Brushing My Teeth and the Other Most Important Thing I Do

This last semester my number one priority for the Rush program at Jack Britt has had little to do with the high school. Last year I was out there four days a week. This year: one, occasionally none. (This either means I'm turning into a cluelessly absent leader, or that I'm surrounded by very responsible co-leaders. Technically I suppose it could mean both. But I'm positive that I'm not absent, just clueless.)

My number one priority (next to brushing my teeth, which surpasses all the leadership abilities in the world) has been building a team of leaders. This team is the backbone of everything that happens at Britt. Team members:

Rachel (my 17 year old sister, senior in high school)

Peter (sophomore college student)

Kevin (Jack Britt alumn, college freshman)

Lindsey (Jack Britt senior)

These guys sit down and have one-on-one or group conversations with students. They encourage the students by sharing what God has put on their heart. They strategize how to make the most of our time, and develop key learning objectives (eg, recently they taught the students about the 5 Love Languages and how to discover yours and use them to serve God.)

I'm preparing to back away even more from the team next semester. It's time to let these leaders lead to a greater extent. But I'm confident and comfortable doing this because this last semester I've been clear on my mission: in general, to minister to Jack Britt students, but more precisely, to minister to Jack Britt students by building a team of leaders. Because I've done this, the small amount of ministry I'd be capable of doing is being surpassed on a weekly basis by the impact that 4 committed leaders can make as a team.

(By the way, I'm not even a great team builder. By personality I'm a lone ranger and would rather sit in my room and read and think or write music. This just goes to show you the power you could harness if you became GREAT at building teams.)

Take away: Do you know your number one most important thing to do? My number one most important thing to do this semester was brush my teeth on a daily basis. After that, it was build a team of leaders. No one else can brush my teeth for me, and no one else can build a team of leaders for me. Some things, only David Choi can do. At times when I get too caught up in "doing the ministry," and end up robbing younger leaders of opportunities to grow, I have to un-distract myself from all the important things, and focus on the important things that only I can do.

This Christmas, brush your teeth and do the important things that only you can do.

What the Heck? (A Miracle)

This is a longer post than usual, but it's a miracle story so you'll want to read it.

The meeting of the "Rush Movement at Jack Britt" went much later than usual today. We're supposed to end at 4:30 and we didn't walk out of the building until after 5:15. Kevin, a Jack Britt '09 graduate and freshman at ECU (he's one of our leaders), gave an incredibly impacting message today to the guys in our normal classroom, and Rachel and Lindsey spoke with the girls outside.

Anyway, as the guys and I (plus Rachel) walked out of the building, there was one lone student sitting outside waiting to be picked up. All students, including all the Rush students, had already left. (Usually, when we leave on time, there is still a crowd outside.) This kid walks up to us holding a small box and asks us to donate money for a charity. A few of us gave money, and we began walking on. Pete was walking ahead, but Kevin was joking with this kid, "Hey, I want to see some ID!" The student said, "Oh, I forgot my ID, but my name's Darrell."

Pete overheard this and turned back immediately. "Wait a minute--you're Darrell?!" Pete goes up to him and says, "Hey man, can I pray for you?" and right before he starts he asks, "How's your family?" (Turns out Darrell's parents are breaking up.)

Next thing I know Pete is holding hands with this kid praying for him. After he finished praying he mentioned casually, "When I woke up this morning God told me to pray for Darrell, and I didn't know who he was. I went to Wal-Mart cuz I thought he might be there but I didn't meet him. So I've been wondering who this Darrell was that I'm supposed to meet."

After that we stayed and talked with Darrell for about 30 minutes. It just so happens that Darrell was into rapping and dancing, and coincidentally, Kevin is a talented rapper and dancer! And get this: Kevin's friend Jeremy from the Rush Dance Team showed up just before we met Darrell, so the three of them all started showing each other dance moves and hanging out.... what a God-ordained "coincidence"!

Think about the details God had to orchestrate:

1. He gave Pete advanced notice this morning: "Pray for Darrell."

2. He made sure we would go really late in our meeting today.

3. In order for that to happen, He made sure that Rachel & Lindsey had planned on talking separately with the girls today (they took them all outside). That meant Kevin was free to connect with the much smaller guys group and spend a long time talking with them--much longer than usual.

4. He made sure that Darrell was getting picked up late today for whatever reason--really late.

5. He also made sure that Darrell was the ONLY student waiting outside--had their been a crowd, we wouldn't have noticed Darrell and he wouldn't have noticed us.

6. He made sure that Kevin made a casual little joke about wanting to see ID, prompting the kid to offer his name instead.

7. He made sure Pete, even though he had walked on ahead, was still within earshot and could hear the name.

8. He made sure that Kevin and Jeremy were there, so they could hit it off with Darrell talking about dance stuff.

Darrell, by the way, is a Christian, and as he put it after hanging out with us, "I thought I was the only one!" He'll be getting to know us...

two studs i know

for those of you who support me financially or are just curious, i wanted to show you a copy of a facebook message i just sent out to some friends i work with. one of the privileges of my life is that i have time to talk with guys like jake and pete, who are volunteer leaders out there using their free time to make a difference. as a gen ignite/rush missionary, part of my job is to encourage (and be inspired by) other volunteer leaders.

here's the message i sent out:

1. was talking with jake today. he was on his way to a high school to surprise one of the guys in his ignite group and have lunch with him. can you imagine the impact it would have on you as a teenager if a college student showed up at your school to eat lunch with you? --showed up on SURPRISE? not only is that freaking awesome, now you look cool in front of all the girls cuz you hang out with college dudes.

2. last week pete talked with a guy from his ignite group he has never met. found out he liked football. so monday in between 2 tests and homework, pete drives out to the boondocks to toss the football around with this kid. to me, thatd be like if a crossfit trainer asked if he could come over and show me how to do handstand tricks on the rings. umm....yes please?!

pete and jake = studs.

See You at the Pole

Just got back this morning from a See You at the Pole gathering at Jack Britt.

Teachers and students held hands in a circle around the flag pole at the front of the school, with students joining in as they arrived. All over the country today people were gathering like this.

A friend who used to be in my Fayetteville Tech men's discipleship group is now at Liberty University. They gathered last night for a massive See You at the Pole effort. He called to ask how he could pray for Jack Britt. How great that students, teachers, staff, volunteers, and even a college student at Liberty are praying together for Jack Britt.

Open House

Monday evening, September 14th: Open House at Jack Britt High School. Jin Ju and Christina put together a display for "The Rush Movement at Jack Britt."
The sign says "Kill the Club--Start the Movement." We're not just interested in having a Christian club. We want to see students all over Jack Britt growing into their full potential in Christ by knowing him and serving him.

Click the picture (what do i do with gen ignite?):

PIctures from Gen Ignite kick-off event: "Make Some Revolution."

This is what it looks like when hundreds of students choose to pray together for the same thing. Handwritten prayers were tacked to a board that says "We pray for those who suffer." And in the language of the persecuted church in Pakistan is written, "We pray for you." We are mailing the prayers to our contact person in Pakistan, and sending him a picture of the board to encourage the Pakistan Church.

A few hundred students showed up for the August 23rd kick-off event, and we cast the vision for Gen Ignite: a godly, relatable mentor + a small group of students = chance to grow in faith and impact your world.

What Do I Do?

I am a missionary sent out from Manna Church in Fayetteville, NC to reach the next generation. I do this by working with Gen Ignite, a student ministry that mentors students and trains them to impact their world. I also work with Rush Campus Ministries, which falls under Gen Ignite and focuses on Reaching the Unreached Student Harvest on school campuses.

Three main things I do:

1. Rush Campus Minister at Jack Britt High School. I spend time on campus mentoring students, and empowering them to influence their friends through the Rush Club and tons of outreach efforts.

2. I lead the Creative Team for Gen Ignite. We try to discover and implement the best possible ways to grab a little piece of God's heart and share it with hundreds of students at a time (I stole that description from fellow missionary Aubrey Sgro).

3. I help Gen Ignite develop our volunteer leaders into mentors who are committed to following Christ and intentional about pulling others along with them.