Space Dreaming

So the tail light issue that I had yesterday is more than a bulb so I had to take the car to my mechanic, located right by church. When that happens I don't mind so much because one thing I miss about taking public transit is the walk to and from the light rail station. It always gave me an opportunity to day dream and think about what could be in student ministry at Nativity.
As a staff we've talked about making our vision more vivid and what I thought about this morning was vision for a possible student space. On the corner of Ridgely Road and York Road they are building a Walgreens and each day I pass it I think about how awesome it would have been if that lot had been given to us, where we could build a student space.
But, regardless of where the space is located I picture a place where students can hang out all week long, where they can connect after school, do a little homework, blow off some steam. I picture a building three stories high with outdoor patios and balconies with tables and chairs. On one side are basketball courts, the other side is surrounded by grass where students can toss around a frisbee and hangout in the sun. Inside we have a theater for worship, a gymnasium for indoor fun and a mini skate park. There are rooms filled with couches, sack chairs and love seats where small groups can meet. There are rooms filled with sound, video and art equipment where students can explore their gifts and talents. This place is a community center for students where they can refuel, refresh and most important connect in an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ. That's because this place is filled with adults who want to connect and reach out to students of all backgrounds.
I don't know how it'll happen (that's up to God), but I enjoy dreaming about it, because it'll be awesome when it comes true.

Tools for Mishap

I got pulled over last night on the way home. I had a tail light out and the officer just gave me a warning...that was nice of him. So I picked up the light bulbs at the store, replaced them, but it wasn't as simple as that. Getting to the old lights were a pain because I didn't have the right tools. Not sure if the new ones work because when the sun is shining bright into your lights it's hard to tell if they are in deed on. So I'll have to wait until tonight. I don't know why but sometimes the simplest of things (like changing a light bulb) can be more difficult that big projects. And I really think it comes down to whether or not we give ourselves the right amount of time to approach a project.
There have been so many times when the simple things have just blown up in my face. It's because they can easily be taken for granted. That can happen on a weekend too. We'll go into a weekend thinking it's just your average student ministry weekend; therefore, everything should go according to plan and then chaos strikes. Batteries in your mic die, you mispronounce the easiest of names, a key piece of a game or activity was not purchased, the tech guy doesn't show up...it can get overwhelming and it gets overwhelming because it was something simple that shouldn't have happened.
What needs to be done is a checklist and an agenda. And that checklist and agenda has to be understood by the whole team, especially if the majority of your team is volunteers. A checklist reviews those things that should work and those things that are new. An agenda not only maps out the night but it holds everyone accountable to stick to a certain time frame. If you are constantly going over your allotted time it indicates that you are one not prepared or two that you haven't thought out the segment. Agendas and checklist aren't meant to be in stone but they are there to help you not overlook the simple things and find yourself frustrated because of some "Act of Satan". I can't guarantee weekend perfection but I know that when you walk into a situation (regular or not) with the right tools you can cut down on the mishaps or at least recover from them quickly.

Emotional Hurricane

I've spent much of the last couple of weekends cleaning junk out of my house and creating space. One reason is because we need to make as much room as possible for our first child, but to tell you the truth this is something we probably needed to do a while back. My wife and I have lived in our house for almost two years and we are finally getting around to hanging pictures, shelves, cleaning out closets, throwing away junk and so on.
Strangely enough I've been doing the same in my office, which has been just as much of a challenge. I think a lot of youth ministers by heart are pack rats or at least collectors. I don't know where it all started for me, but I know when it comes to certain areas of my life I hate throwing stuff out. I'll hold onto food past the expiration date (well past it), I have books from college (I studied Electronic Media), I think I even have a t-shirt from middle school. My office to me is organized, to my Pastor it looks as if a hurricane hit...what can I say, I'm a youth minister.
But, one thing I will agree with is that the state of your office/room/house reflects how you are feeling. Now, I'm not an emotional hurricane, but I will admit there are times when my office looks worse than a mess. And if I don't take the time to address the mess it will take over my life and even though I don't like doing it, I do take the time every once and a while to purge through the junk in my office. It's hard for me to go through the mess because it means facing a lot of things I have a hard time letting go of, a lot of things I just don't want to lose. But in the end I feel better, in the end when I look at my clean office, I breathe a sigh of relief. It's like our emotions, sometimes they clutter up, sometimes they are hard to let go of and often we need to address them. So what do you need to clean out?