This Week’s SITM Update (#33)

(This is an excerpt from the weekly Stuck in the Middle newsletter that goes out every Monday morning. To receive the full email newsletter, just sign up in the box down on the right side of this screen!)

Dear Friends,

When was the last time that someone really challenged you to step up? How long has it been since someone asked you to jump out of your comfort zone and into something that needed to be done? It just happened to me about a week and a half ago. I had been helping off and on with the youth worship team at my church. It wasn’t a big deal, just working the soundboard for them and tweaking things where I could. Through a set of circumstances, both of the adults working with the team ended up leaving. My friend Kris, who is the youth pastor, was left with few options. He asked me if I would be willing to step up and fill in. It was something that I wasn’t too sure of, and I tried to talk him out of it at first. After some talking, I knew that he really needed someone to help out, and I was the only one who could. So I jumped in and helped out. And, of course, after only one real practice, I am already loving it.

I share this with you now because Stuck in the Middle finds itself in a similar situation. No, we don’t need you to lead worship at the event (whew!), but we do need several of you to step up and help us in our time of need. In our email update two weeks ago I shared with you about some bills that we had coming up this month. Well, by God’s grace we’ve been able to get the biggest one delayed until December 31st. That means that we have a few extra weeks to raise the money. This past week additional funds came in, and we currently only need to raise $2,750 of the original $4,000. Please pray about whether you or your organization would be willing to step up and help us meet this one time need.

There are many, many exciting things happening with this ministry right now. Please keep us in your prayers as we are moving at a frantic pace, trying to prepare for the event in March, promote the event to as many churches and youth pastors as possible, and work hard to fundraise as much support as we can. If you want to follow up on us through the week, be sure to check my blog from time to time at www.seanint hemiddle.com. May God bless you this week!

In His Grip,

Sean

Thank You

It’s very late right now (about 1:30 AM), and Jill and I are still awake doing our usual late night routine. We typically get the kids to bed, then talk and watch a couple of shows we’ve Tivo’d. Well, before I shut down my computer tonight, I thought I would check the ol’ email one last time.

I was blown away by what I found. A dear friend and his wife had sent another donation to Stuck in the Middle.

I know this may not seem like a huge deal, but let me explain a little bit. My friend is a youth pastor, a middle school youth pastor to be exact. For those who don’t know, most of the time that means that you aren’t going to retire rich, nor will you be buying that Hummer H2 anytime soon. That being as it is, he and his wife decided back in June that they wanted to make a rather large donation to this ministry. I was blown away then, and I am blown away now.

See, we’ve had people make larger donations, and believe me I am thankful for each and every one. But this one is espescially meaningful to me because I know that it is a real sacrifice for them to give this much, and I also know why they’re giving it. My friend is one of those people who really “gets” what we’re doing with Stuck in the Middle. He understands and believes in middle school students. Not just that, but the guy is passionate about them and about Stuck. I can’t tell you what an encourager he is to me.

I guess the bottom line is, I want to say “thank you” to he and his wife. Thank you for your friendship, thank you for your support, and thank you for believing in this crazy dream that God placed in my heart. I am excited to work alongside you, and our other supporters, and watch as God unveils His plans for this ministry.

Thank you.

Crazy Times…

You remember the old playground carousels? The ones that were skin melting hot in the summer, but were so cold in the winter that you feared your hands might get stuck to them until spring? Somehow they seemed to spin around at about 100 miles per hour, completely out of control. When you were on it you would watch the world spin rapidly around, all the while wondering at what point it launch you off it, crashing to the ground. Well, that’s kind of how I feel right now.

In regards to Stuck in the Middle, things are definately spinning round right now. I have a feeling that it will stay this way until our event in March. Yesterday, Jill and I spent a large amount of time in the office working on grant proposals. We now have a total of 12 proposals out, and I’m very hopeful that we’ll see some great returns on our work there. I’ve also been in contact with as many youth pastors as I can, trying to promote our event and get them registered!

On top of all that, I also started working with the youth worship team at my home church last night. They’re awesome students, and I can’t wait to get more connected with them. Though I was probably as rusty as can be, I think we had a pretty good time last night.

Back to today… I’ll be calling and emailing every youth pastor I know! Please be praying that we would have a huge amount of registrations for Stuck this month!

Big Day in the Little Apple

Today was a really fun day. I drove to Manhattan, Kansas to meet with a network of youth pastors there. It was a great chance to share with them about Stuck in the Middle, and they got a free lunch out of the deal! I’m very impressed with the network that they have there in the Little Apple. They are really working together, planning a New Year’s Eve party and a major school assembly/outreach for March. It’s a unique area there too, with a lot of new youth pastors. My new friend Scott is a veteran guy in town, and he’s only been there for about 2 years now. At any rate, it was a great trip, and I really enjoyed meeting the crew up there. Hopefully we’ll see them and their students at Stuck in March!

Also, please keep me in your prayers… Aside from a retreat and youth group gathering a few weeks ago, I haven’t led worship for a youth ministry in about 2 years. I have been helping with the youth worship group at my home church by running and revamping their sound system for the past few weeks. Last Wednesday my buddy Kris, our youth pastor, told me that both of his adult leaders (for the worship team) were stepping down. To make a long story short, I will be stepping in to lead the team for awhile. I have no idea how long it will be, but at least through December. Please be praying for me and for these students. I am really excited about it (they are great kids) but I’m a little bit nervous about dusting off the ol’ Taylor and playing again! We have our first practice about an hour before youth group tomorrow night…so, ready or not, here we go!

I feel like I’m taking crazy pills!

94 Days, 8 hours, 34 minutes and 10 sec…no 8 sec…no 3 seconds…

Well, you get the idea. Time is rapidly counting down till our big student event in KC! Every morning I wake up to a whole new bundle of things to unwind. There’s all the fundraising stuff going on, the various technical things that need to be dealt with, the people registering for the event, and all of the fun little details that are part of pulling off an event like this!

Today my head is really spinning. I am trying to figure out when we need to start booking the airfares for our speakers and artists, and I’m finishing the booking and scheduling of our workshop leaders. Oh yeah, and we’re also working out what and how much merch we will be selling.

It may sound a little sick…but I actually love this stuff! I am more of a details person than anyone gives me credit for, and I love to sit and formulate a plan for each of these actions. I love my little Excel files and Word documents which outline all of our March event.

My only hope is that, come March, you’ll be able to see some real fruit from the work that has gone into this event! There are so many people doing so many things behind the scenes. It’s funny to think of all of the chaos that is happening now so that, come March, middle school students can experience a little peace.

Isn’t it ironic… … doncha think?

This Week’s SITM Update (#32)

(This is an excerpt from the weekly Stuck in the Middle newsletter that goes out every Monday morning. To receive the full email newsletter, just sign up in the box down on the right side of this screen!)

Dear Friends,

I am excited! What a busy, wild, bizarre and encouraging week this has been! Things continue to move at full speed for Stuck in the Middle, and I want to fill you in on all of the exciting developments. First though, I need to ask for your continued prayers. Keith Malcom, the Chairman of our Board of Directors and a good friend, was hurt over the holidays in a cooking accident. His shirt caught fire, and he suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns over parts of his body. You can read the whole story on my blog, but the bottom line is that after over a week in the burn care unit of St. Joseph’s Hospital, he is doing much better. I spoke with him the other day and he told me that the skin grafting seems to have taken well, and he hopes to be out of the hospital soon. Please keep Keith in your prayers, he is an incredible man of God who has had a profound impact on my life, and his leadership is vital to this ministry.

Aside from Keith’s accident, this has been an overwhelmingly positive week! We now have two groups registered for our March conference, and I expect that we will see this number rise exponentially as we near our January 1st “early bird” deadline. Also, we have spoken to numerous businesses and ministries who are interested in sponsoring some part of the event or in making a financial donation. Things are really starting to come together!

I had a chance this week to speak with representatives from Outside the Box, our production company. They are rapidly moving forward with plans for our event, and I was both encouraged and excited to conference with them about the “flow” of our general sessions. I’ve been looking at our general sessions order and breakdown, our workshop schedules, and at our stage design. Let me tell you, it all looks great! I think that the quote Kurt Johnston gave us is so accurate, “Stuck in the Middle is certain to be the highlight of your ministry year.”

I keep a countdown clock on my desk at work that is counting down to the start of our March student conference. This past week we crossed the threshold of the “100 Days” mark. Each time I look at it, I get more and more excited about the event to come. I think about the lives that will be changed, the students who will come to know Christ in a deeper way, and some who will come to know Him for the first time. I can’t wait to see how God uses this event! One side note, this week we received about $1,100.00 of the $4,000 that we need to raise over the next couple of weeks. If you are able to help us meet this temporary goal, please don’t hesitate to do so. There is a joy and an excitement that comes from taking ownership and placing your treasure into something that God is doing. I love it, and I hope you get to experience it alongside us! Have a wonderful week!

In His Grip,

Sean

Please Pray…

I just found out today that my dear friend and the chairman of our Stuck in the Middle board of directors, Keith Malcom, has been badly burned in an accident. Evidently, while he was cooking his shirt caught fire from the burner and before he could get the fire out, Keith suffered 2nd degree burns on his right forearm, and 3rd degree burns on his upper right arm and on his right side. This past Monday he went through a skin grafting procedure, which left him pretty much “mummified.” Obviously, it’s been hard for him to rest following all of this. We’re told that the procedure was more invasive than the doctors originally hoped it would have been, but the surgery was successful and the grafting looks good right now. Keith had to keep his right arm extended outward (with support obviously) for the next 3-4 days, and I’m not sure if it’s still that way or not. Be praying two main things for Keith – 1-that the skin grafting procedure “takes” and that the pain can be as minimal as possible. 2 – for sleep.

This info comes from an email from a youth pastor here in Wichita at Keith’s home church. I just found out this morning, and am waiting on a call back from his nurse before I head to visit him. I am eager to see him, but want to make sure that I won’t be disturbing some much needed rest before I go up there.

Keith is an incredible man, and I’ve had the pleasure of knowing him for many years now. I first met Keith when I came to know Christ at the end of middle school, and he was one of my first youth sponsors. He stayed a good friend and mentor as I was growing up, and we’ve shared some fun and memorable times. Please pray for Keith, he’s been an incredible influence on my life and the lives of so many others. I’ll keep you posted on his condition as I learn more.

Update: 1:17pm on Friday — I was just talking to Keith’s nurse and she said that he was awake and ok to receive phone calls, so I chatted with him for awhile. He said that the grafting is taking very well, and that he is doing very good at this point. He expects to be released sometime this weekend or next week (though he jokes that the insurance wants him out today!). He seems in very good spirits, and it sounds like he’s had a flood of visitors and callers. Keep praying, but know that he is doing well.