Go to them...

Day two in the lives of kids in school... This morning was another overwhelming day at Ellison High School. There are tons of kids in that school. I absolutely LOVE IT and can hardly wait to go back.

I love replaying the story of Young Life in my head and to other people during this time of year. In 1938 when Jim Rayburn graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary, he took a youth pastor job at a Presbyterian Church in Gainesville, Texas. His pastor told him that he (the pastor) would take care of the six kids that were coming to the church youth group, but he wanted Jim to go across the street into Gainesville High School and to love on, build relationships, engage in Life and be a part of kids' lives that would never darken the door of that Presbyterian Church! I've gotta give Mad Props (adults say, 'Praise') to that pastor for his mission minded heart! What a blessing... 2 years later, the namesake Young Life was started and off it ran. Like Wildfire. Because Jim went. And Went. And Went! He went to where kids were. He didn't wait for them to come to him. I admire that. Waiting for kids to come to you is easy. If they show up, they show up, right? NO! Go Get'em!!!

As I head to the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor today to recruit college kids to 'go to where kids are,' I am humbled by our Mission. We are called to Go. Not Sit. But Go.

Are you going?

What if...

What if God designed marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy? That is the quote on the back of a book Taylor and I are reading. What do you think of that? What does that do to your heart? How many people do you know would rather be Holy than Happy? I look around. I ask questions. This is the question, 'What do you want out of life?' Majority answer ... 'To be happy.' And I think that is very true. But this book tells us that to be holy and happy in marriage is to focus on ourselves in regards to our faults / flaws rather than your spouse. It sure is easy to focus on her though, huh? Jesus says to 'take the Plank out of your own eye before you try to get the Speck out of your brothers.'

School is back in FULL Swing... I was up at the school this morning for a couple of hours! Lots and LOTS of souls roaming the Ellison High School halls. Please pray for Young Life as we get back into the swing of things and hanging out with high schoolers! Such a Blessing. So many souls. So few workers. So little time.

I want to be holy...

Desire...

Yesterday at church our pastor spoke about the Tenth Commandment. Our church has been going through the 10 Commandments from Exodus 20 for most of the summer now. From the three times that we have been at church, it has been really great and really encouraging.

Commandment 10: You shall not covet (desire) your neighbor's house. You shall not covet (desire) your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Well, that seems pretty easy, right? I feel like we have the nicest house in the neighborhood, so that's not a problem! Actually, what is meant by the word 'house' is more than just a building or place where one lays their head. 'House' basically means, 'All that a man is. All he stands for.' I like that. To me, this 'ups the ante' just a little bit. I had to check my heart. And Taylor had to check hers. And then we checked are hearts together. This is such a wonderful thing to do with your bride. Examining your hearts to see if you desire more than you have or someone else's life / stuff.

Our pastor spoke about our Desire for Greatness, Desire for Pleasure and Desire for Riches. So I ask you, what are the things YOU desire?

C.S. Lewis said, 'What does not satisfy when we find it, is not what we really desired.' WoW! Does that hit home with you ... or just me?

I can go through a list of things that I have or that I have done and realize that they were not what I really desired.

There you go. Short and Sweet. Enjoy. Chew Slow.

Are you Convinced?

A friend sent me this 'outline' that she found in her YL Leadership manual. Read over it. Are YOU Convinced...

Are You Convinced?
By Tom Hammon

As the club (this is what we do on Monday evenings as our outreach event) year begins, it is worth asking again why we do all of this. The overwhelming task of reaching lost, uninterested kids, “earning the right,” raising the budget, running a “successful” club, planning camps, plugging leader gaps and on and on. There is ample reason to quit … to throw in the towel. But to persevere, to succeed, you must be CONVINCED that you have been personally selected by the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to be involved in this craziness.

Are you CONVINCED…
That Christ is worth it
That lost people are eternally separated from God
That Christ is resurrected in time, space, and history
That this isn’t really our ministry – it is His
That God answers prayers
That you could have no greater privilege than to stand in front of kids and tell them about Christ
That God goes with you and precedes you, in contact work
That because of Christ, kids will respond to your friendship
That underneath it all kids want to hear the Good News
That praying by name for kids adds a great dimension of power in our ministry
That there is POWER in GOD’S WORD
That the BIBLE is GOD’S WORD
That God continues to make a way when there appears to be none
That when “trials and temptation crowd into our lives,” we should welcome them as “friends”
That God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness ( I sure feel weak more than I admit)
That you are a part of God’s Holy, Salvation history, part of the 29th chapter of Acts
That there are divine appointments waiting at the high school
That there is no more critical group to reach in the world than high school kids
That you are a Missionary
That the “coincidences” increase as we and others pray
That it’s okay if people don’t understand you or your ministry – Jesus was always misunderstood
That it must have been fun to follow Jesus around
That the Pharisees probably didn’t generally have all the wrong impressions of Christ
That there is no more important time daily than yours with Christ
That Christ actually enjoys meeting with you
That ministry will drive you up the wall without a thriving personal devotional life
That the best and only scriptural way to get leaders is to pray to the Lord of the Harvest… that prayer warriors make all of the difference in real fruit being born
That Christ’s ministry was to the masses but He poured out His life into the 12 and particularly the 3
That your needs have been and will be well taken care of by your Father in Heaven
That God loves you like He does the kids we’re trying to reach
That you are precious, Beloved

Are you CONVINCED? If not, there are easier, less stressful things to do. If so, then you can’t wait for the next chance to stand in front of kids and with fun, enthusiasm, and boldness, tell the “old, old story of Jesus and His love.” Bless you as you go!

Whatcha think? I was recently talking to a youth pastor friend in town and he was talking about how people were asking him, 'Where is our God of Elijah?' He thought for a minute and responded, 'Where are our Elijah's of our God?' That is a great question!!! Where are those Warriors in todays society? Is that YOU? We are in need of folks to step up and be a part of something bigger than themselves. We have a small amount of leaders to pursue, love on and teach 10,000 high schoolers about Jesus!

High Schoolers ARE Worth It...

How different life would be...

I watched some of the Olympics last night. This is an unusual gig for me since I have not had television (meaning rabbit ears, cable, satelite or any sort of broadcasted picture on the screen) in 10 years. This is by choice. But that is not the point. I was at my in-laws house last night eating dinner and I was engulfed (that's the main reason why I do not have a television!) in the Olympics. And it was only the girls (gosh they are YOUNG!) gymnastics and swimming. We left before the US beat France in THE relay. Ugh... I am proud to be an American!

I was amazed to hear about the Training and Discipline that these people (young adults and mere children!) go through to ready their bodies for the Olympic Games. And it's not just for the past 6 months. More like the past 6 YEARS!!! Holy Crud! I mean, can you even imagine? Training, working out, eating right, disciplining your body like it's your slave for 15 hours of every day for the past 6 years. Maybe that is you. I know that it is not me. I feel disciplined. But not THAT disciplined! That's fo' sheezy... (that's kid talk meaning 'That's for sure'). I brought up a comparison to my lovely bride and mother-in-law --- can you imagine if we were that disciplined in our Walk with Jesus? Marriage? Our jobs? Life? How we love people? How we listen? What is that was how the world operated? I look at America as a very undisciplined society. Starting with me. I desire to work out. Daily. I do. Seriously. But to make that Desire a Reality takes a lot! A Whole Lot. I even have my work out schedule in my Palm Pilot phone! Prior to a 2 months ago, I was doing really good. I had been running twice a week for several months. Then camp season came. And I haven't run but one time. That's it. One Time. Disgusting. That's what that is...

Are you amazed at the Discipline of the Olympics athletes? Do you have Discipline in your life? 'Oh yeah Johnny ... I am disciplined in eating! I never miss a meal!' I am challenged to be more Disciplined.

Maybe I need a personal coach. I was up at Ellison High School this morning at 7:30 for the first day of 2-A-Days. There were a couple hundred kids out there. Being led / trained by coaches. They have to run. They have to catch. Because they are told to. Yep, that's it, I need me a coach!

School is starting up in just 2 weeks. Hard to believe that it's that time of year again...

Please pray for Young Life in Central Texas: Kids. Leaders. Committee. Staff. More Kids! More Leaders! More Committee! More Staff!

Because High School Kids Are Worth It...

We soon will perish...

I am reading this really, really great book by James Dobson called What Wives Wish Their Husbands Knew About Women (written in 1975 ... before I was born). It is pretty profound in what it is speaking about. The same issues individuals and marriages are facing today ... people were facing 30+ years ago. I guess Solomon had it right when he said that there is nothing new under the sun!

I did find this one section particularly interesting...
'Mankind has known intuitively for at least fifty centuries that indiscriminative sexual activity represented both an individual and a corporate threat to survival. The wisdom of those years has now been documented. Anthropologist J. D. Unwin conducted an exhaustive study of the eighty-eight civilizations which have existed in the history of the world. Each culture has reflected a similar life cycle, beginning with a strict code of sexual conduct and ending with the demand for complete 'freedom' to express individual passion. Unwin reports that every society which extended sexual premissiveness to its people was soon to perish. There have been no exceptions!'

Wow...

Enjoy your weekend!