Parking Fail

I headed to Monkey Joes to spend some time with the Dennison family.  Monkey Joes is a business with tons of bounce houses inside it.  When we got there the power was out, and something even more odd was in the parking lot.

Parking Fail

The greatest musical artist of our time

• He was the valedictorian of his class at age 16.
• He has sold more than 12 millions albums.
• He has done more than 1000 live shows.
• He has won 3 grammys in 9 nominations.
• He has 4 gold records and 6 platinum records.
• He has a top 10 billboard album.

• Kurt Cobain, of Nirvana, called him a musical genius.
• Chamillionare gave him credit for making the song "ridin" so big that it won a grammy.
• Michael Jackson was quoted as being a huge fan of his.
• Don McLean says he thinks of this artists music while he plays the song "American pie" on stage.

Weird Al has consistently been one of the most relevant artists since his first song hit the radio in 1979, and is still one of my favorite artists.  He deserves to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of fame.



"White and Nerdy" a parody of "Ridin" by Chamillionaire


 The entire story of star wars Episode 1 to the tune of "American Pie" by Don McLean


The story of Spiderman done to "Piano man" by Billy Joel.


A parody of T.I.'s smash hit "Whatever you like"

USC (the University of South Carolina), College World Series Champions

I have to admit i don't watch a lot ofbaseball, but I usually watch the College World Series.  And with USC (the University of South Carolina)  in the hunt, there was no way I was gonna miss it.  USC has made it easy to be a Gamecock fan not just with winning, but making the games fun to watch.

• On June 22nd the Gamecocks put 8 on the board in the 2nd inning, and they went on to send the #1 seeded team home with a 11-4 loss.
• On June 24th Oklahoma was winning 2-1.  South Carolina had 2 out and 2 strikes.  We were one strike away from the team heading back to Colombia.  A couple of hits later and OK was heading home with a 3-2 loss
• There is not much better than beating #1 Arizona and then following with such a dramatic win against Oklahoma, but I can think of one thing better.  Beating the Clemson Tigers back to back (5-1 & 4-3), knocking them out of the championship race, and locking up a USC (The USC) vs. UCLA College World Series game.
• We won our opening game with UCLA which ended up 7-1.  All 9 of the starting players had at least one hit.  The second game was a great game to watch.  UCLA scored in the 5th, and USC scored in the 8th making it 1-1.  It remained 1-1 until Whit Merrifield singled home Scott Wingo in the bottom of the 11th. 

Loved every second of it.  USC is the College World Series Champions of 2010. Go Gamecocks!  Now if we can just get this to carry over to football.

My favorite moment of VBS today

I am apart of the team teaching the 4th and 5th grade class.  Liz Albert, the main teacher, was talking about how God has crafted us, and how we are wonderfully and beautifully made.

Liz asked the group, "What happens to our baby teeth as we get older?"
One of the students answered, "They fall out".
Liz continued, "and what are they replaced with?"
Without raising his hand a male student screamed with great excitement, "MONEY!".

The Bells of Christ Church Update Day Six

The Bells of Christ Church

Outreach Tour to Appalachian and the Carolinas

June 20-27, 2010

Day Six (June 25th)

A miracle happened this morning.  Everyone was up and on time, even the boys.  I want to state that again.  The boys were all up on time.  I am stunned.

We loaded up and headed to Raleigh, NC to spend a few hours at The North Carolina Museum of Natural Science and the North Carolina Museum of History.  We spent most of our time at the Museum of Natural Sciences.

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Science

• The dinosaur exhibit was  awesome.  There was a life size replica of a T-Rex skull.  There were a bunch of fossils and dino skeletons.  There was a life size replica of a brontosaurus-type mammal which was only labeled as a plant eater.  I still don't know what it was.
• There was a handful of animal exhibits, but after having just been to the Columbia Zoo those were a little of a let down.  And they had a couple of stuffed animals stuck in front of a painted scene, which is not that interesting.
• There were 4 or 5 enormous whale skeletons hanging from the ceiling.  The immensity of these bones was stunning.
• We headed upstairs to what was the most popular room of the museum.  It was a experiential learning room.  10 of us piled into the room and the museum worker sat us down around a table to tell us the rules of the room.  She pulled out a box with a stuffed squirrel and a stuffed bird side by side.  She explained that the room was full of stuffed animals and animal skins.  We could open any drawers and touch/hold any of the animals in the room.  Most of us found the room to be very interesting, but none of us knew what it was until we were inside.  The moment we realized what the room was about Elizabeth Dawson was mortified.  She explained later that she is not a vegetarian and she is not a big environmentalist, but the idea of picking up dead animals was disgusting to her.  For the next day every time I saw her I would say, "Elizabeth, how did you like the lovely room of death?" 

The North Carolina Museum of History

• When we first headed into the NC Museum of history there was a exhibit about the history of Jews in North Carolina.  There was a striking photo of 8 older Jewish folks with tattoos from concentration camps.  There was a shadow box that housed a few Jewish religious items.  The one that caught my eye was the tzitzit, which was talked about in "Velvet Elvis" a book by Rob Bell.
• The other area of the museum I visited was the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.  I did not have a lot of time to spend there.  The one thing I had time to notice was that Michael Jordon was not mentioned anywhere in the room, but Andy Griffith had an audio comedy routine about the first time he saw a football game.  That is messed up, seriously.

The concert was at a Methodist church in Raleigh, NC.  They were great hosts, and they served us nice deli sandwiches.  During dinner I made the mistake of pouring my chips out of the bag and onto my plate.  As long as I keep the chips in the bag, I can hide my OCD issue and I look a lot less crazy.  I subconsciously started stacking my chips in fours according to size.  I looked up to see everyone looking at me like I had two heads.  After a lengthy conversation about how insane, I am other people started to admit to either OCD things in their lives and pet peeves that are so sever they cause anxiety.

• I can't stand the sound of styrofoam rubbing together, and I do stack things in fours (chips, fries, pretzels, etc.)
• Matthew has a major irrational fear of having his eyes poked out.
• Alexia hates things getting in her face and especially people putting their hand in her face
• Heather hates having her ears touched.

It's official.  All the youth at Christ Church are nuts.

The concert itself was a smaller congregation than the night before, but many of them were handbell ringers.

Cole York gave her testimony.  She began talking about being raised in a Christian home, and confirming her faith through experiences with God through people and youth trips or events.  She boldly spoke of Christ as the only way.  And then she went on to talk about how the most meaningful expression of her faith is searching out God's beauty in the places she is, the people she is with, and even the music she rings.

Later on that evening during the handbell concert Mark Williams was doing the narration, and he talked  about the "lovely room of death" (he didn't call it that).  He spoke of it as a place where you could see the creation of God and understand how magnificent He is.  I agreed with Mark, but Elizabeth was unable to hide the disgust on her face as she rearranged her bells.

As the concert ended I was outside speaking to the bus driver, and he told me that a belt broke in the air conditioning.  He said that the bus would be fixed by the next day, but it would be a hot 20 minute drive back to the hotel.  Once again I saw God's hands on us, because we are allowed to sleep in on day 7.  If it would have happened any other day we would have been in a 90 degree van for hours or we would have had to cancel an event or a concert.

After the VERY hot drive back to the hotel.  The driver and I headed to a nearby grocery store to pick up breakfast for the next day.  Matthew Robertson decide to come come with us to the store to help out, and help out...HE DID NOT.  After being in the store for 30 seconds Matthew stole the shopping cart and ran away.  I kept hearing him giggle from one aisle away as I did my shopping and tried to carry all of the breakfast items.  After about 10 minutes, Matthew showed back up with the shopping cart full (and I mean full) of what Matthew continually called "Lady Diapers" and one bag of pork rinds.  I had to unload the cart back at the proper aisle in front of a female shopper, with Matthew laughing in the background.  To add to my embarrassment the female shopper jokingly asked me if I should change my diet.  Over the next few hours Matthew told the story over and over again.  I hope this boy finds a woman wonderful enough to know him, put up with him,  and still want to be his wife.

Mark Williams told us to please go to bed soon.  He said that even though we were driving home the next day, the youth needed to be rested and well for the home concert.  We obeyed him by doing a Cannon Ball and Belly Flop contest until 12:30, at which point we were told it was time to close the pool.  Then we played cards in a small conference room until 3:00 am.  Sorry Mark!

I'm tired.  Goodnight.

The Top Ten Things I Love About Bell Concerts

The Bells of Christ Church “Home Concert”

3:00 pm
Sunday, June 27^th

At Christ Church Savannah on Bull Street

Please come and support our youth bell choir as they share the gospel through scripture, song, and testimonies.  

*     *     *     *

My Top Ten Favorite Things- Bells Edition

And things you should look for when you come to the home concert...

10. During “As The Deer” the youth ring handbells and sing.  I honestly teared up during last night's performance.

9. There is so much going on during “Joyous Dance”: different styles of ringing, bells, chimes, some youth even ring 4 bells at one time.

8. The song “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen."  Daniel Hughes said this is the most important song for him to do because it is so hard and fast. 

7. The Bell Duet “Invention #1” by Sharon and Elizabeth is both audibly and visually stunning. 

6. Watching Matthew’s chorography during the song “I Come With Joy”. 

5. Donovan plays the cowbell during “Shereka Usafari." 

4.  During “Shereka Usafari,” some of the youth duck out of sight at the beginning of the song to represent the music being far away and then they stand up as the music is supposed to be getting closer   When Thomas rises up he always has an priceless mischievous look on his face.

3. At the end of “Hava Negeela,” Hunter Hughes has a part where he is playing two of the largest bells at the same time.  He bounces around to the music and looks like a stud because the bells he is throwing around are so big.  You go bro! It’s hard to say anything other than “Hava Nageela” is really, really, really, cool.

2.      “Air on a Scottish Folk song” is simply beautiful.  The chimes have a clean and sweet sound.

 

1. Three of our students will offer their testimonies at the home concert, a repeat of the stories they shared throughout the tour this year.  You need to support our students are they testify to the glory of God, and share the good news of Christ in their lives with you!

Please come and support our Bell Choir.

3:00pm, Sunday June 27^th

At Christ Church on Bull Street

The Bells of Christ Church Update Day Five

The Bells of Christ Church

Outreach Tour to Appalachian and the Carolinas

June 20-27, 2010

The Bells of Christ Church “Home Concert”!!!

3:00pm, Sunday June 27^th

At Christ Church Savannah on Bull street

Please come and support our youth bell choir as they share the gospel through scripture, song, and testimony.

Day Five (June 24^th)

Take a guess and you would be right:  I had to go wake up one of the boys rooms this morning.  They were sound asleep and after knocking on the door for a few minutes I heard them whispering to each other.  I am gonna assume it was a conversation about who was going to answer the door and not a debate over whether to ignore me and just go back to sleep.  Once again they proved they have the ability to go from asleep to awake, packed, breakfast eaten and on the bus in about 5 minutes.  I find that quite an amazing feat.  Once we were on the bus we did our count off, and found that Jonah Hughes was missing.  We waited for about 10 minutes and Mark mentioned that Jonah has never been late to anything, and we sent someone to find him.  A few minutes later Jonah came slowly dragging to the bus.  It seems that Jonah had gotten sick the night before and still felt pretty bad this morning.  Being a typical guy (or bro) Jonah decided to muscle through it rather than ask anyone for help.  Jonah finally made it to the bus and after a bit of Tylenol, Pepto, and a long nap on the bus he seemed a bit better.  We had a two hour drive, and the exhaustion was noticed as the entire bus was in silence.  Most of the students had just woke up a hour before, and they were already for a nap. 

Historic Colonial Salem

Around 1:00 we made it to Historic Colonial Salem, and we were let loose to see the town.  The town was an old historic town with homes and businesses set up like they were hundreds years ago.  Our group spent most of the day putting the phrase “Historic Colonial Salem” in front of things we saw:

• The Historic Colonial Salem fire hydrant, putting out fires since 1777.
• The Historic Colonial Salem Honda Odyssey, driving your kids to soccer practice since 1786.
• The Historic Colonial Salem electric company, serving your electricity needs since 1762.
• The Historic Colonial Salem park bench, giving you a place to rest since 1765.

My group’s first stop was the gun shop.  The gun smith lost a lot of creditability when he made a joke at the expense of the University of South Carolina’s football team, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt.  First he showed us the type of wood that a person would need to start crafting their Historic Colonial Salem gun.  Next he showed us a gun that he had carved the basic shape into.  Third he put the barrel into a gun that had the groove cut out for it, and finally he talk about how a person would finalize the gun by smoothing the edges etc.  It was really neat, and I was a bit impressed at how much a few of our boys knew about guns.  Our next stop was an old Inn.  We saw the bed rooms, the manager’s quarters, and the Historic Colonial Salem kitchen.  After that we headed to an old barn which seem to us to be exactly like a new barn, but we aren’t farmers so what do we know.  We grabbed a bite to eat at the “Barn Tavern” and most of us had the Historic Colonial Salem burger with fries. My wife was sitting with a group of girls at another part of the restaurant and when I realized that she ordered the chicken pot pie I decided that I wanted a bite of her food.  Instead of asking her like a normal person (I sure she would have said “yes”), I instead sent Matthew Robertson to ask to speak to her privately.  When Heather followed Matthew a few feet away with her back to the table I ran in with a fork and a appetizer plate and sliced off a good portion of her lunch.  Matthew ended his conversation with her right after I ran back to my table.  I have to admit it was a very good slice of Historic Colonial Salem chicken pot pie.

We spent the rest of the afternoon visiting hat shops, toy stores, touring homes, and sitting around in the Historic Colonial Salem park.  Donovan even brought out a hammock and tied it off between two Historic Colonial Salem trees and took a nap.  While resting in the park Matthew Robertson saw two people dressed in Colonial garb and claimed that they were Ben Franklin and his wife Aretha.  He then spent the next 5 minutes laughing by himself at his own joke.  Soon after it was time to leave so we back and loaded up on the Historic Colonial Salem charter bus, (taking church groups on bell tours since 1754).

Concert #4

We took a 15 minute drive to Ardmore United Methodist Church in Winston-Salem, NC.  This church was a great host for us.  They publicized the concert, they made sure they had nursery workers, and they fed us a fantastic spread (fried chicken, BBQ sandwiches, tons of fruit, desserts, and a good salad).  Almost 160 people attended the concert, and they brought with them an enormous amount of energy.  The Bells of Christ Church fed off of the energy in the room, and it was by far their best concert yet.  I would argue that it was the best concert they have given, and that includes the 2009 tour. 

During the concert Hallie Worthington gave her testimony.  Hallie talked about growing up in a Christian home, and going to a Catholic school.  She was in 10^th grade when she decided to take her faith serious.  She joined her friends Cole and Anna in a CCSM (Christ Church Student Ministry) small group, and she began going to our youth group.  As Hallie began to grow in her faith through the small group and through the Bible teaching on Sunday evenings, she said she found a true community, people who supported her and accepted her.  During the ski trip in 2008, she watched Matthew Robertson make a profession of faith, and she was moved to see him take it so seriously.  Matthew’s dedication helped her to take her faith deeper.  It was the next year at the 2009 ski trip that God decided to move in her life, and she committed her life to Jesus Christ.  As Hallie put it, she gave up control and let God step in to direct her path.

After the concert we headed back to the hotel, played cards, and (most of us) went to bed and got some sleep.  I’d need to add that after the day was through Sharon Mays made the decision that she is gonna move to Winston Salem and her husband will be a doctor in town, they would live in one of the Historic Colonial Salem residential houses, and her children would attend the school in the middle of Historic Colonial Salem.  There are a few other details, but you’ll have to ask her.

The Bells of Christ Church Update Day Four

The Bells of Christ Church

Outreach Tour to Appalachian & the Carolinas

June 20-27, 2010

Day Four (June 23^rd)

Like yesterday morning, it was time to go and one the boys from one of the rooms was missing.  It was a bit easier this morning and I only had to knock on their door for 5 minutes or so.  Once they were awake they popped right up and got ready quickly. 

We loaded the bus and were soon on the way for a morning of hiking.  We drove through some of the most beautiful landscape in America as we traveled on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  God’s creation was stunning, and every time there was a break in the trees and we were able to see the mountain landscape, all of the youth on the bus stopped what they were doing and looked out the window.  I was treated to 22 “oohs” and “aahhhhs!”  We did the typical things you do when you travel through a place like this.  We heard more than one joke that if the driver made one mistake we would all be dead.   All of the youth held their breath as we went through tunnels. 

There was one negative draw back: road work crews were all over the Blue Mountain Parkway.  We were having to come to a complete stop every 10 miles or so and wait for cars going in the other direction, as the road work had made large potions of the Parkway a one-lane road.  There was even one moment that we rounded a sharp corner in our large 55-passenger bus just to see a forklift in the middle of the road.  Our bus driver had to slam on the brakes, squealing tires in the process. It was about this time that we realized that our 1 hour ride had taken us over 2 hours and there would be no time for the hike to a waterfall.

It was also around this time that we realized we were lost and the bus driver stopped at a small country store for directions.  We got directions with no real problem but we were told that the town we were heading to had no places and we would have to take a detour to a Super Wal-Mart if we wanted to get lunch.  As soon as we turned back onto the road, some of the guys and I began to hear a noise coming from the back left of the bus.  We told the driver and a couple miles up he pulled over to take a look.  He saw nothing and continued on the trip to Wal-Mart, although the noise got louder and louder.   We arrived at the Wal-mart and as we pulled into the parking we heard a loud pop and the bus pulled hard to the left.  The tire had blown!  All of us got off the bus and headed to lunch at Subway in Wal-Mart.  We knew we would be there a long time after the tire blew.  But in only 40 minutes time, we were told the bus was ready to load back up.  Our driver, Morris, later told us that God must have been watching us, because if the tire would have blown on the Parkway not only would it have been dangerous, but they would have had to send another bus to come pick us up and take us to our hotel.  We would have had to leave the bells on the bus, and we would have had to cancel the evening’s concert.  It would have taken hours, been exhausting, and canceling the concert would have been a huge let down.  We happened to blow a tire at the only place in this little town capable of helping us, and NOT suffer through a blown tire on the side of a mountain.  God is good!

Our next excursion was to the Linville caverns.  As soon as we stepped into the entrance of the cavern, it was amazing.  It was beautiful.  The walls of the cavern were different colors because of the type of minerals forming it from above.  There were walls of blue, black, yellow, and green (this was algae).  I was told early on that Sharon was afraid of spiders, so I was able to tease her most of the way through the caverns.  I did not mention to her that I am equally afraid of spiders until I was safely out of the cavern.  I also had an irrational fear of the cavern caving in on us, especially after our guide told us that we were under the ground a quarter mile.  I was sure the weight of it all would come crashing down at and moment.  We were shown one place in the cavern where there was a small pool of water.  It was about 10 feet wide, but when the guide shined his flash light on the water we could see no bottom.  He told us that they had measured out 250 yards and not hit bottom.  Then they hired a diving team, but the underwater cavern was too narrow for them to find the bottom.  Once again God’s creation is amazing.

Ringing Bells on the High Seas (High C’s)

After our tour at the caverns was done we loaded up the bus again and headed to Boone, NC for our evening concert.  However, now our bus was overheating, due to the intense braking and engine working hard going around all the curves of the mountain.  We had to stop ever time it overheated, which was about every 20 minutes.  We finally made it to Boone, and we were all happy not to be driving for a while. 

When we arrived at the church, we found that the sanctuary was already set up for the VBS which was going on this week.  The front of the church was dressed with a very well done, very large, and very detailed pirate ship.  The youth got the bells set up and began practicing.  The contrast of the bells surrounded by the enormous mast of the ship was borderline hilarious. 

Once the practice was near complete, we could see that the youth were exhausted.  They had been on a bus all day.  It was during this exhaustion that the youth impressed me again.  Typically when I get exhausted I deal with it by raising my voice at everybody and being really selfish.  The youth were amazing.  It their exhaustion they spoke kind words, they were patient with each other, they even offered to help each other.  What an amazing Christ-centered group!

The concert was at a Methodist which had 5 (FIVE!) hand bell choirs.  Many of the people in attendance were ringers themselves, and they were all impressed with the level of the quality in our ringers.  They specifically mentioned that they could see the enjoyment of ringing bells on Sharon Mays face, and they were very impressed with Daniel Hughes.  They loved how Donovan rocked out on the bass chimes.  They said, “They ring with more maturity than any youth bell choir we have ever seen.”  They have middle school, high school, and college bell choirs at their church.

During the concert, Matthew Robertson gave a testimony about how God  has used people to influence him through music (Mark W.), personality (Dad), and faith (Mark, Dad, Joey P., and Mrs. Heather).  Now God is using him to influence younger teens through music, personality, and faith.

Anna Sprague also gave her testimony which was about what short-term mission trips have meant to her.  She mentioned Pass Christian, Mexico, and last year’s youth group & bell tour combined mission trip across the southern states.  She made a great comment that she hopes to live her life like a big mission trip, but that she has learned mission does not have to mean going somewhere else.  She said that if she lives to serve others daily, and share Jesus’ love with them that she can be a missionary wherever she lives.

After the concert, we headed to our new hotel and spent the time before bed in the pool and playing cards.

The Bells of Christ Church Update Day Three

The Bells of Christ Church

Outreach Tour to Appalachia & the Carolinas

June 20-27, 2010

Day Three (June 22nd)

FUN DAY! FUN DAY! FUN DAY! 

This morning I began our wake up call at 7:00 am, and once again most of the youth were moving pretty quickly.  At 7:30 I made my rounds and knocked on each of our hotel room doors to make sure the youth were ready.  I found that youth were either about to walk out the door or did not answer because they were already downstairs eating breakfast... until I got to the boys room.  I knocked on the door, but no answer.  I went downstairs, but no boys there.  I again knocked on the door (for about 5 minutes), and no answer.  Finally I went to the front office and asked for a spare key to get the boys up.  The manager handed me two keys one was labeled "master" and the other was labeled "janitor."  I'm pretty sure I had a key that would have opened any room in the hotel.  It scared me a bit that they handed it over so easily, but I have to admit I felt pretty powerful.  I only used the key to open the boys room and they woke up and were dressed and ready to go in about 3 minutes.  The beauty of boys is that they don't worry about hair or makeup before walking out of the hotel room.

Soon we were all on the bus and heading to the rafting company.  We arrived at the rafting company about an hour later.  The next 45 minutes was filled with a 15 minutes seminar on rafting safety and getting our helmets and lifejackets.  We loaded up on an old school bus and headed to the river for about a four hour trip.  About half way through our trip we paddled over to bank and had a sandwich lunch.  During the trip we rafted through class 1-3 rapids.  Each raft has it's own inside jokes and stories, but I only know the ones from my raft.  My raft was most of the boys, or as we called ourselves "The Bros."  We called each other "Bro."  We ended our sentences with the word "Bro."  We call this speaking in Bro-eze.  We even said "bro" each time our paddles hit the water instead of "stroke."  Most of Heather's small group was in a rafting shouting out numbers for their strokes (1! 2! 3!).  The other portion of her small group and Heather attempted to compete, but counting strokes in German (Ein! Zwei!).

We were all wore out when we returned from rafting, but somehow we all mustered the energy to head across the street to the Fun Depot.  Our hotel gave us a sweet deal on tickets, which were good for the batting cage, putt putt, go carts, bumper cars, lazer tag, and all the video games we could play (ALOT).

After the fun depot we headed to downtown Ashville, NC for dinner at Mellow Mushroom and ice cream at the Marble Slab.  Back to work tomorrow!!

The Bell of Christ Church update day two

The Bells of Christ Church

Outreach Tour to Appalachia & the Carolinas

June 20-27, 2010

Day Two (June 21^st)

My first responsibility in the morning is to make sure all of the youth are up in the morning.  I have to set a wake up call, and then go knock on the hotel doors a few minutes before it is time for us to go.  I am very impressed with our youth because this job has been easy so far.  This morning I got up and knocked on a bunch of empty rooms.  All of the youth were already downstairs, eating breakfast with their bags packed. We'll see how things go tomorrow when wake up is 7am.

We started off our day by heading to the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia.

Zoo Highlights

• My favorite is the gorilla.  Not much to say here, but it is a fact that "Gorillas are awesome."
• The Lorakeets  are so much fun.  We bought cups of nectar, and headed into the bird sanctuary.  The birds fly and land on you to drink the juice.  It's just fun to be able to touch wild animals.  It's more fun to watch a bird pee on your wife, HA! HA!
• Some of the girls went to see the giraffes.  You can by lettuce and the giraffes will come right up to you and eat out of your hand.  Hallie Worthington held the lettuce level with her face right in front of a huge giraffe.  Hallie did not see a problem with this until the giraffe's 8 inch tongue headed right toward the lettuce and her face.  Giraffe's are very forward animals.

After the zoo we headed to the food court of a mall so that youth would have many options of where they would like to eat.  98% of them chose Chic-fil-A.

After lunch, we drove to the Brooks-Howell Home in Ashville, NC.  Brooks-Howell is a Methodist retirement home for former missionaries.  It was a great group of people, and they were very receptive to the concert.  Sharon gave a phenomenal testimony about how bell ringing is mission.  During the concert, the rain began to pour.  I sat at the back of the room, and I could (once again) see the face of God through the ringers, but I was able to see the power of God when I looked out the window and saw the whipping wind, lightning flashing, and flickering lights.  The rain hit it's peak during "Sherekea Usafari," an african song which means "celebrate the journey."  The thunder and lightning were not distracting.  Not to be hokey here, but it was as if God was playing with the bells.  Thunder striking right in time, and hitting a deeper bass than the bells were capable of.  It was amazing to see God from the stage, out the window, and somehow together during the concert.

The evening ended with some swimming and card playing back at the hotel.  

The Bell of Christ Church update day one

The Bells of Christ Church

Outreach Tour to Appalachia & the Carolinas

June 20-27, 2010

Day One (June 20^th)

Sunday morning our group was commission at our church, Christ Church Savannah.  During the announcements we were all brought forward for a time for Father Marc and the rest of the congregation to pray over us and to send us out on this mission trip.  Our worship service ended at noon, we all grabbed some lunch, and then pack up the luggage and bells.  At 2:00 we were ready to leave.  We all headed to the undercroft, sat on the floor, and  had a prayer for safety.  We were on the road and headed to Columbia, SC before 2:30.

Our bus driver's name is Morris.  He is the same guy that drove for our first hand bell tour through Washington, DC four years ago.

Around 5:00pm we arrived at Shandon Presbyterian Church in Columbia.  The youth did not miss a beat, unloading the bus and setting up for the first concert.  I know the youth have been doing this for years, but it is always amazing to watch how efficiently the youth set up, and with great attitudes.  Our 4 "roadies" (non-ringers) were less seasoned, but they jumped in with both feet.  They (the roadies) were very helpful and appreciated by the ringers.  Once everything was set up the ringers began to warm-up.  Mark is a great teacher.  It is a pleasure to watch him encourage the youth, and he gently corrects their mistakes.  The youth never seem to be discouraged or embarrassed at his appropriate correction.  In between songs, Mark teaches the youth about the architecture of a building or the story of how/why the song was written.  Even during the song Mark will talk of how music inspires people worship.  Mark never holds back speaking about his love for Christ, or that it is because of Christ that The Bells of Christ Church exists.  Mark has one other major job to do during practice, and that is to put up with me.  I spend my time holding up signs, and trying to make the youth (and Mark) laugh.  He eventually tells me to shut up and I do.

 

My favorite signs:

“My favorite is Katheryn.”

“Need more cowbell!”

“Matthew’s zipper is down.”

“Townspeople go to sleep.”

At 7:30 the concert begins.  The youth are masterful and excellent as usual.  After the concert the youth take 30 minutes to talk to people in the congregation, to teach 1 on1 a little about  the bells, and let people ring a bell or two. 


Come to our home concert at 3:00pm June 27^th to see The Bells of Christ Church in action.  This concert is at Christ Church on Bull street. 

After the concert ended the youth loaded the bells on the bus, and we headed to the hotel.  We arrived at our hotel at 10:00.  The youth put their stuff in their room and we all headed to the pool.  Mark had secured special permission to swim late.  The only rule was that we had to be quiet.  WE WERE NOT!  20 youth hit the pool in simultaneous cannon balls.  We spent the next couple hours splashing, screaming, having chicken fights, and (my favorite) creating a whirlpool.  The desk girl really didn't mind, and apparently no one could hear us.   We were in our rooms by midnight, where Anna Sprague and others broke in the hotel beds.  Ring hard, play hard I guess.  Goodnight day one.

Joseph Marshall and Sally Roth: My Favorite 2 Leaders.....this week.

Yesterday (June 20th) I headed out with 22 youth and music ministry leaders for the 2010 Handbell Tour.  We are traveling around Appalachia, giving free concerts.  I'll take some time in another post to talk about the trip, but I wanted to mention 2 people who did not go with us.

This summer we've made the decision not to cancel youth group, even if there is a big trip going on at the same time.  When I was invited to be a leader on the Handbell Tour, I asked volunteer Joseph Marshall to spear head youth group for that week.  Tonight Joseph and Sally Roth came to the youth room and prepared for the small handful of youth we expected to be there.  We knew many of the youth were on the Handbell Tour and other youth were on vacation, so we had a lower expectation of numbers and prepared for maybe 5 students, mostly middle schoolers.

Around the time youth group should have ended I began a texting conversation with Joseph:
Joey:        Everything go ok?
Joseph:    Yes, no prob
Joey:        How many youth
Joseph:    0, so Sally and I cleaned up the 4th floor
Joey:       :(
Joseph:    More snacks for me, HA!
Joey:       thanks man
Joseph:    Sure

BEST TWO LEADERS EVER!!!  Joseph and Sally could have whined or felt like they wasted their evening.  It would have made total sense for them to have headed home and just called it a short night.  They could have had 2 extra hours to themselves.  It would have made total sense.  It is what I would have expected.  But these two acted in an amazingly selfless way.  They gave up their time to clean up the youth room.  What a great representation of Jesus Christ.  Christ Church Savannah is extremely fortunate to have two such Christ-centered, servant-hearted leaders.  I am proud to be partners with them, and the youth are lucky to have such amazing people to hang out with.

Joseph Marshall and Sally Roth are my favorite 2 people right now.

My testimony at a handbell local concert

At the second local concert on June 18th at Southside Baptist I was asked to give a 3 minute testimony.

As a volunteer on the Handbell Tour I am able to see things you don't.  For instance, I like to take some time to sit behind the choir during practice.  Which offers a great view.  I get to look directly into Mr. Marks face during practice.  It is full of emotion and passion.  It is as if he is urging and pulling every note from the bells.

Tonight we've all seen a great performance, seen great music, and seen great worship.  During this service you've been privy to see the beauty of these teens.  You can see the fruit of their hard work and dedication  What you don't get to see in this hour is that these teens may show the love of God through the bells, but they show the love of God just as much when they are not holding a bell.

When I was asked to give my testimony I began to think about how God has taught me through the bells.  I realized God has touched me through knowing these teens.  These students love Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.  It is my pleasure to watch them walk in the footsteps of the master, and the spiritual depth of these students is a direct reflection of their leader Mark Williams.

I Corinthians-
So whether you eat or drink (or ring a hand bell) whatever you do.  Do everything for the glory of God.

Dear Hunter August Reed:

2010 Dynamos attendees from Christ Church:  (FR) Joey Phillips, Anna Sprague, Sharon Mays, Cole York, Hunter Reed.  (BR) Fr. Andrew Rowell and Laurence Hayes

Hunter Reed is one of the coolest people I know. As this was posting, Hunter will be moving from Savannah to Colorado.   Hunter has been active in Sunday school, choristers, acolytes, Sunday night youth group, mission trips, ski trips, girls only retreats, Vacation Bible School and just about anything else we have ever offered.  I am sure she could have snagged a perfect attendance awards some years.  After nearly 5 years in our youth program here at Christ Church, Hunter attended her last youth group this past Sunday (June 13th, 2010). She will be missed terribly.

Hunter, it has been such a pleasure serving you during the past few years! I am very sad that you are leaving Savannah to head to Colorado. I am proud of your commitment to loving God and others.

 I remember introducing Hunter as she gave her testimony during the 2009 Mission Trip/Bell Choir tour last summer. It was fun to stand right beside her as offered her story. She impressed me a great deal that day, and others as well.  When we had to make a decision on which students would give a repeat performance of their testimonies for the home concert at the end of the tour, Hunter was one of the students we chose.  I am glad our parish family had the chance to hear her heart and her story before she left Savannah.

Hunter, it is true that I am sad to say goodbye, but I am also excited to see how you will continue to serve God in your new town. God has a wonderful plan for you, and if you stay faithful to Him, you will see that plan completed. Remember the words of King Solomon in Provers 3:5-6: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”


I pray that you will always recognize God’s love for you. Remain faithful to Him. It has been a honor to walk next to you during these past few years. Please keep me updated on all the exciting things you do in the future. Feel free to stop by and say hello when you return home to visit your family here. I’d love to see you! Remember to live your life KNOWing God, GROWing in Him, and GOing in his name.


Peace, 
Joey

Zues-1 Jesus-0

http://whyismarko.com/2010/big-butter-jesus-melted-is-it-the-wrath-of-god/Click to hear the bad news about "Big Butter Jesus" AKA "Touchdown Jesus" 


Big buttered Jesus
Click to enjoy a tribute to the fallen "Big Buttered one.

Is Jesus really the only way to heaven

Is Jesus the REALLY the only way to heaven?

How do you embrace the reality that Jesus is the only way, truth, and life without sounding like an...

- non-educated idiot

- arrogant

- judgment

- know it all

Click below for an excellent post by Jeremy Zach
http://www.reyouthpastor.com/theology/top-10-theological-questions-teens-asks-4/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+reyouthpastor/cgEl+(REYouthPastor.com)&utm_content=FeedBurner

That's not a beard! This is a beard!

Every summer I stop shaving for a few weeks. This happens against my wife's wishes, and honestly against any good judgment. I think it makes me feel tough to have a beard. Usually after a couple weeks I look in the mirror, see my patchy face, and shave.

I was at church this week when one of my youth, Alexia, walked up to me and saw my unshaved face and my newly shaved head.

"So, what are you doing with this..."

She never finished her sentence. She just walked off.

 I stopped her later saying, "You never finished your sentence earlier."

"Well," she replied, "There is no adjective to describe your shaved head or your whiskers."

After laughing a bit I realized she couldn't bring herself to call my unshaven face a beard.  Ouch.

I'm sure I'll grow my hair out and shave soon, but until then I'm avoiding mirrors.  And maybe Alexia.

First look at "Voyage of the Dawn Treader"

I am pumped.  This was my favorite book in the Narnia series.  I am very excited they are making it into a movie.

Click here for the early release of the trailer Voyage of the Dawn Treader Trailer

Working on testimonies with students

The first half of summer 2010 we are working with students, helping them create their testimonies. Each week a leader is sharing their testimony to the group, and then offering a teaching which would equip youth to write their own testimony. By the midsummer it is my hope that the students at Christ Church will have a 2-minute and a 10-minute testimony that they will be comfortable sharing.

The first night I heard a handful of students say that one thing that Christians must never say about testimonies: "But I don't have a testimony."  This comment drives me nuts, and I'm sure it does the same to God. We are His, and He will use moments in lives to tell a story.  He will use our story to glorify Himself. To say, "I don't have a testimony" is to say God has done nothing good in your life.  Just because there has never been a major crisis in your life does not mean God is not there.  Maybe the lack of major crisis is a part of your story. Maybe you are confused about what you believe.  That's OK too.  Maybe you are in the middle of a story, and God has not yet brought clarity to you.  Your testimony may not have a crisp ending, but that does not mean you do not have a story.   "God is still working on me" is a great story.

I do love working on testimonies with students.   First off it is just fun to see the different ways God is working in people's lives, and it is sometimes through the process of creating a testimony that a person sees that God HAS been working in their lives.  Secondly, I love to see students light up as they realize that not only do they have a story, but that God can use their story to draw others to Him.  I have seen the eyes of many students light up as they realize that the pain they endured in the past might have had purpose in it.   God can use our past pain to bring others into a saving relationship with Christ.  Finally, I enjoy going through the process of teaching how to write your testimony because sometimes it brings doubt to the surface.   A student that calls them self a Christian only because their parents were Christians, or because they were baptized, or because they completed some form of confirmation.  It is these students who have a hard time finding the  reasons for their faith, and writing about how they have seen God step into their lives. I don't necessarily think that doubt is good (although God can teach you through those times), but I know that doubt hidden in the shadows is destructive.  When we have student acknowledge their it, once their doubt is in plain view we can enter into conversation and tackle it.  We can offer to students options on how to work through their doubt, but as long as doubt is hidden in the darkness, we don't know how to help guide them.

God has done wonderful thing in my life. He has protected me. He has loved me. He has drawn me to Himself. He has forgiven me. He has restored me.

Thank you God for letting me be a part of your story, and thank you for telling a story through my life.

CCSM Weekend Update 6/13/10

Last Sunday was the second week of summer for CCSM.

We started the evening with Sharon Mays and Katie Kavanaugh leading worship. The girls again did a great job.

We continued our summer series on writing a personal testimony (faith story) that we can share.   This week it was Heather Phillips' (AKA: my beautiful wife) turn to share her story.  Her teaching moment was expanding on what I offered them last week (bullet point data listing all the spiritual moments or mile stones).  Heather did a really good job with her testimony.  She started by writing out tons of important spiritual moments (the data list we worked on last week) on the dry-erase board.  She wrote these moments scattered all around the board, as opposed to the linear list I had shown the students.  As Heather gave her testimony she drew lines connecting the important spiritual moments in her life to the center of the board where these words were written: "The Story God Wants Heather To Tell."  When she was finished, there were many moments left on the board that she never spoke about, and she crossed them out one by one, making the point that sometimes important moments don't need to be in your story.  Your story needs flow, and not extra information that could distract from the central point.  Afterwards, she led the students in continuing to find and write out their story.  She asked them to pray about what narrative God wants them to share.  Just because something is very important in your life doesn't mean that you have to mention it in your testimony, and just because you don't mention something in your testimony, doesn't mean that it is unimportant to you.


3 Interesting Comments of the Evening:

• We are God's, so He is in essence writing a story using our lives.  What is the story God is writing with your life?

• At what point did you see God step into your story?

• What is the story God wants you to tell in order to help others see His glory?

The students then took 15-20 minutes to create the narrative they felt God wanted them to tell, using the data list we had them create the week before. 


Although the point of this lesson series is learning to tell your story, it has been a great way to expose some of those students who do not feel they have a story yet.  This opens paths to conversation about who Jesus is, what purpose should any of this serve, why they choose to come to church.  We are in essence giving a discipleship based lesson (sharing your testimony with others), but it also serves as a time to be evangelistic with our students as well.  


Next week our youth leaders will be leading youth group while I am chaperoning the handbell trip. Our work with testimonies will be paused for a while.   We will NOT be canceling youth group during the handbell trip.

The Pareto Principle Says "It's All About Relationships"

The Pareto principle (also known as the 80-20 rule, the law of the vital few, and the principle of factor sparsity) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.

I find this to be very true in ministry.  80% of the work I do seems to yield very little of the fruit, and vise versa.  I seem to be in a constant struggle to balance the stuff I do that just has to be done as a professional WITH the stuff I do that has clear spiritual impact.  Each week I feel like a dump truck backs up and dumps  a load of work on me.  Most of this work when it's complete has no visible spiritual connection to it.  I have to take time to look at the fruit, and then distinguish what is most important.  I have to identify what is the work that I do that yields the most fruit, and then I need to try to do that stuff more than 20% of the time.
 
Prayer, reflection, and evaluation of youth ministry over the past 15+ years always bring me back to one thing.  It's all about relationships (good Godly, Christ-centered relationships).  Jesus' ministry began with relationships, was defined by relationships, and spread through out the world through relationships.  As I spend more time with youth in the places where they are comfortable (school lunches, the skate park, their homes, etc) I see more spiritual transformation in the youth, an anchoring of their faith through conversations and experiences we share together.  The outcome of this realization is that I might have a typo or two and an awful font choice in my publications.  Or maybe I spend an hour less on my lesson preparation in order to spend an hour more at a school lunch.  There are moments when I've seen greater ministry at a fast food joint than has ever happened in the youth room.

Presently, my very first group of youth group graduates are post college, married, and beginning their families.  I can tell you next to none of them remember my lessons, but most remember a conversation we had about an issue they were struggling with, or how much they began to enjoy church because of a trip or crazy event.  It is a great privilege to tell you that I enjoy very close relationships with dozens of former students, and because of relationships my ability to minister and speak God's truth into their lives has extended beyond high school graduation and into their adult lives.  May God allow that to continue, so I can say this about our most recent class of Christ Church HS seniors.  

Another part of my prayer, reflection, and evaluation of youth ministry has taught me that is that although I may not be the primary spiritual adviser to parents, God has also entrusted them to me.  When I first started youth ministry, the parents in my ministry were (at best) to be avoided and (at worst) a hurdle to get over.  Looking back this was MY issue.  I was 23 and intimidated by adults.  My actions showed that I did not fully trust in the calling God had placed on my heart.  God has taught me that my ministry must include parents and I must never avoid them.  Like students, my ministry with parents has to be about relationships.  Very soon, I  will be the same age as some of the parents bringing their students into the youth program, and it won't be long until I'm older than the parents of my students.  My age has made it more comfortable to build relationships with parents.  Just like my ministry with students, I will let a detail drop off of my office work list  if it means spending time with a parent and talking with them about their student(s).  I will run a less technically savvy youth group if I can use that time instead to play pool with a father of a teen.  I will not update this blog if it means having dinner at a family's home.

20% of my work yields 80% of the fruit.  Building and sustaining good Godly relationships have consistently brought forth the most spiritual transformation (for me) in youth ministry, and I need to do more of it.  It's all about relationships.  It's all about relationships.  It's all about relationships.