Just a short hiatus to my blog posting. I've been really busy lately and have been in the virtual world too much. I'm going to take a Thanksgiving break from the blog. Happy Thanksgiving.
Archive - November, 2009
Twitter is making me Wide but not Deep. #nywc
I'm a fan of twitter. I've been introduced to a bunch of new people this year via it and some of them have grown to be good friends. At the National Youth Workers Conventions this fall it has even been my preferred method of staying connected to people and seeing what is happening at the event. But, I am worried that Twitter might be causing me to miss out on some of the great "Deep" things at the conventions and in my life.
I read a great post today by Mark Riddle that made me think quite a bit about how I've postured myself at all the events that I've been at this fall. I've done a ton of networking and connecting but I seem to find myself always looking for that "next" connection or my to the point in my case the next "Follower" on twitter. I have had some amazing great conversations with people and I'm hoping that those conversations and friendships continue past the convention season.
Tonight I hung out with a couple friends that I really value that I've known less than a year. At the same time we met up with some friends that I've known for considerably longer. One person I had done ministry with for the last 17 years. I made a statement in the car on the way home with my new friends that I really miss the people who have known me for a long time. Of course it didn't go over so well and it dawned on me realized that I need to be more committed to going deep with the people that are doing life and ministry with me.
Now I don't want this to sound like I'm giving up on twitter or won't spend a ton of time with new friends this weekend but I think I'm going into it with some more clarity that deep is a value that I need to reinstall in my life and my ministry.
So I'm heading to the National Youth Workers Convention in a couple of days. Really looking forward to going deep with some great friends who will be there.
Deep Justice Journeys: Before
I wrote a blog post for the Fuller Youth Institute. Instead of copying it here I thought I'd just encourage people to go check out their site. FYI is doing some amazing research, writing and thinking about how Youth Ministry can help students maintain their faith into and through college. Check out the post here.
Fuller Sticky Faith Summit
I've been at Fuller Seminary for the last few days with a group of people interacting with the research findings of the Fuller Youth Institute. We're specifically working with the College Transition Project data and they are handing us lot's of documents labeled "Confidential" which means I can't talk about the results here yet.
What I will say though is that what they are learning should have broad implications for how we do youth ministry in the future. I'm not generally a very patient person and in this case nothing has changed. I want practical translations of the research into chunks that parents, volunteers, paid staff and senior leadership can wrap their heads around and understand. This will come in the next year and they are planning on testing it out with a few churches first.
The other side of this event that has been immensely rewarding are some of the new connections I've made. There are people here from a number of great churches and para church organizations. I'm learning a lot as we dialogue with each other.
Fuller is a place where I learned a ton and became the pastor that I am. When I left here though I never stopped learning. Coming back here the last few days has both been immensely rewarding as well as humbling as I realize there is still so much I don't know.
Goodbye Santa Claus
Ok this is sort of a sad story. This afternoon our neighbor's daughter told my son that there is no Santa Claus. He was really bummed and the reason is a little sad. He's been wanting an Ipod touch for Christmas and he knows that Danielle and I won't buy it for him so in his mind the only hope to get one was if Santa brought it. Now that he knows there is no Santa he knows that he's not getting it. We tried to make good out of the situation and let him know that he's now in the exclusive club with his mom and his dad and now he gets to help us figure out what "santa" is going to bring everyone this year. Unfortunately, that didn't help the situation too much.
The reality is he's probably more bummed about not getting an ipod than Santa not being real.
Sometimes it's hard to be a parent.
Networking can suck.
Probably a title that will suck some people in. But, one that I also think is true in this case. Let me first say that I had a great time this week networking with some people here in Dallas. There were some friends from the National Network Of Youth Ministry in town and I drove out to spend time with them on Tuesday night and on Thursday at lunch. I enjoyed being with them and was glad to build new relationships and strengthen older ones. But, it was a long ways from my house and today in particular involved driving out in the middle of nowhere for a meeting. It was a good meeting because it involved network leaders from all over the DFW area but it still sucked to drive so far.
So here's my thought. Networking can suck. It would have been much easier to just stay in my office and hang out with my team all day and then walk home for lunch. The reality though is Networking is not supposed to be easy. It's hard but the results are so much better. I like NNYM's slogan "We are better together" I 100% agree with this statement and that is why I drove way out of my way to be involved with this amazing group today. I need to always remember that it is not about me, it's not about my church and my life and my beliefs. Following Jesus and pursing students is a "kingdom" thing and there should be times that I have to get outside my life/world and connect with some amazing people who have it figured out way more than me.
So Networking sucks but that doesn't stop me.
Love is an Orientation
Tonight I thought I'd just talk about a person I've met and spent some time with here at the National Youth Workers Convention. Andrew Marin wrote a book called Love is an Orientation. He's a great guy who has been trying to figure out how to love his friends who are in the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and transgendcer community.
I haven't read the book yet as I just bought it today but I have interacted with Andrew and I can say this about him. I like him. I think he's legitimate. I think he's kind and honest and someone who really cares about his friends and the lifestyle choices that they've made.
This issue is really tough. As a Presbyterian I'm a part of denomination (PCUSA) that is really struggling to figure out what it believes about the issue of homosexuality. I'll be honest and say that my typical stance on this topic is to say that homosexuality is wrong. But, with that said I will will also say that I have a good friend from high school and a good friend from college who are also gay. I value who they are and want to be their friends but don't always know how to best interact with them.
So I'll again just say that I like Andrew. Think he's genuine and that you should buy his book. I'm going to read it in the next few days and will post a follow up response to my reading.
The Future of Youth Ministry Training
I know it feels like the most current blog posts are about one particular theme which is primarily focused on Youth Ministry and specifically about changes that are happening to the world of it. I apologize if you are getting tired about this but as I'm spending the weekend at a Youth Ministry Training event it's just what you are going to have to read unless you want to hit backspace and get out of here.
A couple years ago I was asked to be a part of a Lilly Grant Think Tank put together by the Center for Youth Ministry Training. A large part of that experience has been to regularly meet with Youth Ministry Educators and Pastors and talk about what type of education and training would be most helpful to create successful youth workers to run vibrant youth ministries.
This experience has been very good. I've gotten the opportunity to interact with a number of amazing teachers, leaders and pastors. Out of this Think Tank has come great relationships and friends who I value a ton.
At the heart of the conversation has been this continual dialogue about what we "need to know" in order to be effective. It's been a great dialogue because it has forced us to be real about what we do know and how well prepared we actually are.
Just like the future of higher education is changing so is Youth Ministry Education. Today at the National Youth Workers Convention the YS team put on an event they call Open Space. It's basically a forum that allows for people to present topics that they want to discuss and to have open discussions about issues.
I was a part of a discussion about 20-somethings who work in the church but have a hard time finding a social life. The just of the discussion was about how difficult it is in many contexts to both be a leader in the church as well as finding friends and being fed by the church. Great conversation I wish I'd had when I was in my 20's. It was very helpful for me to think through what they were talking about as I thought about my own staff of 20-somethings who are living that same struggle and life.
I still have a lot to learn and I appreciate the opportunity to do it here at the National Youth Workers Convention. It's a good place for me and for many to learn, be validated and to know that people care about them.
I have no idea what the future of youth ministry training will look like. I'm pretty convinced that youth ministry is getting more complex and that the training of youth ministers is a tough task. Even this conference is crazy. There are about 1500 people here and about 1/3 have never been to this convention before. Just thinking about what type of things these people need to know in order to run successful youth ministries is hard.
So I'm advocating that we take a long look at this. With some of the changes happening this is a good time to rethink how we do things. Let's be honest with ourselves and ask the tough questions. Have we figured out the right way to do this? Do we know anymore in this changing culture how to do this thing effectively. I'm encouraging us to pray like crazy that we might know God's will for youth ministry education and that we could jump on it.
