toomuchpizza.com

it's time for a change!

we're not going to be blogging at this site anymore, so c'mon over and follow us to our new blog location...

TOOMUCHPIZZA.COM

a change is coming

So in the blogging world of Cory and Shanna, a need for change has been brewing within us...
1. We've blogged here on and off for over 3 years now with varied levels of commitment
2. The content of this blog seems even more varied at times and I often wonder what it's purpose is or has become
3. I'm deeply moved, influenced, encouraged and challenged by the 30+ blogs I try to read each week, and sense a stirring to contribute in a more focused way
4. most of my time in life is spent thinking about and living within the trenches of student ministry, and I long to share some of what I'm processing and thinking with other youth workers, especially those that I already know
5. Everyday I'm learning how closely tied a youth worker's family and personal life are to his/her ministry, and want a blog that still shows that link from the content posted
6. And... I'm sick of Blogger.com (no offense guys - thanks for keeping it easy for tech dummies like me) and enamored with Wordpress.com

Shanna hasn't blogged in a long time and seems to have lost the itch, at least for now. But she might resurface with some gentle prodding...

Not exactly sure where this is leading yet, but these are just some thoughts...
To all 3 of our readers lol, stay tuned!

yaconelli quotes

i had just entered the youth ministry world back when mike yaconelli suddenly passed away, but his videos, books, and quotes have challenged me greatly. here's one i found buried on my facebook page:

"if i were to have a heart attack right at this moment, i hope i would have just enough air in my lungs and just enough strength in me to utter one last sentence as i fell to the floor: 'what a ride!' my life has been up and down, careening left then right, full of mistakes and bad decisions, and if i died right now, even though i would love to live longer, i could say from the depths of my soul, 'what a ride!'"

this guy truly was crazy.

(this clip is kinda long, but it's worth hearing his passion for student ministry and his "wahoooo's")

LEADership Day at LCC

the last few years lakeshore has dedicated an entire saturday to helping its leaders grow in their leadership (in addition to the global leadership summit in august) and today was this year's big day. it was great... and here's a few reasons why:

- a relatively new church member is the president of an executive and leadership development firm, and she gifted us today by leading the entire event and taking us through some of her material. it was so beneficial and i can tell why big corporations in the area bring her in to work with their executives.

- in explaining how he stumbled upon this "gem" right within our church's community, pastor vince stated that "whatever God has GIVEN your church right now is exactly what your church NEEDS right now". it was a profound statement and reminder for me. like many other pastors, i find it easy to look at other churches and covet their resources, facilities, levels of staff, absence of conflict (yeah right), and big budgets.

- a few of our student leaders were able to join up all day with us adults, and it was fun to see the two groups interact together. in an overwhelmingly adult environment, these guys kept right up and added value to the room. it truly felt as if everyone in the room shared my view of them: that they're not the leaders of tomorrow, but the leaders of today!

it's Friday!

i'm really not sure why, but this terrible music video has gone viral and is huge within youth culture right now. at the time of this posting it's had almost 17 million views and is now being rapidly downloaded from itunes. one of my small group guys told me about it last night.

i have to, for my own sanity, believe that teens are downloading it just to make fun of it.