Cultural Conversation Starters

these bits have popped up in the last couple weeks [some are older, but I just came across them], and they're great discussion starters for your youth group:

- At the MTV Video Music Awards, Jack Black and Leighton Meester came out to present an award, and Jack Black led everyone in a "metal" prayer to Satan. [the video has comments from the person who posted it all over, but you can get the main idea]. What are your students initial reactions to this incident? Is it something to be concerned about? How can they respond?

- On Gossip Girl's episode "The Freshmen," Blair Waldorf invites a group of Christians to a roof top party to embarrass Georgina. The Christians are wearing matching t-shirts, playing tambourines, and handing out evangelism tracks, and they end up ruining the party. How do your students feel about Christians being portrayed in this light? Is there any validity to this? How does it affect their ministry?

-On How I Met Your Mother, Barney explains to Ted that Jesus invented the "three day rule" [that a guy needs to wait three days before calling a girl]. What do your students think about Barney sharing the resurrection in this manner? What impact does it have, knowing that Barney is a womanizer who brags about sleeping with over 200 women?

Bro Montana

Top Ten reasons my brother is pretty great:
10. He appreciates the finer things in life, like bacon-shaped bandaids.
9. His living room is "Flava Flave Gold."
8. He wants to cage match Danny Tanner from the hit sitcom, Full House.
7. He puts up with Dogzilla.
6. He puts up with me.
5. He lets me play folk songs for 3 hours on his death metal guitar.
4. He can't spell to save his life [send him a tweet asking him to spell his middle name: @jchelseafc]
3. He will never stop loving pirates and ghostbusters.
2. He tries to have these awkward caring big brother moments that make me laugh.
1. He's genuinely a good guy who always puts other people first.

My brother is legen.... wait for it... dary! High five!

Heroes [Guest Blogger: Mark Need]

[okay, so Mark just left this as a comment, but it's worth sharing with the rest of you, so eat it up]

I believe in heroes.

I'm not sure I'd trust someone who doesn't. It means they have no aim other than themself.

I also don't believe in the cult of personality that worships heroes/anti-heroes.

IMHO, this is the biggest travesty of Post-Modernism (which for the record, I'm totally for...not a hater at all). The elimination of heroes and the "it couldn've been anyone but they were there at the right time" climate of historical work destroys everything that is great about the human spirit trying to achieve great things.

Good character with ability with desire isn't something to hate or disdain. It's something to admire.

Steve Prefontaine was my first hero (this was before 2 movies were made about him). I vividly remember running on the track in Eugene, Oregon where he ran to crowds clapping to his strides. I ran a full 400 meters with goose bumps...imagining the crowds as I ran.

I went back home, and I began practicing harder than I ever had.

That year I ran my best time, and I felt the glory of finding MY stride, my goals, and my achievements. It was an awesome thing...but "Pre" helped me see the possible...and dream the dream.

Listen to this guy

He doesn't have a record deal.
how?

"4 Chords" at Innovate 09

I was watching the live feed of GCC's Innovate conference last week and saw this- thought it was brilliant. Thanks DC for posting it!

Be your own hero

I just got done seeing a sneak preview of Whip It, a new movie coming out in a few weeks directed by Drew Barrymore and starring Ellen Page. It's incredible, to say the least, and the movie's tagline "be your own hero" sums up the story pretty well. It follows Page's transformation from being an awkward wallflower living a reactive life to a confident woman who stands up for herself, all revolving around the world of roller derby.

I was lucky enough to screen this with around 30-40 members and friends of Fort Wayne's Derby Girls, which was a blast. It was pretty great hearing their commentary through the whole movie, especially about a sport they love so much. They've got a charity event coming up next Friday at the Kachmann gallery, raising money for breast cancer research, which will definitely be worth checking out if you're in the area.

needless to say, it was a great night. i met some incredible women, saw a great movie, and had a blast. The FW Derby Girls have their next bout January 9 at 6pm at the FW Coliseum. for more information, check out their website.

quote of the day

I believe in destiny because I happen to believe in God, and the God I believe in just loves a good story too much to leave the third act to chance. -Alan Sereboff

quote of the day

You have to let yourself BE yourself. Anything less is a disservice to who God created you to be. This life is a struggle, but always always always do YOU. You'll be happier in the end.

Musings on God, Prayer, and Good Hair Days

Seek God while he's here to be found, pray to him while he's close at hand. -Isaiah 55:6 [MSG]

The longer I've known God, the more I've realized that I'm constantly in dialogue with Him. Sometimes it's about little stuff, and sometimes it's about rather important stuff. The great part about that is that all of our concerns are heard by God and cared about by God. It's all important stuff to Him. "God, help me to accomplish my list today." Important. "God, be with the kids on the missing children board at Wal-mart." Important. "God, teach me to be patient enough to learn what You're showing me." Important.

Sometimes I think God laughs at my prayers, similar to how my dad laughs when I call him up needing cooking advice or when I have a really great story to tell him. "God, please let me have a good hair day." "God, please let flip flop weather last all year round." Granted, these are not pressing issues when it comes to, oh, taking care of the world, but they still matter to God, because they're issues on my heart, as silly as they may seem. God cares about me, so He hears me. And because He's not a genie in a lamp, I will probably be wearing shoes this winter, and my hair will not always look like those girls in the shampoo commercials [the after shots, not the befores!], and that's okay. If we always got what we wanted, we wouldn't appreciate what we have.

I'm pretty blessed by God. no, scratch that. I'm INCREDIBLY blessed by God. I feel like I've been getting the dry end of the toilet paper these days [haha, which is really a terrible expression], and it's important to remember that when the toilet paper's dry, you're able to rip a sheet off and share it with a friend in the stall next to you. Yeah, you guys get what I'm saying. You also are probably now realizing that I painted my office all day. And all of God's children nod their heads, with a collective "Oh...." haha!

I love you guys. For real. Feel as blessed as you are. Believe in Him as much as He believes in you. <3

Staff Devotion: 9/15

We've started doing devotions before staff meetings, and I get to lead tomorrow's. Here's a sneak peek at what I'm working on:

In acts of mercy to the homeless, the poor, and the alienated, the serving church offers simple acts of cleansing and feeding. Nothing is more prized to the hungry and homeless like a bath and a meal. Nothing is more characteristic of the church’s essential identity and self-offering than bathing and feeding. –Thomas Oden

We’re called to offer the simple acts of bathing and feeding. As a church, as the hands and feet of Christ, we’re called to bring the living water to the world, to help people come to know Christ so that they may become white as snow. We’re called to bring the bread of life to the world, so that they may be filled and sustained.

In order to cleanse, in order to nurture, we must be clean and fed. A father wouldn’t give a child a bath while he himself was covered in mud- it would defeat the purpose of the cleansing process. And in order to feed, to give of ourselves, we must be fed. A dry sponge can’t do much besides absorb what’s around it, proving useless to onlookers waiting for a drink. Do we need to be perfectly clean to do the will of God? no. Do we need to be perfectly full to do the will of God? no. Do we need to seek after Him with reckless abandon, running towards His love, which fills us and cleanses us? yes.

Weekend Wrap-up

- my students continue to amaze me. last night I had 31 Senior High students show up for youth group, which was a blast. Word on the street is that there will be about 10-15 more showing up in the coming weeks. That's all God, right there.
- this weekend is the Fall Youth Rally at Epworth Forest. We'll be hitting that up for the third year in a row. it's always a good time, and they're also doing the groundbreaking ceremony for the new building project. I've worked with Impact camps since 2002, so this is pretty exciting for me to see this project come to fruition.
- i finally took my bookshelf down so I can finish painting my office. procrastinators of the world unite tomorrow! haha :)
- my thumb is currently broken, which is driving me crazy. now i definitely feel like Optimus Prime because the splint is a honker.
- my birthday is thursday, and i'm really excited. the last couple have been "oh, another birthday..." but this one looks to be a good one. i keep telling everyone 25 is my year, and i firmly believe that. thursday's the family party, friday's the camp friends party, saturday's the church friends party, and sunday, my jr high sunday school class is throwing a party. 4 parties in 4 days? just call me Paris Hilton.
- according to one of my friends, i am the reason the bears lost last night, because i predicted they would win. being a colts fan, i may start making this prediction every weekend.
- i'm having a good hair day.
- i've got this song stuck in my head- "Ridin' Solo" by Jason Derulo... but it's just the line, "Feelin like a star, you can't stop my shine." It's kind of an anthem right now. Part of me wants to get it inked, but we'll see. I always want new ink.
- The MJ tribute at the VMAs was SICK. Janet's duet was incredible. I lost all respect for Kanye West and gave it to Taylor Swift, and Beyonce was the epitome of class. I also gave up on Lady Gaga. I can only take so much.

Random thoughts while waiting for my students

i'm sitting in the youth room now, drinking a stomach acid lemon lime slushy, trying to pass the time until youth group. I get so excited for youth group these days, that every minute seems like an hour. seriously, i look at the clock about every five minutes. i should stop that.

tonight we're headed out into CCity to invite people to the Community Mid-week Meal. It's a free meal served at the church on Wednesdays, and it's awesome. Seriously, the food is pretty scrumptious, and the company is great. I'm blessed to be a part of something that cool.

i'm listening to some pretty sappy music right now. well... it just switched to a not so sappy song. but, prior to the current jam, it was sap-city.

i broke my thumb, which is always exciting. it's been broken for about 3 weeks now, but i thought it was just jammed because it's right above the knuckle. i've got this little transformer-looking splint on it for the time being. it's pretty obnoxious. i have no patience for things like this.

my birthday is thursday. i'm going to be one million. i have to get a new license, but i'm not sure a) where to get it or b) what i will wear. i'll probably get my hair cut right before it. that's what i did last time. i worked it, let me tell you what.

there are about 15 thousand kids outside for the first day of our soccer program, and it is the coolest thing ever. i love when there are kids all over the church property. it makes me really, really excited.

My life has been pretty solid since i moved. I straighten my hair more now, I drink more coffee, I go on more walks with Zilla. I'm happier. I know it seems weird that straight hair would be a sign of happiness, but it makes sense in my book. everything's changing, and at a fairly rapid pace. i love it.

so there it is. a general update on random stuff. i know, you're super excited.

9 things i love on 9/9/09

1. Knowing that I am known by God ... and He still loves me anyway! Haha, in all honesty though, it's the coolest, most reassuring thing in the world to know that God sees my heart and calls me His.

2. The Church ... God's hands and feet on Earth today. While we may not always get things right, while we may wander around like sheep looking for the shepherd's direction, being a part of a global body of believers is a huge encouragement.

3. My family ... I am ridiculously, unbelievably blessed to have the family I have. Not only are they supportive, loving, and unconditional, they're also some of the funniest people I know. We always have a good time when we're together, and I love that we have our own secret brand of crazy

4. My friends ... HOLY COW. I don't have enough fingers and toes to count all of them, which definitely makes me feel blessed. My life is a revolving door of incredible people who not only challenge me to be my best, but walk beside me when I'm at my worst.

5. My students ... I'm not even kidding when I say they're the best group of kids ever. It's not a proud parent thing. They are unbelievably gifted, selfless, and joyful, and it's such an honor and a privilege to be allowed by God to spend time with these kids.

6. Bethel College ... Bethel provided me with an incredible education that allows me to do my best and give God all I've got. Beyond my education, Bethel professors and students challenged me to seek God first, above all else, and bring the Kingdom of God into the world. The longer I'm away from Bethel, the more grateful I am for the time I spent there.

7. The Internet ... I know this seems weird at first, but seriously guys, it keeps me connected with people I would otherwise lose touch with, allows me to learn things I'd never know, and challenges me daily when I read through the blogs of other youth leaders, ministers, and believers.

8. Music ... More often than not, I've found that music can say what I struggle to find the words for. Music can express what I stumble through. Music can comfort, transform, and make me smile, all at the same time. Lately I've started playing more and pushing myself to get better at playing guitar, even writing some stuff. It's an outlet and a blessing.

9. Art ... a continual love of my life. I'm a visual person- it's how I learn. Art, especially paintings, can challenge me to grow in my understanding of the world, it can take me to another place where brush strokes move me from one corner to another, and it can stretch me to see beyond the surface. It's part of my core- being creative. I can't imagine my life without its connection to the arts.

The Nines, part 3

[live blogging nuggets of wisdom from The Nines, a free ministry leadership conference provided all day by leadnet.org]

Steven Furtick: Jesus died a full-time death on a full-time cross for a full-time salvation. There's no such thing as "part-time ministry." All ministry is full-time ministry... If you're facing a dried up brook, God is positioning you to move to a new level. If the brook has dried up, it's not because God has forgotten you; God's got another assignment for you.

Reggie McNeal: I think the missional church is the people of God partnering with God for His redemptive mission in the world. The church should be a "who," not a "what."

Noel Heikkinen: Struggling is a crucial part of our walk. When we have good intentions but are ill-informed, we deprive our church of its health and we sabotage its future. Ex. A moth struggling inside a cocoon, and a boy cuts the cocoon to let the moth out, which ends up killing the moth. Good intentions, but ill-informed.

Craig Groeschel: Dont recruit volunteers; release leaders who can fully utilize their gifts to minister to others. If you provide jobs for volunteers, you get followers. If you provide situations where people can be creative in meeting needs, you get leaders.

Len Sweet: Do you have a big-head spirit or a Jesus spirit? There are no limits to what God can do.

Teresa McBean: Not all spiritual people go to church, and not all church people are spiritual. We must challenge our assumptions.

Greg Surratt: If God's will was being done perfectly on earth as it is in heaven, what would it look like?

The Nines, part 2

[more nuggets of wisdom from The Nines- an online video leadership conference for ministers; each speaker gets 9 minutes to present an idea]

Amy Hanson: we have a narrow focus of what older adult ministry is. we need to expand our thinking on how these people can spend their retirement years. Children's ministry and youth ministry are important, but we also need solid adult ministry.

Dino Rizzo: know Christ. make Him known. know the people you serve. love the people you serve. know your partnerships. know the poor, the marginalized, the suffering.

Jorge Acevedo: "Lord, send us the people that nobody else wants." the life change is bone-deep.

Nancy Beach: As people get closer to you, do they discover more of Christ's likeness or less? Who are you, and how are you affecting those around you? Prov. 4:23- above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

The Nines, part 1

Decided instead of spamming twitter, I'll post here. The Nines is happening right now, and there's some great leadership quotes coming out of it. I missed a couple- came in at the end of Anne Jackson's, and couldn't hear the one after it. Anyway, here's some of the nuggets I've pulled.

Scott Hodge: 1. Am I hearing from God? 2. Am I willing to do whatever it takes to follow God with courage and faith?

Perry Noble: This is not our church but HIS church.

Skye Jethani: [re: ministry] we've equated large with legitimate, and that's eating our souls

Steve Robinson: Worry is temporary atheism.

Tom Hamilton: we've all been in the pits. 1. help those who can't help themselves, 2. do for folks what you would want them to do for you, 3. use your church resources to help people who are stuck in unfavorable situations.

Scott Wilson: there's workers, there's equippers, and there's leaders. raise the bar high, and don't try to lower the standard of what God's called you to do. Model for your church what the leadership culture should look like. [that part is huge]

The Good and Bad of Cyberparenting

When Facebook came out, it was strictly a college student-only social network. As it has grown in relevance and popularity, access has been given to anyone age 13 and up. At first, this meant a flood of high school students [a youth worker's dream!], but lately, there's been an influx of parents logging in, which can rock the boat sometimes.

The original appeal of Facebook was its exclusivity. It's not news that teens/young adults love to have their own space. They're figuring out how the world works, and their main support system rests in their peers. So when moms and dads started writing on walls, taking "Which Disney Princess are You?" quizzes, and sending flair, I think the entire 13-30 set went, "HUH?"

As someone whose life revolves around protecting the emotional, spiritual, and physical well-being of teens, I can see some pros and cons. It's important for parents to be aware of what their students are up to. For the first time ever, they're allowed to tap into their child's world on Facebook and see their teen being a teen, without the student looking over their shoulder for an adult [even the best kids do this]. I think teens are pretty uninhibited when it comes to Facebook- if they're having a bad day, they post it. If their heart is broken, they post it. If they had a great weekend with their friends, you can see it in their pictures and all over their wall. They wear their proverbial cyberheart on their sleeves.

With cyberspace being a primary gathering place for teens to relate to one another, it launches parents into a new realm of parenting, dubbed "cyberparenting." But, parents, I'm going to be honest- how you approach this has to be very intentional, otherwise your teen will put up the "mom's snooping again"-wall [similar to when you found out your mom read your diary]. If your kid's on Facebook, use it as a discussion starter, not just a means for obtaining information your student might not otherwise share. One day, I was pretty bummed out, and my mom saw it on my status. She shot me an email asking what was wrong, and I was able to talk to her about it. There have been other times though - and I share this because my parents and I have discussed it, and i think it's important for the conversation- where boundaries have been crossed [i.e. "you need to delete that post because you shouldn't say that"].

When it comes to cyberparenting on Facebook, it's important to remember that you're entering your student's world, often in their eyes as a guest. Be open and honest about your intentions- "I just want to make sure you're being safe;" "I care about you;" whatever it may be. When something pops up that's a red flag for you, have a calm, open discussion about it. Remember that your student is a teenager, and that's their world right now. As weird as it is for you to look at their profile, they probably find yours even weirder, because you're talking to friends, posting your favorite bands and movies, and taking quizzes right alongside them. They're seeing you as an adult, rather than a parent- many for the first time- and it can throw them for just as much of a loop.

Treat cyberspace as a shared space- just like a house. Talk about rules and boundaries from both sides, and make sure there's mutual respect for each other's feelings. When all of that is set in place, Facebook can be an excellent way for you to connect with your teen.

known.

I'm working on my message for HSM this weekend- it's for our Cow Tipping series [tipping the "golden calves"/idols in our lives]. the message revolves around idolizing social and economic status as a means of worth, as opposed to our worth being found in God. In other words, it's better to be known by God than known by men, because the Lord's heart for us never stops beating.

So I'm on Biblegateway.com, digging around because I know the verse I want but never remember where it's at, and I type in "know." it gives me a ridiculous number of verses containing the word "know," and as I'm skimming through, I see that every other verse in the book of Job is about either knowing God or being known by God. And because I'm a patterns person, this struck me as being significant.

Job's life became a hot mess pretty quickly. He lost everything he had, as Satan tested his relationship with God. In our weakest, most beat up moments, there are two things we can cling to:

1. We are known by God.
2. We know God.

Of course, our knowledge of God is unbelievably limited compared to the all-encompassing knowledge God has of us, but it's comforting to have that stored in our hearts: no matter what comes our way, nothing can change the fact that we are known by God. He sees everything- every laugh, every tear, every frustration. He sees us at our best, and He sees us at our worst. He knows how we got that scar on our ring finger, He knows how to make us have fits of laughter, and He knows what songs make us smile contently.

How blessed are we to be known by God. Do you feel as blessed as you are?

Tuesday Tunes

Lauren Zettler, covering Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody"

other music I've been listening to lately:
Duffy, Glen Hansard, Allison Weiss, Deathcab for a Cutie, Drake, Owl City, Schuyler Fisk, David Crowder, Kings of Leon

The Update

the week that was: this week went by really fast. "Wacky Wednesday" with the Flipside kids was a blast, the tennis match last night was awesome, and I finally got around to painting my office [a coat is drying as I type]. I also met some pretty cool people this week, and I finally got back to the gym after all the craziness of moving has slowed down.

on my to-do list this weekend: I'm making a giant cow. Farm animals + power tools + gigitastic= highway to the danger zone.

procrastinating about: painting, sort of. i'm short, and i can't reach the top, so there's this chunk of white around it. I'm also afraid of heights to the point where i really don't like being up on chairs. maybe i'll just leave it white haha!

book i’m in the midst of: let's be honest, i havent been reading. although we read "The Five Disfunctions of a Team" [something like that] for our staff retreat, and it was really good.

music that seemed to catch my attention this past week: Death Cab for a Cutie. Havent listened to them in a long time, so that caught me off guard.

how i’m feeling about this weekend: i'm really excited. HSM kicks off on Sunday, I've got a new intern starting, Monday is a holiday... it just looks like a good weekend. But the thing I'm most excited about is getting back into the routine of Sunday nights. I miss all of my kids together in one place :)

Recessions can be a good thing.

Adam wrote a great post on his site this morning about the positive effects of the recession on the church.

The three main effects:

1. A gut check for the staff.
2. A gut check for the parishoners.
3. A gut check for the dreamers.
Bonus- a massive wave of volunteerism in the church

It was an interesting read [you should check it out, because I'm not doing it justice here], because our church didn't escape the effects of the recession. We're starting to come out of it in some areas, while others are still experiencing the struggle. The recession has been a huge test of faith, and i think our church is stronger as a result of it. You learn to streamline, you learn to evaluate your part, and it helps you see how passionate you REALLY are about the ministry of the church. I've seen our congregation do this right alongside the staff, and I feel like we're moving into a better place because of it. Along with all of this, two new ministries came out of it that are serving Whitley County [the Park Terrace Project, and Community Mid-week Meals].

It's funny how sometimes it takes discomfort to open our eyes, but like I told my 5th and 6th graders last night, God can use whatever He wants to connect with us- sometimes it's little things, like a conversation, and sometimes it's big things, like a talking donkey. I feel like the recession was a talking donkey for all of us- it helped us re-evaluate what's important, refocus on who we are and what we do, and move into a better place because of it.