A Message to the Ladies...

Hey Girls,

I just felt led to write you a quick note that I feel like the Holy Spirit laid on my heart. Here goes:

No matter what anyone says about you or thinks about you, you need to hear this right now: You are wonderful! You are a gift from God and He has made you exactly the way you are for a reason. Do not listen to the lies of the devil and the American culture telling you that you need to be different than what you are... You are the Crown of God's Creation, the last thing that He made, and he looked at you and said that you are "very good."

You are NOT defined by what you look like... Your value is NOT placed in who you date... Your worth will NOT be found in your grades... Your image is NOT the most important thing... Your significance is NOT found in your reputation... and your purpose is NOT defined by our culture.

For those of you who are in Christ, you need to understand that you are a daughter of a King! The Lord of Lords and the Maker of heaven and earth is your Daddy and He loves you with an unfailing love! Make sure that you are living your life according to this reality!

• Do not view yourself as anything but beautiful and wonderful...
• Do not compare yourself to other girls (God made YOU to be YOU!)...
• Do not find your identity in a guy...
• Do not consider marrying a guy who isn't passionately in love with Jesus! (and why would you even date someone who doesn't love Jesus? Check this out: Click HERE)
• Do not let a boy put his hands on you in any way... if he touches you sexually, he is using you to fulfill his own lustful desires... don't let him use you...
• Do not get caught up in dating... relationships end in one of two ways: marriage or heartbreak... (hang out in groups)
• Do not give in to peer pressure... stand strong in your faith and make Godly decisions...
• Do not allow the culture to shape how you view yourself... God looks at you and smiles...
• and lastly, DO NOT listen to a boy who tries to smooth talk his way into a bedroom with you... tell him to go take a cold shower! (and then don't hang out with him again)...

Remember what Scripture says about you... memorize some of the embedded Bible verses and find your worth in Christ. He is sufficient!

Note: Yes, I will be a scary Dad... and Yes, I do own a gun. :)

B90X - Bible Reading Plan

Have you ever wanted to read through the entire Bible in 90 days? I know it sounds intimidating and it will take discipline, but it is sooo worth it.

They guys over at Elevation Church have devised a Bible reading plan that takes you through the entire Bible in about 90 days. It's called B90X and you can check it out by clicking HERE.

Anybody want to join me? I am on Day 2 and I am loving it!

You can count on about an hour a day or two television shows...

Top 10 C.S. Lewis Quotes

C.S. Lewis is one of my favorite authors... The way he wrote about God and made Him understandable completely blows my mind. I thought it would be good to gather my Top 10 C.S. Lewis quotes and share them with you.

10. "Now is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It won't last forever. We must take it or leave it."

9. "God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."

8. “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

7. "If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too more weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

6. “Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man.”

5. "Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn."

4. "If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world."

3. “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it, I see everything else.”

2. "You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body."

1. "Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important."

Which quote speaks to you the most? What other quotes do you think are powerful/meaningful? Make a comment!

Do you make Jesus look lame?

Question: Why are more non-Christians NOT attracted to Christ?

This is a loaded question and I'm sure there are tons of answers as to why this happens, but I think the most appropriate answer is that people are selfish and want to live for themselves... but why is that? Is it partially because as Christians we don't make them think any different? As Christians, do we make them want what we have or do we make Jesus look lame?

In my experience, there are not enough Christians that make following Jesus look very appealing. Seriously... when is the last time someone looked at you and said, "Man... I don't know what you have, but I want it!" When is the last time someone looked at your life and said, "There is something different about you..."

As Christians, we should live out Philippians 4:4 which says, "Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!"

So here are a couple of questions for you if you are a Christian:

• What about your life looks different than the world?
• Do you make Jesus look like He is worth living for, or do you make him look lame?
• Do you make Jesus look like a joy-killer that doesn't allow you to have any "fun"?

Remember this: People are attracted to PASSION. If you are PASSIONATE about your relationship with Jesus, people will notice... If it doesn't seem that important to you, it wont seem like its worth their time to check it out. If He seems lame to you, why would they want Him?

What reputation do you give Jesus? Do you bring Him fame, or make him look lame?

"Preach the Gospel at all times... if necessary, use words."

Studnet Survey Question: What do you want in life?

This is a pretty simple question but it is very complex... I would love to hear your thoughts on this students... This will help us plan out something cool for Advance >>.

The questions is: What do you want in life?

Feel free to respond in any way that you feel led.

What do you want as far as:

• a job...
• a boyfriend...
• a girlfriend...
• a husband... (what kind of qualities)
• a wife... (what kind of qualities)
• a relationship with God... (how close or in touch with God do you want to be)
• a college...
• a relationship with your parents... (how close do you want to be)
• your friends... (what qualities do you want in your friends)
• a reputation... (what do you want people to think of you...)
• Etc... feel free to elaborate on anything else that you want in life...

Please be honest with these answers... You do not have to use your name, but if you could reply with your thoughts, we would appreciate it.

Thanks!

Compassion International

This is a bit long, but I wanted to give you the chance to see the life change that is happening through Compassion International. This video is THE most powerful moment I have ever experienced in the three years that I have been attending the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta, GA.

As a minstry, we support five Compassion International kids.

Enjoy!

Catalyst 2009 Compassion Moment from Catalyst on Vimeo.

Awesome Video! The Next Generation

Check out this video... watch it the whole way through...



As the youth of our nation, what will you believe about your future? What will you decide for your life? Will you stand for Christ in the midst of a world that thinks God is irrelevant?

God is raising up a generation that will make his name famous! Will you be a part of it?

A Difficult Job

Its not easy being a pastor... our job is to preach the Gospel.

Pastors have a very difficult job... I have heard this slogan as the job description for Pastors: "To comfort the afflicted... and to afflict the comfortable."

In other words, this is the only job in the world that requires you to have two TOTALLY opposite responsibilities.

Let's be clear about one thing: The Gospel is offensive. Check out these two verses that explain this idea.

• Jeremiah 6:10 -"To whom can I give warning? Who will listen when I speak? Their ears are closed, and they cannot hear. They scorn the word of the LORD. They don't want to listen at all."
• 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."

Since the Gospel is offensive and people don't like to be told that they are sinners, what should we do... Preach messages that keep people happy and not mad at us? That would be the best way to keep people in your church or youth group, right? NO! As a Pastor, if you are more concerned about keeping happy than preaching the Gospel, you have made people your idol.
Pastors need to be more worried about what GOD thinks of them rather than what PEOPLE think of them!

I will go so far as saying that if you are not offending anyone, you might not be preaching the Gospel. Be more concerned about pushing people toward holiness and less concerned about their happiness.

Pastors must also have an equal element of grace in their messages. The message of the Gospel is the message of grace! The job of a Pastor is not to stand up and point the finger at how bad people are without offering them hope. Check out these verses:

• Psalm 119:114 - "You are my refuge and my shield; your word is my source of hope."
• Galatians 3:22 - "But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God's promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ."

If people walk away from your message feeling guilt, shame or condemnation, then you failed. Period. Our job is to preach the Bible... the theme of the Bible is God's plan to redeem mankind. The way He is doing that is through the vehicle of GRACE! Preach GRACE and offer comfort to those who need it!

Jesus is our ultimate example. Check out how he approaches the woman caught in adultery in John 8. He uses two elements as he speaks to her: Grace and Truth.

What's Your Status? Connected...

In a world ruled by Social Media, the question we need to answer is this: Is the Social Media craze going to meet the deepest needs in our hearts for community?

Check out the message from Sunday to learn more about this:

Connected Part 1 from Dan Anderson on Vimeo.

Set List:

• Tell the World - Hillsong United
• Break Free - Hillsong United
• Rise and Sing - Fee
• The Stand - Hillsong United
• Mighty To Save - Hillsong United

Professor Splash - Catalyst Conference

Every year, the Student Ministry Team goes to Catalyst. It is a conference in Atlanta that is held to inspire and challenge church leaders to keep working hard for the Kingdom of God. This is the most amazing and fun conference ever! They break world records every year and this video is nothing short of amazing.

Video Description:

• Professor Splash
• 35 feet 9 inches high (3 and a half stories)
• 12 inches of water
• Perfect landing...

Check it out:

Professor Splash Breaks World Record! from Catalyst on Vimeo.

God is showing me...

As I walk through this life, I realize more and more how sinful I am and how much I am in need of the grace of God. The truth is, I am a sinner who needs a Savior. Thankfully, I have looked to Christ as my Savior and He is more than I could ever ask for!

As I walk with Christ every day, I am realizing that the Christian faith is not just about securing an "eternal destination" in heaven, but about what God wants to do with your life here on earth. God is teaching me and growing my faith more and more every day and I wanted to share some of those things with you.

God is showing me that...

1. The Bible is UNREAL! - I am reading through Exodus right now and I cannot get enough! God word is exciting, challenging and relevant to all things... Getting in the Word is the BEST part of my day!

2. Gossip Destroys - If you have a problem, the best way to deal with it is face to face. I have seen a lot of people get hurt when we do it in other ways.

3. Humility is better than pride - If you get a chance to take a humble approach rather than a prideful approach, God will honor your humility.

4. I am not in control of ANYTHING - I cannot depend on my own strength to do anything. God is going to accomplish what He wants to accomplish no matter what I do... I need to stop acting like I have control over any part of God's plan.

5. You can't please everyone - This will never be possible... if you try to do it, you will drive yourself crazy!

6. The Spiritual is more important than the physical - I have walked through 28 years of life not paying enough attention to the spiritual world... fasting will teach you how much focus we put on our physical bodies, but it should point you back to the spiritual needs that you have as well.

7. My wife is INCREDIBLE!

What's Your Status? Connected

In a world where social media is king, are we missing something realtionally? That question needs to be answered. So we are starting a new series at Advance >> this Sunday to address this exact topic. You dont want to miss it! Here are some of Todd's thoughts on why we are doing it!

Untitled from Dan Anderson on Vimeo.

God wants community... Satan wants isolation

The Devil wants to destroy you. That is a fact.

1 Peter 5:8-9 says, " Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are."

So what is his plan? How will he get you on the road to destruction? One of the first things he does is isolate you.

The devil hates any type of healthy community. He wants to create divisions and fracture relationships so that people are alone, because when you are alone, the devil can mess with your mind. The devil wants to eliminate all forms of support in your life and tell you lies. When you are isolated and by yourself, he can speak lies to you and make you believe they are true, even though they are not.

So if 1 Peter 5:8 tells us to stay "alert" and to "watch out for the enemy," how do we do that? I think we should intentionally surround ourselves with other Christians who will love us and support us. The best way Forest Hill Church and Advance >> know how to do this is through Life Groups. We want every student to be involved in a Life Group so they can have community and fellowship with other students and a mature Christian adult (Life Group Leader).

The Gospel aka The Good News

The Gospel Aka The Good News from Dan Anderson on Vimeo.

Why Stay Mad?

Do you ever wonder why Christians seem to stay mad at each other for long periods of time... Honestly, if Christians are just going to act like the rest of the world in times of conflict, what makes them a Christian?

I have been a part of and observed WAY TOO MANY grudges that are held between Christians and I felt led to write about today... (I am currently learning some of this in my life right now)

I want to be clear about one thing: Just because someone is a Christian doesn't mean they are going to be perfect! Christians will still have times when they have fights and disagreements with other people (and other Christians). BUT, the way they handle themselves in these times of conflict is what SHOULD set them apart... lets explore 3 things that every Christian should bring with them to a conflict.

1. Humility - the opposite of pride is humility. Pride says, "I have to be right!' but humility says, "I am open to hearing your side." If you go into a disagreement with a closed mind that is not open to hearing what others think and feel, you will not resolve arguments and you will end up holding grudges. Psalm 147:6

2. Forgiveness - If you cannot forgive others, you don't really understand how God has forgiven you through Christ. Forgiveness is not something to hold back from others, but to distribute freely. When you forgive someone, you are actually freeing yourself from the bitterness that will be stored away in your heart! Forgiveness is the KEY INGREDIENT to the Christian faith and should be practiced by followers of Christ on a regular basis. Ephesians 4:32

3. Direct Contact with the other person involved - If you have a problem with someone, take your problem TO them and NOT to other people. If you do, not you are sinning. Matthew 18:15 is one of the most overlooked verses in the Bible, and because people seem to not listen to it, gossip and problems follow. This does not help conflict get resolved, but instead, makes it worse.

Final Point: If you are a Christian you should work your problems out with humility and forgiveness. Don't bring other people into it that are not involved. I guarantee you will have less drama in your life... God also says that he doesn't even want your worship until you are on good terms with other believers...

Matthew 5:23-24 -"So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God."

What is the Launch Pad?

When students bring friends with them to Advance >> what are we going to do to make them feel welcomed? Do we have a system in place to make non-churched students feel loved and plugged in? I am glad you asked... the answer is YES!

Every week our program will consist of two parts: a service and Life Groups. We think it is very important for students to discuss the message right away in their Life Groups. But what does this mean for first time guests who are not in a Life Group? Well, we don't want to throw them in a Life Group with their friend because it could mess up the dynamic of a pre-existing group. We have noticed that some members of Life Groups find it hard to discuss personal matters with students they dont know and we always want Life Groups to be a safe place for open and honest discussion. That is why we have created The Launch Pad.

Q & A about the Launch Pad:

What is The Launch Pad? It is a very warm and welcoming environment that will be set up each and every week in the Charis Room. There will be music, fun and food (pizza and more), which will give the first time guests a chance to hang out and get to know Advance >> volunteers and staff. And most importantly, it will exist to provide an easy way to get them plugged into a Life Group.

Who goes to The Launch Pad? All first time guests will go to The Launch Pad and the friend who brings them is also welcome to come too. No first time guests will be allowed to join a Life Group before going to The Launch Pad.

What will they do in The Launch Pad? They will hang out, eat, discuss the message and learn about Advance >>.

How do we get them plugged into a Life Group? After we explain what a Life Group is and why it is important, the guest will be given the opportunity to get signed up for one and tell us who they would like to be in a group with. We will take that information and plug them into a group. The leader of that group will get their information and will call them during the week to introduce himself/herself.

Note about the offering: Every week, the offering will go toward sponsoring needy children through Compassion International and to The Launch Pad expenses. Part of your offering will be used to help people feel welcomed and loved the very first time they walk into Advance >>. Expenses like food and Bibles are ways we will make our guests feel valued. Thanks for investing in the Advancement >> of the Kingdom both internationally and locally!

What can you do this week to Advance >> the Kingdom?

We are sharing the Gospel with students on Sunday at Advance >>. We are so excited and we are depending on you, the students, to invite your friends! (your friends who dont know Jesus... YET!)

• View your school as a mission field! You are a fully funded missionary in your school!
• Wear your Advance >> T-Shirt on Monday and Friday (football game).
• Promote Advance >> on Facebook.
• Pass out the invite cards to friends at school.
• Wear your lanyard!
• Paint your car with Advance >> logo.
• Paint your school rock with the Advance >> logo.
• Text your friends and invite them!
• Get your Life Group excited about people meeting Jesus.

Most importantly, start praying for students hearts to be open to hearing and receiving the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Remember that the most significant thing you can do for someone is introduce them to Jesus... 100 years from now, the only thing that will matter is some one's relationship with God.

If you bring a friend (or 10 friends), get here a little early so we can get through check-in on time.