8 Random Reflections After CIYMove

Some summary thoughts and random reflections from last week's CIY Move in Durango:

1. CIY is awesome. I love what this organization has been doing in the world of youth ministry. It's not just about a 1 week summer conference, but about building platforms for launching young people into kingdom work as they reframe their lives around His Word and His mission.

I love the crepes in that little wagon!

2. For the first time in my life, I was complimented on my handwriting! I've always seen my handwriting as fairly crappy, very tiny, and barely legible. There's a long and traumatic story about how I held my pencil wrong in 2nd Grade, but I'll spare you the graphite details... But this week, adult leaders hand wrote brief letters to the students, noting a verse or two of Scripture that we are praying for our students. And despite cramping fingers (I rarely actually write anything anymore) from an afternoon scribe session, at least one of my students gave my penmanship an A. Take that Mr. D. Thanks Jadie!

3. On Friday night, after the girls left group time, I kept the guys behind for a little while and had a moment where I spoke "heart to heart" (and very bluntly) to each of them in an effort to individualize some of what had been going on in our group throughout the week. I want to see these guys be men who passionately honor God, so this was a chance to point out some personal obstacles they each will face and some gifts I can already see in them. They enjoyed the praise, and took the criticism pretty well. This was difficult to do, but I'm praying for those seeds to germinate and grow. I know that's a little vague, but I have huge expectations for these guys. They're filled with incredible potential, and we're kicking out the chocks that keep them parked in the hangar. Time to fly, boys...

4. I love how guys like Kevin Greer and Mark Moore continue to pour themselves into young people - in teaching settings, but even more deeply as mentors for a small handful of guys at a time. The most lasting life change I've seen in youth ministry has happened in the context of a committed adult dumping truck loads of love and experience into a young person's life in a small, discipleship group. (WestWay, this is one of the deficiencies in our youth ministry that we need to improve. Be watching for how you can help.) None of my time in youth ministry could have possibly been productive without teams of people like Jackie and Harriet and Matt and Melissa and Debbie and... many others who loved a few kids enough to disciple them.

5. Lights off laser tag is hazardous. I should have taken the cue when she asked if anyone had a fear of the dark. We'd played a couple rounds already, so the laser tag attendant upped the ante a little bit by going dark. As I was being chased by Michael, I thought I was running full speed down a long corridor. Turns out, I was not. Like the jaws of an alligator, the walls pulled closer and closer, but by the time I realized I was being swallowed by an acute corner, it was too late! Ouch.

6. Our perspective needs broadened continually. Think of the church. What do you picture? Does it include this?

If you're here at WestWay, you'll be hearing more about this film. CIY has highlighted these snapshots of the persecuted church, but there is so much more. We are comfortable here, but don't forget that our family is attacked in much of the world.

7. While I was still in college, I attended a convention CIY used to do for youth leaders. The theme that year was "Standing in the Gap." It was 1997 & I knew nothing about leading a church in youth ministry, but I felt pulled to become someone who would stand in the gap to help young people connect with the Body of Christ. It's really hitting me right now that (at least in part) the reason I feel so out of place all the time is because I've chosen to live my life in that gap. Duh. Hey, guess what? If you choose to place yourself where no one else wants to go, you'll feel alone sometimes. I was reminded this year that there are others who live in that gap - we're not alone there. I was also reminded of some of the strategic thinking I did back then in order to narrow the gap. I'd been given an essentially blank slate and told, "Let's do what needs done." As I sat in an elective class with other leaders this year, I was really convicted that I need to return to being more strategic. I have to admit that some of what we do in our youth ministry is only done because that's what we do. Even worse, some of it may be producing little more than another generation of consumer Christians who whine when we don't sing their favorite song and do little else than show up a couple times a week. I hate that. I'm not a rinse & repeat kind of guy, but I've fallen into that mentality in a couple areas, maybe been lazy with a few things... that has to stop.

8. Sorry about the graphite pun in #2 - I blame sleep deprivation!

Trip-Notes at CIYmove

For those of you keeping track at home, we're into the second day at CIYMove. Vehicles and weather have all been pretty cooperative to this point, and things are going well. I'm hearing some positive feedback already from the first elective sessions this afternoon. Please be praying for the 18 of us to be focused in on what God has to say and courageous enough to follow.

Last night's session focused on young Eli's answer to God's voice: Speak, Lord - I'm listening. This fit amazingly well with what we've been talking about (and hearing) for the past couple months, getting into Filter! Our students are hearing and responding, and it's exciting to think about where God is leading.

Today has been about trusting God when He calls us into something. We talked about Rahab this morning and the amazing change God brought to her life when she responded in faith. She went from "hooker in a town about to be destroyed" to "ancestor of King David - and Jesus, the Messiah." If God can do that with her, there's nothing the rest of us have done that places us beyond the hope He brings.
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On a side note, the adult meeting this morning included a great reminder from Kevin Greer that we're planting seeds that change the world. Some of you at WestWay may remember Kevin - he led adult sessions at Spring Thing several years ago. I always appreciate his long term perspective on youth ministry.

He also led a section later that reminded me of the importance of strategic thinking & planning in youth ministry. There are too many things that we do just because 'that's what we do' in youth ministry. I've always hated that, even though I can fall into the same monotonous sinkholes of pointless activity, and it's always good to be reminded to step back once in a while and evaluate. Youth ministry's hard enough as it is, even when you do know exactly why you're doing it. There are some things I need to do to stop making it harder on myself than it needs to be - hope you'll help...

The Envelope Fundraiser

A few weeks ago, I had my students number 100 envelopes (1-100). We put the envelopes on a display board and explained to the church that they had a chance to help the students with the cost of registration for CIY Move this summer. We have a group of 15 going this year, so this will be a costly endeavor, so we need help. The intention is to take an envelope and donate that amount of money toward the trip as well as pray for the group.

I was hoping for a hundred people to get involved. Not just for the money's sake, but a hundred people to invest themselves in the lives of our students. I was hoping to be able to cover the cost of the trip with the fundraiser, but we're well short of that hope. I just finished totaling everything up and thought I'd share some quick stats.

100 envelopes available.
Gifts given in increments of $1 from $1 to $100.
35 envelopes taken.
30 envelopes returned (maybe the other 5 will still make it back).
$1746 given.

I'm really grateful for the 30 people who've given. God will use what you've given to build into the lives of these young kingdom workers. This is a great start to this summer's trip - please be praying and watch how God will provide for the rest. Let me know if you'd like to sponsor a student.
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So, I need your opinion. This was the first time we'd done this type of fundraiser and I'm trying to evaluate whether it's worth doing again. About 30 people seemed to feel pretty good about it, but what about the rest? We raised way more money than we've raised with any other single fundraiser but one, but we were way short of the goal. So is this:

1. a bad idea... If you fall that far short of the goal, it was a bad idea to start with.
2. a good start... $1746 dollars is a great first step.
3. a stupid way to raise money... Why would I want to just put some money in an envelope without the kids doing anything to earn it?
4. a good idea... I just didn't have anything to give this time. We should do it again sometime & have the envelopes out longer.
5. huh... What envelopes? I should show up more often 'cuz I don't even know what you're talking about Mike.

What's your vote?

Kingdom Work Cards

One of the more meaningful moments at CIY Move this year was the last group time together. I appreciate how CIY doesn't just want to cram a bunch of content into students' lives, but they want to spur students to action. We each were given an envelope with an 'assignment' that would could either take or leave. Everyone in our group was asked to commit to doing whatever was on the card before they opened it.

"How do I know I'll want to do what it says?" You don't. You have to trust that CIY didn't just put a bunch of dumb ideas on the cards. You have to trust that whatever it is, God can use your efforts. Will you serve, 'no matter what'?

"What if it's hard?" It probably will be. When did anyone make a lasting impact by doing something easy?

"What if I can't possibly do it?" We'll help. God has pulled the church together, made up of people He's uniquely crafted to work with each other. Our group will need to support each other and help each other in every possible way to do the work He calls us to do. This stuff will not be easy but it is all possible:
     -Start or join a book reading program for other kids
     -Take a foreign language class and go on a mission trip to a country that speaks that language
     -Put together a 5K run to benefit ActiveWater
     -Visit a nursing home for an hour each week for the upcoming year
     -Adopt a single mom and include her family in your family's special events/holidays
     -Send an encouraging message to a different person each day for a year
     -Build new relationships by joining a new club at school
     -Find someone to mentor and find someone to be your mentor
     -Read through the Bible in a year

I'm excited to see my students doing the Kingdom work these cards have brought to mind, and to see what else their actions will spark. Already, some of them have been laying the groundwork for what is to be done. The students are excitedly sharing what they're up to and drawing other people into Kingdom work with them.
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If you know the students who went, check in with them on how they're doing. Ask them how you can help. Also check out WeAmplify to read more stories of students all over the country and how they're being Kingdom workers no matter what.

Thoughts From Last Week at CIY Move

- It was awesome. Seriously, CIY is a great organization, the conference was great, and if you're involved in youth ministry, you should look into what they do.

- We were fortunate. Mark Moore spoke for each of the morning sessions, setting the tone for the day and setting the bar high for the students. I love speakers who unapologetically challenge students instead of talking at them like they're six and completely incapable of anything that really matters. These morning sessions led us to some great discussions during our morning group time.

- Speaking of those discussions: our students have some great ideas! They want to be the church, not just attend a cool youth group - that really excites me. I love seeing young people become more passionate about working to bring God's Kingdom into people's lives - and actually taking steps to do it. After one particularly good discussion, one of my students asked "These are all good ideas and stuff, but what are we actually going to DO?" I LOVE THAT QUESTION! That moment was a hinge point for the week. No longer were we discussing the theoretical - they wanted assignments.

- During the very last night, students received cards in an envelope that they were instructed not to open until our group time later that night. Each card contained a different challenge. No one was allowed to open the envelope unless they first committed to do what the card said, "no matter what" that may be. Every one of our students made that commitment, and as we opened each card and shared with the group what it said, the sense that this was anything but random grew. Almost every single one of us had on our cards a challenge that directly (and I mean explicitly direct) challenged us in an area that we'd personally talked about that week. It will be awesome to see how our students come together to help each other fulfill their challenges over the next year.

- Here's an example of what I mean by explicitly direct. During our D-group time one day I was talking about the need for mentors... encouraging students to be mentors for younger students as well as to find a mentor to help them navigate. I shared with my students some of my experiences mentoring a group of guys. Most of my most rewarding experiences in youth ministry came directly out of that purposeful mentoring relationship. I shared with them how I've been frustrated lately because I haven't been very diligent in mentoring others (and how I intended to do better for/with them). I also shared that one of my greatest disappointments in my adult life has been the lack of a long-term, personal mentor. Now, I've been mentored from a distance by watching others in ministry and through the books and online teachings of several pastor/authors... I've been sharpened by peers in ministry... Several of my college professors and staff stand out as momentary mentors... and I am immensely grateful to those that I've gleaned from, but (outside of my very beneficial and appreciated relationship with my own dad) I've never had an ongoing personal mentor/mentee relationship. I've always regretted that, and been a little saddened by that - I've even tried to do something about it a few times, but I've missed out on having a "Paul" to my "Timothy". I shared this with my students to encourage them to seek a mentor and learn everything they can from them. Fast Forward a couple days to the cards. Mine says, "Find someone to mentor you and find someone to mentor." What else would it say?

- We all had a great week. God moved in our group, drawing us together to serve Him and reveal Him to the people around us. My kids are excited to be the church! But I have a problem. I'm finding something within me wanting to temper their excitement and quell expectations. That faithless part of me that says, "The leaders aren't going to like that idea...let's slow down a bit..." needs to be taken to the woodshed. Timothy had that part, too, so Paul offered him this: "I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self discipline." Which reminds me, I need to go check in with some of my fire starters!

Processing Last Week at CIY Move...

My apologies to those of you who checked in here last week expecting updates from our high school trip to CIY Move. The Ft. Lewis network decided my laptop was unworthy of inclusion, and thus unyieldingly shunned me from access. Beginning with this post, I'll go through some of the highlights of the week. (I wrote this post Monday night, anticipating a resolution to my network issues that never came.)
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After several hundred miles on the road, we made it to Durango in time to check in, unload, eat supper, and have a great time of worship in the first main session here at CIY Move.  It’s been a pretty entertaining mix of personalities so far in the van… some of these students seem to want to argue with each other NO MATTER WHAT (I’ve heard them completely change their ‘side’ in order to continue an argument!).  The friction can get a little annoying once in a while, but I really think God’s using the sparks to start some pretty exciting fires… can’t wait to see His plans for these guys come to be.

The ride down was fairly uneventful – no lost lunches or cookie tossing in the van, no accidents, & all foul odors were kept to a minimum (usually). After stopping for lunch, however, I returned to the van to find a huge dent in the front fender… some kid in skinny jeans decided to play Chuck Norris. Subsequently, he was induced to purchase a large suction cup to pull out the dent! It’s really not as big a deal as it may seem; it just sounds more dramatic and less like tattling than saying, “Shane kicked a dent in the fender.”

The session tonight dealt with the concept of grace. It changes our story. Grace changes everything. I couldn’t help but think of a particular student I’ve been praying for who needs so desperately to understand that. She’s had some pretty crappy circumstances over the last couple years, and has made some decisions that have compounded her difficulty. I wish she could have been here with us to hear the message, but more than that, I pray she’ll see Jesus revealed to her where she is.

Excited to see God continue to move this week…

CIY Move

While I'm with the high school students at CIY Move, I'll try to post some updates here so parents, grandparents, and innocent bystanders can keep in touch with what we're doing.  Also, you can go to CIY's site to get an idea of what we'll be doing and talking about each day of the week.