I caught this video on CNN about a man who tried to climb K2 in Pakistan.  His name is Greg Mortenson and he didn’t make it to the top but got injured, almost died and had to be nursed back to health in a small Pakistan village.  He impressed me, not because he climbed K2, but because of how he spent his recovery time.  He noticed how the village lacked a proper school.  He saw kids writing school lessons in the dirt with sticks!  So he helped build them a school.  And then he built another one in a different village and has kept going and has now built 78 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan!

There are so many causes in this world that need attention but it seems like some of us have to see the need with our own two eyes before we truly believe something should be done.  Or we need to see it before we believe that we should be the ones to do something.  Sometimes we don’t embrace compassion until it hits us right between the eyes.  But even then some people still don’t embrace it.

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A few years ago at Victory I knew a lady named Nancy.  I didn’t know her very well but I knew enough.  She was a Bus Captain for Victory Bus Ministry for years.  A little white lady who beamed with compassion and love for inner city kids.  That’s what her life was all about.  There were kids that got on her bus as 1st graders and didn’t get off until they were Bus Leaders as high school graduates.  She would do anything she could do to reach a young person for Christ and then to disciple them.

I’m praying for some Nancy’s.  I’ve got some incredible leaders at Chosen but I need more.  I’m praying for leaders to step up and become Public School Chaplains, Small Group Leaders and Bus Captains.  I’m praying for leaders that put others first.

I won’t even begin to take credit for what happened last night.  It was Chosen’s first night back after taking the summer off.  Chosen is Victory’s urban/inner-city youth outreach that buses teenagers in from all around Tulsa.

First, I was very worried no one would show up because we couldn’t get the word out like we wanted to.  Second, our worship band was having a hard time coming together and I was calling people I’ve never met asking them to come play keyboard, guitar and drums.  Third, not only have I never led a Chosen service but this was a very busy service involving free pizza, drinks, a dance team, rap artist, free school supplies for everyone, my first message in a while and brand new worship team.

Well, 160 students showed up.  The worship team came together and played great ( I thought we wouldn’t get the drummer until I headed downstairs and heard someone playing drums).  The service was amazing – the students loved the dance team, rap artist and all the free stuff.  They even loved me.  I was amazed at how much they responded to me ( I stick out like a sore thumb at the service – it’s funny).  And I was amazed at God and what He did in their lives.  There were so many students that accepted Jesus as their savior that we couldn’t even count them.  The prayer time at the end of service lasted so long I thought we would get out late!  It was so powerful and it’s a night I’ll never forget.  God really showed up!

As you may know Christina and I left Northwood Church in Charleston,SC on June 1st and moved to Tulsa,OK. We had a wonderful experience during our 3 1/2 years at Northwood and were sad to go but we just felt like God wanted us in Tulsa. In fact, last summer while I was in Mexico City I felt like God showed me that that was going to be my last summer in Charleston. Over the next year we continually felt confirmation and I shared this with my pastor on January 2nd. Looking back, I feel so grateful for all that we learned at Northwood.

The last couple of months here in Tulsa have been interesting as I haven’t had a job but God has provided for us. I’ve been getting filled up at church (the past 3 years I’ve been speaking every Sunday morning), praying, spending tons of time with family, exercising, reading and fixing up our rent house (which happens to be the house I grew up in. Yeah, it’s weird).

I recently became interim pastor of the inner-city  youth ministry called “Chosen” at Victory Christian Center. As many as 500 teenagers are brought to Chosen on Thursday nights by Victory buses. These young people are the most at-risk kids in Tulsa and I can’t imagine a better chance to affect young lives.  So I accepted the position on an interim basis because I’ve got some other things I would like to do in the near future but this was an area I could contribute to immediately.

I don’t come from the same background as most of these students so this type of ministry is very new.  I’ve even gotten a few laughs from friends when I’ve told them that I’m the new pastor of “Chosen”.  They can’t believe someone as white as I am is in this position!  But I’ve always loved outreach and discipleship together and I’ve always wanted experience an intense and challenging ministry like this.  So I started my new job a couple of days ago and it’s been fun.  I’ve got two incredible interns, Janet and Angelica, sisters from Fort Worth, TX who are juniors at ORU.  They are the best!  The evening after my first full day we had a Chosen leaders meeting.  I was so impressed with the leaders.  They were not only passionate about ministry but also completely supportive of me.  The leaders were acting like they’ve known me all of my life.  Usually when someone new comes in veteran leaders tend to have walls up and won’t get too excited about the new guy.  So in a lot of ways this role is very new to me but it’s challenging in a very good way.

Also, I’m teaching a Youth Ministry class at Victory Bible Institute which is also a new challenge that I’m excited about.

So that’s the update. There’s a lot more to it but that’s the shortest version I can give.
If you’re in Tulsa and aren’t doing anything on Thursday nights, I could use your help!