GREAT discussion about our role in God's Kingdom

Marko has a great post about a conversation he had yesterday during a DCLA planning meeting.

It's important to read the beginning to understand the context of the conversation, but here is the part that I thought was so good:

when his daughter was 2, he was doing some work in her room. and he noticed that she was standing off to the side, mimicking his movements. he thought this was sweet. then, he started painting some trim work, and she wanted to paint also. he said, “no honey, you’re a little kid, and painting is adult work.” she started crying, and his wife piped in, “just let her paint.” so he gave her a little brush, and a little bowl of paint, and she went to it, messily painting a small section of the wall. he kept telling her what a great job she was doing. he moved to a roller, and gave her a tiny roller also. while continuing to tell her what a wonderful job she was doing, he painted over the portion she had painted, so the end result was what he had always planned.
he said that this is what god does with us.

i tried to restrain myself, but said something like, “that’s horrible! it’s manipulative and a lie!” i went on, “i was hoping you were going to say, ‘when i got to the section she’d painted, i painted around it, framing it. it wasn’t as smooth as the parts i’d painted, but it was her contribution to the plan i already had to paint the wall. the wall was going to get painted either way, but i allowed her to contribute. AND, the wonderful thing is that, for years after that, we cherished that little less-than-perfect portion she painted, which made the wall something our family valued even more.”


Read the rest.

A quick Review of HSM3

Here's a quick review I wrote up for the church newspaper about HSM 3:

HSM 3 is the third installment of the High School Musical series but only the first one to debut in the theaters. The other two were shown on the Disney Channel.

The story takes place during the senior year of the main characters deal with college choices while trying to make the most of their last year together.

While many love to hate the High School Musical series, here are three things I love about this year’s film:

The lead relationship between Troy and Gabriela is positive, romantic, and portrays purity.

The head cheerleader is a bigger girl, who has “intelligence beyond compare,” and she loves to dance.

Finally, while the plot and writing are fairly poor with major gaps in the story, the music and dancing make it an amazing and fun movie to watch for the whole family.

Inside the world of middle schoolers

On Sunday one of my 7th graders handed me a disk and said it was full of a bunch of funny videos and a game. We use funny videos nearly every week as students gather together so I was pumped that a student would take time out to burn some videos for me to check out. And it gives me insight into their world, which is always a plus.

Included on this disk:

A video of dancing russians

3 episodes of "Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog" whose trailer can be found here.

A pirated copy of what must be Microsoft's worst video game ever, called "Big Rigs: Over The Road Racing." I guess many people consider it to be the WORST video game ever made. The video review on Gamespot was so bad the guy just sits there shaking his head the whole time and decides to end his life after playing the game.

And last but not least, this video gem from the 80's about anti-piracy.

Getting students to commit to something bigger than themselves

I LOVE this story blogged by Scott that tells about a bunch of teens doing something pretty cool. He closes his blog with this:

"maybe the problem with today's youth isn't that they aren't committed. maybe the problem is that we haven't given them anything of value to be committed to."

Definitely worth your time. It really affirms something I've been really focusing on these last few weeks.

ht to Kirk.

The Ultimate High School Muscial 3 Quiz

Following Youth Ministry rule #213, Jen and I went and previewed HSM3 this afternoon and created the Ultimate HSM3 quiz.

We are taking our students to go see it and then going for ice cream afterwards. We'll hand out the quiz and then go over it and award some lame HSM3 party prizes that I got from the Mart that shall not be named.

Feel free to use the quiz or leave your email in the comments and I'll email it to ya.

have fun!

1. What is the score in the opening scene:

Wildcats:_______

Knights:________


2. What game are they playing?

3. What is the first thing Troy says?

4. What is Chad’s jersey number?

5. What is Troy’s jersey number?

6. Who makes the game winning shot?

7. Who was the first girl Troy had in his tree house?

8. What country is Sharpay’s new assistant from?

9. What is the name of this year’s play?

10. Who taught Gabriella how to waltz?

11. How many different pairs of glasses does Kelsi wear in the movie?

12. What is the name of the Auto Salvage?

______________’s Auto Salvage


13. Troy brings Gabriella pizza and what?

14. What college does Gabriella get accepted to?

15. What city does HSM take place in?

16. What is Gabriella’s last name?

17. How many jumps does Troy make during his song?

18. Who submitted Troy’s name?

19. According to the drama teacher, what does Troy not lack?

20. When Chad goes over to Troy’s house, what is the name of the soda he pulls out of the fridge?

21. What kind of shoes does Zach wear for the prom?

22. How many times do Troy and Gabriella lock lips?

23. Who ends up going to Juliard?

24. Why are Sharpay’s and Ryan’s parents dressed so weird?

25. Who is the head cheerleader?

HSM3 Tonight

Tonight we'll be taking a couple of vans of middle schoolers to go see the premier of High School Musical 3. To be honest, i didn't know how our students would respond. I didn't know if they'd be too cool for it (which some are) or totally pumped about it (about half of my kids).

and then there are the kids who are too cool for it, but are secretly wishing they were going.

We are encouraging our kids to dress up in costume and we are going to give out prizes. Jen and I are going to the first show in town to preview it and make up some trivia questions for later.

We'll go early to get good seats, watch the movie, and grab some ice cream afterwards. Should be a really fun event!

A Ton of FREE resources for youthworkers

I was on PDYM last night and I came across a GREAT load of FREE resources. From a bunch of powerpoint games to countdown timers, lessons, sermons, admin stuff, ideas, and more!

This is definitely a part of PDYM that I love...giving resources away and creating a way for people to share resources.

Click here and download away!

Another great site is Pastor2Youth.

I had no idea my three year old was a reader of Marko's blog!

I came home from work today to see that my sweet three year old has evidently been reading Marko's blog!


Last week Marko posted about one mom's hip new tattoo:

And I guess Charis felt inspired.

Fear Factor Middle School Style

So our current series on Sunday mornings is one of Kurt's (Yikes! Scary things we don't like to talk about, shameless plug/promotion here) and last Sunday it was about Fear, as we are trying to capitlize on Halloween.

We had a great program, great participation and conversation. But our game was one of the coolest. I figured, since we were talking about fear, I'd try to pull some sort of Fear Factor type game and have students eat something really gross. I remember going to a Planet Wisdom conference one time and Matlock had kids eat grasshoppers or something else that they bought at a chinese supermarket.

So I went to my local shop and asked the nice lady there in the most appropriate way I could muster if they had anything seemingly "gross" students could eat. She had just the thing and she has actually seen it on an episode of Fear Factor!

It's called Durian. It's a fruit delacacy from China. You can buy a whole fruit ($$$$$$) or just a slice ($5). The thing is, that while it tastes sweet like soft pineapple, it looks and smells disgusting!

I had kids gagging during the game. Some of my girls left the room refusing to come back. And when they did come back they held thier noses for the next 30 minutes. So fun. And it provided a great entry point into a conversation about trusting God when we are afraid.

A new day for 49er fans

Wow! Mike Nolan the coach of the 49ers was fired today and replaced with Mike Singletary. Wow. Dude, that is so bittersweet. I really like Nolan's style but have grown SO weary of the 49ers grand "suck-itude." It's been hard to be a 49ers fan...and I'm barely holding on to my child hood memories.

Last night Jen and I were watching the Bucs beat up on the Seahawks and Jeff Garcia was having an awesome game. I sat there thinking, "If we actually kept Jeff Garcia throughout all these years, instead of getting rid of him when we did, we'd actually probably have a pretty good team and might even be a contender!" I mean, imagine if they had used thier #1 draft pick on soemone else? You can't tell me they wouldn't have saved more money with Garcia than they have spent on Smith.

Dang! Finally some upside to the 49ers. Now, if only they would broadcast thier games in Kansas...

Great quote by Billy Graham via Andrew Marin

Last week when I was at YS a guy named Andrew Marin had a great quote that applies to SO much.

In the context of the quote, Billy Graham is sitting at a table at a DC event held by President Bill Clinton right after the big Lewinsky deal blew up. Reporters saw Graham there and wanted to know how he could support the President after a scandal like this. Here was Graham's response:

"It's the Holy Spirit's job to convict, God's job to judge, and my job to love."

I may have gotten that tweaked a bit, but that is the gist.

Marin was relating it to the bridges we can build with the GLBT communities.

and yet, it relates to us in so many ways. way cool.

YS conference wrap up

Today was the last day of YS. Picked up a couple resources (First 2 years, YM management tools, and Field's book about saying NO) for a buddy of mine who is beginning his first youth ministry gig and enjoyed the last session with Marko as he talked about belonging.

Got to see Russ Cantu, a guy I grew up with at Central Christian Church. Really great to see him in youth ministry. He said something that was so meaningful to me.

"Ken, you know what I remember most about you?"

I'm thinking...uh...I hope it's something good and I expected him to say something about something innapropriate or stupid I did as a high schooler, or something to embarrass me in front of my wife...

"I remember that small group that we were in that met on Monday mornings."

"That's right! With Joel, right!" I said.

"Yeah. those were good times."

And they were. We used to meet with our youth pastor on monday mornings for a small group. I was a senior and I think Russ was a Sophomore...maybe a freshman. It didn't really matter. What was cool is that's what he rememered.

Small groups have absolutely shaped my life. What a cool reminder.

What a cool time. Got to see a bunch of friends. Get lots of advice. Grow in skills. Get closer to God. Worship. Be challenged. Connect with lots of youth workers. And get to spend loads of time with my favorite youth pastor, my sweet wife, Jen.

NYWC Day 2

Another cool day at YS.

The first seminar I went to was one on making bridges to the gay and lesbian community. Wow! I really took away a lot of great stuff with helping to relate, understand, and serve those having alternative lifestyles. Really good stuff. The guy who spoke, Andrew Marin, he is just such a good guy. Totally committed to his ministry. Lots to blog about at a later time. Really good stuff.

Stopped by my man Sean’s workshop. He had a packed house and had Kurt in the back to heckle him.

Went to the first General Session and it was Phyllis Tickle. She did a great job last year in Atlanta. We were really blown away. So I was pumped to hear her again…until I realized she was doing the same talk for the folks who weren’t at Atlanta. Really good stuff. I was blown away. Jen and I decided to skip out and we got us some PF Chang’s.

Rode the elevator with Shane Claiborne. Got to speak briefly with him. should have had him call my old volunteer Nicole. she's a huge fan and would have freaked.

Yesterday I rode the elevators with a couple players from they Seattle Supersonics.......ERRRRRR, the OKC Thunder. they are...tall.

Afternoon, I went to Marv Penner’s seminar on Cutting. Wow. So much stuff here. Really sad. Really glad to get more info on how to help.

The second general session was by Matt Redman’s youth pastor…great speaker. Very motivating.

YS did all their freebies at once this year. I was kind of wondering where they were, but we got them all at once this year. I remember my youth pastor coming back from YS with all kinds of swag. It was so cool. And when I first started going…we got tons of stuff. It has progressively gotten to be less and less freebies…and this year, we got stuck with some John Tesh CD that was evidently donated or bought at a ridiculously low price from Barnes and Noble, because you know they couldn’t sell it. Pretty weak. We did get Rob Bell’s new book…so that was nice.

Ended the night with Doug and Cathy Field’s Q and A session on marriage…man, I really appreciated the reminders about marriage. I need to blog and really make some decisions about this because I have really been failing in keeping marriage and my kids a priority.

Here’s what Doug said: 1. No one cares more about your marriage and your kids than you do. 2. We are all just a phone call from being replaced.

Lots to consider. I so appreciate the time here to think and learn, pray, and connect with friends and meet others. Really well spent money.

Next year they will be in Atlanta so we’ll be bringing our coaches again. That will rock.

End of Day 1 of NYWC

Before last night’s general session I had gotten word that YS was going to hack some people off…in hopes of creating conversation later on that evening.  I was really pumped about the idea of having three different speakers who were going to say, basically, you don’t love the poor, you don’t love the gay community, and your worship is idolatrous.  Hack everyone off…and then provide opportunity for discussion at the late night forums.

 

Well…It was that…and it wasn’t that.  But it was good.  Really good.

 

The first guy up was Jarrett Stevens who talked about what happens when the means to the end become the end.  He spoke out of his recent experience of shutting down a worship experience at his church because it was becoming the END instead of the means to the end.  He was really open and honest.  I would have loved to hear more about his story.  He did leave me wondering, “How can I get out of the way so God can do his thing.”  That provided lots of conversation with Jen and I back in the hotel room.

 

The second guy up was Andrew Marin who spoke about his foundation and their work with the GLBT community.  Really interesting guy.  Very honest.  I definitely wanted to hear more about his ministry and I’m going to his workshop this morning.  I wonder how many times my lack of sensitivity has blocked conversation from happening with students.  And while the answer of just doing a once a year talk about GLBT is not the answer, I think there are other issues that the church needs to talk about more as well. 

 

Mr. Marin’s thought was more training about what to do and how to react when gay people come to your church.  And that needs to happen.  I wonder what other issues need to be addressed as well, such as, the pregnant teen who used to come to youth group.  All in all there are lots of issues that need to be open to talk about in the church, especially around the issues of sexuality.  And instead of not knowing what to do, we need to start the conversation.

 

The last guy was Shane Claiborne.  I got to hear him speak for the first time last year in Atlanta.  Well, I guess, he sort of spoke.  I  blogged about it last year when he, instead of speaking, read the sermon on the Mount.   He spoke about living simply and a little about his campaign “Jesus for President.”  He reminds me a lot of Rich Mullins which is fun.  I wonder how much of his Kentucky “folkiness” is an act to soften his message and how much it is just him.  Those of course are questions we have of lots of people and you don’t know what they are like unless you get to hang out with him.  He seems super genuine and is definitely someone we should turn our students onto.

 

Well, I’m gonna grab some breakfast and head to Sean’s workshop.

 

And super props to Adam for buying Jen and I dinner last night!  He’s the man.

 

 

NYWC: Day 1

Jen and I arrived late last night from KC, got into our hotel, and got to catch up with Sean Meade before heading to bed. Sean and I have known each other for a long time and we live 20 minutes from each other. sadly, with the way our schedules have been, we hung out more last night than we usually have the opportunity to.

This morning I went to a seminar by Lilly Lewin about Creating Multi-Sensory worship experiences. Man, it was so good. Not only good to get some ideas (Ideas for engaging middle schoolers but also ideas for our emergent group that we are doing at First.)

It was mostly good just to worship. Just to sit...and listen...and learn. I love learning and already I'm so glad to have been able to make it back to YS.

Got caught up with my buddy Dan. Dan and I haven't seen each other for 10 years. We shared a lot of memories growing up in the same youth group and he regulary receives verbal abuse in our fantasy baseball and football leagues. But Dan is Dan...and he's a great guy.

Got to see my friend from college Derek Levins and friends Joel and Joy Dyer from OKC. I met Joel and Joy at middle school camp one year. They were actually on their honeymoon at camp! Which shows either incredible devotion to middle school or a lack of priorities. eh eh eh. anyway, I passed the hat around and we got them a hotel room for the night. so fun. they were so embarrassed! and it's been a story they have shared with many. Good times.

And I keep seeing Adam McClane but when I realize it's him he's either gone or it's too awkward.

Here's my take no the first general session:

1. I still miss Yacconelli and his opening about skippting sessions. Marko really keeps the spirit of it, but I am glad to have been around when Mike was.

2. Mercy Me...even though I don't know a lot of thier songs...they were great. The video cameras and video projectors are so hi-def, I could not only see the lead singer guy's pores on his face but he enamel on his teeth!!!

3. Lincoln Brewster...this is my first taste of Lincoln. He likes to rock. lots of fun. I thought it was weird how he made this really cool deal and challenge to worship, and then in every song he has like this major guitar solo. It was a big disconnection for me, but I'm hoping to get over myself. ;^)

4. Bishop Sherwood Carthen...man...what a great message about Leadership and the Wilderness. He spoke about so many good things. Very passionate! He challenged us to not "Fake the Funk, but to stand flatfooted and help students leting them know that if God delivered us, he will deliver them." I don't know a lot about Bishop Carthen...but it was great to hear from him.

He really evoked a lot of thoughts on leadership and brokenness. I'm having a difficult time putting them into words though.

Good stuff. So glad to be at YS.

Jen is at the seminar for working with middle school girls. it is packed and going on right now. I can't help but wonder if she'll get a plug about her new books.

then we'll go hit Adam up for dinner. Now that he's a rock star YS staffer!

Off to the National Youth Worker's Convention

Ah...the National Youth Worker's Convention....good times. I can't wait!

and I am very tired. I am looking forward to the rest and I'll be channeling my inner Yac.

It'll be great to be back in Northern California and good to see some old friends and reconnect with others I haven't seen in a long time. I grew up in San Jose so it's a bit of a home coming for me in a lot of ways.

And it'll be great to finally catch a 49ers game...even if they lose to Philly. On Monday night I'm hoping to see my brother too, who just recently moved from Wichita to a better situation...I hope.

If you want to get together, leave a comment!

I'm already pumped to see Adam again, catch up with my old youth group buddy and current fantasy baseball/football opponant Dan, grab a drink with Jay, and meeting Jesse in the bookstore.

Although I'm still waiting to meet McNutt at this thing sometime and I will have to wait another year to make things right with Boston's biggest fan, Len.

Looking forward to another incredible year!

How to find loads of free pics you can use for publications

If you need to find some pics you can use LEGALLY for blog posts and publications, a lot of great pics can be found on Flickr, a photo hosting website.

I redid our MS newsletter with our new brand and needed to find some pics to use with some of the stories.

Flickr has LOADS of pics. Lots of good stuff. Including lots of stuff you can't use legally.

However, if you need some pics that you can use, here is how to find them:

Go to ww.flickr.com

Put whatever you are searching for in the search bar.











Click Search.


You’ll get a bunch of results. DON’T USE THESE.

Instead, click on “Advanced Search”










Next, scroll down and you’ll find a box that says “Only search within Creative Commons-licensed content.” Put a check mark in the box like so…














And click the blue box “SEARCH.”

This will give you all the pics you can use for any topic you need! (in this case the Crucifixion of St. Peter)




ht to Kirk for the blog post idea!