Below is what I am actually currently using for gear and apps. I hope to have other guests that highlight their gear and apps for everyday use as well.

Gear

+ Thule Gauntlet bag, $50 // This bag is amazing. It's solid, it protects my Macbook and iPad mini, and it's wonderful to carry around. They sell them at the Apple Store, so go check them out and then go home and buy it on Amazon for cheaper.

+ Griffin Survivor Case for iPhone and iPad mini, $35 / $60 // These cases are extremely rugged, and while they clash with my minimalistic outlook on life in general, they save me money because they have saved my devices many times. Military-spec tested. 

+ Aviiq Thincase for iPhone 5, $20 // When I'm not travelling or at one of our camps or retreats, I use this case as minimal protection for my iPhone 5. And when they say Thincase, they mean thin.

+ Evernote Smart Notebook, $15-25 // I use this to write down ideas and everyday notes at my desk, and I can take a picture of it with the Evernote app and have access to all my handwritten notes on the go.

+ Apple Remote, $19 // I teach 2-3 classes per week, and this remote is nice and small and fulfills my needs with presenting from Keynote or Prezi (via iRed Lite).

+ Pigma Micron Archival Ink Pen, $3-10, amazon.com // For marking in my Bible. Don't use a regular pen to markup a Bible...I have a Bible from 15 years ago that I did that in and it yellowed a bunch of the pages. Use archival ink only.

+ Uni Kuru Toga Mechanical Pencil, $17 // Greatest mechanical pencil that I've ever used.

+ ESV Thinline Calfskin Bible, $104 // My everyday Bible. Some nerd will shun me for not going all digital, but I love the old school feel of a Bible (and other books) in my hands.

Apps

+ Mailbox for iPhone, Free // Currently my go-to Mail app for iPhone. It's new, it's free, and it's wonderful. They're currently accepting reservations.

+ Tweetbot for iOS, $2.99 // Best Twitter client for iPhone. And iPad. And the Mac.

+ Instacast for iOS, $4.99 // Lots of people like Downcast, but I like Instacast. The UI is wonderful, I can download podcasts for offline listening, and it has custom playlists for my podcasts. Wonderful app.

+ Drafts for iOS, $2.99 // Recently discovered this app. I make lots of quick notes every day, and I used to rely on the excellent Squarespace Note for that. Now I rely on Drafts. It allows me to make quick notes, and even append them to Dropbox.

+ Pocket for iOS, Free // Lots of nerds will get onto me for not using Instapaper, but Pocket is my go-to Read-It-Later service right now. Nothing wrong with Instapaper (I own it as well), I just prefer Pocket right now.

+ Elements for iOS, $4.99 // Elements is an excellent plain text editor for iPhone and iPad. I use it on both. You can edit and created text documents and save them to your Dropbox. You can sync between iPhone, iPad, and Mac. I write everything in plain text, so when I have class notes, I pull them up in Elements and teach from my iPad.

+ TaskAgent for iOS, $5.99 // A little pricey (I bought it when it was $2.99) but it syncs plain text to-do lists to Dropbox. I do everything else in plain text, so why not my to-do lists?

+ Cheddar for iOS/Android, Free // Simple to-do lists. Free apps for Android, Mac, iOS.

+ Sunrise, Free // My new calendar app of choice. Very nice and very free. 

+ Cloudier for iOS, $2.99 // App for Cloudapp, my URL, image, and text sharing service. Comes in handy with a menubar button and extensions for Chrome and Safari. 

So there you have it - what I'm using right now. Have something to add? Let's hear about it.

I'm very happy to announce my new eBook: 25 Questions Every Youth Minister Should Ask. It's an in-depth look at some of the questions that youth ministers (as well as other ministers) should ask of their churches but sometimes don't. It doesn't cover all the bases and doesn't answer all the questions, but I think it's a good starting point for new ministers and a reminder to some of us who have "been in the biz" for a while. Download it and let me know what you think. I welcome any feedback (positive or negative) you might have.

The book is available in PDF, iBooks, and Kindle format.

[Download PDF]

Unfortunately, Amazon does not allow you to sell self-published works for free, otherwise I would have done so. The PDF and iBooks versions will always remain free, and the Kindle version is priced at $0.99 for your convenience. 

I recently took part in the Hashtag One-Day conference in Spring Hill, Tennessee, sponsored by the Spring Meadows Church of Christ there. It was a great event, and Scott Bond is doing a great thing there. But that Sunday afternoon, we had a dodge ball tournament.

Now, I'm 31 years old. Still pretty young. But my body has reminded me for the past 3 weeks that I'm not 20 anymore. I'm not as durable. I don't know really what happened, but the tendons behind my left knee have been irritating me ever since. It's taken a long time to heal up, and it really wasn't even that strenuous of an activity either.

It got me thinking (as well as other things that have proved I'm not so young anymore) about if I'm losing my edge or not. Physically, I was a pretty good specimen. I was a US Marine (still am, by the way), and could run with the big boys. Not so much anymore. As in the words of one of our older church members, "Not so limber as to hang out with them youngins anymore, eh?"

We know that not everything that happens in the Bible is chronological. We know that even in some books, within the same book, the progression isn't straight from past to present.

As Lonnie Jones pointed out at Evangelism University last weekend, I think that's the case with 2 Samuel 21.15 and following.

15 There was war again between the Philistines and Israel, and David went down together with his servants, and they fought against the Philistines. And David grew weary. 16 And Ishbi-benob, one of the descendants of the giants, whose spear weighed three hundred shekelsof bronze, and who was armed with a new sword, thought to kill David.17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David's men swore to him, "You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel."

Is this the same David we know? The same David who is a warrior, who always led his armies into battle for Israel?

We may just skim over this and say, "Oh, well, David's getting old. They don't want the King to die, and thus leave Israel without a leader. Smart."

But something tells me this is more significant. And while I'm sure it's not a new discovery, it is always really fascinating to look at the same story we've heard a thousand times and see a new angle.

Remember the story of David and Bathsheba from 2 Samuel 11? Most everyone does. As the story starts, the writer of 2 Samuel gives us a preface to the story:

1 In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.

Wait, what?

This is King David. The same David who conquered Jerusalem and kicked out the Philistines (2 Samuel 5). The same David who brought the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem, which was no easy task (2 Samuel 6). The same King David, who, with his armies and God behind Him, whipped the surrounding competition, including Amalekites, Philistines, Moabites, Syrians, and Ammonites.

But this was also the same King David who let himself be talked into staying at home while his armies fought.

I don't know what happened in 2 Samuel 21.15. I don't know if David is sick, if he's just getting old, or what. But he let himself be talked into not going back out with his armies and fighting in the Spring.

And, in turn, let himself be seduced by Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11.

If David had never remained home instead of heading out to battle, then he would have never began the downward spiral that is the story of David and Bathsheba. The temptation, the pregnancy, the betrayal of Uriah her husband, the murder of Uriah in battle (orchestrated by David himself). You can't make this stuff up.

The moral of the story? Don't let anyone put you on the sidelines for the work of God.

They told David he was too old, too sick, too important , or whatever - to get him to stay home. To take him away from what God had tasked him to do - reclaim the holy city of Jerusalem and destroy all of God's enemies. That was what David was chosen to do, and he let himself be put on the sidelines.

There are two men I know, Gospel preachers, who are getting along in their years. Earl Edwards, professor at Freed-Hardeman University is one, and James Watkins, retired but still preaching and a member here at Church Street. Both men are lifers. They've preached Gospel combined for more than 100 years. They're also old. But they're not stopping. Despite health problems, setbacks, and getting tired I'm sure, they just keep on keeping on. Spreading the Gospel, that is.

Don't let anyone tell you something other than what you were chosen to do. We were chosen to deliver the message of God to a dying generation. We were chosen to spread the Good News to every creature.

Young or old, sick or healthy, God commands us to GO. Will you make David's mistake and be on the sidelines?

You know, you think that you could never hear a more weird story on the news, and then there's the story of Manti Te'o. In case you haven't heard, the Heisman runner-up and highly-touted linebacker for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish - who played in the National Championship this year - was recently the alleged victim of an elaborate hoax involving a non-existent girlfriend he met online. She "died" in the middle of season, fueling Te'o's Heisman campaign.

If, like he says, he was the victim of the awful conspiracy, then I feel for him.

For all intensive purposes, his girlfriend was real to him, even though it's been proven that she never existed.

Is God at least that real to you?

Do you believe in His Word as truth? Or do you categorize it with all the other myths and legends of the world?

Do you pray to Him to help you overcome life's difficulties? Or do just think that the master and creator of the entire universe can't solve your problems?

Do you worship him as you should every Sunday, or is a game or a fishing trip more important?

You see, if God was real to us, He would be someone we cannot ignore. But often we find ourselves doing that very thing.

Don't ignore God. Make Him real. Because He is.

"You don't know how many people have sat down with us and told us their stories and life problems based on that one little question," Lonnie Jones said at Evangelism University this past weekend in Savannah, Tennessee. It's such a simple question, and yet it can have a profound impact on people's lives.

So today, I will post every other morning the same question - how can I pray for you today? And whoever responds with a need, I will go to God in prayer for that person.

I am also going to start asking our waiter/waitress at restaurants the same question before we eat a meal. (Probably not a good idea to ask this at a fast-food place because it's not the same setting.)

For a long time I have wondered what I can do to share Christ with others, and the answer was so simple and so profound that I never would have thought of it myself. Just ask how or what you can pray for someone. It's not hostile, it's not intrusive. Most people may probably just say, "Nothing, that's ok, thanks." But others may pour their hearts out to you, and you can pray for them. So simple.

As per social norms in our society today, it's normal for us to "not be in other people's business." That guy who brings the food to my table has his own life and I don't need to mess with him. But Jesus loved people so much that He didn't want them to walk away without first hearing the Good News.

Asking the prayer question can make a phenomenal impact on your life, and I'm excited to see what God will do when I am bold enough to start asking.