Time...

Today a friend reminded me of something that I almost forgot about; time. I am reminded of how time can play a part in how we develop as a person, Christian, or a leader. There are things that we learn only by time. Some people call it seasoned, in which I would have to agree. I am amazed on how time can grow a person. For example: how I deal things in ministry is completely different from last year, not to mention five years ago. Time has seasoned me on how to approach situations. However, the funny thing about time is how much more we have to learn, or should I say "I have to" learn. It makes no difference whether a person has been in ministry for a year or a hundred years, time still continues to help us grow.

My Lucky Day!

I was battling whether or not I should go to Starbucks to relax and read. I'm glad I did. T-Mobile is offering free WiFi till October 31st, due to the fires that have been destroying our beautiful Southern California land. Yes, folks you read it right...T-Mobile is offering free WiFi at select Starbucks locations. Stop my heart!

Grace

I don't even know if this is the right word for this, but I can't help to feel that's what happened. Last week I purchased 10 pizza's from Domino's; the total amount was $88.36. This morning when I checked my bank account I noticed that Domino's charged me $93.36. That's a $5 unauthorized transaction.

Now, I know what you must be thinking right now..."Lucas, it's only $5!" Yes, your absolutely, but the fact that the Domino's driver took it upon himself to write in $5 in the tip section of the receipt is unacceptable to me. Principles my friends...it's all about principles.

Now on the grace part. I really had no intention of wanting the money back but I did want retribution. If any pizza delivery driver is allowed to be left off the hook because it's only $5 here and $10 there, where do we draw the line. I showed grace today by not making a big deal about it. I must confess that when I'm screwed out of money (regardless of how little it is) I get a little ticked. I become something my students should never be able to witness. Today, I was calm, collected and pointed out an error with love. Hopefully the young man in question keeps his job.

Starbucks Alert!

There is a growing trend (scam) at Starbucks. When you go in to purchase a gift card, make sure that you watch the card you picked out. The scam is simple. A Starbucks employee will make a quick card change and give a blank card that they strategically stationed near the register, and pocket the card that was loaded with money. Couple things you can do to protect yourself:

1. Watch the hands. There is really no reason why you shouldn't see the card.
2. Check the card before you leave the store. Ask to check and see if the money and made the transfer. It's no big thing to check the balance of a card, and you don't need to purchase anything. If the employee has an issue with it, that usually means a card switch. At that point talk with the manager.
3. Keep your receipt! This is your royal flush. The receipt will have the amount of money that was loaded and the card number. At which they will look at the receipt, see the amount and scan the card. A receipt is a document and should be treated as such. An employee who disregards a receipt as something that is irreverent, probably just lost their job.

Upgraded Anti-Virus

I upgraded my anti-virus today. Since I use my personal computer for church about 90% of the time, MAG hooked me up with NOD32!!! After leaving Norton (which absolutely stinks- my opinion) I find that NOD32 does not bog my computer down during scanning or updating. It works silently behind the scenes taking care of my internet security. So far...I'm impressed!

Lucas on Leadership

For the last few months, I have been examining and re-examining what our midweek and weekend programs look like. I have come the conclusion that I need to do a better job at leading people. I believe that any decent leader would say that about himself/herself, but I am quite serious when I say this about myself. I have found that the leaders that I shepherd need to catch on the vision of why we do middle school ministry. The answer to the that question would certainly be the catalyst that has been missing. Here's a couple quick thoughts from the inside of my head:

1. Leaders need to understand sacrifice. It is one thing to teach a bible study, but to purposely invest time and energy into the lives of students requires some sort of sacrifice. That is not to say that volunteers need to give there entire lives to middle school ministry- that's not what I'm saying. What I do mean is that, we need to have a purpose of why we want to "do life" with middle schooler students. It boils down to this: students see that sacrifices we make and the one's we don't.
2. Leaders need to understand complacency. Because it worked before does not mean it will be a hit the second time around. In today's ADD world, students can take and leave purposeful elements just as the wind blows. I have come to understand that complacency is a disastrous safety blanket that plagues many youth workers. We become "too" comfortable in midweek/weekend programs, and that's when things become stagnate. Students hate stagnated elements. This partially is not their fault (they do live in world where everything and everyone wants things done in a nanosecond), yet programming should not be built upon an ADD mentality. I am reminded that when things get to comfortable, that's a sure sign to shake some things up.
   
3. Leaders need to understand care. Care comes in many forms (remembering a name, making that phone call, remember the student period!) It's amazing how we can think and care for students based upon a schedule "Sunday...it's my day to talk with students..." Care is a sacrifice and should be based upon complacency. Students need adults that pray for them throughout the week, show up at their ballgames, take for some Starbucks, pray for their parents, remember what makes them laugh, remember what makes them cry. A leader knows (cares) for their students. Note that care and knowing a student are two different things. I can know a student, but care signifies shepherding and love. It screams "you are worth my time."
4. Leaders need to understand rest. One reason leaders/youth workers get burnt out is because of the lack of rest. They spend too much time giving and fail to re-charge themselves with the presence of God. We do all of this "youth ministry" stuff, and almost fail to have that special time with Him. we can not lead students down a path we have never been before. How can we tell students to read there bibles when we are ourselves don't? How can we tell our students to have a healthy prayer life, when the only time we talk to God is when we remember to? Finding rest in the Lord is crucial to leading students. Note that students can see a fake and when they do, the chances of them opening up and really allowing you to care for them becomes somewhat impossible.
   

Tuesdays

I absolutely hate Tuesday's!!! I'd rather cut off my thumb, inject it with Ebola and reattach it, then to experience Tuesdays. I hate it!!!!

Books, books and more books

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm You're probably in the final stages of a Ph.D. or otherwise finding a way to make your living out of reading. You are one of the literati. Other people's grammatical mistakes make you insane.
Dedicated Reader
Literate Good Citizen
Book Snob
Non-Reader
Fad Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

Youth Ministry Turf Wars

My question is this: would you engaged/develop a program to reach students (let's say skaters) if you know that another church in town also has similar ministry? For example, I have been throwing around an idea of outreaching to students at local skate parks. I have leaders willing to take this and run with it. But, I know that another youth ministry in town already does the same thing, and (from what I hear) does a good job. Should I trash the idea, for fear of stepping on someone's toes?

Your thoughts?

Owl City

I bought this CD the other day. It's nice to listen to when your working.

Question of the Week

The very problem of teenage obesity is effecting the very nature of how students respond to programs; have you ever had a student no attend an event because there was too much walking or running, and that HALO 3 sounds better? The question of the week is based upon two trends 1) obesity and 2) guys wearing girl pants.

Here's the question: how can the students (guys) of today in all their glory and obesity, wear girl jeans? If today's teens are too fat to do anything, how do they get away with girl pants? I hope this trend ends soon!

for those who practice the quaker method of humor: THIS IS A JOKE QUESTION!!!! Get over it!

Morro Bay

These are pictures from my trip to Morro Bay. Fun times!

This guy needs his license taken away!

This s great! Kind of reminds me of myself sometimes when I'm all alone in the house and that weird song comes on and I start to .....