black is the new black

i remember they day the berlin wall came down. i remember my dad with tears in his eyes as he watched the images on the news networks. he said that my grandfather used to say this day would come, and he wished he was alive to witness the events.

i have similar emotions about where i find myself today. i am seeing a common thread in history taking place. i came from a non-diverse staff and denomination, as it pertains to leadership. today i find myself on a staff with a clergy made up of a white man, a black man and a white woman.

through my education, i developed a desire to work on a diverse staff. not just for the sake of working on a diverse staff, but as an opportunity to develop a more wholistic view of ministry. that has been the tip of the iceberg.

i have witnessed three firsts this year:

1. as i mentioned above, our church has a black clergy member. jim davis’ journey into ministry is a fantastic story of a servant responding to the call of ministry. he happens to be the first black clergy member in the 167 year history of the first united methodist church of albany, georgia.
2. the south georgia conference has it’s first black bishop (that’s like an administrative bishop to you church of God people). here is a great article on bishop james king.
3. i was told it would never happen this year but it did. the united states of america has elected the first black president, barack obama. regardless of where you align yourself politically, this is a major historical moment.

it’s neat to be surrounded by history. i just want to learn as much as i can, so that i can be a better husband, father, youth minister and citizen.

christian?

am i a christian? are you a christian?

i have seen this video posted a couple of times today. i can’t remember were i saw it first, but my friend joel clackum posted it on his facebook page.  in this interview, tony campolo raises some tough questions. this is definitely worth your time. it is very challenging and will get you thinking.

awesome

there is a commercial for the swiffer wet jet that features a song entitled “baby come back” by player (yes, the band is called player). a few weeks ago i picked up keilah from school and she kicked right into the chorus. i about wrecked the car because i was trying to hold in the laughter so she would continue singing. it was awesome.

that got me going through some late 70’s and early 80’s songs i remember hearing as a young kid and jr. high student. here are some videos of some awesomely sappy love songs that i remember hearing.

Little River Band-Reminiscing

Air Supply-All Out of Love

Air Supply-Making Love Out of Nothing at All

REO Speedwagon-Can’t Fight This Feeling

Journey-Faithfully

Journey-Open Arms (Live)

Chicago-If You Leave Me Know (Live)

Peter Cetera-The Glory of Love (Karate Kid anyone?)

Chicago-Your the Inspiration

Richard Marx-Right Here Waiting

George Michael-Careless Whisper

this last one is for my parents. i listened to julio iglesias growing up because my parents listened to julio iglesias. i can’t tell you how many times i heard this song as a kid. make fun, but this guy was a lady’s man.

Julio Iglesias-Me Olvide de Vivir
 

alright, i’m stopping here. i could go on, but really this is enough awesome songs for one post. leave a comment and give me some of your picks.

president elect

i am amazed at how the election has brought out the worst in so many people. family, friends, fellow christians and the community at large have let their emotions get the best of them. either they are distressed and angry, or exuberant and boastful. regardless of where you stand scripture is the same.

Romans 13:1-2, 5 says:

1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.

I Peter 2:13-17 says:

13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of the foolish. 16 Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. 17 Show proper respect to everyone, love your fellow believers, fear God, honor the emperor.

I Chronicles 29:11-12 says:

11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. 12 Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.

i will pray for my new president.
i will support him in whatever christian way i can.
i will obey the law of the land.

i will live for Christ.
i will love my neighbor.
i will serve the world.

 

UPDATE:
here is a much more eloquent post by a blogger I like to read, chris at serialyouthpastor.com. we used some of the same scripture but he raises some very good questions.

the weeks that have been

forgive me father. it has been almost 2 weeks since my last post.

1. noah and i went hunting for the first time in both of our lives. noah had always been interested in hunting and fishing since he was 2-ish. he would get up on saturday mornings and choose to watch hunting and fishing shows rather than boring ol’ cartoons. it was awesome!

we didn’t shoot anything which was fine with me. however, we got the opportunity to watch wildlife in its natural habitat. we saw deer everywhere, we heard owls calling back and forth to each other, wild boar, bobcats screaming and thousands of birds flying in to bed down for the night on a bordering swamp. the birds were so loud it was almost to much. this was one of the best things we have experienced since our move to albany.

i picked noah up as soon as school let out, and we were on a huge farm less than one hour later shooting at targets. we then spent an hour and half up in a deer stand, and watched the sky turn red as the sun set. it was an awesome afternoon and evening.

2. our first camp greenville was a success. we suffered a flat tire on the way up, and one on the way home. even with the delays, the students were golden through both ordeals. they loved camp greenville, so we will be heading back next year.

3. i voted on thursday. more on that in a later post.

4. i just spoke with my good friend josh cook, and i cannot wait to get up to nashville in a few weeks for the national youth workers’ convention.

peace.

hectic

so this week has been hectic, but i am looking forward to the weekend.

monday i rode along with a friend of mine who is an albany police officer. i am learning about albany and trying to figure out ways to reach out to the youth. there are so many kids who have never had a father in their life, and the effects are devastating. the economy is not helping these families either. it is overwhelming at times when we ride through some of the neighborhoods in albany.

today (tuesday) i had my monthly network lunch. a group of youth workers from around town get together to hang out. we vent to each other, encourage one another and support one another in ministry. it’s a great time and one i don’t miss. even though i could have been doing 30 other things in preparation for this weekend, i attended. it’s to valuable of time not to attend.

tomorrow (wednesday) is our high school worship night. if you are a youth worker then you know, wednesdays can get a little crazy. but i look forward to this time as i see God working in the lives of our students.

thursday is the biggy. we leave in the afternoon for a jr. high fall retreat. we are going to my favorite place for a retreat, camp greenville. this place is just special. i took a co-worker up to camp greenville this past summer to check it out. she had seen pictures, but when we finally got out of the car and started walking around she said, “you really have to experience this place.” no better way to say it.

pray for the students and leadership team this weekend. i am looking forward to this time as we have fun, grow closer together as a community, and most importantly spend time with our Creator.

Christ’s Peace.

eleven?

what? noah is eleven!?! aaaahhhhh! noah’s birthday was yesterday. i went thorugh a bit of shock. how did this happen?

i came across some pictures i wanted to share.

Yeti

Climbing at Whitefield

Braves’ Baseball

Never has been a morning person.

first impressions

this is an update to the post about last wednesday night. last night, i addressed my struggle with the reaction of the group. i shared that as a new member of the community, and someone from a diverse back ground the reaction could be misconstrued. what if last week we had a black student visiting that no one knew? i make an announcement about serving dinner to a football team from a black inner-city high school and the initial reaction is laughter. how does that person then perceive us as a community? that is the question i posed.

we are in the midst of a series on Jesus’ encounters with individuals. last night was about the samaritan woman at the well. i gave a brief history on the samaritans, and how they came to be despised by the jews. i then read the parable of the good samaritan. i tied this all together by showing the students the risks being taken by Jesus in His encounter with the samaritan woman, and the point Jesus was making in the parable of the good samaritan. Jesus didn’t risk to defile himself by sharing a cup, not only with a samaritan, but a samaritan woman for the shock value. Jesus didn’t pick the samaritan to be the hero in the parable by accident. His words and actions were sharp daggers to those who were listening, and to those who would later hear.

i hope that last night the group saw my heart. if we are to become Christ like we must put aside all judgment. we must look at each person with the eyes of Jesus, eyes of compassion. i love our church vision statement. it says:

we are a congregation who wants to connect people with Christ.
we are transfixed by His story and His heart for our city.
we will be seed throwers and fire starters,
hope peddlers and grace givers,
risk takers and dreamers.

we link arms with anyone who tells the story of Jesus.
we want to empower the poor, strengthen the weak,
embrace the outcast and seek the lost.
we will love God and one another, teach others to follow him,
serve together, play together and live life together.

our church and our community and our world will be changed because of Christ.

the words that are in bold are the ones i focused on last night. this is who we are to become as a community. so how do we do this? by living for Christ, loving our neighbors, and serving the world.

amen.

mikey boy

my good friend mike johnson is about to arrive in an hour. this should be a fun weekend. the kids are gone to atlanta with abuelo and abuela, and lisa is on her weekend retreat. it’s just me and mikey boy (oh, can’t forget maggie, my dog).

i did manage to cross off some items on the honey due list. vacuumed the house, installed a new ceiling fan and light fixture in the den, did all the dishes, cleaned the cook top, cleaned out the refrigerator and cleaned the counter tops. and i did all that before noon today. not to shabby.

our plans for the weekend include but are not limited too:

1. sleeping in
2. hanging out
3. laughing
4. watching lots of college football
5. grilled flank steak in a red wine marinade, served with a chimichurri sauce, jasmine rice, black beans, maduros and tostones (we like to cook good food)
6. create mike a website
7. good conversation
8. lead worship on sunday at church for the 9 AM service
9. sing the offertory on sunday at church for the 11 AM service
10. whatever else we deem necesary

hanging out with mike is a very good thing for me. it’s always good to hang out with one of your genuine friends. he’s like a brother. we have had our tense moments and now have reached a place where honesty rules every conversation. good stuff.

wednesday night laughter?

there was an awkward moment tonight during our youth worship gathering. not while the youth worship band was leading worship. not during my teaching (although there have been some of those). tonight’s awkward moment occurred during announcements. i’m not bothered by the fact that an awkward moment occurred. i’m bothered with what caused it.

i was making announcements as usual, and i brought up a new announcement tonight. we would be serving dinner to a local football team later in november. to my amazement a large percentage of the students started to laugh. here are some reasons it was awkward.

1. the youth group i serve is 99% white.

2. the football team and school they represent is 99% african-american.

3. the laughter was one of shock, not of humor.

i would like to think it was for some other reason, but unfortunately i don’t think that is the case. this is an area that i am very sensitive about, and i knew that one day i would have to face the issue. i am a youth pastor in an extremely segregated city, one with deep roots of racism and bigotry.

this is a challenge in which i need the wisdom of others and the prayers of many.