Joel Young Blog.com

Last night was family movie night in the Young household. Most of the time Jenna and I will wait until the Reedmister goes to bed before we start a movie, but he’s growing up and is really starting to like movies. He loves to watch movies with animals in them. His first movie to watch entirely was “Happy Feet,” and he laughed through the whole thing. He just has this absolutely wonderful and contagious laugh that will cause you to laugh whether the movie is funny or not. So, we usually try to pick a movie that will make him laugh, and last night we ended up watching Disney’s “Bedtime Stories” with that intention. I was skeptical at first, but it really was a great family movie. We all enjoyed it, but as you’ll hear Reed enjoyed it the most. FYI – This was his response to the DVD menu. The movie had not even started at this point.

WARNING: Go to the bathroom before you listen to this.

If you’ve been in a modern church over the last five years, chances are you have been offended. Some of you have been offended because you were convicted of sin (that’s good), but some of you have been offended because a preacher tried to be edgy and crossed the line of appropriateness (that’s not good). I truly believe that this is a slippery slope for many young guys, like myself, and so I really appreciated the words that I read this morning from Craig Groeschel. Check it out.

Craig Groeschel – “When Edgy Becomes Offensive”

Ask yourself…

Would it be okay with you if the church you attend was MAJORLY altered today; if it meant more people would be reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ?

Would it be okay with you if you had to give up your personal preferences and comfort; if it meant seeing someone come to Christ?

I STRONGLY believe that if you cannot answer all of these questions with an emphatic, “YES!” then you have some serious re-evaluation of your faith to do. Jesus did not come to this earth and die to create church goers. He came that we might know Him and experience the redemptive power of His grace.

If you call yourself a Christian then you need to read this article. It has me thinking very deeply about the labels that followers of Christ have come to wear and how that is affecting the world’s ability to identify with Jesus Christ.

Read “I’m Through with Christianity” by Geoff Surratt

The last couple weeks have been tough for me. I have been caught between the wedge of disappointment and excitement. I know God is doing something great in and through me, but I also know that my church and family is in the midst of a severe trail at the hands of Satan.

As I did some normal blog reading I decided to check out what the creatives at Elevation Church were doing. They had an entire blog post about the following video they had produced for their Easter Sunday services. I checked out the video in hopes that I might get an idea for something, but instead what I got was a message; a message that moved me to tears all alone in my living room and whose effect have not yet left my mind.

This is why my work matters, and this is why my God will succeed. Watch it, but be prepared to be rocked.

Elevation Church Easter Opener from Elevation Church on Vimeo.

The past couple weeks I have struggled with writers block. As I have worked as both a creative freelancer and a writer I have occasionally experienced the pain of blockage. Life is difficult when your source of productivity and direction is suddenly stalled. Sure, its still possible to move forward, but the process is more labored. In order to remove the block I normally have to do something drastic or out of the ordinary. I have to get my mind out of the everyday and into a much bigger way of thinking. Then, once my perspective has shifted movement through my tasks comes easier.

Ever feel like the movement of your life or life’s work is blocked? Maybe you need to get your mind out of the everyday and into the eternal. Maybe you need to get off your routine and experience things from someone else’s perspective. Living a life that is blocked will be difficult and labored. Maybe it’s time to unblock you’re life, but how?

Seek God at every turn.

Today has been a busy yet productive day for me, and I don’t have much to say; rare for me I know. So…I thought I would share something that someone else said with you today.

One of the things I am constantly doing is listen to sermons from other preachers. It’s a great way for me to learn new techniques and challenge myself to be the best preacher possible. I probably take in 5-7 different sermons every week and this week I was really impressed by the boldness of two guys I happen to know.

Mike Edmisten and Brian Morrissey are both pastors at Amelia Church of Christ. Recently they preached these two sermons on back-to-back Sundays at Amelia and they are both on subjects that I feel are of great importance to every follower of Christ. If you have an few free minutes you should check both of these sermons out. I guarantee the content will challenge you, and the passion these guys put into communicating the message is contagious.

Listen to “Tolerance” by Mike Edmisten

Listen to “No Excuses” by Brian Morrissey

I have a case of the Mondays today. Not only am I already bogged down with work for this upcoming week, but I just found out that the alternator is totally shot in my car. There are some weeks, like this one, that make me wish for an extra day between Sunday and Monday to act as a buffer.

It’s a beautiful day outside so I’m staying chilled about everything, but I was just wondering: what is your worst Monday story? Maybe it even happened today.

Who knows maybe you’ll make me feel better about my severe case of the Mondays.

What are you gonna do about it? This is the provocative title for Sunday’s sermon. For the past month at Horizon we have been exploring what it means to be a church on the move according to scripture. We’ve looked at the mission Jesus gave His church before he left this world and the lack importance that actually plays in most churches today. And this week we’re making it personal.

Every person who walks through our doors on Sunday is going to have to answer the question: What are you gonna do about it? In light of what the church is called to do, and what the church should mean to us as believers what are you gonna do? For better or worse we’re going to put this question at the forefront of our thinking for at least the time we’re together and give everyone a chance to respond. I truly believe, and am praying, that there will be three reactions. Some people will give their lives to Christ and accept him through baptism. Some people will get off the fence and start to truly follow scriptures commands for their lives. And some people will leave and never come back.

I really don’t care what it does to our attendance average or offering statistics. I care what this does to our church’s ability to radically change the world we live in. Life is so short and I’m not going to lead a church that waits for things to happen while people go to Hell.

If you are at Horizon regularly, or even if you’ve never been before, go online and listen to the teaching from the last couple weeks and then show up on Sunday ready to become part of the movement God creating.

LISTEN TO SERMONS ONLINE

This is an exciting week for me. Almost every day this week I will be deeply involved in mentoring or being mentored by someone else. Today I have the opportunity to get together with eleven other guys who lead local churches, like myself, in our area and I am so looking forward to gleaning as much from there knowledge and experience as possible. Some of these guys have been ministering in this city for over a decade and some are less than a couple years in like myself, and that excites me.

I also get a chance to sit down with a great friend and mentor this week. We don’t get together too often, because our schedules are always jam packed, but when we get together I always walk away more equipped to do God’s work. Either through encouraging words, or hearing about what God is doing in his life.

Then, as I do every week, I’ll get to close my week with the guys in my D-group. This has been one of the greatest blessing on my life in the last year. Knowing that there are young guys who are ready to go the next level in life and their relationship with God and are willing to give major time to see it happen PUMPS ME UP!

Side Note: This is not something I’m involved in, but my wife’s women’s group is getting their start this weekend and I’m REALLY, REALLY excited about it. My wife is an incredible woman, and if you’ve met her then you know that already, but she has never really taken a major leadership role before. So, for the first time she is stepping up to lead the women of our church in a way that she’s not exactly comfortable with yet, but she’s doing it anyway. People who follow God out of their comfort zone open the door of possibility in their life, and really get me excited.

God is doing a lot in me right now and it has a lot to do with the people and opportunities to learn He has placed in my life. Are there opportunities for discipleship, growth, and/or life change that you are passing up because you don’t have time? Here’s my advice….MAKE TIME, IT’S WORTH THE INVESTMENT!