Mary, Joseph, perhaps the Shepherds? Animals, Angels, or even Baby Jesus?

At Sunday night’s 6:20pm worship, after our advisor’s AMAZING NATIVITY DANCE, we did an interactive prayers of the people. In our prayers of the people, we gave each youth a paper doll cut out. Since it was our last 6:20pm worship service before the new year, we invited the youth to enter the nativity story and to begin to think about Christmas. We’ve spent a good bit of time in the past few weeks talking about Advent as a season of mystery and preparation for the birth of Christ. We asked the youth to think about which character in the story of the birth of Christ they most identify! They then wrote about how they were able to relate to that character and their prayer on the paper doll cut out and came forward to drop it in the manger as a sign of offering the prayer to Jesus.

So, as Christmas rapidly approaches, just who is it you identify with in this AMAZING and PROFOUND story of the birth of Christ?

Maybe it’s Mary!
Perhaps you feel the responsibilities piled on high!? You are just trying to trust God that you are making the right and best decisions possible.

Maybe you identify with Joseph!
You’ve made some commitment in your life and you are doing your best to remain faithful to it and see it through. But, you are worried.

Or is it the scruffy shepherds?
Maybe there is some situation in your life that is absolutely frightening and terrifying you. You are trying so hard not to make rash decisions and show that you are afraid as you move forward in life toward possibly exciting things.

Perhaps you get the angels!
There is this joyous thing you want to share! You are just so excited and happy about this wondrous thing God is doing in your life. You want everyone to know about what’s going on!

By chance do you identify with the animals?
Maybe you are terribly amazed at what is going on around you. You’re just watching and sharing all that you have with others (even the “manger” you eat out of). You are simply excited to have some attention and company in your life.

Or maybe you even identify with baby Jesus.
In other words, you know there is this great destiny you have to fulfill but you feel helpless (like a little baby) as you struggle through just how you figure things out.

Nativity Dance

Last night at our 6:20pm worship service, we decided to try something a little different! Intead of a spoken message about the upcoming birth of Christ, our advisors danced the nativity! It was an amazing creation and one our youth hopefully will not forget anytime soon!

Special thanks for Jennifer Mullius for directing us and for getting costumes together. Also, special thanks to Pierre and Cathy Harrison for recording the service!

Watch it now:

Practical Tips for the Advent Experience

Yesterday, I was inspired by something I read in my Advent devotion. I posted on Facebook about the waiting and preparing of Advent and the excitement that comes with that. It seems to me that every year at Advent, we talk about preparing ourselves for the birth of Jesus. It is one thing to say that, but completely another to do it! And, I haven’t seen lot of practical explanations (especially for youth) on exactly how we can participate in preparing and waiting other than just to flat out anticipate the events to come. Is it an active waiting? A passive one? So, I have been thinking and reading lots on some practical tips for how we can “prepare” and “wait” in Advent. Here are three practical tips on just how to prepare and wait for the birth of Christ!

Note: these thoughts are geared towards youth since that is who I serve in ministry; but friends, parents, acquaintances, I hope you might also find meaning in them!

Here’s my list:

1. Devotional
Bibles aren’t just for opening on Sunday while we’re at church. I mean, let’s face it, most of us don’t even bring our Bibles to worship, Sunday school or youth group! Regardless, I firmly believe we should be spending time in the Word of God and in interpretation for our lives, daily. With that said, I also recognize the busy-ness of life and struggle to find time for this myself. Maybe try this daily Advent tweet devotional: www.freshexpressions.org.uk/advent#07. It’s usually a two sentence thought on the meaning of Christmas and a challenge for you to ponder!

(What I have found that works for me is doing my devotion at the same time every day. Generally, for me, that is first thing when I arrive in the office … before I open emails or Facebook. Establishing this routine has been good. And, I do the same thing EVERY morning. I use www.d365.org. It’s an online short but practical and meaningful devotional. You have to click through this so for me it is an intentional experience and it plays music to “create” and set the mood for devotion. Establishing this routine over the past 4 months has been a challenge as I would forget or get busy. But, now I remember (most days) and am excited to start my day this way. Believe me, I understand the challenge here … so maybe start off committing to do a short term devotion like for the weeks of Advent or Lent. There are many great resources for study that are geared for each age group. Google what you are interested in! And, hey, you could always just open your Bible and read where it opens and then think about how the passage applies to your world! Whatever you do, just try to do it near the same time each day and see if that works for you!)

2. Quiet time
I don’t know what this might look like for you as a youth today. We live in a pretty loud and crazy busy world. Maybe it is journaling or drawing or even meditating. But in some way, spend some time in Advent thinking. As you consider preparing, think about those who have had or are having an impact on your faith journey. Even Jesus needed people to prepare the way for Him when He was on this Earth. Remember John the Baptist? Really, these people in your life who are a part of your faith journey are preparing the way for Jesus to enter your heart. Ask your parents who was with you at your Baptism. Think about those who welcome you to church each week or teach you Sunday school.

3. Music
Youtube is FULL of amazing Advent experiences; that is musical takes on the meaning of Christmas. Take a moment and put yourself in the Nativity story. With whom do you most identify? Mary? Joseph? The wise men or shepherds?

Here are a few suggestions of songs that give perspective of the characters in the nativity story! They come from some of my favorite Christian artists … just for your viewing pleasure:

Chris August – Come Now Our King





Sidewalk Prophets – Hope Was Born This Night





Francesca Battistelli – You’re Here





Kirk Franklin – The Night Christ Was Born





Kari Jobe – Adore Him / Christmas Eve

Fiercely Proclaiming the Good News ...

Did I mention I LOVE the season of Advent?! Using yesterday's lectionary reading of Mark 1:1-20, we were able to actually live it out in our 6:20pm worship. One of the things we did was have the youth prepare the room for worship as John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus! Basically, when the students arrived for worship, the room was not set up and they had to prepare it and the table for Holy Eucharist. Then following the flow of the Scriptrue reading, we then celebrated our baptisms by participating in Holy Communion (one of the wonderful benefits, so to speak, of Baptism). But not only did we share in communion, but we called each other by name in celebration! The idea was that Fr. Josh began by calling three student's names and then they each called three more, and so on until the entire group had received communion. It was quite powerful to experience!

Then, in my devotion time this morning, I read this:
"John the Baptist invited people to open their eyes and see what God was doing right in front of them. He was a messenger who fiercely proclaimed Good News at a time when it was desperately needed. John invited them to consider what it might mean to prepare for the coming of the Messiah."

I love this take on John the Baptist and his purpose. In fact, I feel lucky to be able to share in offering that same experience to our youth each week as we share in ministry together! Beacuse that's one of the primary reasons for youth ministry ... to make the Bible relateable and understandable for youth.

So in the spirit of living out Scripture and seeing what God is doing, I found this video on the nativity that will likely speak to today's youth! Oh, and in that same spirit ... you DO NOT want to miss our 6:20pm worship this coming Sunday! We have a few FUN and EXCITING and RELEVANT "moves" up our sleeve!

Advent Week 1 - Hope

This is truly my favorite time of year! I absolutely LOVE the season of Advent. There is something exciting and fresh about preparing and waiting for the coming birth of Christ at Christmas. It is the four weeks of the year I can't get enough of! And it's scary but, other than Lent, Advent is likely the time of the church year when I feel most connected to Christ! I especially love all of the ironic and convicting posts, pictures, Advent studies, and stories that bloggers, clergy, and Christian educators post this time of year. Like the thought I came across a few years ago ... we think of baby Jesus and being born and put into a manger. Imagine! The King of Kings placed in a manger. Hello .... a manger is what animals eat out of! Doesn't get much more lowly than that!

Over the years, I can remember several profound experiences! I've blogged about some of them here and here.

Another of my favorites from years past is the Advent Conspiracy. Several years ago, I learned about this group of pastors who started the movement in 2006. The message is quiet thought provoking! Watch!

[AC] Promo 2011 from Advent Conspiracy on Vimeo.

And speaking of Advent, earlier today, I ran across THIS powerful little picutre on one of my favorite youth ministry site (www.rethinkingyouthministry.com):

It is a nativity scene made by a Sunday school class from trash. The post talked about how the characters in the nativity were "throw-aways" of the society of their day ... an un-wed mother, outcast shepherds, a helpless baby, and a poor carpenter. It made me think of how our culture tends to be so busy that we just toss out Jesus until times get rough and we need Him. Powerful, huh?

So, in this season of Advent, I though I would share with my youth and parents each week of Advent on the weekly themes. Week one is hope, then peace, week three is joy, and week four love. So here is a short clip worth watching that really spells out the theme of hope and why we have it as we prepare for the birth of Christ.





Happy Advent!

In anticipation of NYWC - Atlanta ....

Tomorrow I am heading to the National Youth Worker's Convention in Atlanta, GA. I can't even express how excited and grateful I am for this opportunity. You see, I've had the privilege of serving in youth ministry since 2002! And pretty much every year up until 2009, I was intentional to attend some sort of ym conference. Sadly with the tanking of the economy, came the tanking of a continuing ed. budget. I know that is only 2 and a half years ago since I went to any sort of conference but to me it seems an eternity! These events are so pivitol in the life of youth ministry for me. And, I am feeling the burn, so to speak, of ... well, burnout. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE what God allows me to get up and do every day and I do know realize lucky I am to be doing it, trust me. But I just need a moment away .... A weekend to be with others who do what I do and get it. A weekend to share stories. A weekend to get resources. A weekend to sing and dance like a fool (for Christ, of course) to the amazing tunes of David Crowder Band and others! A weekend to listen for God and empty myself. A weekend to spend with my husband eating out and not worrying about bed times or alarm clocks or ANYTHING.

So when I began serving as Assistant Youth Minister in my new position this past July, I never dreamed there would be a budget for or the encouragement to attend a conference right away! So, thank you Matt Williams (my partner in crime) for offering up the continuing ed. budget so I can go to Atlanta! You pretty much rock!

Here's where I am in anticipation and prayer of the next 4 days:

1. Driving in Atlanta - yeah, not so excited about this part. I'm praying my gps will work well. Actually, several people who used to live in Atlanta have told me there is nothing to worried about. So ... we'll see.

2. Being by myself - my hubby can't come until Saturday so I'm a little nervous not knowing anyone. I've also never been to a nywc convention, so I don't really have any buddies to catch up with either. So, if you see this girl getting mugged while walking to or from the civic center for big rooms ..... HELP! All that said, I am actually very thrilled for a little me time on Friday night!

3. Information overload - there are so many workshops I want to attend and so many mentor's I want to hear a word from. After two and a half years of nothingness, I just hope I can retain it all. Usually, I would have a pre-developed plan of which ones I would attend but this time, I'm letting the Holy Spirit take over and end up where I end up!

4. Networking - did I mention I don't know anyone .... And I am an introvert who operates extrovertedly for ym? Nonetheless, I know this is an area in which the Holy Spirit is nudging!

So, here we go! I'm off to pack! See you tomorrow Atlanta!

Be Prepared! Motorcycles and Oil ...

I love that Jesus taught in parables (short metaphorical stories that teaches or illustrates a religious point). Jesus was very creative to take standards or norms of His day and use them to flip their (and our) thinking of the world, upside down!

In yesterday's lectionary lesson, we studied the parable of the ten bridesmaids. For Jesus, it was all about being prepared! Jesus used His day's example of oil. It was very common to have to wait on a bridegroom and light / oil was a very important part of a wedding celebration in that day and time. The celebrations would go on for days and days, so one would need to have enough oil to light the lamps. It was a pure honor (and a REALLY big deal) to be chosen as a bridemaid 2000+ years ago because it meant you got to practice for your own wedding. Thus, a smart bridemaid would never go without oil. A good comparison from today would be like if a bridemaid forgot her bouquet!

So, in our youth worship service last night, we drove in a motorcycle to illustrate the point of being ready! (Yes, we had permission) Afterall, what better attention getter than a motorcycle in the middle of the Parish Hall?? The point is that you don't just hop on a motorcycle and go. There are some things one must do to ride. For instance, a helmet is necessary and must fit well. Certain types of gas, oil, and maintenance are required on the bike. And, oh yeah, you have to know how to ride.

In my devotion this morning, there was a great point that Love, justice, and faithfulness to Christ are the fuel that sustains our lamps today!

Kind of looks like this to me:

Now if I could just figure out how to draw Jesus on a motorcylce .... hmmmmm!

Spooky Stories in the Bible ... A Hypocritcal Halloween

It’s Halloween! Naturally, I started thinking about all of the spooky Halloween related youth group lessons I’ve created in the past 9 years for my various youth groups. There’s been some good ones … Graveyard Scavenger Hunts; Pumpkin Smashing Sins; Christian Pumpkin Carving Contests; Life is Like a Pumpkin Pie; The Valley of the Dry Bones; and many more!

It got me to thinking … there really are lots of spooky stories in the Bible! I mean, what could be more spooky than bloody tent pegs (see Judges 4 and the story of Jael); or severed ears (see Luke 22:39-51 when Jesus reattaches the ear); or the suicidal Pigs from Mark 5:1-20 when Jesus sends the evil spirits in a man into the pigs and they run off the cliff! And who could forget Balaam’s donkey? Check out Numbers 22:1-41 where the donkey speaks after Balaam beats it. And, of course, there are the more familiar horrifying stories most of us have probably heard of …. Lot’s wife who turns to a pillar of salt (See Genesis 18); The Plagues in Egypt (see Exodus 7); and even Jonah being swallowed by a HUGE fish (see Jonah 1).

But nothing is quite as terrifying, to me, as yesterday’s lectionary reading. Oh, the hypocrisy! In Matthew 23, Christ did call the Pharisees hypocrites, and that is a little scary! Jesus vividly paints this picture of hypocrisy by comparing the Pharisees to rotting graves with white-washed tombstones. Think about it … cemeteries can be quite beautiful with all the flowers and statues on the surface. But beneath the surface are decomposing bodies (a not so pleasant thought).

These men, the Pharisees, were supposed to be the teachers, the ones the “common” person could look up to, and experts in religious laws who could offer guidance and clarification! But instead, Jesus was saying that they had begun to treat traditions as having equal authority as Scriptures. Jesus called them hypocrites because they had allowed their relationship with God to be reduced to talking about a legalistic list of rules and rituals (but not necessarily doing them). In fact, they were so focused on the law that they couldn’t have mercy on those who needed it or even see that people were in need. On top of this, the Pharisees were not being very humble and frequently bragged that they were better than others.

Generally, I think, the problem was that the Pharisees were teaching (mostly) very good things, they just weren’t implementing them into their own lives. In other words, they were not practicing what they were preaching. For Jesus, I don’t think he generally hated the Pharisees, but it was this hypocrisy they practiced that was a problem worthy of pointing out.

It is a great coincidence that the Greek word for hypocrite actually refers to someone who is wearing a mask, who is an actor, so this excerpt from Scripture is perfectly suited for Halloween! From a young age, many of us have engaged in the ritual of dressing up and wearing masks! And, we do look forward to this holiday and all of the traditions that go along with it (i.e. collecting candy, parties, decorations, getting costumes ready). But what I think Jesus would say today (if he were right here, right now) is that Halloween isn’t the only time that people wear masks! While this is true of adults, it is especially true for today’s teens who are seeking and struggling to find their own identity!

How many of us are showing a personality on the outside that is so different from who we are in reality? How many of us act one way because of peer pressure or the need to be accepted but feel completely different on the inside. It’s a very normal struggle with being authentic (especially for teenagers in a largely social media infused world)!

For us today, hypocrisy is a serious obstacle to being a Christian. And, isn’t it interesting that one of the number one complaints of the post-modern generation with concern about the church today is that Christians / those affiliated with the church are hypocritical?!

So in the spirit of Halloween and from one hypocrite to another, here are my top 10 tips for how NOT to be a hypocrite …

1.Live for pleasing God, not others. Don’t worry so much about what others think.

2.Make sure your heart is in it. If it isn’t DO NOT do, say, act, or try to be it.

3.Don’t be selective in obeying God; it doesn’t work that way! Loving God is an action. Loving neighbor – well, that includes everyone, not just some.

4.Take time to learn the full truth about others … don’t jump to criticize or condemn someone just because someone else’s opinion sounds true.

5.Recognize, claim, and own your failures; don’t try to hide them. (YOUCH!!!)

6.Never tear down someone else to make yourself look good.

7.Going to church doesn’t automatically change one’s behavior. Being a Christian takes work, commitment, and is a lifestyle.

8.As you seek and ask questions, don’t get all caught up in what you should do, or shouldn’t do. Once you surrender your life to Christ, He’ll begin changing you from the inside out.

9.Forgive everyone and everything always.

10.Explore and figure out who YOU want to be (your identity) and be it. God loves you no matter who you are.

HOW do you LOVE God?

In Jesus day there were rules. In fact, there were 613 rules to follow that were laid out in The Torah (first 5 books of the Bible). And the way that the religious leaders of Jesus’ days were interpreting them and teaching them kind of became more important than, well, God.

In fact, the religious leaders kind of didn’t like Jesus so much because He would challenge some of their interpretations of the rules. You see, Jesus didn’t like what they were teaching and he was trying to show them how blind or getting caught up in details they were being, and how they were ending up teaching people the wrong stuff. And Jesus attracted these huge crowds when he would teach and word was spreading like crazy about all the things he was saying! I think that these Pharisees probably didn’t like that he was becoming more “popular” than they were.

And so at the point in Scripture in yesterday’s lectionary (Matthew 22:34-46), these religious leaders tried to use the situation to their advantage. I think they were secretly hoping to discredit Jesus to the crowds. And so they asked Jesus what they thought was a very hard question. They wanted to know which of the 613 was the most important.

Jesus didn’t even hesitate; he simply replied that there are two that are equally important.
1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, strength. (of course, a commandment)
2. Love your neighbor as yourself. (from Deuteronomy)

So this got me thinking.

Most of us would say that we love God. And saying we love God is one thing but defining and putting feet and hands on exactly HOW we love God is a little more difficult. Think about it … how do you love God?

Is loving God simply an action? Is it a feeling? Exactly how is it that we love God? How do we love this being we can’t see or touch or get a verbal response from (like we can each other).

I think a lot of people would say that you love God by following the commandments / the rules. But I’m not sure I believe loving God is just doing the right thing. Yes, I just said that! Now, don’t get me wrong, following the rules is really, really important.

And, I don’t believe that love is just patient and kind and things like that, because I LOVE my husband but it’s not always easy to be patient when he doesn’t do things how I want them and I LOVE my sister but I am certainly not always kind to her just because I love her. Following the commandments, being patient and kind … that’s what love looks like when it walks and talks but it’s not L-O-V-E.

Here’s what I do think … loving God is about passion.

Passion is how much you LOVE that thing you can just get so caught up in that you lose track of everything else. For me it’s singing at the top of my lungs when I am alone in the car! Or, Mexican food!

Here’s what else I think … loving God is action!

You could say, it is a way of life. In other words, if someone generally were to look at your life would they be able to recognize that you have that passion for God? I think that is what it means to be truly in love with God! And these actions easily include that second part of Jesus’ greatest commandment. Our love for God is what empowers us to love other people. Think about this … if you are making a fist or pointing fingers, can you hold someone’s hand?

And one more thought …. being in love with God is an art, the result of practice and commitment.

Jesus / our faith is not some little accessory that we take on and off each day, on the top of our lives as though it were a cherry on ice-cream or a piece of jewelry. Jesus isn’t just some thing we turn to when times get rough. This quote from my devotion this morning sums it up perfectly: “God doesn’t merely want our Sunday morning love, he wants our Friday night love. He doesn’t want our Sunday School love, he wants our love in math class. Sure, we love God when we read the Bible, but how about when we read our textbooks … we’re afraid of what it would cost us to love God with the ‘all’ Jesus commands.” Loving God this way is costly and it does require a great deal of effort.

The rewards of living our lives in love with God are immeasurable. So, remember, loving God is about passion, involves action, and is an art that requires practice and commitment.

How do you love God?

Seagulls and A Leaf

Several weeks ago our senior high youth journeyed to Edisto Island, SC for a retreat! My husband and I went down a day early to get things set up, grocery shop / cook some food for the retreat, and open up the rental houses for our youth! After everything was all set up and ready, we had a few hours to kill before the youth arrived. Naturally, being at the beach, my hubby and I decided to spend that time with our toes in the sand. It was the last day of September but in true South Carolina form, it was warm enough for swimsuits (and a sunburn).

Steve and I love Edisto for many reasons. But, one of the most phenomenal aspects of Edisto are the mostly unspoiled beaches and the rich wildlife. In all the times we have been to Edisto, we have never been disappointed by a lack of dolphins, egrets, conch shells, and beautiful sunsets! But that day as we explored, Steve and I were treated to views of butterflies (hundreds) and dragonflies swarming. When we were sitting on the beach talking, we were near a little “stream” leading from a tidal pool to the ocean. The tide was going out. All of a sudden down the little stream floated a baby stingray. I’d never seen a baby stingray before so it was quite impressive and terribly cute (though I hear the babies can hurt you very badly).

We spent the next hour or so watching two baby seagulls and their mom. I couldn’t take my eyes off of the two young birds. It was spell-binding. They would scurry from place to place, looking for food, drinking water, and playing. Their mom walked the shoreline at a great distance from them. While she gave them freedom to play and do as they wished, she was never too far away and seemed to be keeping a watchful eye on them. If the bigger birds tried to pick on the baby ones, the mom would fly over and remedy the situation and then she let the babies go about their leisure again.

I am guessing these seagulls are accustomed to being tossed food by beachgoers because they were VERY territorial. From time to time the mother bird would be edging along the shoreline, minding her own business, but if she got too close to another birds "area," that bird would come at her squawking. She didn’t squawk back, she would simply do a few flutters of her wings and fly away in the direction of her babies. The babies went up and down the shore line, back and forth but the mom was never too far away.

I remember talking to Steve about how much this showed God's nature and I couldn't wait to blog about it. And then, I was reminded of the event last night at EYC. The junior EYC was outside playing a game that created mass confusion. The game was like flag football, without a football … the object was to run from one side of the field to the other and not have your “flags” taken by another player. When 50+ middle schoolers play this game, you can imagine it’s kind of crazy!

I was standing on the sidelines watching and in the midst of the craziness, laughter, and chaos, this one little yellow leaf was floating downward from the sky. It was very peaceful. I doubt if many even noticed it but to me it was peace it the midst of chaos. Another reminder ....

The two moments speak to the character of God in our lives (young and old).
Just like the mother seagull, God is constantly and faithfully watching over us and protecting us, allowing and not allowing things to happen in our lives, and never too far away to rescue us should we need it. God allows us the freedom to search and play.

And, just like the slowly downward drifting leaf, God is peace in the midst of the chaos and business of our lives. A beautiful reminder that the peace of God surpasses all of our understanding and an excellent example of what I think the glory of God looks like.

Finding God in extraordinary places (like Edisto) is usually a fairly easy task. But, if we look for God in the ordinary, everyday (like game time), too, God is likely to remind us of God’s presence and perfect love in most surprising ways.

My challenge to you ... where will you see God this week?

Prayer Requests 10.16.11 | 6:20pm service

Tell Me God Doesn't Answer Prayer ...

Tell me God doesn’t answer prayer!

I wish you could “hear” my attitude and inflection as I say that (one disadvantage of technology). Just imagine my typical passionate attitude and know there’s great emphasis on “tell” and “me.”
I’ve thought about posting that as my facebook status for the last week because several BIG things I’ve (and many others) been praying for some friends have been happening, exactly, or nearly, just as we were praying.

First, several weeks ago, one of my co-workers was diagnosed with cancer and the prognosis was very, very grim … in fact, it seemed it was just a matter of time for Jo and that surgery or chemo were not possible or would not do much more than bring some temporary comfort. So many of us were praying for healing and less pain for Jo. If you know Jo, you know what a loving, giving, hospitable, strong woman she is and how generous she is with her time and talents! This just didn’t seem fair and many hearts were breaking for Jo, her family, and our church.

Late last week, Jo found out she had received a “mis-diagnosis” and while she does have cancer (left over from her first battle with it), it is very treatable and the prognosis is much more positive now.


Another rather, in your face, example of an answered prayer came to my friends Erin and Josh. Erin and Josh have been trying to have a baby for a while now and despite seeing fertility specialists and trying many techniques, they were unable to become pregnant. So, they decided to adopt a child. We were so thrilled for them and the past about 6 months or so have been quite a journey for them with paperwork, home visits, and preparations. I could sense they remained hopeful but were a tad disheartened with the amount of time they were told it might take to find a suitable match or be picked by a birth mother. If you know them, Erin and Josh make it easy to love them! They are so warm and welcoming and family and friends mean everything to them. I can think of no one who would be a better parent than they would be! Their struggle was just plain not fair.

This past Friday, they brought their sweet Thomas home from the hospital after getting a call on Thursday that they had been chosen by a birthmother. It has been a rather unexpected whirlwind of events for the family the past several days! But how baby Thomas is the answer to the cries of Erin and Josh and those who love them!

I am so happy for these three dear friends. And it is in times like these that we say God is good. And God is good! But sadly, our prayers don’t always get answered exactly (or nearly exact) the way we want them answered as in these two cases.

Does this mean that God doesn’t answer our prayers? I’m not going to lie … sometimes I want to wonder if God even hears some of my prayers. Sometimes I wonder why God doesn’t hurry up and make something happen. Sometimes I wonder why God lets bad things happen to good people. Sometimes I can’t understand why things happen the way they do or why people have to struggle and suffer.
But through all of this I firmly believe that God DOES hear our prayers and that God DOES answer EVERY SINGLE prayer we pray. The problem comes in that the answer isn’t always what I want or think it should be. The answer isn’t always good for my timeline. Sometimes I get so busy or bogged down in what I think the answer should be that I can’t notice how God is actually answering or I forget to look altogether.

Scripture tells us that God does answer prayer:

James 5:16 .… The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with …
Job 22:27 …. "You will make your prayer to Him, He will hear you..."
Jer 29:12 …. "Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you."
Jer 33:3 …. "Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things..."

But what I notice about these verses is that they don’t say you get what you want, every time you pray …they simply states that God listens and God is present. I know that God does answer our prayers as “yes” sometimes. But I also am 100% confident that God also answers from time to time with “no,” “not right now,” or “yes, but ….”

Based on past experiences in my life and things I have seen in the lives of others, I am convinced that God does know what is best for us and that is why we don’t always have our prayers answered on our timeline or in the ways we always want. Especially, I remember, as a teenager struggling with why God wasn’t answering my prayers or hearing what I needed. I was downright convinced God was not listening to me. But now I can see things differently. I wasn’t listening to God. And, I think about a child who wants to eat ice-cream right before dinner. It might ruin their dinner or spoil their appetite, right? But they can’t see that at the time. This is much like our prayer and faith life!

Going against our human nature, I am convicted that we should probably be using those moments of “no” or “not now” for good, rejoicing in them, and praising God for them just as much as we do in the “yes” moments. In fact, according to Romans 5:3-4 (The Message), we should “ … continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next.” Understanding that “no” or “not now” is best for us is quite challenging.

God is good. God is present. God listens. God answers. Always.

St. John's Youth This Week | 09.19.11

Prayer Requests for 09.18.11

Send in your prayer requests for this week's 6:20 p.m. worship!

6:20pm Worship ... What did you think

Okay ... there were about 150 of you there Sunday when we started the new 6:20pm worship service. Give us your thoughts! What did you like or NOT like? What should we do differently? Help us shape this service! Repsond anonymously at our formspring page! Just click on the respond button below!


Answer Questions

A Three Minute Homily Turned Eight

Last night we began a new worship service here at St. John's! The service is being prayerfully designed with our youth in mind but anyone is welcomed to attend! Last night there were about 150 present and it was a blast (with a few minor technical errors)! I was supposed to do the homily for no more than 3-5 minutes but ... suprise, suprise wordy little me ... it turned into 8 minutes. Sorry guys!! Below is a transcript of my message. The Scripture was the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant.

So if you were in Sunday school today, you’ve heard lots about forgiveness already today. And, if you were at worship earlier, you probably heard and saw Father Paul with his calculator necklace and heard him pose the question – do you have a calculator in your heart and do you add up and keep all the times other people hurt you. I think the necklace could become a trend … what do you think? And it’s 9/11 so it’s kind of a topic that is on everyone’s mind. But tonight, I want to talk to you one more time about forgiveness, real quickly.

You can probably think Scripture and all the times we’ve heard that Jesus talk about forgiveness.

*We hear about it in the Lord’s prayer (the way Jesus says we should
pray) … forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those …
*And what about all the healing stories from the Bible. Jesus usually
says something like your sins are __________________ (FORGIVEN), get
up and walk or you are healed or whatever.
*And what about that all famous statement from the cross: “Father
forgive them, they know not what they do.”

And, I love the acting out of this piece of Scripture that some of our youth just did parable on the unforgiving or unmerciful servant.

But this parable of the unforgiving servant wasn’t like a one time deal or story. Jesus didn’t just talk about forgiveness once or say 7 times but more like ... oh I don’t know … a total guess here a bazillion and 77 times. Forgiveness is so important that here’s what I think … for us Christians, forgiveness, it should be the real “F” word because it seriously is the cornerstone of the Christian life.

Forgiveness was fundamentally important to Jesus. Fundamentally? That just a really big way of saying really, really, really important. If you look earlier in Matthew (which is where this story comes from) we get the whole forgive and be forgiven concept from Jesus. IN other words - the only way God forgives us is if we forgive others.

And then in Matthew just before this parable, Jesus even lays out this really cool plan for dealing with conflict within the body of Christ. Basically he says if someone upsets you then you need to go and talk to that person alone. If that doesn’t work then take two others with you and try again. If that doesn’t work take that person before the whole church and work it out.
So, in case you don’t get it yet … this forgiveness thing … it’s a REALLY BIG deal.

So then here is my question, if it is so important then why is this forgiveness thing so tough to do?

You see, this is what Jesus did! He took every day worldly concepts – things you and I deal with – and he flipped them upside down. People in Jesus day (and even in our world today sometimes) were used to an eye for an eye type of concept. And here Jesus is saying just forgive … no strings attached.

I don’t know about you … but when somebody hurts me, I really like to hold a grudge. I don’t like it when someone has taken advantage of me, or trashed my name. But way too often, I act like the unforgiving servant and try to make them pay!

But here is a little secret about forgiveness that I had to learn the hard way. When we harbor un-forgiveness it is just like we’re saying, “Okay, person that hurt me you control my life. I’m the puppet. You’ve got the strings. You hurt me. You ruined my life. You keep me from all this potential.”

It can completely control you and it will manifest itself in really yucky ways like anger or depression.

Part two of that is when we feel like there is no way we can let go, we have to trust God to give us the strength to do it. It’s just that simple.


I know what some of you are thinking! Jillianne, “You don’t realize what’s happened to me. You don’t realize what my friend did. You don’t know what my mother did or my father. You don’t realize what that coach said to me. For me to forgive them would be to minimize what they did to me. I’m not going to let them off that easy. I’m going to make them pay. I’m going to make them suffer.”

You’re right; I don’t know what you’ve gone through. But, what I do know is that forgiving someone doesn’t mean you are minimizing their behavior. We’re freeing ourselves up. We’re giving ourselves a gift that money can’t buy.

Because … think about the word “forgiveness.” It has the word “give” in it. When we forgive, we give ourselves the ultimate gift. Also, we’re giving the other person who messed with us a gift. We’re giving them room to change. It’s not up to us whether they accept that gift, we just have to lay it down and walk away.

Father Paul was right. He said this morning that Christianity isn’t for sissy’s. He’s right! But there are so many amazing payoffs for persevering and being open to what God is calling us to do … even if it means doing the thing we think we can’t do and forgiving someone who has hurt us deeply.

Amen?!

Texting Prayer Requests!

This Sunday, we will begin a new worship service at St. John's at 6:20pm! This service has been designed with youth in mind! For example, we have found a way to text in prayer requests and those requests will be shown on the screen during the worship service.

So, attendees can text prior to the service and will also have the opportunity to text in prayer requests!

At any time (now or during worship), all you have to do is text @wif75137 and your prayer request to the number 87884.

Check it out live below!

Nine Eleven

Okay, I’m jumping on the 9/11 bandwagon. I don’t know how you could have missed it … but just in case, this Sunday marks the 10 year anniversary. There are many memorials planned including at the site of ground zero, the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania. Here at St. John’s there will even be a 24 hour prayer vigil where members have been signing up to take turns coming to the chapel to pray from 7:00pm Saturday through 7:30am worship on Sunday.

And sad, but true, there’s lots of “drama” or “issues” to go along with these memorials. For example, despite the fact that it is directed by Scripture, people could be caught off guard by the fact that we are being asked to pray for our enemies during this time of remembrance. And then there is the whole Mayor Bloomberg vs. Pastor Rick Warren scenario as Mayor Bloomberg has decided to omit prayer during the 9/11 commemoration at ground zero. Warren has decided to hold a prayer service at Saddleback’s sister church in Manhattan (two blocks from ground zero). You can read an article with the details by clicking here.

But I’m jumping on the bandwagon in writing about the 10th anniversary of 9/11 because I just had to put things in perspective for myself. It’s been on my mind for a while now because last month as I wrote this Sunday’s Sunday school lesson on Matthew 18 (The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant), I had to consider the youth for whom I was writing it.

The reality of the situation is that our current 12th grade class was born around 1993-1994 (when I was a junior in high school). This made them 7 or 8 years old at the time of September 11th. The current 6th grade class was born around 1999 or 2000 (when I was graduating college), making them just 1 or 2 years old at the time of the attacks. So MOST of the memories those involved in youth ministry have are of the post-nine eleven world. And, this week, all you have to do is turn on the TV to hear about all of the changes – airports, security, war, church, life in general!

Then, this morning it hit me. I literally can’t watch the news reports and interviews about 9/11/01 without crying. It has been 24 years since my father was killed by a drunk driver and about ten years after his death, I was able to talk about him / look at photos mostly without crying. But, it’s been ten years and just this morning, I was crying a belly-wrenching cry from an interview on the families of 9/11 and where they are today. Over 3,000 children lost a parent that day … that is the statement from the Today Show that brought forth my tears this morning.

I can remember EXACTLY where I was and what I was doing on that Tuesday morning, ten years ago. I can remember watching the Today Show and seeing the black smoke billowing from the first tower. As most people did, I had several connections to the events of 9/11/01. I was a volunteer firefighter during the time of 9/11 and the “brotherhood” that exists made me ache for my fellow firefighters on the scene in NY; it was a pride thing, I guess you could say. Also, my uncle worked at the Pentagon and I can remember the anticipation of waiting to hear if he was okay. So for me, 9/11 was very personal and has since shaped the way I think and do (or don’t do – i.e. firefighting) many things.

But not the students with whom we work and serve. They don’t have those memories. They are simply living under the shadows (so to speak) of this and other horrific events every day. They’ve heard the stories and scene the pictures and uncensored Youtube videos of 9/11. It is not so easy to “protect” and “shield” our children from violence, war, crime, rumors, and events like 9/11. The influence of media is ridiculous (but the norm) and social media / texting makes IMMEDIATE conversation and communicating information possible ... just think about when the earthquake struck a few weeks ago … almost every Facebook status update and tweet was about it for several hours!

So, I don’t know how we adapt and adjust to these facts in the best way, but as youth ministers and youth workers … we must. For example, for youth that don’t have a frame of reference of why bad things happen to good people (i.e. death of a loved one, sickness, etc.), I think 9/11 can be a good point of reference. And, certainly, proposing the question of where was God on 9/11 could spark a good discussion amongst youth and their leaders (or parents).

Regardless, we must remember, this is THEIR world and is ALL today’s youth have ever known. Honoring that and using things like media and instant communication to our advantage is a must. And, thankfully, that can be a creative challenge that looks differently from context to context.

CHAINS

Last night at EYC (youth group), Matt did a devotion using Exodus 3’s excerpt on Moses’ call / the burning bush! Matt talked to the youth about how we can be so much like Moses. When God calls us to do something and we feel like we can’t or we don’t want to, we tell God “no” and make up excuses as to why we can’t. Those excuses are like being tied up with chains … they paralyze us!

To help the 6th-12th graders understand this Scripture and its applicability to their lives, we did some things at youth group that involved stretching possibilities beyond what seemed impossible. In one game, the youth were challenged to fit as many people as they could into the middle of a bike inner-tube. Believe it or not, one middle school group fit over 40 people inside by stretching the tube and working together. In another game, youth were given a challenge to complete a relay that involved running through cones, jumping over a table and through a hula hoop, throwing a tennis ball, and tying someone’s shoes. That seems pretty easily accomplished (though tedious) but each youth was also given a specific way to complete the task. For example, some youth could not bend their knees, some youth had to hop on one foot all the way through the relay, some had to go backwards or with another person on their back, and so on.

Moses, in Exodus 3, comes up with all sorts of excuses and reasons as to why he can’t do what God wants. Namely:

1. Who and I to go and talk to Pharaoh and be a leader?
2. I don’t know what to say when they ask who you are!
3. No one will believe what I say!
4. I am NOT a good public speaker, I stutter!
5. What can’t somebody else do this?

These excuses paralyze Moses and he seems unable to move forward. Moses’ uncertainty, self-doubt, and fear tie him up! He has paralyzed himself by focusing on what other people think, what he sees as his own weaknesses, and by not wanting to look foolish. These are not from God, but devices and stumbling blocks planted by Satan. And, they can happen to us all!

God, I just can’t study for this test, I am going to fail anyways so what is the point? There’s no way I can wear that, I am never going to be as pretty as ____(insert name)_____. I couldn’t ask her to prom, she wouldn’t go with me anyways. I can’t apply to that college, I am not as smart as ____(insert name)_____. Try out for that team … yeah, not happening because I’m not good at that sport. Serving at the soup kitchen sounds so lame and besides, I would have to wake up early. Attend Bible study or Sunday school every week … not so much, it would be boring and I’m never going to be good enough anyways.

But God doesn’t leave Moses (or us) paralyzed and all tied up. In fact, if God left Moses tied up like that we would have a very DIFFERENT Bible. But, God does not. For every one of Moses’ excuses why he can’t do what God is calling him to do, God provides answers and creates ways for Moses to overcome these objections. Namely:

1. You are the person I picked, you are a leader, and I am with you.
2. When they ask who I am, tell them I am who I am.
3. If they don’t believe you, I will enable you to prove it to them. Hint, hint - you have a very powerful staff that will turn into snakes if you throw it on the group and when you pick it up it will be a staff again.
4. You will be a great public speaker because I will give you the words. But, hey take Aaron and he can talk for you some, too.
5. Sorry, you have to do this but again … take your brother Aaron so you have a partner to help you be successful.

To add to what Matt said last night, like with Moses, when God calls us God does create a way for us and answers our excuses, too! We just have to be able to take off our shoes and be on holy ground with our Holy God! That basically is a big, fancy, metaphorical way of saying that eventually we get to a place in our spiritual growth and relationship with Jesus where not only can we can hear God speak BUT God gets through to us, breaking those chains that Satan places around us. Finding those holy ground moments in our weeks (more than just Sunday) is so key in our spiritual journeys, even as youth.

We Were Created for Change!

Here is the message I shared at EYC kick-off! The topic was CHANGE! It's written sort of as I would speak it ... it is totally not gramatically correct and I am sure there are typos! So I hope you can get through the reading of it! :) Also, you'll miss some of the pics and slideshow I did but you get the idea and I'll inlucde a few here!


Hi! My name is Jillianne and I am the new assistant youth minister here! And, I hate change! Okay, I’m not sure that I really HATE change but I’ve been dealing with a lot of changes in my life recently and I’m kinda ready to be done with change for a while …

So the first big change in my life is the fact that my husband and I got married this past Christmas Eve. It was both of our second wedding and we both have children – his children live in OH (Connor, 15 and Carley, 12) and my son lives with me (Blaine, 6). So that’s been a HUGE change in my life.

Also, I just moved to Charlotte in June after living in South Carolina all my life and that is a BIG change too! I really LOVE my old friends, my old house! My old bathroom … it was the size of mine and Matt’s office on the third floor and it was FABULOUS. The little townhouse where we are living now … my bathroom there is about the size of the closet in mine and Matt’s office! That is a real change ... trust me.

So, needless to say, I’ve been thinking about and dealing with “change” a lot recently. And so, I thought we might think together about change tonight!

I am wondering - by a show of hands … who here likes change?
Not many people do in general. Well … except maybe a baby in a diaper. Get it? Change the diaper! (that was my attempt at humor)

And so I started wondering … are there things in our lives that don’t change?

Can you think of anything? You might be feeling like … my parent’s rules will never change, my friends will always be the same, and you are probably right for now … but the truth is eventually they will change!!

So, here’s some of the things I thought of that change. These are really random examples, sorry:

*trees change – they lose their leaves, stay that way for a while and then
get really pretty flowers or new leaves.

*we change – right? Our physical appearance! I must say – I could go
without the gray hair. I mean, come on! I’m only 34. My little boy is always changing – his teeth – he looks like a different person depending on what tooth has fallen out / which is growing in. And he’s a cutie! Just watch some of his dance moves:



And, do he’s changing every day and I don’t even want to think about 10 years from now how much he will have changed ….

*And what about outer space – that’s always changing and moving. One day Pluto is a planet and the next it is not. There’s water on Mars or some other planet now. It’s incredible!

*school changes – you go from elementary to middle to high school. The people in class with you change. The things you are learning change. The people who teach you change.

*animals change – they get bigger, shed their skin, change colors based on
where they are standing, and so on.

*I don’t know about you …. but …. our taste in food changes – now when you get to know me, you will discover that I tend to be a pretty picky eater but I LOVE iced coffee and Mexican food. Like I just discovered that I LOVE guacamole. 34 years … who knew. And when I was pregnant, I couldn’t even look at an egg or I would throw up.

*our friends change – sometimes for good, sometimes for bad, sometimes permanently, sometimes just when certain people are around.

*the ocean – goes in and out and erodes the sand around it, washes in new
shells.

*technology – when I was in high school, I thought I was the coolest kid because of my BAG phone, Internet existed but we didn’t really use it. Now - computers, kindles, iPads, Android cell phones (I remember fondly my bag phone from high school). Pretty soon you guys won’t even need backpacks … everything will be on your laptop or kindle! And so, technology, has certainly CHANGED society and our ability for instant communication.

*how about EYC / this youth group – the people in it change every year (I am sure that some of you are probably missing some of last year’s seniors and there are lots of new faces … which is a good thing), sometimes there are new crew leaders or Sunday school teachers or assistant youth ministers!!

I’ve been thinking a lot about you guys and the EYC program here and some of the CHANGES happening. One of the most obvious changes really cool changes is this new 6:20pm Eucharist. I think it is going to be a really great experience and will be a worship service that anyone can come to but that is designed just with YOU GUYS in mind and by some of you. And, the fact that we’re going to have a theme for the year this year. And each crew has created a logo idea – and we will get to sharing those in a minute. Bottom line - that is a change for us!

So I couldn’t really think of much that doesn’t change. And then it hit me … (so click on the video below) watch this!

http://sermonspice.com/product/28699/change

Something we don’t have to question is the fact that God is with us and God loves us! There is absolutely NOTHING we can do to change that. And, God, is NEVER going to change that!

So – God being with us = God loving us - that is the one constant, never changing fact about our lives! If you don’t believe me … you can find this fact all over the Bible! Just turn to the book of Psalms – about half or more talk about God and love!

*You all know – John 3:16 – For God so ______ the world (who is the world? Us!) so much that he sent ….

*There’s this book / letter / epistle in the NT called 1 John and in it we read something crazy about God’s love for us …

1 John 4:16b says: "God is love!"

In fact, this whole section of 1 John talks about God’s love! Picture this … this year is 100, maybe 110. This John guy … probably the same man who wrote the Gospel of John is really old. There are people going around saying that Jesus didn’t really become flesh (who know what that is called – Incarnation). Jesus was just a “spirit.” And so John felt like he needed to write this book (only 5 chapters) to talk about the fact that Jesus was God as a human and to teach Christians who would later read it how to discern a true teachers (ethics, love, etc.)

So God loves us and that never changes. But check this out … as long as we have God’s love (which is how long?? FOREVER). So as long as we have God’s love, we can be pretty beast at dealing with change, even if we don’t like it!

Because here is the really cool part about us - we were created for change! Let me explain … would you agree that 1. We are creature? 2. We are part of God’s creation?

Think about it. In the creation story in Genesis, who remembers the very FIRST thing God created?

ON day 1 – God created the day that CHANGED into _______ (night).

On the 4th day God created the seasons and the years … things that CHANGE!

And what about Jesus?! Jesus very frequently CHANGED his location. Several times in Scripture we read that Jesus left one good experience/location/place he was doing good to go to another and change his location.

But going to a new place isn’t always easy! Is it? High school students … who remembers the first day of 9th grade? For some of you that is going to be in a couple of days. And anyone who’s is not a 6th grader … who remembers your first time coming to EYC? I can remember being in college or better yet when I was in seminary and having a baby at the same time … and staying up all night studying sometimes … that wasn’t easy.

And here is good news in dealing with change … it is a 100% guarantee. Sometimes the things in life that are the hardest to overcome (i.e. change of most any kind) can produce the greatest results! Kinda like a man dying a horrendous death (nails piercing His body). But think about all that has become, all that we have because of that. We wouldn’t be sitting together right now if Jesus hadn’t of loved us enough to get through that change in his life. It’s kinda like getting through the first day / first year of high school or middle school or the first day of EYC.

So I think that this year is going to be tremendous. I am really looking forward to the CHANGES and getting to know you and all the great things we have planned to do, like our fall retreats, our Wednesday night Bibles studies, our Urban Ministries soup kitchen/5th Saturday, winter retreat, spring break mission trip, Costa Rica, and EVERYTHING!

Amen?!

Are you ready to get messy?

"Sometimes we get so caught up in the words of Jesus or in what he doesn't say that we miss the point."

"Less Talk ... More Walk!"


These were two inspiring statements that I heard over the past couple of days!
They go together so well! The first was a point that Father Michael made in his sermon this past Sunday. He was referencing the stories of Matthew 15! And the second was a youth group "theme" that I heard one of my former youth groups was going to use this year!

Based on these two inspiring statements, and this blog post of mine from a couple of weeks ago (where I was basically making the point that I believe “church” is more than just a place we go on Sunday mornings) … I’ve been in a tailspin trying to hear the Holy Spirit! Even though I usually do my blog update on Mondays, I had to get my thoughts together and post today.
So, today I ask, what if “church” was less about Sunday and more about other days of the week. And even more, how is this relevant for youth today?

Now, DO NOT get me wrong. Sunday is absolutely VITAL in the life of a Christian and is absolutely IMEASUREABLE in regards to what it does for our relationship with Jesus, the Christ. We all must do a better job at attending regularly and having Sunday activities be a priority in our lives and in the lives of our families! Sunday morning Christian education for youth, children, parents and church members is key. Worshipping God should be a priority. Fellowshipping with other Christians is essential. Sunday night youth group / Wednesday Bible study is significant. Sunday / Wednesday cannot be replaced.

But what are we all doing the other 6 days of the week to enhance, build, grow, and most importantly SHARE our relationship with God? There are so many other important things that compete for a teen’s time … soccer, football, volleyball or other team practices, our friends and social life, family time, shopping, video games, media, Facebook, and so much more! Current studies confirm that this generation is the busiest … EVER!

Now, I’m not a teenager, but I know at my house, we don’t usually stop during the school year from sun up to sun down and well after some nights! For me and for many families today, I would guess it’s like a puzzle trying to fit together who needs to be where when and for how long. And God forbid that one of our cars break down or get a flat tire … or that one of us get sick or something. We’re like a well-oiled machine …

Or are we?

Where does that piece of the puzzle … called God … fit on a daily basis in our lives? In other words, WE MISS THE POINT, if all we do is come on Sunday (or think we don’t have to) but don’t apply what happens and what we learn on Sunday to Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

Seriously … it is a valid and challenging question: how sincere are we in our devotion to Christ?

We were created for so much more! But so many times we (all) get caught up in the business of life. We get ‘stopped in our tracks angry at God’ because of the things in life that break us. But Jesus was here and Jesus got messy …. right in the middle of people’s broken, busy lives. And Jesus calls us to the same!

This is a great video that illustrates this point well:

Change The World

Sermonspice.com

See Details Buy Now

So St. John’s EYC … are you ready to get messy?? I’ll see you at EYC kick-off this Sunday!

Finding My Comfy Seat ...

The wonderfully inspiring Gospel lesson of Jesus and Peter walking on the water. If you didn't get to worship yesterday, this was the Gospel lesson. I have loved this story since I was a little girl. My son is fascinated with the lesson too ... even getting excited and whispering to me in worship yesterday, "Mom, I know how this story ends!!" Also, just this last May, at the last church where I served, my students chose to use this Scripture on youth Sunday. Our youth group president preached a great sermon about having to step out of the boat, sometimes, because that is where the blessings in our lives might just be.

Yesterday, Father Paul encouraged the attendees at the contemporary service to remember that this is a particular reason that Jesus puts us in the boat.

Safety.

Fr. Paul also encouraged us to remember the context of the fact that Peter was able to walk on the water (even if it was ever so briefly). Jesus was "testing" Peter and “calling” him for a particular job.

Starting the church.

This is a great point and these are two facts are phenomenally important for us to remember! And I think these are two important facts for youth today to remember, too! Sometimes we do need the “safety” of the “boat” in our lives. And thank God, Jesus puts us IN THE BOAT. It is good to have a comfort zone; after all, everyone does, right?

And, part of being a youth is:

*discovering our comfort zones (as a pre-teen)
*living into our own comfort zones and not necessarily our those of our parent’s (as
a teen)
*pushing the limits and expanding our zones (as a young adult/college)

Those whom I have gotten to share in ministry in the past know that I’ve always been a huge encourager of stepping out of one’s comfort zone. I know my youth in the past have gotten tired of hearing me say it!! :) And, I purposely try to plan many activities in youth group, Sunday school, on youth group trips, etc. to give teens the chance to do so! For example, there’s nothing like a great mission trip week full of “Out of Your Comfort Zone Dinners.” On that particular trip, at each dinner on our trip, the students were given a challenge! These challenges included things like (get ready SJ EYC, I’m sure you’ll be doing these soon):

*Here’s $50 and a van/driver … go figure out how to feed your whole group.
*Everybody tie this connected string to your arm (thus the whole group gets
connected)... okay now go eat at this fabulous cookout on the beach!
*No fork, knife, or spoon night … go to the kitchen an find something else you can
use to eat your spaghetti!
*You can’t serve or feed yourself tonight! Enjoy the tacos …

A really silly / fun to watch activity? Yes. Pointless? Absolutely not. On that trip, the youth were “forced” to work together to get through the meals. They interacted and got to know and trust one another on a deeper level; and, the group really bonded that week causing an easy flow together over the next year. These things might not have happened otherwise.

Stepping out of our comfort zones doesn’t have to be as outlandish as those activities! For teenagers today, it might include things like stopping or standing up for someone who is being bullied at school, asking someone who is sitting alone at lunch at school to come over and sit with a group, walking away from a group who is gossiping or talking bad about someone, or making church and youth group a priority in our life despite the many competitions of our social, athletic opportunities. Those are really hard things to do! I know because they were really hard things for me to do when I was a teenager. And, it is not really likely that any of us would do them without having Jesus in our sights and as the encourager to “Come!” walk on the water (out of our comfort zone).

I am convinced that when we step out of our comfort zones, growth happens, our faith matures, and really great things can happen. Is it challenging? Do we sink sometimes? Would it be easier to stay in the comfort of the boat? Absolutely. But, thankfully, Jesus is there to walk every step with us; we just have to be intentional to look for Him and be aware of what He is “testing” us for and “calling” us to do! Obviously Jesus isn’t “calling” us to be Peter and start the church. But, I assure you He is calling us each to something. Being intentional about hearing and understanding this call means doing things like praying, reading Scripture, having quiet time, talking to friends or mentors about what you are feeling, participating in service opportunities or mission trips, coming to worship and Sunday school and whatever else helps you to recognize Jesus in your every day!

I’m so excited to be in the boat with you SJ EYC-ers and I can’t wait to find a comfy seat so I can watch you walking on the water!

You Really Love Me Like You Say You Do

Last week and this week, I’ve been working on a fun project for the fall! At St. John’s our children, youth, and adult Sunday school classes will all be focusing on lessons based on the lectionary! Hopefully, this will facilitate thought and discussion beyond Sunday morning amongst the families that attend Sunday school and worship at St. John’s! In fact, the staff has chosen a particular passage from the lectionary to focus on in worship and Sunday school each week so that we are all on the same page! So, I am creating high school Sunday school lessons based on those lectionary choices.

One of the lesson’s we will be studying in September comes from Exodus 17:1-7. In this piece of Scripture, the Israelites are in the desert under the leadership of the Moses. They are constantly moving and wandering around when God orders them to do so. And, it seems to me that when God orders them to move, they do, but they sure are grumpy about it! Eventually, they come to camp at a place called Rephidim. But, upon arrival there, they discover a problem. There is no water and they are thirsty!

Naturally, they go to their leader, Moses, and do the complaing! But, they do more than complain. It seems to me, they test God and even take it as far as threatening to stone Moses if he doesn’t get them some water. Rephidim, was likely one of their last stops on the journey to the Promised Land, so maybe the Israelistes were extra grumpy because they were sick of being in the wilderness and were ready to be settled in one place. Nonetheless, how could they threaten to kill Moses?!

So, poor Moses is at his wits end, I can imagine! He prays and God sends him (and some leaders) ahead of the group to “the rock” at Mt. Sinai. God tells Moses to strike the rock with a stick and water will pour out. Well guess what! When Moses goes ahead, struck the rock with his stick, water poured out and the people drank.

The message seems pretty simple to me. The Israelites don’t trust God enough to be confident that God will provide for their need. They take matters into their own hands and don’t care what they have to do to “fix” the situation (even if it means stoning Moses to death).

In reading other passages from Exodus, it is like the Israelites are on this journey in the desert and when God orders them to move to a new place they go … albeit complaining the whole way. And then they get caught up in their misery and forget that God loves them, is in control and has greater purpose and reason for taking them places on the journey ... even if those places are miserable!

Aren’t we like that too? We sometimes tend to not trust in God’s greater plan for our lives just because things get a little uncomfortable (i.e. we get thirsty). Or, maybe you are like me, I pray and “give it to God” (whatever my issue is) but then I take it back from God when God doesn’t move fast enough for me to make my issue better.

Why do we constantly test God and require God to prove Gods-self to us? When are our blessings enough? When will we open our eyes and hearts to God’s purpose and plan and keep them open even if it takes some time to see the reasons?

On the other hand, God is patient and it is good to know that time after time, God shows up and answers our tests! It’s just like with the Israelites. Right after this passage from chapter 7, the Israelites have to fight the Amalekites. In the end, God provided and they won the battle. It seems to me that God was screaming, loudly – TRUST IN ME – throughout the whole battle! You see, whenever Moses would invoke God’s presence (by raising his arms and the stick that he struck the rock with for water), the Israelites got ahead in the battle and did well. But when Moses would lower his arms, they would begin to be defeated. If that is not God reminding us God is large and in charge, I don’t know what is!

The Israelites test God over and over while they are in the wilderness and God shows up time after time. We test God over and over in our lives and God shows up time after time … whether we catch it or not!

The stick that these passages reference seems to be a clear metaphor for the power of God and a reminder that God is in control! So many times as teens and even as adults, we miss the awesomeness of the moments to enjoy God‘s power and might AND ability to be in control. This is because we are so busy testing God, complaining, and/or being grumpy about being thirsty (our trying situations). We forget how much God loves us. So, it seems pretty simple to me. All we have to do is to learn to stop testing God and abide in that love.

I think this Paul Colman song really speaks to how we can learn to stop testing God and questioning. It requires us to whole-heartedly know that God is truly the one thing we can depend on and that we don’t have to question. Praise God! “You really love me like You say You do!” (My favorite line from the song)

Church

Yesterday at our church, St. John’s, we celebrated Christmas. Yes, you read that correctly … Christmas in July! We sang Christmas hymns in worship, decorated with poinsettias and the baby Jesus in the manger, ate Christmas cookies and hot chocolate on a stick (a.k.a. fudge sickles). All because the joy of Christmas should be celebrated year round, not just Christmas Eve and Christmas Day! Not bad for my first Sunday at St. John’s … since Advent and Christmas are my favorite church seasons!

But, Father Paul mentioned some things in his sermon that I thought were excellent! In particular (and relate-able to youth ministry) – Father Paul made the statement that God is the Architect and we, the church today, are the builders. Each of us is called to take a brick and build (living out our Baptismal vows)! And, we always need more builders (evangelism). Finally, our blueprint for building the Kingdom? Yep, you guess it, Scripture! I think this is a very youth friendly and relatable concept of our responsibilities as the body of Christ (the Church) and of God.

So, when you hear the word “church” what do you think about / how do you define it? Do you think about things like mega churches or small town childhood memories, or Christmas, or a beautiful place? This is a very valid question in today’s society. Certainly, our definition of “Church” shapes how we live out our faith! And we all know about connotations of words (thank you middle school English teachers) … and sadly “Church” isn’t doesn’t have the greatest connotation for the post-modern generation (but that’s a whole other post…).

So how does this relate to the post-modern generation / youth ministry today? I’m guessing (based on my experience in youth ministry) that most youth today would likely answer the question by defining “church” as a building or a place where believers gather to worship God. And while that is a fair statement, I think there is a general misconception about church being people. Further, as a side note / point of reference - I have also experienced that if you were to say “body of Christ” to Christian youth today, they would likely define that as people. And then of course there’s the whole big C (universal) / little c thing to consider (but that’s another post, too….)

But I say there is MUCH more to “church” than a local place and that we must help youth (and their parents and church members) to embrace this concept. Based on my understanding of who God is (i.e. Architect) and through Scripture, I do not think it wise of us to place limits on “church” as an event or activity in which we have the option to participate or not.
The bottom line for me? Church = the body of Christ. Church (capital C) is more than just a place. Church is people. People who follow Christ … collectively (world-wide) and of ALL ages (see 1 Corinthians 12:27: “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” NIV translation).
I remember reading an excerpt from a Christian musician who agrees with this way of thinking about the word “Church.” He says that we would never think to ourselves (or say out-loud) something like …

"Thank goodness it's Friday! I'm looking forward to going to ‘family’ and
crashing in the recliner.” Of course, you might say, "It's family night," but in
doing so you wouldn't be thinking of your family as an activity. You'd
be describing and thinking of a group of people.

Stick with me here ….

I am convinced that Church is more than just a building (and that we should be teaching this better to the post-modern generation) for several reasons. First, the English word “church” comes from the Greek word “ekklesia” which means “an assembly” or “a called out body.” And interesting that when used scripturally, “ekklesia” doesn’t refer to a building or place but to a group of people. In some senses it refers to a circle. So, to me it seems all of these facts certainly give “Church” a relational meaning … not institutional.

Secondly, Scripture references Church as more than just a local place … it has universal meaning with regards to people as well! And, surprise, surprise, it still applies to us today. In keeping with Father Paul’s reference to God as Architect, let’s think at Matthew 16! In verse 18, Jesus is talking and says you, Peter, are the foundation / the rock on which I will build my church! So, Jesus uses A PERSON as the foundation on which to build the CHURCH! Hello ….

Simply acknowledging “church” as a building or place we go Sunday mornings or Wednesday nights undermines our understanding of who we are, whose we are, and who we're called to be. Period. So teaching youth that it’s as simple as a change in our thoughts and words is important! So Church, my challenge to us this week is to start small … try something like simply saying I’m going to worship on Sunday instead of I’m headed to church! Or “Hey _____(insert name here)___, are you going to St. John’s youth Brown Bag on Wednesday to make soup for Urban Ministries?” instead of “Are you going to church Wednesday to make soup?”

I’m just saying …

Holy Hospitality

Balloons in the hallway, brownies and flowers on my desk, hugs all around, and lunch out with the staff were what I walked into on this, my first day, at St. John's! I felt so comfortable and welcomed right away on what could have been a stressful moment walking into the unknown!

And what's more - a week ago when my family and I arrived in Charlotte, we were greeted by many helping hands from the St. John's congregation ... who had our moving truck unloaded in a matter of an hour and a half!

And even before these amazing moments - about a month and a half beforehand - I was so impressed by the hospitality I experienced during my two in person interviews at St. John's! Snacks and drinks, a written and confirmed schedule, dinner with Matt and a lunch with Father Paul, and much more!

What I experienced was hospitality. No - Holy Hospitality.

Dictionary.com defines hospitality as the friendly reception and treatment of guests or strangers or as the quality or disposition of receiving and treating guests and strangers in a warm, friendly, generous way. So some synonyms for hospitality are warmth, cordiality, geniality, friendliness. And, of course, we know that "Holy" adds that Christian flair to it!

I'd say that what I have experienced is more like Holy Hospitality because I have a profound sense that this hospitality is intentionally offered through the command and example of Jesus. In fact, what I have experienced over the past weeks reminded me of the passage in Scripture where Jesus explains to the disciples the importance and rewards of hospitality.

I read this passage from Mattew 10:40-42 as a call to hospitality. And, here, I get the sense that parents are modeling and teaching this important characteristic to their children ... hence the families that came to help me move. I get the sense that it is important to the staff of the church to be a functional family ... hence the hugs and balloons and lunch out together!

I remember learning in seminary that hospitality can certainly impact what "makes" or "breaks" a church. So, St. John's, I'd say you seem to get it! And, I thank you for the warm and loving welcome that my family and I have received from you. I look forward to the future and to serving in youth ministry with you and to learning more from you about your great gift of hospitality.