I know I said I wasn’t going to post but I just did something that surprised me so much I thought I’d write something about it. Most of you who read this know that I spend a lot of money at Amazon.com. My sisters got me a $100 gift card for Christmas. Right away I bought two things: 1. Eldest by Chistopher Paolini and 2. Beverly Hills 90210 season 1. I won’t try to justify any of those purchases.

Well tonight I decided I needed to order a couple of the books for next semester. I found three of them on Amazon and put them in my shopping cart. The total was $47.40 I checked the balance of my gift certificate and it was also $47.40. Weird huh? But, maybe some sort of cosmic sign (just kidding). Thought it was funny that they were identical though.

I’m going to take a little break from the blog the next couple of days. I have been pretty busy with work, family and the holidays so I am going to free myself from the computer.

I couldn’t resist today. I had a couple of sweaters to return (one I already had and another a bit too red). I have been wanting one of the new Ipod shuffles for a while so I can listen to tunes at the gym. So, I traded in the sweaters and walked out with a new Ipod. Pretty sweet trade in my opinion. I’m heading to the gym this afternoon to check it out.

Ok so I got a bit of traffic to my site today after a link from my friend Marko  from Youth Specialties . He has an article on his blog with the same title.  I decided to do the same because its a good idea:

5 Things you don’t know about me:

1. From 6 grade through my sophomore year of college I was a band geek.  I played clarinet and saxaphone and actually won every music award that my high school offered as well as a partial music scholarship.  But, my heart stopped being in it when I got to college and band practiced from 3-6 on friday afternoons.

2. My hometown on Whidbey Island didn’t have any stoplights or cable until after I left for college.

3. In college I was a cheerleader for 4 years and I actually enjoyed it.  Not so much the cheering but the stunting practice and throwing people around was fun.

4. I read a lot and very quickly.  It’s actually to the point where I have a hard time buying books because I will usually finish anything I buy within 24 hours.  I’m a big fan of mystery and fantasy books.

5. Like Marko I am also a bit of a church mutt.  I grew up in the Lutheran Church,  attended youth group at a United Mehthodist, in college went to several non-denoms,  worked at a Congregational Church, worked at a Presbyterian Church and just finished up working at a Calvary Chapel.

6. Lastly- About 10 years ago I was a workout fiend and spent a lot of time in the step aerobic room at my local 24-hour fitness.  My friend matt@northcoastcalvary.org and I were the masters of the double-step.  A bit tough but we rocked it and we actually had better rhythm than several of the ladies in the class.

That’s it.  Tell me things I don’t know about you.

I’m working on a new post about how to find a job. I’ll write more tomorrow but here’s a tease……even with all the great websites out there for finding jobs it still ultimately comes down to who you know and who knows you. Every (and the number is not small) job that I have interviewed for has come from connections.

One of the greatest things about Christmas break is being free from Graduate school for a couple of weeks. The last two days I read Eragon and today I went to see the movie. My advice: as usual the book was much better. But, the movie is a nice way to spend the afternoon.

I am at an interesting place in my life. I’m 36, married for 10 years to a beautiful and amazing woman (Danielle) and we have 3 great kids. I’ve got a seminary degree and am working on another. But, I’m at a major point in my life and God and I are working through what he would like me to do.

A couple of years ago I left an amazing church in Los Angeles to work at an amazing church in Carlsbad, California. Part of my reasoning for leaving the church in LA was that I was unsure about my future in the ordination process. Honestly, I felt like I was in the process because I was seeking legitimacy and not necessarily because I felt “Called” to be ordained. I certainly felt “called” to work in God’s Church but I wasn’t sure about the denomination. I liken it to a 17 year old who “loves” his parents but doesn’t truly appreciate them until he goes away to college and realizes what he is missing.

When I got to Carlsbad I immediately felt like I was out of place. It was/is a great church and some amazing thing are going on there. But, it wasn’t a good fit for me. Probably the best way to describe the situation there is to say that they really shouldn’t of hired a Pastor of Student Ministries. What they needed was a high school pastor who’s was primarily outreached focused. I just never reallyl fit in with their model of ministry. It’s a good model and I support what they are doing but it isn’t me.

So what is me. I have come to realize that I work best with a team. I love bouncing ideas of people and working together for a common goal. I love interns and figuring out ways of helping them grow. I know that I think “big picture” when it comes to the church. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do that there.

A couple of months ago we realized that the fit wasn’t right. It was a major relief for me because I had begun to dread going to work. It’s one of those things where when I felt God saying this wasn’t right it just became apparent in my spirit that I needed to go. After a great summer of ministry it was just time.

So what’s next. I’m fortunate to have experience, degrees, passion and amazing friends who are also great references. I’m in the process of interviewing at a couple of churches. What’s been really fun in the midst of this is a couple of things:

1) The jobs that I am interviewing for are perfect matches for my gift and passions. Jobs that I had been approached about months ago and said I wasn’t gonig to pursue all of the sudden became things that I was interested in.

2) I wouldn’t have been able to take this step to look at these different positions unless God had made it perfectly clear that it was time to move on.

3) It is very affirming to be in interview processes with people who believe in me and my gifts. That wasn’t the case the last couple of years and I’m glad to be out of that situation.

4) Right now I’m allowing God to direct the whole thing with complete disregard of location, state and place.

5) I’ve had amazing times of connection with my wife and my children through this. Danielle and I spent 4 days in Washington interviewing and it was so good for us.

6) I’m realizing that for the last bunch of years I’ve been in “go” mode. Today I got up early and prayed for the churches that I have interviewed at and the staff members who I met by name. That was a great experience and I look forward to more of it.

7) I have great friends. Many people that I know are going through this type of experience of trying to figure out their futures. It has been so good to talk to them and be encouraged that I am not alone.

I’ll write more later but right now that’s where I’m going to start.

So back to the title of this post. I love the church I moved to Carlsbad to work at. I love the pastors I was with. But, sometimes (actually oftentimes) that’s not enough. It was just not a good fit for me. I could have stayed in it and been glad that I was at such a great church but it just wouldn’t of been good for anyone.

Ok so I’m working on a big post that will could be an exclusive look inside my life, career and direction for my future. I’m trying to figure out how much I should say. If anyone reads this (a few do) please let me know how much you think I should disclose. I want to be transparent and open about what God is doing with me and I think I might just talk about all the different directions I feel led. Let me know what you want to hear.

I’ll be taking a couple days off the blogging thing as I work on a D.Min paper. This semester it is a specific focus on the 20-something generation and what are the specific needs that they have and why. I’m working to try to bring a “real” picture of who they are and to help churches realize that we need to radically change the way we are currently trying to minister to them.

But, it hurts to read and write so much. I also tend to get a little stressed which makes it hard for me to focus.

On a good note I turned what used to be our guest bedroom/game room into an office today. Now I can work from home instead of sitting at a coffee shop. At least that’s the idea. We’ll see how it works out.

Ok so I’ve known for a long time that Carlsbad High School (Go Lancers) has had a Surf PE class. Pretty sweet actually they have a 2 hour block for surfing followed by lunch. I guess that’s why their surf team has dominated for so many years. What I didn’t realize until today was that they also have a Skate PE class. I was at the skate park in Carlsbad with Kaije and Anneliese today playing on some big rocks when I saw all the kids roll up. I knew a couple of them so I went over to talk. Yup it’s true. Why didn’t I go to high school in Southern California. We didn’t even have a pool in Washington. Me……..36……….and envious.