Fundamental Life Question

Have you ever read a book about how to be a better leader(manager, supervisor, boss, pastor, etc.)?

Where would you place yourself right now on a leadership scale? 1-10

1 = A total and complete failure when it comes to leadership.

10 = A refined, tried and true leader who knows how to get things done. 

How many of you have ever read a book on following? Or how to be a better team player?

Where would you rate yourself on the followershipness(???) scale? 1-10

1 = I have to be in control and can't stand it when others are and they are doing a terrible job!

10 = I let go of control and do my best to follow the instructions given to me. 

Jesus said at the beginning of his ministry on earth, "Come, follow me..." - Mark 1:17 

Then again at the end,  "As for you, follow me." - John 21:22b

Who are we following?

Follower = a devotee of a particular person, cause, or activity.

 Who is our money devoted to?

Ourselves? Family? The poor? Our neighbors?

Who is our time devoted to?

Ourselves? Family? The poor? Our neighbors?

Who are we really following?

Could it be no one?

The Graduation Song

It's graduation season and in honor of all the graduates I decided to write a song. It's a song of passion and conviction and very much stolen from Adam Sandler's Hanukkah Song. 

So here's to you graduates!

Graduation Song from Peter Jenkins on Vimeo.

Quit Whining! (Ways to Hand Over Control) - Lessons from Edgar pt. 2

Recap

In part one of this series, which you can read here, I talked about the need to hand over control to a God who sees the bigger picture. 

New Question

The question then becomes, "How do I do that?" If you're like me, you're saying, "Give me something practical to work on!" Well, here it is (along with another picture of Edgar...apparently I am that dog parent). 

The first two nights we had Edgar were awful. We slept less than three hours both nights. (All of you parents right now are probably grinning and thinking about the future blog posts where I tell you about how I am getting no sleep with our child!)

Edgar would just sit in his crate and whine! High pitched. Constant. Echoing throughout the house! Our neighbors even told us that they could hear him from their living room. Annoying! 

Thoughts

I realized in the days after that I whine to God...a lot. Most of the time it's indirectly. I don't even take the time to whine to His face, I whine to those around me about the frustration and anger in my life. Thankfully, God is so loving and patient that He doesn't respond to my whining by grabbing the back of my neck and saying, "No! Bad Human!" 

God asks this of us:

Truth

"So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you." - Romans 12:1-2 The Message

Edgar has learned that his crate is a safe and peaceful place. He is even rewarded when he heads in there without having to be picked up.

Living in God's will is safe and peaceful. Not safe in a physical, mental, or economical way, but safe in the only way that really matters long-term, spiritually. Peaceful because when you're living for God, you know you're living for God. His Word gives us that confidence. It grants us the permission and presents us with the challenge to be who God made us to be. Which is ultimately what is best for us. 

So, (name goes here), quit your whining...and give to God. 

Choking Freedom! - Life Lessons with Edgar pt. 1

Two weeks ago, Beth and I brought home the newest member of the Jenkins family. 

Meet Edgar.

Edgar is a Double-Doodle (Labradoodle and Goldendoodle mix). After my nephew Mark, Edgar is the cutest new part of life...I mean look at that face.

Alright, enough of the love-fest. I'm already learning about life from Edgar and his actions have caused me to ask a few questions. The first question Edgar has caused me to ask is, do I really want freedom? 

Beth and I bought 50ft of rope for Edgar to be able to run around in our backyard. We tied it to a tree in the middle of the yard and Edgar can pretty much go wherever he wants in our backyard. Unfortunately Edgar can be an idiot. He will wrap himself around bushes, trees, outdoor furniture, charcoal grills, your legs and then bolt in the other direction causes your heart to freak out and your instincts force you to jump really fast! 

Edgar has all this freedom and yet he gets tangled up and caught up in obstacles so often that it's easier to keep him on a short leash. 

I'm not talking about the freedom to own a gun or have an abortion, I'm talking about the freedom to choose. The freedom to do what we want, when we want it, by whatever means necessary. 

There are days where I make so many bad decisions that I look back on them and go, 'what the heck is going on?' 'who am I right now?' 'how can one person screw life up this bad?' 

It can feel like I'm tied up and struggling to break free. 

Maybe a better way to phrase that question is this...do I really want control?

I can say with certainty that I WANT God to make my decisions for me. I WANT Him to lead me. I WANT Him to have all control. He sees the big picture and knows how to unwind the tangles of life. 

“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. - Jesus (Matthew 16:24)

Next Post: Quit Whining (Ways to Hand Over Control).

Photos courtesy of Jonathan Rykse. Thanks, Jonathan!

Be Bold. (1-1-6)

Yesterday I went with five high school freshman to see Christian Rap artist Lacrae at Kentwood Community Church near Grand Rapids, MI. I am currently 25 years old and have not regularly listened to Christian Rap since I was 16 (any shout outs for T-Bone???). 

The reason I was asked to go to the concert with these guys...they needed a driver. :) I was happy to help them out!

I honestly didn't know what to expect. All I knew is that it was going to be very different from the David Crowder (bluegrass) concert Beth and I were at the night before. I was dead on with this assessment, but not how I expected.

You see David Crowder did a great job of letting his lyrics and beautiful melodies communicate the truth, glory, and splendor of God. All seven of the artist that performed at the Lacrae concert also spoke bold truth in their music, but what challenged me was the way they talked about God in between songs. 

Phrases like, "Make some noise for the King!" "Jesus is the greatest!" Chants of, "Jesus! Jesus!" Were commonplace. Calling out premarital sex, calling out drugs and violence, calling out the fact that life can be over any second, calling out lazy living. 

Every artist told a part of their story and gave God so much glory the entire time. It wasn't subtly slipped in. It wasn't masked in political correctness. It wasn't baked in dynamic illustrations. It was real. It was life. It was truth. It was joy. It was hope. It was their life. It was their life. It was their life. 

When you talked about your life what comes out of your mouth?

Be Bold. 

For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. 

- Apostle Paul (Romans 1:16)

Stop.

On Average it Takes:


4 seconds to scan my blog posts and choose whether or not to read it.

3 minutes 36 seconds to read a whole post.

2 hours, 12 minutes, and 45 seconds to read every post I've written.

It's taken you 15 seconds to get this far, so why not spend the next 3 minutes 21 seconds in prayer.

It doesn't matter about what.

Just pray.

Talk.

Listen.

Celebrate!

One year ago Beth and I had a conversation with two people(who became friends) about leading a group at gracespring (our church) that would be targeted towards reaching college ageish people. 

That stage of life is a crucial part of our journey spiritually and we wanted to provide a safe and welcoming environment for those struggling and thriving through this part of their journey. Those two people shared our excitement and brought onboard their amazing community group. Six months, lots of conversations, and almost as many meetings later God blessed us with, Awaken. 

Tonight Beth and I celebrated at Bennigan's with those same two people, that same amazing community group, and a young woman named Elizabeth. Elizabeth came to Awaken nine months ago as a shy college age girl who didn't know Jesus. Tonight we celebrated because she is now a member of the family of God! This past Sunday she dedicated her life to Christ and she is planning on being baptized in the next few weeks. 

The best part about Awaken is that we have let God lead from the beginning. We don't have it all figured out; He does. We are blessed to be a part of something God is doing! 

Welcome to the family, Elizabeth!

See how very much our Father loves us, for He calls us 

His children, and that is what we are! 

1 John 3:1

I Am Afraid...

my thoughts:
I have so much respect for parents. Especially parents of young children and students. You have embarked upon this selfless journey that requires you to give up sleep, personal preference, personal bubble, movie choices, and countless other freedoms. I realize that I have listed purely negative items so far, but this plays directly into my fears. I fear the kid.

Although, I will admit that over the past few months I have become much more open to the idea of raising a child...oh wait, that was about owning a dog. Sorry, scratch that.

what i've heard:
Parents have told me that their is no greater joy than raising up a child and seeing them successfully enter adulthood and develop a love for Jesus. If I didn't work with students, I probably wouldn't have anything to say on this topic and I would stick to reviewing video games and iPhones (the iPhone 5 is awesome btw). But, after working with students for the past eight years, I am more convinced than ever that the role of parent is the third most critical role a person can have in life (number one is being a child of God, and number two is being a spouse).

what i've seen:
You provide love, care, support, guidance, hugs, discipline, boundaries, smiles, identity, stability, and the list goes on. You can never invest too much in your child's life. 

And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Deut. 6:6-9

bringing it home:

Thank you parents for all that you do. May the Lord bless your efforts to raise your children in a Godly home. Keep perspective. See the end goal. Fight through the attitude. Refine them for God's glory. 

I am looking up to you and willing to support you in anyway I can!

Leave! (...no seriously.)

It all started when...

This past week I have been reading in 1 Timothy. 1 Timothy is one of my favorite books of the Bible because I relate to Timothy as a young pastor and I envy him for having Paul as a mentor. 

Combine that with the book, 'Too Busy Not to Pray' by Bill Hybells that my church is reading right now and boom goes the dynamite...you have this post. 

the what:

Paul begs Timothy to pray for 'all' the people in his life, direct and indirect. He wants Timothy to pray for the government, random people he comes in contact with, and naturally the people that he lives alongside in his community. 

'All' in the passage is referring to a significant amount of people and yet the greek word (netbible.org) leads me to believe that he is making sure that Timothy knows to pray for them individually. By name, or face, or position, or by authority, or by social status, or by affliction, or by... I don't know about you but I am quickly overwhelmed by this amount of prayer I should be offering up!

the ah-ha moment!

In comes Hybell's book. Early on in the first chapter reminds me that an aspect of prayer is my ability to leave my junk with God. To bring my desires, struggles, fears etc. before His throne and then ask Him to take them. 

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30

bringing it home.

Do I need to be spending more time in prayer? Yes. 

Do you? Probably.

Do you have to pray everyday for every person, place or thing? No.

But, when we are overwhelmed by the people, situations, or struggles we are offering up we must remember that Jesus wants us to leave it with Him. Let Him take over. Give Him control. 

_________________________________________________________________________________

who is God laying on your heart to add to your prayer list?

what have you been talking to God about, but not leaving with Him?

thank God for taking the burden off of you and placing on His shoulders. I know I am!

Death was Everywhere...and no one cared(in fact they enjoyed it).

Myrtle Beach has become one of my favorite places ever. Beth and I headed there a few months ago to spend time with Beth's side of the family. Our goals for the week were lay out on the beach, maybe read a book (which we actually did accomplish), and drink Starbucks everyday(did you think we wouldn't accomplish that?).

One morning we were walking on the beach and there were thousands of sea shells that had been left on the shore by the morning tide. We saw dozens of people with their faces looking straight down to the sand to find that perfect sea shell. 

I realized that all these people were finding beauty in something tragic. Everyone of these shells use to be a living creature.  

Now, to be honest, I don't have any emotional attachment to those sea creatures that have met their end. But, what I do know is that the things that we see as beautiful, attractive, enticing, fulfilling, and exciting aren't always(maybe even usually) life giving. Many of them steer the direction of our souls just slightly enough that our pursuit of Christ is off course. 

Ron Kopicko, Chaplain at Spring Arbor University, says this, "The road and gate that leads to destruction is a majestic, trendy and modern looking road and gate compared to the one that leads to life."

Don't get sucked into that attractive deceit. 

¹³ “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell^[f] is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. ¹⁴ But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. - Matthew 7

Would God Say 'Shut up!'?

The Sound of Silence

Simon and Garfunkel are the first two things that come to my mind when I think about silence. The second thing that comes to my mind is, “I'm very thankful my last name isn't Garfunkel”. When it comes to being silent, I am a fat, lazy, couch potato. Let me explain.

 The Story

A few weeks back Beth and I were in New Jersey visiting her extended family for her cousin Bryan's graduation (Congrats, Bryan!). Thursday afternoon the house emptied as people went to help set up for Bryan's open house. I stayed behind. 

I sat in an Adirondack chair on their deck with the intention of just being silent before God. Something I don't do very often, but would love to be more disciplined at doing. I quickly learned that being silent is a lot like working out. 

As I sat there, I couldn't focus on listening to God. This was the first time I had stopped to think all week. All of my thoughts from the past week just kept falling into my head like marbles in that game Kerplunk (I think that's what it was called). One right after another. I need to do this. I forgot to do that. I wish I was thinner. 

I wish... 

If only... 

I... 

I... 

I realized I wasn't listening to God anymore. Because this was my first time stopping to listen to Him, I wasn't ready to fully listen. I had to push myself out of the way first.

Sit down and shut up...please.

I wonder if God gets frustrated like parents do. I wonder if God sometimes has to walk into a different room to keep His cool. Does God often want to grab us by our ear, sit us in a chair, and say, “Would you please just shut up and listen?”

Don't let that give you a tainted image of God, but if it challenges you to improve your behavior knowing that He could do that to you and it would be justified, than let it. 

Learning to listen takes time, discipline, and a strong will to persist. 

________________________________________________________________

When was the last time you stopped to listen to God? (Don't feel guilty if you haven't, just do something about it.) 

What was it like?

Have you ever set aside 15 minutes a day just to listen? Let's try it this week. Let me know how it goes!

Ben then Peter then (Reina, Chris, Joey...)

Unknown Influence

Ben with his family. 

This past Sunday, I was able to see one of the most influential men in my life. I hadn't seen him in years and I don't think he realizes the strong effect he had on my life and many others. 


His name is Ben. He was the worship leader for the youth group I was a part of back in 8th grade. In 10th grade, he lead worship on a winter retreat I was a part of and I will never forget that Saturday night. I came up to Ben after realizing that God wanted me to do more with my life and I told Ben I wanted to learn how to lead worship. 

Seeing Beyond Yourself

Ben responded with, 'Yes!' In that moment, whether Ben knew it or not, he was saying yes to more work for him yes in the short term, but a potentially fruitful reward in the long term. 


Ben taught me how to make copies. How to pick out songs. How to choose band members. How to make sure that the drummer knows that when you pick your right leg off the floor it means you want him to bring the song to a mellow feel. How to lead people in worship of our heavenly Father. 


Next Step
Because Ben was willing to invest in me, I have been able to pass on those skills to several other worship leaders who have come up through the Student Ministries at gracespring. They have been poured into by others as well, but they all have a little reflection of Ben because they have a reflection of me. 


On Sunday, Ben was able to meet Joey (my Music Ministry Mentee or M&M&M) and hear Reina (one of our other worship leaders) lead a band practice. Two very cool moments, eight years in the making. 


Thank you Ben, for being willing to invest in a pimple faced 10th grader. Thank you for being faithful to God's call on your life. 

_____________________________________________________________________________

Who could you invest into?

Who has invested in you that you may need to call, email, or write a thank you note to?

Who do you have investing in you right now?

Affirmation: So Powerful

That Moment When...
You know that feeling when you say something and you aren't sure whether or not people are going identify with it? As soon as the last word leaves your mouth, your heart starts racing and you're just praying somebody says something like, 'Yeah, I totally know what you mean' or 'Really? Me too!' or even 'I am so glad you said that!' I have often experienced that nightmare come true. When nobody says anything and finally your wife speaks up to recover your dignity as much as possible. (awkward)

Something We All Want
We all want to be affirmed and we all want to have somebody (usually means more from someone we trust) let us know how appreciated and valued we are because of our thoughts and opinion. 


Give it Freely, Genuinely, and Often!
So often we withhold affirmation because we assume the other people already knows it. If they were smart enough to say what they just said, they must know how great what they said was. The same is true with actions. Affirm without expecting anything in return. Affirm without being worried of seeming redundant.


Don't force it. Be real and genuine with your affirmation as well as your confrontation. People value honesty, especially after the fact.


Don't hold back! Let the affirmation, encouragement, and compliments fly! Our communities, schools, work places, etc. could use a strong injection of kindness. 

So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. - Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:11

_________________________________________________________________________________

Who could you affirm today?

How are you going to do it? (Go ahead, put

some special thought into it!)

How, Father? How?

What?? You still blog Peter?


It has been way too long!


Sorry for the absence. I can honestly say that I have missed all of you and have missed sharing the things I am learning with you. I hope you and your family have been well.


A few weeks ago Beth and I headed to Boston and New Jersey to visit some great friends and see family. As we were walking through downtown Boston, I couldn't help but be amazed by the diversity that exists in a city that is only 47 sq. miles. So many different walks of life. So many stories. So many views on education, politics, religion, fashion, and where to get the best plate of fish and chips. 













Every time I travel to a major city I am overwhelmed by the statistical reality that so many people are living without the hope and love of Christ. We traveled to old church after old church and it was so apparent that religion and especially Christianity are considered a thing of the past in modern culture.

Father, how can I make your story come alive?

How can I be a light? 

How can I let them know how much You care? 

“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 

- Jesus Christ

Father, I'm willing.

How do you talk about your beliefs? 


When was the last time you brought up religion in a conversation? What was the result?