the new intern

If the only person you're developing spiritually and in leadership is yourself, you're not doing anyone any favors.  You have to understand that you can and will eventually be replaced, and when you grasp that idea, developing someone who can do that just makes sense.  It's a scary idea to me, because I have trained people before in ministry, as God has directed me, and then God moved me along shortly after.  So when God put it on my heart to start developing someone again, I laughed.  I actually laughed out loud as I was praying and listening to God, because I thought, "Here we go again."  But I don't think I'm going anywhere for a long time, especially since God gave me a unique, young guy who doesn't want my specific job anymore than I want to give my job up.

[caption id="attachment_1468" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Chris signing his internship agreement[/caption]

This is Chris Johnson.  Yes, he is related to my boss, but no, that's not how he got this.  How did Chris come to be the Student Ministry Intern?  Well, he has been serving as a youth leader since my second Sunday in charge.  On my first Sunday, I sat next to him on a hayride and asked what grade he was in.  He gets this a lot, and from I can tell, it's not his favorite question to answer.  He informed me that he had graduated over a year ago, so I asked why he and his friend Brandon were there.  "We're just hanging out."  I let them both know that they would not be, as high school graduates, coming to YG to hang out.  As adults, they could come and be involved, or they could stay home.  Either way was fine.  They both chose to be involved.

Chris has been serving as a middle school small group leader ever since that time.  I can probably count the number of times he has missed youth group since then on one hand, and he's never just no-showed.  He comes early, talks to the middle school students, gets involved in everything.  He's just excited about youth ministry.  Two years ago, he taught one time.  He was nervous and a little shaky, but he wanted to teach, and I let him.  He didn't ask again, though.  Earlier this year, I had been praying about who I could get to teach, and I talked to him.  I asked him if he was willing to start teaching more, and he was.  That's also when he told me that he was actually praying about going into youth ministry.  He hadn't decided yet, but now he has, and he'll be attending Grace Bible College this fall to pursue that.  I'm so pumped for him.

So as he has been faithful in youth ministry for two and half years, and he is going into youth ministry, I asked if he wanted to meet regularly to discuss ministry.  He could ask whatever he wanted, and I would also share lessons with him that I have learned along the way.  He jumped at the idea.  Then I went and talked to his dad - my boss - about taking him on as an unpaid intern (unpaid because we cannot afford to pay him, not because he isn't great).  It had to go to the elder board, which should help to eliminate any accusations of nepotism.  They agreed to the idea of training a young leader who is pursuing ministry, and we took him on.  The goal is that he will be the Student Ministry Intern for one year and transition into a new role.  After one year, I would mostly let go of the reins and have him run the middle school for me.  Why?  Because the real goal is that when he gets done here, he would be able to take a youth ministry job at any church and be fully prepared to lead.

So what exactly will he be doing?  Well, this post is long enough.  You can ask him, or you can wait till the next post.

 

two grueling weeks

This past Sunday, Amie from Active:Water came to our youth group and talked about the world water crisis.  She shared some pretty staggering statistics, one of which is that right now, around 750 million people in our world do not have access to clean water.  That number is down significantly over the last several years, even as the population of our world grows, and a big part of that is Christians stepping up and answering the call.  Organizations like Active:Water, Blood Water Mission, and Living Water International (who we're partnered with for this year's mud run) have rallied people around this cause.

At the end of her presentation, Amie challenged our youth group to be a part of the 2-week challenge.  During the challenge, you only drink tap water.  You can't have any pop, juice, milk (even with cereal), or even coffee.  You can read that as you can't drink any caffeine. This is nuts!  I had prayed over this for a couple months, as I knew they were coming.  I wanted our kids to step up, and they did.  Every single teenager that was there on Sunday night took on the challenge.  We're all going through this together, and at the end, all the money we would have spent on other drinks will be collected and given to Active:Water for their Cambodia project.

Why would you go through 2 grueling weeks without any other drinks?  Well, you can do it for a blessing from God.  The Bible says in Matthew 10:42, "And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded."  Or you could do it, because this crisis is real.  750 million people without drinking water and you know it?  How could you not do something, even a small something, about that?  James 4:17 says, "For him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin."

Would you pray about joining us?  What if everyone at Kalamazoo Community Church inconvenienced themselves for two weeks, saved their money, and gave it towards clean water in Cambodia?  That would make a significant, dynamic impact on the world.

I'll admit that it's not easy, but it's really not as hard as I expected.  Amazingly, as I've leaned on God, He's helped me through the last four days.  As with any other fast, you rely on God to sustain you and replace the thing you're fasting from.  Without caffeine or much sugar - because I consume most of my sugar through drinks - I thought I would be exhausted.  But you know what?  I'm not.  I am falling asleep earlier, which causes me to wake up earlier, and by mid afternoon, I'm fine.

my first time skydiving

[caption id="attachment_1455" align="aligncenter" width="224"] Putting on a brave face before the jump.[/caption]

I wanted to title this post, "Highway to the Danger Zone," but that would have been an incomplete title.  It would have had to have been "Highway to the Danger Zone While Strapped to Another Man," since I went tandem skydiving this past weekend.  Big thanks to the Sherminator and his family for taking me.  It was a really fun experience.  I was definitely scared, missing out on sleep Thursday and Friday night leading up to the jump on Saturday.  I was scared Saturday when I left.  By the time we got there, I had calmed down most of the way, and as we pulled into Skydive Great Lakes, I accepted what I was going to do and wasn't even fidgeting anymore.

[caption id="attachment_1459" align="aligncenter" width="224"] The plane I jumped from[/caption]

There were two things tied for most uncomfortable part of the day.  First, the leg harnesses were really bad, but the point is to keep you attached to the parachute, so I will forgive them.  They were bad enough when I was strapped into them, but when the parachute pulled, it got really uncomfortable.  It really dug into the legs, but again, it's better than dying, so I'm okay with it.  The second most uncomfortable thing was having to sit on my instructors lap for a couple minutes before the jump.  I really had to pass gas, but I didn't want to offend the man whose life my hands were in, so I had to hold it.  Between sitting on a man's lap for the first time in forever and holding in gas, I was pretty uncomfortable.

[caption id="attachment_1458" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The plane taking off.[/caption]

There were about 10 seconds of being really scared up in the air.  I wasn't the first person to jump, which was nice, but that meant I had to sit in the plane with the door open for a bit. That wasn't too scary, but it reminded me that this was real and about to happen.  The scariest part was when the guy before me went, and we immediately slid over to the ledge.  I was instructed to tuck my feet under the plane, grab onto my chest harness, and arch my back.  For at least five seconds, I was not touching the plane, and I wasn't going anywhere.  I was swaying in the wind, 3 miles in the air, attached to a guy I had just met.  He let me know it was about time to go, counted it off, and pushed off the plane.  We backflipped away from the plane and the free fall began.  That flip and the first few seconds after it took a second to adjust to.  I had to remind myself to breathe, and when I did, it felt like I was under water or had a bloody nose or something.  The air was very thin.

The free fall lasted for about 60 seconds, and when the chute came out, I was simultaneously disappointed that the free fall was over and relieved that the parachute worked.  There's a back up chute that would bail us out if the first chute didn't work, but I didn't want to experience that so much.  The rest of the fall lasted for a few minutes.  I got to steer - and I feel like a kid who sat on his dad's lap driving through parking lot just saying that - and I got to assist in a downward spin.  It was like a crazy roller coaster for a moment while I twirled in the air.

It was a great experience.  I would like to do it a couple more times, although at this point, I have little desire to make a solo jump.  Maybe some day, but for now, I'm content flying through the danger zone strapped to an experienced jumper.

Here's the video, shot from the ground.  It would have cost too much to have them film it in the air, so Hayden filmed it on my phone from the ground.  I'm the second person to land in this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqAt46nfJ58

just get them to Jesus

Life isn't always easy.  Not for you, and not for me.  Sometimes, it can be downright miserable.  Even being in full time ministry - which you no doubt know is week after week of sunshine and roses - there are days when you just throw your hands up and wonder, "Really, God?  How am I supposed to deal with that?"  Those days most commonly happen for me when I encounter someone who is hurting, and I know you know I'm  ill-equipped to help.  When someone is in pain, and they look to me for help, and all I can muster is "I'm sorry," and inside I'm thinking, "I have no idea what to do," I start to feel overwhelmed, inadequate, and weak.  I'm sure you've been there.

Lately, I feel like I've been stuck in just such a season.  It's not been a day here or a day there.  Week after week after week, I've been faced with something that is out of my league.  It's gotten to me.  I've had to ask God what I'm doing here, and why He's letting me be in ministry.  Last Wednesday, after Celebrate Recovery, I pulled Todd aside and talked to him about how I was feeling.  After talking for an hour about all the messiness in our world, I went home feeling still empty.  I prayed about it, and I felt drawn to 2 Corinthians.  When I got to chapter 12, this is what I read:

“"My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

I'd been hard on myself for being weak, for not being strong enough.  And here Paul confesses his weakness, and how happy he is in the fact that he's weak.  We cannot do everything, and that's fine, because God's not limited in His power.

I shared this with a group of youth ministry friends, and Scott from Youth for Christ shared something in response that has resonated with me since.  There were men in the New Testament who had a crippled friend.  They brought him on a mat to where Jesus was teaching.  They were so intent on getting him before Jesus that they tore the roof off the building and lowered him down.  They were weak.  They could not heal their friend, and they knew it.  But they knew who could, and they got him to Jesus.  We need to get hurting people to Jesus.  We can't fix their pain.  We can't take it away.  But we can get them to Jesus.

the day I got Todd in trouble

It must be hard to believe that I got my coworker in trouble, but I did!  Actually, he got himself in trouble, but I was involved.  Two years ago, I was still fairly new at KCC, and I had never preached here.  I had obviously taught in youth and children's, but I had never taught in big church.  Easter week was approaching, and Todd realized he was supposed to teach Palm Sunday, be heavily involved in the Easter program, and lead worship and teach at the Good Friday service.  That's a lot for one guy in a week's time.  So he asked if I would go ahead and teach for Good Friday.  I, loving to preach, naturally accepted.

Here's the problem: Dave hadn't approved it, and I made him nervous.  Sometimes, I think I still make him nervous every time I walk on stage.  I can be a loose cannon.  So Dave was a little unhappy with Todd's decision to ask me without asking him.  He actually pulled Todd aside and gave him a talking to, if you will.  As far as I know, that's the last time Dave pulled him aside and chastised him.  So Todd's a pretty great employee when he's not letting me teach.

Dave did allow me to teach, but with great oversight.  If I remember correctly, I had to pretty much tell him my entire message beforehand.  That didn't bother me.  I was just excited to preach.  And it must have went well.  How do I know?  Well, here's my list of reasons:

• I didn't get fired.


• Todd didn't get fired.


• I got to teach again a few weeks later, and have a number of times since.


• I get to teach again tomorrow night, and Dave hasn't even asked to see my outline.

So hopefully I'll see you tomorrow at the Good Friday service.  I'll be unfiltered and uncensored.  Lucky for Dave, my idea of unfiltered and uncensored means something completely different than it did two years ago.

Happy Easters!

Jakob's first time volunteering at church

Jakob's a sweet kid.  You probably already knew that.  If you don't know that, or if you disagree with that, I assume we are not friends.  He is constantly trying to help Sarah, whether she wants it or not.  He will put dirty dishes in the sink, take dirty and clean silverware from the dishwasher and put it in the silverware drawer, and he'll even hold the door for her sometimes.  He's learned all of this behavior from watching us. He knows it's helping, and he knows it's what we do, so he mimics it.

Being a pastor's kid or a church staff's kid can be hard.  They're at the church a lot more than most people, and they didn't really sign up for that.  It's just part of their life.  Jakob is here a lot, and he's always being told to follow me, come to my office, stay right there, stop this, stop that, now go to class and act like everything's cool.  It's not easy for a two-year old.  One of my greatest fears is that from overexposure and unhealthy management, Jakob could end up hating the church.  I want to protect him from that.  I want him to love church.  I want him to serve in the church.

Last week, he was at the church with me while Sarah went to get her hair done.  I was leading a small group that night, but I didn't need to get ready right away.  So we played in and around the church.  Wherever he wanted to go, we went there.  However he wanted to play, short of breaking stuff, we did that.  Then we had to transition from play time to my needing to work.  You never know how that will go.  He may throw a fit, because he wants to keep playing.  Jakob has before, but he didn't that time.

We went into the youth and children's room, and I started setting up tables.  Jakob followed me.  As I rolled a table across the room, Jakob walked up next to me and put his hands on the table.  I told him to be careful and asked him what he was doing.  He looked up at me and said, "Help, Dada."  I smiled at him and thanked him.  After we got done setting up tables, which took longer, because I was being careful about not hurting Jakob, I walked to the kitchen.  Jakob followed.  I started getting food out of the oven, and Jakob said, "More help, Dada."  I handed him a plastic bag and asked him to take it to the table and come back.  He did.  When he came back, he said, "More help, Dada."  So I gave him a stack of plates, grabbed all the pizza and followed him.

We got all of the food and drinks set out together.  We were done.  Now, when he and I play games at home or watch something he likes or eat a good snack, when we're done, he'll say, "One more of that."  He only does that for things he likes.  He doesn't say it after we punish him.  We're used to it.  We expect it.  And we usually will allow it, within reason.  After everything was all done, he looked up at me with all sincerity and said, "One more help, Dada."  He had just spent 30 minutes following me around, offering and giving me help.  He wasn't tired of it.  He wanted to help me one more time.  I had nothing left for him to do, so I told him he could hug me instead.  He came over, and I gave him a tight hug.  I told him I loved him, and I thanked him for helping Jesus, not Daddy.  It was late by the time we left, but I wanted to honor what he had done, so I bought him popcorn (his favorite snack), even though it was well after his bed time. I gave it to him and thanked him again for helping me help Jesus.

My two-year old son volunteered to help at church for the first time last week.  I cried tears of joy.  He does love church right now, and he wants to help.  He's already becoming who I want him to be.

Jakob attempting to beat box

I'm assuming that by now you've seen the Cee-Lo Green 7Up commercial.  I think that is a pretty funny and very well done commercial.  I don't like the E-Trade talking baby commercials, because they're just weird, but I can't not love a beat boxing baby.  The other day, Sarah and I were watching something we had recorded on the DVR, and before I could fast forward it, the 7Up commercial started.  Now, Jakob is drawn to music.  He will dance to any TV theme song and just about any commercial that has prominent music, and he gets upset if something musical comes on and you change it or fast forward it.  He wants to enjoy it.  So even though he was leaving the room, I knew he'd turn around and come back to dance along.  What I didn't know was that he would try to beat box along with the commercial.

I went back a couple of times, because I was trying to get my phone ready to record him, and I was trying to record him without the loud sound of our laughter.  So this is the third time he'd seen the commercial, and he is following along to the best of his ability.  He's got a long way to go, but I'm very pleased with his early interest in being completely awesome.

http://vimeo.com/38274107

Maybe someday he can be an outstanding Asian beat boxer, like THIS GUY.