Category Youthmark Stuff

Our March-ing Orders: Prayer

Brian Aaby 1 Comment

Overwhelmed.

Haiti.  Chile.  Potential tsunami in Hawaii.

Broken relationships, unfulfilled dreams, lost hope, death, sickness, depression, lost jobs, and unrepentant hearts.

Opportunity!

Haiti.  Chile.  No tsunami.

Repentance, new hopes, eternity, God’s provision.

These are the themes I have heard the last few days, even weeks.  Whether the circumstance from our perspective is positive, negative or neither, we are called to pray.  Therefore, I will.  How about you?

I am feeling overwhelmed, but hopeful.  I will pray, will you?  Specifically we’d appreciate your prayers for the teams heading out on YMV’s this summer.  While the spiritual preparation is being taught and lived out in the teens right now, will you pray for the places they are headed.  Over the next 5-6 weeks we will be solidifying the relationships with churches in rural and urban settings to be the temporary harvest field for these teams going on our trips.

I am excited yet apprehensive.  I will pray, will you?  Specifically I’d appreciate your prayers for a few messages I am honored to give in the next week.  Tonight I get to speak at Young Life.  This weekend I am speaking at a Men’s Retreat for Highline Christian Church.  I am very excited to speak God’s Word, the apprehension only comes from the time I want to put into the talks vs. the time available this week to finish the prep.

I am convinced prayer works, but don’t know how. I will pray, will you?  Each year I am literally floored (in praise) by God’s specific answered prayer as I read the blogs from our teams.  It works then, how about now?  My specific requests:

  • I would like each mission team to have a mission location by the end of this month.  Please pray.
  • I am praying that each Youth Pastor is able to testify to the change taking place in their students in their own Jerusalem, and not just on the trip!
  • I am praying that Youth Pastors get their blogs rolling so we can know the specific things to pray about for them.  Check out Youthmark.com and click on missions (or just click here).  We have a new format for the blog, color coded dots indicate how recent a teams last post was.  As you’ll see, not a lot of YP’s have started, pray that many get those started this month!
  • I am praying for the six retreats Youthmark has in April and May to train the (600+) students/staff for missionship (mission lived out anytime/anywhere).  Will you join me in this praise and prayer?

Don’t hesitate to list a specific prayer you may have in the comments.

Though you and I may feel overwhelmed from time to time.  He is not.  May we trust him and become overwhelmed with/by His presence!

Grace,

Brian

Today

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Catch-up

Administrative catch-up day.

I prefer mustard, but did catch-up quite a bit.

Yes, I am a Dad and was a Pastor, therefore the cheese does flow.

I did do well… not caught up yet, but after a couple weeks of travel, I feel good about how much was accomplished today.

Grace,
Brian

LA LA Return

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I’ve spent the last few days, once again, in SoCal.  Last week I explained in this blog-post that I had spent some time with the National Network of Youth Ministries… the day after I had met with them they called and asked if they could fly me back down for another couple days of collaborating on a pretty special project.

Here’s the brief report on the few days down south…

Wednesday: Grabbed some time catching up with a friend, Mindi, who was also participating in the Wednesday NNYM meeting.  We were able to catch up before heading into the meeting.  Our 3.5 hour collaboration on Wednesday afternoon/evening wasn’t the most exciting, but laid the framework for the next day.  On Wednesday evening I had a blast hanging out with Jeramy once again.  We went out to an awesome Indoor/Outdoor Restaurant (Stone Brewery) before heading to the movie The Book of Eli.  Very interesting film.

Thursday: Jeramy and I went out for an early morning brisk walk (traveling really messes with the ol’ exercise schedule).  After a great breakfast (thanks Jerusha) I was off to the all-day meeting with NNYM.  Fantastic work/progress was done on this project.  Fun to hang out with Kevin, Alon, Daryl and Joel.

I left at 3:15 and started the long-trek up to Simi Valley.  Without any traffic the drive would take probably an hour and 45 minutes.  I arrived in Simi three and a half hours after my departure.  So strange that I could have flown home faster than I drove just 90 or so miles.  Gotta love LA traffic!  Anyway, I had a meeting with my friend Mike and my brother-in-law Scott.  We’re talking about a couple opportunities as well.  It’s fun to partner with my brother-in-law on something and it has been a blessing as well to help Mike on the ministry side of things (he’s a former NBA player who is now doing quite-a-bit of speaking).

On Thursday night I spent a little bit of time with my in-laws before crashing for the night at their place.

Friday: The morning provided a much-needed slower pace; breakfast with my Father-in-law, then off to the Spire offices (and catching up on some admin stuff for Youthmark).  For lunch I was over in Valencia and started my series of meetings:

Lisa: a friend from Alaska/The Master’s College… She’ll be an asset in setting up some of our AK towns this summer.

Joe: another friend from college and currently the Dean of students at TMC.  Great to catch-up and talk thru some future possibilities.

Matt: a meeting my friend Mike had set up.  He is in the film-industry and I wanted to pick his brain about video-production for future possibilities as Youthmark does prom0-pieces and such.

Tim, a Youth Pastor in Valencia who is considering/leaning toward doing a Youthmark Mission Venture.

A very full afternoon in Santa Clarita, but an exciting time with these four.

My evening was very exciting back over in Camarillo as I got to go out to dinner with my in-laws and then head over to Anthony and Stephanie’s and catch up with them!

As this post goes live, I will be on my way home to my family that I miss so much!  Excited to hug, kiss and love on them!

Praising God for a few busy/productive/inspiring days in LA-LA land!

Grace,
Brian

LA LA Land

Brian Aaby 1 Comment

Several months ago Alaska Airlines was running a sale on tickets from Seattle to LAX; prices so low that they were lower than the cheapest rate I had ever flown. Close to 20 years ago (holy smokes, seriously, I started college 19 years ago… wow) the cheapest rate I ever flew was $139 round-trip.

Knowing that I have potential YMV teams in SoCal and my Publisher (Spire) is down in Camarillo, I figured I would have several reasons to be down in SoCal and could take advantage of this airfare.  So I booked it.

About a month ago, I got serious about setting up my calendar for those three days.  I’d fly in on Sunday and out on Wednesday evening, giving me three solid days to conduct business… Then it hit me, Sunday, February 7 was Superbowl Sunday.  When did the Superbowl start (3:15ish), and yep, that’s right when my flight was scheduled.  Great move Brian.

Fortunately for me, there were some open seats on an earlier flight (6 AM…woo, early).  The fun part, I got to watch the Superbowl with my best friend (besides Jesus, Elisabeth and YOU of course) Jeramy and his family.  Good times.

Here’s a quick recap of my three busy days:

Monday: Met with a prominent ministry which sends teams on short term trips to Mexico. Great times.  I then had the opportunity to grab a coffee with Josh, the High School Pastor at Emmanuel Faith, they did a YMV last year and will be the host site for our SoCal Spring Retreat. After some fun times with Josh I got to connect with one of my great friends from College, Scott (aka “Action”).  Lunch with Scott was a blessing.  After lunch I was off to a meeting with the National Network of Youth Ministries.  I introduced/reintroduced an idea I have for them.  A wonderful discussion and the conversation will continue as this idea gains traction.  My evening concluded with a fun meeting with two more college-friends, Mike and Steve.  They are both great basketball minds (Mike a former Laker and Steve a high school/college coach) and have some good ideas on how to use their skills/knowledge to go beyond hoops and use it for the Gospel.

Mike's Rookie Card

Mike's Rookie Card

Tuesday: I drove up to Valencia late on Monday and had a late-night In-N-Out Burger for dinner (yes, another highlight of the trip), but the main reason was to crash at Jeramy’s hotel (he was speaking both Monday and Wednesday chapels).  Tuesday started with breakfast and a great walk/chat with Jer.  I spent most of the day over in Camarillo at the Publishing office and time with Mike Penberthy developing some ideas for the basketball side of things.  Tuesday night, as I said in my previous post, I got to have dinner with two of my best friends from College.

Say "cheese" Jeramy!Wednesday: Breakfast again with Jeramy, then we were off to the college for Chapel.  Fun to see Jer speak.  I had lunch with Jeramy, Mike and Joe (he is in leadership at the Master’s College).  We were able to laugh at memories gone by, but also speak into the vision for the future of that college.  It was a blessing to have spent time with these three friends.

I got to the airport a couple hours early, which was very nice to catch up on a few things that needed to get done (I feel so behind on administrative tasks).  On the way home, I discovered I was sitting next to Sean McDowell (some may know Josh, his Dad).  Fun to meet Sean and get acquainted.

So, there’s my LA-LA-Land experience!  Good times and great potential for some future projects.

In Search

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Want to help network?

One of the… umm… benefits(?) of networking with so many people is that I am often called upon by Churches or by Youth Pastors who are in search of one another!

A church searching for a new Youth Pastor calls asking me if I know of any available candidates…

A Youth Pastor searching for a new situation/employment calls asking if I know of any church hiring…

Really, I do see it as a benefit, I like this aspect of the networking I do.  Especially when we see the right people end up with the right person (and vice versa).

I am certainly not a “job bank” but it is nice to be trusted and sought out for this important beginning stage of a search.   So, I throw it out to you, simply because I don’t know of all the great candidates out there.  If you know of a person who is qualified as a GREAT potential Youth Pastor, don’t hesitate to have them contact me (brian[at]youthmark[dot]com).  The flip is true as well, contact me if you know of a GREAT potential church for a Youth Pastor to land (no, you can’t replace your current, person, only looking to help churches with current openings, not ones you wish were open! Ha).

Be part of the network!

Grace,
Brian

Ahhhhh!

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On Saturday morning I found myself doing something very, very odd.

I was laying in bed at about 9:00 a.m.!  This is a very rare occurrence.  A welcome one for sure, just rare.

As I look back at the last six to seven weeks I only see a blur.  I have posted a couple times about how far behind I was on a few projects etc, but praise be to God, we were able to get things all done and out pretty much on time.  It was a whirl-wind, but it is finished!

I am so thankful for a loving and supportive wife who endured the early mornings with me gone (I was leaving for a coffee shop often at 6:00 a.m.) to start my day.  I was so encouraged by my kids who, when I cam home in the evening, would attack me with their love and support…

  • … Will would run up to me and say, “Da-dee ohme, Da-dee ohme” followed by “Da-dee haT” (emphasize the “T”)… he would want me to put my nice warm hat on his head (which he’d then wear for the first hour I was home).
  • … Audrey would often jump into my arms and want to be flipped onto my shoulders… so proud of her daddy for going out “and making all the money” (that’s what she tells me to do when I go work).
  • … Halle, normally sitting on the couch and reading would say, “hi Daddy” and then tell me a story from her school day.

This season officially came to an end on Friday.

  • The writing of all the initial 2010 materials done.
  • The assembling and distribution of Leaders Guides complete.
  • The shipments of books off.

Ahhhhh!

Sleeping in on Saturday felt odd.  I woke up thinking, “I must be missing something?”  I’m sure that I am, but for one, no, two (Sunday was a repeat), it felt great to just “be.”

Today, I shift my focus toward the “oh-so-behind” foll0w-up phone calls and emails.  I am trusting the Lord to bring us more churches/teams to use these books that we have recently completed.  Please pray for these things with us!  I’m so excited for what is ahead.  So enthused by the lessons I learned these last several weeks and SOOO thankful to God for a wonderful family who supports me!

Ahhhh!

Grace,
Brian

Evangelism or Discipleship, the debate.

Brian Aaby 1 Comment

Greg Stier, President of Dare 2 Share, a man for whom I have great respect, is branded “an evangelist.”  While I have no doubt he has this gift, one of the things I really appreciate about him, as I have watched him over the last few years, is that He has a great love for the Word, the Church and ALL People.  In Christendom we often see those who are more drawn to Discipleship and others who are more drawn to Evangelism.  Where did this gap come from and why does this separation exist?  It shouldn’t!

Greg, on his blog posted about this same subject. Check that out here.

After I read it, my blood was flowing a little faster, so I commented.  My comments are posted here as a stand-alone blog (slightly edited so as to be a post, rather than a comment).

My hope and prayer is that each Youth Leader (and student) will truly understand that Evangelism and Discipleship are not meant to be divorced.  For years many have separated something that has never been separated in Scripture! As we fall in love with the lost (evangelism) we need and fall deeper in love with the church (and discipleship). Youth Leaders (and unfortunately those who influence them) emphasize more Bible Study, better fellowship, longer worship and further-out missions and then wonder why these very students walk away from the church after high school.

Students who fall in love with the lost during middle-school and high school will carry that love onto their college campus or into their careers. If our emphasis continues to be to get Christian students to programs instead of to people, the trend will continue! The natural outflow of discipleship is living/sharing/breathing The Great Commission (THE Cause, as Greg and Dare 2 Share are rebranding it).

Youth Leaders (and I’d add Parents, Adults, Students) start modeling it! Not by just preaching about it, but by doing it yourself. If you don’t have non-Christian friends (your own age) that you are loving and sharing with, why do you expect your Christian students to fall in love with something you don’t even love? Talk about your failures (missed opportunities), praise God in your successes (the times you were faithful in sharing, leaving the results to the Spirit). Deeper love for the lost leads to deeper love and reliance upon Christ (and vice-versa!).

So, what do you think?

What do you want to do differently in your Discipleship/Evengelism?

Why do you think the gap has been created or exists?

I’d love to hear your rant!

Grace,
Brian

Discipline, Oh How I Love/Hate It!

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There are a few things in my life that I have let slide in the last few weeks because of other areas dominating my time.

Before things get too out-of-control, I am making a total effort to finish a few projects that simply have to get done before I get back to some things I want in my life…

The things that will be scratched for the next few days:

  • Blogging
  • Biking
  • Ballgames (which stinks, both the Zags and Huskies have games I really want to watch tomorrow, but more important matters are at hand).
  • Internet use, except for what is needed for the few projects.

So, check back in a few days and hopefully I’ll be back to the blog, but for now, enjoy a short-break.

I’d really appreciate your prayers over the next few days.

Grace,
Brian

Big Revelation

Brian Aaby 2 Comments

Heard something recently that caused me to think about my job and why I love it.

I love my job because it causes me to rely upon the Lord.

Seriously, the ups and downs of having a business/ministry has been a unique challenge and one that I embrace in a new and different way than I did at this time last week.  Our society teaches us to be self-reliant; to do what makes us happy and to do whatever it takes to get to where you want to be.

Don’t get me wrong, I want to be happy.  I want Youthmark to be very successful.  But success in my eyes and the success the Lord has in mind may not always be alignment (as we know it’s not God who needs to adjust).

As you may have read a few weeks ago on my blog, I spent a couple days recruiting prayer partners for my three week blitz of writing. I am so thankful for those who signed up and have been faithful in praying for me.  I have done an okay job of getting reports out to those folk, as I have seriously counted on them to pray for me as I spent time writing the 2010 mission prep workbook.  I’ll be honest, the writing was a total struggle thus far.  I found myself wondering how much my friends really were praying?

All of a sudden on Saturday night or Sunday morning, I found myself looking in the spiritual mirror.  What I saw looking back at me was me.

I’ve done a great job of asking people to pray for me, but I have not bathed the writing in prayer.  Others have.  I have not.

I don’t believe prayer to be a magic rabbit foot.  However, I do believe prayer works. So, as I stare at the spiritual mirror and desire more and more to see the reflection of Jesus, I will start with prayer.  Not for the sake of writing, rather reliance.  I love my job because it causes me to rely upon God; exactly where He wants me to be.

Grace,
Brian

Last Lunch!

Brian Aaby 1 Comment

The Preview lunches for the 2010 YMV’s are now complete!  Today, I was down at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Portland with about 35 Youth Leaders from SW Washington and NW Oregon.  We were very pleased with the turn out!

Aaron, Brian and Kirk at the OSF in PortlandAaron Bauer, a returning YMV Youth Pastor (and great friend) took the train down to join us (I was at a Conference in Vancouver the night before) simply because he believes in Youthmark training that much!  I’m thankful he joined us (and made for a great ride home together).  Kirk Petersen, the Regional Director of Youthmark in Oregon and SW Washington and I teamed for the presentation (along with Aaron sharing his testimony of last years trip).

Pray for much fruit.  We challenged the Youth Leaders toward missionship… rather than seeing mission trips what if we were to see our lives as a full-time mission life.  The specific challenge is to us adults to start modeling our own peer-to-peer witness and not just asking students to bring their non-Christian friends to Youth Group so we can share with them.

Now it’s time to put the finishing touches on the books for this year and then follow up with all the folk who came to our Preview meals!  We pray many will connect with Youthmark!

Grace,
Brian