Eh...this isn't great, but I need to try to get back in the habit...

I had tried to tell myself that I would begin regular blogging this fall. This has not happened. While I would like to blame it on a busy schedule, it is more a case of laziness than anything else. Since I haven't blogged in a while, I am going to cram a few thoughts into this one post...but first....

Ok, when I was a kid, I was huge into wrestling. Yes, I even was able to go to an event in 7th grade to watch Demolition wrestle 1/2 of the Rockers (Marty Genety). Demolition had earlier injured Shawn, so only Genety could wrestle. I recently became FB friends with a guy from college who I hadn't talked to or seen in a out 11 years. We were part of the same Faith Alive group at Wartburg. He and I actually led an entire Faith alive meeting, basing it on wrestling with video clips, Bible passages, etc. It was quite impressive.

Now that I have streaming netflix, I find myself looking for things to watch. Within the last 2 months I have now watched 2 documentaries about wresting. One focused on Brett Hart, the other on was a more general wrestling documentary, with a slight focus on Jake Roberts. Both were sad. Not in the "I'm going to cry", but rather in the "oh, that is just sad" style of sadness. I loved Jake the snake growing up. Other than George the Animal Steal, he was my favorite. I also recall jake being  big into the whole "Jesus" thing. He would talk about it after a match and I even recall him speaking on one of those "Jesus Channel Shows".  To see a guy who was uber popular now living a life out of his car, addicted to drugs, and no significant relationships in his life, I felt pity on him. The Wrester is an awesome movie which appears to chronical the real life of Jake Roberts. Contrast Jake Roberts with Brett Hart. In his documentary, he talks of the significance of his relationship with his brothers and father. In the documentary he even knocks out Vince McMahon (its actually real, not fake). It seems very apparent that because of the relationship he has with his family, he is much more grounded than some of his peers.

I had a young gal ask me a couple of weeks ago what God wants from us. Well, I said, God wants us to be  in relationship with Him. Once that starts to happen, other things fall into place. When I say "fall into place" I do not mean life is hunky dory, I mean, the way we treat others, how we care for others, etc. does fall into place. We were created for relationships. No matter ones financial or success status, if we don't have some type of close relationships, we feel lost and alone. That is (I believe) a big reason Jesus came to us. God wants to know us and for us to know God. As a parent, sure I want my kid to be successful. Yes, I want them to do well. More than anything else, I want to have a relationship with them. As a parent, yes, I think about what our relationship will look like in 5 years, 10 years, etc. That is how I see God. That is what God wants, and that is what we need. What does a relationship with God look like? Well, that is another post at some point and time in the future...

A few other quick notes...

• I am excited about caucusing in a few weeks, although I am still undecided as to whom I will be caucusing for (yes, I am a Republican). (I'm also hoping I used the word "whom" correctly.)
• I am in the finals of 1 of my 4 leagues. Here's to hoping Vick has an awesome weekend!
• I get to Christmas with family starting Dec. 24th - January 2nd. Yes, I am very excited about every minute. Really. *sigh*

Have a great Christmas!

A new beginning

Change and transition. Both of these things easily raise up my anxiety level.

That being said, I LOVE change. Thanks to my non-diagnosed ADHD, I need to be working and doing several things at once. Yes, this makes it difficulut to actually finish things (I have several blog posts that I have started, but never actually finished).

Anyway, there comes a time when new leadership is needed. This isn't necessarily because the old was "bad" or not working, but it keeps things fresh, and for me, keeps it interesting. When I first heard about a "new person" being in charge, I was genuinly excited. I couldn't wait. I will admit, when I looked at his age, I got a little nervous. The reality is the person he is taking over has a lot more experience, knew the "system" better, and so was assumed to be a better fit. There were several other issues. What kind of experience did this person have and how is it going to work here? The person had never really been the go to guy at an organization as large as this one. How would they handle the spot light? Everyone and their mother would be watching closely to see how he would handle different situations. Lots of people (including myself) had a "set age" or "set amount of experience" that we wanted the new leader to have. This person didn't necesssarily fill that quota. We had also seen other organizations close by that had gone with a person this young and watch it cause conflict.

Anyway, Let me be clear. I am excited for the future. The fact that Christian Ponder is now the leader of the Vikings excites me. Yes, he is a young qb, but he appears to have the chops for the job. To be clear, Ponder is NO Tavaris Jackson (that is a good thing). I think it is great that McNabb is still around to help him out. They seemed to have transitioned well with giving control of the team to Ponder, but yet to have McNabb there to help out where needed and to share his experience and expertise with Ponder. So far, it is off to a great start. It is wonderful to see the team rally around Ponder and to watch how much better he makes the rest of the team.

While I won't say "super bowl" yet, I think the team did a great job is bringing in the right leader at the right time.

This is just one of my many issues...

12 years ago when I first began in youth ministry, I refused coffee. I HATED that everytime I went to a meeting, it was between coffee (decaf) and water. OK - except for our men's ministry meetings when we would sit outside prior to the Bible study and share some Miller Light (it was Milwaukee after all).


Anyway, it wasn't until while I was at Ewalu and visiting with different Lutheran Brotherhood and AAL groups that I began to force myself to drink coffee. At many of the meetings it was the only thing offered with their meals. I should point out that this was "church style" coffee, which meant water downed, poorly brewed, etc.
Anyway, this began my addiction to coffee.

When we moved to Decorah, my wife went and bought a coffee grinder. I will admit, my first reaction was "you spent money on a coffee grinder?" I wasn't impressed. I don't like like spending money. Then I started to use it. The aroma (yes, I used the term aroma) was awesome. taking the lid off of the grinder and smelling those beans is a very spiritual experience for me. Suddenly, not only was I a coffee drinker, but I found myself becoming a coffee snob. I found myself actually judging different types of coffee. (Whole Bean, Dunkin Donuts is my coffee of choice, btw). It is the point where if I am making coffee at home, when the coffe gets to the 4, I take it out of the coffee maker. The first cup made tastes the best. Its scientific fact.

Tragically, 2 nights ago, my wife dropped the lid on the floor. Yes, I should have put the lid back on when I was done, but it was still her that dropped it.

This means I am currently w/o a grinder. I came to work this morning w/o my mug of coffee or w/o having a couple of cups prior to coming to work. I'll admit, it doesn't feel the same. I miss the roar that grinder made and especially the smell of the ground beans.

I now have three choices laid in front of me. 1) go to Ace and pick up a new grinder. 2) Complain to my wife about not having a working grinder until she goes and gets one. 3) Suffer from withdrawl and began the process of ending my addiction.

Here are the problems with each...

1. I hate shopping. I don't know if I could pull the trigger on that purchase. I prefer to have my wife do it so I can complain about how much it cost w/o actually have spent the money myself while at the same time getting the benefit of my Dunkin Donuts coffee in the morning.
2. My wife began getting ready for school this week. For the most part, I try to keep my head down the first couple of weeks of school as she is adjusting as to not add any more stress to her life. I say "try" b/c I usually do a poor job of it. I do realize at some point I will push her off the edge. Honestly, I'm surprised I haven't yet, and it probably doesn't have to be done over a coffee grinder.
3. I can say I am going to go w/o, but the reality is I will end up just going to Java John's or Magpie that much more often and buying a cup of coffee. I do it already, and probably don't need to add to the amount I am already spending on coffee..

Anyway, such is my life..luckily this song brings me hope in a time of darkness....

 

Other quick notes...

• Just when I had quit reading or watching anything Twins related, Thome hit is 600th, which was probably the lone bright spot of being a Twins fan this year. I was going to put the video of it on here, but MLB has blocked all video of it on Youtube.
• We are in the process of hiring a new Pastor. I am both excited and very anxious about this prospect.
• Clayfire is a new website that helps with worship development. about 30 minutes into the webinar, I began to think to myself "what am I doing on here" while at the same time thinking to myself how this could really trasnform what we are doing with our contemporary (or "conemporary" as my friend Ben would say) worship service.
• Luke is officially  Jedi. After spending a week at Ewalu (which he thought was "star wars camp") he claims to have been knighted as a Jedi. I did some checking, they did talk about Jesus some too...
• I thought about actually going through and proofing this post, but that seems like a lot of work...

There will still be church...

As you may or may not know, the Rapture will be happening this Saturday. The good (?) news is that both of my pastors have told me if the Rapture does occur, that I will be leading worship Sunday morning...(yea..it kind of hurt)

I had a dog, Marty who passed away several years ago. Marty was..umm..special. My wife probably wouldn't have worried about this for him, but if you love your pet, you should probably look into this...

 

I have been reading (sort of...when I say "reading", I mean I started a book a few weeks ago and read a few pages since that first day) titled Love Wins by Rob Bell. I really like what I have read so far. It happens to be in stark contrast to a billboard I saw on the way home from Fargo (that's another story, I have to figure out if my wife is reading this or not before I talk about the trip) that had flames on it talking about the Rapture. What is bothering me is the ease that some groups have when talking about Jesus. All it ends up being is a "turn or burn" type deal. Really? That is the arguement for people to follow and become disciples of Jesus? No, excuse me...the billboard wasn't arguing that we should follow and become disciples, it was a "HEY! If you don't want to be damned, do this quick!"

I don't in anyway want to minimize Jesus death and ressurection (I think I made that clear) but at the same time, I want people to understand that there is so much more to this faith that who is in and who is out. That is what I really am liking so far about Bell's book. Plus, lets be clear, that is not our job to decide, it's God's choice.

Anyway, I am looking at real students and parents who are really struggling with a wide range of issues who need to know, that no matter what they are cared for. They also need help where they are. More than just a "Jesus loves you". They need real help from real people.

Anyway, something I have been thinking about lately. I'm leaving it here as I have a meeting to figure out a design for a new sign for the church....yea...not exactly in my job description...but hey, if it helps people hear about what is happening here, I suppose it is a good thing.

Pigs

In my "past life' as a Volunteer Coordinator/Retreat Director, I was in charge of the Annual Quilt Auction at Camp Ewalu. Part of this was having farmers donate hogs, then picking them up a couple of days before the auction and to take them to be processed.

Each year, I would hop in the 15 passenger van (no air conditioning or radio, btw), hook up the hog trailer, and pick up pigs.

During one of my trips to get pigs, I was on my way home from Jim Ludekings home, when I decided to call my brother who lives in New York. To my surprise, he sounded panicked. My parents had been out to visit him, and had gotten on a flight from NYC to come home. He asked me if I had heard anything from them. I told him no, and that they would call when their flight landed. He said "don't you have any idea what the hell is going on?" I didn't.

He proceeded to tell me. I remember having to pull the van over. I couldn't drive as Cory started to tell me the details of what was going on, and that he did know that their flight left that morning, but had no idea where they were. He told me about what the city was like at that time. He could see smoke from his office.

I hung up the phone  and got to camp as soon as I was able. Yes, I was lucky. My parents were fine. My brother was fine. My wife was fine. I was fine.

I do remember getting ready to head off to Traverse City Michigan (its where my parents flight landed), but then they were able to get a rental car and make it home.

This past Monday night I took a group of kids to the police station. The boys were most interested about the guns and other items that could cause harm. When we came home, I talked to my boys about how guns can hurt people. I told them, for the most part, we don't want to hurt people. We are called to forgive people who do us harm.

Tomorrow I will have a talk w/ Luke about how, yes, for the most part, we don't want to hurt other people. This is not one of those times. In this case, I am happy. This was a good thing.

It's late...

OK - its about midnight and I should probably be asleep. The reality is, whenever I have a lot going on at work, I tend to have difficulty sleeping as I tend to over analyze and get a wee bit paniced.  Anyway, all that means is I am currently awake, and had some thoughts I probably shouldn't write, but will anyway.

I dislike Marcus Borg. OK - that's not true, I don't know him. The reality is, I'm sure he is a fine person. I think he probably cares about people, etc. Where does my dislike come from? Honestly, from my perspective, he comes off as being Christian. In fact, that is how he presents himself. Ok, your right, who am I to judge who believes in Jesus and who doesn't. But that is the problem. I read some of his stuff and watched him on youtube, and from what I can tell, he is no Christian. Here I am, preparing for what I believe is the most important day of the Christian year (Easter) and Mr. Borg is telling Christians that you can be a Christian without believing in an actual resurrection (I'm pretty sure he doesn't). I'm not referring to having doubt. What Borg talks about is the idea that Christianity is not centered around the death and resurection of Jesus. Ugh. As Christians, that is where we are centered. All Christian churches, while we disagree on things such as sexuality issues, communion, baptism, etc., we come together when it comes to the Apostles Creed. Not to mention the fact that Paul thought it was a big deal.

If somebody doesn't want to believe in the resurrection, that is fine, don't. But please, oh please, be careful to willy nilly change the meaning of what the word Christian means. If Jesus wasn't divine and you want to focus soley on His teachings, fine, do so.... but come up w/ a different name for your religion.

As I was leaving church tonight, I began to walk by a lady. She said "where are you coming from?" Being the friendly guy I am, I said, "oh, it's Good Friday, and church just finished." She said "I KNOW what day it is..back in my day, all the churches had church together." Me - "yea, but it just doesn't work well anymore, so we do it seperately." Her - "Church looked really black tonight." (BTW - she wasn't there, she was just walking by on the street as we were finishing).  I said "What?" Her - "You heard me.". I kept walking.

Awesome.

Hey - but on the other hand, I am really excited about Easter, so that's good, right? When I say excited, I mean nervous, horrified, etc. Our worship band w/ a few youth, is playing at the 6:30 a.m. service. Other students are doing a drama. It should be really cool. I'm excited.

Anyway, I'll probably have to edit this post later, but I'll put it up for now. Have a great night!

Easter is coming...

Ok, as some of you may know, I am a very big Twins fan.  In fact, going in to this season, I had very high hopes.  Alas, in a week of games, they currently have 2 wins and are currently getting walloped by the Evil Empire.

Along those same lines, we are in the midst of lent, and it feels similar.  Granted, lent is supposed to be non-joyous time..you know, giving up stuff, not able to say alle...ia, etc.  For me, it usually means having to send out emails and phone calls begging people to make soup, serve soup, clean up soup, etc.  Its part of my job that I really don't look forward too.  Don't get me wrong, I really do enjoy the actual time visiting and serving with students and parents.  Its a great time for me to get to know people, and I really enjoy it.  What is not enjoyable is hearing from people how busy they are and how they don't have time to help.  Its not that I don't understand, its more just a frustration.  I don't get angry at anyone, it just creates more of a hassel and I feel as though I have to beg to get people to be here.

A little bit ago, I received an email from a couple of parents informing me that both of their boys have to work tomorrow night, but they would be here to help serve soup.  Is this a big deal?  Well, yes and no.  Now, I am not a part of a country club, nor do I see myself joining one. However, what I do know is that the first men's night is sort of a big deal. Typically, it has to be something pretty important for somebody to skip it. The dad from above is part of a country club, and will be here instead, serving and cleaning up soup.  I know him, and to be honest, I know it is not a huge deal for him that he is doing this, but it is to me.

Right now, in all honesty, I am sitting here thinking that Easter is coming. In our darkness, there is hope. The dad is making more than just a statement of "I want to be helpful", but rather he is also making a statement to his sons that his church, his faith, is important enough that he will prioritize it over other things in his life.

Anyway, no, the Twins season isn't over after 6 games.  Soup suppers will finish at some point and time.  And in a few weeks, we will have a chance to celebrate the resurrection.  There is hope...

Opportunity or Despair?

Video is Brook Fraser...I'm a fan...enjoy it!

For Christmas, my brother got me a red Star Trek shirt.  Until a little bit ago, I thought this was a great gift.  A little bit ago, my pastor came up to me and sad "You know the person in the red shirt always dies".  That hurts.  It hurst a lot...

On a positive, I am excited about doing a presentation a week from Saturday in Waverly about the current landscape of youth ministry and what we can do to help kids in their faith.  If you are able, come down.  If nothing else, come for the free lunch!

Fraser, Worship and Soup

So, I was listening to Pandroa (love it!) and a song came on from an artist I had never heard of and I found myself in love with it. Loved the lyrics and the sound. The song was C.S.Lewis by Brook Fraser.  Anyway, I have now officially "liked" her on facebook. If you like good music, I would recommend checking her out.

This last Sunday at church, we continued our journey into the "contemporary worship" world. Why? We, like many other congregations are trying to figure out ways to reach people who are un-churched or are members, but don't really come to church on a regular basis. Me?  I like it.  I enjoy playing the music. I enjoy singing it. I enjoy listening to it. The question is, what makes this worship "contemporary". (FYI - I am using the term "contemporary" b/c most people understand what we are talking about)  Anyway, what makes this style contemporary?  Is it the music? The format? Language used?  Space it is in? The other question is what are "sacred cows" at our worship? What are things that can't be touched or changed? I wish there were some easy answers, but there aren't. The fact that we are at least trying is a big step. We as a church need to figure out how to change "for the sake of the Gospel". We need to navigate how to change without changing our core values.  Anyway, good times...


Finally, Soup season is officially upon us.  I'm not sure how, but 6 years ago I got suckered into planning and organizing all of the suppers during Lent.  Honestly, I do enjoy them.  Ok - I don't like the planning part of it, but I really do enjoy working w/ families during the meal and giving people the opportunity to come together before worship to share a meal. If you are around, stop by between 5pm and 6pm for great soup and stay for Holden Evening Prayer after!

ELCA Youth Gathering

I'm currently at an event for the 2012 Youth Gathering in New Orleans.  Ok - so, they are currently playing Human Bingo (hence the reason I am blogging), but I have to say I am really excited about the work that is being done.  I am most impressed with the emphasis on training adults, not just for this event but for adults who work w/ youth is really great.

Oh, they are going to talk about budgeting now..need to go, will say more later :)

Twinkies

The following is an article I wrote for our church newsletter...thought I would put it here.

But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children - Deuteronomy 4: 9 - 10

In the summer of 1984, I recall going to my first ever Twins game.  To be honest, I don’t really remember much about the game itself.  The only part of the actual game itself I recall, is watching a very short and pudgy Kirby Puckett get caught stealing.  The things I remember most were asking my dad about a dozen times whether or not he remembered the tickets as we were getting in our car to leave, the awe of walking into the gigantic metrodome with what seemed like millions of people cramming their way in, and just the pure excitement of being at a professional baseball game.  Thus began my love of baseball.

It was not an accident that I now love baseball.  My dad (I would say parents, but I really don’t believe my mom is a huge baseball fan) spent time with us boys, talking about baseball, playing catch outside, sitting in our car in the garage at night during the summer so we could listen to the Twins play on WCCO 830 with Herb Carnieal and teaching us how to keep score during a game.  This was something that was important to my dad and he passed this on to me.

A few years ago, I remember the joy and excitement I had when I took Luke to his first ball game.  He didn’t really care about the game.  He was more excited about the giant bear running around and the huge bag of cotton candy that I bought him during the game.  This past summer, we were able to attend a few baseball games together, and I love the fact that he now has a love of baseball (and now believe any time we go to a game he gets a bag of cotton candy).  He likes playing catch.  He loves the Twins!  Why?  It was something that I felt passionate about and have now passed it on to him.

I’m sure all of us have stories of things we have either have passed down to us and have or want to pass down to our children.  Our faith is passed down the same way.  If it is important to you..if you not only talk about it on Sunday mornings, but live it out on a daily basis, your kids will see it, and will be more inclined to want to know more.  As great and wonderful as I am (kidding!), you as parents and grandparents are much more influential in the lives of your sons and daughters.  So when you choose to bring your kids to worship, when you choose to pray at meal times, and when you choose to pray with your children at night, it goes far beyond anything that we at First Lutheran are able to do. 

You have all received the discerning our Future Together document in the mail.  I am personally excited about this.  I am excited about looking at how we can do a better job engaging families and youth in worship, outreach, and evangelism.  While faith formation starts at home, we need to be proactive in reaching out and bringing people into First Lutheran to help them on their journey.  This may include looking at ways we need to change to help meet the needs of the people in our community.  As we continue this conversation, I pray that we, as a community of faith, can find ways to work together to help bring healing and hope to a world in need.

Ping Pong, Pancakes, and snow!

Seriously, great day so far.  With the snow and school being canceled, was able to enjoy a great morning w/ Denny and Paul Olejenzac (sp?) and a few of the sophomores.  After some great buttermilk pancakes, butterscothc and chocolate chip cookies, and fruit, we played ping pong and pool.  (I won 2 of 3 ping pong games and made a sweet shot to go 2 for 2 in pool).

One of my passions is to "connect" youth w/ other adults and it was awesome to watch Denny, Paula, and the youth interact. 

Oh, and I get to call all of this work! 

Twins, boys, and I have no idea what I am doing...

Hello blog world.  OK, so as I write this, I realize that no one will probably end up reading this post, but I needed to attempt one...

What is the purpose of this blog?  Mostly, the fact is I am a really big deal and people want to know what i am doing and thinking...ok, so that is not true at all.  I can't imagine that this blog will have one set theme to it.  Things I am most likely to blog about would be Twins baseball, my boys, Jesus, and the church (not necessarily in that order).

To Start

I Adrian Walter would like to personally thank my friend Emily Harkins for her fine creation and contribution to this blog. What a shining example she is. 

Let the Adventure Begin