Todd's SWARM Blog

Who can save us from ourselves?

 

Have you ever done something or said something and as the thought or action is slowly and at a speed that seems surreal you, the realization that it is not such a great idea hits you but yet out it comes and you just go uugghhhh?

 

Not to me either (roll my eyes)

So today’s question is how do we save us from ourselves? 

We can be our own best friend OR our own worst enemy in many aspects of our lives, financial, personnel and even Spiritual.

When we loose our focus of what God has in store and start“peeking” around to see what we can do better with our life than God can, the trouble begins. Kind of like buying a 200-dollar car and being upset when it breaks down in a week. Whose fault is it?

Must be they guy who sold it right?

No

Ok then it must be the guy who fixed it last and did not do it right huh?

NO!

The only one to blame is looking back it you in the mirror…poor decisions and “settling” for something because it is what is in front of you, to me is one of the  the worst forms of self-destructive behavior. 

We all know that God has things planned for us on HIS time not ours, and when our involvement or should I say our free will allows to do things that are going to “ break down “ because they are not of Him - We are taking the blessings that are in store for us and throwing them away.  We all should focus on only one thing...

Trust God with your life, He has it under control.  

Romans 14:17  (MSG) God's kingdom isn't a matter of what you put in yourstomach, for goodness' sake. It's what God does with your life as he sets itright, puts it together, and completes it with joy. Your task is tosingle-mindedly serve Christ. Do that and you'll kill two birds with one stone:pleasing the God above you and proving your worth to the people around you.

 

The gifts God has in store for us are infinitely more wonderful than what we  can come up withon our own

TRUST HIM

LISTEN TO HIM

HONOR HIM

 

The end or a new beginning ?

So here we are again…Fall is pretty much here and as the seasons change so do we.

Here are a few of the changes in myself that top my list….

Always be excited about the students who are present rather than focuson those who are not.

Does this mean to quite trying toreach the lost ? NO !  NEVER !

But if the main focus is on theones that are not there, how are the Students  sitting in front of you now going to grow if our thoughts are focusing on only where everyone else is

God will bless you with peoplethat need to be there if the focus is on the right  things….

Give the Students a way to grow !

I realized that student’s (and adults) will grow more and take ownership of their Church and Ministry if they have an ACTIVE part in it.

Let them do announcements

Take up offerings

Take over Missions focus

And for some YES even give a message

Occasional Peer Ministry may seem awkward to some leaders, but think about it, they have an advantage of generationally and educationally common experiences with those  they will minister to. In other wordsthey can meet them on their own level where we as adults may “think” we can but sometimes fall a bit short.

Treat them like part of the Church not just bystanders

Whenever  I hear  the phrase that “ Students are the church of tomorrow” I cringe because NOTHING is farther from the truth. Students are the Church of TODAY !!!  There is no set time when they are good enough to do God’s will through them, If they are led, we as  leaders must guide them and teach them how to fulfill that calling NOW !!!!

In 1 Timothy 4  Paul is talking to Timothy about his future Ministry 11 Teach these thingsand insist that everyone learn them. 12 Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love,your faith, and your purity. 13 Until I get there,focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them.

 You are NOT a "lone ranger" in Ministry

I believe  that God has called the Student pastor to lead…to be a decision maker. BUT that only works if you are just as submissive to those you serve over as those you serve under. It is real easy to loose sight of the fact that Ministry  is a TEAM effort and everyone you surround yourself with is just as important (if not more) important than you are. As Paul says in Romans 12:4-8, we are members of a larger body, and we work best when we all work together.

As you all know ( or should ) that September 24^this SYATP ( See Ya At The Pole ) andI personally want to take this opportunity to ask you to challenge yourself to:

“Have the courage to Pray dangerously” 

What do I mean by dangerously ?

Comfortable, feel God prayers are the norm hiding in ourcollective rooms and comfort of our safe places BUT what about the prayers that mess us and those around us up a bit ? 

What about the prayers that ask God to truly move in our lives ?

I read an article the other day that really drove this point home and here is part of that article  this excerpt describes the “dangerous “ I am talking about, 

We need to ask God to :

Search me.There's an old adage that says, "Don't ask the question if you're not ready to hear the answer." A "search me" prayer is dangerous because when you ask God to search your heart for anything that displeases him,he will. So don't pray a "search me" prayer unless you're ready for that kind of exposure!

Break me.Ecclesiastes 3:3 says, "[There is] a time to tear down and a time to rebuild." There's always something in my life that needs to be torn down—whether it's discouragement or pride or insensitivity. If you want to be set free to follow Christ fully, then it's time to pray a "break me"prayer.

Stretch me. Ifyou're tired of going nowhere spiritually or relationally, even your courage to walk with him in a new way. Strength of character is won only by those who respond to life's challenges by asking God to stretch them.

Lead me.It's tempting to avoid dangerous "lead me" prayers that"unsettle" your life. But that's where faith comes in. We need to believe God loves us and wants to lead our life down a better, more God-focused path than we could ever lead ourselves.

Sound like a task we  are up to ? I say HECK YES ! 

The day God quits stretching me or I quite seeking God to make me stronger and more tuned in to the role He has in my life is the day my days as a pastor are done.

Todd

Being real is what it’s all about.NO more to be said.

 

But being me I am going to anyway

We as Christ followers must be constantly on the watch for  “what is real and what is Bling”

What do I mean by Bling ? Some might ask.

Bright, shiny stuff that will blind you, Make you not see clearly or distract you from the truth.  (Todd’s definition) Most “Bling” is just cheap plastic covered in shiny chrome that makes it look good BUT in reality is total junk.

One time I bought a set of really great looking hubcaps for my car instead of real rims.

Hey ! They were cheaper and looked better BUT how many know what happens to chrome coated plastic when a rock orother flying object hits them at 70 MPH- yep, destruction is correct.

The same can be said for people that are not real, They may talk loudest and show the greatest pictures or talk the best talks, show the greatest DVDs or say the perfect things, What is the true motive though ?  

Is it just to say look at me ?  Look how christian i can sound or act or is it to truly glorify God ?

When we  stop focusing  what others are thinking  about us and what we do, in essence putting the "Bling" away and being we you are deep down inside not only will you be happier but God will be pleased.

 God calls us all  to be real not fake. If you claim to be one thing, but there is a side that only a few know,

Which side will speak loudest when strife or trouble comes along ? 

The bright shiny side ? or will the Rock at 70 mph destroy the shiny side and expose what"s underneath ? 

2 Timothy 3:5

⁵They will act as if they are religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. You must stay away from people like that. 

So in short, if it shines really bright and looks really great sometimes you really need to look under the surface to see what you are really getting.

 

Todd 

What do you look for when you go to SWARM ?

Be honest and think hard about this and I will try to give you my view  on what you should not look for. 

You can agree or disagree whatever, But this is important to me.

My calling as a Student Ministry leader is NOT to entertain you, There I said it,

I was called to minister and raise you up to be real, Bible trusting , Christ loving  adults.

There are a lot of groups that feel  Hey lets entertain them and go everywhere and do anything we can to please you and entertain you, But neglecting to feed you the way Jesus fed his followers.

 31So my people come pretending to be sincere and sit before you. They listen to your words, but they have no intention of doing what you say. Their mouths arefull of lustful words, and their hearts seek only after money. 32You are very entertaining to them, like someone who sings love songs with a beautiful voice or plays fine music on an instrument. They hear what you say,but they don’t act on it!                                                                                                                                                            Ezekial 33:31-32

Should there be a time and place for fun and games ABSOLUTELY but that should NOT be the main focus !

If this sounds disappointing to some, I do not apologize but say, I love you to much to do the same thing the world does to you. Life is about choices,  some are going to be tough. This is one of them.

If all we want to focus on “ what a big group we have “  Lets focus on more games and another trip to an amusement park so we can have more people, Sorry not going to happen. There will be fun and there will be trips BUT I will not focus  direction for a ministry and  bet your eternal life on that.

Let me ask a couple questions…..

What if students came to SWARM not because we have the best Student area (we don't ) or that they can win big prizes (don't go there) or for any other self-centered motive ? Instead they came to give themselves to God. 

What  if  teaching and Bible studies could be more relevant

( ugh I hate that word ), or personal and corporate prayer a priority if our own personal witness, evangelism, and outreach  were the focus of  Student ministry. Does applying what we learn on wednesday night and sunday morning encourage our spiritual growth?  YES !!

If you are interested in being entertained and want to call it ministry, Fine,  that’s your call, BUT if you want real,  thought provoking  and in your face challenge  step up and swing away 

 

Todd 

Week 2 of fair week and things have been going smoothly, with only a few minor hiccups UNTIL tonight.

Tonight was propably the scariest night in my horse affiliated life. As we were hauling the senior girls horses into the fair tonight and as we approach a 3 way intersection that I do not have to stop at what could possibly happen except.....You guessed it somebody decieded to run the stop sign right in front of me, Praise God we missed our unexpected introduction with the other vehicle, unfortunately the horses were not as quick to recover.

As the trailer door is opened we look in to find that one of our horses had lost it's footing and fallen, This is bad enough sounding in itself but wait theres more,

The horses head was still tied up and literally the horse as hanging by its halter, the weight of his head and neck on a rope that was to short to allow it to lay completly down.

So we release the rope and the horse jumps right to his feet and would put no weight one of his rear legs. As we get back into the vehicle and continue on not knowing the status of our guy till we arrive at the fair grounds 2 miles away.  During this time we have to tell one of our girls her horse may be seriously injured and we really have no idea till we arrive at fair. 

This is were the story has a great turn, 

All she said was "He's fine" WOW, just 2 words was all she said, "He's fine"

Talk about faith in action !!!!! It remiinds me of a verse in Matthew 21:22-24

 22 Jesus told his disciples:

 Have faith in God!

23 If you have faith in God and don't doubt, you can tell this mountain to get up and jump into the sea, and it will.

24 Everything you ask for in prayer will be yours, if you only have faith.(CEV)

And you know what ? She was right as we arrive to the fairgrounds and get him out of the trailer he was walking fine and all is well,

I absolutely believe that the faith she had in this situation was a miracle work in action.

We all need to follow this example of Faith in action and quit limiting what God can, and will do.

What is it like to be Loved ?
Not BF / GF love
Not the warm cuddly fuzzy feeling love
but Love in it’s purest form ?

Honestly. Do you "LOVE" everyone you meet ? If you don’t does that make you unsaved or Un-Christlike ?

No...It makes you human

There is one pure form of love. Agape love which is a true,selfless love, the genuine caring for someone else NO MATTER WHAT they may have done to you or not done for you !!!!
TRUE Christian love is doing things for others things that you would want them to do for you if you were in their situation, and doing that even if they can’t pay you back. Especially if they can’t pay you back! Christian love ( AGAPE ) is all about others. It’s caring and wanting NOTHING in return.

LUKE 6:30 Give to everyone who comes with a request, and if a man takes away your property, make no attempt to get it back again. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. 32 If you have love for those who have love for you, what credit is it to you? for even sinners have love for those who have love for them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is it to you? for even sinners do the same. 34 And if you let those have the use of your money, from whom you are hoping to get it back, what credit is it to you? even sinners do so to sinners, hoping to get back as much as they gave. 35 But be loving to those who are against you and do them good, and give them your money, not giving up hope, and your reward will be great and you will be the sons of the Most High: for he is kind to evil men, and to those who have hard hearts.

Final words for tonight


A Pharisee once asked Jesus, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" Jesus said to him, ’You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ’You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22:36-40)

HMMMM some goal to reach for huh ?

Todd