The Girls' Turn

I must admit, I am really enjoying this series. I hope I'm not alone in that.

It has been fun talking to the guys for the past few weeks and I really had a good time switching gears yesterday and addressing the girls. I am interested in getting some feedback from you though because that is the first time I have ever given a talk specifically to a group of girls. I hope what I said made sense. If there was any part of it that you have questions about I would love for you to post a question on here so I can try to answer it.

I also thought it was pretty funny/cool how Matt got engaged to the Lovely Lauren during this series. He says that decision was unrelated to these talks but I'm not buying it. In fact the next time I teach this series I am pretty sure I am going to have to mention that when I teach this stuff at least one person ends up getting engaged as a result. I think that might grab some one's attention. Anyway, congrats Matt. That is awesome.

Finally, I am really looking forward to next week. Not only do we get to hear in full the jr. high guys' answers to what a beautiful woman at 15 through 55 looks like, but we also get to hear from the Beautiful Krista. That should be fun. She is going to do an awesome job. I am excited that you girls will get to hear from her in this setting on this topic. I feel like God has given her a lot of wisdom in this area and I really want to give y'all a chance to soak it all in.

So yeah, that's what is going on in the Gathering from my perspective. Now it is your turn. Tell me what you think. I am just dying to hear.

Guy Talks

Three straight weeks of talks geared towards being a young man of God can sting a bit. Yet, I really loved getting to talk straight with you guys about what it looks like to be a man of God. I always find these types of talks challenging and motivating. I don't know about you, but I want to be the man God wants me to be. I love that I am called to be an example of good and that God can give me the power to be self-controlled so that "after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified fro the prize" (1 Cor. 9:27). I love the idea that I can be used by God to do something great for Him...like reach this city and the students in this city.

How amazing would it be if our ministry was made up of guys that took this stuff seriously? Like if you guys really committed to live by a biblical code of conduct. Can you imagine the impact y'all could have if y'all pledged to be pure, honest, loyal, courageous, bold and servant leaders? And if you guys protected our girls and led them in what it looks like to follow hard after Christ in every area of their lives. And if y'all all gave yourself to a transcendent cause. If each one of you would just look to your own class room or band or lunch table or school and say this is what I am all about, seeing these people come into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ and then giving yourself to seeing that happen one day. What a huge thing that would be. By God's grace it can happen. We can be men that make a huge impact for God's kingdom. If only we will act like men.

I am interested in hearing from you guys about what we haven been talking about the past three weeks. I would love for you tell me what stood out and what challenged you and what you are doing as a result. I would also love to hear from the ladies about what you thought about these past three weeks and if you are ready for your turn starting this week.

I hope you all have a great week. I am looking forward to getting to see most of y'all on Wednesday.

Finding the Right One

Easter Sunday was great. It is always one my favorite Sundays out the entire year. This year it was even better than usual because Baker, Josh and AJ were all in ties and Sean was looking snazzy in a suit. Amazing. I think AJ won though because he somehow pulled off a Sponge Bob tie without even getting much attention drawn to it. That says something about a man.

As for The Gathering I had a great time. For me, Easter just makes everything even more meaningful and special. I loved the band as usual, but I thought that they sounded better than ever. You could tell Jason was having a great time with the guitar and drum solos. It think he is an awesome worship leader. He keeps things fun and moving and yet at the same time he does a great job keeping us focused on God and he helps us see exactly why we are singing what we are singing. I love that.

As for the series, I am looking forward to the next four weeks. Two weeks on talking about what a young man of God is to look like and then two weeks on what a young woman of God looks like. That should be a lot of fun. I don't know about you, but I always liked hearing what the girls were supposed to be like. It helped me see what I was to be looking for and it was not near as convicting because it was all geared towards them and not me. So, girls enjoy these next two weeks and then guys look forward to getting to enjoy the two weeks focused on the girls.

My biggest encouragement to all of y'all as we spend time talking about what a man or woman of God is to look like is to remember that the stuff I am talking about is impossible to just "muster up" on your own. You must remember that it is only by God's grace and by His power that these things can be true of you. So like I said at the end of the talk, let these talks drive you to God for grace and power. Let it cause you to become more dependent on Him and let Him develop His character in you. Because when that happens then you will be the Right One. And that is a very good thing.

Where & When

I thought Sunday went well. I hated not getting to be up there with everyone the entire time, but getting to lead the church in communion was very cool. Unfortunately though, I didn't get to hear the band or participate in the whole "Rent-A-Date" thing. So I need y'all to tell me how that went.

I heard Faith was a cool addition. The band is awesome. I am loving that.

I had a great time teaching, but I had so much to get across I know I talked really fast. I think that stuff we covered is really important though. I hope it made sense and some of that stuck. I know I said a lot, I hope you can remember some of it.

To rehash for a second, the key points were: As believers we need look to date only other believers and not only that but committed believers with good reputations. The other key point was that when it comes to when you should begin dating it is a stage not an age. I hope you found those four tests helpful. I really encourage you to spend some time thinking through those and hearing what God has to say to you through them.

That is what I thought about Sunday. Now it is your turn. Let me know because knowing is half the battle...

Before You Say I Do

I thought this weekend was a blast. I hope you did too.

So we kicked-off the new series on Sunday. I am interested in hearing what y'all thought. I think we are going to have a lot of fun with this topic. I am about to read your surveys and I must admit I am very interested in what you wrote down.

Here are a few of my other thoughts about Sunday:

+ It was great to have Jason back. The band sounded better than they ever had before. I am already screaming encore. I love worshipping along with those guys.

+ The new look of the room makes me happy. I like it a lot...not as much as I love Krista but still a whole lot. I hope you like the room too. Smiles all around.

+ I think the series started off well. I enjoyed talking about it...a little too much because I went long again. I hope you hung in there with me. You have to give me a break though because I hadn't slept that weekend. Next week will be really good. Now that you know what the topic will be like you ought to invite your friends.

So those are my thoughts. I would love to hear yours.

See you all on Wednesday.

Summary Sunday

Yesterday after church on our way to go meet my parents and my lovely sister Kaley for lunch Krista and I were talking about Summary Sunday. She said that she really enjoyed getting to hear from the students and she think that y'all get a lot out of it when you get to hear from one of your peers. I wasn't so convinced. Sure I love getting to hear from y'all too, but I am not sure that the whole idea of Summary Sunday has ever really taken off. I mean, I am not sure y'all really like it and if it serves its purpose. My hope in creating it was to give y'all the opportunity to share what God was doing in your lives as you sought to apply what you had been learning. Do y'all think that is happening?

I guess what I am asking is, do you think Summary Sunday should go? I would love to hear your input.

On a side note: Thanks Stan for filling in for Jason this week. You playing the guitar made your hair and beard look even cooler. There was even a moment when I found myself thinking that when I grow up I want to be just like you.

The Gathering: March 11th

I feel like there are three things worth mentioning from this Sunday.

1. Stan did a great job. The talk was definitely memorable and the point was important. We must obey even when it doesn't make sense. I loved the examples of what that looks like in our life that he gave at the end of his talk. Having to love people who seem unlovable (like your little brother or that one kid in your class...), having to serve people even when we would rather be served and being commanded to share the gospel even when it is not easy or what you feel like doing. If we could obey God in just those three areas we would really be doing something for His kingdom. I look forward to hearing from y'all about how that plays out in your life.

2. I miss Jason. To me it seems like it has been a year since Jason has lead worship for The Gathering. Getting to hear him in big church this Sunday was bittersweet. He did a great job and it was a great time of worship, but since he was doing it down there we didn't have him with us. Well maybe one of these days soon he will grace us with his presence again. In fact maybe if everyone who reads this just decides to post a plea to Jason to come back to us he might show up again. Join with me in proclaiming: " Jason and Beth don't go to that wedding next week, come back to us!!!"

3. No discussion groups. Yeah, sorry about that. I missed judged the time because we weren't having worship and yet I did announcements upfront. Sorry that I made us miss the discussion groups. I am a doofus. We will have an extended time in discussion next week though and I am looking forward to hearing from y'all about what God has been teaching you lately and how that has been affecting your lives.

So those are my three observations. Now it is your turn. Let me know what you think.

The Gathering Review: March 4th

Every Monday I am going to jot down a few thoughts I had about The Gathering. My hope is that you will do the same. I would like this to become a sort of forum for you, as the students, to let me know what you connect with and what you wish we could do differently. Since the whole point of The Gathering is to provide a time where students are challenged to grow in their relationship with Christ and provided the opportunity to worship God in an environment that is welcoming and accepting I need to here from you if that is happening or not. So, I will tell you what I think each Monday and, like I said, I hope you will tell me what you think as well...just don't try to hurt my feelings.

Personally, I am really enjoying the current series. Anytime I get to talk on a topic that I feel the vast amount of the world has wrong it is fun for me. In this case I don't enjoy it because I get to be right, but because this topic really affects our view of God. If you see God as someone always restricting you and holding His authority over your head you are not going to be drawn to worship Him. On the other hand, if you see Him as someone who loves you so much that He has taken the time to point out the best way for you to go then that realization alone is enough to cause you to want to worship.

Having said that, I thought I went a bit long on Sunday. I tend to do that when I get excited about what I am talking about. For those of you who come to first service and second service I am sure it can get old just sitting there and listening. So, I am sorry I went long. I hope you still got what I was saying and it has stuck with you.

Speaking of the talk sticking with you, that is one big thing I would like your feedback on. If you find yourself listening to me and then walking out of the church and already forgetting what was said I need to know that. If that is happening I am really going to need to change some things. The point of the talk is not fill time, but to lead to life change and you being challenged to grow. If you can't remember how you have been challenged then that isn't working so well. So let me know if you are retaining what I am saying.

As for the rest of The Gathering I really appreciate Jake, Zack and Devin filling in for Jason while he has been out pulling a Wedding Crasher. I thought it was very cool how most of you worshipped along with them. Leading worship in front of a good group of people can be hard but what I really liked with those guys is they brought God the best they had. And God loves that. I hope to see that attitude grow within our youth ministry. That every week we would come to worship God with the best we have.

As for the welcoming environment I think you guys are doing a great job with that. I love getting to see you hanging out before we begin talking with one another and chilling. I also heard that the Sr. High girls group did a little more talking in the Pink Room this Sunday. Krista promised it was true but I'm not sure I entirely convinced yet. But I was glad to hear that. It is on you, as the students, to really determine how welcoming the group is. So keep up the good work.

Anyway, that is some of my thoughts from Sunday. I would love to hear what yours are. You don't have to write a book or anything, but do give more than, "it was great" or "it was fine." Tell me what you like and don't like and tell my why if you can figure that out. I would love your help in making The Gathering the best we can for God's glory and your spiritual growth. So talk to me.

New Things

Obviously things have changed a bit with my blog. There is not a lot of rhyme or reason for the change other than I just wanted to. And since it is my blog that was a good enough reason for me. I am not completely done with it yet. I am trying to get Colin to help me add a few more upgrades to it. My hope is that it will turn out nicely by the end of this week...but don't hold your breath. Feel free to let me know what you think or if you have any other ideas of cool things I should add.

So Sunday I led the high school girls discussion group. I know. Krista was sick, Beth was out of town, Kristin was home with Aliaya, who was sick, and so I stepped in. Now I thought this wouldn't be such a big deal. I am their youth pastor. Turns out I was wrong. As soon as I announced that I would be the one leading their discussion time nervous energy filled the room. As I watched the girls fill the pink room each expression was priceless. It was as if I was invading their safe place and they didn't know what to do about it. Nervous laughter, quick glances from girl to girl, no eye contact with me...if I didn't know better I would have thought I had food all over my face or something.

As I began to ask questions to the girls I learned pretty quickly that an amazing phenomenon occurs as soon as they walk into the pink room. Amazingly, these girls forget how to formulate sounds into words and words into sentences. And here I was thinking girls were the more talkative sex. Instead I found that the junior high guys could talk these girls into the ground. It would be no contest. Jonathan Baker could single handedly make these girls ears bleed before they managed to say one sentence. Sure the jr. high guys talk about dumb things 99% of the time, but hey, at least they talk. Three girls said something during our 15 minutes in the pink room. Three girls out of 11. To no one's surprise I talked the most. I didn't want to be talking so much but I couldn't handle the silence much less the nervous giggling. Words had to be said.

At the end of the discussion time I left the room to round up the other groups. Instead of being followed out by the girls they stayed in the room and closed the door. What was that? I know they couldn't have begun talking to each other. I wonder if they began to sign to each other or just make gestures like they were playing some kind of game. Whatever they were doing it left me felling pretty curious.

I tell you this just to say that it was quite the new experience for me. I also bring this up in case one of those girls wants to tell me what was really going on in there. I need to know if it is true that you all forget how to talk and are left only to laugh nervously. I need to know if you are always that quiet and if you are, then why? Because, I have to tell you, it is not normal. And finally I need to know what was said, or gestured or signed, when I left the room once the discussion time was over. So someone help me out. Feel me in. The mystery of the pink room is killing me.