Just so you know… I’m an MVP!
Alaska Airlines told me so!
If I am now the Most Valuable, why is it that they are encouraging me to get MVP “Gold” status? Is there more valuable than “Most?”
Grace,
Brian
Archive for the ‘Random/Rant’ Category
Tribute to Youth Pastors
November 8, 2009I love ‘em, because I was one.
Here is a pretty funny Youth Minister Song/Video (it’s got some pretty funny one-liners and certainly a few inside-jokes that all youth leaders and those who have worked with youth will get)…
Grace,
Brian
To Do Today
October 12, 2009Sorry, been completely swamped the last few days, good things, just swamped. So I present todays “To Do:”
Morning meeting at my house with a new friend, talking “relationships”… Check
Starbucks meeting with a Youth Pastor… Check (I showed, he didn’t, got caught in a meeting, he’s excused)
Lunch at home and take Audrey to school… Check
Meeting with Ben Buckley at different Starbucks… Check
Send 100 emails to Youth Pastors in Colorado Springs… Check (only another 100 to go).
Stop By Faith to ask Aaron a question… Check (he was busy, but did call me later, while on my ride and I asked question then)
Pick up Audrey from school… Check
Bike Ride 11.5 miles, then shower (that second part was very important)… Check
Text my Young Life guys… Check
Post on my Blog… CHECK!
After Young Life tonight I have more of a to do list, but that’ll do for now.
Thanks for checking in on my day, whether you wanted to or not: Check!
Grace,
Brian
In My Spare Time…
October 10, 2009Wanna see what I do in my spare time? NOT THIS!
Pretty ingenious, but begs the question… “why?”
Now, off to an actual productive day!
Grace,
Brian
News and Notes…
October 9, 2009Coming to the end of what has been one of the more busy weeks I can remember in quite-some-time. Don’t have too much time to write, but have a couple things of note to pass on.
- Youthmark.com has just gone live with a little redesign and totally updated Mission Venture information. You can see that a new tab was created, Missions, to consolidate and highlight the YMV’s. The blogs can now be found under that tab. When you have the opportunity go there and check it out!
- One of the major things we have been working on can be found on that site, the Youth Leader Meals being offered in 8 different cities to promote the Youthmark Mission Ventures. In short, I’ll be heading to those places to host a lunch (and in one case, brunch) to meet Youth Leaders and share with them the vision/strategy of YMV. Appreciate your prayers! If you know any Youth Director/Pastor types in those areas, encourage them to go to the site and register for the free meal!
- Today I am putting the finishing touches on the presentation for EXPOSED. This event takes place tomorrow at Highline Christian and is being put on by Family Academy.
- My favorite Tweet I read yesterday was from Jeremy Johnson (a newer friend, great guy, does a lot of speaking). His Tweet: When I die, the last thing I am going to say is “unquote.”
- Have two different meetings today with guys I really respect and have played significant roles in my life. Andy Heider and Chris Renzelman.
- Based on the stats, it looked like yesterday’s post (here) was one of my most read ever. Hope people are not just reading it, but that we’re doing it!
Have a great day!
Grace,
Brian
Calling on (or calling out?) All Youth Pastors
October 8, 2009I have had a number of fantastic conversations with my friends in youth ministry lately. Quite often the subject matter has turned toward the pulpit and the type of messages we are hearing (or speaking). Subsequently, I had an online conversation last night that really put me over the top in my desire to write this post.
The conversation went something like this:
Me: Tell me why you were somewhat critical of the speaker from the camp? It seems like many students and even other youth pastors liked him from what I read on facebook.
Friend: Ask those people if this speaker ever once mentioned the Gospel (or the cross)?
This opened up a great dialog, we spoke for quite some time about our philosophies of preaching, Bible Clubs on campus, Christian media, etc. It was truly a wonderful conversation!
I love his jealousy for the Gospel and the need for us (as ministries) to make the public proclamation of Christ from our pulpits/speaking venues. But through this conversation I found myself getting more and more bothered. I began to project my frustration I have felt in other conversations with other people onto this conversation last night. I had bottled it up for too long, I was the 2 liter of Coke that had been dropped and shaken and it was time to pop the top…
Ahh, the relief of spilling over through a rant.
So often the guys/gals I find most jealous for the public, bold and clear proclamation of the Gospel from the pulpit–those who want speakers/preachers to really point toward Christ & the Cross through every message (which is the right thing to want, btw)–are the very same people who need to examine their own life to see if they are making private proclamations of the Gospel in one-on-one conversations.
I pray that I say this in all humility and with all sincerity (while looking in the mirror). For years I hid behind the pulpit and preached at students to get out and share their faith. I challenged the students to invite friends to their lives and begin to share the good news not just with their life, but with their words. I attempted to always preach Christ crucified in every message I spoke (even from obscure OT passages). But I didn’t talk much about my private evangelism, namely because it didn’t happen too much. It was easy to preach, harder to do.
I found myself frustrated that students weren’t getting out of their holy huddles. I saw youth group after youth group becoming 3-times-a-week gatherings for the saved, even though one or two of those meetings was geared toward the lost. I saw and heard about parents bothered that churches weren’t offering enough for their kids–so then the Youth Pastors feel like they need to do more.
In doing more, are we forsaking the lost?
Ultimately, I want students to reproduce themselves on their own campus, clubs and in their community. If I truly want that, I better be doing it myself.
Let’s stay jealous for the pulpit. Let’s call ourselves to a higher standard when preaching the Word and pointing toward the only way of Salvation. But, let’s talk about it in many 4-5 minute conversations with others instead of just 45 minutes sermons at others.
Grace,
Brian
Weekend Highlights
October 5, 2009Even though I woke up Thursday morning with a bit of a sore throat that would later turn in to more of a real sore throat, I wouldn’t let that ruin the weekend. It was a great weekend at the Aaby home. Here are a few of the highlights.
Friday: Did some good prep work for the EXPOSED conference (btw, today is the deadline for early bird pricing). I had a great interview with a police officer who goes undercover online through MySpace and Facebook (I’ll talk about this at the conference). Took Halle to her soccer practice and Elisabeth and I caught up on a few shows we had on our DVR (we love the Amazing Race).
Saturday: Elisabeth did a few consignment sales as I spent the morning with the kids at home. Then we did a family outing to Chipotle for lunch and then off to Halle’s Soccer game (where we discovered Will is a natural). I multi-tasked and got some Youthmark postcards prepped for delivery (I’ll post about this mailing soon). We got home in time to watch the UW/ND refs give the game back to Notre Dame. Halle made her biking debut on the Soos Creek trail, she and I rode a little over 2 miles (which I was giddy to do because I hadn’t ridden in a couple days because of my sore throat). On Saturday night we were able to watch the second half of the Amazing Race premier from the previous week.
Sunday: The moment we’ve been waiting for for many, many months (but nearly as long as the long-term members of Faith Baptist). “A New Day At Faith” began yesterday. The new Lead Pastor was installed at Faith. I look forward to seeing what happens at Faith and the way God uses the leadership team with a new team member. The morning was very festive, complete with donuts and coffee prior to the service (because people were arriving early for the “all church” service), extended time of worship through song (started 15 minutes prior to the service), a message from the heart from Pastor John (did some foundational vision casting, which very much included the idea of “change” so that we’re reaching the next generation) and a lunch in the courtyard after (which was fun for us to catch up with some friends who are checking out Faith).
After Church I was able to get back on my bike for my real ride around the Lake Youngs Reservoir (about 12 miles) and then another ride with Halle on the Soos Creek Trail. We made a great connection with a neighbor (this has been a REAL answer to prayer, I have a burden to get to know our neighborhood). In the evening I started the major re-shifting to create an office space for Youthmark at our house. Though I don’t really “office” at home, the piles were starting to add up and we found ourselves in need of some office space so that the piles have a place to be organized!
As I reflect is was a fairly uneventful weekend (there wasn’t any “major” event), but it was a weekend that I cherished! Praising God for time with my family and the tasks we were able to complete!
Grace,
Brian
Remember the movie Rudy?
October 2, 2009If you have not seen the movie, Rudy, you’ve missed a pretty good film. Well, I was just sent another real-life Rudy story that I just had to post! Be prepared to tear up a little bit with this great story!
Oh, I have so many spiritual analogies I want to point out right here, but instead, I’ll let it be… for now.
Hope you enjoyed it!
Grace,
Brian
Similar Conversations
September 26, 2009A Call To Christians…
Pretty exciting stuff happening in the lives of believers here, at least this is what I am sensing. I’m so hopeful that we will continue to see believers step up in their pursuit of sharing Christ with those who do not know Jesus as Lord. For too long we have thought that missions means “over there.” The way I read Acts 1:8 is that “mission” means “everywhere” (our immediate area, those that are different within our area, just outside our immediate area and then all across the land–that’s my interpretation of “Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth).
Greg Stier (President of Dare 2 Share) and I just exchanged a couple emails along these lines and I am happy to see he commented on my last post. I did the same on his blog (gregstier.org) under a post by Greg. Go check it out and comment on his blog here.
If you don’t feel a heart for the unsaved, if you don’t sense a calling to your neighborhood/coffee shop/school/workplace, if you’re not moved to share your faith with those who don’t know Jesus, then I will say something quite bold–You may not know Jesus. Please don’t just blow over those words, read them, contemplate them, take them before the Lord and consider.
I’m proud to read some the emails and FB messages a number of you have given me along the lines of your “relaunch” into your mission field (campus, club and community). Keep it up for His glory! Prayer, care and share!
The more you pray for the lost, the more you care for them and the more you want to share with them. Start with prayer. Witness what Jesus did with His message and how He got it out (by word & deed, not just deed). Look at the Apostles, see how Peter was the first to step out in faith after Jesus ascended in Acts 1. In Acts 2, 3, 4, etc. we see the Disciples begin to actively share (in word and deed, not just deed) Here we are 2000 years later–it’s time for every Believer to “step up” and pray, care and share.
Amen?
Amen!
Grace,
Brian
More Questions
September 25, 2009Yep, that’s right, going right at the core of Christianity with this one. Or at least what I think is at the core.
IYHO (for those out of the texting generation: In Your Humble Opinion), why aren’t Christians more active in sharing their faith with words?
Very open ended question, one that might cause offense, defense or neutrality. One that in answering may cause you to reflect and face your own strengths, weakness or hypocrisy. But I’m throwing it out there for discussion. Statistics say that the average American Christian will not ever share (with words) his/her faith in an effort to have that person know and receive the Love of Christ. Why do you think this is the case?
I will eventually get around to answering these questions I am posting, but for now, I’m going to pose a few more.
Don’t hesitate to go back to my previous post and think through any of the answers you may have for those questions as well. I appreciate the couple answers I have gotten already (I had a couple people email me rather than posting their thoughts under “comments”).
Appreciate anyone willing to risk in answering these questions. Once again, don’t use names in negative examples (unless you’re talking about yourself and want to share a personal life-lesson). Thanks!
Grace,
Brian
