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The Hour(s) Before

July 25, 2011 in blogging, Faith, Family, God, Music Monday, People, Prayer, Sunday Set List, Worship with 2 Comments

Today’s post is part of a series of posts called “The Hour Before” You can get a full list of links to these posts by checking out the series here - http://robrash.us/blog-series/the-hour-before/

This is a typical Sunday during the regular calendar.. not the summer calendar

It’s Sunday morning.. an early morning like every other one.. 6am, Seth (2) comes into our room, “mommy, daddy, I slept in my big boy bed all night, and I didn’t pee… how was your sleep?” We exchange groans, grab the little guy and stick him in between us and put on his movie.. Land Before Time 10,000?

6:10 Seth can’t keep quiet any longer.. he just wants to play with his baby brother Micah (5 mos), so he pokes and prods at him until he wakes up.. always with a smile on his face.  Jennifer, the saint of a woman she is feeds Micah, tells me it’s time to get up.. we all lay in bed for another 15 minutes or so.

6:30 I get out of bed.. go shower, shave all that jazz.. get dressed.. the usual is a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, nothing too fancy.. it’s how we roll at Madoc Baptist.

7:15 wifey has made me some coffee.. too strong usually.. but I drink it anyway in an effort to thank her!  I sit on the couch with my boys, and watch some recorded episodes of Chuck and Friends while I help Seth with his clothes.

7:50 time to say “see you later to the fam” I grab all my gear and pack the car.. time for coffee number 2.. I go to Tim Hortons, despite the fact that they’ve burned the coffee the last 4 that I’ve had.. I guess I’m a sucker for punishment.

8:00 I arrive at the school… 2 years ago we sold our building.. we couldn’t fit anymore people in there, and we didn’t want to create multiple services, because we want our whole church to be a family, so until we raise the 1.5 million we need to build our new home, we meet in a gym in a public highschool.

8:05 the family who graciously transports our gear every Sunday arrives, we unload the 2 big custom made boxes that contain all of our gear.

8:10 a few more guys from the team show up.. we start setting up speakers, projectors, computers, soundboards.. all that fun stuff… though we have a small team of faithful people who set up every week.. we manage to set everything up in about 35 minutes.. repetition was the key..

8:45 the rest of the band is here, and set up.. likely some small technical difficulty.. but I fix it pretty quickly.. sound check begins.

9:15 sound checks done, and new songs we’ve worked those final kinks out of.. time to pray..

9:30 Bible Study begins.. I pop back to the sound desk and make sure everything is in line for the service on the computer..

10:15 study over.. I go greet some of the seniors, make sure their hearing aid line is working.. my family arrives.. Seth runs in the gym, tells everyone he’s here, and usually yells to me what type of underwear he’s wearing today.. he comes up on stage, gives me a hug and a kiss (probably the highlight of my morning).. Jen walks over with Micah, whose mouth is wide open, also looking for a kiss (Micah that is) at this point I’m on stage with guitar in Rock position.. Seth strums a few strings on my guitar, plays with some buttons on my X3Live.. I then fix my settings.. he goes back with mum

10:30 the party begins.

12:30 time to pack up, go home, have some lunch, and have a much deserved nap

 

A Quick Update

May 13, 2011 in Faith, God, Ministry, People, Prayer with 0 Comments

I know some of you who read my blog have been praying for me in regards to my back problems.  I got the call yesterday for my surgery date..  I head to Ottawa THIS WEDNESDAY for my surgery!!  Keep praying, and thanks for the prayers you’ve been offering up for me.

G.O.S.P.E.L

May 11, 2011 in Faith, God, Ministry, Prayer, Worship, Youth Unlimited, YouTube with 0 Comments

When I came on staff with Youth for Christ, one of the first things I learned about is that it’s not so much about preaching at people as it is sharing a story.. Over the years I’ve found different creative ways of sharing that story.

How are you sharing the story of the Gospel?

When Should You Give Up on a Student?

January 8, 2011 in Faith, Ministry, Prayer, Youth, Youth Unlimited with 1 Comment

I’ve been in youth ministry for about 8 years now.. and I’ve worked with a LOT of teens over those years.  About 2 years ago I found myself at a crux in my ministry.. I had been pouring a LOT of time and energy into students, and while it seemed like some of them were getting it, there were some that just wouldn’t go any further.  I sat down with my director, and told him that I felt like I had hit a wall.. and that if the ministry in this area was going to fo any further, either the person doing it had to change, or we had to change how it was being done.

The reason I felt this way was simply because I was tired of pouring literally hundreds of hours into particular students, and them just not going any further, be it growing in their relationship with Christ, or they weren’t having a relationship with Christ at all.  I asked many pastors “when do you just give up”.. many of them understood my questions.. it wasn’t that I was done with the kids, I was just tired of not seeing growth, and was ready to give up on particular students.  Everyone told me the same thing.. you should never give up on a student, but, you can change your relationship with them.. but never stop praying for them.

As a result of this, about 1.5 years ago, I changed a relationship with a student.  It was very hard to do.. I had spent 2 years pouring into this student, spending literally every moment that he wasn’t in school with him.. either him hanging out at my office, or at my house with my family.. he would come to the city with me if I was going shopping, or we would just go hang out and walk around together.

Then it happened.. I remember sitting down with him one day and telling him that he was at a point in his highschool career where he had to choose.. “do I give in to all the stereotypes that people are giving him (he was one of the only black kids in the school, and was a group home kid to boot.. so naturally everyone wrote him off as a “bad kid”) .. or he could rise above those stereotypes, and become the person God wanted him to be.  Sadly, he chose to give into all the bad things people were saying about him, and he hit drugs, drinking and every other stereotype that was giving to him.. and he hit them hard.

This was when our relationship changed.. I wanted to try and help him, but he didn’t want help.  So I let him go.. I let him do what he wanted, live the life he thought he needed to live.  It was easily one of the hardest things I’ve had to do.. All the while I prayed for this guy.. daily.. Every now and then I would send him a text, or a quick message on Facebook.. something simple.. “thinking about you” or something like that.

Last night was like any other night.  I was sitting on my computer, and decided to drop a quick message to this student.. pretty simple again.. just “hey, how’s it going.. haven’t talked to you in a long time”…. 2 minutes later, he logged onto facebook chat, and sent me a message.. it was our first contact in over a year.. he simply said “are you home for the next while” I said “yea, I’m just hanging out with my son”.. he then said the thing I was hoping for for the past year… “can I come over, I really need to talk to you about some stuff”.. naturally I invited him over.. and we spent the next 1.5 hours talking about his past year and how he realized that he really messed up his life.. he was tired of all the drugs and what they had done to him, and that his parents are kicking him out.  He wanted to talk to me because he knew that the only way he was going to stay clean was if he surrounded himself with the people who were good influences on him back when his life was clean.. people who would hold him accountable.

Did he decide to follow Jesus.. no, but its all a step in the right direction, I’m so happy that I didn’t give up on him totally, and throw him out.  I think I knew God still had a plan for him, and I wanted to be a part of that.

So let this be a encouragement for you.  Sometimes, students suck.. and they suck the life out of you.. they drain you for everything you have, and then they drop you.. but don’t be discouraged, keep praying for them.. if you don’t, who will?

What I’ve Learned from The Sea Shepherd

July 28, 2010 in Culture, Faith, God, Ministry, Prayer, Worship, Youth Unlimited with 1 Comment

You may or may not be aware of a tv series called “Whale Wars”. If you don’t know what the show is about, you can click that link, but I will also give you a brief synopsis of the show.

Basically it’s a bunch of animal rights activists.. called the Sea Shepherd who sail the Arctic Ocean attempting to stop the illegal hunting of whales by the Japanese.

Just to give you a quick video which gives an example of the tactics..

The leader of the crew is a man named Paul Watson, who honestly, I can’t say I really like from what I’ve been told.  My father (who use to work for the RCMP) has arrested Paul in the past and told me what kind of guy he really is.

I watch this show every week, its just one of those shows that keeps you captivated.  I’m not at ALL saying I agree with what they are doing, but I’m also not saying I think it’s wrong.. I’m 100% on the fence.

Tonights episode was very intense.  The Ady Gil (a multimillion dollar boat) was sunk, and some people nearly died.

Tonight I was deeply convicted in my faith, because of some things that happened in this show. After the Addy Gil was destroyed, the crew was rescued by another ship in the fleet, and right away they talked about how they were going to board the Japanese ship.

All the crew was told about the severe concequences involved in boarding this ship.  5 years in a Japanese prison, which no one wants to do, even the potential of death, depending on how the crew reacts to someone boarding their ship.

Each of the members of the crew, sat on the boat, nearly in tears talking about how they have no problem boarding this ship, spending time in jail, or even dying, if it meant that they could save just one whale.

When I saw this, I was saddened inside.  I thought “if I had the passion about God, and saving the lives of PEOPLE that these guys have about saving whales, how much more effective would I be.”

It has given me some real thinking to do about my personal faith and what am I willing to do for my cause?

What about you? Do you watch this show? Does is ever convict you in your faith?

Wise Words from St. Augustine on Prayer

May 8, 2010 in Prayer with 0 Comments

I was reading a book this week full of quotes from St. Augustine.. this is the one that stood out to me the most.

A man calls on God that he may not be put to confusion. Is it so that the adultery he intends may come off? That someone he hopes to inherit from may die? That a piece of sharp practice may succeed? This is not to call on God, but on one’s own evil desires.

To call on God is to invite him into your heart: but will you dare to invite so great a Father when you have no dwelling fit for him? Your heart is full of evil desires, and yet you invite him in.

If you call on God, let it not be to ask for anything. For when you call upon God for aid the call you make is for him to come into yourself. What place is there into which your Lord and God can come, what place fit for the God who made heaven and earth? Is it a small thing that God himself should fill you?

If he comes without silver and god, do you not want him? Which of the things he has made can satisfy you, if God himself does not?