Thursday
Monday
A part of my life in God, pt. 2
From a post last Monday, "What those boys and girls want is to be a part of your life in God for a few days." The abbot admonished Henri Nouwen with these words when he was frustrated for being uninterrupted on his spiritual retreat.
The words have stayed with me all week.
Yesterday was the first bike ride that's part of a new recreation program in our middle school ministry.
We have a large ministry, a great youth staff, tons of leaders, but only one student signed up. My knee-jerk, as one who has painfully endured a few one-on-one events in my youth ministry lifetime, knows better to let these things fly when there isn't any interest. However, this week, after reading Nouwen and being watered by his words, felt I should do this bike ride. Even if it turned out that it was just me, another leader, and Jeffie.
When I showed up at the trail head I saw an 8th grade student that I hadn't seen in awhile. I thought to myself, "cool", a chance to reconnect with a really great guy in our ministry. Then came Kyle with his crazy and adventurous dad Mark. Then Austin and his dad Roddy (also super cool with amazing gifts) pulls in.
It turned out that Kyle and Mark had brought their GPS tools and geocaching treasures for us to hunt, find, and trade. We rode bikes. We had fun. We saw glimpses of God in nature (and when something miraculously kept me from wiping out some serious bikers because I was looking at a "cool tree trunk").
Biking ministry isn't something that brought in the numbers but it brought in the fringe and helped us to share our lives together. The small moments of discipleship that come in seeing something so cool that only God could have created it are underrated and I'm thankful for a word that encouraged me to think differently.
Wednesday
"Let them be part of your life in God."
I'm type "A" when it comes to work. The type A-ness helps me mostly, but some days it causes me to feel pressed for time and unable to really prepare for things as well as I would like to. I want to do more for middle schoolers, to be their spiritual guide and their goof guru. But there's so much to do, I say to myself, and often miss out on opportunities to really see students where they are.
Today I was reading my cherished old school copy of A Guide To Prayer for Ministers & Other Servants when a reading from Henri Nouwen freed me up. I may have looked at this particular reading twelve times since college but it didn't quite arrest me like it did today.
He says, "often we're not as pressed for time as much as we feel we're pressed for time."
The opening line was interesting, I kept reading.
He remembers a time when teaching at Yale when the demands felt so thick that he withdrew to the Trappist monastery at Geneso, New York. He planned on retreating from his planning, teaching, lecturing, and counseling so he could experience solitude and prayer.
Then he recalls the second day of his retreat when a group of high school students arrive at the monastery and ask Henri to give them a retreat. Henri puffs to the abbot that he did not come here for the "enormous work" of preparing five meditations for these students. He said, "I don't want to do it."
The abbot told him, "You're going to do it." And Henri replied, "Why should I spend my sabbatical time preparing all those things?"
The abbots reply...
..."Prepare? You've been a Christian for forty years and a priest for twenty, and a few high school students want to have a retreat. Why do you have to prepare? What those boys and girls want is to be a part of your life in God for a few days. If you pray half an hour in the morning, sing in our choir for an hour, and o your spiritual reading, you will have so much to say you could give ten retreats."
The question, you see, is not to prepare but to live in a state of preparedness so that, when someone who is drowning in the world come into your world, you are ready to reach our and help. It may be at four o'clock, six o'clock, or nine o'clock. One time you call it preaching, the next time teaching, then counseling, or later administration. But let them be part of your life in God--that's ministering."
Like I said, arrested...
*Reading from "Time Enough to Minister" in Leadership (Spring 1982)
Today I was reading my cherished old school copy of A Guide To Prayer for Ministers & Other Servants when a reading from Henri Nouwen freed me up. I may have looked at this particular reading twelve times since college but it didn't quite arrest me like it did today.
He says, "often we're not as pressed for time as much as we feel we're pressed for time."
The opening line was interesting, I kept reading.
He remembers a time when teaching at Yale when the demands felt so thick that he withdrew to the Trappist monastery at Geneso, New York. He planned on retreating from his planning, teaching, lecturing, and counseling so he could experience solitude and prayer.
Then he recalls the second day of his retreat when a group of high school students arrive at the monastery and ask Henri to give them a retreat. Henri puffs to the abbot that he did not come here for the "enormous work" of preparing five meditations for these students. He said, "I don't want to do it."
The abbot told him, "You're going to do it." And Henri replied, "Why should I spend my sabbatical time preparing all those things?"
The abbots reply...
..."Prepare? You've been a Christian for forty years and a priest for twenty, and a few high school students want to have a retreat. Why do you have to prepare? What those boys and girls want is to be a part of your life in God for a few days. If you pray half an hour in the morning, sing in our choir for an hour, and o your spiritual reading, you will have so much to say you could give ten retreats."
The question, you see, is not to prepare but to live in a state of preparedness so that, when someone who is drowning in the world come into your world, you are ready to reach our and help. It may be at four o'clock, six o'clock, or nine o'clock. One time you call it preaching, the next time teaching, then counseling, or later administration. But let them be part of your life in God--that's ministering."
Like I said, arrested...
*Reading from "Time Enough to Minister" in Leadership (Spring 1982)
Saturday
Tribute to Life
I worked at a golf course in college. Three years of clubhouse shenanigans has helped me to truly appreciate a well organized tournament (one with a good cause is even sweeter!) Check out this local tourney that will benefit three pretty awesome organizations. Maybe we'll see you April 4th.
Monkey and Fish Resonation
I'm still processing conversations from this week's middle school ministry summit. We sat with Dave Gibbons and talked about what a third culture ministry might look like. I'm still thinking all of this through, but I'm intrigued by the potential power (and humility) found in this movement. I've got some thoughts to come. Until then, you can find more on Dave's blog.
"Third culture is about the fusion of multiple cultures, the art of adaptation, dialogue rather than dictation, diplomacy over strong arm tactics, and the embrace of discomfort as part of the journey to real community. Third culture is the mindset and will to love, learn and serve in any culture even in the midst of pain and discomfort. In short, 3rdCulture is PAINFUL ADAPTATION."
Friday
Sometimes a song is better than words.
This video isn't very contemporary and is sort of churchy but if you can get past that to this songwriters heart you'll see something very beautiful.
Thursday
Getting to know our volunteers.
Every week our youth leaders come together to get to know our students in our ministry. With less than two hours to serve on Wednesday nights, we try to do the impossible, connect with teenagers who are more excited about hanging with their friends than hanging with us (no matter how cool we are). My husband picks up on things like this when he sits through our worship service. He says things like, "The teens need to get to know the adults better." My question has often been, "how"? When I asked him to help me out next week in my absence he said he wanted to interview some adult leaders instead of writing a message. As I thought about the idea I realized that it's probably something I should have considered much sooner. With a few moments for our students to get an honest, funny, serious, and somewhat up close encounter with our leaders we'll multiply our chances of teens feeling like they can connect with them. We'll start with three adults next week. A few random and funny questions will be in order for each leader but Coy will gradually move to asking questions about their own struggles and maybe how that led to them trusting in God. I'll be in California while this is going on but I know God is going to use Coy's wisdom to bring our large group into more intimate and healthy relationships with some of our adult leaders. We've grown so much in this are over the past year and I'm so I'm excited to see how these testimonies will open up doors for deeper relationships.
Tuesday
God of this City
This week in our middle school group we're talking about the song, God of this City. Last summer at camp our group was blessed to have Chris Tomlin as our worship leader. He shared the story about how this song came to pass, how it was born in a dark place, and how it lives on as an anthem for us who want to shine in that same darkness. The words are powerful. I pray that our students will know what it means to have this spirit of expectation, that God would do something so GREAT in their cities and in their hearts.
Jesus said, "I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me...then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." John 17:20-23
God of This City
By Bluetree
Performed by Chris Tomlin
Verse 1
You’re the God of this city
You’re the King of these people
You’re the Lord of this nation
You are
You’re the light in this darkness
You’re the hope to the hopeless
You’re the peace to the restless
You are
Bridge
For there is no-one like our God
There is no-one like our God
Chorus 1
Greater things have yet to come
Greater things are still to be done
In this city
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things have still to be done here
Verse 2
You’re the Lord of Creation
The Creator of all things
You’re the King above all Kings
You are
You’re the strength in our weakness
You’re the love to the broken
You’re the joy in the sadness
You are
Bridge
For there is no-one like our God
There is no-one like our God
Chorus 2
Greater things have yet to come
Greater things are still to be done
In this city
Greater things have yet to come
Greater things are still to be done
In this city
Greater things have yet to come
Greater things are still to be done
In this city
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things have still to be done here
Jesus said, "I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me...then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." John 17:20-23
God of This City
By Bluetree
Performed by Chris Tomlin
Verse 1
You’re the God of this city
You’re the King of these people
You’re the Lord of this nation
You are
You’re the light in this darkness
You’re the hope to the hopeless
You’re the peace to the restless
You are
Bridge
For there is no-one like our God
There is no-one like our God
Chorus 1
Greater things have yet to come
Greater things are still to be done
In this city
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things have still to be done here
Verse 2
You’re the Lord of Creation
The Creator of all things
You’re the King above all Kings
You are
You’re the strength in our weakness
You’re the love to the broken
You’re the joy in the sadness
You are
Bridge
For there is no-one like our God
There is no-one like our God
Chorus 2
Greater things have yet to come
Greater things are still to be done
In this city
Greater things have yet to come
Greater things are still to be done
In this city
Greater things have yet to come
Greater things are still to be done
In this city
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things have still to be done here
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