Sr. High Lake Champion 08

We got back from Lake Champion yesterday afternoon and there is TONS to talk about. First, let me give some well deserved shout outs: to my wife, who rocks my world! She did an amazing job this weekend...love you! Also to Marko, the world's most versatile and awesome intern! He was asked on Friday night to take over the sound board for the rest of the weekend and he did an AMAZING JOB! Also shouts go to Justin, Lauren and Alex who are some pretty sweet leaders..I actually think my leader crew is the envy of all youth pastors!!!God did some...

Read More

New update coming...

Hey, SUPER BUSY WEEK...did the Sunrise service, hopped on a plane to Cali, came back on Friday morning and on Friday afternoon, headed to Lake Champion!! Woo Hoo! SOSOSOSOSOSO tired tho, so I will give a sweet BLOG in da noontime of the morr...

Read More

Got Water?

You know the feeling when it's a hot day, sweat dripping off your brow and the annoying yet ever present cotton tongue? That's the feeling that you get when your body is telling you to replenish, refill, and quench me with the wonders of the chemical H2O. Water, a simple enough equation, a simple solution to our cotton tongue. When this parchment of the pallet happens, I know you reach for water at first sight, you drink the coldest, most refreshing glass of water you can, right?This is because you know the only thing that can supply the ever...

Read More

Song of Solomon (Songs) Part 2...

Last Night's youth group went really well! Dee, Becky and Stephanie Leone put together our whole Easter Egg hunt (with rice crispies inside as well as a hidden $5 bill)! We enjoyed each other's company, and had a great time finding eggs as well as playing HUMAN FOOSBALL!The main point that I taught last night was NOT settling for less than God's best. I opened with the "fantastical" scene in the beginning of the new movie "Enchanted" which is...

Read More

Come Thirsty...

I am in the midst of reading Max Lucado's: "Come Thirsty" and I must say I love it. Instantly he challenges my relationship with the Lord, asking how much Jesus Drink I've been drinking. The greatest thing is he doesn't bring it to the reader as a "to do list" or a "how to" manual, but rather asks simple questions that make you see you need more drinking of your Lord, because it is he that sustains, He that gives life and without him we end up becoming dry, thirsty and needy. We don't deny our bodies water do we? If we do, we become dry mouthed,...

Read More

Today

My boy Matt Jackson is in town, starting today, just hanging an chillin'. Funny thing happened though, he called me this morning to pick him up, telling me he was taxiing to the gate. I thought he said he was taxiing to leave DC, to come to NY, so basically I was late picking him up...oh well.My mom came out of surgery healthy and well! So that was good news to hear today!Basically, I'm chillin' with Hilary and Matt, got a board meeting tonight, but then I'm done for the weekend! Goin to NYC on Saturday and then The Phantom of the Opera at...

Read More

Tonight's Youth Group (March 12, 2008)

This month's theme is all about FAITH. Last week, we defined faith, looked at it from the dictionary and the Bible's point of view and really wrapped out heads around the idea. Tonight, we asked ourselves the question: Why Faith? Why should we have faith at all, why's faith in God matter? To get the ball rolling, I opened up with a clip from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (see below video). I then asked a tough question to keep the ball...

Read More

Last Nights Youth Group...

Last nights Youth Group meeting was about Love According to Song of Solomon (Songs). Let me tell you as a youth pastor this is a difficult book to teach on. I am blown away at the book as a whole and really had a difficult time of narrowing down a focal point in this book. However, God is good and I focussed last nights talk on two different points: Sex inside marriage is a good, Holy and amazing gift; and Do Not arouse or awaken Love until it...

Read More

Update...

Just finished yesterday my first Paper (Christ Our Savior) for Ordination...on to the second! I am also now starting the 4th book out of 7. If your wandering, the book is Wholly Sanctified by A.B. Simpson. Just wanted to let yall kn...

Read More

GREAT BOOK

Recently, I've been reading a lot of Stephen R. Lawhead. His books are steeped in literary art, as well as Old English, Scottish, Welsh and Norse lore! All of those things have HUGE appeal with me...but what REALLY has the appeal is how he weaves his faith into his books. The most recent book of his I read was Byzantium. It's the story of an Irish Monk who sets out on a journey to deliver a hand-written, hand-crafted Bible to the Emperor of the Roman empire (who happens to live in Constantinople or Byzantium). His quest puts him through...

Read More

Weekends!

Hey, just for da info...I probably won't be writing blogs during the weekends...I know you're so depressed about it, but for the most part, I will write a "how the weekend was" if there was anything of interest....SO ne ways...this weekend was pretty hectic/slash sweet! We had our second lent service at the church, which was awesome! We did a stations of the cross type deal and it was really well planned, set up and executed! Can't give higher props to Dan Hammer! Also, we had drama practice going on for the Easter Egg-Stravaganza, choir practice...

Read More

Ordination

As many of you know (and many may not) I am going through the process of Ordination at the present time. Currently, I have read: 3/7 of the required books and am right now in the middle of my first paper (Christ Our Savior). I feel a little shall we say: "Out of Practice" when it comes to writing a paper, with specific boundaries. At first I thought it was only a 5 page paper (no biggy) then I read the small print and realized it has to be AT LEAST 8...still nothing to holla at, but still. If you want to pray for me today, pray that I will be...

Read More

Communication

All relationships can be made or broken by one word: communication. Getting married has taught me this over and over again. However, as a typical male, I sometimes forget to employ this new-found revelation on the importance of communication. I have been convicted more than once on my lack thereof and am making steps in order to communicate. You'd think a Pastor who preaches/teaches would have the communication bit down...well I don't but I'm trying to. So, if I haven't communicated with you in awhile, give me a shout by way of call and I...

Read More

Tonight's Youth Group (March 5, 2008)

Tonight for Jr. High, we discussed the topic of FAITH. I gave the teens the "dictionary.com" definition and the Biblical Definition (Heb. 11:1). I showed an interesting video that I plucked from the great realm of youtube.com. (If you want to see it, go to youtube.com and type in "trust fall" in the search column, should be the first video with Todd Conner in it.) In which a man asks a woman to trust him to catch her if she falls from a ladder,...

Read More

"Un-Comfortable"

Ministry is a hard road to toll. So many things happen, both good and bad. Sometimes, there are super highs, and super lows. I hate the lows and feel so un-comfortable. I never like being in the low category. However, as I look at the Life of Jesus I am reminded that his whole life was lived in the "Un-comfortable" position. Nothing he did was what we'd consider comfortable. His birth and death defined the Man-God we know as Jesus. He was fully Man and fully God, born in a stinky barn inside of a feeding trough, then hung on a cross as a curse...

Read More

The Story of a Youth Master

One evening, I was leaving the city of New York, by way of the G.W. Bridge (for you non-Newyorkers, that's the George Washington Bridge). Once I crossed over into New Jersey, I hit the gas a little trying to get home, when Hilary (my lovely wife) suggested I slow down, so as not to get a ticket, to which I say: "We're fine, we won't get pulled over". Literally as I was finishing the words: "pulled over" a flash of red and blue went off in my rear view mirror, I was getting pulled over. This is where normalcy took a back seat to weird. Three...

Read More