Jesus shows up

I’ve always loved Advent.

There’s not a kid who doesn’t love Christmas. What’s not to love about presents and time off from school? But I was a kid who actually looked forward to Advent. To me, Advent was the last 10 miles on a 300 mile journey.

I loved the Advent calendars (still do) when you could open up a window and see a tiny picture or read a tiny print of scripture. I loved the Advent wreath (still do) and I always looked forward to Sundays so we could light the next candle in the wreath. I loved purple candles (even though my color blindness informed me they were blue) and the pink candle and the white candle in the middle.

http://bustedhalo.com/features/advent-calendar-2011 - Try out this online Advent calendar!

Most of all, I loved the time at the end of the day, before bedtime, when my mother would call my brother, sister and I to the living room to do our Advent devotional. I couldn’t put this idea into words then, but in reflecting back, I remember feeling a sense of transcendent peace and calm that surpassed understanding. It actually felt like I was in the presence of God.

http://www.d365.org/followingthestar/ - Here’s the online devotional we’ve been using. Yes, we gather around the iPad for our devotional time.

We’ve taken to doing Advent devotionals in our home. I don’t know if my daughters “get” Advent like I did when I was a kid, but I know that they don’t fight doing it. I think they actually like the contemplative, quiet, “settle down before bedtime” feel of our time together. It’s a part of the routine, but a part that we all seem to like.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to love Advent even more. But this year’s season of Advent has meant something more to me. And it’s because of friends I’ve never met. 

Post Christmas Magic

Some of the phrases going around about Christmas Magic 2011 are just amazing. Allana, this year’s madame-organizer, claims that we need to take it to Broadway next year (is she suggesting a theme?).  Another long-time attender suggested that we do another similar event in the Spring (yikes!). Yet another person suggested that we hire out the youth to other agencies for their waiter/waitressing needs.

I’m not sure about all of that, but suffice it to say that I thought it was truly astounding and those sentiments are shared by those who enjoyed and those who labored.

Of course, it’s important to recognize those who made it possible and to say a most genuine “thank you”! Allana Patterson, Amy Smith, Kirsten Golly, Jodi Haun and many others put in a great deal of time organizing, decorating, recruiting, acquiring and setting up.

So many, many friends (many of whom are not youth parents) spent hours of time in the kitchen chopping, simmering, cooking, baking and plating. Kim and Kaye Hutchinson are simply amazing and their donation of time, talent and treasure is priceless. And no Xmas Magic is complete without Pastor Bob fussing over soup!

The real sign that Jesus is present on campus

Back in the 1990s, a group of youth from the DFW area started a program called “See You At The Pole“. It started as ten kids gathering around the school’s flagpole prior to school for the purpose of praying for their school. From those humble beginnings, SYATP has blossomed into an international movement where thousands of kids gather to pray on the fourth Wednesday of September. SYATP now has a very slick website, merchandise, press kits and endorsements from dozens of parachurch organizations and even a few denominations (the PCUSA, along with most mainline denominations, does not endorse SYATP as of yet).

There was a time, when I was a youth minister in beautiful East Texas, that I supported SYATP more vigorously. In serving the dual role of youth minister and private school campus chaplain, I helped students (often times, reluctantly) organize a SYATP event on our school campus, while encouraging our public school students to attend the SYATP event at their school. I bought the stickers. I owned the t-shirt.

Fast forward 20 years later.

On Wednesday morning, while I was dropping my daughter off at GHS, I was reminded that it was the fourth Wednesday of September. There, at the flagpole, was a group of students (probably about 20 or so) holding hands, eyes closed, head bowed. My first thought was “oh, I didn’t get a mailing from SYATP. . .I forgot that was today.”

But then my second thought was to the group of hispanic students walking together past the homogeneous group of students at the flagpole. And the goth student who steered clear of the group completely. And the kid walking by himself, carrying backpack, band instrument, science project and extra books, with no one to help. And the kid that might be considered a “skater” kid with no backpack or books at all, as if he never took them home.

Then I started thinking about the kids I didn’t see. The band kids who came in the side entrance. The theatre kids who walk right by. And the kids, never having any exposure to organized religion, who are likely thinking to themselves “Is this what Christians do?”

SBNR

When I was in college, I had a roommate who liked to read the dictionary. Literally. He would lie in his bed and call out words from the dictionary that he had yet to come across. There was a purpose to his madness: He was attempting to prepare us for the vocabulary section of the Graduate Records Exam (the good ol’ GRE). Wasted effort on me, as I never took the GRE. However, my roommate did quite well. And now you know where I get my endearing, yet annoying, habit of the mindless acquisition and overuse of little used words.

One of those words he called out one day that stuck is the word orthopraxy, which is defined as “The belief that right action is as important as religious faith.” One has to be careful how to use this word in a Protestant setting, but I have come to adopt this word to mean that ‘what I do helps define who I am to those who know me to be Christian’. If you are practicing good orthopraxy, then you are not “saying one thing and doing another”. Keep this fabulous word in mind as we continue (assuming you’re still with me!).

Youth & The Internet

On Tuesday, September 27th, SPARK will be hosting another excellent program on Internet safety issues. The program will be from 7pm-9pm at the Old Carroll Intermediate School at 1101 N. Carroll Ave. in Southlake.

Please note that this is a program that MANY of you have asked about in the past. It’s an outstanding program, put on by a quality organization and it’s FREE. I will be attending this event and would love to have some company!

Please take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about Internet safety issues. Click on the link and/or picture for more information!

Internet Seminar-11

Exploding tires and other natural disasters

If you haven’t heard by now, here’s how the story goes.

Thirty-seven of us are returning from “One Mo Trip” at Mo Ranch. It was a GREAT weekend of play, devotion, sabbath and relationship building. We were in six vehicles (van, minivans, SUVs and my truck) and I was doing the dutiful business of “bringing up the rear” in the caravan.

Along a stretch of road between Burnett and Lampasas, one of our minivan suffered a tire blowout. If it weren’t one of our vehicles, it would have thought it was pretty spectacular. Rubber flying in every direction, pulling part of the wrap around bumper off. It was surreal, in some aspects.

The driver of the minivan did an amazing job of keeping the vehicle under control. While the tire was shredding itself down to the rim, she carefully pulled the car off the road to a safe distance away from the highway.

We successfully put on her emergency spare tire and caught up to the rest of the group in Lampasas, where we taped her bumper back on (duct tape fixes everything). We then backtracked to Coppras Cove and the Wal-Mart (not a lot of tire stores open on Labor Day!) to get a new tire. Given everything that happened (including I-35 masquarading as a parking lot from Coppras to Waco), a three-hour delay wasn’t all that bad.

Like every harrowing (or near harrowing) experience, we learned a few things:

• Thanks to an “extra” vehicle, we went from ‘having a little extra elbow room’ to ‘being able to get everyone home’. Had we been unable to replace that tire or some other catastrophic breakdown, we could have left the vehicle behind and not have to call another driver to come rescue us. Something we’ll plan for in the future.
• Communications worked reasonably well, with the technology of walkie-talkies and cell phones. The rest of the group stopped ahead of us and started looking for repair shops while we were getting tires changed.
• Communications worked too well. Before we got to the Coppras Cove Wal-Mart, a photo of the spare tire was already on the FPCGV Facebook Page. Rumors of car wrecks were up-and-down the cell phone lines, text messages, Twitter & Facebook. A well coordinated message, along with managing youth communications, is essential to get the correct news out there and prevent and/or squash rumors.
• The youth of FPCGV are fantastic! Despite lingering moments at convenience stores all over Central Texas and a short stay at Wally World, they were on great behavior. They offered to help, share food, not wander through stores and were patient when we explained everything. Did we mention that they played leap-frog on the grassy areas near the Wal-Mart parking lot? Epic.
• Sabbath is important. On Sunday afternoon, when your kids had time to swim in the river, go for a hike, play on their electronic devices, play kickball and/or just hang out, you want to know what many of them did? They enjoyed a nap. And when bedtime came each night, no one fought lights out. They just went to sleep. Let ‘em sleep in on Saturdays. Even the occasional Sunday. It’s okay. God gives gifts even while we sleep.
• Adult sponsors are awesome. They know how to play, dance, worship, sing, swim and eat like kids. All the time, keeping a watchful eye on our youth

We’re home safe from another trip. Over the summer, we logged 60+ hours of road time (I love my truck, by the way). And thanks to some great adults and youth, we’re a bit better prepared for the next one!

Taking my own advice

I have walked the halls of a High School a million times. I’ve been to more school plays, concerts, football/basketball/volleyball games, art shows and community forums than the average parent. I’ve had more mediocre to downright bad school lunches than a PTA (now called PTSA) President.

In many cases, I know the best time to call the Vice Principal. I have struck sets after the musical and even chaperoned the marching band when they’ve travelled on the road. I know that to get access, one needs to know some of the janitorial staff.

I know this, of course, because I’ve spent a lifetime in Youth Ministry. And while I’m still getting to know some personnel in our local school as well as my ministry cohort (Jodi really does know everyone!), I am on a first name basis with the school officer at a couple of Middle Schools. And while the mechanics of this particular ministry position means that I am involved in other areas of ministry, my heart is still on a High School and Middle School campus.

But never has the High School become more frightening, more mysterious, more curious and stranger than it did on Monday afternoon of this week. For the first time in my life, I felt like a stranger in a strange land when I drove up to Grapevine High School.