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Jesus calls all that follow Him to be fishers of men. He then challenged all of His followers with the great commission “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16: 15)

Our calling as a follower of Christ is to preach the good news. The good news that God wants all people to know Him, and have real life. Paul, if you remember, met Christ on his way to Damascus. After his encounter with Jesus, he said he went and started declaring the good news in Damascus that all should turn back to God. I like to think of this as Paul sharing the good news right where God put him. Where has God put you? He saved you, and then left you where you are at to influence the people you are around. Your family, your friends, your school or work place. All the people that you encounter at all these places are searching and looking for life and hope. You might be the only light they see or the only Bible that they ever read. It is you, don’t be disobedient to your calling. Think about the people that God has placed in your life and simply start praying for them. You might be surprised at how God will use you to influence them toward a relationship with Jesus.

Keep Fishing,

Mark Roberts

First Priority has been hosting ‘Coordinator Orientations’ recently to help people interested in the First Priority strategy gain a full understanding of the impact launching a new First Priority movement in their community can be. The concept of FP is simple, but the practical leadership has many aspects surrounding it, from church politics in working together, running faith based ministry inside a school building, and equipping students to share the gospel, to name a few. We recently had a few new leaders gather in Nashville and here is what they had to say:

“One thing that blew me away was how well organized First Priority really is. I’ve been a part of many school ministries, but none that are so organized and set up for growth as First Priority.” Ory from Loxley, AL

“At the Orientation I learned many things, but there were three that really stood out.
First is prayer. Mark expressed to us that a community is changed by prayer. Our heart must first break for our community. Our burden will then be seen and expressed to others. To get people involved with First Priority begins with prayer. People will volunteer and give to what they have prayed about. I made a goal to make my “first priority” with a new youth pastor or church interested, to get them praying. To partner with them in prayer for the school they are interested and let that trickle across to the parents, students and congregation.

Secondly, Brad illustrated through paper tied together that we can do more together than apart. This encouraged me to realize the shared First Priority family across the nation, the support of our leadership, and the importance of connecting local churches. I made a goal to work toward being the middle man who connects churches that may not normally partner in the community to work together over time. I believe if they did they would see the benefit.

Thirdly, Steve spoke to us about being servants to the local church. After he explained that many churches never have outside help and many are struggling, it connected some puzzle pieces for me in my community. I made it a goal and am developing a strategic plan to volunteer in local churches in various ways. It is my goal to make First Priority in my community known for the organization that serves churches.

Overall the training was very effective in my life because it connected dots for me. It also was very encouraging to see the overall and long term plan of FPOA. Finally, it was very helpful to connect with other directors across America who share the vision, mission and heart of First Priority and minister in unique ways.” Joel from Clayton, NC

Whether you are interested in starting First Priority in only 1 school or plant a seed to reach your whole city, the orientation is the place to start. We have a couple of them coming up. The first is May 23-24 in Middlesboro, KY and the second is May 16-17 in Birmingham, AL. Email amy.hall@fpofamerica.com for more information.

Peace,

Brad Schelling

Proverbs 16:32
“He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty,
And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.”

The verse said slow to anger not that you would never get angry. But there is a difference in slow calculated, thought out through and through anger. Sometimes we have to look at situations from a different angle or perspective. Love is in your heart not pride. Pride causes me to get mad early because it usually is affecting me. Living in the Spirit is not me having control but Who do I give control to, me or Jesus?

I need to love God and then I will love others. If I give my heart to the Holy Spirit everyday then I will see things from a different perspective and not be affected by things that make me mad. I do not want to approach things from a selfish angle but from a Godly angle. What does God get mad at? What are the 7 things He hates? Most of them have to do with a prideful spirit. I have come to realize that when someone cuts me off in traffic or I burn with anger against my neighbor it is my problem because I am not looking at it through the eye of Jesus, but myself.

Lord, help me daily to look to You to rule my spirit so that I don’t get angry at the things that are about me. If I do get angry help them be at the things that make you angry.

Keep Fishing,

Mark Roberts

Peter began to say to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You.” —Mark 10:28

What does it really mean to follow Jesus? Peter and the other disciples really did leave it all. I mean they had professions, family, probably a nice life.  Then all of a sudden they meet Jesus and just surrendered it all. I heard an interesting thing about the word “surrender”. Back in the days of the Old Testament when an army would surrender, this was the way it would happen. The “shield bearers” stood around the armies and carried shields that where 6 foot high and 4 foot wide. They would line up next to each other and push over their shields. This indicated to the other army that they surrender. I think what it means to follow Jesus is to push over my shield. To totally trust that Jesus has my best interest in mind. I do not have to put up walls around my life that keep Jesus out. I want Him in because He loves me more than I love myself.

Keep Fishing,

Mark Roberts

I have been to many leadership conferences in my life and have never been able to put into words as to why the materials always were sitting on a shelf months after getting home and not getting used. When I read these words, they rang true in my heart:
“I find [leadership] conferences to be very exciting on one level, but there is something darker that happens as well. Sometimes they leave me feeling competitive toward other churches and what they are accomplishing. I leave the conference feeling dissatisfied with my own situation – my own staff, my own resources, my own gifts and abilities. My ego gets ramped up to do bigger and better things, and then I go home and drive everyone crazy. Three months later, the conference notebook is on a bookshelf somewhere, and I have returned to life as usual with a vague feeling of uneasiness about my effectiveness as a leader, never quite sure if I am measuring up.” Ruth Haley Barton
This can be the same feeling that initially happens in a church pastor and/or youth pastor network. Everyone shows up, talks about the size of the ministry, the camps from summer, and the amazing new program that the newest youth pastor is building. We all leave that first meeting with slight uneasiness if we really fit.
Let me tell you the difference between FP and a leadership conference. FP happens every day, every week, every month, and every year in the same community with each other. The competition will wear off if you stick it out. The ground will level out among you. You will learn each others imperfections and hopefully get to the place where you complement each other in the community rather than try to one up each other. At first, it may feel like a leadership conference and that you need to go start a club. Yes, the actual ministry at the school is important. But, our work is not transactional, it is transformational. Transformational takes time.

So, keep it up! Work through the initial resistance. Walk with those that are willing and love those who aren’t. The road will level out and the path will be filled with joy that only community can bring.

Peace,

Brad Schelling

Esther 4:14New King James Version (NKJV)
14 For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Mordecai speaks truth to Esther and tells her she is there for a reason. If you are familiar with the story you know that Esther had become queen and Haman had plotted to have all the Jews killed. Mordecai gets wind of it and tells Esther if she does not act it will be ruin for the Jews. We have all been in a situation where we knew we are there for a reason. I believe God put each of us in certain places to accomplish His will and to be used by Him for such a time as this. I have found that everyday can be an adventure if we have the mind set of being in a place where we know God has put us.

Three years ago, First Priority of Heritage, KY. decided to hire a full time director. There were three to four First Priority clubs up and running, but the potential for more was right in front of them. Shawn Ingram took over as the director and 3 years later they are on 28 campuses reaching hundreds of students for Christ. Shawn is exactly where God wants him to be and he is living the adventure because He knows he is there for such a time as this.

Look around you, are you living the adventure or just trying to get to the greener grass on the other side of the fence? Are you missing the opportunity you have right in front of you? If you think the grass you have under your feet is brown and it better over there, just water and fertilize where you stand!  You will recognize you are standing there for such a time as this.

Keep Fishing,

Mark Roberts

“Habakkuk deals with the questions that come up when someone really believes God, yet looks around them and the world doesn’t seem to match up with how God wants it.”

Ever feel that way in the moment when you believe God’s Word where it says that if you have the faith of a mustard seed you can move mountains? It makes me wonder if anybody is actually praying based on what you see on the news. If 75+% of us are believers, can God’s people can actually move mountains? If so, why are we in such political turmoil? If God’s people can move mountains, why are their still hungry people in the U.S.? And why do people still suffer?

Those are great questions. They are honest questions. I ask them often.

I think God’s Word through Habakkuk gives us some perspective on this. Habakkuk prays a similar prayer that my heart longs for in chapter 3 verse 2:

Lord, I have heard of your fame;
I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord.
Repeat them in our day,
in our time make them known;
in wrath remember mercy.

This is what I want. I want revival in our land. I want unity among the citizens of our great nation. I want God to do again today what I’ve heard he has done in the past! God answered Habakkuk’s prayer. But, probably not how Habakkuk dreamt the best way would be. Habakkuk prayed that prayer a few years before the nation of Israel and city of Jerusalem came under attack from Babylon when the citizens became captives for 70 years. They were in spiritual decline which cause them to be a weak and un-unified people. What God knew and Habakkuk learned is that the people had to hit rock bottom before they were in a place to put God at the top of the nation again. I do not want you to lose hope for the U.S.ofA. when I say this. I am also not endorsing us to speed along this process. Do not go out and vote for, what in your mind, would be the worst candidate for president to help our nation along.

What I am saying is, “Look for the opportunity.” Individually, there are people around us who have hit rock bottom in the recent past. They are looking for hope. Give them a handout. Help them up in this moment. You may just see God’s fame come to life in the life of the person standing next to you. I don’t know what you believe, but let me tell you this: New life, life change, the moving of the Holy Spirit conversion of lives happens everyday in our great nation. It happens everyday in the halls of our public schools. The Holy Spirit is alive and well and is changing hearts and lives daily. Don’t believe me, reach out and I will share stories.

So pray. Seek God’s face. And be on the look out for an opportunity to bring God’s fame and share His deeds with someone who is looking.

Peace,

Brad Schelling

“Having a life verse is one of the most powerful tools I know for simplifying your life.”
Bill Hybels, page 223 in his book “Simplify”.

I’ve had one for a while; one that I enjoyed because of its implied challenge to a crowd, “What is 1 John 3:16?” Many would quote John 3:16 in response. But I centered my vocational call out of 1 John 3:16 which states, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” It was during a college retreat that I found that verse and have spent the next 21 years of my life trying to stay focused on laying down my life for teenagers who are looking for direction in life. I want to give that to them through a relationship with myself and other Christian adults who are willing to share life with them.

It was during a class in the spring of 2015 that I read Bill Hybel’s book, “Simplify”. There was nothing profound in the book, just basic fundamentals of Christian living. It was all good stuff that reminded me of life with Jesus. In the midst of the reading, he challenged us to have a Life Verse. This is not something that should have rocked me since I already had a verse. But I felt it was time to, as my wife says about various things, “Upgrade to a new model.” So, I began thinking about it. I came to this:

Lord, I have heard of your fame;
I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord.
Repeat them in our day,
in our time make them known;
in wrath remember mercy. Habakkuk 3:2

Why? I think this season of life for me personally to stop trying and a time to start seeking. I saw and experienced seeking in my first ministry job. I was a part of a network of Sr. Pastors (as a youth pastor) who shared pulpits, served the poor, and cared deeply for each other. I saw healing and life transformation in the community. But I didn’t stay there. I think it is time to go back. A few years back my wife and I set some lofty personal goals. We set out to graduate seminary (done), adopt a child (done – well the adoption is done, the life training is in it’s toddler stages…!), and achieve a financial milestone (done). Upon completion of those achievements, we deliberately said we didn’t want to jump directly into the next thing. So we’ve been waiting and talking about what season would be for us. Bill says it like this, “Don’t rush the process – take time to discern which verse would best act as a lighthouse for you, calling you back to God’s desires for your life.” (Page 224).

I think that is what Habakkuk does for me. It calls me back to God’s desire for me: to simply seek Him, remember His deeds, and pray for them to return to my life, my family, my community, state and nation. I will admit that even though I’ve had this verse on my mind for about a year now, I have not taken it internally. It is time. Pray with me:

Lord, I have heard of your fame;
I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord.
Repeat them in our day,
in our time make them known;
in wrath remember mercy. Habakkuk 3:2

Peace,

Brad Schelling

The only way to bring HOPE to America Hope. A word that in our physical world simply implies a desire
for a set outcome, expectation or desire to happen. In the spiritual sense, it is a longing inside of us that is often left unfulfilled. As believers in Jesus, we know that that longing for hope can only be fulfilled [forever] by having a relationship with Christ. Sure, we can hope to have a great vacation which can lead to a good time with family. But we all know that the hope is lost the first morning back at work/school when you are exhausted and back to the routine of life. In America, we are hearing that there is a decline in Christianity. My opinion is that the decline is not as great as the stats say, but that more people are being honest in claiming the title ‘Christian’. Being a Christian is not as socially acceptable as it once was.
Why claim something you were only on the fringe about anyway if it could potentially hurt social status? With this honesty comes opportunity! An opportunity to share the Good News of Jesus with those that have never heard. With fewer claiming the title, it is easier to have the conversation of repentance and HOPE found in Jesus Christ. We need to realize that not all students who grow up in church even know what the Good News of Jesus is. They may have heard the stories of David, Daniel, Moses, Christmas, Abraham, and Easter, but they are not guaranteed to understand that Jesus came, died on the cross, rose, and desires a relationship with them.What if we took the 45% of students who still call themselves Christian in Birmingham, AL or the 12% of students who call themselves Christian in Riverside, CA and help them share HOPE with those that have never heard? Even with only 12%, they are one of the largest, if not THE largest group of people at the school. Let’s help them be the most influential. As adults, we cannot step onto the school campus and preach Jesus, but students can. So what can we do? We can pray. We can coach students. We can know the law. We can adopt a school. We can provide insight into the community. The best thing we can do is promote unity as the body of Christ! How can the LGBT be so influential with less than 2% of the population claiming the lifestyle? Unity. Let’s unite the local body of Christ with a plan of action to influence your school with the Gospel.

Peace,

Brad Schelling

I learned a lesson at the expense of someone’s face. Great lessons are learned when you are a kid. It just takes adulthood to remind you of the lessons you learn. When I was in sixth grade I was sitting in the back of the classroom with a friend of mine name Chris. I think the back row is where they put all the really smart people, at least that’s what I like to tell myself. Our teacher was up there in front of the class explaining stuff you learn in sixth grade. Algebra, trigonometry, something to that effect. It was probaly more like “see spot run”. Chris and I were not interested in what ever she was saying but more interested in spitting spit wads in the back of Trish’s hair. I was a child of the big hair movement and Trisha was a trendsetter. We were having so much fun because Trisha could not feel all the spit wads that we had managed to get in her big hair. Everyone that was behind her was having a hard time listening to our teacher. We had managed to spit the constellations in the back of her head without her even knowing it. It was getting very comical when all of a sudden our teacher quit talking. You know what that means, we are caught! Our teacher’s face became very red, vains popped out of her neck and it actually looked like steam was coming out her ears. As our teacher was staring us down, she asked us what we were doing. I told her we were making a chart of the stars. By this time Trish noticed all the spit wads in her hair, which only made matters worse. I knew life as I had known it was over. I knew what was about to take place. See, when I was a kid, you did not get a time out. There was no such thing as detention they only knew one thing and that was the big paddle. The principal of the school was not there to run the school; his job was to beat kids. The bigger and meaner the principal the better behaved the school. I was about to get it and get it three times. One from the teacher, one from the principal and one from my dad when I got home. The teacher looked at Chris and I and told us to get out in the hall. As the class sat there in silence except for Trisha who was crying and making things worse, we got up from our chairs and made our way to the classroom door. On our way to the door, our teacher jumps up from her desk storms over to the door, she grabs the door knob, and in a fit of what I thought to be rage, she flings the door open as hard as she could, I guess to make a point. She did! At the same time she flung the door open at 90 mph., there happened to be this poor kid running down the hall at 80mph. The sound of those to elements meeting at the same moment in time was incredible. This guys face creamed into the back of the door stopping him dead in his tracks. He fell backwards and was knocked out cold. I know you are thinking that is awful, but to a 12 year old kid it had to be one of the funniest things I had ever seen. While our teacher is trying to wake this guy up, Chris and I are doing our best not to laugh up a lung. Have you ever been in one of those situations where you want to laugh, but are not supposed to? That is exactly where we found ourselves. The pressure on my vocal cords was so bad that sweat is running down my face and I am trying to think of every bad thing that has ever happened to me.What made everything worse was that our entire classroom is trying to figure out what that loud noise was. As soon as a trickle of sound came out of Chris’s nostril I lost it. We could not stop laughing. After the kid finally woke up, we were headed toward what I remember as the worst paddling of my childhood. The lesson that was learned that day would not be realized for years to come. The only thing I remember learning that day was to pay attention to my teacher and not laugh so hard. As I grew older there is something there that is so true. Everything you do, and everything you say not only affects you but other people as well. My attitude and my mischievous actions affected my teacher’s attitude. She was ticked off! Her attitude and anger affected some poor innocents kids face! The way we act, and the way we talk gets to people. Everybody has been in a situation were you were in a good mood and then someone did something to change it or even the other way around. People affect other people. You and I have heard for years things like, “you catch more fly’s with honey than vinegar”, “What goes around comes around”,  “You reap what you sow”…etc. These saying all come from God’s principals. I have learned that most people will be nice to you if you are nice to them. I have also learned that my actions not only affect me but the people I am around. I also have learned that God put certain people in our lives to point us toward Him. Their actions and words get to us. Are these people perfect? Of course not, but the part they play in our lives are so important. I thank God for the people like my youth pastor and others who allowed God to use their actions and words to affect me.

Keep Fishing,

Mark Roberts