See You Again Soon

I spent the day in Towson while I waited for an appointment that I had scheduled. It is a pretty neat town just outside of Baltimore. I love hanging out in Towson, there is just something about it that draws me.

I guess it all began when my wife and I and some friends went to a concert at a small venue called The Recher Theatre. It was the first time I really got to spend some time and catch the vibe in the town and it was pretty much love at first sight. It was also that night that I felt God drawing me to plant a church in Towson.

What if people were lined

up like this to go to church.

The process of planting a church has been about two years now and we are planing to have our first service in the Fall of 2011 hopefully at that very venue The Recher.

The ride that is planting a church is like being on a roller coaster (esp the ones that go upside down).

There are days when you get glimpses and it is an amazing feeling to see what can be.

There are also days when you feel like you just face a lot of shut doors and unforeseen surprises and not good surprises either, and while we are at it, does anyone really like surprises after the age of 5 anyways.

It is humbling to be in the process of raising support. I am not a salesman, I don't approach the gospel as one either. My heart is to see people come to follow Jesus and bring the bible to life thru creative teaching and preaching.

Wouldn't it be great to have people who actually want to come back to church again the next week, and maybe bring a friend?

The call to plant a church for me, is the same as the call into ministry. It is apart of who I am. I would feel like I would be letting God down if this doesn't happen.

I heard a church planter say that the process of planting a church, in beginning, is about the spiritual journey of the one leading the church; he is right. It is as if every day I have to face my fears, my demons and strive to live by faith and not by sight.

This week has been challenging on many levels almost discouraging. The appointment that I had was rescheduled so I just spent some extra time at the Towson Mall, because I am a big believer in retail therapy. Just kidding...maybe. I did have to pick a few things though :-)

I decided to hit up the food court and do some praying while I was there. I was feeling the need to go mexican and enjoy a tasty burrito of epic proportions (im also a big believer in comfort food). The guy who put my burrito together smiled alot, he was just a happy dude I guess, and as I paid for my lunch he said, "See you again soon!"

For some reason, maybe spiritual, his words hit me. I'm sure he says that to a lot of the people who buy his burritos, because they are pretty darn good, but for me his words felt like a promise from God.

I will be back in this town.

I will be planting a church in Towson.

I will be buying a lot of his burritos.

My Confession

I have been teaching the Gospels this year for Elevate Ministry School, and it has been an interesting journey sharing about the early church fathers. There was one historical figure who struck a chord and I liked what he wrote and I could relate to his life.

“How late I came to love oh Beauty so ancient and fresh, You were in me when I had gone outside to seek you, and always You were with me, but I was not with You. You called, You cried, You shattered my deftness, You sparkled, You blazed, You drove away my blindness. You shed your fragrance and I drew in my breath and I pant for You, I tasted and now I hunger and thirst. You touched me and now I burn, longing for Your peace.” -St. Augustine

St. Augustine is known for his works Confessions and City of God, he was a large influence on theology especially on western Christianity. He had an amazing conversion experience and his approach to Christian thought and writing would look a lot like modern Christian worship songs; a rare idea in his day.

This week I had an "Augustinian-Moment" if you would want to call it that. I was driving home with my wife, she was sleeping in the passenger seat and my son was asleep in his car seat, as I was listening to Hillsong United on Pandora.

We were almost home when I prayed a short prayer, "God please give me the energy to be a good dad and husband tonight." It was then when I heard that audible-but-not-so-audible voice of God, "That was the first time I heard you pray for your family like that."

It was as if time slowed down (or I was at a traffic light) and I started to think to myself that I need to pray more prayers like that.

We then pulled into the driveway and it was back to the routine; change and feed the little guy while Marisa prepares dinner.

I didn't think much of my "moment" in the car that evening, not even when my wife thanked me for spending so much time with Keane and helping her out throughout the night.

No, it didn't hit me until I was sharing a video to the class about the life of Augustine, that I remembered how God answered my prayers and gave me energy to be a better dad and a better husband that night.

How many prayers have I prayed to get,

when I should have been praying more prayers to give.

Turning 30 and the Irony of It All

I have written and rewritten this blog numerous times.

How do you sum up the past ten years of your life?

How do you know what the next ten years of your life will be like?

I do know this.

I am ready for what's next.

I am ready to be thirty.

Looking back on my twenties I thank God for his grace, because I definitely made some mistakes. I also thank God for his grace, because I also made some really brilliant life choices too, like marrying my best friend and soulmate. (I also thank God for his grace for allowing her to put up with me.)

We have had our fair share of challenges, but the best moments have always been with my wife.

It is not easy being married to a pastor. She has always stuck by my side. Even when we moved four times in one year because there are some things that happen in ministry that no one can prepare you for in Bible College.

The ministry can be like looking at life thru a microscope.

How you look at scripture.

How you look at people.

How you look at yourself.

It can be hard to take a step back and see things in perspective (especially God's perspective) than be short sighted and see things only in the moment.

Think about it.

When you receive a grade on a test or job review, the tendency can be to look at all the things you did wrong instead of things you did right.

This week I got a glimpse of my life from a different perspective.

It has come to my attention that I am one of five Valley Forge Christian College grads to receive the "Young Alumni Service Award," recognizing alum of 10 years or younger who have made significant contributions to further the mission of VFCC.

A friend on mine tweeted congratulating me on the award. I honestly thought he was trying to prank me. He is the type of individual to do such a thing. Think Will Ferrell as youth pastor, and that's pretty much him.

I had him scan and email me the homecoming flyer so I can see for myself.

After my initial thought of being pranked (no one says punk'd anymore) my next thought was, "I don't think I have done enough to deserve this award."

I even said this to my Will Ferrell pastor friend.

He then shared some encouraging words and I began to look at my life as if I was looking at that that test, focusing on the things I did right, not the things I did wrong.

It is ironic, not just because this VFCC student was kicked out and suspended and as my uncle put it, "just happy to graduate from bible college," but that I would receive an award from the college seven years later.

"Finishing is better than starting. Patience is better than pride...I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle" Ecclesiastes 7.8/9.11

In my life I have not won many races or seemed to get off to a good start, but I keep running.

The Fall of 2011 we will be planting a church in Towson MD.

There will be highs.

There will be lows.

I do not know how successful it will be, but I do know this...

I will continue to run, I will be faithful.

Many people have tried to define success, however I believe Mother Teresa has a good perspective on it.

"God hasn't called me to be successful. He's called me to be faithful."

The 4 Years That Changed My Life

I've been in youth ministry a long time. When going back to when I first started interning at my home church in Philly to today it would end up being ten years working with tomorrows future leaders. Youth ministry is probably one of the most challenging professions a person can choose however it is one of the most rewarding too.

I do not want to focus on all things that they didn't tell you in bible college, that will be for another day.

I want to focus on the past four years. I want to focus on Third Lane Youth.

Third Lane Youth 2007

(In case you ever wondered what TLY was all about)

I have been in a couple of different churches before I came to York First Assembly. The youth ministry we had in those churches grew and we had some great times. It wasn't until we launched TLY that the vision that I always had for youth min became a reality.

We had a live worship band with students and adults that eventually became totally student driven. (I love playing worship with my wife our team from TLY amazing times)

We had a thriving Fine Arts program (thanx to my wife) that focused on Human Videos, yeah its an AG thing...think acting out a song where drama meets cheerleading...sorta. The students we worked with were good...really good!

Fine Arts is a crazy beast for those who don't know what it is, its basically a talent driven program for students to use their talents and be judge on how well they do.

Think America's God Talent Meets American Idol and yeah...its pretty big deal in our denomination.

We made it to the National Level every year and that was great, but we never made it be about the awards and trips.

It was about ministry and discipleship.

We would take the students out to numerous churches and outreach events and the students made such an impact everywhere we went.

I always loved the development aspect of this creative tool, seeing students who would never be a part of something like this step out and make a difference. It never got old to me.

It wasn't that TLY was a youth group...it was more like a Youth Church, a church that felt like family.

And just like family we had our ups and downs, and in youth ministry not many pastors stick around long enough to press thru the drama and to start seeing the fruit.

I have never been a big event youth pastor. My heart has always been to raise future leaders in the church and in the world...(I guess VFCC made more of an impression on me than I thought, thanx Dr. Meyers) We ran TLY like a ministry school and the majority of our students in TLY went on to college especially to Bible College.

Third Lane Youth was always analogy to live life in the Spirit (live in the lane you can't see), to walk by faith and not by sight. It is interesting to me that after preaching about it for four years God would call me to plant and church and really practice what I preach and really step out in faith.

This past sunday the students organized a farewell for us. They made it about us. The impact we had. The good times we shared. It felt good, but honestly I just kept thinking Im so proud of this group of students to see how far they have come in their walk with God. They have been thru alot, we both have, but in the end we stood together in love and in faith.

I didn't realize that the things that made the biggest impression on them were not my sermons, how clever or fashionable I was, (although they did make a pretty funny video about how I dress, stay tuned I'll put that up soon)

It was about the little things I did.

The hanging out and playing video games, going out and talking over lunch, singing American Idol.

That's right I said American Idol.

It was a weird tradition that my wife and I had that if students came over our house we made them sing and play the American Idol video game...You would be surprised the students that would sing...and how they would sing...oh my...lol.

The farewell service was not about me, it was about them, it has always been about them.

I went into youth ministry to change lives, but in the end it was my life that was changed.

Third Lane Youth 2010

Phillies Phaith

It was not an uncommon night for my wife and I. We put our little guy to bed and spent some time watching TV, flipping channels, and talking about the day. The Food Network is always a fav and I like to turn back and forth between the latest Ace of Cakes and the latest Phillies game.

Marriage is all about compromise peoples. (If I can only get that Picture in Picture feature working)

Sad to say the remote did not get a lot of action last night. It pretty much stayed on the Food Network. After all, my beloved Phillies were losing 9-2 to the stinking LA Dodgers. (I pretty much loathe all things LA that includes Kobe.)

I have to be honest.

When I saw the score I did not turn it back to watch again for the night.

This is not behavior becoming of the true blue Philly sports fan, of days of old when my dad would wake me up to watch Lenny Dykstra and John Kruk pull out a late night rally.

I went to bed and shut the lights on my Phillies.

I woke up and put on my favorite Phillies Tee after all, thats how Philly fans do, win or lose.

Turning on my Mac to catch the latest clever headline from the Philadelphia Daily News Online depicting another heartbreaking loss. I was shocked to read CHOOCHOOO! in big letters and see the Phillies catcher Ruiz (nicknamed Chooch) dancing with his fellow teammates.

Did they win?

They did!

They pulled off the comeback from being down seven runs!

This made me smile and made me think.

How often do I give up when the circumstances look hopeless?

How often do I assume that there is no time left to turn things around?

How often do I let my fear of disappointment dictate my faith in something or someone?

I wonder when the momentum shift was that started The Phillies to believe that they had a chance. If something was said from one player to another, to not give up, to hold on, to keep swinging.

Sometimes prayers can be like a Phillies game.

There are some types of fans and people of faith that stay to the final inning never giving up hope and being there in the moment when hope meets the fruition.

For the rest of us, its good to know that in the moments when we turn the channel of our faith, God does not turn the channel from us and is still working behind the scenes.

Life is not always like a ballgame but I like to think that I serve God who can surprise us by a headline, or a verse, or something more.

I am reminded of Jesus praying for his disciples in the garden before His death (John 17), they fell asleep, but Jesus didn't. In the midst of His unbearable burden of the cross he prayed for them, He prayed for us.

He undersands the battle of waiting.

"Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good." (Rom8.26-28 Msg)

I don't have everything figured out.

There are circumstances in my life that I wished would be more comfortable.

No matter how big or how small, I have faith.

I will believe, I will hope.

"Though the sorrow may last for the night

His joy (and the Phillies) comes thru in the morning."

TLY Youth Day/ Comfort or Faith?

I love seeing students leading other students. This past sunday, the students of TLY lead other adults. It was our annual youth day where the students take over worship, minister in special music, and human videos. This year they preached too!

We had two seniors share Matthias Wagman who will be attending Messiah College and Mary Liz Patterson who will be attending Zion Bible college in the Fall.

Both brought unique perspectives about stepping out of the comfort zone and into the faith zone as one of the students put it.

Matthias recently traveled to France and spoke some as well. He shared about a family who they had a chance to fellowship with and plant some seeds of faith. Its cool hearing him read their post card in French...Oui Oui!

Mary Liz followed and has one of the sweetest voices you will ever hear, but she brought some of strongest challenges I ever heard in a message as well.

She shared a story about a photograph of a girl and raven that won the pulitzer prize.

The story behind the photo will break your heart.

How many times are we as Christians afraid to step out of comfort zone and chase life's vultures.

We closed the message with communion.

I showed this video that I put together about 4 years ago for my first youth service at TLY (then Powerhouse Youth Ministries) its kind of fitting that I would show it on my last youth day.

Its a scene from the Passion of the Christ set to the song The Stand by Hillsong United. When I put this together I never saw the other video montage with a similar scene and other scenes from the movie.

The unique thing about this video is that movie and song are not edited and it is erie and inspiring how it fits together ala Dark Side of the Moon and The Wizard of Oz.

In the book Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis states his famous "Trilemma"

"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: "I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God." That is the one thing we must not say. A man who said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic--on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg--or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."

There is a line in the song that keeps replaying in my mind after I watch this video, "What can say what can I do, but offer this heart eternally to you."

We always have a choice in life.

Christ was never forced his views or vision on anyone.

He always leaves it for us to decide...

comfort or faith?

From 2 to 7 TLY Water Baptism Service

My favorite event each year hands down is definitely our Third Lane Youth Water Baptism service. We have been doing this since 2008. Each year there is something about the day that inspires me and leaves me with memories that I will never forget.

The first year it rained cats, dogs, and hamsters. You name it. That was one crazy storm.

We went to Pinchot Park anyways.

We cooked hot dogs under umbrellas.

We had a worship service.

And as we worshiped, the storm cleared and we had our first baptism service.

The first year we were the only ones there, the second year it was a beautiful day and there were lots of other people there too. That is to say, not just people from our church.

It could be a little intimidating to baptize in public like that, but it made an impression on me that these students were proud to get baptized amongst the on-lookers.

Most of all, it's the people getting baptized that truly make this day unforgettable.

It is not an easy thing to stand up in public, its another thing when you stand for Jesus in public.

This year was different than any another year.

It wasn't just students getting baptized this time.

Over the past number of years we always a had a good group signed up to take the plunge.

This year we had two signed up.

Not that numbers are everything. I am definitely not a numbers guy, but I just really believe in water baptism as one of the bench mark moments in your walk with God. I don't want to see anyone miss an opportunity.

As we closed our worship service this time I shared a verse from Acts 8 about Philip and the Ethiopian.

"35Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. 36As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?" (Acts 8.35-36 NIV)

I think sometimes we complicate things to much in the church.

When you step out in faith and call a Holy Spirit audible there is always a fear of a fumble. What happened during this service was definitely a touchdown in my book. (That's the analogy you get when you fall asleep watching Sports Center.)

We had a grandmother come forward, a parent, and a brother and sister. Even before the service we had a parent call to see if their child could get baptized.

It is an amazing thing to see that type of momentum take place; from two to seven. (see the sports analogy works)

We recorded testimonies this year for the video from students who got baptized in the years previous and this year as well.

I love hearing the students share their heart.

These individuals ministered to me, if not more, as much as I try to minster to them.

So don't just take my word for it... (Reading Rainbow anyone?)