Geeks Unite!

Today I bought my ticket for the midnight premiere of Spider-Man 3!!! Yes, I know that makes me a bit of a geek. But I have learned to embrace this part of me. I actually had a conversation a few years ago with my friends and we debated who was the biggest geek/nerd/dork (my friend won because she had been to multiple Star Trek conventions and had dressed up). But, this latest excitement reminded me why I was the runner up.

So for your amusement, here are some of the factors that put me in the running:
-Biology major with an interest in ecology and environmental science. Self proclaimed science geek!
-Classics major by accident (which is the study of ancient Greek and Roman history and language). Seriously, how does someone end up with an accidental major in that?
-The three languages I know fairly well are all dead languages: Latin, Greek, and Hebrew.
-I have a thing for TV cartoons based on comic books. Hence my surprising amount of knowledge of Spider-Man, Superman, Batman, and X-Men.
-Big fan of anime - Cowboy Bebop being my favorite.
-Star Wars fanatic - have read a decent number of the books and have seen the original trilogy so many times I could probably quote it to people, including some of the alien dialogue.
-Movies I saw at the midnight showings: Star Wars Episode II and III (I saw Episode II the day before a geology lab exam), Two Towers (I couldn't see Fellowship of the Ring or Return of the King because I had finals the next day).
-I worked in a Blockbuster Video for two years which means I know way too much about movies (and also gives me an edge at trivia).

And let's face it, when it all comes down, we all have a little geek in us. It keeps things interesting. There's nothing wrong with wanting to learn a little more, getting excited over a little thing, and finding common ground through odd interests. I embrace my inner geek because through my experiences with these I have made great friends and have some great memories. My roommate for the past fews years and I first really bonded during late night biology sessions. My Classics major gave me the great opportunity of going to New Orleans pre-Katrina for a conference. I can tell you who I went to all those midnight showings and where they are now. And my TV comic book obsession now means that I get the chance to bond with kids from the youth group (and potentially see them wearing Spider-Man underoos over their pants when we see the movie which I know I would never forget, no matter how hard I tried). Here's to unapologetically being ourselves, even if it makes us a bit odd. :) So what makes you a geek?

Life Is a Highway

I have a bit of a tradition when I take road trips. I make iPod mixes for the trip and each mix starts out with the Rascal Flatts version of Life Is a Highway. It's an upbeat song that's catchy and seems fitting for any long drive.

I spent a lot of time on the highway these past five days. A lot! Close to as many hours as it took to drive from MN to NC. On Friday I drove from Charlotte to Orlando for a seminar on youth ministry. It seems like a long distance to drive for a seminar but I knew it was going to be worth it, especially with my position as the interim youth director. I spent Friday through early Sunday afternoon at the conference and then I drove back to Charlotte. And the drive home was even longer. Probably because it took me over an hour to drive the first 20 miles back. Probably because I was tired from the long day on Saturday. Probably because of a late night with some friends at the conference. Probably because I knew that I was going to be back in Charlotte for less than 12 hours before I had to head back on the road to an intern/supervisor retreat.

Either way, it was a long drive on Sunday and I was hurting. I had my Cherry Coke Zero and my iPod mix but it wasn't enough. Thankfully, I also had my cell phone. I made calls and received calls with friends from back home and all around the country. I talked life, relationships, faith, school, vacation plans, and baseball (Go Twins!) with them. It was exactly what I needed to keep going and make it home and then make it to the retreat and back again today.

Life has been a bumpy ride lately. My future destination isn't quite clear. And yet, I have to keep driving. I have experiences to give me that extra energy when I'm feeling tired. I have my friends to entertain me and encourage me along the way. And I have a great navigator in the form of God. So, I guess I just have to keep on driving...

Seeking Relevancy

Keep it real...
Be honest...
Pay attention to what's going on in the world around you...
Speak to what is on the minds of the people...
Meet the people where they are...

These are great things to keep in mind in ministry. It's something that we seek to do with all ages of people whether they are high school youth, older retirees, preschool age children, or people starting families. We want what we talk about, what we say, and what we do to be relevant to the bigger picture. We keep an ear to the ground and another heavenward in order that we may meet people in the intersection of life on earth and God's call.

The events of this past week have made the goal of being relevant a challenging task. The Virginia Tech shooting is very much in the forefront of people's minds. The media frenzy has helped this of course. But here, it's hit closer to home in the literal sense. It's a 3 hour drive from Charlotte to Blacksburg and there are people in our congregation that have friends and family who attended VT.

I know there are a lot of questions out there because I'm asking many of the same. What could motivate a person to do such a thing? How did the shooter get to this point? What could have been done to prevent this? Could we have even something like this coming? What about our own safety and the safety of a children, friends, and loved ones that are attending schools around the country? Am I really safe at school? What about God, where was/is he in all of this?

As we continue to add more and more questions to the pile, I'm faced with the realization that these are the questions that the youth are asking and that I don't have any good answers to them. I want to be relevant and address the issue at hand and know I need to address this. But where to start and what to say...

This perhaps is one of the most difficult and most important challenges we will face in ministry. Seeking relevancy means addressing questions and issues that we don't have answers or solutions for. And I guess the best thing we can do is admit that we are in the same boat with them. That we are just as shocked and horrified as everyone else and that we are asking the same questions and that answers are hard to come by.

Last night I got in front of part of our youth group and spoke to the issue. I admitted that I didn't have any "good" answers. I told them in all honesty I was in the same place they were. But in the midst of the storm I was finding peace through God. That I knew God was crying with us and offering us comfort and was moved by our pain and suffering like so many years ago when he stood in front of Lazarus' tomb. That even though he couldn't provide a miracle like Lazarus' resurrection, he could provide a different kind of miracle through the cross and the promise of forgiveness and eternal life.

Sometimes the best thing we can do is take a risk in order to speak to the issue at hand. Last night was a risk. Whether or not it had any impact I don't know. But, I did what was in my heart and what I felt like God was calling me to do and sometimes that's all we have. I trust that God will always take care of the rest.

Some nights you are forced to say that you have no answers and simply fall to your knees. Tonight is one of those nights. Most of you have probably heard of the shootings at Virginia Tech by now. This tragedy strikes closer to home out here in NC being more familiar with VT through the ACC and friends here who attended. I have no answers for the tough questions as we all face this night together wondering what just happened and how and why. All I have is a prayer for help and a cry for God's presence.

Please keep the victims, family, friends, and everyone else in your prayers as this all unfolds.

Infestation

My family's house back in MN has a large pond it the backyard. This may sound like a good deal and many pretty views but it brought something else with it: geese. Some people think Canadian Geese are beautiful and majestic animals. These people have never had them in their backyard. They poop everywhere and are among the dumbest animals alive. Our pond would be frozen solid in November with the temperatures barely reaching 10 degrees and there will still be two dozen geese on our pond. Migrate south already!

I thought I had been rid of this problem ever since the fence went up in our backyard and I moved away from home. However, I was wrong. There happens to be a large pond across the street from our church and, you guessed it, geese now roam freely on the church property. Of course, they act like they own the place. A line of cars will be coming through our main entrance on a Sunday morning and they will be standing in the middle of traffic. Even though the cars will honk incessantly at them, the geese will continue to stand and stare at the drivers. They turn the sidewalks around church into a minefield and an unsuspecting visitor may accidentally step in a pile of green. Ick!

Today, the battle came to a head. A pair of geese decided it would be a good idea to nest right beside one of our main doorways at church. And then they get mad at us for walking near the nest. Stupid animals. Facing off against an angry goose is quite an experience. They will actually charge at a person, neck parallel to the ground, beak pointed straight at you. And they hiss. It's actually kind of weird. But a poor child who was walking with her parents today was almost bitten. Yeah, not cool and I can understand that a large, fat charging goose can be a scary experience for a child.

The church calls animal control thinking it will do something to help. They were nice enough to drive by and tell us, just let them be for a week or two. Alright, I'm sorry. We run a large preschool that has a main entrance right where these geese have nested and the children are all dropped off there. What's more important, these geese or the humans? Let's be realistic here! There are more than enough geese (this is why there are such high limits on how many geese you can kill while hunting) and these geese are more pests than anything. But unfortunately, the geese saga will continue as we wait for them to hatch. Hopefully I won't get attacked by one in the meantime...

Habitat for Humanity

Holy Week I got the chance to go with a group of 56 adults and high school youth to Sea Island near Charleston, SC to do a mission trip for Habitat for Humanity. I had never really done anything with Habitat before this trip. We had tried to help out when I got here in Charlotte earlier in the year but rain and an already full house hampered our efforts and we ended up being sent home. So, this was my first all out experience building a Habitat house and working with the organization. The Sea Island/John's Island chapter of Habitat is one of the oldest in the country. They've been doing this for a long time and they're good at it!


We did something a bit different than other Habitat groups. Often, groups will build an entire house from the ground up. They frame it, lift up the walls, put in the sheet rock, built the roof, shingle, put up siding, paint, etc. Unfortunately, there is an overabundance of wetland where we were working and therefore, permits for building are harder to come by. So, we couldn't build the entire house up. Instead, we go to prefabricate the houses. We measured the wood, put pieces of it together (I know all about Jack/King combos, T's, studs, cripples, etc.), build all the walls, lift the walls up, place them all in the proper locations, hurricane strap them, and then take all the assembled walls down and store them. We were also sprucing up an old Catholic Church that was going to be used as a meeting space/Chapel.

So, we had plenty of work cut out for us. And only about a third of the group had been there before on a Habitat group. But, it was trial by fire and we were all up to the challenge. We re-learned how to swing hammers, how to properly frame a window, and that flush, king, and jack were more than just card terms. It was a great group and I enjoyed getting to know the youth better through serving with them. I think it speaks lengths when we can compare blisters, sore thumbs (hurricane strapping can be brutal without a pliers), and then all run toward the ocean together after a hard day's work. Oh, and did I mention that the camp we were staying was right off the ocean and had over a mile of beach front! I even took a walk with dolphins one morning!


Even though we didn't get to see the traditional house go up, I still feel like we accomplished a lot this week. We were dirty, scarred, and exhausted at the end of each day. But we somehow all found the energy for a quick game of spades, euchre, or ERS, a guitar/bass jam session, s'mores around a campfire, a walk on the beach, or a good conversation with a new friend. And the next day, we were ready to go at it again, knowing that we were making a difference in someone's life, in our case, a difference for the three families we were prefabricating houses for and for all those who would make use of the Habitat Chapel. Many of us on the trip come from very affluent families and areas and I think that this made us appreciate what we have even more.

All in all, one of the best weeks I've had since I've arrived in Charlotte. Chances are, I'll be back for one more trip (I think I can justify skipping classes to go next year). So, if you ever get a chance to do a Habitat build near you, I would highly recommend it. :) Anybody up for the Habitat Blitz in Charlotte in June?

To Serve and Protect and Holy Week

I left early Sunday afternoon for our Habitat trip. It was a busy day at church between Palm Sunday, leading the high school opener, spending time with the young adult group, and packing up for the trip. I got a brief word that two Charlotte police officers had died earlier that morning. However, I did not hear another word about it till I got back from my trip yesterday at around 11:30 a.m. Then I started hearing the story and about the officers, Jeff Shelton and Sean Clark. I watched bits of the two services on TV in-between preparing and leading the Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services at church.

I found out that the funeral procession was going to be heading down Providence Rd. which runs right by the church and my apartment. Both days I stood outside, hand on my heart, watching the hundreds of police and citizen cars drive past on the way to the grave site. I had never seen anything like this. The outpouring of support was incredible. There were people lining the streets up and down the entire city of Charlotte doing the same thing I was. The days were both sunny but the mood was somber. I was both filled with joy to see the support of these fallen officers who had died serving and protecting others and sorrow for the loss felt by the families, fellow officers from Charlotte and around the south (there were police cars from all over NC, SC, VA, and FL to name a few), and the community of Charlotte.

All of this takes place in the context of Holy Week, the week where we as Christians celebrate Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the Last Supper and Jesus' betrayal and arrest on Maundy Thursday, Jesus' death on the cross on Good Friday, and Jesus' resurrection on Easter Sunday. It is a week of both deep sorrow and immense hope. A week that shows both the sin of humankind and love of God that ultimately trumps everything, including death.

Here were two officers who lived to serve and protect others and died doing just that. And we commemorate them on two days that are all about serving and protecting. Jesus commanded us to love one another as he had loved them on Maundy Thursday and even washed his disciples feet, one of the dirtiest tasks of the old world. And then on Good Friday, Jesus died on the cross in order to serve and protect us. He died in order that we may not bear our sin and death anymore but instead may have forgiveness and eternal life.

These two days and these two funerals show us the tragic nature of humanity. That people are capable of killing others in cold blood. That we are all capable of killing the one who came to protect and serve us. But, at the same time, we also remember all the more the loving nature of God. That God took the tragedy of the cross and turns it on its head come Sunday morning. That because of God's love and what Jesus did on the cross, that even though we mourn in sorrow, we also live in the hope and promise of the resurrection and eternal life. That God is here mourning with us and the families. That the funerals and processions are not the end. That God has the final word and his word is one of grace and love and comfort.

"In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:37-39)

Random Notes

-So I tried out for the church musical a few months ago and got a spot in the chorus. It's a musical review called Faith on Broadway so we're pulling in music from all sorts of shows including Fiddler on a Roof, Godspell, Joseph, etc. Well, this past week we auditioned for solos. I decide to try out for fun and because it give me some good experience not really thinking I have a shot. Well, turns out I got a solo and it's "I Don't Know How to Love Him" from Jesus Christ Superstar. It's a big, dramatic, and controversial solo. Gulp! Well, I asked for it I suppose. We'll see how this all comes together in the next month. :)

-I leave for a Habitat trip today so I will be gone through Thursday and then it's back for Holy Week. It's going to be a rush! Three services Maundy Thursday, two on Good Friday, four on Easter. Whew! I'm excited though. This is what it's all about!

-Happy Holy Week!