Abbreviated Encounter Recap.
Friday, September 30, 2005
Seriously. I can't believe I just lost that post ... oh well. That's life I guess. Maybe I'll try and recreate it tomorrow. But as was stated in that lost post, I don't have much time as it is right now. It's hard enough to find time to blog. Much less so when your posts disappear right before your eyes! Anyway. If you want a recap on this Wednesday here it is extremely condensed. Everything is going great. Everyone is doing a top notch job. From the greeting team to the tech crew. Everyone is getting in and pulling their weight. I'm excited about that. I don't feel like I'm pulling teeth with my volunteers. How refreshing!! I continued with Speak Out again this week. I was going to move onto Raising the Bar, but I Monday I found an acrostic in Ten Rules of Youth Ministry and Why Oneighty Breaks Them All by Blaine Bartel. I felt it fit in real well with what I talked about last week and where I'm wanting to take the group. So I decided to go w/ that. I challenged the kids to BRING one friend to Encounter (more on that name later, it was in the previous post) next week. The acrostic goes like this: Begin to pray for them. Remember to plan. Invite them to come. Never give up. Get their commitment. Good stuff. I think it went real well. I'm anticipating growth in the group. It's gonna be good folks. It's gonna be good.
posted by MATTHEW JOHN BELL @ 9/30/2005 01:44:00 AM,
,
Abreviated Encounter Recap.
Seriously. I can't believe I just lost that post ... oh well. That's life I guess. Maybe I'll try and recreate it tomorrow. But as was stated in that lost post, I don't have much time as it is right now. It's hard enough to find time to blog. Much less so when your posts disappear right before your eyes!
Anyway. If you want a recap on this Wednesday here it is extremely condensed.
Everything is going great. Everyone is doing a top notch job. From the greeting team to the tech crew. Everyone is getting in and pulling their weight. I'm excited about that. I don't feel like I'm pulling teeth with my volunteers. How refreshing!!
I continued with Speak Out again this week. I was going to move onto Raising the Bar, but I Monday I found an acrostic in Ten Rules of Youth Ministry and Why Oneighty Breaks Them All by Blaine Bartel. I felt it fit in real well with what I talked about last week and where I'm wanting to take the group. So I decided to go w/ that. I challenged the kids to BRING one friend to Encounter (more on that name later, it was in the previous post) next week. The acrostic goes like this:
Begin to pray for them.
Remember to plan.
Invite them to come.
Never give up.
Get their commitment.
Good stuff. I think it went real well. I'm anticipating growth in the group. It's gonna be good folks. It's gonna be good.
posted by MATTHEW JOHN BELL @ 9/30/2005 12:44:00 AM,
,
Okay, I'm never using this program again!
I've been using ecto to write and publish my blog lately. But for some reason the program just crashed in the middle of the post I had been writing for the past hour! I'm pizzed to say the least. Oh, I'm so tired. I can't re-write it. Man, I really liked this program!!!!!!! adios ecto ... you're now in the trash. Rescue Is Coming (B Walk Down Stairs) from the album "A Collision" by David Crowder Band
posted by MATTHEW JOHN BELL @ 9/30/2005 12:29:00 AM,
,
Quiet Time Tips
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Hey folks, if you're venturing in here for the 1st time because of tonight's blurb, I just want to extend a big "Welcome to my blog" your way. I hope to keep this little space updated and relevant to not only what's going on my world, but also to use it as a bit of an extension of what's going on Wednesdays at CGEN. So I told you guys that I would have some quiet time tips, and here they are.
- Pick a time that works for you. I recommend the mornings. You know, start the day off right. Chances are if you try to do it before bed, it won't happen. Another time that may work for you is just before you start your home.
- Find a quiet place. Seems obvious, but it's a must. Find a place free from cell phone, computer, tv ... even music. Get rid of anything that could distract you from hearing God's voice.
- Think about what you're reading. Don't let yourself check out when you're reading the Bible. Keep your mind engaged. Underline and highlight.
- Talk to God. Also, take a few minutes and to let Him talk to you.
- Keep a journal. Jot down things that really speak to you. You'll be glad you did.
posted by MATTHEW JOHN BELL @ 9/21/2005 10:51:00 PM,
,
So it's official ... again.
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Wow, what an amazing youth service we had tonight. It was to be the last service w/ the Velas being 100% the youth pastors. They presented me to the group tonight and it should be down hill here from here. The transition should be complete by October 1. So for those of you keeping score at home, thats two presentations down and one this Sunday to go. I'm so excited ... This whole Youth Pastor deal is so out of the blue. it really amazes me how God's plan all comes together. It is so wild. Anyhoo, Worship tonight was amazing ... absolutely amazing. Things had kind of gotten a bit off in that area for several reasons (I won't bore you with them here). So I talked to the team and asked Aaron to lead the next few services with just him and an acoustic guitar. Kind of going for a more intimate setting and not so ROCK N ROLL!!! The atmosphere in the place was amazing from the get go. The whole leadership team had been fasting all day. SIDENOTE: While we were on our annual Bell Family Holiday, the leadership decided to fast the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays. I'll be honest, I wasn't too jazzed about the whole idea when I heard it, but I was wrong. I believe fasting is paying off HUGE. Now I'm the biggest fan of this whole fasting gig. It really is making a difference. We started off w/ about 30 min of power packed prayer for the youth and then a good 20 min of just greetin and hangin out. Aaron did a superb job of leading in worship. Really top notch. I'm so grateful that he went along w/ the idea to lay the band thing down for a season. He easily could have made a fuss. But there was none of that. After about a good fifteen minutes of worship, Rick really kicked it into high gear. This resulted in a 90% response to the altar, and about 100% of those respondents making commitments to either full time ministry or missions work. WOW ... so huge. During this time I was able to have some one-on-one time with someone God has really laid on my heart. Deep stuff. Amazing times. Seriously, I think this was the best CGEN youth service in a long long time. I'm praying that the commitments made tonight will last a lifetime.
posted by MATTHEW JOHN BELL @ 9/15/2005 12:06:00 AM,
,
So it's official ...
Monday, September 12, 2005
Tonight was the kick off of the new Destiny Church. The "ignition" if you will. And this brings with it a lot of changes in DC land. A lot of new philosophy about how we do things. Why we do things. How we do things. A lot of new vision about the future and what not. I'm excited. Another big change that I'm just super excited about, is my new role as ... dare I even say it ... Youth Pastor. I'm still having to get used to the whole idea. It's pretty nutty when I think about it, but I know its the right direction for my life, for CGEN, and Destiny. I really believe this. God is doing some really awesome new things in DC land. I just feel so privileged (and extremely humbled) to be thrown right in to the mix. When I think of all the great Godly examples around me that I can follow, and learn from I know I am amazingly blessed. I count it an honor to be able to work along side people like Doug Pitman, Rick Vela, Joe Rhors, and Terry Sisneros. It's totally going to be a blast ...
posted by MATTHEW JOHN BELL @ 9/12/2005 12:39:00 AM,
,
Back on track ...
Saturday, September 10, 2005
... I hope anyway. I really want to start posting more regularly. It's something that I'm really going to start making an effort to do. I know all you avid readers out there are just dying for some new content. Hopefully I won't disappoint ...
posted by MATTHEW JOHN BELL @ 9/10/2005 01:41:00 AM,
,