I know that the more I pray the more tuned in with God that I am.  I feel like I can make more confident decisions that will lead me in the paths that God had set before me.  When prayer is a priority a community can rally around a focused vision. 

As I have been reading through scripture during my devotion time this year I have been amazed about the way that when the people of Israel pray great things happen. 

Take a look through your Bible this week about the way God responds to prayer.  Lets look at Moses through the Hebrew Bible and then some of the ways that Jesus Made Prayer a priority. 

Moses–
       Ex. 32:9-14,31,32
      Numbers 11:2; 21:7; 14:13-20;
      Deut. 9:18-20,25-29;

Jesus –
     Luke 22:31,32 (for Peter);
     John 17:9-22 (for all believers).

In what ways are you making prayer a priority?

Make a list of students and leaders in our youth ministry.  Each day pray for 3 of them, that they may hear what God has in store for them. 

Though I know my limits (cars and things that cause expositions that could take off an arm), I really like making things better.  I don’t think that this is an uncommon desire.  If you see something broken or someone hurting many times there is a desire to fix it.

I am a guy…

I have a limited attention span, I miss implied meanings (ask my wife) and have to have things explained to me very simply.

Finally I don’t like the details…

The phrase “the devil is in the details” is used frequently by some of our staff.  Well that is fine, I think to myself, I am a pastor and should stay as far away from the devil as possible and therefore should only touch details with a ten foot pole

What do these three things add up to…they mean that I have the tendency to look for the quick fix.  If there is a problem I would like to fix it, move on and not worry about the little things.  this is where my shotgun imagery comes in.  At times I will blast out an e-mail, or make a decision that I know will fix or address a problem that is in my ministry.  I will throw a bunch of stuff at my target at one time and hope something sticks.  Have a problem the church is facing preach a sermon, the youth are going somewhere they shouldn’t lock that part of the building…problem solved.

I am quick to fix and move on to the next thing.  I like to make things better in one fowl swoop, but I know God (being relational) calls me to act and lead differently.  Look even at the way we find our salvation.  Not through a magic wand, but through the very personal and very relational life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

I have to be reminded that I can’t bombard a problem and them wash my hands of it.  In our ministry people are the priority, not just because they matter to us us because they matter most to God.  Rather than being the fixer, I have to slow down and journey with student, friends and family to see what they are really saying and going through.

When we are able to the a community (a church) that journeys together and holds hands through the hard things we are becoming the people God has made us to be.

How are you practicing hand holding ministry rather than shotgun programing?

It is my prayer that it would be your relationship with God.  Please note that I didn’t write just God, but rather the relationship that you have with God.  When I was a kid I thought a lot about God, and in seminary we studied a lot about God.  Learning and thinking about God is very different that nurturing a relationship with God.

As a youth worker (and as a parent for that matter) we need to know what comes first.  As someone active in student ministries you need to be sure that you are Loving God and liking the kids that God has entrusted into your care.

What are you doing to make God number one in your life?  How are you working to see God in all that you do? Where is God calling you to reevaluate your priorities?

We can nurture our relationships with God through prayer, scripture reading, serving the poor and being willing to open ourselves up to our young people and journey with one another on the adventure of faith.

The other day I ordered some new confirmation materials.  The materials that I ordered are from the Lutheran publishing house.  The funny thing was that when I was about to finalize the order I got an email from the Methodist publishing house that was advertising a new confirmation set from the UMC.

Excited I took a look and it looked very outdated in both materials and in class format.  The Re:Form stuff has a method of teaching that is experiential and conversational.  It understands that confirmation is the beginning of a conversation and not a platform to set up young people to graduate from church.

I am stoked about the material that has great videos (wonderful graphic design), thoughtful questions and in a style and feel that we have been using for a while.

However my heart is sad by the disappointment of the Methodist materials have put out.  I feel like the UMC is a denomination that draws from a wonderful heritage with wonderful resources of both lay and clergy.  I would love for the UMC to take seriously the call to minister and resource the local church to tend to the needs of our young people (youth and young adult).

I hope that we do not wait much longer to hear the heart cry of youth and miss the opportunity to invest in the future of the church.

It is Friday night and we are enjoying a night out on the town. (Well, as much of a night out on the town you can have when you live in Brunswick . Thinking back to college, this is nothing like the nights out I used to have living in Washington, D.C.)

My husband Chris and I have taken Eden to the Farmer’s Market in town and then to the local coffee shop. The eclectic vibe is able to both distract Eden and entice her parents — a difficult balance.

After ordering our dinners, we search for a seat in the crowded room as a blue grass band plays in the corner. They are teenagers — college students maybe. All girls. Playing the fiddle and the accordion. Which fascinates my toddler and fascinates me. I am not sure I knew what an accordion was when I was in high school, let alone had the desire to play it.

But now as the music flows over me I begin to daydream a different life.

I get lost in the music. “I could play the accordion,” I say to my husband who is too busy eating his dinner to respond.

“I could play the fiddle,” I whisper to Eden. With pizza in her mouth, she smiles a wide-toothed, sauce-covered smile.

“I could,” I think to myself as I take a bite of my salad.

No deadlines, no pressure, no diapers, no laundry. It had been a long day, a long week, a long month. So many changes, not so much success.

The text that he drew from was 2 Cor. 3:18–And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into  the same image from one degree of glory to another.

This is the transformation Wesley would have spoken about as being made perfect in love.

As i have been thinking about this over the weekend one question has been striking my mind.

What am I reflecting?

With all of the things that I have on my to-do list, all of the things I consume (being Music, TV and advertising from every angle) what do I reflect.  I have my devotion time in the mornings and some in the evenings if the morning gets away from me.  But i can’t help but ask if that is enough that i would then reflect God throughout my day to everyone that I encounter (both in person and though the various mediums that connect us today.

DO you feel like you are reflecting God’s Glory or something else?

How may you more faithfully reflect the thing you are called to reflect?

While I was there I noticed a woman taking pictures and a link to her website.

It must have been a slow day because there are 6 pages of pics.

Take a listen/watch and then tell me about some of the ways or scriptures you have been rediscovering…

MUMC Sermon July 18, 2010 from Middletown United Methodist Ch on Vimeo.

Email a Workcamper : lifeforceyouth.com

Do you know some one who is at workcamp right now????Well then send them a note and let them know they are doing a great job.

We have a group of 20 who have gone off to New Castle, PA to work on houses for a week. They will be painting and scraping, building and demolishing, cutting and nailing.

Our team is made up of Mel Bower, Nick Carter, Taylor Goodie, Carlee Lammers, Samantha Lilley, Casey Lindburg, Kaitlyn Matthai, Amanda Menke, Chrissy Payne, Marina Payne, Nathan Tice, Victoria Tice, Amber Watkins, Evan Wilson, Kristin Wilson, Ladd Bower, Beth Tice, John Tice, Cathy Watkins and Simon Frechette.

Head on over to: http://www.groupworkcamps.com/Workcamps/Pages/EmailaCamper.aspx and send a word of encouragement to our team.

They are at the New Castle, PA workcamp

She did such a great job talking about scriptures that mean a lot to her.

So, Take some time from your crazy day and get a boost from Victoria

MUMC Sermon July 11, 2010 from Middletown United Methodist Ch on Vimeo.