Revolutionary Rants

The Real Risk of American Idol

2011-04-20T07:11:00.001-07:00

So last Friday night my wife and I went with another couple to their daughter's school talent show. The show was for students from the elementary school who wanted to showcase their talent...and they did. The show was full of kids singing and dancing to the newest pop songs, everything from Bruno Mars to Katy Perry to a medley of songs featuring "I Like Big Butts" and "I'm Too Sexy." Yeah, that's right, 4th and 5th graders singing along to "I'm Too Sexy." It made my stomach turn. To be honest though, my friend's daughter dance routine to "Firework" by Katy Perry was actually kind of cute.

The real problem to me was not that these kids were singing solos and dancing to these songs (although it made me think about the so called "positive influence" teachers have on students). The real problem was that when all was said and done, we were creating a generation of kids who believed they were truly amazing at everything they ever did. All of these kids, whether they were horrible or not (believe, most of them were pretty bad) were told over and over again how awesome they were. Time and time again, a girl would get done with a solo in which not a single note was on key, and everyone would tell her how great of a singer she was. It's sad to say, but she'll probably grow up thinking she's the best singer in the world, and then get herself completely embarrassed on American Idol.

I'm not against talent shows. In fact I think they are great. But the real strength of a talent show like this one is to teach kids the importance of taking risks, which all of them no doubt did. They got up, put it all on the line, and took huge risks. We need to honor them for that, not telling them lies about how great of singers they are. These kids need to know that when they take risks like this, there's a good chance of failure, but that's okay. The point is to keep putting themselves out there, to keep jumping into the ring. The point is not that they are the next Katy Perry or Bruno Mars.

That's what American Idol is doing. It's raising a generation of kids who, supported by their parents, aren't very good at singing, but all want to be in the spotlight. So they'll throw all their effort into something they're not really good at, all the while ignoring their real strengths. It's sad, but true. I wish we could honor kids for the risks they took rather than perpetuating a lie. At least, that's my hope.

Life of Sacrifice

2011-01-17T12:44:00.000-08:00

Looking back at the beginning of the United States, virtues like freedom, liberty, justice, and equality seem to have been woven into the very framework of this country. The founding fathers wanted a nation different from all others, one that could serve as hope for all oppressed people. While these principles are noble and worth celebrating, they have not always been upheld by leaders and citizens alike in this country. Tracing back through our history reveals countless examples of dignity being stripped from individuals and the constant denial of equality.

Nowhere is this more apparent than our nation’s treatment of African Americans. From the moment black men and women stepped foot onto this soil, they were oppressed and struck down. Families were destroyed, rights were denied, and wars were fought; yet the struggle continued well into the mid-twentieth century. It was during this time, known as the Civil Rights Movement, that a young black preacher by the name of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. emerged.

Dr. King, fueled by his strong belief in Christ, preached a message of equality for all peoples, not just African Americans. He firmly believed in the biblical call to seek justice and correct oppression, but also the call to “love those who persecute you,” and it fueled his life. From very early on into the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. King faced insane opposition to his cause. Throughout his time of championing rights for all people, King was routinely beaten, jailed 17 times, and his house was even bombed. Yet though all of it, he continued to preach a message of non-violence and love.

Towards the end of his life, King started to broaden his focus, not only to issues of racial inequality, but also to poverty as a whole. In early April of 1968, Dr. King arrived in Memphis to lead a march in support of sanitation workers who had been denied rights. He gave an emblazoned speech, now known as the Mountaintop Speech, the night before he was to lead the march. His speech touched on the importance of standing up for those who cannot speak for themselves and the importance of not ignoring our responsibilities as Christians and as human beings. He ended his speech with these words:

Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.

The next morning, April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Dr. King’s legacy of selflessness and courage lives on, and his life of sacrifice continues to inspire many to reach for greatness.

Lessons We Teach Our Children: Play It Safe

2011-01-05T13:33:00.000-08:00

Every parent I know wants their children to live a full and satisfying life, which is of course a great thing to desire. Yet too often, in an attempt to help steer their kids towards this fulfilling life, they cripple them instead. Hovering parents not only save their children from their own mistakes, they also discourage their kids from taking risks. It's sad to me when a student is inspired by God to stand up and do something in this world for good, only to have their parents tell them it would be "too difficult or too dangerous." When has following Jesus ever been safe? For some reason American Christians always take God's promise to his exiles in Jeremiah 29:11 way out of context. "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." This was never intended as an individualistic statement or as a promise to all of us Christians living in the 21st century that our lives would be free from harm and pain. No, this was a promise to his people who were entering captivity, letting them know that their nation would not end, that God had bigger plans in store for them as a collective whole.
It is true that God has huge plans for us, but these plans call us to take risks and avoid playing it safe. Did Christ play it safe? Of course not. He was hated and eventually crucified, as were so many of his disciples. Following Christ demands we take risks for his sake, that we go into all the world, and eventually lay down our lives for him. Playing it safe will get you killed, but it will be a death of your spirit. Taking risks for Jesus always end with the most fulfilling life imaginable.

Lessons We Teach Our Children: Don't Fail

2011-01-03T14:42:00.000-08:00

I was conducting interviews today at a local high school for a new curriculum we are developing for LeaderTreks. In the midst of filming the interviews, I went into another room where a couple of my fellow LT staff were training students for an upcoming mission trip. Whenever we train anyone, we always try to couple an experience with the leadership principles we teach. In this case, the team of students was learning about communication, and subsequently, had half their team blindfolded. The "seeing" students were paired up with blind students, and asked to guide them around obstacles just using their words. Every pair was charged with picking up a single coin, hidden amongst the obstacles, without allowing their blind partner to hit anything. The game plays out pretty much the same every time: screaming, laughing, confusion, frustration, failure, more screaming, and eventually, success. Such was the story for every pair, except for one. For some reason, the girl who could see in this partnership just could not successfully communicate to her partner how to pick up their coin. Every time her partner would get close to the coin, the seeing girl was worried her partner would touch the obstacle and have to start over. While everyone around her experienced failure, which eventually led to success, this one girl would not allow her team to fail, and it cost her everything. She was more afraid of failing than she was of not succeeding, and those are two totally different things.
This is all too common. As parents and youth workers, we are continually imparting "wisdom" to our students that in the end hinders them. When we tell students that failure is the ultimate no-no, we are killing their spirits and destroying in them the likely hood of them ever taking risks. Where would we be if we had not failed along the way? Where would we be if we never took risks? No where. Failure is a part of learning and it's a part of leadership.

Depraved Indifference

2010-12-01T13:49:00.000-08:00

The Weight of Our Words

2010-11-22T08:13:00.000-08:00

I just returned from Nashville where I was attending the National Youth Workers Convention alongside my fellow team members at LeaderTreks. It was a great time to connect with new people, reconnect with friends, and engage youth workers from all areas of the country. In the midst of networking with others and spending time in the LeaderTreks booth, I was able to attend several sessions, and to be honest, it scared me. While everyone is blogging and talking about Ted Haggard's despicable comments, another speaker upset me even more.

One speaker on the main stage not only offended me, but deeply saddened me. This speaker had amazing things to say, but his message was drowned out by inappropriate and dangerous remarks. The talk was meant to connect us with the emotions and love of experiencing things for the first time, especially leading others for the first time. The thrill and fear of stepping out, taking a risk, and moving forward for Christ for the first time is something powerful and needed. His end goal was to encourage us in pushing students into leadership and let them take ownership.

While his goal was something I deeply agree with, the words he used to describe everything were horrible and inappropriate. Thinking it would be funny, he spoke about the thrill of first times by using sexual descriptions, asking all of us to remember our first time. He went so far as to use words such as "awkward, messy, or even forced," and at one point even made comments to make us think his first time was with his mother. While untrue, even eluding to this idea is disgusting. I'm sorry, but does he really not understand the weight of his words? When speaking to a crowd of people that, statistically, at least 25% of them were abused, molested, or raped as children or adults, why would using these terms as jokes be a good thing? Incest, rape, and abuse run rampant in our society, and not only do we not do anything, we have the audacity to joke about it. This sickens and saddens me. From the main stage of a national youth workers convention, we joke about something that is ruining lives and breaking God's heart. Too often we as people do not truly consider the words we are using before we put them out into the world, and it taints our message.

His message was great, but his delivery was horrible. While he had a strong start and an amazing finish, everything in the middle made me immediately discredit his ideas and method. Our words paint others' opinion of us and our message. I hope the next time he is given a soapbox, he truly considers the weight of his words.

Building Community Doesn't Happen Overnight

2010-11-11T08:53:00.001-08:00

My wife and I had dinner last night with two people who are becoming good friends in our lives. This young couple are dating and in college together, as well as also being youth group volunteers alongside my wife and I. This was the first time we had them over for dinner and we enjoyed it so much. After a great dinner (thanks to my wife) and dessert (again, my amazing wife) we sat down in the living room to hang out and talk. We quickly found ourselves in a rousing discussion about Lord of the Rings and super heroes (that was my fault), but eventually got to the topic of how school was going for them, and I was surprised by their answer.

While they both were enjoying their second year, they also had a lot of issues with it. Their school is in the middle of a big campaign for community. They are requiring every student to read Bonhoeffer’s “Life Together” (which is a fantastic book) and to build community with others on campus. My two friends love people and relationships and community, yet they were really uncomfortable with the college pushing it on them. It was as though the university recognized the value of community–love, grace, acceptance, sharing in each other’s joys and pains–but they forgot how important the process of getting to that place really was. The college was trying to push community on their students, demanding they instantly jump into these super deep relationships with everyone around them, but community doesn’t happen overnight. Part of the joy of community is building it. And to build something, it takes time. You can’t just meet someone and instantly decide you are best friends.

When we build community, whether it’s in a college or a youth group, we must recognize we can’t rush the process of building relationships. They take time and effort, and we must be prepared to give both, or community, no matter how badly we want it, will never happen.

Learning to Lead

2010-11-08T14:43:00.000-08:00

It's crazy to think that after three years of working for a leadership training organization, I'm still learning how to lead. In the last three years of working for LeaderTreks, I have been pushed and challenged towards growth and excellence, and have learned so much about leading. Yet, so many times I still find myself learning how to lead. It's sobering to me, and hard to swallow. It's hard to admit I need help when I am so often the one giving advice to others. And it's hard to accept I have so much to learn about leading when I thought I had learned so much already.

Today I was reminded about the deep significance of mentoring. But not just life mentoring. I need a leadership mentor. I need someone to walk with me along the path of leadership, empowering me to step forward in faith, pushing me to greatness. I'm so thankful for the people I work with and for their desire to mentor me in my leadership. I'm excited for how God will use this in me and in the Kingdom.

Releasing My Grip

2010-11-05T11:30:00.001-07:00

Last week my boss, Doug Franklin, wrote a post on his blog called "Being In-Charge vs. Leadership." It was a short look at what it means to truly lead. Too often we want to be in charge of something, especially in ministry. Being in charge lets us be seen and heard, gets our ideas and agendas out there, and is normally associated with personal glory. But this isn't leading. Leading takes sacrifice. Leading takes commitment. Leading isn't always glorious.

I've been thinking about this lately. This fall I've started to step up in leadership at my church. I wanted to bring positive change to our adult small group ministry. It's been going really well and I've seen great fruit come out of it as we move forward in supporting our small group leaders. Throughout this process though I've been learning about what it means to truly lead. Last week a decision was made about our small groups and it didn't include me. I was suddenly struck with the feeling of being left out, and immediately thoughts entered my head like, "But I'm the leader! How could they not include me?"I wrestled with these thoughts and feelings as though it was something of importance before I realized these thoughts were coming from someone who wanted to "be in charge" vs someone who wanted to lead. I needed to release the grip (more like a strangle hold) I had on being in charge and truly lead.

As a leader, I should be pushing glory to others, especially my senior pastor. I should get off my high horse and be willing to get dirty as I serve those in ministry around me. I'm learning more and more of what this means and it is helping so much.

"When we lead at church tons of good things happen. People get cared for, folks lead through their giftedness and selfishness is put aside. Now is the time to lead; our churches and our students need to see great leadership and they need you to show them a new way to lead at church." -Doug Franklin

A Hands-Off Approach Isn't What We Want

2010-09-18T08:15:00.000-07:00

I was recently sitting down with a group of youth workers for our monthly Youth Ministry Fellowship. Every month we get together to discuss what's happening in our ministries and to encourage one another as we all press on towards the goal of developing our students into whole hearted followers of Jesus. We always begin every month with a different question for us all to ponder and answer, so we get the ball of discussion rolling. The question was "when was a time you screwed up, but were shown grace from your senior pastor?" Great question and it brought about a lot of really good answers, as well as a time of recognizing how thankful we all were for our bosses.

Yet, there were a number of times when the youth pastor started their response with "you know, my senior pastor has a really hands-off approach, so I have to think about this one." I came to discover after listening to them talk, this whole "hands-off approach" wasn't what they wanted. On the surface they seemed okay with it, making light of it as if it wasn't a big deal. But I realized they were actually longing for a deeper relationship with their senior pastor. "Hands-off approach" was actually code for "no real relationship." They couldn't think of a time when they were shown grace, not because they hadn't screwed up, but because they never really got time with their senior pastor for him to show them grace.

It was an interesting morning. I think many times senior pastors think youth workers love the freedom of the "hands-off approach," so they don't interfere. Truth is, what we're really longing for is direction, mentoring, and input. Yes, it's true, we all want freedom. No one like a micro-manager. But youth workers long to have a significant relationship with their senior pastor so they can learn and always improve. It's the truth. Plain and simple.

How Not to Reach Out

2010-09-15T07:34:00.001-07:00

There are a lot of churches where I live. In fact, a quick check tells me there are over 40 churches in the small town where I am sitting right now. And due to urban sprawl, towns aren't really divided around here, so my guess is there are over 200 churches within a ten mile radius from where I sit right now.

It got me thinking the other day: with so many churches and obviously so many people going to these churches, who is left to reach out to? I think many people around these parts (I call where I live "Christendom" or "The Holy Land") think the same thing: since there are so many churches, everyone around here must go to church. Which can obviously lead to the thought of "why do we need to reach out?"

But last week while I was driving I noticed one church that was actively trying to reach out to their neighbors...unfortunately I thought they were doing it all wrong. Now I don't have all the answers, in fact, I have very few. But when a church puts a banner up in their front lawn that says "Outreach Car Show: Come for the Food, Fun, and Fellowship" I have to disagree with their technique. Their heart is obviously in the right place (wanting others to know the love of Christ) but their strategy is just plain wrong. One cannot effectively "reach out" simply by staying within the walls of your church, placing a sign in the front lawn, and hoping people will walk through the door. To reach out, you have to actually "go out." Go out to the neighborhood, to your places of work, to the malls, movie theaters, where you go. To your friends, dare I say to your enemies too.

So if you want to effectively "not" reach out to the lost world around you, put up a sign. Here's hoping.

Another Great Youth Pastor

2010-09-04T07:52:00.000-07:00

This story amazed me. It was on CNN this week. Chris Keith was just a kid when his father took the life of Chris' mom and brother before taking his own life. He even attempted to kill Chris as well, but Chris survived. He credits God strongly for not only saving him from the attack, but also providing guidance throughout his life. His story is truly amazing no doubt, but halfway through the article he talks about the significance of telling his story to his youth pastor and having his youth pastor respond to him with great sadness, embracing Chris in his pain. Just great to see another story of a youth pastor truly caring about students and having a great impact.

Chris Keith was 12 years old when he learned his family didn't die in a car wreck.

His father suffocated his mother and then shot Chris' 8-year-old brother, Mikey, in the back of the head while he slept, his grandparents explained.

The elderly couple had taken the boy to a counselor. As they told him the real story of what happened, they pulled out newspaper clippings from October 1985.

Chris had begun to wonder about the scars on his own head, and he had pieced together other clues from the past. Yet he'd never known the full truth. His grandparents then told him the hardest news of all. Before his father killed himself, he put the .38-caliber handgun to Chris' head and pulled the trigger.

Medics had declared everyone in the house dead, including Chris.

Now 30, Chris Keith visits church youth groups and juvenile justice centers to tell his story. A Christian, he believes God had a plan for him and that's why he survived.

Headlines occasionally bring back terrible memories, like the recent case in South Carolina where a mother is accused of suffocating her two boys before putting them in their car seats and letting the car roll into a river. When he hears stories like that, especially when a child survives, he bows his head and prays.

At 12, Chris grappled with the impossible: How could my father do something so evil?

"It was almost like going through it again. I started feeling all these feelings again, of anger, of betrayal, of feeling like nobody wanted me. I was angry at the world, and mad at my grandparents for waiting so long to tell me.

"I was mad at my dad. Mad at my mom for taking him back so many times."

Memories flooded back. He recalled being in the hospital, staring at the door. "I was waiting for my mother to walk through or for my brother to come in and say, 'Hey, everything's going to be OK. We're going to get out of here soon.' "

Now, he tells struggling youth that they're not alone in this world. "Even when we feel we have no inner strength left, you can make it," he says.

After he was shot in the head, he crawled to his brother's bed and saw that his beloved brother was dead, he says, citing the coroner's report of the massacre. Bloodied with a hole in his head, Chris then crawled toward the doorway as if he was trying to find his mother.

It was there that a medic saw him move, ever so slightly, after he'd already been pronounced dead. A video from the scene shows a first responder emerge from the front door. "We've got one alive in here!"

"I didn't want to give up," he says. "I firmly believe Jesus had his hands on me, saying, 'Somebody is going to come for you.' "

He says he doesn't know why he survived, while his mother and brother died. He's struggled with that over the years: "What if my brother survived and I didn't?"

Those are questions he'll never be able to answer. "I just know that my life was saved," he says. "Doctors don't know why I'm alive. ... I have a second chance in life, and I just want to make the most of it and maybe help others who are internally suffering."

Yet, it took years -- and lots of counseling -- to reach this point. He turned into a recluse in middle school and high school. Sometimes, he'd lay in bed all night, unable to sleep, "just thinking." He was the kid who just wanted to get through to the next day.

"It's crazy to think about -- those incidents were something that my dad did," he says. "My own dad tried to kill me, so who am I supposed to trust?"

Sometimes he struggled with guilt -- feeling it somehow was his fault. "I was always searching for things that I could have done."

Once, somebody asked him: Are you afraid you're going to go crazy like your dad?

"It just hit me really hard, and I don't want to be like that."

He carried a newspaper clipping about the killings in his wallet. At 14, he showed it to his youth minister. Tears rolled down the preacher's face as he read.

"It was amazing to me because I had never seen a man cry before," he says. "It made me realize somebody cared about me."

Chris' best friend walked in at that moment. Handed the article, he too began crying.

Chris credits his youth minister and his best friend, as well as his grandparents and his church, with helping him get through. In them, he could see that "not everybody is as selfish as my dad was. And that helped me cope."

When he would lock himself in his room, he'd often listen to music. The lyrics of one song resonated: "Do not let the world get you down and remember that a bright shiny day comes after the rain. It is going to get better."

"I just clung to that," he says.

He married young -- at 19. "I was longing for a family. That's just something I wanted."

He and his wife celebrated their 10th anniversary this year.

If you need proof that good can come from evil, he says, all you have to do is look at his own son, 6-year-old Dylan.

He says he constantly tells his boy "I love you" and holds him tight. When he sees his boy playing, he sometimes thinks, "Man, how could my dad do that?"

Chris now works at a long-term care pharmacy in Fort Worth, Texas. He's working on getting a degree in computer engineering and maintains his own blog.

He's got many goals in life. At the top of the list: "To not end up like my dad."

"I just want to try my best to see others make it."

September 03, 2010|By Wayne Drash and Amanda Moyer, CNN, http://articles.cnn.com/2010-09-03/living/survivor.family.massacre_1_car-wreck-car-seats-elderly-couple?_s=PM:LIVING

Sample Sabbatical Proposal

2010-09-03T13:56:00.000-07:00

My senior pastor friend who recently got back from his three month sabbatical allowed me to use his proposal letter to help others draft one of their own. Note that he wrote this proposal in August of 2007 and did not take his sabbatical until summer of 2010, so planning your sabbatical a ways out is key. Note also this letter preceded a formal meeting to discuss the sabbatical proposal. Anyways, here is his sample. Hope it helps:

August 28, 2007

Dear Executive Board,

My wife and I had visitors in this past weekend. As we toured them around the church we were all somewhat startled when we realized it has been five years since my departure from my last church. Many wonderful things have transpired here during those five years. Many challenges, however, still lie ahead.

My hope and prayer is that God will allow me the privilege of walking with this church family through those challenges and seeing Him do exciting things in and through us. My desire is to continue as Senior Pastor here until I step into retirement. With all my heart I want to finish strong.

There are, however, a couple of factors that will affect the accomplishment of that dream: skill and strength. Let me explain what I mean:

1) Skill

The world in which I work today is a very different place than the one into which I

graduated 30-plus years ago. I often find my mind perplexed and my spirit troubled by the new challenges faced by the Church today. In addition to that, a congregation of 500 (current church) is very different from a congregation of 250 (last church) requiring different skill sets of its leader. I am striving to develop those new skills and yet the demands of ministry, at times, make that a difficult task.

2) Strength

It is not that a pastor works harder or longer than church members in the marketplace. However, the separation of one’s professional and personal life when in the ministry can be difficult to maintain. Add to that the various stress factors I have been called to bear over the last 10 years and I am noticing a growing weariness in my spirit. Where once there was energy and creativity within, I am finding, instead, a deep fatigue.

I cherish a dream, however. In addition to my desire to finish strong as your pastor I dream of taking a sabbatical to renew my spirit and strengthen my skills. The purpose of this letter is to ask your permission to begin planning a Pastoral Renewal Sabbatical beginning some time in the summer/ fall of 2009. In over 30 years of ministry, working days, evenings and weekends and many holidays, I have never had a sabbatical. Here is my thinking to this point:

1) I would like to recruit a small team of people who would help me plan this experience… people who know me well and can help me think through what sabbatical elements would be most beneficial for me as your pastor. They would also assist me with presenting this proposal to the congregation before and after the actual sabbatical.

2) The team would help me prepare an application to the Lilly Foundation – Clergy Renewal Program. The Lilly Foundation makes 120 grants per year to pastors and their churches for the purpose of renewing pastors for ministry. If we are accepted, the foundation would provide up to $45,000 for use on this sabbatical ($30,000 for my expenses and $15,000 for church expenses.) The application deadline for the 2009 calendar year is May 15, 2008. I am currently in receipt of all the documents necessary to complete this application.

3) I would also work with the church leadership to develop a plan that would strengthen our church during my absence (hence, the monies allocated to the church). We would think through areas of training and development that would benefit the church the most…who might provide this training…what special programs might we want to take advantage of…who would best fill our pulpit…and so forth. While I’m learning and growing the church will be doing the same thing.

I believe God called me to this church. I believe God wants us to work together as we face future challenges and opportunities. I also believe we can do that most effectively if I, your pastor, am renewed and refocused for the ministry that lies ahead.

Please prayerfully consider this request so that we can discuss the matter at length during the September Executive Board meeting. Feel free to ask me questions between now and that meeting; I will be happy to discuss this proposal with you.

Blessings and love,

Mike

Mike did in fact get the Lily Foundation Grant, which was actually over the $45,000 amount. Pretty cool.

Proposing a Sabbatical

2010-09-02T15:13:00.000-07:00

Two days ago I wrote about the importance of taking a sabbatical every few years if you are in ministry. Many churches have sabbaticals built into their church constitution, so this idea is not foreign for them. This is a huge blessing to pastors in ministry because the process of taking a sabbatical is not an uphill battle. But, unfortunately, this is not always the case in many churches. Too many churches in fact. For many in ministry, sabbaticals are only a dream, and one that will never come to fruition.

But for those of you whose church does not already support a paid sabbatical for pastors in ministry, my senior pastor friend who recently returned from a 3 month sabbatical (first for him ever) had some words of advice for proposing a sabbatical to your church.

1. Research is Key

My senior pastor friend had the advantage of living in a very academic community, so the idea of sabbaticals was not foreign to many in his congregation. His church however had never supported them before, so he still needed to provide them with convincing arguments (outside of his own) for the value of sabbaticals. Any article, especially from newspapers or Christian magazines (Leadership Journal for example) that lay the case for pastors taking time off from the ministry to recharge is very important to supply your elder board with. Check out writings by H.B. London on sabbaticals and even look at a recent article in the New York Times (Taking a Break From the Lord’s Work http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/nyregion/02burnout.html?_r=1)

2. Communicate Your Desire to Stay Long Term

Truth is, no one wants to give you 3 months paid leave if you’re just going to hit the road after you get back. You need to both have put in multiple years at your current church AND intend to stay at your church for years to come. My friend clearly communicated his desire to stay at his current church until he retired. The more your elder board and church knows you are committed to them, the more committed to helping you they’ll be. Within this, you also need to clearly communicate the long term effects of what constant work in the ministry can do to a person. Facilitating funerals, weddings, late night calls and conversations, time away from family, and tons of personal stress can tear you down. Time to refuel will sustain you for the long term.

3. Present Your Plan and Get Help

Your church needs to know you are taking this very seriously, so you need to clearly present your plan and do it several years in advance. No big decision happens quickly in a church, so know that one, two, or even five years is not a long time to wait. Expect to wait a little for your sabbatical to happen, which means you should start planning it NOW. Also, get together a small team of about four people who can help you plan a sabbatical that will fulfill you personally and within ministry. The more you surround yourself with people you and the church trusts, the better your chances of getting your sabbatical approved.

That’s it for now. Tomorrow I’ll write a little more about specific approaches to the plan for your sabbatical.

Exclusive Interview w/ John Maxwell

2010-09-02T06:51:00.000-07:00

Tripp Crosby gives us an amazing exclusive interview with John Maxwell, the leadership expert. The contents of this interview will change your life. They have for me.

A Five Year Old's Answered Prayer

2010-09-01T13:05:00.000-07:00

One of my best friends has had a tough last two years. As a financial advisor, the stock market plunge in the fall of 2008 hit him especially hard. When everyone around him lost 40% of their financial worth, he lost more. Several months into the recession he realized his family wouldn’t be able to stay in their house. With great sadness and a huge blow to his pride, they moved into his in-law’s basement.

I didn’t actually meet my friend until about a year ago, which was already almost a year into their struggles. Week after week we would meet together (we were co-leading a small group) and he would tell me story after story of heartbreak. There seemed like no end in sight. The money wasn’t coming in and the struggles were only increasing. Yet my friend, only by the grace of God, had the most integrity of any man I have ever seen. As his world was continually falling in around him, as the pressure mounted on him to provide for his family, and as the thought of the American Dream in his life vanished, he would still not curse God. Sure, he questioned. Sure, he got frustrated. Sure, he even lost it a couple of times. In fact, he told me one time that every night when he went to bed he would hear his five year old son praying that God would give them back their house, and it continually left my friend broken.

But he never gave up. Not on his family and not on his God. He knew the Lord had good in mind for them and as difficult as it was, he relished in what he and his wife were learning of God’s love and grace. Through his laughter and his tears he always thanked God for the blessings in his life and for the friends who surrounded him with great love.

And today, with great excitement and joy, his son’s prayers were finally answered. Today we moved my friend’s family into a new house. It’s a little smaller than their old place and needs some work, but it’s beautiful. And today my friend’s smile was bigger than I’ve ever seen because his faith had become sight, at least for today.

Sabbaticals are Needed

2010-08-31T14:21:00.000-07:00

This past summer my brother--who's a youth pastor in Wisconsin--and a senior pastor friend of mine both went on sabbaticals. A little over 2 months of time to refresh themselves and renew their passion for ministry. They both took advantage of the time. My brother went on vacation in North Carolina with his family, a marriage retreat with his wife in Colorado, and read a ton of ministry books. My senior pastor friend got the opportunity of a lifetime, visiting Greece and Turkey, as well as a week long silent retreat in a monastery. Both have told me how needed their sabbaticals were for renewing the drive they have for transformational ministry.

Yet, as I talked this past weekend with my senior pastor friend, it saddened me to hear that not everyone was supportive of his taking time off. Even though he got a grant from the Lily Endowment, which paid for his trips and paid for an interim pastor to take his preaching duties, many were still against his sabbatical. He told me how one board member had so adamantly opposed his sabbatical that he left the church because of it.

So sad. People don't fully understand the amount of time, energy, sacrifice, and heart pastoral staff put into their ministries and people. They need extended time to unplug from work, silence themselves before God, soaking up his wisdom and grace. And we, as members of the church body need our pastoral staff to have sabbaticals because they come back fully charged and ready to do better ministry than they did before.

If you're looking to go on a sabbatical, next year or five years from now, check out the Lily Endowment. This amazing group gives away about 120 grants every year to pastors going on sabbatical, to the amount of $45,000. You need to write an application, but they walk you through what a good one looks like. It's worth it though.

Thoughts on Youth Worker Training

2010-08-30T15:02:00.001-07:00

Over the weekend I had the opportunity of going to a youth worker training at a friend’s church. I like going to other company trainings for two reasons: 1. because I volunteer in a youth group and can never have too much training, and 2. because I like to see how other companies are doing it. The training was supposed to be from 8:30-12:30, but we didn’t really get started until about 9:15 because us youth workers like to show up late. The training focused on three individual topics: small groups, evangelism, and mentoring. All great things to talk about, but it was a lot to fit into three hours (when you added in the breaks, each session was between 45-55 minutes). By the time we finished I was tired and had a lot of material to look over, but it got me thinking about training in general. So here are my few observations for youth worker training, in no specific order:

1. Balance content and experience

Too often we make the mistake of trying to cram a TON of content into our trainings (that’s what happened this past weekend) and we simply overwhelm those we are training. For some reason we think the real value is solely in the content, but that’s just not true. With the variety of learning modes out there, we need to present content in multiple formats (auditory, visual, and experiential) or we will lose many we are trying to train. Plus, just like when planning sermons, people only retain a small amount of the information they hear anyways, so why not get creative and develop new, innovative ways of delivering your content so they internalize it. Less is more my boss always says.

2. Allow time to process and share

Speaking of internalizing, there was almost no time this past weekend for us to think through what we were receiving for training. There was only one pair and share, but only for five minutes (we needed way more for the subject matter). We also needed just time to internalize what we were learning and how to apply it for our own groups, or at least more discussion with others to help us apply the training.

3. Question asking is key

Even though the trainer told us all at the beginning he welcomed questions, not once did he ask us if we had any questions. I had to interrupt him a couple times to ask a question. People need to be invited to ask questions, for they won’t all interrupt to do it. And especially if we are teaching a complex subject. Plus, as trainers, we also have to ask the participants questions. The trainer this weekend didn’t ask us any questions about our own ministries, which could have been so helpful for applying the training.

The Power of Half

2010-08-27T12:48:00.001-07:00

Heard about this family on NPR last week. Pretty cool stuff, especially because it was the daughter leading the way.

You can learn more about the family and their story at http://www.thepowerofhalf.com/

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

We Go to KidStuf

2010-08-26T11:03:00.001-07:00

Sweet new video from NorthPoint Community Church. Thanks Josh Griffin for making me laugh by posting this!

KidStuf Live Promo - "Be$t Family" Music Video from North Point Media on Vimeo.

Free student leadership e-book!

2010-08-26T08:46:00.000-07:00

Doug Franklin, the President of LeaderTreks, has just written a new e-book called Student Leaders are Church Leaders and he's giving it away for free.

Student Leaders are Church Leaders provides a simple way to weave student leadership development into the fabric of your ministry. You don’t have to start over, add another program to your already long list, or scratch your current plan. Youth ministry is still about outreach, evangelism, discipleship, missions, and worship; it’s just better when led by students. This book will help you understand the theory of student leadership while giving you practical steps you can take to give your students ownership of the ministry. Whether you have a student leadership program or you want to start one, this book will help your students lead now.

Download a free copy of Student Leaders are Church Leaders at http://leadertreks.org/studentleaders-churchleaders.html

Sheep and Goats

2010-03-24T10:03:00.000-07:00

I spent some time yesterday morning looking at the parable of the sheep and goats in Matthew 25 and then shared it with our small group. Always powerful stuff.

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Christ points out six specific people groups in this parable that looks intently at suffering and our response to it. (Hungry, thirsty, strangers, naked, sick, imprisoned)

Which of these commands strike you the most? Which one of these is most difficult for you on a regular basis? How can you take action steps to change that?

Have you ever specifically failed in one of these areas? How has that failure changed your perspective?

One of the most important things for me to remember about these commands that Christ discusses is that none of them are done “in absence,” meaning they are all to be done directly to and with people. Nowhere does it say “When I was hungry you donated food to a food bank,” or “when I was in prison you rallied for prison reform.” Christ is directly challenging us to get out of our comfort zones, leave our secluded lives and love on people who are suffering. A challenge that is hard for me on a regular basis, yet one I am challenged with on a regular basis.

Picture of Love

2010-03-08T12:40:00.000-08:00

Question from chapter 2: “Does the picture of love as a way of ‘being with’ fit into what you have experienced in your life?”

Willard uses the picture of a small child who loves doing things with his parents as the basis for his discussion of love as a way of “being with.” The child, maybe even unknowingly, relishes the time he spends with his parents no matter what they do; yet if the child were alone he may not seek to engage in the same activities because without the parent, it’s not the same. Every Christmas I have to make cutout cookies with my mom; it’s just a requirement I have. Now I don’t go and make sugar cookies any other time of the year; in fact, I’ve never made cutouts on my own. I love doing this activity with my mom because we always have and it means a lot.

Willard also uses the analogy of a loving couple, who when in sync with each other, do not need to demand or control the other’s actions; they just do things for each other out of love. Cleaning, dishes, gifts, positive words, etc all naturally happen with Clare and I because we seek to show our love in action. Although, this too can be upset. When an action is taken by one of us that doesn’t get the response we might have thought it would, the “being with” factor is affected.

Many times it can be the same with God. He does not communicate every aspect of His will to us for He longs for us to reach for it on our own sometimes as evidence of our love for Him. Yet often we look for a response from Him after our actions as a way to confirm our movements. When they don’t happen exactly how we expect them, our “being with” feeling of love is often altered. We need to reach past our pre-determined responses and seek to love God in spite of not hearing Him. And then maybe we truly will understand what He is speaking to us.

The Drawbacks of a Conversational Relationship with God

2010-03-06T06:51:00.000-08:00

So I started reading chapter 2 and forgot to blog the final question for chapter 1 after getting over bronchitis, so here it is:

"What might be the drawbacks of having a conversational relationship with God?"

So be honest, there are a ton. Mainly though dealing with our access to God himself. In the Old Testament, from a glance it looks like God had a formulaic relationship with his people. It's not true, but it can be easy to deduce that if just looking at the actions of the people. Do something wrong, kill an animal, and then you're all right with God. Sin, sacrifice, forgiveness, good relationship with God. It seems so simple. And so easy to maintain a good relationship with God. If I follow the easy, laid out, time-tested formula, I'll always have access to the Creator and he will always guide me. In so many ways we latch onto the same view now. Do something wrong, ask for forgiveness from Jesus, and then you're all right with God. True grace has taken a back seat to a parlor trick, a small illusion that wipes away our sins and keeps the status quo. This simple formula keeps our faith lives in a perpetual state of staleness.
And even worse than this is the formula we've made for coming to "know" Christ. All men have sinned. All have fallen short of the glory of God. Jesus was God and was perfect and died for your sins so you could get to Heaven. All you have to do is confess you're a sinner, receive forgiveness....and you make into Heaven! We preach it to others in hope that they'll start living in the "joy" we have too. Yet it's a bunch of crap. While we've gotten so many things right with theology, we've missed the point. Our goal, Christ's goal, was not to "get us into Heaven"; rather it was help us into a right relationship with God. We've made a formula to get into Heaven and we follow it so closely. And it makes a relationship worthless because relationships are hard. Formulas are easy.
We've gotten it wrong; I've gotten it wrong. And I know it. I've known it for a long time. Formulas are easy, relationships are hard. And in so many ways I still live out a formula faith daily. If I do enough or if I lead enough, God will speak to me. If I know enough of the Scriptures or if I have the right thinking about God then he will speak to me. Or if I spend at least three days of the week in "quiet times" God will speak to me. I've lived this way for years, approaching God with formulas. Again, it's not to say any of these things are wrong (God knows I need quiet times to silence my own voice), but with everything in our lives the motives behind our movements are what matter. Do I go through these motions to dive deeper into a relationship with Christ because they are actions that flow freely from a heart that desires intimacy; or am I yet again attempting to earn my way into his grace, hoping to hear a word from the almighty that confirms I am righteously living inside his will? I don't know. But I know two things: a true conversational relationship with God is always harder than a formulaic approach to God, but it is always better.

Paradox of Hearing God

2010-02-25T09:11:00.001-08:00

So question number 1 from chapter 1 of Hearing God is: What is the paradox about hearing God?

The paradox that Willard discusses concerning hearing from God has so many parts. On one side of the paradox is the belief held by so many Christians that hearing from God is a vital component of any faith-filled life. We, well so many of us, see how common it is throughout scripture and we firmly desire it to be real in our lives How many times I have cried out to God, longing to hear his voice, to have him communicate to me. We long to hear God. We long to have his truth clearly spoken into our hearts and to know beyond a shadow of a doubt how to walk in his will. Yes, we long to hear from God.

On the other side though is the fact that we don't truly understand God's speaking to us. We don't understand fully how he communicates to us. Many of us have become saddened or even depressed when a leader declares from the pulpit he has heard from God, yet our own lives are void of God's voice. Maybe he hasn't spoken because he knew it would screw us up because, while our desire to hear him is sincere, our understanding of his speaking is not clear. Maybe he has spoken and we did not know it was him. Is it God or my own sub-conscience? Like Gideon, many of us question God even while he stand directly in front of us, speaking to us so clearly. On this side of the paradox also lies our distrust of those who have claimed God spoke to them only to be proven wrong. Hearing from God has been so manipulated by leaders that it has messed with our thinking concerning the matter. We turn away when yet another leader proclaims he has been given a revelation from the Lord, for we know he is a phoney.

This paradox-our desire to hear God and yet our misunderstanding of God's voice- keeps God at bay in our lives. The Lord speaks to us in relationship and his voice takes many forms, but it is only heard and understood while in relationship with him. This paradox serves as a chasm separating us from him. We long to know God, to hear from him, but this confusion only grows the distance between us. And so we give up, retiring to our lives of religion and formulas, still hoping God will speak but fully believing he is silent.

"Why is it that when we speak to God we are said to be praying but when God speaks to us we are said to be schizophrenic?"
-Lily Tomlin

'Hearing God' by Dallas Willard

2010-02-24T12:25:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I've finally decided to start blogging again. I know. Crazy. It's been a while since I've written anything significant. So I thought I would start back with some thoughts on the most recent book I've been reading. My mentor, Clay Anderson, handed me a book last Thursday night after dinner at his house called 'Hearing God' by Dallas Willard. First, Willard is a fantastic author and an amazing mind. Second, he is way smarter than I am. I am so thankful that at the end of his chapters he has a number of questions that make you reexamine everything you've just read. So over the next few months I'll be diving into this book and answering the questions on this blog. I don't exactly have the smartest views of these things, but he does make me think; and aren't blogs supposed to be filled with personal opinions anyways? I've been reading the book for almost a week and have read the first chapter three times. I know. Wow. So each day I think I'll post my response to a single question posed by Willard, which means if you're tracking this right, it'll only make it about a chapter a week. So nine weeks of blogging about a single book. Now that's a wow statement.

New Poll

2010-02-03T14:14:00.000-08:00

Christianity Takes Community

2009-09-22T12:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, after a two week hiatus for my wedding and honeymoon, I finally made it back to church. And I loved it. Walking through the doors, my new wife next to me, my ears resounded with the sound of my good friend welcoming both Clare and I back from our vacation, by using the microphone and the other 100 people around him, all clapping and shouting. It shocked me for a second, the sudden recognition from the man in the spotlight, but then felt good. This was Life Church after all; stuff like this just happens, and it makes for a fun Sunday. Clare and I, after hugging what seemed like three dozen people (it was probably 6) took our seats next to another couple we both deeply love and admire. We chatted for a couple minutes only to find ourselves back out of our chairs as the music began and did not let up for a whole half hour. It was awesome! I was reminded of why I love this church so much. Looking around me, my eyes saw members of the body of Christ dancing, holding their hands up to their Creator, and singing their hearts out as we worshipped collectively. The unpolished and raw nature of the band establishes a sweet environment for authentic worship, hearts presented to God in a real way. The body of Christ, loving Christ together.

When our pastor Mark finally got up to give his message, I was pretty pumped up. Then I got even more pumped when I realized his sermon, and all sermons for the next five weeks, were about community. Community is a developing passion of mine, continually deepening and growing the more I am immersed in it. The topic yesterday was "why we need each other," which seems a little elementary, but looking at our culture today it's pretty evident this topic is grossly overlooked. So I want, with a little stolen from Mark Miller, to revisit this topic here.

The United States of America's population is 307 million people. Facebook, the world's largest social networking site, just reached 300 million people. Just two months ago, the population was 250 million, which puts growth at more than 800,000 new members everyday. Their population stretches across all continents (with one exception; sorry big ice sheet in the south), with about 70% of members being from outside the U.S. While it is much easier to join the nation of Facebook than any other nation on this planet, this kind of statistical growth anywhere is unheard of, dare I say impossible. To what do we owe this outstretching of our connectedness? The answer is simple: loneliness. We as a people, especially Americans, are the loneliest people who have ever walked the face of this planet, collectively that is. According to a recent study, 25% of Americans say they have no one in their life with whom they can discuss matters of personal importance. We are so disconnected from others in real life, so disjointed from other humans in the flesh that we feel the need to live vicariously through our online selfs. Facebook is great; I'm on it everyday. It keeps me updated on what is going on in the lives of others I do not see everyday, but to use it as a substitute for friendship is disturbing. Especially when seen through the eyes of Christianity.

The church is a community. It is built on Christ, made up of Christians, all living life together. Celebrating, grieving, loving, forgiving. Serving, creating, praising, rejoicing. Life together. All parts of it, all out in the open. Paul, in his letter to the Romans, reminded us of this when he said that "Since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others." We are all one. We are all common and we are all in unity. Common unity. Community. And we all belong to each other, which means we share ownership of each others' lives. We all have a stake in our lives and the life of the church. We all share in the celebration and the grief of the family. We all share in the service and forgiveness of the family. God created us to live with each other, not in isolation. No man is an island. We're all a part of this community and we all need it, lest the church becomes just another Facebook nation, another online culture lacking any semblance of deep and genuine connectedness.

Having just gotten married, I now am starting to see more and more the importance of community life. My wife sees me all the time; when I'm at my worst and when I'm at my shining best. It kind of freaks me out every once and a while. I know that will only continue. And we'll struggle and fight and makeup and love each other. But my hope is that I surround myself with other men and women, confidants who I can trust, that will challenge me to love my wife more each day, to serve her and give myself up for her. Christianity takes community. And I am glad. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in Life Together, "Christian brotherhood is not an ideal which we must realize; it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate." What a joy community is and can be when we consider who created it and the purpose behind it. Thank you God.

This is My Job!

2009-08-20T11:39:00.000-07:00

You know those moments, those few precious times, when you actually realize in the present how amazing your life is? The times when you take a small, delicate step back, acknowledging the blessing of this moment in the moment? It's not that you won't remember it years later and think back about it with a smile, because you definitely will. It's that you actually realize as you are living it that this speck of time in your life is significant.

I have those a lot on trips. I call them "This is My Job!" moments. Climbing a mountain, swinging on a zip-line above the rainforest, playing football on the beach with students, pouring the concrete for a handicap access ramp. All "This is My Job" moments. All reminders to me of the adventurous life. And yet, in reality, while these moments are great, they don't totally get to the heart of LeaderTreks or my own passion for reaching kids. They're all amazing and remind me of how awesome this job is, but they still lack impact in the hearts of students.

But I had a different "This is My Job" moment this summer. One I will never forget, and one that reminded me right then and there I was thankful to God for the ministry I get to participate in.

One of the students on my trip was struggling with God. Struggling with God's grace in his life, struggling with why God would allow the types of things that were happening to him to happen to anyone. And he was struggling with his anger towards God. All things I myself had gone through at one point. Seeing the need in front of me, I pulled him aside one night to bust open what was going on in his life. And bust open it did. He became vulnerable, openly sharing with me his hurts, his passions, his frustrations with Christ. He told me about his honesty within his own trip book, how he wasn't holding back from telling God what he really thought about Him, showing God his anger towards Him through his words. It was a tough conversation, but a needed one. I shared with him my own thoughts on these same issues and how no matter what, God was big enough to handle the frustrations we throw at him. Over an hour of talking, listening, praying. Then we split ways and went to bed. I had no idea how God would work.

Fast forward six days. We've all just spent four days hiking through the mountains, eating food out of small cups, rejoicing over a single Snickers bar, and going to the bathroom in the woods (well, not exactly a bath ROOM). As we neared the end of Team Time, I watched as the same boy started removing pages from his journal during a time of silence. Then, looking straight at me, tears in his eyes, he told me he didn't feel the same way about God anymore. He didn't feel the anger towards Him he had felt when he wrote the words on those pages days before. He didn't feel the hatred anymore. In fact, he felt free. And in a final act of defiance against his anger, taking the pages in both hands, he tore them in half, top to bottom.

As I watched the pieces of paper fall to the ground, his act wrecked me. Praying at the end our Team Time that night, I cried like a little baby, praising God inside my head for allowing me to be a part of this moment. First time I've ever cried in Team Time. First time I'd allowed God to work like that in me. But I know there will be more "This is My Job" moments just like this. And that's incredible.

Hudson Community and Guanacaste Water Project

2008-07-28T12:22:00.003-07:00

I haven't written or posted in a while. Life's been pretty busy down here. Over the last few weeks, so much has happened that will undoubtedly shape my life for many years to come. A week and a half ago I said goodbye to a fantastic team of students from Hudson Community Chapel, in Hudson, Ohio. 19 students and 2 adult staff came to Costa Rica with a passion to change the world. I have never, in the last year of working alongside student led trips, seen a group so fired up about the mission set before them. They took Jesus' command to change the world seriously, and it was seen in the work they accomplished. In just 10 short days, these students put together an amazing VBS for children from a church in Pavas, which is an extremely impoverished suburb of San Jose. They put their whole hearts into the games, crafts, skits, songs, and they even taught in Spanish, which was amazing! They led with the love of Christ and it was seen through their actions every minute of the trip. Children came each day, so excited to see our students, and the ninos were welcomed with open arms and huge kisses. I have uploaded a video of one of their VBS days. Enjoy!

On top of all this, the work they accomplished for the church was fantastic. They repaved much of the failing basketball court so that children could use it for afterschool activities, painted the entire outside of the church building, and built a new wall alongside the border of the church's property that will be used as a foundation when the church expands it's building to make room for the ever growing body of Christ that now finds itself worshipping within those walls. It was an amazing experience, building a wall as we read through the book of Nehemiah, who, in being called by God to bring his people back to the Lord, also built a wall. In constructing a wall, we were able to show the love of Christ. How awesome is that!!

The wall before

The wall almost completed

After Hudson left, Laura and I said goodbye to Russell, the other intern from Texas University, and then took off alongside a full time LT staff and his intern-Phil Krause and Bob Furlong. With the help of Olman Alvarez, our missionary partner down here, we drove 5 hours from San Jose to the mountains of Guanacaste, a large county of Costa Rica in the north-western region of the country. Teaming up with another LT team in the small village of Esperanza, (translated means Hope) we assisted in the installation of a running water system.

In Costa Rica, just like the United States, education is mandated for all youth throughout the country. However, in order to provide schools and teachers for every child, the village seeking education must provide running water to the potential school building. For a village of 100 residents living off of agriculture in the mountains, saving up the money to pay for a running water system is a bit beyond their ability. And so the system of poverty continues in this small village, for without running water that is free from disease, no school can be built, thus depriving the children of Esperanza the very hope of a bright future we in the states take for granted.

But students can change the world and they decide to every day. In just 6 days, students from Honey Rock camp in northern Wisconsin dug trenches a foot deep for over a kilometer and layed pipeline throughout the trenches. With the pipes in place, they then connected the pipes from a local fresh water spring, tested for purity, to the water tank that would hold all the water being pumped to the new school building. With a system of air pump to provide added pressure and good old gravity, water flowed into the tank. Below is a video showing the moment the valve is turned on for the first time, allowing fresh water to bring education to a small community and end a system of injustice. Pretty amazing!

On top of all this, below are some more pictures of the project and the beautiful area in which we were working. God is good. One more trip after this week. Keep praying I will finish strong. I miss you all.

Rachel waiting in eager anticipation for the water to come.

The view from where we were staying in Guanacaste.

In honor of Buddy, the horrible little demon bird with which I live.

Quite possibly the greatest sunset I've laid eyes upon.

Me and Olman. So cute.

The view from the spot of my morning devotions!

Doorway into the beach at Guanacaste! (Not an actual doorway)

Small caiman we saw on a boat tour in Tortuguero.

Sweet spider waiting for dinner to arrive.

Sunset over San Jose.

Tour of Costa Rica: Two Weeks at Least

2008-07-06T11:27:00.000-07:00

Well, I am finally able to upload some photos of my time here in Costa Rica! Enjoy the pictures.

In Memory of Dan Stenson

2008-06-26T07:34:00.000-07:00

Dan Stenson, a great man and the trip leader for my current trip from Grace Arizona in Tempe, AZ, died a month ago from a sudden stroke. It has sent huge ripples through that community as they are learning to cope with the loss of such an amazing man and developer. On Monday, I sat by myself and wrote these words as I was thinking about the impact Dan has left on this world.

I sit here in Fraijanes, alongside a group of 16 teens and young adults. I am perplexed as I ponder the life I have lived so far, the impact I have had on this planet. Have I been a man of change and aciton, or a man who has simply watched his days go by him? Will the imprint I leave on others lives last or will it fade as a footprint in sand is washed away by the waves? 16 young hearts surround me, all grieving and in pain. A great man has died, and I feel I am not worhty to carry his sandles, let along take his place. Dan lived a life valiently as a man of action. His legacy is alive in the smiles on faces, the games we play, and the tears we shed. I barely knew this man, yet my heart was changed because of him. He made life joyful for so many, especially in times of heartache or struggle. His joy was rich and deep, and was truly from the LORD. I do not know, I can not comprehend why God would take Dan now. Why now, when it was clear so much life lay before him? I have thought about this so much the last three weeks. In my tears, I have cried out to God, questioning his decision. I have yelled at my Lord, wondering why on earth would He remove Dan now. And I am exhausted. I am tired from being angry. I am tired of yelling at God. I do not know why Dan is gone, and maybe I never will, but I now he is loving where he is right now. I can picture Dan in heaven, dancing around the golden streets(if there are golden streets), singing praises to God and hugging everyone in sight. I see Dan playing his silly eye tag games with St. Augustine, or his finger circle game with Martin Luther King Jr. I imagine Dan sneaking up behind St. Peter, burping as loud as he can in his ear, yelling Schultz, and then smacking him across the head, the whole time laughing. And I can see Dan, aftere all these fun and games, sitting down with his Savior, just to talk. Jesus and Dan. A beautiful picture. It's how he lived his life here and it's how he will live his life forever.
Will I ever live a life with as much impact as Dan? I don't know. I can try. Try to measure my life against his, hoping beyond hope my days will be filled with as much purpose as Dan's. I know Dan lived his life on a mission and I want to as well. But I also know he didn't do it for his own glory. Dan's life was spent in communion with Christ, so anything he did, was done for Christ's glory. Jesus and Dan. It's how he lived his life. And it's how I want to live mine.

Willow Creek Dupage...First Trip Done

2008-06-20T15:50:00.000-07:00

Well, the first two week trip of the summer is done....and I'm exhausted. I think for the first time I am finally starting to realize how hard this job is. Waking up at 6:30, cooking breakfast, devos, 5 hours on the worksite pouring cement or digging trenches 9 feet deep, then 2 hours of VBS with little kids, then cooking dinner, then a shower(maybe), then 2 hours of teaching in Team Time, and then in bed at 11pm. Wake up the next day and repeat it all again. I just got done with my first ever two week trip that I was leading completely on my own and I am exhausted. Our next team comes in tomorrow at 2pm after the first team left today at noon.
I'm so tired. How do people do this? My interns are looking to me to lead them and I am confident in what I'm doing, but really? Two weeks straight of leading is exhausting....and I have 8 weeks left. I've been taking it one day at a time, because I think I would drive myself crazy if I didn't. I think I am finally realizng what Christ said when he told us he would give us enough grace for today, so don't worry about tomorrow. But it's still hard. I find myself daily praying through the armor of God in Ephesians 6 as I feel constantly attacked with lies that I'm not doing a good job or that I'm failing. And it's good. I mean, as tired as I am, I feel good. I know the work we are doing this summer in Costa Rica is having a Kingdom impact and it feels amazing. A girl on our trip, Rachel, who had struggling with some real pain in her life and the inability to trust people, wrote me a note today. She wrote, "Dan, thank you so much. You said that if you could change the life of one student, the trip would be worth it. Well, I plan on changing my life when I get home. I'm not going to believe lies anymore. So thank you for your impact.--Rachel." Reading that note made me believe in what I was doing. It reminded me why I do this. I do this to bring Restoration to the Kingdom, to Fight For the Life That Was Stolen. And it's working. We're taking ground. Keep praying. Thank you.
-Dan-

Costa Rica....The Beginning

2008-06-06T18:13:00.000-07:00

Well, I'd have pictures to add to this blog, but I couldn't load any onto my laptop, because my computer has been stolen. Yep, that's right. Four days in Costa Rica and my computer, my wallet, my backpack, and a new novel I just started got stolen out of my van in a guarded parking lot while my interns and I went grocery shopping. Fences, guards, and security cameras didn't keep the thieves from breaking into the van and stealing every backpack....ten feet from a guard. We're all a little shaken up. I just realized today, almost $2,000 worth of equipment were stolen from me. Please pray for us. Our first team comes tomorrow and our spirits are low. Pray we would be uplifted and ready for the team to come for us. We're excited in the midst of pain. It's just stuff, but it hit us pretty hard. Thanks everybody.

-Dan-

Kentucky Springbreak Mission Trips 08'

2008-03-27T13:08:00.001-07:00

A persistent story of poverty continues, which is both familiar and endless in sight. Over the last three weeks, I with two other LeaderTreks staff, worked alongside two groups of students from across the country to bring relief to the people of Knott County, Kentucky. Poverty in the Appalachian area is not really news to anyone I have come across. So in light of the
danger of familiarity breeding contempt, here are a couple pieces of information to awaken the original fervor some of us might have had upon hearing about this poverty in America. In Knott County, Kentucky:
¨ 40% of children live below the poverty line,
which is twice the national average.
¨ What is the poverty line?
For a single mom with 2 kids: $1300/month
For a family of four: $1666/month
Our two groups immersed themselves in the community by working on individual homes and got to know the people that live with this poverty everyday. Working alongside a local pastor, Rick Franklin, our students were able to not only serve the people, but to learn their stories and
enjoy life with them. Twice during the weeks we were in Kentucky, we experienced a local bluegrass night with community members. We danced and ate fried apple pie while the students got to know complete strangers. Plus, I was finally able to have real “Kentucky Fried Chicken” when a family made dinner for us the last night after our work day. Trust me, the restaurant has nothing on that woman’s chicken.
Both groups worked extremely hard and accomplished a lot. All in all, we scraped, primed, and painted an entire house for a family that lives two houses down from Rick Franklin’s church. We dug out trenches at a home to prepare for flood season. We built an 80 foot long, 10 foot high fence along the church’s property to block the sight of a school bus graveyard. We stained two decks, one for the church and one for a woman in the community. And students learned they could change the world just by changing the world of one person. It was a fantastic three weeks!

Dominican Republic Student Article

2008-02-18T12:22:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to let all of you read an article that one of my students wrote about her trip with me to the Dominican Republic. Her name is Dani Abinion and she is a Freshman at Wheaton Academy. Enjoy!

"Over Winterim at Wheaton Academy I had the most amazing opportunity to spend two weeks in the Dominican Republic, doing mission work. At the beginning, I didn’t exactly know how I felt about going to a third world country and leaving everything I knew to go to a place where I didn’t even speak the same language. I have to admit I was scared and I was definitely
carrying an immense amount of fear with me, but I toughened up and was ready to do what God was sending me there to accomplish. By the time we arrived in the Dominican Republic, several challenges were already thrown in our path. As a team we worked through it together. Over the next two weeks the team got a ton accomplished by working together and relying on each other. The two aspects that I think our team grew drastically in were compassion and trust. Many of the girls, including myself, had our hard times, but no matter what argument was going on, five minutes later we were there for each other. It’s a really great feeling knowing there are thirteen of your peers that you can trust and go to if you have a problem.

I’ve been a Christian all my life. I grew up in a Christian home and went to church every week, but going on this trip really changed every prospective I had on life, the way I was living and the relationship I had with God. I remember the start of the second week when we moved into the orphanage and we met all of the kids. I remember that night hearing about their own personal stories and why they ended up in the orphanage, and I was blown away. I couldn’t believe what most of those kids went through and even though they had horrible past experiences they never showed it. It really made me think about how people at home, including myself, make a big deal and fear the things we do, but compared to these kids’ lives, it’s nothing.. At that moment I did an overlook on how I was living and decided I wanted to make a lot of changes. I wanted the changes to reach past the trip and affect how I was living at home.

This trip really made a huge impact on my life and I have twelve other Wheaton Academy girls, three LeaderTreks leaders, and twenty Dominican orphans to thank. Over the two weeks I was there I grew as a leader, as a friend, and as a person. I think that God sent me on this trip for two reasons: to help change and to be changed. He sent me to help change the lives of those that are less fortunate than I am and to help provide them with a better, safer place to live. He also sent me to be changed, by sending those kids into my life to help me realize how great of a life that I have and how grateful I should be. I also believe that he sent three amazing leaders (Dan, Matt, and Lauren) to encourage me and to help build my confidence and faith to become a better leader. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to express how grateful I am for the people that God sent into my life while I was on this trip and for being given this amazing opportunity.
David says to Solomon in 1 Chronicles 28:20, “Be strong & Be courageous and do the work, do no be afraid or discouraged for the lord God, my God is with you, he will not fail nor forsake you, until the work in temple of the lord is complete.”
When ever I get discouraged, I refer back to this verse in the Bible and it reassures me that God is with me and that the things I do, I do for him and to glorify him."

Hungry For Change, Hungry to Serve, Hungry For God: Dominican Republic 08'

2008-01-28T09:38:00.000-08:00

Well, we're finally back! And we all survived two weeks in the Dominican Republic! The trip was amazing. Our thirteen girls from Wheaton Academy worked so hard and accomplished a ton at the orphanage, Casa de Monte Plata. They acheived so much more than we ever thought was possible. In two short weeks, the girls leveled by hand mulitple huge piles of rock, dirt, and solid clay with just shovels and pickaxes. They poured a new section of a basketball court and laid new sidewalks with concrete. And they led a VBS for a group of 20 Dominican orphans who did not speak a word of English! The girls poured their hearts into the work and into the lives of under priveledged children, leaving that small orphanaged changed in real ways. Throughout the trip Jesus' words from Mark 9:37 rang in my head: "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me." These girls saw the face of God in those childrens' eyes. Thirteen girls from the suburbs of Chicago left everything they knew for two weeks and entered a world unlike anything they could have imagined. It rocked them, broke them, and hopefully....changed them.

Here's a photo collage of the trip. Enjoy!

January Dominican Republic Trip

2007-12-03T09:11:00.000-08:00

January is coming faster than I thought. Pretty soon I'll be on a plane headed to Monte Plata, Dominican Republic with 14 high school girls and two other LT staff. Yep, an all girl trip! It's kind of funny, but I'm really excited. For two weeks we as a team will be working with a school in the DR, helping them with work projects outside. I wanted to show you some past pictures of the DR to pique your interest. So here they are. Enjoy and see you soon!

Everglades Wilderness Trip

2007-11-06T12:14:00.000-08:00

Well, our Summit Team made it back safely last week from Everglades National Park. It was an amazing experience that helped us grow as a team. LeaderTreks uses the wilderness as a leadership laboratory, so our trip consisted of prepping us for that laboratory. Here's a tour of the trip. We put in at Everglades city on Monday and went south through the wilderness waterway on the left side of the map. By Wednesday we reached the Gulf of Mexico and spent two days on island campsites.

Ah, canoeing: my favorite way of travel. Chase and I are clearly working hard as we paddle through the waterway. In the back you can see the mangrove forests surrounding all the rivers.

I am obviously confident in my canoeing skills. Then I saw what was in the water in the next picture.

Yep, that's a alligator. It may not look big here, but that sucker is 13 feet long. I'm not confident anymore.

The sunset at our second campsite, Watson's Place. Which, by the way, is haunted. Watson used to take slaves out to his land in the Everglades, promising pay for their work, but then murdered them. It's said that his ghost still wanders the forest, looking for more lives to devour. But I slept pretty well that night. Go figure.

The amazing Mrs. Susie Gerber. She's our new favorite addition to Summit. Well, not official, but she's welcome whenever she wants.

A sweet shot from one of our kayaks looking into the passageway to the Gulf.

When we got to our first island campsite, Pavillion Key, we spotted huge manta rays fishing near the shore. Phil decided it would be fun to pet them. Needless to say, Phil is no longer with us.

Renee, Susie, and I pull our canoes onto the key before the tide comes in.

Aww, I love you Pavillion Key!

By the way, Phil survived. I was totally joking. He's loving the fact that this is his job!

An osprey, Florida's state bird, prepares to do some fishing of his own over the ocean waters.

A pretty cool pre-storm shot on Pavillion Key.

Billy and I decided that instead of prepping for the hurricane coming our way, we would read. Our high school English teachers would be so proud.

Storm clouds rolled in, thus the hurrying of us in the picture. Have you ever seen a tornado form over water and come right towards your island? I have. Twice. That night.

Luckily, the next night on Rabbit Key was a little calmer. Our four tents set up on the shore line, just above tide level.

Sunset over the ocean. Beautimous!

Thursday night=Our first fire. We had our team time on the beach next to the flames and it was totally magical.

Then we woke up in the morning to find the tide had completely beached us. That whole area where the guys are walking is supposed to be water. We were literally trapped on our own tropical island. Pretty amazing!

So, while we were waiting, Andy and I decided to race through the mud past the island. Here you can see how close of a race it was......in the beginning.

This is where I notice Andy is 45 pounds lighter than I am, thus making me sink a ton more into the mud and proving that this was a stupid idea.
But I gave it my all, running as much as I could. This was one of the few times I wasn't up to my waist in poop smelling mud.
Sweet victory! But not really. Second place actually, which also means dead last.
Chase looks hopeful, but hope is not enough. What he really needed was water.
Our team:(from front, left to right)Steve, Andy, Me, Phil, Renee, Billy, and Chase. It was an amazing journey and I wouldn't have picked a better team. Thanks for all your prayers. Enjoy your days.

Pawleys Island Staff Missions Trip

2007-10-01T09:52:00.000-07:00

Well, the week is over. For those of you who didn't know, I spent the last week in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, which is a small beach town on the Atlantic about 45 minutes south of Myrtle Beach. About 8 of us drove the 16 hours down there on Saturday, September 22, while the others flew because they were attending a wedding of two former staff. Our entire staff of 16, plus two wives and a baby son, spent the week in Glen and Joanne Hall's beautiful home. The Hall's are long time supporters of LeaderTreks and gave us their amazing house for the week while they were on vacation. I have never met this couple, yet I could feel their love through the gift of their house last week. Our trip served two purposes: to serve as a classroom for our summit team on how to run a missions site, and to provide our management team time to cast vision for the company for the coming year. It was a great trip and amazing time to spend with everyone at LeaderTreks. There's so much to explain, so I figured I'd give a tour of our trip.

This picture was taken of the Hall's backyard. They live on the intercoastal waterway, a 3,000 mile river which runs from the Gulf of Mexico along the Atlantic to New Jersey. It was an awesome sight to wake up to each day.

And an awesome sight to go to bed each night.

Their deck served as a retreat of solitude for many of us, and a whole lot of fun too.
A sweet shot from the pier into the river. Steve Gerber, one of my bosses at LT, built this kayak himself. Pretty crazy!Our summit team went to work for a woman named Donnela Smith. At age 24, she is single with five kids and lives in a run down, beat up trailer. Filth pervades the area, yet her and her children have not let that poverty pervade them. They are a wonderful family. LeaderTreks has been working with her this summer and will continue to work with her next year as well as we build a completly new home for her. What we're actually doing is building a house around the trailer, then we'll remove the trailer from the inside. This way, the family has space to live while we're working and the permit is cheaper for a home addition than a whole new home. If we just leave the supports of the trailer under the home, it counts as an addition. News for all who were wondering. Our team did a lot in a week. As you can see, we built a whole new wall in the front of the house, laid down support flooring so the children wouldn't fall in, finished tar papering the whole house, and built steps to the deck.

Greg and Chase concentrate on pounding the wall in as I move the ladder into position. I know, I look like a dork. Get used to it!

Our ministry partner Jess puts a cross in front of each house that has work done on it by our teams. His goal is to someday drive through the streets of Pawleys and see crosses everywhere. It's an amazing goal and an image I'm proud to be a part of.

Don't worry though, we had fun too, on and off the work site. Greg decided to harrass one of Ms. Smith's boys, Nazire. Shortly after this, Nazire slapped him in the face. Sorry Big Head!

On the last day, we felt the need to help Andy cool down a bit, for the temp. was pretty high that week. Greg distracted him, then jumped out of the way so we could soak the poor guy.

On Tuesday night Doug(our main boss at LT) took us all to Myabi's, a Japanese steak house. It was an experience!

Like I said earlier, we made good use of that pier! I'm on the top in the white swim suit.

And yes, we went to the ocean. Twice!

On Friday our whole staff went deep sea fishing in the Atlantic! It was amazing! I caught 11 fish, but only 2 were keepers.

One of our staff, Renee, caught a small dog shark. We kept him and ate him that night. Delicious!

Thanks to everyone who was praying for our trip. We had an amazing time and learned a ton. I continually am thankful for you all. Again, if you're still looking to support, I wouldn't mind it at all. Have a good one.

Thoughts on the Heart

2007-09-19T13:16:00.000-07:00

So I wrote this in my journal a couple of weeks ago and just thought I would share with whoever wanted to read it. Not sure if it's "right" exactly, but it's what was going through my head at the time and came out through my pen.

THE DISTANCE OF THE HEART

One can only truly know someone as much as they are willing to let themselves be known. You can really go your whole life thinking you know someone, only to discover you know nothing about them, about what's really going on inside them. The human heart and mind are so complex, so maze like, that it becomes so easy to lose oneself in them and never come out. By giving the appearence of complete honesty, yet revealing only safe thoughts, one can remain unknown their entire life. This seems to me so contradictory to the deepest longing in each and every one of us: to be fully known and loved. We all yearn for intimacy in relationships, another to share our deepest desires with, another who will know as much or more about our hearts as we do, yet still love us completely. But instead, what we do with that longing screams for an explanantion, for we run from love instead. We run so fast and so far from intimacy with others. We run with no goal in sight other than to escape those who would demand honesty and depth from us. And when we're done running, when we're out of breath, gasping for air as we place our hands on our knees in exhaustion, we decide to hide. We know the others will continue to search for us, so we hide, hoping beyond hope we will not be found. And it works. Our hiding protects us, for while others are outside frantically searching for us, calling our name, yearning desperately to catch a glimpse of our hearts, we remain hidden. We choose to close ourselves in this cave, this insurmountable cavern of despair that we ourselves have created. "It's safe in here," we tell ourselves. "No one can hurt us here," we tell ourselves. "No one will find us here," we tell ourselves. And no one ever will. No one can for they do not know the way into the cave or even what it looks like. Eventually the voices fade. The cries of loved ones longing to find us disappear, for the search has been called off. The worst has been declared. We are dead. No one will look for us anymore. We are truly alone. The hearts of those who loved us so dearly and longed to see us have vanished. Our actions, our apathy, our hiding have kept us safe from anyone ever understanding us. We have chosen this solitude, this supposed victory, yet it feels anything but victorious. Our hearts still long for intimacy, and we finally admit the truth: we are lonely. "This is not what I imagined," we tell ourselves. "This is not what I wanted," we tell ourselves. "I need to get out of here," we tell ourselves. Yet we do not move. Our bodies, as if in suspended animation, simply remain just where they have always been. We are alone, and while it is excruciating, we do nothing to stop it. Our deepest desire of being known is clouded by the idea that when people really do see our hearts, they will not love us. So we remove the choice from them, retreating further into this pit, succumbing to the darkness. And the years go by without incident. This retreat into the depths has broken us, yet we remain in pieces rather than seek the comfort others longed to give us. The love they intended was not obligatory. No, it was sincere, real, but we pushed it away when we ran and hid. In our brokenness, we are finally silenced. Our mind is at rest for there is no need anymore to scheme or plan out how to evade love, for it has been evaded. We are lost. Even if we wanted to, even if our heart longed to find its way out, we cannot. We are awaiting doom and we are silent. It should come soon. How much more can a mere man really hold on for? How much more of this solitude can a heart contend with? That's when we hear it. The thin, small whisper, calling your name. It is not like earlier, not the same as the screams from loved ones attempting to discover you from the outside. No, this voice does not yell. It does not need to. You cup your ears, straining to hear from where in the darkness this lone voice is coming from. As you slowly spin, attempting to narrow down the location of the whisper, you discover the voice is calling not from the entrance, but farther into the cave. "Odd," you think inside. "I thought I was alone in here." You gather up courage for the first time in forever, stand, and slowly walk. As you journey toward the voice, it grows louder, slowly, but enough to let you know you're walking in the right direction. The passage way winds around and around as your hands grope in darkness, unable to see your way, but constantly following the voice, thinking it may know another way out of this cave. Your hands grip the cold, damp walls as they guide you on. A desire begins to grow inside you once again to be known and a desire to share youself with whoever else is in the blackness. Then, without warning, the walls disappear, giving way to a massive cavern. Still unable to see with your eyes, yet hearing the voice more clearly than ever, you step forward in blind faith and walk. Yes, there is fear, in fact you are terrified, but this voice offers something you did not have before: hope. It is this moment, the small second in which the acknowledgement of hope is realized, that the room is pervaded with light from every angle and the voice now surrounds you on all sides, beckoning. "Welcome. Welcome to the inner depths of your heart."
"Who are you?" you ask. "And how long have you been here?"
"You know who I am and I have been all along, whispering your name, longing for you to discover me and discover your heart, for there is no place you can run, no place you hide from me, even in the abyss of your own heart."
Peace surrounds you like a cloud, covering every part of your body.
"What is this feeling," you wonder to yourself.
"Love. It has been a long time since you have felt this, isn't it? But you have to realize, I know you completely and I love you. Before even time began, I loved you. You know not love, for you will accept it. I know love for I am love, and I give it freely. Others long to know you as I know you, and though they may not know you as completely, they desire the chance. You must give them the opportunity. Do not fear. Your deepest fear should never hinder your greatest desire. I know you. Your heart is good. Look around you, it is filled with light, and with love."
"But I do not know the way out," you exclaim to the voice.
"Then let me guide you, and you will finally experience life. Follow me."

LeaderTreks Started

2007-09-10T13:30:00.000-07:00

Well, it's official. I've started as full time staff at LeaderTreks in Wheaton, IL. Thanks to all of you for your continued support this summer as I was going all over the country on trips. I got emails from many of you and knew I was being covered in prayer. My newsletter about the summer will be sent out this week to tell all about it.

I've moved in with Rich and Barb Kolton in Carol Stream, IL, which is only about a six minute drive from the office. They are amazing people whom I have already grown to love a ton. They are very honest and open about their lives and their struggles, which is amazing to be around. They have been a great support to me so far in the first week. Rich is a ton of fun and a huge Bears fan, so it was great to rub their loss in his face yesterday and scream praises for the Packers. He takes it in stride, for his humility is very apparent. Barb has a level of depth not commonly seen and an openness with her life and her fears. She has shared with me on several occasions about the struggles she is going through.

This past weekend I got initiated into the First Baptist youth group this past weekend. I'm starting to volunteer on a weekly basis, so I went on the fall retreat. It was a great time to get to know all the students in The Cause, the name of their youth group. I'll be leading a small group on Sunday nights for guys and regular meetings are on Wednesdays, so I'm pretty excited about being involved in this way.

As for work, I've had a busy time so far. There are four of us right now who make up the Base Camp Summit Team, which basically means we're the newbies. Chase, Renee, Billy, and myself are all in it together and learning everything we can about LT. All last week was introductions to a lot of what we do at LeaderTreks. This week we've started training for LTE's, or Leadership Training Events. These are weekend events where we try to combine a lot of the same principles and experiences from trips into a single weekend trip. I'm totally on board with them. They are amazing! My brother Shannon just ordered an LTE called Foundations of Leadership, which is the one we're all learning this week. I'm excited for his group to learn everything in this LTE. I have my own desk area, which is pretty weird because that signifies a real job to me. Which, it is, but it's still weird.

I've loved getting to know all the staff. They are amazing and have opened their hearts to me. My parents came down to Wheaton on Friday to visit and got to meet the whole staff at our company picnic. After getting into the car, they both turned to me and said they now knew exactly why I had come to LeaderTreks. I hope at some point you get to meet the men and women I serve with.

Today the Base Camp staff and I begin our training for LTE's. We're all a little nervous because we actually have to lead them in front of everyone, which would be fine, but we just learned the material yesterday. Pray for wisdom, guidance, and confidence for all of us. Thanks again for everything.

Dan

P.S. These are just some pictures of the office at LT.

Awesome News and More of the Haps

2007-07-29T13:26:00.000-07:00

Well, it's official: I have a place to live!!!!! If you are at all confused about this, let me explain. For the last few months I have been trying to find housing in the Wheaton area, but have not really had much luck because I've wanted to live with a family so I could save my money. Several people have helped a ton, specifically Matt and Kelly Erickson and Mickie Keil, for they had contacts in the area. I am grateful for your help. I got an email on Wednesday morning from an amazing woman named Maggie Rowe, telling me she had found a place. Her husband is the pastor of a church called First Baptist in Wheaton and they are long time friends of the Keil family. Maggie had asked a couple, Rich and Barb Kolton, about a month and a half ago if they would be interested in housing me, but they told her it would be too soon after their son's death, who would be about my age. However, on Wednesday morning, Barb she called Wednesday morning to say that God has been at work, and they want to have me if I didn't yet have a place.

Amazing!!!! I, and so many others, have been praying for months in confidence that God would provide a place and He has. And not just a place, but a family. They have a college aged daughter who attend Northwestern in Minnesota who knows Lauren quite well, and the best part, they have a DOG!!!! I am excited. Thank you so much for all of you that were so diligently praying. God is so good.

On a different note, yesterday was my day off, which was great to have. Lauren and Cherilyn took the day and spent it at the mall, getting pedicures, shopping, and refueling their girly styles. I'm glad they got to spend it together and have such a fun time. They invited me to join them, but I had to decline. Tempting, but no. I had other plans. I hopped back in the van after dropping them off and headed to the National Civil Rights Museum, located several blocks away from Beale St. in downtown Memphis. The museum is actually on the site of the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. It was a moving experience to say the least. I stood in front of the motel, quietly conversing with God, wondering why it was that He allowed a man like this to die so young. I know his death helped to spread the movement, but is a martyr always needed to further the cause? Is blood always a requirement for change? Yes. It was. But I wish I could have seen Dr. King speak, stood there as he spread his words of love to a hate filled world, or marched through the streets with him as sweat poured down my face and voices of death screamed obscenities at us. I wish I could have done these acts of great love, for in that man, through his actions, the presence of Christ was so clear. Dr. King truly understood Christ's call for us to love our enemies, for he knew that in a response filled with violence and hate, nothing good would be accomplished. The streets of Memphis and every other large urban space in America is filled with gangs like the Bloods and the Crips, direct descendants of movements like the Black Panthers. They are polluting our youth and tearing our society apart from within. It is always easier to hate. It is always easier to throw a punch than lend a hand. But it is never better. Dr. King knew this. He payed for it with his life. But so did Jesus. Dr. King knew this as well. And someday I'll get to stand alongside him and we will share meals and laugh and love. And that is better than anything.

Louisiana Missions Part 2

2007-07-23T14:41:00.000-07:00

Well, the week in Louisiana is over and I'm back in Memphis now, but that week is still very much in my mind. I had such a dynamic time with those students and I grew a lot. I was forced to question myself on a regular basis, sometimes for the good and at times, for the bad. In the end, it confirmed what I already knew: I have a ton to learn about myself and about God too. My fraility spoke so loudly to me this week, screaming messages that pierced my heart with deadly arrows, yet it pointed me to Christ in a very real way and I'm glad it did. I know I don't know much, for I am still very young, yet I still need to have a confidence that can not shatter easily just because one person may not appreciate my leading style. I know God has placed me in this role for a reason and plans on using me in big ways, that is, if I move out of the way and let Him lead for me.
On a lighter note, the week ended with a ton of fun. My team was able to accomplish much in John Paul's kitchen and we grew quite close to him. I can honestly say I love that man. I never heard him complain. Sure, he shared his struggles with me, but it was never in a cursing tongue. Everything I saw come out of him brought glory to God and I admired him greatly for it. On Thursday night JP celebrated all the volunteer teams by having a shrimp boil in his backyard. It was amazing! Fresh shrimp, fresh crab, gumbo, jambalaya, potatoes, soup, and more. The food was spectacular, and a truly southern experience. My kitchen team also celebrated JP as well. Towards the end, we surrounded him and presented him with his very own encouragement bead necklace. For encouragement beads, LeaderTreks uses four colors for different traits seen in a person: green is for compassion, blue is for risk taking, red is for leadership, and white is for service. Each person can give one bead and when they do it, they must speak to the person receiving it and tell them why they are giving them that bead. We gave JP a necklace with all four colors on it and spoke about why he got each one. It touched him deeply, for he had tears welling up in his eyes. As we walked out, one of the students saw JP turn towards his kitchen and in a slow movement, tie the cord around his neck. Meaningful indeed.

On Friday night we drove into New Orleans for a little fun and to look at the lasting effects of the hurricane on this city. After almost two years trash heaps still cover street corners with pieces of houses and articles of clothing long forgotten. It is depressing to see, but there is still hope. We went for dinner at Bubba Gump Steakhouse and there met two women from the city who have having dinner as well. When several girls in our trip told them why we were down here, they started crying and simply hugged the girls, thanking them over and over again for what we were doing. It was a truly touching moment. And then we had a ton of fun eating. And it was good. More to come.
On Saturday, Lauren, Cherilyn, and I drove back to Memphis. Two more weeks here. All for now.

Louisiana Missions

2007-07-17T15:16:00.000-07:00

Wow! What a crazy time it's been. The first trip in Memphis ended on Saturday morning as I watched the slightly dazed middle schoolers climb into their vans and head back to Houston. They were an awesome group to start off with and had an absolutely amazing youth leader, Eric Hill. I'm hoping I get to work with him again some time. I enjoyed his extreme depth and focus, and at the same time held an amazing sense of humor that meshed so well with me. He kept a blog of the week that students could write on, so if you want to check it out, it's http://web.mac.com/fsmstudents

It has some amazing comments from students and the staff about personal growth and challenges from God in their lives.

As soon as the vans pulled away, Lauren, Cherilyn, and I packed up our belongings, loaded into our own van, and then drove down to Lousiana to get ready for a new team. We hooked up with three other LeaderTreks staff members: Amy, a full time staff member; Evan, a summer intern from Cedarville college; and Morgan Jane, a summer intern from Rhodes college. Amy is the official leader, but her and Lauren have been sharing teaching times. This trip kicked off it's start on Sunday night as our high school team from Bloominton, IL pulled into our basecamp. Frank, their youth pastor, is a former staff member from LT and knew his team would grow and prosper from these trips. His students have already been challenged to step up a lot and have pulled together more and more.

The last two days I've been leading a small team as we remodel a kitchen in an apartment unit used by our main contact in the area, John Paul. Not real sure of JP's last name, but that's okay, because everyone in the area just knows him as John Paul. This man is amazing! I've been so impressed with his knowledge of the area, his wit, and his unending grace when it comes to working with the teams and the people in the area. JP works with the United Methodist Church's Disaster Relief team and is the sole staff member here in Dulac, Louisiana. He's running on more cylinders than he has and will not stop. I'm a bit concerned for him as he's nearing the point of burn out. They have him coordinating all the volunteer teams in the area, working 7 days a week, cooking for the teams, cleaning their bunk houses, and he's away from his wife, who lives in South Carolina. I have never gained so much respect for one man in so short a time period. He loves these people with a passionate heart of service that is only from God, for no mere man can give this much on his own. I have been burdened by his story and hurt for him today. I know his treasure in heaven will be great, for he is a true example of a man who is forsaking all earthly riches for the good of the kingdom.

I'll leave it here for now and try to update it again this week. I love you all.

JP took us for a ride in his 64' Ford Galaxy.

Awesome ride, but we ran into a little trouble.

Faithbridge Methodist Church, Memphis

2007-07-11T08:44:00.000-07:00

Well, we've been in Memphis since last Friday and it has already taught me a lot. Going into the trip I knew sort of what to expect, yet I have found myself surprised around every turn. I've been amazed with how tired I am throughout the day. I suppose part of this is me being out of shape, but a big part is due to the constant stimulation going through me throughout the day. We're constantly moving and working to make sure not only the students on our trip are doing well, but also the children we are working with in the Vacation Bible School program. Working with City Builders has been awesome. Victoria, the director, has a heart of gold for these kids and has put her life into them for 14 years. So many of these kids owe their lives to her, as she has pulled them off the streets, tutored them, helped them graduate and go onto college, and most importantly, pointed them to God. She's so well respected in the community that she has received multiple grants and has provided an amazing center for these kids. They moved into an old elementary school a year ago and now they have their own gym, craft room, big screen tv's, a computer lab with top of the line computers, a cafeteria, and more. It's amazinig to be a part of this.

Since Sunday of this last week, we've had a junior high youth group from Faithbridge Methodist Church in Houston, Texas with us. 18 students and 4 adults brought with them a passion for serving not commonly seen in junior high kids. And we needed it. The first night our group was faced with the challenge of planning an entire VBS for over 40 children for the entire week. Normally, a Level 1 trip, which this is, is not in charge of VBS, but instead works alongside a ministry. But due to miscommunication from some of our hosts here, we were told we needed to run the entire thing. Instead of complaining or wondering how we would get it all done, the students stepped up right away and ran into the challenge. They immediately began planning the whole program, with a theme of Heroes. They came up with Bible heros for each day, stories to go with it, games, songs to sing with the kids, and even crafts. Each kid that comes this week will walk away with a complete set of the armor of God to protect them from the evil one. Amazing!!

Each day the students have been doing work projects in the afternoon to help City Builders continue to refurbish their building. The students have puts their whole hearts into everything, whether it's painting, organizing, or building shelves in a supply room. Today we went over to build a deck for a woman whose children have all come through City Builders. It's rained pretty hard here the last two days, so we haven't gone outside much, but we got to work on the deck and accomplished much. Working with junior high students can at times be agonizing, for their speed at such things as pounding a nail is slightly slower than that of a high schooler. But that's all part of the process of absorbing wisdom and knowledge, so I step back and let the kids run the site. So while we weren't able to get as much done on the deck as I may have hoped in the beginning of the week, these students kicked some butt and accomplished much. I was really proud of them, and we had some fun while we were at it.

I've been blessed so much to work with these unbelievable students, their leaders, and my fellow LeaderTreks staff. They've been encouraging, challenging, and supportive as I've been introduced to this awesome program I'm now a part of. I couldn't be happier right now. Thank you for your prayers. Keep them coming. I love you all.

Dan

God's Will or Simple Apathy?

2007-05-11T10:34:00.000-07:00

Recently I took place in a huge event known as Displace Me. Displace Me was an event staged by Invisible Children Inc. on April 28, 2007 to raise awareness of children suffering in Northern Uganda. It is the follow-up to the Global Night Commute, another event put on by Invisible Children on April 29, 2006.

Displace Me was a demonstration that was meant to bring attention to the war in Uganda and to get legislators to notice and take action. The emphasis of the demonstration was to travel a long distance to a host city, and spend the night in a mock displacement camp. This was done to replicate the long trip to, and the poor conditions of, the displacement camps in Northern Uganda. Among the fifteen cities participating, over 67,000 were in attendance.

It was amazing. I cannot truly describe how unbelievable it was to experience. Gathering in the Soldier Field parking lot in Chicago with over 6,000 others, my friends and I set up camp and began to build our cardboard hut. Everywhere I looked I saw groups of people working together to construct these temporary homes. Smiles on faces and laughter in the air almost made it seem as though we had forgotten why we were there in the first place. But we hadn't forgotten. We couldn't. We, along with everyone else, had gone to Chicago to raise awareness of the horrible conditions in Uganda right now as Africa's longest running civil war continues to rage on. I had bought the film Invisible Children back in the fall and was weighed down by what I had seen. I researched the war and became enthralled by it. But what could I, a 23 year old American guy, do to end the war? The Displace Me event was action and it moved us all. As we watched personal testimonies of individuals in the displacement camps and experienced the life of a displaced person as much as we could, it moved us. It broke us. We slept on the concrete. We ate rationed crackers and drank rationed water. We were uprooted and changed, if only for a day. But that day lives on in all of us now. Any person who was at Displace Me holds a personal connection to the people of Uganda and the lives being destroyed through the civil war there.

I'm a passionate person, so I get easily upset and reactionary when someone criticizes something I love and feel deeply about. Last week, this came full circle for me. I reacted out of passion and emotion and anger, when I should have reacted out of wisdom and love. A guy I knew decided he wanted to raise more awareness for the displaced people and night commuters of Uganda by setting up a screening of the film and was asking people if they were interested in watching it. I was glad he wanted to raise awareness, but I immediately became angry when I read some one's response to his request. The response went something like this: "I think it is good you want to raise awareness about the plight of the people in Uganda, but I'm not sure if Invisible Children is a Christian ministry, so I don't think we should be supporting it. We need to ask God where He wants us to use His money and if it is not in support of Christian ministries, we should not spend our money. There are people suffering everywhere and we can only do so much. What we really need to do is pray and God will take care of it. If we trust in Him, He will do it."
I got angry and I regret my response to this comment, for I mocked him lightly for saying it, but to some degree I stand by my frustration behind my comments. Now, I agree we need to pray and to trust God completely, but where does our responsibility come in? We, as Christians, are called to action, not inaction. We are called to use our gifts, our talents, our love, our money, everything we have to spread the love of God to the world. Never in the Bible does it say we should only be supportive of Christian ministries. If this is our belief, do we follow it? When you go to buy groceries, is it a Christian grocery store? When you buy clothes from the Gap, is it a Christian clothing line? When you purchase a movie, was it directed, produced, and acted in by Christians? No I think not. So why is it we find it so easy to give our money to non-Christians for menial things, but when it comes to saving lives and spreading love, we have to ask if we're giving our money to a Christian group? This seems to stand completely controversial to what Jesus did in His life. He spent time with prostitutes and tax collectors. He surrounded Himself with sinful men and rejects looking for acceptance. And He gave it to them. He accepted and loved all. Many would see this as being soft, but it was in fact His high, difficult demands that drew crowds to Him. People wanted to be challenged and to live on purpose and that is the life following Christ brought. To believe in Jesus is never enough; He demands us to follow Him. And to follow means to walk in one's footsteps, to mimic the life of the one you follow. Christ's life is the example and His example does not show concern for being cool or belonging to the right group or supporting the right cause. Instead, His example shows a life that poured out to whoever and where ever it was needed. That is what we are called to be. That is who I want to be. That is God's will for our lives. We are called to more than apathy. We are called to be revolutionaries.