Monthly Archives: November 2009

“Gobble, Gobble, Giggle”

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Here is a stupid video about eating turkey, giving thanks, and Tony Romo.

Have fun, I know I did!


Stuff I’m thankful for:

Jesus for loving me enough to die for me and live in me!

More freedom every day from the baggage of the abuse in my past!

A really awesome wife who loves me even though I’m an idiot!

Both my kids love Jesus!

Elli because she is so much fun and always makes me laugh!

Elli, thanks for riding go karts! hahaha

Nick because he loves the things I love!

Dude, thanks for going hunting with me and Wreck’em Tech!!

A godly Mom who has always been such an amazing example of who Jesus is!

Joanna still sorta thinks I’m funny!

God walking with us through the loss of my Dad to cancer 11 years ago!

An awesome Dad that invested his life in me!

Thanks Dad for always taking me with you!  Tell Jesus I said what up!

Joanna for believing in me and supporting my ministry completely!

That God still lets me do what I do!

The privilege of pouring my life into teenagers!

I got to go to India this past summer!

Joanna for being everything I could ever need or want!

Mike Pinkston!

I get to live in Levelland, Texas!

I have legs, dude!

I’m finally learning to love myself!

Friends that love me and hang out with me!

And Jesus for providing this stuff and these people I have to be thankful for!

 

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!!!!! – Runks


Father and son getting it done

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My son Nick, aka @BigRunkDaddy in the twittosphere, and I are on our annual Thanksgiving week deer hunt. We’re sleeping in a ratty old camper, eating insanely unhealthy food, and having the time of our lives! It is one of the coolest blessings of my life that my 15 year old son wants to spend a week in the woods with his Dad.

Having a shared passion with your teenager is one of the greatest parenting tools any parent can have. It gives you the opportunity to have the “quantity” of time required to open the door for “quality” time to happen. I think the old adage, “quality time is more important than quantity time” is a load of bull because you can’t just decide to have quality time and magically make it happen. If you want to have quality time with your kids you have to make the effort to spend a ton of “quantity” time to get there. That’s why a shared passion is so important.

When I was a teenager I always thought my Dad was the biggest dork on the planet except when we were hunting together because we both loved it so much. Somwhere in the middle of all that “quantity” time in the woods the walls would come down and “quality” time happened. Some of the most important talks I ever had with my Dad during my crazy teen years took place over the hood of a pick-up in the middle of nowhere. Now I’m having that same experience all over again from the other side of the pick- up. As cool as I like to think I am I’m almost certain that Nick thinks I’m an idiot most of the time but when we’re out in the boonies sharing our passion for hunting I’m still his hero and that has opened the doors to some pretty awesome life changing conversations.

If I have any parenting advice to offer its this: include your kids in the passions of your life. Never leave them at home when you go do whatever it is you love to do. Figure out what they’re passionate about, get passionate about it, and get ready for some awesome, life changing experiences with your kids. Trust me, it is so worth the effort for them and you!!

Now, I’ve got to get out of this deer blind and go help Nick clean the hog he just shot. Maybe we’ll get to have a talk about life while we’re at it.

God Bless Y’all – Runks

“Me Too”

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I’m sitting on an airplane with my 6’6” totem pole body crammed into a regular, no leg room, non-exit row, teeny, tiny airplane seat. I’m sitting next to a guy who is also circus freak tall and we’re both cramped, crunched, and fighting for leg and elbow room like sardines in a tiny can but at least we’re not alone! I don’t think there is anything more encouraging than knowing that whatever you’re facing somebody has either been there or is there right now and feels your pain. I think the most comforting words in the English language are, “Me Too” because those words scream out “YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!” My 94 year old grandmother, Maw-Maw, would put it this way,

“A burden shared is a burden halved and a burden born alone is a burden doubled.”

The problem is not so much finding someone who has been where you are but finding someone with the guts to be real enough to admit it. Sadly this is especially true in the church where often times rather than helping our wounded we shoot them and that has got to stop! I say its time we take off our masks and stop pretending we’ve got it all together. We need to start being real and transparent about who we are and what we’re struggling with so we can make it safe for others to do the same and hopefully all get better together. I’ll go first. To those who have faced the horrors of childhood sexual abuse I say, “ Me Too.” To those who have had their butts kicked by an addiction I say, “ Me Too.” To those who are fighting through the 12 steps trying to get well I say, “Me Too.” To those who have been beat down by the reality of depression I say, “Me Too.” To those who struggle to let Jesus take control I say, “Me Too.” To those who are sick of going to church and pretending everything is fine when its not I say, “Me Too.” To those who have feared that if people really knew you they wouldn’t love you I say, “Me Too” To those who battle insecurity I say, “Me Too.” To those who just want to be loved and accepted, warts and all I say, “Me Too.” To all the broken, hurting, and struggling people I say, “you are not alone. You have never been alone!” Somebody, including Jesus, Heb 4:15, has been where you are and you do not have to suffer alone!!! So let’s take off our masks, get real with each other and with God and start saying “Me too” as loudly and as often as we can!

Me Too – Runks

Youth Revivals: Dinosaur or Dynamite?

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Youth Revivals, hmmm, does anybody really do those anymore? Do they still work? Will students really invite their friends to one? Yes, Yes, and Yes! I know in a lot of youth ministry circles the youth revival is thought of as just another dinosaur of youth ministry programming but I beg to differ. I do a ton of them and they still work. I’ve done them in the Spring, the Fall, and even the Summer. I’ve done them in big towns and small communities. I’ve done them combined with school assemblies. I’ve done them every which way you could possibly imagine. They look different than they used to, they have different names but the format is still basically the same. And believe it or not, students show up, bring their friends, people find Jesus, and lives are changed.

The normal format is Sunday morning or Sunday night through Wednesday night with camp style services each night. From there I’ve seen every variation you could possibly imagine – from blow up games and mud pits to prize give-aways and Super Summer style rec to gallon challenges and, of course, Pizza. Normally, the youth minister and I hit up the school lunches and hang out with students each day. If the youth minister can get me in I do school assemblies which really provides a big boost to the attendance. All of this with the hope of creating a buzz amongst the students that something big is going on down at the church. If you can create that buzz, I promise you students will come out of the woodwork to be there! So if you’re looking for a “new” way to reach teenagers give the youth revival a shot. They still work, they’re tons of fun, and to top it all off teenagers find Christ!

Here’s a video I put together of a youth revival I did last summer with Jeff Scott at Pioneer Drive Baptist Church in Abilene, Texas. Hopefully it will give you some ideas for your next youth revival!

 

God Bless ya – Runks

Live Weak

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We live in a society that tells us we need to be independent and self-sufficient, pull ourselves up by our boot-straps (whatever that means??), and do everything in our own strength.  It sounds good on the surface but in reality it is so contrary to the way scripture says we are to live our lives.

II Corinthians 12:10 says, “When I am weak then I am strong.”  So if we really want to be strong we have to learn to Live Weak.  What a radical concept!! Living weak is a paradox that goes against everything the world teaches or believes.  Everybody wants to believe that they can Live Strong and handle all their junk on their own but the fact is we can’t.  We try and we fail because it can’t be done.  In fact, none of us can do anything in our own strength.  Compare John 15:5 with Philippians 4:13.  John 15:5 says that without Christ we can’t do anything and Philippians 4:13 says with Christ we can do anything!  That is the heart of what it means to Live Weak!!! On our own apart from Christ we are absolutely powerless to accomplish anything of any value but by walking daily in absolute dependence upon Jesus we can accomplish anything!!  That doesn’t mean, however, that we just sit back, do nothing, and watch Jesus do everything for us.  Living Weak means living in a partnership with Jesus where we strive to balance dependency with discipline.  You have to have both or you won’t get very far.  It’s like the wings on an airplane.  Which one is more important? The right one or the left one?  BOTH!!! If your plane just has one wing then your going to crash every time!  The same thing is true with dependency and discipline. You have to do your part and God has to do His.

Colossians 1:29 says, “I labor, struggling with all His energy, which works so powerfully in me.”  What that means is that we labor – we strive to follow Jesus with our whole heart. We daily dig into the Word of God and rub up against Jesus all the while living in absolute dependence upon Jesus to give us the strength to do it.

Living Weak is a radical concept in our world but the fact is it works because when we are weak, then and only then are we strong!

Live Weak – Runks

“At Least you got legs, Dude!”

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I had pretty major shoulder surgery back in December and had my arm stuck in a dang sling for 6 weeks! It was horrible! It was my right arm and I’m right handed so I had to do everything with my left hand! And I mean, EVERTHING! Use your imagination. It was absolutely crazy, messy, and gross! I’m a pretty active guy and not very good at being still for extended periods of time so being laid up on a couch for a month about drove me completely insane! Finally after 4 weeks of this I had my first event so I got to get off the couch, jump on a plane, and try to preach with my arm in a sling. If you’ve seen me speak then you can only imagine how crazy tough this was for me. I’m sure it was funny to watch but it drove me nuts! I was speaking at a DiscipleNow for First Baptist Church in Clifton, Texas. While I was there I met a 7th grade guy named Zach. Zach was, how do I put this, I’m terrible at political correctness and have the tact of a freight train so I’m not sure how I’m supposed to describe him so I’ll just put it this way – if he could drive he could park in a handicap parking space. Zach is incredibly small for his age and has no legs but has an absolutely amazing attitude about his situation. He really is an amazing guy and I can’t wait to see what God does with his life! During every service he sat on the floor between the front pews and I almost stepped on him several times. He’s a really cool kid and we had a lot fun joking around about how crazy it would have been if I had really stepped on him.

One night while I was speaking I was telling a story in my normal ridiculously animated manner and I desperately needed both arms to make the story work but I couldn’t do it because of that stupid sling, not to mention it would have hurt like crazy if I had tried! At that point I had had enough and went off on a tirade about how much I hated that stupid sling and not being able to move or use my arm blah, blah blah, etc. etc. etc. And all of sudden, Zach blurted out, “At least you got legs, dude!” And everybody including me erupted in laughter! It was absolutely hilarious! At that point I acknowledged that he was right and I really had NOTHING to complain about. He said it as a joke but it really caught my attention. I realized after he said it and especially after getting to know him that my temporary problem of my arm being in sling was nothing compared to what he has to deal with every day and yet he is so incredibly positive about it. This kid really inspired me and totally changed my attitude about my situation and really, my life in general. The rest of the time I was in a sling and in rehab after that my mantra was: “At least you got legs, Dude!” No matter how bad it was or how much it hurt I kept reminding myself that at least I had legs and have no reason to ever complain about anything. Even now that my shoulder is totally recovered, God continues to use Zach’s words to wake me up every time I start to complain about anything. I hope someday to somehow get close to having the kind of attitude about life that Zach has! He truly was and is an inspiration to me. Maybe he can be the same for you. Next time you get petty and start to complain take a second to remember the words of my buddy Zach: “At least you got legs, Dude!” I promise it will help you settle down and be more realistic about what’s going on.

At Least you got Legs, Dude!

God Bless ya – Runks

Funny Name, Funny Guy, Deep Message???

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Funny guy with a Deep message?? Is that even possible?  Can anybody really be funny and at the same time really have something valuable to say??  Apparently a lot of people don’t think so.  I’ve heard a ton of Youth Ministers say that they’re not big fans of “funny speakers” because most funny speakers are just that, funny and not much more.  Funny speakers seem to have a bad rep for not having much of any significance to say.  They blow in, blow up the room with crazy stories & laughter, say a few fluffy bits of truth, and jump right back to more joking around. Honestly, I have to admit I agree.

So why on earth would I choose market myself as a funny guy??  Because that’s simply who I am and for some crazy reason who God wanted me to be.  For some reason God has shaped me through the experiences of my life, some of them painful and some of them simply the result of me being an AD/HD spastic idiot, to be a fun, funny guy.  He has also shaped me through the experiences of my life and the things He has taught me about life and Himself to hopefully have something of value to say.

For me comedy is just a tool that God has blessed me with to illustrate deep biblical truths to teenagers. I try as hard as I can to strike a balance between being really funny and offering deep biblical truths that students can grab a hold of and apply to their lives.  I may not be the funniest guy around but I work hard to be as funny as I can possibly be.  And in the same vein, I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed but I work hard to engage my mind in my faith by digging into the Word of God and seeking to be as knowledgeable about the Truth as I can possibly be so I can communicate that Truth to hurting teens.  I never want to be funny just to be funny.  I want to be funny with a purpose.  I never want to go on stage just to entertain. I go on stage to enlighten and encourage people with the reality of who Jesus is, how much He loves them, and the difference He can make in their lives.  So, as crazy as it may sound, when I speak to students I simply try to be who I am and who God made me to be – a funny guy with a deep message.

Here is a video I had made to hopefully illustrate who I am, what I’m about, and how I communicate truth. (see more videos here)

God Bless ya – Runks