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youthpastor_scott
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Name: Scott
Country: United States
State: Kansas
Metro: Coffeyville
Birthday: 9/14/1976
Gender: Male
Interests: Digging into God's Word. Writing articles, devotionals, and Bible Studies. I also love hunting, golfing, and riding my motorcycles. Hanging out with my wife, and the teenagers in my youth group.
Expertise: Motorcycles and Sleeping
Occupation: Minister to Students
Industry: Clergy
Message: message meEmail: email me
Website: visit my website
Member Since:
2/7/2004
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| Dare You To MoveIt has been almost three months since I have posted a blog; needless to
say I have been busy. God has really pointed out a few things in my
life that needs to change. In our church newsletter I wrote an article
that was a challenge to others, butit was mostly challenging myself. I
am going post the article, and then add a little to it now that it had
a chance to marinate longer in my own mind.
In
my own quiet time God brought up two questions in my mind that have
actually bothered me. I had been content in my walk until He challenged
me. The questions that keep haunting my thoughts are these: If you could do anything for God, what would it be? And then the second part of that question is what got me. Why aren't you doing it? It
is so easy to get content with where you are spiritually that you get
comfortable with what you are doing, and you ignore or are ignorant of
other things God wants you to do. I think this summer my students got
that more than I did. I did not have to beg or even ask them to show up
and help; they just came. There are opportunities all around us if we
would just open our eyes to them, God may do something extraordinary
through us. I have seen children and youth ministries explode because
someone said, I will help or I will teach in this area. It sounds
cliché, but it so true. God is looking for availability more than
ability. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 9But
he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made
perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about
my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10That
is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in
hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I
am strong. (NIV) We
do not need to worry about our abilities because whatever we lack, God
is more than able to cover us. I started teaching youth Sunday School
when I was 19 years old. I had no training, no materiel, and no clue in
what I was doing, but God was able to work through that. I was scared
to death the first year I taught, but the class began to grow and God
was glorified through my weaknesses. I look back now that I am
"trained" in youth ministry, and I just shake my head. I made so many
mistakes or think back on certain lessons and activities, and wonder
what was I thinking. There is no way we should have grown under my
abilities, but God had other plans. God has plans and gifts for each
one of us, but He is not going to zap us to get us to move to where He
wants us to go. That part is up to us; that is where faith comes in.
There is a popular Christian rock song by Switchfoot that came out a
few years ago, and I think it is appropriate to challenge you with. The
song is called I Dare You To Move, and that it was I am going to leave you with. It is your move. I
have come to realize that God has high expectations for Christians. God
expects us to do the possible so He can do the impossible. I have
really dug deeper in my quiet times and prayer life. It is supposed to
more than a routine. Sometime I think we forget or lose the awe we
should have during these times. We do not need a priest to communicate
to God, but we can go directly to the throne room of God for a face to
face, heart to heart talk. In the Old Testament only a select few could
communicate directly to God, and I wonder what they think of this privilege that we have. So go ahead I dare you to move. See what god does.
P.S. Please leave me some comments on what you think. I may just be preaching to myself. | | |
| Our Great GodIt has been a long week. i am in Kansas City taking a computer class, and I am missing my family and students. Thanksfully I have an awesome professor who always is willing to take some extra time with me, and tonight he took me to his church. It is an extremely large church, but it was great. They had over a thousand adults there for Wednesday night service. The preaching was and worship was extremely good. I forgot what it was like to be able to just sit in a worship service, and just be able to worship. I did not have any responsibilties, and it was a nice way to recharge spiritually. the service lasted over 2 hours and I did not even notice until we got out. I am saying that to say God is so good. He knew what I needed, and really refreshed my spirit. Afterward my professor took me to Culvers, and I tried frozen custard for the first time, and it was great. Even if it was only for a few hours i wasn't bored or missing my family, and I was able to focus on God. I do not know the purpose of this blog other than to brag on how God is concerned with the small stuff not just the big stuff. I would have survived this week without the friendship of my professor, but He knew I could use some encouragement. I guess I should get to bed it is late and i got another day of class. | | |
| Will The Real Christians Please Stand Up?This past month I preached a series called Rescued from an Ordinary Life, I
felt as God was working through this series. I feel as though some of
my students realize that the Christian life is not meant to be lived in
a nominal and mundane way. I am so frustrated to see so many
Christians, both adults and students, to live in this manner. I am
writing this to challenge, and flat out call out Christians to live in
such a manner that is worthy of our Lord. I am tired of cowardly
Christians muddying the waters of what living a Christian life should
look like. I am calling for Christians to call sin sin, and not
rationalize it away. It is time we take responsibilities for our own
selves, and quit blaming others for our failures. We sin because we
choose to, and not because of society, peer pressure, our environment,
upbringing, myspace, or any other pathetic excuses we come up with. Do
we really think when we stand before God we will be excused from our
sins because of these things? Give me a break. I am not just talking
about sins that we commit, but also things we do not do that we are
suppose to do. That is the key to living a life that is extraordinary.
Nobody wants to admit every time we have an opportunity to share the
gospel, and we choose not to, it is sin. No one wants to talk about
things like that because then the Christian life is exposed, we cannot
just go through life being good. I am not saying I am better than
others because I miss opportunities all the time, but the scary part is
most people do not even recognize that they missed opportunities. The
truth is either you change the world or the world changes you.
Neutrality is not an option. In war most countries that our neutral are
eventually engulfed by one side or the other. It is time for the real
Christians to get out of the bleachers, and step up to the plate. There
are souls at stake, and it is time we start giving a rip about the
lost. I am not trying to beat up on Christians, but it is time that we
are brutally honest. Most Christians are barely living an ordinary life
for God, and very few our living lives that make an impact in
eternity. We should be living a life that leaves an eternal legacy in
the Kingdom of God.
That is enough venting for now, but I am
challenging myself and other Christians to examine their life and judge
whether or not it is ordinary or extraordinary.
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| Where do we go from here?
Well
it has been a while since I posted, and so many things have happened
over the past month. First was our D-now weekend. It was such a great
weekend, God just showed up and took control. We had many students make
rededications, we had a few salvations, and we had some get the
spiritual boost they needed to take their faith to the next level. The
band Two Empty Chairs was awesome, their hearts were in the right
place, and they really ministered to the students during the weekend. I
keep saying that something big is going to happen to our youth group,
and I am praying this is the launching pad for it. I can't wait to see
what God has in store for us.
The second big thing was my pre-mission trip meeting in Chicago.
I have been in lots of big cities before, and I have never seen
anything like this. It is a city of over nine million people, and I
really did not fathom that number until I got their. Once I got there I
heard things that were even more unfathomable than that though. First,
more than 200 languages are spoken there, and it is the second most
diverse city in North America. Secondly, there are more than 6 million lost people there. My heart just bled for the people of Chicago.
There are so few authentic churches there that are trying to reach the
lost. The are over 500,000 college students and we only have 2 college
missionaries while the Muslims have hundreds. I believe that most
evangelical Christians have forgotten the lost in our big cities. That
is very dangerous because cultural norms trickle down first from
Western Europe to the U.S.
big cities, and from there they infiltrate the rest of the country.
There are so many ministry opportunities there that are being wasted.
Most of the Christian churches are moving out of the cities while
Muslim mosques, Hindu temples, and Buddhist temples take their place.
This summer is going to be an eye opening experience for all those who
go on the mission trip there. We will be working with a church planter
who has been there for a couple of years working in a predominantly
Muslim and Hindu community. I got to meet several church planters in
the area, and they are my new heroes. All of the church planters I met
are my age (30) nor younger, and that blew my mind. They brought their
wives and young children to an area most of us would avoid at all
costs, but yet they live there. One of the church planter's wives had
to fight off a carjacker and yet they have chosen to stay and minister
there. I gues that is all for now; stay tuned for what God is going to
do.
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| Well it has been a while since I posted, and my last post was a little more on the lighter side, but at the time that is what I needed. This post is going to be a little more serious, but hopefully it won't be as deepressing as my last few posts. The past month I have been teaching a series on "Welcome to the planet: What on earth am I here for?". Tonight after teaching this I realized that somewhere along the way I lost focus on my purpose. God has created us to be something great, something that only He can do, and yet most people wander aimlessly through life, and it has no meaning. God is so creative and awesome but yet we as humans devalue, vandalize, and sabotage His masterpiece. Where I messed up was I got so consumed with the circumstances and emotions around me that I lost the joy and hope I have in Him. I forgot that the things I do on earth echo in eternity, especially during the hard times. Even though I had lost my focus; God helped me regain it in such an awesome and loving way. A few weeks ago at a basketball game I had a few students approach me about helping out with FCA, and that may not seem to be too unusual for a youth pastor to help with this, but what was so cool was the students that asked me had never been to my church. This is by far the highest honor I have ever had in 10 years of ministry. I am not in the ministry for recognition, but every once in a while it is nice to know that you are making a difference. That nudge from God is what it took to regain my focus, and my joy is begining to be restored. For the first time in a long time I felt like God was using and speaking through me tonight at church. Everything seemed to click, and I felt my spirit being renewed tonight. I will close out this blog with part of my message tonight. If god is the supreme creator; wouldn't make sense for His creation to have a purpose. Everything that man creates has a purpose. We don't build a house and never live in it or buy a car and never drive it. Things we create and the things we buy we have an intent to use them for our pleasure and benefit. God has has created us and he purchased us with the blood of His only son; doesn't stand to reason that God has an intent and a purpose for us? Don't cheapen what God has made; be who God created you to be and do things He intended for you to do. I heard it said what you do in life echos in etenity; echo loudly. Dare to live the difference He has made in your life. God is an origanal and creative God so be yourself, but don't forget the one who has made you that way. I guess that is enough preaching for tonight so I will end with that.
Love you all,
Scott | | |
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