If I were Bishop...
Noting the current crisis in ministry, specifically, the first three things to go in a pastors life are diet, exercise and devotional life, I would put in a place a policy for all seminarians to do morning and evening prayer 6 days a week. In addition, I would work on a plan to check exercise and diet habits.

On Parents...
Do we youth workers see them as a resource for our ministry or do we see ourselves as a resource for them? And...which is Biblical? I will hold off on my answer:)

On Youth...
I am absolutely convinced that they can do way more than we give them credit for. Though, they are fairly erratic in their behavior so one week they will surprise you and the next they might disappoint you.

On Formation...
Our tendency is for info dump. What I mean is that we just dump as much info on students (and adults) as possible when it relates to formation/discipleship. I am convinced that the better way is the way of the tradesman...or something like this...Here is an example of what I mean:

Let's say I am an expert carpenter and I have a son. This son of mine is supposed to take over the carpentry business eventually. Here is how I teach him.

1) He watches me do it.
2) He helps me do it.
3) I help him do it and
4) Finally, I watch him do it.

This is much more Biblical (think of Jesus and the Apostles) and it is much more experiential.

On Who the Pastor is...
God is the pastor. You are in his stead. So...do not be afraid to put your students in situations that are really uncomfortable and not necessarily fun. What I mean is instead of teaching them on prayer for 45 minutes and then praying for 10...do a slightly guided time of prayer (even silent) for an hour and then talk about it. This uncomfortable experience (which is easy to facilitate) puts them in a position to wrestle with God and allow Him to pastor them.

Labels: Miscellaneous

One common misconception about monastic life is that it is easy. When I would tell folks about my time there they would usually smile and talk about how great it would be to get away and be able to be close with God. They whimsically imagine how peaceful life is in the monastery, and to some degree how wonderful the monks must be.

I have just hinted at about 3 or 4 common misunderstandings but I will address only two of them for now. That is, going to a monastery for an extended amount of time (more than a 1-2 week silent retreat) is not a peaceful get away or vacation with God. I did think this when I entered...boy was I wrong.

You go to battle. What do I mean by this? Many things but I will only mention a few. You face yourself. This alone can be pretty challenging. You begin to see yourself more for who you really are. The saints call this self awareness and it is absolutely essential to life in Christ. It is a primary step in growth in our Lord.

It is a complex subject to be sure but one thing that takes place is you move from looking at your actions to looking at the reasons behind those actions (or the reasons behind those reasons etc...).

You also move from the illusions of certainty to the reality of uncertainty. You simply engage with God as He really is...not what some slick sales pitch wants you to believe! You wrestle with and encounter a mysterious incommunicable God who allows you to go through dry times and one how forms your character at ever deepening levels (as opposed to a God who cares primarily for your comfort).

Enough for now...

Labels: Formation, Monastic

"The fruit of silence is prayer"
-Mother Teresa of Calcutta

"Prayer is the oxygen of the soul...Scripture is food for the soul."
-Padre Pio





Every Friday (pre Vatican II though some still practice this) the Franciscan's would be silent. When they gathered as a community for lunch they would keep silence while having one person stand up and read the Sermon on the Mount while they all ate.

I have used this many times in retreat settings with youth. It is most effective when used after youth have been in silence for a few hours. Why? For a number of reasons...

The ability for you to focus on the reading can be amazing. Not only while you hear it but afterwards too... I think for me it is the realization that the Sermon on the Mount is applicable for today. And that awareness is heightened because you are in the middle of doing Christianity with others. Maybe this makes the Sermon on the Mount seem less impossible or less detached from our everyday experience?

Labels: Formation, Monastic

Meeting with Rwandan Bishop John Rucyahan and Marko (youthspecialties.com) Friday morning to continue to work out the plans to train youth workers in East African countries.

Please pray for traveling mercies, a God graced meeting and for God's protection and blessings on my family while I am away.

A lot has been written on the topic and I am certainly no guru but here are a few things I have seen work with both kids and adults...

-Pray
-Shut up and listen...and when you are ready to talk...listen.
-Be free! You are not the savior. You will mess up. You do not know all the answers. Come to terms with this asap.
-Ask the right questions. Get them talking...ask them questions that force them to discover the issue(s) themselves.
-Help them to discover how God is involved in the process. One main question I ask is "Why do you think God has allowed this?" This is a great one because I often don't know this answer and it puts me in a humble stance and puts me alongside the person in the journey toward hope, wholeness and truth.
-Connect it to a Biblical story or theme. Often times I will ask, "Does that situation sound like anything you have run across in Scripture?" Or, "Is there a Biblical character you can relate this to?"
-Help them vision a Godly outcome. Help them explore how they should respond (think, act etc...) in light of God and His calling and purpose.
-Pray with the person
-keep the confidentiality

Put this in the "short and sweet" category. Here is a great quote from Francis as it applies to self image:

"You are who you are in the eyes of God. Nothing more and nothing less."

Shared this quote with the kids tonight. We did a teaching on self image and used the Rob Bell Nooma video "Name". It is a good one if you have not seen it already.

Ok...weird title. Could not think of a better one for this short and bizarre post but cut me some slack since I have a nasty cold.

So I took the kids on a ski trip this weekend to West Virginia. We had a blast. However, we had to do devotions in the morning at 6:30am. Which, is pretty dang early especially for teens and especially if they were skiing the entire day before.

Couple this with the fact that I feel very strongly that devotions are something we "do" and not something we sit back and receive. So, this means I expect and do devotional times that are structured to create ample space and time to give kids a direct opportunity to draw near to God.

Well, each morning we did a different type of lexio to a psalm (started with psalm 63, then 86 then finishing with 1). While doing it I made them kneel on the ground.

Now, this may sound like cruel and unusual punishment but the truth is it is a trick I learned in the monastery. When you are having a hard time praying (tired...don't want to pray...mind wandering etc...) being in a semi uncomfortable position helps you focus. Kneeling is one of the best ways to beat a bad prayer time. Not the kneeling where you are slouched over or leaning against something. No, I am talking about the kneeling with a fairly straight back.

The kids did it...so did I...and so did the leaders. And guess what?

It worked. Really well.

Try it. You will thank me for it just like I thank the Franciscans who taught it to me.