I mean seriously. How did this happen? Do I really have a shot?

New Candidate Making Headlines

Thanks to Big T-Licious for letting me know that I was so popular.

Keeping in line with the Mullet Marriage™ (business up front… party in the back) this past weekend, I took a trip back to Sarasota for my Bachelor Party. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “What kind of bachelor party does a 25-year-old youth pastor have?” I’ll tell you what kind… a fishing trip!!!

We went 80 miles offshore with Capt. Chris Seger of Tight Lines Charters. Chris is a captain out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters, my best friend Mason’s outdoor shop on Siesta Key. And this was not just your typical 8 hour charter. As Keith Jackson would say, this was the “grand-daddy of ‘em all” … a 24-hour trip. We left at 6:00 on Saturday night and returned the same time the next day. After another hour and a half cleaning over 60 fish, we headed back to Mason’s house to cook a bit of the catch with some of my friends from back home.

All in all, it was an awesome trip. It was pretty exhausting fishing for that long on very little sleep, but when you’re putting these types of fish in the box, you really can’t be thinking about gettin’ your PJ’s on and grabbin’ some Z’s. I highly recommend fishing aboard the Tight Lines. Capt. Chris knows his stuff and his mate, Will, is top notch. Chris’ boat is pretty posh too… a 40-foot Custom Sportfish complete with an air conditioned cabin, refrigerators, a couple beds, a bathroom, and plenty of room on the deck. If you want to do some serious offshore fishing, call Chris… then call and invite me!

Here are a few pics from the trip…

(a beauty of a Red Snapper)

(I grew some whiskers so I’d look like an old, salty dog)

(those were just the ones we kept!)

For the day, we caught:

Red Snapper- We were one shy of a double-bag limit (this is legal since the trip spanned 2 calendar days)
Lane Snapper
Porgy
Red Grouper
Amberjack
Dolphin (Mahi Mahi)
Kingfish
Barracuda
Bonito

To see all the pictures from the trip as well as some pics from previous trips,

check out my Flickr page.

With this 5th post of the week, I feel a small sense of accomplishment. Small because blogging about what has kept me from blogging seems so menial. But it is an accomplishment, nonetheless. The last thing (that I will blog about) that’s kept me pleasantly distracted from blogging lately is the way that God had been moving and leading Access Church and how he’s challenging me as I lead the Student Ministry. I can’t wait to tell you about what is happening… but I will. All you need to know right now is that there is a lot happening.

One of things that makes the Access staff culture so different from those I’ve worked in before is that we take field trips… like, remember-back-to -5th-grade-when-you-were-so-excited-to-go-to-Jungle-Gardens field trips. Our staff spends a lot of time traveling to be shaped, shaken, and challenged by leaders from around the country. I love that we take time to work on Access instead of having tunnel-vision as we work in the ministry. I don’t have everything figured out. I really don’t have much figured out at all! (Please don’t tell Adam that I told you that) Hanging out with these other leaders helps me figure things out. It positions me in places and in ways that help me receive great wisdom.

And boy, do we have a great time together. I’m so glad our time together doesn’t feel like a Christmas Party, what I consider to be “Lucifer’s trump card”. It is much more pleasant than that.

Well, all that time on the road means time away from you… my 4 closest e-friends. I love you, but I’m not apologizing for that.

And now, as I’ve completed 5 days straight of blogging (a minor accomplishment worthy of neither merit nor fanfare), I’m here to tell you that I don’t want to neglect you like I did before. I probably will. But I don’t want to.

I want to be here for you.

I want us to spend more time together.

I want us to pray together.

I want us to share a milkshake together.

But not until I sign off from the blogosphere for a few days to go fishing offshore for 24 hours straight and then go stalk some Tarpon in Sarasota.

The next thing that distracted me from blog-world for a while was the search, purchase, and building of our house. What makes that slightly frustrating/annoying is the fact that of all the things that could take me away from you, my 4 closest e-friends, the home-buying/building process seems to be the least important when juxtaposed with marriage, a honeymoon, spending time with family and friends, and what/who I will post about tomorrow.

I mean, its just a house right? Do 25-year-old newlyweds really need to have a dream house? Is it cause for concern when the Student Pastor has the most tricked-out house on the block? And the time, the meetings, the walkthroughs, the signatures, and oh, let’s not forget the mortgage, the real Grand Slam. Seriously people?

I just wanna blog.

We sealed the deal 5 days after we returned from our honeymoon. Yes. I am a glutton for punishment as a matter of fact. Right after we signed the papers, I grabbed a truck (a Penske… if it was Fish Truck, it would be THE Truck) and started unloading. My parents showed up that night which was a HUGE blessing. The next morning my dad, Kevin, Rich, and I unloaded the rest of our stuff from the Access storage unit. To top it all off, Kevin was also moving that same weekend. So, as soon as our stuff was off the truck, we left the girls to unpack and organize while the fellas went and loaded the truck (a-gain) with all of Kevin’s stuff and then unloaded the truck (a-gain) at Kevin’s new crib. Yes. I suffer from idiocy as well.

Since that weekend, there’s been alot of fan hanging, light kit mounting, hardware upgrading, and even some drywall patching. Not to mention all the blood, sweat, tears, and showers. Here’s where we’re at so far…

(new curtains & rod and our TV works… FINALLY!)

(the picture on the wall serves as a memorial since there are no Snook in Jacksonville)

(its amazing what you can do with TV trays)

We’ve got a long way to go, but I’m really excited to wake up on Saturdays and “work around the house.” I can thank my dad for that sentiment. Stop by and see us and we’ll give you the grand tour! Seriously, it takes about 7 minutes. Maybe I’ll even cook you some pork-flavored ramen or Easy-Mac if you’re lucky.

Jacksonville is starting to feel like home.

In keeping with the Mullet Marriage™©®, what follows after the ceremony and reception? The honeymoon of course!

We went on a 7-day cruise with Carnival that took us to the Western Caribbean: Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize City & Isla Roatan in Honduras. It was my first time cruising, so I really had no idea what to expect. Alot of my friends go on at least 1 cruise every year (sometimes more) and they rave about it. Let me tell you… I’m sold on cruises. Not having to think about what you’re gonna do every day, having all of your meals taken care of, and getting to see such beautiful places puts cruising right in my wheelhouse (you’re welcome for the pun). We’re already thinking about our next one! Wanna join us?!?!

If you want to take a look at some of the pics from week, check out my Flickr page.

Until next time kiddos…

So, what other crazy things have made their way up the priority list above blogging? Well, we approached the whole wedding/reception/honeymoon timeline in a bit of an unconventional way. Most couples typically pack the whole thing up into one giant 10-day marathon. Originally, we had such aspirations. But when God tossed Access/Jacksonville in our path, our “wedding paradigm” suddenly shifted.

I moved to Jacksonville in January and was here for, oh, about 12 hours when I had enough of this long-distance engagement business. So, we moved the ceremony (that I posted pictures from yesterday) up to March and thought it would be awfully nice to enjoy each of the “elements” by spacing things out a bit. Some dear friends had warned us about the whirlwind that a wedding weekend can turn into and that a short break between the ceremony and reception might not be a bad idea… kinda like a mullet haircut… business in front… party in the back. Therefore, the reception didn’t happen until May.

We invited as many family and friends as we could (afford) to a “BBQ by the Bay.” We reserved Bayfront Park for the afternoon of May 17, hired some family friends to smoke some hog, and set up a few redneck games.

It was an awesome experience. We got to spend the afternoon with family and friends and really enjoy them. I mean really. It was a great celebration of those people who have meant so much to our growth and how they have pointed us towards one another.

If you’re in the market to get married any time soon (or anytime period for that matter), I highly recommend the Mullet-Marriage™

Today is the first day of my re-dedication to blog and keep the fam and friends in the loop. I’m taking 5 days to re-connect with the blogging world and let folks know what has been keeping me from blogging the past month or so.

THE biggest thing that has happened is that I got married to the coolest (and hottest) girl… eh hem… woman ever. YIPPEE! Actually, I got married a few months ago (March 8 to be precise… Yes, I remember the date) and blogged a little bit about “the wedding experience.” But I never really put up some of the “official” pics from my good buddy Joel Farabee. Joel shot the ceremony in March and last month’s reception (which I will blog about later this week). I think I might have given a few teasers in a previous post, but I’ve got a nice collection posted on my Flickr page.

There are still more pics rolling in. Joel, not pleased with how some of them turned out, wanted to edit them a bit more. Keep checking back on the Flickr site for more additions. I try to stay on top of it as much as possible.

Click here to check ‘em out!

I can’t even begin to process “what marriage is like.” All I can say is, “WOW.” (Rich taught me that.) Just, WOW.” I’m sure there will be MANY MANY MANY blog posts to come as we try to figure this whole thing out.

Stay tuned.

Thanks for praying with (and for) us!

I’ve been in a bit of a blogging funk for the past couple weeks. And by blogging funk, I mean I haven’t been blogging. And so today, I am doing the most southern-baptist-youth-pastor-summertime-camp thing that I know to do… re-dedicate my life, of course! I am making a commitment to blog every day this week to let all 4 of you (the number is down 20% b/c of my lax blogging schedule) know what has been going in my world for the past few weeks. Complete with high-resolution, color photographies and maybe even some low-quality YouTube videographies, you will be in the know as to whats shakin’. And in case you were wondering what exactly is taking up so much of my time, keep in mind that its only going to take 5 short blog posts to get you caught up.

But today, you get a bonus post. As part of my “re-dedication,” I have joined the RagamuffinTop Challenge… for more than 5 days, of course. Every week, we have our “weigh in” where I’ll update on MY blog and then link back to Ragamuffin Soul so you can see how everyone else is doing too.

I am more of a Perkins-esque RagaMammothMuffin myself, and my goal is to get rid of this little guy right here..

Cute, huh?

So, when you see me out at St. Arbucks sippin’ on an Iced Venti Caramel Macchiato and grubbin’ on some Lemon Loaf, feel free to shoot me a look like…

… which I will interpret as your way of saying, “Hey tubbs, hows about you go for a nice salad?”
Wish me luck.
Feel free to hold me accountable.
Single-chinedness is on the way!

The Student Pastor That Tries to Talk Like the Kids

Do you know that guy?

Thanks to Mr. Fun for showing me this.

I took the quiz a couple times and both came up with the same top score. I think the second score sheet (the one noted here) is a little more accurate, with “Reformed/Evangelical” a close second. For as little as I’ve studied/read/wrestled with the Emergent/Emerging Church, I seem to hold an emergent worldview.

Huh.

Who knew?

BRIAN’S THEOLOGICAL WORLDVIEW created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Emergent/Postmodern. You are Emergent/Postmodern in your theology. You feel alienated from older forms of church, you don’t think they connect to modern culture very well. No one knows the whole truth about God, and we have much to learn from each other, and so learning takes place in dialogue. Evangelism should take place in relationships rather than through crusades and altar-calls. People are interested in spirituality and want to ask questions, so the church should help them to do this. Emergent/Postmodern 89% Reformed Evangelical 79% Neo orthodox 61% Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 57% Fundamentalist 46% Charismatic/Pentecostal 46% Classical Liberal 43% Roman Catholic 36% Modern Liberal 32%

What is your theological worldview?