So, I haven't blogged much lately...I haven't really had very much to blog about...until lately. I've had a few things that have been running through my mind. And I feel like I need to unload some of it.

1. Lisa and I went to my Grandmother's funeral and it was the best funeral I have ever been to. I know that sounds kind of weird, but that is the only way I can think of describing it. My Grandmother was a great woman of God and it was evident through her life. The pastor who gave the sermon also made it very evident that my Grandmother loved God more than anything else. He talked about my Grandmother's love for everyone else, the way she served her church and others, but even though those things were important to her, the one thing that mattered more than those things was her love for Jesus and His love for her. It was very moving to hear.
I was also a pole bearer. All the grandsons were pole bearers for the funeral...that was the hardest part of the whole day. I helped place my grandmother into the hearse before she was taken to the cemetery. It was hard. But I know that my Grandmother is with Jesus. It is so comforting to know that and be confident that she is so much better off. There is no better place than where she is now.


2. As I have posted about earlier I am reading the Purpose Driven Youth Ministry and evaluating where the youth program has been going and what not. So the last chapter I read was about teaching students spiritual disciplines. It was truly convicting because it was talking about my ultimate goal as a youth pastor...to be able to equip my students to live a life as a follower of Jesus Christ without dependence on attending programs. To be able to develop habits that they can take with them once they graduate from High School and move on into their next phase of life. It was convicting because I have not really made any true effort to do that. I have not purposefully done anything to spur them on in their spiritual disciplines. It was good to read because I needed to read it. But it was also hard because God was showing me something that I was falling short on.
My prayer is that I will be able to develop a way in order to purposefully challenge and encourage the students in our church's ministry to develop spiritual disciplines in their lives.


3. I had Junior High Youth Group tonight, which is 7th & 8th grade. We are watching these videos that Rob Bell puts out. (For those of you who do not know who Rob Bell is...He is the Pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, MI) The video series that he does is called NOOMA (here's the link, check it out: http://www.nooma.com). In the videos, Rob Bell does a 15 minute talk about a topic and he uses visuals to help get his point across.
So, to get to the real reason I am telling you all this. The video that we watched today was called Rhythm. In it, Rob Bell is talking about your relationship with God and how He thinks of God like a song. And it’s a song that has been played for generations and through different cultures and over thousands of years. And some people don’t hear the song or they don’t think the song is playing. Or some people are too into how the song feels and have no appreciation for the notes and the way the song is written, but some people concentrate too much on the technical aspects of the song and are too critical of the song and are not will to sometimes just enjoy the song and get into the song. Rob Bell also talks about being in tune with the song and being a part of the song...it is so hard to describe and write down. But when you are a part of the song, you need to be in tune with it or it just doesn’t sound right…if you are not in tune with God…if you are not in a relationship with God, then there is something that is just not right…I sat there and listened to Rob Bell talk about this and I started getting in tune with God. It was an awesome feeling. God was there and I was feeling His presence and I felt in tune with Him and I could feel the rhythm of His song. It was awesome…Hallelujah.


So, that’s what’s been going on lately in the mind of Paul…This coming week is Spring Break for me…so that means no youth groups and no evening things going on so I get to relax during the night. But it also gives me some time to catch up on some work and plan ahead for the summer and start thinking about next year. Yippee!!!

Grandma Block

My Grandma Block passed away last night. It is sad, but also a time for celebration. My Grandmother had a faith in God that was awesome. I didn't truly understand her faith until I understood mine, but she was a wonderful woman on Christ. She was 93 years old and lived a good life. She was a eucher fanatic and would not miss a card game at the nursing home in which she lived. She would even cut family visits short if it was time to play cards. And this woman was an awesome eucher player. She could beat anyone. I never saw her lose a game. One time when Lisa and I played against her and my Uncle Mel, they table talked in German through the whole game. Lisa and I didn't know what they were saying. They beat us 10-0. Grandma kept looking at our score card and moving the cards so that just the tip of the first heart on the 5 was showing and would say, "You just got to let them breath a little." I love my Grandma.

My Grandma came from a long line of German ancestry and would always be trying to teach someone and German word here or there. She was always teaching the grandkids German words. She was so cute.

When we celebrated Christmas, we would sing the first verse to Silent Night in German, every year. So, in tribute to my Grandma Block here are the word to Silent Night in German

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,Alles schläft, einsam wacht Nur das traute, hochheilige Paar,Holder Knabe im lockigen HaarSchlaf in himmlischer Ruh'!
Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh'!

There is so much more that I could say about my Grandma, but I know that she is in Heaven glorifying God and worshipping Him. Which is a comforting thought. It makes me smile to know that she is there at this moment. I do miss her, but I am happy to know that she is with God, and there is no better place to be.

Check out this guy's blog

This is so cool...A 33 year old Youth Worker is going back to high school for 2 weeks and he is blogging about it. It is really interesting to read some of his observations about high school. It is also interesting to read a lot of the comments...there are a lot from students and from adults. It's cool. So, check it out...here it is http://www.twoweeksback.com/wordpress/

Yet another funny story from Junior Youth

Yesterday we were talking about being sheep or goats from Matthew 25 and how God wants to help the poor and hungry. So, the students were working on a worksheet which had 5 questions on it and they were supposed to say if they were a sheep(if they did these things) or if they were a goat(they don't do these things). One of the girls came over to me and showed me her paper. She had marked down two sheep and three goats. She then said to me, "I'm 2% sheep and 3% goat." I said, "That's only 5%, where is the 95%?" She replied, "There's only 5 questions!" with a tone of what are you talking about, and then walked away. I couldn't help but laugh. I love these kids.

FUMC Youth Ministry's Purpose

In one of my previos posts I mentioned that I have been reading the Book Purpose Driven Youth Ministry. Reading this book has given me a chance to evaluate the youth ministry that I have been leading here at FUMC(for those of you who don't know what FUMC is: First United Methodist Church). The chapter that I read today is about communicating your youth ministry's purpose. This has been difficult for me in the past. I am not a very good at communicating my thoughts to people. So this chapter was really good in convicting me of not communicating it in spite of my shortcomings and it was also good in giving me some ideas of how to communicate it. So here is our youth ministry's purpose statement:

The purpose of the First United Methodist Church's Youth Ministry is to Guide students into a relationship with Jesus Christ, to Gather them with other Christians, to Grow them in their faith, to challenge them to Give of themselves and their time for others, and to Glorify God with their lives.

That is our purpose statement, but the challenge is teaching the purpose of our ministry and to have people remeber it. The question that I have pondering for most of the day is "How do I make the purposes of my youth ministry known to others?" I have some ideas, but the key will be if they are effective or not. That is where I worry and have to remind myself to let God be the guide of the ministry and not myself.

I am praying that God will give me guidance in how I convey our purpose to those who need to hear it...the students, leadership, and parents.

thoughts about God working in my life (I hope they make some sense)

So a couple of weeks ago I was thinking about what to give up for Lent, because that is what you are supposed to do. I couldn't really think of anything right away, but I was praying about it and God put on my heart that I have been quite complacent with my relationship with Him. I haven't been spending much time with Him and I have been listening to lies that Satan has been putting in my mind. Lies like, "You don't need to spend time with God, you just prepped a bible study for the Senior High...that was your time with Him." or "You just spent some time in prayer with the Junior Youth, what do you need to pray now for...You should go work on a flyer for your next event that is coming up." Lots of little lies that are preventing me from growing in my relationship with Christ. So I challenged myself to give up complacency for Lent. With the hope that I will continue on after Lent not being complacent.

Which leads me to today...the First day of Lent(Ash Wednesday). I need to back up a second and explain something else. Last night Lisa and I were talking about Lent and Lisa had looked up on-line why Lent had originally started. She told me that it was to focus on our SIN before the Easter celebration. Which would make the Easter celebration even more of a reason to celebrate. Lent is designed to help you think about your sin and when it ends you celebrate that your sin is forgiven by Jesus death and ressurection.

Okay, so back to my original thought. So I am giving up Complacency... I am going to give more of my time to God. Any time that I feel that I am being lazy or I should be with God...I am going to do it. I am not going to give into Satan's lies and I am going to listen to God. (which, by the way, I should be doing all the time, I know.) All of this is easier said then done. So, today I spent some time with God asking Him to help me with this commitment that I have made with Him. And, so far I am doing pretty good. It is only day 1, but slow and steady wins the race.

So as part of my spending time with God I decided that I would read a book. I picked out the Purpose Driven Youth Ministry because I need a refresher and some renewed focus in my ministry(Satan has been blurring that a little too). I read this book about 2 years ago when I got the Youth and Family director job a FUMC, because I needed some guidance in where to go with the ministry that I was going to be leading. So, anyway...I am reading this book and the first chapter is all about "The Power of God" Explaining that a good Youth Ministry is not about hype and flashy programs, but about spiritual growth. It also talks about where that starts with the leadership...trusting in God to guide the ministry, using God's strength and not your own. It was good to read but also very convicting at the same time. I have a PASSION to see the students in our church grow in their relationships with God... to learn how to trust Him with their lives...to make Him a priority... to not be complacent in their walk, but how can they learn all those things if they are not seeing it lived out.

"Healthy youth ministry begins when we take seriously the power of God for our own spiritual lives. A direct connection exists between a leader's spiritual vitality and a healthy youth ministry. Today's youth ministry training often overemphasizes how to do the work of God and neglects how to be a person of God." --Doug Fields(author of Purpose Driven Youth Ministry)

Suffice to say, God has been working in me lately. It is a good feeling. I feeling, that I am sad to say, that I have not felt in a while. Thank you God for your work in my life and how you are reaching students even with my shortcomings and faults. PRAISE GOD!!!!!!