Blogelemy

Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga for the Wii

I am taking a week of vacation this week to spend some quality time with my family.  Our kids are on spring break so we are all literally spending the entire week together.  We have a bunch of fun outings planned all at a low price thanks to my thrifty wife.  Anyways, one of the things that I am looking forward to is breaking out a Wii game that my son is going to go crazy over.  If you've ever had any sort of conversation with our son, you would know quickly that he REALLY enjoys Lego's, Star Wars and playing the Wii.  So later this week, this will be played:

This game is the ultimate trifecta of our son's favorite things! To my knowledge he doesn't even know this game exists.  If you hear a loud random scream of joy sometime on Wednesday or Thursday, you'll know that we broke this game out.

As his father I will do my best to find the energy to play with this game with him.  I know its hard for you to not feel sorry for me.  Don't worry I'll be fine.

Let Me See Your Grill

I'm excited because this week we are going to purchase a new propane grill.  We haven't had one since we moved back to the Twin Cities a year and a half ago.  I learned that gas grills typically don't move real well from home to home and ours proved that to be true.  So, I look forward to warm weather & food out on the grill.  One of my favorite things to grill that I learned from my in laws is onion.  I take a whole onion and wrap it in tin foil with some salt and pepper and grill it until it is completely soft.  It may sound strange but it is delicious.  The last time I purchased a grill I was insistent on having the side burner but after not using it once, I know better this time!

Make It Count

This past weekend we hosted a dodgeball tournament with the junior and senior high school ministry at Grace Church.  This is an event that we have been doing for at least four years in this ministry (personally this was only the second one that I had been a part of).  Several months before this event, our team got together and thought creatively about how we could maximize the purpose of this event and create a memory and attraction that would extend to students who don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ.  We determined that our purpose for this event was to create an onramp to the ministry for students.  We wanted to create an appealing experience that would be easy for committed students to invite their friends and fun enough to give them the desire to take the next step.  As far as creativity goes, we looked up the Guinness Book of World Records for what the largest game of Dodgeball was.  Suprisingly it was 50 vs. 50 and was set by the rock band Weezer while shooting a music video for "Troublemaker".  I could've sworn that I have played a larger game of Dodgeball when I was in elementary school.  I guess no one recorded it!

We were more than pleased with the results of this event.  As we reflected on the reasons for this we concluded that there were a few things that contributed to this:

1) we communicated this clearly to the students what the purpose of this event was.
2) we kept the cost down.  It was free to play.  The only cost was lunch if you chose to buy one.
3) we allowed students to register at the door.  This made it hard to organize the teams and brackets
    on the fly.  However, it was helpful for students to procrastinate and wait and see if something
    better comes up (which is what their track record shows)
4) The World Record was a draw for students.  They want to be part of something bigger and the idea
    of being a part of a legitimate world record was appealing to some.  It is amazing what can happen
    when it means more than just a dodgeball tournament.  It appears that we destroyed the record!  It
    will be interesting to see if the people at Guinness recognize it.
5) we provided the means for students to watch the NCAA Tournament.  This removed a potential
    conflict for those students who wanted to watch the games.

There are some great ideas as to how to build on this event for next year.  One thing that we would like to do is partner with other local churches in this endeavor.  I'm left grateful for the team of staff and volunteers who knocked the ball out of the park.  I am proud of our students who asked their friends to join them (there were a lot of students I didn't know who showed up).  I am grateful to God for the best job in the world.

Read Jed Culbertson's blog about World Record Dodgeball

Am I still American if...

I didn't watch Barack Obama appear on Jay Leno?

I get lost watching the show "Lost"?

I don't like baked beans?

I don't consider St. Patrick's Day to be a real holiday?

I filled out a March Madness bracket but haven't watched more than 5 minutes at a time of basketball?

I don't watch "American Idol"?

I don't follow MC Hammer on Twitter?

-------------------------------------

I do watch Jack Bauer on Monday nights.  Doesn't that make up for all of the above?!

Photo Caption Contest - Win a Starbuck's Giftcard!

I'm stealing some creativity from the ESPN.com's PageTwo "Mystery Photo" with this post. Please comment with your caption to the following picture, a gift card to Starbucks will go to the winner (as selected by me):

I like big whiteboards and I can not lie

The highlight of my last week was getting two enormous whiteboards for my office.  I have been in this office for a year and a half and I have been contemplating buying a large whiteboard for the past year.  Last week I was getting to know a new staff member in their office and they said, "look at these great whiteboards that were hung in my office, I found out that there are a bunch of these in storage downstairs".  After hearing this, I did not pass go, I did not collect $200, I called dibs on two whiteboards for my office.

While I haven't quite used them yet, I am excited to be able to organize thoughts, create lists, and create an "idea queue's" instead of having a number of post-its and legal pads with random lists and thoughts strewn all over my office.  So you might say that having a whiteboard is a step in going "green".  Maybe I should call it my "greenboard"?

Here are the whiteboards themselves!:

One great benefit to whiteboards is the artwork that your kids can leave!

We have a leader who has some resemblance to the UPS Whiteboard guy.  Look for us to use the video talents of Jed Culbertson to create the Crave Whiteboard video.

The Afters: Never Going Back to OK

One of my favorite new songs is one that I've had on my iPod for quite a long time.  As a youthpastor I am constantly handed new music and sometimes I don't take a lot of time to listen to it thoroughly.  One time as the iPod was on shuffle the following song came on.  I really like the words and music to it.  I feel like it does a good job describing how disciples of Christ should never desire to go back to the way it was before they were in a committed relationship with Him.  Give it a listen!

Never Going Back To OK - The Afters

LYRICS:

It’s not the end but it feels like it is
I’m waking up like I’m back from the dead
I’m stepping out and it feels so free
But as long as I’m moving it’s alright

I feel alive and it hurts for a change
I’m looking back its hard to believe
That I was cool with the days that I wasted
Complacent and tasteless and bored
But that was yesterday

Chorus
We’re never going back to ok
We’re never going back to easy
We’re never going back to the way it was
We’re never going back to ok

This discontent, like a slap in the face
A mediocre I’ve had enough of this place
This party’s over and I’m moving away
From the frills of your Beverly Hills
That was yesterday

Chorus
We’re never going back to ok
We’re never going back to easy
We’re never going back to the way it was
We’re never going back to ok

We’re here to stay
This is our time
My only life
Our chance to live

Window Shopping

My wife and I are planning on taking our tax refund this year to replace all of the windows in our home this spring.  Unfortunately our current windows have broken seals and are extremely drafty and subsequently not energy efficient at all.  Neither of us have ever been down the road of replacing windows so we have a LOT to learn.  We are finding out that window replacement isn't like replacing a microwave or a toaster there are far more variables involved.  This past Saturday, we had a representative from Home Depot come to our home to give us an estimate and tell us what we didn't know about windows.  Needless to say we were less than pleased with how little this worker did to help us.  He assumed we knew more than we did and didn't take us very serious as potential customers who were genuinely interested in purchasing windows.  While the thought behind this blog post is a little underdeveloped, I can't help but wonder how similar learning about windows is for a pre-Christian  to "shop" Christianity. 

Here are a few observations:

Insider Language There are lots of different terms that are used to define the different parts of a window.  As a person who doesn't sell or install windows, I found myself scratching my head to all of the terms that were thrown at me.  I wonder if nonbelievers scratch their heads at how Christians talk.  Do we use language that they understand?  

Maintenance I've learned that all windows, no matter how expensive or durable they are, need some sort of maintenance.  They need to be cleaned.  The condensation needs to be wiped off.  I never noticed this (could be one of the contributors to why we need to replace our windows).  How many people view Christianity simply as a membership that is maintenance free.   How many preChristians watch other Christians live their life that way?  Rather it is obvious through Scripture that discipleship is crucial to the Christian faith

The Internet can be a good thing or a bad thing  As I am prone to do, I have gone online to research which window is the best for the price.  I have found through a variety of forums and reviews terrible testimonies to every type of window out there.  I have also found conflicting praises of these same windows.  I'm not sure how these windows could be the best that money can buy AND the biggest waste!  I wonder how the variety of views and opinions prohibit a seeking person to be enlightened to the Truth.

The power of testimony  Because there is so much conflicting information, and cut-throat consumerism surrounding windows we have found that the thing we trust the most is the testimony of friends and people we know who have been down this road before.  We can feel our trust and confidence grow as we talk to someone we know who has learned from mistakes or good decisions that they have made in having their windows replaced.  Because of this, we have a contractor or two that we plan on using.  The same must be true for people checking Christianity out.  There is probably nothing more important than relationship and testimony.

The Student Ministries Office (Episode 5) in HD

The Student Ministries Office: Episode 5 from Grace Students on Vimeo.

If you missed the first four episodes you can see them here:

Episode One, Episode Two, Episode Three and Episode Four

Wasting time online with Dailymugshot.com

I find myself wasting time online at times. The lastest thing that I have been doing is dailymugshot.com. If you have webcam (or digital camera) you can take a picture a day and let the pictures create the virtual flip book as you can see below: (you can slow it down if you are getting motion sickness)

Daily Mugshot

I've also created a daily mugshot for the newest addition to our family:

Daily Mugshot

How do you waste time online (besides reading this blog)?

Encouraging Students to Bring their Friends

One of the hardest things in youth ministry is encouraging students to bring their friends.  Case in point, Typically on a Wednesday night we want to provide an atmosphere where students can bring friends but some had shared that with the small group breakouts it is hard to bring a friend who might be uncomfortable with sitting in discussion groups.  They asked if we could do some things that would be set apart as a night where people brought friends.  I really liked this idea! 

So, last night we intentionally hosted a Crave Luau in order to provide an environment where students to bring their friends and have easy next steps for them to enter into the Crave Senior High Ministry community.  Specifically, we shared a trailer to our next series "Gospel Journey Maui"  A few students understood what we were doing and brought new friends, the majority did not.  I talked to a lot of our regular students and asked them, "So, who did you bring?"  Most of them said that they brought the person who comes with them every week (I guess they thought that was funny).  One said that he didn't know about the Luau.  The ironic thing is this same kid won a text message contest a few weeks ago where he had to text this back to us in reverse:

11hcramyadsendewnouaulevarcehtotsdneirfruoyfollagnirb

How did he not know we had a Luau and that this was a night for him to bring his friends to?!

We tried to remove obstacles, pricetags etc. to help students make the sell but for some reason it wasn't compelling enough to our regulars for them to invite their friends.  I try to put myself in these students shoes and I can empathize that their is a lot of risk in asking a friend to something like this.  Most students didn't know how serious we were about THROWING a Luau until they arrived and reacted, "Wow, you guys were serious!"  I can't look at this problem without seeing some glaring holes in how we do things.  We are currently looking at revamping our student leadership (ways that we involve students as the leaders instead of doing everything with adults).  Perhaps if we gave the preparation for this Luau to students, they might've caught the need to invite other friends.

All this to say, after attending today's "Rock the River" launch lunch today, I hope that our ministry can sell the vision for students to take advantage of the opportunity to see thousands experience a changed life through the Good News by not just attending this event themselves but by investing in and inviting their pre-Christian friends.  This will be my prayer for the next several weeks!

Teenagers making a difference - "Hoops of Hope"

I love stories about young teenage men and women who get that they can make a difference now and not later. Pastor Rob Wassenaar forwarded this video to me that shows a young teenager (Austin) who gets it! Watch for yourself: