Important Notice!!!!

This is an important notice-pay attention.

Choose leaders closest to you that you enjoy being around!

As i met with my two small group coordinators this evening our agenda lasted maybe 15 minutes.  We talked about details for tomm. night, went over the vision to pass on to their coaches, execution and even talked about vision for our next semester.  Then we spent over an hour having a blast together.  This time could be considered a waste but instead it added immense value to the safety of being a team.  We laugh together, joke with each other-we have "it" (if you're wondering what "it" is read Craig's new book).  This would be another meeting that takes up part of an evening every week if these were people that i simply liked.  Instead i have chosen people that are fully competent of doing the things asked of them, trainable, teachable and most importantly loveable ha!  I walked away tonight thinking this was a great thing.  Take my advice and choose people for key leadership roles around you that you enjoy being around for me it makes one more night away from home feel a little better!

Home is Where the heart is???

Labor day Nicole and i got to spend the whole day together-man talk about a blessing.  I sometimes think we are still dating it's pretty amazing!!!  As we sat outside and talked about life we landed on something we both can't seem to shake.  Oklahoma doesn't feel like home.  We've spent many hours of our life trying to figure out the reason behind this but we can't nail it.  I often times long to be near my family, near the places i have known my whole life, near the people i love.  Nicole said it best, Oklahoma seems like a stepping stone, like something else is around the corner-whatever that means it seemed to resonate.  We have no plans of going anywhere, we aren't looking and are really content with where we are.  This isn't an issue of not being comfortable-because we are, its something deeper that we can't put our finger on.  I've struggled so much with thinking this is related to me, that im not sold out enough, that somehow in someway this is an issue ultimately of my heart desiring to deviate from the life God has called me to...and maybe it is, ultimately we don't know.  We've been blessed beyond our imagination in Oklahoma, from our relationship with each other, to friends and support, to the ministry we are doing...all the pieces fit.  If you can't read into this, everything is right-except we dont feel like this is our home.  Something doesn't click.  I have no solution to this, no great insight for anyone to gain, nothing.  Just wanted to share in the midst of God doing amazing things he is preparing something else-whether that be the lesson of the comittment to the calling, the indescribable need to trust his wisdom or whatever Nicole and i have these conversations.  Any insight?  I'll end with this thought for the night.  As i watched the movie Heat last night, the ongoing theme was-be prepared to walk out in 30 seconds if you feel the heat around the corner.  Obviously in my life i dont rob banks (that i can tell you about) so i dont have cops chasing me around, but i think its something Nicole and I are ready for, to take the step God places in front of us at any time---So Home is Where The Heart Is???  Cause i live really far away then!

-Relaxed-

This weekend was a mad dash (it's actually life for us now)!!!  We headed out for a 1,200 mile endeavor of seeing my niece Addison, my parents, my sister/brother-in-law and nephews.  We did this in 2 days!  As i arrived back home for experiences Sunday morning i experienced something amazing.  As two of our high school girls small group leaders baptized one of their students i had a moment.  You know the moments where things just stand still?  We do baptisms in an inflatable pool in our lobby with several pastors baptizing several people at once, and in the edge of the pool a high school girl came out of the water with tears in her eyes and was suddenly embraced (actually she disappeared) by her two leaders.  Two leaders that have walked with, cried with, ate with...done life with this girl who's mother has passed away tragically.  I saw two leaders in their 20's sacrificing, mentoring and ultimately guiding this teenage girl.  It was that moment that wont quickly disappear in my mind.  It was great!  I could say more, but i wont.

Crap-its been awhile

I'd love to pretend to catch you up on my life over the past...while...but i will give you the re-cap.  Friday night nicole and i spent our second friday night at home together since late May!!!!  It was great to say the least.  It's been a rough season for both of us losing loved ones and dealing with the family grief that goes along with that.  Of course this had to happen in the busiest season of student ministry EVER.  I'll hit the highlights of positive things to end a crappy season of pretending to have a wife.  Family-as of last monday the 18th i am a new uncle to a new niece Addison.  Finally my brother broke down and had a kid and luckily it was a girl because he is the most deserving in our family of such heartache.  Addison was born healthy but spent the weekend in the hospital before coming back home.  Nicole and I look forward to seeing her soon.  Ministry-wow-we started small groups on wednesday nights for students.  This took a lot of vision casting and meeting with key leaders to work out details.  To say it has gone amazing would be an understatement.  I'll fill in the details of how we have transitioned our bring in element to our ministry to be small group minded (it was as crazy as it sounds).  The guys i have been mentoring are now mentoring other guys.  Female leaders are mentoring other female leaders and students are being mentored by the likes.  Leaders are doing baptism for students that have walked through their small groups, leaders are writing small group curriculum based upon weekly messages, leaders are getting it.  There is an excitement in the air.  We started a 5th and 6th grade ministry partnership on the weekends with our childrens ministry.  First week almost doubled the amount of 5th and 6th grade students we were reaching, but this involved recruiting, training and empowering new leaders to run a complete ministry.  This also meant re-designing a room and creating all the elements that go into a ministry (worship, messages, games, small group curriculum).  This past week we started our school year off with involvement in schools monday, tuesday and wednesday mornings before school-im already ready to take a break!  All in all its been a hectic season of ministry but with some amazing results!!!  

Catch Up

I'll fill the details in later, buts its been a season of life to forget. A couple weeks ago Nicole's uncle died, this past week my grandmother passed away and i got back in town in time to get on a bus for summer camp....you could pray for me.

Also, follow camp on our camp blog for parents...summerswitch.wordpress.com

Qdoba

Taking a volunteer out to lunch yesterday in another area of the metro that happens to have a Qdoba, in my head I'm thinking this will be the same as some good ol' Chipotle.  We arrive, and i order the same exact thing as if i were standing in the amazing Chipotle itself.  Steak burrito, fajita style...mmmm good.  They pile on the same cilantro inspired rice, the same looking beef, the same black beans but then they arrive at the fajita onions and peppers.  I notice how amazingly better they look.  They look fresh and bright full of color and not soaking in grease-OK I'm getting pretty excited about this meal.  We move on to exactly the same combination of salsa and loaded with cheese excellent in every way.  It is at this point i notice a hiccup in the system.  Their summer help consists of a high school girl who appears to be as well trained as a stray dog.  She looks at the burrito like its the challenge of her life and begins to roll my taste filled delight into the burrito meal it was intended to be.  I move on, letter her work without the pressure of me staring and pay for the meals.  As I sit down, i notice immediately how poorly executed the rolling of my burrito happened.  In the end, it sucked.  The ingredients were there, amazing in their own right but combined intended to created a flavor sensation exploding with joy as you took a bite, until the girl got ahold of it.  Needless to say it was one of the least enjoyable burritos i have had...this girl had ruined it.  As harsh as this may sound, I'm not pointing fingers at this ill-trained girl for she knew no better way she simply was not trained.  As I'm sitting talking with this volunteer i cant get the thought out of my head, i sure hope I've trained him better than that ha!  In our ministry all the pieces are in place, their good pieces that work great together but the true fact is they hinge upon the competency of our leaders.  The final piece in our ministry is leaders, they have the final touch with students really wrapping the whole thing together--they will make it or break it.  Am I training them to be effective?  If not, they are not to blame I am.  

At The Movies

Ok a quick update on our At The Movies series....The campus exploded this weekend with people.  As a staff we openly will share that we doubted what God would do on 4th of July weekend...good thing he doesn't work based on our projections!!!  The best part was the influx of new people-short story.  A lady that has been coming awhile invited a friend that had not been to church in a long time.  Typical story of getting burned by a church and having no desire to go back.  Friend decides to finally come to our campus this past weekend to try it out.  As they walk in the doors they happen to walk in the one that has been created as a bat cave, its pitch black bats noises are going on all around her and there is a batman symbol glowing in the distance.  At this point i would love to re-write the story and say the lady right then and there did something incredibly spiritual...no....she started crying in fear.  Really crying, real fear here.  Luckily our campus pastor was near and took care of the situation.  Bat cave 1, new lady 0.