our culture today

until recently i've not been purposeful about understanding what the culture around me is doing, about how the culture has shaped who i have become, and how it will shape my future and the lives of the students i work with. i'm not sure why this has never been a hot point for me but it hasn't.

in the last week and a half we've seen 6 kids shot to death in their schools, 2 grown men killing kids and then killing themselves, 1 principle killed and a freshman being charge with his murder. so i guess if i'm willing to deal with it or not culture is shape us.

even the ny times is talking about how our kids are losing their faith, well if i want to be fair to the paper they said our kids are abandoning their faith. what is that supposed to mean? do i have a role in not letting this happen?

i don't want to say this doesn't scare me, because it does but i refuse to life in the fear that the students of today won't love jesus tomorrow. i can't live in that fear and it won't do me any good if i did. i come to events like nywc and realize that there is hope and that no amount of media will ever be able to capture the essence of who god is and what he is doing in the lives of his chosen.

the reality that i live in is i love students. i love being with them and being a constant in their lives and when i come to an nywc i see thousands of people who also love student and love them even more than i do. so i do have hope.

understanding culture and not being blind to what is going on around me is just a necessary, but i have hope.

nywc prayer walk

there are so many things that happen behind the curtain that most people don't know about to make nywc happen. this morning is one of my favorite moments of pre-convention when we have our prayer walk. this a time when all of the staff and volunteers go around to the labyrinth, the prayer chapel, headquarters, main stage, the exhibit hall, and the bookstore and pray for all of the attendee and all of us working. to someone who doesn't come to this type of event it might not seem like a big deal. but coming into a room and blessing it and making sure that it is a safe and holy place that healthy and broken people can come together is more beautiful than i can explain.

so before life begins moving at a pace faster then our souls handle i'm going to take some time to pray, to soak in all that god will do here, and to slow down even if it is for 5 minutes.

nywc austin

well it is that time of the year again and the national youth workers convention are in full gear. i'm in austin right now and we are trying to get all of the last minute details finished before the major rush starts. we should have 2,500 hundred or so youth workers here.

this year is going to be different for me. i'm hoping to attend more seminars, more general sessions, and have more meaningful conversations with youth workers in the trenches. but the big difference for me is that i'm back in ym as well. i've taken the last couple of years off and i just couldn't do it anymore.

i hope to blog regularly about the highlights of the convention during the week so stay tuned for more dialog and a lot of photos.

peace