Funny things

So, I was out doing some Christmas shopping today (yes, more than a week before Christmas), and I had two experiences that made me chuckle out loud.

• The first occured in the CD section at Target. I was looking at the Wow Worship Aqua CD as a potential gift for my brother-in-law, Jimmy. As I was looking at the song list on the back of the CD, this is what I saw:

If you'll notice, for number 2. on disc 2, the song is listed as Angus Dei (translated as Cow of God). It's supposed to be Agnus Dei. I thought that was pretty funny.

• Then, when I was at the "Nature rocks...Hippy Store," (that's not the real name, but you get the gist) there was a Mother and her son looking at incense and pipe looking objects and this is what the mom said: "I don't want to give Bobby anything that encourages him to use matches." Ummm, I think you might want to worry about giving something to Bobby that encourages him TO USE DRUGS!!

Anyway, these two things made my first run at Christmas shopping more entertaining than usual.

OK, off to tutor at Martha O'Bryan.

Really feelin' like home

• So, yesterday, while I was out running 3.5 miles (I'm in training for a half marathon), three different people honked at me and waved, and they were actually people I knew. I feel like that's one of those signs that a place has become home...when you go for a relatively short run and see three people you know. It was a pretty cool feeling. Way better than the coke bottle chucking incident from the first few months I lived here (Riding My Bike).

• Walking into The Good Cup (my favorite coffee shop) and being greeted by name, or at least in that, "What's up, man?" that makes you feel like a regular also seems to indicate that this place called Williamson County is more like home now.
• OK, now for some pictures that are totally unrelated to the whole "home" theme. They're from a recent visit by my good friend Shelli Latham. These were taken at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel:

The Limits of God's Grace

The title of this post comes from an article I recently read in The Journal of Student Ministries. Here's a link to the article: The Limits of God's Grace.

So, the basic gist of the article is that Bart Campolo (author and son of Tony Campolo) refuses to believe in the God of double predestination, and refuses to believe in a God who actively wills things like rape, hurricane destruction, murder, and other evils, to take place. He gives four possible responses to evil in the world:

1. There are no spiritual forces and our lives have no greater meaning. In this case, he despairs
2. There is only one spiritual force at work in the universe and everything, including the bad stuff, happens according to its will. In this case, he despairs.
3. There are two diametrically opposed spiritual forces, and the evil force is stronger and will eventually win. In this case, he despairs.
4. There are two opposing spiritual forces, and the good (God) will utterly triumph and redeem even the evil things in the world. He says that, "In this case--and in this case alone--I rejoice and gladly pledge my allegiance to the good and loving God."

He goes on to say that he's only willing to worship God if the fourth possibility is true. Otherwise, he'd rather be sent to hell than spend eternity with a God who wills rape and murder. As you can imagine, he's taking some major heat from evangelicals...being proclaimed a heretic and said to make God in his own image.

All in all, I think it's a great article. I think it speaks to the experience of many people who are unwilling to buy into and worship a God who would be so seemingly fickle and unloving as to cause evil things to happen.

As I've asked many times before, what is it about a God of limitless Grace and Love that makes some people so nervous? What if God really does plan to redeem/save everything in the end? What if a profession of faith is more about the benefit of experiencing God's presence in our lives now and less about our eternal status before God? What do we gain by professing a God who will evil to happen? What do we gain by professing a God who will banish some to an eternity of weeping and gnashing of teeth, or at the very least fails to save some from that fate?

Read the article and let me know what you think.

National Youth Workers Convention 2006

I've just returned from the National Youth Workers Convention sponsored by Youth Specialties. i attended the Cincinnati conference with a fellow youth guy from the Williamson County area. We drove up last Thursday and arrived back to Franklin this evening (Monday). Here are some of my thoughts:

1. I was definitely in the minority as a mainline protestant, and especially as a Presbyterian. There were a lot of folks from community and Baptist churches. The evangelical lingo was prevelant in most of the workshop leaders.
   
2. If most community churches worship like we did this weekend, I can tell you that I'd leave feeling empty, and not in that, "I emptied my soul before God" kind of way. You can only call Jesus beautiful and the best thing ever so many times. There was absolutely no spoken liturgy...NONE! We sang for half an hour, heard Scripture (most of the time) and then heard a sermon/keynote presentation. Then, we might sing another song and jump around a bit and then turn around and leave. So, yeah, I think I'd have a hard time worshipping in that way every week.
3. A lot of people using the term, "my ministry." It's all about God, except I'm gonna talk like it's really about how I present God. I need to do some further reflection on why the term"my ministry" bothers me. Any help would be appreciated.
4. I was introduced to the term "Christ Follower." Check out these vidoes Christian Vs. Christ Follower at youtube for a glimpse into the difference between a Christian and a Christ Follower. You can pretty much guarantee an entire post or series of posts that parse these videos, but for now, just know that there are some presenters who never used the word Christian or Disciple, and instead talked about being a Christ Follower. Like I said, more on that later.
5. Rodger Nishioka was one of the keynote speakers/preachers. He was great, as usual. It was great to see a familiar face and have an opportunity to sit down and shoot the bull with him.
6. I heard a speaker talking about worship who said that it's important that we bring our best to worship. He said something like If you're only bringing a 5 to worship as a leader, you can't expect those in the congregation to attain a 6 or a 7. Um, what? Interesting notion about our role in worship isn't it? I tend to believe that God uses our less than perfect gifts to bring about transformation and to bless the worship of the congregation. Isn't worship about what God has done, is doing, and will do, and less about what I bring. Is it important to bring our best? Yes. Does God's ability to transform lives depend on the level of my best? Absolutely not.
   
7. Overall, I had a great time and feel enriched by this conference. I definitely came away with some good ideas and some good resources. I actually enjoy those times when I'm totally out of my element and forced to encounter thoughts and language that are different than my own.

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.

Bittersweet

So, I've been intentionally avoiding the blog for the past few days lest my emotions get the best of me and I were to write something overly incendiary. It was particularly providential that I didn't bring my computer home on Tuesday night, election night, because I saw some interviews with proponents of Amendment One (no gay marriage) that sent me through the roof. Anyway, here are some of my thoughts on the week.

• First, I'm psyched that the democrats took control of both the United States Senate and House of Representatives. Along with that comes some major excitement that we're about to have a woman serve as Speaker of the House. I can't wait to see the next State of the Union address with her back there. I'm eager to see how the democrats address the war, the economy, and various other issues.
• Second, I'm utterly disappointed in the 80% of Tennesseans who voted to introduce prejudice to our state's constitution. Yes, the amendment defining marriage as a covenant between one man and one woman passed overwhelmingly with an 80/20 majority. I'm still not sure that the semantics are entirely accurate. I mean, can only one man and one woman be married at any given time? What about all the other people who want to get married? All sarcastic academic semantic joking aside, I am deeply saddened by the injustice that's represented in such an amendment. Last night, a colleague pointed out that, with the exception of prohibition, all other amendments to the United States Constitution grant rights to people rather than taking rights away. Why is it that we're now using the constitution to limit the rights of citizens? What happened to equal protection under the law?
  
• I heard this guy giving an interview about how he and the proponents of Amendment One respected families and wanted to protect them. What a bunch of horse manure. I'm feeling my blood boil just thinking about the audacious arrogance and unbelievable insensitivity it takes to stand there and say that his definition of "family" is somehow superior to those of us who would affirm the rights of homosexuals to join together in love and form families of their own. What a punk. I could have reached through the TV and slapped him around. I'm still waiting for someone to give me a rational, well reasoned argument as to how homosexual marriage adversely affects the family life or the marriage of anybody else. Seriously, I'm waiting.
• Finally, i'm thankful to Tim Reynolds for his words last night at the Vanderbilt Presbyterian Student Fellowship worship service. He reminded us that we ought to be citizens, first, of the kingdom/city of God, and only secondarily citizens of America. He reminded us that the world will not be transformed by republicans, democrats, presidents, senators, representatives, or by the empire itself. Am I excited that we have a democrat controlled house and senate? Yes I am. Do I believe that this will bring about wide societal change and a peace that passes understanding? I do not! I place my faith in a Christ who came to break down barriers and who calls us to serve one another in peace and love. I believe that we Christians can best transform the world, not by amending the constitution of the empire, but by witnessing to the gospel of a crucified and risen savior...a gospel of reconciliation and love...a gospel of care for the poor, oppressed, and those who are case aside...a gospel that has transformed and continues to transform the world.
  

Philly Trip

Just over a week ago, I was in Philadelphia. Here are some pics from my trip. It was so great hanging out with John, Laurie, Wes, Bill, and Sarah. There is something absolutely wonderful about spending time with friends who have known you for more than a year. Thanks to all of them for being so awesome and for showing me such a good time. So, here is what we did. By the way, for some reason, I cannot use my apostrophe key without weird things happening. Thus, no contractions.

So, as I was walking through the Nashville airport, waiting for my flight, I cam across this sign overhead. I thought, "Wow, isn't that cool? They have a playground right here in the airport." I was thinking they might have a slide, some fake cars to drive, maybe even a swing or two. Nope, the picture below shows the Children's Play Area. There were two such squares of letter laiden carpet. BORING!!!


Here's Wes preparing to knock a wiffle ball over the archen wall at St. Andrews School in Middletown, DE. This wall might look familiar to fans of the movie Dead Poet's Society, as the movie was filmed there. Wes, with his huge swing, was knocking the ball over the way like Yadier Molina in game 7 of the NLCS.

Wiffle Ballo Studs


This contraption is called a Table Tap. It's 2 pitchers worth of beer in one big container. Although the tap says Bud Light, I assure you it wasn't Bud Light. It was some sort of local brew, I think. In any case, we had fun with that sitting on the table.

Here's me and my good friend, Laurie. We had a great time Sunday evening just shootin' the bull about youth ministry stuff. I have a feeling we'll be sitting around at General Assembly someday, when we're 60 years old, and still have a million things to talk about.

So, all in all, a great trip to the mid-atlantic region. My trip also included an afternoon exploring downtown Media, PA, where John and Laurie live. It's a cool place. We also played some trivia at a restaurant in Media. We didn't do so hot due to a wicked hard bonus round of questions, but we had a great time. Thanks to my good friends for good times.

Vote No on Amendment 1

I received my Williamson County voter registration card in the mail while I was in Philadelphia (more on that in a later post). In the upcoming mid-term election, I will have the opportunity to cast a no vote on a state constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. I've ranted and raved about this issue on Renderings before, but, unfortunately, the issue keeps rearing its ugly head. I simply can't understand how legislating this kind of prejudice can have such overwhelming popular support. Why do heterosexual couples get special privileges under the law of a country that proclaims "libery and justice for all?"

My good friend, Wes Goldsberry, reminded of the ridiculous argument that homosexual marriage is like someone creating counterfeit $20 bills in his basement...that somehow, gay marriage "cheapens" heterosexual marriage. Um, OK, in that analogy, the marriage of the "straight" individual is cheapened because there are more $20 bills in circulation, thus driving down the value of the authentic $20 bill. The major flaw being that if the U.S. Mint chose to shell out the same amount of $20 bills as the counterfeiter, the value of the existing $20 bills would go down as well. In this ridiculous analogy, every single marriage in the world "cheapens" the original marriage because there are more. Basically, I have yet to hear a good, rational argument as to why gay marriage should have any effect at all on existing marriages. The marriage between two people is affected by the members of the covenant, not by every other person who is in a similar covenant. Basically, even though I'm sure that this ridiculous amendment will pass by a margin of 70/30, I'm proud to say that I'll be casting a no vote, and I encourage every other Tennessee voter who reads this to do so as well.

Not really a remake

OK, so I know it's just a matter of semantics, but it's driving me crazy that the press is calling this new cinematic version of All the King's Men a "remake" of the 1949 film of the same name. It's not a remake! It's a screenplay adaptation of the pulitzer prize winning book entitled All the King's Men! There's a difference between a remake and a new adaptation of the same book. Remake, to me, implies that this new movie will be based solely on the original movie, when, in fact, that isn't what's going on. I'm afraid that some people will begin to think that All the King's Men is only a set of movies, when, in fact, it's actually an amazing book...a book whose every page is dripping with description and total mastery of the English language. Get out there and read this book. This is the time in the program when Levar Burton would say, "But don't take my word for it," and the screen would cut away to some kid telling you about their favorite book. Ah, Reading Rainbow.

Brief thoughts on a Wednesday morning

Thomas Jefferson:

I hope our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us, that the less we use our power the greater it will be.

I found this quote as I was looking for a "thought for the day" for our bulletin. It seems that we have strayed far from Jefferson's hopes for the parallel paths of wisdom and power.

On a totally unrelated note, I read in The Week this week that 61% of Americans truly believe that God wants them to be financially prosperous. Ummmm...

The coffeeshop shuffle

Whirrr, grind, clank, whizz, glug glug glug...Here I sit at Fido's coffeeshop in Hillsborough Village on a Tuesday evening. As I was waiting for my computer to boot up and for the wireless to connect, I simply looked around and watched everyone as they gave their order and did the coffeeshop shuffle. There's giving your order to the quazi-emo looking person behind the counter, you know, the one with the tattoos and at least one body piercing. The wait for whatever you ordered...this time it's just a decaf Cafe Olei for me, so the wait is short. Some people, however, stand there for the better part of 10 minutes waiting for their double mochaccino no foam double whip blah blah blah. There's the initial sprinkling with cocoa, nutmeg, sugar, whatever. The first few sips and the quick revelation that it's not quite right. The return to the counter for more sugar, cream, 2% (well, you assume it's 2 %, even though the percent sign is mostly scraped away), or other coffee additives of your choice. Then, the search for a seat. Are you a cushy booth sitter or a tall tables and chair sitter, or are you the one who sits all by yourself at the six top? Important questions to be asked and answered. Then, you either settle in to read, check e-mail, journal, blog, listen to your ipod, etc., or you slide in next to your mates who, at some point this evening, have been at various stages of the coffeeshop shuffle as well. Ah, Fido's, you truly are an experience.

Elihu the youth

Job 32:4-10

¹So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. ²Then Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became angry. He was angry at Job because he justified himself rather than God; ³he was angry also at Job's three friends because they had found no answer, though they had declared Job to be in the wrong. ⁴Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job, because they were older than he. ⁵But when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouths of these three men, he became angry.

⁶Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite answered: "I am young in years, and you are aged; therefore I was timid and afraid to declare my opinion to you. ⁷I said, 'Let days speak, and many years teach wisdom.' ⁸But truly it is the spirit in a mortal, the breath of the Almighty, that makes for understanding. ⁹It is not the old that are wise, nor the aged that understand what is right. ¹⁰Therefore I say, 'Listen to me; let me also declare my opinion.'

This text is part of the daily lectionary today. These words are spoken by Elihu after he's heard his elders give their advice to the mourning Job. I love the fact that Elihu begins by listening to the wisdom of his elders and waiting to speak until those who are supposed to have wisdom have spoken. But, in the absence of what he sees as wisdom, he decides that it's time for the voice of youth to speak up. As the youngest one present, possibly a high school youth on a committee, he becomes frustrated with both Job and his "friends," because neither side seems to be adequately repentant and neither side quite gets it right. Elihu goes on to provide what I see as a kind of middle ground between Job and the other friends. Anyway, as one who works with young people, this passage struck me as one that calls upon young people to speak up when the wisdom of the elders seems flawed.

Biff Fink

This Sunday is Jazz Sunday at Harpeth. One of our church members does some jazz workshop stuff and is bringing her friends along to share some jazz with the congregation. Anyway, last night at choir practice, we were practicing a children's sermon that tells the story of how jazz came about. It's a story about a frog who wanted to sing in a forest where only the birds sang. When he finally gets up to sing, he sings a jazz beat and everybody loves it. So, Biff Fink, our Director of Music is playing the frog. There he was last night, being totally goofy and funny and entertaining. I really do stand in awe of Biff's love for music and his willingness to do whatever it takes to get a message across. He's one of those people who's willing to let go of any need to be "composed," and yet he can turn around and be totally deep in his thoughts and meditations about Scripture, life, people, music, etc. For that, and many other reasons, I hold him in very high regard. Biff Fink is just one more reason why I love being at Harpeth.

My day off

Today was Thursday...my day off. I didn't set an alarm and woke up when I felt like it. I had a leisurely breakfast and watched some people win stuff on The Price is Right. A friend of mine in college, named Sara Stienecker, just loved game shows because they were all about people winning stuff and being happy. She took such pleasure in watching other people be happy...kind of like Stargirl, the main character of a book by the same name. Stargirl is written as a truly selfless person who is punished by her high school classmates who just can't figure her out. Tonight, at Vanderbilt Presbyterian Student Fellowship worship, Jennifer Fouse talked about being so full of the spirit that we make other people nervous...that we make people wonder if we've been drinking. I thought of Stargirl...oh, that everyone was more like Stargirl. In our prayer circle at the end of worship, people shared some really deep joys and some really deep hurts. As I stood there listening to these college student sharing all that they would lay at the feet of a loving God who sends a powerful Spirit, I wondered if I would have been as willing to share such things when I was in college...I wouldn't have. What a place of privilege to be in the midst of that circle and be asked to clear my throat and say, "Ahem, God, did you hear that? What's your plan for that? What's my role in that? Make things better, God. Bring them your comfort, God. Bring them your peace. Bring them your grace. " Yeah, to be entrusted with someone's deep pain and deep joy, that's...well, that's...that's something amazing and powerful and, dare I say it, spiritual. Oh, that we would all be willing to share our brokenness in our times of need and that the community of believers might hold the broken as God does God's amazing work. So, yeah, it was a good Thursday. Thanks be to God.

A parable...of sorts

This, um, parable was left on my desk by one of my youth last Sunday. It's got a surprise ending, so be ready. :)

One day, the devil challenged Jesus to a boxing match. Everyone placed bets on Jesus, then Satan appeared. He was muscular and 300 pounds. Everyone except one changed their bets. Fight night, Jesus wouldn't fight, then two boys inspired him to punch and once he did, Satan fell over and lost the match, and said "I was the one who bet on Jesus, so I get all your money." The End.

At first, I thought, maybe, he had heard that Carman song called The Champion (is that right?), but he definitely took it in a different direction. Is it a parable against gambling? Does he like to picture his Jesus as a boxer with white gloves, shorts, and boots? Or maybe Jesus did his boxing in his traditional off white garment. Anyway, I thought I'd throw it out there and see what everyone thinks.

I have a dream

In 1963, 200,000 people participated in a peaceful civil rights rally in Washington, D.C., where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

I found this on the New York Times website. I just thought I'd give a shout out to one of the coolest moments in United States history.

Long time no blog

Wow, this may be the longest I've gone without blogging since I started this up a couple of years ago. I've had every intention of doing so, but have been too busy, or too tired, or battling my neighbor's wireless internet. So, what has Alan Bancroft been up to. Well, here are some pictures to tell the story.

This is a picture of Weicher, Shelli, and me at Rock Spring Presbterian Church in Atlanta, GA. We brought our middle school youth groups together for a combined mission experience in urban Atlanta. It was awesome!! Watching the young people meld into one big group really warmed my heart. One of the reasons I love being Presbyterian is our emphasis on connectionalism...that the body of Christ is bigger and more powerful than one individual or even one individual congregation. This experiment in middle school mission will henceforth be called Mission Possible.

This is a picture of Wes Goldsberry (Rabboni) staring purposively at a street sign for the town of Goldsberry, MO (yes, this is a mirror image, for all of you spatially minded folks). Yes, Wes Goldsberry and Alan Bancroft made the trek from Nashville to Columbia, MO a little over a week ago. Our trip was full of meaningful discussion as well as some utterly ridiculous, but hilarious rants and raves. The day after arriving in Columbia, MO, we explored the rural countryside of the beautiful state of Missouri, including the towns of Ethel and Goldsberry, with a stop off in Kirksville, MO to admire Truman State University. As you can see below, there's a gas station in Kirksville called Kum and Go. Seriously, that's what it's called. Check it out as Wes and I stand in front of the sign.


After our adventures in Missouri, Wes headed west to Kansas City and then flew to Las Vegas. You'll have to check in with him about that, but chances are, he's gonna tell you that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

A few days after Wes left (I cried profusely), I embarked on a journey with Jeff, Samantha, and Roger to Madison, WI for the Drum Corps International World Championships where my corps, The Cavaliers, was favored to win the whole shebang. Well, after some shuffling in the top twelve, they did just that. Their performance was freaking amazing. For those of you who are into such things, you would have been in awe. I love it that The Cavaliers are always on the cutting edge of innovation and implementation all at the same time. Go Go Green Machine. Below, you'll find a picture of the Cavaliers as they prepare to win their 5th DCI championship in 7 years. Thanks to Jeff, Samantha, and Roger for providing wonderful company and letting me tag along. I should also say that, on Sunday, we had brunch with our friend, Lisa and her husband. Lisa went to junior high with me and Jeff and then moved away, but somehow, over the years, we've remained in touch. I love having friends like that.


So, I've been to Atlanta, Columbia, Ethel, Goldsberry, Kirksville, and now back to Nashville. We're gearing up for Rally Day here at Harpeth. I can't tell you how psyched I am to begin my second year of ministry here.

As somebody used to say, "See you in the funny papers."

In between

I'm currently sitting at a Panera bread store, waiting for the Green Hills Mall to be open. Who knew that the mall didn't open until 10:00 am? Ridiculous. I'm waiting to take my ipod to the Apple store. It's giving me the poopy face, you know, the one with a ipod that has x's for eyes, and I'm hoping to have it fixed. Anyway, here I sit.

I'm in between mission trips. The trip to The Duvall Home went really well. I think I'd forgotten how exhausting mission trips can be. It's such a different climate than Montreat or camp. I was really proud of the way our youth handled themselves while they were there. We encountered some difficulties along the way, and the youth of Harpeth stepped up with maturity and grace. I also owe a huge thanks to Ruth Knab, Jennifer Bent, Carrie Jones, and James Peeler for giving a week of their time to be chaperones for the trip.

Next week, I'll be in Atlanta with our middle school youth. We'll be joining up with two other churches where John Weicher and Shelli Latham are the Associate Pastors. It should be a great week.

On the road again

Yes, I'm about to leave on another trip. This time, I'll be traveling to The Duvall Home in Glenwood, FL for the Harpeth Presbyterian Church Sr. High mission trip. This will be the first time I take this group on a long trip. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit nervous. My first trip with a new group always makes me nervous. So many what ifs run through my brain:What if I forget something really important? What if I ignore a sacred ritual? What if its the worst trip ever and nobody ever comes back to youth group? What if someone gets injured? What if? What if? What if? It's times like these that I have to take a deep breath and do my best to let it go and trust that God is in control. It really has nothing to do with me, after all. But still....I worry. :)

This evening, after we load up our vans and uhaul trailer, I'm going to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie with some of the youth. Here's a picture from a year ago when I was at Montreat.

I wore that pirate hat around for an entire day, and talked like a pirate a lot, too. As you can see, I was pretty menacing with my hook. I think I forced some people to walk the plank, too. My good friend Ashley Lamar got a big kick out of looking over and seeing me work with that hat on. Ah, Ashley...what a good guy. I miss him. Anybody who's close enough to give him a hug, please give him a big one for me.

Montreat West...Friday

It's Friday night, around 1:00 am, and I should probably be climbing into bed for a much needed rest, but my brain is kind of racing, so I thought I'd finish up my week of blogging from Montreat West. First of all, here are some pictures:

This is Jeffrey, Rex, and I at the last rec event. These two guys are cool cats. Jeffrey was the music leader, and he did a fantastic job. I loved his theme song. He goes to school at Belmont, so he and I will definitely be hanging out. As for Rex, well, he's the mack I always wished I was. :)

Laurie and I...Man, where to start? I had an absolutely wonderful time hanging out with Laurie this week. She is such an intelligent, insightful, beautiful, thoughtful, fun, talented, funny, amazing woman. I don't think I realized how much I missed her until we had this chance to be with each other everyday. John Weicher, you are a lucky man. For what it's worth, I think she is gonna be one rock star of a co-director at Montreat West next summer. I am extremetly grateful to God for friends like Laurie.

Some girls from FPC Columbia, MO and Alan. These girls were part of the crew that made the trek out here from Columbia, MO, my hometown. It was so great to reconnect with some and meet some new members of the church that is so close to my heart. There's just something about making connections with people who are from your hometown. Somehow, I feel like there's a certain level of automatic understanding and respect. It's so great to see that the youth program back home is going so well. Big props to Nathan and Morgan See, and Jeff and Lori Fox for bringing them out here, and for being important adults in their lives back home.

Cindy Edwards (the keynoter) and I. This woman is absolutely amazing. She brought so much creativity to the keynotes. I guess I'll overlook the fact that she had me dressed as a woman three days out of five. :) It was a real honor and pleasure to share the stage with someone so fun and insightful. I'm hoping the youth who were here will take Cindy's words, skits, videos, and challenges back home and make a difference in the lives of those around them.

OK, I think my brain has slowed down enough for me to turn it in for the night. This was a great week at Montreat West. I feel rejuvenated and excited. I feel convicted to get off my duff and do some transformative work in my community. I feel excited about taking some youth to Memphis to help J. Herbert in his endeavors. I feel exhausted in a way that only happens at youth conferences and on mission trips. I feel nervous about preaching on Sunday. I feel gratitude for new friends that I've made. I feel inspired to get back home and cross boundaries.

And that, my friends, is all I have to say about that.

Montreat West...Thursday

Earlier today (Thursday), the Servant Squad spent some quality time exploring the theme of conflict. Some of them worked with modeling clay to sculpt their response, while some finger painted, and others wrote their own "blogs" in response to scenarios posted around the room. Nobody took advantage of the liturgical movement station.

Between last night's sermon and this morning's keynote, hopefully the youth here at Montreat West are thinking about issues of race, gender, sexuality, power, oppression, and control. J. Herbert did a fabulous job of talking about the racial injustices that are still prevalent in our society. He gave us a glimpse into his world as an African-American man, and some of it made me so sad. He talked about being painfully aware of where his hands are at all times when he's in a store, because he doesn't want to appear as if he's stealing something or getting ready to pull a weapon. This morning, Cindy encouraged us to think more seriously about the civil rights movement, and what it means to seriously engage in conversation with "the other."

The sermon last night was pretty convicting for me. As I heard J. Herbert speak, I realized that that "voice" very absent from my day to day encounters. I feel like there was a time, in seminary, and some in college, when that voice was a part of my life, but not so much now. Nor have I been intentional about speaking in that voice in my current situation. When I run, my thoughts no longer focus on the ways that I can transform the world around me or how I'm going to speak the truth to power, but instead I worry about my car payment and my house payment, and whether I have money in my account to cover them...I think about how quickly I can pay off my student loans, or when I'll be able to afford a new TV, or what I "need" at Target, or when I'm going to play golf again, or vainly, I think about how much better I'm gonna look now that I'm running every other day. Yeah...J. Herbert's words were convicting. I need to get back to the roots of questioning the status quo and speaking up for those who don't have a voice.

Why is it so easy to feel fired up about this stuff when I'm here at Montreat or when I was in seminary? What is it about "the real world" that saps away my energy from truly transforming the world around me...from living into the kingdom?