J E F E

Alot has changed

2012-01-16T22:30:00.001-05:00

I was really surprised to find that Blogger has kept all my posts since the beginning in 2006.

I was reminded of so many things God has done as I read through many of the old posts. Many victories we saw in ministry and life, I had completely forgotten. I don't want to forget these things.

And I want to share them.

Let's see how it goes.

When talent isn't enough...

2010-11-28T23:39:00.000-05:00

I'm not hating, I promise.

However, I think there is a lesson to be learned from all the hype surrounding the "big 3" (Wade, Bosch, James). There's so much talent on the Heat team, it's hard to consider that as of today they have a record of 9-8.

They are phenomenal players. Amazing talent. Huge potential.

But something is missing.

When I have watched the Heat lose games, it's not because they are playing better teams. For the most part, it's teams that are doing the little things. Repeatedly.

Rebounds. Ball movement. Aggressive defense.

Those 3 things will win ball games, even if you aren't the most talented team on the floor.

There is a parallel to who we have on our teams in ministry.

Sometimes we buy into the hype that only the most talented people are needed for our teams to win. Talent is important, but don't overlook some basics that make a phenomenal team player:

1. A teachable attitude--it's hard to teach someone who knows everything. Worse yet, it's difficult for them to admit they are wrong. More time will be spent in regret and dealing with issues than moving forward. Let them serve else where.

2. A bias toward action--it's much easier (and more enjoyable) to have to pull the reigns back on an aggressive person than it is to motivate the lazy. I'll take the prior any day over the former. You will never be able to adequately motivate someone who is lazy. Look for those who spend more time problem solving than excuse making.

3. A passion for Jesus--yep. Should be without saying. Should be.
No talent will ever be big enough to eclipse a love for Jesus that influences others. This passion will weave through every fiber of their being...and your ministry. Never settle for spiritual apathy.

I hope the Heat pull out of the slump and play some basketball. It could be really fun to watch.

It's far more fun to watch teams function as a Biblical community and live out the Gospel.

The future for the Church looks incredible. I'm glad we get to be part of it!

Never assume...

2010-11-12T14:09:00.000-05:00

Ouch.

Clearly the officers assumed the prisoner would stay in the car.

"I didn't think the window would roll down". "He's a nice guy. He'll let us arrest him!" Who knows what these two guys were thinking. Actually, what were they assuming would happen?

Assumptions can be a killer.

I know the truth about assumptions first hand and you probably do too.

If you serve in student ministry, assumptions can have a more profound, far reaching affect than we realize. Or want to admit.

"Guests know they are welcome. We tell them we were glad to see them when they came!"
"Students know we care about them. We invite them to come back to church all the time."
"Isn't it obvious how to get connected to our ministry?"

Here's a good evaluation: "Inspect what you expect."

Inspect what you've been assuming. Be sure guests are welcome. Make certain students feel loved and cared for. Is getting connected to your ministry easy, obvious and relational?

It's way better to inspect now and know for sure than sitting sitting in the front seat watching your "fugitive" run off.

Too many messages

2010-08-17T20:51:00.000-05:00

My gym is an interesting place.

Among other things, their method of advertisement of local businesses can be confusing. This table with local literature is near the entrance to make sure everyone sees it.

The problem is, there are so many messages on the table that a single one can't be discerned. It will take so long to sort through all of the messages it's just easier to ignore them completely.

Student ministry can look alot like this table.

Sometimes our calendars are so packed that nothing of importance really stands out. Competing programs scream for everyone's attention, but they all sound the same.

What does the "table" of your student ministry look like?

Shared content at Christ Fellowship Miami

2010-06-01T22:16:00.002-05:00

Christ Fellowship Miami recently showed this video at our weekend services clarifying our philosophy of shared content teaching.

About 36 weeks per year, CF Kids, CF Students and our adults align in our weekend teaching. For 16 weeks a year, the student ministry covers topics from our scope and sequence.

Shared content reinforces CF's commitment to reaching the whole family. I'm excited to see how this will continue to influence families in Miami!

Fight the stereotype!

2010-03-24T16:08:00.006-05:00

I saw this video by the guys at SYMC 10 and couldn't quit laughing.

Pretty funny take on guys in student ministry. It's for sure a step up from making paper airplanes all day!

Fight the Youth Pastor stereotype!

8 days in Haiti

2010-03-16T20:16:00.004-05:00

Here's the ironic thing about this post: I can think of 2000 things that should be articulated, but can't figure out quite how to say them. Even after being home a few days.

Haiti is just that kind of place right now.

We partnered with a church in Leogone, Haiti...about an hour outside the capital of Port Au Prince.

Our prayer was that the Gospel would bring healing more than our nurses or our supplies or anything else we could do. We saw some great things last week:

-12 people began a relationship with Jesus.
-almost 800 patients were attended to by our nurses
-Unicef and the UN are providing some shelter, food and clean up for the church.

During one of our meetings with the UN, I saw this chart on the commander's wall; a sad reminder of how 5 seconds can change so many lives.

I'll keep thinking. As I organize the thoughts, I'll put them here.

CF in the City

2009-12-23T08:21:00.002-05:00

There's alot of things I love about Christ Fellowship.

The element of CF that gets me pumped is our missions focus: locally, nationally and globally.

Christmas is a great time to focus on the local piece of missions and last night at one of our malls, I was borderline speechless. I knew everything that would be happening there, but until I saw it for myself, it didn't hit me how significant our opportunities were.

I walked into the "center square" of the mall and here's what I experienced:

--One of our CF bands was on the stage playing Christmas music and sounding great. I could hear it in many areas of the mall.

--CF small groups were in a large, open sided tent, provided by the mall, to gift wrap mall purchases for free. (This is CF's 4th year wrapping gifts at this mall)

--Lots of CF people hanging out, smiling and talking to others.

Wow! There is one more night of music tonight and gift wrapping ends tomorrow, Christmas eve.

Soooo pumped to see how God will use these days!

End of the year teaching series

2009-12-07T22:30:00.004-05:00

CF Students is in the middle of our "end of the year/Christmas" series.

The title is pretty self explanatory.

Throughout the series we have been encouraging students to "lose" themselves and focus on serving others for the sake of the Gospel. Our emphasis is that we don't serve to make ourselves feel good or even because it's fun to do. We serve because Jesus served us. Piper said it well when he said, "The glory of Christ is most clearly seen when we are willing to risk or sacrifice to experience more of Him."

We've encouraged students to:

1. Lose yourself (You actually aren't the center of the universe)
2. Lose your stuff (evaluating need vs luxury-what are you willing to sacrifice?)
3. Lose your time (serving others emphasis)
4. Lose your limitations (loving the nations emphasis)
5. Christmas message: Emmanuel, God with us.

Each week students are given a means to practically apply what they have learned. For instance, the "lose your stuff" weekend, we put bins on the stage and asked students to give clothes/things they value to the under-resourced.

We've also pushed students in a way we never have before...to give financially to save the lives of 50 babies.

More to come...

It's about time.

2009-11-30T16:31:00.003-05:00

I'll admit it.

I've been out of the game. I told myself, "no one really blogs much anymore...Twitter is good enough."

I believed a lie.

I'm throwing my proverbial keyboard back into the mix to blog again.

I know, for both of the people that probably still check this blog, this announcement brings joy, elation...possibly even hope filled tears.

Or...maybe not.

Either way, check back again soon.

Funny videos-Youth miniSTarZ

2009-08-04T11:18:00.002-05:00

Saw this funny video posted on Twitter. Funny stuff!

Thoughts on leading volunteers...

2009-05-12T14:22:00.007-05:00

I've had many great conversations lately on what it means to be a leader. Specifically in the area of the student ministry, being a leader must be true in actions and not only in title or word. There are many people in "leadership positions" (both in and out of church) that aren't actually leading anyone. Their making decisions, but that's the extent of their influence.

Andy Stanley makes a phenomenal point that as leaders of volunteers, the only authority we have is moral authority. When our "creed" doesn't match our "deed", we lose credibility and ultimately the right to lead.

As a student pastor, I realize there are aspects of my leadership that must be constantly refined and improved upon. I believe each of these is true of any leader, particularly of anyone who leads volunteers. Here are four aspects of leadership that I'm working to further develop.

1. Visioneer. One question I am constantly asking myself is, "How will the vision of our ministry be communicated today?" The large group settings are an easy place to cast vision. I must remember that in the small, unplanned and teachable moments I should be able to weave our vision authentically into what's happening. No vision= no future and no "buy in" from the volunteer leaders.

2. Recruiter. Anyone in leading in student ministry should be able to recruit volunteers. Recruiting happens a variety of ways from announcements, personal relationships and of course other leaders recruiting leaders. Recruiting solid, passionate volunteers is a must if the ministry is going to have an impact in the lives of students.

3. Manager. Am i being a wise steward of our volunteers time and resources? Do I frustrate volunteers by not casting vision and reaffirming their role in our process? Are the people that are "on the bus" in the right seats? As a manager of volunteers, am I managing with efficiency? Are leaders being challenged and exercising their gifts?

4. Cheerleader. Leaders need to hear encouragement. The "wins" and victories must be celebrated both personally and corporately. Leaders need to know that their commitment and contribution are recognized and valuable. They need to know that their investment is making a difference.

Just a few thoughts. Add yours if you got them.

Funny how that works.

2009-05-03T17:07:00.002-05:00

This year our student ministries have been adopting local schools. The intent is to resource and encourage the teachers and administrators of the schools where our students attend.

This "adoption" is separate from the Great Commission clubs, First Priorities, that we utilize in public schools. We are willing to literally do physical labor around the school, resource them with paper and anything else possible, including baked goods and coffee for the teachers/faculty. Just as a simple way to show them that God and Cf Students love them and appreciate what they do.

A couple of months ago I approached one of our high schools that many of our students attend. I pitched the idea to them knowing they are by far the toughest school for us to minister to. (even though we do have a First Priority club in the school)

The principal denied us...big time. Not interested. Their school didn't need "resources". I wasn't too surprised, but it bordered on arrogant.

In the last three weeks that school has been rocked by difficult situations. A boy was caught with a gun at school. Another boy from the school lit himself on fire. Two weeks ago two boys from that school were shot walking down the street. (about a mile from our church!) Only one of the boys survived.

Sheph, an intern, was visiting the school last week discussing possibly starting a Bible study for the football team next fall with the coach. Another teacher heard his proposal and asked him and another of our guys to start a group at lunch for "at risk" (read: thug) students. Sheph said he wouldn't lead this group unless he could share the Bible; it's the only thing that brings real change.

The school agreed. Plans are being made.

At this point, the school is looking for help.

We had one idea. God provided another.

It's fun watching lives change...

2009-04-28T18:17:00.005-05:00

Here's a cool story about these two 8th grade guys...Wendell and Marquez.

Marquez is in my wife Jen's science class at a local public school. His life isn't easy and the details are too many to share. For a fourteen year old, his life has been hard and people to love him have been too few. Jen wanted to reach out to him so she set up Marquez with one of our interns, Shephathiah. Marquez introduced Sheph to his best friend, Wendell.

Sheph started to hang out with both of the guys and soon after they started coming to church. They got plugged in to our Middle School ministry and Sheph continued to meet and share Jesus with them.

A couple of months ago they gave their lives to Christ and they were baptized at our Beach Baptism this last Sunday.

I love to hear stories. I love seeing stories of life change unfold. I also like sharing them...

Ignatius

2009-03-18T09:56:00.003-05:00

This hillarious video, Ignatius, is highlighting some trends we see in student ministry. When you are ready to kill your student ministry, be more like Ignatius!

Ignatius from travis hawkins on Vimeo.

Simple Student Ministry Promo video

2009-03-05T22:57:00.002-05:00

The first promotional video for Simple Student Ministry has just been released!

Watch the video! You can preview and even pre-buy the book on Amazon.com!

Words create worlds.

2009-03-05T22:43:00.002-05:00

Words are powerful.

I heard three short phrases this week that spoke volumes to me.

I love you. I miss you. I forgive you.

I heard these words this week at a funeral. The funeral was for two of our Middle School girls and their parents. Their father killed their mother, the two girls and finally himself. These powerful words came from a niece who shared these last words for her uncle who caused the tragedy.

The teachings of Jesus in Luke 6 never seemed so poignant.

"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." Luke 6:27

I love you. I miss you. I forgive you.

Powerful.

Youth Pastor Summit

2009-03-05T22:21:00.002-05:00

Youth Pastor Summit is an outstanding conference held in Orlando every year. Universal Studios and Chik Fil A sponsor the event, so they offer it completely free to people who work in student ministry.

This year we took over 20 leaders and interns from Cf Students to YPS.

Honestly, it was an amazing experience.

The general session speakers, Francis Chan, Jay Strack, David Nassar, Mac Powell...all did phenomenal, although Francis Chan seemed to be the favorite.

Great breakouts on day 2 ended the conference. Very practical "how to's" for student ministry, as well as learning more about the life of Phil Newberry, who has been in student ministry for 35 years! (24 at the same church!) The whole conference was a great experience for people who have been in student ministry for any length of time.

We have much love for Universal Studios and Jay Strack for putting on YPS!

Things people don't like to talk about...

2009-02-23T22:02:00.003-05:00

We began a new series this weekend called, "The Unmentionables".

Each week we tackle a 'taboo' or 'controversial' subject that make most people uncomfortable or just makes them mad.
We started the series with teaching about abortion.

It was unbelievable to see the undivided attention from the students during the services. Powerful Scriptures showed God's value on human life. Corresponding videos packed a punch. We were careful not to be too explicit, we decided early that we didn't have to be grotesque to make a point.

It was very encouraging to see girls seek healing after the service. It was also encouraging to have leaders share their stories...and how God has healed them after their experiences.

We've been praying for this series for some time because we realize a few things:
1. Many of our students struggle with one or more of these issues.
2. People are opinionated and can be hard headed (hearted) about hearing the truth of these topics.
3. When students hear the truth and need to be set free, we have the awesome responsibility to help them find healing. We want students to be restored to God.

Over the next five weeks we will cover other topics like suicide, homosexuality, hell, the big sex lie, and others!

We are pumped about the direction God is taking this!

CF Live...Two weeks!

2009-02-14T21:45:00.002-05:00

Christ Fellowship's Worship Concert, CF Live, is happening Saturday, February 28 @ 6:30pm at our Palmetto Bay Campus! The worship leaders from our five campuses will come together in a night of celebration as we worship our Creator.

Last year was phenomenal...I'm confident this year will be even more amazing.

Drop whatever plans you have and be at our Palmetto Bay Campus on February 28!

Eric Geiger and Brandon Hiltibidal are my daddies.

2009-02-13T17:52:00.002-05:00

It's true. I can't believe it.

Eric and Brandon beat Jorge and I in three games of basketball.

A sweep.

Nasty. Shameful.

As a result, I've enrolled in Jenny Craig and a Middle School girl's remedial sports/basketball course.

This probably won't be the last you hear of this, blogworld.

Alltop.com

2009-01-10T07:47:00.002-05:00

If you've never been to Alltop.com, you should check it out.

Great resource for current stories and what's happening in the world.

Time flies...

2009-01-05T20:43:00.002-05:00

Shoot.

It's been a while since I've posted. I've got a world of excuses, but they are all pretty lame. Let's just do this.

The last three weeks have been pretty diverse...

1. I performed my first funeral. For my Grandfather...he was the man. Taught me to waterski when he was 68 years old. After I became a Christian, we talked at length about his decision to invite Jesus into his life. I never knew that conversation would mean so much to me now.

2. We celebrated Christmas with Shawn and Niaya...that was a blast. We had too many memorable experiences to list!

3. I gave four annual reviews to interns and received mine. Although not always easy, I enjoy the annual review. Honest conversation gives freedom to discuss what is going great and what needs to be changed. I can't tell you how amped I am about 2009.

4. I reviewed my personal year and listed all the lessons I have learned. That may be another post, but it's definitely a healthy practice. I've almost finished my goals for '09. I plan on getting the absolute most out of this coming year.

5. I got many projects done...put seatbelts in the back seat of our 63 Rambler, refinished an entertainment center, built a 'kids gym' in the back yard, and so on. It's cool seeing tangible projects completed.

6. High Schoolers from all campuses went on our Winter Mission last week. It was awesome. Highlight for me other than hanging out with the students was sharing the Gospel in the American Airlines Arena...from the floor. Shooting free throws in the Arena was pretty cool also.

7. I'm steady pubbing Simple Student Ministry. If for some weird reason you haven't ordered your copy yet, you can do it here. Incidentally, these books make GREAT gifts for any time of the year...

So...much good is to come. Keep looking out...

Free cd

2008-12-08T23:31:00.003-05:00

If you like Phil Wickham's music, his cd "singalong" is available for free download. Good stuff.

And oh yeah, FREE.

Click here.

Thanks to youthministrygeek.com for the link!

Presence

2008-12-08T23:05:00.003-05:00

Our High School ministry is doing a 3 week series called "Presence" for Christmas.

I'm loving it so far.

Our first weekend we talked about "Practicing the Presence" of Christ. The premise is that Jesus is Immanuel...and since God is with us we should get our cues from Him to celebrate Christmas properly: invest in others.

Outside of the Reach Beyonds our small groups are doing, we are encouraging students to either do some of the following by themselves or in a group of 2 or 3 friends in order to be a picture of Immanuel to someone else. This isn't our complete list, but a good sampling.

1. Write a letter to a persecuted Christian. (guidelines and 'how to's were given out)
2. Write out 3 Christmas cards to the most rejected kids at your school. Invite them to church with you at Christmas.
3. Visit nursing home patients who will have no family to visit them this year. (instructions on 'how to' were given)
4. Give away all or your top 2 Christmas gifts this year. (mouths literally dropped at this one.)
5. Visit the childrens ward at the local hospital on Christmas eve or Christmas day. (did this last year with 7 students, awesome time!)

Got any ideas to add to the list?

We encouraged students to take pictures and journal their experience so we can celebrate with them.

It's awesome...

2008-12-08T23:02:00.003-05:00

I've really enjoyed checking out this website. Give it a look.

I am second.

What if Starbucks marketed like the church?

2008-11-28T08:04:00.003-05:00

Check out this video...what if Starbucks operated like most churches?

Here's a pretty accurate picture of what it would look like. It is a great perspective from someone on the outside looking in...

Thanks to Madetostick.com for the heads up!

cool text messages

2008-11-25T22:48:00.003-05:00

Text messaging in awesome for many reasons. You can get the scoop on any situation in a brief amount of time.

Here's a really cool text message I got last week...

"hey man...i glorified God and shared Jesus in my school and one girl got saved. It was awesome. Her name is Elizabeth pray for her."

It literally made my day.

Thank you Jesus for the students who share you...then share the story with us.

Our current series...

2008-11-25T21:42:00.007-05:00

The High School ministry is wrapping up a great series called "Broadcast You".

The theme is that our lives all broadcast a message...so after this weekend we'll have spent 3 weeks unpacking what it looks like to send one clear, loud message with our lives.

Because of the "Broadcast" theme, we've tried some new elements that we will plug into normal weekend programming from time to time. Here are two subtle but cool/fun things we did for the series.

1. We used old school, archaic tv's to display what we usually would put on a banner for the series around the room. It was a cool effect. We powered multiple tv's at a time with single macbooks attached...plenty of power and the image on the screen was clear. Thanks to the guys who let us use their macs!

2. We did some live broadcasting during our service. Last week, we did our announcements from the home where we were doing a tag on event after the Saturday night service. Live broadcasting needs some tweaks, but went pretty well. This weekend we plan to do a segment of the message from a local hospital. (our topic is about pain) It was a unique aspect of the service.

The live broadcasting was easier than we expected. We plugged in a video camera and a mic to a macbook pro and utilized iChat to the mac in our High School room. It will work via any wifi network...or a wireless card. No extra cost at all to do it. Big thanks to JReed for the tech support!

Our Christmas series, "Presence", starts in two weeks. I'm excited about some of the practical ways we'll share this message.

Here's your chance...

2008-11-06T22:47:00.002-05:00

Wow! Get them while you can!

Sure, the actual book isn't out until June 1, but it's never too early to pre-order, right? Just to make sure you stay ahead of the rush, you can order Simple Student Ministry here.

Declaration stating which candies should be placed in exile...

2008-11-02T22:56:00.003-05:00

Ok. So I don't trick or treat anymore. (At 19, people began to heckle me and my friends)

However, our kids trick or treat now and it's a pretty good gig. I forgot the simplicity of wandering up to houses with 'the lights on' and scoring mad bank of fructose and chocolate.

Halloween brought back some great and not-so-great memories. Great memories included getting in the costume, hanging out with friends and eating enough chocolate to keep anti-zit companies in business for a year.

What are the bad memories, you ask? Just one...the weird 'treats'. There is no particular order, all are of equal rediculousness, however, and should be banned from any 'festivity'.

1. Sun Maid Box of Raisins: For real? Loosely packed "fruit"? That has psycho written all over it. I'd rather step on something sharp in my bare feet than to eat of box of those.

2. Jolly Ranchers: Ok. New packaging and new look, but still the same, gross candy who's packaging adheres to the candy impeding quick enjoyment. No thanks. So little flavor in them it's not worth the time investment to "eat".

3. Butterscotch candy: A distant cousin to the Jolly Rancher, although somewhat tastier. These should be exiled because you get them at any office all year long. There's no sanctity in the butterscotch. There's nothing "treat oriented" about them.

4. Kleenex mini-packs: I didn't see any this year, but I am convinced they were out there. This is just bad taste. Literally.

5. Sweet tart necklaces: Sweet tarts are 'ok'...but only if you don't sweat. If you live in Miami, walk around in a costume in the heat, you will sweat profusely. The 'jewelry that is candy you can eat' becomes soaked with sweat and air dirt residue. Gew. Again, not well thought out.

The list is not exhaustive by any means, but it's a valiant start. If you have your own candidates, I'd love to hear them!

Westminster High School Chapel

2008-11-02T22:39:00.002-05:00

Last Friday morning was awesome.

Our High School ministry was invited to be the guests at Westminster's Chapel. The band played and we shared the Gospel and 12 students handed in follow up cards stating they had given their life to Jesus.

That gets us pretty pumped up. Schweet!

We had a blast hanging out with our CF Students and their friends there...as well as meeting many new students. It was really cool being in a room with over 450 kids that was designed for 350!

Big thanks to Brian W. who coordinated our visit...he is the man.

A big shout out to Todd, Sheph, Frankie, Omar, Z$, Kinsey, David, Julian and Jose for making it great! Let's do it again soon!

One month celebration!

2008-11-02T16:52:00.003-05:00

Yeeahhhh!!

We did it! Miami has gone one whole month without a homicide! Yep...one whole month!

You can check it out here.

Now, if we could just do something about all the crazy, uninsured drivers...

En fuego

2008-10-26T19:51:00.002-05:00

Yefferson (Jefferson) is on fire.

As part of our ongoing quest to share the Gospel in public schools utilizing First Priority, it's really awesome to see students take ownership of their High School campus.

Yefferson took ownership of his...

This last week Yefferson was spearheading Mission Week at his school. (the week that the Gospel is given) For various reasons, no speaker was coming to share, so after two days of practicing, Yefferson shared his testimony and the Gospel with 14 students at his school. Four of them accepted Christ.

He's a sophomore this year...and been a Christian less than a year.

How cool is that?

Video podcasting

2008-10-13T18:07:00.002-05:00

The student ministry guys at CF realize we want to do more in many areas of ministry. It's not that everyone isn't working hard, but coping with the truth that most of the students (over 180,000) in Miami Dade aren't in a relationship with Jesus, there is much, much more to be done.

We've addressed this in many ways including our outreaches to schools, teaching and emphasizing the importance of sharing Jesus/inviting friends to church and ramping up our weekend tag ons. We also realize that it's key to have leaders who are well trained and building relationships with students.

Relationships always have been and will continue to be the heartbeat of student ministry.

In order to provide quality, continued training to our leaders, we've set a plan to launch the "CF Students Leadership Vodcast" in the first week of November. We're really excited about the opportunity to provide this in short, 5-7 minute training sessions. The technical ramifications are being worked out now, as well as the scope and sequence of training and whether or not the Miami Vice sound track should be part of the intro!

Got some ideas? If you've got experience with this sort of thing and can offer some wisdom, we're listening!

Book review: "Do hard things"

2008-10-06T20:18:00.004-05:00

I've been hearing alot of buzz about the book, "Do Hard Things" by teenage-phenom-twin-brothers Alex and Brett Harris.
A couple of teenagers told me they were challenged by the book and loved it, so I had to read it for myself.

When I realized the book was written by the brothers of Josh Harris, author of "I Kissed Dating Goodbye", I considered opting out of checking it out. But, in the spirit of hoping everyone gives our book a read, I decided to read it anyway.

I'm glad I did.

There are some great key thoughts. One that sticks out: Expectations have consequences.

The twins are solid and share many personal experiences that will inspire students to live outside the realm of comfort and push big for God. The guys share big stories, but it's clear that any student who is wiling to let God use them in big ways can make an impact for the Kingdom.

Urban Youth Ministry

2008-10-05T21:13:00.002-05:00

Whenever you hear the words "Miami" and "Reload" in the same sentence, the mind usually gives images of a drive by shooting or someone playing "Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City" somewhere.

Not so in this case.

Tommy Carrington, CF Students volunteer at our Downtown campus, is a leader with the Urban Youth Workers Institute. Each year, they host "Reload" in various parts of the country. Yesterday was Miami's one day training event.

About 25 leaders from four campuses spent the day in training and meeting other leaders in student ministry from around Miami. God is using some great people to reach this city. We had a great time learning more about ministry and connecting with others who are 'in the trenches'.

I'm proud of Tommy and the work he is doing...keep it up bro!

Keeping up with the times...

2008-10-05T15:41:00.004-05:00

The last couple of weeks have been really fun.

Here's a few reasons why:

1. Simple Student Ministry is in the works and I'm learning about publicity and promo. Being viral is a good thing...it's getting the word out about the book, not being 'infected' somehow. Slightly huge difference. I'm working with some guys to learn some creative ways to be viral. If you got ideas, I'm listening!

2. Beach baptism. We baptized a gang of folks, but many students particularly. I disciple these guys so it was pretty cool to be part of their obedience to God. Beach baptism is one of my fave times at CF...oh yeah, and every weekend. It's a great place to be.

3. I watched Kimbo Slice 'fight' last night for FREE on tv. Now I know why it was free! 14 seconds, are you kidding me? I finally decided to watch one fight of MMA/UFC/whatever you call it and the fight lasts less than 30 seconds because of some blood. Isn't drawing blood part of the deal? I saw worse fights in high school. Good thing we didn't buy wings for the fight!

4. I've started to Twitter. I never got involved because I'm convinced no one wants to know that I'm doing at that exact moment. Twittering does, however, prove to be a good connecting tool.

5. I talked to my friend Jim and he explained what the whole government 700 billion bailout really means. Finally, some clarity!

Simple Student Ministry...the new look

2008-09-18T13:27:00.003-05:00

SSM is due out in summer 2009!

I'd say 'reserve your copy' today, but that isn't quite possible yet. You could, however, just send us some cash anyway!

Slack-tastic lessons from the gym

2008-09-12T17:54:00.004-05:00

I'm enjoying being back in the gym. I "took a few months off", but I am back in the game.

"It doesn't look like it", you say? Touche!

The gym that my friends and I work out in started out pretty decent. There are fewer of us now that go in the mornings because many of my friends have joined "Tough Academy" in hopes of being the caucasian version of Kimbo Slice.

As fun as it is going to the gym in the morning, the gym itself has become pretty disappointing. Here's a few short reasons why the gym in our neighborhood has set up residence in Slackville.

1. The person who checks everyone in at the welcome desk is conspicuously absent. Every day. This morning, while looking for a basketball, a co-worker found her "resting" in a dark office. (about 6am) Literally anyone can just walk into the gym. We joke about inviting all of our friends now because there is absolutely no accountability. (we won't)

2. Machines are often broken and left in disrepair. Treadmills, workout machines, bicycles, etc will have "out of order" signs (if one is actually placed on them) for weeks at a time.

3. Cleaning occurs at busy times. Employees vacuum as people work out, spray disinfectants and other things. Schedules aren't made with heavy gym traffic in mind.

4. Until two weeks ago, the "health bar" literally had cranberry sauce from last Thanksgiving in it's display window. No joke. We saw the week it was put in the case and realized when they removed it. The mold and the words "Happy Thanksgiving" written on the side were also a clear indication of it's age. The peanut butter is usually left open all night as well. Gew!

The gym I attend gives the clear impression they could care less if people show up. It's a gym by name, but it's standards are non-existent. There is a lack of excellence and the consumer is the lowest in priorities.

Ok. "Why the rant?" you ask. There's a great lesson in this for those who serve in ministry.

If the areas we serve in aren't managed well, students (in my context) will believe that we don't really care about their area. If we don't care about their area, why should they care about it? And surprisingly, if we don't care about their area and what concerns them, how much do I care about them?

*Are they greeted and made to feel welcome?
*Do our services reflect excellence and creativity? Do we just do the "same old thing" each week to get by?
*Do students understand that leaders love and care for them as individuals?

Let's take a lesson from the gym. Our work is far more important; our mission is much greater. God demands more from us than "getting by" or doing ministry for the sake of doing ministry. In the words of Pastor Rick Blackwood, "if you are in ministry for the paycheck, just get out and do something else."

The cranberry sauce is gone, but the gym has a long way to go. Let's work hard at making our areas all that God has for them.

By the way, tell our friends, the future MMA stars, we miss them at the "gym"!

It's about time

2008-09-09T18:37:00.005-05:00

Ok. I admit it.

I should've posted something after my last blog and the picture of the "cone of death". Less than 12 hours after that post, Miami was almost completely out of the cone.

Despite the fact that the cone was seemingly pointed directly at CF, anyone who has had to "keep an eye" on hurricanes know that almost no hurricanes follow a specific path for 5 days in a row.

Believe it or not, there is some humor in hurricanes...well, pretty much just in the reporting of hurricanes. The alliterations and constant warnings to "be alert", "be vigil", "stay with us", "track the tropics", or to "keep an eye on Ike" get a bit redundant.

The reporters, however, are the most entertaining. Granted, some of these guys risk their lives (should they?) to bring us as one station called it today, "Day of Destruction: LIVE".

I watched as Anderson Cooper was in New Orleans two weeks ago with Gustav. He stood it what seemed to be decent conditions and made a statement that "no one is out on the streets here. It's all quiet. Everyone here is gone or inside." Literally, 10 seconds later, a family of five walked behind him playing in the puddles and playing "human airplanes" with arms stretched out like wings.

Riveting coverage.

Then Rosh, a local anchor here in Miami, was at a beach in Ft Lauderdale while the surf was going off during Gustav. As he watched surfers in the surf, he made the comment, "I don't understand why these people would be out here in these conditions." Really, surfers out in big surf? It is perplexing.

In spite of all the entertainment, Miami was spared again. Praise God !

Oh snap.

2008-09-05T09:45:00.002-05:00

Ugh. For real?

2008-09-01T07:16:00.004-05:00

When I first saw this, I thought for sure it was a joke.

Unfortunately, it isn't. Just in case Christians haven't confirmed that we aren't creative enough already, this should confirm it. Here's a trailer...

The opening line is..."In a world of school choirs, he was the best..." Wait...there is a "world" of school choirs?

Here's a blurb from the "Faith Film News"...

"The Arts Alliance America (New York) will be distributing Faith Films’ newest production “Sunday School Musical,” with a DVD release date of October 21st, 2008. The film is about two competing groups of high school students getting together and entering a song and dance competition in order to save their church’s youth center from closing. The direct-to-DVD musical includes 21 songs, featuring 7 originals...

Enough said.

The Gulf and Gustav...

2008-08-31T05:50:00.002-05:00

If you have read this blog for any amount of time, you know that our student ministry has invested much in the last three years in Mississippi following hurricane Katrina.

Honestly, we've loved getting to know the people and watching lives changed as we help them put their homes together and share Jesus with them. Not only is there "sweat equity" in the area of Bay St Louis, but meaningful relationships have been built.

After three years, the number of families still living in FEMA trailers and still trying to get their lives together is great. One family we have worked with specifically on the last three trips is scheduled to move into their house in October. For many that were abandoned by the insurance companies, this is a harsh reality. (For this particular family of 5, two adults and three teenagers live in a 20 ft. trailer.)

Our lives have been changed in a huge way as well. God has taught us alot about serving and loving people there.

Pray for the people of the Gulf Coast.

Join a small group...or the bearded guy gets it.

2008-08-29T21:34:00.003-05:00

Small groups kicked off this week and we are off to a great start for the year! We have made some changes and recruited more leaders enabling us to offer more opportunities to attend a small group. Obviously, the more opportunities to attend result in more students getting connected...we have a bold goal and we are determined to reach it!

At CF Students, small groups aren't just another program. We believe small groups are a healthy way of creating and sustaining godly relationships in an environment where spiritual growth is being pursued. Because we are passionate about students going to small group, there is less "encouragement" to join and an "expectation to be in a small group" is communicated. We are telling students that we want them to grow spiritually and that being part of a small group is integral in that process.

By the way, the picture above is from our friend Elle's Murder Mystery Birthday Party last week. Andy (gun holder) was my right hand man...we were shaking down my future "son in law". Fun stuff. (big props to Alex F @ Candidly Elegant for the great pic)

Revelation launch...

2008-08-26T20:04:00.002-05:00

There is a joke in student ministry...if you want students to show up to your service, speak on the "end times" or on "sex". If you really want students to show up, speak on whether or not there will be sex in the end times!

"The Revelation" officially launched this past weekend at CF...it was awesome! Our student ministry on all campuses is working chronologically through the end times week by week. God moved in big ways as we saw over 15 students make decisions for Christ. We are so pumped about the next 5 weeks!

The above graphic is an 8 foot chart JR made for the student ministry. It clearly illustrates how Revelation unfolds and is a great teaching aid. Much love for the interns and volunteers working hard to make this series rock!

2008-08-19T20:06:00.002-05:00

Wow. It's been a great summer. Entirely too short, but great. (Our friends in the north who don't go back to school until after Labor Day think it's actually still summer. Miami Dade starts school the 2nd week of August, hence, summer ends.)

Here's some highlights from this summer:

Two awesome mission trips. I blogged about them, so I'll leave it at that.

Mini lobster season...two days of lobster mania! 168 in two days...day two of the season was my wife and I's four year anniversary. Guess what? My wife wanted to go lobstering with us! She got a few lobsters and took turns driving the boat. (yes...she loves to eat lobsters!)

A week vacation with Jen on an island in Caribbean. Off roading in a Jeep rubicon hours a day and diving a Nazi warship made this vacation one to remember. Gas on the island was almost $6 a gallon. Ugh. I'll be quiet about the $4 we pay here in Miami.

CF had it's first Ministry Rally of the year. Our volunteers together come for encouragement and training this last Friday at the ministry rally...it was great! I love getting the student ministry team from 5 campuses together. I'm convinced each rally will get better and better. I love the team that God has assembled at CF. It's fun doing ministry together.

CF kicks off "The Revelation" series this weekend. We are so amped...we are expecting God to do some unbelievable things this fall...if you live in Miami, come to a weekend service!

Mission recap

2008-07-28T06:26:00.003-05:00

Last week the High School ministry spent the week at our Downtown campus. The week was incredible.

I'll hit the highlights and lessons learned from the week.

1. Many of my preconceived notions were dismantled. Most people were friendly and cordial when we spoke to them and were receptive at least a little.

2. The people in Brickell are a tough crowd. In spite of free Starbucks coffee (donated by Starbucks) and Dunkin Donuts, they were leery of eye contact. I've made a short list of creative ways people avoid conversation all together, but that's another post. My favorite is the "unbelievably timely cell phone call that has no ring". Interesting.

3. The ministry to college students at Miami Dade, the sports camp in Overtown and evening park outreaches went phenomenal. There were many great conversations. One afternoon we went to a park and it was filled with teenagers. I talked to a few older teenagers who thanked us for coming and said, "our park needs more of this." That's cool as heck.

4. Raja Bell (Phoenix Suns) hangs out at one of the local parks on Miami Beach. We gave him a bottle of water and invited him to CF. Word is still out if he will show up or not.

5. Many other aspects of the trip went well also. One team hung door hanger invites for three days in the Redland. All of our teams took turns doing landscaping at our Downtown campus...it looks good!

6. Every night but Friday night we worshipped on Miami Beach together at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas park. It was great. Each night people from the community would show up and join us. Most sat just a little bit away from the group but within listening distance. Local Christians, people in awe at that teenagers were worshipping God, tourists and even a drunk guy joined us. We were amazed that even when we stopped ministering intentionally to others at 8pm, God would bring people to join us in singing and listening to teaching.

I've gotten some really good feedback from students about our trip already and the impact it's made on their lives. A mission trip in our own city is definitely something we'll be doing again. Our prayer is that our students' heart for this city will grow and the effects will be far reaching. We don't want missions to be something "that we do", we want to produce students who understand missions as a lifestyle.

I still have no regrets about the transition from camps to mission trips a few years ago. Each mission trip is a poignant reminder of why we made the change. Our students are impacted in a huge way, but so are thousands of other people at the same time.

Our ministry is already looking forward to the next time we can be Downtown.

Mission M I A M I

2008-07-17T06:49:00.003-05:00

Next week will be a new experience for many of our High School students.

For the past two years, we've focused our mission trip energy in Mississippi. Honestly, our students love it there. The hard physical labor and the relationships that have been built have impacted our students in a huge way. Our last 5 mission trips (outside of leaving the country) have been to Bay St. Louis, MS.

Our students will spend next week at our Downtown campus in Miami. We'll be spending the night at the campus and ministering in various ways Downtown and in other parts of Miami Dade County.

Here's a couple of the ways we'll be showing the love of Jesus next week:

Breakfast at Brickell and South Beach-we'll be giving away coffee/donuts/bagels to people who live Downtown and walk to work. The idea is to share the love of Jesus and invite them to check out CF.

Sports Camp: We'll be hosting a sports camp at a church that is on the border of Overtown and Allapattah. There will be 60 elementary school students that will learn different sports and hear about Jesus each day.

Light construction: Our team will also do light construction work on our Downtown, Redland and the public school campus where our Homestead campus meets.

Beach/park outreach: In the late afternoons we'll spend time in parks and at the beach playing pick up volleyball, frisbee and other games with students that are hanging around. We'll also give out free water.

Pray for our team this week. We are really excited about the possibilities and expecting God to move in our team and in the people that we minister to!

All things considered...

2008-07-12T21:07:00.004-05:00

I love student ministry.

Every week there is expectation that God is going to show up and do some amazing things in the lives of students. There is the hope that the light will come "on" and a teenager will really understand God's love and pursue Him. Watching students grow in their relationship with God is unlike any other experience.

Ironically, student ministry seemingly has the highest of highs and lowest of lows, if that makes sense. Last week seemed to encompass both ends of the spectrum.

Last Saturday night after our service, Jorge, Sammy, Pete, and I attended a funeral for a 19 yr. old student. Funerals stink, but funerals for teenagers seem especially out of place. Praise God...the student knew Jesus, but so many students who attended the funeral did not. As great as it is to see students grow in their faith, the reciprocal is to see the lack of hope in the eyes of lost students. A couple of those students attended CF adult services the next day and gave their lives to Christ. Amazing. Hopelessness to hope...that truly is awesome.

Sunday was a great day in student ministry...a couple of things happened that struck me as amazing.

Alex, one of our girls who is a junior this year, serves as a greeter in front of our adult worship center to inform students of our service for students. Last weekend, while greeting with Alex, three teenagers were going into the adult service that I had not seen before. They were dressed in camoflage and goth outfits, complete with piercings and the typical dress. How they dress doesn't matter...we are stoked to see any student who is willing to come to church.

Here's my point. Most students shy away from students that look or dress that differently than they do. Even student greeters. I thought for sure I would have to coax a greeter to take them to the student area and show them around.

I was wrong.

Just as I was greeting our guests, Alex showed up with a smile and said "you have to check out the student service!". She took them quickly to the student area and showed them around. They stayed for the service and two of them invited Jesus into their lives. Amazing. Eight students made decisions for Christ over the weekend, which blows me away every time. When God moves in the lives of students it's fun to be part of it.

Here's a big shout out to Alex!

Clearly, the highs of student ministry are preferred. But I am thankful for the difficult times that remind us of our mission: we can never be comfortable or just "hope" we are effective. We must pray like crazy, plan effectively, and disciple intentionally.
Our mission is great...let's do this!

Back in the M I A

2008-06-30T08:08:00.005-05:00

Saturday afternoon the El Salvador team arrived back home in Miami.

The week in Central America was amazing on many levels. Here is a brief description of the different types of ministry that took place.

1. Our medical team: a medical clinic was set up in a small town each day. The location was significant because each town we set up in is where a mission is located by our partner church in San Salvador. Each person that came to the clinic received medical attention and heard the Gospel. Those who made a decision for Christ are being followed up on by the mission that already exists in that town. Our team ministered to over 1200 patients during the week. Each patient was also given some sugar, beans, and rice.

2. Public schools open the door for our students while we are there...the school refer to the opportunity as an 'intercultural exchange', we call it an opportunity to share Jesus. When our students weren't sharing the Gospel in the medical clinic, they were in 7 different schools during the week, visiting for more than 30 mins. in multiple classes at each school. One school was called "Pro-Lingua", a college type of school that only teaches English. Students enjoyed sharing openly without the use of a translator.

3. Ministry Conference: Eric Geiger led a Simple Church conference on Thursday afternoon at our partner church. Pastors showed up from all over in the pouring rain to attend.
Various breakouts were offered on Thursday and Friday night. JR Lovins, Richard Aspenwall, Carlos Lollett and Abiel Mir led a breakout on worship which included band performance and technological tips. Lauren Aguilera led a children's ministry breakout session and I led a student ministry breakout session with help from Tommy Parke.

Much happened in 7 days, but we are grateful for what God is doing both in El Salvador and how He changes us each trip. I'm posting a couple of more pictures to check out. Thanks for praying for us.

Update with pictures

2008-06-25T07:40:00.007-05:00

Yesterday was another great day.

Our medical team treated close to 300 people and our evangelism team visited 4 schools. It was our most tiring day yet, but very rewarding.

Jorge and I are impressed with the team that has come. They are hard working people and eager to give God the glory for what they are experiencing. Mission trips are so much more fulfilling when the team is unified in purpose and spirit.

As I was thinking about the team and CF in particular, it would only make sense that teams in the future would become even more mission minded. Since CF places a heavy emphasis on reaching out to those around us and to the community, the lifestyle of living missionally affects every area of our lives. Mission trips won't seem like such a stretch for so many because the idea of serving and loving others is already practiced.

I'm thankful for a church that is serious about winning the lost to Christ...whether in Miami or Central America.

Zacamil

2008-06-24T09:16:00.003-05:00

I've literally only got a couple of minutes before we head out again, so here's a brief update.

Sunday began with church services at 7:30am here at Zacamil Baptist Church. (and we thought our 9am was early on the PB campus!) We didn't participate in the service but met up with the translation team and mapped out some details for the week.

After services, we went to a hospital and threw a party for the children that were staying there. Our high school and college students ministered room to room to teenagers encouraging them, praying for them and delivering cake! This particular experience was an eye opener for many students. The conditions of the patients combined with the conditions of the hospital are a new reality for many students.

Monday was spent in the village of Las Palmeras, where we set up a medical clinic. We saw roughly 300 people yesterday, every single one of them heard the Gospel and many accepted Christ. The 'evangelism' arm of the team went to an English speaking school consisting of college students and got to share for 2 hours in classrooms. This was a phenomenal experience. Students shared their faith openly and engaged in some great conversations.

A couple of people from our team also went to a local tv station and were interviewed about our time here and the upcoming conference we are holding at the end of this week.

Last night we were in a park...we set up music, performed skits and shared the Gospel both personally and corporately. Quite a few people made decisions for Christ at the park also.

We are two hours behind the U.S. here...so we are now boarding the bus for an hour to a village outside of San Salvador to do it all again today. God is doing some great things here...I'm pretty excited about the week.

Thanks for reading! Pray for the team!

El Salvador

2008-06-21T06:56:00.003-05:00

A group from CF leaves for El Salvador this afternoon; our partnership there has produced some great fruit.

This year, we will offer medical aid in four villages. The team consists of nurses and emt's from our church that will treat patients in the villages where our partnering church can follow up. Our evangelism team will share Jesus with every person who is treated at the clinic, usually at least a couple of hundred per day. When not at the clinic, the evangelism team will be in public schools and visiting a children's hospital.

Next Thursday, CF will host a conference for ministry leaders in San Salvador. We are looking forward to meeting those who lead ministry in San Salvador.

Pray for the team this week. It will be an awesome experience!

Middle School Mission Camp

2008-06-14T05:15:00.003-05:00

The Middle School ministry of Christ Fellowship spent the last five days doing mission work in Miami Dade county.

Middle School students from First Baptist Church of Oviedo, FL joined forces with CF totaling over 150 students and leaders ministering in various ways to the people of Miami. The team stayed the nights at our Downtown Campus and during the day traveled out to the areas surrounding our five CF campuses.

Once at their locations, teams performed a variety of missions. Some groups ran a sports camp, worked at a women's shelter, passed out cold water, worked with Touching Miami with Love, performed manual labor at a couple of the campuses, and some promoted campuses by passing out door hangers.

One powerful aspect of the week was the evening worship services. Each night Berchman Paul, the Homestead campus worship leader, led worship and a message was shared by a student pastor/director from one of the campuses. Incredible worship experiences and great teaching made the nights a highly anticipated time.

At different times during the week, I caught up with leaders and students from our different campuses and got to hear how much they were enjoying the trip. God was working in their lives and they were loving it. Sweaty and tired, it was easy to see they were enjoying what they were doing.

I'm thankful for Todd and the team who worked so hard to put the trip together to give students the opportunity to live out their faith right here in our city. Our Middle School students will continue to benefit from the experience for years to come and the city of Miami will benefit as well!

Great job everyone!

Among the living...

2008-06-02T21:48:00.004-05:00

Ok. So it's been a while (serious understatement-almost two months) since I have blogged.

Here are some rumors (both factual and false) about my blogging demise:

1. I stopped blogging to work on the crab boat the "Northwestern" for 6 weeks. King crab season on the Bering Sea was a killer.

2. Blogging took a backseat to being a roadie on the CF Generations world tour.

3. Simple Student Ministry was due on June 1, so any sort of writing energy went to to the book.

Thankfully, it's number 3...

Eric and I turned in the first draft of SSM to the publishers. It will still be '09 before it's out, but the first leg of the journey is done.

I've learned alot, met some great guys doing ministry and am stoked about the possibilities. I'm excited to share some things I have learned, some stories I've heard and bring updates on ministry.

I'm officially re-entering the blogging game. For the three of you that still read my blog (thanks mom!), it's gonna be sweet.

New and improved

2008-04-11T11:23:00.002-05:00

I like this video much better...check it out!

Mississippi 2008!

See it for yourself

2008-04-07T20:02:00.002-05:00

Here's a shameless plug for our Mississippi trip. The guys on our revolution media team put this video together (thanks fellas!) and it shows a few of the faces and places from last week.

There isn't much work happening in the pictures, mostly because people don't work and take pictures. (at least that's what we tell ourselves.)

Long live the revolution.

Jumping in the club

2008-04-06T21:19:00.004-05:00

The student ministry at CF is convinced that if we are going to reach students, we have to be where they are. One of the ways that we reach into schools is utilizing First Priority. First Priority utilizes Great Commission Clubs in schools to reach students for Christ.

In the last few weeks we've had some major breakthroughs in two local High Schools, Southridge and Palmetto. We received the green light to start clubs in each school. Southridge is well under way and Palmetto is coming along well and should start next week.

We did our first "mission week" at Southridge HS the Wednesday before spring break. Mission week is intended for Christian students to invite their unsaved friends for pizza and a guest speaker to share the Gospel. It happened over two different lunch periods in our host teachers room. All guests are cleared by the school; all of this is done with their approval because it is student initiated and led.

Over 120 students attended mission week and over 30 students made decisions for Christ. We are so amped. There is much work to do.

Praise God, Southridge is so in need of Jesus. Our first visit there we were welcomed by two students who were handcuffed and being put into police cars. Students in the school say it is out of control and chaotic. They want Jesus to impact their schools.

Would you pray for these schools and the many other schools that our ministry is either involved in or praying to get into? There are many thousands of students represented and we are excited to see what God is going to do!

Our last day...

2008-04-03T05:53:00.003-05:00

This is just a brief update for trip to Mississippi.

It's our last full day of work; we'll leave very early tomorrow morning so we can get back to Miami tomorrow evening.

We've met soooo many needy people. It's been 3 years and thousands of people still live in FEMA trailers. There is despair and depression that i'm told follows catastrophes like this. Doug P, a leader on this trip, says that many people stopped living on August 29, 2005, there are just existing now. He's right.

Throughout the week our team gets many random "thank you's". Walking in Walmart (which is THE thing to do here) people have stopped our team members they saw get out of the CF bus and thank them, even though we have never been to there house. Homeowners break down into tears often...not just because they are glad for the work, but our team intentionally builds relationships with them and listens to their story. We aren't here just to fix houses, we want to see lives put back together.

Paul, one of our leaders, put a call from a homeowner on speakerphone for me to listen. She was sobbing. She explained that of all the teams that have come, no one has cared about her. She was so appreciative of our students and leaders who loved on her and "let her feel the presence of the Holy Spirit" in her house. That's awesome.

Some of the girls on my team have stopped drywalling the house to build a flower bed outfitted with all new flowers for our homeowner. They've invested in her all week and I am so stoked.

So now I border on rambling...but it's important to see the big picture here. Everyone gets physical labor done and everyone hears the Gospel.

More to come...

MISSissippi

2008-03-30T09:43:00.003-05:00

Spring Break is a pretty exciting time for revolution. For the last three years we've taken a mission trip on spring break to come to Mississippi to help rebuild homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

We left Miami last Friday at 5am and arrived before dark here in Bay St. Louis. We dove in head first yesterday and got a good days work in on 3 different homes. With a team of 62 people, we have 5 solid teams that can get much accomplished in this area.

Two of our teams are back on a house that we began last July. We put on a roof, hung drywall and did yard work last time. This time around we are finishing drywall and painting, plumbing, etc. We are excited to be back with Billy and Dixie and their three teenagers.

Our other three teams are at multiple homes doing drywall, yardwork and various construction. We worship on the beach each night after work, it's a short one block walk to the water. (it was two blocks before the hurricane) It's a pretty cool time of sharing and getting quiet.

Pray for our team this week!

Easter weekend

2008-03-25T20:18:00.004-05:00

We had some amazing Easter services this past weekend in our student areas. Here's a short recap:

Saturday night before our services, Middle School and High School on our Palmetto Bay Campus hosted "The Feast", an all you can eat, 600 hamburger throwdown. It was Middle School vs High School and everyone of every size came to eat!

In spite of a great effort by our students and a couple burgers worth of help from Father/Executive Pastor/Author/cool shirt guy Eric Geiger(pictured here), High School lost by one half of a hamburger. Middle School wailed us... this time.

Our Saturday and Sunday services on all campuses were awesome. Three out of five campuses saw students accept Christ and all campuses experienced students getting in touch with God. It was great to see the students who hadn't been to church since Christmas.

YP Summit

2008-03-24T16:05:00.002-05:00

I got to spend some time with the leaders of CF's student ministries-Todd, Corey, Tommy, Anthony and Emilio. A couple of interns and volunteers came as well. We had an awesome time in Orlando for two days.

You can check it out at www.youthpastorsummit.com

YP Summit is hosted by Spiritual Leadership University and is completely free to student pastors. Chik Fil A, Universal Studios, and 24/7 ministries pay for the event. It's held at Universal Studios, Orlando, and kicks off in the Hard Rock Live theater.

Francis Chan tore it up. He spoke twice and is not only a brilliant speaker, he's also genuine and real.

I also enjoyed sitting in on Thom and Sam Rainer, David Wraight and Chris Hill. There were great perspectives on the church, students and leadership.

We spent our evening hanging with the guys from First Priority. Fred, Chris and Dave are awesome guys. They took us to dinner at Giardanos. If you haven't had it, you got to check it out! Great stuff.

It was a great two days together. I really appreciate all of the guys that head up our ministries to students. Sure, they pretty much make paper airplanes all day and go to lunch with students, but they are really good at it. Seriously, they are some hard working fellas.

Also, here's a big shout out to every volunteer leader in our student ministries! Our student ministry literally couldn't be effective without each one of you. Much LOVE!

Eleuthra

2008-03-08T15:32:00.005-05:00

Tommy Parke and I flew with Bill Bagget (redland campus pastor) and pilot Kyle Turk to the Bahamas this past Thursday.

No. It wasn't a vacation, but it was pretty cool.

We went to do some "recon" for possible future mission trips. We met with some good guys from the Eleuthra Bible Training Center and the missionaries that live there. The Bahamians were very inviting and we enjoyed our short time there.

The flight was amazing. It's literally the tiniest plane I've ever been on, but that made it especially cool. The views were awesome flying over the Caribbean sea...we could literally see things on the bottom of the ocean floor in hundreds of feet of water. Amazing.

The chair is the place to be at sunset.

Here are a couple of things I learned on this short trip:
1. a half gallon of milk on Eleuthra is $6.
2. everything on the island is brought by boat or plane due to no industry there.
3. a form of 'caste' system still exists there.
4. i could handle living on a house that faces the ocean. Mornings are awesome.

Five weeks...

2008-03-06T00:17:00.003-05:00

We've had Shaun and Niaya for five weeks now.

We learn something new everyday. There are times of laughter and total fun and times of discipline and sadness.

I'm not a paternal father, I understand that. However, I am learning more and understanding much about how our heavenly Father sees us.

I'll blog more on that later, but here are my favorite pictures of them.

West Kendall revolution

2008-03-05T10:10:00.005-05:00

Our West Kendall campus officially launched this past weekend and it was awesome!

As with all of our CF campuses, there is a full student and childrens' ministry in place when the campus starts. As part of our dna, CF believes in the validity to ministering specifically at each group level.

The student ministry is off to a great start with awesome volunteers (pictured), a good band and a really cool place to meet. (the theater pictured) When we have pictures of all the revolution stuff in there transforming the theater, I'll post those as well.

Anthony is the student director at our West Kendall campus and has done a great job recruiting and training volunteers. They do a great job of building relationships with students and sharing the love of Jesus.

They are also becoming great at setting up and tearing down every thing needed to do ministry!

We are looking forward to God doing some amazing things in West Kendall!

What's love got to do with it?

2008-03-02T23:41:00.002-05:00

Revolution is in week two of our series, "What's love got to do with it?" (the truth about sex and dating)

It's been really good so far. This weekend's topic of "What is love?" opened the door for many students to rethink love and what it means to love God authentically. This weekend we discussed the three major types of love and the implications of each one. This led to some great conversations with students. I'm excited to see what God will do with this series.

The next few weeks will cover issues like breaking up, sex and some question/answer time.

Our students are constantly bombarded with sex and the false advertisement our culture gives them. Just this week one of our local high schools published a two page article on sex.

The article ignorantly compared promise rings and purity rings, then highlighted five stories of "sexual misadventure" from five students within that school. It was disappointing to say the least.

The need for truth and God's perspective has never been needed more.

Caffeinated

2008-03-02T23:38:00.003-05:00

I'm thankful for the sweet, caffeinated beverage that allows me to be productive late at night.

I'm also thankful for the gift cards that saved my wallet from paying for it.

Lessons from the Yellowtail

2008-02-23T08:49:00.001-05:00

I've blogged in the past about lessons I've learned from spearfishing. Here's a short recap if you don't feel like reading numerous past blogs: sharks can be imposing, freediving takes discipline and a speargun will take out your own tooth if you aren't careful. (even if you managed to get the fish in the mean time)

(humility inserted here)

This week I learned something cool about Yellowtail snapper.

Yellowtail is a popular fish to catch with a pole or shoot with a speargun and tastes fantastic.

Yellowtail, when grouped together, will actually attack a large shark. Unbelievable, but it's true. If a school of yellowtail are swimming together, they will gang up on a large shark and pound on him with their noses. All of this ruckus makes the shark nauseous and makes him throw up. Mission accomplished. It's dinner time for the yellowtail.

Multiple fish pound on a much bigger shark to get him to "cough up" dinner for them.

I love it.

I love it because the Yellowtail is supposed to be the underdog. If a lone Yellowtail were to try this, he would become shark bait.

Dinner. Sashimi. You get it.

Ok. So I'll never write for Chicken soup for the soul, but this could be borderline inspiring. You could look at this post like I'm condoning group muggings or something, but that's really not the case.

I could also draw a bunch of analogies for you about the importance of friends and community, but that creativity is best left to you.

And now you know, "and knowing is half the battle."

Sara's return

2008-02-20T09:01:00.003-05:00

Sara Gomez has been a revolution intern at the Palmetto Bay Campus for almost a year. She and Jorge Canales are from El Salvador and were part of our first international internship program.

Sara has been with us for 10 months. The internship was for one year, but we agreed she should go a little earlier in order to catch the spring semester at the University in San Salvador. It starts in February and if she waited, it would be much later in the year before she could enroll again.

We have learned much from this experience and we are grateful for the time Sara spent with us. We are looking forward to see how she and Jorge will implement what they have learned in their culture and context.

Sara's father is the pastor of Iglesia Bautista de Zacamil, a church that has a mission's partnership with CF.

Jorge will be with us until April and serves in the Middle School Ministry at the Palmetto Bay Campus.

unChristian

2008-02-14T22:32:00.004-05:00

I recently finished "unChristian" by David Kinneman (Barna group) and Gabe Lyons. (Fermi/Catalyst) The book is a good read, definitely interesting. It showcases what the current paradigm of thinking is perceived by non Christians about how Christians think, act and respond.

It also explains the new paradigm and what the church should be known for. Not too much of it is a surprise, unless you think the culture of your community is what is going on inside your own church. In that case, you should read it quickly.

On another note, Jen and I completed week two with our two foster children. It's great to see progress in their young lives. Here's just a couple of notable improvements:

1. Not as much talk about gangsters and the willingness to shoot them.
2. Both of them have learned to pray and enjoy it.
3. Instead of hearing raps about "apple bottom jeans" and "shorties with a drink" we are hearing songs they learned in school here at CFA.
4. They are making friends easily.
5. they eat anything we put in front of them, including the hot sauce I brought back from Louisiana last summer. It's too hot, but they tried it.

So much is happening and going on during these times, I'm purposing to be more consistent in blogging about it.

Good stuff.

Instant family...

2008-02-05T21:05:00.001-05:00

Wow.

One phone call, 1.5 days and two children.

Wow.

Jen and I were approved to be foster parents last summer. We've felt God putting the desire on our hearts long before we ever met each other. So we've been waiting for 7 months for our child to come and THEY did! Although we planned for one, we couldn't separate the brother and sister, so both of them moved in last Friday night.

Our schedule is different. We hear "mommy and daddy" quite often. Life has changed in the span of a day.

It is awesome.

For safety's sake at this point, I'm not printing their names, but you can see it in the picture behind them. They are great!

We already have so many stories to tell. We definitely feel privileged to invest in their lives.

You'll hear more about them in the future and the lessons God is teaching us.

Enrique Iglesias at a stoplight

2008-02-01T20:51:00.000-05:00

It seemed like just another trip to Publix. I had a couple of last minute things to grab...

Without even a hint of notice, I had a brush with greatness.

There, standing in between the lanes of traffic holding a guitar and crooning out of tune was...Enrique.

Well, he was singing "hero" by Enrique...but the beard and pale skin tipped me off that it might not actually be the Latin pop star.
I was convinced for sure when he came to the window of my truck (which was down) and began a two minute long serenade of the chorus...over and over. "I can be your hero, baby..."

In all fairness he strummed the guitar two or three times.

It was hot outside, so i offered what I had; a diet Dr Pepper. He paused long enough to tell me, "No! I need beer!"
After two chants of "I need beer", he broke out into song again.

I'm not sure this guy was homeless. Honestly, he was dressed decently and well kept. I'm not saying anything about the person, but the situation is amusing.

Last night in our small group, we discussed chapter two of our Crown Financial Study. We were discussing good stewardship and the issue of giving money to homeless people came up. There were alot of mixed feelings, but the discussion was great. We are called to help the helpless, but it's bad stewardship to enable the lazy.

If you live in Miami or spend much time here, you know our homeless population is immense. The need is great to reach these people in need.

Redland revolution

2008-01-28T22:25:00.001-05:00

This is a full view of the stage.

Right side of the stage, up close.

The sound booth at the back; the control center for media.

It's been a while since I posted some pictures from our Redland campus. Emilio has worked really hard at getting revolution looking good and functional.

Big thanks to the guys who have worked tirelessly beside him to make it great.

It's by no means finished yet. We have some great additions to make, they should be done before Easter.

Humble pie...twice

2008-01-26T09:07:00.000-05:00

JR, Jeff Reed and I grabbed some lunch on Wednesday before our trip to CF Downtown. JR encourages lunches at chinese buffets, so we went.

During lunch, I heard a cell phone ring. It was a noticeable ringtone, the sound from everyone's favorite video game featuring an Italian guy smacking his head into boxes for a gold coin. The sound of the gold coin leaving the box (can't actually type or name the sound) was his ring tone, It was distinct and loud.

He let the phone ring out...all eight rings. I stood in disbelief; I couldn't believe that i paid attention that long and that he didn't silence it. I figured it was cell phone trouble and let it go. However, a few minutes later, it happened again.

About the fifth ring I said to Jeff and JR at our table, "who doesn't know how to answer a cell phone?".

The answer was quick and right behind me.

"I don't. If i touch this thing it will connect and I don't want to talk at lunch."

Oh snap. I'm not usually that guy that makes semi-accusatory comments to strangers.

So I mumbled that the ring tone was cool and I understood he didn't want to answer the phone. A couple moments later, we realized he was leaving anyway. He walked away and wasn't upset. He didn't seem bothered.

We laughed hard. Jeff accused me of picking a fight. JR accused me of talking smack. I didn't think it was either. I probably said what everyone else was thinking.

Fast forward to Thursday. I'm at Panera Bread writing (i love the free internet and drink refills) and i hear a very distinct ringtone. I have a flashback and begin looking around.

Sure enough. There he was. I have the same dietary habits as "no cell phone answer" guy. He picked up after two rings this time.

Tragedy averted.

Essential music

2008-01-21T22:14:00.000-05:00

I've found a cd I really like.

It's by Hillsong United, it's called "All of the Above".

I've always liked Hillsong United, but their latest cd is the result of some spiritual wrestling and submission to God. A couple of songs stand out, "Hosanna" and "Lead me to the Cross".

Here are some sample lyrics:

Lead me to the Cross
Where your love poured out

Bring me to my knees
Lord I lay me down

Rid me of myself
I belong to you

O lead me
Lead me to the Cross.

It's in rotation now...great stuff. Check it out.

As a guest...

2008-01-05T21:07:00.000-05:00

During vacation last week I enjoyed being a guest at a church in Pennsylvania. We've been there a couple of times in our last few visits.

I like being a guest. It helps me to remember to look at our ministry through the eyes of a guest. It's easy to get into a routine and forget how guests see things. The quickest way to turn off a guest is to not be ready for them.

Here's some things I remember feeling being a guest in a church:

1. I want to feel welcome.
2. I want to know how to get where I am supposed to go. (luckily, I knew where I wanted to go)
3. I want a place to park that isn't 3 football fields away.
4. I want a worship folder/bulletin that isn't the length of a small novel with minute details that make me feel like an outsider.

It's good to look from the outside to the inside. Many problems arise when we just look around.

If you get a chance to be a guest again, give it a shot, if for no other reason than to sharpen your "guest friendly" skills.

It s n o w e d !

2007-12-31T16:21:00.000-05:00

Ok. I'm feeling a bit juvenile about being stoked to see snow. It has been a couple of years since I have seen it and when it falls, it's one of my favorite sights. Regardless, here are some pics I took this morning.

We are staying at Jen's mom's...a small horse farm at the foot of a mountain. It really is beautiful and inspiring.

I'm even more stoked to serve a creative God. I never get tired of seeing evidences of his handiwork.

I've sequestered myself in a Panera Bread in town to write today...good times.

winter break

2007-12-30T20:43:00.000-05:00

Jen and I are on vacation in Pennsylvania for a few days. It's been great so far...it's pretty cold, but the cool air is a nice change. I can handle it for a week. We are spending time with Jen's family here.

We flew in on thursday night to Washington DC (reagan). We stopped at the World War Two memorial and walked around downtown DC for a bit. I love it there.

The next day I drove Jen's dad's 1950 Chevy pickup. Way cool stuff. Runs like a champ, but is a little loud when you hit 40+ mph. It's been a nice relaxing vacation so far. Looking forward to a few more days.

Simple Student Ministry

2007-12-20T10:51:00.000-05:00

It's official!

Eric and I signed the contract to write the book "Simple Student Ministry". We're pretty stoked to apply the simple process to student ministry in writing. It isn't just a great idea, it's effective!

Simple Student Ministry is a follow up to Eric Geiger and Thom Rainers' book, "Simple Church."

In the picture, Tony Isaacs, Eric and myself are pictured. Tony was the official witness, which is very appropriate since I was Tony's intern when he was in student ministry. Eric brought the contract to staff meeting, a very cool surprise and definitely humbling.

We've been hard at work already and anticipate some great stuff. yeah baby!

Pray for us as we write-it is all for the glory of God!

DOWNtown UPdate

2007-12-18T16:17:00.000-05:00

I blogged a couple of weeks ago about renovation for our students on our Downtown campus. I wanted to post an update of photos and show the direction. I'm pretty stoked, to say the least.

Here are some pix from Monday night.

This is a picture of the rooms at the back of the larger room. The door on the left will be a small cafe. You can see the "pass through" window. Students will be served from there. The door on the right leads to two rooms: one will be a game room and the other most likely for organizational stuff/storage.

The entire room is just over 1400 sq. ft, so it will comfortably hold a good number of students while utilizing the tables. The blue wall is not the actual color, that's a bonding agent we are using to put a brick wall up. That entire blue wall will be bricked out, with sweet old school yellow sofas in front.

We will also have a cafe table area and a wall that's done in graffiti...it's going to be awesome. More to come on that.

We are stoked. If you can help revolutionize the revolution, we would love to have you on board!

Redland Student area

2007-12-14T10:46:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted pictures yet of what is happening at our Redland campus in the student area. Progess is happening quickly, it's exciting to see the changes. We began with a great room and are only making necessary improvements!

Emilio (student guy at Redland) and his leaders are making great headway in getting the room together. They currently meet on Wednesday nights but will meet on Sunday mornings begining January 6.

Check this out!

it's the season...

2007-12-10T17:33:00.000-05:00

We had a great time celebrating Christmas with our leaders and students this weekend. Our Saturday night service in revolution was transformed into our annual Christmas party. It was a blast and of course, shared what it really means to celebrate Christmas and shared the Gospel. It's so imperative to share, we never know what God is doing in someone's life at that moment.

Sunday night we celebrated Christmas with our leaders from all 5 campuses at the home of one of our leaders. It was a blast! I was so blown away to sit back and watch everyone laugh and share throughout the night. We recorded videos over the weekend of our students saying thank you's and sharing what their leader meant to them. We showed that at the party and it was well received. Great stuff.

It was really inspiring to have people from each campus come together. it's exciting to see God working in so many different ways and to hear and see the excitement in our leaders as they realize they are part of something great. Dude, it's awesome.

I'll be posting pictures soon of our renovations in the student area at our Redland campus and give an update on our Downtown student area renovation. I literally just got off the phone with the graffiti artist that will customize our dwntwn student area to give it the right feel. Oh yeah...he wants to do it for FREE! Yeah baby! Both of our student areas are going to be done by January 6th. So...if you feel compelled to help build into the lives of students by helping create an awesome space for them, then join the team!

Hide and seek

2007-12-06T13:23:00.000-05:00

i got to spend some time in a hospital the last two days. A friend of ours (also serves on staff with us) got food poisoning and was taken to a hospital near downtown Miami. He's out and doing great.

I was talking with the nurse about a few things and heard her mention to a friend about their new "locators". She obviously wasn't discreet, so I asked the big question. "What is that thing?"

The nurses of this particular hospital must wear "locators". This is just what it sounds like, a personal gps tracking system for each nurse. Each nurses' station has a plasma tv or a computer that shows where every nurse is all the time. There is no question about anyone's location when they are wearing a "locator".

So...I had to ask. "What's up with that? Why do you have to wear this?" The nurse explained that many nurses disappear for long periods of time and won't account for where they were. Some nurses were going outside for a while, some stayed in the restroom for over 30 mins, etc. They didn't feel like doing their job, so they just "hid". Patients and other nurses would grow frustrated with the inability to reach that person.

If what this nurse told me is true, it's unfortunate with the cost of healthcare that we now have to spend money to keep tabs on people who should just be doing their jobs. Is there a lesson in this for us? I think so.

People can "hide" in ministry in two ways, which are different than just disappearing, although I am sure some do that as well.

1. Volunteers can hide in ministry if we aren't careful. It's one thing to be "at" church and another thing to be "in" church. At CF, we encourage all of our volunteers to go sit in a service. If they serve through every service, when do they get fed? Serving and sitting aren't the same. If a volunteer only serves and never sits, we rob them of their opportunity to hear the Word and grow. It appears like everything is great because they are at church...but they miss hearing the Word. We must be careful not emphasize serving over sitting.

2. Staff can also hide. But usually, it's a different situation. We can hide in ministry by being comfortable; by letting things become routine and blah because we can. We can say it's for a bunch of other reasons, but truthfully, we know it's because we can be comfortable and no one will think otherwise. We must be careful that we don't hide in ministry from lack of accountability.

I'm not throwing stones. I couldn't; I just know what I have experienced and what we see. let's purpose to be the type of people that would never need a "locator" whether we serve in ministry or anywhere else.

Note to self.

2007-11-27T20:55:00.000-05:00

Craig Groeschel of LifeChurch.tv made a great statement which I thought was worth repeating.

"You are successful because of who you are in Christ. You please God by obeying him, not performing up to your personal expectations."

May we never set our standards so low as to find ultimate satisfaction in our own goals or pleasing other people.

We truly live for "an audience of One".

friends, turkey and mayhem

2007-11-24T09:58:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving day was pretty cool. We really enjoyed spending time with our friends the Coyles. Of course the food and conversation was awesome, but i will not soon forget the highly competitive games. We threw down on all levels...Madden 07, Tennis and of course the beloved "guesstures". I was reminded of the rule that God has lovingly placed in my life: If I talk smack during any competition, I will lose. Even if it's to a 6 year old girl.

The fat man challenge was indeed a challenge on Thursday. I love stuffing...it is possibly one of the most ingenius creations in a box. In college, when everyone else would eat ramen noodles on a regular basis, I enjoyed the occasional bowl of stove top stuffing. Just heat the water in the microwave and BAM! You've got a veritable feast at your fingertips. If you add gravy, it's the perfect storm.

I didn't partake in the shopping mayhem on Friday. I did however, experience the traffic. If you think Miami traffic is crazy regularly, just add some highly caffeinated, value seeking consumers with a weapon. (a car or better yet, an suv.) I seriously thought I may have seen Jesus that day. I didn't want to take the risk of dying just save 99 cents on an ipod.

I called my mom while she was at her side of the family's Thanksgiving day gathering. Usually 30+ of us get together and rent out a place to eat and watch tv and talk about hunting and cars. I got the proverbial pass around on the phone...it was great to catch up with everyone.

I'm really excited about our series that starts this weekend. It's called "Evidence: the study". The first two weeks we'll look at Creation vs evolution...it's going to be awesome.

pictures from DWNTWN

2007-11-16T13:32:00.001-05:00

Here are some photos from around the Dwntwn area. Yeah!

This view is from the rooftop Downtown. JR proposed the idea of a cafe and I champion the cause! How cool would that be? A cafe on a rooftop downtown? Go big baby!!

This cross is located on the east side of the church. It's so cool, we couldn't resist a picture.

This is room 302 before demo began. It's going to be an awesome student area. I can't wait for lives to be changed here.

new-ness. newbie. new.

2007-11-16T12:06:00.000-05:00

I am not sure I can remember a time in my life when this many things have happened at once. Well, there was the 94 Olympics, but that's another story. I have indeed digressed.

CF's new website is up and it's amazing. JR Lovins, former blogger and creative guy at CF does a great job with this stuff. You can find out how great it is here. Peruse the site...it's our guest site; if you would like more info on anything else, click the link for the family site or click this word.

We spent some time at CF DWNTWN last night doing some rebuilding. We demo'd out the new student area...it's going to be so good. I'll post before and after pix, but it really is going to be good. From one of the windows, you can see American Airlines Arena and Biscayne Bay. If you are a local, it's room 302. Check it out.

Much love to the students who worked hard last night Downtown both in the Worship Center in the future revolution. Seriously, I would take these students anywhere. They can get stuff done.

So many people showed up and worked hard Downtown last night; thanks to each of you. I love being part of a church that gets it. "It" being the greater purpose. Getting sweaty, sometimes bloody (much love, Matt E), painting, laying tile, building stages, moving pews around and even sweeping out rooms can be done for the glory of Jesus Christ. It's this work that allows people to come and listen to the Gospel of Jesus and have their eternity changed.

Sweat is an investment. It's a beautiful thing. I really the admire the type of attitude to go all out for the sake of Christ. The creed from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes says, in part,

"My sweat is an offering to my Master. My soreness is a sacrifice to my Savior. I give my all - all of the time.
I do not give up. I do not give in. I do not give out. I am the Lord’s warrior -"

May your sweat at whatever you do today be a sacrifice!

I haven't retired.

2007-11-11T19:08:00.000-05:00

My bad. I haven't retired from blogging. i'd like to say that I have just been a slacker, but that isn't true either.

What an amazing last two weeks. I've been learning a lot. I've been doing some reading and some writing...I've also just had a bunch of random stuff happening.

Here's some fun details:

1. I started working out during the week early in the morning. It's an hour a day, but the effects are so worth it. I'm not so tired in the late afternoon and i am far more productive. John Lee and JR are good work out partners.

2. I've officially joined the Fat Man Challenge. My goal is to drop some extra pounds in the next 90 days. "Over the holidays," you say? Yep. I'm excited. What better way to lose weight than saying no to the third helping of turkey and dressing? I may have to work extra hard to say no to the cranberry sauce and gravy soaked stuff! Geiger, John Lee, Carlos and a crew of other people have committed to losing weight and belittling each other.

3. Jen and I have had friends from VA visit. It was good to spend time with John and Lorena. It was short, but way good.

4. We had a great weekend in revolution. We did a car show for high school students right before our Saturday night service. We called it "beats, bling and beaters". Lots of fun. One guy that entered his car gave his life to Christ. Very cool stuff.

5. We finished our series on "AskGod" this weekend by answering questions submitted by the students. In two weeks, we are starting our series on "Evidence". We will cover truths like creation, deity of Jesus, authority of the Bible, etc. I'm excited. We'll be in that for a few weeks.

6. I've been writing alot lately. More to come on that issue.

It's so exciting.

2007-10-26T20:28:00.000-05:00

Unbelievable. I'm blown away by what God is doing at CF. It's so fun to be part of a church that God is using to reach Miami. We have prayed and fasted and earnestly sought God's face. God, in his sovereignty, is moving!

I've been getting a flood of conference "mailers" lately. It seems as though everyone has the answers and if I'll just participate, I'll be completely equipped. Most of them rarely make it past the trash can near the mailbox, a couple of them get my attention, however. One conference that looks interesting is "Q", its in NYC in the next few months. Looks good...but I will probably get the dvd's for cheaper and enjoy the time at home!

Tommy, one of our interns,works in revolution and also at Starbucks. it's been a great experience for him (and me...the free cold frappucinno's are a really nice benefit...thank you Tommy!). He began to share the philosophy of Starbucks and their focus on serving people. Yes...it's about money, but their philosophy of doing business is rich and I'm learning a few things. I'm reading "The Starbucks Experience", it's been a good read so far. I'll blog more on their five major points, but two thoughts that stand out are how they treat their employees and the way the employees embrace the customers.

This weekend looks to be amazing at CF as well...if you are in town, don't miss a service! See you there!

CF Downtown

2007-10-22T05:52:00.001-05:00

Central Baptist Church in downtown Miami has voted to become Christ Fellowship Downtown! As of Sunday, October 21, CF is in the heart of Miami!

We have prayed big and sought God's face on this opportunity. In His wisdom, he has made it possible. There is much to do, but the possibilities are limitless. We are so excited to be part of what God is doing in Miami Dade.

Eric, Sammy and Jeff have all blogged about it with some good details! Check them out!

Please pray for us as we transition and seek to share the love of Jesus with M I A M I !

First Priority

2007-10-21T19:55:00.000-05:00

Friday night Jen and I spent the evening with our friends at First Priority in Fort Lauderdale. They were doing an annual fundraiser and invited us to be part of the programming. They do an excellent job of putting on a low key, relational evening. They involved students in the serving aspect of the dinner from local clubs at schools and had testimonies from students at various schools. It was a very encouraging evening.

We (Christ Fellowship student ministries) partner with First Priority to reach students in public schools. They aren't Bible clubs, they are "Great Commission" clubs and are an effective medium for connecting students to Christ and then to the local church. Their process is simple and effective. First Priority is in 95% of the High Schools in Palm Beach County and 80% of the High Schools in Broward County. As of right now, First Priority is in 2 schools in Dade, with 2 more coming this month.

We are really stoked about how God is using our students to reach their friends. This week is "mission" week...both schools in Dade will host pizza parties on campus where the Gospel will be shared.

Please pray for these schools on Tuesday!

Lunch with Chad

2007-10-19T09:46:00.000-05:00

I had lunch with Chad Swanzy on Wednesday afternoon. Chad is the Student Pastor at Flamingo Road Church, Cooper City Campus. He oversees both Middle School and High School and currently speaks 6 times a weekend. Yep. His hands are full.

Flamingo Road is a multi-site church that has had explosive growth in the last two years. Troy Gramling is their pastor.

Chad had some good insight about volunteers, ideas, small groups and multi-site student ministry. He's a solid guy that loves students. I enjoy learning some things from him.

It's great to connect with guys that have a passion for students and ministry. It really does have a "sharpening" effect. Thanks, Chad, for your time and insight.

Forward motion

2007-10-16T21:48:00.000-05:00

What a great last few days. I just returned from a fund raiser/dinner for a women's center, pretty cool stuff. I have a lot of respect for the people in that agency.

It was a great weekend at CF...very busy, but great. We tackled the question "Why am I here?" in revolution. As part of our "AskGod" series, we are taking questions students have asked and teach on those issues. Many other questions are answered along the way, such as with this topic, issues like cutting, suicide and abortion all come into play. We are really enjoying this series. In terms of students, it was our 2nd highest attended weekend. Our students are really embracing the idea of "invest and invite".

As a staff at CF we are reading the book, "Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell. I'm really enjoying it. If you get a chance, you should check it out.

Our weekend coaches came over for dinner last night. I really enjoy spending time with them. We celebrated what God has been doing, spoke honestly about what needs to change and had some great laughs. They are great people. It's a privilege to serve with them. We planned our breakout session for our next Ministry Rally on Nov. 2...if you are a CF'er....be sure you are there!

Is God really good?

2007-10-11T20:39:00.000-05:00

If you are honest, you will probably admit that at some point in your life, you have asked that question. I know I have. The beautiful thing is we have a chance to be open and honest this weekend and explore the answers. We'll discuss this question in all four of our services this weekend.

If you have ever asked the question, come check it out.

If you know someone who is asking the question, come check it out and bring them with you.

Check out this promo video for this weekend...it's awesome.

See you this weekend at Christ Fellowship!

A 400 lb guy, great friends and good BBQ

2007-10-08T20:24:00.000-05:00

James Henderson spoke in revolution this weekend. It was a great experience! Many students accepted Christ and some great decisions were made. revolution had 368 in attendance this weekend...it was mind blowing. For sure God did some great things and we are beyond grateful. We knew James lived in Miami, but discovered he literally lives only two miles away! We are looking forward to a great relationship with James.

Jen and I had some friends visit from VA this weekend. Danny and Betsy have been good friends for years. We had alot of fun just catching up and hanging around the great town of Miami. It's great to have friends here, but even greater to have my wife home from South Africa! She loved her trip...after viewing almost 1000 of the pictures she took, I can see why!

I traded Thursday for today as my day off so we could do some touring downtown. We went out to Miami Beach and found an amazingly good restaurant, Bar B Que Beach on Washington Ave. GREAT food, good prices and a great atmosphere. Check it out if you can. I am always down with big plates and creative food!

revolution picks back up with weekend with our askGod series. We'll be examining the question, "Why am I here?" This series in generating alot of great conversations! If you are around, come check us out!

Weekend recap

2007-09-30T19:58:00.000-05:00

I'm just returning home from guest-teaching a small group at one of our leader's homes. It was awesome...we spent the night asking God questions and answering them from his Word. It was a lot of fun.

What a great weekend at CF. We launched our "AskGod" series and launched our 1230 service today. What a full day. It was awesome. The AskGod series is off to a great start in revolution...today we joined the main service in the topic, "Why are some Christians so judgmental?".

Our last two weeks of the series we will answer questions students have asked over the 5 or 6 weeks prior. We did something different to make the steps easier...we put plastic table cloths on the tables and told students to write the questions they want to ask God. We got so many great questions. We left the same covers on for all 4 services...it was interesting and informative to read so many different questions.

I'm excited about the upcoming weeks. This coming weekend we'll have a guest speaker, James Henderson. If you're in town, you should come check him out. He benches over 700 lbs. and has a chest more than 7 ft around. He's a beast. He'll be in revolution's all 4 services.

Pastor Eric announced a possible merger with Central Baptist Church in downtown Miami. We are so stoked about the possibility. Would you join us in praying for this? As Eric says, "how can we reach Miami if we aren't in Miami?"

Jeff Reed blogged great about this. Check it out here.

I'm excited...my wife returns from her two week trip to Africa this week!

My thoughts the last few days...

2007-09-25T15:44:00.000-05:00

The last week has been interesting in many ways. For the most part, I can honestly say it's been good and for the best. My faith has grown immensely and my heart for the lost and floundering has grown as well. I'll try to be brief and use the least amount of melancholy descriptions as possible.

Ah, sweet digression...

1. Last week was so amazing. I saw God answer three specific prayers I have been praying for for a month. I left each in his hands..without telling anyone else. God answered each one and in ways I didn't expect. I'm grateful. I'm stoked. I'm blown away. We serve a personal, loving, intimate God.

2. One of our students and his father were robbed at gunpoint on Saturday. Literally, guns were held to their head as they worked laying tile. Only a couple of items were stolen from them, both easily replaceable. This is the second time this has happened to him. I am thankful for his safety...yet wonder who could do such a thing? Henry is growing massively in his faith and is a great testimony to many of his lost friends. I hear about this sort of thing on tv, but when it hits home, it's infuriating. It's also humbling. Our work for Christ is ever present...Jesus loves guys with guns.

3. I'm listening to Seven Day Jesus right now. (The Hunger cd) They are a band from the mid to late 90's. Pastor Jorge, my friend Tim and I were always very encouraged by their music. It's creative, it was ahead of it's time and it's encouraging. We even enjoyed their concerts...particularly one where a girl was crowd surfing and hit the floor! I heard Brian, the lead singer, stop the crowd many times to share the Gospel. It was evident he was passionate about it...everyone was rocking and wouldn't have known if he didn't, but he did, faithfully.

I caught up with their former lead singer (they disbanded late 90's or so) on myspace this week. I was bummed to see that now he doubts his faith altogether. It seems he had such bad experiences from people who claimed to be Christians, he decided to walk away. I realize the theological implications of such an experience. It's just weird to think that someone who has had an influence in many lives for quite some time now doubts his beliefs all together.

I've never been more sure of God's grace and his love for people...those who know Him, those who don't know Him and those who are questioning.

"I still remember when, I held my breath and dove right in...I never wondered would the water hold. So take me to the place, where I can't hide but see Your face...after all, I've never drown before." -Seven Day Jesus

The tooth? You can't handle the tooth!

2007-09-19T08:43:00.000-05:00

Ok. Most of you know a few weeks ago I had a spearfishing incident resulting in the loss of most of a front tooth. (see photo)

I know I look a bit rough, but come on, I was literally punched in the face by a gun underwater and riding the 12+ miles back to shore.

It was a bit painful and definitely embarrassing. However, the old is gone and the new has come. The tooth is officially replaced.

Thanks for your concerns and the many, many tooth jokes and dramatizations. I'll cherish each of them along with my missing chunk of tooth on the ocean floor.

I'm stoked...

2007-09-17T19:37:00.000-05:00

iPray has been a phenomenal series for our High School Ministry, revolution. There are some rich teachings from Matthew 6. We've had some amazing conversations with students about their prayer life, learning to forgive others and more recently, dealing with temptation.

I spoke with a student who isn't a Christian yet last week. He's been coming to revolution about a month and beginning to understand what it means to follow Jesus. He caught me after the Saturday night service and explained that his dad left years ago...he's been bitter and angry at his father since then. For the first time in his life, he realized he could forgive him and let it go. So he did.

I spoke with yet another student who's dad is doing horrible things to her family. She doesn't know why he's doing these things. She pleads with him not to. She understands she has been forgiven and is to forgive him. She is learning to forgive him.

I'm reminded that we don't know what our students face when they come to revolution. We have our plans and our set lists and we are prepared to do what God had called us to do. But, we are also called to stop and listen. We're called to pray and mourn with others as necessary. We're called to be a voice of truth and encouragement and hope in the midst of a dark world.

I'm very grateful for a church that puts a HUGE emphasis on discipleship and real relationships. I'm really looking forward to our AskGod.cc series as well! We have much to look forward to!