WHEW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, ya made it to the ends week, grrrrrr, I mean weak end, no I don't, I mean weekend.
There we go. Anyway, it's been that kinda week. Sometimes I had to ask if I was coming or going & then once I got to were I was supposed to be, I fergit' what I wuz thar fer'. hmmm.
Anyhooo, I just wanted to share with you two quick stories. Both are similar in nature but yet so far away from each other. Both have to do with GOD.
In both situations God is using his orchestrated situations to bring people back to their families and back to him. The first part of each story has been written. The characters have done their part. The middle scene(s) are currently under development and the ending has not yet been written. Only time will tell, but you can be sure that GOD will get the glory from both of them.
FAITH in God is essential to being the Christian that God has called us to be. Regardless of the outcome, lives have already been changed with what has already taken place.

Stay tuned for the details as they develop.
Have a great end week, I mean weekend.
TC
Romans 5:1

Worry

Last Night if you missed the guy/girl cell group, you just missed a great time of fellowship & growing together in Christ. Hey, I knew the Homecoming dance was Saturday night & thet you crashed sometime during the early morning hours of Sunday. I was once there myself. But now I am not. YAY for that !!!!!! WORRY, was our subject, of which we all do at some point in time. Regardless if we admit it or not. I worry if I am doing what I am suppossed to be doing in ministry. I worry that there are tooooooo many hurts in the students for me to ever address. I worry that I might miss opportunities that God has put right in front of me and I was too BUZY to notice. I worry if get into the Mary/Martha syndrome to often. But besides all the buzyness of just being involved in student ministry, I mainly worry about this. If I spent just a little more time in the word and less on wordly stuff, I just might reach one more student for Christ, then another and then another and so on. I worry that sometimes, well many times, it does cross my mind. Oh , I read alot, like all day long. But there is absolutely NOTHING like God's word. NOTHING !!!!!!!
Being of the older student minister sector, I enjoy my comfortable chair upstairs where I can kick back & just read & rest. There's no better place on the planet to sit and think and sit and read and just sit and dwell. Dwell on good things not bad. Things that are pleasing to God. Things of HIS WORLD and not of this.
Hmmmm, I think my chair is calling my name.
Till next time.
TC
Romans 5:1

Fields of Faith

When you get a "nudge" from God, I have learned, over the years, to act on it.
Today was a PRIME example of letting me know that GOD, knows what he is doing.
About 2 months ago, Merebear, (Meredith, for all you goober heads that don' know this outgoing & sometimes highly energetic middle schooler), was in the youth office helping her self to a few of the LifeSavers I convienently keep in a jar on my desk. I had just come from a Youth Pastor meeting about M-Pact. I ran an idea by her that seemed to initially bounce of her like a basketball off a backboard. So I figured," she's just not interested". Several days later she asked about that which I thought was a "no go". The next thing I hear is that several of the West Ridge students have taken the initiave to go to their FSC & FCA sponsors and ask if they can do it.
Well, today was the high point of their efforts was this morning at 7:25am at the West Ridge Middle School Football Stadium. 275 strong too. They quoted scripture, they prayed for each others, they sang, they fellowshiped and they encouraged others to stand up "for what they believe in". What they believe in is Jesus and the impact he has made on these students lives. Many times in student ministry you see students on fire for Christ and by the time they are seniors in High School, their fire has dwindled to just steam coming off a smoldering fire. But at times like these, I see a ray of hope for the future. I see students who will still be God Chasers well beyond their middle school years. It is indeed an honor to witness these students grow in Christ daily.
It is indeed an honor to be at the "best seat in the house".
It is amazing to know that God has a plan for everyone IF we go with his nudge.
TC

Monday, Monday, can't trust that day!!!

Another Monday rolls around. I caught myself daydreaming today. I was looking back to look forward....... "What did he just say?...... Well, in other words, I was thinking what road this student ministry is traveling on right now. So many times I see incredible students who come to church everytime the doors are open. Then they get their drivers liscense & their first car & then their first job and then they get involved in everything under the sun from school clubs and organizations to dancing groups and the like. Then all of a sudden I wake up one day & in Sunday bible study the number has slowly trickeled down to way to few to mention. The one time mighty army of incredible Jesus warriors has been swallowed by the world & are totally wore out from trying to work & do eveything under the sun PLUS a very tough school curriculum that you couldn't drag them out of bed with a wrecker on Sunday morning to do anything else but sleep.
I know where I'm coming from, so just bare with me & don't get a wedgie just yet.
Why should you get up on Sunday morning? That question I will just leave you hanging on for a bit. Like I have said countless times before, I start to get ready for Sunday morning on Saturday afternoon. I want all the clutter out of the way. That's just my way of being obedient.
I found an old student ministry planner book from about 5 years ago a few weeks back. I gazed with eager anticipation to reflect on some great memories and things we did. But to my surprize, it didnt have much stuff written down in it. But I did remember a few things. So I started to ponder on what I saw & realized something. Maybe we are doing too much & wearing out meeting together & everyone is getting tired of coming to church to play dodge ball & watch movies & play Christian Guard & cells groups & iron man & golden girls (may they rest in peace) much less Common Ground and Sunday bible study & oh yes CORPORATE WORSHIP, Lord help. I looked at other peeps web sites & saw an average amount of activities. So maybe we are just doing tooooooooo much stuff. Even when I offer a really good Discipleship class that will CHALLENGE YOU TO GROW IN CHRIST, only 1 person signed up. That was depressing. But I admire the one who did sign up. That person said that they knew that they needed to dig into God's word to be able to better share what they had found in Christ with others. THUMBS UP to AR.
I was looking forward to about 8 to10 students who I thought would sign up, to really experience God up close & personal with this discipleship material. Oh, well. I was told many years ago that I was only the messenger & that it was the Holy Spirit's job to convict to heart. So with that being said I will go back to my earlier statement.
Why do students so easily fall away from ther first love, Jesus. The blame falls on us. The leaders of this ministry & every student ministry on the planet. It is our job to do everything we can to encourage & to build up students who have such a strong conviction that nothing & I mean nothing can block their obedience to Christ. That by it's own actions of just being at student ministry functions means that they support this ministry and all it has to offer. Good & Bad. REGARDLESS.

To be able to do more & equip more requires three things
#1- Dedicated ministry workers
#2- Financial resources
and
#3- The Holy Spirit
not necessarily in that order.

The workers are few.
The resources are very limited.
But the Holy Spirit is so willing.
But it's all a matter of choice.

Till Next Tim, err Next Time haha

TC