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...

Annual Ichthus Awards

Just got back yesterday from the Ichthus Music Festival in Wilmore, KY...took my youth group again this year, 12 students and 5 leaders total...we had a great weekend, judging from the grades that everyone gave the weekend...now here are my own random awards from Ichthus 2005:

Needs Less Caffeine Award
This one goes to the drummer for Mute Math...when he came out on the stage with his headphones duct taped - literally - to his head, I thought, "Here's another one of those rocker-types doing something weird to make a name for himself."...boy, was I wrong!...the dude never stopped moving, to the point that I thought his head - with the headphones attached - was going to fall off...the lead singer was pretty energetic, too, but nothing compared to this guy...after watching Mute Math play, all the other drummers looked pretty boring...

Sybil Award
This award goes to the one that shows the most sides to his/her personality (see the IMDB listing for the movie Sybil)...easily, this goes to the weather...we were expecting rain the entire weekend, as we got last year causing a ridiculous amount of mud...instead, we ran the gamut...it was nice on Thursday and most of Friday...then Friday night, severe storms and tornado warnings blew in, forcing us to run for our lives...then Saturday, it was windy and cold and it eventually snowed...I think Jordan put it best: "This is the first time in my life that I have gotten a sunburn, run from a tornado, and been snowed on in three days."...how true...

Jughead Award
Has to go to Trevor...I knew he had never been to Ichthus before, so I asked him, "Have you ever been to a festival before?"...to which he replied, "A peach festival."...I almost dope-slapped him right then and there in Wendy's, but I was laughing too hard...

Jughead Award Runner-Up
Has to be Jordan...a group was playing Catch Phrase...the word was "honey"...the clue given was, "What is sticky and inside a bear?"...he replied with, "Gummi? (as in Gummi Bears)...dope-slap...

Overcoming Fear Award
Studies show that public speaking is always at the top of people's worst fears...there were several people who showed that this fear can be overcome...Duffy Robbins was great and very funny as he spoke about taking the leap for Jesus...Mike Breaux from Willow Creek was my personal favorite as he spoke about saying, "Whatever and Wherever" to God and making ripples in the world...but the award goes to Adrian Despres as he really shook the worlds of a lot of the people in the crowd - including some that came with us - as he challenged them to sit in the first seat, the seat of being sold-out for Jesus...

Making Us Feel Like Family Award
This one is a tie: Fran and Nina...they let us invade their homes and stay with them this weekend, going against every possible common sense that they might have had...thanks big time Fran and Niner!...

I Think I'm Going To Puke Award
This year, it's not going to Hannah...she steered clear of Fazoli's, thank goodness...she still got a little sickly, but nothing compared to last year...this year, the award goes to GattiTown...where else can you eat enormous quantities of pizza and then spin in circles on the bumper cars?...pretty fun...

What Were They Thinking Award
Michael W. Smith as the festival closer...come on!...is it still the late 80s/early 90s, or is it 2005?!?...heck, two of our students had no idea who he was!...I know I didn't go see him, but I'm pretty sure they could have done better...actually, most of Saturday's lineup was pretty weak...that's why we went to GattiTown...

They Didn't Gargle With Thumb Tacks Award
Many of the artists at Ichthus are know for their screaming: Pillar, Kutless, Thousand Foot Krutch, Skillet, etc...for a vocal purist, it must have been painful...but then along came Saturday afternoon, which featured Watermark and Selah...very smooth vocals with great harmonies...they brought some nice balance to the festival...

Put Him On The Board Of Trustees Award
We took a tour of Asbury College on Friday before heading over for the shows...Drake could have done the tour...he had most of the answers for any question brought up on the tour, including some that the tour guide didn't know...I think he knows where he's going when he graduates...

Colgate Poster Child Award
Peter Furler of the Newsboys had the most unique singing style...it was like he just got hired to promote Colgate's latest whitening toothpaste...he sang the entire show through his teeth, like he was some kind of creepy ventriloquist...I just wish he had some chunk of parsley stuck in his teeth...now that would have been funny...

Show Of The Year Award
I have to go with Mute Math...I know most of our students will get upset with me over this pick, as they all seem to drool all over themselves about Relient K...but their show was pretty normal compared to the originality and energy that Mute Math displayed...maybe next year they'll be on main stage...

We Missed You Award
Definitely goes to tobyMac...no one in Christian music puts on a show like him, so we were all quite excited about seeing him on Friday night...sadly, thanks to the severe weather, his show was cancelled...I want a refund!...

I think that's quite enough awards for this year...overall, we had a great time...if you missed it this year, make sure you save up the days you can miss from school for the festival next year...

Pray for J.

The coolest thing happened to me the other day...I was in the middle of my Saturday morning ritual: eating donuts and drinking coffee while reading at the local donut shop...one of the girls that works there - we'll call her J. - approached me and asked if she could interrupt me...I told her to go ahead and have a seat, which she did...she said, "I know I don't know you very well, but I can tell you are a strong Christian, so I want to know if you would pray for me."...that about blew me away!...I don't know that anyone has come up to me, relatively out of the blue, and told me that they could tell I was a Christian, let alone a strong Christian...I feel pretty humbled by that...anyway, to continue with the story, J. filled me in on a lot of crud that she is having to deal with right now, which I won't get into...I told her I would pray for her and check in with her in 2 weeks (I won't be at the donut shop next week, as I'll be at Ichthus)...so if you are reading this and are the praying sort of person, please pray for J....she could use it...

My Kids Are Cooler Than Yours

I only have a few minutes before I have to head out the door for D-Group...last night at Splash - our junior high program - I told the utes how much I liked them...I really think they are cool, along with our senior highers...seriously...I love being able to work with them and just hanging out with them...after Splash, I was outside with them waiting for their parents to come pick them up and Brianne and Toni were acting completely ridiculous, like they had injected Mello Yello directly into their veins...it was hilarious!...my face hurt from laughing and smiling...and on Sunday, our senior highers did such a great job giving their input about the future of our youth ministry...I have the best job, and the coolest kids...yes, they're cooler than yours...

I Sorta' Know What He Feels Like

I don't know how many times I have heard - or taught on - the story of the Prodigal Son...if you are unfamiliar with it, it is about a man who had two sons...one day, the younger of the sons tells his father, "I wish you were dead! I want my inheritance."...the father concedes and gives him his share of the money...it doesn't take long before the son has bottomed out, spending all of the money on wild, sinful living...he decides that he needs to go home and apologize to his father and ask him if he can live as one of his servants...when he does, the father does something surprising...instead of punishing the son or making him apologize, he runs to him (he was looking for him), throws his arms around him, and throws him a huge party...his son, presumed lost and dead was now found and alive!...the father didn't care about all of the things his son might have done to waste the money and destroy his life...the only thing that mattered right now was celebrating the return of his son...

My dog ran away yesterday...Marcy and I were exhausted from a weekend with family and not much sleep...I was pretty excited about sitting in the recliner for a couple of hours between the SIMY meeting I had that ended at 3pm and the Vision Parties that I needed to be at by 6:30pm...as I was drifting off to sleepyland, I was startled awake by Marcy's voice: "Mike, Attie's gone!"...I had put her on the leash in the yard, and apparently she saw something that caught her eye because her collar was still attached to the leash and broken...we ran around the house calling for her...I then ran to the garage and got on my bike while Marcy got in my car and we began the search...I rode around calling her name trying to figure out where she might have gone...I asked every person I came across if they had seen her...some had, and they helped to narrow down our search area...finally, I saw Marcy walking across a field pointing in the direction that she saw Attie...I rode across the field, and when I got near the train tracks, I dropped my bike and began running...then I saw her!...I would have run to her, but I didn't want to scare her...so I called her name, and she stopped and looked at me...then when she recognized my voice and my face, she came running across the jagged rocks...she reached me and buried her head under my legs...I had no thought about punishing her or yelling at her...I was too overjoyed that we had found her...she had been lost, out on some great adventure, while I - and Marcy - was frantically searching for her, wanting her to come home...when at last we found her, the joy far overwhelmed any anger or disappointment that potentially could have been there...my dog was lost and dead, but now she is found and alive!...

I sorta' know what the dad felt like now...

Teens and Blogs

I was doing some research on teens and blogs the other day and came across an article that cites some interesting stats and info on teens and blogs...the stats come from David Huffaker of Northwestern University, a reasearcher of teens and online communities:

• This "blogosphere," experts say, has an estimated 2 million to 4 million personal journals, with kids ages 13 to 19 maintaining about half of them.

That means 1-2 million teens are communicating through the use of blogs...what a huge ministry outlet this could be, and probably should be...I have had a number of my students ask me questions based on something they have read on this blog...that's very much cool!...not sure how many of the kids in my youth group have blogs, but I am working to find out...it seems, according to what I have read, that teens will be much more open and honest about their lives on a blog than they would be face-to-face...we who work with youth should use this resource to get inside the minds and hearts of our youth...

Best Weekend of Basketball Ever?

For my money, yes it was...three of the four games determining the Final Four in men's college basketball went into OT...two of the games featured unprobable comebacks: Louisville coming back from a 20-point deficit in the first half, and Illinois going on a 17-3 run in the last 3:19 of regulation to go into OT with Arizona...and what about that 3-point shot that Sparks from UK hit to tie the game against Michigan State after having missed the front end of a one-and-one not too much earlier (and he was fouled, too)...but probably the best part of the whole weekend was Marcy saying, "I like basketball!"...I got her hooked...the plan is working...Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! (evil laugh)...

My bracket is still shot, though...having said that, I am rooting for Illinois so it can be said that the team that ruined their hopes for a perfect season was The Ohio State Buckeyes...Go Bucks!...

Maybe

I have been thinking about the word maybe lately...what a great word!...it sounds all kinds of wishy-washy to most people, but I have come to really appreciate its implications...I think I really started to think about it as I was writing my meditation for our Good Friday Service (see I Thirst)...my last paragraph used the word maybe eight times...throughout the rest of the meditation, I used other synonyms: possibly, perhaps, it could be, etc...this is a great word to have in one's vocabulary if one claims to be a Christian...I know, faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen...I know that faith is supposed to be security in that what I believe about God and Jesus is fact...but there is so much about God and the Christian faith that is a great big MAYBE...God is so mysterious that it is difficult - impossible - to really wrap your mind around everything that is God...when you get to the point that you stop saying maybe about God, that means you have Him all figured out and can put Him in a nice small package with a bow on top...then you can distribute your knowledge and expertise to those around you because you do have Him all figured out...that's not the kind of God I want to serve...I want to serve a God that is so big and so amazing that I am forced to say maybe all the time...maybe God is this way, but maybe He is that way...maybe God meant this when He said _________, but maybe He meant that...look at the Salem Witch Trials, for example...I'm sure (or maybe) they were convinced that they were acting totally within the will of God and doing what He would want them to do...nowadays, we would question their wisdom...or the Crusades, same thing...so I guess the next time I say that I know something about God, maybe I need to say maybe...

I Thirst

We are having a Good Friday service at our church...during the service, seven different people will be sharing about the seven last words of Christ...I will be sharing about his words, "I thirst. (John 19:28)" Here is what I plan on sharing (this will be a preview if you go to La Croix):

I thirst.

What was going through Jesus’ mind as he hung on the cross and uttered the words, “I thirst.”? Surely, he must have been thirsty, after all he had been through and now, hanging there in the heat of the day, with the dust from the roads caked on his lips and in his throat. Swallowing must have been a chore by now. Have you tried to swallow when you have been parched? Not the easiest thing to do. Jesus, well beyond parched, now lets it be known that he is thirsty. But was it simply the dehydration that he was experiencing that urged him to say this? Or was something else in his thoughts?

Perhaps he thought about the time when he sat at a wedding feast with his friends. When the wine ran out, Mary asked Jesus to do something about it. Although Jesus was at first hesitant – he did, after all, come for a different purpose than this – he proceeded to have the servants fill six jugs to the brim with water. You probably know how the story turned out – he miraculously turned the water into wine, 150 gallons’ worth! That’s a lot of wine. Maybe he was thinking about how good just one sip from that huge amount of water – or wine – would taste right now.

Or maybe he remembered how one night, he took a stroll across the surface of the Sea of Galilee, and called for his disciple and friend Peter to come out. And he did, walking across the water with him. Or another time when he was awakened by the disciples’ panicked cries to do something about the storm raging around their boat. And he shouted at the pounding rain and the howling wind and the crashing waves to, “Be still!” and they listened to him. If he can make the waves and the rain stop, surely he can make them start again to come and quench his thirst.

Possibly he thought back to the very beginning of his public ministry. Not the day he was born, or even the day that he taught the smart religious guys in the Temple when he was only twelve years old. No, the day he may have considered was the day of his baptism. How fresh the water was that day as his friend and relative John the Baptist lived up to his name and baptized Jesus. That kicked off a life and a ministry that would change the course of the world. But maybe he wasn’t thinking about all that. Maybe he just remembered the coolness of the water as it washed over and around him.

Or it could be that he thought back even further than that. Maybe he remembered how he created everything, how he hovered over the water on the earth, how he then separated the water above from the water below with a little thing we call atmosphere, and then formed bodies of dry land to separate the waters on the earth. John tells us that through Jesus, all things were made. He created everything. He created water. Surely he could create just a little sip to sooth his cracked lips.

And there was that woman. That Samaritan woman that he ran into in the middle of a day much like this one. He told her that he was thirsty then, too. Let’s face it; he and his band of disciples had been traveling quite a while. We don’t know if she ever gave him something to drink. But we do know that he told her that he could give her water that would ensure that she would never get thirsty again. He called it living water. She tasted of it that day and found that the Lord was good! But couldn’t Jesus now access that same thirst-quenching water so he wouldn’t have to be thirsty anymore?

Or maybe it wasn’t any of those. Maybe he was in too much torment to think about anything apart from his current circumstances. Maybe he realized that he needed to experience completely the agony of the parched lips and dehydrated body to go along with the other pain he felt so he knew in all its fullness the thirst we feel. Maybe it wasn’t his main intent at all to get something to drink when he said that he was thirsty. Maybe he said it for us. Maybe it was just one more way for Jesus to point back to all the things that were predicted about the coming Messiah – the Savior, the Anointed One, The Christ – and show how they pointed to him. Maybe he was reminding those at the foot of the cross how the writer of the Psalms prophesied that the Messiah would be given vinegar to slake his thirst, which is what they eventually gave to Jesus. Maybe this was yet another step that Jesus took to prove that he was, in fact, the Messiah. Israel’s Messiah. Our Messiah.

I thirst.

30 Hour Famine Update

Jonesy, this post is for you...as stated last week, we held our 30 Hour Famine this past weekend...all in all, I would have to say it was a success...some could look at it as not quite a success - we had several no-shows, we didn't reach our financial goal, etc. - but I think it was a success...the centerpiece of the weekend was a game that the 30HF people developed called Tribe...very cool!...it is a Survivor-esque game in which everyone is divided up into tribes which then compete in certain activities for Survival cards...and the games are not just random, have fun-type games...they were fun, but they also had a point to each one...just before each game, facts about the area we were focusing on - Kenya - were read (such as walking 14 miles to go to school)...this made the activities meaningful, instead of just crazy, mash food in your hair kind of stuff...it seemed like the kids enjoyed themselves, and that they learned something during the weekend...a couple of random notes:

• One kid stood out to me the entire weekend...I will keep his name anonymous (we'll call him A)...what stood out to me was how outwardly-focused he was...there was another kid (we'll call him B) who doesn't exactly fit in to the cool kid crowd...so he was often by himself...but not for very long at any time, because it seemed like whenever he was by himself, A would come along and hang with him...at the very last activity, the break-fast meal, B was eating all by himself...but before I had a chance to go sit by him, A sat right down with him and ate with him...A showed to me that he really knew what the weekend was about, and that it wasn't about him...
• Last year, I didn't hear one person complain or get ugly...this year, much of the same...it did get a little ugly at times, but that was mostly in the heat of competition...I think the lack of food, coupled with the desire to win, got to be a nasty combination at times...not real nasty, but we saw a little less kindness than we did when we were just sitting around...
• A good chunk of our Famine was spent at a neighboring church...why, you ask?...they have a gym...I know it's not in the near future for our church, but it sure would be nice to have a large area like that for our youth...just hanging out and playing dodgeball was a blast...we have a great youth area, but size-wise, it is limiting...
• One thing I like about the Famine is that it is one overnight activity that we make the youth sleep during...since we aren't getting energy from our usual source - food - we have to get it some other way...so we require that they sleep...and I'll tell you what, they didn't argue...they were ready to sleep...it was nice to not have to fight with them to go to sleep...
  
• As far as I know, we only had one person afflicted with projectile vomiting...usually, someone stuffs themselves silly at the break-fast meal and pays the price by bringing it all back up...but as far as I know, that only happened to one person this year...of course, that person was me...only three bites of salad and two bites of pasta were enough to send me over the edge...I hope I never have to drink juice again...
• I read a statistic cited from Christianity Today a week or two ago that startled me...it said that it all American Christians started tithing, giving in America would go up $143 billion...and how much would it cost to provide essential service like basic health care and education all of the world's poor people?...$70-80 billion!...we, who have it so good, are not doing our job...

Here endeth my ruminations on the 30 Hour Famine 2005...

30 Hour Famine

If you pop across this blog, please say a prayer for me, our SIMY (those are our adult leaders in the youth ministry), and about 40+ kids...we are doing the 30 Hour Famine this weekend, starting at 6pm tonight...pray for strength and energy...more importantly, pray that this will make a difference in our lives and greatly expand our worldviews...

Uneasiness

I guess that's generally how I feel right now...and it's not just because Marcy just left for a few days to Willow Creek for their Children's Ministry Conference...I feel uneasiness over this whole idea of being in ministry...I don't really know how to explain it except to note a few thoughts that I have had recently:

• This past Sunday, I did a lesson on four of the "I am" statements of Jesus, particularly the bread of life, the light of the world, the door, and the vine...I had a tangible object for each one to demonstrate the meaning of the analogy, such as the loaf of bread we baked and that I ate while I taught (they weren't happy about that one)...overall, I thought it was good lesson and it made the stories more concrete in their minds...what made me uneasy was the thought that I was still performing...I have always had a performance mentality about life, that I need to always be performing for people...I have bad dreams about this, such as being on stage and not knowing how to play the piano I am supposed to play...what happens if I stop performing and just be, what would the ministry look like?...I know the need for authenticity is there, and I think I'm being authentic, but what if I don't craft a good lesson?...will I lose kids?...can I afford to take the risk?...even when I read Scripture in church, people often tell me, "You did a great job reading Scripture. You really make it come to life."...that bothers me...sure, it makes me feel good, but isn't the Word of God living and active all by itself...then it's not me doing the bringing to life part...but I still feel like I need to perform well to live up to some sort of expectations that I place on myself or that are imposed upon me...
• I heard a comment that made me go, "Hmmmm... (props to Arsenio Hall)"...we are having a capital campaign to build a dedicated children's ministry area, which I am totally on board for...but the comment that caused me pause was, "La Croix is church at its best," or something to that effect...wow, that is a huge statement to make!...we do church well, if you can do church well...we are growing, people are coming to know the Lord and growing in their faith...but is that all there is to church at its best?...I wonder if we are doing enough to support the orphans, widows, and aliens in our midst...I wonder if we could be more of a praying church (I know that is one of Ron's desires for our church, which I applaud him for)...are we focusing too much on evangelization, and not enough on promoting the Kingdom of God, whatever that really means?...I think La Croix is a great church, doing lots of great ministry, and I am very grateful that God has opened doors to allow me to work here...we do many things well, but are we "church at its best"?...that's a lofty claim to make...
• I have had at least five of my students tell me that they are thinking about full-time ministry as a career option...that should make me go, "WOO-HOO!" not cause uneasiness, right?...but I wonder how many of those will actually go on to such a future...I hear the statistics about the percentage of college-aged students that go to church regularly (according to Ron, it is 2% on any given Sunday)...and the other day I asked Marcy, "I wonder how many of our students will still be going to church when they are in college."...we have solid kids in our program...I look up to many of them, and I truly believe that they will buck the trend...I believe that a strong percentage of them will still be in church after they graduate...and I believe that some of them will go into full-time ministry...but you never know...and that's what makes me uneasy...
• This doesn't cause me uneasiness, but it makes me wonder: Why do people that smoke roll down their car windows when they smoke? Is it because they don't like the smell? Then why smoke? Just a thought...

Please hear this...I am not doubting my job, my calling, my church, or my kids...this is just a wandering and wondering moment in my life...

Cleveland Deserves Better

So my dad calls me today and tells me about an article he read in ESPN The Magazine...in it, he says, they rank all of the major pro sports franchises - hockey is not a major sports - in terms of such things as performance, coaching, ownership, ticket affordability, fan appreciation, and player likeableness...he asked me to guess where the Cleveland Browns ranked...I knew they would finish quite low, so I shot at 75...he then told me that I was 15 off...the Browns rated as the worst franchise in all of football, baseball, and basketball!...how horribly embarrassing...they have such great history and such great fans...doesn't Cleveland deserve better?...I like Crennel as the head coach...here's hoping he can turn things around so we can finish closer to the top...or at least not dead last...

The Bible and R-Rated Movies

What is one of the struggles parents and youth pastors have with teenagers?...wishing that they would read the Bible more...we recognize the importance of being literate in the Word of God...we stress that they set aside time in each day to spend time reading the Bible, and yet we hear the words, "It's boring," or, "I don't have time," far too often...so we continue to emphasize it...

On the flip side, another message that we hammer into their heads is being careful what they are watching or listening to...whether we are talking about R-rated movies, rap music, or questionable TV shows, we are concerned that what they are consuming will have a negative impact on their thought lives, attitudes and behaviors...so we try to steer them clear of these influences...

These two thoughts forced me to pose a question to Marcy this morning: Why do we tell our students to read the Bible more, and at the same time tell them to not watch R-rated movies?...this came on the heels of me reading Judges 19...in this passage, a woman is raped and abused repeatedly, to the point of death...her master, upon discovering her body, cuts her body into twelve pieces, and sends the pieces to the tribes of Israel as a message that the guilty would be punished...can you imagine a movie being made out of this story?...it would probably have a difficult time getting an R-rating, as would many stories in the Bible...The Passion of the Christ managed an R-rating, but from what I understand, it still did not depict the severity of what Jesus experienced...so how do we tell the students to watch what they are consuming, but also stress reading the Bible?...if they are really consuming the Bible, they are putting some pretty horrible stuff into their heads...Marcy's answer was that movies were more visual and stick with you longer than the written word...my comeback was that The Blair Witch Project was one of the scariest films I have ever seen, and yet they didn't show anything scary...it was all in my mind...so do images really stick with you longer?...

This, then, brought another question to mind: If the Bible were being written today, would it still be written as a book, or would it be something else?...would it be a screenplay for a movie; a weekly sitcom; a computer program; or something else?...what form would the Bible take if written today?...Marcy contends that it would still be a book because they are more timeless than the other media...I think what makes books timeless is the fact that they have been around a long time...let's face it, movies, TV shows, radio, computers, all of these have been around a very short time...and besides, the Bible wasn't written as a book...it was written as scrolls, songbooks(scrolls), told as stories, written as letters, etc....so what would today's Bible looks like?...

Finding Neverland

I went and saw this movie last night with Marcy for Valentines Day...I can never remember if "Valentines" should have an apostrophe or not, but I digress...the movie stars Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet...I have always liked Johnny Depp, and Kate Winslet is quickly becoming one of my favorite actresses, especially after her performance in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind...again, I digress...this movie, Finding Neverland, is an absolute joy...it is the story of J. M. Barrie, the author of Peter Pan...the movie is a beautiful look at the power of imagination...we are able to look into the mind of this creative genius as he writes and shows to others their innate imaginative abilities...I won't get into details about the movie; I'll let you see it for yourself...and do this - see it!...you will not regret it...you might cry - Marcy and I both did - but you will still be happy you saw this movie...

The Grammys

A couple of notes from last night's Grammy awards show...let it be known that I watched very little of the show, actually...but on what I saw I feel the need to make some comments:

• Kanye West...I have heard a little bit about this guy and his song Jesus Walks...I was glad that I got a chance to hear him finally...that was a great performance!...I loved the beginning, with Mavis Staples and the Blind Boys of Alabama...then West did a great job with the close...I read this morning that he was the leading nominee of the evening, but only walked home with three Grammys...can't say whether I agree or disagree with him losing so often, but I know I liked that performance...
• On the flip side, I hated the performance for the tsunami relief effort...wow, was that horrible!...the only one that actually sounded decent on the Beatles song was Bono...Norah Jones looked like she had no interest in being there at all (nice stage presence)...and what was up with Steven Tyler shaking the maracas?...like Marcy said, "It's no We Are The World."...OK, Steveie Wonder on the harmonica was great, but the camerawork was awful, as they didn't show him until halfway through it...it's a shame that this is the performance that they are trying to raise money with...maybe if it was a better one, they might make some more money...
• Steven Curtis Chapman won for his pop gospel category, or whatever it was...now don't get me wrong, I like SCC...but hasn't he been putting out the same album for the past several years?...to be truthful, I haven't heard his latest disc, but to beat out Jars of Clay, it had to have been really good...or maybe, the Grammy voters don't really listen to the gospel categories, and instead go off of name recognition...hmmm...
• On a related note, how did Third Day beat out tobyMac?...I'm just asking...
• I was glad to see that Ray Charles raked in eight statues...well deserving...I am looking forward to seeing the movie about him
• Is it just me, or is Usher just a poor man's Michael Jackson, without the weird tendencies?...

I welcome your comments and rebuttals...

Cell Phone Dilemma

My cell phone plan at Cingular just ended in January...that means it is time to re-up, sign up for a new plan and get a fancy new phone...there are so many options out there...do I want another Nokia (my last two phones), or a Motorola, or maybe a Sony Ericcson, or how about an LC or Samsung?...which one is best?...I have no idea...then, do I want a regular candy bar style phone, or do I want to go for a flip phone this time?...judging by the number of times Marcy has accidentally added a random number to the address book or sent someone a text message while the phone was in her purse with the numbers unlocked, conventional wisdom would tell me to get the flip phone...but I've heard they're not as good...then the question of what features I want comes into play...I really like the idea of the speakerphone so I can be safer while driving...I also like the camera phones, but will that get old quick?...what about web surfing or Bluetooth?...as you can see, there are so many questions to be answered...I would love whatever feedback any of you might have for me...I'm really hoping to hear from Jonesy, because judging from his blog, he is a tech guru...anyway, if you have any thoughts, just click on the Comments thing below and add your comments...thanks in advance...

EPIC Stuff

Leonard Sweet came to our church this week for a seminar that was put on by the district...it was called Summoned to Lead and the focus was evangelism in the culture in which we find ourselves...there was so much good stuff, that I may have to make a couple of posts to summarize it all...and then again, I may not...we'll just have to wait and see...one thing that I wanted to make sure I got out there for others to appreciate was the idea that the way we need to reach people is EPIC...one of my good friends, Trey Carey, once told me that the most important thing to know about doing youth ministry is the effective use of acronyms...EPIC, of course, is an acronym that Sweet used to discuss our evangelism...and to spell it out, he exegeted a Starbucks coffee cup (brilliant!)...our evangelism needs to be:

• Experiential
• Going to Starbucks is not about the coffee; it's about the experience
• Starbucks wants to handle the experience, so they give you a cup holder to protect your hands...they don't apologize for the experience - the temperature of the coffee - as some other establishments might
• Every experience needs to be as positive as possible
• His point: Church and a relationship with God should not be about putting on a good show, giving people a good product...it should be about finding ways to allow the individual to experience God in His fullest sense
  
• Participatory
• You can't just order a cup of coffee at Starbucks; you participate in the ordering process (I'll have a double-shot of espresso in my skinny venti latte - totally made that up)
  
• You should have to learn the language that goes into the experience (venti, latte, black eye, etc.)
• Culture is increasingly interactive and participatory
• His point: Church has gotten really good at providing a show for people, but does not give the individual the opportunity to participate...we have gotten away from making the individual learn the language (Doxology, sanctification, etc.)...this culture needs to participate...one way Sweet allows the people to participate is to almost have an open-ended discussion with them as he preaches, while a "dancing partner" is on Google putting images on the screen that relate to whatever they are talking about at the present time - ultra-cool!
  
• Image rich
• Consistent image in all Starbucks...if you go to one in Ohio or one overseas, you will recognize it as a Starbucks
• Starbucks communicates more in their images and less than in words
• His point: He led a discussion of Paul, focusing on his back...he had us describe Paul: was he short? what color hair did he have? intense or carefree? etc....then he looked at the way Paul describes himself in 2 Corinthians 11 (five times he received 40 lashes minus one, three times beaten with rods, once he was stoned, etc.)...then he had us imagine what his back must have looked like after all of that abuse...it put our image of Paul in a much different light
  
• Connection
• There has been a migration in our society from rural (with huge wraparound porches) to urban (small front porch) to suburban (no front porch and gaping garage to swallow you up)...Starbucks created a front porch for us to visit and connect in
• Society has given us relationship ministers (Dr. Phil, Dr. Laura, Oprah)...shows that we are hungry for relationships
• The first commandment in the Bible is to eat freely from any tree in the Garden; the last is to drink freely; everything in between is the table at which we sit and dine with Jesus
• His point: The church needs to be a place where people can connect with one another...also, it is not enough to make the church that kind of place...the Great Commission says to go, so we need to be creating that kind of community wherever we find ourselves

This is a very cursory summary of what Sweet had to say in the first part of the seminar...and not nearly as profound as what he actually presented...needless to say, he gave me plenty to chew on as far as what the youth ministry at La Croix looks like...so much to think about, so little time...

Lessons Learned From The Bunny Slope

This past weekend I went with my wife and her family to Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia for my first ever skiing experience...I have never been a big winter sports kind of guy...my idea of winter sports is watching college basketball while I lay in the recliner under a blanket...I tried ice skating once and almost died when I fell head-first onto the ice...so I was feeling not just a little trepidation for what would happen...to make a long story short, I didn't break anything, contrary to what I thought would happen...granted, I didn't make it off the bunny slope, but people were still getting injured on it, so for me to not get a broken something was still an accomplishment...and while I was there, I recognized quite a few life lessons that can be gleaned from my skiing weekend...it's sort of like Everything I Needed To Know In Life I learned While Skiing (or if not everything, at least a few things)...in no particular order:

• Anything worth having is going to take some work and pain
• Our day started on Friday by getting suited up and starting off with a three-hour lesson...so here we are, in the fog and snow, learning how to do advanced things like taking steps and moving...our instructor, a former Baptist evangelist, was showing us how to walk sideways up a hill...that wasn't so hard, but I can honestly say that my feet have never hurt as bad as they were at that time...I don't know if there was just no support in the boots or if I was just using my feet in a way I had never done before, but I was literally leaning on my wife trying to take some of the pressure off (she apparently was in no pain at all)...I was tempted to quit, but I figured that giving it only a half-hour was not exactly the 'old college try'...
• Then later, as we skiied, going straight was great...but then, at some point, I would have to stop or turn...that was not as great...it wasn't as easy as turning or stopping when walking...I actually had to think about it to do these things..."O.K., now which foot do I put pressure on? What do I do with the other foot? Is it called a wedge or a pizza? Why does this snow taste so gross?"...and invariably, I would wipe out...fortunately, none of my spills were bad; I was, after all, on the bunny slope...but as I watched as lots of other people, young and old, glide down the hill, I thought, "I wonder how many times they fell down?"...I'm sure it took lots and lots of spills and wipeouts to get as good as they are...so I guess if you want to get good at something and get to the point where it is actually enjoyable, you have to put the time and effort in and be willing to deal with some pain along the way...
• Pride doesn't get you anywhere
  
• As mentioned already, I didn't make it off the bunny slope...Marcy's niece, who is eight years old, made it up to the next level, the green slopes...I think, in my past, I would have taken this as a challenge to my manhood..."There's no way I'm going to let an eight year old girl be better than me! I'm going to the black diamond!"...and then they would be picking up my remains off of the mountain...you know what, in certain things, I'm pretty much OK with being a wuss...I may get made fun of, but at least I can walk today...
• Focus on the goal, or the day to day will wear you out
• On the second day of our trip, we went to a tubing run...they had four runs on the side of this huge hill with a mound of snow and ice between each one so you were sure to stay in your lane...we each had an inner tube on which we sat or laid down while sliding down this hill...each of the lanes were basically solid ice, so we were flying down this hill...it was very much fun, even when a group of us hit the wall at the end and I fell on my back on the ice (ouch!)...off to the side was a cable system that would pull us to the top of the hill...we would give the handle of our tube to the worker and he would hook it to this cable and it would pull us to the top of the hill for another run...all except for the first time, I laid on my belly while being pulled to the top...my neck was kinda' hurting from skiing (wrecking) and it hurt to look up, so I was staring down at the ice as it whizzed past while I made my way up the mountain...not a great view, and not very relaxing...but then I forced myself to look up at the top of the hill...it felt very serene to do this as I glided up the hill...I could see the line of people as they laughed and talked while waiting for their next turn to go down...I am reading Visioneering by Andy Stanley, started it on this trip...in it he writes, "God is using your circumstances to prepare you to accomplish his vision for your life. Your present circumstances are part of the vision. You are not wasting your time. You are not spinning your wheels. You are not wandering in the wilderness. If you are 'seeking first' his kingdom where you are, then where you are is where he has positioned you. And he has positioned you with a purpose in mind. (p. 45)"...it's easy to look at the day to day and feel like I am spinning my wheels, like I am just trying to stay afloat, like the ice of life is just whizzing by...but in my life and in my ministry I must look ahead to the long-range goals and plans...the reason I am once again looking for a stupid game to play or video to show to the youth is because I want them to enjoy coming to church so they can begin and maintain a relationship with Christ...the reason I am doing the dishes again or doing another home project is so that I can serve my wife and be an example of what Christ is with the church (I don't always do this example so well)...focus on the finish line, not on the step in front of you...

That's enough for now...I'm sure there is more, but I'm feeling hungry and would like to go to lunch...until later...

Mark DeVries

He came to our church this past weekend for an Understanding Your Teenager seminar...I lined this up to be a ministry to our students by being a ministry to their parents...man, it was a great seminar!...we had close to 70 parents show up...if you are one of my youth ministry friends, or are in another area of ministry, I would highly recommend that you bring this group to do a seminar for your parents...the speaker takes the parents through twelve truths about teenagers and what to do about them...I'm not giving them to you...if i did, you wouldn't need them to come to your church...anyway, I think that the seminar was not only informative, but also very encouraging...Mark said two general things in particular that would be especially encouraging if I had teenagers of my own:

1. If your kids are acting like aliens and you think you are screwing up, you are not alone and you are actually doing your job well.
2. We Win (since the kids end up acting like their parents, much to their dismay, in a sense the parents win in the long run)...funny stuff.

On a side but related note, Mark also provided some very helpful info regarding youth ministry...he has been a youth a family minister in Nashville for several years...the two things that stood out in that conversation were:

1. Leave time each week for "balcony time" (taken from a business book)...what this means is setting aside a couple of hours each week to look at the ministry from above - from the balcony - and to look ahead...where do you want to take the ministry and how do we get there?...it is very easy to get caught up in the day to day and get wrapped up in the urgent...but if you don't take the time to get the birds-eye view, you/I will just be running on the treadmill but not really getting anywhere...maybe I'll start this next week.
2. Tips on recruiting...he suggested that I compile a list of 100 potential youth leaders (which means spending more time in the lobby before and after services and getting to know people)...categorize the list into the Michael Jordans (they would be so money if they were a youth leader, the 'they would be good leaders', and the 'probably would need some work but they would be OK'...this should be done in the early spring (now) to get ready for the fall...from there, start making phone calls, start spreading the vision, and start praying (I added that)...I have my work cut out for me...

On a final side note, Mark was a great guy, very warm and very funny...I was glad to meet him...kinda' strange that he wanted to be in bed by 8pm, but who am I to judge?...heck, he's training for a marathon and I just finished a cinnamon roll...

The Pressure is On

A while back, JD Walt asked me to check out the blog page for Asbury Seminary, which I did...I shot him back an e-mail asking when my blog was going to be featured on the site...mostly I was kidding because I read some of the stuff that was posted there and I knew that mine certainly did not belong...I mean, they talk about theology and important stuff...mostly I talk about sports and movies and junk...well, I glanced at their new updated site and discovered that my blog has been listed...the pressure is now officially on...I need to come up with some deep thoughts about preaching in a postmodern culture or some pithy commentary on the writings of Augustine or a thesis on expressing hospitality in a generation of relativity...or maybe I'll just keep being me and keep writing about Napoleon Dynamite and about how excited I am that the Browns will name a new coach next week...yeah, I like that option...