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Facey Spaces, Tweety Tweets, & Parents
Want to get parents more involved in your student ministry or at least help them be included in the experiences their teens have in your ministry?? Northview Baptist Church in Lewisville, Texas may have found a way to do just that. During their recent DiscipleNow they tweeted out updates about what was happening during the weekend. It was a blow by blow explanation of just about everything that happened during the weekend including the crazy games being played, the worship songs we sang, and even snippets of my messages – all in real time! They had done this from their camp last summer and the parents told me it was awesome to be able to keep up with what was happening with their kids while they were away and made it easier to get them to share their experience when they got home.
Northview just used twitter for this but I think it would be a great idea to use your student ministry fan page for updates as well since most parents are on facebook anyway and you wouldn’t have to convince them to join twitter to participate.
As a parent of teenagers myself, it drives me nuts how hard it is to get two words out of my kids about their experiences in the student ministry. Tweeting out what is happening would give us parents some specific information to ask about and hopefully better engage our kids when they get home. I’d love it if I could ask them what they thought about the message on the Prodigal Son on Tuesday night or the mud pit relays on Thursday afternoon instead of being limited to just asking, “how was camp?” I really hope our Student Pastor is reading this! hint, hint…. hahaha
God Bless Y’all – Runks
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“Why Runks, Why” – April 25, 2010
Join me now for a little recap of my crazy life on the road I like to call, “Why Runks, Why.”
-Jesus > me Refuge 2010 • First Baptist Church, Portland, TX
-Working with my old friends Josh & Stacy McClary to help them resurrect the Student Ministry in their new church.
-another smaller event with lots of one on one time with more students.
-lots of unchurched teens and 2 of them giving their lives to Christ!
-After the worship and before I preached, Josh had the students come up, lay hands on me, pray for me, and for God to speak to them through me. I’ve never experienced that before and it was AWESOME!!
-A bonfire that required a bazillion feed sacks, enough diesel to run my truck for a week, a leaf blower, & 2 hours to get started!
-Josh transformed into an ice cream sundae. They were gonna do this to me but they couldn’t catch me!
-And last but not least….. The most painful student ministry game I’ve ever seen!
God Bless Y’all – Runks
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“Why Runks, Why” – April 18, 2010
Join me now for a little recap of my crazy life on the road I like to call, “Why Runks, Why.”
-I’m Third DiscpleNow • Northview Baptist Church, Lewisville, TX
-Smallest event I’ve done in a while, 45 students, it was really nice to get spend more time with more students than usual.
-Working with my new friend, Nick Gainey, and the Nick Gainey band.
-3 Students giving their lives to Christ and many more coming home to make a fresh start.
-Staying in a hotel with a 24 hour starbucks!
-A highly inappropriate “proposition” from a drunk guy in the hotel lobby. –
-3 boxes of fiber bars and high school boys are not a good combination!
-I actually sang in a karoke contest. Â In your worst nightmares you cannot imagine how bad that was!
God Bless Y’all – Runks
Why Why Runks, Why???
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“Why Runks, Why” – April 12, 2010
Join me now for a little recap of my crazy life on the road I like to call, “Why Runks, Why.”
– 3-Dnow • First Baptist Church • Allen, Texas
-Hanging out my my college buddy, Billy Baker, and getting to minister to his sons and their group.
-Ministering to several students dealing with incredibly difficult issues and plugging them into the help they need.
-Two meals at my favorite mexican food restaurant on planet earth within 14 hours, Uncle Julio’s!
-An absolutely awesome outpouring of God’s Spirit in the Saturday night service.
-Seeing an incredible amount of students come home to Jesus and turn away from tough sins in their lives.
-playing ridiculously stupid mystery games with a bunch of seniors… “are we in cahoots?”
-learning an incredibly dangerous game involving a pool table, a cue ball, and lots of running!
-Working with one of my favorite Bands: Branch -with the students at The Heights Baptist Church in Richardson, TX on Sunday morning.
-9 students trusting Jesus for the first time on Sunday morning!
God Bless Y’all – Runks
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“Why Runks, Why” – March 21, 2010
Join me now for a little recap of my crazy life on the road I like to call, “Why Runks, Why.”
-Freedom Weekend 2010 for Lifepointe church in Glen Carbon, IL.
-First DiscipleNow the church has ever had.
-It was really fun & funny watching the students and adults wrestle with the -new to them- Dnow lingo like food coordinator, host homes, and time-away cards.
-Spending more quality time with more students because of the smaller size of the group.
-Working with and getting to know the guys in the band The Great Romance.
-Working with students that don’t live in the “bible-belt.”
-Seeing several students and adults give their lives to Jesus!
-Getting ridiculously lost on a Starbucks run because of a lying Iphone gps and a girl that doesn’t know the difference between North and South!
-Reconnecting with my old friend Bobby Robbins.
-Working with Student Pastor, Kyle Parker, and his wife, Emily, who were both students at some of my events when they were teenagers.
-And last but not least… A perfect shot of a priceless youth ministry moment
God Bless Y’all – Runks
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“Why Runks, Why”
One of my former interns, Dylan Hope, used to greet me when I came off stage with a funny little recap of my message he liked to call, “Why Runks, Why.” Sometimes it was serious, sometimes it was hilarious but it was always fun and every once in a while it was productive. So I’ve decided to bring a revamped version of “Why Runks, Why” to the Runks.com experience by expanding it from a recap of a few minutes on stage to a recap of my events and experiences on the road.
So join me now for the first installment of a little recap of my crazy life on the road I like to call, “Why Runks, Why.” – March 14, 2010
-Cross Training Weekend • First Baptist Church • West Memphis, AR
-Wanting to cancel and stay home with Nick after his car wreck last week.
-Going anyway because I knew God wanted me to.
-Ministering to two students dealing with some deeply painful junk and leading them from hopelessness to hope.
-Making a “quick” Starbucks run with the seniors that turned into a trip to another state and an encounter with a gangbanger fond of inappropriate gestures.
-Student Pastor Matt Neyman a.k.a. “Cracka Wit Attitude”
-Crosstraining man????
-Taking care of business with a quick trip to Graceland on the way to the airport.
-A bunch of teens getting saved!
-God moving powerfully. Students ministering to students in the most genuine way I think I’ve ever seen!
-Sharing with parents about Nick’s wreck and challenging them to love on their teens and never take them for granted.
I can’t wait to see what God does next week!!
God Bless Y’all – Runks
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Youth Revivals: Dinosaur or Dynamite?
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
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“At Least you got legs, Dude!”
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
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Super Week
Just finished up Super Week at Pioneer Drive Baptist Church in Abilene, Texas. Jeff Scott, Travis Craver, and their team of really cool interns put on an awesome event. It was basically a youth revival wrapped up in a camp trapped in a Super Summer. The students were divided into teams, did ridiculous cheers, played crazy games all leading into awesome worship led by the band Redwise. God moved powerfully each night with many teenagers finding a new relationship with Jesus. Who says youth revivals are dead? This was one of the coolest events I’ve ever been a part of and I’m so humbled to have been a small part of what God is doing at PDBC. Here is a highlight video of Super Week, which by the way I filmed entirely on an iphone. Those things are stinking amazing. I don’t know how I ever lived without it.
PDBC students, you guys rock! Keep on loving Jesus and Living Weak! Thanks so much for letting me hang out with y’all this week!
God Bless ya – Runks
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I’m going to India TOMORROW!
I’m going to INDIA tomorrow!! Â INDIA – that’s on the other stinkin’ side of the dang world! Â I know, I looked it up. I actually got out a globe and looked. Â When we were kids and we tried to dig our way to China in the backyard, we were wrong. We weren’t digging to China, we were digging to India! Â I am a little concerned about how I am gonna cram my 9 foot legs and my A.D.H.D. brain in an airplane for 14 hours on my flight to the other side of the world but I’m sure that once I’m there that will seem insignificant and petty.
I cannot believe I’m getting to do this. Â I am so blown away at this opportunity God has dropped in my lap. I’m going with my good friend Coby Colley and Asian Partners International. Â We’ll be working in New Dehli, Gorakpur, Varanassi, Patna, and several other places I can’t pronounce. Â We have many things planned but what I am most pumped about is working with the people who minister to the orphan beggars at the rail stations. Â These are the kids portrayed in the movie Slumdog Millionaire. Â These kids are horribly abused and forced to beg for money to pay off their pimps. Â Not sure if that’s what they’re called but somehow it seems fitting. Â I will be working with the leaders there to help them understand how to talk/minister/reach out to someone who has been abused. Â If you know my story of childhood sexual abuse then you know this is something I am really thrilled to have the opportunity to do.
I am really excited and somewhat nervous. Â I’ve done mission work in Mexico and Haiti but I’ve been warned that nothing can prepare me for what I will see in India. Â I’ll be updating this blog and twittering whenever I can to keep you posted on what is happening so you can pray specifically. Â Thanks to everyone who is praying and those who provided funding for this trip. Â I couldn’t have done this without you!
God Bless ya – Runks