Life in Threes

This summer has been billed the summer of 3's. Spider-Man 3. Shrek 3. Pirates of the Caribbean 3. Rush Hour 3. Ocean's 11 3. Wait, I mean Ocean's 13. I've seen the first three movies on the list and have discovered what many other movie goers have this summer: pulling off the third of the series is often the hardest. So far, I've been disappointed with all three movies with the exception of Pirates and that might have just been because I had low expectations in the first place.

This week I also find myself facing a different type of three, the third person of the trinity, the Holy Spirit. Today is Pentecost, the day we celebrate the arrival of the Holy Spirit on the disciples and the beginning of the Christian church. It also happens to be Memorial Day weekend which means significantly less people in church and thus, the perfect day for the intern to preach. I took it all in stride and figured preaching on Pentecost was a good thing. Nobody really talks about the Holy Spirit and that should give me plenty to talk about. But, as I started writing the sermon this week, I realized that the reason people didn't preach on it often, was because it wasn't exactly easy to preach on.

Those of us in the church will often talk about the Holy Spirit in an offhand way. We pray for it to show up in worship on Sunday. If we're trying to make a decision we tell people to listen to the Spirit or do whatever the Spirit moves you to do. We talk about it as a feeling. But, when it actually comes to making the Holy Spirit into more of a concrete being, well, it's a challenge to say the least.

I did my best with the sermon. I struggled a bit and ironically, prayed for the Holy Spirit to work through my writing of it and give me the words I needed. And the funny thing with how writing sermons works is sometimes we just end up writing them to ourselves. In my case, my last part of the sermon was about how we needed to trust that the Holy Spirit is always there, working through our lives just like it worked through the apostles on that day on Pentecost. Whether we could feel it or not, we needed to trust that the Holy Spirit was working through our lives. For me, it was trusting that even though I wasn't feeling the best about this sermon, that the Holy Spirit could and would use it anyway.

So this morning I tackled the big three. The third person the the trinity. Three Sunday services. And it definitely wasn't as bad as the three "3" movies I saw this summer. :) The Holy Spirit did its job and it did it well.

In the Meantime

Some fun pictures from the past month (and because blogs are always more fun with pictures)...

The ladies and I got to play ditzy angels complete with wings for the song "Heaven Hop."

Belting out the piece "I Don't Know How to Love Him" from Jesus Christ Superstar. Of course they give the intern pastor the controversial piece.



My other staring role in the show. My friend Drew sang the song "Why God Why?" from Miss Saigon. I was the "prop" for the song and got to pretend to be sleeping through his song.


One of the highlights of the show. This is "Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat," one of my favorite pieces from the show. This also happens to be the perfect action shot of Bobby doing his best Nicely Johnson impression.


The entire cast of the show. I must say, the kids always stole the show!


The other week I went the Relient K show. It was basically me and a bunch of high schoolers and their parents and a few other older than college age people. It was a great show though and I fell in love with one of the opening bands, Mae.

The crowd getting into the Relient K show. The one nice thing about being at a show with high schoolers was that when I did find myself in the middle of a mosh pit, I was able to do my fair share of shoving too.

Anderea, Ashley, the Knights mascot, and myself at a Charlotte Knights game on Sunday. It was the perfect day for a baseball game and we all had a blast!

Get 'Er Done!

Sorry for the hiatus in blog postings. It's been quite a couple of weeks and I know this is going to continue for at least one and half more. Whew!

A couple of notes. The show turned out fantastic! I had a wonderful time and didn't realize how much it meant to me until our closing worship after the final show. As we dug into the most powerful number of the show, "You'll Never Walk Alone" from Carousel I found myself in tears and I wasn't alone. The community that we found from this show did a lot to carry us through it, when we hit notes wrong, when we were worrying about singing the wrong lyrics for our solos, when we were trying to change costume in a rush, when one of us got sick, etc. I'll promise pictures later.

The class list has been posted for next year and our approval essay requirements have been posted. We're all on the verge of being done. All that stands between us is 8-10 credits and a 17-20 page paper that will later be dissected by a candidacy committee and professor. But, the end is in sight. In a year I will be preparing to graduate from seminary. Wow!

This weekend I'm taking our senior high youth group on a retreat to North Myrtle Beach. It's one of those things where the pastor that supervises me for youth and family stuff and I agreed that there need to be a lot of changes next year. We haven't even left yet and there's been crisis after crisis after crisis. Let's hope and pray since all of this has happened before the trip that this means the trip will go fairly well without any tragedies.

In the midst of all of the chaos that comes from putting together the trip and getting ready to preach on memorial day weekend I find myself on the cusp of something. I'm not quite sure what that something will be yet but I have this feeling that my future will be defined by what goes on in these last fews weeks in May. I will finally have to give an answer about a CPE site. I will have to make decisions about classes I'm going to take at seminary. And our church will know what will happen with the open youth director position which could impact the last few months of my internship. We're meeting with parents and youth about an idea we've been wanting to implement for months now and it's finally looking like it will get off the ground. We'll see how this all shakes out. Either way, I'm excited for what the last few weeks of this month hold.

Adventures in Bunnysitting

While I've been in Charlotte I've been called on pet-sit quite a few times. The former intern turned associate pastor and his wife live about half a mile away from me and take more vacation time than me. They also happen to have two rabbits and a cat. Since I happen to like animals and I'm usually in town when they're out of town, I've become their default pet-sitter.

They happened to be out of town this past weekend. I said I'd do it even though I knew it was going to be a crazy weekend. This was the only weekend we were showing our church musical and on top of that was church business as usual. Needless to say, I was a bit busy and all I really could concentrate on was the musical and church.

The first couple of days went well enough. This is pretty low maintenance pet-sitting. They confine the animals to one room, the rabbits are in cages, and the cat isn't one of those that tries really hard to escape, she just meows with annoyance about being cooped up in the room. All I basically do is feed them and make sure they have enough water, and the automatic litter box is functioning properly.

However, after I wandered over on Sunday after an incredibly long day at church (we had our usual three services, previews for the show at the services, our final matinée, and striking the set) I was treated to a surprise when I arrived at their place. Somehow, one of the rabbits had gotten out of his hutch! Oh no...

I have no idea how it had gotten out (probably negligence on my part forgetting to close the hutch). But now I was staring at a pile of bunny bedding and bunny droppings on the floor, not to mention a loose bunny running around the room. Now, other than feeding these rabbits and commenting how cute the rabbits are that live around my apartment complex, I haven't handled rabbits. Which means I have no idea how to catch them and pick them up. So, I have a loose bunny on my hands and no idea how to catch it and redeposit it in its hutch. The bunny stops hopping, I reach in with my two hands for the side, I hesitate wondering if the bunny can bite me if I pick it up on the sides, and it scampers off to a different place in the room. I realize how ridiculous my initial thought is and try again only to hesitate again at the same position and the bunny scampers off to another part of the room near the cat.

The cat is definitely not happy about the situation. She's a prissy persian who acts like she owns the room and having this bunny now hopping around in her space does not please her. However, the bunny is quite clueless and stops with his face inches away from the face of the cat. The cat starts hissing at the bunny and the bunny sits there, oblivious that this cat is not pleased with the bunny's freedom. However, I think the cat also realized that this bunny could probably kick its butt because, again, prissy cat vs. fairly fast, fat bunny. Therefore the most that the cat could muster was a hiss or two in the bunny's face. The bunny didn't even react. He just stared innocently at the cat as if to say, "what?" I take a quick pause from my attempted bunny catching to laugh at the whole cat vs. bunny situation.

Then, again with the chasing. Bunny stops. Can I grab a bunny by the scruff of its neck? Reach. Pause. Dammit, there goes the bunny again. Lather, rinse, repeat. Finally, I have the bunny cornered by the cage. I hesitate yet again. It hops away... into the cage! I slam the door shut and that's that! Whew! Needless to say, the past few days I've double and triple checked that it's cage is properly shut.

Opening Night x2

Last night was finally opening night for our church's musical, Faith on Broadway. It seemed hard to believe. Auditions had been held in late January, I found out in April that I got a solo and now it was finally time to get up on stage and rock it out. It had been a long week of dress rehearsals, last minute instructions, and nerves. The musicals is cabaret style meaning that we took numbers from all sorts of shows on Broadway including the obvious Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Godspell, and Jesus Christ Superstar. We also took pieces from Carousel, Big River, Miss Saigon, Anything Goes, and Fiddler on the Roof.

Last night came and it was hard to believe. There was a decent amount of chaos and scrambling considering it was our first show. But the pieces all came together last night. It was such a rush! We all had a blast on stage and there was a feeling that we were doing this all for God. And my solo, I Don't Know How to Love Him from JC Superstar went just fine. Whew! Afterwards the final bow and we all got offstage there was a collective cheer from the cast backstage. We had done it! And we did it well! So, onto three more performances and hopefully less nerves the second, third, and fourth time around...

Then, a few of us headed to Steak n Shake for some after show celebrating and good, unhealthy, artery clogging food and the opening of Spider-Man 3. I went to the show with some of the youth and college students from the church. And pretty much the entire crowd was high school aged kids. Yeah, I wasn't expecting that. But I managed to have a good time in spite of the fact that people were quite obnoxious during key parts of the movie and I got mistaken for a high schooler (which has happened more than I'd like to admit) and then I had to tell this poor girl that I was actually 25 and in turn embarrassed her. Oh well, I'm pretty sure this is going to happen for the next 5 plus years of my life.

It was a great night though and I'm very happy to put opening night jitters behind me. Now, onto the next shows...

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...