truth B told

I woke up this morning a little late. I slept in...and it felt good. Then I went downstairs to take a shower. And usually, before hitting the shower, I'll turn on some cable news (I only get CNN and MSNBC....yuck) to see what's the latest in our world. Today, like the last few days, it was more Katrina coverage.

I realized that 15,000 people were still in the Superdome. No power, no air conditioning, no toilets, no beds...just stuck there. And the best case scenario is that they will get bussed to the Astrodome in Houston in a few days. And that will be their home for who knows how long.

I felt fortunate. And then...my emotions and ponderings became blurry. I have a tough time knowing how to feel about the hurricane. I feel horrible. I feel blessed. I feel sorry. I feel like I'm not affected. I feel like I should be. I feel like it's just a news story. I feel like it's more than a news story. In the end...I feel fortunate.

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I leave for a youth pastor's retreat Thursday-Saturday. I'm looking forward to it. (Except for the golf part.) I like hanging out with people who completely understand what I do everday. It's nice to share concerns, complaints, and ideas. But most of all, it's nice to just strengthen those relationships.

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I leave for vacation as soon as I get back from the retreat. Nice scheduling, huh? I thought so. Anyway, as I head to a lake with in-laws and outlaws, I am looking forward to some rest, hanging with family I don't get to see very often, and playing with my sons in the pool. (I have to golf there too.)

That said...blogging will be on vacation too for a week and a half. Unless I feel inspired on vacation and find some internet access.

Last night I wrapped up our Sunday night Pipeline youth service, and immediately some students wanted to get home to watch the VMAs on MTV. (I never get into award shows on TV.)

So after the Pipeline Service, I hung out with some of the staff at good ol' McDs, then headed home kind of late....around 10 p.m. As I was flipping through the channels (mainly to find news on the hurricane) i came across the VMAs.

In the 30 seconds that I watched, I saw Jessica Simpson in a odd looking piece of lingerie giving an award. They kept showing the camera angle from behind her so you could see the back of her outfit. Or the lack thereof....

I turned it off....sighed deeply....prayed silently...and pondered about youth ministry in today's society.

Then today, Walt Mueller (Christian youth culture specialist), commented on the VMAs.

This is a MUST READ for all parents, youth workers, teachers...

CLICK HERE

Coming home from Guatemala on a Delta flight from Atlanta to Indianapolis, I sat next to a guy who was curious about our trip. He wanted to know, "What kind of group are you?"

I told him we were a Book of Hope missions team coming home from Guatemala. He then began to ask me a line of questions about God, why I believe in him, how do I know He's real, and why we would go on a mission's trip. He seemed to be a complete atheist.

After about 20 mins of discussion (I wasn't trying to be a pushy religious guy)...I finally just laid out the plan of salvation to him in a simple way he could understand. As soon as I did this, he reached his large hand across the airplane aisle and said, "Travis, my name is Ken. I'm a Christian, and was just seeing if you would share the Gospel with me."

Then he gave me his card.

Ken Ruettgers was a tackle with the Greenbay Packers from 1985-1996. Today he works with Pro Athlete's Outreach and also helps minister to retiring athletes who need to be assimilated back into a non-professional sports society. It's interesting stuff. We talked about it for another 20 minutes.

Check this out about him and his connection to the late Reggie White.

FROM THEGOAL.COM: "Ruettgers related the story of how he and his wife and Mike Arthur, a center with the Packers from 1995-1996, and his wife, had been baptized by Reggie in the Packer's Jacuzzi. We were sitting around talking one evening -- me and my wife and Mike Arthur and his wife and Reggie and Keith Jackson. I had been baptized as an infant and had never made a public proclamation with my baptism. So we thought --why not? The next night we went into the locker room and Reggie baptized us in the whirlpool. It was a huge thing. It was the biggest baptistry I'd ever seen. Afterwards, we sang songs and prayed.

Here's his ministry website.....click here Here's his personal story...click here

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The best thing about the entire plane ride was that the guy sitting next to Ken was some investor guy, and Ken connected him into our conversation and presented the plan of salvation to him. I gave him a leather leader edition of the Book of Hope I had in my bookbag. It was all cool....one of the divine appointment type of situations.

I've heard a lot of stories about, "you'll never guess who I sat next to on an airplane." But until my trip home from Guatemala...I never had one of those stories.

I have discovered that golf is not my sport. This September, for the first time in over 10 years, I am going to play golf. One time will be with youth pastor friends next week, the other will be with my brother-in-law and father-in-law on vacation.

I bought two bucket of balls at the driving range. Not one ball went more than 150 yards in the air. I used three different clubs....all the balls go the same distance and the same direction (far right).

I would be fine taking a putter and a 3 iron. And still, "FORE" would echo the fairways of the course.

Is there a secret I have never been told?

Having a partner in youth ministry is refreshing. Phil was our church's summer intern this year. He's a senior Youth Ministry major at North Central U. And thanks to Phil, this summer was a lot of fun, really effective for ministry, and loaded with memories.

Thanks Phil for adding some testosterone to the missions trip. Thanks for telling funny jokes and being a breath of fresh air around hear. Thanks for feeding my goldfish. Thanks for preaching. Thanks for technical help almost everyday. Thanks for all the energy at camp. Thanks for trying Country Bob's all purpose sauce on a blueberry donut. Thanks for going to Deb's Wings and Subs with me. Thanks for your willingness to eat at Gills. Thanks for cleaning my office and sorting through tons of piles of stuff. Thanks for helping me refocus on the purpose of ministry. Thanks for asking all the right questions. Thanks for being a learner. Thanks for opening my eyes to Mrs. Freshley oatmeal cream pies that are better than Little Debbie's. Thanks for sleeping in a hot tent when I was in the RV. Thanks for wearing sleeveless t-shirts with me this summer. And most of all....thanks for Bubba.

The summer was awesome. Finish NCU strong. Your future will be amazing.

Me and Phil have a lot of office stuff....but there is always time for a good game of battleship. I lost by ONE PEG! it was neck to neck. Phil is pointing to the last peg I didn't get to fire off.

You sank my battleship!
Until next time Phil.....

I'd like to thank Justin, Joe, Jay Covert, and all the awesome counselors this year. What a great week. D-cmap is always an incredible time for God to move in students' lives. We had great sessions, an exciting outreach into East St. Louis, and Justin was incredible speaking into students' lives. A GREAT YEAR!

For a video put together by Super Phil Schneider....click here

See ya next year....

ALL DAY...ALL DAY NOW>>>>ALL DAY


East St. Louis VBS!

OK everyone.....
I´m in Guatemala with Book of Hope.
Go to my TRAVEL BLOG for all he updates!


SEE YA!

D-Camp 2005 was an incredible week. IYCM offers D-Camp every year, in which I'm the director of it. We had a great speaker, Justin Lathrop, from the Dallas areas. (Thanks bro!)

I'd like to thank Joe for all the great help....he's the older more mature looking guy in the front and center in the red shirt.

This year we went to East St. Louis for a one-day outreach. We worked with Jay Covert. He's a missionary every church needs to support.

If you were at D-Camp....leave a comment about the week.