The Porch

We had our first youth group meeting of the year last night...it is now called The Porch, based on Acts 5:12...there was a lot of change that went into this year, all in a couple of week's time...we changed the name from The Deep End...we changed the meeting room (we now meet in the former auditorium that the Big Kids used to meet in)...and we changed the structure...now, both junior and senior highers meet on the same night for dinner, hang time, and worship...then we split them up for large group teaching and small group discussion times...all in all, I think it went quite well...there were a few bumps in the road, but that's bound to happen with anything new...we'll work out the kinks as we go...but I think overall, for the 70+ kids that were there, it was a good experience...but man, does my throat hurt today...

My Youth: What Did I Do With It?!?

I was talking with Kat Renfrow the other day, and she told me all about her summer...it only consisted of about 14 week-long camps over a ten-week stretch...I think she was home a grand total of seven minutes this summer...then I heard an 18-year-old St. Louis kid on the radio who landed an interview with O.J. Simpson through mere perseverance (not to mention his other interviews with Muhammad Ali, Pete Rose, Jim Brown, and George Stephanopoulos, among others)...these two incidents made me pause to think about my own youth...I have to say, their stories and mine sound remarkably similar...if you consider sitting around my town home, running up my mom's electicity bill because I had the air conditioning set at 60 degrees, eating all the food, watching lots of MTV and VH-1, while dreading the start of soccer season to be similar to the kind of work that Kat and Graham have put into their youth...probably not, though...

Another Black Eye

And we are puzzled by the fact that some people won't come to church because there are too many hypocrites there...here is yet another example why I sometimes cringe to be lumped together with others who claim to be Christians...whatever happened to taking care of the least of these in the name of Jesus?...of course, I'm sure there are things in my own life that make people shake their heads and say, "He's a Christian?"...so who am I to throw the first stone?...I'm just glad that God still takes the time for us no matter how big of a jerk we sometimes are...

No More Indian Mascots

Word came out today that the NCAA has banned all Indian mascots from postseason tournament play...this would mean that teams such as the Florida Seminoles and the Illinois Fighting Illini would have to cover up their names and any references to their mascots during the tourney...my question is: will they be brave enough to enforce the same rules with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish...I, being Irish, have hated that mascot for some time and think it should be banned...I'm Irish, and I'm a lover, not a fighter...

Steroids and Moral Relativity

OK, it's one thing for Rafael Palmeiro to get busted for doing steroids, even after denying it...it's much worse that he lied and said he did it unintentionally, when in fact, it was revealed that it was a hard-core steroid he took, so he had to have known about it...but what really bugs me is that it now comes out that Major League Baseball and the Players' Union actually found out about his failed test long ago but held onto the information - and the suspension - until after Palmeiro had reached 3,000 hits...come on, MLB!...if you are going to make a stand on drug testing, do so all of the time, not just when it is convenient and works for your timetable...just because Raffi is a good player and future Hall of Famer (although, maybe not anymore), he gets a pass for a while, while other not-as-good players get busted right away...nice message you are sending to baseball fans, and especially kids: if you are good enough at hitting a ball with a stick, it doesn't matter what you do - it will still work out in your favor...

Fashion Rant

First off, allow me to apologize to my loyal readers for my lengthy absence from this space...both of you must be getting quite fed up :-)...my summer has been a little insane to say the least...I just returned from Xtreme Camp at Blue Mountain, at which I had a great time and got to see kids' lives changed...however, the downside to that was that it meant more time away from home...counting this past week, I have been away from home close to an entire month this summer...needless to say, it is good to be home for a while...of course, my next trip is just five weeks away for my sis-in-law's wedding (which I am co-performing - how crazy is that?)...I will enjoy home while I have it, I guess...

Now that I have gotten my excuses out of the way, I should probably say something about fashion, since the title of this entry is Fashion Rant...I have recently become more aware of a fashion trend that simply bothers me...maybe it has been around a long time and I'm just clueless, but I doubt it in this instance...the trend is that more and more youngish people of the female persuasion wearing lingerie as regular, wear-around-town clothing...and I don't mean under other clothing, either...I mean, that is their clothing...they will wear a lingerie top or two, layered, with jeans or shorts or a skirt...check out this picture of a recent American Idol contestant if you need a visual (she was famous for this fashion trend)...

whatever happened to modesty and certain things being saved for the privacy of one's own bedroom?...it's just that it is difficult enough for men to control their minds when it comes to sexual thoughts...we are bombarded by sexual images, from television to magazines to movies to advertising...experts say that men are more visually stimulated than are women, so this trend of sexual imagery will likely never go away because it is clearly making people money...but have we come so far that lingerie is now common wear?...if it is, what is being saved for the bedroom?...the intrigue, excitement, and curiosity that would normally be experienced on a couple's first night together - hopefully their wedding night - is slowly being stripped away (no pun intended) so that nothing will be a surprise when they get to it...I guess this is my way of saying, "Ladies, before you put something on, regardless of how fashionable it may be, simply think about it first."...at least, that's the way I see it...

Reflections in New Orleans

I am finally started to get rested up from our senior high mission trip to New Orleans...it takes longer and longer to do so the older I get...man, what a great week!...I couldn't have been more proud of our crew (Drake, Art, Trevor, Jen, Lauren, Brittany, Emily, Taylor, Christine, Julianna, Paige, Caitlin, Kelsey, Karen, and Marcy)...they worked hard, were excellent examples for the people we ministered with as well as for the other youth groups that were there...it was especially rewarding to see the growth that occurred in each of them as the week wore on...the hope and prayer is that they will be able to make the mountaintop experience last as they come down off of the mountain...a few reflections on the week about random stuff:

• Our kids dealt with disappointment much better than I did...I found myself getting disappointed with such non-important stuff...I was really excited about the possibility of working with the people at ARC, which was a center for people with mental disabilities, but I found out that I would be working at Teen Challenge instead...it turned out really well, as we were ministered to probably more than the Teen Challenge residents were (and not just because we ate really well - Strawberry Shortcake Sneaux Balls!)...but the point is, our youth accepted whatever assignment they were given without even the slightest hint of disappointment...they didn't even complain about the VW-sized roaches - they just killed them and went on...they taught me a thing or two about contentment...
• I found that as the week went on, I was becoming more OK with being sweaty and sticky...if you know me, you know I like to be clean and I hate sweating (unless I'm exercising or mowing, etc.), which makes New Orleans a bad place to be...you can't avoid feeling gross there...but as the week progressed, it wasn't as big of a deal...it was still a deal, but not as big of one...living in Cape Girardeau is not a lot different that New Orleans, so this is a step in the right direction...
• As we toured the French Quarter, we came across a basilica that the Pope had preached from in the 80s...we all stood in front of it and had our pictures taken while I waved like the Pope...the interesting thing about this was the number of psychics/fortunetellers/palmreaders/etc. that were set up right outside the front doors of the basilica...it was like Obi Wan Kenobi squaring off against Darth Vader, the ultimate in light standing toe-to-toe with the ultimate in dark...I don't have any conclusions, just the observation...
• I simply lost my mind last week...along with everything else...every time I turned around, I had misplaced something else...my water bottle, my coffee cup, my man purse, my notebook, whatever...I spent half of my time on the trip looking for stuff...man, I really am getting old...
• The cockroaches in New Orleans were quite impressive, as alluded to above...I killed two of them...I think I caught them off-guard, because on a normal day, I don't think I stood a chance...
• Yummy beignets at the Cafe du Monde...apparently, it is the world-famous coffee joint in the French Quarter that has these French donuts called Beignets...essentially, it was the same thing as a funnel cake but in a different shape with LOTS of powdered sugar...it was yummy, but I don't know about world-famous...
• We visited an African-American church for a worship service on Wednesday night...it was a great, energetic service...before the service started, we came in and had a seat while they were praying...but then, when the actual service got started, an usher came to us and ushered us into the balconies to make room for the regulars, I presume...it felt a little weird...I wondered if it was how the black individuals felt decades ago when they were banished to the backs of buses or to a different restaurant altogether...I am not likening this church to those that promoted segregation...it just felt a little strange...the Pastor, Lester Love, had a great line that I wrote down...when speaking about being treated badly by people, he said, as if speaking to God, "They have not been as bad to me as You have been good to me."...nice...

This is probably not what you expected from my summary of New Orleans...we did the usual stuff: French Quarter, trolley ride, hike through the bayou...but these are the things I wrote down...go figure...

Randomness, Randomness is What I Long For...

This link was sent to me...apparently Darth Vader can read your mind over the internet...I managed to stump him, but probably because I didn't know enough information about the emu:

http://www.sithsense.com/flash.htm



Went to see an exhibit a couple of weeks ago in Paducah...it was a traveling exhibit of the Dead Seas Scrolls...it was fascinating to hear the history behind these artifacts, and to hear how much work went into reassembling the pieces...they compared it to taking a bag of Lays, a bag of Ruffles, and a can of Pringles, crunching them all up, mixing them all together, and then reassembling them all and putting them in the right bags...200 TIMES!!!...WOW!...now that's patience...there was also a chunk of Colossians that was worth $7 million (I stole it)...but the highlight was seeing a portion of the original Egyptian Book of the Dead (pictured above), featured prominently in the classic movie Evil Dead 2...I almost cried...

Some people have too much time on their hands...

My dad just moved back to Ohio...he should be getting in today sometime...this makes me happy...ever since he moved to Florida, he really hasn't been happy...he hasn't really made any connections there...so now, he will be back in The Heart of It All, lucky guy...he has a couple of jobs lined up already and will be staying with my aunt and uncle until he finds a place to stay...this is not only a plus for him, but for me also, as I will get to see him more regularly than when he was in Florida (which mean maybe once a year instead of every other year)...

Ally, thanks for the ice cream yesterday...very yummy...

Our summer youth programming kicked off this week...not too many people showed up for H2T, but we had 30 at 6:57, which is very good, considering we haven't really had summer youth group before...I know a lot of our students have band camp and soccer and stuff, which makes it a bummer that they can't come too...we sure miss them...

Pray for us next week as we (Me and Marcy and another adult leader and 13 students) are in New Orleans for a mission trip...dang, it's gonna be hot!...next year we're going north...

My beloved Tribe is going for the sweep today over the first place San Diego Padres...in a word, "WOO-HOO!!!"...

That's all for now...have a great day...

Cookout

For those of you that didn't make it to the cookout last night, you missed a pretty good time...the place we had it - Shelly Stone's pond - was beautiful...we had yummy, high-fat burgers, grilled by yours truly...lots of chips and soda, not to mention the cookies that Shelly made - YUM!...sure, it rained and we got a little wet, but by the end of the night, most everybody was drenched from either getting thrown into the pond of jumping in voluntarily, so the rain didn't matter much...I was going to throw Logan in, but I showed him grace and mercy...he wasn't so lucky with the others...I had fun kicking the soccer ball with Cole and Lauren and Kyle, even though I wasn't wearing shoes...it kinda' hurt after a while, but I survived...overall, it wasn't a huge turnout, but I think those of us that came had a good time...I think...

Come on! It's just a prank!

Ran across this article on another blog: http://www.local10.com/education/4529035/detail.html...apparently, a Christian school principal canceled graduation after the seniors pulled a prank on the school...now that is what grace and forgiveness is all about (tongue planted firmly in cheek)...there is something to be said for tough love, but is cancelling graduation love or "showing them who's boss"?...I think the principal got his feelings hurt by this class and dished out far too harsh of a punishment...we pulled a similar prank when I was a senior in high school - at a Christian high school - and the principal was not real thrilled...but I still got to graduate...that's grace...

The Worst Invention Ever

Mankind has the uncanny ability to devise implements of evil...history has proven this time and again...the rack, thumb screws, even the handgun; each of these, along with so many other so-called 'advancements,' have proven how dark the mind and soul of man can be...these types of inventions were not developed with good in mind, but instead with negative intentions...but today, I came face to face with what could be mankind's greatest black eye, the one invention that rises in its evilness above all others...it was (insert ominous music) the plastic encasing that my new lawnmower blade came in...are you familiar with the kind of plastic wrapping I am referring to?...I don't mean basic cellophane that you simply crumple up and put in the trash...this stuff is far more sinister...just to open the package, you need a blowtorch or small explosives...OK, so that was an exaggeration, but you do need a fairly stout pair of scissors or a sharp knife, which is dangerous in and of itself...then, if you are able to get into it, to peel it back to remove the contents is nearly impossible due to its lack of pliability...it ranks up there with steel in that category...then, as you are pulling out the contents, be very careful, as the freshly cut edges are razor-sharp...I discovered this as the casing for the lawnmower blade sliced my finger open...not bad enough to require stitches, but bad enough to send a trail of blood running down my finger...if I had to remove one invention from the history of mankind, it would be this plastic encasing...

Raising Teenagers

Next weekend I get my semi-annual (or is it biannual? I always get those two confused) chance to use my preaching chops in Big Kid Church, as we youth and children's ministry-types like to call it...we are in the middle of a series called Extreme Makeover: Family Edition, and I get the task of tackling the Kid's Room: Raising Teenagers...this strikes me as quite funny...sure, I am the youth pastor and I studied youth ministry in seminary...plus, I read quite a bit on the subject of ministering to teens...but the closest I have ever come to raising anything is my dog Attie - who is still shy of one year old (human years) - and my jade plant that is a few years old...what do I know about raising teens?!?...it's pretty intimidating...the last two times I have preached, I have had someone write to complain about something nitpicky that I said or did in the course of the sermon that they didn't like...I can't wait to read my e-mail after this one!...but you know what?...it's like JD said when he preached here in February...he told the story of a four-year old that got in his parent's car and drove to the video store in the middle of the night, and finding it closed, drove home again...he then made the analogy that preaching the word of God feels kind of like that, trying to navigate this huge thing and feeling like you are four years old...I feel that way as I preach to parents on how to do their job...as a little child I come to God and ask Him to direct my driving skills...or lack thereof...

Returning Home

Currently, I am in Wilmore, Kentucky, home to Asbury Theological Seminary...this is where I spent four years of my life getting prepared for a life in full-time ministry...I ran into a friend at Subway, and I think he put it best as I gave him a hug...he said, simply, "Welcome home."...it does feel like home...I feel so comfortable and known here...the number of people that really do know me grows smaller and smaller each time I come back, but it still feels like running into family...I am supposed to be working on the sermon that I will be preaching in Big Kid Church the weekend after next, but it feels too good to stop what I am doing - visiting with people - to sit down and write...the number of hugs, smiles, and warm comments I have experienced have felt like what Red Bull must feel like to a teenager...I feel energized and refueled...thank you Wilmore and Asbury for providing me a place to come home to...I know it's not perfect and a lot has changed, but it's still home to me...

Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith

I went to see the new Star Wars movie and midnight-oh-one this morning...here are a couple of thoughts from this experience:

• The main reason I went to the very first showing was to see the freak show...I wanted to see the real fans dressed up as Darth Maul, Chewbacca, and Stormtroopers...that being said, I was quite disappointed...I only saw one guy dressed up as Darth Vader, and Chris was wearing Yoda ears...that's it!...where are all the freaks?...I guess I needed to go to the convention to witness that...
• Quick disclaimer: I am not dissing anyone by calling them freaks...I have dressed up and painted my face for football games...it's just that I am a fan of a different thing...we are all freaks of one kind or another...
• I'm getting too old for this kind of thing...maybe it's because we had a very high-energy Splash meeting that night, or maybe it's because I haven't been sleeping well, or maybe just because I am too old, but I was a Fitz bobblehead during much of the movie...I was doing the nodding-trying-to-stay-awake thing...I was awake for the majority of it, but it sure wasn't easy...
• I liked the movie...Marcy asked me when I got home if it was a 10...I am not a huge fan, so I didn't think so...I liked it quite a bit, but it was no Evil Dead 2...but if I were a big fan, I would probably give it a 10...there was a good plot line, excellent action scenes, and the big question of how Anakin turns into Darth Vader was answered with satisfaction...Nate said that he may have a new favorite Star Wars movie, so I guess it was pretty dang good...
• Judging from crowd reactions, Yoda is far and away everyone's favorite Star Wars character...he had a couple of pretty sweet Jedi moves that resulted in loud applause and laughter...he's pretty cool for a 900 year-old Muppet...

Hope you get a chance to see the movie...I recommend it highly...just not at midnight...

His Master's Voice

While I was in Memphis, Marcy and I stopped into a gift store to look for snow globes...side note: in case you didn't know, I collect tacky, cheap snow globes...the next time you go on vacation, you now know what to get me...anyway, back to the topic at hand...I saw a metal sign that had this logo on it from the RCA Victor Corporation (they made record players - records were CDs before there were CDs)...I read the caption: "His Master's Voice."...I grabbed it and showed it to Marcy and said, "This'll preach."...boy, will it ever...look at the dog...see how attentively he is listening for what his master has to say through the speaker...he is hanging on every word, just waiting to hear if he should stay, sit, or roll over...or maybe he is just listening to the master's voice because it is a familiar, calming sound to his ears...what he is listening for I don't know...but what I do know is that he is listening intently...just look at the tilt of his head...what if we listened to our Master this attentively?...Scripture tells us that God speaks in a still, small voice, so in order to hear Him amidst the clatter of everything else that is going on around us, we need to be intentional in clearing out all the other stuff so that we can hear the whisper...there are exceptions to the rule, but most of the time, God is whispering through a phonograph speaker, not shouting through a stack of concert speakers...are we listening?

Memphis

That's where I'm heading this weekend...taking Marcy there because she's never been there, and I've only been there on a drive-by...not a shooting, mind you...we just need to get away for a little bit...so we're going to check out the ducks at the Peabody, eat some BBQ at Rendezvous, and check out Mud Island...should be fun...if we have time, we will peer over the wall at Graceland, but probably won't pay the $15.00 to get in...if you haven't been to Memphis, you need to go just to see Elvis Presley Blvd....it is the ultimate in tacky junk...which means I fit right in...lata...

Getting Closer

Well, we are getting closer to figuring out what our summer programming and events will look like for youth group...what's that you say?...you want to know what we will be doing?...sorry, you will just have to wait to find out just like everyone else...just because you read my blog doesn't give you the right to have privileged information...and if you do read my blog, WHY AREN'T YOU VOTING IN MY POLL?!?!?...or maybe I am truly only one of only four readers of my blog...how sad is that :-(

I'm thinking about getting some cardboard standups to hang out around the youth area, but I'm not sure which ones to get...they don't make Napoleon Dynamite ones yet, so that's out...what do you think?...maybe Chewbacca?...maybe James Dean or Elvis?...Homer Simpson?...or maybe someone else?...let me know what you think...

Today has not been very productive...AAAARRRRGHGHGHHHH!!!...maybe tomorrow...

Lots of Random Stuff

I haven't had a bunch of time to blog lately...there have been many things that I have wanted to post about, but time has been a commodity that has been hard to come by in recent days...so, here are many of the things I wanted to make posts about, all wrapped up in one post, Reader's Digest condensed version:

• I saw an interesting fellow at Ichthus...he was obviously a veteran as he was dressed in military-looking garb...as he listened to the bands he walked around holding two things in his hand...one was a cross, about 12-18" high...the other was an American flag that was huge, like one you would hang from your porch on July 4th...while I admired this man's dedication and love for God and country, I wondered if he - and many of us - had the order mixed up: Country and god...how often do we get wrapped up in the concept that this is a "Christian country," and as a result, put the flag up there - or above - the cross?...why don't we carry a huge cross - as Jesus told us we must - and simply have the flag as a patch on our shirt, if at all?...
• Went and saw our local junior high's production of Annie...in a word, "Wow!"...they did an outstanding job...when I was in junior high, I was too busy drooling over Olivia Newton John to develop the kind of talent that they displayed...I was very pleasantly surprised at how well these students could sing...if any of you are reading, "GREAT JOB!!!"...
• Just when I thought I could have optimism about the Browns chances, it blows up in my face...I felt pretty good about their draft and the moves they made in free agency...I thought they had some good weapons on offense in their running game - especially with the addition of Rueben Droughns - and some good receiving threats with rookie Braylon Edwards and with Kellen Winslow, Jr coming back from injury...then I hear Droughns holds out for a new contract - I curse thee, Drew Rosenhaus - and Winslow screws himself up bad in a motorcycle wreck (which is, incidentally, a breach of contract)...alas, the life of a Cleveland fan, destined to be disappointed...
• We just finished up out fundraiser for our youth mission trips...so glad it's over...it was a major amount of stress, not to mention the majot amount of junk we sold...mad props to Carrie, Jill, and Marlene for heading it up...thanks to them, and to lots of volunteers both old and young, we raised close to $3,000.00!...praise God!...He is so good to us...
• Got my new Palm the other day, the Zire 72...although the desktop software is giving me headaches, I love the Palm itself...I got to take it to church and use it as my Bible, thanks to the software Marcy got me a while back...it also had an MP3 player and camera on it...yeah, it'll make me more productive, that's why I got it :-)...much fun...

I think I'll wrap is up there, and not just because I have to go to the bathroom, although that is foremost in my mind right now...have a great day...

Man, we have work to do...

It seems that a judge in Florida recently approved an abortion for a 13-year-old girl that has been in state custody for four years...how can we possibly expect our teens to make wise choices when they have so many people being poster children for unwise choices and calling it OK?...youth pastors, unite!...we have work to do...

42

That's the answer to life, the universe, and everything...if you have ever read any of the five-part trilogy by Douglas Adams known as The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, then you have a good idea what I'm talking about...if not, well, you probably don't...now, there is a long-awaited feature film in theaters based on the book...my good buddy Oral and I went to see it on Friday night, along with his daughter Madison...we really liked it!...it did the book justice because it contained much of the same style of humor as did the book...however, there were a couple of other people from our church at the same showing, Garrett and his dad Bart...I asked them at church what they thought of the movie, and they didn't so much like it...it turns out that they were not at all familiar with the book series...that explained it...if you like Douglas Adams and appreciate his style of humor, you will love the movie; if not, prepare to be confused...overall, I give it a 7.5-8...

To help you determine if you would like this movie, here are some memorable Douglas Adams quotes:

• I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.
• Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.
• The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't.
• Arthur Dent hoped and prayed there wasn't an afterlife. Then, realizing the contradiction, he merely hoped there wasn't an afterlife.
• In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.
• On the way back, they sang a number of tuneful and reflective songs on the subjects of peace, justice, morality, culture, sport, family life, and the obliteration of all other life forms.
• A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.
• For a moment, nothing happened.Then, after a second or so, nothing continued to happen.
• Life... is like a grapefruit. It's orange and squishy, and has a few pips in it, and some folks have half a one for breakfast.
• Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the drug store, but that's just peanuts to space.
• There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.There is another theory which states that this has already happened.
• Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.

May your day be filled with laughter...