Makenna: “is there recess in the first grade?”

Me: “yes.”

Makenna: “how long is recess in the first grade?”

Me: “it’s about a half an hour.”

Makenna: “I don’t know how long that is.”

Me: “it’s about as long as a Phineas & Ferb show.”

Makenna: “that’s not very long!”

Me: “it depends on who’s watching the show honey…”

Time is relative.

It’s not rocket science.  It’s not complicated.  It took just a few minutes to track down a few photos of the schools.  Prayer can move mountains.  Prayer can change the complete landscape of these schools.  Let’s pray for them!

If you are local and would like to add a kid to this album feel free to go to the photos and tag some students to the school.  We’d love to be able to pray for them too!

This got me thinking.  What if we treated people that we know like it was there birthday everyday?  What if we sent them short messages of encouragement simply because we cared more about them than just a particular day?  On December 12 of every year I love getting little messages from people.  It feels like the notification tab is going to blow up on those days.  Literally hundreds of people clamor to send birthday greetings to me.  So yesterday, a day which is not my birthday, the same thing happened by changing one simple number on my profile.

It’s nice to feel loved – actually, even more so when being called out by people who actually know when my birthday is – the people that really do know me.  Some of the people who sent well wishes are people I haven’t heard from since December 12 of 2009.  When I actually had a birthday.  Is that a true connection?

I’m just thinking out loud here as I type this – maybe we all need to do a better job at intentionally connecting with people.  Maybe birthdays are a nice day to hear from people but plain, simple, regular days are even better.  Again, this is just a thought.  Maybe it means more to have someone connect with you on a day that really doesn’t call for a connection – those “out of the blue” connections.

Something to note: with all of the birthday wishes on my Facebook page – not one phone call wishing birthday greetings.  Maybe we need to start taking the easy way out of relationship building.  Facebook just seems to simple and disconnected for me lately…

As a child I always wanted my birthday to be in the summer.  I have a twin sister.  Our birthdays fell just 13 short days before Christmas.  We shared a party and essentially shared a birthday with Jesus (at least that’s the way it felt some years with combined birthday & Christmas gifts)

Today I decided that you can’t choose the day that you are born but you can choose when you want to celebrate that day.  I changed one number on my Facebook profile and instantly it was my birthday.  We had some friends over for dinner, ate some incredible food, and now I sit watching the Patriots play a great preseason opener.  It’s a great day.  It’s the day I choose to celebrate my birthday.

If Facebook says it’s true – I guess it’s true.  It has been validated by hundreds of people…

Happy Birthday to me.

Can I just be clear on this matter.  Being a youth pastor doesn’t mean that you are the king of athletics.  Being a youth pastor doesn’t mean that you are the coolest, hippest, most up to date in current fashion, trendy, rock star that walks the earth – trust me, most days I’m a dork!

As a youth pastor I try and connect young people with a loving God.  I try and live my life as an example to ALL generations.  I want people who spend time with me to walk away from our time together and think to themselves, “I feel like I was just with Jesus.”  I am all too aware that this does not always happen.  I want that to change.  As I grow closer to God I want others to see that growth in me.  I strive to be just as John the Baptist – “less of me, more of YOU.”

As a youth pastor I am not a star athlete.  Nor am I the life of the party.  For that matter, there are many parties that carry with them descriptions like “epic party”, “unbelievable”, “amazing” and “I can’t believe you weren’t there – it was the party of the decade”, and I have not been at any of them.  I try and live my life as a humble guy who loves Jesus,loves my family and  loves young people.  As I work really hard to do that well I can see God at work in my life.

Rest assured.  If you find yourself on the opposite side of the net in a volleyball match – you probably won’t get me spiking the ball into your grill.  Chances are I’ll make a great attempt and miss.  My prayer is that instead of rocking your world on the field I can challenge you to grow in your relationship with God and that will make all the difference…

I’ve begun riding a bike.  I have to say, after 2 weeks of riding, I am really enjoying the freedom that comes from exploring new roads.  I’ve been commuting to work and checking out different routes to get there.  Each day is a new method to reach a common goal – the office.  Because I have been riding I am becoming more aware of the other riders out on the roads.  I have noticed more often than not that most people are unaware that there are rules of the road for cyclists.

As I have become more sensitized to the fact that there are rules of the road for riders I feel it is only responsible to communicate this to others in this format.  I want to be respected on the road as I ride.  I enjoy my new found source of exercise and I want it to remain safe.  Please, if you ride a bicycle – in any fashion – obey the rules of the road, for all of us out there.

Teens get a lot of grief about how much time they spend on their phones. I hear adults say, “They never put their phones down!” or “He is texting non-stop!” or  “I bet she couldn’t live a day without her phone.” But in truth, teens do what teens see. And I see adults every day who belittle others because of bad phone habits.

One day last year I got up before daylight, and spent hours traveling by plane to go across the country for the sole purpose of a one-hour meeting with some leaders for whom I have huge respect. During the meeting, there were several occasions when each of those leaders picked up their phone to read or type. At the same time, they glanced up at me on occasion as I was talking, said “uh huh,” then continued to “thumble” with their phone. I’m not a touchy-feely type of guy, but on that day I felt devalued. I walked away from that meeting purposed in my heart to never do that to anyone.

Here are a few habits I appreciate in others and try to put to practice…

• When you start a meeting, turn your ringer off and move it away from you. If the screen comes to life when you get a text–then put the phone upside down so you won’t see it. If it is likely to vibrate, then put it somewhere it can’t be felt or heard.
• If your phone does vibrate during the meeting and your guest says, “Go ahead and take that if you need to” — reach down and silence it without even looking. This communicates to your guest that they are very valuable to you.
• Don’t buy into the “what if there is an emergency?” line. Rarely does that happen. It’s not a good excuse for having to look at your phone multiple times through every meeting.
• If you know you will need to be reached during the meeting, let your guest know, “My wife is at the doctors office and may need to reach me, so I apologize in advance that I’ll be taking her call when it comes.” That tells your guest this is an exception–you wouldn’t normally do this.
• If you are in a meeting with multiple people–follow the same rules. Don’t convince yourself that your participation isn’t needed right now so you can disengage and respond to texts or play your next turn in Words With Friends.We fool ourselves into thinking we can multitask, or that our disengagement won’t be noticed for a few minutes. Not true.

I’m not saying phones are evil or every time you use your phone you are devaluing others. I’m a heavy smart-phone user. Your phone doesn’t need to be out of sight every time you interact with another human. There are times when I’m sitting around with 5 or 6 friends or family members and every one of us has a phone out. That’s part of the 21st century. I think it can actually enhance the conversation and social interaction. But there are times when you have limited interaction with others when you should be ALL there.

It’s about valuing people. And sometimes that means we are looking in their eyes and being fully engaged so we can really listen to their story and hear their heart.

Think about it.

and then we added a tent…

and a little girl…

Let’s see how the night goes.  I’m excited to have our first camp out.  Makenna was missing her big sister last night while she is away at camp for the week.  I go into the office late on Wednesdays so this just seems right.  I’ll let you know how it went in our little field of dreams tomorrow morning!

What are you doing to live out dreams with your family?

On the way home from our conversation I began thinking about how I live my own life.  Am I living in a way that embraces the challenges of the future or am I sitting in my easy chair gazing upon the rusty swords of battles gone by?  Maybe that’s a good question for all of us.  How are you living your life?  Is there a story of epic proportions being written by you today?  Are you living an adventure?

I want to be living in a way that rises to the challenges that I face.  Even more so, I want to be a risk taker.  I want to live dangerously, taking risks rather than always looking for the safe way thru things.  LIfe should be fun, challenging and risky.  Safe lives are boring.  Safe lives don’t leave exciting stories.  Safe lives stare at rusty swords…

So how are you living your life?  What is the challenge that you are rising to currently?

• Commit 3 hours per week to the youth group – mostly at Impact and weekends
• Arrive 15 minutes early to all scheduled events and stay until the end.
• Call or email me as soon as you know of a conflict that will prevent you from attending any event.
• Attend a bi-monthly leader training event
• For your small group – Learn every teens name and an interest that they have.
• Interact with every member of your small group, being careful to spend equal time with all of them.
• Participate enthusiastically in scheduled events.
• Receive a weekly update from me – with prayer points and areas of need to recruit in the small groups.
• Come to me any time with concerns or suggestions.
• Experience successful and not so successful gatherings.
• Feel energized after youth events.
• Feel tired after youth events.
• Communicate regularly with the parents of the students in your small groups.
• Celebrate students victories with them & share these victories with their parents.  (parents love to hear the good stuff that their students are caught doing!)
• Communicate with me (PK) if there are any behavioral issue that need discipline. (don’t go this alone.)
• Communicate with students outside of Impact and GCC (but clear it with their parents first)  Use a variety of communication methods – MySpace, Facbook, IM, email, text & cell, face time is always best but many times a simple connection can make all the difference in the world to a student.
• Never allow yourself to be alone with a student of the opposite gender. (Protect yourself and the students that we minister to.)
• We are not licensed counselors.  (and that is o.k.!)  Understand your limitations and look to others who are better trained for professional help.
• Passion!  We are not looking for warm bodies at Impact.  We want people who are passionate about connecting with students and helping them connect with Jesus.
• Criminal Background checks will be run on all youth staff.
• No adult youth worker is to date a youth or be romantically involved with a youth.  (Any adult with prior incident of sexual misconduct in this regard will not be a youth worker or serve in any capacity of youth ministry at Impact.  There are no exceptions.)
• To serve on the youth staff at Impact you must be a member of Grace Capital Church.

The bottom line is Youth ministry is not the easiest ministry in which to serve, but it can be one of the most rewarding.  It is o.k. to feel inadequate about your skills.  Your confidence will grow the more you are around the students and experience how God can use inadequate people (like us) to do great things.