Just A Kid

So I have been on a 'blogging about church' kick lately. Today will be more of the same. I am going to blog about the Presidential race but not yet. I guess maybe my blog today is not so much about church as it is about people. I like people. I think they are interesting. I have a heart for people that other people kind of give up on. I have spent the past 12 years working with people that a lot of the world either doesn't understand or doesn't want to try to understand--kids/teens/young adults.

One of the things I have noticed in working with this age group has nothing to do with them but with the adults that surround them. For the most part adults want kids to do well and they are willing to help out. But there are occasionally some that look at kids in a very ineffective way (I am putting this nicely).

CASE IN POINT: A lot of times if an adult has a negative encounter with a kid when they are, say, 8 or 10, they often look at the kid through negative lenses for the rest of the kids life. No matter how much the kid changes over the next 10-15 years of their life, they have this stigma around them that they just can't shake.

I don't really like this kind of attitude. I wish people could look at kids as they WILL be not as the ARE. This type of vision is the exact vision God has when it comes to his children. I am so glad that God does not look at me and see my worst days and my sinfulness but instead sees a restored life.

I think short sidedness is a problem in our churches but its really more a problem in our world. People are generally judged by what they have been not what they could be. At some point, we have to realize that it doesn't have to be that way. My wife has me watching this Entertainment shows based out of Hollywood. I think they are waste of space and time but find myself watching them. Right now one of THE stories over the past year or so has been Brittany Spears. I mean all these shows have something about her or her family pretty much every day. I am actually finding myself feeling more and more sorry for her. I sit there and think, 'why don't they just leave her alone so she can get out of this cycle'. It is the same way I have felt as I have had conversations with certain adults over the years that put certain kids in a box that they don't deserve to be put in. The kid isn't given a chance. And at some point the kid just gives up and doesn't try and change or grow and just becomes molded into the person that everyone thinks he/she will forever be--its called self-fulfilling prophecy.

This drives me crazy.

Nothing Fancy

Ok so this blog is not fancy. I don't even take time to add cool fonts or tags or what not. Partly because I am too lazy to learn how and partly because I just want to come on here, write and be done. I have a rather impatient attitude with some kinds of technology. I love blogs and such but I don't take time to link articles or show pictures on this blog. Maybe one day I will.

So I was thinking about this today. About how impatient we can be. Or maybe its we get tired of waiting for something to happen that we wish was going to happen or we have been promised would happen but never happens because the genesis of this 'happening' lost focus on the what should happen and instead focus on something that should not be happening and forget that some people get tired of waiting for something to happen (I know I know that was a crazy sentence. But give me a break I just read Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy and I guess some of it rubbed off on me). My point is I get impatient waiting for things to change when it is so clear to ME that they should change. Then I get impatient with those people that don't think things should change because I'm like, 'how could you not see that this needs to change'. I bet you wish you knew what I was talking about exactly because I am talking about something specific. But alas I am not going to say. i will just keep rambling on.

It does have to do with churches and I am on a bit of a 'writing about church trip' right now. But what I am thinking is that I am not sure that fancy makes for good church experience. What I am saying is that I would rather be relevant than fancy. I would rather be authentic rather than holier-than-though. I would rather be theologically sound than numerically large but empty. That last one stings a bit because it is a shift in thinking for me. A shift that I didn't think I even needed to make.

I was talking with some people the other day about passing out salvation tracks and such. I did that when I was a teen. It didn't work at all for me. Maybe I was not a good salesman or not dedicated enough. Not sure. I don't think they work now but people still think they do. I have done door knocking too and hated it. I know people that love that and think it is what we should, as Christians, be doing. I don't think so. I compare both these 'techniques' to trying to take a tire off with a pair of pliers and a jackhammer. You get the tire off but its painful and you can't use the car afterward.

Why am I talking about this? I think our churches are still trying to 'hand out tracks' or 'door knock' in a world that doesn't even know who their neighbors are. It is such a stupid thing to do. What about this; just be nice to people. Nothing fancy. Just talk to people like you actually like them or better yet like you actually love God. I think most growth techniques of yester-year are stupid because they are forced and uncomfortable and too forceful. But we do the same stupid things now. WE have friends days where we ask for our members to invite their friends but how many of our members even have non-Christian friends ( I hate that term but can't think of another one--actually Leonard Sweet calls non-believers normal while we are the freaks. I kind of like that). I wonder how much time is spent on trying to convert Christians to other denominational churches vs. actually sharing the gospel with people that haven't heard it, don't know it, or are in real need of it? That would be an interesting survey.

We are behind the times when it comes to being relevant in this world and we are behind the times when it comes to really thinking and living theologically sound lives so that when normal people see us they wonder why we are different. Nothing fancy just God-revealing, God-bearing lives.

Revolution

You say that word Revolution and people just go, 'OK'. It doesn't quite have the punch it once had. I have been watching the HBO series John Adams and have learned a lot about the start of our Nation. First, the founding fathers were barely fathers at all. They were mostly young adults that found themselves in extraordinary circumstances. Also, they did not agree on any number of things: should we go to war against England, should states be separate or should we have one Republic, the wording of the Declaration, the wording of the Constitution, who should be doing what as far as the government offices go, the list goes on and on. Not only that, but its also important to note that we probably would not have won had the French not come to our rescue. Then we would have floundered in debt if other nations didn't pitch in to help us monetarily with loans. I guess I am naive but I always thought we just decided to be free, fought to have freedom, came up with an adequate system of government, etc etc. That is not what happened. The Revolution was more than just a few battles and a turning point in history, it was and is an ongoing living thing (for lack of a better word). So when I say the word Revolution, its no wonder people just think, "hey we fought the British, won and here we are". Not that simple.

Now if I was to use the word Revolution in the context of church or God or Christianity, depending on your age, you would think one of two things. One, if you were a baby boomer and above you would think about the saving Blood of Christ and how Jesus is the changer of lives and deliverer of hope and if you work hard enough you will know that hope and deliverance. Two, if you are Generation X and below, Revolution means a large public movement towards service, caring for others, grace, experience. Each response is right and a little off. Each responder thinks they are correct and the others are wrong. But that still leaves us with this word Revolution. It is defined: a radical change in something, a sudden and complete change, an overthrow and repudiation of a government. I have shortened the definitions. But they all go together to say the same thing. Revolution is sudden, complete, radical (different than the norm or status quo), overthrowing, and different. So why am I writing this?

I think our churches are in need of such a Revolution. I think people (myself included) are tired of the same language of churches with no results and no complete, radical, sudden change occurring. Am I saying that God is not working, ABSOLUTELY NOT. He is working and I think he is working through other avenues than churches. He works whether we think he does or not; whether we want him to or not; whether we think we are in control or not. God has, throughout history, used what ever means necessary to make his will be done. Whether it was through means of another country other than Israel or by using a young girl who was unmarried but engaged to someone making her pregnant knowing what people would think of that. He works.

I believe Revolution will come from young people, young adults, teens, whatever you want to call it. But there still needs to be older adults there to help guide, direct, mentor and LISTEN. We don't need micromanagement or controlling adults getting in the way but we do need caring, competent, and Christ centered adults to walk alongside those that God is calling to be the salt and light to the world. I am not saying anything earth shattering or original. But I am going to start saying it more. I am going to start saying it louder. I am going to start saying it forcefully. I am going to pray about it and for it constantly. Because I know that my son and (soon to be among us) daughter need to hear it and need to SEE it. Let's start the Revolution.

What Debate?

Ok, I just watched the majority of the Clinton-Obama debate on ABC. I have one word about it--LAME. The 2 goobers that moderated this debate are idiotic and should never be allowed to moderate a debate again. The morons that came with such idiotic and irrelevant questions should be fired. Charlie Gibson, whom I actually like, just lost major points in my book. He continued to interrupt Obama but let Clinton talk on and on not answering questions. They spent about .5 % of the time on the issues that are most pressing and 95.5% of the time focusing on issues that are stupid and illogical to even bring up. I mean cover the Rev. Wright and the Bosnia stuff but let's move on. Don't act like the American people really are interested--ONLY THE NETWORKS ARE.

I guess I would give Clinton and Obama A's for the debate. I give ABC, George & Charlie F-. I mean come on, George got his moronic 60's activist question from Hannity. I mean give me a break. If nothing else, it let America see again how articulate and effective Obama is as a debater and communicator.

I can not believe how idiotic and stupid most of the questions were and how the moderators and Clinton continued to pound Obama. It was for sure ABC, Gibson, George, Versus Obama. It is glaringly obvious where they stand. It seemed to me to be a Clinton campaign run debate that allows questions to come up to now be slurred over the TV and newspapers for the weeks to come. They had a chance to get to some issues but instead chose to remain elementary and (in my opinion) stupid and boring and idiotic. Did I mention that I thought the moderators should not be allowed to be on TV ever again?!?

Learning

I love to learn new things. But I am painfully slow to learn. I love to discover new things. But it takes me a while to discover them. I have never thought of myself as a slow learner but in view of what has been happening in my life over the past few months, I am have come to the conclusion that I am truly slow to learn. This is especially true when it comes to learning more about myself. It seems that when I find myself in certain situations, I know exactly what to do, what to say and how to act. But in other situations I am clueless. The catch is that I have pridefully always thought I know how best to act in all situations. This is just not true. And I have come to this painful realization very slowly.

There is no doubt that everyone makes mistakes. Though some mistakes produce tougher tolls than others. And sometimes mistakes effect one person, sometimes they effect many. But mistakes do something else as well. Something that I did not realize they would do until recently. They take a tremendous toll on ones self-confidence and self-worth. I would say that most of the time this loss of confidence happens without one even realizing it at the time. I know I did not or have not realized it until much later after the fact. And it is funny how loss of confidence paired with mistakes and slow learning can really take a heavy toll on someones life--it is a vicious cycle.

And so it is at this juncture you find out something very important about your life. You either move forward or stay put. I am coming to terms with the fact that learning is learning no matter how slow or fast its done. But I am also learning that learning doesn't have to be done alone. I have always been surrounded by great people I know and love and trust. But I have not always been open to listen to them--I mean really listen. I have tended to listen and accept only what is easier to accept. Again, I am slow learner. But I think I am learning none the less. More later.