Some say it is a failure of youth ministry, some point to church budgets and some nail the blame on outdated, unhip worship services. We parents are shocked that our kids just really aren’t all that into Jesus.

When I look for someone to blame I head into the restroom and look into a mirror. Yupp, there he is. I blame him. That parent looking back at me is where I have to start.

If you’re a parent, I’m might tick you off in this post. But, hear me out. I think that we, as parents are guilty of some things that make it easy for our kids to put faith low on their priority list.

Keys to Making Your Kids Apathetic About Faith

1) Put academic pursuits above faith-building activities. Encourage your child to put everything else aside for academic gain. Afterall, when they are 24 and not interested in faith and following Christ, you’ll still be thrilled that they got an A in pre-calculus, right? Instead of teaching them balance, teach them that all else comes second to academics. Quick … who graduated in the top 5 of your high school class? Unless you were one of them, I bet you have no idea. I don’t.

2) Chase the gold ball first and foremost. Afterall, your child is a star. Drive 400 miles so your child can play hockey but refuse to take them to a home group bible study because it’s 20 minutes away.

2b) Buy into the “select,” “elite,” “premier” titles for leagues that play outside of the school season and take pride in your kid wearing the label. Hey now, he’s an All-Star! No one would pay $1000 for their kid to join, “Bunch-of-kids-paying-to-play Team.” But, “Elite?!?” Boy, howdy! That’s the big time!

2c) Believe the school coach who tells you that your kid won’t play if he doesn’t play in the offseason. The truth is, if your kid really is a star, he could go to Disney for the first week of the season and come back and start for his school team. The determined coach might make him sit a whole game to teach him a lesson. But, trust me, if Julie can shoot the rock for 20 points a game, she’s in the lineup. I remember a stellar soccer athlete who played with my son in high school. Chris missed the entire preseason because of winning a national baseball championship. With no workouts, no double sessions, his first day back with the soccer team, he started and scored two goals. Several hard-working “premier” players sat on the bench and watched him do it. (Chris never played soccer outside the school season but was a perpetual district all-star selection.) The hard reality is, if your kid is not a star, an average of 3 new stars a year will play varsity as freshmen. That means there’s always 12 kids who are the top prospects. Swallow hard and encourage your kid to improve but be careful what you sacrifice to make him a star at little Podunk High here in Maine.

2d) By the way, just because your kid got a letter inviting him to attend a baseball camp in West Virginia does not mean he is being recruited. You’ll know when recruiting happens. Coaches start calling as regularly as telemarketers, they send your kid handwritten notes and they often bypass you to talk to your kid. A letter with a printed label from an athletic department is not recruitment. When a coach shows up to watch your kid play and then talks to you and your kid, that’s recruiting.

3) Teach your kid that the dollar is almighty. I see it all the time. Faith activities fly out the window when students say, “I’d like to, but I have to work.” Parents think jobs teach responsibility when, in reality, most students are merely accumulating wealth to buy the things they want. Our kids learn that faith activities should be put aside for the “responsibility” of holding a job. They will never again get to spend 100% of their paychecks on the stuff they want.

3b) Make them pay outright for faith activities like youth retreats and faith community activities
while you support their sports, music, drama and endeavors with checks for camps and “select” groups and expensive equipment. This sends a loud and clear message of what you really want to see them involved in and what you value most. Complain loudly about how expensive a three-day youth event is but then don’t bat an eye when you pay four times that for a three-day sports camp.

4) Refuse to acknowledge that the primary motivating force in kids’ lives is relationship. Connections with others is what drives kids to be involved. It’s the reason that peer pressure is such a big deal in adolescence. Sending kids to bible classes and lectures is almost entirely ineffective apart from relationship and friendships that help them process what they learn. As kids share faith experiences like retreats, mission trips and student ministry fun, they build common bonds with one another that work as a glue to Christian community. In fact, a strong argument can be made that faith is designed to be lived in community with other believers. By doing all you can to keep your kids from experiencing the bonds of love in a Christian community, you help insure that they can easily walk away without feeling like they are missing anything. Kids build friendships with the kids they spend time with.

5) Model apathy in your own life. If following Jesus is only about sitting in a church service once a week and going to meetings, young adults opt out. Teenagers and young adults are looking for things that are worth their time. Authentic, genuine, relevant relationships where people are growing in relationship with Jesus is appealing. Meaningless duty and ritual holds no attraction.
There are no guarantees that your children will follow Christ even if you have a vibrant, purposeful relationship with Him. But, on the other hand, if we, as parents do not do all we can to help our children develop meaningful relationships in Jesus, we miss a major opportunity to lead them and show them the path worth walking.

I want my kids to see that their dad follows Jesus with everything. I want them to know that my greatest hope for them is that they follow Him too.

Mt. 6:33 Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. (The Message)

On a personal note: I know the struggle. My wife and I have lived the struggle firsthand. My son was recruited by a few D1 NCAA schools for baseball and opted instead to attend a small D3 school. My daughter was recruited to play field hockey by a couple D2 programs and ended up playing D3 when the scholarship offer was not enough to make her top school affordable. Both played in “premier” leagues. Both got A’s in high school though we often told them not to stress out too much over it. Both are in honor societies in college and my son now has offers from UNC, Univ. of Wisconsin, Johns Hopkins and Weil Cornell for a Phd in Pharmacology. Neither ever missed a youth group retreat, conference or mission trip because of their sports or academic commitments. Both missed a game or two to attend faith-based activities. Both missed school for family vacations. Both held down part-time jobs in high school and learned to give employers advance notice for upcoming retreats. My son often changed into his baseball uniform at church to arrive in the third inning of Sunday games. Robin and I did all we could to make sure they connected in student ministry even when it meant driving straight from a tournament to a music festival at midnight so that they would not miss out. It was that important to us. My youngest, a culinary student, lost a restaurant job because he went on a mission trip. That’s fine. Thankfully, all 3 have strong faith walks today. That is due only to God’s grace. But, I do believe that our efforts and example helped them long for a community-based faith.

God's creative Genius

If you go outside tonight after the sun sets and look into the sky you may see it. A bright start off in the distance. This star is significantly brighter than all the others. It is Jupiter. Jupiter will be closest it has been to Earth since 1963, only 368 million miles away. If you miss Jupiter tonight then don’t worry as it will be visible for the whole month. The next time Jupiter will be almost as close will be 2022. When you go out and look at Jupiter take some binoculars with you. You may see a couple of Jupiter's 4 moons. (Click here for more info on Jupiter's moons) Last night Sarah and I enjoyed looking at Jupiter and saw 3 of the 4 moons. It is pretty amazing.

With that said I can't even fathom how awesome God is in His creation of everything we see. Psalm 19:1-6 says:

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.

Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.

In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat.

I hope you get a chance to go out and take a look. It is an awesome opportunity to fathom how Great God is and really how small we are.

Zack & Jade

I wanted to let you all know that Jade is in Cox south hospital, and will be until Penelope is born. So I would encourage you to stop by and say hi. Spend a little time with them, play some games or even take them some food. I will keep everyone posted on what is going on with them.

Amazing Week

We had a great week serving and playing together as a team in Cheyenne. We have lots of memories and we also saw many more opportunities to serve that we just couldn't meet because of a lack of time. We spent most of Thursday & Friday up at "Papa's Land," my grandfather bought this land back in the early 80's and it is a complete joy to share it with everyone that went on the trip. I have so many fond memories of going to the cabin and now I think we are developing more memories with a great group of teens and adult leaders. Here are a few pics from the cabin.

As I thought about this trip, I also thought about how I often times bypass someone in need because of my busy schedule and the chaos that I let surround me. I have been challenged by this trip for various reasons.

1) I wasn't able to plan everything out like I normally do- I'm a planner, and when things aren't planned a certain way it affects my response and my actions. I like everything to be scheduled so we aren't wandering aimlessly without anything to do.

2) I realized how little I rely upon the leading of the Holy Spirit- Often times when we go on Mission we think we are bringing God to the area, when in actuality God is already in the location we go to and He is already at work in churches and in the lives of people there. What we have to do is be open to the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit, to be obedient to His leadership and to serve those that He lays on our heart. Again, going back to number 1 we are often times so caught up in what we are doing that we don't look for or see the opportunities that God is providing us.

3) Being a Christ follower is FUN!- So many times we miss the joy of seeing Christ work because of the busyness or becasue we aren't obedient. We can be so stuck on planning and doing what we want to do that we may miss God even while we are doing a good thing. Anytime our serving leads us into disobedience we have missed the big picture of following Christ.

I am going to make a more concerted effort to follow these three things in my life. Knowing that Christ is already living and actively involved in the lives of the people I serve and witness to.

Busy but Fun!

We spent Wednesday working around Cheyenne at various schools pulling weeds, cleaning sidewalks and shoveling gravel. The biggest of the projects was Anderson Elementary school where all the gravel had spilled over the basketball court.

On thursday and Friday we went up to "Papa's Land," the land in the Mountains that my grandfather purchased back in the early 0's the kids had a blast. We will be traveling back early tomorrow morning, and I will upload more pictures then. Thanks for all your prayers.

Great things

Yesterday began pretty slow. We were working at Element,but we have 25 people and there were just too many people. So we found a couple of jobs where we could help some other local churches with various things around there church. We replaced ceiling tiles at Element Church, scaped paint to prep for painting at Christ Lutheran Church and celaned out the gym of the church I used to go to when I lived here in Cheyenne, Sunnyside Baptist Church.

What started out slowly turned into a very busy day. Hebrews 3:13 says, "Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today," this was a great example of what we did yesterday. Encouraging other brothers and sisters in Christ as they go after what God has called them to do in reaching their community. Please be praying for these churches, (Sunnyside and Christ Lutheran) they are struggling, but doing what they can to reach out. Cheyenne Frontier Days is in a coupe of weeks, and Sunnyside will be doing a massive outreach to the community and all the visitors to the city of Cheyenne during that ten day period. Hundreds of thousands of people will come through Cheyenne during that brief time.

This morning we did Breakfast on the Go in various locations around Cheyenne. We hit a main thoroughfare right near the Air Force Base here in town, we also to some of these breakfasts to the homeless at the Comea shelter and a local park called Martin Luther King Jr. park. We even prayed with the 5 guys out at the park. It was pretty awesome. Thanks again for your prayers

Element R3 House

Yesterday we spent the day working on the Element R3 House. The R3 house is a project that God laid on the heart of Element Church. It stands for Rebuild, Restore and Redeem. They are going to be using the house to provide short term affordable housing for families in need. This is going to be a great project that will keep giving back to the community here in Cheyenne. Read more about it here.

We spent the day working on paiting and lots of it. You can see the before pictures at the link above. We also did some minor landscape touchups, cleaned up the inside of all the trash and took the trash to the dump and built a playground setup for the future residents. Everyone did a phenomenal job working on the house. We had a great time and are excited to hear about everything that comes about through this home.

Great Sunday

Yesterday was a great time for our group to prepare for this coming week of work. It is going to be an awesome time of serving and we aren't stuck to a schedule so we will be watching for other opportunities to serve that we would normally pass by because of having to be somewhere in particular. We are asking God to open our eyes to the needs of the people as we are serving. Please pray that we are open to and listening for the leading of the Holy Spirit as we are serving here in Cheyenne.

We attended Element Church yesterday and enjoyed a great service. Their current sermon series is called "The Frayed," and I wanted to give you some highlights of what was preached during the sermon I think you'll love it. The Sermon series is on prayer, so here are some highlights.

"Prayer is more communion and less coercion. It is not getting God to move, it's allowing Him to move me."

We have to learn to pray through something until there is an answer.

• We must learn to be persistent in prayer. Jesus showed persistence and desperation in his prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane
• Pray until something Happens- God will change the circumstance or God will change me.
• Too many of us are praying for God's presents and not His presence.
• Why is God not answering my prayers?” may be the wrong question, though a popular one. A better question is “Why am I not submitting to His response?” Seeking God is the key to persistent prayer, not getting an answer.

It was a great service and message especially with all the prayer we must be doing in our lives on a daily basis.

After Church we took everyone out to Vedawoo to climb some mountains and they had a blast. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

Here in Cheyenne!

We arrived in Cheyenne last night July 10 and hit the ground running. We got everything set up here in my parents house. Speaking of which be praying for them, they have 25 house guests for the week and have been really accomodating. We will be working with Element Church here in Cheyenne doing various service projects around Cheyenne. It is going to be a great week here serving in the town I grew up in.

The kids are all doing great and resting well. The boys are sleeping outside in tents, and we have already heard that a few of them got cold last night. The temperature drops into the low 50's here at night. We will make sure and get them all taken care of. It's a little different than Missouri. I will post pictures later today. We will be going to a place called Vedawoo (pronounced Veda Voo) to climb rocks and ride 4 wheelers and then coming back to prayer walk the community around the church. We appreciate your prayers and look forward to keeping ya'll informed.

Brian

Following the Leading of the Holy Spirit

Every summer we do camp and our mission trip and every summer God teaches me more about being prepared to go even when you don't know the outcome and the location. We have had some things come up over the last week that will drastically change the summer trip to Denver. This could be viewed as a bad thing, a horrible outcome or whatever you want to call it. I believe it is an exciting thing that God can use to further His kingdom and His impact in another way, and He can truly teach us what it means to follow the Holy Spirit's leading.

I want to encourage you to read James 4:13-15, Romans 1:8-13 and Acts 18:21 about what it means to follow the guidance and leadership of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we rush blindly into an event with the expectation that God will show up and work. What we should be doing is preparing for the event and then waiting on God's leadership to take us where He is working. Paul learned this early on and I think we can learn alot about following God's leadership in our lives when certain circumstances come up.

I have read James 4:13-15 many times, and never had it come to life like it has over the past few days. I believe that what is taking place this summer is no accident and is an exciting thing because we will see how God uses willing and obedient people to accomplish His purpose of drawing people into His Kingdom.

I will fill you in on this more on sunday at our Mission training at 3:30. I ask that you be praying and asking God to help you understand his will and direction as we go on this journey with Him.

Memorial Day

Memorial day for many has turned into a time to have a 3 day weekend, to spend time with family having a picnic in the park, a BBQ in the backyard or a day on the lake. But Memorial Day is a time to reflect on, remember and thank God for the men and women who so bravely, selflessly and courageously gave their lives for our freedoms here in the United States as well as for the freedoms of other in numerous countries around the world.

Here is a video that we played in our services on sunday, I hope you enjoy it. I think it will challenge us all to examine what it means to be a Christ follower and what it means to be an American. They can both go hand in hand. As a matter of fact one of the mottos that used to be spken throughout the military was always God and country. So with the thought I hope you enjoyed a great weekend and took a moment to pause and remember so many great lives that ended so quickly for the great cause of freedom.

Graduate Recognition

Wow! This year has gone by so fast. I can hardly believe that everyone who graduated yesterday was going into 8th grade when Sarah and I moved to Springfield. These five years have gone by at light speed. I want to congratulate you all and thought I would post a picture fro before our graduate recognition.

Great Rhyme

I've been down and out the last few weeks recovering from my Tonsil surgery. I thought you guys would enjoy this.

Great blog post

I read this blog post thsi afternoon. This guy is the Executive pastor at my parents church Element Church in Cheyenne, Wyoming. I thought I would share it with you all.

Last night the kids sat down at the table waiting for dinner, but they had neglected to do their part and set the table. So, the table was completely empty except for the meal that Julie had brought out. One of the kids finally asked Julie, “aren’t you going to feed us?” Julie’s answer was great: ” You are mature enough to feed yourself and to prepare the table for dinner. If you neglect to prepare the table for dinner, you will not be fed. So, get off your butt and set the table so you can eat”
Wow, and she was not even in church on Sunday to hear the message (You can blame Pastor Derek for making her work e:kidz and the Denver museum for having a free admission day).
How often do we come to church expecting to be fed by the pastor, but we have neglected to set the table throughout the week? Pastor Jeff will bring the food to the table, but we must be ready to eat.
How do you set the table for Sunday and prepare for the meal? I am glad you asked. Here are some steps to take so that you can be ready to eat:

• Pray everyday and ask God for His guidance and direction in your life.
• Have a daily devotional time that is spent studying and meditating on God’s Word.
• Make quiet time a priority in your life and use this time to listen to God.
• Meet together with other believers throughout the week and discuss what God is doing in your life.
• Come to church ready to worship the Lord of the universe.
• Bring your Bible and take notes so you can do further in-depth study during the week.
• Participate in the full worship experience on Sunday. Do not wait in the lobby until the music is done, or leave before offering is taken.
  

I believe that taking these steps will prepare you for the meal on Sunday. So, in the words of one of the great thinkers, wife and mom or our generation: “Get off your butt and set the table so you can eat.”

Recap of Sunday

Yesterday was a great day, and I thoroughly enjoy preaching when Kevin is gone. We started a new series called "Family Portraits." We are going to be focusing on the family and their relationship to the church. The sermon yesterday was out of Judges 2:6-12 and was called Shift. We need to Shift our mindset about the younger generations and our responsibility to them. Here are some of the main points and thoughts:

A strategic partnership is needed between parents and the church in order to provide an environment of true Biblical discipleship and spiritual development.

Four Keys to an effective Shift:

1. Obedience leads to experiencing God's blessing.

• Parents are called to live out the Shema (Deut 6:4-9) within their lives and to lead by example.
• Joshua was a great example of obedience. He even drew a line in the sand telling the people of Israel to chose who they were going to serve, but he and his house were going to serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:14-15)
• God desires obedience more than sacrifice. (I Sam 15:22)

2. Godly Influence is vital (v.7)

• The goal is not to be perfect, but faithful.
• While Joshua was leading Israel they followed the Lord, but after Joshua and his elders died the generation after that did forsook the Lord.

3. Past influence and success does not guarantee future obedience and prosperity (v. 10)

• The past is a monument to be remembered not an anchor to weigh you down.
• Families relied upon the priests to teach their children rather than taking responsibility. Sound Familiar? I think so. Huh? Church today?
• Church is a partner, but not primary.

4. Lack of Influence leads to compromise (v.11-13)

• Inconsistent godly instruction leads to ineffective parenting, an increase in doubt, and apathy in your spiritual life.
• You can ride the bench as long as you want.
• Apathy breeds apathy.
• The next generation needs to be challenged to engage in their own mission of pursuing Christ and His Kingdom.

What a great day. I hope and pray for the next generation as they come to understand Christ and the role they play in his Kingdom. I leave you with a scripture from Proverbs "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."

Easter's right around the Corner

With Easter being right around the orner I thought I would post this funny video done by the skit guys. It carries a great message. Enjoy!

Collegiate week

This is for all you college students out there. I wanted to give you just a glimpse of everything you can expereince at Collegiate week. Hope you enjoy it. If you are interested in going please contact me ASAP so we can get everything lined up.

Collegiate Week from Threads on Vimeo.

Gift of Relationships

Our Current series at The Merge on Sunday nights is "The Proposal." This month we are looking at what scripture tells us about dating and relationships. As I have been studying and preparing for these talks I continue to realize how much God teaches you through your relationships, even after you are married! This week we will be discussing the priorities in the dating relationship, and believe me these carry over into the married life as well.

Our goal in this series is to equip you in setting priorities and boundaries that will deepen the spiritual part of your dating life. Here are a few reasons for having priorities in dating.

First, each individual involved in a relationship should have a growing and thriving relationship with the creator, Jesus (Colossians 1:15-18)! The whole point of dating is to get to know the person and identify qualities and characteristics you desire in a future mate. If God isn't first in your life, and if you aren't in a growing relationship with Him, your other relationships will struggle. That goes beyond dating and into the realm of your home and school life as well. Are you having problems in your relationships? If you answered yes, then I would say you are having problems connecting with God on any sort of normal routine. When God is your priority everything else comes second.

Second, priorities help you realize that the issue isn't how to fit your spiritual life into your dating life; rather, it is how does my dating life fit in with my LIFE (spiritual). Dating should always be interpreted through our relationship with God and through His Word. God doesn't change standards. God has an opinion on how we should date, who we should date and He has a clear guideline in what you are to look for in a mate and what you are to avoid. This is for your protection not for you pain. God tells us not to be "unequally yoked" with non believers. This is not because He hates nonbelievers. On the contrary He loves them just as much as He loves you (John 3:16; I Peter 3:18), but He knows that problems arise in a relationship when there is disagreement, especially in beliefs.

Third, priorities help you appreciate and see the value of the gift God gives you when you marry. Lookat Genesis 2:20-25, God didn't give Eve to Adam till after Adam realized there was no one suitable for him. In other words when man realized that he was alone, he also realized his value in his relationship with God. God's plan wasn't to squander a gift on someone who would be unappreciative; rather, God waits till Adam is prepared to appreciate the gift of Eve. I believe that God will provide the person He has for you when you are prepared to appreciate the gift wholeheartedly.

So are you struggling with dating during your teenage years? Have you tried focusing all your attention and passion towards Christ. Let Him teach you to follow Him daily, longing after His will and desires. I guarantee that God will not disappoint you in who He has specifically for you. It will be beyond your wildest dreams, and you will appreciate it even more because you will realize the value of the gift from God.

Exerise Ball Jousting

So when I was a youth pastor in Texas I saw this really sweet yet violent game being played at the summer camp we went to. I saw kids flying every which direction and some getting hurt. Below is just a sample video of the game that was played that summer and I think the next game we will have.

What Men Think Video

I assumed many of you wanted to watch this video again. Lots of laughs and lots of fun. Hope you enjoy!

The Refuge

Hey Ya'll! I know it has been a while since I have updated, but I wanted to let you see some of the progress on The Refuge. We have been working on getting everything together and should see alot of progress over the next few weeks. As you can see the stage is built and the sound booth constructed. I will keep you posted of everything that is going on. We will have a number of opportunities for you to be involved and help with the painting and moving of things into The Refuge. So without further addue I introduce to you the new Refuge.

To Save A Life!

So last Night we had 115 people from Springhill go to the movie "To Save A Life." It was a phenomenal movie that clearly portrayed a fairly typical life of most teenagers. The struggles and difficulties they face every day with peer pressure to drink, do drugs or even be accepted through the way they dress or tthe parties they attend. I had a number of thoughts throughout that I wanted to share.

First, the movie I believe portryed what the typical teenager faces and the struggles they face on a weekly and daily basis. It was full of scene's where each student seemed to be doing what they could just to be accepted by those around them. One statement I remember that stood out was when Amy Briggs says, I've worked my whole life to earn this reputation. How trueis that. Most of us could admit that we have done things to try to earn or build a reputation that we think others would be proud of. I look back and think how much of my life I wasted by trying to do this.

This movie was an exact replica of my life in high school. Friday's and saturday's were full of parties where I tried to earn people's respect based upon how much I could drink or what drinking games I could win. I strived for acceptance based upon other peoples standards of success and popularity rather than striving for pleasing God. One thing I will never forget is the difficulties faced in high school. I know many of those difficulties I faced are still there for teenagers today. That is why I love working with teenagers. I know the difficulties they face, and want to be there to help them work through these situations and difficulties.

Second, I wonder what is it going to take for students to change their mindset? I have always wondered what would have been different in school if instead of worrying about what everyone else thought about me, I showed others that I was there for them no matter what.

What would happen in your school, if you went out of your way to attempt to make friends with those who really need someone. You know, the type that are looked at differently or are considered to weird or dorky to hang around. I would love to hear your thoughts on this. I would love to also hear what you enjoyed in the movie, and what you learned or were challenged by.