today i am heading out into eastern kentucky with 44 youth and young adults to work with asp (appalachia service project) as part of our senior high mission experience. i don't expect to have wi-fi access at camp, so i'm putting in this twitter feed. i am confident in verizon to give me enough service to give updates via twitter. stop in regularly or subscribe to my twitter updates for your cell phone.
this week are are in vbs week. it is kinda standard the last few years for me to work with the 5th & 6th graders. we try to be more 'big kid' like so that this group isn't feeling so old for vbs. like last year, we are a test church for next years cokesbury/abingdon curriculum. the theme/title is called camp edge. being a camping kinda guy i like the theme, it's a piece of cake to work with decorations wise. our room is in a state of construction so we are sorta minimal in decor, but the rest of the place is off the hook.
the curriculum is still in development, so i won't say it's great or not great. i have liked the daily teaching stuff pretty well, we adapt most of it to fit our schedule and age group as we see it. we have been doing a lot of initiative game stuff that requires rope and other outdoor elements to help keep it moving. i really like the music, it has a good energy and some cool dance stuff (that i cannot do, but the youth can). plus there is a good component of sign language, which i like as well.
i'm starting to post pictures at our youth flickr site from this week. check it out i will keep posting them as i can. i know many folks will be wanting ideas for their vbs next year.
i have now been in hendersonville for three years. in those times we have started a family, made many friends and gotten to know many great people. but being an implant into a small town atmosphere has its interesting moments. like this
i'm walking the children's hallways one day and i see this little girl whom i see with her parents in my sunday school class every week. i say hello to the child and the teacher proceeds to tell me "do you know who this is?" and before i can even respond "this is hank thompson's grandchild." this confused me.. this is addison, amanda & john's little girl.. then i remember, hank is amanda's dad, who just happens to be the ex-mayor of hendersonville. he was the family member with the name and long standing member of my church, i just knew the family a little backwards from everyone else apparently.
hank passed away on sunday. like others of our hendersonville cloud of witnesses that have passed away in my three years time, i am still capturing who these people have been. i really only knew him as the dad to amanda. but as i found out through the last two days spending some 16 hours conversing with people touched by this man & seeing the full family in resolve & grief i know this new witness a whole lot more..
so other than working our vacation bible school (another posting). i was playing a different role mixing that 'do all things needed for ministry' to a job and doing all things for your friends. services were yesterday & today (visitaion & service). i never planned on ushering some 700 people (over 1000 in all) through the pews of our church in a maze i likened to an amusement park ride line. staying hours and hours later than a planned day, just to be a presence. standing holding seats, handing out bulletins, grabbing water, moving flowers, giving pats on the back, crying and laughing.
i grieved for the family & have prayed for them for over a year now, these last two days though have given me a little more clarity as to who was in my prayers and why our cloud of witnesses becomes a little more colorful.
but as son lance mentioned via
“He did not talk a lot about his faith because he didn’t feel like he had to,” Lance Thompson said. “He lived it out.”
i think hank will find a friend in saint francis.
last spring jay & and a crew of us teamed up to lead worship with brian mclaren at the festival of homiletics in an 'emergent' service. coming up with 'emergent' at 8:30 am with 1400 people was interesting to imagine. the tenets we thought up were images, participatory, and community.. the community part was manifested in our singing as our music had three musicians (jay being one of them) and each led a song. none of the songs were mainstream, but jays was one of his home brews and he's now sharing that sound and music for the song.
two of our youth put together this video. one actually started it and due to summer vacation had to pass the final cut onto another. the latest in our ministry highlight series. i think it's a bit long, but i can live with that as i think it is mostly excellent. yours truly gets to make a special appearance.
time just seems to be going everywhere but into blog posting. no biggie, just means i'm working with the youth who i am sorta paid to minister with. so for the time you can see some of the fruits of work & readings. this is my latest collection of stuff.
myself and a group of our youth are putting together these highlight videos for all the overarching ministries of our church. one video highlight gets show each sunday through the summer. this past sunday was our youth min sunday. it's kinda hard to capture everything that we are in a 3 min video, but i'm kinda happy with this one, plus its different than the other videos we've been doing so far.
just a myriad of links from odd stuff i've have on tab in the browser.
i am uploading some photos from annual conference. most of the photos are from the ordination service. i tried capturing some friends in ministry or folks i just know well enough that they won't be freaked out that i'm taking their picture. other photos were more random & some were taken by my friend mike who happens to like the stained glass at the church.
our youth this past weekend engaged in conversation over what it would take to lead through the changing culture. these are their notes.
FRESH Happenings
Leaders of Change- What should a leader look like?
Integrity- act because it is the right thing to do
Trustworthy/Trusting- no control issues
Open-minded- equality, nonjudgmental, remember that we are all God’s children and we are all valuable
Mutual Respect
Fearless- courage, takes on challenges, brave
Good Communication
Listening- values all input
Vision- plan, set goals, be in motion
Confidence with Humility- confident but not arrogant
Optimistic- positive, hopeful
Inspirational
Passion- enjoy what you are doing
Teamwork- cooperative
Service- leading by example, knows when to follow and when to lead
Unity- everyone works together, common goals
Knowledge- understanding, research
Embracing Change-What sets United Methodists apart?
Bigger Picture- faith, trust, hope
Actions- compassion, inclusiveness, attempt new things
Acceptance- open-minded
Risk Taking- faith, acceptance of results, responsibility, confidence
Same Emotions but Different Reactions- peace, hope, life changing, strength from struggles
Support- God, church members, youth groups, pastors
Miracles/Blessings- seeing the world through different eyes
Prayer/Bible
Motives- acting for others and not for self
Conflict Resolution
Being An Example- actions, grace, love, stories
Presence and Energy- being there, support
Shared Experience- witnessing, guidance, sharing is caring
Forgiveness- love, live by example, progress, lets go of negative energy
Community- connections, support system
Encouragement- support, sharing
Sharing of Strengths- new ways of communicating, art, music
Having and Holding Faith- provide healing time
Hakuna Matata- worry free lifeTransformation- What calls to us?
Issues- teen pregnancy, eating disorders, addiction, suicide, over indulgence, pornography, Instant gratification
Spiritual Depth- touching God, sharing God’s love, worship, hands on, ideas, creativeness
Wastefulness and Indulgence- recycling
Small Things Big Effects- volunteer
Bring Passion- make changes in issues that excite you
Raising Funds and Awareness
Be Role Models- not just to younger people but also adults
Be Selfless- passion for helping others, think about others, no selfish thoughts
Discipleship
Involvement
Become Someone’s Hero- share time and experiences, smile at someone
War- be peace makers
Be A Childlike Teacher- learn how to play again, children at heart
a pretty extensive list.. what do you think. btw meet our new ccym leader for the next year. it's a good looking group.
hey, back at annual conference. was a bit late and got in for the middle of the financial report. so my running thoughts through the day.
after reflections. things got kinda busy so hard time to post
i'm keeping a running tab on my thoughts and opinions from annual conference.. they are my thoughts and come through my lens of being part of this family. take issue with them or agree.
evening highlights
so it is wednesday and it is our 2nd day of out and about work. i am the set driver for the saint andrews mission/urban ministry center. it's pretty darn cool. it is a dead methodist church in urban chattanooga that has been brought to life partnering with all kinds of immigrant congregations, community college, after-school programs, and more.. it is wonderful.
mike the pastor who heads it all up is a mutual friend from working with youth03 & youth07.
one thing i like about the place. wi-fi.. i have been able to upload pictures and send out email updates. check out our growing camp lookout service week flickr set.
today we are on our way to camp for our junior high service week. i hope to post for some of you interested parties. but since posting might be at a minimum you can follow the twitter updates.
today, friday, was my friend and cohort beth's last day at the conference office as conference youth director. i've been too busy to think about it this week. but when i got home there was an email.
Hey Gang,
This is it, my last message to you... Our new CCYM has made the commitment to carry on – so I hope you will look forward to what the future will hold. Your local churches are blessed by your presence as I have been over the years. I can be reached anytime you need me...
i'm bummed.. come monday, there will be these continuing moments of absence. change is okay, i can handle that, but the means and spirit of these things and manipulative nature still cuts deep. i have tried to keep a high road in all this, but i don't know how long that will last.. shall i just walk away. do my own thing. i don't know
so i've been a little busy these last two days with a short week i suppose. we are also in the midst of holding some town hall type meet ups with our youth and youth leaders to share and discuss restructure for our upcoming year in youth ministry... so blogging has come second.. well last really.
getting back on track, here are some significant links for the week.
for those of you in and around hendersonville area & take a lot of photos. i wanted to invite you over to an evening with don mcpeak. don is a professional photographer of a different sort. he is passionate about action imagery. he works with belmont, tsu, sumner schools, and others. from what he told me he had a thumb print on a march madness issue of sports illustrated. since i don't get sports illustrated i cannot confirm this, but i trust him. &:~D
come by our 3rd floor lounge area at 6:30pm sunday june 1st and 8th. don will be going over the aspects of good and poor action shots. some technical aspects and some play time. so bring your camera for some good fun and learning so you can catch all those fine moments during a fabulous summer.
a run down on semi-interesting things
for your review
where do we get this time to work on the internet?
Connecting with the Spiritual Interest of Non-Religious People
A Conversation among Christian Leaders in Middle Tennessee
(Facilitated by author/speaker, Jim Palmer)
~
June 13, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
First United Methodist Church, Hendersonville, TN
The way many people process life and matters of ultimate reality have changed, and represent an increasing number of people in Middle Tennessee. Here's a sampling of those changes…
God Peace, Doctrine Truth, Christianity
Christ, Blue
Green, Church Community, Worship Centers Coffee Shops, Holiness Compassion, PC Mac, Conversation,
TeachingMembership Friendship, Functionality
Beauty, Books
BlogsKnowledge Freedom, Answers Questions, Religion
Spirituality, Doing BeingStyle Substance, Outreach Missional, Plastic Digital, Heaven
EarthExclusive Universal, Certainty Wonder, Consumerism
Activism, Polished RealExcellence Authenticity, Programs Doing Life, Homogeny Diversity
Orthodoxy Love, Accountability Acceptance
The working question for June 13 is: What does this change mean, and how do I and my faith community respond?
~~
About Jim Palmer: After
receiving his M.Div. from TEDS, serving on staff at Willow
Creek Church,
and planting/pastoring a non-denom church for six years, Jim left professional
ministry and immersed himself in a world of non-religious people. As an author,
he has been chronicling his journey out of organized religion: Divine Nobodies: Shedding Religion to Find
God (and the unlikely people who help you) and Wide Open Spaces: Beyond Paint-by-Number Christianity. Jim's new
book will be out the end of 2008. Through trial and error, Jim pioneered a form
of church for non-religious people, which functions as a social network in the Nashville
area.
Two groups have increasing contacted Jim through his writing:
people interested in knowing God but turned off by organized religion, and
people in ministry who desire to connect with them. The half-day gathering
on June 13 is meant to stimulate conversation among pastors, church
planters, church staff, and key volunteers around the topic of how churches
can better relate to people who want to know God but currently wouldn't
consider the idea of "going to church."
Jim and friends will share and guide our conversation and interaction for the
gathering. Each participant will receive two
free books: Divine Nobodies by Jim Palmer, and Authentic Relationships
by Wayne Jacobsen. A light lunch will be offered. The cost is a $50
minimum donation. Because the gathering is designed to be interactive,
participation is limited to the first 25
people. Please register by email before
June 1 by contacting Jim at: jim@divinenobodies.com
Each participant will be given preparatory assignments, and a dedicated Internet forum will be
utilized for participants before and after the June 13 gathering. For
directions to the gathering, go to www.hfumc.org (contact me for more church info)
so some things to look at when you have free time like so many of us. i need to send out tips for some of these.. i just don't know who. so apologies for not giving appropriate props today. i still love and appreciate you for being so wonderful
this is a letter i have sent off to a number of fellow youth ministers and interested parties. it's been quiet, but this a continuation of the recent firing changes of two our most functional and successful parts to the tennessee conference ministries of the united methodist church.
Hi all,
hate to leave a short notice alert for a meeting. but tomorrow has possibility to be a big day in the world of youth ministries.
In the afternoon the camping committee is meeting (at the conference office) to discuss the future of camping ministries in the aftermath of the dissolving of the program positions as they were. As it looks, there will be a rubber stamp to have Dickie Hinton, who is program director at Beersheba, function as director over all camping. The second point of business is summer camp at Cedar Crest. There is a real lack of summer staff and if canceling camp becomes the option then there are many of us that fear it would never come back. This might be the desire as some as there is a resolution going to Annual Conference to develop a task force for exploring other options for Cedar Crest. Though my participation in Cedar Crest has been minimal over the years I appreciate and know the important of camp. My own experience in childhood being spent at the methodist camp in southern New Jersey. We hired James to try and bring Cedar Crest up to speed as a camp that gives a high adventure retreat space for summer camps as well as smaller church groupings. My personal opinion, we have nickeled and dimed our way through camping ministries to get our current results. I ask for your prayers and maybe suggestions that we could bring to the table as solutions to not let summer camp die for the hundreds of youth that call it home for a summer.
at 6:30pm we will be convening the first gathering of the youth ministry for the conference since the 'listening' session a few weeks ago. This meeting, as i know, is open to interested parties to attend. As I know, I will be there and some of the CCYM as well as Loyd. The order or content of the meeting, I do not know. I hope it is a continuation of the 'listening' session where we can do some discerning and visioning of how to actually move forward. If you car not, or cannot, make the meeting pray for discernment and listening on all parts. Like I have said in the past, I am all for churches growing and reaching those who are lost/unchurched/etc. however, it is undeniable that the methods for which our trusted leadership took upon themselves to bring change have caused hurt and unrest.
thanks for all ya'lls time
shalom
-gav
buddy bill has posted to the methoblog one of those, oh snap! observations. in all the celebration about nothing but nets and selling basketballs signed by.. i forget who, i think the bishops. we apparently have forgotten our commitment to global AIDS crisis from four years ago.
i know what you are saying.. AIDS is so 2004
you are looking at some of our quorum that collected for the virtual reality viewing of a very real general conference. in the house through the night
so i've been all into the blogosphere and being the onlooker for general conference this year. so much more than in '04.. before that there really wasn't a way to keep up like today. i find this from craig to be a very good question
The General Conference is meeting under the theme of: "A Future with Hope." But, does the world or the Church (in general) really need the UMC? Is there a place in the plan and purpose of God for the UMC?
