...It's a winding road...but it shall be made straight...

Ok...so a few weeks ago I went on a camping trip to Bennett Springs, MO with my best friend, Josh. We absolutely had a blast and I caught my first trout! But as we drove I thought much on my road of life I have been on lately...sorry, not trying to draw on some cheesy illustration here but it did make me think...

The roads of Bennett are curvy and on the way down we took a new highway section not on GPS...it was quite funny to watch the little monster truck get confused on the screen. Nonetheless, we made it down and back safely. But, lately my life has seemed just like this...call it a search for heart if you want...or call it just life...

"We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God; those who are called according to His purpose" Romans 8:28

A familiar passage for most of us, this passage shines some new light on my heart at this point in life. I have been on a seemingly, windy road...over the last year I have battled some anxiety and depression at times...today, I am not completely immune to those for certain things draw them out...but I stand on the fact that Christ will sustain me...it's His promise to us all...

I don't take lightly Proverbs 3: 5-6...I am riveted to Him, my path will become straight because He guides me. As Jesus was fully God and fully human I can trust He fully sympathizes with my weakest points...all so He can sustain and grow me and make me stronger.

On the other side of this I will be a better man...every day I will be a better man than the day before. I am embarking on a new chapter...no longer a youth pastor, but now leading up a new singles ministry at my new church God is opening doors and shutting others...I am so grateful for His guidance as I patiently but recklessly follow His plan...this road may be winding and tough to navigate...but just as Josh and I made it home safely...so will I...

...ALL because of HIM...

Beatitude #2: Those Who Mourn

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted" (Matthew 5:4)

The mourning referenced here refers to mourning over sin...it's a godly type sorrow that produces repentance leading to salvation without regrets.  

2 Corinthians 7:10 - "For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted, but the sorrow of the world produces death".

Godly sorrow refers to sorrow that is according to the will of God and produced by the Holy Spirit. True repentance cannot happen apart from such a genuine sorrow over one's sin. In the verse, 2 Cor. 7:10, the apostle Paul mentions "leading" saying that repentance belongs to the realm or sphere of salvation. Repentance is at the deepest part of the heart and proves one's salvation: Unbelievers repent of their sin initially when they are saved, and then as believers repent of their sins continually to keep the joy and blessing of their relationship to God.

Isaiah 40:1-2 mentions the comfort is the comfort of forgiveness and salvation.

Sorrow of the world produces death meaning human sorrow is unsanctified remorse and has no redemptive capability. All this sorrow is simply wounded pride of getting caught in one's sin and having one's lusts go unfulfilled. This sorrow leads only to guilt, shame, despair, depression, self-pity and hopelessness. "People can die from such sorrow" Matthew 27:3.

Continually, we need to practice godly sorrow. As I look inward at my sin I realize the need to maintain that constant, unbroken connection with the Father. When I "repent" is it Godly sorrow or is it worldly sorrow? Am I only asking for forgiveness because I got caught or am I truly burdened and broken over my sin. Today, be broken over sin and allow the Spirit to move your heart and refine it. When He tugs on you to remove a sin then take action to remove it from your life. Doing this will result in each day us being like Christ.

Beatitude #1: Poor in Spirit

Matthew 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"

Ok...I'm not gonna lie when I was a teenager and first read this passage I didn't understand how God could want me to be any more poor than I already was. Growing up in a home where money wasn't there, living through most of high school with a single mom, not much in the name brands for clothing or other material things, and just barely getting by each month...all these led me to believe I was going to be poor forever...

Obviously, I wasn't spiritually deep at the point of reading this to understand what Jesus actually meant. I have now come to understand alot of the misunderstandings I had in Scripture through my training and education, mentors, ministry experience, life, and being more and more saturated with the Gospel. I now understand that Jesus was calling me to be poor but different that I had originally thought...

As Jesus sat on the mountain that day with His newly called disciples this first teacing (The Sermon on the Mount) starts out with the foundation of the Christian faith...being poor in spirit...To become poor in spirit and obtain the kingdom of heaven we have to come to the place of total and reckless abandonment to Christ. Poor refers not to some materialistic loss of things and possesions or money but of self, which may also require us to give up material things (Ex.: the rich young ruler). I have come to realize that when I think I have given me completely that there is more of me to give away so Christ can completly have me. 

Preaching today focuses too much on the person's strength of will or the beauty of our character - things so easily noticed. We have confused people with our preaching. "Make a decision for Christ" but do we see the message this sends? That statement places emphasis on something our Lord never trusted. He nevers asks us to decide for Him, but to yield to Him - something very different.

"Poor in spirit" requires us to give up our rights and allow the Spirit to move and work mightily within us. The Reward: "...theirs is the kingdom of Heven." The first Christians at Antioch and the disciples in Acts understood this beatitude perfectly...giving of self. They gave of self so much they didn't pay attention to accomplishments or tangible things..."they were adding to their number daily"...touching lives and not knowing how their love may have touched the heart of another close by.

Many people have touched my heart and they may never know how much. This is the true characteristic of lovliness. Concious influence is a prideful thing and unchristian. The second we question being used by God is the second we lose the beauty and freshness of the Lord. The Israelites quesiton if God was with them while in the wilderness and wanted to return to bondage, but Moses quickly corrected them telling them to trust the Father and give of themselves to His cause...something they battled over and over again.

"He who believes in me...out of His heart will flow living water" (John 7:38). And if I examine the outflow, I lose the touch of the Lord. We always know Jesus is at work because He produces in the commonplace something that is inspiring. Be "poor in spirit" and trust that because you have yielded to the Father He is faithful to use you.

Blessed: A series on the Beatitudes

I was recently told to read the Beatitudes as I pursue the next chapters in my life seeing as a lot is changing. There are few different reasons I am reading the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount...

1) To dig deeper into what Jesus was saying in the Beatitudes

2) To reflect these attitudes on my own heart and become more Christlike

3) To enable me to bring these into Bible studies or messages with those whom I minister to so as to present each one mature in Christ (Colossians 1:28-29)


So, to kick this blog series off I am going to give a little precursor and in later posts I will break down each Beattitude separately...


In Matthew 5:1-2 Jesus is retreating to the mountainside. He takes a sitting posture, the normal posture of a rabbi in His day. He then calls His disciples to Him...to invest in them, disciple them...as this was right after their calling by the Savior. These men drop their nets and follow Jesus...His first lesson to them was a set of characteristics, attitudes seen as essential to the faith that Christ would live out and the hope He would offer apart from sin.


"Blessed"...a word that literally means "happy, fortunate, blissful." This is character development in the Christian life...deeper than the surface emotions that normally arise in our Christian life. These attitudes call for Christlikeness! Ways, paths, roads, walks of life going opposite directions of worldly ways and values that lead to the pursuing happiness. Happiness found in materialism, abundance, leisure, riches, and things alike. The Beatitudes describe characteristics of true faith. They are practical and impacting. A deep study and reflection of them upon our hearts and actions will result in Christlikness...God's Word promises not to return void (Isaiah 55:11).


My prayer is that all who read these blogs and are a part of the Bible studies to follow will be led to a deeper understanding of not just this section of Scripture but a growing thirst and hunger for Christ, His Word and the life of giving of ourselves to spread the Gospel...a personal revival.

Authentic Faith and Command to Live It Out!

These last two weeks I have challenged my students to look at authentic faith...week 1: What is Faith? Week 2: Grace (defining grace and mercy leading us to love).

I defined faith to my group of students by using Andy Stanley and Stuart Hall's 7 Checkpoints book. Faith is defined as "Believe that God is who He says He is and will do ALL He has promised to do." When looking at this we have to match this up with a daily walk that is minded in the things of Christ. If we truly believe He is our guide and that He, alone, is enough we shall desire all that He desires for us disbanding everything in our human nature and following Christ with reckless abandonment!

I transitioned into grace (getting what we don't deserve). We absolutely are depraved people in need of Christ's redeeming love. Grace ultimately is love! This second part was short as I just shared from my heart about love...using Francis Chan's idea from Crazy Love using 1 Cor. 13 and placing my name in the place of love. Wow this was powerful as I read...you do feel like a liar when you do that. Shows how much we don't add up to true love.

Upon the verge of the SBC and their GCR I desire to see churches be missional. Fully confident our faith is to be active and out reaching the lost...I mean if that's taboo or touchy then we have become too comfortable in our church settings. For the ones who need a doctor are the sick and not to mention Christ has COMMANDED us to "go"...make disciples who make disciples. I finished with Amazing Grace by Chris Tomilin...telling the students "they (the world) will know we are Christians by our love, by our love" as Francis Schaeffer says, "The distinguishing mark of Christianity is our love for one another".

#1 Love God, #1 Love Others

Youth Ministry: Constantly changing...A view from Greg Stier

This note is a copy of a blog from Greg Steir the leader of Dare2Share...

This blog says exactly what we strive to do at 121 Student Ministries...we are in the process:

Change is counterintuitive to the typical person. Most of us like some semblance of order, synchronization and structure to the chaotic worlds that we live in. It brings us a sense of pathway and progress. We tend to work within the system that we’ve become accustomed to and it comforts us when we excel within that system. But what if that system has reached its limit? What if that system is as good as it is going to get? That’s when systemic change must take place.

It takes pioneers in various fields to push us average Joes and Jolenes above the fray and help us to look at the system in a different light. At some point, somebody riding a horse thought, “What if we could lay down some tracks and put some kind of motorized machine on those babies that would propel it along faster and to take more cargo with us?” Then, at another point, somebody riding a train thought, “What if this train had wheels and ran on the road instead of tracks? What if it was driven by a gasoline engine instead of a steam one?” Maybe it was riding in a Model T that propelled the Wright brothers to come up with the idea of making a machine with wings that flys. From airplanes and automobiles to cell phones and microwaves, just about everything we enjoy as a modern convenience is a result of pioneers saying, “The old system was good but there’s a better idea awaiting.”

I believe this same thing needs to happen in youth ministry. We need pioneers in the field of youth ministry who are going to think Biblically, creatively and relevantly to say “the old system was good but here’s an idea to get us there farther and faster.” Now you may not think of yourself as a “pioneer” but most of the pioneers in the past were people like you and me who were discontened with the system and set out to improve it.

Systemic change comes from asking hard questions. These questions fly in the face of “we’ve always done it this way” and “don’t rock the boat.” But who said change was easy, or comfortable for that matter?

Jesus called it “new wine in new wineskins.” I call it making systemic change. Whatever you call it, now is the time for innovation in youth ministry: to dream, create and refine a new system of youth ministry that gets our teenagers farther and faster toward the ultimate destination of Christlikness.

What is our little contribution to this process at Dare 2 Share Ministries? To recalibrate youth leaders toward THE Cause of Christ and to get them on board with youth ministry as a mission and not just a meeting. For more information check out http://www.dare2share.org/thecause.

What will you contribute to the systemic transformation of youth ministry? It may be something little or big but it is needed. I am calling all Henry Fords and Thomas Edisons to kick your creative juices in gear, dust off your Bibles and open your eyes to the new possibilities of youth ministry in a postmodern, economically-depressed, spiritually-open age.

Getting our teenagers down the road of becoming like Jesus is what we’ve all been driving for in our Model Ts. Getting them to their ultimate destination faster is where your prayerful innovation kicks in.

To go where you have never been you have to do what you have never done

Every man dies, but not every man lives

I love country music. Trace Adkins sings a song called "Songs about me" and that is how I feel when I listen to music period, but country especially. Jason Aldean has a song titled "Every man". The key line that I love is that every man dies but not every man lives. I want to live. I live cautiously most of the time but I want to be daring...bold...wild at heart...strong...

I want to talk to that student who looks like they are at the end...the kid no one gives a chance...I want to go for it and ask that cute girl out...I want to go without find out some adrenaline rushes I have been missing out on...experience God through nature...grow a beard...have massive pecks and washboard abs...lol...(I can dream a little right?)!!!!

I do not want to conform any longer to the pattern of this world - Rom. 12:2 - and be passive, not accepting responsibility, but challenging myself as a leader and investing in those around me. Being the best in life that I can be...saying yes to God before I know where He wants me to go and then being courageous enough to step out into the unknown and follow Him.

I want to be an awesome boyfriend, then an awesome husband, then an awesome dad...I want to love God and make Him known...I just want to live and be alive.