My posts are crappy…
My posts have been crappy lately, I know. Sorry about that. Basically, all I have been doing is posting my travel schedule. I am tired and not feeling very creative these days.
I am going to take a couple of days off next week and head to one of my favorite spots in Canada. There is a little town called Radium that I love to get away to. Usually I go up there and play a little golf with my friend Matt. This time, I am just taking some books and going to rest in the natural hot springs... They're going to have to drag me out of the pool at closing time each night.
So, hopefully I will come back from my trip next week feeling refreshed and get back to post some ideas I have around topics like missio dei, youth ministry and the gospel, the role of the imagination in the spiritual formation of adolescents and hospitality as evangelism.
Peace.
St. Christopher…
I've been spending the bulk of today with some new friends from the Diocese of South Carolina. We are staying at a really cool retreat center outside of the Charleston, SC area called St. Christopher Camp and Conference Center.
I was invited down to share some of our training in hopes that we might be able to establish a partnership for years to come. I look forward to investing into the youth workers as I have found them to be particularly engaging and unbelievably open to new ideas and practices.
Dave Wright is the Youth Ministry Coordinator for the Diocese. He is from the Chicago area so we have that going for us. He formerly worked in the UK and over time there has been a few of his friends that have crossed the pond from London and the surrounding areas to contribute to the movement here. Some fascinating stuff. Over the past few years I have spoken to or trained a lot of youth worker networks. I confess, this one might just be the most closely knitted one I have bumped into yet. They seem to have the partnering/collaborative thing down. Of course I am in town only for a day and obviously don't get much more than a snapshot. I have, however, been moved by their hospitality and generosity toward me and toward one another. Dave has built something very special here.
Today I spent the day training the youth workers out of our Enroute content and also some bits and pieces from some other stuff I have developed out of our Shaping a Missional Community and Shepherding in a Culture of Change modules.
It has been a great day. The weather has been great. The conversation in the training has been very enriching and the highlight of the day was sitting under some of Bishop Lawrence's teaching and storytelling. I was also blessed as the group prayed over me requesting safety and deeper levels of holiness in my travels and training. They also prayed for my son Luke who is soon to get his hearing aids. It was very encouraging.
Bishop Lawrence has just begun here in South Carolina as the new Bishop. I am not sure all of what it means to be a Bishop as I am not tremendously familiar with the Episcopal Church. The Bishop is a fantastic storyteller and a very well read and insightful communicator. I am looking forward to sitting under him again tonight in our final session.
A Day in Denver
Yesterday I spent the day in Denver, CO facilitating our Enroute Training. There were about 25 youth workers there representing about 8 different churches spread across 3 states. Several of the youth workers drove all the way from Custer, SD to be with us.
I always enjoy facilitating our Enroute Training but yesterday's experience was especially cool because I got to hang with Dan Luebcke who is the pastor of student ministries as Southern Gables. I met Dan a few years ago at some training we hosted in Chicago. Since then we have been developing our friendship and it was a pleasure to continue that through partnering to host our training.
Dan has been at Southern Gables for 12 years. He actually grew up in that church as a kid and now is privileged to lead the youth ministry. Dan serves on the Student Ministries Council for the Evangelical Free Church denomination and has really helped (along with the entire SMC) shape a beautiful training partnership between Youthfront/Sonlife and the Ev. Free. We are excited to see the partnership unfold.
If you are from Denver and you missed the training yesterday, no worries... Dan is hosting us again this Fall. Dan and a team of youth workers from the Denver area will also be hosting our new weekend event for students called Reveal.
I also had the chance to reconnect with Rich Van Pelt who has been a great friend to me since I first met him a couple of years ago at the Youth Ministry Executive Council meetings in Washington DC that the National Network of Youth Ministry hosts. Rich has been a breathe of fresh air for me as a long-time youth ministry veteran and expert who is longing for fresh, innovative approaches to youth work. He isn't stuck. I love that about him. I also love what he does with Compassion International. Rich has given many years of his life to connecting people with resources and children in need around the world. Who doesn't love that?
I am headed back to KC today for our Youth Worker Appreciation Dinner. The YWAD is an informal time for Youthfront to say thanks to the KC Metro youth workers for all they do to help shape the lives of teens. I am excited to experience this gathering for the first time.
Redeemed…
I have been a baseball fan my entire life. My dad was a minor league pitcher (lefty) and I played Little League, Babe Ruth, High School and even college baseball. I loved every second of it. I can't get enough baseball.
Of course living in Chicago I have the privilege of seeing two good teams (Cubs and White Sox) every night of the week on TV. Yesterday, however, I enjoyed the KC Royals home opener in front of a big screen at a local pup here in Kansas City watching the game with some friends I work with at Youthfront. I don't care who is playing... I'll watch it.
I was a Mets fan growing up. When you grow up in NY you pick the Yankees or the Mets. I chose the Mets and can vividly remember the 1986 World Series in which the Mets beat the Red Sox continuing the curse of the Bambino.
The Mets were great that year. They won 108 games during the regular season and won their division by 21.5 games. They beat the Astros 4 games to 2 in the NLCS and then went on to "trickle" past the Sox in 7 games in the World Series.
Of course, probably more note worthy than the Mets winning the series was the error by Red Sox first baseman named Bill Buckner. The error ultimately led to the Mets extending the series to seven games and then going on to beat the Sox.
At the time of the error I was thrilled that the ball had trickled past Buckner. Some years later, however, I hated that about the Series. As I got older I realized I would rather see my team loose (after all it is only a game for grown-ups) than see any human being endure what Bill Buckner had to endure.
For years Buckner has been shunned from the City of Boston (and not the Dwight Schrute shun on Andy kind off shun either) and has been the target of mean-spirited jokes, literally had people try to take his life and some report he even tried to take his own life --all because of an error that some say lost the series for the Sox. True baseball fans know however, that there was an error before the error. But as it is in life, you remember the last one not the one before the one that really matters...
Ahhhhh. But the beauty of baseball and the grace and reverence on which the very game stands prevailed on Tuesday at Fenway Park in Boston as Bill Bucker, the very one that made the error, was redeemed by the city of Boston. For 20 years people have shown hatred, disgust and absolute distain for the man. However, 2 championships later, yesterday Boston redeemed Bill Buckner and welcomed him back. Here is the clip...
youthnoise.com
I am sure that most of you are already familiar with www.youthnoise.com, a website designed as a "...social networking site for people under the age of 27 who like to connect based on deeper interests than Paris Hilton's wardrobe and want to get engaged within a cause."
If you aren't familiar with it or haven't been by there in a while, check out how adolescents are engaging in various causes around the world. You can check out the causes here: http://www.youthnoise.com/MyCauseIs/ It is very cool stuff...
