Raise Your Hand If You’re Going To Youth Camp!

June 7, 2011

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OO, OO, ME, ME, ME! I’m Going!

In fact we’re headed here already. We’re at Latham Springs for WildWeek with our students this year. I’m really excited about what I think God can do in the lives of these kids this week. For students around the country, camp has this big potential to be one of two things:

  1. It can be this big emotional high. They are around a bunch of other students going through the same things they are, and God is meeting people in all kinds of ways, and they get caught up in the great speaker and fantastic worship, the strings of their heart are pulled, and they are moved to tears in the experience. Because it’s an emotional response, they are compelled to make these grand promises to God that they will likely not fulfill after a few weeks. This can leave them feeling defeated.
  2. They can encounter God in such a way that he brings real change into their life. Among all of the emotions that are running high, and even in some of those kids, there are real interactions with Jesus and what his good news really means in our lives. Camp can be a catalyst for students to bring about true life change, based on a dependence in Christ. They come away from the experience knowing they are called to something different, and they not only know how they’ll follow through with it, but they actually do follow through; whether that means they met Jesus for the first time, or decided to live the way He’s called them to.

I pray, and ask that you’ll pray with me, that the students we are taking with us have the second experience. It is often easy to forget how much we need Jesus when we have the majority of our needs met. I pray that they will encounter Jesus, and have real life change based on that encounter. I can’t say what that looks like for any of them, but I know He wants to meet with them and I hope their hearts are open to that.

 

Adults sponsors/volunteers going to camp (from any church at any point this summer), do me a favor: PLEASE for the love of God! Do not treat this week like a vacation. I know hat might be tempting. But it’s not a vacation. If you think you might do this? Please stay home. Our students need you to be checked in with them. Will there be a little more down time that your day to day at home? Probably, and that’s ok. But please don’t volunteer to go if that’s the reason you’re going. This week has the power to change the lives of your students, and they need you present to:

  1. Recognize when they’ve encountered the Living God of the universe.
  2. To be available to them when they come to you with something. Anything. You need to be prepared for anything. Mother Theresa said, “Everyone you meet is in pain”, this is true with teens if with no one else. They have a ton of stuff going on, it all crashes down at some point, and you may be the person they come to to help them lift it up.

Be in prayer and ask God to prepare your heart for your week at camp with your students. Ask God to prepare your heart to encounter Him, and to be ready for whatever may come your way. God gets wild in the lives of students when we take them out of your day to day. Get excited.

 

Grace & Peace,

Stippick

Quick reminder…

May 7, 2010

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Last night, I got a quick reminder of why I love working with students so much.

I went to the midnight showing of IronMan (Iron Man?) 2 with another youth work and about 20 students. We got there an hour early, and I just got to hang out with and love on some students. Just before the movie started, I got to sit with a student and hear out a frustration from earlier in the evening, and help reassure her that even though she was upset about a situation, she was in the right. It was great to be able to just sit and listen and give minimal feedback. It’s kind of surprising how often that’s a ll a student really needs.

I get the opportunity to work with some of the best students around, and I love being able to challenge, and be challenged by them. I thank God every day for that.

Disciple Now

February 4, 2010

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Disciple Now. What is there to say about it? It is a blast of a weekend, but it takes a lot out of you.

For those of you who don’t know what a Disciple Now is, here is a quick explanation:

Our kids sign up to go stay in a home with their friends for a weekend. People from the church open up their homes for students to be able to do this. This year we have 39 homes. People from the church offer up their cars to cart kids around all weekend. This year we had need for 330 seats. People volunteer to cook/deliver food to all of the 39 homes. We bring in a leader for each home to lead the students through a Bible study through the course of the weekend. They come from all over the state, and we even have a young lady flying in at midnight tonight just to hang out with some 6th grade girls for the weekend. There is a group of ladies who coordinate all of this so that it is not mass chaos. They are awesome. And funny. Many people donate money to scholarship some kids to be able to go, and to help with food.

Like I said…that’s a very brief overview. There are probably a lot of people, and a lot of jobs I left out…but you get the gist…

So tonight we had our Thursday night kick-off, and it went really well. One of our senior girls put every guy in our youth ministry to shame by eating some of the most disgusting things I’ve ever seen. I met with my guys to talk about the weekend, and they all seem really excited for the weekend. I know I am.

So anyway. I’m writing this tonight to ask you to be praying for this weekend. For the students. For the leaders. For the host homes. For the transportation. For food coordinators. For the many people who make things happen administratively. For the worship leader and speaker for Saturday night. And anyone and anything I’m leaving off. This is a big weekend in the lives of our students that can have a huge impact on them.

Thanks so much guys! Have a great weekend!

-Stippick

The Texas Tour

August 30, 2008

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For the past several years in the fall Brett has taken people around the state of Texas to watch high school football games that either one (or both) of the teams are really good and it is going to be some great football, or there are players that will probably be going on to big schools to play big football. It’s a lot of fun. I honestly don’t know much about football (there’s not a whole lot of “manliness” going on right here), but it is great fellowship (the Christan “F” word) and fun! Unfortunately I will be missing the majority of this seasons tour, but I did get to go to two games this week.

In the first game, we watched the Georgetown Eagles stomp on the San Antonio Southwest Dragons. On the way there, several people talked about the fact that they loved the Georgetown team and players, but didn’t really think they could win the game. I. Had. Faith. And it paid off. The Eagles opened their season with a 35-13 win, it was cool.

We got back to the church around midnight, and we were all going our separate ways…when I realised I had a flat tire. at 12 a.m. I wanted to cry. I was going to change it, but could not find a tire iron, so one of the guys lent me his portable air compressor majigger to air it up. I plugged it into the adapter outlet in the car and ended up having to hold it in there to get it to work. We ended up just airing it up a little bit from that, and then drive it to the Shell station down the street…when I unplugged the compressor, it BURNED MY THUMB and I now have a blister. So, we get to the gas station, and  PRISON BUS is using the air thing. So I had to wait another five minutes. Not a good end to my otherwise good night.

Friday night, we went to the Cypress Ridge vs. Humble game. In the beginning, it did not look to be a very good game. Again, I don’t know much about football, but I could tell that neither of these teams was really…exceptional. Which was weird, because the Cy-Ridge quarterback is supposed to be the number one in the nation. Anyway, Humble did end up stomping them, and towards the end it proved to be a pretty good game. On the way home we played the Radio Game for two hours straight. It. Was. Awesome.

I will miss the Tour, and allllll of the fun that goes along with it. Yes. That includes being the concession runner. Thanks for the great times Texas High School Football.

 

Already missing the Friday night lights,

Stippick

A lesson in humility

August 27, 2008

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I got one tonight, and it was really cool. Tonight at Shockwave (the Wednesday night, youth worship service at FBCgT) they kicked off a new series called “Wipeout”. The idea came from the TV show, but really the only likeness to that is the Youtube clips they showed, and the games they will do throughout the series. The idea for the focus of the series is how God can redeem us from our moral failures. It seems really cool, and I think He is going to be able to do some great things in the lives of students through it.

Anyway, tonight, Brett (Levy, for those of you who don’t know. He is the youth minister at FBCgT) was talking about Moses, and how he went from being born into Hebrew slavery, then raised as Egyptian royalty, then cast out when he murdered an Egyptian man, then God uses Moses to lead His people out of captivity to the life He promised them…of course they end up messing that up (but who of us hasn’t messed up something that was supposed to be a blessing from God?!). It’s a really cool story, and if you don’t know it…go read the book of Exodus…I digress.

We get to the part of the story where Moses sees the burning bush (ch. 3). Moses kind of sees it, and then realises that this bush is on fire…but not being consumed! So he looks at it a little more closely, and what follows is an incredible encounter with the God of the universe:

When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses! And he said “Here I am.” Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground” (Exodus 3:4-5)

The point Brett was making out of this passage in relation to our moral failures is that we need to humble ourselves before God when we are coming out of that. It’s a great point, and is 100% true. When he shared the verse though, he kind of paraphrased it in a cool way that set my thought wheels in motion. He (Brett) said something to the effect of:

“What God is saying to Moses here is “Hey, show some respect before you come here, because you’re about to experience something the likes of which you’ve never even heard of. Me.”

I just thought it was really cool to picture God saying it this way.

A lot of time we’re going, going, going, with something that we think (and may be) God inspired, but at some point we take Him out of the loop. True Life? WE CAN DO NOTHING WITHOUT GOD, THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE, WHO KNOWS OUR EVERY THOUGHT!

Whatever it is that we feel God calling us to do we MUST humble ourselves at His feet if we have any SHRED  of hope of succeeding. When we pray for guidance from Him, we had better make sure that it is with a heart that knows how unworthy we are of His love.

Yet He gives it anyway.

For me, tonight, that is my deepest desire. That I would develop a more humble attitude toward what God has given me, and allowed me to do/part of, and what He is about to allow me to be a part of. As I embark on my Mission Year, I hope that I experience God in such a way that it would be something the likes of which I have never seen.

 

Learning all the time,

David

 

(Sorry this was longer than normal, thanks for giving it a look. I hope it got across the point that I had in my head)

No Words…

August 26, 2008

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That’s how I’ve felt about this post as I’ve been thinking about how to write it over the past couple. Obviously, there are some words…I just don’t feel like they do justice to what I want to say. So yes, there are words…I just really liked that tile…Hold on, I’ve got to catch this rabbit REAL quick…

In all seriousness though. This past Sunday was my first Sunday back at First Baptist Georgetown (FBCgT), and it was great to see some people that I had not seen in a long time. The new bulletins were cool, and they had added some new intelligent lighing All very cool stuff.

During the worship music time, we sang two songs off of the God of this City  cd from the Passion movement, the title track “God of This City”, and “Hosanna”. I bought this cd back when it first came out a couple months ago, and it is worth every cent. These guys know how to lead people in singing worship to our savior! So anyway…I walked away with something very cool from these two songs, after the service.

As most of you know, I have been working with the youth there for the past two years (minus this summer when I took an internship at Austin Baptist Church), and it has been a great experience. I love all of those kids, an it has been great to see a lot of them grow over the past few years. In the song “Hosanna”(as made famous by Hillsong), there is a line that says “I see a generation, rising up to take their place, with selfless faith”, and when that line came accross I was just kind of watching some of the youth worship, and five or six names of youth who are doing that, just popped into my head, and I lifted up a prayer of thanks for those students. A lot of people feel as though my “generation” and some younger are only interested in themselves, and that we’re going to the dogs. I myself sometimes get frustrated with the students I work with knowing that they know better than some decisions that they make. When I heard that though, it was just a really cool thing to experience.

The last song we did was God of This City (as made famous by Chris Tomlin who got it from this band Bluetree). I heart this song. I think it is an incredible anthem for this generation believers. They started singing it in Shockwave (the Wednesday night youth sevice at FBCgT) a while back, and the students love it. I don’t know how often (if at all) they have done it in the Sunday morning service, but from what I could see it did not look like many people knew it. Then out of no where, students bgan to stand up singing the song, and lifting their hands in praise to God. It was an AWESOME sight! Because they knew it, they were able to worship with abandon, and really basically lead the cngregation in terms of worship without thought to anyone else but themself anf their Jesus.

I atribute this to the series they just wrapped up “The Shockwave Worship Experience” which I was not there for, but have heard A LOT of great things about what it has done for those stdents in the way they view worship. Anyway though…I just really wanted to share that (and yes, honsetly, kind of brag on these sutdents) because it was a cool thing for me to experience right before I take off).

 

Still being amazed,

David

Moleskin Or Moleskine?

August 14, 2008

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If you’re anything like me (let’s pray that you’re not) when you hear the term ‘moleskin’ you think about that stuff your mom put on your blisters when you were a kid. Anyone? That stuff was wicked cool, and was guaranteed to make me forget about my blister…because I was busy playing with the moleskin…Thanks mom. (If your mom didn’t do this for you you should ask her why she didn’t love you).

From this point forward though, I think that my thinking on this word will be forever changed. Have you guys heard of the Moleskine Journals? They seem pretty legit, and I have talked to several people lately who have enjoyed using them. I am not 100% sure that I want one…but I am about 99% sure. So…yeah. I’m not entirely sure what I will use it for, but I’m pretty sure the possibilities endless. Since ‘blog’ is short for Web Log, and blogs are used for journaling/updating/providing information, I feel like this is a way to get in touch with the grass roots of blogging. What are your thoughts?

 

Thanks,

Dave

P.S. – I had to edit this post, and I had gone back to their site, and realised I have been pronouncing it wrong. Very stupidly wrong. So in my head the two products were pronounced the same, so I made that connection. I stand by my decision to keep that connection in my head. Thanks. (I also retitled it)

Side hugs and leg drops

August 10, 2008

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Friday night I participated in a lock-out. Side hug. Tonight I watched some sweet UFC fights with some great friends. Leg drops my friends, leg drops. (I know that the whole side hugs and leg drops market has been cornered by my man Jon Acuffs over at Stuff Christians Like, but I really like it and have been using it a lot over the past couple days, and wanted to title my blog that…)

Lock out was good. Laser tag was boss as usual. Who doesn’t like to run around fake killing middle schoolers?! It was great! We then proceeded to a roller rink. Rest assured if you ever see me roller blading again, my life has been threatened. My body still hurts from it. After that, we went swimming at the Berry Creek pool. I didn’t swim…but we did have the cops called on us…that was interesting. Over all it was a great event.

UFC fights were all pretty great. My boy Brock Lesnar came out on top like I knew he would. Georges St. Pierre did as well. I am not a die hard GSP fan, but I did have him picked for the fight. In the end I came out as the three time champ, successfully defended my belt from last month, and have the most points over all. Thank you gods of UFC.

 

Seriously though, great weekend over all. In between those tow events I went to the second birthday party of Raley Lynn Levy. Great kid. Great weekend overall. So far. Looking forward to tomorrow morning. It will be my second to last sunday at Austin Baptist Church. I loe those kids and those people, and thank them all so much for what they have taught me this summer.

 

Side hugs and leg drops (thanks Jon),

Stippick

The After-College-Christianity-Safety-Net

July 12, 2008

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Is REALLY starting to get on my nerves.

You know what I’m talking about the “Well I think that s0-and-so is just in a rough spot right now, but will be better about their relationship with Christ once they get out of college.” Or even the people who make the excuse fr themself. It’s ABSURD! Sbsurd I tell you…

It just blows my mind that someone wouldn’t want to have a PASSIONATE love reationship with the creator of the universe. HE wants that with us. With me. With YOU! The all powerful, all knowing, all loving, though rightfully jealous GOD who made everything, and everyone wants to know and talk to and be with ALL of us!

I dunno…this has just been buggin’ me as of late, and I wanted to get off of my chest that the time to become intentional about our relationship with Christ is not when we have a family, not when we’re out of college, not next week, not tomorrow, but NOW.

And So We Go,
DS

Pre-Camp Week

June 24, 2008

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For those of you in the Youth Ministry world when you read the title of this blog…you know what’s up. You’ve got about one-jillion things you need to do before you leave for camp, so obviously that makes it the best week for everyone else who could ever possibly need anything from you to enlist your help…It basically adds up to me getting ready for an awesome nap on the way to the beach. Because, YES, ladies and gents we are headed to Student Life @ The Beach 2008!!! With Charlie Hall as the worship leader. It is going to be wicked sick.

Anyway, I really just needed to vent about my frustrations leading up to this point. I really think camp is going to be an awesome experience for our kids. Please pray that they would open their hearts to what God has to say to them, and that they would come prepared to meet with Him there. We’re going to be doing something very cool for them tomorrow night at AXIS (our mid-week student service) and I’ll tell you about that later.

On a lighter note, I have linked to some of the blogs that I read check them out!

Later Days
DS

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