Tag Archives: steve cullum

No Orange Conference 2012 for Me

Posted on April 25, 2012 | 1 Comment

Hey, everyone. First of all, I apologize for the lack of posts lately. Life and ministry have been incredibly busy. Also, I wanted to let you all know to not expect any Orange Conference posts from me this week. Normally, my blog would be overrun with all the summaries, photos, and videos I take at the conference, but I was not able to go this year due to budget cuts at the church. I am sorry for anyone who was expecting to live vicariously through me at the Orange Conference 2012. However, here is a list of other bloggers who will be there this year, writing and sharing. Please check them out, as I know they will be great!! I plan on reading them myself!

Hopefully, with God’s help, I will be there next year blogging for you all again!

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High School to College Transition: Beginning the Journey

Posted on January 12, 2012 | 1 Comment

Graduation Cap And DiplomaOne of the areas of youth/student ministry that I strongly believe is lacking in American churches is the transition to college. We do a good job of meeting teenagers while they are in middle school and high school, but often, we do very little after graduation. After reading The Slow Fade last year, it has been on my mind that we need to push the “finish line” back a few years. So, as we continue in this journey of making this a better transition at our church, I thought it would be good to bring you along — just in case you want to learn from our experience… or mistakes.

I believe our goal is to help students not graduate from their faith when they graduate from high school. We need to do more to make sure they continue in their discipleship, and we need to help them stay connected with God’s church.

For starters, I thought I would share what we currently do at RCC to help this transition…

  • One of our parents meet with high school students in the fall to discuss plans and help parents navigate the college application process.
  • We invite the high school seniors over to our house at least once or twice during the school year to talk candidly about their college plans. We discuss what schools they are looking at and begin to help them develop some churches/ministries around each school.
  • We try to stay connected with our college students by phone calls, Facebook, and care packages throughout the school year.
  • When they are back for summer and holiday breaks, we try to have at least one event to get them together, share stories, and catch up.

It is our goal that these things will help our college students stay connected when they go away, instead of feeling like they no longer belong to the church. We also want to do our best to partner with parents, as this can be a difficult transition period.

Can we do more? Sure we can! In fact, we have some other plans to put into place very soon. However, that is for another blog at a later time.

For now, my question to you is: What do you have in place already to help your high school students make the transition?

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Reflections on Taking Up My Cross to Follow Jesus, Away from Family

Posted on January 10, 2012 | Leave a comment

This morning, I received a phone call from my father, where he proceeds to tell me my sister was involved in a car accident. To sum up what happened, her and a friend were rear-ended while sitting on the side of the road. She has been released from the hospital with a mild concussion, neck pain, and some memory loss regarding the accident.

I say all this for two reasons. First, your prayers are greatly appreciated. Second, it has obviously got me thinking more about my sister. It is an odd series of thoughts. That is not because we do not get along or anything. It is just that we have never been incredibly close. This is partly because we are five years apart. We had our own group of friends, we were only in the same school for 2 years (during elementary), and we are different genders. I moved out when I started college, and did not really spend much time back in my home town. And just when we were getting a bit closer, God called me to ministry several hundred miles away.

This is extremely difficult for me. I do not vocalize it much, because I never want to seem like that type of a person. However, it does get overwhelming every once in a while and I feel like I need to tell someone. Today has been one of those days. Not that I could have done anything, but I wished I could. And part of me thought that, “If only I was there…” Similar thoughts have crossed my mind when my great-grandmother was not doing well about a year or so ago.

I guess what I really want to say is that I am constantly being reminded how ministry/missions can be lonely, especially when God removes you from your family and friends. Visits are never long enough, and it feels like time creeps by as you await another time to catch up. Technology helps but it is not the same. Nights are spent wondering what life would be like if we actually had friends and family around. Days go by when you wonder if it will feel like “home.” At times, you get discouraged at how difficult it is to make friends, trying to remember when was the last time people just wanted to hang out and share life together. Do not get me wrong; there are amazing days when things go so good! I thank God for these times!! But there are other times when you think about such things.

If you are considering ministry as a profession, I can only tell you to pray. Make sure it is what God wants for your life, because it will not always be easy. It will not always be filled with people giving their lives to Jesus, church growth, and no problems. And if He calls you to leave your friends and family, pray even more, because you will soon begin to understand what Jesus means in Matthew 8:18-22 and Matthew 10.

I know that God will help my sister get through this, and He will continue to watch over my family and friends I “left behind,” but I just want to be honest. It is tough sometimes.

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Posted in Thinking Out Loud

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Orange and Upward Partnering Together

Posted on January 6, 2012 | Leave a comment

Two of my favorite organizations have announced they are officially partnering up for future ministry. Orange, the people behind most the family ministry things I talk about, and Upward, a church-sponsored sports league, will soon be joining forces.

The curriculum writers at Orange will be providing three components of Upwards’ experience – the weekly practice devotions for kids, weekly halftime activities for parents, and end-of-the-season celebration DVD for families to take home. Because of this connection, the emphasis on reaching families for Christ through Upward Sports programs will be greater than ever.

I am very excited about this partnership, as both are excellent organizations! For more information, check out the official press release I have posted below.

Continue reading →

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What would you like to hear about this year?

Posted on January 5, 2012 | Leave a comment

This year, one of my goals is to blog more. This will involve more general things about my life too, because I don’t feel I always have a ton of insight to share about ministry.

The question is, though, what would you like to hear about this year? What types of things do you want me to share? Would you like to hear random things? Would you like more ministry resources? Would you like more personal stories? Would you like more videos/photos? Would you like more tech-related things?

This blog is not only for me to just talk, but I have always wanted it to be somewhere for others to gain something. So, what do you want to hear about this year?

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YM Resource – Free eBooks for Youth Ministry

Posted on January 4, 2012 | 3 Comments

Ever since my wife received her Kindle as a birthday gift last year, I have loved the idea of digital books. In fact, I eventually bought myself one, and we are in the process of trying to figure out how to get all our bookshelves onto these little devices.

Brandon Schmidt over at Youth Pastor Gear has posted a list of several FREE eBooks that you can download for your Kindle, Nook, or any type of eReader. Among them include game ideas, Bible study resources, and theology classics. I’ve already downloaded several of them myself!

Youth Pastor Gear – Free eBooks for Youth Ministry

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Equipping Small Group Leaders For Upcoming XP3 Students Series

Posted on November 16, 2011 | Leave a comment

Equipping and empowering adult small group leaders is the only way to significantly grow a sustainable youth ministry beyond yourself. This is a common thread I have encountered throughout my Bible college years, seminary and at The Orange Conference.

I was asked by XP3 to share my thoughts on how we equip small group leaders at RCC. That blog post was published today.

Head to the XP3 Blog to read it.

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Getting Back into Bible Study

Posted on October 20, 2011 | Leave a comment

Over the past few years here at RCC, I’ve often asked myself what we can do for students who are ready to dive deeper into the Bible. Many times, we recommend that they go through a specific devotional or something, but I also knew they were missing something in the form of studying the Bible together. This summer, God placed the idea of hosting some Bible studies for high school students. Two weeks ago, we started one on the Book of James, and it is going very well. It has been great to dive into the Bible together, walking through it and discussing it along the way.

What I did not expect, though, was how much I would enjoy preparing for each week’s discussion. It has reignited a fire in me that I had not really paid attention to lately. While in college/seminary, I loved studying the Bible, but I had strayed away as of the last couple years. Sure, I read it, but I had not be really diving in as much as I could. I thank God for knowing this ahead of time — that this group was not only going to benefit the students, but it was going to help me as well. That’s so awesome when He does that!

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Posted in Church/Ministry Updates, Thinking Out Loud

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Remembering Steve Jobs, Visionary

Posted on October 6, 2011 | Leave a comment

Last night, as I sat on my couch, surrounded by my MacBook and iPhone, I watched CNN’s coverage of Steve Jobs’ death. All the while, I was also watching/listening to Leo Laporte’s live podcast and reading about Mr. Jobs on my computer. Not only did I feel like a huge nerd, which I am, but I also couldn’t help but wonder why his life and death affected me so much. On top of that, why was there an overwhelming sense of sadness across the internet?

Steve’s life has been summarized by a few words, but I think the one that people most often stop on is “visionary.” His vision of consumer electronics and computers has been most evident in these last few years. Because of his influence and vision, we have seen a huge advancement in the Mac operating system and we have many new devices in the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. Further, he had a major part in helping Pixar Animation become what it is today. Will we still have advancements in electronics? Sure, but will we miss a great visionary? Yes.

I do wish I would have had the chance to be around Mr. Jobs for just one day. I have read and heard that he was so focused on the task at hand. I do not know if we would have gotten along as good friends, but I do know that I probably would have benefitted from witnessing him work and strategize. To be in the presence of a genius has got to have its advantages, right?

While I do not know if I will see Steve Jobs in Heaven (because I’m not God and I do not make that decision), I do pray for his family. I pray that Christians will come around them and comfort them in their time of loss. Above all, I pray that God will use this situation to glorify Himself. If nothing else, many people are sharing the Gospel message using devices that Mr. Jobs helped create. People everywhere are talking about Jesus, sharing prayers, and reading the (digital) Bible on Macs, iPods, iPhone, and iPads. That is a reason to praise God!!

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Moving Analysis

Posted on September 26, 2011 | Leave a comment

Although, it doesn’t look all organized yet, we are in our new place. Officially, we have about one car-load of stuff to still bring over, but we are practically done.

For those keeping track, yes, this is my seventh move in seven years. I have learned a lot over those seven moves. One thing is that I strongly dislike moving stuff. Every time I pack up, I am reminded of all the material things we accumulate over time. Sure, I like my video games, books, and movies, but I do not like moving the boxes. I do like that our digital world is helping us not amass as many packaged discs or books, but I still have all the ones from before. On top of that, I start to think about how much of it I really NEED in my life. Could I survive with a little less stuff? Yes, I can. And while I try to get rid of much of it as I unload boxes this next week, I wonder if I can bless someone else. Speaking of which, if you are mine or Yvette’s size, we might have some clothes for you soon.

Aside from all of the philosophical side of moving, we would like to extend (again) an invitation to come see our place and hang out for a bit. This goes for everyone, but especially those friends and family who are many many miles away. Let me know when we can make this happen! We would love to show you around and give you a sneak peak at what God is doing in this part of the country!!

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Posted in Personal, Thinking Out Loud

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