The Parable of the Man who Brought Nobody

I wrote this the summer of this year. As I looked through my illustrations for a lesson, this caught my eye. Bless ya as you reach out to all of the kids, regardless of the fruit that you see in their lives.


On the judgement day where Christ laid out everything that people did and brought all things to light, a man stood and watched as endless amounts of people had come forward.
Some of them were friends that he knew. Friends that he had worked along side of. Friends who had done great things and friends who had dropped the ball.
Some people had huge smiles on their faces and some, as if they’d been scorched by hell’s fire already.

And as it was time for this man to come forward, he heard his name called among the crowd. “Come forward please” the voice bellowed.

He then saw a list before him. The people he had been good to and treated with love and the people who he had overlooked. There were accomplishments and defeats and it was all brought before this man’s face to see… most of which he had forgotten about for a long, long time.

And then, people who he had shown the love of God to. This man smiled as memories flooded his mind of laughter, joy; yet also tears and sorrow. He had remembered many moments where relationships had ended and went sour. People who had walked away from him; regardless of his efforts to push them and despite his efforts to bring them back.

And then, in almost a twinkling of an eye, the voice spoke again.
Names.
Names of people who he had served… and looking around the crowd, he began to put faces to the names…
But there were some who he had no recollection of…
And also a name, of someone who he had not seen for a long, long time.
His face was not among the crowd.

It was the name of a man whom he’d done everything possible to bring him to know God’s love. He remembered the nights where he stayed up listening to the deepest hurts and pains, and the days of which frankly he wished he never met the man.
He was a hard man. But now: unseen.

As the man on trial scoured the crowd searching for this man, the voice said softly, "he’s not here. I’m sorry. It breaks my heart more than yours, more than the moments when I bore my cross…”

“So why did you mention his name?” the man interrupted, his eyes flowing with tears.

“Because I wanted to thank you. Thank you for being faithful when there was absolutely no reason to have faith. Thank you for believing when there wasn’t a shred of evidence or hope. Thank you, my good and faithful servant.”



Regardless of who walks through your doors this year, love them just like Christ loves them.

Keep on Keepin' on

This week is my first week back in the office from vacation.. and like many of you, I have no idea what I’m doing.
Today I’ve printed just about everything I’ve worked on during the summer, prepared to meet with two of the four teams I coach, and feel prepared but super unprepared all at the same time. The innermission team is comprised of 3 parents who are much smarter than me and have more experience. I feel like such a N00b...
In light of this, there were a few other “welcome back” things I received since I was away….

-a few leaders have bowed out gracefully. Amazing people. I thank God for their time spent here.
-still in shock from the passing of a friend and neighbour. My next door neighbour suffered a heart attack. I’ll miss him as he too worked in the ministry and understood some of the things I’ve gone through. He’d often joke with me, but more often encouraged me to keep on keeping on… I’ll miss him a lot.
-a few last minute things and requests have come up. Some of which I can work with, some I’ll have to say no to.

Although September might feel like a balancing act where you try to keep many plates spinning and up in the air, I want to encourage you to keep on keeping on. Paul writes in Philippians “I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to things ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus”…

Don’t let the past hold you back, but hold onto the call that God is leading you toward tomorrow.
Till next time

Making the Camp High Last All Year...

For those of us who aren’t slacking off in our offices, I salute you. Summer camp is great and was a highlight when I went as a child.
For those of you who are (like me), you know it’s not really slacking at all. Plan your work, work your plan, man!

Just a thought for those who are having conversations with your kids about the "camp high.”
I know that you’re having those conversations because we’re all having those conversations throughout the year.

If only winter retreat could be all year long
If only every week was like summer camp
If only I didn’t live at home with my parents or siblings
If only I lived in a christian home where everyone loved eachother…

Then I could live for Christ
Then I could stop using marijuana
Then I could open up and be me
Then I could deal with my bitterness and anger...

I’m sure you’ve heard it all..
And I’m sure, like me, you’ve tried to paint a better picture of hope, bunny rabbits and rainbows…

But what if the camp high was never meant to last?

What if we were meant to experience incredible mountain tops as much as we were meant to experience the times in the valley of the shadow of death?
What if we were meant to experience the gambit of emotions that come with having a vibrant spiritual life?
And what if we stopped trying to make the camp high last in order to help our kids survive during the low seasons of life?

Maybe then, God wouldn’t be this old bearded guy who hangs out with cute little bunny rabbits in the sky where everything was just peachy; but a God who would walk through every season of life with them, choosing to be as loud as a thunderstorm one moment and then as silent as an empty tomb the next.

Embrace life… all of it... cause it'll kill you if you don't.

Till next time,

L.E.A.D.

This week in my planning phase, there's a focus on leadership development. I'm sure you're wondering "shouldn't he focus on leadership development every week of the year?". Well, I do. Throughout the summer, it's a goal to meet with every volunteer youth worker who I serve with. But I also take time to review and look to the future of how we disciple our teenagers at LRC.

One thing that we've been big on over the past few years with our senior high youth group is "student leadership". Essentially, it's a handful of students in our ministry who say "I want to be discipled for one year and take part in serving at my youth group". These students go through a discipleship track throughout the year with myself and essentially run the show on friday nights. Without our student leaders, our youth group would be a bunch of adults spouting off a bunch of words to teenagers for a few hours, entertaining them here and there with a game or a movie and then telling them to go be entertained in big church when they graduate... and I'll stop my rant there.

Every year, I sit down and go over the leadership lessons that we go through once a month. Most of it is mishmashed from previous years and we do our best to teach biblical leadership with the least amount of extrabiblical heresy as possible. This year, I've developed an acronym for the word LEAD.
This year, our students will be learning that if they are going to lead, they are going to be

Learning that leadership is about learning from Jesus and from others.
Empowering other students to serve and be a part of their faith community.
Asking tough questions that challenge the status quo in order to do things better
Directing those who are watching and following them by not just "going" but "showing".

Think it'll work?

Till next time,

State of Youth Ministry in Canada

A few years ago i participated in a nation wide survey of youth pastors. The results were compiled into a book called "What's Happening: The State of Youth Ministry in Canada"
The book is packed full of stats, numbers and figures that you have to decipher for yourself... but loaded with truth and frightening outcomes.
Overall, it was encouraging to see a canadian statistic of what is happening in youth ministry locally and not just next door in america.
If you haven't heard of it, check out these videos. Ask yourself what resonates with you and your context and what doesn't. Make sure you watch both videos too, eh?

Something needs to change

As the summer is upon us, it’s time to reflect, review and seriously question our calling before jumping into another year. I love the summer for allowing time for that. It’s a process that takes more than a weekend and if you read previous posts, is a non-negotiable in our youth ministry year here at Lincoln Road Chapel.

One item up for review in today’s post is the way that we operate financially….

As a youth worker, I’m sure you’ve been introduced to the headache that money can add into any ministry dynamic. There are many contributors to this headache… here are just a few…
-when money is involved, there is always a chance that it can be mishandled… if you’ve been a youth worker for a while, you most likely know some folks who’ve been fired over an issue like this.

-when you have to collect for something, you often feel like a travel agent.

-when you have families with multiple students in your ministry, you most likely are aware of the strain that multiple events are putting on their finances.

-even when you give the blanket statement of “we’ll do anything to make sure your child can get to ________ (fill in the blank)”, you know there is a sense of shame that comes with not being able to provide like the other family down the road…

I’m sure there are many other contributing factors to this headache that you could add to the list… and here’s the tipping point for me this year…

When your ministry has even one event that is not affordable for a teen or family, you run the risk of segregating that family or teen for their whole tenure in your ministry.

I thought about continuing with this post, but I think I’ll end it there. We all can agree that you can never eliminate the financial aspect from what we do, but there are definitely ways to do things differently. For our student ministry team here at LRC, it means we’re continually cutting back on retreats and big events, supplementing them with other ways of doing youth ministry and ultimately seeking ways to reach teenagers with the love of Christ regardless of economic background… and that will never be done if we continue doing things the way we’re doing them now.

Something needs to change for us… what about you?

Closed For the Season

This week, 3 of our once a week programs are coming to an end.

Innermission: our more intense/study based junior high sunday school is ending for the year.
Xtreme Youth: our high energy, outreach focused evening finished last night.
LINK: our highschool no-one-can-stop-when-it-gets-going machine is coming to an close for the season on friday night.

When I was beginning my first summer here, I always questioned why we shut down...
That was until the fall came again. The benefits were huge. Here are just a few...

1. It gives regular leaders a break in order to preserve them for the next term. It's called Sabbath. God created it and said it was so important, it became a top ten issue in life.

2. It gives the leadership some time to reflect on the previous year and identify what was done right, and usually, what was done wrong and needs correcting.

3. It gives the point leader some time to spend in study and preparation to make sure that no one has the excuse to fly by the seat of their pants... that includes every leader and every student leader. In other words, when those you lead fail, it's usually because you have failed to lead them... so take the time to lead them well by being prepared.

4. It gives you time to connect with people... away from the programming and the events. Time to ask unrelated questions to "ministry" that often matter more to our students and adult leaders in our ministry-- questions that show that we're human, that we care and that this is more than just getting a job done, but is all about journeying through life as we chase after God's Spirit...

5. And finally, it gives you time to Selah-- you see it in the psalms. After something has happened or said, authors would pause and say "Selah"; which scholars have spent much time deliberating a meaning but come to this conclusion... Stop and listen... stop what you're doing for a moment and listen to the God of the universe whisper. It's during these momenets in which we often make some of the soundest, wisest and most important descisions that determine the outcome of our futures.

and isn't that worth the time to just slow down?

Till next time,

Living in the Moment

As youth workers, we live for the next event…
Some of us are planning a summer trip
Some of us are planning an end of the year bash.
Some of us are finishing the year strong…
And for some of us, we’re just hoping to survive june so we can sit down, lament where we’ve gone wrong and pray that God will not let catastrophe come upon us again.

It’s completely normal to have something to look forward to—be it summer, the next big thing or what’s around the corner…

But try not to forget the here and now.

This weekend, I enjoyed a weekend off with my family.

We went to a wedding.
We visited grandparents.
We went for breakfast with friends.

It was great.

And it was mainly because we chose not to worry about tomorrow.

Yes, there are many stacks of paperwork, lessons, obligations and such to worry about the day back in the office…

But for now, it’s best to enjoy the full portion of life. Tomorrow will come, but today will be lost if we disregard it. So, in light of that—go and enjoy your day wherever you are and with whatever you’re doing today.

Cause if you’re so stuck in tomorrow, you’ll slip out of today and miss the best times in life.

Reminds me of a thought in Ecclesiasties…

The best thing we can do is to enjoy eating, drinking, and working. I believe these are God's gifts to us,
and no one enjoys eating and living more than I do.
Ecc 2:24-25

Why Giving Away Leadership Is So Hard...

As I stepped into my position a few years ago at LRC, I was the jack of all trades. I led worship, I preached, I led bible studies, I led a group of student leaders, I led games and I took on extra commitments… and this was my job. Or so I thought.

The kicker was that I could actually get away with doing everything and making sure it was done right. Nothing was really being dropped and the ministry ran smoothly if I was the one doing it all…

And all my leaders and student leaders had to do was show up on their given night and look pretty.

The problem with this style of leadership, is that it’s not really leadership at all.

It’s just one person doing everything for everyone else.

And that’s not leadership.

What it looks like now…
Lately, I’ve been understanding my role as coach more than anything. As I’ve given leadership away, as doug fields would say “I’ve worked myself out of a job”… from the outsiders point of view anyways.

On Wednesday nights, our youth leaders (some who happen to be highschool students) run games and small groups. I will be responsible for curriculum and teaching, as well as other youth leaders will teach the odd night and I’ll basically be a helper during the evening. Our junior high kids love our youth leaders… not just the youth pastor. And when something comes up, PJ isn’t always expected to come to the rescue… it’s often another youth leader.

On Friday nights, senior high student leaders run the show. They do evangelism, they do worship leading, they do games, they do food. And they lead. And they lead very well.
What do I do? I coach. This year, we’ve got a team of 9 student leaders who I meet with once a month for leadership development. We also have a few adult leaders who are here to coach as well. As adult’s we’re there to cheer on our students as they succeed and we’re there to cheer them on as they work through failure. Does it mean everything will run just as smoothly and nothing will be dropped?
Not at all… but it does mean that leadership is being taught and our student leaders will be graduating to take their leadership to other areas within the church and outside of the church…not to mention A-1 adult youth leaders when they graduate.

On Sunday nights, our young adults take turns leading small groups and take part in planning. Some of them even tell me when I’m off my rocker and point out areas of improvement. Did I mention that the same student leaders who graduated highschool are now a part of this group as well?

Fears you face as you give away leadership
If you’re the one man or one woman show at your gig, I desperately plead with you to give away leadership. Even if you can handle it. It will better those you lead in the long run.
I know that as the lead person, you have fears.

You may be afraid that people will wonder what you do day in and day out.
You may be afraid that you won’t have anything to do… yeah right!
You may be afraid that something won’t go right and people will blame you for it.
You may be afraid that others will think you are lazy.
You may have ego issues because you have a vision for your ministry… re-read that last one and tell me what’s wrong with that statement!

But these fears are nothing compared to the joy of working with growing leaders who will one day do the same thing for others as you did for them…

Leadership is never a one man show. It’s all about taking a few, building into them and setting them out take on their world…

Till next time…

Superstar...

I’m sure as a youth worker, you’ve felt the crunch to give more.

-a previous program is failing, and you want to come to the aid.
-you see a hole within the ministry you run, or something that
would be a great addition.
-there’s a great opportunity, you just need to find the time and
you could be the right person for the job.
-if you just gave it one more night a week, you’d see so much more
change…

These past few years have been a learning curve for me. To be blunt, I’m a rookie. I’ve been at my church for 4 and a half years, but I’m still learning the tricks of the trade. And with many “opportunities” to do more and give more, I’m learning that although it’d be great to do so, I just can’t. I’m sure you’ve had similar feelings and experiences.

Here’s something I’ve learned over the past few years here…

If it’s really important and not in my sphere of influence (or timeframe), it might be in someone else’s

If it would be a great addition to your church or drop in centre but you feel the strain, there might be something worth dropping that just isn’t working.

If it didn’t work in the past and you’re stressing because you don’t have the “right” way to do it, it’s probably not going to work in the future. Sometimes it’s okay to give up and focus your time and energy somewhere where it will be useful.

If someone keeps saying “if only we had someone to do _________ (fill in the blank)”, they might be the best person for the job and you just need to affirm and encourage them to do it.

If you feel like you’re putting someone else’s amour on, you most likely are. Stop, assess at the giant in front of you and ask the God of the universe how He’d like the battle to be fought.

At the end of the day, you’re one person. You can only do so much. So you have a choice. You can trust that your effort will be used by God as you entrust your ministry to others; or you can burn out trying to be the superstar youth worker.

In the words of a good friend and beloved co-worker, Len Habermehl, “Set your course, then sail towards it.”

Till next time,

my biggest fear in youth ministry... pt 1

Just a teaser for today...

My biggest fear in youth ministry is not that 80% of the kids will walk out on Christ after highschool...

My biggest fear in youth ministry is that they won't even be able to find Him while they're here in our ministries...

Stick that in your pipe and smoke it for a while...

Till next time,

PJ

Challenges facing youth ministry

Today's post is a video by one of my favorite speakers and authors-- Mark O.
Marko used to be the president of YS in America and I met him last year at JR pitch. If you haven't read Youth Ministry 3.0, please do. It's a great, short read that's packed with great dialogue on where youth ministry was, is now and could be going...

anywho, give the video a look and ask if it applies to the setting in which you work in.

Till Next Time,

Behavioural Modification

I’ve got a confession…

I’m not always the best behavioural analysist…

As a youth worker, a part of our job is to see the behaviour of our teens and understand why they do the things that they do.

And I’m sure you’re great at it… Sometimes I am… Sometime’s I’m way off…

I remember a kid who came out about 3 years ago who acted out because he was looking for attention he wasn’t receiving from any other adult… that one was pretty straight forwards.

I also remember some kids who I thought I knew where they were coming from and I was totally wrong.

It happens when you work with adolescents. Sometime’s you’re right, sometime’s you’re wrong… and it’s okay to be wrong sometimes…

One thing that has been on my mind is the way in which we seek to modify the behaviour of our teens. If you’re a youth worker in the context of a faith based organization, you know exactly what I mean. Perhaps you even plan a conversation around these four goals

1. What do I want them to know
2. What do I want them to feel
3. What do I want them to do
4. How would I like to see them behave over time

These questions aren’t new. They’re right out of the textbooks you most likely used in your training as a youth worker…

When I started here at LRC, I understood this to mean that it was my job to change the behaviour of our teens. If they were talking in church, it meant that I wasn’t doing my job. If they talked through Sunday’s sermon, it meant that I wasn’t teaching them to listen. And if cursed like sailors (which some of our kids do), it meant that I wasn’t doing my job as their youth pastor.

I think you could answer either way with valid points. But let me ask a few more questions to consider as you look at behaviour modification…

What if our role was to enable our teens to follow Jesus Christ within the context that they lived in… meaning we weren’t telling them ditch their schoolmates and only hang out with Christian friends…

What if our role wasn’t to focus on the language they used that was “bad” (and I know we’re all sick of the mom jokes); but to enable them to communicate their faith in which would bring a change in their friends lives?

What if our job was not to turn them into their parents, but to help them find out who God created them to be… even if it means that they’re rough around the edges?

Just some things that have been on my mind lately…

Till next time…

Knowing vs Believing

This month in our student ministries we've been teaching about biblical wisdom. Using the basic definition of wisdom: Knowledge Applied; we've been looking at Matt 7:24-27, Judges 13, etc.

One theme that seems to be surfacing over and over again seems to be the difference between knowledge and wisdom.

Knowledge: would mean an objective understanding of a specific topic. I know that africa exists. I've seen it on a map. I know people who have come from africa. I know it's hot, has both rainforests and deserts and is a massive land.

Wisdom: in a sense, would mean a subjective experience within that specific topic. As I know that a place like africa exists, I would then visit it to get to know the people, the faces, the stories and walk the land.

Through the exercise of wisdom, I would then come to a real belief that africa is a beautiful place. Not only would I have seen it on a map, but i could point out where I have been, what I like about the place and why it has a special place in my heart.

Maybe this is what the disciple whom Jesus loved (John) was getting at when he wrote the gospel of John. To john, belief was so much more than simply knowing the truth. Belief was all about that which we have touched, seen, spoke with, walked with, risked with...

The hurdle now for us as youth workers is to actively believe in a God who makes contact every day with us as adults in the real world. And as we model it for our students, to encourage them not in knowing about a God who will change their lives; but to come to a solid belief after they have themselves had seen, spoke with, walked with and risked with the very same God who we have devoted our lives to chasing after will journey with them as He had journied with us in the past.

If you are a youth worker and you are reading this now, I pray that you will experience the same joy that I do as we reach our kids for the Kingdom and not just know, but believe that He will make a huge difference through you.

Until next time,

Generation How

To be honest, I don't know where or how this will fit into the book, but it was a thought worth blogging...


Over the past two years I've really been wrestling with the way we teach in our churches today. For the most part, southern ontario (and alot of Canada) is filled with intellectual thinkers. The CTV News recently had a report saying that just about half of our canadian adults have attended some form of post secondary education at some point and the number is increasing... however, fewer and fewer of these people are actually using their degrees and diplomas... but that's another rant..

With the fact that our culture is of the "information age", the key questions many seem to be asking are "what and why". Enter the preacher.

On sunday morning, many (but not all) sermons seem to have a focal point of "why this is an important topic of discussion" or "what should we think or do". Don't believe me? Ask for your local pastor's past sermon notes or if you're lucky, listen online. I can bet that about 80% of your material is on the cerebal "this is what it means".

Not saying that there's anything wrong with explaination. However, for the past two years, I've really been wresting with the question that alot of younger people are asking... "HOW"?

How does this fit into my life today?
How does this apply to me?
How do I live this out in my school, home, relationships?
How do I relate to this God when all I'm learning is why I should think this way or what I should be thinking?

What does this mean to youth workers?

Maybe instead of explaining why or what, we need to be modeling the "How" before anything.

See Deut. 6 or many examples in the gospels of when Christ Himself would model the "How" and afterwards, people would ask the "why" or "what".

I'm sure this will solidify into a concrete thought later on, but for the time being; here's my train of thought...

If I've taught my students about God; I've simply filled their minds with information that will be great for showing off how smart they are...
But If I've brought my students to God, showing them HOW to relate to Him; maybe they'll be better equipped to face their world with more than words... but a life that's empowered and fueled by the Holy Spirit's presence...

Till next time kiddos,

Parents

this one's a short slice from a portion on teamwork. enjoy.

One thing that I can’t stress enough is the fact that youth ministry is like an iceberg—you only see 10% of the mass!
I’ve been in a few youth ministry situations where parents are seen as either the good guys or the bad guys.

Deut 6 tells us that youth ministry primarily belongs to the parents… and as youth workers, we need to get that past our north American ideology of ecclesiology. Perhaps, as the traditional pastoral staff, we need to understand their role as parents and our role as pastors. Their role is found in deut 6. Our role is found in Eph 4 (equipping the saints for ministry).
When it comes to parenthood, every parent stands as a minister to their child. It is our job to help them do their job.

Takes a village to raise a child… and to our advantage, parents are great youth workers to other kids who see them as parents as well. I don’t know how many times kids say “I love Mrs. Mclaclyn because she’s like the mom I never had”.

Perhaps we need to realize that parents are the most underutilized youth workers in the church. They’ve been doing it for years more than the hired hand, so why not invest in some seasoned help?

How's it going?

Sorry it's been spurratic bloggers!
This past weekend's retreat was great! thanks goes out to the team that I work with both students and leaders who made it what it was. A great moment came last thursday when I felt the Holy Spirit tell me to stop trying to perfect everything and just trust Him. Spent the weekend doing just that.

Something I've been thinking about lately is the phrase "how's it going?".
I think I'm going to stop asking people this unless I really have the time. For many of us (myself included), it's a standard greeting to validate someone's presence and say "I'm glad to see you", but in reality, when we say it to eachother, it's more fake than anything.

What does this have to do with our student ministries?

EVERYTHING

It's not OK.

Today I watched a child fall flat on his face.

It's not that I didn't want to help him or that I was hoping he'd fall, like we often do while watching stunts... I just wasn't there to catch him.

As his mom came up behind him, I kept hearing her repeat "It's okay, It's okay".

For the most part, when kids fall, they're fine. I have a two year old. I know this well...

But for many kids in our ministries, they fell and it wasn't okay.
Are any of the kids you know coming to mind yet?

Too often, we overlook hurts and habits that our kids are stuck in; assuming they'll be okay.

And they won't. The wounds that they collect through life will turn into scars and will leave marks that will haunt them.

That is-- unless we help them deal with it.

Some of your kids need to be told that it wasn't okay for someone to abuse them.

Others need to be told that although God has forgiven the things that they regret, they need to talk it out with someone in order to heal.

And still, others need to hear directly from you that you made a mistake and it's not okay that you did or said something that hurt them.

And it's not OK for issues like that to be overlooked.

When your kids fall, its ok for them to cry for a while. But then, it's up to you to walk through life's problems with them.

Because that is what Jesus Christ is calling us to do.

Success

Success

How do you measure success in youth ministry?

Typically, it seems to be measured in differing aspects…

- 50 kids attended the evening session… counting the toddlers of the
volunteers
- 10 community kids showed up
- The girls stopped texting during the lesson.
- Little johnny discovered deodorant
- Nobody broke bones or limbs. WIN!
- 2 kids got saved at the retreat
- 120 kids are involved on a regular basis.

Each of these items in their own way could be considered a success… but how exactly would you rate the success of the ministry that you are a part of?

Often times, I find our youth ministries playing the numbers game. The whole idea came out of the late 80s and has been rampant ever since—that a good church is a growing church and a growing church is filled with hundreds and thousands of people. You can relate this same mindset to the youth ministry that you run and your local youth centre. I’ve even had a few friends who felt the pressure to play by the game. Numbers are recorded weekly and the tone of the comments are usually determined by the higher or lower score. If you are in a position like this right now, my condolences.

But do you ever rate the success of your ministry on the number of kids who come through the doors of your workplace?

Other times, success is based upon the number of kids who get saved throughout your year.

In the past year in our student ministries, 3 of our students publically made a first time stand for Christ. A few junior high's got saved for the 13th time. Each student had spent over a year in our ministry and made the choice that they wanted to be followers of Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord.

But is that how we measure how successful we are in our ministries?

Sometimes, success could be measured by the number of leaders are serving within your context.

We currently have 10 student leaders and 15 adult leaders serving within our student ministries.

Is that how you measure how successful you are as a leader?

In any of these areas, you can agree or disagree of how valid or weighty each aspect is to the success of your ministry, but when it’s all said and done, the only aspect I can truly say is of my own effort is if I have done what God has asked me to do in the place in which He has called me to.

Every other success belongs to God and the blessing and responsiblity should be counted as such.

So, are you being faithful to God and His Word in leading the ministry you are a part of?

refuel and refresh

just spent a week resting and visiting family. as i look forward to january (one of the heaviest months of the year in terms of workload), I'm glad that i took a solid week to rest and refresh myself. In a few days, i'll be hitting the ground running and you'll find an update every thursday morning. Looking forward to another year with you!