Student Life Camp 2014 Thursday

Every year when we bring students to Student Life Camp, one of the main goals is that they would have an encounter with God that would not be just a memory filed away in their brains, but a catalyst that helped to push them deeper in their journey of following Christ. Each year, we get to see that happen and it is always such an incredible moment. Last night, a young man that came with our group began that journey for the first time by placing his faith in Jesus Christ.  If nothing else good were to happen for the rest of our time here that alone would be more than worth the price of admission. Thank you to all who have been praying, the service last night was very powerful! In addition to this young man, several of our students responded to the challenge to get back in the game and come back home to Christ.  I love how Sam reminded our kids that emotions go up and down, and encouraged them to join their hearts with their heads in making a decision, because in those moments it can be so easy to get caught up in how you feel. 

Today is the last full day of camp and this time tomorrow we will be sitting on a bus headed home. This is always one of my favorite weeks of the year, and I consider myself tremendously blessed to get to bring a great group of students and leaders here again. We have some amazing young men and women here in our student ministry, and I am confident greater things are on the horizon as they pursue their savior. We've been able to spend some quality time together hiking, playing games, eating meals, and of course worshiping together each day. I am looking forward to our last day here - finishing strong and having fun. See you all tomorrow night! 

Student Life Camp 2014 Wednesday

Things are going great here in Estes Park. I'm really excited about how our students are responding to the messages, bible studies, and church group time. One of the greatest things about youth ministry is hearing students share from their heart about the transformation that is occurring in their lives. That moment when everything seems to click will never get old. 

Last night Sam spoke out of Acts and talked about Stephen. He challenged us to be full of wisdom and the Holy Spirit and questioned whether other people would say those things about us. It was a powerful night of worship as well. Hearing well over a thousand voices singing together is one of my favorite parts of camp, and Brett Younker is doing a great job leading us. 

Today will be a fun day as well. A group of us are going on a hike and several have also talked about going fishing at a nearby river. I cannot brag on this place enough - Estes Park truly is one of the most beautiful places around and we're looking forward to exploring more of it today. We have great students here at FBC! Please continue to pray for us! 

Student Life Camp 2014 Tuesday

Today is a picture perfect day. We could not ask for better weather, and Estes Park is showing off as usual. After our long morning of travel, the first day of Student Life Camp got off to a great start. I'm so excited that we get to hear from Sam Bhatt again this year. He was our camp pastor back in 2012 and that week still ranks as one of the most memorable camps that I have ever attended. Sam loves the Lord and loves teaching the Word of God. Our students will be blessed, encouraged, and challenged by the end of this week to live more boldly in their faith in Christ. 

Last night, Sam challenged us with the camp theme: "Who do you say I am?". How we answer that question changes everything. Christians are good at giving the right answer when asked that question, but Sam challenged us to ask it of ourselves and compare our answer with what our life says. He reminded all of us that Christianity is a lifestyle. We must live out our answer to that question if we ever hope for the world around us to come to the same conclusion about Jesus Christ. 

This morning I believe our group is much more refreshed and energetic after getting some much needed rest last night. As I type this they are with their small group leaders - Bobby Greene and Felton Prosper for the guys, and Amy Kimmel for the girls - studying their daily lesson. Thank you all who have been praying for us, we are already having a great week and I believe the best is yet to come!

Matter for what matters

"I used to be afraid of failing at the things that really mattered to me, now I'm more afraid of succeeding at things that don't matter. " - Bob Goff  Love Does

Losing the state football championship my senior year of high school was one of the most depressing, and at the moment, devastating moments of my life. Not only did I want to win, but I also did not want to be remembered as part of the team that didn't win because that was a big deal in my hometown. A red trophy does not seem to shine the same way a blue trophy does in the display case. As an 18 year old young man, this was a huge issue for me. I soon realized though, that nobody outside of that small southeastern New Mexico town really cared that much about our high school football team, at least not near as much as I had presumed. I apologize for the spoiler alert for those of you who live, breathe, and eat Artesia Bulldog football. 

This was just one of many lessons for me about what matters most in life. I also wanted to secure a nice income and have a career in physical therapy or sports medicine where I could somehow be connected to the sports industry. Now, I bring home an average salary and the closest I get to the field is when I go out and school some teenagers in a game of flag football. But hey, at least I'm playing on Sundays. 

I am guilty, like many others, of having a skewed view of God's plan for me. I want God to want for me what I want for me. I believe that what matters most to me, probably matters most to God. As a result of that, I have spent a lot of time and energy chasing after things only to find out they do not matter as much as I previously thought. My friend Stuart Hall recently said: "It doesn't really matter what you're living for unless what you're living for really matters." The apostle Paul put it this way in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.  No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." I don't want to come to the end of my days and realize I missed the prize. I don't want to earn the wrong paycheck. I don't want to live in the wrong place. I don't want to achieve the wrong accolade. I don't want to win the wrong trophy. 

Red trophies will not last. Blue trophies will not last. Much of what we long for will not last very long at all. What crown are you chasing that will not last? Live on purpose. Matter for what matters. 

Blurred Lines

I didn't watch the vma's on Sunday night, and honestly I don't think I ever have.  I realize that as a youth pastor that may mean I'm less "relevant" but that's a risk I'm willing to take. I have a two and a four year old that I am far more concerned about. I do watch a lot of news however and the few seconds of footage they have shown are more than enough to depict what was happening on stage that has everyone talking.

I have already read some great commentary from several people far wiser than I, and I can't say that I have anything profound to add to the conversation. I do think something is missing here though. Miley Cyrus has been the recipient of the brunt of the criticism the last couple of days and her actions were the most obvious and outrageous.  And while we can make apologies and excuses for her, at the end of the day those actions were hers and they were disgusting and inappropriate - but they were hers. She has to own what she did and her accountability is to God. This situation is a great reminder, however, that we should not take our cue from celebrities. They are human - they're going to drop the ball, and this is MTV we're talking about here not the Disney Channel.

What is intriguing to me is that Robin Thicke, Miley's co-performer that night has been seemingly left out of the conversation. Thicke's song "Blurred Lines" is one of the most popular songs of the summer. A quick google search of the lyrics to that song give us an idea of what is on this guy's mind. "You the hottest b**** in this place......The way you grab me, must wanna get nasty...." Those are just a small sampling.  This song is objectification of women at its worst. This man is 36, Miley Cyrus is 20. Think about this men, in almost any other arena, a girl sixteen years your junior does to you what Miley did to him in that video and you're probably going straight to jail. Nevermind the fact that Thicke is married with a three year old son. Did he miss the rehearsal for this, or did he just not care? Appropriate or not, Miley was playing out the role of the girl that Thicke is describing in this song - a good girl gone bad.

I'm not advocating that we grab some more stones to throw at Robin Thicke. If we were to pick apart the vma's we would see a large amount of glorification of sin. Taylor Swift apparently dropped the f-bomb when cameras panned to her while One Direction was on stage, and one can safely assume any time Lady Gaga and Katy Perry take the stage they are probably not dressed in a modest manner. None of that is the point. The point is, the lines are blurred for what is and is not acceptable in our society. Should we be concerned about what Miley Cyrus did Sunday night? Absolutely! Should we also be concerned that an artist can lyrically paint a picture of a woman as an animal that must be domesticated, shoot a video about it with scantily clad girls, and do it all in the name of a catchy tune? Why are we not?

In Matthew 12:34 Jesus says "out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks". This is not just a lyrics issue, it's a heart issue. And men, especially young men, if you're reading this I would encourage you to delete every song on your ipod that includes the word b*tch. The more times you hear that, the more numb you become to that idea.  And women, especially young women, I would encourage you to do the same thing. You are not an animal. You do not need to be domesticated. You were not designed to be what that 20 year old girl was on stage at the vma's.  You are a daughter of the King.

The sobering news for all of us is that we are just as jacked up as Miley Cyrus, Robin Thicke, and the MTV executives that gave the go ahead for this fiasco. But God wants to redeem us all. Our past does not have to define us. That's why these artists need our prayer support more than our monetary support. Society may have blurred lines about what is most important, but God has drawn a line in the sand.

Stuff Pastors Can't Say

Last Sunday morning, I told our students we were going to have an ice cream bar on Wednesday night. I caught myself afterward and changed it to "ice cream buffet" just in case some kid went home and told their parents there would be a bar at church. Yesterday I posted an update on facebook about my 2 year old son landing on my crotch on the trampoline. My friend and fellow pastor asked if a pastor was allowed to use the word "crotch" on facebook. And finally just this morning a well known communicator and writer posted a tweet with the phrase "piss you off" in it. All of these incidents, in addition to the fact that I'm in the middle of a sermon series called "Words", got me thinking about what words you can and cannot say if you work at a church.

I'm not a cusser. I used to be. I'm not even much of a closet cusser, although if I injure myself badly enough one or two may sneak out. This isn't a post to judge those of you who do either, it's easy to learn to watch your mouth when there are a lot of other people watching it as well. Besides profanity, there are some other words that may seem harmless that ministers may not be allowed to say. Ministers are expected to put their speech through an extra filter that everyone else is seemingly exempt from. Upon ordination, ministers are gifted with an internal auto correct feature that descends upon them from heaven much like the flaming tongues at Pentecost. I just realized ministers aren't supposed to use the word flaming either, crap. Great, now I'm 0 for 2 on the last two sentences.

The funny thing is, if a preacher uses a word that's not on the pre-approved list (your church has one somewhere), people tend to remember it more than anything else he said. I think this is just as telling about the audience as it is the pastor. Now, by no means am I advocating being able to say whatever the heck you want from the pulpit and not be judged. We must measure our words carefully, especially during those times of preaching. But the fact remains, pastors are human and sometimes the words we use aren't necessarily bad in and of themselves they are just unexpected. So I've developed a short list of words pastors can't say without reservation, and some potential alternatives. This is nowhere near an exhaustive list, but at least it gets us started.

The no-nos:  crap, pissed, sucks, butt, crotch, hell* (unless it's in a verse - but even then proceed with caution), breasts (avoid Song of Solomon), shut up, and if you're reading from the King James try to replace the word 'ass' with donkey (your autocorrect should catch that), gay, and freaking.

The replacements: poop or doo-doo, ticked, stinks, hiney or rear or bottom, groin, hades or heck, chest, be quiet, donkey, dumb, and friggin' (I guess?).

There you go, a short list of things your minister isn't supposed to say. I know there's more - what are some others?

Not. So. With. You.

James and John had been running with Jesus for a while now and things were starting to get serious. If this guy really was who he said he was - and they were starting to think he was, then the future could be very bright for these former fishermen. If Jesus was the king that must mean He would be sitting on a throne ruling a kingdom, and there would be several high ranking positions that He would need to fill. So James and John did the manly thing when approaching Jesus about securing a job in His firm - they called their momma. In Matthew 20, Mrs. Of Zebedee shows up and asks Jesus for a favor. She wants her sons to sit at his right and his left in his kingdom. They were after all part of the inner circle of three that shared some special moments with Jesus. On paper, James and John were indeed two of the most qualified of the twelve. 

When the other ten disciples heard about it, they were ticked. This may or may not have been the first time a "your momma" joke was used. Not only had James and John displayed arrogance in thinking that they deserved the top two spots, the disciples were probably angry because James and John were clever enough to ask Jesus before anyone else could.  As they were arguing amongst themselves Jesus calls them together to teach them an important lesson. In verse 25 Jesus says: "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them." Then He drops a bomb on them. In four words Jesus completely ruins their career plans. "Not so with you." Apparently Jesus' plan for leadership was much different than the world's. He gave them an example of how everyone else was doing it and then said "That's not how it's going to work in my kingdom." Take everything you know about leadership, all the books you've read and seminars you've attended, and flush it down the toilet. 

Jesus was working His way down. James and John were trying to work their way up. Jesus was on His way to the cross, they were trying to get to the throne. They wanted to be first, Jesus told them they should be last. They wanted to be served, Jesus told them to be servants and slaves. 

It's easy to get hooked on the narcotic of success, rewards, compensation, and status in leadership. It's natural to want to move up the ladder the longer you have been on it. Jesus never called the disciples to be in a position, he called them to be a people. They would indeed hold important responsibilities after He was gone, but it wouldn't be glamourous. They were torn between their calling and their ache to be successful. We see one model displayed in the world and everyone follows that model. Work hard, move your way up, get money, get respect, arrive. Jesus flips this model on its head. 

If you want to be great in the kingdom that will last, you have to be last. If you want to climb high, you have to get low. If you want to look different from the rest of the world you have to live different. You have to serve. You have to give. You can't ride your momma's coattails to success. The world has proven if you will do things a certain way, you will get certain results. No so with you.