Youth Councils
Probably one of my favorite activities of my job...next to camp of course.
This year bossman asked me to pick the band and the speaker. So naturally, I picked Envision for the band, and Vince for the speaker.
Let's talk about the band for a bit. When I moved home, my parents had already left our old church and I liked their new one...but it wasn't me. I needed something where I could get together with people my own age and rock the world! My dad had mentioned that I might like Envision Life Center because there were a lot of people there my age, and I would really like the music and the vision of the church. He was right. The first day I walked in the doors of that church I felt welcomed and got invited to hang out with a bunch of new people that Friday. Being back home after college was different because most of my friends had moved away, so it was time to make new friends and this was where it happened. I love those people! First of all, they are an awesome band...and second of all, they have a heart for what they do..and a purpose. I love working with people like that! You guys pretty much rock my world! So why not introduce some awesome people to other awesome people??? Which is why I brought them in :) Plus, it was nice to hang with them every night!
Let's talk about our speaker for a bit. When I got to college, I was one of those people who was stuck in my own little box of thinking and had no idea why I was a Christian. I had been spoon-fed my entire life of what to believe, and never learned how to think for myself...until Vince came along. He was one of those professors that challenged my faith...and it wasn't just a few things...he turned my ENTIRE thinking around. I have the utmost respect for that man because he practices what he preaches, and he says it well. I really hope you guys enjoyed him. I've already heard a couple sermons that he gave this past weekend, but they never get old. Plus, I got to take he and his wife back to the airport on Sunday and I can't tell you how nice it is to get his opinion of the weekend. Any insight he can give, I soak it up like a sponge. I hope you guys did too.
All in all, it was a fantastic weekend. But also a very tiring one. I'm pretty sure I didn't sleep more than 4 hours each night I was there...which is probably why I slept 12 hours last night :)
Anyway, weekends like this get me motivated to do something...something big. This summer I have 2 huge goals. 1. To read the entire Bible in 90 days. My church here is taking that challenge and I want to be a part of it. I have a horrible time getting into the word...and this will be a HUGE challenge. Goal #2. Write a book on the effectiveness of the church. This is one of my passions. I love seeing changes in churches. What works, what doesn't. Why do we do certain things? What are some excuses as to why we don't do other things? How effective are we being if we only keep with tradition? What has worked in the past? Why doesn't most of that work now?
I'm hoping to make this book a bit different than the typical "postmodern church" book. Granted, it will probably have something about postmodernism in it, but it won't be the entire focus of the book. Plus, it'll challenge me to take a look at my own faith journey...which is completely sucking right now and I need to change it. I want to do a study on the Church in Acts, and then see what other churches are doing. Now, the entire book probably will not be finished by the end of the summer..but I at least want to have a big majority of it done and some direction on where to go with it. Right now my brain is scattered in so many directions that putting my thoughts on paper is difficult to do.
So there's life as of now. I move to camp in 2 WEEKS!!!! Can't wait to be at Hidden Falls for another amazing summer! I miss the staff soooo much and we HAVE to do the megatrail this year. Plus, go camping at Donaldson Cave :) Can't wait to see you guys!!!!!!!
This year bossman asked me to pick the band and the speaker. So naturally, I picked Envision for the band, and Vince for the speaker.
Let's talk about the band for a bit. When I moved home, my parents had already left our old church and I liked their new one...but it wasn't me. I needed something where I could get together with people my own age and rock the world! My dad had mentioned that I might like Envision Life Center because there were a lot of people there my age, and I would really like the music and the vision of the church. He was right. The first day I walked in the doors of that church I felt welcomed and got invited to hang out with a bunch of new people that Friday. Being back home after college was different because most of my friends had moved away, so it was time to make new friends and this was where it happened. I love those people! First of all, they are an awesome band...and second of all, they have a heart for what they do..and a purpose. I love working with people like that! You guys pretty much rock my world! So why not introduce some awesome people to other awesome people??? Which is why I brought them in :) Plus, it was nice to hang with them every night!
Let's talk about our speaker for a bit. When I got to college, I was one of those people who was stuck in my own little box of thinking and had no idea why I was a Christian. I had been spoon-fed my entire life of what to believe, and never learned how to think for myself...until Vince came along. He was one of those professors that challenged my faith...and it wasn't just a few things...he turned my ENTIRE thinking around. I have the utmost respect for that man because he practices what he preaches, and he says it well. I really hope you guys enjoyed him. I've already heard a couple sermons that he gave this past weekend, but they never get old. Plus, I got to take he and his wife back to the airport on Sunday and I can't tell you how nice it is to get his opinion of the weekend. Any insight he can give, I soak it up like a sponge. I hope you guys did too.
All in all, it was a fantastic weekend. But also a very tiring one. I'm pretty sure I didn't sleep more than 4 hours each night I was there...which is probably why I slept 12 hours last night :)
Anyway, weekends like this get me motivated to do something...something big. This summer I have 2 huge goals. 1. To read the entire Bible in 90 days. My church here is taking that challenge and I want to be a part of it. I have a horrible time getting into the word...and this will be a HUGE challenge. Goal #2. Write a book on the effectiveness of the church. This is one of my passions. I love seeing changes in churches. What works, what doesn't. Why do we do certain things? What are some excuses as to why we don't do other things? How effective are we being if we only keep with tradition? What has worked in the past? Why doesn't most of that work now?
I'm hoping to make this book a bit different than the typical "postmodern church" book. Granted, it will probably have something about postmodernism in it, but it won't be the entire focus of the book. Plus, it'll challenge me to take a look at my own faith journey...which is completely sucking right now and I need to change it. I want to do a study on the Church in Acts, and then see what other churches are doing. Now, the entire book probably will not be finished by the end of the summer..but I at least want to have a big majority of it done and some direction on where to go with it. Right now my brain is scattered in so many directions that putting my thoughts on paper is difficult to do.
So there's life as of now. I move to camp in 2 WEEKS!!!! Can't wait to be at Hidden Falls for another amazing summer! I miss the staff soooo much and we HAVE to do the megatrail this year. Plus, go camping at Donaldson Cave :) Can't wait to see you guys!!!!!!!