Best Web Junk (July 31)

I know last week’s most popular video, the dancing wedding party was fun But about 30 seconds in I remember saying to myself this is definitely not a Baptist church.  I guess this reporter was thinking the same thing.  Here’s an interesting story about how few churches would allow this kind of thing.

A second interesting thing from that video which now has about 13 million views, is how it shot the song “Forever” up the sales charts (#4 on iTunes) even though the song is a couple of years old.  Just think, if the publishers had issued a takedown, like they normally would they would have lost all that money.

By far the best video I’ve seen this week.  This is fun

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

You may have noticed that I have been blogging less lately.  It’s because I’ve been busy.  Since traditional-calendar students got out of school for the summer, we have been very busy.

June 15-19 was Teen College.  Teen College is a week of Bible study and activities that I have been doing since I was a student.  I have continued it ever since I have been in Youth ministry.  This year we had lessons about following God’s directions, from salvation and repentance to using the gifts He has blessed us with. Our activities this year were:

• Lazer Tag
• Bowling (which actually turned into a night at a local arcade because we couldn’t reserve any bowling lanes)
• Game Night – We played Rock band with a  projector and more traditional games like blindfolded musical chairs
• Scavenger Hunt
• Mini-Golf

The day after Teen College ended I left for the Southern Baptist Convention in Louisville.  The way I went was pretty stupid.  I flew to Nashville and borrowed a car in Hoptown.  then I stayed in Lexington for the convention in Louisville.  I’ll not be doing such a ridiculous thing again.

The week after the SBC was a normal week for me.  Although it involved getting ready for camp.

The week of July 6-11 we went to youth camp.  We went to centrifuge/m-fuge at North Greenville University.  It was a great week. The students enjoyed it and at least some of them were revived.

Came back from Camp on Saturday and began VBS on Sunday.  It was a good week of VBS, attendance for the youth class was excellent, Lifeway did a particularly good job with this year’s lessons and for the first time in a couple of years one of my students came to faith in Christ.  That’s why I do ministry.  It is hard to describe the feeling that comes with that after such a long drought.  I actually felt somewhat vindicated since I feel that salvations are a sign that God has in some way endorsed my ministry.

Most of my Dad's family at breakfast

Then, last week was my vacation and I had a great trip.  I went home to Kentucky where virtually my entire family lives.  And everyone’s garden was coming in.

• Fished 4 times (but only caught 10 bass)
• Ate tomatoes every day
• Went to Ferrell’s
• Stopped at the Bass Pro Shop
• Saw my entire family.  My brother even came in from Indiana
• Shot stuff
• Went to Mexico KY to see friends
• Worship at the church I grew up in

And that’s how I spent my summer vacation

A typical meal of garden food. Corn, Squash, Tomatoes. So Good

Best Web Junk (July 24)

A while back I wrote an open letter to the CGR task force.  Here is another written on a different topic.  I agree with it completely.

This is scary but still seems pretty awesome

This is the perfect example of why I like onesentence.com

I do not view this as a rickroll, but it does involve Rick Astley

Best Rant Ever

United Breaks Guitars by Dave Carroll

the first sequel

Dear Fire Ants Get Out of My Life: A Rant

Writing a rant is fun.  And the most fun way to write a rant is as a letter to the object of your rant.  So I present to you, my rant against fire ants.  I hope you enjoy.

Dear Fire Ants

Get out of my life!

There are so many things to not like about you.

It takes absolutely no provocation whatsoever to make you bite.  Just because you are walking across my foot doesn’t mean you need to bite my foot.  Other insects can crawl across me without biting, what is your problem?  It’s not like you are drinking blood or have some real reason for the attack.  In fact, the attack merely gets you killed because upon being bitten anyone will smash you.  You are very small, fire ants.  Trust me when I tell you  biting me or anyone else does nothing to protect you or your nest from destruction.  On many occasions it merely points out your location while simultaneously angering your victim.

When you bite it hurts like crazy so you get killed, but even 2 minutes after being smashed into a stain, the bite still hurts just as bad as when you first did it.  What sort of special evil is that?  It’s the reason why people hate you.

You have stolen my footwear options.  It’s impossible to wear sandals whenever you are around.  If you take a notion to bite my tennis shoes then that’s your problem, but if you bite my bare feet, now it’s a problem for both of us.  So I elect to just not wear sandals.

There is also no more itchy bite that the one from you.  As soon as the stinging sensation ends, it starts itching.  Then after a couple of days the bite becomes a disgusting, puss-filled mound of itch.   It’s completely gross.  I imagine it’s what leprosy looks like.  Why would you want to do this to people?

Also, there are way too many of you.  How can you be so ubiquitous in the south?  I ceded my back yard to you a long time ago, there are more mounds back there that I can count, but now you want the front as well.  It’s not happening.  I’ll break out every kind of poison I can find to keep you confined to the back.  You are not welcome there.

You work way too fast.  Between occasions of mowing the yard you build at least a dozen mounds.  Slow down, it should be obvious that you are going to get everything.  So what’s the rush?

It doesn’t help that poison is futile.  Most every kind of poison that promises to destroy you only moves you a few feet.  You’ve been poisoned, why won’t you just die?

In conclusion, GET OUT OF MY LIFE, fire ants.  I hope you all get fly eggs in your head and become zombies, you deserve it.

Best Web Junk (July 17)

Here’s a good link for youth minsters

This graph is brilliant and funny

People are obnoxious.  But seriously, I “admire” whoever “wrote” on this “sign”

I’m actually surprised this story made it into the news.  The famous gay penguins are not gay

This is very clever

The Drought is Over

I have written a couple of posts about how I recently have had the first year of my ministry (all in small churches) when none of my students came to Christ even though I have been faithful with the gospel.  Well, that drought is over.  Just thought I’d praise God here on my blog for that and say that He is always faithful.

w00t!

Also, here’s my current favorite song.  It’s called “You Know My Name” by Detour 180 (I’d link to it on amazon but I live in NC and they canceled my associates account so I refuse to link there)

FPS Syndrome

On Camps, Retreats, Revival and the Real World

I have just returned from Centrifuge/M-fuge at North Greenville University.  And in fact as a youth minister, I regularly attend multi-day events.  For me there is youth camp, conferences (like Strength to Stand in January), mission trips, and retreats.  These events are a normal part of every youth ministry I know of, and to some degree they are regular to the life of all American evangelicals.  For the church at large there are often revival meetings and mission trips as well.

There is a phenomenon that is common to all these events.  We often call these events “retreats” because at them we retreat or escape from our normal lives.  We back away from many of our relationships (with school friends, coworkers, etc.), and remove ourselves from the media that saturates our lives.  At the same time as we retreat, we spend much more time in worship and Bible study.

At Centrifuge, there's devotion even during rec time

In fact, for many American Christians it may be the only time we really study our Bibles.  All of this exposure to God that is foreign to us causes us to hear His voice.  And Christians generally want to please God so we make commitments and experience what I believe is genuine revival.

But then something happens

We go home.

And we return to the same environment that kept us from God before.  We experience the same frustrations at work and school, the same ungodly friends, the same media, music, and images.  I bet you have been there – What happens next?

Sadly, the newfound commitment fades.

I should say again that I believe the revival we all experience during these retreat experiences is genuine.  But if it is genuine why does it not last?

It doesn’t last because we return to our normal lives.

So how do we prevent this seemingly inevitable decline?  We prevent it by continuing in the things that brought about the revival in the first place. Spend time daily with the Lord.  Have your quiet time, study the Bible, pray, and meditate on the Scriptures.  If escaping from the media is a big factor for you, be sure to replace that media with something.  Listen to Christian music rather than whatever you were listening to before.  Maybe cut out Desperate Housewives, or Friends or whatever drags your thoughts away from holiness.  Attend church regularly.  For most all evangelicals there are multiple times per week to worship.   While at church, worship God properly, in spirit and in truth.  If you attend church with the wrong attitude or in an unworshipful spirit, you will not benefit.  The Scriptures make it clear that God cannot stand false worship.

I really believe the key to keeping the fire that kindles during these events is that simple.  Keep the commitments you make to God, have regular quiet time and spend time in the fellowship of the saints and corporate worship.

Predictably Irrational

Not that long ago I read Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely.  It was completely fascinating.  This TED talk is just a taste of the book.  I promise it is worth your time