April 2011

An Inside Look

I was asked today how I am fed in my work with the Youth Ministry Institute. I never considered the question, much less the answer. I am usually concerned more with accomplishing the mission at hand more than I care about the nourishment I might need to accomplish the mission.
 
Let me give an example with a little bit of back story. 
 
My work week starts with a full day on Sunday and a day off on Monday (my Sabbath). Beginning on Tuesday I arrive at the office between 7:30 and 8:00. I’m usually the first one in the office other than our building maintenance manager. I never thought I would be getting to work early. When I was a college student I was amused at my older brother, a lawyer, who would begin his work day at 7:00 every morning so that he could have a couple of hours of uninterrupted work. I valued sleep more than uninterrupted work back then. So, an early bedtime gives me the energy I need to get to work around 7:30. By the way, on two mornings I get up at 5:00 so that I can play basketball at 6:00. Again, I never thought I would be that guy.   
 
Typically I am out of the office on my way home between 4:30 and 5:00 in the afternoon.  That is except for “Crazy Wednesday”. For most of the school year, I tutored math for my daughter’s 4th grade class beginning right after lunch on Wednesday. Wednesday is an early day and school would end shortly after my tutoring session. After school I would drive my three kids to my office where they would finish their homework and I would check it. Then, we would leave for piano lessons for an hour, grab dinner at Chick-fil-a, and then back to the office to eat before their choir rehearsal started. My wife would pick up our kids after rehearsal. Finally, I would meet with our youth leadership team usually getting home by 9:00 that night. Crazy, huh?  
   
All of that leads up to Friday. Every Friday my goal is to finish a shortened aaltgenda, leave around 1:00 for home to eat a late lunch. Now Friday afternoon in our office is like the few early hours in the morning every week day. There is not a lot of activity. Few phone calls,  e-mails and people interrupt me on a Friday afternoon. Therefore, I get into a zone and crank out a great deal of work. I usually do most of my writing and in-depth planning on Friday.  When I’m  in a zone I don’t stop working. Therefore, working straight through lunch deprives me of needed nourishment.  I finally made it to my point. Because of the task at hand,  I don’t get fed – literally.
 
So, how do I get fed - spiritually? That was the question, wasn’t it?
 
The person asking me the question today will most likely enroll in the Youth Ministry Institute sometime next month. At least that was the purpose of our meeting. So, I had this desire to impress him with some deep theological answer. However, the delay in my answer may have communicated my inability to cleanly answer with a standard “quiet time every morning” or “group of friends that hold me accountable.” I do both of these things but I was wondering if those two things answered the question in the way he was asking. Frankly, my devotional time in the morning is sometimes a functional habit that is easily forgotten when I dive into the work of the day. While my friends that I meet with weekly are a great support to me, lately we have been focusing on someone other than me in the group. So, during this season, I have given more than I have received (I’m not complaining about that).
 
So, the question lingered for a bit. I told him about my church which would also be part of the standard set of answers. Then it hit me. I told him a little bit about the ongoing dialogue I have with God and my feeling of connectedness to God’s call on my life. Even though this is real, it still sounded like I was making it up (or, at the minimum an answer that is all too common and pious). But, the conversations with God were real on my 90 minute drive to meet with the person asking the question that day. Then, I thought about the other conversations I had that day and the few days leading up to his question.
 
I called James, a youth minister from Tallahassee who instructs in YMI, to let him know I met with a friend of his whom he recommended meet with me. His friend is exploring the possibility of being a youth minister. James also told me how he and Dan, a 2009 YMI graduate were having a great time at a conference that week.  Jay, a 2010 graduate of YMI, called me to inquire about the new pastor that was being assigned to his church.   I referred him to one of our coaches who knew the pastor better than I did. And, later that day I had plans to meet Jason, a 2011 YMI graduate, to talk over new strategies for his youth ministry.
 
I realized in that instant that I am fed by the new relationships that have developed as a result of my work in the Youth Ministry Institute. This was not networking in the business world sense. These are friends that share a common mission and passion. They encourage one another. They bear each other’s burdens.
 
Then I reflected on an e-mail from one of our graduates earlier in the week. She had a brief stay in the hospital and wanted me to know. Another of our current students was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Many of us are involved in a Facebook prayer chain. She starts chemotherapy in three weeks (there will be more definitive information in the next newsletter). I e-mailed her coach earlier in the week and told her how thankful I was that she was her coach. It is the perfect match given her circumstances.
 
The Youth Ministry Institute has always been about more than the Youth Ministry Institute. It is about the church – the people. 
 
The Youth Ministry Institute envisions healthy, vibrant and dynamic local churches with skilled and effective youth ministers who lead youth in the formation of their faith so that  they will positively impact their community and world. 
 
That is our vision statement. I believe one way that happens is the formation of healthy supportive relationships. I am more than privileged to watch these youth ministers grow in their relationships with one another and with others connected to our work. I am part of it. That is how I am fed.

Most Recently

The Intensive
 
We are completing a successful experiment next month that involves deeper theological learning. We identified four core theological courses that seem to be part of the basic seminary experience. We decided to offer one core class each semester. Old Testament, New Testament, Theology and Church History are our four intensive classes.
 
Beginning last October, Brian Russell, a professor at Asbury Theological Seminary and newly elected YMI board member, began teaching the Old Testament. Each retreat he would conduct a four hour course packed with graduate level information. He will complete the course in a three day intensive in May. This will total 33 hours of classroom instruction on the Old Testament. Three of our graduates have come back to take this class. Others are planning to be part of the New Testament class offered in the fall (taught by Brian) and the Theology class that will be taught by Jonathan Grenz of Palm Beach Atlantic University next spring. Plans are to ask a professor from another seminary to teach the Church History class the following year.
 
The depth of theological learning balances out a curriculum that has been decidedly practical youth ministry application and adolescent development. We are excited to see the results in the spiritual formation of youth in the churches these youth ministers serve. We predict they will be excellent!

Partner Highlight

One of the goals this year is to expand our partnerships with more denominational entities. Talks are under way with the Episcopalian and Presbyterian churches. Soon the Assemblies of God and the Church of the Nazarene will be approached. Please pray that the Youth Ministry Institute will be a benefit to these other denominations.

Coming Soon


Final Word
From the YMI Guy's Blog

I have been overtaxed!  Taxes?  Well, even though I paid a hefty bill on April 18th (my wife went back to work last year), I don’t mean that the government has been unjust towards just me (there is a political joke here that I won’t make).

I mean that my life has been a whirlwind the last two months. How do I know? Because I messed up two appointments in the last week.  The first:  I advertised a meeting at a time different from what the chair of the committee communicated to me.  I corrected it before too many people were aware of the set time.  Sorry, Todd.  And, right now I’m sitting in my car in an Applebees parking lot in Tampa typing with my thumbs on my phone because I showed up to an appointment early – one week too early.  Ugh! Luckily (or unluckily) I got the next appointment correct – at Applebees in 90 minutes.

I live with stress as we all do.  After all, I have a job, wife, kids and bills to pay.  When my stress affects the way I function and feel, I know that I’m overtaxed.  Usually I sleep a lot, mess up appointment times or crave chocolate ( I just finished off a hot chocolate I felt obligated to buy from the coffee shop I sat in waiting for my next week’s appointment).

I am also only aware of my most intense stress after I have already been through it.  When I am in the middle of it, I’m pretty hyper focused on the next task.  I move from task to task with only sleep as my respite.   Today is the day I have become aware of what I have been through the last couple of months.  So, now that I am beyond the intensity, allow me to reflect.

February and March are filled with a frat deal of travel around the state. I meet with people (usually pastors and youth ministers) to tell them about the Youth Ministry Institute in hopes that they will participate or that they know of someone who will.  My goal is to get the next year’s class together by the end of May.  I put 3000 miles on my car and talk to nearly 75 people.  I balance that with being the best father and husband that I can be.  My absence from my wife and three children carries with it a certain amount of guilt.  This, of course, adds to the stress.

In addition to all of what I would consider normal stress that I (and my family) have grown accustomed to, my wife and I decided to sell our home in hopes of eventually purchasing a larger one.  1200 square feet feels a lot smaller than it did three children ago.  We ironed out a plan in February that would take seven weeks.  It comprised of renovating two bathrooms, painting most of the interior walls, and taking everything that was non-essential and/or ugly and putting it in storage.  Our goal was essentially to make our house look like ghosts lived there.  Not the spooky kind.  The kind that don’t eat, sleep or leave a trace of their existence.  It took eight weeks (no surprise) and non-stop work (except for sleep).  But, we made it.  On Monday night, we signed the paperwork and already we have shown our house four different times.  Whew!!!

That doesn’t mean the stress has ended.  In fact, I’m not sure if it is healthy to live without any stress.  Stress creates a tension that allows me to excel to my highest level of productivity.  I am able to do things that I wasn’t previously aware that I could do.  Prolonged tension does cause me to snap, however.  It is the snapping I would like to avoid.  Next week I will work on web site design, write articles for a newsletter, draft a partnership proposal and write some assessments for some of our students.  These will all be hard work for me.  But, I’m not underwater anymore.  I think I can manage all of those things.

I’m feeling kind of hopeful.

Hmmm. I guess I’m ready for Easter!

I hope the Easter Bunny leaves me some chocolate!