• Christmas Recap

    This morning we are vowing to leave the house at some point. Yesterday, as is our habit, we hunkered down for a day of pure family. It turned out to be a really nice Christmas.

    Christmas technically kicked off on Thursday night with a fun little trip to Orange County. A couple from our community group invited us to their family’s traditional Christmas Eve party. That was a lot of fun! Apparently, this group of people have been hanging out on Christmas Eve together for more than 20 years. So the house was filled with a mixture of joy and shared known. It was really cool to see the generational aspect of the whole thing, the embracing of some traditions, and it really just got our family in the mood for Christmas.

    Christmas morning, the kids got up early, as decreed in the New Testament. At about 5:30 they woke us up with, “It’s Christmas! Can we open presents NOW????” We made them wait until 7:00 before we opened presents so mom and dad could at least see straight… and we had to listen to them count down every minute!

    Ah, the anticipation of children and the power of parents to torture by saying “be patient.”

    Best Present

    • Paul: Nintendo DS
    • Megan: Sweet digital camera and a photo blog to share
    • Dad: Membership to J.R. Organics CSA
    • Mom: A new wedding ring (she had lost hers a few years ago)
    • Stoney: A new collar
    • Lovely: A cat bed

    From about 8:00 AM on we all just laid around. The kids played with their toys. Mom and dad watched some movies. I think that was about it until lunch.

    christmas-ham

    Since Kristen isn’t feeling great I was in charge of Christmas dinner. With just four of us… we kept it simple. Ham, cranberry, rolls, mashed potatos. Oops, I forgot vegitables! (No one complained)

    After dinner, we all kind of scattered and just rested. Paul fell asleep about 2:30 PM and didn’t wake up until 3:30 AM! Megan watched TV with me. Kristen took naps off and on all day. We were basically bums!

    Later, I watched the Chargers dismantle the Titans intersperced with endless episodes of Mythbusters. And that was Christmas.

  • An Honest Christmas Scam

  • Longitudinal Youth Ministry

    Photo by Ben Lawson via Flickr (creative commons)
    Photo by Ben Lawson via Flickr (creative commons)

    There is something so cheap about a program that graduates students.

    Maybe it’s just that I don’t like to let go? Or maybe it’s just that I can’t reconcile the theological ramifications of shoving a copy of My Utmost for His Highest in a kids hands and saying, “Thanks for the memories. Have a nice life!”

    In reality, I’ve not let go of them. I just can’t. It wouldn’t seem right. And I am pretty sure they don’t want to either. Why else would I be maintaining these relationships with them into adulthood? Why are we still sharing life?

    The way my youth ministry career has gone, in many ways that relationship is just getting started when they walk across the stage to accept their high school diploma. It’s not over, we’re just changing gears!

    And yet, the programmatic approach to youth ministry depends on me pushing kids through the system. Freshmen take steps 1-2, sophomores steps 3-4, juniors do step 5, seniors do step 6. We’re always working kids through a system. We say we love them… but that’s a short-term love that lasts as long as they are in high school. Sayonara, sucker! I’ve got a whole slew of incoming freshmen to look after!

    The way I see it, that type of program is a cheap Wal*Mart edition of discipleship. Real discipleship is taxing. It’s tough. It’s costly. It’s complicated. It requires more commitment than getting assigned to 8 kids for a small group year or running a program at work.

    When I think of the way Jesus discipled I think of a process that was open-ended. They ground it out over time. It wasn’t a wheel or bases that he ran those young men through. It was life shared. Three steps forward, two steps back. But together they got there.

    From my own ministry experience, you just know when you have a few kids who get it and want to be discipled long-term. You don’t get assigned these kids. A pastor doesn’t have to bestow anything on you. It’s just natural, you pick it up, and you see where the relationship goes. You recognize it in them when they are 14 when they won’t leave your house because they just have to talk to you about something. You see it when they are 17 and they just drop by to watch a movie or something. You see it when they are 19 and they are just back for the weekend and want to grab a cup of coffee to catch up on life. You see it when they are 23 and you are chatting about life on Facebook.

    Maybe I’m just an abnomaly but my ministry to those kids continues long after I hand them a book and a graduation card. To do anything less would seem cheap. Like I didn’t even mean it.

    “Programs are short-term. Discipleship is long-term.”

    Maybe instead of trying to force discipleship into a 4 or 6 year box we need to re-shape youth ministry so that it starts with kids who want to be discipled and it ends… like at a later date when its over? Why are we trying to redefine discipleship instead of trying to redefine youth ministry?

    There’s always room for a couple newbies in my life. As we get rolling with this new youth ministry venture in San Diego I can see the cycle starting over again. I’m getting to know 14-15 year olds who are looking for someone to walk with for the long-haul. I’ve got room in my life because the reality is that the ones I’ve been mentoring/discipling for the last 5-6 years don’t need much attention. That’s exciting for me to see it starting all over again. I’m hard-wired for it. But that’s how you would hope the process works, right?

    Am I alone in this? Should we start looking at youth ministry as a long-term investment instead of a program?

  • Greater things…

    I think the visuals of this version of the song, coupled with the history of Northern Ireland… really adds the significance and desperation needed for this song. Greater things are needed in the city.

    For those of us in ministry, the real question this song brings to the forefront is one of priorities. Will 2010 be a year when we lay aside our pet projects and church crap and actually bring Good News to the cities we live in? Or will we just continue “discipling” and “entertaining” the same people another year without ever compelling them to take action and live out what we believe?

    Unrelated sidenote: I’m itching to get back to Belfast.

  • Our Christmas Video

  • 5 Socially Conscious Christmas Gift Ideas

    The retail world is made or broken based on what happens the 6 weeks surrounding Christmas. The entire world may not bow at the throne of Jesus, but a made-up celebration of his birthday is the biggest fiscal holiday on the planet. Jesus declares his glory even through the mundane giving and receiving of presents at Christmas. You simply cannot deny it.

    But what if the world’s people started giving and receiving gifts that reflected the heart of the Gospel? Just like The Passion of the Christ radically transformed the movie industry… what if God’s people radically transformed the Christmas retail space by how they spent money?

    Here are five gift ideas that would change things if masses of people did them.

    1. Kiva gift certificates
    2. Purchase a Community Supported Agriculture membership
    3. Sponsor a child with Compassion International
    4. Donate to a socially progressive organization
    5. Hire a socially progressive speaker, author, or organization to come to your town

    You want to change the world? Let’s start with at least recognizing the connection between what we spend/support and where that money actually goes. Be good stewards. Be responsible. And the world will change to meet the needs of the worlds people.

    That is the heart of capitalism, right?

  • Pressing Play on Life

    I woke up thinking about this song. Flashback to the 90s, right?

    In so many ways life has felt like it was on pause since September when I went to LA for convention. I’ve just been consumed by work. It swallowed me.

    And yesterday brought so much release. (Er, if the illustration of “swallowed by work” holds true, I guess that means work vomited or pooped me out? Let’s just not take the illustration there.) When I got home yesterday, I just felt like life could return to normal. I went to Target to Christmas shop. I took a little nap. I took Kristen out to a very nice restaurant and a movie. And this morning… it’s time to grab the leash and take Stoney to the beach.

    Back to life, back to reality…

    I’ll spare you the video of me dancing. But just so you know, I’m dancing.

  • Wisdom

    rodin__the_thinker2He who gets wisdom loves his own soul;
    he who cherishes understanding prospers.

    Proverbs 19:8

    Adam’s translation

    Wanna sleep at night? Chase after wisdom with all you’ve got. But don’t just chase wisdom, put it into action.

    For the past couple of months I’ve been living in Proverbs. Sure, I do a lot of tweeting and Facebooking on my iPhone. But I’ve also been giving the Bible app (and my snail Bible) a workout. And almost all of my reading has been in Proverbs. On the trolley. At the office. At the dining room table. At football games. Backstage during sessions at NYWC. On planes. Over coffee. You get the idea.

    Again and again, I find myself blown away by this stuff. This was recorded a few thousand years back and it is just as relevant today as it was back then.

    Here’s a sampling of the verses I’ve bookmarked in the last 3-4 days:

    Proverbs 14:15 “A simple man believes anything,
    but a prudent man gives thought to his steps.    “

    Proverbs 14:23 “All hard work brings a profit,
    but mere talk leads only to poverty.    “

    Proverbs 15:18 “A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension,
    but a patient man calms a quarrel.”

    Proverbs 15:23 “A man finds joy in giving an apt reply—
    and how good is a timely word!    “

    Proverbs 16:19 “Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed
    than to share plunder with the proud.    “

    Proverbs 17:5 “He who mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker;
    whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished.    ”

    Proverbs 18:6 “A fool’s lips bring him strife,
    and his mouth invites a beating.    “

    Proverbs 18:12 “Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud,
    but humility comes before honor.    “

    Proverbs 18:24 “A man of many companions may come to ruin,
    but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.    “

    Proverbs 20:19 “”A gossip betrays a confidence;
    so avoid a man who talks too much.    “

    Proverbs 21:5 “The plans of the diligent lead to profit
    as surely as haste leads to poverty.    “

    Proverbs 21:21 “He who pursues righteousness and love
    finds life, prosperity and honor.    “

    What one thing you do you when you are faced with tough times and hard decisions?

  • The cry of the people

    [Please press play]

    I love this song. And I love how Bono performed it on this tour. He kicked it off and let the audience do the first verse and chorus. An amazing moment in the show.

    One reason I think this song is so powerful, particularly performed live, is that as the audience sing along loudly, each voice represents the cry of every heart there. Collectively, 60,000 people shouting their cry out during this song, each imagining what they are still looking for. Tears, joys, sorrow, pride, and dreams all mashed together and pushed towards the stage.

    I wanted to take this moment of pause to reflect, and ask you to join me in singing this chorus.

    I don’t know what you are looking for today. Each of us cries a slightly different cry. But I thank you for walking with me, reading along, and together we will continue to walk together until we find what we are looking for.

  • Bike in the pool

    My favorite part of this video is the very faint “don’t do it” at the very beginning!

    The voice of reason is always present and ignored when pulling off something impossibly cool.