I’m Loving It

Interesting day today. Drove through the hinterlands of Nova Scotia to attend a planning meeting for MYC09 in Truro, NS. Not my favourite drive, and (sorry Truro-ites) not my favourite community. Great meeting though. Got lots of things accomplished.

MYC09 is shaping up to be a blast! After a hiatus, we’re returning to the model of a central location on a college/university campus. This year we’re invading the Nova Scotia Agricultural College in Truro. This is a plus. Here are five reasons why:

1. Everything is on site. Rooms, meals, activities, events, services, late-nights, hanging out…no packing everybody in the vans to travel from place to place…and no waiting around for everyone to get there on time…
2. Full size gym for Saturday afternoon sports!
3. Lots of rooms for workshops! Topics of interest to students and youth workers!
4. FOOD! All meals are at the NSAC cafeteria, and are included in the price of registration! I really don’t think the college is going to make any money on us, though—400+ kids and youth workers all eating buffet…hmmm. Good luck, cafeteria crew!
5. (Selfish one) Easier administration. One cheque does it all. Don’t have to pay the registration, the hotel, the meals all separately. One cheque does it all. Really. Should make all the church treasurers happy.

 

Here are a few more quick hits:

• Cool stuff coming for late nights @ MYC09! The late night host is a little dweeby, but, he’s handsome!
• Pre-convention contest! Win a fab prize for your youth group!!
• More lights! More amplifiers! More decibels!
• Battle of the Bands! Get your youth band rocking NOW!!
• American Gladiators-style jousting making a comeback????? I am so going to own Nathan this year!!!! Getcha popcorn ready!!!
• Confirmed speakers and musicians ROCK!!
• Early-bird Registration Deadline (ie. the cheapest way to get to MYC09) is April 24.
• Fundraising started this week @ SP.

 

Best news of the day: my cousin Andrea just Facebooked me and told me her cancer is officially declared in remission!!!! Yeah, baby!!! Thank you, Jesus!!!! Lots of people have been praying for her and her family, and this is great news!

del.icio.us Tags: youth ministry,Moncton,Facebook,Martime Youth Convention 09,Nova Scotia Agricultural College,Truro

Sprung

It’s officially over. Winter 2008 has come and gone. The days are getting longer now, and there’s a definite strengthening of the sun’s rays, and…I heard the first singing of birds when I went outside for lunch!! Spring is here!

Friday ramblings before I head home:

• Looking forward to a date night with Heather…Don’t call/text me, MIKE!
• Young adults on Saturday…
• The SPOT Sunday night…
• Hopefully visiting with some friends on Saturday…
• Booked for a parenting conference in April. Heading to Bathurst, NB. Not sure why they picked me to speak at it. I’m no expert, for sure. Maybe the other 12 people they asked first couldn’t make it…
• Getting excited about MYC09…
• Canucks are rolling, Baby!!!!!
• Definitely want to watch some NCAA basketball this weekend…
• Go Syracuse!
• Worked on the 30 Hour Famine this week. Should be fun…
• Don’t want to listen to students complain they are hungry, though…
• One of our kids is working on her second sponsor sheet already! Way to go, Rebecca!
• It’s pointless to wash the car for awhile…to much dirty melt-off on the streets…
• Moncton Wildcats start their quest for the Memorial Cup tonight!

del.icio.us Tags: Moncton Wildcats,Syracuse Orange,Vancouver Canucks,Bathurst,SPOT,youth ministry

Monday Mind-Purge

Yesterday was a pretty cool day!

I had the privilege of baptizing some of our youth & young adults! Boo-yah!!

It is one of the highlights of ministry to stand in the water beside people who have experienced the life-changing grace of God, and are ready to do anything for Him! That never gets old!!!

In my former life as a senior pastor, I’ve toyed with the idea of incorporating an ancient part of baptism: the person being baptized was asked to repeat, ‘I renounce you, Satan, and all your ways,’ before they went under the water. I don’t think it adds anything mystical to the event, but it might serve to make everybody there aware of the seriousness of the commitment being made. (Run-on sentence, I know…) But for right, now, it’s just a thought. I’d be interested to hear if other pastors incorporate something like that in their baptisms.

Tragic news coming out of Illinois. While I don’t think we should rush out and install metal detectors in church, it’s a reminder to be vigilant. But let’s save the commentary for now and pray for the family of Fred Winters. Todd Rhoades shared some good thoughts here.

Last night GT joined churches from all over the Moncton area at the opening service of Encounter ’09. We’re concentrating on prayer, and praying together over these next four days. Last night, keynote speaker Gerhard duToit shared a great word! He’s not a bombastic guy, but there was a depth to what he said. I want that to mark my speaking, too.

We had a tremendous time at the Teen Challenge centre in Memramcook on Saturday night! Our young adults took supper with us, and spent the evening with the students of TC Atlantic. Then, we had a powerful time of worship together–a make-shift band of assorted parts came together without a formal rehearsal, and hit it out of the park!!! Way to go, guys!!

I preached from John 9, about being blind to who Jesus really is. Doesn’t matter if you’re new to Jesus, been with Him for awhile, or you’re an opponent…we are all susceptible to being blind about who He really is and what He wants to do.

On the Road to Damascus

Full day today. Team meeting this afternoon, youth tonight.

We had to cancel youth last week because of yet another snow storm. Eight storms so far, but the snow isn’t as high as last year. And thankfully, we’re not in the UK or southern USA where everything shuts down because of snow. But it was just too nasty out last Tuesday, so we pulled the plug and bumped everything back a week. Gotta love Moncton weather!

Tonight we’re launching our guys & girls series with, ‘Are You a Man?’. This is going to be a fun series–character, dating, relationships, how not to be a jerk, staying pure in a dirty world…all this and more during guys & girls.

I’ve been in a writing fog lately–need the catharsis of putting my thoughts down on paper. I’ve put that off, and it’s not pleasant. Call it, creativity constipation condition. Not fun. But I think things are starting to move again. 🙂

A song from our worship set on the weekend has been haunting me. Give Me Jesus by Jeremy Camp. We ended the 10:30 service with it, and it somehow really gripped me. Talked about the lame man at Bethesda (John 5), and how what he really needed was Jesus. Then, once he was walking again, he left the pool! He took off from the place where other people needed Jesus, and went on his merry way! D’oh!

How many times have I walked away from people who needed what Jesus had given me? How often have I gotten so wrapped up in what Jesus has done for me that I overlook the people close by that need Jesus just like I do?

I turn 41 next week. Got a funny feeling that the best is yet to come.

On my journey through today, I’m making a stop at Damascus Cafe. You should go there too.

November Mind-Dump

Got a lot of stuff to get off my chest, so here goes…

• The Nativity Experience is coming, and it’s really neat to see the building transform into Bethlehem, a Victorian town, and a couple of surprises I can’t tell you about.
• This is the first time I’ve been here for the Nativity, and I’m blown away by how many volunteers step up and make it happen. GTers rock!
• Our worship pastor, Kristin Pollard, is chugging along, spinning all kinds of plates, and keeping everything rollling. He’s a machine…and an incredible worship leader!
• Nahum’s hockey schedule has kicked into gear. Games, practices, and now the tournaments…First trip here this week for a couple of games. Should be fun!
• Nahum might get called up to help the Canucks out. We lost another goalie last night.
• #1 Thought from my morning reading: “The Church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the Church” Ephesians 1:22-23, The Message
• #2 Thought from my morning reading: If people preach Jesus in order to take away from my ministry, it doesn’t really hurt what I’m doing–it actually increases the reach of the Gospel! (Philippians 1). Someone might badmouth what you’re doing in reaching people disconnected from Jesus, but that still has the ability to put the focus on Jesus. Instead of trying to answer their complaints/accusations or instead of defending my reputation and/or motives, just rejoice that the good news of Jesus is being preached!
• Green Bay is really depressing me. I really like Aaron Rodgers! I think the coaching staff is on the right track. But they couldn’t run through a defensive line made up of our junior high kids. No running game = no chance of making the playoffs. And yeah, the defense could stiffen up, too.
• Today is Heather’s birthday! I LOVE MY WIFE! SHE’S AN AMAZING WOMAN OF GOD!! I can’t believe that she married so far beneath her, but I am soooo glad she said YES! 🙂
• I’m feeling disconnected from the AXISers right now. It’s been awhile since we’ve been together, and I’m trying desperately to touch base with them, and see how they’re all doing. This time of year seems to get so crazy and it becomes easier to lose touch with those you care about. I miss you guys, and look forward to this Saturday night!!
• So far, we’ve avoided the flu bugs and cold viruses that have been slowly making their way around. We normally don’t get too sick through the winter, just the odd cold now and then.
• Had a trip to Bangor to visit with our dear friends, the Libbys. What an awesome couple, and it’s always so refreshing to spend time with them. What a source of ministry experience & wisdom! We went shopping and got some GREAT deals! (Of course, this was BEFORE Black Friday. I’m not stupid enough to hit the mall then :))
• #3 Thought from my morning reading: when Gabriel brought the news of God’s plan to Mary, he was announcing a miracle that would be 9 months in the making. Wouldn’t sit well with many of us today. We don’t like to wait nine minutes, let along 9 months for God to fulfill His promises to us.
• Please pray for my Dad. He’s not been feeling well, and has some medical tests this week to see what’s going on. He’s worried, and needs peace.
• Please pray for my father-in-law. He had surgery last month and his recovery has been rough. Of course it was the kind of surgery that would flatten a young man, so he’s been toughing it out @ 73.
• I’m really looking forward to Christmas this year.
• What a difference a week makes: two Saturdays ago, we were buried in snow; this past week: green grass. 13 degrees last night @ 9pm.
• In case you were wondering why Canadian voter turnout has been so low in the last few elections, here’s a clue: the constant fighting and posturing in Ottawa is ridiculous! Morons! Made me think that when the Church gets all wrapped up in politics and politicking that we must make ourselves look ridiculous in the eyes of the world.

I’m looking forward to everything God has in store for us in December! Are you ready for Him??

Catch Up

Somewhat random purging of my mind…

• Life: Just Add Water raised over $2,000 here on Saturday night!
• GT is hosting District Conference: Monday-Wednesday
• Wild night of bowling with Soul Purpose.
• Been reading: Dear Church, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, Teenage Guys,Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership
• Nahum starts hockey this week.
• 59% of Canadians showed up at the polls–what does that tell you?
• Our Cuba team comes home this weekend. I’m excited to hear everything God did through them!
• PAOC’s new General Superintendent (David Wells) will be with us Sunday AM. If you want to be comfortable & bored, then stay home! David will knock your socks off!

12 Months

It seems like the older I get, the ways I look at time are changing.

For example, when I was a kid, I thought time would go on forever…

• The school year was forever.
• December was 78 days long.
• Basketball games seemed 120 minutes long.
• Time seemed to stand still when I was hunting with Dad.

But now it seems to fly by.

It’s been nearly a year since I experienced a change of plans. I had my life mapped out. I was enjoying what I was doing, where I was doing it, and who I was doing it with. But about a year ago, things headed in a direction I never saw coming. Some days the time stood still. Other days have been faster than a fat guy getting in line at Ponderosa.

I’ve been trying to process the things I’ve walked through in the past twelve months. If I get brave enough, I just might pull back the cover and let you see what’s been going on.

Time has kept on ticking, and hopefully I’ve gained some experience and wisdom along the way. If you’ve been reading here looking for sordid details, I guess I disappointed you. Yeah, it hurt, but those are things best left in God’s hands. To be honest, I’m more concerned about what God is doing in me than what He’s going to do about the past.

Stop What You’re Doing and Pray. Right Now.

It’s been a traumatic month in the western hemisphere.

• Hurricanes.
• The ongoing arguments about the war in Afghanistan & Iraq.
• Floods.
• Not one, but two federal elections (ugh!). BTW, I’m not impressed with the choices on either side of the 49th parallel. One. Two. Three. Four. It’s a toss-up.

Let’s not forget the rest of the world. If you think your church isn’t right for you, and if you’re a little concerned about the style of music the worship team is playing, or if it bugs you that your senior pastor didn’t shake your hand on the way out the door on Sunday…read this.

The next time you sing, ‘I am a friend of God…’ remember that people in other countries are called His friends, too. And more often than not, being His friend in their homelands gets them in trouble.

Take some time to pray for our fellow members of the family of God in India tonight. When you sit down to eat your next big meal, think of those who are running for their lives. When you’re tempted to complain about how bad church is for you, pray for the people of Orissa, India.

Stop what you’re doing and pray.

Lip Service

Tonight we’re heading to see Jeremy Camp in concert! If you’re not from the Maritimes, you might not realize that we don’t get a lot of Christian artists coming through here. Living on the Atlantic coast does have some wonderful advantages (good lobster, 5 o’clock comes quicker than it does in Ottawa, friendly people, and great scenery) but one of the few disadvantages is that not many Christian artists make it past Montreal.

This could be due to ignorance on their part. If you spend most of your life in BIG cities, you won’t find comparable ones here in the Maritimes. Moncton is growing, but it’s no metropolis. Sometimes when you’re big, it’s easy to overlook the things that are small.

This could also be due to the infamously low effort the Maritime Christian community has made to attend the few concerts that come through. I’ve heard people complain that we don’t get ‘big names’ here (big names being a whole other topic for some other time), but when we do, those same people are too cheap to buy a ticket and actually go. What do they expect the artist to do? They have families to feed, and bills to pay too. You don’t buy a ticket, and they won’t be coming back. Lip service doesn’t meet needs.

A wonderful exception is this Jeremy Camp concert. It looks like a good crowd is going to attend (about 1300 tickets were sold as of this morning) and this should be only help us get artists like him to come to the Maritimes. I’m excited to take Haley and enjoy the evening. I’m glad Jeremy’s coming to Moncton. Maybe he’ll read this post and ask to meet me tonight. Maybe he’ll ask me for my autograph. Maybe I’m dreaming.

Weekend Wrap-up

Good times at the OK Corral this weekend. Here’s a few random thoughts:

• Awesome time of worship in the AM!! Kristin and the team did a bang-up job of helping us focus on the One who’s worthy of worship.
• Awesome times of prayer for people around the altar.
• Good response to the Word. I love those times when you KNOW that God is speaking to people as His Word is being preached. You can see it, and feel it! Let the COMEBACK begin!
• Reconnected with a pastor I haven’t seen in years–he was visiting with his son. I looked at him several times throughout the service, but didn’t make the brain connection as to who he was until afterwards–duh!
• Jean-Luc brought it on Sunday night! Who-wee, did he preach well!! He preached ‘Don’t Let Anyone Bury Your Dreams’ from the story of Joseph–here’s some highlights:
• God doesn’t always use nice things to get you where He wants you to be. Joseph’s brothers hated him, and if they had loved him, they never would have sold him, landing him in Egypt.
• ‘Sometimes it’s better to be surrounded by enemies than friends.’
• The dream is alive until God says it’s dead. Doesn’t matter what other people might say about it, when God gives you a dream, He’ll keep it alive. (The brothers told Jacob that Joseph was dead…but he wasn’t!)
• Lots of laughs at Wendy’s with the youth after service. FREE FRIES!

I’ve got some exciting news about Soul Purpose & Axis I’ll share later on…stay tuned.

I LOVE MY WIFE!!!