If Santa Clause is real... why does he never get me what I want?

We are now entering the advent season. One of my favorite times of year but for all of the disconnected reasons that have nothing to do with Jesus. I guess my caramel brulee latte with jingle bells playing in the background while I read the birth narrative of Jesus in the gospel of Luke some how reconcile. Welp we might not be able to reconcile our current narrative of Christmas and the narrative of Jesus but we could probably say that they both leave us satisfied in different ways.

Our culture doesn't like to wait. We want it now. Can't afford the new 42 inch LED 3D television well good news put it on a credit card. We would rather go in debt than have to wait. And you bet we transfer this on God. In high school... I would pray, "Dear God give me a girlfriend please make so and so girl like me." And you know what God never did. Truth be told there were many moments where I was mad about that. I hated waiting while everyone else had a girlfriend and I didn't! I grew up never having a grandfather yet so many of my friends had these awesome, archetypal grandfathers. God why didn't you give me a grandfather? I like you and like your kids have a lot of not yets. Our lives are filled with anxiety and stress about the not yets in our lives. And so many of these things are out of our control.

But I look at my life today. I have an amazing wife... thank you Jesus for not giving me a girlfriend that I didn't need but having me wait for someone that loves me for the depth of my character. And thank you Jesus that I get to see my dad be a grandfather. I might of not had one but it sure is good seeing this new story play out for my nieces and nephews.

The reality of life is that we have to wade through some crappy waters sometimes not fully understanding where life is going. But advent is a reminder that God is leading us somewhere. God is leading us to a place of hope and restoration even when we can't see it.

Pilgrimage 2012!

 Each year I come away from Pilgrimage in awe. In awe and grateful that God lets me serve this amazing group of youth. Out of all the 4,000 youth at Pilgrimage I am so proud that God gave me this bunch of youth. They are so special to me!  

We shared many laughs this weekend. We learned what it means to be flexible! We all grew in patience. All at the same time we asked deep questions of ourselves: where is God leading me? How can I make my next right step toward Jesus?

And one of the most powerful moments of the weekend is when on Saturday night they invited anyone who wanted to come down and get on their knees. Thousands of youth including ours walked down and got on their knees to pray. Humbling themselves before a savior that deeply cares about them.

There is a lot at stake for youth. Challenging questions surround them all the time. Am I loved? Am I accepted? My goal simply stated for our youth ministry is to be an environment where love, encouragement, and inspiration abide. I want them to know that they are important and valued! And I saw this narrative take place this weekend in how these youth took care of each other. It really speaks to the character of our youth!

Can’t wait till next year! But until then don’t forget movie night this week and sign up for Great Wolfe Lodge has begun!

Also here is a LINK to the pictures of the weekend. Enjoy!

Bullied:Hoping To Belong...

At our last youth meeting we go to do something pretty spectacular. We got hear the stories of some really awesome people here at Pleasant Green UMC. I call them All-Stars (Becky Brogden, Gloria Perry, Max Mitchell, and Mary Lou Mitchell). They represent Jesus well. They represent the reality of what it means to always be striving for more of Jesus because we all live in this tension of “not there yet.”

One of the questions of the night that was directed to the sixth graders was, “what is it like being a sixth grader?” To some it was positive experience while to others things weren’t going so well.

I know for myself middle school was an emotional roller coaster for me. I truly felt that I didn’t belong. I felt that I didn’t have any friends. My life felt heavy. One moment that sticks out to me is a day that I will never forget. Sitting at lunch and then all the sudden a guy pulls me out of my chair and starts hitting me on the head. I was so disillusioned. I didn’t know what was going on. I was embarrassed, scared, and mad. Why didn’t I throw a punch back? Instead I just took the punches.

I felt like I was all alone. And all my attempts to be liked always seemed to be shattered. I tried out for sports teams and never seemed to make the cut. And don’t even get me started about girls… just a super, weird time inmy life.

And I don’t think much has changed for middle schoolers today. I think they still go through the same awkwardness and deal with the same deep questions that seem minuscule to adult eyes: do I belong? And who do I belong too?

That is why when I hear these words come out of a middle school or high school youth's mouth that they don’t feel like they belong or that they feel hurt, put down by their peers… I am more and more convinced that my mission is to make sure that

1.       Youth know that they belong. They belong to Jesus and that they are loved deeply no matter what! 

2.       And saying this isn’t enough. I want them to be encouraged and lifted up. I want every youth group to be a super, positive experience. They know that when they step in to this church that they are safe and that they are important valued because too much is at stake with their lives!

I have seen youth go down a destructive path trying to mask all the hurt that they’ve experienced in their lives. Maybe through alcohol, drugs, unhealthy relationships… but I have also seen what can happen when youth know how valuable they are despite their peer’s corrupt words and actions.

And I know this because I am that person that people choose to love when I was in high school. People in church never ceased to let me know how valuable I was to God. And so when I stood on the presopous of trying to belong by way of going to parties I had really good friends and family that stood in my way to tell me that life has so much more to offer. And I am so grateful for each and every one of those people.

We truly are who we are because of good friends, good parents, good churches, good word spoken over us. None of us exist in a vacuum. 

So my hope is that despite the negativity in this world that we can in some way by God’s help pour out the reality that we belong to God and that we can embrace that reality with our lives even when the world seems against us.