Who are you......really?

A lot of people have asked me lately why I do this blog thing and why I have a Myspace www.myspace.com/crosspointestudents, etc. There are a lot of people who think that the world of Myspace, Blogger, Xanga, Facebook, etc. is a world that we as Christians should not be involved in. I disagree and here is one reason why. I want to be accessible. I want my heart to be exposed and for as many people as possible to be able to get a feel for who I really am. I am not so naive to think that I can build incredible relationships with the 250 or so High School students who make their way to Crosspointe every week. I know that there are some who are going to come here for quite some time and never really connect on much more than surface level with me or with some of our other adult leaders. This is reality. As a result - I want to create venues for people to get an inside look at my very strange mind. I want to put everything out there so that people will know that I am real. I want people to see my strengths AND my weaknesses. I want them to see a guy who loves Jesus, his family, and other people- and is partnering with God through a relationship with His Son to keep all of those relationships where they need to be. So what's the point? People are begging for authenticity. Let's do our best and use whatever methods we have available to be authentic.

Wasting time...

It is amazing to me how much time churches waste 'majoring on the minor's'. Actually, most of the time it is not majoring on the minors but rather majoring on the irrelevant. If churches could just clarify their focus their effectiveness for the Kingdom would be multiplied. Sounds simple enough...but it is not happening. Our time is dwindling....does anyone care?

John 9:4
As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.

While it is day - I want to be working - not arguing over the color of the carpet, whether or not it is 'biblical' to not do Sunday night church, whether to have Sunday school or small groups, and definately not sitting through a church business meeting. Wake up church while it is still day!

Teenagers....

Teenagers are some of the most passionate, energetic, and positive people that I know. There are a lot of misconceptions out there in regards to this generation... Let me dispel just two of the myths...

Myth: Teenagers are lazy!
Truth: Teenagers are NOT lazy. There are more things going on in the life of the average teenager than you could imagine. Going to school 7 hours a day, being involved in at least 1 (usually a couple or more) extracurricular activities, working a part time job, dealing with homework (not a big fan of homework personally - never have been - now it's just for different reasons), etc., etc., Teenagers are a lot of things - but as a whole (always an exception) they are not lazy.

Myth: Teenagers are the church of tomorrow...
Truth: Teenagers are the church of today! Trust me when I say that this is more than a cliche. The reason this statement is made so often is because most churches won't (I didn't say can't - truth is most don't want them) attract teenagers. Please hear my heart, teenagers are not ashamed of God - they are ashamed of the church. I think I make this statement at least twice a day to someone on the phone, email, etc. Teenagers are turned off when things aren't done with excellence. Until excellence becomes a priority in our student ministries and in our churches - teenagers (and adults for that matter) will remain disengaged.

We must be willing to engage this generation with the gospel. Help them understand the reality of Jesus Christ and His great love for them. Challenge them to become people of excellence. Encourage them to ask questions even when you are not sure of the answer. Motivate them to live out their faith on a daily basis. Is it hard work? Of course. Can it be done? Absolutely. God has been good to us here at Crosspointe. Some of my hero's are the teenagers here that are making a difference for the Kingdom. The same can be true where you are.

Floating Elbows

Last year in Panama City I got into a fake fight with a friend of mine. In the midst of everything else I realized that a piece of my elbow broke off and is now floating around inside my arm. It's pretty wierd to look at. After 13 months I finally went to the Orthopaedic Surgeon to get checked out. I told him to spray some numbing stuff on my elbow and then just cut the thing out. He told me that I was a moron. Anyway, I should be having the dumbest surgery on the planet here in the next several months.

Millington....Gotta love it.

Today, J.C., Todd, and I were driving down 51 on our way to run in a 5k for the Make a Wish foundation. I have always known that Millington was an interesting place; however, today proved that fact to me all over again. Here are the things we saw... First, we saw a man driving a van down with his hand out the window. I know that doesn't sound all that wierd; however, this man was holding on to a shopping cart while he was driving down the highway. Why? I have no idea. If we weren't on our way somewhere we definately would have followed this shipping cart thief to see why he thought this was a worthwhile venture. If this wasn't enough - on our way to the Pink Palace (It's a museum not a strip club - don't worry) we saw about 27 stray dogs just hanging out in various places. If anyone needs a dog - just come to Millington - you can have your pick.

The race went very well today. It was 20 degrees cooler today than last time which helped me to shave 4 minutes off my time. I am still pretty slow but 24 minutes for me to run 3.1 miles makes me happy. We have 7 more to go before New Years. Then, on to the 10k. Who would have thunk (sorry to all my old English teachers) it?

Here we go.....continued

Here are a few thoughts in response to this post I received from Nathan some time yesterday...

Nathan White said...
Good thoughts, and excellent quote by Homer. I guess the impression that I got from your post is one
of pragmatism. That is, many within the SBC are very pragmatic. They will assume that God is working
and that their methods are biblical simply because people show up, have an emotional experience,
or even make some sort of profession of faith. Unfortunately, they will defend their methodology with
numbers instead of the word of God. In addition to that, the dominant thought is that churches that are
not growing are doing something wrong. However, like I said above, I believe the great commission
when Christ says 'make disciples'. He didn't say make conversions; He didn't say reach people where
they are at (as He turned away several people such as the rich young ruler. Today, if the rich young
ruler were to come to church, he'd be given the best seat and an offering plate). Making disciples
requires a specific and dedicated emphasis on doctrine. Therefore, to break it down:-Evangelism is
primarily for the Glory of God-Evangelism and salvation come by the Word of God -and it alone. -
Evangelism and salvation DO NOT come by: Cleverness, Persuasive Words of Wisdom, Persuasive Words
of Wisdom, Reasoning, Marketing, Testimony, Experience. -Our ministry is thus shaped by our
theology, instead of our ministry being shaped by our methods. Sorry for the long post; maybe that
helps you understand where I'm coming from. SDG

Let me just jump right in and be the first to admit that drawing a crowd does not necessarily equal success. It doesn't take a whole lot to draw a crowd. With that in mind, I DO believe that numbers are VERY important. I believe this to be true as a result of the fact that in the NT there are many details about the numbers of people being saved, showing up at events (feeding of the 'how many'), etc. Numbers represent people and people matter a whole lot to God.

Jesus did say to make disciples; however, one is not a disciple unless he or she is evangelistic. Also, I would disagree about Jesus not reaching people where they are. He told the rich young ruler exactly what he needed to do; however, the rich young ruler was not willing to pay that steep a price (I know that this leads to another theological discussion that most are just dying to jump into). Paul was extremely persuasive throughout Acts, 1 Corinthians, etc. in his attempt to share his faith. He used all sorts of various methods in order to reach the people. Theology is vital (If you don't think right - you won't act right), and I would argue that method is vital as well. People 'hear' differently. As a result, let's do whatever it takes to reach them.

Thanks Nathan for the comment. Check out this link as well on the whole subject of numbers...http://www.perrynoble.com/2006/03/08/do-numbers-matter/

Gracias!

God has been so good! I can't believe how incredible that God has been to me in spite of how ridiculous I am sometimes. To know that He loves me unconditionally and that He has surrounded me with an incredible family and incredible friends blows my mind. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for your intervention in my life. Even though it seems like I have single-handedly tried to jack up your plan for my life far too many times - there you are standing right beside me patiently as we work on my life together. God - Thank you for being you.

Final Update

We are back! Elevate 06 was a great success! Many lives were changed, no one was seriously hurt, and we didn't lose anyone - which is sometimes easier said than done... God was very good to us last week. I am so thankful that He has surrounded me with such incredible adults, teenagers, and staff that can make a week like this possible. I literally can't thank you enough!

If you are involved in ministry and you are looking for someone to speak and/or lead worship at your next event, look no further than Tony Nolan (www.tonynolan.org) and Seth Condrey (www.myspace.com/sethcondrey). I have partnered together with Tony Nolan several times and God continually uses him in an incredible way. Tony, you are the man! This was the first time that I have had Seth at one of our events. He and his team did an incredible job and we are already working on some dates to have them back in the future. Use these guys - they are a blessing!

Update

We have definately had a great week so far...Everything has been great - including the weather. God has been good... Several students have been saved and lives are being changed. I am too tired to type much right now...Didn't sleep much last night (theme of the week at camps like this) and we just got done running 3 miles in preparation for the next 5k on the 22nd.

I have already said something about this in an earlier post; however, I just figured I would remind some people. The leaders on this trip (not just me) are NOT ON VACATION. Vacation is a lot of things - but it is not this! Fun - Yes; Vacation - No. Thank you to the 50-60 adults we have on this trip who gave up their vacation time to not go on vacation. You are stinking awesome!

Monday night update...(except for the fact that today is Tuesday)

We finally got to Destin after driving through the night. Most everyone got a few hours sleep; however, I was definately not one of those people. Me and a few others just stayed up all night laughing and trying not to wake everyone else up. It sounded like a great idea but by last night at midnight (and two Diet Jolt drinks later) I couldn't take it anymore. Slept great and now it's time to do it all over again...

Last night was incredible! Seth Condrey and band did a great job 'prompting' us to worship. I am pumped that they are here with us this week. Tony Nolan was Tony Nolan! Speaking from Isaiah 6 he challenged us to realize that when it comes to worship we will usually respond as either....reverent or revved up. Both responses are biblical, and both honor God, as long as we are real. It was a great message and liberating for many people unsure about their response when it comes to 'worship'. It was a great kickoff night and I can't wait to see what God has in store for the next few days.

Thoughts on the run...

I am getting ready to leave to take our students to Destin, FL tomorrow for summer camp. I can't wait...Just for the record transportation prices are unbelievable. This year our buses alone will cost over $10,000 for 3 55 passenger coaches - and that was the best price by far...

Continuing with the thought from yesterday...I really believe that there is a lot more than one "right" way to "do" church. I think the key is to put your finger on the heartbeat of God for your specific situation at your specific church. Don't just set out to be modern, emerging, etc. without first finding out out what God desires for your life and ministry. Be obedient to Christ and then be who you are and be the best you can possibly be. I thank God for pastors/staff members of all kinds of different churches for being obedient and serving Christ wholeheartedly. Men like Johnny Hunt, Jim Law, Perry Noble, Gary Lamb (the best returner of emails on the entire planet), and countless other men who I will mention in later posts.

Here we go...

I am pretty new at this whole blogging thing. It freaks me out a little bit in the sense that so many people that exist in this "blogging world" seem to gain so much joy from being as devisive as possible. That is definately not where I experience my greatest joy. With that in mind, I just want to engage in some fun (if not hard) conversations with some people who are a lot smarter than I. I post what I post to learn - not to inform. In the words of the infamous "Black Eyed Peas"....Let's get it started.

Church has definately evolved over the past 2000 years. Present day church exists in so many different contexts. For purpose of this discussion let's just concentrate on the evangelical church community. There are a ton of different ministry padadigms...
1. Traditional
2. "Blended" (More than just music style)
3. Seeker Friendly (I know this term means different things to different people)
4. Emerging Church
5. The "We don't fit into any of those categories" church.
6. etc., etc., etc.
Many heated debates have taken place (friendships have even been ended) when it comes to which method is "right" when it comes to church methodology. Here are a few questions I would love to hear from you about.... Which method do you feel is "right"? Is there a certain method that is more biblical than the other? Is it possible that we need each of these types of churches in almost every community in order to reach the variety of people who make up that community? Ah..... I have to run to the Dr. We will pick this up later...

Elevate and What's Next

Today was spent finalizing the details for the Student Ministry trip to Destin, FL (we think, hope, and pray). I know full well what it is like to have to change plans at the last minute thanks to the fact that we spend our summer's in the hurricane capitol of the world. At any rate, everything seems to have come together and we are geared up for an incredible week with Seth Condrey and Tony Nolan. We have been praying for this event for a long time and we believe that God has great things in store for the couple hundred teenagers that will be there. Ill keep you updated.

In the next couple of days I want to begin a discussion about how we (Christians in general) "do" church. There are a million conflicting ideas about this subject and the battle lines have been drawn. It should be fun. Any ideas that you may have - throw them my way.

Happy 4th!

The race was last night. Before I get into that let me just say that it is extremely HOT in Memphis. Any time it is in the 90's when you are starting a race at 7:30 - it is too hot. Anyway, the race went very well. I still haven't seen the age group results; however, they did post the overall results and I was able to finish in the top 20%. That sounds better than it probably really is because 600 people finished in front of me. I am pretty excited about this though since we didn't train for this event because we didn't even know about it until 4 days before it took place. Todd (www.toddlollis.blogspot.com) and I did pick up information for more races that are coming up in the next few months.

One of the funniest things about the whole event were the people. I hope to add some pictures in the next few days. Let me just say that some people wear the most interesting clothes at events like this. They could have changed the song to "Look at that MAN with the Daisey Dukes on..." Enough said. Overall, we had a blast and look forward to the next race.

Happy 4th everyone! Have a great day and don't plan on going to bed anytime before midnight. If your neighbors are anything like mine = they will definately be blowing things up well into the night.

Random Saturday Stuff

Early this morning Todd and I went to the Racquet Club of Memphis to do a practice run on the 5k course that we will run on Monday night. The first half mile is on a slight incline which makes life a little bit more difficult; however, the rest of the course is pretty flat. Since I have never run in a race in my entire life - my goal is just to finish in the top 40 in my age bracket. I know that sounds ridiculous but there are several thousand people who are going to be running this thing. It should be pretty interesting...

I just watched the most ridiculous commercial for Motel 6. As a matter of fact before I could even get this sentence typed the commercial came on again. We all know about this hotel. Basically, they take pride in being one of the "cheapest" hotels on the market and as a result - they cater to people who are simply looking for a clean place to crash for a night or two. I have never stayed there before, but one thing that I can say about this place is that they know who they are. They understand the audience that they will attract and they do their best to cater to that audience. They do not try to be all things to all people and as a result they are able to be very effective with their target group. Churches can learn a lot from Motel 6. As a church/student ministry/etc., don't be afraid to be who you are. Your effectiveness will multiply and you will be much less frustrated in the process.