Today I went to Target to buy some birthday cards for the youth group kids. On a random sidetrip (like I tend to have every time I go to Target), I started out by wandering through the toy aisles. It’s just really nice to walk down these aisles and see remnants of my own childhood (Strawberry Shortcake, Cabbage Patch Kids, My Little Pony, Lincoln Logs…). At any rate, I happened to find a really strange little toy. It was this very tiny little ostrich keychain. It caught my eye because it was an ostrich – I mean, who makes ostrich toys? I picked it up and looked at it closer and noticed the catchphrase on the package “Don’t stick your head in the sand!” Well, at that point, I had to go ahead and buy it.
“Why on earth would you want a tiny ostrich toy, Erica?” you ask. Let’s explain. I think that this toy completely lines up with some of the ongoing struggles I have had with the body of Christ lately. Go ahead and wander down this list of explanations of how I see our Body burying our little ostrich heads:
when it comes to the sins of our Christian family that we are called to hold accountable
when it comes to the sin in our own lives that we can’t own up to
when it comes to the problems in our own Body of Christ
when it comes to the world and what it will take to reach it
when it comes to those hurting and in need around us that we can’t find time/money for
when it comes to our own callings
when we know the right thing and refuse to do it because it’s just not “comfortable” or “convenient”
My list can probably go on, but you get the idea. I know I have been completely called on the carpet lately about some of the above, and it’s hard not to rail on those I come into contact with who are falling into the same pitfalls (whether purposely or accidentally). My challenge to you is simple: Don’t bury your head in the sand. Jesus never buried His head, doing everything uncomfortable and inconvenient with unabashed fervor. We are called to be like Christ. Let’s give up the ostrich game and live as we were meant to live.
Unfortunately for me, not so happy. I’m sick as a dog (though I don’t really know many dogs that have seemed this sick). I’ve spent the last month preparing for our youth trip to the Palm Terrace Assisted Living Facility by having valentine’s made (by our youth), poem cards created (by our youth), plush animals purchased, etc. But today, I had the opportunity to instead go to the church, get everything organized for the trip, drive the kids there… and then go home while all the fun parts happened. Yes, I know I’m whining. But it made me sad.
However, to turn a negative attitude in a positive direction, we had a whole load of youth show up to help, and they weren’t all our “normal,” every-Thursday attenders. It was good to see so many youth with willing hearts giving up their time on Valentine’s Day to show love to those who may not get much love any day. And it was good to know there were adults who not only love our youth, but were willing to take over the event and forgive me running off to go lay back down. So, they’re still there now, handing out plushies and poems and valentines. I’m gonna go lay back down and rest, maybe pray for them a bit, and thank God that I have the youth and leaders I have. What a great bunch of people. Yay to all ya’ll who showed up to help! You’re awesome!
The loss of life is a sad thing. The loss of a life filled with unexplored talent is a different level of sadness altogether. And as I’m sure it’s being said all over the internet, Heath Ledger was filled with talent. To lose someone who has brought so many moments of entertainment to my life is very sad. And I know many of you out there reading this think I’m being a bit melodramatic, or “how could she really care that much about an actor killing himself?” To be honest, I don’t really know how to explain it. I just know that upon hearing of his death, my heart has been gripped in a consuming sadness for both his own struggles before his death, and the loss of “life” that he brought to so many films I enjoyed.
The loss of life is a sad thing and I will miss Heath Ledger. It would be easy to spiral into a blog conversation about how this could have been prevented and how we, as Christians, should be doing everything to help others while there’s time, etc., but for this moment I just want to be quiet.
… that I need to remember when I’m feeling down. The kids today were great, the youth today were great, everyone was behaving and responding and reacting and engaging. I had kids singing and signing who normally make us happy if they even stay standing. I had youth laughing and gasping at videos. There was eye contact! I had people signing up for upcoming events who didn’t even used to come to youth group!
These are the days I remember why I love working in ministry. Yay for God and yay for people “getting it!”
So, tonight we burned some Christmas trees during youth. Not to state the obvious, but teenagers are all pyros. They are willing to burn anything they can, in any way they can, just to see what it does.
We talked about Matthew 5, you know, where it talks about how WE are the light of the world. I questioned – what kind of light are you? Are you like a blazing, burning fire or are you a pretty, little Christmas tree? Let’s see.
Christmas trees are sweet. They light up pretty, shine when you want them to, turn off when you’re tired of them, sparkle and glitter and then they’re put away for a year (or burned, if you’re a pyro like us).
Fires are dangerous. They’re wild and unpredictable, burning and shining like nothing else. They aren’t easily contained, you can’t toss a blanket over a fire to hide it, and they bring warmth and sometimes even burn.
See, I want to be a fire Christian. I want to follow Christ wildly, with His light shining out of me so bright that there’s no way I could hide it even if I tried. I want to bring warmth to cold places, light to dark shadows, and even burn if necessary. You all who know me know that I don’t think any Christians were made to sparkle and look pretty, turning their lights on when it’s convenient and putting the light away for another time.
So which one are you? Don’t really answer that – we’re all Christmas trees at least sometimes. But shouldn’t we all aim to burn with intensity?
I don’t know how many of you have ever heard of Greg Stier, but I think very highly of this man. He consistently does everything possible to not only share the gospel himself, but to train others to do the same. Sometimes the center of great controversy in the Christian world, his heart and passion never cease to amaze me. As trite as it sounds, I thank God for people like Greg.
He posted a blog recently (yesterday), which I just found to resound with my own heart so much, I wanted to put it here for you to read. I’ll copy and paste the part that I wanted to shout aloud at, but I SERIOUSLY encourage you to read the entire thing. It will challenge you and maybe even upset you. But as I tell my youth, at least you are feeling something. At least you are identifying and working through these issues in your own heart. And these are definitely things we should be thinking about and working through. So, if you have a minute (it won’t take very long to read the whole thing), then go read his blog HERE: http://www.gregstier.org/rants/why-the-world-is-not-reached-for-christ-yet.
If you don’t have time, go back and read it later, but definitely read the part I’m posting below, because it should really help you understand where my heart and my frustrations so often lie with the church at large.
“Who are the most open to the gospel? Those under the age of 18 and the poor! Who do most churches focus on reaching? Those older than 18 and the rich (or at least middle class and up!). You’ve heard the statistics. I’m sure that the vast majority of those who come to Christ do it before they are 18 years of age. And we know from 1 Corinthians 1:19-26 that the poor are much more open to the gospel than the rich. So why do so many churches focus elsewhere? In my opinion it is because that’s where the potential big time “tithers” are. If we were in the business world selling a product we would focus the majority of our efforts and money on getting the most receptive demographic to buy our product. But, in the church, we tend to spend the majority of our manpower and money on getting the least receptive audience to “buy our product.” As the President of Dare 2 Share Ministries that focuses on training teenagers to transform their friends for Jesus I’m always reminding adults of this crucial reality. Youth ministry and children’s ministry is where the action is. They may not be big time “tithers” or whatever yet but they are the most open demographic to the gospel. We must recalibrate our ministries around reaching the most receptive audiences. The young and the poor.”
And so it begins. As you should know if you’re a parent or other generally culturally-aware person, the movie The Golden Compass is coming out very, very soon. In fact, some people are touting it as this holiday’s “Narnia” movie (it’s not, by the way). It looks really, really good. The special effects look marvelous and the actors are pretty, the shooting looks fantastic… definitely looks like a must-see, especially for younger folks. And those of you out there who have watched the trailer and clicked the link (and maybe a little culturally-removed) are thinking, why the hubbub on this blog? Well, let’s learn a bit about Philip Pullman.
I don’t know the man personally, first up. I know that his books have won a LOT of big awards – Carnegie Medal, Parents’ Choice Gold Award, Whitbread Book of the Year Award (the first time a children’s book won this particular award), and the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (the world’s biggest children’s literary award). Mr. Pullman is from Oxford, England. He has an odd writing style – each day he handwrites 3 pages, no more, no less. He always ends the last sentence on the 4th page (or writes an additional sentence) so that when he begins writing the next day, the page is already “beaten.” He does not believe in writer’s block. You can sometimes tell as you read his stories where he started and ended for that particular day, as occassionally his tone changes dramatically. Not sounding very threatening yet, is he?
Here’s where the problems start. Many Christians have taken the stance that Mr. Pullman is anti-God, anti-religion, etc. And to tell the truth, he pretty much is. Hold your reactions back, there’s more. Don’t judge yet. In a big interview on his page, this is what he said:
“His Dark Materials seems to be against organised religion. Do you believe in God?
I don’t know whether there’s a God or not. Nobody does, no matter what they say. I think it’s perfectly possible to explain how the universe came about without bringing God into it, but I don’t know everything, and there may well be a God somewhere, hiding away.
Actually, if he is keeping out of sight, it’s because he’s ashamed of his followers and all the cruelty and ignorance they’re responsible for promoting in his name. If I were him, I’d want nothing to do with them.”
We won’t go into the honesty of the end of that remark, though I did find it important for people to hear it. A very honest statement for a writer to make. Many people in the spotlight try to hide their feelings about these things so as to keep their fanbase as large as possible. Mr. Pullman puts it right out there in the open. In fact, as I read the first two books in the trilogy, I had difficulty deciding exactly what his take on spiritual things were. It was truly a figuring-it-out-as-you-go experience. Things could be taken many ways. I’ve heard some Christians arguing that Mr. Pullman is attempting to subvert our young minds with his anti-God theories. Here’s his take on it, also from the same interview:
“Your books deal with many of life’s big questions? God, the church, good and evil, love? and you are not afraid to challenge your young readers. Is that a conscious aim when you sit down in front of a blank sheet of paper? Do you think children’s writing has a duty to pose difficult questions?
No. The only duty it has is best expressed in the words of Dr Johnson: “The only aim of writing is to help the reader better to enjoy life, or better to endure it.”
I know that a person’s word only goes so far. In fact, just a few years back, he was saying much stronger opinions on his own books. He was admitting his books were about killing God and undermining the basis of Christian belief.
So… now what? That’s a good question. I will be posting more about his books in the next few days, so you can better ascertain for yourself what you think about the upcoming film, the topic, etc. But here’s my stance. Be ready, because I can imagine that many will not agree with me:
I think that this film is going to be a huge triumph. I know that many schools have children reading these books for classes. I feel that even if you have a child who you refuse to take to the movie, they will either see it with friends (now or later) or will hear all about it at school. I also do not believe that anyone with true faith in Christ will allow a fictional book about a fictional land (however much it may look like our world at times) to dictate their own beliefs about God. I believe that many points that the books make are valid: that any form of religion in a dictatorial state is bad, that people cannot be forced to have faith, that free-thinking is incredibly necessary (especially if you are ever going to find Christ and form a true relationship with Him), and that good will conquer evil in the end. I feel that if you have problems with the things people are saying about the books, that you look at the areas of your life where this problem has occurred before. Often, Christians don’t like what other religions teach (or we don’t understand them), so we read and research. Many Christians disagreed with the Harry Potter books and movies due to the witchcraft element, so we look for the Christian themes we can squeeze out of them and better equate ourselves with them to be able to be in conversation. Much of Christianity did not like the Da Vinci code because it seemed to undermine religion and basic beliefs of Christ, so we made sure to read and study so that we could better converse with others about the topics and be sure about our beliefs. Why should this be different? This trilogy is going to invade our culture, no matter what (it already has, really). Why run and hide and refuse to look at this movie, these books? Watch the movie, read the books. If you truly believe that these things will influence others in their religious beliefs, then you had better be sure that you are very ready to offer a clear, opposing view to balance it all out. And be careful when you read it to not judge the author too harshly. We, as Christians, have done many terrible things in the name of Christ in the past and, if we stand on our Christian pedestal, no helpful conversations will ever occur.
And now, I sit back and wait for the hatemail. Just kidding. Don’t worry folks, I will have more info (quotes from the books, theories, etc.) to share with you shortly. I figure this is a good place to stop today though, because I know the longer the post, the less likely anyone will read it all.
Yeah, I was never a popular kid growing up… quite the opposite actually. I guess the closest I came to being popular was when I started fitting in with a really big group of kids at school – the ones that didn’t fit in anywhere else. But suddenly, I’m popular. Why, you ask? Let me tell you! My blog has absolutely skyrocketed in viewers! Thanks to all you people out there reading my stuff and sharing it with your friends. Let’s look at some stats. For all you really famous blogging people, you won’t really be impressed, but this is big news to me. Here we go:
I had 175 views in ONE DAY on Nov. 19th. I don’t think I even posted that day!
I’ve had 1,763 total views!
Just a few weeks ago, I was at 1,000 (since May) and celebrating. But in the past 7 days, I’ve had almost 700 hits.
Here’s the downer… most of the searches that lead to my site are pretty sick. Most involve sex and teens (together, not like separate searches) and some pretty gross variations. Apparently, my site has sex appeal (people just don’t know I’m bashing sexy costumes and shows like Gossip Girl until they click here). But hey, maybe something on my site will reach them, right? Maybe they’ll read something and think “Hey, she’s right. This show does pretty much suck. Why am I wasting my time with this crap?” or “Those costumes ARE pretty inappropriate.” You never know, right? Right. So, to all you visitors – hello! Leave me a comment about what brought you here or tell if what you found was good stuff. But don’t be mean… I’m a nice person.
Oh, and for all of you waiting for me to write about something you might actually care about or be entertained by, don’t fret. It’s on its way. Here are some upcoming topics, so you can be ready and eager to read when they get here:
The amazing conclusion of the national youth workers’ convention blogging (and why I didn’t blog more)
fishing is not a term I like to use for evangelism
my deep and personal experience at the Soul Shaper Retreat and beyond
and – the highly controversial topic to be: why I think Jesus-followers should be reading and watching Philip Pullman’s Dark Materials series and my own personal reflections upon finishing the book.
Well, here I am sitting in my hotel room in Atlanta at the National Youth Workers’ Convention! It’s been an interesting time so far. Here’s the run-down (who says that anymore?):
Went to the Soul Shaper Retreat. For everyone wondering how that was for me, let’s just say it was not what I expected. You think “retreat” and you think relaxing, happiness, peace, rest, etc. Right? It was a bit different than that for me. There was quiet and time and I almost couldn’t figure out what to do with myself. I even ended up grading some youth group tests at one point because my mind just fought every step of the way to slow down. I ended up spending some difficult time with God (yes, it’s not always peaceful easy feelings), but you know, I needed it. People say “Was it really worth the $260 you spent on it?” And my reply has been every time – “Yes, because the time I spent with God there, the things I worked through with Him, and some of the things I experienced were so necessary in my life. I would never have made time to work through some of these difficult spiritual issues in my life at home on my own, but here I was almost forced into the opportunity.” The retreat wasn’t what I wanted, but it was what I needed.
I ended up giving a ride to another retreater to the Westin hotel here in Atlanta (the retreat was about 30-45min away). Randy and I had some good get-to-know-you time. When we got here, we parted ways and I joined up with Mike, Missy, Stacey and Donna. It was kind of weird suddenly being with people I knew.
Yesterday, our first session was with Andy Stanley. I figured Ed would have been jealous, bc I know you’re a big fan, Ed. He was a really interesting guy to listen to. His talk was simple, but very pointed, and I’m sure it called a lot of people out in their jobs – “The servant is not greater than the Master. If you are the most powerful person in the room, how are you leveraging your power for the other people in the room?” He discussed groups who misuse power and the strength in humility and giving up power. It was a lesson that I think many church bodies who lead would definitely benefit from hearing. DVDs on sale, if anyone is interested.
I went to a breakout seminar with Mark Oestricher and Mark Riddle that was incredibly practical. The whole thing discussed expectations and how expectations can kill you if you aren’t aware of them. And sometimes even if you are. I thought the seminar was fantastic.
Last night was another General Session, this time with Third Day singing and our speaker was Shane Claiborne. For those of you who have never heard of him, he is someone worth looking up. I’m amazed at his free spirit and humble persona. He stood, breathed and ate some fire, did a backflip, and read the entire sermon on the mount. You could see his heart come alive as he read it, sometimes smiling, sometimes almost laughing, sometimes looking pained. When he finished reading, he announced that this was the best sermon ever preached, prayed, and sat down. A lot of people looked upset, to be honest. Here’s this guy who everyone adores and we’re all hoping to hear some amazing stories and words of wisdom, and all he did was read the Bible? Sheesh, I could do that at home. To be honest, I was even a little disappointed. I found myself feeling relieved that I didn’t talk him up with my group beforehand. But as Tic Long pointed out later, it’s true – do we really know what it says? Would we really have not only read it, but processed it at home? Don’t get me wrong, it was disappointing to miss out on Shane’s excellent self. But the words in the sermon of Jesus definitely brought questions to my own mind about our faith, where we take stands on certain topics, why do we ignore other topics, and how does our faith shape our lives? Now, I just wish I had a group to go home to for discussion of these questions!
Today, we are hearing from Phyllis Tickle and Doug Fields, among others. If you are inspired by any of these talks and would like to see a copy, let me know and I will attempt to buy a dvd for you (you can pay me back later).
Keep us in your prayers. My knee is still pretty jacked up and it’s pretty incredibly not fun to limp to the Convention center, limp through the behemoth of a building, and sit during worship when I’d rather be jumping and dancing and crazy. I keep telling myself, “At least you have a leg.” But sometimes, as selfish as it seems, I just can’t help but be sad about it.
Okay, so Georgia isn’t much of a trip from Tampa, but hey – it doesn’t need to be far to be good! Tomorrow I get to wake up, chill out a bit, then head to the Soul Shaper Retreat. I’ve never done this particular retreat thing before, but it will sure be great to have some time to reconnect with Jesus and relate with some other youth leaders. If you’re a youth leader and you’re not taking time to be with God and go to conventions and learn more (because trust me, there’s a LOT you don’t know – I used to think I knew it all, too), you are COMPLETELY missing out.
At any rate, I had a rather uneventful drive here, but I learned some things about myself in the process. Check this out:
I don’t just hum along with songs in my car, I absolutely belt them out. Today’s loudest beltings consisted of a few by Ben Folds (esp. “Wandering”) and some Jimmy Needham (esp. “For Freedom”). I also often pretend I’m holding a microphone. Which is incredibly safe while driving.
I really love the moment when you go into a car wash and that tri-color foam spray stuff completely covers your car and suddenly you can’t hear anything outside; everything gets muffled and quiet and peaceful. I always turn the music off when I’m getting a car wash because I really get car washes for those few seconds of peace, not for a cleaner car.
Oh, which also leads me to something else I learned, though not about myself. My car trunk still leaks, despite previous beliefs that it was fixed. It just no longer leaks on the left side – it now leaks in the middle. Which today happened to be where my pillow was.
Finally, the last thing I learned today is that I really enjoy post-apocalyptic storylines. Kinda weird, I know. I’m reading (by way of audiobook during my long drives) “Armageddon’s Children” by Terry Brooks, which explores the idea of a world that has been nearly destroyed by demons and once-men and details the fight put forth by the “knights of the Word” to save the remnants of humanity. I enjoyed the concepts in Stephen King’s “The Cell,” though I always hate the endings to his books – too trite, unresolved, or just badly written. I thought that the ideas put forth in movies like “28 Days Later” and “Waterworld” were really interesting. Not sure where this strange entertainment factor for me comes from.
Anyways, I’m in a rockin’ hotel room for this one night before heading to the retreat center in the morning. Just for the record, Holiday Inn Express is a much more awesome hotel than you might think. They even have jacuzzi rooms! Of course, I felt kinda weird in a heart-shaped jacuzzi. But that lasted for about 30 seconds, and I was over it.
I’ll blog again soon! Keep me in your prayers for this trip (there’s an awful lot of walking and I’m still all gimpy in the knee). And Mike and Missy as they drive up on their Greyhound Thursday night. And Stacey and her friend as they come down from New Jersey to meet us. I know God has great things planned – He’s opened a bunch of doors for us all to be here, so we’re keeping our eyes and hearts open.
PS – Random question – are you a sniffer? I went to Walmart because I forgot my hair conditioner at home, and I was sniffing new kinds to see which one I’d get. I managed to shoot hair conditioner up my nose, which luckily I was able to play off really fast before anyone actually noticed. But my nose hairs are now silky soft.
