new videos

here are two new videos that i made for our wednesday night youth worship service, the view:

nicaragua mission trip summary video

summe ministry summary video

i hope you find them interesting. we've really been able to use the video camera allot more than i had originally thought.

nameless youth pastors

nameless youth pastors

i just ran into this website / blog. i haven't read everything so i can't say i agree with everything but i definately understand some of the feelings that are being expressed.

ministry oxymoron

the past three weeks have been confusing ministry-wise. i have experienced some of the most affirming ministry compliments i have ever received and yet at the same time i have been as dissatisfied with ministry as i have ever been.

the "pats on the back" have poured in over the past three weeks. i've had parents and students complimenting what we have been doing within the student ministry of parkview. these compliments haven't just been "oh, my kids had allot of fun at that event" or "my kids really laughed allot the other night." no, people have mentioned specific things that have brought them closer to GOD. in fact, one student even went to the point of making a powerpoint presentation complimenting me and giving it to me on a cd-rom. every time i've turned around someone has complimented what we've been doing.

the problem is that i feel completely dissatisfied with where i am at right now because none of the other ministerial staff at the church seem to recognize the youth ministry as important. i seem to always be getting the "i remember when i was a 'youth director'" phrase. the problem is that i'm not a youth director. i'm not just using the youth minister position as a way to "move up" to another position. this is what GOD has called me to. it is the most important ministry in the world and i wish that some members of the church staff would recognize its value. i love these people. i think the world of them. yet, i'm tired of what i see as a lack of respect. i'm sure that i'm probably just misreading everyone, but it is how i feel right now.

i wish these feelings would hurry up and fade because its hard to remember the "pats on the back" when i'm feeling so defeated.

can't win for losing

sometimes youth ministry is the greatest ministry on the face of the planet. other times, it is still the greatest ministry but it simply doesn't feel like it. august 8th we advertised "crud wars" in the church bulletin asking for donations of "rotten" food that would then be thrown at people. it's an annual event that i stole from "edge youth" in katy, texas (i would assume they stole it from someone else). anyways, one of the people at the worship service who saw the advertisement decided to send me their "two cents worth". they placed the following note in the church offering plate:

with so many starving people in our state, you find time to have a food fight. now that's religion."

of course, it was not signed. ARGH!

sometimes no matter what you do someone is not going to be unhappy. if this person had actually looked at the food we were throwing he/she would have known instantly that we weren't stealing any edible food from a starving person. it was all rotten, wasted food that was brought by the kids. nope! it's just simply easier and safer for her/him to criticize. i hope who ever it is feels holy.

of course, this person never saw the 115 kids who showed up for worship that night. i guess he/she missed the five teens i was able to baptized that sunday. they were probably too distracted by the announcement in the bulletin describing the possibility of food being wasted. or maybe he/she was disturbed they're plans for feeding the homeless within baton rouge. i'm sure they spend all their free time working for the needy and giving away they're own food. since, this person is so concerned about the needy i should invited him/her to our next inner city mission trip.

it's real easy for people to leave anonymous remarks rather than actually making a difference.