The Mental Problem is a Family Thing

My direction in life was hugely impacted this day 8 years ago. The Columbine shooting was one of those events like 9-11 that changes you. I remember that the initial impact was minimal to me. I hear about the shooting and thought “Oh, that’s terrible.” When I saw the news footage,it began to settle in more. When I saw the funeral ceremonies and the video of students weeping, it only moved me more.

The thing which blew me away was the first story I heard about a girl named Cassie Bernall who had been asked if she believed in God. She said yes and the shooter blew her away. She could have been any girl in my youth group. She had the guts and the commitment to risk her life for her belief. She was, what I desired every student to be like.

The story which sealed it and influenced me to go into full time youth ministry instead of coaching, was the story of Rachel Joy Scott. She too had been asked about her belief in God and was killed instantly. As stories came out about her life, I saw the impact the faith of one student could have on the world. She had her struggles, her battles, but she refused to be average as a Christian. THAT inspired me.

Without a doubt, I owe a lot to those two girls. They inspired me that all students ave the potential to change the world. Age doesn’t matter. I look forward to meeting both of them one day.

After nearly 12 hours of travel, I am finally here. The football stadium is literally next door. I have had a steady diet of gummy bears so far today and am really hungry with a bad headache. I managed to buy a cheap pair of noise reducing headphones which was interesting. They cut out every noise around me including the screaming kid behind me….SWEET!

I arrived at the car dealership. They had terminated my reservation because I was late, but he had mercy on me. He gave me a souped up Dodge Durango for the price of a car. SWWEET! This thing has more bells and whistles than I will ever use.

My hotel is a letdown. For the price I am paying, I’m getting ripped. The price is high because of the stadium next door…it’s not even the season! I am sitting on my bed and there is an odor of skunk coming from something. I haven’t figured out what yet and I’m too tired to sniff around the room to find out. If Pepe LePhew is under my bed, I would prefer to leave him alone. I have no internet in my room…WHAT? I have to go to the restaurant upstairs (14^th floor) or the lobby downstairs (7 floors down).

I haven’t decided what to do on Monday, but I will be sleeping in. I am debating on going to the Nuggets-Lakers game. I’m not a big NBA guy. Columbine will most likely be Tuesday and Colorado Springs on Wednesday. So much to do…so little time.

I miss you all! Easter service ROCKED. I listened to Inside Out, Came To The Rescue, Did You Feel The Mountains Tremble and Hallelujah at least 15 times on the way here. Inside Out is just clicking with my soul right now. What a great song.

Alright…going to bed. Hopefully Pepe LePhew will stay under the bed. View from my room below…Six Flags and the skyline

I am entering my 11th year in youth ministry. Just when I think I have it all figured out, God reminds me that I don’t know squat. It’s a good thing. God keeps me humble with it. It’s crazy that no youth group is exactly the same. Not everything works with all three groups other than the gospel!

The first group I worked with was on fire and growing like crazy. The second was small, but was very loyal with each other. My leadership team was amazing at Hope. My current ministry is my first large group experience and my first experience with middle school by itself. I am walking through this. A gospel presentation that would have worked in the past has not seemed to have been effective so far. This can be discouraging, but I know it is another opportunity to learn what God is teaching me. So my eyes remain open. I’m still figuring this all out. My desire to see students change remains the same.

I have no clue what changes I am going to have to make for the culture I am in. I know there will be some. Who knows what AMPED will look like in a year. I leave it in His hands and follow His lead. Anytime I get in the way, things get bad.