Month: June 2008

  • Paul is Dangerous

    father sonI see a ton of myself in him. But Paul is also himself quite unique. My son is awesome and I love spending little glimpses of time with him, just the two of us.

    Sometimes his shyness comes off as being obstinate. When he’s backed into a corner he squirms away. When everyone stares at him he drops to the floor. He has an amazing vocabulary and imagination if only you are patient enough to activate it. You can confuse his knowing exactly what he wants with stubbornness. For his age, he has an incredible attention span. He is thoughtful. He is polite despite what his daddy teaches. He loves being physical, punching and wrestling and climbing are some of his favorite things. He’s pretty good with a computer. He can navigate where he wants with the family iMac, google to search for things, remember all his passwords, master tons of games, and still dominate on Wii. Just ask Tom and Tim who witnessed Paul nonchalantly bowl 220 in Wii bowling. Paul fascinates me with his complexity. But in the end he is fairly simple, like all complex people. Meet his basic needs and he’s good to go. Food 24 hours per day, a computer, and his mommy is all he needs to survive.

    Dangerous Book for BoysI’ve been telling him lately that he is brave and fierce and dangerous. He likes that a lot. Recently, Cathy  (from YS) gave me a copy of The Dangerous Book for Boys to give to Paul. When I last came back from San Diego Paul looked at it, then I told him the title on the cover and his eyes got huge. He snatched it from my hands and ran off to his bedroom to read it. Of course, he’s 4– but he read it in the way a 4 year old reads. Every once in a while he’ll tell me, “Did you know my book teaches me how to hunt rabbits?” “Did you know?” On and on he tells me of the adventures he will have.

    I love going on junior adventures with Paul. Tonight he and I escaped for some “man time” to the park. While we were riding our bikes he and I were dreaming of climbing the high ladder on the fire engine. (They were testing it or something.) We talked about being brave when he rounded corners. We talked about falling and how much fun that can be. We talked about bugs and spiders. 

    Paul is dangerous. I think burned on the heart of every young man is a deep desire for adventure. Every young boy wants to do things a little dangerous. I’m just thankful I get to be here for him. And I can’t wait for the adventures we’ll have tomorrow. 

  • Mike Harding was in the house

    Yesterday Mike Harding filled the pulpit at Romeo. It was fun to see Mike again and hear about his new ministry, 831 House. Here’s a little video about their ministry in Gulf Shores. 

    Mike was the guy who convinced Kristen and I to relocate to Romeo just over five years ago. Shortly thereafter he felt strongly like he needed to leave the church and go back to help the family business. As he said yesterday, even when he did that he wasn’t entirely sure what God was up to. None of us were.

    Here’s a little video about what Mike and Cynthia do. 

  • World’s Largest Tongue

    OK, so this is kind of gross. And it totally makes me think of KISS. And I have no idea what language they are speaking or what they say. But what I do know is that this dude has a seriously large tongue.

    Speaking of long tongues, I saw this as well.

  • Sushi

    I’ve been feeling introspective lately. What does this mean? Why do I do that? The questions go on and on. And I’m pretty sure it has everything to do with not being a full time pastor anymore. I can feel myself wondering, “Who are you anyway?” 

    Whereas a few weeks ago I was all wrapped up in being a pastor. Right now I am all wrapped up in not being a pastor. That doesn’t mean I’ve flown off the handle or somehow decided to be a different person. It’s just that my mind is consumed with slightly different things this morning than I’m used to. 

    For instance. On a typical Sunday morning at 9:00 AM I’d be directing people, the band and the tech team, greeting folks, making sure that everyone was in their right places, and giving last minute reminders to other people who might be going to the front. Today it is 9:00 AM and my family isn’t ready for church. We’re clearly not going to make it to the first service and we’re settling into the fact that we will head to the in between time of church, hang with some friends, and meander into church. 

    On the one hand I miss the responsibilities, the fun, and the wonder of helping to “make church happen.” On the other, I’m really enjoying this time in my life when I’m not on a staff. It’s awesome to go to church without much to do other than go to church. It won’t be satisfying for very long but it is satisfying for now.

    It’s like sushi. There are parts of it that are yummy goodness and there are others that you just chew on and get past. 

  • Saturday Tunes

    Saturday TunesIt’s kind of cool having a Monday through Friday job. For the first time in forever I can look forward to going to church in the morning without thinking of a million work details. That’s a guilty pleasure. 

    Today we are heavy into “honey-do” as we have a graduation party at the house in just 8 days. So this morning I got started painting the basement floor a sexy basement floor grey color. We’re also tidying up some kitchen projects that are long overdue. This includes finishing the kitchen cabinet and counter thing that has been in “pending” mode for nearly a year. It’s kind of crazy how you just get used to stuff not being 100% done, isn’t it?

    So with that stuff spinning the iPod is working overtime. Here at the next 10 tunes I’ll be jamming to. As always, completely random, no cheating, ratings included.

    1. Revolutionary Love by David Crowder Band ****
    2. Emtpy Heart by Newworldson ****
    3. Proud Father by Jon McLaughlin ****
    4. It Just Takes One by Addison Road *****
    5. Loose Lips by Kimya Dawson *****
    6. God of This City by Chris Tomlin *****
    7. Stop to Love by Luther Vandross ****
    8. I Stand Amazed by Chris Tomlin ****
    9. Pieces of the Sun by Test Your Reflex ****
    10. Welcome to this Place by Hillsong ****
    What are your next 10?

  • No More Microscopes

    no more microscopesIt’s now been about 3 weeks since my tenure at Romeo ended. And I’m only now starting to realize something that really stunk. We lived under a microscope.

    Don’t get me wrong, it’s not just pastors and it’s not just in this small town. There are a lot of people in the public eye in their communities that suffer from this. And it’s not right.

    It happens so subtly that you barely notice it. And yet as the weight of prying eyes on myself and my family gradually releases we realize that we were surrounded by unrealistic expectations.

    I think there is a general fascination in our culture with people in the public arena. How many television programs daily broadcast the personal lives of “celebrities?” It really is a sick and demented segment of our society that does this to individuals and families.

    So let me speak on behalf of church staff everywhere. It’s perfectly acceptable to put your pastor under the microscope. It really is part of the job as you try to determine if that person is who they say they are. When we enter into public ministry we accept that responsibility that our every move can and will be scrutinized. But leave families out of it.

  • Money Saving Tips for NYWC

    We were thinking about something this morning. With all the talk about NYWC, I wonder how many people are realizing that they may still be able to go to the convention… but they may have to do things differently to afford it?

    Take it from someone like me… you can go to the convention really, really cheaply if you need to. In 2006 I did the whole thing for about the cost of a full price convention registration. Gas, registration, hotel, meals. Not bad!

    The result of this chat was this little video:

  • YMX Acquired by YS

    Today, at 4:47 PM EST it was official. My mouth has been shut for weeks since I couldn’t talk to anyone outside of my family about the deal with YS. But it is now done and I couldn’t be happier. YMX partnering with YS is, in my opinion, the perfect place for YMX to fit into the youth ministry landscape. As Marko said, it’s only natural.

    We’ve truly enjoyed being the independent source of youth ministry stuff. And we hope to continue on with that flavor.

    There are a hundred reasons I am excited about this deal. The most obvious thing to be excited about is that I get to run YMX as part of my new job with YS. How cool is that? I’m also jazzed about the massive door of opportunity that was just swung open to us from the YS/Zondervan family. There are too many cool things to talk about with this. For now…

    Here’s the press release

    And here are the FAQs we posted in the forums about “what happens next” for YMX/YS.

    How will this effect the way I use YMX?
    One of the coolest parts of this is that the YMX community will mostly stay the same. The same people will be running it and Youth Specialties is taking a very hands off approach to YMX. YMX will benefit mostly from access to tons of resources to grow the site in a way that helps fulfill the community’s long-term vision.

    Will this effect the way the forums operate currently?
    Yes. Eventually, the forums will shift from a subscription based forum to a free forum. In other words, there will no longer be “premium level” areas of the site which require payment to utilize. The terms of service, the community accountability, the emphasis on self-moderation, will all continue.

    Will the forum community be under a new and/or revised terms of service?
    Not right now. If the terms of service ever change we will contact you to let you know.

    What about the privacy issues? I thought the forums were secure and now they will be open to anyone?
    We share your concerns. Starting in January 2008, YMX changed the method of registering new members so that new members have to provide personal information that is verified before we allow new members to access the forums. We will continue to utilize this option as a way to prevent trolling and keep the community safe. This meets the same need in protecting your privacy on the forums fulfilled.

    Will the forums be indexed on search engines?
    No. Since the forums require a registration to see anything, the search bots are prevented from searching forum content. This is not changing.

    Will the forums be managed by different people and/or different moderators?
    YMX, including the forums, will continue to operate as we always have.

    I am a charter/premium subscriber, what does that mean for me?
    Most of our premium/charter subscribers have been with us a long time. You guys are awesome and we thank you for your support. We will soon contact you to offer you a store credit with Youth Specialties. If that doesn’t work for you, please contact adam@ymexchange.com.

    Will the Oasis still be available?
    Absolutely. The private Oasis area of the forums will still be available upon request, with a team of caring, youth ministry-understanding people to listen, pray, and confidentially walk with youth workers through tough or tricky situations. In fact, we hope to bring even more hope and help through the people being part of YS makes available to us all.

    Does this mean that you won’t be accepting and publishing user-generated content?
    Not at all! Actually the opposite. As a property of Youth Specialties we will be increasing the frequency of content for the community. While you may see some new authors on the site, we’d love to continue to work with new and emerging authors.

    How much money were Patti and Adam given to make this happen?
    We can’t answer that at this time. Adam and Patti are currently on the Youth Specialties jet on their way to FerrariWorld in Roma, ciao! http://www.ferrariworld.com/

    Will YMX still be appearing at the conventions to promote the community?
    Yes. Look for us at all the National Youth Workers Conventions this fall.

    What about Raising Lazarus and the community’s desire to help hurting youth workers?
    Raising Lazarus has always been a separate entity of Youth Ministry Exchange, LLC. YMX will continue its partnership with Raising Lazarus to offer practical support for those who need help. In addition, with more time dedicated to running YMX, Adam and Patti will be more available to help.

    Will the site continue to place ads?
    Yes. The site will largely operate as it has.

    Does this mean that YMX will only promote resources that are Youth Specialties products?
    No. The site will largely operate as it has. If we review a resource or report on a news item, we will include a disclosure stating that our our parent company is Youth Specialties when it is relevant. This is similar to the way you see reporting on mainstream media.

    Doesn’t YMX own other sites? Are those part of this deal as well?
    Yes, YMX will continue to operate the blog ad network, Youth Ministry Tips, Youth Ministry Pro, and just like we are today.

    Your thoughts?

  • What if? Dream with me.

    I had this thought while wondering around Wal*Mart and a grocery store tonight. It’s a fairly simple thought but I think it’s fascinating.

    What if the privacy that we all hold so near and dear evaporated?

    What if we all woke up tomorrow and everyone in the world could find out what was in your bank account? What the doctor told you at your last appointment? What if your driving record wasn’t private? What if you knew what everyone made at your work or gave at your church? What if everyone could see the websites you’ve looked at?

    What if everyone had access to all of that information? What would the world be like?

    Think about our economy. It’s largely built on fear and secrets. Start wiping away layers of each and the world becomes a very, very different place. Doesn’t it?

  • Favorite Things: This American Life

    I love Ira Glass and his show, This American Life. The love affair goes back to early marriage days when Kristen and I would play “right or left” in the car Saturday mornings. Back in 1998-1999 gas was less than a dollar per gallon and I was off every Saturday morning.

    We’d get up early, head out for a nice breakfast, then get in the car and start driving. Any time we’d come to an intersection I’d ask Kristen… “Right or left?” Sometimes we’d end up way up in Wisconsin, sometimes in Central Illinois, sometimes in Michigan or Indiana, or sometimes we’d just explore suburbs of Chicago. Anything that interested us was an excuse to stop and smell the roses. Those adventures in our early marriage were some of the happiest days of our lives.

    And Ira Glass was a part of those rides. We love listening to NPR and right around lunch This American Life would capture our attention as we explored. When we left Chicago in 2001 we kind of lost track of the show. Then about a year ago I found out that the show was the #1 podcast on iTunes and happily subscribed.

    I love the pace of the stories. I love the segments. I love the way he tells stories. I love his voice. All of This American Life is why I happily label it one of my favorite things.

    Click here to subscribe to the podcast.