Just Wanted to Say Thanks!

The student ministry at West Acres just finished a busy weekend. On Friday, we had parents, students, and volunteers set up for our Feast. On Saturday, we held the Feast like Luke 14 tells us to. It was a great day! Thank you to all of the volunteers who made it happen. As busy as the weekend was, the stress was minimal. That is because of the amount of people we had working. I hope you were as blessed as I was by the experience. To finish the weekend off, we had our Christmas Party on Sunday night. We had a great crowd, good food, good music, and cheesy games (including the sweaters).

So, I just wanted to give a BIG thank you to all who made this weekend possible. We should do it again before next Christmas!


THANK YOU!

Having Fun Parenting!

It's been a little while since I posted on here. I said I would try more and I haven't done well with that. My apologies. I figured I would try to let you in our my thought process in reading some of the books that have been in front of me. Here we go!

I just starting reading a book called "Shepherding a Child's Heart" by Ted Tripp. Really, I just starting reading it. This next quote is from the introduction, that's how far I have read. Tell me what you think:


“My observation after thirty-five years of school administration, parenting, pastoral work, and counseling is that children generally do not resist authority that is truly kind and selfless.”

Excerpt From: Tripp, Tedd. “Shepherding a Child's Heart (Enhanced Version).” Shepherd Press, 2011-08-26. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.

I remember learning from college in my "Child Development Psychology Class" that there are several types of parenting:

Authoritative, Authoritian, and Permissive.

Christian or not, most believe that the authoritative parenting style is best. Using your authority that is naturally given to you by the relationship and using it kindly and selflessly seems to be the best. What do you think? Which parenting style have you used? What advice would you give?

Am I Really an Expert on Parenting Teenagers?!

Wait, I’m the expert on parenting teens?!

There is a lot to that little statement. I know a lot about teenagers. I have worked with them for 10+ years. I have read books about them. I’ve spent countless hours in meetings talking about them. I’ve played every game and seen more girls cry than I care to. BUT, there is one thing I have never done, parent them. I became a parent a little over two years ago. Life has changed drastically since then. I love being a parent. It is not easy being a parent. It has also affected the way I see student ministry.

My job as a pastor is to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. (Ephesians 4:12) My job gets more specific because I am asked to work with students from 6^th grade until 12^th grade. Most of the teenagers that I work with have at least one parent in their life.

So am I really an expert? No…

Let me give you a few ideas:

HONOR & EQUIP

The Bible tells us that the spiritual responsibility of the child is the parents’, not mine. I MUST honor the responsibility given from Scripture. You should never hear me (or any other youth leader) talk badly about a parent to a student. (It happens in my mind sometimes, but that’s where it should stay.) My job is to HONOR the parents for what God has given them. I am on the same team as the parent. A parent knows their student much more than I do. Parents will pay for student’s food, clothes, school and marriage. I MIGHT show up for the wedding if the student remembers me.

I know it’s frustrating, for most student pastors, that parents aren’t “discipling” their teenagers. The one question I have is: who “discipled” the parent? My job as a student pastor is to EQUIP and help the parents make that kind of connection with their teenagers where they can have meaningful and life-changing interactions.

BECOME A TEAMMATE

I love sports. (Just ask my wife, she hates Sportscenter.) I have always played team sports. Families are a lot like teams. Everyone kind of knows their role whether they like it or not. The youth leader has to be on the same team as the parent. I have found that working with teenagers (even the best ones), they usually tell me just their side of the story. If I were to go ask their parent(s) about the situation, there would be new information involved. It’s amazing some of the details students tend to leave out when they are telling me their side of the story.

Since my family is just getting started, I want to hang around other families to see how they do it. My wife and I will talk about some of the things we see and we try to figure out if that’s how we want to do it or not. If you are a youth worker, why don’t you try and spend some time with a student AND their family? You could probably learn a lot about both!

That’s all I got for now, just had some things going through my mind about my work. I’m going to try and keep this blog up a little better than in the past. (2 years is too long!)

Youth Leader Training Event 2010

On Saturday, February 27, we held our annual Youth Leader Training Event. This is put on by the Augusta Baptist Association and myself.

I am able to bring some youth ministry friends from around the state and even some new ones through friends. We invite youth pastors, leaders, volunteers, parents or anybody who is interested in working with students.

It's amazing because we run the whole spectrum of leaders. From full-time youth pastors to volunteer youth leaders. I met one guy who has worked the last 6 years at his church for no money and he only has two students. The great moment happened when Matt Lawson, High School Pastor at FBC Woodstock, was able to encourage this leader.

That's why I love doing this event. We didn't have the crowd I wanted. Everything did not go as planned. However, we are able to connect leaders and volunteers in ways that will see fruit in the future.

To God be the glory!

Being a Father

Well, it has been a little over 10 weeks into my journey as a father. Josiah is amazing. He really is a good baby. I think God knew we wouldn't be able to handle a crazy baby. He is beautiful. He looks like his Momma, thank goodness.

The reality of him being here is starting to set in. One of the biggest things that God has been teaching me is about the Father's love. I would do anything for Josiah. He has done nothing to earn my love except come into this earth. In fact, I KNOW that there will be many times in the future that he will disobey me, disrespect me, talk back to me and even call me names. But...I still love him. I still will do anything for him. That doesn't matter. He could wish that he was born to different parents, but I still love him.

So, if my imperfect love can do that, how much more does God our Father love us.

Matthew 7:11

Josiah is Here!

Well, like most expectations, ours have been shattered. Our baby, Josiah, came about 3 weeks early. He weighed 5 lbs 11oz. He was 18 1/2 inches.

He is absolutely beautiful.

We spent 6 days and 5 nights in the hospital. Two of those days were before his birth. Aimee was having some issues.

Parenthood is strange. It is still surreal. Reality has not set in. I am holding him right now and it is way too early for a youth pastor to be awake. Still, the reality has not set in.

Well, here he is:

A New House!

Well Summer is coming to a close today. School starts tomorrow and life will slow down a little bit until the end of October when Mr. Josiah gets here. Last week, we moved into our new house in Summerlin. We love it. We are so thankful to God for what He has given us. It doesn't quite feel like home yet, but it will get there.

We had a good Summer over all. From all the camps and events over the Summer, God has been good. For the next few weeks and months, we will see how people allow God to work in their lives even when school is in.

Hopefully, I will be able to post on here a little more now that life is slowing down a little bit.