Always With You?

When you start talking about poverty, a lot of Christians immediately think of the words of Jesus (from Matthew 26), "You will always have the poor among you..." There seems to be a sense of hopelessness to be able to do much about it. Kind of like we're all just thinking, "Some people have a lot, some people don't have much at all... that's just the way it goes." But is that the way it should go? Is that His "will on earth as it is in heaven?" Was Jesus telling His disciples to waste their resources on extravagant gifts for him (like the alabaster jar of expensive perfume that "could have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.") and not worry about the poor, because, "Hey, they're still going to be there tomorrow, right..."?

Who are we to argue with the very words of Jesus? But was He really saying what we seem to think He was saying? Have we maybe misunderstood because we don't hear those words in their context? Or, even worse, are we guilty of twisting Jesus' words to justify the pleasures to which we think we are entitled? Is there some latent greed within us driving us to hoard all we can get a hold of and let everyone else fend for themselves?

"You will always have the poor among you..." Jesus was scolding His indignant disciples who were mad about a woman's "waste" and seeming lack of concern for the poor. But Jesus next words may surprise you: "but you will not always have me." Jesus saw her act as an anointing in preparation for His burial. So, even though any money gained from the sale of the perfume could have gone to the poor, this woman had chosen something more important. What are we doing with our resources that is more important than ending extreme poverty?

Right now, I can't help but think of the upcoming Christmas season. I remember coming across a statement at Advent Conspiracy's site a couple years ago about how Americans spend about $450 Billion each year at Christmas to "celebrate the birth of Jesus". Holy holly, that's a lot of tinsel and presents... but at least some of it could have been a lot of food for the hungry or clean water for the thirsty. One of those two possibilities is pretty important to the man whose birth we celebrate, but if you want to see some "indignant disciples" today, just suggest to your church friends and family that you want them to donate whatever they would have spent on a gift for you instead of buying you that gift.

I don't think it has to be one or the other (live comfortably or help those in need), but I can no longer pretend these are Jesus' only words about how I should think of the poor. What about what He had to say about how those gathered in Matthew 25 had treated "the least of these"? What about all the talk of the minor prophets about justice and mercy for the widow and the orphan? The way we think and what we do about extreme poverty does matter to God. He loves those people, just as He loves us.

"But wait, Mike... what they really need is Jesus. We need to tell them about Jesus." While I agree wholeheartedly with that statement, they also need food and shelter and water. Both needs are significant, and the church is equipped to address both sides of this issue. Watch this video and let me know what you think.

Coldwater Apps

Last summer, our youth ministry did a mission trip called coldwater. Basically, we packed up a van, truck, and camper and headed to an unknown destination to do whatever work we could find - small acts of relief for people who matter to God. We won't be making that trip quite the same way this summer, but we will be incorporating the concept this year through 'coldwaters apps'.

We're applying the same attitude of service, and showing people they matter.

Tomorrow will be our first official coldwater app. We'll be fixing up a yard that needs mowed and weeded at 9:30. If you want to help, meet me at the church building a little before 9:30. Bring some work gloves or rakes or just yourself! Don't get bent out of shape if you can't make it this time; there will be more. Call me if you need some details. (But remember, this is still coldwater, so there aren't many details to go around!)

Life's a Mission Sermon Audio

Here is the audio from Sunday's coldwater wrap up sermon. I didn't want to just have the dog and pony mission trip report, but to challenge the congregation to acts of service similar to what we did on the trip. Hopefully that came through - LIFE IS A MISSION. We are not home, we are on the mission field! God is at work. We are His co-workers. It's time for the Bride of Christ to take seriously the mission of Christ to reconcile humanity to the Father of Christ.

I left the audio in from a Steve Fee song that played during offering because I love the song (Burn for You). Shane had chosen the song and it provided a great platform to jump from as we dove into sharing the coldwater experience and 2 Cor. 5:17-6:2. Couldn't have chosen a more fitting song. It led me to the question, will we really go anywhere and do anything for the sake of Christ - or would we rather just go to church? (I also left the audio from the coldwater photo-show - it's Lecrae's "Send Me" from the video in the last post. Our trip's unofficial theme song!)

On an evaluative note, anybody else feel like I talked way too slowly? Yikes.

coldwater video

This is the video we'll be showing Sunday to go along with talking about coldwater. The trip was great, this song became sort of an unofficial theme song, and if you missed it you missed out! But since life is a mission, there's still time so get to work...

Life's a Trip

I like it when something significant comes out of my mouth without my first formulating the thought into words. My thought editing process can distill my intended message so much that it's castrated, robbed of any potency the message may have had. I don't want to be a jerk about things, but sometimes, I try too hard to say things politely (thanks, mom!).

During our staff meeting today, I had one of those moments where things came out right. I was talking about the way we went around during the coldwater mission, looking for some way to serve and open to just about anything. Why don't we do that normally? Why don't we go to our jobs and schools and homes and hangouts... looking for any possible way to be of service?

Willie commented on how we don't have that mindset because we get too busy 'at home'... too caught up in our own lives. We can set all that aside for a week long "mission trip" but often fail to do so in our normal day to day living.

Before I knew what was coming out of my mouth, I heard myself saying "But, my whole life is supposed to be a mission trip!" (or something close to that) We have, too often, bought into a screwed up idea of 'home'. If you are in Christ, YOU ARE NOT HOME! (unless you've already died and Heaven has some sweet wi-fi hot spots, that for some reason you're using to check this blog) You're not supposed to be 'too busy' to notice the needs of the people you share air with. You're not supposed to be so wrapped up in your own life that you don't see the dead people walking all around you. You're supposed to be on a 'mission trip' - seeking out those who are merely 'breathing to death' and taking them to Jesus to be resuscitated!

Stop complaining about your job and how you don't make enough money - go there to make disciples, instead! Quit whining about having to go back to school and make the most of that opportunity to connect with people that don't know Jesus and show them they matter to Him! Stop moaning and groaning about how boring church is and realize YOU ARE THE CHURCH... so don't be boring!

[My filter is telling me to tone down that last paragraph, but honestly...]

I see a lot of people right now who are diving into the 'mission life' mentality. It's exciting to see so many friends taking seriously the example of Jesus as He picked up a towel and started washing feet. Today, we are picking up garbage and sandpaper, paintbrushes and shovels, Bibles and moving carts. We are watching for places to paint and people to love - begging God to show us how and whom we can help next. We are looking for ways to let people see the Kingdom that is unseen - because that is our home. HE IS OUR HOME! We're learning that our lives are a mission trip - His mission trip into His creation to reveal His Kingdom and win back the hearts of His people...

Hope wherever you are, you join the trip...

coldwater coincidence???

I get really skeptical when someone starts talking about secret codes in the Bible and the significance of numbers here and there, etc. I'm not the kind of person that 'looks for signs' all the time. But there were a number of things that we came across in the course of coldwater that some may call 'coincidence' and some may call God at work verifying what He was doing... Here's a list, but I'll leave it up to you to decide: God or coincidence?

- Biblical numbers (12 team members on Monday/7 for the week)

- We drew 144 miles the first day. At mile 144, we found Grant, NE - which happens to have a sign next to the railroad that simply says "GRANT 144".

- We drew 257 miles on Wednesday, which led us to Fairmont, where there is a mile marker 257.

- One team member stated before leaving that He wanted to see a day where God just provided everything... How 'bout free tent space and 3 free meals!

- Meeting a kid at the Grant pool who used to live in Scottsbluff.

- Landing in a town where Greg had worked (actually after spending the week traveling, this may just be a product of Greg working everywhere!)

- Finding an "Andrews" grave marker as we turned around in a little cemetery (good reminder - we'll all be there someday!)

- New Life's church sign echoing my earlier message to the students: "Listen for God to speak to you." (Hope you guys finish what's being started there Vince...)

- Andrew throwing up dog biscuit at the gas station (Ok, it probably wasn't a coincidence or God working, but it's just so fun to mention!)

I'm sure there were more that I'm not thinking of right now. Help me out guys, what did I miss? (Click on 'comment' and add your thoughts..)

coldwater improvements

Thinking of a few things that could be better next time we do coldwater...

- Shorter distance options later in the week - or staying in one town the whole time.

- Learning how to know when to stop working when you're working on a project that has no (or an unreachable) end...

- We lost a little focus Wednesday - maybe due to travel/fatigue, but needed to do something to keep focused.

- Could have done a better job with a more regular, scheduled devotion/journaling time. (Though we did make good use of a lot of 'teachable moments' I think.)

- Wish we could have traveled in one vehicle.

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Those of you who went: use the comments section and tell me what you think could be better next time.

coldwater journal entry

Since I wasn't able to post updates here too often last week, I thought I'd share some thoughts about the mission trip to start this week. I'll start with a modified journal entry from Tuesday that sums up the first days of our trip.

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It's been a great trip so far. We started off Monday morning spinning Southeast and drawing 144. We headed out through Bridgeport and had a tire blow out near Lake McConaughy. Only took 12 minutes to change - not NASCAR, but pretty good! We stopped in Ogallala and got a new tire and went and had lunch in Carrie's (my sister-in-law) yard. Got back onto the road and finished the driving portion of the day in Grant, NE

(mile 144 was right at the entrance to the golf course on the edge of town).

We drove around for a couple minutes and stopped at a park and divided into 3 groups to cover the town. (We prayer walked the town looking for some ways to serve.) The population of Grant is about 1200 or so, so we can walk the whole town. Two of the groups noticed the building of New Life Fellowship Church. I went inside and poked around a bit, but didn't find anyone there. We were attracted by the sign that asked? "Are you listening for God to speak to you?"

[As a rule, I hate church signs with their cute little sayings that no one outside the initiated really get, but this one was great.] Kim's group was near the same church building later and met the pastor (Vince) who knew of someone in the historical society (Brenda) that might need some help.

They are restoring a house to be a museum - so we ended up scraping wallpaper for them. I hate scraping wallpaper. (The house was a lot like the parsonage we lived in when we first started in ministry. It, too was covered with wallpaper. I hate scraping wallpaper so much that I just painted over it there!) I am just too much of a perfectionist to feel like I'm making any progress. My perfectionism can cripple me, but it can also help me do things well - I may have been moving slowly, but my section was CLEAN.

It was awesome to see Brenda (from the historical society) and Vince's reactions. Vince and his wife made us dinner and are making plans to help with the project. Brenda has been grateful for the help and also the attention that's been drawn to the museum's need for help (she bought us lunch the next day). The paper came to take some pictures and word spread around town.

We finished up two rooms, then visited the pool Tuesday afternoon. After cleaning up, we went back to the gas station for supper (yes, I said "gas station for supper") then went around town and took a few pictures and hung out at a local youth center. It was a pretty cool place and really makes me wonder what kind of response and impact we could have at WestWay with that type of approach to youth ministry...

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In defense of his prior actions, Andrew gave us the quote of the week Tuesday night: "I only threw up because I ate a dog biscuit." Security camera video of "the incident" was simply incredible! You haven't lived until you've seen a kid toss his dog biscuit via closed circuit video... Thank you In and Out night shift!

Coldwater Wednesday

Today was a long one. We got up and went into the gas station for breakfast (which you can only do right in small town America!) and, after we'd eaten, went out to the parking lot to spin a direction and draw some mileage. It was feast or famine in the mileage department - lots of high numbers and 2 that would have had us staying in Grant. 257 was the number that Smashley drew, so we went back and packed up the tents and everything and headed East. With several stops and a little indecision about where exactly to stop, we got to Fairmont, NE late in the afternoon. Mile 257 from where we left the campground this morning was just at the edge of town, and there is a mile marker 257 along the highway in town as well. I also noticed a ton of gas stations where gas was $2.57. I hope someone finds some significance in that number because it made for a long day!

We didn't take the most direct route today, thinking the roads would be better. The roads were ok, but it was all hills. The truck pulling the camper was getting pretty hot pulling all the weight. By about 150 miles, everyone was saying we should just go back to Grant. It was fun getting to know a few people there and making connections... It's amazing the way a little dog biscuit vomit at the gas station can draw people together! (Ask me later - short version is that the quote of the week was Andrew, defensively: "I only puked because I ate a dog biscuit!")

While the 257's everywhere may have seemed confirmative, our initial foray into Fairmont was less reassuring. We saw very few people around town and not much movement. We stopped and I talked to a lady who was scraping and powerwashing paint off a house, but she was about to stop for the day and wouldn't be back tomorrow, so she said she couldn't really use our help. She did give me the name of the director of the senior center in town and pointed out her house. She said she didn't know anyone who could use any help either, after listening politely to my explanation. There was a house with trim that was half painted, so Andrew went to the porch to see if we could help them finish, but there was no answer. Despite the lack of success finding something we could help with, we prayerfully pulled into the nursing home I'd noticed on our drive through town. Micah and I talked to a nice guy inside who gave us the name of the activities director. He said if we could come in the morning she could get us in touch with the residents and have some visiting and stuff for us to do. (Either that or he was thinking he'd pawn off these wackos on the day shift!)

Finding nowhere to stay in Fairmont, we drove North a little bit and are staying in York - in beds - with hot showers. Everyone's a little worn from the day and getting on each other's nerves a little bit, but a little pool time seems to have mellowed things in time for bed. And speaking of bed, there's a stack of pillows calling me...
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It was a funny dynamic this morning, drawing a distance to see where we'd be going. No one really wanted to leave Grant, but we felt like we should give God the chance to move us if he wanted to. He did (unless you want to just say it was random chance). No one really pouted, but there definitely was kind of that "Aww, man..." disappointment. Good to see the willingness to do what God wanted even if it wasn't what we might have chosen to do on our own. I pray that the students would always have the attitude that they'll do what He wants.

Coldwater Update

Hi. Sorry for the lack of prior updates. Wi-fi wasn't to be found by my laptop and Verizon and Blogger apparently don't speak the same language! (The last update was sent to my blog via my phone.)

The trip has gone really well. Grant was a nice little town and we stayed busy. I'll post more later, but right now I'm in the McCook library while the group is making sandwiches in the park across the street (which has the most awesome playset I've ever had the pleasure of climbing over!). We're on our way East, with about 160 miles to go today - we decided last night to draw again this morning and ended up with 257 miles and East-southeast. I'll let you know where we end up via twitter updates (which appear on the left bar of this screen - or you can follow @6drews on twitter, itself). Just for the record, we all liked Grant - as evidence by the zero, and 1/2 distances that we put in the cup (I had the students write down a number and stick it in a cup for today's distance) - we'll miss you Grant...

Time to hit the road. Keep praying for safe travel, and also for a student who's having a hard time back home right now, and for Randy and Tessa and their family (who were not able to make it to join us today because of a death in the family). Thanks.

Last minute thoughts before coldwater

Some quick, parting thoughts before I go...

-I hate packing.

-What kind of rational human being packs up for a week long youth ministry road trip without any idea where he'll be going? (If you just read that and thought "rational people don't go on youth ministry trips of any kind", you should stop seeing this young generation as trouble and get to know them - they will amaze you!)

-What kind of parents let their kids take a week long road trip without any idea where they'll be going? (Thank you parents for being awesome, God seeking individuals, for praying your kids will be the same, and for trusting me with them for this week!)

-I forgot towels. (I always forget towels!)

-I don't know why we don't have video monitors and couches in the lobby yet.

-Glad I remembered towels before we left.

-I hope it doesn't rain and soak the tents on the first day out!

-Praying for God to use this time to strengthen His Kingdom - within our group and within the communities we visit and homes we work in.

-I hate cold showers.

-Cash for clunkers is a stupid name for a stupid program... and I wish I had ten thousand dollars sitting around so I could replace my 4runner with a brand new Avenger without having car payments again - thanks to Chrysler's doubling of the gov money. Does that make me a bad person?

-I may be certifiably insane.... Dad???

-Should've made t-shirts (about coldwater, not about being crazy)

-Can't wait to see what God is going to do this week!!!

coldwater in 5, 4, 3...

I'm really excited for next week's mission trip to "somewhere". There is something about jumping into the unknown in order to serve God by serving people He loves that has always appealed to me. I don't want to have all the answers. I don't want my life to be all orderly and tied up with a nice little bow.

It's been fun to explain coldwater when people ask where we're going. "We don't know yet." is my usual response.

"Oh... don't you think you should decide pretty soon?"

"We'll know on Monday!"

"Oh... when are you leaving?"

"Monday."

"ummm.... uh....."

"Exactly." [By the way, yesterday, we found the spinner that will be used to determine which direction we travel - it's from a Mickey Mouse game my kids have!] We are counting on God to get us where He wants us to be...

Yes, I'm aware of the random nature of a spinner and drawing numbers out of hats. But I wonder if the nature of discipleship is less ordered than we might think? I wonder if we've lost our awareness of God at work in our haste to meet Him "at church" once a week? (sidenote - What a stupid phrase: "at church" - church is not a place!) When Paul ended up in Macedonia, was it because everything went according to plan? Or did He notice God wanting to do something else, and faithfully respond to His Spirit? Not just for this trip, but for life, may we be so responsive to the leading of the Spirit of Jesus.

Please be praying for Sam, Andrew, Micah, Jadie, Ashley, Greg, and I - the coldwater team. We want to humbly serve wherever we can. I'll try to keep things updated here next week and let you know where we're going and what we're doing - if we end up somewhere with service! Also pray for parents and families of those of us going - we'll try to keep you as informed as we can.

Another One Bites the Dust

Just got a call from another student who is dropping out of the coldwater mission next week. Ironically, the call came while I was in the middle of a discussion about students dropping out of the mission. I know this will be an experience like no other. I know this trip will stretch us in ways that are uncomfortable, but which will bring us to a deeper reliance on God.

That's why Satan is using so many sneaky ways to convince my kids not to come. He fears what God can do. He hates the idea of young people putting themselves aside in order to serve someone else. He can't stand the thought of someone getting a glimpse of the love of God for them, through the efforts of a bunch of students. So he's doing whatever he can to snuff out the initial excitement that was raised months ago when we first starting working toward this mission. And one by one, they drop.

Please pray for our students - both those who are going and those who are not. Pray for my attitude toward the students who choose not to go. Many have great, legitimate reasons for not going. Some have the most pathetic excuses I've ever heard (seriously, I can't write some out without laughing out loud - maybe later). Some students are not ready or called to go and serve on this mission - others are willfully ignoring the good they can do. Pray that I reflect Christ in my approach to each individual.

The way this is shaping up, I know God is working on something awesome. I wish some of the students who will be missing could experience it, but I'm very thankful for those who will and looking forward to working together to reveal God. I'm excited for coldwater. Excited to serve together and spend some great time being the church.

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If you're one of my students who's dropped from the trip or the parent of one, please don't make this post cause you to feel guilty about your choice. That is not my intent - I don't ever want to use guilt to motivate you. I understand that you have other things to take care of. Please be praying for those of us who are going - and feel free to join us for the local road cleanup Sunday night at 7:00 starting here at our building, also talk to Marshall and see if you can help serve food Thursday night while we're gone. God still loves you and so do I - don't let Satan win in your life.

Time to Work

After two weeks of camp, I'm back in the office today. I enjoyed both weeks, but I'm tired. Honestly, I could use a break, but the mission trip is coming in two weeks and there are still some loose ends to tie up before then - plus all the wrap up from camp (reports and gathering up the last of the late payments, etc.).

This last week, I took some good time to reflect on where I'm at and where my ministry is headed. There's some stuff there that I don't really like. Not sure what to do about it, but could definitely use your prayers for wisdom, the humility to recognize it as wisdom, and the courage to do something about it when wisdom has been made known...

Meanwhile... there is some awesome stuff happening that is really exciting. People are tired of sitting 'in church' and are trying to figure out how to 'be the church'. I love that - I pray that more people would stop 'going to' church! It's awesome to see God moving in His people, stirring them to service through things like the soup kitchen (which has seen more people volunteer in the last 3 or 4 months than I remember seeing in the last 3 years), Habitat for Humanity (we had a group putting up a roof, installing insulation, and painting a home last weekend), and stocking our community food pantry.

Also, I'm really excited about the Coldwater mission. This trip is going to stretch our group like nothing we've done before now. Faith is not mindlessly assenting to the evidence at hand - it is being certain of what we do not see. I am certain that God is at work in this world. It is time for us to exercise our faith and join Him in His work.

Hitting High Gear

Tons of stuff going on in the next few weeks. If there's a 'busy season' in youth ministry this is mine! (Actually there are 4 busy seasons in youth ministry, each about 13 weeks long with a 7 second break in between.)

Next week, I'll be leading worship for high school camp, so this week I'm getting the last few things ready for that - actually had some fun practicing this morning with everything but a bass player. Looking forward to the week.

We'll get home Friday and get to see some great friends and family that weekend. I'm really looking forward to them being here because we really haven't gotten together for a long time. Just wish I could be here the whole time they're here.

I'll turn around on Sunday and head back to camp for Jr. High week. I'm teaching a class that week, so I still have some stuff to prepare for that, too!

Following those two weeks, I'll send my daughter off to her own week of camp, and spend that week and the next pulling together the last few strings of the most exciting effort we've had to date in the youth ministry here. After HeavenFest on August 8th, we're embarking on an adventure called coldwater. You may have read about it here already, but basically we're taking a mission trip with no agenda. We don't know where we're going. We don't know what we're doing. We are begging God to lead us to the poeple and communities that He needs us to be in. I'm more excited about this trip than anything we've done in the last few years!

You might think that a trip like this would require little planning, but you would be wrong. I'm definitely feeling the crunch right now - to be ready for... anything.

Random? or not so much?

"What we might think of as a random outreach is anything but random when God is guiding it." - Dino Rizzo

This quote from Servolution is perfect for our upcoming coldwater mission. We are going to draw a direction or maybe spin a compass or something to "randomly" choose a direction. Then we'll pull a number out of a hat to "randomly" choose a distance. We'll drive. We'll pray. We'll serve. We are going to have to trust God to guide us to the people and places that need us. And that is where the randomness is anything but random. God is already at work in each of the places we'll go. Like a matching set of magnets, He is already working to draw together the capacity of our group and the needs of the people and communities we'll visit.

There was pretty good feedback from the meeting last night and I'm really looking forward to the group taking shape. I want to make sure that God is putting this team together and praying that He will convince each person He wants to come. No coercion, no manipulation - just an invitation to join God in His mission to restore humanity to His Kingdom.

Student ministry always has had an air of flexibility for me. There's always been an extent to which I've just had to roll with the tide and change plans quickly when needed. Honestly, that's one of the most attractive aspects of youth ministry for me. But nothing I've ever done in youth ministry has ever felt or seemed as "random" as this. Nothing has had more potential to allow us to see beauty birthed from chaos so immediately and tangibly.

I hope you'll join us in praying for coldwater - above all, that God is guiding and that we are following. May we see Him in whatever random chaos we jump into!

Find Some Suffering

We typically want to avoid suffering don't we? I mean, on a personal level, most of us don't want to suffer. We often even take that another step and avoid others who are suffering. Jesus was definitely counter to this part of our culture.

He expected to suffer. He even promised his disciples that they would suffer. (Which begs the question: If disciples suffer, and we avoid suffering at all costs - are we really disciples?) But not only that, Jesus sought out those who were suffering. He left his Father's side (where He was not suffering) to enter a world full of suffering. He noticed the suffering in the crowds that gathered around him.

In our nation, today, do we seek out the suffering? Or do we avoid those parts of town? Do we drive around the "bad neighborhoods" where we know we'll see someone "less fortunate" than ourselves? Compassion recently partnered with Nooma to make a short film called Corner that hits on this issue. In the video, there is a line that suggests that we "find some suffering and do something about it."

I want to suggest the same. I need to give up my American dreams of comfort and ease and "seek first the kingdom of God". Maybe you do to. Maybe we need to recognize that as some of the most wealthy people in the world (yes, even in this economy that is supposedly in the tank, the lower middle class of America is more wealthy than about 95% of the rest of the world), we can do something about much of the suffering we see (if we will indeed see it).

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Like many people I can tend to point out problems much more quickly than offer solutions. But here are a few links and ideas to help us "find some suffering and do something about it":

The coldwater mission later this summer is all about revealing the Kingdom by serving people that have needs our group can meet. Join us...

Compassion - sponsor a child

Kiva - micro loans you give to help someone escape poverty

Help with a soup kitchen

Donate some clothes

TOMS shoes - for every pair of shoes bought, a pair are given free to someone who needs them

Get a couple friends and clean up someone else's yard

Visit people in the hospital and nursing homes - give them the gift of being there

Use your imagination - share some more ideas in the comments section - how could you find some suffering and do something about it?

Roadside Cleanup

Last night about a dozen of us went out and cleaned up trash on the roadside. We were assigned a stretch of road that actually includes the area right out in front of the church property, so that was pretty convenient. It's a funny thing, picking up someone else's trash.

I didn't make the mess...

It's not my responsibility...

No one picks up after me...

I'm challenging our students to look for practical ways to be useful in the community. It's not enough for us to just say that Jesus cares about people. We have to show them that we care. In the stretch of road that we covered we picked up a whole bunch of evidence that people don't care. People don't care what the community looks like - so they throw their garbage out the car window. There are so many other ways that people say they don't care about each other, about God, about even themselves.

To a world that doesn't care about anything, what does it say when the church says "We care."?

A Story in Progress...

A couple months ago, I made this video to talk about the vision for our student ministry. I used a song from The Glorious Unseen as background music, but when I put the video on facebook it got dumped for copyright violation.

I did some checking and learned that there really was no violation, but fb never responded to my contesting of the violation. The process, though, led me to e-mail Ben Crist, the writer of the song and lead singer of the band. I figured, hey, it's his song - if he doesn't want me to use it, I won't.

He was fine with me using it though, and in e-mailing back and forth he mentioned playing here sometime. I found out that they will be in Denver in August, so I asked if they may be able to come here after Heavenfest (where they'll be playing).

Just got an e-mail from Ben today that we're trying to work out everything to bring them here on the Sunday right after the festival. This would be awesome, and would let us have a worship concert with them that night as a send off for coldwater, a mission trip I'll be leading some students on this summer. I'm excited about this confluence of events a week into August. The week following August 8th could have HUGE implications for the future of this ministry. coldwater will be unlike anything else we've ever done, and has the potential to lead us to seek the heart of God more deeply than we ever have before. Please be praying that God would lead as we spend the summer gearing up for coldwater.

A Coldwater Mission

Exciting things are happening in our student ministry. God is motivating leaders and students alike to reveal His kingdom to those around us. Reading through Matthew 10 this morning (thanks Jimmy), I noticed something that really got me thinking. Jesus was sending His disciples away from Him on a mission. He gave them some pretty amazing authority to back up the message they were carrying: that "the kingdom of heaven has come near."

The thing that sparks my curiosity this morning is how he sent them out with no provisions aside from the mission itself and the ability to carry it out. They weren't supposed to just go shout on the street corners - they were actually to do useful things to benefit the people of the region: things like getting rid of demons and illnesses and bringing people back to life (pretty useful if you're dead, I'd say!).  They were not to take extra money or clothes or shoes, etc. because "workers are worth their keep." They were to rely on the hospitality of the strangers they'd be serving!

I wonder today... There are those of us who are still tasked with the mission of proclaiming that the kingdom has come near. (Just in case you're a little unclear, that's you church!) How are we benefiting the people we've been sent to? What are we doing to reveal the kingdom of God here on earth? What are we doing to deserve the hospitality of our communities?