pastor
To Save a Life Movie Review and Thoughts
If you need help you can call 1-800-394-HOPE(4693). Also, check out the the official To Save a Life site, the Need Help page, and the Resource page for youth pastors, parents, and students. I believe this movie can be a wake up call to an entire generation. How can we use it in our ministries to bring understanding, awareness, and change. To quote Jake from the movie,”If you’re not going to let this change you then why are you here?” Maybe we should be that on every church door frame in the country. Again, youth pastors, this is a must see movie. After 12 years in youth ministry I can honestly tell you that it’s the real deal. Parents, take your teens to see this movie and instead of riding home in silence you should actually talk about it. Pastors, don’t let the PG-13 rating alarm you. Make your youth pastor take the teens(with parental permission of course) to see it. Better yet, take the teens and parents together. Let me know what you think.
When a Wesleyan Pastor Can’t Sleep
I’ll be honest. I don’t know that I necessarily have anything important to say, but it is 3:34 am and I can’t sleep. I started getting a head cold on Saturday and have felt kinda yucky all weekend. There’s a busy week ahead with our grand re-opening of our youth center on Friday night. The floor needs to be painted and the room needs to be decorated. I have an idea of the look I’m trying to achieve so it’s exciting. I’m hoping I can get all of this done so I can play golf on Thursday. I am addicted to this game once again and found a nice cheap set and putter the other day that I’m interested in. My problem is I’m terrible and am just getting used to my clubs again. My putting has been tremendous, but it’s the other 80 or so shots that kill my score. I started hitting the ball better than I ever have at the end of my last round so I’m anxious to get out. I will probably always be the worst Wesleyan pastor golfer on the planet. The last time we played threw off my whole schedule for the week [Read more…] about When a Wesleyan Pastor Can’t Sleep
The Drive Home
It is about a 10-15 minute drive from our house to the church. It’s almost all on I-95 and as soon as I hit it on the way home I get lonesome. I just start calling people. It’s good to hear their voices, their stories, and reports from home. Sometimes sports talk radio isn’t enough to fill the void in a way that a familiar voice can.
Sometimes, God and I chat about things. I ask Him how I’m doing and I pray that our church can reach the thousands of people I pass each day. In the places I see God moving, I see strong uncompromising leadership and vision. I wonder if I’ve got that in me or if I’m capable of God putting it in me. I think I’d love to plant a church someday, but I’m not sure that’s what God has for us. I’ve always said there needs to be a Wesleyan church in Pendleton, SC. Now people are telling me we need one in Wilmington, DE. I’m not sure if I call people to make sure they haven’t fallen off the face of the earth as much as to let them know that I haven’t. I know I do too much of the talking most of the time, but I try to ask as many questions as possible. I have to be careful. Am I gathering information or sharing life with these people? I think there’s a [Read more…] about The Drive Home
Communion
I must say that the most heart pounding thing I experience in ministry is serving communion. I look at everyone’s hands. It is truly remarkable when you think of all the stories. I see young hands, old hands, smooth hands, dirty hands, tatooed hands, arthritic hands, deformed hands, and hands of different colors. It’s amazing to see people’s faces. Some have received communion a thousand times, but they still approach with anticipation. Some come because the person next to them came and that’s all they knew to do. Some come feeling unworthy and nervous. Others come as if to say,”That’s my Jesus who died for me!” I always get a lump in my throat and if there ever comes a time when I don’t then I would expect myself to hand my element to someone else. I also always feel unworthy, and I hope that never changes. Maybe that’s just me. The worship was great today with God’s presence all around. People continue to return from summer vacation and attendance has picked up.
We had [Read more…] about Communion