Crunch Time

My daughter's birthday is exactly 1 month away which means..."Crunch Time" has begun!

What’s “Crunch Time” you ask? Well, it’s only the 4 most important series of days in my whole calendar year. Days that come back to back to back each and every year for me. Days that are so important that if I miss them, I’m doomed for the next 12 months for sure.

Days that should be easy for me to face with expressions of love and joy, but I must admit every year I struggle with meeting these days with the right motive. A motive of thought filled unconditional love for the 3 most important women in my life.

Here are the days…April 21st, April 23rd, Mother's Day, and May 21st.

What is so important about these days, and probably an equally important question “who are these three women in my life?” Well, they are my wife’s birthday, my mom’s birthday, my daughter’s birthday and the Grandmother of them all – MOTHER’S DAY.

Now you’re probably thinking “come on man you’re just exaggerating, what’s the big deal?” Well, for you it may be no big deal, because you probably just ooze with ideas, creativity, romanticism and spontaneity…Good for you!

Inspire!

Before I became a Pastor I was a school teacher and a coach, and in many ways I’ve always viewed my ministry career as kind of a continuation of my coaching mindset, and I guess it never really has gotten out of my system.

One of the half-time speeches that I will never forget took place half way through a basketball game that my team was playing in name only, their bodies and spirits had failed to show up, and my coaches and I were getting more and more irked at their lack of effort as the first half minutes ticked away.

The team we were playing was one that we had beaten twice earlier in the season, and was one that we were clearly better than. As the buzzer rang, I was not happy, my coaches were not happy and every fan in the building was mad as well.

Change

When I think back on the journey God has brought me through to this point, I’m continually overwhelmed with the question, “who am I, that God would bless me like this?”

You see God has been hard at work for almost 45 years in the heart and mind of this old codger, and as I reflect on the work He has had to do, it truly is amazing. He has widdled and carved, and at times sand blasted my attitude plenty over the years, and He’s still at it.

I remember when I was younger, I really struggled with anger, and even though I came off as a pretty level headed, calm and easy going guy there were times when even the littlest thing would make me lose it.

I mean you could mess with me all day long, but even though my brother and I were fighting like cats and dogs, if you messed with him you were in trouble.

Or, talk about how tall and skinny I am all you want (yes, it’s true I used to be very skinny, in fact the nickname “beanpole” comes to mind as I’m writing this…aw those were the days), but say one word about my mom, and watch out.

Repertoire

Lately it seems I’ve been hearing the word “repertoire” everywhere I go.

When I was watching the Olympics I heard it used in the context of the various techniques that the ice dancers could utilize to get more points (by the way I heard it in passing as I was switching the channel from the Olympics back to College Basketball…I’m just saying).
I have also heard it used in the context of coaching, singing, painting, preaching and a bunch of other scenarios that got me thinking about what a repertoire is, and why it’s important.
I checked out what Webster had to say on the topic and this is what I found…
Repertoire – “the entire stock of skills, techniques, or devices used in a particular field or occupation.”

Alarmed

One day when I was reading my Bible and spending time with the Lord I came across a passage that has become very familiar to me over the last few years.

It’s a passage that God used to help shape my outlook and perspective on how to handle overwhelming and sometimes alarming news when it breaks down my door and comes crashing in.

The passage I’m referring to is found in 2 Chronicles 20 and it’s a great example of how King Jehoshaphat handled the news that not one, not two but three enemy armies were on their way to make war on Him.

When was the last time you got earth shattering, soul rocking news that blindsided you in a way that you didn’t know what to do? Was it last month, last week or even this morning? Well, a careful look at the action steps that Jehoshaphat applied will give us some insights into how I believe God wants us to handle alarming news when it comes our way.

Notice what Jehoshaphat had to deal with and what he did first…

Epic Showdown

In 1 Kings 18 Elijah is being called to an epic showdown between good and evil, with the true God answering the duel by sending fire from heaven…now that’s a pretty big deal!

As I’m reading the passage, my twisted brain keeps having flashbacks to epic showdowns I’ve seen in movies over the years, and I’m wondering if Elijah experienced the same feelings and thoughts as He stood there toe to toe with 850 real, living and breathing, passionate God haters who wanted to see His representative dead on the spot.

I’m having fun wondering what it may have looked like, and showdowns like Neo and Smith, Gandalf and the Dragon, Yoda & Dooku and even Rocky & Mr. T made a brief appearance in my mind, as I try to wrap myself around what it might have been like for Elijah to stand up for what He believed in the face of utter evil!

The showdown that I keep coming back to though is from one of my favorite showdowns in the movie Gladiator, and it is between Maximus and Commodus in the center of the coliseum after Commodus had Maximus’s family murdered and he believed that Maximus was killed as well.

Don't Say It...Don't Say It

 Last night I was reminded all over again about how powerful our words are, how seemingly harmless comments and “funny” jokes can be taken the wrong way and sting the receiver, and how things we’ve said and done have long term effects.

I’ve written pretty extensively about my mishaps, gaffs and downright dumb calls in the past, in fact this whole “Lesson Learned” Series is built on applications I’ve been able to walk away with after messing up in some way.
Well, as I was watching the Yankee game last night, second basemen Robinson Cano was up at the plate and I made a comment that brought back another blast from the past.

Anything Broken? - Remembering 9/11

Well, here we go again, another year, another surreal remembrance of the the day that I will never forget.

It’s been three years since I first posted this article, it is also one of the first ones I wrote in the Lesson Learned series, and one of the first ones that Youth Ministry.com posted as well. I’ve written a bunch more since then, so I thought I’d post it again as a glimpse into one of the most amazing ministry times in my life that came through the most incredibly tragic times of my life and the lives of the families I worked with.

Here it is…”Anything Broken?” Remembering 9/11…

This morning (9/11/07) was kind of surreal for me, as I join the rest of the world in remembering the 6th anniversary of 9/11. It really hit me kind of hard as I recalled what happened that fateful day, and how I found out…I was sitting in my office getting ready for one of the four bands that we had booked to do a concert on 9/14 to arrive.
We were hosting a huge concert that upcoming Friday with Five Iron Frenzy and Relient K head lining the show.

I was up to my neck in details that needed to be finalized before they arrived. We were the first stop on their fall tour and made a deal with them to give them all access to our facilities for 3 days to set up their lights, sound, and staging, and there was a ton of stuff my team and I had to do to make that happen.

As I was getting my plan together, the phone rang, it was my wife. She said in a panic filled voice “A plane just ran into the World Trade Center!” I said “what did you say?” and she repeated it.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Now you need to understand something, we lived about an hour north of NYC, and many of the students who were in our ministry had parents, aunts, uncles, and extended family members who worked in NYC and some at the WTC in particular.

My mind immediately went from detail mode to “what now Lord?” I hung up the phone with my wife and just sat their in stunned silence, when the phone rang again, this time it was one of my youth leaders who said “did you hear about the planes hitting the towers?” I said what do you mean planes?” She said “a second plane just flew into the other tower, we’re under attack!”

I was even more stunned and scared and bewildered than just a few minutes earlier. Many questions were flying through my mind…What was happening in our world? What was happening in our city? What was happening in our church? What were we going to do about it with our students? To list a few.

As I was talking with her, another call came in so I put her on hold. It was a call from the manager of Five Iron Frenzy, the headlining band that we were expecting to arrive later that day. They were getting ready to leave Denver and were sent back because all the flights in the US were canceled due to the attack.

In a matter of about 30 minutes my day went from bad to worse as I sat there wondering what we were going to do. The manager said, hey don’t worry about the show, the guys and I talked and we want to be there with you guys and minister to the kids…we’re going to rent a bus and drive straight through – we’ll see you tomorrow!”

I remember hanging up the phone and thinking “now there is a band who is in it for the right reasons.” As soon as I hung up with him I heard a scream from down the hall, it was our secretary who had just heard that the first tower had just collapsed!

The rest of the day was a blur, as I fielded calls from parents, students, bands, concert ticket holders, and newspaper reporters.

I was hit head on with a decision that was the furthest from my mind when I first got the news of the attacks…The decision of “should we cancel the concert or not?”

It seemed like the more I fielded calls, the more irate people got when I answered their question with an honest “of course were going to have the concert.”

If you recall there was a period of time shortly after the attacks where everyone was canceling everything.

I mean the Yankees, Mets, Giants & Jets all canceled games (in fact the Super bowl used to be the last Sunday in January but is now in February because they canceled football games).

I was finding out how big of a deal it was for us to go forward with the concert. I got nasty calls, e-mails & conversations from people who couldn’t believe that we were still going forward with the show in light of the tragic events that had just taken place.

Over the next two days the bands, roadies, and equipment all arrived by bus (not tour bus, not the Madden Cruiser…Yellow Cheese school bus!).

I couldn’t believe it…as soon as the crew arrived I told them about all of the hate filled input we were getting. The guys couldn’t believe it either.

Then Reese (the lead singer of FIF) asked “do you think there will be kids in the audience who were directly affected by the attacks?”

We were expecting about 1100 kids at the concert and based on the connections in my own ministry and the feedback I’d gotten from our network of Youth Pastors I knew there would be a large portion of the attendees who either had a relative, friend, or neighbor that was directly affected by the attacks.

So I said “yep, they’ll be out in force!”

What he said next totally ramped my respect for him and the other bands through the roof…He said “well then, lets turn this rock show into a church service and minister to the needs of these hurting kids!”.

That is exactly what they did. A normal concert usually lasts about 3 hours and consists of some ear piercing music, some cool technology, and you go home. This particular concert saw each band play their hearts out for sure, but also share their hurts with the kids and share the solutions they’ve found in Jesus with them as well.

Now you might be saying, isn’t that what they are supposed to do? That is a good question, and in my observation many Christian rock musicians don’t share verbally any more, they let their music do the talking…ok, I can usually buy that but on this fateful night the kids needed more than music to meet their needs.

They needed real life examples of faith and victory from their “heroes”, and that’s exactly what they got.

It was so awesome to see how each band member was so vulnerable in their testimonies that the real HERO of Jesus Christ came through loud and clear!

Matt Thiessen from Relient K shared his personal faith story and some tough stuff he’d gone through, and each band member did the same.

Their new album had just come out that week and they played a song from it that really spoke volumes to the kids. The chorus says…

“never underestimate my Jesus, you’re telling me that there’s no hope, I’m telling you you’re wrong. Never underestimate my Jesus, when the world around you crumbles, He will be strong, He will be strong!”

After that various members from FIF shared how God had been there for them and how He was going to see them trough this as well.

Then for the next hour and a half, Reese had all the bands come out on stage, put down their instruments, turn down the lights and the fog machine and just sit down among the students as he proceeded to tell his story of faith, and trust and ups and downs with the Lord. It was incredible!

I have seen these bands in concert many times over the years, but never have I witnessed such an out pouring of love and truth from these guys to an audience filled with hurting kids who had just 3 days earlier experienced a life rocking, potentially faith shattering experience of losing a loved one in a terrorist attack!

The concert started at 7pm and by the time I finally locked the building and went home and laid my head on the pillow it was 4:30am!

The band members hung out, prayed, cried, hugged and ministered Christ’s love to over 1100 kids who had recently found out what it meant to know pain, hurt, questions and doubts.

Because a group of pesky Christian rockers weighed the priority of canceling a show because every thing in the entire country (airlines, Broadway, football and baseball) was canceling, or taking the heat so they could minister the love of Jesus to some hurting kids, we were able to see hundreds and hundreds of lives changed that night through the ministry of the Word, prayer, life change and a few songs.

The next morning as I walked into the church building I was asked THE question that usually faced me the day after any huge event we did in our ministry “was anything broken?”

This time I was able to give an answer that to this day is one of my favorites.

I said “YES, all kinds of things were broken…but because we had the concert many of them were fixed before they got home.”

As I remember the 6th anniversary of the terror attacks on 9/11, and every anniversary that is to come…I choose to focus on the truth that God is in control and He calls on each of us to share with others how He has been faithful to us in our lives. He’s in the business of fixing broken lives, and nothing is going to stop that!

Lesson Learned.

Unique

“Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous ... You were there while I was being formed ... You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe.” Psalm 139:14-16 (LB)

Ah yes, Psalm 139. I’ve often said “if I had a dollar for every time I “prescribed” that passage to a teenager in my ministry over the years, I’d be a very rich Youth Pastor.”

This passage has been very influential in my life because it conveys the truth that each of us is unique according to God’s plan and purpose. He doesn’t make junk, and He has a customized plan for all of us.

In this day and age of comparison to others and a skewed view of what success really is, I love this passage even more.

I wrote an article a couple of years back that deals with the importance of discerning right and wrong in the midst of the confusing messages we get hit with every day, it’s called Discernment and as I was thinking on Psalm 139 this morning driving to the office I heard a song that brought this whole concept of uniqueness to mind in a very vivid way.

The song is called “More Beautiful You” by Johnny Diaz, and as it was playing the combination of this passage, many conversations from the past and my own personal struggles over the years were just bombarding my mind as I drove.

I kept thinking of students who “got it” and made Biblically based decisions to discern God’s voice over the world’s, and others who chose to go their own way and are having a rough time in life because of it.

Then, all of a sudden I thought of my daughter, and I wondered if I’m doing all I can do to show her that she is God’s special masterpiece, created uniquely in His image, and what about my son? Am I doing all I can do to model what a Godly man of character is all about, because his “heroes” in life don’t even begin to do that Justice.

The more I thought and contemplated the more I realized how vital my role as a Father really is.

I’m not saying I’m perfect or that I need to have all the answers, but in this world that is really good at making lies look like truth and packaging temptations in a way that are so inviting, I was challenged even more to make sure I’m leading in a way that is constantly communicating that God has uniquely designed my kids for a purpose!

Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, maybe it’s because I’ve seen so many “success” as well as “horror” stories over the years, or maybe it’s just that my kids are growing up right before my eyes. Whatever it is, I’m just really getting blasted these days with the desire to lead my family in the way God would have me to lead them.

I’m sick of the world’s lies and I’m sick of the enemy’s schemes! The truth is you and I are made in God’s image, and we’ve been designed uniquely as His original masterpiece. The question I’m processing is “How do I continually express, convey, emphasize and get it across to my family?”

How are you doing with this today? Have you bought the lie of the enemy? You know what I’m talking about, right?

“You’re not good enough, you’re too old, you’re too young, you’re too fat, you’re too skinny, you don’t have any skills, what you’ve done in your past has disqualified you from God’s love and forgiveness”…and on and on it goes.

Well, I want to encourage you to read Psalm 139, and then listen to this song, and especially focus on the part that hammers home the truth that no matter what you’ve done or where you are you can change your path and be restored in Christ. I don’t know about you, but I love that!!

Whether you’re young or old, male or female it doesn’t matter, you are uniquely designed by the Creator Himself. Designed for a Purpose!

My prayer is that we believe that, begin to live that way and model that kind of mindset and lifestyle for our kids and whomever else we have the opportunity to influence.

Psalm 139…I’m Unique as God’s original masterpiece and so are You…SO, there could never be a more beautiful you!

Lesson Learned
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8NvU9Ah-uY