New Blog Site

If you enjoy reading this blog (or you did when I actually kept it up to date), tune in to http://thegreatdisturbance.wordpress.com. I will no longer maintain this blog, but will continue to write at the new one. Thanks.

To My State Representative

Here’s what I wrote to Dwayne Bohac – State Representative for District 138.

Mr. Bohac,

I believe education should be untouchable in our state and national budgets. Our classrooms are already overcrowded, our teachers are already overpaid/overworked, and we hold up the TAKS test as the icon of education at the expense of $90 billion dollars in state money. I will GLADLY pay a higher tax in order to keep education at the forefront of government spending in Texas. I will GLADLY pay to drive on roads other than the Beltway if that toll goes toward education. I will GLADLY contribute more to my son’s PTO at Birkes elementary so that more government funding can go directly to the teachers. What will you do?

I challenge you and other state law makers to stand guard and fight when the governor threatens money allocated for our children’s educations. I take seriously my responsibility to teach my sons at home just as much as they’re taught in school. But not every child has parents who put a premium on education. So I ask you to be the adult in that child’s life who takes it seriously. I challenge you to fight – even if it risks your political capital – on behalf of those children who are a failing grade away from crime and poverty. If you are really dedicated, as your website says, to reducing crime with common sense tactics, then prevent crime before it starts by giving teachers and schools the money they need to really educate our children.

I look forward to hearing that our representatives in Houston are fighting for schools, fighting for teachers, and fighting for our children.

After doing a Google search to find Mr. Bohac, I stumbled upon an article that says he’s apparently under investigation for voter fraud. Fantastic!

2011 GOAL #4 – More consistent parenting

Over the next few days I’m going to write about my goals for 2011. This is primarily for myself – a way to process and think through who and what I want to be when we’re ringing in 2012. Feel free to read. Feel free to comment. Feel free to move along to something else.

I know most parents struggle with consistency, and I’m no exception. I’ll say, “Boys, we’re going to do X at Y:30, okay?” Y:30 comes and X never happens. 99% of the time it’s because I was busy doing my stuff – reading, cleaning, cooking, folding laundry, etc. It’s not fair to the boys to tell them something’s going to happen only to let them down. More than that, it’s not fair for the boys to have a dad with such little integrity. Jesus says “Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ I think the boys want the same thing.

One area I’ve begun to practice consistency is in eliminating a certain word from my parenting vocabulary. “HURRY” is now a four-letter word. I resist saying it at all cost. The greatest usage of the word typically came in the mornings getting everyone ready for school. That’s where I’ve honed my conscious energy to eliminate not just the word, but the spirit of Hurry. I’ve already discovered I am a much more relaxed dad. If I can’t rush the boys, I have to make sure everything’s ready at its proper time – lunches packed, teeth brushed, clothes mostly on, shoes kinda tied, hair somewhat combed. Being consistent in my morning routine has proven to reduce the need to raise my eyebrows, flare my nostrils, and huff, “HUUUrry!” The boys seem much more relaxed too. They laugh more. They talk about more things. They play better. Win-win.

I also need to be more consistent with our evening routine. We tell the boys they’re supposed to brush their teeth every night, but we rarely enforce it. No longer! (What is it about brushing your kids’ teeth that feels so laborious?) Now we brush teeth nightly, sleep in pajamas (rather than whatever was worn that day), and practice a proper tuck-in ritual complete with songs, prayers, and stuffed animals. After only a few days of this the boys aren’t climbing out of bed as often, they’re sleeping better, and they’re in better moods when they wake up, thus making mornings more pleasant. The dramatic effect of such small acts is stunning.

I also avoid anything that hints at messiness. The boys regularly ask to help make PB&J sandwiches (which we eat a lot – like more than a normal family should). But jelly is sticky and, despite the tiny jar of strawberry preserves, I envision the jam smeared across the walls, covering counters and crusting into shirts. The thought is overwhelming, so I just do everything myself. However, a few days ago we made homemade pizzas for lunch. We spread flour on the island, mashed our dough with a rolling pin, spooned tomato sauce out of the jar, spread the cheese, perfectly placed the pepperoni, and destroyed it when we moved it to the cooking sheet (lesson learned: prepare your pizza on the cookie sheet to avoid a really, really big mess). They loved cooking it and ate it like Papa John made it himself. This year, I gotta loosen up when it comes to being messy with the boys. We have cleaning products for a reason, right?

Hopefully 2011 will be a growing year for me, which will make the year a little better for all the folks around me.

2011 Goals #2 and #3 – Love More, Judge Less

Over the next few days I’m going to write about my goals for 2011. This is primarily for myself – a way to process and think through who and what I want to be when we’re ringing in 2012. Feel free to read. Feel free to comment. Feel free to move along to something else.

My next goal for this year is to make a conscious effort to love. I make a lot of assumptions about people. Mostly bad ones. I don’t like this about myself.

A friend recently called me out on a derrogatory comment I made about Sarah Palin. He said I attacked her in a personal way rather than critiquing her on political issues. He was exactly right. Sadly, it wasn’t the first time. I tend to judge people I don’t know: I assume poor people are nice, rich people are selfish, Repulicans are jerks, Democrats are jerks pretending to be nice. In Leviticus 19:15 God says “Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.” Sounds simple, but it’s not easy. 

I don’t just want to be fair, though, I want to LOVE! Jesus told the disciples in John 13:35 “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” You would think we’d spend more time talking about this, being that loving people is THE defining characteristic of a follower of Jesus. But it seems to me I spend way too little time focusing on loving and way too much time focusing on how to be better than everyone else. This year I want to make a conscious effort to love the way Jesus loved.

To that end my third goal is to judge only myself. I include the two together in this post because they are separate yet linked. Unfair judgment stands in the way of love. I mentioned Sarah Palin above – it’s funny that we assume we have the right to judge someone simply because they are in the public arena. That’s like saying it’s okay to gossip as long as it’s with Christian friends who know it’s wrong. Belittling, attacking, slandering, bashing, call it what you want, it’s wrong. All the time.

Making a habit of juding unfairly spreads a nasty darkness in our hearts that leaves its residue no matter how much we scrub. Judgmental people are usually unhappy, insecure, full of regret, and bitter. Judgmental people are not risk takers – they play it safe for fear of failing in front of everyone. Judgers keep up a certain appearance  so the world will only see what they’re allowed to see and nothing more. I say this with some first-hand knowledge.

Non-judgers, though, seem to be joyful, content, humble, satisfied. They have nothing to prove to anyone nor do they feel the need to. Non-judgers are risk takers, they make a fool of themselves, they stand naked before a crowd and feel no shame (figuratively speaking). That’s who I want to be: the shameless naked guy!

I’ll keep you posted on how it’s going. If you happen to see me, feel free to ask how I’m doing with the whole loving/judging thing. I could use the help.

2011 GOAL #1 – Pray

Over the next few days I’m going to write about my goals for 2011. This is primarily for myself – a way to process and think through who and what I want to be when we’re ringing in 2012. Feel free to read. Feel free to comment. Feel free to move along to something else.

I WANT TO PRAY DAILY  I know I should pray daily, but I don’t. Not yet anyway. When I say “pray” I mean getting away from everything; opening my Bible; listening to the Lord; offering myself to the Kingdom; inviting His Kingdom, grace and love into my life; asking for blessings on my family; offering requests on behalf of friends and family; then listening for some kind of answer. Prayer, the kind I’m talking about, requires time and commitment. It requires discipline and an awareness of my need for Jesus, which is the reason I spend so much time avoiding it. I want to pray, but when the mood strikes, it sounds too overwhelming. Yet when I spend time in this sort of prayer I feel like I’ve just had a massage or watched a Yankees game. Everything feels good. 

In my original list of 2011 Goals, Prayer was #3 or #4, depending on the list. As I was thinking through it, I was led to Jesus’s words in Luke: “But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.” (Lk. 12:31) It seems to me prayer is the missing component in a lot of people’s lives. I don’t mean that critically, just honestly. I think we’re a self-absorbed, greedy, unforgiving culture (I include myself in this – just wait for Goals 2 and 3). Prayer remedies those things. Prayer centers our hearts on Christ and reminds us of who we are and why we need grace.

I led a discussion on prayer on Wednesday nights last month at West Houston. Here are the three Prayer Principles we discussed. I hope you find these helpful if your prayer life is under construction.

PRAYER PRINCIPLE 1 – Begin your prayer asking God to use you in any way He chooses to further the Kingdom. Habakkuk 2:14 says, “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” This is God’s mission on earth. Set your focus on God’s plans, His purposes, His mission, before your own.

PRAYER PRINCIPLE 2 – Invite the Holy Spirit into your life. Jesus says in Luke 11:13: “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” God desires to give us the Holy Spirit, who is greater even than Jesus Himself. It sounds strange to ask for the Holy Spirit instead of healing or world peace or help with money, but read what David Platt writes in his book Radical:

The Holy Spirit is the Comforter, the Helper, the Guide, the very presence of God living in you.

This is the great promise of God in prayer. We ask God for gifts in prayer, and he gives us the Giver. We ask God for supply, and he gives us the Source. We ask God for money, and he doesn’t give us cash; instead, so to speak, he gives us the bank!

PRAYER PRINCIPLE 3 – Pray in community. Jesus isn’t talking about prayer in Matthew 18 when he says, “Where two or more come together in my name, there I am with them,” but the principle still applies. God dwells in community. God desires community. While prayer can certainly be an individual experience, it should be equally experienced in intimate community.

I joined a few guys for prayer one night. I was new to the group so the guys generously and thoroughly inquired about my life, my heart, and my journey with Christ. Before I knew it I was in the center of the circle, the guys laid their hands on me and prayed. Then everyone sat back and waited in silence for the Lord to reveal an answer to their prayer. Each person received some sort of word or picture in their mind that made little if any sense on its own. Finally, Tquan Moore put the pieces together and the message from God for me that night became piercingly clear. I learned a valuable lesson about communal prayer.

Praying in intimate groups is powerful. James tells us “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” (5:16) Prayer, community, and healing go hand-in-hand-in-hand.

I’m anxious to see where a year of dedicated prayer puts me in the Kingdom of God. I hope you’ll try it and see what the Lord does in you.

Oh, bother

I finally finished Jonathan Franzen’s novel “The Corrections” last week and am staring at his next one – “Freedom.” Both are quite long, especially for a slow-as-molasses reader like myself. So instead of diving right in I decided to take a break from lengthy novels and get lost in a quicky. I grabbed Fahrenheit 451 off the shelf and have been enraptured by it. “Didn’t you read it in high school?” Christina asked me. I’m sure I was supposed to, but even if I actually read it, it wouldn’t have had the impact it has had on me now.

I posted this line on Facebook the other night and it serves as the premise for this post: “We need not be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long is it since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real?” -Montag

I’ve been reading through the gospel of Luke and have camped out in chapter 12 for several days now, being really bothered by what I read. Simply put, here’s what Luke says that bothers me:

V. 15 – “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” After saying this Jesus tells the parable of the man who had such a big harvest he built bigger barns to hold all his crops. The night he finished building them, the Lord killed him for it. (I’m bothered by this too, but that’s another point). Here’s what bothers me – I love possessions. I love anything new – clothes, books, groceries, cars, houses, toys, movies, toilet seat lids, the little things that hold shelves in place. If it’s new, I love it. In my mind I know this isn’t what life is about. I know possessions don’t matter, but hearing that God feels so strongly about it he killed a guy for storing up possessions makes me a little nervous. I’d like to have more, but I need less.

V. 30 – “For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.” This passage is at the end of Jesus’s instruction not to worry about clothes or food. It bothers me not for what it says, but for what it doesn’t say. In Matthew’s telling of this teaching, the one most of us are familiar with, Jesus says, “But seek FIRST his kingdom and his righteousness…” while Luke’s simply says, “seek his kingdom.” Something about Matthew’s version feels soft, it feels like there’s an out somewhere – if I seek God’s kingdom first I can still seek my kingdom later. But in Luke’s gospel there’s no out; it’s simply “seek his kingdom.” Period. That’s all. There is no other way to live than in constant search of the Kingdom of God. Nothing else matters and, in some ways, nothing else exists. Does this bother anyone else?

V. 32 – “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” When anyone heavenly – God, angels, Jesus – says “don’t be afraid,” it’s because there’s a reason to be terribly afraid. This passage is no exception. Jesus tells everyone listening not to fear, but to go sell their possessions and give to the poor. Why is this so scary for us? Why do we justify hoarding possessions by saying Jesus didn’t call all of us to this act of generosity, but only the rich young ruler and the occassional Mother Teresa? It’s because there’s safety in our stuff. My house keeps me safe. My car keeps me safe. My TV and bed and desk and kitchen table keep me safe. If I don’t have those things there is no consistency, no routine. I have to rely on God daily instead of once a year or so. Again, Luke takes Matthew’s gloves off and puts this teaching of Jesus away from the story of the rich young ruler and makes it a blanket command for everyone, for all disciples – sell all your possessions, and do it without fear. Come on, if you’re not bothered by this you’re not reading very close.

V. 48b – “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded, and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” If you’re reading this, you’re been given much. Most of the world can’t read. Even fewer people in the world have a computer. I’ve been given much. What do I do with what I have? If you have a family – especially one of your own – you’ve been entrusted with much. I’ve been entrusted with a wife and three boys-soon-to-be-men. What is the greatest thing I can do with that trust God has given me? I don’t think the American dream is the lesson I want my boys learning. I want them to learn how to trust God from a young age so it’s not hard when they’re old. I want them to learn grace and love and compassion before stereotypes and reputations are formed in their minds. I want them to see their possessions as things to be shared, things to be given to someone who really needs it – not something to be protected and hoarded.

It’s good to be bothered, but it’s also a little terrifying. Christina and I are trying to take new steps every day toward following Jesus without being afraid. Some days are more faithful than others, but we’re trying to seek the Kingdom and the Kingdom only because one day all that will remain is the Kingdom of God. One day we’ll stand before the Lord and be judged for what we’ve done. We want to be called good and faithful servants, even if it is a little scary. We appreciate your prayers for us and invite anyone who wants to come along to join us on our journey.

So a gay guy walks into a church…

Our family was cruising down Montrose Blvd. in downtown Houston last Saturday when I saw a man on a corner holding two large placards; one said “HOMOSEXUALITY IS A SIN.” The other “CHRIST CAN SET YOU FREE!” I wasn’t sure how to react. Initially I felt disgust at the presumably judgmental position the picketer had taken (In case you’re unfamiliar with Houston, the Montrose area is highly-populated with practitioners of the GLBT lifestyle – thus the reason his location is so important). He stood alone on the corner, in my opinion, casting the judgmental wrath of God upon homosexual Houstonians.

Yet another side of me looked at the signs for what they are – statements of fact. The Bible is clear that homosexuality is a sin. The Bible is clear that freedom is found in Christ. So why the ill feelings?

I guess in part it’s what my mother always told me, and what I now tell my boys, that it’s not what you say it’s how you say it. A greasy-haired man on a corner with two large, unmissable signs misses the mark. I didn’t hang around to find out, but my guess is he had no productive conversations with any homosexuals as a result of his “evangelism.” My guess is he drove a further wedge between homosexuals and the Church. My guess is he was the butt of many jokes that afternoon.

I also cringed because the man is what, in my opinion, non-believing Americans now associate with “The Church.” In their mind we’re all that guy. Anyone who claims Christ as their Savior believes just what he does. This problem goes beyond the man holding the signs; this is the same problem I have with public figures using their faith as a political platform while simultaneously spouting hate-filled, often ignorant, rants about those who disagree with them, which polarizes people as for or against the person. If faith is to be used as a political boost, I would love for the person’s faith to be shown in their service to the lowly, their love and compassion for all humankind, and their desire to do what leads to peace. Otherwise, please shut up.

Here’s what chafes about all this; I want to say to that man holding the signs, “You don’t speak for all of us.” More than that I want to say to all the homosexuals in the Montrose area, “He doesn’t speak for all of us.”

But here’s the thing – he sort of does.

I don’t think churches have the slightest idea what to do with homosexuals. Should we welcome them or ban them? Invite them to our small group or create one just for them? Have them say a public prayer or sit silently? Can a homosexual be the preacher? Can a homosexual be an elder? Aren’t all small group members, prayer leaders, preachers and elders sinners?

I’ve always heard homosexuality is a different sort of sin because it’s a lifestyle so the homosexual offender clearly lives counter to the gospel. Yet so does every rich, fat American whose ‘god is their stomach.’ Some of those rich, fat stomach-worshipers are preachers and elders, but we say nothing of their lifestyle that goes so counter to the gospel.

I have no agenda here, I’m just wrestling with what to do about homosexuality in the church. If a gay man walked through the doors of your church, checked the box that indicates a desire to place membership, signed up for a small group, went to Bible class, volunteered to teach cradle roll, tithed 30% of his income, and took an elderly couple to lunch, what would you tell him?

What is the church’s responsibility toward homosexuality?

Jumping

September 1st. My first unemployed day in nine years. You would think I’d be hyperventilating or something, but I feel good. I feel at peace. Especially if every day can be like today.

This morning after taking the boys to school I drove downtown and met with a few of the staff at Bread of Life, Inc., a nonprofit organization affiliated with St. John’s Downtown Church. I went there to begin my journey learning the reality of serving the homeless. Bread of Life is a 24-hour facility that aims at, and occasionally hits, the target of ending homelessness in Houston. Bread of Life opens its doors every afternoon at 4:00 to receive up to 150 men and women who can shower, do laundry, eat a meal cooked by other homeless people enrolled in their culinary school, escape the heat, play chess, receive career counseling and minor medical care, and sleep off the ground. At 7:00 a.m. breakfast is served, and at 8:00 they leave for the day to look for work or wander the streets.

I explained to one of the staff that I have experienced serving the homeless only from suburbia, from the comfort of knowing that no matter what I would return to my king-size bed in my two-storied house inside our gated community. I “served” fewer than five days a year and when I did it was superficial and many times fruitless. “I’m ready to see it for what it really is,” I told her. She laughed. Hard. “Oh, you’ll see it here,” she said.

So every Wednesday I have a standing volunteer commitment at Bread of Life and I’m really, really scar-cited – that’s a blend of scared and excited. Scared because I feel so inadequate, at a loss for what’s required of me. I feel out of place, like a foreigner visiting another country. I’m excited because I know those feelings won’t last long and soon being around the homeless will be my new normal. See? Scar-cited.

At the heart of all this is a very important conversation Christina and I had on the way home from Belton last weekend. We talked about our future, what we think about God, and what we think He might be doing in all this. It was an important conversation because it was an honest one – neither of us is fully convinced we really know what God’s love and leading feel like. We’re both desperate to know we are being led by a loving God who we can fall in love with too. One option is to wait around for God to send a Hallmark card or give us a big bear hug, but instead we’re going to step out and trust He’ll be there to catch us. If He isn’t, we’ll learn to listen to Him better next time.

The phrase we keep kicking around is, “We’re ready to jump.” We don’t want to test God, we want to let God know we trust Him. We trust His provision, we trust His grace, and we trust His perspective of the big, big, big picture. This trust, however,  is 100% in our heads; we’re ready for it to be 100% experience.

This, too, is scary. To this point our life has been comfortable and, honestly, that’s part of the reason we’re so ready to jump. In a lot of ways I feel like I’ve been sitting on the couch all day watching Thundercats and eating Cheese Puffs. Is it comfortable? Yes. Is it awesome? Pretty much. Do you feel like crap at the end of the day? Of course. Being that comfortable only makes you fat and lazy, and that’s how I feel about my spiritual life. I’m ready to jump because it will require something more from me than the routine that has become so sterile. I’m ready to jump because it forces me to work, to exercise my spiritual muscle – specifically the muscles of trust and love – and although it will be hard, it will feel so great when the workout’s done.

I’m excited about seeing God flex His muscles. I want to see God work in ways that make us all say, “If not for God, that wouldn’t have happened.” I’m excited about learning to be led by the Holy Spirit and not by the latest trend or popular book (although if you want to know what I’m feeling, check out “Radical” by David Platt). I’m excited about seeing the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.

Christina and I desperately need your prayers, and not in a “you’re in our prayers” sort of way, but we need people taking us before the King and humbly lifting us up. We appreciate everyone’s encouragement, everyone’s confidence, and everyone’s money (just kidding).

“But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”              -Philippians 3:7-12

The End of My World as I Know it

Cue Michael Stype – it’s the end of the world as we know it!

Well, the end of my world as I know it.

Okay, the end of my career in youth ministry.

My last summer is coming to a close. I officially step down on August 31st. All our big events are behind us. I’ve taken home a boxful of items from my office and plan to “move out” a little at a time over the next four weeks. I’ve said some necessary and heartfelt things to our high school students on our summer trips. Now I get to enjoy one last month as a youth minister.

August 24th, 2001 was my first day on the job at the then-Hermitage Road Church of Christ in Richmond, VA. After a year or two we became the Three Chopt Church of Christ and I spent six wonderful years serving that church. Like most new graduates, I swore I knew everything about youth ministry when I started. On this side, I’m quite convinced I knew nothing then and even less now.

Three years ago we moved to West Houston. My time here has been transformative. I’ve learned a lot about youth ministry from guys at West Houston like Andy Spell and Reid Whiteside. I’ve learned from other youth ministers like Mike Avery, Bryan Borden, Matt Atnip and Eric Petty, Jeremy Glover, JJ Jones, Jeff Chapman, and a host of other guys and gals in the Houston area. More than youth ministry, though, I’ve experienced the Kingdom of God – the realm that supersedes the church and all its people and exists in places we usually don’t go. I’ve experienced the Holy Spirit and His work in the church and in the lives of God’s people. I’ve learned I have a small view of God.

This last reason is what has me excited about life after youth ministry. I’m excited about seeking a fuller view of God, who He is, what He does, what He doesn’t do, and what He expects out of me. I wrestle with the feeling that there is a major part of God I’m either getting totally wrong or not getting at all. In a lot of ways I feel like God is, for me, too cushy. He’s not raw enough. That’s not God’s fault, it’s my fault for seeing Him that way. I’m ready to follow the God who says to take up my cross, give everything I have to the poor, feed the hungry, visit those in prison, care for everyone else before I care for myself. It’s easy for youth ministry to be more about the youth minister than the students and I think I have been guilty of that. I’m ready to put myself at the end of the line and the poor, the needy, the homeless, the outcasts, at the front.

I would also like to dispel a couple rumors:

1. I am not moving to Abilene – When I announced my resignation I mentioned taking online graduate courses at ACU. Some folks heard that as “We’re selling our house and moving to Abilene.” Not true. As a side note, I have decided not to take graduate courses.

2. I am not going to work for Impact – When Church of Christ folk in Houston hear “inner city ministry” our minds immediately go to Impact, and for good reason. I am excited about spending some time with the ministers at Impact once in a while, but I am not working there.

3. The Jones family is not moving – Typically when a minister resigns he and his family pack up and leave town. It’s an easy assumption to make, but it is untrue. We will still live in our house and worship most Sunday’s at West Houston.

4. I am not leaving youth ministry because I’m tired of it – Youth ministry has its share of drama and since announcing my resignation people have often asked if I’m leaving because I’m tired of dealing with things. This couldn’t be further from reality. Where there are people, there is drama, whether in youth ministry or otherwise. I am leaving youth ministry because I feel called by God to do so.

The last thing I want to say is thank you to everyone who has been part of my world the last nine years. Every person has affected me in some way and my story would not be what it is without you. Thanks to everyone who has been patient with me, everyone who has challenged me, and everyone who has taught me about the life of a follower of Jesus.

It’s the end of my world as I know it. And I feel fine.

Cup

The FIFA World Cup begins this week. I am not a soccer fan, but I find myself eager to follow the tournament this year because of its host – South Africa.

I recently read a book called “Made for Goodness” by Bishop Desmond Tutu that raised my knowledge of the former apartheid regime in South Africa. Apartheid, for those who are unaware, is essentially legalized racism. For the better part of the twentieth century South African officials forcibly removed all but the white race from society. South African citizens were divided into four groups – white, black, coloured, and non-white. Whites, it was preached, were the supreme race and all others were “dangerous” and not welcome. Blacks were especially targeted as a poisonous race and were driven away from areas deemed white districts. They were forced to live in sad places like Soweto, a slum outside Johannesburg. Because all races and ethnic groups contributed to the daily functions of society, blacks, coloureds, and non-whites were given passbooks – identification papers allowing access to certain areas of town for work purposes. Their presence in areas of town other than those approved in the passbook meant instant arrest, no questions asked. Anyone who openly opposed the apartheid regime was arrested and convicted of “crimes against the state” and sent to the now infamous Robben Island – the Alcatraz-like prison that held Nelson Mandela for decades. Robben Island was an ugly place. Hard labor, racist guards, minimal protection from the elements, and poor nutrition held the island in its clutches. Abuse is too soft a word to describe the conditions on “Devil’s Island” as it became known. The goal was to break the prisoner, to remove all that made them human.

Their humanity was saved through soccer. After five years of petitioning the wardens of Robben Island, they were granted permission to form their own football (soccer) league. It was complete with a commissioner, referees union, protest committee, free agent provisions, recruiting guidelines, practices, and a trophy! A quote from “More Than Just a Game,” a book about soccer on Robben Island: “The prisoners were making sure that they created a system within which the sport would operate that was fair, equitable, and based upon the twin ideals of justice and democracy – in other words, one that was the absolute reverse of apartheid.”

As the book title suggests, this year’s World Cup is more than just a game. It is about justice and goodness overcoming the worst kinds of evil. It is a story about the image of God that resides in all people and evidence that in Christ “there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for we are all one.” It is about the God-spark inside every human being that tells us to never stop fighting for what is right. This year’s World Cup is church in a football stadium.

How fitting that the prize is a Cup – the symbol of our redemption in Jesus and of God’s struggle to destroy evil. For three weeks soccer in South Africa will be played not in protest of evil, but in celebration of freedom.

Maybe I’m a soccer fan after all.