Monday's Ain't What they Used to Be

As my two week vacation comes to a close the thought occurs to me…Monday’s ain’t what they used to be. I can remember the days when the end of a vacation, or even just a weekend for that matter, would send my stomach into knots and my mood would begin to sour. Just thinking about a return to work on Monday could send me into a depression. Not that the job was all that bad. I had great friends. My boss gave me the flexibility to come and go as I needed in order to continue working on my master’s degree and the work was fun and rewarding. But it wasn’t what I was created to do.

Today, after five plus years in fulltime youth ministry, I still love every minute of it. Not that every minute is pleasant. Many are hard, stressful and even heart breaking more frequently than I like to think about. But even the hard times are good times when you are doing what you were created for. Even tough times are full of excitement when you are doing what God has called you to do.

So today, as vacation winds down and a new year dawns my heart is full of gratitude. I am grateful for the opportunity that has been given me to do everyday what I believe I was created for. My prayer for each one of you today is that you will discover what you were created for and than spend a lifetime immersed in the joy of obeying God everyday.

It All Started With a Flash

It all started with a flash at around 1:30 this morning. My son Josh and I had come in from a late movie (Napoleon Dynamite which could be a completely separate blog altogether) and we settled in to watch the first season of Seinfeld on DVD. Who can sleep after a night of Napoleon Dynamite anyway? Not to mention the 32oz coke. Josh began to doze off when out of the corner of my eye I saw something flash. Someone was taking pictures of my house at 1:30am in the morning! This could only mean one thing. Someone had done something to my house they thought was worthy of documentation. I jolted out the door to investigate. I heard screaming as they attempted to get back into the car and make their get away. They would have escaped unknown if the mailbox hadn’t gotten in the way. Darn mailbox.

Were they robbers? No. Vandals? No. Just a few bored college students home for the holidays and looking for a place to swim at 1:30am on a winter morning. This failed attempt did not deter their enthusiasm. The next stop - the Wright’s. It’s now approaching 2:30am and the Wrights don’t live in our town…they live 30 minutes away. What the heck…I rode along. Well, several wrong turns and a very long train later we finally arrived at the Wrights. Maybe now dreams of ice cold swimming would come true for these desperate collegiates. Except one thing…actually three…the Wrights have dogs. Not passive friendly dogs - LOUD friendly dogs. We’d have to settle for pictures with the dogs for proof of the adventure. So we jumped out for pictures. At least four of us did. The other two drove off instead. Now we are cold on a dark farm with howling dogs. We chased. It wasn’t a fair chase. Several hundred yards later the car is out of sight and every dog for 10 miles is howling. We stood around, cold shivering and wondering which of the neighbors would be the first to call the police. Finally, the car returned, we piled in and headed home. We arrived home a little after 4:00am. I crawled back onto the couch (Drew my 3 year old laid claim to my spot on the bed). Finally, a chance to watch a show about nothing.

P.S. Curious about who these polar aquatics are? Click on the title above.

Does God Change?

I finished vacation goal No. 1 - I finished reading Wild at Heart. This has definitely been a book that has raised more questions than answers.

Here's the major one...not a new question but a nagging question. Someone please help me square the following...

'There are not formulas with God. Period. So there are no formulas for the man who follows him. God is a Person, not a doctrine. He operates not like a system-not even a theological system-but with all the originality of a truly free and alive person." (p. 209 Wild at Heart by John Eldredge).


If this is true than how do we know who it is that we worship? How do we know He loves us? Yes, in that past He has loved us and demonstrated that in Christ, but if he can not be understood in a formula or a system than He can not be predicted. His love for us in the past no longer becomes the guarantee that he will love us in the future. EldregeEldredge uses Moses' dialogue with God as evidence of this unpredictable God. And yes, it does appear as if God changes His mind. But does he or is he teaching Moses something about the interaction of prayer and grace?

True...God is not a doctrine or a system. But we have developed doctrines and systems to help us understand Him based on what He has revealed to us about Himself. C. S. Lewis came closer to the truth in, Mere Christianity. He made a similar point to Eldredge concerning the danger of putting God in our small little boxes but concluded that centuries of thought and theology concerning God, based on His Word, can not be discarded when deciding who it is that we worship.

I'm sure I am misreading what Eldredge is trying to communicate so somebody help me out with this one.

So I Married an Ax Murderer

O.K. So it wasn't an ax. And it wasn't murder. But it was glass and a gash to the head. O.k. Here's what happened. Kirk Cunningham was putting in some new windows for us today. In the process of taking out the old windows she managed to push one out - right on top of Kirk's head. Of course the window shattered and put a pretty good gash on his head. Actually, we're pretty grateful. It could have been worse. The injuries could have been worse and Kirk is a really nice guy so he was very gracious and continued working. He did a great job and the windows look great. So if you are in the market for new windows we highly recommend Window World. Give 'em a call. They're great people and they do a great job. They even play through injuries!

Family Christmas Pictures

Christmas 2004 - for more family pictures click on the title 'Family Christmas Pictures' above.

Reggie Got it Right

Yesterday was a sad day. Learning of the death of Reggie White at age 43 will make a normal man take inventory in a hurry. Yea, he was a big man - but he was also a world class athelete. He's not supposed to die at age 43. Athletes just aren't supposed to die at age 43 in their sleep. He did. Some reactions to learning of Reggie's death...

1. We can't waste anymore time. Every moment we've wasted is already to many. Let's get to work and get about doing what we're supposed to be doing.

2. Reggie got it right. To the person, as commentators spoke of Reggie yesterday, the comments made about Reggie were, 'he was probably the greatest defensive player to ever play the game, but that was not the best thing about Reggie. The best thing about Reggie was his life off the field.' Reggie was the real deal. He lived his life for Christ on and off the field and people noticed. Michael Irvin said that when he saw Reggie he never wanted to talk about football. He was always more interested in how Micahel was doing in his spiritual life. He added, 'Reggie cared about people'.

The commentators didn't have time to work off of a script. I even heard, 'Christ' mentioned in appropriate ways. That's a life. I hope I can live my life in a way that makes people talk about Christ who otherwise may not have even thought about Him.
Let's learn from Reggie. Let's get it right.

Up On a Roof Top

Only in youth ministry. In what other profession could you wake up on Christmas morning to find Christmas trees strung all over your yard - and one on your roof? And I thought it was Santa banging around up there. Life is fun! Hope you all had a great Christmas and if anyone needs a tree I know where you can get one cheap.

Merry Christmas Everyone! 

I Miss the Thrill of Christmas

I remember what Christmas Eve used to be like. As a kid it was the most exciting day of the year. It was even more exciting than Christmas itself. There is something about anticipation excites the emotions. I miss that. I was reminded of it when I woke Drew (my three year old son) this morning.

Typically waking Drew would draw a grumpy, grouchy, leave me alone kind of reaction. Today I said, "Drew, its Christmas Eve". You would have thought he heard the ice cream truck bells. Drew sprung up and sported a smile usually reserved for desert time. Something about Christmas (o.k. let's be honest we all know it's the gifts) sparks an enthusiasm in kids that if it were channeled could power the world for days.

I miss that enthusiasm in my self. Not just for Christmas but for lots of things. As I take inventory I wonder where the enthusiasm has gone. What am I getting pumped about? What drives me? What am I so excited about I can hardly wait until its arrival? The thing that drives the excitement in kids is they know what's coming. They know the next day there will be a tree hovering over a mound of presents and they'll spend the morning tearing into the gifts they've been dreaming about for weeks. Maybe that's what we all need to recapture. An anticipation of what the future looks like. Maybe when I think of the future I just assume it's going to be pretty much like the present. I'll be stuck in my same ruts and the people around will be still caught in theirs. Maybe we should take a new look at the future and see what it could be.

I imagine Jesus' disciples had this kind of anticipation everyday. Everyday they saw the blind people - given sight. They saw the crippled get up and walk. They saw lepers healed and even the dead receive life again.

God, refresh my vision for the wonderful future you have for your people. Help me to believe it for them when they can't believe it for themselves. And than wake me every morning with a new excitement about what I'll get to see You do during the day.

"the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.”*

*Matthew 11:5 (New Living Translation) New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers.

'A Festivus for the Rest of Us'

I've heard a lot over the past few days that we should be offended if anyone tells us 'Happy Holidays'. I heard James Dobson explaining how he corrects people when they tell him, 'Happy Holidays' by telling them, 'You can do even better. How about Merry Christmas'?

I know the intentions are good. All believers want Christ as the center of Christmas and the phrase, 'Merry Christmas' is an easy place to start because 96% of all Americans celebrate Christmas and are not offended by the phrase in any way. But, what do we really communicate by saying, 'Merry Christmas'? For most, Christmas is food, presents and a little time away from the office. If we really want to keep Christ as the center of Christmas maybe we should look into something radical like Festivus.

The whole idea of Festivus is to fight against the real enemy of the true meaning of Christmas, commercialism. One of Dobson's main bone's of contention with, 'Happy Holidays' is that stores like Macy's make millions of dollars on Christmas and than refuese to say the word, Christmas. Why not reverse that? Macy's could say to us that one of their problems with Christianity is that we say Christ should be at the center of Christmas and than spend more money in two weeks buying presents for people who have everything they need than we spend helping the poor all year long. What does that communicate about how central Jesus is, not just to our holiday, but to our lives?

If we are going to hold non-believing store employees to a high standard of keeping Christ in the center of our holiday let's also look at our own lives and hold ourselves to a high standard of keeping Christ in the center of our lives all year long.

For a look at the Festivus craze sweeping the nation click on the picture above.

Some Law Abiding Citizens! 

Woo Flees the Scene! 

Sarah rings the bell. "See mom I told you an Auburn education would pay off!" 

Rebekah rings with enthusiasm! 

Chrisitna rings the bell with great enthusiasm. Hold on tight to the bell! 

Sharing and Caring with the Salvatio Army! We had a great time yesterday outside of Publix. It's amazing how many people (and the variety is remarkable) when you stand outside of a grocery store for 7 hours! Thanks to everyone who helped!  

The Lessons of Memory Lane

I've spent the past couple of days wandering down memory lane to revisit the last 5+ years of my life and many of yours. One of our students asked for a copy of the pictures I have from the previous five years of youth ministry events here at Northwoods. That along with the work I've been doing on a DVD for the team we took to New York last summer on a mission trip have led me to recall the following things we all know...

People change fast. Wow, what a difference five years can make. Physically, yes, but even more than that. Some of the kids in the pictures were the one's that would run and drive us crazy - and now they are the one's that e-mail me to let me know how much the new breed of crazy little students drives them crazy! Patience is a virtue. Let's not forget where we were only a few short years ago.

People need constant encouragement. Let's go ahead and admit it - we are all high maintaining. I was heart broken to look through the pictures and realize the number of students pictured who seem so full of life and hope and energy who today seem so lost and without hope. Students who were so connected who now seem so isolated onto their own little island. Life is tough. Being a teenager can takes it's toll. We need each other. Let's encourage one another. Most of all let's never give up each other and look for opportunities to build one another up as we become more and the person God has created us to be.

God will save the day. The best part of looking through those old picutes is realizing how many students we have that are going strong and loving God. Students who are studying for ministry. Volunteers who are overseas sharing Christ with the world. Students studying to become engineers, counselor's, children's workers, computer scientists, Air Force pilots - all for the glory of Christ. Even students who don't know what they want to do vocational but in the meantime they know they want to love God and love people. What a propelled it has been to watch as God has worked good out of the lives of these many people who have been a part of the Northwoods family and are now young adults living for Christ all over our country and world.

We Lift You on Our Praises

The first time I heard that song I wondered what that meant. Why does God need us to life Him up? Does he need propping? The only picture that came to my head as I sand that song was something I witnessed at football game on October 25, 2003. This is the night that Bobby Bowden won his 339th football game to become the winningest coach in the history of major college football. After the game coach Bowden's player's lifted him on their shoulders and carried him off the field. What does this have to do with lifting God on our praises? Think about the reasons players lift their coaches...

1. It is a way of make Him the most visible person in the stadium. In a full stadium of 85,000 people for those few moments the one person every person could clearly identify was Bobby Bowden because He was being lifted by his players.

That's what we do when we lift God on our praises. We make Him the one that is visible. We hide ourselves and lift Him up as the one that worthy to be noticed. If we are really lifting Him on our praised than everyone around should be able to clearly identify Him as the center of attention.

2. It is a way for players to say, 'he gets credit for this accomplishment not us'. The players on the field were not even born when Bowdne got his first win in 1959. They were only toddlers when his streak of 10+ wins in a season and 14 straight top 4 finishes began in 1987. So the team as they lift their coach on their shoulders is says, 'we had a small role to play but the credit belongs to you. We did our role and so we get to enjoy the moment but the glory belongs to you.

When we lift God on our praises we are saying, 'we are doing our role. We are living out the story you have created for us but the glory belongs to you.'

Sapp Family Photo '04 

Real Love

1 John 4:9-10 (New Living Translation)
9God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.*

That is real love. Romans 5:8 put's it this way, "God demonstrated His love". That's what I love about God. He demonstrates it. He acts on it. He doesn't just say He loves us - He is motivated by it. He is moved to action by His love for us. When we talk of love usually were talking about some warm fuzzy feeling we get when we are around a person who's personality or physical beauty is appealing to us. We say it like this, 'I love that guy'. What do we mean? We mean we think he is funny or makes us feel better when we are around him. This is not the love God was speaking of. He was speaking of a love that is not concerned about what it does for self but looked for ways to do for others. When push comes to shove, even with people we 'love', when we have to make a choice between our good or theirs most of us will come down on the side of our own good. Or our own comfort. Or our own convenience. Fill in the blank. Real love is love that moves to action. Real love is love that is demonstrated.


*New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers.

and then there was Chiles

A couple of nights after watching my son's school's Kwanzaa spectacular I attended another school play. This one was at Chiles High School. I knew right away this one was going to be a sharp contrast. As I entered the auditorium, Hark the Herald Angels Sing was playing through the sound system. Apparently these people didn't have the Christmas jitters. There were two plays performed. The first, was a musical called, "Amahl and the Night Visitors". It was amazing. It was the story of a young family living during the birth of Christ. It was a poor widow and her highly imaginative son. Imagine there surprise when three kings came to visit. As it turned out the kings were on their way find a baby who had born a king. They were following a star. They began speaking of the child they were looking for as a child who would have the hands of wealth. By the end they were speaking of the child who's hands would be pierced. What an amazing story. It was refreshing considering the, 'Winter Holidays' display of only a couple of nights before.

That was followed by, 'A Christmas Carol' which was equally great. The acting was super. Two stood way out, Grace and Nathan Waller. They should be consider for a Tony for sure. The whole things was great and refreshingly focused on what Christmas is really all about. So just remember this Christmas, "God bless us each and everyone".

School Plays or School Haze?

Walking away from my son’s recent ‘Winter Holiday’ concert at his elementary school was quite an eye opening experience. If I had walked in from another planet here is what I would now believe about the reason for the Winter Holidays.

1. Hanukkah – well this one leaves me in a puzzle. I’m sure it has something to do with a temple and rededication but most of all I learned it is spread out over eight days which is really cool because the longer the better when it comes to Winter Holidays. Oh, and do not underestimate the power of the candle. Lighting candles is big when it comes to Winter Holidays.


2. Kwanzaa – this apparently is the most important of the Winter Holidays. At least it’s the once of which the most was spoken. Kwanzaa is apparently a celebration of the family, community and culture. Wow, what could be wrong with that? Oh, and this one is several days as well.

3. Christmas – now this one is odd. Apparently Christmas is the celebration of a couple, Mary and Joseph, who went to pay their taxes and couldn’t find a hotel to stay in. So now earthlings celebrate every year. Wow, that seems like a strange thing to celebrate. But hey, who am I to tell you what to do? After all, I’ve learned from Kwanzaa to celebrate your culture.

Why I Love Triathlons

I think I finally understand why I love triathlons so much. It's the finish line. There is a beginning point and an ending pointing. There is either accomplishment or failure. When it's over it's over and you either finished it or you didn't. It is black and white. I walk away from a triathlon with a tremendous sense of accomplishment.

Ministry is not like that at all. We will never reach them all. There will always be more people to be reached. There will always be teens struggling with one issue or another. Rarely if ever is there a sense of, 'whew the job is done'. The finish line is reserved for another day and we’re not sure when that day is.

I believe that is why we are tempted to equate 'events' with ministry. They do give a sense of accomplishment. Wow, look at that. We put on an event. People came, seemed to have a good time then we cleaned up and went home. We walk away from events feeling like we accomplished something. There was something defined that we were trying to do. We set out to attract a crowd, start at a certain time, do some things for a few hours, send the people home and clean up. That's pretty easy to measure. Did we accomplish anything 'real'? Were any lives changed? We're a little afraid to ask that question...it may interfere with our sense of accomplishment.

So in the mean time I'll do ministry as best I can. Loving God and loving people... and leave the finish line for race day.


tags: triathlon

Tough Beginnings- Glorious Endings

Monday began my official training for the Red Hills Triathlon on March 26th. Going in a major goal was to run the triathlon 20lbs lighter than last year. Hears the update after two days: +2lbs. Isn't that encouraging? I guess it's like everything else in life...sometimes you have to go backwards before you can move forward.

Today I can hardly walk. That's because today for the first time in months I did a leg workout with weights. Weight training is an amazing thing. The whole process of weight training is breaking down your muscles so that when they repair themselves they become stronger than they were before you tore them down.

My favorite Florida State football team of all time is the 1989 team. They began the year 0-2. That's right, two years into their run of 14 straight seasons of 10+ wins and top 5 finishes the Seminoles found themselves opening the season with losses to Southern Miss and Clemson. How did they respond? They ran off 10 straight wins including wins over eventual national champ Miami, Florida and complete dismantling of Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl. That is a team that knew what it meant not to give up because it was going through some tough learning experiences. Without that kind of character and willingness to grow the 14 year streak would never have happened.

I'm discovering there are times like that in ministry as well. I wish it was just one grand journey upward but I'm finally admitting what we've known by experience all along...sometimes God will takes through a process (yes a painful one) of tearing down so that we can refocus on what is really important and than allow him to build us back up stronger and more vigorous than ever before. So, don't be discouraged by seasons of tearing down. Have the wisdom to learn from the experience, refocus on what's important and watch remember that's how real growth always takes place.


tags: triathlon

60 Minutes II Tonight: Christians in Culture

60 Minutes II on CBS will air a special tonight on the influence of evangelicals on popular culture. The feature will spotlight Third Day, P.O.D. and Kanye West. By the way, if you don't know who Kanye West is you should check out his videos on Launch.com. He has three videos for his song, 'Jesus Walks' and everyone of them is awesome. I don't know much about him beyond that one song but that one song ROCs!

'They don't do random'

'They don't do random' was a description of CIA agents from the movie, "The Borne Supremacy". That made me envious. It seems like every part of my life is random. Everything I do seems to be a reaction to some event either big or small. Oh, to get to the point where everything I do is deliberate and filled with purpose. That's where I desparately want to be but an along way from it. I think Rick Warren did a little writing on this topic.