Made To Worship

     There is just something so special about worship and the words chosen within it. The imagery used in most of these songs are so profound, that it amazes me that in almost every church, there are multiple people who just simply don't realize the words they are singing on Sundays. Granted, there are a few of these songs that have a limited audience, but the words behind them are so beautiful and impactful! Now this post could be inspired through my girlfriend having a job that requires her to sing songs everyday, but I think that the majority of it is just a glaring mark that God has been speaking heavily to me through worship recently. 

     Now let me explore some of these lyrics within worship songs. The first one up, Hillsong - Like An Avalanche. The main chorus sings a line, "Caught up in grace like an avalanche." Have you ever been caught in an avalanche before? Chances are no, unless you're some adventurer who is currently sidelined by taking an arrow to the knee. But the chances are high that you've seen footage of what one looks like or a movie's attempt to show a hero caught in one. It's completely overwhelming! And yet most people can sign through such a line without giving it a second thought, completely unaware that you just sang a lyric that is meant to bring you to your knees. Now recently, two churches of mine have talked about grace this weekend, covering a great deal of what grace is, versus what is not. Now when you get a chance to sit down and fully put yourself within a mindset that God has sending an avalanche of grace your way… You should be brought to some form of change right then and there. God's grace isn't cheap and comes with a great price tag, yet He freely gives it to you in the form of an avalanche! Think about that one a few times over. 

     The second song lyric I'm completely amazed at is John Mark McMillan - "How He Loves." This song has such crazy imagery within it that it's nearly impossible for me to pick just one line from it. So here are two to discuss from it. "Love's like a hurricane, I am a tree. Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy." Wow… Hurricanes have such an incredible force behind them, bringing forth a deluge of rain and wind. Most of these lyrics shoot from the idea that God's mercy given to us is far greater than what we deserved, and they're not wrong! Our position with God should be nothing less than a permanent separation from God in a life of torment and despair. (Just speaking one lie is worthy enough for God to pass this judgement upon us!) Yet through all of this, God showed us mercy! We should be bent over in a humbling posture permanently due to this idea upon our mind, and even more so upon our lips singing it! But this song isn't done yet! "So heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss." Have you ever been kissed by a two year old, or tried to kiss one? If you haven't, allow for me to let you in on a hint, they're sloppy. But much more than sloppy, they're filled with unconditional love! This lyric fits perfectly within the song title, "How He Loves."! It's amazing to hear and sing within worship, and it does just what the follow up line is, "My heart turns violently inside of my chest." This line is just so impactful that I can't help but smile as I sing it, knowing that my Saviour loves me so much! 

     And time for the final song to cover. (In this blog at least.) Hillsong - Oceans. "Your grace abounds in deepest waters." That line right there seems to maybe sum up why I have these songs so heavily upon my heart. God's grace seems to be drowning and overwhelming only once the waters rise so high that I can't do anything. My life right now has much turmoil and uncertainty within it right now, along with a great sense that the walls are coming down. Yet through all of this, I seem to put my full rest within His grace and mercy. These are some songs that have been holding my hope through these past 3 years, which have been full of nothing short of disappointments, failures, let downs, and just an overall turmoil within my life. While nothing has cleared up for me yet, nor do I see a horizon yet, I am confident that God will rescue me, and lead me to shore where I can anchor and plant and grow. But until then, I will continue to use Him and His grace and mercy as my anchor through these rough times. I encourage for you to reach out to Him during these rough times and follow the chorus lyrics within Hillsong's "Take Heart", "Take heart,  let His love lead us through the night. Hold onto hope, and take courage again." God will come through for you!

The Human side of church is showing

     Well, to begin with, this post may come across as mean or evil towards the Church, but it's not. It's bringing up the small tiny factors of the church that drive only a few insane. And with such information in your hand, I say this from a perspective of someone trying to get into a church to work, and finding many things that I am unhappy with. So this more or less is my rant against the church without getting fully upset with the Church. So below is my rant to vent and get things off my chest.

     The Double Standard: This has been something that is driving me really insane for a while now. In almost every church I go to, they talk about getting people to volunteer and help out in ministries. The pastors talk about God qualifying the called, and not calling the qualified. This is all good, and the support in the bible is very strong for this. (Paul, Timothy, Peter, and many more.) The problem where this becomes the double standard is in the hiring process. When a church is looking for someone to fill a position that they have, this reasoning goes out the door instantly. I have been apart of far too many interviews that have come back without a job because I am not "Qualified" for their job position. This has become a big issue for me, as most of the reasoning behind me not being qualified is completely human in nature and leave God and the Holy Spirit out of the equation. In fact, most hiring processes leave the Holy Spirit out of it as the church goes looking for someone to be qualified for a position that they setup, rather then letting God bring them the right person. Yes, the hiring staff end up relying upon God to help them fill the position, but the position is fully looked at through human eyes, human standards, and human wants. It brings up a point that I actually hated when pastors used the saying, "Today's church would never hire the Apostle Paul." At first, I thought that such an idea was ludicrous. How could someone say that? But then the more I got involved within churches and their interviewing processes, the more I came to the full conclusion that such a statement is far too accurate.

     This goes for a full interview processes as well. I've struggled to compile my resume together for churches, as I've altered it close to a thousand times by now. It's hard to boast about myself being someone who prefers to go unnoticed. But when a church wants you to... Or rather, wants you to do so until you're hired. That whole "Boast and show off to us, but you need to cut that out once you're hired, or else you'll be fired." mentality is something that is very prevalent within most churches. It's hard to cater a resume fit for each church not fully knowing what exactly their stance is on every small specific detail on life. It's become a trap game for most youth pastors. A church is either looking for someone completely fresh without any experience, or they want someone who has 5 years with a large church/youth ministry. (The later is far more prevalent than the first.) With standards like that, people like me are left in the middle. 3 years experience with churches, and they won't count the side extra stuff that I've done around the other 3 years. I am slowly being convinced that with some of the standards churches have, I must throw myself out of the running, or throw myself into full debt just to meet their standards. (At which point I no longer am a good steward over what God gave me.) What are some of these standards? Well, I lack a wife, as I am too old to still be single. I don't have enough paid experience with a church, or I just simply don't have enough. My track record of being heavily involved with one church for over three years, then going from place to place in the secular world doesn't look good to them. (That last one is the whole reason why I've stuck around at a crappy job that I hate and isn't good for me spiritually for so long.) And all of this really stems from the church using human standards to hiring people, rather than God's.

     The last thing I will rant about is interviews in general. Without coming across as completely messed up, If your church is in California, and you have two applicants, one in California, one in Maryland, don't expect for the one in California to volunteer in your church before being hired without having the same standards for the one in Maryland. I'm sorry to say it, that thinking is very human and is without a doubt a double standard. (I've been hit with this one multiple times.) And truth be told, it doesn't make me want to jump in, but rather, withdraw my application.

     Overall, I've actually only been apart of two interviews of my thousands that made me want to be apart of the church, or walked away without the job feeling good about it. There is a right and wrong way to handle the hiring processes within churches. Sadly, only about 2% of churches are doing it right. Within your process, you need to have your candidate convince you that they could fit well with your church. The second part is equally as important. You need to convince the candidate that they could thrive under you. That second part is left out far too often. You're a church, not a business. You need to show your church side within interviews. You also need to make sure that you are not stepping in front of God during these processes. If it's a God hiring, they candidate should stick around for 5 years at the earliest. If they don't, you stepped in and took over God's role during the hiring processes.

90 Days of Christmas: Day 76, The Traditions Of Old

     There comes a point when people simply don't engage within the Christmas festivities, and that alone is a reason why some people struggle to get into the Christmas spirit. Have you ever thought about what exactly makes the Christmas season? Now a days it seems to be very different then the ones we hear about within the classic songs that are played on the radio. Burl Ives, Andy Williams, and Johnny Mathis all sing about things of Christmas, but they all seem somewhat distant. In the song A Holly Jolly Christmas, Burl Ives sings about saying hello to friends you know and everyone you meet. Yes, we say hello to our friends when we see them walking to streets or within a store. But do you just randomly say hello to some random stranger? Maybe a simple smile and head nod? Or perhaps better yet, has someone ever done so to you? I believe that saying hello to random strangers and wishing them a Merry Christmas is something that could easily brighten their day! How many hang up mistletoe, or offer up a cup of cheer to others? Now mistletoe is used as a fancy decoration, or a center piece, almost like a poinsettia. Now the actual history of the mistletoe is very interesting to say the least, as it was used in Christmas as a symbol of the evergreen within a house, never to touch the ground, and well as holding ties into a belief of divine love and fertility, hence the whole kissing under it was born. As for a cup of cheer (Tea), was a way of saying to sit back and relax. Now a days, a cup of cheer could be eggnog, coffee, tea, or anything else that may be relaxing at Christmas.

     Now Andy Williams sings about a few more old time traditions of Christmas, some of which seem a bit off. Scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of the Christmas' long ago is the line he uses. Now this is a very old tradition, one of which started back in the old Victorian times. When you would get a group of people together around a fire on Christmas eve, they would tell ghost stories. It was in fact a tradition that sparked Charles Dickens to write A Christmas Carol. In fact, there were plenty of books like A Christmas Carol that were written for the purpose of telling them on Christmas Eve. We also have a song by Johnny Mathis, We Need a Little Christmas, where he more or less sings about decking the halls. Decking the halls is just simply decorating your house for Christmas. He explains in the song why he needs to decorate early, and get things going. All of things that he explains is a good way to help raise your Christmas spirit. 

    So all of this is to say that you should go and give these songs a listen to this week, as well as to find your very own traditions for this up coming Christmas season! 

90 Days Of Christmas: Day 83, Enjoying The Ambience

     With Christmas comes a certain ambience that is very relaxing. I mean, have you ever spent one night during the Christmas season to just sit with candle lights, Christmas lights, and a soft Christmas track playing softly in the background as you sip of coffee/eggnog/tea? To me, that is one of the best moments of the Christmas season! It's a single moment that you give yourself to just sit and enjoy the little things of Christmas. There's no rush to buy things, bake things, run around with a bunch of shoppers. It's just you, relaxing and enjoying ambience. Nothing beats the small amount of time you have. 

    Now I have heard some people don't like the snow, or the pure fact that Christmas comes with winter, which brings permanent darkness. (That whole go to work in the dark, go home in it as well factor...) I don't buy it. what makes the ambience even better is the snow. It covers the ground creating a blanket of white, igniting a small nightlight if you will for the darkness. Have you ever noticed that before? Snow is a pretty sight to see! In the daylight under the sun, or a night under the moon, you are given a special treat of beauty that you don't get to see everyday. (Unless you live in Antarctica...) It's a sight and wonder of God's beauty. A reflection of His promise to make us clean. It comes with the very promise of Jesus. While not everyone gets that White Christmas, it's no wonder why people want it to be associated with Christmas. Snow and the darkness is the very symbol of Jesus to us. The soft glow of snow in the dark is like the hope that Jesus brings us. Even when you're cold in the darkness of your life, God sent His Son to provide us with a soft hope and light towards Him. 

    Now all of that was to simply say that snow is a key part of the ambience of Christmas. Now as all of my posts leave you, with songs to reflect upon and help get you into the mood of Christmas. Here are the tracks you should listen to to help bolster your own Christmas Spirit. Rosie Thomas - Snow Day, August Burns Red - Sleddin' Hill, and a two pack combo, both by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. First Snow and The Wisdom Of Snow.

90 Days of Christmas: Day 86, Joy

         I've been considering recently the idea behind my joy for Christmas. I always have it when September hits, and it stays with me until January. I can't really explain it, as I know for a fact that I would have this joy without presents, snow, cookies, meals, and everything else that went along with the Christmas Season. When it comes down to it, I choose to be joyful. I mean, I could simply claim that it's because of the birth of Jesus, but that doesn't really mean much for joy. You see in scripture versus about joy, or how the joy of the Lord will be our strength, and so on. But if it was that simple, we would always be at peace. But we're not. We choose to ignore to peace that He brings, as well as His joy. So as much as it is Jesus the reason for my joy, it's not.

      Christmas is a choice. Your joy and excitement is something that you choose over something that just happens to come your way. Now I'm not saying saying all of your days will be good days upon choosing to be joyful over Christmas, but you will find that you can handle the joy-killers a whole lot better when you make an effort to be joyful for Christmas.

     But a good question to ask is how one stays joyful, or helps enforce their choice to be joyful! I find a few ways ways that may or may not help. Music is a big part of Christmas. There are plenty of songs that I could easily recommend for you to give a listen to to help you jump start your joy. Elton John - Step Into Christmas is a good starting point. It's upbeat, positive, and may put a little more into your joy about Christmas. Phil Wickham - Christmas Time is another, as it helps paint a good picture of Christmas. Brandi Carlile - The Heartache Can Wait is a great one for those who just feel down in the dumps around Christmas time. There is also Faith Hill - Where Are You Christmas for those whom just need a good vent song. Leigh Nash - Maybe This Christmas is a song of mine that I absolutely love when I feel down in the dumps and apprehensive about my future. And the final one is Relient K - I Celebrate The Day, as it puts Christmas as a whole into full perspective!

    Either way, I think that by someone giving those short list of songs a listen could easily find themselves in a better joyful mood about Christmas! So go and listen to the six songs I suggested, and you might start feeling a hope of joy rise up within you!

90 Days of Christmas: Day 90, Let Go

Okay, so with so many people recently letting me know that they feel disenchanted with Christmas, or that they somehow lost the spirit and magic of the season, I feel like it's my sole duty to know jump start this blog to keep the spirit of Christmas alive within those who may have lost it. Now as a side note, I also know that my ability to maintain this daily will be hard, so it's going to be sporadic in posts.

     So as I begin, I'm starting off with a simple one, let go! Too many times as we get older, we tend to focus upon the stress that comes with Christmas, and the chaotic lifestyle that wraps itself around this time. As we grow older, life does tend to hand us more stress in our daily lives, and  with the coming of Christmas, this does increase. And sometimes I hear that its easier to let go of this stress when you have kids, which gives more reasons to get into the spirit. But anyone who has kids, or works with them can most likely tell you that stress is almost doubled when kids are apart of your Christmas life. (More money spent, more baking, more work all around.) But I will give some credit here to kids. When you have them or work with them, they do help you get into the Christmas spirit easier through a sheer fact of their own excitement of it! Kids are not without stress, and while it's no where near your level, but to them, it's the entire world has been dumped upon them! Think back to how you thought when you were their age, getting ready for a test before Christmas break could have been the most terrifying and stressful thing you've have ever encountered in your short life!

     So now that we've cleared that up just a bit, we need to come to a point of understanding that the spirit of Christmas isn't bound to your stress levels, or your circumstances. It's bound within you! It comes down to what you you choose to let take center stage during this time. So choose to let go of the stress that comes with Christmas and instead focus upon the simple nature of what Christmas really is.

    I am going to try to leave a different song for you to seek out and listen to at the end of each post. A song a day to help you get closer into the mood. This week for day 90, Loreena McKennitt - The Bells of Christmas. Search it up and give it a listen.

You, God, and someone else

I have recently been considering the whole "Holy Anger" and what it means to us as Christians. The more I have sat down and pondered upon it, and gave some research into it, i have found that we have a tendency to use the term incorrectly. I have been placed in situations over the past few years where I have to seek after Godly advice. The problem with this is the very fact that I have to turn to someone who could end up being placed in a situation themselves. To leave out names, my most recent adventure left me in a spot of feeling that God had indeed nothing to give me. I felt it was time to move on. And the more i dove into the word and spent time in God's presence, I felt it was confirmed. The problem was, when I openly announced this, I was then greeted by what was labeled as "Holy Anger."

The situation left a big tear in a decent relationship, and almost certainly left me to ponder over a single question. "Did God lead me into a place where He would abandon me?" The anger I faced left me feeling like I was a failure and made the biggest mistake of my life. However, as I look back on it, I have since come to the conclusion that I was not abandoned, and even more so, that I did not encounter Holy Anger, but rather just anger. Why would I say that? Because the anger I saw during that time was not backed by any scripture.

Your emotions tie into the way you see things. It's human nature, and one that is hard to climb over. When you feel anger in a situation, your advice that you give in that situation ends up being nothing more than poison. Too many times we get into these mentalities that if we simply use scripture, it will over-speak our emotions. That's never the case. Emotions carry with them a great current within ourselves and it does end up overflowing out of our mouths. The anger I faced did so much damage that it left me in a position of wondering if God lead me down the wrong paths. Essentially I began to question my very faith if it was real. The person who spoke to me never meant for their words to come across that way, but they did just the same. We need to keep that in our minds as we speak to each other. Scripture doesn't cover our emotions, but rather amplify their damage. Had I been told that they were just angry with me, and they not attempted to speak into my life with scripture, their words and outcome may have been greatly different.

In conclusion, we need to understand that our emotions can be damaging to someone else and we need to keep them in check.

Redskin Preseason Rant.

Well, since my other blog locked me out, I guess i'll transfer everything to this one, which isn't much used right now. Sadly, this entry will be nothing more than a rant that will offend certain people. Namely Redskins fans.

To start off, I spent the last football season in Wisconsin/Michigan. My choice of games watched were limited. Since I had family that rooted for the Lions, I choose to watch their games when I could. It was horrible to watch, as I could find every fault with the team, until one game when the Lions had no choice but to put Drew Stanton in as their starter. That game held the most impressive QB work I've ever seen out of the Lions. It's such a shame that he won't ever be more than a backup for anyone. But then again... Matt Cassel broke that ideology when he was traded out of New England to go to Kansas City as the starter. If at this point, you're thinking that those cases have nothing to do with the Redskins, then maybe you should take the wool off your eyes. As it stands, we now have multiple QB's signed to backup money, yet get to live out their second season that was originally promised to most of them. Or perhaps maybe you would prefer us to bring in another McNabb? Let's be honest, no big name QB's actually have a chance to do well in Washington until our O-line is fixed: And it's not.

I'm also pretty sure that most of the Redskin roster could come under fire for bad play and not living up to their contracts, yet let us look at an angle that none of you really want to. Graham Gano, currently the Redskins kicker: Currently beating out Shane Graham. Most thought his rookie season last year was worth dropping him for. (Yes, I don't count four kicks from two seasons before to actually be worth adding to the mix of his career.) But let us consider this, why is he under fire again? Because he was relied upon WAY TOO MUCH because we had an offense that couldn't put the same numbers up as him? From Field Goals alone, Gano put up 72 points for the Redskins alone. Shall I add the extra points? That puts him up to 100 points last year. That's more points then anyone else on the Redskin roster! Yes, he wasn't as consistent as we'd like to see him be, but it was far better then the rest of the squad! Hell, Trent Williams last year was horrible. Why isn't anyone ranting to have his butt kicked off the roster? Shall I go down the list of those that had similar years? I doubt anyone would really want to read me tearing into someone like Chris Cooley who dropped more then 5 easily catchable balls!

And for all of those who want to see Mike Shanahan fired, I only have one thing to say. Really? The man is still attempting to purge the load of crap that was on our team from prior coaches. I won't make a judgement on the man until after next season when it should be all of his actual guys playing on the field. In short, I feel that many Redskin fans are simply put, not worth having an opinion, especially one that is full of double standards. If you hold one player to the fire for something, they all must be placed there.

Long Pilgrimage

Well, it's been about four months and I'm now on the way out. I'll soon be in Michigan waiting out the storms. Hopefully, a job will pan out for me with a church in Holland and if not, I'll wait up in the north for a bit longer until I make a pilgrimage back to Maryland. I had really prayed for it all to work out, but it just didn't. I know this isn't something great to read after all the good and amazing stuff, but it is what it is and I have to honor what God called me to.

Justified.

Well, I've been meaning to get another post up for a while, but as of recently, handling building the Youth Ministry, the administration, and working with Campus Life, I have turned into a full time job. Spending close to 50 hours a week on so many related ministry jobs, God has been stretching me and growing me so much. I'm not sure I'd be able to take on another job without snapping me in two. Money is still a concern, but I'm doing my best to remain faithful in the task that God has called me to do, even if it is only for a year. I would go out and seek a more accessible job, but those are only secular jobs, and after spending so many years in that world while God called me to ministry, I feel as if I would taint or ruin my purpose if I did. I have been reading through the book of Acts recently, and came to a conclusion... Paul is a leader of the Church, not a leader of a church. Because of this, in confirms for me that this idea of a "tent makers" job isn't really something that is for those whom are serving within a church, unless they plan to be temporary. It may come off as rude, but Paul himself declares such a thing in 1 Cor. 9:1-18. I feel justified in saying that I will not work another secular job while God has me in ministry that He meant to be permanent. But, it's something that I may be a bit bitter on, so I will not continue to speak on such a thing.

So many good things are going on with Elevate right now, as God has provided us with a chance to move weekly with our building. This would bring a new set of challenges, as it would require me to put even more time into preparing for such a thing. But if it's God's will, whom am I to deny it? Students within Campus Life and Elevate are proving themselves to be fond of having me around, and dare I say it, enjoying my presence. With this will bring a heartache if God only has me out here for a year, as a lot have expressed interest in me remaining longer than a year. Whether I stay or leave, I can say for certain is that God has affirmed me to be here day in and day out. I wouldn't trade a single day to have money that could make life easier.

I can say for a fact that I do not know what my future holds for me. However, I can also say that I know God has ministry ahead for me, whether it be here with Redeemer Midwest, or another church elsewhere. I will remain obedient to His calling that He has given me until He calls me no longer to such a place.

God is Great!

Well, it's been almost a long month since I last posted an update. Lots of things have changed and been active since then.

Red October is no longer on Oct. 22nd, but instead on Oct.24th at Imagine Kenosha. Imagine Kenosha is also the new home of Elevate Wisconsin, which to start off will meet every other week until January. In January, I will be making an assessment of Elevate to decide whether or not it's worth moving to a weekly thing. This was a big break through for Elevate here, as it went from being non-existent, to having a steady place to call home after just three months! Because of this, my life has been very busy with setting up policies, procedures, and other administration stuff that is needed to launch a youth ministry. Red October is a key point, as many have been invited to come out to it, and not just our church students.

I have also been slowly preparing messages for Elevate around a theme based off of passion. If God is with me in the preparation process and the delivery process, it should direct students to have a passion for reading their bible and their relationship with Jesus Christ. I'm starting off with the "Passion of Adventure" showing them the sort of adventures God has taken His people through because they decided to follow Him. I will be ending with the "Passion of Christ." No, I will not be showing the movie to them, but it will be talking about his actions at the cross. This will be delivered around Christmas time, so I'm hoping it can hit close to home with them and have them really look at why we celebrate Christmas.

My money situation really hasn't improved too much. I haven't heard anything from the main campus on whether or not they can even do anything from me. I have been very patient with them, but I know that I also have to start building an influx soon, so I have talked with the Campus Life director out here and he may be able to help me. If his plan can work, he can set me up as a part-time intern in which I will get paid $6000.00 for the school year, (September through May.) and on top of that, set me up to receive gifts from others and have it written off as tax deductible. This would help me out, if only slightly. I am trusting in God to provide for me right now, and it is hard at times. Prayer for me is always welcomed!

I know this was a long break in between, but it was really only a month, and look at all the good things that God has done with such a short time! Keep me in your prayers, and I will update this as often as God moves!

Breathing Room

Well, I had my first event with Elevate Wisconsin on Sunday, "Burger King on Bobby." It turned out really well then what I thought it would. I had eight signed up and I took eight, just not the full eight that signed up originally. They enjoyed it very much, even had a lot of them carry on the the "after party" with music and Halo played in the basement of the Mills' House. For the most part, the rowdy bunch that I had kept it to a minimum for the most part. They all enjoyed it very much, and it continued on to an event that I never panned on going to, but since the majority of them wanted to go, I decided to take them.

Propaganda, a hip-hop/rap artist was performing at Immanuel Baptist Church, and since I know the Youth Pastor there, I took my few students to the event to enjoy it. (Pastor Andy invited all of the youth groups in the area.) I ended up enjoying it a bit more then the students did. Pastor Andy loved seeing me there, and I enjoyed seeing his youth group at work.

I had the chance to tell them about who I am, where I come from, and what my plans are for Elevate Wisconsin in the coming years. They all seemed to take to me, but I don't have my hopes up yet. I have spent a lot of time talking to them to figure out more about them and what I'm getting myself into. I can't wait to see what God will do here in the next few months. They are all excited for the next upcoming event which will be October 22nd. "Red October." I hope to have graphics for it soon.

Settling In

So, I've been hard at work as I've been planning two events for the Youth here in Kenosha County. Two events have already been lined up. Burger King on Bobby. (This is more of a chance for all of them to meet and get to know me.) The other will be more of a Party of sorts. (Plans are still being made, as I still uncover my budget for it.) I have also begun to work with Osmar of Campus life here in attempts to get to know students better. Osmar has been dedicated to helping me out. My plans are to now reach out to those that I do know well by going to them during their lunch periods at school.

Surprisingly, I found that despite being such a small church, there is a massive amount of talent within. Three of the students that I know all have such strong suits in either dancing, drawing, or singing. I may have to try to find a way to push them to use their talents.

Finding the Call

Been spending a lot of time around ALLIES recently, which is a good thing as those guys are really helping me out. For the most part, I've been doing lots of exploring of the area as I try to figure out where all the 'cool' places are located. I've been to downtown Kenosha at least 5 times already and I enjoy it every time I do go. Lots of interesting stuff to do. I've also gone to the local High School (Central) to see their team play. (And win.) Very fun to see the very new stadium of theirs, and apparently they had a big turn out for it. (My idea of a big turn out for a High School football game has been ruined by Damascus High School.)

With the very first outreach event done by Church of the Redeemer's Elevate/Axis Midwest was very good. Not many, but it was enjoyable and the Spirit was clearly moving. I hope it means that I can build on top of it. I also had my first Church spending, as I had the option to buy a few resources for Elevate/Axis Midwest under the Midwest budget. They have a really good Christian bookstore called Treasures, and it's filled to youth, children, and young adult resources. Me and Kim Mills plan to be there as often as we can. I was also asked by a parent to intervene on behalf of her daughters friend, but I ended up not. (It was an over-reaction.)

Overall, I'm feeling really good about being here, as I'm not at all worried about things that normally catch my mind, but I can feel God's hand upon me, and that's been comforting enough.

The First Day(s)

Well to start off, had a great trip that took two hours less then what was thought on my way up to Wisconsin. I have my dad's driving skills. After I made it, I was quick to get settled in, helping out in whatever way I could.

Sunday was a great first day of ministry observation, as I helped out with setting up church as well as meeting a few of the young adults and teens that attend. I ended up going out to lunch with two of them and the Mills family. After that, Jacob and me worked on a two song set for worship for the Axis/Elevate bible study that night, which went great. (Despite only having one other Young Adult show up besides for the two I met earlier.) I then spent today driving around Kenosha with Jacob as my tour guide as we hit all the cool places to hangout when there is nothing to do. Was an overall great first two days here in Kenosha Wisconsin. Enjoying myself fully and already being handed things to do that will help out with the Mills and the Church of the Redeemer Midwest campus. I expect for great things to come to this Church of the Redeemer campus.

On a side note, me and Jake have decided that once Chris gets back, and I find a way to get a hold of drums, we will start a band. This could still be a few months away though.

Getting Started

Ministry has begun to lift off for me recently. I have recently decided to leave my home state/town of Maryland/gaithersburg where I've grown up since I was born to go do ministry with my home church of Church of the Redeemer at their Wisconsin campus. This was a big step for me in my faith, as the job may or may not offer any compensation, which would mean I would be dependent upon others for my source of income. However, because God has called me up there, I don't worry about my money situation and instead have been praying continually for God to show me Himself while I'm out there. I am asking others for support of both prayers and money as I will need them both, but I do not worry about receiving them, because I know that God will provide for me all of my needs.

My first goal and objective once I get there is to find a core group of students that I can pour into and help form the ministry around, and then build from there. I will give everyone an update on everything that has happened or is going to happen once I actually get out there and finish up moving out.