• Great night at HSM
• I love what I do.
• Tonight was night 3 in our Life 101 series on 1 Peter.
• We had 2 students teach. Blake Roth and Jared Acker were great.
• So proud of those guys, they weren’t just good for high school guys; they were good PERIOD!
• They highlighted our need for boldness and overcoming fear when we understand our lives in Christ.
• There leadership is a walking commercial for OB, but that is a rabbit trail
• Based on some recent trends that made themselves obvious last week we made some changes in setup this week.
• We started our own version of the Prayer Patio tonight.  I can’t wait till a spirit of prayer, counseling, and response catches on before, during, and after Wednesday nights.
• We also changed chair setup to pack people in more and basically only have a center aisle.  The good news is it cut down on trips to the bathroom.
• Another big crowd, so I was glad we had the extra chairs.
• Our band switched to in ear monitors this week.  We don’t have wireless ones but the sound was way better and more controlled.
• Pastor Ed and Polly came and spoke to our students. He wanted to just talk to them and pray for them on Veteran’s day so how can you say no to that? He also wore his dress blues and got a couple of standing ovations.
• We had our adults share testimonies this week since students taught, it was a great change and Kelly lead it well.
• We stole a page our of the Josh Atkins game manual and did the impossible shot tonight…..I don’t think that game can fail….too bad it took me almost a year to remember it.
• Weird week, I never know when we will be headed to the hospital for baby 2 and I don’t feel great, but it is awesome to be so encouraged to see a team execute great ministry on Wednesday nights and I can just sit back and worship and be taught.

I recently asked on my twitter and facebook what people wanted me to blog about and a few suggested “getting attacked” or “taking criticism”. I haven’t been in ministry forever but I have been at this long enough to take a bullet or two so I thought I would write my…

Top 5 tips for dealing with critics.

1. Pray-Your first reaction will be to gossip or defend yourself by fighting back.  Resist this and stop what you are doing and pray.  Sounds so cheesy and religious but it is so necessary so that Satan doesn’t get a foothold.  He would love to cause division in the Body of Christ between people.
2. Consider the source-You are always going to take attacks, but you have to know if it is someone who has the right to speak into your life and ministry. I am not encouraging arrogance and thinking that you are above confrontation or correction, but you have to make sure it is someone who deserves the platform.
3. Confront things in person-not email or phone-If this person has a problem with you no matter how you found out (facebook, gosseip) it is your job as a believer to make it right.  Confront this head on and try to resolve it.  Don’t email back or text.  Talk in person and handle it as it deserves.
4. Make sure that you are not being taken out of context or misunderstood-Many misunderstandings are simply because people misunderstood you, your vision, or your motives.  When you are face to face with people and clarifying what upset them you will find that many things are misunderstandings.
5. Attacks always come from pain-This is one of the greatest things I think my lead pastor is great to teach and remind.  When people attack you it can be because they are let down or upset with you, but more often than not you are just the one they are taking out other frustration on.  A parent could be mad that there kid doesn’t go to church and it is your fault for making the youth group “boring” or “not inviting them”.  This is just like someone who hates their job and comes home and kicks their cat.  Don’t take it personal, you are a shepherd and you may have to absorb some kicks to get to their real life pain.

• Let me first start by saying that I am trying to not eat sweets, but as you can see it isn’t going well. This week Stephanie Watson told me that she liked to bake so I naturally told her that I had the gift of eating.  She brought me some cookies tonight and after a Wednesday night it was awesome to down a couple. I took a picture just to show how thick these things are. They are the real deal.
• Record night at HSM.  We had our biggest attendance ever for a Wednesday night.
• Fall sports ended this past week. We just had our usual visitors but all the regulars and semi-regulars decided to come on one night.
• Usually we have soft start of 7 but don’t get going until 7:15, tonight it was standing room only by 6:55.  That was when Vickie said “you need to add chairs” and she was right.
• It is a weird thing when you pull the tables and setup chairs. I hope we have this problem again but I will miss the café.
• When you add chairs things get ugly fast. I am not sure what happened to the aisle, but lets just say I am glad there were no evacuations.
• This was week 2 of our Life 101 series in 1 Peter.
• Mike McCaman got the call this week. Man it would be nice if he were sticking around.  I would never have to teach again. He did a great job for 2 reasons-he showed a movie clip (kept attention), and he had a natural progression as he taught through the passage.
• Right before he went up I said, “this is our biggest crowd ever…good luck.”
• It really was weird putting a friend in a situation that our ministry has never seen and isn’t really setup to do week in and week out.
• Many dynamics are changing with size and I want to learn from people doing that week in and week out.
• Sweet dear our band is good…..really good. If anyone wants them to do your retreat or something let me know because they will be incredible. They are doing our middle school retreat this weekend.
• The middle school came down tonight and worshipped with us at the end.
• In the coming weeks we are going to steal another idea from Saddleback’s high school ministry.  That’s right, we weren’t happy just stealing their name…now we want their prayer patio. I am excited because it will be a great place for response and counseling.
• We are really stressing more of our students going to pray with Pastor Ed and Polly Jackson (our missions and prayer pastor who lives out front of the church) in the afternoon on Wednesday.
• I stopped in late after church and thanked Pastor Ed for his investment and love of students.  Talking to him never gets old and he is never short on stories.
• Not much else to say.  God is doing some neat things right now…it is gonna get interesting when a baby shakes up our schedule in the next few weeks.  Luckily God doesn’t need me to work, but I am thankful when he uses us.

Some new Malachi pics for those without facebook…

We got the new HSM shirts in the mail today. For those who did a 1 on 1 interview, come and get your shirt. For those who didn’t, hold your breath.

I think I said I would put a picture up so here they are for those who care………



Unless you live under a rock you have probably heard of Francis Chan. He is lead pastor at Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, California and one of the premiere pastors in America.

Last year he wrote a book Crazy Love.  I read it when it came out, but right now our HSM grace groups as well as my adult grace group I lead are going through the matching DVD curriculum. To say that Francis, his book, and the DVD are awesome is an understatement.  This week I have been focused a ton on this list of what the lives of lukewarm people look like. Read this and tell me you are moved to action.

1.  Lukewarm people attend church fairly regularly. It is what is expected of them, what they believe “good Christians do, so they go. (Isaiah 29:13)

2.  Lukewarm people give money to charity and to the church…as long as it doesn’t impinge on their standard of living. If they have a little extra and it is easy and safe to give, they do so. After all, God loves a cheerful giver, right? (1 Chronicles 21:24; Luke 21:1-4)

3. Lukewarm people tend to choose what is popular over what is right when they are in conflict. They desire to fit in both at church and outside of church; they care more about what people think of their actions (like church attendance and giving) than what God thinks of their hearts and lives (Luke 6:26; Rev. 3:1; Matthew 23:5-7).

4.  Lukewarm people don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin. They don’t genuinely hate sin and aren’t truly sorry for it; they’re merely sorry because God is going to punish them. Lukewarm people don’t really believe that this new life Jesus offers is better than the old sinful one (John 10:10; Romans 6:1-2).

5.  Lukewarm people are moved by stories about people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do not act. They assume such action is for “extreme” Christians, not average ones. Lukewarm people call “radical” what Jesus expected of all His followers (James 1:22; James 4:17; Matthew 21:28-31).

6.  Lukewarm people rarely share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers, or friends. They do not want to be rejected, nor do they want to make people uncomfortable by talking about private issues like religion (Matthew 10:32-33).

7.  Lukewarm people gauge their morality or “goodness” by comparing themselves to the secular world. They feel satisfied that while they aren’t as hard-core for Jesus as so-and-so, they are nowhere as horrible as the guy down the street (Luke 18:11-12).

8.  Lukewarm people say they love Jesus, and He is, indeed, a part of their lives. But only a part. They give Him a section of their time, their money, and thoughts, but He isn’t allowed to control their lives (Luke 9:57-62).

9.  Lukewarm people love God, but they do not love Him with all their heart, soul, and strength. They would be quick to assure you that they try to love God that much, but that sort of total devotion isn’t really possible for the average person; it’s only for pastors and missionaries and radicals (Matthew 22:37-38).

10.  Lukewarm people love others but do not seek to love others as much as they love themselves. Their love of others is typically focused on those who love them in return, like family, friends, and other people they know and connect with. There is little love left over for those who cannot love them back, much less for those who intentionally slight them, whose kids are better athletes than theirs, or with whom conversations are awkward or uncomfortable. Their love is highly conditional and very selective, and generally comes with strings attached (Matthew 5:43-47; Luke 14:12-14).

11.  Lukewarm people will serve God and others, but there are limits to how far they will go or how much time, money and energy they are willing to give (Luke 18:21-25).

12.  Lukewarm people think about life on earth much more often than eternity in heaven. Daily life is mostly focused on today’s to-do list, this week’s schedule, and next month’s vacation. Rarely, if ever, do they intently consider the life to come. Regarding this, C.S. Lewis wrote, “If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this” (Philippians 3:18-20; Colossians 3:2).

13.  Lukewarm people are thankful for their luxuries and comforts, and rarely consider trying to give as much as possible to the poor. They are quick to point out, “Jesus never said money is the root of all evil, only that the love of money is.” Untold numbers of lukewarm people feel “Called” to minister to the rich; very few feel “called” to minister to the poor (Matthew 25:34, 40; Isaiah 58:6-7).

14.  Lukewarm people do whatever is necessary to keep themselves from feeling too guilty. They want to do the bare minimum, to be “good enough” without it requiring too much of them. They ask, “How far can I go before it’s considered a sin?” instead of “How can I keep myself pure as a temple of the Holy Spirit?” They ask, “How much do I have to give?” instead of “How much can I give?” They ask, “How much time should I spend praying and reading my Bible? Instead of “I wish I didn’t have to go to work, so I could sit here and read longer!” (1 Chronicles 29:14; Matthew 13:44-46).

15.  Lukewarm people are continually concerned with playing it safe; they are slaves to the god of control. This focus on safe living keeps them from sacrificing and risking for God (1 Timothy 6:17-18; Matthew 10:28).

16.  Lukewarm people feel secure because they attend church, made a profession of faith at age twelve, were baptized, come from a Christian family, vote Republican, or live in America. Just as the prophets in the Old Testament warned Israel that they were not safe just because they lived in the land of Israel, so we are not safe just because we wear the label Christian or because some people persist in calling us a “Christian nation” (Matthew 7:21; Amos 6:1)

17.  Lukewarm people do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to. They don’t have to trust God if something unexpected happens-they have their savings account. They don’t need God to help them – they have their retirement plan in place. They don’t genuinely seek out what life God would have them live – they have life figured and mapped out. They don’t depend on God on a daily basis – their refrigerators are full and, for the most part, they are in good health. The truth is, their lives wouldn’t look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God (Luke 12:16-21; Hebrews 11).

18.  Lukewarm people probably drink and swear less than average, but besides that, they really aren’t very different from your typical unbeliever. They equate their partially sanitized lives with holiness, but they couldn’t be more wrong (Matthew 23:25-28).

• Sometimes I wonder if I look stupid for getting on here and being giddy every Wednesday night when I get home….I can’t help it, I come home pumped at what God is doing.
• I got attacked earlier in the week so on that day I couldn’t blog, but as long as I keep up this Wednesday’s only lazy blogging streak I should be able to stay positive.
• Another great night at HSM
• Like last week, I thought my speaking was good enough, but not at all what anyone would leave remembering.
• After I spoke we started worship and than went an open mic time….Wow! So many students sharing awesome stuff that we had to cut it off to end late.
• Jim Heffner and I have a joke that my speaking is only the opening act these days.
• We also had a pantomime tonight that I think set up the tone for our night spiritually.  2 Operation Barnabas alum wanted to start the team, run the practices, and do all the work. I just sat back and let them lead and tonight was the pay off of their hard work, kudos to Taylor and Rachel.
• To be a realist I thought we had a game that could have been good but I didn’t’ brief and prepare the people who lead it and I feel like I didn’t give them the best chance to be successful.
• Tons of people tonight which meant missing foosballs, broken pool sticks, food all over and a big mess. Time for a shopping trip.
• Blake played my guitar and I think it makes everyone better.
• I found at this week that we have approximately 63% of our ministry connect in grace groups. I am very excited about that but not sure if that numbers is good, or just good enough,
• Reserved our spots for Urban Hope today. We send  25 people for our level one trip to their first week of day camp in June
• Gotta get to bed for the NCO ministerium tomorrow.  Can’t wait to talk who is worse Browns or Redskins with Jeremy Bury.

• Great night at HSM
• Not the night I planned on paper, but that was quite ok because it was obvious to everyone there that God had another plan.
• Swine flu is hitting us big.  It took our band down to 2 guitars and hit our overall numbers. We punted, changed song, swapped the order and made it work.
• We originally planned to do a pantomime that some of our students have made their project, but our Jesus went on a college visit so we are doing it next week.
• This week was week 2 of our Identity series. The main idea was I am a child of God, I am royalty.
• I spoke, and it went well but God had big plans and I was merely the third string lesson for the night.
• We do testimonies because I have heard “ you becomes what you celebrate” and I pray that our group becomes the 2 guys we celebrated tonight.
• TONIGHT WAS A NIGHT WHERE STUDENTS TAUGHT THROUGH THEIR TESTIONIES.
• In the last week I had a student approach me and ask me to share his testimony about struggling and having found his identity in God.
• Zac Pierce is his name and he was incredible. His story is an act of God and on top of that he brought it….dude straight preached. I mean he went 20 minutes and no one even cared…it was freaking awesome to see God use his story. I am not kidding when I say that he will teach again this year, he has a gift and he connected. There was a line to thank him and talk to him afterwards.
• Eric Osswald also shared his whole testimony and that dude gets me jazzed. 3 years ago he was just a kid who was curious. Now he is a disciplined man of God who is growing and leading his grace group.  To have a guy who is committed to play goalie at the #12 D-1 school in the country say that he plays soccer to glorify God and not himself really speaks.
• To say that I was blessed tonight is an understatement.  God is changing lives and it is cool to see.
• Lots of new people. Time to learn names,
• Tons of things to do in the office tomorrow from tonight including first time visitor letters, we miss you letters to those who are M.I.A., staff email, and contacting those involved in next Wednesday.
• Must get to bed.

Did you know that October is pastor appreciation month?

I work with and for my pastor but I thought I would list 10 things I like about my pastor in hopes that it will encourage you to encourage your pastor.

1. He cares about my marriage.
2. He likes to wrestle.
3. He sings really loud.
4. It’s fun hanging out with him and his wife.
5. He is humble.
6. He cares about reaching our community.
7. He will always hear me out on anything I want to say.
8. He has no problem confronting me in love.
9. He always pays for lunch.
10. I tried to make a whole list without bragging about this, but he played in the NFL and I guarantee he could totally beat up your pastor.