The City of Refuge Story

The CCO staff and I recently traveled up to Atlanta, GA for the Drive Conference (a church leadership conference) at NorthPoint Church but we decided to go a little earlier than planned to get this amazing story on video. This is the story of how Bruce Deel followed the call of God and started the ministry "City of Refuge," a non-profit, outreach facility/church specializing in rebuilding the city of Atlanta. They work with homeless mothers, single mothers, drug addicts, the abused and much more. Listen to this story and be astounded by God's provision and possibility.

The Youth Ministry Chair

I came across this video on a Youth Ministry Blog that I RSS feed to and it so hilarious I almost wet myself but in the end it really hits home the point of why we do ministry. The Skit Guys are so amazing at what they do and they can tell a story like no other. Check it out!

12 Ways to Reduce Stress in Ministry

12. Get Organized.
Ministry workers can tend to be a little messy and disorganized. File, organize, schedule, and clean. Trust me. Things will run smoother and you will feel less pressure when looking for a certain message you preached last year and when things are organized future planning becomes a breeze. Life just seems easier when it's in order. Take a look at our Heavenly father and His creation. Everything has it's place and order and it works amazingly.

11. Take regular breaks.
Ministry workers are usually workaholics. There are appropriate times when you need to settle down and crunch through some work, but when it’s done, leave your workplace a couple minutes. Go outside, walk around, and get some sun. You’ll be amazed how refreshed you feel coming back. A 10-15 minute break outside can really energize you to finish the rest of your work in much better time and in higher quality, too.

10. Work when you focus best.
It seems like most people I know in ministry are early-morning people. They love waking up before the sun and hitting the office early. If that’s what works best for you, then do it! However, some people, like me, think mornings are nonexistent and can’t function until lunch time. I honestly work best between 10:00 PM and 2:00 AM. I stay focused and tend to crank out my best work during that time. Find out what works best for you and capitalize on it.

9. Address the work at home.
Stacks of bills, car maintenance, yard work, and home repairs can really stress you out, especially if it seems like everything else going on in life is always a higher priority. If tasks start piling up at home, take an extra day off to get it all done and set your mind free.

8. Eat healthy.
Give your body food that will keep it well nourished. Balance your carbs, fruits, vegetables, and grains. Junk food will drain your system, making you tired and unfocused. A sugar rush may give you small bursts of energy, but the crash at the end will keep you going back for more sugar all day long. I'm still working on this one.

7. Stay in shape.
It’s clinically proven that regular exercise reduces stress, gives you more energy, improves your sleep at night, and helps you stay more alert during the day. There’s really no excuse not to stay in shape, especially for people in ministry. For me it's a little tennis and racquetball here and there. And if you have tight muscles and achy joints, see a massage therapist or a chiropractor. The bill will bite you in the end, though.

6. Use your vacation days.
Many of us may be happy with our jobs, our ministries, and the work we do, but there are always small things about each job that we hate. That’s just a part of life. Over time, those annoyances can build until they become frustrating. Make sure you take a break, time to rest, time to get away, and leave it all behind. If your ministry can’t function without you for a couple days to a week on a regular basis, the ministry is way too focused on you and is unhealthy.

5. Keep ministry simple.
Lots of activity and responsibilities may make you feel more important than you really are, but it’s a guaranteed formula for stress and burnout. Know your limits and be realistic. If you have too much on your plate, delegate some of it to others or simply cut it out of your life. In my ministry, if no one steps up to help or take over something I don’t have time to do or shouldn’t be a priority for my limited time, it simply doesn’t get done. It’s really that easy. Just because your ministry is busy and active doesn't mean it's moving forward. Activity doesn't mean progress.

4. Listen to worship music.
I don’t mean just have it playing in the background, although that might help. Sit down and really listen to it. Let the Holy Spirit work in your life as you spend personal time in worship, thinking, reflecting, and meditating on Him. All the other stressful things in your life pale in comparison to a healthy reminder of who God is.

3. Say “No!”
I don’t know why ministry workers feel like they have to say yes to so many things. Maintain boundaries on your life! If the ministry is focused around you, you’re doing something wrong. You shouldn’t be out more than 3 nights a week maximum! Be at home with your family.

2. Maintain healthy relationships with your spouse.
Remember, your primary ministry is to your family, especially your spouse. Don’t wait until the relationship starts feeling dry to do something about it. Maintain the relationship so you never get to that point in the first place. Spend alone time together, go on dates, read the Word together, do random romantic acts, be sexually active. Celebrate what you have.

1. Focus on the Lord.
Regular time with the Lord is critical, but it often seems like it’s the first thing we set aside. Spend time with God on a personal level and also make it a priority for your family. You can’t serve the Lord and follow Him without knowing where He’s leading you. Otherwise, you fall into a stale rut of just “doing” ministry, rather than leading a movement of God’s people.

CATALYST DAY 2

Well, day two is done and I made it back home to Orlando. Man, the days are long at Catalyst but filled with so much good stuff. Today's worship was lead by Steve Fee again as well as Kristian Stanfill, and another kid named Aaron Keyes. The day started off with an African choir leading us into worship and then later Lanny Donoho bringing an elephant into the room and then soon after that bringing in a donkey. I'm sure there was some symbolism trying be conveyed. The speakers were mucho better today...I thought. Tim Sanders gave a compelling talk on contagious compassion and how it has an amazing ripple effect when we step outside of ourselves in deliver an act of compassion that it is contagious to those around that witness. After Sanders was through, Dave Ramsey took the stage and blew everyone away. Not doing the typical and obvious talk on finances, Dave gave an authoritative talk on building unity within your ministry and not apogozing for holding a standard of excellence in all that we do. Here is just a taste of his closing talk. These are the 5 enemies of unity he says everyone must fight against: 1) Poor Communication, 2) Gossip, 3) Unresolved Disagreements, 4) Lack of Shared Purpose, 5) Sanctioned Incompetence. Another great talk was from a guy named Matt Chandler. He gave a talk on authentic living and ministering. He said that too many people use God just to grow their ministry or church and don't use God to grow themselves. How can we challenge people to live fully committed to God and live by faith when we ourselves can't. Live the Life. Overall, Catalyst was good and I can't wait to see what it has in store for the future 10th year anniversary. Next year they have already revealed to us that there will be 2 Catalysts. One on the east coast in Atlanta and another in Orange County, California. Hope to see you there!

CATALYST DAY 1

Well, today was the first day of Catalyst and once again they have pushed the envelope of creativity, stage design, leadership training. As you can see to the left, the stage was in the center of the arena and massive wall of LED screens surrounded the drummer in the center of the stage. The only thing that stinks about this stage set up is that you can't always see everything that is going. But all in all the lighting, sound, and design was stellar.

After the opening worship set, led by Steve Fee, was over and the circular LED Screen lowered back down...Andy Stanley took the stage first as usual and spoke to the leaders about our moral authority. He challenges us to understand that moral authority is so much more powerful than positional authority. He said, "As soon as you lose your morals you've lost your influence and if you don't have influence then you no longer have authority, regardless if you have positional authority or not." Later on we had the an awesome opportunity to hear Jon Foreman (the lead singer of Switchfoot) do an acoustic set while he played guitar and another band member played the cello.
We also had the chance to make the biggest floam art piece in the world. If you have no idea what floam is and I have totally confused you then you can either look the photo provided or you click here for more info. They also interviewed this 14 year old kid that started a basketball fund-raiser when he was 9 years old that raised $2,000 the 1st year, $30,000 the 2nd, $120K the 3rd and $210K the 5th year running. He felt called to raise money to build schools in Africa at the age of 9 and with one thought created a non-profit fund-raising ministry, partnered with world vision ministries. WOW! What an inspiration to all of us leaders. Afterwards they raised $1,000 for every slam dunk the extreme team made. THEY RAISED $10K in about 2 minutes. WOW! I need them to come to our youth ministry....lol
Not only were we entertained during intermissions with floam, basketball, and bands but we also got to see a semi-celebrity from one of my favorite shows, So You Think You Can Dance. This kid is amazing. He didn't make it through the competition on TV because he dropped out but he came back on the season finale to battle another pop and locker. This is a photo of his performance today but you can see a video of him here. Although all of us this was quite fun and inspiring I would say that I was most inspired by a guy that took the stage at the age of 28 (the same age I am).
It's a guy by the name of Steven Furtick who after 2 years of leading his church, Elevation Church, it now runs 3,500 people in weekly attendance. His humility and appreciation for where God has brought him moved and inspired me and challenged me to live and minister with the same passion and vigor. I even continued to watch him as he left the stage and approached his wife. They embraced and hugged for quite a long time and you could just see the amazement between the both of them, that God had done, what they thought, was the unthinkable. For a guy that was in the nose bleed section of Catalyst just 2 years ago, he now found himself as one of the very speakers/leaders he aspired to live like. Day 2 of Catalyst is ahead and I feel like so much has been experienced. Stay posted for tomorrows update. Until then...Lead the people around you like it's the last chance you 'll get!

CATALYST BOUND!!!

Well, I am gearing up to go to Catalyst this week. For those of you that don't know what Catalyst is, it is one of the best conferences around for young ministers around the globe. It's an amazing place to get fresh and new ideas and it also helps give perspective of what else is going on in the world as far as Christian Culture is concerned. Past speakers have consisted of: John Maxwell, Andy Stanley, Dave Ramsey, Rick Warren, Erwin McManus, Francis Chan, Craig Groeschel, George Barna, Louie Giglio, and many more. Not only have the speakers been amazing in the past but the music has also been top notch.

Every year I leave Catalyst with tons of teaching resources as well as new media and video ideas for the upcoming year. Catalyst seems to always push the envelope when it comes to music, stage design, marketing ideas, and thinking. If you have never been you owe it to yourself to either talk to someone that has been or just get a ticket for yourself and go. This might be my last year to go due to the fact that one of Catalyst's biggest supporters and guest speakers Andy Stanley has started his own conference called DRIVE and focused more on the administrative side of church. He answers the question, "What's the best way to run church business?" It's sad that it might be my last year to go to Catalyst but I am excited to see what else is out there. I never want to get stagnant in regards to where I glean all my ideas and resources. I want to always keep pushing myself outside my comfort zones and see what else God has to reveal. We try to do the same thing within our youth ministry by always going to new places and conferences and never doing the same-ole same-ole! So CATALYST BOUND, I am!