This is cool. [Or should I say cold!]
There is a guy named Lewis Pugh who is the first person to complete a long-distance swim (19 minutes at minus 2 degrees Celsius) in the North Pole. He did it to highlight the fact that it was possible to swim for a kilometer in a place that should be solid ice.
Pugh, a former maritime lawyer who has given up his practice to become a full-time environmentalist and adventurer is known for several other swims that are all intended to raise global awareness issues. I'm impressed by the swim in the arctic (as with the others), of course. However, what I am really impressed with is his growing passion and commitment to environmentalism that caused him to shift career paths and make a definite contribution and unique difference in the world.
You can read CNN's article about Pugh HERE and check out his website HERE.
[SLAP!!] Thanks, I needed that!
"One axiom of leadership I have come to appreciate reads, 'leaders do not inflict pain, they bear it'. In the same manner, leaders do not absorb praise, they re-direct it. The success of any Christian leader lies significantly in their ability to keep this two-fold movement of leadership in balance. Leaders who inflict pain lose trust and dishearten their people. Leaders who absorb praise produce resentment and sacrifice motivation."
A quote from, "Becoming a Leader of No Reputation" by R. Scott Rodin, Journal of Religious Leadership/ Vol. 1, No 2 (Fall 2002), pp. 105-119
Download article here: http://www.vocf.net/uploaded_project/Becoming_a_Leader_of_No_Reputation.pdf
Hear It Loud
Some of you know that I am a fan of CNN's Young People Who Rock blog. Usually, Nicole Lapin finds some really great stories of people under the age of 30 doing some remarkable things. A couple of weeks ago, Lapin made us all aware of Sean Forbes, a deaf musician who founded a non-profit called Deaf Performing Artists' Network (D-PAN for short) formed to make music and music culture accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing community by creating deaf-centric interpretations of songs and music videos. Pretty cool stuff...
Some of you also know that I have a son who is deaf. Luke will be 4 this May. He loves music (You should hear him scream into the mic on Wii HS Musical -- its hilarious!) but can't ever frickin' hear it and it kills me when everyone else is singing along in our mini-van on a road trip or whatever and he has no idea what is going on.
Luke wears a hearing aid in his left ear so he can hear some. However, it is very likely that Luke's hearing is progressively getting worse. So I am digging Sean Forbes' D-PAN. You can read the post about Sean HERE and check out D-PAN HERE.
Meet my son Luke. That is a bowling ball not a gumball.
Chasing Francis by Ian Cron
Around the office at Youthfront there are a few legendary stories of people who have either been on staff or have merely stopped in a time or two over the years for a meeting or an inspirational talk or to partner in an event, say a prayer, etc.
I think most of the stories I hear about from days of old, obviously long before I joined the staff, are more myth than legend. Probably not unlike most organizations who typically remember the past as more profound than it may have actually been.
One person in particular, Ian Cron is one of those stories. There is no doubt in my mind, he's a legend for sure. I heard stories about Ian since the day I arrived. Often in a conversation Ian's name will come up and someone will undoubtedly refer to his participation in one of our weekend retreats we hold at our South Camp called, Altar. Apparently Ian just ripped it up one day speaking about divergent paths of leadership, creativity and holiness. I was not there but that is what I have repeatedly heard.
For months I have wanted to read Ian's book called, Chasing Francis: A Pilgrims Tale. I finally stole one from my co-worker Dustin's bookshelf. It is a fiction book about a pastor (named Chase Falston) who is 'struggling' with his faith and his role as pastor in his church. One day, after speaking with a mother who had just lost her daughter, this pastor gets real with his congregation and is ultimately asked to take a mandatory leave of absence. The rest of the book is about Chase Falston on a pilgrimage of "chasing Francis of Assisi" to regain his faith.
I know I am late to the party on this one (published in 2006), but if you haven't read Chasing Francis, you might need to put it near the top of your stack. It is a masterful work that takes actual events of Francis' life, real places and a unbelievable compelling story that is weaved together to move your soul, at lease mine. Here are a few of the nuggets that have really helped me deeply reflect.
"...a pilgrimage is a way of praying with your feet. You go on a pilgrimage because there's something missing inside your soul, and the only way you can find it is to go to sacred places, places where God makes himself known to others. In sacred places, something gets done that you've been unable to do for yourself." (page 42)
"Sarcasm is confusing to the pure of heart." (page 63)
"Francis had no new theory to offer, but an old practice -- the practice of Jesus Christ." (page 47)
I strongly encourage you to find a copy of Chasing Francis: A Pilgrims Tale and take it in. Perhaps you'll find yourself somewhere in the story as I have done at several different points. Perhaps you'll find freedom, as I have found. You might even find that this book is more for you than "your friend who needs some encouragement these days."
Writers Summit and Holy Nice Day Batman!
Yesterday I spent the day at Barefoot Ministries participating in a writers summit with a wonderful group of people from all around the country. Some of the summit participants were old friends and current co-workers at Youthfront while a couple of the participants were people I met for the first time.
My friend Jeff Edmondson recently resigned as manager of Barefoot so the folks over there asked me if I would facilitate the day as I have been doing some consulting with them on various projects over the last couple of months.
It was an honor to facilitate the summit as there were some really smart, creative and progressive thinkers and doers in the room. It made for a really fun day full of ideation and conversation.
The gathered team of writers is developing a new kind of curriculum for small groups, Sunday school classes, etc. I think the content will prove to be very impacting. The team is committed to taking a proven method of applied learning (think: Kolb - Experiential Learning) and creating some fresh ways to help transform most of what happens in traditional Sunday school classes from teacher- centered to learner centered. I am really looking forward to seeing the end product and working with the team of writers.
Holy Nice Day Batman!
Today was an unbelievable day. The temp got over 70 degrees so I spent the day outside shooting hoops with my kids, playing soccer, going for a walk and a bike ride. I even brought out the ole grill and fired it up for some hot dogs. Crazy nice day today... Tomorrow it is supposed to dip back down a bit and then get nice again on Monday -- like up into the 60's. There might be some rain, but it sure beats the cold!
Hope
Gina, my wife, was given the gift of a subscription to Weavings: A Journal of the Christian Spiritual Life some time ago. When the bi-monthly issues arrive in the mail each time I am quick to snatch them up as if they were a gift to me.
It usually takes me at least a month or so to read through all of the articles. The articles are written with an obvious concern for guiding readers to a place of personal reflection and deep thought.
Recently, I've developed the habit of looking first for the poetry sprinkled throughout the journal -- even before I read the articles. About every 6-8 pages or so there is usually a great piece to make me think, wonder and reflect.
The March/April 2009 issue is no exception... The piece below is called, Hope and it is written by Victoria Safford (Weavings: A Journal of the Christian Spiritual Life, March/April 2009 Volume XXIV, Number 2, page 19).
"Our mission is to plant ourselves at the gates of hope--not the prudent gates of Optimism, which are somewhat narrower; nor the stalwart, boring gates of Common Sense; nor the strident gates of Self-Righteousness, which creak and shrill and angry hinges (people cannot hear us there; they cannot pass through); nor the cheerful, flimsy garden gate of "Everything Is Gonna Be All Right." But a different, sometimes lonely place, of truth-telling about your own soul first of all and its condition, the place of resistance and defiance, from which you see the world both as it is and as it could be, as it will be; the place from which you glimpse not only struggle but joy in the struggle. And we stand there, beckoning and calling, telling people what we're seeing, asking them what they see."
Prelude 2009
Last year Mike King and I hosted the first of what we hope becomes many micro-conferences called, Prelude. There was about 50 youth workers or so that gathered at our Youthfront Camp South to dialogue around Andrew Root's book entitled, Revisiting Relational Youth Ministry and Sarah Arthur's book entitled, The God-Hungry Imagination. It was a great time of co-learning and collaboration.
This year, because we are all Scot McKnight freaks here, we are discussing some of Scot's most recent works. We also have another host this year named Erik Leafblad. Erik is one of our newer staff members and has become a fast friend and valued co-worker. Mike and I are thrilled to have Erik hosting with us this year.
You can check out Prelude 2009 here: http://www.preludegathering.com/. We know that the economy is putting a damper on many of your training budgets this year so we've done our best to keep the cost low and give you a positive experience. I hope you will consider joining us!
Shaped By The Story, by Michael Novelli
I read Michael Novelli's book, Shaped by the Story: Helping Students Encounter God in a New Way a few months ago when it released. I'm finally getting around to posting about it. Don't let my tardiness be a reflection on his wonderful work. After all, there were nearly two months when my blog was dark.
Before you read my review you need to know that Michael and I worked together for nearly three years when Sonlife still had its operations near Chicago. So, needless to say, I am a bit partial to the way that Michael thinks and writes. I've really grown to miss Michael's talents and gifts as he now works for the organization he founded called Echo The Story, LLC and I now work at Youthfront some 500 miles apart.
Michael is a rare mix of creative genius and operational guru. I've met few people who can create wonderful ideas and at the same time find a way to get them implemented. He's a freak. Michael brought many great ideas to Sonlife and helped cultivate a great environment for creativity and learning. Much of what we did in reculturing Sonlife was done through Micheal's leadership and organization. Today, much of what I do through Youthfront is in some way influenced by Michael.
I read his book having known him as a person, watched him lead and having witnessed first hand the impact of what Michael refers to as "Storying". I confess my personal connection with Michael makes me approach the book through the lens of belief and optimism as opposed to a sense of immediate criticism -- as I often find myself approaching most books.
Let's start at the very beginning:
Title: Great title and true to the content of the book.
Cover: Sweet! In my opinion, one of the best covers YS/Zondervan has done in a while.
Part One: True to the nature of the book -- narrative. I especially like Michael's transparency. It's easy to see his passion for the spiritual formation of students drive his desire to create new ways of helping students encounter God.
Part Two (chapters 5-7): In my opinion, these three chapters are probably the most helpful for the reader. Michael does a great job helping the reader know the why's and how's of storying. His attention to topics such as statistics of literacy and media, the shift from oral to digital communication and a few pages on the helpfulness of storying as opposed to reading straight from the Bible give great insight into how storying can be helpful with our students.
Part Two (chapters 8-11): In these chapters Michael clearly explains the process of storying. First, he helps the readers with great reminders on the divergent learning styles of our students, the means of creating learner-centered environments and using experiential learning methods with our students. I especially like how Michael has adapted a proven method of applied learning (read: Kolb) and overlaid his process of storying onto it; giving the reader greater clarity to the implementation of the storying process. Second, Michael helps the reader understand the opportunities for spiritual formation in our students through the articulation of a process comprised of several stages that foster within students a sense of illumination and and active engagement in the imagination. Finally, in chapters 10 & 11, Michael gives practical helps on storying essentials and facilitating dialogue that will allow for vast and immediate impact.
Conclusion and Resources: Michael provides a plethora of resources that will assist you in your storying experience. These resources include a DVD that I hear (I didn't actually look at it) is a complimentary tool that will allow the reader to use the book as a training guide for their teams of youth workers. Michael calls it a "mini-workshop".
I think this book can be a very helpful tool for you as you help your students more deeply engage in God's narrative and mission. Shaped by the Story is a great tool to help you shift your teaching methods and practices without leaving the power and purpose of God's narrative behind.
My heart aches tonight…
My heart aches tonight for my friends at Youth Specialties who have engaged in a re-organization of their company resulting in some significant days of transition ahead. You can read more detail about the situation over at Marko's blog.
Artwork from: http://www.illustrators.co.za/becker/cloudy-day.jpg
