I was challenged by Steven Furtick (via his blog) to take the steps necessary to thank someone in my life.  It is something I should probably do more often, but the busyness of life tends to get in the way.  I could have picked any number of people to thank…no question about that.  Scott Ockerman, however, has a special place in my heart.

When I was in 8th grade (middle school…a trying time for anyone), my family started attending Rochester Church of Christ.  On Wednesday nights they put the Junior High in a small room in the corner of the church (probably a good idea!).  I can recall sitting in a circle and listening to and discussing with Scott, our volunteer small group leader.

Scott’s life before Jesus was anything but perfect.  He had made his mistakes.  He had gone down the wrong road.  He had been there and done that.  But if I was honest, that is what drew me to him.  He did not act like he was perfect.  He admitted to a group of 8th grade students that he was a flawed human being…one that was saved by the grace of Jesus.  It was that honesty that made my heart open to a relationship with Jesus.  Scott was humble, non-judgmental, caring, and willing to have fun with a bunch of Junior High students…and he gave all credit to Jesus.  I wanted in.

The next four years I allowed God to shape me into the person I am today.  But it all started with someone overcoming his fear of prepubescent teenagers and showing us the love of Jesus.

So to Scott…I say thank you.  Sorry it took so long for me to say it.

Throughout the day yesterday we worshipped with Steve Fee.  It was an acoustic set with Steve and Matt (dude in the band), and it was fantastic.

I had such a good time at Catalyst One Day at Granger Community Church in Indiana.  The Student Ministries team took the road trip down there to hang out, catch some leaderships skills, and take a much needed break.  Even though the conference was short, it was totally worth it.  Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel (both pictured below) brought up some vital principles and ideas that are crucial to the success of any organization, including the local church.  Of course, for lunch we had to go to Chick-Fil-A.  Overall, it was money well spent.  The tough part now is processing the information so that it is transferable and applicable to our specific ministry needs.

Today I leave with the Student Ministry dudes as we head over to Granger, IN for Catalyst One Day.

I am pretty excited for a break (however short it may be).  Hopefully I’ll have pics up from the trip…stay tuned.

It was 3:30am Saturday morning.  You were probably sleeping.  I was playing football and dodgeball with 35 High School guys in The Underground.  From there I led worship at NorthRidge Church for their 4 weekend services.  The weekend concluded with a lovely snow covering (and of course, Velocity).  There are things that I dislike about Michigan winters…but pictures like this make me thankful I live here.

• Currently getting ready for the Velocity All Nighter.
• Leading worship for all four services at NorthRidge Church
• Going to Velocity on Sunday night – Third installment of our series “YouPick.”  The talk is on Relationships.

Hopefully I won’t fall over dead from lack of sleep.  I have had crazy weekends like this before, but it seems like the more I do them, the less I am able to handle them.  Must be getting old.

Last weekend I led worship for Kevin Roughley’s youth group.  It was cool to see Kevin interact with the students.  They truly look up to him and respect what he has to say.

This was taken at the retreat last weekend.  Patrick was our drummer.  This behavior is normal for us.

Out on DVD is the hit comedy “Kung Fu Panda.”  This was one of my favorite movies of 2008.

Check out this link.  This website allows you to input any text you want and it will arrange it in creative ways.  I tried it with 1 Corinthians 13.  Click on the link to check it out.

CLICK HERE

my good friend and mentor Kevin Valentine (and family) just added their 6th member…Avery Joy.  Kevin and Melissa are doing great!  Here are some pics…

I issued this 30 day challenge in Velocity tonight.  It goes through the gospels in one month.  Jesus calls us to “love God and love Others.”  What does that mean?  It starts with the basics.  Getting to know God by reading up on what He’s all about.  So, I hope you’ll take us up on the challenge.

Click on the picture for a larger view.