Life Change

What's the youth pastor thinking? That is a good question.

I would have to say I have been thinking about Ryan, my best friend, and how it stinks that the Saints lost yesterday. Ryan has always been a Saints fan. He is a die hard loyal fan and his team has been awful for so long. I was really pulling for him.

I've also been thinking about my good friend Jeff Hunt. I am actually wearing a mechanics shirt right now that has the name Jeff Hunt on it for the name tag. I'm thinking about him because he is going to have a kidney transplant. Jeff had leukemia five years ago. He has had a bone morrow transplant and now he is having a kidney transplant. His brother Todd is the donor. I've been praying for Jeff a lot. He is a really good guy and I really hope this is the last huge thing he has to come up against for a while.

On a lighter note, ever since last night I have been thinking about this mystery package that is sitting next to my desk. Contained in this mystery package is a bundle of fun and entertainment. I'll give the person who guesses what it is the first chance to really enjoy it. Have fun.

The last thing I have been thinking a lot about is "life-change." I have been reading a book I have really been enjoying called Communicating for a Change by Andy Stanley. Through that book I have been reminded that as a pastor and a communicator what I am really after is seeing life change in the people in my ministry and in my own life. It seems like I had lost that perspective a little over time. It is easy to go to church or read the Bible and find yourself doing those things just because it is what you do. Actually expecting that God has something to say that is going to cause change in your life takes a complete change of perspective. Instead of coming to hear or reading to read you approach those things ready to apply. And when you apply what God has to say that should result in a change. Allowing God to change you is not easy, but it is awesome. It doesn't get a lot cooler than when God is at work in your life molding you into His image.

As a result of thinking about life change I have began to think about how God is at work in my life, changing me to be more like Him. I have been thinking about how I have been challenged recently to grow and to change and I have been trying to think through how I have responded to those challenges. Have I simply heard the challenge or command and shrugged it off or have I responded by taking action and allowing God to change me? I think those are important questions to ask. So I ask them of you. Has God been challenging you to do something, to change in some way? How have you responded to that?

Take a minute to answer those two questions by posting on this blog. I will get us started by posting my answers too.