Boneless Chicken Wings

This has become a search of mine lately. It is like I have been in search of the holy grail of boneless-chicken-wingness. So here is a list of my top 5 or so on my list thus far:


1. Applebee's- Definitely the best so far. They are always consistent and the taste is still the best.
2. Friday's (in Orlando)- The Kung Pow wings were simply amazing and made my nose run for a good long while
3. Houlihan's- These were definitely different having a taste of bar-b-que, but they were very tasty.
4. O'Charley's- They had a great zip to them
5. Buffalo Wild Wings- Spicy Garlic ...they taste good going down and the few times you taste it afterwards too! I love the garlic and zestiness...nothing like it.
6. Home- We got this Texas Pete sauce and it is GREAT on chicken...nothing like home cookin'...except for those listed above of course!


If anything changes, I will let you know. I am still on the quest to find the best buffalo chicken.
Any suggestions for me to try?

What is in it for me..

What’s in it for me?



We live in a “ME” first culture. We are told to have things “Our way” and people sing songs like “I did it my way” and we clap our hands and applaud them for doing it! Everything has become personalized and custom made. Still, this is what goes on outside of the church walls right? Wrong! Let’s take a look: Tell me if you have ever heard these comments…1. Well, that is just not what I am gifted in. 2. I don’t like this music because it is not what I was raised on. Those other people should like it and sing it because it is what brought me to Jesus. 3. Those new people are sitting in my pew! 4. It is 11:30…doesn’t the pastor know that I have to be home by noon? 5. Well, that is just the way we have done it! Anything sound familiar? There are a lot of I’s and Me’s in those comments. Lately, I have been questioning myself as to why I like more contemporary music and want to have it more in our church. If I were to just look at the other side and say that they just wanted it there way and didn’t look at myself that would be very hypocritical. So I started to question why I wanted that and seemed to NEED that in my life. Was it because I just liked it more? Was it because the other music just seemed too boring and didn’t do anything for me? I have found an answer. It came last Friday night at our District Lock-Out during the worship time.
The answer is: No. I don’t just like it better. It is not just a preference. It is just not entertaining to me. The reason that I love the choruses and the more lively music is quite simple. It makes me think of heaven. I find that contemporary praise, as opposed to hymns, helps me to focus on God and the things of God. The spirit is different. The atmosphere changes and moves from a “I feel like traveling on” to a “Here I am to worship” scene. I may be wrong. I may just have a preference like everyone else. I just know that I NEED this kind of worship. If I don’t get it, I feel like I am drying up spiritually and emotionally. I need corporate worship that is God-seeking and God-sensitive rather than self-seeking and self-sensitive. We worry so much about the congregation “liking” the worship that we forget that it is not for them. They are not the audience but so many times we treat it that way. The church is not their church, it is not my church, it is not the Wesleyan denominations church. It is God’s church and Jesus said that he would build “His” church through the disciples. Not that they would go and build their own. Often, we treat our churches like they are our own family heirlooms and antiques and they must stay the same to preserve their “glory”. However, I feel that the true glory the very presence of God has to fight his way through all of our orders of worship and plans to have the church truly be what he intended it to be.

Feb- Mar update

Hey...I haven't had much time to write new blogs over the past 3 weeks. Things are going good here in Plymouth. Since I last posted I have:


1. Went to the Big Ten Tournament and watched the Hoosiers with my brother. They lost but we had a great time. It has become a tradition over the past 3 plus years.

2. The youth group went to the District Lock-Out where my good friend, Ben Capshaw, had the message. It was a great time and there were over 360 teens at the event.

3. We had our pastoral vote yesterday and it was good so they voted for an extended call and that passed as well. So now we are just waiting on Pastor John to accept the call.

4. The youth group is going well. The church is doing ok...the contemporary service is kind of in neutral...I don't know if it is a permanent thing or not.

5. We (Sarah and I) are ready for vacation! We leave in 66 days for Mrytle Beach...I thought it was sooner... :(


Here are some pics...enjoy... The statue of Jordan in Chicago and my brother Kerry...The two of us where bowling at the District Lock-out...this was about 3-4 in the morning!

God's version of the antique roadshow...

Donald Miller writes in Searching for God knows what, “ I fell like I am in a lifeboat trying to get other people to say that I am important and valued, and even when they do, it feels as though their opinion isn’t strong enough to give me the feeling I need, the feeling that quit at the fall”.

Our value, our importance comes from God and when it doesn’t is when our self doubt and self esteem take the dive and we feel worthless. Starting out in ministry, I was concerned about people and how they perceived me. How they thought about me, do they think I am doing a good job? I kind of felt like in my mind that there was a constant evaluation of Andy going through everyone’s head. I felt only the most valued when I felt like I KNEW what people were thinking about me.
Going through school, I was never really picked on. I was high enough on the perceived social ladder, which not many people knew that I was a pk or that I lived above a church because I never gave that info out, that I was never the butt of many jokes. Sure, there was always the occasional, jello man, jelly belly, etc, but when your name is Jellison you come to expect that! Still, even today, we feel that we must always be comparing ourselves.

I do it with competition. I hate to lose and I hate when things that I am pulling for (i.e. IU basketball, Colts and the rest) do bad. My attitude is sometimes based on how they are doing. It is a constant comparison. Sarah does this when we walk through check out lines and when she is alone at home watching tv. She will look at People magazine and watch this show about this person and she will tell you she just likes seeing what other people are doing. When in reality, somewhere in the back of her mind, she is comparing herself to what she sees. You do the same thing with blogs. I can’t tell you how many times I have walked away defeated and almost depressed after going through the blogs of others. They talk about this trip or the last big thing that happened and you see the pics and, at least for me, I automatically start thinking, “Man, I wish that I could…fill in the blank with whatever you are reading”. We wish so much of our lives away because we are always comparing ourselves to others and wanting what they have. When you are young, you wish for the money and security that the older folk have. When you are old, you wish you had the looks and energy that the young kids have. The cycle never stops. It started in the garden when Adam and Eve didn’t have enough and where deceived into taking that fruit and eating it. We must get our self importance from God and God alone. Anything less, well that would be just that…less. We cannot find lasting importance in the things of this world. They are all “good for a season”. God wants us to find out what he truly meant for humanity to be IN Him. Nowhere else can we find such reassurance because there is no penalty from God for being unimportant in the world’s eyes.

80.20

Way back in the IWU days (seems like forever ago), there was a rule that I learned about in Church Leadership. It is called Pareto’s Principle or the 80/20 rule. Some of the implications for the church go like this: 80% of the work is done by 20% of the people; 80 % of the problems in the church are caused by 20% of the people and so on. I know that this is true because I see it. It is so hard for us to get people to take time from their “busy” days and invest their time into ministry. In the Barbarian Way, Erwin McManus states, “One of the tragedies of a civilized society is that no one wants to get involved. What becomes appropriate is to mind our own business. When we join a community that lacks a passionate heart for the world, we soon find ourselves acquiescing to apathy.”
People feel that there is really no need to reach out to those that are not in their “community” or what we call church.
I get drained emotionally and mentally every once in a while because I feel like a used car salesman whose income is commissioned based. I keep trying to get people to commit to whatever it is that is needed and for the most part all I get is a big fat silence. People love to give money or something else so that they don’t have to do it themselves. Just take for instance, guys with the remote. We don’t want to get up to change the channel but we will turn the house upside down looking for the remote. Churches love to give to missions and other “good causes” but when it comes to rolling their sleeves up and actually doing it, we fall short of glorifying God because we only have 20 people out of the 100 doing anything. Then, you have the reversal when you can’t make some changes because 20% are dissenting to it.
I hate trying to sell to people. I never liked fundraisers and never like asking people for money. I hate asking my family for money. I would rather go without. So sometimes, in my humanness, I try to sell, sell, sell and try to get people to change their priorities and give a little more than they have been and the same people line up to help. Christians on the whole, I believe have left their first love because their priorities have changed. I am not saying that if people aren’t in church every Sunday or Wednesday that they are backsliding. Still, John wrote to the church at Ephesus that they had walked away from their first love. I wondered if we have gotten it all wrong sometimes in the making of new programs and “outreach” events that fizzle quicker than a sparkler dud. What we need is for those who follow Christ, who say that they want to be little Christ’s, acting, speaking, listening, and DOING the things that he did, we need the Church with a capital C to being to shift our priorities and start returning to our first love.
Donald Miller writes in “Searching for God knows what”, God’s message to mankind wasn’t a bunch of hoops to run through to get saved and it wasn’t a bunch of ideas we all had to agree on. Rather, it was an invitation to KNOW GOD!” We have become so busy with life that many so called Christians don’t know God. Why? Because they don’t spend the time with Him, they don’t Do Ministry. The Bible makes no distinction between laity and ordained ministers in the amount of Ministry they are supposed to do. We are called to imitate Christ through growing fruits of love, joy, kindness, faithfulness, goodness, patience, self control etc etc etc. American Christians are so concerned about how church is ran instead of who shows up. It seems to me that sometimes we feel we are good at church and doing church but we fail at BEING the church outside the walls. God help us all, me included.

It's snowing and blowing...

Hello...

We have had a bunch of snow today...pretty much all day for that matter. So I thought I would update a little through pics from the past few months ...enjoy

1. Pic from the Youth pastor and spouse renewal weekend

2. pic of Sarah and the Pegster at the Ft. Wayne Komets game...what is Peggy looking at?

3. We had the kids make this "football" field for the SB party

4. Pic from the Gathering in Orlando...boy that sounds good about now.

5. Lex hates the cold...but I think he hates me pestering him more!

Stay classy everyone...stay classy

Super Bowl prep

DUDE...I am so ready for the SB to get here! I am tired of the build up already...all the hype etc.
I am so looking forward to the SB this year because of the Colts I can't stand it. I wish the Bears weren't the other team because of where we live. Even though this is Indiana, we are too close to Chicago that there are enough Bears fans to make it an annoyance.


Go Colts!

It's not me against the world...

I grew up in a small church. The first church that I went to averaged maybe 40-45 people. I still have memories of my dad challenging the congregation to get 100 people there on Easter and if they did, he was going to preach from the roof! Thinking back now, the challenge probably shouldn’t have been to PREACH more J. It should have been like a pie in the face or something that people WANT to have happen! Us Jellison’s are known for being long winded preachers. So we were a small, inward focused church as are many small churches. By being in such a small church something interested happened in my mind. No one said it (that I can remember) but I sure felt it. I felt it even though we would sing songs like “I don’t care what church you belong to”. I always had an “It’s us against the world” attitude and this INCLUDED other churches!
Now, being a pastor, I have come to the conclusion that this is simply not the case. There is only one enemy and that is the one who is free to roam earth tempting others to follow him: Richard Simmons! No really, the only enemy is Satan. I have come the realization that not everyone will get their needs met at my church and if they don’t get them met here, by all means get them met somewhere! I realize my generation has bought into the consumer Christian mindset as they are always thinking that they need options and choices and are looking for what best suits them as opposed to what best suits God’s plan. So this means that churches need not feel the same way that I felt as a child. If someone is getting help at your church and they are growing and are in a relationship with God, then be satisfied with that. We often get what Coach Drury said was the “Missing Duck” syndrome. We (pastors) often tend to look at those who weren’t here as opposed to was here. The illustration says that “you don’t have to get all of the ducks to have a good duck hunt!” This is plastered on my wall and is daily becoming plastered on my heart. Other churches aren’t the enemy…it is Satan and him only!

Capturing me again...

How often do we let something catch our hearts? I don’t mean catch our attention. Our attention spans are growing shorter and shorter. I mean, every time I walk past a package of Oreo’s my attention is captivated! I dream of dipping those yummy morsels of tastiness into a mug of cold milk and…you get the vision. Our attention is caught by many different things each day. Things happen like the car that slams on its brakes and doesn’t turn its turn signal on or the wife that has a huge heart and sees a dog roaming the snow covered streets with chunks of ice matted to its fur and wants you to stop so you do. Then, following her big heart, PICKS the stranger of a dog up and puts him in the truck and then the attention shifts to trying to get the now RABID, SNARLING, HALF FROZEN ANIMAL (it no longer was a dog at this point) out of the truck without getting bit and paying for a trip to the hospital for a rabies shot (TRUE STORY)! Things like that always get our attention. However, how many times do we let our hearts get caught up?
I think that God wants to do this more than we think. Growing up, adults seem to lose the wonder of it all. You have responsibilities and bills and kids and a job and insurance and on and on and you can’t AFFORD to get caught up and lose precious time. This is one of the major issues that a church has. The members are so concerned with the other things in life that on Sunday mornings they come in, sit down, expect the norm and leave. When we watch our favorite show or a game are we expecting the norm? Are we expecting the same things to happen week in and week out? Of course not! We wouldn’t watch it if it did that, we call those re-runs. So here’s my question: is God still watching our church services? Have we lost the true meaning of meeting together? Isn’t the whole meaning of coming to church to be in the presence of God? Isn’t the whole meaning to have an encounter with our creator, the one who made us and formed us before we even were out of the womb? Why is it that we close out this meeting with the hustle and bustle of life? We have chosen the wrong path and have been traveling down it for far too long. Still, because God loves us so much, he isn’t requiring us to go all the way back and start from the beginning. He just asks us to start today and every day by letting him catch our hearts and fill our lives and souls with his spirit. That is why we are to become “new creations” the old is gone, the new is here. It doesn’t say that we have become altered or renovated creatures. We are to become NEW. We get to start fresh and free from “the sin that so easily entangled us”. When was the last time you let your heart be captivated by God? The last time where you just had to stop and be in his presence? The last time you prayed and were changed, not by saying a million things or even one right thing, but by being in his presence? Start down a new road today. Let God capture your heart again!

Change change change

What I am wondering this week is:

Why is change so hard for most people? We all know that change is always happening...the seasons change, our bodies change, hair comes, weigh comes and goes, change is life. I guess how well you deal with change affects most of your life. I mean, during your pre-teen years, your body is changing and you have to deal with that. When you get into high school, your social life changes. When you get a job the level of responsibility changes. When you graduate, society expects you to change where you live, what you do with your time, etc. At college, you are expected to change a lot of things (i.e. living with someone you don't know, no one making you do anything). If you don't go to college, there is a whole other set of changes like getting a full time job and paying bills and buying your own food for instance. Then, if you get married, you DO change. The way you talk, think, act, smell :)...etc all usually change. You get married and people's expectations of you change...you start getting asked, "when are you having kids". Then you have kids and you get the point...this goes on and on until you take your last breathe. Change is a part of life. We all change everyday. So why is it so hard to change some things in churches across the nation? The only thing you get from me is a big question mark. Is it because there is change in every other part of our lives and we like "doing" church the way we have done it? Or is it because change is full of uncertainty and growing pains. Change causes us to ask many questions. Questions like, why do we need to change something if it is working? Well, you have to step back and see if it is truly working. Is Shiloh reaching out and bringing in the unchurched, the dechurched and the disenfranchized? If not, they is it (church the way we do it) really working or is it what God intended His church to be? If not, then it is time for change. Another question that comes up is, "How do you continue to minister to people who get ministered to in the way we are doing it"? The answer: You do whatever it takes to minister to as many as possible. Paul said that he became all things to all people so he could reach them for Christ! Why is it then that we stop progress and change because of the fear of hurting someones feelings or making them upset? I am not saying to ramrod and push change down people's throats. However, I am saying that if change is needed and there is a glaring need that isn't getting met and we fail to at least try and meet it, we fail to be what Jesus intended for his church and his people. Change for change sake is from man, every time. Change for reaching the lost, now that is what Jesus called us all to do!

Things that are on my heart...

Hello...last week was amazing and wonderful to get away and to be really challenged in my walk with Christ and as a pastor. I am in the bullet mood lately so I think I will stick with it:



1. Coming away from that conference, I have a sense of urgency that the church needs to change or else. Looking at all the numbers and polls et al, church in the small towns or even in the large towns that are "old fashioned" are not reaching out to the unchurched or previously churched to bring them in. They think that since that is the way that it (church) has always been done, that's how they got saved that it should be good enough for this generation. Well, it's not. Numbers don't lie. Numbers aren't everything but I think too often that the smaller churches use the mantra that it is not the numbers that matter in growth, it is spiritual growth too often. However, while the bible does talk about spiritual maturation, it also talks about growing in numbers too! We must be reaching out and bringing in the people that we are missing and walking by each and every day. It is my heart to do this however and whatever it takes to bring this to fruition at Shiloh!

2. The church is changing big time and I am not sure how many people know it! Or should I say the unchurched are changing and no one in the church knows it!

3. Can a staff pastor get a vision for a church or does it have to come from the Senior pastor?

4. I am wondering, if a pastor doesn't have a vision, how much can a church grow? How does a church grow and get behind a vision if there is no vision?

5. Why are we (Christians/pastors) so worried about feelings and hurting them? I am fed up with the direction that I have had to go because there were people who MIGHT get their feelings hurt! Is it worth it to NOT follow what God has placed on your heart just so that a few won't get their feelings hurt?

6. The church is not called to maintain...it is not called to be a country club where we (pastors) are having activities and "entertainment" for the guests! We (the church) are one body, including myself...we are one body...one spirit...one purpose...or we are supposed to be. God has called us to reach out and make contact with those who are disillusioned with life and the church, those who are hurting and aren't getting their needs met somewhere else! Christ said go and make disciples not go and get some people who are like you, start a church, build all these traditions and waver not! However, many Christians have changed the great commission to this.

7. Music is BIG for reaching my generation and the generations to come. You don't need a slick service, you need some songs that touch their hearts and mean something to them in a genre of music that they actually would listen to outside of the church. At least this is my opinion.

8. I need to pray more. Not the "on-the-go" prayer but rather the get away and do nothing but seek God's face kind of prayer.

9. I need to reach out more to the fringe kids we have. Go to them and befriend them and make them feel a part of our ministry.

10. Finally, I plan on writing a blog every thursday. Other blogs will be extra but I want to try and write something...every thursday...


God, challenge me, change me, move me...just don't let me leave the same!

Good bye 2006!

Hey...I just wanted to post before we leave for The Gathering in Orlando next week....


Here are a few thoughts about the last few weeks:


1. I told you previously that we had 7 different Christmas events to go to...I counted the mileage...and we traveled 1006 miles! I feel a bit car lagged!

2. This past Friday, seeing that the District Ski Trip got cancelled and our ski trip got cancelled...I was stupid and decided to have an all day event...we started Friday morning at 730am and went to Pokagon and Ft. Wayne and back for an overnighter and I left the Oasis at 930 am on Saturday! 26 hours of fun... :)

3. We are getting ready to head to Orlando for a wesleyan pastors gathering...our church is sending both Pastor John and Beth and Sarah and I paying for flight and the conference! Amazing...

4. I am glad that 2006 is over...it has been a challenging year...filled with change and growth

5. This was my first full year of marriage and I am falling in love with my wife it seems every day...God truly has blessed me with Sarah...

6. Christmas was busy but we were so thankful that we could spend time with our family and friends...living so far away makes that hard to do for us...

7. I hope that God blesses you this new year...

Some christmas time updates

Hey...sorry I haven't updated in a while..I have been a little busy...so here is a quick bullel laden update.


1. Sarah has strep throat...pray for her...she isnt feeling well.

2. Christmas shopping is all done! A salesperson laughed at me at a store where I was shopping out of pity (how do I know it was pity? Because right after she laughed, she went awwww)

3. First, the District Ski Trip got cancelled. Then I made plans for our own ski trip/ overnighter next Friday and now I am not sure if it is going to be cold enough for them to make snow! So pray that it will be colder than what they think.

4. We are half way through our Christmas Tour...4 down 3 to go.

5. I started my first pre-marital counseling sessions this week for the wedding in February...it will be the first one for me!

6. I want cold weather...and I want it NOW!!!

7. Sarah and I went and seen The Pursuit of Happyness with Will Smith and his son...it was one of the saddest, best, inspirational, and amazing movie I have seen in a long time...I would recommend it!

8. Christmas is different this year...even when you try and slow down and enjoy the season...those around you aren't slowing down and they are just going through the motions...frustrating...very frustrating!

9. Last, Merry Christmas...and slow down these last few days

Selling on Sunday...

Here I go again...

I am going to start with my two favorite words it seems for this blog...Growing up, Sunday was a no-nonsense kind of day. We never thought about eating out on Sunday. No getting gas (unless the sun went down??? explain that one to me?), no watching T.V., no playing outside, and definitely no fun!!! (just a joke) Anyways, we never ate out until after the divorce...I mean NEVER! There wasn't a time I can remember ever doing this. I think my Dad would have rathered starved us kids than to buy something on a Sunday. Strict. Stern. Unmoving. I can remember always trying to slip past my parents bedroom without getting noticed just to try to have some of that one f word (fun that is). I remember one Super Bowl sneaking upstair, during service mind you, and watching a little of the SB! Now, when the sun went down, the TV came on, and all bets were off. Interesting. Very, very interesting.

So being a small, old-fashioned church, this is still an issue. I was reemed last April for selling things at a youth group chili cook off on a Sunday night...harshly. Scripturally speaking, The Wesleyan discipline is vague (imagine that). I had to do some searching and found that in Nehemiah there is a passage where he kept the selling merchants out of the city and scolded the people for buying on the sabbath. That's it. So here are my questions/points:

1. If we are going to follow a Levitical law, why are we not following them all? Why are we just picking and choosing which ones have relavence in our lives and churches?

2. The church I grew up in was legalistic and that is putting it mildly. However, the people of that church may have looked on the outside like holiness people but I know for a fact that they are doing some "illegal" things. Not wrong from a biblical stance per se, but definitely from a legal one. Picking and choosing, eh?

3. A majority (90%?) of the church I am at now go out and eat on Sunday. Enough said...picking and choosing!

4. I could get technical about it and say that the sabbath was on a saturday and sunday is the lords day but I won't. However, I just want to give you this verse to chew on...this was after Jesus and his disciples had...(gasp)...picked some grain on the sabbath...and was questioned by the Pharisees...Mark 2:27 "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

5. What is the real reason behind the Sabbath or the Lord's day? In that passage the NIV study bible puts it like this, "Jewish tradition had so multiplied the requirements and the restrictions for keeping the Sabbath that the burden had become intolerable. Jesus cut across these traditions and emphasized the God-given purpose of the Sabbath-a day intended for man (for spiritual, mental and physical renewal)". Does buying dinner so that I don't have to cook fall into that category? :)

6. I don't think this is an issue for larger churches. It seems to be a small church type of thing that gives them something to talk about. I may be wrong but I have a hunch that I am not.

My final assessment on the issue: Wesleyans and protestant-holiness types are picking and choosing from the Bible to placate their own traditions.

What do you think?

December newsletter article

December newsletter article
The wonder of it all


Most kids want to grow up. They want their freedom to do whatever it is that they want to do and whenever they want to do it. They can't wait to be able to date and drive and the list goes on and on. It is as if they wish away their lives. Being an adult does bring some things that are very nice to have however, during Christmas time, I have found myself wishing more and more that I was that pre-teen kid all over again.
You see, I can barely remember the feeling I had waking up those Christmas's when I was young. Going to bed the night before and hardly being able to sleep with anticipation. The weeks leading up to that brought tree decorating and light hangings. I caught myself remembering even last night the trips that we would take to neighboring towns to see their Christmas lights. As I got older and life happened, those things slowly had less and less excitement and awe to them. Why has that happened? It is because of the responsibilities of growing up? Or is it because we are moving way too fast to even notice those little things that used to make our stomach's tingle in anticipation? As for me, I am going to try and take this Christmas a little bit slower this year because I want that tingle back in my stomach. I want that feeling of snuggling up under a blanket and feeling that everything in the world is content for at least that moment. I want to slow down and remember the wonder of it all. Jesus has come and that is enough to make anyone's Christmas bright!


Christ has come,
Pastor Andy

Too much fun part 2

For the third time in about 2 months I have heard from someone who’s child goes to the youth group that they don’t think that their child is getting much from the group and all they do is have fun. What do I have to say about that? UGGGGHHHHH!!! Here are some observations:


1. I don’t think that we have too much fun. However, I do feel that we do more activities that could be construed as just having fun. Such as, an overnighter almost every other month. Most of the youth pastors that I know and have told this to have said that I was crazy but heres the thing: My teens LOVE overnighters! They eat them up. What else? Well we have had game nights the past few months. Simple times just to hang out and “be” together.

2. I think the issue is that parents think that the activities that I would call “extra” are what they perceive to be “everything”. You see, if you were an outsider looking in, you might look at a list of things that the youth group has done the past month and think wow, they are all activity and no substance. Take for instance October…here is a list of what our YG did: We had around 5 game nights, we had an overnighter, and we had a pumpkin carving night. Here is what you don’t see in the headlines: At that overnighter, we had around 10-15 teens praying around the altar…then some of them gave testimonies after they prayed (how many of our church attendees do that?). Before we went to carve pumpkins we talked about how we must be a light to the world around us or they will stay in the dark and not know Jesus. The Wednesday night services where we have fun and eat some food but are growing stronger each week as a group. The Sunday night discussions during the month where the girls talked about self esteem and the guys talked about lust. Those things never make the headlines of what the students tell their parents. Never!

3. Maybe I do have too many activities. Maybe we do have too much fun. Maybe our activities are too fun. Maybe I need to make them boring and then the number of kids would cut in half. Maybe, just maybe, because I have the time and freedom to do so many EXTRA things with the kids the relationships that we are building will help them in their walk with Christ. Even if it doesn’t…does our world need less fun? Are there too many things at church that make you laugh and WANT to come back? Are there things that are making your WANT to wake up on Sunday morning to go to “REAL” church? I didn’t think so…and I won’t stop doing what I am doing. Most of what these people are calling fun is simply what I choose to do in my free time with the teens. I don’t have to plan all these activities. I want to and if that makes me wrong and a fun only kind of I guy, I don’t ever want to be right!

A better time of year?

Is there a better time of year than right now? I don't think so...

We just got done with Thanksgiving...I think we still have some turkey!!!

A cold front has ended the ridiculously warm final week of November...I love it.

Monday starts the annual Christmas things...I think I have at least 7 different Christmas celebrations this year!

Indiana basketball is in full swing and they are doing pretty well.

We put up our tree last weekend and we found out that Lex likes to eat icicles...Sarah tells me that they could strangle his intestines or something...

I love Christmas lights...they make me feel warm and fuzzy..unless they are those crazy greenish blue and those for some wierd reason make me physically ill.

It is hot chocolate season again

So here's to another post-thanksgiving pre-christmas happy wish for you...

2006

This year has just flown by. I cannot believe that this Friday is Thanksgiving! It is incredible how fast time goes as you move on in life. Growing up....specifically in school...time seemed to crawl like a snail. Now, there is never enough time. Or is it that there is still enough time but we have found ways to fill up the "down time" of the past?

I know that I am busy most every day with something...either personal, church related or the everyday interruptions of life. So...just in case life becomes too busy between now and Thursday...here's my Top 10 list of things that I am most thankful for:

10. My church. I was telling Sarah the other day that Shiloh just feels like home. It feels that I have not missed a beat being at Shiloh. Sure, every church has it's problems...but the people at Shiloh are incredible!

9. My youth group. Around my junior year at IWU, I felt like God was leading me into youth ministry. I didn't take a ton of classes on ym but I knew that was were God wanted me. It wasn't a "stepping stone" to get to, what most people consider a real pastor job, it was and is my place in ministry. The youth group here has challenged me and changed me nearly as much as I have done for them. What an ecclectic group of kids! I will never forget them as long as I live.

8. The youth sponsors. When I came here I didnt know what to expect. I was quickly surprised to find that there were people in place that made my life a lot easier. Janet with her skill in graphic design is any youth pastor's dream and Dave, with his ability to relate to pretty much any teen are both gifts from God. Dave has been the person that I go to when I need to blow off some steam. I couldn't do this without their help.

7. Indiana basketball. Everyone needs an out. Something that just gets you away from everything and something that you really enjoy. For me, this is it. I love it and it loves me! I love sports in general and am thankful that God gave someone somewhere the knowledge to invent such sports.


6. The future. I am thankful that I know what my future holds. I know that if Christ doesn't return in the next few years that I will be a father. I know that if he does, I will be in Heaven. So I am very thankful about both futures...either way it is a win win situation!


5. My health. I know...I know...if you ask Sarah she will tell you that I am not that healthy. I weigh too much and ...either way...I am thankful that God has given me health up to this point and I have faith in him that he will continue to watch over me and help me to make better choices in the future.



4. My mom. We hold a special bond because of what we have been through together. We have been the ringer and back through a couple times! I wouldn't trade our relationship for anything and what we went through defines us and is still defining who we are today. I love you mom.



3. My family all of them...the Christian side...the Jellison side...the Ellenberger side and the Thrasher side. I have been absolutely blessed to have an amazing group of family members that have stood by me through every thing and continue to do so.


2.My faith. Being a christian at times is smooth...at times it is hard and at times it is even harder. Still, I am so thankful that God sent Jesus to die on the cross so that there would be no condemnation for the mistakes I've made!


1. My wife. She will never know just how much she means to me. She makes me laugh, snarl and above all...content in the fact that I married the most amazing woman on planet earth!

It's all about Jesus

This morning on my way to work, after having been on vacation from all things ministry for four days, I felt that slight twinge of dryness and spiritual emptiness that has dogged me for the past few months. I was hoping that getting away and taking some time off would refresh me and the waters of christendom would once again wash over me and saturate me for the upcoming busy-crazy-insane holiday season. When that didn't happen with the hot tub and cozy rooms and good food and time with my wife, I sat there in my truck on the same drive that I take every morning, dejected. Then, I started singing this song out of the blue. It was as if God had sent an angel into my truck and it had opened my mouth and shoved the words in and they were now coming out without me even knowing it. I was thinking before I left for the trip that maybe I wasn't cut out for ministry and the drain it takes on you spiritually. Maybe I wasn't strong enough as a Christian myself because I was having such a dry season and couldn't for the life of me feel refreshed and good. This morning, that refreshing came quick and swift and just in time. I let church get in the way of my relationship with Jesus. I let order of worships, criticism, pastoral prayers, messages, themes, meetings, driving the vans, essentially everything come before the real reason I live...Jesus! We can do nothing if he is not in it. I can plan the biggest event, get the most students here and have the biggest bands around but if Jesus isn't in it, it is all as Paul called it, poo!

I hope this means something to someone else. If you are dry and thirsty, don't look for something to refresh you...look for someONE...JESUS!

Heart of Worship by Matt Redman

When the music fades, All is stripped away, And I simply come; Longing just to bring something that´s of worth That will bless Your heart. I´ll bring You more than a song, For a song in itself Is not what You have required. You search much deeper within Through the way things appear; You´re looking into my heart.

I´m coming back to the heart of worship, And it´s all about You, All about You, Jesus. I´m sorry, Lord, for the thing I´ve made it, When its all about You, All about You, Jesus.(Matt Redman, Kingsway´s Thankyou Music)

Ten things I have learned during my almost one year of marriage...

This Sunday will mark the one year anniversary of my marriage to the beautiful Sarah. It has been a year marked with joy, newness, happiness on one side and sorrow, emptiness and sadness on the other. I suppose most years will be like that huh? So here is my Top Ten list for my first year of marriage and the things that happened:

10. It is amazing to have someone with you, beside you and behind you in everything that you do. Going through the divorce of two of our good friends with Sarah really solidified just how important it was to simply be there for each other. This situation marks most of the bad things that have happened over this past year.

9. Sarah loves details and stories. She could tell you the shirt someone had on and if it was wrinkled. She loves giving out too much info and loves to do it often! It makes me laugh when we are somewhere and she starts going on and on about little things that this person has no earthly need of knowing! It's all in the little stuff!

8. Marriage is give and take. There were expectations coming into the marriage that have been missed and some that have been exceeded. Part of marriage is just learning that you do have expectations and when they are met it isn't always the other persons fault.

7. Sarah is a fierce animal (wolverine, badger, etc) when someone messes with me. It even scares me a little. She so "has my back" that after I talk with her about something that someone has done I usually have to calm her down! Arrrgggghhh!

6. Men and women are more different than what I had already known. I will just never understand things like the Oxygen network, Hallmark movies, Lifetime network or why women are so fixated on what other people are doing! Almost every time we go through a checkout line, I am putting the food on the belt while my wife is reading about this celeb and what they did and whose gown they wore! This leaves me scratching my head...

5. True love is about how you feel, it is about how you make the other person feel. I have felt no greater love for Sarah than after I had done something that just made her day. I absolutely love making her smile and seeing her happy. That is true love.

4. I couldn't have married any other woman in the world. Without a doubt, I know that God put us together and let me tell ya...he knew what he was doing! Sarah is amazing, beautiful, compassionate, caring, understanding, hardworking, and did I mention beautiful?!

3. I wouldn't be half the Youth Pastor I am today without Sarah. She has done so much in this respect that I can't choose just a few things to talk about. The conversations about how I felt and my insecurities and how she has built me up truly is a God thing.

2. Married life is busy. Having what,...5-6 different families to try and get to their events and spend time with them is a havoc especially around hte holidays. On top of that, ministry is a constant thing. Sarah has so graciously adapted to this over this year and we are still trying to put this in balance as we look ahead over the next few years and the possibility of children. Not soon, but over the next few years, and stop asking! :)

The number one thing I've learned over my first year of marriage...

1. Communication is the key to any relationship. Included in this is: tone of voice, saying things a certain way, not saying things, and the ability to state a problem you have without starting an argument. Communication is something that every couple needs to work on. I think that for the most part we do a good job of communicating with each other and it has gotten better over the last 4-6 months.

I love my wife. My wife loves me. Here's to 50 more years of love and marriage!