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!

will the real heroes please stand up and speak up?

Will the real heroes please stand up and speak up? What every school needs is a hero! Real heroes see things and say things differently! What you see will make a difference in what you do! For instance if you cant see God wants to use you, then you wont be used by him! If you cant see what God is capable of doing, then you wont pursue him to see it happen. The bottom line is simple…If you can’t see it, then you wont do it! Your vision matters! 3 types of students. The first one is distracted…they are oblivious to everything around them and they cannot see what God can do! The second student is defeated…everything is bad before it even happens, there is no hope for anything or anyone! The only thing they can see is how big bad and ugly everything is. The third student is dangerous…they see God moving. They see the potential to be great and make a huge difference because god is on their side! Which one are you? The real heroes are going to see life differently…life painted by the power of Gods hand. Seeing is believing, so open your eyes and see what god sees!
To have eyes that can see what’s really up is not enough. It’s not enough to see that God is moving or see that God can show up big.

A real hero will take their stand and open their mouth! Ezekiel 37:1-10 tells a story about a valley of dry bones. Ezekiel saw the bones and then was told to speak to the situation! He was specifically told to prophesy! To say what the lord says about it! God has something to say about every school, but someone has to step up and declare the word of the Lord! When Ezekiel prophesied the bones made a greater noise and snapped back into place and tendons and skin covered them! Nothing happened until he opened his mouth! Then he was told to prophesy that the wind will blow and bring life to these bodies. When he prophesied the wind came and the bodies stood up at attention…an army! No matter what the situation may be, its time to speak life and declare the word and watch an army stand up and be dangerous! The time is NOW! Real heroes see things that cause them to say things that bring about big things! Go ahead I dare you…see things the way God sees them and declare the word of the Lord! Life and Death are in the power of your tongue!

keep your eyes on the prize!

Yesterday I went to the beach for some fun in the sun…that is so cliche.  well, I had an amazing time with my kiddos building a massive sandcastle, throwing a football in the water, jumping waves and more…you get the picture.  At about 2 p.m. the shuttle was scheduled to launch and the people poured onto the beach and approach and waited in anticipation for the shuttle to launch.  The clouds were thick and the anticipation was evident and then it happened.  The shuttle came out from the clouds and the crowds pointed in amazement at the sight.  It is truly an amazing thing when the shuttle goes off.  I can remember  as a kid camping out all night in Titusville just to see it and the launch being scrubbed…depressing. Well this day the shuttle launched and my boys were on cloud 9  they had trouble seeing it at first, but when they locked their eyes on t he prize the excitement was evident. “i see it…there it is!”  smiles and wonder filled their lives as the shuttle raced off into the distance.  when it was out of sight we went back to playing on the beach, while some still stared into the distance (do they expect it to fall out of the sky?), i even noticed some that did not even notice it was happening, they went about their day at the beach and never saw the sight.  wow…there is a message in their somewhere about the return of christ.  keep your eye on the prize!

spring jam recap…

today is the day after…well the day after we held our weekly service in the parking lot. the set up takes all day to tackle…a trailer and portable staging, sound system, light trees, hundreds of chairs, tables, an 8′ x 8′ graffiti wall, a coke trailer, 480 hot dogs to grill, a rock-wall, a joust, portable skate park, oodles of garbage cans…not sure what an oodle is but it sounds like a bunch…

more students showed up than we had dragged out sedating for…
the night started with DB banging and screaming out some tunes…
Pastor Jon, Allen griffin and myself worked the crowd, threw out t-shirts and pushed the next event…
Clarence…aka JR walker – i called him jd walker from the stage…rapped with a guest appearance from JP…
Our 2 worship teams combined for worship…
The graffiti wall was a hit the entire night…students tagged it and tagged it again!
The message was all about…leave your mark…we need to leave a mark on this world!
the close drew 30+ students to come the altar to make a decision for christ…
it was the Largest crowd we have ever had in the parking lot…
Our leadership team turned it out serving in big ways!

When you get over 300 people in an open parking lot…anything can happen an IT happened last night. The night was amazing!

Spring jam 09 is a wrap!

faith comes by hearing…

Sunday i listened to a 64 year old lady preach and i mean lay it out in a way that challenged my life and ministry. i went home for lunch and said i want that much energy, that much revelation, that much anointing when i am 64. she proclaimed truth about the blood of Jesus in a way that many are refraining from preaching. i can remember when my mother would plead the blood of Jesus over everything as well as my own life. this past week in prayer i found myself pleading the blood over our youth church in a new way. i am ready for God to do something in the kids lives that wander in week after week, and i am not willing to give them up…even the knuckleheads that give us grief week after week.

What did she do? She preached the word! My faith rose to another level when she spoke of the contract we have in the word of God. The contract says I can have what it says I can have! The problem is this generation is not reading the contract and some guys in youth ministry are preaching issues rather than the word! It’s time we preach the full counsel of the word and challenge this generation! Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God…so if I want the level of my faith to rise as well as those I minister to, then how much of the word are they hearing and how much are we reading? The word of God is a hammer and a sword. It will break off stuff and cut things out…doesn’t sound sensitive to making people feel good about who they are…handle it with care, but in every case handle it!

last words…

tonight i am preaching a message on the last 6 words of jesus…john 19:28-29 record them as…”i am thirsty” and  ”it is finished” tonight will be a powerful look into these 2 sayings and what they mean for the student today.  students are thirsty, but what are they thirsty for…students want to finish high school and graduate…jesus finished so we can graduate from a life obligated to sin! sit down hold on and get ready for the passion! 

devotion today…acts 13

God stirred my heart this morning!

the God of the amazing…

vs 41 “‘Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.”

this was part of a message of encouragement he was preaching in a synagogue, he proclaims that god is gonna do the unexplainable! We serve a god who is able to do more than we can ever imagine. Do you truly want a supernatural god to show up and do supernatural things…I do! the very next day nearly the entire city came out to hear paul and barnabus. what are you willing to settle for? when the people left the synagogue that day, some followed because they wanted more, but they left the congregation with an air of anticipation for the next time they met! so much that nearly the entire city came out to hear…

a couple thoughts…

do we leave our meetings with an air of anticipation of what god will do next?

what would we do if nearly the entire city showed up?

do we leave a meeting and have students desiring more?

do we want an amazing god to do amazing things among us?

stirred…