Field Notes

Ever played the game “Would you rather?”

Here’s a good one, “Would you rather have your arm hair ripped out with duct tape, or have a potentially awkward conversation with a friend at school about Jesus?”

Unless you enjoy morbidly contemplating social suicide, you’d probably rather be labeled the “hairless wonder” than “pushy, judgmental, intolerant, narrow-minded, Jesus freak,” and you’re not alone in feeling this way. Evangelism is scary. We’re all terrified of seeing that look of disgust or worse, betrayal, in the face of a close friend when we bring Jesus into a conversation. We’re worried that it will mean the end of the relationship, the end of trust, the end of our reputation, THE END OF THE WORLD!

Two thoughts to share this afternoon:

1. Has this ever actually happened to any of you? I’m not talking about a time when you were a jerk to someone in the name of God and then they stopped liking you. I mean a time when you sincerely and lovingly shared a story with them about what Jesus has done in your life. Odds are, it didn’t trigger a series of events that eventually led to doomsday. Instead, I’m guessing it was far more intense and awkward for you than it was for them!
2. On the other hand, let’s assume for a moment, the absolute worst. Let’s assume that the second you say the word “Jesus” all kinds of terrible things are going to happen. Friends will flee from you, people will slander you on Facebook, and you will be shunned “Dwight Schrute style” for the rest of the semester. Even IF all this happened, it still is NOT a cause for fear. Our security, our personal identity, even our sense of belonging and safety is found in our relationship with Jesus. His words to us, from John 16:33 are “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

For most of us – there’s not a lot to fear, but even if there is – we will not give in to fear and insecurity because of what Christ has done for us. So put away the duct tape!

2 Corinthians 4:7-10 says -

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.”

Ever felt hard-pressed? Perplexed? Persecuted? Struck down? Ever felt kind of… dead? If you are currently working in part time or full time ministry, then odds are you have definitely felt this way before. (If you haven’t, then perhaps you aren’t being totally honest with yourself.) Doesn’t it suck? I think one of the hardest parts about being discouraged in ministry is the fact that it’s so doggone hard to talk about it with other people. Pastors aren’t supposed to get discouraged. They aren’t supposed to get tired, worn out, bummed out, or burnt out. If you’re a “good” pastor, then all things in ministry are supposed to come naturally, easily, and freely. Right? Who the heck knows where this idea came from – it couldn’t possibly be from the Bible. The passage from 2 Corinthians is just one example of the apostle describing how tough it is to do ministry, for more examples pick any story from the New Testament about the life of the first Christians. Seriously, pick ANY story.

If at this point you’re thinking, “I can’t relate to this at all, ministry has always been easy for me,” then good for you! Why don’t you go start a mega-church, write a best seller, broadcast your inspiring sermons on national TV, and buy a vacation home in Aspen. However, if you’re a real human being and not a super-pastor, then there’s a great opportunity coming up to connect with other real human beings that lead real ministries. The Epic Fail Pastor’s conference, March 22nd-24th, is a uniquely humble and honest gathering of men and women in ministry who are coming together to be reminded that,  “we’re not responsible for being ‘successful’ in ministry, but we are responsible for being faithful to the calling that God has laid out for us – regardless of the outcome.” (taken from the Epic Fail Pastor’s Conference website).

If finding a safe place amongst kindred spirits to stop acting like a rock-star minister and just be a normal human being sounds appealing to you, then check out the conference website here for more information.

Last year, when my wife Rachel was pregnant, a lot of folks advised me to prepare for ministry with students to change when the baby was born. While the vast majority of their advise was well-intentioned (and often true!), it all assumed that the little kiddo would have a negative impact on my ministry with students. In some ways they were right:

• I have less free time to spend with teenagers.
• Some students now see me as crazy-old.
• I get less sleep and so am less energetic than before.

But in some ways they were wrong and in the past 4 months I have discovered some very real and awesome upsides to being a Daddy in youth ministry:

• Being a Daddy makes you an official adult in teenagers’ eyes. That means that when we hang out, they are getting quality time with an adult, not just “the youth guy.” Psychologists, sociologists, pastors, and most thoughtful people agree that teenagers do not have enough non-performance-based relationships with adults who are not their parents.
• Being a Daddy has opened up a whole new category of topics and questions to discuss with teenagers. It’s actually much easier to talk with students about their family life because it’s now normal for me to throw out a question like, “So guys I’ve been thinking about what kind of stuff to do with little June (my daughter), what are some of your favorite things that you’ve done with your parents?”
• Don’t read this one the wrong way, but having a child, especially having a baby girl, has allowed me to have better friendships with teenage girls. In the past I have always been so terrified of “giving the wrong impression” or “sending the wrong signals” that I have been very wary of building relationships with the young women in our ministry – which is pretty sad considering that we’re talking about half of the teenagers in our church! Just today, I was holding little June after the worship service and a gang of 10th grade girls (and one grinning 10th grade guy) came running up to me too “ooo” and “ahh” over the baby. It was great! We had a 100% healthy, non-awkward, fun conversation thanks to the drooling, cooing little bundle in my arms.

A few days ago I received my favorite Christmas card of the year. Was it a picture of a JCrew-esk model family at the beach wearing matching khaki shorts and while button-downs? No. Was it a 3 page letter describing someone’s epically interesting accomplishments of 2011? Nope. It was a simple holiday card in a simple white envelope from one of the students in our church. Scrawled in black ink in big block letters across the inside of the card were these words…

Dan, I hope you have a great Christmas. Tell Rachel and June “hi” for me. Thanks for being an awesome friend and youth pastor. I have a great time hanging out.

       from,

          _________

- If you know this guy, then you’d understand how much these 4 sentences mean. He and I have probably had breakfast at Bodo’s Bagels on Preston Avenue over 50 times in the past few years and I’ve been praying for Jesus to work in his life for much longer than that. Through it all, I have often wondered (and doubted) whether our time together was as important to him as it was to me. For those of you who work with teenagers, you know the feeling.

Lesson re-learned for the 371st time: God is working even when I don’t see it.

To all who are giving away your time because you love Jesus and his people – “thank yous” and “well dones” are few and far between, but God is constantly working!

And in case the author of that card is reading this  – thanks again for the card buddy, it was super encouraging to me.

Time to record the vocals! We got a bit of a slow start this morning but things are off and running and going well. Unfortunately, as I write this, JT and I need to leave for the airport in less than half an hour. We both wish that we could stay for the whole day and see this project through to the finish, but I think our families are ready for us to come home! We are so proud of the band and so blessed to work with Nicaraguan brothers and sisters. As soon as the mixing/mastering is finished and the video editing is complete, I will post some footage here. Stay tuned!

Part 1: The day is only half over, but so far so good! Not much has gone according to schedule, but what kind of Nicaragua trip would this be if it had! We are in the studio and currently working on recording the first song “Cuentan de Tu Gloria” – and original written by one of the drummers, Luis.

Part 2: Wow, what a day! We left Granada at 7:00am and returned at 1:00am! Everyone in the band did a great job, worked really hard, and pushed through to the end. We have recorded almost all the instruments and are poised to dive into vocals tomorrow. At this point, I think folks are tired and really worn out. Please pray that we will rally and find the energy to enjoy the long process of working in a studio.

Today we piled the band into a “microbus” and drove an hour to Managua to practice in the studio. After getting lost for about 45 minutes, we finally found the place and were able to get the guys all set up. Practice went about 4 hours and we really feel like the songs are starting to come together. Moral is high and we’re having a great time communicating in the universal language of music!

I have a love/hate relationship with Nicaraguan mornings. The sunrise is always beautiful and the air is nice and cool, but the roosters wake up at 4:00AM and insist that everyone else wake up at the same time! Worship at El Puente was fun and refreshing as always and JT & I got some good down time in the afternoon to rest and prepare for a whirlwind next 3 days. We were able to meet most of the band and practice with them from 6pm-9pm. Things are definitely off to a good start.

So JT and I flew into Managua airport at 1:06pm and were picked up by Amber Royal – one of the excellent interns at E Puente in Granada. After getting situated, we got to talk with a few of the band members before heading over to the Kaye’s beautiful home for dinner. The food was great and the company was even better, but we were so tired from a long day of traveling that by 9:00pm we said our goodbyes and returned to El Puente to hit the sack.

1. High SAT scores.
2. Having really cool friends.
3. Doing your chores before anyone asks you to.
4. Obeying your parents.
5. Winning anything.
6. Working out.
7. Being the best.
8. Impressing your teachers.
9. Never missing a D-group.
10. Going on a missions trip.
11. Memorizing the Bible.
12. Eating local, organic, sustainably-produced food.

Your heavenly Father has loved you, is loving your, and will continue to love you. His love is past, present, and future. Jesus’ sacrifice for you occurred BEFORE YOU WERE BORN: before you made your first A+, before you learned how to read, before you made your first good or bad decision. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8

Take 3 minutes today, 120 seconds, and REST in the security of a God that unconditionally loves you.