Archives for July 2007

Well for the second year, I’ve decided that a great way for me to invest in my boys and love on our community, is to coach soccer for 2 of my boys teams in our local AYSO league. (The largest youth sports league in the country with 600,000 kids in it nationwide.) It is a MONSTER time commitment and this year we add attending games for Jake too into the mix. That means 3 games every Saturday, plus 2 practices a week per kid. 2 of those games and 4 of those practices also fall on my leadership shoulders. I give my time for the love of the game and in the name of loving my boys. I also do it in honor of loving my God in the full view of the watching world around me. I do it to keep my eyes on reality, since as pastor my world can easily be swallowed up by a very narrow slice of the world who attends church here in East County.

That having been said, I went to probably the worst volunteer meeting I’ve been in for a long time. I went needing to be encouraged and supported in the goal of soccer. Instead I was threatened and motivated evidently through “negative” leadership. As one whose full time job involves working almost exclusively with with volunteers, my AYSO coaches meeting last night was a lesson in what not to do with a meeting where I desire to motivate and direct my volunteers. Here’s my learnings/reminders from the land of a bad coaching meeting:

One was with a group of students to something we call OGN and is about 200 students from all over the country who join up at Pt. Loma Nazarene University. It’s a week of classes on helping students think intelligently through issues related to things like: what proof is the of the resurrection?, What does Islam teach and how is it different from Christianity?, What are the central doctrines of Mormonism?, What do we do with the problem of evil?, and stuff like that.

I then took a group of 6 students (3 guys and 3 gals) and my partner in crime, Sarah, to go to Saddleback’s Student Leadership Conference. This is the second year they’ve done this and the second year we’ve gone. Several pieces were different this year, but it was still great. The last day was nothing but student serving opportunities and my group went and randomly collected cans for the needy in front of a grocery store. The end result was like 500 different things donated in 3 hours. Amazing what God does when we trust him. Amazing!!!

I taught a seminar again which was tons of fun and I loved hanging with a really small group of our students for a week when we can do what we want when we want. We also stayed again for an extra day to do some ministry planning for our calendar year. This always generates tons of momentum among my leadership core and gives me renewed zeal for my job. I love dreaming. I’m actually teaching a seminar on that this year at the YS Conference in San Diego. I’ll be sharing the process I go through every year to set a calendar/teaching plan and such. Should be good times.

Anyway… after 2 solid weeks with my students, here’s what I’ve concluded:

• People really are interested in having spiritual discussions. Even with strangers. And not just the crazy people either. Like everyday kind of people will talk to you if you ask.

• People like to be givers, but a lot of people are skeptical as to what you’ll do with money or resources they give to you. Trust trumps gifts.

• If you get within a mile of sand and water, it’s ok, even normal to walk around in underwear and a bra. Men have escaped this pressure or expectation and at least on the west coast of California, they mostly wear shorts and not just their briefs. This is weird to me.

• If beer is 97% water, then there is HUGE power in the 3% to make people behave differently… especially if you multiply it by about 6.

• The needs of this World can be found in microcosm in my own backyard. It’s crazy to live in a place where the world visits and even lives. I’ve also never really lived any period of my life in a place where this was not true. I need to open my eyes more. I could learn a lot by talking to the people in my very community.

• There is a direct correlation between the time you spend with someone or something and the ownership one has of that thing. Ownership cannot be rushed.

• I love teaching.

• Experience trumps teaching. Always.

• Students have an amazing ability to rise to the challenge- especially if an adult doesn’t jump in and save them before they are forced to step up themselves.

• Never underestimate the power of spontaneous late night bonding. It is essential to youth ministry trips and experiences they never forget.

• I love high school students- but I need my alone time or I start to question that fact.