God Is Moving

Great Story for my readers out there in Blog World:

Southern Heights Desiring More Student Ministry had there TLW ring ceremony last night. I was a little nervous because we have some students who like to be morons sometimes, and I don't want to get fired because of it. So to say that I was a little uptight is an understatement. 10 minutes before the service starts, a lady comes and asks to have a second alone with me. In my head I was thinking, "Here it is. I'm about to get chewed out about something." You see my time here at Southern Heights has been incredibly peaceful. If there has been a bump in the road, it was a very tiny one. She looks at me and says, "When you first got here I had some real issues with you." I was thinking to myself that I just needed to run. I couldn't take anymore stress at that moment. She continued, "At times, I just didn't like you ." Yep, I was about to get punched in the face. Then it happened. No, I didn't get punched in the face, but that would not have shocked me more than what was said next. "But I was wrong. Can you forgive me?" Jesus is amazing. Not because I felt better about myself, or because I didn't get punched in the face. Because He so convicted a wonderful lady to apologize to a dorky 23 year old youth minister who probably caused many people besides this woman to not like him. Those are spiritual break throughs that the Body of Christ needs to have a successful ministry. That sweet, sweet woman is not only closer to Jesus now, but has proved that she cares about Jesus, her relationship with Him. She didn't want anything to be in the way of that. God help me to mend hardships so I can be closer to You. Thank you for people who love Jesus more than themselves.

That's my story. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed experiencing it.

Saturday's 7

• Last night was some of the loudest thunder I have ever heard in my life...I actually thought one clap of thunder was Christ returning.
• We are still in the process of moving. I WILL NOT do this again for a very, very, very long time.
• School is getting a lot better, at least until I have to write those monster papers.
• My wife is amazing. She painted two bathrooms and the cabinets in one day, constantly watches the nosiest two year old ever while doing everything else, and still lets me play basketball. I need to do something nice for her.
• I really want to go to bed.
• Our True Love Waits Ceremony is tomorrow night. It should be really nice.
• I'm reading the book, "Grasping God's Word". It could be one of the most profitable books I've ever read.

TAG!!

I have been tagged...I'm not sure exactly what that means, but I do know I have to answer these questions. Enjoy this special glance into my life:

-Where was I ten years ago? I was in eight grade being the biggest loser in the world.

-Things on my to-do-list today: Move some furniture, play basketball, eat...a lot, maybe do some school work.

-What would I do if I suddenly became a billionaire? Pay off the building fund for Southern Heights, build a sweet gym, MISSIONS!!

-3 of my bad habits: Picking my nose, scratching my butt, and throwing trash in the floor of my truck

-5 jobs I've had: Umpire, Electrician, Personal Trainer, Basketball gym operator, and Student Minister

-5 things you don't know about me: I'm really clumsy, I like to read, I drive WAY too fast when I'm alone, I'm obsessed with blogging, and I have a sweet gray hair in the back of my head

I tag Jessie

DM Demolition

You know what is cool about being a student minister...I get to see teenagers love Jesus on their own. No one in our student ministry is made to come by their parents because most of our kids parents aren't in church. And another great thing is...they are here for the right reasons. I hear so many student pastors talking about their students texting, talking, and disrupting. We just don't have those problems, and I don't know why. It's definitely not me or anything special we are doing. God is just moving here, and I like it. We are in a definite season of Spring (in a spiritual sense), where new things and exciting things are happening and I don't want to be anywhere else. Of course, we do have the occasional, "OK it's time to chill out speech" before we start but that is usually the extent. I know in the future that God will put us in a time of trial but Paul tells me to rejoice about that too!! Paul was in prison about to die and he said, "Rejoice, I say it again Rejoice!!" Why should I do anything different in anytime or situation in my life?

• 14 Students. I'm really excited about this considering it was Spring Break and our choir students are in New York.
• We prayed in small groups for those who had made purity commitments.
• We sang Mighty To save together, and I thought it was great.
• Megan and I just opened up about our pasts to the students. We told them consequences we faced for not loving Jesus enough to wait.
• We closed and ate at Pizza Hut:)

I'm just excited to see our students fall in love with Christ. Pray for us...We have a chance to be seriously used by God.

Sweet Links

Here are some sites and videos I've been really enjoying lately...

• John Piper tells us the truth behind the prosperity gospel...This sermon is so powerful.
• Amazon gets all of my money...this is a sad statement, but I love this site.
• Ryan is the youth pastor at FBC Abbeville. This guy is pretty much incredible and here is his site to prove it.
• TJ Mauldin is one of my most favorite people in the world. He is also one of the most gifted worship leaders with the purest hearts I've ever met. Here is the Band's myspace. Listen to Letting Go (my favorite) and watch the videos and buy their cd.
• If you need to go back to school...Liberty is the place.
• This guy is amazing.

Awareness Test

SO you think you know what's going on?? I did too until I watched this video and realized I'm a loser. Have fun with this...and let me know if you got it.

Loving Berryville Folks

So this morning the family is here in the office with me. My wife is doing the whole VBS thing so JP is here destroying my office...which is ok. I don't mind it too much until he throws a football at pictures lining the wall. Anyway, This morning I was thinking about how awesome it is to live in Berryville. I really don't appreciate it as much as I should...especially the people. Marci and Allen Rogers are two of those people. Their son Benjamin is JP's best friend and if it wasn't for that family it would be extremely hard for us to be here. Pretty much everyone in our Sunday School Class is amazing to us, and those people make living in Berryville (13 hours from home) easy. Then you have to consider how amazing my wife is. She has never known anything but Eufaula, AL and yet she is understanding and excited that we are here. Her heart is to do what God wants no matter how uncomfortable or "logical" it may be. God isn't about our comfort zones or our "good sense". He is about His glory and that's what we should be about too. I just appreciate the people who have made this leap into the unknown for us fantastic.

JP and his best friend Benjamin.

Picture recap of Easter

Warming up before the big hunt...I'm teaching him to keep his eyes on the prize.























Child prodigy




















Getting ready to dominate






















Dominating




















Victory walk











Actually the hunt was great, and all the kids had tons of fun. I'll post more pics later.

The Excitement of the Dead Rising to Life

I always think about how incredible it would have been to walk with Jesus the way the Disciples did. To see the feeding of the 5,000. To see Jesus walk on water. To see Him heal the sick and restore sight to the poor. I also can't imagine the pain and hurt those guys experienced from seeing their best friend, their leader, the One they gave up everything for hanging on a cross and dying before their very eyes. All believers feel horrible about what Christ went through for us, but the one's there...they felt it...they felt true emotional torment. Then three days later, seeing Jesus alive. Knowing it is Him by feeling the holes in His hands and in His side. Talk about an emotional roller coaster. To see Him there breathing, smiling, placing His hands on your face telling them what they are to start doing must have been an indescribable feeling. The Resurrection is our hope as believers. The Apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the Corinthians that without the Resurrection our faith and preaching is empty. When Jesus conquered death, He gave us the ability to move past the grave. Death could not hold Him!! I was so excited to see so many people at church this morning, but to be all honest if you truly know a Risen Savior He deserves more than one day a year of worship. If you truly know Him...it is not a question. You desire to live you life for Him and Him alone. Why?? Because He died for us, beat death for us, and now offers everlasting life to us. Today turn from following your desires, ask Jesus to save you and be Lord of your life. Experience joy by turning everything over to Him.

Saturday's 7

• My brother is in town...that means we'll be eating out. A lot.
• I'm pretty excited about North Carolina winning the tourney. Yeah that's right. I'm calling it now.
• The 6th grade boys traveling team is 2-1. After that pretty bad beat down Harrison gave us, we've been looking pretty good. Austin Carr is entering the draft next year.
• I'm glad TLW is almost over. I'm ready to move on to the Names of God series.
• Easter is tomorrow, and the musical is tomorrow night. I hear Heath Worley may be singing a solo so I'm going to definitely be here. Of course I have to be because it is my job, but now I'm really really excited.
• There are people all over the church this morning setting up for our Easter Egg Hunt. Maybe I should be helping instead of doing this???
• School is pretty horrible. I'm learning more in these two classes than I have in any other class, but there is so much work I can't seem to get a good attitude about it. Pray for me.

Fridays Five Most Favorite Eating Places...Berryville

So for you guys who don't know much about Berryville, the eating joints kick some serious butt. Even the regular fast food places are so much nicer than anywhere we've been. To my Berryville readers remember: this is just Berryville.

5. Geraldi's- Most likely the best Lasagna a brother's ever ate.

4. Gardner's- Brings back the memories of the Dogg House in Abbeville.

3. Lucky Dragon- I was a little skeptical my first time seeing all American people working at a Chinese place, but dude the Sweet and Sour Chicken or Pork is AMAZING!! Even though it is not a buffet you leave full.

2. Pizza Hut- I know what you are saying, "Ricky, that is ridiculous!" Come try Berryville's Pizza Hut, and be quieted.

1. Crystal Mountain- This nice Mexican restaurant is great. La Bamba and Old Mexico can't stand next to to this place. The Fajitas are the best, the tacos great, and the fried cheesecake will make you slap your mama.

DM Demolition

Another DM service has come and gone and this one could have been the best yet. Dude, God just showed up, and those are the kind of services that give me the hope to keep going. God is so faithful.

• 22 student showed of for Desiring More last night. This is our highest number yet, and we seem to be growing more each week. Not because of the hype about how cool our service is but because the students we've discipled love Jesus and they care about their friends. I'm extremely proud of our students.
• Worship was a little different last night. We played How Great is our God and asked all students just to sit and be quiet in His presence. God was speaking from stage one.
• Invitation songs were I love you Lord by Generation Unleashed, and Mighty to Save by Hillsong.
• During the commitment time we had 21 of the 22 students decide to make a pledge of purity. We are praying for all the students to remain strong in their desire to be obedient to Christ, but the reality is if half of the students honor their commitment it'll be a success.

The last Sunday night of this month we'll have our TLW ceremony and honor the students who made commitments. I'm extremely excited for the church to see their students stand up against the popular opinion of the world. Pray for our students. Pray for the people of influence in their lives. God is good and can't wait to see what He does next for us.

Commitments Disregarded

I remember way back in the day talking to a great friend about TLW. He was 5 years older than me, but was still cool enough to take me home after practices or after church. We had just got home from Atlanta Fest where they actually had people sign TLW cards. The card plainly states that, "Believing that true love waits, I make a commitment to God, myself, my family, my friends, my future mate, and my future children to a lifetime of purity including sexual abstinence from this day until the day I enter a biblical marriage relationship." He told me that was the third time he had signed the card and had sex after every time. Each time he signed it he sincerely meant to remain pure, but the lust of the flesh was just too much. These past weeks in preparation for TLW I have wondered long and hard how to keep this from happening with our students. Tonight is signing night. Tonight is commitment night. My prayer is...that this card will not be the foundation of their desire to remain pure but that their love for Jesus will be that foundation. Through knowing Him personally their lives will truly be transformed. John 8:31 Jesus says, "If you obey me you are truly followers of me." I want this to be more than a number night to see how many students sign pieces of paper. I want it to be a night where students gain a deep passion to live in obedience to Christ.

Would Jesus have played basketball?

Tonight is basketball night. Tuesday's around 5:30 I go to the community center and meet up with some older guys and we play for a couple of hours. If you remember last week I came away pretty stinking frustrated because of a couple of guys who were being...umm...jerks. While I was spending some time with Jesus this morning, He just spoke peace to me. He allowed me to remember I was lost too once, and if it wasn't for some die hard Jesus Freaks who looked past my obnoxious personality I may have never learned of His great love. I would be doing nothing for the kingdom if I met up with 12 other strong believers in a church gym every week to play basketball. I was commanded to go out into the world. Read your bible and that's where you will always find Jesus....with the dirty, the poor, the obnoxious, the whores, the liars, the thieves, and any other person who just didn't know Him. He didn't save me so I could sit in my office and bask in my great discovery because I didn't discover anything. He found me. I never looked for Him. He called me to Himself. Why, oh why, would I ever think that a lost person is looking for Jesus??!! We have to take Jesus to them. So I need to quit expecting people who are lost to act saved. So I need to get off my lazy butt in my incredibly comfortable chair and go into the fields. Let's go hang around some sinners....and be light in a dark world.

HOLD UP...It's Bracket Time!!

I'm sitting here staring at the new NCAA tourney bracket. Partly excited, partly ticked off. Excited because this could possibly be my most favorite time of year, Ticked off because my stupid printer keeps cutting some of it off. Anyway, just glancing I would say the East has to be the toughest mainly because of the monster that is North Carolina. They are ridiculous, and I know they lost to Maryland and a very decent Duke, but with Lawson full strength they are a safe pick. Also the East has tough Butler, Tennessee, and Notre Dame teams. If you skip across the country and look at the West, from the very beginning I said UCLA was back in it's prime. With it's only real threats coming from Purdue and Duke. If you know me, you know I HATE Duke, but I'll be the first to admit if they are draining threes they're going to be umm...hard to beat. The South is my other argument for toughest region. With Memphis, Texas, Stanford, a hot Pitt team, and a well coached Kentucky team, this is all up to who is hotter on a particular night. And the Midwest, well, Kansas and Georgetown. My picks to win it all?? I have to do some serious praying about this. I hate picking the safe UNC, but hey, they are monsters. We'll see in a couple of days after I fill out 22 brackets.

Please leave some comments...who's in your Final 4???

Leadership Meetings

We have a student leadership team that meets every Sunday afternoon to plan every detail of our Desring More service. I have had a lot of questions about this and how it works so let me explain. We have a group of students that are split into two different groups. One is our prayer leadership team. This team is responsible for our small group prayer time. These are the students that lead each small group for about a ten minute prayer time after they have taken a passage of scripture on prayer and explained it. Every Sunday afternoon they take this scripture and they teach it to me just like they will our students. OUr second team is our worship team that is responsible for picking out our prayer and worship music and typing up all powerpoints. These students also must answer accountability questions each week. I sit down with them before the start of every series a week or so in advance to plan out our stage settings and any other change in the service we may make. They are the ones who are required to sit with our visitors, stay late to help clean, and be the example at school that truly represents Christ. In almost five years of ministry, this has been my most productive system of gaining and training students in Christ.

Just a side note...We won our 6th grade basketball game yesterday. Spiritual lesson?? Winning is a lot more fun than losing:)

Saturday's 7

• We had our first 6th grade basketball game yesterday. We got smoked...bad. I've tried to think of something spiritual to get out of it but nothing comes to mind.


• Megan's parents are leaving today. It has been nice having some family around.


• Classes start next Monday. I get pretty depressed when I think about all the papers I have to write. These could be the hardest classes yet.


• Some churches do stupid things. I'm sorry to those who aren't believers who get bad views of the Body of Christ because we do stupid stuff.


• I'm excited about next Wednesday's Desiring More service. We are going to talk about what Purity looks like and give students the opportunity to respond by making a commitment to remain sexually pure.


• We have our 2nd 6th grade basketball game today. I hope we don't get crushed, and if we do I hope I can find something spiritual in it.


• I would love to talk to this guy about his theology.

Happy Birthday...yesterday

I absolutely can't believe we had JP's 2nd birthday yesterday. It's so weird to see him grow and learn. He speaks in semi-sentences, he learns things so much faster, and he has hair (me and Megan thought he was going to be bald forever). The best part is him showing love on his own. Pretty much every morning before I leave the house, while my child is engulfed in Mickey's playhouse, Handy Mandy, or Little Einsteins, he never fells to run up to me and give me a kiss. When he hugs you he pats your back. When you tell him you love him he gives an almost playful sarcastic, "I know." I mean look at the pic...hanging out on the parents bed, legs crossed, flipping the tv to ESPN (a Father's dream). Being a Father is the most amazing thing. God has been great to us. To realize my love for JP and to know that God's love for me is an unrealizable amount more blows me away. That He gave His Son to die for me...That is unimaginable love. That is love in it's purest form. That's God's love.

DM Demolition

OK. I'm going to be honest, on Thursdays I'm completely useless. I'm not quite sure yet exactly why Desiring More drains me so badly, but last night was definitely worth it. Every Thursday morning pretty much the only thing I do is completely break down our worship service. Sometimes I can be kind of hard so that why we are calling Thursday "DM Demolition".

• 16 students were there last night!! This may not sound like a lot to some, but this is up from 4 just 10 months ago and with two other STRONG student ministries (that I love and respect) in the area we count this as success. 16 good, GROWING, young students. I'm so excited
• Our worship music included: Joyful by the Dutton Band and First Love by Joel Engle
• Decision Songs included: I Love You Lord by Generation Unleashed (amazing!!) and Savior King by Hillsong
• Message points: 1. God owns our heart. (1 Corinthians 6:20) 2. God asks us to guard our heart. (Proverbs 4:23) 3. God asks us to search our heart. (Psalm 26:2)

To be honest I thought at the start everything was going to be a bust. Everyone was unusually hyper. All credit goes to Jesus for calming and speaking to their hearts. Props to Kim and Jeff Phillips for completely remodeling the student ministry area. It's impossible for a student minister to his job without stinkin cool adults. I appreciate them a lot. Continue to pray for us. We desire more than surface Christianity. Peace...I'm chillin for the rest of the day.

I just ate some Chinese food and it was amazing. Every Wednesday I get to hang out with some cool student pastors and eat. I recommend this at least once a week for everyone no matter your profession. Being with people who build you up is vital in life, and doing so over some General Pao Chicken makes it even better.

Is winning worth it?

I'm a little frustrated this morning. I can't get over a tiny small incident last night. I play basketball with some guys every Tuesday. It is usually a lot of fun. They are older guys who play the game really well and are out there for exercise. Don't get me wrong they are competitive, but it never gets out of hand...I mean we are adults right?? Well, last night some guys who come but never get to play much, actually hit some free throws to get to play. Then it all started. I'll admit our team was loaded and it was never fair in the first place but two guys from the other team just started screaming at each other ridiculous cuss words. Yes there were kids watching there dads play while two morons decided who was worse in a 3 grade shouting match. I'm sorry but that really gets to me. We have no desire to even act like we have sense and class anymore. I know what you are thinking. Ricky, this is pretty mean and why didn't you be the super spiritual one and talk to these guys about Jesus!!?? I know I probably should have a little more love in my heart than I do now, but my flesh was in overdrive last night...and today. Whenever I see these guys again I want to love them. Probably the same thing is going to happen next Tuesday. How will I act? Will I put to death my sinful attitudes and actions so these guys can see light? I want to so much. When I think about last night and why exactly they were fighting it makes me realize just the messed up view we have on life. We'll fuss and fight for things that don't matter just to hear someone say you are right. Basketball is fun and winning is great, but Jesus never let me compromise my testimony over it. The same thing can be related to our church business meetings or deacon meetings or committee meetings. Don't compromise your witness to be right. An incredibly smart man once told me, "You can be right, but if you're rude...you're wrong."

TLW

We start our True Love Waits series tomorrow night. I'm pretty stinkin excited about this. Our first teaching lesson will be on God's original intent for our heart. We'll talk about how He owns our heart, He asks us to guard our heart, and search our heart. My prayer is that our students will see the importance of purity. Berryville is a weird place when it comes to relationships. I was at the community center about a week ago and overheard a bunch of fifth grade guys talking about who they were dating and what they were planning on trying to do this weekend. That freaks me out. I mean seriously how young will it get?? Today's idea of purity is about as important as what is in your litter box at home. Who is to blame?? MTV? VH1? HBO? Reality TV? Umm...maybe they all have a little to do with it. I'm guessing since no one will ever read this blog I can be honest and say it's the parents and the church's fault. We have failed. Parents are too cool or uncomfortable to talk about it and the church says it is a private issue and should not be discussed in such a holy setting. Whatever Dude!! I'm going to talk about it because God has called me to teach truth, and the truth is purity matters. Sex is incredible inside it's original intent. There...I said it. Come Wednesday night and here it again:)