Hit the Back Button to Move Fwd by Gavin Richardson

shift away paper : willow creek student ministries conference

in two weeks jason and i will making a trek to willow creek for their "shift" conference. which is their student ministries conference. if you are going, let me know, i'd love to meet up. i am sure that i will be blogging the event. it is kinda a cool thing, i am going as a guest of the willow creek student ministries staff. they are covering my registration costs for me. i thought that was very nice of them.

so i'm picking up the room tab, jason is getting the car and we are going to have a heck of a road trip. i look forward to hearing from some people i call friends and being challenged, inspired, and maybe agitated by some new people and scenes. should be good times!

one thing that they are doing that is super cool. they are not doing any handouts as a conference. everything is pdf. this is a cost saving thing sure, but for someone like me or those people who have blackberries & iphones this works perfectly to save on a thousands and thousands of pieces of paper.

In an effort to "go green" this year, we've made a lot of choices to cut back on how many printed items we hand out at the conference.

 

This year, for the first time, paper copies of breakout handouts will not be available. While some speakers may choose to bring handouts of their own to their breakouts, the only handouts the WCA will be making available will be in PDF format and are now available online here.

i applaud the effort. there is just no need with the tech savy that is generally found in most student ministers. plus, myself & others can check into the event before it even starts.

shameless title : save the hymnal

well, the hymnal isn't in a state of saving yet, but there is continued talk of revamping it and putting in and taking out hymns. i am far from the expert on the hymnal, but it has been an important tool in our spiritual formation as a methodist community. i remember reading some person's critique of the last update to the book of common prayer that it made the episcopal church too liberal. i know there is a lot of pull on both sides of that argument to take out hymns because they are not fitting of an ideaology. imho there is so much depth in there to get nit picky seems silly. so i am suggesting everyone revisit the newly opened survey (tip to david) to throw in your thoughts. be heard. more from the gbod.

monday music : getting the led out some

one of my favs of led zepplin

a virtual church : an old method : same results

  my district superintendent whom i respect a lot has mentioned on more than one occasion that he wanted me to input on this 'virtual church' project. i didn't know much about it till yesterday. hap, a pastor whom i also respect greatly in our conference sent out this proposal VirtualChurchfinally. i hate to critique or question in a final draft (note, the format of the final draft is due to me importing to google docs and not tweaking when converting to pdf, my fault, i'm lazy) but if you want me in on the project and ask for my input or energy to help get going.. i am going to be honest. so i went into writing this epic response. with all the other happenings, i am betting my bishop & ds are rolling their eyes as they read another email from me.

hi all,

thanks for including me in the special project. hap, thanks for all the work that you have done. i have a couple of questions and suggestions so if you don't mind entertaining me. apologies if this changes it from a final proposal.

i saw that we are anticipating a filming of bishop wills small group facilitator presentation this coming weekend. does this mean we are having any meetings before or after to discuss success, next steps, etc.? i ask this, as i am somewhat confused with where we exactly are in this process. i know i've been around this conversation, ie. i've heard the exploration of "virtual church," but until hap's proposal document yesterday, i had little clue as to what it was all about. so i'd be interested to know when a next collaboration event is.

some thoughts, take them for what you find.

when i first heard of the "virtual church" i was expecting something like the church of fools experiment by the british methodist church some four years ago. i know there was some discussion of bringing that back with more current technology, saint pixels was the name i heard of. jay voorhees would know more about that and i believe a lay member of blakemore umc (name escapes me) as they were both part of the church of fools project. the site is still active, i happen to visit it two or three times a year just to kick around in it.

i was encouraged to know this wasn't our route. though i don't think this is a bad idea, i do not think it isn't our endeavor. i like the idea of creating resources to help plug people in and direct them into the local church, but my quick question to that is.. isn't that what umcom or the united methodist publishing house is for?

a response i might hear from that is, 'well they don't do things specific for our particular context' which i'd say is fair. however, they do have resources that we probably should have some access to without spending around the 11-17-20,000 dollars that is budgeted out knowing the actual cost when things break or are needing an extra piece of equipment. a response i might hear from that is, 'well they don't loan out items or will not allow to travel' which is fair. but when the scope of this operation (as i am seeing it take) with work hours and the need to spread it out due to the fact we do not have a paid staff (only bill) to make this all happen, the need to loan out and then control equipment will be so great, a natural reaction would be to buckle down on controls and then it becomes more hassle then benefit. this might not be the case, but in processing it, is my natural state to troubleshoot.

i have an ultimate question of... have we asked churches what they need in these realms of technology? when i have taught tech workshops or talked with young people. the general rule is it isn't because of anything technological savy that has gotten them back to church. it is that old school personal invitation and long term relationship. it might happen over the net, but it is within social networking.

now, resourcing the church leader and/or reaching young adults in a community is different & i have some more expanding thoughts.

in the case of phase 2. there are many programs out there that will allow people to conference live and with images & video feeds already. a few weeks ago i had a 6 person conference conversation with social media expert joseph jaffee from south africa online, with camera feeds so we could all interact and see each other and converse in real time. only trick was some folks has to put on headsets to avoid microphone feedback. that software is called oovoo and is free (though that particular one is still in beta version). skype has been used for years. i use it with my family and can connect via computer webcams with great quality and no expense, well, a 70 dollar christmas gift for my mom.. i plan on using one of these softwares to do summer intern interviews from candidates across from knoxville to arizona. &:~D

those are just two options i use that are free. no cost and highly functioning.

i'd be interested to see how the wiki will be used. i am well aware of the function and benefits of a wiki, but i've never felt it was something a church should engage in. there is just too much control need to maintain an image of the church. but that might be handled a few clicks of the administrator, but then, it ceases to be a true wiki. you can say this is just for the team, but then all ideas then only come out through the team thus limiting the depth of idea, support, and need within a parish or the conference.

phase 3. i have thought we should be doing more web-empowered church propping for quite a few years now. i think the whole tennessee conference website should shift that way and a consolidation of the conference blogs would be easier to navigate. not to mention cleaning up that busyness that the site contains. a resource site doesn't need to be super fancy only accessible. clear pages, many & clear links, a fabulous search engine for the resources. probably need to have rss feeds ability which, last time i talked to mark (he's a buddy of mine) the wec software blog component didn't function better with readers (your young adult tech person who knows this is a resource they want to plug in will have this feed in their reader) as a wordpress software. this is remedied and might already be done, i can check with mark tomorrow. i know that i have done a podcast for youthworkermovement and the folks at lake junaluska that tech support the site were able to set up the podcast with a feed that gets to itunes.

i would also suggest that you "go where the people are".. blip.tv is nice the channel idea is cool, but youtube, myspace video, facebook video, google video, even godtube, all those are where people are hanging out (google video only because of the ease of the search engine). the best part about these things.. they are free & this message gets out to more people. a few weeks back to show our staff, i set up channels for our church http://www.godtube.com/hfumc & http://www.youtube.com/hfumc . nothing major, just got a dvd of two services, ripped 'em trimmed them, converted to downsize file size and uploaded them. i also uploaded a whole service onto google video (a 1 gig file).

this takes your content and spreads it, but in doing so you/we no longer are able to be gatekeepers to know who is using or not. which is a control issue. but in the scheme of thing, i never heard Christ say, 'take control of my church so that folks get the message right.'

to embrace spreading all that stuff out there is counter to a traditional method of communicating. case in point, there was some great sat night live archive clips a few years ago on youtube that the nbc lawyers were fighting to get offline, they never knew that it was their own marketers that were uploading everything. the marketers knew the audience and how to get more brand loyalty & build back that audience. i don't like marketing talk, but to discount the communication contained in branding is silly. and it is silly to not embrace the temple where the masses gather.

this is also to say, does anyone know the time it takes to do video? putting those videos onto youtube & godtube took probably two days.. the steps were simple, but rendering takes forever. not to mention the time invested in filming & editing that was done prior to our distributed dvd. larry nelson, of umcom, heads up our film team which takes three guys, two minimum (that is larry walking from one camera to another making stops at the feed console) to do sound and operate cameras. the man hours alone will take wear.

in the proposal piece, we have an article by marty cauley and there are some things i want to highlight for pondering as i close this darn thing called letter.

"Since their birth, this generation has been told they can change the world, and they intend to do it. But many are disgusted by what they see as the incongruity of spoken values and lived values in the church and the culture." if we don't want to give up control and spread this out then we really just holding onto a traditional framework of educating and resourcing that can (and prob should) be done by umcom & umph. it would be seen skeptical by the young people it is trying to reach.

"...the church’s token attempts to reach young adults are actually alienating rather than attracting them. They see it as hypocritical when the church states how important their presence is but develops program for them but not with them such as “90’s style” praise services. This is a generation of “doers” and not “watchers.” " i don't know how many of this advisory group are actually young adult age. i know i am not. i am the same age as some folks on this list i know, 33, and younger than most i know. if you want the young adults, and the ones that actually are on the net (consider me an exception cause i am a geek).. the 28-35 younger adult doesn't want to get on the net at home unless it is for work. they have been on all day already. you are looking for the 18-25 year old. to capture this networks like fox has embrace this "doer" that marty highlights by signing many of these young people making videos for their own networks and putting them to work. these teams should be made up of the people you want to attract and commission them with producing the content to meet the audience they know. to give "oversight" with an advisory board is just giving a message of who is actually in charge. you can find some people who work well as a mentoring editor/producer role, but to have a large team of folks, that wouldn't fly. mtsu has a nationally known communications program. i am sure there is a methodist or two in there who would love to be a part of something that has such promise, but we have to be willing to give it away.

the problem then is.. when the young people move into the church, how are they treated and what structures are there for them to plug into? this is a greater issue than just an electronic media.

if any of you have read "the hidden power of electronic media" by shane hipps (which is mentioned in the proposal, if you haven't it is my suggested reading) he would warn against doing tech stuff for the sake of tech stuff because we have tech stuff. leo laporte (techtv & this week in tech podcast fame) warned of that when jay voorhees interviewed him on "the methocast" a methodist related podcast.

what are the benefits but more importantly why? i think this idea needs more flushing to meet that why. so i look forward to some sort of meet up in the coming weeks to talk all this face to face.

shalom
-gavin

now, maybe some of these things were talked about. i just wasn't in on the action. so i'm throwing in my thoughts at the first opportunity

plug into the methoblogosphere

jay has set up some new methoblog blogroll widgets and new plug in images for your blog.

project365:87 - new family

  project365:87 - new family 
  Originally uploaded by gavoweb.

i finally got around to updating and uploading my project 365 photos. this is a picture i have been trying to capture all week. we have had this mourning dove make one of our hanging baskets home for the last few weeks. this week i saw her feeding little ones but she wouldn't allow me a picture. yesterday they were peeking out enough to get a shot of our new family members. not that attractive, but we are still excited about 'em.

i haven't named all the photos as of yet, but you can check out the lot by visiting my project365 set.

practicing the spiritual green thumb

the wife and i just spent a decent amount of money in trying out our green thumbs, or lack there of. we have been poor homeowners when it comes to lawn and garden. we live in a cute neighbor hood and many folks have cute flowerbeds and decent lawns.. not to many great lawns. our lawn sucks or gardens need work. so we have our plan, got our tools, mulch, rocks, bulbs, seeds, and weed killer..

when i was younger i never would have thought myself as a garden person, or even one who cared for a lawn. we had this huge corner lot house growing up and my dad insisted that we mow with a bagging push mower.. not fun.

these days i am wondering what connections this might have to our spiritual practice as a family. to know & come to love our neighbors, being outside is a great connector. when people can see a home that shows it is cared for & has beautiful elements it gives a certain joy & peace when walking or driving by.

the time and care associated with all this too makes me wonder. fixing a lawn is not a quick fix.. it will take at least a year to see some real progress. bulbs and seeds might not do anything for months. still, you need to practice the care much like we do for our own souls.

i like the sound of all this.. so tomorrow, erin will be doing some painting, while i engage in our families spiritual practice of gardening & lawn care. i hope that time doesn't prove that i stink as a spiritual garden. i would be really let down by myself. or just out a few hundred bucks..

parody is the best form of flattery

i love the "stuff white people like" so now i am even more intrigued to find "stuff christians like."

thanks john!

on being "methomergent"

jay has a good reflection on what it means to be methodist & emergent. we jokingly brought out the methomergent name a few years ago, but since others have come out with presbymergent and anglimergent, i really hope that methomergent doesn't stick.

Being methomergent in a traditional setting often means deep longings, cries and groans of wanting to be something different while also recognizing that folks invested in the traditional structures need the grace of God as well. For some, it means being “in-between,” neither fully traditional or fully emergent, and that in-betweenness drives them crazy. For others of us (and I consider myself in this camp) it is about a self understanding of the minister/pastor as interpreter.

the "manly" influence of boys : a different way

i have been wanting to post on this topic for awhile. i just never had enough to say. so i wanted to find and show this video. well, it wasn't on the internet, so i had to find my copy of the video and get it uploaded. this is joe ehrmann, a former nfl player and now coach. he has a unique way and perspective on how we poorly build boys into men. this is well worth your time to catch a glimpse of a different way of raising men.

it reminds me that rethinking youth ministry highlighted this "hard as nails" ministry. in watching that i was taken back to some further thoughts. the idea being, what kind of men are we making for the kingdom.

months back i was intrigued in hearing about coach rush propst, the former head football coach from hoover high school (star of mtv's two a days), resigning (read between the lines, fired) from his position mid-season.

i had an interest in the show partly because hoover high school, wasn't created at the time, but would be my high school alma mater if our family stayed in birmingham. i would have actually graduated from berry high school, which is now one of the hoover middle schools. i would have been part of one of the final graduating classes from berry, before people moved into hoover.

watching two-a-days, i didn't like coach propst, i thought the methods of getting a winning team and the way he treated parents and kids was just awful. so i wasn't upset to see him go, but i wondered, why do we have so many "men" who are allowed to treat boys in such ways under the guise of "making them men?".. this cannot be good for the kingdom. being a man is not about being macho, unlike what mark driscoll dressed in his metro-sexual stylings would like you to know. being a man is not about being tough stuff.

Christ never put down, beat up, demeaned, yelled at, forced participation, or threatened in order to share the vision of the kingdom. why do we put up with people who go against those practices so actively? is it because we spend money on travel teams or our youth's sports? we hope our child to grow up and be successful professional athlete? we live out our real dreams through our children and this person is considered a 'gatekeeper'... i just don't know..

note: this is a trimmed version. a full version with bryant gumbel's reactions, which are good, can be found here.

don't taze me bro

see more loldogs are funny dog pictures!

i was showing the lol stuff. not sure why.. this i got a good chuckle at.

like sands through the hour glass, so are the days of our tennessee conference

jay has an excellent post breaking down the recent letter from the conference director on the change of staffing at the conference office. leave it to him to go rooting through the annual conference journals to uncover what was or was not said. if you need all the back story, just go to yesterday's posting of the letter with the links to all my chatter on the proceedings.

note: i would like to welcome all the middle tennessee folks who are stopping by to read ye ole' blog. it is nice that when you search 'gavin richardson' in google i am number one, i am kinda flattered by it. if you are taking time to read all this, give a little more time to speak up. we are all friends here.

tennessee conference reponds : terminating successful ministry

this is the first official response to the terminations of the children's and youth director positions. prior thoughts to think-tank,  what focus on, listening, white boy asks why, reminded of, hearing voices, letter too, the timeline, petition

Beyond the Walls-Restructuring of the Conference Council on Connectional Ministries (CCOCM)

By Loyd Mabry,
Director of Connectional Ministries

Our theme for the 2008 Session of the Tennessee Annual Conference is Beyond the Walls.  This concept is taken from Adam Hamilton's book entitled, Leading Beyond the Walls.  He will be a guest speaker and presenter on Tuesday of Annual Conference.  The emphasis in his book is developing congregations with a heart for the unchurched.   It is my hope that this theme and emphasis, Beyond the Walls, will become a driving force for us in the Tennessee Conference. 

In 2007 the Annual Conference approved the report of the CCOCM Task Force.  The Task Force presented a change in the way the CCOCM functions.  The new model is based in four words-Engage, Receive, Equip, and Send.  We are called to engage the community around us.  We are called to offer them Christ and receive them into our midst.  Our calling continues as we equip persons for the ongoing ministry of the church and theses equipped persons are sent out to engage their communities.  The cycle is to continue.

To pursue this direction, a restructuring of the CCOCM staff resulted.  For the conference to change direction, to reach different people, to minister in different ways, to reach out beyond the walls changes in job descriptions became evident.  The result is restructuring of the CCOCM staff and the way it functions.  These changes in staff are not related to job performance.  The CCOCM program staff fulfills their present job descriptions.  With a changing job description and direction, it was felt that staff changes were necessary.  The infusion of new ideas, methods, and styles of ministry is needed for us to fully engage the world around us.  Again, let me say that the change in staffing is a result of changes in job descriptions not job performance.

Our calling as God's people is to make Disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.  Connectional Ministries is charged with the responsibility to empower, equip, and enable local churches, districts, and the annual conference in fulfilling this calling.

To accomplish this calling we must go beyond the walls and reach out to the people around us.  Jesus said "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.  And remember, I am with your always to the end of the age."    

what do you think?

my thoughts. it at least keeps some credibility of beth & susan's work. still, it never approaches the way that this vision never took into account to talk to the people who are invested in the ministry or the whole change of jobs was never properly communicated.

a few sentences that are interesting. "With a changing job description and direction, it was felt that staff changes were necessary. The infusion of new ideas, methods, and styles of ministry is needed for us to fully engage the world around us."

i ask who is supposed to come up with these new ideas? and who is supposed to facilitate them? why new ideas had to result in stifling current effective ministries? i have the bishop in spoken record and email, that he doesn't know how to reach these unchurched youth and children, so then why don't you talk to those who might have an idea? to his credit, the bishop has been speaking with me and others and has been apologetic and assuming responsibility for the changes, but as we know, the bishop works on assumptions that others are doing their work to communicate for his office and communicate to his office thorough information.

we still need to know why those who are invested in these ministries, and know those who are "unchurched" were never included in conversations. i think too, it needs to be brought to attention that if we are to reach "unchurched" does that forgo "making disciples of all people" that i thought our church was working under for many years.

do we need to ask that much of any church growth comes at the loss of members of another church? most churches are not reaching new converts in any statistical mass, only recycling people who have left another church body. maybe our adult ministries over the conference needs new ideas and all that. we eliminated our associate position as well, no one seems up in arms about that one because the position holder was pretty much known to say "i don't do anything" but we have a new description and the person who is waiting in the wings to be hired for it, a former DS. it is pretty much accepted that she is going to take over that position. i have that on good account from  a not so secret rumor and confirmation with a friend in the personnel committee. does she have new ideas? i don't see these new ideas expressly reflected in her job posting. 

we have two meetings scheduled for conversation and planning. one by our ccym & core design team members, the other with our cabinet, personnel committee, director of connection ministries, our bishop, youth council, children's council, camping committee, and young adult council as well. how do i expect that to go?

monday music : stone roses - she bangs the drums

going old school that most of you don't know. the stone roses i was introduced to by my cousins over in england. they apparently were huge over there. i loved them, but they never seemed to take here in the states. took a little youtube tour of my old favorites.

ye blog in sermon : a blog first for me

pastor ken used my blog title for his sermon title this easter sunday. he had a lot of class to ask ahead of time, which i was glad to grant. he has now posted his sermon notes for reading.

Jesus was stubborn like Norman [you will have to read the illustration story]. He redefined what people thought they knew. In essence, Jesus would hit the back button so things could go forward. When others said Messiahs don’t hang out with sinners and that people don’t get healed on the Sabbath, Jesus was stubborn – THIS MESSIAH DOES! When others looked at the law and saw the letter, Jesus looked at it and saw the Spirit – the inspiration of His Father and what was intended. And when others saw death as final, Jesus was stubborn, and said, “Not anymore.”

somebody's sick idea for kids : wish i thought of this

 

we had a great day at church & afterwards hanging with the family. before our lunch we had an easter egg hunt. my mom picked up a bunch of these camouflage easter eggs or grass green eggs which where hilarious that you could just stick them in a little tuft of grass and kids can't find them. it was hilarious and incredibly mean. wish i thought of creating that. it could have been my million.. or at least a few hundred thousand.

more easter weekend pics

resurrection

hang in there saturday

 

spent today with the family. my sister and her fam drove in to hang out at with my bro and new family. my mom & dad drove up as well to hang, but they are staying with us. for what has been a real trying week, personally & spiritually, this is a fun way to spend the easter weekend. got some fun pics from our weekend.

it's friday, but sunday's comin'

i like this. if you want to get the dvd package or just download the video.

take this cup from me!

this is a little how i am feeling right now.. tonight for our maundy thursday service we sang hymn 482.. but what was nice was hymn/prayer 481.. you know it like this

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon'
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O' Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

not quite your maundy thursday experience, but it was much of what i am needing in this odd time.

rain : part of our noon day service

to choose from God's children : adoption multiple choice

my friends jennifer & david have started the process to adopt their first child. they are just salt of the earth people and erin & i love them dearly. they started a blog to give some updates on the process, which i have kept up with. their recent post has my mind just spinning... they have to fill out a form stating their preferences for how they want their child.

personal note: i love folks who adopt. when i was at my youngest years our family was a foster family. i don't remember the names of the kids who would come and stay at our home (sleep in mine & my bro's room), but i remember their faces. scratch that, i do remember taylor, but only because his real name was david & my older brother's name was david so we called him taylor and that had me confused.. where did we come up with that name.. sorry, tangent.

children need a home, and these two will provide a great home. i would also expect that they will provide a great home for a child that might not be 'ideal' by some standards. which is where they find themselves in a lot of exploration

for clarification sake: their current struggle is about race. i've expanded it by using 'ideal' as simple term to encompass a same ethnicity, non-conditioned/special-needs, premature, high risk pregnancy, etc. child. you get the picture. i think their honest thoughts expand more than just race.

And the big thing for us is the question of race? I can hear your wheels turning?! Here's the thing....we could choose to accept only healthy caucasian infants or we can just keep it wide open or anything in the middle. So we have considered many things:

If we are willing to adopt outside of our race...

*how will our friends and family feel/recieve us?
*how will our church family recieve us?
*how would we handle the questions, the stares, the looks?
*what issues would our child have to face because their skin may be different from ours?
*at the end of the day, do the stares, the looks and the comments matter?

you need to go and check out their thoughts. it has me thinking about it all. maybe you have an adoption story to share.

and just for the record: without giving their family history, these folks know what is like to be looked at and talked about. they live in a world & have lived in a world that is not ideal by most standards. which i have always thought makes them especially capable to love those who are not ideal & in ideal situations.

are we really that different : we are close

i know this stuff happens, but i was intrigued to see that the us & uk covers for "surprised by hope" are so very different. are we really that different that marketing takes on such a drastic change? honestly though, i would rather have the uk cover. i think i have the same book cover they are selling in the usa, except it is by max lucado.

don't forget. nt wright in nashville talking about the same book with two covers.

theology of dog : other links

i am with amy on her theology of dog. my coe is one of the best dogs in the world. my crimson, is a little neurotic, but she is fun and sensitive most of the time.

• jay's kids next door
• wal-mart effect on small church
• re-judaizing Jesus
• since when did chuck not like emergent? &:~ )
• methodist church doing the u2-charist with cool audio
• god's politics on the latest from senator obama
• restoring passion for souls
• the gospel is not free
• down goes the one man/woman youth ministry
• jonny baker reviews surprised by hope, by nt wright who is coming to nashville
• 11 steps to successful purpose driven small groups
• bw3 on henri nouwen

21st century teen love life

hendersonville high school coffee house

attended the spring semester hendersonville high school select chorus coffee house tonight. always a good time as there is a lot of talent in this town. traditionally a bunch of our youth community contribute to these events making them a lot more fun. if you care to check them out i've got a new flickr set. too bad my camera battery went dead at the end of the night.

update: this a group of my guys (johnathan & payton left and middle, it's matt on the right) singing a sarcastic love song called "beautiful girl" apparently in the later show they dedicated this song to taylor swift, whom i bumped into on the way out, but didn't realize it till my youth in line pointed her out. oh well. she's just a normal person, not like bumping into some huge football player. anyways, i was saying to erin that if the guys dedicated that song to taylor it'd be a classic moment, sure enough, they did.

hey tennessee conference think tank : think about this

in my on going conversations in light of our recent decision making from our bishop, cabinet, conference coordinator, and personnel committee (note that there is no youth, young adult, camping, children committee group represented) your think tank of seeing numbers that indicate people leaving the church might have wanted to ask us in the field, we could have alerted you to some myths that don't show up in your data.

4. A strong healthy ministry WILL produce numbers!
Healthy ministry never guarantees spiritual growth let alone numerical growth. Spiritual growth is solely a work of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life. Numerical growth happens in both unhealthy ministries and healthy ones a like. I know many healthy ministries that aren’t growing numerically. Why? I guess because God’s plan for them right now is be diligent in focusing on the few students who are already there. Numerical growth can be an indication of health, but never a decisive one.

dear gavin : youth ministry in decline

i get quite a few emails a month asking for some advice or follow up conversation on youth ministry. i am humbled to be asked my views on youth things and generally spend quite a bit of time writing. it occurred to me, so why not publish some of these.. they can be helpful to someone searching out there. so i introduce today, "dear gavin." feel free to email me your questions.

Gavin,

 

My name is Todd and I recently took on the leadership role of our Youth Group at our church, First United Methodist. Our youth program has been in a state of decline over the past few years. I did some research on the internet and came across the web site for your Youth group. We are a small church with about 300 members overall and an average Sunday attendance for service of 180 - 200. Our Youth Group has shrunk from 25 - 30 kids to ten or less. I wanted to contact you to see if you could give me some ideas or suggestions on what we can do to bring back our youth as well as develop a strong youth ministry. We have many people within our church membership who would like to see this area of our church grow as it has been neglected for far too many years.

 

Anything that you can suggest or ideas that you may have would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!

Todd

hi todd,

got your email i am happy help impart whatever wisdom that might help. so i'll share a couple of things here and ask questions as you like. did you find our youth website? or did you stumble upon our blog? most folks find my blog, i'd be interested to know what you thought of the youth site. it gets some isolated play. back to your youth stuff

first thing i suggest for people is time of discernment and examining what you do well and don't do so well. by "don't do well," you do all this, but it might be at a small number and might not be very intentional. discernment as a group will get more people invested into what actions you take on. you need as many youth ministers that you can get. that said, they need a job to have validity. i would suggest reading the UMY handbook by mike sellick. it is kinda dated in that is not the most modern book, but i am rereading it currently and finding a lot of reminding of some very sound advice and teaching in youth ministry. plus it gives a lot of steps to set up a ministry. it is more into youth leadership and youth led, which is not the trend that is out there in worship based models that are adult led. which, seem to grow numbers more, but arguable if they grow disciples.

second, take that discernment group to set some goals. goals not just as in growth of youth goals, but goals in getting youth leaders, setting up some covenant group, strategic events, upping the budget, youth council meeting times, choir, praise band, achievable weekly programming, etc...  people want the perfect youth ministry with numbers and perfectly functioning teenagers but they don't want to acknowledge the mess that comes with teenagers. it seems as children everyone is okay with the mess, with teens they want out the mess and the only thing i can think is different is that you cease to control a teenager. they are like the rich young ruler, they have a lot, want to know how to follow Jesus but when told (even by Jesus) they walk away because it is too hard for them and you can't control that. but that is just my theory.. you need people, young old clergy laity, to outline a plan, put some stuff in writing. your job is to help guide that comprehensiveness. (nothing is cooler than having stuff written down for a year and just rolling with that when you are tired or uninspired.. then when you have the energy and inspiration change a bit around.) then have these folks help you work that plan. don't let them leave.. their job might be in helping to recruit others to do the work but that is work.

what we are doing.. i've been at this church for 2.5 years. we've structured our programming that was already in place and added a few elements and events to fill out places for the youth that are here, but on a recent self-exam of where we are and where we will be, we do not adequately facilitate leadership at the local level and discipleship is more incidental than intentional. so we have a team of folks discerning and planning for a long term plan of sustainable small group development as the core of our youth community. we have around 90 youth so i am guessing that our needs for youth ministers (i don't ask for chaperone's or volunteers, ministers are invested in relationships) range around the 16 to 20 depending on the size our groups will start at. that will be set up for growth in the groups for the first year but after that we might say our numbers would be to 120 youth and 25 youth ministers. other markers would be those who made professions of faith, confirmation, attended a second event, joined into a conference design team, plugged into a ministry inside or outside the church, decided to go into the ministry.. and those markers are also for adults not just youth. adults make great leaps in their faith formation when they start working with youth. i call that the "oh crap!" theology.

i have a few years of collect youth ministry thoughts, links & ideas on the blog. the link is to the youth ministry section.

hope this is somewhat helpful for you.

shalom
-gav

note: these are the simple thought of me, the author and are not always applicable to every context. i mostly write out of a united methodist youth ministry background and model, which can be very different from other faith expressions.

 

nouwen on listening

in light of my recent conversations.. these old thoughts from henri nouwen i wish were heard.

The Spirit of Jesus Listening in us

Listening in the spiritual life is much more than a psychological strategy to help others discover themselves. In the spiritual life the listener is not the ego, which would like to speak but is trained to restrain itself, but the Spirit of God within us. When we are baptised in the Spirit - that is, when we have received the Spirit of Jesus as the breath of God breathing within us - that Spirit creates in us a sacred space where the other can be received and listened to. The Spirit of Jesus prays in us and listens in us to all who come to us with their sufferings and pains.

When we dare to fully trust in the power of God's Spirit listening in us, we will see true healing occur.

Listening as Spiritual Hospitality

To listen is very hard, because it asks of us so much interior stability that we no longer need to prove ourselves by speeches, arguments, statements, or declarations. True listeners no longer have an inner need to make their presence known. They are free to receive, to welcome, to accept.

Listening is much more than allowing another to talk while waiting for a chance to respond. Listening is paying full attention to others and welcoming them into our very beings. The beauty of listening is that, those who are listened to start feeling accepted, start taking their words more seriously and discovering their own true selves. Listening is a form of spiritual hospitality by which you invite strangers to become friends, to get to know their inner selves more fully, and even to dare to be silent with you.

from henri nouwen

glimpse at : the last week

these are some pics of our opening night of "the last week" our first eikon arts gallery. it was an interesting mix of reactions, all positive, but in different ways. some sat and stared, some cruised around, some found funny alternatives to the photos (which were really quite funny and creative), and some just stood proudly over their one or two photos. we had a discussion at the end over what prints were meaningful or made you think more, what interactions did you have with a photo, etc. that type of stuff. in all, it was a bit more expensive than i would like having to get a bunch of frames, blown up prints and a few odds and ends, but it is so far a wonderful experience in spiritual practice that is priceless.

my recent book identity

You're Watership Down!
by Richard Adams

Though many think of you as a bit young, even childish, you're actually incredibly deep and complex. You show people the need to rethink their assumptions, and confront them on everything from how they think to where they build their houses. You might be one of the greatest people of all time. You'd be recognized as such if you weren't always talking about talking rabbits.

Take the Book Quiz.

when the church does not know what they want

my buddy jason has some interesting thoughts on alternatives to a church hiring a youth minister when they do not know what they want or how to uphold youth ministry.

what you focus on dictates what you miss : revisit festival of homiletics

last spring a group of us local misfits pulled together to help lead worship at the festival of homiletics that brian mcalren was leading. during the worship or his speaking session he showed a video and it was one of those moments when everyone was baffled. i was packing up brian's equipment after the session was over while he was receiving people with their questions and thanks. many of the questions were "where can i find that video" which he apparently had some kids do. thanks to jonny, here is a similar video.

the simple statement from brian was, whatever you focus on dictates what you miss (paraphrase). if you are going to focus on this person or that person then you will miss the third person. if you are going to be focused on defending the bible then you might forget the people who need a lunch.. etc.. i loved it

what i told a youth : what ya think?

one of my youth david has made a post on his myspace about shopping for books at the towns new B&N. when they were in the "christian" section a man got on their case for believing in god. if you can't read his blog for one reason or another. a quote from it was something like, 'too bad christianity is a load of crap. it's nicely presented crap but it doesn't mean god exists.' he was bothered by it and one of his buddies, who is a cool kid i like a lot, but as i know is agnostic or atheist brought up the "contradiction" word for the christian faith.. so i got into rant mode.. for my better educated friends? anything i need to eat my words on or did i do okay for a non-academic to a teen audience response?

what i find funny is that if it is nicely presented, but it isn't real and it is total crap & as jody mentions full of "contradictions" then i wonder what we are talking about? God? Science? the Economy? Patriotism? Politics? Faith? Global Warming? Atheism? Agnosticism? etc..

honestly, these argumentations seem to only have a magnifying glass on faith.. why? i don't know, no one has ever told me they just shrug their shoulders..

eg. science has only been around since the 18th century (the scientific method as it is generally known, though some practice can date to middle ages), so in the idea of the world, it is a baby and has made many mistakes, contradicted it's findings, and failed to deliver the goods in it's aim to explain all things in a logical /explainable & repeatable manner. truth is they pull back on things all the time, contradicting oneself.

eg. economics obey certain "laws" but they are always conditional. if the economy operated under exact laws that never contradicted or moved on itself then we could tell everyone "this is how to ensure that all the economy will provide riches for everyone" (or provide stable living at the least) but no one is able to provide that because it is in-exact.

eg. agnosticism is contradicting of the self in many ways because you claim a diety or god, but you don't know what that god is. so therefore you are in a position to contradict yourself on every whim of what that god looks like, acts like.. note: i say that lovingly for folks who claim agnosticism, i could claim that about once or twice a month, as well as atheism, for my faith falls on trying times..

so someone tell me why we always pick on those of the christian faith?..

is is cause we don't do things we say we should do? is it that we hate when are told to love? is it that we care for ourselves when we are told to care for others? we got some old book that says some crazy stuff? things like that??? sure, we do that, but it is we as a people not God.

i cringe, and get really pissed off, at what some of my christian brothers and sisters say & do. i want to beat people who are a-holes in our church buildings and outside them & claim the same faith as i do then only remembering that i am supposed to love them too. i want to do all i can for the poor or marginalized get pissed at those that don't share my same passion, but then i go and do very little or nothing at all for the cause i feel so "passionately" about. but this is me.. i am a person just trying to live my life

and in my life i have found, though i have given myself every chance, time and time again i have been unable to claim that their is no God or even that God is less significant than he is. this is my story.. and that book we claim is full of the same type of people living with the same struggles, contradictions, frailty, humility, care for the world, and desire to come to know this God they can't get out of their soul.

so for people who want to impose those viewpoints, as christians will sometimes impose their own on others, i'd say "you need to earn the right to be heard" & a chance meeting in the bookstore is a bad way and only shows your brokeness and need to justify your own identity as a person.

you see david, all this to say. it hurt, and we as christians hurt others, because when you attack or disrepect a persons views on things like this you are attacking their identity as a person. and people have a natural need to defend their identity because in todays world more than any other.. it might be all they have. wars are fought over it & relationships are broken because of it. it is powerful.

ps: i have the same book on my shelf as my to be reads.. not sure when i'll get there, but i am looking forward to reading it myself.

anatomy of a picture

not my normal video posting, but i sure did like this

 

we have been confirmed

erin & i just arrived home from our church's confirmation retreat. erin helps as a mentor and being the youth person i help in some of the teaching spots. due to some scheduling stuff, i taught my usual advent but also lent. i felt scattered and tired most of the weekend, but erin said things went well. i did some twitter updates while gone, not sure what they were, but i know i did.

back now to take a nap first, after that.. i don't know

the last week : by TheCorner

if you are in the hendersonville area, or up for a road trip to the 'ville, next week. we will be offering our artistic meditations on "the last week" of Christ. i am pretty stoked for it. directions and such, www.hfumc.org.

if you want to download a poster flower : arrested.

madalyn rose's birthday

this i my little bro with the women of the day. tiff, his wife, and little madalyn on her birthday. things have gone rather smoothly, long, but smoothly. even with shawn intervening into the birthing, he managed to not drop little madalyn.

both daughter & mother are doing wonderfully. i am uploading pics as i get kicked out of the room for various things, the first installment of the madalyn birthday set.

happy birthday madalyn! welcome to our fam. now for this uncle to start the corruption! muhahah!

offline meeting my new niece

going to the office to do some quick things and then heading to the hospital. the sister-in-law & little bro are going to have a little girl today.. sometime.. not sure when.. but we will be somewhere around there.. follow ye twitter. if you care, mom..

this white boy wants us to ask why

in the continuing saga on the recent actions by my church's conference level clergy leadership i cant help reading

• emily has posted some of her reactions and thoughts about termination
• josh, in a much easier to read version, shares the same thoughts as me in the breakdown of leadership in the church
• david has a stemmed thought from josh's posting

i can't help either of thinking. warning, i have been introduced to this site on what stuff white people like.. and it has got me wondering and typing like a white person.

i get upset with the romanticism of urban mission, a snippet of my thoughts.

now i might sound heretical in this, but when i hear "at-risk" i think low income, ethnic youth, from a housing project.. from here-say conversations, i believe this is the concept of the bishop as well. the problem, "at-risk" kids come in all ways & we are throwing away two effective sustainable ministries for a heart-string romanticized view of the mission field. my youth at hfumc might not need food on their table, but they have a poverty out of their affluence that is equally damaging to the shaping of identity & self-concept. if this vision is such a heartstring then just hire a new staff person, part time, or maybe petition some of the affluent churches who have missions or evangelism people to collaborate for the purposes of educating the conference.

this said, it isn't just me that is finding out white people feel inclined to move back into the urban environment as part of their coolness. the good white Christian reasons for moving into these area done out of good hearts and a good minds of what is needed in the folks in that area. us white folks are experts on all cultures so we know what is needed. we have become white aware and thus we can get out there and save lives. our black friends have illumined our white selves with all that is needed. maybe i am just over thinking this whole thing, or maybe i just want my white person resolution.

i should just stop now and go watch my white person news, grab something to drink, and hope for a white person sporting event to come on.