NYMC Highlights

So far so good here at the NYMC. Hilarious stuff, amazing freebies everywhere you look, and the content of the sessions is even good!

Here are some Friday highllights that found their way into my Moleskine:

• Everyone of my volunteers is a better youth worker than me. I give my title away. - Doug Fields.
• Whatever your values are, you have to push them down into your youth ministry. Model them. Reward them. Praise them. - DF
• What parents aren't up on (informed of), they'll be down on. - DF
• The greatest poverty is thinking about yesterday and tomorrow, because you don't exist. - Braddigan

And many more. Off to a lunchtime Media Workshop.

Rugby discipleship

I saw something cool last night.

I help coach the local high school rugby team. Rugby being not as popular in the US, every year we have to start from the basics and teach the newbs how to play, starting from how to handle the ball. I've been working with the forwards, getting into scrumming down.

Monday, our first day, I showed all the new players how to scrum down by letting the returning players form a scrum. I then tried to teach each one of the new players their new position, where your head and shoulders go, where to bind on, etc. After about an hour, things were still looking ugly.

Yesterday, our second day, I took a new approach. I mingled in the returning players with the new players. Each returning player had a newb, and he showed them how to bind, where to keep your head, etc. Within ten minutes, we had a pretty good looking scrum.

Discipleship should look the same. Instead of trying to teach new believers all the basics, doesn't it work better to pair them with another believer that will walk with them and give them little tips along the way?

This year we're trying something different for our end-of-the-year series in the Jr. High Ministry. I have always tried to do a "last hoorah" kind of night, in which I give all my advice to 8th graders as they go on to high school, and try to give some tips to the 7th graders, as they move up. This year, for the month of May, each 8th grade small group will run the show. Everything from the lights to the lesson. I'm anxious to see what things they will have to say that I leave out. It's going to be a great way to end the year.

Have you ever done something like this with Junior Highers? What was the response? Pros and cons?

Prepping for the NYMC

It's Wednesday, and we're driving out tomorrow for the NYMC in Columbus. A good 7 hour drive with me, our Youth Director, and one of our interns. This week and last week have been heavy on prepping for our Winter Retreat, which is the following weekend, as well as all of our other weekly stuff. We don't want to miss a beat. So here's a quick list of what we've gotten done up until this point.

• Winter Blast cabins are set
• Registration bracelets have been made
• Recap DVDs covers are being put together as I type
• Outlines and videos for next Tuesday are complete
• Sunday school teachers are prepped
• Prayer base has been contacted with prayer list
• Transportation is lined up for NYMC and Winter Blast
• List of Simply resources to buy while at NYMC (hopefully at a discount) has been made
• Extended personal prayer times
• Lunch materials and snacks have been bought for NYMC road trip

And here's a list of things that I still have to do.

• Get Winter Blast check-in setup finalized and needs to the admin team
• The dishes
• Clean out my car (I don't like to leave a mess while I'm away)
• Do laundry and pack

It's always a good day when the "DONE" list is longer than the "TO DO" list. See you at NYMC!

Peeling Oranges

A typical afternoon after lunch will find me at my desk, sitting back in my chair, casually peeling an orange as I skim an article online or review a lesson plan. Today, however, things went all wrong...

My orange wouldn't peel. You've had those oranges, right? The peel just doesn't want to come off, and you end up tearing into the flesh of the orange and dripping juice all over and everything gets sticky. Instead of relaxing at my desk, I had to move operations to the office kitchenette and eat over the sink, spitting out surprise seeds all along the way.

And I was reminded how life is reflected in this. I often times go into auto pilot with ministry and life, until I come across a needy student or a teaching topic that kicks me into full manual mode. And I'm there right now. The current teaching series we're in is not one that I can just breeze through. I'm realizing that every point needs to be re-evaluated to get it past the point of my usual Christian jargon challenges.

...and it's starting to get sticky. It's pushing me spiritually. In different areas then I'm pushing students, but pushing me nonetheless. So I'm shifting gears constantly; changing the standard operating procedures; increasing communication with all parties involved; and doing everything possible to complete the operation to full effectiveness.

Ministry can be messy sometimes...and is always messy when mixed with life. But then again, ministry without life isn't really ministry, anyway.

Confessions of Mandatory God-Moments

It was one of "those weekends" this weekend. There was extra extra prep work for weekend services. Both sides of the family were in town for the long weekend. We had to have some plumbing work done at the house, which meant giving up most of Monday to wait for the plumber...and I didn't have any of my office materials with me that I needed for midweek. 

All of that leads up to this moment, 20 minutes before volunteers arrive for our Jr. High Ministry night...and I just finished getting ready. I was able to throw together a program in a day, but know that I can't expect much results from my efforts. 

This is where the tug-of-war in my mind grows: 

• I hate this feeling, because I feel completely unprepared. 
  
• I love this feeling, because I am so dependent on God.
  

I know that God lead me to this topic weeks and months ago, but putting together the actual message the day-of doesn't cut it in my mind. And so I am absolutely counting on God to use my words for His glory. And then I realize that I should do that no matter how much time I'm able to put into a message! 

Dear God, create in my heart and mind an attitude of utter dependence on you and your Spirit to move through my every action and word...no matter how much thought I've put into them. I'm givin' you all I got tonight...give me that Ephesians 6:10 power. 

ARR

Here we go!

I love all sorts of blogs. Whether on ministry, life, travels, or even education; blogs are great. And with this post I let the world know that I, too, am throwing my hat into the ring.

Wow, this is getting a little too dramatic.

I wanted to have a place to let out my ministry philosophies and gather others who are called to this joy known as Jr. High Ministry.