Wanna Be A Leader?

May 13, 2009

One of my favorite authors is John Maxwell.  He is a former senior pastor and now travels the world talking to churches and secular businesses about the principles of leadership.  Many would refer to him as a leadership guru of sorts but he has simply taken what the Bible has to say about leadership and broken it down to simple practical principles for every person no matter what walk of life you may be in.

Maxwell says, “Leadership is Influence; nothing more, nothing less.”  In this post, I would like to elaborate on this principle; by no means change the definition, simply elaborate.  Leadership, like most things, gives you the opportunity to be a good leader or a bad leader, a positive leader or a negative leader.  Your leadership can create positive impact or it can create negative impact.  My goal would to be to motivate people to dedicate themselves to being strong leaders who are creating a positive impact with their influence.

The definition I would like to give simply elaborates on Maxwell’s definition.  A great leader is one who faithfully uses their strengths and personal giftings in a way that honors God, inspires others, encourages others, serves others, and influences others in a positive direction. You will notice this definition does not mention the personal benefits of you being a leader.  Yes, there are many benefits to yourself if you live this way but the focus of a great leader is always on those around you.

Here are some pitfalls to avoid in your desire to be a leader:

1. Don’t try to be what you are not.  Too many people look at others and assume that is what they are suppose to be or they wish they could do what someone else does.  Being a leader doesn’t mean that you get the title, the spotlight, or the acclaim that others may seem to get.  Being a leader is simply you living out the given definition above.  On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest) there are some people who are  1 leaders, some who are 5 leaders, and some who are 10 leaders.  If you are not a 10 leader, it doesn’t mean that you are greater than someone who may be a 5 leader or 1 leader and vice versa.  Our culture has been plagued with the disease of self-comparison.  We are not to compare ourselves to others, but only by the standard of God’s Word and the truth of who we are created to be.  We are to be who we were created by God to be and be excellent in who we are.
2. Don’t try to be the boss.  Leadership is not about power.  If leadership is influence, then you measure your ability by the level of influence you have, not by the amount of power you can wield.
3. Be Relational.  Authority without Relationship = Dictatorship.  Just because you have position does not mean you have the ability to lead or that people will follow.  Take the time to serve others and build relationships where you are trusted.  Invest in others.  People will follow those they trust.
4. Make others successful.  The greatest leaders are those who raise up other leaders.  I believe the greatest compliment to a leader is that you raised up someone who surpasses you.  Philippians 2:4 says “Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.”  I can’t stand the leaders who think everyone is there to make them more successful.  Great leaders should always be looking for ways to train, equip, and release people into their calling and gifting.  Dedicate yourself to helping others advance.  You won’t regret it.

This is by no means an exhaustive study on leadership.  But I want to challenge everyone to be a leader.  Everyone is capable of leading in some capacity but if you are faithfully using your strengths and personal giftings in a way that honors God, inspires others, encourages others, serves others, and influences others in a positive direction than you are being a leader.  A great resource for finding out your strengths is the book Strength Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath.  I would also suggest the leadership material by John Maxwell.  Be a leader.  Serve God, your church, your company, your friends, your family.

Filed under: Christianity, Holy Living, Leadership, Purpose, The Family, Wise Decisions, local church, marriage, youth ministry | Comments (4)

Youth Ministries that Last

April 3, 2009

There are so many ideas of what youth ministry is suppose to be.  For some people youth ministry is a stepping stone for their ministry career.  For some people its just a matter of helping the church out by hanging with the teenagers because no one else will.  For others youth ministry is a passion and a way of life.  I believe that anyone in life, regardless of what you do and what you believe, wants to be a part of building something that will last longer than themselves.  Youth ministry really should be no different.  If you are involved in youth ministry of any kind, I want to encourage you to be passionate about what you are doing and strive to build something that will last.  Being successful is much more than just being about having a great week with a great message and great attendance.  Success in youth ministry is determined by lasting fruit…more importantly, lasting good fruit.

The key in building Youth Ministries that Last is to build a solid foundation.  This is true in building anything from homes to families to organizations.  There are other aspects of building strong youth ministries such as cultivating fertile soil, saturation principle of prayer, presence driven worship, discipleship through small groups, and more.  But unless the foundation is poured correctly and with quality materials, then what is built will not last.  The foundation is God’s Word. It is the only way to build a solid Youth Ministry (or anything for that matter) that Last.

Building on a Solid Foundation

²⁴ “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. ²⁵ Though the rain comes in torrents and the flood waters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. ²⁶ But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. ²⁷ When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” Matthew 7:24-27

There are too many youth ministries that are being build on entertainment, secular music, compromise, shallow preaching, and events.  Those groups may have high peaks but will crash quickly because they are not build to last.  Solid youth ministries that last are never “add water and watch it grow.”  The key is faithfulness to teaching the truths of God’s word, preaching the truths of God’s Word, ministering the truths of God’s Word, and discipling the truths of God’s Word.  This is the foundation.  Build it deep and build it wide.  Once you establish this in your Youth Ministry you can add all the extras.  I believe in lights, fog, bumpin’ sound, games, events, pizza, coffee, video game nights, make-over nights (for the ladies )…but unless you have that foundation built the rest will simply fade away.

Filed under: The Family, Uncategorized, youth ministry | Comments (3)

Cradled Compromise

March 8, 2009

This topic has been on my mind for quite a while now.  I’ve been thinking about it and going to the scripture about it.  No Compromise is a way of life that I believe God’s Word demands of all Christians.  There is a standard that God desires his people to live.  I think that many have become confused and walked away from God’s true standard.  Although this teaching can be applied to everyone personally, I would like to place this challenge on the Youth Ministries of our nation.  Let’s lay some scriptural foundation first.

Psalms 119:1-3, “Joyful are people of integrity,  who follow the instructions of the Lord.  Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts.  They do not compromise with evil,  and they walk only in his paths.” (NLT)

2 Corinthians 6:17, “So leave the corruption and compromise, leave it for good,’ says God.  ‘Don’t link up with those who will pollute you.  I want you all for myself.” (Message)

Romans 12:2, “Don’t copy the behaviors and customs of this world” (NLT)

Ephesians 4:11-14, “Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.  Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.  This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s  Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.  Then we will no longer be immature like children.  We won’t be tossed and blown about every wind of new teaching.  We will no longer be influenced when people try to trick us  with lies so clever they sound like the truth.” (NLT)

2 Corinthians 10:12, “..But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement.  How ignorant!” (NLT)

Hebrews 4:12, “For the Word of God is alive and powerful.  It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow.  It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”  (NLT)

Recently I was at a regional youth event promoting abstenence of sex until marriage.  The major theme of this year’s event was encouraging young people to “do it the right way.”  So apparently, they wanted to communicate the message that it isn’t just about not having sex.  True love waiting is more than that.  I thought to myself, this is pretty good. I agree with that.  Then a video was played of two young people who decided to “do it the right way.”  These two 16 year old teens who were dating described how they were “keeping God first” in their relationship.  Video clips of them walking romantically holding hands and gazing into each others eyes romantically played in the background.  They described how they did devotions together and only went into each others bed rooms to hang out if they kept the door OPEN!…blah blah blah.  My heart sank deep into my chest as I watched the message being preached to 1000 teens at this event.  I watched. I listened.  I observed the youth watching and listening and the youth pastors watching and smiling in approval of their success in preaching this message of compromise.  It hit me like a ton of bricks.

God’s Word has challenged us, especially those entrusted with 5-fold ministry calling, to hold up the high standard of God’s Word; to set ourselves apart from the world, to operate in a different set of standards and values than the rest of the world lives, to challenge youth to live for God and not for themselves or the world,  to achieve their destiny and to preach a message that echoes these very aspects.  But we have failed!  Either through our impotent, heretical, non-Biblically based, two-inch deep theology or through our lack of communicating God’s Word at all, we have sinned by missing the mark.

Many youth ministries of America need to get on their knees and repent.  Ask for God’s mercy and forgiveness for preaching and teaching generations to Cradle their Compromise.  Instead of No Compromise, we have preached Compromise Management.  Instead of communicating clearly what God’s Word says, we have taught generations of youth how to keep God first in the midst of their compromise.  God’s Word does not challenge us to keep God first in our compromise but to “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).  We cannot simply teach youth to sprinkle some weak principles of God’s Word on whatever world and life philosophy they have chosen to live.

4 Priorities of Healthy Youth Ministries:

1. Prayer - make it a part of what is seen and unseen in your youth ministry; in your services, meetings, sermon preparation & delivery, team building, leadership, personal life, counseling, etc…
2. God’s Word - The Bible. Surprisingly, the vast majority of youth ministries do not even preach the Bible or use the Bible in a given week.  Stories, games, fun, positive messages, activities, retreats do not change lives and claim destinies.  Only God’s Word will give life and produce good fruit.  One powerful scripture in proper context will do more than 1000 great stories about good living.  If you want to see fruit in your youth ministry, then plant seeds with God’s Word.
3. Preach & Teach- whenever you come together preach & teach the Word of God. Do something that will produce eternal fruit.  Why don’t youth stop sinning?   They just don’t seem to get better and you are getting frustrated.  Then preach the Word.  Watch God work.  If you don’t know how to preach then find someone who can or talk to your senior pastor and ask.  If you do nothing else, give them one powerful scripture.  Let the Holy Spirit work with something.
4. Praise & Worship - John 4:23,24 tells us that God is actively searching for true worshipers who worship God in spirit and in truth.  As a youth pastor or leader you need to know what it means to worship God this way.  Teach young people how to worship corporately even if you have to put a Hillsong United DVD on to watch.  Worship is a lifestyle and not a service but something prophetic and powerful takes place when young people learn how to actively worship together.

What’s missing from this list in your mind? Games, activities, retreats, skiing, skating, basketball, fundraisers, small groups, outreach, cook-outs, theme nights, etc…All these things are great but without those 4 Priorities nothing else matters.  If you have these 4 Priorities down, then everything else you do will be great and will be icing on the cake. Go for it.  I’m all about games, small groups, fun, retreats, camps, outreaches, campuses, and basketball. But if we are not (as youth pastors and leaders) praying, communicating God’s Word, Preaching & Teaching, and Praise & Worshiping God then we might as well go home.  We can no longer teach this generation to Cradle Compromise.

You can do it.  NO COMPROMISE! Let all your streams (ideas, creativity, vision, passion, and standards) be found in our God. Psalms 87:7 (Shout out to Pastor Donna!)

Filed under: Christianity, Leadership, local church, youth ministry | Comments (7)

Help Protect Christian and Conservative Voices on TV & Radio

February 3, 2009

Well, not to get too political here but there is an issue on the forefront of the new administration’s list.  It has been referred to as the Fairness Doctrine Act, which would put government restrictions on TV & Radio networks that play Christian programs or Conservative programing.  This is nothing more than an attempt for the far left wing liberals to silence the voice of reason and put a choke hold on any view that disagrees with them.  The liberal wing wants to silence the voices that promote Christianity, pro-life, conservatism…you name it.  We have to take action here and let our Congressmen know that we will not stand for this as Americans. At the end of this post, there is a link to a petition that you need to see and sign.

The Fairness Doctrine Act would legislate that any network that plays these Christian or conservative programs must, by law, grant equal time to programs with opposing views.  This would pressure Christian programs to air non-Christian programs with differing views.  If Focus on the Family plays for one hour, what would play the next hour to contradict what James Dobson is saying?  You get the picture.  Feel free to study this issue for yourself.  You will see that this is not a right wing conservative scam.

The ACLJ, American Center for Law and Justice, is circulating a petition to have a preimptive law passed that would protect the freedom of speech on TV and Radio so that the Christian and conservative voices cannot be silenced.  The liberal goal here is not to create equality on the air waves but to slowly push the Christian and conservative voices completely out of the way so this liberal mindset and socialist system cannot be questioned.  Not to get to “conspiracy theory” but this is just the first step in creating the socialist government controlled environment in our nation to remove the freedoms of those who would hold fast to Christian and conservative values.  Please go to this link below and sign the petition.

https://www.aclj.org/Petition/?ac=1&sc=3404

This is not about supporting or not supporting our President and his administration.  This is about being Americans and standing up for the freedoms that we have.

Filed under: Christianity, Leadership, Politics, The Family, Wise Decisions | Comments (3)

Overcoming - Part II “The Presence”

February 2, 2009

In my last post I talked about “Overcoming In the Face of Adversity”.  Most of the world is being overcome with adversity but it is important for you and for the world to realize that we can be the overcomers and not the overcome.  God’s people are chosen to be the head and not the tail but most of the time because of our lack of faith and our lack of knowledge and obedience to God’s Word we end up being the people that are overcome the most.  I need hope.  You need hope but hope will never come from any man or any program or any government.  True hope that bears fruit only comes from the one true God.

This one true God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to be the example of how to live and to be the ultimate sacrifice for your sins and for mine; for the whole world.  This freed us from the power of sin and gives us hope for eternal life in Heaven surrounded by the very presence of God.  But that is not the only aspect of this hope.  Acceptance of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior not only gives you hope for eternity but gives you hope for this life.  Since, in Christ, we are freed from the power of sin, then we are freed to live the life we were created to live and fulfill our destiny in Christ.

But here is the starting point for you and for me.  We will never begin to overcome adversity outside of the Presence of God.  Psalms 91 is a great chapter that gives us great hope for being covered and protected by the Presence of God.  It tells us in verse 1 that we are covered in the shadow of His wing.  Being in the presence of God protects us and keeps us.  That protection helps us to overcome adversity.  Throughout the Old Testament we see God telling his people that he would go before them to destroy the enemy and prepare the way for his people to move forward.  Abiding in the presence of God still does the same today.  One of the biggest mistakes Christians make is thinking they can just take the Biblical principals and go do things on their own strength.  You will be no more successful than the Philistines were when they captured the presence of God.  They mishandled the presence of God and it brought destruction to them.  Abiding properly in the presence of God and following the direction of his Spirit and his Word (Spirit and Truth) will guide you to overcoming.

There is a contrary wind that is blowing against the church and God’s people but adversity has never stopped God before and it will not stop God, nor his people now.  Abiding in the presence of God will be the first step towards becoming an overcomer instead of being the overcome.  Moses prayed to God in Exodus 33:16 and said, “For your presence among us sets your people and me apart from all other people on the earth.”  We cannot move forward unless God moves first.  The blessing that comes on the people who abide in the presence of God will be the light that shines for the world to see in these days of adversity.  So we can either give in and be overcome or we can dive into the presence of God and allow Matthew 5:16 to be true in our lives.  Our ability as Christians to shine in this adverse time will be what draws the lost.  The hope that the church has and lives in will be the tool we use to go out and harvest the lost.  So stop doubting and wallowing in depression and get yourself back in the presence of God and know that “You have overcome them, because greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.” 1 John 4:4

Revelations 21:7, “He who overcomes will inherit all things”

Filed under: Bible Study, Christianity, Holy Living, Hope, Overcoming, Purpose, faith | Comments (0)

Overcoming in the Face of Adversity

January 26, 2009

Pick up a newspaper or turn on the news channel and it won’t take you five minutes to realize that we are facing difficult times in our nation and across the world.  For many people you don’t even need to read or hear about how tough things are because you are personally living it.  Maybe you have lost your job or your insurance or the rising cost of everything has you in a tight situation.  Whatever the case may be, there are not many people who are not feeling the crunch of the world’s economy.  But we must realize that money is just the beginning of the problem.  The lack of jobs or the rising cost that eats away at our bank accounts creates financial strain.  Financial strain creates stress and personal stress usually carries over into all areas of life.  So today, it isn’t just the wallet suffering, it is our marriages, families, children, retirements, our churches (because many are withholding money instead of giving tithes and offerings), our future plans, and for many, our dreams.

Suicide has been on the rise, depression is on the rise and it seems that we are simply losing the battle; the battle to live, the battle to succeed, the battle to simply survive.  But I want to share with the world the secret to Overcoming and Succeeding in the face of adversity.  You can be successful if you do what is laid out for us in God’s Word.  Its time to take back our lives, our marriages, our families and our futures.

Revelations 3:21 gives us one of God’s amazing promises that is for all of us.  It says, “Those who overcome will sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat with my Father on his throne.”  There is victory for us and it is available to all who overcome.  Can you be an overcomer?  Can you be one who endures to the end to receive that salvation for which we all so desperately wait? Yes you can!  Sounds simple in thought and it is.  Let me explain how you can overcome adversity.

1. We Overcome Adversity through the Spirit of God (Zechariah 4:6; 1 John 4:4)

• Step one to overcoming is realizing that you don’t have what it takes in your own strength to overcome adversity
• It is not by our own strength or power but by the Spirit of God that we will overcome.
• 1 John 4:4 says “greater is He that lives in us than he who is in the world”.  You already have the Spirit of the Overcomer in you if you have Jesus Christ as your Lord.
• Face the truth and admit that you can’t do it on your own.

2. We Overcome by Allowing God to Go Before Us (2 Samuel 5:24)

• God is the fighter of your battles.  He never expects you to fight the battles alone because he knows that you need the power of his Spirit.  You will never be your own Savior.
• 2 Samuel 5:24, “When you hear a sound like marching feet in the tops of the poplar trees, be on alert!  That will be the signal that the Lord is moving ahead of you to strike down the Philistine army.”
• The Old Testament is riddle with hundreds of passages that describe our God going before us to fight our battles and to prepare victory for us in advance.
• Don’t get ahead of God.  It is so easy to get caught up in your own short-sightedness and lose sight of the big picture.
• Trust God and allow him to work his timing because God has a plan.  But God will always go before you and prepare the victory so that you may overcome all things at all times for the glory of His name.

3.  We Overcome by the Blood of Jesus and the Word of our Testimony (Revelation 12:11)

• The Blood of Jesus was shed for all mankind for our sin, our sickness, our adversity.  The cross was for real but also represented the adversity of mankind.
• Jesus defeated death and the cross; Jesus defeated adversity before you and I ever had to face it.  Our victory has already been won.  The battle has been fought.
• Our response of Faith in Jesus Christ is what takes us through adversity to the other side.
• I know the way I’ve described God going before us paints a picture that life should be easy and we can just walk through and have no problems.  But we obviously face problems and adversity.  But that is why we need Faith.
• Our Testimony is the second weapon we have to defeat the enemy.  We build a Testimony by responding to Jesus Christ in Faith.  Every action of Faith is an action to Testify of God’s love and Power to Overcome which leads to our last point for now.

4.  We Overcome Adversity through Faith (Hebrews 11:1)

• Did you physically see Jesus go before you and overcome the adversity in your life?  Probably not.  But does that mean that he didn’t.
• Christianity at its core if about Faith; Faith that what God said is true is true regardless of what our five senses tell us.  This fact is “foolishness to those perishing, but to those being saved it is the power of God unto salvation.”  Its the only thing George Micheal ever got right; “You gotta have faith.”
• Hebrews 11:1, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not yet seen.”
• Some say, but I need proof, I need evidence.  With God, Faith is the evidence and our Faith response to God is what brings His results to the surface for all to see.
• That Faith response is what builds our testimony; it builds the real physical stories of what God has done in our life and our Testimony is what gives hope and life to those who are being overcome by their adversity because if God can deliver you, then maybe God can deliver them too.

So yes, God has already gone before you to overcome your adversity but what determines you receiving that victory is your Faith response to God to believe that the victory is yours.  Yes, the victory is yours in the Name of Jesus.  With this hope, you can look adversity in the face and speak the truth in faith that it will not overcome you but through God’s power you will Overcome!

Filed under: Bible Study, Christianity, Hope, faith | Comments (2)

The Big Dig

January 2, 2009

In 1991 the state of Massachusetts began a massive transportation project called the Big Dig.  It is a series of roads and massive tunnels that would make travel easier and more efficient for Massachusetts travelers.  It was and still is a massive project.

Today I experienced my own “Big Dig”.  For those of you who don’t know, my family and I have relocated to Kalispell, MT where we are the youth pastors at New Covenant Fellowship.  Previously in Virginia we never really experienced much snow and when we did, life just shuts down.  Just the prediction of snow will send people into a panic that empties grocery stores of all bread and milk.  Well, here in Montana snow is just another part of winter life and people just keep going.  This year just happens to be way above average for snow.  Maybe its just to welcome us and break us in quickly.  It has pretty much not stopped snowing since we’ve been here except for maybe a few days here and there.  We already had a base of about 20 inches or more.  Then the forecast called for a (and I quote) “real snow event.”   Well they were right.  When I woke up there was an additional 20 inches on the ground and by the end of the day we had added another 8 inches to that.  It was absolutely ridiculous.  Beautiful, but ridiculous.

As I sit here typing, I am very tired and sore.  I experienced my own Big Dig today probably spending over 3 hours of  shoveling 3+ feet of snow.  I’ve been experiencing the snow removal work out already but today was much more intense.  Our van got stuck and I had to dig it out of the snow and get it back in the garage.  We bought a 4-wheel drive vehicle to get around in this stuff and those are invincible, right? I was coming back to my house from having some work done on the Tahoe and saw the snow in our alleyway to our garage.  “I can handle this” I thought to myself so I went for it.  I made it about 100 yards before I piled up a wall of snow in front of my Tahoe that I could not surpass….I almost couldn’t open my door because of the snow depth and the snow was up to my waste…I’m 6′7″ so you do the math. That is at least 36 inches.  I have been blessed with an awesome neighbor who helped me dig out from my ignorance and as we were shoveling for hours I had a thought.

How often in life do we get ourselves in a bad place as a result of a bad decision.  It would be so easy to just give up and walk away but there is always a way out.  It may take time and it may not be easy but there is always a way out.

God has big plans for our lives and our destiny is so much more important than our circumstances.  The biggest tool to remove ourselves from the mess we’ve made is a tool we don’t even deserve and that is God’s grace.  It is like a giant snow plow that comes to dig us out when we get stuck.  Hopefully we learn from that mistake and don’t return to it but God’s love is bigger than our faithfulness.  Today I spent hours digging my vehicles out of the deep snow but I didn’t give up, allowed some help and succeeded.  You too can succeed in whatever circumstance you find yourself.

So I wanted to encourage you from my mistake today and hope that you realize that no matter what mess you are in, just don’t give up.  Make right choices, work hard, allow others to help who offer and make room for God’s divine provision.  God is faithful regardless of our lack of faithfulness and no mess is too big for God.

Now I’m going to take a couple of advil and watch ESPN.  God bless!

Filed under: Christianity, Hope, Wise Decisions, faith | Comments (6)

Dyson Family Update

December 29, 2008

Well it has been quite a while since I’ve been able to really sit down and write.  We have now been in our new home, Kalispell, MT since December 6th and just now have gained internet access in our home.  No, its not because our location is so remote that they had to invent a Montana friendly version of the Internet but its because our internet provider is just a bit slow.  But hey, it helped us remember what life was like before high speed internet.  Now we have internet and I forgot what life was like before we had it already.

When we told people we were moving to Kalispell, MT to be youth pastors the majority of the responses were “…(funny look on people’s face)…Montana?”  The assumption is that its nothing but horses, ranches, cowboys, and mountains.  Well we have all of that but more.  Kalispell is one of the fastest growing cities in the state of Montana.  The city is ridiculously beautiful.  It has all the touches of old country small town life with the advancements of new booming suburbia life.  The youth of this area are certainly not what you expect.  They are what you would expect to find in a large northwest city.  Very metro/skater/sports/modern.  I say all this not to insult my fellow Kalispellians but to educate the rest of the world to that which is Kalispell, MT.

We are just about settled in our new home that we are renting here and still praying for God to help us with our home in Virginia that is still not occupied.  We had a renter but they backed out of their commitment so we are trusting and believing God to fill that vacancy. So anyone need to rent or buy a home?  I’ll give you a good deal.  The climate out here is very wintery but apparently we showed up just in time to experience the coldest spell of weather they’ve had in many many years.  For two weeks it was an average of -3.  Got as low as -16 on one day.  Lots of snow but its very dry so it blows around a lot.  As I write, the snow is blowing sideways outside and its been snowing all day.  Cara got the van stuck today trying to get in the garage. :)  But it helped us meet one of our neighbors who helped us get it unstuck….embarrassing but they are nice people and have a son who is five.  Colby and his new friend hit it off immediately as they played together in two feet of snow.  The wildlife is amazing.  We now know we live in a deer crossing path and we’ve seen elk when we were on out trip to Oregon for Christmas.  And speaking of a drive to see family…it wasn’t just a trip to grandma’s house.  We drove over the Rocky Mountains and the Cascade Mountains through a stinking blizzard.  In good conditions this is an 11 hour trip.  On the way there we had to stop over night because they closed a major interstate; got up early the next morning and backtracked for an hour and then took an alternative route down the Cascades (which was amazing and beautiful) until we got to Eugene, OR for Christmas…19 driving hours later.  It was the stuff they make comedy Christmas movies from but we had no video cameras with us.  So all the picture you see on my facebook are very calm and pretty pictures.  It was craziness in real life.

So, the Dysons are doing great.  We miss everyone in Virginia; our family, our HOP family, and everyone at GN!  But we are doing very well.  We have adjusted to Montana living.  New Covenant Fellowship is our church here and we are the Youth Pastors of Revolution Church (A.K.A.  “RC”), which is the youth ministry of NCF.  We have met a few people but have not really gotten into the swing of things quite yet.  We will have a four week transition with the current youth pastors starting next week.  They are great people and are becoming close friends of ours through this process.  The staff has been so open and welcoming to us.  The people in the church have been so excited to see and meet us.  We’ve had people come up to us in restaurants that we’ve never met who are from the church and they just wanted to meet us.  Its been great.  We are both very excited about what lies ahead of us.  There are tons of challenges but that is why we trust and put our faith in God.  This life is all about living your Destiny and our Destiny is wrapped in God’s Purpose.  We can’t fail.

We want everyone to come visit us.  We have a big guest room with a private full bathroom, so mabye one at a time, except for youth…we can put at least 10 or 20 of you in one room. :)  We believe that God is going to use us to network people together around the world so come out here and meet more of the people you’ll be spending eternity with.  They are great people.  We will keep you all posted of what God is doing here in Revolution Church and in our family.  I’ll try to be more consistent with my posts now that I have “the internet” in our home.   We love you all so much and thanks for all your prayers and support, text messages, calls, emails…it means a lot.

Peace!

Filed under: Christianity, Friendship, Purpose, The Family, faith, youth ministry | Comments (4)

Origins Conference 2008 - Special Thanks

November 21, 2008

Origins 2008 was a huge success.  We saw many give their lives to the Lord, become energized for the cause of Jesus Christ, pastor renewed in their passion for the ministry and the beginning of something that will impact our world.  Most people will never know what it takes to pull off something like a youth conference.  I know what it takes…it takes people; amazing people who believe that their lives are meant to be a part of something bigger than themselves.  There is no way I could thank everyone who helped out because I know there are people who helped and worked who I didn’t even know where helping.  But I want to thank some very special people who really make Origins happen.

Pastor Steve Stells - the Sr. Pastor at The House of Prayer who bought into the vision of the conference and gave us the freedome to make it happen.

Anna Talaiver - the administrative extraordinare.  She organized all our communications area churches, helped in little and big tasks.  It is fare to say that Origins wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for her.

Joe Talaiver - Our chief sound technician/MC/make it happen without asking guy.  The guy that all pastor wish they had working for them.

Robyn Harper - Had the vision and passion for designing and painting everything for the conference.  Even her mistakes turn out to be giant masterpieces. :)  Well done girl.

Pam Killingsworth - The co-visionaire of the design and also made sure that our services ran like they should without mistake.  She worked countless hours early and late.

David Stells - Designed our Origins t-shirts, banners, postcards, coffee cup stickers, took the photos, painted, designed all the artwork that was painted on canvas, and did all the little stuff and big stuff to seal the deal for the conference.

Ryan & Christa Gibbons - They organized all the hospitality team (which was huge), ushers, security, cafe, design for the VIP Room using most of their personal furniture and lighting. It wa awesome.  They made sure everything was running like it should during the conference.  Ryan was everywhere at every time during the conference.

Ken & Carmen Glass - They are the unsung heroes of our youth ministry.  Ken handled the parking lot, ushers and did all the stuff that most people don’t see.  Carmen served the entire conference on hospitality and was usually the last one to leave because she was cleaning the sanctuary for the next days events.  Love you guys.

Cara Dyson - my lovely annointed wife.  You worked so hard to whip the worship team into shape and it was a worship experience that would have rivalled any well known worship group in the world.  You are amazing and I love you.

Last but not least, thank you to every adult and every youth who worked tirelessly throughout the conference.  You served as if you were serving Jesus Christ in the flesh and the fruit was immediate.  I am so proud of each and every one of you.  I didn’t think everyone individually but that would be virtually impossible.  I love you all and look to hear of the great things ya’ll continue to accomplish together.

Filed under: Origins Conference, Uncategorized | Comments (1)

Origins Conference 2008 Recap - Part I

November 14, 2008

Right now, its 11:37pm and I’m sitting at my computer thinking of how things have gone with Origins Conference.  For all of my friends around the world that have been praying, I thank you.  Your prayers have paid off.  The city of Richmond is known for lots of churches and religion but next to no unity.  Well we certainly didn’t fill out a Coliseum (yet) but we had 400 people and over 15 churches of different backgrounds at the conference this year.  Pastor Chris Hill ministered Thursday night and brought the fire with a challenging message from Mark 5 about the young man who was possessed by a legion of demons.  He preached “its time for this generation to come out!”  It was powerful.  We saw over 30 people give their lives to the Lord that night!!! Praise God!

All day today we have been pushing it with three sessions along with simultaneous leadership sessions.  The response has continued to grow and the work of God has been evident in this entire event.  Tonight, Pastor Donna Lasit ministered a powerful and pure word on breaking free from the bondage of the enemy through prayer and praise.  She preached from Acts 16.  It was amazing. It concluded with a powerful time of worship and confession as we sang “You’ll Come” by Brooke Frasier.  People were healed of hurt, addiction and spiritual turmoil!  We ended the night by having the youth surround their youth pastors and just lay on their hands and pray to encourage and support their pastors…it was incredible.

So, we’re not finished yet.  We still have one more session to conclude in the morning.  Prayer at 8:30am…worship begins at 9:00am.  Pastor Doug Lasit will be here to preach and he brings the passion, caffeine, purity and energy like no one else.  I know it will be amazing.  Youth pastors and leaders from other churches are walking around smiling with more pep in their step…We are ready to do what we are suppose to be doing!

Filed under: Christianity, Evangelism, Leadership, Origins Conference, local church, youth ministry | Comments (0)