tonight. sunday. next wednesday.

today is wednesday. not gonna lie, pretty excited about that. had christmas in a cup this morning and now i'm running on a powerade slush and a couple hamburgers. no red bull today. sorry brower. yeah, mom and dad, i'm eating pretty healthy today. needless to say, i'm ready to blog. i have a jacket on. this is GREAT news. it's rainy and a tad cool in the LBK today. this is so HUGE. so needed. the routine has been broken. i love the rain and the way it makes the air smell. so good. ben rector is in the background singing "i'm ready for change." yes, today is a good day. and it's barely started.

we've got some really great things happening over the next week. we've got 6:20 TONIGHT and it's been blowing up. i'm smiling so big right now. gotta keep praying. and praying. and praying. it's ALL Him. God is really molding the hearts of our kiddos and they're really getting it. our visitors are getting it. visitors are bring visitors to God. goosebumps. sunday, is the annual red and black day and i'm cool with that. dad, i vouched for black and gold day, but turns out vandy isn't on the radar out here. but tech's cool and i'm pumped. baron is coming to speak on sunday morning to our student ministry as a whole. turns out people like him a little bit and i've found that he's a pretty good dude who really believes that Jesus is who He says He is. he's not a great ping pong player yet, but that will come. picture rafa nadal...that's me. picture john mcenroe...that's him. feisty lil guy. but really, i can't wait to watch the Lord breathe life into us through him. and then there's a flag football tourney and more food than you can shake a stick at (what does that even mean?) afterwords. seriously, anybody got a idea where that line comes from?

(enter smooth transition here)

and then, next wednesday night at 6:20 we're diving into the "tough" sayings of Jesus. what did He say? why'd He say it? is He being serious? what does that mean for us? how do we change because of it? i'm pumped. i'm ready to dig into it and find the answers and help kiddos walk through what His statements mean in their life as HS students. and secret church was a blessing last week. thanks to jack for coming out and being so willing to share how Jesus is working in his part of the world. i think we've gotten more feedback from secret church that any other thing we've ever done. God is moving.

some of you parents are wishing by now that i'd hurry up and explain what the talk is on tonight. well, here you go! tonight, we're tackling what biblical leadership looks like and how we all get there. get this...the more and more i study the great leaders of the Bible, the more i realize they weren't great. let me explain. they weren't great. the God who moved through them WAS. look at moses. stuttering old shepherd. look at joshua. barely a man. rahab. simply believed. gideon. same story as joshua. habakkuk. only hope was God. john the baptist. he was the messenger. not the messiah. paul. he ran out of energy. called on God for His. you get the picture. but one must take a look at what made these people LEAD the way they did. here's my belief...

SOFT HEART = FULL HEART.

every one of the hearts of these people had to be softened enough to allow God to move through them. they had to wage the inner war within themselves of whose glory really matters. every great biblical leader fought the battle. God became the most beautiful thing they'd ever seen. they HAD to be around Him. seriously. survey the leaders above. and then take a gander at your heart. i've gotta take a look at mine. solid leaders MUST have soft hearts to the glory of God. and when our hearts are soft, we can be filled by a God who waits to fill us at every moment of the day. God cannot use a hard heart. a hard heart produces a prideful spirit. and that gives birth to sin because we think the power is in us alone, when the whole time, it's been Him. look at Jesus. when all the disciples were arguing about who was cooler in the temple and asked Jesus who the "greatest" was, Jesus does something that i need to preach to myself over and over.

He calls a little kid over. a snot-nosed kid.

He tells them you gotta be like this little tot right here.

just fyi, i'm no kid expert. i measure kid ages by if they're taller than a coffee able or not. it's brutal. you guys who know me know that. but, i do know that a kid knows his father. knows his mother. has to be near. doesn't waver. doesn't ask serious questions of how all this stuff works. doesn't worry. kids can be so caught up in loving ma and pa, that nothing else matters. worry isn't even on the radar. He wants the same with you and me. i don't think toddlers are worried about their popularity. or social status. they just want mom and dad. can't do anything without them. in this case Jesus is showing them and us that He's our Father and that He's enough. to rest in His arms. to reject our unending quest for status and popularity. search Him. find identity in Him. when our hearts do that, they soften. and when we meet with Him, they grow even softer. and without even realizing it, you're at peace. you are full. no popularity contest will ever grant that. no bf or gf. no magazine. no amount of money. no new set of clothes. no accolade man can give. but, somehow, simply and beautifully, Jesus does that.

i believe every leader God used in Scripture went through this. God softened them. it sounds funny, but God softening us can often be pretty painful. we must let go. THAT'S HARD. it's a journey. but leaders walk it. they just jump in. like a 15 ft. high dive into the sovereign beauty of a Father that has chased you from the very beginning. it's not of us to be great leaders like we see all over Scripture, but it's Him working IN and THROUGH us. soft heart equals full heart. that's how our students become leaders.

by looking like toddlers.

kind cool, huh?

g


ps. secret song is halo from beyonce. BOO-YAH.

ps C. the first ps is false. but FUNNY. it's actually here...perfect with the rain out and i'm a liker of the grainy video style. it's andrew ripp. his album came out yesterday. dave barnes produced. ben rector and steve moakler are the other guys in the video. if this song is any indication of the whole record...well...then it will be purty purty good. how's that analysis for ya? i know, i know...you're welcome! LOVE THIS SONG. GOD. IS. GOOD.



ps FOUR. thinking of testing THIS.
thoughts???