Loving God, living in Vegas

Old Friends...

2012-01-30T10:14:00.000-08:00

Old friends tend to the best friends.

They know all your junk and still love you. They go eat breakfast with you when you are back in your hometown and its never awkward. You can sit with them and laugh. They know where you live and they love to spend time with you!

(Conrad, Neal, Bobby and Peanut)

These are just a few thoughts that have been running in my mind since my last Big Bear trip a few weeks ago to celebrate the life of a dear friend. While I was in town in was super tough to be there, under the circumstances, but really good to see a bunch of my old friends. A handful of us went out to breakfast one day and it was so good, for me, to just spend time with these that I love! There are a few other guys that I would have loved to have in this picture with us but I am so thankful for these guys in my life.

If you hear me preach a sermon and talk about the stupid things I did when I was younger it was probably with at least one of these guys! We did a whole bunch of crazy things. As I look back on life I can say that I regret a bunch of what I did but I would never change what I did. My past has shaped me into the man I currently am and for that I am thankful for Old Friends in my life! I love you guys!

(Andy, Bobby, Conrad, Jason and Neal)

Foundations of the Christian Faith

2012-01-25T09:37:00.000-08:00

Tonight I am starting my first class for adults. For the last couple months I have been working with our Executive Pastor to help develop a lesson plan that we feel will be helpful to people in their walk with Christ. I know that there are many things we can invest our time into that is why the goal for this class is to be helpful not smart.

The Foundations class will be eight weeks long and meet upstairs in our church office on Wednesday Night from 7pm-8:30pm. We will have round tables out so that people can discuss what we talk about in the class and pray with others before they leave. We are hoping that this helps people find others in their life to connect with and allows for group knowledge to be shared.

If you are thinking about taking the class, or have already signed up, here is what you can basically expect to get out of the class (you can also expect me to throw some crazy twists):

Week One: Introduction to the class

This week we will intro the class and give an overview of everything that we will cover in the class.

Week Two: Understanding the Bible (Structure and History)

Goal: To give a basic understanding of the Bible. We will cover the 66 books, 40 different authors, discuss locations of the writings and end with an overview of the original languages.

Week Three: Understanding the Old Testament (Structure and Theology)

Goal: To discuss the calling of Abraham, see the grace of God in the lives in Israel, discuss the nature of God and touch on some prophecies of Christ.

Week Four: Understanding the New Testament (Structure and Theology)

Goal: Talk through the nature of Christ (fully God and fully human). Look over different terms for the different literature that we find in the New Testament.

Week Five: Defining Biblical Terms

Goal: For people to leave with a basic understanding of Sanctification, Justification, Atonement and meaning of Baptism.

Week Six: Spiritual Formations

Goal: Now that we understand the text we need to teach people to interact with the text as they grow closer to Christ. Teach about Lectio Divina, Fasting, Prayer, and create a personal growth plan.

Week Seven: Apologetics

Goal: Teach people how to accurately defend their faith without getting angered.

Week Eight: Alliance Distinctive's

Goal: To help people understand what is different about South Hills Church Community in relation to other denominations and groups.

If this sounds good to you go ahead and sign up for the class here!

Dealing with Death

2012-01-24T14:18:00.000-08:00

It seems like this month I have experienced more death than I can remember in a month. Now I know this can be a morbid topic to address and generally people would like to avoid the topic but it is also a very real topic to address. It started earlier this month with the death of a very close friend and then on Sunday I found out that two more people I know had passed away. I'm not really sure what I am trying to communicate here but to just share some of my feelings as I process what has happened around me. I hope that these thoughts may be helpful to others who are dealing with death.

How do we process death:

Tears
When I found out my friend Rob passed away I shed a few tears that day. When my wife told me I had to hold back the tears. When I spoke with Conrad that day I let some of them fly. The thing that shocked me is when I broke down at his memorial service. I knew that I had emotions in my life in regards to his passing that I had not dealt with but I was shocked at the pain inside. As I think about the truth of Scripture I can only think about how Paul tells us to mourn with those who are mourning

"Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn" Romans 12:15

Conversations
I am so thankful for my wife this month. I am so thankful that I have someone in my life who shares the same belief system as I do. Charity has allowed me to mourn over these deaths but has been there with me to talk them through. She has, graciously, listened to my ramblings and my questions as we have conversed over this topic this month. Charity has been there to listen to me say: "I just don't get it" or "I don't understand" more times that I can count. As you deal with death in your life I would invite you to find a faithful person that you can have honest conversations with.

Friends
During these times that we are dealing with death I think the best remedy is to have friends around. I am not talking about acquaintance; I am talking about friends. This is a time in life that we need to surround ourselves with people who know us, who we can be honest with and who can be ok with us crying.

If you had to add something to this list what it would be?

Connected

2012-01-20T15:03:00.000-08:00

The last six months I have a been asking more questions about ministry than I have in a long time. Now I am a question asker by nature (just ask my tattoo artist). When I was asked to transition into working with adults it was a whole new game for me and that meant new contacts, new lessons, new books, new contacts and new clothes (ok, just kidding about the clothes).

The main thing I work on now is connecting people to the church and the more I am working in this role I am beginning to see how unconnected people are to the church. To be honest I am kinda of shocked at how many adults are not connected in smaller groups of people. I guess when I became a Christian that is just what was explained to me as normal so I did it but my experiences are not true for everyone and that is why I preached about being connected at my church the first two Sunday's of the year.

I could take more time to talk about being connected but if you have not listened to these messages I invite you to listen to them and see what God stirs in your heart about your life connections.

Connected Week One

Connected Week Two

Leaders are Learners: Part 2

2012-01-17T14:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I started talking about how leaders are learners. I am convinced that once you stop learning you will loose your ability to lead. You may not loose it right away but over time you will loose any edge on leadership that you once had. I'm sure that people will still come to you to ask questions but there will come a time when you cannot answer the newer questions because of your lack of understanding of the topic.

In my life here are two areas that I plan on learning about so I can be a better leader:

LEADING MY FAMILY
I am a firm believer that my second responsibility in life is to lead my family (my first being to lead myself). One of my New Years goals is to be a better leader in my family. That is going to require me to take classes, read book, talk with friends and be extremely honest with others. One of the first steps that I am taking to lead my family is to be a part of a marriage group this year. I know that being a part of this marriage group is going to stretch me in life (especially because I am the facilitator of the group).

I want to learn to be a better husband

I also want to learn to be a better dad. I have realized that in the last couple years of being a dad I have not been as present as I would like to be. I share that because its true and I want to be better. See I have taken the time to invest my time, and energy, into seminary for the last six years. Seminary is getting ready to come to an end so this year I want to focus on being a better dad. I want to keep taking my little girls to doughnuts. I want to keep spending time with them and telling them they are beautiful. I want to spend time with them where the TV is off and my iPhone is out of reach.

LEADING IN THE CHURCH
I feel there is some great leaders in the church (global) right now but I also feel like there is a leadership void. I feel like the church, and the world, are ready for the church to step up and take her true place of leadership. As we have leaders begin to learn more about pastoral ministry, empowering members and making disciples I think we will see the void begin to fill but that will take time.

I think a main aspect of leadership in the church is going to come from spiritual mothers and fathers taking the time to invest in the younger generation. I know I fall in the "younger generation" category but I want to help develop those younger than I am. I want to be a resource for those who are curious about spiritual matters. I want to help people understand how to study the Bible. I want to not just say it and really do it. That is why I will be teaching a Foundations of Christianity Class at our church starting next week.

As you think about your life: Where do you see God opening doors of for you to learn in your life? Are you committed to being a person who learns in life or are you just settled with the place you are? I want to encourage you to take the time to focus on self leadership, leading your family and then being a leader in the church. The world is looking for people to lead; will you be one of them?

Leaders are Learners

2012-01-16T16:02:00.000-08:00

One of my first classes in Bible college I remember the dean of the school teaching and during the class he said something to the effect of: "Leaders are learners." After that he made sure to clarify that just because someone is a learner it does not mean they are a leader. I have pondered those words for the last ten years of my life.

See I am in a leadership position at my church and I have done my best to be a leader that is constantly learning. As I look at most people in the world we tend to lead in some area or another. Maybe you find yourself leading in your job or on the sports team you are a part of. Some people are leaders in the church and others are leaders in the home. Men we are called to be leaders in our marriage and leaders of our family.

Today I want to focus on two areas of leadership that I see needing more leadership:

LEADING IN YOUR JOB
Most people that I meet with are leaders in their job. I think they are leaders, in their job, for two main reasons. The first reason is they took the time to learn the position. They may have attended school to learn the necessary skills to manage others in their work place. They may have grown up in the industry and therefore it was just natural for them to lead because they know more than others. Other people find themselves in a leadership role because they chose to learn the position and rose up as the the best candidate.

Secondly, I think that people are leaders in their job because God has gifted them to love on others and be compassionate for people. In a book called "Good to Great" they survey all these top companies across North America and found out that the best leaders always pointed their success to the team around them. When something went bad they took a long look in the mirror to see if the problem was them. These people are true leaders, that are learning, to lead better in their job. These are the kind of leaders we need leading today.

LEADING ON YOUR SPORTS TEAM
I have worked with students for over ten years and I love it when I see a student lead on their sports team. These are the students that take the time to learn about their teammates. They learn what the people on their team are good at. They learn about them off the field and make a real connection with them. For leaders this is not something that is difficult for them to do; it is something that comes naturally. I think for real leaders this is something they want to do! They want to learn about others so they can connect with them and help them become better people.

These are the kind of students that are comfortable moving across boundaries in the social order. These students are the ones who do their best to get other connected and feel a sense of unity. I think they are the students that are saving other students from committing suicide and making horrible choices in their life. They care so much about others that they are willing to look like a fool to help someone else connect and feel secure. These are the kind of students that we need leading in schools to help others feel a part of something bigger than themselves.

Tomorrow I want to talk more about the subject of leadership but today I will leave you with a question: "If you a leader (in any capacity) how are you learning to help better those around you?"

New Years Goals

2012-01-15T16:24:00.000-08:00

I really wanted to title this post "New Years Thoughts" but what I am about to share are not only thoughts but some goals I have given myself this year. Now I know this post is 14 days late but I am pretty sure that most people have already failed at their resolutions or are struggling to maintain them. I say that because I think we generally choose resolutions that are: (1) Very tough to achieve and (2) Unrealistic.

On our anniversary this year Charity and I talked about some of these things so I figured I would share some of my goals for this year:

GRADUATE SEMINARY
When I told Charity this was my main goal for the year she laughed at me; and rightfully so. See I only have one class left until I graduate with my Masters degree. I am super excited to be done with the degree but I am more excited about what my education has done for me. Education has helped me worked through past issues, helped me grow as a person and has increased my effectiveness as a leader. Seminary has been so good for me so this will be a huge chapter closing in my life.

BE A BETTER DAD
My next two goals have to do with a transition in my life. See when I graduate seminary I am going to have some more time on my hands. My personality is such that I like to stay busy and I like to see results. I am committed to what I put my mind to and this year I am putting my mind to being a better dad. I told Charity that with my responsibly in seminary coming to an end I want to take more time to focus on our family. Obviously seminary has taken time, and money, for me to complete. I would like to give that time, and money, back to our family in being a better dad.

BE A BETTER HUSBAND
I think that I could have probably put this one before being a better dad, and in my mind it comes first, but it flows better this way. See I have given a whole bunch to our church in the last seven years. I love my church. I love seeing people find Jesus. I love seeing students grow in their relationship with Christ. I love hearing about people who find groups to get connected in. This year though I am going to shut my phone off more to give more to my wife. Charity has been such a huge support in my pastoral role and this year I want to give the church less and give my wife more (some of you are going to think I'm crazy for writing this).

READ MY BIBLE THIS YEAR
For the last eight, maybe nine, years I have made a commitment to read my Bible from cover to cover. This year I plan on doing the same thing but I want to take some people along for the ride. See God's word is extremely interesting. The Bible is full of stories that capture the imagination and reveal truth in a relevant way. This year I am committing to read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation with a group of people so we can share the knowledge with each other.

Now that I have shared my goals, what are some of your goals? What is motivating you this year and what will you focus on? Much of what I am sharing here comes from a conversation with a great friend in ministry. One day, on the phone, he said this to me:

"Being a better pastor will not make me a better Christian, husband or dad but being a better dad, husband and Christian may make me a better pastor."

Seven Years of Marriage

2012-01-09T16:21:00.000-08:00

This Saturday was my seven year wedding anniversary. Now I am not going to even pretend that this blog post contains the secrets of marriage but I just want to share some lessons I have learned. This time Charity and I shared our anniversary up at Mount Charleston which is about 45 minutes from our house. We had a sweet deal and were able to get away (thanks to Charity's mom) and just spend some time with each other.

On our way home we stopped at Maggiano's for lunch and some more time to talk. It was crazy not having our little girls around us for over 24 hours but it was also great to spend some time with just my wife. I get away for work and seminary quite frequently but this was a huge blessing being with Charity.

As I reflect on the last seven years of my life here are some thoughts:

I AM A BETTER MAN BECAUSE OF MY WIFE
Charity makes me want to be a better man. I come from a rough past and I think there are many times that I would revert to those ways if it weren't for Charity in my life. Charity is sweet, Charity is caring, Charity is understanding and Charity supports me in life. Charity brings out the best in me. For those of you who are not married look for someone that brings out the best in your life.

I HAVE A SUPPORTIVE WIFE
I know most people think that we pastors really only work one day a week but that is not true. Being a pastor means being on call... all the time. Over the years we have created some systems in our life to buffer the craziness but that there are still times I head to the hospital on my day off. See what many people don't know is that in four months I will graduate with my Masters in Divinity. The M.Div program is much more intense than your normal Masters Degree. I will have put over six years into this 84 unit degree. I would not have been able to (almost) accomplish this task without the help of my wife and how supportive she is.

LIFE CHANGES OVER TIME
I am sure that this doesn't come as a shocker to anyone but many times we fail to examine life. Charity and I took some time to reflect on our lives over the last couple of years and oh how life has changed. We had some good talks about how much fun we had in San Diego when we met; going to the zoo and hanging out at the beach but life has changed. I have more responsibilities now in my role at church and that means less time having fun. Although we have experienced much change over the last seven years I know that I always want to be married to this woman and live out those changes with her.

Star of Wonder

2012-01-04T20:17:00.000-08:00

Last month Sophie starred in her first play at church. Ok, that may be a bit of an exaggeration but she did practice a whole bunch for her one song that she sang with a bunch of other little kids. It was super cool to have Sophie take the time to practice for her play but I have to admit that I am glad we are done singing this song every time we get into the car!
Gramps and Lola came out for her play which was a special treat. If you have a few minutes to laugh then watch the video and check out my little girl.

Park Day

2012-01-03T20:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had a great morning (the rest of the day sucked) and was able to spend some time with my family in the morning. We went to breakfast with some friends that Charity has known since high school and then headed over to the park. I didn't realize how long it had been since I went to the park with my family and was able to just be with them (life has been pretty hectic lately).

Here are some things that we did:
We went over to the trees and shook all the leaves off
We rode the swings together
We went on the slide
We climbed the rock wall
We ran around and smiled

Then came one of the best parts when Sophie started singing this song and just totally made me laugh

A Fist Full of Quarters

2011-12-28T16:28:00.000-08:00

About 10 days ago I was able to be a part of something amazing...

My buddy Jason Sowell leads a super cool non-profit organization called Current. Part of what he does is something called the Laundry Love Project. Now he has been doing these for years and has even taken it so far as to come to Vegas for the last three years and wash people's laundry for them. Now I have to be honest that when he first told me about it I was a bit skeptical. I really thought: "You are going to do laundry for people?" It didn't register to me.

He finally got me to come and check it out (and help) for the last laundry project that he led in Vegas and I was in awe at what he does. I think that Jason is meeting a social need for people. It never hit me that there are people in the world, in my own city, that cannot afford to wash their clothes. I have taken that fact for granted for the last 32 years of my life. It was great to see the expressions on the face of the people when we told them that we would pay to do their laundry.

Now it wasn't free. Jason raised a bunch of money to make it happen. Jason took time to find money to bring it Vegas so that he could pay to do someone's laundry who he has never met. Think about that real quick. I saw it with my own eyes. I was able to grab a fist full of quarters, put them in my pocket and sock them away in laundry machines so people could have clean clothes.

Jason plans on returning to Vegas in May and I told him that I would get a team of 15 people together to go down to the Laundry Mat and help out. We only had six people while I was there and that wasn't enough people to help out. We need your help to help out others for something it is needed! Before you write it off, just watch some of the videos listed on his site.

one more scar

2011-12-27T13:06:00.000-08:00

About five months ago I went to my dermatologist to get a final check up on my skin. As she examined my skin I really thought I was out of the woods with her. See in the last five years she has removed two moles that precancerous from my back. At this appointment I thought I was done until she asked me to turn around and look at the back of my legs. She pulled out her pen and circled a spot on my leg... I was bummed.

That day she cut the mole off and I was out. I got a call back and just assumed that the mole was fine just like the rest but this time I was wrong. I was called again to get an appointment to get in as soon as I could so she could cut the mole off a little deeper because she didn't get the entire precancerous matter out. I went in early on a Wednesday morning and got prepped to get the mole removed. It was extremely weird being awake as she was cutting my leg open. She informed me that she would need to cut out the mole and then cut my leg in a diamond shape so that she could stitch it up properly for healing. This is a picture of my leg after 24 hours of it being removed. I saw my leg after the first day and I was pretty nervous that it would be jacked up but I knew that I would rather have a nasty scar on my leg then no leg.

Well it has been almost three weeks now since the surgery and my leg is looking much better. I am thankful to share that my doctor is amazing and was able to remove everything that precancerous. I have a great doctor who did a great job on my leg and it is looking so much better!

In 12 Days

2011-12-21T13:06:00.000-08:00

About two weeks I received and email from an amazing lady named Suzanne. Suzanne has a really cool story that prompted her to start her company called In 12 Days. The connection happened because of the guys on our staff wanted to propose to his girlfriend. In 12 Days wanted to help him out by blessing him with an amazing way to propose and hook up a free engagement ring from a local jeweler that was announced on the local Christian Radio Station.

The more and more I think about what Suzanne does and the impact she is having on Las Vegas I just help but think what a special lady she is. I think about the time that she has taken to help bless these families in our community. I think about the time she has taken to think about creative ways to bless people. I think about the hours she has invested in getting people to help her out to bless others. I start thinking that this lady is really fulfilling her purpose in life by being a blessing to others. Then I finally think: "What if everyone acted the way she does?"

Check out the video of Evan asking Amy to be his bride

Broken Heart

2011-12-20T10:11:00.000-08:00

This morning I received an email from Africa talking about a country that broke my heart five years ago. Five years ago I was able to go to Burkina Faso, in West Africa, with a team of twelve people. I was fortunate enough to go with my wife on this trip which made the mission trip so much more beneficial for me (The picture of us on the alligator is the best one I have of just us and I can't find one of the team).

I don't want this blog post today to turn into a discussion about alligator riding but to focus on the need of Burkina now. See ever since we went to Burkina our heart has broken for the country. I actually tried to lead another trip there about a year later with some students but it didn't pan out (it was a good thing we didn't go). Our church has since sent two more teams to Burkina and every time they leave I wish I was going with them.

The children in Burkina broke my heart. They were so much fun to play with, hang out with, laugh with and joke with. I would love to bring my little girls over there (soon) to experience the country and the people. See the main reason I wanted to blog about Burkina today is due to the email that I received this morning talking about clean water. I am not a fan of watching videos longer than 2-3 minutes but this six minute video is well worth the time. Watch the video here and start to think about what you could do to help people who do not have clean water!

Sherlock Holmes- A Game of Shadows

2011-12-19T10:14:00.000-08:00

On Saturday Charity and I went to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie; A Game of Shadows. We both totally loved the first one so when the second one came out there was no question if we would see it or not. Now I am not a movie review kind of person but I did want to share some thoughts about the movie with you. I am not going to give anything away about the plot of the movie so don't worry about protecting your eyes as you read this.

First of all I love the movie! I love the action in the movie. It is a movie that keeps you thinking. If you saw the first Sherlock Holmes then you know what I am talking about. Every little detail in the movie seems to come back and play into the whole of the movie later on. I love how creative the writers of the movie are (I am not sure who they are but the did good on this one). The attention to detail in these movies has always impressed me as someone who likes to think about what is going to happen next.

Now I have to admit there are some behaviors in the movie that I would consider questionable. Doctor Watson is portrayed as a drunk who can barely stand on the way to his wedding and he also has a pretty intense gambling problem. There is one point where Sherlock Holmes disguises himself as a female to help save his friend. I didn't sense there was a drag theme at all but that Sherlock was considering the best way to help his friend out.

Finally the best part about the movie was that I was able to see it with my wife on our date day. We love to create a time, each week, where we just spend time with each other. The movie is not the ideal place for this but this time we had to make it happen. See Charity and I have committed to never stop dating each other and times like this allow me to hold my wife's hand, eat popcorn with her, laugh with her and talk about the movie afterward.

More is Caught then Taught

2011-12-14T13:14:00.000-08:00

About four months ago I received a transition in our church. I had served in our student ministry department for almost seven years and was asked to transition over to adult ministries. My new role is completely different than my old role. My new role is more daily organization, my phone calls and more different than I ever expected.

When change happens in our life we tend to examine things around us. I began to examine my leadership in student ministry and really started thinking about how I would change if I had a change to do it again. I also started to think about what I would do more of and take more time and energy to invest in. One thing that keeps sticking out to me is that: "More is Caught then Taught" in ministry. I say this because I constantly hear young adults in our church, that graduated from our high school ministry, say things like: "Neal I remember when you said this to me or took the time to talk to me about this."

Last night I was talking with one of these young men and he told me about a conversation that we had and how I was encouraging him in relationships. Yesterday afternoon I spent some time with one of the guys who was in my small group and now is a junior in high school. We have kids, students and people in our church that are watching what I do. You have kids, students and adults in your church that are watching how you act.

I believe that more is caught in ministry than taught. I believe that people forget most of the messages that we speak from stage but remember what they see us doing in our community, office, trucks, backyard and soccer field. People are watching what we do and that is why this verse is so important as we live our lives.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35 (NIV)

I think that people are going to remember the time we invest into their lives more than our actions on a stage, or leadership position, the degrees on my wall and the things the world thinks are important.

Financial Peace University Wrap Up

2011-12-12T15:38:00.000-08:00

For the last thirteen weeks I have been taking a class with about 250+ other people in our church called Financial Peace University. After taking the class I wanted to share some thoughts that really stuck out to me about the class, the material and what I learned. I think something very important to note about this class is that people in our church paid off almost 2 million dollars during the thirteen weeks of this course!

CONVERSATION
This class has provoked conversation in our church that probably would have never occurred without the class. I wish I had counted how many couples told me this has improved their personal conversation. There were people in our church that just never spoke about money and this class has helped people to talk about a topic that was such a taboo. Its funny to hear about how a class that is so focused on money has helped save marriages in our church just by opening up conversation.

CREDIT CARDS
Before I took this class I really could have cared less about credit cards. I thought they were actually really cool. I could buy stuff that I wanted today and then pay for it later down the road. Then I got this credit card that actually gave me free air flights for just spending money on it. We were getting about four free flights a year with this card and that was pretty cool. We would use this credit card like a debit card and then pay it off at the end of the month... so I thought. When Charity and I really started examining our spending on this card we realized that we owed it about $1500. We made a goal to pay that off and cut the card up.

CASH
Cash is pretty fun but when I spend it I get bummed sometimes. See I learned, when we moved from credit to cash, that it actually makes me think more about the purchase when I use cash to buy it. We have moved to a strictly cash based system in our family because of this course. It may be a little more difficult then using a card but we know where our money is going and we are no longer in debt.

CONNECTED
Though this course I have seen people get connected to our church. I have spoken with families who are meeting people and doing life with them now on a weekly basis. People in our church are getting connected to others in our church through this class. We had people sit at tables and have discussion about the weekly lesson. It has been fun seeing people get connected through this course.

If you are going to be in Vegas and want to take this course make sure to check out our next session that begins January 17th 2011

Desensitized

2011-12-08T11:39:00.001-08:00

I am desensitized.
You are desensitized.

The world we live in desensitizes us to the things around us that normally would bother us. I remember when I first moved to Vegas and how awful I thought the billboards where. I could not stand seeing the advertisements that were on the back of the taxi cabs here in town. Now, seven years late, I realize how desensitized I am to that.

See over time we become desensitized to the things that once bothered us. This can happen in your work place, your home life, your school, and in your Christianity. I am sure there are things around you that once made your stomach turn (even if it was just a little). There were once things in your life that you could not stand to watch but now when you see them you ignore it because you have seen it so much.

Think about some of the things that middle school and high school students are seeing on a daily basis; things that would have never been accessible to me when I was younger. Think about the things that are shown in movies now days. Things that would have never been allowed on the "big screen" are now a regular occurrence. The saddest thing is that I just sit there and do nothing about it. Sometimes I laugh, sometimes I turn away but for the most part I do nothing.

I am more and more perplexed, bothered, and frustrated by this as a dad then I have ever been before. The issue I struggle with is how to appropriately engage culture to see life change... I want to be a part of life change in the world and I really think the more we desensitize the world the more clear we need to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who are looking for purity in a world full of sludge.

Mastering Church Management: Book Review

2011-12-06T20:55:00.001-08:00

I am currently take a course for Tozer Seminary called: "Politics, Legalities and Money". The class has really been super helpful and has impressed me as to the content we have studied for the course. I just emailed my final paper to a great friend who will edit it, make it bleed, and then help me correct my grammar.

For this course I sought more external resources than I ever have for a final paper because of the nature of the class. Thanks to a classmate I was able to get a handful of helpful books from the Simpson University Library. One of them is Mastering Church Management. Now I am sure that most of you will not run off to Amazon to get the book but I think you may want to reconsider that. This book has a some great information contained within the interesting looking cover and was considerably more helpful then I had imagined it would be!
The book was helpful with information on maintaining staff moral, encouraging staff members, staff transition and lots of other areas of staff leadership. I was thinking to myself today about how cool it is that the principles laid out in this book are still applicable some 25+ years later. If you are thinking about becoming an executive pastor, lead pastor or church planter I am going to recommend this book to you.
Favorite Quote: "Devoting time to nurturing staff members' competence and interpersonal relationships says we value them, not just their ministry output." page 148

What do you stand for?

2011-11-30T13:21:00.001-08:00

This has been running around in my mind A LOT lately. I think it all started when I really was evaluating what the city I live in really stands for. Most cities have a name they are known for. Before I moved to Las Vegas I lived in America's Finest City (San Diego). There is the Motor City (Detroit) and we also have the Windy City (Chicago). I am sure there are very creative names for many other cities across this globe but for some reason or another God has chosen to place me in Sin City.

When I look at these different city names they all seem to fit. I was blessed to live in San Diego for just over five years and that place is truly America's Finest City. It seems logical to me that Detroit would be called the Motor City understanding how the auto manufacture's cars there. I have never been to Chicago before but I have heard that it is very windy. I have lived in Vegas for over seven years now and it really is Sin City.

After thinking about these city names I got to thinking about what I stand for. If someone had to give me a name for what my life was all about what would that name be? If someone gave you a name for what your life stands for what would that name be? Names are given to places because of what they have chosen to focus on and be known for. In a world that has chosen to reject God on so many levels what are you willing to stand for and what will you be known for?

Thanksgiving Vacation

2011-11-28T11:01:00.001-08:00

Last week we pulled out of Vegas for our annual trip to the in-laws house. Basically ever since I met Charity we have gone to do Thanksgiving with her family and this year we did the same. There were a few variations to the trip and one big one was that we stopped to see my dad on the way to Santa Maria. We had a great time with my dad and while we were there we took some time to visit the property where my dads house that I basically grew up in. In Oct 2007 my dads house was burned down in a fire so it is weird going there and not seeing his home but my girls loved running around the 10 acres of land that he has!

After that we jumped in the car and heading to Charity's parents house. During the week we did some really cool things like head to Pismo beach where we played on the beach! After taking a good walk on the beach we went over to Splash Cafe and had THE BEST clam chowder in the world! If you go there you need to make sure you order it with the seafood topping on top; you will not regret the choice if you like seafood.

While we were there Sophie and I took up our favorite weekly tradition of going out to get doughnuts. I really love these times of eating doughnuts with Sophie, talking with her and just hanging out. I know there will be a day that she doesn't wake up at 6am and had no desire to get breakfast with me but on Saturday that was not the case. Sophie and I went to a cool little doughnut shop that basically had a bunch of old men sitting around drinking coffee and me and her there. We laughed, ate doughnuts, had chocolate milk and then brought doughnuts holes home.

The entire week was a great break to spend some time with my family, see our extended family and get to laugh with family. Overall I am just so thankful for the family we have, how God has blessed us and how much we get to do!

Reference Time

2011-11-21T16:02:00.001-08:00

Every year, around this time, I end up having the cool opportunity to write some references for people who are wrestling with their faith. Right now we have high school students that are trying to figure out the rest of their life right now (that is scary, read it again) and I have a cool chance to help be a spiritual guide in that process. Generally I am not the person that likes to sit down and work on paper work but I feel like it is an honor to be able to write these references for students and share what God is doing in their life. I get to be a cool help to someone on the other end that is trying to help this student figure out their life path.

It goes deeper than that because this las week I was able to write a third reference for one of my first small group guys as he is getting ready to graduate with his bachelors. I love to look and see what God is doing in his life. He is such a great young man that I couldn't imagine not being a part of all that is happening in his life.

Finally, I have another guy in my life who I just was able to write a reference for him to attend seminary! I am so proud of all that God is doing in his life. I was able to lead in Middle School ministry here with him at South Hills Church. Then I was able to be a part of him and his wife falling in love. After that I was able to preform his wedding ceremony (which was so cool). Now I get to see, first hand, the plans that God has for his life coming to bloom.

Basically what I am saying is that there is something cool about being involved in people's lives for a long period!

Seven Years Later

2011-11-18T21:19:00.001-08:00

Seven years ago, tonight, I was finishing my first night of Ignite Junior High Ministry at South Hills Church Community. I am pretty sure that this was the night that I just was able to sit in and watch what was taking place in our Middle School Ministry. I remember the next week I was off for Thanksgiving and the following week it was my turn to lead; we had eight students show up and twelve leaders. I was ready to change the world with that group of people.

See about two months earlier I had sent in this picture to South Hills, with my resume, when I applied for the job. Most people encouraged me NOT to send in this picture but I was convinced that I wanted to be in a place that would allow me to be who I am; and this picture captured that. The crazy thing is how quick it happened. Charity and I were not even married at the time but after we visited I knew we were moving to Vegas (a bittersweet event for two So Cal kids).

In the last seven years practically everything has changed in my life. I went from being our Middle School Pastor to the Discipleship Pastor and everything in between. When I moved out here I was not even married! While here I have begun, and completed, my ordination with The Alliance (our denomination). While doing that I have almost completed seminary. I also got a few more tattoos while out here, gained a few pounds, lost my plugs and started getting a real haircut (sometimes).

In the last seven years I have learned a whole bunch but here are some things I was thinking about today that have stuck out to me:

MY CHURCH WATCHED ME GROW UP
This may seem like something weird to start off with but its so true. When I moved out here I was so green in ministry it's not even funny. My church was there to support me when I was ordained (here are pics to show it). When I was getting restless in Middle School Ministry they added my responsibilities and helped me learn some more. They supported me when I was leading mission trips, encouraged me when I taught from stage and sat me down when I messed up. They were there when my kids were born and now are watching them grow up! I am thankful to have had such a supportive place to do ministry.

MINISTRY IS TOUGH
I know I'm not supposed to write this but I am going to: ministry is tough! I have seen students walk away from Jesus, seen adults walk away from our church and had friends who loved Jesus stopped talking to me. I have come home from camps and wanted to quit, been on the mission field and seen hungry kids who have never had a shower and met homeless guys who seem insane. The best part of all of this is that I had a church support me through it all because when I was growing up they never gave up on me.

LONGEVITY MATTERS
When I came to South Hills I said I wanted to come somewhere and do ministry for ten years. Now I knew the average youth pastor was only lasting for 9-18 months but I wanted to change that. I have been fortunate to have some great pastors in my life who modeled longevity in ministry and they encouraged me to do the same. I guess you could say that longevity has been breed into my ministry DNA. That helped me commit when times got tough. Now I can look back on students I met in the seventh grade who I am doing ministry alongside. I have families that I am the only youth pastor their kids knew! Longevity matters for influence, character and people know when I mess up I am not leaving because I have a church that has watched me grow up.

South Hills Church, I really want to thank you for everything and everyone over the last seven years. I could not imagine where I would be without you. It has been a privilege to serve here. I came alone but have been so blessed out here in the desert!

$23 in the mason jar

2011-11-15T09:12:00.001-08:00

I have grown up having a dog in my home ever since I can really remember. When Charity and I first got married we waited about a year and got our first dog Rosie. Rosie was a good little dog but once Sophie became mobile we realized that is wasn't going to work out to keep Rosie around and made the tough choice to give her away.

For the last year I have really wanted to get another dog in our home but it just hasn't been the right timing. I have looked at many different breeds of dogs and have narrowed my list down to certain breeds I like better than others. Then once we started taking Financial Peace University (FPU) I realized this was a cool chance to get my daughters in the habit of saving for what we want. See Sophie and Leah both love dogs and I'm sure they can't wait until we get one in our home but FPU taught me that I can't just use my credit card to buy a dog and think that everything will be ok.

Starting about ten weeks ago Sophie, Leah and I began to save my extra allowance money in a mason jar in our house. It started out with a few bucks here and there and then I started having to swap out the ones in there for fives and tens. Right now we have $24 saved up to buy our dog. The goal is to have enough money to be able to head to the pound (or Craigslist) and find a dog that really needs a good home. We have decided that there are enough dogs in the world that need a good home and I think we can provide that home but not until we have enough saved up. Some of the cool parts of this saving is it provides an opportunity for me to teach my girls the value of saving and allows them to see the growth as we pack dollars into the jar. Something even better is the other night we saw our friend and shared with her what we are doing. After Sophie told her our plan she reached into her pocket and pulled out a dollar for Sophie to stuff in the jar. I'm very excited for the day we get to head to the pound and rescue a dog!

Financial Peace University- Week Ten

2011-11-14T09:29:00.001-08:00

Charity and I have been taking Financial Peace University, along with 250+ other people in our church, for the last ten weeks. Over the last ten weeks my thinking about money has been radically changed. I would consider myself to have always been pretty good with money but this course has helped me really understand more of what my responsibility is with the resources that God has put me in charge of.

Now I have taken some time off from blogging about the course but this week made me think and really encouraged me to start sharing again. I want to share about this course, not in intense detail, but just vague enough to make you want to take the course. This week we talked about investing for retirement and what we talked about rocked my thinking!

Charity and I currently invest about 13% of our income into a retirement fund. Most people would say: "That is great Neal!" The sad thing is that I have allowed someone else to dictate where my retirement fund goes and due to that I have made a -16% return on my money this year. In other words I would have been better to put my money under our bed!

With that said the question I leave you with: "Do you have a plan for retirement or are you just hoping you have enough?"

Bring Your Daughter to Work Day

2011-11-07T15:08:00.000-08:00

For the last couple months (maybe weeks) Sophie has been asking if she could come to work with me. Now I would love to bring my three year old to work with me but lets be honest: she would be bored! Well this Sunday was the time change and that is a joke if you have kids but I decided this would be the day to bring Sophie with me. We got all ready, we held hands on the way to the truck, Sophie sang about how excited she was to come help me out and we headed over to church. Since it was the time change we showed up a bit early and got our FPU class ready.

When I needed to print some things Sophie decided that she would help me out and got on the computer. Honestly I was a bit nervous bringing her t the office with me but she did great! I brought her into our staff prayer time before service and I told her that we can't talk. While we were talking through the service she looked at me and said: "How come they are talking?" Sophie is very into being fair. It was a great day with Sophie and I just knew that I needed to share this moment.

Singing in the Truck

2011-11-02T21:10:00.000-07:00

This week we had to drop Charity's car off at the mechanic so that meant we were using the truck for the day. I pulled the truck in the garage; something that has never happened before and the girls loved it! We took some time to play in the truck while I was putting in another car seat. Sophie was having fun playing around in the truck (turning all the knobs to something different and eating my altoids). Then I brought Leah into the truck and they were being so cute with each other.

I let them play together for a little while and then Sophie asked me to turn the truck on and roll up the windows. I was not about to roll up the windows and leave them in there but I did want to film them and show the world how cute it is when my kids sings to Justin Beiber!

Halloween Fun

2011-11-01T09:50:00.000-07:00

We did our traditional halloween and went over to our friends the Yurek's home for a little party. Charity dressed up as a Chargers fan and in the pic to the left I don't have my costume on yet. Sophie was dressed up as Tiana, from Princes and The Frog, which also doubled as Justin Beaver's (that what Sophie calls him) girlfriend. Little Leah dressed up as Tinkerbell and was the cutest fairy ever!

Last night I had so much fun with my family! We started off by watching the Chargers game and then took our party to the streets to get some candy! Sophie rode her tricycle around (that means I pushed it) and Leah was in her braught braught (her little car that Charity pushed). We went house to house, got some candy and really just had a great night with our friends laughing, eating food and just hanging out.

I dressed up as Jesus; which brought quite the few comments. I was very interested in the amount of people who took note of me being Jesus. One guy said something to the effect of: "Hey Jesus, I got a lot to talk to you about." Being a pastor I kindly replied: "Let me know when you're ready, I have time for you." It may have been a quick comment but hopefully I was able to remind him that Jesus always has time for us. All in all I had a great halloween with my family.

"More is Caught Than Taught Ministry"

2011-10-27T15:49:00.000-07:00

This line was shared with me early when I got into ministry: "More is Caught Than Taught". For the last couple years I have thought about how true this statement is. I have invested the last eight and a half years of my life into spreading the Gospel; mainly to students. Over these years I have seen hundreds of students come and go through the doors of our church. As I think back to my internship and the hundreds of students at Eastlake Church that we ministered to there is only one student I keep in contact with.

After Eastlake Church I helped out with a church plant just north is a cool city called Encinitas. I have to say that I have loosely kept in contact with one family from that church. Being at South Hills Church for the last, almost, seven years I have had a chance to share the truth of the Bible with lots of people. I think about these last seven years and I have a hard time believing that any of them can remember more than ten messages that I have shared. Ok, lets be honest, I think we would be hard pressed to find someone who remembers more than five of the messages I have preached here. To be honest, I would be stoked if there were a handful of people that remember one of the messages I have preached at our church.

(Indoor Skydiving with Spencer, Travis and Nick)

If there are a few people that remember one of the messages that I have preached and have acted on that truth of God I would be very excited. I would more excited to hear about students who have changed the direction of their life because we have spent time with them. I really do think that preaching on Sunday is super important but I think that people are more prone to remember the things we do off the stage. See I think that if you spoke with some of the students in our church they would share that they learned more from me on a road trip to snowboard or out on the lake. They could probably tell you how I acted at Hume Lake when we played paintball or a conversation we had at the lunch table.

I guess what I am trying to say is our lives are an example for Christ and people are watching our every move. I want to be known for how I lived my life off stage. I want people to remember how I acted in tough situations because I chose the high road.

The "Almost Done" Letter

2011-10-25T11:01:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month I spent a week in Redding, CA working on a week of seminary. While I was up there I was handed this letter:

Now this letter isn't the easiest thing in the world to read but it says a key line in there:

"If you successfully complete the above courses as scheduled, you will finish the requirements for the Masters of Divinity program as listed above."

This is something that I have been working on for over five years now and to be handed this letter was crazy emotional. There are a few things this letter means to me that some people may not understand:

1) Less Time Away From Home
I have spent a good deal of time away from my family over the last five years, six when I finish, and this letter means that I can have more time with my family after graduation.

2) Accomplishment
Many of you know that I dropped out of high school my junior year. I ended up going back and finishing at a continuation school. I didn't drop out because I was stupid I dropped out because I had a bunch going on in my family life and I was bored at school. Studying the Bible is something that I love to do!

3) Education
I started this MDiv program because felt that God was calling me to but during the process He taught me that it is more about the education I have received than a piece of paper that will sit on my wall.

These are just a few things this letter means to my life. It will always be a reminded to me of all the hard work I put in, studying the word of God, to help others know Christ.

My Yellow Watch

2011-10-18T12:42:00.000-07:00

Even since I was a wee little kid I have always wanted a Shark watch. I know... some people want a Rolex but I want a watch with a rubber wristband. So for my 30th birthday my amazing wife found me a Shark watch in my favorite color (see picture). This is me wearing my watch the first day I got it as we are heading to watch a movie for my birthday.

This summer we went to Hume Lake and I was so stoked to wear my watch and actually have the time on my wrist! On Tuesday some of the Senior guys invited me to go kayaking with them. Once we were on the lake I realized that none of them have ever been to Hume before and told them that we have to head down to the cove to play on the log roll.

We rowed to the other side of the lake, parked the boats and swam over to the log roll. Now the log roll is an amazing experience that I could not let these guys miss out on. After playing for a while I knew it was getting late so I looked at my wrist but my watch was gone. I was so bummed. I was beyond bummed.

That night, back at camp, I started thinking of how to get my watch back. I had a pair of googles but I would need help. Then it hit me; my alarm is going off at 6:23am to wake me up and my watch is waterproof. That night I asked around and was able to get five guys to help me and four more pairs of googles. The next morning we woke up before 6am, borrowed a car, drove to the cove and did this:

My watch spent the night at the bottom of Hume Lake but today it sits back on my left wrist as I type this. The craziest thing about this is something that wasn't caught on video. Before I jumped into the lake I stopped to pray that God would help me find my watch and sure enough I did!

Financial Peace University Week Six

2011-10-17T10:37:00.000-07:00

This Sunday we had our sixth week of Financial Peace University. This class has been pretty cool, for me personally, and seems to be very helpful for our church also. My last post on FPU was a brief overview of what we are learning and was just a scratch of the surface.

Yesterday I was extremely tired during the class but I was also excited to hear what Dave Ramsey was saying. See I finally felt like yesterday was something that Charity and I were already doing; the previous five weeks were things that we needed to adjust in our finances and that can be tough to hear and more difficult to actually make happen!

Here is a quick overview of what I am taking away from yesterdays FPU course:

Wait overnight before making a purchase
Carefully consider your buying motives. No amount of stuff equals contenment of fulfillment
Never buying anything you do not understand.
Consider the "opprotuinty cost" of your money
Seeking the counsel of your spouse.

I feel like Charity and I have done good with our money since being married but we want to do better as we move forward. We are examining every aspect of what we have to make sure that we are using what God has given us to the best of our ability.

Financial Peace University Debt Load

2011-10-11T15:31:00.000-07:00

Our church just finished week five of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University and we are getting ready to start week six. This course has been super cool, for me, to see how many people have jumped in to get involved. We have almost 40% of our church involved in this course which tells me two things:

1) The Las Vegas Economy has hit harder than I thought
2) People want to find financial freedom

One of the steps in the class is for the people involved to anonymously write down their debt load. To be honest I had no what to expect to see with this number when it came in. Now we have three different sessions of the class that we are offering to our church and from those different sessions we came up with one debt load number. I am not going to share that exact number but I want to let you know that it is over four million dollars.

I have been hesitant to put up that number because I think it can bring up emotions in peoples lives and to be honest I have a part of that number. In yesterdays blog I shared my personal learnings and personal debt load that Charity and I are carrying. The reason I chose to end up sharing that number is because I am excited to share with you in December the new number. See FPU is designed to help people get back on their feet financially and take control of their finances.

If you are in our church and you are reading this I want you to know that I am praying for everyone in our church to find financial freedom. I am praying for people to be able to take control of their finances and not let their finances take control of them. I am praying for people to find new connections with people in our church that they may have never met because of this course. I love my church and I am so proud of everyone taking the course and making the steps to get financial freedom!

Financial Peace University: Week Five

2011-10-10T09:14:00.000-07:00

This week we hit week five in our Financial Peace University (FPU) Course that our church has been doing. I am one of 260 people in our church that is taking the course in one of the three different times we are offering it. Last night I started thinking about FPU and what this has done for our family already.

Charity and I moved about two months ago and well... to be honest, moving cost us more than we had bargained for. We didn't have to rent a moving truck (thanks to a friend) and we didn't have to pay movers (thanks to many friends). When we were planning the move we knew we would need some more furniture to help fill the new house; we went from 1050 square feet to over 1700 square feet.

Secondly we have used our credit card like a debt card for the last five years. We would put all our family expenses on the card and then pay it off monthly. Well with the addition of two children in the last three years expenses have increased and we found out that we owed our credit card $1500. That may not be too huge a number for the average American family but we don't want to be the average American family.

Finally FPU has been great to share with the young adults at our church. Charity really took this as her personal goal this summer to get as many college students in this course to help them make wise choices financially right away in life. I love getting to spend time with the people at our table, on a weekly basis, and see how they are getting this lesson before they make the unwise choices.

These are some random thoughts from FPU at our church but I really think this course has changed the way I am thinking about money. I want to make sure that I make the best choices with the resources that God has put in my possession.

A Major Accomplishment

2011-10-03T13:21:00.000-07:00

The other day I was looking at my wall and noticed something super cool. See when I arrived at South Hills almost seven years ago I made an agreement to work on my ordination as a pastor. Within four months I had accomplished my licensing with the Christian and Missionary Alliance. From there it was supposed to be a two year process to get my Ordination completed. After two (and a half) years of working on my Ordination I finally took the flight to Sacramento to have my final Ordination interview.

The interview could cover over 280 questions and it was all oral. I sat in a room with five men who most had been pastoring longer than I had been alive. I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous sitting in that room with those men but I also had a confidence sitting there with them. I knew that these men wanted me to succeed; they had been rooting for me the last couple years and now it was time to culminate all my work.

After a two hour interview I was asked to leave the room and allow the men deliberate from our time. I was called back in about 15 minutes later. The leader of the interview said some great things about our time together, complimented me on my understanding of Theology and there was a cool sense in the room that day. There is one line that sticks out to me from that time when Doug (our district supervisior) said this: "Neal it is the recommendation of this board to approve your ordination with no reservation and nothing further to work on."

I'm not sure if you have ever had anyone say that to you but I was told later that basically I nailed it. My life was in line, I was correct on scripture and that interview affirmed my calling into life-long pastoral ministry. Now I don't share all of this to brag but to just share my excitement of call on my life from where I started my life to where God has brought me.

(This is Roy Price officiating my Ordination Service)

(A group of our pastors and elders praying for Charity and me)

Made for Ministry

2011-09-27T20:52:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I took an online Small Groups Conference through Saddleback Church called "Twelve". During the conference I was reminded of a few things that sparked my excitement for ministry, again, in a new way. One of those things was that we were made for ministry. God created me to serve the church and use the gifts and talents that I have to help the church be a better place for others. I hope that is something that you believe in your life and actively live out!

Part of my new role I am helping to slot childcare for our Tuesday night Financial Peace University. Now if you were honest with yourself most people would not find it a joy to find people to watch other people's kids; when you say it like that. But if you say it a different way and get to see what I have seen and hear the stories that I have heard it becomes a totally different story. I get to see students using their gift of love and compassion to watch kids on a weekly basis so that families in our church can grow in their financial understanding.

See I have a cool seat where I get to see students serving with younger kids, loving on them, playing with them, hanging out with them, holding little babies and modeling the love of Christ to these children. Now there are times that it can be tough but I have taken a new approach on the whole deal. See I truly believe that when I ask a student to watch children that they are ministering to those younger kids as an older believe in Christ. I am not just "slotting childcare" but I am helping students find their calling in the body of Christ and use their time to love on kids.

Even as I write this is makes me smile because most of the students have actually thanked me for inviting them into ministry on Tuesday nights! I had a conversation with one girl that got me so excited because I was able to explain to her that we need to allow others this opprotunitty to minister. Here is a text message that I got from a young man who helped out one night and it just makes me smile! When you read the message you can see that this young man had a great time ministering to these younger kids. He let me know that he met some kids who were pretty cool and that he would not just do it again if I asked him but he would be happy to do it again.

See we are made for ministry. We are made to use our gifts and talents to serve the church to help others find their full potential in Christ. Are you taking part in that? I hope you are because then you will be happy to come and serve again.

The Power of an Invite {Part.Three}

2011-09-14T15:34:00.000-07:00

Now that I had been invited to church and God had done some amazing changes in my life, I began to live my life differently. I stopped drinking (personal choice) because I know where it had taken me in the last few years. I also stopped doing drugs because I just didn't think that lined up, Biblically, with my new decision to follow Christ. I started to serve at my local church and helped out in our children's ministry (this was a great place for me to grow spiritually).

Then one night I had the chance to invite someone on the journey I was taking. I was at a friends house from Big Bear who had recently moved to San Diego. He was living in a large house a couple minutes from my place with a few other guys who were all from Big Bear also. The house was a full on party house so much so that they called it the Playboy Mansion. It was a Saturday night and I was hanging out at the house when someone asked me about why I wasn't drinking. I began to share my faith and what God was doing in my life.

At that moment my friend Brian walked out of the room and headed, quickly, to his room. I wasn't to sure what he was getting in his room and to be honest I thought he was grabbing a gun. He came out of his room shaking a Bible and saying (loudly): "I want to understand this book and what it means." I knew he was drunk so I told him what I knew I safely could and then invited him to come to small group with me on Tuesday when he was sober. He accepted the invite and the conversation changed.

On Tuesday I pulled up to Brian's house and went inside to get him. He totally forgot that he had said he could come to small group but he ended up coming with me. That night, in small group, Brian broke down in tears and confessed his sin. God was working heavily in his heart and he accepted Christ that night! Brian was in desperate need of a savior and God used me as a man to invite him to church. Our friendship has grown so much that I was able to preform his wedding ceremony! Brian is one of my best friends and I am so proud of what God has done in his life in the last 10 years. I often wonder what would have happened in Brian's life if God never used me to invite him to church...

The Power on an Invite {Part.Two}

2011-09-13T14:27:00.000-07:00

When I was twenty years old I walked into my DUI school because of the choices that I had made and where they landed me. That morning I had a meeting with the teacher of my class so I had to show up early. During the meeting the teacher asked me about my drug use, my alcohol consumption and how I ended up where I was. I was very open with the teacher and at the end of the session he looked me in the eyes and said this: "I'm not supposed to give you my personal opinion but I want you to know if you continue to do what you have done you will be dead in five years." Those words have rattled in my brain for the last eleven years. See I never imagined that when I was invited to smoke pot when I was thirteen that I would end up here.

After our meeting I went to my regular class and in that class there was a man named Brett Wheeler who spoke openly about his walk with Christ and his involvement in church. He admitted that he had messed up and there was something different about this man. I knew that I needed to talk to him. See I had just been released from jail five days prior for another alcohol related incident and I was hurting more than I had ever hurt before. My life was shaken to the core and I had no clue what I believed anymore.

As we were leaving class I wanted so badly to ask Brett to take me to church with him but I was scared to ask him. That morning, when we walked out of the classroom doors, Brett turned around and invited me to church with him. I was about to decline when he looked me in the eyes and said these words: "Neal if you don't stop what you have been doing you will be dead in five years."That was too much for me to hear that in such a short period of time.

That day I gave Brett my number and he not only invited me to church but he drove about forty minutes to pick me up and then forty minutes back to church. Then he also gave me a ride home! Brett modeled what it means to invite someone to church and then follow through with that. I have to say that I am not sure where I would be today if he had not invited me to church that day...

The Power of an Invite {Part.One}

2011-09-12T20:53:00.000-07:00

As I've transitioned into my new role I have been thinking more and more about what I want to dub The Power of an Invite. Our church just started Financial Peace University and its great to see how many people have been invited into this journey into financial freedom. As my role grows, and we get Life Groups up and running healthily, I am excited to see how many people are invited into life changing relationships. Thinking about life changing relationships reminded me of four things that I want to write about this week.

When I was about thirteen years-old I was invited to a friends house and that invite would change the way I lived. I was at a pee-wee football game at the local middle school that I had ridden my bike to. After the game I rode my bike, with some other guys, over a new friends house. I can't exactly remember when I was invited over to this house; it may have been figured out before hand or taken place that day but that invite changed my life.

That early fall day was the first day I was introduced to smoking pot. I went over to my friends house and ended up smoking pot with about four other guys. I remember that day very clearly. I remember sitting upstairs in my friends room on his little couch he had in there. I remember what we used to smoke the weed. I can even remember some of the things we talked about that day. I am not sure what, in my memory, has held onto those thoughts but for some reason I have.

See that day I was invited to someone's house and then invited to smoke pot. No one forced me to ride my bike over there. I was not bullied into making the choice to smoke pot; all the choices that day were choices I made. Now this will be the one post I write on this week that is directly related to a decision that has had a negative influence on my life. I want to start this way because it fits in a time line of what I will present and how my life has changed. I want us all to be keenly aware of how important the invite is in our lives can be impacted for the positive or the negative!

18 Months Later

2011-09-11T21:06:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that eighteen months ago we were blessed with this beautiful little girl (ok, honestly Leah was 9 pounds 1 ounce when she was born so she has never been "little")! Leah Joy is our second daughter and it has been so cool to see her grow and mature over the last eighteen months in our home. Leah has gotten the coolest personality and it has really been a blessing to see her grow up, see her interact with Sophie and see how much she loves her mom.

When Leah was born I gave her the nickname "Little Leah". Not sure where it came from but it just seemed to fit. There were a bunch of pictures that I could have put up here to show who this little girl is now but I chose this one. Leah loves to eat blueberries on her waffle and this morning was no exception! Leah wanted more waffle and is using her sign language saying: "please" to get more (you gotta love a girl who uses her manners). Leah has her tough nights and doesn't always sleep through the night. She has some great days and loves to swim, make us laugh, tickle and climb the stairs. I hope that these next eighteen months of our family will be ten times more of a joy than the first eighteen months were!

First Chargers Game

2011-09-04T21:31:00.000-07:00

Yep... I am 31 years old. I lived in San Diego for almost five years and it took me driving just over 300 miles from Las Vegas to go to my first San Diego Chargers game! This trip was actually super cool for me because I was able to take it with some young men who recently graduated from our high school ministry; Nevin Zwifel, Nick Markovich and Anthony Rossa.

We left Vegas around 8pm on Wednesday night and headed to Corona to stay at Nick's cousins house. We left Corona early Thursday morning and headed to the beach. It was great spending the day at the beach with these guys and my friend Jon Miano actually came and hung out with us (Jon was a student when I was an intern in San Diego almost nine years ago).

After the beach we headed to Wahoo's Fish Tacos and I got one of the best burritos I have ever eaten. After filling up we took the trolley over to Qualcomm Stadium to see our first game! Here is a cool pic that I will never forget. It was great to spend the day with these guys at the beach and then head over to the game. We got these nice and early to watch the team warm up and we made sure to boo for the 49'ers as they came out.

I have to admit that our seats were literally perfect! The seating may have gotten a little better but for me this was perfect. We were close enough to see the action but not too close that it was tough to see the field. We weren't too far either; I never found myself watching the game on the big screen. It was crazy for me how quick the game seemed to go. It was like one minute it was sunny and the next it was dark. The game seemed to fly by being there in the action.

I have to admit that I was a little bummer that Rivers, Gates, and Jackson didn't start but I can get over that. I am so thankful to Nick for taking me to this game. Now the coolest part is that I have been able to invest into the lives of these guys for over 12 years (Nevin 7 years, Nick 4 years and Anthony 1). It was great to spend some time with them as they are starting college, getting for the Marines and becoming men. I can't tell you how thankful I am that I got to attend this game but more importantly to spend time with these men.

HELP! I'm a HS Graduate

2011-08-23T09:54:00.000-07:00

These last few weeks have been great but heartbreaking in ministry. We have seen students pack their bags, have a party and then head off to college. Its great fun to see them grow up and head off to college but its tough to wonder how they will handle the world. I hope that we have trained up students to love God and like others. I hope that we have helped them learn how to connect with God on their own. I know that we have done our best that we can but there is still that thought that creeps in and wonders how they will do.

Here are five things that I have been thinking for students entering college, moving cities, having their routine changed or just really wanting to take their walk with Christ to the next level:

Get Connected in a Local Church
If you have moved to go to college you need to get connected in a local church. Find somewhere that is fairly close to your school to attend. I think this is the first priority in your new endeavor in life. College is going to take up a good deal of your time and you need to get this piece in place ASAP.

Serve in a Ministry
Once you find a church that you love make a commitment to that church. I have pushed many of you to serve here at South Hills so I want you to make that same commitment to the local church you are now attending. If you are staying here in Vegas "re-up" your commitment to South Hills and your area of ministry.

Read Your Bible
I know this may sound like a resounding gong to read your Bible but you need to find a way to connect with God on a daily basis and this has been one of the best methods. Just this morning I was reading the Psalms and found some verses that identify the character of God. These verses help strengthen my faith!

Identify Yourself as A Christian
When you step onto a new campus there are going to be so many different things that you can get involved in. You need to start this journey off right and identify yourself as a Christian on your new college campus. This doesn't mean being weird or anything but it means standing up for what you believe in.

Join a Life Group
The place that I have seen the most change in my life is when I am doing life with others. This could be called a: Small Group, Life Group, Growth Group or something else. Find out who leads them and get involved with one. Figure out a way to get connected with others in Christian Accountability.

This list not an "all-inclusive" list but a starting point to keep your walk with Christ strong!

Baptism: Summer 2011

2011-08-15T15:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we baptized some very special students!

I have been a part of many baptism services since I started in ministry. For those of us in ministry you know that every time we baptize someone it is very special to us. Yesterday when we baptized these students it was extra special and I want to share four things that made it extra special:

1) This is a group of students we invested in
Most of the students we baptized yesterday we have invested in for over two years. Some of these students gave their lives to Christ when they were freshman in our high school ministry. We have seen these students grow through out high school and seen them make some great choices as they have followed Christ.

2) These students are committed to Christ
I do not want this statement to be misleading or degrading to anyone. I also want to be honest. I have fallen into baptizing students, and adults, that I wish I would have challenged to grow more in their faith before making this choice. This group of students were committed. Many of these students have passed up other baptism services because they were not sure if they were ready yet. They made sure that they were ready to live this life out and follow the choice they have made.

3) We baptized them in our church
For the life our our church we have typically baptized people outside the walls of the church building and I love that! Yesterday we did something different and I think it went so good! We took this group of students and baptized them inside our church, during our 11am service. We had our entire church focused on seeing this group make this commitment to God and I loved seeing that.

4) I had front row seats to life change
As a pastoral leader I get a cool seat. Sometimes that seat is tough because I see the painful things from the front row and shield others from seeing that. Yesterday morning I got the best seat in the house. I was able to watch the water roll over these students faces and see their expression coming out of the water. I was able to give them their first hug as they exited the water. If you rewind four years I have also had the opportunity to see many of these students raise their hand and see their need for a savior.

I am so thankful that I have had a front row seat to the life change in all of your lives. I love you guys. You can see more pictures of the baptism by clicking here.

Encouragement from Hume Lake 2011

2011-08-07T09:51:00.000-07:00

This summer was a great year being at Hume Lake. I think it was my best summer there that I have ever experienced. Something that added to that joy this summer was two things I received while up at Hume. This summer I had two parents send me two different things. One parent sent me a big box of a candy with a cool note in there and the other parent sent a heart felt thank you card.

The first note of encouragement came from a family with this box of candy! Now the candy was really cool and we figured out that a parent caught my joke (most jokes are half serious) that I shared in our parent meeting prior to camp to send me up some candy while I was gone. I was not expecting to get what I received but I was so happy. And when I got that box of candy I let our adult leaders have first pick (after I ate a few goodies). This box was stacked full of candy! There was so much candy that I was able to share it with the lead counselors at Hume and even hook up the guys in my cabin.

Now the card I got was very encouraging. Its interesting how a simple card can encourage someone when they are loving on their child.

Here are some thoughts that any parent can do next time someone takes their child on a trip:

Send an encouraging card thanking that person for investing in their child's life
Send a box of candy
Ask another person on the trip to give the person a card, or gift, while they are away (this option can save money or be useful if mail will not be available)
Write a hand written note and slip it the person's backpack so they find it later in the week
Give the person a Starbucks card as they head out of town (most weekends away with students are long and can become tiring)

Here is a copy of the letter that came with my box of candy. Very creative!

My New Role: Pastor of Discipleship

2011-08-04T10:37:00.000-07:00

Last night was a very difficult night for me. Last night was the night that we shared with our students about some of the things that we have been working hard on, behind the scenes, to make South Hills a more effective church. Part of this will include a role transition for me. Starting September I will be transitioning out of student ministries and into a new role: Pastor of Discipleship.

About two months ago I had a conversation with the leadership of our church and during that conversation I was asked to transition into this new role to help us grow the church. This new role is going to stretch me in some pretty big ways and as I have prayed through it I think it's going to stretch my faith also.

About a year ago it became evident to me that our High School Ministry was functioning like a one-legged pirate. I shared this with leaders and students. Now one-legged pirates are cool and people want to see them and take their picture with them but they are not balanced. Our High School Ministry was not balanced in the Biblical Purposes and it was hurting our growth in students lives. This same analogy works for our church. Our church has a great week worship experience but we are lacking in discipling believers.

As I move into this new role, initially, my main responsibility will be to build on what we currently have going in our Life Groups area. As we develop those, recruit more leaders and get more people in church involved them my role will expand. Some areas we have talked about would include: Missions (local and global), Spiritual Formation, and Accountability. I would really appreciate your prayers as we move into this new role and transition out of student ministries.

Now let me share some things about this change:

Chase Feindel, our Middle School Pastor, will provide leadership for all Student Ministries
I am not in trouble
This new role is going to stretch me
Charity and I have prayed about this role and feel God leading us in this direction
We love our church
I have spoken with our Elders at our church and the affirmation I have received from them is: "Neal, we think you are the only person on our staff who can do this."
My pastor, Kevin Wehr, have given me his vote of confidence to lead this area of ministry

Hume Lake 2011: Meditating on Scripture

2011-08-02T09:36:00.000-07:00

This summer at Hume the staff did something different. Honestly, at first, I was a little annoyed. I love going to Hume because they have an amazing program and I can trust what they are doing so my team and I can hang out with students. This summer as we went over the schedule the staff shared an addition to the schedule this year that would give each pastor 90 minutes to spend with just their church. Some ideas that were thrown out were to play volleyball together, to go to the cove or just do something with your church.

At first I wasn't sure what to do so I needed to seek Jesus. After taking the night to think/pray about it I came up with the fact that our students needed to learn some spiritual exercises. I was pretty nervous because our ministry is very evangelistic focused and I felt that we needed to teach our students how to meditate on scripture using a practice that has been used throughout the church for centuries: Lectio Divina.

Wednesday afternoon we piled our students in the chapel and worked through this exercise:

1) Find a word in scripture (Lectio)
I started out reading Psalm 46:10 and asked students to find a word in that verse. When you meditate on scripture it is helpful to use the Psalms but you can meditate on pretty much any scripture in the Bible. I have used this practice while reading the Gospels, Epistles and Psalms. You can take a few minutes on this part to read through scripture and while reading you find a word that grabs your attention and sticks out to you.

2) Listen to the word (Meditatio)
Now that you have a word in your mind comes the fun part (it can also be the most difficult part). See we live in a culture that rejects down town and relaxation. Meditating on scripture is not something that we tend to encourage in the church. This can be difficult but very rewarding. After you have found the word take some time to meditate on that word. When your mind wonders just bring that word right back to the front of your mind and focus on that word and allow it to just speak to you.

3) Pray on that scripture (Oratio)
After you have meditated on that word for a couple minutes take some time to pray about that word. Ask God what that word has to do in your life right now, how that word can grow you in your walk with Christ and what could happen in your life if you would trust God more. This is a cool part that just causes you to pray specifically on that certain word.

4) Abide in God (Contemplatio)
Now this is where it really gets cool. After you have found your word, you have taken some time to meditate on that word, you have prayed through that word for a few minutes now is when you get to do something that can be amazing: spend time with God. You just chill with God in this portion of the spiritual exercise. This is where you allow God to speak to you through your word and encourage you in what He would ask of you.

Now its your turn to spend time with God and allow Him to speak to your heart through His word!

Hume Lake Paintball

2011-08-01T14:43:00.000-07:00

This week I wanna take some time to dedicate this blog to some of the amazing things that God did while we were at Hume Lake!

Every year we take some of our students to play paintball while at Hume Lake and this year was no different. The only change was that twenty minutes prior to paintball we had students mediating on God's word and getting super connected to Jesus right before they shot each other! So its the middle of the week and playing paintball on Wednesday afternoon this year was amazing!

My first year of Hume Lake (summer 2005) some of the students said that the only way they would play paintball would be in shorts and wife beaters (tank tops). That has been the standard for our paintball attire ever since that summer. Now you are probably thinking something like this: "That is stupid to play paintball in shorts and a tank top". You are right. Its not the smartest thing that we can do but it is so fun!

This year was even better because one of my friends Kurt Johnson is working up at Hume and he brought his Go Pro on the paintball field and made this video. Make sure to watch it all the way through so you can see how my armpit it bleeding at the end!

Hume Lake 2011: Decision Night

2011-07-26T21:20:00.000-07:00

Tonight was an amazing night at Hume Lake... amazing may not be the best word to describe what happened tonight so let me share the story with you.

I love that Hume Lake is all about students growing in their relationship with Christ. Part of growing means starting a relationship with Christ and that is exactly what tonight was all about. Chapel started around 7pm and the worship set was really good.

After worship I just felt the need to head outside so I can pray for some students. I listened in the pastors message while I prayed for some of the students in our group. That lead to praying for some of the leaders in our group who would be talking with these students later. See when I was praying I was expecting God to work in these students lives.

After the message I headed back into Chapel and the pastor had already asked students who made a choice for Christ to stand up. I looked over to my right and saw a handful of students who were standing up. In that group was a young, 16 year-old, who is in my cabin. I have been praying for him for the last couple weeks and I was so excited to see that he had stood up!

For the next thirty minutes I was able to talk with this young man, cry with him and just listen. I am so proud of him and the choice that he made tonight. It was great to listen to his story and just hear how he was reluctant to come to Hume. It was great to hear him say how he was fighting with his mom for sending him up here this week and then to hear him say how thankful he is for his mom sending him.

Now that part is the best part of the story but it gets better. When this young man left chapel there was a group of about forty students waiting for him when he left chapel. When he opened the doors they cheered for him, hugged him and encouraged him. They didn't do this for just this one young man but for the other six students who stayed back tonight to make a decision for Christ.

I love seeing High School students being the church!

No Pushing

2011-07-20T16:35:00.000-07:00

I can't tell you how many times I heard that when I was growing up. I was a rowdy kid when I was growing up and being the fact that I am a boy that can add to the ruckus. Little boys like to push other kids. We get upset and we don't know how to control our emotions so we do the only natural thing: we push. Then when we push an adult typically approaches us and reprimands us for our actions. We get upset because we are emotional and now we have been caught acting naughty and that can embarrass us.

With all that said we are raised in a society that tells us that pushing is bad. I want to say that we need to push people more often. I think we live in a culture that has a tendency to become spiritually lazy. When we become spiritually lazy we fail to take the time that we need to so we can grow in our relationship with God.

One thing that I have been committed to in life is to push people to grow spiritually. I want to see adults and students grow into their full potential. Two weeks ago I pushed one of our students leaders out of her comfort zone. We were hosting our mid-week service together and I was the one who was supposed to pray for our Compassion offering. When it came time to pray I passed it off to Chandler to let her pray. My throat was kind of hurting but more than that I knew that Chandler was ready to be pushed for more.

I knew that I would get one of two responses from Chandler. See one thing I try to assess when I'm going to push someone is how will they handle this push? Will this push be something that helps them to grow in their walk with Christ or will this push be something that upsets them? To be honest I get it wrong every now and then and I hurt people's feelings but that night I was right. I knew it was a good call to ask Chandler to pray on stage because I knew off stage she would say no. I know it can be a risky call and I was totally putting her on the spot but I just knew in my heart that it was the right call. After that night I sent Chandler a text thanking her for praying and this is the text I got back from Chandler.

I have two questions to ask in life:

Are you pushing people in your circle of influence to grow in their walk with Christ?
Have you placed people in your life that will push you to grow to be a better Christian?

Swimming and My Spiritual Growth

2011-07-18T20:29:00.000-07:00

This may be a new thing to you but I took a swimming class in junior college. I could already swim but I needed two P. E. credits and swimming fit my schedule. I got in the pool that first day and almost died. I'm not sure I even owned a pair of swim goggles. Over time I listened to the teacher. I improved on my stroke. I learned a few more strokes and at the end of the semester I swam a mile. Yep, the final exam was to swim a mile and I'm pretty sure I ended up doing it in just under forty-five minutes.

Well as I have grown older and I used to swim quite frequently for my cardio workout but that had diminished over the years. Just recently (like last week) Charity had bought some goggles at Costco so I figured I would take a swim at the gym. I did my normal workout and then headed to the pool. When I got done with my first two laps I realized that I am out of shape. After swimming six laps I was standing in the water, straining to get my breath and it hit me: "This is what is like when we fail to grow spiritually."

Many of us have had great times in our live that we have grown spiritually and we have seen growth in our lives. God has found favor in our lives and has used us to do some amazing things for His glory. Then, for whatever reason it may be, we stop growing spiritually. We get married, have children, or just decide that is not something we are going to focus on in our lives anymore.

Something happens in our lives and we want to be back at that place we were in live. We realize how desperate we are for the relationship with The Lord that we once had and we jump back in and try to pick up where we left off. The sad thing is we are out of shape; spiritually. We are spiritually out of shape and cannot maintain what we once we able to do... and that becomes hard for many of us.

This is a reminder for me that I have been out of shape for swimming and that will take time to get back to where I was but I was also convicted that I have gotten spiritually out of shape and need to spend more time listening to the voice of God in my life.

Remember what it says:

“Today when you hear his voice,

don’t harden your hearts

as Israel did when they rebelled.” Hebrews 3:15 (NLT)

The Benson's are Moving

2011-07-17T11:35:00.000-07:00

The rumor is out so I figured its time to let you all know that we are moving!
We are actually moving out of Las Vegas... and heading over to Henderson!

Now that I got your attention, and maybe scared you a little bit, I can let you know the facts about the move. Charity and I have been praying for about two years that we could move into a bigger place than we currently live. I tend to fall into the American trap and say things like: "Our condo is so small." or "I need more room."

When I actually take the time to step back, and slow down, I realize that I have a beautiful little condo. I realize that I don't need more room but that I would like more room. I would love it for the girls to have their own bedrooms but in reality they like to sleep in the same room. I want an office to do my seminary work at while at home (its tough on the kitchen table). I would love to have a garage to store our seasonal items but we just don't have that where we currently live.

So through all our prayers, and my whining, God has answered our prayer to bless us with a bigger place to move in to. We are pretty stoked to have a guest room (slash office) for our friends to be able to stay in when they come to town. I'm excited for the girls to have the loft to use as a play room. I am really excited to have a little backyard where we can BBQ and play with the girls outside. I am more excited to have a place where we can have people over and it wont interfere with the girls taking naps or sleeping. We can hang out with people at night, do ministry, and our girls will hopefully not be bothered.

These are just a few things that make me excited about our new place. Now we aren't buying the place. We are actually short selling our condo (and I would like to blog on that in the future) so this has been a long prayed out process in our lives. Will you please join us in prayer as our move gets closer? Please pray that our new home will be a place of ministry and life change for all that enter and that God will guide our thoughts and action in that home to honor Him!

Princess Bed

2011-07-14T15:24:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I set up my first toddler bed...

It was a big day for Sophie and for Charity and I. I listed Sophie's crib on craigslist and didn't expect it to sell for a couple weeks. Its a pretty nice crib and I wasn't about to just take a low ball offer. Within 45 minutes of listing it we had a call and the lady wanted to come over and get it. Needless to say I was thrown off and once it sold we had to go get Sophie a bed to sleep in.

We had been prepping Sophie for this so she had already chosen the bed that she wanted. We zipped over to Toys R Us and were able to get the exact bed that she wanted. So after an hour and a half of me putting the bed together Sophie was ready to get some sleep and see what I was doing. There were a few times that she peeked her head in and confessed that she was peeking and so excited!

Here is her reaction to her new bed. The first picture is my favorite because she just stood there for about 10 seconds staring at her bed!

She loved snuggling in her bed for the first time

Of course she had to show me how she could jump out of it!

I just can' believe that our little girl is growing up so much that she is in a toddler bed. I am so stoked to see how much Sophie loves her new bed... the crazy part is seeing how much Leah loves it too! I have a feeling that I will be setting up another princess bed in the near future.

Sophie's First Flowers

2011-07-13T15:01:00.000-07:00

I want my daughter to know that she is a princess in my eyes!

I like to grab Charity flowers every now and then so that she has something to look at on the table. Its also nice for your wife to know that she is loved. Well the last couple times that I've brought Charity flowers home Sophie has asked me: "Are those for me daddy?"

Every time I had to rely with a "no" these are for mommy. So the other day I decided that I would be the first man to bring my little girl flowers. I walked in the house and Sophie asked her typical question. I finally was able to tell her that "Yes, these flowers are for you!" Sophie was so happy to get flowers. She got on the table every morning to smell them. She watched them as they opened and then finally she let me take a quick pic of her with her flowers.

A lesson that I learned from this is that my little girl wants to be treated like a princess. There is something that is ingrained in Sophie that she wants my approval. Sophie wants me to love her and that is exactly what I plan on doing in life. I want Sophie, and Leah, to know that I love them both so dearly. I want them to know that I care for them. I want them to know they are my little princesses. I want to give them my approval in life for the choices they make. I want them to trust me in my actions and know that daddy loves them. I am thankful to have such a precious little daughter how loves me so much.

I never knew how happy it would make her to get flowers!

I Never Expected This: Part Four

2011-07-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

This blog series was supposed to be finished last week but I got a surprise that has extended it a week.

Seminary has been a roller coaster for me...
I love learning but there is a word in my life that can change everything: "FUN". Anytime there is something presented to me as being fun I tend to leave what I need to focus on and seek out the fun in my life. Now seminary hasn't always been fun. There have been courses that have rocked my heart, shown me how selfish I am and literally made me want to quit being a pastor. There are also courses that I have had prof's that love Jesus, are living out the call on their life and want to invest into the younger generation of leaders. This post is dedicated to two men who have helped me in these last two years of ministry.

Dr. Bill Randall
I met Dr. Bill Randall a few years prior to taking "Spiritual Formations" with him in the summer of 2009. It was a crazy summer for me! My lead pastor had just resigned a month prior to me taking the course and knowing about Bill I decided to switch classes to be with him. I knew that I needed some serious spiritual help on my heart to handle the next season of ministry that I was facing. Bill, and his wife Jill, took some time with Charity and I while we were in Redding that week and were amazing to us! Jill hung out with Charity while I was writing papers and going to class. For the last two years Bill has spoken into my life, prayed for me, and hung out with me as a spiritual leader.

Dr. Rod Casey
I met Rod last summer while taking a preaching class from him. One of the first things Rod said to me was "I'm sorry to hear about your speeding ticket." I was freaked out! Rod had taken the time to search my name and found out that I had got a speeding ticket on my way up to school that week. During the week I just fell in love with Rod's teaching style, what he was saying and how he was saying it. Rod challenged me in my speaking and in my church leadership. I asked Rod to go to lunch with me so we could talk ministry one on one and ever since then he has been a key voice in my leadership growth.

See the funny thing about seminary is that I never expected that the men who were leading the courses would take this much interest in my life and care for me the way these guys do!

I Never Expected This: Part Three

2011-07-08T11:21:00.000-07:00

This week I have been sharing some thoughts about thing that I never expected from seminary. Today I'm going to add one to my list because of something that happened this week.

This week I received and email that the dean of my seminary has resigned (at least that is how I read it). Now I am not completely sure of everything that went down and for me to say anything more than that line would be speculation on my behalf.

But here is what I do know; Tozer is my third seminary that I have attended. I started out my degree is San Diego attending Azusa Pacific University and I LOVED it! I was in one very cool course and then I accepted a call to Las Vegas to be a Middle School Pastor at a growing church called South Hills. I took a break from seminary to focus on building the ministry and then found a local seminary that I could attend. Fuller Seminary really isn't a local seminary but they had a program that I could start attending locally to work on my education.

Well about half way through my degree it became evident to me that I was not going to be able to finish my degree here in town because of how Fuller is set up (I wish I could have). I started talking with guys and ran into a man named Rob Redmann who told me about Tozer Seminary up in Redding, CA. I loved the idea and finally had the guts to transfer (again). After I transferred I found out that Rob was leaving the seminary. There was an intern dean by the name of Leron Heath and he is a STUD in ministry. The guys loves Jesus, has a pastoral heart and is an amazing man (he also helped me with ordination).

Well Leron was the intern dean while Tozer found the right person for the job. About eighteen months ago they brought in Dr. Sarah Sumner to lead the seminary and I thought she was doing pretty good (I can be judgmental at times). About a month ago I had a conversation with Sarah that fired me up on higher education and the direction of Tozer. The email I got on Wednesday was saddening to my heart but I trust that God has a plan for Tozer and He is still the leader of the seminary.

On a personal side I just never expected that I would transfer so much, have so many deans and attend so many schools to complete my degree.

I Never Expected This: Part Two

2011-07-07T11:05:00.000-07:00

This week I'm taking some time to blog about what I never expected to learn while in seminary.

I knew that going to seminary I would begin to get a better understanding of scripture but I never imagined that I would get this good of an understanding. Now please hear me that I am not saying I totally understand everything in the Bible; that is not what I am saying. I am saying that I am beginning to see how scripture fits together better.

For example I am currently taking a course on Old Testament Kings and Prophets. I am loving this course because for so long I had NO clue how the Kings and Prophets fit together. I am finally getting an understanding of what is happening in the Old Testament history. Now to give you a glimpse into my past I was the guy who dropped out of high school my junior year. This is a huge step for me when I am seeing the unity in scripture and how the word of God is complete.

I never expected that I would learn so much in seminary and just not learn it but enjoy it this much!

I Never Expected This: Part One

2011-07-06T10:47:00.000-07:00

This week I'm going to take some time to share some thoughts that have been stirring in my mind from seminary. Now I know that over a month ago I was ready to quit seminary but this month has been very good for me in my studies and thinking about what I am gaining from seminary that I never thought would happen!

This last Sunday I had the opportunity to preach at my favorite church in the country; South Hills Church in Henderson, NV. I have been on staff at SHCC for over six years now but this was a cool Sunday. I was able to kick off a three-week series on the book of Jonah. Now something that was a huge blessing to me was having my best friend there, Mark Salazar, to see me preach.

Mark has been key in my growth in my walk with Christ. Mark is like a "Barnabas" to me. He has been there through so much and we have both grown in ministry greatly over the last almost eleven years I have known him. I think that Mark is the kind of Christian man that every pastor needs in their life.

After church Mark brought his family over to my house for dinner and some hang time with the family. While he and I were sitting at the table he was very encouraging about how my speaking style has grown (Mark has known me for a long time). He was stoked to see how well I handled the text, how I enunciated my words and how I made sure to engage the crowd. I was so encouraged to hear that from Mark and get that affirmation from him.

I thought about it and I never thought that seminary would help me in my preaching at much as it has. I really give a bunch of that credit to Dr. Rod Casey and the course he taught last summer. I think that course has helped m with my communication style in a huge way. Rod helped me to get my thoughts together, to keep the message to one main point and to not be scared to leave great wisdom on my desk that just didn't fit into the message. I guess I just never expected that seminary would help me grow in my preaching as much as it has.

Here is the message if you want to judge for yourself

Little Hands: Part Three

2011-07-05T11:17:00.000-07:00

Yep another picture of me with my shirt off

So if you have been watching the progress of my tattoo I went down to the shop a week ago and sat down for another session with Johnny Five. Johnny filled in the frames with some cool blues behind the hands to make them pop out. Then we added some purple to the frame in the corners. Johnny did the jewels in the frame with the girls birthstone colors and the coolest part was to put a drop shadow around the entire frame to make it stand out more.
I am loving this tattoo more and more every day! One more session (after summer) to get the girls names down on the bottom.

Student Lead Worship

2011-06-27T15:04:00.000-07:00

Student lead worship is something I am very passionate. It could be a mixture of my training, my heart to empower students or just what I saw early in ministry but for the last six years I have had a heart to empower students to lead their peers in worship.

Now I know that some people will disagree with me on this point. I also know that when we empower students to lead we can loose what some would call "quality". Over the last eight years of student ministry I have come to the conclusion that I will always sacrifice quality to empower students to lead worship. Let me share with you what has caused me to get the place where I am willing to empower students to sacrifice the quality of worship:

1) My Training
Early in ministry, when I was interning, I saw students lead worship well. Was it the best worship experience that I have ever been involved in? No not at all but it was worship. I look at those students who were in the worship team over eight years ago and one of the guys went into full-time ministry and another went to college and still volunteers his time at the local church in the worship team. I saw that when you empower students to lead it helps them use the gifts and talents that God has given them.

2) My Passion
I am very passionate about worship. I love to worship God but if you sat in front of me at church you would be very thankful that I was not on stage. I have actually had people, in front of me in church, ask me to sing softer. I love to worship Jesus but you do not want me to lead. This is a passion of mine to help students use their gifts to lead worship so that others will honor God.

3) Quality versus Involvement

I know I've said this a few times but when students lead we are empowering students to use their gifts. Paul told this to the church as Ephesus (Ephesians 4:11-12). He talks about being the in ministry that our job as the pastoral leader is to train others up to do the work of the ministry. When we empower students to lead it is empowering them to be involved in the local church.

I would love to hear your thoughts on students lead worship!

Renewed Passion

2011-06-23T10:55:00.000-07:00

It is interesting how someone can change your perspective on things. Just over two weeks ago I was ready to quick seminary. Last week I spent a week in Redding working on seminary and it is amazing how being around the people in my seminary, the prof that I had and chatting with the dean for a few minutes can change my mind (I'm pretty sure the drive to school helped also because it allowed me time to just listen to God and chat with Him).

Here are some keys things that I think helped change my mind and turn me back around:

Great Professor
I am very thankful for the teaching at Tozer Seminary and this last week added to that thankfulness. I had a prof who had a cool combination of training and that encouraged me. Dr. George Haraksin II is a Lead Pastor at a church in So Cal. He has training in Philosophy and is currently working on his Ph.D down in So Cal. In class I learned a great deal from George by the way he communicated to our class. He was extremely curious to the class and was constantly saying things like: "I want to press you on that, I am not trying to embarrass you but I want to see how you got there." I learned just as much from George about how to communicate as I did from what he was teaching.

Give it Time
The old saying of just sleep on it held true for me in this case. I already slept on it before I almost threw in the towel but I slept on it for a few weeks. I knew that I was overloaded in life and was trying to balance too much. Taking two courses in one semester is just too much for me. I tried to push it but Charity and I talked about it and she is right. When we didn't have children I could manage it but now that we have our little girls it is just too much. If you are burned out on something give it some time before you throw in the towel.

Vision of the Seminary
While I was in Redding I grabbed Dr. Sarah Sumner and had a quick chat with her. I thanked her for all she is doing within the seminary and how she is really training up the next generation of church leaders. It was very encouraging to spend those few minutes with her and hear her heart and what she is doing. I am thankful for a dean that loves Jesus, cares about the students and is bringing in quality professors to teach us. If you are looking for a seminary I suggest checking out Tozer (I don't get royalties for saying that)

More than a Job

2011-06-16T22:00:00.000-07:00

This week during class my prof shared something that has stuck out in my mind for the last couple days and I can't seem to shake it. Let me build up to get there.

When children are young they have a desire to become something. We live in a society that encourages children to go to college. When I was young I heard it loud and clear in my home that college was a great option for my life. I think that both of my parents encouraged me to attend college so I could receive an education. When I graduated from high school I went to college but I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life (that would be a legal source of income).

I start that story out with society and then make it more personal. See while I was in class this week my prof said something that I will hold as truth:

People no longer go to college to receive an education but to get a job

You said what!
You are kidding me!
You want to think that students are no longer going to college to get an education but to get a job?

Think about that for a minute. Now think about it for another minute if it still doesn't register with you. I have thought about it for four days and I think its true.

I talk to students about going to college and I always ask them what they want to do after college. I want to change my question to something like this:

What do you hope to learn in college?

How will that change the way you think?

How cool would it be if we started encouraging students to learn? Now I can't do this on my own. I need help from adult leaders in our ministry. I need to be able to communicate with parents on how we can encourage education over vocation.

A road block to this is going to be google. I can't believe I just said that because I love google but the truth is because of google I do not have to retain knowledge in my mind because I know where knowledge can be found. I would love to see the community I live in encourage students to do more than just hope to get a job in life but to get an education that teaches them to think.

Leah Joy is 15 months

2011-06-15T14:39:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that on March 11th 2010 our little Leah was born. Here are a few pics to celebrate my 15 month old little girl who is growing up! I constantly tell Sophie that she is growing up right in front of my eyes and the other day she said to me: "Daddy, Leah is growing up right in front of our eyes". It broke my heart because its true.

Here is another picture that I asked Charity to send me today. Basically Leah doing her favorite thing to do: eat! Now the lament of a dad who has been so busy in school that for the last 15 months he has basically watched his little girl grow up on his camera. Things will change Leah. We will go on more dates. We will laugh more. We will take more time with each other as I chase you around the pool and we will cuddle more. I love you my little Leah!

Developing a Christian Mind: Day One

2011-06-14T17:37:00.000-07:00

This week I am taking a one-week intensive course at Tozer Seminary in Redding CA. The course is titled "Developing a Christian Mind" and the prof is Dr. George Haraksin.

Initially I was curious about the title of the course and how this would play into my role in seminary and leadership in the local church. The books that we read prior to the week long intensive were extremely good at helping me understand what we were going to be diving into this week.

Once I got into class I was stoked to see that a handful of my friends were in the class and as we got into the subject matter I began to see how much I was going to be thinking in this course and how much it would challenge my thinking.

Here are things from day one that really stuck out to me and have me thinking

As we think about thinking like a Christian the problem becomes how do Christians interact with the culture at hand. Here are three ways we looked at to encounter the culture from a guy named Machen who lived about a hundred years ago;

Option #1- Culture is Captain; Christianity becomes subordinate to culture
If you allow this to happen you begin to think that religion and Christianity are just a product that help us live life while culture drives everything else.

Option #2- Throw Culture Overboard; Christianity seeks to destroy culture.
You can’t get rid of culture because everything we do defines culture.

Option #3- Consecrate the Ship; Christianity seeks to consecrate culture.
If Christianity is going to find success in consecrating culture then we must make sure that the soil is prepared to accept that.

I'll leave you with that to think about. Think about some obstacles that could arise from these points or what would happen if the reverse happened? Hopefully this makes some sense because I am still learning.

Vegas to Truckee

2011-06-13T21:40:00.000-07:00

This was my third summer driving up to Redding for summer school. The first summer it was Charity, Sophie and I. Once we had Leah we decided that it was too much for all four of us to make the drive and stay in the dorms. The last two years the drive has been good and bad for me to do. Last summer I got a speeding ticket on the way up and made the trek to Redding in one day; twelve hours is too much to drive! This year I decided to break up the drive into two parts.

Friday I headed out of Vegas and went north to visit my friend Peanut in Truckee. If you have never made the trek from Vegas to Reno here is basically what most of the landscape looks like. Those are dead bugs on the windshield and a little hill in the distance. Its a two lane road that is perfect to drive when you want to talk to God. That is why I made the drive. It gives me time to just be still, shut off my phone and talk to God. This time I did a bunch of talking and followed that with a good deal of listening.

I contemplated putting this picture in. One reason to leave it out is that I am a pastor. Another to put it in is that I am a pastor. See the saddening thing, that you may not know, is that there are still brothels in Southern Nevada. You can see that I am driving while I took the picture but if you enlarge it you will see the name of the establishment (if you can call it that). It breaks my heart to see this. I want to pray for the ladies who work here to leave the business and find hope in Christ.

Someone I want to ask as I wrap this up:
Are you taking intentional time to connect with God? This drive made some time for me to connect with God but I know its not the best time for me. I want to be more focused when I am connecting with God and be able to write things down.

Without the Church

2011-06-11T17:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a stark reminder of why I love the church so much! Yesterday I started the yearly trek to Redding for seminary. As I was starting the ascent from Reno to Truckee I got the call that no husband wants to get. Charity called me crying and I could barely understand what she was saying. I finally understood that she was in a car accident. I was over eight and a half hours away from my home and I had no clue what to do. I felt helpless.

Right after I got off the phone I found out one of my friends was already on the scene (Stephen and his wife). He was leaving Costco at the same time as Charity and the girls. He stayed with Charity while I was trying to make some calls. I'm not sure how long it took but I would say in less than five minutes there were two more friends down on the scene. One was Charity's accountability partner, Kristen, and the other was our executive pastor Brandon Gallup.

I don't know what people do without the church in their life.

Who do you call when your wife gets in an accident?
Who will help you?
Who will call your wife (multiple times) to make sure she is ok?
Who will give your kids a bath?
Who will take your groceries home for you so they don't melt (think Vegas heat)?
Who takes your car to their house till the insurance comes?
Who is praying for your family?
Who checks up on your family?

Last night reminded me how thankful I am for my church and how I just don't know how people live without the church! Now I understand that I am a pastor and that could play into the love but I am so thankful for the church. I am thankful for friends that came over and helped out. I am thankful that students are praying for my family while I am gone. I am sure I am missing someone like the Mansfield's who totally helped out last night!

Right now I just can't stop thinking about how I have no clue what I would do without the church.

Hungry for God

2011-06-08T15:06:00.000-07:00

The line I use the most in our high school ministry sounds something like this:

"I wish that when I was your age someone would have invited me to something like this. I'm not saying I would have come but I wish I would have just been invited."

Just over a month ago there was a tragic event that happened in our community and I was invited to the local high school to help on the grief counseling team. While I was there I met a freshman girl who was pretty shaken up. I saw her first period and then during second period I had a chance to chat with her and she was just in tears. I found out that she had been to our high school ministry a few times but never really got connected. She knew a bunch of the students that come on a regular basis and have been invited.

(this is why I do student ministry)

Through that tragedy a guy in my small group was able to invite her to Explode again and she came. She started coming and then one day I got a text message that said this (see picture). I was so ecstatic for this young lady! She is such a sweet girl and it was so cool to see her reach out and say that. Later that week she went out to lunch with Kristen McComb, our freshman girls small group leader, and Kristen was able to lead her to Jesus. Now Jordyn has more than one student that cares for her. She has a pastor in her life; and by that I mean Kristen. Kristen took the time to reach out to her, pick her up, take her to lunch and answer some of her questions.

I'm so excited to serve in a ministry with leaders that Love God and like students so much (most of them love the students). I feel honored to serve alongside a leader like Kristen who would take the time to help Jordyn find Christ and not just leave her after that. I know that Kristen is a Godly woman who loves the Lord. She will pray for Jordyn, encourage her, call her out and help keep her feet pointed towards Jesus. Thanks for letting serve with you Kristen! And Jordyn I am so excited about the life choice you made.

Little Hands: Part Two

2011-06-07T16:17:00.000-07:00

The dream is coming together. I know that sounds funny to say about a tattoo but its true for me! I went back down to the shop this weekend and Jonny Five filled in a bunch of the framing around the girls hands. Not sure if the picture does it justice but it looks super sweet! If you click on the picture it will enlarge and you can begin to see the detail in the color. It really looks gold the way Jonny colored it in with a bright orange and bright yellow.

Its been fun to see this tattoo turn into what it was. My original idea was to just do the girls hand prints on my side and maybe throw their names under their handprint. As I look at it now it has become a real piece of artwork! I am super thankful for the ideas that Jonny has for this piece and how they are turning out. Hopefully one more session and it will be completed!

Encouragement in Discouragement

2011-06-06T14:54:00.000-07:00

The last few blog post's I have written have been about seminary... and to be honest they have been me sharing my discouragement in seminary. I know I said that I quit last week and in my heart I did; I am just very thankful that I didn't tell anyone I quit. I have learned from that and the need for balance in my life. I am thankful that this summer is my last semester of taking two courses at the same time.

This weekend I needed some encouragement as I was knee deep in my Old Testament paper. This OT course I am taking is pretty cool and very informative. Well I decided to take a little break from class and check up on my grade from the spring:

Its always good to find a fat A for a course that you have put hard work and effort into.

I quit seminary this weekend

2011-06-02T11:19:00.000-07:00

This was a tough weekend for me.

I am currently enrolled in two courses in seminary and it just was proving to be too much to handle in my life. I found myself stressing on school work. I was being short with my wife. I wasn't spending time with my kids and this was just the beginning of it!

Thursday night I was up till about 11:30pm reading a book that I thought didn't have to be read for another week.
The next morning I was so tired I didn't spend anytime with Jesus (it shows in my attitude when that happens).
All that day on Friday I was short with my wife and kids.
I was tired and exhausted from the long hours I had put into school that week.
I knew that night I wasn't going to be able to spend anytime with Charity because I had to finish the book and start writing a 10 page paper.
I was not excited.

I began to process how long I had been working on seminary and doing a cost to benefit ratio.
The cost is high! Seminary takes a good deal of my time that I could spend with my wife, my kids and my friends. The benefit will be high when the degree is complete but the immediate tells me that it is not finished. I started thinking about have I been working on this degree since September 2004. Ya I took an eighteen month break to come serve at South Hills so I have been working on it straight since March 2006. I have put countless hours into learning: Greek, Hebrew, New Testament, Theology, Practical Ministry Courses and thinking through Church Leadership. That is when I realized that I am done and I did it.

Friday night I was living in the immediate and that is when I quit seminary.

I woke up Saturday morning and I was comfortable with my decision to quit seminary. I know that I only have four courses left (two after I complete the ones for summer) but I decided it was time to quit. I didn't tell anyone about the choice to quit. I didn't do any homework all day on Saturday or Sunday.

Monday came around and I was feeling much better. I spent some time reading in the morning, took a break to be with the family and finished my paper Monday night. I was thankful that I didn't tell anyone I had quit seminary. As much as I am frustrated with seminary I know that I only have four courses left and I would kick myself if I really quit. So I am still on track to finish in Spring 2012 and I will have my Masters Degree!

Finding Value in my Grade

2011-05-31T10:21:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if you struggle with the same insecurities that I struggle with but you may struggle with this one. See I struggle with finding value in my grade. I didn't realize this until recently but it became extremely evident to me that when I get a bad grade in seminary, or school in general, I get frustrated. This last summer I took a course called "God in Science and Scripture". In that course I was asked to write a final paper. Through a random series of events I found out that I got a "C" for the final grade of my course. Now I could vent about the circumstances that lead to that grade but its in black ink already so its pointless.

After receiving the "C" letter grade I found out that I was super bummed on the grade. I felt like I had put so much effort into the course but obviously didn't learn the requirements for passing the course with a better grade (random side note: a "C" is passing). Last summer I learned that for so long in my life I have found my value in a grade. I find my value in acceptance from others and that is a tough place to wrestle with.

Since getting that grade I have done my best to find my value in Christ. I most of the verses; I have heard the sermons... shoot I have preached the sermons but God brought me to a place in life where I had to find my value in him and not in a prof that I will most likely not see again until heaven.

I want to leave you with two questions to ask yourself:

What is there in your life, today, that is holding you back from finding your value in Christ?
What is getting in your way from really becoming the person that God is asking you to be?

Its Seminary; not Cemetery

2011-05-29T20:34:00.000-07:00

Almost a month ago I made a pretty big slip. We had taken a week long vacation to the East Coast to see our family. We were driving down from Hershey, PA to North Beach, MD. We were on highway 2 just south of Annapolis and as we were passing this Cemetery I pointed it out to Charity and said: "Look at that seminary!"

See so many times I have heard people relate "seminary" to a "cemetery". Hearing that so many times, and the point of life I am at with seminary, I am starting to think the joke is not a joke. I do not personally know anyone that has attended seminary and left the church but I have heard the stories. I have heard the stories of people who were passionate about their faith and left seminary less than excited about the Gospel.

Being the competitive person that I am I love to try to break stats and not fall into the junk that I hear others fall into. The sad thing about the point I am at in seminary right now is that I am starting to believe that seminary is more like a cemetery than a training ground that fans the fire of your passion for the Gospel. This could be my personal journey with seminary (been working on it for over 5 years), the stage of life we are (two little kids who miss their daddy because he has to do homework), or the fact that I am just sick of sitting at my kitchen table late at night while my wife spends time alone.

Please don't hear me wrong

I do not hate my seminary
I am not against further education
I don't think that we should just wing it life
I do think that the Bible encourages us to grow in wisdom

The stage I am at in life has just brought this on. I have heard seminary called cemetery so many times and the sad fact is that is what my mind equates it to now...

I need to figure out how to change that

Little Hands: Part One

2011-05-27T21:28:00.000-07:00

When Sophie turned two years old I got her handprint because I wanted to get a tattoo of it. I had been talking to my tattoo artist about getting both the girls handprints at their two year old birthday. The plan was to get their handprints on my left side because I have a piece for Charity on my right side.

I wish I could remember when we started this piece but I can't. I think we may have started it back in December but I am not sure (it may have been October). Here is a picture after the third session. First session was to do Sophie's handprint and the frame that surrounds it. Once we did Sophie's handprint it became evident to me that I was not going to be able to wait until Leah turned two and needed to get her handprint quickly! Session two of the tattoo was placing Leah's handprint above Sophie's in a frame that matched what we did for Sophie. The picture defiantly shows the work we have done and how amazing this piece is looking!

For the third session we filled the girls hands in and began to color in the frame. The color is hard to see but when it's finished the frame will be gold and have the girls birthstones near their hands. I am super stoked on how this is turning out; honestly its about a hundred times better than I could have ever imagined it would look.

My girls will always have a place in my heart and their handprints will always be marked on my side. They are my girls and it is my role to love them, protect them, love them some more, point them to God and father them well.

Senior Grad Night

2011-05-26T15:49:00.000-07:00

Its almost June and that means that our seniors will be graduating from high school very shortly. Last night we had our annual senior grad night. The night is really a time to honor the students who are graduating, allow our adult leaders to share some funny stories and invite their parents to watch. This event has morphed for us over the last six years, since I have been here, and I think last nights was the best we have had!

We originally started doing this event on a Friday night and inviting just the families of the graduates and their parents. The night was good but I feel like we were missing something; the rest of our high school ministry. After that we changed to doing the event on a Wednesday night at Explode. This allowed our students to see how important graduation was and gave parents a snap shot of what their student experiences at our high school ministry.

We have bounced back and forth on feeding families and this year we choose to make the event a desert event and went with the theme "Dress for Success". Here are some highlights of the night for me:

Having Kurt Johnson (graduate from 2008) come and host the event
The room set up that our student leadership (SL) team did
Watching our leaders share about the investment they have made in the graduating class
The video that we showed from some of our past graduates (scroll down to watch)

Grad night has always been a tough night for me and last night was no different. The most difficult thing about high school ministry, for me, has been investing into students for four years and then watching them leave the nest. Last night I looked at young men and women who have given their life to Christ in our high school ministry, been baptized at our church and serve here. It was tough. There are students I have known since I moved to Vegas and its been a huge blessing to watch them grow in their faith and reach out to their friends on their campus.

The line I left our graduates with last night is the same line I have used before:

"Just because you graduate from Explode does not mean you are graduating from my life"

I love you class of 2011 and I am so proud of you!

Explode Alumni Video from Neal Benson on Vimeo.

My first date with Leah

2011-05-24T18:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a special day for me.
Let me say that again; Yesterday was a very special in my life!

Yesterday Charity dropped Leah off at church and we (Leah and I) went on our first date! I tried to ask Leah where she wanted to go but didn't get much of a response so I decided to chose the place (this is why she looks confused in the pic). We went to the District and grabbed some stuff from Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. The date was so cool for me to get some alone time with Leah and just get to know her more. I was able to hold her hand, hold her, laugh with her, smile with her and just spend some time for the two of us.

We got to the table, outside, and I envisioned what this date would look like in twelve years. I envisioned what she would want to talk about. I envisioned what she would be in to. I envisioned what she would order and how her hair would look. I got scared after that so I just came back to today and enjoyed the time that I was getting with my fourteen month old!

I'm not going to give all the details of the date but I do want to share some things that I learned about my youngest daughter:

If Leah chooses milk to drink I will end up drinking it and she will drink my decaf coffee
Leah loves treats! (We ordered a 7 layer bar)
Leah loves frozen yogurt; I made the mistake of walking by the frozen yogurt shop and Leah was very clear that she would have rather eaten there
Leah loves to hold my hand
Leah likes to dance on the grates on the ground

Yesterday was the first date, of many, that I plan of taking Leah on. I left our date with a greater sense of responsibility as a dad and the role that I play in her life.

Potty Training

2011-05-22T14:46:00.000-07:00

We are currently in the middle of potty training Sophie. To be honest it has been a long process. We have gone through times where she wants to go in the toilet all day long and we have experienced times where she just isn't that excited about going in the toilet. This last week though we have made some great progress. When Sophie and I went for our weekly date she went twice at Krispy Kreme! She actually made it the whole day without wet undies. Then today, while at church, we got a text that Sophie had peed in her outfit....

I was bummed

See this post isn't really about potty training my daughter. While I was thinking about the text, in church, it made me think about how my life is kinda like potty training. I envision God as the nice dad who is patiently teaching me how to live life without "going" on myself. I envision my life kinda like my daughter. I am trying so hard to go in the toilet but every now and then I just can't hold it and mess up.

The great thing about God, in these situations, is that he doesn't blow up on us. He isn't livid when I can't make it to the toilet.

I love how God cares about me so much
I love how God takes the time to teach me in life
I love how God encourages me to grow up
I love God is right there when I mess up to help me get clean

Life is pretty much like potty training. We are all going to mess up (and make a mess). Some of us are further along in the process of others. Some of us get trained quicker than others. Some of us still wet the bed at night. Some of us can hold it all day and all night. The thing to remember is that we serve a gracious God who is right there to help us as we venture through life and figure it out. God wants to be there to help everyone of us grow in life the question is: "Will we accept the help?"

Small Group Saturday

2011-05-18T13:32:00.000-07:00

I like to brag that I have the coolest small group. Maybe its not a brag but just my opinion. This Saturday my family was out of town and I needed to do something crazy so I invited my small group! Not everyone was able to make it and we even had a few other guys show up but we did have fun.

We went out to Nelson's Landing which is on Lake Mojave and did some cliff jumping. Normally I go out there later in the year and the water is warm and the days are hot. This day was a little different... Ok, a lot different. It was super windy when we got out there and no warmer than 80 degrees. I think I was the first to jump in and it was COLD! My buddy later told me that the water temp was around 60 degrees. Some of the guys jumped a few times but most of us jumped once or twice.

We ended up leaving early because it was so cold but made a stop at some of the old mining caves on the way home. Now I have gone in these caves a few times and they are pretty cool. They are not caves that you have to crawl to get any where and there are some areas that are very open. We took the guys down in the caves for a little while and did some exploring, rock throwing and trying to scare each other. The day was not what I expected but was a great day to get the guys out of their house and just spend some time together!

Family Walk (and a little lion hunting)

2011-05-17T21:14:00.000-07:00

That may sound weird for some people "family walk"

I am fully aware of that; but that is something that my family has chosen to do pretty much on a daily basis (granted the weather is favorable). Most every day my family eats dinner and then we head out for a family walk around the complex. On that walk we do a variety of things:

Talk about our days
Get the mail
Try to catch lizards
Pet the neighbors dogs
Talk with our neighbors
Laugh and connect as a family

See family walk gives me some time to really connect with my family and focus on them. It gets us out of the house, away from the TV and outside with each other. It is something the girls look forward to! It allows them to run around, in the grass, get some fresh air and take out their cool toys (Leah rides the braught braught and sometimes Sophie rides her scooter). When Sophie was younger she LOVED the braught braught and now she has passed that fun on to her sister!

Today family walk was missing Charity so I decided to film a little video of Sophie and how big she is getting! She is getting pretty good at her scooter and maneuvering it all over the place on our walk. Today she took a break from the scooter to go lion hunting also!

The Christian Mind: Book Review

2011-05-15T17:35:00.000-07:00

Title: The Christian Mind: How should a Christian Think?

Author: Harry Blamires

Pages: 191

Publisher: Regent College Publishing (1963)

Favorite Quote: "If Christians cannot communicate as thinking beings, there are reduced to encountering one another only at the shallow level of gossip and small talk."

Review: To start out honestly this book bored me to death for the first forty pages! I really thought that I would never finish this read. Maybe it was due to taking a few day off of reading or just something else this book became alive to me!

I began to see, and understand, what Blamires is talking about in this book. I started to understand the concepts he was presenting and how he continued to share that Christians do not know how to think like Christians. At first I was a bit upset but as I continued reading I began to understand what he meant and came to the conclusion that he is right.

We have Christians in this world that are more concerned with thinking about politics than thinking like Christians. There are people in this world who call themselves Christians that care more about being an American than being a Christian. Being a Christian causes your life to be altered; it changes everything in you and about you. You begin to think differently, act differently and engage the world differently when you surrender your life to Christ. The sad thing it that far too many people are a Christian in their heart and not in their mind.

I am going to recommend this book to you if you want a challenge in your life. If you want to read some words that are going to shake your thoughts in life than run to order this book today! But if you want to just keep living how you are living then don't read this book. This book will require you to think about how you interact with the world around you and how you can engage it as a Christian!

Heaven is for Real: Book Review

2011-05-09T10:10:00.000-07:00

Title: Heaven is for Real

Author: Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent

Pages: 162

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Favorite Quote: "Yes, Mommy, I remember," he said. "Thats where the angels sang to me."

Heaven is for Real is a book that you will only want to read if you are ready to cry. I think that crying is good for the soul for everyone (even though I struggle with it) and therefore I recommend this book to everyone! If you have ever had a question in your mind about the existence of heaven I think this book will help you to find some compelling evidence from the mind of a young child.

The story is about a 3 year old boy who visited heaven while in surgery. I don't want to give away the entire story about what the family endures while their son is in the hospital or they pain they experience but I think the read is worth it. I understand that the thought of heaven can be a tough thing to speak of but I also think that we need to think towards heaven and not just about getting there ourselves. I think we live in a society that needs the hope of Christ in their life!

On a personal note it really brought up some emotions inside me that struck deep when our daughter was in the hospital and the pain that Charity and I endured in that time in our lives. The book brought tears to my eyes just thinking about my little girl sitting in the NICU and the pain from that. I truly felt with the dad who was enduring this painful situation.

Family Vacation: Jersey Shore

2011-05-05T14:46:00.000-07:00

Back in December Charity and I planned a family vacation back to the east coast to visit our sisters who both live back there. The first night we landed at BWI airport and headed straight to the Jersey Shore and stayed at this little cabin for two nights. We got in pretty late Friday night and were hoping that our girls would sleep longer because of the time change but that was a joke!

We got up early on Saturday morning and headed over to the boardwalk. I have never been on the east coast (except Florida) and this was cool. We went to one of those typical boardwalk adventure parks. It was super fun to take Sophie on the rides and then to watch her ride them on her own. I just keep thinking how quickly my little girls are growing up.

Here is Sophie, Leah and their cousin Blaze riding one of the boat rides that they had their. It brings back cool memories for me because I have seen a picture of me riding in a very similar ride when I was younger. Going on this vacation was cool to spend some time with our family and get to let our girls connect with their Aunts and Uncles.

Coming back and looking on vacation I can see a couple immediate things that I want to adjust in my life:
1) Remember how blessed I am to have the family I have
2) Enjoy my family more
3) Take a regular vacation (I come back rejuvenated)

The Walls We Share

2011-04-28T10:37:00.000-07:00

I've recently caught myself saying something when in conversations with people. It goes something like this: "I just can't believe that I get to share a wall with him."

See I currently "share a wall" with Pastor Chris Lyons. Now that name may be mean nothing to you but to me it means something to me. I have worked with Pastor Chris for just over six years now and for the last two years Chris has been extremely helpful to me as a pastoral leader. Now you may not know but Chris has been in ministry for over 55 years now! He has served at only four churches during his time in ministry.

He started out his pastoral leadership in a church called West Church which is located in Peabody Massachusetts where he served for 15 years. After growing that church he took a year off and then was asked to lead Wheaton Bible Church (yep, you read that right). Pastor Chris lead that church for 15 years also. From there he went to the Bay Area and lead a church called Redwood Chapel for 15 years.

After completing his leadership at Redwood Chapel Pastor Chris came out to South Hills to help our church feel more like a church and less like a youth group on steroids. Pastor Chris was on staff prior to my invitation to join the team here and I am very thankful for his leadership.

Most days in the office I spend about 15-30 minutes (sometimes longer) with Pastor Chris talking about ministry, leadership, counseling situations and life. I am so thankful to have a leader like Pastor Chris that I get to work alongside. The question I leave you with is: "Who do you share a wall with and what can you learn from them?" Maybe you are on the side of the wall like Pastor Chris is and you have some rad stuff to teach the younger generation. We need that! We need to have more seasoned leaders teaching us, training us and helping us as we follow God and seek to lead the lost to Christ.

Like Dad, Like Daughter

2011-04-26T11:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we were blessed to have the day off after a long Easter Weekend. We decided to take the girls to one of their favorite places in Vegas. This place is great! You can look at fish, ducks, moose, lions, giraffes and even sharks. Sounds like the zoo but better huh!

Well while were at the Bass Pro Shop located in the Silverton Casino (giving you insight into our life in Vegas) Leah found some toys that she liked! This little girl is going to be our outgoing little girl. First she found the quad. This is her "determined" to get on this thing picture. She climbed up on the quad and then tried to climb up on the seat to sit! She stood on the foot pegs for a while trying to figure out how she was going to drive this thing. I wish I had the picture of her smiling (it was too blurry) and the look she had.

After we checked out the quads she went over the ride the boats. Did I say ride the boats? I meant to say drive the boats! This was the best picture I have of her driving the boat. The first picture she had a look on her face of "can I really do this?" While Leah was driving the boat, Sophie was taking a nap on the seat.

I just love watching Leah grow up in the little girl that she is and her exploring and how she acts! She is such an amazing little girl. I hope that she loves the cold and will start to snowboard with me in a few years!

Healing Care, Healing Prayer: Book Review

2011-04-22T11:05:00.000-07:00

Book: Healing Care, Healing Prayer: Helping the Broken Find Wholeness in Christ

Author: Terry Wardle

Pages: 233

Publisher: Leafwood

Favorite Quote: God wants to meet the caregiver at the place of his own deepest pain.

This is the final book that was a required reading for my spring course at Tozer Seminary called: Suffering and Healing. This book has some great wisdom found it in about spiritual healing that the believer needs to engage in.

I would consider this book the most helpful, in my opinion, of the required texts I read. I am not saying that the other books are unworthy but I am saying that this book tends to speak my language. I enjoy having a plan and being able to think through steps to achieve that plan. Wardle lays out some steps for healing that he has used in his ministry so you know the plan is something that has been tried and tested.

If you have some wounds in your past, like we all do, Warlde lays out the coping model that helps to see how we handle pain in our life. Here is a quick snapshot of it:

Core Needs- Safety, Worth, Uniqueness, Love, Nurture, Appreciation and God

Pain Layer- Our personal reaction to stolen pain

Protection Layer- Strategies we employ to keep our pain in check

Provision Layer- Trying to meet the unmet need in a new way

Punishment Layer- Pain often births an anger that drives a person to strike back at the one who has perpetuated the injury

This model took me a while to understand but has helped me as I am dealing with unmet core needs from my childhood. If you are seeking healing from the pain and suffering in your life then I would recommend this book!

Soul Surfer: Movie Review

2011-04-21T10:04:00.000-07:00

About three weeks ago a man stopped by my office and gave me some promo material for the new movie that was coming out called: "Soul Surfer". To be honest, I am not one who is typically interested in Christian movies. I tend to think the cinematography can be cheesy.

I heard that this movie was going to be different and I decided that I needed to go see it and have some students come with. Last night I went and saw this movie with a few students and a few leaders and I have to say that I was amazed at how good this movie was! Now I have to share that the story touched home for me and there were times that I couldn't help but think: "What if something like that happened to one of my little girls?"

The movie has the theme that I love to see: Don't quit!

Hopefully you have heard Bethany's story and how she was bit by a shark and lost her arm. I am so impressed at this girl and how she continues to battle in life without quitting because most people would have. Bethany looses her arm and continues to surf. The movie does well at portraying the pain that she would have to endure with the loss of her love of surfing and how to get that back.

I appreciate how they show that Bethany questioned her faith, and God, in this movie. I think its more normal than not to question your faith in a situation like this one and I appreciate that the producer added this into the movie. Every single one of us is going to have pain and suffering in our life; the question is what will you do with that pain? Bethany chose to not quit surfing and now she is a pro! I would definitely recommend that you go see this movie and her Bethany's story.

People of the Lie: Book Review

2011-04-19T21:26:00.000-07:00

Book: People of the Lie

Author: M. Scott Peck, M.D.

Pages: 269

Publisher: Touchstone 1983

Favorite Quote: “If we seriously think about it, it probably makes more sense to assume this is a naturally evil world that has somehow been mysteriously “contaminated” by goodness, rather then the other way around.”

People of the Lie is another required text for the course I am currently completing for seminary titled: "Suffering and Healing". Now the course has rocked me and this book really hit me hard in a few places. Peck became a Christian later in life but has been a counselor for most of his professional career. Peck shares some of the cases that he has encountered in his years of counseling and I have to say that some of them are difficult to read.

Essentially Peck outlines how we live in a world that has been effected with evil and because of that it is so important for us, Christians, to live out our faith. Peck shares stories about how people are partners in evil. There is an account of parents who treat their child in a manipulative way. There is a female who has multiple issues that lead her to have inappropriate thoughts toward Peck and the list goes on.

If you have some time and you want to be stretched in your thinking then I totally recommend this book. If you can be sensitive to the pain that we encounter in life and that is tough for you to handle then I would encourage you to read this book and face that pain head on. The book will stretch your thinking but hopefully make you aware to what you encounter and the evil that lies behind that.

Guest Host for Announcements: Barak Obama

2011-04-18T20:02:00.000-07:00

This week in our High School Ministry we brought in a guest to share what is going on. Now most people may be thinking: "How did you afford to get the president to come help out? Wasn't that expensive?"

To be honest in our ministry we live by the principle: "Nothing is too costly when you have a message to communicate" and that is why we asked Barak Obama to come share the weekly announcements:

Now with all joking aside it was fairly easy to make this happen but it took a few keys things to do it:

1) An intern who can make people laugh (if you don't have an intern you can always ask a student)

2) A video that we jacked from youtube using keepvid

3) Once the video is downloaded to your machine we simply dropped it into iMovie and used the voice recorded in there to communicate what we needed to say

4) Now take a break, play some video games, and export it to a quicktime file and you are ready to roll!

Thank you Obama for caring about our country and sharing the weekly announcements; our students loved it!

The Wounded Healer: Book Review

2011-04-15T21:35:00.000-07:00

Book: The Wounded Healer

Author: Henri Nouwen

Pages: 109

Publisher: Image Doubleday

Favorite Quote: It is a painful fact indeed to realize how poorly prepared most Christian leaders prove to be when they are invited to be spiritual leaders in the true sense.

The Wounded Healer is a book that I recently read for Tozer Seminary. I had heard great things about Nouwen prior to reading this book and am able to confirm what I have heard. Nouwen is a brilliant man!

The overall subject of the book can be summarized in this quote from the book on page 78: "Who can take away suffering without entering it?" In this book Nouwen encourages the reader to be a "Wounded Healer" meaning that we understand that we are not perfect people. In fact I think it would be the opposite; that we are all wounded but some of us have chosen to initiate healing in our lives while others haven't. Those who desire healing need to be wounded healers that are mending their own wounds while being aware of where God would like them to help heal others at the same time.

The book brings up some great examples, and illustrations, that can help those of us who desire to see life change happen in others. I am going to recommend this book to others to read but I have to give you a waring. If you read this book you are going to be stretched in your thinking and challenged in how you live your life from this point on.

9th Annual Student Ministry Garage Sale

2011-04-14T11:09:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we had our 9th annual student ministry garage sale.
This was the 7th garage sale that I have been involved in at our church. When I was first informed about the garage sale I was a bit skeptical and curious about how this would work. The basic concept is that we ask members in the church, and people in the community, to donate their gently used items to our garage sale. We get a place to store these items for about four weeks prior to the sale. The week of the sale is just all garage sale; picking up large donations, setting up the sale, selling items and then cleaning up our church.

This year was a tough year for me in the garage sale. To be honest; garage sales are not my "thing" but I know the value of this sale and how much we can make for camp (last year we made just around $12,000). See every penny that we raise from the garage sale helps to send our students to summer camp and that is important for our ministry. This year I was discouraged for two reasons:
1) I felt like we had less "high ticket items"
2) I knew we were going to make less than the previous year

When it was all said and done we have made over $7500 to help sends students to camp so far! I may have times that I get discouraged but I need to remember that God knows all our needs. I have to trust, and pray, that God will bring in all the money for students to go to camp. I also get encouraged because I was able to spend hours with students selling stuff, picking up items and cleaning up the church. I had extra time to spend with our team and hang out with new people from our church. I also get to see this amazing family in our church (Kevin and Nancy Rock) do what they love and help lead this sale!

I may have had a discouragement about some of the sale but overall I am thankful for the amount of money we raised and how much time I was able to spend with students.

Empowering Students to Lead

2011-03-27T21:33:00.000-07:00

Not just letting them lead...
Empowering Students to Lead!

There is a verse in the Bible that I was taught as a young Christian. In Bible college I learned that my role as a pastor is to NOT do all the ministry on my own. Don't beleive me? Then read this:

"Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ." Ephesians 4:11-12 (NLT)

Here are some thoughts I have learned from empowering students:

* It tends to be better when students lead
Don't get me wrong, we have failed by letting students lead but when we empower students to lead it tends to turn out better! A junior in high school: organized this dance, got the team together to learn the dance, had the team there on time to run through the dance and they preformed it as an opener to our ministry night. I love empowering students to lead! Honestly the only thing I did for the dance was ask her to lead it and then check in with her, weekly, before the dance.

* Students feel more buy in
We currently have an amazing student leadership team in our high school ministry and on that team we have a young lady who loves to dance! Now, not only does she love to dance she is really good at dancing. A few months ago I asked her if she could choreograph a dance to open up our ministry night and she killed it! We decided to do it again and this time we filmed it (Watch it here). There is some huge buy in when you empower students to lead.

* More students are involved
For this particular instance we had a few students involved who may not have found another way to get involved in the weekly program (other than inviting a friend). This gave them a cool way to invite their friends to watch them dance/sing. I love it when we get more students involved and help them to have more investment in the ministry.

How are you empowering students to lead?

The "S" Word

2011-03-24T11:07:00.000-07:00

In our High School Ministry we just wrapped up a three week series that I called: The "S" Word. I have been convicted that we touch on sin in our ministry but we have never taken some time to really define sin and help students understand the consequences of sin. The goal of the series was to teach students about what sin is, show it found in the Bible and then help them find forgiveness for their sins. On top of that I want students to know what sin is so they can see it coming in their life and have some ideas of how to avoid it.

Here is how the series broke down:

Week One
I opened the series up some of my stupid choices in life and how those have impacted my relationship with God. That night we looked at Genesis chapter three and the story with Adam and Eve. I talked about how Adam and Eve had this amazing relationship with God and then one day that was interrupted. The main point that I shared that night was how sin causes separation from our relationship with God.

Week Two
For week two of the message one of our middle school leaders, Evan Faircloth, taught on Samson. He shared about how the choices that Samson made and how his disobedience to God lead to his demise. The main point that Evan communicated was to let students know that they will never be stronger than any sin; only God is.

Week Three
This week we did something we have never done. While I was laying in bed one night I came up with the idea to record the message, at a coffee shop, and show it for the final night. The goal was to answer three questions that most students have about sin. So I started live on stage and then we went to a 29 minute message that was recorded (I will put that up soon). I ended the night with our need to listen to the Holy Spirit to avoid sin.

Overall I am glad we did the series. I think it helps students understand sin and have more of a definition of it, areas in scripture to look at it and how to avoid it in their life. Here is the bumper video we showed between worship and message.

iPad 2: Our First Touch

2011-03-22T21:18:00.000-07:00

This weekend we took a trip down to Town Square. The plan was that Charity and Leah would go to Old Navy and exchange some clothes for the girls while Sophie and I went to the Apple Store. Sophie and I wanted to get our hands on the Apple iPad 2 and see what it had to offer.

When I first saw the iPad 2 I was very impressed with it! I was one of the people who watched the live blog on CNET about it and then the first day it released I called my apple rep and bought one... The tough thing about that is that I bought at 3pm and have to wait 2-3 weeks for it to ship. So while Sophie and I were there we decided to check it out. Sophie got more hands on time with the iPad than I did but it was cool to see her playing with it. I was watching her interact with it and it amazed me at how comfortable she was with it. It seemed like she instinctively knew that she could open certain games and then she would play them.

There were a few times I was in shock at how easy Sophie could play on it! We went on youtube and even watched the trailer for Tangled (we are totally buying it when it comes out). Here are the three main reasons that I bought the iPad 2:

1) Convenience in Traveling
It seems that I have been traveling a bit more lately; especially this year. I would love to travel a bit lighter and have not have to bring my Macbook along with me. The iPad is going to make that happen. I can travel and have access to the internet, type out notes, and Face Time with the girls.

2) Family Learning/Movies
We have a family trip coming up in May. I envision this trip us not taking a laptop. We will take the iPad and be able to watch movies on the plane (I love the 10 hour battery life). We will have access the to internet, be able to take pictures and just have some fun with the iPad in downtime. Sophie can practice letters, numbers and play her matching game.

3) Ministry
Now I know this could sound weird but I see the iPad helping me in ministry. I plan on getting to a place where I teach from the iPad. Its going to save me paper (I manuscript all my messages) and my Bible software has an app! I plan on using it in small group to look up questions that come up. I plan on using it in meetings where I can just have something to take notes, be online or show a quick video that we may be looking for.

I'm really excited for my iPad to arrive at my house and see if what I think I will use it for is really what we will use it for!

Little Readers

2011-03-21T14:27:00.000-07:00

I don't really remember loving to read when I was a child; I don't really love to read right now but I know that reading helps me grow and learn. The other afternoon Charity was out and I put Leah in Sophie's bed to hang out for a minute. Sophie started reading to Leah and it was too cute to pass up!

I'm so thankful that our girls get along so well right now!

Our Small Group

2011-03-14T21:51:00.000-07:00

This year is a first for me in small groups.

For most of my life leading small groups I have been the sole leader of the group. The burden has fallen on me to make the contacts, plan the events, choose the curriculum, line up the house, meet with the guys, pray for the guys and much more.

This year though I decided to change that and let me share what brought about that change. See one year ago our second daughter was born. I took some time off when Leah Joy was born and that meant that my small group wasn't going to meet during that time. After that month off it just hit me that there has to be a better way to do this. I thought about it, prayed about it and talked with other high school pastors about it. All those conversations lead to the current plan we have for our small group setting now; Our Small Group.

Yep, Our Small Group

I just got home from our small group. Another leader and I are teaming up this semester to lead our small group and its going great! He is the freshman leader and I am the sophomore leader but its our small group. We all meet together in one house. We eat dinner together then jump on the couch, or sit on the floor, and open the Bible together. Right now we are studying the Beatitudes, a small group study from Simply Youth Ministry.

We meet together as a group and its really cool to see all the guys connect and interact with each other. I love seeing the guys open their Bibles and asking questions. I love leading with Mikey McComb and watching him teach (he definitely hit a home run tonight). Then after the study we break into smaller groups (freshman and sophomore) where we pray for each other and give guys a chance to confess any sins they are struggling with.

If you are leading a group on your own I am more convinced now that it is a good idea for you to find someone to share that experience with.

Live Like a Banker

2011-03-06T14:23:00.000-08:00

The other day I was having lunch with a friend, and ministry partner, here in Vegas. As we were talking he brought up a principle that I have neglected thinking about recently. As we were talking my friend reminded me to live like a banker. I was confused for a minute and then the flashes in my mind became reality. I became convicted because recently I have forgotten to live out a principle that I had done fairly well earlier in life (now at this point I could give you the list of my failures and reasons for not applying it but that is not the point of this post). The point of this post is to talk about living like a banker.

See in every relationship we have a "bank account" with that person. Now when you first start the relationship there is little room for withdrawals and most of the interactions, if you want to keep the relationship healthy, need to be deposits. Deposits are normally in the form of; encouragement, gifts, acts of service or affirmation (but are not limited to these areas). Maybe you have helped the person out when they got a flat tire and this got you a huge deposit in the account; think of things like this.

As time goes on and your bank account with that person increases you can now make withdrawals in that relationship. Withdrawals can come in the form of asking for help when you find yourself in a tough spot. They can be talking to the person about a difficult subject where you see the person could grow. A withdrawal could be calling the person out when they have blatant sin in their life and no one else has the guts to tell them. Withdrawals come in many forms.

There are some relationships you have in life that are constantly close to empty because the exchange is constant. There are some relationships that you have that are thriving because you both make deposits into the others life and if there happens to be a withdrawals here or there it is not detrimental to the relationship. There are some relationships we tolerate in life just because we work with the person, see them regularly or have to interact. There are some relationships in life where you had to close the account because there is nothing left to keep the relationship going.

What is going on in your relational banking right now? Do you have some accounts that you have neglected that need to get a deposit in them immediately so you can keep it open? Do you have some accounts that are overdrawn and you need to ask for forgiveness because you have not managed the account well? Do you have some accounts where you have the freedom to make a withdrawal that will help the other person? Are you living life like a banker right now or just a person who is only thinking about their personal needs and gain?

Friday Family Day

2011-03-04T20:49:00.000-08:00

Today is Friday and for the most part that means family day (besides the homework I am taking a break from right now). Last month, February, was crazy for my family. I was out of town for almost half the month and that means that I have been missing my family. Today I tried to get us back in the swing of what the "normal" in our life used to be.

Early this morning Sophie and I got up and went to Krispy Kreeme where we had our fill of doughnuts and hot chocolate. Getting doughnuts has been a cool way for Sophie and I to connect and get some one on one time with each other. Charity puts Leah down for a nap and it allows her some moments of quite in the house. This morning Sophie threw down! She didn't eat her normal doughnut but ate two! We meet a super kind Christian who got Sophie her second doughnut.

After doughnuts we stopped at the store to get Charity some flowers and headed home. Once we got home we packed the girls in the car and headed out to Lake Mead to feed the ducks, fish, birds and seagulls (there are a lot of animals out there). Loving our new iPhones because I can record HD videos on them and upload it straight to youtube so you can watch Sophie sharing her bread with the ducks!

Top 4 from Middle School Winter Camp

2011-02-28T09:58:00.000-08:00

I know that there are "top X" lists all over the place but this one is going to be special to me. See in October 2006 our church hired Chase Feindel to lead Ignite; our middle school ministry. That year was a super tough year for me in ministry and it was nice to pass Ignite off to Chase, actually its realistic to say that I dumped it on him because I was done. In 2007 Chase ran his first winter camp to Big Bear Lake and did really good with the poor planning and lame set-up that I had done. I have to randomly include this picture of the coldest temp while were up there.

Well after leading a few more camps on his Chase has totally turned the wheel and done some amazing ministry. This year was a treat for me to be invited to speak at our middle school winter camp up at Pine Summit in Big Bear Lake. As I watched, engaged and spoke this weekend here are four things that really stuck out to me:

1) Our church has a great Middle School Pastor
Please notice that I did not say "good" middle school pastor. Chase has grown into a great middle school pastor and I truly believe that he will continue to grow in his leadership. I am starting with this because of how I see Chase lead students and his adult leader team. There is a huge love for Chase in his ministry and I know that he desires to point these students to Christ; that is one thing that makes him great.

2) Adult Leaders who Lead
In our church we call our adults who help out leaders. We do not have chaperones in our ministry. Chase has a team of leaders who serve alongside him that are leaders. Chase is actively training up new leaders and inviting leaders onto the team to lead students. I loved watching this this weekend and just seeing leaders doing what God has called them to do.

3) God Sending Snow
I have been on so many winter camps that I cannot even count how many I have been on now. This was my third winter camp this year (I lead one and spoke at another one prior to this) and it was so rad having God send snow! It snowed about 18-24 inches while we were up there and it just made for a cool weekend. Anytime you can take a bunch of kids from the desert and get them fresh snow its super cool.

4) Speaking to Our Church
It was so rad for me speaking to our middle school students and the leadership team. See when I came out here over six years ago we had 8 students on my first night; there were many more than that this weekend. I felt very strongly that I needed to communicate the message clearly to our students this weekend because I will have these students in my ministry in the coming year. I felt like I had a chance to share with these students about what they can expect in their coming years at South Hills.

Ignite Winter Camp 2011 Saturday Overview

2011-02-26T22:14:00.000-08:00

This morning I woke up at 3:40am when Leah started crying
I moved to the couch around 4:20am when Leah came into our bed
I woke up around 6am when my mom came into the living room and opened the windows

I was so thrashed tire this morning when I rolled up to camp but it is so cool to see God moving up here. I am so proud of our middle school team right now and tomorrow I'm going to post about my top 4 favorite things from winter camp. This morning I spoke about finding our identity in Christ and helping students move from listening to the world to listening to God. You gotta watch this video and see how the road conditions were when I drove to camp and how much snow we got last night.

After chapel I went home and played in the snow with the girls for a little while, spent some time with my family and then had a yummy dinner. I headed back to Pine Summit for Saturday night chapel and God showed up. I prayed that God would help students to leave here with understanding His truth and not my stories. Tonight was decision night and I shared my favorite story from Mark 10; the story of Blind Bartimaeus. I challenged the students pretty hard tonight because I go to the same church they do and I was convicted to not make it easy to accept Christ. I know that salvation is free for us; but it was costly for Jesus. I know its easy to raise your hand; but its tough to live for Christ.

My prayer is that these students grow this weekend and radically live for Christ

Love Story Overview

2011-02-24T13:56:00.000-08:00

Last night we finished up teaching our "Love Story" series. We are like most student ministry programs take the month of February to teach about love or purity; this year it fell on love for us. The main goal that I wanted to communicate through this teaching series was to look at the different aspects of Love that we encounter in society. We decided that the best way to do this would be to start out by looking at how God loves us and cares for us; that seemed to simple so I took it one step further.

Here is how the series broke out:

Week 1: The Joy of Being Loved
This week instead of talking about love and being kind of generic; I chose to talk about finding our identity in Christ. The main point from the night was "Through forgiveness and acceptance I begin to find my true identity in Christ". This point came from teaching about the sinful woman who fell at the feet of Jesus crying and found out how loved she was by Jesus.

Week 2: Protecting the Goldfish
I started off this week sharing my story of failure in my sexual purity and how I made one really bad choice that lead to other bad choices in my life. Talked about how King David made one really bad choice and how that lead to other bad choices in his life; how sin tends to take us downward in a spiral. I ended the message with an illustration about how the world is like a blender and we are a goldfish.

Week 3: Life is about Who you Love
This was a super cool message because one of our adult leaders taught the night while I was away at seminary. Mikey McComb shared from 1st John about love and how we need to engage culture by loving it. Mikey brought it that night and talked about how our love needs to flow from God.

Week 4: The Difference Between Pink and Blue
The last week of the message series had to be my favorite week for a few reasons. One of our graduated students came home and has joined our Adult Leader Team. She jumped in for this message and we team taught the message sharing about differences that guys and girls face but how we are all called to seek out God.

Overall, I was very impressed with the series and how it turned out. For week two of the series our student leaders took the time to deck out our room and created an amazing environment for students. We did what we call "Invite Night" and the room was packed; it felt good! Better than all the students was seeing our students take their time to reach out to their friends. Watch this video to see a quick overview of the night.

Leah's Got Style

2011-02-21T20:22:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that in less than one month Leah is going to be one year old!

Well the funny thing about Leah is that she likes to do it her way and the girl has style! Most kids crawl, and then walk; but not Leah. Leah thought that she needed to add another step into the system. So if you want to take 30 seconds out of your life and have a good laugh you can see how Leah walks... on her knees.

I have never seen this before but it makes me smile watching my little Leah grow up

Top 10 things to do in Vegas

2011-02-20T13:57:00.000-08:00

This week I was catching a flight home and found myself talking with those around me about what to do in Vegas. Since we have lived here for the last six years I decided to come up with this list of my top ten things to do while you are in Vegas.

1. Fountains at Bellagio
This has to be my favorite thing that Charity and I do here in town. Its free so all you have to do is get down to the strip! We always park Valet and just tip the guys a few bucks when we pick up our car. The fountains run regularly every 15 minutes. They play various songs and I have noticed that over the years they keep adding songs to the list. Cost= Free

2. Jean Philippe Cafe
While you are down on the strip and heading to the fountains, make a stop inside the Bellagio. Charity and I like to go in there and share a crape. We usually get one with nutella and raspberries on top. This is a must while you are in town and in love! Cost= $15

3. The Shark Reef
If you have an hour or so to kill and want to just relax a take a stroll while looking at some super cool fish then stop in at the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. We have gone here with friends, family and I loved it when we took our daughter. The experience is not too long but its a great thing to get away from the slots while you are here. Cost= $15 per person

4. Viva Elvis
We have seen about five shows since we moved here and this one was my favorite that we have seen. Now don't get me wrong; KA, Celine Dion, and Blue Man Group (close second) are amazing but this was my favorite. Viva Elvis combines dance, music and some sweet acrobatics into a tantalizing show. Cost= Depends where you sit

5. Mona Mi Gabi
This is the restaurant that is directly under the Eiffel Tower at the Paris. You can get reservations but don't. If the weather is nice you want to sit on the patio. The patio is on the strip and you sit directly across from the Fountains at Bellagio. The food is great but not too expensive. This is a great date for a couple that wants to have fun but not break the bank. Cost= $60 for a couple

6. Indoor Skydiving
Its technically called: "Vegas Indoor Skydiving". This is pretty random on the list but I loved it! I have been once and would love to go more often. Its kinda like skydiving but less expensive. Its a trill, something you will never forget, close to your hotel and not super expensive. Cost= $70 per person

7. Secret Garden at The Mirage
The Secret Garden at the Mirage is a cool exhibit that Charity and I visited about 4 years ago. They have dolphins, tigers, and many other animals to look at. The cost was worth the visit but I don't think that it is worth a re-visit that often. I still want to take my daughters there. Cost $15 per person

8. Visit Lake Mead
Lake Mead is slowly depleting but it remains one of my favorite attractions in Las Vegas. While you are there you can hit the Hoover Dam tour, rent a boat, take out Jet Ski's, or catch a meal on a river boat. I personally like to bring a loaf of bread out there and just feed the fish and ducks with my family. Cost= $5 per car

9. Canal Ride at Venetian
Maybe you don't have the time, or money, to head over to Venice and take ride on a Gondola but you can do that here in Vegas! Head down to the Venetian and take a ride on the grand canal. Charity and I have done this one a few times. You can charter your own Gondola or if funds are tight you can jump in with some others. The ride is totally worth it no matter what road you take. Cost= $15 per person or $60 for your own boat

10. Take a ride on the Stratosphere
This one is for the trill seeker. I only venture down here when some of my friends from back home head into town. They drag me down and we usually ride the big shot that is on top; its not the only ride though you have many to choose from. The cost on this will vary so check the website and get ready to pee your pants!

You may not have a local in town that you can talk to about what to do while you are in Vegas so here is my list. You may find something that needs to be on here; just let me know and maybe I will add it.