As I expected, the NYWC in Atlanta was a great experience. I am guessing I am probably the last to post about it considering we are already two days beyond it.

Aside from the three seminars I facilitated, I had the opportunity to do a bit of consulting in Atlanta. My schedule was tighter as compared to the other cities, which made connecting with friends more difficult, but I love consulting with people so I willingly welcomed it.

Most of the consulting appointments I had were with youth workers grappling with issues like leading change, reculturing, paradigm shifts, learning methods and equipping volunteers. The points of discussion within each conversation provided a fair amount of diversity made for some demanding thinking on my part. It was good to be stretched a bit and to learn more about each of the youth workers’ ministry context. It is always a good reminder to learn how distinctive church-based youth work looks throughout North America.

Although each of my consulting appointments provided diversity in one way or another, there was one rather unsettling common matter that nearly every one of the dozen or so youth workers mentioned. Most (at least 10) of the youth workers I spoke with told me that their relationship with their supervisor (most often their senior or lead pastor) was in some way fractured and in need of healing. I recall that almost all of the youth workers who shared their world with me also went to a seminar that Marko and Mark Riddle facilitated called, Expectations that Killed the Youth Worker. If nothing else, I think that particular commonality may suggest the weight the youth workers (and probably senior/lead pastors) are burdening might be real, mounting and consuming.

BTW – I heard from a number of people that Marko’s and Riddle’s seminar was really good. I am hoping they work it up into a post or an article that we can use as a resource to at least inform people and get or keep them in dialogue with one another.

Although the spoken about splintered relationships had unique nuances it seemed that they were all based around a growing misunderstanding between the supervisor and the youth worker. The misunderstanding centered on the characterizations and perceptions of what “Emergent” and “emerging” is and means and the similarities and differences between the two streams of thinking.

I have been thinking about this … If 10 out of a dozen or so youth workers are considering the need to restore the relationship with their supervisor important enough to raise it as in issue inside the boundaries of a one-hour consulting appt., then how many other youth workers are in the same or similar boat? I think I’ll take the next couple of months of traveling, training and speaking to make some more observations about this. I knew there were some conversations going on between youth worker and supervisor as I have fielded a lot of questions from both over the last 6 months or so. I didn’t have any idea, however, that it could be as widespread as I am thinking it might be… I am not a reactionary or an alarmist but I am concerned about what that state of affairs might mean for the church both in the short term and the long term. Anyway, more on that subject in the days ahead.

Leaving the airport in Atlanta on Monday I was super excited to see my family — having not seen them for 10 days — but I was also feeling a little bummed that the season of conventions was over. It has been great to meet so many like-minded youth workers from all over North America over the last couple of months. I am inspired, challenged, affirmed and blessed to be a small part of the ever-developing movement we call youth ministry.

The last few days have been quite the whirlwind! I have been in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Tomorrow I head back to Georgia (ATL) for the 3rd NYWC. Here is a recap of my travels…

>Landed in Jacksonville, FL a week ago tomorrow to speak at a retreat
>Drove from Jacksonville to Simons Island, Georgia
>Flew home to Chicago on Sunday, swung by my house to pick up some clean clothes and left for Kansas City
>Spent Sunday night at a hotel in Des Moines, IA
>Monday morning I got to Kansas City to be in the office for a couple of days of meetings
>Left Kansas City Tuesday night after work hours and drove to Des Moines again to crash
>Left Des Moines Wed morning for the 8 hour drive to Stevens Point, WI (drove through MN)
>Spent today in Stevens Point with Rob Weise and 30 of the youth pastors from his Evangelical Free Church Forest Lake District
>Left Stevens Point at around 3PM, fixed a flat tire in the rental mini-van along the way and got to Chicago at around 6:30pm
>I leave for the NYWC tomorrow morning around 10AM!

I have been able to have my good friend and co-worker at YouthFront/Sonlife named Matt Wilks with me. It has been great to reconnect with him. Matt lives in Calgary and is only in Kansas City at the YouthFront offices once a month so I seldom get to see him. Matt will be headed to the NYWC with me too, which is great. If you are headed to ATL for the NYWC, look me up.

I left Chicago on Friday morning not really knowing where I was headed. I mean, I knew my itinerary was taking me to Jacksonville, FL, but from there I really had no idea where I would be staying for a couple of nights as I spoke to a gathering of Methodist church youth groups from northern FL and southern GA.

I was greeted at the JAX airport by beautiful weather — 65 degrees and very sunny. A far cry from the weather I left that morning in Chicago — 30 something and dark (4am)!

I was overjoyed when we arrived at Epworth By The Sea, a large Methodist retreat center on Saint Simons Island in GA. Epworth has a great deal of history as it claims to be the place where John Wesley began his ministry here back in the day. It is aptly named Epworth as Epworth, England is the “home of the Wesley’s.” Epworth By The Sea is located on the banks of the beautiful Frederica River.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time. The retreat was very creative and had what felt like the right mix of schedule and space. The students were very engaged and I had some really deep, meaningful conversations about God’s story, the mission of God and our role as agents of restoration.

The retreat obviously had been lead well… it was clearly organized with the students in mind and a commitment to their spiritual formation. Below is a pic of myself the youth workers (Bryan, Shannon and George — L to R) who led the event. Great job guys! I am looking forward to seeing you in ATL later on this week at the NYWC.

It is getting harder and harder to be away from my family but I must say that these speaking “gigs” at retreats with students and youth workers over the year or so has been very fruitful and it truly a blessing and privilege.

I am off to Jacksonville, FL this morning. I will be speaking at a youth event somewhere near there — it may actually be in GA I am not sure. I Just know I am supposed to be flying into JAX.

I lived in Jacksonville as a kid for a short while. I don’t remember much about it. My father was in the NAVY at the time. It was one of our many places of residence on the East Coast. I can recall the color of our house (yellow) and I remember going to some of my older brother’s little league baseball games. That is about it…

I am looking forward to being with several hundred HS students from a number of United Methodist Churches.  Here are the main points of discussion…

> How does God reveal himself to us?
> How do we cultivate a life of godly character?
> What does it mean, as the people of God, to embrace God’s call to be a blessing to others?
> How do we begin to see others with new eyes and pursue restorative acts in our community?
> How do we share God’s truth through our personal and community’s story?

Should be great fun!

Do you know that laughter can add +8 years to your life (according to an AIG ad I read in Newsweek)? If that is true, we all need to stop taking ourselves so seriously and laugh it up a bit more…

Anyway, here is a joke in the AIG ad (pg. 67 of Newsweek pictured above). The next time your lead pastor asks you to speak or report or whatever to the whole congregation you can use this one to calm your nerves and lighten the room up a bit…

A guy joins a monastery and takes a vow of silence:

He’s allowed to say two words every seven years. After the first seven years, the elders bring him in and ask for his two words. “Cold floors,” he says. Seven more years pass. They bring him back in and ask for his two words. “Bad food,” he says. Seven more years pass. They bring him in for his two words. “I quit,” he says. “That’s fine,” the elders say, “You have done nothing but complain since you got here.”