A Love Song...

     Through a set of "internet circumstances" i.e. me following a bunny trail of links longer than I care to admit to. I came across an official "lyric" video for a song that I must admit I've never heard before.

     I find the advent of the lyric video somewhat rewarding, as a songwriter I've always prided myself on lyrical depth and content (The Lord knows my melodies were never anything to write home about). I once had an industry pro tell me that music is 90 percent emotion and 10 percent performance and content and I like to think Adobe After Effects and the lyric/typography videos have gained some ground for content in music.

     So, I wanted to share this video with you today from Christina Perri. I've scanned her website and there appears to be no hint of her speaking about her faith, a relationship with Christ, or even growing up in church. But as I read the lyrics, I couldn't help but draw the comparison not to a love here on Earth, but to our relationship with Christ and what He did to win us over, and humanities constant struggle to accept Him.

SYMC '12...

Just wanted to check in today and share a video from a fellow youth worker. This is his interview with Kami Gilmour the mastermind (yet to be determined if she is an evil mastermind or your garden variety mastermind) of the Simply Youth Ministry Conference which is taking place in Louisville next March. You may have noticed my banner for this event on the right.

I had the privilege of meeting and talking with Kami about the conference during my trip to Colorado. And I'm counting the days until SYMC '12. If you've never been, or if you're wondering why should I go again, take a few minutes and watch Tim's interview with Kami.

Video courtesy of Tim Schmoyer at the Student Ministry Network.

This is My House?

     So last night, while doing some feverish cleaning of our home in preparation for some guests this evening. I was straightening the miscellaneous trinkets and random "stuff" that has gathered on the mantle in our living room and giving it a much needed dusting when I realized, that I hadn't actually stopped and looked at this particular corner of my house in longer than I can remember. It was like I was looking at a part of my house that might as well have been someone else's. It was strange and somewhat alienating. Here I was, in the safety of my own home, in a room I spend much of my time at home in, and yet I felt unaware and almost uncomfortable, about my surroundings.

     So I naturally turned this into an introspective thought.
- What part of my life, through the busyness and clutter of family, ministry, and work have I just not looked at?

- What about myself have I forgotten or left alone to gather dust and clutter?

- Would someone describe me in a way that I wouldn't recognize?

     I don't know that I have answers to those questions at this time. But the wheels are turning. A healthy amount of self inspection can spark growth and creativity. But beware too much self inspection can cause you to second guess EVERYTHING, and too little can cause arrogance and over self confidence.
I'll be seeking God in prayer for the next few days concerning this, and strive for a healthy view of my life, as I continue to find balance.


Blessings,

Jeremiah

Preach It...

     Almost two months ago I had the extreme privilege to travel to Colorado and attend what was called the "ReGroup Summit". A gathering of nearly 80 youth workers from across the country who attended. We were blessed beyond measure by the hospitality of Group Publishing (The event was hosted by them at their headquarters in Loveland, CO), Simply Youth Ministry and by the gracious and knowledgeable featured speakers of the 3 day event. Mark DeVries and Jeff Dunn-Rankin of Youth Ministry Architects, who shared with us what it means to be an "Indispensable  Youth Pastor", not only during a slew of information packed seminar sessions, but by how they selflessly poured into each one of us in attendance. They truly cared and wanted to hear so much about our ministries, and had large amounts of wisdom and knowledge to speak into every situation.


     I was even more so fortunate than most, as the final day came to a close, I was still in need of a ride to the airport. (Walking was not an option, the drive was about an hour and a half!) Mark and Jeff were gracious enough to provide me with that ride. 


     As we rode Jeff displayed his amazing sense of humor and I feverishly took note of his "fantastic" jokes, many of which I used during our next Wednesday night service. And then I was introduced to a great game that Mark and Jeff enjoy when they are on the road.


     Preach It. While driving one would spot something unusual, or comment on the current circumstances (a wrong turn, a U-turn, a GPS that was giving bad directions) and then turn to the other and say, "Preach it". At which time he who was challenged, would then have to go into a sermon using said topic as the illustration. 


And so, I give you this picture...

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Preach it.

Blessings,

Jeremiah

Feature Presentation...

     So I've shared a little bit about The Life Book movement and the awesome people who are running that ministry. But I wanted to take a minute today and share about some of the awesome people who helped out with the crazy event we did surrounding our Life Book Saturation.

      Through an amazingly extensive amount of precarious and unfortunate circumstances, I had the most horrific time trying to book a musical act for our Kick-Off rally. So much so that it was the Wednesday prior, and I had Carl and Taylor Blunt coming in, and that was it. (Not that they weren't completely awesome) but we had invited other youth groups, and made this big deal about how big and fun this night was going to be. So, with every passing minute the tension was truly mounting. As I burned up the phones and email circuit, talking/emailing across the country from Nashville to Pennsylvania, to Indiana and Wisconsin, and probably places I didn't even realize I was in contact with, I collected a large number of "Man I wish we could" type responses.

     A volunteer of mine suggested I call a local hip-hop group called Divine Soldiers, she had seen them perform and reconfigured them highly. So I checked them out, and the rest is history.

     I could talk about how awesome their music is, and it is... But I wanted to just take a minute and thank them for being "in season" when the call came. They embraced, myself, our youth group, and the mission of the Life Book Movement like it was their own. They've been gifted musically, and they continue to heap those gifts back into the Kingdom. Brandon (@SoL_of_DS on twitter) is himself a bi-vocational youth pastor, and through this experience we have sparked a friendship and have had opportunity to build one another up in ministry. I took the long way around to getting to meet Divine Soldiers but God had them ready and I'm thankful for His plans, which are always better than my own.

Please, do yourself a favor and check out Divine Soldiers by clicking here.
You can also find them on iTunes here.

Thanks J-Wal and S.o.L.


Blessings,

Jeremiah

Not Alone...

As you may or may not have surmised by now, I'm not in this alone. My wonderful wife who is currently taking a break from ministry for the sake of our family has been a huge part of my ministry. She's beautiful, she's intelligent, she's passionate, she's incredibly supportive, and she's started her own blog.

Please do me the favor of check it out and following her blog Married in Youth Ministry

Blessings,

Jeremiah

An Object Lesson...

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"An object lesson..."

So recently, they spent about three and a half months renovating the bathrooms near my office at my day job. I'm not one to complain about much, but after what has to have been a very expensive contract I noticed right away some failure to think a few things through. Allow me to cut to the chase.

In ministry we have these wonderful people called volunteers, volunteers often serve a very important, useful, and integral role in our ministries, albeit often very different from our own. It occurs to me, there is no better way to stifle that role than to hover too close to them and not give them room to minister in their way. By micro-managing one reduces their effective means of ministering and you in turn make it difficult for others to access you and get the help they need.

The result, no one wins.

Which one pictured is the leader, and the volunteer?

I'll leave that to you to discuss.

Blessings,

Jeremiah

A response...

And now my response.

     To my amazingly supportive wife and sons,

     You are ever so right on so many levels, the pace and cattywampus balance that I have been leading our family in has been painful to look back on these past days. Truthfully you have lost out for nearly two years now, when a decision has come down to you vs. ministry, I have to admit the vast majority of such decisions tilted in the favor of ministry. I'm sorry. I thank God for His mercy and grace and allowing me to take a fresh look at life through different eyes. Eyes, that look outside of myself and my preconceived ideas about what "I have to do".

     Boys, for one reason or another the decision that we have made concerning your mother's involvement in ministry has truly shaken me to the bones, and has birthed in me a hunger to readjust scales in which all decisions are weighed, whether they are decisions concerning ministry, work, finances, or even the mundane tasks such as discovering the evening's plans for dinner. Please accept my apologies for time lost, I spent a great deal of it paving the road to hell with those good and virtuous intentions we hear so much about.

     In short, I miss you.

     But still, there is that whole ministry that God has called me to, thing. I'm sure the enemy would love nothing more for my guilty conscious to spur me into an emotional over reaction and force me to step out of such a calling. Well it's quite the opposite. Ministering to the youth of our community is fulfilling the plan God has put together for my life,  and the students that God brings through the doors on a particular night are brought their by divine appointment, of this I'm sure. People, young people, need Jesus, and I'll continue to point them towards Him. Only from this point on from a place of health, and knowing that my family is taken care of. There is freedom to be found in making the right choices. Even when they are hard. My prayer is that you will see this played out in front of you through your mother and I as we continue to seek God's will for our lives, our family, and yes, even our ministry.

Love,

Your husband and father.

Respite...

And now a word from my family.

    Dear Mom and Dad,

     Thank you for making the decision to have Mommy step out of youth ministry for a short time, I know it was a hard decision for you to make. She so dearly loves being a part of ministry and speaking into the lives of teenagers, and Dad we know that she has been a huge help to you because she is WAY more organized than you usually are. But truthfully it's been 1 year and 9 and a half months of you two tirelessly putting large amounts of time and energy into youth ministry, and we feel like everything was going into ministry and our home, our finances, and our family were only getting what was left over of  you both at the end of the day. For a short time we were ok with it. But that short time has turned into a long time and we are grateful for the change. We know what you do is important, and that you are following the call that God has put on your life and we're happy to know that our dad is listening and not just chasing the "American dream", but we have missed our family time and the way things have been lately has seemed quite unfair. And we feel that you may often need to be reminded of your duties that God asks of you as a father and husband, so don't let that get out of whack either, Bub.

     We know that with this change there are some adjustments to be made to handle ministry, and we see those taking shape. We think it's great that you are attempting to be less "busy" but more "intentional" with the time you spend. It's honestly nice to be on the quantity side of your time and not solely the feeble attempts at quality in your leftover time. Thanks again for this season of change and the sacrifice that you have made for our favor, we know that God will bless you for it.

Love,

Your amazingly supportive family