It’s been over a year (with the exception of a brief Lenten suggestion) since i’ve given a music monday recommendation. And since this monday is Halloween you might think i would suggest something like this or like this but that’s not what i’ve been listening to lately.

Somebody actually posted this album cover on instagram and i decided to take a listen, i’m glad i did. I’ve been listening to it all week. A few of the song are stellar the rest is solid. Make sure you listen to this one…

ENJOY!

and happy music monday

It’s the end of my third week at Christ Church. I haven’t really even given the low down as to what i’m up to. The short story… i’m the middle school minister at a great church in Plano TX, a north suburb of Dallas. I’m still traveling, although minimally but don’t worry Erik Willits Ministries is still going strong, just morphing a bit. We’ll see what exactly it turns into. The long story i may share later.

But i’m beginning a new chapter, my family is beginning a new chapter and we’re pretty excited about it.

In the midst of my  new beginning i’ve been thinking a lot about beginnings. Have you ever thought about this? Where do experts and aficionados get their start? I hadn’t given it much thought until recently.

As my family and i decided it was time for some changes —  for a slew of reasons that i won’t bore you with —  we decided we would each start shopping our resumes and see where God might open doors? I was up for being daddy daycare, youth speaker extraordinaire, or youth pastor in residence, we were just searching for a new beginning. But some interesting hurdles arose.

I’ve considered myself a youth worker for the past 10+ years but during that time i’ve served very little in your typical youth worker / youth pastor role. Stints of traditional student ministry here and there but primarily i’ve been anything but traditional in my pursuit of God and His call on my life. The hurdle that appeared as i began to talk with churches about youth positions, young adults positions, teaching pastor positions was that i hadn’t actually ever done any of those ministries.

Imagine my frustration, 10 years of doing exactly what i thought God was calling me to only to have church after church tell me i was’t qualified for the ministry position they were hiring for. A few churches after seeing my resume wanted to talk. So i interviewed at a few places, i interviewed at one of the largest churches in America, i interviewed at small churches, evangelical churches, mainline churches, all kinds of churches and every church i talked to and especially the couple churches i actually went and interviewed with, an aura of skepticism permeated the atmosphere. Everybody was skeptical of me because i hadn’t spent much time in traditional ministry roles. I guess i should be used to this, over the years not many people have been very understanding of the ministry i’ve done. So yea,  it was frustrating, humbling, and discouraging to say the least.

But it all got me thinking, where do people get their start? The experts and aficionados, who took a chance on them? This is especially relevant as people left and right are losing jobs and looking for new beginnings. How many overly qualified people are working at Starbucks looking for another shot, a new beginning?

Beginnings are hard, chaotic, frustrating, and all too often they are elusive. Survey the Bible, this trend holds up, trust me.

I pray for those who are looking for new beginnings. I pray that the God of second chances would open doors and give a spirit of encouragement and persistence to those in need. And may the rest of us have hearts to perceive those that the spirit puts in our paths. And i pray that whether we deserve it or not, the God of grace would open the right doors and that we would have hearts to perceive and open eyes to see His provision.

Bottom line, I’m extraordinarily grateful and excited beyond measure for the opportunity i have, for the beginning that God has granted me. To work along side of some amazing people, share life with and minister to an amazing group of middle school students (at least the ones i’ve met so far are rad) and just in general i’m grateful and excited for getting a shot to do ministry and impact students and families for the kingdom of God in a new but also similar and exciting way.

[ Ramblings from a Starbucks... ]

Grace and peace

Erik

Here is a a re-post from 2006. It’s proof that times really are changing for me!!!

Back then i was homeless / living out of my car – did this for about 10 months, I was just starting to date my now wife  and the mother of my children and life was unpredictable at best. Now i’m a husband, dad, youth pastor, and life feels about as predictable as can be.

It’s  funny how much things can change in a few years.

I hope you enjoy this re-post as much as i did.

Hilarious!

RE-POST ::

Well I got to thinking last night, I haven’t paid rent since April, I am truly homeless. I am starting to get a little tired of living out of my car, out of my suitcase and out of a variety of different bags. I think I am ready to unpack my car and have my own bed. This will happen soon enough I suppose. For now, couches it is…

One thing that is cool about being a drifter is that you find out who your friends really are, who your community really is. I have a ton of great friends who have no hesitation letting me stay at their house, crash on their couch and when I am lucky I even grab a bed.

• I have a couple great “peeps” in Nashville who have graciously opened their house to me.
• I have the “Urban dwellers” in Chicago who let me crash on their futon even when Shane Claiborne is also staying the night.
• I have the “Toolen Party House” in the St. Louis area. Always a party there or at least a good game of UNO.
• I have the “baby maker house” in Kansas City. Cory, you know what I am talking about. And a few other good couches in KC.
• I have the “Beach Street Apt.” in San Diego, my personal favorite!
• I have the “Hope House” in Durham, NC — they moved so I am not sure what the new place will be called but I am sure they have a couch for me… I hope!
• Of course the home pad in Freeport IL, The Church/Brad Pad in Montgomery AL, the Fowler family fun house in Pittsburg PA, and so many others,  the list goes on and on and on…

It’s great having so many gracious, hospitable, Jesus following friends all over the country.  Just so you know, when I get a place IT WILL ALWAYS BE OPEN!!! And it looks like my next place will be in San Diego, CA — If that’s not repayment I don’t know what it!

But I want you all to know how grateful I am for such kind friends, I sincerely thank you!!!

Now for my funny story…

Last night I was staying on a new couch that my friend Allen graciously made available to me. But at about 3 in the morning one of the fellas that live in the house decided to watch some TV so he meandered into the living room and proceeded to sit on the couch. As he tucked his foot under his behind and began to sit he realized and then yelled loudly, “There’s a person on the couch, there’s a person on the couch!!!” He immediately, much like a ninja avoiding certain disaster, sprung forward, diving onto the floor and unlike a ninja, spilling his water all over the place. As he laid, sprawled out on the floor, he began to apologize profusely but I couldn’t help but to laugh uncontrollably (much like I am doing right now, awkwardly in the middle of the coffee shop as I write this). It was so incredible funny. Read this again and picture it all in your head, you should then laugh hysterically, it was that funny!

“There’s a person on the couch, there’s a person on the couch!!!”

Classic…

Peace
~~Erik

To my faithful blog followers, all 2 of you (my wife and… CRAP, there’s only one)

Anyway, to my faithful follower(s), you know i tend to be a blog slacker most times but times are a changen (maybe).

I’m anticipating A LOT of changes these days, here are a few of them…

#1. I’ve got an office, and no i didn’t just find a new coffee shop on the other side of town, i’ve actually have an office that i go to and can sit at my desk and do work. I anticipate this rhythm helping my blogging life.

#2. I live in TX! It still blows my mind when i think about it. But i’m excited to share some  of my new found Texas spirit with ya’ll. I mean EVERYBODY i know who is from Texas thinks it’s the greatest country in the world. Not sure i will get there but so far the Texans are winning me over.

#3. I’m a youth pastor / student minister / how ever you want to say it… i get to hang out with amazing students, share life, follow Jesus, have fun, and learn about ministry in an entirely new context. For the past 10 years i’ve shared here and there about my traveling ministry, speaking to thousands of students every year and the wild journey that has been but now i get to share about the 100 or so students i see every week and what we are doing to help these students know and love Jesus. I hope this journey will be helpful as i share with friends and ministry partners that i’ve met along the way. And hopefully we can interact and bounce ideas around right here on this blog.

#4. I’ve got a new blog / website coming! Hopefully it will be done in the next couple weeks. It’s always a bit of motivation to write when you’ve got new new real estate to write on!

#5. Life in general is changing. I’ve haven’t kept up with sharing that very well over the past year but hopefully that will change. From being a dad, to being a youth pastor, to being a traveling speaker (part-time now), to being a Texan, to being a simple man trying to follwo Jesus well… life is changing and sharing our journey with each other is to journey together. I don’t think there is a better way to do it!

Life’s a chanen… and i’m excited to share.

Grace and peace

erik

Youth Pastor // Speaker // Blogger

Sitting in my office today, man how life changes. But as i sit here i ponder friendship and the art of being a good friend. No doubt it’s a difficult art to master.

I’ve had a few conversations lately with people who have been asking these questions and it’s really got me thinking…

How do you maintain friendships over years, miles and life change?

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When do you let friendship fade into the space between who you once were and whom you’ve become?

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How do you choose the friends you hold onto even when it’s difficult?

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When you do you call out friends who are fading away and not being intentional like you wish they would?

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And how do you know when you are the one failing at friendship and needing to apologize, pick up the baton and continue to journey through life with these people you value and can’t live without.

Ahhh… there is a slew of other questions but these are the ones that come to mind. And mainly i’m asking them of myself. How do i continue to master the art of friendship when life is flying by, kids are running around, jobs are demanding more time, and life in general is more demanding then ever. I refuse to be mediocre at friendships and want to work at being a true artist in this area of life.

Here are some guys i want to hold onto…

(even though a few of them have already slipped through the cracks)

One of my favorite things about Nashville is the food! So many good local eats it will blow your mind.

Our last meal in Nashville was at one of my favorite places in the city, Baja Burrito! It’s a local Burrito joint that also has the best fish tacos in town. The owners name is Troy and if you go for lunch he’ll say hi and probably even make your burrito! One time i tweeted about Andrea and i making a California burrito (classic carne asada burrito with sour cream and french fries) Troy tweeted me back and said our burrito looked amazing and he was going to try it at Baja. He did and he gave me the first California burrito for free. That was awesome! That’s how local eats work, love it!

Here are my top 10 Nashville eateries, in no particular order.

.:: Calipso Cafe

My Sunday favorite! Great chicken w/Jamaican BBQ sauce and some amazing sides!

.:: Sams Sushi

The biggest and cheapest sushi in town. Just be careful navigating Sam the sushi Nazi.

.:: PM

LOVE IT! Great sushi or a great burger, you pick! Can’t go wrong.

.:: Peter’s Sushi and Thai

Technically in Brentwood but great Pad Thai and great sushi.

.:: Siam Cafe

Best Thai food in town. Total hole in the wall but if you can find it you’ll enjoy it!

.:: The Blue Bird Cafe

I’ve only been a few times but there is always some famous people playing guitar and drinking beer. Join em!

.:: Baja Burrito

Like i said, best fish taco’s in town and tons of great memories. It is the 1st place i can remember eating in Nashville and the last before we moved. Enough said!

.:: The Silly Goose

Best sandwhich shop in town. You’ll pay a gold bar but your taste buds will thank you.

.:: Sitar

My favorite Indian place in town and it’s where i took Andrea the nice i proposed!

Some honorable mentions…

Monell’s, Marche, Margo, Jacksons, The Pancake Pantry, Sam’s Sport Bar, Noshville Delicatessen, and one of my wife’s favorite Demo’s, Rosepepper

Would love to hear what your’s are.