Dominican Republic Baseball Missions Trip

As many of you know, last March I went on a missions trip with the baseball team I help coach at Valor Christian High School to the Dominican Republic. Through Score International we were able to stay on their complex in Juan Dolio and put on baseball camps, play pick-up games and share the gospel with young baseball players in the Santo Domingo and San Juan areas.

Baseball is so prominent in the DR because it's viewed as the only thing that will deliver them from poverty. If there's anywhere in the world where baseball is the language to spread the gospel, the Dominican is it. So of course, my heart and passion toward the Dominican Republic is something that hasn't faded in the months since our return. You can hear more and see pictures from the trip in the sermon I preached in April at the Christian Church of Broomfield.

I'm excited to let you know that, along with Hitstreak co-worker, Valor coach and All Out Student Ministry volunteer Brian Bonn, I will be going back to the DR for a Baseball Outreach Missions trip from November 14th-18th. If you would like to help support me in this trip, there are two ways that would be appreciated. The first is prayer and encouragement. If you would like to commit to praying for the people of the Dominican Republic and our trip, then please let me know on my facebook page or reply to this email if you're not on facebook. Secondly, would you consider financially helping me be part of this mission trip? The cost of this trip is $1,200. Any amount you could contribute would be appreciated. Click here to make a donation.

Your support, encouragement, and prayers are appreciated. I will be blogging about the trip, so please check out my blog for updates. Thank you so much and God bless!

In Him,

Justin Dillard

Youth Ministry and the West Coast Offense

"Walsh took an unusual view of quarterbacks: he thought they were only as good as the system they played in."

Michael Lewis, The Blind Side

Bill Walsh changed the game of football when he was an offensive coordinator of the AFL expansion Cincinnati Bengals. His job was to design a successful offense with a weak-armed quarterback named Virgil Carter. Without the ability to throw downfield, Walsh implemented plays that used more of the field horizontally with 3 receivers who ran short routes timed precisely to the steps of the quarterback. These short timed passes, if executed properly, could be completed against any defense. "In 1971, Virgil Carter, who never completed as many as half of his passes, somehow led the entire league in completion percentage (62.2) and bumped his yards per attempt from 5.9 to 7.3." This system was the beginning of what is now known as the West Coast offense.

Bill Walsh went on to be the head coach of the 1980's San Francisco 49ers dynasty. In his time there, he took a quarterback who was too small with a weak arm named Joe Montana and a backup quarterback that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn't even want named Steve Young and won Super Bowls as they went on to be Hall of Famers. So what does this have to do with youth ministry?

Oftentimes ministries run into problems when a dynamic, well-liked leader is at the forefront and the ministry is based around that person. Instead, ministries, much like the West Coast offense, should place the emphasis on a sustainable system first, then fill in the right personnel to make things happen, and finally rely on effective execution of a common vision. Many times, this order is reversed in some way, which leads to the early exit of many talented youth workers (see Ryan Leaf).

System

"The virtues [the West Coast offense] exalted above all others were precision, consistency, and predictability. Walsh had created the contraption to compensate for the deficiencies of his quarterback..."

Bill Walsh created a system that worked no matter who was running it. In youth ministry, we are constantly experiencing turnover in volunteers as well as paid youth pastors. So why operate in such a way that the whole system changes whenever the people change, especially when it occurs so frequently? That's the makeup for an incredibly unstable climate.

Plus, when we build systems that are built around individuals (as youth pastors, we tend to build around ourselves) then the pressure seems to burn out the individuals as well as place outrageous expectations on whoever their successor may be. Rather than building a system that requires a fleet footed, rocket-armed quarterback (which are incredibly rare and hard to come by), Walsh built systems that require a quarterback who has "guile, nimbleness, and an ability to throw accurately, as long as he didn't have to throw far."

So instead of building systems that require talents that few have, build systems that require skills that can be learned.

Personnel

"The intangibles were nice, thought Walsh, but they weren't the reason quarterbacks succeeded or failed."

It means that the system is better when incredibly talented people are a part of it, but it's not reliant on them. As we look throughout scripture, God uses very ordinary people that would have never stood a chance in the NFL to do works of biblical proportions. Yet we require our people to be a mix of Billy Graham, Dr. Phil and James Dean (or whoever the kids think is cool these days). So we need systems that set people who love God and love kids up to be successful. We need systems that would make a star out of Virgil Carter, so when Joe Montana comes it's an added bonus.

However, having the pieces to the puzzle and a picture of what it's supposed to look like is just the beginning. Equally important is the third step in the formula.

Execution

"The performance of a quarterback must be manipulated," said Walsh. "To a degree coaching can make a quarterback, and it certainly is the most important factor for his success. The design of the team's offense is the key to a quarterback's performance. One must be tuned to the other."

Even the right people in the right system are set up to fail if they aren't poured into and given freedom to work within the system. This requires a leader; someone who sets out to not only place individuals in a position to be successful, but also orchestrates all individuals to work together as one. No matter how talented someone may be, one person can never be as stable, efficient, effective or successful as a group of people moving together in the same direction.

So the question is this: with the right system and the right personnel, do you have the leader to put them together? The quarterback doesn't make that happen, the head coach does. He designs the system, picks the people who can run it and then he shows them how to do it. Without the vision and direction and the person to lead it, talent turns into Jamarcus Russell.

Here's the thing. This isn't football. We work in a profession where lives are changed and souls are on the line. With stakes this high, do we operate like a backyard game with plays drawn in the dirt, or are we running a West Coast offense that is designed and built for success?

All quotes are taken from the "Death of a Lineman" chapter of The Blind Side by Michael Lewis.

Love Complete

Here is my first ever podcast. This is from my sermon on 3/21/10.

Powderburn 2010

To Save a Life

I went and saw "To Save a Life" today. Can't wait to take the group this Wednesday, January 27th to the 5pm showing at the Promenade for a very special Milkshakes with Mikki. Don't miss it!

For this reason, make every effort...

"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if any of you do not have them, you are nearsighted and blind, and you have forgotten that you have been cleansed from your past sins.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 1:3-11

What do you spend of your time and energy working toward? Is it school and trying to get good grades? Is it work and trying to make money? Is it relationships? Sports? (Dare I say) video games?!?! When I look back at the goals or accomplishments that I've focused my efforts on, very few of them actually exist still today. Now, as I try to look toward the future, I'm don't know exactly where I'm going or what I'm doing. I have an idea, but things change. However, when I look to the future, I have a crystal clear picture of the man I want to be. The husband and father I want to be. I know exactly what kind of Christian I want to be. Maybe more so, the Christian I don't want to be.

Simon Peter is telling us in this passage that we are to "make every effort" in developing our character. Often times, we focus on accomplishments and we push our character aside. You can probably think of someone in your life that did this and achieved neither the accomplishment nor character. A perfect example is someone who focuses all their energy in "finding the right person" instead of becoming the right person. Then when they find the right guy or girl, the right guy or girl has no interest in being with them.

Verse 3 tells us that "His divine power (or the Holy Spirit) has given us everything we need for a godly life” and when we participate in the divine nature, we escape "the corruption in the world caused by evil desires." For this reason, make every effort. Because we have the Holy Spirit in us and we have the potential to live a godly life apart from the corruption of the world, make every effort to build your character. If we do, we "will never stumble, and we will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

Dear God, am I doing this right?

When you pray, only one of three things will happen: God will either say "yes", "no" or "maybe/later". Do you ever wonder why some people seem to hear nothing but "yes" while others hear nothing but "no"? If you do, you're not the only one to ever think about that. There are many people who try to figure out the exact words, in the right order, in the proper posture at the appropriate time to maximize the efficiency of their prayers. Was prayer meant to be a ritual? Do you ever wish you could just walk up to Jesus and ask Him how to pray?

You're in luck. In Luke chapter 11, we get to learn from Jesus how to pray.

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his desciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." He said to them, "When you pray, say: " 'Our Father in heaven, holy is your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.' " Luke 11:1-4

Instead of copying Jesus' prayer, we need to understand what he's saying in his prayer so we can have a powerful prayer life. The first thing that Jesus begins his prayer with is Our Father in heaven. He doesn't start by saying, "Almighty God and creator of the universe" which God is. He says "Our Father". He's talking to someone that he has an intimate relationship with. He's talking to someone that he loves, not just someone he can get something from.

Next Jesus says, holy is your name. Jesus is conceding that God is holy and if we're going to have an intimate relationship with a Holy God, then there are going to be some moral implications. When we go to God in prayer typically, we want him to care about us, but we don't want him to care about our character. To have a powerful prayer life, we need to allow God to invade every aspect of our lives.

Then Jesus switches gears and says your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Here Jesus is recognizing that God's kingdom is big and his will is in action. In fact God's story has been a freight train through the history of the world, including now forward. As for us, we're either on that train or we're not. Our lives are either aligned with Him or they're not. Our prayers are either in God's will or they're not. If they are, then we may get a lot of "yes' " from God. But if we hear a lot of "no's", then we need to get back in alignment with Him.

Give us each day our daily bread. We may live very comfortably in our country where we don't have to worry about where we'll sleep tonight or how we'll eat, but Jesus is saying that our dependence needs to remain in God. That being in God's presence is a daily occurrence, not just one day a week (most weeks).

Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. This is a reminder that we receive grace from God. We're all sinners deserving of death. God doesn't want us to go to him with a "look how good I'm doing attitude." We're not to look at others like we're smarter, better, or more righteous than anyone. Sin is sin and we're all sinners. But we receive grace from God so that we can have a relationship with Him. That grace came at a price, and we should recognize and remember that by going to God in humility. And when we receive His grace, we should give the same grace away to others.

If you forgive others. If you choose love over bitterness, generosity over greed, servanthood over self-centeredness. If you choose to pray not for what God can do for you but what God can do through you. You will begin to live a life that is powerful. And your prayer life will not only change you, but the world around you. You can live in intimate communication with God. That is Jesus' invitation to you when he taught you how to pray.

AO Student Website

All Out Student Ministries now has it's very own website!!! At aostudentministries.org you can find general information as well as info on sponsors, events, parent resources, messages and media.

Check it out now and sign up for the high school Spiritual Gifts Fall Retreat or the middle school Xtreme Challenge.

When I grow up, I'm gonna be just like my dad...

When you're little, everything you do and say comes from something other than yourself. For example, my 20 month old has a vocabulary of "I'm a mess" from her Gammy, "more please" from her mother, and "boom, boom, boom" from the Black-eyed Peas. (If you're wondering what she got from me, you should see this girl throw).

When I look back on my upbringing, I see that I'm no different. When I was little, I used to see my dad read his bible at the breakfast table, so I would do the same. I was also a policemen a time or two for halloween. I didn't do those things because my dad told me to, I did them because I saw my dad do them and that made me change how I acted.

My friend Jesus has a similar story.

"Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed." John 5:19 &20

Even Jesus, the Son of God and the Savior of the World only does what he sees his father doing. So all that cool stuff that Jesus did on earth... he didn't just make it up. There was a source. John 12:49 & 50 takes it a step further.

"For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say."

Jesus obviously had a great relationship with his father. He was constantly looking at what his father was doing so he knew what he should do. Because of Jesus, we can have the same relationship with God the Father as he did. We can look to the bible and we can look all around us and see what God is doing. But question is this: does seeing what God does change what you do?

Don't value the gifts more than the Giver.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3

Deep down in our hearts, I believe that God created a void. Within all of us there is something missing, there's a whole in our soul that only God can fill. The problem is we try to fill it with all kinds of different things. The "bad" people fill it with alcohol, drugs, sex and rock and roll. But not us. No, we fill it with good things like playing in the band, sports and other productive activities. Baseball: my anti-drug. That's good, right?

Here's the problem. God created people to give him glory. Then he blessed us with everything around us as gifts from Him to us. Then, with our sinful nature, we took these gifts from God and we made them more important than God Himself. We took God out of that place in our heart and replaced Him with something that He gave us. Instead of keeping it external to us, we give it way more meaning than it was intended. Having stuff isn't bad. It's what that stuff means to us that gets us into trouble.

Jesus addresses this in Matthew 16:24-25.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it."

Whoever loses their life for me will find it. In confusing but spiritual way, I guess that makes sense. But what does that look like?

Way back in the book of Genesis, there was a guy named Abraham. When Abraham was old enough to be a grandfather, God blessed him with a son, Isaac. Abraham loved his only son so much that he became the light of Abraham's life. That sounds sweet, but at the same time, Abraham took God out of the void in his heart and replaced Him with the gift that God had given him, Isaac.

In Chapter 22, God tests Abraham by telling him to sacrifice his only son (sound familiar?) to God as a burnt offering. At that point, Abraham had a choice. He could either keep his son and disobey God, or he could lose his son for God. He chose to sacrifice his son before God stopped him. Abraham allowed God to reclaim his rightful spot in the shrine in his heart and God blessed him for that.

"and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me." Genesis 22:18

If you read on, you find out that Jesus came through Abraham's offspring. If Abraham would have chosen differently, the Old Testament would've looked drastically different.

If and when we replace God in our hearts with the gifts He's given us, we too will be tested by God. We'll have two choices and the choice we make will greatly impact our future. Ready?

High School Group time changed for tonight only!!!

For an unknown reason, All Out High School group will meet from 4:00-5:30. See you there.

I may not need bread alone, but I still need bread. Right?

We are all born into a story. Some are happy with a lot of love and support. Some are more sad and tragic. Either way when we're young, other people begin to write our story on us. Around middle school and high school, we begin to write our own story.

God gave us His word through the Bible, not to be a wikipedia of God, but to give us the story of God engaging us. In the beginning, God spoke through prophets and other various ways. Then He spoke to us through His Son. Today God is continually speaking to us. All of creation is constantly screaming at us the story of God. God is always speaking and His words give us life.

"Then Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."

Jesus answered, "It is written: 'People do not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

I used to think that Jesus was just giving the "Sunday School" answer. I remember thinking that we don't live on bread alone... but we still live on bread. I thought Jesus was being an over spiritual tough guy but He really was being literal. He knew that apart from His father, He could turn those stones to bread, but it's not the bread that gives Him life. It's that His Father spoke into that bread that brings Him life. Just like manna, God puts all the nutrients into bread therefore bread gives us life. But if God spoke and said, "be full" then He would be full. Just like He spoke and said, "Let there be light" and there was light.

So if God is speaking constantly and His words bring us life, and we allow him to speak His story into our story, it will change our story. Instead of being what we've allowed others to shape us into, we become what God shapes us into. Instead of trying to be the main character of our own story, we become a part of a story much bigger than us. We become a part of a story that matters.

It's a story that begins with us being created in the likeness and image of God. It's a story about a murderer named Moses, a liar named Abraham, a prostitute named rehab, and a liar, murderer and adulterer named David. We see God go into the gritty, nasty reality of life and take imperfect people to do extraordinary things.

Some of us don't know our story because we're looking in the wrong story. Let God's words breath into your life and find yourself in that story.

If you do the right thing for the wrong reason, is it still right?

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

Matthew 7:21-23

There are a lot of people that "do the right thing." People who volunteer their time, donate their money and are kind to people. Some of those people even attend church. This may sound odd, but all of those things can be done out of selfish ambition. There are many people that donate time and money to feel good about themselves or for notoriety instead of being an obedient servant for God. There are many people who go to church for the community or even the entertainment that they get there and they take Jesus out of church.

The scary thing in Matthew 7:21-23 is that there were these people who did all the right things and at the end, they were expecting to get into heaven. And Jesus' answer to this was that He never knew them. You can do all the right things, but if you take Jesus out of it, then ultimately you're doing it for yourself. The key here is you either know Jesus or you don't. You may know who Jesus is, but do you know Him personally? Is He actively working in your life? If you don't see Jesus working, He may not be there.

What a waste to go through life in attempts to become a "good person" just to find Jesus telling you, "I don't know you, go away!" I pray that our quest is to hear "Well done my good and faithful servant." From a worldly view, both can look the same. However there is a huge difference that is imperative: Jesus.

9/13/09 - Recap

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

Fall is underway. Hello school, homework, band practice, football practice, work schedules and an overall boost in responsibilities and lack of free time. As the to-do list grows, so does the anxiety and negativity. When your seed of negativity begins to grow into a blossoming tree, relationships begin to suffer and even Fantasy Football starts to wear you out. You feel like you're running on empty because you are.

Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you..." WAIT, WAIT, WAIT... Take your yoke? How is adding more to my plate going to relieve my weary and burdened soul?

How is stopping at a gas station going to get me to where I want to go any quicker? Jesus is the answer to the weary and burdened life because only He can give rest for your soul. He doesn't take away your responsibilities, but He does give you the strength to get through.

For us, Middle School has an hour and fifteen minutes on Sunday morning and High School has 90 minutes on Sunday night to enter a sanctuary or refuge and leave the troubles of life outside. For a short period of time, we get to block out everything to focus on Jesus. We get to come to Him and find rest for our weary and burdened souls. Amen to that.

Fall Kickoff

After an Outstanding summer and a short break, we are ready to Kickoff the Fall. We will resume our normal Middle School Service during the Sunday 8am service as well as the High School Service on Sundays at 5:30pm on Sunday, September 13th. But before that we are going to kick this thing off right.

High School - Sunday, September 6th

Rocky Mountain Showdown. We'll grill out and hang out while watching CU and CSU battle for in state bragging rights. Party starts at 5pm at my house. Bring $5 OR bring a friend and you both get in free.

Middle School - Friday, September 11th

Time for some All Out Putt-Putt. We'll meet at the church at 5pm for some pizza before we go to Hyland Hills Adventure Golf & Go Karts. We'll play a round of Golf and get in a race before we meet back at the church at 8pm for pick up. For Pizza, Golf and Go Karts, the cost is only $5! Email me (jdillard@ccbroomfield.org) and let me know if you will be coming so we can get enough food for all.

New Orleans Slide Show

Sorry, this website is not uploading the video either. But you can watch it here on YouTube.

New Orleans Day 3

Here's the video that we couldn't get to upload during the week. Better late than never.

New Orleans Day 2

Sorry I missed Day 1, here's Day 2.

Final New Orleans Meeting Tonight

Even though I sent out an email containing the following information, I've received quite a few calls asking about this. So here's the skinny on tonight.

When: 6:30pm - 8:00pm

Where: The Sanctuary

What: We will go over the orientation that we're missing on Sunday. We'll also talk about the projects that we'll be working on down there and we'll share testimonies.

You DO NOT need to bring shot records, you just need to have a current Tetanus shot. You DO need to bring your signed Release of Rights Statement and Waiver.

Shut up and let God work!

On the last night of CIY, everyone had an envelope with a card in it taped to the bottom of their chair. On each card was a challenge that everyone had to complete within the next year to help grow their faith. The rule was that if you open it, you have to do it. This was scary because they let us know what some of the challenges were. There were things like Don't buy clothes for a year and Sell something you own that's worth more than $500 and give it all away.

For all of the kids it was scary because there were things that they either didn't think they could do or they just weren't willing to do. On that night a number of our kids opened their cards. I didn't.

My reasoning was that I've always done multiple things and this is the first time in my life that I've only had one job to focus on (that and I was not so secretly worried that it would tell me to learn a new language and spend 2 months in that country). I felt like I have enough direction to go in, I don't need another one to commit to.

Today, I'm sitting in my office and wrapping up some administrative stuff from the trip and preparing for VBS next week, and that stupid card popped back up. After throwing it away and hearing it scream at me for 20 minutes, I dug it out of the trash and opened it up.

After seeing the card and remembering my reasoning for not opening it, I realized what I just did. I put a God in a box. After telling Him that I am already doing this, this, and this and that I can't handle anything more, He firmly responded back, "You don't think I know that? You don't think I know exactly what you need and what you can handle?"

I'm glad my card didn't remain in the trash and I'm proud of our kids who had enough faith to open their's. I can't wait to grow closer in a relationship with my Lord and Savior by reading 66 books in the next 365 days. Please pray for me and hold me accountable.