Encouraging note

I love when things like this happen! Today I received an anonymous note from an 11th grader thanking me for the message I preached yesterday. This is the stuff that keeps you going in ministry!

Life Hurts…God Heals!

Tonight we started a new small group series with our Jr Highers.  It was a simple discussion of the emotional scars and pains that we incur during this life and how to deal with them.  I was encouraged and slightly disturbed by the response.  I was encouraged because as a youth pastor it seems like I picked a series that is hitting the mark.  As a person who cares about Jr High students i was disturbed by how much pain and suffering our students are going through.  I ask that you would join me in praying for our students as we wrestle through these lessons for the next couple of weeks.

Adoption Struggles…

My wife is way smarter than me…she is also way better looking than i deserve!  We are fulfilling the stereotype of Youth pastors’ wives being way higher on the hottness scale than the youth pastor.  anyways…we are in the process of adopting a child from Thailand and my wife wrote an amazing post yesterday that literally made me swell up with tears and pride!  I wanted to stand on the street corner and shout…YEAH THATS MY WIFE!!  here is a cross section of what she wrote…

  One other thing I’ve been praying about quite a bit lately is the reaction of our friends throughout this process. Yes, on the outside all our friends say they are supportive. However, there are different reactions to different things people don’t agree with. Anything from our decision to adopt from another country instead of America right down to the way we have to raise money to cover the cost. I wrote a blog about why we chose to adopt from a foreign country earlier. In a nutshell… because God asked us to. This is His plan for us not His plan for you.

I love this WOMAN!!  check out the rest of the post and/or blog here: http://nelsonadoption.blogspot.com/

Please be in continued support of us…if not financially…please continue to pray for us and our child that God has already pickd for us to adopt.  And if you dont understand…just ask us…we would love to explain our hearts!

 

 

 

 

Too Old For Youth Ministry!?

Thanks to Doug Fields (www.dougfields.com) for posting this.  DON’T LET ANYONE EVER TELL YOU YOU ARE TOO OLD FOR YOUTH MINISTRY!

Christmas Craziness

Well one of the busiest weeks of the year is here.  It’s Christmas Pageant weekend here at Anchorage Baptist Temple.  I would personally like to invite you all to the showing that start tonight.  Tonight and tomorrow night the show starts at 7pm and Sunday night it starts at 6pm.  If you have never been to the pageant I would really encourage you to give it a shot.  It is open to all in Anchorage…even if you’re involved at a nother church.  The show consists of some “secular” Christmas music, a storyline that presents the Gospel, and the real story of Christmas…Jesus’ Birth.  I will be singing a solo with the ABT Choir and my little guy, Gavin will be playing the role of “Little Flying Santa”…thats right…we have a flying santa!!

Gavin would love to have you come check it out!

Jr High Christmas Party

UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATER…NUFF SAID!

Will You Answer My Question?

I’m interested in getting as many answers as I possibly can to the following question.  Please repost and share this post so I can get as many answers as possible.

In your opinion, what is the #1 thing stopping people from coming to church?  Either for a church service, concert, special program, or any other event.

Again…please repost this to help me gain as much information as possible.

Keep Your Head on a Swivel!

Any ex-football players should be able to tell you what the title of this post means but for those who have no clue what I’m talking about let me explain.  To keep your head on a swivel means to always be looking for someone who will try to hit you.  On defense you were always on the look out for the ball or for someone trying to keep you from getting to the ball.  I’ll never forget the time I forgot to keep my head on a swivel while playing on a kickoff team.  I got blindsided so hard that I was seeing stars and ended up walking to the wrong side of the field after the play.  For whatever reason this phrase always stuck with me…even years after playing my last down of football in high school.  

Nowadays i use this phrase in a spiritual sense.  As a Christian you should always keep their head on a swivel being on the look out for the enemy trying to take you out.  Too often well-meaning Christians get blindsided by sin and the Devil uses that to discredit not only them but also their God. 

What do you need to be on the lookout for?  What sin could easily take you down?  Be on the lookout and run away as far as you can from the appearance of Evil.  “Abstain from all appearance of evil. 1 Thess 5:22″  We as believers are living our lives on display for the World to see and the moment we give into the appearance of evil the World takes note.

KEEP YOUR HEAD ON A SWIVEL!  Don’t let yourself get blindsided by the Devil.  Keep your testimony straight and God’s name clear!

Hate Tim Tebow?

If your answer to taht question is yes then quite frankly…I’m not surprised.  Tebow is a man who loves God more than anything else in the whole world.  Scripture is very clear:

1 John 3:13 “Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you.”

So when i turn on the TV and people are tearing Tim Tebow apart on so many different levels I’m actually more encouraged than discouraged.  Here’s why…Tebow is doing the right thing!  He is taking a stand against all odds and finding success!

I love that the world doesnt know how to deal with a guy that has this genuine and outspoken of a faith.  If only we as Christians did a better ob of living out our faith in the same manner the world would be as surprised as they are by Tim.  Here is where the challenge comes in…Dont just look at Time Tebow in amazment but do what he is doing…TURN THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN FOR CHRIST!!

Keep up the good work Tim Tebow…I hope you continue winning in spite of your enemies!

 

Marathon Training Update

For those of you who don’t know or are new to the blog I’m training for one of the hardest things I have ever done before. In 28 weeks I’ll be running in the mayors midnight sun marathon up here in Anchorage AK. If you have never met me in person let me explain something…IM NOT BUILT FOR ENDURANCE!! 6’7″ 245lbs is not supposed to run 26.2 miles in one shot. I am determined to do this and do it well! Anyone who wishes to join me is more than welcome to jump on board!

The training has been going well so far…I’m in the pre training phase which is just getting my lungs and legs ready for the actual training. It’s amazing how much healthier I feel when I am consistently running.

Since I’m running this thing anyway I figured I could use it as an opportunity to raise some money for Amanda and I’s adoption. We need to raise approx $20000 or so. Would you consider donating towards this?

You can donate via Paypal by clicking here.

Have a blessed day!!