Youth Ministry Stories #10 (Matthew Robertson)

I was thinking about writing a youth ministry story today, and a former youth member popped in my head, Matthew Robertson.   I realized there were tons of stories that Matthew was apart of.  I decided to tell three short ones, and these three story sum up our relationship very well.

My first week on the job

When I first got the job at Christ Church I spent a lot of time building relationships with the youth.  One of the principles I learned working with Younglife is that you have to earn the right to be heard.  The main way you do this is by spending time with youth you don’t know.  I must say, no matter how old you get, building relationships with people you don’t know is tough, awkward, and difficult.  Some of the youth and I were going to grab lunch downtown after the church service.  Matthew was walking about five paces in front of me when I heard him say, “I just think it sucks that Rachel (the last youth director) left, and now we are stuck with this old fat guy".  So my wife read this first story and told me that it seemed mean.  I love this story, not because Matthew said something that hurt my feelings.  I love this story because by the time Matthew graduated we were as close as we could be.  He was one of the students in my program, but he was also one of my closest friends.  We had our own inside jokes, our own secret handshake, and some really great times.   

The Mission Trip

We were on an Inner City Mission Trip in Atlanta, GA.  Our lodging was a state park where we were camping out.  I told everyone to hurry and get a shower because we had a tight schedule.  Matthew just kept hanging out and talking to everyone.  Finally when we were about to start our Bible study Matthew grabbed his soap, shampoo, and clothes and ran to the shower leaving all of us to wait on him.  After a couple minutes I headed to the shower house to tell him to hurry.  When I realized he was taking his time I stole his clothes and left him only a dress to wear back to camp.  When he made it back to the camp everybody laughed.  Matthew was never embarrassed, not even for a second.  Instead he made us uncomfortable us by wearing the dress for the rest of the night.  During the evenings Bible study I was forced to listen to him answer serious questions about faith and God while wearing the dress.  Maybe this story is heading down the sarcastic path as well.  Simply put, Matthew's faith was sincere and real, and he looked as good as possible in the dress.

The Ski Trip

We were on our ski trip.  A group of guys including Matthew and I had agreed to start off the day skiing together.  When it was time to meet Matthew was not there.  I went to check on him and found him still in bed, asleep.  After asking, begging, pleading, and squirting him with water to get him up didn’t work I decided to go a different route.  First I took the mattress from the other bed and threw it on top of him.  Then I threw all of the blankets on top of that.  Next I added the pillows from the couch, the chairs from the kitchen table, the kitchen table, the microwave, Pot and pans, silverware, his luggage, his roommate’s luggage, and literally everything in the entire room.  I left him there and went skiing with the guys.  I learned later that someone had to dig him out of the stuff so he could get up.  I'm not even sorry about this story.  This was awesome!

I miss my bro!

Ma'Holla!

Joey

A nugget of joy from James..."Early Bird"

I was talking to my oldest son, James, about what "early bird" meant at the restaurant where I am working. I explained how the people who own the restaurant lower the price of food to encourage people to come in when it is not typically busy.  He told me that there is an early bird at his school too.  He explained that it is when kids come to school early and eat breakfast at school.  Then he added, "It's confusing that both things are called early bird.  They should call kids who come to school early, Early Nerds."

That's my boy!!!

It's no Scatoris, but maybe a close second

I've been wanting to cook a pizza on the grill for a long time.  It was tons of fun for the family and it turned out really good.  I did my best attempt at pounding the dough into 4 circles.  One of them looked like a deformed kidney bean.  I brushed on some olive oil on the grill and the dough, and then into the grill they went.  I cooked one side of the dough, and then brought the half cooked dough to the family so they could add the toppings to the cooked side.  then, it was back to the grill.  The pizza's came out great, and it was fabulous family time.  Yum Yum!!

My dry rub ribs (Kansas City style)

This week I was hungering for some ribs.  I made a homemade Kansas City style BBQ rub, and rubbed down the ribs.  Set the ribs up on indirect heat.  Two and a half hours later we were munching some fall-off-the-bone tender ribs.  Delicious!

My second favorite burger

When I lived in Savannah a friend (Matthew Luffburrow) took me to Crystal Beer Parlor.  It is a nice little joint that mostly locals know about.  They have a great burger menu.  I was feeling ambitious the day I went, and I tried the lamb burger.  It was excellent.  Now I keep ground lamb in my fridge, and I make my own lamb burger regularly.

Here are a few burgers I made this week.  I start off by making a few patties.  I press a little Feta cheese into the burgers and cook the burgers on the grill.  Once the burgers are done I spread some tzatziki sauce (Greek cucumber dressing) on the hamburger bun, add raw spinach leaves and raw onions, and then place a bunch of feta cheese on top.

And...Vuala! My second favorite burger.

A message to Lakeside Youth (Jan 6th)

Hebrews 4:12

“For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

I assume you are reading this blog because you are a member of Lakeside youth group, and I sent you here.  Last week at Lakeside youth group we talked about a new way to read the Bible. At the end of youth group I challenged you all to read the story of Noah's Ark, and to identify 4 things.  

1. The Fallen Condition...Look in the story of Noah and seek where the passage reveals human nature in deep need of redemption.  Bascially, where people like me mess up.  

2.  Redemptive Solution...Look at the story of Noah and seek moments where someone is saved.  What is the process God uses to save someone.  

3.  The Theological Big Idea...Identify the nature of God in the story.  Don't think about the people in the story think about God's attributes.  Some examples of God's attributes might be: trustworthy, loving, caring, powerful, etc..   

4. Respond...How can you respond to the story of Noah's Ark?  Is there something you need to pray for?  Is there some action you should do because of what you have studied?  

Read your Bible everyday.  A chapter a day take you less than 5 minutes, and don't forget that I will have candy for anyone who brings their own personal Bible next week to youth group.  The Bible is alive.  Study it and you WILL grow closer to God.