My word for 2008

My word for 2008 is.... Discipline!  One thing that I have found in my life that causes me the most frustration is my lack of discipline, I mean across the board. Whether it's prayer, Bible reading, exercise or simply just telling myself NO!  I want to work on being more disciplined this year!  This is not a New Years Resolution or anything like that... it is simply an observation of my life and how I need to improve it.

Yesterday I went to the gym for the first time in along time, (Ideally I like to go in the fall, winter and spring, leaving the summer for more outdoor activities) I hadn't been there since probably April or May.  Anyway it felt really good to get back on the treadmill and walk/run a couple of miles and then go and lift a few weights.  

Along with this I am trying to eat better as well.  So after dinner last night I was at home and so tempted to pick something up and eat it, but everytime I put it back and said out loud "discipline." 

I want to start telling myself "NO!"  Whether its because I was an only child and got my way or maybe its because of my personality, but I have always told myself "YES!"  And because of that I have gained probably 20-30 pounds over the past 7-8 years, I have not prayed or read my Bible or any other books for that matter like I would like.  So this year I am disciplining myself like never before!

Because I know the first question that Gary Fowler is going to ask is..."what is your plan?"  here it is:

• Go to the gym on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday or Saturday (depending on weekend schedule or plans).
• Rotate days on cardio and weights (yesterday was 1/2 hour on the treadmill, today will be more time on weights)...burn a minimum of 1,000-1,200 calories a week.
• Only eat between 1600-2000 calories a day
• Come into sanctuary before noon during the week: Prayer, read my Bible, and journal!
• Read 1 book a month (not exceeding 200-225 pages)
• Read/pray through Celebration of Discipline - I want to get everything out of this book that I can about spiritual discplines; so I want to read about a particular discipline and then work on implementing that in my life.  Read the next and so on...
• Our family to be on a written budget and FOLLOW IT!  We are out of debt except for our car...I want to get our car paid off and have 3-6 months of expenses in saving and another $10,000 for a down payment BEFORE we buy a house.  Probably won't happen this year, but that is the goal we are going to work towards

This list may grow, but right now this is where my discipline is starting for now...I want to have  plan and then work it...plan the work and the work the plan (I think that is the correct saying...haha).

Love to hear some feedback...especially from my workout mentors: Konan, Andy and Gary!

On the road again...

Well as you can tell my time off for the Holidays has ended and I have been going at it solid for the last week and half.  Last week I was out of the office a total of 2 days with Fine Arts Meetings.  Tuesday afternoon with Steve Patient who is our HR coordinator, I used to that job so I met with him to go over stuff and get him up to speed.  He is doing and will do a great job in that role.  Steve is an incredible guy, it has been so cool to get to know him and Christine over the past few months...I look forward to getting to do more stuff with them in the future.  

Then on Thursday I drove down to Cincinnatti to see my buddy JT and Lisa.  It was so cool to see them and their new church.  I have known JT for at least 5-6 years and I gotta say he is one of my closest friends.  We worked to together at P-ville for several years and then took over for me when I left.  He and Lisa have been through alot while in P-ville, so it is so awesome to finally see him in a ministry position...I know he is going to do an incredible job!  Anyway, they were nice enough to let me crash at their place since we had a FAF meeting on Friday in Dayton...I can't tell you how awesome it was not to get up at like 5AM to drive to that meeting.

Speaking of FAF, I think this year is going to be awesome!  We have moved some categories around to give them more space, we have also added a "mother's room" for mom's that are nursing or just want a place to take their kids to sit down and chill for a little while.  I got to admit it was my wife's idea...she won't need it this year, but next year she will with the new addition... (still praying for a boy!).

So that kind of catches you up on whats been going on...my next post will be on something that I feel that God is really speaking to me about in 2008!

RMC Students

It has been so good having Tona, Hannah and Kyle home for the past few weeks.  Haven't really gotten to hang out with them much except for the last couple of days.  Took them to Olive Garden for lunch today and had a blast just hanging out.  

You know sometimes ministry can get so tough!  But when you see what God has done in students lives that have been in your youth ministry it kind of refreshes your resolve to see God do things in other students lives.  Hearing what God has done in their lives has been so cool!  I can't wait to see what he does this spring as they go back and continue to grow and learn.  They will be attending missions trips in Chicago and God willing Kenya.  

I am so glad they are in a place that does ministry out of the box.  Below is a video that all three of my students were in, they shot this video for a series that Pastor Jeremy did called Glamorous...this is so cool!  Hope you enjoy...

P.S - Pray for all three of my students as they go back, they all need to raise money for tuition as well as missions trips.

I love my church!!

I must admit I have been a total bum this week!  My church (Faith Memorial Church in Sandusky, Ohio) closes our offices from Christmas to New Years.  I don't really know why other than it has something to do with what the factories do here in town and they did the same with the church offices.  It is such an awesome week!  I get 3 weeks vacation plus this week.  It is great time to spend with my family... we can get things done around the house, go shopping and simply recoup from the Christmas madness.  I will say after  a few days I am already getting anxious to do something... I still have another week until I am back in the office (other than sunday).  I am so tempted to work on church stuff, but am trying to make myself do other things that need to be done.

Well I hope you all enjoy your last week of 2007!  Have a great week!

UPDATE: Big Decision

I have appreciated all the feedback and input regarding the house we were looking at...it has also reminded me in the busyness of the last couple of weeks that I have forgotten to update you regarding that house...we were going to put an offer on the house, however, someone else bought...and for way more money that what I was willing to pay...so no mold house...which is okay...like I told our realtor, we were trying to get a steal...not many houses come along where you have that kind of opportunity to move in with ALOT of equity...so the search continues...

Again I appreciate all the input!

Mac

Just a quick check into the blogosphere...I am in KC visiting my family for the week.  It has been good to be back and see all the changes to my old stomping grounds...but more on that in the future. 

After at least 4-5 years of talking about it, I have finally gotten my Mac!!  I was able to order my new 15 inch Macbook Pro before we left and had it shipped to my mom's house.  It arrived on Monday and I have been in heaven ever since!

Please be praying for Meg, the girls and I.  We have all been kind of sick and really just not feeling to well since we got here...Meg and I have had trouble sleeping (thats why I am writing this at 5:45am).  Any way we head back to Ohio on Saturday!  Look forward to getting home to my own bed, but sure is good getting to spend time with my family!

Big Decision

Meg and I have been looking at house on and off for the past several months. Our realtor emailed us on Friday with a house that has a ton of potential and could possibly be bought for an ridiculous price. The kicker is this...it has a real bad mold problem!! It is a repo that has been vacant for over a year and half. If we buy it, fix it up we could have a house that is almost 3,000 sq. feet and a ridiculous amount of equity when we move in...here is a pic of the outside:

I have always thought I was a person that took risk, but when something like this comes around and when the rubber meets the road...I am a big chicken! I am taking all the advice I can get so if ya got any please feel free to give it!!!

Please be praying with us!!

Oh...by the way...

For the 2 people that read this blog...one other piece of cool news...we found out that Meg is pregnant. She goes to the doctor's a week from tomorrow, so we will find out the date and all that kind of good stuff...so I will let you know more then!

In case my parents run across this blog...we planned to suprise you when we got to KC...so don't be mad!

It's Christmas Time

Sorry it has been a little while since posting, had a crazy Thanksgiving with Meg being sick so we missed out on the turkey this year. Since then my schedule has been kind of crazy. Getting ready to video tape our kids production next weekend. Spent several days this week creating a "poor mans tv studio." There is a part for the production where I had to film a girl in front of a green screen and then put a weather map behind her...it went really well and I got the lighting situation figured out...FINALLY!

This week I have to build 2 camera platforms for the sanctuary, prepare for Axiom on Wednesday night, finalize my budgets for 08...and the list goes on! So please forgive me if my post are kind of hit and miss for the next couple of weeks...we leave for KC on the 15th and that will mark the end of the craziness for december, so I hope to catch up then...

Later

Thanks for the Prayers!

In my post called 'shackeled' a couple of weeks ago I spoke about a young man that was in my youth ministry that was facing some serious legal troubles.

His mom called me last night saying that she had gotten a lawyer (one that actually was fighting for her son) and that there was a hearing today at 9AM. Since I had not talked with her for over a week she brought me up to speed. The original prosecuter has went out of town on vacation and handed this case to another prosecutor. In talking with this prosecutor, who seemed a little bit more reasonable than the previous, the boys lawyer was able to work out a deal with the new prosecutor to reduce a 3rd degree felony to a 4th degree misdemeanor.

Long story short...We went to court today and the Magistrate accepted the deal and he was released at 11:30am with no probation or anything, he simply has to go to counseling! This is such an answer to prayer! This boy just left my office and God used his time in the DH to draw him closer! It was so cool to see his genuine hunger to turn his life around and live for God!

So for those that read that post and have been praying for my student...THANKS! God truly answered our prayers and the justice system worked, not punishing a young man for something that the detectives tried to manipulate into something worse!!

Priorities

This is a very cool video that I found on Brian Eberly's blog. Not really sure where I ever ran across this blog, but it's pretty good.

This video really makes you think about our priorities around Christmas...

Gatlinburg...

This week we are in Gatlinbug, TN for our staff retreat. So far it has been pretty fun, we meet as a staff in the morning and discuss plans & direction for 2008 and then spend the rest of the day hanging out and having fun!

The scenery down here is incredible! As I type this on the back porch I look out over the mountains and the trees are beautiful! Full of color! There is something about living by the mountains that is so appealing!

Shackeled...

This was one of those HARD days of youth ministry. I got a call last night that one of the students that has been attending Axiom for about 6 weeks was in juvy. This guy had started coming and was incredibly dedicated, he was really beginning to make some great friends!

Fast forward to today...I called his mom and found out that he had a hearing today at 1pm. Unfortunately his mom (whis is single and trying to raise 3 kids) is unable to afford an attorney and the public defenders office is not much help, his lawyer didn't show up today.

As I was sitting in the lobby waiting on his mom the elevator doors opened up and a group of 5 boys coming walking out, all in orange jump suits and handcuffed at the wrist and ankles. Some of the looked really hard but a couple of them looked broken, including my student. I wasn't able to go into the hearing, but I was able to say a brief word to him as he exited. It broke my heart to see this young man who last week was in our youth service hanging out with friends, laughing and having fun and know he is setting in a juvenile jail cell across town.

This kid is a good kid! I have only heard his mom's side but if what she says is true or at least close,then this boy is just the victim of circumstance. And what really stinks is that he may get a lawyer who doesn't care and will give him bad advice. He could any where from 6 months or seven years.

Will you please pray with me that God will work on this young man's behalf. If he guilty then he needs to do the time...but if not then he needs to get back to living his life. I mean this kid ask his mom if he could go to church...he was hungry for God to move in his life and now this happens.

I will be sure to keep you up on what is happening, but please pray for my student! His family and I would really appreciate it...THANKS!

"Get used to it!"

This afternoon I had to fuel our church van so one of our ministries could take it on a trip this weekend. When I pulled up to the stoplight at the end of our street I was behind this SUV that had several pro-Bush stickers an airborne sticker and one other armed services sticker. Below all of those there was a normal sized bumper sticker that said, "I PRAY - GET USED TO IT!" I couldn't help but laugh. No wonder there are so many people out there that look at Christians the way they do...so many Christians have this 'us v them' mentality that says someone is always out to attack us as Christians.

The tone and negative feeling I got as I sat there and read that bumper sticker really got to me. It is because of this type of attitude and persona that people get turned off to the Church and to Christ...anyway I will shut up now...it is just that things like that really get under my skin!

Oh...and on a side note...when we finally turned the corner and I passed the car I looked over the lady was puffing on a cigarette...again I couldn't help but laugh...talk about mixed signals!!

Mark Batterson

Last night I had the opportunity to go to the Ohio District Council office and listen to Mark Batterson, Pastor of National Community Church in Washington D.C. It was apart of of the Ohio District's Church Planter's review. I really enjoyed finally meeting and listening in person to a pastor that I have listened to via podcast and blog for close to 4 years, if not longer.

He shared several stories and things that I have heard before through the podcast or blog, but there were a few things that he kind of rabbit trailed on that really stuck out to me...here are some of the take aways I had from his talk.

• Pray Ridiculous prayers!
• "Live my life in a way that is the best that God can do" - we have all heard or said, "I am doing the best I can do," but that should not be good enought. Mark used the illustration of tithing. If we don't tithe, then we are only doing 'the best we can do' with our money. However, when we do tithe we are allow God to do the best that he can do! He is can way more with 90% than I can do with 100%.
• Some of us need to kick off the dust of rejection...I will blog more about this in the future!
• "A leader is someone who produces more than they consume." Dr. Roden (sp?) - When he talked about this he was discussing consumerism in the church.
• The biggest thing that he mentioned just for a moment, but smacked me totally in the face was a simple statement about looking for success or satisfaction in ministry. Since he was talking to church planters, he was talking about the 'if i can just reach 100' or 'if i can just reach 300' then I will feel success or satisfaction. But this isn't just for church planters...I felt the Holy Spirit kind of smack me in the face when he said that...he called it a mirage, it will never happen. I can remember when I started in youth ministry I said if I can just have 40 kids it will be a success...I got 40 kids and nothing changed...then it was 60...I got 60 and nothing changed. I must admit that I struggle with finding success in numbers. I feel that if I have a large group that will validate my ministry...I know that it is not right, but I have not been able to break free of that thinking...but I am going to begin praying specifically about breaking that thinking in my life!

Sorry this has been so long, but I guess after 70 days I just kind of puked up all this information...one more thing...I need to thank gary fowler for his encouragement in getting me to blog...I guess if no one else does I know that gary will be reading this...later gary!

70 Days

It has been 70 days (give or take a day) since my last post. And thanks to my good friend gary fowler he has been bustin' my chops the last couple of weeks because I have not been blogging. So I am committing to gary and my parents (the only people who probably read this blog) to begin regularly blogging again...

I have to prepare for a meeting with my Senior Pastor at 11am, but I will post again about a great opportunity that I was able to take advantage of last night...

Fed vs. Feed

I just got off the phone with a very wise person that I talk with alot. We were talking about a recent decision that I had made not ask any of our graduating seniors to be involved with the Axiom staff following graduation. Allow me to say this, the decision had nothing to do with the students that graduated, rather it had everything to do with where we are at as a youth ministry and youth staff.

Anyway, we were discussing people involvement in churches. So often when someone gets invovled in a ministry they go in with the attitude of 'what can I get out of this?' rather than one of humility and service. In the past I have had people come to me and say they needed to be involved in something were they could get fed more, because that wasn't happening in the youth service. I have always tried to respond understandingly, and encouraged them to seek growth somewhere else.

This whole conversation reminds me of a few meeting/talks that we have had as a staff here at FMC. We intentionally do not design our sunday AM services to 'feed the saints.' Our goal in the those services is to reach out to the guest and those newer in there faith. This poses a problem for the people who do there 'religious duties' on sundays. They have a tendency in their minds to leave not feeling like they got anything out of the service...which they probably didn't, because they are more mature in their faith (to a certain degree).

To often the majority of people who attend church regularly get this mentality that sunday mornings are the times to get fed. They don't read much of their Bible during the week, they don't attend any wednesday night classes or any small groups. So there for they are 'spiritually' eating once a week...turning the vast majority of those people sitting in our sanctuaries on sunday mornings into 'spiritual anorexics.'

If you are involved in a ministry, don't look at through the lense of how can I get fed...learn to feed yourself on a daily and weekly basis by reading the Bible and praying. Then when you go into a service you can well nourished; ready to feed someone else and help them grow in their relationships with God.

axiom purpose

I am really excited about tomorrow night as we continue the series illuminate. Last week we talked about the first part of the axiom purpose statement "Reach," and tomorrow we will unveil part two! Make plans to be at axiom tomorrow night...you won't want to miss it!

I do need to apologize that we have not got the message audio uploaded to the axiom website. For some reason the server is not letting me upload it. I am in discussion with our host trying to figure out what is causing the problem, so hopefully we will get if figured out soon!

See ya tomorrow night!!

Indy 07

We got back last night from Indianapolis. Beth, Tona and Kaleb did very well! They both got Superior scores, but they have nothing to hang their heads about...the worship team did an incredible job...the judges were very very tough...there was only 11 or 12 worship teams that recieved 'superior with honors' and were called back for a second round. I don't know the exact number of over all worship teams, but their were three days full, so quite a few!

Below is video that I shot of both performances...you can also check it out on our new 'axiomlive44870' youtube.com channel. Enjoy!

National Fine Arts

Well we are Indy for National Fine Arts, but have to be honest...haven't really done anything! We got here yesterday afternoon, went downtown and registered...and got the kind of bad news...Kaleb doesn't go until tomorrow at 2:40 with his human video solo. Then our worship team doesn't go until Friday at 10:00am.

This kind of causes some headaches, because the check out time of our hotel is like noon, and by the time we find out if they are called back and get back to the hotel then we may have to stay or just leave and get charged for the night...have to wait and see how it all works out...

In my heart I have this feeling that these guys will make it past the first round. If they can get up there and have a solid performance and most importantly be anointed by the Holy Spirit, then I know they can make it to the second round. They have such a unique sound, I am sure the judges will hear a bunch of bands with all these instruments and they will be great. Then our team will get up there with 2 great voices and a guitar...it will be awesome!!

Keep up to date on how things are going, check out the results website...