Adopt-A-Block

Throughout the past 3-4 years I have gone through periods where I read like crazy and then take a break and don't read quite as much. Right now I find myself in one of those book-crazy times. My newest book is an amazing book by Matthew Barnett called "The Church That Never Sleeps." The book is the story of a pastor in L.A. who has started a church that is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The church operates out of an old 15-floor hospital in downtown Los Angeles and uses each floor for its nearly 200 different ministries.

One ministry that they have started is called Adopt-A-Block. What they do is send out about four people per street block to minister to that block each and every week. Every Saturday these people will visit their block and simply love and serve the people there as much as they can. They will go door to door meeting the residents and showering them with love. They will serve them in whatever way they can, whether that means mowing lawns and raking leaves, playing with kids and passing out toys and candy, or spending time with the elderly and just talking and listening to stories.

Barnett talks about how this program has radically altered their neighborhood as they have built incredible relationships with their neighbors, found out the needs of their community, and seen hundreds of people flock to church services from the area because of the radical love of these Jesus followers.

I dream about making that kind of impact on Sioux Falls, SD. I badly want to change our community for Jesus Christ and see people turn over their lives to a new way of living. I will be talking with our staff at Asbury about how we could implement this ministry in our own neighborhood. Pray for me, our staff, and our congregation as we seek to be the gospel in a world of need.

We Don't Give A S*#^

My previous post was regarding a Derek Webb song that I had preached about in anticipation of seeing him in concert at LifeLight Music Festival. Now after hearing Webb sing and speak at the festival, I am all the more encouraged about the ministry he is trying to accomplish and the way he is staying authentic to the way God made him through the process.

Near the end of his set, Webb began to talk and I knew he was going to say something controversial. He did. He was talking about knowing that God's will for our lives is that we 'love God and love our neighbors' and that right now in the world, our neighbors in greatest need are the people in Africa. He went on to state that by looking at the church today, it is apparent through our actions that we "don't give a s*#^ what is happening in Africa." Derek just let the phrase ring out silent and you could obviously tell that there were a lot of people offended in the crowd. He went on to say that the problem with Christians is that we get angry about the wrong things, that we were angry with him for saying a word, but not angry that thousands of people die in Africa everyday.

While I am not inherently a huge fan of swearing and choose not to swear in my own life, I thought it was brilliant how Webb got our attention and then hammered us with the gospel. We DO get angry about the wrong things. I get offended if a Missions committee meeting at church goes 5 minutes late, but I don't get angry that thousands of kids go to bed hungry every night in my own hometown.

I want to be someone who doesn't just think about helping the poor and doing God's work, but who actually joins God in ending the injustices of our world. I want to know the poor and oppressed of my community and actually fight on their behalf. I want to actually live out the gospel of Jesus Christ.

A New Law

One artist I am especially looking forward to seeing at LifeLight this weekend is Derek Webb. Derek used to play in Caedmon's Call but now has a successful solo career. Derek is a very deep thinker and uses his lyrics and the stage as a platform to talk about his faith and how that collides with the world. He never ceases to challenge me and I find myself listening to his cd "Mockingbird" at least once a week.

I recently preached about a song he wrote called "A New Law". The song speaks of the church trading the old law, the Old Testament Law that so often weighed down the Israelites in a life of rules and regulations, for a new set of laws. Churches today tend to create all sorts of rules and regulations for themselves that are typically far from the gospel of Jesus Christ. We teach that you must think a certain, or not at all, and we tend to emphasize things that are not as important as others, like the type of music you should listen to, homosexuality, etc.

Jesus came to offer a life of freedom. Paul writes in Galatians 5, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Christ speaks of overturning an old way of doing life, a life of bondage. He uses all sorts of phrases like "you have heard it said" to show a new way of following God.

I pray that I will be the kind of person who will honestly seek out the truths of Scripture and will seek to follow Christ with all I am. I pray that I will take Christ for his word and not make his gospel anything it was never meant to be. I pray that the church will get serious about being the Body of Christ, His bride. I pray that Christians will get serious about the kind of life Jesus has called us all to, the abundant life.

No More Buffets...

Lately God has been teaching me a lot about what it means to be a disciple with all of my life, not just some. As Dan Brown writes in The DaVinci Code, Christians have become "cafeteria" Christians, where we pick and choose what we want to follow and what just isn't convenient enough. Jesus doesn't call only part of us to be sacrificed, though. He wants all of us. So for me I desire to be a follower of the Way who is doing all that God has called us to.

I have felt especially convicted in the area of social justice of late. We sit comfortably in our American lifestyle and claim to care about ending the problems of the world. I want more than that attitude.

My wife and I were talking about these very things the other night while we were sitting down eating a nice meal at an all-you-can-eat restaurant in Sioux Falls. I got about half-way through my meal and realized that I might be part of the problem. Millions of people go to bed hungry at night and I comfortably stuff my face with food and fail to finish my plate before going to get another one.

Mandy and I decided (and agreed not to be legalistic or judgmental about it) that we never needed to eat at a buffet again. We decided this based on three things. Firstly, it can be a step in the right direction toward partnering with the poor and oppressed of our world, to no longer be part of the problem. Secondly, it costs a lot and we simply don't need to spend that much money on food we don't need. And lastly, we end up eating way more than we need and is healthy.

I pray that we would start to embrace lifestyles that would honor the gospel Jesus died for. I am committed to finding ways to change the world and I hope that you and the American church are in for the ride.

A Great Couple Weeks

It seems like it's been a while since I have written here, so, finally, I am back. I have just had a great couple weeks, both in ministry and personally. I really love my life as a youth pastor, and summers have a way of reminding me of how lucky I am to be serving God in this capacity.

The last few weeks I have had tons of opportunities to spend time with my students and volunteers and it has been very rewarding. I have been rock climbing a bunch with students lately, which is always a blessing. This time provides the opportunity to form tight-knit relationships and ask students all sorts of questions about their lives and faith. I also get to go play frisbee golf with students once a week too.

Last Saturday I took my volunteers in the youth ministry to an old farmstead owned by people in our church and we spent the day eating, hanging out, and most importantly, planning all of youth ministry for the entire 2007-2008 school year. What a blessing to already have the calendar printed out for every activity this coming year!! This was a new experiment and proved to be extremely successful. This should allow for greater success in communication with students this coming year.

Finally, on a personal note, my 4th of July was awesome. I spent the entire afternoon on Lake Okiboji skiing and wakeboarding and had a blast. Unfortunately I don't get out to the lake as much as I would like, so it was so refreshing to be in the boat for the first time this summer. My body is paying the price now, but it was worth the aches and pain for a fun day in the sun.

Counselors Learning From Students

For those who regularly check in here, I apologize for my lack of consistency. My life as a youth pastor leads to a very strange, hectic, and jealousy-causing summer schedule. I just got back from a week at camp in the Black Hills of South Dakota. This was one of the best weeks I have had in a long time spending quality time with God in the mountains.

I don't know about all of you, but God never fails to speak to me and convict my heart during a week at camp. This week I really sensed God telling me to trust Him. This seems like it would be very natural for a youth pastor, but I struggle with this like crazy. I find myself constantly relying on my own talents and abilities rather than on God for support. God has blessed me in certain ways, as He has with all of us, but He has not done this so that we don't need Him. Hopefully His blessing will cause us to keep depending on Him rather than turning away from Him.

God desires to speak to us and lead and guide, but we must be willing to follow. How much more could we accomplish in ministry if we actually put our trust in the Creator? How much more could God do through us if we allowed Him to? I pray that God continues to use me mightily while I learn to put my trust in Him for all my needs.

Life Lessons from NBA Basketball

Call me a band-wagon jumper if you'd like, I don't care...I love watching LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. I have always been a pretty casual fan of NBA basketball, much more preferring the style of play seen at the college level, but this year I have found myself glued to the TV during the NBA playoffs, especially when LeBron and the Cavs are on.

Last night I found myself extremely impressed by the maturity level of LeBron James, a 22 year old NBA star. He was intentionally fouled on the last play of the game and should have had the chance to tie the game at the free throw line, but the whistle was not blown. In a world that always has an excuse for everything and is so quick to throw someone else under the bus, LeBron calmly said that the blatant foul was merely "incidental contact" and did not disrupt his shot. Most 22 year olds, or 40 year olds for that matter, would not have handled the situation with the kind of class that this young man did.

Now for those who could care less about basketball, I think there is still a lesson for all of us in this . We really do always have an excuse for everything. Nothing is ever our fault. We will blame anyone else as long as blame is shifted from ourselves. I am the same way. I don't want to be that guy though. I want to own up to my mistakes, admit I'm human, and ask for forgiveness. I don't need to argue my point when I am proven wrong. The courage of this young man reminds me all over again of this flaw in my character. May we all be people who own up to the situation and handle it with class and dignity.

Dangerous Times

For those who don't know, I have recently gotten really involved in the sport of rock climbing. Now usually this sport is merely recreational, but yesterday it became quite grueling. The area that I go with students and friends is Palisades State Park, a nice easy area to set up and climb in. Yesterday, however, my friend Joel and I tried out a new place in Luverne, MN called the Blue Mounds.

There are a lot of great places to rock climb at the Blue Mounds, we just failed to pick one of those spots. The area we chose to climb yesterday ended up being a terrible chunk of rock that would rip away from the wall when you would get a good hand hold. At one point I accidentally ripped what was probably a 20 pound piece of rock away from the wall and it shattered into bits as it hit the ground below.

While climbing has become one of my favorite things to do, you won't find me climbing that area of the Blue Mounds again anytime soon.