Friends, Followers, and the weird world of Pintrest

I don't get it. I recently got invited (after some begging) to Pintrest. It is cluttered, confusing, and I have no idea how to find anything. There are just a bunch of pictures of things ranging from board games to pictures of star wars. It wouldn't be so bad, but I have no idea how it is organized or what I am supposed to do. As a person who lives his life in confusion, this seems to go beyond anything I can handle. How people spend hours upon hours doing it, I will never understand.
When I first logged in, it asked who I wanted to follow. Before I knew it, not only was I following people who are my facebook friends, but I found myself following people I didn't know because I like baseball. I un-followed them immediately because...well...it just seemed weird. And they had some really weird things "pinned". I keep getting notices that "so and so is now following you on Pintrest". I assume some notice was sent to my fb friends telling them I was on there.

It was probably un-necessary for me to join Pintrest. Between my blog, facebook, and twitter, I probably have enough ways to share what I am thinking, doing, etc. While it would seem there are plenty of ways to do such a thing, there are plenty still left out there. I'm not on foursquare, linkden, or google + (ok, I did get an account, but I really don't get it).

All of this does bring up an interesting question. What does it mean to be a follower? During a week when we are talking about following Jesus to the cross and the tomb, how do we differentiate our understanding of what it means to be a follower today vs. 2012 years ago. I can follow somebody sitting at Magpie. I can be a friend to somebody that I haven't talked for several years and probably won't have a face to face conversation with for another 10 years. So if I am sitting in a congregation and a pastor talks about following Jesus, what is s/he talking about? When we "churchy" folk talk about following Jesus, we mean living a life of service. We mean caring for our neighbor. We mean telling people about how Jesus death and resurrection changes the way we care for and treat other people. Anywhere else in the world, it means clicking a button and receiving an invitation to help somebody with their virtual garden.

Anyway, for a long time I tried to figure out how I can be with the "in" group and get on Pintrest. Now that I am there, I don't get it. It hasn't changed my life. It hasn't given me meaning. It hasn't made all of my dreams come true.

Anyway, as I continue on my journey with Pintrest, please keep me in your prayers.

 

A few other quick tidbits..

• The Easter breakfast I usually do has been hijacked by a few parents. I will admit I feel a bit slackerish, but also very relieved.
• Opening day is Good Friday. Hmm...do I stay home and listen to the Twins game or attend worship? This may very well be the lone game this season when they are in first place.
• I loved our contemporary service on Palm Sunday. Between the music, message, etc., it all flowed extremely well and it was awesome. 
• My mom tore her hamstring. The "how" isn't important. What I should do, however, is record how "nurturing" my dad is with her and show it to my wife so she better understands why I am how I am. (For example, him trying to explain to her that she should sit up and move around a little bit and how that would help her feel better).

Reminding Me (Us)

As the point person for our New Song worship, I have found myself on youtube and other media place listening to music and trying to figure out which songs to use for our worship. I came across this ditty while planning our last worship service. I really like this song.

I saw a stat the other day that said my denomination was down in membership about 5.9%. Yes, much of this has to do with the "split" in the church from 2009. At the same time, mainline protestant churches have been on the decline for quite a while. At a recent youth worker retreat, we tackeled the question about where our youth ministry was, where it is, and where it is going. Without getting into too much detail, I think it is fair to say that most of the conversation revolved around relavance. How is what we are doing relavent in peoples lives. How are we showing people that God is relavent in people's lives. I heard a sermon recently that essentially said to the congregation "you know the good news, go and share it". I don't believe this is true. As I looked around the room, I wondered, "how many people here really understand who God is and what this really means?" When I see stats like 7-8 % of people find their faith relavent in their daily life, did the people sitting in the pews get it? How are we talking to people about faith? Should we go and assume that people do understand when there has been a steep decline in not only church membership but the importance of people's faith in their lives? Does this change the way we are explaing the gospel to people?

I recently visited Wartbug College to continue preparation for the ELCA National Youth Gathering. A lot has changed on campus since I was there. For starters, there is a library. There is also a coffee shop in the library. It seems as though colleges are constantly changing. Why? Well, the demographics have changed, the way students learn has changed as well as what makes students choose one college over the other. Back in my day, there was not a widespread use of projectors, video, laptops, etc. In Luther College's new buildings, almost everyroom has its own projection system.

What has this taught me? It is not only the content we are teaching people, but also how we are passing along information. When students go to google with questions before their parents, it would appear the "how" is getting to be as important as the "what". We need to let go of "what used to be" and focus on the "what is the reality".

Why? There are students that don't really know who they are. There are students (and parents, people in their 20's, etc) who feel overwhelmed, confused, lost. There are students (and parents, people in their 20's etc) who do not understand there is a God who loves, cares for, and wants them to remeber who they are. That is our job. It means to do whatever it takes to help people remember who they are. It means meeting people where they are, not where we think they should be. It means the church need to change. (the reality is the church is constantly changing whether we like it or not, we just don't like to always acknowledge it).

Given that, the question for me is, how quickly do we push for change. Whether it be projectors in the sanctuary or the use of video in worship, it seems as though we are already behind. The new software program I am using for worship allows for "signals" to be sent to peoples iphones and ipads with things such as scripture readings. I really do struggle sitting still for any period of time beyond about 10 minutes. During worship I find myself looking around and crumpling up my bulletin. If I try to give a "talk" to my students at youth group and it goes beyond 5 - 10 minutes, I've lost them. (yes, part of it is me) but also that is NOT how students live out their lives. Heck, I had a student last night in-between drying dishes texting her bf. Even when I show a video at our senior high group, kids faces are lighting up from their cell phones. They are always connected. If we don't figure out a way to tap into that soon, we are going to fall even further behind and the 8% will drop even further.

So, how quickly do we push for change? We don't want to alienate people, but if we don't start to do something soon, I will begin to question how we "insiders" really view our faith and the impact it should have on peoples lives.

• Still bitter, but this does make me feel better
• There is hope...
• Our church is creating putting a new website. I am really excited about it!
• My favorite part of this weather is going outside and playing catch with my boys. Love it. Probably the highlight of being a dad...

Hipsters and Pretties

I recently returned from the ELCA Youth Ministry Network Gathering in New Orleans. As a "Gathering Coach" (sucker), I had to go a few days early for a training on training. Also - we were doing some planning for the youth gathering. For these first three days, all of our meals were taken care of at the hotel. I was standing in line one night to eat, and a person I have not seen in quite a while came up behind me. I wouldn't say that we were ever close friends, but we knew eachother. After a few minutes of awkwardly waiting for her to acknowledge who I am, I finally said hi. She looked up, then suddenly said "you used to be so preppy!" Ah, the power of a hair style. That and I was wearing a long sleve t-shirt with a twins t over it. When I did know her, I had short hair that kind of spiked up in front. That and I wore a lot of polo shirts. Two nights later I went out with a few friends. I was standing there listening to some people, and this gal looked up at me and said "so, your trying to be all hipster. I'm not really a fan of the hipster look, but I do like He-Man, so I'm trying to figure out if I like your shirt or not". A few of my friends even began referring to me as Sheldon. (If you don't get the reference you NEED to begin watching the Big Bang Theory)

For the past, oh, 6 months I have been getting a lot of flack for my hair style. I recall coming home one day and my mother-in-law was at my house. I told her, "Audrey, I got a hair cut today". She just said, "no you didn't". I said "yes". She just made some type of noise and continued with whatever she was doing. My new Senior pastor and I were having a conversation about our congregation. He suddenly turned to me and said "It's kind of like your hair. 1/3 hate it, 1/3 like it, and 1/3 don't care."


This past weekend a couple of mom's from my church asked if I wanted to wear a pretty. I found out this is a barrett. In fact, last night after Ash Wed. I received a text asking me if the pastor had to put a pretty in my hair prior to putting the ashes on my forehead.

Last summer I even purchased a pair of chuck taylors to wear. Why? I didn't really plan on buying any. I hadn't owened a pair since high school. I just happened to walk into a shoe store, found a pair and bought them. In addition to being mad fun of as these have now become my church shoes, the young lady who sold me the shoes also explained that I needed to wear socks that you couldn't really see. She had a tattoo and several piercings, so I wasn't going to disagree as she obviously was much cooler than I. Of course, when I asked her if they would look ok on me, she said "my mom has a pair, so you'll be just fine."

My new "look" didn't happen because of some great scheme, instead it's been a process over the past year. Last week, my wife turned to me and asked what I had going on. It was a Monday and I was wearing a pair of Khakis. Honestly? The previous Friday I didn't have any longs sleve t-shrits clean, so I went and ironed a few shirts. So, when I got up Monday, I had a couple of shirts ironed, so i put one on.


In Bible study this morning, we talked about peer preasure. We discussed wearing or doing things just to please other people or to fit in. I can't really say I have ever really "fit in". Whether it be at camp wearing my awesome and comfortable (but highly in-approrpiate) shorts, not dressing up at church, or even refusing to cut my hair.

In less than an hour, I will be getting my hair cut. The main reason? I am having trouble seeing out of my right eye as the hair is too long and I refuse to wear a pretty in public. I want it made clear right now, that it is in no way getting cut because of pressure to do so. Of course....if the question were asked whether I was refusing to cut it b/c people thought I should? Well...

A few quick notes

•  I am giving up soda (not pop) for lent
• I am proud of Luke. He went through his lunch schedule for lent and is eating peanut butter once each week instead of his favorite meal at school
• Pitchers and Catchers have reported. Twins have a legit shot at winning a very week Central division
• The David Crowder Band is no longer together. They are by far my favorite Christian group and I am going to miss them making new music.

Like a box of chocolates...

I'm trying to figure out what kind of day today is going to be. When my alarm went off this morning at 5:56 a.m., I was not excited. I was in a deep sleep and as I feel as though I had not been sleeping well, really wanted to crawl back in bed. I forced myself to get up, get dressed, and wait for my walking partner Pat. I will admit (grudgingly), when I do go for a walk early in the morning, I do feel better. Yes, part of it is the wonderful conversation that occurs, but mostly it is the being active portion of the walk. Anyway, when I got back from my walk, I made my coffee (for those of you wondering, I was able to salvage my broken coffee grinder, so that's good). My youngest son who most mornings is a complete monster woke up relatively easy this morning and at no time did I yell at him or tell him to get dressed, eat, or get his snow stuff on. It was fantastic. I have to admit, I was on a high. Boys were playing well together, Adam wasn't being...well...Adam, and we were way ahead of schedule. Then it happened.

Luke walks to school each day. As we are only 3 blocks away, he leaves each day about 5 - 10 minutes before Adam and I do. Adam on the other hand gets dropped off. Now, this seems like it should be relatviely simple. You pull up, you say goodbye, your kid gets out of the car, and you leave. Not so much. This morning, the line wasn't moving all that fast, then it came to our turn. We followed the car ahead of us, we stopped, and I told Adam goodbye, and he jumped out of the car. That should have been it. Instead, I sat there for what seemed like 10 minutes, staring at the car 2 cars ahead of where I was. I started looking around wondering what they were waiting for. Finally the back door opened and the kid got out. Ok, I thought, now we can go. No. the parent then got out an walked their kid over. I'm a parent. I understand that some days are kind of rough and a kid needs a little extra tlc. What I don't understand is why you would hold up a huge line of other parents who have things to do (like sit in a coffee house and blog). Maybe it is because I have no heart, but I am all about shoving my kid out of the car as quick as possible, in part because it is polite to the other parents and also because if Adam isn't in a "yea school!" kind of mood, an extra 3 minutes in the car isn't going to help. It's kind of like ripping off a band aid, the quicker the better.

So now, here i sit blogging, preparing myself for my annual review in less than an hour, unsure what is to come. (That and I am still a little sore from running with students from 5- 9pm yesterday)

As far as the review goes, here are a few of my thoughts. As I was filling out my official form, I began to think about all of the things that I left undone this past year. I started listing out the things I wish I had done better or (gasp!) even the few things that I even screwed up. I find it a lot easier to focus on those things that on the things that I did well. I have been a part of some really great reviews and some...well...not so great ones. When I say that, I don't mean ones that were just talking about what a great or terrible job I was doing, rather a reflection on this past year and what can be done to do better next year move forward in a positive way. I think today will probably be the latter.

Ok - a few quick thoughts, A friend of mine posted this article. The first time I heard something similar to this was from Paul Hill who essentially said the same thing while talking about how men bond and grow together. He focused on how guys like to compete with eachother, etc., and the church needed to find a way to do this and while girls enjoy chatting on the phone for a long time sharing their feelings, a lot of guys want activities that will challenge them physically. The challenge is to find those activities in the church.

• I am holding out hope the M & M boys will be back and the Twins will at least have a shot at the division this year
• I really do love the worship band I play with. They are a great group of talented people and I am blessed to have the opportunity to play with them
• I leave for New Orleans next week for 6 days. I'm not really sure what to expect, but it should be a good time

Finally - Super Bowl prediction. I will have a better idea when I talk with my brother as to who he is rooting for (he always picks the loser), but right now I am thinking the Giants will win in a not very close game.

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...