Hit the Back Button to Move Fwd by Gavin Richardson

donald miller : arts & spirituality

donald miller giving a talk to folks at willow creek on arts, the artist, and spirituality.

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

in the midst of change : the grand youth room

we are in the midst of chaos of our physical environment at hfumc. we are building and it is great, we've been discerning it, planning it, talking it, raising funds for it, and waiting on the church for three years. but it's starting to happen. our theme we are calling "industrial cathedral" which is a mix of what you'd see in a lot of youth rooms today, but we are trying to introduce elements of traditional old church, pews as sitting booths, icons, artwork, candles, and altar.. you might get the gist.

since we started our process i've been interested in seeing how other folks shape their spaces. i think it reflects a lot of what the leadership and community are about. most of the time youth leaders check out other spaces and have youth leader envy or arrogance. i might not have transcended that completely but i'd like to think i'm learning. so i was intrigued reading this post on the environment as learning space for youth ministry.

being a person that has an early childhood background in my university training i know all too well the purpose and important of environments in learning, behavior control, experience, and over all message. so i'm excited to see the finishing product of our efforts.

the un-conference : barcamp nashville

if you are in or close enough for a trip to nashville on october 18th, i'd suggest making it to barcamp nashville. erin & i made the first of the 'un-conferences' it was great fun and we talked it up for months afterwards.

so make plans, it is worth the trip if you are out of town. erin & i will be making our way there too.

weekend at a glance : out of service

this is my home for the next few days. the in-law fam and i will be houseboating it for the weekend. i think after last year the rest of the family is comfortable enough that i won't be the solo boat captain. i do look forward to ramming this sucker up onto shore. how cool and how strange is that purposefully ramming a boat onto the shore.

i've put in the prior posts to enjoy, but if comment spammers take over like last year or you have a direct question, txt me or wait till monday for a response.

barack and the circle of life : a daily show vision

if you saw this you may have rolled in your seat like i did. the daily show at its best.

big church small church : how bout parish church

interesting set of events happening down in atlanta with adam hamilton facilitating, participating, and blogging a meeting of pastors from some of the largest united methodist churches in the united states.

it has given john some point to reflect on. what is the role and place of the smaller church in a world that seems to crave the larger corporate church with mall flavor?

i have been the skeptic of the mega-church, and continue to be. however, i have been to some and felt there is some fine things that they accomplish, and i have benefited from some things put together by the likes of ginghamsburg and church of the resurrection.

my thoughts about this, come back to my tension on driving by the local united methodist church to get to my other umc. its a tension because as i am employed by the one church i often wonder what it is that this smaller church is doing in my parish that i live in. if i were to leave the employment of hfumc would we engage within this smaller church or keep to our larger church which has many opportunities? or would we choose the smaller parish church which meets needs of our neighbors?

i guess the big churches can talk of renewal and revitalization. i just hope they don't loose sight of something that the smaller church innately have, a parish view.

update: the great reverend mommy has some thoughts on these happenings, which happen to be in her backyard.

time of the year : playball!

we are not necessarily a house divided, but an sec house none the less. there isn't any love hate between south carolina and bama, so we get along famously in our house. one thing though, we are passionate about our teams and they kickoff tonight. carolina is playing north carolina state tonight, which we will be watching & bama plays clemson on saturday. that games seems to be concensus game of the week. gameday will be there (atlanta neutral site). luckily bama is playing underdog, about the only time i can count of them, in recent history, of putting out the effort. and being that clemson is the rival of usc i'd like to get a whooping on them. but many don't see it that way. regardless, the season is underway tonight in the richardson house and we cannot be happier.

jesus christ : kung fu grip

so i leave this to your interpretation. but if you want a more expanded, and probably excessive, action figure jesus exegesis then hear what dixon has to say (i especially like the jesus has nipples vid).

bringing in new folks : to your blog

barbara has a thorough posting on how to strategically bring in new inbound links. there are some things in there that i hadn't thought about, some i didn't know i benefited from. a few i'll ponder further

6. Search Google for blogs that cover a topic you’re writing about and link to them.

8. Create a way to regularly invite bloggers to send links to you

9. Invite others to guest blog - they’ll promote you on their site and link back to you

i might add, get to know people. barbara i met when i was in chicago for a district training event. yup, that means she's a good methodist gal, along with her being a social media & pr expert. which makes her super cool in my book. so i am more apt to follow her and link to her.

since i'm bringing in the church.. do you see any parallels found in social media etiquette to welcome in new interest to your church community?

cause i am a homer : and they are 0-fer

i saw this on todd's blog. it had me with a big grin. roll tide! and go sec!

earth wind fire : energy consumption

some interesting reading on which way an area can be used for energy development. they are looking at the differences between wind power and coal, which generally results in todays 'mountain top removal.' which, i am not a fan. check out these two graphs

quotes : that just happen

"We were just there talking and it happened." -Dorothy Day

tuesday randomness : i love links

• marketing to millennials
• a washed up 14 yr old model?
• kids exploit and threaten your cyber experience
• probably why i don't watch mtv anymore.. except for america's best dance crew
• its not flattering, so why are we using it?
• is it so hard to register to vote that you need to go this route?
• yes, but what happens when you are not there for discussion?
• but the signs are they are using the couch less
• signs your event is still web 1.0

donald miller : dnc benediction i missed

if you happened to be following me on twitter you might have noticed that i missed donald miller giving the benediction for the dnc last night (i watched pbs coverage, should have gone with the cspan). thanks to youtube, i can catch a glimpse of that part of the evening. the only part i had any real anticipation for.

as you can read in comments on the youtube clip, and this site here (via phil) the response to donald is.. well, predictable. me, i liked the prayer. i haven't picked it apart as some have, for sure, but its speaks to me on a number of kindgom levels. what would have been really nutty is if he started with "mother God." let's start the fireworks show after that one!

its football time : the backyard rivalry

Originally uploaded by hfumcyouth

last friday kicked off the football season for me as youth pastor. two of my teams, that are hendersonville based smashed it up. station camp high school is a new & smaller school to hendersonville and played the established & larger hendersonville high school last year to an exciting last minute win with their first meeting. this year, hendersonville protected their home turf with a 35-3 win.

i loaned my camera to one of our youth who was taking pictures from the field. he did really well. taking action photos outside of natural light is a challenge.

check out our collection of photographs

drinking ages : its a culture & identity issue

so if you are not paying attention to that whole election thing. you might have noticed that some college presidents are advocating for a lower drinking age. they have their critics, which is expected. scot mcknight asks a simple question, which gets a large response. so everyone has an idea.. as i do

i cannot say i have a solution for the problem. but when i look at the issue at hand it seems to me that drinking a beer or glass of wine is not the issue, but the blast of binge drinking that i've participated in, in my past, observed for many years, know that teens actively partake in now.

part of my conversion came around when i did some math. i never went to a party or any function and drank (or planned to drink) 8-12 cokes or lemonades. that sounds, and is, rather stupid. so why does that all change when you change your liquid to beer?

it obviously isn't because beer is a better drink for you in mass quantities. coke isn't great for you either in mass quantities, but one cannot claim it hinders you as the others might. so what drives this?

my best guess is the cultural norm that drinking is associated with being social & good times and our want or need for these in our lives pushes us to over consume. our teenagers and young adults (maybe even our older adults) are seeking out who & what they are that this becomes their mechanism for being social and having happy times. have you never heard "i just need to have a couple of beers in me before i... party/get crazy/etc"

i might also say that our culture of excess helps out in this. we have very little clue for moderation. so i don't see the drop in age helping. though it will help with the delinquency of young adults, as they will not have to break the law as much. but if 18 is an age that just reintroduces it to high school in a direct line. 18 yr old seniors will not shy away from buying for the high school party, they do not have that vision of what consequence they are open too with that action.. just as parents are being held responsible for the parent supervised alcohol party an 18 year old has the same responsibility in the eye of the law.

i feel for youth these days. it is the social norm to drink to have the good time, and drink excessively at times. i know many teens who choose not too and they become left out of circles of friends that they should belong too. but i rest in the fact that most of those youth are well on their way to knowing who they are.

so, as youth pastor, what is my solution for this problem? i will focus on my small circle of influence i have. the teenagers and young adults i know. my quest is to help them find their way through this crazy world and identify who they are, without enhancements and labels. my quest is to help them know they are loved, without throwing themselves into behaviors or situations for which have no control. this is what God has called me into.

more discussion on dropping the teenage drinking age at usa today via cpym.

i welcome your thoughts & comments

music monday : feeling a bit emo

so i'm feeling a bit emo today. i guess.. here's some famous emo

my team : of fantasy

since you care. this is my fantasy team for my sunday school class league. i've already switched around steve smith for bernard berrian. debating on which defense will service better. i'm hoping that i can reap some benefits of pacman getting his act together after being such a loser here in tennessee. the least he can do is give me a couple of run backs for touchdowns. also have some rookies stored away whom i took.. well, because i didn't see anyone else i wanted in the later rounds.

QB Tom Brady
RB Willis McGahee
RB Michael Turner
WR Steve Smith
WR Chris Chambers
TE Kellen Winslow
OP Jonathan Stewart
D/ST Cowboys D/ST
K David Akers
BE Bernard Berrian
BE Philip Rivers
BE Eagles D/ST
BE Ray Rice
BE Donald Lee
BE Joe Flacco
BE Jabar Gaffney
BE Mike Nugent

just me : virtually

so i took a pic of me chilling out in second life.... dorky, maybe, i did it though.. want to hang with me? gavin tellig

God really wants me to have lots of money : apparently tells me so

not sure what to make of this.. i've never been a fan of the prosperity gospel. i don't mind having money to pay my bills & plan for the futures of our future children, but when someone talks money.. and making so much money beyond that, i don't know what to do. these thoughts take prosperity to a whole new sense of 'out there' for me.

Like Woody and Pilzer, Brother Ty knows God wants you to be rich. But he also knows God's got some big-time "enemies" out to sabotage you. And like in "The Omen" and "The Exorcist," they come in disguise, for example, politicians, bankers, brokers and CEOs. But you already know there are so many of these little "devils" in the "unholy trinity" that can't be trusted: Wall Street, Washington and Corporate America.

i'll be sure to watch out for them & continue to stick to my five rules

1. First rule: Trust God ... but not his 'enemies'
2. Second rule: Wall Street won't make you rich, it's stealing from you
3. Third rule: Stop working for Corporate America if you want to get rich
4. Fourth rule: You can't trust Washington to help you get rich
5. Fifth rule: 'Faith-based getting rich' means trusting in 'You Inc.'

david dark : the message in culture arts

david dark shares some of his experiences of finding significant messages in the cultural arts

oh really : obama

i just don't get the fear slamming of candidates. i get passion, i get choice, i get preference, but to try and sway folks decisions by making them afraid is just sickening to me. i turn off the tv when the negative campaigns get. so when i get emails from non-sanction groups that say crap like this it just pisses me off. like im listening to your ignorant language.

Barack Obama is a threat to you, your family, your church and all Americans in general (really?). Just some of Obama's more outrageous positions are the following:

• Hate crime legislation: churches could be shut down and individuals jailed who speak out against the morality of homosexuality (speculation). Currently, this is happening in different parts of America (where?) but Obama wants to expand hate crime legislation to a national level.

• Abortion on demand (can i get one?): Obama takes a radical position on abortion where he even supports killing babies that are born after failed abortions. Obama supports the abortion groups and has pledged to nominate judges who will fight for abortion on demand (what is one 'on demand').

• Barack Obama does not support the traditional family and he wants to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) which defines marriage as between a man and a woman (so what?). Obama's website proclaims his support of the homosexual agenda.
  Barack Obama wants to allow homosexuals in the military (aren't they already in there? oh, don't tell me).

It will not be a good day for America if Obama is elected. (apparently not, but apparently its already a bad day since this stuff is going on.. or so you say)

honestly, does crap like this go and get people to turn their heads and say "really, whoa, i didn't know all that would happen." i wonder what they would say if nader was a real threat?

mash up : burt & ernie kick it

i don't know how people have time for creating mash ups.. but then again, people don't know how i have time to blog. but i do. regardless, i love the mash up. this was was especially fun. tip mitch

its a tragedy : my cynic getting the better of me

so i'm catching up on my news feeds and blog postings. catching up on things i've missed out on for one reason or another.

i find myself reading up on the recent school shooting at a high school in knoxville. it, along with all school shootings and violence, is a tragedy. i pray for the students and families involved... reading up on the story. this one account from a mother had me just cracking up.

"I whipped around," Mirtes said. "I started loading kids into my car, and I got them off campus as quickly as possible."

She said she took about 12 students in her Monte Carlo to Litton's restaurant, nearby on Essary Road.

i am sorry, but just imagining 12 students cramming into a monte carlo under any circumstances to me is just an image that i cannot not giggle at.

i not me : i mean we

andy asks a good question we all know while pontificating usain bolts celebrating

I think it's that "You don't do that" line that gets under my skin. Because when Rogge says "you don't do that" of course what he means is "I don't do that." Obviously, Usain Bolt does do that, and Rogge just thinks it is somehow not reflective of the Olympic attitude or something.

And because "he's still a young man" that means obviously he just doesn't know what's appropriate. The corollary being, if he were older he would therefore know what was appropriate and then act ... well, ... appropriately. But it doesn't cross Rogge's mind that Bolt might, in fact, know exactly what Rogge thinks would be appropriate and has another idea altogether about what "appropriate" really is.

AS USUAL, I see something here that the church might learn. (You knew I'd get to it eventually, didn't you?)

Here's the question: How often do church people say "You don't do that in church" when what they really mean is "I don't do that in church"?

it reminds me too. that when the secretary of the church says that "everyone" is talking, that translates me and the person who hangs out in the office with me. usually.. &:~D

no earth exits : blue man group

its been awhile since i threw down a posting. quite the absence for me. here's a little video to check out in my return. via

Find more videos like this on Inconvenient Youth

my landmark day : the things i do in the name of youth ministry

yes, this is me getting prepped for my very first pedicure. since i am renowned in my church for wearing flip flops year round (even in snow) people get a good look at my feet all the time. so it isn't hard to imagine that my feet get ridicule rather often. so some of my girls decided to pay for me to get a pedicure. due to schedules only one of my girls could make it, plus her mom, so i was in txt mode while soaking, filing, poking and whatever else they do.

my realization is... this is pretty cool. i might go back. massage chair & foot soak is cool enough to go back. having odd man scraping and poking at my toes is kinda odd, but we had this unspoken rule of not making eye contact which was cool with me.

another realization. i'm no longer going to let wifey make getting a pedicure sound like a chore. it is so not. your girl secret is out in the open now!

old friend : new metho blogger

my old friend mark conforti has started blogging. mark, i know, was one of the first people to hear about this blog. what is funny is that as young person friends go, mark and i met through service with mountain top but his wife mary allan crafted a friendship with erin working at lake junaluska. years later we're all some odd happy family.

if you haven't heard. old blogging buddy shane is back!

music monday : john goes boom

a little blues for the day. classic are some of the faces of the people dancing.. not to mention their dancing

note to self : no pictures of people kissing

we had our final summer event sunday evening. it was a traditional pool party. we moved the traditional site though one of our youth leaders million dollar residential properties they renovated and have on the market. we'd been out there before for food break when we had a day on the lake. so i had pictures. i took those pictures to make a poster for this event. i thought it was a pretty good poster... till this evening.. the youth informed me that one of their own is making out right smack dab in the middle of the poster in the picture i put up there. sure enough.. he is, and i did. (i added the new caption)

i've got no problem with some light pda. been around it a long time. this however is a first for me. gosh i hope it will be the last.

why i love olympics : why i love the president

adam likes this pic.. me, i'm a fav of this one.

i know i wouldn't fair too well if photographers and videographers followed me around, but they don't so i get to pick on those that do. as adam pointed out, the prez has left himself open for some.. interesting.. images at the olympics. surely you will see one or two on the daily show.

wednesday randomness : link love

oh some stuff for your procrastination

• happy meal virtual world
• sad beating of a gay teen
• i agree, but that is the case for all teenage television shows
• skateboarding franciscan
• are we obsessed with youth culture that we get rid of our older folks? what's old? i might be out of a job
• teens dressing modestly? i'm not shocked
• virtual world to real world.. difference?
• what, like you didn't hang out looking for that older person, but we had to pay for it
• sex sells, so they say, so this isn't terribly creative but predictable
• i'm impressed they wrote a thank you note
• stats show this doesn't work,.. i could go on for half a day on this
• this could actually be a real reality show.. documentary
• what is before the next generation
• if youth ministry were a website.. interesting question
• when halo isn't enough, give this non-recruitment tool a shot
• creating business from a blog
• how dare you push around cartoonchurch!
• "Jesus needs a drink" i can't resist, title is too good
• wisdom of friends, get a mentor.. after watching the hall of fame inductions last week. they all had mentors. not gangs, posse, crews, entourage.. but mentors
• why we prefer a segregated sunday
• can i feel this way too?
• guilty as charged
• neat charging station idea
• there is nothing wrong with you.. serious

rest in peace : roll tide!

rest in peace & roll tide! john mark stallings!

i am saddened to hear of your passing. though might have had a disability you were the big man on campus and we knew it.

"For someone who never played or coached a game, I think John Mark may have touched more Alabama fans than any other person ever did," said Mal Moore, current UA athletics director and former assistant football coach.

though we never talked or met i too am impacted by your leaving. it is always a nicer world when you know that folks like you are still in it.

another video

music monday : one of those childhood memories

i often say i have no childhood memories. that isn't entirely true, but it is interesting how i seem to have very few compared to others i meet. what i do have it spot images. one of them is the first song i can consciously say i listened too. i was probably 7 then, so it isn't the first thing i heard. but i remember my sister listening to her "walkman" and then making me play a guessing game as to the name of the songs. as i know, this was the only one i got right.

reimagine : mark scandrette

mark scandrette doing his slam poetry from 'the church basement roadshow' tip from bob, my pics from the roadshow

rethink capitalism : rethink media

tip to blake who had this marked on his youtube account.