My Kids

Last night we had a cookout at my house. The feeling at the end of the night was so overwhelming. I have never been a father or anything like that, but as my kids left last night, I had such a proud, fatherly feeling for them. I think with the 'CEO' mentality that has taken hold in some churches, so many pastors have lost touch with those in their congregations. But really aren't we as pastors meant to be fathers and mothers to those we're leading, not CEO's? Let me know what you think?

Check out all the pics here.

Delegating vs. Dumping (Part 2)

The issue here is not necessarily overwhelming staff or team members, but rather the difference between delegating and dumping. Craig Groeschel has a couple great posts on how to delegate here and here. So many leaders, though, are guilty of dumping more often then they are responsible for delegating. The reasons can be many, but here’s a few. A leader tries to go it on their own rather than involving others. As an event nears they become overwhelmed, and in an attempt to get to the bottom of their ‘to do list’ they start to unload tasks - throwing long lists of unfinished duties to team members that are now shocked and overwhelmed by the sudden thrust of tasks. Another reason this can happen is a leader does not have faith in his/her team. They have a ‘savior’ complex, thinking if something’s done by someone other than himself or herself it will fail. The result in situations like these is always the same: disaster.

The best practice is to involve team members in the entirety of planning and execution of tasks for an event. Help them take ownership, and as Craig Groeschel explains in his posts, delegate authority not just responsibility. When you just dump things on team members at the last moment you are communicating to them that they are not valuable enough to be involved in the process. They are simply ‘hired hands’ that are there to pick up your slack. Don’t be a leader that puts your team in impossible situations because of your own ego issues. Be a leader that believes in your team – that sets your team up for success. Let me know what you think about this!! I’d love to hear your thoughts/stories on Delegating vs. Dumping!

Memorial Day

Today I went to my parents for our annual Memorial Day cookout with our friends and family from the old Living Water Camp. It was a nice, relaxing day and as you can see I was the cook!! Not to brag or anything, but I must say I'm a pretty good cook - everyone ate the burgers and hot dogs and no one died. That's a successful day!! Hope your Memorial Day went well also!!

Delegating vs. Dumping (Part 1)

Imagine for a second a good friend has asked you to help them move. As you walk into their house they are holding a heavy box of valuable china and ask you to put it into the moving truck. So you take a few steps towards them and you’re suddenly taken off guard as they toss the box rather than handing it to you. You do your best not to drop the box of priceless valuables, but the sudden thrust of weight into your hands causes the box to quickly drop to the floor. The next thing you hear is the dreaded sound of broken china. You apologize for dropping it as your friend stands there staring at you in shock.

I’m sure many of you have faced a situation like this at some point in your life. You’re tossed a box that normally you could pick up and carry with no problem, but the sudden weight thrust into your hands is too overwhelming. Now to apply this experience to the area of leadership, imagine you’re on staff at a church or working on a leadership team at work and are quickly approaching a major event or presentation. As you come in the day before this event/presentation, your boss hands you three pages of high priority tasks that need to be done by the end of the day. You stand there like a deer caught in the headlights, thinking to ask if anyone will be helping you with these tasks, but realizing by your boss’s tone that it’s all on you. The end result in this second scenario would inevitably be similar to the first. The day of the event/presentation, you have managed to get many of the tasks done, but as expected, part of the second and all of the third page of tasks go untouched. You’ve ‘dropped the box.’ Your boss looks at you in disappointment and shock. The result is an event/presentation that is sub-par and average at best. More on this tomorrow - but give me some thoughts!!

Transitions

This morning in our youth Sunday School class I shared some insights on transitions and just thought I'd share them with you.

Acts 1:9-26
As Jesus ascended to heaven, we can learn a lot about what his disciples did in His physical absence.

1. They came together. With many of the Jewish sects or religions that were popping during the time of Christ's ministry even up to today, when the leader of a group is gone, the followers often scatter. But we see initially that rather than scattering, Christ's follower came together in His absence.
-They did not return to their former lives, but took what had been taught to them and applied it - going to the upper room in obedience.
-If they had scattered and returned to their old lives of fishing, tax collecting, or something like that, that would have made the previous three years with Christ completely pointless and meaningless.
-Those times with Christ only took meaning as they applied them to their lives.

2. They depended upon the power of God through prayer. Rather than slacking off spiritually in Christ's absence, they took things to another level. Spending days in the upper room seeking the Holy Spirit.
-When a leader leaves us, it is very easy to become complacent spiritually. But rather than slacking off, we need to take things to the next level. Spend more time in prayer and Bible study.
-As we depend on the power of God, He prepares us for the next principle we see in this passage.

3. Certain disciples stepped into leadership roles they previously did not possess. In Christ's absence, certain people had to step into roles that were stretching in order for the movement to continue.
-In Acts 2, we see a multitude of people gathering outside the upper room in Jerusalem. In days and months past, Jesus would have stood before this multitude to challenge them in their faith, but with Him gone, another had to step up. That man, of course, was Peter. A man that possessed leadership qualities that even Jesus had recognized, but had never really been exercised.
-In the absence of a leader, individuals are given opportunity to step up, and usually it is in a role that is new and stretching, but the future of a movement is dependent upon these individuals like Peter, to step up.

Geauga Lake

Yesterday I took the Norwin Middle School Bible Club to their annual Geauga Lake trip. What a blast!! It's sad to think it was my last time, but we had a whole van load - so that made it that much better. If you're not familiar with Bible Clubs in a public school, they are student led. And I have been blessed to have two awesome student leaders lead this club the last two years, Faith Kennedy & Paige McCarron. Having them yesterday made the whole trip so easy. They set everything up, even down to how much money we needed to charge each student so we had money for gas, tolls & parking. That's one thing I will miss, is working with incredible students like Faith & Paige!! So often adults write off teenagers as if they are useless until they turn 18, but that is definitely not true!

Here's a slide show from the trip out there and back.

Transition

Well, it's official. Last night I announced to my leaders and students that I will be moving in two weeks and will no longer be their youth pastor. The flood of emotion in such a decision and announcement is incredible. I feel like I'm leaving my family - those I've put my heart and soul into. But in the same respect, I am so certain that God is in this transition. I'm not leaving on bad terms or anything like that. And as sad as I am in leaving my students and leaders, I know God has a plan for them and am excited about what the future holds for me.

Here's what that future is. I will be going on staff at Allison Park Church to work with Pastor Jeff Leake. I will be working with the Catalyst Group there and the network of church plants that they have established over these past few years. It is something I am very passionate about and am so blessed that I can do something for God that I truly love. So that's where I'm at today - hope all is well with you!!

Leading from the Heart

One tendency as a pastor is to become someone that leads with their position or title rather than their passion and heart for God. The problem in leading with your title out front is people only follow a title to a certain point. The reason this is so prevalent in the Church today is that it’s much easier to lead with a title. It doesn’t take any work to earn respect, or trust. People follow you simply because you’re “Pastor.” What a cop out! Being a pastor is an incredible responsibility and privilege. Don’t turn it into an excuse!

This was Saul’s problem. He was leading with a title (King) rather than leading from his heart. In 1 Samuel 13:14, we see that David was chosen by God to replace Saul not because of his ability to lead, but because of his heart. Notice that ‘the man after God’s own heart’ came first, and then the appointment as a leader. Not vice-versa. Yes, it is very important for a leader to stay ‘on top of their game’ as a leader. Continually growing and developing their own leadership skills as well as those around them, but that is all for naught if we are not where we need to be spiritually. As a pastor, it can become so easy to lead from behind a title, but my desire for myself and my prayer for you is that you allow your passion for God to be what compels others to follow you, not your title.

The Disease of Singleness (Part 3)

In each of our lives, we have and will find ourselves in various ‘stages.’ In each of these stages, God has purposes & plans for us – things He wants to develop in us as well as teach us. For example, as a person goes through their college years, they often learn how to live on their own and to become more disciplined. If God doesn’t develop those abilities in a person in that stage, they will never be able to succeed or function in the next stage of their lives.

Over the last couple months I’ve been reading through 1 & 2 Samuel and have been learning so much about the life of David. One thing that has stood out was David’s stage of ‘solitude’ as a shepherd. He spent a number of years out in the pastures where it was just him, his sheep and God. As discouraging or depressing as the word ‘solitude’ might sound it is actually a healthy, positive thing. Without that time David would have never had the talent he needed to become the warrior he would soon be, nor would he have had the heart for God that he would be known for having. Author Henri Nouwen once said that “solitude is the furnace for transformation.” With that said, we all must understand the stage in life where God has us and what He is desiring to develop in us. In singleness, it can be a great opportunity to develop our talents/abilities as David did. Also, and even more importantly, it gives us the opportunity to develop intimacy with our Creator. Just read Psalms and you can see this intimacy blossoming in the life of David. Today, I challenge you not to squander the stage you find yourself in, anticipating what is next, but make the most of the furnace in which God has placed you.

Making a Fool of Yourself

Tonight I had the pleasure of attending a 9th Grade Chorus concert that some of my students were in. It was the typical chorus concert: a few show tunes, some oldies, the always faithful patriotic song, and of course my favorite, the goofy dances. In fact, one young man was actually doing splits on stage…yeah, painful! But, as I sat there and watched the students do all kinds of crazy and sometimes weird things, this thought crossed my mind. These 9th Graders are up there making fools of themselves just for some chorus concert and so often I’m not willing to be a fool for the sake of my Savior. The verse in 2 Samuel comes to mind where King David said, “I will become even more undignified than this…” So often I am not willing to step out because it’s uncomfortable or uncertain. But God’s called us to so much more than comfort and certainty. God doesn’t use the comfortable. He uses the fool. Be a fool for Christ tomorrow – try something new!!

To Be a Servant

Tonight was such a powerful service! As I posted yesterday, we talked about serving others. To illustrate this point, I did a footwashing with my leaders. I have taken part in a footwashing before, but never done it myself. It was pretty incredible. Lowering yourself to the place of a servant and speaking words of blessing and compassion over people that mean so much to you is incredibly moving - at least it was for me. What a night!! If you've never taken part in a footwashing service, I pray someday you do. Although it's not an ordinance of the Assemblies of God church, it is such a powerful demonstration of what it means to be a servant!

Internet Porn

Tim Stevens has some shocking stats on his blog today about pornography in America. You can check it out here. What an epidemic in America!! If there was ever clear proof that our nation needs Jesus, this is it!

Serve_Others

Here's some of the general notes of what I'll be speaking on tomorrow night. We're in the middle of a series called 'Serve_' Last week we talked about our need to "Serve_God" and then next week we'll be talking about our need to "Serve_The World". Let me know what you think.

Signs of a Servant
(John 13:1-5)

I. Love
A. John 13:1, “It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for
him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in
the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.”
B. Service without love is simply a wasting our energy.
C. It’s like Peanut Butter without Jelly; or Spiderman without Tobey Maguire; or The Office
without Dwight. It’s just pointless.
D. Jesus showed his live as a servant to a greater extent than anyone ever had.
E. When others think of you, allow the first thing that pops into their minds to be ‘servant.’

II. Disregaurd for a Title
A. John 13:3, “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power…”
B. When we see our title we have this attitude of ‘entitlement’.
a.“You owe me this…”
b.“I deserve this praise…”
c.“You should be serving me.”
d.“I was in your place once, and I’ve earned this!”
C. God’s desire is that we don’t see ourselves through the lens of a title or status, but
through the eyes of Christ, who said we are servants to all!

III. Action
A. John 13:4-5, “…so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel
around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples'
feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”
B. “The road to failure is paved with good intentions.”
C. We have to act upon our good intentions, otherwise they are simply empty thoughts.

The Disease of Singleness (Part 2)

The assumption by many pastors is that if a person’s not married then something’s wrong with them. Whether that something is moral, relational, or maybe even spiritual. This couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, in the New Testament, two of our greatest examples of ministry were single: Jesus and Paul. Although singleness poses its issues, so does marriage. A married person is just as open to moral failures as a single person. In fact, look over the last few decades. All the individuals that experienced moral failures in ministry were married. I am not trying to bad mouth marriage, just to stretch the thinking of those in ministry. Marriage is an institution that was created by God and is a holy, special occasion, but as a church can we open our eyes to this large faction of individuals and embrace them? Not look down on them as if they are second class – not apart of ‘the club’- but love them and involve for who they are, not who they could be if they were married?

I dream of a Church who sees that each person, each group is important to the whole. The children, the youth, the young adults, the singles, the adults, the seniors. They each have so many valuable things to bring into a church. Let's not over focus on one group at the detriment of another, but to the best of our ability be the church God desires - one of diversity, of change, of transformation.

Weekend Reflections

What a great weekend! The last month has been a whirlwind and was so nice to finally be able to come up for air. Friday was my day off and I played in my first softball game of the season! That was awesome - I'm actually playing for a Weslyan church! Then Saturday was another relaxing day. Then Mother's Day. Got to hang out with my family and of course the best mother ever!! And then today is another day in the office, but tonight I'm heading out to the Pirates game.

Lay a Foundation

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending my great uncle, Wilbur Hoak’s, funeral. You might say, awe, that’s sad, but it wasn’t. It was exciting! My Uncle Wilbur was 96 years old and today would have been his 80th spiritual birthday!! On top of that, he was ordained for 71 years! The only thing I can say to that is, wow! And listen to this: he taught an adult Sunday School class up until last year when he was 95. He gave his life for Christ – every ounce he had.

On the other hand, yesterday morning before the funeral I read a story in 2 Samuel 21. In this chapter, Israel had been facing three years of famine and David went before God to ask why the famine was taking place. God informs him that it was the result of Saul’s disobedience in trying to annihilate the Gibeonites. God tells David that he needs to make peace with the Gibeonites. So one thing leads to another and he turns 8 of Saul’s male descendents over to the Gibeonites. They then kill all 8 descendents in response to Saul’s actions and lay them out before the Lord.

Reading that story and then sitting through the funeral really drove something home for me. Our actions now are laying a foundation for the generations to come. Saul had been killed in battle and was long gone, but those 8 male descendents definitely felt the effects of Saul’s disobedience. The foundation Saul had laid was one of disobedience and destruction. My Uncle Wilbur was a church planter, pastor, and teacher for 70+ years! It’s because of his life and the lives of other godly men and women in my family that I am where I am today. Without the godly foundation that was laid for me, I don’t know where I would be. I am so thankful for those who have gone before me and am compelled to continue to lay a solid, godly foundation for the generations that follow me! And what’s even more amazing about God’s timing is that my Uncle passed away the Sunday after I was ordained myself!! Here’s to 71 more years!

Something I’ve been learning in ministry is the importance of not only knowing what my strengths are, but also understanding my weaknesses. Without understanding weakness I eliminate God from the equation. Because where I am weak, that is where God is strong. (2 Cor 12:10b) I am constantly pushing myself to grow in those areas of weakness all the while understanding that I have faults. I am imperfect. I need God.

“God help me to never remove You from the equation of my life. Help me to always keep in perspective my weaknesses, my faults, my need for You.”

The Disease of Singleness

With this post, I’m beginning a series of posts that will be discussing the topic of singleness in the church. So leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Have you ever walked into a room and felt like you were on the wrong end of an inside joke? There’s not much more embarrassing. In the church world today, it seems that this is the very thing happening to many of our single-church goers. And even moreso in ministry circles. This is most distrubing because according to recent statistics, 41% of Americans 18 and older are single. Many in the church world view a person that is not married as immature or as if something is wrong with them. For example, I had a friend recently interviewing for an associate pastor position and this is how part of the interview went:

Pastor: So are you married?
Friend: No, I’m not.
Pastor: So are you dating anyone? Any prospects?
Friend: No, not right now.
Pastor: So are you gay?
Friend: No.

It’s as if singleness is a disease. A disease which has only one cure: marriage. The danger in that is there are people who are not ready to be married, who have not found the right person God has for them to marry, or who feel led to a life of singleness. In forcing marriage on people, I believe many are undermining the work of God in that person’s life, and creating doubt in the plan God has for them. Something I’ve always believed and have read in scripture is that God equips people uniquely because He has a unique plan for their lives. With that said, in a person’s attempts to help someone who is single, they can actually be setting them up for failure. In 1 Timothy 6:6, the apostle Paul explains that great gain (success) is found not in what we can achieve (marriage) but rather in godliness and contentment. Therefore, in the Christian community we need to encourage people to be comfortable in their own skin, in who God has made them and where He’s placed them, rather than trying to force them to fit into our own little Christian box.

Acquire the Fire

Last night I just got back from taking our students to Acquire the Fire. It was an awesome weekend! The students were challenged to be warriors for God in this cultural battle we are engaged in. We saw students that are usually rather apathetc toward God raising their hands and going to the altars. It was also a pretty fun weekend, too...that is besides the fact I only got 2 hours of sleep Friday night!! We had the opportunity to hear four different bands. We were led in worship each service by Unhindered (great worship band!), and then had three awesome performances Saturday afternoon by Grits, Red (by far the best show!), and Pillar. So I'm a little pooped right now, but ready for a great week ahead. This Wednesday we're starting a three week series on serving. We'll be taking communion, doing a foot washing, and water baptisms all during the series. I'm excited to see what God has in store!!

The Lord's Annointed

Recently I've been reading through I & II Samuel and have been amazed at David's trust in the Sovereignty of God. In I Samuel King Saul is hunting David as if he were a rabid beast and David continually shows King Saul an uncanny, undeserved respect. The thing that really hit home for me is in II Samuel 1 where an Amalekite man comes to brag to David that he had killed David's enemy, King Saul. The Amalekite is thinking this will give him favor with David, but here's the problem: this Amalekite was thinking in temporal terms rather than the spiritual. As David saw it, this was the Lord's Annointed One and instead of commending the man, David instructs his men to "Go, strike him down!" You see, David's trust in God's sovereignty was so great that he still showed respsect for the royalty God had put in place even though King Saul was constantly hunting David. How David saw it, this is the one God has placed in leadership over him. And if God had placed Saul there than David nor any other man had any right to harm him. What trust!

A Whole New World

Well, here I am. I'm diving into this whole new blogging world. I've enjoyed reading so many blogs the last couple months and by no means would consider myself to be on the level of the many wise sages that share their wisdom through this medium. I am simply a young man walking through life sharing his thoughts. My desire with this blog is not to give my 'expert' opinion on issues, but rather to share my experiences and thoughts to help those out there that can in some way relate. So I hope you will join me for this exciting journey - here we go!!!