I Seem to Have Misplaced September... Where Did It Go?!

I briefly glimpsed at my blog and was taken aback when I realized that I had not posted in six weeks! I have been occupied by many things... OK, let's be honest: totally preoccupied. Using an old Disneyland reference, it has felt like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

Despite the flurry of activity (and thankfully, things are slowing down to more manageable levels), I am beyond grateful for so many exciting opportunities to fill my hours. Here's a smattering:

• Teaching again at Westmont College. RS190, an elective internships course for the Religious Studies department. Eleven really sharp and interesting students deployed into awesome internships that work with undocumented immigrants, people living on the streets, junior high and high school youth, and in the classroom at a Christian school.
• Director of Recruiting and Leadership Development for the Center for Transformational Leadership (CTL) at Azusa Pacific University. This functions through the Free Methodist Church in Southern California, and I've been working on the CTL since Fall 2011. I am especially excited that the CTL has just been formally accepted by APU as a ministry partner. I am down on campus regularly, working with faculty, administration, campus life staff and students. I've also just been invited to join the School of Theology's Council of Church Leaders. The CTL also includes the internship program. I just finished up my third summer with Free Methodist interns; we've had 25 so far!
• Ministry coaching and consulting. I have my largest load to date. I am working with people in Indianapolis, Atlanta, Seattle and throughout Southern California. The variety is the most fun part... I'm working with three different denominations, a national communications department, several youth ministries, and senior pastors preaching and teaching in English, Spanish and Japanese.
• Speaking and training. I just finished up being the camp speaker again for Westmont's First-Year Retreat. What a blast! I've got projects coming up in youth ministry training, spiritual formation, theological training, and Strengths Finder. 
• Westside Initiative. This might have me more excited than anything else. Far too many great details to share here, but there is a group of about 20 of us who have been going to Santa Barbara's Westside since early June. Together we have prayed over and studied Luke 10:1-12, and have sought to practice these words: "Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’" We have gone to a local park week after week, which functions as the backyard for many hundred apartment-dwellers in the neighborhood. We've enjoyed their hospitality and are building friendships. I am stunned at the beauty of this endeavor and feel so privileged to be involved. More details to come, I'm sure.

These things remind me of this quote that I read yesterday:

Vincent de Paul said, “We must love God, but let it be in the work of our bodies, in the sweat of our brows. For very often many acts of love for God, of kindness, of good will, and other similar inclinations and interior practices of a tender heart, although good and very desirable, are yet very suspect when they do not lead to the practice of effective love.”

"The practice of effective love." Five very humbling words. It says in 2 Corinthians 4:1, "Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart." That tells me that we are certainly not doing God any favors by serving him; conversely, we are the ones who benefit the most. It is merciful of God to allow us to join him in his work. I pray you too are encouraged by whatever you get to do in the name of Christ. May we each be bearers of his love and life-changing shalom.

Fall Adventures 2012 - Day One

I appreciated a friend's email today, asking about my blogging silence. He just wanted to make sure I was ok.

I am more than OK... I AM THRIVING!

I did have to shake my head though when I pulled up my blog just now and saw that I hadn't entered anything in just about a month. Yikes. Where did the time go?

So rather than drone on with a bullet list of what I am up to (I know I know, I have too many bullet lists....) I thought I would just share one update per post, and slowly fill things in as to what I've been up to. So here goes!

For this first entry, I don't know what to call it... The words "consulting" and "coaching" both have a negative ring to them for some, and I get a remark here and there at times when I use either one of these words to describe some of what I do now. What can I say? I love it, and it is really keeping me busy.

For lack of a better term, I come alongside pastors for a period of time and work with them on a variety of things. Since June 2009, I have met with youth pastors and directors from thirteen different churches located in Florida, Illinois, Washington, Nebraska, Arizona and California through a great group of people called Youth Ministry Architects. They gave me a chance when I first entered my big transition from day-to-day youth pastoring, and I am forever grateful to them. 

And starting in March 2009 I have done the same thing with pastors in the Free Methodist Church in Southern California, having worked with twenty-one churches so far. I've fallen in love with the people and the denomination. They labor long and hard and often in anonymity. I have worked with churches from 30 to 800 people. I've been translated into Cantonese, preached to an entirely Latino congregation and even went to three different churches in one day. It's an adventure and I love it.

But let's get specific... What does this coaching / consulting / coming-alongside "thing" look like? Honestly, it varies every time because my first question inevitably is, "What do you need?" Rather than crank people through a gimmicky program, I simply try to bring a big toolbox of resources and experience to every situation. I listen a lot, take a whole lot of notes, brainstorm, and pray.

Quite possibly the most interesting part is how it all works out week by week... after an initial on-site visit where I get to know the pastor and the church a bit, I then meet regularly with them via online video calls. I'm at the point where I am on Skype or Google Hangout just about every day. For example, this was my schedule today:

• 9-10am: meet with campus pastor who has launched a new service reaching college students and young adults in So Cal.
• 10-11am: meet with a senior pastor who is leading a church in the High Desert as he ministers to military, Native Americans, retirees, young families, a Christian school and people in recovery.
• noon-1pm: work with a board member in Rancho Cucamonga to keep shaping our Center for Transformational Leadership. We have at least ten different leadership development projects going on with undegrad and grad students at Azusa Pacific and Westmont. But that's another blog post...
• 1-2pm: meet for monthly training with a middle school youth director in a Seattle suburb.
• 2-3pm: meet with an associate pastor in a town near downtown LA.

Isn't that crazy?? Yes, I take breaks to go to the bathroom and eat, but other than that it's a blinger of a day. Yes, I get a little hoarse, and I need a good bike ride after sitting that long, but I consider it an amazing privilege to come alongside these friends. We work on strategic planning, youth ministry, preaching calendars, cross-cultural ministry, staff development, time management, leadership development, new initiatives, spiritual formation, social media, pastoral care, you name it.

I read these verses this morning and they made me think of the churches and people I am working with right now. I praise God for the opportunities before me:

May God our Father and our Lord Jesus bring us to you very soon. And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows. May he, as a result, make your hearts strong, blameless, and holy as you stand before God our Father when our Lord Jesus comes again with all his holy people. Amen. (1Thessalonians 3:11-13)

Thanks for reading... much more to share in the days to come. 

Hands & Feet

I have had the unexpected pleasure of reconnecting lately in two different situations with some very old friends. It is surprising and wonderful to talk to someone from 25 years ago. Not only is it a delight to reconnect, but the entire encounter is a powerful reminder of how things were, how stunningly naive I was, and how much things have grown and changed since then. I feel older, but also a bit wiser.

When I talk to these folks though, inevitably one of the first questions is, So what are you up to these days? Given that vocationally I wear at least four hats at any given time, it feels like there is no short answer to that question. And inevitably, I end up tripping over my words as I try to explain the different stuff I am so excited about.

However, as I read last night before going to sleep, I received a subtle "THAT'S it" when I read these words:

Teresa of Avila, a sixteenth-century Spanish mystic, wrote, “Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ’s compassion is to look out to the world; yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good; yours are the hands with which God is to bless people now.”

My weeks are occupied with teaching, consulting, writing and strategic planning, and each of those projects use a different email address. But what they really add up to is one thing; ultimately, I hope that I can equip others a little bit in being "Jesus with skin on" in the world today. As Teresa of Avila said so many centuries ago, we are the hands and feet of Jesus.

So when I am leading 70 high school students in a weekly dialogue about the Gospel of Mark, I pray they are motivated to carry on the ministry of Christ in the world, incarnating his love and mercy and selfless service.

When I write articles, mostly about youth ministry, I pray that my words can assist a few youthworkers in persevering past the statistical 2.5 years of the average lifespan of a youthworker, carrying on as a faithful mentor to their own group of disciples.

When I work with a pastors in recruiting more volunteers or shaping three-year goals, it is my hope that they will feel hopeful about how they can actually do ministry, and not just worry about it and feel buried in budgets, emails and the crisis of the week.

And finally, when I am recruiting at colleges and building networks of support for the future leaders in the kingdom, I want each person I talk to, whether they are seminary presidents or college freshmen or hard-working faculty, to know that Jesus was loving enough (and slightly crazy?) to entrust the work of His kingdom into our clumsy hands.

As I read recently, "Lord, we are forever grateful that you do not want to change the world without us. May we become the church you dream of."

I reveled in Teresa of Avila's simple words, and the encouragement only mounted as I read Isaiah 25 and 26:

In that day the people will proclaim,

“This is our God!

We trusted in him, and he saved us!

This is the Lord, in whom we trusted.

Let us rejoice in the salvation he brings!” (25:9)

7 But for those who are righteous,

the way is not steep and rough.

You are a God who does what is right,

and you smooth out the path ahead of them.

8 Lord, we show our trust in you by obeying your laws;

our heart’s desire is to glorify your name.

9 All night long I search for you;

in the morning I earnestly seek for God. (26:7-9)

As it says in 2 Corinthians 4:1, Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. It is remarkable to me that God chooses to work through us, nincompoops that we are. But since he has entrusted such things to us, let us rise to the challenge, with His Spirit filling us. How good is our God.

Just Keep Swimming...

I received a nice little text message today...

Noticed you haven't blogged in awhile... Just making sure everything is ok??? :) Miss you.

How great. One of my five blog followers poked her head in, and I appreciate it (thank you, MA!).

So for the other 4 of you, I want you to know that I'm fine. Pretty darn great, in fact. But April and May have kept me on my toes, that's for sure...

Since I returned from my glorious spring break in Italy, I have gotten to be a part of so many cool things!

• Led a retreat for Single Ministry Leaders within the Free Methodist Conference of Southern California (FMCSC);
• Presented a seminar on "sustainable youth ministry" to the "Northern Lites" district of the Coastal Region (again, FMCSC);
• Taught a month-long series on ancient world civilizations that I titled "The 'Isms" at Providence Hall;
• Took a lovely day trip to San Luis Obispo with 3 amazing high school girls I've loved and met with regularly for three years ~ before they graduate and head out to Great Beyond;
• Consulted with a wonderful church in Seattle about their youth ministry, entering a 17-month project with them (and got to visit with some friends whom I love dearly after the consultation!);
• Published an article with YMToday on ministry and parenting with 5th/6th graders;
• Started a new coaching project with a 102-year old Free Methodist church in LA;
• Finished the Ism's with high school students and then taught the same series at church to adults, ranging in age from 20 to 75;
• Started another series with Providence Hall, this one framed around John Stott's final book, The Radical Disciple (pick it up ~ I really like it!);
• Saw my beloved Lakers completely muff this year's path to the playoffs (grrrrrrrrr!)
• Celebrated my best friend's birthday with a great dinner with her family and an incredible concert in Hollywood, seeing Slow Runner and William Fitzsimmons (do not pass up the opportunity if he appears near you);
• Picked up two more youth ministry consulting projects through Youth Ministry Architects (when it rains it pours!)
• Met with a pair of Cantonese Free Methodist pastors who are guiding a summer camp for neighborhood children;
• Just finished leading a retreat with this year's inaugural round of Summer Interns for FMCSC ~ I'm already in love with this bunch of talented and earnest young leaders.

PHEW. There it is. I cannot deny that I am ready for the 3 days of Memorial Weekend to recuperate, garden, read, sleep and relax. But these things have all been fulfilling, challenging and I consider each one a great privilege. Thanks for reading and caring.

I read these verses yesterday, and they sum it all up perfectly. Life is good.

¹ Let all that I am praise the Lord;
with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
² Let all that I am praise the Lord;
may I never forget the good things he does for me.
³ He forgives all my sins
and heals all my diseases.
⁴ He redeems me from death
and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
⁵ He fills my life with good things.
My youth is renewed like the eagle’s! (Psalm 103:1-5)

Do You Hear What I Hear?

The whirlwind of activity since Italy is soon coming to end ~ I head back home today and will be staying home for a long time. But today, I write this as I sit in a local coffeehouse in Seattle, waiting for some friends for lunch. The image of Seattle is true... a coffeehouse about every half block, each one with its own flair... organic, dogs allowed, artisan pastries, artisan chocolate, beans roasted on-site, vegan donuts, slow-brew... it boggles the mind. But I'll be the first to admit that I have had a highly-caffeinated few days.

And I've needed it. I've been on a consulting project for Youth Ministry Architects, flying in late Wednesday night and hitting the ground running Thursday morning. Starting at 8:30am, a partner and I sat in "listening groups" with a wide spectrum of folks in the church: jr high students, high school parents, staff, youth leaders, yada yada... hours and hours of talking and listening and talking. And it's all important stuff. Endless notes were taken, questions were asked, more talking.

After a day of listening and talking that started at 8:30am and ended at 9:30pm, I collapsed into my hotel room (an amazing suite at the Marqueen Hotel, where we scored a tremendous mid-week deal) and tried to unwind with a few pages by Henri Nouwen in a book called The Genesee Diary .

I started this book on my trip to Italy and I am so reluctant to end it. So I'm taking it slow, drinking in just a few pages at a time. On this night after the listening groups, my head was hurting, spinning, blurring as I tried to come down off a people-intensive, talk-extensive, concentration-demanding day. Then I read this:

St. Benedict is very clear about the importance of silence. He seems to imply that it is practically impossible to speak about good things without being touched by the evil ones too...

Silence needs to become a real part of my life when I return to school [Nouwen was a professor at Yale Divinity School at the time].... Many people ask me to speak, but nobody as yet has invited me for silence. Still, I realize that the more I speak, the more I will need silence to remain faithful to what I say. People expect too much from speaking, too little from silence...

I laid back onto my pillow, and chuckled. Indeed. I wanted silence so badly after a long day of noise. But it wasn't because I was sick of those with whom I had spoken. I didn't want to just shut down, turn off, and withdraw. I was simply glad ~ relieved, really ~ by the quiet. Because then, I could truly listen.

I hear words all day just about every day. But it's actually hard to listen when there is so much conversation. In silence, I've been learning how to turn over words and images and conversations and thoughts like books in my hands at a musty used bookstore. In silence I can sense the Spirit nudging me: Pay attention to that... When they say that, they are hinting at something deeper... Hear their wounding, their ache, their longing...

Silence is becoming not so much a break, though it is that as well. More and more, it is meditation. A "re-listening." Like good spadework, I turn over the soil of those words over and over, poking, prodding, waiting.

It is the same with scripture and listening. This morning in church there was a passing reference to Ecclesiastes 3, the classic passage about "a time to..." This little line is tucked within it, near the end:

A time to be quiet and a time to speak.

Do we enter silence as a "time to..."? Or do we usually approach it as "anti-time to...", the time to flop down and do nothing? I argue that that is what rest and more importantly, SLEEP, are for.

I am learning that silence is different. I am slowly seeking out silence like an important (and frequent) appointment. I try to approach it expectantly, listening carefully. This takes practice.

I learned in seminary that the word "obey" in the Greek is actually a fascinating one. It is "hupakouo," which is "hyper-akouo" or "hyper HEAR." How cool is that? To obey means simply, "to listen WELL." As in Matthew 8:27, when it says, The men were amazed, and said, "What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?" Nature herself knew she needed to listen well to her Creator. To listen well affects our actions.

So I leave this project having tried to listen well. To obey what God has placed in front of me, and act accordingly. To take on the privilege of serving others, especially his bride, the church, carefully and thoughtfully. In silence I can hear best what He has for me that day, and how I am to pour out to others. It's a pretty great life. Amen.

"So What's Up with You?"

I run into people and the first question I hear is often "So what's up with you?"

One by one, the details perhaps don't sound like much, but together, they add up to a rather eventful and interesting summer.

Here goes:

• I got to go to Alaska June 23-July 3. Two words: Uh-mazing. Here's one post I wrote about it. Stinkin' glorious. I cannot recommend it enough as a vacation destination. If you've been wondering and wavering, wonder and waver no longer. Book it.
• I moved on from Eden Reforestation Projects, and expanded my role at Providence Hall High School. After a really fun year juggling a whole lot of different projects, I'd reached a point where my roles at both organizations were expanding, and I needed to make a choice. After much prayer and consideration, I chose Providence Hall. I am continuing as the Campus Pastor, leading the Foundation of the Christian Faith class with the entire student body. This role also lets me work with the student leadership team, and coordinate the parenting seminars series we title Providence Presents. But as of July 1, I doubled my time there and have taken on some administrative projects as the Assistant Headmaster. My energies are focused on revamping the admissions process, strengthening our technological infrastructure, and working with our new Director of Advancement in terms of marketing and communications. Given that these tasks are often what I work on through my pastoral coaching projects, it's a treat to remain "on the ground" myself and keep sharpening my own abilities. We have 22-25 more students coming in September as we enter our 4th year as a school. Though we're still a start-up in most respects, it feels like we're getting some solid traction as well.
• I bought a new bike (and sold my old one). Pictured above is my new trusty steed, a Specialized Globe Vienna 4, which I think I'm going to name Blue Steel. To use a word from my students, this bike is sick. The photo shows many of its awesome qualities -- lightweight fenders, a front hub that powers the lights front and back, a built-in sturdy rear rack, a nifty bell, and best of all -- unlike the bike pictured -- an 8-gear internal rear hub. No derailleur (or dirty chain!). It's a smooth ride and a heck of a lot of fun. I take it on the bike bus to Providence Hall, then ride home a few days a week. I often stop on the way home on errands and am able to load up. Since I also have my scooter, I'm getting really close to selling my car. Not quite ready to jump off that cliff, but getting much closer.
• I've got a lot of church consulting projects -- currently I am working with five churches related to youth ministry, and with seven churches in terms of pastoral coaching (strategic planning, leadership development, staff management, casting vision, problem-solving, etc.) I go on-site at least once to each of these churches, but then maintain our working relationship through Skype. I love technology...
• I'm surprised to have a few speaking gigs coming up: I'm co-leading a ministry summit seminar for all So Cal Free Methodist churches this Saturday on Children's & Youth Ministries -- how to plan for the year and build a structure around it. On Aug 20-21 I'm speaking at church's youth camp near Big Sur. On Aug 27 I'm meeting with the staff and leadership core in Downey to coach them through Strengths-Finder. On Sept 18 I'm leading a seminar on the stages of adolescent development for a church's parents and youth ministry leaders. Fun fun fun!
• I had an article featured on YMToday this week. I actually wrote it awhile ago, but was grateful to have it circulated again. I have a new article coming out in September with Youthworker Journal, and am currently working on a larger project with YMToday and the Lilly Foundation on how to teach worldviews to young people.
• I'm still cooking up a storm... I can't believe that I flunked Home Ec in jr. high and now consider cooking one of my favorite hobbies. Tonight a little treat from the Whole Foods weekly email made me smile -- Banana Nice Cream. Heavenly.
  

I am speechless as I consider the many ways I get to experience God's creative and gentle grace. However, I do not mean to paint a completely rosy picture. Threaded throughout these many gifts is a painful journey with a close friend as she faces the end of a ten-year battle with brain cancer. I really hate cancer...

In my visit with her this week I read parts of Psalm 107 to her. I end with those lines, finding strength in the reality that this life is not all there is. Because of this, we are sustained.

1-3 Oh, thank God—he's so good! His love never runs out.
All of you set free by God, tell the world!
Tell how he freed you from oppression,
Then rounded you up from all over the place,
from the four winds, from the seven seas.

^4-9 Some of you wandered for years in the desert,
looking but not finding a good place to live,
Half-starved and parched with thirst,
staggering and stumbling, on the brink of exhaustion.
Then, in your desperate condition, you called out to God.
He got you out in the nick of time;
He put your feet on a wonderful road
that took you straight to a good place to live.
So thank God for his marvelous love,
for his miracle mercy to the children he loves.
He poured great draughts of water down parched throats;
the starved and hungry got plenty to eat.

This and That, April 2010

Sometimes, when I run into old friends around town, they ask "what are you up to these days?" and I get a little tongue-tied... there is no short answer to that question. So periodically I try to post the latest projects here that I'm working on. Thanks for caring...

Articles: I've had two articles posted this month, and another one is coming soon.

• "Meet the Parents" -- Fuller (Seminary) Youth Institute E-Journal. This is actually a two-part article. Part two will talk through the details of how to put on a year-long seminar series for parents.


• "Endless Summer" -- YMToday.com, a publication of Memphis Seminary. They asked me to write an article on how to map out a ministry strategy for summer youth ministry.

I am glad to write for both of these publications, because I am so impressed with the breadth and depth of resources they offer.

Overflow Conference, April 22-24, Orlando, Florida for Eden Reforestation Projects: I was asked last September to come out to this conference and talk with the attendees about our work. It was hosted by the Free Methodist Churches of the East Coast, and there were over 1,000 there. This was a wonderful (and quite exhausting) time. I brought Alexandra, a former student who now works with me in Eden Reforestation as our publicist. Though we were located literally across the street from Universal Studios' City Walk, we never left the hotel! We spent the entire weekend staffing an info booth, and talked with hundreds of folks who came from Maine to Louisiana. On Friday night I shared for 5 minutes about the work of Eden in Ethiopia and Madagascar (we hit the 10 million trees planted mark in March) and how we are expanding into Haiti more extensively in June. Over $7,000 was raised for the work in a special offering, and over 200 gave us contact information because they wanted to hear more.

This has been a VERY busy month for Eden. We hosted info tables at Earth Day festivals in Santa Barbara, Isla Vista, and Mercer Island (WA), school assemblies in Manhattan Beach, and a church missions fair in Lake Elsinore. We were also asked to table at Earth Day festivals in Solvang and at UCSB, but just couldn't be in two places at once. We're stoked at the interest everywhere we go. The Earth Day fest in Santa Barbara raised over $800 just through coin donations, and hundreds of contacts signed up with us at all of these venues.

I was also able to connect us with Brite Revolution, a socially-responsible music download site. Support them -- they are amazing. They featured us as their "Cause of the Month." So cool.

I'm also working on an application for a $50,000 grant (due June 1) so we can start up a training nursery in Ethiopia. Praying this can happen -- we have a unique opportunity to train nationals from all over Ethiopia who want to start more tree seedling nurseries in their country. This could extend the work of Eden Reforestation and our pace of reforestation exponentially.

Night of Worship, April 25: After a good night's sleep and a wonderful morning of worship at church and lunch afterward with friends, I went to an all-city night of worship for youth. The coolest part of this evening was that it was planned and led by teenagers themselves. The worship band was 9 students from various youth groups around town, who pulled together 100% on their own and put together a 15-song set that truly blessed those of us there. I was deeply moved by the authenticity of worship, song and sharing. They led us well. I spoke for about 20 minutes halfway through the time. It was a delight to be with at least a dozen students from my old youth group too. Oh how I love them.

Youth Ministry Consulting with Youth Ministry Architects: I am working with a fun variety of churches -- a Christian Reformed church in Illinois, a Presbyterian church near Seattle, a Free Methodist church in So Cal, and a dear non-denominational church in Central Cal. I am impressed by the faithful and tireless service of church members everywhere I go. I will return to the Seattle area church in May for an on-site consulting visit.

Westmont College Mayterm 2010: I am returning again to teach this class, May 10-June 10. Currently 8 students are signed up, and will serve in internships with Habitat for Humanity, local churches, housing projects in poor neighborhoods, Providence Hall High School and Cottage Hospital. My course will talk about how to integrate their faith with their work in these projects.

Providence Hall High School: I am close to completing my first full year there. I am currently working on some special projects for the Headmaster, Dr. David Winter, along with my regular responsibilities as the Campus Pastor. I will return there for the next school year as well. I am currently teaching a series that reflects on the UN Millenium Goals to End Poverty, and how we as believers are equipped (and called) to pursue these goals in ways far more powerful than the UN. We've talked about poverty & hunger and combating HIV/AIDS and malaria so far.

Pastoral Coaching with Free Methodist Churches of Southern CA: I finished recently with 3 churches, but took on 4 more this winter. I also have 3 others I'll start with in June. I cannot believe how much I enjoy this! The broad diversity of the church is impressive and so exciting! I'm working with pastors who are ministering with immigrants, 2nd generation Latinos, the homeless, African-American families, Millenials, skaters... and just a bunch of families trying to make it in a challenging economy. I am growing in so many ways by working with these pastors.

For FUN! I have a bunch of things I'm looking forward to in the next few months...

• a new kitten (shhh.... stay tuned)


• James Taylor & Carole King concert at the Santa Barbara County Bowl on May 18


• Prairie Home Companion Live Show at SB County Bowl, June 5


• ALASKA!! More beloved national parks adding to the life list...June 23-July 3


• Sequoia National Park with the Loomers, July


• Camping with my niece and nephew at Montana de Oro State Park, August

It's a good life. These verses from this morning sum up how I feel:

By day the LORD directs his love,
at night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life. (Psalm 42:8)

Job Update #3

Yes, there is more to tell. It may sound like I'm taking on too much, but thankfully, all of it still only adds up to 40 hours or so. Each of the pieces are part-time -- though I admit to full-time energy for all of them. This is gratifying time of learning, growth, challenge, and best of all, creativity. I have said it before, but I'll say it again: I am so grateful. God has been very generous, and his provision has been remarkable.

I've mentioned some consulting projects these past couple of months, and they have come from two sources:

Youth Ministry Architects (YMA): You've heard me talk about this group already - what a tremendous team of people. I have learned a ton from them as I have tried out many different things:

• I represented them at the National Pastors' Conference in San Diego and met hundreds of pastors;
• I analyzed assessment data for them that had been submitted from churches all around the country;
• I assisted in some searches for youth and family pastors;
• I wrote a couple of articles for them addressing specific issues related to youth ministry;
• I went on-site to churches in Nebraska and Illinois.

From all of that, I am now in ongoing consulting relationships with the churches in Nebraska and Illinois, and I have also picked up another project in Arizona (plus one or two potentials in the hopper). With these 3 churches I will be video-conferencing with them once or twice a month, coaching them in some of the specifics of YMA's comprehensive approach to youth ministry. They have a really solid, systematic method for assisting a whole church in renovating their entire infrastructure for youth ministry. I will also visit periodically (maybe two more times) to do some work onsite. I am really impressed with what YMA offers -- and I'm not just sayin' that!

Free Methodist Conference of Southern California: this has bubbled up unexpectedly -- but as I said, God is cool. I won't go into boring details, but out of one relationship with a former student where I offered to help him work through his "stuckness" in some areas I am now coaching two other lead pastors in Southern CA every week. I use a bunch of tools I've used in the past in training interns & staff during my years with both Young Life and the church. This coaching is rather different from YMA in that I am focusing my work solely on the lead pastor to maximize his effectiveness, whereas with YMA I work more comprehensively with a church's leadership team, in partnership with another consultant.

You know me -- I love to assist folks in thinking through needs, ideas, challenges, and so on, and then coming up with a plan for how to move forward. For this consulting work I meet with each pastor in person for our first meeting, and then we meet weekly after that through video conference. I love technology.

I will soon post about one last sliver of my job pie soon. Thanks for reading.

Let the Games Begin

For the last few months I've been praying and waiting, waiting and praying, to see what's next. First of all, I think I've realized that I'll never really know "what's next." But I do know that I can put one foot in front of the other, and do the next thing that feels right.

So starting in June, there will be some adventures and opportunities that are going to stretch me - but I think they are also going to fit me well. This last week I went on a consulting trip to the town of Norfolk (pronounced "Nor-FORK" thank you), Nebraska, pop. 22,000, hometown of Johnny Carson. On Monday I flew into Omaha -- did I mention that I have never been to Nebraska -- rented a car and drove northwest for two and a half hours through miles and miles of corn and soy fields, and past a whole lotta cows. Early on I pulled in to a Dairy Queen, and just for grins I asked them if they made their burgers "protein style." The woman in the booth said flatly, I'm sorry, I've never heard of that.

That's OK, I said, and took my burger and fries and headed on road. I made a few phone calls to catch up with friends as I drove... and the calls would drop about every fifteen minutes. Later I was told that the cell towers are not too close together out in Nebraska, because there just aren't that many people to merit the coverage.

I spent three days in Norfolk for Youth Ministry Architects with another consultant to assist a church there in searching for a full-time youth pastor. I met some really great students, and some very dear church members. Warm, godly people who, as my friend Cameron Carey tells me, wear sandals, black socks and look you in the eye when they meet you. I fell in love with them, and prayed for them this morning as they press on in loving Jesus. My favorite was an elderly woman named Sonia on the search committee for the new youth pastor. When I explained how different members of the committee could collaborate through using Google Docs to craft the job description, she interrupted and said, Honey, I got dial-up! I doubt I can use those Google Docs. I loved it.

Next week I head out to another town an hour outside of Chicago for the same sort of work. And then starting on June 22, I will start meeting with a few lead pastors in Southern California one-on-one to coach them through strategic development for their churches. This will be through the Free Methodist Church. I've been coaching one couple all spring already, and that has been a real pleasure. A couple of other projects are in the hopper as well, and I will post some details about them soon.

But I want to end with yet another great section from the Book of Matthew that I sat with today. Jesus sent out his disciples with these words (again, from The Message, chapter 10):

"Don't begin by traveling to some far-off place to convert unbelievers. And don't try to be dramatic by tackling some public enemy. Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously...

"Don't think you have to put on a fund-raising campaign before you start. You don't need a lot of equipment. You are the equipment, and all you need to keep that going is three meals a day. Travel light.

"When you enter a town or village, don't insist on staying in a luxury inn. Get a modest place with some modest people, and be content there until you leave.

"When you knock on a door, be courteous in your greeting. If they welcome you, be gentle in your conversation. If they don't welcome you, quietly withdraw. Don't make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way....

I'd be lying if I said that I didn't connect with some of these words as I head out on these projects. I am so grateful. His care is so creative -- and surprising in the turns it takes. I wake up each day and try to just have open hands, keeping my eyes wide open to see what he'll bring my way. As he counsels the disciples, my goal is to Travel Light. Amen.