strength

i was looking out my window this morning. what i observerd was cars passing by, people taking there pets to the vet, rain and wind. the wind though is something i started thinking more about. how strong wind can be but yet it is only measured by how you see other things move. in my case, it was two big birch trees. the wind was moving the branches all in one direction like it wanted to tear it out of the ground. the meteorologist this morning said we could have winds of up to 50mph. the strength of this wind was amazing. to see it move this tree like it was nothing. i know i could not be able to move it like the wind could.

then i started thinking about the tree. how strong is the tree if it can put up with 40-50 mph wind. the roots have to be strong, also on top of this the branches have to be pliable and strong enough so the tree would not fly apart. obviously this tree would have a breaking point. i am not sure what it would take, but at one point the wind could get strong enough to tear the tree apart.

a couple days ago i was driving. as i was i noticed there was a tree that had fallen on a car. the windows were smashed and the roof had a big impression where the tree landed. i wondered how hard the wind had to be going to break the tree.

everybody, everything has a breaking point. the point where they cannot hold on any longer. some peoples breaking points will tear people away from their faith, family and friends. everything they once knew could be gone just like that with a decision to turn away.

i guess i have decided that in my own life i would rather be a mending point. i want to be able to help so people never reach that breaking point. or if they have reached that breaking point help them to be able to help mend the brokeness they feel.

as i continue to watch the tree being morphed by the wind i know the wind will eventually die down and the tree branches will go back to there earlier resting spot.

communited

i have been thinking a lot about about community. how is it made up? how does a church reach that point? how is one to now when a church reaches a good sense of community? i have thought about family and what it takes to be a family. why is family so committed to each other?the commitment factor plays a lot into this idea of family and community. family will always be there for you. helping you out no matter what. family can be the greatest sense of community that anyone will ever have. however in the world today families are falling apart. or atleast held together by different standard and possibly non existent. a family that receives the greatest sense of community is one that worships and prays together. everyone has heard the quote "a family that prays together stays together."i think this can be the same in the idea of a church. how many times are we apart of corporate prayer that is really united. people will pray seperately and in different groups but the only time everyone is included is during the prayers of the services. so we might here some prayer but can one really base that the whole church is praying together with unity and in agreement.i think a church needs more. to stay united and together, a church needs to pray in agreement. how does a church pray as one. the pastor clearly showing vision helps. communiction is a big sense. if we know where we are going but the laity do not how can we pray together. if we never hear the laity pray then how do we know what they are thinking. we need to come together and pray together.a chuch family that prays together will better benefit God's kingdom together

real church

the past few days i have really been thinking about church. what is church? what does it take to have church? what are the components of a church? what would Jesus say if he saw the church of today.

the other night at barn bash i heard many people say that "this is what the real church should look like." and "i think this is what Jesus had in mind when he thought about the church.

the barn bash vision is not to push Christ on people but to build inroads or bridges into the community t0 show the love of Christ through serving.

there wasnt a huge push to have commitments made. there wasnt a rule that you had to be at this band or hear the message in the cafe. there were however christians serving free food, there were christians having a bmx demonstration. there was an acoustic set in the cafe where one could rest, have some coffee and listen to christian music.

there wasnt a "sanctuary" that had a "worship band" with a "message." there were however people who loved, sacrificed, served and showed grace and mercy to christians and the non
christians alike. it was amazing to see Christ represented through tangible stuff. i know saturday there were more seeds planted and watered than i have seen in along time. people are talking around town about how great it was to have a safe place to go, to know that they would not get in trouble or harassed for being who they are. people felt loved and appreciated. when people said thank you for putting in on, we responded by thank you for coming.

we might never know the outcome of what happened through this church we happen to call barn bash. it only meets once a year but i bet has a lot more impact then we realize and will be the only church that some of these people will go to this year, maybe even ever. but the community, the love and unity showed that night was amazing. that is without a doubt what Jesus wanted to happen. he wanted us to display love and servanthood in these ways. and this past saturday we built more inroads into the community and had community with them.

i kissed leadership goodbye

in a world where leaders are king, just ask jon maxwell. i have decided to kiss leadership goodbye. to tell you the truth i am not sure why leadership was ever that big of a deal in the first place. yes we need leaders. yes churches need leaders, and most definately every organization in the world needs a leader. but i am wondering about the focus that has taken place the last 10-15 years on leadership. "everyone is a leader" i have heard this statement many times. but i wonder if everyone is the leader then who is left to follow these leaders? we need more willing followers and workers who do not care about taking the lead.

you might ask, well you are a youth pastor. arent you a leader? and i would have to agree. our world however is to focused on what i can do as a leader rather than what can we do together.

when you get a bunch of leaders in one group. then their is a possibility of too many egos flying around. when i am in a room of people i can pick out the leaders very quickly. they are the ones trying to gather attention on themselves rather than allowing another to talk and share his or her idea.

i do not want more leaders. there are to many leaders or at least someone who wants control. i am tired of everybody trying to have a say in everything. many people are over opinionated just because they have a label of leadership. and of course there is a reason they are in this position in the first place. but my cry is not for another leader but yet for more servants.

Jesus came "not to be serve but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many." in many ways he displayed this and while he was a leader in respect he was much more of a servant than any other title He had.

yes i do understand the importance of leadership. and in a way i see a lack of leadership in homes and that is what i beleive to be a huge reason our society is where we are today. but if there were more servants, we would have more humility and less hostility. there would be less talking and more conversation. there would be cooperation and less individuality.

i dont want leadership to go bye in the concept of it is not good enough. but i want it to go bye for me. true leaders are humble, serving and want what they want but i want to be a leader who is serving others not for his own gain but rather because i have a heart for people and a love for seeing growth in an individual.

so goodbye leadership hello servanthood. i will try to be a servant. one with humility and integrity. one willing to compromise with others and for the good of others.

my hope is that you will will serve as well

update: barn bash

you think preparing so long for this event would ready you for what to expect. i am not sure why i was so overwhelmed with everything that happened but i do know this past weekend was one of the most exciting things that have happened in my two years as a youth pastor. there were over 1500 people. not that numbers mean everything but word is getting out that the church cares for the community. when people start talking about that amazing things will happen.

kids in the way performed an awesome show. during the middle of the set dave (the lead singer) talked and you knew from the first moment that it was annointed. people there maybe heard the gospel for the first time. we are considering about bringing them back for next year already.

enemy opposition is a skate team that will blatantly show God's love through every possible medium clothing, video, performance and mouth. good stuff all around.

i am not sure if we will ever see the "fruit" but i know there was a lot planted on saturday.

prayer request

this week is the busiest week in the life of anybody at pulaski wesleyan church. for the last five years they have thrown a festival called barn bash. each year adding to its numbers. the first year they had it consisted of 200 people, building to approximately 1200 last year. this year of course is my first year and literally about 85% of the church is taking part plus other area churches are now helping as it has become something we cannot handle alone.
we will have 8 bands in all including kids in the way, nevertheless and long since forgotten, and other local favorites
we will feature an extreme sports team from buffalo
will have hay rides, cornmaze, blow up games, and food
this is a way for the church to reach out to the community as it is only a donation basis to enter and everything is free including food.

i just ask for prayer and sanity as this thing goes on. we could do a lot for the kingdom on saturday. if you are in the area come on by.

certain of what we do not see

can one be certain of what they cannot see? is it possible to trust that much in something that is never seen to be truth. well obviously this is something that is hard to be able to do. more people than not have followed this concept of 'if i can not see it then it must not be true.' this is the concept most people probably hold as truth. one of the only truths that there is has to be visible. and even in those circumstances can there be absolutes with what can be viewed.

yet children will believe anything you tell them. it is part of their naitivity and innocence. i wonder if that is what Jesus is talking about, "having faith like a child." being naive and innocent enough to believe anything that is told to them. was i like this growing up(with parents)? or even in college(profs)? or now?

having faith is not easy. faith can be best defined as "being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." that is what makes faith so hard. it doesnt say faith is something that will be revealed tomorrow or that we will be able to touch Jesus' scars like thomas did. we cannot see and might never see the scars of Jesus. so for now we are stuck in a world without physical evidence of our resurrected Savior.

alot of converts today are children under the age of 13. is that because they are so innocent and naive that they will believe eveything told to them so they confess, believe and begin a relationship out of that is all they have ever been told or do they truly believe in their heart that Jesus is Lord. it is a hard concept for anyone to handle.

you might be reading this and wondering if i am possibly having a faith crisis. well i am definately not having a crisis but i now many who are. many who are falling away from what they have grown up believing and what they once proclaimed as truth. they see as a lie or at least that if God is so loving and gracious, why does there have to be so much pain?

what was once enough for them to believe as a child has now become tough. is this a problem within the church or an issue within the people themselves? did we not disciple them enough. and if we did then why are they falling away as i write this blog? is there a way to stop this trend. or is this bound to happen? i dont want to be convinced that this is what i will have to face as time goes on. as more people that have been poured into will eventually just dump everything they have been told and walk away.

going back to the idea of faith is "being sure of what we hope for." just makes us have to hope a llittle more. sometimes their is things that we cannot prove. as much as we read and dig perrper into the apologetics of Christianity. it still goes back to the hope, trust and certainty of what we do not see.

as i sit here and type this i am wearing a blue shirt, shorts and flip flops but I guess that you will just have to believe me.

desperation for critical thinking

i went to college as a kid from a small town, knowing little but thinking i knew everything. i had experienced a decent amount for an 18 year old but what was about to experience at iwu was eye opening for me. iwu had more rules then i had at home. but now that i have been a youth pastor for almost 2 years i look at some of the teens who have left and are leaving this weekend to start at colleges all over america. iwu provides a much needed structure for an 18 year old.

some rules i didnt agree with going into college and some new reflection on them for those who are entering as freshmen or are still so opposed to rules.

1. curfew for freshmen- 12 weekdays, 2 friday, 1 saturday--i really did not enjoy this. i would come into the dorm most evenings at 11:59. but obviously this is a standard not to off the streets but to help give you boundaries. who can learn by staying up all hours. by the time you are upperclassmen you will realize how important sleep and opening a book before 12 am is. also this is for the christian. when going to church after sleeping only a couple hours is almost pointless. are we not supposed to give God our best. if we are physically exhausted then can you worship well?

2. no rated r movies- i had issues through all of college with this rule. i thought the university was against us using discernment. but in reality they knew we did not have discernment. i do watch rated r movies now but very few. the value in most of them is low. but this rule really helped show me discernment rather than take it away. just in addition to this i watched "the great raid" this week. about a pow camp in ww2. really is an amazing movie of perserverance and faith shown through a true story of rescue and redemption. check it out. i urge every one. it is a little slow at first but give it a chance.

3. no dancing- actually to tell you the truth. i didnt mind this rule. i never did dance before iwu and still really dont care to learn.

i am sure there were more rules but these are the most talked about on the iwu campus. these help you to critically think about what is important and discern what is not. most rules are put there for protection rather than hindering someone to do something. and how you react to the authority is a clear indication of how one can and does react to God with the rules he has set forth.

a warning

how many times have you known something was going to happen? you have been warned by politicians, weathermen, pastors, doctors or other experts of a certain field that this will happen. it is inevitable. we hear the warning but do not do a thing about it, or do not think that it will actually happen. so many times we do not think it could happen to us. God will protect us and keep us from anything that we are unable to handle.

smoking is an example. doctors say do not smoke or you will get lung cancer. people dont listen to that so people end up suing tobacco companies because of the addiction that it can become. so yet another warning is put on the box by the surgeon general. warnings were created for protection.

new orleans is also an example of this. people know that there is a category five storm heading their way but for some reason they do not leave the area. maybe they thought the levies would hold up, many thought if they could survive camille then katrina would be okay as well. maybe they didnt have transportation out of town. (with 30-40% under the poverty level there alot of these probably didnt own their own vehicles.) maybe they thought God would protect them. but for one reason or the other they stayed against the advice of everybody. they couldnt leave their homes. it was all they knew and they had to stay.

we have many warnings still that are viable today. we have the book of revelation which says there will be an end of it all. we have paul warning us that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." and later him saying for "the wages of sin is death" and yet still "that if you confess with your mouth "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved." but yet we stay where we are comfortable. we stay where we think we will be protected.

even the disciples were warned not once but twice that Jesus would die and three days later rise from the dead. of course someone objected (peter) someone betrayed (judas) and when it actually happened (jesus dying and rising again) the disciples were dismayed with unbelief and it took a while to recognize who it was. and then even with the testimony of the other disciple thomas chose doubt over belief.

and yet we have come full cycle. we still have unbelief. we still experience warnings put out there. it is interesting that these warnings are there to protect us. if you follow these warning you can have life and live it to the full. but yet people people choose the way they feel most comfortable usually because that is the direction that their friends or family are going.