New Ministry, New Vision, New BHAGs!

Let’s talk about your BHAGs -Big Hairy Audacious Goals- for our Children’s Ministry at River City. I know I have some! For the past month I have been dreaming about what we could do to take our Children’s Ministry to the next step both for our children and their parents. I know I’m not alone! Here is a great example of a BHAG:

Define Worship

Worship. Define it. What does it mean? What does it look like? How is it done? Where is it done? Why is it done? Who is it meant for?

He is The One

Before reading this…check out this awesome this video:

How would you describe Jesus? Not the Jesus that you read about in sunday school years ago, but the Jesus that is in your life today.

My Feet Hurt!

This is a message of hope. I don’t know what exactly you are going through today in particular, but I do know that there is someone out there that wants to remind you that you are loved and not alone. This love isn’t based on your looks, your income, your ethnicity, your health, your…anything. Instead it is based on the simple fact that you are you.

Thank You for being like Aaron & Hur!

These past couple of weeks have been crazy for me. Internally I have been dealing with Josiah’s CF issues and wondering why. Past two CF clinic visits have given us bad reports for his health. Then came the numerous prescriptions that had to be filled. Then came the pharmacists saying that insurance was denying Josiah’s medical coverage. Allstate letters that told me that our auto policy had been canceled (only to be reinstated after several phone calls and them realizing they screwed up). My wife’s stress over play rehearsals for district. My sisters’ bad reports with her CF. Youth Ministry stress. Home owner policy stuff. A diet that works, but leaving me dreaming about fried chicken (literately dreamed of eating BoJangles last night!). Like, I said the past couple of weeks have been crazy for me.

Taking a Time-Out!

So do you take a sabbath? A time out? Maybe it’s a day, an afternoon, a hour, 30 minutes…or even 10 minutes? I think it’s incredibly important to take a sabbath to refresh, recharge, reenergize, and renew the vision (wow there are a lot of “re’s” in that sentence!).

Mad at God

God, you’re from eternity, aren’t you? Holy God, we aren’t going to die, are we? God, you chose Babylonians for your judgment work? Rock-Solid God, you gave them the job of discipline? But you can’t be serious! You can’t condone evil! So why don’t you do something about this? Why are you silent now? This outrage! Evil men swallow up the righteous and you stand around and watch! You’re treating men and women as so many fish in the ocean, Swimming without direction, swimming but not getting anywhere. Then this evil Babylonian arrives and goes fishing. He pulls in a good catch. He catches his limit and fills his creel— a good day of fishing! He’s happy! He praises his rod and reel, piles his fishing gear on an altar and worships it! It’s made his day, and he’s going to eat well tonight! Are you going to let this go on and on? Will you let this Babylonian fisherman Fish like a weekend angler killing people as if they’re nothing but fish? (Habakkuk 1:12-17)

Obesity, Ants, and Headbands

You lazy fool, look at an ant. Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two. Nobody has to tell it what to do. All summer it stores up food; at harvest it stockpiles provisions. So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing? How long before you get out of bed? A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there, sit back, take it easy—do you know what comes next? Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life, poverty your permanent houseguest! (Proverbs 6:6)

Horatio’s Testimony

I am not a big hymn guy, I will gladly pop in David Crowder instead. But this morning was different. The praise band preformed a contemporary version of “It Is Well With My Soul”. I stand on the stage during worship (not by choice, always feels a little awkward) and I always look for Josiah in the crowd. The songs become more alive to me when I think of what God has done for our lil man. When they cranked up the words to this song, it brought back a lot of memories of his struggles from birth, and even up to this past week. That’s when I remembered the history of the song.

Josiah’s Prescriptions, Cost, and God

So it’s the day after a clinic visit and you know what that means….break out the insurance card, pharmacy card, and pray for the best. It’s funny now because when I go through the drive through, they don’t know even ask for my license any more…we are on a first name basis! The pharmacist opened the window and apolized over and over again about the cost of Josiah’s latest drugs. I just smiled and told her that it’s in God’s hands and handed over my cards. She was blown away. She was like…you know it’s over a $100 today right? I told her it didn’t matter what the cost was because he needed to breathe!! She just stood there and smiled.