Wonderings and Wanderings

I had the family over for lunch on Mother's Day. My mom deserved the day off from cooking and cleaning although she always puts up a geniune fight about it - not wanting to impose or add work to my day.  But I enjoy it and don't host often for them.  We had a nice meal and just enjoyed some time together playing.

Thanks, Mom, for all you do! You are an amazing role model for me and Angela as a wife, a mom, and a woman. I'm beyond blessed being your daughter.

I've been polling my youth anonymously about the state of our youth ministry.  (Thanks to Survey Monkey for free surveys.) I want us to do some honest evaluation over the summer as we think about the next year in youth ministry.  I've been here 8 and a half years and that makes it easy to get in a rut. 

The responses have been coming in ever so slowly.  They've been mostly positive in a healthy way.  Translation: not overly gussy where I'm skeptical that they are trying not to make me feel bad but practical and balanced. I'm pretty pleased with the maturity of their responses and not surprised by most of them.  It seems that we have struck the rigth balance on activities and events, that we have caring adults, and that the kids feel like they grow from the constant service activities we do.

There is one very clear theme, however, through all of the survey responses:  we are not family.  Here are some of the comments to the open-ended question - "The thing that frustrates or disappoints me most about our youth ministry is . . ."

• When someone new comes were not as welcoming as we should be as youth
• the cliques..they need to mix. starting in middle school...it all starts there.
• how our youth group isnt open to each. we are to clicky. groups dont talk with other groups and sometimes i feel im being judged.
• too clique-y, not very accepting of new people

Ouch, huh? The only good thing about this is that I have a real clear focus for our youth group this next year.

I'd love to hear from some of you what suggestions you have to work through this to being a loving family.  Some of you are youth ministers, all of you are or were teenagers at some point in your life.  What suggestions to you have to fight cliques?  What ideas have you seen to help make a larger youth group family? It is tougher when it is larger (we average 45 - 55 youth 7 - 12 grade) but not impossible!

In case you are curious and want to do your own survey, here are the 10 questions I sent out on this first survey.  More will come as I look for more detailed feedback.

1. Gender
2. Grade in School
3. Please indicate the activities that you attend on a regular basis. (I listed our regular weeky activities.)
4. Please indicate which events you participated in this past year. (I listed our yearly big events like trips and retreats, etc.)
5. How pleased are you with the following ministries this past year? (There was a ranking scale from "I hate it" to "I love it" for every weekly activity and event.
6. In my opinion, our activities are: (four options from "interesting and fun" to "boring and dull.")
7. In my opinion, we: (four option from "need to be more serious about our faith", "need to reach out more to unbelieving students", "the right balance between fun and serious," "need to lighten up and have more fun."
8. I keep coming to our youth group for the following reasons (they could check as many as they wanted from parents, to events, to friends, to adults I like.)
9. The thing I love most about our youth ministry is ...
10. The thing that frustrates or disappoints me most about our youth ministry is . . .

Technorati Tags: cliques in youth ministry, evaluating your youth ministry, survey monkey, youth ministry

I already posted about the fact that this Friday, April 25, is World Malaria Day.  (Buy a net, save a life.)

Well, there is another pesty problem on Friday that is getting under people's skin and spreading ill feelings throughout the community.  It's the Day of Silence.

According to their website, the DOS,"a project of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), is a student-led day of action when concerned students, from middle school to college, take some form of a vow of silence to bring attention to the name-calling, bullying and harassment -- in effect, the silencing -- experienced by LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) students and their allies..... The goal of the Day of Silence is to inspire change so that such a tragedy and others like it never happen again."

This is the first year the DOS will be observed at Jefferson City High School and it has stirred up a lot of controversy in this little o'town.  Some churches are encouraging members to call the school board members and voice their outrage; some parents are keeping their kids home in protest; some churches have created their own "Truth cards" to hand out to those who are silent to counter the "attack" that the school is under by the "homosexual agenda".  One pastor in town wrote on his blog, "The “Day of Silence” sponsored by the “Gay/Straight Club” and Jefferson City High School is another. Yes, there really is that club at JCHS and they really are seeking to advance a homosexual agenda."

The stated goal of DOS has nothing to do with advancing a homosexual agenda.  I'm not saying that some might make it their personal agenda. It seems there are quite a few personal agendas in the mix on both sides. But don't put that upon the official DOS.  The "agenda" of the DOS is to silence hate - whether in word or in deed. What follower of Jesus Christ could oppose this goal? Christ himself was a vocal opponent of hate.

What grieves me is that Christians who use DOS to advance their particular agenda are distracting from a very Christ-like message that needs to be heard. Bullying, name-calling, and harassment of any kind are wrong.  The thing that most breaks my heart is that I fear the most visible representation of Christ on Friday is going to be those who, by their own actions, are making the agenda of DOS homosexuality rather than what it truly is designed to be. Let's fight hate ... not each other.

Now, having said all of this, let me share a couple of personal feelings about the DOS:

• I encourage those students, who feel led out of the right heart to participate in the DOS, to respect the classroom.  A tremendous impact can be made by remaining silent before and after school; in the hallways; at lunch.  Can you even imagine the difference a few silent people would make in the cafeteria? But respect the classroom - a privilege that many children around the world crave yet are denied.
• One DOS doesn't mean squat if we don't really do anything about ending bullying, name-calling, and harassment on a daily basis.  It's "cool" and "trendy" to be part of a big event like this but Christ is by far more concerned with the daily living out of Christ-like character.  So -- don't go silent if you don't plan to make a determined effort with the help of the Spirit to not bully, name-call, or harass which we do mostly in the form of gossip. I'd much rather see us do this every day rather than having one day where we are on good behavior.

And like always let me end with this disclaimer.  This is my personal blog.  I don't even dare speak for the church I serve. We're Baptists, you know.  For every 50 of us, we have 52 different opinions on an issue.

Okay, leave the comments.  I know I'm going to get some on this one.

Technorati Tags: Day of Silence

World Malaria Day is this Friday, April 25th.

Malaria is a killer. In Africa, it is the number one killer of children. But it doesn't have to be. Malaria is both a preventable and treatable disease. It can be prevented by giving families and individuals insecticide-treated bed nets to sleep under and taking steps to kill mosquitoes where they breed and when they enter houses to feed at night. At the same time, anti-malarial drugs such as artemisinin and other combination therapies that are widely available can treat malaria before it becomes deadly.

Life-Saving Facts

• For just $10 we can buy a bed net, distribute it to a family, and explain its use.
• Insecticide-treated bed nets can keep a family safe for up to four years.
• Nothing But Nets has partnered with the Measles Initiative to deliver the nets to even the most hard-to-reach areas of Africa.

I have a team called "BuzzKillers" and we are putting malaria on notice! If you'd like to give any amount of money - whether $10 or more - go to www.NothingbutNets.net and do a search for my team, BuzzKillers.  Then, just follow the instructions to make your online donation.  We already have $270 - that's 27 nets out there saving lives.

Make a difference.  Save a life.

Technorati Tags: Malaria, Nothing but Net, World Malaria Day

I've been robbed. It's so sad.

Someone has taken my April. I swear it was just here the other day and then I turn around and... it's gone.  If anyone finds it, please return it to me. I miss it and I really, really need it.

Last night went to a local showing of Invisible Children and a benefit concert.  The Go Help Club at the local public high school sponsored the event.  I went not only because I'm a big supporter of Invisible Children but because one of the two bands was a band of some of my youth guys.  It was a great night.  I wish more people had come but some new people heard about the issues in Northern Uganda, some letters were written to political leaders, and some money was raised.  I heard a new story about a boy named Sunday and also purchased a DVD about a girl named Grace.  Looking forward to showing it to the youth soon.

This weekend is part II of Sharefest 08.  The church I serve did a big community service event last weekend and we finish it up this Saturday with some better weather for outside painting.  Last weekend we painted inside our partner elementary school, did some landscaping outside, did yard cleanup in the community, collected food and toiletries for distribution and even got some folks in to donate blood.  Its been a great event with several church members getting their hands dirty making a difference.

Looking forward to hanging out with some friends tomorrow night in COMO (Columbia, MO). If you are in the area, make sure to come to the Cherry St. Artisan in downtown Columbia at 8:30 pm for some awesome music.  Featured Bands: Lacy Adair, Ross Christopher, and Zach and Glen.

Technorati Tags: Cherry Street Artisan, First Baptist Church, Invisible Children, Lacy Adair, Ross Christopher, Sharefest

I'm one of those weirdos who listens to sermons on days other than Sundays. And I mean, sermons.  Not long-winded comments from people in my life who care or a hard-nosed politician on the campaign trail.  I listen to real proclamations from folks around the United States.  My ipod is loaded with podcasts from select churches and when I walk, I listen to them both as a spiritual feeding as well as way of growing as a preacher.

So, here, in no particular order, are the preachers in my life:

• Dr. Doyle Sager - the pastor of the church where I serve. I hear him in living color each week.
• Rob Bell - Founding pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Erwin McManus - Lead Pastor at Mosaic in Los Angeles
• Darrin Patrick - Founding and lead pastor at the Journey in St. Louis, Missouri
• Rick McKinley - Pastor at Imago Dei Community in Portland, Oregon

Now, these guys don't preach every Sunday so I often get the pleasure of hearing from other teaching pastors at those churches. And the variety is great. Listening to sermons from all over the US helps me not stay stuck in my world here in Jefferson City.  So I exercise my legs and my spirit and my mind every chance I get.

You can find podcasts for each of these guys (except for Doyle Sager) on itunes.  I'm working on a podcast for our church so stay tuned.

Technorati Tags: Darrin Patrick, Doyle Sager, Erwin McManus, Rick McKinley, Rob Bell, sermon podcasts

I was spending some time today reading the different gospel accounts of the Resurrection as I spiritually prepare for the Easter celebration.  Those who have read books or Scripture several times know what it is like to suddenly see something new in the words that were not obvious before or that you simply missed because you were looking for something else.

Today I had that experience with John, the one Jesus loved.  Now, I had never missed that statement before because John says it over and over again in the Gospel of John and it always strikes me as humorous when he refers to himself that way - "the one Jesus loved".

Today I was reading and comparing the different account of the women trying to convince the men that Jesus had risen. [Note who comprehended the truth first. :) ] Anyway, in the gospel of John, note John's description of what happened.

"Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone was moved away from the entrance. She ran at once to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, breathlessly panting, 'They took the Master from the tomb. We don't know where they've put him.' Peter and the other disciple left immediately for the tomb.  They ran, neck and neck.  The other disciple got to the tomb first, outrunning Peter."  John 20:2-4

I was laughing out loud when I read this.  Of all that was going on - Christ's body was missing from the tomb - John makes sure to mention that he and Peter were running neck and neck and he got there first - outrunning Peter.  Doesn't that just sound like guys?  I mean, really who cares?  Women wouldn't mention those facts. There would be a simple statement that they ran to the tomb (maybe a sidenote about what shoes were carrying them there so quickly) but other than that, we'd get to the point - JESUS isn't there!!

John, "the other disciple" goes on to say in the next verse

"Stopping to look in, he [John] saw the pieces of linen cloth lying there,  but he didn't go in. Simon Peter arrived after him, entered the tomb, observed the linen cloths lying there, and the kerchief used to cover his head not lying with the linen cloths but separate, neatly folded by itself.  Then the other disciple, the one who had gotten there first, went into the tomb, took one look at the evidence, and believed."

Just in case you missed the point in the first few verses, John wants to remind you that he got there first.  He outran Peter.  Oh, and yes, he took one look at the evidence and believed. :) Way to go, John, the beloved, the one Jesus loved, the one who outran Peter.  This account sounds just like my high school guys.

John was a man's man.

Happy Easter. Whether you can outrun John or not, I do pray that you will take a look at the evidence and believe.  Believe that you, like John, can lay claim as the one Jesus loves.

Technorati Tags: Easter, John, Resurrection