looking out from my little place

2009-11-01T19:48:00.001-06:00

LenEvans.net is the new blog home for all thing Len Evans.

This blog will not be deleted but it will be static.

2009-09-23T16:45:00.001-05:00

The following is the week day email I get from Family Minute:

There is an artist who takes broken pieces of china and glues them together in various forms to make incredible art. All of us have broken pieces in our lives. Some of our lives even seem to be shattered beyond repair. But those seemingly worthless pieces can be put together and used to fashion something beautiful and something that can be used to help others.

Whether you're broken as a result of divorce, abuse, neglect, alcohol or drugs, know that your pieces can be salvaged and used for good in your life and in the lives of many.

It is my hope that my vocational life until now, is being shaped into a mosaic that will be formed into something helpful for other youth workers and churches that I will be able to serve.

2009-08-29T22:47:00.002-05:00

The 44 Hours that Changed my Life

I woke up at 3:30am on Monday to make my 5am flight. I was in San Diego a little after 8:3o when Doug Clark picked me up from the airport. I knew this was going to be a different type of interview after I had talked to Doug a few days earlier. I asked him if I need to prepare anything for the interview and basically I was told to just come with my story.

Doug gave me a tour around San Diego then we had coffee at The Hotel del Coronado. We sat in the courtyard and talked. We rememberd we had first met in 1997 at a Leadership Network deal for large church youth pastors. (This is also where Riddle and I first met.)

Then we headed to the NNYM offices where I met the staff. I had lunch with Doug & the executive staff and we chatted. They each asked some questions but they were more pesonal rather than professional. (Partially because Doug had asked some of the harder questions when he visted Lubbock.)

I joined the staff meeting, was introduced was asked to share a little bit towards the end of the meeting. I rambled about being an evangelical mutt and my heart and history of networking. Afterwards the executive staff met and eventually two of the guys wanted to tell me how it went.

It was a welcome relief when they welcomed me aboard and recognized this sort of position is an outflow of my DNA.

I called my family before Doug and I went to get the rental car and check me into the hotel.

Had a wonderful dinner with Doug and his family at Stir Fresh Grill, now I know why it's one of their favorite places.

Went to the hotel, called my dad and CRASHED!

I slept 7 hours and was wide awake at 4:3oam. What'd I do? Called my friends on the East Coast, of course. Talked to a few friends over the next couple of hours (all on the East Coast) and then got ready for breakfast with a friend. I had breakfast with my room dog from my last National Youth Worker Convention, Mr. Adam Mclane. Read this if you want a hint at what our friendship is like, and yes, it is mutual. We ate at DZ Akins and it was an amazing breakfast as we got caught up on all things us and our worlds.

I then followed Adam to the Youth Specialties offices. Saw Dave, (BTW: we met for the first time when he worked at Squint Records & Sixpence None the Richer had a little promo stop at my church (The Methadome/Our Lady of the Quary) for the album that had "Kiss Me" on it.) met Ian, Tash, and others who I couldn't find links for.

Adam went to work, Ian was polishing off the 50th YS Podcast and I went upstairs to check email and read. I was so tired after an hour or so, I laid down on one of the couches, set my alarm for a 40 minute nap and went to sleep. Being in the YS office felt like I was at a friends house who loved me and I knew they wouldn't mind if I took a nap, so I did.

I woke up to some noises and sat up in time to see Marko walking around looking for a location to shoot some video. (Still have no clue which group was interviewing him.) I kissed Marko's ring. . . . er. . . I mean. . . we shook hands and caught up a bit a little later.

I had In-N-Out for my Double/Double Animal Style with Light Fries and then headed to the airport. I was so tired from everything, I was asleep before the plane took off and I didn't wake up for about 2.5 hours into the the flight to Houston.

Made the connection to Lubbock and walked in my door around 11:30pm. 44 hours and my life was different.

I'm super excited about the new ministry and can't wait to get started but for now my #1 priority is to follow through with the 40 plus people who previously shared they wanted to support us monthly, at some level. (I never asked for amounts becuase it didn't matter until the position was offered.) There are probably 12-15 other people who had expressed interest in being a monthly supporter so I'm starting the process of talking with them too.

Thanks for all the prayers and encouragement leading up to this trip and for the adventure that will follow.

Keep Lovin' Jesus!

2009-08-18T14:35:00.003-05:00

My Latest Prayer Update

If you'd like to be on the prayer update list, let me know

The interview last Wednesday with Doug Clark from the National Network of Youth Ministries was very long but also seemed to go very well.

I'm flying to San Diego on the 24th (not the 22nd) to interview with the NNYM's executive team and meet the whole crew.

A an encouraging thing from Wed.

I took an online test that measures your working relationships/styles. When they reveiwed the the results with me, they let me know that the style I scored, out of 40 or so possible styles, was the one they had determined would be the ideal one for the position. That match is not enough of a reason to be offered the position, but defintely encouraging.

Thanks for your continued prayers.

Keep Lovin' Jesus,

Len

2009-08-01T15:53:00.002-05:00

Hey, You Never Know!

Win an Autographed Electric Guitar from Interlinc.

Win a sweet little Fender electric guitar covered with some of the biggest names and coolest people in Christian music!

The guitar includes:

tobyMac
Family Force 5
Kutless
Pillar
Stellar Kart
Hawk Nelson
Thousand Foot Krutch & more

Enter here!

2009-07-26T09:57:00.003-05:00

The Youth Worker Book of Hope

I'm so excited about this book. Tim is a good friend and I've known about this book since it was a proposal and maybe even an idea for a proposal.

Youth ministry is hard, whether it's your vocation or not but what makes the hardships bearable is the great joy of seeing God work in students lives. Because of the hard times though, it's easy and probably likely to focus on te hardships and hurts.

Enter "The Youth Worker Book of Hope". It shares 16 stories from different youth workers who made common mistakes, what they learned and the hope they found through their particular experience.

This is helpful for most youth workers because we know we have faults but it's refreshing to know that we are not the only ones and that there is hope beyond the mistakes. One of my personal joys of reading the chapters is that I know over half of the contributors. So I get to laugh more and probably hurt more than most people as I see more insights into my friends lives but each chapter is a winner, whether you've gone through their particular experience or not.

Matthew McNutt's thoughts on the book.

Adam Mclane's thoughts on the book.

Become a Fan on Facebook

2009-07-20T17:07:00.000-05:00

Turning the Page. . .

My last day as an employee of the church was July 1, 2009. I am remaining as a volunteer through the end of summer activities. So during this time I'll be teaching most of the lessons, doing most of the activities and still loving on students. Plan on staying longer but probably taking a break from responsibilites for a bit as I work on the what's next.

A good bit of last year I wrestled with depression. I described that I felt like I was in a "fog" on more than one occasion to a variety of people. I'm tons better now and I feel like i'm my normal self. During this time in the fog, my performance at the church was in a fog, too. It covered a variety of things but my weaknessess were weaker and affected the tasks side of my ministry.

The church leaders were patient with me and helped me see some things and encouraged me to discover and deal with whatever the "core" issues were that were affecting me personally and professionally. I did that and over the last 4 months or so, I believe I'm much more my old self and able to see reality and deal with it in a holistic manner. I believe also that If I had gotten to this place sooner, it's possible I'd still be employed by the church. (Anyone is welcome to call me for more details and if you are part of our church family, I'd encourage you talk to me and the elders if you have any questions).

The depression did not cause my not meeting what was desired of me by the church but it helps peole understand part of my story. The church leaders and I are still friends despite disagreeing on some things and I've told them and now I'll tell the world, I understand how they came to their conclusion but I would have done something different. There is no anger or bitterness within me about this, I've been there before, I know what it looks like and I promise my heart is in a very good place.

The elders were clear on this during the meeting after church on Sunday that it had nothing to do with any immoral behavior, false teaching or anything in that realm of possibilities. in some ways, it'd be easier if it was, for them.

Here's what I'm EXCITED about as a result of this. I've applied to work with the National Network of Youth

Ministries as the South Central Coordinator. That's a long title for, pastoring youth pastors and building healthy networks for a six state region. TX, NM, CO, OK, AR & LA.

I would have never have applied for this or thought about it if the other had not happened. I've told almost everyone that this is the job I'd want to do if I won the lottery and didn't have to work. Here's an article I wrote for Group Magazine a few years ago that shows where my heart is regarding networking within youth ministry and why it's important - Networking the Kingdom

How you can help us:

1. Everyone who reads this can Pray for us. We are starting a prayer team as we pursue this and currently we have over 80 people who want to pray for us and be informed on how things are progressing. If you want to join this prayer team, leave a comment on my facebook wall or email me at SnaveNel @ aol dot com & I'll add you to our prayer team.

2. Some who read this may want to Give to us. This position is like being a missionary, we have have to raise our support. If ever there was a time in our American economy this would seem like a bad idea, it is now. But we depend on God and wisdom and not just the economic forecast. After about a month and a half of sharing with some people about the possibility of this position, we have almost 40 people who are willing to give monthly support at some level. (I don't know the amounts for most and it doesn't matter until the National Network of Youth Ministries says, "Welcome Aboard").

It's weird pursuing this sort of position because raising support has never been on our bucket list. However it's been fun catching up with friends, telling them what's going on and them affirming this as a potential great fit and them wanting to support it because of me but also because of the need.

Thanks for reading so much and for caring about us as we seek to discern and discover God's will regarding this amazing opportunity.

2009-06-04T10:40:00.002-05:00

What I'm Discovering About Youth Ministry

I try to have no agenda when I'm with students, meaning I don't want them to think "he's just here because he wants me to do something" (join a bible study, small group, mission trip) etc but rather I want to be with them, help them see how God is working in their lives and encourage them with no strings attached but the string of love.

I think the problem with that approach is it's hard to measure when you don't make students do stuff.

Talked with a friend yesterday about Andrew Root's, Revisiting Relational Youth Ministry: From a Strategy of Influence to a Theology of Incarnation and it just kind of brought these thoughts out in our discussion.

2009-04-28T10:30:00.002-05:00

I need to write/blog

Writing is not just jotting down ideas. Often we say: "I don't know what to write. I have no thoughts worth writing down." But much good writing emerges from the process of writing itself. As we simply sit down in front of a sheet of paper and start to express in words what is on our minds or in our hearts, new ideas emerge, ideas that can surprise us and lead us to inner places we hardly knew were there.

One of the most satisfying aspects of writing is that it can open in us deep wells of hidden treasures that are beautiful for us as well as for others to see.

Henri Nouwen

2009-04-01T13:31:00.001-05:00

We are a spoiled generation

Louis CK from per gustafson on Vimeo.

HT2 Mike King

2009-03-04T11:38:00.002-06:00

Family life is messy

Dr. Hobart Mower reached the pinnacle of his profession by becoming the president of the American Psychological Association. Dr. Mower traveled the country lecturing on the "meaning of life" and found that meaning to be in family.

At fifty-one years of age, his children were grown and gone, and his wife divorced him. Mower asked the question, "What am I to do?" His answer was to take his life. He decided the struggle wasn't worth it.

This unbelievably sad story underlines the fact that not even the "experts" have all the answers. Family life is messy. There is no one method that will magically make a household perfect. Rather, let us all determine to persevere and take courage that tomorrow will be better than today, that sacrificial living for our children is worth it, and that everything happens for a reason.

from http://www.allprodad.com/

2009-02-18T11:13:00.001-06:00

Q. What is an Economic Stimulus Payment?

A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers.

Q. Where will the government get this money?

A. From taxpayers.

Q. So the government is giving me back my own money

A. Only a smidgen.

Q. What is the purpose of this payment?

A. The plan is that you will use the money to purchase a high- definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy.

Q. But isn't that stimulating the economy of China?

A. Shut up.

Below is some helpful advice on how to best help the US economy by spending your stimulus check wisely:

If you spend that money at Wal-Mart, all the money will go to China.

If you spend it on gasoline it will go to the Arabs.

If you purchase a computer it will go to India.

If you purchase fruit and vegetables it will go to Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala (unless you buy organic).

If you buy a car it will go to Japan.

If you purchase useless crap it will go to Taiwan. And none of it will help the American economy.We need to keep that money here in America. You can keep the money in America by spending it at yard sales, going to a baseball games or getting tattoos, since those are the only businesses still in the US.

2009-02-11T16:50:00.001-06:00

It’s so easy to get busy that we neglect to appreciate the everyday joys that involve parenting a teenager. Joys in parenting a teenager?! No, I don’t think I’m crazy, but if I am please let me live in my crazy world because I like it here. Joys do happen though we often let the negatives outweigh them.

Your child is discovering who they are and hopefully pursuing God as they seek to shape their identity and future.

Ask them about what they are thinking about the future. If they are not, help them to begin considering the world of options they still have at a young age.

We have the responsibility to train our children to become responsible adults but also to become maturing believers.

There can be no greater joy than looking back and knowing you did all you could to help your child connect better with God.

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 1:4

Be intentional today so you have great joy tomorrow.

Keep Lovin’ Jesus,

Len

2009-01-16T15:12:00.003-06:00

Whoah it's 2009

Haven't blogged in forever. I'm still alive, kicking and thinking just haven't given much thought to blogging about life, ministry, youth ministry, or even Jim Rice joining the baseball hall of fame.

I'm skiing this weekend but hopefully will get back in the groove of blogging when I return. If you want to regularly know in microbites what's going on in my life, follow me on twitter.

2008-12-04T10:30:00.000-06:00

Around the Horn

1. Moms & Pops Stuff

Moms & Pops Stuff is a great & free 3 page newsletter from FamilyBasedYouthMinistry.org with practical ideas for you to share with parents of teenagers.

Brenda runs WildFrontier and Family Based Youth Ministry and she pretty much rocks! She also will have a chapter in Tim Baker's upcoming YS book; The Youth Worker Book of Hope, along with me, matthew mcnutt and a many others, coming out in 09, I believe.

2. From Truth to Truth by John Fischer

It's best to not use the Bible as an authority when discussing religion with someone who doesn't accept it as such.

As Christians we make this mistake often. We use scripture to prove things without first finding out what authority, if any, a person accepts. When Paul spoke to stoic philosophers in Athens (Acts 17:16-34), he made reference to an idol from their own religion, one of their popular poets, and lots of common sense reason. In other words, he listened first, and found out what of their own culture was useful to him. (Read more)

3. Jim Rice's last at bat for the Hall of Fame.

Rice's 382 homers and 1,451 RBIs were tops among all American League hitters during his 16 years. Furthermore, Rice topped 20 homers 11 times, 100 RBIs eight times, was an All-Star eight times, hit .300 in seven seasons and he finished in the top five in the AL MVP voting six times. Also, Rice hit 39-plus homers four times, the most of anyone who played during his time period.

Rice was a beast who for years would be considered "on the fence" but I think this year (plus being 100% post steroid era) will be his year to enter baseball immortality beyond Boston.

4. Don't Like Reading? Read on. . . .

Just because you don’t enjoy reading a good book, doesn’t mean there aren’t many other uses for all of those books piled up in the attic.

This picture pales in comparison to the great art made from books but it's the one that I think I might want to try to make.

HT2 McNair

5. Tony Jones Blesses Gay Marriage & Ordination

Tony's a friend, I like Tony a lot but I don't understand this position or even the rationale.

6. 4 Secrets for Massive Productivity

I had the chance to attend Don's Beat the Clock 2.5 day seminar while living in CT and this is well worth your time to listen to as you do things on your computer. Hit the play button on "Hear Don Wetmore Now"

7. MVPedroia! I called it a month before the season ended.

As Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe points out, Pedroia was the only player in the majors last season to finish with at least 175 hits, 75 runs, 75 RBIs, 15 homers, 20 stole bases while winning a Gold Glove.

No official Bonus for Pedroia winning the MVP but his new six year extension was announced today for around 40.5 million dollars.

Strange But True Department:

Vail Parking Space for Sale for only $500,000

Obama Christmas Cards

2008-12-03T14:07:00.002-06:00

Use it As You Wish

Here's something I did recently for our senior high group. We are studying Ephesians so I gave each person this (with the other chapters, too) and it's designed to be a way to help it be more of a group discovery project rather than just the teacher dispensning insight. I hope I have some insight but my desire was for it to be a community learning experience where we study or at least read individually then come together to discuss it.

The #'s you see next to Ephesians are boxes to check off how many times they read each chapter. Use it as you wish and if you have any thoughts, would love to hear them.

Ephesians: A Group Discovery & Discernment Worksheet

Ephesians 1 # # # # # # # # # #

What questions do I have from this chapter?
________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

What verse or verses stand out to me?
________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

What do I need to start doing in light of what this chapter says?
________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

What do I need to stop doing in light of what this chapter says?
________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

What do I need to pray about in light of what this chapter says?
________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

What is the Big Idea of this chapter?
________________________________________________________________________________

2008-11-25T10:16:00.000-06:00

From Webkinz to Facebook

I did a technology and teens seminar with a lady from my church and here's a little quiz I gave the parents. I'd share all my notes but the great stuff was done by her. She trains professors at Texas Tech about the students they are dealing with. Wonderful having amazing people in our churches.

Txt Quiz

LOL __________________

brb __________________

lol __________________

L8r __________________

osm __________________

btw __________________

idk __________________

ttfn __________________

rofl __________________

imo/imho __________________

ALL CAPS equals ________________________

How much does The LG Texting National Championship award the winner for school?

2008-11-06T08:03:00.004-06:00

I loved the concept of Youth Ministry 3.0 since last years NYWC in Atlanta when the content was Marko's general session. (It was the only CD I bought from the entire convention.)

The Marko does a great job defining and describing Youth Ministry 1.0, (40's, Founding of Youth For Christ, etc) Youth Ministry 2.0, (YS starting, bigger and better through Y2K) and Youth Ministry 3.0. He does not tell us what it has to become but rather gives principles that describe this generation and how we must change to better reach them for and with the Gospel.

This is a book that youth workers need to read. I think the strength of it is how he articulates what most youth ministry vets would agree is happening and he gives us good verbage for us to use.

The need for communion/community is talked about and truly Marko lives it out whether it's through his annual young notorious sinners group, church, home church, the YS staff and with youth workers across the country.

Community was also a part of how the book took shape. There are sidebar comments but they are from in the trenches youth ministry experts not the speaker/writer youth ministry experts. Youth Ministry World needs both but I prefer the first group for this book because it reinforces the local church by honoring local church leaders. For some reason Marko mentioned me in his Acknowledgements for something I must have said that provided fodder for him or group concensus.

Here is Youthworker Journal's Highlights of Youth Ministry 3.0 and here are some of my favorite quotes:

"We cannot build a great youth ministry to reach Youth Culture 3.0 teenagers with Youth Ministry 2.0 methods or thinking. "

"Real change is absolutely messy. Always."

"Youth Ministry 3.0 in your context should look different than Youth Ministry 3.0 in the church down the street."

"Affinity has become the pathway to identity and formation."

Buy it, like it or not, you need to interact with it (Join the YM 3.0 Facebook Group) and if you do, you will be better off for doing so.

1,000 the post!

2008-10-16T11:04:00.002-05:00

Good time to be in Youth Ministry

If I do the youth ministry experience math like most youth ministry speakers, I've now been involved in youth ministry for 20 years. ("involved" is code for volunteer while in college so it pads an extra 4-6 years unto your full time experience.) So much quality training is being offered that everyone wins.

I'm not attending any of the youth ministry conventions this year because I promised my wife that as long as she was back in school at Texas Tech, I wouldn't do any ministry travel that wasn't necessary.

So I won't be attending any of the awesome National Youth Worker Conventions by Youth Specialties or the National Youth Ministry Convention by SimplyYouthMinistry and/or GROUP. I'm fortunate to know guys involved with both business. . . er . . . ministries that make a buck and I'm excited because I know teir hearts and am thrilled that they both exist to encourage, equip and love youth workers.

Here's the promo video for the National Youth Ministry Convention:

Here's some free training from YS Podcast:

It's a great time to be in youth ministry.

999th post BTW

2008-10-09T14:00:00.005-05:00

Around the Horn

1. Kara Powell Interviews Tony Jones Tony and Kara discuss insights related to research on the college transition, specifically the “identity lockbox” theory discussed in the article entitled The Lockbox Theory: Surprising Implications for Your Students, by Meredith Miller.

2. Chuck Swindoll on Illustrations & Application in preaching.

3. Teen Sets Record for Blowing Up Baloons with Nose

4. Should Parents Take Away Church Activities? Poll Results from HomeWord

5. The Rays and Red Sox: Birth of an intense rivalry.

Can the Red Sox take the first two? I'm about to find out!

2008-10-08T09:53:00.002-05:00

Reflective Pic

I loved this picture from Wired: Top 10 Photos

It reminded me of something from Every Picture Tells a Story (which is among my all time favorite youth ministry resources, BTW) by The Marko.

2008-09-30T16:57:00.001-05:00

Simple event but a lot of fun.

1. Join the Duck Tape Club

2. That's where you can download the Duct Tape Font.

3. The Welcome Kit gives you Trivia, History and a membership card you can use.

4. Duct Tape @ the Movies (I read some of these during one of the activities when they were working as a group.)

5. How to make a Duct Tape Rose.

6. Duct Tape Pet.

7. How to Make a Duct Tape Wallet

8. Duct Tape Cartoons

9. Potential Duct Tape Games

What can you do with Duct Tape? * Teams make a list of the most uses of duct tape. We had quantity and quality winners for creativity.

Roll it! * Parking lot or Sanctuary see who can roll a roll of duct tape the farthest.

duct tape hockey * Duct Tape is your Puck

Three legged race * Duct tape the legs together

Stand up! * Duct tape 2 guys back 2 Back and see who can stand up the fastest between the various teams

Duct Tape Pictures * This was fun. I bought 8.5 x 11 foam sheets, cut them in half and gave each team 1/2 a sheet of the thin foam. That was their canvas and they each got strips of the various colored duct tape as their paint. (I got most of those colors at Wal-Mart in their paint section) I gave each adult on the team an exacto knife to help with the details.

Duct tape creations * This was an optional activity to do before they came. To make something out of duct tape and bring it. The adults judged the entries. I will post pics as soon as they are put online.

Duct Tape Frisbee Toss * Wal-Mart's craft section provided this idea. Small round foam discs are covered in duct tape and then thrown in games or at each other.

Duct Tape Ball N Cup Catch * Have each student wrap the outside of a styrofoam coffee cup in duct tape and each pair makes a duct tape ball a little smaller than a tennis ball. Then it's an old fashioned egg toss.

Duct Tape Kick Ball * Yep, wrap it up and play with your normal rules.

Duct Tape Wall Challenge * Teams race to see who can duct tape a member of the team to the wall the fastest. Have person stand on a chair against the wall. first team to pull the chair away from the wall and ther person hangs on the wall for a minute wins.

Duct Tape Slide Show * Thought about it but didn't get around to having a slide show of all the various uses of Duct Tape.

The Duct tape wallet and Rose instructions were given to the students as handouts when they left.

We only had two details in promoting it. 1. Everyone was asked to bring 2 rolls of duct tape and one was fine. 2. Create anything with duct tape and bring it to the Duct Tape Night to be judged.

Prizes included old plastic cups in various sizes wrapped in duct tape.

Two small paper back bibles wrapped in Duct Tape. Guys got Black and girls had a cool striped one with a flower on it that one of my students created.

Wrapped an old tin container with a lid in Duct Tape and suddenly it's a cool container for that misc stuff.

Mr. & Mrs Duct Tape: I wrapped a Ken and Barbie doll in various colors of duct tape for their clothes and mounted them with duct tape, of course, to small candle stands so they became tropies.

Duct Tape Devo: Jesus is like Duct Tape, He can fix anything.

2008-09-23T11:21:00.002-05:00

Did You Lose Your Horse Today?

Like most of you, I have been hearing a lot of personal examples of “disaster” this week. No gas, no job, no retirement fund, worthless stock, cancelled vacations, and general uncertainty. Rather than trying to create something profound I’d like to share this old story.

Once there was an old man who lived in a tiny village. Although poor, he was envied by all, because he owned a beautiful white horse. People offered fabulous prices for the horse, but the old man always refused. “This horse is a friend, not a possession,” he would respond.

One morning the horse was not in the stable. All the villagers said, “You old fool. We told you someone would steal that beautiful horse. You could at least have gotten the money. Now the horse is gone, and you’ve been cursed with misfortune.”

Read the rest of Dan Miller's story

2008-09-22T14:22:00.003-05:00

How does a leader know they are right?

A seminary student, who was in my first youth group soo long ago, wrote the following to his trusted contacts a few days ago:

I had the opportunity to walk across Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary with Chuck Colson. Given his extensive roles in leadership, I asked him about leadership.

Given that all of you have lived in life for a while, and many of you had either had leadership positions or have dealt with people who are leaders, would you please answer the following question:

How does a leader know when they are right and, in the face of opposition within and without, stand their ground and remain true to their idea of "right", versus knowing when to humbly admit being wrong even when he/she was previously convinced of his/her being in the right?

Here is my quickly written response:

Right for me is determined by my understanding of biblical principles and my personal values on how those principles should and could be lived out.

Opposition can be taken on with full force when it's over a 100% clear biblical principle, (If someone is against evangelism or the Virgin Birth, there is no wiggle room) however most conflicts occur over style and fleshing out of the values. And even though there really isn't a biblical mandate on how something should be done, from the kind of building to build, style of worship to use, or even what to serve at a church potluck, people can and will get upset over it not being their way.

When leadership (Most often times, that doesn't include the youth pastor) is agreed on the course of action then it's a matter of sharing it in a way that's understandable and people are able to buy into it. When people disagree with the plan of action, leadership should humbly listen and consider their issues because even our greatest enemy should have some truth about ourselves and our plans, though it may be exagerrated, when they share it with us.

You have to ask yourself is it worth it dying on this hill? Oftentimes, it's not. We'd like to think it is but in reality we think it is because we have a bigger value on our vision and goals than they are probably worth. Is it better to love and be wronged and hope eventually the other group (or the leader) comes together for God's glory or is better to be right and opliterate a person in the process?

It's very hard dealing with real people. But thankfully God is also dealing with us and we need to show the same patience to them that he gives to us.

Len

What would you say?

2008-09-19T22:06:00.002-05:00

Remembering Rich

Watched part of the "Here in America" DVD since today is the 11th anniversary of the bare footed ragamuffin going out like Elijah.

I still miss Rich. I want the following song played at my funeral.

2008-09-16T11:58:00.001-05:00

Nearly 7.5 Million Views

2008-09-15T11:42:00.002-05:00

What's Right with Youth Ministry?

My boy Adam just asked the question, What's Right with Youth Ministry? over at the YS blog.

Please share your answer with others.

Mine was:

Our students truly care for each other as much as possible for teenagers to do.

Recently a student’s dad had a heart attack and died while we were on our fall retreat. The outpouring of love and concern for her and her sister has been a testimony to our students faith.

Real faith met the reality of life in our group and our students have met the challenge.

It's still hard to think about and even write about because he was so dear to so many of us. Being there with her while she got the news was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in ministry and I still hurt for them.

God was there amidst our pain and hurt and even during the rest of the weekend but it was a grueling emotional experience. I still cry when I think about it all.

2008-09-09T14:02:00.000-05:00

My Girls

2008-09-05T11:19:00.002-05:00

Free Friendship Mixer/Game

We're starting a short series on friendship this Sunday and here's something I did that will be used a mixer (Probably have them find a partner and fill it out together) as I introduce the topic. Use it as you wish, if you wish.

Fantastic Friends

1. ______________________
A Movie about Friends

2. ______________________
A Song about Friends

3. ______________________
A TV Show about Friends

4. ______________________
Famous TV Friendships

5. ______________________
Famous Friendships with Animals

6. ______________________
Something Friends do together

7. ______________________
Something Friends talk about

8. ______________________
Something Friends do for each other

9. ______________________
A Friend would help you . . . . . . .

10. ______________________
Best thing about having friends

2008-09-04T00:12:00.005-05:00

MVPedroria (Yeah, he's the "Rudy" in the picture below)

I think last year's Rookie of the Year in the AL has a decent chance to be this year's MVP.

The following text is taken from here: Definition of a "Gamer" . . . .Red Sox second baseman, Dustin Pedroia. . . . . . Not many teams can afford to lose three to four sluggers for significant time and not feel it, then again, not many teams have a 5'7" second baseman whose hitting .330 and batting cleanup.

That second baseman has knocked in 8 runs, hit two homers, and is hitting .615 over the past three games. A small sample? You can take the 76 RBI's and 17 home runs over the last 136 games if you'd like. Pedroia tops all competition for MVP with 110 runs scored and for a guy who is supposed to have "questionable speed", he's only been caught stealing once in eighteen tries. How about his defense? Compared with Ian Kinsler, fellow second baseman and MVP candidate, whose made 18 errors in 700 chances, it's no question. Pedroia has been playing gold glove defense this season, converting 85 double plays and just six errors in 633 total chances.

Pedroia's Latest Heroics & Pedroia Keeps Red Sox on Course

& from Little Big Man

Pedroia rebounded to be Rookie of the Year, and now he’s hearing MVP chants in his second season. He could easily win a Gold Glove and the batting title. He leads the league in batting average, hits, runs and multi-hit games. He’s third in total bases and doubles.

Pedroia is the first player in club history to have games in the same season in which he has scored five runs, knocked in five, and had five hits. He already has scored more runs and had more hits in a season than any other Red Sox second baseman. One more double will tie Jody Reed’s club record for his position.

He’s headed past 20 homers and 20 steals.

If the argument were who gets the most out of his size and ability, they could start engraving the MVP trophy now. But let’s not start any engraving just yet.

He is just one of four second basemen to have 180 hits, 100 runs, 40 doubles and 15 home runs in a season. He also scored 33 runs in August, most for a Sox player in the month since 1950.

Sarabeth and I are going to see the Saturday Red Sox game when they play the Texas Rangers. Woo Hoo!

A Closer Look at the Death of the '08 Yankees

These Yankees are just not good or tough enough

2008-09-02T00:03:00.001-05:00

Latest Youth Ministry Interviews

The Leadership Edition:

Aubrey Malphurs & Angie Ward

2008-08-27T10:25:00.005-05:00

Good Stuff

The Rebooted YS Podcast #2 hosted by Adam Mclane announced a Weird Thing in the Youth Workers Office Contest.

I have way too many options of weird things in my office but went for the most unique collection which is this:

Bonus Contest: How many of the figures can you name? (Bigger Picture)

In case you don't get Simply Youth Ministry's email, here's their latest freebie: 2008 Summer Olympic Trivia Power Point Game.

Plus, I'll be handing out 10 Things a Great Small Group Leader Does with my volunteers this school year.

Here's Tim Ellsworth collection of articles he wrote while at the Olympics.

2008-08-25T01:22:00.002-05:00

The Reference Letter Youth Pastors Dream of Writing

To Whom It May Concern:

It is with hesitation that I write this letter of recommendation for Bob. I have known Bob for over four years but honestly, you can't get to know each other too well when three of those years were monthly visits during his treatment. Since that time I have watched him grow and mature into a fairly decent young man but when compared to his friends who are still being treated, he's a winner. All that to say, he’s above average, by a little bit.

He has always desired leadership within our group and we let him be with us but he never really belonged. Certain trips required local community service hours and the raising of money to pay for the trip. Bob was forced to go on these trips by his parents so it would one day look good for college but his heart was never in it. Though Bob has fooled many people into thinking what a good guy he is, I have seen the other side.

I had some aspirations for Bob’s future until he went down the road of injustice by intentionally defacing property and stealing someone’s lawn gnome. He has the rare ability to look beyond others needs and focus on his own. To describe his character I can only say, he’s a character.

I have worked with a great number of high school students over the last ten years and he is truly among the bottom 10%. But among that 10% he is on top. I hope that this letter will appease him and he will stop threatening to hurt me and my property if I don’t give him a positive reference.

Please don’t share this information with anyone,

Bob's Youth Pastor

2008-08-19T22:28:00.002-05:00

I Got It

Thought about this when I first read about it but once I saw the one and only Matthew McNutt had it, I knew I had to be cool like him.

I'm looking foward to using it and it'll make sending texts out to my students so much easier, so it should be a good thing all around.

One month is free and if you are like 95% of most youth workers your motto is "If it's free, it's for me!" So watch the commercial. . . er. . . informational clip and get the Free 30 day SimplyTXT subscription.

2008-08-14T21:28:00.003-05:00

Ideas for Small Group Activities

I just did this for my church, use it and adapt it if you wish. If you use it and you don't live in Lubbock, you will Definitely want to tweak #30. Also if you want to share other ideas in the comments so I can add more that'd be greatly appreciated.

1 5 Q's: Everyone has to come with 5 Questions everyone else has to answer

2 Adopt a College Student: Talk to Dug McAlpine (InterVarsity) or Collin Arledge (Campus Crusade) for ideas.

3 Baseball Card Shop: Buy something for your Youth Pastor

4 Batting Cages

5 Bowling

6 Card Games: Teach your students Hearts, Spades or similar card game.

7 Chalking: Pick someone to encourage and chalk their driveway with GOOD things.

8 Clay Café: Paint a plate or anything else together and pick it up in a week.

9 College Students Love Free Food: Invite a college student from church over for dinner with your group.

10 Cooking Night: Learn to Make a Dish Together

11 Cops on a Break: Doughnuts & Coffee

12 FAQ's: Borrow 4-7 of Len's Discussion starter books and have each member take turns asking questions.

13 Favorite Movie Night: Have everyone bring their favorite movie and then choose which one to watch. Or agree to watch them all by the end of the school year together.

14 Game Night!: Pick your favorite board game and play it with the students. Have everyone bring snacks.

15 Geek Out: Have members bring their something to share about their favorite "Geeky" activitiy and talk about it with each other.

16 Go Cruising: Ask the students to take you to the places where teens hang out and talk with them while they are trapped in the car about connections, friendships, why people feel a need to gather together.

17 Hack into the Department of Defense Computers and ask it if it wants to play chess.

18 Ice Skating

19 International Dinner: Make something or choose a restaurant that serves Chinese, Mexican or Italian

20 Memory Lane: Let them see your yearbooks

21 Movie @ Home

22 Movie @ Theater

23 Plan a Youth Event: Hey, You never know, it might happen.

24 Putt - Putt

25 Smorgasbord Night: Have everyone bring enough of their favorite food for the group but you don't tell each other what the dishes will be.

26 Scrabble

27 Service Project: Help someone in the church. Mow their lawn, clean their closets, babysit their kids, discover a need and help meet that need.

28 Shoot Hoops: A Driveway is fine

29 Shopping: Not my gig, but maybe it's yours.

30 Texas Tech Sporting Event

31 Trivial Pursuit

32 Video Games: Not much interaction but trash talk, but it's a start.

33 Your Own Idea & Creativity Works Best! Thanks for loving Jesus and for loving our students!

2008-08-14T14:21:00.000-05:00

Your soul is the place where you know there is a God even before you meet Him. The soul is that in us which longs for the right thing. And once we come into a relationship with God, it's the place where we commune with Him. The soul can be filled with God or devoid of Him, but if it is empty, God is the only thing that will fill it. We can throw all sorts of pleasures and loves in there, but none will satisfy like God, because the soul was made to long for Him and no other. When God breathed into Adam, he became a living soul, forever longing for God's breath to fill him again.

John Fischer in Growing Your Soul

2008-08-11T21:48:00.002-05:00

Don't Shoot the Messenger

It's real, not a story from The Door. Let the comments begin.

2008-08-01T08:46:00.002-05:00

Cool Stuff

My friend Dave Weise just posted this wonderful video. Once while speaking at a retreat in PA Dave painted a different cool thing while I was teaching and the youth ministry kept it in their youth room.

I think the artistic skills I didn't get when born were given to Dave.

2008-08-01T08:11:00.001-05:00

Earlier in the Summer, I was able to preach at my church and it was for the Senior Sunday or Youth Sunday. I had planned on talking about Wisdom for Our Seniors and I was about 1/2 way through the prep for it when I got the SYM freebie notification and I saw the How Not to Be a Fool curriculum and got it.

I had won a cool $500 value prize package or so before from Pastor2Youth in one of Ryan's contests but it did not include a 3 week series.

This was a great thing to have and use. The series has to be based on Andy Stanley's "The Best Question Ever" but it comes with a power point game for each week and easily produced and adapted outlines. There's a sample lesson even on the freebies list.

I tend to not buy too much curriculum but I was happy enough with this to let those who care, know about it.

2008-07-31T12:32:00.005-05:00

Hurting Youth Workers

Back in January, Simply Youth Ministry published my article, Pushing Through.

The responses have been humbling, encouraging and at times, broken my heart. Andy let me know about the latest comment and I'm planning on writing a response later today.

If you haven't read the article, please do and leave a comment on how you would reply to this:

22 years and counting. You guys may be in YM ICU, but I might be in the burn unit! I'm tired of constant bickering of church members who would rather complain than help. It's been the same story for all these years, but now my 43 year old heart can't take it anymore. I think I know the answer to why long term YP's are not found often in church ministry...sniff the wind and smell the burn. Not only the burn out, but the burn that comes from people who'd rather stay annonymous but still willing to bash you through their annonymity. Am I speaking anyone else's language? I don't know if I'm willing to remain in church ministry...perhaps, probably...I guess. It is what the Lord gave me a passion for -- that is what hurts the most -- knowing God called me to this and wanting to stay...and then another bash from another annoymous source. Yeah, I know they say just consider you might be doing something right 'cause Satan is attacking you. I guess that holds some truth, but I don't know how much more I have in me.

Update - Here's my reply:

Tommy,

Sorry you have been through it and are in it now. I think a big part of it is church folks don't know how to fight fair when they have a conflict or if they are upset with you. They don't follow Matthew 18 if they are even able to find Matthew 18.

There are no easy answers and you know all the answers anyway but know that you are not alone and you serve a Faithful God even when his people are not. Rest in Him and not your calling or even your church.

If you are in your "Dark Night of the Soul" as I was, you have to go through it alone but know that others have been through it and God is with you now even when he seems far away.

Love your enemies, even when they sit next to you, anonymously, in the pew.

2008-07-29T23:08:00.002-05:00

My Good Mate is Blogging

Martin is blogging over at the 2 Blokes Blog and he is always fun to read.

Met Martin (on the left) and Jim (on the right) one year at a National Youth Worker Convention in Dallas. Wonderful nights hanging out, talking and laughing with other friends.

Two years later in Austin I was working the booth for The Journal of Student Ministries when I heard this British voice behind me and alas, it was Martin. So we had another good round of nights hanging out and catching up. This time however Jim was not with him but I did get to meet Chris and I still read his blog.

He is paranoid about having a big head (pic) and though the pic is at a baseball game (Cubs I believe) he is not a baseball fan but I've tried to convert him to being a Red Sox fan and I'm now a West Ham United fan in his honor.

So go read his blog and mind your P's and Q's while you are there.

2008-07-16T16:11:00.008-05:00

Red Sox Update

The 8.5 foot Boston Red Sox Statue of Liberty was part of the Statues of Liberty on Parade to celebrate the All-Star Game being in New York at The House That Ruth Built for the last time.

The Red Sox Statue of Liberty T-shirt is okay but not as cool as the real deal. Even though it would look great in my Red Sox Man Cave, I'm going to have to pass on the final price of $9,250.00.

So here we are halfway through the season and the Red Sox are where they are supposed to be, on top of the AL East. It wasn't easy but they are in first.

* They are tied with the most wins in baseball with the Angels and the Cubbies.

* Yankee Fans are still jerks. (Cartoon version) When we lived in NJ from 94-97 my wife became a Yankees fan. After living near hard core, trash talking Yankee Fans in CT from 1999-2004 she left the darkness and became a Red Sox fan so we could be equally yoked.

* The Red Sox are still favored to win the World Series.

* As it would turn out, in only 21 of 97 games through Sunday's All-Star break were the Red Sox's optimum starting lineup available for an entire game, and none since May 25.

* Do the Boston Red Sox now have the "might" stuff? A few years after breaking the shackles of a since-forgotten 86-year curse, are the Sox poised to take their new identity to the next level? Will the Red Sox be able to make it two in a row?

Better question: Who is going to stop them?

Red Sox Rap

Sweet Caroline!

2008-07-15T09:49:00.003-05:00

I sent in a lesson for Interlinc this week using a DVD from Drive Thru History that was about the founding of our country and God's faithfulness to the settlers of Plymouth. From what I saw this resource seemed to be more balanced than those that hold the America was and is a Christian Nation view.

Anyway, here's part of what I wrote and I thought it would be a good reminder for all of us, especially me, and I wrote it:

God was in control and sovereign when our country began and God is in control and sovereign in our country today. In this election year it's easy to focus on your candidate and all that you do not like about the other candidate. (Thank God you live in a country where you are allowed to do that. From the days of Noah till today, it's not as common as you might think.)

Whoever you support and whoever wins, as believers we should be praying for our leaders whether or not you support their views on the economy, taxes, war, drilling for oil in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) or their particular flavor of faith. We are commanded to pray for them. So begin praying today for the election and for both candidates.

Pray for five government officials. It'd be good if we all pray for the President. The remaining four you can figure out who you want to pray for. Maybe it's the vice president, maybe it's a member of the President's Cabinet, maybe it's your mayor, or maybe it's your school board chairperson.

Begin praying and rest that God is in control and we can always trust him even during and maybe especially during an election year.

Romans 13:1-7
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

1 Timothy 2:1-2
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

2008-07-01T08:23:00.004-05:00

Around the Horn

I promise I have some original thoughts in me but for now, this is what I have. Figured better to put something up than nothing and hopefully get back in the groove of spewing thoughts on the blog.

1. Big congrats to Dale on the new ministry & Gman, too.

2. I'm super pumped about Real World Parents for a variety of reasons. Check it out and consider being one of their trainers. I was able to talk to Mark for a long time about it while at camp and it's going to be wonderful.

3. Bill has been re-thinking discipleship.

4. My friend Tim Adams has started a wonderful blog focused on Urban Ministry. Tim's son is really named Sam Adams.

5. Seth gives us a great list of free discipleship resources.

6. Bob reminds us to pray our calendar and to get everything done, we only have to do 2 things.

7. Ginger had a great article in the NNYM mag, "Reaching Out to Pregnant Teens."

8. Rudy is taking over the Urban Take column in Youth Worker Journal.

9. Got some love from The Marko in his upcoming book (Youth Ministry 3.0: A Manifesto of Where We’ve Been, Where We Are & Where We Need to Go) in the Dedication and Acknowledgements section.

Lastly some humor from Ian:

2008-06-27T17:00:00.002-05:00

Foundational Verses for Your Youth Ministry

If you had to list at least 5 but no more than 10 short passages or verses that were the biblical foundation for what your youth ministry was about, which ones would you choose and why?

If you want to leave a reply with a link to your blog and your answers, that'd be wonderful.

2008-06-17T13:41:00.002-05:00

Camp Update

I'm at the PlanetWisdom Camp with seven of my Jr High guys and we're having a good time. One church drove 17 hrs from South Carolina to be here because they've loved it so much in the past.

Funniest moment so far was being called "Mr. Big Booty" by two girls I do not know from some other church.

While waiting outside last night for the main session we were so bored, I taught my guys how to play "Big Booty". This group had never seen the game before so I taught them too after they watched us play it a couple of times.

So I'm now "Mr. Big Booty". Not sure how to take that one. Need to make sure it just refers to the game and not my booty. Guess I need to get off my booty to make that happen.

2008-06-11T10:15:00.002-05:00

Re-Marketing the Church

by John Koessler

The whole article is short and worth the read but here's the "Money Quote" in my opinion:

"For decades now we have been telling churches to think about the customer and to shape their services with the unchurched in view. As a result, countless congregations have struggled to rethink the way they do church. They have changed day and time when they meet, the content of the sermon has been popularized, and the style of music has been altered. All of this has been done in an effort to make unchurched Harry and unchurched Mary feel at home. Church members who feel uncomfortable with these changes have been told that they need to sacrifice their own tastes for the sake of the church's mission."

2008-06-09T15:49:00.002-05:00

ReThinking Youth Ministry

The latest interview on the Youth Ministry Inteviews blog is Steve Wright.

Steve is the author of reThink - Is Student Ministry Working? and you can hear an audio message from Steve on the topic of the book, here.

You owe it to yourself to visit Steve's blog and look through it.

I ordered the book and should finally start reading it this week.

Doug Jones reviewed it here and here.

2008-06-05T17:19:00.000-05:00

How Much Do You Hate MySpace?

2008-05-29T20:56:00.002-05:00

A Little Encouragement Goes a Long Way

I have a prayer team that regularly prays for me and I try to send them regular updates on ministry and life so they can pray more specifically for things.

Here's a response I got with my last prayer letter:

I will pray for your request & I will Praise Him for sending you to Lubbock

A big smile appeared on my face as I read that short line filled with lots of love.

I hope people are praying for you and your ministry and I also hope we all remember to give encouragment to others because even a little encouragement can go a long way in someones heart.

2008-05-29T12:29:00.003-05:00

Finding Longevity in Youth Ministry

I had the privilege of writing an article for Brenda & WildFrontier earlier this month and here it is.

Finding Longevity in Youth Ministry

I put the Loooong in Longevity when writing it but I don't know which parts I would have taken out.

I would greatly appreciate any thoughts on my thoughts.

Thanks!

2008-05-28T22:33:00.002-05:00

Mission Trip Season is Around the Corner

I thought this might interest some of my youth ministry tribal mates.

Our daughter is going to Japan next week with the Lubbock Junior Ambassador program so we decided to look into travel insurance for her.

We found two companies that are about the same and be purchased a policy for her, just in case.

I just sent this out to the parents of our students who are going to Mexico City on our mission trip in July.

Thought you guys and gals might want to pass it on too.

Company #1

Company #2

Cost should be in the $10-$15 range for a week and probably 750K - 1M in coverage.

Because you read this far, here's some bonus mission trip humor: Kids Who Should Have Stayed Home.

2008-05-28T20:17:00.002-05:00

Around the Horn

1. Kara Powell is the latest to be interviewed on the Youth Ministry Interviews Blog.

2. Chap Clark started blogging.

3. Chuck Swindoll posts about Stepping Out In Faith. Thought of a few friends who are doing this now through a variety of circumstances.

4. $4 Gas it's here or it's coming. From a friend who lives in SD.

5. Jesus is not a CEO, despite what some pastors and church leaders may think.

6. Bob Hyatt aka Mr. PastorHacks oozes with joy over Evernote. (I have 18 invites left, if you want in on the beta version.)

7. All things Matt McGill can now be located at Hokma.com.

8. Peacemaker Ministries is now blogging but more importantly for my friends, (cyber-lurkers & cyber-stalkers included) they've finally produced The Peacemaker Student Edition: Handling Conflict without Fighting Back or Running Away.

Today's teens face conflicts at school, the workplace, at church, and at home. But instead of responding with anger or giving up on the relationships, they can be peacemakers! Writing to teens, parents, and youth workers, Ken Sande and Kevin Johnson show how applying biblical principles to contentious situations can bring about forgiveness and reconciliation. By distilling the biblical principles found in The Peacemaker into an accessible format--filled with stories and scenarios that teens can easily relate to--this much-needed resource is ideal for individual or group study (discussion questions are included for each chapter).

Chapter one is free on their site.

9. Baby Baptized at the Cathedral of Baseball: Fenway Park

HT2 Tim Ellsworth

2008-05-12T20:55:00.003-05:00

The Dental Floss of the Spiritual Disciplines

Trinity Baptist Church in Fairfield, CT is doing a 40 day Spiritual Disciplines Blog devotional for their church family. It's being written by members of the church. I was their youth pastor from 2000-2004. Once while I was there I had the nerve to tell the students if 25 of them memorized 4 passages of scripture (about 9 verses) I would recite from memory the four chapters of Philippians. I had memorized Philippians in college and I needed an excuse to get it down pat again. Well, much to my surprise, 28 students agreed and about 2 months later I recited Philippians to the youth group. At the time, the women's ministry was finishing a Bible Study on Philippians and they asked me to come recite it to them also. I even did Philippians 2 for a sermon, I think, at one point when the pastor was preaching. All that to say, I guess it made an impression on them and they asked me to write a devotional about memorizing scripture for them. It's an honor to be able to still contribute something to a group of people I still love:

Flossing is one of those things that we know we should do but most of us don’t do it regularly, if at all. The benefits of flossing have been told to us since we were children. They invented mint floss to help with the flavor and the new “flossers” that make it easier to reach those spaces between our teeth to help us form a good habit and yet, most of Americans still don’t floss. 28% of Americans say they floss daily but actual sales of floss don't match that claim.

Is it because we doubt the experts?

No.

Is it because we don’t know the truth?

No.

It’s because we don’t choose what is best for our dental health.

I believe memorizing scripture is the dental floss of the spiritual disciplines. We all know we should memorize God’s word in one form or another. The righteous man is to meditate on God’s law during the day and night. (Psalm 1) Hiding God’s word in our heart helps us resist temptation. (Psalm 119:11, Matthew 4:1-10) We are told to write God’s commands on our hearts. (Proverbs 7:1-3)

Sometimes God’s will is hard to discern but in this area God’s will is clear. It pleases God for his children to meditate on his word. Memorizing scripture marinates your mind with God’s truth so you are more prepared to do his will. (Romans 12:1-2)

We need to put our knowledge into action and not just soak up truth. (James 1:22)

Three keys for memorizing scripture:

1. Review
2. Review
3. Review

The Topical Memory System is a great place to start or you can write down your favorite verses on note cards. Keep them in front of you and read them in those spare moments during the day (red lights, waiting in line at the store, etc.) Before you know it, you’ll have God’s Word hidden in your heart.

If you prefer, you can do larger portions such as favorite chapters of the bible or even a small book, like Philippians. It’s actually easier to do large chunks than random verses but we all need to have some basic verses in our mind so we will also be prepared to give the reason for our hope when people ask. (1 Peter 3:15)

Choose what is best for your spiritual health.

If you are motivated to begin and want more basic details read: How to Memorize Scripture.

2008-05-12T18:18:00.002-05:00

The Journal of Student Ministries

You can now view the current The Journal of Student Ministries online for free. You have to fill out a quick survey but it's like a PDF. Get it here.

Saw that my friend Dave Decker had an article put up today, The Journey of Life.

My blog post What If? is now up at The Journal of Student Ministries, too.

2008-05-11T06:47:00.002-05:00

It could have made national headlines

A coach for the opposing 8yr old girls machine pitch softball team seemed to want to get in a fight with me, last night.

It was the strangest thing I've experienced in a very long time. My daughters team was getting trashed, I think the final score was a lot to a little. I was sitting behind the plate with my wife, other daughter and two other parents when the umpire made a call to send the opposing player back to third so she didn't score.

This coach was upset about the call argued some and then the next girl struck out. The coach was sill upset about it as a he walked past the umpire and looked at the guy next to me and said, "Look at at scoreboard." I laughed out loud because the guy was trash talking about the score for a girls 8 year old machine picth softball game which pretty much equates trashing taking over a boy's t-ball game.

I got up to go coach first base, which is how I volunteer, so I walked through the opposing teams dugout and through the team. As I did and I walked past the coach he made some comment to me under his breath has I walked past him.

I said "Excuse me?" (Maybe i shouldn't have said that, I don't know.)

He replied with, "You think it's funny, huh?"

I said, "Yes, the umpire made the call to call time out and they kept running, I thought that was funny."

He said something else which implied if we weren't around the girls he'd hit him.

I said, "Listen, i'm a pastor, I have no desire to get in a fight. If I've done something to offend you, i'd appreciate knowing what it is so I can apologize."

He said, "I can see your cheeks getting flushed why don't you just keep walking before something happens."

Again I said, "Listen, again, if I did something personally to offend you i wasn to know what it is."

He said, "You better just keep walking away."

I extended my hand to apologize, he refused to shake it so I turned away and as I did he said, "So you're walking away, huh?"

I turned back and said, "you asked me to walk away and I did, why does that bother you?" No response.

As I walked back by him after the inning was over, I again offered my apologies if I in some way had offended him but he said, "Just keep walking" As I extened my hand to him.

I went back and told my wife and friends that the seemed to want to get in a fight with me but they at first didn't believe the story.

The coach finally shook my hand after the game as we all lined up to shake hands with the opposing players and coaches. It was very weird. I'm almost 40 years old and I'm not going to get in a fight over an 8yr old girl softball team..

2008-05-07T21:48:00.002-05:00

The Avengers Movie!

I was so sick, I didn't see Iron Man on opening night with my youth group. I'm planning on seeing it Friday. How sick was I? I slept so much on Thursday and Friday that by Friday night, my hips were sore.

Good news though for me is the Iron Man movie is a major hit with #2 coming out in 2010 and The Incredible Hulk movie opens in June. All this just increases my anticipation and hope for the film to be made after Thor, Captain America, and a rumored Ant-Man movie, which is The Avengers.

Now rumored to be in theaters by 2011.

Oh baby.

In related comic-book-cool-movie-news, Iron Fist is officially announced as a movie and he'll be played by Ray Park (who played Darth Maul is playing Snake Eyes in the upcoming G.I. Joe Movie.)

2008-05-05T09:12:00.002-05:00

Hat tip to you Mr. Julio Franco

Franco was a fun player to watch with the Rangers while I was in seminary from 92-94 and if you love baseball, you love Julio Franco. Why? Franco simply did some things that made a mockery of what baseball players are supposed to be able to do.

Franco faced a pitcher who faced Ted Williams. Jim Kaat walked Franco in 1982, Franco's rookie season. Kaat pitched to Williams in 1959.

Franco became the oldest regularly playing position player in Major League history, passing Cap Anson, the first player ever to amass 3,000 hits. Anson played until he was 46. There have been pitchers who outlasted Franco, who unfortunately never learned how to throw a knuckleball.

Franco convinced a team — the New York Mets — to give him a two-year contract in 2005. The multi-year commitment made sense, since Franco was just 45 then.

Franco hit a home run on April 20, 2006 that made him the oldest player to ever go deep. His last blast came on May 4, 2007, off Randy Johnson.

Other oldest-ever records he holds: oldest to hit a grand slam, oldest to hit a pinch-hit home run, oldest to hit two home runs in the same game, and oldest to steal two bases in the same game.

Want Julio's Health Tips? Read Breakfast at Julio's from 2006. It's intimidating.

Most of the text came from here.

2008-05-05T01:26:00.002-05:00

What If?

I just finished this for our parent's newsletter that goes out. I'm up way too late because I've been sick from Wed night till Sunday morning. I slept so much on Thursday and Friday, my hips were actually sore.

Here it is:

I like movies but I have a short list that make my “Movies I Love” List and Apollo 13 is one of them. There are many things about the story, both the true version and the Hollywood version, that I am enamored by. One of them is the team at NASA having a “What If Attitude”.

One of the major problems the crew and support staff faced was the rising levels of carbon dioxide in their “lifeboat”. The Aquarius was designed to support two astronauts so by having three in there at the same time the air was going to approach a dangerous level, very fast. A chemical called lithium hydroxide removes CO2 from the air and traps it.

The problem was there weren’t enough of lithium hydroxide canisters onboard to support three people.

There were more on the Odyssey but they were in a different shape so they had to design something out of the materials they had on board to function as a converter for the air filter. They used one of the canisters that didn’t fit, a flight plan cover, a sock, a plastic bag, a spacesuit hose and duct tape to create something that would save their lives.

It’s easier to have an If Only Attitude rather than a What If Attitude.

In the world of student ministry, it can look like this:

The If Only Attitude says things like, If only we had more money in the budget we could do better things, If only more students came then we’d be where we want to be, If only we had more support from the church or families we could . . . . . .

The What If Attitude says things like this, “What if we cancelled the mission trip and used that budget money to go towards. . . . What if we took care of the students who do come in such a great way they . . . . What if we communicated better with parents and the church about our needs. . .

The What If Attitude works with what you have and uses it in ways it was never designed for to accomplish great things.

In your own family which attitude is the norm, the If Only Attitude or the What If Attitude?

What would happen in your family, your marriage, your students lives and your church if you we were dominated by the What If Attitude?

I’m guessing it would look different for each of us and I believe God loves diversity that honors him.

I wonder. . . . . What If. . . . . . . ?

2008-04-29T09:23:00.001-05:00

New Interview

The interview with Brenda Seefeldt is up!

2008-04-28T12:33:00.002-05:00

Iron Man Lock-In

We're watching Iron Man this Friday @ 10:30 pm and then coming back to the church for a lock-in. We'll be waiting in line at the movies and I just finished writing these questions, use them if you want in anyway you want, if you'd like.

Q’s 2 ask while u wait n line.
1. Did you ever read comic books? What was your favorite?
2. If you could be any superhero who would you be? Why?
3. What’s your favorite food to eat while watching a movie?
4. Would you rather go to the theater or watch a DVD at home? Why?
5. If you could teleport to any place in the world right now, where would you choose?
6. Which of the X-men could Ironman beat, one on one?
7. Which of the Fantastic Four could Ironman, one on one?
8. Is there anything stressful in your life right now?
9. What is your favorite vacation?
10. Describe God in 10 words.
11. What is your dream job? Could do it for a living? Why or why not?
12. Who are your 3 best friends? How often do you talk with them?
13. What’s the best advice to give a person in the grade below you?
14. What does it mean to you to have a spiritual life?
15. How do you change things in your life to become better?
16. How often do you think about the future? What things would you like to happen?
17. What are top five things to look for in boyfriend/girlfriend?
18. If you could talk with one dead person for 3 hours, who would it be and why?
19. What’s the coolest gadget that you want?
20. Do you collect anything? Tell me about your collection.
21. What are you plans for the summer?
22. If you could go to any college, which one would you go to?
23. What are your favorite books?
24. What is the best superhero movie ever made?
25. If Batman borrowed Iron Man’s armor and it was powered by a very low level of Kryponite, could Batman beat Superman?

2008-04-28T11:48:00.004-05:00

Around the Horn

1. Who is your "Paul?"

Howard Hendricks says that everyone needs a Paul, a Barnabas and a Timothy in their life. A “Paul” is someone who is spiritually mature and experienced to give wisdom and guidance. A “Barnabas” is an encourager and a peer and to share common experiences with as we journey through life together. A “Timothy” is someone younger in the faith to invest into. We need all 3 in our lives.

2. Rick Bundschuh's Preaching Podcast

Rick is the pastor of Kauai Christian Fellowship, surfer, youth expert, writer, speaker, cartoonist and friend. I enjoy listening to Rick's messages.

3. Seth ask, Is an artist only as good as those who love him?

4. Cool way one youth group used performing arts in ministry to their church.

5. Pastor's Wives Revolt!

HT2 Bill

2008-04-28T11:05:00.002-05:00

Lock-In Survival Kit

We're having a lock-in this Friday and found something i've used in the past. Thought you might be able to use it.

1. Stress Reduction Kit (Use only in case of an Emergency)

2. Code Red: (Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but . . . . they became fully awake. Luke 9:32 CEV – Don’t fall asleep and be rebuked!)

3. PayDay (you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does. Ephesians 6:8 – Surely there will be a reward in heaven for this kind of service.)

4. Jolly Ranchers (Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS. . Philippians 4:4a – Even at 4am)

5. Rubber band (God might stretch you tonight)

6. Three 3 Musketeer’s (For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them. Matt. 18:20)

7. Baby Bottle Pop (1 Peter 2:2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, - Crave God like that and let the students know that about you.)

8. Dove Soap (2But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Gal. 5:22-23a – Let this be us, too)

9. Conversation Hearts (Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Colossians 4:6 – Listen and speak to as many students as you can but focus on a few.)

10. IsoFlex Stress Ball (Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6 – Let Prayer be our primary language during this event. )

2008-04-27T20:45:00.000-05:00

Hurting Youth Workers

For those who know me and my story it won't shock you that encouraging youth workers (especially hurting youth workers) is very close to my heart. I get occassional emails from youth workers replying to things I've had published over the years. Over this past month, I got two from different articles.

#1 I have never met you, but I just finished reading your article on the Youth Specialties web site (God is in Control...Yada...Yada...Yada) and I wanted to thank you for writing it. . . . . I just wanted to say that I appreciated hearing about another youth pastor who has cried with his wife over ministry issues and has really questioned staying or not.

I'd guess that this particular article has now reached 50 plus similar emails. I'm amazed by it's continued message to hurting youth workers and so glad that YS has kept it on their site.

#2 I too read your article from simply youth ministry. Just like you have done to many others, you have made me think. I have been a youth minister for 8 years and am currently studying to become a DIFFERENT PROFESSION. . . . . . I admit, I'm not happy in my local church and this has been the hardest year for me. Am I a quitter? I don't know. I worry that if I leave the local church that I am leaving my calling to youth ministry, even though the DIFFERENT PROFESSION involves ministering to youth. But honestly the thought of going to another church doesn't sound exciting to me. I'm so confused right now. I know you can't tell me what to do, man I wish you could, and I know you probably did not sign on to counsel youth ministers responding to your article. However, if you did have any thoughts on this to help out another youth minister, I'd greatly appreciate it, thanks!

What advice would you give to this second person?

2008-04-24T12:45:00.000-05:00

Great Question

Seth Godin asks, "Are you better at what you do than you were a month or two ago?"

2008-04-22T13:33:00.002-05:00

Ministry Wisdom from Chuck Swindoll

In whatever capacity you might minister---as a Bible teacher, as a student preparing for the ministry, as a woman of God ministering in your area of giftedness---your ministry is primarily people, not shuffling papers, not crunching numbers, not making phone calls, not writing letters, not planning programs, or noodling over strategies for the next decade. Of course, all of those things must be done. I must sign and/or write an average of forty to fifty letters a week and get involved in planning sessions too. Administrative details need to be handled. (As few as I can get by with!)

Do you know the most common thing I hear from individuals just beginning to come to our church? They want very much to get to know some of us on staff, and they'll say, "You don't know me, but I come on Sunday to hear you preach." And they almost apologize, as if to say, "Hey, I'm sorry to take your time, but I just want to shake your hand." I go out of my way to say to each one, "You are as important as anybody else in this entire church. There is no insignificant member of the family of God." I don't say this to make a good public relations statement or to make a good impression. I say it because I believe it---because it's true. Whoever you are, whatever you do, you are special before the God who has chosen you.

2008-04-21T13:41:00.003-05:00

Around the Horn: Youth Ministry Edition

1. Great resource from Jason Raitz via the YMExchange Newsletter, in case you aren't a subscriber: Communicator's Toolbox

I was very happy to see that my recommendation to Jason made it, Dr. Constable's Bible Study Notes. Dr. Thomas L. Constable wrote these (and are ever a work in progress) over a 25-year period, they span over 7,000 pages and present commentary on all 66 books of the Bible. He's the Department Chairman and Senior Professor of Bible Exposition at Dallas Theological Seminary.

2. A Revealing Conversation

About a year ago I ran into a 23-year-old former student from our youth ministry on my way to visit one of our youth cell groups. This young man was a 9th grader when I was hired as youth pastor. The conversation went like this:

Him: “So, how many you got coming now?”

3. Why teens enjoy fast food and what youth workers can learn

I found an interesting post on why teenagers enjoy eating fast food. It got me thinking about what we (youth workers) can learn about why teenagers might enjoy being involved in a youth ministry. Look at a few of the reasons noted for why teens like fast food...

4. Evaluating our Motives in Ministry

Ministry can be a deceptive thing. We can begin to do ministry as a big fish in a small pond mentality pretty quickly (starting to think ministry is about us - rather than the bigger picture of being a small part of God’s grand epic - the unfolding and revealing of God’s Kingdom). We can begin to have poor motives - ambition; success mentality and using people to forward our own agenda can all start to seep in and get mixed into our “ministry approach.”

2008-04-18T11:34:00.000-05:00

My Spritual Gift is Networking

I often joke with friends that my spiritual gift is networking because of my vast web of friendships. (I wrote an article for Group a few years ago that I have on PDF about networking if anyone wants a copy, just email me.) Part of it is because of my natural stengths, (Belief, Learner, Woo, Connectedness, & Intellection) part of it is by circumstances but also it's because I think those of us with this gift make good intial connections and we maintain those connections. (I'd put Riddle, McNutt, Jason, Adam, Mindi, Patti and a few other friends in this category.)

I joined LinkedIn two or three weeks ago and have 68 connections there from friends who were predominiantly already using their service. Here's my LinkeIn Profile, in case you already use it or if you are thinking about it.

LinkedIn lets you post full business info on it like your resume and past jobs. I got a notification that Dave Palmer had accepted my LinkedIn request to connect with him. Dave is the new vice president of marketing at Youth Specialties and on their Exec Team. So new, that there's not even a bio yet for him on the YS Staff page. I worked for Dave while he was the head advertising guy for The Journal of Student Ministries. (Worked used very loosely since I never actually made one ad sale for them during the madness of the time period where I was working whatever jobs I could find to help feed the family.) But we talked a few times and we've stayed in touch via facebook randomly.

So I went to Dave's work section just to get to know him better and saw that he had worked as the VP of marketing for Squint Entertainment during the hieght of Sixpence None the Richer's success. So I messaged him on facebook told him that I hosted the stop for Sixpence in San Antonio (at Alamo Heights UMC) when they were promoting their album that had "Kiss Me" on it and I thought it would have been funny if he had been there but doubted it because of his title. Well, he was there and remembered the stop because it was the last stop on the promo tour and he rememberd my other friend Greg Carnes. So whenever I should eventually meet Dave at a NYWC it'll really be a reunion.

This stuff happens to me more regularly than most, which is why I say, "Networking is my Spiritual Gift".

And this happened yesterday, I watched the first part of the Simply Youth Ministry Podcast (It's also a video feed) because Andy & Chris post it on Twitter (SYM Twitter List yet, McGill isn't on it, I'm sure it's an oversight and not personal, well. . . . maybe not 100% positive.) when it's about to happen. While listening to it there is a chat feature for those who are online. The SYM team asked who was going to the PDYM deal in Dallas. Someone mentioned they were 6 hours away from Dallas in the chat so i asked them where and they are in a church near Lubbock.

Chatted a bit online then left to pick up my daughter and while on the way, I called the church talked to him and we're having lunch next week. Chris is a 24 year old youth pastor and he friended me on facebook last night.

Like I said, networking is my a spiritual gift.

2008-04-17T09:02:00.002-05:00

The Patron Saint of Weight Loss for Youth Pastors

I talked to the Patron Saint of Weight Loss for Youth Pastors today, Mr. Matthew McNutt.

Matthew and I have been friends since we were in the same youth pastor network in CT with Mark Orr, before Mark was the NNYM Cooridnator for New England. I remember encouraging him in a parking lot about writing when I figured it'd be the last time I ever got to see him, face to face. (We wound up being roommates in 06 at the NYWC) He's now addicted to Twitter, BTW.

Anyway, called him just to let him know that I've now officially lost 20 pounds and wanted him to know. I have not lost as much as Marko, Riddle, Ken and many others in the "Bigger Loser than Marko" contest but over time I'll get there.

2008-04-15T16:02:00.003-05:00

Blogging Thoughts

I have been a bad blogger as of late (you can define how far back it goes). Been busy, sure, and lots going on, mostly good. But thought today that maybe part of it is i've stopped just rambling my thoughts and letting them stick to the proverbial blog wall regardless of the kind of shape they are in. That's the essence of blogging, IMHO, throwing thoughts out there for friends, strangers and future friends (and the occasional cyber stalker) to see, affirm, trash and otherwise interact with.

So, I will try and get back in that groove and not aim for everything being clean and making sense.

Today's ministry thoughts:

Had a lunch with someone from the church and while I was waiting for them, I was busy updating the Palm and thinking of all the things i had to do, should have already done, and dreamed of doing eventually.

Then it hit me, I wasn't there. I was there physically and ready to get together with my friend but i had not prepared my heart or soul for our conversation. So I put the Palm down and tried to just think about what I knew about the person, circumstances and life and pray about them and our meeting. Praying that I would be there and be aware of what he said beyond the words, that I might have an eternal moment while we were together.

It was an encouraging time and reminded me of the article I had read earlier today about spiritual friends.

2008-04-12T20:47:00.000-05:00

My Red Sox Man Cave

I finally have a space in our house that is 100% mine. The Red Sox Man Cave.

It is only about 11 x 13 but it's all mine. (With much love and appreciation to my wife, of course.) We moved into the house in June and we wanted to build a wall almost as soon as we moved in but I didn't know how to. A friend from church did so we waited until he was able to do it.

The wall was complete around a month or more ago but all the finishing pieces are now finally in place.

So bask in the wonder that is The Red Sox Man Cave as you take this virtual tour.

Pic #1 The quote on the wall was originally scribed by Mike Barnicle when he worked for the Boston Globe. It says:

Baseball is not

a life or death matter. . .

but the RED SOX are!

It was the finishing touch for the room.

The lettering came fr0m a new company, Upper Case Living. In case you or a spouse is looking for a good home-based busines, get in now while not many folks have heard about it.

Three of the five walls are lined with Red Sox baseball cards along the trim as a border. They are not common cards but rather a collection of my personal favorite Red Sox players. Some were not great players but they were great Red Sox players or i just liked something about their style.

Pic #2

The red wall is part of the wall we put in and we put the anique stained glass and smokey window in it. From the other side, it's perfectly centered and the kitchen view is what's important, after all, in a Man Cave, who cares if it's centered?

HomeDepot had carried MLB's offical colors as part of their Team Colors stuff but when we were finally ready to buy the paint, they had stopped carrying it.

We were ready to try and guess the colors but thanks to the wonders of computers the codes for the paints were still in the memory despite not "carrying them." So if you want your own Red Sox paint colors have HomeDepot paint man look up BRS Red & BRS Navy.

The Nomar jersey on the chair was a gift from a family from our church in CT. God Bless them.

Pic #3 Here's the wall that we built. (man grunts) Hoping to eventually have a RedSox Fathead of one type or another on this wall but for now it's a baseball card montage of my favorite Red Sox players.

The beanbag chair was a gift for my daughter a few years ago and she has decided to let it rest in that corner. The black and white pic has Babe Ruth in it when he was a great pitcher with the Red Sox.

Pic #4

Yes, that is my YankeesHater hat. Let's just say after a certain moment in 2003, I was more about the hate for the Yankees than love for the Red Sox, for a while. Despite that animosity towards the evil empire, and believing that God did hate the Fenway Faithful, I never gave in fully towards the negativity and bought the "Jesus Hates The Yankees" t-shirt. Instead I believed it was up to us to Battle Evil for the Good of the Game! (Full Disclosure: I wanted to buy the t-shirt but by wife kept rambling something about "being a bad example for your children" or something, so I surrendered and instead used that picture as my desktop.)

Yes, that's my daughters Red Sox Mr. Potato Head in the secretary. For all my youth ministry friends who are still with me, check out the "Church and Modern Youth" published in 1963 from Zondervan in the bottom right corner. One more tidbit, I found a 2nd copy and gave it to Marko as a thank you (for letting me write the book) gift.

The mini-pennant was from Build a Bear and the Ted Williams Bobblehead was a Christmas gift, that is a collectable and no longer available.

Pic #5
On top of the window is a 2004 World Champions License Plate frame.

The picture next to the window is a picture of the 2003 Red Sox. The 2003 Red Sox were one of the better offensive teams in the history of baseball. If you doubt that, think about this: the 2003 AL batting champion Bill Mueller batted 7th in the lineup with an avg of .326.

The center picture is a cross-stitch that my wife made for me before or right after we were engaged in 1990 while living in Montgomery, AL. When you come visit my house you'll see there is a red "B" on the batters helmet.

The wall clock was a Christmas gift, this past year.

Pic #6

The 2007 World Series Pillow and the Fenway Park Blanket were also Christmas presents this year.

That particular Wally the Green Monster had to be ordered from the Build-a-Bear Workshop in Boston for my daughter.

You can't see it but the patch on the backpack came from a trip to Fenway when Tonja was 8.5 months pregnant with our oldest in 1999. She promised me if she went into labor during the game, we could name her Fenway, alas, we went with a family name.

Pic #7

That poster of Ted "The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived" Williams is from the Boston Globe's tribute edition when he died in 2002. It'll get framed one day but for now, push pins will do. (Multiple Man grunts!)

We were in Boston on July 22, 2002 and walked through Fenway for the Memorial Event.

It also happens to be the day of my youngest daughter's earliest memory, at 3 years and 3 months old. She remembers sitting in the visitors dugout of Fenway Park with me posing for a picture.

Pic #8

The trash can was a 25th birthday gift from the youth group in Princeton, NJ given to me at a surprise birthday party. The other side is a Red Sox Bottle that was full of popcorn topped by a Red Sox basketball you can win in claw game.

Bottom Shelf: The Red Sox ice cream container has Red Sox baseball cards in it and on top of the container is a postcard of Carl Yastrzemski's Hall of Fame Plaque.

Two Wheaties boxes, one with Josh Beckett and the other with Pedro Martinez on the front.

Middle Shelf: I bought that Red Sox hat with the 2004 World Series patch on it when I went to a party (with 3.2 million of my close Red Sox friends) known as the 2004 World Series Victory Parade.

Under the hat is my Jim Rice Signature Series Wilson Glove from when I was a kid.

Boston Red Sox 2004 World Series Collector DVD Set retails for $129.99 is on sale for $79.99 but I got mine on sale for $34.99 when A&E (of all places) had a sale. I'm a Red Sox fanatic but i'm still cheap . . . er . . . frugal.

A 1989 Carl Yastrzemski Commerative plastic cup from Texaco. This was a gift from an elder at the church Princeton who was a HUGE Yankees fan. Despite that, we were friends and we actually went on a road trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY together before I left Princeton in 1997.

In the back is a commerative baseball from the 2004 World Series. Bought it in the Hartford Airport on clearance for $5. Books include Baseball is for Everyone by Joe Dimaggio (first printing from 1949 and it was my dad's), Big Papi, Faithful, Now I Can Die in Peace, Red Sox Century and a few others.

The picture is my youngest holding her Molly that was signed by Jerry Remy at a Texas Rangers game in 2006.

Top Shelf: Picture of the bloody sock, Pumpsie Green's 1960 card, (first black player to play for the Boston Red Sox, which was the last team in MLB to have black players, 12 years after Jackie Robinson broke the race barrier) 1968 Carl Yastrzemski, a Carl Yastrzemski game used bat card, Mo Vaugh Starting Line Up figure, David Ortiz figure, Red Sox Uno Cards, Wade Boggs rookie card, a couple of baseballs, dirt from Fenway and the picture of us sitting in the visitors dugout at Fenway.

Pic #9

Top of Bookcase:

A Nomar Garciaparra figure, a game worn jersey card of Nomah (It was in my daughter's Easter basket this year and she let's me display it there.), pic of the 2004 team, a Pedro Martinez figure, and my only McFarlane figure, Jason "The Captain" Varitek. Don't worry, the candle you see on the right corner is a part of the Mandle - The Candles for Real Men line and it's Glove Scented.

On the window seal is a Red Sox Hummer, three Topps Coins, a Red Sox pen in the shape of a bat, and a Kevin Millar autographed baseball.

Thanks for taking the tour.

2008-04-10T17:18:00.000-05:00

Help Please

I'm planning a talk for parents in a month with the working title of:

"From Webkinz to Facebook - Your Teen & Technology"

any advice? stories? sites?

2008-04-09T18:00:00.000-05:00

Around The Horn

1. “So far as focusing investigations, we investigate where the threat is coming from. The threat is coming from Islamist extremism. It’s not coming from Calvinism,”

Attorney General Michael Mukasey when asked to defend extra scrutiny given to militant Islamic groups by the Justice Department.

2. opt in leadership by Matt McGill

So here it comes: I probably hate leadership. I hate inspiration, motivation, and persuasion. I especially hate persuasion when that's a thin mask that's trying to hide manipulation. I hate what most people would seem to consider leadership.

I'm much more for the opt in: "follow me." Here's what I think is best, and hopefully you agree. Maybe you don't, then speak up. Let's talk about it and discover together what's best. I'm for earning trust, not manufacturing it. There are two kinds of things you do in the world: things you really want to do, and everything else you do. I want to lead people who really want to follow me (as I follow Jesus...I AM talking about a ministry context).

3. Dumbest Criminal Ever? HT2 Robert Terrel

4. Youth Ministry and the Spiritual Practice of Discernment HT2 ReThinking Youth Ministry

5. Debt can keep you from realizing your dreams by Seth Barnes

I spoke at a Christian college's chapel in the fall and challened the students to consider missions. The students there were like many - they understood the problems of poverty and injustice that exist around the world and they want to go help. They dream great dreams - some dream about starting orphanages in Africa, others dream about helping young Thai women get out of the sex trade. And when I challenged them, a good number responded.

But afterwards one of the leaders explained why the response wasn't greater - it's the problem of debt. The average student debt level there might be about $30,000 when they graduate. So as they begin to take steps to put their dreams in motion, they run smack dab into the brick wall of debt.

6. Christian Youth Conference Says No to Teen Mom Topic

7. Earth Hour in Brazil

Luis shares a great way his family incorporated a Christian worldview into Earth Hour.

8. Friar Tuck Gets a New Flock!

9. For Grand Fun!

HT2 Jim!

2008-04-09T17:38:00.001-05:00

Endorsement Funny

A while back Mikey asked me if I would be willing to write a quick blurb for his Mikey's Funnies. I did and last week it appeared in The Journal of Student Ministries e-newsletter.

Made me smile, but it may have been the nose and glasses.

By the way, in case you don't subscribe to The Journal of Student Ministries, do it here and get it for $20 vs the normal $39.95.

2008-04-07T17:52:00.002-05:00

Walking with Someone

I talked with someone today who shared something their child is going through.

It was very hard to hear what's going on. In the big picture, things could be worse but for a variety of reasons, this one hit me hard.

It's hard to think of other times where my empathy for what someone was going through hit me so hard. It was a deep, hurting empathy that numbed me for about 30 minutes.

The level of hurt that hit me really took me by surprise.

I think it's a good thing, I'm not sure what it means but I'm trying to discern God's activity in it. It feels like new territory for me to deal with on matters of my soul. I don't like dealing with new territory.

I'm praying for the family and not as a matter of "I should" or it's the "spiritual thing to do" but rather i have an inner burden to do this for them and with them. The sobering thought so far is it causes me to realize, once again, that ultimately I can't do much for my students or my own kids to make them do the right things.

I hope that this internal wrestling on other levels, too, causes me to become 1/2 the husband, father and pastor I dream of being.

2008-04-03T13:11:00.000-05:00

Undisciplined

When you are feeling undisciplined (a very, very common feeling), lack of discipline is not your real problem…it is your lack of motivation.

For example, the self-discipline of waking up early and getting ready for school may be a problem for your children…except on Disneyland day…right?

When you are motivated, discipline is never the problem. Instead of “forcing yourself” to be more disciplined, focus on setting clear, inspiring priorities for the future. Increased self-discipline will be an automatic by-product.

By Bob Biehl from QuickWisdom.com

2008-04-02T14:23:00.001-05:00

Tell me, tell me!

What are your favorite podcasts?

Youth ministry, health (McNutt), business, preaching, whatever.

2008-04-01T23:18:00.002-05:00

Stirring it Up!

My boy Grant has gotten 69 comments so far on his latest article. So read it, pile on him or praise him; either way, you won't be alone.

Tossing Aside the Tract: Why Pretty Much Everything I Was Taught about Evangelism Is Wrong

We were at a student conference getting “trained” on how to witness to people.

I sat and listened with my youth group. There were more than 600 students in the room.

The guy up front was walking through a pamphlet I’d read at least a thousand times.

“Do you know that God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life?”

I hate that question. It sounds eerily familiar to a former friend of mine who tried to sell me Amway.

2008-04-01T23:11:00.002-05:00

Five Questions to Improve Your Communication
by - Stan Toler

Are you a communicator? Of course you are! Each day you communicate ideas, objectives, and values. You may use public speaking, text messages, E-mail, online conferences, cell phones, blogs, letters, or personal conversations. And you communicate in non-verbal ways as well. Connecting with your constituency is key to quality leadership. There are five leading questions that will improve what you say, and how you say it:

1. Is it honest, without being petty?

2. Will it bring hope or help? Or will it bring hurt?

3. Will the giver and the receive be better because of it?

4. Does it reflect the attitude of Jesus Christ?

5. Will the receiver learn something positive from the communication?

Learning to be a leader means learning to be a communicator. Leadership principles are useless unless they are put into action--and into words. Poet William Yeates said, "Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people. Spirit-controlled words, spoken or written, will always be in the language of the people.

2008-04-01T17:16:00.000-05:00

I Can Matter to My Local High School

A few weeks ago, the YMExchange Newsletter featured an article by Adam called, You Matter to Your Schools.

I thought about calling them and finding out if I would be able to do anything with the school as a volunteer but as is often the case, plans remained plans instead of becoming actions.

Well, I finally called Monterey High School late today and talked to a counselor for about 5-7 minutes. Told her I was a local resident and my daughter would probably be going there (magnet students can choose between the different schools in our city) and I was curious if there was anything I could do for the school for about 2-3 hours per week. Told her even though I was a youth pastor, I didn't want to start a bible study but just wanted to contribute to the community and my schedule allowed me some flexibility to do that with the school during the week. She thought the Bible Study would be great but understands all the issues involved.

She gave me the name of a person in the district office to talk with. I'll call them tomorrow, so we'll see what I'll be allowed to do. So if you wanna pray with me about what this might mean, that'd be great. Thanks.

2008-03-31T16:35:00.001-05:00

Are You a Better Minister Than a 4 Year Old?

Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was:

A four-year-old child, whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman, who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

When his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the Little boy just said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry."

(forgot where I found it)

2008-03-29T21:28:00.002-05:00

Always Worth the Effort

Friday is typically my day off but I got a text from a student on Thursday night letting me know they were pitching for their high school team on Friday night.

One of the girls spent the night with a friend and the other had planned to be a with a friend after school till later anyways. So after having a good lunch date with my wife there was nothing to do on Friday night, so I planned to be there.

I've been here for a little over a year but I didn't know where the field was because it's off campus. I got there late and I didn't get to see him pitch because he only pitched the first three innings. I was very frustrated at this point that my innability to find the stadium in time caused me to not actually see the student play that I came to see play. He gave me the "What's up? lifting of the head" when he saw me standing along the fence.

I stayed until the game was over. His team beat Permian High School (the school that inspired Friday Night Lights) in extra innings.

After a long post-game team meeting on the field, he came over and we talked a little. Talked about baseball, how he did, when the next game would be and not much else. Despite not talking bout spiritual things or praying together, I would call this a pastoral visit. Funny thing is I had another non-pastoral visit with a friend that probably wound up becoming a pastoral visit before our meeting was over.

With the adult it wasn't planned but the topics just took shape that even though we didn't talk about spiritual things, there was a pastoral side to the conversation, first because I was there, secondly, because the talk was helpful to them and I'd bet money that I made a deposit into their "trust account"

Same goes with the student, just by being there demonstrates love and concern. Though not too many students can put the theological phrases to it, it's a demonstration of the incarnation and builds trust in the little things, so when it's time for the "Big Things" they know there is a relationship there and they trust us. Taking time out of our normalcy (with proper boundries) is always worth the effort because God uses little things and people to do his will.

2008-03-24T11:59:00.002-05:00

Latest writing thing just came out on YMX:

Skills are important, we need them and we need to strengthen the ones that we have in order to better minister to the people we serve. While we should use our talents skillfully it’s also vital that we have a heart of integrity. We understand better now, more than ever, that our salvation and our identity is not based on how well we perform or even how David-like our heart is. We are treasured because we belong to God and not because of anything we do for God, not even having an effective, successful, mind-blowing, creating-a-model-that-everyone-will-want-to-copy, youth ministry.

Warning: Obvious statement around the corner. At the heart of each of these encouraging You Matter essays is this, you matter. Not, you matter because... or you matter if... simply, you matter. More explicitly, YOU matter.

Read the rest @ You Matter Always

2008-03-24T10:48:00.001-05:00

Newest Youth Ministry Interview

King of Pastor2Youth.com and now, fellow Texan, Ryan Nielsen.

Lots going on and hopefully more will follow sooner rather than later.

2008-03-22T22:58:00.002-05:00

Happy Easter!

2008-03-18T23:07:00.002-05:00

You won't believe this

Today was our last full day in San Antonio for a few days for Spring Break. We decided to go bowling with our kids and their 2 cousins. I knew Ryan was bowling today through the wonders of twitter so I called him and asked him where he was bowling.

We wound up being 2 lanes away from Ryan and his youth group and it was not planned.

It was good to see him even if it wasn't for too long. I hadn't seen him since we roomed together back in 2002 for the NYWC. Just kinda funny when my two worlds collided.

2008-03-14T11:00:00.000-05:00

Around the Horn

I've been saving these for about a week so here's a ton of misc stuff with a thanks to Tony for my new baseball inspired title for posts like these:

1. I'm twittering much more consistently than I blog in case you're a fellow Twit.

2. Matt McGill has started his fourth blog - Much Better Than More Than Dodgeball, which of course, is much better than More Than Dodgeball.

3. I Care About the Aprroval of Men Too Much

4. Pray for Gman

5. extending your youth ministry to families

6. 5 Reasons Muslims Convert

7. 1 in 4 teen girls has an STD

8. Seven Deadly sins of Youth Ministry

9. Recovering from Fetus Fatigue

It appears that millions of evangelicals, especially younger ones, are experiencing fetus fatigue. They are tired of the abortion issue taking center stage; it is time to move on to newer, hipper things--the sort of issues that excite Bono: aid to Africa, the environment, and cool tattoos. Abortion has been legal since they were born; it is the old guard that gets exercised about millions of abortions over the years. So, let's not worry that Barak Obama and Hillary are pro-choice. That is a secondary issue.

After all, neither could do that much damage regarding this issue.Evangelicals (if that word has any meaning), for God's sake, please wake up and remember the acres of tiny corpses you cannot see. Yes, the Christian social vision is holistic. We should endeavor to restore shalom to this beleaguered planet. That includes helping Africa, preserving the environment, and much more. However, the leading domestic moral issue remains the value of helpless human life. Since Roe v. Wade, approximately 50 million unborn humans have been killed through abortion. HT2 Tim Ellsworth

10. Red Sox-Yankees: The Rivalry of a Lifetime
It all began in 1920, when one man would start a rivalry between two teams. Those two teams would build up their rivalry to have the strength to go on for what’s been 90 years.

Who would have thought that the trade of one of the most prolific baseball players to ever play the game had the power to start something that would continue even after he was six feet under?

11. Last Surviving U. S. World War I Vet Honored by President

Frank Woodruff Buckles was just 15 years old when he joined the U.S. Army. Soon, he was deployed to war and headed overseas on the Carpathia -- the same ship used in the rescue mission of the Titanic.

He drove ambulances in Britain and France for soldiers wounded during World War I.
A few decades later, Buckles was in the Philippines as a civilian, on December 7, 1941, the day Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. He was taken as a prisoner of war for 39 months in Manila, eating his meals out of a single tin cup.

More than 60 years later, he still clings to that cup, the one that sustained his life. Weathered with age, the cup has flecks of white paint chipped off. He keeps it as a reminder of his sacrifice for the country he so loves.

12. 6 Temptations Dad's Face
by My Buddy & Yours, Chuck Swindoll

First, the temptation to give things instead of giving ourselves—our presence, our personal involvement.

Second, the temptation to save our best for the workplace.

Third, the temptation to deliver lectures rather than earning respect by listening and learning.

2008-03-13T23:30:00.002-05:00

Newz 2 Laugh @

Another police trainer said Chuck Norris was a role model for the police in Falluja, which until 2007 was an al Qaeda stronghold and the scene of fierce battles with security forces.

"I've seen his videos, he's a hero. He saves the city, he protects women and children and he fights crime wherever it is. We should all be like Chuck Norris," Khaled Hussein said.

From Chuck Norris is the only WMD in Iraq, look out, insurgency

2008-03-12T10:30:00.003-05:00

It's Coming

One of the things I'm working on is an area/regional youth ministry training event in Lubbock. It's going to happen in Sept and we're bringing Chris Folmsbee in. If you can, pray for Chris and his family as they become bi-lingual.

Don't have a name yet for the event but thrilled that others are on board on the local level and we want it to have a local emphasis as we aim to encourage and equip youth workers in our area.

I met a youth pastor from New Mexico at the Ignite Conference and he's ready to drive the hour and a half to bring his volunteers to this before even knowing too many details. There just isn't much in our region, so if you are in Dallas, or another mega-hub of a city, be glad for all the opportunities that you have that you may take for granted.

2008-03-07T13:27:00.002-06:00

Misc Links

1. California court: Parents have no constitutional right to home school their children

Crazy even by California standards.

2. Externally Focused Church: Free Webinar
Join Eric Swanson (author of The Externally Focused Church) and Rick McKinley (pastor of Imago Dei in Portland, OR) as they discuss the key principles that Imago Dei has applied in reaching out to their community.

HT2 Chris Mc.

3. Pray. Use Words if Necessary

So glad Doug is blogging regularly, again.

4. Starbuck & Training Principles for the Church

2008-03-07T10:22:00.001-06:00

Some Blog Love for YS

Before I even wrote the book, I was a big fan of Youth Specialties. (BTW, my book's Amazon.com Sales Rank is 553,200 in Books but #82 in Amazon's Youth Ministry books, sounds so much better. ) But since selling them the concept and initial content for the Student Weekly Newsletter, writing the book, speaking at one of the conventions in 02, and getting to know many of the crew I'm completely bought and paid for so here is some blog love for YS.

1. Mindi had a great post on thoughts from a volunteer small group leader: a few things i've learned as a volunteer working with parents:

2. Still loving the YS Parent's Newsletter.

Here's how I use mine

Our Purpose statement as the header:

Our Youth Ministry exists to KNOW Jesus, LOVE Jesus, SERVE Jesus and ENJOY each other.

Short thought to parents: Here's last weeks.

I wrote this on my blog a few hours ago and shared it with Roger in person and figured I’d share it here, too.

The Lost Art of the Phone Call

I strive to always be authentic but I’m not where I need to be. But God is still working on me and you too. Let your students know that God isn’t finished with them yet, mistakes happen for everyone, the key is to get up, and keep going.

Or as the contemporary theologian, Alfred the Butler, said in Batman Begins, "Why do we fall Master Bruce? To get back up!"

Keep Getting Up,
Len

Links to my online activities - I need to add the blog, just striving to be open with nothing to hide:

Len’s MySpace
Len’s Facebook

Upcoming Events/Announcements:

News Items you need to read:

Misc news stories, most found in YS Update, Walt Mueller's CPYU newsletter, homeword's newsletter and other sources.

On the Lighter Side
Something funny. Typically one of the daily Zits cartoons that I subscibe to.

Last Item is the full Parent's Newsletter with more great info.

3. I'm going to work on something to be in the YS Underground, hopefully I can send Jay the cleaned up version by April 1.

2008-03-05T14:32:00.002-06:00

Rediscovering an Old Friend

Well, they weren't lost and it's not a person but I found a quote that I loved today and remembered to put in on my quote blog. Last one was in August so hopefullly it'll be more frequent, from now on.

2008-03-04T22:26:00.002-06:00

I Voted My Conscience Today

Marko and Tony have spoken about their support for Obama. My opinion won't change anyone's mind and though I'd truly like seeing him as president, it's not going to happen, this year or ever. He's way too conservative.

My vote went towards a guy who only got .6% of the republican primary votes.

Mr. Alan Keyes. Someone said, 'Alan Keyes makes Obama seem like Don Knotts'

So give Alan a little bit of your time and read his article, Endowed by their Creator and read Why Jesus would not vote for Barack Obama, which is one reporters recollections of the 2004 Senate campaign between Obama and Keyes.

2008-03-03T22:48:00.002-06:00

Made Me Laugh

Imagine a tan mini van with racing flames like these. That's what I saw in a grocery store parking lot tonight.

The ultimate suburban dad driving machine!

2008-03-01T12:22:00.003-06:00

Let's Get Ready to Rumble. . . . .

Thank you Hank "Little Boss" Steinbrenner for saying:

"Red Sox Nation?" What a bunch of [crap] that is," he said in an interview with The New York Times' Play magazine. "That was a creation of the Red Sox and ESPN, which is filled with Red Sox fans.

"Go anywhere in America and you won't see Red Sox hats and jackets, you'll see Yankee hats and jackets. This is a Yankee country. We're going to put the Yankees back on top and restore the universe to order."

Red Sox president and CEO Larry Lucchino responded with:

"I don't deny there are Yankee fans everywhere. But it's blind of him not to see the phenomenon that is Red Sox Nation. I expect he will become more aware of the passion and breadth of Red Sox Nation as long as he is actively involved in baseball. I do appreciate that he has picked up on the Star Wars metaphor, though. He said he was happy to be Darth Vader and we are happy to be the Rebel Alliance."

This is why you can buy Yankee Haters gear, there is a bird who hates the Yankees, and most importantly, never, ever forget

So Hank, on behalf of Red Sox Nation, thank you for helping us enjoy the anticipation even more being The 2007 World Champions and being favored to win in 2008.

2008-03-01T10:41:00.003-06:00

What's the Deal With Brian Schulenburg?

I've yet to meet Brian but I'm looking forward to it when we get the chance. I discovered his blog a few months ago and have enjoyed it and our occasional interaction.

Brian's a real youth pastor (who does parent seminars for his community ) who happens to have written a couple of books and speaks occasionally. He's not a writer or speaker who happens to be in youth ministry. Big difference in my mind. I'll let you be the judge of which Youth Ministry Guru's are which.

I bought What's the Deal with. . . a couple of weekends ago when I was at The CORE. Gotta love all the Invert Books being 50% off @ $5 and this one selling for just $7. I bought one invert book for each of my 5 students who were there.

Our Sunday night high school group is the ideal setting for using this sort of book, I believe. We typically have 10-15 high schoolers on Sunday nights, maybe less, maybe more but it's in that range.

I've been doing less lessons and more discussion on topics on Sunday nights for the past 2 months anyways, so this is the perfect fit for what they've become use to. I want to give the student 4 points and an application, I like that. I know 100% where we're going and I think they need to know the truths I have to share but it's better when we discuss topics with me guiding the discussion rather than dominating the distribution of information.

We discussed 3 questions in about 30-40 minutes. The format for the 500 questions is "What's the deal with TOPIC?" and then one follow up question. We talked about the Bible, Denominations and Homosexuality. You know, the easy ones.

It's best if you plan out which questions you want to cover an have an idea of where your convictions are and definitely where the church's convictions are. You do not want some wacked out idea that a student shares to come across as the official position of the church if it's totally opposed to what your church actually believes.

They joy of using the Socratic Teaching teaching method is that when students form a conviction, it's from within and not just a command to blindly follow. The intertweaving of epistemology and sound theology is vital to any youth ministry and Brian's new book is a great tool to help you do that, but it won't do it for you.

In case you don't have the ca$hola now to buy What's the Deal with. . . . you can use some of Grahame's great FREE Discussion Starters.

2008-02-29T12:36:00.002-06:00

Prayer Please

Found out last night that the 17yr old son of the man who was my boss on the Dam Construction crew was killed in a car crash. Called him today and just said I'm praying and wish I could do more and if he need me to rant at or cry with I'd be avaiable. Breaks my heart.

2008-02-28T23:26:00.002-06:00

Josh Hunt Needs Your Help

Josh wrote one of my favorite books, You Can Double Your Class in Two Years or Less. It's practical, biblical and he dares to dream dreams that can please God.

Josh is taking a survey and he needs more respondents. He has about 600 so far, but he's love to get about 400 more respondents pretty quickly.

If you are a pastor or teacher would you mind filling out this survey?

Once you take it, would you share it with other pastors or teachers?

2008-02-28T09:10:00.003-06:00

The Lost Art of the Phone Call

Last night I was truly convicted over something. Something simple and something small but conviction, regardless.

We are going to a Newsboys concert in a week. It's on a Thursday night so I didn't anticipate a ton of students but hoped for a few. I made a few calls to students as a last minute chance to know who was going and make sure we had enough tickets.

So I around the fourth call I realized that one reason the calls felt so awkward was because I have not been making regular phone calls to students just to keep in touch. So I felt like a telemarketer rather than a pastor calling to check in with students and then giving some information they might be interersted in.

This morning I called a friend from the church. We get together occasionall with a few other guys and hang out. Hasn't happened in a while but I realized I shouldn't need an excuse to check in on someone. So I called him just asking the proverbial, "What's up?".

We talked for almost 30 minutes an he told me how grateful he was for the phone call more than once.

I think I've fallen into the trap of using easy technology to keep in touch and provide information to students rather than being in touch with students to provide a caring touch.

God's working on me.

2008-02-28T09:02:00.002-06:00

Remy Sworn in as President of Red Sox Nation

"I, Jerry Remy, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of Red Sox Nation. I pledge to be true to the game, true to our fans and, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and promote all that is great about the beloved sport of baseball and the Boston Red Sox."

Finally, a presidential candidate I can fully support.