David Miller

It all started on top of a parking structure in the heart of Downtown Orlando. The vision was cast to our students and The Element High School Ministry ventured into a new season. We redefined our view of success in student ministry to encompass more than a Wednesday night in three locations. This day we became one ministry.

The following is our attempt to invite you into each aspect of this exciting new time of ministry.

We have developed “In House Communities” throughout our city. For a ministry that has not excelled at creating small group experiences in the past, this was a huge endeavor—and one we trusted Brad Enlow to spearhead.

We started with three communities, each with between 20 to 40 students, a minimum of five volunteer leaders and two directors, and we are in the process of raising up leaders and finding homes to launch two more communities. These In House Communities are located in proximity to our existing campuses and place students in intentional relationship with Christ-following leaders who are committed to living life with them. The average small group and/or house church in a given church body is typically comprised of 10 to 20% of the ministry. Our goal is to engage no less than 60% of our students within the first three months of this transition. I’m proud to say that today we have 40% of our students engaged in our In House Communities. This literally means over 40% of high school Element students are being discipled, and we are not stopping there!

The Element has also become passionate about our local public high school campuses. Realizing that students spend 40 hours a week at school, it seemed silly to spend 100% of our time focusing on the two hours they come to us. We’ve made an intentional decision to serve our schools. This does not mean going to lunch or starting a Bible study. There is merit in this tactic; it is simply not where God has lead us. We believe it is important to become a resource to the public schools. This means building relationships and finding out the needs of a given school. Needles to say, this is not something that happens over night. At least not to the degree we believe it should be done. To be honest, we’ve never seen a student ministry as invested in the life of our schools as we feel called to be. This said, Croy Bosch has become the “super connecter” between Discovery Church and Orlando Public School System.

So, what does this practically look like? Today, Croy is involved in a program called Teach One Lead One at West Orange High School. West Orange is the first school in Florida to have this program. Our hope and prayer is that West Orange will be the first of many schools in Orange County that this program will impact. He has also become the Junior Varsity Boys Volley Ball Coach for Olympia High School. We believe this is only the beginning of the At School portion of our ministry, and we’re so excited about our future with the schools of Orlando.

The final cord of The Element is our Midweek meeting. Every Wednesday night our church is overtaken with hundreds of high school students from all across Orlando who come to passionately worship God and uncover the truths of Scripture. There is an excitement when you enter the front doors of the church and it is obvious that God is moving! The Element Midweek has become a huge connection point for our students. We’ve averaged 10 new students a week for the past month and don’t see that slowing down anytime soon. David Miller has taken the roll of Teaching Pastor and formed a teaching team of five gifted communicators. Our goal is to give students a safe place to confront culture with truth and be a part of a movement. The video below was taken by a student during a Communion service last month during a MidWeek meeting.

This new season of ministry has brought a contagious energy to The Element. God is moving in the lives of our students in ways I’ve only dreamed about in the past. I have seen students restore broken relationships with parents, embrace counseling for the first time, and worship God with a passion you will need to see for yourself. Thank you so much for coming along on our redefining journey.  You can continue to follow The Element by clicking the tab to the right of your screen.

Here is one more video for good measure!

FYI: Videos by Justin Mezzell (1st video) & Hannah Kinsley (Last two videos)

Like most love stories, Ashley and I have seen many phases.

I was looking through some pictures the other day and thought it would be fun to chronicle our story through our many hair styles.

I hope you enjoy…

This is when we both had sweet girl hair!  No joke, I had guys hitting on me when seeing me from behind.  This is not something I’m proud of.

Becoming tired of men thinking I was hot, I went away for Christmas Break with some good friends and came back a white boy with dreads.

Surprisingly, Ashley was cool with this bold move.  She even helped lock’em up.

And lets be real, I looked sweet with dreads!

I just need my VW Bus to make it complete.

As you can see, Ashley took this opportunity to do some hair and piercing experiments of her own.

Check the fo-hawk!

As Ashley continued her search for the perfect style, I rocked the dreads and let nature make them sick.

I’ve heard the Shane Claiborne references, so you can keep them out of the comments. When he came to STATUS, Cole asked if I wanted to be his stunt double and jump through a ring of fire for his stage entrance.  I said no.

FYI: To the right you see the day  I met Rick.  This man changed my life.  Read about Rick in an earlier post.

Just as my dreads were becoming beautiful I accepted a teaching position at Edgewood Ranch.

“The kicker is“, the principle told me, “we love you but we hate your hair!  You’ll need to cut it before you start working here.”

You gotta do what you gotta.

Let us weep together as the dreads fall into the sink.

I know, I know, not my best look.  Don’t worry friends, I shaved the goat as well with some much needed prodding from Ashley and Matt .

We even stuck together through our extreme white trash stage, as seen to the left.

Due to shame and Ashley being in VA for a few months, there are not many photos of this awkward stage.

Skip ahead A few months:

Ashley and I rode out the crazy hair roller coaster and she agreed to marry me!

We then said “I do” on the cliffs of Dana Point California.

Well, I hope you had fun taking a peek into the hair adventures of our relationship.

The story of David and Ashley does NOT end here, but this post does.

I now leave you with some dancing!

Let’s be real, We can break it down!

Recently,  I had the honor of sitting down with the boys from Irreverent Podcast. Irreverent is a weekly roundtable discussion that attempts to tackle questions from it’s listeners.

Anything goes!  No question is off limits.

The thing I love about this podcast is that these guys are not so pompous as to calm they will always come up with the right answer, simply that they will talk openly about the topic.

The crew at Irreverent tackle some intense issues about culture, life, and faith.

I feel compelled to give you the following warning:

The Irreverent crew uses language and talks openly about topics that are not intended for listeners under 18 without the permission of a parent.  Case in point, the episode I was apart of this week (Episode 14) discussed masturbation.

Click to find them on iTunes or on their website.

20something Profiles: David Miller

STATUS: Church=X wk7 from David Miller on Vimeo.

STATUS: True Vine Series wk8 from David Miller on Vimeo.

David Miller | Special To The Sentinel

Orlando Sentinel
June 7, 2008
You have heard the saying, “You never know a man unless you have walked a mile in his shoes.” I would alter that to, “You never know a man until you walk alongside him for a mile.”

I’m referring to the homeless in Orlando.

I no longer hand a man on the side of the road $5 and feel good about myself. I now buy us a $5 meal to share and learn his story, his wants and needs, and to walk alongside him.

People loving people will change our world — not because we feel bad or guilty, but because we are compelled to help. There must come a time when we stop observing our community and its problems and strive to step into the community and find answers.

In the past eight months I have become involved with an organization called Home Sweet Homeless ( www.hshomeless.com).

The founders are three young men who made a connection with a homeless man named Alfred. When they got to know Alfred as a human being, they were unable to live the same as they did before.

Orlando is a tourist destination. We all know that. But what you may not know is that a significant portion of our taxes are paid by tourists who enjoy theme parks or downtown.

In order to “Keep Orlando Beautiful,” the city in 2006 adopted an ordinance that restricts how many people can be fed in city parks, effectively banning any single group from holding large feedings more than twice a year.

The city believes that feeding more than 25 people in a single sitting at Lake Eola, for example, encourages the homeless to congregate together in populated areas, thus hurting the city’s clean image and driving away the tourists.

There is no such ordinance prohibiting the feeding of dogs or even ducks; a person can feed them whenever he or she wants, just not human beings.

Seems to me the city has it all backward.  

To be honest, I did not always feel this way. There was a time that my mind-set lined up more with the city’s than having compassion for the homeless.

I managed a restaurant for a few years and would send the staff outside to chase the homeless away from our customers as they begged for money or dug in the trash. I didn’t want our customers to be scared off. So I treated the homeless like animals; I shooed them away as if they were birds or dogs.

After my experience with Home Sweet Homeless, seeing for myself the human side, I find the Orlando ordinance unjust.

I am not alone. You can now find a group of people walking to a club or a bar in downtown Orlando, and, rather than walking past the homeless — all the while trying not to make eye contact for fear of being asked for help — they are breaking down socioeconomic walls and talking and sharing.

Since the inception of the group, more than 400 are consistently being fed and having their humanity restored. Churches, community centers and individuals are joining our mission, and the media are taking notice. We are no longer a small group of college and high-school students, but a citywide movement that grows with each event.

Home Sweet Homeless has joined with an organization, The Destiny Foundation (www.battlepoverty.org), which provides food, medical care and the opportunity of government aid. With the foundation, Home Sweet Homeless is an advocate to help hurting families “grab the bottom rung” of the socioeconomic ladder and end the cycle of poverty. This gives the volunteers the opportunity to do more than love through community; it gives them the chance to love through action.

The Destiny Foundation is in its first year and has aided in bringing more than 100 families out of poverty.

My life is forever changed by this experience.

Will you join me?

read the article

Finding Joy In Our Struggle – David Miller from Discovery Church on Vimeo.Finding Joy In Our Struggle – David Miller from Discovery Church on Vimeo.

Status Family Vacation Promo – Segment 3 from Brent Christy on Vimeo.