July 13th, 2008 Posted in Church, Events, Life, Misc, Personal, Random Thoughts | No Comments »
If you didn’t pick a copy of the summer Colvin Youmin quarterly report, here’s a little interview they did with me for the newsletter. Just thought you might enjoy the read.
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1. What, if anything, did your parents do to help your spiritual life?
I have been very blessed to grow up in a Christian home. One of the things that I vividly remember about my mother is that she always affirmed the thoughts and feelings within my own heart. For example, when I thought, “this isn’t right” or “why am I being treated this way” she always sat and listened to me and responded, “you’re right, Ian, things shouldn’t be this way.” She continues to do this to this day. Instead of smoothing things over with a band-aid, my mother taught me true Christianity. The Christianity that isn’t phony. The kind of Christianity that doesn’t suppress emotions but instead deals with them head on. She always pointed me to Jesus. And when my feelings were misguided, my mother taught me to speak the truth to them and continue to take them to Jesus. It’s straight living from the heart, really.
My father is a true representation of the generosity of God! I am extremely blessed to have everything that I need (I know he’ll always get me the best), a roof over my head, food on the table, and various luxuries that I get to enjoy. Also, my dad was the one that originally taught me the four basic chords on the guitar: G, D, Em, and C! The first song that I learned how to play was Country Roads Take Me Home. My dad is gifted in music and, in an odd way, I almost want to say that music is flowing in my veins because of him.
2. How do you see God working in your life? In the lives of teenagers today?
It’s always hard to put my finger on where God is working in my life in the moment because generally I don’t understand what God has done until He’s already done it. Looking back over the past couple of weeks though God has continually been showing me His love. In fact, to answer this question, I had to consult my journal to give an accurate answer and to remember what God actually IS doing. I looked over some previous entries and I just thought to myself wow God has really got me in His hand. The popular question of choice by many these days is, “Hey, Ian, where ya thinkin’ about going to college?” My response is always, “I’m not sure yet. I have a few ideas, but I’m not sure.” This is quite a huge question, considering you may be deciding what you’d like to do for the rest of your life. But looking through my journal, the biggest thing God is speaking to me is Ian, I’ve got you. I have the plan.
As to a generic assessment of what God’s doing in the lives of teenagers today, I believe that God is calling teenagers back to himself. We have so much crap to deal with in this world and often students go astray (everybody does this, actually). But I think God is constantly knocking on everybody’s doorstep saying, Hey, let me in. I have the answer.
3. Along those lines, is God really raising up worshippers among students? Feel free to elaborate on this with any thoughts.
Of course! God is always in the business of raising up worshippers and even more so calling people back to Himself to experience more freedom in our lives.
4. Many students have a hard time balancing time for friends, work, school, extra-curricular activities, family, and God. How do you deal with this problem or manage to do all of this?
I think the most important thing to remember is that we can encounter God anywhere. It used to be that God’s presence was strictly confined to the Ark of the Covenant but now it has been released everywhere! So, with that said, we can encounter God while we’re spending time with friends, working, studying, doing activities, spending time with family, and at church. Everywhere! Throughout my day, I might say “Wow God, that’s a beautiful sunset.” Or perhaps, “God, this person really ticks me off.” Maybe, “Dang, God, this test is hard. Give me clarity of mind!” For me, balance is finding God everywhere. The rest should fall into place if God’s the center. Also, the most obvious form of balance is you don’t want to be spending 99% of your time on one thing such as hanging out with friends, school, work, church, etc. This is something that you just have to DO (prioritize). Way easier said than done, though.
5. What summer movie are you most looking forward to?
I’m looking forward to (believe it or not) Kung-Fu Panda and Wall-E! I’m a sucker for good, animated fun as you can tell. I’m sure there’s a million other movies that are coming out this summer that I haven’t heard of as well…
6. Any summer concerts you’re looking forward to?
I haven’t heard of any big summer concerts that are coming up yet, but I’m keeping my ears open.
7. What excites you the most about the youth ministry?
What excites me the most about the youth ministry is the fact that a large group of students come together to learn more about God and to experience His presence. It absolutely thrills my soul when I see the power of God come and stir up people’s hearts in an effort to draw us back to Himself. There is no more rewarding thing in ministry but to see God work powerfully and change people’s lives.
8. Why is worship important for you? Why is worship important for students your age?
The reason why I worship God, in the most simple of terms, is because He’s God. There’s absolutely no other way that I can think to put it. Over the course of my life, God has done much healing and restored my heart to a point where it’s so miraculous that it can be nothing else but God’s love. For me, worship is adoring and worshipping God and giving back to him what He truly deserves – my heart.
9. Any additional comments?
Thanks for the interview! :)
