My Ministry-related Prayers

I was cleaning the carpets last night. It is pretty monotonous work, so I had a lot of time to think. I began to think about the things that I would like to see happen in my ministry, be it youth group, children's ministry, or just the ministry in general. I understand that some of these things that I am praying for are pretty far out there, things that may never come to fruition. No harming in asking, right?

So, without any further jibber-jabber on my part, here are my ministry prayers.

• I am praying that my youth group would grow to at least 30 students by May 2013.
• I am praying that I would have the opportunity to lead at least 5 students to Christ by May 2013.
• I am praying that we would have a minimum of 30 children in Children's Church by May 2013.
• I am praying that there will be at least 200 people in the church service each week.
• I am praying that our weekly offerings will go over $10,000 in tithes and gifts.
• I am praying that we will have the volunteers to start a Wednesday evening children's program in September 2013.
• I am praying that more people in the church would develop a servant's heart and become involved in the ministry of the church.
• I am praying that the youth department will one day have its own facility. Not just a room or a basement, but its own building.
• I am praying that the opportunity for me to go on staff in a full-time capacity occurs in the very near future.
• I am praying that my students in the youth group will be sold out for Christ and will begin telling their friends about Jesus.

As you can tell, I have a lot of things that I am praying for and, actually, this doesn't even begin to scratch the surface. Youth ministry is a job that rises and falls on prayer. I just pray that I am doing enough.

The Hate-filled United States Will Destroy our Children

We live in a world full of hate. In a time when we are told to be tolerant of each other, I think there is more hate now that I ever remember. Hate is everywhere...and most of it is done in the name of tolerance.

• Black people hate white people.
• White people hate black people.
• Conservatives hate liberals.
• Liberals hate conservatives.
• Some "Christians" hate gay people.
• A lot of gay people hate Christians because of the actions of the "Christians."
• Just about everyone hates the President.
• "Christians" hate Muslims.
• Muslims hate Jewish people.

The list goes on and on. There is no end to the amount of hatred that is found in the world. And, quite frankly, it is completely ridiculous. If we continue to hate each other, we will destroy our children.

Romans 2:11 states "For God shows no partiality." No group is better than the other. We are all, whether we want to admit it or not, sinners. Every one of us is a wicked, condemned individual who on our best day deserves to go to Hell. With that in mind, there is no room for hate. There is no place for looking down on someone because of the color of their skin or because of their religious choice. We can disagree and we can believe the other person is wrong, but there is no place for the hate and rhetoric that our world is full of.

And we wonder why there is so much violence and bad behavior with students today.

What is my suggested solution? Prayer and a whole lot of it.

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. - 2 Chronicles 7:14

Why I Will Be the Associate Pastor at Charles Town Baptist Church

For those of you who may not have heard, I was recently hired as the Associate Pastor for Children and Youth at Charles Town Baptist Church. My family and I are extremely excited about this opportunity and look forward to all that God is going to do through our new church family. I wanted to take a few minutes and lay out why I am so excited about this new position.

1. It is obvious that God is in this decision. While I don't have enough time or space to lay out all of the details, it was clear from the beginning of the interviewing and hiring process that God was in the decision. The fact that the church is located in my neighborhood comes to mind. We will not have to relocate our family or get acclimated to a new area before we begin ministering. God worked out so many details, little things that played a huge role in the overall decision.
2. The church has already made us part of the family. We have been well-received, even before the final vote was taken. My wife and I have received many encouraging messages and friend requests from people on Facebook. The process of coming on staff was long and, at times, stressful, but everyone was so excited and their love for us was apparent. When the final vote was announced during the service, there was a roar of approval and many, many hugs were exchanged.
3. Pastor Brian is excited about mentoring me. One of the things that my pastor made clear was that he was going to mentor me, especially in how to "maintain" in ministry. He wants me to be a part of the team for a long time and is going to meet with me regularly to make sure that I am taking care of myself and my family in order to stay in ministry for as long as the Lord will have me there.
4. The ministry opportunities are wide open. Charles Town Baptist Church has a strategic plan and a group of individuals that we are working to reach. As a result, we are working to build excellence in those areas, particularly in youth and children's programs. I have the opportunity to work with some great individuals and put in place some programs and plans to reach our community and to impact the surrounding areas as a result.
5. The ministry I will have here will impact the rest of the world. I know that sounds a bit grandiose, but there are a large number of individuals in our community who commute from West Virginia to Washington, D.C. The influence that our ministry has on them will then be carried with them to work in D.C., where they will influence others. One of the great (and not-so-great) things about our area is the transient nature of the people. Many people are here for a short period of time before moving on. Those we minister to in Charles Town will minister to those in Washington D.C. who will then minister to other around the country and the globe.

These are just a few of the many reasons why I am excited to serve at Charles Town Baptist Church. I couldn't be happier to be right where God has placed me.

How God Answers Prayer

There are times when we see God work in very easy to understand ways. We pray for something and it happens almost immediately. There are other times where that isn't the case. We pray and pray and ask and ask and the thing that we are praying for does not come to pass. Such was the case over the past year.

As many of you know, I am just a few days from a church voting on whether to call me as their associate pastor for children and youth. My family has been at the church several times and we have begun making friends and participating in church activities. I am very excited about what the future holds and the adventure that God is taking my family on as members of the church staff.

Before we got to this point, though, I was actually hoping to be on staff at another church, the church that I was attending. The church had recently lost two staff members and there was an opening. I spoke with the pastor and things seemed to be progressing. I was praying for the opportunity and it seemed like things would work out. I had several meetings with the pastor and he even mentioned to the church the possibility of calling me to be the associate pastor.

Then things changed.

Suddenly, the pastor was no longer interested in calling me. The church began talking with another individual and he was hired instead of me. Needless to say, I was devastated. Why hadn't God answered my prayers and given me the staff position that I had been praying for over the past months?

As it turned out, this was how God answered my prayers. While the church I was attending is a great church, it would have been the wrong fit. I love many of the people there, but the pastor and I see things differently and that would not have been good for anyone.

God answered my prayer for a pastoral position by moving us to a new church. The new position is exactly what we were praying for and the way that it came to be was too remarkable to be a coincidence. It is obvious to us that this is where God wants us to be. We are just a few days from the church voting to confirm that call.

Sometimes God takes us through difficult and discouraging times because He has something much better for us. If He were to always give us what we think we want, we would quickly come to understand that what we think is best is not always the best that God has for us.

Music Wednesday - Last Resort by Papa Roach

I realize that is a terribly strange choice for Music Wednesday.

The other morning I was driving to church and this song came on the radio. "Last Resort" was a huge hit in 2000, reaching #1 on some charts. It still gets played all the time, even though it is 12 years old. As I listened to the lyrics, I was saddened by the fact that so many people resonate with the song because this is their reality. There are hurting and struggling individuals in our world, many of whom look different from us. Because they look different, we like to turn and walk away, refusing to see them for what they are: people made in the likeness and image of God. It is my prayer that this song will break your heart to the sad reality of so many lives and I urge to start praying for those broken lives you come in contact with every day.



P.S. I realize that I lost some of you with this song. Please understand that I am not condoning one style of music over another. My point is simply to point out that there are people in our world screaming and crying for help.

Praying for Teenagers

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I often feel drawn to youth ministry. As a result, I read a lot of books and articles in regards to ministering to teenagers. I came across one such article on praying for teenagers by Terrace Crawford.

Here are the highlights:

Areas to pray for

1. Purpose
   
2. Friendships
   
3. Character
   
4. Purity
   
5. Passion
   
6. Money
   
7. Submission and Honor
   
8. Spiritual Growth
   
9. Discernment
   
10. Hope
    

Please read the entire article to get more in-depth information and Scripture that you can use as you pray for the teenagers in your youth group, your church, and your family.

Three Books on Prayer

One of the classes that I am taking this semester is entitled "Strategic Prayer and Spiritual Warfare." As a result of this class, I am being convicted that my prayer life is not what it should be. In fact, I recently preached on this very topic. Part of that conviction has come as a result of three different books. I would highly recommend that you pick up all three and spend some time prayerfully going through them.

Prayer: The Timeless Secret of High-Impact Leaders by Dave Earley. There is much that I could recommend to you about this book, but it is better if I simply quote Dr. Ergun Caner: "Do NOT read this book if you want information. Read this book only if you desire a transformation. It will drive you to your knees."

The Necessity of Prayer by E.M. Bounds. This short little book packs a lot of punch. There is enough "food" here to keep a hungry pray-er fed for years. It is packed with Scripture and is conversational in tone. Well worth your time.

Quiet Talks on Prayer by S.D. Gordon. This book reminds me a great deal of Lectures to My Students by Charles Spurgeon. The format is that of a lecture transcript, but it is packed with nuggets that will convict and challenge you.

If you desire a stronger, more fervent prayer life, I can't recommend these books more highly. Of course, as Tim Challies wrote recently, "I want to be a prayer warrior, but I find that I'm more of a read-books-about-prayer warrior," we need to make sure we are putting what we read into practice.

God Does Nothing Apart From Prayer

I have begun my last semester of classes for my MA in Church Planting and Evangelism from Liberty University. One of the classes that I am taking is called Strategic Prayer and Spiritual Warfare. One of the required texts is Personal Prayer: The Timeless Secret of High-Impact Leaders. It is a great book, one worth reading. Anyway, as I was reading it, I came across this list about the importance of prayer in ministry.

Prayer is the way you defeat the devil (Luke 22:23; James 4:7).

Prayer is the way you get the lost saved (Luke 18:13).

Prayer is the way you acquire wisdom (James 1:5).

Prayer is the way a backslider gets restored (James 5:16-20).

Prayer is how saints get strengthened (Jude 1:20; Matthew 26:41).

Prayer is the way to get laborers out to the mission field (Matthew 9:38).

Prayer is how we cure the sick (James 5:13-15).

Prayer is how we accomplish the impossible (Mark 11:23-24).

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David Jeremiah, Prayer, the Great Adventure (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 1997), 40-41.

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If you are interested, the books that were referenced above are available through Amazon.com.