Nervous…

Next Tuesday night Stuck in the Middle will be hosting our first ever fundraising banquet. It looks to be a great time, with great food and my friend Eric Venable as our guest of honor. Everything is coming together nicely, and I’m really excited about the evening. Now, there’s just one little glitch in the system, and while it doesn’t have me worried, it does make me a little bit nervous.

Out of 70+ invitations that we sent out, we have only heard RSVP’s from 9. Oh yeah, and those nine were all regrets… So, like I said, just a little bit nervous! The banquet is next Tuesday in KC though, so by this time next week you can look back here and find out what happened!

This Week’s SITM Update (#28)

Here’s this week’s Stuck in the Middle Prayer Update. This is one part of a weekly email letter that I send out. You can get on the mailing list by sending your email address to Sean@stuckinthemiddle.com, or by signing up in the box on the right!

Dear Friends,

Last week I spoke with a close friend who asked “So, are you having trouble booking your workshop leaders? Because I noticed that on your “At a Glance Highlights” you’ve been working on that for a long, long time now.” Sheepishly, I explained that the “At a Glance” section of the weekly newsletter is kind of like a to do list for me, and that it wasn’t a difficulty in booking them, I just hadn’t done it yet. So, in the spirit of accountability, I thought that I would post a little more detail about what I’m doing this week, and would give each of you not only some insight into my week, but also the chance to hold me to my word!

This is going to be a VERY busy week! Along with all of the daily work that comes along, I will also be finishing up the details for the Stuck Banquet that we are hosting in Kansas City next Tuesday. Please be praying for that. So far, out of over 70 invitations sent, we have received back 9 RSVP’s, and all of them were regrets. I will also be finishing up a long, long road of preparing some grant proposals. By the time I write this newsletter next week, I should have sent off three proposals to major foundations.

Also this week, I will attempt to contact and confirm all of our workshop leaders. These are the people who we are asking to teach 45 minute sessions on
Saturday afternoon. Just a fair warning, you may see your name on this list! If you do, don’t panic, just know that I will be trying to get in touch with
you this week, and will do my best to explain all of the nitty gritty details! So, without further ado, here are the nominees:

• Mark Oestricher: General Session Speaker (already confirmed)
• Fred Lynch: General Session Speaker (already confirmed)
• Heather Flies: General Session Speaker (already confirmed)
• The Panic Squad: Emcee’s (already confirmed)
• Eric Venable: Vice President of Youth Front (calling this week)
• Steve Jacobs: Chief Scientist, Faraday Studios / Discovery Channel (calling this week)
• Debbie Scroggin: Director of Empowered for Impact (calling this week)
• Barry Shafer: Director of InWord (calling this week)
• Gracia Burnham: Author, Speaker, Missionary, Prayer Warrior and Supermom (calling this week)
• Ken Rawson: Middle School Youth Pastor (calling this week)
• Trey Graham: Lead singer for Beautful You, former backup singer for Kelly Clarkson (calling this week)
• Rhonda Gibbs: Speaker, Youth Worker (calling this week)
• Keith Spencer: Seminary Student (calling this week)

So, there you have it. It’s going to be a busy week around here. Not to mention that I leave next Thursday for the Youth Specialties conference in
Nashville! Please keep us in your prayers! Oh, and if you’re interested in reading more about what’s happening with Stuck in the Middle and the things
going on in my life, check out my new blog at www.seaninthemiddle.com. It’s nothing too fancy, just
something that I threw together. But if you do drop by, be sure to post a comment to say hello! Have a great week everyone!

In His Grip,

Sean

Fear and Trust

Last night was another sleepless night for me. I’m one of those people who generally fly through their day, and then when my head hits my pillow at night, everything catches up to me in one giant mental train wreck. Lately, the epicenter of that wreck has been Stuck in the Middle, and whatever new developments it has seen (or not seen) that day. Here’s a little peek inside:

Stuck in the Middle was an idea that was born out of my love and passion for middle school students. Serving as a middle school pastor for nearly four years, I was consistently bummed out over the lack of age and culture specific events, curriculum, camps, mission trips and well, everything for them. I couldn’t believe that we would tell these students how important they were and how much we (and God) valued them, but then would basically treat them like children until their freshmen year. I started Stuck in the Middle as a way to encourage students, and to equip and train adults. My belief is that we have to show middle school students how much God loves them, how God really does “get” them, and that it’s ok to be a crazy, changing, emotional, non-sensible teen. Then we have to help the adults learn how to deal with that, how to really connect to these kids, and how to help them serve God now, just as they are. So, at a time when my family really needed some stability (a story for another time), Jill and I instead decided that God was moving us to start this ministry, and then took a giant leap of faith.

So here we are…In the past year and a half we have sold our home, sold both of our cars, gone to one shared vehicle and living with my parents (insert your own jokes here). We’ve invested everything we have in Stuck in the Middle, and are waiting to see what happens. You see, while I may get props for passion, I’m not going to get any for smart financial planning. I was at lunch awhile back with Wayne Rice, and he urged me to not put all my eggs in one basket. He said to be sure that I left myself an exit route with Stuck in the Middle, so that if the first event tanked, I would be sure to have a way out. Well, unfortunately it was already too late for that. Now, I believe that we’re going to have one incredible event in March, and that life changing moments will occur. It’s just that I find myself in a battle between fear and trust, wanting to trust that God will bring the people there, trusting that God will find the donors and financial backers to help us succeed, trusting that God will take care of us, but then fearing the financial bottom line. The bottom line is, if Stuck in the Middle tanks, my family’s finances tank as well.

So, between now and March I continue to work my butt off. I am calling, meeting, writing and emailing everyone I can. I am looking for people to support this great ministry (yes, you too can give online by going here lol), am looking for people who will promote this ministry and am always looking for leaders who will bring their students to this event.

If you’re a praying person, please pray for us. Pray that the faith would always win out over the fear, and pray that God would take care of the ministry and us. If you’re not a praying person, then just send me twenty bucks and we’ll call it even.