Furtherness & Change

This has been a great couple of days. I have been at the Wesley Conference and the Everything Must Change conf. Both of which Brian McLaren is speaking at. Last night at the Wesley conference there was some amazing stuff that was deconstructed. I will post more on this later. But I was and am excited about where the Nazarene denomination is heading.

I am having some awesome conversations with the folks that I came with about what this idea of change looks like for us. Change is hard, and painful and sometimes just not fun. But we are certainly seeing the need for change in us, in our belief system and in our world.

May we be a part of that change.

NNU's 2008 Wesley Center Conference

Brian McLaren will be the keynote speaker at this years Wesley Center Conference "Furtherness: Holiness Reoriented in a Changing World." It is funny, I have already had someone tell me they won't be going because Brian is the speaker. Saddens me a little. But I know plenty of other people who will be going. So it should be fun and I am certain that I will be challenged and grow from it. Brian will also be at NNU for his "Everything Must Change" tour. The registration cost will cover both events. Sweet deal as well!! So, here is the registration info in case you are interested. Hope to see you there.

RVL

Chris and I recently went to Twin Falls, Idaho to hear Ray Vanderlaan (RVL), "That the World May Know Ministries", speak. I can only say AMAZING!!! I was once again blown away by the insight that RVL has into scripture and the context that it was written in. Once again, I walked away challenged and inspired. I am doing everything I can to go to Israel as a result of this weekend.

School

School is going to start for me next Monday. Life as I know it is going to change a lot. Having to take two classes and not really excited about that. To be honest, I am not really even sure what two classes I am taking. Guess I should get in contact with the school.

This past week

This past week has been a trying week for me. I have been excited, frustrated, sad, angry, confused, enlightened, and so much more. I have learned much about those around me and much about myself. Some good and bad in both cases.

Mostly I am being forced to ask myself some very difficult questions. What am I a part of? What is God calling me to? What is the purpose of the church? Is it fulfilling that purpose? Am I? Where is God leading our youth ministry? What steps do I need to take to fulfill that? Am I willing to take those steps? What is God doing in Baker City? Those are just a few of the questions. I wish I could say that I have come up with some answers.

I really have been feeling that something is going to explode in Baker, something good. Not just in Baker, but everywhere. I am just speaking of what I am noticing here. I really feel like we are on the brink of something. I am not exactly sure what that is, I just have the distinct impression that it is coming and that I want and need to be a part of it. I just don't know what that looks like right now. That is the frustrating and scary part.

Great! More waiting

A walk

Took a walk this afternoon after having lunch with my wife and oldest son. It was exactly what I needed. Time alone, on the local pathway, smelling the plants, trees, nature, looking at the clouds, noticing people and just everything. It was a great time to clear my head and think about my upcoming sermon, Aug 26. Was listening to Casting Crowns new album, The Altar and The Door. "What the World Needs" is an amazing song and actually quite appropriate for some of what I have been going through. What the world really needs is Jesus, not all the other stuff that we attach to Him or to the Gospel.

It was a good walk

Tony Jones in Baker City

So we hosted Tony this past Sunday. And it was an awesome day. I told Tony that he was like a birthday present to myself since this past Sunday was my birthday.

Anyway, he promised me that he would drop a couple grenades Sunday PM and he let a couple small ones go in the AM. What I found interesting was that I didn't think he dropped any. As I processed that I realized that I did not think he dropped any because I agree with him.

Not surprisingly, there were some folks that did not agree with him and in fact were hit by those grenades. What really struck me though was the fact that they are upset over the fact that we brought Tony to Baker City. Like it is a bad thing. So I try and look at it from their perspective. Still I can't get there. Because I actually think it is a good thing to listen to, read and try and understand those that I disagree with. Because I think it would force me to be a critical thinker. Guess that is a bad thing though.

We have already had a couple of people lash out, last night and this morning. I think it is going to be an interesting week.

Needless to say, Tony challenged us and made us think. I have had the opportunity to talk with several people about this as well. I was very surprised by how many people there are that are excited about what Tony brought. I just was not sure before that there were this many. I told Tony later that at least now we have a pretty good idea about who is and is not at the table.

I have to say that the best part of the weekend was getting to hang out with Tony and his brother Andrew. I almost feel bad that I took so much of their time and not many people got to hang out with them as well, almost. It was sweet getting to know these guys and form a friendship. I look forward to the continued formation of that friendship. we were even late to church Sunday night because we were hanging out at my house.

Jr. High Camp

Well, it is done. We had Jr. High Camp last week and it was great. It was also very draining. This was my first year directing the camp and really taking the front spot. It was certainly a learning process as well. I became even more certain that I want to do everything I can as a camp director to keep the chapel time from being an "emotional wave". I realize that you can't stop some of that and this has probably been a part of camping for years and years. But I will do what I can to make sure that what is going on is genuine and not just a time for students to sit and cry for the sake of crying. not sure if that is all making sense. I just don't want it to be this big emotional thing.

Today

Today has been a difficult day. Our community has lost a student. It has hit very hard and has and will continue to be painful for some time. I have been able to spend quite a bit of time with students today and I must say that I am physically and emotionally drained.

I have asked and have been asked some very difficult questions by teens. My prayer is that I won't give all the trite little answers that so many give, but instead I will journey with them through their pain and be honest in the fact that I simply cannot answer all the questions.