What's New...

It's been a while. Here's what's new here:

• I have become a lazy reader. Every book I pick up is kicking my butt.
  
• I have become a lazy athlete. Played 3 hours of soccer for the first time in almost a month on Sunday...and my body hates me for it.
• After escaping the responsibility of coaching soccer for so many years, I've finally been volunteered to co-coach the summer league that Aidan & Becca play on.
• Got to lead worship on Sunday with 3 other talented musicians. Safe to say that it was the most fun I have ever had with a band since my Youth Conference days.
  
• Teaching our month long dating, relationship & sex series for our middle school and high school students. Hectic, but fascinating to see the questions being asked. Particularly by middle schoolers.
• Counting down 24 days to some much anticipated vacationing in the sun.
• Started conversations about a missions trip for our students. It's been 5+ years on the list of things to do, but it looks like this time it might just stick. Need to rally the parents & students together for a meeting now.
• Erin's almost done exams but then gears up for her practicum. That'll take life to whole new level of crazy for a few weeks.
• Got to do some prep work now for my May 1 sermon.

So...what's new with you?

Did you know...

April is sex month.

Actually, I have no idea if that's true. I'm also smart enough not to Google it. So let's just say this is unofficial for the time being.

Tonight we begin our month long series on dating, relationships and sex with our students. It's been two years since we last taught on these subjects and gauging on the questions that showed up in our "Question Box" last month, I can only guess that this series is overdue and will likely be full of surprises.

I also expect that our attendance will increase over the month. It almost always has anytime we start talking about sex.

Fooled Again...

On Friday morning I get a message from one of our elders that reads like this:

"Just curious, do you really love Justin Bieber? Cause I according to your office window you are proclaiming your love for him to the world"

I'm well aware that it's April Fools Day, so I figure he must be messing with me. And then I arrive at the church this morning and see this sign from the parking lot.

I will make it known that this sign does not hang in my office, but rather in the window of the youth room that is next to my office. This is an important fact.

I walk into the youth room to meet my students for Tangents (our Sunday morning youth class), and find that all the furniture has been piled up in the corner and the whiteboards have been scribbled on. Oh, and they set up the mini Christmas tree.

Then I unlock my office door and find this. Most of the cups have an inch or two of water in them.









It took a minute for me to notice something was askew with the books on the shelves.









Plastic wrap, defaced wall hangings, misplaced degrees, a missing mini fridge, a shrink-wrapped guitar case, a random stuffed Disney character, beach balls...this will take some time to clean up tomorrow.




And then a note led me to the church kitchen where I found my Michael Scott Office mug. I should express my personal displeasure at this since I just only recently found this mug in the staff room after months of it being MIA.

Now the culprits are currently at large.

And staying with the cowardly act, "they" have refused to accept responsibility while swearing others to secrecy.

Also, I can't help but wonder why I have keys for the lock on my office when apparently anyone who wants access can gain access.

Friday on Saturday...

Best. Version. Ever.

Thank you Stephen Colbert.

I beg your pardon...

When did playing soccer become so ruddy expensive?!?!

Aidan officially enters the U11 program next year which takes youth soccer to another level. Today was his first "try out" where they get the boys together and see where there skill level is at. Ultimately the idea is that they pick 24-36 boys to form the Select teams. The remaining players, or the players that don't choose Select got into house league, which is basically just "rec" soccer.

Aidan's already signed up for fall, which means he'll at least play rec, so this is just to determine whether he wants to, or has the skills, to play Select level. (I may be biased, but I have no doubt that he has the skills. He's got a knack for putting the ball in the net and he's got a great set of wheels on him. He doesn't have the load of tricks in his pocket that some of the hardcore kids seem to have, but he doesn't seem to need them.)

Today we show up in the pouring rain to the first of three tryouts and discover that should he make the team it's going to cost an extra $400 for the program! $400? Yes, that's on top of what we already dished out to register him!

Uh...what the what?!?! We're talking youth soccer right?

On the plus side, after the tryout today they told all the kids that they had "made the team" (it was a small group, so I'm not entirely surprised). I'm proud of him, but I just joked that he might need to start working part time to pay for it!

Apparently if he gets selected by the Whitecaps residency program in the next few years they will start covering those costs.

The things we'll do...or pay...for something we love.

In our house it's soccer. What's it in your house?

Post Youth Conference...

In our staff meeting yesterday I was highlighting our recent trip with some of our high school students to Calgary to be a part of Legacy Youth Conference put on by Ambrose University College.

I was commenting on how I could easily place this as one of the top trips I've had the pleasure of being a part of during my student ministry career. The group of students and leaders was perfect. The drive was a blast. The memories we created were priceless. There was lots of laughter. There was significant conversation. Great worship. Quality teaching. The list goes on.

After our meeting I headed downstairs and find a little card in my mailbox. I open it up and find $250 of gift cards for Best Buy. Apparently we won "Youth to the Booth"! I don't even know what that is. But I do know there is no complaining here.

After fighting the temptation to stuff the cards in my pocket (hey...I'm just being honest!) and say it was my reward for yet again giving up an entire weekend of my life to be stuck in small spaces with students , I started wondering what on earth we would spend it on.

I'm stumped. Any ideas?

Yes Please...

They...are...coming...to...Seattle...oh...my....goodness...

I will likely sound like a 13 year old Bieber fan, but I don't care. Manchester United are coming to Seattle on Wednesday, July 20th!

I missed out when United was here in 2004 because I didn't like the tickets I was given during my first phone call to Ticketmaster. And then the game sold out before I could even find a second batch of tickets.

You better believe that this date is marked on the calendar!

It's Friday...

Please tell me you've seen this video. I doubt you've made it all the way through. I know I haven't.



There's some pretty funny remakes kicking around that you need to check out.



This one is my personal favorite:

Going Mobile...

Just changed some settings around so my blog can now go mobile.  Practical?  Probably not.  But it's cool, and I'm all for that.

Recovering from a youth trip...

I spent the weekend in Calgary with 7 students and 2 of my leaders at Legacy Youth Conference. All in all it was a great weekend. Good speaker. Good music. decent food. Great memories. Lots of laughs. And now I get a couple of days off to try and recover. How do I do that?

I watch stuff like this...

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Growing...

Speaking as someone who has always been skeptical of the whole "coaching phenomenon", I think this is a great idea! (Probably because it's striking a chord in my world.)

I'm glad to see people like Marko investing more into youth workers than just "How to make your games grosser and bigger".

Wish I could be a part of it...

I'm curious...what do YOU do to grow?

Jets Meter...

Saw this on the TSN site.

I'd love to see the NHL back in Winnipeg...but only if they call the team The Jets.

Prayer (and why I quit coffee)...

I'm terrible at praying. I pray too little. I pray too weak.

I'm self-conscious when I pray. My brain slows down. My words jumble together.

Two weeks ago I made an agreement with someone that we would pray for each other (and our families) for the following week. I knew I'd have a terrible time remembering to keep at it every day. Yet, I knew I needed to do it.

So I quit coffee.

Every time I was tempted to head to the staff room to fill up the cup or to grab a Coke from the fridge I remembered to pray.

Then on the 11th day I caved and enjoyed a French Vanilla from Tim Horton's.

My prayer life...much like the rest of me... is a work in progress.

Normal Goatee...

I meet the Youth Pastor stereotype of having a goatee.

However, I do not grow it to be cool. I grow it out of necessity.

You can only be asked the question, "Where's your Youth Pastor?" so many times before your confidence is shattered.

I know you didn't ask for it, but here's some little known facts about the fur on my face that you might find interesting:

• I started growing it in July 2006 because I thought it would be a fun change of pace for someone who has rarely ever needed to shave more than twice a week. (And one of those weekly shaves was just so I could say that I shave more than once a week.)
  
• Yes, I do trim it. (Usually after someone mentions that it looks like my chin threw up.)
• Most guys see my beard as an accomplishment. Random guys comment "Nice beard" or "Cool...how long has that taken." Most females think it's gross and say mean things about it.
  
• My wife tells me that she doesn't mind it. But I think that's because it makes me look older. (Women apparently do not like being seen as old or older.)
  
• Yes, it does trap food. The worst culprits are ice cream and pie.
• I usually get a couple of comments at church each week about it. Most of those comments revolve around how to remove it from my chin.
• I do have people ask if they can touch it. Seriously...and I don't understand this one. Why?!?! But, if you must, I prefer you ask before you try and grab at it.
• My old intern Ryan used to love pulling at it to see how many hairs he could pluck out. I think he once got 5 and I may have shed tears. This is why I don't like people grabbing at my chin.
  
• Erin & Becca have placed berets in it on different occasions. They usually don't last long.
  
• It has been braided...just not properly.
• One of my students offered to make it into a dreadlock. (Yes, singular.)
  
• I got called Senor Goatee by a little girl on the Island in the Sun.
  
• I tell people it will come off as part of a fundraiser for a youth group missions trip. (Or maybe for me to attend NYWC in the fall. Maybe I could swing both...so start saving and make me an offer.)

What I do all day (part 3)...

I get a chuckle out of my students when it finally registers that I work at the church and that I'm here more than just the two nights a week that they might see me. And it's almost always followed by, "What do you do all day?"

Well, in the midst of emails, teaching prep, organizing events, Facebook (yes, it's a ministry tool!), filling out references, studying, meeting with students & leaders, picking out music for worship, cleaning up pens taped to my floor, and anything else I missed, I have few meetings that I need to be at each week.

Weekly Meetings:

• Monday Leadership - I meet with a few other pastors each Monday to watch a leadership related video or listen to a podcast. That's followed by some healthy discussion on what we're learning, how we need to improve, and how any of what we heard fits with our current ministries.
• Monday Youth Leadership - This is the newest addition, but I get together with 2 of my youth leaders who help with the teaching and we go over our upcoming teaching series, discuss the calendar and basically talk youth stuff.
• Tuesday Staff Coffee - The entire church staff hangs out and eats snacks. We all take a turn bringing something in (usually cinnamon buns from me). And every other week we end the time praying together.
• Tuesday Pastoral Staff Meeting - This is the big one. 2.5 hours of discussion about everything church related. We evaluate the past services, we look ahead to the next ones, we plan preaching schedules, we talk about door stops, we have animated conversations, we joke, we dream, we pray. We cover a lot of ground. And we're changing the loaction starting this week and I'm looking forward to that!
  
• Wednesday Youth Worship Practice - A weekly opportunity to work with the students on music as we try to prepare them to lead in upcoming Sunday services as well as just give them a place to grow in their musical abilities. Autotune made an appearance at the last one which was good for some laughs.
  
• Thursday Stand Up - We used to actually stand up at this meeting so we could keep it short. But then we added a few more elements to it, started sitting down and never changed the name. This is basically a last chance for us to go over things for the upcoming Sunday and make sure everything is in place. Songs, timing, lighting, people, announcements. We end it with some prayer time for each other and the church.

Occasional Meetings

• Board Meeting - Once a month the pastoral staff is invited to join the Board of Elders at their monthly meeting. I don't go often, but it's nice to know I have the option.
  
• Worship Practice - If I lead worship on a Sunday morning I need to be at a 3 hour rehearsal/practice on Thursday evening and then a 45 minute run through early Sunday morning.
• Youth Leaders - I hesitate to call these "meetings". We usually talk a little shop but mostly we just like to get together and have a lot of fun.

Birmingham brings joy...

I love watching Manchester United win. But I also find immense joy in watching some of the other "big" clubs lose. So I found a sense of satisfaction today when Arsenal lost the Carling Cup final to Birmingham, who have been without a trophy since 1963.

I also got a laugh after reading a headline from yesterday about how one Arsenal player wanted Cesc Fabregas, who is currently out injured, to lift the trophy when they won.

Upon reading it yesterday all I could think was, "I hope they lose".

So consider this a little PSA: It's best not to talk about who will lift the trophy until you've won it.

Thank you Birmingham for bringing me some joy today.

Whew...

These last few weeks have been a blur. When you throw sick kids into a mix of school, work, and various medical ailments and top it all off with what seems to me to have been 2 straight weeks of meetings, my brain is mush.

I know I'm in trouble when I actually get a night at home and I have no idea what to do with myself. I literally wander around and try to see if something sticks. Read a paragraph of a book. Watch a few minutes of a hockey game. Try to play PS3. Bother the kids. Re-read a paragraph of the same book. Pester Erin. Pick up the guitar. Nap. Play Tetris on the phone.

So today is a welcome change of pace. All 4 of us slept in. Waffles & strawberries & whip cream for brunch. Soccer highlights have been viewed (Go United!). There's only one commitment for the day which involves getting Aidan to a soccer windup at Boston Pizza. I love days like this.

So what will I do?

Blog. Taunt the snow. Try to clean up our bunker. End up playing guitar. Who knows.

The kids have currently opted for playing quietly together, so maybe I'll take advantage of this time and play a little PS3.

What I do all day (part 2)...

I have arrived twice in the last few weeks to find pens everywhere in my office. The latest one found them taped to the floor, under chairs and behind doors.

Am I bothered? Only in as much that I don't know who keeps letting them in.

If there's one place that I live up to some of the Youth Pastor stereotypes, it's my office. But here's a few things you need to know:

Office Hours
I'm in the office by 9:05 each morning after I drop my kids off at school. You'll find me here Monday through Thursday, as I get Friday's off. What time I leave depends on the day. I occasionally pick up my kids so I get to actually see them on Mondays & Wednesdays. Otherwise I usually try to get home for around 5:00pm.

Office Attire
I have a long, protracted argument for what I wear...and what I do not wear. But the basic idea is that I wear what I'm comfortable wearing, and I'm grateful that I have this privilege. (And no, I'm not comfortable wearing sweat pants.) Same thing goes for Sunday mornings. I remember a long time ago being told I should never wear sandals in the office because I might need to go on an emergency hospital visit. (That one still confuses me. Maybe hospitals have more visitation rules than I thought?) Anyway, that was the past and now I regularly wear flip flops when the weather allows.

My desk
I have a tendency to make piles. I also have an inability to understand how a filing cabinet works. This leads to semi-organized chaos. I consider it a miracle if there is one pile on my desk. As I type this there are more than 3. That is a sign that life has been crazy and I need to clean the office.


Next up: What would YOU like to know?

Dwindling Creative...

Are you less creative now than when you were younger? I know I am.



I've played guitar for 16 years. I used to keep a binder of songs was writing. Now I don't write. I think I have only ever finished 3 songs. And only 1 song in the last 5 or 6 years alone. And it was about our intern, Swarley.

I'm scared of not being as good as someone else.

I'm scared of what others will think of my music.

I'm scared of failing at it.

Book #1 (Chazown)...

Chazown
Craig Groeschel

When I look back at my college days I can remember that I had a goal. I wanted to graduate. I wanted to get into the working world. I wanted to find a church where I could start doing what I felt God was calling me to do.

It didn't happen on accident. I had to work for it. I studied, I read, I volunteered. But it was worth it because I knew what I was aiming for.

It's amazing that 10 years later I can actually be in ministry, doing what I was trained for, when I suddenly realize that a lot of the purposefulness of my life has vacated the premises. That's not to say that my calling to ministry has changed, or that I've not been doing what I was hired to do. It just means that I've become less intentional with a number of areas in my life.

I grabbed this book by Groeschel and as I started reading it became apparent that this book would be more than a superficial read. This one was going to cut into the surface.

Everyone ends up somewhere. Few people end up somewhere on purpose. That's a theme that is repeated throughout the book. This is a call for people to step out of the accidental living of their lives and to step into living out a life with some purpose. A life with vision.

Groeschel encourages you to look at past experiences, your Spiritual gifts and your core values as you try to determine what your chazown (or God-given vision) is.

As you're walked through the process via the book or subsequent website, you are encouraged to come to a place where you try to put into words what it is that you exist to do. All the while paying attention to some key areas of life that Groeschel states are important for keeping ourselves on track: our relationship with God, our relationships with others, our financial health, our physical health, and our life's work.

What this book did was open my eyes to the fact that I, in many of these areas, was not being purposeful. In addition to reading the book, I'd recommend checking out the website. It sounded a little cheesy to me at first, but after I started to try some of the tools out, I saw a lot of potential. Both for myself, and for recommending this to others.

I think many of us could benefit from some more intentionality in our life, whether it be in our relationships, our physical health, our Spiritual walks or our knowledge of stats for our Fantasy sports league.