Lunch Time Mix Episode 1

So i challenged myself last minute today. the challenge? Go home, eat lunch, throw together a quick mix, and be back at work in time. So bit rough but it was fun trying to do it :)
Tracks:
Ammunition by Curvine
For Us by God's Servant
Shout by D-Boy
Te Amo by Israel and New Breed

Lunch Time Mix ep 1 by Djroam The Giant Samurai Panda on Mixcloud

Worth It All

Happy Easter everyone! Hope everyone had a great and relaxing day. This past weekend was a whirlwind for me! I had the great opportunity of taking a group of teenagers down to Pineville, LA for the Louisiana Youth Convention/Fine Arts competition.

Over the years I’ve talked to several different parents who have expressed gratitude for the Student Pastors and Leaders who take on these types of events. I know to some the notion of being surrounded by a thousand wild and crazy teenagers can be daunting. Not to mention there are a lot of things that take place on these events that can really work you over physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

I feel that self examination is an important part in not only ministry and job success, but also in our walk with Christ. We must examine ourselves and allow God to speak to us about what’s going on in our lives. So with that thought I began to think upon this past weekend. Sure there were issues with the trip. One of my leaders is an incredibly hard working man that bends over backwards to make sure things are done. Sadly his job called in, him stupid early and last minute, the morning we were leaving to do some last minute paper work. This sadly put us a bit behind schedule on the front end.

The guy working at the hotel was brand new to the job and it took him nearly 20 minutes to get us checked into the hotel. I’m new to the LYM (Louisiana Youth Ministries) Convention process & Fine Arts so I didn’t really know what I was doing and because it’s a MASSIVE event in LYM there are hiccups in the check-in process which lead to some frustrations here and there.

Again I’m the type that if you tell me something takes place at a time, then it needs to start on that time. Then again like I said this is one of the biggest events in LYM; so like with ever major event there are a lot of moving parts. While the LYM team did a FANTASTIC job handling things there were some things here in there that they simply could not foresee happening. The combination of those things can lead to some frustrations when leading a pack of teenagers.

Let us not forget that we are dealing with teenagers! Every youth ministry has those students who want to push you to the very edge when it comes to rules that have been put in place. You have the students who talk back and question your decisions. You have the students who follow dominate personalities even if those personalities have some negative influence in the group. You have the old hat students who feel like they know everything and don’t need your guidance or the things being given out in services. You have the ones who feel they are far more mature for their age but don’t realize they still have lots of growing to do.

Then you have the other students who aren’t even in your youth group that you have to deal with. Those who you catch being disrespectful towards each other and to adults. This of course causes you to have that internal conflict of, “I’m not their youth pastor… but if they were my kid they would had been ruptured up out of that seat in a heartbeat and find themselves in the van having a come to Jesus meeting.” While you are having this internal dialog you are looking around for that student’s Youth Pastor in hopes of dropping a dime on the still maturing child.

Not going to lie, there have been times where the combinations of many of those things have caused me to question my effectiveness as a student pastor. There have been moments when the Holy Ghost was moving in such a powerful way that I felt the Triune God would manifest physically right there in front of everyone; and I look at some of my students who I’ve been through the trenches with and what do I see

Nothing....

Us as leaders began to ask ourselves a litany of “What if” questions. What if I had planned this better? What if I had preached on this more? What if I had spent more time with this person more? What if I had done this or that? The list plays through our minds in a loop. Of course in those moments we have to plant our feet and push forward. Just have to do the best we can with the best that we have. Knowing this though, is not always the most comforting of things.

But then I look at some other things involved. This weekend I saw a young man deliver a sermon with an authority that he had not operated in before. I had a young lady that was so nervous she was literally shaking, yet when it was her turn to step up to deliver a special portion of her heart in a passionate poetic form… it was like the world stopped and she spoke with a confidence and passion that caused ever heart beat in that room to move with compassion and reflection. I had two fantastically artistic students, for the first time, put piece of art that they worked hard to create, out for people to see and be judged.

I had the opportunity to build relationships with young students who need to know that they have a Student Pastor who will be there for them no matter what happens. I had the opportunity to encourage and speak life into students who are still discovering who they are and what they are meant to be. I had the chance to get to know two fantastic parents who are doing their best to raise their children in a Godly environment and speak life into others at the same time. I had the opportunity to find out the heart beat and desires for the future that some of my students had. I had the opportunity to take a few students with me to not only feed a homeless man, but to pray with him and share the love of Christ. (At THP we call that; “I Go”)

During this trip the Lord had spoken to me about some exciting things that I need to speak into students at my church. During this trip I had the opportunity to confront new challenges and grow out of them. During this trip I had the opportunity to do what I love to do most; love on students.

So what does all this add up to mean? Well it means that when people say “Man am I glad you’re doing this,” I can proudly respond, “So am I!” I can respond that way because I have to say, even though there were challenges; the opportunities to see not just the sparks, but they fiery hot flames of greatness burning bright in my students was well worth it all. The chance to build relationships and let my students know that they are without a shadow of doubt, loved was more than worth it.

Passover Mix

New mix I did in honor of Passover

 

Passover Mix by Dj Roam on Mixcloud

You can download it using the soundcloud player

Ministry is Like a Box of Chocolates

“…Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re going to get.”  - Tom Hanks (Forest Gump, 1994)

I was 10 years old when “Forest Gump” came out. I remember watching in on VHS while sitting on the floor in our living room back up in Missouri. I remember it being a strange move and that phrase especially being rather odd.  What do you mean you never know what you’re going to get? The box tells you!  My friends and I would quote portions of that film but that one line always came up. It’s true through, you never do know what you’re going to get. But I still contend, if you read the sheet that comes with the box, you’ll have an idea of what you might come in contact with.

I was in my room this evening reflecting on today and that quote came to mind only slightly different. “Ministry is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re going to get.”

Over the last several years of ministry and especially this past year being in youth ministry, I've seen all kinds of things. Hospital visits, funerals, hour long conversations in the cold with heartbroken students, discouraged youth pastor friends in need of help, people talking against me, people talking against for me, teenage drama, adult age drama, discouraged parents, broken parents, odd parents, discouraged teens, broken teens, odd teens…. A lot….

No matter what the season I turn around and boom something new pops up and I never seen to know what’s what.  Yet, as I said before, if you’d just read the instructions that came with the box you’d at least know what to expect and how to respond.  I can honestly say if I wasn't in the word of God and in prayer, I’d probably go batty!  If it wasn't for the grounding my father in heaven gives me…. I’m not sure where I’d be.

So why do I do it? Why do I keep going on in ministry? Same reason you eat all the chocolates in that dab gone box; because you love chocolate. I love people. I love taking care of people and making sure folks are doing well. I can’t help it. I can’t help but love people. No matter where I go I find myself doing some form of ministry.  I wish I could say ministry was a 9 to 5 job but it simply isn't. It’s a life style that you live day in and day out.

I remember Celeste and I once went on a ferris wheel.  We got on the gondola and waited for it to begin. We sat there chilling for a second and the man in charge placed another group in the gondola with us…. an 8 year old boy and his 10 year old sister. As the ferris wheel begin to go up Celeste and I immediately noticed these two young kids were not accustomed to the height this contraption was taking us.

Without missing a beat I “took a bite out of that chocolate” and begin to talk these two kids down. Celeste and I did our best to help them relax and stay calm until we could get down. Why? Because they needed someone to be there for them. They needed someone to let them know everything was going to be ok.

Truly ministry is like a big ol’ box of chocolate. You never know what will come up. Do you enjoy ever piece? No, but as long as you stay in prayer and in the word, and are someone who loves people, it doesn't matter what kind of nut comes up; you’ll finish that box.

I Go

Recently I was challenged by the passing of a blessed saint. By the time I met this lovely woman of God she was well in age and was known simply as Ms. Inga. I’d seen her every so often in service and at different church functions. Always very kind and always speaking blessings in her German accented voice. 

Over the years her health had declined and she was not able to attend church as often as she like. It had been many year since I had seen her. In fact, a few months ago I had the opportunity to deliver a fruit basket to her, when I as her I realized just how many years it had been since I had seen her.  When I got back from that delivery I had the opportunity to talk to one of our leaders and they began to tell me several great stories of Ms Inga.

From these stories I have found Ms. Inga to have been one powerful woman of God. A woman who ‘s prayer life cause the foundations of hell to shake and the heavens to move.  She was a woman who did not hesitate to touch heaven not just for loved ones, but for the world.

One story stuck out to me though. Not some much a story but a habit of hers. Often people would call Ms. Inga up seeking nothing more than prayer. She’d answer the phone and people would just unload load after load of pressure placed upon their shoulders. In her lap people placed lives, hopes, and dreams asking her to lift it up to the Lord. Each time her reply was the same. It was simple it was direct. In her strong yet sweet German accented voice she’d say two words….

“I go.”

She’d then hang up the phone and go straight to her knees and pray. We aren’t talking a quick simple prayer; where you casually look for the TV remote while you mutter a generic stream of supposedly spiritual words. Rather, she would pray and seek the Lord until she felt the burden was lifted. She would do something that sadly many of my generation knows little of, she’d pray through.

This… challenges me. When I heard about this I had to check my heart and ask myself, when people come to me with their burdens….. do I say, “I go.”  Do I hit the floor and pray until the burden is lifted? Or do I half heartedly say, “yeah I’ll be praying,” and walk away thinking of it no more.

I’ve been to youth camps, conventions, pastoral meetings where people talk about the great exploits of God and requests for prayers are passed around like playing cards on a table, but how many of us have been challenged to say, “I go.” The implications, the heaviness of those two words have truly gripped my spirit.

When Ms. Inga would say, “I go,” she said so with the understanding that she was about to enter into battle field. She said so knowing that when she hit her knees that the sound would resonate in the caverns of Hell in such a way that Satan trembled. She said so knowing that God looked down on her with the pride that only a father could have for his child. She did so knowing the world would forever be changed by her following 

actions.

Adonai, I pray that when a burden is dropped into my spirit next, that I will have the strength, the stamina, that humility to say, “I go.”

Moments With Dallas: Memories of Batman

Master/Slave or Father/Sons & Daughters?

Father’s day is approaching quickly. With this celebration in the back of my head I've been thinking lately about the concept of raising sons and daughters. Not necessarily my own children, since I’m not married yet haha, but spiritual sons and daughters.

The concept to me seems like a very normal thing, something that should just naturally be happening.  However, my time away from my home church taught me very differently. When in college I had the opportunity to visit many different churches and talk to many different ministers. I was disheartened to see that the idea of raising up sons and daughters wasn't really one that was fully developed.

Some may had used language like ‘Yes, this is my son in the faith.’ Yet as I talked to them I found it to be more of a master/slave relationship rather than father/son(daughter) relationship.  Many of them there seemed to be lack of true honor for anyone who does not serve as a Sr. Pastor at a church.

I remember one time when myself a handful of Youth Ministry students & Pastoral Ministry students sat across from a blessed mature saint. I remember the rise of emotion and awkward expression that came over each one of us as we heard the following words.

 “I know some of you are going into Youth ministry, but at some point you’ll have to grow up and go into real ministry.”

I’m not going to lie to you, at that moment I felt incredibly hurt and angry at this gentleman.  He truly felt that there was no true ministry outside of Sr. Pastoral Ministry. I can’t necessarily blame him though. He was raised to believe this. He wasn’t the first minister I’d seen express this sentiment and he certainly wasn't the last.

What saddens me is the concept of master/slave as a way of raising up ministers is extremely non biblical. Paul’s own word to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:2 says otherwise. 

“To Timothy, my own son in the faith…” 

That word son is “teknon” which means child.  The sentiment of a father  & son relationship is very clear. 

Recently I saw a Facebook post another minister. I want to make it clear that I do respect this man of God and the great ministry that he has.  In this post he talks about his early days as a minister and how he’d go to different meetings and would see different great men of God. He talked about how much respect he had for these men.  While I do agree there is a level respect that young men & women need to have for those who came before them, there was a couple of sentences that made my heart hurt for this man.

I would paste and copy the exact text so as not to exaggerate what was spoken, but sadly he has since taken his post down. But in essence he said that he would not dare to speak in front of these men or presume he had something to add to the conversation when in their presence. This thought is the master/slave mentality that will and is killing the church.

People are leaving churches hurt because of this mentality. Men and women are leaving the ministry because of this mentality.  In my own fellowship, Assemblies of God, as of March 9^th 2012, the average age of a minister was 54. Why is this? I believe it’s because the church is NOT raise up sons and daughters.

As a church ages it MUST learn to raise sons and daughters to take on the responsibilities of the church. If slaves/servants were enough to accomplish the plan and purposes of God then why would He send His Son? A son knows the heart of the father.  A son knows the mind of a father. A son knows the true wishes and intentions of a father.  Whereas, a slave/servant knows only that which he is commanded.

So faithful ministers of the word of God, I implore you, raise up sons and daughters in the faith. Raise up the next Timothy. Love them, train them, and release them into their destiny & their callings.

Elseworlds

Earlier tonight I finished reading a comic I had purchased some time ago but never finished. It was a Superboy Annual from 1994.  This particular year all the Annuals were part of what DC Comics calls Elseworlds. I personally love the Elseworlds series because it does one simple thing. It asks, “what if?” The end result is sometimes awesome, sometimes stupid, but somehow always though provoking. 

In one such Elseworlds book they asked the question, “what if baby superman’s ship was knocked slightly off course and he landed in the out skirts of Gotham City instead Smallville?” In this book the Waynes find this celestial orphan and adopt him thus never having Bruce. End result is instead of Clark becoming Superman, he becomes Batman.

Another series of Elseworlds called “Batman: Brotherhood of the  Bat” and its sequel “Batman: The League of the Batmen” takes a look into the future. Here it asks a few questions, what if Talia & Bruce had a son named Tallant (concept of a son came about in 1987 but the child was unnamed, later in 96 they decided settle with the name Damian). Then they ask what if Talia’s father, Ra’ al Ghul, had killed Bruce and succefully destroyed much of the world and created a league of assassins who wear rejected designs for Batman’s costume. Later in the second book Tallant creates the League of Batmen to combat his grandfather’s evil desire to destroy the world.

Rather intense stuff.  But back to what happened tonight, as I was reading the Superboy comic I begin to think about the fact that one small change in the history of these characters and their lives become dramatically different. A shift in the wind and a  Superman becomes a Batman.  A change of location and a Batman becomes a secret agent.  One simple aspect and the entire world is different for them.

Then I begin to think about how different my life would have been had I not accepted Christ. The path I could had taken had a 14 year old boy not walked to the front of small church in Ash Grove, Missouri and accepted Christ as his Lord & savior… well who knows where I could had ended up. I suppose statistically I could had ended up in a life of drugs and alcoholism. I could had become a womanizer. Today I could be shacked up with some woman with kids by 2 and 3 other women… I could be dead.

So many crazy possibilities had I not done one simple thing. I am so thankful for Christ. I am thankful for the salvation He has given me and the sanctification that the Holy Spirit brings me through. Truly without Him, I’d be lost.  I want to encourage you, take a moment and ponder what your life would be like if you had not truly accepted Christ as your Lord.  I know for me that thought has brought me to thankfulness, how about you?

Moments With Dallas: Cosplay & sirXroam