A Week of Joy

I am happy to report that I've had the most wonderful week. It was spent away from the normal routine of church ministry, but it was work indeed. I attended a conference in Nashville, TN called the Festival of Homiletics.

If you are a seminary type then get ready for jealousy when I tell you who I heard lectures, sermons and seminars from. . .

The guests included:

• Barbara Brown Taylor (my all time preaching hero)
• Tom Long
• Walter Bruggeman
• Fred Craddock
• Will Williamon
• Brian McLaren
• And that is to just name a few

Music From:

• Sweet Honey and the Rock
• Kyle Matthews
• Ginny Owens
• And many more

I feel like I am 15 again and I just got home from youth camp. Not only did I hear some amazing speakers, but I worshipped alongside 1,600 other preachers from the Mainline church (Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, Episcopal, etc). I traveled to TN with an amazing group of senior pastors from the DC region. I spent two nights hanging out with my best friend from college-- a dear friend who always is such a joy to be around.

Overall, it was 0ne of those experiences where you were on a mountain top spiritually for a while, so it was very sad to think about coming home.

But, I'm thankful for all I learned, the ways I was challenged to think of the preached word and worship in new ways and the encouragement I received from being around such dynamic people. It makes going home not as depressing, knowing now is the time to put feet to all I've found to be true.

Yea for great weeks at conferences! It is what pastors stay spiritually alive on, for sure!

I'm Afraid . . . Part Two

Well, I am happy to report that I survived the youth lock-in 2007. It went as well as it could be expected... no kids got hurt or sick, no fights, nobody got lost, and a great time was had by all the kids.

Lessons I Learned:
1. There is no limit to crazy games that teenagers will play at 2 am.
2. Man Hunt (aka Hide and Seek) can entertain 14 year olds for hours.
3. Soda, Soda, Soda; Coffee, Coffee, Coffee= a youth pastor's best friend for staying awake in the middle of the night.
4. When planning an all-night event, it is smart to keep the kids out of the church for as long as possible. (I did this and it worked!)
5. Colored hairspray can really work wonders for creating team pride during group games.
6. Don't take large groups of teens to a restaurant unless you are ready to stop them from making spit wads and throwing them at each other.
7. Eventually, kids will go to sleep, you just have to put send them to their sleeping bags and turn on a movie.

The great chaperons helped the event run smoother than I thought it would be. And, I stayed up almost the entire night-- taking a cat nap from 5:15 to 6 am while trying to play Clue with a couple of the kids. Everyone was secured from the church at 7 am and I was in bed by 7:35 am. I'm still recovering, I think, sleep wise, yet SO glad to have this event past me.

I've posted some pictures below of the evening as proof that we actually made it through. Thank you for your prayers.

I'm Afraid

I know it doesn't sound like a big deal, but I'm afraid of the Lock-In which will take place from 9pm til 7 am tomorrow.

I vowed I'd never do one. I'm not a late night person. I get mean without sleep. I never liked staying up late, even when I was in high school. I was the kid who would come to lock-in and go to sleep at 1:30 am (and was made fun of greatly!). And, I never was much for staying up late even during finals season in college. Ask any of my friends from this period and they will tell you it's true!

But, the All-Nighter is the kids' FAVORITE thing (probably besides duck taping each other) and in the first year in any job, I feel it is your work to follow the ropes of your predecessors just enough so to gain the trust of those you serve. So, here I go . . .

I'm SO thankful, though that I'm not doing it alone. Thanks be to all the adults who decided to give so graciously of their time and sleep, I'll be surrounded by some great people, some wonderful potential leaders of our youth ministry who I'm hoping will connect with our kids. These volunteers will help make the night what it is! And the nightmares (yes, I have had bad dreams the past week about it) probably won't come true. The kids will be well behaved and a great time will be had by all.

But, if you read this before tomorrow night at 9 pm, pray for me. I'm going into scary, uncharted waters with these kids. Everyone and their brother has called me in the past couple of days telling me that they are coming. I'm going to really feel like a pastor of youth tomorrow no matter if I like it or not! God help us all.