MC in 3

quote

2012-02-09T10:24:00.001-06:00

A perfect plan is one that God can interrupt at any time, so that he can redirect you.

Excerpt from Nancy Pearcey Book

2012-01-06T11:06:00.000-06:00

Nancy Pearcey's Saving Leonardo: A Call to Resist the Secular Assault on Mind, Morals, & Meaning
"Beliefs have always shaped history. . . . The (Nazi) gas chambers disproved once for all any misguided notion that ideas are neutral. Today ideologies determine how the state governs, how the economy is managed, how the news is framed in the media, and how the education system shapes the next generation. Wrestling with worldview questions is no mere intellectual exercise. It should always be done with an overwhelming sense that we are dealing with questions of life-and-death-importance. . . For young people, learning the skills of worldview awareness can literally mean the difference between spiritual life or death. Ideas exert enormous power when set to music in a YouTube video or translated into glowing images on the theater screen. . . . When you go to the theater, do you simply let the story wash over you? Or do you have the skills to analyze what a film is saying? . . . T.S. Eliot once noted that the serious books we read do not influence us nearly as much as the books we read for fun (or the movies we watch for entertainment). Why? Because when we are relaxing, our guard is down and we engage in the 'suspension of disbelief' that allows us to enter imaginatively into the story. As a result, the assumptions of the author or screenwriter may go unnoticed and seep all the more deeply in our consciousness. When we 'suspend disbelief,' we must take care not to suspend our 'critical faculties.'"

FUSION 2011 thank you letter to volunteers

2011-11-08T09:17:00.002-06:00

Hey guys,
I would like to thank each of you for your time, energy and prayers that you put into FUSION. The event WAS AWESOME!!!

We ended up having 75 students plus leaders! That is almost double what we had last year. The arrival vibe was great; you could tell students were pumped to be there. They seemed to throughly enjoyed the AXIS room which we all helped turn into a fun zone...the place was electric!

My favorite part of the weekend, and the real reason why we do this, was the services.

It is hard to describe in words the weight that I felt during the Friday night service. The key verse was Hebrews 12:1"...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." I felt specifically lead to talk about some specific hindrances and sins; when I ended by asking them to respond by coming forward for prayer I didn't know what to expect...turns out EVERY student in the room responded. The prayer time that followed was intense and good. I was proud of you all jumping in and praying for students; it was also awesome to see students praying for students...it was pretty much EPIC.

I truly believe that lives have been forever changed because of Friday-Saturday. The feedback from students and parents has be nothing but awesome.

Thanks to all of you that helped pull this off; your efforts paid off big-time.

Yeah God
Micah

Quote

2011-10-13T10:04:00.002-05:00

“The best use of one’s life is to spend it for something that will outlast it." Oswald Sanders

In God we trust

2011-09-15T12:35:00.002-05:00

I read "the bee eater" and watched "waiting for superman" today and was shaken by the hopelessness of the us education system.

But as I pray tonight I am reminded that it is in God I trust, not the education system. The words written on our money say "in God we trust"

Ideas for reform come and go but his word is unchanging.

The bible teaches that if we will humble ourselves and pray then he will heal our land.

It is in God and his unchanging word that I trust.

2011-09-15T08:31:00.000-05:00

I received this Facebook message from a student who came on outreaches about 9 years ago. So encouraging.

Samuel wrote: "Happy Birthday!!! Congratulations!!!! Merry Christmas!!!! Kwanza, ramada, thanksgiving, mothers day , fathers day, boxing day, pastor appreciation sunday day... In all honesty, I cannot tell you what a profound impact you and your wife have had on life, though it was a short period of time in my adolesence, to this very day I am inspired to live with the passion that you have for making Christ known. I am estatic for your newest addition to the family, and I pray that you blessed beyond the measure of blessing that you have been in my life, thankyou for loving Jesus and living it."

Cool Story from Dario

2011-09-08T13:10:00.001-05:00

ok, not to long ago I shared of a person I've been working with regarding personal finances and how she cut up her credit cards and dropped them off in an envelope in the offering drop box.

we just spoke and she tells me that she's paid off three credit cards already.

on a recent road trip to visit her ill mother, she took a wrong turn and found herself distant from the next gas station and the gas light on in her car. as she made her way back, she stopped at a traffic light and said a prayer asking God to help her get to the next gas station about 40 miles down the road. when she finished praying, she looked up at her gas gauge. the gas light was off and her gauge showed she had a quarter tank of gas. PRAISE GOD!!! this was more than enough to get her to her next station and fill up.

it doesn't end there. she makes it to a book store where she was going to sell some old movies for what she thought maybe $50 bucks to help her with her trip. to her suprise, she was paid $220 for used movies.

she made it to her destination just fine and called to tell me that God's hand was evident during her trip This is coming from a woman who a couple months back had doubts about Christianity and God's desire for our personal finances.

56 Camp

2011-07-30T22:54:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago a bunch of our high schoolers helped out with 5th and 6th grade camp that we hosted at the church. The 56ers came from 9tm to 12pm Mon - Thur and all day on Friday (spent the night) and went home Saturday morning. Services were powerful! And the games were awesome. Here are some of the high school girls testing out a mini obstacle course.

PVKC Around the World Event

2011-07-30T22:36:00.000-05:00

I just received this update from Kelsey on of our children's staff-so cool!

Happy Saturday!

What an exciting day we had with the K-2^nd graders as we traveled all “Around the World.” We had four different classrooms themed for different areas of the world. They kids got to “visit” Hawaii, Japan, Malawi, and Russia. As the kids learned about foods, climate, and games in each area, they also learned that God cares about everyone! Before leaving each station they prayed for the different needs each area has. It was an awesome and exciting combination of fun, games, and learning about what God is doing worldwide. If you don’t believe me, just check out some of the photos of kids ice fishing, playing with chopsticks, and having fun. There is also a video attached of Larry teaching the kids to hulaJ ….sorry Larry!

Thanks to everyone who helped make this event possible!

Kelsey

Last day of vertical summer

2011-07-26T21:39:00.000-05:00

Today was the last day of vertical summer. This year has been amazing! My favorite moment was our last Thursday together when we did a prayer line and students laid hands on each other and prayed for each other for almost an hour. I love what God is doing in these students.

Another encouraging story

2011-07-21T16:25:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to share with you a conversation I had the other day with a girl from the 20 Somethings group. Her name is Andie and she's been attending PVC for less than a year and 20 Something's for about 3 or 4 months. She has been going through some very difficult times with her family. Her 16 year old sister has been very sick and in and out of the hospital as doctors attempt to find out what is wrong with her. Andie has been carrying a lot of the weight and responsibility for the family during this time. At 20 Somethings each week they always give an opportunity for people to share their needs and be prayed for and Andie's sister has been lifted in prayer many times over the last couple months as well as updates and prayer reminders posted on facebook.

But the other day, Andie told me that she has a lot of good friends (outside of church) who know her sister is sick but they never seem interested in how things are really going. However, she said that at 20 Something's, for the first time in her life, she feels like she has found friends who really care. Each week she comes in and people will ask her how things are going with her sister. At first she wanted to ask them "why do you want to know?" But as the weeks have passed, she said God has been softening her heart and she is realizing she doesn't always have to be the strong one - she is learning what it's like to experience God's love and the care of others.

Thank you, Jesus! What a great picture of the Body of Christ at work.

Radonna

Encouraging

2011-07-21T16:02:00.000-05:00

After service Kaitlyn's dad (the student who preached her first sermon last night) came up with tears in his eyes thanking us for all that we have poured into his daughter. Not really any good words to describe the emotion of that moment as he gave me a big bear hug.

I also heard got this from a parent last night.

Ally said that AXIS was totally EPIC tonight!! It is so exciting for her to hear from other teens about their relationships with God and that being a Christ-follower can be COOL!! :) I don't think I can ever say it enough, but thank you for all that you do to help lead our kids into a closer walk with our loving Lord. It means so much to us as parents to have someone leading them in the same way that we are.

Talk to you soon.

Lisa

Norma Juarez wrote: "Thanks for the time you take with our Students! God Bless You Richly!"

And from last week:

Hi Micah!
Isabel is my daughter, this is her first year in Axis. I have been wanting to write you just to say thank you, first of all because although she is very shy she has felt so welcomed in Axis by yourself, your mom and others that help out in Axis. Also, about a week ago she came home and told us that both you and your wife buffy had shared your testimony. She said that it really made her think about the kind of choices she wanted to make when it came to dating.

I just wanted to thank both of you for sharing your stories and for allowing God to use you. If there is ever anything my husband and I can do to help you in your ministry please let us know. Again thank you so much and may God continue to bless you, your family and the ministry He has given you.

Liz

2011-07-21T15:47:00.000-05:00

I HAVE TO TELL you about the last day in axis/78. Last night during services upstairs and downstairs we had students take over large chunks of the services (yes it was planned!). Upstairs in 78 Eddie Bejar and David tag teamed a message about being a worshipper of God. They did some extended/guided worship and it was powerful!

Downstairs students ran the show! The welcome, worship, scripture reading, message (Kaitlyn Garza preached her first sermon ever!) testimonies (Liz Louzada and Adam Juarez) worship (only students on stage) did amazing.
1. It was awesome to see students be stretched and used by God like never before.
2. It was amazing/inspirational for those in the audience to see their piers do this.
3. It was so encouraging to see fruit of the work all of us have put in over the years come out of those students.

Plus this morning in vertical was unbelievable. In axis we did a prayer line Mexico style! Students passionately laid hands and prayed for each other. There were tears of repentance and joy in worship....it was just one of those breakthrough moments.

God is alive and at work among his kids!
Micah

Eddie preaching in FUEL78

Kaitlyn preaching her first sermon!

Liz Sharing her testimony

Adam sharing his testimony

Prayer Line at Vertical

Kaitlyn & Eddie Testimonies

2011-06-27T15:17:00.000-05:00

This Sunday I spoke in FUEL78 and talked about Jesus being Savior AND Lord. To help illustrate this point I had two students help me out. Eddie, who just graduated, and is now helping as an adult leader in FUEL78; and Kaitlyn who is going to be a senior this year.

Both did exceptionally well communicating and sharing their stories about how they have grown in their relationships with God. This was also really good because in a few weeks Kaitlyn will be preaching her first sermon solo! So it was good for her to get on stage and have the lights on her.

Super proud of both of them!
Micah

Slip-in-slide at 180

2011-06-25T22:39:00.000-05:00

There is a rockin youth ministry in Oklahoma that I follow and grab ideas from. This week they did an outdoor service and to cap off the night they had tandem slip-in-slides. AWESOME idea for summer

Half Marathon

2011-06-25T22:36:00.000-05:00

Marathon training has been going well! Today I ran a half marathon for the first time in my life. I broke it up into three sections using the church as my home base (where I stashed bananas, granola and Gatorade) to refuel.

Here is how I did:

Vertical Summer

2011-06-07T22:49:00.000-05:00

The first day of vertical summer is in the books! Vertical Summer is a summer long spiritual growth program for 7-12th graders at PVC. Students come up to the church from 9am to 12pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays during June and July.

We started off with a bang with over 60 students from axis and fuel78 spending the morning with us.

We went right at them with prayer, worship, Bible teaching and a challenge to grow spiritually like never before. There was a ton of momentum all morning. This summer is going to rock!

Running

2011-06-07T22:44:00.000-05:00

As a staff we have implemented personal growth plans for this year. Everything from spiritual growth, ministry skills, inter staff relations....and physical health.

As part of my physical health goal I have decided to run a marathon this coming November. HUGE goal for me.

Here is what I am doing so far:

Started eating healthier meaning, smaller portion size, more salad, less junk. I'm not on a diet just eating better.
Started running. On July 14th I will start my official training with scheduled miles on certain days so for now I am working up to it. (with running came making a financial commitment to get some gear ie NIKE dry fit shorts shirts and a good pair of shoes)
Reading "RUN" by Dean Karnazes for some inspiration.

Tonight was a huge win for me; I ran 6 miles non stop. First time in my life I have ever done that.

Leaders Meeting

2011-06-06T09:14:00.000-05:00

Last night FUEL78 and AXIS did our first combined leaders meeting...and it was AWESOME!!! There was so much energy in the room.

We kept it simple: great food, 4 super encouraging stories of students taking next steps, a "do for one what you wish you could do for all" challenge, prayer and then Birthday cake for Sue!!!

I left so encouraged, pumped and grateful for the leadership team that we have.

Step Up Sunday

2011-06-06T09:11:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was step up Sunday at PVC. Last year it felt like we did not do a great job of helping students make the transition into their next grade levels. This year we were really intentional in this process. We did a much better job communicating with parents, all of the speakers went down a classroom and spoke a couple of times leading up to this Sunday, and we programed this Sunday well making sure to acknowledge and include the incoming classes.

IT WAS A WIN. In high school alone there were 39 freshmen! Our total number of students in the high school venue was 119; which is awesome considering it was the first weekend of summer!

Great question to ask yourself

2011-05-18T09:08:00.000-05:00

We have been talking a lot about the culture that we work in and create here at the church. Jerrell, the teaching pastor, came up with this question that really sums up the attitude we should have.

What is my own personal contribution to the current state of the culture where I'm at?

Your contribution could be good or it could be bad. I want to do everything I can to contribute to a heathy, spiritual and fun culture at PVC.

Soccer Star

2011-04-18T20:56:00.000-05:00

I'm really proud of one of the Junior girls in AXIS. She plays soccer for the McHigh and they are having one awesome season! Here is a clip from the paper a few days ago.

Paintball!!!!!!

2011-04-16T17:57:00.002-05:00

Today we took over 50 students to go play some paintball! It was a great event because it was fun, everyone had stories to tell, was easy to invite friends to, and did I mention it was fun!!!! One guy took it a little more seriously than the rest of us....

Free Cello

2011-03-27T20:42:00.000-05:00

Funniest Craigs List Post Ever

So my sister gave me this cello a couple years ago. It's a nice cello. Actually, it's a great cello. It's probably the best cello, but I don't really know much about cellos. Also the neck snapped off. Of the cello. So it's really more like 3/4's of a cello, but the other 1/4's still there, it's just not attached. It's kind of like you're getting two cellos, only one of them doesn't have a body and the other doesn't have a neck. But if you stand them up next to each other it's like old times. You could probably fix it with like some music glue or something like that.

She also gave me a cello bag that I can give to you too, now that I won't have a cello. It's a really nice cello bag. You can fit everything in it. Actually, there might even be a bow in the bag, I'm not sure. I don't want you to think that there's 100% a bow in the bag. It's way over there, I can't check right now. But if it's in there it's yours.

If you're like me and you don't know how to play the cello then you could use it as a coin bank. It's hollow and there are two S's on the front that you could drop the coins through. Then when it's filled up you could drop it off of your roof or carry it around like a change purse. Ooh, in the cello bag. It'd be like a cello purse. I'd do it but I'm moving across the country and it won't fit in my car. What else could you do with it. You could saw the front off and use it as a sled. Or give the neck to a baby as like a wizard stick for Christmas. Totally give this cello to someone for Christmas. Or Hanukkah.

Please come get it. I'm in Echo Park. I'd actually go somewhere to meet you if wherever we're going is a cool place. Like the desert or something.

I'm 90% certain the bow's in there.

Masters Cabinets

2011-02-18T16:19:00.000-06:00

Scott Kincade just sent me these pictures of the old Masters Kitchen Cabinets. They are being installed in a pastors home in Rio Bravo. Pretty cool!!!

Vertical Summer Graphic

2011-02-18T14:50:00.000-06:00

Coming Soon

Vertical Summer is a spiritual growth program offered to 7th-12th grade students at Palm Valley Church during the summer months of June and July.

Goodbye Jeremy

2011-02-18T09:40:00.000-06:00

Here is the goodbye letter I read to Jeremy and the rest of the staff yesterday.

I've know you for 10 and a half years. We met as skinny teenagers on a missions trip in El Salvador and since we met I could tell that you were passionate for Jesus with a big heart, and big vision.

In fact I remember asking you where you felt called to minister and your response was "I really feel called to the world" This passion was confirmed when I got your email address toma el mundo @ yahoo.com which is take the world @ yahoo.com

I remember our first fall in Masters together when God did such a great work on us. The wednesday night series was "Secrets of the vine", I remember us both being in tears after hearing of how the gardner prunes and cuts away the dead so that new life can be born. We both shed many tears of growth that fall as God made us into the Christ followers that we are today. Molding us and shaping us for his purpose.

I remember some funny moments like on a missions trip you were preaching in spanish and were telling the story of the widow and Elijah. You were searching for the word and found the wrong one as you referred to the widow as "la vieja"

Or there was the time that you had a strange dream and woke up to find that you had shredded your entire comforter with your bear hands.

Or the time when we were in the same dorm and talked back and forth in our sleep in spanish. At least that is what Bryan Whitehead said what happened.

I have watched you start and lay the foundation for what PVKC is today. It wasn't too many years ago when kids ministry at this consisted of a veggie tales movie and baby sitting. You then built FUEL from the ground up and have impacted so many lives in ways that we will never know.

You and Rachel boldly and willingly answered the call of God to move to one of the most dangerous countries in the world and serve as missionaries to Malawi for a year and a half.

And now we are seeing you take bold, scary but exciting steps into the future.

I have full confidence that God will guide you and lead you as he always has. Thank you for being a friend, and a wonderful example of a Christ follower.

Student Ministries Update Email to the Staff

2011-02-17T14:14:00.000-06:00

Hey staff,
I want to take a moment and update you on what has been happening in the student ministry world the last few weeks.

As you know Jeremy has stepped down as middle school pastor, he announced it to the fuel students two Wednesdays ago.
Jeremy and his family are planning on driving away from the valley the fist weekend in March. They will be staying in Kansas City and serving at Desperation church for a while until they find a permanent church to pastor.

I have personally known Jeremy for ten and a half years and while it is sad to see him go I know that he is passionately following the Lord's leading and I am so proud of him. I will also say that through this time of transition Jeremy has been first class; he has worked very hard to make this transition as smooth as possible.

With his stepping out it did create an opportunity for evaluation of FUEL and the student ministries team as a whole. After much talking and praying we have come up with and implemented a new strategy that has worked great and generated a lot of excitement over the last few weeks.

There is now one student ministries team lead by Adrienne and I. Rather than having three separate divisions that work independent of each other we have combined to create a culture of partnership like never before. We are a team with a bunch of creative hard working team members who can together plan and pull off series, and big events. I am still the primary speaker in axis, David the primary speaker in fuel 78 and Larry is now the primary speaker in 56. Adrienne directly oversees 6th grade down, I directly oversee 7th grade up. But the cool thing is that all of these parts are interchangeable, worship teams can and will rotate. Teams and resources are shared.

We have already seen the benefit of this, and are excited about the future.

Life Challenge Retreat Email

2011-02-16T13:28:00.000-06:00

Here is an email update I sent to the axis leaders following the Life Challenge Retreat. My goal was to build momentum and ownership for those that went on the retreat as well as those that held down the fort while we were gone.

Hey Team,
I want to share the great news with you.

We took 38 students and 10 leaders on the life challenge retreat. And God did some awesome things in the lives of these students.

We had a safe and fun 5 1/2 hour bus ride to Camp T Bar M. Once we got there we settled in and went to bed.

Saturday was a great day! The morning and afternoon were filled with team building, leadership, and problem solving activities on the ropes courses. The afternoon was especially intense as students spent a large amount of time about 30 feet above the ground! One really cool takeaway is that when you are in a position like that, scared, unsure, and out of your comfort zone you learn to trust others and gain confidence from their encouragement. Some students had some key breakthroughs there.

The most special time was Saturday night service. I really felt led by the Lord leading up to this retreat to do something out of the box for service. This retreat is exactly that, a retreat. It isn't a Wednesday night, Sunday morning or camp it is a spiritual retreat.

Sooo we started out with prayer for about 15 minutes. The students rose to the challenge and focused in prayer, on their own, for 15 minutes. Then we went into a guided acoustic worship time that was powerful. During the message I had 5 students and leaders share their testimonies to illustrate the main points. That was powerful!!! Those that shared were passionate, real, sincere examples of people making good decisions and living for God. They, through tears, bravely shared their stories of what God has done in their lives. A special thanks to Ray, Zima, Lizz, Ruthie and Karen for being willing to let the Lord use you in such a powerful way.

We ended by taking a reflective walk (about the same distance that Jesus had to walk to Calvary) to a bonfire. l asked the students to write down something or someone who was holding them back from God. When they were ready I asked them to throw what they had written down into the bonfire. POWERFUL!!! They took it seriously. During the walk and our time at the bonfire they were not talking, but rather thinking and praying. It was such a sincere and powerful event unlike anything I have been a part of. Several students waited for quite some time before making the decision to throw their issues in the fire. One in particular student is named Memo. He has come to axis on Wednesday nights for a short time. I noticed that he was hesitant. I felt led to go and talk to him. Without sharing too many details....he had a tramatic event happen to him as a child and blamed God for it. He admitted that he had not wanted to have much to do with God as a result. I shared with him the story of the prodical son who came back after being away from his father for so long; something clicked in Memo and a few moments after we talked he stepped up and threw his in the fire. He chose to come back to God!

That may not have all made sense...but it was awesome and powerful! I have never heard students worship like they did this weekend, nor have I seen them pray like they did. Lives were changed!

Thank you to all who went on the retreat, those that made service happen here at home while we were away, and for all who prayed. So many lives depend on what we do!

Thanks for serving,
Micah

Do all you can

2011-02-03T13:30:00.002-06:00

I got this from the guys over at Catalyst. Good stuff.

Have you ever asked yourself, "What could I possibly do that matters?" You are not alone. I have asked myself that question more than once. Let me introduce you to seven people who were ALLinfluenced by another person.

It all started with a guy from Boston.

His name...

EDWARD KIMBALL led a small group at his church when he met a challenging teenager. That seventeen-year-old young man was poorly educated and prone to outbursts of anger and profanity.

His name...

DWIGHT L. MOODY. He became the "greatest" evangelist of the nineteenth century. He was instrumental in the life-change experienced by a young man.

His name...

F.B. MEYER. He became a minister. He mentored a young man.

His name...

J.W. CHAPMAN. He became a pastor and evangelist. He also started an outreach to professional baseball players. There he influenced a young man.

His name...

BILLY SUNDAY. He became one of the greatest evangelists in the first two decades of the twentieth century. He influenced a young man who eventually came back to work with him.

His name...

MORDECAI HAM. He became a preacher. He was preaching when a teenager responded to the invitation "to give your life to Jesus Christ."

His name...

BILLY GRAHAM. He has influenced more people than any other preacher in history. He remains a trusted confidant to presidents and other key influencers.

Do the best you can where you are, with what you have, for a purpose that is greater than yourself. You can be someone worthwhile. You can do something that matters.

Swing Set

2010-12-24T07:38:00.000-06:00

Today Andrew came over and helped me put together a swing set. Kirk and Donna bought Mack a swing set for his birthday. It took us about 5 hours to get it together, but from the picture below you can tell it was totally worth it!

Sanctuary Chairs

2010-12-21T09:29:00.000-06:00

As part of the opening of the new building we bought new chairs. To save some money we were able to use the chair frames from the old sanctuary by simply replacing the cushions. We didn't really know what to do with the cushions until Scott Kincade, a missionary that attends our church and works along the border in Mexico, came forward and said he could put them to use.

Pretty cool hugh? For this church this is the equivalent of a remodel to their facility!

Jesus

2010-12-14T10:53:00.000-06:00

Greatest man in history, named Jesus, had no servants, yet they called him Master.

Had no degree, yet they called him Teacher.

Had no medicines, yet they called him Healer.

He had no army, yet kings feared Him.

He won no military battles, yet he conquered the world.

He committed no crime, yet they crucified ...Him.

He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today.

What a day

2010-12-07T22:44:00.001-06:00

MAIN SANCTUARY
Buffi and I sat together in the 9:30 service. Worship was powerful, all the tech stuff went very smooth, Rick's message on moving from chair to chair and not growing stagnant in your faith was powerful. Service was camped off by a challenge and prayer of dedication by Pastor Isaac from Malawi. His challenge to us was the same as the challenge to Moses. Moses was to bring the Israelites out of captivity and to the mountain to meet God. We are to bring the lost in our community out of captivity of sin and to the sanctuary to meet God. Powerful stuff!

OLD SANCTUARY
AXIS combined services and met in the old sanctuary; the best way I can describe it was that the students and I felt a little more validated. There was a stage, there was a cool factor to the room. The students who normally attended the 11:30 service saw that there were a whole lot of other students who love Jesus and passionately worship him. I think that they felt a part of something awesome going from a service of 25 to 120 in attendance. There was a ton of momentum and excitement.

SUNDAY EVENING
Sunday evening all the staff and spouses gathered at Ricks house with pastor Isaac to reflect on the day. It was like a masters moment as we talked and shared and prayed and cried tears of joy. Three statements stick out to me.
First, Rick said something to the effect that most of us never graduated college or seminary, but today was our graduation. Look at what we have accomplished. The opening of a multimillion dollar facility. Validation!

Second, Pastor Isaac challenged us by saying, "God has business in this area. And he is going to do it through you." Validation of the call on my life! I teared up with renewed passion, vision and assurance that this is where I am supposed to be.

Third, Rick challenged us to go from glory to glory. He reminded us that so many have achieved great things in ministry only to not handle it well. He reminded us that Satan isn't happy about what we are doing in the valley and will be scheming and attacking our areas of weakness. I felt challenged to keep my guard up.

What a day

AXIS worshipping in the old sanctuary

Twitter encouragement

2010-12-01T22:49:00.000-06:00

I got this from a student on twitter tonight after service; it was timely and super encouraging!

Uncertainty

2010-11-14T19:52:00.001-06:00

This morning I had the honor of speaking in the main sanctuary for all three services. It was a pretty intense message! I wrapped up by telling the story of almost loosing Mack at birth which is super emotional.

One of my favorite things about the experience was getting to hang with Pastor Rick and have him coach me through the delivery of the message. It was really cool the specific direction that he was able to give for each service. Needless to say I learned a lot!

Check out the lip

2010-11-10T23:02:00.000-06:00

Mack is getting pretty good with walking around by himself...but he wiped out today. We are talking face first onto tile! He is doing fine now, nothing a little TLC won't take care of. I love this kid!

A moment of encouragement

2010-10-21T10:12:00.001-05:00

Sunday after service I was tired and wiped out from fusion and then speaking the Sunday morning service. We had some major media problems that were also bugging me and I had a moment of total discouragement. And then Nashae walked up, smiled, told me how great she was doing an gave me a big hug. In that moment I remembered why I do what I do and was so thankful that God let me see some fruit of all the hard work!

Shout Out

2010-10-17T20:19:00.000-05:00

I want to give my wonderful bride a shout out! I love you! Your are a phenomenal bride, homemaker, helpmate, mom and so much more. I couldn't be more content in life. You are truly a gift from God.

FUSION opening night

2010-10-16T07:28:00.000-05:00

WOW! What an opening night to FUSION! Students registered and had dinner from 6 to 7 and then we hit it hard in service. My heart was to correct the mistakes made at camp by guiding/inspiring/teaching students through worship. We kept it simple, Andrew on an acoustic, and he tore it up! We sang songs, had specific times of repentance and prayer and a cool element where students wrote prayers of worship on butcher paper hung on the walls. It was powerful!

Then I spoke and talked about not using your time for you only and living a self centered life, but rather choosing to give your few short years here on earth to God to be part of His bigger story....to surrender. I gave an altar call, literally, and all but one student responded! The prayer time that followed was powerful as leaders laid hands on students and prayed, and students laid hands on each other and prayed! I believe that life directions were changed as a result of service last night. I heard numerous stories from the students about what God had done in them.

We followed up service with some fun by dividing up the students and leaders and giving them 45 minutes to practice a Bible story that they then had to present to the entire group using only props that the leaders had and speaking in only a British, Nacho Libre, or Gangster accent. Needless to say, it was hilarious! Andres Barran and Riley stole the show with their rendition of David and Goliath...

Lights out was smooth.

Looking forward to another awesome day!

PS There are 66 students and 18 leaders in attendance.

Say a prayer for India

2010-10-12T20:44:00.000-05:00

I got this email from my dad about a couple that are mutual friends of ours, say a prayer for them please.

I requested prayer a couple of weeks ago for our friends from El Salvador who are under threat in India. Things have been calm now for two Sundays in a row. All 120 children have continued to come to discipleship, in spite of being threatened with death. The 350 adults who have come to Christ in the last three years are still coming, but many leave their children home from fear of reprisals. They go home and teach their own children what they learn at church.

I asked how they can get around the law of not 'forcing someone to change religions?' They said they teach about Jesus, share Scripture, the adults and kids memorize verses in every service, and they sing/worship, but they never give an invitation of any kind. No one ever says, "Does anyone want to accept Jesus." But the Holy Spirit knows how to reach hearts.

I asked for wisdom because the first man has asked to be baptized. When Cesar agreed to baptize him, they have had a flood of requests. They now have 50 candidates who are ready to risk death to be baptized in water! It is a ground-breaking response, so Cesar and Esther are just saying it must be God since they have never asked anyone to take that step. They simply read in Scripture about believers being baptized, and since the Holy Spirit has put it in the hearts of these disciples, Cesar and Esther are willing to risk it and baptize them.

Disheartening news also came from Southern India where there is 'religious tolerance' toward Christians. There is a Pentecostal church in that region of 50,000 members. It is where the Apostle Thomas took the Gospel after the resurrection of Christ. A pastor was beaten on the pulpit of his church, then dragged to the police station and beaten for 30 minutes on the street outside HQ while the policemen watched. It is part of Hindu religious fervor. He was jailed, but has been released now to stand trial in November. Pastor George of the huge church has offered to be a character witness at the trial. There was a general plea by the Christians in India that we not forget them in these days of heavy persecution.

Jesus said, "I will build My Church, and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it." Please join me in asking for grace for our brothers who suffer for preaching the same Gospel we believe.

Gary

In the world but not of it

2010-10-11T20:28:00.000-05:00

On Sundays in AXIS I am teaching a series called "In the world but not of it" based off of Jesus' prayer in John 17.

This series is one that we are writing in house. It was birthed out of feedback that I got from the axis leaders after I emailed them asking them to give me the top three struggles of the students in their small group. Most of the feedback centered around this idea of overcoming temptation and peer pressure ie "the world"

We kicked things off Sunday and I feel really good about where we are headed.

Untimely Deaths

2010-10-02T20:01:00.000-05:00

I came across this article and found it interesting. I haven't checked to see if it is all legit but if it is it sure is interesting.

UNTIMELY DEATHS — DID YOU KNOW THESE FACTS?

Death is certain, but the Bible speaks about untimely death!

It is written in the Bible (Galatians 6:7), “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap.”

Here are some men and women who mocked God.

John Lennon (Singer): Some years before, during his interview with an American magazine, he said, “Christianity will end—it will disappear. I do not have to
argue about that.... I am certain. Jesus was okay, but his subjects were too simple,
today we are more famous than Him.” (1966).
Lennon, after saying that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, was shot six times.

Tancredo Neves (President of Brazil): During the Presidential campaign, he said if he got 500,000 votes from his party, not even God would remove him from the Presidency.
He got the votes, but he got sick one day before taking office as President, then he died.

Cazuza (Bi-sexual Brazilian composer/singer/poet): During a show in Canecio (Rio de Janeiro), while smoking his cigarette, he puffed out some smoke into the air and said: “God, that's for you.”
He died in a horrible death at the age of 32 of lung cancer.

The man who built the Titanic: After the construction of Titanic, a reporter asked him how safe the Titanic would be. With a smug tone he said, “Not even God can sink it.”
I think you know what happened to the Titanic

Marilyn Monroe (Actress): Billy Graham visited her and said the Spirit of God had sent him to preach to her. After hearing what the Preacher had to say, she said, “I don't need your Jesus.”
A week later, she was found dead in her apartment.

Bon Scott (Singer): The ex-vocalist of AC/DC sang in one of his 1979 songs, “Don't stop me; I'm going down all the way, down the highway to hell.”
On the 19th of February 1980, Bon Scott was found dead. He had choked on his vomit.

Campinas, Brazil (2005): In Campinas, a group of drunken friends went to pick up another friend. The mother accompanied her to the car, and because she was so worried about the drunkenness of her friends, she held her daughter’s and said, “My daughter, go with God and may He protect you.”
She responded, “Only if He (God) travels in the trunk, 'cause inside here, it's already full.”
Hours later, news came. The young people had been involved in a fatal accident, and everyone had died. The car was completely demolished — except for the trunk.

The police said there was no way the trunk should have remained intact. To their surprise, when they opened the trunk, inside was a crate of eggs. Not a single egg was broken.

Christine Hewitt (Jamaican Journalist and entertainer) said the Bible (Word of God) was the worst book ever written. In June 2006 she was found burnt beyond recognition in her motor vehicle...

Many have died, but only Jesus died and rose again, and He is still alive. JESUS!

New Stage Design

2010-09-28T09:45:00.000-05:00

asdf Wednesday we finished up our series called "Guardrails" which was a massive hit! But that meant that our cool set had to be taken down and we needed to do something to replace it. I really didn't have an idea....and then laying in bed (a wonderful place of inspiration) I remembered a design that I had seen on HGTV. So I took the idea, brainstormed with Andrew and we made it happen in time for Sunday.

AXIS Internship

2010-09-27T23:28:00.000-05:00

I can't help it! It is in my blood! I want to/have this deep desire to pull a few students close and mentor them in ministry. So we have started a student internship. We are starting off small with 2, Eddie and Ray, two guys in the band. Both have a desire to pursue ministry so I met with their parents and we are officially starting Tuesday.

The goal is to expose these guys to the behind the scenes of youth ministry and give them a taste of what it is really like; the good the bad and the ugly!

The goal is that they get their hands on as much as possible and learn the behind the scenes of what ministry really is.

Volunteers

2010-09-27T23:26:00.000-05:00

Working with volunteers can sometimes be more of a headache than it seems is worth it. There is some truth to that saying "if you want something done right you have to do it yourself" but I believe in volunteers. I believe in adding other people into the youth ministry equation. One benefit that I saw this week came from TA our volunteer service program director. During our service planning meeting last week I mentioned that I wanted to end the series "Guardrails" by simply praying and dismissing; he challenged that and gave his input that we should go for the jugular with a hardcore challenge and closing song; I took his input seriously and we went for it and the end result was awesome! God really used the closer to touch lives. I am so thankful that TA was in the mix and was used by God to make that whole service so memorable! Having his input is so worth the time and effort it takes to work with his schedule and get him involved.

Wins from Today

2010-09-26T21:36:00.016-05:00

Devon and Shane, a pair new freshmen from Nikki Rowe and Sharyland, were super excited that I went to their football game on Thursday.

Andy, one of the Connect Group leaders, was sick and hated not being there; the way he communicated really showed his commitment! And he thanked me for checking up on him "that means a lot"

We did a second AXIS service at 11:30, in January there was no second AXIS service. That is huge!

Aisha, a kid who used to ride the buss to church back in the day, has come for 3 Sundays in a row!

I met a mom and dad that I followed up with via email weeks ago. They are thinking of moving back to the valley, I jumped all over it and reaped the benefits of that today.

The gospel was preached! There are a bunch of axis students praying "enable me to speak your word with great boldness".

And the highlight was how Bethany Villareal glowed after being baptized this morning. She went out of her way to come upstairs and find me to thank me and David and Jeremy for being so influential in her life. I have never seen her smile like that!

Margaret Feinburg

2010-09-20T08:45:00.000-05:00

"Those who have the greatest influence are those who make the journey with us and that includes face to face time, not just screen to screen time." Margaret Feinburg

God speaks through chocolate cake

2010-09-16T21:35:00.000-05:00

Things have been a little tight in the money department around the Crump household. We are fine and are going to make it. I do trust God even in the midst of wondering how we are going to do things in the future; but I couldn't help wondering as Mack gets older he will get more expensive...insurance, college etc...how are we going to do it?

Honestly I was battling and praying through my financial fears of the future last week. I knew in my head that God has always been SO FAITHFUL to Buffi and I. We have never had to go without. We have never been late on a payment. God has always been so good to us.......but I was still fretting over finances.

ENTER GOD

Last Friday night I took Buffi out to eat to celebrate her birthday. In the car I asked her where she wanted to go, she said she was torn between Olive Garden and Carino's. She told me to make the decision. I honestly stopped and prayed a quick prayer "Lord, where should we go?" and I felt him lead me to choose Olive Garden, so off we went.

We walk in the door and I spot a former student waiting tables, I wave and he signals me to ask to be seated in his section.

We sit down and he totally takes care of us. Hooked us up with appetizers and at the end of the meal a phenomenal piece of chocolate cake.

As Buff and I drove home tears flooded my eyes. God spoke to me through that whole experience, it was such a clear sign to me from the Lord that He is going to lead us and not just take care of us but that He will go above and beyond giving us so much more than we deserve. He IS a good God. He DOES love us. He DOES bless us when we least expect it. Things are going to be ok.

That whole experience last Friday night was such a reassuring sign to me that He will provide. I am always so blown away at how God doesn't just come through but He cares enough to show you He will come through. It leaves me a little speechless to think that God is thinking of us and would do something so cool just for us. WOW

quote

2010-09-16T13:01:00.002-05:00

“We overestimate what we can do in 1 year & underestimate what we can do in 10. Set larger goals & take longer to reach them” RickWarren

How to Keep Great Leaders Around for a Long Time

2010-09-14T06:18:00.000-05:00

Another Great Post from Nathan Shoultz

Be a Better Leader

You need to be the very best leader you can be. You ought to be reading at least one leadership book a month. (This is a personal goal that I don’t always meet, but better to aim and miss than not aim at all!) You ought to devour the book of Proverbs. Its practical wisdom is indispensible. You need to have someone pouring into your life and mentoring/discipling you. Be it a senior pastor, an older youth pastor, or whatever, get someone. No excuses. People will drop off like flies unless you lead them well, so work hard at becoming a better leader.

Be Challenging

Don’t create a lazy environment for your leadership staff. Challenge them. People thrive when they are creatively challenged. This doesn’t mean barking orders like a dictator. In fact, it means you lead the charge by example and then inspire people to follow. Think about challenging your leaders to spend more time with their students, to read more, to study their Bible more, to memorize Scripture more. Pick one thing as a focus and hammer it for a while. Lead them out front and challenge them to follow.

Be Considerate

While the last point was to be challenging, it’s also important to remember to be considerate. It’s the balance: like speaking the truth in love. You need both. Remember your volunteers probably have families, full time jobs, other ministry commitments, etc. Don’t bleed them dry. Work hard at understanding where they are in life whether that includes kids, work responsibilities, family things, or whatever. Then try to challenge them in an understanding way.

Be a Discipler

You’ve got to make sure there is a good inflow in the lives of your leaders. You don’t have to necessarily do it all, but you have to make sure it is happening. It’s been said that everyone needs a Paul and everyone needs a Timothy. They’ve probably got the Timothy part covered with the students in your group. But do they have a Paul? What other training do you offer? Do you hold periodic team training days? Do you buy them books? Do you take them to a leadership conference? Do you invite other speakers to minister to your staff? Be a refreshing person and people will love you for it.

Sometimes getting new leaders seems like the hard part, but in reality, if we could keep the good ones around longer, we’d have to do less recruiting. What are you doing to manage your leadership team? It’s like a garden. You can’t just plant it and forget it. You have to constantly care and nurture the team so it produces maximum fruit. This not only benefits your youth ministry, but it also benefits the leader.

Tips for Recruiting Youth Staff

2010-09-13T14:17:00.000-05:00

Good post from Nathan Shoultz

Do Be Organized – Don’t Shoot from the Hip

The kind of people you want to attract to your youth ministry will not be impressed by you running up to them after morning service in a panic and asking them to be a leader for your group which kicks off…. TONIGHT! You ought to spend some time writing out qualifications of a youth leader and a job description. Be organized with your process. Recruit as early as possible. Hold an informational meeting where all interested leaders can attend (no commitment required) and you share the heartbeat and vision for the ministry. Perhaps have a few testimonies of students who have been changed through the ministry of your church.

Do Be Upfront – Don’t Hide the Gory Details

You’re not doing yourself any favors to paint youth ministry like it’s all rosy. You know it isn’t. Go ahead and let people know youth ministry isn’t for everyone. You have to commit, you have to stick in there and you will be held accountable. Be sure to remind them the payoff at the end is definitely worth it (seeing students mature in their relationship with Christ) but it’s hard work all the way

Do Use Your Existing Team – Don’t Be a Dictator

When recruiting new people, one of their biggest concerns might be who they get to work with. You want to help that TEAM atmosphere flourish so get your current team to mix it up a bit with the prospects (have them over for dinner or something). This also communicates that you care for the team. You’re not a one man band. Everyone has responsibility and a key role. They aren’t just chaperones, they’re leaders.

Do Be Clear – Don’t be Vague and Fuzzy

Decide what you need to have happen and then recruit people for those positions. Do you need an Activities coordinator? A Bible Study Coordinator? An Evangelism Coordinator? A Small Group Leader? Figure it out, and then recruit for the position. You may have a few people that you just know would be great leaders but don’t know exactly where to stick them yet. That’s ok too, but know ahead of time what needs to be done and then ask them how they see themselves fitting into that landscape.

I guess to sum it up, the basic principle is that you spend some time strategizing and then move forward. That makes you the kind of leader that people want to follow. And that is the bottom line. For people to join the team, you have to be the kind of leader they want to follow and the other leaders have to be the kind of people they want to work with. The ideas here aren’t the Gospel, but they’ve worked well for me? Got any to add?

Great article about this generation

2010-09-13T13:58:00.000-05:00

WE DIDN'T SEE IT COMING

By Dr. Tim Elmore | GrowingLeaders.com

Something is happing in our culture. There is a subtle but very real shift taking place. If you work with adults, you may not see it because adults often get stuck in steady routines. They won’t reveal the shift. If you work with students you may not see it because you are so close to the change you can become numb to it.

Let me explain it this way. For almost twenty years, I lived in San Diego, CA. While there, I learned rapidly about earthquakes. They cause a shift in the earth beneath me. What I didn’t realize was that following most every earthquake, there is an aftershock. It’s a second shift that occurs as a result of the first. It can cause about as much damage as the original quake.

I believe our American culture experienced a cultural quake between 1985 and 2000. Today, we are experiencing the aftershock of that quake, which includes unintended consequences to our culture and society. Most never saw it coming.

Generation iY
Just take a look at the emerging generation of students today. While they are part of what sociologists call Generation Y (born in the ‘80s and 90s), the latter half of their population is different than their earlier counterparts. The young adults born in the 80s are part of an amazing population. During their adolescence:

Teen pregnancy was down.
Drug abuse was lower than their parents.
Crime had dropped measurably nationwide.
Civic engagement was at a record high.
The prospects for changing the world had never been better.

The wave of kids born since 1990 is unique. I call them Generation iY, due to the impact of the “I” world. They have grown up on-line and are products of iPods, iPhones, iChat, iTunes, iMovies, iPads—and for many of them—life is pretty much about “I.” They are much more self-absorbed than the older Y population. Empathy has dropped 40% in college students over the last decade, according to a University of Michigan study. In a longitudinal study by Dr. Jean Twenge, students today are 70% more narcissistic (and less altruistic) than when I was a college student. Ten years ago, 90% of high school students laid plans to attend college. Today, 30% don’t even graduate high school. The bottom line? They’re getting stuck.

So, what has happened?
This shift actually has been slowly evolving throughout the 20th century. There has been a perfect storm of elements that have contributed to the state of our current culture that we, as church leaders, must understand if we’re to respond well. Allow me to provide a handful of reasons why we see what we do today

1. The Invention of High School
By the 1920s, students were pressed into age-graded groups and began to interact mostly with peers. The church followed suit with her programming. Social silos. The downward spiral of EQ began. We get lazy when connecting only with others like us.

2. Video Games
All the legitimate research shows the more time spent with a video game the poorer kids do in school. Male teens spend 13.5 hours a week in gaming; this delays their readiness for life. The adult world ambushes them. Stanford will no longer accept “gamers” into their med school.

3. Prescription Drugs
The U.S. represents 5% of the world’s population, but we consume 90% of the prescription drugs given to kids (ADHD, depression). Sadly, long after the meds are gone, the personalities of these kids have been altered. They’re artificially lethargic. Adults have become lazy when dealing with energetic kids.

4. Parenting Styles
Along with a new generation of kids, we have a new generation of parents today. They’ve made their kids their trophies—they hover, emulate, serve and erupt over them. They don’t mother, they smother. Kids have a difficult time growing up if their parents have not done so first.

5. Endocrine Disruptors
BPA and other chemicals in plastics have entered our human systems. BPA mimics estrogen, the female hormone. It wreaks havoc on student’s bodies and delays a clear sense of identity. It’s a gender bender. Testosterone levels are dropping in boys as 90% of our kids today have BPA inside them.

6. Teaching Methods
Students today are right-brained, upload kids forced to attend left-brained, download schools. The gap between adult and students styles causes a disconnect; adults are not teaching the way kids learn best. They’re passing but not learning. Most teachers are heroes, but the school systems are failing.

7. Niche Marketing
Decades ago, retailers and marketers picked up on youth as a target market. Success came as they preyed on adolescent insecurities and desires, creating hunger to look and stay young. Marketers are better at this than ever—prolonging adolescence. 60% of students move back home after college.

8. Media and Technology
We all love them, but television, YouTube, Google, Twitter, Facebook, iPhones and Second Life provide instant gratification and results. If it takes too long or isn’t fun students can delete, stop, block or log off. This is nothing like the real world.

So what do we do? In my next article, we’ll begin to dig in to some ministry solutions to this worldwide phenomenon.

Summer Reflection Questions for AXIS

2010-09-02T09:44:00.000-05:00

…| What happened during the summer that was great? What do we want to be sure to repeat in the future?
…| Where did God show up? What victories could we celebrate?
…| Where was I surprised? What last minute “audible” or changes was I forced to make?
…| What went wrong? What could have been better?

Wall hangings and Mack in a box

2010-09-01T07:15:00.000-05:00

The other day we had our first set of family pictures taken and last night we got them hung on the living room wall.

I guess this works as a pack and play.....!

Breakfast with Mack

2010-08-31T07:57:00.000-05:00

For the past few months we have settled into a morning routine at the Crump home. Mack usually wakes up right around 6am...hungry! So to give Buffi an extra hour or so of rest I get up with him and we have "breakfast" together which consists of him chomping on a bottle. Yes, sometimes we are both still half asleep but I wouldn't give up this time for anything; I treasure breakfast with my boy!

After he eats I get him changed and read his kids Bible to him (which he loves!) and then it is on to Praise Baby DVD so I can get ready for the day.

Facebook Fan Page

2010-08-31T07:51:00.000-05:00

One of the ways that Axis High School youth ministry communicates is through a Facebook Fan page. The fan page is much more trafficked than the web page that axis has through our church's website...because people don't hang out on the churches website but they do on Facebook!

Here are this weeks stats:
AXIS High School
87 monthly active users (+17 since last week)
252 people like this (+1 since last week)
17 wall posts and comments this week (+14 since last week)
96 visits this week (+55 since last week)

YOUTH MINISTRY PASTORAL CARE BASICS

2010-08-30T23:02:00.001-05:00

YOUTH MINISTRY PASTORAL CARE BASICS

I am a pastor. I am called to minister to these teenagers. They are my sheep. Caring for them is not a hassle or an obligation. It is a welcomed responsibility and an honor to serve them.
Seek after. Be sought after. Be available when a student would expect and show up when they would least expect it. Have discerning eyes and ears in every conversation.
Be quick to respond. Really quick. Surprise them with your response time and availability to them.

Short term deadlines

2010-08-30T22:45:00.000-05:00

Parkinson’s Law states: “work expands to the time allotted for it.”

I hate that quote but it is so true! So one of the things I am working on is setting mini deadlines throughout the day to be as productive as possible. I have found that scheduling out the day as well as give a chunk of time (say an hour and a half) to a certain project helps. I may not complete the project in that amount of time but at least I worked on if for 90 minutes instead of not doing anything on it and being discouraged.

Events vs process-both are necessary

2010-08-30T22:22:00.000-05:00

After attending a training event, most people require an on-going journey; a community of relationships where the discussion expands. In the process, people continue to talk about and apply the truths that were introduced at the event. This is how good habits begin. Look at the value of both:

EVENTS PROCESS

1. Encourage decisions 1. Encourages development
2. Motivate people 2. Matures people
3. A calendar issue 3. A consistency issue
4. Challenge people 4. Changes people
5. Becomes a catalyst 5. Becomes a culture
6. Usually is about a big group 6. Usually is about a small group
7. Easy 7. Difficult

There is nothing wrong with events. I believe, however, that both students and adults require both events and process in order to grow. The younger an audience is, the more they need a process to be in place to foster growth. Further, the younger an audience is, the more concrete this process must be. It cannot be abstract or conceptual. The process must be specific and intentional. Sadly, for most students — this is a luxury. We whisk them off to the next concert, retreat, conference, or convention. We’re on to a new subject. This is why so few lasting changes happen after summer youth camp. It was a great event — but no process followed.

Full article here

4 things passionate Christian teenagers have

2010-08-30T09:50:00.002-05:00

No matter their background, Dean says committed Christian teens share four traits: They have a personal story about God they can share, a deep connection to a faith community, a sense of purpose and a sense of hope about their future.

Read the full article here

Recruiting leaders for high school ministry

2010-08-30T09:42:00.002-05:00

Interesting post that I found here

A couple of days ago we discussed the makeup of a quality youth staff leader. But even though you understand that, you might be asking yourself, “Where Do I Find Them?” Here’s a couple hints toward places you may not have thought of. They all have pros and cons though, so choose wisely.

College Students

PROS: They’re usually young, full of energy, easy to excite, connect well with students, and usually have a schedule flexible enough to be a huge help in your ministry.

CONS: Many college students are barely older than the students in your ministry. For this reason, many students will not respect them as leaders and will treat them more as peers. You might try and put them with younger students. Also, college students may be a bit shaky still on their leadership skills, their discipline and even what they believe. You will have to put more energy and time into college students, but it may be well worth it.

Parents

PROS: They understand where the students are because they live with them 24/7. Sometimes they don’t think they know much about students but it’s one of those areas where the more you know, the less you feel like you know. Even they may not understand what a huge contribution they can make to your youth ministry by providing a window into the inner lives of the students. Their schedules are already built around the students and they can provide you great feedback on how your ministry is affecting parents.

CONS: A lot of students will clam up if too many parents are around. The parents may not even realize the affect they are having with the students. For this reason, it’s almost never a good idea to pair parents up with their own kids in small groups.

Retired People

PROS: Retired folks can be a GOLD MINE. Some think older people won’t connect with students but I have seen just the opposite. Many times older men and women have the time and the money to treat students extra special (going out for coffee, going to ball games, etc.). Also, their experience in life and the example they have lived can have a great impact on your students.

CONS: Some older leaders can easily get stuck in a routine or sometimes get focused on the past and not the future. You just have to help them with that. Make time to often ask their opinion and take the time to communicate clearly your vision when you disagree with them. You’re the leader and you have to lead the older folks too. Don’t shy away from that. Just be confident, kind and communicate well and all will be good.

The bottom line here is that there are often great leaders hidden within our congregations. We just have to go find them. The key is balance. Don’t get all your leaders from one area. Try to spread it out and you’ll make a great team.

Cool note from first time attender

2010-08-30T09:27:00.002-05:00

This is a cool not that a visiting family dropped off after church yesterday.

Just wanted to drop you all a note to say thanks. My wife and I are San Antonio residents and attend Bandera Road Community Church. We were in the valley for the weekend and wanted to find a church similar to what we are used to attending, which put us at your 11:30 a.m. service.

What a great message and enjoyable service! We had a great time and, if we do wind up relocating, we will definately come back for seconds.

Thanks
The Robinsons
John, Lilly, John Andrew and Ian

Conflict-Personal and Program

2010-08-28T22:07:00.000-05:00

I found this at thediscipleproject.net

For the Youth Pastor, there are two kinds of conflict, conflict over program and personal conflict. Program conflicts are represented by, over programming, “that game” you played, and “why can’t my 6th grader go on the senior only trip?”. Personal conflict comes when we don’t handle the program conflicts very well. There are a dozen reasons for parents to be unhappy. Let me share just five ways to avoid self inflicted conflict in these areas with parents

1. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate.

You can’t do it enough. Parents want to be in the know not left in the dark. It coul be something as simple as a time change you did not inform them of. Figure out how many ways you can change the way you communicate:

Post the changes on Facebook
Have a parent Twitter feed
A weekly e-mail
Quarterly parent meeting

2. Have all forms available.

Like many of you, I do a yearly permission form. When parents do not have the proper paperwork such as permission slips or retreat forms. Have a place where the forms are easily accessible. Post them on your website, staple a folder on the wall and stick the forms in there, etc. If forms need to be notarized, make sure you offer a list of people in your church or places around town where they can get the paper work notarized. If all else fails, become a notary yourself.

3. Make it right and fast

If you blow it or think you blew it, make that call and apologize. Scripture says, ”Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.” Matthew 5:25

Paraphrased” “Make peace with parents quickly, lest they e-mail the pastor and then you are in deep trouble and are promptly fired. and are back to eating mac and cheese and raman noodles every night.”

4. Be involved

The more you are seen and heard by parents the more they can get to know you. Schools decrease the chances of conflict by having Open House where the teacher can meet parents and answer questions. Some parents need to have their fear alleviated like:

Will this youth pastor really love my homeschooled kid?
Will this youth pastor take unnecessary risks with my child?
Does this youth pastor have sound judgement?
Will this youth pastor be an ally to me and my home.?

Some of this will just happen over time but don’t avoid it. Invest early and you will reap rewards.

5. Watch your attitude

Attitude is

Tone of voice
Body language
Facial expressions
Emotional Response

All these have to be kept in check if you want to avoid self inflicted conflict with parents. Don’t roll your eyes when a parent makes an insane request, don’t raise your voice when challenged, keep it even toned as much as possible (only God helps me with this because I am bad at it), don’t shift around or shuffle your feet when a parent is talking with you about something important and do make eye contact with them, otherwise, they might think you have somewhere else to be (and you might be) but show the parent they are important and their concerns are important.

I hope these tips help in the short and long term. of your ministry. Am I missing one? I’m positive I am, so share yours and we’ll all be a little smarter when working with parents. God knows I need it.

Grow up

2010-08-28T22:04:00.000-05:00

This was a great post by Donald Miller!

My friend Bob, who is about ten years older than I am, told me recently that, at least in our culture, your twenties are about getting educated, your thirties are about accumulating resources (becoming financially sustainable), your forties are about building (families, houses, careers, ministries, impact) and your fifties are about enjoying what you’ve built (and perhaps pressuring your kids to get married and make babies)… He did not intend this as advice, he was only making an observation. But I tend to think it’s a pretty good path. It takes time to build influence, to establish connections, and to build confidence in others at your abilities. But delay the process and, well, you are in what psychologists call “suspended adolescence.”

To be honest, most of my friends who are in their twenties are seriously ambitious and enormously accomplished. I think of my friend Justin Zoradi over at These Numbers Have Faces, or Chase Reeves who is building his little blog empire, or Joshua Dubois who runs the Presidents Faith-Based Partnerships and Community Initiatives Program, or Jenny White who is heading up Charlie Peacock’s Art House Program in Dallas. It’s hard for me to see twenty-somethings as kids (unless we start talking about music, in which they trade in bands like children with baseball cards, hardly taking time to actually listen to the music! Call me an agist. I know I am an agist) but apparently the phenomenon is real. So if you’re in your early twenties and it’s just after noon and you’re crawling out of the bed you grew up sleeping in and surfing internet sights with a laptop on your belly, here’s some tips:

1. Lose your friends: If your friends aren’t ambitious, if they don’t have clear plans, you probably won’t either. This doesn’t mean to reject them, but it does mean if your friends want to lay around doing nothing all day, get some new friends. The single greatest influence playing on you is your friends. You will become like the people you hang around.

2. Read books: Try to read a book a week for the next six weeks. This alone will stimulate your mind and you’ll start being bored with being bored. You’ll want to explore ideas. Your conversations with friends will become boring. You’ll wonder how many more conversations you can have about what happened the last time you guys were drunk.

3. Write down your goals for the next five years, one year, one month and one week: Do this now. If you don’t know what you want, that’s a very serious problem, so just write down anything and start moving. A body in motion stays in motion. It doesn’t matter if you change your mind later. You can’t change your mind about what you want until you start moving forward.

4. Ask your parents for criticism: Criticism from people who love you is a gift and a blessing. It’s going to be hard to take, and the first thing you are going to want to do is criticize them back, but don’t do it. Just soak it in, then act on whatever they say. Nobody is perfect, but people who don’t accept criticism end up worse off in the end.

5. Accept hardship: Hardship is part of every life, and God intends it to purify you and prepare you. If you reject hardship, you reject life.

6. Cut the cynicism: Leaders don’t roll their eyes, children do. Is the Dave Matthews band so yesterday? Great. You and the kids in the high school cafeteria can talk about it all day. People work very hard to do what they do, and when you roll your eyes you’re being insulting. Children are insulting, adults appreciate craftsmanship over fashion. That said, the last Dave Matthew’s record really wasn’t that bad.

7. Accomplish something: Nothing builds true confidence like success. Want to be a filmmaker? Make a short film and enter it into a contest. Want to write? Write an essay and submit it to a journal. Pick something and practice and work until you’re good at it. You can only change direction if you are in motion.

And of course there are a million more. But this should get the ball rolling, or at least get you out of bed.

Know any twenty-something bucking the trend? Provide a link in the comments section…

Connect Groups

2010-08-27T15:00:00.000-05:00

At the end of May we started Connect Groups in Axis. Students are placed in a connect group with other students of their same gender, grade, and interest.

As with anything the beginning is rough; some students have been shy and haven't opened up that much over the last couple of months. But this is what we are doing to disciple students and we are sticking to our guns! I just got an email from one of the connect group leaders that was really encouraging.

Last sunday most of the girls were nervous about starting high school and this week when I was texting with one of them she told me she was so thankful I was praying for her because she really didn't want to fall into temptation now that shes in high school. I finally felt like I was really helping them =). Just thought I would share that with you.

Student Baptisms

2010-08-27T14:56:00.002-05:00

Wednesday night was Epic! There were 22 AXIS students that made the decision to be baptized at Summer Camp. They filmed their stories of why they wanted to be baptized and then, in front of about a thousand people, they took the plunge for Jesus!

Baptism isn't something that saves you. Baptism is an outward sign of something that God has done in you. It is a public declaration that you are going to follow God for the rest of your life! That is what these students did on Wednesday; they let everyone know that this is serious stuff and they are serious about following God.

Quote

2010-08-25T10:03:00.001-05:00

"I am more valuable than the birds"

Cool verse

2010-08-19T07:48:00.000-05:00

^{Isaiah 5:22 says "}Destruction is certain for those who are heroes when it comes to drinking, who boast about all the liquor they can hold."

I never realized this verse was in the Bible. It blatantly talks about the macho side of drinking!

Genesis 42

2010-08-18T07:22:00.000-05:00

In Genesis 42:1 Jacob, Joseph's dad, says "When Jacob heard that there was grain available in Egypt, he said to his sons, "Why are you standing around looking at one another?"

As you read the story of Joseph it is so evident that his dad's 'get-er-dun' attitude was passed down to him. Think about how much work and planning Joseph had to do to store up all the grain during the years of plenty. Yes he had a gift from God of interpreting dreams but the rest quite possibly came from the work ethic/attitude that dad passed to him.

Just a thought...

Mayo

2010-08-17T16:21:00.000-05:00

Buffi and I got wind of this the other day. Its Mayo but with half the calories!

Family pics from camp

2010-08-15T20:11:00.000-05:00

Nashae's Baptisms

2010-08-15T18:41:00.000-05:00

At summer camp we talked a lot about water baptism and going public with your faith. We are actually doing a student baptism service on August 25 however Nashae, one of our seniors is moving this week and won't be here. So while we were at summer camp we decided to go ahead and do it. It was one of the most powerful moments I have had the privilege of being a part of.

Church should be fun

2010-07-30T23:10:00.000-05:00

I just came across this old blogpost from Mark Batterson and it sums up what I have been feeling about AXIS.

98% of how to do church is undefined in Scripture for one very good reason: it would kill creativity. The church ought to be the most creative place on the planet.

I never want AXIS or church to be boring; I think that is one of the most horrible things that I could do to a teenager. To take an AWESOME, ADVENTUROUS, NEVER ENDING GOD and make Him boring is just wrong! Church should be fun.

Sunday night planning tastes good!

2010-07-29T19:51:00.000-05:00

This is a picture from dinner that we ate tonight, which was a direct result from Sunday night planning. We got the recipe from Curtis Stone's website and tried it out....and it was awesome!

Simple but so true

2010-07-29T13:54:00.002-05:00

"Work your guts out, pray your guts out and love your guts out"

DO SOMETHING final project

2010-07-29T10:08:00.000-05:00

Last night we finished up a 3 part series on Wednesdays called DO SOMETHING. Here are the details to the final project that we are DOING.

DO SOMETHING: Help a local elementary school hit hard by the flooding. You need to: Buy a backpack and fill it with Crayons, No 2 Pencilas, Construction paper, Loose-leaf wide-ruled paper, Children's scissors, Elmer's glue, Gallon-size ziploc bags, Kleenex, Handwipes, 4 Folders, and 4 one subject spiral notebooks. You can drop it off at the church this Sunday or next Wednesday. Lets DO SOMETHING to help someone!

Quote

2010-07-29T09:44:00.002-05:00

Your child will not remember your problems; they will remember that you were too busy for them.

In and out in leadership

2010-07-26T11:16:00.000-05:00

Interesting post by Brad Lomineck

A few Random thoughts on What’s In and What’s Out in Leadership:

Command and Control is out.

Management by position is out.

Wait until you’re “old enough” to really lead is out.

Top Down Hierarchy structure is out.

Power as the ultimate expression of leadership is out.

One career in one industry with one employer in one location is out.

Working your way up the “corporate ladder” is out.

“My way or the highway” is out

Authenticity is in.

Flat organizational structure and systems are in.

Management by skill and know how vs. position is in.

Lead as soon as you are ready is in.

Relational equity as a major asset is in.

Entrepreneurial spirit, boot-strap mentality, and do it yourself attitude is in.

Generosity, sharing, serving, and “giving it away” is in.

Free Agency and “project” based careers are in.

Seasons of calling vs. a Lifetime of calling is in.

We are getting healthy!

2010-07-25T23:14:00.000-05:00

Buffi and I have added a pretty major part to our Sunday night planning's....detailed healthy meals and exercise. We are both not looking like we did when we got married ha! So we are making some lifestyle shifts to be healthy. Exercise this week consists of walking, running and workout videos. I'm also pumped about some new recipes that we are going to try! Check this one out.

Look how far we have come!

2010-07-25T19:13:00.000-05:00

This afternoon I thought back to last year at about this time when Andrew went out of town. I managed to pull off service with a skeleton crew of volunteers and an Masters student leading worship by himself on an acustic guitar.

This morning, a year later, Andrew was again out of town. We didn't just pull off service but rocked TWO services with a highly committed and trained group of volunteers in each service as well as a full band that has been built from within using students. This afternoon as I was reflecting I was so grateful to see how far we have come over this past year and I am sooooo excited for where we are headed!

The most important discipleship

2010-07-23T22:19:00.000-05:00

I love ministering to and discipling youth. But I understand that the most important discipling that I will ever do is with this little guy! I love coming home everyday!

DO SOMETHING update

2010-07-23T14:58:00.002-05:00

2 Wednesdays ago I challenged the AXIS students to go through their closet and bring the clothes they no longer wear with them to church to be donated to those that are in need. We set up some drop boxes at the entrance to the youth room. Pretty cool!

Clown Meet

2010-07-23T12:06:00.003-05:00

Chow Time!

2010-07-23T11:11:00.003-05:00

Here is one page from the "summer camp survival guide" that the students are going to get. The guy in the picture is David Garza, one of the middle school staff which makes this page AWESOME! I love our graphic guys sense of humor.

The 01's

2010-07-23T09:29:00.002-05:00

Our church is set up to where when a new person starts attending they can get plugged in by attending the 01 classes. 101 explains the beliefs and why we do what we do's of the church and there is an option to become a member at the end...a membership covenant. 201 is about 4 things that we want every member to do regularly-Prayer, Bible, Fellowship, Give. At 201 everyone is assigned to one of the staff to pray for them for the next year. If you agree you sign a spiritual growth covenant. 301 is all about finding your place to serve. There is teaching on the different giftings etc...and then a ministry showcase of the different opportunities to serve here at the church. If you agree you sign a ministry covenant.

Last night we completed this round of 01 classes with a great group of people ready to get going at Palm Valley!

Brown Bag Surprise! 7-23-10

2010-07-23T09:27:00.002-05:00

Umm, I wonder what Buffi is going to surprise me with today.....

Boooooyeahhhh!!!!!!! My favorite part is the "I love you"

Update I sent to the Axis leaders

2010-07-21T14:04:00.000-05:00

Hey Team,

I wanted to take a moment to share with you how Vertical is going. Vertical is the summer long discipleship program we unveiled this year. We've had an average of 35 students eagerly show-up every Tuesday and Thursday morning for a few hours to devote themselves to spiritual growth.

This summer has been filled with classes about the Old Testament, helping them gain a better understanding of how the whole Bible works together, a trip to minister at Waterford Gardens, a local nursing home, volunteering at the local food bank, as well as producing a student lead series in AXIS on Wednesday nights. In addition to that, students are reading through the entire New Testament as part of their daily assignments. The amount of dedication shown by each of these students has truly been encouraging.

Also, last week on Wednesday we started a series called "Do Something". The goal of the series is to have students shift some focus off of themselves and onto the world around them and then Do Something to make the world a better place. As an extra to the series we have been sending DO SOMETHING assignments daily via txt message, Facebook as well as posting it on the axis blog.

There have been several cool stories from this; one is from Andres Herrera, a freshman in Andrew and Jacobs Connect group. The DO SOMETHING assignment for the day was to help make dinner; He txt me saying "Hey Micah guess what?? I didn't help my mom with dinner :) She helped me with dinner :D" He cooked dinner for his family!

Its cool to see students step up and take this challenge to DO SOMETHING

Break-early!

2010-07-21T08:20:00.002-05:00

This morning I met a Connect Group Leader for breakfast at 6:15am! He works across the border and can't do lunches so I set the alarm clock early and made it on time. I love meeting/building relationships with the leaders of AXIS. Part of what I get to do as my job is something that I love and that is to pastor people. I don't look at those that volunteer in axis as tools to be used but rather as people that I feel responsible to be there for. One goal that I have for all those volunteering in AXIS is that we all function as a small group for each other. So I took another step towards accomplishing that this morning!

Flooding

2010-07-21T08:15:00.002-05:00

There has been a lot of rain in the valley due to hurricane season. This is a bridge over a hurricane spillway (I guess thats what you call it) that I have crossed hundreds of times on my way to Mexico. I have never seen ANY WATER in it, but this is what it looked like this morning after about a week of no rain. Crazy!

Funny!

2010-07-20T16:13:00.001-05:00

Michael Hyatt posted this today-so funny.

“Things You’d Love to Say at Work But Can’t.” It had thirty-eight items. Here are the first ten:

I’ll try being nicer if you try being smarter.
I don’t know what your problem is, but I’ll bet its hard to pronounce.
I’ll pencil that in for never. Does never work for you?
I see you’ve set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public.
It sounds like English, but I can’t understand a word you’re saying.
Ahhh … I see the screw-up fairy has visited us again.
I like you. You remind me of when I was young and stupid.
I have plenty of talent and vision. I just don’t give a rip.
I will always cherish the positive initial misconceptions I had about you.
The fact that no one understands you doesn’t mean you are an artist.

Chipotle at the Crumps!

2010-07-19T21:23:00.002-05:00

This was the end result from dinner tonight. It tasted almost like the real deal!

Shopping

2010-07-19T19:40:00.001-05:00

Once a week Buffi and I try and make dinner together. Its fun and great hang out time. Any way, after a walk in the park with Mack we stopped by the store to grab a few things. Here is a pic of me and Mack doing some shopping...well I'm shopping he is snacking!

Brown Bag Surprise!

2010-07-19T12:20:00.002-05:00

Buffi and I are making some cut backs in the budget. We have discovered that the easiest way for us to save money is to not eat out as much. Dugh I know....

Well what she has been doing is packing my lunch in a brown bag. Today she surprised me by putting this bad boy in the brown bag; whoohoo!!!!!!!!

Miracle Gas

2010-07-19T08:23:00.001-05:00

I just got this newsletter/update from Kings Castle Ministries in El Salvador. This one story in particular was too cool not to share.

Dream Center testimonies:

Two weeks ago, we had a testimony service at church, and the Lord amazed us with some of the miracles He had done that week. We want to share them with you to build your faith.

Miracle Gas:
Missionary Emilio Rivas testified that he had driven up a long dirt road with his aging sedan, worrying all the way that his tire would go flat without a spare or jack (they were stolen). Two of his motor mounts were broken, and to make it worse, he was almost out of gas. He kept driving because the church where he was to speak that night was just ahead, and he decided that he would worry about the details after his message. When he arrived at the church, the gas gauge was below empty, and one of his tires was almost flat. The pastor rushed out to tell him to hurry because they had already started the service, and the people were expecting him to preach.

When Emilio came out to his car after the service, he noticed that his flat tire was no longer flat. Amazed, he asked the pastor how far it was to the nearest gas station. The pastor told him that it was an hour away, back through the wilderness he had come through. Thinking that he needed to be in San Salvador to speak in the morning, Pastor Emilio decided to make a run for it. There was no cell phone coverage in the wilderness, so he couldn’t even call anyone for help.

He had driven about 20 kilometers when his car ran out of gas in the middle of the dirt road. He tried to start it 3 times and decided to save his battery for when he could go get some fuel. But he was worried about bandits stripping his car if he left it on the road. Emilio put his cell phone up in the air and prayed for the Lord to give him one phone call, but it didn’t happen. His heart was racing. Far from civilization in the middle of the night makes you reevaluate your priorities. As he worried about what to do, the Holy Spirit impressed on him to start the car one more time. He thought to himself that it was just his imagination, but after a little while he knew that he had to try. When he did, the car not only started, but the fuel gauge went all the way to half full.

Pastor Emilio was like a man gone mad as he shouted, wept and sang down the highway. He drove to the nearest gas station but only bought a coke as he wept and prayed. “My God is an awesome God,” he sang at the top of his lungs, and he says he got amazing gas mileage with the Miracle Gas because he didn’t have to fill his tank until 5 days later.

Playing IN Macks room

2010-07-19T06:56:00.002-05:00

Buffi and I made a small tweak to the way that we are raising Mack. What we had been doing was using his room to change his diaper and put him to sleep....thats it. But sometimes he isn't too fond of either of those things; so we have started playing with him IN his room. Yesterday I spent about an hour and a half playing our version of "catch" which basically consists of me rolling a plastic red ball to him, him grabbing it and putting it in his mouth and then rolling it back....sometimes :D

The big idea is to get him used to living in HIS room and not see it as a place where non fun things happen. So far so good!

1 Timothy 4:16

2010-07-19T06:50:00.003-05:00

1 Timothy 4:16 "Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you."

I read this verse today and was very challenged by it. Especially by the "watch how you

live" part. Rick (my pastor) has said many times "So many lives depend on what we do"

and the way that I live has much to do with that.

Repost from Seth Goding

2010-07-19T06:48:00.002-05:00

I just read this post by Seth Goding and found it really interesting and challenging...

Self marketing might be the most important kind

What story do you tell yourself about yourself?

I know that marketers tell stories. We tell them to clients, prospects, bosses, suppliers, partners and voters. If the stories resonate and spread and seduce, then we succeed.

But what about the story you tell yourself?

Do you have an elevator pitch that reminds you that you're a struggling fraud, certain to be caught and destined to fail? Are you marketing a perspective and an attitude of generosity? When you talk to yourself, what do you say? Is anyone listening?

You've learned through experience that frequency works. That minds can be changed. That powerful stories have impact.

I guess, then, the challenge is to use those very same tools on yourself.

Sunday Night Planning

2010-07-18T19:46:00.002-05:00

Buff and I started something new a couple of weeks ago and we really like it. We call it Sunday night planning. Its a time when we sit down and look a week, month and 6 months out to plan and budget stuff like meals, expenditures, family devotions, outings ect....

We like being on the same page and this also gives us time to be creative!

We're going to camp!

2010-07-18T19:41:00.002-05:00

Last year between FUEL (middle school) and AXIS (high school) we took about 80 students to summer camp. This year we set a big, scary goal to take 200 to camp. Today was the sign up deadline and including leaders there are 211 signed up to go!!!! Between call outs, txts, a ton of time hounding kids on facebook, and praying like crazy...we got it!

Yeah God!