Archives for May 2012

Recently I’ve been feeling like it’s taken me 7 years in San Diego to just get some of my own ministry to a place I can build on and develop some mediocre sense of tradition.

While the nomadic way has some benefits like new experiences, risks of faith, and uncharted territory;  it also comes with a price tag. With new territory comes the frustration of longterm relationships that are now long range by default. Additionally, you have few connections, no traditions, no trust, and no proven track record in your community if you move around a lot.   However when you stay somewhere for a decade or three, like my friend Danny Long has in the small town of Jamul, CA…. what you get is an epic reminder that ministry longevity trumps just about everything.

This last weekend I took TJ and joined Danny on a high school ministry canoe trip on the colorado river where Danny and about 100 students and staff floated a 30 mile stretch over two days.  Danny has been bugging me for years to come with him and this year I came as the Saturday night speaker and to scout out this experience for our own youth ministry too. (Which btw we are so doing!  Dang I had fun with TJ and I think we’re going to try and join Thrive and unite for next spring.  Can’t wait!)  Anyway, in the process, I learned that Danny has been on this stretch of river for over 30 years.  He started as a kid, then continued as a high school student himself, and now has kept the tradition going for the last 16+ years as a youth pastor.

The result?  Danny knows every business owner he uses by name.  He has a reputation and a tradition that speaks for itself.  Students have been on the trip, love the trip, and tell their friends to come in droves.  He has parents that mark it on their calendar a year out. He experiences the very best of the word tradition and it comes from plain and simply: LONGEVITY.  He has weathered storms and learned lessons and built a ministry in one location. While Danny could move, he has chosen not to and instead of being another youth pastor, he has become THE youth pastor of Jamul.

I’ve tasted a bit of this myself when I was part of a 20 year run where I ran either attended a summer camp as a high school student, worked in it as an intern, or ran that same camp as a youth pastor in Nor Cal.  Powerhouse was full of moments like this that only hindsight can tell you were in part because of growing up in the area and sticking around for over a decade in the role.  The last 7 years in San Diego have been an awesome ride, but this weekend was a fresh reminder that so much comes to those who stick around.  Time to batten down the hatches folks, I think we’re gonna be here for a while.

I was so blessed to join Danny for the weekend, so encouraged by his friendship, so honored to make a memory with TJ, and so amazed at the simple and undeniable joy he is experiencing from ministry fruit that simply is the faithful result of ministry over the long haul. Way to go Danny!  You da man!

Last weekend I flew back to UC Davis where I went to college.  I was there for a 20 year reunion of the Iota Chapter of a Christ-Centered fraternity called Alpha Gamma Omega, of which I was one of nine founders on the Davis campus.  Seven of the nine returned for the reunion and a grip of men who have been a part of it since.

As I turn students towards our local high school graduations in the coming months, here’s some of my personal convictions about this next season of life they are headed into.

GETTING OUT OF THE HOUSE IS ONE OF THE GREATEST MATURITY STEPS A YOUNG ADULT CAN TAKE.  Perhaps the greatest gift I was given in my early adulthood years was the gift of going a few hours away to college.  The memories I have of dorm life and the Arlington farms apartments are priceless.  I learned so much about life and myself in those few years.  As a result, I’m a huge fan of students living with a small group of their peers and sharing a rental.  I encourage all my seniors, even the ones who stay local, to find a way to get out and grow up. Game on.

I BELIEVE THAT COMMUNITY IS CREATED ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY THROUGH SHARED EXPERIENCES.  Getting involved in our church’s college ministry, starting a fraternity, living together with friends and almost no money or possessions, studying in groups, taking risks, going to retreats, playing sports and so much more…  dang… it all molded me and bonded us together.  Our community and connection is so deeply rooted in the things we did together and the obstacles we overcame.  There really is no replacement for it in ministry. As I send a group of students off again, the inner sense that they were or were not a part of something great through Encounter High School Ministry is directly proportional to our shared experiences together.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS CASUAL DATING AT THIS STAGE OF LIFE.  I took Shannon back to the ranch where I popped the question.  It was the first time in 19 years that we’d been back and honestly, we wondered if we could even find it.  But I followed my gut and found the ranch again just a few miles from where I’d spent countless hours on another ranch in college. However the gate was locked that led to it and the owners have probably changed so we couldn’t get to the exact spot.  But there in the distance we remembered as we starred at that big oak tree that I had a dozen red roses waiting decades ago.  We lingered for a half an hour or so and reminisced and cried over so much that has happened in our lives together.  Our college dating life (and in our case- even high school) has literally shaped our marriage, our family, our kid’s lives, our careers, and virtually every other area imaginable in our lives.  I have to keep encouraging students to date smart. It really is a potential life-altering decision they are making.