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When to Prioritize Doing Nothing

May 5, 2012 in Thoughts 3

“Our brains and bodies need quiet time where they’re not doing anything at all.

“This doesn’t mean zoning out in front of the television for an hour and it doesn’t mean getting a full eight hours of sleep per night.

“It means setting aside time to process the events of the day, and perhaps the days before.

“It means letting your brain rid itself of all the excess thought you’ve accumulated from constantly doing.

I’ve got a stash of instant oatmeal in my office for the times when I forget my lunch and I need something quick and easy to eat. Typically I’ll grab a couple of packets, “cook” it in the microwave, then slowly eat it over the next 30 minutes while I’m doing other tasks. Then, I place the crusty remains of the oatmeal bowl in the kitchen sink and let it soak. More often than not, I would forget the bowl was there and someone would clean it up for me.

Continue Reading…

Definition of a Disciple [video]

May 4, 2012 in Thoughts 0

disc-iple

  • Learner
  • Pupil
  • Apprenctice
  • Adherent
  • Follower

HT Andy Blanks
source YouTube

5 Ways to Listen Better [TED video]

March 19, 2012 in Marriage, Thoughts 2

Recently, Amanda and I have going through the Alpha Marriage course with our church. One of the sessions early on talked about “active listening.” In our increasingly loud and fast-paced culture, it’s difficult to actually listen to what your spouse (or anyone else) is saying sometimes!

It was a great session. So is this related TED video:

In our louder and louder world, says sound expert Julian Treasure, “We are losing our listening.” In this short, fascinating talk, Treasure shares five ways to re-tune your ears for conscious listening — to other people and the world around you.

source TED
source YouTube

Is It About Winning? Or Maybe About Playing…?

March 15, 2012 in Thoughts 2

Everyone likes to win.

I like to win.

It feels great to beat a cocky middle schooler who thinks he’s the great air hockey player in the world!

However, when I really think about it… while I like to win, I really enjoy just playing.

As in the comic above, Calvin was at a loss for words once he completed his victory chant. He expected the feeling of winning to last longer or bring on a ticker-tape parade (or something). I wonder if the act of playing games is what is the most fun, rather than just the winning aspect of it.

Don’t get me wrong… I’m not one who thinks everyone is a winner and there are no losers. We should not protect children from the realities of life too often. If games weren’t set up to have a winner and loser(s), then games would never end and it would be no fun playing anymore.

So while there should be winners and losers in games, I think we need to enjoy the art of playing games more than just emphasizing the end result.’

Funny, this might save you some face at the next high school basketball or hockey game!

A Reflection on “Crossing the Line of Faith”

February 25, 2012 in Children's Ministry, Thoughts 1

Recently I have been reviewing my notes from when I attended Bethel Seminary for a year and some of the children’s ministry classes I took. Here is a reflection I wrote in my notes when asked to think about what it means to “cross the line of faith” for children:

Family. Christians are the special people of God in this world. An act like baptism or coming forward, or a realization of God in your life that is an expression of faith and belief can be called justification by Jesus—demarcated as a member of the covenanted family of God in the way of Jesus. We then, live out that demarcation in light of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives.

We live as family members of a community of people who are committed to loving and serving the world as Jesus did. We do this together. Children, teenagers and adults can all do this together.

Helping to set the table is important in children’s spiritual formation at various times and in various ways throughout the year and throughout the years. It could be various expressions of faith:

  • creating of a sacred space
  • rituals
  • traditions
  • calls to commitment
  • reaffirming the commitment, etc.

All of these are ways to display to children what it means to be part of this special family of God made possible by Jesus and sustained by the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Maybe we need to spend less time worried about how to make kids part of the family and spend more time worried about living out our family values (according to Jesus and by the Holy Spirit) so as to almost attract kids, students, or adults to being a part of the family because it is so attractive the kind of life Jesus wants us to live.

Shouldn’t we be a different kind of people?

Shouldn’t we be the kind of people who stand up and make a difference in our world?

And other people take notice and think: “Wow. Those are church people. I wonder why they would sacrifice for that person. Or I wonder why they would help that person. Or I am so thankful that they stood up for me.”

Shouldn’t we be more focused on a kingdom of heaven impact on this world and less on making our club bigger?

God wants nothing less than his kingdom come and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Worshiping Jesus AND other gods [Lessons from Church History]

January 15, 2012 in Thoughts 0

Why did the [ancient Roman] emperors persecute Christians? Sometimes it was just because they hated Jesus and the Christians who followed him. Other times, Christians were killed or tortured, not because they worshiped Christ, but because they would not also worship false gods.

The Romans believed that their many gods made the empire rich and protected it. They were afraid that if the Christians offended these gods by not worshiping them, the gods might get angry at Rome and allow Rome’s enemies to conquer the empire.

Because Christians refused to worship these false gods, the Romans believed they were unpatriotic or, even worse, guilty of treason against the empire. So even though it wasn’t illegal to worship Jesus, it was illegal to refuse to worship the other gods as well.

Peril and Peace by Mindy and Brandon Withrow via Christian Focus Publications pg. 25-26

Fascinating… I always thought that it was illegal to worship Jesus in ancient Rome… like the pagans had a problem with this Christianity thing. This is not the case. It was the refusal to worship other gods that so infuriated the world of the day.

Interesting… this seems true in our 21st century world today as it was in ancient Rome… worshiping or following Jesus isn’t the problem or the issue. The rub is the refusal to worship “other gods”. Wow…

What “other gods” do we worship in 21st century America?

  • Money
  • Security
  • National pride
  • Freedom
  • Comfort
  • Entitlement

Any others?

Calvin Wonders about the Mystery of Santa Claus (and God)

December 15, 2011 in Thoughts 0

A sense of mystery is built in to many parts of our “secular” culture (i.e. Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy). Do we wonder where we get that mystery?

Perhaps its built in to the hearts of human beings…

Be Careful Who You Hate

October 1, 2011 in Personal, Thoughts 2

Recently someone made a comment to me about flying on a plane: “Don’t get on the plane if there is an Arab onboard.” This comment initially bothered me, and still bothers me. Maybe because I know how prejudiced it is as well as ignorant. I find it frustrating that we (Americans) seem to have marginalized and blamed an entire people group (Muslims) on the basis and actions of 19 people who did a horrific act on 9-11-01. Granted, I realize that these 19 men had an organization behind them, and the attacks against civilians and innocent lives was atrocious.

Still, I find it ridiculous and wrong to subjugate any and all Muslims to this terrible, terrorist group.

As a Christian (a follower of Jesus), I don’t want to be associated the likes of fundamentalist, militant Christianity, either, but our seemingly American tendency is to lump a whole continuum of people into one ideology (however extreme the edges might be). There are people who follow Jesus who are hopeful of an end to religious extremism and anticipate a day when we all as humans learn to respect and appreciate the diversity and uniqueness of each person, people group, culture, ethnicity, and country of origin.

I think Jesus called this the “kingdom of heaven” in Matthew.

Just so you, there were many different nationalities present on my recent flight on 9-11-11. And it was a smooth and uneventful flight.

Stuck In My Ways

September 30, 2011 in Personal, Thoughts 0

It’s been brought to my attention recently that I’m getting stuck in my ways (patterns, thinking, etc.). I have 8+ years of full-time experience, I know what I am doing. I don’t need to read or listen to what other people are doing. I still experiment and try new things, but only to the comfort level I deem is comfortable for me. Part of it is I am managing my time and ability to pull off various things or initiatives. But that’s no excuse.

With our introduction and proliferation of small group ministry in the middle school youth environment, I’ve been seeking wisdom because “I didn’t know.” I pulled youth ministry text books off my shelf, dusted them off, and started re-reading them. Woah! What I critiqued and shelved years ago are still relevant and true today (seemingly more relevant now for me than it was years ago). I’m learning that they “experience” I have helps me learn more because there’s more raw material to work with. It’s like I’m re-learning youth ministry all over again. It’s humbling because I should know this stuff and be on the road to mastering it, right?! I need to always be learning…

The Essence of Human Nature

September 23, 2011 in Laughs, Thoughts 0

I like to frontload rules and expectations with students to stave off, on the front-end, any negative or unwanted behavior. Generally, it works. There is this thing called “human nature,” however, that gets in the way!

One of the rules we have to mention at the beginning of a lock-in is to not blow out the pilot lights on the gas stove in the kitchen. We have to talk about this because the students think they are doing the church a favor by blowing it out for us! However, mentioning this random rule causes the students to be really curious about a behavior they might have been unaware of before… tricky line in communicating rules and when not to communicate rules…

HT Z

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