40 Days of Summer

This is going to be one awesome summer. We are going to do a ton of stuff that allows us to hang out together and really connect to each other. This kicks off may 24th with a huge pool party and some football and slip-n-slides and just a ton of huge fun. You do not want to miss this event. I will have details on Sunday so do not miss Amp’d or Shift as we celebrate WOW together.

Orange Conf

I got the “opportunity” to volunteer at the Orange Conf Monday and God rocked my face off with some great info from Chap Clark. He was talking through some of the cultural shifts that have taken place over the last 30 years with students. God really confirmed some things I felt and showed me why some things I had sensed were happening. All in all it was a great experience and I will download some thoughts over the next few days, bt for right now here are the cliff notes.

Culture has abandoned adolescents. They have been left to fend for themselves and become adults on their own. He had ton of research and data showing that, so I will no doubt research this and see how God shapes our ministry as a result.

Never saw this one coming..

When you just can’t wait..

Action packed weekend

We have been all over the place this weekend. From Columbus to Raider Island here in Forsyth, we have been running for two straight days. It has been great and I have some thoughts from what we have experienced that I will no doubt blog about over the next few days, but right now I am just going to chill in the house for a few minutes.

4.28 weeks until Fuel

Guys I am getting more and more excited about Fuel. The first ever MLC Summer camp is going to be awesome. We are going to have Six Piece Suit playing for us as well as some awesome events planned. I am going to own in paintball and show my Ninja skills on the ropes course and the zip line. Most of all I am pumped up about getting to hang out with the students of MLC. We have some truly awesome students and I love that they are so stinking cool. So if you or your student hasn’t signed up, please get them registered before the cut off of May 18th. We have a few spots left, but I think we are going to fill up soon.

No Shave April

That’s right, I have only shaved once in the month of April. If you have seen me this week I look like a mangy dog because I can’t really grow facial hair, but it feels good to try.

Hope/Purpose

Is hope and purpose a relevant expression of the gospel? After spending a day with several students who are in danger on not graduating HS I am not sure that this group, who is disconnected from Christ and the church, has much hope or a belief in a purpose. But how do I connect their hearts to the idea that they were created with a purpose and for eternity. How do we share that message with them.

I believe we have to make students missional. That sounds simple, but these students are really disconnected from everyone except themselves so trying to use relational conduits is harder than it sounds. I believe that students are attracted to hope and purpose through a relationship, I just don;t know how to get there.

Connecting an Affluent Culture

I am processing some thoughts on what it looks like to connect an affluent culture to Christ. You see affluence replaces relationships. We as humans have a hard time accepting that we are broken and sinful so most people present Christ through the light of relationships and love. In an affluent culture people replace relationships with stuff so the message of Christ is a tough one to communicate. It is not that I am trying to soften the gospel because the truth is we are terrible sinners and Jesus is the only hope of our life, but I do want to have a relevant expression of who Christ is to today’s culture so that they understand the value he holds in our lives. So I am prayerfully seeking how to communicate Christ to a culture that has it all.

WOW

I am so excited about getting our students to participate in WOW this year. I am challenging our Middle School students to bring some money to give to Jamaica and I am challenging our HS students to make a WOW commitment for the next two years. I am praying that God raises up a large number of our students to own the mission and vision he has given MLC and become investors. This is a challenge I want God to show himself through and I know that we will all be better as a result. I will post over the next couple of weeks about what God does through our students. I am praying for huge things.

Music is so available..

I believe that music has become the greatest means of communication of any thought or idea in our culture. With iTunes and the iPod and all the portable MP3 players and the ability to get it on our phones and the fact that everyone plays an instrument and the success of American Idol music has become the way we communicate who we are and how we feel. It helps us process our emotions and develop what we believe about life.

With this comes the fact that music for music sake is not appealing to people, it has to be a reflection of who we are. I was able to see a couple of kids playing at an Open Mic last night and they we expressing the story of their lives. It was great and reminded me that worship is really about finding a way to express the story God is writing in our lives. If that is music or acting or painting or playing a sport, if we communicate our story as God writes it then we can use that medium to worship.

Music is everywhere, so music isn’t the thing that will stir people and move them toward God, it is the story in the music and the heart of those who play that matter.