well, its late

its late, and i should be going to bed.

i just got back from ireland yesterday, and it was an amazing trip. so much to see over there, and such a beautiful country. went to dublin, galway, greystones, and brey. also saw the cliffs of moher. such a beautiful place. drank some guinness. drank some bulmer's cider - that was excellent. ate a bit of fish and chips. took in a bit of the pub life. just a great time. but alas, i have more to write than what i did. it was a lot of what i noticed.

see, they value things differently over there. they value their relationships, their friendships. and not that i really got to know them or anything, but it was one particular thing. the fact that their stores close at around six-ish said it all. the grocery stays open. as do pubs and restaurants, but thats it. no late night shopping at malls. no getting home at 11 o'clock if you close at a retail store. the store closes at six.

this speaks volumes to me. we have to have our malls open late and be able to shop. in the stores mind they need those hours to make more money. is it capitalism? sure. . .and its not the worst thing. but i think the irish, and much of europe gets the importance of relationships. everyone gets together at night. everyone buys a round for everybody. its the irish way. we want to shop. its the american way.

in no way do i mean to criticize america, but what we consider to be important. i only pray that more and more we will realize what is important and what does last. relationships with those we care about.

so take someone out to dinner. take 'em out to lunch. have a beer, a glass of wine, or a cup of coffee and spend some time getting reaquainted(i can't spell sometimes, so that might be wrong). just spend time and listen. i know i need to. i think we all should.

g'night. be good to each other. look at christ. peace

going to ireland

well, today eileen and i are leaving for ireland. its crazy. i can't believe that i'm actually going.

i hope that i can mentally and emotional leave all my crap at home, and just enjoy the time. i've never been, and i want to experience everything that i can.

i need some direction. i have a lot of options, but not a lot of direction. there are quite a few things that i'm unsure about. what i want to do.

i want to get out of my job. not because of the people, but because i just can't continue to sit in front of a computer all day. it is slowly killing me from the inside. but i've said that before.

there's alot going on with the youth group. our youth pastor is leaving, and there could be a big transitionary period, and with 150 new freshman coming into the fold, there has to be strong leadership. i care about these kids. i want to see them grow closer to God, and closer to each other. that they experience true community. but its hard when thats not what they have grown used to.

there is a college group that i'm helping out with this summer. its definitely going to be interesting. its tough to get people to even consider new ideas. especially when the majority of the leadership of the group have all been involved for the past 3 years. i mean, there are some benefits to that, like knowing what doesn't work. but do they really know what doesn't work?

right now all it is, is taking a sunday morning structure and calling it something different. i don't think its going to work. i don't doubt anyone's heart in the matter. but if only the heart is there, but they don't translate that to seeking the best way to do ministry, how good is it to just have your heart in the right place?

anyways, while in ireland, please pray that God really speaks to our hearts. its gonna be an amazing time.

be good to each other. look at Christ. peace.

how HE taught

yesterday our pastor started a series on volunteerism, which i think is good.

he used the story of Jesus washing His disciples feet, which i also think is good.

now, i have heard this story before. i understand the importance of serving. it is something that i think that the greater body of the church needs to get.

but as our pastor taught what Jesus taught, I began to think of HOW Jesus taught.

Jesus washing His disciples feet is not only the greatest example of serving others, but it may also be one of the greatest examples of experiential teaching. Jesus had verball taught them about serving, but they didn't get it. because this is such a huge issue that He wants them to get, He sets up a situation that they have to experience it. He not only shows them how to serve, but He also invites them into the experience. then they get it.

Peter tried to fight it. tried to fight Jesus taking a role that was less than his own. but i wonder if he fought it because he got what Jesus was saying, showing. he got what he was supposed to do, how he was supposed to live, and he didn't want the further shame. but it doesn't matter. i don't think that Peter ever forgot that moment, that image of Jesus with a towel at his feet.

we that teach need to take hold of this story. take hold of Jesus' example. i think that we focus so much on what Jesus taught(which is no doubt important), but we forget HOW Jesus taught.

He invited them into the experience. He gave them a moment, an image, that they would never forget. He knew that people would remember those instances that they experienced and would learn from them more.

this is not to say there is no value of the spoken word.

this is to say that we must accompany the spoken word with involvment, interaction, and experience.

i'm gonna chew on that for awhile.

be good to each other. look at Christ. peace

two good articles to check out. . . really . . . . check 'em out

check out this article about conserving energy.
just some easy ways to do our part.
less is more.

this next one is funny.
WARNING: Satirical article follows. Read only if you are willing to laugh at yourself.
Unitarian Jihad.

a couple of things

its wendesday. . . and i continue to have problems spelling it.

a while ago, a friend remarked that he thought that preaching, as it is formally done now, was on its way out. while i agreed with him, i thought to myself, "well then, what will take its place?"

now i think i'm starting to get it. i think that the wires just brushed each other and a huge spark went off in my brain. its not about preaching at them, its about teaching them to teach themselves. at least thats where i would like to see it go. . . . . as of right now. . . . cos my opinions are changing all the time.

if students, of all ages don't like school, and sitting through class, then why do we still use that same formula for church services? why is there still that teacher/student relationship, with all of its assumed identities and conditioned emotions for that setting?

i have increasingly grown tired of traditional service programming. worship time, announcements, preaching, closing. and then lets switch it up so that worship is at the beginning and at the end. that'll make it different, right? not really.

i believe that this traditional service order does still have its place, my frustration is more with the student/young adult ministries that still use that formula. there must be more. i was in louisville at a borders there and a picked up experiential storytelling by mark miller. it said what i had been feeling for a while, but i didn't know how to say it.

some of you may have read it. i would really encourage anyone who is in ministry to read it, but not just read it. apply it. really think about what he's saying, and why he's saying it.

star wars III comes out in 2 weeks. i'm going to a midnight showing. i can't wait. it might just be the movie of the decade.

i'm programming a service for our youth group this saturday. should be very interesting. trying to apply some of the ideas from that book, so we'll see how it goes. please pray for it, if you care about that sort of thing.

thanks for reading. be good to each other. look at christ. peace