I need stuff for Christmas

Christmas time has certainly arrived in full swing, nearly before Thanksgiving was over.  It was apparent to me that the stores were not necessarily sure that there was a holiday in between Halloween and Christmas.  What’s a Madhatter to do?

I was reading through a list of items to be auctioned in an estate auction and began thinking to myself that this person had spent his/her life accumulating all this STUFF and will now be auctioned off after the relatives, like vulchers, pick through what they want to keep and what they don’t want, won’t need, or can’t give away as an elephant gift in an upcoming gift exchange.  I wondered if the recently deceased had stayed up late at night into the wee hours of the morning finishing a project for work to pay for the TV set, or perhaps the person had sacrificed vacations for the family to help pay for the new sets of tools.  I wondered how often they awoke in the middle of the night, afraid a burglar would sneak in and take their prized, hard earned, family time sacrificed, STUFF.

Is it ok with you if I quote scripture here?  Matthew 6:21 reminds us that we are not to store up for ourselves treasure on earth where moth can destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but rather store up for ourselves treasure in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust can destroy and where thieves can’t even reach it…for where our treasure is…there will our heart be also.

I would like to encourage you this Christmas season to invest your time into your family and friends.  Giving them the gift of your time is more prescious than gold, silver…and perhaps even a fresh bag of Black Forrest Gummy Bears (emphasis on perhaps)  They can get a video game or a toy another time.  What I believe they truly desire is that which once spent…we can never get back…and that is our time.  They will remember the time you spend and invest with them far after the luster of the new,  shiny transformer, or the pretty little dolly seem to fade away.  In a world gone mad, we would like to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas!

Turning Back the Clock…

I understand it’s a little like living in Alaska.  I wake up…and there’s no light.  I close the door to the office for the day…and there’s no light!  Where did the sun go?  This next generation is a lot like the void of the sun…constantly in the dark…or perhaps a feeling that they are void of the light.  The scriptures teach us that we are the light of the world and a city on the hill can not be hidden, nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”  The teens with whom we work have difficulty seeing the light or finding the light normally by choice.  They have lived most of their life in the dark and thus continue to choose to do so becuase they know of no other.  Please join us in giving them the truth and an option far greater than the one Satan bottle feeds them and support our cause with a financial contribution.

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Thankful for what???

Yup…it’s November! Where did October go? We’ll wake up tomorrow and it will be Christmas. I have asked a few kids about thanksgiving and for what reason they had to be thankful and their reply was not what I expected. One teenager…let’s call him…oh, I don’t know, Johnny…told me online that his mother didn’t really care about him or life anymore, he doesn’t see his dad a whole lot, and is currently flunking school. Another teen told me that his friend wants him to help him sell some crack on the side, he has been kicked out of school and is on the verge of being expelled at the alternative school, but really has no hope for the future…and still another tells me that his mother is constantly yelling at him for nearly everything from the point he gets up and leaves for school until the point he closes the door and hides under the covers to escape…and they all asked me for what reason they should be thankful. This is a seemingly difficult question to answer to kids who reside in a depressed and angry living environment where God is unfortunately not welcome as a savior, but rather another being on whom their parents or they themselves place the blame for their current demise.
I am in prayer for them often as God constantly brings their faces and stories to my mind and I ask you to join me in prayer for these kids and many more like them whom I counsel online as they are seeking the truth and have the option to allow God to turn their story into a powerful testimony which can indeed change the lives of many.

A Challenge on the Horizon

Many new podcasts on the horizon: The undercover Jehovah’s Witness pt2, Love God-Love others, Date like a Pro pt2, Choices, The Mission, Sexual Immorality, Stressed, Criticism…and the hits just keep on coming.  Here’s the interesting part…I simply can not keep up with all the great content which hits us on a daily basis.  It’s simply awesome.  I need but to find the time to edit them all, and post them to the website, and our affiliates.The question is…how?  I’m quite certain, like myself, you all have very demanding lives…but I am also certain that there is an editor out there who believes so much in our mission to reach lost youth utilizing the media that he/she would be more than willing to jump in our crew, take the podcasts and vidcasts, and edit them with impeccable cutting edge finesse, the likes of which this world has never seen before because they have a God-given passion and are fired up to utilize their detailed gift for the Lord.  If that person happens to be you, please call our office and leave a message.  We would be more than happy to discuss this volunteer position with you.  Mucho Gratzi’!

New Members of the Crew

God continues to bless us with special people who not only see this ministry like we do, but are willing to pick up the rains and shoulder some of the weight.  A little more than a month ago our tech guy, Brandon Tanner, went back to college.  He helped out a great deal with making us sound good. (easier said than done) And in my prayer I had asked God to send us one who could run the soundboard, keeping an eye on the levels, an eye on us, an eye on the time, and an eye on the net for on-the-fly research.  I lost track of how many eyes this person would need, but apparantly God did not.  I know what your thinking…we do not have a 4-eyed person on our crew now, however, I did have a very bright young man by the name of Taylor McDaniel walk up to me after small group last week and drill me with some questions about the podcast.  I handed him a cd and we talked for a short while.  The next day I received a call from Taylor who was very excited about the show and was interested in starting his own.  It took me a while, but the light finally turned on, and we invited him to join us for the next show where he would see first hand what goes on behind the curtain…or computer.

Taylor showed up ready for an experience.  Midway through the show, during the break, I asked him of his interest in what he had seen thus far, and if he would be interested in becoming part of the crew.  Taylor loves electronics and is knowledgeable about the internet and computers.  He enthusiastically accepted the offer and is now serving as our Production Manager.

We also have a new videographer for the show, my son, Michael James Baker, who is glad to endure the rantings of his own father to help reach lost teens for the kingdom and influence the net in a whole new way. 

Membership Has Its Privileges

Teenagers can be so finicky.  Take music for instance…Popularity and like-a-bility can change, not overnight…but you can be here today and gone…today!  And with the speed of communication in today’s society, it can be even quicker.  You can go from a stardom to nothing in no time at all.

Isn’t it amazing how quickly we forget who got “Academy for Movie of the Year” two years ago?  One year ago?  Who was nominated?  Kids have an even shorter memory.  I asked my son to take out the trash a few days ago.  10 minutes later I went into the kitchen to fetch a drink and saw him leaning against the kitchen counter with a “deer-in-the-headlights” blank stare in his face.  (He is in 6th grade, which in youth ministry is normally referred to as “pre-human”)  “Michael”, I said, drawing him back to earth…”the trash…”  “Oh.”  I’m sure you’ve been there.

Although teens have a tendancy to forget things like that, through the grace of God our listenership seems to hold steady at about 2400 teens per month.  We conduct our podcasts on a weekly basis which is becoming more and more difficult to keep up with as there is much to do in a single week, but we are very excited about our growth with the audience and our current and potential impact with the teens.  Please pray that we will continue to grow as we have a large goal to meet by this time next year which is to have 20,000 teens per month tune in to hear The World Gone Mad.

Into the Schools

As you already know school is back in full swing for another year and the teens are gearing up to face all their old classmates once again…in more ways than one.  Can you recall being in High School – the sharpening of pencils, minds, and unfortunately…tongues.  They live in such a small world, and it becomes even smaller when they enter a classroom filled with students who get sheer enjoyment frommaking fun of them regardless of their wardrobe or attitude.  This month you can expect a new show on the website which deals with teens and the harsh criticism they face every day at the bus stop, on the bus, throughout the halls, and int he classroom.