Spring Highlights 2009
I can’t believe 2009 is halfway over! Where is the time going?
The spring of 2009 was absolutely crazy! In the beginning of the year I really felt like my “theme” for this year would be “A year in the wilderness” – and it definitely has been. Some of the biggest ups and downs of my life so far! A lot happened in the spring… Here are some of the highlights…Enjoy:
I got to meet Erwin McManus!
And Craig Groeschel!
The Boys on our Trip to Orange County for Catalyst West Coast
We did it! We ran the Pittsburgh Marathon (26.2 Miles!)
I finally graduated college (Robert Morris University)
My good friend Mark Damico and his Bride Rachel!
Cadre Retreat in Atlanta with Jeanne Mayo and some Incredible Youth Pastors
While in Atlanta – I got to check out Stone Mountain – Pretty Sweet
In the Winter I Totaled my Saturn… I ended up Buying a 2009 Toyota Corolla
Chris Martin and I at Bible School Graduation – 3 years went so fast!
With some Boys at Jumonville Camp… Got to be the camp speaker – what a privilege
Impartation Conference at our Church was awesome!
Finally to end the Spring I was in the Hospital in Rushville, IL during our youth camp… Fun times
How was your spring?
Ask Anything Friday 6.26.09
Alright.. It’s definitely been a while… and since I’m resting and recovering today – I want to put the ball in your court.
If you haven’t participated before – here’s how it works:
Ask my any question you want in the comments section – about my personal life, ministry, leadership, God, etc. and I’ll do my best to answer it by the days end.
Ask away…..
Book Review: The Essential Wooden
June 25, 2009 by bubba
Filed under Blog, Book Reviews
I originally heard about John Wooden through John Maxwell. Wooden has mentored Maxwell for years! So I obviously had to pick his brain by reading his book. John Wooden is the Coach of the Century according to ESPN, his teams won 10 NCAA March Madness Championships, and 88 straight games at one point.
This book was incredible! It was the first book I’ve read written by a coach. It was very insightful as well as practical as he goes into the details of how he actually ran his teams, what he expected of them, his coaching philosophies, and much, much more.
Here were some of my key takeaways:
- We need to believe in a standard higher than victory
- Success may result in winning, but winning does not necessarily mean you are a success
- Live as thought you’ll die tomorrow. Learn as though you’ll live forever.
- For all the shortcomings I see in others, I keep in my that my own failings are many
- Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best you are capable of becoming.
- Work had; prepare properly; some day your chance may come. If opportunity comes and you are not prepared, it may not come again.
- The role of any leader is to make those “many” become “much”
- All that we accomplished each day in the gym could be quickly undone by poor decisions off the court.
- The more concerned we become over things we can’t control, the less we will do to improve those things we can control.
- The past is for reverence, the future is for dreamers; the present moment is where you create success.
- Passion is unsustainable over the long term…Success is a long-term process. Passion is temporary!
- Make each day your masterpiece!
I’d highly recommend this to anyone looking to live a better life, become a better leader or coach, or on how to live a successful life.
Final Grade: A+ Buy it here!
Why I came home from Camp…
Hey Everyone – I just wanted to update everybody on what happened when I went to camp and why I came home.
Saturday Night – I started getting chest pains throughout the night and could not sleep. (I stayed up and googled a bunch of things and that did nothing but put a lot of fear in me!)
Sunday – I “sucked it up” during the day Sunday, but at night the pain got really bad and I ended up going to the ER. They took several tests including: urine, blood, chest x-rays, and a cat scan. They ruled out all of the big things (i.e. heart attack, clot, etc.) They concluded that I tore some muscles that I don’t normally use in my chest, gave me some pain killers, and sent me home.
Monday - In the morning I felt good… late afternoon into the evening I felt horrible and ended up going to a different hospital to get a second opinion. I also wanted to see if I could fly home. They checked out the results of my tests and confirmed again that it looked like torn muscles. (The pain was so bad I could barely walk… they confirmed that it could feel comparable to getting shot – it did!) Then they gave me Morphine (that stuff is crazy! I won’t even say anything else about it). That enabled me to sleep through the night and fly home in the morning.
Tuesday/Wednesday/Today - I flew home and stayed with the Steidel family. They took great care of me! I felt better those two days than I did any other day. Right now, I feel pretty good – there is still minimal chest pain, but overall I feel like I’m recovering quickly. The challenge is resting and doing nothing as opposed to going to work, running, etc.
So it seems that I’m on the quick path to recovering… I’ll keep you all updated via Twitter.
Thanks for all your prayers and support! I love you guys!
Bubs
Off to Rushville, IL for Summer Scream Camp – While I’m Gone…
I’ve been traveling a lot over the past couple months… Hopefully in the future I’ll find some people to guest blog while I’m gone, but while I’m gone, I do want to take as much time to unplug from technology as I can and really focus on God.
Here are some blogs I’d highly recommend you read on a daily basis:
Here are some links to past posts I’ve written that were popular and that I believe will add value to your life… So here you go:
Impartation 2009 Recap
O man! Imparation was amazing! Every year our church has an Impartation conference. The guest speakers this year were Duane Sheriff, Doug Jones, and Keith Moore. All three speakers give away all of their messages for free on their website, and Duane and Keith give away free CD’s for all of their messages. I highly recommend you take advantage of those resources. To hear the messages from the Impartation Conference – Click here.
Usually I’d just go over the highlights of my notes with you, but I don’t have them on me right now, and I’d rather just share the things that stuck with me in my heart. So here you go:
- “If you never have abundance, how can God use you?” – Keith Moore
- “It’s not what you have, it’s how you got it.” -Keith Moore
- “Your prosperity will stop where your preparation ends.” – Keith Moore
- “Where knowledge stops, faith stops.” – Doug Jones
- “Once our beliefs are obtained, they must be maintained.” – Doug Jones
- “Faith comes by hearing and accepting what you hear as truth.” -Doug Jones
- “If a subject is difficult, you’re not close enough to the truth.” – Doug Jones
Those were some of the highlight statements… I guess if I had to say what I took away and that I’ll apply from the conference it’d be this:
I need to have scriptures for everything I’m believing God for and the more scriptures I have, the better. I need to make my own confessions based on the truths that God has established in MY heart.
God wants me to increase and have abundance so I can be a blessing to everyone around me. It’s God’s will that not one person in our church should lack! Dream big, believe big, sow big, reap big. I need to get used to having an abundance and give all the glory to God.
It was an amazing conference… It would take me all day to write everything that I learned and want to apply… You need to go and listen to the podcasts right now!
Book Review: Communicating for a Change by Andy Stanley
June 19, 2009 by bubba
Filed under Blog, Book Reviews
This book is a must read for anybody who communicates for a living, especially pastors. Andy Stanley literally goes through all of the principles he uses while constructing and preaching a sermon. This is every pastors dream book! The first half of the book is actually a story written by Lane Jones, one of Andy’s campus directors, about a pastor who connects with a communication mentor who runs him through some great communication principles. The second half of the book was written by Andy and consists of all of the practical things that communicators need to do before and during a speaking engagement.
I think the last paragraph sums up the importance of learning to be a great communicator:
“The church needs your voice and your insight. As does your community and the woorld. For that reason, never stop growing and developing as a communicator. Find what works. Find what works for you. And everytime you have an opportunity to communicate God’s Word, communicate for a change!”
Here were some of my key takeaways:
- You’ve got to care more for the people in the audience than the person on the platform. Then our presentations will take on real significance. Until we do, communication is really all about us.
- Determine your goal, pick a point, create a map, internalize the message, engage your audience, find your voice. start all over.
- Our goal as communicators should be life change.
- We need one point messages – the biggest challenge won’t be finding the one idea, but eliminating the other three
- You need to have your message internalized to the point where you could do a 5 minute version from memory
- The goal isn’t to cover everything in your notes, it is to take your audience on a journey with you
- Having too much to say has almost the same effect as saying nothing
- Presentation trumps information… Presentation matters. A lot.
- Your first responsibility is to pose a question your audience wants answered, create tension that needs resolved, or point to a mystery that they have been unable to solve.
- “Being who you are” is not an excuse for poor communication.
- Clarity will trump style every time
Final Grade: A+ (Must read) Buy it here!
My Thoughts on Youth Ministry (Part 2.2) – Practical Success
12Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. I Tim. 4:12
Practical Success
Yesterday we covered some success principles . . . today I want to focus on things the I believe are critical to a successful youth ministry.
Small Groups - They empower your leaders to be “youth pastors” over the students in their group. They are a catalyst for building authentic relationships. As you grow bigger, you must become smaller (still be able to connect with everybody) and the only way to effectively do this is through small groups.
Discipleship – You have to have some kind of process in which students can grow up spiritually. Every youth group will be different – maybe you have classes on a consistent basis, a discipleship program, or some other avenue.
The Right People in the Right Place - You have to have great leaders in coordinator positions – let them own and dream for their areas. Let them schedule, train, and grow their areas!
Student Leadership - If you don’t have some way for students to lead as they get older, you’ll never keep your Jr.’s and Sr.’s… too often we offer the same thing for everyone for their 5 years in youth group and expect them to love it . . .they won’t. We need to empower them, train them, and expect big things from them.
Opportunities to Serve – I think it’s critical for your youth ministry to serve your community. Start an outreach team and have monthly or quarterly outreaches. It allows students to forget about themselves and be a part of something much bigger than themselves.
Follow – Up - You have to have a way to follow-up with students who comes to your youth group on a weekly basis, follow-up with first time guests, and follow up on salvations.
What practical factors do you believe are necessary for a successful youth ministry?
My Thoughts on Youth Ministry (Part 2.1) – What is Success?
12Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. I Tim. 4:12
What is Success in Youth Ministry?
Over the past several years I’ve been to several conferences on youth ministry and met a lot of youth pastors. I often laugh because I hear the same things over and over and over again – “If only we had a bigger budget” “If we had your youth center we could do something big” “If, when, if, when, but . . . etc.” I like what John Maxwell says, “If ifs and buts were candies and nuts, we’d all have a Merry Christmas.”
Personally, I think all of that stuff has VERY LITTLE to do with having a successful youth ministry. You may say, “Yea, Bubba, but you have a nice youth budget, a big staff, and your own youth center… it’s easy for you to say.” But I can tell you that just because we have that stuff does not mean we’re successful… it depends on how you measure success.
If you were to ask me what I think makes a successful youth ministry after 6 years of serving in a sweet one, I’d tell you this:
A Leader with a Vision – The youth pastor MUST believe in the youth ministry. He/She must believe in it where it is and must believe in what it could become. Proverbs 29:18 says, “Without a vision, people perish – it’s no different in youth ministry.
A Leader that Walks with God – Where your students are at spiritually will be a direct result of where your relationship is with God (I recognize it’s not the only factor, but it’s a huge one). Disappointed with your students spirituality? Look in the mirror…
Measuring Spirituality over Numbers: Numbers are VERY important, But Can’t be the Only Measuring Stick. Anyone can get a room filled with hundred of students if they really wanted to…. but are they giving their lives to God? Are they walking with Him? Growing spiritually? If not, I don’t care how many students fill your room, you’re missing it.
A Culture where Students can Encounter God – Buildings, Budgets, etc. are Nice, but mean very little when it comes to success – while these things might bring students in the door, it certainly won’t keep them there. What will? An experience with God, and they can do that without a youth center, a big budget, etc.. You must create an environment where students can encounter God.
Authentic Relationships – Show me a successful youth ministry and I’ll show you one where students and leaders all around have great relationships. Brad Cooper once told me that, “As we get bigger, we must become smaller.” As your youth group grows – you must find more and more ways (small groups work great) for students to find and build authentic relationships.
This is getting a little long… Tomorrow I’ll go over some more things that make up a successful youth ministry…
What do you think contributes to a successful ministry?
My Thoughts on Youth Ministry (Part 1): Why I love Teenagers
12Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. I Tim. 4:12
Why I Love Teenagers
I’ve been hooked up in youth ministry since I was 18 years old, and I just realized that I rarely talk about youth ministry, teenagers, and things along those lines. While youth ministry might be one of the “funnest” or most fun jobs on the planet, I think it’s easy to get caught in the “grind” of youth ministry. It’s easy to forget what it’s like to be a teenager and why you got into youth ministry in the first place.
Last week I got to speak at a youth camp. On the last night I was on top of a mountain staring at 100+ teenagers take communion, worship, and spending time with God. In that moment and throughout the camp, God was constantly reminding me of how much He loves teenagers, how much potential teenagers have, and how much they need God. I want to take a few days and talk youth ministry with you…
Today – I simply want to share with you things I love about teenagers:
- My life was changed as a teenager - I loooveeee seeing young people give their life to God and pursue Him with all their hearts, even in the midst of their struggles. It’s an amazing thing.
- They are real – I have had so many great conversations with teenagers about dating, sex, drugs, drinking, partying, etc. If you’ll be real with them, they’ll be real with you and it can open up some huge doors for God to use you.
- They have so much potential - If there is anything that I think we do anything poorly in youth ministry it’s in realizing the potential of teenagers. They can do unbelievable things if we’ll just empower them and believe in them.
- They have their whole future ahead of them – They have dreams waiting for them to pursue… it’s such a privilege to help guide them along the process!
- They change my life more often than I change theirs - I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had with students that have ended up changing my life without even knowing it.
- They’re Crazy!! - How many “dumb” or “crazy” stories do we have from when we were teenagers that ended up being memories we’ll never forget? (I’m not talking about things we regret) – I love hearing all the crazy things students do…and I love creating “crazy” memories with them that they’ll remember when they’re older.
What do you love about teenagers?
