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In my own backyard

Today has been sort of funny. I have been looking to find a conference to go to this fall that has an emergent/20-something ministry feel. Soularize was an obvious choice because it's been around for a few years and has consistently been a place where great discussion happens. Funny that today I was on the phone with my friend Rhett who is a college pastor at Bel Air Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles. Rhett asked me if I ever thought about going to the Lead Now conference being held in Dallas. I didn't know much about that one so I logged on to their site. Turns out it's a conference for leaders who are trying to do ministry more effectively to people in their 20's and 30's.

Crazy that is in my backyard and is exactly what I have been working on for my Doctoral Dissertation. I almost feel dumb not knowing about the conference.

So I'm stoked that it's here. I'm stoked to hear Donald Miller. I'm looking forward to the break out seminars. Good things do happen in Dallas.

No kitchen or bathroom

Today I came home from work to discover that our contractor had begun work on the downstairs bathroom. Now it is filled with rubble has no toilet, sink or walls. Living through the remodel has been a bit tough especially now that school has started and our schedule of meals has been a little more set. It's a good reminder though of how good we really have it. Earlier today I was on my friends. Wade and Phil's blogs. They are both missionaries to YWAM and have raised my awareness of the world greatly. I needed a reminder. What I'm really looking forward to when all this work is done is to be able to use this house for ministry. Danielle and I have always loved having people over and regularly host the staff. Hopefully we'll be able to do that here.

Promotion Sunday

Today was the day that all students "move up" in the youth ministry. So we had new 5th graders, 7th graders and 9th graders. We also had a ton of parents who were wandering around and it was fun to interact with them. I was very proud of my staff today. This is a great Sunday for us to look good and act like we have things figured out. For the most part we do have most things figured out. My staff are amazing people and I was really happy to lead the team today.

Sometimes I forget God is in control

I had a couple of meetings at work today that I was dreading. Some staff realignment issues that I wasn't sure how the person would respond. Fortunately, God is bigger than me and had already been working so that all the people we talked too were already wanting to move in the direction that we were moving. So while I sit here tired after the emotions of the day I really shouldn't be because God proved again that he is over all things and working in all things ahead of me.

On a great note I now have a full-time staff member overseeing Stream Youth Missions (5-12th grade) and another overseeing Stream Small Groups (5-12th grade)

Even better we are almost done with the hiring process of our 5th grade class lead and a part-time Junior High intern. Soon we will be a full staff.

I'm a landlord

Ok so not really but I feel like it. We have two homes that are a part of our youth ministry. In one house our single female youth staff live and in the other the guys. They are great houses and only a block from church but most homes 50+ years in age are showing their problems. Today I spent time in both homes and had a list of things that need fixed. Our church does a great job of fixing the homes but there are some things which just can't be fixed. The foundation in the girls house is sloped as are a lot of homes in Texas and you can roll a can of corn from one end to the other.

One nice thing is that our staff is really happy to have housing close to the church. It's nice for me to have all 11 of my staff living within a mile. Of course it does create some boundary issues but we're working through all of that.

This is a big week for us as it's our last week of summer ministry before school starts. Not sure if anyone has ever played Whirlyball but it's on the schedule for Wed night.

Today was fun.

I've been waiting for a while to buy a few Xbox 360's for the Bell Center (church youth room) today Preston and I went and bought 3 XBox 360's and 1 Playstation 3. It was a fun time but very expensive. We set them all up and had a good time playing Madden 08 and Tony Hawk.
We need to make a few modifications though as they run hot and the metal boxes we put them in are heating up.

Back from Nashville

Tired but home. I like brainstorming sessions and love the people I was with. We got a lot figured out for this upcoming year of meetings and it feels good to have worked on goals. But it also makes me tired. It's stressful to do this type of thing. My good friend Preston is in town for a few days so we're going to rock the fun in Dallas. Hoping to find a ski boat and some time on the lake.

In Nashville

I'm in Nashville and it's 108 degrees here. We're up visiting Mark Devries and getting some youth ministry consulting work done. Today was a long one with the flight and a bunch of meetings. But, good too.

A new Job

No not for me. But, Danielle starts a new job today. It's been several years since Danielle had a regular paying job and we're all excited for her. It's not like she hasn't worked though raising 3 kids is tough. She's the new official Director of Ministries to Presbyterian Woman and our church. Only 15 hours a week. Right across the street with an office twice the size of mine. I'm pretty excited for her.

She's also more important than me now. :) That group is a bit over the top.

Youth Ministry

This has been a great week for me. I've been in town the whole week and had great opportunities to focus on the whole youth ministry and things which need to get done. It's fun for me to be able to sit and dream big about the next school year. I've had some great interaction with parents this week also. To top it off I also went to 6 flags and the Circus.