Notes to my young self- Introduction

I unlocked my office door and dropped my church keys on my desk. Starting my first youth ministry job had my head spinning with questions:

What do I need to know starting out?

How can I best minister to the youth in my care?

Where do I learn to handle all the pressures that immediately come to me? Balancing parents, church leadership, pastoral staff and the church secretary is already a struggle.

Now, looking back as a 30 year ministry veteran, what advice would I give to that guy standing in his new office?

I began youth ministry in the early 1980’s at the “wise old” age of 19. Like most my age, I was still trying to figure out what I wanted to do career-wise. I leaned toward an occupation as a Ranger working in a nearby National Park, but my pastor and youth pastor had a different plan for me. In between my freshman and sophomore years of college my church took me on as a summer intern. Like many interns I loved it and thought, “I can get paid to do this fun stuff?” This experience kindled an interest and passion for ministry that has carried me through to this day.

After a 34 year ministry journey, which includes a wide variety of ministry roles, I am now in my mid-50’s and invest in training and preparing people for entrepreneurial ministry as a faculty member at Tabor College.

Looking back I feel like I have learned a few things over the past years, and this post is the first in a blog series called, “Notes to my younger self.” In future posts I plan to share stories from my Youth Ministry past and offer insights I wished I would have known back then. Hopefully, by listening in on this conversation, it will also help you who read it today.

Before jumping into the series, first a bit about me. When I was starting 7th grade, my parents moved us to a new community. With the move came a new church which became a vocation-shaping place for me. I met pastor Bob Clayton and youth pastor Carman Ruggeri, who were to have a life-long impact on my call and vocation. During those years Bob and Carman began to invite me into the vocation of ministry. They modeled what the book Growing Young identified in chapter 2 as “unlocking keychain leadership.” Bob and Carman continually called me into ministry leadership, even when I initially resisted. When I finally accepted their “summons,” they provided access to get involved right away, which led to the summer internship.

I graduated from Fresno Pacific, a Christian college, with a Christian Ministry degree. However, I did not feel adequately prepared to launch out and run my own youth group so I joined “Christian Service,” a two year peace-corps type program run by the Mennonite Brethren church for young adults working in a variety of ministries. For me, this was an excellent way to get youth ministry experience and learn under the watchful eye of Bruce Porter, a youth ministry veteran. When I completed the 2 year program, I felt better prepared to launch out and serve on my own.

I spent an additional two years as a youth pastor then transitioned to Seminary where I also worked part time in a church. During that time, ministry expanded to include worship leading and involvement with general church leadership. After graduating from Seminary, my wife and I moved to England to work with Youth for Christ. More on that experience in future posts.

Along the way I have had other great youth ministry mentors. Still, there were tough things I learned along the way that in hindsight I want to reflect on. The next blog posts will do just that.

For this first post, a couple of questions to ponder:

• Who are the people in your life who have encouraged you into ministry? Have you thanked them? If not, send a note or text today.
• If you “hold the keys” at your ministry, with whom are you sharing them? See the book Growing Young from Fuller Youth Institute for more info.
• Even if you’re new in ministry, what have you learned that you would share with an earlier version of yourself? Write that down and share it with someone who is newer than you in youth ministry.

Dark Ink

"The strongest memory is weaker than the palest ink"- Chinese proverb.


Thanks for my friends Paul and Sally Nash who write Marker Posts and Shelters. I came across this proverb this week. It got me thinking about the numerous articles, tweets, thoughts, and videos that come across my desk each day. With most I think, "This is so amazing, I'll never forget this." And yet, as the proverb so aptly states, with only a few exceptions, these great ideas soon vanish like mist. 

So, encouraged by this proverb and the practice of Paul and Sally who blog regularly. I'm embarking on a regular blogging track. I'll be writing on whatever struck me that day. It might be a video I saw on Yahoo News. It might be a tweet, or a section of a book I'm reading, it might be something I read that morning as I sat with God. 

I know occasionally this will be read by others, but my reason for writing is so I don't forget what I'm learning along the way. 

I titled this post "dark ink." I'm hoping this practice and discipline will build a bridge to memory. 

Lament or Pop Song Lyric?

I know not all the people reading this are parents of teenagers like I am. But I would guess that most of you have heard of pop/country singer Taylor Swift. Swift has created a musical empire by singing songs focused on breakups and love gone wrong.

I’m a volunteer youth leader at my church. It’s a wonderful job to have, especially after 30+ years of working full-time with teenagers. I like the freedom of just showing up and helping out. My usual task is to lead the games and this past week I purchased a game show from a youth ministry website called DownloadYouthMinistry. The game was called: “Taylor Swift or Lamentations.” The powerpoint based game highlighted lyrics on the screen and the contestant had to identify if the words were from a Taylor Swift song, or Lamentations in the Bible.

The game is not as easy as one might think. Swift has written some pretty powerful lines and Jeremiah penned some pretty contemporary insights.

Running the game on Wednesday night got me thinking about connections between loss and lament. In the book of Psalms, laments far outnumber any other kind of songs. When people feel loss and pain one way to deal with it is to write and sing a song; that’s certainly what Taylor Swift has done. As a friend who was studying counseling once said to me, “One thing that all humans share is an experience of loss.” I’ve never forgotten that. Laments are praises in the time when God seems hidden and absent. It’s also the freedom to let God know exactly how we feel without holding anything back.

Biblical laments can be personal or communal and generally follows a 6-step process:

1. Address to God
2. Complaint
3. Confession of trust
4. Petition
5. Words of assurance
6. Vow of praise

Read Psalm 42 which is a personal lament. Notice how it is written in poetry, as a song.

1 As the deer pants for streams of water,

   so my soul pants for you, my God.

2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

   When can I go and meet with God?

3 My tears have been my food

   day and night,

while people say to me all day long,

   “Where is your God?”

4 These things I remember

   as I pour out my soul:

how I used to go to the house of God

   under the protection of the Mighty One[d]

with shouts of joy and praise

   among the festive throng.

5 Why, my soul, are you downcast?

   Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God,

   for I will yet praise him,

   my Savior and my God.

6 My soul is downcast within me;

   therefore I will remember you

from the land of the Jordan,

   the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.

7 Deep calls to deep

   in the roar of your waterfalls;

all your waves and breakers

   have swept over me.

8 By day the Lord directs his love,

   at night his song is with me—

   a prayer to the God of my life.

9 I say to God my Rock,

   “Why have you forgotten me?

Why must I go about mourning,

   oppressed by the enemy?”

10 My bones suffer mortal agony

   as my foes taunt me,

saying to me all day long,

   “Where is your God?”

11 Why, my soul, are you downcast?

   Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God,

   for I will yet praise him,

   my Savior and my God.

I know that with the beginning of the school year most people are excited and ready to go. Loss and lament can often seem far away. Yet I also know that as the term goes on, as family situations unfold, and as circumstances come up; many of us find ourselves experiencing loss of some type. Rather than bitterness, I hope we’ll turn to songs of lament to help us express ourselves. No matter who the author: Jeremiah, King David, or Taylor Swift.

Hope for the Journey

Psalm 39:4-7 New Living Translation (NLT)

4 “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.

   Remind me that my days are numbered—

   how fleeting my life is.

5 You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand.

   My entire lifetime is just a moment to you;

   at best, each of us is but a breath.” Interlude

6 We are merely moving shadows,

   and all our busy rushing ends in nothing.

We heap up wealth,

   not knowing who will spend it.

7 And so, Lord, where do I put my hope?

   My only hope is in you.

This passage “jumped out” at me this morning when I came to it as part of a daily reading plan. I had already been thinking about the brevity of life after a conversation this week with a friend who had recently lost a parent.

I spent almost four years as a pastor of an older, established congregation. This congregation had a significant number of older people, and during my time there I participated in more funerals than I can count. One personal take-away for me during this time was a constant reminder that I needed to count my days and realize that each day, each moment, was important.

Why this reflection as part of a devotional for Tabor College? Shifting the focus a bit from the end of life to pursuing studies; like our students, I also completed a degree while working full-time, juggling family life, and constant studying. I know how easy it can be to focus exclusively on the end goal. “Just get it done” can become all one lives for during this time.

And this is important; focus toward the end goal is critical. But sometimes I think it’s just as important, just like a driver who momentarily looks down at the instrument panel to gage speed, temperature, and to check the gas; that during an intense period in life it’s important to look down, and evaluate the brevity of life and to take some time to stop and celebrate. Go to the movies, play with our children, read a (fun) book on the back deck.

After listing what could be seen as a bunch of negatives, the Psalmist reiterates that his hope is ultimately in God alone.

May we be people who hope in God. Who look toward the goal, but also glance down and see the good gifts all around us.

Promoting Personal/Professional Learning Networks (PLN)

For the past four weeks I've been participating in an open online seminar called: Exploring Personal Learning Networks (PLN's) (#xplrpln) through Northwestern University.

During this time the discussion has swirled around this question, Your CEO (or equivalent organizational leader) just heard about PLNs at a cocktail party and is excited about gaining a competitive advantage (or improving impact on mission) by leveraging PLNs for the organization’s success. But, she/he knows little about PLNs or what to do with them to support organizational success and strategy. Is the organization set up to benefit from and support PLNs, so it is more than just an individual thing? She/he is going away on vacation for one week, and upon return wants you to explain what PLNs are and to provide guidance for what to do. You have a one-hour meeting to facilitate a conversation.

Here's how I've come to define the term: "A PLN is a person's network- a group of people, living or dead who regularly influence and guide that person in learning and growth. In the past a PLN might have included people from one's academic discipline who were consulted once a year at conferences; now with the global reach of the internet, these people can be from around the world and can be interacted with through a wide variety of tools: Twitter, blogging, Google+, or Facebook."

I want to take into consideration that people like my 80+ year old father-in-law- a PhD and Old Testament scholar who belonged to numerous academic networks, who would attend annual meetings and collaborated with his friends through phone or the mail- had a PLN whether he acknowledged it or not.

I also want to note that the "Learning" part of PLN means I have learned a lot in my field from those who no longer walk this earth. For example, in the area of developmental psychology, the writings of Jean Piaget, Lawrence Kohlberg, Lev Vygotsky, have shaped me and I consider them, and others, to be part of my PLN.

As I've engaged in these discussions, I've been thinking of what I will do or say to answer the assignment. Would I go to the Administration at my college and say, "Everyone should have a PLN?" Or would I attend a faculty meeting and try and convince them? What would I say to the President of my college?

This week in a Twitter Chat it hit me, I have developed a PLN out of joy and spontaneity. I started #edcmooc in January and through that experience I emerged with a group of people I interacted with through various forms of Social Media and who over this past year have become part of my PLN.

When I presented my findings in the fictional situation above, I wouldn't want to recommend that my institution to require us to create a PLN. Rather, I would want to share the joy and excitement of journeying with a group of people who have shaped my thinking and been a sounding board for brainstorming and ideas and have helped me to grow professionally. My life and my output as a worker has grown because of my PLN.

It also hit me in the chat this week that maybe we're moving into a place where each of us as individuals is becoming the sum of our PLN's. It reminds me of Rachel Botsman's TED talk titled, "The Currency of the New Economy is Trust."



I like thinking about PLN's in the same context as Botsman describes above. In many ways we operate on trust with people most of us have never met apart from the web.

As part of that trust. I group of us in this experience who are educators worked together on a Google Doc and Slideshow. Here are the links to our collaborative work. It was fun and the comments and suggestions of others definitely sparked my own thinking. A clear sign of a PLN at work.

Personal Learning Networks for Higher Ed- Google Slide

Personal Learning Networks for Higher Ed- Google Doc