Mountain Biking by Doug Fields:)

For years I’ve had buddies tell me, “You’ve got to get into mountain biking…it’s amazing! You’d love it! A lot of ex-athletes wind up doing it.” My usual first response is, “Who you calling an EX-athlete?” But my second response was always, “I’m too busy with my own kids’ sports to have one of my own.” That would usually shut them down for another year or two before they’d come back with that maniacal look and say once again, “Dude, you’ve got to try it.”


A couple months ago my doctor didn’t tell me to begin mountain biking, but he did say, “You’ve better find some type of exercise program that you like or you’re going to die.” (I’m not sure those were his exact words, but they’re close.) Then, I was dumb enough to tell my wife what my doctor said and she told me, “If you don’t find an exercise program you like, I’m going to kill you before you have a chance to die.” So with that external motivation I sent an email to some mountain-bike friends and asked if anyone had a spare bike I could borrow to get me started—they all replied in similar language, “Dude, yeah…awesome!”


So as I sit at the keyboard, I have less than one month under my belt into the “world of mountain biking.” I now own a bike (bought it from a friend); I also have a helmet, shoes, clothes, gloves, and most of the gear “required” for this sport. Basically, I have everything needed except for the cardiovascular condition, the needed skills, and the coaching.


After my first ride I realized mountain biking is not like the bike riding I did as a kid. It’s not “jump on your bike and ride all day.” It’s much different! In addition to the extreme terrain there are so many moving parts that add to the confusion: 3 front sprockets, 5 or 6 back sprockets (I can’t remember), 2 brake levers, and 4 shifting systems

My list of “how to” questions could fill up the page.
I can already feel my cardio condition changing, but I desperately need the coaching to get answers to my questions.


You may be thinking, “Does this have anything to do with youth ministry or has Doug lost all blood to his brain?” Well, here comes the youth ministry connection. On this morning’s ride I began to think about how little I know about this new sport/hobby. I really need a coach. I have so many questions. I’m not sure when to shift on the hills. I apparently have a tubeless tire that I wouldn’t know how to fix if I got a flat. I have front shocks that need to be adjusted based on the terrain and I don’t have the slightest idea what to do. I fell off my bike today because I couldn’t unclip my shoes from the peddles when my chain came off the sprocket. My list of “how to” questions could fill up the page.


As I was riding and wishing for a safe and caring riding partner/coach I began to think about the teenagers in our ministries. What are we doing with all their questions? Do we even know the questions they’re asking? Or do we assume they’ll catch everything about Jesus as they begin their ride with him?


Like I need a riding coach, teenagers need a Jesus coach. While mountain biking is much more complex than “jump on a bike”…so is following Jesus much more complex than a simple “come to church.” For a month I’ve been riding every day, tinkering around at the local bike shop, reading magazines and Web sites to try to find coaching tips, downloading trail guides to my iPhone, and asking a lot of questions… And I’m still confused, frustrated, and wanting someone to coach me. I want someone else to care enough to care about me.


Could it be that our youth ministries have become good at getting teenagers to come to church… but we’re not so good at coaching them on how to walk with Jesus? Then, if they don’t know how to walk with Jesus, they graduate from our ministry and graduate away from church. Do the kids entrusted to your care (as a youth pastor over several or as a volunteer over a few) know that you want to coach them in the ways of Jesus? Do they leave your youth ministry knowing that there is a caring, loving and available adult who wants the best for them? Who won’t laugh at their questions? Who will walk beside them as they struggle and fall? If so…great! Way to go! Those teenagers are blessed. But if not, what might need to change within your youth ministry and your personal leadership style so teenagers will know that they’re not a number to be counted or a seat-filler, but rather a young follower of Jesus who needs a little help with the call of Jesus to “follow me”?


Jesus spent most of his time with the few. Yes, he spoke to and fed the masses, but his most common audience was the few. Who are the few that need you right now? They don’t need to be invited to church, they need you…coaching, listening, loving, and caring you. Walking with Jesus is an adventure… but it’s one that requires more help and coaching than we’re probably aware of.

New Series...

I am pumped about the new series that will be kicking off in 1 week at H2OChurch called "GHOST". Lifechurch.tv will be diving into a 4 week series on the Holy Ghost... We will also be doing some awesome life changing messages with our H2OKids. I am looking forward to see what God is going to do in this next series.

Zac

H2OChurch Fallapalooza!!!

I am pumped about what God is doing at H2OChurch and how He is moving in awesome ways. November 8th we are kicking off the Fall with a blast out at Cornerstone Kids Ranch. Everyone is welcome and there are so many things geared towards our H2OKids that it is going to be incredible. H2OChurch will also be having a meet and greet with our new pastor that has just joined our team Gary Lukens and his wife Lanita Lukens. We look forward to this awesome evening of fun and fellowship. Don't forget we are taking our Engage ministry students to the nightmare October 30th as well...

Have an awesome day,

Zac

Mastering time and Influencing the World- 5 Things I’ve learned about time, focus and eating frogs

Here are some awesome thoughts from a workshop I attended this past week...

It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about? Henry David Thoreau Before you begin scrambling up the ladder of success, make sure it is leaning up against the right building.Steven Covey

A. Find your focus. You are designed such that you will enjoy doing the very things that you can be the very best at. Successful people are those who have taken the time to identify what they do well and most enjoy. What are you uniquely gifted in and passionate about doing that will affect the success of your organization? What can only you do?

B. Eat that frog!

Mark twain once said “If the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing it is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day.”

1. 1st rule of frog eating- Eat the ugliest frog first. You should always focus your best energies and abilities on starting and completing those key tasks that your unique talents and abilities enable you to do well. These are the task that will make the most significant contribution to your organization. Your ability to select your most important task at each moment, then to get started on that task and to get it done both quickly and well, will probably have more impact on your success than any other quality or skill you can develop.
2. Apply the 85/15 rule.
3. Delegate the tasks that someone else can do.

Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you. Carl Sandburg

C. Be a master Planner (and Calendar user)

1. Prioritize time with God, family and friends ahead of time, never letting people take that time.
2. Schedule large blocks of time
3. Discovering the time of day your mind works the best
4. Building space in your schedule- When your ambition ends with you, your ambition will end you. Ed Young
5. Plan to plan your week. (Every 10 minutes of planning will save you an hour of time)

D. Master email, don’t let it master you. 85/15 rule- 85% of constraints for you to achieve your goals are internal, within yourself. 15% are external.

1. Work offline, don’t lose your mind
2. Set times to check your email, etc.
3. Apply the 2 minute rulSet up folders, making sense of email
4. Train those around you and above you to give you space
5. Keep priorities straight with a task list

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time…. Being able to split up tasks and execute on them separates the men from the boys.

E. Keep priorities straight with a task list

1. http://www.todoist.com- 3 minute demo of todist at http://todoist.com/#start
2. One Note- for jotting random things

LOVE...

Wow, I have been hit in the face by this scripture:
John 13:35 "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
I look around and so many times I see us missing this. We are known that we are Christians because of our t-shirts or because people see us going to a certain church but our actions just don't line up with this. We walk out the door and talk about other people, are rude to our waitress where we eat, speak down to people and so on and so on... This saddens me because I see it in scripture very plainly that we will be known as His disciple by "HAVING LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER". This week my goal is that I will live this verse to the fullest. I will have love for my brother whether he is the guy that is homeless and I know hasn't bathed in a while or if he is a well known person in town and "POPULAR:as they put it in high school". They will get the same embrace from me because I am tired of being "CASUAL" about my Faith in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior... God is Good...

FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT DON'T LIKE SOCIAL NETWORKS THEN DON'T WATCH THIS!!!

Sitting down for a bit.

Okay it has been a crazy September with college starting back, high schools and junior highs kicking into high gear once again and the big daddy of them all Pastor search team "we don't like the word committee". I am slowing down a bit today to sit at my computer and write a about what is going on. We have been searching for a new pastor to bring onto the team for a while now and PRAISE GOD we found him. I will give more details next week after we have done a formal announcement at H2O but man am I pumped about what God is going to do as we move forward in this next installment of this Amazing ministry. It is funny because we brought guys in from Chicago and Atlanta to interview and the guy God had for us was right here the whole time. I will give no more details until next week so stop trying to get me to leak it. STOP IT... Yesterday I had an awesome opportunity to play in a golf scramble with some fun guys and we pulled in 2nd place with 12 under par, that is right I said 12 under par. This was the funnest game of golf I have ever played and I was playing with some amazing guys. We only used one of my hits the entire game and it was a putt. Honestly it was a really close putt but the fellas let me try first and by the grace of God I actually sunk it. This was a fundraiser to raise money for the United Campus Ministry "UCM" a collegiate ministry at ECU that does some awesome stuff to reach out to the college students. Soon I am going to be pouring a ton of focus on our college campus to start having a strong presence on the campus. I am pumped about what God is doing in our ministry. One more thing, this Sunday we are launching 14 Lifegroups and they are going to be AWESOME!!!