RCC folks rock!

I have been at RiverTown for 10 months and 11 days so far and suddenly the thought hit me: I have met and been seriously blessed to cross paths with some great folks at RCC! So, just for "something different" sake I'm going to take the rest of this blog to highlight just a FEW of those relationships. If I don't mention you, PLEASE don't be offended, I am merely shooting from the hip and being honest, this is JUST a very small cross section of JUST a few of the awesome folks at RCC.

Pam and Philip Detweiler: What cool, funny people! No one laughs like Philip and NO ONE has quirky habits like Pam. I was there to see Philip take his first deer, and it rocked. P&P make playing cards an awesome time!

Steve and Kim Bailey: They are just hip! Some people just ooze cool. They just have it.

Chris and Mindy Creel: Holy junk Batman! Are there two more amazing people? I think not. I have watched God amazing things in their lives and it just seems like the best is yet to come. That much funny-ness is a crime.

Justin and Hannah Gingerich: Possibly two of the most best leaders I know. Is there anything that these two cant do? Seriously, they just give and give and give. It's humbling and so cool.

Ralph and Mitch Yoder: I totally admire this couple. I just told Julie the other day, "Ralph and Mitch have got to be the most interesting people I know." Their lives intrigue me and challenge me. They have a Godliness that just rocks and a coolness that just reverberates in everything they do.

Wow - like I said, just a cross section. There are so many more people. Maybe I'll do this again soon. Until then - Goodnight and "stay classy RiverTown"!

J-Rizzle

A GREAT Thanksgiving Hunting Weekend

It was a great Thanksgiving weekend. I got to hunt ALL weekend (Thursday AM - Saturday PM) and got this 8 point, 150 lbs. Buck first thing Thanksgiving morning. Here's how it went down:

6:00 AM - Daylight was just breaking in and I was just barely beginning to see my food plots when I noticed a deer feeding in the food plot to my North. I grabbed my rifle and scoped out the deer. It was so early that I couldn't even tell what the deer was (doe/buck?). All of the sudden another deer stepped in to the plot and right off the bat I could tell that deer was much bigger than the first, so I strained to see and when the deer picked his head up there was no doubt - He was a buck, and a pretty good one at that. So I took a shot, he was standing facing me and about a quarter rotation away. I couldn't tell if I hit him, so I listened to see if I could hear him crash in the woods. I didn't!

About 6:15 AM - I waited just a few minutes after the shot and I got down from my stand to go and look for some sign of a hit on the deer. It was still so early that I had to use my flashlight just to see good enough to look for blood or hair. I found NOTHING! So I made a few passes in the woods to look for the deer and still NOTHING! By this point I was frustrated and a little upset with myself, that I didn't wait just a few minutes longer for more daylight to make a better shot. So thinking that I missed, and because it was still so early, I decided to climb back up in the stand.

6:30 AM - 7:30 AM - I saw several more deer, including one other buck (small 6 pt.) and then decided to call it a morning.

7:35 AM - Just to clear my head, I decided to make just one more pass over my food plot to see if there was any sign of a hit from the shot I took, now that I had plenty of light to see. I suddenly there it was , two small spots of blood! So I called my Step-Dad and asked him to make his way over to help me track the deer. And, in the meantime, I followed that trail and about 100 yards in the woods I found the Buck!

This is the biggest deer I've ever taken. I was a lot of fun and I cant wait for the season to come back in again in December so I can go after another.

Sunday (11/23/08) Wrap-Up

Ok, here are my thoughts from Sunday:

Series: "Road Signs"

Title: "Where Ya Headed?"

Thought (Bottom Line): Your Direction, not your Intention, determines your Destination.

This past Sunday I communicated during our main services at 8:30 AM and 10:15 AM. Our Lead Pastor, Paul Smith was out of town on vacation. Overall, the felt like the service went good. We produced a video that intro the theme of the talk and it was GREAT. We coupled that video with a "banter" between myself (in a comedic host role) and Ralph Yoder (in a credible host role), and I really felt like that set up the service to be fun and "new". Our goal was to really push hard to create an "AH-HA" moment for everyone that attended RiverTown on Sunday, and I really feel like was did that. My only "ummm" thought would be about my talks. During 1st service I really pulled away from my script and "taught the principle" and, as a communicator, that's uncomfortable - it feels to "loose" (I mean, there's a reason you script, you want it to be tight). But after I finished, the feedback was incredible - everyone loved it. My wife even said it was the best I've ever done - WOW! For a talk that I thought was too loose and jumbled, it seems to really hit the mark. On the down side, I knew I couldn't recreate that talk again in 2nd service (that the real reason for scripting in the first place - consistency). So I went back to my notes and looked through them and tried to go after it again in 2nd service. During that service, I came across more "scripted" and "on-point" (which felt good) but the feedback I got said that it was good but not as good as 1st service, that it didn't "flow" like 1st service did. I was really worried about it until, I was pulled aside by some close friends of mine, who serve with me in Student Ministries. They began to tell me (while physically shaking) that, what I had shared during that service was exactly what God had spoke to them that led them back to church after a amazingly traumatic life. So, regardless of what I had previously thought - I really think God was confirming to me that I still obeyed and lives were touched. I guess, to narrow it down, communicating is TOUGH. When you "feel" good about it it comes across one way and when you "feel" so-so about it it come across great - WEIRD! But, all in all, even though both services were definitely different, I really believe that God touched hearts and lives were challenged and changed.

"Wins" : There were 3 salvation commitments, 2 baptism inquiries, and a couple inquiries to join a LIFE Group!

Got it ALL done!

Finally! I'm enjoying a little "down time" this morning. This week has been a blur. Here's a little recap since the last time I posted. Well, obviously, we made it home from the The Sticks conference. I made it back home on Thursday evening around 10:30 PM and the "plan" was to relax, get some rest, and make it back to RCC around Noon on Friday to prep to take our Student Ministry to Vertical Reality. I went to bed and was lovin' life and awoke suddenly around 5 AM to the sound of dripping water. The power was completely OFF in the house due to the storm that was going on outside so I scrambled to find my flashlight and make my way to the "drip". To my horror, the water was dripping from around a light fixture on the ceiling and it only took my a few more seconds to realize that my entire ceiling was FLOODING! I scurried into the attic and clear out all the junk to find a HUGE problem, the rain was pouring in from outside. So we did damage control and tried to lay down until morning (just in case you're wondering - NO, I didnt sleep a wink!). When morning came around I called Justin and Josh Gingerich of Gingerich Bros. Construction and they very quickly came to my rescue. THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH! Everyone should be as blessed to have friends like the Gingerich Bros! So, long story short, we had to re-tar the roof, which took most of the day. Remember, I still have to get our students to Vertical Reality at some point. So I barrel out of the house, LATE, and start making my way to Blountstown. Just to get a call from Kevin Yoder to let me that our church bus (which I needed for the trip) is DEAD. The fuel pump was shot. So, I feverishly began calling around to make arrangement for alternate transportation for our trip. That was successful and we made it to VR. The students were AWESOME. We had a blast! And I could truly see their lives being changed by God. THAT'S WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT! Skipping ahead, we made it home, and then this week started. The short version is - Paul (Our Lead Pastor at RCC) is going out of town this Saturday and will be gone for the next two Sundays. So I have been tasked to do the talks for RCC's main services for Sundays. I'm doing a series called "Road Signs" and it is going to be AWESOME! The long and short of this week is, I got both of those talks completed and we prepped for this Sunday. So, sitting this morning - YES, I am glad to have a day off. But I got it all done. We're ready for Sunday, I'm about to do a few things around the house (clean up for the "flood"), and then grab my hunting gear and head to Marianna to enjoy some peace and quiet. Whew, I'm glad this week is winding down! I'll update you on more later...

A Night at the Ramada

Laying on a bed here at the Ramada Inn, nestled somewhere between Cincinnati and Louisville, it occurs to me. It is WAY stinkin late and I have got to get some sleep. I am just incredibly jacked up after our last day at The Sticks conference. Just to catch you up to speed. Our staff from RiverTown Community Church, where I serve as Student Pastor, traveled some 14+ hours to Loudonville, OH to attend this conference about churches in small towns that are making a big impact for the Kingdom of God. So, to say the least, I'm excited about all the new info we picked up and the contacts that we made while there. I was able to network with some awesome guys from New Pointe Community Church who are also XP3 users (the curriculum we use for SM at RCC) and talk to them about how they are doing ministry there. I made this new commitment to myself to start this blog (something I've been thinking about for a while). I took some time to really reflect on what God is calling me to do with the ministry He has so amazingly gifted me with. I took in about a trillion thoughts and 16 hours of "insight". I guess I'm kinda in information overload right now, but I'm loving every minute of it. But enough for now, more to come...I gotta sleep...