Football Is Coming!

Football season is almost upon us! Pro training camps are opening up all across the country and excitement is in the air! Radio commentators are breaking down the pro divisions and the college conferences to see who is going to reign supreme this year. And, if you are from Texas, high school football is gearing up. You have 2-a-days, scrimmages, and in just a few short weeks, Week 0 arrives and the season begins! Everyone starts at 0-0 and believes that this is the year! Can you beat that kind of hope and optimism!?!

One of the things I miss most about Texas is high school football. Friday nights during the Fall become the central focal point of towns and communities all across the state. You have the football players, the band, the cheerleaders, the drill/dance team, and the parents/friends/community members all converging together to root for the home team. From the smallest six-man communities to the largest 5A schools in the DFW and Houston areas, football is something that brings the community together!

Football's approach always reminds me of the new beginnings that Fall brings. We often think of Fall as when the leaves fall off the trees and nature prepares for Winter, and Spring as the time of new birth and new beginnings. But Fall, signaled by the start of football practice, ushers in the new school year. And what could be a better time for a new beginning!?! As the summer winds down to it's last few weeks, I look forward to the excitement of a new beginning that the Fall always brings!

So to all my football teams I say GO! FIGHT! WIN!

GO (Georgetown High School) Eagles!
GO (Texas A&M) Aggies!
GO (Dallas) Cowboys!

BIG NEWS!

Randa is pregnant and is expecting our third daughter in late October! God continues to bless our family! Somehow, I will have to learn how to live with four females!

Back Again!

I'm finally back! It has been months since I've written anything, but lots has happened since my trip to Mississippi in February. Summer is here and for people like me (youth pastors) that means short term mission trips. Many groups are heading down to the gulf coast to participate in Katrina recovery projects. It is amazing that it has been almost a year since Katrina and yet it seems that only a small dent has been put into all the recovery work that needs to happen. I'm still speechless over all the devastation, but encouraged by the spirit of people--people hurting from Katrina and people helping to put things right.

As for me this summer, our group participated in Impact Virginia! Impact is a youth missions opportunity that allows students and adults to participate in the rehabilitation of homes. We participated in the Spotsylvania area. Like past years, this was a great experience for our group. Lives were touched and God's power and presence were felt. Read what the local newspaper had to say about Impact.

Katrina Relief Trip to Mississippi

I recently had the opportunity to go to Mississippi to help with the relief efforts in response to Hurricane Katrina. I journeyed with five other members of my church, Westwood Baptist, and approximately 41 others connected to a different church, McLean Baptist. The trip was planned by McLean and it was a great trip. We journeyed to Pearlington, Mississippi. Pearlington is a tiny hamlet located six miles from the Gulf and very near the Mississippi/Louisiana border. It was an eye-opening experience. The devastation is incredible, but so are the hearts and spirits of the people who still call Pearlington home. We worked through the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) of Mississippi. We were able to work on three churches and two homes. A lot of the work was demolition--cleaning things out and ripping things down to the structural frame. Some of it was rebuilding--putting in insulation and drywall. All of it was hard, rewarding work! As I continue to reflect on the experience of this trip, I will update with more thoughts and observations. As for now, I find myself somewhat speechless.

Fantasy Football Champion!

I played Fantasy Football for the first time this past year. I played in a ten-team league that mostly included men in my Sunday School class. The pastor also played with us. My team, The 8th Dispensation, finished 2nd during the regular season with a record of 8-5-1. My team name comes from our seminary intramural football team name. I then went on to defeat the pastor (for the 3rd time) in the first round of the playoffs and then the regular season leader in the championship game! All in all, it was a fun experience. I'm looking forward to playing again next season!

Are you a crock-pot?

I shared with our youth last Sunday night something I came across at the Barefoot Ministries site. The question I asked the youth to consider in response to our Advent discussion on waiting was, "Are you a crock-pot or a microwave Christian?" In preparing for the discussion, that question struck me as silly and powerful at the same time (always a good combination when speaking with teenagers). It also struck a chord with me personally. I am a crock-pot Christian and I don't want to be any other kind. I am glad that the journey is slow and steady and I embrace the hope that God will cause the flavors in me to bubble as my relationship with him comes to maturity. I am glad that God is not finished with me yet and that my faith is enough to get me through while He is working.

This "crock-pot" idea also reminds me of recent discussions I've had with a youth pastor friend named Tom about youth ministry. It seems that much of youth ministry is centered on the microwave approach (instant, ready and complete with no waiting) instead of the crock-pot approach (slow and steady, a process toward maturation). Youth ministry is doing a disservice to teenagers by not focusing on the process of God's transformation of lives. A realtionship with God is too important to seek instant results -- we need to invest in the long journey that brings transformative maturity. We need to let the flavors simmer!

What does it mean to be a pastor?

I came across an interesting article over at the Leadership blog, Out of Ur, that got me to thinking about what it means to be a pastor. Being a pastor is not just about God's calling on my life to be a shepherd/leader, but it is about God's calling on the community in which I serve. I am not ordained. In fact, I've probably resisted ordination because I haven't felt comfortable with everything that being "ordained" means. I don't want a title. Plenty of people, especially youth, see me as their pastor whether or not I have the title "Reverend." For others, not being ordained causes me to be seen in a different light--not a bad light, but somehow not completely a "pastor." My pastor has encouraged me to consider ordination not only as part of God's calling on my life, but also because it would be good for our church. Although he didn't use these words, ordination would be a part of God's calling on our church community. I think I feel comfortable with that view of ordination. After all, being a pastor is about living out a shared calling with my church community--it's our calling!

Welcome!

This is an exciting day! I've been pondering whether to try blogging for some time now and today I just decided I might as well give it a try. I expect that this exercise will do more for me than for anyone else, but if you are touched by this in some way, all the better. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I am looking forward to spending time with family, friends, and football! I'll continue this journey of blogging after the holiday! Happy Thanksgiving! Gig 'em Aggies!! Go Cowboys!!!