a measure of my coolness?

I joined facebook...

a fact I am not necessrily proud of, for lots of reasons...

1) I have never gotten it
2) I think it is a replacement for real friendship (cyber friends and face-to-face friends are just different)
3) I think it is one more way "kids today" measure how cool they are with jow many friends they have...

All of that being said...

I HAVE 36 friends! I am the COOLEST!

I have been able to find some folks from high school, from college, and kids that graduated from the youth program many years ago. And have used facebook to reconnect with them!

Facebook rocks!

Here is the problem - I am addicted. I need more friends! Don't you see...it is a measure of my coolness!

The quest....

a story in 3 parts...

Part 1
Since my arrival here at Suncreek 3 months ago, I have been asked to steer the ship. There has been great freedom and support in taking the ship wherever I want it to go. Church folks would call this casting a vision. I have not really done that, because I have been in an assessment and discernment mode. I have been trying to put my pulse on what is needed and what things we need to do great. There are a lot of things that are working here very well, and some that are in need of some tweaking, and even some that need a major overhaul.

Part 2
I am reading 2 books right now - both about very different things, but have led to my conclusion (that is part 3, don't read ahead). The first book is by Laura Penny titled "Your call is Important to US". In it, she looks at the huge piles of "bovine feces" that we are fed everyday. And it is her contention at a few points in the book, that the church is guilty of this as well. The other book is "Practicing Passion" by Kenda Creasy Dean. I am just starting this book, but so far it is a powerful testament and a call to action about the power and passion that is bottled up inside of teenagers. Maybe reading these books together has led me to this conclusion...

Part 3
What Suncreek UMC Youth Group need is a quest. So today, I am proud to announce phase I of my vision - A QUEST FOR AUTHENTIC COMMUNITY. A community that supports each other, prays for each other, laughs and cries with each other. A community that works together, worships together, learns together, studies together, and grows in the faith together. A community that "outsiders" will look at, see the 'real' in the group, want to join, and then be welcomed into the community.

Now HOW is the next big question....that will take some time and prayer. In the meantime, lets all do our part and start living more authentically.

Is it too early to have great plans for '08?

I know it is not even thanksgiving yet, but I am so excited about the beginning of '08. Not even because of the "resolutions" part, but because there are exciting things happening.

I just got done with lunch with Lori - who will be the new youth committee chair, and this is going to be a great year! we talked about roles and all that god has in store for this church and for the youth ministries here. This is an exciting place to be!

Personally, I am excited to do some new stuff in early '08. The December calenders go in the mail next Monday....there is a January 1st program that I am super excited about. keep that evening free!

In the meantime, have a great thanksgiving and start your list of new years resolutions....

Inside Jokes

One of my favorite things....inside jokes.

More than any other reason, is when you try to explain them to people, you just...

had to be there (.com)

Ever visited Lake Eire?

Nothing beats the inside joke in the midle of a backswing in golf....you know what I am talknig about...

No, I am not an owl

BFF

are you an owl?

Hey, I am not an owl!

midnight in the garden of good and evil

never seen it or read it, but if I were the author I would write a book about a lock-in and this would be the title...

I am tired....

thanks for the memories, and the reminder

A friend of mine asked me to come and speak at "Career Day" at the middle school she teaches at....so this morning I was headed down to Garland to give the kids "30 minutes in the life if a youth director"...

Here are the 2 major things I learned today:

1) I think being a teacher is the nobelest profession there is. I love Jr. High kids...in the right setting. I get to have fun with them, teach them for 15 minutes, and then send them home only to see them a week later (with some exceptions of course)...teachers see this kids all day..everyday...I was reminded today why teaching is hard.

2) I would not go back to middle school for a million bucks! (unless I was tall, skinny, & funny) The 6th graders got to get out 3 minutes early of each class, for the sole reason that they needed a head start on the "big kids". 3 minutes to sprint (only there is no running in the halls) to the other side of the building so you don't get run over..what an existance...

For all this negativity, there were however a few redemptive moments - one was when the "cool kid", the huge 8th grade running back, the kid who sits in the back and sulks and is "too cool for all this"...you know the kid...when I told him we were playing a game, he moaned, dragged his feet, and refused to sit on the floor. 2 minutes into the game, he looked at me like I was the THE GUY who ruined his day...6 minutes into the game he was laughing, smiling, and carrying on...makes me smile thinking about it!

Then, when I skipped boxed Jason's deli lunch to go eat Indian buffett with my college roomie...that was awesome too!

I believe

My friend Rob recently posted on his blog a list of things he believed...because I am not original, I will list some of the things I believe in...

I believe in Pei Wei beef extra spicy (it also might be that I am going there as soon as I am done with this post...)

I believe if I joined a gym I would go for a week and never return

I believe my money is better spent at all you can eat sushi buffets

I believe that if people would actually come to UMYF on sunday nights, they would like it

I believe homework is dumb

I believe golf is the most meaningful way to throw away $30 bucks

I believe in Church (with a Capitol C)

I believe in spouses that "get you"

I believe in children's laughter

I believe in late night peanut butter and jelly sandwiches

I believe in teamwork

I believe in the Stars - only when Marty Turco decides to actually play

I believe someday I will get bread to rise (so for I am 0-3)

I believe that co-workers make staff meetings fun

I believe in dressing like an adult at work (a recent change for me...)

I believe in Pei Wei beef extra spicy...

peace.

Nostradamus & the need to feel important

We (as a culture, specifically an American culture) did it again....and this time it was big!

I don't know if you have caught the ads (or even the program) for the History channel's new show - The Lost Book of Nostradamus. (for the record, I have not watched it and will not not watch it for the reasons below)...

I have become more and more aware and less tolerant of our current need to feel important in the `grand scheme of history'. It is my contention that, as our lives get busier and busier, they begin to mean less and less. Therefore we (as a society) have begun to feel that we need to show the world and our grand kids kids that WE were important. In an effort to feel important, we have been quick to declare the important events in our lives, even before they happen.

Case in point, The Lost books of Nostradamus. The contention of the show is that the world is ending soon and it was for told by Nostradamus through numerology and deeply coded messages. I have watched the longer preview for this show, and to be completely honest, it seems that they are making the things that Nostradamus wrote (which is debatable also) fit with current events.

I don't really want to debate the factual case for Nostradamus claims, but more about the need for all of us to be relevant in 4 years, let alone 400 years.

Who is Franklin Pierce?

We have taken this need to be important to the extreme with this doomsday view of the world. Almost to say "We are so important that the world will end on our watch"

The John Hagee's and Tim LeHay's have made a fortune preaching this message.

We also find this need for "see look at how great our generation is" in sports a lot.

When Michael Jordan retired, all the sports folks were up in arms about who would replace his as the "greatest player to play the game....never entertaining the notion that there might not be someone.
"Most major sports leagues have named "The greatest players in X amount of years" in the last few years. All of them stacked with today's players. I seriously doubt that Lebron James would hold a candle in the early league with players who traveled by bus, playing multiple nights in a row, getting pounded night after night under the basket because there was no 3-point line to hang out at and just wait for the ball. Those early guys could pound the ball and run circles around "The King"...the "next Michael Jordan".

This was especially true after 9-11 and all the "We will never forget" memorabilia. While I do not discount the importance of that event and think that was a terrible event that will impact the world for centuries....people also said that about Pearl Harbor...do you know the date of Pearl Harbor? The president of the US said "that date would live in infamy"...and we don't know it.

All of this is to say, stop worrying about standing the test of time, and start doing something that will put you up in that category...

As for me, I am living today as if tomorrow is my last. I think that is how we should live every day. I am busy "sucking the marrow out of life". If the world ends tomorrow, I think I am ready and feel no need to be compared to the Abe Lincolns and MLK's. No lie, I hope someday I can do something that will impact the world, but for now, I am interested in chugging along and making the world around me better.

Oh yeah, Franklin Pierce was the 14th president of the US...