Friday Fun

August 15, 2008 By nick Leave a Comment

Here’s a little video to entertain you for the next 60 seconds. Kind of makes me think of a 60 second video Bible drill. One of my former students sent it to me on my MySpace Account:

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.1477444&w=425&h=350&fv=m%3D40696338%26type%3Dvideo%26a%3D0]

Click HERE for more videos by Barats and Bareta

Join the Conversation: What’s Your Favorite Story in the Bible? Or, What is Your Favorite Book of the Bible?

My favorite book has always been Daniel and my favorite story is the one about the Warrior Ehud…he was the left handed warrior that stabbed King Eglon in the stomach and his fat swallowed the sword. (Judges 3) – I am left handed and I’ve got to support my left handed brothers! :mrgreen:

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What Is Kingdom Day?

August 14, 2008 By nick Leave a Comment


So I opened my big mouth and I am in the middle of watching something HUGE unfold right in front of my very eyes, and it has nothing to do with me, this is seriously a GOD thing, and I am blown away that in the last week I have had the opportunity to be a part of what is going to happen in 2009. “Kingdom Day” has been one of those things that I told some people about and then I blogged about it, and it started catching fire in front of my very eyes and the response has been great so far , but it will totally be bigger than I can grasp on my own. Go HERE to see how “Kingdom Day” started, and continue reading to get a better idea of what is going to happen.

I am not trying to be overly spiritual here with the name “Kingdom Day” – but I feel it is time that the Church that claims the name of Christ quits talking and starts walking. We are always talking about being unified as the Body of Christ, yet we never do anything about it. Recently we have seen some progress in this area with new methods such as the ONE Prayer Campaign, but what if we went a little further? What if we quit praying that Christ would use us to make a difference in the world around us and in the life of people who are in need, and we take action to be the answer to our own prayers? That’s what Kingdom Day is all about. Its not about gathering a group of students to see who can go out and recruit the most souls for the Kingdom of God. Trust me, I am pro-evangelism and I am pro-sharing our faith, but we (Christians) talk a lot! I believe it is time that we quit talking and start living it out and showing our cities and our communities what the Kingdom of God is all about. ‘Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done…’ We are the body of Christ and it is our responsibility to be the hands and feet for Jesus, to flesh out the faith life we say we have. I believe actions truly do speak louder than words in many cases. In James 2:18, James said that he would reveal his faith through his good deeds. In chapter 1 verse 27 James told us, “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.” – It is evident that part of God’s will for his Body is to take care of the hurting, the broken, and the needy.

We are asking Student Ministry leaders to unite their students with at least one other student ministry in their community to plan a service project for their city and community. Projects may be as large as renovating a park or helping a local mission or community center do minor repairs and renovations or could be on a smaller scale of working a soup kitchen for the poor or helping an elderly adult with projects around their home. With student ministries varying in size we want each group to plan their own projects that will take place on April 25, 2009, Kingdom Day. This project is powerful in 2 ways: #1 Student’s are learning how to serve together with other members of the Body of Christ, despite their denomination, their worship styles, their personal preferences, or their group size. As leaders we are taking on the responsibility of paving a path that is pleasing to God with our students, so when they take our place as adults, they will lead the revolutionary church that Jesus intended. #2 With each student ministry partnering with other student ministries in their local area and serving with this campaign on Kingdom Day, our students will take part in the largest single service project in the history of the church! I believe that would bring a smile to Jesus’ face. One day…One Church…One Mission. Together we will unite under that which unites us, the banner of Christ, and we will live out the Gospel of Love for all the world to see, and Christ will use our students in an awesome way!

Ephesians 3:20 (NLT) “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish “INFINITELY” more than we might ask or think.”

We are in the process of getting a quote on a website package as well we are discussing the details with youth ministry networks across the country, both small and large. We will reveal more solid details as decisions are made, until then, here are a few questions I would like you to ask yourself (Pastor, Youth Pastor, Volunteer Leader, Associate Pastor, Etc…):

  1. Am I willing to get my student ministry involved in this campaign?
    If Yes, Email me (CLICK HERE) If No, Why?
  2. I am a member of this Body, how can I utilize my gifts, talents, and abilities to help?
  3. Am I willing to assist with funding for this campaign?
    (Major costs so far will be logos/web widgets/website/promotional, etc.)
  4. Why have I not emailed or called at least 3-5 other youth pastors to spread the word? (Go ahead and do that now :)

Email me or leave a comment if your student ministry will be involved and if you have any ideas or thoughts as well as your willingness to help fund this campaign (& maybe effective ways we can raise funds). We look forward to serving with you!

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Overcoming Obstacles in Leadership

August 12, 2008 By nick Leave a Comment

I love this portion of John Maxwell’s, Developing the Leader Within You.

“A wise philosopher once commented that an eagle’s only obstacle to overcome for flying with greater speed and ease is the air. Yet, if the air were withdrawn, and the proud bird were to fly in a vacuum, it would fall instantly to the ground, unable to fly at all. The very element that offers resistance to flying is at the same time the condition for flight.”

I can’t tell you how many times as a leader I have thought or communicated the idea that if a specific obstacle was not standing in our way, we would be able to accomplish much more than we were able to in that moment. However, looking back on those times, I now see that without those obstacles or problems, we would have never achieved what we achieved. Erwin McManus shares that it is the very lack of resources that forces us as leaders to be more creative in achieving our goals…but many times people look at obstacles as God “shutting a door” or “God not providing.” So instead of mobilizing and moving forward towards our goal, we back down and sit paralyzed staring at the obstacle that we allowed to stand in our way. I immediately think about Joshua and the Wall of Jericho. Joshua knew what God had called him to but he had the choice to obey or to be paralyzed, we all know based on the Biblical account, he did not allow the obstacle to stand in the way. Here is what Maxwell goes on to say…

“Many of the Psalms were born in difficulty. “Most of the Epistles were written in prisons. Most of the greatest thoughts of the greatest thinkers of all time had to pass through the fire. Bunyan wrote Pilgrim’s Progress from jail. Florence Nightingale, too ill to move from her bed, reorganized hospitals of England…Bury a person in snows of Valley Forge, and you have a George Washington. Raise him in abject poverty, and you have an Abraham Lincoln. Strike him down with infantile paralysis, and he becomes a Franklin D. Roosevelt. Burn him so severely that the doctors say he will never walk again, and you have Glenn Cunningham, who set the world’s one-mile record in 1934. Have him or her born black in a society filled with racial discrimination, and you have Washington Carver, or a Martin Luther King, Jr. Call him a slow learner and retarded-writing him off as uneducable, and you have an Albert Einstein.”

So what obstacle are you allowing to be an excuse to be paralyzed as a leader? Finances, Space, Volunteers, Lack of Knowledge/Wisdom, Lack of Skill??? Sometimes the very thing we think is holding us back is the very thing that propels us forward! (By the way, if you have influence you are a leader – Christian, Business owner, parent, spouse, employer, teacher, we are all leaders in some way).

Join the Conversation: What obstacles as a leader are you facing? Is it paralyzing you or is is propelling you forward to be more effective?

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Kingdom Day – Living Out the Gospel

August 9, 2008 By nick Leave a Comment

I had an idea the other day, but now it has grown into a massive dream. What is it? I want to inspire student ministries all across the world to participate in the largest single day service project ever! Why? To live out the Gospel to our disconnected communities. Will this dream happen? I don’t know, that will require the body of Christ working together and being willing to unite under the banner of Christ, putting aside personal preferences, styles, denominations, number, and everything else that divides us in order to flesh out the faith we claim to follow. Here’s how this idea became a massive dream and where I would like to see it go…

I am a part of a local youth workers network that works together to promote and to host several annual activities and events for the students in our communities. One of the events we coordinate as a network is a city wide D-Now (Disciple Now) where each church coordinates a weekend of small groups that meet in homes and group activities with the students of their ministries. On Saturday evening of the D-Now all of the students who participate in the D-Now come to a central location to participate in a concert and a guest speaker. Basically it is a ‘feed me’ type atmosphere where students do no more than ‘come and watch’ a show. Our D-Now’s can bring in anywhere from 700-2,000 students depending on what band we bring in and who the speaker is, so I made a suggestion (the idea) that my buddy Shane was all about too because we have the same heart on a lot of issues…

Why don’t we (the network) capitalize on the opportunity we have on this weekend with these students to do more than ‘come and watch’ to mobilize them to ‘go and invest/serve’ in our community? 700-2,000 students from 30 + churches is an awesome time for the CHURCH to unite to make a difference in the life of those who live in our communities. So I have contacted the Mayor of Augusta to see if there is a park that needs renovating in a poor neighborhood, as well, we are looking at partnering with a local mission and/or community center to help repair, clean, and freshen up with paint and other services that can be accomplished by students. We have also discussed finding some elderly people, who are disabled or in need that needs work completed on their private homes. In one day, a whole community will feel and experience the impact of Christianity, under the banner of Jesus Christ, as represented by 30 + different churches.

So my idea blew up into a massive dream as I was taking a shower the other night. It was almost as if the Lord questioned me, “Why stop with 30 + churches and why focus locally….why not globally?” – And I personally was inspired and could not sleep, so I shot a few emails off to people who may can help get this ball rolling, if it is meant to be. My dream is this…I believe with the combination of bloggers and a few major networks of youth pastors this thing could become a reality. Each youth pastor who desires for their ministry to participate would partner with at least 1 other youth ministry and youth pastor in their area. Together these youth pastors would plan a major or a small project for their ministries to accomplish together on one day, while thousands of other ministries and students are doing the same in their communities, Saturday, April 25, 2009. In one day, youth ministries all across the globe would act out the single largest service project ever in the worlds history, all for the cause of Christ and to futher the Gospel through the example of our service.

The logo may change, some details may change, this is about 24 hours old, but my question is, why can’t it be done? I read in Ephesians 3:20 (NLT) today and it blew my mind…“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish “INFINITELY” more than we might ask or think.”

So, are you in? What can you do? What do we need to do? I need help!!! We have less than a year, but together it can be done. We may need a website, bloggers, logos, t-shirts?, I don’t know, but maybe you do. If you have ideas or want to join in and help push this forward email me HERE or leave a comment. Kingdom Day (name may change), Saturday, April 25, 2009 (Date is Firm :) )

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My Prayer

August 8, 2008 By nick Leave a Comment

At the beginning of the week as I was spending some time praying the old song, He’s Still Working on Me, popped into my head. It all just clicked and made sense…what I was asking Jesus was simply, “Lord, Make Me What I Ought to Be…”

Where I lack wisdom…
Where I lack love…
Where I lack patience…
Where I lack skill…
Where I lack in priorities…
Where I lack…

“Lord, Make Me What I Ought to Be!“

Join the Conversation…What’s Your Prayer?

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Conversations With a 5 Year Old

August 7, 2008 By nick 4 Comments

This is a special “Conversation With a 5 year Old” post. These are conversations straight from a 5 year olds heart and brain to his lips. Many times Gavin surprises us with his wisdom and knowledge and other times he melts our hearts with his his child-like innocence and purity, and then there are the embarassing times :)
Today I have two conversations to post about:

Conversation #1 Gavin on New Baby Sister…(Nicki is changing Hailey’s diaper)

Gavin: “Mommy!”
Nicki: “What?”

Gavin: “Hailey pee pees just normal…she doesn’t have a wee wee that sticks out when she pees.”
Nicki: “Oh!”

That would be the overly observant Gavin!

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Conversation #2 Gavin on his favorite and least favorite parts of the Hulk

Me: “So Gavin what was your favorite part of the movie (the Hulk)?
Gavin: “When the bad hulk came out!”

Me: “What was part of the movie did you NOT like?”
Gavin (Less Enthusiastically): “Well, um, I think the part I didn’t like was when that man and that lady started kissing!”

At least I know I don’t have to worry about any girlfriend talk as Gavin starts Kindergarten this year! He’ll be too busy acting like the Hulk beating up the bad Hulk and that is not a bad thing! :)

Join the Conversation: Have you had any interesting conversations lately?

Other Conversations with a 5 Year Old Posts HERE – HERE – HERE

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Sunday Recap: Lord Make Us ONE

August 6, 2008 By nick Leave a Comment

My church (the church @ greenbrier) jumped on board with the ONE Prayer Campaign as other churches were finishing up, but I am glad that we did. I love hearing our pastor when he shares God’s Word with us, but there was something special with the messages that we were treated to during the last 3 weeks, I truly believe Jesus gave Craig Groeschel a fresh idea of His vision for His church. This week, we watched the message by Craig, “Lord, make us ONE!”

Craig started the basis of his message with Jesus’ prayer from John 17:20-24. Pete Wilson is starting a series on relationship surrounding verses 20 & 21 of chapter 17 in the fall, I can’t wait to check those out on Cross Point’s website. I am sure that series will be just as powerful as this message, and people’s lives are going to be changed because of it. Here are some of the highlights and my thoughts at the end, take a couple of minutes and check it out:

“We always want Jesus to answer our prayer, but what if we (Christians/the Church) decided to be the answer to Jesus’ prayer?” – Craig Groeschel

What will it take to unify the church?

1. If Christians/the Church recognize we have ONE ENEMY! Amen & Amen!!!
**Satan is that ONE enemy, not other churches or other believers.** We all have ONE thing in common, the same enemy! (1 Peter 5:8-9) (John 10:10)

2. ONE HEART! Christians/the Church can have different methods or manners in which they do ministry; there is power in our diversity, but we should be united in our passion of making the name of Jesus famous, because it is through Jesus that those who do not know him can be saved. We are not called to be uniform in style and preference, but to be united in Love. (**My Note: I wholeheartidly believe this, but only when it does not cross the line into doctrine of the Gospel and of God’s Word**) (John 13:34-35 – “Love One Another”)

**Christians/the Church should be united. When “I” get out of place, united become “untied” (which is the state our churches are in), but when “I” is in its proper place we have “united.” – We must stay aware of whether we are in our proper place or whether we are not.

3. ONE PURPOSE! (Matthew 28:19-20) “Go and make disciples” – Church in greek is “ekklesia” which means “called out ones” (**Personal Note: Why do we allow personal style and method preferences stand in the way of this one? No matter which version of the Bible you read or what denomination you are a part of, this teaches and reads the same, so on this point alone, why are we not united here?**)

I encourage you to go watch the video HERE. The illustrations, stories, and videos that were shown with this message are great! I really enjoy messages like these, because growin up I saw and heard so much division due to personal preferences over styles and methods. Through a disagreement on these things people came to conclusions about doctinal beliefs of other denominations or churches that were not true, thankfully I have learned to explore & question on my own and to allow the Lord to free me from the legalism and the bondage these people put me under. I have seen first hand how these things divide the Church Jesus said He was going to build versue building it up and uniting it. I believe the greatest thing is at risk by our churches being divided over petty issues, People’s souls!

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Master Pontiac, Buick, GMC and Archie Hixon

August 5, 2008 By nick Leave a Comment

I don’t know about you, but I hate going to car dealerships! I used to sell cars for a short stint of my life while I was in-between jobs. I’ve been in the meetings where the salespeople are trained how to be dishonest and how to lie to gain a sale, so when it comes time to buy a vehicle, I hate it and get serious headaches as well, I get in a bad mood.

On top of having to go purchase a vehicle, this is a horrible time to have an SUV that you are trying to trade-in. It is a great time to be in the market for a SUV. My family and I were in both predicaments. We had a 2005 Nissan X-Terra that we needed to trade-in as our family just grew to the place where we could no longer legally and safely fit in it, but we needed a larger SUV or van to solve our problem. We were siding with the SUV…just because we are not the van kind of people.

Saturday morning we went to our normal breakfast place (Sunrise Grill) before we went to Master Pontiac, Buick, GMC of Augusta. I said a little prayer to myself that God would give us a salesman that would do us right and not play games with us. We pulled into the lot and there he was, the salesman that was going to be our headache for the next several hours or the man that God was going to answer my prayers with. Fortunately, Archie Hixon, was the answer to my earlier prayer. He was a great salesman and a very great guy overall. My wife and I left the lot feeling like we knew a great deal about his family. It turned out that Archie goes to a local church and is very involved in their small groups. When he found out I used to be a full time youth pastor and was praying about God opening a door for me to get back full time, he urged me to check into the opening at his church as their youth pastor just left to start a church. As serious as Archie was, I knew this guy was not about to pull a fast one on us, when he was wanting to see us every weekend.

My wife and I were very pleased with the deal they gave us on our trade and the price that we got our new/used Chevrolet Trailblazer for. We asked for them to lower the price on the Trailblazer but they said it had already been discounted and they were firm on their price, but they easily gave us a new set of tires without any hassle. We were never put under pressure to add anything, Archie wanted to make sure we were offered the extended warranties and the other extras, but once we declined we faced no rebuttals. The bottom line is, we left the dealership $2,000 under what we were expecting to pay, we feel the price for the vehicle we purchased was fair and right, and Archie was a great salesperson. We did not purchase from him because he was a Christian, but a good salesman (trust me I have not bought from people because they were horrible salespeople), however I am glad I found out we were helping provide for a fellow believer with our purchase, as I know the car market is a tough business period, but especially with a tough economy.

If you are in the CSRA or the Augusta area and you are looking for a vehicle, go talk with Archie Hixon at Master Pontiac, Buick, GMC in Augusta on Washington Rd. You’ll be glad you did!

Join the Conversation: Have you had a great experience or a poor experience with a recent purchase? Tell me about it!

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Aerie by American Eagle – Smart Marketing?

August 4, 2008 By nick Leave a Comment

I have an American Eagle All-Access Pass, so their new underwear & lounge wear company, “Aerie” sent me a post card for a free pair of panties. If you are not familiar with Aerie they are a company for ladies, kind of like an American Eagle style Victoria Secret for 14-30 year olds (I may be off on my demographics) minus the lingerie.

Since I do not wear panties I let my wife redeem the card for the free pair. Something like an early birthday or anniversary gift, you know just in case I fortget when those special events come around! We walked into the new store at our local Mall, I loved the outside, it was cladded in brick, just like it was located at an outdoor Promenade. When you walk into the store everything is laid out nicely, the store was lit up brightly, and everything looked fresh. My wife browsed through the tables of the underwear that they were giving away as a part of their grand opening special. I was surprised that they had about 4 tables of free underwear, usually a store gives you one small section of free stuff and it usually looks like the items come from the lower quality products that they sell. Aeries was giving away their everyday $7.50 or 5 for $25 pair of underwear for their promotion.

We took my wife’s selection up to the table, and the store representative hit my wife with the BIG question, “Are you a member of the A-List?” – The store rep did not care if my wife said no, as she did, because as soon as my wife said no, the representative said, “If you would like to sign up for the A-List tonight, you will get another free pair of panties now and every Thursday you will be eligible to receive a free in store gift, just bring this card in and they will give you your free gift and punch your card.” “If you want to go pick out another pair of underwear, I will get you a registration form ready.” My wife’s response, “Ok!”

My wife brings her selection back to the counter and as the representative is ringing them up, my wife fills out the simple form to be an “A-Lister,” and waits for the representative to finish her technical stuff at the register for the free underwear and to wrap up the free gifts. The next question from the rep was, “What color ribbon woul you like?” My wife quickly responded, “Pink is fine!” – The store representative wraps both items in a nice box and tops it off with a ribbon. Here’s a few things I noticed while all of this is taking place:

  1. Aerie got my wife into the store with an offer for a free product, something she would like but also with something she has to have.
  2. Aerie will retain customers with the quality of their product and by gaining the trust of their customers, even if the customer is in the store for a free product. The customer leaves realizing the company is not trying to scam them with a less superior product than what they typically sell, they want you to walk away owning something you can buy everyday.
  3. With a lot of people coming in Aerie for a free product, they are going to sell them more than what they came in for, because the group of people they are attracting will see something they like and want to buy it, and most will if they have the money (we are just too poor for anything other than the free stuff!) :)
  4. By earning the trust of customers like my wife, when they offer them a customer email program like the “A-List” they are going to have a great rate of participants because they trust that the other free gifts (every Thursday) are going to be at the same high level of quality. – By the way, my wife went into the store for a free pair of underwear, so they know they are attracting people who will come in for something free.
  5. It was easy to get someone like my wife to sign up for the “A-List” because she was already in there for something free and they were offering her another free product on-site.
  6. Finally, this is what I see as genius! This may not have been their intention, but I thought about it as I was standing there observing it all…what would have been a 3-5 minute visit to this new store turned into about a 10 minute visit. They kept us in the store longer, which forced us to look and observe what they had to offer during that extra time. I don’t think it is a mistake that all around the sides behind their cash register was full of product on their walls. As we were standing at the counter filling the card out and waiting for the lady to finish all that she was doing, it provided an opportunity to see more of their products. – As we completed our transaction which cost us $0.00, the store representative walked around the counter and placed the gift box in our hands and told us to have a great evening. We were never pressured to buy anything, it was a great experience. In my mind, it was great marketing of a new company and great customer service. I am sure my wife will return…and if I am with her, so will I!

Join the Conversation: What’s your thoughts?

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Happy Birthday Tristan!!!

August 3, 2008 By nick Leave a Comment

Happy Birthday to my little man, Tristan! He turns 2 today! We celebrated last night at Chuck E Cheese with a few family members and had a blast. Thankfully the rides Tristan enjoys weren’t the most popular…it was CRAZY!

Tristan is a personality in himself. He totally demonstrates how two children can be so different. He and his older brother are worlds apart. Fortunately they get along great, both demonstrate their love for each other and for their new sister Hailey. Tristan is wild and crazy and into everything, but he has that special little look that helps him slip by trouble from time to time. One of the most special things that I love about Tristan is his little (but big) hugs. He runs up to us, wraps his short arms as far around our shoulders as he possibly can and then starts patting our backs (usually the top of our shoulders because he has short arms). Its one of the cutest things I’ve ever experienced…he is so genuine. He recently started to learn how to pray when we eat together, he roughly says Jesus, Thank you, Food, and AMEN! He says Amen really good.

So once again, Happy Birthday buddy! Love Mommy and Daddy.

(Click Photos to Enlarge)

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