XXXV: Senioritis

There are two diseases in this world that nearly everybody gets at one point in there life. One of them is chicken pox. The other is senioritis, the disorder in which the motivation gland stops working around the 11th-12th grade.

BUT, similar to chicken pox, some people contract this ailment multiple times in their lives.

I am one of those people.

The past week or two I've noticed a drastic drop in my motivation to do my job. I spend a lot of time in my office asking for God to motivate me. At the same time, I've discovered a familiar feeling from my past. It's the feeling of being flooded with ideas and pursuits, but unable to find a starting point. Very similar to my first weeks at Olivet.

The combination of these two emotions (or lack thereof) have caused me to go into "coast mode." It's pretty simple actually. I do my work. I maintain the status quo.

I coast.

But God doesn't call me to do that. He calls me to lead. To cast vision. To grow. If God was interested in simply maintaining the church, he wouldn't have scattered the early Christians. He has placed me here in this specific neighborhood community of Grandville to spread his Kingdom. Not just maintain it.

I've noticed certian aspects of my ministry are slipping. An unhappy student here, a frustrated leader there. Thankfully nothing irreversible, but bold warning signs none then less.

And so I need to focus.

There's a lot to focus on. Our youth. Our worship. Our church. The future of our ministries, but God is a big guy, and He can get me through it. He's the vaccine for my senioritis.

Which leads me to my challenge for you. Since we know that God often uses us has His hands and feet, I challenge you to call me out on my mistakes. If you see me doing some sloppy work, say something. If you see me slacking off, step up. Because I've asked God to help me, and I know He will.

Looking for a divine kick-in-the-pants,
-B

Chapter XXXIV: Trust

Trust. I like to think I have a lot of it. But the problem is that trust is a very scary thing. The reason it's scary is because trusting is essentially humbling yourself and giving up control over some aspect of your life.

In this case, it's my future.

As our church continues to pursue the will of God, one of the questions I must face is the future of my job. While I know that the LORD will continue to provide and care for me, it can sometimes be challenging to trust in Him.

More importantly, I am forced to trust that the LORD will take care of our church's youth. Some of the options that our leadership is looking into would sadly have a negative impact on our youth ministry.

That being said, I ultimately trust that God has an awesome plan for the future ministry of this congregation. While we might not recognize or know what that looks like quite yet, we do know that it will "work for the good of those who love Him." (Romans 8:28).

In addition to discerning the future of our ministry, this week has also hosted a few other difficult decisions on a personal level. Again, I trust that the LORD will continue to guide me in the decisions, but that doesn't make them any easier.

Finally, our band played our last show for a few weeks. It was a great venue (Louie's Bar) with some great people and great music. We look forward to taking a few weeks off from playing live in order to focus on recording our album. I cannot say enough about how awesome God has been to Misfit Plaid and how great my bandmates are.

Please continue to pray for our church as we seek some divine direction.

Always Trusting,
-B

Chapter XXXIII: Whole Lot Of Awesome

Lately there's been a lot going on in my life. Most of it comes from my ministry both in and out of my church family. I'm facing some pretty big challenges, but the power of the Holy Spirit has helped me thus far, so it's exciting to see Him get me through more.

As our church goes through a series of meetings to continue looking at the fundamental values of our family, the LORD is becoming more and more clear with His plans for me. There are a lot of challenges in my future, but lately I've been catching glimpses here and there of what the future holds.

And it's awesome.

I was further encouraged after a meeting with an RCA representative this afternoon. Throughout our lunch discussion of church networking and community, the LORD continued to pull at my heart. He continued to push me in the right direction. He continued to challenge me.

And it's awesome.

Finally, the LORD has been strategically placing people in my life since I arrived in the great state of Michigan, and it's terrific to see it all fitting together. He has blessed me with great friends and great connections throughout the Grand Rapids community. And now He's calling on me to utilize those relationships for the work of heaven.

And it's awesome.

God's been doing a lot in my life lately. Really been using me. I feel like I'm growing some great communication lines between Him and myself. And I love it.

Surrounded by awesome,
-B

Chapter XXXII: Feeling Fine

I know I updated a day late, but you'll get over it...I already have. Truth be told, my weekend was pretty packed with ministry, so I didn't do very much yesterday.

This past week was pretty awesome all around. Our middle school went great this week, the Misfits did well at their show on Thursday, and the middle school retreat this weekend was pheonomenal. Our students grew a lot towards each other (and with us leaders), but more importantly, they grew in their relationship with God.

We signed up our high school students for the missions trip yesterday, and we have a total of 19 students attending! It's been a huge blessing to watch the growth and development of our high school students as many of them are trying to deepen their faith.

And they're not the only ones.

Our middle school students are also starting to ask some really tough questions as well. It's really awesome to see both groups of students engaging in theological discussions as they ponder the mysteries of the faith. It's great for me as well as I am now constantly reexamining aspects of my faith and continuing to work out some divine ideas.

Thanks for your continued prayer and support. I finally got my CDL last week and I'm now pretty decent at driving our bus. Our ministries continue to look strong and I'm feeling pretty confident about the work that God has placed in front of me.

Feeling fine,
-B

Chapter XXXI: A Whole Lot

It's finally happened. I finally caved. I've become "that guy with a phone"....

I bought the iPhone.

Unfortunately, it's consumed a fair amount of my attention for the past week. Most people who have talked to me since I bought it have had to hear about the awesome apps, features, and gadgets. I'm slightly ashamed of myself for talking about it so much, but really, it is pretty sweet.

Another victory this week happend on Wednesday night when we got the final count for our middle school retreat. We had a much better turnout than expected, and we're taking 13 young men and women with us for a weekend of vertical and horizontal growth.

Yet another highlight from the week was yesterday's service. Despite a lack of preparation, my sermon went pretty well. The real joy however was seeing someone else lead our praise band. This was great because I was able to worship, but also because we now know that we can have somebody lead worship in my absence. I absolutely LOVE seeing someone else lead a ministry that I oversee. It was comforting to know that the Spirit is leading the ministry and not myself.

The CDL saga continues...while I passed my written exam and I got in some time behind the wheel, the final driving test happens this Tuesday.

And that's not the only thing going on this week...

I also have the retreat, which means we need to collect more money, forms, and signatures. Our deposit for the mission trip is also due, so I'll get to collect those checks and forms as well. On top of it all, the Misfits are playing a show this week, which will inevidably take up more of my time and attention than it should.

All in all, I'm extremely grateful for the busyness and opportunities to ministr, I'm just praying for strength and endurance as I go through it all.

Bracing myself,
-B

Chapter XXX:........:)

Its always interesting to stumble upon moments when you recognize the symptoms of the passage of time. I'm not talking about bad knees, sore backs, or gray hair. I'm talking about mental and spiritual aging.

Twice over the past week, I facilitated parent meetings for my students. A few times I found myself teaching to people older than myself. I've even found that my leadership is now accepted by most people despite my youth. I mention these things only to point to the fact that this week made me feel old.

Spiritually old.

Because this week also made me feel very physically young. With a long weekend with little sleep, 3 consecutive days of climbing, and a little sunshine, I feel very youthful and energetic. I believe the proper term is "giddy."

Part of that could also be due to the continuing growth of our band, Misfit Plaid. This week we booked one show as an opening act for another big name band, and we've begun talking with a few other owners about dates for performances. When coupled with the arrival of a new sound system, things are looking up for us Misfits.

A few other positive tid-bits from this week:
-Found a pair of shoes for 8 bucks
-Found a sweet shirt on sale
-Passed my CDL written exam
-Had the best burger of my life....Goog's in Holland
-Wore flipflops for the first time in 2011
-Hung out with Andy and earned Prestige Mode in COD

There really aren't any prayer requests for ya'll this week. Just continue praying for me and my ministries as well as our church. This week I will be getting the final numbers for our middle school retreat and I'll be taking my CDL Driving Exam.

Feeling fine,
-B

Chapter XXIX: Blizzard of Blessing

This week was pretty awesome on just about every level. It included not just one, but two band practices, a big snow storm, a Super Bowl, our first show, and some good fellowship.

To start, the snowstorm was pretty awesome. The snow in itself was just as beautiful as it was fun. Two of my closest friends ended up staying at my house Tuesday night because of the weather, and we all celebrated our snow day with a lazy morning of pancakes and video games.

Our band, Misfit Plaid, held two practices to prepare for our first show which took place over the weekend. Our show was a ton of fun, and we started building a decent fan base as well as make some good business connections.

Sunday morning came and brought another pile of blessings as well. In addition to a great worship service (despite some slip-ups), our church had a wonderful meeting to further discuss our core values. It's really encouraging to see the growth in our church as we overcome challenges. One such challenge was our worship, and our worship committee finally came to rest on a more permanent service structure (which includes the use of both organ and praise band every Sunday).

All in All, the week seemed to be a relentless shower of blessings from the LORD (including the healing of my leg!). As I sit in my living room writing this, I notice the snow piled up on my porch and I realize that my life is very similar in that the LORD has just immersed me in a blizzard of His love.

Forever Grateful,
-B