Post-Spiked - Storm Watch Week 1 Recap

We kicked off our Storm Watch Series today with a bang! We had a great crowd, and Dougie and her team transformed the space to make it look like a storm hit it! And they really pulled it off - There were trees, road signs, and light posts thrown all around the room! Old doors and windows rested in new places like the wind literally blew them there! We focused in a on a couple things in the opener to this series on storms in our lives - focusing on Jesus calming the storm in Matthew 8! Here is a brief recap:

• Bottom Line: Even during the storms, God is in control.
• We all face situations where we are out of control.
• Three situations everyone faces:
• You are currently in the middle of a storm
• A storm is coming and you don’t know about it
• You are just walking away from a storm that has blown through
• We all face storms.
• Storms are both inevitable and unavoidable.
• Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” (Matthew 8:24-27 NIV).
• Jesus is in control during the storm; the storm isn’t in control.
• Who is in control during the storm is important.
• God is bigger than the storm.

Guest Blog. Spencer's Back.

If you don't know me by now, then shame on you! My name is Spencer, and I'm one of Adam's students. I have been his student for quite some time now, and to be honest, he's not like any other teacher I have ever had. I have had many different kinds of teachers, some better than others. Adam is the best. Hands down. What makes him such a good teacher is that he's not just an adult who tells me things for my own good; he's a really great friend. One of the best I've ever had. That's not to say he’s not weird. He is. From being a grown man who likes Jesse McCartney (Scary) to not being afraid to say anything at any moment, he may be one of the weirdest dudes I've ever known. But he's the man. And its great having a role model like him. Enough with him though. Lets talk about you guys! Now, on a serious note, I came from Adam's old church, so don't kill me when I say that when I first came to NHC it was very natural for me to compare you guys to the youth ministry that I had been a part of in the past. I'm apologizing right now, because God never shuts a door without opening up another. I used to think that was bull. I used to think that God just put the doors there, and people just had a really bad habit of closing them. That's what I felt like when Adam left. Like one of the biggest influences in my life had shut me out. I was wrong. Very Very Wrong. If Adam would have never left, He never would have come to NHC, and I never would have eventually found a place that I can truly truly call my church home. Because God has worked through NHC SO MUCH. From what he’s doing with NHC, I have such a clear and vast vision for what I am going to do with the rest of my life. I spent over a year trying to figure out what kind of ministry I was going to have. The only real lead I had was I knew I wanted to work with teenagers. I wanted to change the world through the hearts of youth. Sometimes we really just have to let God do his thing, and understand that if God could fit in our heads, then he wouldn't be God. Thank you Adam. Thank you NHC. Thank you God.

Storm Watch

Have you ever woken up to thunder so loud you thought the sky really was falling? Or maybe you have listened to the wind scream as it ripped through trees and knocked over fences? Storms can be scary. In the middle of a storm, we know that we are unbelievably out of control. But while physical storms may threaten and terrify us, there are other kinds of storms in life as well. There are storms that rip apart friendships and families. Storms that meet us in a hospital room on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Storms that creep up on so subtly we never saw them coming. Storms like these often leave us asking “Why God?” For the next three weeks we will be talking about the inevitable storms of life and how we handle them.

June 29- Storm Warning-----July 6- The EYE of the Storm-----July 13- The Aftermath

Spiked Sundays - 5-7pm - 7-12 grade

Jam-n-Java

So, if you missed it last night - you REALLY missed out. The Spiked Youth space was transformed into a coffee shop/Starbucks/jazz club. There was great coffee and drinks. The music was incredible - and boy did God show up. The night was a refresher course in worship - what it should be like - how to do it - and a great big thank you to God for the work he has done and will do in us and through us. We had some students renew their faith and commit to Christ for the first time. Absolutely amazing night. We took a close look at Psalm 100 - from The Message Bible. Click Psalm 100 to read it. It gives us the "password" into God's inner court - his heart. The password is simple - Thank you. A student wrote this last night and I just have to share it:

• Deserted trees, the faded earth, heavy skies, dry tears...
• I've been spending my whole life trying to convince myself that I'm not a bad guy.
• I thought to myself it's hard to convince yourself of that, when all you do in life is leave people and a broken trail that's left behind you...
• Well now I say that Life is just an obstacle in your way to heaven.
• People make mistakes, that's what makes you human
• and they have to deal with them...or not...
• God free you of your past and your pain and your hurt.
• Free.
• Free to run, free to dance, and free to worship the Lord.
• Free to play on his playground we call earth.
• Live with joy, happiness, and freedom.
• Thank you, God - and I'm sorry.

Wednesday Thoughts

For the last little while - as indicated in my last blog - my heart/spirit has been really unsettled. Spiked Sunday was amazing. You know, it wasn't the best we've ever done - technically speaking we did not do the best of jobs. We had plenty of key mistakes, oversights, and things that needed improvement. However, it was the best Spiked Sunday - spiritually speaking. God was really moving, and has been moving for the past several weeks. And I have to say, that I have really been keying in on trying to figure out why. What have we been doing right? In what ways am I paying attention to God's vision for our students in a way that I have not thus far? I am starting to figure this out - and I think I am on to something. Not quite sure if I can share all of this in a blog - but I gotta make some changes in my life, in my relationship with God, in my leadership. So, what is God saying to you? What do you need to change? What's God saying to you?

Sunday Pre-Spiked

Well, I am sitting in my office going over the message for tonight. I am unusually nervous and stressed. I am not EVER nervous or stressed this far in advance of speaking/leading/etc... Now, right before it is time to deliver a message, I usually get a little nervous - but I think that is normal. It forces me to let go of "me" and focus on "him" - allowing the Holy Spirit to speak through me, not just me giving some message. So, it is kinda bothering me that I am so stressed. I really can't pinpoint any reason - Things are fine. I guess God is working and moving and the "evil one" is trying to stop it! I don't know. Anyway, Spiked is gonna kick butt tonight - We are interviewing a new worship dude tonight - James Griffin - from Minnesota. We are seeking a new worship leader currently. Kristy - our awesome new High School graduate - just graduated, thus ending her internship with us. We are really going to miss her - hopefully she will keep singing with us sometime - that's only if she has not hit it big! She is ABSOLUTELY going to be a star! Thank you, Kristy for serving with us!

Saturday thoughts

Well - it's been another week and I have only blogged once! I'm getting so slack. Tomorrow is my second-ever father's day. However, it feels like my first because last year I had only been father for about 2 seconds - I feel much more qualified this year - I have absolutely earned my stripes - all nighters, made lots and lots of bottles, cleaned lots and lots of poopy, and given lots and lots of lovin'. I'm excited. As a matter of fact, V and O are out shopping for me right now. I'm sitting in Starbucks - gettin buzzed on my second venti latte (don't worry, I only bought one. Some lady went crazy cause her mocha whatever was made with whole milk - so the barista gave it to me for free!). My wish list for father's day includes the following: a PS3, big flat screen tv, a tshirt or hoodie from my alma mater Southwestern, and a bunch of other stuff that I can't remember I asked for! But, in all seriousness, I could care less about the gifts. It is a privilege and blessing to be a daddy. Father's day makes me think of my dad. My dad is a cool guy - a little unusual but cool. For example, my dad is obsessed with hunting, likes to collect weird things, cuts the grass so low that there really isn't any grass, and listens to hip hop music. He is the best dad in the world. He showed me the love of God very early in my life - and never stopped supporting me and my dreams. As a matter of fact, and he might not know this, but he is the reason I am in the ministry. That's a story I will have to share later. Dad is not real internet savvy and probably will never read this but I'll say it anyway. I love you dad.

Just thinking....

I don’t know how much my wife reads my blog. She’s probably grown weary of all this stuff. She’s been tagging along on this ministry road for way too long – through the late nights, trips, crisis calls, crazy parents, teen pregnancy scares, other families’ problems taking priority over ours, and countless other ministry mantra. She has all-too-often been the person I have vented to. She has all-too-often been the person who gets the tired, irritated, closed-off Adam. I thank God for her everyday. NHC has been a place that has allowed me to start treating her better – not that I shouldn’t or couldn’t have been doing it all along. I was listening to this song by Ali Rogers – don’t know the name to it, and I’m not in a place that I can look it up – but the words in this song just scream how I feel for Valorie. I felt like I needed to write it down, absorb it, blog about it. (You know a blog is not for the reader – it’s for the writer.) ➢ I don’t have words ➢ to tell you how I’m feeling ➢ I don’t think any language can. ➢ At times like these, ➢ silence is appealing. ➢ Somehow I know you understand. ➢ And if I ever lose my hearing, ➢ and if I ever lose my sight ➢ If all my five senses leave, ➢ I know we’d be all right ➢ Cause it seems your heart is part of mine. ➢ So this is how ➢ it feels to be breathless ➢ when someone walks out of a room. ➢ Stay by me, ➢ we can be timeless. ➢ Less than forever is too soon. ➢ And if we ever lose our hearing, ➢ and if we ever lose our sight ➢ If all our five senses leave, ➢ I know we’d be all right ➢ Cause it seems your heart is a part of mine. ➢ I’ve sorted through all the words I know to use ➢ and looked for beauty to define ➢ I haven’t found what I want to say to you ➢ but I’ll try for the rest of my life ➢ Let’s try for the rest of our lives ➢ And if we ever lose our hearing, ➢ and if we ever lose our sight ➢ If all our five senses leave, ➢ I know we’d be all right ➢ Cause it seems your heart is part of mine.

Ten things I wish Jesus never said

On my last blog, I said that I was going to write about this book I am reading, titled Ten Things I Wish Jesus Never Said, written by Victor Kuligin. (In other words, I take no credit for this at all - you guys know that this couldn't have come from my brain!) So, here we go! #1 - "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:3 Jesus reminds us that there is an art to spirtual poverty. The more we walk with Christ, the more we should become aware of our fallenness, with an ever-increasing awareness of our sins. The nearer we are to God, the more we realize how imperfect we are and the more we see our imperfections. I wish Jesus never said this. But he did - and I become more and more aware of my slackness, my sins, that I suck. #2 - comin at ya in a few days!

Bang! Bullets comin' your way!

Weekend Update Bullets!

• Had Sunday off - It was Olivea's first bday! She was awesome! She ate her bday cupcake like a Big Girl! All her family and friends were there and gave her tons of gifts that they shouldn't have - thank God there were no drumsets.
• Valorie worked so hard on O's party - Valorie is such an amazing woman - I have no idea how I landed her! Although, I am pretty good looking ;)
• It's really great when you get to have all of your good friends in one place at one time. I tell my teens all the time that once high school is over with - friendships change drastically. Your intentions don't change, but life gets in the way, people go there own directions, and you don't keep in touch as much as you should,could. It was great to have you guys at the house. (Little tear!)
• Been listening to alot of sum 41 music lately - good band. Listen to Best of Me from the Underclass Hero album. Spiked Band covered their song With Me last week.
• It's officially summertime - schools are on the verge of getting out! I remember those times like it was yesterday! It was great being out of school for the summer! But, I also remember the trouble I would get into - take it easy guys - be safe.
• Welcome Dougie Britt! (Her real name is Douglene - but she gets mad when I say that! I've been singing Dolly Parton's Jolene - but changing the words to say "Douglene, Douglene, Douglene, Dougleeennneee!" She hates it!) Anyway, Dougie is now on our Student Ministry Staff! She is our Programming Director! Thanks for serving with us Douglene - hee, hee, I mean, Dougie!
• I broke my vow to not eat at McDonald's today! I vowed to not eat at McDonald's for health reasons - tryin to be healthy and crap. But, today I had to get a Big McBreakfast. Sorry, arteries.
• Been reading a GREAT Book lately - Ten Things I Wish Jesus Never Said by Victor Kuligin. Alot of books hype how great it is to follow Jesus (which is true) but this book comes at it as a warning - if you truly follow Christ's teachings - beware, it's not easy. I am going to do a blog post about all ten soon - God is really using these to talk to me.
• Are Monster drinks bad for your health? Smart people answer this question!
• Chris and Melinda represented this Sunday - they gave the message at Club56 and Spiked about SEX! Way to go guys! Thanks for all your help and service.
• Here's my prayer for the day - "God, thanks for 3 days off in a row. Thanks for my wife, baby, and family/friends. I know that I am not a great Christian - but I want to be better. I really do. So, how bout doing me a favor? Help me keep my mind clean, my heart pure, and my feet fast. You're the best and I am not worthy of your love - but, what's cool is I don't have to be, right? You said, it's not about me, it's about you. I praise you today, God - with all that I have."
• Ok, the gun is empty. No more bullets.