18 month-old Diva!

I took this picture of Kate after she ran away from me as I attempted to put her white sandals on her feet. Apparently, she did not want to wear her white sandals. Therefore, she threw herself down in protest of my fashion ignorance. How could I be so foolish? (By the way, she wore the white sandals)

"Mariposa Furioso" The Furious Butterfly

I sent this out as a Facebook status update a few weeks ago, but I will give it a permanent home here. This was done at our youth camp this summer. All the Youth Pastors were asked to have their students dress them up like a superhero. The students could go with an established superhero or come up with a new one. As you can see, our creative group of students developed an entirely new superhero. This is the video of the presentation of "Mariposa Furioso" (The Furious Butterfly)

The World is Watching Now!

The events in Iran over the past few weeks have shed light on a new day in the story of humanity. Through the use of social networking sites such as Twitter and Youtube anyone with a cell phone can send mass messages or videos within seconds. Now, I know governments can block internet sites and interrupt cell communication, but people are smart. They can get around these blockades. They have been doing it everyday in Iran.

I am hopeful this freedom of information will cause these cruel dictators to realize that what used to be done in secret can now be broadcast around the world by anyone. They no longer have the kind of control over communication and image they once enjoyed. The world is now watching!

"I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;

I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth."
Isaiah 42:16

Reading List

If you're anything like me, you have a stack of books that you would like to read, but somehow you just never get around to reading. Today, June 1, I will begin a journey to read all of the books in "my stack". I am committing myself to reading all of these books before I purchase yet another book. The sad part is, this list isn't even exhaustive. I still a few more books at home to add to this list, but those will just have to wait.

I will read each of these books and do a short review as a blog post. So, if you see me in the coming months, ask me how my reading list is going. Hopefully I will have an mental review handy of a book I just completed. If I tell you I haven't finished a book in the past few days, call me a slacker and tell me to get going!

Here's the list divided into categories:


Leadership

Blink by Malcom Gladwell
Outliners by Malcom Gladwell
The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell
Courageous Leadership by Bill Hybels
Leading Congregational Change by Jim Herrington, et al.
7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
Developing the Leader Within You by John Maxwell
Effective Church Leadership by Kennon L. Callahan
The Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren


Spiritual Development

What Matters Most by Doug Fields
Crazy Love by Francis Chan
Understanding God's Will by Kyle Lake
Every Man's Battle by Stephen Arterburn and Fred Stoeker
The Sacred Way by Tony Jones


Rebellious Church People Stuff

A Generous Orthodoxy by Brian McLaren
Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell
Ancient-Future Faith by Robert Webber
Unchristian by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons
Adventures in Missing The Point by Brian McLaren and Tony Campolo


Student Ministry

Hurt by Chap Clark
Sustainable Youth Ministry by Mark Devries
Soul Searching by Christian Smith
Soul Shaper by Tony Jones
4 Views of Youth Ministry and the Church by Mark Senter, et al.
Getting Students to Show Up by Jonahan McKee
Speaking to Teenagers by Doug Fields and Duffy Robbins
Deep Justice in a Broken World by Chap Clark and Kara Powell


Casual Reading

Searching For God Knows What by Donald Miller
Through Painted Deserts by Donald Miller
The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman
Rich Mullins: His Life and Legacy by James Smith
Post-Rapture Radio by Russell Rathbun
Final Salute by Jim Sheeler

What I've learned so far...

I've been in Youth Ministry now for about 10 years. In my decade of ministering to teenagers I've learned a few things. Some of what I've learned came from the classroom, but most has come through experience. A few of these things were picked up very early in my career, while some have emerged quite recently. So, here's what I've learned so far...

- Even in the smallest of churches, you cannot please everyone all the time.
- Negativity will never make anything better. (So stop complaining and get to work)
- Leaders do not make excuses. They make things happen!
- Honesty is always better than the alternative.
- If you take a risk and fail, you won't live with the regret of not taking the risk.
- If you never take a risk your life will be boring.
- Stretch yourself and never stop learning.
- Make it a goal to be better next year than you are this year.
- A seminary degree will only get your foot in the door.
- Your competency will get you where you want to be.
- If you're not passionate about seeing lives changed...get another job.
- Your spiritual maturity is your own responsibility.
- Your pastor is really a good guy. Stop being so hard on him.
- Don't name your youth ministry. That died in the 90's.
- If you want to be the head guy, become a pastor or start a church.
- Realize that you will never get the recognition you think you deserve.
- Your family takes priority over anything at church.
- We are in the business of makeing SERVANTS, not SEMINARIANS.
- A good leader will always go ONE-ON-ONE with difficult conversations.

I'm sure there are other things I could add to this list, but this is all I got right now. I will add more stuff as it comes to me.

A Kiss from Kate

I love this picture of my daughter, Kate. She's 15 months old and such a little lady. Check out the full story behind this pic on Jennifer's blog.

Sailing and Leadership

I have a sailboat exactly like the one in this picture. It's called a Sunfish. I bought my boat about 5 years ago. It's old, beaten up and rusty, but my sailboat is a lot of fun! I love to go sailing on Canyon Lake. Most people say Canyon is the best sailing lake in Texas because the surrounding terrain creates a wind tunnel effect perfect for sailing. And trust me, it doesn't take much wind to get this tiny boat moving.

Yesterday I was thinking about sailing. I haven't been in about a year. The nice weather we're having coupled with the winds of springtime are giving me the urge to get out on the lake. I have also been thinking about leadership. I've been thinking about my own leadership ability and how I can become a better leader.

Being a leader is a lot like sailing. Here's why:

• In sailing you always have to be contemplating your next step. If you want to get from one point to the next you have got to make a plan. This is especially true when sailing to a point that is into the direction of the wind. You must use the process of "tacking" whereby you travel in a zig-zag pattern. Most of the time in sailing it is impossible to travel from one point to the next in a straight line. You must plot a course.
  
• Sailing is almost always done as a team. There are some boats that can be sailed solo (like my Sunfish), but even these boats can go faster and are more easily sailed with more than one person. The captain of a sailboat must be able to give orders quickly and see problems that need to be addressed.
  
• The captain must make sure that everyone on the team knows their role on the boat. Sometimes these roles can change. Team members must be flexible enough to change roles and pick up the slack where there is need.
  
• The gifts and abilities of team members must be evaluated before they are placed in a specific role. Last year I took my 3-year-old son out for a day of sailing. He enjoyed being on the water and seeing the "big sail", but wasn't very good at tightening up the sail or switching sides quickly to balance out the boat. (He's 3) Sailing my boat is much easier with a buddy who can control the sail and move quickly while I steer the ship.
  
• When there is trouble the captain must stay calm and focused. I have flipped my boat several times. It's a small boat. A quick gust of wind can easily capsize my boat if I am slow to react to it. Each time this has happened I simply remain calm and work with my partner to "right the ship". There is simply no time to get scared or frustrated or angry. You have got to move quickly if you don't want to continue treading water.

Man, this makes me want to go sailing. Anybody want to come?