Why Thanksgiving Should be Re-Named! This article could change your Thanksgiving rituals!

I believe that Thanksgiving should undergo a name change. What Thanksgiving stood for is no longer connoted in it's name. A seismic shift in meaning has happened and it's been apparent throughout the past decade.

Historically, Thanksgiving started and looks back to when some of the first Pilgrim settlers gave thanks to God for a great harvest that would save a tiny fledgling colony that winter. Since starting to be recognized as a national holiday Thanksgiving has, until recent times, been about the following:

1. Contentment - We have received more than we need or deserve. We have an opportunity to celebrate the abundance of our lives or the simple fact that God has been merciful and good to us.
2. Outward focused - Our gratitude is to God for His goodness and the Thanksgiving holiday is about spending time with family and friends.

With individualism and consumerism taking root within the hearts and minds of our country it has become apparent that Thanksgiving has changed. Thanksgiving is now about the following:

1. Entitlement - Since we have received more than we need or deserve than we must be fairly special. Therefore, it's perfectly alright to over eat on Thanksgiving day. The abundance and excess are seen as things that have come primarily from our hard work than from being given by a good and gracious God.
2. Inward focused - Thanksgiving is more about meeting our own personal needs and desires in making us happy. It's about eating good food and shopping early for the best prices.

When I was a child, Black Friday, started early on Friday morning. Now, Black Friday shopping starts as early as 6 PM in some stores on Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving is more about consumption and filling our bellies and buying gifts than in about contentment and remembrance to God for His goodness.

While I am not against Black Friday shopping (my wife goes every year). I do believe that families need to set up roadblocks to ensure that a wholesome family atmosphere is enhanced at Thanksgiving, otherwise consumerism will ruin your family holidays.

Here are some suggestions for you to put into place this Thanksgiving:

1. Turn off all cell phones when you meet as a family. Spend actual time together.
2. Don't spend more money than you budgeted on gifts on Black Friday. Trust me, good deals happen year round. You can even save time and shop online now too.
3. Share stories or events from this past year that you are thankful for as a family BUT make sure you focus on sharing stories of God's goodness and not about your own self-righteousness.
4. Family time is the priority not shopping time. Don't leave your family get together just so you can stand in a long line outside of Target.
5. Tell your parents and grandparents you love them and are thankful for them. If nothing else, honor your family members at Thanksgiving. You will be glad you did!



Do YOU Raise Your Hands in Worship? Thoughts on Why Some Do and Other's Don't!

I grew up in a relatively fundamentalist church. I use the word relative because fundamentalist has the connotation in mainstream society of extreme conservatism. My church was not extreme, but it was fairly conservative. The pastor preached from the New King James Version. You could wear jeans to church (but it was frowned upon). Upbeat music was considered acoustic guitar and vocals.

Lastly, you could raise your hands in worship (but few did). I can remember conversations with people in the church about hand raising. Those that raised their hands during worship in the church were allowed because it wasn't anti-Biblical, BUT (an underlying thought of those who weren't raising there hands was that the hand raisers were making a scene and were trying to garner attention to themselves through their expressions of worship).

As always our past church experience is a contributing factor to our actions and beliefs of today. Once I hit my teenage years I went from listening to Maranatha Praise and Worship to Christian hip-hip, rock, and even screamer music. It was a counteractive pendulum swing from the traditional and conservative worship styles I grew up with. To this day I love loud edgy contemporary music.

While I love contemporary music I could never get over the hurdle of raising my hands in worship. Maybe I don't raise my hands because there are some psychological barriers that were set-up in my brain as a child? Maybe I don't raise my hands because (for me) I find myself thinking more about the gesture and less about the words and heart of worship I am trying to communicate to my Savior? Whatever the reasons, the most I will generally do with my hands is gently beat them over my chest in rhythm with the bass and beat of the music. During worship services this is what best resonates and connects me to God.

Do you think your current worship style and worship expressions on Sunday Mornings has a lot to do with your past experiences?

I do believe that people are given freedom to be expressive in their worship. You are free to raise your hands, kneel, or close your eyes. You are also free not to do those gestures.

Jesus tells the woman at the well that God's people will "worship in Spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). In our current church contexts we define styles of worship with this verse. Churches that are Spirit churches tend to be characterized as hand-raising or more charismatic churches. Truth churches tend to be focused on preaching and are more traditional in their worship sets. While one is not more right than the other I believe that a church can be BOTH! People need to be Spirit-led in worship in a truthful expressing manner.

Concerning a worship service, I believe, it is important for churches to focus on truthful preaching while maintaining a spirit of freedom in their services to allow the Spirit to work. Hand raising in a worship service is a symptom of the root issue concerning healthy worship within a church! In other words, in a healthy church, members should be able to express themselves through hand raising and not feel guilty or that someone is watching over their shoulder. Freedom of hand raising or other appropriate worshipful gestures during a worship service should be the norm. Agree?!?

What ONE YEAR of MARRIAGE will teach you!

I have been married for a year!

In no other time period in history will I be married for exactly a year. I took some time therefore to think about all that I have learned about marriage within this past year.

 

Top Things a Year of Marriage will Teach You

 

1. You don't really know someone until you live with them! The inverse is equally true in that you don't fully know yourself until you live with someone. For example, I never knew that I snored. Living with someone will help you not only come to a full understanding of who they are but a full understanding of who YOU are!
2. Everyone has areas of particularity (some of which you will never understand!) Make sure you know your spouse's areas of particularity so you can honor them through your actions. For example, my wife wants the trash taken out to the road for pick-up every week (even if there is just a small bag in the trash can). This is important to her, therefore, it needs to be important to me!
3. You'll get invited to do more things with other couples! Newly wed couples are looking to forge a new marriage identity and this motivates them to do things with other newly wed couples.
4. Learning how a person communicates and how you as a couple communicates is imperative! In every couple there tends to be a person that is more direct and confrontational while their spouse tends to be more indirect and subtle in handling conflict. The key is that the direct person needs to be gentler and more intuitive in dialogue while the indirect person needs to learn to be more frank and direct. Meeting each other half way in the middle and not criticizing each other's communication methodology is key.
5. You will accrue a lot of stuff! Trust me.
6. Much joy comes from doing something that makes the other person happy! My wife knows that I love fishing and the beach so we do that sometimes together as dates. My wife loves ice hockey games so I do that sometimes with her as a date. You'll get more joy out of your marriage if your selfless.
7. Allow intimacy to develop! Many couples based off of previous relationship experiences never allow their spouse to fully see their heart, plans, and desires. Allow the other person in on your life. My wife and I pray every night before going to sleep. This builds a spiritual atmosphere of trust and gives me a sneak peak into what is important within my wife's mind.
8. Understand that your spouse is God's BEST for YOU! Why should my eyes wander and look at someone else? My spouse is God's best for ME.
9. Don't stop holding hands!
10. Make future goals together! Dream together. Do things TOGETHER!
11. You will get your feelings hurt! Make sure you push through your emotions and do the right thing by owning up to your mistakes.
12. Expect major road blocks, especially early on! Every couple that I talked with encountered major roadblocks within the first few months of their marriage. It will happen to you but that's why God has given you someone else to help you navigate through those times together.
13. Explore together! Take trips and do adventurous things together. This will help keep your marriage fresh.
14. Give yourself room to breath and develop as individuals. Learn that it's good if your spouse has other friends that they are able to do things with. There is not a whole lot of solitude when married so embrace and enjoy those quiet times to reflect and develop yourself.
15. It gets better! So far I can honestly say that I love my wife more today than I did yesterday.

Happy One Year Anniversary KIM!

 

I'd get married again today to you KIM!

 



Judgment House Recap - 2014

I love Judgment House!

 

Before, I give reasons as to why Judgment House is a great event I need to mention that this event at our church was not even my idea. This event has been a thriving outreach to the community and was started under the leadership of Rich Yauger years ago.

 

As a developing leader I am constantly evaluating events deciding which events should stay, which events should stay and be changed, or which events should be dropped. This is an event that definitely should stay (with minor revisions through the years).

 

This year we saw 719 people walk through Judgment House and saw 153 people make a decision for Jesus!

 

Here is what I love about Judgment House:

1. It allows teenagers to use their giftedness in communicating gospel truth! This year's cast consisted of over 50+ teenagers that worked hard in memorizing lines and acting within their scenes.

2. It's visual! It's one thing to hear about a real life scenario and yet another to see it!

3. It's powerful! People give their lives to Jesus. On our first night we had a 44 year old woman give her life to the Lord. On Wednesday Night a teenager that was suicidal gave their life to Jesus! Wow!

4. It allows for partnership! We had 10-15 students from Grace College come every night and help be counselors as people made decisions. We used their help and they got trained in how to lead someone to the Lord!

5. It strengthens other local youth groups! The best thing for the teenagers in a community is if there are a lot of strong youth programs. Every year we invite other youth ministries to come to Judgment House with the hope that it is beneficial for their group. We had over 5 youth groups this year walk through and many of their teenagers accepted Jesus!

6. It allows teenagers and adults to outreach together! It takes around 100 people a night (half teenagers and half adults) to pull off an effective Judgment House. It's all about intergenerational missional living!

7. It creates momentum for Axis youth ministries! This event creates momentum within our youth ministry in hosting events that will reach lost people. Next event - the Red Eye All-Nighter!



 

THANK YOU to everyone that helped out with our Judgment House this year!

 

Eternity will NOT be the same!

 

Our Wednesdays Night total cast picture!

 

Our Car Crash Scene Cast!

 

 

I turn 30 years old today......A Comparison of Perspectives of when I turned 10, 20, and 30 years old!

Today I am three decades old!

First off, I always find it odd that we celebrate the person who was born INSTEAD OF the mother who carried and delivered that baby after 9 months! Therefore, thank you and congratulations Mom! You deserve more honor than I do today!

On a different note I took some time to think about the difference in perspective of each birthday  namely my 10 year, 20 year, and 30 year birthdays.

Here's the difference (not at all an exhaustive list) on perspective of each decade changing birthday.

 

A Decade can make a HUGE difference!

Taco Bell

10 Year Old - What's Taco Bell? Mom says it's unhealthy!
20 Year Old - Taco Bell is my late night filling food of choice!
30 Year Old - Why does Taco Bell use caulk guns in preparing food? It tastes good, but only in small portions and not late at night!

Staying Up Late

10 Year Old - I got to stay up past 9 PM tonight....it was awesome!

20 Year Old - I start feeling alive at 9 PM and can't wait to do things with my dorm mates all night!

30 Year Old - I'm thinking about bed at 9 PM and in bed not soon after!

 

Working with Teenagers

10 Year Old - Teens are intimidating!

20 Year Old - I can do anything a teenager does and "top it"

30 Year Old - These teenagers look like "little kids"
 



What's In a Birthday

10 Year Old - Cake and Ice Cream, Chuck E Cheese's, and MONEY!

20 Year Old - MONEY!

30 Year Old - Just another day

 

Thoughts on People of the Opposite Sex

10 Year Old - Glad I got MY cootie shot! Gross.

20 Year Old - Single and ready to mingle!

30 Year Old - Happily married and glad all the drama is over with!

 

Driving

10 Year Old - It will be forever until I get my license!

20 Year Old - I got a need for speed!

30 Year Old - I set my cruise control for 5-10 mph over. Max.

 

Hope you enjoyed some truth with a little bit of humor OR maybe a little bit of truth with a lot of humor :)

While life and perspective change I pray that I will never lose a heart for God and His people. May that be a constant variable throughout my years.

 

Psalm 71:18

"Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come."

 

The older I get the more responsible I am to declare God's power to the next generation! My role and responsibility only increase in the years to come. I don't know what God will do in the next decade and how my perspective on life will change.....I just know I'm excited about enjoying each individual day of the next 3,650 days (that's how many until my 40th birthday)! Who knows where I will be at in life by the age of 40!?!?



 



Wait, You are telling me that teenagers CAN be SERIOUS?!?

I will never understand why many youth ministries ONLY capitalize on the fact that teenagers want to have fun. While it is true that teenagers want to have fun they also want to go deeper in their walk with Jesus. Teenagers want to BOTH have fun and GROW in their Christian faith.

Youth ministry, therefore, should be thrilling because if done effectively the youth pastor/youth workers can enjoy fun AND build deep discipleship relationships with the teenagers in their group.

Why then do many youth ministries simply have fun as a priority and then try to add a smidgeon of Jesus?

Answer: It's easier. (Seriously, it's not hard to throw a party every youth group). Digging down into teenagers' lives is hard and messy.

It may be subtle, but it is noticeable. Is your youth ministry more about introducing teenagers to Jesus in a fun way OR about having fun and hoping the teenagers involved get something about Jesus?

This past Wednesday we broke from our normal youth group routine. After a fun opening activity I simply gave the teenagers an open forum to ask any spiritual questions they wanted of me. It was nothing more than a Q & A time. Teenagers were told they could ask any question as long as it was appropriate and had to deal with a spiritual matter.

I was flooded with questions about:
1. God's stance on war
2. Best witnessing techniques
3. How to properly confront a friend
4. God's view on homosexuality
5. What God thinks about tattoos

I even had a young girl openly confess that her friend was cutting and that she wanted help in knowing what to do!

Do you know what is most surprising about these questions? They were asked by Jr. Highers!

That's right. The same Jr. Highers that are picking their nose and flinging boogers one minute are asking deep theological questions that many adults ponder the next minute!

You see, a youth ministry must gives teenagers a forum to ask pertinent questions about life otherwise those same teenagers will think the church is irrelevant and leave it upon graduating!

Students really WANT to get deeper. Encourage this and don't remain on the surface with EVERY youth group meeting!

What we can learn from MONKEY BRAINS!

When I think of monkey brains the first image that comes to my mind is from the video: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. During the movie the people get served a delicacy for dessert: MONKEY BRAINS! 

 

(As a child this part of the movie grossed me out. As a teenager this part went from being gross to being grossly awesome!)

 

This past week I focused on my PhD work and attended a conference in Washington D.C. The conference's theme was on Neuroscience.

 

During one of the presentations it became evident that we can learn a lot from monkey brains!

 

Curious, here's how

 

1. Researchers discovered that a specific part of a monkey's brain becomes active when they participate in activities where motion and doing happen (i.e. grabbing a stick and scratching their head).

2. Researchers also discovered that the same identical part of a monkey's brain that becomes active when they do certain activities also becomes active when they watch someone else model the same activity (i.e. a trainer grabbing a stick and scratching their head). In other words, they have mirror neurons that are embedded within their brains!

3. Researchers startlingly found out though that when the monkey would watch someone else do something similar to the action, but not necessarily do that same action, that the identical part of the monkey's brain would not be active as in previous scenarios. (i.e. a trainer grabbing a stick and instead of scratching his head he would wave it).  In other words, mirror neurons could also perceive intent ion of actions!

 

Simply put, neuroscience has proven that belief is learned through mirroring and imitating other's beliefs AND that belief is in doing something!

 

No one believes something simply by hearing a bunch of knowledge. Believing is tied to our mirror neurons which become active when we see and do what we have observed.

 

It is crazy, but neurologically proven, that God has embedded within our brain, mirror neurons, that help us to be active participants and 'doers' who embody our beliefs instead of learning through content dumps.

 

We truly are - "fearfully and wonderfully made."

 

 God has designed us to imitate others and we are wired to be active participators of our faith! Why else would he order people to repent AND then be baptized!

 

One must see and then do to fully believe!