Shadow Proves the Sunshine

Below is a copy of an email that I recently sent to 15 FIGHTERS!!

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I'm gonna be really honest with you right now. I know there are quite a few names at the top of this email, but that just makes what I'm about to say all the more real.

This morning I was spending time praying and my heart became very heavy. As someone who ministers to teens, it is easy to become discouraged when I think of the direction most young people are headed. I know I'm 28, and that seems old, but I wasn't a teenager that long ago. But things sure are different now. When I was in high school, I was only offered booze once and I was NEVER offered drugs. That's not to say that there weren't a ton of teens doing that stuff, but it was fairly easy to stay away from it. Teens today are just bombarded with temptation and pressure. I haven't even mentioned sex yet. Almost ALL of my friends thought sex was something special. Most of my friends made a commitment to abstinence and most of those kept that promise. It seems like most young people have given up the fight and just want to blend in with culture.

Anyway, let me get to the point. If you're receiving this email it is because God brought you to mind today. Either you are a teen who I currently have the blessing of ministering to/ with - OR - I've had that privilege some time in the last ten years. God brought you to my mind to encourage me today. Like I said, my heart has been heavy at the thought that we are losing the battle for the lives of young people... but I'm wrong. When I think of you, I am reminded that there are young people who are in the fight. There are students who refuse to be typical. And the world is different... better because of it!

Here's what I think is happening. The Darkness is showing itself to be what it has always been... Darkness. It has stopped trying to look like the Light because it doesn't have to. People don't have to be fooled into Darkness. They simply want it. And while that breaks my heart, there is one good benefit. The Darkness makes the Light all that much brighter! The Darkness proves that the Light is there. How would we know what Sunshine is without Shadow.

Well you, my friends, are Sunshine. You may not always feel like that's true of you, but I know that is true of you. My heart was strengthened and given courage at the thought of you today. And know this, I am in this fight with you... and we will win.

#49 (ish) - Hopeless

Back in October, I came up with a list of 101 goals I want to accomplish in 1001 days.

#49 - Write 10 Poems
I'm NOT a poet... I'm very bad. But here's my second of 10 attempts. Click here to see the first of 10.

Hopeless
Hopeless
I ignored the phone, but you kept calling
I refused the mail, but you kept writing
The longer and louder you knocked, the more hopeless my situation became
Hopeless… Hopelessly in Love
Great romancer, you’ve won me.
Not by empty gestures
Candy, cards, no
You told me you’d die for me
You did
You told me you’d live for me
You did
Hopeless… Hopelessly in Love… Hopelessly in love with the One
In love with the One who knows my fears
Who knows my heart… my hurts… my hopes
You said you love me
I said prove it
You did

I'm tweeting lunch

... I had the Bleu Cheese Burger

Going to my grandma's

Just woke up

Ate some bad eggs this morning

Just saw the funniest movie ever

Who want's to go for bagels?

First off, a sincere apology to my faithful readers. Life's been crazy and I've been lazy. I know you've been waiting with baited breath for my next post and have been disappointed for the last month.
A special thanks to ALL of my readers... both of you.
Mom, Mom-in-law, here you go.

Okay, I'll admit. I'm usually WAY behind the trend on almost all fronts:
I've never owned anything from Urban Outfitter.
I just learned what an Ed Hardy t-shirt is 3 weeks ago (I'm actually okay with that one... what kind of TOOL will pay $106 for a t-shirt just becuase Brittney wears them?).
I didn't get a Facebook until 2 years after it started (I was still on MySpace... like the nOOb I am).
I've only posted 1 thing on YouTube... 2 years ago.
I've only been blogging since October.
Even as a kid, I was way behind on the whole slap bracelet craze (I was on the cutting edge of the POG craze, however).

Well recently, I decided to catch up with the rest of my generation and figure out what this whole Twitter thing is all about.

Basically, it's a free online service that allows you to keep everyone in the world updated on your status at all times. You just update your status from your cell phone, and anyone who has opted to receive your updates will get a text message on theirs. (side note, most Twitter'ers [aka Tweeters] us a special application on their iPhone... I'm still in the stone age so I just have to send an old fashioned text message)

Sounds harmless, right? Sounds kinda fun, right? Oh no, my friends! Do NOT be fooled. I thought it would be neat to be updated on my friends' status' throughout the day. That is until my fellow Tweeters started Tweeting every 5 minutes!
"I'm at lunch." 12:00 pm
"I ordered the BBQ pizza... mmmmmmmm!" 12:10 pm
"Should I get the Super Fudge Brownie or the Cheesecake?" 12:33 pm
"Leaving the restaurant now." 12:48 pm
"Traffic sucks!" 12:57 pm
"Just saw an old man picking his nose in his car." 1:01 pm
"OOOOOO... just saw the new Honda Civic Hybrid. GO GREEN!" 1:02 pm
"BBQ pizza = stomach ache and bad gas." 1:14 pm
"OH MY GOSH.... NEVER AGAIN BBQ PIZZA!!!" 1:22 pm
"Back at the office, 5 mins late for my meeting." 1:35 pm
"This meeting = BOOOORRRIIINNNGGGGGG!!" 1:42 pm
"Why do I always have to pee in the middle of a meeting?!" 1:58 pm
"That was the longest meeting of my LIFE." 2:15 pm
"Back at my desk." 2:18 pm
"Funniest YouTube video EVER http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txqiwrbYGrs." 2:25 pm
"Email from old friend = ( :" 2:34 pm
"Conference call @ 3:00." 2:57 pm
"Conference call = BOOOORRRIIINNNGGGGGG!!" 3:13 pm
"Conference call is over... getting kinda hungry." 3:41 pm
"130,456 pts on Bejeweled. Suck on THAT @her_name_was_lola." 4:15 pm
"Still hungry." 4:22 pm
"Just ate my left-overs. BBQ pizza.... mmmmmmmmmmmmm." 4:30
"On my way home." 5:00 pm
"BBQ PIZZA + STOMACH ACHE + TRAFFIC = BAD DAY!!!" 5:13 pm

Needless to say, I've turned off the "receive a text message when a friend Tweets" option on my Twitter account. Looks like I'll actually have to call my friends to see what they're up to. Maybe I'll text them.

Poopie

uh... scuse me?

twenty-five

A couple of times a year, one of these 'about me' surveys makes the rounds. I usually ignore them... but what they hey. Here's my list of 25 random things about me.

1 – I don’t have much of a sweet tooth. I’ll gladly take a hunk of cheese over a candy bar any day.

2 – I’m an introvert… SURPRISE! I love people but given the choice, I’d much rather spend a day alone that with a group of people.

3 – I love movies. There are currently 18 movies playing at the closest theatre to my house. I’ve seen 11 of them… mostly by myself.

4 – I like to write poetry… I’m awful at it.

5 – I wish I had played sports as a kid. I played soccer until the 4th grade… that doesn’t count. I’m a big guy; I could have done some damage in football.

6 – I’m not an outdoorsman… but I want to be.

7 – I’m shy but I fake it.

8 – Meeting new people terrifies me… but I fake it.

9 – I would rather the words kind, generous, brave, and humble to be used about me than smart, insightful, disciplined, or talented.

10 – The thing that most enrages me is the abuse of power.

11 – My biggest fear in life is being old.

12 – I love my job.

13 – I love my church.

14 – I just read about how sociologists/ psychologists now put the age of the end of adolescence at 27ish… I’m afraid they’re talking about me.

15 – I’d rather go on an overseas mission trip than a vacation.

16 – Here’s why I’ll never make a good sports fan… I always feel bad for the losing team.

17 – I can’t watch boxing or UFC… it makes me nauseous.

18 – I’m addicted to coffee… but I have to drink half-caf because of my heart defect.

19 – I have a heart defect.

20 – Of all the countries I’ve visited… Honduras is my fave. I’d have no problem if God wanted me to be a missionary there.

21 – I hate wearing a helmet when I ride my motorcycle… by my wife makes me.

22 – I’m pretty sure I’m getting arthritis… already.

23 – My brain is like name Teflon… they just don’t stick

24 – I’m a morning person… usually asleep by 10:30pm.

25 – I want to own an English bulldog named Günter.

Best Super Bowl Ad EVER!

Heroes starts tonight!!!!

Perspective

Say what you will about the Bush family. This is one of the kindest and most loving things I've heard in a long time.

Youth Ministry 3.0

I've decided to add a new segment to the blog. It's what I call "The world really does care about my opinion so I'll tell you what I think about the books I read." Or "Book Reviews" for short. I know nothing about literature. I can't tell you about imagery or prose or onomatopoeia... but I can tell you what I like or dislike so here goes.

Youth Ministry 3.0:
A Manifesto of Where We've Been, Where We Are, and Where We Need to Go
by Mark Oestreicher
pub. Zondervan
dis. Youth Specialties

"Over the past several decades there have been three significant shifts in youth culture; each new shift brought with it different values and priorities in the lives of teens. Youth ministries adapted and responded to the first two shifts, but we're missing the boat on the third. The result? Youth ministry isn't addressing the realities and needs of today's youth culture. After nearly three decades in youth ministry, Mark Oestreicher has lived through a lot of those shifts himself. In recent years, he's found himself wondering what needs to change, especially since so much of what we're doing in youth ministry today isn't working (youth specialties)."



Book's premise (no spoiler): Using a clever analogy that equates technology to ministry, Mark is challenging the youth workers of America to re-think the way we do ministry. His suggestion is that youth ministry is still largely program driven and will only survive with a major overhaul. "The problem is this: The way we're doing things is already not working. We're failing at our calling. And deep down, most of us know it. This is why we need an epochal shift in our assumptions, approaches, models, and methods (pg 20)."

What I liked about the book: The first half of the book is a brief look into the psychology of adolescence. Over the last 50 years, adolescence has gone through 3 major shifts. We are in the middle of the 3rd shift. Assuming Mark is accurate in this description, this truth will prove extremely helpful in reaching teens.

What I didn't like about the book: The second half of the book is Mark's opinion on what to do with that information. Without delving into specifics, I think his suggestion is an over-correction. I do no like the suggestion that moving from what he calls Youth Ministry 2.0 to the new and improved 3.0 will require a major deconstruction of our youth groups as we know them. "One of the most important, dangerous, and courageous steps that any youth ministry needs to take if it's going to make the shift from Youth Ministry 2.0 to Youth Ministry 3.0 is to cut programs... The road forward must first go through the valley of doing less (pp 97 & 98)."

Favorite passage: "It's easy to see this quest for affinity in teenagers. They desperately desire to be included, to be a part of a social network, to feel as though as they belong somewhere (pg 41)."

Random passage: "What we must do as youth ministers is what Nelson Mandela did as a prisoner at Robben Islens: Discern the best way to use the times we're in to prepare young people to live in the world differently than most, as disciples of Jesus Christ (pg 12)."

My Rating:



Who might love this book: Tom Mulhern

Who might hate this book: Doug and Steve

Where I got it: Ryan bought it for me... that guy LOVES Amazon.

Have you read it? Comment!

Weigh-in Wednesday

I'm less fat today (click).

What you're moving towards

I don't have a car... I have a motorcycle. In Arizona you can ride year-round (although it's WAY cold most mornings right now!). I've been riding for about 4 years now. When I first got my bike, I took a motorcycle training course and I'm glad I did. As it turns out, riding a motorcycle is one of the most counter-intuitive things I've ever done.

For example, you'd think that when riding a motorcycle you'd want to stay vertical as much as possible. While that's mostly true, they teach you that you are supposed to lean into a turn. You'd also think that you should turn your handlebars in the direction you wish to turn. Instead, as you lean to turn, you are to push that handle bar forward. So if you want to turn right, you lean right and push the right handlebar forward!

The most important thing I've learned while riding. Your bike will go the direction you are looking. If you look right, your bike will start to veer right. When you're turning, they teach you to look way ahead of you... to where you want to go. Instinct tells me to look at the ground directly in front of me to avoid any treachery awaiting me at the corner. That is a sure way to lay your bike down. "If you look down at the ground, you'll end up on the ground."

You will go the direction you are looking. The same is true in the rest of life too. Whatever you are looking at... whatever gets your attention guides your direction. At my church, we have a term called 'negative meditation' (I'm sure we didn't coin the phrase, but that's the only place I've heard it). Simply stated, we cannot help but be consumed by those things we meditate on. If I dwell on the fact that I don't have as much money as I want or think I need, then my life will become about money. If I focus on the problems in my marriage, then my mind will be consumed by the flaws in my marriage... the flaws in my spouse.

I think the same is true of my own sin. What happens if my thoughts are dominated by a particular sin mine? What could be wrong with obsessing over trying to break a sinful habit? Obsession.

I'm not saying that we shouldn't take all of those things seriously. God is very concerned with our handling of our finances. He wants us to make healthy relationships and marriages a priority. And of course He wants us to take our sin seriously. Just like there's nothing wrong with checking my mirrors on the bike, there's nothing wrong with giving those things some attention. My focus should be forward, however. Too much time looking in the mirrors and I'm in trouble.

Focus. "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself (Matthew 6:25-34)."

My sweet Marilyn

I will miss you

I will miss you, 2008. We shared many experiences together. Some of them great, beautiful, joyful, encouraging, uplifting. Some of them hard, ugly, frightening, sad, frustrating, heart-breaking.

We saw the 1-year aniversary of my beautiful wife and I -- You saw me perform the wedding of my baby sister -- You followed us through a move from Chicago, IL to Gilbert, AZ -- You were there through the frustrations and ultimate joy of Shannon's job search -- We saw the loss of my grandmother and an old friend -- You watched me gain... then lose... then gain again -- You followed Shannon and I on many adventures -- We saw wars and hatred -- We saw generosity and kindness -- We saw public figures rise and fall -- We saw hidden greatness step into the light

But mostly, we saw the Kingdom breaking gracefully into this world. Yes, I will miss you, 2008. But there are those around me who see something beautiful on the horizon of 2009... and I belive them. So, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.