a long day at NYMC

*video from last year's conference replayed last night... thought it was pretty fun.

This morning's worship included a simple devotional activity and lesson from Rick Lawrence and Duffy Robbins based on the passage "taste and see that the Lord is good." What can I say? You can always count on Group Publishing for some good object lessons. They gave us packets of condiments for us to taste, including salt, pepper, vinegar, honey and Dijon mustard, taste at least 3 of them, and think through some ways it reminded us of God. Shawn (the youth leader at the Crossroads Christian Church campus in town) and I tasted the Dijon mustard, then the pepper, then the salt, and finally the honey. I was surprised to find that the pepper taste wasn't very strong, so the thought I wrote down was this: "The taste of pepper reminds me that You are more subtle than I sometimes expect You to be (even while others attack my senses); and You show me Your goodness when You make me aware that You are there." A good way to begin the day.

One of the areas I want to work on this year is helping our children and preteens transition smoothly into the youth program. My first workshop this morning addressed that specifically. "Bridging the Gap: Transitioning Kids from Children's Ministry into Youth Group" was a good, interactive workshop led by Rick Chromey. Understanding that it's "better to build a fence at the top of the cliff then to build a hospital at the bottom," we talked about starting earlier and more intentionally with our kids. With all that our preteens (5th and 6th graders) are experiencing physically, mentally, socially and spiritually, we need to think through some ways of tailoring our programming and events to respond to where they are in the development process. One thing I took away from it was the desire to find some possible ways of getting our youth small group model going (in some form) with this younger age group. With the nature of early adolescence and the onset of puberty, I think they would greatly benefit from some small, gender-specific groups with several caring adult volunteers who spent significant time investing in them.

After lunch, I went to Jana Sarti's "Creating an Intern Ministry From Start to Finish." It's funny to sit and listen to Jana talk about Saddleback's intern program, thinking about how unbelievably different it is from what we've recently started at my church. They have 15-25 interns who come from all over the world and commit to coming to Southern California for two years at a time without any compensation (by raising their own support). Don't get me wrong, I came away with tons of new ideas and helpful suggestions, but I guess I had to listen better and work a little for the take away. It also got me more excited about our summer intern this year and having a great experience where both the church and the intern come away with a win!

Finally, the worship tonight was great. I have to admit I wasn't expecting a whole lot from Kay Warren. I knew she was Rick's wife and had an outreach to orphans of the AIDS epidemic in Africa, but I can't say I knew anything else about her. Let me just say that I've read a couple of her husband's books and heard him speak at Catalyst the year before last, but she really blew me away tonight more than he ever has. It may just be where I am in my journey with God right now because it's hard to pinpoint anything new she said that I hadn't heard before (I've even used some of her illustrations in my own teaching), but as she spoke God was really working on me.

As she focused on the words "dangerously surrendered," "seriously disturbed," and "gloriously ruined," my gut was wrenching and my heart bursting. Surely not outloud, but inwardly, I have prayed the prayer she said used to pray, "Lord, ask me to do anything as long as it doesn't threaten my family... if you mess that up, the deal is off." If I pray that, I'm recognizing that God might ask risky and dangerous things, but it reveals in me a disbelief in God's goodness and a fear of the unknown/uncontrollable. He's not safe, but he is good. If he's good, why can't I trust his plan to be ultimately good for my family? My temptation is to use Amy and the kids as an excuse to play it safe... you know, for their sake. All the while the world continues on...

Part of my struggle is with the nature of youth ministry itself. It's legitimate. It's safe. It operates within structures that are legitimate and safe. As entrenched as it is, I struggle to know how to change the world from within it. Kay mentioned that the church has so often spiritualized the phrase "carry your cross" without realizing that, for Jesus, it meant being willing to actually die for something. Do I love what God loves so much that I'm willing to put my very life on the line for it (especially since God says he loves the neglected and marginalized of the world)? How do you communicate that in a youth Bible study class? As she said this, it also occurred to me that, for Jesus and his audience, the cross was also a loaded political symbol. The Romans used it as an object lesson (!) to make a statement about power, displaying the tactics and methods of how the empire would exert its will through violence, domination and control. How does this change the meaning of "take up your cross"?

I'm still struggling with all this, but I'm praying and seeking... I have confidence he'll reveal himself at the right time.