Marriage and Other Stuff

Today marks 8 years of marriage with my amazing and beautiful wife. It's been an amazing journey so far. Just thinking about what has taken place during our marriage makes me tired...

Over a decade working in student ministry: retreats, lock-ins (what were we thinking), small groups, mission trips, service projects, and eating way too much pizza.

Moving to Wilmore, Kentucky so that I could attend Asbury Theological Seminary.

Buying this guy… (roll tide!)

Going on some incredible trips including New York, Haiti, and the Holy Land!

Getting ordained in The United Methodist Church. (what were they thinking)

The birth of our first child…Kenzie Claire. She's the greatest little girl in the entire world in my bias opinion.

Going through the process of adoption...

Finalizing the adoption of our son…Caleb Kyrie. He's the greatest baby boy in the world by far.

Keeping up with these two crazy kids on a daily basis.

Like I said, it's been an amazing journey so far and I look forward to what God has in store for us in the future. 

(But one non-crazy year would be nice)

The Beards of Ministry

As someone with facial hair, there is no doubt in my mind that beards bring wisdom to your ministry. Right now I'm a mix between the guru and the youth pastor. But one day I hope to graduate to the full orthodox! 

I've Seen it All

Our theme for Lent is “The Church in Our Hands.” This theme got me thinking about youth ministry and the impact it has had on my life and on others. In 11 years of student ministry, I feel like I’ve seen a little bit everything. Back to school events. Launch of small groups. Speaking at the youth worship services. Speaking in big church. An event created by the devil called the all-night lock-in. Scavenger hunts. Driving a kid home after waiting an hour because his parents never showed up. Being at the hospital all night because a kid got sick on a trip. Tough conversations with a member of the church. Firing a volunteer youth worker. Seeing my best youth fall away from the church. Yep, I’ve seen a lot.

But I’ve also seen young people make a commitment to Christ for the first time. I’ve seen troubled teens become incredible leaders. I’ve seen former youth become pastors and missionaries. I’ve seen adults become amazing youth volunteers. I’ve seen depressed and isolated teenagers find a family within the church. I’ve seen over a thousand teenagers worshipping together. I’ve seen God do amazing things!

I accepted Christ due in large part to an amazing youth group who loved me into the faith.  I will forever be grateful for churches and adults who invest in the lives of young people. Thank you for praying for us! Thank you for giving so that our youth ministry can have amazing resources and facilities! Thank you for serving in the church and thank you for loving Jesus! Keep it up…our young people need you! 

(An awesome video by Simply Youth Ministry)

Life Before & After Cell Phones

Christmas Remix

Funny video done by the youth team at Saddleback. This is a remix for Drake's song "Forever." If you don't know who Drake is then you are too old to watch this video. 

Funny Christmas Pics

Here are some funny pics...hope you enjoy!

Don't Mess with Saint Nick

Two interesting facts about the original Old Saint Nick who inspired the tradition of Santa Claus. 

1. Nicholas accepted Christ at an early age and was the Bishop of Myra in the fourth century. While serving as bishop, he learned of three girls who were going to be sold into slavery by there father due to money issues. Saint Nick ransomed the three girls by tossing three bags of gold through the family's window. 

2. An even cooler story has to do with what Saint Nick did at the Council of Nicaea. Numerous bishops were debating about the Trinity. Another bishop, Arius, was fiercely opposed to the idea of the Trinity and continued to debate his point. Eventually, good ol' Saint Nick became so angry that he got up and slapped Arius in the face! Saint Nick apologized, but he and other bishops won the debate.

Moral of the story. Saint Nick is a nice and jolly guy, but don't push him too far. So in honor of Christmas this year, I'm going to slap someone I disagree with. Just kidding...but seriously.  

Nerds Unite: The Hobbit is Here!

I fully own my nerdiness on this...but I cannot wait to see the Hobbit this weekend! I even re-read the book in anticipation. Don't make fun of me.

5 Things Youth Volunteers Need to Hear

My youth team is great and I have no idea where I (or our youth group) would be without them. So...in honor of them and volunteers everywhere, here are five things every volunteer needs to hear.

5. THANK YOU! YOU'RE AWESOME!

4. Don't take things personally...teenagers by nature make all of us feel stupid from time to time.

3. It's ok to be weird...that's why you serve in the youth ministry. 

(see photo to the right)

2. Don't forget to take a break occasionally...the youth group will survive. (come back quickly though!)

1. You ARE making a great impact in the lives of young people, and in my life...even if you don't see the outward results all the time.

3 Reasons I'm Excited about Youth Ministry...and a Funny Video

As another school year begins, here are 3 reasons why I am excited about our youth ministry!!! (The three exclamation points show my excitement)

1. Our youth ministry has really grown the past couple of years and so has our number of volunteers. We also have awesome facilities now. Thus, beginning this year we will now be able to offer some separate ministries for middle school and high school students. Our Sunday night small groups will have separate times for each age group and a curriculum that is specific for them. In addition, we will have separate trips in the winter and separate mission trips in the summer. I cannot wait to get started!

2. We are really pushing for our youth to attend Sunday morning services with their families. We are going to try something new in terms of Sunday School in order to really emphasize the importance of being a part of the larger church. This thought process is the result of recent research coming from books like "Almost Christian" and "Sticky Faith." Our concern is that many of our students are only attached to the youth group and not the church as a whole...we want to try and change that.

3. I love our Wednesday night services. We have youth from various ages and backgrounds together in fellowship and worship. More importantly, the students are beginning to run most of the service besides the message. We have a youth-led praise band, youth working the computer and sound board, and youth reading the announcements and scripture readings. Sometimes this means things aren't perfect, but I love to see them taking ownership and I hope that we continue to improve in this area. 

I'm in my 11th year of working with students and still love every minute of it. Although, sleeping on the floor is not as much fun. 

Oh, and here is the funny video. I don't think I fit any of the youth pastor stereotypes except for the facial hair one. Enjoy!

Football Predictions

College football is back and here are some of my predictions. What do you think?
 Let the trash talking begin!

ACC Champion--Florida State

Big East Champion--Rutgers

Big Ten Champion--Wisconsin

Big 12 Champion--Oklahoma

Pac 12 Champion--Oregon

SEC Champion--Alabama -yes, I'm a homer...leave me alone! :)

Heisman Finalists--Matt Barkley (USC), Denard Robinson (Michigan), Tyler Wilson (Arkansas), Landry Jones (Oklahoma),

Sleepers--Geno Smith (West Virginia), EJ Manuel (Florida State), Marcus Lattimore (South Carolina)

Pastor Rap

this. is. awesome. 

Top 10 Reasons to Go on the Mission Trip -part 2

Our Week of Hope mission trip is coming soon!
June 17-22 Nashville, Tennessee
Here are reasons 5-1 for why you should go:

5. Bless others and be blessed by giving and serving.

4. We will let you drive the bus! (just kidding...)

3. Bond with your awesome youth group peeps.

2. Time away to focus on Christ and worship him.

1. Spread the good news of God's love!

AND you get to hang out with this guy...

Cool Ideas For Parents and Families

Here are some ideas that Kelli and I are doing and will do in the future. Does your family have any good traditions that have helped your family?


1. Go on special dates with your children.
2. Go on mission trips together.
3. Be very intentional with the Christian holidays (keep Christ at the center).
4. Remember our baptisms by having a family dinner and a gift.
5. Read to/with them.
6. Pray with/for them. Let them hear us praying for them.
7. Really listen to them (don't rush to fix their problem).
8. Ask them for forgiveness when we mess up.
9. Have fun with them and laugh a lot! (camping, food fights, hide and seek, movie nights)
10. Give away clothes and toys periodically. Find ways to reward and teach compassion.

* Give ourselves grace when we fail. Parenting isn't easy and neither is marriage. But God is good and love is sweet!

Easter 2012

MARCH MADNESS IS HERE!

As a college basketball nut...my favorite time of the year is here! My bracket is filled out and I have challenged my youth to a friendly competition over at ESPN.

My final four--Kentucky, UNC, Ohio State, and Michigan St.
I have Kentucky winning it all. What do you think?

Some highlights from last year...

What Youth Workers are Doing?

Often people are not sure what youth ministers do...I think each pic has an element of truth in it.

Bulldog DJ

Here's a pretty awesome video! I'll see if I can get my Boston Bulldog to pull this off. I found this courtesy of The Youth Cartel.

David Crowder Band's Last Album

David Crowder Band is by far my favorite band and I am sad to see them go. This week saw the release of their final album, Give Us Rest or (A Requiem Mass In C [The Happiest of All Keys]).

If you haven’t gotten it yet, you can get it on iTunes:

The Hobbit Trailer

I realize that I'm a nerd for posting this...but I can't wait for The Hobbit to come out. Great book...hopefully the movie will be just as good.

Video: Bethlehem Rhapsody

Classic song with the classic story. Funny Video.

Here are two other good videos: Digital Nativity and Mr Bean.