A New Chapter

I'll start by filling you in on my life recently. I'm very excited about what the future holds, as I was recently offered and accepted a position at Southeast Christian Church's Indiana Campus working in Adult Ministries. I'll be assisting Jerry Naville, the Adult Minister, with connecting people to the church and different groups that are offered, recruiting and managing volunteers, as well as taking advantage of the opportunity to grow in ministry.

This is definitely a step in the right direction for me, as I've felt for a long time that I was being called to ministry, but not sure exactly what that looked like. After a lot of prayer and a lot of patience, I feel as through I'm finally starting to see just the beginning of what God has in store for me in ministry.

So to that end, I would like to share the last article I wrote for Y-CAP Monthly, our newsletter we do for the program I run at the Y. 

In this month’s Community Corner, I would like to open up by sharing with you that I have recently been offered and have accepted a full-time position at Southeast Christian Church’s Indiana Campus working in Adult Ministries. My last day as the Y-CAP Coordinator is April 12, 2011. 

This was a difficult decision for me, and was only made after much prayer, conversation and thought. So, as I write this, I have a bittersweet feeling regarding the community that I have experienced in my time at the YMCA of Southern Indiana. The community that has been built is amazing! However, I will miss experiencing it on a daily basis.

During my time here, I have experienced some of the most genuine relationships with some of the most caring people that I have ever encountered. I have also seen high school guys put aside their own needs in order to rise to the occasion and make a difference in the lives of others when they needed it the most. I have seen those guys develop spiritually, physically and mentally. I have watched them mature and grow from boys into young men. I have seen them say that they are not satisfied with the idea of a father not being involved in the lives of his kids – and then I’ve watched them make decisions today to ensure that they are fully present in the lives their own families in the future. 

Personally, I have been challenged to grow as well. As I heard the young men in Y-CAP share their stories and where they have come from, I have been challenged to have the same determination that they have had to show over the years. I was also challenged to share my story as well, with the hope that it could be as inspiring as their stories were to me. On another occasion, one Y-CAP member shared with the group that he is giving up TV and video games on Saturdays to read and study his Bible. Through this I was challenged to do better in the area of Bible study as well. 

More than once, Y-CAP guys have shared with me that they hope to do what I do when they “grow up.” They share that they hope to be the type of influence to someone else that they believe I have been to them. When I first heard someone say this to me, I was floored – absolutely blown away! The only thing running through my head as I heard this was “Are you sure you really want to be like me? I still have a lot to figure out! My life is far from perfect in a lot of ways!!”

However, I was challenged in this to strive to be more Christ-like, with the hope that those following me will in turn develop an undying hunger and desire to follow Christ. It became my prayer that my heart to follow the only example worth following would also become the desire of those who felt they should follow me. I hope my life has been such an outpouring of Christ’s love that it has been obvious that it is His example, not mine, that is worth following.

The examples and stories of how I have been encouraged, grown physically, mentally and spiritually, as well as experienced true community could go on and on and on…

However, I would like to leave you with three qualities or characteristics of true community that have really become evident to me in my time here at the Y and with the Y-CAP program.

1.    1. GOD FIRST – Community is truly built when God is first in our lives. In Luke 9:23, Jesus shares that “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me.”

When we die to ourselves and come alive in Christ, our passions become His passions, and our desires become His desires. Only through dying to our own desires and acknowledging that God is first can we ever come to experience true life in community with one another.

2.    2. DON’T RUN! – People who are devoted and committed to experiencing community with one another cannot run when times get hard. I can’t even begin to express how much this idea has changed my view of how to react to adversity. There have been so many times I’ve wanted to run or, at the very least, crawl under my desk and stay there!

However, by staying present in trials, I have gained a better understanding of what Paul meant when he wrote this in Romans 5:3-5 – “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”

3.    3. THE DIFFERENCE TODAY – The first Y-CAP t-shirts we ever designed had a very simple, yet powerful statement on the back. It read “I am the difference today.” Through this statement, we hoped to empower the young men in Y-CAP to take action now. To understand that no matter their circumstances or stage of life, they are incredibly capable of making an unbelievable difference in the lives of those around them. They have the ability to experience, build and shape community.

This idea is evident throughout Romans 12 (which I highly suggest checking out), as we are challenged to honor God in all we do, actively serve Him with the abilities we have been given, love others with genuine affection, and respond to those who would do us harm in a loving manner. This entire chapter sums up what it means to be the difference today through living out community the way it was intended.

Throughout all of my experiences here, I have grown and matured in what it means to truly serve others. I have been changed for the better through sharing life with you! I am thankful for the community experiences I have had with you thus far. Although I am leaving the Y, I am not leaving the Clark/Floyd County community. To that end, rather than saying goodbye and coming to the ending of our story together, I would like to think that through this change, we are simply beginning a new chapter. In this chapter, it is my hope and prayer that we will come to an even deeper understanding of what it is to experience community together.

I'm on a team...

It never fails that life gets crazy and I don't get to update my blog as often as I'd like! Anyway, this is the latest Community Corner editorial I wrote for the newsletter on the program I run at the Y.

The other day I was in the hallway at the Y and a maintenance staff member, whose name is also Adam, stopped me to show me a plaque he was carrying around. Now, before I tell you about the plaque, let me first tell you a little bit more about Adam. Adam initially came to the YMCA as part of Volunteers of America and volunteered to work at the Y. Since then, he has been brought on as a paid employee of the Y. A cool fact about Adam is that he won an award as athlete of the year through Special Olympics!

Adam is always coming up to other staff at the Y to talk, and he generally knows information about the programs they run. For instance, he’s always asking me about our Teen Night program, which is run by the Outreach Department. It never fails that when I see Adam, he asks me when the next Teen Night is going to be. To be honest, I’m not very good at remembering dates. So I usually tell Adam the date I think the next Teen Night is, which usually turns out to be wrong. 

How do I know it’s wrong? Because Adam tells me I’m wrong and then proceeds to tell me the correct date for the next Teen Night! In fact, instead of answering Adam about the date I think the next Teen Night is taking place, I turn the question around and have Adam tell me when the next Teen Night is taking place.

It never fails to amaze me how Adam is able to remember the dates of our programs. And it’s not just Outreach programs that he knows about and is interested in – he takes a genuine interest in just about every person he talks to and the job they do at the YMCA. Adam always wants to know who you are, what you do and why you do it. 

Even though he is a maintenance staff person, Adam understands that he plays a role that is bigger than just cleaning – he is part of a team. Adam not only takes an interest in the role that he plays on the team at the Y, but he also knows that the roles other members play are just as important. By showing interest in other people and what they do, Adam shows that it is vital to a team for everyone to understand that each person plays an important role.

This brings us back to the plaque that Adam was carrying in the hallway.

After telling me when the next Teen Night would be, Adam proudly held out the plaque he was carrying and told me how he had won it at the Polar Plunge the previous weekend. The plaque was for the best costume at the Polar Plunge – Adam proudly told me that he had dressed up like popcorn for the plunge and that the costume won first place.

I congratulated Adam on winning the plaque to which he replied, “I’m on a team.”  I was caught a little off guard, so I questioned, “On a team?”

“Yeah, I’m on a team. My team won this plaque. It wasn’t just me,” Adam responded.

This conversation was on my mind the rest of the afternoon, as Adam had just reminded me of something very important. See, a team consists of individuals. Individuals play different roles which advance the overall goal of the group. Being on a team means being part of something that takes on a meaning far greater than just the individuals – a team and its accomplishments cannot be attributed to just one particular individual.

Adam is well aware of this concept, as was seen in his response to my praise, as well as his approach to his work at the Y. The Bible also speaks about what it looks like to be part of a team in 1 Corinthians 12. Here Paul writes that followers of Christ, just like the human body, all have a different purpose or function. The fact that one part is different from another does not make it any less a part of the body; rather it allows each to play a unique role that contributes to the overall function and purpose of the body.

This concept of being on a team and being part of a bigger purpose in the body of Christ is essential to community. Community is best experienced when it is lived out with a collective of people who individually perform different functions, but all serve a greater purpose. For community to take place, it is absolutely necessary for us to recognize the roles others play and say “I’m on a team. It wasn’t just me.”

In recognizing the value of others, as well as the role that they play, we are able to fully understand the importance of what we do individually. We are able to elevate the condition of those around us. We are able find a more complete and Christ-centered view of what it means to experience community.

Don't Forget...(Updated)

For the most recent Community Corner article I wrote in the newsletter we publish for the program I run at the Y, I decided to update one of my previous blog posts titled "Don't Forget..." Within this article, I take a slightly different approach to the "Don't Forget..." concept and tie in community, as well as the 1 year anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. 

My dad has always been a good source of unique trivia, weird quotes and advice with which I’m not quite sure what to do. Don’t get me wrong, he has passed on lots of fatherly wisdom and words of advice that continue to ring true in my life today. However, he also has a unique way of phrasing things and leaving me scratching my head wondering what he meant by what he just said.

For example, since the time I was in middle school, my dad would get this goofy grin on his face as he left me with one phrase before leaving for work every day: “Don’t forget...”

My answer was always “Don’t forget what?”

He would reply, as the grin grew bigger, “Just don’t forget...”

Huh?!?

For years this phrase has left me scratching my head. I’ve pondered and mused and engaged in deep thought over what I should not forget. In middle school, I would wonder what chore I had forgotten to do or what homework I had forgotten to turn in or if I had forgotten to zip the zipper on my pants!

While I did forget to do work around the house and turn in my homework on more occasions than I care to admit – and I would find I had forgotten to zip my zipper at the most embarrassing moments, like when I was trying to be smooth when talking to the girl I liked – I have found over time that those were not the things my dad was speaking about when he told me “Don’t forget…”

A little over a month ago was the one year anniversary of the devastating earthquake that rocked Haiti. This was an event which the whole world watched thanks to around-the-clock broadcasts of the devastation, as well as the aid that was pouring into the country. This aid came from foreign governments, as well as from many church and humanitarian organizations. However, as with all things, the coverage of Haiti slowly faded…

…and we forgot.

For the rest of the world, life went back to normal, but not for the millions of Haitians who lost loved ones, had their homes destroyed or their way of life taken from them in a matter of seconds.

However, stories of hope are rising up in Haiti in the form of still-ongoing relief efforts, as well as a people who have found ways to be innovative in making new lives for themselves. The school system has seen a huge overhaul and is working to function better than before. New churches are springing up all around the country, and old ones are seeing higher attendance than ever before.

However, a general theme is found in what Haitian people are saying to the rest of the world. The words spoken by the people of Haiti are simple: “Don’t forget…”

After years of wondering what my dad meant when he had spoken that simple phrase to me, I finally asked him a few years into my college career. As he looked at me, a genuine, heartfelt smile spread across his face as he slowly said to me

“Don’t forget…I love you.”

The love my father has shown me over the course of my life has shaped my view of community and the way I show love to others. See community does not forget to love because community is built around the idea of love.

The reason Haiti is seeing hope is due to the fact that people have not forgotten to take time to love. Community is being built in Haiti the same way it is built anywhere else – by showing the love to others which Christ showed to us. When we were at our worst, He did not forget us, nor will he ever forsake us. In fact, as we are called to pick up our crosses and follow Him, we are shown how to love the same way He loved us.

It’s through this process that our ability to love and experience community is built. Community relies on a love so strong that it does not forget those who are hurting and broken and in need. Community needs people who follow in the example of Christ to speak the words “Don’t forget…”

In the light of Christ’s unfailing love, may we truly come to a more complete understanding of what it means to experience community.

More Stories - Community Corner Editorial

It seems like I've been in a season of stories here recently. I don't know if its just me, but it also seems like a lot of other people have been as well. As I sat in church this past Sunday morning, Kyle Idleman's sermon was based on stories. He was teaching about Hebrews 11, which is full of stories of heroes of the faith. Kyle said that many times when we describe our faith, we use language of feeling rather than something tangible. Hebrews 11 is full of tangible, real stories that demonstrate authentic faith in God. So when referring to faith, Kyle said "We know faith must be  more than feeling, because if you're going to act in faith, God will call you to do things you don't feel like doing."

Kyle proposed the idea that we know faith is actually authentic when its tested. He goes on to say that "When I ask you if you have faith, what I'm asking for is a story." He also says that "faith always has a story attached to it."

I think faith always has a story attached to it because stories are such powerful tools for communicating concepts that cannot be understood any other way. Stories connect us in a way that nothing else can. Stories of faith are the story of God. As I've mentioned before, your story is my story and my story is your story because our story is God's story.

So to get to what I was actually intending to blog about today - here is the latest Community Corner editorial I wrote for the program I run at the Y. Its centered around - you guessed it - stories. More specifically, its centered around the idea that stories connect us to each other and build community. So without going on too much more, here's December's Community Corner:

I was watching the Today Show about a month ago while I was eating breakfast. They featured a story of a family from Arizona who had lost their daughter in a snowboarding accident the previous winter. A couple of YouTube videos that the 13 year-old girl had posted before her death showed that she had a very bubbly, loving personality. When hearing her parents speak of the accident, the pain and brokenness was evident in their voices. Why would such a tragedy take place to such a wonderful young person?

The family received what they believed to be an answer to this question the spring following their daughter’s death. The accident that had taken their daughter’s life had only affected her head and neck, so the family decided to donate her organs. 

Meanwhile, a mother of two children was in desperate need of a new heart after she began experiencing heart failure at the age of 40. After receiving the heart, the woman began searching for the family from whom the heart had come. After some time, the families were finally able to connect. It was obvious that both the parents of the teen who was involved in the accident, as well as the mother who had received the heart, had tremendous love for one another.

By this time tears were running down my cheeks. My heart broke for the family who had lost their daughter. The joy of giving and redemption in how the teen’s heart gave new life to another brought on tears of happiness. 

See, stories have tremendous power. In their truest form, they relate life in a way that we can all understand. They tell of heartache and fear, pain and tears, laughter and joy, life and love. They relate emotions with which we can all identify on some level. Stories tell us about community.

Community is built around stories. When we are open and honest enough to tell others of our trials and failures, as well as our successes and hope, we are allowing them into our lives in a more meaningful way. We are enabling our stories to intersect with others’ stories in such a way that neither person walks away the same. When I share my story with others, and others share with me, it is no longer my story or their story – rather it becomes our story.

A few weeks ago, our Y-CAP guys had the opportunity to share their stories with the group. This is always a day that changes and shapes the group in a way no other lesson could. The stories are powerful when they are shared with an audience who genuinely cares and wants to become part of that story. It was amazing to see guy after guy get up and tell stories of how disappointment, hurting and brokenness have been transformed into stories of hope.

There’s a reason why stories, when shared, go from just being about me to being about us. Our stories which tell of trials and end in redemption are the story of God. As humans, we live out God’s story every day as we are involved in the messiness of life, yet find redemption at the Cross. A recent article in Neue Magazine put it this way: “When we, any of us who have been transformed by Christ, tell our own stories, we’re telling the story of who God is.”

My story is your story and your story is my story because our story is God’s story.

As we enter the holiday season, take time to experience community by telling your story. Listen to others stories. Remember the ultimate story of redemption that began on Christmas, the holiday we celebrate to remember Jesus’ birth. It’s through this story of redemption that my story becomes your story and your story becomes my story. At the Cross, our stories intersect in the most meaningful way and lead to the truest form of community.

Tension strengthens community

Man, it's been a while since I've updated this hasn't it?!? It's been exactly one month today. Its been a crazy busy month, but hopefully life is balancing out a bit and finding a sense of normality...which also means I'm going to try to do a better job of updating this more often!

As I said in my last blog post, I write an editorial every month in the newsletter I publish for the program I run at the Y. In the editorial, which is titled Community Corner, I try to write about ideas that encourage and strengthen community. Here's November's Community Corner:

At the beginning of October, I was able to go to the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Catalyst is a unique conference in that it combines leadership development and spiritual growth in a way unlike any other conference I’ve been able to attend. The theme for this year was “The Tension is Good.” At the conference, every workshop and main session speaker addressed how tension exists everywhere in life and is essential to human existence. This got me thinking about how tension relates to community.

When looking at life in community, one cannot help but notice the tension that exists – its evident everywhere! Tension between balancing work and family time. Tension between paying bills and using money on something fun or donating money to those in need. Tension between who we are and who we want to be.

The list could go on and on because if you think about any aspect of life, chances are there is tension.

Sometimes tension has both negative and positive aspects to it. An example of this can be found in a recent event that took place in my life. My grandfather – who is 85 years old and one of the toughest, stubborn, yet caring men I know – recently underwent major open heart surgery. At first, the doctors weren’t sure if he would make it out of the surgery, but he has recently turned a corner and seems as though he will make a full recovery. In this situation, negative tension was obviously present, as the surgery was a tough event for my family and me to handle. However, it also brought my family together in a way in which they have not been in a long time. It was beautiful, really, to be able to laugh, cry, grow and do life with my aunts, uncles and cousins – with whom I was able to have more meaningful conversations than I’ve had in years.

In the case of my grandfather’s surgery, tension brought life to what could have potentially been a dead situation. See, the cool thing about tension is that we can approach it in one of two ways – we can run from it or we can embrace it. When we run from tension, it usually catches up to us and has the potential to destroy us. However, when we embrace the tension and allow it to guide us, it will eventually make us stronger. Tension causes us to see the need and have the desire for authentic relationships with others – which leads to a beautiful picture of community.

As I’ve said so many times before, we were created to live in community with one another. The tension that exists and actually works to strengthen community is also by design – God fully understands that we need tension to grow closer to Him and to other humans. Romans 5:3 – 5 (NIV) perfectly illustrates how we grow in tension:

“…We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”

Tension is an essential, God-created way of helping us to grow closer to our Creator. Tension elevates the human condition when it is understood and properly channeled. To live in community, we must also live in a tension – community and its importance are impossible to understand without it.

A quote that really had an impact on me at the Catalyst Conference is this: “It is impossible to love people and avoid tension at the same time.”

Will you join us in embracing the tension? Don’t run from it because the tension is good! It is in this tension that we are truly able to experience community.

Friends who challenge you

I work at the YMCA as an Outreach Coordinator and run a program called the YMCA Community Action Program. We reach out to high school age guys who are struggling in a variety of ways, including socially, mentally and academically.


I publish a monthly parent newsletter for the program in which I have an editorial section called Community Corner. In this section, I attempt to strengthen community bonds by sharing stories and encouraging students and parents to find ways to connect with others in meaningful relationships.


The following is the latest editorial I wrote for Community Corner.

Have you ever had a friend who challenged you to do something that, when looking back, you think “That could have gotten me killed!?!” Now I’m not talking about doing something that is just blatantly illegal, ignorant or foolish. I’m talking about the type of friend that challenges you in a healthy way, one that pushes you outside your comfort zone. A friend who is willing to challenge you so that you are both happy to be alive, yet feel like you have had more life breathed into you because of your experiences with this person.

I recently had this type of experience with a friend of mine named Ryan. Ryan is the program director for the National Youth Project Using Minibikes at YMCA Camp Carson, and is a far more experienced dirt bike rider than I am. When Ryan and I go for rides on our own – without any students present – he really likes to explore, push the envelope and find trails that have tighter turns, steeper hills and more obstacles to maneuver around than a what the average NFL running back faces on any given Sunday. To be completely honest and transparent, Ryan’s willingness to push the envelope leave me a little nervous, slightly scared and wondering why in the world I’m riding with him!

However, Ryan knows my riding ability. He knows what I am capable of doing. He will not take me on a trail that he knows I will not succeed in riding. Ryan also knows that in challenging me, he is making me a better rider. For these reasons, when Ryan says to me “Hey come check out this new trail I found,” I always follow him. I trust Ryan.

And this brings us to community. In order to engage in true community, I am convinced that we need friends like Ryan that are willing to push us. To make us slightly uncomfortable. To break us of our need for the familiar.

See without a friend like this, we are content to be comfortable. When we are comfortable, we are more concerned for our own wellbeing rather than going out of our way to see the needs of others. As a society, we are much more inclined to choose personal safety over selflessly serving the needs of others.

Without selflessly serving the needs of others, we cannot engage in true community. To take this a step further, I believe that until we are challenged to go outside our comfort zone to the point that we need to rely on others, we cannot truly understand the importance of community.

I have not found a better example to support this need to be challenged than in the life of Jesus Christ. Jesus lived radically different than anyone at the time. He challenged those who would follow him to live outside of their comfort zones. He called them to live in such a way that they were completely dependent on God to provide for them. He showed them how to live in a way that put the needs of others first. He showed them what it was like to live in community.

The cool part about this is that the offer Jesus extended to those who would follow Him years ago is still available to us today. When we have a relationship with Jesus, we automatically have that friend that will challenge us in a healthy way, ask us to step outside our comfort zones and allow us to engage in true community. Jesus is waiting to find adventure with us, to show us how to really come alive. To show us true community.

Over the past year, I have written about experiences that define community, and through that we’ve been on a journey. I’m convinced that there is no better time than now to continue on this journey to community. To break from the familiar and challenge ourselves with the unfamiliar. To put the needs of others first. To be challenged. Will you join us as we continue on this journey to experience community?