the exception

God is looking for the exception.

Not the norm, not the typical, not even the standard.

He's after people who actually stand out.
People who don't blend in.
Men and women who's passion is visible.
Young people who aren't obsessed with what everyone else is obsessed with.
A body of believers who refuse to compromise.

It's time for a generation to drop their nets, take up their cross and follow Him with all their worth!

[pc]

Launch

This Sunday is the re-launch of Launch middle school service.

We're really ramping up this weekly service to be a can't miss event.

Part of the revamp is the addition of our new weekly team challenge called "Battle Launch," which will be an exciting, creative and demanding competition every week.

Launch is going to rock!

ownUP

Ephesians 4:1 "live a life worthy of the calling you have received"

No one deserves salvation, grace or mercy from God, it's a gift. We do, however, have a responsibility for what we do with that salvation, grace and mercy.

We're starting a new series this Wednesday called ownUP, which deals with the topic of how we take advantage of the advantages (and responsibilities) God has given us.

The title has duel-meaning, to own up to our own personal call and to live a life that's purposefully worthy of it. The other meaning is to own the upward movement and progression of church, Christianity and our generation.

This is going to be a dynamic and challenging series, and I'm absolutely ecstatic about what God's going to do in the next couple of weeks!

Honest to God

This week we embark on a new series both on Sundays as well as Wednesday nights. The series is called Honest to God and it's a focus on honesty and integrity. This will be a fantastic series and I'm totally ecstatic about the subject. 

Sunday mornings Pastor Kirk will be bringing the goods, and on Wednesdays we're actually having a rotation of speakers share their hearts and experiences. It's going to be dynamic, so don't miss it!

[pastopher]

NEW Series!

We're embarking on a new series starting next Wednesday called "Needs More Salt"

Matthew 5:13-14

"Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness?" 

We just finished a series on being a disciple of Christ and I feel that the next step is to move into reaching out and inspiring others. That's difficult to do when we're rapidly losing our saltiness. I'm reading a book called "UNChristian," and it depicts the negative perceptions that people have towards Christians and the church. The studies done for this book are staggering! One statistic is that of people outside of Christianity surveyed, 85% of them knew a Christian personally, and when asked if those Christians had a lifestyle that they would differ from their own, only 15% said yes. We acknowledge Jesus with our lips and on Sundays, but deny Him with our lifestyles. We have to regain our saltiness and we have to reposition ourselves as lights in this world. 

I'm pumped about this series, and I'm expecting God to move tremendously in the month of April!

[pastopher]

[r]nation tonight

It's spring break week so our attendance dipped a bit, but the service was dynamic!

7 people gave their lives to Christ tonight

We had an impromptu water baptism at the end of service where we provided a change of clothes, towels and hair dryers...6 people were water baptized

over-all it was a tremendous and memorable night

[pastopher]

obsessed

Last Wednesday I started a new series @ the [r]nation / generation church, it's called "obsessed." I'm targeting our natural tendency to place objects, hobbies, habits or people in a position of obsession in our lives. 

I mentioned my life-long addiction of TV, which is extremely common. It's not that TV is inherently evil or anything, but anytime we give control of our happiness to anything other than God, we need to re-prioritize. 

Here's the ultimate test, take whatever hobby, interest or even dating relationship and examine whether or not you would be willing to lay it down for a season. This freaked some people out last Wednesday, and I'm sure it would anyone. I've felt the need to walk through this exercise repeatedly, and every single time I do it, I feel that I refresh my commitment to making God central in my life. 

We're all obsessive to an extent, we simply need to keep our priority list in check.

[pastopher]

it's my life

Sonia, Berkeley and I are departing for the tourist capital of eastern Tennessee, Pigeon Forge on Monday. My uncle has a sweet cabin there, so we're going to chill for the week. I've got 2 books, 3 graphics projects and some shopping to do. There's nothing I'd rather do than spend quality time with the 2 most amazing girls in the entire world. Sonia is my wife, but she is my bestest friend too. I would rather hang out and goof off with her than anyone else on the planet. Don't think that I'm saying that for brownie points, it's 100% true, besides she never reads my blogs anyway. And people told me that being a dad was pretty amazing, but I had no idea that it would be this good. Berkeley is an absolute treasure, and my life is a million times more fulfilling with her in it.

[r]nation has been incredible the last month or so. It's really leveled up in every area. We've seen over 30 people give their hearts to Jesus in just a couple of weeks. Our video podcast has been unleashed, and we're working on an audio podcast that's packed full of comedy goodness. Pastor Kirk will be preaching at [r]nation Wednesday, it's not often you get a much better speaker when the pastor is on vacation.

KidsRock has been fantastic! The full service is working extremely well. I taught 2 weeks in a row, and I left thinking "I would have killed for this when I was a kid." I'm excited to continue raising the bar, and seeing more and more kids worshipping God.

As much as I love teens, young adults and kids, probably my favorite ministry outlet right now is a discipleship group that I started about 9 months ago. I've got 5 of the most amazing, world-changing guys that I meet with every month. I've been with them through ups and downs, and they never cease to amaze me. The growth, loyalty and dedication in these guys is outstanding. I see God using this group of guys to do the impossible in the months to come.

I've felt a rejuvenation since Wednesday. It's important that we stay connected to God. A cell phone loses juice quick the more you use it. You have to plug it into a power source for a recharge. I feel the same way. It's easy to grow weary in well doing, but I've been really delving deep with Jesus, and now I feel ready to make some dreams happen.

[pastopher]

top 5...NUMBER 1 "pursuit of cute"

There is something that you’re chasing, otherwise you’re not breathing. We chase dreams, goals, people and answers…among other things. I’ve noticed one thing that is prevalent in the female community, is the pursuit of something they call “cute.” Many girls feel a sense of great achievement if they appear cute on any given day. Good hair days, stylish ensembles and perfect make-up application are the ultimate echelon of female success.

I’ve read articles and history books describing this controversial rebellion of women in the 60’s, who fought for equality amongst the sexes. The traditional view of “a woman’s place” was being challenged by countless protestors and activists. The women’s liberation movement forever changed culture. Now I’m not completely condoning every motive of the women’s lib movement, but I think that we can all agree that God made women and men equal, so we should have equal opportunities.

Now, fast forward to present day, and seemingly the ultimate achievement for a woman is not the ability to vote or pursue a career that would have been formally solely occupied by a man, but to be the prettiest? Magazines, television, marketing and movies are defining success for women everyday as a weight, size, shape and even level of sex appeal. Forgive me, but I have this strong feeling that we’ve digressed quite a bit.

When I decided that I was serious about getting married, and began dreaming of what the “perfect wife” would be for me, at no point did shallow or superficial show up on my dream list. I longed for a woman of substance and security. I needed a person who had depth and confidence in the significance of her role in this world. Girls, I care so much for you and your happiness. I know at times it seems like happiness is wrapped up in the guy you like, or the status of your popularity. But those are temporal and trivial things to allow to define you as a person. You will never be happy with anyone else until you are completely happy with yourself. Jesus instructs us to love others as we love ourselves, how can we extend any resemblance of love if we are only half way satisfied with ourselves, provided we’re wearing make-up or at our ideal weight? I know that we all want to look our best, but if that’s the extent of our life, something tells me that we’ve missed the point of living in the first place.

To the girls:: Why not begin a brand new social uprising? Why not, once again, rebel against the world’s standards of what a girl should be. Teach guys that there is more out there than shallow, available, inexpensive, provocative and insecure girls. Let’s start a movement of women of virtue! Be a princess, and allow God to place you and your heart in a tower, building your character while protecting you for your prince. You are the daughter of the King, don’t subject yourself to lower standards while your heavenly Father’s heart is for your absolute best.

To the guys:: Stop messing around, stop playing with girls’ emotions and insecurities and bring back chivalry. Be gentlemen, instead of hormonal little boys. Let’s applaud substance and character instead of lovely lady lumps. Let’s give incentive for girls to strive to become dynamic women, instead of feeding the stereotype. Be men! Not boys…

[pastopher]

top 5...number 2 "rise above it all"

What's more important, to be popular or to be respected? Most everyone reading this would probably say that being respected is more important than being popular, but do you really mean that?

We may not have thought of these two options as being mutually exclusive, but I suggest that they are. Not the condition of popularity and the condition of being respected, but the pursuit of popularity versus the pursuit of respect. You can be popular and respected, but not because you chased after both, simply because you gained one while chasing the other.

What makes someone popular? Money, looks, charisma, fashion sense, controversy, athleticism...and a lot of times, a cut throat determination to become so.

What makes someone respected? Virtue, integrity, honesty, sincerity, solidity, character, humility and a genuine concern for others.

Popularity is fleeting and inconsistent at best. Attempting to become popular can be effortless or it can seem like you're consumed with trying to hit a moving target. Honestly, it has less to do with you, and more to do with current trends. It typically has nothing to do with character or integrity, it has to do with shallow and superficial qualities.

Respect is lasting. It gives your words weight. It gives you influence. It is earned and acquired. You have to actually do something and be something to garner it. People who chase popularity are a novelty, people who pursue respect are a fixture.

I was watching a reality show the other night, and there were two very contrasting women competing for the same prize. One was immediately enamored with one of the male contestants, while the other has been extremely focused in succeeding in the challenges. One was desperate for attention, while the other was diligently earning the respect of her peers. Watching from my couch, it's so obvious who is the more appealing contestant, the one who is elegant and respected. But so often, most strive desperately to gain immediate attention by being forward and aggressive.

Luke 2:52 says that "Jesus grew in wisdom, stature, favor with God and man." Jesus gained popularity, not by conforming or compromising, but by earning respect. He didn't pursue favor, it found Him, and it was for the right reasons.

There is nothing wrong with being popular, but there is something off in pursuing it while diminishing who you are. Earn respect by being a person worthy of it. Refuse to compromise. Rise above it all, and you will capture the attention of the masses.

[pastopher]

top 5...number 3 "puffed up"

I quote that I use all the time, I'm not sure if I made it up or heard it somewhere, is "you hate what you once were." The things that you have overcome in your life tend to be an annoyance that you see in other people. For me it's pride, it makes me sick to see guys all puffed up. The reason it bothers me so bad is because I used to be full of myself as well. Guys tend to default to arrogant and conceited as an expression of confidence. When the reality is, pride is an overcompensation of insecurity. Guys feel like they have to brag, talk smack and insult others to raise their stock in other people's eyes. The athletes I admire the most are quietly confident, they don't have to prove anything with words, they prove it all with actions. That's how we are meant to live our lives. The Bible says that pride comes before a fall, when you put your ego above everything else, you are setting yourself up for an embarrassing and humbling fall (Matthew 23:12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted). God associates pride with sin (Proverbs 21:4 Arrogance and pride—distinguishing marks in the wicked— are just plain sin), but He does want us to have a God-confidence (1 Corinthians 10:11 Forget about self-confidence; it's useless. Cultivate God-confidence). So let's set a new trend for guys, let's be quietly confident and strong in our humility. Let's not compensate for our own insecurities or inadequacies by being arrogant. Don't talk trash, don't put others down and strive to live a life that's a great example of a man of God.

[pastopher]

top 5...number 4 "knights and princesses"

I have a theory, there are two kinds of guys from a female's point of view, knights and cavemen. Knights are gentlemen, willing to fight for a righteous cause and treat women with honor and respect. Cavemen are thoughtless, self-absorbed and treat women like objects. The tragedy of our society is that girls tend to be drawn to cavemen instead of the knights, and are ok with being viewed and treated as objects.

It is also my observation that there are two types of girls from a guys point of view, either princesses or toys. Girls who are princesses garner guys respect and admiration. Girls who are toys simply utilize their bodies and sexuality to gain attention from hormonal boys.
I know that people hate generalities and being stereotyped, but if you can stay with me for a moment, you may second guess the way that you interact with the opposite sex.

We teach people how to treat us. At some point girls have made it clear to guys that it's not necessary for them to have integrity or even value them as a person...so guess what, they don't. Conversely, guys have given girls the impression that all that we have any interest in is insecure girls who are inclined to be physical with us. Girls you don't have to be some guy's toy in order to have a relationship. Guys, you don't have to settle with being a caveman to attract your dream girl.

I always wanted to win the heart of a princess, so I knew that in order to be with a princess, I had to become a prince. I had absolutely no interest in an agressive, touchy/feely play thing. If a girl is that, anyone can be with her. My heart was to win the heart of a princess that no one else could even get close to. That's the heart of a knight.

Girls...there are knights out there, and isn't that what you've always dreamed of? The only way to win the heart of a guy who will treasure you, protect you, value you and respect you is to rebel against the stereotypical aggressive and physically available girl. Become a princess and you will win a prince. If you're desperate, you will settle for a caveman, and you WILL get your heart broken. If you are insecure, it WILL cause you to seek out male attention and affirmation at all cost. We need more princesses in this world!

Guys...there are princesses out there, and wouldn't you rather have that then waiting your turn in line to be with the popular toy? Hormonal boys need toys, but if you are a real man, be a knight and never settle for less than a princess.

[pastopher]

top 5...#5 sex, drugs and hearts with holes

I've been blogging for almost 2 years. Over the course of my blogging career, there are a few that I feel are relevant and worth reading again. So in the next 5 days, I'm going to be posting my top 5 blogs of all time, according to me =]

#5 "sex, drugs and hearts with holes"

I'm 29 years old, and I've worked with teenagers and their parents for over 6 years. And since I'm smack dab in the middle of the parents and the teenagers (both in age and perspective) I think that it gives me an advantage in seeing both sides. One thing that I've noticed about adults is that sometimes they can respond to being around teenagers the same way that they would act driving through a really rough neighborhood. They don't make eye contact, they expect the worse and they drive past as quickly as possible. There is a global paranoia in adults in regards to teenagers, they are scared to death of teens being consumed by sex, drugs and rock n' roll.

Teenagers definitely come with a stereotype. They are deemed disrespectful, unmotivated and always up to something. Teenagers don't scare me though. In fact, I feel for them. I understand the pressure that comes from every angle. I remember all eyes on me, and everyone's expectations and opinions being thrust upon me. That's why the last thing that I ever want to do is write off anyone who is crumbling under that pressure.

Submarines are designed to withstand the pressure of the entire ocean, if the inside of the sub is weakened than it will implode under the weight of the water. People are the same way, if there is internal weakness or deficiency, the weight of the world will crush them. Sex, drugs and alcohol are external manifestations of an internal void. Teenagers don't do the wrong thing because they're "evil", there is just more pressure on the outside than strength on the inside. A young girl will allow a guy to have his way with her just to feel loved and appreciated. When the truth is that she is being devalued and taken advantage of by someone who has no real love for her, because if he did he wouldn't put her in that position. Getting drunk, smoking and doing drugs is a futile attempt to look and feel cool to other people, because there is a lack of confidence in that person to just be themselves.

I'm not paranoid about what teenagers are getting into these days, but I am very aware of what causes compromise. The bible says that when the enemy comes in like a flood the spirit of the Lord raises up a standard against it. That means that there is pressure from the enemy to do the wrong thing and compromise, but God's heart is to strengthen us from the inside out so we won't buckle under the pressure. I pray that we stop imploding under the pressure of the world, but we would begin to allow the overflow inside of us to explode and change our surroundings.

[pastopher]

[r]nation

Things are getting really exciting in [r]nation. Last night our worship was unbelievable! The team is breaking through and reaching a brand new level. There were 14 people who made decisions at the altar, which makes 29 in a month....WOW! We've been on TV for the last couple of weeks, there will be 4 [r]nation shows total. We have set everything up for our video podcast, iTunes is very slow approving content, but our [r]cast will be world wide in no time. It's crazy to think about our struggles in the beginning and those coversations with Sonia about whether or not this will ever work. This is not to say that I'm totally satisfied, I never will be, but God is moving and doing an amazing thing, and I'm honored to be along for the ride.

[pastopher]

my weekend

This weekend was jam-packed full of good stuff.

First of all, [r]nation's annual music and entertainment festival Augfest was this past Saturday. It featured a skatepark, a giant waterslide, 4 bands and a fashion show. Every element was fantastic, and our staff for the event was stellar. There were more than 400 who showed up during the course of the event, which was our largest [r]nation event ever!

Then, yesterday was the debut of our kids full service. We checked every kid in using our brand new computer check in system, which is fantastic. Then our kids church service featured our brand new kids rock band. We rented a giant inflatable obstacle course as well as some face painting. Spongebob Squarepants and Batman made their presence known. I'll never forget the visual image of Chris Marler in the Spongebob suit running from a mob of kids. The teachers were all present and amazing, and the day was a big success.

Overall, an eventful and incredible weekend.

Thanks to everyone who helped make it all happen!

[pastopher]

NextGen day 2

So this was the first day of meetings, and all I can say is wow! I opened this morning, and my total goal was to get everyone ready for everything that was going to be downloaded this week. I encouraged and challenged everyone to let go of things in order to embrace the fullness of what God had for them. I did lay out a bit of a challenge, for the guys to confront pride by becoming interested in eachother's worlds. And I challenged the girls to face insecurity by not wearing make-up to the evening meeting, which none of them did...and they looked stunning!

Jurgen dropped a freakin' bomb in the evening session! He can go, and his message was timely and on point. I am completely excited about the next 2 sessions that he's doing, I know that we've only scratched the service.

Tomorrow I play golf...God and weather willing...and we keep delving deeper!

NextGen day 3

Yesterday was dynamic. Jurgen did the morning and the evening sessions, and they were fantastic. It's great to have a guy in that's his caliber and who has his passion for teenagers.

Jurg and I played 9 holes of par 3 golf before the first session. Then we played another 27 holes after lunch.

To top off the entire day, I woke up last night with food poisoning...fun times! So I am currently recovering and getting ready for our last night here in Florida.

NextGen day 1

Sonia, Berkeley and I arrived in Panama City Beach last night around 11pm. The trip wasn't bad at all, about 9 hours but it went pretty fast. I woke up early this morning, and I'm loving the view of the ocean right this second.

The rest of the group left about an hour ago. I know they are going to have an incredible trip. I'm praying for a total encounter with God. I want to bring back transformed lives!

Today I'll be writing a couple of messages, popping out to Wally World for some beach towels and hitting the beach with my girls.

until day 2

back with a vengeance

I apologize for the lack of posts...but I'm back and I'm ready to blog away.

Here are some recent exciting events ::

• The debut of the [r]nation / teen church was an enormous success...and I'm holding on tight, and enjoying where God takes this thing.
• Berkeley rolled over 3 times from her stomach to her back! Not impressive to non-parents, but first time dads will understand my exhilaration.
• I'm getting pumped about the NextGen Conference in July, Jurgen, Leanne and a bus full of my favorite people all meeting at the beach...does life get better?
• I feel like God is continually expanding me. I'm perpetually being stretched and challenged. It's exciting and scary, but I know there is some amazing things on the horizon.
• I've officially re instituted golf as a hobby...never though I'd see the day. These are days of humble beginnings mind you, but none the less, I'm enjoying the challenge and the camaraderie.

stay tuned for updates to this list, life is officially interesting!!!

[pastopher]

who cares?

Sometimes I feel like a horrible person when I glaze over and zone out during someone's endless commentary on subjects that I couldn't care less about. But that's how we are, we care about what we care about and we don't care about what we don't care about. So the real connection that we have with people is over similar interests.

Yesterday I wrote a blog on the [r]nation myspace. I usually write about topics that I think teenagers need to hear about. But in this case, I wrote about something that I couldn't care less about...prom. Personally, I think that prom is the most overated and pretentious event of a young person's life. We take a reasonably fun event and turn it into the most epic and paramount night of our lifes. Even though I'm not in love with the concept of prom, I know that every single teenager who is planning on attending is more excited about it than anything else. So instead of writing about a bunch of nonsense that teenagers could care less about, I wrote about prom.

My agenda in writing this blog was to take a relevant and popular subject, and inject wisdom and insight into it. I took this opportunity to encourage teenagers to not compromise and keep their standards. Long story short, more than 200 people have viewed this blog since I posted it.

So what's my point? I've been listening to countless teen ministry podcasts, and they all seem relatively the same. Most youth pastors are jumping up to a pulpit, excited to talk about something that they care about. God bless them as they do the work that they're called to do, but I'm purposing to go in a different direction. What I care about is Jesus and teenagers. And my job is to connect those two parties. My goal is to consistantly speak about what teenagers care about. I always want to challenge, uplift and inspire them, but if I'm not speaking about what they care about, there will be no follow through on their part. Maybe the rarity of this approach would account for the 96% of this generation who steer clear of church entirely.

So before we take an opportunity to rant about topics that we care about, let's think abut our audience. Do we have their benefit and best interest in mind? Is there a better way to convey a message by using examples that they prioritize? Jesus told stories, He may not have related to the examples but trust me, His audience did. Maybe His example is not a bad one to follow.

just think about it

[pastopher]