So the world blogs now. At first I thought the word blog was a definition for not feeling well. Then my oldest son Tony and a few friends told me that I needed to BLOG. So what does a 46 year old worn out youth pastor blog about. Well maybe the fact that I am a 46 year old worn out youth guy. Or maybe the fact that I am going on my 25th year of ministry ( fundraising my support most of the way ), Well let me start with this. I am a ex jock, I really do not know what that means, but that is what I claim to be. Most of my life up until the age of 22 centered around football and only football, if it had nothing to do with football then I had nothing to do with it. As far as God was concerned, WELL, he didn’t have much to do with football so I had nothing much to do with him. It took God 22 years to get my attention, and trust me that was not easy, it took some pretty Major shakeups in my life to get to the point for me to even listen to him. Skip ahead to a new Christian guy hanging out in a small Baptist church in Utah ( Ya Baptist church in Utah ) the pastor asked me one Sunday If I would mind hanging out with some of the bored teenagers in the church. I had a real problem with this, I DID NOT like kids, heck I barely liked people. Now back then there were very few youth pastors in this world, like there is today with Middle school pastor, high school pastor, college pastor, guys pastor, girls pastor, friends of guys and girls pastor, I will stop now. So being a good new christian guy who is trying to get his life turned around and please his new pastor I said NO! Turned out that this pastor was a stubborn pastor. So after a few weeks I gave in. I hooked up with 6 high school guys and went and shot hoops. So here I sit 25 years later telling my self I should have told that pastor NO! Being in full time youth ministry has truly been a real pain. Yep I said real pain. For 25 years I have not gotten to bed befor midnight, I have driven nothing but old, used or borrowed cars. I hear that you can get some other kind of bank account called a SAVINGS account, wouldn’t know about that, and more than once my wife and friends have asked what I am going to do when I grow up. I have performed funerals, I have told a drunk dad that his son has died,if I hear one more time that” my boyfriend broke up with me’ I am going to pop, I have spent way to many years in a stinky old juvenile hall. I have consumed more pizza then any man should and swallowed gold fish that I am sure will some day kill me.

And I have got to say, I would not trade any one of those years or moments for the world. I cant Waite to see what the next 25 years might hold. It ain’t easy, but there is nothing better.

Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body. But rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: WOW! WHAT A RIDE!!