Give Thanks Day 6

On this sixth day of November, I'd like to give thanks for the places that God has allowed me to serve in ministry.  I think back over the past 15 years about all the places that have given me the opportunity to lead in ministry positions.  It has definitely been a learning experience.  I think back to that first church position in 1998 when a little country church in Walnut, MS allowed me to serve for a year as their youth minister.  Talk about green... sure, I had two summers of internship under my belt, but nothing had prepared me for what would come my way during that time.  I am so grateful to that church for seeing the potential in that "wet behind the ears" guy.

I think about the honor that it was to go back to my home church and serve as youth pastor during a time of transition.  Those were some times of faith-building, but I would not trade them for the world.  I remember when that search committee looked at me and addressed me not as the guy who grew up here, but as a real potential to go forward.  I am so grateful for the team of adult volunteers that came alongside of me during that time and helped move forward the transition.

I think about the times in Fairhope and Birmingham where God began to turn my focus from just students to the entire church congregation as a whole.  I think about those from these precious churches who invested in helping me fund my education.

I am grateful to New Life Fellowship in Gilbertown, Alabama for giving me the honor of being the first full-time pastor of that precious church.  I am grateful to them that they worked along with me as I cut my teeth on this lead pastor thing.

And to Bethany Baptist Church... I am honored that you have placed the reigns in my hand to lead this precious congregation in the Lord's work.  The support and love that has been demonstrated to our family over these past 6 months is enough to get you all choked up.

Each of these places of service has been used by God to mold me a little bit more into what He desires me to be.  I would not be where I am or who I am without any one of these.

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Welcome to the Masquerade

This coming Sunday night at Crossroads (student ministry of FBC Birmingham, Alabama), we are having a special theme night.  We are calling it "Welcome to the Masquerade."  All students in the Birmingham area are invited to a night of fun and good times as we take a look at what lies behind the masks that we wear.  It all starts at 6pm, so if you're in the Birmingham area, feel free to come and join us for the fun.

I will be honest, in preparing the message for Sunday night, I'm getting super excited.  God has been showing me some cool stuff that I can't wait to share with those present at Crossroads.  As a teaser for Sunday night, one thing that God has been showing me is that the real God of the universe is strongly pursuing the real us that He has created.  That's all that I'll share at this time.  If you want more, drop by FBC Birmingham this Sunday at 6pm (costumes on).

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School's Out

Today, I finished up yet another semester of NOBTS.  To be honest, I really hated to see this one end.  I was taking systematic theology and having way to much fun with it.  I am very grateful to our professor who made something that could easily have been very boring not that at all.  I truly enjoyed going to class every Monday and seeing what the Bible (not just tradition - church's, denomination's, or other) had to say about the doctrines that we as Christians hold so dear.  I look forward to the break from required reading and papers.  Now it is time to gear up for what looks to be a very interesting summer with the students of First Baptist Church of Birmingham, Alabama.

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Crossroads Update

A couple of weeks ago, our student ministry started a new series called "It's the End of the World As We Know It." This series is an overview of end time events as the Bible talks about them. This has been a fun series to prepare and do. Reading different thoughts and study notes from a range of folks has caused me to really get in to it and try to get my mind somewhat aroud these events.

It always amazes me just how interested students are in the end of the world. Think about it. Teenagers do have this subconscious thought of lasting forever, but still they want to know how it all comes to an end.

One really cool thing that happened this week is that I got a text message from a parent saying that their student had some questions and was a little confused about these end time events. At first, I wondered if I had confused this student by teaching wrong. Then, God reminded me that this is why I am on staff at our church in the role of student pastor. I am called to come alongside and help parents spiritually train their child (not do it all for them). I gave the parent a timeline of events and my study notes with the invitation to help find more resources if needed.

As this series plays out, I'm anxious to see what God is going to do. One thing that I do hope for is that a passion and longing for Jesus' return would be ignited in our students' lives.

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Crossroads Weekend Update

Great night again this past Sunday with the youth of First Baptist Church of Birmingham, Alabama.  We are continuing our series on "Bonding with James" and looking through the New Testament book of James.

Message: "Diamonds Are Forever" James 2:14-26.  We focused on what genuine faith looks like and how it is demonstrated through our works.  We talked about how our works do not save us but rather our good works reveal to those around us that our faith in Christ is real.

Music: "Sing to the King" - Billy Foote; "From the Inside Out" - Hillsong; "Lead Me to the Cross" - Brooke Fraser.

Overall: I thought that this night was really good.  Once again we had one of our students reach out and invite a friend.  It is always a boost to know that the students trust you and what you're doing to bring their friends (or girlfriends) along for the ride.  We were missing some of our regulars though.  I would give the night a B++.

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The Crossroads Review

This past Wednesday, we started getting back into the groove of the school year starting.  Two of our school systems that our church reaches had begun classes.  One is still waiting for that first bell to ring.  There was still a good atmosphere among the group.

Music: "There's No Greater Love"; "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus"; "The Potter's Hand"

Message: "The Crossroads"  Deuteronomy 30:11-20.  With the beginning of a new year in the student ministry, we went back to where we got our student ministry name and our theme verse.  We also talked about the power of choices.

Thumbs Up: I was proud to hear that a few of our students had worn their new student ministry t-shirts with the new logo to school already.

Thumbs Down:  The sound system went crazy on us with the wireless mic making all kinds of crazy noises.  Therefore, there was no podcast of that message (and I thought it was a good one, too.)

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Wednesday Night

I thought that I might try to keep up with all of the happenings that we do at the Crossroads Student Ministry (FBC Birmingham, Alabama) by posting about what our youth services looked like...

Series: FLIX - this was our summer series where we used video clips from movies to help illustrate God's Word and spark some discussion.

Music: "Nothing But the Blood" - Matt Redman; "I Stand Amazed" - hymn; "How Great Is Our God" - Chris Tomlin.

Message: "Not Being Lukewarm" - This message was presented by my summer intern, Casey Ortner.  He did a great job of sharing the importance of not living a lukewarm life.  We used a clip from the movie "The Three Amigos" where Martin Short draws a line in the sand and lays the challenge to Steve Martin and Chevy Chase.

Rating: It was a great night.  The musical worship was led by me and one of our youth, Teague.  Casey presented a clear message that the Holy Spirit used to bring some conviction.  I like how we ended the service by just spending some time alone with God in confession and prayer.  I would give it an "A".

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