Flight from Atlanta to Minneapolis has been delayed by almost 30-minutes...arhg...

STP 2011 Weeks 1 & 2 on Vimeo

This video is obviously out of order, but I never posted it the first time. So, here is a quick look at the first two weeks of random footage at Project!

STP 2011 Weeks 1 & 2 on Vimeo

‘It is the most important thing. Period.’ | Summer Training Project

Here is a quick blog post that Emma wrote that week on the STP blog about one of Matt Reagan's talks. The talk itself was super helpful, very convicting about how much more I need to simply trust and rejoice in the good news that Christ has "rescued me from the domain of darkness and transferred me [us] to the kingdom of his beloved Son".

‘It is the most important thing. Period.’ | Summer Training Project

Highlights of Week 3 and 4 on Vimeo

Thanks to a most talented video guy on project, here is a tast of the last couple of weeks. It looks way cooler than perhaps it actually gives information about the last couple of weeks...but here you go, here is the hotel and area around the hotel and stuff. Cool stuff...plus, you can totally hear my voice playing the game right at the beginning of it.

Highlights of Week 3 and 4 on Vimeo

Doing bible study training this morning and about to go to a staff social time...good stuff

Low Country Boil

In a couple of hours, I will be enjoying some Southern food, beef, potatoes, corn, shrimp and all sorts of stuff all thrown into a pot and cooked. Tonight is the weekly social at the Project, and tonight is called "Low Country Boil"...should be fun.

Things have been super challenging and super great in SC.

I've been really convicted on several various things, including a big conviction on how much I put my identity in ministry and the "success" I have in ministry. This has been an idol of mine, and the Lord has been progressively displaying this to me, rebuking me kindly in my idolatry, rather than trusting in the gospel. Or as Paul said, "He HAS delivered from the domain of darkness, and HAS transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son[!]." Wow! This is the gospel, if we are in Christ, this IS NOW a reality, and we should "sing with thankfulness in our heart to God" over this truth, and it has been happening more in my life lately.

So, a week from today I will be back up North, spending a couple of days in St. Cloud with my mom and brother and sister in law, which should be really fun. Then I'll be back in Brookings sometime around the 5th of July, ready to push forward towards some Fall planning for Equip, and hopefully spending a ton of time travelling and meeting with friends and people that I hope will be excited to join my partner team as I raise financial support. Please keep this in your prayers for my sake, as I am hoping to raise $1,100 of monthly support yet this summer (well, actually about $900 more).

(the picture is just another pic of the CO staff training times each morning...we are studying John Frame, it is super great, makes me want to read a lot more John Frame)

Doctrine of the Word of God

These few days, we the staff (CO staff and myself) are studying the book, "The Doctrine of the Word of God", by John Frame. It has been really good so far, I'm realizing how much more I want to read Frame! He has been really helpful in understanding a few things like God's word communicated through words and the significance of that.

Anyways, sitting in this for the morning all morning today, then am hoping to get a bunch of fundraising calls done tonight and finish a few things that are in the shoot for getting ready for Fall.

97-degrees in SC...and 210% humidity

Random Pics

Here are a few pics of some events and some of the fun stuff that is planned to gather students and have some fun while on project.

Fellowship and Theology

Since Emma is simply a better writer than I might hope to be, I'm posting the link to her latest (2nd) blog post from STP.

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On a more personal note, I can't believe it is already June 15th! I am going to be back in SD super crazy soon.

My time here, however, has been absolutely amazing!

Here is a brief rundown of whats been going on so far:

1. I've been able to learn a whole lot from these COM staff guys, how they do ministry, their hearts for the gospel and their openness and brokenness before the Lord, which has been very helpful.
2. Every thursday night the students have a scheduled 'social', in which this last week was the "boat social". Very funny, and a great time for them to build relationship and get to know each other right away at the beginning of the project.
3. I've had a few day training with the staff of COM, (Campus Outreach Minneapolis), plus several days of training and discussion with about 50 other CO staff from all over the place, (Georgia, D.C., Virginia, etc.). Each morning we would all gather, listen to 2-3 different speakers teach on various topics ad break into small groups to talk. A few of the message were:

• the way we should view the involvement of CO (Equip, in my case) in local churches
• being gospel centered rather than ministry centered (which was super convicting, I've got a lot to pray about and change in my own heart)
• rightly treating rest and sabbath.
• Discipleship vs counseling (which the 'vs' was in-fact not actually a 'vs')

I'll keep it brief, but simply put, I am so super thankful for your prayers and for everyone on my support team that enables me to be here and learn and have an immense time of growth and development. I already know that it is going to make a big difference in my heart and ministry outreach back at SDSU! If it weren't for people like you, these kinds of opportunities would not happen, and the experience and growth would be a lost opportunity.

So, please keep praying for the students, that they would develop friendship and be challenged by their time in the word with others, as well as their time in one-on-one's, being discipled and taught in this jam-packed two-month time!

(The picture is a few students from Michigan State U, from University Reformed Church. John Saunders, their college pastor, has been a super big encouragement to me, and is simply a really godly guy. At the end is Christa Juntenen, a sophomore at SDSU...what a pose.)

Several Days in South Carolina

South Carolina is great! The beach is warm, the sun is hot, and the humidity is just ridiculous. The weather has been great, and way more importantly, the time down here has been really good with students. There are a total of 6 Equippers down here, then another 190 some MN students from COM area. Ryan, Caleb, Ian, Emma, Leah and Christa have seemed to really get started off well.

The first night started off with a bang.

After an 8-hour drive on the 2nd day (for the students), they arrived to lots of hype and fanfare, to be followed by confusion and hysteria trying to figure out their room situations, food, work and all sorts of things. The first night we all had worship and a kick-off message describing the 'project' and what they might expect the following few days.

Today then, Monday, is the first day of work for most of the students. I participated in the CO staff training this morning, which was more-or-less evaluation of the trip and the beginning of project, talking about students and their needs. It was very encouraging to see how they operate things, and way more encouraging to start to get to know their hearts for God. Also, I'm very much looking forward to learning a lot from them, both the staff and the student leaders. They are all really cool people, and I am liking a lot of what I'm seeing.

So, there is much more I could and perhaps should be saying, but for now, there is a good and brief overview of what has been going down so far. There are lots of time for Bible study, leadership training, Bible study training, evangelism and training, 'life training', and 'theme training' meetings throughout the evenings and on Wednesdays. (the theme is "Awake", taken from 1 Thess 5:6).

Keep praying for the students, that they would grow just a ton and that the Lord would grow them to bring back a further love of the Lord and excitement for ministry to SDSU!

I've attached a short video clip of the hotel and courtyard area (I've always wanted to use that word, 'courtyard' in a context that makes me feel like C.S. Lewis or something). All or most of the students are all out at work right now, save for Caleb, who working at McDonalds from 6:00-2:00, so his schedule is considerably different than most. He is seen here swimming in the pool...cool.