Making Ends Meet

When a church planter heads out to plant a church, sometimes it works out where he is supported by a support team he's able to solely focus on the church. Praise God! However, that's not the norm. Normally, church planting involves life getting very busy very quickly.That's how it went down for me, but not at first...

We arrived and moved in on a Wednesday in June. On Sunday, in the midst of living out of boxes, we flew to Kalispell, MT where I spoke at a summer camp for Fresh Life Church's middle and high school groups. We got back a week later and Denver, Nate, and Jenn all rolled into town. We spent the next week getting settled, then kicked off our Unight Summer Evenings in the Park. We did that for 8 straight weeks in July and August as well as a 6-week Wednesday night Bible study. Life was great though - we were unemployed (or as we called it "FUNemployed). We went fishing, slept in, took naps - life was great.


That lasted till early September when I finally got a job as a graveyard shift janitor. I rocked that for about a month until church services began and I took a different job as a school bus driver. Driving a bus is great hours for a pastor, but it doesn't pay the bills. I did that for about 3 months until I was offered a job as Graphic Designer for Lasaters Coffee. I'm enjoying both now. I work from 7am-noon doing graphics, then come home for an hour-long lunch, then drive a bus from 1:30-4:30pm. I work that schedule Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri. I study Tuesday nights and Friday nights, and all day Wednesday and Saturday. Unfortunately, those two jobs still don't pay the bills. So, I've added a third job, doing freelance graphic design on the side (check out my stuff at kevmill.com).

Normally when a pastor is working 1 job on top of teaching at his church, they say he's bi-vocational, so what's the terminology for working 3 jobs on top of planting the church? Would that be quadri-vocational? I don't know what the terminology is, but I know that the days of naps, fishing, and sleeping in are long gone...that is, except for Sunday. That's my day.

Life is crazy busy. On top of all my jobs and 25-30 hours of studying each week, we just kicked off Revive Women's Ministry, so Thursday nights are now Daddy-Daughters Night while Jenn is teaching women's ministry. I love those nights. Plus, we have weekly staff meetings where we go over events and vision for the church.

Here's where I'm going with all of this:
God is faithful. Period.
He always provides.

Someone told me the other day, "I don't know how you do it." I told him, "I don't either." Sometimes when I think about all that I have going on, I wonder how I'm not going out of my mind. The only explanation is this: God designed me for this. I don't believe I'll always be quadri-vocational, but God designed me to do whatever it takes to keep preaching. If that means working three jobs to make ends meet, then that's what I have to do. Today we had to cancel church because of how much snow we got overnight. So, I got an extra day off. I watched TV with my girls, played in the snow, took a nap, but the day didn't feel right. I missed a night when I'd normally be teaching.


Any other bi-vocational pastors or ministry workers out there?
What do you do to make ends meet and keep that ministry going?

Go To Church Online

If you know me, you know I like technology. In addition to enjoying the social aspects of technology, I love that it can also be used for God's glory. At Awaken, we use technology for tons of things: tons of info on our website, updates on Twitter, staying connected through Facebook, as well as our audio podcast and eventually a video podcast and live-streaming service.

As you know, the snow canceled our normal Saturday night service tonight, so I wanted to make you aware of some good churches that have live online services that you can attend (just one more benefit of technology)!

Below are some great churches (in addition to many more) that have live-streaming services. In addition to their live services, you can also catch their archived teachings on their website. Check them out and let me know what you think. If you have any good suggestions for online churches, leave some info in the comments section to share with others.

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Grace Chapel, Franklin, TN - Pastor Steve Berger
LIVE online Sundays at 11:00am CST

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Fresh Life Church, Kalispell, MT - Pastor Levi Lusko
LIVE online Saturdays at 7:00pm CST and Sundays at 10:00am and noon CST


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Calvary Albuquerque (my home church), Albuquerque, NM - Pastor Skip Heitzig
LIVE online Saturdays at 7:30pm CST and Sundays at 9:00am, 11:30am, and 12:15pm CST

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Harvest Christian Fellowship, Riverside, CA - Pastor Greg Laurie
LIVE online Sundays at 9:45am, 11:45am, and 1:45pm CST


Have fun going to online church and I hope to see you at bowling day tomorrow at Skyline Lanes at noon. Game on!

5 Reasons You Should Go Bowling With Us

FACT: This Sunday at noon, you and yours have nothing better to do than lace up some stylish bowling shoes and show off your skills (or lack thereof) on the bowling alley.

What's that? You don't believe me? Let me give you 5 reasons that you need to be at Skyline Lanes by noon.


1. It's cheap.
For $3.75, you can get a pair of bowling shoes (rent, not own) and 2 games of bowling. That's a serious deal. Let's think what else you can get with $3.75: 7 1/2 50-cent gum balls, a kids-size shake at Steak N Shake, a couple tacos full of regret from Taco Bell, or a pair of pants at Goodwill (if you snag a half-off deal or something). Besides the pants, none of that will last you long. Definitely not as long as 2 games of bowling. It's just a great deal.


2. It's stylish.
Of course I'm mainly referring to the shoes. Who doesn't like wearing a pair of shoes that smell like Lysol and have old shoelaces and multi-colored fake leather? No one that I can think of. Bowling can be stylish in other ways too, especially if you accessorize: bowling gloves without the fingers, muscle shirts to show off your biceps when you roll that heavy ball down the gutter...I mean lane, not to mention your approach. You're stylin'.


3. It's fun.
Any time you can mix throwing something heavy, knocking things down, wearing funny shoes, and hanging with crazy people, you can't go wrong. It's serious fun.


4. It's relaxing.
No it's not. You're chucking a heavy ball down a long lane as hard as you can. It's not relaxing. Sorry I misled you.


5. It's humbling.
We all need a dose of humility and bowling will dish that out by the frame. In addition to looking goofy and acting like that 10-pound ball isn't too heavy for you, let me remind you who you're up against.

Jeremy: He owns a Wii. Anyone who owns a Wii is a threat. 


Nate: He went to college for bowling. No, seriously. He needed an elective course and bowling was one of the options. He almost went pro.*
*I might have made that up.

Denver: Natural skill.

Me: I'm tall which makes me a natural threat. I also took bowling lessons when I was 6 and received a trophy for breaking 100.*
*on the bumper lane

Aaron: Have you seen his muscles? If so, you know I have no reason to explain why you'll lose to him.

We really hope you'll join us at Skyline Lanes THIS SUNDAY from noon-2pm. It's all of the above and more. Plus, this would be a great way to invite a friend that's a little hesitant about coming to church. Maybe they'll come hang with us and see that we're actually normal, fun people (besides our extreme bowling skills, that is).

Click HERE for all the details and a map on our events page. See you there!

Churches Helping Churches

Galatians 6:10

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

I know many of you have been in prayer for the people and churches in Haiti. Please continue. They need it! I wanted to also let you know about a hands-on way to put your money where your mouth is and help the people of Haiti in addition to your prayers.

Pastor Mark Driscoll and Pastor James McDonald are currently in Haiti heading up an organization called "Churches Helping Churches." The idea behind this bold endeavor is to unite the churches of America (and the world) to help the churches in Haiti who have suffered devastating loss due to the recent earthquakes. Many of the churches have been completely destroyed and those still remaining from each congregation will have to find alternative locations to meet in.

Go to churcheshelpingchurches.com to read more about this effort of uniting churches, view video updates, as well as donate online.

See the video below and others in the CHC media archive.

Help Us Help Them

We are moving full-steam ahead in our calling to reach the city of Clarksville and we want you to be a part of it! Reaching this generation for Christ is a challenge and full of risks, but we won't let that slow us down. We have lots of vision for reaching Clarksville in 2010 and I thought a good place to start would be to let you know about it and how you could be involved.


What will happen when you collide with eternity?
That's the question that supplies the vision for this event. People get so caught up with the here and now that they forget about eternity. Every person has a collision with eternity that is quickly approaching. It's time for people to do something about that.

When we went to Heritage Park in the summer as part of our Unight outreaches, it was a HUGE success! Heritage Park has the only skate park in town and it seems to be a bit overlooked by the city and most others who don't skate. Those kids need Jesus just like anyone else, though, and they were very open when they met people who went out of their way to reach out to them. When we mentioned the idea of putting on a skate comp, we had their undivided attention. It's never been done here, from what they told us. They normally have to drive to Nashville for something like that. We want to change that. We want the Nashville kids to drive to Clarksville for once. We want the kids here in Clarksville to understand that we care and most of all, that Jesus loves them.

That's where Collide Skate Comp comes in.

Coming from a church with a skate park and skate ministry and having run mission trips centering on skate park ministry, we have a pretty good idea of what we're doing. We've seen the power of reaching a crowd that is normally looked down on and kicked to the side.


Collide Skate Comp is tentatively scheduled (waiting on the city's approval and also some funding) for either the Friday right before Spring Break (Friday, March 19) or the Friday of Spring Break, March 26. We want to have a band, food, drinks, loud music, tons of skaters, daily giveaways leading up to the event, and of course a Gospel message where we pray many people commit their lives to Jesus Christ.

That's all cool, but besides the Gospel and love of Jesus, none of it's free. So, here's how you can get involved. I see 3 main ways:


1. PRAYING
This is the only logical place to start. Even if we had all the funding and felt pretty confident about pulling this event off, this would be the place to start. The power of people praying for us and this event around the city and around the nation is priceless. Join us as we seek the Lord about this event. If you are praying, leave a comment on this blog and let us know, or email us at info@awakenchurch.org. We love it!

 2. GIVING
We've set up a dedicated secure giving page for those who want their financial gifts to go directly to this event. We still have to pay our bills to keep the church doors open, but if you want to give above and beyond that, this giving page is for you. Any gift helps and 100% of it goes toward Collide. It's also tax-deductible, as are any of your gifts to Awaken.

3. COMING
Ministry is hands-on and we'll need lots of help to bring this thing to life.
Are you a Christian skater? Come grind for God's glory.
Do you make a mean burger? Come grill for God's glory.
Do you love to share your faith? Come share God's love.
Whatever church or city or background you're from is beside the point. If you want to get involved, let us know. Leave a comment or drop us an email: info@awakenchurch.org.


Here are some specific needs for this event:
- a Christian band and stage
- lighting
- food and drinks
- giveaways (shirts, CDs, skateboards and accessories, iTunes cards, etc.)
- money for printing and advertising (radio, billboard, flyers...)

Thanks for prayerfully considering being a part of this event. We feel called to reach this generation and understand that our time is extremely limited. We can't wait around till everything is just right - that will never happen. We will forge ahead and trust that God will provide for the vision He has given us.

Stand Up and Stand Out

I rocked a Nashville Predators hockey game last night. They played the Toronto Maple Leafs. I'll admit that I was a little disappointed that there were no fights the whole game, but over all, it was awesome. I really like watching how people got into the game. You could tell the locals - they knew when to yell mean things at the other team in unison. They were like a choir of bullies. I felt like one of the only people in the place without a jersey. Thankfully I was rooting for the right team. That wasn't the story for everyone though...

There was a family sitting a few rows away from us that were bold enough to rock some Maple Leaf jerseys right in the middle of a bunch of Nashville fans. Their jerseys are bright blue and white - there's no mistaking them. I think that's they way they liked it though. When the Maple Leafs scored, that family seemed to be the only family in the stadium cheering. Meanwhile, we slithered down in our seats in shame, trying to pretend that our team didn't just get scored on. It never worked. Watching that family reminded me of how a Christian should look in the world...


We should stand out.

That doesn't mean we should all be wearing Christian jerseys and only hang out together, but it certainly means we shouldn't blend in. That family could have gone without the jerseys and they didn't have to cheer when the Maple Leafs scored, but they didn't care about standing out. They rocked those jerseys with pride. Live your life for Christ with pride. Stand up and stand out.


We should be bold.

Don't be scared to stare the enemy in the face. Forget about the consequences of obeying Christ's call on your life - He'll take care of those. Be obedient and be bold. Do crazy things for Christ. Live as though God really is in eternal and in control of everything.


We should be consistent.


I'll bet any game the Maple Leafs play where that family can attend, they rock those jerseys with pride. They don't change jerseys to fit in with the crowd. I've lost count of how many people have told me they don't go to church because they've met too many hypocrites who go to church. Don't be someone's excuse not to go to church! When you live for God and the world, you tell the world that God isn't enough. He's cool, but not quite enough. You have to take extra supplements of the world to truly be satisfied. Live as though Jesus is all you need, because He is all that you need!


Tomorrow night at Awaken, I'll be teaching on the first 25 verses of Acts 8. A huge persecution breaks out in the days following Stephen's death (Acts 7) and Christians fear for their lives. They were simply obeying what Christ had commanded, and now this?! Of course. That's what happens.

Think about it this way...
How are Acts 1:8 and Acts 8:1 related?

Acts 1:8 - But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

Acts 8:1 - ...At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

When you obey 1:8, expect 8:1. It's part of the experience.

Blessing Comes Through Obedience

Sometimes it's tempting to think that you've failed when others don't respond to the message of the Gospel.

"God, I was just doing what you said. I seized the opportunity. I was bold. I laid out the Gospel. But they didn't care. I failed."

WRONG!

You seized the opportunity. You were bold. You laid out the Gospel.
That's all God asked you to do. Success!

You'd be a failure if God had told you to make your friend a Christian. Instead, He said to share what God has done for you. Make that distinction. After all, in Acts 1, what did Jesus say to His disciples before He ascended into heaven? Was it "Go and make Christians of everyone in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the Earth?" NO! He said, "Be My witnesses." If they chose to reject the message (and many times, the messenger), that was their issue.

If you're reading through the Bible with us this year, earlier this week you read a verse that's easy to look over in Genesis 26. It's the end of verse 4 and all of verse 5. God, speaking to Isaac, says:

...in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.

Did you catch it? "Abraham obeyed, so you get hooked up!"
Abraham was by no means perfect. He lied, he doubted, he tried to fulfill God's promise for a son through polygamy. However, the over-arching theme of his life was obedience and faith (Genesis 15:6).

When we obey, others get blessed.

Their response may not be what you wanted or expected, but God isn't focused on their response when He's commanded you to obey.

A NEW Work in an OLD Building

There's something cool about an old theater: concrete walls and floors, old ghetto paintings everywhere, secret passageways and dungeon-like lairs, and of course the vintage vibe that that all creates. That all describes the El Rey Theater where Jenn led worship and I taught last night for Calvary Albuquerque's college group, Renovate.

I love teaching anywhere I get a chance - I've taught at school Bible clubs, youth groups, winter retreats, main sanctuaries, conferences, class rooms, and even a girls' small group meeting in a home. I've had plenty of opportunities. However, out of them all, I can think of a few favorites:

Of course one of my favorites is my church family in Clarksville. I love the building that we transformed from a smelly old office building with broken-down bathrooms and peeling wallpaper. Most of all, I love my church family that meets there. God has done a great work there and I can only imagine what He has up His sleeve for the future. If you haven't checked it out, you need to.

Out of all the places I've gotten to teach, however, one of my very favorites is Renovate. I feel like I should have to pay to teach there...and I don't normally volunteer to pay! They used to meet at the Lobo Theater, another theater in downtown Albuquerque where Mars Hill Church now meets. Now, however, they meet at the El Rey. Sure, the Lobo Theater had bathrooms with doors on them and floors without holes in them, and modern uncreepy artwork, but the El Rey was super cool. The main reason it's so cool is because of the unique way that God moves there. The building really doesn't matter - it's the people who make it incredible. They love to worship and they love to hear the Word of God. With that combination, God is guaranteed to do amazing things. He certainly did last night as we studied through Acts 5. It was one of my favorite messages that I've taught so far in our Wednesday night study through Acts at Awaken (you can download it HERE if you'd like). God moved powerfully last night as we looked at these incredible men of God who weren't scared to lay it all on the line for Him. They lived radically:

Persecution? Perfect!

Whips? Wonderful!

Prison? PARTY!!

The verse that always stands out the most to me is Acts 5:29. As the disciples stand trial for defying Jewish authority and illegally speaking the name of Christ, they tell their Jewish opposition, "...We ought to obey God rather than men."
Imagine if we lived by that anthem! Look at what God did with a handful of men and women who lived by that motto and imagine what God could do in our generation if we lived that same way. That was the challenge and people responded! It's always exciting to see people walk to the front of the room in front of hundreds of others and proclaim their commitment to Christ.

If you're interested in listening to or watching the teaching from Renovate, check the service archive on their website. It will also be up in our service archive within the next couple of days.

The Land of Enchantment certainly was enchanting but we're ready to head home. As I sit here in the Albuquerque airport with my 3 beautiful girls, my prayer is that last night was not just another fun night with a bunch of college students, but that God revolutionized lives, and because of that, will continue to revolutionize a college, a city, and a generation.

Renovate, thanks for having us.

Clarksville, we can't wait to be back home. See you soon.

I miss you.

There are many things in life that I would enjoy missing:
- wisdom teeth extraction
- school (when I was younger)
- falling on my tailbone while snowboarding (happened yesterday)
- breaking my collar bone while playing football
- ____________________ (you can probably fill in your own blank)

One thing, however, that I'm not enjoying missing is church at Awaken. Tonight will be the second service that I'll miss.

The good news is: church goes on without me! That's a good reminder for everyone at church as well as for me.
Here's some more good news: you're in for a treat while I'm gone.

Last Saturday, if you were there, you got to hear from Pastor Chris Edmondson of One Church. He's a great guy with a big heart for the Lord, the city, and Awaken Church! It's very refreshing to meet a guy like Chris who is ready to help any time something is needed. If you didn't hear his message from last Saturday about "influence," make sure to get it from the podcast or the teaching archive on the Awaken website! Joining him, leading worship, was Jamie Worley, another great guy from Clarksville with a similar love for the Lord and heart for the city. He leads worship at Hilldale Family Life Center each week and plays around the city in different venues.

This Wednesday (TONIGHT), you'll get to hear from one of my best friends, Nate Witiuk, who most of you know from church. I was excited to give him a chance to teach and he's really looking forward to sharing some things that the Lord is teaching him. As you know, he and his wife, Jenn, moved out to Clarksville with us to start Awaken and they have been indispensable to the church! I'm really looking forward to hearing from him and you should be too. In addition to Nate teaching, Kevin Riner, another local worship leader and good friend, from Xtreme Church, will be there to lead worship. He's a great guy that has also been a helping hand to the church and has led worship for us once before.

Long story short, DON'T MISS TONIGHT'S SERVICE! It will be a special communion service as we look ahead to the new year and look back to Jesus' sacrifice on the cross for us!

Although I don't like missing services, I'm thankful that things continue just as well (maybe better?) without me. I'm praying for Awaken and thankful for all those who are lending a hand to help things run smoothly. I look forward to being back with you and back in Philippians this upcoming Saturday! See you soon!

My first weekend away

It was weird being away from church this weekend. As church was happening in Clarksville, I was sitting backstage with a bunch of the pastors from the church that trained me up in ministry, Calvary Albuquerque. It's always good visiting here - we know so many people here and have such a good time. Coming to Albuquerque will always feel like home...but I am excited to get back to my real home in Clarksville!

I got to open up the 11:15 service with a buddy of mine, Levi Lusko, who is the pastor of Fresh Life Church in Kalispell, MT. When I first went on staff at Calvary as the mid-school youth pastor, he was the high school youth pastor. We served together for a couple years, and eventually each planted our own churches. It was cool to be back together for a little while.

Tonight I did a wedding for a couple that was engaged for 15 months (492 days to be exact). The coolest part about it: they had never kissed before tonight! Incredible. 4 years together including 15 months of planning a wedding and not one kiss...until tonight. The photographer had mentioned to me that he was nervous about missing the first kiss, but there was no missing this one - it lasted a good while! In fact, one of my friends leaned over to his wife and mentioned, "If the camera broke, they could have painted that one!" What a testimony of their love for God and each other in not only saving their virginity for marriage but even their very first kiss! Amazing. It CAN be done!


It was good to hear lots of great reports about church while I was away. Nate Witiuk will be teaching on Wednesday while I'm gone. Make sure to be there for that - it will be a special communion service!

Jenn and I get back on Friday and I'm excited to be back in Philippians 3 on Saturday! Read up. See you soon.