Blogelemy

Not Doing the Dew

I was in the dentist chair this past Friday afternoon going through the typical ordeal getting asked the typical questions.  One of those questions for me was, "So, how many pops do you drink a day?"  For those of you reading this blog from a different part of the country "pop" is the Midwest word for soda (or "Coke" if you are from the south).  I sat there wanting to give an answer like you would at the DMV when they ask you your weight (I wanted to lie). As I sat there, I realized how ridiculous my caffeine consumption is.  My beverage of choice is Mountain Dew.  Which is one drop short of an energy drink.  I'm sorry to admit that I treated Mountain Dew or caffeine like someone else might treat a beer.  After a stressful or long day at work, I would come home and open a cold one.  I would also treat it like some might treat coffee.  If I wake up a little groggy, I often reach for the green can.  I can safely say that I often drank at least four cans a day!  (shh... don't tell my dentist). 

So, I have spent this week working on moderating my caffeine intake by completely cutting it off. That's right I haven't had caffeine since Saturday morning (a whopping 5 days).  I have gone through a pretty long week of headaches but so far it has been worth it.

I don't plan on kicking caffeine altogether, I just want to moderate my consumption and be able to honestly say that I'm not addicted to it.  As I talk to friends and collegues, I am realizing that I am not alone in my overindulgence with caffeine.  In fact I would go so far as to say that caffeine is the evangelical drug of choice.  It's crazy to me how we overlook this 'mood-altering' drug as okay.  I can't tell you how many times I told my kids they can drink water or milk while I was chugging a can of Dew.  Yikes, there goes "Father of the Year".

Youthworkers gone wild...

I realize that this has been around for a while but I couldn't help but post it.  My favorite part is the guys reaction after the disaster:

Behind the Music: Misty Edwards

Misty Edwards is a worship leader from the IHOP church in Kansas City.  She has a fresh (kind of hippie) sound that I find myself listening to every once and a while.  I have been mulling over some lyrics from the song "See the Way" from the album "Always On His Mind" by Misty Edwards.  Here are the lyrics (credit to lyricstime.com):

With just one word from your mouth were the heavens made
with just one breath from your lips the foundations were laid
with just one dream in your heart you have wanted me
with just one pulse of your heart you are wooing me

see the way he holds the stars in his hands
see the way he holds my heart

God is a lover looking for a lover
so he fashions me
God is a lover looking for a lover
so he forms my heart

with just one pulse of your heart
I'm in love

 

There is one line in the Bridge that says, "God is a lover looking for a lover so He fashions me".  I have gone back and forth on what I think about this lyric.  There is part of me that wants to pick a fight with this phrase.  I don't have a problem with her saying that "God is a lover...".  I fully agree with that. God in His very nature is all about love.  The next two phrases I struggle with , "...looking for a lover, so he fashions me..."  God by his nature is Triune and He is love.  Within the trinity relationship of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit there is perfect love.  So, I question whether God is looking for a lover.  In some ways this might imply that God needs us in order to be complete in and of Himself to which is heresy.  Although he did create us for His own glory.  And He did create us so that we would choose to love him. I imagine that Edwards is focusing on the fact that 1) God is love and 2)He is pursuing his creation with an undying love. 

 

 

"Jumping on the Bandwagon"

So, I have been accused of something lately.  I have been accused of jumping on the Tampa Bay Rays "bandwagon".  For the most part, I would agree and argue that most people right now who are rooting for the Rays are on the bandwagon.  This morning I wondered where we got that phrase. 

Here is the quote from Wikipedia (so take the credibility with a "grain of salt"*):

Literally, a bandwagon is a wagon which carries the band in a parade, circus or other entertainment.  Dan Rice, a famous and popular circus clown of the time, used his bandwagon and its music to gain attention for Zachary Taylor's campaign appearances. As Taylor's campaign became more successful, more politicians strove for a seat on the bandwagon, hoping to be associated with the success. Later, during the time of William Jennings Bryan's 1900 presidential campaign, bandwagons had become standard in campaigns, The phrase "jump on the bandwagon" first appeared in American politics in 1848 when and 'jump on the bandwagon' was used as a derogatory term, implying that people were associating themselves with the success without considering what they associated themselves with.

Those who know that I was born and raised in the Tampa Bay area understand for reasons of proximity why I would go all in on the Tampa Bay Rays as they are making their push to be world champions.  I was privileged to go to the very first Tampa Bay Devil Rays game played in St. Petersburg 10 years ago when I was on Spring Break with some college friends and my dad. 

I would say that the Rays caught my eye right before the All-Star Break.  It was then that I realized that this team had a legitimate chance to be competitive in their division.  At that time, I never imagined that they were this good!  I would argue that except for a few longtime season ticket holders, everyone who is rooting for the Rays are on some sort of bandwagon.  They have been too horrible in their entire franchise existence for anyone to say that they have always been a die hard fan.  Bandwagon or not, I am enjoying watching this team play hard as a team and make a strong run for the title!  Go Rays!



*- I'm going to have to do a similar post on "a grain of salt"

Firesale of Cd's

The other day I was cleaning out our garage and I found an old CD that I got back in '93 at the Creation Festival in Pennsylvania.  The band was The Prayer Chain and the CD was the "Whirlpool EP".  I'm pretty sure that this was the first CD that I have ever owned and it happened be signed by the band.  Just on a whim I posted it for sale on Amazon.  Since it was signed, I marked it as "collectible".  A few days later the CD sold for $12 (probably more than I paid for it at the time).  Since then I have been looking at my crazy full CD case wondering what else should be sold.

Thoughts on Influence

We are continuing our next part on our series on Influence tonight in Crave.  It is obvious to me from my experience in youth ministry that the most influential person in the life of a highschooler is another highschooler.  It is also obvious that I help create a tension in students lives when I challenge them to reach out to their nonchristian friends yet to be careful not to get caught up in unhealthy friendships.  I wonder if students are wondering, "Which one do you want me to do, reach out to my friends or make sure I have healthy friendships!"  The answer is both. 

Like most youth ministries, I have students who want to be challenged, who want to go deeper.  Sometimes this means that they want to be a part of a Bible study where they leave not understanding everything (because it was so deep).  However, I am convinced that the best way to challenge a high schooler is to encourage them to reach the lost.  There might not be any greater way to go "deep" than to have one's faith observed, challenged and questioned.  Tonight's lesson is on standards (or convictions).  I am convinced that a great tool for students to influence their friends is to establish, articulate and follow-through on convictions.  My prayer is that out of this series students will desire to influence thier friends to further the Kingdom.

Football = Relationships

Has there ever been a better day of Sports for Tampa fans than last Sunday?

Those who know me know that I love professional football.  I'm a nominal basketball and baseball fan.  However, this year I am all over the Rays and their quest for the World Series Championship. 

One of my favorite things about football is how it is tied to relationships.  Among other things, my parents and I enjoy talking about how the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are doing both off-season and on.  I have friends and acquaintances all over the country who are fans of different teams.  Often these loyalties cause us to communicate.  For example, if my team is playing the Washington Redskins, I will talk to my friend from Bethel Seminary, Dave Runion.  If my team is playing the Dallas Cowboys (which they are this weekend), I will be on the phone with the Junior High Pastor, Travis Armstrong.  I have lots of friends who are Chicago Bears fans (Matt Sharp, Dave Nordyke, Kevin DeVries) and others who follow the Packers (Stephanie Armstrong, Dawn Fong, JP Turner).  I could go on and on nearly every team is covered in this, being in Minnesota I have lots of friends who rise and fall with the Vikings (shout out to Ken Reily, my in-laws). These ties allow me to think about my friends when their team is doing well, not so well, when our teams are playing each other, or when they make a gutsy off-season trade.

So, maybe this is my defense for being a football fan, but there are lots of relationships that I am able to continue not because of Facebook, not because of proximity but thanks to the NFL.

Keeping up with the Joneses...

The other day I realized that our street mailbox was beyond repair, it needed to be completely replaced (see above).  I didn't pay too much attention to the type of mailbox we got, I just got a black medal mailbox.  When I went to "install" it, I realized that this mailbox was different from the other three (see below). Let me know if you need help determining what is different!

I thought for a while about taking the mailbox back and getting one that matched the other mailbox sizes.  I didn't know what my neighbors would think, am I being arrogant or prideful to "think" that I deserve a bigger mailbox to hold all the mail that we receive?  Do I really think I'm that important?! 

Perhaps, I will start a mailbox trend where my neighbors will try to match my bold, big, black mailbox.  For now I am too lazy to care about the size of my mailbox. Feel free to send me a letter (it should fit in my ginormous mailbox).

My thrifty wife...

My wife, Greta, is excellent at saving our family money.  Take yesterday as an example.  We went bowling as a family in Eden Prairie.  We had a coupon for free bowling for two hours, shoes and a pitcher of Coke.  Subtotal for the day: $0

After bowling, we grabbed some ice cream at McDonald's (with a playland of course).  At McDonald's we had four sundaes.  Then Greta and I thought it might be fun to watch a movie after the kids go to bed.  So, we checked out "Baby Mama" from the Redbox.  And of course we had a code from Inside Redbox.  Total at McDonald's $4.

So, I realize that this isn't new math but it cost our family $4 to go bowling, have a cone at McDonald's and rent a movie.  Thank God my wife knows how to save!

So long TUFW

I just got the news that the satellite campus of Taylor University in Fort Wayne (TUFW) that I spent my four college years at is shutting down its campus.  While this is quite a shock and disappointment it really doesn't affect me too much.  Taylor University still has its main campus in Upland and my diploma says Taylor University on it.

When I think back to my former schools and former places of employment I see a pattern.  For some reason, I tend to move on without looking back after I leave. I'm not sure if this is good or bad.  I haven't returned to my high school for a reunion, I haven't returned to Prairie Lakes Church my previous ministry location and after ten years of being a graduate of TUFW, I had not made a return trip to see friends or faculty.  I don't know why I don't make a point of returning to these places. 

Just so that I can be a little nostalgic, here are some of the things that took place in my life while at TUFW (in no particular order):

• I met my wife Greta and learned that she was the one for me.
• I received my calling to youth ministry
• I played college-level soccer
• I had excellent professors who challenged me personally
• I got to experience youth ministry while learning about it at the local Youth for Christ.
• I gained some really close friends who I still am pretty close to via Fantasy Football and Facebook
• I preached my first sermon
• I endured my first four winters in the Midwest

If you build it...

About a month ago we finished a summer project of completely overhauling the Senior High Ministry space called "The Underground".  It took a lot of work, collaboration, creativity and funding.  But a few weeks of using it, it seems all worth it.  I have had this task before as I had the task of designing a student ministry space called "Exit 224" at my previous church. (they by the way are about to redesign that space in order to accommodate more children read more).  I learned from this process at PLC that it is not a build it and they will come.  Students still need relationships first.  It wasn't the environment that brought students to PLC it is definitely the growing relationships that they have with leaders who care.

While we were in the process of dreaming and planning, I ran across the following quote from Walter Surdacki (what a cool last name), "Is our youth room a recreation zone? a sanctuary for worship? a home away from home? a mini Starbucks? a graveyard for free Christian music posters?  Here's what I think: Like everything else in youth ministry, theological guiding principles come into play when we design, decorate, or even a build a youth room from scratch"  This quote got me thinking and I am still thinking about what purpose our ministry space serves. What are we trying to do with this space.  Here's what I have so far:

On the student ministry cafe:

• We desire to have a space that is attractive to students.  Not only do we want it attractive but we hope that students will not want to leave, that they will desire to stay and connect with thier friends.
• We desire to create an atmosphere where students can invite their friends as an entry point into our student ministry community.  We want it to be confortable and safe as well as attractive and irresistable.
• We desire to create a platform where leaders can naturally connect with students.
• To sum it up we hope that the student ministry cafe can allow students to connect with each other.

On theUnderground meeting space:

• This environment is to help students see God's Glory and be able to engage with Him in worship.
• We hope that this place is free from distraction so that students can't miss what God is communicating to them through music, His Word, testimony, etc.
• To sum it up we hope that theUnderground meeting space will allow students to connect with Jesus and leave different than when they first came in.

Since ministry spaces aren't build it and they will come, we have to prioritize our role of building relationships with students.  We just have new couches to do that on!

Leaders!

We just got back yesterday from a Student Ministry Volunteer Leader Retreat in St. Cloud.  Kip Wahlquist of Transforming Resources trained us through his "Equipped to Care" program.  It was a great weekend for many reasons.  Let me try to share a few. 

• It was great to spend time together just as leaders to play, share, learn and worship.
• Kip's training was relevant to the ministry that the leaders had with their students as well as with their personal lives.  It was great to learn alongside them and not have to try to have all the answers.  Kip's training was interactive allowing us to get to know other leaders better.
• We got to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings
• My wife got to join me and get to know the leaders better.  This might be the last time that can happen for a while with the upcoming baby.
• The second annual "Jungle Ball" basketball game took place without disappointment.  However, I am very sore.

I can say that this is one of the most talented group of leaders that I have ever been around.  I am excited to see what God is going to do through this team.  It is clear that we need to