David Vs. Mike

"Displace Me" Video

2008-12-16T14:49:00.005-06:00

This is the footage we captured at our "Displace Me" event a few weeks ago. I've heard some great stories of things junior highers have been doing to raise awareness and funds for people around the world and also right in their own backyard. Amazing stuff I get to be a part of! I can't wait to host another event...next time in the Texas heat.

Students Blog Too

2008-12-11T12:54:00.004-06:00

Not many of the kids I know blog. I guess as adults we're more desperate to diversify the ways we try to get people to notice how cool we are. In any case, I know of at least one of our junior high students that does keep a blog because her small group leader recently emailed me and told me to check out this post.

She wrote about her church. She's in 6th grade. Gotta love it when kids "get it".

Dramatic Times

2008-12-08T15:01:00.010-06:00

(click to enlarge) (click here for more photos)

We live in dramatic times. A war continues to rage in East African countries like Uganda and the Congo. This weekend, Watermark Student Ministries hosted a "Displace Me" event for the junior high kids to raise awareness and call for action. Participants were asked to identify with the displaced children of East Africa by simulating just 24 hours of life in their shoes. They were then offered the opportunity to consider how they might act in response.

Below are scriptures that inspired our event and a list of practical ways any person can take action:

James 1:27
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Psalm 82:3-4
3 Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. 4 Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

Isaiah 1:17
Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.

Philippians 2:3-4
3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Proverbs 31:8-9
8 "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. 9 Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy."

Invisible Children
www.invisiblechildren.com
Click “Movement”
Click “Bracelet Campaign”
Buy bracelet videos, wear the bracelet, and show them to your friends

Click “Movement”
Click “Schools for Schools”
Start a “Schools for Schools” club at your school, send books & raise money

Click “Movie”
Buy The Film and share with friends and family

Take The Walk
www.takethewalk.net
Organize and Host a Walk at your school
Raise money to help with medical care for children
Raise money to help fund AIDS treatment
Raise money to purchase Tom’s Shoes for kids in need
Raise money for drilling water wells

Tom’s Shoes
www.tomsshoes.com
Click “Buy Online”
Purchase shoes and Tom’s will donate shoes to kids in need

Shoes for Orphan Souls
www.shoesfororphansouls.org
Click “Host a Drive”
Host a shoe drive for orphans in need

Nothing But Nets
www.nothingbutnets.net
Click “Buy A Net” ($10 and Up)
Send a donation to buy a mosquito net for African kids

Compassion International
www.compassion.com
Click on “Search for a Child to Sponsor”
Click on Geographic Region “Africa”
Click on Country “Uganda”
Sponsor and befriend a specific child in need

World Vision
www.worldvision.org
Click "Sponsor a child"
Click "Ways to Give"
Click "Gift Catalog Giving"

Advent Conspiracy
www.adventconspiracy.org
Watch the Video
Click on “Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More, Love All”
Consider giving and/or receiving at least one less gift this Christmas

A.L.A.R.M (African Leadership And Reconciliation Ministries)
www.alarm-inc.org
Click “About Us”
Learn about the importance of local church leadership in resolving conflict
Consider how you might prepare yourself today to make a difference tomorrow
“Learn to Teach”

Texas & United States Government
www.congress.org
Enter your zip code where it says “Find Your Officials”
Click an official’s name
Click the “Contact” tab and find their address
Mail letters to the President, Governor, Senators, and Representatives
Call for action

Sample Letters:
For Uganda
For the Congo

New York in 3 Days...

2008-12-06T21:58:00.011-06:00

I am in New York for the weekend for my brother's college graduation and thought I'd break my recent silence (sorry, it's been a busy season :) and show some pictures of this weekend. My brother has spent his college days going to The New School in Manhattan, New York. It is an amazing school that covers any type of the music/arts that you can think of. It is a very cool school, and my brother will play his graduation recital with a jazz trio (he plays the upright bass) this Sunday. Very exciting! Here's some pictures...

Dave and I at Historic Rucker Park in Harlem

Holly and I in Central Park

Holly and I in Bryant Park (part of You've Got Mail was filmed here).

Rockefeller Center

Times Square

Sick Chapman

2008-12-03T19:36:00.004-06:00

This is what my son looks like when he has a fever and gets to watch lots of Mickey Mouse Club. I promise I didn't pose him but I was able to get a little grin out of him. Even illness can produce small joys.

My First "Google Alert"

2008-11-30T20:19:00.005-06:00

I'm slowly but surely becoming acquainted with "web 2.0". I've got a couple of blogs, , a Flickr account, a Twitter, and a Facebook. Now I've discovered the "Google Alert". It's probably old news but it's pretty cool. Google News will send you an email whenever there is a news story posted about a certain item. What's my alert set for?

"Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience"

Here's the first update it sent me. Can't wait for the trailer.

Snapshot!

2008-11-13T14:14:00.006-06:00

Ministry is not about numbers, but healthy things do typically grow. Each year we try to take a numerical snapshot of our ministry to compare where we are to where we've been and then consider where we might be going. Tonight we're sharing the following snapshot with our leaders to encourage, inspire, and challenge them:

Watermark Student Ministries 5 Years of Snapshots
2004-2005
235 Kids in 29 Small Groups with 45 Leaders

2005-2006
286 Kids in 34 Small Groups with 52 Leaders

2006-2007
368 Kids in 41 Small Groups with 66 Leaders

2007-2008
452 Kids in 49 Small Groups with 83 Leaders

2008-2009
514 Kids in 53 Small Groups with 92 Leaders

2008-2009 Junior High Snapshot
292 Kids in 28 Small Groups with 52 Leaders

6th Grade
96 Kids in 8 Small Groups with 12 Leaders

7th Grade
97 Kids in 10 Small Groups with 20 Leaders

8th Grade
99 Kids in 10 Small Groups with 17 Leaders

2008-2009 High School Snapshot
222 Kids in 25 Small Groups with 40 Leaders

9th Grade
68 Kids in 8 Small Groups with 11 Leaders

10th Grade
60 Kids in 7 Small Groups with 14 Leaders

11th Grade
58 Kids in 6 Small Groups with 8 Leaders

12th Grade
36 Kids in 4 Small Groups with 7 Leaders

2008-2009 Former Students Snapshot
College Freshmen
34 Kids from 4 Small Groups with 5 Leaders

College Sophomores
13 Kids from 2 Small Groups with 3 Leaders

College Juniors
17 Kids from 3 Small Groups with 3 Leaders

College Seniors
17 Kids from 3 Groups with 4 Leaders

5 Key Takeaways:

Kids are sticking around because of relationships
Our influence is multiplying each year
If they are following us, we better be following Christ
We need more leaders right now and in the future
Our impact is spreading to college campuses and beyond

Good Football Teams Watch Film on Saturday Mornings

2008-11-13T09:51:00.002-06:00

We meet with our volunteer leaders team about 12 times a year. Typically, this is the season of the semester when volunteers get busy and tired and begin wondering about the importance of our gatherings. We think all of our meetings are a valuable piece of our ministry and consider it important for everyone on our team to be at each one. Here are three reasons we try to communicate with our team about why each meeting is important:

COMMUNITY
We strongly believe that it is important that our team members are continually aware of the fact that we are a part of something that is bigger than ourselves and our individual groups and ministries. Every leader plays a role in supporting the bigger community of our team. It means a lot to us as a staff to have each leaders support in our efforts to continually develop and maintain a strong sense of team.

VALUE & EQUIPPING
We work diligently to plan and be sure that all the things we're talking about at meetings connect and apply to what leaders are doing as they serve students. Our leaders all need to be reminded of the eternal value of our service and the importance of being equipped to grow and improve in our efforts to reach young people for Christ.

COMMITMENT & INTEGRITY
As part of the application, all of our leaders sign a covenant and part of it is committing to be at meetings. We encourage each of our leaders to make meetings a priority as a simple matter of sticking with the commitments they have made. We try to help our leaders succeed at this by scheduling our meetings before each semester begins and making sure everyone has the dates on their calendar and can work out their personal schedules accordingly.

Proud of #63

2008-11-06T08:59:00.006-06:00

(Bert, Martha Kate, Blake, & Jena McJunkin)

The following is a quote taken from a US Naval Academy message board concerning their October 25 football match-up against SMU. The young man mentioned in this piece is a former student in our ministry...one I actually had the privilege of meeting one-on-one with weekly for a few years when he was in junior high. I couldn't be more proud of him.

I am a 1983 graduate, father of a current US Naval Academy senior, retired Navy Commander, and Navy football season football ticket holder. I’ve seen a lot of Navy Football. Some of you have certainly seen more.

Today’s game was a good Navy victory. The elements took SMU out of their game. That said, today I observed the most impressive moment by a visiting player of any I have observed in my 29 years of Navy football.

At the end of the game, all the SMU players got of the field very quickly except one. I really can’t blame the SMU players. I sit on the visiting team sideline behind their bench. Those guys were very cold, wet and miserable. All game long, most were hopping up and down trying to stay warm. I am sure that when the game ended and they shook hands, their thoughts were all about getting to the locker room, into the showers under hot water. All except one, player … Blake McJunkin, #63, a freshman offensive lineman. I don’t know if he played a down.

As I stood, at attention singing “Navy Blue and Gold”, I could not help but to notice a lone SMU player standing at attention in the endzone. There was Blake, standing at attention, through the entire singing of the song. At the end of the song, he relaxed, took a look at the entire stadium, a final look at the Navy Team; then ran into his locker room.

What an amazing moment. As a parent of a Navy Midshipman, I pray that my son’s service means something to someone. Today, I saw that it did, in the simple, honorable actions of a young man from Texas.

I plan to write Blake, his coach, and the SMU President. It was an impressive moment.

The Boys Are Back

2008-11-03T14:51:00.009-06:00

Every fall we take our Junior High kids and leaders away for a weekend at Pine Cove hoping it will serve as a relational catalyst for our Small Groups. In the past, we've always attended conferences hosted and programmed by Pine Cove. While they've traditionally done a phenomenal job, this year we decided to book out the entire camp and run our own program. While this required a lot more planning and work, it also allowed for more flexibility and a more intense focus on the spiritual needs of our specific kids.

I was reminded again how much relationships matter when it comes to effective ministry. Even if you're not the best speaker in the world, I truly believe that you can teach your kids better than anyone else because you know them. Even if you're not the funniest person in the world, I truly believe that you can entertain your kids better than anyone else because they know you. Overall, the weekend resulted in one of the most powerful Junior High ministry events I've ever been a part of. A huge "Thanks" goes out to all of our leaders for making this possible.

Here's a stupid video we used to communicate camp rules. We tried to bring fun to even the most boring moments of the weekend:

Click the image below for more pictures from our retreat:

Power of Invitation

2008-10-28T17:41:00.005-05:00

I received the following note from a mom of a young man whose been in a small group with me for the past 6 years. I've been investing in the same group of guys since they were in sixth grade and now that they are seniors, I'm really get to experience a great return on the investment. This note could be written to anyone who is pouring their lives into others...

The power of invitation is no small thing. The Lord Himself, the quintessential gentleman, issued His first invitation in the garden. At its essence, it was an invitation into relationship – Come into My home, enjoy My Presence, be My guest and enjoy anything, simply everything in My garden…except that one tree. He didn’t put that tree there to tempt us, but to honor us with the “choice” to except or reject His kind invitation. Of course, we blew it. We traded a relationship of love, trust and dependency for the desire to know, control and be independent.

But He gave us a second invitation. Not because we deserve it, but because He loves us and delights in us and still desires relationship. He requested the honor of our presence in His home again, “Behold I stand at the door and knock…If anyone hears My Voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him and he with Me.” This may seem an odd introduction to my letter but it is crucial to the plot. I have now not only seen an “invitation” extended and received from you to my son three times in the last few months, but the breadth and depth of the” power of invitation” has been so profound, I wanted to share this with you.

All three of my kids are on the shy side of life; not your movers and shakers, not your life-of-the-party type or initiators or extroverts but each possesses their own unique gifts. You have loved my son well over the last six years and I am grateful for that but what I seen in the last few months is the power of invitation that “loves us to life”. I pray everyday that God would love my kids to life internally and externally: internally that they know that they know in their innermost being that they are loved and just as important, that externally that God would love them to life through His people. I believe you have been one of His instruments to love my son to life over the past several years and most recently through this power of invitation.

The first invitation came this summer when you asked him to consider going on the Watermark Amazon trip. Of course he knew about the trip and that is the point. By you coming up to him and personally say “Hey, they could use somebody like you”, you loved him to life.” You gave him a vote of confidence that called him out of the shadows of his insecurity and into the light of both God’s love and your love for him. Think about how many bible studies, programs or trips you hear about and the power or draw it has when someone personally comes up to you and says, “I would love for you to think about coming.”

The second invitation occurred when you asked him to talk at your new leaders meeting and then you wrote such an encouraging thank you note (I saw it on the couch). Once again, you used your gift as an extrovert leader with a heart for kids to unleash my son's gifts of discernment, wisdom, and quiet leadership. Too often I have seen leaders in ministry recruit the extroverts, clowns and studs even though the quiet leaders have every bit as much to offer. Sadly, all too often, the Darwinian influence (promotion of the strongest) is just as prevalent in our Christian arenas as in the world.

The third invitation was just last week when you asked him to speak at your leader’s meeting. He would just about do anything for you. What you have done for my son is not only praise worthy but something I hope you are teaching and sharing with others. Anyone can identify an extrovert from an introvert or an initiator from a responder but a leader in the world’s eye from a leader in God’s eye is quite another thing. My life verse for my son is “that he would continue to “increase in wisdom and stature and find favor before God and man.” You are part of the answer to that prayer. I believe you have seen the wit and wisdom of my son and I am so grateful for you.

Thanks for inviting him to step out of the workshop and into the showcase. You are loving him to life and we are cheering both of you on. By the way, God extends this power of invitation daily on a two-sided coin: one that says “Come…Come to Me all who are weary and heavy-laden” and the other side that says “Go…Go Make disciples of men.” This is very much what I see you doing for our youth. You issue the power of invitation to “come” and you are truly making disciples that can then “go”… and issue the same power of invitation to others.

Planning Pine Cove

2008-10-09T16:11:00.004-05:00

The kind of magic captured in the above video doesn't just happen. It takes LOTS of careful planning and execution. Click HERE for an idea of what we've been thinking about and working on for our upcoming Junior High Pine Cove Retreat.

Wake Review for 10/5/08

2008-10-09T16:05:00.004-05:00

Review of Hideaway Weekend

2008-10-02T16:20:00.007-05:00

This past weekend we took 3 bus loads of kids and leaders to Pine Cove Camps in Tyler, Texas. We took about 40 more students than we did last year, and seemed to have kids all across the spiritual spectrum. It was a great weekend for our students and leaders. Here's how I would rank the following areas...
Attendance: Above Average (even with tons of scheduling conflicts)
Leader Presence: Above Average: we have some amazing new leaders that are bringing some great new energy to our high school ministry.
Fun Factor: Above Average: David (from this blog) came along and did some really funny skits with Bode. They are hilarious together.
Music for the weekend: Above Average-Patrick Ryan Clark led worship with two students playing electric and bass, and a leader playing the drums. It was great!
Messages: our kids liked them a lot more than our leaders.
Organizational Piece: With a growing number of students going on these big events, I've got some ground to take organizationally for us to be able to look back and see no holes in the weekend as far as the administrative part. We've taken some steps to correct that next fall for our high school retreat.
I've posted a couple pictures here for you to see, but to see a full slideshow of the weekend click here.

Wake Review for 9/28/08

2008-10-01T11:44:00.001-05:00

Wake Review for 9/21/08

2008-09-24T09:45:00.004-05:00

Wake is our weekly meeting for Junior High students at Watermark. We meet on Sunday mornings at 11:00am on the 4th floor of the Watermark Tower. Here is my assessment of this week's Wake.

Program Outline
Attendance: Average
Fun Factor: Average
Leader Presence: Average
Music: Average
Message: Average

This week brought, in my opinion, the return to average. Everything felt like we were getting into a routine. There were some standout moments but overall, nothing too impressive.

The one thing of interest was the fact that we have consistently been welcoming 10+ first time guests each week. A fun thing we have for our guests is the "Guest Suite" (a couch and comfy chair set up with a coffee table and accessorized with Red Bulls, candy, and other freebies). We randomly select two guests each week to enjoy the suite and all it's amenities. This week, we decided to give guests the opportunity to "win" the guest suite and so we just said, "If you're a first time guest and you feel comfortable, come up on stage and whoever can impress us the most will win." It turned into 20 minutes of hilarity and ended with a kid doing non-stop backflips while another kid sang Silent Night with her eyes shut.

The crowd went wild and we spent so much time goofing off with the guests that we had to scrap our game.

Music was okay but we had some no-shows that put us in a pinch. My message had a great concept and challenge but lacked in solid content and effective delivery. If you're interested, you can click here to find a discussion guides that leaders use in their small groups throughout the week.

P.S. We showed the following video towards the top of our program just for laughs...

Today was sad.

2008-09-17T22:56:00.006-05:00

Today was tough. This morning someone came into my office and told me a student at one of our schools that we pull a lot of kids from committed suicide last night. I was shocked, and soon after that got a call from this incredible mom who told me her son was pretty close with the boy who died. Her son and I had been meeting for the last 4 weeks or so, and today just happened to be the day he was coming in. She said he'd come see me at 4:00, and was pretty worried about her son and how he would react.

Then I went to lunch with an old friend from college, who told me his pastor just resigned from his church because he was having an affair with someone outside the church. Sad.

During lunch I felt my phone vibrate, and checked my voicemail when I got back to my office. A good friend of mine left me a 2 minute voicemail asking me to pray because he was going to tell his wife that afternoon that he'd been unfaithful to her. So sad. This is a dear friend of mine. I had no idea it was going on, and was completely shocked.

Then, my student comes by at 4:00, we talk for an hour, pray, and he feels completely numb. I'm praying for him like crazy. I ran home and grabbed a granola bar, and headed to a prayer meeting for the student that passed away. There were about 400 high school students there. 2 of our student ministry volunteers pulled into the parking lot at the same time I did, hugged their small group guys, told them they were so sorry for losing their friend, and loved on them for about an hour and a half. The highlight of my day was seeing 2 committed volunteers love students well. These 2 guys have invested 5 years in the boys that are in their small group. I thanked them for being so faithful, and headed home.

Wake Reviews 8/31 - 9/14

2008-09-15T13:06:00.004-05:00

Wake is our weekly meeting for Junior High students at Watermark. We meet on Sunday mornings at 11:00am on the 4th floor of the Watermark Tower. Here is my assessment of the past 3 weeks of Wake.

8/31 Program Outline
9/7 Program Outline
9/14 Program Outline
Attendance: Way Above Average
Fun Factor: Above Average
Leader Presence: Above Average
Music: Above Average
Message: Above Average

I have loved my job these past three weeks! We've had tons of kids, tons of leaders, tons of energy, and tons of fun. Bode and Will Washington (a High Schooler who is interning with us) have brought the funny each week and made everyone laugh. We continued the "This is Real" series about identity and I think it really hit home with several of the kids. If you're interested, you can click here to find a discussion guides that leaders use in their small groups throughout the week.

Also, this past week saw the introduction of Joey Quinones to our volunteer program team. Joey is an experienced worship leader and he has done a great job building a team of adults and students to lead music at Wake. I expect that we will take a lot of new ground in that area and I am excited for what our students will experience.

Stand Up For Your Legal Rights

2008-09-11T09:42:00.002-05:00

I hope this blog doesn't turn into the bad Christian video blog, but if I keep getting stuff like this sent to me...

Thanks Julie!

He'll Zap You

2008-09-08T16:35:00.002-05:00

Watch this video and you'll understand why I'm having such a hard time deciding which member of Sonseed is my favorite.

P.S. Thanks to Todd Wagner for forwarding me this video.

Rats in the Attic

2008-09-03T17:03:00.002-05:00

We found a second one in a trap today. I think we've got all the potential entry points covered and we have 5 more traps set in the attic in case there are more. This has been a horrific experience. Hard to sleep knowing that you have these things in your ceiling.

Thanks to Russ, Bode, and Saleem for the having the courage to enter the rat-infested attic on their Labor Day weekend.

Rebellious

2008-09-02T12:11:00.009-05:00

Our kids love Lecrae and so do I...Click Here to Pre-Order Lecrae's New Album "Rebel" for yourself and your group! Releases 9/30/08.

Pray for Vintage Church!

2008-09-01T20:55:00.006-05:00

This past Sunday my wife and I visited Vintage Church while we were home in Lawrence, Kansas. Put simply, it's amazing. Vintage is a church start in Lawrence, and they rent out the Lawrence Arts Center on Tuesday nights. The theater there seats about 300 people, and it was almost completely full. God is on the move at Vintage Church, and it was evidenced in a few different ways.

The first thing that stuck out to me was a third of the people there were high school students. Growing up in Lawrence (a pretty cool, yet crazy college town), I've never seen 100 high school students gather to worship Jesus like I saw on Sunday. I couldn't help but just keep looking at the students, who had a real hunger for God and you could totally see it in the way they worshipped during the music, and the way they listened during the message.

Second, Vintage's leadership is legit. John Flynn leads worship and is in charge of community groups. He is amazing at the guitar, and used to play with Waterdeep. His wife sings with him, and the rest of the band does a great job of reflecting the art and culture of Lawrence. Since it was Labor Day weekend, I thought the Lead Pastor may be out of town, and he was. So Brian Timmer spoke, he's a seminary student in Kansas City who helps out at Vintage and he knocked it out of the park. Imagine a younger Rob Bell that likes to carry his notes around. He was very cool to listen to, and did a great job of communicating God's truth.

Lastly, as young as the church is, they already seem to be experiencing incredible, new testament church kind of community. I hung around for a while afterwards just kind of watching, and people just kept lingering, talking, and then went to get coffee after hanging around for 30-40 minutes. Pretty cool.

Pray for Vintage Church. Lawrence has needed a church like this for a long time.

Ellie made the front page of the Newspaper!!!

2008-08-31T09:29:00.004-05:00

This weekend we are back in my hometown of Lawrence, Kansas. Yesterday we headed over to Baldwin, Kansas and took a family trip on a 1923 train. It was very cool. Half way through the trip I had noticed a man taking Ellie's picture. Now I know why, she was on the front page of the Lawrence Journal World this morning with her grandpa!!! You can view the picture and read a blurb about my dad here. It only took 3 years, and she's already making a name for herself in Jayhawk Country.

Breaking Free

2008-08-29T14:47:00.002-05:00

This is my son. He turns 1 on August 30th and he just (sort of) began enjoying life on two feet. He's so proud and so are we!

Flip that Sac

2008-08-28T12:00:00.004-05:00

I got a great deal yesterday on a LoveSac. I got this HUGE LoveSac (it's actual title is "SuperSac") on Craigslist for $75.00. Obviously it came without a sweet cover (that's why I got such a sweet deal) like the one's on the webiste. If you ordered the one on the website with the cover that I got, it would be $649.00. I found the same cover on Ebay brand new for $35.00. We're going to put it back on Craigslist, and should sell it for around 300-400 dollars. It's way too big for our room, but our kids are LOVING it in the house...

Downgrade to Double Threat

2008-08-28T09:29:00.004-05:00

Mystery solved. The unidentified caller mentioned at the end of my last post has been revealed. After a call to the police and a cell phone trace, I discovered that it was indeed a prank call from a student. We had a good conversation about why threatening, violent phone calls weren't funny and he gave me the classic excuse of, "I guess I just wasn't thinking". If you've read The Primal Teen, that excuse actually makes a little sense.

How did an 8th grader make himself sound like an angry neighbor? He used this audio from Soundboards.com. Somebody needs to sue that website...

Triple Threat

2008-08-27T11:09:00.004-05:00

I don't know what the deal is but violence has seemed to be following me over the past few weeks. I've had 3 out of the ordinary experiences that have kept me on high alert everywhere I go. Check it out:

August 10, New York City. In a Subway (restaurant) I witness a man verbally harassing two women at a table. One woman gets up from the table and begins to move away looking for help. When the man follows her and she begins to cry, I step in between. He starts come at me but I use words to calm him down and eventually escort the man from the restaurant. Luckily, I didn't have to hurt anyone.

August 20, Dallas. Leaving a Game Stop, I witness a man across the parking lot being jumped by 3 other men. I, along with several others, began moving in to help when the 3 guys got spooked by the shouting and hopped in a car and sped away. It turns out that they were trying to steal a woman's purse and a man had intervened to stop the crime. The woman's two tweenage sons had been punched (cut above eye and bloody lip respectively), her head had a knot and her shirt had been ripped, and the man who stepped in had a bloody nose, bruised temple (from a kick to the head) and a sore shoulder. I called 911, reported the descriptions of the men and their vehicle (we got the license plate) and stayed for the ambulance and police. It was crazy.

August 25, My Living Room. My cell phone rings and I answer. An angry, unidentified man on the other end begins ranting about me stealing his newspaper. He claims to be outside my house and shouts at me to get ready because he's coming in the front door. I immediately rush to the door to be sure it's locked. After a few more threats and an argument about whether or not he had the wrong number, he hangs up. Police say there's really nothing they can do. It took us a little bit longer than normal to go to sleep that night.

Outside the Camp Leaders Retreat

2008-08-27T09:39:00.003-05:00

Our staff had an amazing time with our leaders this past weekend! We had a ton of fun playing together, talking about student ministry, and fueling up spiritually to get ready for a big year. Special thanks to Camp Shiloh for hosting us, and giving us some great memories with our leaders! I look weird in this picture because my good friend Russ is goosing me from behind, which you cannot see.

Wake Review for 8/24/08

2008-08-26T12:30:00.003-05:00

Mike is Way Excited

2008-08-19T21:41:00.004-05:00

This is the first of 5 "video invitations" we're putting together for this Friday's re-launch of watermarkstudents.com. We're making some minor adjustments hoping to increase the effectiveness of our website as a communication tool with students and parents. Props go to Bode for the top notch production of this video...I just can't stop watching it!

Kinda Like Guitar Hero

2008-08-13T16:59:00.003-05:00

Each fall we order new t-shirts to celebrate the new ministry year. I love t-shirts! We like to offer kids two options and sell them for a little less than cost so they are affordable and so we don't take a huge hit. Click above to enlarge the picture and view our latest designs. The Guitar Hero one has a rectangle on the back below that neckline that looks like a bumper stick reading "Wake is fun (Kinda like Guitar Hero, but not really)"

How Did We Get Here?

2008-08-13T12:42:00.004-05:00

The photo above, taken in our "dressing room", is one of many snapped on a recent trip to New York City. I'm not at liberty to share the details but I will tell you it all started with this video for Watermark Student Ministries. From entertaining the kids to (possibly) entertaining the masses.

Community Group Retreat @ Possum Kingdom Lake

2008-08-11T20:42:00.007-05:00

Our Community Group took this weekend and went to Possum Kingdom Lake. With 10 adults and 9 kids there was never a dull moment. The weekend was filled with 4 wheeling (apparently people from Arizona call it "quading"), water skiing, wakeboarding, tubing, cliff jumping, napping, grilling on a big green egg, hanging out by the pool, and encouraging each other to grow closer as couples, and closer to the Lord. You may be thinking, how could you do that much with that many kids running around? We're just that awesome.

I was reminded this weekend of what the new testament church is really supposed to look like. We experienced community in a great way this weekend, and I'm now trying to convince everyone to sell their houses, and begin the search for a house that's big enough for all of us here in Dallas. It's taking some work to convince them...

Comfort and Hope Breaking Through

2008-08-05T16:55:00.006-05:00

Steven Curtis Chapman has released a new version of his song "Yours" with a fourth verse chronicling the experience of grief that his family is currently navigating. You can download Yours (New Verse) NOW at Amazon.com (Proceeds go to Shaohanah's Hope). Check out Jim Houser's blog to find out more about the new verse's lyrics & details behind the song.

In addition to the powerful lyrics added to an already powerful song, the testimony of hope continues as Steven and family are slated to appear and share God's story on Good Morning America on Wednesday August 6th on ABC and then Live with Larry King on August 7th on CNN. If that weren't enough, Steven will be found on tour with Michael W. Smith for the first time ever this Fall.

Join me in praying for the Chapman family during this difficult time.

It's All Very Hush, Hush

2008-08-03T21:35:00.005-05:00

In a previous teaser post, I indicated that I would answer the questions I posed. Turns out, I've got a gag order. I've probably already said too much! How's that for mystery? Here are some pictures that might give you some clues as to why we were in Hollywood last weekend and why we'll be traveling out-of-state again next weekend. Even though you probably don't care, I wish I could say more.

P.S. The picture above captures my joy in the moment when our driver picked us up at the airport. Yeah, we had a driver.

I Miss Our Students

2008-07-31T14:58:00.006-05:00

Well our summer trips have come to an end, and I am so ready for weekly programming to start back up for our high schoolers in the fall. I am ready for the room to be full on Sunday nights, ready for them to hang with us again on a weekly basis, and ready to see them worship together in a safe environment. I know our students could probably wait for school to start back, but we're ready to open our doors back up for consistent ministry!

Great Clips vs. Cool Cuts

2008-07-30T19:13:00.005-05:00

It's been way too long since the Penuel boys got haircuts. Tonight, I went to "Great Çlips" and Chapman went to "Cool Cuts". I think Chapman's haircut wins this round. There's really no point to this post other than to show off how cool my son is.

Teaser

2008-07-27T21:29:00.004-05:00

In the midst of all the sadness my family is going through, there is one thing that I'm really looking forward to. I can't really talk about it but I will pose these questions: Who is the man pictured above and why am I meeting with him on Saturday to discuss appearing in a motion picture that will likely open in the top 3 and bring in upwards of $20 million at the box office in it's first weekend alone?

I'll let you know next week.

The Longest Days Ever

2008-07-26T14:33:00.005-05:00

Friday July 11:
Get news that my aunt has been taken to the hospital in Bartlesville, OK with intestinal issues.

Tuesday July 15:
Get news that my aunt is moved to the ICU with serious pneumonia.

Wednesday July 16:
Load up in Dallas with wife, son, and mom to drive to Bartlesville. Alli, Chapman, and I move in to the Microtel Inn & Suites and my mom moves in with my grandparents. Visit my aunt at hospital. Have a short, encouraging conversation with her.

Thursday July 17:
At the hospital all day. Lung function rapidly deteriorating. Family meets and makes the difficult decision to put my aunt on a ventilator (tube in mouth, down trachea - attached to a machine that breathes for her). Once on the ventilator, aunt is sedated and no longer able to effectively communicate with us.

Friday July 18:
Signs of kidney failure manifest. Body swelling begins and quickly worsens. Family begins 3 hour shifts of visitation.

Me 9am-12pm
Grandparents 12-3pm
My Mom 3-6pm
All 9-10:30pm

Intermittently working remotely to prepare other staff and volunteers for our junior high service (Wake) on Sunday and our junior high mission (Connection) starting on Tuesday in case they have to run them without me.

Saturday July 19:
Continue visitation shifts. My sister flies from Dallas into Tulsa. Alli, Chapman, and I drive to pick her up and bring her to Bartlesville between shifts.

Sunday July 20:
Continue visitation shifts. I drive Alli & Chapman to Tulsa so they can fly out back to Dallas. They head to Wichita Falls to be with Alli's family. I check out of hotel and move in with grandparents. I'm out of clothes so I stay up until 1:00am doing laundry while watching the ESPY Awards.

Monday July 21:
Aunt moved to Tulsa hospital ICU. Sister rides in ambulance, I follow. Family begins new shifts with me and my sister sleeping in hospital guest room and my mom driving grandparents back and forth from Bartlesville each day.

Me & Sister 9-11am
Grandparents & My Mom 11am-2pm
Me & Sister 2-4pm
Grandparents & My Mom 4-6pm
Me & Sister 8-10pm

Around midnight and alone in waiting room, I make the difficult decision to authorize emergency abdominal surgery. I was told she had 0% chance of surviving until morning without the surgery and less than 50% with the surgery. Very intimidating moment. Sister joins me in surgical waiting room until 4:00am. After lots of prayer and a Fresh Prince of Bel-Air marathon, the surgeon comes out and tells us that the surgery was successful. We got about 3 hours sleep.

Tuesday July 22:
Continue visitation shifts. I catch a late afternoon flight back to Dallas for our junior high "Connection" mission experience. A friend of my sister flies to Tulsa to be with her on our shifts. Doctors determine that lungs are now affected by ARDS, a condition more severe than pneumonia.

Wednesday July 23:
After getting things rolling on "Connection", I fly back to Tulsa. Sister and friend go to Bartlesville for a break. I stay alone overnight at hospital and get a 4:00am phone call from the nurse authorizing blood transfusion.

Thursday July 24:
Continue visitation shifts. Aunt's kidneys finally bad enough to put her on dialysis treatment. Sister returns from Bartlesville to join me for late shift.

Friday July 25:
Dialysis helps decrease the swelling and helps make my Aunt more alert. She opens her eyes some and communicates with hand squeezes and a few nods and head shakes.

Saturday July 26:
Aunt's condition remains life threatening but relatively stable. I take a flight back to Dallas to see wife and son for the first time in almost a week to prepare for our junior high service (Wake) on Sunday morning. Plan on staying in Dallas until something changes...

More from Colorado...

2008-07-22T09:59:00.005-05:00

Our friends the Oakes are here now, and we are all having a blast. Yesterday we took the kids to the Buffalo Trading Post. They loved petting the horses and the owners are very cool people. We'll be going back in the next couple days to do a little horseback riding, that I think my 2 year old will be fired up about.

And then there was golf, Trevor and I played 9 holes yesterday at the Pagosa Golf Club for $25.00 with a cart. Pretty good price in a resort town. And then here's another great view from our condo balcony I took last night.

Radio Silence

2008-07-20T17:34:00.005-05:00

I've been out of pocket the last few days and just wanted to post an explanation/update here on the old blog. On Wednesday I dropped everything to drive 5 hours north to my hometown of Bartlesville, OK. This trip has been filled with both warm nostalgia and deep sadness. My Aunt Vizsh (nickname) has been in the critical care unit at the local hospital with a combination of ailments that have left her highly sedated and on a ventilator. We are still hoping that recovery is coming soon.

I come from a very small family (my sister and I are the only grandkids - that's right, no cousins = lots of attention and Christmas presents!) and Vizsh is my mom's only sister. She is a very loved, significant, and special part of our lives and her ordeal has made for some extremely long and trying days. People in Dallas have been so supportive by covering my Sunday morning responsibilities and also working to prepare to host our second 3-day "Connection" event coming up this week.

God has been faithful to provide each of us with the wisdom, courage, and strength that we need each day. I am confident that he will continue to do so. Thanks for praying with us.

Vacation in Colorado Part 1

2008-07-20T16:22:00.003-05:00

I took this picture with my iphone this morning around 6:30 a.m. from my balcony in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. We (my wife and 2 kids) arrived last night around midnight, so we had no idea what to expect when we woke up. Pagosa is in the Southwest part of the state near Durango. This may sound crazy, but I actually like it better than the rockies up in Estes Park. There's a lot more color here. And I can promise you this, after living in Dallas for a year I was ready for some color (anything other than concrete). That's not a bash on Dallas, but bragging on God's handiwork here in Colorado. It truly is beautiful here. I've only been here for about 18 hours, and I can already say this is going to be a place I'd like to come back to every year. One of the reasons is there's not a lot of people here. You can truly have sabbath here, and practice the presence of God a lot easier than our busy lives in whatever city we live in. Most of our blog readers should appreciate this since most of you are in decent sized cities (yes, I am watching you :) This morning we went to Centerpoint Church in Pagosa and worshiped with the folks there. It was pretty similar the church I worked at in seminary, so it gave my wife and I some fun flashbacks to our days in North Carolina. I actually contacted the youth pastor there ahead of time and asked him if he had any good babysitters. Is that weird if I'd never met him? David will probably think so.

Our friends the Oakes are going to be coming in tonight to stay with us for the week, and we are so pumped to see them and get to spend our vacation with them. I'll update more, and I must say to the readers I am a bit disappointed that I didn't get any love (comments) after my last post on Hopkins? Am I that bad? Help me here!

I Love This Show!

2008-07-17T22:48:00.008-05:00

Tonight I watched a really cool show. It's called Hopkins, and follows doctors at John Hopkin's Hospital. I have to say there was a moment on the show tonight that really made me think through some things. During the end of the show, they did a heart transplant with a 3 year old boy (pictured below).

Leading up to the transplant they're showing the chopper that's flying in the heart (the doctors get the heart in a cardboard box that says "Caution, Heart" on it. I guess I was expecting something a little more high tech) , They're also filming the family of the boy; waiting, crying, and praying. And then comes the transplant. I don't think I've ever seen a heart transplant that uncut, and that uncensored on T.V. And then comes the relief of the family. Wow. I can't imagine going through anything like that. And then it shows the doctor getting ready to head home for the night. It's 2:00 a.m. The qoute that stuck with me went something like this..."It's 2:00 a.m. and it's been an incredible day's work. Even though there's a lot of pain involved in my job, it's moments like this that make it all worth it. I wouldn't trade my job for anything else in the world. Did you see the look on the families face? They have a toddler with a healthy heart now. It doesn't get any better than that." And he gets in his car and heads home.

If you're still tracking with me, I'm teaching this Saturday at Training Day at our church on the heart of the teenager. Training Day is a day of teaching on various topics, theology classes, etc...The actual title is "Shepherding your Teen's Heart; Moving from Behavior Modification to Heart Transformation." I have loved getting ready for this because the scriptures have so much to say about the heart. It's also been a huge reminder of what we're called to do in student's lives. Because we can't visibly see our student's spiritual hearts, it's hard work to lead them spiritually. But, like the doctor, I wouldn't trade it for the world. I also thought through the hard times over the years that I've seen students go through, and how they will always be overshadowed by the times in ministry I've seen a kid fall head over heels in love with Jesus, and their heart is transformed! Be encouraged, and let's work harder than ever before on leading the hearts of those who God has put around us!

"It's a Bad Night to be an Atheist"

2008-07-15T10:52:00.004-05:00

Last night Josh Hamilton set a record during the Home Run Derby. He hit 28 home runs in the first round of the competition. After all the greats that have ever played; Ruth, Mantle, Sosa, etc..., Hamilton beat all of them. I just kept saying one word last night; "unbelievable." The greatest thing about Josh is his story. If you haven't heard it, you can read a great blog post by Peter Gammons here. He was addicted to Heroine, was a bad husband, father, and God completely turned his life around. The commentators last night couldn't stop talking about his story, and how he had found God, and then one of the guys made a pretty interesting comment; "it's a bad night to be an atheist." Josh chalks everything up in his life to God. His story is God's story. Josh is just happy to be a part of God's story, and He's doing something very unique with him. While experience (stories) is never the first thing we would use to argue for the existence of God, it's hard to deny the turn that Josh has made and who the author is behind it all. On a personal note, the last church we worked at is the church that Josh attends when he is home in Raleigh, North Carolina. He got baptized there, and is very close with many people in the church. I got to meet him a little over a year ago, and I can say that he is completely changed, transformed, and his story is legit. He is an amazing guy, and a big congrats to Josh and his family.

Mother Buzzard & Christian Wrestling

2008-07-11T20:13:00.005-05:00

If you want advice about how to run a top-notch junior high summer camp, I now know who you should call. The guys hosting Breakaway camp thought of everything and went to great lengths to make their camp an experience kids would never forget. Here are some bullet points.

Cool Stuff They Thought Of:
Golf carts were rented for all staff so everyone was mobile. Walkie Talkies complete with "secret service" earpieces were rented for all staff so everyone was connected. They spent a day and a half before kids arrived blacking out all of the windows of the dining hall with tarps and duct tape so as to create the optimal environment for their programs. Normal concessions were set up during free time and an hour at night. Plus catering was offered by both Marble Slab and Braum's. The Iceberg is awesome. They rented one for the lake. They had 6 Nintendo Wii's and other indoor games set up during freetime with tons of games...great option in the Texas heat! There is such a thing as the Christian Wrestling Federation. They brought them in and one of the camp's skit characters was incorporated into the wrestling drama producing an unforgettable camp moment. Junior high talent shows are amazing...especially when they are well-produced as an American Idol parody.

Professional Personnel They Hired:
Chris Turner is a really good worship leader and a really great guy. I'm going to look for an opportunity to utilize his gifts at a Watermark event. Lucas Kitchen offers a great service when it comes to producing camp videos & devotionals. Clint Reiber can produce a great program. Technically flawless with lots of bells & whistles. Another church's high school group were brought in for the week just to focus on the morning recreation. They were over-the-top excellent ("Mother Buzzard" might be the most fun game ever).

Overall, I had a fantastic week and would definitely join them again if given the chance. I connected with tons of kids and had lots of good conversations...especially about community and evangelism. Hope you like the picture accompanying this post. My wife only took 3 during the entire time that we were there and I picked the one with my shirt off. Lucky you.

Highlights from Camp Barnabas (Finally)

2008-07-11T08:22:00.013-05:00

I apologize for just now getting a post up from Camp Barnabas. Most of you have probably never been, so let me just say on the front end that this was the most life changing trip I've ever taken students on in student ministry.

The first thing I would say is that this trip took our students by surprise. If you would talk to some of our students, they would say that they never thought that they would become so close to one person in 7 days. On the last day, the parent of this boy told Jake (pictured below with him) that he had never been so attached to anyone other than his mom.

Wow. After 7 days? One of the reasons they grow so close is that many of the campers do not get a lot of attention during the year. Many of them are mistreated verbally at school, and so to have one person come to spend 7 days of their summer is the highlight not just of their year, but their life! The last thing I'll say about this is that many of my students want to go back next summer, the same term, and are begging for the same camper. Some of them have made threats if I do not listen.

Another thing that our students took away from this trip is a spirit of gratitude. In the picture below you'll see a cross, and if you look closely it has little plaques on it with names.

The names are campers that have come to Camp Barnabas and have passed away since being a camper. The last day of camp they do what they call the Cross Carry. This is one of the most unbelievable things I've ever seen. Each cabin holds the cross, prays for the camper's families who have lost a child, prays for the current campers who are terminal, and walks it a few yards to the next cabin. Teary eyed yet?

Pictured below is one of my students Carson hugging his camper who just finished carrying the cross, and is weeping because he knew of the campers name's on the cross.

His camper hugged his counselor, crying, and didn't let go for about 20 mintues. So our students walked away with how good they have it. A brain that works, a body that works, and they live with incredible families. How often do we forget about all of those things and complain about little petty things that don't really have any real weight in life? Remember how blessed you are today!

One other thing I would add is how our kids saw joy like they've never seen before. These campers are more happy because of their relationship with Jesus than we usually are. Look at the picture below and just let that soak in.

These campers love life, and many of them love Jesus, and love to worship Him in the midst of their problems. They are just like you and me, they just have different struggles/issues that they have to deal with. I've never thought of the disabled in that light. I am walking away from this week absolutely committed to making more of a difference in the disabled community, and to going back to Camp Barnabas every summer. If you want to learn more about Camp Barnabas by watching their promo video, click here to watch it.

-MIKE

Breakaway!

2008-07-04T13:57:00.006-05:00

This coming week I'll be heading out to the Collin County Adventure Camp to speak at the junior high Breakaway Camp for five different East Texas churches (around 400 kids!). When I get the opportunity to share four messages in a row with groups that I don't have strong relational ties to, I typically over prepare. I love hearing what other people are teaching on, learning how they prepare, and seeing the outlines that they put together. The theme I've been given for the camp is "Decide" and you can click here to see the detailed outlines I put together for the week.

Connection Reflection

2008-06-29T20:47:00.006-05:00

(click above for a slideshow of pictures from the event)

Every summer, our junior high students have two opportunities to connect with a part of the Dallas community that is a little bit outside of their comfort zone by hosting a Christ centered day camp at a place called the Vickery Wellness Center. The event is called "Connection" and it's always an eye-opening, challenging 3 days for our kids. Since I get to spend 72 hours straight with junior highers, I also get to have my eyes opened to a few things...

Am I Almost Creepy Old Youth Pastor Guy?
I took three 8th grade guys with me all day on Tuesday to deliver and set up props, sound equipment, and food for the camp. We had a blast and made tons of memories. One thing that stuck with me was when they said, "You're old. Now that you're a dad you can't play video games." I realize some people will take this the wrong way, but I truly feel like every year I keep doing this job, I get just a little creepier.

Christian Cussing
From talking to kids at different times during the trip, I discovered the following "statistics" related to cussing over text messages: Christian girls from private Christian schools do not cuss over text message nor do they tolerate cuss words being sent to them. They only delete texts to make space, never to hide anything from their parents. Christian girls from public schools rarely cuss over text message and regularly tolerate cuss words being sent to them (mainly from boys). They regularly delete texts to hide them from their parents. Christian boys all cuss over text message and go to great lengths to hide every word they write and read from their parents. What a mess.

You Got Fish Spanked
We bought a whole fish (face included) to put in a blender for one of our skits at the day camp. The 8th grade guys decided I should make a video of myself hitting strangers with the fish and declaring, "You got fish spanked". Sounded like a good sequel to You Got Took. Only junior high kids know what junior high kids think is funny...so I'll be taking their advice and running the idea by Bode on Monday.

Thank You Clint

2008-06-29T19:47:00.002-05:00

Many thanks to our friend Clint Miller for making a wish of mine come true. Utilizing Clint's super-fancy Canon zoom lens, I was finally able to discreetly capture some images of our reclusive neighbor who periodically comes outside to garden (and ride his bicycle!) in his practically translucent white boxer shorts. It is one of the many joys of living on our street.

1 Year from 30, in Black and Blue

2008-06-22T22:00:00.007-05:00

Today I turned 29. I am now a year away from 30. I really didn't think about it today, but I got tagged on facebook by one of the guys I do community with and he sent me this picture of me with his daughters eating birthday cake. It was from Sam's Club, and as you can see it had blue and black frosting on it. A friend of ours recently noticed that while their 2 year old was potty training, the day after they ate their cake, the 2 year olds poo was blue and black. I can now confirm from personal experience, that the rumor is true. Thank you, Sam's Club. I'm off to Camp Barnabas, see you back on the blogosphere in 9 days. Keep it real David, and good idea with the hats.

99 Cent Y Mas

2008-06-22T20:40:00.005-05:00

Three of my small group guys are going with Mike to Camp Barnabas this week. Since I won't be able to join them (I have a junior high "Connection" trip), I'm sending each of them a super bueno "I love Jesus" hat (purchased at a store called "99 Cent Y Mas") with their name and a verse written on the bill. They will be working one-one-one with kids who have physical, mental, and medical challenges and it will be a long, hard week so I chose the following verse:

"So I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen." 2 Timothy 2:10

Camp Barnabas Bound

2008-06-18T09:54:00.005-05:00

Our High School students are leaving on Monday for Camp Barnabas. We are way excited about what God is going to do, and can't wait to get there. If you haven't heard about Barnabas it's a Christian camp for disabled kids. Our students will be serving kids one on one, basically being a parent for 9 days. It is going to be amazing! We are also taking leaders whose primary role will be to cheer on and encourage our students in the hard task they are being given. Each of our leaders has taken about 10 students, have already written them notes of encouragement that they'll get on the first day, and will continue to do love on our students throughout the week.

A couple fun things we're doing on the way up there, is eating at Lambert's Cafe (if you haven't eaten there you haven't lived), and going to Doenning Barn Swings (Barnswinging is a favorite of folks in the Ozarks). I found a video of people Barnswinging here, although they haven't mastered it. Both are things that are pretty much the opposite of Dallas culture, and our students should have a good appreciation for hillbillies when they come back.

Kids Are Our Future

2008-06-17T12:52:00.004-05:00

Our women's staff, Melissa Miller, recently forwarded me this article by Tim Elmore from Growing Leaders. I normally can do without the dissection of generational differences but I appreciated the perspective and direction offered in the context of mentoring and the "hassles" that come with it.

Check it out.

Wake Unplugged Review for 6/8 & 6/15

2008-06-17T12:01:00.004-05:00

Wake Unplugged is our weekly meeting for Junior High students at Watermark. We meet on Sunday mornings at 9:00am on the 4th floor of the Watemark Tower. Here is my assessment of the last two weeks of Wake Unplugged.

6/8/08 Program Outline
Attendance: Average
Fun Factor: Average
Leader Presence: Average
Music: Above Average
Bible Study: Above Average

6/15/08 Program Outline
I was out of town on vacation/at Bode's wedding. The program was completely volunteer led and, from what I hear, things went great! It's always good to know that you're not needed. (Click here or on the photo below for a slideshow of pictures from Wake Uplugged and Bode's Wedding)

Wake Unplugged is simply comprised of 3 elements: 1) A table game (we're using Power Play Volume 5 from SimplyYouthMinistry.com) with a little skit interruption (see below for our inspiration), 2) A two/three song acoustic worship set, and 3) a Bible Study discussion time based on the Beatitudes (If you're interested, click here to see the discussion guide from 6/8 or here to see the discussion guide from 6/15 that the leaders use at their tables).

Mike's Thongs

2008-06-16T17:14:00.012-05:00

Click the picture above and get a closer look at these toenails. Those bad boys were on full display at Bode's wedding. Cousin Eddie called and wanted his wedding attire back.

Bode's Wedding

2008-06-15T15:02:00.006-05:00

Bode (pronounced Bo-Dee) got married over the weekend in Saint Joseph, MO and our team made the flight up for the wedding. The weekend was very fun for Holly and I because we got to visit my family, friends from high school, etc... To get a good taste of what Bode does on our staff click here. He does the majority of our editing, video shooting, and all of our fun elements week in and week out. He does a great job and we are way excited that he is married!

Here's a great picture of Braun (our boss), David, and me.

And here's everything I brought up for the trip minus my wife. (She's holding the camera) The two little girls are not always perfect on the plane, and so after flying Ellie about 15 times now I've devised a plan. We take the kids on the plane after everyone has boarded. Then, we take the car seat, kids, backpack, and ourselves on. The first guy that looks at my kids like "oh no I didn't sign up to hear them scream on a plane" wins a seat closest to us. It's a beautiful mess hearing our kids on a plane. If you have two little ones, you also know that all of the luggage you see is not easily transported, and I would not recommend it for the mere man. Ha.

Rock Chalk Celtic

2008-06-13T21:18:00.002-05:00

Last night the beloved Celtics made history. In case you didn't watch, the Celtics overcame the largest deficit ever in NBA Finals history and won game 4 to give them a 3-1 lead in the finals. They were down 24 in the 1st half. In the 3rd quarter they were down 17, and tied it going into the 4th quarter. Why is this such a big deal? Well this weekend I am in my hometown Lawrence, Kansas (home of the Jayhawks) for a wedding. Paul Pierece (pictured above) plays for the Celtics and never won a championship when he played for Kansas in college. It's now looking like he is going to get his championship ring. Way to go Paul Pierce. After sticking it out in Boston for 10 years, you've earned it!

One of the Largest Book Stores Ever

2008-06-13T21:10:00.004-05:00

If you have a few minutes check out this story...

Tag Me

2008-06-11T21:21:00.005-05:00

The Penuels are enjoying a week long vacation in Breckenridge, CO with Alli's side of the family. We forgot to bring the right cord to load pics from our camera but I loaded some pictures from other cameras and put them on Facebook. I'm realizing I need to put more pictures on Facebook...the last time I uploaded an album was 4 months ago.

On a related note, I'm getting some free time on vacation to research and work on stand up comedy material. I made a declaration earlier this year that I wanted to try stand up at least once in my life before I die. I'm quickly realizing that making this declaration was a really bad idea. I've been doing some reading and most comics will say that it takes months of "working the clubs" nightly before you sharpen your material to a point where it is actually funny. If I only hit the stage one time, I'm basically guaranteed to fail.

And everyone I know will be there to watch.

This is gonna hurt.

Relational Thought from the Week...

2008-06-11T20:26:00.007-05:00

My takeaway this week from my lunch with Ryan is not really that spiritual or life changing. Ryan is 16 and I picked him up today from his summer job. He's doing filing/paperwork at his dad's company. During our conversation he told me that he makes 10 dollars an hour. For real? This is his first job people. My first job was as a sandwich artist making $5.25 an hour. My next job after that was at Applesbees and my official title was G.U. I still have no idea what that stands for but all I did was wash dishes for about 11 hours straight every night. I later quit that job because I was having nightmares of dishes being thrown at me. Ryan told me that simple inflation can explain the difference in pay, but I am not convinced.

What job did you have in high school that you're not proud of?

Estes Park Family Camp

2008-06-06T18:38:00.006-05:00

Every other year our church does a family camp in Estes Park, Colorado at the YMCA. This was my first time to go and has been absolutely crazy and amazing. Here's how our week got started...

Our first full day my wife woke up and started puking and cramping up. It hurt to move, and when she did she was hurling in a trash can. So, I was now on dad duty and in charge of all our jr. high and high schoolers. It's about 7:45 in the morning, and I've got about an hour to get the kids ready, feed them and myself in the cafeteria, take them to childcare, and try to be a couple minutes early to teach bible study at 9:00 a.m. It didn't take long to get one of those headaches that make you think you're head is going to explode. Needless to say, the next two days were pretty tough, and at the end of day two, we took my wife to the emergency room in between student ministry scheduling. Crazy.

Well my wife got to feeling better later on in the week, and started teaching bible study with Sarah Beth, and our week has gotten ten times better! This morning was our last bible study time with our students, and they have had so much fun together, and learned a lot too. Thanks Simply Youth Ministry for the great curriculum. Here's a couple of my favorite pictures from the week...

Our student ministry crew The family in Rocky Mt. National Park

One of the few calm moments for my 2 year old this week

You Know Lyle?

2008-06-03T08:15:00.006-05:00

I'm in the restroom at the movie theater last night washing my hands when I overhear the following conversation between two strangers on either side of me at the sink. I thought it was funny enough to share:

Guy #1: You know Lyle?

Guy #2: (No response)

Guy #1: (Louder) You know Lyle?

Guy #2: (No response. I look over and notice he's wearing a Lyle Lovett concert t-shirt)

Guy #1: (Goes over and taps Guy #2) You know Lyle?

Guy #2: What? Oh. No. (Confused pause) Do you?

Guy #1: (Proudly) I met him for the first time 13 years ago.

Guy #2: So, are you guys pretty tight?

Guy #1: (Hands on his hips, nodding) Nope. But he's a really great guy though.

Guy #2: (Nodding) Cool. (Slowly walks away)

Don't ever talk to strangers in the public bathroom. It's uncomfortable for everyone involved. Also, don't ever assume that wearing a concert t-shirt means that the wearer knows the artist.

It's Nubbin

2008-06-02T14:02:00.004-05:00

Chapman had us laughing this weekend about an old episode of Friends in which Chandler refers to his third nipple as his "nubbin" and eventually has it removed via an operation he calls a "nubbinectomy". When asked by Ross if the nubbin could do anything, he replied that it could "open the delivery entrance to the magical land of Narnia."

Luckily, Chapman's nubbin is just a cheerio.

Wake Unplugged Review for 6/1/08

2008-06-02T09:45:00.003-05:00

Wake Unplugged is our weekly meeting for Junior High students at Watermark. We meet on Sunday mornings at 9:00am on the 4th floor of the Watemark Tower. Here is my assessment of this week's Wake Unplugged.

Program Outline
Attendance: Average
Fun Factor: Average
Leader Presence: Above Average
Music: Above Average
Bible Study: Above Average

During the summer months, we change things up. We unplug. I don't really know what that means but we call it "Wake Unplugged" to demonstrate that something different is happening. Basically, we set up round tables and chairs and time is much more "group-centric" than "program-centric". We do this because our Small Groups don't meet during the week in the homes through June, July, and August.

Wake Unplugged is simply comprised of 3 elements: 1) A table game (we're using Power Play Volume 5 from SimplyYouthMinistry.com) with a little skit interruption (see below for our inspiration), 2) A two/three song acoustic worship set, and 3) a Bible Study discussion time based on the Beatitudes (If you're interested, click here to see the discussion guide that the leaders use at their tables).

20/20 (Minus Barbara Walters)

2008-05-29T12:15:00.009-05:00

A few months ago, rapper Lecrae paid a visit to our weekly junior high meeting. It was phenomenal! He was accompanied by Ben Washer, the founder of Reach Records. Ben generously gave our ministry several CDs featuring Reach artists and, needless to say, we have become fans!

Recently, Ben sent me a copy of the new Trip Lee album called 20/20. I don't want to go into a full review (find that here, here, and here) but, in case you're unfamiliar, I wanted to share with you 3 things that I think sets Trip Lee and other Reach artists apart from the pack:

1. Their art and production value are top-notch. They don't make mainstream rip-offs and it doesn't sound like it was made in someone's basement.

2. These guys aren't chasing superstardom. They clearly value ministry over everything else. See the "ReachLife Ministries" section of their website for more.

3.They are smart. Listening to their lyrics is literally as informative as sitting in a theology class and as inspirational as listening to your favorite speaker. They are biblically informed and focused (easy 20/20 reference) on the truth.

Go ahead and download Trip Lee's 20/20 in iTunes and see for yourself that what I'm saying is true. Word (obligatory hip hop lingo).

Wake Review for 5/25/08

2008-05-29T11:45:00.004-05:00

Wake is our weekly meeting for Junior High students at Watermark. We meet on Sunday mornings at 9:00am on the 4th floor of the Watemark Tower. Here is my assessment of this week's Wake.

Program Outline
Attendance: Below Average
Fun Factor: Average
Leader Presence: Average
Music: N/A
Message: Average

This was the final week of our "Decide" series. Everything we've been doing the last three weeks has involved the kids making decisions. We've handed out ballots and the kids have enjoyed voting for the video they want to watch. We played "Decide the Deck" based on the popular youth group game designed to get kids running around the room acting wild. Again, we pulled the plug on live music and let the kids decide how they wanted to worship...through prayer, Bible reading, encouraging, journaling, or listening to a song (Shout out to Brandon Grissom for the ideas). Overall, it's been a great three weeks.

Here is the old school video that won the kids vote for "Best Original Comedy":

If you're interested, click here to see the discussion guide that the Small Groups use throughout the week.

Another Amazing Video from Watermark!!!

2008-05-28T15:25:00.003-05:00

Steve Vanderheide captured and edited this video from our baptism service two weeks ago. This is the best video we've put up recently...Check it out!

If Disease Sharing Is Your Thing

2008-05-27T14:46:00.008-05:00

A great illustration of the fundamental differences between me and Mike: As represented in the post below, Mike enjoyed spending 4 days straight at a public pool (He actually called it "sabbath"). On the other hand, I spent 4 days straight installing a nice little patio in our backyard. I did this so that I could have a private sanctuary to act as an alternative to the noisy, speedo peppered, disease swapping insanity of the crowded public pool.

Sure, it looks like Ellie is having fun in the picture below...but wait until she comes down with the "slapped face" rash!

P.S. Ron Hazelton is the man!

Our Memorial Day Weekend

2008-05-26T22:17:00.007-05:00

This weekend we found our town's best kept secret; the swimming pools. There's one down the street and we spent a good portion of the weekend there. They have this amazing splash park that both our kids enjoy and it's separate from the normal pool so we don't have to worry about them drowning. The other plus for me and mom is that we get to just chill there in the lounge chairs and watch the kiddos. Some serious sabbath was had this weekend! I took Ellie by myself tonight; we stayed until 9:00 p.m. when they closed, and there was hardly anyone there. Here's a pic...

Victory & Death

2008-05-22T09:18:00.008-05:00

It was such a weird night last night at our house.

Alli and I had some friends over for the American Idol finale and we were genuinely surprised and so happy for David Cook when he was announced the winner. David shared his victorious experience with his family and it was obvious that the joy they felt was even more pronounced because of the sadness they also share with David's brother Adam who is suffering from cancer. I jumped right on the emotional roller coaster with them.

Next, we turned on the Nintendo Wii and started enjoying some games of Mario Kart with our friends. In the midst of our relaxed, playful fun I received a few messages relaying the news of the tragedy that hit the Chapman family. Steven Curtis Chapman's youngest adoptive daughter, Maria, died in an accident at the family's home around 5pm on Wednesday evening. I have great respect and admiration for Steven and his family. I've been so influenced by his life and music that I actually named my first son Chapman. I was greatly saddened by the news and my heart feels for his family right now.

After quickly reading the article online about what happened, I kicked back into "host" mode and the games continued on the Nintendo Wii. Isn't that odd how we ride these roller coasters of emotions? How life is going on all around us and every moment sees some experiencing the greatest joy of their life while others experience the greatest sadness?

To deal with the mixed emotions I'm feeling, I did the only thing I know how to do in moments like this. I opened up the word.

1 Corinthians 15:53-56
53For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." 55"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is a necessary reminder for me to dwell on what God says true victory is. David Cook's triumph on stage doesn't hold a candle to the victory that little Maria is experiencing through Jesus Christ. What happened to her must happen to all of us and, for those who trust in Christ, our death will be swallowed up in victory.

Click her to meet & remember Maria Chapman.

Dream Big

2008-05-21T09:34:00.004-05:00

True Confession: I voted 3 times for David Cook last night. This marks my first time to cast a vote for any sort of reality TV show.

This morning's headlines are all hailing Archuleta as the winner, and I believe the kid has mad-talent, but I just think he's boring compared to Cook. Can't wait to see what happens tonight.

P.S. I thought the new song Cook did last night ("Dream Big") sounded a lot like a Steven Curtis Chapman anthem.

Highlight of My Week

2008-05-20T15:32:00.004-05:00

I've been meeting with the group of guys pictured above every Tuesday night (during the school year) in their homes for the past 6 years. They are a part of a small group that I co-lead with Watermark Student Ministries. We began meeting together when they were starting 6th grade and now the guys are wrapping up their junior year of high school. I can't believe that we only have one more year left before the guys disperse for college!

Tonight is our final meeting of this school year. My co-leader and I will be reading letters of encouragement we've written to the guys, reflecting on this year, discussing summer plans, and reviewing and signing our Small Group Covenant for next year.

This type of small group that sticks together year after year has become the norm here at Watermark. The vision for really, really relational ministry has developed into one of the most influential ministry models that I've ever experienced. The community that's being developed and the investments being made by leaders into students' lives has been incredibly rewarding to watch. I feel so blessed to be a part of it and I continue to grow in a passion to help others share the same experience.

One question that keeps me up at night is: Why aren't lasting, authentic relationships the centerpiece of more student ministries?

Hello, I'm Amy Walker

2008-05-20T15:21:00.004-05:00

This video is not only fascinating to watch, it could be used as a great illustration for a message about identity. Enjoy!

Baptism Day!!!

2008-05-18T23:24:00.002-05:00

This morning at Watermark was another great Sunday, this time a little different. Our entire church went to Curtis Park and had a huge baptism celebration day. We got to hear tons of stories of lives that have been changed by Christ. Our student ministries director Braun and I were at one of the 6 baptism "stations" in the pond, and a bunch of high schoolers came to us to get baptized. After being in ministry for 8 years this is the coolest way I've seen baptism done. People were owning their baptism, and their friends and family were able to support them by jumping in the water with them, praying for them, and even baptizing their family member or friend themselves. Very cool morning and I'm sure David or I will post more pictures from it sometime in the next couple weeks. I've already found a couple on facebook from one of our studnets...Hopefully Steve will make a sweet video of the day.

Shoreline Review for 5/18/08

2008-05-18T22:49:00.002-05:00

Shoreline is our weekly meeting for our High School students @ Watermark. We meet on Sunday nights at 7:00 p.m. on the 4th floor. Here's my take on Shoreline from this week...

Attendance: Above Average
Fun Factor: Above Average
Leader Presence: Above Average
Music: Above Average
Message: Above Average

Tonight was our last Shoreline of the year :( So sad. But it was an amazing night. Our band did an incredible job leading in worship, the Emo Kids showed up for one final skit, and Bode put together a highlight video from the year. I'll get it posted soon. For the teaching time I had our worship leader continue to play in the background and at the last minute I decided to have a time of corporate prayer that really turned out cool. I encouraged our students and leaders to think about the past year and to thank God out loud for specific things that He had done in their lives, in our ministry, etc... The prayer time was amazing! The prayers just kept coming and coming. I then showed a video that I shot in our church's studio of two of our seniors talking about what our student ministries had meant to them, advice they would leave to our other students, and then invited other seniors to share. It really was a cool night tonight, our students are incredible!

Fright Night

2008-05-16T23:39:00.007-05:00

Tonight, along with two volunteer leaders, I took about thirty 8th graders to the AMC movie theatre at Northpark Mall to watch The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian on opening night. We went to the 8:20pm show that didn't get out until about 11:00pm. Here's the headline and story of what happened just outside while we were watching the movie:

Woman shot at NorthPark Center while waiting for daughter
11:16 PM CDT on Friday, May 16, 2008

Dallas police were looking for a man who shot a woman about 9 p.m. Friday in her car on the north side of NorthPark Center.

The 43-year-old woman, who police had not identified, was taken to Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas with at least one gunshot wound to the face. She was in stable condition.

She had waiting in the parking lot for her teenage daughter who was attending a movie when a man approached her running truck and pointed a gun at her.

The man chased her truck and shot her as she tried to escape.

The woman pulled up to a valet station to get help.

Police and mall security were still searching for the gunman late Friday. He is described as black, 5-foot-9 and possibly in his mid-20s. He was wearing a neon green shirt and blue jean shorts.

Yeah. I know. So I walk out of the movie and there are police everywhere. Kids are on their cell phones freaking out. Parents are freaking out trying to safely evacuate their kids from our event. I'm thanking God tonight that everyone in our group was able to navigate their way safely past the crime scene, avoid the fleeing gunman, and find their rides home. Whew!

Just another day in student ministry. Am I right?

88 Reasons Students Love Leaders (1 of 88)

2008-05-15T15:05:00.002-05:00

"I love my two small group leaders because they are both amazing awesome people but spiritual and not too strict at the same time."

Mike & I recently Facebooked (yeah it's a verb) a handful of our students and asked them what they think about the volunteer leaders in our ministry. Instead of dropping all 88 of their responses at once, I thought I'd share them one at a time as a periodic reminder of the value of relational ministry.

Now It All Makes Sense

2008-05-13T14:43:00.005-05:00

My friend Mel Bobadilla told me about his favorite theory to explain the insanity of Lost. It is now currently my favorite theory. If you're a confused viewer, put on your physics hat and click here to read about the Mirror Matter Theory.

"What's great about those worlds [Narnia, Oz, and Wonderland] is they're all worlds on the other side of Earth. That is to say they're not fantasy realms like in Star Wars. Narnia is actually connected to the world that we know and so is Oz, as is Wonderland... as is our island."

-Lost Producers

P.S. I got started in the blogging world back in 2006 with The Lost Experience Clues. It's been "preserved" as a time capsule and now I operate The Lost Community that resulted from the connections formed through that first experience. If you ever have post-episode thoughts or questions, everyone "in the comments" at the Lost Community is very friendly and they know just about everything about the show.

Shoreline Review for 5/11/08

2008-05-12T22:43:00.000-05:00

Robotronic Mike Shelton

2008-05-12T14:45:00.003-05:00

Another home run video by Steve V for our church wide Volunteer Appreciation celebration! Check out robotic Mike Shelton at the :38 second mark!

Overall, the appreciation event was a big success. Beyond the Box Catering was incredible, our staff "musical" number got a great response, comedian Tim Hawkins had everyone rolling (his "hedge of protection" bit was my favorite), and the Sigg water bottles we gave as gifts were a big hit.

Oh, and the evening had a South of the Border theme. I guess that explains part of the picture above.

Wake Review for 5/4/08 & 5/11/08

2008-05-12T08:55:00.005-05:00

Wake is our weekly meeting for Junior High students at Watermark. We meet on Sunday mornings at 9:00am on the 4th floor of the Watemark Tower. Here is my assessment of this week's Wake.

5/4 Program Outline
5/11 Program Outline
Attendance: Average
Fun Factor: Above Average
Leader Presence: Average
Music: N/A
Messages: Average

These were the first 2 weeks of our "Decide" series. Everything we've been doing the last two weeks has involved the kids making decisions. We've handed out ballots and the kids have enjoyed voting for the video they want to watch. Every game we've played has involved making decisions. This week, we pulled the plug on worship music and let the kids decide how they wanted to worship...through prayer, Bible reading, encouraging, journaling, or listening to a song (Shout out to Brandon Grissom for the ideas). Overall, it's been a pretty cool two weeks.

If you're interested, click here to see the discussion guide from 5/4 and here to see the discussion guide from 5/11 that the Small Groups use throughout the week.

My 2 Year Old

2008-05-10T22:10:00.004-05:00

Here's a clip with my daughter talking before bed, she is simply the best 2 year old ever.

Relational Thought from the Week

2008-05-09T15:40:00.010-05:00

This week Wilson (pictured above) texted me and said dude mike we need to hang out, can we get lunch sometime? So two days later we found ourselves getting him out of school and heading over to Freebirds, a great place to get burritos, quesadillas, and they have some great queso. I thought this might be a time where he might share some struggle with me, ask me for some sort of wisdom, instead we just laughed the whole time, quoting our favorite movies, etc...Here's the top 5 quotes from our time together:

1. Can't post this one, jr. highers read this blog. And my parents.

2. Mike: "So Wilson, did you have any deep personal issue you wanted to talk about since you called this meeting."
Wilson: "Safety, I just farted."

3. Mike: "So how's school been lately?"
Wilson: "Well today I saw a fight break out between two girls, one of them pulled the other's weave out which had blood on it and she ran around with it like a trophy. Gotta love Lake Highlands."

4. Wilson: "Dude Mike have you seen this movie called Wayne's World? I have it memorized."
Mike: "Hi, we're in _________."
Wilson: "DELAWARE! Dude that's cool that you've seen Wayne's World."
Mike: (i hate saying this) "Bro that came out when I was in jr. high."

5. Wilson: "Hey I forgot my money for lunch. Can you spot me?"

I hear number 5 a lot. More than you'd think with some of the coin our students have. It was a great time with Wilson and I have to say he's one of my favorites in our group!

Shoreline Review for 5/4/08

2008-05-09T15:29:00.005-05:00

Shoreline is our weekly meeting for our High School students @ Watermark. We meet on Sunday nights at 7:00 p.m. on the 4th floor. Here's my take on Shoreline from this week...

Attendance: Average
Fun Factor: Average
Leader Presence: Average
Music: Above Average
Message: Above Average

This week I had Kyle Kaiggler come and speak about Baptism to our students. Kyle does a number of things at Watermark, and is moving towards only being over the service (aka missions) part of our church. He did a great job of communicating, is very passionate about God's Word, and it was so great for our students to see that. We of course showed the clip from Nacho Libre where he baptizes his wrestling partner, if you have no idea what I'm talking about you can click here to watch it. Next weekend we will be having a huge baptism party church wide that is going to be a blast. We'll be sure to post pictures of it in the next couple weeks. Bode was funny as usual, and can't wait for Shoreline this week!

Thank The Chad

2008-05-07T15:15:00.006-05:00

The rest of the Texas Large Church forum was great. Overall, I came away with a renewed sense of how great it is to exchange ideas and resources with like-minded cohorts in ministry. Mike and I really have a heart to continue and proliferate that kind of exchange using this blog. A great example of someone who is already doing this sort of resource sharing really well is Chad Swanzy.

I met Chad at the Forum and I was really impressed when I looked at his blog. He does a fantastic job at sharing resources that are relevant and easy to use. Check out his blog today and browse the group games and weekend services labels.Then click through his graphics on Flickr (games here, teaching series here). I really want to add some features like this to our blog.

Leave a comment, and thank Chad for sharing all of his hard work with us free of charge. Then think about starting your own blog or using your current blog to share your own creative resources with others.

Texas. Large. Church. Forum.

2008-05-06T17:39:00.005-05:00

This Tuesday and Wednesday, leaders from about 10 independent large churches in Texas are gathering exchange ideas and build relationships. I don't have much time for a full post but wanted to dump my thoughts from the first day of the "Texas Large Church Forum". All of these thoughts pertain specifically to the Junior High ministries of these churches...

Bent Tree Bible Fellowship takes their kids on tons (over 20) of mission trips each summer!
Chase Oaks Church had a great idea with the "box of consequences". I'm gonna try it.
Fellowship Bible Dallas has found great church-wide synergy around 3 words: worship, grow, and serve.
First Evangelical Free Church has a great vision built around 2 words: community and mission. They also did a hilarious series of 24 parody videos.
Hill Country Bible has a great small group ministry built around a great volunteer team.
Oak Hills Church does a really interesting parent meeting once a month.
Stonebriar Church has had some great ideas for student leadership.
The Village breaks up their teaching into 3 sections with discussions following each segment.
Gateway Church is willing to wrestle with the question "why" when it comes to "normal" student ministry programs.

I've loved meeting with all the guys and gals from these churches who have a heart for Junior High kids. Can't wait for tomorrow's exchanges...

Penuel's Picks: Summer Movies

2008-05-02T16:31:00.008-05:00

Alli and I love summer movies! They're a great oasis from the Texas heat. Things are going to look a little different this year with Chapman scooting around so we may need to get my mom on some sort of movie night babysitting schedule! After sizing up all the trailers, I've made my picks and divided them into "definitely" and "maybe" categories.

Definitely:
Speed Racer - May 9
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - May 16
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - May 22
Get Smart - June 20
Hancock - July 2
The Dark Knight - July 18
Henry Poole is Here - July 25

Maybe:
Kung Fu Panda - June 6
Don't Mess with the Zohan - June 6
The Incredible Hulk - June 13
The Happening - June 13
Wall-E - June 27
The Rocker - August 1

Before actually watching any of these movies, I plan on sticking with my "3 Step Movie Selection Process" that I mentioned in a previous post.

Greater Things Are Still To Be Done

2008-05-02T09:57:00.007-05:00

This is a really great video Steve Vanderheide put together about Watermark's Service Day (posted about here). What in the world would happen if the church didn't show up for "church" for just one day?

Planning Retreat Take Aways

2008-05-01T09:44:00.006-05:00

Our annual planning retreat was this past weekend. We had a great time out at the lake with several of our leaders. After hashing, rehashing, and prehashing the previous and upcoming years, I'm really excited about what's ahead. Here are the five take aways that I'm most eager to apply.

1. Small Group Resources:
Extra stuff that leaders creatively add to our curriculum is what makes their group time great! Collect ideas from leaders, scan and put them on our website, and compile a notebook to promote a culture of idea exchange amongst leaders on our team.

2. Wake Frontlines:
The most important people in our ministry are the next 100 people that walk through our doors. Welcoming and connecting our guests is an area that definitely needs improvement in our Junior High ministry.

Increase visibility of a place for guests to "check in" when they arrive at our weekly meeting with a big "Welcome Guests" banner (duh). All guests will get a silicone bracelet with our website on it as a gift. Student volunteers will be equipped with a list of leaders and basic group demographics (gender, grade, school, etc.). Student volunteers will greet guests and take them to find a group that the guest would fit in. The volunteer will stay with the guest and the group for the entire morning and then fill out an Info Card with the guest after Wake.

We'll send a welcome letter to parents of guests that A) explains what we do, B) inspires them to engage with our ministry and the spiritual development of their child, and C) gives them practical ways to get involved as a parent.

3. Experiential Worship:
Right now during our "worship" time, we simply sing. We're going to test some creative ways to allow kids to sing, pray, read, and share during our worship time at Wake. It seems like stations would be distracting but it may really help kids engage. We'll see...

4. Small Group Service:
While we offer opportunities for our large group to participate in service activities, it is often more meaningful if our small groups take ownership of it and do it themselves. We want to put together an extensive list of local service opportunities with contact info, locations, times, and descriptions of how to get involved. We want to make service a "lay up" for our leaders and groups.

5. More Intimate Leaders Meetings
Up until now, almost all of our leaders meetings have been large gatherings of all of our leaders from both Junior High and High School. We've made plans to mix things up big time next year with Junior High/High School splits, Guy/Girl splits, and even grade-specific splits. Our aim is to get people back in homes, help them feel more personal connections, and help deepen the equipping piece by making it more specific and interactive.

What in the World?

2008-05-01T09:16:00.007-05:00

David Blaine has done it. He held his breath for 17 minutes setting a world record. And he did it on Oprah this week. He said it's been a life-long goal of his. This got me thinking about what record I would break on the Oprah Show. I'm still deciding, but I would love to hear from YOU READERS! If you could set a world record on Oprah, what would it be?

Relational Thought From the Week...

2008-04-29T20:29:00.004-05:00

This week my wife is going out of town to take the kids to see her parents and grandparents, and I 'm staying put here in Dallas. She usually does this one or two times a year and it gives me a week to grab more relational time with students and leaders that I don't normally get. So Gavin (my 7th grade co-leader) and I are meeting all our students at the church, doing dinner, and then heading over to Adventure Landing for Go-Carts, Bumper Boats, Lazer Tag, and Video Games. This will be the second time I've been to this place in the last two weeks, and our guys love it. I also haven't lost yet in G0 Carts; the guys are constantly talking smack on me and I take them every time. That's probably not something to brag about, but it's always fun to win even if it's against a 7th grader. We've invited another 7th grade group to go with us, and we'll probably take them on (and destroy them) in Lazer Tag. Can't wait. Oh, and our guys tried to convince us to turn it into a lock-in, but we turned them down. Just another sign of getting old I guess.

Under the Radar Since 1999

2008-04-27T15:32:00.005-05:00

Our friend Lisa has the most unique stories from her experiences working at Our Children's House. She recently opened our eyes to this reality and it just seemed too interesting not to pass on.

I never realized that you could train a horse to relieve himself on command.

P.S. The shoes are the coolest!

Wake Review for 4/27/08

2008-04-27T15:30:00.001-05:00

Wake is our weekly meeting for Junior High students at Watermark. We meet on Sunday mornings at 9:00am on the 4th floor of the Watemark Tower. This week's Wake was really fun and (I think) really challenging and inspirational. Instead of a formal review, I'd like to share a behind the scenes look at all the things our kids never know about. This is an actual list of stuff that "went wrong" this week:

Our Program Director slept in and arrived about an hour late.
The volunteer Tech Team Coordinator was a no show.
The volunteer in charge of our student band was a no show.
The drummer arrived a little over 30 minutes late.
The guitar player/lead singer forgot to bring his acoustic guitar.
Nobody ran the dishwasher after making pancakes last week so all of the bowls, spatulas, pitchers, and wisks were dirty.
We forgot to ask a leader to arrive early to help make pancakes so the job ended up getting passed off to the first 8th grade guy that arrived (scary).
A potential new leader showed up to check things out and ended up leaving in less than 3 minutes. I didn't even get to meet her.
An 8th grader threw up in a cup on stage during our game.
Of the 4 High School Juniors lined up to share testimonies, one called and canceled at 7:30am and one was a no show.
Nobody cleaned up after the pancakes were served and the dried batter was a mess.
Our Tech Team left without turning off the lighting board, stage lights, flat screen TVs in the lobby, projectors, computer, or the sound board. And nobody locked up our equipment cabinet or threw away the program grids (and other papers) littering the Tech booth.

It's weeks like this when I walk away amazed at how much fun and encouraging our program turns out to be. We have a lot of really passionate and gifted people that inevitably seem to take up the slack and make things excellent for our Junior High kids.

Rite of Passage

2008-04-25T15:58:00.007-05:00

Last night, Mike and I had the privilege of attending a "rite of passage" ceremony for one of our students. We have some incredible families that make this sort of thing one of my favorite parts of working with Junior High students. I am always so encouraged when I see parents, siblings, extended family members, and a community of leaders and friends rally around a young man or young woman to encourage and affirm their maturation.

Ceremonies like this typically involve the student making some sort of declaration that they plan to seek Christ and strive to honor Him as they pass into adulthood. They also usually include some kind of purity covenant (like this one) and requests for accountability in their efforts to glorify God with their lives.

Last night, I gave Mary a Transformers birthday card from Target and talked to her about how she isn't just a regular car driving down the road like everyone else...the life of Christ inside of her is transforming her into something really, really special. I challenged her that a non-conforming Romans 12:1-2 lifestyle can also be a powerful transforming force in the lives of others.

Good times!

P.S. Mike, Jon, and I all agree that a striped polo shirt is the most appropriate attire for this sort of thing.

The Most Annoying Song Ever

2008-04-25T11:45:00.003-05:00

Apparantly 3 guys have made a scientific attempt at constructing the most annoying song ever. I started to listen to it, and wondered who in the world would waste their time with something like that. If you want to take a listen, just click here and it should come up in another tab. Just let it play and soak into your soul while you take a few minutes to enjoy our blog. Happy listening...

The Shape of Things to Come

2008-04-24T16:19:00.004-05:00

Lost is back. Welcome to the war. We're all gonna die.

Promo 1
Promo 2
Sneak Peek 1
Sneak Peek 2
Sneak Peek 3
Sneak Peek 4

The Chick-Fil-A Project

2008-04-24T09:01:00.004-05:00

Sorry to post right on top of Mike's post but I love this video and had to share it. A great illustration of how far Mike will go (and how much money he'll spend) for free stuff.

Perfect Timing...

2008-04-23T21:44:00.008-05:00

Lisa Harrell was delivering the mail and just happen to be walking right below the 2nd floor window when a one year old baby fell on her from the window. Unbelievable. Watch this video, and if you're in ministry the news story is definitely one you'll want to file away for an illustration sometime...

My Girls Rock

2008-04-22T23:44:00.010-05:00

It's been a while since I've posted some pictures of my girls, here are the two cutest little girls in the world. This is actually outside of the library they go to in a field...