Mike King

The Power of Time Off

I'm taking most of December off, away from the office (Ok, I'm spending five days in the office).  The time away to think, read, reflect and renew is so life-giving. 

Stefan Sagmeister recently did a Ted Talk on The Power of Time Off.  It is a brilliant and inspirational presentation.  And, might I remind us all, that this Sabbatical idea came from the Creator of All.  This is worth a watch.

Take time

I hope this Advent Season is deeply meaningful to you.  Take the time to be present to all the wonder around you each and every day.  Slow down and notice God at work in astonishing ways.

"A being is free only when it can determine and limit its activity." Karl Barth

The Most Dangerous Place in America?

I strongly resonate with Dave Gibbons as he opines about our American suburbs being silently sinister.  Read the article here.

Too busy

Too busy to post these days...

All seems lost with no hope...

"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’" (Mark 15:34).

Alan Lewis states in Between Cross and Resurrection that the events of the final days of what we now refer to as Holy Week did not begin from the perspective of Jesus' disciples and followers as a "three-day happening, destined to end as a story of victory and life.  Far from being the first day, the day of the cross is, in the logic of the narrative itself, actually the last day, the end of the story of Jesus.  And the day that follows it is not an in-between day which simply waits for the morrow, but it is an empty void, a nothing, shapeless, meaningless, and anticlimactic: simply the day after the end.  There is no remarkable tomorrow on the horizon to give that Sabbath special identity and form as the day before the Day of Resurrection.  These were anonymous, indefinite hours, filled with memories and assessments of what was finished and past; and there was no reason to imagine that an imminent triumph might render those judgments premature and incomplete." 

Jesus had said things like "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up (John 2:19)." but John 2:22 states, "So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken."  Jesus' best friends and followers abandoned him in fear, betrayal and despair.  This is the power of the narrative... Theologian Von Balthasar reminds us that "the danger is very real that we, as spectators of a drama beyond our powers of comprehension, will simply wait until the scene changes... (however) The apostles wait in the emptiness.  Or at least in the non-comprehension that there is a Resurrection and what it can be.  The Magdalen can only seek the One she loves -- naturally, as a dead man -- at the hollow tomb, weeping from vacant eyes, groping after him with empty hands... no stirring of a living, hoping faith is to be found."

We know about Easter, the disciples did not.  The resurrection does not deliver us  from probing the depths of theological meaning of the Cross (before resurrection) or the desolation and death of God's Son on that terrible Sabbath between Cross and Resurrection.  That Jesus is decaying, "in a grave with the wicked (Isaiah 53:9)," has profound implications that should not be glossed over.  Martin Luther insisted that Jesus dies as the worst of sinners.  Jesus has lost.  Rome has won, the religious leaders in collaboration with Rome have won.  Jesus the blasphemer is dead.  After the finale of the cross and the day after, there is a conclusion that this is the end of Jesus and the death of God.  This is the day of Atheism, all seems lost with no hope...

Great Weekend of Family, Fun, Snow, Reading, Movie, Games, Learning...

We packed a lot of good things into this last winter weekend (hopefully).  Daylight savings time is next weekend and 70 degree weather is in the forecast.  We got around four inches of snow on Saturday which was very beautiful.

We had plenty of family fun which included playing with our granddaughter Lexi, went to Westport Flee Market with Micah, Anne and Jessica.  Nick was with us along with lots of friends from Jacob's Well.  Brian Rezen and Grant Wood, former Youthfront Staff and Jacob's Wellers were playing, singing and providing music for live Karoke.  I also attended a presentation on Interfaith Co-operation at Second Presbyterian Church.  Two staff members from Eboo Patel's Interfaith Youth Corp from Chicago presented.  Eboo Patel is all over the national media lately and is an amazing young man.  This was a very impressive presentation.  More on this later.

We are starting a new series during Lent on the Seven Deadly Sins.  The music was amazing.  I was surprised by several friends and visitors that I wasn't expecting to see.  Several of us went to McCoy's to watch MU get killed by KU.  I was the only MU fan in the place - not fun.  KU is my second team so it's not so bad.  I also finished Makoto Fujimura's book Refractions which I will post something on later.  We also saw the movie which should have won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film -  Waltz with Bashir (more on this later.)

Here are some snow pictures.  1. Leaving our cul-de-sac.  2. Vicki on the Plaza.  3-5. Ben Franklin dealing with the snow.
 

OK, I'm back

I took the test again especially after Larry (age 53) heard it (see comments on the post below).  I turned the sound up and painfully heard the high pitch sound.  I'm alive.

Created by Train Horns

Can you hear this?

Created by Train Horns

What makes you come alive?

Life magazine declared Howard Thurman as one of the greatest preachers of the twentieth century. 

Howard Thurman said, "Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

A lot of things make me feel ALIVE...

In the last two days I've had two great and lengthy conversations.  One was a man and the other a woman, both are parents of teenagers.  The focus of the conversation was the spiritual formation of our own kids -- the highlights, the lowlights,  the responsibilities, the challenges and the joys of parenting our kids to be fully human, fully alive, with a faith that is real.  Both of these conversations were life-giving, evoking both laughter along with a few tears.  Both of these conversations left me feeling fully alive. 

"The Glory of God is a Human Being Fully Alive." Saint Irenaeus, 2nd Cent. Bishop of Lyon

What makes you come ALIVE?

Living, surviving and doing youth ministry in challenging times...

Warning: This is a long post.

We live in very uncertain times.  Everyday we are confronted with news of financial chaos on a global scale, businesses once a backbone of our economy are now shutting their doors, we are faced with international political unrest, and technological changes that insure that tomorrow will look very different from today.  These are turbulent currents through which we must navigate.

The economic news doesn't seem to be improving, even when you look way out on the horizon.  This reality may be increasingly interesting and life-changing in every way.  The ridiculous over abundance good times are over.  We are spoiled so this will not be easy.  Those who are out of a job can remind those of us who are employed how quickly things can change and beckon us to simplify and reorient our life priorities.  All of us who call upon the name of the Lord and strive to faithfully walk with Jesus must remember that God is our source.

The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble.  He cares for those who trust in him. Nahum 1:7

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.  My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song. Psalm 28:7

The Book of Jeremiah is one of the most intriguing books in the Bible.  Jeremiah also lived during a very precarious, yet important time.  Jeremiah trusted God explicitly during the chaotic reign of five different Kings.  It was a time of threat from enemies, difficult financial conditions and apathetic spirituality among the people.  Through it all, Jeremiah trusted in the Lord.  Jeremiah viewed God as his source.   Jeremiah wrote about those who did not trust in the Lord.

“This is what the LORD says: ‘Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD.  He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes.  He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.”   Jeremiah 17:5-6

This description of those who do not trust in the LORD is immediately followed by the contrast of those who trusts in the LORD God Almighty as our source.

"But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.  He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." Jeremiah 17:7-8

With God as our source a story unfolds for us that is not bound by our self-generated resources, talents and abilities.  We are not limited to our own understanding nor by the things we can see and touch.
 
It is impossible to ignore that many things will never be the same. Even though we have all been feeling the effect of the downturn in our economy for many months, very few of us expected to be dealing with significant loss of income, foreclosure possibilities, loss of employment or loss of retirement funds.  So many people have experienced painful loss.  And yet, these turbulent times require, more than ever, that we respond in faith.  “… Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD (Jeremiah 17:7).”

If you are still reading you might say, "That trusting in the Lord is not so hard when you have resources available."  I hear you and yet I do feel the weight of running a ministry that is majorly impacted by the state of our economy.

We have prayed for God to supply our needs and we have been amazed at the ways God has surprisingly provided from sometimes very unexpected sources.  It has been a reminder to us that GOD IS OUR SOURCE. 

January and February have been very difficult and yet I see that God is at work.   I shared this quote in a post last week that I think describes the reality here at Youthfront.

"When cash runs out that’s when thinking starts." Sanjay Mehta, CEO, MAIA Intelligence

We have spent time (and must spend more time) thinking and listening for what the Holy Spirit is saying to us—thinking and discerning where the Lord Jesus Christ is leading us in our passion to minister to young people.  We believe that these difficult times lead to wonderful opportunities to discover where God is at work and how we might participate in God’s agenda for the Spiritual Formation of young people.

Our Board of Directors and our Executive Leadership Team have implemented significant plans for 2009 to help us navigate through these turbulent times, which include:
•    Budgeting Process involving high level of Board oversight.
•    Reduction of Compensation Expense.
•    Development of financial tools to help make real time adjustment to the Budget based on expense and revenue data.
•    New Revenue Forecasting Tools and Policies.
•    New Accounts Receivable Tools.
•    Establishing a Full-time Chief Development Officer.
•    Program Expense Reductions.
•    Implementation of Revenue Producing Strategies.

It is so interesting that this all comes at a time when Youthfront is dramatically growing in our mission to bring youth into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.  We are so excited about implementing new strategies and programs to fulfill our mission and impact young people with the Great Good News of the Gospel.
•    A new Parents of Teenagers Network
•    New Student Leadership Initiatives and Resources
•    Student Evangelism Training
•    Publishing Partnerships
•    New Student and Youth Worker Training Strategies
•    Establishment of a Youthfront Alumni Association
•    Plus much more…

“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”  Albert Einstein

 “With God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26

Youthfront is committed to a radical preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We are passionate about resourcing and training youth workers.  We are passionate about partnering with churches and youth workers to reach, train, disciple and equip young people to live a passionate life for God. 

We believe that God will provide the resources to do what God calls us to do.  God is not in a financial recession.  God is our source.  And yet, I wonder, with anticipation and a little anxiety -- if we truly listen, discern and obey -- how will the Holy Spirit reorient our work, focus, efforts, objectives, and passions?