Tonight I am giving my students the standard spiritual gift test. I am realizing that many of my students do not have a clue what their spiritual gifts are, so hopefully tonight will be a great spiritual identity discovery. I am also giving them a Enneagram test, which will give them a brief understanding of their personality.

As I was preparing for the lesson, I decided to take the spiritual gift test and I discovered that I am a ENCOURAGER.

I love the classic Christian phrase: Brother or Sister, today, I just want to encourage and bless you. I dislike using the word encourage because it seems like every Christian and their mom, including their dog, uses the word encourage.

In lieu of my spiritual test results, I am going to encourage my sisters and brothers IN CHRIST IN THE BLOG world.

Dana Ward – You are a beautiful writer and you need to write more blog entries.

Jenni Brown – Seriously you need to be the new Dr. Phil. Your relational insight is out of this world.

Lance Ahl – Keep rocking the free world. Thanks for your insights, reflections, and contemplations about the church and what your church is doing.

Adam Walker – Thanks for being my influencer. You are so po-mo.

Drew Girton – The blog world needs more posts from you. Do you think the lack of your blog posts is symbolic of your spiritual growth?

Wes Daniels – You are simply keeping it real at Fuller. Gathering in the light is a light to all of us. Thanks for your dedication to scholarship and the church.

Refined in Fire – I appreciate your realness and rawness of the blog world. I love your entries and your weight loss updates.

A New Kind of Youth Ministry – It is always a delight hearing the new updates in your life and what youthfront is up to.

Rethinking Youth Ministry – I seriously need to write you a commission check. I have jacked a lot of your material. It is also really cool to partner with you in RETHINKING YM because I think we are smoking the same thing.

Life in Student Ministry – Thanks! You provide a simple and easy blog that any youth minister can visit and can deeply glean from.
Mike King – I appreciate your passion to take youth ministry back to it’s roots. I loved your book and I love youthfront philosophy: “We strive to be creative youth workers who engage in theology, ministry, formation, practice, relationships, service and life with a prophetic imagination that cooperates fully with the Mission of God.”

Matt Cleaver – I like thinking and processing with you about youth ministry. You are a thinker.

Dr. Headly – You are just legit. No other words to describe you. Simply cool and real.

Thoughts of a Student Pastor – First of all your blog design is sick. I also love reading, recaping, and reflecting through your blog entries. And I like how you call yourself a student pastor, not a youth pastor.

Mike Collins – Probably one of the funniest jr high youth pastors out there. Every time I jump on your blog I get motived to be the crazy and wild student pastor.

Passionately Pensive – Alaina is creative and very articulate. Make sure to read her blog daily, she will get your thinking and reflecting like no other.

Brian L – I think I am starting to like you. Your blog only makes me furious about 25% of the time.

The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Philippians 4.23

Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue. II Peter 1:2,3

Blessed be the Lord for evermore. Amen and Amen. Psalms 89:52