I dream for the day when there will be no needy persons among us…

I know my dream didn’t originated with me. I was reading again in Acts 2 and 4 of what I would call the DNA of the early church. Qualities and characteristics that flowed naturally out a believers life. Sure there is commitment to the apostles teaching, to the breaking of bread, to fellowship [...]

“Lord, use me.”

If you’ve ever experienced disappointment it is easy to get tangled in the web of woe that follows. But, through this all my prayer is always “Lord, use me.” I have had times in my life when I have felt like Joseph, and I can say, “you meant that to harm me, but God meant [...]

is there a cut-off point for to much help?

When I read Scripture it becomes quite clear that God cares deeply for the plight of the poor. One place that drives this point home is Deuteronomy 15:1-18. All through the OT God is concerned about justice. God cares deeply about righting the wrongs in our world and in and among his people. Jesus spoke [...]

Winterfest recap: Arlington, Tx ‘08

Intense. Moving. Real. These are the words I would use to describe Winterfest down in Arlington this year. Our kids had a great time and were challenged and many kids recommitted themselves to being a follower of Jesus. Three kids, that I know of have given themselves to Christ. Sunday night our youth group and [...]

Family ministry

As a youth minister the last 4.5 years it has become increasingly obvious to me that in order for the youth ministry to be successful, in order for the church to he healthy there must be a focus on the health of the family.
Here are a couple of quotes from a family ministry class I [...]

no good, terrible, very bad day

That could be the title for my Buckeyes aim at another national title, only to fall short. I give my Buckeyes props though. They made it to the title shot, had a good season, and won the Big Ten. Not bad. Now, if we could just beat the SEC in the big dance.
Next Year’s college [...]

NCYM:recap from the last day

It is tough to write about a place you hate to leave. Saturday night, the last night of the conference was a good night. The worship was moving, and the entertainment for the evening was excellent. I enjoyed the round table-ish discussion that Jeff Walling, Buddy Bell and Don McLaughlin took part in. They answered [...]

NCYM: recap of Friday

Once again, there is just so much to write about. The exhibition booths and the folks who have manned these booths have been friendly and warm, and generous as they have given away a lot of cool free things to us. The Hilton here in Atlanta has been amazing. Everyone that works here has been [...]

NCYM:recap day 2

I want to begin with a haunting question, well a phrase really that was made last night about our enjoyment and excitement about being in youth ministry. Buddy Bell talked about the passion of enjoying what we do. I used to feel the unbelievable excitement about getting to do this work. I used to wake [...]

NCYM: travel and day one

We rolled out of Duncan, Ok at 6:30 am on Monday morning, go to Memphis, TN around 6:30 pm, and spent the night there. Actually we met my folks there, who had come to get our oldest two girls and take them back to their home while we attend our conference.
We got to see alot [...]