Let wonder replace worry

January 13, 2011 - Accounting

After being in Oak Harbor for more than 9 years, I have the opportunity to serve on a couple of different boards and associations that do some great things. Today, I met with one of these groups at our accounting office. Oddly, I get pretty excited for these meetings. With a bit of a financial background, crunching numbers like this is so much fun for me. Not as much fun as being a Youth Pastor, but fun nonetheless.

Posted via email from Justin Ross

January 12, 2011 - Sunset

Sometimes it is easy to forget what a beautiful place we live in. Running around getting ready for youth group tonight, I was struck at how the sun made an appearance at the end of a dark and cloudy day. Another gorgeous day on Whidbey Island. 

Posted via email from Justin Ross

Mission 2010: It Took All Night, But We Are Home - Friday/Saturday

To wrap up the posts about our summer mission trip to San Francisco, I thought it would be appropriate to post the note I'll be publishing in out church newsletter. It was written just after we returned home.

We have only been back from San Francisco for a few hours and everyone is still recovering from the wonderful week of mission work and service we experienced.

It was an amazing and very packed week. We were all stretched, challenged, and invited to see more Jesus and less of ourselves. The week was filled with work projects, kids camp, serving, prayer walks, music, games, and new friendships.

We each left at the end of the week with a long list of stories and experiences. Many we will share and a few that will forever be “you just had to be there” moments. 

We spent the week sleeping on the floor of a Sunday School classroom. (I’m sure it will be back to normal after they repaint and replace the carpet.) 

We learned that summer in San Francisco is much colder than Whidbey, even this year when our summer has not been all that warm. 

And I am sure we all brought home a suitcase full of thick fog because it seems to cover everything in the city.

To all of you who donated to our trip and prayed for us while we were away, thanks so much for your investment in this trip and the support of youth ministry in this church. We trust that the things learned and realized on this trip will last a lifetime.

No doubt, last week was long:

Driving through the night (twice!) 

Sleeping on the floor. 

Waiting up at 6:30am.

Showering 4 times in 8 days.

What exactly was I thinking? I am not 22 anymore.

Then I think about the dinner conversation, the nightly worship, the church group time, and the times of selfless service. I cannot keep from smiling.

Because I love those teenagers and I trust they need me in their life speaking the truth of the Gospel and words of encouragement.

That makes it all worth it. 

And just thinking about it makes me ready to do it all over again. After I take a nap.

-Justin-

One final prayer before we leave...

Before we leave on our mission trip today, this is the prayer we'll all pray together. (Adapted from The Book of Uncommon Prayer)

Lord, we are ready. We are on this trip to be your servants. We desperately want to shine the light of your Gospel bright, both those of us who've done this before and those of us who are brand new at it. 

We enter this week expecting nothing in return. We expect nothing from those we'll serve. Jesus taught us to love without condition. That is the kind of love we want to show the world this week. 

We are energized, God! We cannot wait to begin. Pace us, though, Father. Help us to keep this feeling the entire week. Keep our hearts and minds on the work before us. We know that we may be the only "Jesus" some of these people will ever see. Help us to show them the true Christ. Help us to show them the unconditional love of our Savior. 

And may you receive all praise, glory and majesty. May we honor you in all we do this week. Keep us safe as we travel and eager as we serve. 

We your help, we can.

Amen.

Final Mission Trip Planning Meeting

Tonight is our final meeting as a group before we leave on our trip to San Francisco. Since I posted the message I'm going to give them before we leave, I thought I would also post the video I'll be showing them tonight.

It very well could be the most inspiring thing ever said.

There is no need for us to have pages of rules for this trip. 

Before you do something, just ask yourself, "would an idiot do this?" If the answer is yes, don't do that thing. 

Simple as that...

A Pre-Mission Trip Message To My Youth Group

Summer is a crazy time of year for me. Mission trips, summer camp, fun getaways, and running VBS are just a few things our teenagers are involved in this summer.

Our biggest trip begins Saturday. We are spending a week serving in San Francisco. The good news about this is that I'll be able to post updates, pictures, and video from my iPhone. This gets pretty challenging when we are traveling Internationally or out in the middle of Montana. (Granted, this is assuming that AT&T has reliable service in San Francisco.)

Before we leave Saturday, I am going to share a message with my students. I thought it would be fun to post it here:

Christians tend to have a very unfair reputation these days. 

Teenagers tend to have a very unfair reputation these days. 

Granted, there are times teenagers to some very dumb things. And unfortunately, there are times that Christians to some very dumb things. 

If your only source of information on Christians and teenagers come from the 24 hour news cycles, it is easy to see why you would have a completely different idea of what Christians are like and absolutely no hope in the young people of today becoming successful, productive members of society. 

So as a group of Christians who happen to be teenagers, we have two strikes against us. The good news? We’ve got an amazing opportunity over the next week to knock a home run. For the next 8 days, we will travel more than 2000 miles. We will stop for gas and snacks in many random places, be in several restaurants, working in food banks, serving meals to the homeless, sorting donations at the Salvation Army, walking through many public places, be seen sleeping on the floor, and so many more things. 

We will be seen by tens of thousands of people. For the vast majority, we will be in their life for a second and then be gone. 

What an amazing opportunity. 

Because eventually one of those thousands of people, who will be a blip on your radar screen in the next week, will be talking with friends and one of the friends will go off on the "Christians" they saw on CNN protesting at a funeral. Or they will talk about the teenagers who thought it would be fun to bash every single mailbox in the neighborhood with a baseball bat. I want that person to stop their friend and say: 

"Wait a minute, I just saw this group of Christian teenagers from a Presbyterian Church in Washington and they weren't like that at all.” 

“They were kind and respectful.”

“Instead of using their summer break to stay up all night playing video games and sleep the day away, they were out there handing out food to the homeless.” 

“They were giving food to needy folks at the food bank.” 

“They were serving others with all their heart and making this world a better place for all of us to live.” 

“While some Christians may do crazy things and some teenagers may do nothing but cause trouble, they are certainly not all that way.” 

You are the only Jesus that some people will ever see. 

Our mission work does not begin when we get to California; it begins at this moment, in this parking lot. 

 Represent Jesus well.

Graduation

If you could leave high school graduates with one piece of advice, what would it be? 

This afternoon I was writing the message I'll be giving to our graduates in a couple of weeks. 

They are my 9th graduating class since I began my ministry at this church. 

Which means they were in 3rd grade when I moved here. No wonder I'm feeling old. 

Over the years, I have shared the same final piece of advice with every senior who has graduated out of my youth group. The rest changes from year to year, but the end has remained the same.  

Here is it: 

Finally, I leave you with the same advice I have left each one of the 8 graduating classes that have come before you in my time at this church. 

It is the best advice I can find and its obviously not mine. A very wise man named Solomon wrote it as advice to kings a little over 3 ½ thousand years ago. 

"Unless the Lord builds the house, its builder’s labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain." Psalm 127:1 

Ahead lay your dreams and goals; but hear these words today: 

Whatever you do, do it with Jesus. Wherever you go, let Him lead you. 

Because as Solomon reminds us, all the success and triumph in the world is worth very little if you live it apart from Him. 

Never forget that you are His. Long before He laid down earth's foundations, he had you in mind. Before you could ever choose Him, He decided to adopt you into his family through Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:4-5 

Jesus said “I have come to give you life, life to the fullest.”  

Go on and life it. 

Our journey together has been a true honor for me. 

I’ll never forget you. 

-Justin-

Holy Week: Coldplay Wednesday

Then there's the glorious "Fix You," supposedly written for Martin's wife after the death of her father. The song plays like a modern day "Bridge Over Troubled Water," offering peace and comfort to the weary: "Lights will guide you home and ignite your bones/And I will try to fix you." It's up to listeners to decide who's offering to repair the soul. -Christianity Today

Wednesday is always a busy day for me. Many Youth Pastors refer to Wednesday as the day we "live the dream."

Sure, Sunday is always a busy day but there is something uniquely special about Youth Ministry and Wednesday nights. When I was growing up, I attended some good youth groups and some awful youth groups (believe me, I could write a book) and they were all always on Wednesday.

Days of prep and work are capped off with our youth gathering and those of us called to this thing known as youth ministry are able to do that for which which we were placed on this planet.

Sure, working with the rest of the church is great, but I'd not trade any of it for Wednesday night.

So what do Wednesday and a British alternative rock band have in common?

It's unexpected. And on this Holy Week, we need to embrace the unexpected.

We like the expected - not the unexpected. Very few things catch us off guard. We watch news as it breaks. We see the weather forecast a week ahead (and when its wrong we are really thrown off.) We even have forecasts on our retirement savings. I can tell you exactly how much money I am suppose to have 30 years from now.

We expect so much.

Israel expected a king - a king like David. They expected a prophet - a prophet like Moses.

What they got was unexpected to say the least.

Which brings me to this beautiful song by Coldplay. It is certainly not expected that a 4 year old song by a rock band can teach us much of anything on this Wednesday of Holy Week.

But I think it does.

Because we need fixing in our lives. We have broken relationships, poor behavior, and tend to be quite selfish.

When you try your best, but you don't succeed

When you get what you want, but not what you need

When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep

Stuck in reverse

And the tears come streaming down your face

When you lose something you can't replace

When you love someone, but it goes to waste

Could it be worse?

When you're too in love to let it go

But if you never try you'll never know, Just what you're worth

Tears stream down on your face

When you lose something you cannot replace

Lights will guide you home...

And ignite your bones...

And I will try to fix you

As we continue our journey this week, we recognize that we need to be fixed. We need to be redeemed and made whole. We acknowledge it. We receive it. In unexpected ways.

You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you. (Matthew 5.4)

Holy Week: Tuesday Mood Swings

Yesterday I stopped by a church here in town for a meeting about some things we are planning for several youth groups in town this summer. As I was leaving, the custodian had the palm branches from Sunday piled up just outside the church. I'm not sure if he was saving them for Ash Wednesday next year or if he was throwing them in the trash.

I did take notice of how out of place the palm branches looked on the windy, rainy Monday we experienced yesterday. They actually made me look forward to summer.

It also made me thing about what comes next. What comes after the triumphant entry on Palm Sunday? It's not as glorious as one may think.

First Jesus curses a fig tree - which promptly dies. Then He gets royally ticked off at the temple, turning tables over and yelling at everyone.

Do these 2 versions of Jesus even go together? Can "blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord" one day break tables and curse trees the next?

Yes.

Because for Jesus to make the world right, He has to address what is wrong.

Yet, I still contemplate the vast difference between the Palm Sunday Jesus and the emotional yelling and tree cursing Jesus.

Maybe Jesus is not either - maybe He is neither. Maybe He is something unlike the world has ever seen. Maybe the events of the next few days will rock our very foundations and no part of this globe will ever again be the same.

Yeah, that's it.

But today, on Tuesday, we wait; feeling the tension rise and the not sure how to deal with our own uncertainty.

iStopMotion2

I recently came across a deal where I got a great deal on a copy of iStopMotion2 for Mac. I've never done stop motion animation before, but can't wait to put together some youth group promos. I've been watching some of the amazing examples on YouTube. I'm excited to begin playing. Here is a fun example: