Youth “Bring One” Party This Sunday
So this coming Sunday, February 7, there is a major championship game for a major sport that is not baseball or basketball. The game will begin at 5:30 pm and will be shown on a major television network. Now, the governing body of this major sport has set some pretty strict limits on what can be used publicly in reference to this game (i.e. it would be a copyright infringement if I used the actual name of this game on this website…but it rhymes with “pooper roll”).
Anyhoo…our students will be getting together for the purpose of watching this game on Sunday at 5:15 at the home of Ricky and Wanda Lawless. We will be eating hamburgers and hotdogs. All girls that come need to bring one bag of chips and one dip that goes with the chosen bag of chips. (I would be eternally grateful if a couple of you girls would come with a hot crock-pot full of queso!). All the guys that come need to bring one batch of brownies or cookies.
The name “Bring One” was chosen because there are a few “ones” that everyone needs to bring: Bring one snack (see the instructions in the above paragraph); Bring one can of food (for our local food ministry); Bring $1 (for our student ministry’s Compassion International sponsor child); Bring one friend (if possible…more than one would be okay too).
If you have any other questions about this party feel free to give me a call in the church office.
Add comment February 3, 2010
Suffering Well
A few weeks ago I shared this post about Matt Chandler, pastor of The Village Church in Flower Mound, TX. I found this article written about him last weekend. Reading the article was a huge encouragement and challenge for me and I wanted to share it with you.
Add comment February 2, 2010
Sunday Small Groups
Yesterday our youth small groups discussed Pentecost. This event recorded in Acts 2 marked the beginning of the new community of believers soon to be known as Christians…Christ-followers.
Over the past few weeks we have learned about the foundation of the church…Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God; about the purpose of the church…to make disciples; about the strategy of the church…we get our power from the Holy Spirit, we are to be witnesses for Christ, and we are to start at home and work outwards to the rest of the world; and about the fact that sometimes we have to obediently wait for God to work…just as the apostles waited for the Holy Spirit to come.
From here our small groups will begin to look at the characteristics of the early church. We will carefully evaluate to see if our youth ministry possesses these same characteristics and what we can do to more closely follow the model that was set for us in the early church.
I encourage you to read through the first few chapters of Acts. Make a list of the qualities of the early church and have conversations with your teens about what it must have been like to be a part of this new community.
1 comment February 1, 2010
Devotional Thought for Today
I came across this blog post today and had to share it. May God use these words in your life today.
Add comment January 26, 2010
I’m Surrounded
A couple of hours ago as I was getting Isabel ready for bed I started looking around the bathroom. Isabel was wearing a pink bathrobe. I was drying her hair with a pink blow dryer. We were surrounded by pink towels, pink candles, pink soap dispensers, and pink curtains. We walked into her bedroom. The walls are pink. The bedding is pink. Many of the toys are pink. I was totally surrounded by pink. This has been my life for the past 4 1/2 years…and I love it!
I thought about the lunch date we had earlier today. I took her for her first hibachi experience. She wasn’t a big fan of the flames shooting off the surface of the grill. But it was fun…and we got to experience it together. And we got to talk about stuff. What happened at preschool today, what her favorite candy is, how sometimes she likes cabbage and sometimes she doesn’t. We covered lots things that are so very important in the life of a 4 year old girl. I thought about all the daddy/daughter days and dates we’ve had since she was just a few months old.
There are studies out that shows that the relationship between a child and a parent when the child is an infant, toddler, and preschooler will basically shape the relationship when the child is a teenager. We have tried hard to make sure that Isabel knows she can always come to us for anything and talk to us about anything. Our prayer is that 10 years from now when the things that are the most important to her include boys and friends and fears and doubts instead of dolls and candy…that then we will be able to talk just as openly about those things as we do now. And that I will still be able to go out on daddy/daughter dates!
Dads…What are you doing to strengthen your relationship with your daughters?
Add comment January 25, 2010
On the road…again
Tomorrow our entire church staff is going to Dallas to attend a one day conference on children’s, youth, and family ministry. I am really excited about this conference and what we will be able to bring back home with us. Next week I’ll be blogging about my experience at the conference.
Add comment January 20, 2010
Strategery
Yesterday in Sunday School our youth discussed the strategy that Jesus gave us to fulfill our purpose (to make disciples). The verse we looked at was Acts 1:8. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
The strategy includes: 1. Living a Spirit driven life (…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you…); 2. Living a purpose focused life (…and you will be my witnesses…); and 3. Living a vision directed life (…in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth).
We ended by evaluating our own lives. How focused is your life on the purpose and strategy that Jesus gives us as believers when it comes to how you spend your time, your money, and your energy? Laser sharp? Needs adjustment? Total blur? In your day to day life how important is being Christ’s witness to you? Very important? Somewhat important? Not very important? How would you grade yourself on how much effort you put into being a witness for Christ? A? B? C? F?
What do you do as a family to make sure you are pursuing the purpose Jesus has for you as believers?
Add comment January 18, 2010
“Christ is All”
One of my heroes in ministry is Matt Chandler, Lead Pastor at The Village Church in Flower Mound, Texas. Matt has had an incredible spiritual influence in my life and in the lives of thousands of others. On Thanksgiving day Matt had a seizure at his home and was rushed to the hospital. Tests revealed a brain tumor and a week later he underwent brain surgery. The pathology report came back…Matt has Anaplastic oligodendroglioma…brain cancer. Matt is my age. He has a wife and 3 small children.
The phrase that I see and hear often from Matt is this: “Christ is All.” As long as I have known him and listened to his teaching he has spoken and lived this phrase. And now he still speaks and lives it.
Christ is all. I’ve been evaluating my own life in light of this phrase. Is Christ all? Is Christ all in my marriage? Is Christ all in my job? Is Christ all in my day to day tasks? Is Christ all in my free time? Is Christ all in my checkbook? Is Christ all in my words? Is Christ all in my thoughts? Is Christ all in my home? Is Christ all in my attitude? Is Christ all when things are going great? Is Christ all when things seem to be falling apart? Am I living this out? My prayer for myself is that I would be able to say and follow through with my life “Christ is all.”
I also want more than anything for this to be the message we teach and live out in our youth ministry. It doesn’t matter what we do… teach great lessons, play fun games, take exciting trips, build incredible facilities, sing loud songs, build deep friendships…none of it matters if Christ is not all. Would you join me in praying fervently and regularly that Christ would be all in our youth ministry and in the lives of all of our students, parents, and workers?
Add comment January 14, 2010
Go Ahead and Mark Your Calendar…
Our big youth trip for the summer will be July 9-17. We will be going to Arlington for some fun time (Rangers game, Six Flags, Great Wolf Lodge), some mission work (with Mission Arlington), and some times of intense worship. Please plan on keeping this week open for your teens. We need everybody to be a part of this trip. Lots more details coming soon!
Add comment January 13, 2010
27 Hours…
In just 27 short hours we will have our E3 Parent Open house and meeting! I hope you have made plans to be here tomorrow at 6:00. We’ll be meeting upstairs in the new E3 Lounge. We will be talking about the summer events for 2010 and there will be the new 2010 E3 Release forms available to fill out.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
Add comment January 12, 2010
