blogging (and twittering) the NYMC

I am here at the National Youth Ministry Conference having a great time learning, talking, and processing youth ministry. I'm sorry I'm not getting to this earlier, but I've been trying to avoid the internet fees that my hotel charges to get on-line.

I'd like to make a few observations thus far (and you can also follow my twitter updates for more up-to-date microblogging):

* I'm glad I have a self-evaluation in hand that I finished earlier this week... it has helped me to set some goals for what I want to think about while I'm here, specifically summer internship program ideas, bridging the gap between our sixth-graders (and other preteens) and the youth ministry, some possible administrative improvements, and building a long-term sustainable youth ministry.

* The first general session was really good. I liked the effort at trying to set the tone for the conference as being open, accessible and conversational... the morning workshop today was a pretty good example of this. I'm wondering if I can use this reasoning to get Doug Fields to reveal his secret blog address :)

* I wasn't especially impressed with the Harris brothers speaking last night. I like what they had to say (that our students can think deeply and that they are up to the challenge of doing great things), and I really think I'll like the book once I get to read it. But last night, for some reason, I wasn't particularly engaged. (See my tweet about the devil shaking about students reading systematic theology.)

* One last thought: I've been thinking a lot about the concept of "Empire" and the way America and our culture is steeped in maintaining affluence and status, even while it can only exist at the expense of other people (see $8 hot dog video at http://www.workofthepeople.com/). This leads to thinking about Christianity as having the task of undermining and subverting that way of life. It's really hard to go to a conference, see the bigness of everything and feel connected to the broken around the world. With that said, I'm really proud of the way they featured the Compassion speaker. But at the same time, it's hard to sing the chorus we sang last night, "You're the Defender of the weak; You comfort those in need" when most of the time I'm not defending or comforting anyone but myself.

I hope to stay updated better now that I have internet. Look for me at the live SYM 100th episode podcast! And click on these links for others who are blogging NYMC and posting twitter updates!

he did what?

We started a new teaching series in Youth Sunday Morning Bible Study called, "He Did What?" It's a 4-week series on some of the miracles of Jesus. When we look at Jesus' miracles with fresh eyes, they should leave us shocked and amazed. Last week we talked about the man born blind who Jesus healed by making mud with his spit and smearing it on this guy's eyes. This week we're looking at the healing of the paralytic who was lowered by his friends through the ceiling of the house where Jesus was teaching. We'll end the series with a week on the healing at the pool and a week looking at Jesus healing the sick woman. It's good stuff... I'm excited about it.

Also, our youth t-shirts are in and ready to be picked up. Thanks Katie for the hand-drawn cityscape and Hands On Originals for the rest of the design. They look great (especially on me!). So if you ordered one (or want to purchase one of the extras) bring me your $8.

benediction

Last weekend, at our Winter Retreat in Gatlinburg, our theme was "Be the Change." It was a great time with some amazing teenagers and adults.

This was our benediction for the weekend--

"Now may you, my brothers and sisters, fall more in love with the God who wants to change the world. May your heart be consumed with the things that are important to the heart of God--love, mercy, justice, grace, compassion, generosity, deep concern, selflessness and sacrifice. May the change God wants to see in the world begin with you--that you be the change--even when it seems crazy, even when you stand alone, even when it is hard, and every chance you get. May you lift one another up, may you spur one another on, and may you annoyingly encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds (Heb. 10:24)... and may you do it with the love of God and the strength he gives. In Christ's name, Amen."

25 Random Things

There's are notes being posted on facebook, "25 Random Things," where you write 25 random things about yourself and then pass it on to 25 friends. I thought I'd go ahead and post it here, too. Enjoy!

1. My whole family is great (and there's a lot of my mom and dad in me), but my dream is that I turn out just like my grandfather, Leland Schindler.
2. I love hanging out with teenagers, I think maybe especially middle school guys (so long as there aren't any little girls around for them to impress).
3. It's been a long time since I've done some of my favorite things-- snow ski, golf, play poker, wear bowties, or study ancient Hebrew and Greek... very sad.
4. My middle name is John. I was named after my grandfather, John Claire Swinehart... another amazing man :)
5. I don't think my wife is as amused as I am that I have so many "old flames" as facebook friends (and, Cindy, no comments on "the list"!)
6. I was a student at UK when we went to three straight national championship games and won two titles ('96 & '98)... maybe I should go back to school!
7. Amy and I met in 1996 at UK (tomorrow is the 14-year anniversary of the day we met). It turned out we had several friends in common who were helpful in getting us to start dating :)
8. My favorite restaurants are Chipotle, Sonny's BBQ, Chick-fil-a, Giuseppe's, the Melting Pot, and any kind of Hibachi Japanese place (I like meat and chocolate... but not at the same time).
9. Though I played trumpet and french horn in band, I most enjoyed choral music and eventually taught myself how to play guitar.
10. I enjoy blogging (www.grabacorner.blogspot.com) and reading blogs, listening to podcasts, texting, facebook, twitter, etc.
11. As I type this, Kate is napping next to me... so sweet! I love my daughter more than I ever imagined. Truly amazing!
12. Adoption has taught me more about God than I am able to put into words. I highly recommend it :)
13. I'm usually bad at details and better at big picture stuff. (Amy does not like this feature in her husband.)
14. I love playing with the boys. Ben and Will are getting to that age now where we can do more and more fun "guy" stuff... I only wish I had more energy!
15. Not that I want more kids, but if we had another boy, I wish my wife would let me name him "Cook"... after the English name of a kid I met in China in 1997.
16. I love football. (This will be a long offseason.)
17. Though I've got some close friends, as a whole, I've never been able to replace my college "accountability group"... Shawn, Cager, Greg, Chuck (Last one on facebook is a eunuch, Chuck!)
18. With that said, I really miss Monday nights in Somerset (Poker for Jesus)
19. I love to read... but won't read fiction.
20. I watch much less tv these days, though I still carve out time to watch the Simpsons and the Colbert Report (usually on hulu.com)
21. Because Amy won't live north and I don't want to live south, we have a short list of places we would likely live: Hawaii, North Carolina, Kentucky, overseas, and Virginia (in that order... for me, at least).
22. Images are important to me (usually in the form of metaphors or stories)... they are useful for helping me think about/ understand things I have a hard time putting into words.
23. The trip to the Liberty Bowl this year was so much fun... thanks Alex and John.
24. I truly enjoy hanging out with my brothers, Rick and Brian, and wish I got to do that more. (It's funny how things change over the years, huh?)
25. Especially since so many high school classmates are on here now, I think there should be a 15-year class reunion for PHS class of '94. Any plans in the works, Emily, Jessica, or Steve?