I’ll let you in on a little secret ambition of mine. You ready?

I want to be the Bobby Flay of my sphere of influence.

I want to be known as a great cook. Not just someone who can prepare a good meal. No, something greater! I want to amaze people with the way I combine meat, seasonings, flame, and creativity. For my birthday last April my parents bought me an honest to goodness bar-b-que smoker and grill. I love grilling and had no problem using the propane side of my new toy. About a month ago, I gave the smoker an inagural spin. I bought a book extolling the virtues of Low and Slow grilling and followed the lessons to a T. What happen was that I was able to cook two whole chickens perfectly! The flavors of the marinade combined with the flavors of the smoke made for and incredible dinner and a lot of leftovers. I can’t wait to work my way up to slow cooking some ribs and pork shoulder. Believe me- it is on!

The most important thing that I’ve learned about this style of cooking has been learning to monitor the temperature inside the smoker/fire box. You don’t want to keep opening the lid each and every time you check on your food. The lid has to stay closed. 1.5 hours for my chicken and up to 8 hrs or more for pork shoulder. The only thing that gives me insight into what’s happening inside is temperature reading on the outside.

As the summer comes to a close I’ve been thinking about my students and their return to school. Right now many of them are running hot and on fire for Jesus. They have expressed excitement for their faith, concern for their friends, and many have made deep commitments to discipleship. Summer gives me the perfect opportunity to be among them on a consistent basis outside of their school year routine. When I am with them I get to monitor the temperature of their lives. As they head back to school I want to make sure that I find ways to monitor their faith, give them encouragement or direction, and help feed their spiritual fire.

Next: 3 Ways to Monitor Your Youth Group Temperature During The School Year