Ever since we had Liam in August, I have had a harder time working out. It actually started over the summer when I had a string of camps and trips and church events all packed together to ensure that I wouldn't have anything major going on when Liam came. All those busy weeks were got me off schedule as far as working out, then when Liam didn't get here at his due date, my empty schedule didn't translate to a return to exercise. Of course when Liam finally arrived we had a steady stream of family and other visitors and an unsteady stream of sleep.
On Thanksgiving it had been a year since I spent 90 days losing weight to raise money to buy animals to distribute in other countries and I had lost 35 pounds. When I weighed myself before leaving on a week + vacation to visit family over Christmas, I found I had gained back almost 20 pounds of that. To be fair, I weighed myself at night when I always weigh a few pounds more and it was after having friends over and eating pizza, but even 15 would have been a big disappointment.
I know that I won't do great with food over Christmas break, but I figured that if I can exercise, I can minimize the damage and get back on track before I have to fall into the cliche of making a New Year's resolution to lose weight. I usually ride a bike (inside or outside) and have been pretty good about that off an on since the end of my weight loss challenge last year, but I don't have access to that while here on vacation.
What I DO have access to is time.
While I am visiting Sandy's family, there is almost always someone to watch the boys and I relish the chance to get out of the house for at least a few minutes every day. Braving the cold is no problem.
I am now on my fourth day, and I have been fortunate to be able to fit in a jog on each of these days. I started out trying one of Blair's trails. It was silly. The trail was little more than a wide sidewalk and ran alongside a highly traveled road for most of the trip. I have no idea how far I ran that day, but I imagine it was about 1 1/2 miles. It was a pretty easy jog - not timed, no hills, no soreness.
The second jog almost made me rethink my plan. I again tried one of the beautiful trails in Blair. This time it bordered roads the entire time and it wasn't even marked the way the other trail was. I didn't bother using trails after that one. The second jog has been the most painful, slow, and difficult so far. I was sore from the previous run, I couldn't get loosened up, and my breathing parts weren't working all that well. The end of that run couldn't come soon enough - and it was hardly 1 1/2 miles total.
That second day was pretty discouraging. I knew that if running was going to be like that, it wasn't my thing. I was going to take my vacation weight gain with a grain of salt (probably a lot more salt than a grain technically) and try to get back into biking when I got home. Fortunately, I didn't quit. My experiences with running as a high school athlete prepared me for the fact that it wouldn't always be easy, but it would also always get better.
Jog three was just around the neighborhood. It was a bit over 1 3/4 miles and it was hard. I managed to place a long, steep hill at the end of the first mile of this course. That almost killed me. I felt like it was going to be a replay of my killer day two. After I made it up the hill I nearly took a corner and returned to the house, but I looked up and saw an easier path ahead of me so I continued. I am glad I did. After a loop through a cemetery, I started my trip back and found that I had pushed through the hard part of the run and actually ended faster and stronger than any part of the run. That was the bit of encouragement I needed.
Today, I had to work hard to fit in a run, but I was actually excited about getting to it today. I couldn't get an exact measure on the run but it was a bit over two miles and I ran it faster than any of the other courses even though they were shorter. I felt less pain, my breathing was easier, and it just felt better. It is almost getting fun again.
So this is more of one of those boring blogs that just detail what I have done so far, but I want to drop some knowledge on ya'll before I quit.
When it comes to about anything, it doesn't start out easy. Then, it doesn't get easy right away. After that, you face the hardest part and when you get through that... it still isn't easier. Running doesn't get easy. You can always run harder or further. It does get easier. It gets more enjoyable. It gets to feel better. You get stronger and more accustomed to it. Most everything works that way.
If you quit when it gets hard, you miss the best part.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010
The two phrases most responsible for global warming.
Almost everything is a contributing factor to the melting ice caps or greenhouse gasses or whatever it is they say causes global warming. As a lifetime resident of non-tropical areas, I would really like to see the fruits of our labors in that direction. As it is, it is very cold outside right now. It is also cold inside if you are in my basement, bathroom, or upstairs spare bedroom.
Everyone has ideas about how to reduce this phenomenon - everyone is excited to point fingers and place blame. I feel like I am really missing out here so I want to get in on this action.
Experience and advice have led me to believe that we can blame almost everything from high gas prices to not having warm water when you shower in the morning on the use and abuse of variants of the following two phrases:
It's not my fault.
and
That's not fair.
Yes it is and yes it is.
If you have to make the statement that it isn't your fault, then it is absolutely assured that you hold claim to at least roughly 40% of the blame. Claiming that you didn't start it, you had no choice, or that you were following the directions don't get you off the hook. Having an excuse does not excuse you.
I was once told that there are two basic types of people - those who accept responsibility and seek progress and those who shift the blame to others and seek to avoid consequences.
In the case of a minor crime, one person pleads guilty, accepts a sentence and likely ends up coming away with a lesser punishment and a strong experience. Another person blames everyone around them - their accomplices, their friends, their parents, the police, the system, the victims - and comes away feeling like they were treated unfairly and further entrenched in the lifestyle that led to the crime in the first place.
As illustrated accidentally in the preceding scenario, the two phrases are closely connected and are often used in rapid succession. Sometimes they are even used interchangeably - intended to mean basically the same thing. Go to a school teaching students of any age and watch as a student is disciplined and you'll hear it. I promise.
Claiming something isn't fair is about the most ignorant thing a modern American can claim unless they were directly and grievously used and/or abused. Our state relative to the average earthling is so elevated that most of the injustices we can suffer wouldn't even make the radar of a person with a true sense of justice and the slightest bit of international awareness.
It isn't fair that some people work hard and are overtaxed while a minority don't work and get free health care? Millions of people die because they don't have access to even the most basic health care - and they work MUCH harder than we do on average. That actually isn't fair. The other thing is on the level with children fighting over toys.
So how can I place the blame for global warming on the claims that it isn't my fault and it isn't fair?
If the theories presented on global warming are correct, then anyone who uses a car or electricity has a share in the blame. Obviously, since there are billions of us, it is a small share - but if you compare yourself head-to-head with other individuals worldwide instead of seeing your "carbon footprint" as 1 ten billionth of the problem, you can see that it is at least as much your fault as anyone else's. Even the "greenest" person in a developed country does not compare well to the average.
It isn't fair? It isn't fair that you are expected to change your ways to help out? It isn't fair that the new light bulbs look stupid and cost more? It isn't fair that you can't afford a more fuel-efficient car? It isn't fair because you have to drive further for reasons X,Y, and Z? It isn't fair because you are more busy, have more kids, have an older house, have less money? It isn't fair that for this to work, you have to make changes while other will simply refuse? Think about the penguins. Or the Innuit. Or Santa.
It is not difficult at all to show how these phrases are used on a personal, corporate, societal, and governmental basis. Somewhere, the people who are the main contributing factors to any problem are either claiming that it isn't actually their fault or that even if it is there fault, their situation is so unfair that they cannot take the blame.
How do we change this?
Isn't that obvious?
Everyone has ideas about how to reduce this phenomenon - everyone is excited to point fingers and place blame. I feel like I am really missing out here so I want to get in on this action.
Experience and advice have led me to believe that we can blame almost everything from high gas prices to not having warm water when you shower in the morning on the use and abuse of variants of the following two phrases:
It's not my fault.
and
That's not fair.
Yes it is and yes it is.
If you have to make the statement that it isn't your fault, then it is absolutely assured that you hold claim to at least roughly 40% of the blame. Claiming that you didn't start it, you had no choice, or that you were following the directions don't get you off the hook. Having an excuse does not excuse you.
I was once told that there are two basic types of people - those who accept responsibility and seek progress and those who shift the blame to others and seek to avoid consequences.
In the case of a minor crime, one person pleads guilty, accepts a sentence and likely ends up coming away with a lesser punishment and a strong experience. Another person blames everyone around them - their accomplices, their friends, their parents, the police, the system, the victims - and comes away feeling like they were treated unfairly and further entrenched in the lifestyle that led to the crime in the first place.
As illustrated accidentally in the preceding scenario, the two phrases are closely connected and are often used in rapid succession. Sometimes they are even used interchangeably - intended to mean basically the same thing. Go to a school teaching students of any age and watch as a student is disciplined and you'll hear it. I promise.
Claiming something isn't fair is about the most ignorant thing a modern American can claim unless they were directly and grievously used and/or abused. Our state relative to the average earthling is so elevated that most of the injustices we can suffer wouldn't even make the radar of a person with a true sense of justice and the slightest bit of international awareness.
It isn't fair that some people work hard and are overtaxed while a minority don't work and get free health care? Millions of people die because they don't have access to even the most basic health care - and they work MUCH harder than we do on average. That actually isn't fair. The other thing is on the level with children fighting over toys.
So how can I place the blame for global warming on the claims that it isn't my fault and it isn't fair?
If the theories presented on global warming are correct, then anyone who uses a car or electricity has a share in the blame. Obviously, since there are billions of us, it is a small share - but if you compare yourself head-to-head with other individuals worldwide instead of seeing your "carbon footprint" as 1 ten billionth of the problem, you can see that it is at least as much your fault as anyone else's. Even the "greenest" person in a developed country does not compare well to the average.
It isn't fair? It isn't fair that you are expected to change your ways to help out? It isn't fair that the new light bulbs look stupid and cost more? It isn't fair that you can't afford a more fuel-efficient car? It isn't fair because you have to drive further for reasons X,Y, and Z? It isn't fair because you are more busy, have more kids, have an older house, have less money? It isn't fair that for this to work, you have to make changes while other will simply refuse? Think about the penguins. Or the Innuit. Or Santa.
It is not difficult at all to show how these phrases are used on a personal, corporate, societal, and governmental basis. Somewhere, the people who are the main contributing factors to any problem are either claiming that it isn't actually their fault or that even if it is there fault, their situation is so unfair that they cannot take the blame.
How do we change this?
Isn't that obvious?
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
A Parent's Guide to Ministry
This year of youth ministry has been unlike any other I have had to date. For the first time, I feel like I really am starting to get together a group of student ministry sponsors who are contributing to the spiritual development of the students of all ages. More than ever, many have taken the initiative to develop their specific role in the ministry and foster relationships with students.
As great as these sponsors have been, their contributions have actually done a lot to show me that they are not the most valuable asset in youth ministry as I had previously considered to be true - that title belongs to the involved parent.
As an individual, I cannot build close relationships with every single student of all ages. I don't relate perfectly with all ages at all times. I don't have shared interests with every student. My personality is not a great match for many students. I enjoy my time around all of them, but they are often naturally drawn to one of the other adult leaders in the ministry. That is natural. That is great. That is the only way a student ministry can effectively reach more than a handful of youth: quality sponsors.
But...
Parents spend more time with the students than anyone else over the course of their youth.
Parents are the ultimate source of earthly authority in the lives of these students.
Parents are the students' primary source of moral, spiritual, and religious education and example.
Parents teach their children how to prioritize, how to make life decisions, and how to act on their commitments.
So the good new is that you parents have a fantastic opportunity to teach you children biblically, nurture them spiritually, and guide them honestly. You have the chance to show them how to walk in the path left by Christ and to apply the lessons of character and charity, forgiveness and faithfulness, caring and commitment.
The other side of the issue? It is not merely an opportunity - for the follower of Christ it is a responsibility, a commandment, a charge. The life of a Christian starts with church and youth group and Bible studies, and personal quite times, and family devotions, and continues on into every aspect of your day-to-day life.
It is a serious task, take it seriously! Start with the basics and teach your children to prioritize their faith life above everything else, then also to integrate their faith life into everything else.
A good student ministry, great sponsors, and an adequate youth minister are not all that is required for you child to grow into a committed follower of Christ, they are merely the well-worn implements of the involved parent.
As great as these sponsors have been, their contributions have actually done a lot to show me that they are not the most valuable asset in youth ministry as I had previously considered to be true - that title belongs to the involved parent.
As an individual, I cannot build close relationships with every single student of all ages. I don't relate perfectly with all ages at all times. I don't have shared interests with every student. My personality is not a great match for many students. I enjoy my time around all of them, but they are often naturally drawn to one of the other adult leaders in the ministry. That is natural. That is great. That is the only way a student ministry can effectively reach more than a handful of youth: quality sponsors.
But...
Parents spend more time with the students than anyone else over the course of their youth.
Parents are the ultimate source of earthly authority in the lives of these students.
Parents are the students' primary source of moral, spiritual, and religious education and example.
Parents teach their children how to prioritize, how to make life decisions, and how to act on their commitments.
So the good new is that you parents have a fantastic opportunity to teach you children biblically, nurture them spiritually, and guide them honestly. You have the chance to show them how to walk in the path left by Christ and to apply the lessons of character and charity, forgiveness and faithfulness, caring and commitment.
The other side of the issue? It is not merely an opportunity - for the follower of Christ it is a responsibility, a commandment, a charge. The life of a Christian starts with church and youth group and Bible studies, and personal quite times, and family devotions, and continues on into every aspect of your day-to-day life.
It is a serious task, take it seriously! Start with the basics and teach your children to prioritize their faith life above everything else, then also to integrate their faith life into everything else.
A good student ministry, great sponsors, and an adequate youth minister are not all that is required for you child to grow into a committed follower of Christ, they are merely the well-worn implements of the involved parent.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Pibel Bible Revisisted
If you know me very well at all, you have probably heard about Pibel Bible Camp. If you know me really well, you have probably been there with me. Pibel was an important part of my youth and an even more integral part of my spiritual formation. It was there that I made close Christian friends, it was there that I experienced time with fantastic mentors in ministry, it was there that people I respected encouraged me to consider ministry, it was there that I fully committed to a life of discipleship, it was there that I made the decision to enter ministry, and it was there that I first learned about and experienced being a minister.
I don't really need a reason to talk about Pibel. I have countless stories shared with a wide group of friends and acquaintances that I could probably base an entire series of blogs on. Today, I do have a reason though... I had dream about Pibel in the early morning hours today. This is a recurring dream I have and it often comes as a daydream, maybe a bit of wishful thinking.
In this dream, I somehow come into a large amount of money. For a lot of people, that would be the dream. I am convinced that if I won or earned a fortune, this dream accurately portrays how I would spend it.
-First of all, I buy Pibel Bible Camp with the stipulation that it continues to be a youth camp for the area Christian Churches. Easy. Why would I change that?
-Next, I buy up land around it. I buy the lake and surrounding campgrounds, I buy the smallish stand of trees to the north, and I buy at least part of the farmland to the east.
Then, the fun begins.
-I hire at least one couple - someone to cook full time and someone to work maintenance and supervise the building. They will live in the house out there.
The following won't make a ton of sense unless you know the camp layout, but that is OK, it is my dream so it wouldn't make sense to everyone anyway. I am not even sure why I am writing it out. Maybe I hope someone will drop $100 mil my direction so we can get this going...
I will build myself a house down on the lake down by the 3 boys dorms. It will have a wing of guest rooms because I plan on having a lot of friends and family coming to visit.
I will build a road from the main road behind the treeline so it is easier access directly to the camp. All the roads will get paved. This gravel stuff is nonsense. I don't want my corvette to get all dinged up.
Back behind that treeline on the farmland it is time to build. Large outbuilding for the buses and other camp vehicles and equipment. That is also where we will put the gym and sports fields.
Man, I gotta find someone who knows what sort of grass will actually grow out there. I can't remember a time when any large area had sustained grass growth. Looks like I will need to get a good landscape crew to work. We will need paths between buildings, some decent plants, new trees that are not cottonwood, and that grass. I really want good grass.
All the current buildings will get cleaned up, modernized, winterized, and re purposed. Girls dorm I have heard is nice now, so it might be good to go. Boys dorms are all going to be turned into nice cabin suites. Bathrooms. Bathrooms in the boys dorms.
Like 50 years worth of male campers just said thank you.
What will we do with Dunning Hall? It is almost worth keeping just because it is named after the guy who started the camp. I suppose the bottom could be fixed up and continue as a nurse's cabin. The top half? My dream is unclear on this building. A nice hangout/lounge? More staff housing? Classroom space?
Dining hall will need updated obviously. Get some nice tables and chairs. Now that it isn't sharing space with the chapel we can do that. Put in a huge fireplace. Open up the wall facing the lake to get a nice view. Put in a deck out there for outdoor dining. Give it a shade with fans. That would be nice. I like it. Now, what will be in that space between the dining hall and lake?
I am thinking a pool. I always liked that Pibel didn't have a pool. It meant we had to make our own fun and we grew closer as a result. On the other hand, it was hot. A pool would be nice - especially if I am living there myself. That seems like a good place for the pool. big slide into the pool... OH OH -- A slide down the hill INTO the pool. Done.
While we are down there, we can talk about the nearby dock. We need new paddle boats, some canoes, one of those tricycles with the big floating wheels. A few fishing boats. Would jet skis be too much? I think we would have to try it to know.
The lake needs cleaned out. Can't very well get it totally clean, but a little bit would help. Especially with our work on the island. We will put a small building out there with bathroom and electric and some cooking space. Maybe we can send small camps out there for the week. Either way it would be a cool place to hang out - especially with the rope swing off the back side and the blob to jump onto. Also, it will be the best place for our fireworks shows.
The new chapel will be on the small outcropping onto the lake which is a bit away to the south of the dock (and the rest of the camp) but allows for us to give it some great views. Nice permanent seating, decent lights and video and sound. Good staging. Exactly what we need for youth camps and adult retreats. It will be kinda like a log cabin - a little rustic even.
Right now they have some low ropes elements in the low area where water runs down to the lake. I would add some high ropes elements in the space between that and the house - where the old basketball hoop was if you remember like 15 years ago... Big climbing wall, zipline, all that stuff. Good times. How fun would it be to have that right in front of your house?
The paintball in the treeline will get worked up. Improve the markers and the course itself. Expand it back into the wooded area we bought. Maybe make a more urban-looking course in the farmland over by the gym and sports fields. That is some good fun.
We will need more dorm space. Maybe we can clear out those little old cabins on the north side of camp by the fire pit. That would overlook a bit of the lake. Lagoon-y, but not bad. Most people don't even know about that space back there, but we bought it so you should learn about it, right?
There is kind of a low spot where water runs down to the lake. It comes down from the hill back there - the rise in the campground actually continues up behind the girl's dorm and gets pretty high. It is kind of cool. As a camper I never went back there, but going back during college or after I was able to explore. It is a pretty large area and there is even a nice clearing near the top of the woods that would be perfect for a secondary campfire or even a secondary campground - a more rugged camping experience perhaps.
I like the main campfire where it is, but it needs fixed. new fire ring, new benches. Climb up and cut some branches for a clear view to the sky. The sky at Pibel at night is unlike anywhere I have ever seen. Perfect.
I lived at Pibel for most of the summer after graduating college. I always thought it would be cool to have a nice private space back in the treeline. If you go behind the house, the tree's get pretty overgrown, the way the paintball course used to be. A path back there would lead to a great little secret place to read and relax. Put in a little water fountain and a hammock.
The rest is just small stuff everywhere but you can see I have had this dream a lot. Fixing up the campsites that we bought, adding more cabins here and there for retreats and whatnot. Building a house or two for more staff to live up there. Putting in a hot tub. Obvious. Building a modern game room for everyone. Pool, ping pong, Air Hockey, a few arcade games, an area for cards and board games, you name it.
There is all sorts of extra stuff. In my mind, I get to hire old camp friends and we live out there and start a good church for such a rural area and we have what we need in spite of being an hour from nowhere.
When I buy the camp and get it fixed up, I am hosting a reunion. If you came to camp with me, I will get you there. I bought a few buses to travel around picking up kids so they don't have to drive all the way out to camp each week - they can get most of you, even shuttle from airports.
Will it be the same as the old days? I don't think so. I know everyone has fond memories of Pibel Bible Camp - both of my GRANDMA'S tell me stories of when they went. What I don't know is how the years have changed everyone. Will they like my changes to the camp? Will they like camp at all anymore?
In my dream, they do. In my dream the camp returns to how it was when I went and my friends where there. It churns out youth who are becoming disciples and even full-time ministers at a high rate. It also produces people who dream about coming back and doing it all again, only better.
I don't really need a reason to talk about Pibel. I have countless stories shared with a wide group of friends and acquaintances that I could probably base an entire series of blogs on. Today, I do have a reason though... I had dream about Pibel in the early morning hours today. This is a recurring dream I have and it often comes as a daydream, maybe a bit of wishful thinking.
In this dream, I somehow come into a large amount of money. For a lot of people, that would be the dream. I am convinced that if I won or earned a fortune, this dream accurately portrays how I would spend it.
-First of all, I buy Pibel Bible Camp with the stipulation that it continues to be a youth camp for the area Christian Churches. Easy. Why would I change that?
-Next, I buy up land around it. I buy the lake and surrounding campgrounds, I buy the smallish stand of trees to the north, and I buy at least part of the farmland to the east.
Then, the fun begins.
-I hire at least one couple - someone to cook full time and someone to work maintenance and supervise the building. They will live in the house out there.
The following won't make a ton of sense unless you know the camp layout, but that is OK, it is my dream so it wouldn't make sense to everyone anyway. I am not even sure why I am writing it out. Maybe I hope someone will drop $100 mil my direction so we can get this going...
I will build myself a house down on the lake down by the 3 boys dorms. It will have a wing of guest rooms because I plan on having a lot of friends and family coming to visit.
I will build a road from the main road behind the treeline so it is easier access directly to the camp. All the roads will get paved. This gravel stuff is nonsense. I don't want my corvette to get all dinged up.
Back behind that treeline on the farmland it is time to build. Large outbuilding for the buses and other camp vehicles and equipment. That is also where we will put the gym and sports fields.
Man, I gotta find someone who knows what sort of grass will actually grow out there. I can't remember a time when any large area had sustained grass growth. Looks like I will need to get a good landscape crew to work. We will need paths between buildings, some decent plants, new trees that are not cottonwood, and that grass. I really want good grass.
All the current buildings will get cleaned up, modernized, winterized, and re purposed. Girls dorm I have heard is nice now, so it might be good to go. Boys dorms are all going to be turned into nice cabin suites. Bathrooms. Bathrooms in the boys dorms.
Like 50 years worth of male campers just said thank you.
What will we do with Dunning Hall? It is almost worth keeping just because it is named after the guy who started the camp. I suppose the bottom could be fixed up and continue as a nurse's cabin. The top half? My dream is unclear on this building. A nice hangout/lounge? More staff housing? Classroom space?
Dining hall will need updated obviously. Get some nice tables and chairs. Now that it isn't sharing space with the chapel we can do that. Put in a huge fireplace. Open up the wall facing the lake to get a nice view. Put in a deck out there for outdoor dining. Give it a shade with fans. That would be nice. I like it. Now, what will be in that space between the dining hall and lake?
I am thinking a pool. I always liked that Pibel didn't have a pool. It meant we had to make our own fun and we grew closer as a result. On the other hand, it was hot. A pool would be nice - especially if I am living there myself. That seems like a good place for the pool. big slide into the pool... OH OH -- A slide down the hill INTO the pool. Done.
While we are down there, we can talk about the nearby dock. We need new paddle boats, some canoes, one of those tricycles with the big floating wheels. A few fishing boats. Would jet skis be too much? I think we would have to try it to know.
The lake needs cleaned out. Can't very well get it totally clean, but a little bit would help. Especially with our work on the island. We will put a small building out there with bathroom and electric and some cooking space. Maybe we can send small camps out there for the week. Either way it would be a cool place to hang out - especially with the rope swing off the back side and the blob to jump onto. Also, it will be the best place for our fireworks shows.
The new chapel will be on the small outcropping onto the lake which is a bit away to the south of the dock (and the rest of the camp) but allows for us to give it some great views. Nice permanent seating, decent lights and video and sound. Good staging. Exactly what we need for youth camps and adult retreats. It will be kinda like a log cabin - a little rustic even.
Right now they have some low ropes elements in the low area where water runs down to the lake. I would add some high ropes elements in the space between that and the house - where the old basketball hoop was if you remember like 15 years ago... Big climbing wall, zipline, all that stuff. Good times. How fun would it be to have that right in front of your house?
The paintball in the treeline will get worked up. Improve the markers and the course itself. Expand it back into the wooded area we bought. Maybe make a more urban-looking course in the farmland over by the gym and sports fields. That is some good fun.
We will need more dorm space. Maybe we can clear out those little old cabins on the north side of camp by the fire pit. That would overlook a bit of the lake. Lagoon-y, but not bad. Most people don't even know about that space back there, but we bought it so you should learn about it, right?
There is kind of a low spot where water runs down to the lake. It comes down from the hill back there - the rise in the campground actually continues up behind the girl's dorm and gets pretty high. It is kind of cool. As a camper I never went back there, but going back during college or after I was able to explore. It is a pretty large area and there is even a nice clearing near the top of the woods that would be perfect for a secondary campfire or even a secondary campground - a more rugged camping experience perhaps.
I like the main campfire where it is, but it needs fixed. new fire ring, new benches. Climb up and cut some branches for a clear view to the sky. The sky at Pibel at night is unlike anywhere I have ever seen. Perfect.
I lived at Pibel for most of the summer after graduating college. I always thought it would be cool to have a nice private space back in the treeline. If you go behind the house, the tree's get pretty overgrown, the way the paintball course used to be. A path back there would lead to a great little secret place to read and relax. Put in a little water fountain and a hammock.
The rest is just small stuff everywhere but you can see I have had this dream a lot. Fixing up the campsites that we bought, adding more cabins here and there for retreats and whatnot. Building a house or two for more staff to live up there. Putting in a hot tub. Obvious. Building a modern game room for everyone. Pool, ping pong, Air Hockey, a few arcade games, an area for cards and board games, you name it.
There is all sorts of extra stuff. In my mind, I get to hire old camp friends and we live out there and start a good church for such a rural area and we have what we need in spite of being an hour from nowhere.
When I buy the camp and get it fixed up, I am hosting a reunion. If you came to camp with me, I will get you there. I bought a few buses to travel around picking up kids so they don't have to drive all the way out to camp each week - they can get most of you, even shuttle from airports.
Will it be the same as the old days? I don't think so. I know everyone has fond memories of Pibel Bible Camp - both of my GRANDMA'S tell me stories of when they went. What I don't know is how the years have changed everyone. Will they like my changes to the camp? Will they like camp at all anymore?
In my dream, they do. In my dream the camp returns to how it was when I went and my friends where there. It churns out youth who are becoming disciples and even full-time ministers at a high rate. It also produces people who dream about coming back and doing it all again, only better.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Lay off the New Guy
When I was a junior in high school I knew I was going to Bible College and did not need to know anything about Chemistry or Pre-Calc so I blew off those classes and only got B's and C's in them. I knew that where I was going, calculus was useless. The magical land of youth ministry needs no math that cannot be taken care of with simple calculator usage.
Looking back, I suppose my introduction to "youth ministry" was at Pibel Bible Camp. I helped with at least one extra week of camp every year starting when I was in junior high so by the time I got to college I had been on staff at no fewer than 7 weeks. In my sophomore year of college I co-taught high school Sunday school and in my last two years of school I worked with a nearby Methodist church doing ministry for all ages of students. Each summer during college I chose to skip out of making more money to take on different ministry jobs. I worked a summer at a Salvation Army youth camp, spent a summer as a member of a camp team for the college, and then worked as a youth intern at a church in Bellevue, NE for my final summer.
By graduation time, I had tons of knowledge and experience and decided that I didn't want to pursue another internship but wanted to get out and do "real ministry" on my own.
I can't list all the mistakes I made as a green youth minister. I imagine that the judgment of the senior minister I worked with saved me from making as many as I would have. The first series of lessons I taught for high school youth group came from the book of James.
Poor James.
I looked back at those lessons today. I can recognize myself in those lessons - my intentions and ideas and a bit of my style - but boy was that stuff rough. I taught from James again last year and looking back that that isn't quite as painful. Between 2005 and 2009 I got a little more purposeful and a lot less clumsy. Experience taught me how to more clearly communicate messages from scripture. Evaluating that experience taught me how to improve myself and progress the ministry I am a part of.
Had someone notified me of my insufficiency back then, I would probably have blown them off. I can't say that everyone in my first ministry was patient. Not at all. Fortunately, I had many people who were patient enough to help me grow in my time there.
In the time since I was a new youth minister, I have worked with a few new youth ministers. If any of them are reading this I feel like I can say this now - you were intolerable! Fortunately for everyone, my experience has taught me something - to lay off the new guy. I don't mean to fire him - quite the opposite.
No amount of schooling and interning and part-timing can prepare us for what we encounter in full-time ministry. It is a challenge. New ministers are going to do stupid things... lay off of them. New ministers are going to struggle to produce excellent teaching at times... lay off them. New ministers are going to do things their own way in spite of logic, and oftentimes it is going to flop... lay off them. New ministers are going to drive you crazy sometimes... lay off them.
I don't mean to condescending to new ministers - it really hasn't been that long since I was one. I want to garner support for those poor little guys. I guess that may have been a bit patronizing...
If a church wants to hire a person who is new to ministry, they need to do so with the understanding that it isn't going to work out that well. It is an investment that will not pay off in the short run. All too often church leadership sees their "employee" making mistakes and under performing and decides it is time to cut their losses. Nothing could be more foolish and damaging - both to the church and the young minister.
What is left is a church with a string of short-term ministers without any continuity and students who struggle to even want to connect with the new guy.
What is left is a mob of disillusioned young ministers who often leave ministry outright.
What is left is another young minister who is ready for "real ministry." Lay off the new guy.
Looking back, I suppose my introduction to "youth ministry" was at Pibel Bible Camp. I helped with at least one extra week of camp every year starting when I was in junior high so by the time I got to college I had been on staff at no fewer than 7 weeks. In my sophomore year of college I co-taught high school Sunday school and in my last two years of school I worked with a nearby Methodist church doing ministry for all ages of students. Each summer during college I chose to skip out of making more money to take on different ministry jobs. I worked a summer at a Salvation Army youth camp, spent a summer as a member of a camp team for the college, and then worked as a youth intern at a church in Bellevue, NE for my final summer.
By graduation time, I had tons of knowledge and experience and decided that I didn't want to pursue another internship but wanted to get out and do "real ministry" on my own.
I can't list all the mistakes I made as a green youth minister. I imagine that the judgment of the senior minister I worked with saved me from making as many as I would have. The first series of lessons I taught for high school youth group came from the book of James.
Poor James.
I looked back at those lessons today. I can recognize myself in those lessons - my intentions and ideas and a bit of my style - but boy was that stuff rough. I taught from James again last year and looking back that that isn't quite as painful. Between 2005 and 2009 I got a little more purposeful and a lot less clumsy. Experience taught me how to more clearly communicate messages from scripture. Evaluating that experience taught me how to improve myself and progress the ministry I am a part of.
Had someone notified me of my insufficiency back then, I would probably have blown them off. I can't say that everyone in my first ministry was patient. Not at all. Fortunately, I had many people who were patient enough to help me grow in my time there.
In the time since I was a new youth minister, I have worked with a few new youth ministers. If any of them are reading this I feel like I can say this now - you were intolerable! Fortunately for everyone, my experience has taught me something - to lay off the new guy. I don't mean to fire him - quite the opposite.
No amount of schooling and interning and part-timing can prepare us for what we encounter in full-time ministry. It is a challenge. New ministers are going to do stupid things... lay off of them. New ministers are going to struggle to produce excellent teaching at times... lay off them. New ministers are going to do things their own way in spite of logic, and oftentimes it is going to flop... lay off them. New ministers are going to drive you crazy sometimes... lay off them.
I don't mean to condescending to new ministers - it really hasn't been that long since I was one. I want to garner support for those poor little guys. I guess that may have been a bit patronizing...
If a church wants to hire a person who is new to ministry, they need to do so with the understanding that it isn't going to work out that well. It is an investment that will not pay off in the short run. All too often church leadership sees their "employee" making mistakes and under performing and decides it is time to cut their losses. Nothing could be more foolish and damaging - both to the church and the young minister.
What is left is a church with a string of short-term ministers without any continuity and students who struggle to even want to connect with the new guy.
What is left is a mob of disillusioned young ministers who often leave ministry outright.
What is left is another young minister who is ready for "real ministry." Lay off the new guy.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
On Discouragement
Today I am sick. Yesterday I stayed home because Sandy was sick. I tried to get myself going so I could get to my office and be productive, but I failed and I am up in my bed doing what work I can while fending off the temptation to just roll over and sleep. Soon enough I will fail to resist.
When I am tired, hungry, or sick I get pretty moody. When I am moody for other reasons, I feel like doing little more than sleeping and stress-eating. The primary source for that sort of moodiness is discouragement. That monster is no stranger to me as I have been in full-time ministry for close to six years now.
I recently read a book that references some of the things that make work fulfilling: it has to be challenging and have a direct work-to-success correlation. Ministry-work has no shortage of challenging work, but the correlation between hard work and success can leave you wanting. Hours of study, writing, set up, and preparation fall by the side when 80% of the students don't show up one week. That is lost time, lost work, and inevitably it is the ones who miss the message who most needed to hear it!
Storing up the moments of encouragement you receive is paramount in retaining your sanity. I have to recall moments when a student "gets it" or when an adult realizes the work and thought I have put into girding everything we do with a singular purpose and process. I have to remember those moments when a student finally actually worships or when an adult recognizes the progress in the changes I have gradually been implementing. I have to keep in mind the support of my peers who are experiencing the same things in the same ways.
Working in ministry means that "success" can be difficult to measure. Working in youth ministry means that you can rarely claim success until you see the results of a faithful life years later.
Disappointment and discouragement are a regular part of the landscape. When so much of what happens is dependent on the commitment and character and consistency of others, it is going to be an ever present challenge.
When I am tired, hungry, or sick I get pretty moody. When I am moody for other reasons, I feel like doing little more than sleeping and stress-eating. The primary source for that sort of moodiness is discouragement. That monster is no stranger to me as I have been in full-time ministry for close to six years now.
I recently read a book that references some of the things that make work fulfilling: it has to be challenging and have a direct work-to-success correlation. Ministry-work has no shortage of challenging work, but the correlation between hard work and success can leave you wanting. Hours of study, writing, set up, and preparation fall by the side when 80% of the students don't show up one week. That is lost time, lost work, and inevitably it is the ones who miss the message who most needed to hear it!
Storing up the moments of encouragement you receive is paramount in retaining your sanity. I have to recall moments when a student "gets it" or when an adult realizes the work and thought I have put into girding everything we do with a singular purpose and process. I have to remember those moments when a student finally actually worships or when an adult recognizes the progress in the changes I have gradually been implementing. I have to keep in mind the support of my peers who are experiencing the same things in the same ways.
Working in ministry means that "success" can be difficult to measure. Working in youth ministry means that you can rarely claim success until you see the results of a faithful life years later.
Disappointment and discouragement are a regular part of the landscape. When so much of what happens is dependent on the commitment and character and consistency of others, it is going to be an ever present challenge.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Joshua One
Since it is still Sunday as I write this, I am continuing my commitment to write on a passage of scripture. Today, I taught elementary students about Joshua 1. Oftentimes I get the most out of a specific part of the Bible when I endeavor to teach it to young people - I am forced to work it out to it's simplest and most basic level in order to pass on its most important points in a way that is understandable to young people.
For Children's Worship, I have been working through different parts of the Bible. We started over 3 1/2 years ago with the book of Acts, worked through a harmony of all 4 gospels, then started back at Genesis before working through Exodus as well. Recently, I summarized Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy to bridge the history of the Israelites between Exodus and Joshua. I have found in the time I have been teaching the Old Testament one of the themes that continually comes to bear is the covenant God established with the Hebrews - I will be your God, and you will be my people.
In the book of Joshua, the Israelites have just wandered in the wilderness for decades, waiting for all of the people who took part in the decision NOT to enter the Promised Land to die off. I get the feeling that they were getting tired of living in tents.
At this time, God speaks to Joshua. God tells Joshua that, like Moses, he has His support. Wherever Joshua goes, God will be there with him providing him protection and success because of his faithfulness stretching back to the first time the nation of Israel had come to the border of the Promised Land and only he and Caleb voted to enter in.
Then God has these words for his people: "Be strong and courageous."
God states once again His side of the deal. "I will be your God. You will get what I promised you. The deal I struck with your forefathers is in place. Don't let the giants and walled cities and all those other anxieties take hold, for I am with you. Be strong and courageous."
God then states their part of the deal. "Be sure to follow my Laws. I gave them to Moses and I was really pretty specific about how I expect you to 'be my people.' Stick to what I gave you. Keep it close at hand. Temptations and weak moments will not be in short supply. Be strong and courageous."
After he said it twice, it seems that the God really wants to drive the message home. "Have I not commanded you, be strong and courageous? I am the One true God and I am with you wherever you go. I will be your God and you will be my people. Now let's go and claim at long last the Promised Land you have been longing for for generations."
The response of His people? "We WILL be your people. We will go to the extent of punishing by death those who would refuse obedience and lead us astray. Our final words - only be strong and courageous."
Even today God wants to be our God, he wants each of us to be His people. We no longer have the Law as a strict guide on being His people, nor do we have the goal of claiming the Promised Land. We have something much better: the living example and Lordship of Jesus Christ, and the eternal hope springing from his death and resurrection.
Only be strong and courageous.
For Children's Worship, I have been working through different parts of the Bible. We started over 3 1/2 years ago with the book of Acts, worked through a harmony of all 4 gospels, then started back at Genesis before working through Exodus as well. Recently, I summarized Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy to bridge the history of the Israelites between Exodus and Joshua. I have found in the time I have been teaching the Old Testament one of the themes that continually comes to bear is the covenant God established with the Hebrews - I will be your God, and you will be my people.
In the book of Joshua, the Israelites have just wandered in the wilderness for decades, waiting for all of the people who took part in the decision NOT to enter the Promised Land to die off. I get the feeling that they were getting tired of living in tents.
At this time, God speaks to Joshua. God tells Joshua that, like Moses, he has His support. Wherever Joshua goes, God will be there with him providing him protection and success because of his faithfulness stretching back to the first time the nation of Israel had come to the border of the Promised Land and only he and Caleb voted to enter in.
Then God has these words for his people: "Be strong and courageous."
God states once again His side of the deal. "I will be your God. You will get what I promised you. The deal I struck with your forefathers is in place. Don't let the giants and walled cities and all those other anxieties take hold, for I am with you. Be strong and courageous."
God then states their part of the deal. "Be sure to follow my Laws. I gave them to Moses and I was really pretty specific about how I expect you to 'be my people.' Stick to what I gave you. Keep it close at hand. Temptations and weak moments will not be in short supply. Be strong and courageous."
After he said it twice, it seems that the God really wants to drive the message home. "Have I not commanded you, be strong and courageous? I am the One true God and I am with you wherever you go. I will be your God and you will be my people. Now let's go and claim at long last the Promised Land you have been longing for for generations."
The response of His people? "We WILL be your people. We will go to the extent of punishing by death those who would refuse obedience and lead us astray. Our final words - only be strong and courageous."
Even today God wants to be our God, he wants each of us to be His people. We no longer have the Law as a strict guide on being His people, nor do we have the goal of claiming the Promised Land. We have something much better: the living example and Lordship of Jesus Christ, and the eternal hope springing from his death and resurrection.
Only be strong and courageous.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Caricature Torture
It has been a bit over a week since I last blogged, took a bit of a break over Thanksgiving, but this idea has been rolling around in my head for a while. It is something that brings itself to the forefront of my consciousness with regularity.
Some people drive me absolutely out of my mind.
For some time I wasn't really able to identify why some people who were clearly incredibly obnoxious didn't really ruffle my feathers while others who seemed pretty steady made me crazy. Oftentimes the people whose presence most bothered me didn't bear any of the traditional markers of being annoying, I couldn't quite put my finger on what my beef with them was.
Eventually, I was able to distinguish the traits in others that often put me over the edge. These people were essentially cartoon versions of myself.
When you go to an artist sitting on a city street or set up in a booth at some sort of festival and ask for a caricature of yourself, that person doesn't seek to make an exact representation of you. Instead, they identify your unique characteristics and blow them up to cartoonish proportions. The drawing doesn't exactly capture what you look like, but it is easily recognized.
The handful of people who most contribute to my graying and disappearing head of hair are those who take one my tendencies or temperaments and explode them to the point where they are almost unrecognizable, yet undeniably point back at me.
I know that I tend to be stubborn and contend that I do, in fact, know it all. I am very rarely wrong. A few people in my life have helped me to work that out a bit by acting as my personal interactive caricature. They drove me up to wall by being an exaggerated version of me.
In college I got into an argument with a guy who contended that he was right about some minor matter of fact. Fortunately for me, it was easy enough to find a reference book and prove him wrong. So I thought. Even in the face of confirmation that his stance was faulty, he looked truth in the face and claimed it to be wrong. Yes, he chose to claim the book was somehow wrong before admitting he was mistaken.
So began my journey. I realized in that moment that I often acted the same way, and that the argument only continued because I was equally unable to give up on it as the other guy. Soon enough, I began to change by ways to avoid such a confrontation.
Nowadays I often find myself saying things like "I can't say for sure, but I think..." or "I think I know, but let me check before I say something that will end up being incorrect." and even, " I don't have any idea, but I would guess..."
The way to never be wrong is not to relentlessly cling to your claims, but to avoid making such claims in the first place. Make sure you have the facts before you plant your flag. Make sure you can differentiate opinions from fact. Even more, learn that oftentimes it is your interpretation of the evidence you have in hand that leads you to make such faulty statements.
I recall a more recent caricature experience which served as a reminder of this tendency and actually an encouragement that I am actually still growing. Allow me to recount said encounter with said anonymous contentious person:
John/Jane Doe makes a statement that is easy to confirm or debunk but prefers to simply stand on his or her own statement simply out of the belief that they are not capable of being wrong. I say, "Well that doesn't sound right, but I am not going to just contradict you based on my belief that I am not capable of being wrong." I jet to my handy computer and find an answer that is easy to find via Google or other points of reference. I make confirmation that I am right and he and/or she is in fact wrong. He/she stutters and stammers and shamefully admits the wrong or finds some excuse and/or explanation why he or she was more confused than actually wrong in an effort to curb their sick feeling over the realization that they have made a complete fool of themselves. In many cases he or she endeavors to goes back in time and change what he or she actually said or "meant."
To be fair, this is more of an amalgamation of about 27 different confrontations with this anonymous androgynous character that almost always end the same way.
I think everyone can see a bit their worst traits caricaturized in the relations that most frustrate them. This is why parents can become so exasperated by their children.
I have found that this doesn't only have to be a matter of frustration, but can become a source of inspiration. I don't want to be "that guy," and my caricature shows me what I could become if my idiosyncrasies become my defining characteristics.
Some people drive me absolutely out of my mind.
For some time I wasn't really able to identify why some people who were clearly incredibly obnoxious didn't really ruffle my feathers while others who seemed pretty steady made me crazy. Oftentimes the people whose presence most bothered me didn't bear any of the traditional markers of being annoying, I couldn't quite put my finger on what my beef with them was.
Eventually, I was able to distinguish the traits in others that often put me over the edge. These people were essentially cartoon versions of myself.
When you go to an artist sitting on a city street or set up in a booth at some sort of festival and ask for a caricature of yourself, that person doesn't seek to make an exact representation of you. Instead, they identify your unique characteristics and blow them up to cartoonish proportions. The drawing doesn't exactly capture what you look like, but it is easily recognized.
The handful of people who most contribute to my graying and disappearing head of hair are those who take one my tendencies or temperaments and explode them to the point where they are almost unrecognizable, yet undeniably point back at me.
I know that I tend to be stubborn and contend that I do, in fact, know it all. I am very rarely wrong. A few people in my life have helped me to work that out a bit by acting as my personal interactive caricature. They drove me up to wall by being an exaggerated version of me.
In college I got into an argument with a guy who contended that he was right about some minor matter of fact. Fortunately for me, it was easy enough to find a reference book and prove him wrong. So I thought. Even in the face of confirmation that his stance was faulty, he looked truth in the face and claimed it to be wrong. Yes, he chose to claim the book was somehow wrong before admitting he was mistaken.
So began my journey. I realized in that moment that I often acted the same way, and that the argument only continued because I was equally unable to give up on it as the other guy. Soon enough, I began to change by ways to avoid such a confrontation.
Nowadays I often find myself saying things like "I can't say for sure, but I think..." or "I think I know, but let me check before I say something that will end up being incorrect." and even, " I don't have any idea, but I would guess..."
The way to never be wrong is not to relentlessly cling to your claims, but to avoid making such claims in the first place. Make sure you have the facts before you plant your flag. Make sure you can differentiate opinions from fact. Even more, learn that oftentimes it is your interpretation of the evidence you have in hand that leads you to make such faulty statements.
I recall a more recent caricature experience which served as a reminder of this tendency and actually an encouragement that I am actually still growing. Allow me to recount said encounter with said anonymous contentious person:
John/Jane Doe makes a statement that is easy to confirm or debunk but prefers to simply stand on his or her own statement simply out of the belief that they are not capable of being wrong. I say, "Well that doesn't sound right, but I am not going to just contradict you based on my belief that I am not capable of being wrong." I jet to my handy computer and find an answer that is easy to find via Google or other points of reference. I make confirmation that I am right and he and/or she is in fact wrong. He/she stutters and stammers and shamefully admits the wrong or finds some excuse and/or explanation why he or she was more confused than actually wrong in an effort to curb their sick feeling over the realization that they have made a complete fool of themselves. In many cases he or she endeavors to goes back in time and change what he or she actually said or "meant."
To be fair, this is more of an amalgamation of about 27 different confrontations with this anonymous androgynous character that almost always end the same way.
I think everyone can see a bit their worst traits caricaturized in the relations that most frustrate them. This is why parents can become so exasperated by their children.
I have found that this doesn't only have to be a matter of frustration, but can become a source of inspiration. I don't want to be "that guy," and my caricature shows me what I could become if my idiosyncrasies become my defining characteristics.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
If you read this blog, you can skip church!
After a great weekend at the Illinois Christian Teen Convention, I have all sorts of things running through my head. Ideas about improving it for next year, thoughts from the speaker - Jim Johnson, questions about the current state about the youth checking account balance... but today it is all about some brief ruminations of scripture since it is a Sunday.
I will be preaching the Sunday before Christmas and found out that will be THE "Christmas" Sunday, so my topic is pretty much predetermined. The question for me though, is how to make this sermon more than just story-telling time. I think that the story of Christ's birth is pretty much universally known at this point, but it seems that the relevance of this birth is still a bit sketchy in the minds of many.
Much of the spiritual discussion of this season is related the commercialization of Christmas. Any conservative Christian worth their salt know that Jesus is the reason for the season and probably has that inscribed on some seasonal decoration in or around their home.
Yes, indeed, Jesus is the reason for the season, but so what?
That my seem crass, but stick with me here. Answer that question.
Most people would answer that with something like this: "Jesus went on to die for our sins and be resurrected three days later." Yup sure did. That's Good Friday and Easter. This is Christmas. Do we celebrate Christmas simply because Jesus' birth later allowed him to die for us? I think no.
The Gospel, the Good News, isn't just about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; it involves his birth and life as well.
The incarnation of Christ is a hugely important part of the story. Jesus didn't just die for us, he lived for us. He served not only as a sacrifice, but as an example. He is not merely our Savior, He is our Lord.
The life of Christ was recorded in scripture for a reason. Yes, his death and resurrection are important, but so is his life. What happens when WE die is important, but so are our lives. Scripture abounds with statements about the significance of our actions.
Let me simplify it (maybe too much) in this way: grace will take care of how we die, discipleship must steer how we live. We are saved by grace, not through acts. No amount of righteous living will get anyone to paradise, but I say it again - how we live is vital. Faith without works is dead. They will know you are my disciples if you love one another. I could go on, but that would be excessive - the point is established.
All too often we look past Christmas all the way to Easter and devalue the exemplary life Christ lived. If Easter is the source of our hope for the future, Christmas is the source of our inspiration for today.
That is the gist of my sermon for December 19th, so if you go to ACC here, you've got the main point of the morning message. You could skip church. Well, at least you could if, in reading the blog, you also missed the point of the blog.
I will be preaching the Sunday before Christmas and found out that will be THE "Christmas" Sunday, so my topic is pretty much predetermined. The question for me though, is how to make this sermon more than just story-telling time. I think that the story of Christ's birth is pretty much universally known at this point, but it seems that the relevance of this birth is still a bit sketchy in the minds of many.
Much of the spiritual discussion of this season is related the commercialization of Christmas. Any conservative Christian worth their salt know that Jesus is the reason for the season and probably has that inscribed on some seasonal decoration in or around their home.
Yes, indeed, Jesus is the reason for the season, but so what?
That my seem crass, but stick with me here. Answer that question.
Most people would answer that with something like this: "Jesus went on to die for our sins and be resurrected three days later." Yup sure did. That's Good Friday and Easter. This is Christmas. Do we celebrate Christmas simply because Jesus' birth later allowed him to die for us? I think no.
The Gospel, the Good News, isn't just about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; it involves his birth and life as well.
The incarnation of Christ is a hugely important part of the story. Jesus didn't just die for us, he lived for us. He served not only as a sacrifice, but as an example. He is not merely our Savior, He is our Lord.
The life of Christ was recorded in scripture for a reason. Yes, his death and resurrection are important, but so is his life. What happens when WE die is important, but so are our lives. Scripture abounds with statements about the significance of our actions.
Let me simplify it (maybe too much) in this way: grace will take care of how we die, discipleship must steer how we live. We are saved by grace, not through acts. No amount of righteous living will get anyone to paradise, but I say it again - how we live is vital. Faith without works is dead. They will know you are my disciples if you love one another. I could go on, but that would be excessive - the point is established.
All too often we look past Christmas all the way to Easter and devalue the exemplary life Christ lived. If Easter is the source of our hope for the future, Christmas is the source of our inspiration for today.
That is the gist of my sermon for December 19th, so if you go to ACC here, you've got the main point of the morning message. You could skip church. Well, at least you could if, in reading the blog, you also missed the point of the blog.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Work With Me Here
I have had the benefit of working with/for some extraordinary people in my life. I got to thinking about that last night and figured that my reminiscing was as good a topic as any for my ministry blog today.
While I was in high school I started working at Arby's. The manager there was great - I really liked her. When I am back in my home town of McCook and happen to eat there, I am excited to see her.
My other job in McCook was at Hinky Dinky and my direct supervisors were not quite as great - but what can I say? At least I got to work at a place named Hinky Dinky.
At college I worked at a Hyvee in the Chinese food place. The head cook and manager was a large white guy. He made surprisingly good Chinese food... for a white guy.
When I came back from the summer, I got a job working in the college's library. What a great job. I got paid to do my own homework and surf the internet. I suppose I also did a lot of library work - checking out and shelving books, making countless copies, helping clueless students. Linda Lu was my boss and was probably the best part of the job - one of the nicest ladies to ever exist I think.
Eventually I started to work in more "grown-up" situations. I got part-time youth ministry work with the Methodist Church in a nearby small town. It wasn't a great gig, but I got some good experience and worked with Randy - my favorite Methodist minister ever. I only know one. I have talked to him a few times in the years since I left that job when I graduated and he continues to be a great encouragement - mostly because he continually tries to "convert" me to work in his denomination. The pay is certainly enticing.
While at school, I worked ministry-related jobs every summer. The first summer, I worked at a camp south of Omaha that was run by the Salvation Army. To this day, I am not sure how or why I was entrusted with the job I had as Program Aide/RA. During the day, I assisted the week's leader and by night I was in charge of trying to keep the staff under control. The cool part is that my boss's - Greg and Poppy - didn't just throw me into it and let me sink or swim. They helped me out, told me about things I needed to address and gave me great practical advice. They set realistic standards and held me to them. They were incredibly encouraging and continue to be. They were and are exceptional people. It has been almost 10 years since we worked together and I would still follow their lead into anything with no questions asked.
The second summer I worked for the college on a camp team. I think Jason was my boss, but we were out on our own all summer, working more directly for the week's leader. Jason is still a pretty admirable fella, I just didn't work with him all that much. Sorry. I do have some stories about the camp deans from that summer. That learning was more about what not to do though. Those examples are left out of this series of remembrances. Those stories are probably also way more interesting. Sorry again.
My third summer I had an internship at Calvary Christian Church. I worked for Scott, and he is one of the best people I know. He is one of those types that is impossible to dislike. I imagine that even when he makes mistakes, they aren't frustrating, just endearing. That experience taught me how to be a youth minister as much as any coursework I completed.
The last guy I have to talk about is Trey. He is really the one that got me thinking in this direction. After I worked with him for a year, he left to work at MICAH and do some cool stuff. Never have I worked with a guy who is more laid back, yet purposeful. He was non-confrontational, but when he told me to do something (or not do something) I absolutely listened. During elder meetings he would doodle when things got boring. A few times, especially after he left, I tried to channel my inner Trey and doodle during meetings - a practice I occasionally continue. I am not good at it. Turns out his doodles were cool because he is actually a good artist. The image below is framed in my office so that I look at it daily. I would tell all my thoughts about the drawing itself, but that is for another time.
The image is a reminder of the points I want to make today - not because of its inherent message, but because of my association with it. It is not only the work you are doing that is of value, but who you are doing it with. Many of the people who shaped who I am as a minister are in the list above. They didn't merely treat me as an employee or trainee - they made me feel like a co-worker, someone who was just as valuable to the process and end goal as they were. They made me feel like they were learning from me as I was learning from them. They made me a fellow collaborator.
Many of the people who I have done ministry with continue to teach me, continue to work with me in spite of their physical absence. When I write, think, teach, preach, prepare, program, communicate: the echoes of our mutual history are easy to recognize.
While I was in high school I started working at Arby's. The manager there was great - I really liked her. When I am back in my home town of McCook and happen to eat there, I am excited to see her.
My other job in McCook was at Hinky Dinky and my direct supervisors were not quite as great - but what can I say? At least I got to work at a place named Hinky Dinky.
At college I worked at a Hyvee in the Chinese food place. The head cook and manager was a large white guy. He made surprisingly good Chinese food... for a white guy.
When I came back from the summer, I got a job working in the college's library. What a great job. I got paid to do my own homework and surf the internet. I suppose I also did a lot of library work - checking out and shelving books, making countless copies, helping clueless students. Linda Lu was my boss and was probably the best part of the job - one of the nicest ladies to ever exist I think.
Eventually I started to work in more "grown-up" situations. I got part-time youth ministry work with the Methodist Church in a nearby small town. It wasn't a great gig, but I got some good experience and worked with Randy - my favorite Methodist minister ever. I only know one. I have talked to him a few times in the years since I left that job when I graduated and he continues to be a great encouragement - mostly because he continually tries to "convert" me to work in his denomination. The pay is certainly enticing.
While at school, I worked ministry-related jobs every summer. The first summer, I worked at a camp south of Omaha that was run by the Salvation Army. To this day, I am not sure how or why I was entrusted with the job I had as Program Aide/RA. During the day, I assisted the week's leader and by night I was in charge of trying to keep the staff under control. The cool part is that my boss's - Greg and Poppy - didn't just throw me into it and let me sink or swim. They helped me out, told me about things I needed to address and gave me great practical advice. They set realistic standards and held me to them. They were incredibly encouraging and continue to be. They were and are exceptional people. It has been almost 10 years since we worked together and I would still follow their lead into anything with no questions asked.
The second summer I worked for the college on a camp team. I think Jason was my boss, but we were out on our own all summer, working more directly for the week's leader. Jason is still a pretty admirable fella, I just didn't work with him all that much. Sorry. I do have some stories about the camp deans from that summer. That learning was more about what not to do though. Those examples are left out of this series of remembrances. Those stories are probably also way more interesting. Sorry again.
My third summer I had an internship at Calvary Christian Church. I worked for Scott, and he is one of the best people I know. He is one of those types that is impossible to dislike. I imagine that even when he makes mistakes, they aren't frustrating, just endearing. That experience taught me how to be a youth minister as much as any coursework I completed.
The last guy I have to talk about is Trey. He is really the one that got me thinking in this direction. After I worked with him for a year, he left to work at MICAH and do some cool stuff. Never have I worked with a guy who is more laid back, yet purposeful. He was non-confrontational, but when he told me to do something (or not do something) I absolutely listened. During elder meetings he would doodle when things got boring. A few times, especially after he left, I tried to channel my inner Trey and doodle during meetings - a practice I occasionally continue. I am not good at it. Turns out his doodles were cool because he is actually a good artist. The image below is framed in my office so that I look at it daily. I would tell all my thoughts about the drawing itself, but that is for another time.
Many of the people who I have done ministry with continue to teach me, continue to work with me in spite of their physical absence. When I write, think, teach, preach, prepare, program, communicate: the echoes of our mutual history are easy to recognize.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Hey, 98 out of 100 ain't bad...
I mentioned in an earlier blog that when I blog on Wednesdays, I will be placing a special emphasis on topics that relate more or less directly to ministry. I feel like I might be able to share some insights after the last 6 years or so working in youth ministry full time. Can't say I am the best, smartest, most experienced, or most successful youth minister I know, but I suppose I have a fairly unique perspective and voice. Hopefully these blogs are of some help. If they are not, I imagine they will at least be entertaining on some level.
Now allow me to break my own law of blogging by copy and pasting material:
Now allow me to break my own law of blogging by copy and pasting material:
Alienating the 2%
When a popular rock group comes to town, some of their fans won't get great tickets. Not enough room in the front row. Now they're annoyed. 2% of them are angry enough to speak up or badmouth or write an angry letter.
When Disney changes a policy and offers a great new feature or benefit to the most dedicated fans, 2% of them won't be able to use it... timing or transport or resources or whatever. They're angry and they let the brand know it.
Do the math. Every time Apple delights 10,000 people, they hear from 200 angry customers, people who don't like the change or the opportunity or the risk it represents.
If you have fans or followers or customers, no matter what you do, you'll annoy or disappoint two percent of them. And you'll probably hear a lot more from the unhappy 2% than from the delighted 98.
It seems as though there are only two ways to deal with this: Stop innovating, just stagnate. Or go ahead and delight the vast majority.
Sure, you can try to minimize the cost of change, and you might even get the number to 1%. But if you try to delight everyone, all the time, you'll just make yourself crazy. Or become boring.
That perspective is provided by a guy named Seth Godin (linked below) who, by all accounts, has no ministry experience. All the same, I was struck by how directly this information related to church work on a near daily basis.
I find that a big part of what I do is based on evaluating programming and performance and purpose and just everything I am involved in here. It isn't because I am hyper-critical and don't believe myself or those around me capable of doing a job well. It is because I know that we can steadily improve ourselves and everything we do. I know that with every new idea and effort come some weak points and failures. If we merely accept that we are doing a decent job that everyone is content with and move on, we are missing a never ending abundance of potential.
For me, the example is Vacation Bible School. I will readily admit that I am no fan of VBS, but it gives me some comfort to sharply critique and painstakingly mold the program into something that bears some semblance of productivity and purpose.
Over that last few years almost everything about how we do VBS has changed. It wasn't bad in the past, and people were doing great stuff, but it also wasn't evolving. We have changed the scheduling, the time of day, the way we do music, snacks, decorations, registration, name tags, recruiting, minister involvement, facility utilization, and on and on. Not all of the things I have tweaked have worked, but each year the program gets better and more functional. Each year it gets closer to something that has the special Seth stamp of approval. When I am no longer in charge, it may finally receive it.
If you know me well, you know that I don't have much fear of making people unhappy. I like to say that I seek to please God rather than those around me, and to a large extent that rings true. The other half of it is this - doing the right thing doesn't mean that everyone will be happy with you and those who are unhappy are often the only ones who speak up.
I hear criticisms and often take them to heart, adjusting accordingly. I also basically ignore many criticisms when I know where it is coming from. A person cannot function effectively if they are trying to please the two percent who refuse to be happy! If you do things the exact way they ask, it is unlikely they will be happy and it is quite likely that the other 98% will become disgruntled.
Innumerable meetings that I have been involved with have spent massive amounts of time straining to find a way to accommodate everyone. It is a well-meaning and good-hearted intention, but it is destined for failure. It is hard for a lot of people to accept that some people, often their friends and family, will simply not be happy with their decisions and actions. One must take heart in the realization that they are seeking God's will and acting accordingly, that they are doing the right thing, not just the appeasing the cries from a senseless mob.
Anyone who has attended a high school basketball game should recognize this principle. Cheers and jeers rain down constantly on the players, coaches, refs, scoreboard personnel, and occasionally the cheerleaders. If the refs blew the whistle every time someone expressed displeasure they game would never end. If they reneged on call challenged by the crowd they would never make it to the scorers table. The coach would be fired after every game whether he won or lost. There would be a dozen players on the floor for each time at all times. It would be an absolute mess of chaos and contradiction.
In ministry the goal should never merely be to please congregants. When that becomes your goal, you will quickly find yourself at the wrong end of one of many rebukes Paul offers to church leaders like yourself in his epistles!
When you seek to please God you will generally please congregants, but you will always disturb the 2%.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Stuff Christians DON'T Like
There is a good reason that my blog is titled Misadventures and that most of my blogs are directly related to the stupid things I do - because that topic offers an amazing wealth of material.
I have never been a big Twitter fan, but eventually became convinced to join up and I am sort of getting into it. Some comedians say funny things, some Christian leaders say meaningful things, and Husker updates are coming my way with great frequency... so it's not all bad.
I have found the downside to Twitter though.
First, let me explain some things to anyone not in the know. On Twitter, you write updates or "Tweets" that are no more than 140 characters long - it started via text message and those have a 160 character limit. You can follow pretty much anyone you want and anyone can follow you. Your name is preceded by at @. If you put in a person's Twitter id with the @, they can see what you write on a tab with their @mentions. If you put a # before a word or group of words with no spaces it is called a hashtag. This allows you to tag topics you are mentioning so that people can see the "trending topics" - basically what is popular.
I hope that is enough, it is more than I knew about until a few days ago.
So here is my latest act of buffoonery.
On Twitter, I follow a guy named John Acuff who wrote a book titled "Stuff Christians Like." I have read only a bit of it while standing in a bookstore, but I have read quite a few of his blog entries (http://stuffchristianslike.net/) and I can tell you it is pretty funny stuff. Based on what I knew about the guy, I quickly clicked the "Follow" button when I saw who he was. I was pumped.
I got less pumped pretty quickly. Several of the first tweets of his that I read consisted of him talking about being friends with other people that are pretty famous in the circles I run in. They weren't funny. As isolated tweets, they sounded like he was just dropping names.
Here is where we need another couple of Twitter side notes. First of all, it turns out that dropping the names of the people you are with is pretty much just what you do with Twitter. It is you describing who you are with and what you are doing. It is why you can do the whole @ thing. It turns out that I felt like he was name dropping in part because he was talking about those famous-y people I referenced and in part because I was new to the whole scene.
As I grew accustomed to how things were on Twitter, I grew less hostile about it. I had added some friends to my mobile notifications because it is cool to get their tweets throughout the day, but just as quickly I removed some of those friends from mobile updates because I didn't want updates every half hour about what restaurant they were at.
There are different types of tweeters. Some tell you where they are and what is happening no matter what. Some just like to retweet what other people say, incessantly. Some tweet their thoughts, or if something they deem significant is happening. Some tweet all of that. Some people never tweet.
This John guy tweets about anything. Looking back, a lot of it is pretty funny. A lot of it isn't. It is just a lot. About every time I check my account, I see his tweets. I miss a lot of his tweets because of the volume.
Now, the plot thickens.
That means it starts to get relevant. Sort of.
I had been sort of annoyed by his tweets. Several of them that I had seen in recent days weren't funny - most of them weren't intended to be. While I was going back reading some tweets, I was bothered by finding that he had dropped like 3 names in three tweets. It was too much for my taste. I reacted hastily.
I had been thinking of ceasing my following of @prodigaljohn. This was the tipping point. Seeing as I wasn't his follower anymore and I figured he wouldn't see it, I shot off 140 snarky characters about how he dropped names too much and how unfunny his twitter was, that I would just have to stick to his blogs. Turns out he reads his @mentions. Whoops.
He retweeted me.
That means he basically copy and pasted my comment and tweeted it himself - with some added commentary. He claimed he had dropped 3 names in his last 100 tweets. I didn't know about his tweet because I was no longer following him. When his followers caught wind of my affront they responded with their own tweets about my lack of math skills and courtesy. One guy said something about how it makes sense considering my Illinois heritage. A friend of mine tweeted about how funny it was that I had been called out.
Only then did I realize what was going on.
In my defense, while he may have only dropped 3 names in the last 100 tweets, he had dropped those 3 names in his last 3 tweets.
Of course I stink at math, I went to Bible College.
I am not from Illinois, and I haven't even lived here 4 years yet, I can't imagine that is part of my problem.
They guy had every right to do what he did. He was mostly right and I was kind of a jerk. Not totally a jerk because I didn't actually intend for him to read it.
Here is what I mostly feel bad about. He seems like a cool guy and if we knew each other we might be friends. His reply is probably about what any of my better friends would have done to me. He is supposed to be funny, saying something like that is to be expected. Unfortunately in this instance, he not only known as a comedic author, but a Christian author.
Before I even knew about anything happening, it seems he had already been thoroughly chastised and had deleted the tweet, replacing it with another retweet. This one wasn't funny. It was something about how we should pray for people who don't like us, not retweet them.
I don't dislike the guy. In fact, I really like what he writes and I felt bad enough about the whole deal to REfollow him. To me, it seems like he got steamrolled by someone who apparently took things a little more seriously than anyone intended. He is somewhat of a public figure and apparently as a result, isn't allowed the freedom to be human. As he said - Twitter is insta-accountability, but to what?
You know you have a problem when you can't read what a comedic author writes and recognize a joke.
The problem, I suppose, lies in the fact that he has thousands of followers and several of those followers followed suit. They piled on. They weren't even funny. I think they tried to be, but missed the real nuances of what had come to pass.
Maybe if I had 240 or 440 characters my tweet wouldn't have come off quite so bad. If he had 240, his retweet may not have gotten him scolded. Those 140 characters simply don't allow for anything to be placed into context.
I experience similar things. As a minister, there are certain expectations of how I act, talk, and live. I fail to live up to those expectations a good portion of the time. That is in part because I recognize when expectations are unrealistic or unreasonable and in part because I am human.
I would love to blow off the expectations that don't have a reasonable basis. I would love to place the responsibility all on those people to change their expectations to something that makes sense. Unfortunately I recognize something in myself that I saw in this whole Twitter fiasco. If you hope to have followers, the responsibility to incite change starts with yourself.
I have never been a big Twitter fan, but eventually became convinced to join up and I am sort of getting into it. Some comedians say funny things, some Christian leaders say meaningful things, and Husker updates are coming my way with great frequency... so it's not all bad.
I have found the downside to Twitter though.
First, let me explain some things to anyone not in the know. On Twitter, you write updates or "Tweets" that are no more than 140 characters long - it started via text message and those have a 160 character limit. You can follow pretty much anyone you want and anyone can follow you. Your name is preceded by at @. If you put in a person's Twitter id with the @, they can see what you write on a tab with their @mentions. If you put a # before a word or group of words with no spaces it is called a hashtag. This allows you to tag topics you are mentioning so that people can see the "trending topics" - basically what is popular.
I hope that is enough, it is more than I knew about until a few days ago.
So here is my latest act of buffoonery.
On Twitter, I follow a guy named John Acuff who wrote a book titled "Stuff Christians Like." I have read only a bit of it while standing in a bookstore, but I have read quite a few of his blog entries (http://stuffchristianslike.net/) and I can tell you it is pretty funny stuff. Based on what I knew about the guy, I quickly clicked the "Follow" button when I saw who he was. I was pumped.
I got less pumped pretty quickly. Several of the first tweets of his that I read consisted of him talking about being friends with other people that are pretty famous in the circles I run in. They weren't funny. As isolated tweets, they sounded like he was just dropping names.
Here is where we need another couple of Twitter side notes. First of all, it turns out that dropping the names of the people you are with is pretty much just what you do with Twitter. It is you describing who you are with and what you are doing. It is why you can do the whole @ thing. It turns out that I felt like he was name dropping in part because he was talking about those famous-y people I referenced and in part because I was new to the whole scene.
As I grew accustomed to how things were on Twitter, I grew less hostile about it. I had added some friends to my mobile notifications because it is cool to get their tweets throughout the day, but just as quickly I removed some of those friends from mobile updates because I didn't want updates every half hour about what restaurant they were at.
There are different types of tweeters. Some tell you where they are and what is happening no matter what. Some just like to retweet what other people say, incessantly. Some tweet their thoughts, or if something they deem significant is happening. Some tweet all of that. Some people never tweet.
This John guy tweets about anything. Looking back, a lot of it is pretty funny. A lot of it isn't. It is just a lot. About every time I check my account, I see his tweets. I miss a lot of his tweets because of the volume.
Now, the plot thickens.
That means it starts to get relevant. Sort of.
I had been sort of annoyed by his tweets. Several of them that I had seen in recent days weren't funny - most of them weren't intended to be. While I was going back reading some tweets, I was bothered by finding that he had dropped like 3 names in three tweets. It was too much for my taste. I reacted hastily.
I had been thinking of ceasing my following of @prodigaljohn. This was the tipping point. Seeing as I wasn't his follower anymore and I figured he wouldn't see it, I shot off 140 snarky characters about how he dropped names too much and how unfunny his twitter was, that I would just have to stick to his blogs. Turns out he reads his @mentions. Whoops.
He retweeted me.
That means he basically copy and pasted my comment and tweeted it himself - with some added commentary. He claimed he had dropped 3 names in his last 100 tweets. I didn't know about his tweet because I was no longer following him. When his followers caught wind of my affront they responded with their own tweets about my lack of math skills and courtesy. One guy said something about how it makes sense considering my Illinois heritage. A friend of mine tweeted about how funny it was that I had been called out.
Only then did I realize what was going on.
In my defense, while he may have only dropped 3 names in the last 100 tweets, he had dropped those 3 names in his last 3 tweets.
Of course I stink at math, I went to Bible College.
I am not from Illinois, and I haven't even lived here 4 years yet, I can't imagine that is part of my problem.
They guy had every right to do what he did. He was mostly right and I was kind of a jerk. Not totally a jerk because I didn't actually intend for him to read it.
Here is what I mostly feel bad about. He seems like a cool guy and if we knew each other we might be friends. His reply is probably about what any of my better friends would have done to me. He is supposed to be funny, saying something like that is to be expected. Unfortunately in this instance, he not only known as a comedic author, but a Christian author.
Before I even knew about anything happening, it seems he had already been thoroughly chastised and had deleted the tweet, replacing it with another retweet. This one wasn't funny. It was something about how we should pray for people who don't like us, not retweet them.
I don't dislike the guy. In fact, I really like what he writes and I felt bad enough about the whole deal to REfollow him. To me, it seems like he got steamrolled by someone who apparently took things a little more seriously than anyone intended. He is somewhat of a public figure and apparently as a result, isn't allowed the freedom to be human. As he said - Twitter is insta-accountability, but to what?
You know you have a problem when you can't read what a comedic author writes and recognize a joke.
The problem, I suppose, lies in the fact that he has thousands of followers and several of those followers followed suit. They piled on. They weren't even funny. I think they tried to be, but missed the real nuances of what had come to pass.
Maybe if I had 240 or 440 characters my tweet wouldn't have come off quite so bad. If he had 240, his retweet may not have gotten him scolded. Those 140 characters simply don't allow for anything to be placed into context.
I experience similar things. As a minister, there are certain expectations of how I act, talk, and live. I fail to live up to those expectations a good portion of the time. That is in part because I recognize when expectations are unrealistic or unreasonable and in part because I am human.
I would love to blow off the expectations that don't have a reasonable basis. I would love to place the responsibility all on those people to change their expectations to something that makes sense. Unfortunately I recognize something in myself that I saw in this whole Twitter fiasco. If you hope to have followers, the responsibility to incite change starts with yourself.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Scripture Sundays Unveiled.
In the last month or two I have really been getting back into writing. For the most part, this has meant random blog entries without much focus. That has been fun, but I am not sure how relevant a lot of it has been.
I really first got into writing when I was a senior in high school. I joined Journalism as a class I thought would be an easy A for my senior year. I had a lot of friends in the class and they told me how fun it was, so I figured it was a win-win proposition: fun and easy both. It was those things, but I ended up getting way into it and probably spending more time on that class than I had any other single class in my high school career. I also found my favorite all time teacher. We ended up winning all sorts of awards and I found something that I really enjoyed and was even pretty good at - though most of my writing was juvenile smart alec stuff I got to write as the Opinions Editor.
I am starting to feel like I am writing quite a bit now, but going nowhere with it - so I wanted to add a bit of purpose, or focus. From now on I will be doing by best to write about something to be learned from scripture on Sundays and something I have learned about ministry when I write on mid-week on Wednesdays. If you prefer hearing me expose my own idiocy, tune in on the other days.
Since today is Sunday, I figured it is the perfect (and only rationale) day to unleash my Scripture Sundays on you.
I have a Bible in my bathroom. In my house, that is the best and maybe only place it is possible to get any quiet time - so I take advantage. Yesterday morning, I came across a cool little pericope that I thought was worth taking note of.
The passage in question is Ephesians 4:1-6 and is title "Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ." Pretty appropriate for a Sunday I'd say. The coolest part for me is taking this section and reading it backwards. Not all the way backwards, then it doesn't make sense - just start with the last verse and go back to the first. The emphasis here is, as you will soon see - oneness. Here we go.
"one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all"
In looking at this backwards, we get to first see the reasons for the actions promoted, and among those actions we now first get to see the primary; the God and Father of all. He is the first and foremost, the everything. His ultimate oneness is the reason for ours.
The previous verse highlights how that transfers to us:
"one Lord, one faith, one baptism"
This is what defines a "Christian" at it's most basic. Taking Jesus as your Lord, sharing faith in His gospel, participating in His death and resurrection. Pretty tidy. Oftentimes unity in the Body gets disturbed due to secondary issues. Actually, it almost never gets disturbed due to the challenging of the primary issues.
If you disagree with the primary issues, ones that affect salvation, there comes a point fairly quickly where you are simply not a Christian - at that point the disturbance of the peace is warranted, as the two cannot coexist in one "body." It then becomes division from the body, not within the body. Serious, but different.
"There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called"
Sitting in a church service often makes it hard to imagine that you are part of one body with all believers, in one spirit with one Spirit, celebrating the same hope. When you are doing things the way you do them, it is hard to imagine being in communion at that moment with people who are doing it differenty; the charismatics down the road or the Catholics around the corner.
I love going to big youth events and seeing a large group of young Christians come together and experience that unity on a large scale. It is cool to imagine the Spiritual unity we experience when we worship each week - it is even cooler to actually see that physical unity. It really a shame that sort of thing doesn't happen more often.
Little things split churches and leave them with deep schisms that often won't heal even after those generations have passed on. Smaller breaks of unity happen all the time when individuals, families, or even small groups leave one church for another in anger. The relationship breaks based on trivial matters that often end up being forgotten within a matter of months are heart-breaking.
Now comes the responsibility born by all members of the faith to avoid such tragedy:
"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."
It turns out that much of the time, when people leave a church, they had been wanting to do so for a while, but the issue brought before them finally gave them a reason to do so. In that case, all your efforts at keeping unity are probably in vain - and the person doing the leaving is failing to make that effort themselves. That being said, we don't have license to simply write someone off as hopeless and give up our responsibility to continue in the effort:
"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."
Humble? Put others first, even (especially) when you don't think they deserve it. Yeah, if everyone spent less time trying to get everything working the way they thought was best, 97%+ of the conflict in the local church would be eliminated. Get over your preferences in music style, song selection, service set up, building design, and room decor. Matters of opinion are not matters for division. One of the biggest reasons for conflict is church leaders trying to please everyone and failing to please anyone.
Gentle? That's the opposite of harsh. Using the right words and tone can make the difference in striving for unity.
Patient? Yeah, people are pretty stupid a lot of the time. That includes me. That include you. That's why we are supposed to bear with one another in love - if we weren't all bumbling idiots a significant amount of the time that wouldn't be necessary. In all reality, the times when your patience is most being tested, you are most likely to be causing the same stress on your current adversary.
We have all been called to something more than the a life of divisiveness, of making small matters into big deals. I will conclude with the words Paul used to open this passage:
"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received."
I really first got into writing when I was a senior in high school. I joined Journalism as a class I thought would be an easy A for my senior year. I had a lot of friends in the class and they told me how fun it was, so I figured it was a win-win proposition: fun and easy both. It was those things, but I ended up getting way into it and probably spending more time on that class than I had any other single class in my high school career. I also found my favorite all time teacher. We ended up winning all sorts of awards and I found something that I really enjoyed and was even pretty good at - though most of my writing was juvenile smart alec stuff I got to write as the Opinions Editor.
I am starting to feel like I am writing quite a bit now, but going nowhere with it - so I wanted to add a bit of purpose, or focus. From now on I will be doing by best to write about something to be learned from scripture on Sundays and something I have learned about ministry when I write on mid-week on Wednesdays. If you prefer hearing me expose my own idiocy, tune in on the other days.
Since today is Sunday, I figured it is the perfect (and only rationale) day to unleash my Scripture Sundays on you.
I have a Bible in my bathroom. In my house, that is the best and maybe only place it is possible to get any quiet time - so I take advantage. Yesterday morning, I came across a cool little pericope that I thought was worth taking note of.
The passage in question is Ephesians 4:1-6 and is title "Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ." Pretty appropriate for a Sunday I'd say. The coolest part for me is taking this section and reading it backwards. Not all the way backwards, then it doesn't make sense - just start with the last verse and go back to the first. The emphasis here is, as you will soon see - oneness. Here we go.
"one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all"
In looking at this backwards, we get to first see the reasons for the actions promoted, and among those actions we now first get to see the primary; the God and Father of all. He is the first and foremost, the everything. His ultimate oneness is the reason for ours.
The previous verse highlights how that transfers to us:
"one Lord, one faith, one baptism"
This is what defines a "Christian" at it's most basic. Taking Jesus as your Lord, sharing faith in His gospel, participating in His death and resurrection. Pretty tidy. Oftentimes unity in the Body gets disturbed due to secondary issues. Actually, it almost never gets disturbed due to the challenging of the primary issues.
If you disagree with the primary issues, ones that affect salvation, there comes a point fairly quickly where you are simply not a Christian - at that point the disturbance of the peace is warranted, as the two cannot coexist in one "body." It then becomes division from the body, not within the body. Serious, but different.
"There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called"
Sitting in a church service often makes it hard to imagine that you are part of one body with all believers, in one spirit with one Spirit, celebrating the same hope. When you are doing things the way you do them, it is hard to imagine being in communion at that moment with people who are doing it differenty; the charismatics down the road or the Catholics around the corner.
I love going to big youth events and seeing a large group of young Christians come together and experience that unity on a large scale. It is cool to imagine the Spiritual unity we experience when we worship each week - it is even cooler to actually see that physical unity. It really a shame that sort of thing doesn't happen more often.
Little things split churches and leave them with deep schisms that often won't heal even after those generations have passed on. Smaller breaks of unity happen all the time when individuals, families, or even small groups leave one church for another in anger. The relationship breaks based on trivial matters that often end up being forgotten within a matter of months are heart-breaking.
Now comes the responsibility born by all members of the faith to avoid such tragedy:
"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."
It turns out that much of the time, when people leave a church, they had been wanting to do so for a while, but the issue brought before them finally gave them a reason to do so. In that case, all your efforts at keeping unity are probably in vain - and the person doing the leaving is failing to make that effort themselves. That being said, we don't have license to simply write someone off as hopeless and give up our responsibility to continue in the effort:
"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."
Humble? Put others first, even (especially) when you don't think they deserve it. Yeah, if everyone spent less time trying to get everything working the way they thought was best, 97%+ of the conflict in the local church would be eliminated. Get over your preferences in music style, song selection, service set up, building design, and room decor. Matters of opinion are not matters for division. One of the biggest reasons for conflict is church leaders trying to please everyone and failing to please anyone.
Gentle? That's the opposite of harsh. Using the right words and tone can make the difference in striving for unity.
Patient? Yeah, people are pretty stupid a lot of the time. That includes me. That include you. That's why we are supposed to bear with one another in love - if we weren't all bumbling idiots a significant amount of the time that wouldn't be necessary. In all reality, the times when your patience is most being tested, you are most likely to be causing the same stress on your current adversary.
We have all been called to something more than the a life of divisiveness, of making small matters into big deals. I will conclude with the words Paul used to open this passage:
"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received."
Friday, November 5, 2010
Parent Teacher Anticipation
The students in the local school district have a long break this weekend. It is time for parent teacher conferences. I was a sub yesterday morning for the half day of school, so I even got to see some of the action first hand.
I am pretty pumped for when Jack and Liam are old enough for me to get to go to PTC's. I don't even know what they are like, but in my mind they are super cool. I have a sneaking feeling that most of the time I will go in and they will say, everything is fine - nothing more and nothing less.
"Here are some papers, he got in trouble a few times but nothing abnormal."
Boring.
At this point I can't imagine it will play out that way. Jack says ridiculous things, and if my personal academic history is any indicator, we are in for a lot more than that.
Jack manages to hear and process more than what seems like would be normal for a 3 year old. He doesn't just repeat stuff, he figures out how to use words and phrases and does it in the right way. If he doesn't know what something means, he tests it out. In the last few days, he has found out the hard way a few words that will get him into trouble.
Jack has also yet to develop the proper speech filters. He talks like he uses the restroom - no discretion whatsoever. He never closes the door to the bathroom and he recently started to pull down his pants at an outdoor wedding in spite of being less than 4 yards from a park restroom. He doesn't change his volume or vocabulary to fit the setting.
I imagine those parent teacher conferences will be pretty interesting, especially as he gets older. In some strange way, I am looking forward to the accountability. I think that is why I am hoping for more that so ho-hum meeting with the teacher. I don't really seek approval for things I am doing right - I want the good stuff. What is this kid saying and doing?
It seems like people are far too protective of their kids, in a wide variety of ways.
Here's a heads up - your children can be and will be in the wrong at times. A lot of times.
I don't see my role as a father to simply be a protector at all costs. I know well that my kids are often defenseless because of their age and need that from me, but I also know them well enough to recognize they are not angels. Jack and Liam will grow up knowing responsibilities and consequences. If they have bad grades, it isn't the teachers' fault. If they are getting in trouble for being disrespectful, the fault likely is their own.
It seems that the PTC is a way for the teacher to get my help. Hopefully, the most help they will need is advice about how to respond when Jack says something that they simply so ridiculous that they don't know how to respond. We will have plenty of experience in that by then.
I am pretty pumped for when Jack and Liam are old enough for me to get to go to PTC's. I don't even know what they are like, but in my mind they are super cool. I have a sneaking feeling that most of the time I will go in and they will say, everything is fine - nothing more and nothing less.
"Here are some papers, he got in trouble a few times but nothing abnormal."
Boring.
At this point I can't imagine it will play out that way. Jack says ridiculous things, and if my personal academic history is any indicator, we are in for a lot more than that.
Jack manages to hear and process more than what seems like would be normal for a 3 year old. He doesn't just repeat stuff, he figures out how to use words and phrases and does it in the right way. If he doesn't know what something means, he tests it out. In the last few days, he has found out the hard way a few words that will get him into trouble.
Jack has also yet to develop the proper speech filters. He talks like he uses the restroom - no discretion whatsoever. He never closes the door to the bathroom and he recently started to pull down his pants at an outdoor wedding in spite of being less than 4 yards from a park restroom. He doesn't change his volume or vocabulary to fit the setting.
I imagine those parent teacher conferences will be pretty interesting, especially as he gets older. In some strange way, I am looking forward to the accountability. I think that is why I am hoping for more that so ho-hum meeting with the teacher. I don't really seek approval for things I am doing right - I want the good stuff. What is this kid saying and doing?
It seems like people are far too protective of their kids, in a wide variety of ways.
Here's a heads up - your children can be and will be in the wrong at times. A lot of times.
I don't see my role as a father to simply be a protector at all costs. I know well that my kids are often defenseless because of their age and need that from me, but I also know them well enough to recognize they are not angels. Jack and Liam will grow up knowing responsibilities and consequences. If they have bad grades, it isn't the teachers' fault. If they are getting in trouble for being disrespectful, the fault likely is their own.
It seems that the PTC is a way for the teacher to get my help. Hopefully, the most help they will need is advice about how to respond when Jack says something that they simply so ridiculous that they don't know how to respond. We will have plenty of experience in that by then.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Slippery Slopes and Political Hopes
It happens to be election day and I happen to be absolutely burnt out on the types of advertisements that are entering my consciousness via television, radio, mail, and strangers on my front porch. I don't care much what one candidate or their supporters have to say about the other, so most political advertisement is of no use to me. Their tactics are silly and really shouldn't be effective. Sadly, all too often, large groups of people buy into silly and illogical propaganda purporting one extreme view or another.
It is hard to differentiate one from the other, but I think I have a favorite type of scare tactic: the slippery slope.
The basic idea behind this is to take one small step or subtle change in course and extrapolate it to the ludicrously extreme. I like this one because it gets used outside of politics quite a bit and seems to be a special favorite of religious folks.
An example:
If we allow for gay marriage, we are taking a dangerous step onto a slippery slope that will inevitably lead us to a reality where ministers are forced to officiate these ceremonies and where eventually humans and animals will be allowed to enter into this once holy union.
Since this isn't actually a blog about that subject, I will spare you my views to a large extent. Regardless of what you believe, you have to admit that there is a wide space between gay marriage and animal husbandry... One can also recognize the difference between allowing a minister to officiate a ceremony and forcing him to do so in order to avoid prosecution.
A actual slippery slope would necessitate a clear series of closely linked steps in a progression from one point to another.
All too often, using the term slippery slope is a total cop out for not recognizing and directly debating a difficult and potentially dangerous truth. Dangerous to our current reality, the status quo we are currently enjoying, not so much dangerous to truth itself.
I read a book about covenant theology a few years back and really enjoyed it - which is strange because that sort of reading can be hard to really enjoy. The book was "Far as the Curse is Found" by Michael Williams and was recommended by a friend who was studying at a school that favored that view.
I mentioned the idea to another friend who was studying at a different school who favored dispensational theology. The second friend didn't use the slippery slope statement himself, but mentioned what a professor had said about it. Without going into great detail about the actual topic, I will note that the subtitle of the book is "The Covenant Story of Redemption," and the professor suggested that taking that view is dangerous and can become a slippery slope towards classifying scripture as analogy, and eventually, fiction.
Again, you may note the wide space between reading Scripture as a story with overarching themes and defining it as nothing more than a story with overarching themes. To be fair, some people purposely carry the idea in that direction, but for a person to name that as the natural progression is to take a huge and unnecessary step, changing the idea as it was originally presented.
Historically, the Pharisees may have been the originators of the slippery slope argument. They took every law and applied it to the extreme. The spirit of the law was largely ignored. Their reasoning, I suppose, was that if each law wasn't taken to that point, everyone would fall down the slippery sin slope and end up marrying animals or something. Again, not a statement of my views on same sex marriage.
Jesus came along and listened to what God actually said, not what everyone else said about it. He came up with slightly different answers than the Pharisees.
When I think of a slippery slope, I always imagine it as a cartoon strip. Average Citizen is walking down the street and steps on an Immigration banana peel, slipping and falling into a pit of terrorists and undocumented workers taking money directly from his pockets.
I watched an episode of the TV show MythBusters and it turns out that slipping and falling on a single banana peel is implausible. It took a them running haphazardly across a platform blanketed with peels.
Natural progressions into a worse situation aren't fictional, but we need to be careful which ones we believe in. Small sins turn into more sins and more serious sins. A bad idea will gain steam and become a worse idea.
If something is a bad idea, it is going to be a bad idea in and of itself, not just because of what it could potentially lead to. Abusing alcohol is a bad idea. Alcohol isn't is not fundamentally evil, but abusing it is unwise because it is inherently harmful, not merely because it could potentially lead to poor decisions and the use and abuse of other substances.
It seems that for such a disastrous sequence of events to occur, it would take something more like a Rube Goldberg device than a slippery slope.
Take notes for next November, political campaign people.
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