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i just saw that someone is selling a perfect replica of the knight 2000, also known as kit, on ebay. other than the gimmic of this, it was kinda cool to see a blast from the past.
update: so in talking with erin, she had never heard of the KITT or K.I.T.T. car. so i had to show how cool it was. funny thing, after watching this, she still doesn't see why it's so cool.
our new venture in youth ministry is now starting out. check out www.thecornercast.net it is our wednesday night bible study & conversation on podcast. as far as i know, this is the first time to put youth on a podcast in this type of format, so it's a little scary to think all that won't be perfect (ie. a long silence from a question). the small group we have on wednesday seemed to enjoy it and some of the youth that don't come are looking forward to downloading it, so that is cool. i know that johnathan enjoyed recording & mixing up the podcast. it isn't listed on itunes yet. i will put that in the works later today sometime. i had to wait to get the feed corrected.
to know why we are doing this, we have a large population of youth who don't come to church on wednesday nights. from what i can tell, wednesday evenings have never been "successful" in terms of numbers. last year we had 15 or so coming and that was a lot apparently. those numbers wained and we continue to have low numbers. so the thought is, do a short podcast of our conversation time and put it out there for others to hear. for those that visit other churches wednesday night stuff, they can get an understanding of the methodist expression that their parents want them to know.
who knows what or where it will go after that. with the turning on of the corner cast and the corner venue we can see that God might shape some folks we don't even know with these ventures.
these are just some of the views i had from warmth in winter through the lens of the camera. check out more of our youth group experience here.
feeling really sad for my buddy john. one of his beloved pets, whom i actually iconalized a few months back with this little graphic, passed away. i, like many, have had a pet or two pass away in my life. the two kiddo's i have now though, coe especially, have been with me & erin so long it's hard to imagine life without them. loosing either of them, which i think of every so often, scares me so. i feel for my friend as he's realizing some of that anguish now.
O Lord our God, we come before You this day in sadness. Inlehain, who brought us so much joy in life, has now died. Inlehain's happy times in
our blogging family’s embrace have come to an end. We
miss Inlehain already. Amen
spent much of today working with the folks at the upperroom and wonder voyage on "the way of pilgrimage" training sessions & a nashville pilgrimage site. i am really excited about the resource. i think it's going to be something wonderful for the spiritual formation of the youth and young adults of our church (possibly the adults). after we were done with our planning sessions for the training, which now looks more and more like a kickin spiritual retreat, ciona and i took the wonder voyage folks around town to scout some various sacred spaces of nashville. a good time had by all. after running all kinds of errands to get ready for this weekends retreat i come home to find some of the endorsements that have been rolling in for the curriculum. many i know, some i don't, i'm excited others are seeing the heart of this resource. it certainly solidifies that this really was something God actively played a part in.
Endorsements for The Way of Pilgrimage
The Way of Pilgrimage is ground-breaking in the way it honors a young person's heart, mind, soul and body. The curriculum goes beyond cognitive teaching of the Christian faith by offering young people a variety of ways to open their hearts to God's love.
Mark Yaconelli,
Author, Contemplative Youth Ministry: Practicing the Presence of JesusWhile many youth resources try to "wow" kids into belief, The Way of Pilgrimage takes kids on journey and forms them as disciples. This is a resource that understands that youth are much more ready to "go deep" in their faith than we sometimes think. I look forward to adding this to the resources we use with our youth here.
Rev. Jay Voorhees,
Sr. Pastor, Antioch United Methodist Church
Antioch, TNThe Way of Pilgrimage is a wonderful complement to any parish or congregation’s youth ministry. The program includes 150 daily individual reflection activities along with thirty weekly small group sessions that provide an effective opportunity for young people to deepen their faith and their spiritual practices. This combination of personal reflection and peer sessions greatly enhances this program. Further, the individual reflections are practical, scripture-based and engaging, and the leader’s guide is very complete, making it easy to facilitate the group sessions. This is a valuable resource for those serious about the spiritual journey.
Bob McCarty. D.Min.
Executive Director
National Federation for Catholic Youth MinistryThe Way of Pilgrimage is like a new best friend! You can walk right into its welcoming presence and begin at once to find fresh truths, sprouting up from ancient sources. It will become a trusted guide for those who accompany youth and young adults on their paths of meaning-making.
It promises especially satisfying moments for leaders who wish to engage others in the rhythmic paces of spiritual formation. The weekly gatherings show us how to move from deeply ingrained habits of content-based Bible study into soul-tending practices of contemplation and community that open us to transformation.
The Rev. Dr. Dori Baker
Author, Doing Girlfriend Theology: God-Talk with Young Women
United Methodist pastor, and professor of youth ministry and Christian education.As an organization completely dedicated to the art of pilgrimage we are overjoyed with the Way of Pilgrimage resources. The Way of Pilgrimage is a comprehensive and passionate guide that brings us back to our ancient heritage of pilgrimage through modern eyes and practical application.
Utilize these resources to teach your youth God's unique design of our lives as journeys of exploration and adventure. There is no better resource available to date that prepares your teens as life long pilgrims.
Shawn Small
Executive Director of Wonder Voyage PilgrimagesThis inspiring resource seeks its participants out wherever they are in their spiritual walks and gentle moves them toward a deeper understanding of their own pilgrimage. Through the building of a Christian community of travelers, The Way of Pilgrimage helps all participants shed light on the most unexamined corners of their souls as they begin to make peace with the strengthening of their faith. As an educator of secondary students, I greatly appreciate how consistently this text works to provide spiritual development activities for every kind of learner, from still meditation to verbal expression to artistic interpretations. The accessibility to spiritual formation for both the next generation and the “current” that The Way of Pilgrimage provides is so remarkably comprehensive that no person involved in the pilgrimage will be left unmoved.
Jessica Rosenthal
Educator and Youth Helper
[United Methodist]Finally, a spiritual resource for youth and young adults with depth and meaning! Upper Room Books continues its “Companions in Christ” series with an insightful and creative journey for Generation Next. I love this resource!
Bo Prosser
Coordinator for Congregational Life
Cooperative Baptist FellowshipThe Way of Pilgrimage is a wonderful doorway into the spiritual life. Like the bountiful feast that God sets before us, these volumes are full of wisdom and blessing. Those who accept the challenge to walk with Christ would benefit greatly from this guide. Its exercises are both simple and rich. At every point, the members of the group are encouraged to journey into the heart of God.
Rev. Daniel Wolpert
Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Crookston
Co-Director, Minnesota Institute of Contemplation and Healing (MICAH)
as many of you might know, jack black seems to have a striking resemblance and manuerisms to yours truly. the plot thickens as to the connection between the two of us. one of my youth has shared with me a picture of mr. black as a child. surprisingly it looks eerily similar to me at a similar age.
so what do you think? could this be my long lost brother. might i have been switched at birth and my brother is not actually my brother?
on this evening of the state of the union address
there is a great discussion going on at the methoblog on politicians speaking at general conference. specifically, president george bush speaking at gc '08. i think wes has the sensible argument to me, that we do not need active politicians speaking at such a gathering. however, people who speak to the politics we need to engage as Christian faith should be acceptable. it's a fine line i am sure. it sparked an old thought for me. what politicians are out there that are methodist. so i googled it and who would have guessed there is a wikipedia page on such a topic.
certainly george bush has been noted as a united methodist, and one that doesn't pay much attention to the bishops of his church. how bout, hillary clinton, dick cheaney, jon edwards, and dennis hastert (former speaker of the house), the angry zell miller.
al gore, sr. was a methodist, his son took some religious courses at vandy (could be methodist) but he is missionary baptist now. ed bryant was in office as a methodist from here in tennessee & john wilder is still around in this state.
some other current notables: jeff bingaman, larry craig, johnny isakson, dick lugar, pat roberts, debbie stabenow, craig thomas, bob taft (was governor), sue wilkins myrik.. i'm sure there are more
i wouldn't mind so much that an active politician speaks at a general or annual conference. i would be remiss if they used the platform for a campaigning stop, which i think happens too easily. if however, they were speaking to some changes that are in line with the social principles then i'd be okay with it. i am not sure how many of these folks would be so intune with the methodist beliefs that they could speak to them. certainly not president bush
this afternoon jonathon and i mixed in with some upperroom friends in filming some spots for a new website that will highlight and sell "the way of pilgrimage" the older youth and young adult family member of "companions in Christ."
it was interesting as some of the spots felt like we were doing the mac/pc commercial parodies. that would have been cool, but jonathon can't act. he did good managing child, enthusiasm, and reading words. it's a tough place to be. he had to jet before i was on my own, so he can't talk trash about me, haha!! one of the running jokes was that we would throw in "way of the master" references. quite a bit of fun, some good laughs. after i was done i chatted with dale as catherine (one of the organizers) had her australian boyfriend read some voice overs. i guess the accent thing is really cool, certainly cooler than mine or jonathon's voices.
in seriousness, the "way of pilgrimage" is a 30 week small group experience that can be broken into stand alone segments or a whole comprehensive understanding of ones spiritual walk as pilgrim (or resident alien for you willimon/hauerwaus fans). it does give educational understandings but mostly it is geared to help shape the heart of the pilgrim searching for Christ. i'm excited about it and can't wait to start to plug it in with our spiritual formation as a youth community. we've adopted the small group meeting model as our base already. it'll be nice to have the curriculum to go along with it.
thanks to all who have chimed in about saturday's training event for the aurora district. i've already thrown down some quick highlights and i'm working to get all the info conveyed onto the blog. the pictures are the only two pics i took of the whole trip, which is very uncharacteristic of me to not take pictures. one is of my room and the other is some of the friends that stopped by the hotel at 7am on saturday morning. it had something to do with an alarm system that was making a bunch of racket. they weren't too talkative to all of us who came out to the lobby to see them. oh well.
the worship went really well. it was one the best moments i've had in a long time. keynote lecture went well. i went off-note quite a bit which was probably best. i do better when i am just going at it. then again, that's the same time i tend to ramble. the workshop was very enjoyable we covered a lot of topics that were technical and not-so-technical. we ran it like just a q&a with me as man with the power (or microphone). that just goes to show how much can be gained by just allowing a group to share together.
here are my notes from the worship and lecture: download worship_aurora_dist.pdf
i keep forgetting to bring home my voice recorder to download the mp3 file of the actual lecture. i'll work to have them up on tuesday so check for an update then.
today my email has been taken over by the nashville area journal. this is a ministry of my bishop. he is a big advocate for the life journal and the techniques used for spiritual formation within in. there was an effort to make this available online. it went through some growing pains and was left for dead. i sent an email and helped bring it back to life and with mark stephenson and the foundation for evangelizm it's now going online.
me, well, i'm just a go between and a friend of mark and the foundation. so i've been in on some of the development, albeit minor pieces, more of content developing. what i am apparently finding out today is that i am on the admin of the site too as i opened up my email to see the journal registrations just coming in. it's very cool to see people jumping in. i know many of these folks. being a big promoter of spiritual practices i'm excited to see people start to use this. doubt this will help my bishop know who the heck i am after all this, but it's possible he could remember my name or at least that i am in his episcopacy. who cares, it might redeem myself for this.
fyi: for those that use the site, i can't see what you might journal about. i just know you are there, your personal reflections are yours and yours alone.
somewhere over the holidays i finished reading barna's book "the revolution." i must say that before entering into the book i felt it was going to be a book that challenged me. i'm not a huge fan of barna, not him personally, but how people use his research to push forth ideologies that i feel mix too much with political ideologies than kingdom practices. with that said, i was pleasantly surprised going through the book.
simply put, barna shares how their research has shown them a growing force in the faith community of "revolutionaries" who are doing church outside the common framework of the institutional church. this doesn't scream "emergent" (or even mention the word) but it sure did feel like it when i was reading it. i suppose in part because the "revolutionaries" are not necessarily part of that framework of practice, but he allows it/them to be whatever it is they/we dream them to be.
through the book i got rather bored of hearing the word "revolutionaries" over and over and over again. other than that, it was an accessible, not lengthy, read and worth my time.
what i have a will probably use it for is to help bridging some of those post-modern/modern mindsets and language gaps. i have long held the perception that barna is for the modern era. this piece, however, does help to say to the modern person, here is what is happening & here is what you can do.
what is happening is this revolution within the world outside of the church. people can do one of three things as barna suggests. get on board, learn what the "revolutionaries" are doing and seek to be like them in spirit. support them, don't jump on board with what they are doing (ie. go to your church as you do) but support them in their efforts to do things differently. both will help to ensure that you, as an institution will be relevant in the coming years. third, stick you head in the sand, you can pretend it is not happening, condemn those who are doing different things. eventually though, barna shares that you will become completely irrelevant to society as a church and will die.
so who is on board with the revolution?
in my down times these last two days i've been reading through mark stephenson's new book "web-empower your church." mark heads up the web-empowered church project through the foundation for evangelism. i've raved over the web empowered church project before and am using it for our youth group website (www.hfumcyouth.org). i had thought that when the book came out it was going to be all about using the "wec" software. i have been pleasantly surprised to find that it is more and more about putting together internet ministries through ones church.
it's chuck full of practical ideas, some do's and don'ts that are super accessible to understand. i'm through the first four or five chapters in two readings, it seems that in the later chapters we get into some more technical stuff. i can already tell it will be a great resource (theological, practical, nuts and bolts) for those who are looking to open up an internet ministry with their congregations. a must have!
oh, did i mention that it comes with the typo3 backed wec software and documentations. that is worth the price itself
it was about 12 years ago when my family and i were huddled around a tv in our vermont hotel room while on a ski weekend. we watched as the totally dismissed alabama crimson tide totally rolled over miami. no one gave alabama chance, but here we were totally beating a far "superior" opponent.
fast forward to tonight. all i heard about was these far superior ohio state buckeyes from all the "experts." yet, here we are. an sec team, which plays with a tough and fast defense in a week in week out challenging conference. i can't discredit the buckeye team, they are good, but i was sooo sick of hearing them crowned national champions before the game that i can't help but cheer florida.. and that is hard being an sec foe.
further thoughts
i am a little worn out now as we had our contemplative twist to our epiphany worship tonight. jonathon and i dreamed up some prayer stations to work into an epiphany worship service that we would be smart and record and take pictures for another installment of worship feast prayer stations. the basis for this service was the scriptures, taking all the elements (visual & sent) incorporated in matthew 2: 1-12 into prayer stations. we had a big crowd tonight, at least it seemed that way, so total silence was far from possible, but most respected the space. as with anything like this, there isn't an immediate response, you give space for people to have an encounter with God and you have no control over it. you just trust. i trust that something happened, i just don't know what it was.
sat in with theresa and jay's workshop session earlier today. here's some of the my notes. if they just stop. then assume that was jay's part where we rushed over something that he felt important enough to put on powerpoint. guess it wasn't that important.
some generic intro
WEB 2.0: is a descriptor for "social networking, user created media, open source
social networking sites: myspace, digg, de.li.ci.us, mychurch.com, themethoblog
should we even be into internet evangelism?
missio dei
john the methodist: find non-Christians and develop relationships. their understanding of Christians will come from our interactions with them on line. (he then told a really great example of his own practice)
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