Filed under: Celebration Church, Youth Ministry | Tags: florida, tropical storm faye
Tropical Storm Fay is headed into my backyard (St. Augustine, FL) in a couple days it will sit 60 miles our coast for 12-30 hours…then come back in Thursday a.m. somewhere along our coast. it only caps off the craziest 24 days of my young life! and now they say it may be category 1. my bravado and gusto is fading….
Let’s work backwards…
Monday Aug 18- a full day at the spa, look below to see why i needed
Sunday Aug 17- First day as official campus pastors at St. Johns after 3.5 years as youth directors/associate pastors.
Aug 15-16: Flex Mens’ conference at our church…800 men, with the second day containing a 5.5 hour service project painting, mulching, and planting at Webster Elementary School in St. Augustine.
Aug 11-14: Rush Week- 4 days of events with over 450 middle, high school, and college students attending our “Guard your heart” series based on ‘Deadly Viper Character Assassins’.
Filed under: Religion, Youth Ministry | Tags: 6:8 ministries, Celebration Church, costa rica, spencer
we arrived back in FL late Thursday night, and rode a bus into the wee hours of the morning returning home. Probably got back into my bed at 3:30 a.m., then hit the jail to catch up with some of our guys there.
Over the 1 week in Costa Rica we were a part of some amazing projects. we could tell from day 1 that it would be powerful…when firstcoastnews (local abc and nbc affiliate) showed up at our church wanting to do a story on our trip….and then offered continued coverage throughout the week through reporting on our blogs over at from the field. it was just that kind of week for us. i have so much to say, and will as the days go by. i’m in florida, but i’m still in a state of mind that’s a little hard to define. i miss costa, i love st johns county, i don’t like my consumeristic life so much, and i’m pretty sure i love God more than I did a week ago. Good thing he’s not like me…His love never changes.
Filed under: Celebration Church, Youth Ministry | Tags: 3 crosses, costa rica, hike, mission trip
yesterday we went to the top of a mountain here overlooking san jose costa rica. pictures will be coming soon. i encourage you to check our live trip blog and it’s flickr page for tons of pics!
i’ve experienced a healing moment on this trip. i injured my back recently with all the hurricane bertha mad waves, and for 3 weeks i just wanted to somehow pop it and feel relief. on this trip, i’ve had to take tons of ibuprofen and even some easy-to-obtain-in-costarica-muscle relaxers. yesterday, we hit the mountain, and i was still feeling some of that pain. a couple of students prayed for me, just as the team and my wife have numerous times recently.
the climb was rigorous…the mountain was 7400 feet up, and were at 3000 here. the hike in all was 4 miles. on the way down, it started raining, i slipped and fell down a path, and my back popped 3 times….just like i’ve been needing it to.
about an hour later, on the last half of the descent, we came up on one of our interns…she had twisted both ankles …. so i hoisted her up on my back and carried her down the mountain while rachel carried her stuff. in the tough passages, i put her down and she stuck close for bracing. thank God…i never could have alternated the piggyback ride and fireman’s carry had i not fell earlier on that path!
we begin our return tomorrow. i have so many emotions i don’t know where to start. thank you for your prayers.
Filed under: Celebration Church, Religion, Youth Ministry | Tags: 6:8 ministries, costa rica, mission trip
Our team is doing such an incredible job. Be sure to check their blog for student updates! The picture above is from our team’s renovation of a small local park. Our team brought sidewalk chalk, jump ropes, soccer balls, stickers, and bubbles to play with the ninos. They literally would not let Taylor Brantley leave, as they clung to her feet. My wife Rachel and I had a good time playing on the see saw with Lindsey G. and these 3 local girls. As you can see, they still had trouble balancing me out!
I spoke at the youth service in Aurora at Mt. Sinai Church… it was a packed house and my first experience speaking with a translator. Carolina did a great job as my partner in preaching for the night. I spoke about how often, we have a see saw kind of life, trying to balance 2 separate lives, our church life and our outside church life, it’s so topsy turvy and is painful, and it never seems to give us ‘balance’. My point..the world is out of balance,,, there’s no real balance apart from living a genuine life as a follower of Christ in the world….then there aren’t 2 conflicting lives, but just one.
Later in Aurora, we did something similar, except the poverty was more extreme. Instead of a park, we setup in the middle of a street. It was not as sheltered, and many adults watched the interaction our students had with their children. the transformation 6:8 Ministries has been involved in these past 2 years has changed that neighborhood from a place of random street fires, gang violence, and no safety for children, to the place we found ourselves yesterday, with packs of children clinging to our team, our girls in particular, having the TIME OF THEIR LIVES! Thank you for your prayers as we continue. today we goto paint a local school. Tomorrow we hike to the top of a mountain nearby for an unbelievable time of groupbuilding and connection with Christ.
from the field-
big john
Filed under: Religion, Youth Ministry | Tags: 6:8 ministries, costa rica, missions
Tonight Rachel and I head to Costa Rica for a weeklong mission trip with our church in our partnership with 6:8 Ministries there. This is Rachel’s first overseas missions trip, my second.
We’d appreciate your prayers. There are 24 of us, 17 of which are teens. I will try to post a couple of times from the field. Our teens will be posting here. I’ll be speaking Saturday night at a teen service down there..my first time ever with a translator!
Filed under: Popular Culture, Youth Ministry | Tags: college life, mad max beyond thunderdome, wasteland
I spent week 3 of our “One Prayer” series speaking to a couple hundred students at our Midtown Campus, “Lord make us multiplyers”
Hanging with our middle school students at our Fuel service was a fun experience. My bud, FuelPastor Josh Turner has done an unbelievable job of ministering to and with these students. They hung on almost every word, and almost half responded to say they were feeling moved by God to be part of the 2000 x 2020 vision of our church and its sister churches.
College Life was a blast as well. Our college ministry has gone through many morphs over the years….most recently as the group moved from the LateNite Saturday service to Wednesday night, 9 pm. It was great to see so many young 20 somethings worshipping God with passion and desire…. and I enjoyed speaking with them about our lives not becoming a “Wasteland”. I included a reading from a cheezy letter I once sent to NBC called “Dearest Quarterlife”, which is included in links on the side of this page.
Somehow, execs in the 90’s thought to pitch a show to 20 somethings, and called it ‘ Wasteland ‘. I guess they needed a brand name that depicted the 20’s as a barren place of nothingness akin to Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome….. a time meant to speed through until we get that job we REALLY want, that house we really want, and that spouse we really want. I spoke on how our 20’s are anything but that time. Mark 4 says we have a choice as to how fruitful our lives can be….it all depends on the soil of our hearts. Wayside, rocky, thorn choked….. or embracing the Word God gives us and finding a life that fulfills our wildest dreams.
A for real night full of promise and potential. About half the college students in the room raised their hands to be a part of 2000 x 2020. I believe, in the deepest parts of my heart, that in the year 2020 at the ARC conference, many of these students from Celebration church will be those church and campus planters.
I just returned from my road trip to spend with my brother tighe who’s headed to iraq. we went to see my dad and stepmom in louisiana, then came back to spend time with my mom and stepdad in mississippi. I updated on twitter throughout the weekend. Felt it was important to document these moments. so here’s what i sent, in reverse time order….
| bigjohnscott Sitting N Bham airport. This city has so much good history4Me-&some notsogood- but 2Day’s a lifechanging shift putting destiny in motion
Summer Camp
June 25, 2008, 12:16 pm
Filed under: Celebration Church, Youth Ministry | Tags: josh turner, youth camp, panama city, healing place church, submerge, jason laird, felipe martinez
I just got back from my 13th youth camp as a camp counselor. this was one of the best, with some 600+ people in attendance at Submerge in Panama City, FL . This gig was a blast! Hosted by the awesome Submerge Staff from Healing Place Church (Baton Rouge, LA), it was a knockout. It was a Friday-Monday experience…with majorly kickin worship led by the HPC band in the evening and Celebration band in the mornings. Highlights for me—-
We had an impromptu AA meeting with 15 students at one point…a big eye opening experience about substance abuse. There was also a lot of sweet interaction between middle school and high school kids…with the high school kids praying for the middle schoolers. If you’re a teen and you didn’t make camp this year, you must you must you must be sure to be there next year. There’s nothing like scheduling 3 or 4 days of your life to focus on your spiritual life, detach from your routine, and let God just mess you up only to put you on the right track. Lookin forward to hearing lots of stories of this camp’s impact on students….
end of school bash with Blameless
June 11, 2008, 11:43 pm
Filed under: Celebration Church, Popular Culture, Youth Ministry | Tags: b boys, blameless, Celebration Church, end of school, hip hop, Youth Ministry
today was the last day of school. at our church we celebrated the week with different concerts at different campuses. at our mobile campus, (we meet at a local elementary school cafetorium on Wednesdays) we scheduled Blameless, an up and coming hip hop group that mixes in worship, rock, rap, and b boy dancing. you can check out their music here the event went great. these guys have such open hearts and music that speaks straight to the hearts of todays hip hop generations. when praying for them today, i thought about how God uses people who’ve been tried, troubled, and tested. - and these guys really epitomized that. - the lyrics and overall tone of the night spoke straight to several students…..and led 9 of them to respond by coming forward for prayer to receive Christ. btw, i think these guys would rock it in Europe especially. Can’t wait for the day that these guys are touring full time. What I saw in their hearts today makes me believe that time isn’t too far away.
President Reagan and the perfect block
June 7, 2008, 10:24 am
Filed under: Youth Ministry | Tags: bartram trail high school, blocking, president reagan, graduation, class of 2008, st. augustine
one of the best feelings in life and ministry is to make a big block. President Ronald Reagan said it best, “There is no limit to what you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit.” don’t go political on me, that’s a good quote and an honorable montra. graduation was always my favorite day of the year as a teacher. you can feel the potential, finality, and relief rising together like some magical mixture making the air thick with with pure emotion. last night was no exception when we went to Bartram Trail High School’s class of 2008 graduation. for the offensive lineman, the big block is what you dream of- that block you make that springs the running back for a big play touchdown. it doesn’t even matter if you get acknowledged for springing the block. hearing the crowd cheer…seeing the scoreboard change….. watching your teammates celebrate in the end zone…. few things compare to it. it’s a feeling i’m getting pretty often. at our church, in our youth ministry alumni, and with former students like those we saw last night. besides….we are all where we are because someone ‘blocked’ for us right? Feel free to comment here or share who’s helped you achieve your end zone moments.
Mel Gibson, aluminum foil, and St. Augustine
May 23, 2008, 3:47 pm
Filed under: Popular Culture, Youth Ministry | Tags: bartram trail high school, it's all in your mind, jesus, lies, Mel Gibson, shyamalan, st. augustine church, youth ministry uses for aluminum foil
Just got back from our Friday St. Augustine jail ministry. Awesome times! Wednesday, we were in part 3 of the “It’s all in your mind” series (produced by our ARC partners at Lifechurch.tv ), and I just happened to see M. Night Shyamalan’s movie ‘ Signs ‘ on TV on TNT last weekend. It all started to click. We showed the short clip of the kids telling their dad why they put aluminum foil on their heads… to protect their brains so the aliens couldn’t read their minds. As we studied about ‘Truth or Snare’, it just flowed. Its’ so important not to let lies seep into our brains and affect our lives! I wore the helmet at various times in the night (our students did too…check the bottom of this blog to see the activity we did with them) and at different points in the night, I’d randomly yell ‘Lies! All Lies!’ .
our worship cd hit Itunes this weekend
May 18, 2008, 2:32 pm
Filed under: Celebration Church, Popular Culture, Youth Ministry | Tags: awakening, celebration church music, christian music, itunes, matt adcox, praise and worship As mentioned in a previous post, our church released its long awaited praise and worship collaboration last month, “Awakening” by Celebration Church Music. Yesterday, it posted to Itunes at this link. I suggest buying the whole album for 9.99. Give each track a listen. I think you’ll find a nice unique blend of rock/rap with a praise component with marked Hillsong / Desperation Band influences. If you do stop in and check out a tune, please leave a comment and tell them Big John sent you (if it’s positive!) That would be awesome!
a time for Text Messaging in church….
May 8, 2008, 9:02 am
Filed under: Popular Culture, Youth Ministry | Tags: big john scott, element, text messaging in church, Youth Ministry
But not last night. We began a Lifechurch series called ‘Its all in your mind’, and after reading some youth ministry blogs on the subject of cellphones recently, I had the guinea pig mentality to try something new last night. After our message, as part of the program we broke the students into groups by grade level, and had the group leader lead in with this task…text 3 friends any of these 3 questions (about the message content). We encouraged them to share answers with their peeps from their grade groups… After their group discussion (15 minutes), I came up for a 5 minute closing for a redux to the message, as I had asked the students to text me with some questions and comments. All in all, it was a huge night…and really kept the word of God on the edge of their brains long after the night ended as their friends poured in the texts. My feelings on this….text messaging so huge at this point in history. I remember reading in the Vanity Fair Africa issue that the whole growth sector of the Nigerian economy is done by text…even bank transactions. If we create space in our programs for text messaging that is distinct and interactive, it can have a very positive and relevant impact.
Switchfoot in my fair Verona
April 29, 2008, 7:31 pm
Filed under: Popular Culture, Youth Ministry | Tags: athlete, depression, hot topic, jamie, jon foreman, kerri forrest, love is the movement, nbc news, self mutilation, switchfoot, twloha
What a great time! Jon Foreman is way cool…I had the pleasure of getting to know his dad Marc at Q this month…so down to earth! NBC news was in attendance as producer Kerri Forrest was covering Jamie and twloha with a national story set to run in June. ‘Love is the Movement’ was the anthem of the night. Man it has such fresh legs since the write love t-shirt bearing the song’s title logo. I was also very pleased with Athlete….I’d always liked their sound, reminded me of something I’d hear in Baz Luhmann’s 1996 Romeo and Juliet. ‘Wired’ meant so much more when he described it being about his newborn child with wires running in and out of its body. |
Youth Pastors generally freak out when we see a teen whip out the cellphone during church to text their friends. It damages the ego…. but in essence, it truly can be a distraction. My mantra has been….’You have your cell phone 168 hours a week…and us for 1. Let’s do the cell phone seranade and put that thing to sleep’.
Rachel and I ushered in our Fourth Anniversary by hittin the Switchfoot / Athlete / TWLOHA ‘Up In Arms’ Tour at the historic Murray Hill Theatre in Jacksonville, FL.