Radical

I am excited (and a little nervous) to lead this study with the EDGE Young Adults this summer.



Starts June 5...11 a.m.

Sacred Echos

Ok...so the more I've followed God, the more I've seen the truth of this principle enacted. Time and time again, God reenforces something He wants me to get in my life by making a scripture or a theme show up in multiple places in quick succession. The skeptic (also known in these cases as the fool) will say that it is nothing more than mere coincidence.

It happened again this week. REAL Men of Genius, the young adult men's study I teach in the summers has been digging into 1 & 2 Timothy this summer. On Monday, we were in 2 Timothy chapter 1. There are 18 verses in this chapter. We could of focuse on any number of them...and we did, but the one that God led us to end on was verse 7..."For God has not given us a spirit of timidity but of power, love and self control." It was a really enriching time.

It's now Thursday. I sat down to go through my Sunday School lesson that I will be teaching this Sunday out of Mark Batterson's "Chase the Goose". It has been a great study and I highly recommend it if you feel trapped in where your life/faith are going. So I answer the questions on the Cage of Fear and get to the last section and lo and behold there's 2 Timothy 2:7 being quoted and then is in the reflection section at the end of the chapter as the week's memory verse!

There are 31,103 verses in the Bible. The fact that this one verse gets plucked out in two different settings is remarkable. It doesn't stop there. We started Chase the Goose and I felt like we needed to spend two weeks on one of the chapters...so we did. We've been going a chapter a week in REAL Men...so the 7th meeting for the men's group and the 6th session of chase the goose aligned themselves to get this verse across.

So the only thing left to examine is whether God's sacred echo will spurn obedience from His hearer.

Has His echo ever been clear to you?

Are you Ready to RISE?

Can't tell you how excited I am for the Good Friday Young Adult service RISE that is coming up on April 2. It has been neat to see all the pieces fall into place and I am really amped up for what God will do in our midst that night. Hope you can make it out!

What: RISE: a young adult worship gathering
When: April 2, 2010 @ 9:00 p.m.
Where: Wadsworth United Methodist Church
Why: Because our God is not dead, He's surely alive.

Spread the Word! You can find the event on facebook as well!

5 Reasons Young Adult Ministry Matters in Your Church

1. Churches have developed a mindset of raising up a child through Children's Ministry and Youth Ministry and then when they reach 18, its like they become prodigals and are left to go and squander their inheritance of a good foundation. Young Adult Ministry reminds them of their roots.

2. I haven't done any reasearch on this, but I think there are more crisis points in the years 18-25 than any other age span. College students are presented with liberal (sometimes I'd add, irresponsible) views that create questioning and doubting. Add to that the whole "What am I doing with the rest of my life" decisions and this can be a fruitful time if they have somewhere safe to come to in order to ask those questions and wrestle with God.

3. There is no other age group that seeks greater meaning and will surrender to the cause of Christ with more passion and ferociousness than young adults. They want a cause bigger than themselves to get wrapped up in. They dream bigger dreams than other age groups and just need to know what the Utmost Cause to live for actually is.

4. There's no age group that will be as fun, honest, spontaneous and open as young adults.

5. Without a young adult ministry to bridge the gap, church statistics suggest that people generally leave the church at age 18 and then return around age 33 (typically because a child or two are now in the picture.) This gap will debilitate the church if it is not addressed. We end up spending a good portion of adult ministry trying to reestablish the roots that were laid in children and youth ministries because they have stunted their own growth and are like infants in their spiritual journey.

There ya have it...So how are you supporting young adult ministry in your church?

Livin' on the Edge

Had a good morning in Church today. The Sunday after Thanksgiving is "Edge Sunday" where our Young Adults come together to lead the people into worship. The theme was adoption and at one point we had all the kids of the church come in wearing Save 1 Now t-shirts and I talked about how they represented 5 million kids just like them except those kids didn't have a family...didn't have anyone claiming them. After pleading for the church to be the church, the young adults prayed a powerful prayer in a round (where five of them prayed the same prayer at the same time and ended with the words "Save One Now"). When we said amen, all the kids had exited but one. Powerful image of Church and the message of adoption.

It was a good Sunday. www.save1now.org

There are 143 million orphans in the world...500 million churches in the world. If one family from 1/3 of the world's churches would adopt one orphan, the crisis would be solved. Call it idealistic, but God forbid we do nothing!

REAL Men of Genius

I had the fellaz from our Summer Men's Young Adult Study (Called REAL Men of Genius) over for the MAN-treat.

The guys were challenged physically, mentally and spiritually to complete the objectives before them and I think the book of Nehemiah really came alive for them. It was a blast and I am really proud of each of them for sticking it out this summer.

The initial challenge was for the guys to complete 5 objectives in the woods while "the enemy" (my buddy Kyle and me) was lurking around waiting to devour them. We were armed with Paintball guns and Egg grenades. They were hilarious as they completed each objective.

Of all the other areas of ministry that I am involved in, the REAL Men's study has been the most meaningful and impactful in my two years. But the challenge for the guys is to move forward with what they've learned and been challenged by.

Whirls of fun

Made it from Hosea to the cross last night. I think it went well. It's challenging to preach on the darkness of Good Friday and not tip our hat to Sunday. haha.

Tonight is another night I've been looking forward to for awhile. It is the EDGE REgressive dinner. Last year we did a Progressive Dinner and had lots of fun connecting with people. Tonight everyone is coming to our house and the dinner is going to come to us...backwards. There are some fun things planned and after we finish up here we'll be heading to Whirly Ball up in Cleveland.

If you haven't heard of it...it is what is missing in your life.

Whirly ball is a combination of bumper cars, lacrosse, and basketball. You drive around in these cars, 5 on 5 in a whirly arena and try to pass a whiffle ball from person to person using a sawed off lacrosse stick. The object of the game is to throw the ball at your goal (a board with a sensored net in the center). Hit the board for one point. Hit the net for 3. It's not easy as people are trying to crush you and you are trying to drive, maneuver, catch and throw a ball.

Are you an angry elf?

I think if we're honest we all get irritated by certain things or certain people. We do one of two things at that moment. We either clam up or we blow up. Clamming up keeps a smile on the outside, but allows the feelings to fester on the inside. Bitterness results and it gradually changes our attitude, demeanor and interpersonal behavior.

Blowing up is equally unhealthy. Losing our temper we go off on those around us, belittling others, blaming others, hurting others.

This week has been an interesting week as our staff spent some time reflecting on Romans 14:19 which says, "Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding." What does it mean to pursue peace at all costs?

The scriptures call the peacemakers 'blessed' but unfortunately most people fall in the categories of
Peacefakers- people who are passive aggressive and do the clam up routine, harbor ill feelings and ill will toward others while presenting a loving, peacefilled front.

Others are Peacebreakers- people who blow up, not caring who is hurt in the process.

Peacemaking is something different. It is not avoidance of conflict, but instead, at times embracing and addressing conflict.

So, are you an angry elf? Are you peacefaking or peacebreaking? Who do you need to make peace with this week?

p.s. Anger is the topic of the week this week for the Edge on Saturday night at 6. Come join us!

EDGE Sunday

I just sat down after completing three EDGE Sunday services. I am always surprised at where and when God moves.

I had some ideas about where I felt God was leading the service but I could not figure out where the message was supposed to go. I sat down repeatedly to write a message, but came up empty all week. Last night I was about at wits end...finally I went to bed with about 40 options running through my head and I woke up at 5 to try to make some sort of coherent message.

I still do not feel like that happened, but I have not been in a church service that was more emotional for the people than this service.

God worked through the young adults and touched hearts despite it! To see young adults make a public statement about the change they've experienced in Christ and have some of them share their musical gifts, it was just a really moving service. It is humbling to see God move. An older member of the congregation that I had not met shared how meaningful the service was to her and how it caused her to remember her own story.

I am gonna watch some of the browns game and probably catch up on some sleep.

EDGE

We are studying Daniel in our young adult group at church. We looked at chapter Daniel 3 tonight. It's the familiar story of Shadrach, Meshach,and Abednego in the Fiery Furnace.

I got a lot out of the study, even if the faces of everyone else looked comatose. We talked about what it means to be a person of Consistency . The three fellas did not COMPROMISE. They were not COMPLACENT. And they did not CONFORM.

I brought up two analogies, the first being the story and image of Harvey Dent from the Dark Knight, who is also known as Twoface. I think a real challenge for young adults is whether they are the same person when they are at Bible Study as they are when they are on college campus or at their work place. Our Consistency in following Christ matters.

The second analogy comes from my career in the pizza industry. I have made 50 pound batches of pizza dough and forgotten the yeast. The dough may look the same at first, but it doesn't take long to see that it is the wrong consistency. It won't raise. It won't bake properly and it won't taste right either. In other words, consistency doesn't mean jack if it is not a holy and right consistency.

So where is it toughest to walk the talk that you talk at church? AT WORK? AT SCHOOL? AT HOME? AT WAL-MART?

My own confession is probably a tie between at home with my wife and at basketball. It is really easy for it to appear that I am not an ambassador of Christ by how I treat Shaina some times. It is also amazing to me how badly competition influences me. I love to compete and to win. Worse yet...I'm that guy that loves to make you lose as much as me win.

So...Confession Time...Own Up. How are you inconsistent?

Where is the Next Generation?

So I work with young adults.

Here's a summation of an article I just read.

The 20 something generation has to make more money in order to live the way that is deemed 'right' or 'normative'. In general this impacts the Church in two pretty drastic ways. First, the young adults don't have time for church. Many are working two jobs to live at the standard they are coveting. Others work hard all week and come Sunday, feel a sense of entitlement (or exhaustion) to sleep in, so they don't show.

Second, if they are attending church, they are generally not giving 10 percent (tithe) to the church. In fact it is more typical for young adults to put money into parachurch organizations that represent a clear cut cause that is doing something tangibly in the world. But, even when money is given there, it is rarely 10 percent of that person's income. How can they afford such sacrifice? They have a house payment, 2 car payments, insurance for those cars, starbucks stops each morning for 4 bucks a pop, tivo so they can watch all 18 shows that are on at 8 p.m. (is that fulfilling? really?)

So if a whole generation is stuck paying off college debt and not attending church, then what are the ramifications? Well, in one major way it calls us to rethink church. Is this generation going to allow for church's to maintain their current budgets? To do active, relevant ministry, be involved in life changing mission, pay staff, pay for building upkeep, maintenance and expansion...that all costs money. What happens when (especially in a less-than-thriving economy) people hold their money close fisted rather than openhanded (as if it's their money to begin with!)?

I guess we will find out soon enough, but the church will either be proactive and find other avenues of redemptive means in this culture or they will be reactive and try to respond once crisis strikes.

So...what's your take?

This is for the EDGE folks!

If you attend WUMC, don't watch this!

IT IS FINISHED

A week of Midterms, pizza organizing, one cracked bumper, one messed up wheelwell, cold quesadillas, burying dead dogs, murdering pastors, and managing mystery is in the books.

I have literally been on my feet since 7 a.m. and we just got home at 10:45. My wife nearly singlehandedly served 140 people dinner.

People had fun, were well fed and some of them didn't figure out the murderer so all in all it was a good night...the week wasn't half bad either.

Church in the A.M. and then unplugging my phone and relaxing and really owning my sabbath.

Thanks to this guy for the clutch technical services.

Thanks to Larry and Mindy Penrod, the Wallets and the Edge folk for busting your butts to get us out of their before 10:30. I'm proud of you and thankful for you.

I'm out.

Murderously Fun

November 1 is a big day! The EDGE is hosting a Murder Mystery Dinner at the church to raise funds and awareness for our mission trip to Kenya. This is going to be a fun night. Tickets are $20 per person or $140 per table of 8. All proceeds go to our trip.

Get your reservations at www.wadsumc.org. Click "Sign Up". We really need people to come...so far we've been slow out of the gates, so hopefully you can make it!

Trust me, It's to die for!

When the moon hits your eye...

Wow. you look hungry. Nothing fills you up like a Sam's Pizza fundraiser pizza!

Best of all, if you buy them from me, the proceeds go to our Kenya mission trip. For 10 dollars you can have a cheese, pepperoni, or pepperoni and sausage pizza. For 11 dollars you can get a deluxe!

We really need support for this! Obviously some of you aren't passionate about eating pizza or in delivery range, but maybe you want to support this important endeavor. Here's something you could do: pledge to sponsor Shaina and I per pizza we sell. Maybe you do $1 per pizza, $2 per pizza or even .50 per pizza. This would motivate us to keep selling, and we would actually see more direct profit that way.

I wouldn't even ask if I didn't believe that what we are doing was not of high KINGDOM VALUE and that we have the potential to be used by God to save lives, spiritually and physically.

On a political note...I know the economy is in the toilet. But God's Kingdom should never be limited by stock market plunges or economic uncertainty...It truly is as Jesus says, where your treasure is...

Who's eating pizza, or pledgin' support per sale????

Kenya Mission Trip

The Edge is going to Kenya in June. I can not even begin to tell you how excited I am for this. Here is just a glimpse into the need and what we will be doing.

Most missionary agencies that work in areas like Kenya are focused on the densely populated regions of the country. While this is important, the vision that a "trickle down" effect would reach the less populated areas of Kenya is unfulfilled. The need in these rural areas is huge. High poverty, Low nutrition (the pic above is of three kids whose hair has turned orange due to malnourishment), High at risk levels for AIDS, High percentages of AIDS orphans, High percentages of single grandmothers parenting countless children. Empower International www.empowerworldwide.org is targeting these more rural locations.

As the prophet Jeremiah states, God has a plan for us and it is hope and a future, Jer. 29:11. These kids, in all ways, the Least of These (Matthew 25), deserve a hope and a future. Empower seeks to do this through a variety of ways. We will partner with this ministry to do what we can in two weeks.

*We will teach Fidelity and Abstinence in light of what God has for us. This is huge because some cultures in rural Africa believe a myth that if they can some how have sex with a virgin, they will be immune from AIDS, which obviously leads to continued spreading of the problem.
*We will host soccer camps. Soccer is huge over there and it just so happens that our group has some pretty talented grass fairies (me not being one of them!)
*We will build/construct/do maintenance wherever there is a need.
*We may have opportunities to participate in micro-economic endeavors. I am pumped about this and will post later about how God is using micro-economy and Empower Int'l.
*Above all we will have a chance to love on these kids, many who are malnourished, most if not all who are in need of hugs, love and affection.

We've just begun the fundraising process and could use your help! Stay tuned for posts on this. I am excited to keep you posted on how God provides for this trip.

If you are a parent of any of those going on the trip, this informational video could be helpful.

The First Annual Backyard Olympics

We hosted the young adults from Crown Hill Mennonite Church to a Backyard Olympics Competition yesterday. 9 events. 3 team events, 3 dual events, and 3 individual events. Here's how it went down.

We lost whiffle ball to start the competition 6-2

We won volleyball in two games (best of three)

We lost the obstacle course team event which was hilarious and laced with controversy lol.

We won bocce ball

We won Cornhole

We lost Badminton

We lost the obstacle course

We won the frisbee toss

We were tied 4-4 in gold medals going into the last event CROQUET. It was me, Shaina and Peaches against three of their croquet ringers. It was a nailbiter and as suspense filled as croquet can get. It ended up being between me and one of their players and I got lucky and knocked her out for our 5th gold! Perhaps the most meaningful moment of my life. haha.

This was a fun day and it was good to get to know another group of young adults a little bit. There are already conversations about next year and an expanded field of teams. In the words of my friend Lauren who organized the event, "I think this could be the next ALIVE."

The End of Genesis and the Beginning of a New Challenge...oh and a sweet game called whirly ball!

OK, So we wrapped up Genesis last night. For 8 weeks we studied how God created and it was "very good" but one thing was "not good" (man was alone...Authentic Community?) We looked at how after sin entered the picture, it really entered the picture. Unredeemable Violence, murder, rape, genocide, deceit, robbery, manipulation, etc. Even in the midst of that, we found God bringing hope and grace. When Adam and Eve should have died, they lived. When the whole world was to be wiped away by flood, Noah and his family lived. When the people rebelled and tried to reach the heavens on their own, God began a covenant promise with Abram (Abraham). This is relevant today. Even in the midst of our "stuff", God continues to meet us with hope and grace.

However, Genesis does not end well. You'd think the story would have some resolve, but it doesn't. The two leaders of the developing people, Jacob (Israel) and Joseph die in the last two chapters of Genesis, leaving the rest of the people to fend for themselves in Egypt, a foreign and unsafe land. 400 years later Exodus picks up the story with Moses...but can you imagine the people in between that span? Where is God? Is God good? Is God trustworthy? Does God love? Heavy questions...

So the ending is a bummer, you have to buy the sequel to find out how the story ends...or continues.

But we came back to Genesis 12:1-3 which I claimed and still do claim is the single most important passage of Scripture in the Old Testament. God promises to bless Abraham...SO THAT he can be a blessing and consequently bless all the nations of the world. This promise is inherited by Christ followers 3000 years later. We exist to be a blessing...especially as American Christians who have access to more resources than anyone else in the world...so, here's the NEW CHALLENGE.

OPERATION BAAAAAH. (Read Matthew 25:31-46)

The Edge is going to attempt to accomplish the six fold initiative outlined for the Jesus Sheep in this passage. This might be the most excited I have been for anything in a while. Here's the initial brainstorming.

Phase One: "Clothe the naked"

We all have a buttload of clothing...(a buttload is not a precise measurement). Alot of what we own sits in our closet or in "wishful thinking bins" or in my case, Shaina apparently shrunk them and they are more snug than should be worn in public. The solution, everyone bring 15 clothing items to the church on Saturday to donate to Marian's Closet. These items are 1) not to be so used that they are stanky. 2)Not to be the most hideous bridesmaid dresses you've ever seen and 3) not to give you an excuse to go buy a ton of clothes to re-stock your closet. The purpose is to be a blessing. Its a really small effort, but it's a start, and a sacrificial start at that!

The other five phases are titled below. I'd love to hear your feedback on how to solve these important issues either on a local or global scale!

"Feed The Hungry"

"Give the Thirsty a Drink"

"Welcome the Stranger"

"Care for the Sick"

"Visit the Imprisoned"

Aww buddy! Lord, I can't wait to see how you work in our lives as we live out your calling!

*Please note that the image of the sheep does not suggest that we will in any way violently harm the hungry, thirsty, foreigner, sick or imprisoned. I am a peace lover and an advocate of non-violent activism, but the picture was funny. It's a vicious cycle.

aww snap.

MYSTERY ROAD TRIP 2008

*7:00 a.m. is kinda early.

*Cedar Point is sweet.

*Even if its 60 degrees, you can get sunburnt.

*Mapquest's 'shortest distance' option can be a pretty stinkin' hilarious route to take.

*In a group of 10 or more, expect bathroom breaks every 15 minutes.

*Don't let Evan hang out with 8 year olds.

*Burt Bacharach and Raffi are not as popular as you'd think.

*125 miles per hour is fast.

*The Mine Ride is not meant for chubby folk. (Can I sue them?)

*In a group of 10 or more, birds will poop on 20 percent of your group.

*I'm working with a fun group, who needs to find some new 'line games' other than the initial game. haha.

Weekend Extravaganza

Thursday afternoon, Shaina, Shadow and I left good ol' Smithville for Dayton. We stopped off in Columbus and met our friend for dinner at Los Margaritas. I had my usual "Cherry Coke with Cherries in it"...and got laughed at by the hispanic waiter haha.

We spent Thursday evening through Saturday morning with my sister and brother-in-law and their two kids. They are absolutely nuts, which makes visits pretty entertaining. We also wii'ed (can that be a verb?) We played mariokart and some brain/intellectual game that I was horrible at.

On the way back to Smithville Saturday we met up with Ben and his wife Erin in Columbus for some Texas Roadhouse. Ben and I are in seminary together and I am slowly whittling down his defenses so he will become a pacifist. Shaina and I both commented that we wished we lived closer to them. It seems like a continual story for us that couples who love the Lord and long for deep friendship are either non-existant or too far away!

Saturday night we had the Edge. A couple things we hit on were the importance of being distinctly Israelite and also the themes of sin and grace in Genesis. Sin does matter. The repercussions of sin can be long lasting as well. We looked briefly at Lot's daughters and how their sinful act births the Moabites and the Ammonites, who are people groups that seem to be a thorn in Israel's side throughout the OT.

After Bible Study, we just hung out at the church and played a couple games. Shaina and I introduced Stupid Ninja and we also played some telephone pictionary. Laughter was abundant and for the second week in a row, my face hurt from laughing so much. This is truly just a good group of young men and women.

Sunday was the youth service at our church. They did an awesome job and worship took place. Afterwards they held a picnic for the community, although most of the attendees were church folks. After basketball, cornhole, ultimate frisbee and hotdogs, Shaina and I came home and crashed. Then we took Shadow to a park, ate some taco bell and I ended the weekend in the gym playing some bball. Whew.