This last Wednesday night we had our final Oak Leaf Student event of the fall before kicking off FUEL weekly in January.

It was an incredible night filled with tons of glowsticks, blacklights and changed lives.

• 3 people made the decision to follow Jesus!!! 2 others rededicated their lives to Him! GLORY TO GOD!!!
• It was Marcus’ first time ever leading worship and he did an incredible job. Looking forward to him being THE Oak Leaf Student Ministry Worship Leader. Watch for big stuff…
• We had the largest crowd for any student ministry event we have ever had. We had 170 students there and over 200 total including the adult volunteers.
• I seriously have the greatest student leaders on the planet! They continue to keep the bar raised high. Student serving whole heartedly and giving up their free time to make a difference is real student ministry. Way to go student leaders! Keep it up!
• GLOW was the coolest thing this church has ever seen this student ministry do. Period. Can’t wait for more events like this in the future.

Keep your eyes and ears open at what these students are going to do for this community. Students won’t make the decision to not come to Jesus because they didn’t get to hear about Him. These students will turn this community upside down…WATCH!

Check out these pics from Wednesday night!

I’ve had several conversation over the last few days with quite a few different people about why men don’t want to go to church.

Some of the reasons were crazy…some of them were legit.

All of them, though, are fixable.

Let me explain.

WHEN PASTORS AND WORSHIP LEADERS BEGIN TO PREACH AND SING WITH THE AUTHORITY OF THE GOSPEL, PEOPLE WILL RESPOND…INCLUDING MEN.

That’s it. There is no magic formula.

Now don’t get me wrong…my church uses different methods and strategies that are geared towards men (and I think those things are good) but I think we spend too much time worrying and arguing about it. It is important. It is an issue. But let’s just preach the gospel and let the Holy Spirit do His thing.

Church leaders criticize the pastors who wear designer jeans and the worship leader with the skinny jeans but WHAT WE WEAR DOESN’T SUPERCEDE WHO WE WEAR.

Jake, are you crazy…we are supposed to WEAR Jesus?

Yup…check it:

• Romans 13:14 “Cloathe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ…”
• Ephesians 6:13 “Therefore, put on the full armor of God…”

When we preach with the authority of the Gospel that was given to us through the redemption of the cross, that’s when people, INCLUDING MEN, will start paying attention to what God is doing in your church.

When we put on Jesus and He is the ultimate authority of our life, we can then use that authority to preach Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Let’s quit debating.

Let’s quit arguing.

Just live out what Jesus says in scripture.

Teach what Jesus says in scripture.

Then watch what the Holy Spirit does.

THOUGHTS?

I got the incredible opportunity to attend the Story Conference at the Paramount Theater in Chicago, Illinois last week. It was a great conference and I learned a lot.

Sorry for the delay of this post but things have been a little crazy around here lately.

I will share JUST A FEW things from each speaker/workshop leader that I walked away thinking about.

ED YOUNG:

• Everybody wants to reach people until you start reaching people.
• Church work is BRUTIFUL
• Don’t chase the people who leave your church.
• God smiles when we use our passion for purpose

DAVE GIBBONS

• We’ve limited our story because of our budgets.
• Develop a theology of discomfort.
• When there is personal revelation of weakness, it releases the Holy Spirit to work.
• Love is a choice. Jesus didn’t WANT to go to the cross.

CHRIS SEAY

• We love the Bible because it points us to love.
• We are not tired from doing too much, it’s because we are doing the wrong things.

JOHN ORTBERG

• Don’t quit dreaming. When you quit dreaming, you die.
• Quit asking God to fullfill your dream. Just ask Him to be a part of the bigger dream.

STACY SPENCER

• Tell the story and let Jesus be heard through you.
• In communicating, introduce dilemma to the text.
• Illuminate the redemption.

MIKE FOSTER

• The struggle of now is more important than the struggle of past.
• People don’t get you when you constantly project success.
• People only want to follow someone with a limp.

DON MILLER (who had the flu and STILL killed it!)

• A story is when there is a character who has to overcome conflict to get something.
• Character matters more in a story than success.
• The world says we shouldn’t have conflict…why should the church?
• In Genesis 2 Adam is lonely…that’s conflict.
• Adam didn’t meet Eve in a bar and chicken out of getting her number…she didn’t exist. That’s conflict.

SKYE JETHANI (My personal favorite of the entire conference)

• You have the chance to educate or illuminate, teach or preach, inform or inspire.
• The world says for every problem, there is a pill, program or person to solve it.
• The ESSENCE of life is unmet desires. The PURPOSE of life is to meet those desires…through Jesus.
• Jesus has become the MEANS to the end rather than the end.
• When you have the vision, the means take care of themselves.
• Nothing of scripture makes sense if our vision is locked on the reality of the consumer world view.
• Enter into the realities of scripture THROUGH their imagination.

TONY MORGAN

• You can’t just listen to God, you have to actually DO what he says.
• The pace of ministry sometimes supercedes relationship with Christ…that’s not good.
• Let leaders learn by doing the wrong things.
• Don’t get stuck DELEGATING tasks rather than LEADING volunteers.
• We experience fear when we think we are in conrol

STORY was a great conference and I can’t wait to see what is in store for next year!

I am beginning to understand a little more about leadership.

I am grasping the fact that leadership is not always learned over night.

I am also realizing the fact that you don’t learn leadership skills and practices when things are easy.

If everything we are doing is easy, then chances are that we aren’t growing as a leader.

There is a problem in that.

As we lead we are teaching others. As we teach others, those that we teach begin to understand/know more. If what they are learning begins to surpass what we know and teaching then our leadership is no longer effective.

That’s hard. That means we (leaders) must always be challenging ourselves to stay on top of our game.

I, as a leader, am beginning to realize that I must continue to put myself out there. I must deal with the tough situations in my life and overcome them. Not so I can boast and say, “Look what I did!” But simply because I need to learn from them and teach others how to better deal with similar situations.

I must, as a chosen leader in the church, continuously be in God’s word and spending time deepening my relationship with Him so I can better lead those arond me and in my ministry.

These leadership principles are things that I am struggling with. I am learning to rely on God and to remind myself that He has me where I am for a reason. But, with that comes responsibility. I am responsible for how I deal with situations and I am responsible for my relationship with Jesus.

If I don’t manage my struggles and my relationship with Jesus well, then I won’t manage people well.

Thoughts?

Ok, guys and girls. I want to create a little conversation about what I shoud be for Halloween this year. I am not exactly sure where I am gonna be on this night BUT wherever I am I want to have an amazing get-up.

SO, with that being said, Leave a comment telling me your suggestion of what I should be for Halloween and why you think that is what I should be…

Looking forward to hearing the conversation!

Go!

1.) Two of my very best friends, Nathan Wright and Hannah Watts, got engaged last night! I’m so excited for them and I can’t wait to see how God uses those two for His kingdom!

2.) I leave for Story Conference in 3 days! I’m so excited…Never been to Chicago so I’m looking forward to that part too.

3.) I’ve been reading in Phillipians the last few days….WOW. God has been really been speaking to me through that book.

4.) I just bought Shane Claiborne’s Irresistible Revolution and I’m really digging it. I’ve heard nothing but good things about it.

5.) We are continuing Storybook Sex this weekend at Oak Leaf Church. I hope you all can make it out tonight at 5 or 6:30 or tomorrow morning at 10 and 11:30. If you can’t, check it out online here. By the way, this has been a really incredible series going through The Song of Solomon. Lives are being changed and marriages are being restored. God is moving!

6.) GLOW. November 4 at 7pm. The House of Rock. Middle and High School only. Be there. Suzy Jordan is bringing the heat and Marcus and the band are gonna tear it up. I’m really excited about this night!

I needed this today…maybe someone else will too.

¹ In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame.

² Rescue me and deliver me in your righteousness;
turn your ear to me and save me.

³ Be my rock of refuge,
to which I can always go;
give the command to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.

⁴ Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of evil and cruel men.

⁵ For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD,
my confidence since my youth.

⁶ From birth I have relied on you;
you brought me forth from my mother’s womb.
I will ever praise you.

⁷ I have become like a portent to many,
but you are my strong refuge.

⁸ My mouth is filled with your praise,
declaring your splendor all day long.

⁹ Do not cast me away when I am old;
do not forsake me when my strength is gone.

¹⁰ For my enemies speak against me;
those who wait to kill me conspire together.

¹¹ They say, “God has forsaken him;
pursue him and seize him,
for no one will rescue him.”

¹² Be not far from me, O God;
come quickly, O my God, to help me.

¹³ May my accusers perish in shame;
may those who want to harm me
be covered with scorn and disgrace.

¹⁴ But as for me, I will always have hope;
I will praise you more and more.

¹⁵ My mouth will tell of your righteousness,
of your salvation all day long,
though I know not its measure.

¹⁶ I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign LORD;
I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone.

¹⁷ Since my youth, O God, you have taught me,
and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.

¹⁸ Even when I am old and gray,
do not forsake me, O God,
till I declare your power to the next generation,
your might to all who are to come.

¹⁹ Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God,
you who have done great things.
Who, O God, is like you?

²⁰ Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter,
you will restore my life again;
from the depths of the earth
you will again bring me up.

²¹ You will increase my honor
and comfort me once again.

²² I will praise you with the harp
for your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praise to you with the lyre,
O Holy One of Israel.

²³ My lips will shout for joy
when I sing praise to you—
I, whom you have redeemed.

²⁴ My tongue will tell of your righteous acts
all day long,
for those who wanted to harm me
have been put to shame and confusion.

-Psalm 71

Thank you Jesus!

Doing too much?

Overwhelmed?

In over your head?

Give it away…

Not your job…just the things you suck at.

There is a lot of those things for me.

So what am I doing about it?

I’m giving that crap away. I am blessed with a few people who want to help me succeed and that’s awesome.

So, I’m putting them to work.

I am TERRIBLE at planning and administrative stuff.

Spreadsheets. Flash Reports. Event Planning. Documenting. Inputting. Calculating. Estimating.

It’s all going away soon.

I can focus on:

Big ideas. Communicating. Discipleship. Counseling.

Whew.

I am pumped to be able to do what I do and I am blessed to give some of it away.

Just something I’m learning about leadership…

Here are a few things coming up in my life that I’m really excited about…just in case any of you were interested.

FYI

• Heading up to Chicago next Tuesday-Thursday with Michael, Tracy and Suzy for Story Conference. Can’t wait!
• GLOW. It’s our last monthly event for Oak Leaf Students before FUEL kicks back off weekly in January. It happens on November 4 and if you are in middle school or high school…you don’t want to miss this event!
• AWAKEN. This is a two-day conference for Middle/High/College students on Friday, November 13 and Saturday November 14. It’s a time to get together with some fellow believers and worship God. Tyler Orr and I will be speaking at this event along with Chris Huff leading worship. Be there!
• On November 20-23 I will be attending Youth Specialties’ National Youth Worker’s Convention. I have heard nothing but great things about this conference and I’m pretty pumped about it. This will be in Atlanta at the Georgia World Conference Center. Thanks to one of my INCREDIBLE adult leaders, James Barnes, I will be able to attend.
• November 24. Switchfoot. The Loft in Atlanta. Enough Said.
• December 23. Oak Leaf Church presents: A Rockin’ Christmas Eve Eve. Showtimes are 2pm, 5pm and 7pm. You do not want to be anywhere else on this night. This event will blow your mind!
• January 2-6. PASSION CONFERENCE!!! I have never gotten an opportunity to attend Passion but this year my great friend Paul Harrison bought me a ticket! I’m pumped!
• Wednesday, January 13. FUEL begins weekly again with a series entitled WE. If you are in middle or high school. You should be at the House of Rock at 6:30 on Jan 13. Don’t miss it!
• February 12-15. Oak Leaf Students will be joining at least 3 other churches on a ski trip to Winterplace Ski Resort in West Virginia for a great weekend of not only skiing, but also worship and teaching. Michael and myself will be speaking again this year. If you are interested in bringing your group, email me at jake@oakleafchurch.com and I will get you more details.
• Simply Youth Ministry Conference is coming up on Feb 26-March 1 in Chicago. I have been given an incredible opportunity to attend this conference on behalf of Simply Youth Ministry. It’s an opportunity I do not deserve but I am extremely excited about getting to learn from Doug Fields and his team at SYMC.

The next few months are incredibly busy. I am in the middle of learning a ton from so many different leaders not only in our area, but across the country. I love what I do and couldn’t ask for more.

And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear.
It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News. Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me. But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice.

-Phillipians 1:12-18

I am often shocked at the way believers judge, ridicule and put down other believers.

Count me guilty.

I point the finger at other pastors and churches who may happen to use a different method of reaching people than I do. I point the finger at other pastors and churches who may use THE SAME method of reaching people that I do just because my pride tells me they are being copy cats.

Guilty.

What have we become?

Whether we preach Jesus to make Him famous or we preach Jesus to make us famous, at least Jesus is being preached. But remember He is eternal and we are sinners.

I thought we were IN THIS TOGETHER…

Somewhere along the way we  distorted the message and unity no longer became important in the process of making Jesus famous on this earth.

Guilty.

We say we want unity but we compete with the church next door in how many road signs we can fit on one intersection.

Unity?

Unity happens when we become KINGDOM minded instead of CHURCH minded.

When the church decides that Jesus’ name is more important than our church’s name THAT’S when this world will turn to him.

It’s up to us.

Jesus already did his thing…remember?