College Group in Mexico with Caravan Ministries

I’ve been down with Caravan Ministries in Mexico now more times than I can count, but this time was perhaps the most emotional for me ever.  Picture a hideous hillside.  Dirt.  Trash.  Random assortment of plywood thrown together for shelter.  Only a valley’s view below, a tract of newer homes with actual paved roads welcoming more forturnate back home.  But on this hillside, just dirt, trash, and a view.

Out of the hammered shelter come three of the four family members.  Mom, skinny with bad teeth.  Older brother, deaf and doesn’t know sign language.  Younger brother, all smiles.  The fourth member of the family, the dad dying of AIDS.  He’s lying limp on a dirty mattress which is lying on a dirt floor inside their existing home.  ”Gracias, hermanos” is all he can manage to speak.  ”Thanks, brothers.”  And oh yeah, mom is skinnier than she was six months ago because she’s dying of AIDS too.

The deaf brother and the smiley one will be orphans soon.  And we’ve got a day to do two things:  Build them a new home and leave them with as much of Jesus’ love as possible.  I can’t help but feel like we needed to do more.  And we still need to do more.  Tearful, fervent prayers continued long after we were there.  And again this morning.

The 13 of us were touched by our Lord this weekend.  Spoken to.  Ministered to.  Broken down.  Built up.  God’s good at that.

It seems to happen this way all the time when we position ourselves around the broken and the poor and the needy.  It’s then we see our own brokenness, poverty, and need.  Here’s a quick glimpse of our weekend:

Phil Wickham at Grace Baptist Tonight

It was one of those nights.  The Spirit, thick.  Jesus, closer than your breath.  Father,  hands feeling stronger than normal.  Tonight all this God-work poured out through Phil Wickham and his band in one of the most worshipful nights I’ve had in a long time.  Maybe ever.

There are some guys who are ridiculously talented.  Like Phil.  And then there are guys who are both ridiculously talented and ridiculously anointed by God.  Again, like Phil Wickham.

I wished for everyone I knew to be in that room because some of Heaven met earth at Grace tonight.  I watched hurting people be encouraged back into safety tonight.  I watched dreams get ignited tonight.  I watched people let go tonight.  I felt all of those things for myself tonight.

Go buy his album, Heaven and Earth, when it comes out in November at http://www.philwickham.com.  God’s going to continue to lead us into His presence through the creativity and inspiration poured out through this guy for a long time, I hope.  Going to bed tonight moved with the power of God and the power of worship and the power in the coming of Heaven.  Thanks, Phil, for carrying us to that power tonight.

Week in Arizona with Brett Stanfill Band and Steve Russo Event

Here is a pictography of the ministry side of our trip to Arizona last week.  I was so honored to partner up with the Brett Stanfill Band from Atlanta for the week.  Sometimes the Lord orchestrates crazy things on crazy levels and provides powerful bonds in ministry.  I definitely feel that for Brett and his band.  Spiritual Chemistry.  I treasure that when I find it.  I treasured it with them last week.  Here’s what we did at Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Chandler, AZ. that you’ll see below (mostly band pics cuz I was shooting all this with my trusty iPhone):

• Sunday 5 Main Services
• Tuesday KaBOOM 1-4th Grade Program
• Wednesday Combined Momentum 5/6th and Pulse 7/8th Grades Program
• Thursday Morning MAN Church
• Thursday Night Combined Camber College Ministry and Rhythm Singles Ministry Program

That last one there was from my speaking at “Man Church,” Cornerstone’s Men’s Ministry.  You can watch the news story that was shot that morning online at http://www.abc15.com/content/news/southeastvalley/chandler/story/Why-a-Chandler-church-is-offering-man-only/qsxlUMcMB0eLd4dogJC_iw.cspx .

And then Saturday night we closed our week out by hosting a huge event called The Hangar 3G Experience with Steve Russo and his amazing crew.  The lineup included pro skater Brian Sumner, former Lenny Kravitz drummer Zoro, strongman Gerald Carter, Radio Disney’s Next Big Thing Jonnie and Brookie, Brian “Head” Welch of Korn, and MXPX.  I had such a blast.  Here are some pix from that night:

Almost 150 people of all ages put their trust in Jesus as the Lord this past week.  I left so humbled and honored to be God’s presence and surrounded by God’s people doing His work – especially with such creative, Jesus-loving friends.  Hopefully Brett, Anders, Bobby, Drew (and Bassist??) can make it out again soon.  There’s a powerful kindred spirit there that the Lord breathes His favor into heavily.  I have a deep love for those guys.

But now it’s so good to be home.  I can’t imagine a better place to minister on a daily basis than Grace Baptist.  The revolution continues to roll!

Danny Ray at Grace This Week!

Danny Ray

Don’t miss a killer week with Danny Ray this Wednesday AND Saturday night at Grace Baptist in Santa Clarita for Student Ministries.  Danny is a world-class illusionist, follower of Jesus, and friend.  He’ll be performing at Grace at 7PM both nights.  He’s performed all over the world and blown my mind more times than I can count!  In addition, Danny has an amazing heart for students.  He’ll be stoked to meet you guys!  See you this week!  Check out www.gracebaptist.org/www.uprightillusions.com for more information or call 661.296.8737!

How To Start a Revolution – Part 4

So the revolution had begun.  The revolution of the early church as described in Acts.  In a matter of weeks, the number of followers of Jesus catapulted from 120 to 3120 to 5000.  Revolution.

They’d prayed for the Holy Spirit to come.  Step one.  They began speaking the unified language of love.  Step two.  They waited for God to inspire fear and awe and pulled together as family.  Step three.  And now… step four.

Under the power of the Holy Spirit and the name of Jesus Christ, Peter and John come across a beggar.  This guy had planted himself at this gate called Beautiful.  Because of it’s beauty and location it was the preferred entrance into the temple courts and had a high rate of travel.  Perfect place for a beggar.

Peter, once full of timid faith, now steps up boldly and in the name of Jesus heals the beggar.  A crowd gathers and is amazed.  More come to believe in Jesus as Peter and John explain what’s going on.  Lives are being changed right before people’s eyes.  Revolution.

Put in jail overnight and then dragged before the Sanhedrin court the next day, Peter speaks up boldly again.  More revolution.  The rulers of the Sanhedrin, many of whom may have also played a role in the arrest of Jesus,  are silenced.  Silenced by his words.  Silenced by the revolution.  Silenced by the truth.  Silenced by the fact it was obvious these men had hung with Jesus.  Silenced by evidence.

The evidence?  A changed life.  A crippled man who was now healed.  It shut them up.  And revolution rolled on.

How do we start a revolution?  Last step.  Keep our changed lives before others.  How do we have our lives changed?  By pulling close to Jesus.

Step One – Pray for the Holy Spirit to come.

Step Two – Speak the unified language of love.

Step Three – Wait for God to inspire fear and awe, then pull together.

Step Four – Keep our changed lives out in the open and keep close to Jesus.

Happy 2nd Birthday Brody!

Transitioning from Junior High to College/Young Adult Pastor

Dear Parents and Friends (Near and Far),

Some of the news I’m about to share may have already hit your family, but if not, I’m writing to let you know about some upcoming transition that will involve my role as Junior High Pastor at Grace Baptist Church.

After much prayer, thought, and discussion I am going to be changing roles to become the College/Young Adult Pastor at Grace.  Earlier this year, I began to sense that while I still have a passion for Junior High Ministry, I could feel myself entering the twilight years of it.  I felt tremendous peace about staying at Grace, but wasn’t sure what the Lord was doing long term with my role in Junior High.  I’ve never been at a loss for love for Junior Highers and there was plenty of ministry to accomplish, so I continued passionately during this time of processing what the Lord was doing in me.

Early August, right before we took our Junior Highers to Hume Lake Camp, I was informed for the first time about the transition that was going to be occurring in Grace’s College/Young Adult Ministry.  Suddenly, 3 issues collided: (1) the stirring about how long I’d be able to continue in a Junior High Pastor capacity despite my previous perceptions, (2) feeling an almost magnetic call back to college/young adult ministry, and (3) an opportunity in the Grace family to shepherd and lead those in the College/Young adult stage of life.

I’m at a weird age in life.  At 35, I’m equally able to look back and enjoy the last 14 years of what I’ve been doing in ministry while also beginning to dream about how the Lord might want to use me next.  This journey has been something I’ve been in the midst of for the last 2 years as I look back on it now… even while I was in Arizona.  It was like God needed to get me on the bus (here at Grace), but then work on which seat I’d be sitting in.  I am confident that He wants to use me here at Grace.  I am now confident that the seat He would like me to sit in here is one to further the mission of taking Jesus to a generation that is not connecting well with the Church across America, those roughly 18-30 years old.

I don’t think I misread my call here to Grace over a year ago.  Likewise, I don’t think I misread my call to come back to junior high ministry this past year.  If anything, I hope that we were able to provide a solid 15 months of ministry to students who had taken a hard hit with previous transitions. I hope we’ve forged some new ground in the ministry and laid some foundations that will last for years to come.  And I’ll still be here to help where I can in that journey.

Grace Leadership, both pastors and elders, have agreed with this call and leading in my life and see it as a good fit for the overall mission of our church.  I realize this move does come, however, with some cost to the Junior High students.  In light of that, we are committed to making this transition as healthy as possible for students and lay-leaders.

Nate Strong will continue on paid staff as the Junior High Associate.  He has quickly taken the reigns of midweek programming, connecting with students, and large administrative parts of the ministry.  Plus, kids love him!  On stage and off, Nate is a huge blessing.

Larry Chapin will assume a paid staff role as the Interim Junior High Coordinator.  Larry brings several years of experience with Junior High Ministry at Grace, is currently running our Sunday programming and on a core team of Junior High leaders that helps chart the course for significant portions of the ministry.  He has my deepest respect and is loved by other staff, students, and parents alike!

Obviously, RJ Holt, Pastor of Student Ministries, my supervisor and friend, will continue in his role of general oversight and shepherding of the Junior High Ministry as well.  We have and will lean heavily on his experience and wisdom in transitional seasons like this.

I’m really sorry for adding to the stress of these years of transition at Grace, but I trust fully that the Lord is positioning our whole church for a tremendous season of harvest.  I also know that none of this is taking the Lord by surprise.  God is a far better Shepherd of His people than I will ever be. It’s in His arms that I rest and find strength for my next chapter and the next chapter of these precious junior high kids I’ve grown to love.

I appreciate your trust in me and in the leadership here at Grace.  I love you and your students.  Grace loves you and your students as well.  They are deeply committed to finding a quality replacement in the months ahead.  There’s a revolution that has begun in Student Ministries at Grace, from Junior High to High School to College/Young Adult.  We will not slow down or back away from the privilege of ministering to your family and other young people in these next years.

In the meantime, here are some important next steps:

• Larry Chapin will step in as the Interim Junior High Coordinator immediately.
• A search team made up of parents and leaders for the next Junior High Pastor is being formed now.
• I will move into my new role with College/Young Adult in October and our existing staff will assume responsibility for Junior High.
• If you have input that you’d like the search team to consider during the selection process of the next Junior High Pastor, please email Merci Shaw at merci.shaw@gracebaptist.org.

I have loved my experience with Junior High here at Grace.  The same God who led my family and I here for this season will bring another pastor to lead, love, and develop these phenomenal students!

Thank you so much for your prayers and support.

How to Start a Revolution – Part 3

Picture it:

• The teaching was amazing.
• Miraculous signs and wonders of God were happening daily in front of their eyes.
• People were gripped with a healthy fear of this powerful God.  People walked around with mouths open in awe.
• There was something really different about those people.  They actually cared.  They gave more than they took.
• The people hung out together.  They worshipped together.  They prayed together.  A lot.

This led to favor among other people.  Favor led to the growth of the church.

This is the church of early believers in Acts 2, obviously.  Pretty freakin’ sweet.  God does amazing things.  People get stoked and find a place to belong.  Quite simple actually.  God works, people freak out and are changed.

So, step 3 of How to Start a Revolution that is for, of and about Jesus Christ actually brings us back to step one! Pray and hope God sends His Spirit to do amazing things in and through us.  I think that’s fitting that we can’t go one step without coming back to His power.  He is the source.  He’s the catalyst.  He’s the Revolutionary.  We kinda just follow in His wake and benefit from it!

But when the Spirit moved a couple thousand years ago, breathing life into the church, I love that people didn’t hesitate to pull together and share that life together.  There’s our responsibility after God runs with His.

How to Start a Revolution:

Step one – pray for the Holy Spirit to come.

Step two – start speaking the unified language of love.

Step three – wait for, pray for, hope for God to inspire fear and awe in you.  Then don’t wait to pull together.

Doubts Jr. Highers Have About Christianity

About 150 junior high students were polled last Wednesday via text message at our youth group with the following question:  ”What are some doubts/questions that you or your friends have about Jesus, Christianity, God, or the Bible?”  Here were some of their responses (yes, I corrected for spelling):

• My friends and I doubt the Lord made so much fish come to the ocean.
• When you die, how do you know you’re in heaven or hell?
• I wonder if I personally mean what I sing in church or how much I love Jesus.
• If God created everything, who created God?
• If being jealous is a sin, and God despises sin, why is He called a jealous God?
• Friends say there is no evidence that He exists.
• Why does He let bad stuff happen to me when I’m a good person?
• How do we know this wasn’t all just made up?
• Why is waiting to come back?  Why doesn’t He just come?
• Why is our God different from all other ones?
• What if we worship God and done all kinds of that stuff and then we die and it’s not real?
• If every religion believes you go to heaven, then how do we know Christians really go to heaven and not hell?
• I have felt the Bible was not inspiring me.
• There are no doubts when you put yourself in the hands of the Lord.
• Why would people make up something like the DaVinci Code and then produce questions?  Is that what they believe in or??
• How was God there forever?
• Umm, no I love God and He is true.
• If we can’t see God how can we be sure he is there?
• When is He coming back?
• My friends say there are too many rules.
• Why does God send people to hell?
• That He’s not real and just made up like Santa or the Easter bunny and snizz like dattt dawwwggg.
• How do you know if you’re a Christian?
• Some of my friends have wondered if there is a God why are people homeless or broke?

Well, if you’re in youth ministry (or any ministry for that matter) or a parent, I hope these questions give you something to address for awhile!  Remember these are 7th and 8th grade students in Santa Clarita, CA.  I’d guesstimate that 75% of them would call themselves Christians.  6 students accepted Jesus for the first time that very night.

How To Start a Revolution – Part 2

The unified language of the Kingdom of Jesus is LOVE.  Step two in starting a REVOLUTION that is for, of and about Jesus Christ is to speak that language to each other… All the time!  At home.  At church.  At school.  With friends.  With family.  With people that God brings across our path.

If we strive toward that goal and that unified language, when the Holy Spirit rushes in people will take notice and lives will finally start to be changed.  His Kingdom will start to be built.  Empowered by the Holy Spirit, his people can become unified under the language of love to build up His Kingdom and not just their own.

Tonight we looked at the Tower of Babel account in Genesis 11 and compared it with the Pentecost account in Acts 2.  One account gives us a picture of our own kingdom being built and the other about His Kingdom being built.  One account gives us a picture of languages being split into pieces and confused.  The other, a picture of different languages being united in theme and purpose.

When we want to build our own kingdom instead of God’s Kingdom, we are all going different directions doing different things for different reasons.  This kingdom building leads to death, destruction, loneliness, competition, and chaos.

When the Holy Spirit comes, He brings unity.  When we are unified, we are all different, all unique; but now going the same direction doing the same things for the same reasons.  That’s what His Kingdom is like.  His Kingdom is full of grace, mercy, purpose, encouragement, truth, clarity, and dreamers reaching dreams.

How to Start a Revolution:

Step one – pray for the Holy Spirit to come.

Step two – start speaking the unified language of love.