Bottle Rockets

Another reason I love our church...

Our elders at White River are amazing. They are unpaid, unthanked, and absolutely vital to our mission as a church. They shoulder the weight of leading our congregation and they absolutely blow me away. In the last two weeks here is just a snapshot of what I saw them do.

- One called me just to talk about accountability and we can get better at it as a church. We talked for over half an hour.

- I caught one changing the lights in the lobby just because it was important to him.

- One three of our elders are praying for our high school ministry for 1/2 hour once each month for all of 2012!

- One helped me fix my windshield wipers and thermostat on my car for free on a Saturday morning!

They are a group of amazing men. If you don't know who they are you can check out their bios on our staff page, here. Pray for these guys, they are amazing men and our church wouldn't be the same without them.

Experiencing an Uprising

Still. Not excatly the way you would characterize over 300 teenagers, but that's exactly what they were as they sat in silence listening to God speak. The city wide worship service centered around the idea of being still before God, slowing down enough to hear Him speak to us. Now don't get me wrong, there was plenty of noise. From the roar of their voices in worship to the belly laughs after watching their friends compete in a mashmellow homerun derby, the night was full of energy. It was an evening full of fun, community, worship and challenge.

Paul Mumaw, local senior pastor at Genesis Church challenged our students to hear God's voice gentle voice the same way Elijah did in the Old Testament. He told students that if they have to make the effort and be still in order to hear God speak. You could hear a pin drop as he challenged them to go without their cell phones this Thanksgiving. That's right, survive one day of your teenage life without your digital lifeline. What was amazing was as a panel of studnets were questioned about the challenged they almost seemed to look forward to a day without Twitter or texting.

The night had two more great moments. One was during the worship when students were invited to get prayer from one of the adults in a circle surrounding the room of teenagers. The other was the number of students admitting they are looking for a closer relationship with Jesus.

Uprising ended with another challenge. Each student recieved a little tea lamp on their way home. Their challenge was simple burn the candle when they spend time alone with God. Their goal is to burn the candle within the next month all while spending time praying and reading God's word. As long as they don't burn down their house, I think it could be an incredible experience.

With about a half dozen churches and organizations represented, the night was a huge success. The Kingdom of Heaven took one giant step forward last night. I can't wait to see what God has to say to our students.

The Final Race

What an incredible night! With over 20 teams and 160 people involved in the evening, it was a great success. The night was beautiful, the race was intense, but there could be only one winner. Last year's winners Anthony Campos and Jacob Butts repeated their performance with new team members Robbie Breen, Dallas Monk and Conner (Two Way) Barnett.

Students started at the church with a great kickoff and made their way around Noblesville stopping at locations such as Noblesville Youth Baseball, Legacy Christian, Servepro, Noblesville United Soccer, Bison World, The Noblesville Square, Always in Stiches, Genesis Church, Bible Baptist and ultimately ending at the Karn's house with a huge bonfire. Thanks to all the leaders, parents and volunteers who made this event possible. It was a blast.

Here's a few things from the event to give you a taste of what happened.

   

We aren't good with new

Being new isn't easy and unfortunately we aren't very good at making it easier for people. The early church wasn't great with new people either. The Jewish Christians had a hard time accepting in the Gentile Christians. It could have been for a thousand different reasons, but whatever they were, they weren't making being new easy. I love what Jame's response to the situation was.

Acts 15:19 “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God."

This week at Awake we talked about how we make it difficult for new people. We aren't great at welcoming in new faces. On a good day we might say hi, but rarely do we truly engage people we don't know. Sometimes it's awkward, sometimes we are insecure or nervous, but none of that compares to what they are feeling. We have to do better.

The reality is they are coming from a world that is hostile to them and they are looking for hope, acceptance and ultimately God! Why would we do anything to make that harder? We should be making it easier. This should be the one place that's known for welcoming new people. We have to do better.

What preaching from the main stage preached to me

Most people go to church hoping to learn about God and His word, but few people get to experience God and His word from the other side of the stage. This weekend I was awarded the wonderful opportunity of preaching in the main service. I'm very grateful for the experience and I thought I'd give you a few of the things that God taught me in the process.

1. It's humbling. There is something very humbling that happens when a room full of people that are older than you, with more experience and wisdom look to you to learn something about God's word. I'm sure there were many people in the crowd that have far more to say than I did this weekend, but I was truly humbled that they would give me a chance to share what God is teaching me.

2. It's exhausting. Speaking takes it out of you. I get to speak every week and Sunday afternoons are usually reserved for crashing on the couch. Speaking on Thursday and twice on Sunday's takes it to a whole new level. It gives me a whole new respect for guys teaching multiple times a week and especially multiple times a day.

3. I love to preach. It sounds weird coming from the former teenager that worked in the tech booth. I always pictured myself as a behind the scenes guy, so I know it's totally a God thing that He has led me down this road to speaking in front of people. I love studying His word and relaying that to other people. It's my favorite part of my job.

4. It's a huge responsibility. The weight is enormous. Preachers aren't talking to fill the pews and grow the church. They speak truth from God in order to transform someone's life. God's plan for our lives isn't just right, it's what's best for us. It's the path to living a truly amazing, joy-filled, meaningful life. They truly want the best for people and knowing that their words are a bridge to that life, wow. That's huge.

5. I'm very thankful. I'm thankful for a church and leadership that believes in me. For a Senior Pastor that was willing to invest in me. For elders that would give me such an amazing opportunity. For a congregation that would welcome me so kindly.

It was a great experience. I learned a lot and I'm looking forward to doing it again. To top off the experience my parents, grandparents and sister and brother-in-law were all able to come up and watch me. It was a great suprise!

If you missed it and want to listen you can click this link!

Facebook thoughts for Parents

Hey Moms and Dads,

Keeping up with every changing technology is a challenge parents of the past simply didn't need to worry about. Bob Dylan told us the times they are a changing and he wasn't joking.

I know you all know what Facebook is, but here are a few things you might want to think about.

1. Security is more than privacy settings.
As minors I highly recommend that they set their privacy settings strictly so only their friends have access to their wall, photos and information, but there's a bigger issue I'm concerned about.

Status Updates. Here is a status update I see A LOT, "Home alone." "No ones home and I'm bored." "Parents are gone and there's nothing to eat." All of these seem harmless, but broadcasting you are home alone isn't the wisest move. Addresses are only a google search away. Talk to you students about what information they let out onto the web, even info that seems harmless.

2. Students need parents online.
My parents were everywhere growing up. Mom was at school volunteering with the PTA, Dad was at our ball games coaching and both of them where at Church as youth leaders. I couldn't go anywhere without them and now that I'm an adult I'm thankful for it. I needed them there. There to watch out for me, there to correct me, and there to keep an eye on things.

The internet is the same way. Your kids NEED you there. Sure they'll whine and complain about it, but they need to know you're there. They need you encourage them when they post encouragement to others. They need your correction when they lose their cool and post something they shouldn't. And they need you to watch out for people that might not have their best interest in mind.

3. Talk about it.
Facebook can be a great in for you as a parent. Talk about their pictures, what people are saying and what your child thinks about the conversations and status updates in front of them. My parents always used my friends as case studies on what to do and what not to do. You've literally got an endless supply of examples in front of you. Use them!

If you've got any tips, tricks or advice about social media please post it in the comments. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

We actually let the music guy speak!

This week our worship leader, Micah Beckwith took the stage to talk about a character in the Bible who he can really relate with, fellow worhsip leader, David. As we attempted to get "Real" with David, Micah talked about how David's contentment with being a shepherd helped prepare him to be a king.

Micah did an awesome job. This guy never ceases to amaze me. The best part was really hearing his heart. After going from life in a band to cutting grass on a golf course Micah has truly learned that the only thing that matters in life is worshiping God, despite the circumstances. It was a great talk that really resonated with students, manly because it was a biblical truth that's been lived out by the speaker. That's a perfect combination and it made it a great morning!

Real. (And some Real vs. Fake Videos)

A couple of weeks ago we launched a new series called Real. Coming off an incredible summer we needed to take a long look at what we should do when God calls us to something. How do we respond when what He askes is hard. So we decided to get real and be honest. Week 1 we talked about Jonah. God called Jonah to preach to Niniveh. Jonah had real fear and ran. God responded with real consequences. This week we talked about Samson. God called him to be a leader for his people, but Samson had real sin. They had consequences, but God responded with a real 2nd chance.

I'm having a blast preaching this series! Their stories are so applicable to our lives and what God is calling us to do. We've also been having a little fun. My two student interns Corey and Anthony have been shooting a video each week to drive the point home. Check them out below.

 

 

 

We got the call! We are adopting in January!

I won't spill all of the info here. Laura and I are adopting and the birthmom is due on January 20th. You can read all about it on our Baby Fluhr Blog by clicking here. We are so excited! Please pray with us for the birth mother, the baby and for us!

This past weekend Laura had an amazing baby shower. Thanks to all the people who made this such a special day for me and Laura. We are deeply grateful for everyone who has prayed, donated to our adoption or was at the shower. We are blown away by the love you have shown us and are so thankful for each of you.

The house is in full baby renovation mode. The guest room is now a nursery and will probably get a fresh coat of paint as soon as we know the gender. The crib is in place and the reality of a baby is becoming very, very real! I can't wait.

A trip that changed our ministry

I've been taking our youth ministry to Move for years now, but this year was different. It wasn't overly emotional, it wasn't full of tears and confessions. Sure those are always part of a week of Move, but God had something bigger in mind. This year was about moving us forward. We had over half the group chose to tackle a specific challenge by opening a Kingdom Worker card with a big challenge awaiting inside a small sealed envelope. The event led to several new adult leaders joining our mission to reach and grow high school students. God brought our group together in a way that was quite unexpected. I always hope that students would connect, but this year it felt like we connected as a ministry! The trip has pushed new students forward to lead and has been a catalyst towards a new cause, the persecuted church.

Now, it wouldn't be a youth trip with out a crisis moment. Ours came on Wednesday night when a girl broke a window, cutting her leg and sending us on a little trip to the ER that evening. The good news is she's doing great and God kept us safe.

My favorite part of Move isn't the worship or the speakers, its that the trip continues long after we get back. I love sharing the stories with parents and our church, I love seeing students lives change and I love seeing the fruit of following Christ. God wants something bigger for us and I think we are on our way to seeing that something.