The Road Unknown

As we get ready to transition to West Ridge and prepare for the next stage of our lives, I've spent a lot of time looking at our time in Nashville and reflecting. I remember vividly the nervousness and anxiousness I felt when moving to Nashville 11 years ago. I had a lot of the same feelings I have now about Atlanta.

I knew two things for certain when I moved to Nashville. 1.) I knew God wanted me there. 2.) I knew that I was not going to be a youth pastor at a church.

I filled in the rest of the blanks with my own ideas and desires. I thought I was going to be a rock star. I thought I'd make music that would reach and impact people, especially teenagers. I thought I would spend years traveling, singing, making music, etc.

11 years later, my time in Nashville looked NOTHING like I thought it would. It's true God wanted me here, but not for the reasons I thought. I spent a little time making music and traveling, but it was only to setup what God ultimately wanted me there to do. And that's doing what I thought I wouldn't do.

And that's what I think is important in all this. God calls you to obedience, not understanding. God will ask you to put your "Yes" on the table and walk in obedience down a certain road, but rarely will He tell you what the road will actually look like. He's not going to show you up front what will happen. You won't be able to calculate the risk and weigh your options. You either follow Him or you don't. It's going to require faith and trust in Him as you travel down a road unknown. And you're probably better off that way. If I knew what would take place in Nashville, I probably never would've done it.

Now, God will often give us a specific vision. He reveals to us what He wants to accomplish through us. But even then it requires an incredible amount of faith because we don't know what the details look like. We just see the end result. And often that vision can be extreme, difficult, and seemingly impossible.

So if you're stalling because you want more details about what God wants you to do, stop it. You're wasting precious time asking for something that God's not going to give you. God wants your obedience, not your understanding.

As we get ready to go to Atlanta, I'm going to refrain from filling in the blanks. I'm going to let God do that, knowing His ways are better than ours. That will free me up to enjoy the road unknown.

To The Students at The People's Church (Spring Hill Campus)

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, we had to communicate to our students on Sunday that we are leaving The People's Church and transitioning to West Ridge Church near Atlanta at the end of January. For those of you that missed it Sunday, I want to make sure you know exactly what I wanted to say to you. We'll make the audio available on our Verve Radio podcast soon, but here are my notes.

Over the last few months, God has been stirring in my heart and Angie’s heart in some crazy ways. Back in September I called my old youth pastor to seek wisdom from him about some things. He started a church outside Atlanta called West Ridge the summer after my senior year. 14 years later they are a church of over 5,000 and God has used them to reach a lot of people. He mentioned to me that their current high school pastor was getting ready to transition into a new role at the church and they would be looking for a new high school pastor. He asked if I was interested in talking to them about it. I said we could talk and see if that was what God had in store for us. For 2 months, we’ve walked through this process, met with their team, and prayed a lot. Just before Thanksgiving, they offered us the job. We took through the Thanksgiving holiday to continue to pray and see what God wanted from us.

Throughout the process, we couldn’t escape the feeling that this was a door God opened for us. We feel this is something God is calling us to. Last week we accepted their offer and will be moving to GA at the end of January. My last Sunday at TPC will be January 22nd.

During our FOLLOW ME Series we talked about following Jesus no matter the cost. Following Jesus means our lives do not belong to us, but to God. Angie and I are comfortable here. This is home. But following Jesus means putting what He wants ahead of what we want. And I can’t stand on this stage and tell you to live that way if I’m not willing to live that way also.

4 Things I Want You to Know

1. I love every single one of you! I am so thankful for the opportunity to be your youth pastor for the last 5+ years! This is the part I have been dreading the most. Because you are such a huge part of our lives! I have memories with you that I will have for the rest of my life! I've had the privilege of leading some of you to Christ, baptizing some of you, and seeing God move in significant ways in many of you. My one desire for each of you is that you become incredible men and women of God! That has been my motivation every single day! And I know God will continue the work He has started in you.

2. This isn’t my youth group. I don’t own this. This is God’s, and I’m His servant. And He called Angie and me to serve in this area for the last 5 years and help start the Spring Hill Campus. It's been a great ride! But I can’t get upset if he calls us somewhere else because it’s His. It’s sad and it means saying goodbye to people we love, but all of this belongs to God. Including us.

3. Sometimes God brings people into your life and sometimes God leads people away. As we grow in our relationship with Christ and help build His Kingdom, people come and go. We experience different seasons of ministry and live life with different people. God allows us to minister together for months or years, and then He moves us to our next place. That’s part of life. It’s not unhealthy or unfair and it doesn’t mean people don’t care about you. But it does make you cherish the times you have together.

4. I believe the best days are ahead for this Student Ministry! 1.) Because of our adult volunteers who will continue to be in place after I transition. They love you and are committed to helping you grow. 2.) Because some of you students in the room are going to step up and take a bigger role and God’s going to use you to do significant things. I believe whoever comes in after me will help take this Student Ministry to the next level! And the leadership of this church is committed to making that happen.

The good news is I’m not dying or moving to Afghanistan. I’m only moving 4 hours down the road. I’ll be back in town from time to time. I still want to hear from you on Facebook & Twitter. And you can call me up anytime. I will do anything I can for any of you.

If you were not in the room yesterday to hear this, the bottom line is I love you. Thanks for allowing me to minister to you and lead our incredible team. I don't deserve what I was able to do the last 5+ years. Thanks for helping to make it so amazing!

Todd

Big Announcement

Yesterday was one of the toughest days that I've had as a Youth Pastor. We had to communicate something significant to our students. It's a decision that came after months of God moving in my heart and in Angie's heart. It's exciting, sad, difficult, emotional, and incredible all rolled into one.

At the end of January, The Hamptons will be moving to the Atlanta area and I will be joining the staff at West Ridge Church (www.westridge.com) as their new High School Pastor. It's an unbelievable opportunity for us to serve in a great church and we're so thankful for the door God has opened for us!

Why West Ridge? West Ridge is not just a random church I found on the internet. Instead, it's a church that we have personal ties to. My youth pastor from 7th-12th grade, Brian Bloye, moved to the Atlanta area and started West Ridge the summer after my senior year of high school. 14 years later, they are a multi-campus church of over 5,000. God has done some powerful things in that church over the years and I'm humbled to get to serve alongside Brian and the rest of the team!

The sad part about this is it means saying goodbye to people we love. It means no longer being heavily involved in the lives of teenagers we deeply care about. And it means leaving a city like Nashville that has been home to Angie and me for 11 years. Nashville has been the only home Angie and I have had as a married couple. And The People's Church has been the only church we've been part of as a married couple. It will be a difficult transition, but one we feel God is calling us to make. My last day at The People's Church will be January 22.

I knew yesterday was going to be tough, and I was right. I'm thankful that in spite of the sad news, everyone has been very supportive to Angie, the kids, and me. That just goes to show how incredible the people are that we've lived life with over the last 11 years.

Now...anyone want to buy a house?

A 3-Year-Old Thanksgiving (PART II)

A couple of years ago I had Carson (who was 3 at the time) tell me what she was thankful for. (http://www.toddstwocents.com/2009/11/what-im-thankful-for-from-our-3-year.html)

Today, I thought I would do the same thing with our current 3-year-old, Jadd. Since he's a boy and Carson is a girl, that means this will be very different. And superheroes will be a big part of it. So here you go...

"Jadd, tell me what you're thankful for."

"Superman."

"Big Batman."

I caught on quickly to what he was doing.

"Buddy, this isn't what you want for Christmas. This is what you're thankful for. Do you know what being thankful means?"

"Yes. It means being happy for stuff you have. I'm thankful for...."

"Superman."

"Batman."

"Those slingy swords."

"Car."

"Whose car?"

"The Target car." (I have no idea what that is.)

"And our car."

"Are you thankful for mommy and daddy?"

"Yes. But I'm thankful for...."

"Spiderman toy."

"Toy Story toys."

"I'm thankful for....."

(He then repeated this line approximately 36 times, so I tried to help refocus his attention.)

"Who are people in your life you love?"

"I love mommy and daddy."

"I love Rachel." (she was sitting next to him)

"I love Hannah." (also next to him)

"I love Capo." (Hannah's dog who was sniffing his leg)

"I love Grammy." (my mom who was not sniffing his leg)

"I love Poppy."

"I love Carson and Avery."

"I love Mommy." (again)

"I love Transformers."

"What about your house?"

"I love MY HOUSE!"

"I love Miss Sherry." (his preschool teacher)

"I love Coppe and Estee." (girls in his preschool class)

"I love Gavin."

"What about Jesus?"

"Yeah. He is true...true...true...true...What did you ask me again?"

At this point, he was more interested in watching HGTV with his aunts than talk to me. So I had to ask him a couple of final questions to get him back on track.

"Jadd, why do we celebrate Thanksgiving?"

"Because it's so awesome!"

"What are you going to eat for dinner tonight?"

"Turkey...and pizza."

"What happened to your eye?"

"I was playing the crack the egg game on the trampoline today. Daddy bounced me and I hurt it on the side of the trampoline." (Not a shining moment for me as a parent.)

"Ok, Jadd. What else do you want to say?"

"Umm...Captain America."

That's code for Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

BATTLEFIELD

Several weeks ago, our Student Ministry wrapped up a series called BATTLEFIELD. It was based out of Ephesians 6 and the Armor of God. And it happened after months of watching the enemy attack our students left and right. The series seemed to be pretty powerful for both the students and adults. Here is a breakdown of what we did each week.

WEEK 1

• Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-12
• Illustration/Creative Element: The song "Our God" and a chess board to show how the enemy looks at our life and strategically moves in for the kill.
• Main Point: In order to win the battle, we must first identify Satan as the enemy and God as our defender.

WEEK 2

• Scripture: Ephesians 6:13-14a (Belt of Truth)
• Illustration/Creative Element: Interview w/ Satan video
• Main Point: The battle is won by living in truth, not lies.

WEEK 3

• Scripture: Ephesians 6:14b-15 (Breastplate of Righteousness/Shoes of Peace)
• Illustration/Creative Element: Rap with worship band FEAT ZaYa
• Main Point: The breastplate of righteousness helps us live as God desires and the shoes of peace help us encourage others to do the same.

WEEK 4

• Scripture: Ephesians 6:16 (Shield of Faith)
• Illustration/Creative Element: Student skit and shield/arrow scene from movie "300"
• Main Point: Faith means I know who God is and that He is present even with the answers are not.

WEEK 5

• Scripture: Ephesians 6:17 (Helmet of Salvation/Sword of Spirit)
• Illustration/Creative Element: Funny video from Za Ya and Beau, "Battlefield" bumper sung by some of our volunteers, plus samurai sword during the message showing power to fight back against the enemy
• Main Point: Our salvation protects us, and we must fight back against the enemy with God's Word.

Time To Act

"Years passed, and the king of Egypt died. But the Israelites continued to groan under their burden of slavery. They cried out for help, and their cry rose up to God. God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He looked down on the people of Israel and knew it was time to act."

Exodus 2:23-25 (NLT)

Have you been at a place in your life where you wished God would act? Maybe you're there now. You have financial struggles and wonder how you will survive. Your family is a mess and you know the only way healing will take place is if God steps in and does the miraculous. Maybe you just feel beat up by circumstances and the pounding is relentless.

The Israelites felt much of this during the height of slavery in Egypt. They were God's chosen people and yet felt like God's cursed people. They may have been told God cared deeply for them, but circumstances told them God didn't care about them at all.

Notice a couple of things about these verses:

• Years passed, meaning Israel had to be patient. It wasn't that God didn't care. It just wasn't time to act.
• Israel may have pinned their hopes of survival on the king dying. Yet the slavery didn't stop when that happened. Proof that their hope of freedom wasn't in circumstances, but in God.
• Israel continued to cry out to God for help. Don't miss that. Even when God doesn't answer right away, our prayers are important and are heard by God.
• God didn't forget. This verse leads us to believe God heard their cries and thought, "Oh yeah! I forgot about Israel. I better do something." God is not aloof. God did not forget. He knew what His people were going through the entire time.
• Could there be 3 more exciting words when it comes to God and circumstances in our life? "...time to act." When God decides its time to act, our patience is rewarded and we see God do what we trusted He could do!

So do you find yourself like Israel, asking God to move and work but having to be patient and trust for the time to act? Don't lose heart! Continue to persevere and know that God is waiting for the right opportunity to move in. Continue to pray. Continue to trust. Continue to patiently wait for God to act. Because He will.

Maybe you're Moses in this passage. God's decision to act means an opportunity for leadership from you. When God decides to act, He uses others to bring about his plan. Moses had no clue that God taking action meant he was about to be leading the charge. Is God calling you to bring about his plan? Are you willing to listen and do what He's calling you to do?

13 years ago...

13 years ago my world was forever changed. I met an incredible girl that a few years later would become my wife. The picture above is from when we met and is our very first (of many) pictures together. Friday brought a bunch of memories of the time we met and the crazy things that happened to bring us to where we are today. For those of you who haven't heard the story, here you go...

It was mid-May 1998 and I was spending time with God one morning. I had a lot on my mind. There was a youth group in TX talking to me and some buddies about leading worship for their camp. But I had a job and knew I wouldn't be able to get off work. That morning I opened up my Bible resigned to the fact that I wouldn't be able to go to the camp. The passage I read was Matthew 6:31-33 and said,

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat?

What will we drink? What will we wear?’

These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father

already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else,

and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."

I was also reading from Oswald Chambers "My Utmost For His Highest", and after being convicted about how we complain to God that we can't do HIS plans because of OUR needs, I immediately knew I needed to go to the camp. I also knew it would cost me my job. But I gave in to God and we decided to do the camp. I went in to work the next day and told them I needed the days off. My boss said either I worked those days or I had to quit. Right then and there, I made the difficult decision to quit my job, knowing that's what God wanted me to do.

We showed up at the camp on June 8, 1998 and God immediately began to work. At several points that week I felt like God audibly spoke to me and I was drawn into His presence in some incredible ways. God also used us that week to minister to teenagers and lead people in worship. And God also provided for us financially in more ways that week than what I would've made at my job.

But something else also happened that week. About 2 days into the camp, my friend and I were watching as the students played some games. I noticed one really hot girl immediately and said to my friend, "Check her out! She's hot!" What I didn't know was that her youth pastor was standing right there and overheard me say that. He laughed and said, "She's been talking about you all week!" He told me her name was Angie and she had just graduated high school. He asked if I went to Liberty University in VA and I said yes. He told me she was looking into that school as well. He then asked me to join them for dinner that night.

At dinner, I met Angie for the first time and ate with her and her youth group. We had a good time and talked several other times throughout the week. I could tell there was something special about her. When camp was over, we exchanged mailing addresses (yes that was how people communicated in the old days).

We talked the rest of that summer and she ended up coming to Liberty, where we dated for 3 years before getting married in August 2001. After arriving at Liberty, she told me she had been praying for months that God would give her a sign about where to go to school that Fall. When she arrived at camp, she felt God strongly say that Liberty was the place. She then found out that's where I went. She still tells me I was her sign from God.

I can't help but think, "What if I didn't walk in obedience to God? What if I refused to quit my job?" I probably would have never met my incredible wife. Let me be clear. We don't follow God so that he'll bless us. We follow God because He asks us to. But when we walk in obedience to God, we have no idea what He's doing behind the scenes. Sometimes God doesn't give us the why when it comes to obedience. He just asks us to obey and trust Him. I'm so glad I did on this occasion!

13 years later, I'm still in love with that beautiful woman named Angie. She has meant the world to me and I'm so thankful that God has brought us together! And that I was brave enough to call her hot in front of her youth pastor.