Out of the Boat

have you ever felt like you were on the verge of something that could possibly be a milestone in your life? one of those moments where in 15-20 years you're going to look back and point to as the moment everything changed? maybe you had to make a difficult or impossible decision, but you knew it was the next step towards that moment?

whenever i find myself in a moment like this i always look back to peter walking on water with Jesus. it's easy for the actual act of walking on water to overshadow the seconds in peter's life he stepped out of the boat. what would have been going through his head? what kind of fears or doubts could he have had? what were those around him thinking? what separated peter from the other disciples? were the other disciples too scared to speak up?

at one point my oldest child would let her fear of the unknown hold her back. to say she refused to try anything adventurous is an understatement. when she placed a stake in the ground that she wasn't doing something - it wasn't happening.  my wife and i refused to be the parents that forced took their screaming child onto a ride or experience.

it wasn't until she was maybe 6 or 7 that she began to understand that often there's only one opportunity to do something. more often than not once we began the ride home she would unload her disappointment how she didn't get to do "insert random activity here" because she was scared. time after time my wife and i would comfort her, but let her know that sometimes we let our fear hold us back from doing something we really want to do.

i am proud to say that last fall when our family went to disneyland for the first time she road space mountain and big thunder mountain. these were two rides that my wife and i thought we would never get to ride with one of our very timid children.

my children have changed my perspective on life in so many ways. to see their sense of imagination, creativity and passion for various things in life helps motivate me to be more child-like. they've helped me to ask why more often and to push boundaries. maybe Jesus was on to something when he said, "truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

so what about you? what fear is holding you back from that next experience, adventure or risk?

I Made My Daughter Cry

My wife and I just finished an awesome week of vacationing in the Smoky Mountains. If you've never been; you should go! We aren't into the whole "tourist trap" stuff...$60 per person for a dinner and mediocre talent in the show....no thanks. So we stuck mostly to the National Forest trails and enjoying God's creation.

We had decided we wanted to go to the highest point in the Appalachian Trail called "Clingman's Dome." We hopped in my in-laws Jeep and ventured along the winding roads that hug the mountainside. As we climbed higher and higher we started to see other hikers dressed in gloves, hats and thick jackets. This caused me to think that my shorts and t-shirt were not a great choice for a 4+ mile hike. 

Once we reached the top we stepped out of the jeep and discovered we had clearly underestimated the temperature difference between normal elevation and being 6500+ feet in the mountains and that the fog was crazy thick. Due to the cold we decided to cut the hike short and just walk to the top of Clingman's Dome to check out the view (which we knew there would be none). 

Some of our party needed to use the restroom and so the rest of us were standing around. I had my daughter in my arms and had her wrapped in a blanket to keep her extra warm. 

And then it happened...

A wind gust blew the blanket out my hand and exposed my daughter to the cold air. I quickly reached for the edge of the blanket with my free arm as my daughter decided to make a maneuver to free herself from my grasp. 

It was one of those moments that happens in slow motion. Where you know the disaster that is getting ready to happen, but you can't do anything about it. I let out an audible yell (I say yell..my mother-in-law says scream...I choose to believe it was a very deep/manly yell) as I watched my daughter plummet towards the ground. It was like a car crash that takes so long, but everything after is such a blur. 

I remember bending down and picking her up expecting to see blood, but there was none. My mind ran 50,000 miles per hour. Flashbacks of every conversations my wife and I had had about parents who had dropped their kids and what happened to their children ran through my head. I imagined my daughter losing her teeth or having brain damage because I was careless for a fraction of a second.

I handed my daughter to my wife and knew that I had to get away from the situation. I walked away with my hands on my head because I felt like I had had the wind knocked out of me. It was a mixture of not being able to breath and feeling like I was going to be able to say that I had thrown up at 6500 feet. I paced back and forth hoping to wake up from this nightmare, but it was reality.

My father-in-law came to the rescue and came and assured me that all parents have been there. Where a split second decision or lack of attention causes an incident that we will never forget. 

My daughter is fine and only had a scrape on her head and finger, but I was shaken for quite a long time. I couldn't stop holding on to her and the smile on her face means so much more to me after the fall. As a result I'll be way more cautious about handling my amazingly beautiful piece of love. 

A Spark

The other day my father-in-law asked me to help him clear some trees that were causing him issues on his property. We cut them down and then drug them over into a large pile and burned them. As the day went on and we began to slow down the fire that was once roaring...turned into just smoke. I kept piling stuff on, but there was no flame.

All it took was one spark.

I was cutting down more trees when I heard a loud popping and crackling. I looked over and saw that the fire that was, a few minutes before, just a bunch of smoke...was now burning again.

The youth group in which I am currently serving is a lot like this fire. 4-5 years ago the youth group was roaring. Students graduated and over time the group turned into just smoke. We're currently in that "just smoke" stage, but the fire gave me hope. It was a reminder from God that all that it takes is one student to "get it" and to begin to tell their friends about what God is doing in their life through our ministry.

The purpose of ministry isn't to have the biggest "fire," but to help students connect with Him. That is my goal. To have a ministry that is constantly feeding this fire by connecting students with their creator.

So what's it going to take to get that one spark?

Junior High & Children's Ministry - A non-negotiable

Today I had the privilege of subbing for one of the local schools. I am subbing so that I can not only form relationships with teachers, coaches and key administrative figures within the district, but to be with students. We as youth pastors always expect for students just to come to us on our turf. To meet us on our own grounds. When do we return the favor?

Today I was asked to fill in for a teacher who was going to be missing the second half of the day. It was a very easy schedule and the students were gone to activities (music and computers) for most of the day, but there was a period of time where the students had 25 minutes of silent reading time. I wanted to model good behavior for them so I read the book that I had brought with me called "Junior High Ministry."

In the first few pages it gives this shocking graph...

I'm blessed to work for a church that supports my ministry. That the church board has given me resources to work with to help me in my ministry. If your church does not support children's or junior high ministry...show them the above graph.

When we realize that after the age of 14 the statistics are against us..it helps us to realize the importance of this group. Our excuses that junior high students are awkward. That they smell. That they are brutally honest. That they make us uncomfortable. All of those excuses don't matter.

We have to train up and equip leaders to see this idea. That we have to love students for who they are, not for who we want them to be. We have to see them how Jesus sees them.

They're worth it.

Purpose Driven

I never bought into the hype of Rick Warren's "Purpose Driven Life" books...I'm the type of guy that judges a book by it's cover and I'm sorry @RickWarren, but your cover wasn't very appealing to me. His former youth pastor @DougFields put out "Purpose Driven Youth Ministry" after the success of "Purpose Driven Life." I thought it was just a spin-off trying to make as much money on the idea as possible, but since I got it for Christmas I decided to give it a shot.

I'm only a few chapters into it and I already know that it's going to have a huge impact on my life as a youth pastor and as a father and husband. Maybe after I finish it I could give "Purpose Driven Life" a chance....maybe I'll just throw away the book cover and pretend it doesn't look like it's written for the AARP crowd.

I preach tomorrow...

Tomorrow I will be setting aside my typical blue jeans and the popular "youth pastor button up plaid shirt" for actual dress clothes. Our senior pastor is out of town and as the only other member on our staff I've been asked to fill the pulpit.

I rehearsed my talk tonight infront of my wife and about 30 seconds into my talk she stopped me and asked, "Why do you do that with your voice?" I hasn't offended because I knew what she was talking about. It seems that every time I get up to do a talk that I get nervous and my vocal cords tighten up. I have a ton of experience at speaking and I'm not sure why it does it, but it does. She challenged me to imagine myself speaking to just one person in the audience. To carry a conversation on with them and to tune out the rest of the people in the room.

So in that moment I took a deep breath and prayed a silent prayer for help. In that silent prayer I prayed that God would speak through me. That God would use me in a way like He never has before. I prayed for His strength.

It is amazing how, even in practicing a talk, God can speak to you. Tomorrow I'm challenging myself to take the advice that my wife gave me. To step out of the "I'm giving a rehearsed speech" persona and into the "I am having a conversation with you" mentality.

Pray that God speaks through me. Pray that He doesn't allow any hiccups in the technology. Pray that He is given all of the credit.

maf

Sky Zone Indy Review

When I saw that Sky Zone Indy was opening in Indianapolis I knew I had to take our youth group as soon as possible before it got too busy. We waited until after the holidays and sure enough..they started having sessions that were sold out.



Sky Zone Indy is located at 10080 East 121st Street in Fishers, IN. It's a great location that is easy to get to from multiple directions.

It is heavily suggested that if you are planning to attend that you purchase your jump passes online in advance (or make reservations through calling them to avoid the online transaction fees).

It is the ideal spot for birthday parties, group outings or a fun family night to reward the kids for a good report card or losing a tooth. Their prices are: 30 minutes for $9, 60 minutes for $13, 90 minutes for $17 or 120 minutes for $20 (prices include shoe rental and sales tax). Our group jumped for 60 minutes and felt that it was an appropriate amount of time. 30 minutes would have been too short, but anything over 60 minutes and we would have been so tired we would have crawled out of the front doors.

We walked in the door and within 5 minutes had our shoes and were ready to jump. To expedite the process it is suggested that you insure that you have all of the waivers signed by a parent/legal guardian in advance. I overheard there are options if an individual doesn't have a form signed by his/her parent, but it is a lot easier for you and for them if you bring the forms signed in advance (if you are going as a family or individuals this wouldn't be an issue unless you're bringing your kid's friends.)

The customer service is definitely top of the line (which is a rarity these days). The employees seemed to enjoy their job and get satisfaction in making sure that everyone had a great (and safe) time.

My only suggestions for the location:

1. Encourage parties to migrate towards the tables to the right to put their shoes on. When we walked in there was a large group of children putting their shoes on in the entryway which made it awkward stepping over 10-15 children.

2. More storage space for putting items while you are jumping.

3. Don't allow all of the dodgeball courts to be reserved. We had a few students disappointed they didn't get to play dodgeball because the courts had been reserved by parties.

4. One word....GROUPON! :-)

OVERAL:

This is definitely going to be a huge success. I love the fact that they limit the amount of people who are able to participate so it does not get over ally crowded. Our session was sold out and only a few times did I have any issues with being worried about bumping into someone. Even if you're a parent and not into jumping on a trampoline they make it easy for parents to watch their kids jump. Highly recommend! We will be returning in the future (with more students)!

CLICK HERE for their website

Sky Zone Indy
317-572-2999
skyzoneindy@gmail.com
10080 East 121st Street, #182, Fishers, IN 46037

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Project 26/26 - UPDATE

One of my goals for this year in my Project 26/26 was to read 24 books during this year. Having an iPad now really makes it a lot easier to get in my reading time. So far I have completed 3 books. They include:

Tim Tebow - Through My Eyes
Jodi Picoult - Sing You Home
Greg Stier - Ministry Mutiny

All great books that I'd suggest giving a chance. In the past I have found myself reading nothing but books on ministry or theology. I have decided that I'm going to start a rotation. I will read 1 biography, 1 non-fiction book and 1 ministry/theology book in that rotation.

Stars

Up until recently my life was spent in the middle of town. I remember falling asleep to a room that was only partially dark because of the street lights outside my room. It wasn't until my wife and I moved into a house that is in the middle of no where that I realized how light my bedrooms had always been.

Tonight I stepped out to let our dogs out when I noticed how truly dark it was outside. It is amazing how dark it can get when you get away from street lights and card headlights. I looked up and saw the sky filled with stars and had my breath taken away. The stars look so much more beautiful in the country than in the city.

As I stood there taking in all that I was seeing I couldn't help but feel small. I couldn't help but realize how big our universe truly is and how little I am. When you feel small it makes the stuff that we stress about and the things that make us feel busy...seem so much smaller.

Become a Visitor

Yesterday I made a trip over to one of the local high schools. I had been by there before, but always for a sporting event when I was in high school. As I pulled into the parking lot I began to get that butterfly feeling in my stomach. I get that feeling whenever I find myself in a new situation or around people that I don't know very well.

I followed the signs that would lead me to the superintendents office and I found a parking spot close to the doors. I looked up and noticed there were several sets of doors and all had the tint so dark that you couldn't see what was on the other side. I tried to play it off like I knew where I was going, but inside I had no idea.

I walked up to the door as I pulled on the doorknob I had a George Bush moment...I pulled on the door and it just wouldn't open. My nervousness turned into a panic when I looked and saw there were about 10 doors that I would have to try. I had 2 thoughts...I'm trying to go into the wrong doors and am going to get pepper sprayed by some security guard...or...there are other people on the other side laughing at me right now. I finally found the 1 door out of 10 that was unlocked. I quickly looked around for where I was to go next and found one door that was not labeled that had a receptionist sitting at a desk.

My point behind all of this is simple...

Whether it is our youth group or our church...how do we make visitors feel when they come to our services? We need to get into the mindset of a person who has never been to church or youth group before. How are they going to feel the moment they step out of their vehicle and approach the building? Are the doors, that are unlocked, clearly marked? Where are they supposed to go once they get through the doors?

I've always heard that most visitors know within the first 2 minutes of stepping into a church whether or not they're coming back. It is in the way we greet people and make them feel welcome that determines if they're going to trust us. If they're going to give us enough attention to hear the message that God loves them.

What  can your church/youth group to better reach the visitors? I suggest starting by becoming a visitor yourself.