Bottle Rockets

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.

A much needed vacation

Nothing tops off a week at camp like a vacation on the beach! After a quick unpacking and repacking Laura and I hit the road to spend a week at Panama City Beach, Flordia with 18 other family members! It was a big group this year, but it was tons of fun.

This year's highlights included teaching my family to play Mafia, playing some golf with Dad, brother and Grandpa, disc golf next to the bay, great food and of course pool time with Laura. So what did I take away from this vacation? Here's my top five revelations...

1. My brother wins at everything. It's rediculous. (So does Micah by the way. So basically I grew up with one and now work with one. Some day I'll work with 3rd graders so I can dominate them in everything)

2. My family is really good at lying. Usually it takes a while for a group to really understand Mafia. Not my family. Apparently we were made for it. Accusations and wild stories instantly filled the room. You can't trust any of us!

3. I can not play 36 holes of golf. 24 holes, no problem. 36, too much.

4. I love my family. Some people hear vacation with 20 family members and head for the hills. I'd go again tomorrow.

5. I love my wife. She is perfect for me in every way. I married very well.

Camptastic!

A picture is worth a thousand words! If this picture doesn't sum up camp, I don't know what will. This year we took over a dozen high school students to serve at Elementary and Jr. High Camp this year. The were awesome. They added life, joy, and tons of fun to the week.

My role was simple. Help the high schoolers lead well and help lead worship with Micah on the Jr. High side. I had a blast. Most of my week was doing something I love to do, encourage. I love letting people know how indredible God has created them to be. Each one of the students as well as the adults there gave up a week to invest in the lives of our children. That's a huge sacrifice and sacrifice is at the heart of worship.

God moved in some incredible ways. Watching children from 6 to 14 worship is a humbling experience. Seeing them pray and listen to God's word reminded me what pure faith really looks like. We can learn so much from kids and our spiritual journey is no exception. It was a great week!

Disc Golf Gauntlet Day

Six guys, six courses, one day. It truly was a gauntlet. The sun was in full force and so was the heat! We kicked the day off playing the new course at Northview Church which was really sweet. From there we headed down to Indy to play George Washington and Brookside. Those courses were new to us last year so we were all glad to go back. By this point the day was getting pretty hot with temperatures in the mid 90's. We were downing gatoraide just trying to keep up with the amount of sweat we were pouring out! Multiple t-shirts would have been a good idea!

We headed out to check out Northwestay Park. It was pretty open except for a few really tight holes on the back nine. Anthony lost his new Eagle which was a pretty big bummer. To add insult to injury there was a giant public pool at the park reminding us of just how hot it was, but that wasn't going to get us down. Gauntlets weren't made to be easy.

From there we headed to our last two courses, Avon and Lebanon. Avon was beautiful and had a great section inside the woods. We really had a lot of fun there. It was getting dark, but that didnt' stop us, we headed up to Lebanon to get in our last round. We really didn't have time to finish so we split up into two groups and basically ran the entire course. By the last hole it was completely dark, but was a total blast. Running adds a totally different element to the course!

We ended the day with a big meal at BW3's. It was an awesome trip and I can't wait till next year. It was a great disc golf with great guys. Let's just hope next year it isn't so hot! Best part of the day, I spent money of gas and food and that was it. I'm really digging this sport.

My journey with the "Emerging Journey"

I'll be honest, my first impression of the emerging journey was major hesitation. Instead of getting my pitchfork, I talked to Keith Comp and asked his opinion since he had gone through the training and was leading a group. What he had to say started to shift my perspective a bit. First off, it has nothing to do with the emergent movement, secondly Keith was a big  fan and thirdly, he said the only way to have an accurate opinion is to try it out for yourself. I fought the advice at first, in fact, during a little road trip I tried to convince a friend I wouldn't lead a group. A few days later I was trying to convince him to join the group I was now leading!

A few weeks later I attended the Emerging Journey training session with the authors of the Emerging Journey. It was a long two days, but wow. These guys were really sharp. My group hasn't started yet, but I'm really excited to see how God uses this in my life and the lives of the people in my group. I've still got a spot or two open, so if you are intersted let me know ASAP! I think the Emerging Journey has the potential to really effect our level of discipleship at White River. I'm sure I'll post more about my experience in the months to come.

For more info on the Emerging Journey click here.

Blog Blitzkrieg

I haven't posted a blog since June! That's a pretty good sign things have been busy. Camp, vacation, Move, baptisms, baby news, service project, moving offices and probably a dozen more things that I haven't had a chance to write about. Instead of posting a massive post I thought I'd break it up into a blitzkrieg of blogs. So brace yourself for an onslaught of posts!