Forget it…

Have you ever forgot something and then remembered and the pain of what you forgot was oh so real? Just recently I placed a pair of black shoes on the fender of my jeep, running around getting everything needed for a super busy day I jumped in the jeep and Forgot the shoes. When I went to put my shoes on, I thought I left them home so I headed home on my way to another campus to preach. It was when I switched to another pair that I had the vision of the shoes placed on the fender…I forgot and they will never be seen again. Now its time for something new!

In life and ministry we hold onto so many things, if we could just for get the past, then we could move onto something new. The absolute truth is this, “You can’t change the past, but you can change today and tomorrow!” If we hold onto the past and we don’t let go of it, then wed wont be able to move forward. The pair of shoes I forgot, brought me a lot of places, but they will never bring me to the next places! Forget and move on!

Isaiah 43:18 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

creativity in 4 crayons…

Remember when you were like 8 years old and you went to a restaurant and were given 4 crayons to color with and you turned the placemat over and began to cover every square inch with stick people that came to life and conquered the world. the sound effects you made to shoot guns, the falling effect when people got shot…that’s creativity. Somewhere we were told that there was more to life than 4 crayons, 2 of which were broken. Somewhere we started to learn that we needed to calm down and chill. I have 2 boys and I love their creativity. They can make up stories with amazing plots and add all the necessary sound effects to back it all up. I look at the way they “play” and see so much creativity in it. Somewhere in school we were taught to stop playing and start learning. What was your favorite time of the school day…I had 2. One was recess where we could make up any game with any imagination and the rules always changed. The other was story time…the teacher would read from amazing books and you could be swept out of school and into the story for incredible moments each day.

Creativity is what God made us to be! The way I see it, he created the heavens and the earth with his words and it took creativity to create it all…But he created us in His image. If we were created with Him in mind, then I believe he created us with creativity in mind. So many inventions, discoveries and life changing programs are waiting to be discovered and written by people! Pick up the crayon and start creating something for God to be glorified in! Don’t be limited by the number of crayons you have, we have an unlimited source of color to draw from! You are creative…pick up the crayons God gives you and make something great today.

Youth pastor…quit complaining about what you do not have and start using what you do have. Whatever you got right now, make it the best you have and make it great! Too many people say they will wait until they get something in order to do something. Realize you are something and God wants to use you to be something!

creating a service that students want to come back to…

Every wednesday night somewhere in America there is a guy or gal that is working their tail off in order to provide a life changing experience for kids to come to and desire to come back to…what about you? How much effort do you put into the 2 hours you have to make a difference in eternity? Do you lie awake at night thinking and dreaming about ways to get the most out of the time you have with students. Truth be told, you may have only one opportunity to touch some students lives. If you are not ready, prepared for them to come, then you may miss the moment! If you are going to change the lives of the students you get to touch each week, then you have to prioritize giving them a service they remember, want to come back and desire to bring someone else to! Just a one thing to consider when planning any service. Do you have a service order – a detailed plan of attack? Some say well I am gonna flow with the spirit, but what you are saying is, you are too lazy to plan out a great night. There will be no flow in a service if you don’t have a set order to go by. We are pentecostal and led by the spirit and we plan out nights to the hilt, but many times the plan is thrown out…video clips and all when God starts to move. One rule to live by is be flexible…don’t be so rigid that what you do becomes expected behavior. Mix it up! Don’t be afraid to change something up or add something to the mix! When you print up a service order, make sure the people that help you understand what’s on it and make it detailed enough so you are not directing the service from the mic. I hate to have to say…hey sound guy play the clip! That is so irritating! I give the sound guy a phrase cue…and a copy of the message to follow along with so they can play video clips, sound clips, whatever…on cue! Your service order is just a road map to set up a flow in a service so that everyone stays on point and you can maximize the most out of a service. If you don’t have a plan, you will constantly wonder why you run out of time and why you don’t have enough time. The service order is one place to start at in order to give students a service they want to come back to! When planning out the service please include music to play before the service starts, the altar call, and music for after the service is done! Pre-service music is a great way to communicate the message you are preaching that night…remember everything communicates your message!

our defining moment!

Today is wednesday and if you are in youth ministry whatever day you hold your service it’s a big deal. “somebody is living or dying on every word you say” Reggie Dabbs. I heard this last week at Mainstream Orlando’s Youth leaders Conference and it shakes up the way you handle a service. It’s more than just a service, it’s an event, it’s an encounter, it’s your defining moment. Defining moments need to be handled carefully. Realize this…the message you preach flows though everything you do. So, everything you do communicates your message (not just the preaching of the Word)…walking in the building, listening and viewing the announcements, listening to a worship leader, your leaders interaction with students, the setup, the look, the feel, the smell…everything you do communicates your message! You only have one chance to make a moment! When it’s your defining moment it needs to be well thought out, planned out and executed to the tee! When the moment is over, don’t forget to evaluate what happened and make it better for the next moment! Just a few of my thoughts as I go through the process of gearing up for our moment tonight!

how its made…

Sitting on the couch with my 8 year old flipping through the vastness of nothing on cable, we came across a show that got an 8 year old excited. How its made…a show that took a fork lift and showed from scratch how it was made and put together. This made me think about how our lives are fragmented, missing the necessary pieces to build us into what we are designed to be. Our lives are full of details and specs that make us who we really are. If something is missing, then we can’t be what we were made to be.
So, what’s missing?
What needs to be added?
What needs to be fabricated?
What is not in the right position in order for us to operate at the level we were made to operate at?

No matter what is happening right now…you were made for a specific purpose. Allow God to use people to add, fabricate and even position the pieces in your live that make you who you really are. You are being made each and every day to be something great…don’t settle for less!

transition…is it ever easy?

You may ask what is transition…Webster says it is the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another. Are you in a process from going from one place to another? I remember when I left for college…huge transition in my life. I had to really get my mind around the fact that this was it. I packed pretty much all I had except a few boxes of old stuff that I left with family and moved across the state to pursue what I felt was God’s plan. Transition was not easy because I was leaving a great church and the love of my life behind. Lets just say God had it all under control and it all worked out and I am still in love with the same woman I have been married to for 19 years. God proved himself in this transition…all my needs were met and He opened great doors for us to connect with some great people. The next big transition for me was when I graduated from college. I lived in married housing and time was running out! The world was at my fingertips, so I thought. Where would I land for my first ministry position? I did everything I was taught to do to land the position. I prayed, fasted sent out resumes (even got rejected a few times)…I preached and went thru a bunch of interviews…there were 2 churches that we were serious about wanting to be their youth pastor. Both of them were looking at me and another guy and we were acquaintances…isn’t that funny. Well, I ended up in Jacksonville and he ended up in Ocala. I spent 9 1/2 years at that church. The waiting and hoping and calling and everything that happens when it’s totally out of your hands, dragged my heart all over the place…transition is not easy! But when you land where God sets it up, it is truly amazing! Transition…is it ever easy? When God told Abram to move to a foreign land was that easy? When God told Moses in a burning bush to go tell Pharaoh “let my people go,” was that easy? You may be in a transition state right now…keep your head up, smile, be positive and speak life over your situation, keep waiting (serving) on God with all your heart, don’t fret over rejection, keep your eyes open to see God move and pray, pray, and pray some more. Transition is not easy, but in order to get to the place your are destined to be, you may have to leave the place you are at. Nothing takes God by surprise! God is the author and finisher of our faith, so that means he is the author of transition.

creative youth ministry night…”drumline”

A few months ago I had an idea watching the movie drum line…what if I could get several drum lines to come to the youth church and perform, do their thing…what energy could take place? What momentum could their be? Well, tonight is the night. Drum line night at crave. 3 high schools will perform and it’s gonna be sick! I have edited out 3 clips from the movie drum line and focused our message on a drum line. You may ask how did you get them to come, well I asked and they were excited to come. I only wish I could have like 2 more schools present. We have planned to feed each drum line and give them a small offering to help with their program…basically all programs need funding so it’s a win for both sides.

Here is a glimpse into the message:

1. The drum line is an important part of the band…But it’s not the band!
One band One sound!

Interview questions for the drum lines…

1. How long have you been drumming?
2. How often do you practice?
3. Can anyone be on a drum line?
4. What’s it take to be on a drum line?
5. Your drum….What’s so special about it…I like the big drum, snare drum, what about the quads…they are cool!

The one thing I get from a drum line is this – community!
John 3: Nicodemus came in the night to find community, to find truth to find out about the power of ONE!

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

God came and he gave us ONE!
2. drummers have to be able to keep beat with a predetermined arrangement!

Just being you is not enough! You have to know what the arrangement is! The word Arrangement is defined as – plans or preparations for a future event! God has a plan for each persons life. Now be careful I am not preaching predestination, but rather the divine plan of God.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

If a drummer plays his own beat, then he will be out of sync with the rest of the line! For some people it’s hard enough to simply walk and chew gum for some, playing on a drum line means you have to stay in sync with your line!

3. a drum is designed to make a specific sound!
A drum is made for a specific sound! The word Made is defined as – to build, make, repair, set (up), that means they are perfectly fit in the right place. In Genesis 1: 26 “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

God has a specific sound that this generation is made for…not something they fit into but something they are designed for.

What sound is your life making?

Altar call:

Time to tune up, and gear up!