Blogging in Lent

For the past little while I've been having a little bit of trouble deciding what my direction is for this blog and what, ultimately, it does for my ministry and that of my fellow youthworkers.

Because of the confusion, I haven't been updating all that often, and sticking to lighter-hearted (except the last post) topics.

To clarify, I will be fasting from blogging during Lent, to pray over the direction God has for this part of my ministry and ask for guidance on how I should direct my efforts.

The RYW podcast will take the same hiatus; I'm much clearer on my intentions for that, but the two are connected and so both need the guidance and prayer that I'll be giving them.

Any prayers you're willing to offer for me would be very much appreciated!

How big is your box?

Talking with a student the other day, we started on the subject of who should go to Hell. Let's just say we had very different opinions.

Actually, let's say a little more than that. My student believes that, even should someone reach him with the Gospel of Christ, Osama bin Laden categorically deserves damnation.

The dangers I pointed out in his thinking (thank you to the Spirit for these, since I'm positive I hadn't thought about this myself) are twofold:

All deeds aside, (not to excuse them but because the argument goes a different direction) Osama is more a symbol today than an actual man, and beginning to think a certain way about him will subtly begin, in our fallen and sinful human minds, to stamp everyone else associated with the symbol of the leader the same way, and thus begin to call for all the leader's followers to wind up in Hell as well.

This leads to the second problem: we cannot decide that any person deserves Hell with no chance of redemption. For one thing, it's not our decision; it's God's. For another, if we've already decided, we've drawn a box around who can be reached with the power of the Gospel, and who can't. That limits our evangelism, our prayer life, and the challenges from God we're able to hear for our lives. And that does not advance God's plan for us.

What makes radical Christianity different from radical anything else is that we truly believe there is no one outside the reach of Christ's grace. This isn't to say that everyone will believe in that grace or respond to our invitations to experience it, but neither is that objection an excuse for us not to earnestly reach out to everyone and try to share the story we have. If it turns out some surprising people are in Heaven because of the outreach of radical Christians, so much the better.

We may not ever stop believing that repentance and redemption is a possibility for anyone.

As we're getting ready for Lent to begin, I think a worthwhile exercise is to ask God to expand the boxes we work in so that we can believe and act as if no one is outside them, no one is not worth prayer and outreach.

He thought I wanted to hear it...

A student of mine invited himself to come to lunch with me yesterday. He was telling this story about a girl, who is apparently "really cute" and he'd love to go out with her, but they don't know each other very well, but somehow they spent the afternoon in the same place... the important part came when he said,

"And then she offered to drive me home and I thought, 'COULD THIS GET ANY BETTER?' because... um... uh... because she's such a safe driver!"

Interesting website

Found this today: Challenge The Blasphemy. They did a YouTube video where they found a bunch of folks who are posting videos specifically saying they deny the existence of God/Christ/the Holy Spirit, then recruiting believers to commit to praying for those people.

As they remark on the website, "the fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." --James 5:16.

It's an interesting site. A lot of the responses from the people being prayed for aren't real positive; an obvious concern is that it'll drive people away from faith by seeming to force prayer on them, but God has worked in much more mysterious ways. It's an interesting project.

Cellphones tool for teen dating abuse

Christian Science Monitor story:

"In the survey, conducted by Teenage Research Unlimited, 20 to 30 percent of teens who had been in relationships said their partner had constantly checked in on them, had harassed or insulted them, or had made unwanted requests for sexual activity, all via cellphones or text messages. One out of 4 reported hourly contact with a dating partner between midnight and 5 a.m. – in some cases, 30 times per hour. And 1 out of 10 had received physical threats electronically. A much smaller percentage of parents reported that their teens had had such experiences.
"Dating violence has always had this core feature ... of trying to control the thoughts, feelings, and actions of another person," says Julie Kahn, program director of the Transition House Dating Violence Intervention Program in Cambridge, Mass. "When you add the technological piece, there are more ways to track someone, to keep someone on an 'electronic leash,' if you will.""

The website that goes along with it, for the National Teen Dating Abuse Hotline

A future evangelist?

I had the following conversation with a student yesterday:

(The setup: Whether or not to go on the mission trip depends on when soccer camp is.)

Me: So how exactly does your managing the varsity girls' soccer team serve Jesus?

Him: I'm serving his community.

Me: So that means nothing. How are you doing that?

Him: I'm serving all the hot girls.

Me: Tell me how that isn't completely un-Jesus-like?

Him: Um, I'll tell them Jesus loves them?

Bottom line seems to be: if all sinners were great-looking, all youth groups would have a stellar record for evangelism.

Away for the weekend

I'm off to the church council retreat tomorrow morning; be back Saturday night with, hopefully, some great stories and plans for helping our church do evangelism better. This means, according to the author of the book and facilitator of the retreat, Martha Grace Reese, "sharing something you enjoy with people you like."

I like that phrase, and her book: Unbinding the Gospel.

If you've already read that one, check out this one: Bad Science: The Short life and Weird Times of Cold Fusion.

Have an excellent weekend; I'll be back with stories from the retreat, and middle school youth group!

Colts win Super Bowl; disciples astonished

I wish I could take credit for this one; a pastor (and a loyal Bears fan) at a church I visit on the weekends began his sermon Saturday evening by speculating that at the end of the game, the Chicago Bears would be like the disciples, saying: "We have worked all night, and caught nothing."

Who says prophets aren't still alive among us?

Rookie on the Radio: Show notes for episode 4

On this week's "Rookie on the Radio," Undiscovered listens to Project Damage Control's "Try Again;" we'll brainstorm with teachers and Quakers on how to get the most out of our post-event debriefings; a kid calls me on "So I called this kid" and we'll wind up with a thought from St. Catherine.

"Undiscovered" music comes from the Podsafe Music Network
Podcast intro and exit music comes from CCMixter user SCott
"A Thought" music comes from CCMixter user duncan_beattie

Simon Hole and Grace Hall McEntee's article "Reflection is at at the Heart of Practice" is from the May 1999 issue of "Educational Leadership."

A Confluence of Challenges

From today's lectionary readings: 2 Timothy 3:1-17

"But mark this. There will be terrible times in the last days. People will... have a form of godliness, but deny its power. (ellipsis covers the list of other horrible conditions people will have-- the break isn't there to change the context.)

From the book I'm reading, prepping for CSMSG's vestry retreat: "Unbinding the Gospel" by Martha Grace Reese

"I was leading a retreat for eight smart, loving pastors of growing mainline churches. Off the cuff, I asked, 'Hey, what difference does it make in your own life that you are a Christian?'

Silence. Loud silence stretched on. And on. I stared around the circle in disbelief. Finally one volunteered hesitantly, 'Because it makes me a better person?'
...

Since that retreat, I've asked hundreds of pastors what difference being a Christian makes in their own lives. Most reacted with surprise. Most had a hard time answering."

In what areas of all our lives must we ask God's forgiveness for denying the power of a relationship with Him?

Profound, but by accident

...so the trouble with dropping a Bible in a river is that, six months later, everyone who looks at it can tell which books you use all the time and which ones you skip over... poor Deuteronomy is feeling a little left out.

And I called a kid this afternoon (nearly saved this for the podcast, but it's a true story) and the call went like this:

Me: Hey, I just called to say happy birthday! (feeling very excited that I'd remembered to check the birthday list on my computer's calendar this morning)

He: Oh, um... it's not my birthday.

Me: (now feeling quite confused because the computer told me so) Is your birthday anywhere near here?

He: No, it's in October.

Me: Oh...

(Long pause)

Me: So what else is going on?

Christian life as a coffee bean

Hey folks, this is just worth reposting, and it's a forward I hadn't seen before (rarest of rarities!) Thanks to Heidi, our clergy secretary, for passing it along to me. Everyone print it out and put it in your illustrations file...

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see."
"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.

The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?" Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water , they had changed the water.

What I learned on the ropes course

Ropes courses, to me, are very inspiration. Usually I'll pull out some kind of devotional point. This past weekend, though, on the middle school retreat, I learned one simple lesson, at the intersection of prep time and face time.

Trout Lodge's staff does an amazing job leading students through their different courses, so when our middle schoolers got out to the site I'd been planning to cheer them on for a little while and then head back to the lodge to get ready for the next program session, setting out the supplies and material we'd need.

But my students kept saying, "You have to climb with us!"

I hadn't thought they'd be so insistent. "But I've done this before!" I said. That had been a valid excuse for the kids who weren't climbing.

"Maybe, but we haven't seen you!" one smart sixth-grader shot back.

So I climbed. I put on a harness and went through the course and said to myself, "Isaac, you can go back and prep when the next group comes through."

But the next group wanted me to stay too. They let me hang out on the ground, after I told them (and the staff vouched for me) that I'd climbed earlier, but they weren't letting me go anywhere.

On the way home, I thought about that. And I dug one simple rookie lesson out of it:

Any chance for face time with students has to be spent with students, duh! It's straight out of summer camp training, and something I remind adult leaders about near-weekly: spend most of your time with students.

Minor prep can always wait. Program-writers and perfectionists *Isaac raises both hands* like me need to be especially careful not to forget that.

Don't think we're not busy...

...just because I'm not here every day telling you about it. Here's some photos from one of our last projects; painting the youth room and redecorating it.

Rookie on the Radio: Show notes for Episode 3

On this week's "Rookie on the Radio," Youth in the News digs up some funny stories about exams:

Ban all homework as exams near, student trustee urges (Toronto Star)
Hong Kong tutors discovering sex sells (Guelph Mercury)
NC State students use Morgan Freeman's face to ease exam stress (Brock Press)
Japanese School to test chopstick skills as part of entrance exam (International Herald-Tribune)

Undiscovered listens to G.A.S, courtesy of the Podsafe Music Network;

I Called This Kid and asked him to invite someone special to church this week;

And we'll think about how candles and science speak to us about God.

Theology Tuesday: A Theology of Education

I am nearly a college student again. Just the registration line stands between me and 8am classes, between me and the $2 student discount at the movies. Just that one step stands in between me and a new arena for my faith.

Driving back from the entrance assessment and advisor meeting yesterday, I asked myself, "How can I use this semester of classes and the knowledge I get there to inform my faith?" Like the Magnificat, I didn't ask it in those words on the first try, but that's the gist of it. Then I started thinking, "How will this semester of classes let me show that Christians value knowledge?"

...Actually, I've now been through the registration line and sat for my first day of class. I have not yet taken the movie discount, but only because it's retreat season. Still, I couldn't not use that first paragraph. This post just sat in my admin area for a little while while I debated how to finish it.

Frequently in the general culture, and more frequently in college/other educational settings, Christians are viewed as people who don't appreciate knowledge, especially the scientific brand. Just look at the debate over intelligent design vs. evolution in curricula. Both are interesting and provocative theories, but the publicized arguments a year or so ago stamped Christians once again as closed-minded and unwilling to allow anyone to study in a way we don't fully endorse.

Long story short, lots of secular folks believe that Christians don't like to think. Which isn't true. Reading the church fathers, their works are always full of profound intellectual arguments, wrapped in faith that makes the un-understandable parts fit into the whole. Which is as God intended us to work.

So how, in this current semester, I asked myself, can I use my time in class to show that Christians love knowledge, and love to think about God's world and how we can use our skills to make it a better place?

On the bottom line, I can follow Paul's admonition that earthly authority is part of God's plan for running the world, and be on time for class, do my homework, read the assigned chapters for each session and listen carefully to my professors.

Beyond that, I can pick essay topics and articles to analyze that mesh with my beliefs and let me show that I've considered them carefully. I can ask good questions. I can be proud of my beliefs and at the same time show that the new things I learn help to shape those beliefs and principles.

I'm a Christian who loves to think, after all. Is the educational world ready for such a thing?

Check This Out: God Detector

I finally opened an issue of "Wired" that's been on my coffee table for a while, and found a gadget... that's what you find when you read Wired, but this one's different.

How do you know when you're in the presence of the Supreme Being? You have a God Detector, of course, and it tells you.

Here's the website.

Church attendance makes you healthy!

An email just came in from one of my adult leaders, with the following information:

"Active Participation" (ie standing, attending a ceremony,) at church burns 136 calories an hour...
"Reading religious materials at home" burns 88 cal/hr

How much of a workout do you get at church?

Theology Tuesday: Not Defective!

Urbana '06, a giant missions conference (over 22,000 participants) happened in St. Louis a couple of weeks ago. Here's the link to a story that ran in the Post-Dispatch about the event.

A friend of mine was in town for it, and on the last day of the event I took her and a friend of hers for lunch. Talking about the different workshops and events that were part of the conference, M's friend made the comment that she was "really struck by the total depravity of people."

I've heard that same sentence a lot. I've even said it now and then. But that time, it made me nervous. And now I know why.

I think it's possible to insult God by focusing too much on the "depravity of mankind." We, after all, are good creatures who behave badly, not defective creatures God made wrong andwill someday completely replace.

In another time this might be too fine a distinction, but everything in our culture focuses on what's wrong with us. From "consolidate your debt" to "melt away fat with such-and-such a new procedure" to "you're not in my top 8 anymore because you're a freak," the whole world is telling us we're made wrong.

When you discover something you bought doesn't work correctly, you bring it back to the store and have it replaced. You don't fix it yourself; most of us wouldn't know where to begin fixing the things we buy today. That's replacement, not redemption, and it is not what God practices with us.

Depravity would be a safer topic in a culture that valued redemption of its possessions more, in a place where everyone knew how to fix things. We don't have that, so what we need is to strike a balance with teaching, reminding ourselves and our students that God made us right and perfectly, and when we behave badly doesn't give up on us and replace us with a better model.

Rookie on the Radio: Show notes for Episode 2

The new episode of "Rookie on the Radio" is now available at Podomatic: http://rookieyouthworker.podomatic.com. The RSS feed for subscribing, through iTunes or other music managers, is http://rookieyouthworker.podOmatic.com/rss2.xml

General Info: After this week's episode, look for new editions of the Rookie podcast on Saturdays!

“Won't Say Uncle” by Pierced-- www.myspace.com/piercedrocks
Podsafe music from www.garageband.com

Youth In the News Stories:
Teacher Took Bribes to Skip Gym Class
School Fundraisers Put Big Dent in Boca Parents' Pocketbooks
Unclaimed Lottery Winnings will go to After-School Programs
Youngster Saves Sister from Choking

Rookie on the Radio intro/exit music from ccmixter user SCott
Youth In the News music from ccmixter user Vidian
Here's a Thought music from ccmixter user aenygma