Hit the Back Button to Move Fwd by Gavin Richardson

no more mission trips

i don't know about you, but i started two or three years ago to stop calling our youth short term mission trips.. "mission trips".. the idea that being missional is not a trip but a lifestyle. so we call them, or try to start the shift of calling them, mission experiences. it may be silly, but i like the idea of experiencing an intense life of missions for a short term where we experience relationship, work, outreach, pushing our own limits.. with the hope of developing a missional life.

one of the feature videos this week at work of the people is naming them "friendship trips".. i can like that too

i get the nerdy part

What Gavin Means

G is for Glitzy
A is for Amazing
V is for Vivid
I is for Ideal
N is for Nerdy

What Does Your Name Mean?

i get the nerdy part.. but glitzy?? tip to stacie

vaction reading : divine nobodies

over vacation one of the friends i took with me was jim palmer. i hadn't anticipated taking jim.. i just anticipated taking his first book "divine nobodies." i have known jim for almost three maybe four years now. we met for the first time at an early version of our nashville emergent cohort. i like to say we have been friends ever since, though we would both have to agree, we don't hang out enough.. like quite rarely as of late. which is just what it is for now.

in saying that i took him on vacation with us is sharing that an encounter with jim is an encounter into someone who has made themselves as transparent as one can be. i think i do a pretty good job on the blog of being transparent, but he's got me beat. with his transparent nature and honesty comes a reflection of humility in a person who has lead a life complete with fracture and triumph, misdirection and reorientation, pride and compassion, moving into that love that we all hope for in our own lives. the premise of the book can easily be figured out by pondering the title and subtitle "divine nobodies, shedding religion to find God and the unlikely people who help you." it is one mans journey down that "religion" path of linear steps and success markers. only to come to a place where life, that everyday life, comes through and makes all that painful to the soul. through that there are normal everyday people that come and go in life that reflect Christ to their fellow ordinary people, or "nobodies" as "the world" is concerned.

i feel like i know my friend so much more now than ever. he would tell stories of people, which generally revolved around the nashville area (but not all) and i'd wonder.. "is that my mechanic?" "which waffle house is that?" (i have a good guess on that one, jim actually lives nearby)

through this he challenges his upbringing of the "religion" steps and success (which made me think of this article over and over again) on what it means to be Christian plus who you & i can learn from. it made me think, when people talk about those "God" moments most are centered around children, nature, and music.. at least that is my viewpoint. no one ever looks for or will claim those learning moments talking to a server or gas station attendant.. why?.. why not?.. for this reason i would say that all should give some thought to the divine nobodies in their life or their role as a divine nobody in others lives. read the book if you are confused by that, you might need to experience jim pilgrimage down the path to this point to be able to see your own. i know i am better for having taken him on vacation.

it made me thank all the staff that served us a little more. pay attention to someone who was generally invisible to others. tipping a little better.. which makes me think of a point in the book i continue to ponder...

[speaking of wanda the waffle house server, after being tipped with a tract]... Wanda got me thinking about whether any theology can be "right" if it doesn't motivate you to treat people with love and respect. Let's just hope on Judgement Day that God doesn't leave it in the hands of the waitresses, cashiers, and all the other invisible people in our world who are on the receiving end of what's truly in our hearts. (pg41)

it helped me to discover as divine nobodies some fabulous new friends on our trip (they really were on the trip, not a book persona). same with just a conversation on the plane. both things i am not normally apt to do myself due to my underlying shyness.

the idea is not new. one can go back to what i have mentioned before as the role of porter in the monastery. they greet everyone as Christ is within each person and they try to reflect the same. i like the idea of claiming to be a nobody.. i often times try to pump up the stats on my resume when it just isn't necessary. i know, but i still do it.

one this is for sure, the world needs more divine nobodies.

vacation thoughts : the plane conversation

on our ride home from our vacation yesterday erin & decided to take two aisle seats instead of sitting in chairs next to each other. since the rows were a little offset i had a delightful conversation with some guy.. one part of the conversation i was surprised by.

us: where you heading? raleigh / nashville
me: what do you do in raleigh?
him: i teach kids tennis. it's great, i get a lot of time to influence and shape kids as a teacher would, but i get paid better.
me: cool, do you teach at a club?
him: no i have use of a large public facility.
me: nice. (ensuing small talk of my tennis employment year)
him: what do you do in nashville?
me: i am a youth pastor.
him: oh, so you totally get what i do. it's a lot the same.
me: (kinda surprised) yeah, i suppose so

the general response in telling someone that you are a youth pastor is the empty "that's great" with some formulated opinion that person has on the falling of today's youth, sometimes it is the confused "oh" (with a face sizing up & saying, what am i supposed do with you now?), or the ever wonderful "what are you going to do when you grow up" or "so are you going to be a real pastor one day?" this was the first time i have encountered someone who felt that they understood & i understood completely what it means to work with kids in a manner that hopes to shape and form their future selves.

we are back

  project365:12 - our silliness 
  Originally uploaded by gavoweb.

we are back. the wife and i had a great time chilling out and relaxing while being carted around the eastern caribbean. regular life begins tomorrow; some working, posting, picture uploading and who knows what else. until then i've updated my project 365.

trooper clerks

Funny-Trooper clerks Star Wars Clerk
 

grabbing internet videos

if you are like me you use a lot of video stuff for ministry transitions as well as another avenue for getting a message across. i like using youtube & google video stuff, partly because someone has already thought of it and it saves me time. there are times however, that i wish i could trim a video for a variety of reasons. so i was pretty stoked when johnathan showed me keepvid. all you need to do is plug in the link to the video you are wanting choose the site location; youtube, google video, dailymotion, etc and then it produces a download link. you most likely will have to convert the video file, but after that you will be able to plug into a video editor or just to have.

project365:4 - haircut

  project365:4 - haircut 
  Originally uploaded by gavoweb.

before i leave for a week. i give you.. my haircut. it is always a anxiety driven time in the richardson household to see how the mop of hair reacts to a trim. not really the highlight of my day, but i figure a couple of head shots will be fun for the project.

contemplative youth ministry : refresher

refreshed myself with this video that jonathon did when we spent time being part of the contemplative youth ministry's blog tour. it still rings powerful with me.

pulling dvd's to ipod

for our impending trip, we are using some frequent flyer tix. which generally means we get junk for choice of flight. we leave early tomorrow and have some significant time in what business people call "lay over." so i am ripping some dvds to mp4 format and plugging them into my ipod for myself and the lady to watch. i would like to say i could read, but in honesty, i get too distracted watching people to concentrate on reading.

how does one do this? i am using handbrake which is super easy to use (at least for mac, can't speak for pc).

1. open program, load dvd.. choose "source" and pick your dvd
2. the program will load all the chapters & generally pick the biggest one, that is your movie by all accounts
3. on the right you can choose you file type and size. i have done ipod-hi rez (1 - 1.5 gig) and ipod-low rez (300 - 600 mgs). it will automatically create file on your desktop
4. then move file into your itunes (know that if you move it into the movies folder on itunes it will not duplicate the file, which mac is prone to do) or just watch them on quicktime.
5. note: it does take quite a bit of time to do a hi-rez job, not as much for low-rez. so plan for those

there you go, you are ready to go on vacation with movies on your ipod.

prayer of Brother Lawrence

Lord of all pots and pans and things..
Make me a saint by getting meals
And washing up the plates!
- Brother Lawrence

just thinking of part of my work today.

the vacation reading

erin & i are heading out on saturday for a one week cruise. my reading for the trip, divine nobodies by jim palmer & a community called atonement by scott mcknight.

jim lives nearby and has been a friend that i get to keep up with through the cohort & of course, blogs. i am bad friend for just not getting to reading this, his first book. since divine nobodies has come out he's done quite a bit of the speaking circuit and continues to write.

scott, i read his blog, but this is my first introduction to the writings of his. though i have had Jesus creed on the shelf for some time now. i like this one, i have am a few chapters in, it is short, & i previewed some of it last year with the cohort.

what i might have to read, or get my staff to read, is what megan just finished up.

start my project365

  project365:1 - lounging 
  Originally uploaded by gavoweb.

i have been inspired by friends who have attempted the project 365 in past years to go for it myself. i will be loading them onto my flickr, with a regular random posting to the blog. this is my first day of the year. follow on my project365 flickr set to see the regular updates.

methodist of the year

the united methodist reporter is taking submissions for "united methodist of the year." i think beth has it hands down. i too am part of the "we are ridiculously methodist" group on facebook, but she has command over the church potluck calendar, i can't compete with that.

if they do not want to give it to beth then i say it has to go to jay. he has a methodist related story for everything. it is amazing. i think he even served with john wesley once (though i think that was during his baptist days).

wizard swears

late night youtube tv i find funny..

willing to be killed but not killing

jonathon put together this little video. not sure why, but i realized today that the voice is of my pastor michael williams, it says so at the end, duh. it is a haunting meditation that is worth time to give space to.

dave barry year in review

amused reading this year in review column by dave barry.

In short, 2007 was a year of deep gloom, pierced occasionally by rays of even deeper gloom. Oh, sure, there were a few bright spots:

• Several courageous members of the U.S. Congress -- it could be as many as a dozen -- decided, incredibly, not to run for president.

• Toward the end of the year, entire days went by when it was possible to not think about Paris Hilton.

• Apple released the iPhone, which, as we understand it, enables users to fly, cure cancer, read minds and travel through time.

• Dick Cheney did not shoot anybody, as far as we know.

But other than that, 2007 was a disaster. American consumers came to fear products manufactured in China, which covers pretty much everything in the typical American home except the dirt. Global warming continued to worsen, despite the efforts of leading climate experts such as Madonna and Leonardo DiCaprio, who emerged briefly from their private jets to give the rest of us helpful tips on reducing our carbon footprints.

it is hilarious. thanks to john

new to things supporting

i know that all you faithful readers check out every link that i post in those fun right hand columns. so it seems silly that i will bring to your attention a new icon in my "things supporting." i have partnered with the friends at youth ministry exchange and added myself into a new adnetwork. it might migrate later with a site redesign, for now it resides with my "things supporting" listing as any money generated from the ads will go to a chosen charity.

a new kind of youth ministry

i recently finished reading "a new kind of youth ministry" a book by chris folmsbee. chris is the president of sonlife ministries, which is training group for youth & youth ministers. recently they partnered with youthfront camps which, i think, is a great partnership.

the book captured my interests and ilk at the same. i liked the wordings in the chapter (mostly the chapter subtitles). the name of the book was ilk as i wreaks of trying to share in emergent book buying and coat tails of "a new kind of Christian." the two books are obviously not the same, but yet the title insinuates a similarity. i will chalk it up to publishers biz practice. happy to say, once i got passed the title thing i was pleasantly surprised.

for me, the book content was not "wow" material. i enjoyed it, i agreed with many of the statements it made. the solutions or re-framing that chris would present always seemed something that i could get behind and agree with. some things are still contextual and are probably common for a mainline church context. some things are new which affirmed things we have done with our ministry at hfumc, some we have left behind. some of the issues of youth ministry presented were certainly bore out of an evangelical context so i could not really relate. this gets kinda old for me and i always feel like i am saying "duh" which i hate. i keep thinking that is elitist. overall, the questions raised and the conclusions he comes to are important for those in youth ministry today. probably the best part about it all, chris has some great wordings for many of the things you are probably feeling and trying to do.

since communication is, in my opinion, the key to getting stuff done in church (especially an established church). reading through how chris explains change will give you language to help express yourself. that is the greatest gift that "a new kind of youth ministry" brings to the world of youth min.

going on vacation

yes, it feels like i have been playing hooky from work, but erin & i are going on vacation in a few days. we are heading on a carnival cruise with friends from the middle tennessee home builders association on saturday. erin does a lot of work for them, and she earned the cruise as part of a reward for that. since she loves me, she took some downgrades, opted to us our own frequent flyer tix, and the loving husband gets to go for dirt cheap. i like the mthba folks, they are nice people, though the idea of hanging out with some of them for 8 days worries me.. some have it in them to get kinda crazy. heck, i have it in me.

this cruise will take us around the eastern parts of the caribbean. it will be the 2nd cruise for me, the first being last year. this one will be longer than that one so i am not sure what i will get into. but i am taking all the usual geek gear, camera, laptop (to off load pics), ipod, and books.