Well, it’s been three months since my last post.  Now I sit here as a college graduate in my own apartment.  That still hasn’t hit me yet.  I read in Lance’s blog that he was going to use this summer to work on his photography.  It’s funny how college students think of a year.  College students divide a year into four parts: 1st semester, Winter Break, 2nd semester, and summer.  Now my year is just one whole year.  Yes there is still summer, winter, spring, and fall, but there are no more breaks.  It hasn’t actually sunk in yet, and I don’t think it will until school starts up again.  Then a lot of my friends will still have classes, but I won’t.

A lot has happened since my last post.  As I stated before, I’ve graduated college and I am a youth pastor Pelzer Wesleyan Church (soon to be renamed).  That still scares me a little; I have my own youth group, whom I am to minister to.  It blows my mind how God can pull things together.  Before Phillip contacted me, I had only received one other call and that was from a church in Columbia.  After I met with Phillip for the first time, I felt that Pelzer was where God wanted me.  I didn’t want to make any hasty decisions though, so I just prayed that God would show me what he wanted, and he did.

In order for me to discuss God’s work, I have to go back before I even met with Phillip.  To be totally honest, I was really nervous about the whole thing after I got Phillip’s first email.  I actually went and talked to Doc McKenzie when I first heard from Phillip and he mentioned that I should visit the church, without telling anyone.  So I did.  I went without knowing anyone and I didn’t even let Phillip know I was going to be there.  I was just curious to see how the church would respond to a visitor.  Well, I went and right from the get-go I felt like I was back home at Eden.  I’m not sure what it was about it.  The music was different, the building was different, but there was just something about Pelzer that made me feel at home.  I think that was God’s way of telling me that it was going to be ok if I left Eden, because I have been so scared of doing so.

That next week I met with Phillip.  After our meeting I knew that Phillip and I would work well together.  I then decided to come for a Wednesday night service, just to see how their youth was structured.  I was impressed to see that there were about 14 youth there, because  I hadn’t seen that many on Sunday.  But even that Wednesday night, God continued to speak to me.  A lot of the teens had talked to me and told me that they remembered me from camp.  Then, when Rick introduced me and mentioned that I might be taking over as youth pastor, most of them seemed to be super excited about it.  By this point I was like, “Alright God, ya got me,” but God continued to show me.  The next Sunday I went and when I sat down, I sat by myself and thought to myself, “It would be cool if some of the youth invited me to sit with them,” and then, not even a minute after I thought that, some of them came over and asked me to sit with them.  I was astonished.  I knew that if I asked, God would lead me, but never had I imagined that he would make it so apparent of where he wanted me.

So, here I am, two weeks into the ministry and I’m loving it.  I’m still trying to get a grasp for it all.  Last week I sat around in my apartment, just wondering what a youth pastor is supposed to do.  I mean, I know I’m supposed to minister teens, but I feel like a lost puppy.  I even texted James last week, asking him what youth pastors did with their time.  I’ve just begun reading Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry and even after the first chapter, I’m getting ideas.  I love the group that God has placed me with and I’m so excited to see what God has in store for us.

My first big task…  Getting as many teens as I can to youth camp.

Well, it’s been a few months since my last post.  A little over two months to be exact.  I’m not sure why my posting is so sporatic, I guess I just don’t have the mind or the thoughts to post everyday.  But, I have this blog, so I will post whenever things come to my mind.

So anyway, my life lately.  Basically, it’s been pretty dull.  I’m taking seventeen hours, but it doesn’t seem that way at all.  I only actually have four classes in which I am in a classroom for the entire semester.  I’m taking a seminar which ends this month and I’m taking a preaching lab which doesn’t begin until April.  Then on the side there is my field ministry.  I’m also doing a directed study in Christian Worship.  To get off topic a bit, directed studies are sweet.  I met with Dr. Black at the beginning of the semester, we made out a schedule and then I only have to go back to him to turn things in.  There is also the negative side to it though, which is actually making myself do the work.  So those are the classes which make up my seventeen hours.  On top of that I had to go to FLAME and now I have to do extra work with Dr. Wood to bring it to college credit.  So I guess in terms of hours, that would make my load twenty hours.  So far it isn’t that bad though.  I haven’t struggled really to get work done, so if I just keep that up I’ll be fine.

I’ve had two slight problems with the way SWU does things in this past year.  The first of these has been chapel.  It seems that over this past year, I have dreaded going to all the chapels.  I can’t recall a single one that I was excited to attend except for Spiritual Emphasis.  Worship in chapel seems to have drastically gone down hill since my junior year.  I will admit that worship teams were rushed to be put together that year, but I still enjoyed chapels much more then.  And it’s not only the worship.  I really don’t even enjoy the speakers anymore.  I just feel that chapel has just dropped and I have contemplated just not going, since I’m graduating.  Another slight problem I have had with SWU recently is our “forced” accountability in the Religion Division.  I just don’t feel comfortable sharing things with a bunch of guys I don’t know.  I would much rather discuss private things with someone I know and trust.  It’s nothing against the guys in my accountability group, but to be honest, Monday mornings at 10:50 is the only time I ever see any of those guys.  I’m not in anyway downplaying accountability either, I meet weekly with an accountability partner, so I just don’t feel the need to meet with a group of guys that I don’t know.  And to be completely honest, I don’t share the things that are deep within me in the group anyway.

Well, on to more delightful things, my field ministry is going great.  If didn’t you read my last post, I’m doing an internship with Greg Edmonds at Graham Chapel Wesleyan Church.  I’ woring with the youth and playing with the praise team, as they make a transition towards a more modern style of worship.  Things with the youth group are going well.  I’ve taught twice now and I felt a little wary about each time, but was encouraged by some of the sponsors.  I also feel that I am struggling to connect with some of the kids, but I think that may be because they’re so attached to Greg and those who have been there for so long.  Things with worship are going well also.  They have tried this before and failed, but this time the congregation seems to be receiving it very well.  I’m also learning a lot through the experience.  I used to be a die hard modern worship only kind of guy, but I’m starting to see how backwards that is.  When we tell those who enjoy the more traditional style that it is too traditional, we are doing the same thing they do when they comment on our modern music.  I think that this experience has shown me that even though I enjoy and worship more comfortably to modern worship, there are others who worship and enjoy traditional music in the same way.  I just ask that everyone could keep praying that we keep an even balance, so that we are able to keep everyone happy.

Basically that’s what’s been going on lately.  I’m trying to sell software for RooApps so that I can buy a Macbook Pro.  I also have a sick nasty road trip planned for Spring Break.  Lance and I are heading out for 12 days and hitting up the Rockies, Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, Chicago, Indianapolis, then back to SWU.  It’s a little over 4,000 miles and it makes a big loop through fifteen states.  We had originally planned to just go to Yellowstone, but then realized that a trip to Yellowstone and back was going to be just as far.  You can bet there will be some pictures to put up when I get back.

And on a final note…  S. Carolina is gonna go to the dance this year.

Next semester, I have the opportunity of working under Greg Edmonds.  This will be a great experience due to the fact that Greg has been in youth ministry for many years now, even living in Puerto Rico for a part of that.  He has also been active in mission trips and relief efforts as well.  I most look forward to this opportunity because of his character.  I’ve gone to camp for years, seeing Greg on staff, and I’ve seen how much passion he has for this ministry and for the kids that he is involved with.

With this internship comes a number of opportunities as well.  I’ll have the chance to work with the youth group at Graham Chapel Wesleyan Church, I’ll also get the opportunity to help their worship team shift worship styles, and I’ll get to meet with the other youth pastors in SC as they plan for the upcoming camp next summer.  There also comes a little fear with this opportunity.  Graham is a very traditional church, who loves it’s current way of worship.  Currently it is two hymns, then preaching.  Greg told me that he wants to try and get closer to contemporary, as well as throw some talking and scripture reading into the worship time.

I was joking with Pastor Hall, telling him that Eden had spoiled me.  I’ve been going to Eden since I became a Christian, and since then, I haven’t really known anything different.  I barely know any hymns because by the time I got there, they were doing more of the 80’s style contemporary and the occassional hymns, but for the past three or four years, we have had split services, so I’ve not seen any hymns at all.  I did get the chance to lead worship at Eden, which was good, but that really spoiled me, because I pretty much had free reign with song choice.  I didn’t really have to worry about nobody liking what I chose, as long as it was contemporary.

I guess it’s hard to change what we know.  And now I’m making this change, except it’s like i’m changing backwards.  This change though is really opening up my eyes to a number of things.  For one, the more traditional people like to say they can’t worship to the contemporary style, and the contemporary people think they are wrong.  But if you think about it, don’t the contemporary people say the same thing about the traditional style a lot too.  This is something I’m beginning to face, because I was/am one of those contemporary people.  When I had mentioned to Pastor Hall that I had been spoiled by the church, he just laughed and said, “Now you get to see the real world.”  And when I thought about that statement, it couldn’t have been more true.  It’s almost like Eden is this fantasy church that I have grown to love and become attached to.  I really do think that this will be a good experience.

I had the chance to go to Eden last night for a worship service, and it was quite an experience.  I came to terms with how much I’m going to miss playing with the worship team.  Adam brought in a sick-nasty drummer and I’m sad that I won’t have the chance to play with them for a while.  I did see the traditional/contemporary battle at it’s finest though.  The contemporary team played the first song, and before they even finished that song, a few of the older people walked out of the church.  Then, the rest of the service had a sort of “Battle of the Bands” type feel to it, with the traditional team playing the next three songs and then the contemporary team finishing with two songs.

I guess this upcoming opportunity is just a bittersweet event.  I get the chance to learn from Greg, but also have to leave Eden for a while.  I think this will help me in the event that I have to leave Eden for good soon.

I figured my blog needed an update and what better topic than this year’s election?  Yeah right.

I don’t even know how to vote.  I mean why does my first election that I’ll vote in have to be so screwed up.  Honestly, I don’t like McCain or Obama.  For one, Obama has no experience at all and McCain just has too much experience.  Like James put it, “He looks like they just embalmed him and prepared him for receiving friends at the funeral home.”  Both claim to be Christian, but I’m not seeing it much.  And I’m not so sure which candidate’s economic plan will work.  I mean, anybody can make their plan sound good, but how do you know which one will actually work?

So here is my dillema…  Do I just pick one and vote?  Heck I’ll just flip a coin and do it that way.  Is it so wrong to not vote when I can’t make a solid choice, 100%.  This whole voting thing is so much harder than I expected.

So I was at work Saturday night, talking to one of my co-workers.  I remember we got on the topic of Christianity.  She told me that she admired the fact that I was a good Christian and then she went on to tell me that she too was once a good Christian.  Then she explained that some events in her church lead to her falling away.

Her youth leader was married to the pastor.  She told me that the youth leader was having an affair with one of the college students and then she went on to tell me that her pastor was addicted to pornography.  Now I know many do not like to think that people are watching them, but they really are.

I feel like as Christians, we always need to be on our guard.  I think we need to always keep in mind that there may be some unsaved person watching our every move.  We should also remember that not everyone in church is saved, so we need to be careful there as well.  It’s sad to think that we can be the very reason that someone falls away from God.

So next time you’re about to do something, step back and think about who may be watching.

So I just got back from what was supposed to be a 3 day trip, and I have to say, it was a lot of fun.  I say it was supposed to have been 3 days because we were supposed to leave on Friday and come back on Sunday.  But we decided to leave early and spend the night in Columbus with Nate’s parents.  So we left on Thursday around one and made the 8 1/2 hour drive to Columbus.  On the way there, during my driving time, I had to pee really bad.  So, Nate and I switched seats on the Interstate, I hopped in the back and peed in a bottle.  I was quite proud of myself.  We arrived around 9 and of course Nate began giving me the tour of Columbus.  We got to his house and his parents took us to eat at Tommy’s, an amazing pizza place.  Afterwards, they showed me some more of Columbus, including The Ohio State University.  It was sweet driving by The Shoe, which is the Buckeyes stadium.

So, day 2…  Nate and I got up and went to First Watch, a sweet breakfast, brunch, & lunch place.  I had some french toast loaded with all kinds of fruit.  It was probably the best french toast I’ve ever had.  After that Nate took me and showed me around Cypress Wesleyan Church, which is like one of three Wesleyan churches around Columbus.  That church is huge.  From what Nate told me, they’re doing some great things and they’re quite successful.  Then we went to see Nate’s mom before we left for Indiana.  We were supposed to be in Indiana by 4 and ready for Kevin and Michelle’s wedding rehearsal by 4:30.  Well, we left a little late…  And got to the church at 4:30.  I had gotten changed in the car on the way there and Nate changed in the parking lot.  So while Nate took pictures, I sat and watched.  Afterwards, we went to the rehearsal dinner, which was an hour away.  Nate and I were so tired of driving, and on top of that, we hadn’t had anything to eat since breakfast.  The place we had the dinner was incredible.  It was way back in the woods.  Apparently, these people lived in what used to be an old mill.  There was a river that ran behind the house and a sweet dam.  It was beautiful and the food was amazing.  Later I ended up swimming in the river in my blue jeans, while the groomsmen went for a swim in their boxers.

Day 3?  The wedding of course.  The wedding wasn’t actually until 4:30, but Nate had to be at the church at 11:30 and of course, he was my only ride, so I had to tag along.  So I basically sat around and did nothing.  The wedding on the other hand was beautiful.  It was odd seeing Kevin up there, but I know he and Michelle are meant for one another.  I hope that God blesses their marriage abundantly.  So afterwards was my time to shine…  The rehearsal.  Which was oddly long.  Usually couples are ready to get out of their, for obvious reasons, but Kevin and Michelle hung around for a while.  I enjoyed being the Master of Ceremonies, all though at times I felt a bit ridiculous.  After the reception, Nate and I were off to IWU, which was only about 20 minutes away.  When we got there, we hung out with team Ichthus, who we had met at Table Rock camps.  They gave us the tour of the campus which is huge.  Then we just stayed up late talking and what not.  It was a ton of fun.

The next day, Sunday, we went to College Wesleyan, which wasn’t what I expected.  Now that may be because school is out, but who knows, I’ve never been when school was in.  After church we went to Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch, which was amazing.  Then Nate and I were off for Columbus again, so we made the 4 hour drive.  Nate’s parents had reservations for us at Cap City, which was a sweet place.  We ended up eating with some of his cousins and his aunt and uncle as well.  They were Georges, so obviously they were cool.  After dinner, his cousins invited us to a concert.  The Bowerbirds and Bon Iver.  I know what you’re thinking…  WHO??  That’s exactly what I thought, but it was actually pretty sweet.  The Bowerbirds were my favorite.  They were a 3-man band.  A guitar, an accordion, and a bass drum/violin.  And once again I know what you’re thinking.  But it really was good.  The lead singer’s voice was incredible.  I’ve never heard much music where you could understand every single word, but you could understand this guy.  Bon Iver was pretty cool too.  A lot of their music was really chill.  The singing was a little odd, in that it was all falsetto.

Monday and Tuesday were both really fun too.  We just hung out with Nate’s family a lot and did stuff around Columbus.  Columbus is such an awesome city.  I did get to be a model on Tuesday.  Three of Nate’s cousins have their own t-shirt business and they’re just now starting to get a website up and they needed some t-shirt models, so Nate, Thadd and I were there.  When Ray Paul Brands gets their website up, go look for me, maybe I’ll make the cut.  After the shoot we were back on the road.  We got back to Pickens around 2 AM, so I stayed the night at Nate’s house and left Wednesday morning.

All in all, this was an awesome trip.  It was a lot of fun hanging out with Nate.  We ended up driving close to 2000 miles in 6 days.  I love road trips and I look forward to many more.

So over this summer I’ve been staying at home.  Well, one day at the beginning of this summer, a couple of Jehovah’s Witnesses came to my house.  They were there to see my dad, but he wasn’t home, so they asked if they could read me some Scripture.  I’ve always been curious as to what others believe or think, so I said yes.  The Scripture was just like any other I had ever heard.  Then they left me a small booklet that one is supposed to use along with the Bible.  I still have yet to look through that small booklet, but that’s not the point of my story.

Over the past couple of months, the same man who read me that Scripture has come to check up on me and see if I had been using the book he gave me.  Each time I tell him no, and then he proceeds to ask me if he could show me how to use it.  This man doesn’t know that I’m already a Christian, but he seemed so intent on teaching me how to use this booklet, just so that I would be in the Word.  I have told him that I already read the Bible, but he is still just as steadfast as before he even knew I was a Christian.

This man has come to the house to see me three or four times this summer.  Now maybe the beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses are a little off kilter, but they do have one thing right.  They are intent on bringing the lost into their group.  What if we as Christians were this intent when it came to the Great Commission?  What if we were so intent on spreading the Kingdom of God that we continuously visited people and tried to help them understand the Word, just as this man has being doing to me this summer?  Now I will admit that it did become a bit of a nuisance, having this man come so often, but that just shows how much he wanted to show me what he believed.  What if we were that same way?

This was just a thought I had today, as this man visited me once again.

So worship was a bit difficult this morning.  We practiced for about 2 hours yesterday and everything seemed all good and well…  Until this morning.  The first song in our set was Blessed be Your Name, which is generally started by the bass.  So I started, then messed up.  We tried starting again, and I messed up again, so I just told Adam to start the song because I just had a brain fart.  I still had some trouble after we got started.  All throughout the song it just seemed like nobody was really into the worship and we were all struggling to get through it.  After that we had greeting time and Richard got up afterwards and just spoke for a little bit.  He talked about how our church was different from most and then we had an altar call, right there in the middle of worship.

We had offering afterwards and Richard wanted us to do Blessed be Your Name again.  So again, I started the song.  Woops wrong note.  I was ok though, and corrected myself and the intro was going well, until my amp went out.  Worship was just not going well.  This time the song seemed to go a lot better once we got into it.  The rest of worship went well and Richard’s message was really good.

This was just proof to me that God can work wonders through anything.  He can work out problems despite our mess-ups and he can do amazing things through us, even when we’re struggling.  I think this is something we should all remember.

On another note, I said goodbye to Megan for the last time on Friday.  They left for Maine and should be getting there anytime today.  She’ll be gone for two weeks and then there will be no more long goodbyes.  I’m glad to know that the next time I see her, I won’t have to worry about how much time we have left together.

So it’s been a while since I last posted, with me being at family camp, which was awesome by the way.

I got the opportunity to preach on Sunday.  I was super nervous, primarily because I had been at camp and didn’t feel like I had had the time to prepare.  But I went to camp, with my Bible and my legal pad, ready to write down anything God had to tell me.  Even then, I didn’t have much time.  I was a counselor down at Bethany, plus I was playing bass in three different services and practicing twice a day.  But I took the opportunity, when I could, to just sit down and work on my sermon.  I had the idea of what I would speak on going into camp, but I hadn’t really put anything together.

So when I began working on it, God began to speak to me about Jesus being His son.  I feel like we take that fact for granted sometimes.  I think we should look at it as if we were in his position.  Could we freely give our child to be sacrificed for a dying world?  I don’t believe I could.  And on top of that, the world did it all, without even realizing what they had done.  Think about it: this was God’s ONE son.  He wasn’t going to have another.

I can just imagine how God felt.  He knew that Jesus would be mistreated and killed, yet he still sent him.  I can imagine that He was so distraught as Jesus prayed to him right before he was arrested.  Yet he kept him here.  Why?  Because he loved us.

God’s not mad or upset that he sent Jesus, in fact he is the exact opposite.  I believe that God rejoices everytime a soul is saved.  And that soul can only be saved because of the sacrifice of Jesus.  After I spoke I showed this video which allows us to see an example of what God did.

Vent time.

So apparently, my view of practice is different than most.  I’ve discovered this in my time of playing bass at church.  Now don’t get me wrong, Amanda does an incredible job of leading worship, but I dread our practices.  It seems that our practices always seem to go an hour longer than they should and it’s usually due to people goofing around and talking about stuff that doesn’t relate to worship at all.

Now this may just be my perspective, but I believe that worship can do just as much on a Sunday as a pastor’s sermon can, and I saw that this past Sunday.  The Holy Spirit can move through song just like it moves through the words of a pastor.  Now when it comes to practice I feel like we are practicing for something that is very important and it shouldn’t be a time to talk about our lives and what not.  Now I’m not a practice nazi.  I do think we should have fun while doing it, but not to the extent that we practice for three hours and still get nothing done.  When a team is going to the playoffs, I have no doubt in my mind that they practice their best and I feel that we should give our best in worship practice.  Every Sunday should be like the playoffs for a worship team.

And just on another note.  I’m not a big fan of the whole five people leading worship.  I feel that when you get five people on stage singing five different parts, it becomes more of a concert than worship.  Now I do realize that God can work through any situation and I am not limiting his power.  I just feel that when it comes to leading worship, all you need is a melody and a harmony and maybe a third person at the most.  Some say that having more people on stage encourages more people to sing, but I would have to disagree.  I think if you have one or two people on stage, the congregation is encouraged to sing more.  But hey this is my blog and these are only my opinions.  I’m sure everyone has their own.

BTW, I miss Megan like crazy.