Transition

Tran·si·tion
1. passage from one state, stage, subject, or place to another

Moving from one place to another is something that can take a person a very long time to adjust to. In the last week I have moved from a place that I loved back to the place that I grew up. Some called me crazy. I lived in Nashville, TN, a place that only gets cold for like 3 months a year and on any given day in those months could a 70 degree day be thrown in there. A majority of my my closest friends live there, as well as my brother and sister in-law and my 2 nieces. I am now back in Ohio where it is warm 3 months out of the year and on any given day in those months could a 40 degree day be thrown in there. However, I am going to be a surrounded by family and it is another place where I feel comfortable.

I am sitting here on my third day working at my new church and I can say that I know that I am exactly where God wants me to be. Did I always say I would never move back to Ohio? Yes. Did I take a leap of faith? Yes. Did I question why on earth it was Ohio I was being called to? Certainly.

With all these questions I had, the only thing that was crazy was that how obvious the decision was to make this transition and how clear God was. As humans we are constantly having to make decisions. And most of those decisions we try to make on our own. Sometimes we make the right decisions and sometimes we are so off its embarrassing. So my question for you is, how often do we let God in on the decisions we make? Are you anything like me where you find yourself trying to do things on your own, without the help of anyone else? Through this transition, one of the things that I noticed about myself is that I have a tendency to seek God more when I am dealing with big decisions or when I need something. As humans this is a natural tendency. The “what can I get from this” mentality. Will I pray about what shirt I am going to where tomorrow? Probably not. But, so far through this transition, one thing I do know is that in order for me to be more affective in ministry, and simply as a person who claims to be a “christian” I definitely need to be more intentional about being a person who is in constant communication with God.

Beach Camp 2011 recap

So we got back from Beach Camp 2011 with the Peoples Church Middle School and High School a few days ago. It was such an amazing week that I was able to share with some amazing students and leaders. I have definitely been blessed over the past year,  and have been able to work with such an amazing student ministry staff.

We started off our trip by leaving the church at 12am on friday night!!! That seemed like a great idea, thinking ALL the students would sleep on the way there. Wrong. I was with the middle school boys and I can say that wasn’t the case. So, around a 10 hr bus ride and 45 min of sleep later, we arrived to Jekyll Island, GA. We got there and spent some time at the beach until it started pouring!!

Our 3 days at the beach consisted of field rec and beach rec during the early session, splitting up middle school and high school until the last day in which it just became an all out war, not only between the students, but mainly between the leaders (isn’t that how it always is though). In the afternoons we had some free time where students hung out at the beach, pool, or playing football, frisbee, bocce, etc.

One highlight of the week for me personally was definitely the worship sessions. We have been blessed as a student ministry to have some amazing worship leaders and students that fill out the band and they definitely rocked it this week. Not to mention some incredible student pastors who took care of the speaking, along with our pastor who spoke for us one of the nights. Not to mention the Flash Mob that was such a hit!

The last morning was so cool because we watched 5 of our students get baptized, which was unplanned but they just didn’t want to leave until they made it happen! Such a cool experience because a few of the guys were guys that I had in my small group during this school year. It is so cool when students make that commitment!

There was a bittersweet moment because we had to say goodbye to Heather and Stephanie who have been working with the Middle School team over the last school year. Gonna miss you ladies!!!

Obviously this is just a short recap of an incredible week and it probably doesn’t do it justice!!

Just out of curiosity, for those in student ministry, what are some things that you do, or have done at your camps that are huge hits or huge flops and could be something to stay away from? Lets hear some feedback!

Ty

So Long 2010

2010 was a pretty busy year for me. I started a new job as the Middle School Guys Director at the Peoples Church in Franklin, Tennessee as well as continuing the job that I already have. I went on a National Wedding Tour between June-October. That movie 27 Dresses could have been about me since I was in four weddings (not quite 27, but kinda close). I turned 25 and most importantly, I survived a flood. 2010 was a good year, but its long gone now. I am excited to see what 2011 has in store. What were some of y’alls favorite memories of 2010?

Wasted Efforts?

So I am currently reading  7 Practices of Effective Ministry by Andy Stanley. As I was reading the other night I came across something that has not really left my mind since. It is probably the thing that I get most frustrated with within the church. It says, “Focus your efforts on those you are trying to reach, rather than on those you are trying to keep.” Funny story, a year or so ago, I was sitting in an interview for a Youth Pastor position at a church here in Nashville, and as I was talkin’ with the pastor he received a phone call. Thing is, the volume was so loud I could hear the whole conversation from both ends. The man on the other end of the phone was an usher from the church and he was calling the pastor to issue a complaint about when they did offering on the previous Sunday. He wanted it right before the message just like they had done every other service for the last 100 years, but they had moved it to the end. Why was that even an issue? They got the money, right?

I feel like there is a trend in churches where the leadership just does things to keep their regulars happy, even if what they are doing is crap, and is totally irrelevant to those that they should be trying to reach. In a study by the Barna Group it said that one-third of outsiders believe that Christians actually care about them. Thats kinda pathetic if you ask me, but I can’t say I disagree with the outsiders.. We are so focused on keeping each other happy that we forget our primary focus. Leaders, its okay to go against the norm, and everyone else, its okay to change. It’s not about us. We are already there. If we aren’t reaching the lost, our efforts are being wasted. So now I ask, will we set our own agenda aside, and actually get excited about what God can do or will we shelter ourselves from a culture that offends us?

camp/nashville

So the next few weeks are gonna be busy ones for me. It is 1am right now and i am waiting on my laundry to be done so i can start packin for camp. You would think that after so many years of going to camp you would learn to do your laundry before the night before, but not me. Camp is always a good time, and this is my first as the leader, and also my first one since 7th grade w/o Big Don…aww. I really can’t wait for this one. We are taking one of the largest groups that we have ever taken, and i feel like we have a really good group of kids going. It has been wierd the last week gettin so many questions about it…it finally hit me that i am growin up…haha. If I can make it through tomorrow afternoon, everything else should be smooth sailin’.

The week after I get back from camp, I will work a few days and then head off to Nashville. I finally was able to set up a meeting with one of the youth pastors at the Peoples Church for a possible internship, and I get to see Rob and Courtney, and Peyton…i had to throw her in there too, because lets be honest…she is way cuter than Rob.

Peace

 

Coldplay…

Get their new album…its amazing

I’m Still Here!!

I am still trying to get used to bloggin, and as you can see, its not really workin out to well. This past week went really well. Our Wednesday nights are goin really well so far. The topic is “Love” and I really just want to get across to them the importance of what it means to love people and what it looks like to love. I really feel good about where it is headed and i look forward to see where it goes. 

This summer I have really just been trying to hang out with as many kids as i can. Went golfin with some guys last week, i am planning on takin some kids the the Reds game on Thursday, and then camp is next week so it will be a pretty busy few weeks. It is hard to believe that once we get back from camp, i will only have a little over a month left. It’s crazy how fast time goes by.  

Mom, and Rob…I promise i will keep this updated more.

TY

Hey!!!

This is my first time to blog and after the first seven words i am already starting to feel a little awkward with this first post. I mean i think i know what people blog about but i am realizing that I don’t really know what to say to get this thing started. I guess I can tell you a little bit about myself, even though my mom and brother will probably be the only two people to ever read this thing anyway, so i guess i won’t go into all that stuff.

I guess thats all i will write on here for now.

Ty