A whole lot of stuff...

Well, another Christmas has come and gone. It was in my opinion a good holiday. It was nice to be able to spend the holidays with my family at home. I do wish that my sister and niece and brother in law could have been here. But they had to head to Calgary this year, which is only fair to the family they have out there. But hey a guy can be selfish when you have a niece as cute as mine. As an early Christmas gift my aunt and uncle came to church on Christmas eve for the first time. It was awesome to finally get them though the doors. I know that it is not a commitment to Christ but it is yet another step to God answering my prayers. I am believing and trusting that one day they will come to put their faith in Christ.

On a sad note my break is over. It is back to work as of tomorrow morning and back to getting all the youth stuff I have procrastinated on done. I love the youth stuff and it keeps me going. But the honest truth is that my other job is starting to wear on me. I still for the most part enjoy it, but there is so much more I could be doing with the youth if I but had the time.
Well, this I do know I am where God wants me and when the time comes I will be full time and my family will come to Christ. Until then I will follow the path that God has put me on to completion.
To all my friends out there I pray you had a Merry Christmas and I hope to talk to you all soon.

Music..what do you think?

As a youth pastor there is one inescapable influence upon young people today. That is music. In fact I am willing to say that music is one of the most powerful tools for spreading a message in this day and age of MP3 players and Ipods. It is so powerful that preferred styles are often used to define friendships, churches, and social groups.
In seeing this influence on young people today I am always asking my youth and friends what kind of music they are listening to. Not so much as to figure out what is new and what people like but to see what kind of message and influence it has. Now I am not a solid believer that all music must be Christian to be good. But I am amazed at the music many Christians listen to. Songs full of lyrics that speak directly again what the Bible speaks of. Words that glorify premarital sex, drugs, and many other things that as Christians we claim to be against. Yet I know of many Christian leaders that listen and support these artists because they like the sound or in the name of freedom. But is is really, as Paul would say, beneficial? In fact I know many Christians that publicly mock Christian music and artists that are trying to put out positive messages.
Now I agree that listening to a song is not going to send you to hell. But is it really helping you in your walk with God? What about the message we send others? I guess the real questions I am asking for you opinions on are:
1. What do you see as a line between Godly music/fun music/ungodly music?
2. Is the sound or style more important than the lyrics to you?
3. Can negative lyrics actually have an effect on a person?

Let me know I am curious.