FBC Greeneville Student Ministry

New Orleans Video

2011-07-31T18:12:00.000-04:00

videos from the trip 4-20-11

2011-04-20T22:42:00.000-04:00

videos from the trip 4-20-11

2011-04-20T22:39:00.001-04:00

Videos from the trip 4-20-11

2011-04-20T22:38:00.002-04:00

Commando

2011-04-12T14:41:00.002-04:00

Commando is a fun army game played in the woods at night. This year we are playing at the Foster’s farm. We will leave from the church at 6:00 PM and caravan there (parents be sure your child has a ride there before you drop them off and leave) or you can meet us there at 6:30. The address is 346 Gibson Rd., 37743. The event will end at 10 and we will be back to the church by 10:30. The event is free and supper will be provided. Wear your camos or dark clothing and bring a flashlight. Parents are encouraged to attend. I will need adults to be guards and captains of teams.

SS Breakfast

2011-03-18T12:27:00.002-04:00

High School Dodgeball

2011-03-18T12:25:00.000-04:00

Open Gym

2011-03-18T12:22:00.003-04:00

Last Open Gym of the season today from 3-5 PM.

New TRiP series

2011-03-08T10:00:00.001-05:00

Wednesday nights, March 9, 16, & 23 @ the TRiP in the SWC, 6 pm

We are starting a new sermon series discussing the major world religions. Come find out about the origin, history, and beliefs of Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism. Find out how Christianity stacks up against each one and how we can know that we have the truth.

March Madness 2011

2011-02-28T21:18:00.002-05:00

Come be a part of our third annual 3x3 basketball tourny. Get your teams ready and be a part of our middle school, 9 & 10, or our 11 &12 grade bracket. Brackets will be posted on Thursday, March 10. The tournament is March 12 in the CAC gym. Adult volunteers are welcome. We need people to referee, run the score clock, keep the score book, and run the concession stand.

Winter Jam

2011-02-28T19:33:00.002-05:00

We are going to Winter Jam this Friday at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN. Winter Jam is a collection of different Christian music artists putting on a concert. The lineup for this year is Newsboys, David Crowder Band, Kutless, KJ-52, Francesca Battistelli, Red, and Newsong. This is quite a diverse lineup of rock, metal, pop, and rap; something for everybody. We are charging $15 and you need to meet at the church at 3:30 pm. The show starts at 6 PM and we should be home by 11 PM. Bring some money to pick up supper in the arena and any money you will need for merch (CDs, posters, tee shirts, etc.) You can click on the link below for more info or watch the promo video.

Crazy Sledding Crash

2011-01-19T19:32:00.000-05:00

Essenes, Zealots, and Herodians

2010-12-01T21:32:00.002-05:00

A Child is Born

2010-12-01T21:27:00.002-05:00

Are You Amazed?

2010-11-17T22:25:00.000-05:00

Come Awake

2010-11-17T22:23:00.001-05:00

March of the Unqualified

2010-11-10T21:28:00.001-05:00

Mario 2 Speedrun

2010-11-03T21:42:00.001-04:00

Donut Shot

2010-11-03T21:40:00.001-04:00

American Dream

2010-11-03T21:37:00.000-04:00

The Wall

2010-11-02T17:16:00.001-04:00

Thank You God

2010-10-28T00:37:00.000-04:00

Get out of Hell free

2010-10-13T22:46:00.003-04:00

Is this your view of Christianity? Are you living only for heaven? Are you living for the magical kingdom or for a magnetic kingdom? (Questions from the TRiP tonight.) Bring heaven to earth today, do not wait for heaven until death. Jesus prayed your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.

God's Chisel

2010-10-13T22:40:00.001-04:00

SY@TP 2010

2010-09-22T14:19:00.000-04:00

videos from 9-8-10

2010-09-15T12:32:00.002-04:00

pictures from 9-8-10

2010-09-15T12:30:00.002-04:00

pictures from 9-8-10

2010-09-15T12:26:00.001-04:00

HS Mission Trip 2010

2010-08-27T14:11:00.000-04:00

Video from MS Mission Trip 2010

2010-08-25T23:52:00.001-04:00

Videos from Rescued Series

2010-08-25T22:07:00.002-04:00

Funny Pictures from 9-18-10

2010-08-25T21:59:00.002-04:00

funny pictures from 9-25-10

2010-08-25T21:56:00.001-04:00

Day 4 recap

2010-07-22T23:42:00.002-04:00

Great day of ministry today. Let me first talk about our morning routine here. He have breakfast at 7:15 (Unless you are on the cooking crew or if you go for a run with me) and then we have our devo time. We then head out to our ministry sites.

The McChattys went back to Privet pulling today and then to the boys and girls club. The Conductors went back to Avandale Rec center in the evening, but this morning we went somewhere new. We go the chance to work at the Siscan developmental center for children with special needs. What a neat place. It would take to long to describe it here, ask me about when we get home. Basically it is a head start program for children with special needs to get the ready for real school. They have 300 students in the school aged from 3 weeks old to 6 years old. They spend around $26,000 per child per year. You would not believe the center, it was awesome. Check out the pictures.

We ended our day with a community cookout, club with a foot washing ceremony, and church group time. It has been an awesome week. You would be so proud of our girls. They worked their tails off this week. It has defiantly been a spiritual high this week and one of those moments that you will remember what God did through you by serving others. Can't wait to get home and start planning Putting Together the Pieces. It starts August 2 which is less than two weeks away. Time to apply what we learned by serving here and help out people in our own community.

More Courage, Less Fear; More There, Less Here; More Love, Less Ego; More Be, Less Go; MORE OR LESS YOUTHWORKS 2010 CHATTANOOGA!!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 3 recap

2010-07-22T07:51:00.003-04:00

Day three was a blast. This was a repeat of day 1. The Conductors and the McChattys went to the same ministry sites as before. I showed up at Audobon Acres and guess what? The privet was still there, but we put a good dent in it. I had the girls share some stories last night, here are some:

One of the boys at one of the centers farted in Madison face. He apologized and said that he could not help himself.

Our two groups went to the same center yesterday. The McChattys in the morning and the conductors in the afternoon. When we got to the center in the afternoon, we were informed that they liked us better than the other white people (talking about the McChattys.) I do not think they did really, but these kids know how to work the system and to get played with. They are not shy.

The McChattys did the girls at the center nails for them. They returned the favor by doing some cornrolls in their hair.

We had the girls looking hard for the Statue of Liberty from Lookout Mountain. They never found it, but they looked for about 10 minutes.

I have told you about the mission sites, let me tell you about our typical nights here. After our evening activity, we come back to the church and have snack, club, and church group time. Club is a time where we sing some songs, get our announcements, see some silly skits, and have a bible lesson. You will have to ask us about the Hippo song. I am sure the girls will be glad to show you.

Alright that is all for now, I need to run of to devos and then to our mission sites. The Conductors is going to a new place today. It is a center for mentally handicapped kids. Pray that we will show them the love of Christ in our actions. The McChattys head back to Audubon to tackle the Privet. Pray for endurance. We will be home tomorrow, Yeah!!!

Day 2 pics

2010-07-21T20:12:00.000-04:00

Day 2 Recap

2010-07-21T09:02:00.003-04:00

We had a great day yesterday. Our two groups broke up again.

Group 1 (The Conductors: Wes Ford, Larry Blalock, Caroline Clark, Caroline Easterly, Chelsea Lawless, and Madeline Wood) went to the Chattanooga Food Bank and boxed up lunches for North Georgia kids. They feed the kids lunches during the summer when school is out. Each lunch bag got a sandwich, gummies, ganora bar, tooth brush, a drink, and applesauce. This place is huge. Check out the pictures. We packed over 1200 lunches in an hour and a half. We then got to go swimming with our kids from Avandale Rec Center. The water was very refreshing.

Group 2 (The McChatteys: Pam Stewart, Makenzi Bible, Jessica Luetjon, Grace Gass, Madison Shipley, Shelby Walker, and Kirsten Lawing) went to Avandale Rec Center and the to the Girls and Boys club. They played with kids all day and got to make some pretty cool bracelets.

We capped the day off with a trip to Coolige Park downtown with some clumpy's ice cream and playing in the fountain.

Day 1 pics

2010-07-20T09:03:00.001-04:00

Day 1 Recap

2010-07-20T08:57:00.002-04:00

We had a terrific first day. Our group split into two groups. Group 1 went to a Native American Trail of Tears site and worked with Ms. Cleot and Digger. We got introduced to our new enemy Privet. It is an invasive root that can grow into a 25 foot tree. We spent the morning pulling it up and carrying it off. Youth works has been doing this al summer and we added to the pile of pulled privet that is already 6 feet high, 30 feet wide, and about 60 feet long. We then went to Allandale Rec center and played with kids the rest of the afternoon. Group 2 went to Allandale center in the morning and got to play kickball with the kids. They then went to a boys/girls club and played some more. For our activity in the evening, we went for an enchanted stroll through Rock City. If you are curious there are 62 gnomes in rock city.

It was an excellent day of ministry. The girls did awesome serving the Chattanooga community. Pray for strength to be able to pull out another day.

Pictures from New York

2010-06-15T00:01:00.002-04:00

videos from the trip

2010-04-15T14:04:00.001-04:00

videos from the trip

2010-04-07T21:46:00.001-04:00

Do Something

2010-04-07T21:24:00.002-04:00

We started a new sermon series tonight called "Do Something." We are going to learn, pray about, and participate in missions. Here is a breakdown of the series.

Each week we will be collecting goods for a ministry:

week 1 we collected can goods for the Greene County Food Bank

week 2 we will be collecting items to make a basket for the Hope Center (Greeneville's Crisis Pregnancy Center)

week 3 we will be collecting Bingo items for the nursing home

Each week I will send out a text/email describing in particular what items we need.

We will also have a group challenge each week:

week 1 I challenge you to go barefoot as much as you can tomorrow. It is National Barefoot Day raising awareness for the poverty in the world. You can read about and get info here http://www.onedaywithoutshoes.com/index2.php.

week 2 I challenge you to fast on Thursday 15 to raise awareness of world poverty. This means that you will not eat any food, liquids are fine. You can find information about it here http://www.30hourfamine.org/.

week 3 I challenge you to come to Mission: Greeneville on Saturday April 24 from 9-12. We will be helping out the food bank, a nursing home, and be doing a rest stop ministry.

We will also have some individual challenges each week. Consider these extra credit for those who want to do more. Here are this weeks individual challenges:

Get some fresh air. Ride your bike to a place you'd usually drive.
Re-use. The next time someone hands you a plastic water bottle, use it 5 times before tossing it in the recycle bin. (The amount of plastic that can be recycled from a plastic bottle is only 10%.) Better yet, buy an ultra-hip high-quality water bottle and use it all the time.
Learn...Visit the website www.350.org and learn about climate change. Agree/disagree? Talk about it.
Get a cuppacoffee...Bring your own mug. Most places are stoked if you bring in your own cup. Get your double-espresso-caramel-soy- machiatto-venti no whip in your own mug that you know and love.
Cut that meat! Meat is one of the most environmentally taxing foods to produce. 1 pound of beef requires 12,000 gallons of water! (60 for a pound of potatoes.) Skip one serving of beef this week.
Hurry up in the shower...Take 2 minutes to get squeaky clean. Set the timer. Get your suds on! Try it for a week. Chances are, you'll find you don't need 10 minutes to get un-stinky.
Unplugging is better than the off-switch. See which appliances and chargers in your home could be unplugged when not in use. Only plug them in when they needs to be used.
Buy something vintage and give it a second shot at life... If you need a new something-or-other, consider something from a thrift store. Old Stuff doesn't require manufacturing processes.

Pictures from Ridgecrest video

2010-04-02T12:15:00.002-04:00

videos from the trip

2010-03-31T22:00:00.001-04:00

Ridgecrest update day 2

2010-03-27T23:37:00.003-04:00

Yeah, this is post #100 for the blog.

Sitting in the hallway chatting with Shelby and Katie at 11:42 at night and talking about how awesome the retreat has been. Matt Papa has been great and Clayton King, the speaker, preaches like a hog eats. Sorry that is his quote not mine. Clayton talked about discipleship this morning. His three key points were Foundation, Focus, and some other F word that I cannot remember at this late hour. After breakfast (biscuits and gravy with grits,) we split up unto our school groups.

This afternoon Leigh Ann and I ran a 5 K that actually turned into a 2 K. You can see the pictures. We had matching uniforms. We then went to a Matt Papa concert. It was great fun and some awesome worship. You rock, Papa Shababy!

After supper with Bill and Dianne Woody, we had another group time. The adults got the pleasure of meeting with Dr. Richard Ross. He was one of my professors at Southwestern and one of the most profound people that I have ever met. Every time he speaks, it changes and grows your awareness of what God is doing.

Our nighttime session with Clayton and Papa was epic. Clayton brought his wife on stage and they talked about relationships. Our youth were really challenged to honor God with their relationships. Treat every date like they are a potential mate.

Coming home tomorrow, great weekend, God has done some amazing things. I am renewed and the youth are too. God thank you for the glory of Your Son, May you live through us as we leave this place. May we never be the same again, never to be satisfied with this world. Enflame our hearts with the power of the gospel and compel our lips to tell everyone that we see of your majesty. Good night all.

Pictures from Ridgecrest

2010-03-27T15:28:00.002-04:00

Ridgecrest update day 1

2010-03-27T14:50:00.002-04:00

We got here safely riding in the ultimate comfort. Greene Coach brought us on their brand new 47 passenger bus. I think that it rides smother than my car. The bus has satellite TV with about 75 channels and wifi on the bus while you travel. Very nice! After we got here yesterday, we got settled in our room and then went to eat in the cafeteria. We had a youth trip staple, spaghetti. After supper, we split into school groups. All the kids from Greeneville High and Middle school, were in one room. We prayed for our school, teachers, and community. After our school groups we headed to our first big group setting with Matt Papa and Clayton King.

This is the first time that I have heard Matt. He was at Student Life 3 years ago and a lot of our girls remember him. He is from Raleigh, NC and he passed his first test with me. He said that he is a Duke fan. Go devils! Clayton spoke last night out of Romans 10. He talked about what it means to believe in your heart and to confess with your mouth. Good stuff and great first day, pictures to follow.

videos from the trip

2010-03-24T22:52:00.001-04:00

It is nice to know that I get paid to chill ... Video shown at the TRiP tonight.

Games from the TRiP

2010-03-19T19:05:00.002-04:00

We played 3 games tonight taken from NBC newest game show "Minute to Win it." If you have not seen it yet, you should check it out. We had three High schoolers face off against three middle schoolers. Here are the videos of how to do them.

music from the TRiP

2010-03-19T10:01:00.002-04:00

Some of you were asking what the new song was that we sang at the TRiP on Wednesday. It was Softer to Me by Reliant K. Here is two videos with the song for you. The acoustic version is of their Creepy EP and the rock version is off their title album. Enjoy!

Crazy Bible Stories Series

2010-03-19T09:31:00.002-04:00

Last week in the TRiP we finished our Crazy Bible Stories series. It was a great series! We studied 3 Old Testament prophets: Elijah, Elisha, and Ezekiel. Our point was to show how interesting and unique the Bible really is by highlighting some weird stories in it. I wanted to do some Bible stories that you really do not hear too often. The three week series broke down like this:

Week 1 - Elijah and the Ravens - 1 Kings 17:1-6

Week 2 - Elisha and the Bears - 2 Kings 2:23-25

Week 3 - Ezekiel and the Poop - Ezekiel 4:12

We used the strange aspects of each story to spark interest, but ended up taking about the entire ministry of each prophet and what God did through them. It is amazing the complete nature of God that you see through combining all three prophets ministry.

Elijah's ministry centered around big acts directed to the Baal worshipers. All of his miracles were huge acts: the three year drought, the fire on Mt. Carmel, soldiers' being consumed, etc. God was showing that He is the one true god. He is the Almighty Creator of the universe. He is God and He alone is in control.

Elisha's ministry was more personal. A lot of his miracles small and individual: multiplying a widow's oil, healing Naaman from leprosy, making an ax head float, etc. Elisha showed that God is a personal god. He cares about our day to day needs.

Ezekiel's ministry was the completion of the two. He was telling the people that because you chose to sin and rebel that you are going to be punished. But if you will repent and turn from your sin, God will restore you.

So combing all three weeks we learned that God is an all powerful being that is the ruler of the universe. But even though He is a big God, He still cares about us as individuals. He still wants to have a intimate, personal relationship with each one of us. He is a big God, but also a intimate God. He loves us, but He is also a God that punishes sin. If we chose to disobey Him, we will have to suffer the consequences of our choices. But if we will just turn from our sin and return to him, we find that He is right there waiting to restore us. What an awesome God we serve! He holds the universe together and is interested in our daily ives. Like a good father, he disciplines our disobedience but welcomes us back with love when we return to Him.

Pictures form the TRiP

2010-03-19T09:27:00.002-04:00

Some pictures used during our Ezekial talk during our Crazy Bible Stories series at the TRiP. Examples of modern day street evangelism.

Videos from the trip

2010-03-19T09:21:00.003-04:00

A video and a crazy picture we used from the Elisha story from our Crazy Bible Stories series at the TRiP.

Pictures form the TRiP

2010-03-19T08:39:00.002-04:00

Here are some pictures we used during the Elisha talk from the Crazy Bible Stories series. I think that may top three are the terrorist suicide bomber cat, Harry Potter cat, and Yoda dog. The point being is that if humans take this much thought in taking care of their pets, how much more will God take care of our needs.

Pictures form the TRiP

2010-03-19T08:34:00.001-04:00

Videos from the trip

2010-03-19T08:30:00.002-04:00

I used these videos for the Elijah talk during Crazy Bible Stories series.

Videos from the trip

2010-03-14T09:10:00.003-04:00

Elisha and the Bears cartoon from Crazy Bible Stories series week 2

Videos from the trip

2010-03-14T07:52:00.003-04:00

Elijah Trailer from Crazy Bible Stories series week 1

videos from the trip

2010-03-10T20:33:00.001-05:00

passion day 2

2010-01-04T01:20:00.002-05:00

Here is our round up of day two. We had a morning session with Matt Redman and Beth Moore. Beth Moore's hairstyle was distracting. She had a bob on top of her hair. It looked like she took a bunch of hair, formed it into a baseball and set it on the very top of her hair. I just kept staring at it. We lost Kellie again this morning. We finally did find her. Now Kelly is my buddy. I told her that I was not going to let her out of my sight. After the session they fed us lunch. That was a sight to see, feeding 22,000 people at one time. We had Lennys subs today. I would have like to hear that phone call. Uh, yes I would like you to order some box lunches. How many? 22,000.

After lunch we had our break-out sessions. We went to one called the connection between Worship and Social Justice. We met a missionary who has been doing some amazing things in Uganda. We got to do a birthday dinner for me at the Cheesecake Factory. Really good food. I got to get my favorite, the Godiva cheesecake. I am a. chocohlolic.

The night session was with Francis Chan. Then a late night concert with Hillsong. A great day, i cannot wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow I will try to put up some pictures.

Passion day 1

2010-01-03T00:52:00.002-05:00

Well we are here in Atlanta. I love a college trip. The last session ended at 12:15 PM with an awesome concert by David Crowder Band. After an uneventful drive, the fun started when we got here. It took about 45 minutes for the hotel to get our rooms right. The first room already had luggage in it when we got there. The second rooms key did not work, but three times the charm. We registered and tried to get some supper. But about 8000 people had the same idea. (by the way there is over 22,000 college students here.) We decided to skip supper after I heard that a guy stood in line for 1 hour. During the craziness in the food court, we lost Kelly for about an hour. We lost the only person here without a cell phone, Kelly decided to leave hers at the house. We did find her before the event started.

We had a great first session. Some new songs from Chris Tomlin and a sermon by Louie Giglio. Then it was off to our small groups which consist of 2000 people. Hey it is smaller then the 16,000 we had in phillips arena tonight. The late night concert was David Crowder and it began at 11:15 PM. Gotta love college events. Everything is late. Well it is 1:30 AM. time for bed. Pray for us this weekend. The gang here is Erin Williams, Kellie Rivera, Laura Clark, Jeff Sowers, Doug Wheeler, Dustin Kenyon, and Josh Hall.

New Books

2009-12-16T21:54:00.003-05:00

I just finished reading two books.

1. The Unlikely Disciple is a very interesting read. It is about a college student from Brown (one of the most liberal universities in American) who transfer to Liberty University (the most conservative University in America) for one semester. I use to live close to Liberty and I have a lot of students who are currently going there. Besides knowing Liberty, I think that seeing into the mind of a non-Christian is interesting. I have been in a Christian bubble most of my life. I sometimes forget what it is like to be non-Christian. The book is a little crude, it might shook some Christians. But this is what the real world thinks.

2. I am not but I know I Am is a good book. I still think that I like Louie's preaching better.

Next up for me is Green by Ted Dekker.

Amazon.com Widgets

Videos used for the TRiP

2009-12-16T21:18:00.002-05:00

Sat Supper

2009-11-21T22:38:00.002-05:00

I tried to go to Gladys Knight's chicken and waffles tonight. I heard about it on Man vs. Food. I walked the mile to the restaurant only to find the line wrapped around the building. If you teenagers do not know who Gladys Knight is just watch the video below. (I always wanted to be a pip.)

I ended up at Buffalo Teds. It is the steakhouse owned by Ted Turner. it was good, but I wish I could have ridden the midnight train. This what they call the chicken and waffle combo. The fad was started in Harlem back in the 60s. The entertainers went get out of the clubs at 3 AM and hit the restaurants. They would want a combo of supper and breakfast. This started the chicken and waffle craze.

Big Room 1

2009-11-20T18:48:00.002-05:00

My preconference continued this morning. This morning session focused on the message. How to be accurate to the text, how to keep teenagers attention, and using media and humor with the message.

Nothing special for lunch today. Just Taco Bell. I did try the black jack taco for the first time. I give it 2 stars. Nothing special, Very disappointing.

The conference is made up of what they call Big Room and labs. Big room is where the whole conference meets together. It looks like there is about 6000 youth ministers here. Labs are smaller and topic oriented.

Our first big room featured Andy Stanley. He is a pastor of Northpoint Community Church in Atlanta. It is a mega church which he planted 14 years ago. Some of you older people might know his dad, Charles Stanley. Andy talked about the pitfalls of leadership. He talked about how leaders do not know all the answers. When we do not know the answers we still need to have clarity and flexibility.

Even if we do not have a answer for a problem, we still need to have clarity in our purpose. We need to project this clarity to the people following us. He gave the example of Joshua. Joshua was taught by Moses about how to survive in the dessert. How to be a nomad. But now God wants Joshua to be a warrior and fight for the Holy Land. Joshua did not know how to fight. It wasn’t his training. So when it confused the Israeli dessert nomads, Joshua just kept reassuring them with the clarity that we are going to take the promised land. He did not know how he was going to do it, all he knew was that God had given him this purpose. He did not have all the answers but he had clarity in his purpose.

We also need flexibility in our ministry. Clarity in purpose, but flexibility in programming. Sometimes things just fail and we try to launch something to help it. But it fails too. We shouldn’t be afraid to start new things, but we also shouldn’t hesitate to kill something that is not working.

During the first big session, Youth Specialties and Zondervan took the time to tell us that Tic and Marko have left YS. I will miss them. I didn’t always agree with them, but I liked their ministry. They were never afraid to try to push the envelope. YS has always been kind of dangerous for Zondervan, even when Mike Yaconelli started it. The new head of YS looks like he will be a play it safe kind of guy. I will miss these guys (Marco and Tic) pushing the boundaries and I hope that YS does not lose its edge.

National Youth Workers Convention

2009-11-20T18:40:00.002-05:00

I am now sitting in a seminar at the National Youth Worker’s Convention (NYWC.) I am going to blog about my sessions here (1) to let you know what is going on and (2) to process and think out loud to see what I am learning here and how it applies to the student ministry at FBC. So here we go:

Day 1

After a pleasantly uneventful drive down, I made it to Atlanta on time. (Thanks to my Garmin, I did get to try Firehouse Subs for the first time. I have always wanted to try the hook and ladder sub after hearing the commercial on the radio for the last 10 months. I would give it 5 stars. They even had cherry limeade. (To add a sidenote to my sidenote: I will be talking a lot about my food experiences during this blog. I love food and I love trying new things. So if you are not hungry or on a low carb diet (pastor) , please bear with me.) I ate at Firehouse in Cleveland, TN and my Garmin had me go down a two lane road for 25 miles. I did not get back on 75 until I was in Georgia. It was actually a nice break from the interstate and I missed all the Chattanooga traffic.) I had signed up for a pre-conference. I took Speaking to Teenagers: Thinking, Creating, and Delivering effective messages by Duffy Robbins. I read the book about two years ago, but at the time I was not talking to teenagers every week. So this class was a good refresher of what I had read earlier. This class met for two 3 hour sessions. I did three hours Thursday and three on Friday. The first night was good. It was about the thinking that goes on behind the message like understanding your audience and gaining trust so they will listen to what you have to say. So it was all about the audience and the speaker.

I am staying at the Omni Hotel which is in the CNN building which is in downtown Atlanta. (I watched Fox news in my room just to spite them.) I choose a perfect location. It is right across from the Georgia World Congress Center which is where the conference is being held. I can walk to all the conferences and leave my car in the parking garage. There is a food court in the lobby and I got to eat supper at Moe’s Southwest Grill. I had one where I lived in Virginia and I had missed my Billy Baroo which is basically chicken nachos.

5th Quarter

2009-10-15T09:10:00.001-04:00

5th Quarter this Friday night after the football game. Food, Open Gym, & Video Games. 10-11:30 PM in the CAC. C U There.

Youth SS Breakfast

2009-10-15T08:58:00.001-04:00

It is time again for our bi-monthly youth breakfast. The high school classes are hosting this one. So all you high school kids need to bring something to eat. The department will provide the drinks.

The fun starts at 9:15 in the Youth Department. We will eat and then my beautiful wife, Emily, will be sharing her story with us. You have all heard stories about her from me. Come see if they are all true.

Parents Guide to The Trip

2009-10-14T21:21:00.002-04:00

Week 3 of Things that are Impossible to God

It is Impossible for God to Reject You

Teaching Points

1. God accepts you as you are (Romans 8:38-39)

2. God loves you too much to leave you that way (John 12:47)

3. God loves you too much to give up on you (1 John 1:9-10 & Isaiah 43:25)

How to respond to this truth:

1. ACCEPT God’s free gift of love (Colossians 2:14)
Questions to ask your kids
1. Tell me the story about the Korean orphan.
2. Explain the contrast that God loves you the way that you are but also loves you too much to leave you that way.
3. Tell me the story of David Wilkerson, the gang minister.
4. Explain how God never rejects us, but we can reject Him.

Rejected Top Tens

2009-10-14T21:12:00.003-04:00

Top Ten Rejected Crayola Colors

10.Bruise Purple

9. Bus Station Brown

8.Michael Phelps Gold

7.Blood Red

6.Scorched Flesh

5. Hypothermia Blue

4.You’re just plain Yeller

3. Jaundice

2. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Beige

1.Baby Poop Green

Top Ten Rejected NFL Team Names

10. The Opticians

9.The Fragile Porcelain Mice

9.The Fightin’ Amish

7. The Blood-Swollen Ticks

6. The Velveteen Rabbits

5. The Referee Killers

4. The Soft Angora Sweater-Wearing Debutantes

3. The Greasy Ferrets

2. The Highly Paid Dumb Guys

1. The Half-time Streakers

Impossible for God to Fail

2009-10-07T22:36:00.003-04:00

Teaching Points

It’s Impossible for God to Fail… regardless of how we feel

1. Sometimes I feel like God has failed because of the way I’m DESIGNED

2. Sometimes I feel like God has failed because of my PAIN

3. Sometimes I feel like God has failed because the world is MESSED UP

“Where is God when I need him?” Believing that God fails leads to a LOSS OF HOPE

For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good ad not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).

The Truth

1. God has created everyone as an ORIGINAL MASTERPIECE (Psalm 139:14).

2. God comforts his children and today’s pain is only TEMPORARY (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

3. God has promised to create a new temporary HEAVEN and EARTH (Revelation 21:1).

How to have more hope

1. Open yourself to new BELIEFS (Proverbs 21:30).

2. Learn about God’s PROMISES and believe in them

3. Live your life based on GOD’S PROMISES

4. Trust your FUTURE on God’s promises (Psalm 33:11).

Questions to ask your child:

1. Have you ever felt like God has failed you?

2. What did you learn tonight to help you know that God never fails us?

3. Where can you go with the pain in your life?

4. What is the biggest pain that Wes has experienced in his life?

Fail Pics

2009-10-07T22:32:00.001-04:00

Famous Failures from the TRiP

2009-10-07T22:28:00.001-04:00

Liar Liar

2009-09-29T22:22:00.002-04:00

clip for the Trip

Parents Guide to The Trip

2009-09-29T22:10:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow we are starting a new sermon series tomorrow called Things that are impossible to God. First up is impossible for God to Lie. Here are the main points:

1. The Bible teaches that God is all-powerful, and has control over EVERYTHING. (Luke 1:37)

2. God can’t go against his OWN NATURE; God can’t be inconsistent. (Num 23:19)

This Truth Means We Can:

1. Hold on to God’s PROMISES (2 Cor 1:20-21)

2. TRUST God’s motives. (Romans 8:28)

3. SHARE FREELY with God who loves you.

4. We can rest in the TRUTH OF GOD (John 14:6)

Questions to ask your Teena
gers
1. Why can't God lie?
2. Why did Wes bring his middle schol yearbook?
3. What are some of God's promises for us?
4. Jesus said he is the what? (John 14:6)
5. Why is it important to you that God cannot lie?

GHS Volleyball

2009-09-29T21:08:00.003-04:00

Got to see the GHS volleyball team in action tonight. Briarman and Katie were out sick, but Emily rocked the house. Emily had a massive block tonight. GHS won in straight sets, but every game was close. Especially coming from behind to win late in game two. Great job girls.

What i am Reading

2009-09-28T14:28:00.002-04:00

I am just about to finish "Take Your Best Shot" by Austin Gutwein. He is a teenager that started a basketball foul shot fundraiser to help Aids victims in Africa. So far he has raised over a million dollars and built a school and a hospital in Africa. Awesome story about what God can do with our availability.

Also about half way through with "Simple Student Ministry" by Eric Geiger. The book is about how to simply your ministry. Good read so far.

Amazon.com Widgets

The Trip

2009-09-28T14:26:00.001-04:00

First Baptist Church

Student Worship Center

Wednesdays 6:00 PM

Come to the TRiP this week as we start a new 3 week sermon series; "Things that are Impossible for God." It is impossible for God to lie, to reject you, and to fail.

The (former) Blind Man

2009-08-26T22:08:00.002-04:00

The picture is from one of my favorite photographers, Paul Strand. The lesson we studied tonight is where Jesus healed a blind man by putting mud on the blind person's eyes. We talked about the three types of people found in the text: the followers (Disciples), the hurting (Blind Man), and the skeptics (Pharisees.) We also talked about what Jesus does for these three sets of people. Jesus brings healing to hurting, Jesus has answers for the skeptics, and Jesus proves his power to His followers.

"I don't know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!" (John 9:25).

Questions to ask your teenagers:

1. Describe what happened in John 9?
2. Why did Jesus make the blind man walk to the pool?
3. Where did the blind guy go after he was healed?
4. What did Jesus do at the end of the chapter?
5. How can Jesus heal your hurts?

Video for The Trip

2009-08-26T22:02:00.002-04:00

This is the video that we played at the TRiP tonight. It is from the movie "The Gospel of John."

The 4 for 8-25-09

2009-08-25T21:52:00.000-04:00

Here are your top four youth announcements for this week:

Come to yHOT this Wednesday after school, 3-6 PM in the Youth Department. I’ll provide the snacks and the fun.

Starting new 3 week sermon series @ the TRiP this week, He did What? We will look at 3 healings of Jesus.

No Open Gym this Friday after school.

Moonlight Madness this Sat from 5-10 PM. Come play Where’s Waldo in the JC mall. Bring money for supper @ food court.

He Did What?

2009-08-21T20:22:00.003-04:00

New sermon series starting next Wednesday called He Did What? Healings by Jesus. We will be focusing on three healings performed by Jesus.

Week 1 - John 9: Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
Week 2 - Mark 2: Jesus Heals a Paralytic
Week 3 - Mark 5: Jesus Heals a Sick Woman

We will be looking at how God changed peoples lives through healing and we will look about how God wants to change our lives too. Join us on for the TRiP as we journey with Jesus and witness a miracle.

The 4 for 9-10

2009-08-10T13:11:00.001-04:00

Here are your top four youth announcements for this week:

Due to the the football jamboree this Sat, Moonlight Madness has been postponed.

2. Come to yHOT this Wednesday after school, 3-6 PM in the Youth Department. I’ll provide the snacks and the fun.

We continue the sermon series “Beyond the Yearbook: How to impact your School for Chirst” this Wed @ the TRiP.

Open Gym this Friday after school from 3-5 PM in the CAC.

Ocean City Last Day

2009-07-10T20:47:00.002-04:00

It has been a great week in Ocean City. In the morning, we ran a kid's club at 4 different RV sites; Frontier Town, Fort Whaley, Castaways, and Asasteague Island. We were not able to share our faith with the people at Assateague because it is a federal park, but we could at the other parks. Praise God that we had 18 decisions for Christ between the three parks. What an awesome week and some great kids at these parks.

Tonight we are hosting a international coffee house in the church. We are expecting about 200 international students to attend. Almost all of these kids are on work visas and they just come to operate the tourist industry form May until August. The normal population of Ocean City is about 20,000 people. During the summer, it swells to almost 350,000 people. Wow!

We are going to leave tomorrow morning about 9 AM for our 12 hour drive home. I cannot wait to see all of you. You should be proud of our team, they have all done a wonderful job of representing God and FBC.

Ocmd day 6

2009-07-10T08:07:00.001-04:00

ocmd day 5

2009-07-08T23:52:00.001-04:00

The end of day 5. Great day. I will blog it tomorrow. Bunch of a pictures on Facebook.

OCMD day 4

2009-07-07T23:48:00.004-04:00

The end of another good day. The day was the same as yesterday except for our night time ministry. Tonight we had a dinner and bible study for the lifeguards. There are 225 lifeguards working 91 stands on the beach.

We are starting to get to know our kids in the morning and are getting very attached. We got to spend a couple of hours on the beach this afternoon for some much needed R and R. The water is freezing, but after you enter the first stages of hypothermia and your body goes numb, it is not that bad.

We have been meeting our summer missionaries each night by listening to their testimonies. Their are amazing! They are just your typical high school and college kids who have decided to give their summers to God. All of them are appointed through NAMB and are funded by the Cooperative program. Just another example of your church tithe at work.

Back to the kids in the morning, pray for strength and endurance for tired youth. Pray also for these kids and parents who are coming. We want them to understand that we are their to show them God's love. Goodnight!

pictures day three

2009-07-07T00:01:00.003-04:00

OCMD day 3

2009-07-06T23:43:00.003-04:00

It is the end of day three. Today was a long day. This morning we went to our four camp grounds and did our Bible clubs. Each camp had between 15-30 kids. We sang songs, played games, did crafts, and had a bible story. Todays story was God created everything (Gen. 1) We had a lot of church kids, but we had some kids that had never heard the story before. What an awesome privilege to be able to tell them about God. I forgot to blog this yesterday, but we found that Ocean City is doing a upward soccer camp this week. Three of our guys (Andrew, Pippen, and John) is helping out at the camp. They had 40 kids today.

After the Bible clubs and lunch, we split up to various ministries. Most of us did a lifeguard ministry where we walked 74 blocks on the beach handing out water to the lifeguards. Some of the rest walked the bridge and witnessed to the fishermen, and some did a sports ministry playing basketball and beach volleyball.

After supper, we went to OCBC west campus and did a Kid's night out for three hours. We did some crafts and Doug lead a kid's yoga class. The kids loved yoga! Great day of ministry and we are starting to build relationships with the children. Keep praying for chances to share our faith with the children, parents, and lifeguards.

OCMD day 2

2009-07-05T23:42:00.002-04:00

We had a great second day. We all went to our camp grounds this morning and had a worship service. Then we attended FBC Ocean City's 11:00 service. We finished the night by leading a family night at Castaway campground. Most of us had great numbers at the service and met some great people. I will post pictures tomorrow. We start our kid's ministry tomorrow, pray for God to do great things.

oc,md day 1

2009-07-04T23:01:00.002-04:00

After a 12 hour van trip, we finally arrived in Ocean City. Not a bad trip, just a little traffic in Norfork and Ocean City. We got to drive across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and watch fireworks on the beach in Ocean City. Tired and off to bed.

The 4 for 6-21-09

2009-06-21T08:56:00.000-04:00

Here are your top four youth announcements for this week:

Come hear me preach tonight @ 6. Learn from Psalm 13 about what to do when God is silent.

2. No The TRiP planning tonight.

Cookout this Saturday @ the Burke’s farm. Meet at the church @ 5 PM. Guys bring a 2 liter drink, girls bring a side item or dessert

Hug your dad today.

crazy beards from last month

2009-06-14T08:41:00.002-04:00

Winners from the International Beard Contest:

Edwin's Corner

2009-06-14T08:39:00.001-04:00

Here is a funny video from camp.

Wes' Week for 6-14-09

2009-06-14T08:38:00.001-04:00

What I am working on

Preparing for The Trip, designing a youth brochure, playing laser tag, preparing sermon for Sunday night, celebrating Father’s Day with a new kid, and maybe a little disc golf.

The Flip

Student Life camp was great. Even though I am a Fuge veteran, I was impressed by Student Life. The camp we went to was for middle school only. So our 28 people were joined by 500 other middle school crazies. Lots of students made decisions and God did some big things while we were there.

Currently Reading

Still reading “Let the Nations be Glad” by John Piper. (90% done)

Finished God wants to save Christians by Rob Bell. I have always been a Rob Bell fan. Really enjoyed this book, not as good as his last two, but still good.

Reading “Following Jesus into College and Beyond” by Jeff Baxter (80% done) I am getting ideas from this book for our new Senior SS class we are starting in the fall. When SS promotes in the fall, we are going to make a Senior coed SS class. It is going to be part regular SS, part college prep. We will teach the students how to survive/thrive as Christians in college.

Untouchables

Our current Wednesday night sermon series is called “The Untouchables.” It is dealing with topics that are uncomfortable to talk about so most people do not even touch them. During our four weeks we will be talking about Homosexuality, Death, Prejudice, and Disability.

The 4 for 6-14-09

2009-06-14T08:20:00.001-04:00

Here are your top four youth announcements for this week:

Summer Wed schedule 5 PM-yHOT, 6 PM-Trip, 7-PMOpen Gym.

2. The TRiP planning tonight at 4:30 in the student worship center.

Super fusion tonight @ 7. Ultimate Frisbee and then ice cream at TCBY. Meet at church bus @ 7, be back by 9:30.

Laser Tag this Tuesday @ Ultra Zone in Pigeon Forge. Meet at church @ 6 PM. Cost is $10. RSVP

Hiking the Chimneys

2009-06-13T15:34:00.003-04:00

Had a great hike with Amillio and Rachel on Thursday. Haven't hiked the chimney tops in about 10 years. I always forget how hard it is to hike. You ascend over 1300 feet in less than 2 miles. A land-sand blocked the easy path to the top, so we had to do a little mountain climbing to reach the summit. Some what dangerous, but we made it safely. What a view from the top. We have an amazing creator God.

still more

2009-06-07T22:26:00.001-04:00

more pics from camp

2009-06-07T22:24:00.001-04:00