The Weekend UPDATE (part 2)

So here is part two of this awesome weekend...

Cameron (One of the students who went to Florida with me) and I got into a heated discussion about Football...mostly college football but we did discuss the NFL a bit. He seems to think that his team (Miami Dolphins) is a much better team than my Detroit Lions. Maybe I would agree with this, BUT NOT THIS YEAR. I am so stoked about how well my Lions are doing. Granted they may not win the Super Bowl this year, but at least they have a winning season.

Cameron also seems to think that someone South Carolina is a better team than Michigan. Okay, people...yes, they lost to App State at the start of the season! However, that was months ago! AND App State were Division II champs... The only reason they are Div II is school size, so people please!

Okay, quick run down of highlights from the weekend.

-Universal Studios rocked!
-NBA city is a great restraunt
-I have recently become a Tennessee Volunteers fan, just because the played them dumb Fighting Chickens (South Carolina)
-Michigan won...
-Clemson won...
-South Carolina lost and is no longer ranked!! Cameron I told you Michigan would be higher ranked!
-Florida lost
-Detroit Lions beat Chicago Bears
-Cameron gave an awesome message last night to our youth group..."How to Honor Your Parents"
-We had a great crowd of students and parents for our "Parents Just Don't Understand" series
-I am excited to we are going to two services at church real soon...WE NEED THE SPACE, we are growing!
-We are kicking off two student services this sunday...Middle School will be meeting at 5pm and High School will be meeting at 6:30...whoooooo hooooo!
-We had a great crowd in our morning worship experience-I know, because I had to count!
-I am still in need of several volunteers for student ministry, and I know Janet, our children's director, needs a bit of help too!

Wow, that's a lot! It's been a busy weekend and this week is going to be even better.

Check back later this week to see what God has been saying to me through the book of Acts.

The Weekend UPDATE (part 1)

I must say it has been an incredible weekend.

My weekend actually started out on Thursday afternoon. I picked up three of the guys from my youth group and kidnapped them (okay with their parents permission). We headed down to my in-laws house in DeLand, FL. It's about a 4.5 hour - 5hour drive from Charleston. It was a great trip, a little rainy, but good.

On Friday we headed to Orlando to spend the day at Universal Studios Florida! This has to be one of my favorite places in the States. I love movies, and an entire theme park dedicated to some awesome stimulating visual effects and great rides is my idea of fun! Plus an added bonus, there were hardly any lines! I seriously think the longest line we stood in was only about 12 minutes.

We headed back to Charleston on Saturday and had a great conversation about church and youth group. One of my jobs as a youth pastor is to develop fully devoted followers of Jesus. And part of that means getting these guys to think outside of the box when it comes to church. My question for them was if you weren't a Christian and never have stepped in a church what would draw you? Tough question huh? Well what would your answer be? Send a comment and lets get some discussion on that.

I really want to do our youth group totally different and want it to draw teenagers every week...so how do we do that? Any ideas?

Mickey Mouse...here I come!

Today I am heading down to Florida, actually to Orlando by the way of DeLand. I'm taking a couple of my Sr. High guys (who are great leaders) down to hang out for a couple days. Although we aren't going to see Mickey we are going to spend tomorrow at Universal Studios/Island of Adventures.

I'm pretty pumped about hanging out and I love Universal! One thing that I will be doing is challenging thise guys to step up! Step up on whom they are bringing to church, and step up their serve! I believe we a group of students in our youth group that could change everything we do...they could totally set our group on fire!

Anywho, I need to go pack!

More later on this weekend.

My wife is a FAT HOT woman!

My wife is a FAT & HOT woman!
Seriously! I wake up in the morning and I am just in awe of this beautiful woman next me, so why in the world would I call her FAT?

Well, you see as a teenager my pastor told me, "Jeremiah," in his thick Mississippi accent, "Ya, need to merry you a FAT woman!"

I was like, "Dwyndl (aka Bro. D), what in the world are you talkin bout? Why in the world would I marry a fat girl? I want a fine, skinny, hazel eyed, brown haired hottie!"

He just laughed and explained that he was not talking about weight, but he was talking about a Faithful and Available and Teachable woman.

Almost 5 years ago, I was introduced to this really awesome young lady who played basketball for Taylor University Fort Wayne. She was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, very attractive woman, but not really my type. However, there was something about her that really made me weak in my knees and so we struck up a friendship. She really did become one of my best friends. And through our friendship I realized what Dwyndl meant by Faithful Available and Teachable. Cyndi was all of these. I always knew I wanted a HOT girl, meaning that she was Holy Outrageous and Trustworthy. With Cyndi, I got this too.

We started dating January 6, 2004. I knew I couldn't live without this woman.

This past May, I married my best friend, the love of my life, my FAT HOT girl!

They say that the first year of your marriage is the toughest, but let me tell you that these last five months have been the greatest months of my life! I think I have not only grown more as a man, but as a man of God, a friend, and just a better youth pastor.

Here are a few of the top reasons why Cyndi is essential to me:

She encourages me like no one ever has, or could for that matter
She is one of the few people that I can actually lose myself in talking to.
I can just sit and stare at her all night long
She challenges me every day! In many ways you will never know, but she even challenges me spiritually.
She makes me laugh uncontrollably (like tickle me Elmo uncontrollable.)
I could never imagine life without her
She backs me up, even when I'm wrong
She corrects me with love
She smiles at my stupid hyperactivity
She is patient, even when I'm not
She completes me
She is God fearing, God honoring, God focused, HOLY, OUTRAGEOUS, and most of all trustworthy.

Cyndi, your the best friend I could ever have. Thank you for sharing my secrets, and being the love of my life, but most of all for being Jesus to me!

I Love You...

You know as a kid I never really understood what it meant to love.

I heard the word I love you all the time in my house. My parents said it to me, my parents said it to each other, and I even said it back to them and my sister and brother. I love you, I heard it all the time, but I never knew what it meant.

I never really knew what love was until I was about 12 years old. I was 12 when my life, was literally saved. You see I was sick,I had this disease that was killing me. Not many people knew about it. But, I was given a gift. At 12 years old, I discovered that someone else decided to give me life. Why? Because He loved me!

The disease that I was infected with was sin, and Romans 3:23 tells us that all of us have it. "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Because of this disease called sin, I was heading for a place of death, a place called Hell. Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death,"

Well, I didn't want this disease anymore and so I searched for a cure, and I found one. Actually, I found the only cure for this disease that there is, His name is Jesus. The rest of Romans 6:23 states, "but the gift of God is eternal life through JESUS CHRIST our Lord."

You see, Jesus died so that I may have life, so that you may have life, and I discovered this at 12. Without this love I would still be heading towards death, but now I have a hope of eternal life.

Love is a word that describes an action, a verb. I love you actually means I would die for you, not matter what. No matter who you are, no matter what you did, and if you were the only one in the world, I would still do it! I LOVE YOU, these were Jesus' non-verbal words as He died on the cross, and rose from the dead! He loves you, will you accept it?

What Do You think?

I posted a blog a few days ago about one of my chapters in a book I would like to write.

Here's where you come in.

I need your help with a title of it. It's meant as an insider view to the struggles, frustrations, enjoyments, etc. to youth ministry.

So post your title, and I just may end up using it!

Sunday Night Mind Dump

Okay, I have a lot on my mind tonight, so bare with me and excuse my hyperactiveness.

• We had an awesome day in our Morning Worship Experience. We joined hundreds of other churches for the National Porn Sunday. Where we tackled the tough subject of pornography. Pastor Craig Gross delivered a very impacting message! Check out his ministry: XXXChurch.
  
• I am very proud of our band at Coastal. They really are doing a great job, and are adapting to change very well! They are so awesome and committed to serving and leading us in worship.
  
• We had an awesome fundraiser today to help out with our ski retreat. The students did a great job selling tickets for our pancake breakfast and did an even better job serving. I really appreciate Ryan and Twila Sabin, Janie Nave, and Ricky and Teresa Spell for helping out and cook the pancakes.
  
• We had a decent crowd for UnderCurrent tonight as we finished our series, “It’s Not About Me.” The whole jist of this series is to get our students thinking outside of themselves. Especially if we are a Christians, life isn’t about us any way. Everything we do, everything we say, how we act and everything else should be to glorify God. We should be making Him known and introducing our friends to Him. I have really liked this series, but I am already pumped about our next one.
  
• Our next series is all about Parents (and their kids). We’re calling it, “Parents Just Don’t Understand.” It kicks off on October 21. And it will be awesome. We are inviting our parents to come and participate with the students. Then, on the 28th we have a student speaker, who is speaking about Parents. Come and be a part of this awesome series.
  
• I am really excited about our LIFEgroups (student small groups) starting on Oct. 17. This is a Wed. night and we will be beginning with our High Schoolers. They will be meeting at Ryan Spell’s House!
  
• I’m really happy that Michigan won this weekend! Kinda hoping that Detroit would have one today, but not too disappointed.
  
• Cyndi’s really happy that Notre Dame FINALLY won.
  
• I love Grey’s Anatomy and hopefully will have a few clips for my message next Sunday.
  
• I am really ticked that LOST isn’t coming back on TV till Jan. BUT at least their won’t be any reruns when it finally starts.
  
• A church I’ve been paying attention to is getting some flack on CNN. I think this church (The Gathering Church) is really trying to do some awesome things, and reaching their community in Tennessee. Check out the CNN video and the drama that its sparking here.
  
• I wish people would STOP PLAYING CHURCH! I really wish people would realize that the church should be influencing the media and our world. We’ve got to grab the attention of people because look who we are competing with...

Well, that’s about all in my head tonight, off to bed I go!

Some PARENTS Really Tick Me Off.

I know I've been away from the blogging world for a little more than a week. But I have a confession to make... I've been going nuts!

Okay, for those of you who know me you already know I've been going nuts since the day I was born but the last few weeks have been really crazy for Cyndi and I.

We've really been trying to improve how we do student ministry and let me tell you, it takes a ton of work!

But it's been great. I am in the process of hopefully writing my first book. And I'm thinking about starting it out as some of my blog postings. I thought about calling it "Confessions of a Hyper Active Youth Pastor" but I would love all of your input on a title for it.

Basically, the whole thing is my thoughts on the ins and outs of being a youth pastor.

Tonight, will be my first entry for my book. So here we go:

Tonight, I want to share with you what has been on my heart the last few days. Let me beforehand say I am not going to apologize for what I am about to say. I believe it to be true in many churches, and it frustrates the living poo out of me. If you have a problem with what I am going to say or the fact that I just said poo, let me introduce you to a couple of my friends who happen to be Pastor's and they will punch you in the throat.

Some parent's really irritate me! WHOA! I know it's a bold statement but here is why.
I have been in student ministry for many years now and I have heard it time and time again from many parents: "We are committed to do whatever it takes to get our kids involved in church, and for them to bring their friends too." Wow, how awesome it is to hear this! I really do get excited when parents tell me this. However, I have come to discover that many times this statement from parents is a load of bull!

Many times its the same parents who say this, that ground their kids from church. Wow, do parent really ground their kids from not going to church? Absolutely and its STUPID! Why in the world would you ground a kid from going to church? I've been told it's because, "My kid has a lot of fun and really wants to go, and it's the only way to punish them" Imagine that, a kid wanting to go to church? I wonder if Jesus would want that. I'm not going to lie, I want church to be so fun that it is every students favorite place to go, their favorite night of the week, and an attractive place that they will want to bring their friends. But one thing is for sure, they get to hear about Jesus every week.

So really, when parents ground their kids from going to church (or retreats, or camp, etc.) their really saying you know what, I don't want you to hear about Jesus. I don't want you to develop a meaningful relationship with Him, or with His followers. I love you son or daughter, but you should just go to HELL!

The other thing that irritates me is when parents don't encourage their kids to go to church, or they won't encourage them to bring their friends. You know what if 75% of kids in a Christian homes don't have a relationship with Jesus, don't you think we ought to be doing something different? Don't you think maybe (especially if you're a Christian) you should really push your kid to go to youth group? If 75% of kids in a CHRISTIAN home don't have a relationship with Jesus don't you think it's time for you to say enough is enough! Don't you think its time to say church and youth group will be a priority! What, you want to play xbox? Well, your going to go do it at church! What, you want to go hang out with your friends? Well, your going to do it at church and your going to bring your friends with you! We're going to stop having family fun night during youth group because youth group is a PRIORITY and we will make our family fun night another night. YOUTH GROUP and CHURCH SHOULD BE A PRIORITY, not just something to do when it's convenient for me and my kid!

I know what some parents are thinking, well I don't want to force my kid to go to church because they will hate it later! BOLOGNA! Parents you force your kids to do a lot of other things, like clean their rooms, play sports, eat their vegetables, etc. WHy not force them? I promise you this, when it comes to our youth group if you force them to come they will love it. If they don't love it, we will do what ever it takes to make them love it!

Parents, if you are serious about your relationship with God, and you want your student to be serious: MAKE not only church a priority, but YOUTH GROUP as well! Let's not be satisfied the 6% of teens that graduate high school that will have a relationship with Jesus. Let's not be satisfied with 25% of kids that come from Christian homes who have a relationship with God. Let's not be satisfied with the 1 out of 3 students who will stay in church after they graduate high school! NO MORE! Let's Step it up and make this a priority people. WHO AND WHERE IS YOUR PRIORITIES?

Happy Birthday

Today is a very special day!

On this day back in 1963, Mary Renee Cimini was born.

Who is the Mary Renee Cimini, you may ask? She is only one of the coolest people who has ever walked this planet!

She's my mom! That's right, today is my Mom's birthday! Happy Birthday Mom!

I do have to say she and I have become a lot closer now that I am grown and away. I never realized how cool she is and how much she loves Mallory, Zachary, Me and now Cyndi. Seriously, my Mom is one of the most active people I know. She plays softball on like 3 or 4 different teams, and bowls in like 2 or 3 different leagues...she even goes to Nationals every year!

Anywho, one day I will write a really long post about my momma...I just wanted to say Happy Birthday to her (I doubt she even reads my blog. I doubt that she even knows what a blog is).