If we were aware of truly who the Holy Spirit was we would understand that life and ministry is not about us. It is not about our desires. It is not about our comfort zones. It is truly about bringing honor and glory to God. Youth Ministry can be utilized even greater if we put aside our selfish desires, seek God's face, and desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Imagine how many teenage souls we would see come to Christ if our students understood the power and impact they could have through the Holy Spirit!!! Ultimately, imagine how great and prosperous the body of Christ would be if we relied completely on the Holy Spirit!

The Newsboys are being intentional about evangelism on their "God's Not Dead" tour for 2012. They have asked gifted evangelist and my boss, Bob Lenz, to partner with them by giving a clear Gospel message at each city they vist. In order to keep this from being a tour that simply passes through an area entertaining folks, I will be working with friend and colleague Kris Wood to network in each city on the tour.

I believe the basis of our Christian faith relies on two questions… “Who is God” and “What is truth?” Yes, our faith is based on a personal relationship with Jesus Christ – believing that He died and rose again for our sins – but until we can answer these two questions from a Biblical perspective, it is impossible for us to experience an authentic relationship with Christ. God and truth have become relative in today’s society. In other words, we have created our own gods and designed our own truth...

Paul’s words in Philippians 2:12-13 capture my attention:

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed – not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence – continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good pleasure.

These two short verses provide what I see as the best description of the mysterious tension that exists in our lives between God’s power and our effort.

In the past few years, there has been a lot of buzz in the youth ministry world about outcomes based ministry. Much of this talk has resulted from the Exemplary Youth Ministry Study conducted in 2003. Conversations. Workshops. Books. Lists. The results of that study EYM have produced more literature and ideas than could possibly be broken down in a few short blog posts (let alone one).

I went outside for a walk one night discouraged and felt God asking me again why I think He put me on this street. He took me to the end of the street to remind me of the reason why we live on this street!

At the end of my street is the typical green street sign that reads…. Victory