A Shift in Focus

August marks my ninth year of being in Student Ministry.  Today marked the last day of VBS for 2016. I was reminded again that there is nothing like Student Ministry. VBS is a hectic week that takes a lot out of you but gives back far more. Yes, it requires energy and patience and saps both like a battery that is powering something a little too large but the returns are ten-fold. It's fun to go crazy and get into the games we play (and I do) but the best part is discussing what they are learning. Here is where the fun begins because these kids soak it up and like to share. Watching God move in them and listening to what He is showing them never gets old.


That being said here is why this blog post was written.


I've written on Missions before and how God has changed my focus from being unsure as to how I was really supposed to be involved if I couldn't go to eagerly taking on a different aspect in a way I'd not planned.The Blessing of No and much has transpired since then.  Last year during VBS we started doing Missions with the students like they would have done in the Elementary School age kids. Where we showed them that there were people around the world that had never heard the name Jesus and those that had often died because they shared it last year, this year was focused on local mission work.

   If they were like me when I was there age I considered mission work the stuff that sent you halfway around the world to a different country or continent. Showing them how important it was that they engage here was a blast. Each day I told them about a different organization that they could help with to show Christ to the city. Though not all five of them were themselves Church related organizations the emphasis was on actually getting out and serving people without traveling around the world. It was a big change from talking about Unreached People Groups and the Persecuted Church but it was a good change.

I will gladly talk mission work with you and can do so for hours, especially if that work involves Africa. But, showing these students (and myself) that being here is important, God honoring work is something that I needed as much as they did. Most of these kids will probably not grow up to be foreign missionaries but all of them will grow up to have influence over other people at some point in their lives. If they realize now that the people they meet here need Jesus as much as the people that have never heard His name then they've got more time to influence the kids they go to school with in a time where that is desperately needed.

  I've recently been given the opportunity to help a friend as she heads to Bundibugyo,Uganda in September. If this had happened last year I can't say that I would have so easily seen the opportunity given to me. It wouldn't have felt quite so humbling to know that I'm being given a part in seeing Christ taken to the nations. As I stood on that stage this week and talked to these students I could feel God reminding me that His plan for my life was different than mine but it was better. That my job was not to go at this time but to help get those He called sent and show that there was plenty of work to do here. Christ needs to be taken to the nations and one of those nations is right here in my backyard.

I'm grateful for the opportunity to get up in front of students and have them sit and listen (minus the yelling of Jared Vinegar when I walked on or off said stage) to me talk about something God has drawn my heart towards. I'm also glad to be taught while I'm supposed to be the one teaching something.

In life most often all that is required is a shift in focus, from what you've got your eyes on to God. It isn't always easy but it is where we need to be looking.

No Agenda;Love

I woke up to a lit screen on my cellphone with alerts from BBC about a club shooting in Orlando. Confident that I was dreaming I went back to sleep. When I woke the second time I realized it was real. It didn't take long for my Twitter feed to fill with the agendas of the rich and famous and politicians. You know the kind; Stricter gun control,close the borders, death to Muslims. These were laced with prayers and thoughts of support for the people of Orlando but still they pushed an agenda.

  Do I agree with homosexuality? Not by a long shot. I feel that it is wrong. But, when we cannot come together as people and grieve over the loss of life we have a problem. Fifty people were killed because one man decided that he didn't agree with the way they lived so they needed to die. Instead of grieving and loving as we should the country is instead arguing about what needs to be done. This is a problem. We need to take a step back and give these people the respect they deserve, that doesn't mean squabbling like a bunch of dogs over a bone. Instead, it means ignoring the things that we disagree on and uniting under the commonality of being humans.

The world isn't populated by robots. When we bleed it is red. Our differences do not make us less human they are what makes us human. If we can't come together for a single day to recognize that all life is valuable it doesn't matter what you agree or disagree with, we might as well quit while we are ahead and just do away with any and all civility. These people deserve more than that. They should be mourned, they should not be used as bargaining chips. By doing so we cheapen their lives and dishonor them.

  I couldn't care less if you want guns banned. It doesn't matter that you want to close our borders. All I'm asking is for a single day, just take a step back,breathe, and remember those who lost their lives. Mourn, grieve, and pray for their families. They do not need those they lost to be tossed around as fodder to get a law passed or to make a point. They need support. When we fight we are not accomplishing anything but allowing the hate that was shown this morning to win.

I watched a city and a world unite almost a year ago when my own town was attacked by a terrorist. Orlando needs us to unite now. No agenda, just love.