the seventh one about nyc: final reflection

when I first proposed the idea for GOOTH to go to nyc for a mission trip, I never realized the impact that this trip would have on the GOOTH. I had hopes for the GOOTH to learn, grow, have fun, and be enlightened…but they surpassed my hopes and expectations. you can read all about their experiences in their own words in the previous nyc posts, but no blog can capture the experience of the “emotional devotional,” as chelsey called it, that happened on thursday night.

thursday’s devotion started like any other. we would let someone from each workgroup share their experience that day with the rest of the group. two simple comments were made that caught my attention in huge and complex ways. hannah platt, a graduated senior, commented that while we did a lot of “fun” stuff together as GOOTH, we needed to do more service stuff back in clemmons as a group. sarah hoyle, a rising 9^th grader, said that she and hannah had a deep conversation that day about their experience. sarah said that by working with people this week, it hit her that the once nameless homeless people now had names…and thus made more human in her mind. (you can read their own words in the sixth one about nyc.)

Hannah and sarah thought they were making simple observations…ones that, to them, were now obvious and “no-brainers.” they are simple observations. but, their comments hit me like a mack truck. their simple statements and the reactions, head-nods, and agreement of the GOOTH made me realize that they GOT it. these youth “got” it. there are many ways that youth react to such mission experiences, and many of them are self-centered or my-world-centered. but their reflections were NOT – they were neighbor-centered. since this was the first such experience for many of the youth, I expected to hear self-centered reflections, such as, “I learned that I’m very lucky to have what I have,” or “I learned that I’m fortunate to be born in clemmons and into a stable family,” or “It’s a shame these people don’t have what I have.” but, that’s not what I heard…not a single youth expressed these or similar comments to me or at the devotion. instead, the GOOTH saw Jesus in one another and the people with whom they worked and encountered during the week and their learning was truly neighbor-centered.

hannah’s observation about us doing lots of “fun” stuff was a significant observation, because that has been my plan all along. I came to CPC in august of 2006, but I had started planning for the youth group 7 years ago. in 2001, I learned my biggest lesson about youth ministry: It’s All About Relationships. over the years since, I began to be attentive to God’s leading for youth ministry and to make mental notes about ways that I could build relationships within the “youth group i would have one day.” we find a theological basis for relational theology in the greatest commandment: love God and love neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39; Mark 12:29-31; Luke 10:27). and if you love neighbor as yourself, then it is clear that you are to also love yourself as your neighbor. Calvin says to know God is to know thyself. the inverse is also true: know thyself, know God. GOOTH has spent the last 2 years building and strengthening relationships within ourselves and developing an identity. by knowing who we are, and by loving ourselves – both as individuals and as a collective GOOTH – we can in turn love our neighbors as ourselves, love God, and know God.

only after a group knows and loves itself can meaningful things be born from it. GOOTH now wants to work side by side more often. GOOTH now understands who their neighbor is, and what it means to love them. GOOTH is closer to God because GOOTH knows who they are. this is the point i prayed for over the last 7 years. even before i knew who the youth at CPC were, before i was called to CPC, and even before i went to seminary, i began praying for God’s guidance to lead the youth group i would one day work with. i asked God to help me find the way to build relationships and create a youth ministry program that exemplified relationship theology. God has done that. and the GOOTH are ready to lead themselves on their continued faith journey.

they have reached this point quicker than i thought imaginable. when i heard hannah, sarah, and others talk about their experience with this mission trip, it hit me. i broke down and cried with joy, amazement, wonder, excitement, love, and praise to God for all that God has done with GOOTH. The Spirit was definitely present that night at the emotional devotional. God only knows what is in store for GOOTH, but i am excited to find out what it is!

 

the one about ARW

what a week i had at montreat! the weather was perfect last week…bright sunshine, clear air, gentle breeze, mild temperatures…montreat at its finest.

if you aren’t sure what ARW is, it is the Annual Recreation Workshop which is held the first week of may in montreat. for more about ARW, visit www.recreationworkshop.org. this is my 8th workshop, and i hope i never miss another one. for more about montreat, a conference center of the presbyterian church (usa), please visit www.montreat.org.

the two classes i’m taking this year are Games Galore and Breaking Bread Together. every morning, we play 2 hours of games of all sorts. i’ve learned some new techniques, tips, and variations on games i know, and a whole bunch of new games. i was also introduced to using common objects for game props…from climbing cords to doggie toys. i can’t wait to get back and try them out with my youth group (aka GOOTH!).

in my second class, we baked many types of breads! it was so much fun! yeast breads, corn meal tortillas, muffins, wheat breads, flat breads, biscuits, scones…we made much more than i imagined we would…including the communion bread for the closing worship service. i’m so excited about trying out the recipes again. i went out yesterday and bought a new pizza baking stone…we used one for baking many of the breads last week…it is a great way to cook.

recreation is an important part of ministry. God gave us our bodies and the joy of play as gifts of creation. playing games together, cooking together, eating together, sharing stories together – these all help to build up the body of Christ in the world. Jesus was a hungry dude…he was constantly eating in the gospels! and what was one of the first things Jesus did after the resurrection? he ate! he broke bread. he cooked fish. he served his disciples as host. the cooking class helped reinforce the tools of hospitality that i’ve learned growing up. i hope to be able to pass those along to others through the art and ministry of cooking.

i was reunited with many old friends and made many new friends as well. friends from california, to florida, to canada, to mexico, to haiti, to ireland were gathered together at Montreat last week…we’re all a part of the body of Christ…and we all enjoy the gift of play and hospitality.

take some time to play this week and enjoy the gift of play that God has given you.

PS – the cardinal in the window greeted me today in my first day back in the office after ARW!

 

the one about evangelism

i just want to write something…with this new blog, i’m itching to write something. someone once told me, with blogs, you have to keep them up to date or people will stop reading it. i think that holds true. so, here goes…

i’ve been having an interesting conversation tonight with one of my youth via email on facebook. he asked me how presbyterians interpret the great commission found at the end of matthew. it turns out that in all his time at CPC, he has heard next to nothing about us telling people about jesus and who jesus is. this led him to wonder how we accept the call extended to us in the great commission. and you know what? he’s right…we don’t do much with evangelism. so, that begs the question, what do we do about it? but it also begs the question, how do we do it?

as presbyterians, we are sometimes uncomfortable with the word “evangelical.” i remember when i was on a pastor nominating committee my senior year in high school and we were writing up our CIF (church information form – which is kinda like a church’s resume). the committee wanted to describe our church as “evangelical.” my first, knee-jerk reaction was, “evangelical? really? i’m not sure i like that word.” they were surprised to hear me say that. i did have a bad taste for the word, largely because of religious television personalities (televangelists) and my less-than-holy experience with peers from the large local church. i thought it was a negative way to describe christians. i didn’t know what the word meant. i thought it was a “bad” word. ironic, though, since it is the greek word for “good news.” i had no idea what the word meant at the time, because my church did not use the word often and my exposure to it was limited to television and that local church. however, as my understanding of the word and the practice increased, so too did my appreciation for the word. we ended up using it in the CIF in the end.

presbyterians are not usually thought of as an evangelical people, but we strive to be. my home church, northminster pcusa (chattanooga, tn) had to be evangelical…they had no choice…they no longer served the neighborhood in which i had been placed 30 years prior. in order to survive, the church had to reevaluate its practice of evangelism to its neighbors. as presbyterians, should we wait until we have no other options left but to be evangelical, before we become evangelical? probably not. i’m still learning how to be evangelical. i hope that maybe i can pick up a thing or two from this youth who made this observation of our church, in addition to my evangelical, liberal, feminist girlfriend, Lynda, when she returns from Peru.

peace.