2 weeks off-that weren't really "off"

Man, I'm back in the office for my first official day back since Christmas break. And what a break it was! We spent a week in Michigan going back and forth between the two families (my family and the in-laws). Had a great time, saw plenty of snow, then saw it all melt, got some good gifts including a new power drill I desperately needed, some youth ministry and youth culture books, food, etc... Then when we came back, I was in charge of the New Year's Eve-Eve service and so I talked about being burned out because we don't abide in Christ. Then showed the movie The Printing. That seemed to be enjoyed pretty well by all who were there. New Year's Eve we went over to some friends house for games and food and hangin' out. The rest of the week I slept in, saw the movie Valkyrie (was good) and did a little office work on Saturday while hanging with one of the boys in the youth group. Yesterday was church and then youth group. I'm going to start meeting down in the fellowship hall instead of the youth room just because of the added room we need.
Anyway, back to work, back to ministry, and back to staying crazy busy. Hopefully, I'll be posting some book reviews and extra stuff this year.
Now to get used to writing 09 instead of 08, which I just got used to writing.

Quick stuff

Wow, December already. Can't believe it's the holiday season, but hey, it's the most wonderful time of the year!! I really do love the Christmas season and all that goes along with the holiday.
I am extremely busy right now and don't like it as much as when I was only really busy. The AD thing is wearing me out but thank God, the worst is over for now. The schedule's complete, first games in the books and the tip-off tournament (which I have to go on) is tomorrow.
Random thoughts:
1. I don't like the whole bail-out idea that government is in love with now. I like checks in the mail but there has to be a limit somewhere.
2. The girls basketball team lost pretty badly this Tuesday and the guys won pretty easily; which should be the story of this season. We'll see. I have to go see a baskeball game in a couple minutes that one of my girls in my youth group is playing in. Will be a daddy-daughter date.
3. I need to decorate my office more than just 200 multi-colored lights hanging askew overhead. But I'm not creative enough and I'm too cheap to really buy a bunch of neat stuff. Hmmmm, youth group decorating committee?
4.Preaching in tomorrow morning's school chapel and using the Casting Crown's song Slow Fade as the introduction. I want tto show the kids that some of them are on their way down the dangerous slope away form God. Using Psalm 1:1 and the story of Lot in Gen as text.
5. Can't wait to watch The Office tonight. I never would have thought I would say it, but I'm hooked on a national TV network TV show. (How embarassing!)
6. Will get back to this blog when I can

Office novelties

I thought I would describe some of the random things I have around my office and what they mean...or don't mean.
1. a West Virginia basketball poster sitting in the corner still rolled up: given to me by a junior higher who keeps trying to recruit me to be a WV fan so he gives me all this WV stuff. I really like getting stuff but it doesn't mean I'm going to go to the dark side.
2. a Navajo Indian blanket laid on the floor like a rug: given to me by an old work associate, the kids like it and I think it looks a lot cooler than folded up in the corner where it was.
3. various U of M stuff hanging around on the walls: though it was an ugly year to be a Michigan fan, my loyalty still lies with U of M and I represent with some various hats, posters, and a pillow all displayed in maize and blue
4. my guitar and guitar poster: all good youth pastors know how to play the guitar, right? So I taught myself the basics and enjoy being able to play praise and worship songs in youth group. It's much better than me having to lead accapella (spelling?).
5. World's Best Youth Pastor mug: probably came into being with The Office craze, but a student gave it to me and I did not buy it for myself, contrary to popular rumor, and I like to think they were being truthful with their gift. I know better, though.
6. Pictures of family: All youth pastors have to have the obligatory pictures of family and I proudly display mine on my desk and on the heating vent for all to see.
7. a miniature pool table with pool sticks that kids like to fight and knock stuff over with: it was left here by a previous youth pastor so I kind of inherited the problem but I can't get rid of it as it brings many hours of amusement for the junior highers.
8. my huge orange coffee thermos mug: it's orange, huge, has a handle, holds coffee, and it's famous around the school. Need I say more?
9. bulletin board: with athletic schedules, youth group calendar, pictures of teens, a birthday ribbon, my Fox 40 whistle, a weird shaped mirror, and funny pictures I printed off the internet for the teens to see.
10. dry erase board: with activity ideas for the future, lesson subject ideas, stuff to do/remember for the mission trip to Mexico, and various reminders, topped with four dry-erase markers and an eraser
11. a real live Mexican sombrero on the wall: given to me as a gift from a family at my last church, it's another youth pastor must-have.
There's lots more to mention but I'll stop there. Maybe I'll mention some more later. I know you won't be able to wait.

skatin' around

What a day. Having to wait two extra hours in a smelly car repair place while I'm waiting for these two jokers to figure out that all they have to do is put a brake spring on the right way and I can go home was what i dealt with today. Got home late, missed dinner (my wife was kind enough to reheat it for me), and had to relax for a bit so I could cool off. Before I went to the brake shop my day was pretty good. Had school revival chapel in the morning and stayed busy with meetings and study. Now that I'm the athletic director for the school, I met with both coaches today and got their imput on some things.
Last night I had a rollerskating activity planned at the local skating rink. Of course, as my luck would have it it was also the day God decided to send snow all afternoon and evening. Well I showed up anyway to see if anyone would come. Remember, if we were in Michigan or New York, it wouldn't be an issue. People are used to driving in snow. But West Virginia is kind of "half-south" and people have to get used to the winter stuff on the roads. But three boys actually showed up and so we went to the rink. We were the first and only people there so they let us skate around and knock each other over and stuff for about 40 minutes for free until they decided to close up shop and kicked us out. So we still had 2 hours to spend. We went over to another WV institution, Walmart, and walked around. I beat everyone else on the Rockband drums, and then we walked around the Christmas stuff they have set up. Then we went to Starbucks and used our unspent skating money on frappachinos. We joked around and talked and I really enjoyed just hanging around the guys. It was a fun change to an activity that kind of tanked. But I'm learning quickly that problems gravitate toward youth activities. Whether snow or football games, something is bound to come up. I'll get used to it.

Funeral or a party?

Well, life again shows me that there is nothing that changes but change. Last Saturday night I found out that my grandfather up in Michigan passed away. So that meant leaving Monday after school and driving up with Kiersten to see the family and do all the funeral stuff. Sunday night for youth group I was able to hit on a little of Ecclesiastes mentioning that a funeral is better than a party because it leads to serious thoughts and personal change, whereas a party is all fun and not much life searching. Most of the parties and fun activities I have been too don't lead to too much life-changing decisions and i think that's what Solomon was trying to say. We would all rather be at a party than a funeral but for serious life improvement, a party doesn't cut it. Anyway, that was in my head all week as I spent much time with a grieving family at the viewings and then the funeral. It's unfortunate that it usually takes someones death to be able to see lots of family. Maybe my family is different, but there are the family I always see, the ones I see every year or two and then the family I never see except for times like these. Sorry, random thoughts about life (death?).
I have tons of stuff going on this Sunday. I have Next Step at 5, then youth group, then I have a meeting for the mission trip after youth group. Being gone for most of the last two weeks, I have much to catch up on. I know it seems like we like to say we're sooo busy and never have any time to relax and we all think that somehow that's a good thing. I like to say to people that being so busy keeps me out of trouble but it doesn't. I wish it was more of an accepted thing to not be busy. I don't know how possible that would be but it sounds good. Anyway, then Monday there is a rollerskating activity in the evening (not to forget two meeting earlier in the day) and hopefully, after that, the week slows down a bit.
Monday morning I'm meeting with some other youth pastors and youth sponsors to go over some fellowship activities and ideas. I'm looking forward to that as i don't get a chance to talk much with other yp's and bounce ideas and stuff off them. Should be a good meeting.
I'll try today and tomorrow (Saturday) to spend lots of time relaxing with family. I definitely need to get the brakes on the van replaced. We'll see how much "football time" I really have tomorrow.

Stuff going on

OK, back in the saddle of "normalcy" again. I had a good time with the three teens that actually made it with me to the Leadership Conference. The conference was not what i thought, but it was good and challenging. There were about 65 or 70 teens there and everyday was full of mostly services and leadership stuff. The speaker, Paul Whitt, was very good and the kids really liked the leadership training. If we go next year, I definitely want more kids to be able to go, but it's not a good thing to force them to go as some other schools made the juniors and seniors go and you could tell they did not really want to be there except for the fact of missing school for 3 days.
Some sad news; it sounds like my grandpa up in Michigan will not make it too much longer. I'm trying to decide when I should go up, before he goes or just for the funeral. This will be the closest family death I've had to deal with in my life. Makes me think of the uncertainty of life.
It also looks as if I'll end up being the school's athletic director. I'm not sure that I'm thrilled about that as there are a couple people who are definitely more qualified than me, but they don't want to or can't do it, and this would be another new experience for me to tackle. We'll see. It will definitely have its challenges as I'm finding out more and more about what all entails the athletic program and the history of our playing certain other schools.
Looking forward to a Saturday to mostly relax. The rest of November should be pretty busy with youth ministry stuff and school stuff. And Thanksgiving and the holiday season are almost here too. Look out.

Stuff going on

OK, so I'm really excited because I finally get to go out of town somewhere. I wish my wife could go with me but there's the whole "kids and teaching" thing. oh well. Tomorrow after lunch I'm taking three students to the Student Leadership Conference in central WV. We'll be there until Thursday morning. I started with about 15 interested kids, then went to 7 who wanted to go, then down to 5 signed up and now because of sickness and other stuff I have three. We'll see when I pull out of the church parking lot tomorrow if I still have three going. Here's hoping. I'm trying not to be negative because I originally planned this to be a side trip thing for the Next Step class. Then I found out none of the public school kids can miss any days and most of the Christian school kids couldn't either or didn't have the money. I tried to make it more affordable for my youth ministry kids be paying for half of the cost if they were part of my youth group but that still didn't help much. But hey, God knows and i hope it's a great week for the teens who are going as well as for myself. Talk about changing the whole goal of an activity but as a youth pastor, I'm learning that comes with the territory.
Had fun at a party Saturday night. A family from the school who has 6 kids had a harvest party and invited pretty much all the Jr. and Sr. High students and teachers. I had fun running around with the kids and goofing off as well as playing with the bonfire. I know I was a pyromaniac in a previous life. Then today at church we were supposed to have a group from Northland Bible College be here in the evening, and they showed up for S.S. this morning. So my family and I took the six in the group out for Chinese after the morning service and then I came home and finished watching the new Indiana Jones movie because it had to be returned tonight. Then choir practice and the special service with the Northland group, and afterwards we had pizza and drinks and stuff while the teens hung out with the college kids. There were around 25 kids and I was glad to see a couple returning visitors and a couple kids come back that had missed a bunch of weeks. We played a game and then I just came home a little bit ago and packed for the trip.
I would like this week to be 1. a chance to get to know better the three teens who are going, 2. a good relaxing yet challenging retreat, 3. a time to challenge my ideas and info about leadership, 4. a challenging time for the teens, 5. the start to a closer walk with God in these teens lives and in turn, in this Christian school. I would really like to get some good, practical stuff to pass on to the Next Step kids. We'll see. God is in charge of my ministry and I need to trust Him to do what is best.

Weekend in Review

Well, it was going to be a busy weekend in the youth ministry but God used the weather to change things. (Proverbs reminds us that we can plan things exactly how we want but God brings everything to pass how He wants.) Anyway, I had a trip up to PA planned to go to a corn maze/hay ride/farm trip thing. But it rained all Friday night and into Saturday morning so I had to cancel it Sat. morning. That was a bummer because everyone was looking forward to it, including yours truly. But the worst part was when I called the corn maze place and found out that this weekend was the last shot at the activities. So i couldn't even reschedule which is what I was going to do. So I watched football and spent time with my family which was good, but Michigan lost again, which wasn't good. Oh well. Then Sunday came and I had a pretty good, interesting lesson on obedience in respect to Noah in Genesis. Youth group in the evening turned out great. We had 23 in attendance which was the most we've had since the youth group meeting right before the Cedar Point trip in August. Plus, we had a couple new girls visit and they seemed excited about what was going on. In fact, they came to the afterglow afterwards when I invited them. But back to youth group. We had prayer and split up into smaller groups to pray and share requests. Then we sang a couple songs (I'm getting better at the guitar thing, believe it or not) and I challenged the kids again this week on the idea of our lives and why we are here. I made the point it is only for God's pleasure and glory that He created us and we need to live for His glory only. Who do we worship? It comes down to ourselves or Christ. Then I gave them 3 examples of how to tell who they were truly worshipping. They need to examine what they spend their time, money, and thoughts on. I hope the points took hold because I could see some of the wheels turning in their heads. After youth group, we went over to a family's house for the afterglow. We had snacks and drinks and then everyone ran around outside or sat around the bonfire roasting marshmallows. I had a great time of just fellowship and "hang out" time with the teens. And here's a bonus, I even had them back to the church before 9:00!!
It was just a good weekend of ministry even though an activity got cancelled. Now I'm finishing details and plans for the Student Leadership Conference that I'm taking some of the teens to next week. I think it will be great for the youth ministry. Our second Next Step is tomorrow night. I hope it's as good as the first.
And I early voted today. Talk about feeling like a good citizen but helpless at the same time!

Ups and Downs

I just started our youth ministry's first discipleship/leadeship program I am callling "Next Step". Our first meeting was last night and I had eight people show up, a pretty nice surprise for me. The teens were excited, if not somewhat apprehensive about what i was doing, but I feel they caught my vision of desiring more leadership in the group and spiritual growth. It was a better than expected start in the wake of a big, disappointing shock I had earlier yesterday concerning another teen and her life choices that she will be paying for big time. Just another example of the roller-coaster ride of ups and downs we youth pastors have.
The new class started well for which i am incredibly thankful, and we'll see if it stays strong. Here's hoping for my teens sake's it does.

Trust

I'm in the middle of reading a book by Jerry Bridges called Trusting God. It is very good, yet simple, which I like. It covers much about his belief and the Bible's proofs that God is sovereign over all things including health, nature, government (do we ever need that!), nations, and personal lives. It has made me think much over what we refer to as "chance" and what is really God working in everything. Even in the rough times of life, we can trust in what Jeremiah says, "For I know the plans that I have for you,... plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope." (NASB) Through good and bad (which is what we are usually more concerned with), God is there; still good, still in control, still actively working out His will and desire for us. I was reading some other blogs about this same topic (so I can't take full credit for these thoughts), and they got me to thinking more about this, and it's neat to see how all different types of Christians can come to the same conclusions about God. And it's just by reading what His Word says. I like that I can challenge my youth group to not only fully put their trust and life in God's hands, but to know that He is actively working in them even now. I was counseling just the other day with someone who is struggling with cutting and thoughts of suicide. They need to know that God has a plan for their life and He is working and preparing them even in their "life crisis" and emotional pain they are going through now. Teens today unfortunately don't think about their future and what God has for them, they are concerned only with now. If they do think about the future it's only about what job they want to have to make the most money they can to have the most toys and stuff they can. If we could only point them to God's omniscience that ties together with his absolute love and mercy He has for us, which equals His sovereignty in our lives. But that requires trust which is a subject many teens, and adults, come far from truly understanding or even thinking about.

Seemingly hopeless

Bothersome thoughts of a youth pastor:
I look at this world and the countless distractions it has to offer (jobs, money, fame, popularity, selfish desires, fun, distractions, media, just to name a few) and I wonder how on earth any teenager who wants to live for Christ can do so successfully. It seems hopeless that I as a youth pastor could make any impression at all in their lives that can compete with the world. But of course, I can't. John 3:30 says "He must increase, but I must decrease." Jesus Christ is the only one who can truly make a difference in these kids lives. I am just the tool he may use to work with. Just like a hammer lying there on the workbench is useless until it is picked up and swung effectively, we are (I am) useless without God's sovereign "swinging" in my life. I know this but I so often forget it and try my own ways of getting teenagers attention and time. My activities and discipleship classes and other things i plan are already losing to the busyness of the teenager today. Sports, band, clubs, family time, parties, going to movies, etc... all are a big part of today's teenagers life. But once again, God knows this; nothing takes Him by surprise and I must simply be the clay in His hands for me to be used effectively for Him.
One of the songs I've taught my teens and learned to play on my guitar is In Christ Alone. All our hope is solely in Him because of what He did and continues to do for us.
Seemingly hopeless? Yup, but thank God things aren't always as they seem.