There are lots of opinions about this, and lots of disagreement. After reading through several of these letters today, I can’t help it, I have to join in.
I want to first say that all in all I like Christmas card letters, especially the combination of pictures and letters. I like seeing kids grow up, hearing about new hobbies and adventures, and basic information that makes me feel closer to friends and re-connected to faraway friends.
Okay, that said, there are some other thoughts I have that do not exactly lift me into the Christmas spirit when I receive them. Here are three things that are sure to cause a reaction in me:
1. Letters that pretend that life is only good. It may have been a stellar year, with grades and job opportunities and vacations that could only have happened once a century, but this year happened to be it. I’m not saying we need to be negative, just more or less real. The year will come, trust me, when there seems to be nothing to write about but heartache and struggle. That has to be okay to share, but it needs to be done recognizing that in the midst of the darkness there are always rays of light… this is Christmas, after all.
2. Letters that presents a parent (usually the Dad) the chance to be clever at the kids’ expense. We get these every year, to varying degrees of intention and subtlety. Sure, we all can forgive the innocent gaff or mild tease easily enough. But there are those people, and most of the time its the same folks year after year, who cannot seem to avoid taking the Christmas letter to “joke” about their kids in a way that demeans, dismisses, or simply makes fun of them. Lay off, already. Life is tough enough for our kids. Even if the intent is to rebel against all those letters that makes each kid out to be All-State or the next Picasso, in the end they feel it, and it can’t help but sting. This is a great opportunity to honor them, and their trajectory. Bless, don’t curse, and let the world know how grateful and proud of them you are.
3. This is Christmas, so why is it so hard to remember that in our letters? The ones that are the toughest for me are those that have the token God/Christ accolades, but the rest of the letter is about kids, friends, fun, trips, money, sports, you name it. I have been especially struck this year by those letters from Christian leaders where, if the expected “Jesus is the reason for the season” paragraph was deleted, one would assume they were lawyers, sports agents, or Cubs fans.
You might be wondering where our example of the “appropriate” letter is. I don’t think I’ll share it with you… this is a blog. I’m just tossing out some ideas for you. (Besides, I’m pretty sure we have violated each of these pet peeves countless times over the years.)
Friday, December 18, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
What does a caring teacher look like?
Recently a college professor from the southeast asked me the following question:
"Can you describe a caring teacher? How does this person talk and act towards adolescents?"
A caring teacher looks beyond and through the layers of external performance, behavior, attitude, dress, or anything else that would shield a child from being vulnerable and known. They are then able to appeal to the inner sanctuary of the student who is attempting to find their place in a generally hostile and unforgiving world. A caring teacher sees gifts and talents standard measures deny; a caring teacher expects creativity and talent where society evaluates conformity; and, a caring teacher believes that every child is a product of themselves and an important resource to be nurtured, and should therefore be treated with the utmost respect and gentle care so as to draw out the innate best from the student.
"Can you describe a caring teacher? How does this person talk and act towards adolescents?"
A caring teacher looks beyond and through the layers of external performance, behavior, attitude, dress, or anything else that would shield a child from being vulnerable and known. They are then able to appeal to the inner sanctuary of the student who is attempting to find their place in a generally hostile and unforgiving world. A caring teacher sees gifts and talents standard measures deny; a caring teacher expects creativity and talent where society evaluates conformity; and, a caring teacher believes that every child is a product of themselves and an important resource to be nurtured, and should therefore be treated with the utmost respect and gentle care so as to draw out the innate best from the student.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
YS and the end of an era
This week marks the end of an era: the final Youth Specialities National Youthworkers Convention of the Rice/Yaconelli era. For more than 30 years YS has been bringing together the most recognized leaders of youth ministry so that vocational and volunteer youthworkers could have the chance to be trained by, challenged by, and influenced by those who have been deeply invested in ministry to kids. As of the 2009 Atlanta Convention, this run will come to an end.
Youth Specialties is not dead, for they are being bought by a group of great people who plan to morph this movement into viability for the coming future. But the YS that Mike and Wayne began and passed on to Tic Long, Jim Burns, Rich Van Pelt, Bill McNabb, Duffy Robbins, Chap Clark, Marv Penner, Helen Musick, Doug Fields, Laurie Polich, Marko Oestreicher, and lots of others is coming to what some may see as a screeching halt. I envision that the future will be bright for the "new" YS, but the "old" YS is about to breath its last.
Most of us old timers call this a family. People who have come out of the influence of YS, like Walt Mueller, Tiger McLuen and Kara Powell, have also been an integral part of YS and are feeling the effects of the slide. Since Mike and then Karla Yaconelli saw the need to hand off YS to a new ownership group, the writing has been on the wall. The economy made this inevitable, at least according to some, but the passage of time and the consequences of choices have brought us to this place.
I will miss YS. I have obviously missed Mike since he died, but I especially miss his heart for youthworkers and for Jesus, and his style and humility and humor. I will miss the chance to argue with Tony Jones and Brian McLaren alongside Duffy, and listen to Mark Yaconelli and Shane and the godfather himself, Tony Campolo, while standing in the back making snide comments about "the old days". I lament the chance to visit for hours with veteran youthworkers who are trying to hold onto their job, and volunteers who have been hanging in there with kids for decades, and YM profs who are trying to find that middle way between academics and practice. I will miss YS.
Yet I also have hope. I believe that God has led us to YS - all of us. I know firsthand that what Doug Fields' "Simply Youth Ministry" partnering with GROUP has meant is exciting and contemporary. I believe that what Reggie Joiner and Jared Hurd are doing with the Orange conference is creative and powerful. And I do believe that the new "owners" of YS (those " " are intentional, by the way) are committed to the best of what YS has been.
But I still will miss YS for a long, long time. YS has raised me. YS has taught me. YS has nurtured me. YS has loved me. Goodbye, my friend. You will be missed.
Chap Clark
Youth Specialties is not dead, for they are being bought by a group of great people who plan to morph this movement into viability for the coming future. But the YS that Mike and Wayne began and passed on to Tic Long, Jim Burns, Rich Van Pelt, Bill McNabb, Duffy Robbins, Chap Clark, Marv Penner, Helen Musick, Doug Fields, Laurie Polich, Marko Oestreicher, and lots of others is coming to what some may see as a screeching halt. I envision that the future will be bright for the "new" YS, but the "old" YS is about to breath its last.
Most of us old timers call this a family. People who have come out of the influence of YS, like Walt Mueller, Tiger McLuen and Kara Powell, have also been an integral part of YS and are feeling the effects of the slide. Since Mike and then Karla Yaconelli saw the need to hand off YS to a new ownership group, the writing has been on the wall. The economy made this inevitable, at least according to some, but the passage of time and the consequences of choices have brought us to this place.
I will miss YS. I have obviously missed Mike since he died, but I especially miss his heart for youthworkers and for Jesus, and his style and humility and humor. I will miss the chance to argue with Tony Jones and Brian McLaren alongside Duffy, and listen to Mark Yaconelli and Shane and the godfather himself, Tony Campolo, while standing in the back making snide comments about "the old days". I lament the chance to visit for hours with veteran youthworkers who are trying to hold onto their job, and volunteers who have been hanging in there with kids for decades, and YM profs who are trying to find that middle way between academics and practice. I will miss YS.
Yet I also have hope. I believe that God has led us to YS - all of us. I know firsthand that what Doug Fields' "Simply Youth Ministry" partnering with GROUP has meant is exciting and contemporary. I believe that what Reggie Joiner and Jared Hurd are doing with the Orange conference is creative and powerful. And I do believe that the new "owners" of YS (those " " are intentional, by the way) are committed to the best of what YS has been.
But I still will miss YS for a long, long time. YS has raised me. YS has taught me. YS has nurtured me. YS has loved me. Goodbye, my friend. You will be missed.
Chap Clark
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Being "Missional"
“Missional” is one of those really cool words. Its not like postmodern, now passé. Nobody ever really understood it anyway and yet still it was easy to get caught using it when we didn’t have any idea what it meant. Or biblical (or Biblical, depending on your publisher), where it sounds like it would be easy to stay on safe ground, but then someone might actually call you on it and make you look up and then go through the verse you were flippantly lobbing into a conversation or message.
Yep, Missional ministry, the missional church, and now missional youth ministry – what a great word. It’s still new enough it sounds innovative, and anyone can write it, preach on it, and few if any would ever challenge your use of it. A wide-ranging word that makes us look and feel better, and yet has so much breadth that you really can’t go wrong.
Unfortunately, though (and sorry to bring this up), there actually is an important and valuable conversation going on around the meaning of this word, and what it represents. People that are studying it in light of Scripture and church history are making some noise saying that the western church has drifted so far away from anything resembling God’s call to be missional that we can now barely recognize it.
To most, missional means that we as a group of believers do our Christian thing together and then go out and “be missionaries.” We basically have slightly modified the Western missionary movement by making the starting point us.
Here’s what it means to be a missional people:
- we try to live as “committed followers of Jesus” (meaning we go to church)
- we sing and pray and listen and teach kids and write checks
- we occasionally readjust our schedules to help someone in need, especially at Christmas, Thanksgiving and before kickoff on Super Bowl Sunday
- when we have a special program or event, we invite our “friends and neighbors” to “come” to us
You see, we’re missional, because we sometimes make the effort to look outside the walls of our church and attempt to bring people in; or, if they are too different, or distant, we help them out now and then. See, we’re missional.
The problem is that is not even close to what God has in mind when we say yes to the faith we proclaim. To be missional means that if we are “a people belonging to God” (1 Peter 2:9), then our lives get turned upside down. We don’t “do” missions, we live, breath, plan, think, vote, spend, teach, read, watch, have sex, raise kids, and play video games as we follow Jesus Christ as he brings his kingdom into the world. We don’t bring the kingdom as “missionaries,” we participate in God’s kingdom work as “witnesses” (Acts 1:8).
Yep, Missional ministry, the missional church, and now missional youth ministry – what a great word. It’s still new enough it sounds innovative, and anyone can write it, preach on it, and few if any would ever challenge your use of it. A wide-ranging word that makes us look and feel better, and yet has so much breadth that you really can’t go wrong.
Unfortunately, though (and sorry to bring this up), there actually is an important and valuable conversation going on around the meaning of this word, and what it represents. People that are studying it in light of Scripture and church history are making some noise saying that the western church has drifted so far away from anything resembling God’s call to be missional that we can now barely recognize it.
To most, missional means that we as a group of believers do our Christian thing together and then go out and “be missionaries.” We basically have slightly modified the Western missionary movement by making the starting point us.
Here’s what it means to be a missional people:
- we try to live as “committed followers of Jesus” (meaning we go to church)
- we sing and pray and listen and teach kids and write checks
- we occasionally readjust our schedules to help someone in need, especially at Christmas, Thanksgiving and before kickoff on Super Bowl Sunday
- when we have a special program or event, we invite our “friends and neighbors” to “come” to us
You see, we’re missional, because we sometimes make the effort to look outside the walls of our church and attempt to bring people in; or, if they are too different, or distant, we help them out now and then. See, we’re missional.
The problem is that is not even close to what God has in mind when we say yes to the faith we proclaim. To be missional means that if we are “a people belonging to God” (1 Peter 2:9), then our lives get turned upside down. We don’t “do” missions, we live, breath, plan, think, vote, spend, teach, read, watch, have sex, raise kids, and play video games as we follow Jesus Christ as he brings his kingdom into the world. We don’t bring the kingdom as “missionaries,” we participate in God’s kingdom work as “witnesses” (Acts 1:8).
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The Invisible kid
She used to come, at least for a while.
I can’t remember her name, but the look she gave me the last time I saw her sneaks up on me from time to time. She was, after all, nondescript. A sophomore, I think, with few friends. She came to our youth group for a few months. Sat in the middle and seemed to moderately enjoy herself. But she didn’t know any student leaders (and they tend to find ways to be busy to stay together regardless) or even talk to any of the more noticeable groups that dominated our attention. She just sat there, maybe with a couple of friends, week after week, and then she’d leave. Finally she stopped coming.
What was her name again?
When I allow myself to be honest, my ministry has reflected an uncomfortable paradox throughout my ministry to kids. On one hand, I’ve found great solace, identity, and even “spiritual encouragement” (an all-too-often euphemism for those times I feel good because I have been successful but find a way to locate my euphoria within the rubric of being “blessed”) from numerical growth. On the other, for every incremental increase in group numbers, a few more kids find themselves left out of the gift of our incarnational attention. The bigger we grow, or during those seasons when the program is cooking, it is so easy for us to focus on those kids who are excited, and involved, and known. Then there are The Invisibles. They add to the numbers, and even sometimes the energy, but, let’s face it, they all too often get lost in the hype.
Remember that non-descript woman who approached Jesus (Mark 5)? “If I can just touch his clothes, she thought …” But even when she touched him and was healed, she wasn’t. And Jesus knew! Ever pondered that little phrase? Jesus “felt the power go out of him.” He knew her …
“Who touched my clothes?” Where are you, you who are desperate to stay invisible? Your healing isn’t done; my work is not yet finished with you. Come, make yourself known, because I already know you … and … I love you.
What was her name again? That invisible girl, who slipped in and out of vision and ministry and calling. I know one thing, Jesus knows her name.
I can’t remember her name, but the look she gave me the last time I saw her sneaks up on me from time to time. She was, after all, nondescript. A sophomore, I think, with few friends. She came to our youth group for a few months. Sat in the middle and seemed to moderately enjoy herself. But she didn’t know any student leaders (and they tend to find ways to be busy to stay together regardless) or even talk to any of the more noticeable groups that dominated our attention. She just sat there, maybe with a couple of friends, week after week, and then she’d leave. Finally she stopped coming.
What was her name again?
When I allow myself to be honest, my ministry has reflected an uncomfortable paradox throughout my ministry to kids. On one hand, I’ve found great solace, identity, and even “spiritual encouragement” (an all-too-often euphemism for those times I feel good because I have been successful but find a way to locate my euphoria within the rubric of being “blessed”) from numerical growth. On the other, for every incremental increase in group numbers, a few more kids find themselves left out of the gift of our incarnational attention. The bigger we grow, or during those seasons when the program is cooking, it is so easy for us to focus on those kids who are excited, and involved, and known. Then there are The Invisibles. They add to the numbers, and even sometimes the energy, but, let’s face it, they all too often get lost in the hype.
Remember that non-descript woman who approached Jesus (Mark 5)? “If I can just touch his clothes, she thought …” But even when she touched him and was healed, she wasn’t. And Jesus knew! Ever pondered that little phrase? Jesus “felt the power go out of him.” He knew her …
“Who touched my clothes?” Where are you, you who are desperate to stay invisible? Your healing isn’t done; my work is not yet finished with you. Come, make yourself known, because I already know you … and … I love you.
What was her name again? That invisible girl, who slipped in and out of vision and ministry and calling. I know one thing, Jesus knows her name.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Helicopter parents
There's a lot of talk these days about the way parents are too intrusive, or controlling, or dominant when it comes to running their kids' lives. We've all heard the prototypical examples:
- the dad that does the science project (or in California, builds the mission!)
- the parents who write the college essay
- the mom who confronts the teacher when the kid is in trouble ("I don't know why I did it... there was the bunson burner; there was a pony tail; it just seemed sorta natural...")
The label most often used, especially but not exclusively by colleges, is the Helicopter Parent.
As I've considered what many think is the opposite of my term "systemic abandonment," the helicopter parent is actually just displaying a form of abandonment. In my view, the kind of parents that hover to the point that they answer questions the kid should be answering is actually keeping the kid from learning how to discover and express who they are (Identity) and what kind of personal power, or sense of self, they are developing (Autonomy). I don't really think most of these folks are necessarily "helicopter parents," but rather are parents who, for the most part, deeply care for their children and therefore think they are acting in the best interest of the child as they are trying to help them. These parents (and, frankly, at times the rest of us) abandon their kid whenever we are not actively seeking to help them become the independent, individuated person they have been created and called to become. This is because the concept itself refers to any adult that is more concerned with their own perspective/agenda than the
developmental best of the kid.
And sometimes parents may be appearing to be "helicopter" when in fact they may be far more aware of any teacher, administrator, resident advisor or coach what is the best way to help an adolescent move into healthy adulthood. Whether or not parents slip into the hover mode is at base a difficult thing to really know. When any of us are critical of those parents who may seem to be over-the-top when it comes to their involvement with their child, it might be a good idea to step back and see if we might come alongside and be a source of support and help to the whole system. And when we are pretty sure we're right in our assesment of over-controlling parents (or any adult), then maybe our best next step is to be there for that child in the role we do have with them, and provide the authentic and supportive support they truly need. Maybe the helicopter will take note and settle down a bit and join in.
- the dad that does the science project (or in California, builds the mission!)
- the parents who write the college essay
- the mom who confronts the teacher when the kid is in trouble ("I don't know why I did it... there was the bunson burner; there was a pony tail; it just seemed sorta natural...")
The label most often used, especially but not exclusively by colleges, is the Helicopter Parent.
As I've considered what many think is the opposite of my term "systemic abandonment," the helicopter parent is actually just displaying a form of abandonment. In my view, the kind of parents that hover to the point that they answer questions the kid should be answering is actually keeping the kid from learning how to discover and express who they are (Identity) and what kind of personal power, or sense of self, they are developing (Autonomy). I don't really think most of these folks are necessarily "helicopter parents," but rather are parents who, for the most part, deeply care for their children and therefore think they are acting in the best interest of the child as they are trying to help them. These parents (and, frankly, at times the rest of us) abandon their kid whenever we are not actively seeking to help them become the independent, individuated person they have been created and called to become. This is because the concept itself refers to any adult that is more concerned with their own perspective/agenda than the
developmental best of the kid.
And sometimes parents may be appearing to be "helicopter" when in fact they may be far more aware of any teacher, administrator, resident advisor or coach what is the best way to help an adolescent move into healthy adulthood. Whether or not parents slip into the hover mode is at base a difficult thing to really know. When any of us are critical of those parents who may seem to be over-the-top when it comes to their involvement with their child, it might be a good idea to step back and see if we might come alongside and be a source of support and help to the whole system. And when we are pretty sure we're right in our assesment of over-controlling parents (or any adult), then maybe our best next step is to be there for that child in the role we do have with them, and provide the authentic and supportive support they truly need. Maybe the helicopter will take note and settle down a bit and join in.
Monday, September 7, 2009
"gender neutrality is out in new Bible"
This headline, buried next to a huge Vons ad on page A19, LA Times, Sept 6, 2009, caught my eye. The president of Biblica, Keith Danby, was quoted, "If we want to maintain the NIV as a Bible that English speakers around the world can understand, we have to listen to and respect the vocabulary they are using today."
2011 will be the dawn of this new vocabulary that is forcing a change upon the editors of the NIV. So drastic the change will be, the TNIV, a version that has sought to bring up to date the original intent of biblical authors by including women in traditionally male references, will be phased out. The TNIV, of course, does this without taking away from the gender of the Second Person of the Trinity (born a son), or of messing with the Fatherhood of God. The TNIV, under attack for years by misguided and mis-representative assertions, has simply sought to present a reading and text that were clearly in the vocabulary of modern people (see, I even said it; should I had better said "modern man").
So what is this current vocabulary that "English speakers around the world" are clamoring for? Evidently, a return to a time when male words were used to include all - like "mankind" and "men of faith." I supposed those who editorially control the NIV have caved into pressure from people who claim to represent "English speaking people around the world," who claim to believe that contemporary (dare I say Postmodern?) people could not understand a phrase that includes women as well as men?
Take Matthew 7:4, for example. Here are the translations:
Confusing TNIV: How can you say, "Let me take the speck out of your eye," when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?
Clarifying NIV: How can you say to your brother, "Let me take the speck out of your eye," when all the time their is a plank in your own eye.
Okay, now I get it. Wow, and for all these years I had thought we were beyond asking, nope, telling, women and girls that they have to learn how translate archaric texts, including the Bible, so that they find a way to be included in such writings! Good thing the NIV editors caught this... we wouldn't want anyone to miss out on the beauty, power, and wonder of God's Word because they didn't "understand" the scriptures because of the vocabulary they were used to.
Perhaps we'll simply go back to doing what I was taught three decades ago as a Young Life intern: Learn to translate these words and phrases as you go, while staying faithful to the intent and meaning of the text. Find ways to make sure that everyone you speak to knows that God is interested in them, and is wooing them into his kingdom. So if that means changing "brother" to "brother and sister," then honor Christ and the women you serve by being a faithful communicator of the truth of the scriptures to those God loves. Perhaps someday, then, the men of the future will come to see that gender is a gift of God, and that Jesus (and Paul et al) spoke and speaks to all of us as his children.
2011 will be the dawn of this new vocabulary that is forcing a change upon the editors of the NIV. So drastic the change will be, the TNIV, a version that has sought to bring up to date the original intent of biblical authors by including women in traditionally male references, will be phased out. The TNIV, of course, does this without taking away from the gender of the Second Person of the Trinity (born a son), or of messing with the Fatherhood of God. The TNIV, under attack for years by misguided and mis-representative assertions, has simply sought to present a reading and text that were clearly in the vocabulary of modern people (see, I even said it; should I had better said "modern man").
So what is this current vocabulary that "English speakers around the world" are clamoring for? Evidently, a return to a time when male words were used to include all - like "mankind" and "men of faith." I supposed those who editorially control the NIV have caved into pressure from people who claim to represent "English speaking people around the world," who claim to believe that contemporary (dare I say Postmodern?) people could not understand a phrase that includes women as well as men?
Take Matthew 7:4, for example. Here are the translations:
Confusing TNIV: How can you say, "Let me take the speck out of your eye," when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?
Clarifying NIV: How can you say to your brother, "Let me take the speck out of your eye," when all the time their is a plank in your own eye.
Okay, now I get it. Wow, and for all these years I had thought we were beyond asking, nope, telling, women and girls that they have to learn how translate archaric texts, including the Bible, so that they find a way to be included in such writings! Good thing the NIV editors caught this... we wouldn't want anyone to miss out on the beauty, power, and wonder of God's Word because they didn't "understand" the scriptures because of the vocabulary they were used to.
Perhaps we'll simply go back to doing what I was taught three decades ago as a Young Life intern: Learn to translate these words and phrases as you go, while staying faithful to the intent and meaning of the text. Find ways to make sure that everyone you speak to knows that God is interested in them, and is wooing them into his kingdom. So if that means changing "brother" to "brother and sister," then honor Christ and the women you serve by being a faithful communicator of the truth of the scriptures to those God loves. Perhaps someday, then, the men of the future will come to see that gender is a gift of God, and that Jesus (and Paul et al) spoke and speaks to all of us as his children.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
SLP daily blog -final days
The Student Leadership Project (or SLP), the 8 year Lilly Endowment-funded partnership of Young Life and Fuller Seminary. 37 high school rising seniors from across the country, hand-picked, personally chosen and nominated for leadership gifts and calling.
Tuesday, Day Nine
Last night was one of the highlights of the entire SLP experience. After our day of rest and play, and conversation and reflection, we gathered for our last Young Life club where we sang with such gusto the camp staff came sneaking into the back trying to get a glimpse at the “choir”. Our crescendo moment came when several of our African-American student leaders taught us the song We are blessed that they had learned at a YL urban camp the year before. We sang and sang like it was our last night on earth. Following club, we ended our last night in the southern California mountains with an old-fashioned camp fire and “Say so” gathering where most of our community shared what God had been doing in their lives since they had arrived. There was laughter, and tears, but mostly sober expressions of honesty and pain and hope and gratitude. A powerful reminder of why we do this program: kids need a safe place to be real, to go deep, and to bring the package of where they have been and who they are to the Lord. In community, where there is love and faith, hope reigns.
Tuesday was our last time in the mountains, and after breakfast and devotional reflections and prayer triads, the student leaders filled out their end-of-experience surveys (that we use as a pre- and post-test instrument to get one slice of outcome data as we seek to improve our work). Following this, one of our young women shared an original song, others taught us a song, we heard from a leader (most of the in-room leaders had shared their story at our gatherings along the way), and received a wrap-up message on going home from Dr. Cliff Anderson.
Late Tuesday afternoon we returned to Pasadena for our last night. Beginning with a banquet meal at Twin Palms, we finished our night with an interactive worship/community time where we first reflected on Hebrews 11, sang a few songs, and then had the opportunity for the next hour and a half to move in and out of five “stations”: communion (or “community meal” for some of the traditions represented), private confession with a symbolic cleansing of their hands, the lighting of a candle of dedication and the giving of a personal blessing, being sent out with the anointing of oil, and an art station where the student leaders could express themselves through a variety of artistic modes. This lasted deep into the night, and following our closing song at 12:20 or so, we took the next 45 minutes to clean up and say our goodbyes.
On Wednesday, the Day Ten of this report, but actually our eleventh day together, the SLP student leaders and staff headed home to begin the next phase of the project: to carry on in mostly virtual community while being mentored and cared for along the next five years. We hope to see each and every one take at least one Fuller class, but our greatest goal is that they would know what it means to follow Christ and live for him, leaning forward into his kingdom, and trust him to lead, shape, forgive, and guide them along the journey. That’s SLP, 2009.
Tuesday, Day Nine
Last night was one of the highlights of the entire SLP experience. After our day of rest and play, and conversation and reflection, we gathered for our last Young Life club where we sang with such gusto the camp staff came sneaking into the back trying to get a glimpse at the “choir”. Our crescendo moment came when several of our African-American student leaders taught us the song We are blessed that they had learned at a YL urban camp the year before. We sang and sang like it was our last night on earth. Following club, we ended our last night in the southern California mountains with an old-fashioned camp fire and “Say so” gathering where most of our community shared what God had been doing in their lives since they had arrived. There was laughter, and tears, but mostly sober expressions of honesty and pain and hope and gratitude. A powerful reminder of why we do this program: kids need a safe place to be real, to go deep, and to bring the package of where they have been and who they are to the Lord. In community, where there is love and faith, hope reigns.
Tuesday was our last time in the mountains, and after breakfast and devotional reflections and prayer triads, the student leaders filled out their end-of-experience surveys (that we use as a pre- and post-test instrument to get one slice of outcome data as we seek to improve our work). Following this, one of our young women shared an original song, others taught us a song, we heard from a leader (most of the in-room leaders had shared their story at our gatherings along the way), and received a wrap-up message on going home from Dr. Cliff Anderson.
Late Tuesday afternoon we returned to Pasadena for our last night. Beginning with a banquet meal at Twin Palms, we finished our night with an interactive worship/community time where we first reflected on Hebrews 11, sang a few songs, and then had the opportunity for the next hour and a half to move in and out of five “stations”: communion (or “community meal” for some of the traditions represented), private confession with a symbolic cleansing of their hands, the lighting of a candle of dedication and the giving of a personal blessing, being sent out with the anointing of oil, and an art station where the student leaders could express themselves through a variety of artistic modes. This lasted deep into the night, and following our closing song at 12:20 or so, we took the next 45 minutes to clean up and say our goodbyes.
On Wednesday, the Day Ten of this report, but actually our eleventh day together, the SLP student leaders and staff headed home to begin the next phase of the project: to carry on in mostly virtual community while being mentored and cared for along the next five years. We hope to see each and every one take at least one Fuller class, but our greatest goal is that they would know what it means to follow Christ and live for him, leaning forward into his kingdom, and trust him to lead, shape, forgive, and guide them along the journey. That’s SLP, 2009.
SLP daily blog -final days
The Student Leadership Project (or SLP), the 8 year Lilly Endowment-funded partnership of Young Life and Fuller Seminary. 37 high school rising seniors from across the country, hand-picked, personally chosen and nominated for leadership gifts and calling.
Tuesday, Day Nine
Last night was one of the highlights of the entire SLP experience. After our day of rest and play, and conversation and reflection, we gathered for our last Young Life club where we sang with such gusto the camp staff came sneaking into the back trying to get a glimpse at the “choir”. Our crescendo moment came when several of our African-American student leaders taught us the song We are blessed that they had learned at a YL urban camp the year before. We sang and sang like it was our last night on earth. Following club, we ended our last night in the southern California mountains with an old-fashioned camp fire and “Say so” gathering where most of our community shared what God had been doing in their lives since they had arrived. There was laughter, and tears, but mostly sober expressions of honesty and pain and hope and gratitude. A powerful reminder of why we do this program: kids need a safe place to be real, to go deep, and to bring the package of where they have been and who they are to the Lord. In community, where there is love and faith, hope reigns.
Tuesday was our last time in the mountains, and after breakfast and devotional reflections and prayer triads, the student leaders filled out their end-of-experience surveys (that we use as a pre- and post-test instrument to get one slice of outcome data as we seek to improve our work). Following this, one of our young women shared an original song, others taught us a song, we heard from a leader (most of the in-room leaders had shared their story at our gatherings along the way), and received a wrap-up message on going home from Dr. Cliff Anderson.
Late Tuesday afternoon we returned to Pasadena for our last night. Beginning with a banquet meal at Twin Palms, we finished our night with an interactive worship/community time where we first reflected on Hebrews 11, sang a few songs, and then had the opportunity for the next hour and a half to move in and out of five “stations”: communion (or “community meal” for some of the traditions represented), private confession with a symbolic cleansing of their hands, the lighting of a candle of dedication and the giving of a personal blessing, being sent out with the anointing of oil, and an art station where the student leaders could express themselves through a variety of artistic modes. This lasted deep into the night, and following our closing song at 12:20 or so, we took the next 45 minutes to clean up and say our goodbyes.
On Wednesday, the Day Ten of this report, but actually our eleventh day together, the SLP student leaders and staff headed home to begin the next phase of the project: to carry on in mostly virtual community while being mentored and cared for along the next five years. We hope to see each and every one take at least one Fuller class, but our greatest goal is that they would know what it means to follow Christ and live for him, leaning forward into his kingdom, and trust him to lead, shape, forgive, and guide them along the journey. That’s SLP, 2009.
Tuesday, Day Nine
Last night was one of the highlights of the entire SLP experience. After our day of rest and play, and conversation and reflection, we gathered for our last Young Life club where we sang with such gusto the camp staff came sneaking into the back trying to get a glimpse at the “choir”. Our crescendo moment came when several of our African-American student leaders taught us the song We are blessed that they had learned at a YL urban camp the year before. We sang and sang like it was our last night on earth. Following club, we ended our last night in the southern California mountains with an old-fashioned camp fire and “Say so” gathering where most of our community shared what God had been doing in their lives since they had arrived. There was laughter, and tears, but mostly sober expressions of honesty and pain and hope and gratitude. A powerful reminder of why we do this program: kids need a safe place to be real, to go deep, and to bring the package of where they have been and who they are to the Lord. In community, where there is love and faith, hope reigns.
Tuesday was our last time in the mountains, and after breakfast and devotional reflections and prayer triads, the student leaders filled out their end-of-experience surveys (that we use as a pre- and post-test instrument to get one slice of outcome data as we seek to improve our work). Following this, one of our young women shared an original song, others taught us a song, we heard from a leader (most of the in-room leaders had shared their story at our gatherings along the way), and received a wrap-up message on going home from Dr. Cliff Anderson.
Late Tuesday afternoon we returned to Pasadena for our last night. Beginning with a banquet meal at Twin Palms, we finished our night with an interactive worship/community time where we first reflected on Hebrews 11, sang a few songs, and then had the opportunity for the next hour and a half to move in and out of five “stations”: communion (or “community meal” for some of the traditions represented), private confession with a symbolic cleansing of their hands, the lighting of a candle of dedication and the giving of a personal blessing, being sent out with the anointing of oil, and an art station where the student leaders could express themselves through a variety of artistic modes. This lasted deep into the night, and following our closing song at 12:20 or so, we took the next 45 minutes to clean up and say our goodbyes.
On Wednesday, the Day Ten of this report, but actually our eleventh day together, the SLP student leaders and staff headed home to begin the next phase of the project: to carry on in mostly virtual community while being mentored and cared for along the next five years. We hope to see each and every one take at least one Fuller class, but our greatest goal is that they would know what it means to follow Christ and live for him, leaning forward into his kingdom, and trust him to lead, shape, forgive, and guide them along the journey. That’s SLP, 2009.
Monday, June 29, 2009
SLP daily blog Day Eight
The Student Leadership Project (or SLP), the 8 year Lilly Endowment-funded partnership of Young Life and Fuller Seminary. 37 high school rising seniors from across the country, hand-picked, personally chosen and nominated for leadership gifts and calling.
Monday, Day Eight
As we look to wrap up our SLP 09 experience, our morning was filled with exploring what it means to follow Christ when we so often fail, get discouraged, and sometimes even slip away. Our search brought us into the book of Galatians, and especially the fifth chapter, where Paul reminds us that it is faith, or trust in God, that when coupled with waiting on the Spirit produces the “righteousness for which we hope.” Typically Christians focus on trying to “be righteous” by being good and worthy and consistent to the rules and norms we’ve been taught. It is so easy to live as though God were folding his arms waiting for us to “get with” the demands of the Gospel. But Paul turns that thinking upside down when we read Galatians 5:5. Our job is to trust and wait, his job is to change us into the men and women we are called to be. And the outcome? There is only one that concerns our Father: love (Galatians 5:6, “…the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love”).
With rapt attention and personal reflection, our student leaders and staff community wrestled with the specific areas or issues where we do not, or at least struggle with, trust Christ. This now defines the journey we are all on as leaders: hearing and heeding the call of the Holy Spirit who draws our attention to whatever would steal our abandoned trust in the lion of Judah, our king. Working through what I call “regular spiritual disciplines” as followers of Christ (worship, prayer, scripture, community, giving and justice) and other “proven” historical spiritual disciplines of the people of God, like fasting, contemplation, solitude, etc., we are more readily aligned with the Spirit who is at work within us.
Heady concepts for high school rising seniors, but our student leaders really wanted to know what it could mean to learn how to lean into the kingdom of God versus wallowing in the muck of guilt from the past or the bandage of failure and discouragement in the present. Our student leaders are preparing to go home, and to enter into a whole new way of living for Jesus Christ and serving him and his kingdom. Today they’ve gotten the teaching, reflected on the scripture, and this afternoon and evening now present the opportunity to work through it all in community.
Monday, Day Eight
As we look to wrap up our SLP 09 experience, our morning was filled with exploring what it means to follow Christ when we so often fail, get discouraged, and sometimes even slip away. Our search brought us into the book of Galatians, and especially the fifth chapter, where Paul reminds us that it is faith, or trust in God, that when coupled with waiting on the Spirit produces the “righteousness for which we hope.” Typically Christians focus on trying to “be righteous” by being good and worthy and consistent to the rules and norms we’ve been taught. It is so easy to live as though God were folding his arms waiting for us to “get with” the demands of the Gospel. But Paul turns that thinking upside down when we read Galatians 5:5. Our job is to trust and wait, his job is to change us into the men and women we are called to be. And the outcome? There is only one that concerns our Father: love (Galatians 5:6, “…the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love”).
With rapt attention and personal reflection, our student leaders and staff community wrestled with the specific areas or issues where we do not, or at least struggle with, trust Christ. This now defines the journey we are all on as leaders: hearing and heeding the call of the Holy Spirit who draws our attention to whatever would steal our abandoned trust in the lion of Judah, our king. Working through what I call “regular spiritual disciplines” as followers of Christ (worship, prayer, scripture, community, giving and justice) and other “proven” historical spiritual disciplines of the people of God, like fasting, contemplation, solitude, etc., we are more readily aligned with the Spirit who is at work within us.
Heady concepts for high school rising seniors, but our student leaders really wanted to know what it could mean to learn how to lean into the kingdom of God versus wallowing in the muck of guilt from the past or the bandage of failure and discouragement in the present. Our student leaders are preparing to go home, and to enter into a whole new way of living for Jesus Christ and serving him and his kingdom. Today they’ve gotten the teaching, reflected on the scripture, and this afternoon and evening now present the opportunity to work through it all in community.
SLP daily blog Day Seven
The Student Leadership Project (or SLP), the 8 year Lilly Endowment-funded partnership of Young Life and Fuller Seminary. 37 high school rising seniors from across the country, hand-picked, personally chosen and nominated for leadership gifts and calling.
Sunday, Day Seven
On this beautiful Lord’s Day the SLP community offered a couple of hours to worship the God of wonder underneath the canopy of creation. Following personal devotional time and prayer triads, we gathered for corporate worship. We began with some singing and prayer then were led through a powerful lectio divina (lit. “divine reading”) by our gentle giant leader from Atlanta, the Young Life staff man known as simply G. After our spiritual exercise of listening to God through the scripture, six of our student leaders stood before us and gave us their impressions of the practice and how God had spoken to them through his word. We then sang, and were given a message by Angela Reeves from Chicago.
The afternoon was spent playing at the local lake, engaging in multiple levels of conversation and sharing, and heading back for dinner. At night Chap taught on friendship, dating and relationships from the content of the book each student received, Next Time I Fall in Love (http://wipfandstock.com/store/Next_Time_I_Fall_in_Love_How_to_Handle_Sex_Intimacy_and_Feelings_in_Dating_Relationships). We followed the message by having the guys and young women in separate groups to debrief, and then headed to the woods for a campfire and s’mores.
Lots of issues coming into focus for the student leaders, and the messages from the past week were coming together as we sought authenticity, honesty and community.
Sunday, Day Seven
On this beautiful Lord’s Day the SLP community offered a couple of hours to worship the God of wonder underneath the canopy of creation. Following personal devotional time and prayer triads, we gathered for corporate worship. We began with some singing and prayer then were led through a powerful lectio divina (lit. “divine reading”) by our gentle giant leader from Atlanta, the Young Life staff man known as simply G. After our spiritual exercise of listening to God through the scripture, six of our student leaders stood before us and gave us their impressions of the practice and how God had spoken to them through his word. We then sang, and were given a message by Angela Reeves from Chicago.
The afternoon was spent playing at the local lake, engaging in multiple levels of conversation and sharing, and heading back for dinner. At night Chap taught on friendship, dating and relationships from the content of the book each student received, Next Time I Fall in Love (http://wipfandstock.com/store/Next_Time_I_Fall_in_Love_How_to_Handle_Sex_Intimacy_and_Feelings_in_Dating_Relationships). We followed the message by having the guys and young women in separate groups to debrief, and then headed to the woods for a campfire and s’mores.
Lots of issues coming into focus for the student leaders, and the messages from the past week were coming together as we sought authenticity, honesty and community.
Friday, June 26, 2009
SLP daily blog Day Six
The Student Leadership Project (or SLP), the 8 year Lilly Endowment-funded partnership of Young Life and Fuller Seminary. 37 high school rising seniors from across the country, hand-picked, personally chosen and nominated for leadership gifts and calling.
Saturday, Day Six
Being in the mountains brings a whole new experience for our student leaders. Many have not spent much or any time in the mountains, and with towering pines and beautiful vistas all around us, spending time learning about and then practicing some of the ancient practices of the people of God (sometimes called “spiritual disciplines”), a fresh appreciation for God and his creation is beginning to emerge.
Our kids are now moving beyond superficial relationships into true friendships based on intimacy and trust. It is a beautiful thing to see, especially up here in the mountains where we have a special place just to ourselves. Guys and girls talking about their lives and stories and faith journeys. Students from different family backgrounds, ethnic groups, and socioeconomic communities are moving well beyond the stereotypes they have been taught to seeing each other as brothers and sisters before God.
Saturday, Day Six
Being in the mountains brings a whole new experience for our student leaders. Many have not spent much or any time in the mountains, and with towering pines and beautiful vistas all around us, spending time learning about and then practicing some of the ancient practices of the people of God (sometimes called “spiritual disciplines”), a fresh appreciation for God and his creation is beginning to emerge.
Our kids are now moving beyond superficial relationships into true friendships based on intimacy and trust. It is a beautiful thing to see, especially up here in the mountains where we have a special place just to ourselves. Guys and girls talking about their lives and stories and faith journeys. Students from different family backgrounds, ethnic groups, and socioeconomic communities are moving well beyond the stereotypes they have been taught to seeing each other as brothers and sisters before God.
SLP daily blog Day Five
The Student Leadership Project (or SLP), the 8 year Lilly Endowment-funded partnership of Young Life and Fuller Seminary. 37 high school rising seniors from across the country, hand-picked, personally chosen and nominated for leadership gifts and calling.
Friday, Day Five
Last night we headed into the heart of Westwood, CA to attend the Los Angeles Film Festival to see a documentary of youth and community empowerment called After the Storm. John and Ed Priddy, committed Christian who are filmmakers and good friends of Fuller Seminary, were key producers of the making of this film about a New York actor and producer who wanted to make a difference for people in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina by using local kids to star in an off-Broadway musical. Our student leaders met a few of the kids from the documentary and then toured a bit of Westwood (along with the throngs there for a Michael Jackson vigil). Check the film out at: http://www.priddybrothers.com/films/afterthestorm/.
Today after devotions and prayer triads we spent time teaching and discussing spiritual gifts and calling, then hit In-N-Out on the way to a secluded section of Thousand Pines Camp near Lake Arrowhead. Tonight we are playing wild games then gathering for a Young Life club meeting with testimony and message from Shelley Sadler, Special Assistant to the President of Young Life.
Friday, Day Five
Last night we headed into the heart of Westwood, CA to attend the Los Angeles Film Festival to see a documentary of youth and community empowerment called After the Storm. John and Ed Priddy, committed Christian who are filmmakers and good friends of Fuller Seminary, were key producers of the making of this film about a New York actor and producer who wanted to make a difference for people in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina by using local kids to star in an off-Broadway musical. Our student leaders met a few of the kids from the documentary and then toured a bit of Westwood (along with the throngs there for a Michael Jackson vigil). Check the film out at: http://www.priddybrothers.com/films/afterthestorm/.
Today after devotions and prayer triads we spent time teaching and discussing spiritual gifts and calling, then hit In-N-Out on the way to a secluded section of Thousand Pines Camp near Lake Arrowhead. Tonight we are playing wild games then gathering for a Young Life club meeting with testimony and message from Shelley Sadler, Special Assistant to the President of Young Life.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
SLP daily blog Day Three
Wednesday, Day Three
After the first two days and three nights of teaching and learning and connecting, the SLP student leaders were ready for the most pivotal day of the experience – an immersion into both ends of the LA socioeconomic spectrum. We first gathered together on Fuller’s campus for directed quiet times and prayer triads. Then they were introduced to what can happen when faithful and committed people decide to act in the face of injustice and poverty. In this case, its Joe Colletti and Sandi “Mama” Romero, who a decade ago embarked on an “impossible” task to “take back” a neighborhood and park for the residents of downtown Los Angeles. In the mid-1980s MacArthur Park, for decades one of LA’s prime historical landmarks, had been invaded by violence, fear, hopeless and darkness. As followers of Christ called to bring hope and healing to the inner city, Joe and Sandi dove into the center of the park and built a community development infrastructure that has been so overwhelmingly successful that “Mamas Hot Tamales” has been featured on NBC News with Brian Williams. Our student leaders spent a few hours with Sandi, and heard her amazing story of vision, struggle, faithfulness and pride.
Following our time with Sandi, the students walked the primarily Latino community with $5 to spend as a group. They went from shop to shop, among street venders and the homeless, into flea markets and diners. Then we drove them the 5+ miles down Wilshire Blvd to the infamous Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Same street, two vastly different worlds. There they walked the shops and streets, and also had $5 to spend.
Our debrief is tonight, but from what we’ve heard so far they got the chance to see and experience close up poverty and exorbitant wealth, and in the process came face to face with power and injustice and race and prejudice. Tonight we get to share together how it felt as Christ’s followers to see what Sandi and Joe have done in the name of Christ, how the undocumented and poverty-riddled people of Los Angeles live, and what its like to try and be a kid, especially a kid of color, to walk into a high-end boutique and spend $5. If past years are any indication, today will be an important day in the life of each student leader.
After the first two days and three nights of teaching and learning and connecting, the SLP student leaders were ready for the most pivotal day of the experience – an immersion into both ends of the LA socioeconomic spectrum. We first gathered together on Fuller’s campus for directed quiet times and prayer triads. Then they were introduced to what can happen when faithful and committed people decide to act in the face of injustice and poverty. In this case, its Joe Colletti and Sandi “Mama” Romero, who a decade ago embarked on an “impossible” task to “take back” a neighborhood and park for the residents of downtown Los Angeles. In the mid-1980s MacArthur Park, for decades one of LA’s prime historical landmarks, had been invaded by violence, fear, hopeless and darkness. As followers of Christ called to bring hope and healing to the inner city, Joe and Sandi dove into the center of the park and built a community development infrastructure that has been so overwhelmingly successful that “Mamas Hot Tamales” has been featured on NBC News with Brian Williams. Our student leaders spent a few hours with Sandi, and heard her amazing story of vision, struggle, faithfulness and pride.
Following our time with Sandi, the students walked the primarily Latino community with $5 to spend as a group. They went from shop to shop, among street venders and the homeless, into flea markets and diners. Then we drove them the 5+ miles down Wilshire Blvd to the infamous Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Same street, two vastly different worlds. There they walked the shops and streets, and also had $5 to spend.
Our debrief is tonight, but from what we’ve heard so far they got the chance to see and experience close up poverty and exorbitant wealth, and in the process came face to face with power and injustice and race and prejudice. Tonight we get to share together how it felt as Christ’s followers to see what Sandi and Joe have done in the name of Christ, how the undocumented and poverty-riddled people of Los Angeles live, and what its like to try and be a kid, especially a kid of color, to walk into a high-end boutique and spend $5. If past years are any indication, today will be an important day in the life of each student leader.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Student Leadership Project (SLP) - Day Two
The Student Leadership Project (or SLP), the 8 year Lilly Endowment-funded partnership of Young Life and Fuller Seminary. 37 high school rising seniors from across the country, hand-picked, personally chosen and nominated for leadership gifts and calling.
Tuesday, Day Two
The way kids are coming together after just one full day has been among the most profound we’ve seen. This is a very sharp and committed group of student leaders. Today we had a quiet time on the life of Mary, took some fun pictures for the website, and went into teaching on how the invention and development of “adolescence” has done a number on today’s kids. Helping the student leaders to see that God has created, redeemed and called them to live as chosen representatives of his kingdom, to recognize, nurture and embrace the power that comes with that calling, and to live in authentic community is the journey they’ve been on for years. Identity, autonomy and belonging is the quest of every adolescent (and adult!), and it is the same journey of faith that Christ is leading them through.
This afternoon we are serving at an inner city LA multi-ethnic church and finishing up with dinner and a Young Life club.
Tuesday, Day Two
The way kids are coming together after just one full day has been among the most profound we’ve seen. This is a very sharp and committed group of student leaders. Today we had a quiet time on the life of Mary, took some fun pictures for the website, and went into teaching on how the invention and development of “adolescence” has done a number on today’s kids. Helping the student leaders to see that God has created, redeemed and called them to live as chosen representatives of his kingdom, to recognize, nurture and embrace the power that comes with that calling, and to live in authentic community is the journey they’ve been on for years. Identity, autonomy and belonging is the quest of every adolescent (and adult!), and it is the same journey of faith that Christ is leading them through.
This afternoon we are serving at an inner city LA multi-ethnic church and finishing up with dinner and a Young Life club.
Monday, June 22, 2009
SLP daily blog
Day One, the Student Leadership Project (or SLP), the 8 year Lilly Endowment-funded partnership of Young Life and Fuller Seminary. 37 high school rising seniors from across the country, hand-picked, personally chosen and nominated for leadership gifts and calling.
Monday, Day One
Last night was great: after a harrowing day of missed flights and delayed luggage, we gathered to learn names, play together and sing. After an initial "cabin time" with their assigned in room leaders and a good night sleep, we hit the ground running with quiet times notebooks and class on the "Deep Model" of ministry and discipleship (developed by me and Kara Powell) and Craig Detweiler's prep for our Hollywood excursion. After lunch and the Hollywood tour, we headed to the Rose Bowl for games and pictures, and finish at a pool party and our first Young Life club.
Today walls are dropping and the student leaders are settling in and making connections. A great start of SLP 09.
Monday, Day One
Last night was great: after a harrowing day of missed flights and delayed luggage, we gathered to learn names, play together and sing. After an initial "cabin time" with their assigned in room leaders and a good night sleep, we hit the ground running with quiet times notebooks and class on the "Deep Model" of ministry and discipleship (developed by me and Kara Powell) and Craig Detweiler's prep for our Hollywood excursion. After lunch and the Hollywood tour, we headed to the Rose Bowl for games and pictures, and finish at a pool party and our first Young Life club.
Today walls are dropping and the student leaders are settling in and making connections. A great start of SLP 09.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Guns, Man's Best Friend
On Jun 4, 2009, at 12:34 PM, ConservativeActionAlerts wrote to me:
"There are concerns all over the country that Barack Obama will destroy the Second Amendment. Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA), a public interest group with high principles is working to prevent this destruction. People are always asking what they can do to protect the United States from Gun Grabbers. The answer? Support the relentless work of CCRKBA! Below, please find an important update on the Second Amendment Fight.
Conservative Action Alerts"
I responded to them:
Thanks for this... it is great to know that we are safe to keep our guns away from the "gun grabbers" you mention. Yep, let's ensure that children can get ready access, estranged husbands can get instant weapons at gun "shows" (an appropriate title for the experience, right fellas?), criminals can get automatics, and that psychologically unstable people can always find a way to "protect their freedom" by blowing away their neighbors, colleagues, or local police.
Certainly, you all are correct, all those who could even imagine the possibility of even slight or minor reasonable limits on the immense proliferation of every type of weapon are out to "destroy the Second Amendment"! I love this logic, because it is based in neither fact nor reality. It is entirely based on raw, unfiltered, intellectually uncluttered bias, prejudice and tunnel vision.
Please count me in. I am with you. Next they'll want to take away the right to exclude people we don't like, or understand, or even look like from our lives, especially in places like schools and restaurants. Wouldn't America be great if we could only keep it pure for us?
"There are concerns all over the country that Barack Obama will destroy the Second Amendment. Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA), a public interest group with high principles is working to prevent this destruction. People are always asking what they can do to protect the United States from Gun Grabbers. The answer? Support the relentless work of CCRKBA! Below, please find an important update on the Second Amendment Fight.
Conservative Action Alerts"
I responded to them:
Thanks for this... it is great to know that we are safe to keep our guns away from the "gun grabbers" you mention. Yep, let's ensure that children can get ready access, estranged husbands can get instant weapons at gun "shows" (an appropriate title for the experience, right fellas?), criminals can get automatics, and that psychologically unstable people can always find a way to "protect their freedom" by blowing away their neighbors, colleagues, or local police.
Certainly, you all are correct, all those who could even imagine the possibility of even slight or minor reasonable limits on the immense proliferation of every type of weapon are out to "destroy the Second Amendment"! I love this logic, because it is based in neither fact nor reality. It is entirely based on raw, unfiltered, intellectually uncluttered bias, prejudice and tunnel vision.
Please count me in. I am with you. Next they'll want to take away the right to exclude people we don't like, or understand, or even look like from our lives, especially in places like schools and restaurants. Wouldn't America be great if we could only keep it pure for us?
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Walla Walla Baccalaureate 2009
In sending you off – and that’s what a baccalaureate is about – a sending and a blessing…
Of all the things that Jesus said, one of the oddest and maybe seemingly harshest was this (evidently he said it a lot, see Matthew 10 and 16):
Luke 9:23-25 “…must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it…”
When we hear it, we tend to focus on that “denying” myself and “take up their cross daily” part… and look at it from the cost side of the equation…
But in looking carefully at the life of Jesus – who he is, what he came to do and bring – the force of this statement, and his whole life is much more about the following than the denying…
When Jesus said to his friends, the disciples, “follow me” – from the very beginning this was his message. He was inviting them to the amazing life and journey they were created and designed for.
Growing up I remember maps of the world… Kansas was the center of the map (the center now is usually the Atlantic ocean). We have been taught, you have grown up to believe, that this world begins and ends with us. And not only us, but our life, our circumstances, our dreams, desires and longings…and that life is only lived in how we can somehow manage the world that is right in front of us, feeling shame and insecurity from your past and consumed with making sense out of surviving the future.
But as you are being blessed and launched/sent off as graduates, Jesus’ words to his disciples are his words to you today… the invitation, literally the calling you have been created for is to recognize that there is a big world out there, with innumerable issues and struggles. Jesus Christ is on the move, bringing in his kingdom reign over all of creation… and his call to you, and the call you were created for, is to grab his hand, recognize and deny the limitations of your own desires and perspectives, and follow him into this world he loves. Jesus is moving throughout not only history but in every heart and every voice in every land and every nation. You are his voice, his hands, his care to those he calls you to stand beside.
Everywhere there are people that are in desperate need of people who will stand by them, for his sake and his glory.
Watch this as a reminder of how big God's world is, and how we are called to stand by those he loves: http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2539741
Of all the things that Jesus said, one of the oddest and maybe seemingly harshest was this (evidently he said it a lot, see Matthew 10 and 16):
Luke 9:23-25 “…must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it…”
When we hear it, we tend to focus on that “denying” myself and “take up their cross daily” part… and look at it from the cost side of the equation…
But in looking carefully at the life of Jesus – who he is, what he came to do and bring – the force of this statement, and his whole life is much more about the following than the denying…
When Jesus said to his friends, the disciples, “follow me” – from the very beginning this was his message. He was inviting them to the amazing life and journey they were created and designed for.
Growing up I remember maps of the world… Kansas was the center of the map (the center now is usually the Atlantic ocean). We have been taught, you have grown up to believe, that this world begins and ends with us. And not only us, but our life, our circumstances, our dreams, desires and longings…and that life is only lived in how we can somehow manage the world that is right in front of us, feeling shame and insecurity from your past and consumed with making sense out of surviving the future.
But as you are being blessed and launched/sent off as graduates, Jesus’ words to his disciples are his words to you today… the invitation, literally the calling you have been created for is to recognize that there is a big world out there, with innumerable issues and struggles. Jesus Christ is on the move, bringing in his kingdom reign over all of creation… and his call to you, and the call you were created for, is to grab his hand, recognize and deny the limitations of your own desires and perspectives, and follow him into this world he loves. Jesus is moving throughout not only history but in every heart and every voice in every land and every nation. You are his voice, his hands, his care to those he calls you to stand beside.
Everywhere there are people that are in desperate need of people who will stand by them, for his sake and his glory.
Watch this as a reminder of how big God's world is, and how we are called to stand by those he loves: http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2539741
Sunday, April 19, 2009
when in deep contemplation, say very little...
It has been a while since I posted. But it is not due to a lack of reflection or having little to say (neither have ever been on my short list of problems).
My dad died six weeks ago, and I am going through a fairly intense period of seeking and thinking and wrestling and arguing... about various issues and convoluted subjects. But at the core is this sense that the bottom has somehow dropped out, and inside I'm spinning.
Not like I am falling apart, or that life has taken a drastic turn for me or us, but more like that carnival ride that relies on centrifugal force, where once you're spinning at a certain speed they literally drop the floor out from under you. This is advertised to be fun. (Well, the last time I risked it I vomited with my 9th grade "date" standing next to me... ruined the next several weeks)
I feel just like that now. Life is spinning, and actually at a pretty good clip. I have worked hard, made some good decisions, ducked a few others. But I've also spoken when I shouldn't have, hit Send on a few emails that I needed to be softened a bit, and more times than I'd like to admit outwardly displayed an engagement when frankly I was somewhere far, far away (remember the floor ride?). In other words, I have not been very good at this grieving thing.
Grief comes in waves, you know. It is also unpredictable, sometimes frightening, and occasionally devastating. You see, I lost my father, and now some of those issues and memories and incongruities that I have neatly hidden away are wreaking havoc on my soul, my heart, my mind.
My friends, grieving or not, the following non-sage bit of advice comes solely from my own experience, current as it is:
When in deep contemplation, or distracted by the inner whispers of the soul, or held prisoner by the fickle ravages of pain and loss, say very little.
Unless you blog...
My dad died six weeks ago, and I am going through a fairly intense period of seeking and thinking and wrestling and arguing... about various issues and convoluted subjects. But at the core is this sense that the bottom has somehow dropped out, and inside I'm spinning.
Not like I am falling apart, or that life has taken a drastic turn for me or us, but more like that carnival ride that relies on centrifugal force, where once you're spinning at a certain speed they literally drop the floor out from under you. This is advertised to be fun. (Well, the last time I risked it I vomited with my 9th grade "date" standing next to me... ruined the next several weeks)
I feel just like that now. Life is spinning, and actually at a pretty good clip. I have worked hard, made some good decisions, ducked a few others. But I've also spoken when I shouldn't have, hit Send on a few emails that I needed to be softened a bit, and more times than I'd like to admit outwardly displayed an engagement when frankly I was somewhere far, far away (remember the floor ride?). In other words, I have not been very good at this grieving thing.
Grief comes in waves, you know. It is also unpredictable, sometimes frightening, and occasionally devastating. You see, I lost my father, and now some of those issues and memories and incongruities that I have neatly hidden away are wreaking havoc on my soul, my heart, my mind.
My friends, grieving or not, the following non-sage bit of advice comes solely from my own experience, current as it is:
When in deep contemplation, or distracted by the inner whispers of the soul, or held prisoner by the fickle ravages of pain and loss, say very little.
Unless you blog...
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Kids, Sex, and the NY Times
The article was titled, "The Myth of Rampant Teenage Promiscuity" by Tara Parker-Pope.
"The news is troubling, but it’s also misleading. While some young people are clearly engaging in risky sexual behavior, a vast majority are not. The reality is that in many ways, today’s teenagers are more conservative about sex than previous generations."
The entire article seemed to me to so badly miss the point of what is really happening with kids that it was easy to dismiss it. But then I hit this line, “But so many people think we’re morally in trouble, in a downward spiral and teens are out of control. It’s very difficult to convince people otherwise.”
While I for one appreciate that there are many kids who have not gone down the path of irresponsible, casual and carefree sexual expression, I am deeply grieved that there are some, perhaps most, researchers and newspaper reporters (even with the venerable NY Times!) who take small slices of recent data and make global statements telling us that everything's alright. That bothers me... that actually gets me pretty fired up.
Here's a few facts:
Princeton and Cornell (2006) studied their own kids, freshman, and determined that 1 in 5 of the girls admitted to self-injury (essentially cutting), and 1 in 7 freshman boys. A little over a decade ago when we first started talking about self-injury, it was approximately 1 in 288 of all females and zero males!
Center for Disease Control (March, 2008) reported that 25% of all girls nationally between 14 and 19 had at least one STD... and that was what was reported through the medical community, so it is certainly worse, especially for boys.
Around 2000 Dr. Lester Thurow, MIT professor, reported that "parents now spend 40% less time with their children than they did 30 years ago."
Are things changing? Are kids more secure, supported, nurtured culture-wide? Are teachers more freed up by our expectations that they have the time, energy and incentives to deeply care about each student? Are coached more trained and convinced that the developmental psyche and needs of a fragile child are more important that winning, especially before high school? Are parents as a rule today more self-aware and healthier than the last crop of parents? Are media influencers and executives more committed to protecting the tender minds of our kids than a generation ago?
Do we use kids less now than we did, say, twenty years ago? Or fifty years ago?
Come on, we all know the answer. We all know, and have even personally experienced, the profound agony of being wounded by adults that were supposed to be grown ups. And its worse for today's kids growing up; lots, lots worse.
Come on, NY Times, let's see if you have the courage to actually look deeply into the eyes and into the souls of today's young and tell me that they're better off, more nurtured, and "more conservative" and healthier than previous generations. I dare you.
"The news is troubling, but it’s also misleading. While some young people are clearly engaging in risky sexual behavior, a vast majority are not. The reality is that in many ways, today’s teenagers are more conservative about sex than previous generations."
The entire article seemed to me to so badly miss the point of what is really happening with kids that it was easy to dismiss it. But then I hit this line, “But so many people think we’re morally in trouble, in a downward spiral and teens are out of control. It’s very difficult to convince people otherwise.”
While I for one appreciate that there are many kids who have not gone down the path of irresponsible, casual and carefree sexual expression, I am deeply grieved that there are some, perhaps most, researchers and newspaper reporters (even with the venerable NY Times!) who take small slices of recent data and make global statements telling us that everything's alright. That bothers me... that actually gets me pretty fired up.
Here's a few facts:
Princeton and Cornell (2006) studied their own kids, freshman, and determined that 1 in 5 of the girls admitted to self-injury (essentially cutting), and 1 in 7 freshman boys. A little over a decade ago when we first started talking about self-injury, it was approximately 1 in 288 of all females and zero males!
Center for Disease Control (March, 2008) reported that 25% of all girls nationally between 14 and 19 had at least one STD... and that was what was reported through the medical community, so it is certainly worse, especially for boys.
Around 2000 Dr. Lester Thurow, MIT professor, reported that "parents now spend 40% less time with their children than they did 30 years ago."
Are things changing? Are kids more secure, supported, nurtured culture-wide? Are teachers more freed up by our expectations that they have the time, energy and incentives to deeply care about each student? Are coached more trained and convinced that the developmental psyche and needs of a fragile child are more important that winning, especially before high school? Are parents as a rule today more self-aware and healthier than the last crop of parents? Are media influencers and executives more committed to protecting the tender minds of our kids than a generation ago?
Do we use kids less now than we did, say, twenty years ago? Or fifty years ago?
Come on, we all know the answer. We all know, and have even personally experienced, the profound agony of being wounded by adults that were supposed to be grown ups. And its worse for today's kids growing up; lots, lots worse.
Come on, NY Times, let's see if you have the courage to actually look deeply into the eyes and into the souls of today's young and tell me that they're better off, more nurtured, and "more conservative" and healthier than previous generations. I dare you.
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