What I need

This week I'm attending the School of Congregational Development in Evanston, IL. Today was the first day of the School, and so far, I've been challenged and called to a deeper sense of ministry. Two major highlights from the day, outside of good food and conversation with new colleagues in ministry. The two major highlights have been:
1. Hearing Bishop James Swanson preach at the Opening Plenary. Sometimes, when I hear really good African-American preachers, I wish that I could preach like that. Listening to Bishop Swanson was one of those time. Bishop Swanson spoke on the importance of raising up young people to follow God's call to ministry, which is a topic which I'm very passionate about. Over the past three years that I've worked in full-time youth ministry, I've realized the critical role that is in place when it comes to calling students into places of ministry. Often, as an adult watching students grow in their desire to follow Jesus, I am more cognizant of God's working in their lives than they are, so a major part of my job is to nurture and name the good gifts of God in the lives of students. Currently, I have several students who I believe God is calling into ministry, and I've spent much time thinking about ways to help students understand that call. I was really hoping to take some of my students to Exploration 09, but it's in Dallas, so it's probably cost prohibitive. Listening to the Bishop this morning about the ways that the Holston Conference mentors young people into ministry, I had to stop and wonder "Why can't we do that?" Why can't we set up some Exploration like weekends? Why can't we challenge students to full-time ministry at Winter Blitz? It's something that I need to keep praying about, but I might call the Conference Youth Coordinator and offer my time to developing a program that will help us raise up young people to places of leadership and ministry.

2. I've made a startling realization in my time here. I don't pray enough. Simple as that. This afternoon I was listening to Jorge Acevedo talk about ministry to the working class, and in the course of his workshop, Jorge talked about the growth of his church, Grace Church, in Florida. Listening to Jorge and hearing the stories about baptisms and changed lives makes me want to cry, and it makes me want to learn from Jorge. If Beth would move to Florida, I would do everything in my power to somehow end up on Jorge's staff, but Beth won't move to Florida, so it's not a consideration. But, as Jorge was teaching today I was struck by the fact that I really don't pray enough. I think about the lost, I brainstorm ways to meet the lost, and I even attempt to go to the places where lost people are, but rarely do I sit and pour out my heart to the Lord, interceding for those like Abram pled for Sodom. This needs to become a daily part of my work, especially if I ever want to plant a church. This should be the way that I am, and I realized today that my prayer life simply isn't what it needs to be in order to sustain myself and the ministry that God has called and gifted me for. A sobering realization, but a challenging one. I will make some changes.

All and all, a good day. I miss my wife, but that's just the way that travel is, I guess. At this point, it's off to bed for another busy day tomorrow!

A Holy Pursuit

Sometimes I think that I've decided that there are some things about Christian Spirituality that we've heard enough...I need to think of something new or pertinent or relevant...something that will rock the world and make people stop and stare and say "Wow! I've never thought of that before!! My life has been changed!!" Yet I'm realizing that this is not the way I need to be...I don't need to think of a different story. I don't need to call to a different, life-changing place, because honestly, the only true life-changing story is that of a God who pursues, calls and redeems. I need to tell that story...

I'm reminded of that this week. Last night I got a Facebook message from one of my students (insert scolding note here from someone about doing work while I'm on vacation and about the ways that technology keeps us chained to our lives of work......OK, now I'll continue) about a boy named Kenzie. Kenzie is a sophomore in high school who comes from a broken home and a bad situation. Kenzie has no belief in God, and from what I understand, he's always been a little hostile towards Christians. The student who messaged me has been praying for Kenzie for a while now, believing that God would do some work in the life of this young man. Apparently Kenzie loves heavy metal music and recently had been listening to the band "Dream Theater." This is not a Christian band, but while Kenzie was reading the lyrics, something stood out to him. He came to band, found a student who he knows follows Jesus and asked her if she knew anyone who could talk to him about God and the Bible. Suddenly he was curious about God and about who God might be. So, hopefully next week I'll be sitting down with a curious student whose curiousity about Jesus has been piqued by the death metal band called Dream Theater. Please continue to pray for God's prevenient grace to be flowing into this young man's life and please continue to pray for me, as I have the opportunity to simply share the good news of God's love.

Isn't it incredible the ways that God pursues us? From the fall of humanity, God has been beckoning people, wooing people, running after us in order to let us know of God's great love. God pursues messed up high school students like Kenzie and God pursues middle age success stories. God pursues junkies, drop-outs, alcoholics, lawyers, doctors, mothers, fathers, middle schoolers and even dentists. While I might believe that dentists practice the devil's handiwork, God even pursues dentists. God meets us where we're at and reveals Godself to us through ways we can't even begin to dream up. God writes stories of pursuit and love that even Hollywood couldn't make into a movie, because it would seem too far fetched. And probably the best thing about it is that God continues to pursue us. Sometimes I wonder why God continues to give chase to us, and then I realize that God continues to pursue because we continue to wander away. We in the church are like the people of Israel who are in the wilderness. We've seen God part the Red Sea, we've seen God deliver from slavery to sin and death, we've eaten manna from heaven and experienced God's provision, but as soon as we get the chance, we move along and make ourselves an idol...maybe because it's easier to get attached to, maybe because a golden calf isn't as demanding as a holy God, maybe because we think that we can ride it away...but even then, God continues to hunt us down and show us just a glimpse of the fact that following a Holy God is SO much better than a golden cow. Sometimes we simply get impatient with God's timing and hard work and decide that we should just make our own calf. We run away, but God is hot in pursuit.

The other thing that is so difficult for us in the church to understand about God's wild goose chase after people is that we don't get to choose who God pursues. Shortly after I received the note about Kenzie I shared the exciting news with the family we're on vacation with. I told the kids about this other kid that they might now who is suddenly interesting in meeting up with God. When I told them his name, their faces fell. One of the girls looked at me and said "If Kenzie starts coming to Youth Group, I probably won't be there for a while." Apparently, all throughout middle school, Kenzie called the girls derogatory names and said and did hurtful things. Beth calmly looked around the table and said "The secret is that church really isn't for the Christians anyway." While I know that she would never actually NOT come, I realize the truth to that sentiment...too often we'd rather pick who gets to come in and who gets left out, when the truth of the matter is this...God, like all the cops in those TV cop shows, is in hot pursuit. And God, who is so good, invites us to help make sure that God gets everyone God's after...May our churches be filled with those people who we thought were far beyond God's grace, and may God in work in such a way that we are always reminded of God's holy pursuit...of us and of others.

Oh Adam...

While I noted that I am planning to blog as a theological discipline, I also noted that I plan to blog about Pirates baseball. Interestingly enough, today presented itself as an excellent day to blog about Pirates baseball, as I was able to listen to the game AND hear Neil Huntington talk about the LaRoche trade. In that vain, a few thoughts...

1. When I first read about the trade, I thought that the headline said the Pirates traded ANDY LaRoche, not ADAM LaRoche. This made me very upset, as I thought that they traded away a young player who was integral in last year's Bay deal, but once I realized that we were trading away this brother, I felt much better.

While I have always had hope for Adam LaRoche and the short right field fence, I have always been disappointed. He's never seemed to live up to the billing that's been presented. He came to Pittsburgh after a season in ATL where he hit 32 HR, and he's never been able to get it back together. His stats show him to be a lousy first half hitter, and by the time the second half rolls around the Pirates are out of it, so no one has ever noticed that LaRoche has always hit well in the second half, with his July-September BA hovering around .300 and his HR totals increasing throughout the season.

I hope that LaRoche does well in Boston. For what I hear, he's always been the consummate professional, and he's always hit well in the clutch, so he should be a benefit to the Sox in late innings of close games. I hold no ill will towards the Pirates for trading LaRoche...after all, you won't win in the postseason if he's the best player on your team. I'm suprised in the semi-prospects they received in return, but anything back is better than nothing at all. While Diaz and Strickland seem like marginal prospects, they don't hurt anything, that's for sure.

What really threw me off guard, though, is the fact that Steven Pearce will be getting the call-up rather than Lastings Milledge. Milledge has hit .400 in 10 games at Indianapolis, and while I don't have any probem with K-Machine Pearce, I really thought that Lastings would switch into a corner outfield positions, allowing the hot bat of Garrett Jones sneak into the line-up at first. We'll see how much longer Lastings lasts at Indy.

As for the game, it was an exciting game to listen to, with a lot of back and forth action, culminating in Brandon Moss' HR to center field. I appreciated listening to the game and enjoyed the walk-off in the ninth. The Bucs have been playing better of late, and hopefully they'll keep it up!!

A New Start (or something)

Although I haven't blogged for over a year, I've decided to start again...For several reasons, really, but probably only one that is legit...Here's my reasons in list form...

1. I think that what I have to say is probably earth-shattering and everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, will be completely transformed by my words. Or soemthing like that...Maybe that's just my Superman complex coming through in a big-time sort of way.

2. I think that my insight of Pittsburgh sports teams needs to be shared. Especially when it comes to my insights regarding the Pirates, because I spend a LOT of time thinking about baseball. Probably more than I should.

3. I think that the legitimate reason that I'm going to attempt blogging again is to attempt a new discipline. I was commissioned as a Provisional Elder this year at Annual Conference, and I have been appointed to be the Associate Pastor of Youth Ministry at Nicholasville UMC. This is the same job that I've been doing for the past three years, and while I love my job, I realize that I don't get the opportunity to preach, and that's something that it really difficult for me. I recently asked Eric Park how he has taken the energy that he used to put into preaching and focused it at something else since his move to the Superintendency. Eric mentioned the discipline of blogging, and I was intrigued, so I'm going to give it a shot...I don't think that what I have to say is as good as what Eric says, but hopefully it will allow me to continue to develop the discipline of theological thinking that would lead to preaching while I don't have the opportunity to preach. It's worth a shot at least.

4. Finally, I realize that my mom will read this. She'll probably be about it, but I know that she'll appreciate it...

So, here's to nothing...a new start. We'll see how long it lasts.