I was introduced to Twitter months ago, and I thought it was pointless for me considering the fact that I've only had 2 status updates on Facebook ever. However, I've never been known to be the most trendy individual. In fact, I played golf yesterday in a shirt I got my freshman year of college (over 8 years ago). Considering my lack of "coolness," I figured I'd talk to some of my high school students and leaders about this new phenomenon known as "Twitter." Nearly all of them responded by saying, "What? What is that?" At that point, I realized that my youth culture sensitivity wasn't so bad after all. Actually, I realized that my youth culture sensitivity to high school students in Baton Rouge wasn't so bad. Teachable Moment Alert: Understand the people you personally work with on a daily basis. Click here to read what God says about this principle. If something is popular in New York, it doesn't mean that your people are into it. It may be something they get into in the future, so become familiar with it, but don't jump on a trend just to be trendy. I'm not saying we should be stuck in our ways and refuse to take hold of new ideas. I'm simply encouraging you to know the people God has entrusted into your care. Love those people the way God is asking you to love them...not the way the current culture says you are supposed to be loving them.
To conclude, this blog was inspired by this article. I guess my initial reaction to Twitter was okay. It hasn't really taken off in the culture God has called me to reach right now. "God, give me the ears to listen to my flock, eyes to see them and a heart to love them in their own unique ways."
I'm currently typing this blog from my living room with my laptop plugged in, the ceiling fan on, the a/c working, and the wireless internet working. I'm doing all of that while watching the Florida vs. Miami game. Yes, I HAVE POWER! My power was restored at approximately 4:45 PM today. It was a little over six days without power. Please be in prayer for all the people in Baton Rouge who have yet to get power. Many people are not expected to have power for another 2-3 weeks. Also, please pray that Hurricane Ike steers clear of this area. I really don't want to go through all of this stuff again.
I still don't have power, but I talked to the power company today in the neighborhood, and they said we should have power by 12:00 PM tomorrow. I'm so grateful for friends in LSU dorms that let me use their internet. Thankfully, the temperature tonight is really nice, so I shouldn't stick to myself while sleeping. Only other new news is that our church's second location is going to be closed Sunday due to damage from the storm. We will still have two services at the campus location like normal except for the fact that there is no power. Pray that our ministries would remain unified during tough circumstances. Finally, the video that I promised you yesterday is too big to upload to my blog (sorry).
This is the first time I've been on the internet since Gustav knocked out my power on Monday (9/1) at exactly 12:00 PM. I would love to say that I'm using my own internet, but I'm actually using my friend's internet at a dorm on LSU's campus. Good news though...my roommate just called me and said a power company truck was outside our house right now. If you haven't watched the news lately, Gustav wreaked havoc in Louisiana. I can't speak for the entire state, but Baton Rouge was hammered. I've spent the last couple of days riding around neighborhoods, moving trees, tarping roofs and sleeping on various couches, and I'm amazed by the devastation each day. However, I've been extremely blessed over the past few days. My house had very minor damage compared to most people. I lost several shingles off my roof, but I had several friends help me tarp the spots today (Thanks David, Kyle, Ben and Jonathan). Another blessing was the fact that someone gave me a FEMA tarp that was HUGE! I didn't have to wait in line at Home Depot for 6 hours (yes, 6 hours) to get one. Due to the massive tarp, I was able to tarp my neighbor's (who I've been trying to serve in order to share the Gospel with one day), roof too. Please pray for Jose and his family. The guys also helped me clean up my yard which had several downed limbs which took down my telephone line. After tarping both of our roofs, we covered my other neighbor's back window on her car which was shattered by a fallen limb. Her name is Lisha, and she's not a believer either. Please pray for her and her family too. Thankfully, we still had a ton of tarp left to take to a team from our church which has been going around to various neighborhoods, cutting trees and patching holes in roofs. Now that my house is cleaned up for the most part, I'm going to be able to focus fully on other people. Tomorrow, myself and a team of guy youth leaders are heading to Erica's grandparents to clean up their yard, since her grandpa can't walk very well. Take care of the people who can't take care of themselves! It's biblical! Read this passage. It's meant so much to me over the past few months. Okay, that's it for now. I'll try to update you more over the next few days. Until then, tell everyone you know that I'm fine and check out the pictures below of my house as well as a video I took from my camera during the storm.
Gustav has made landfall, and Baton Rouge is beginning to feel its effects. I woke up at 9:00 AM to some gusty winds, small limbs and leaves on the lawn, and a lot of rain. The massive amounts of rain that will continue are the major scare for me. I'm thankfully not in a flood zone, but Baton Rouge seems to flood a lot without a hurricane. I'll try and keep you updated throughout the day.
- I think "squall" is a funny word. Our forecast for the day is calling for "squalls" and potential 58mph winds. I know it's childish, but I do think it's funny.
- Finally, my favorite part of hurricane season is the news reporters who stand out in the storm and report. I just heard this quote from a lady from Fox News: "It feels like a shower of needles hitting me in the face."
I'm sure you're thinking, "Wow! Michael is alive and still realizes he has a blog?" Yes and yes. I actually have some time to write tonight for the first time in a long time. I thought I'd have time because of Labor Day, but plans have changed down here in Louisiana. I have time to write because my Labor Day vacation is about to be extended and turn into chaos due to the impending landfall of Mr. Gustav.
Blogging has still not made it to the top of my priority list. I know it's been nearly a month since I last posted something, but there have just been more important things in my life that have taken priority. Here's some of those happenings:
- "Gr8ness," our summer youth group, has been phenomenal over the past few weeks! The Spirit is moving like crazy! I really feel like God is about to do something huge!
- My parents came in town for a few days! I love my parents so much! I can only hope that I can love and serve my children one day like my parents love and serve me.
- I had the opportunity to preach both main services last Sunday morning at our church's second location, the Oaks. It was the first time I've been asked to preach in the main services since being at the Chapel, so I was a little nervous. But God showed up and was glorified! Thanks God! If you want to listen to the sermon, go here and find my name.
- I'm getting ready to leave for Big Stuf Camp with our youth at 7:30 am tomorrow morning. I've been to plenty of camps but never to Big Stuf. I can't wait to see what God has in store! Erin, one of our interns (who practically runs the ministry), has done an outstanding job planning the trip. If you're in ministry, find someone who has been gifted administratively and let them plan logistics. There is nobody better than Erin though! I've really not done anything for this trip other than pray. Seriously, I've done nothing! I'm just showing up, and I'm not worried at all about anything because that's how good Erin is!
- Finally, over the entire summer, the pastors have been talking to us as a youth ministry about some major changes. We just began announcing this past Monday that starting this fall, I will move into the role as High School Youth Pastor at The Chapel. I will be shifting from Youth Outreach Director to this new position. I'm excited about the possibilities of this new position but a little scared too. One pastor put it this way: I'll now have authority, autonomy and responsibility. I have the authority to make decisions. I have the autonomy to move in the direction that God leads. However, with the authority and autonomy comes being responsible for the decisions that I make. Please pray for the youth ministry as we transition to this new structure. Pray that we will find the right people to fill the staffing holes that we need, and pray that God would be glorified in this new endeavor.
What do Michael Vick, Pacman Jones and Terrell Owens have in common? They are the role models of a 12 year old I met today. I was serving at a children's day camp with several of our students today for M*A*S*H week. At the end of the day, I had some time to just chat with one of the eighth graders I had the opportunity to tudor earlier. I asked him what he did for fun, and he said that he liked to play football. I followed that question with, "So who is your favorite football player?" His response was, "Michael Vick." He then followed that with, "And my favorite team is the Cowboys." It was hard for me to keep asking questions, because I was quite shocked. I didn't have time to follow-up on those answers, because the children left to go to lunch, and our group left for the day.
Today, our students began our yearly M*A*S*H week. M*A*S*H means "Mastering a Servant's Heart." Each year, we set aside one week during the summer to focus on serving the community of Baton Rouge. We cancel all of our weekly programs including Gr8ness (summer youth group) and community groups. Our students spend several hours each day serving at local food banks, homeless shelters, day camps for underprivileged children, or doing random acts of kindness all over the city. It's one of my favorite weeks of the summer, because I get to see our students worshipping God through acts of humble service. I was talking to several of our high school guys today after they served food at a local homeless shelter, and their comments amazed me. These were some of the things I heard:
- "We had a lot of fun."
- "While I was serving, I couldn't believe all the physical and mental handicaps these people had."
- "While I was serving food, I couldn't help but wonder where these people were staying or going after they got their meals."
- "They don't have a home to go to once they get their meal."
- "They don't have a place to sleep."
By now, I'm sure most of you have heard the story from Massachusetts where a group of high school girls supposedly formed a "Pregnancy Pact" among themselves with a hope to all get pregnant and raise their children together. If you haven't heard about it, wake up and pay attention to what is happening in the world! Until you wake from your culture slumber, you can read about it here.
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Erin said:
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