Lack of Blogging

It has been a while since my last blog. Over a month, actually. Its funny because sometimes I actually believe people read this and are wondering what I'm doing. Then I realize that most people who would ever read this probably know me and don't really care what I'm doing instead of blogging. Unless you're my mom. Hi Mom. :)

Let's see...what has been going on?

Well, the summer is slowly coming to a close. I'm going to recap what exactly I have been doing, using the trips I've taken as my main bullet points.

1. Galveston Staff Trip. Galveston, Texas. This was sort of a staff orientation trip. My official title is 'Senior Staff' but I feel my role is much different. Jennifer is the female Senior Staff and she actually fulfills that role much better than me. I tend to gravitate towards big-picture issues instead of dealing with the staff from a ministry perpective. Sure, its still ministry, but not the kind that I was probably hired to do. There are some reasons that I won't go into, but I think that it has been OK. This trip I layed out the foundation for what I wanted to work with the College Staff on: Christian identity.

2. High School Workcamp. Boerne, Texas. This is THE trip of the summer. 175 high school youth (all from one church!), 15 College Staff, 15 college volunteers, 30-something parent volunteers, and about 8-9 permanent youth staff. Its a big mission trip that would be a logistical nightmare if we didn't have a Youth Pastor like Steve Cragg. The theme of the week was 'Journey'. I had a small group on this trip made up of 6 high school guys that went great. We really struggled through some issues and worked on moving them towards a comitted Christian life. Mark and I did a little 'skit' (is that the right word?) where we put on robes and played Roman cross builders. We actually constructed a cross on stage and had some dialogue about who Jesus was and his message. Great trip, as usual, and really gets my mind thinking when it comes to doing ministry because of all the issues that come up during the trip. Oh, and in the big Workcamp skit titled 'SpellQuest', a mockumentary about spelling bees, I played 'Ned Reierson' (groundhog day anyone?) the Founder and Chairman of W.U.R.D.S.--The Worldwide United Regulatory Department of Spelling. Good stuff....

3. Middle School Workcamp. Houston, Texas. This is a smaller, 'cliffs notes' version of high school workcamp. About 80 middle school kids, less volunteers, same staff. My last post came on the last night of this trip. Many questions still remain.

4. Rafting Trip. San Marcos, Texas. This trip is a non-mission trip that is pretty much just a fun trip. Not much Jesus talk, just community.

5. Colorado 2K6. Pagosa Springs, Colorado. This is the best trip. This trip involves only the graduated seniors and college types. I have been working on a reading packet for this trip that I hope gets some of these kids some resources for thinking about the Christian life before they go off to college. Its a critical time for some because they need a bit of a reminder of what life is all about before they let the colleges they attend tell them another story. We leave this Tuesday.

So that's what I've been doing. I've been trying to read some Hauerwas, Berry, Brueggemann and Wright before I go off to school.

Oh yeah, I'm going to school soon. Regent College in Vancouver. I'm so ready. I leave August 6th for an 8-day road trip on the west coast. Once I get to Vancouver I need to find a place to live. Once that is done and as long as it doesn't take too long, hopefully I'll be making a trek to Alaska. That's an extra bonus, so we'll see.

So many questions this summer. Am I fit to be a 'minister'? If not, what do I need to develop about myself? What do I need to allow God to really have his way with? What are my strengths? Weaknesses? What is the point of youth ministry? How do you do any ministry involving both evangelism and discipleship well? How much do you compromise in order to be 'relevant'? How do you train leaders well? If I end up not being a pastor, what other things am I fit to do? There are so many more, including some more theological questions and less introspective.

That's all. Maybe you stopped reading a while ago.

I'm going to bed now. Goodnight.