Weekend Wrap-up 10/28/2007

Attendance: Below Average
Lesson Topic: The Other Brother: Prodigal Son
Fun Factor: Average
Volunteer Involvement: Above Average
Music: Above Average
Lesson Quality: Above Average
Length of Lesson: 25
Student Response: Above Average

I was once again gone this week, so Jim Nelson filled in for me. I got back in time to sit in on the Sr. High service. Jim and the gang did a great job. I heard the music was great. I thought the lesson was intriguing and got the students talking. This upcoming week, Deb Ayers will be filling in for me while I am in St. Louis. I love my adult leaders...

Self Improvement

I have a problem. I have to much passion for my students. I tend to get down on myself when I think that they aren't connecting to God like I think they should. Right now I in a kind of re-evaluation of my life and ministry. Trying to improve how and what I am doing. I know that I have so much to learn and sometimes I feel overwhelmed. When things settle down for me, I am hoping to try some different things in my ministry that should make things better.

One of the struggles of a youth pastor is not always seeing the fruit of your labor. You spend many hours with students and don't ever feel like you are getting anywhere. I had lunch with a student who started my ministry as a seventh grader. He was never a bad kid but didn't always make the right choices. I worried about him after I left but after talking to him on Thursday. I felt better and can see how he is maturing not just physically but also spiritually. Made me feel kind of better.

Sometimes God gives you those moments to remind you that you are still doing His work.

Back in Nashville

So ths weekend the family and I headed back to Nashville to visit my wife's family. I wasn't really excited about going back but it grew on me. I spent yesterday hanging with some former workmates and eating lunch. I went back to Emdeon and visit some others. I enjoyed seeing everyone but was glad that I didn't work there anymore. Lots has changed and I didn't like it.

I then spent the afternoon at panera bread waiting for my friend Mike to come into town for dinner. I had some former students come and vist and even took one home. I love talking to them and glad they came by.

I am glad to be home but I am ready to get back to KC. Next week head to st. Louis for the NYWC and I am totally stoked.

Weekend Wrap-up 10/21/2007

Attendance: Below Average
Lesson Topic: Live God Loud: Family Survival?
Fun Factor: Average
Volunteer Involvement: Above Average
Music: Average
Lesson Quality: Above Average
Length of Lesson: 25
Student Response: Above Average

I was gone last week but heard that everything went well. I am hoping to post the video on here soon. This week we decided to talk about family and what living God loud looks like when it comes to dealing with family. Each of us has been given two parents, who may or may not love us. The state of your parents shouldn't be reflected in how you treat them. If we are Living God Loud then our goal should be to obey our parents the best possible because that is what God has called us to. God didn't say, "honor your father and mother only if they do everything you like" because that will never happen. But we must honor our father and mother even if we don't like it, because our Heavenly Father has asked us to and it is our obedience to Him that overrides everything else

I know what it is like growing up in a not-so-perfect household. I had a father who was an alcoholic. This didn't make being a Christian easy or living my life easy. But I still loved my father and did what I could to obey him and my mother. We will not always see eye to eye with our parents, sometimes no matter how hard we try but I know that if the communication is open between both parents and adults, and that God is in the middle, we can make it through anything.

Transformers

I couldn't wait for this movie to come out on DVD. Timmy and I saw it on the day it came out at 11pm. I actually woke him up from sleeping to go see it. He was soo excited to see it.

I loved Transformers as a kid. I actually owned several of them and used to watch it all the time on TV. When I heard they were redoing the movie, I got stoked. I became worried about how the movie would come out because of the other many tv to movie remakes that turned out horrible.

I was highly amazed at this movie... The effects were awesome. They storyline was great. The acting was good. Overall an amazing movie. Clean for the most part.

Hitting the Schools!

So today I spent the day at two different schools. I had lunch at Plaza Middle with several of my students and then went to watch the Parkhill vs Parkhill South Varsity Soccer game. I love spending time at the schools and visiting my students.

At lunch, I sat with a few students and said Hi to some others. Getting into the schools isn't always the easiest thing in the world. I tried to make this trip easier by contacting the Principal first. He had no problems letting me come in, just was cautious. The district allows me (youth pastors) to come in and sit with students. The funny thing is, once I got in, I had several teachers/ administrators that they thought it was cool that I came in and spent time with my students. I was laughing at it, but got some good conversation in with them.

I do find it funny how students respond to me coming. Most of them love it and get me to sit by them. I had a couple seek me out, but I also had others kind of ignore me. I always laugh at that. Anytime a student has introduced me to their friends, the reaction is good rather than bad. On several occasions, I have heard comments like "I wish my youth pastor would come visit me". I don't think I have ever heard anyone say the opposite. But oh well, I don't force myself on anyone. My goal is to visit each school where I have a student before the end of the year, we will see...

The soccer game was good, cold but good. We didn't stay for the whole game because of the cold and rain. We didn't want our kids getting sick. I like going to these games cause it gives me a chance to spend time with parents and watch the students. I also love watching and listening to the other students in the stands. I always find it interesting to see how they act, talk and hang with each other. The way they talk to their friends. Who they talk about.

One thing I did think at both lunch and the soccer game, is how many lost students there are in the Platte Woods and how most of them don't even know it. I and other youth pastors have our work cut out for me. Making the gospel appealing to kids who aren't interested, is a hard job. But like David against Goliath, we have a mighty God and He will give us the battle.

Surf's Up!

Today was a great day for me. I went to the beach with Kaitlyn and the rest of my family. I havemt been to the beach in a while. I spent most of my time helping my nephews surf. The waves were 4-6 feet high a times so it was rough for them at 12 and 10.

My brother and I would get them through the break and help them get started. We had a blast. My brother and I tried to surf also and that was funny. I haven't used a 6 foot board in a while so it just wouldn't work. We spent two hours in the water. Playing in the waves and messing around.

The bad part is that I didn't put any sunscreen on and a currently paying for it. I am horribly sunburnt... I habent been this burnt in quite a long time. I probably need to remember I am a mid-westerner now and not a Floridian. I am sure I will be peeling in a few days, so that should be fun.

But it was well worth it. the water was nice and the company was great....

Anniversary

This was written yesterday...

So today is the day. One year ago my father pssed away. It was weird because I had coffee today with my mothers new pastor and as I was driving home I realized it was 10:30, 5 minutes from the exact time my father passed away. It was weird. I remember that day vividly. All the events that took place and everything tht was said.

The day has gone good. I spent molst of it helping my mom clsen out the garage to give her some room. My father collected everything so we were deciding what to throw away and what to keep. We went to the cemetary and spent some time there. I will probably go back later tonight.

Rest in peace Roy Elmer Probus Sr.

Anniversary

So today is the day. One year ago my father pssed away. It was weird because I had coffee today with my mothers new pastor and as I was driving home I realized it was 10:30, 5 minutes from the exact time my father passed away. It was weird. I remember that day vividly. All the events that took place and everything tht was said.

The day has gone good. I spent molst of it helping my mom clsen out the garage to give her some room. My father collected everything so we were deciding what to throw away and what to keep. We went to the cemetary and spent some time there. I will probably go back later tonight.

Rest in peace Roy Elmer Probus Sr.

In Flight

Right now I am blogging at 15,000 feet. I am on my way to spend the
weekend with my mom as we 'celebrate' my fathers death. I can't
believe that it has a whole year. So much has changed since he has
been gone. I still miss him. I think about him every day. I know my
mom has struggled with him being gone but I think she has gotten into
the groove of her life without him. I know it has been hard, but after
36 years of marriage it would be.

I am glad I get this break though Kaitlyn and I are going to have fun
maybe even hit the beach. I will be back in KC Wednesday night. I am
missing an entire weekend of youth service but I am confident that my
adult leaders will do a great job.

--
Roy E. Probus Jr
Youth Pastor @ Platte Woods Church
Cell: 816.522.2946
Blog: http://soulshaper.blogspot.com

Blogging woes

I haven't really been blogging lately. I have gotten really busy and haven't had a chance to log on and blog. My viewership has really gone down. Not that it has every been huge or anything, but higher than it has been lately. I want to make an effort to blog more, to give my readers something to actually read. Not just about me but about my ministry and my God. There is a lot of things I can write about and I am taking some steps to do it.

If you are still reading this thanks, and I promise I will get better :)

Best Job in the World

I have been a full-time youth pastor for almost 5 months now. It feels like a dream that you have over and over, and then when it finally comes true, you still think it is a dream. I feel that way. I keep expecting things to go back to "normal" and ending up back in Nashville working at Emdeon and Covenant. The dream hasn't ended yet. I am really enjoying our time at Platte Woods. I love the church and the people.

Over the last few weeks, I have really been thinking about my calling and what it means to be a youth pastor in this day and age. I know that I have the best job in the world. I get to spend most of my time with students and doing all kinds of fun things while I am at it. I love what I do. I love to be in the position to change someone's life. I love spending time with parents and getting to know them more and what they love doing. I love getting to know the students and how God has changed their life, to help them through their problems and really moving their life forward.

But there is a problem... I also have one of the hardest jobs in the world. Hardest in the point of trying to change someone's point of view. Students live in a great big world that is telling them to do everything they want to do, no matter who or what they hurt. The world loves to tell students that sex is ok, as long as they love each other. That parents are just people in your life, but no one to really listen to. To show students a life that is neither attainable or actually worth having, but that students should have it. A world that produces 100 million dollar movies to show students that being "knocked up" isn't that big a deal. This world is what I am battling. A world obsessed with itself and doesn't care how that affects others. A world that is pushing parents and students away from each other, where students are raising themselves and currently failing at it. A world so into sports, that every student out there wants to be on an ESPN Highlight roll.

So how are I, we supposed to combat that world. Churches seem to be declining in attendance because we aren't seen as relevant anymore. People see all the major problems within the church, and all churches together. This is why I have the hardest job in the world. Everyday I struggle to show students that Jesus is relevant in their life and that the things their friends are telling them about God, isn't the truth. But hard or not, like David vs Goliath, I have God on my side. The creator of the universe has called me to this profession. He has brought me to this place in my life and this church and these students.
No matter how hard my job is, He is more than powerful enough to overcome anything.

Weekend Wrap-up 10/07/2007

Attendance: Average
Lesson Topic: Live God Loud: Hanging with Jesus?
Fun Factor: Average
Volunteer Involvement: Above Average
Music: Average
Lesson Quality: Slightly Above Average
Length of Lesson: 215
Student Response: Above Average

We continue our series called "Live God Loud". Tonight we talked about having quiet time with God. We looked at some of the excuses, as well as how to prepare ourselves for our time with the creator of the universe. I believe this is one of the hardest parts of being a Christian than anything else. I know that I have struggled heavily with this. Life seems to take over when it comes time to setting time aside for God. We also did a practical application where the students were given a parable to look at and do a quiet time on. I asked them to Sum up the main point and to re-write the story in their own words. The Sr High did better with this than the Jr High did. I was surprised at how the Sr High really got into it and took it seriously. Hopefully this will help them get on the right track.

Student Center takes shape

I am amazed at how God has been moving in my life and the life of my ministry since I moved to Kansas City. So many things have come about that can only be the work of God. One of those things is our new student center. When I interviewed here I was told that there had been plans drawn up to take some storage space and turn it into a student center. I was excited because up until that point, the students had no single place in the church they could call their own. No meeting room big enough to hold them all. I got right on getting this when I first got here and was really excited. Some people where pushing me to really get this done, but I have been in church long enough to know that politics play a part in everything, especially when you are talking about tearing down walls in a building.

Long story short, we started tearing down the walls on Saturday. This was a great day. 15 students and parents helped to clear out half of the building. I was hoping to get a little more done but I was happy with the progress. We have already scheduled our next work day, and we are hoping to get done by then. The sooner we get the demolition done, the sooner we can start the building. I will post updates as we move on and will keep the pictures coming.

If you want to see more, you can go to http://picasasweb.goolge.com/pwcyouth.

Trip to the COR

Tonight I took 9 students and adults to visit the Church of the Resurrection's Youth Group, Rezlife. Jason Gant is the youth pastor there and he is a great guy. I really enjoyed watching their service. Observing how the adult leaders interacted with the student. How the worship really got the students going.

The goal of the trip was to get the students to understand what it is like to walk into a new youth group and not know anyone and then the other was to see what things we could take back to our group, so that we could get better. There was a ton of stuff that we can take back and I was so happy with the response and excitement from my adult leaders.

Visit their website at www.rezlifekc.org, or visit his website @ http://jasongant.blogger.com