Meet Adam

Back in February I attended the Freed Hardeman University Lectureship with the purpose of finding a summer youth intern for our congregation. I had several interviews there and was more than impressed by the quality of young men who are seeking to be ministers one day. I did my best to come up with questions to help see how they think on their feet and each one proved to be prepared well. It ended up being a difficult decision, but in the end God led us to hire Adam Shook.

Adam will begin this ministry in May. He is the son of Ginger and Stuart Shook. He is a native of Columbia, TN (Home of Mule Day). He is currently a sophomore at Freed Hardeman University pursuing a Bachelor degree in Psychology.

Adam has had previous work experience with mentally challenged children and has been a volunteer with the Special Olympics. His hobbies include fishing, soccer, and playing spades. His primary responsibility this summer will be to help our young people grow to be more like Christ. He will be teaching Bible class, leading devotionals, attending Bible camp, and directing other youth activities. We are looking forward to his arrival and are excited about the attention he will bring to our youth program. Please be praying for him and the work he will do this summer.

Sleepy Head

It is 4:40 a.m. in the morning and I am sitting at a terminal in the Harrisburg International Airport on a Saturday morning. I am extremely tired and will be functioning on three hours of sleep today. Normally at this time I would be at home snuggling in bed with my wife. I am on my way to the Freed Hardeman University Lectureship in order to interview youth ministry intern candidates for my congregation. I will be proding their minds about why they want to be in youth ministry. Please pray for the success of these interviews and my safety on this trip. God bless.

Winding Down

Friday was my last official youth event here at Holmes Road. We had a lock in for approximately 35 people. It was tiring but very fun. I thank Robert Besinger for suggesting that we play dodgeball. It was awesome! I would have been out of my mind to turn down the opportunity to throw a ball at a teenager and not get in trouble for it. We played from midnight until 1:30 a.m. Normally I would be very tired at this time of the night, but after drinking three Vaults (energy drinks) and having a stressful week at work I found the energy to blast people with that little rubbery ball. It was very therapeutic to see that ball whiz by the head (and hitting some) of people who were not paying attention. I think I am going to quit ministry and open a dodgeball court and charge overly stressed business execs to come and play. (I am in the process of getting a patent on this idea.) I think about 90% of the people at the lock in played that night. We all went away sore and happy.


Today was Michelle's last day at Holmes Road. She has done an excellent job working with our youth group. She was hired specifically to work with our young ladies, but our young men learned so much from her also. She was fun to have around because of her personality, but mostly because of her dedication to seeing the teens grow spiritually. I am glad that I had the opportunity to teach her what I know about youth ministry. Hopefully she will be even better prepared to work with youth because of her experiences here. She has been a blessing to all of us and I am thankful that God allowed our paths to cross.

I have about 2 1/2 more weeks here before the move to PA. I have been so busy that it has not really sunk in yet. It is a scary proposition that I am going to be a pulpit minister somewhere. I have been trying to mentally and spiritually prepare for all of this. I am determined to have my preaching planned out for the first 2-3 months so that I will not be playing catch up after I get there. I must also prepare for my last sermon here, train someone to take over our church website, and finalize the plans for our youth rally before I leave. Did I mention that I have 2 1/2 weeks to do this? Anyhow I am glad that things will be a little bit slower here for the next couple of weeks. I need the break and the breather. I am confident that all that needs to be completed will be completed and God's grace can cover the rest. I am praying that I will keep my sanity.

Getting ready for summer

This summer I will be working with Michelle Gallagher. She is the summer intern for the Holmes Road Church of Christ in Memphis, TN. I am very excited and nervous about this summer. I am excited because I will have someone here who is genuinely interested in helping with the youth. It is difficult at times to find ANYONE to work the teens, but it is an added bonus because she WANTS to be here. I know that she will be good for the girls here and they are excited about her coming. I am nervous because this is the first intern that I have had the opportunity to train. This is definitely going to stretch me this summer because I will need to stay ahead of her and my youth group! I am looking forward to this challenge because it is going to make me have to be extremely prepared this summer. I can tell that things are changing already; I got to work by 8:15 a.m. this morning. If that is not a miracle then I don't know what is. So off I go on this summer adventure......