Archive - student ministry RSS Feed

man up anthem- separating the boys from the men

November 20, 2011 in culture, student ministry, thoughts with 0 Comments

got some questions about manhood…these amazing dudes…Lecrae, KB, Tedashii, Sho Baraka, PRo, Andy Mineo & Trip Lee have joined together through reachlife ministries to make an impact and offer some answers.

Yea, there is many things man is chasing after…they got some questions- we got some answers. – Sho Baraka

most of us in student ministry see the absence of dads everyday.  just last week in a local high school i was talking with some great students.  out of the three different groups of students, 75% of them were in homes were their biological dads were not present and there was admission that the relationship with the step dad was strained at best.  not sure what the folks at reachlife are offering when they roll out this curriculum, but guessing with the input from the list of hip hop dudes they may be on to some solid stuff.  who’s ready to man up?


Man Up Anthem•116 Clique – Lyrics:

All: MAN UP!

Lecrae:
Momma want some more Obama in me the hood want PAC hip hop wanna see the
Common in me sense is a senseless contradiction up a misfit trying fit
In. This ends when iStand up and see the hands that are standard holy is
The lamb(holy is the lamb) Now we holding you to man up cause we were made
In his image start looking at what you came from.

KB:
Right after Adam every atom in our anatomy had to make adamant after what
Adonai is against let me take you back to the Trinity never really just
Seen the evil deceit but Adam is the one who let it in.(Man up) Standing
Leading no, we ain’t leading we (Bump that) Basically little boys with
Muscles and a mustache! The femininity, we need a remedy that God made a
100 percent (strength) masculinity

Trip Lee:
Where the men at, seems like they all lost, none of them are on the scene,
Seems like they died off. They extinct but my dream is to rise up, we ain’t
Chasing the prize of the King the divine boss, but we fell away, now we
UnGodly we lose and we really got the blues like Navi, I want to celebrate
The dudes that’s beside me… fellows lets elevate

Tedashii:
Go ahead i say boy Get your shine on, if a sucker try to block you get your 9 on and
What I heard you gotta do to be a man now, stand up for yourself so I took
It in my hands now. And that’s the problem man we busy trying to solve it
All the while we walking dead man somebody bring the coffin, boy drop
Peach fuzz now you think that your a man cause you feeling yourself you
Need to man up!

Yea, there is many things man is chasing after…they got some questions- we got some answers.

Sho Baraka:
Sex and models, and tipping bottles back a pile of excuses right next to
Your bottle caps. A role of decks filled with names that you ain’t to
Please next to the stack of money, building up a heart of greed. Ice on his
Neck give the jokers a cold shoulder, he drunk all pride plus you loving
The hangover. You gotta whole lotta stuff that won’t amount to gain life
Will never make sense cause you never made change

PRo:
You got it Twisted sick life and fever, little man live to stack doe
Keebler. Man up! Get up out of the treehouse leave the cookies alone it’s
Time to eat meat now. Trying to show you a new way to live now, no charge
You can call it a freestyle without Christ you know how your man is, was
Born in a mans body like Tom Hanks in BIG.

Andy Mineo:
Being a man got nothing to do with age. You can be a boy till the day you
Lay in your grave. None of us behave in the image of who were made, cause
We fallen the ways it’s better known as the prey. Running from
Responsibility really we crave the easy way, out of places that call us to
Pull our weight. Man there going through everyday decisions are made,
Responding to the call God’s giving em from the…

All:
Man Up!
Andy:
Let the process, begin separate the boys from the men
All:
Man Up!
Andy:
Doesn’t matter how you started partner, it’s about how you end
All:
Man Up!
Andy:
Jesus is the model follow us we go follow him
All:
Man Up!
Andy:
We-we the last of a dying breed it’s time that we

All:
MAN UP!

Michael Flatery: Bring the DodgeBalls

October 20, 2011 in adventure, student ministry, thoughts with 0 Comments

dang…somehow i missed this video before the middle school ministry campference with Michael Flaherty. cause i’ll admint if i had i would probably had played hooky from the outpost on sunday.  i heard the conversation was great and its clear walden media is doing really good Kingdom stuff( they produced the Narnia films). I love his comment early on about how he got funding from Philip Anschutz…because free markets are directly related to securing and maintaining religious freedom and that one can do well while doing good. i’m disappointed to  not have brought some dodgeball game time on with michael.  would have been fun.  grateful that michael made the investment in being present at the campference.  according to marko he came on his own nickel.  that’s great stuff.

middle school ministry campference

October 17, 2011 in adventure, books & reviews, student ministry with 2 Comments

long before i found out about the Present:Hope Tour i had written the dates for this new experience called the “middle school ministry campference” on my whiteboard under the “should do” list. there was a number of reasons…1) it was being pulled together by one of my mentors and all around good hearted kingdom dude – Mark Oestreicher 2) it looked like it was going to be way different than anything i had attended. 3) it took on new meaning when the youth cartel was birthed and another really smart and good hearted kingdom dude, adam mclane joined the team at the youth cartel.  i was further interested when adam asked me whether i was going to be able to make it about 6 weeks ago…like one week after i committed to the team at venture expeditions to ride in the Present:Hope Tour.  But it was still on my white board.  so when i returned from the ride i pondered it again.  i didn’t register until thursday afternoon, the day before.  i was only able to be part of the experience for about 24 hours, but it was an amazing 24 hours.  Springhill Camp is an amazing facility to host a middle school ministry event.  it was fun to hang with some of the minds  and hearts that have shaped me like kurt johnston, marko and scott rubin.  and it was a blessing to get introduced to other good-hearted middle school folks like brooklyn lindsey, katie edwards and johnny scott.  even watching some of those in attendance get to play a game of Angry Birds -Live was a great memory.

one interesting aspect was having had about 5.5 hrs in the car to the camp, it was some of the first time i had alone to process what i had just pushed through over the past three weeks with the 803 mile Present:Hope bike tour from Joplin, MO to the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta.  So i was a little dumb struck by one of the first things i saw pulling into the camp was a van from joplin.  i learned later that the worship team from Christ in Youth was from there.  small world.

the combination of a relaxed environment, the minds and hearts of some incredible ministry folks really made this event worth every moment of driving and the cost of registration.  i’m guessing that going into this event adam and mark may have thought it may be the first and only campference, but given what i heard from my bunkmates i’m hoping its the first of many to come.  i’ve pulled a short video together that doesn’t do the weekend justice but will give you a sense.

i didn’t get to be part of any of the fun adventure that spring hill offered…some firsts i think…night owl zipline and glowstick paintball…nor did i stay up for the late night screening of that 1972 classic – A Thief in the Night… but i did really enjoy all that i experienced. the dialoginars with Scott Rubin and Kurt Johnston. the soapbox sessions with Katie Edwards and Jeremy Hickman. the thoughtful tribal gatherings with presenters like Steve Argue from Mars Hill Bible Church. the amazing fellowship with my bunkmates in Mt. Rainier….and getting some hangtime with the amazing Andy Disher.

andy disher

All together, it was so worth my investment. plus it didn’t hurt that the team at simply youth provided some incredible prizes and i was blessed with winning one of the mega-packs(for having been the oldest dude attendance – although i think there was a couple of folks who wouldn’t  admit their age).

my prayer is that the middle school ministry campference is the first of many to come. hope you make it next year.  check out andy disher’s blog   and  marko’s blog  for more thoughts from the campference.

on another note…if you’re interested in another thoughtful conversation i’d encourage you to check out an event that the Youth Cartel is hosting on November 21st in Atlanta after the National Youth Workers Conference.  The Extended Adolescence Symposium will be a unique day of dialog, debate, and discovery.   Adam and Marko are bringing together two experts with vastly different opinions on the nature & problems of extended adolescence, as well as a moderation/interpreter who knows youth ministry.  the purpose will be to help us wrestle with how to best understand today’s teenagers and young adults, and how we can help move toward adulthood, rather than being perpetually stuck in their teens. Learn more & register here.

Why I’m Riding: Ronnie’s Story

September 13, 2011 in adventure, student ministry, thoughts with 0 Comments

Ronnie in front of what remains of his home.

I’m into the final stretch in prepping for the Present: Hope Tour. I’m at 59% of my individual goal of $5,000.
I know well there is much that competes for everyone’s charitable giving. My prayer is that if you’re reading this you might consider investing in this endeavor.  In June, thanks to the generosity of those that call our outpost (New Hope Community Church) we were able to fund and send 10 students from EVO Student Ministry  and 8 adult leaders to see the tornado destruction first hand (the pictures don’t do it justice) and to spend some time with survivors serving them by cleaning up and rebuilding. Officials in Joplin, MO and Tuscaloosa, AL have said it may take 5 years to get things back in order.
One afternoon, 4 of my high school dudes, Kyle, Zach, Kenny and Robbie went to visit  Ronnie, whose home had been destroyed.  Ronnie is currently living in a “workshed” with a power generator (still some 6 weeks after the tornadoes).  Ronnie wanted to tell us his story and give us a tour. What happened while we were with him gave us a small taste of what he experienced that fateful afternoon on the 27th of April.

Its stories like Ronnie’s that compelled me to be a part of this adventure. To offer “present hope”.  Would you invest?  All the monies are going from Venture Expeditions to Convoy of Hope to leverage the role of local churches in these ravaged areas to be the Church…the best delivery agent for change and good on the planet.  click here to donate.

a difference a week makes.

September 9, 2011 in adventure, student ministry, thoughts with 0 Comments

Eric Mayer: counselor and sage

so a week ago… i had finished about 80 miles of training…hadn’t started rain-making ( aka fund raising)…didn’t have a road bike and wasn’t sure how my part on this crazy adventure on the Present: Hope Tour was going to come together. as of Friday afternoon (six days later)..here’s the details:

  • $2,345 has been donated thanks to the Rotary Club of Ashland, its members and some amazing friends and family.
  • a good friend, Joseph Badger has given me the use of his road bike and i’ve been able to increase my speed and efficiency.
  • i’ve logged 70 miles over the past 5 days on the new bike.
  • road 20 miles in my living room via two training sessions (via dvd and a cycle trainer set up in our living room) with Chris Carmichael (Lance Armstrong’s trainer) that has kicked my bum…but has increased my understanding of how to better perform in the long distance rides.
  • took a long ride with a longtime friend and mentor, Eric Mayer that offered a glimpse of what the daily ride might look like.  Beyond good conversation, Eric’s knowledge of land formations enlightened my awareness to the topography of the Ashland area.  Seeing where glaciers stopped, ancient canyons that were filled…he’s one smart dude.
  • had a great webex conversation with the team thursday afternoon. thrilled for all that are part of it and for the addition of Pastor Aaron Brown, Sr. Pastor -St Pauls UMC/Joplin, MO on the ride.
  • Made presentations to the Rotary Clubs of Ashland and Loudonville that reminded me even more deeply why I’ve taken on this adventure.

In June when EVO student ministry made the Mission:Alabama trip to Pleasant Grove, our host on the ground was Paul Turner.  He is a friend and a Pastor to Students at Pleasant Grove Assembly of God.  He is directing a local program called Rebuild Alabama which is coordinating student ministry mission trips to serve in Pleasant Grove.  Check out this video clip as we visited the site where his church had been located.

Page 2 of 25«12345»1020...Last »