My Blog

First Common Ground and Fusion of the year

2008-09-07T22:25:00.005-04:00

Well, the ministry year is under way, and what a start. We had possibly the best Fusion and Common Ground yet. Fusion was full of energy. I think with camp being in August the momentum carried right over in to Fusion. Students were excited to be there and really excited that the Cabbies were there. The middle school students were so excited during worship they made it feel like the whole room was shaking.
Common Ground was also incredible. We had a record 48 high school students at Common Ground. The students spent time together, hanging out a talking which use to be a rarity. They also enjoyed the presence of the Cabbies. Students seemed to be really enjoying Common Ground from beginning till the end.
Chelsea Green did an awesome job dancing to a song called "Mirror". The song talked about how you view yourself. It fit in perfectly with my talk which I talked about "Who you are". I talked mostly about each of us being created by God in his image and how he delights in us. Yet we judge ourselves compared to our friends or the media and it become easy to say that God made a mistake. I hope that student left Fusion and Common Ground feeling loved and cared for. I hope they know God is crazy about them and their leaders at Fusion and Common Ground see great potential in every student.
I cannot wait to see what God does next week.

A lot going on

2008-08-27T22:58:00.003-04:00

Wow, it has been a while. There has been a lot going on. This past Sunday was PAY Day at church. Parent And Youth Day. This is where we take the opportunity to share all our information on all the events and programs we have for middle and high school students at our church.
This week has been spent following up with all the people that signed up to join our staff or to join a small group. Tuesday I did manage to get in a round of disc golf. It took one extra hole for me to defeat Dante. This morning we had another great meeting with the Howard county area youth leaders network. Tonight I played filled in on the softball team. We won both games. I went to the plate with two outs in the last inning and two on. I got a hit right between the shortstop and third baseman to score the game winning run. Tomorrow? who knows.

Home Sweet Home

2008-08-17T09:29:00.004-04:00

Well, I am finally back home. After being gone for 10 days it is good to be back. The first five days were spent at Fusion Camp and then from there we went to the hospital for a night (to spend with Jake who is now doing much better) and then to my parents for a few days. It is good to be back home and to start getting ready for the ministry year 08-09.

It has been great to actually have time to watch the summer Olympics this time around. Usually I am so busy during the summer that I always seem to miss watching the Olympics. It was great to see Michael Phelps do incredible things, and to see such great competition. The Olympics are reality TV at it's best.

Out of Control

2008-08-12T01:16:00.004-04:00

Fusion Camp 08 was truly "Out of Control".

We are just finishing up a great week of camp. The Cabbies lead us in worship and Pastor Dave did a great job speaking the Word to the students. It was amazing last night to sit at the campfire and hear how many lives were touched this week in so many different ways. God was at work in the lives of our students and many of them will never be the same.

Not only was God at work in the lives of our students, but our staff as well. Several of our staff members stood up at the camp fire and shared what God had done in their lives over the past several days. It amazes me over and over again how God can bring just the right people together at the right time and do incredible things that only He could do.

Right now I am in the Hospital in Johnson City, NY with Jake. I am tired after a long week of camp, but it is hard to sleep in this hospital room. The good news is that he is feeling much better. I hope they send us home tomorrow.

Multicultural Ministry

2008-08-05T22:58:00.002-04:00

Hey all, I have another blog completely designated to Multicultural Ministry. I just put a few new post. If you want to check out my thoughts on the subject you can go to www.multiculturalministry.blogspot.com

Thanks,
Jared

Fantasy Football

2008-08-04T15:10:00.000-04:00

It is almost that time again. Last year I finished 10th out of 12 team, but this year is my year. So far five of us are back from last year (Amie, Scott Covington, Derek Haywood, Dusty Michener, and myself). I am still hopeful that the other seven will be back as well. I need some good draft picks to improve my team. I also need to decide what I should do with the manning brothers before the keeper deadline on August 13th. I have both Eli and Payton, I should probably only keep one. Normally this would be an easy decision, but the Payton coming off of an injury it complicates things. I would appreciate input from anyone and everyone. Peace Out.

Walk This Way!

2008-08-04T13:34:00.000-04:00

Walk This Way? What way? In the humble ways of Jesus.

The Walk that we have before us is the Christian life. Accepting Christ is starting line, but for some believers accepting Christ is not only the starting line, but also the finish line. Starting a relationship with (for them) is only about getting fire insurance. (being safe from hell) For others we have seen great progress in our spiritual life, yet at different time and situation we find ourselves stuck spinning our wheels. If your Christian walk is any thing like mine it feels like as soon as I take two steps forward I take one step back. Other times I feel like I am going off road all by myself.

It is easy on this journey to loose focus, because is not about our destination, Heaven, which is secure. It is about what we gain along the way. You can rush through your journey, but you will miss much of what God has for you. You can make you own path, but you will find yourself wandering aimlessly. Or you can seek to humbly follow God where ever he leads.

You see, I believe that “It is our deepest need, as human beings, to learn to walk intimately with God. It is what we were made for. Back in the beginning of our story as humans, before the fall of man, before we sent the world off its axis with our sin, there was a paradise called Eden…And what they enjoyed above all the other delights of that place was this --- they walked with God. They talked with him, and he with them.” (This paragraph was from some Merge material from Sonlife)

So here we are thousands of years later seeking to walk with almighty God, but we are distracted by so much. The world appears to have so many great things to offer. The seeming need for wealth, power, popularity, and comfort can become the driving force or our journey. The selfish and sinful desires that we all struggle with never seem to stop. The words loving, serving, and humble do not seem to match up with the worlds definition of what it means to be a man. Even our Christian culture can distract us by trying to tell us it’s all about you and word, You don’t need anyone or anything else on you journey.

So where do we go from here? I like to keep it simple. We walk in the humble ways of Jesus.
As Christians we are called by God walk humbly as Christ did, by following his example and being an example for others.

1. Christ’s example of humility Phil. 2:3-8
a. Do Nothing out of (v. 3)- 100% word
i. Selfish ambition
ii. Vain conceit
1. Each of can easily point the finger at someone else
b. In humility (v.3-4)
i. Consider others better than yourself (v.3)
ii. Look not on your own interest (v.4)
iii. Look on the interest of others (v.4)
1. These are not as easy to point the finger about
2. Selfishness is a gift from Adam
a. I want to be just like God
c. Jesus did play God (even though he was God) (v.6-8)
i. Not trying to be equal with God (v.6)
1. He did only what he saw the father doing (John 5:19)
2. How often do we play God?
a. We shape our future
i. Winter rolls in and we feel called to minister in Florida
ii. Money runs thin and we feel called to find a job that would compensate me better
iii. A relationship experiences tension and we feel called minister to another
iv. (Jake and baseball) How often (as believers) do we tell our children you can be whatever you want to be. Instead of the truth you can be whatever God wants you to be.
ii. Made nothing of himself (v.7)
iii. Made himself like a servant (.v7)
1. Who do you serve?
iv. Became human (v.7)
v. Appeared like a man (v.8)
vi. Humbled himself (v.8)
vii. Became obedient to the death on the cross (v.8)

Transition:
The reality is we are never going to be humble like Christ on this earth, yet we are called to walk humbly like Christ.
So… Is there another Biblical example that we can look at to help us better understand how to walk humbly like Christ?

2. Paul’s example of humility Phil. 1:20-23
a. Paul wants Christ to be exalted in his body
i. By life
ii. By death
iii. Paul’s life is Christ
iv. Paul’s death is gain
v. Living means labor for Christ
vi. Being with Christ is far better
1. Death
a. Most of us have not face the decision of
i. Don’t live for Christ and live
ii. Live for Christ and die
1. Jim Elliot
2. Life
a. Paul understands god left him on this earth for a reason
i. There is a reason God did not take you home immediately
ii. There is a reason God preserved my life- Van trip-
b. The reason is to be Christ to others on this earth (1:23-26)
i. To be Christ
ii. For others benefit
1. To help others progress in their faith
iii. To help others experience joy in their faith
iv. To help others joy in Christ overflow
c. God has you here for the same reason. To walk in the ways of Christ as an example to others.

Transition:
How do we know that Paul is an effective example to follow as we follow Christ? One is we are talking about the legacy he left behind. Two is we can look at other passages of scripture where we see others following his example.

3. Humble living
a. Who followed Paul? (3:17)
i. Churches who followed Paul
1. Corinth
2. Ephesus
3. Galatia
4. Colosse
5. Thessolanica
6. Rome
ii. People who followed Christ
1. Barnabus
2. John Mark
3. Silas
4. Epahporditus
5. Timothy (1Corinthians 4:14-17)
a. Paul desires the church in Corinth to Imitate him
b. That is why he is sending Timothy
c. Timothy will remind you of my walk as I walk with Christ
i. Example of Joel and Jake imitating me

ii. It will fade with time.
b. Who do you follow?-Physical illustration of following me as I follow christ

i. Some of you had people come to mind immediately
ii. Some of you immediately thought, Of course I follow my pastors
1. This relationship can only be a handful of people at a time.
2. This kind of relationship requires close contact
iii. Some of you thought of people who have been that example to you in you past.
iv. Be humble enough to learn from some who has been on this journey longer
c. Who follows you?
i. Are you humble enough to give of yourself to benefit someone else’s walk
1. Give of your time
2. Give of your energy
3. Give of your privacy
4. Give of your emotion

Conclusion
This is the call of Jesus. To walk as a disciple who makes disciples. Not living for ourselves, or walking by ourselves, but walking with God and living for others.

Brennan Manning, in his book Signature of Jesus put it this way.

If we dare to live beyond self-concern, if we refused to shrink from being vulnerable, if we took nothing but a compassionate attitude toward the world, if we were counter cultural to our nation’s lunatic lust for pride of place, power, and possessions, if we preferred to be faithful rather than successful, the wall of indifference to Christ would crumble. A handful of us could be ignored by society, but hundreds, thousands, millions of such servants would overwhelm the world. Christians filled with authenticity,
commitment, and generosity of Jesus would be the most spectacular sign in the history of the human race. The call of Jesus is revolutionary. If we implement it, we would change the world in a few months.

It’s up to you will you walk humbly in the ways of Jesus?
I hope so.
I hope to see along the path as we continue our journey together.

Another day of preperation

2008-07-31T19:57:00.000-04:00

A vast majority of today was spent in sermon preparation for this Sunday. Today I feel much more confident about the message God has given me. It is all about following Christ in humility. By being humble we should seek to follow others who will point us toward Christ. We also need to humbly help other grow in their relationships. I believe that is the true test of a disciple, he multiplies himself so that he is a disciple that makes disciples. As I studied for my message the book of Philippians really opened my eyes to new truths about the humility of Christ and Paul. It was amazing to see how much Paul was motivated to impact the lives of others. One more day of preparations and I should be ready to go. Keep praying.

Message Preparation

2008-07-30T21:19:00.000-04:00

Today was a crazy day! It started out spending time with my new friends and fellow youth workers from around our area. It is encouraging to share with one another and pray for one another. The rest of the day was spent working on my message for Sunday. This Sunday will be my first time preaching at Bridgeway on the main stage. Today I finished the general outline and the closing illustration. It is going to be great I am doing a message called "Walk this Way". From the passage that where the apostle Paul says follow me as I follow Christ. I am going to illustrate this by showing a discipleship family tree that starts with my great grandmother who came to Christ in the early 1900's to a child in Bridgekids (our children's ministry) who came to christ this year. I still have a lot of work to do and I am a little stressed and nervous so please keep me in your prayers.

The calm before the storm

2008-07-29T20:38:00.000-04:00

Today was a good relaxing day. Spending the first part with Amie without the kids was a good way to celebrate our anniversary. Now as I watch the Yankees play the O's I am looking forward to a very busy week. Tomorrow I meet with our newly formed Youth Leaders Network and then I will work on my message for Sunday. Pretty much the rest of my week will be spent working toward the first time that I will speak on the main Bridgeway Stage. The message is called "Walk This Way". Any one who wants to check it out can watch this Sunday at 9am or 11:15am on www.bridgewayonline.org. I would appreciate any prayers!

8th Anniversary

2008-07-29T14:13:00.000-04:00

It is hard to believe that 8 years ago today I married my beautiful bride Amie. Time has gone bye so fast. God has blessed us with so many good things over the past eight years. I cannot wait to see what God will do in the future.

Day off

2008-07-28T11:22:00.000-04:00

It's good to get my normal Monday off. I have been without it the past couple of weeks because of ministry trips. I just got done mowing the lawn and watching an episode of Caillou with the boys. Tonight a friend is watching the boys while Amie and I celebrate out 8th anniversary which is tomorrow.

Up and downs of mininstry

2008-07-27T15:07:00.000-04:00

This morning was another great morning of ministry. Service was great as always. I also had many great conversations. People are excited about the upcoming camp, and still recovering from last weeks service projects. Many parents were very pleased with the opportunity to have their child serve over the last week. Among all the good stuff that was going on it is amazing how one negative comment can seem to erase all of that in my spirit. In one of the conversations that I was having a person mentioned that they did not think our students did not do much at all. My immediate reaction was to be offended, because my life is about discipling students and we run several programs and activities that help us do this. I have been amazed over the past several months at how God has used student ministries to bring significant spiritual progress in the lives of students. So after i picked my jaw up off the floor I asked this simple question. Have you ever been to any of our activities? The answer was I peeked into one once and it was not what I thought it should be. As the conversation continued I became less and less offended as I realize that this persons statement about the ministry that I run was based on assumptions and lack of facts. I did my best to express that our ministry is about making disciples and all our programs work toward that one goal and they are designed with that one purpose in mind. I am not sure that I was completly understood, but I felt secure in the mission that God has called me to. I also feel secure in the mission that God has called me to pursue with student ministries. The challenge is communicating the vision and mission so that people do not look at what we do and say that's not as good as what my old church use to do. Instead they say, it is clear that God has called us to make disciples by connecting students to God and eachother, building into the students through community, worship, Word, and service, and equip students to do the ministry God has called them too.

Saturday

2008-07-26T13:38:00.000-04:00

After a busy week it is nice to finally have a day to relax with my family. We all went for a walk together and went down by the stream near where we live and threw some rocks. We had a good lunch and now the boys are going down for a nap. We are looking forward to going to the pool this afternoon.

Final Day of Building Bridges

2008-07-25T21:19:00.000-04:00

Today ended the final day of our first ever week long service project. We served 5 days in 5 different ways. Today we split into two crews. Matt's crew fixed up an apartment for a lady in our church. My crew cleared out and cleaned up the outside of our missionaries house. In the afternoon we passed out water at Centennial Park.

Building Bridges Week

2008-07-24T21:22:00.000-04:00

This week has been a great week as I have had the opportunity to lead a group of students in serving God by serving others. We had the opportunity to serve in a variety of ways. Monday we did landscaping at the church. Tuesday we went gleaning just like Ruth and Naomi did in the Old Testament. I did not even know gleaning still existed. Gleaning is where a farmer leaves a portion of his field up picked so that those in need of food can come and pick from it and live off of it. Tuesday morning we picked 34 bags of collard greens and kale. In the afternoon we had the opportunity to deliver the produce to 25 homes in our area. Wednesday we had the opportunity to serve by assembling toys for the toys for tots program. I now know what a Christmas elf feels like. Today we had the opportunity to serve for the Garden a church that is being planted by my friends Matt and Joel in the Bolton Hill area of Baltimore. Hopefully I will be able to share some photos of all we did soon.