Enjoying Scenery

i drove out to kiawah island this morning for my last day at arborscape tree preservation. on the way i was just admiring God's creation and enjoying the oak canopied roads. once i got on the island i began looking at some of the houses. i saw allison and i's dream house (only like 3x bigger than we would ever need)!!! it was on the marsh and was only like 4 stories. it was quite a spectacle. but my real question is why would a family ever need a house that big?

"one of the greatest places to work in town"

i heard andy stanley during a talk at the drive conference this year talk about making npcc the best place to work in atlanta and i could not understand the comparison to working at a church and working at a "regular" job (sorry for that " ", it seems really vain and its not). its not vain because i work a job at a church and a "regular" job and let me tell you, there is a world of difference.

i have heard that church jobs can be "eeek" but it should be our responsibility as church leaders and co-workers to create a culture that is the best place to work in each of our cities. i also believe my other job has so much potential but they are still trying to iron out many wrinkles.

i have been on staff at this church as an intern and now part time as the student ministry groups director for a total of about a year and it has been great. some keys that i have picked up on that make a work place a great environment to work are: a creative decor, a common vision, similar work ethic, various styles, a true love for the work you are doing and a true love for the people whom you are working with.

thinking groups

all i can think about lately is this idea of community that God has placed on my heart. it is almost as though He is revealing to me my calling for the ministry i was created to do. in groups i feel it is our responsibility to show others God, not just talk about Him.

when doing ministry i feel we put so many things ahead of the main things. (of course, if God and the Gospel aren't the main thing in your ministry, you should just hang it up) but i think another key to ministry is putting people ahead of production/tasks/programs. as a follower of Christ i am called to go and make disciples and sure there are intriguing, creative ways of doing so but i cannot get so focused on the WAYS that i lose connection with the PEOPLE. i have to put the people that i am investing in first because lives are truly changed through meaningful relationships.

that is where our student ministry is headed. i am so excited to be a part of it. that conversation i was having with the small groups/volunteers pastor at our church sparked this post as well because we were talking about how to engage people in a group discussion about their relationship with a God who sometimes seems so far away. he said a simple thing that really got me thinking, "i like to ask them what has God been saying to them lately, and when they look puzzled and finally say, 'nothing', then ask them, 'why nothing?' and when they realize they are the problem in the relationship they will start taking revolutionary steps toward connecting to a God who is closer than they know." <-- longest run-on ever, but really thought provoking

yeah, i know. this post was too long. and now it's even longer because i am typing about how long an already too long post it is. now it is complete.

what happens when you lead someone?

i had a really good talk today with our small group/volunteer pastor at our church. we were talking about how student ministries is totally re-organizing our strategy on how we do groups. it was one of those conversations that you wish you could have recorded or had a court reporter in the room with you. i really felt God leading us toward some profound truth when it comes to community and relationships.

he said that high level professional coaches are some of the best leaders around and i totally agree. they teach and motivate those who play for them. and those coaches who are the best at what they do, teach and motivate players to do things that they would not be able accomplish without that coach leading them.

are we leading those who God has placed in our lives in this way? are we leading people toward the relationship with God that they were created to live?

staff retreat

so, we (phillip, kevin, brian, sarah, billy and myself) went out to the lake for our staff retreat this weekend and it was very productive.

God helped us open some discussion that we wouldn't typically ave with one another. our relationships and understanding of one another was strengthened. we also developed a mission statement and our core values. we nixed our "youth group" name and hopefully nixed the term "youth group" within our student ministry team (Northwood Student Ministry; NSM). we thought of some new potential environment names and recognized roles and structure within the organization.

we also had some fun by playing some games and just hanging out and eating with each other. i enjoyed the work and fun time this weekend so much. when we were creating and developing aspects of the ministry, that made me want to just working because i really realized this is what i love doing and this is what i was created to do. even though we were working very diligently on our student ministry department it did not seem like work at all.

what a great weekend and great leadership team we have at NSM. i am so excited about what God is doing at our church and with our department.