(not so) daily thoughts

Moving Sale

2008-06-04T22:05:00.002-04:00

Photos on Flickr: http://flickr.com/photos/joshfrank/tags/movingsale/

from Jillian:

In anticipation of moving sometime in the near future, and in the hopes of simplifying our lives a bit, Josh and I are hoping to get rid of some of our possessions. Prices are negotiable.

Treadmill (Proform) - bought new January 2006 for $450-ish. It's still in top-notch condition, though at the moment it *is* a little dusty (hence the top-notch condition!). Asking $100.

27" TV - Asking $30

VCR - Asking $10

Dresser with mirror - This is old, but in good shape. There are two places where the stain is worn off ( I think I spilled a dab of nail polish remover when I was young), but otherwise, it's lovely. There are 6 main drawers, one small drawer, and two smaller drawers that are kind of 'hidden' behind a door. Asking $100.

Daybed with trundle - this is old, but still fully functional. We have the two original twin mattress that came with it. One goes on the top bed part, and the second goes on the metal trundle part and slides underneath the bed. Asking $100.

Full mattress/boxspring/head- and foot-boards. This was new as of 2002. It's all in excellent shape. The head- and foot-boards are wood and iron. Asking $100.

My 5-piece dining room set. Bought new in January 2007 from Raymore and Flanagan for $1500. Asking $850. (For those of you who haven't seen it, it's huge... both wide and long. It's kind of farmhouse style-made of wide wooden planks and stained an oak color. The chairs are all wooden-no cushions-and the chair back is curved. They're pretty dang comfortable.)

An assortment of DVDs and CDs. Asking $5/DVD and $3/CD and $10/DVD season of tv shows. I'll attach a list of our DVDs to this email. I'm in the midst of compiling a CD list... if you would like to look through them, you're more than welcome to. I'll forward the list along asap.

If you know of anyone who is just starting out or anyone who might be interested in these items, please forward this post on to them.

Thanks a bunch!

Love,
Jillian, Josh, and Jude

Pentecost Project - Going Public

2008-03-24T23:36:00.002-04:00

This is something I've been chewing on for a bit; with the help of a few friends, it looks like it's coming to fruition.

Hope on over to http://pentecostproject.wordpress.com. Join the Facebook group. Consider how you or your church community might join in.

And let me know what you think.

Get Up, Stand Up

2008-01-29T22:16:00.000-05:00

Read my post on Jude's blog over here.

Our boy is getting big - and fast.

Twitter

2008-01-24T00:46:00.001-05:00

Dear God, I think I just gave in. Twitter = iamjoshfrank

Snow is Cold, Dad!

2007-12-13T22:18:00.001-05:00

Snow is Cold, Dad!
Originally uploaded by josh_frank.

Snow day!

More photos (from our snowy adventure to get hot chocolate and chocolate chip cookie ingredients, as well as from recent random photo shoots around the house...oh, and the trip to the Pumpkin Patch back in late October) are up on Flickr.

This * is Bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S

2007-12-11T21:42:00.000-05:00

One Action at a Time

2007-12-04T21:16:00.000-05:00

Doing some housekeep re:e-mail this evening, and found this sitting in my Inbox with a Star. Helpful words at any time, especially one when I'm feeling overwhelmed:

People say, "What good can one person do? What is the sense of our small effort?" They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time. We can be responsible only for the one action of the present moment. But we can beg for an increase of love in our hearts that will vitalize and transform all our individual actions, and know that God will take them and multiply them, as Jesus multiplied the loaves and the fishes.

- Dorothy Day, from Loaves and Fishes (via a Sojourners Verse & Voice e-mail, Sept. 4, 2007)

Photo Update

2007-11-13T19:46:00.001-05:00

More photos of Jude are finally up on Flickr - from the day he first rolled over, his baptism, and a couple of random picture nights around the house (including showing off one of his Cubs jerseys).

Check them all out here.

I Wonder...from inward/outward

2007-09-21T14:28:00.000-04:00

I experienced a few things at FreeSpace nearly 2 weeks ago that I have wanted to write about. I simply haven't made the time.

For now, another entry from the inward/outward blog:

Source: Pilgrimage, An Exploration Into God, by Ivor Smith-Cameron

technorati tags
broken heart manifesto

Love Your Enemies

2007-08-30T21:33:00.001-04:00

Jillian, Jude and I attended a peace vigil for the Iraq war on Tuesday evening. Here's a shot of Jude in his Mei Tai baby carrier and the sign I made (thanks to Thomas Knoll for the broken heart image).

It was an interesting night. The first sign I paid attention to was one held by an elderly lady sitting on her walker/chair. It said, "Make soup, not war." Nice.

It was interesting to see people's responses as they drove by. Many more people honked or gave us the peace sign than yelled demeaning/confrontational things. But really, people seemed to try to avoid eye contact with me.

One bold young man was stopped at the red light with his girlfriend in the car. He looked at my sign, looked ahead, and then stood up through his open sunroof and shouted, "George Bush is the shit!" I smiled while his girlfriend shot him a look, shrunk down in her seat, and gave me a timid smile while mouthing the words, "I'm sorry."

Another young man yelled as they pulled away from the light, "Our enemies hate us!"

It reminded me just how polarizing and counter-cultural the Gospel really is. It really isn't a rational thing, is it? To go the extra mile; to turn the other cheek; to be a leader washing people's feet. But this is just part of what it means to follow the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Help us to love well, Lord. And help us to love the enemies in our own day-to-day lives as we proclaim Your message of love and reconciliation. Amen.

technorati tags
broken heart manifesto, bhmt07, iraq war

broken heart manifesto: entry 01

2007-08-27T04:14:00.000-04:00

my friend thomas has posted the brokenheartmanifesto and i think it's really, really great.

in light of my decision to not just try to follow his efforts but instead joining in as a signatory, here's my first offering:

tonight was the last night of my 2 youth groups' "summer park nights" at the field of the local elementary school. a good turnout for us this summer (7 kids + me = a decent game of kickball); one freshman boy was having his birthday party tonight, so he invited his friends to come to the park first. brilliant!

while we threw around a football waiting for others to arrive, a group of skateboarders showed up at the other end of the park. there were at least 5 or 6 guys, all high school age. i noticed they had a few frisbees and a football (we have played ultimate a few times this summer), so i suggested we should maybe see if they wanted to join in.

everyone kind of stuttered and stammered. i was a bit surprised how fearful they seemed. nobody thought it was a good idea to approach this crowd. i let it lie, and we started our game.

i asked the group 2 more times while we played. the other kids had descended the hill to the opposite side of the long playing field and were casually tossing a football and their frisbees. still, my crew did not want to invite them over. one girl said, "i know it would be the very christian thing to do." but even with that realization the answer was still, "no." a few of my kids had overheard someone saying something about stolen cigarettes, and they also seemed to think it was a crowd that i could walk up to and ask for some weed.

part of me wishes i had made the decision as the youth group leader to be an example and walk over and invite the other group to join us. another part of me wants to respect where my kids are at and find some way to make this a teachable moment without causing them too much anxiety.

so much for "no one else will love for me."

suggestions?

technorati tags
broken heart manifesto, bhmt04

More photos - finally

2007-07-30T21:26:00.001-04:00

We just doubled the number of photos that are in Jude's set on Flickr. Go check them out.

He's growing like crazy; he just might have my dad's tall genes. Jude is now over 25" tall - that's in the 95th percentile for 9 week old babies! He now weighs in at 13 lbs 4 oz (75th percentile) and his head is 15 1/2" in circumference (25th percentile - perhaps he'll be able to wear fitted hats with consistency, unlike me!).

The last 9 weeks have been whatever cliche you want to use - it's unbelievable. Jillian and I can't really remember life before Jude, and we're totally okay with that!

Anyway, enjoy his photos and leave some comments, too!

26 days

2007-06-17T02:19:00.001-04:00

FathersDayBrunchCloseup.jpg
Originally uploaded by josh_frank.

More pictures up on Jude's Flickr set with more to come...

This one is from the early Father's Day breakfast Jillian and Jude treated me to at one of our favorite fancy-pants restaurants - the Firegrill.

Stuffed Apple Cinnamon French Toast, Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, OJ and coffee...not a bad breakfast!

Best. Feeling. In. The. World.

2007-06-01T08:15:00.001-04:00

STA71951
Originally uploaded by josh_frank.

What I've Been Up To

2007-06-01T07:56:00.000-04:00

It's been a busy week and a half since Jude's been born. On the home front, we have:

been to the chiropractor 3 times (and boy do I feel great!)

driven 90 miles to Quakertown for our first well-baby visit at the doctor's office (he's gained back almost all of his weight after the typical, initial post-birth loss)

gone to Nay Aug Park

shopped at Babies 'R Us and 2 different Target stores

visited Jill's family in Exeter/West Pittston (twice - once as a bathroom/nursing stop on the way back from Quakertown)

stopped in at both of my churches' offices for both a bit of quick work and to show him off

been to Starbucks twice (for my youth groups' Thursday night get togethers)

generally, done too much...but it's been good

Professionally, it is also a busy time of year. What I have been/am still working on:

taken the Jr./Sr. High group to a minor league baseball game

organized a Youth Sunday service for Presby (6/3)

begun organizing a Youth Sunday service for Epiphany (6/10)

lining up volunteers to help clean-up after the Epiphany church picnic (6/10)

tracking down adult leaders for the Jr. High Service Learning Trip to Heifer Farms in August

making multiple calls, getting checks written, sending out mailings, organizing final details for the Sr. High Mission Trip to Philadelphia (6/17)

doing some more brainstorming for the '07-'08 "program year" (hate that expression)

starting to line-up senior high help for Vacation Bible School

lending a hand to the Relay for Life team (6/9-6/10)

Not an exhaustive list, but you get the picture. That's my latest update. Remember to check out Jude's Flickr set. New photos added this morning!

Something a Parent of a 4 Day-Old Would Say

2007-05-25T05:35:00.001-04:00

First Trip to Nay Aug
Originally uploaded by josh_frank.

Praise God for 5 straight hours of sleep last night!

Jude Isaac - May 21, 2007

2007-05-24T14:53:00.001-04:00

STA71886
Originally uploaded by josh_frank.

He's here! More on Flickr.

Lots of calls and e-mails have been/need to be made. Hoping to write something much more substantial in the next few days.

For now, I'm reveling in being a first-time dad!

Living an Alternative

2007-04-25T09:30:00.000-04:00

technorati tags
elizabeth o'connor, kingdom living, moral imagination

This is one of the greatest challenges that I am trying to understand - not just in my head, but in my life:

The world may be fearful and anxious and weary, but we are not weighted by that world. We are following One who has unfathomable resources and One who makes them available to us and who says, “You must set new norms for life so that people can see what life can be.” This is your task. Your primary vocation is to enter into covenant relationships with others who have also met this Christ - to be that new society into which others can be drawn.

Call to Commitment

inward/outward

Thank you, Transmission...

2007-04-11T09:12:00.000-04:00

technorati tags
easter, easter at avalon, emerging church, transmission

for being an inpsiration.

Though I may never be a part of a cooperative Easter service created by an emerging liturgical community, a group of Jewish storytellers, sex workers, artists and dancers at a former-Episcopal-church-turned-night-club, seeing people following in the way of Christ pull this together helps to keep me alive. In many ways.

I've been following Transmission's blog for a few months now, and I am so very glad I did. You will be, too.

Check out pictures from their Easter service here and here.

Reason 737 of 1,342,819 I Love My Wife

2007-04-03T09:25:00.000-04:00

technorati tags
monasticism, thomas merton, writing

Echoing Silence: Thomas Merton
on the Vocation of Writing

Yep, my wife surprised me last night by telling me she added Echoing Silence to her Amazon order of 2 books about baby stuff. How cool is that?

One of the really amazing things about my wife is how much she supports me; my dreams, my pursuits, my interests, my hobbies - even if she doesn't really understand them or they don't resonate as deeply with her, Jillian is right there encouraging me to pursue them, to dive deeper into them, and to revel in them.

For that, wifey, I say thank you with all my heart.

Now, where to fit this on my "To Read" shelf...kidding! When this comes in, it will probably be the next thing I read.

last.fm

2007-04-02T22:22:00.000-04:00

technorati tags
last.fm, music, social networking

Finally checked out last.fm today. So far, I'm really enjoying it. I've been feeling in the mood to get back in touch with the music scene of late. I'm not sure, but it may have something to do with the new glasses. Yeah, I can't help it; I want to be a hipster.

Anyway, I was sitting in the computer lab office in the library at Marywood, and after watching some YouTube videos on a fellow youth minister's blog, I found myself with my headphones in and nothing playing through them. For some reason last.fm popped into my head, and I went and registered. I've been happily listening to streams of music based on "artists similar to" and "tag" off and on most of the day. This was particularly helpful while I tried to catch up on some housework this afternoon. Jillian and I even had it playing while we sat down for dinner tonight.

If you're interested in free streaming radio, check out last.fm. If you use it, let me know so I can add you as a friend, then your listening preferences can help inform mine and vice-versa. Drop me a comment here.

Nice Blog Design

2007-03-27T10:40:00.000-04:00

technorati tags
blogging, youth ministry

A quick post to point out a slick blog design. Check out Addison Road. I like the use of pictures to categorize posts, but I wish there was a key to the pictures/categories in the sidebar. I've been contemplating learning the WordPress platform lately; not necessarily to move my blog onto it, but as a tool in the web design belt. I'd love to explore a bit more the practical uses of blogs and their easy-editing/-posting tools as a way to build low-maintenance, low-cost websites for businesses and organizations.

By the way, if you're interested in some design work, either website building/renovating/overhauling, or graphic design for print media (logos, letterhead, business card, promotional materials, advertising, etc.), let me know. I'm extremely reasonable and negotiable.

Iraq War Anniversary - A Call for Peace

2007-03-19T18:37:00.000-04:00

technorati tags
thomas merton, pacifism, peace, sojourners

More from Sojourners and their Verse and Voice daily e-mail:

Peace demands the most heroic labor and the most difficult sacrifice. It demands greater heroism than war. It demands greater fidelity to the truth and a much more perfect purity of conscience.

Today marks the 4-year anniversary of the beginning of the war in Iraq. Jillian and I had planned to attend a Vigil service for peace this evening on courthouse square in Scranton. But now it is snowing and with a swollen ankle (and pregnant belly), Jill isn't feeling up to it. Frankly, I'm exhausted and am glad to stay home. At the same time, I had really hoped to go. I've never been to a protest or rally, and I want to lend my voice, my presence, and my prayers to this issue. I suppose that's one reason I have a blog.

It is my prayer this evening that those who lead find a way to end armed conflict and to work towards lasting peace - in Iraq and around the world.

Prosperity and the Church

2007-03-16T19:52:00.000-04:00

technorati tags
agnosticism, atheism, pantheism, prosperity gospel, sojourners

Take a guess who, and more, when the following quote was made:

It is not scientific doubt, not atheism, not pantheism, not agnosticism, that in our day and in this land is likely to quench the light of the gospel. It is a proud, sensuous, selfish, luxurious, church-going, hollow-hearted prosperity.

Think this sounds like some mamby-pamby, tree-hugging, bleeding heart liberal from the 21st-centruy? Think again.

Frederic D. Huntington in Forum Magazine, 1890

Thanks to Sojourners and their great daily e-mail offering called Verse and Voice.

Be the Change

2007-03-15T14:54:00.000-04:00

technorati tags
abolitionist, youth ministry, zach hunter

Zach Hunter, author of Be the Change: Your Guide to Freeing Slaves and Changing the World was featured on ABC's Good Morning America this morning. You can catch the 5-minute clip here.

My 2 youth groups are meeting on Thurday nights to read this book together and discuss it. A Starbucks recently opened in Clarks Summit (the first coffee shop in that community open past 7 p.m.), so we're meeting there for our book group. The original idea was for it to be a Lenten book study and to do at least 2 chapters a week, but we're getting a lot out of reading the chapters out loud together and taking time to thoughtfully discuss them. So, more than likely, we'll be reading this book well past Easter. The kids say they're fine with that; they'd rather slow down, have us take our time, and really dig in.

If you think a book written by a 15 year-old kid based on his efforts to end modern-day slavery is too specific for you or your youth group, think again. While Zach does share about his own story, the book is organized around chapter themes like "Inspiration," "Community," and "Courage," to name just a few. The main emphasis so far seems to be to write about and encourage kids his own age to find something they are passionate about and to let them know they can do things to change the world.

Not bad for a 9th grader, eh? I'm no paid lackey for Youth Specialties, but I've found the best prices for this book there. If you take a look around, you'll find discounts on 5- and 10-packs of the book. I didn't find those deals during my initial order and I think I overpaid, but you'll get 25% off of the retail price if you order the 10-pack (single copies are 15% off the retail price currently). I ordered 10 copies to start, and put in another order of 10 this past week because the kids are so interested!

30 Hour Famine Weekend

2007-03-10T19:45:00.000-05:00

technorati tags
30 hour famine, hunger, poverty, world vision, youth ministry

Just finished doing the 30 Hour Famine with my 2 youth groups. I'm so very proud of their efforts this weekend. They did a great job fundraising as a group and they were also very attentive throughout the day today as we discussed issues of faith, mission, justice, and charity.

Kudos to the 2 churches I work for; they took a chance and allowed us to throw a benefit concert at a local multi-purpose venue. We had well over 300 students show up to rock, 5 bands that tore it up for them, and ended the night taking in nearly $1800 for World Vision's hunger-relief programs throughout the world.

Amazing what a group of 12 kids can pull off, eh?

Conversion and the "Sinner's Prayer"

2007-03-08T09:03:00.000-05:00

technorati tags
conversion, evangelism, mike king, youth ministry

Mike King, author of Presence-Centered Youth Ministry (one of my recent reads, and highly recommended!), recently pointed towards an article at Christianity Today titled "Jesus and the Sinner's Prayer," written by David P. Gushee. It took me a day or so to get around to reading it, but since I've been doing some thinking and scribbling (or typing, as it is) about evangelism and conversion lately, I made a point to read it. And there's some good stuff here. I don't agree with everything in the article, but it gives some Scriptural voice to how I've been thinking about belief, salvation, conversion, evangelism, etc. lately. It isn't a recent thought or topic for me; instead, I'm finding myself getting engaged with the topic directly and it feels good. Kind of like stretching the ol' theological legs.

Here are some clips from the article:

Is it permissible to reopen the question of salvation? If we do, how will Jesus' teachings stand up to our inherited traditions? ... In reading through Luke, I had discovered that twice (10:25, 18:18) Jesus is asked, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" ... [Jesus] offered a fourfold answer: love God with all that you are, love your neighbor (like the Samaritan loved his neighbor), do God's will by obeying his moral commands, and be willing, if he asks, to drop everything and leave it behind in order to follow him ... Jesus never taught easy believism. Whether he was telling the rich young ruler to sell all and follow him or telling a miracle-hungry crowd near Capernaum that to do the work of God was, yes, to believe on him (John 6:28-29), he called people to abandon their own agenda and trust him radically. Radical trust calls for both belief and action...

For clarification, the two passages in Luke are the lawyer questioning Jesus about what it takes to inherit eternal life and the rich young ruler asking the same question.

So, some questions: how does this interact with the use of the "Sinner's Prayer" and the evangelical understanding that all one must do is "believe on Jesus" to be saved? Many people claim (and I believe them) that they have an over-the-top, incredible, one-time conversion experience that causes them to believe, repent, and "get saved." But what comes next? And is that the real question - have you said the Sinner's Prayer and accepted Christ into your heart? The Gospels seem to be saying that's not the only question.

Comments would be great - perhaps we can get a decent discussion going!

Evangelism: a Call to Egocentric Conversion?

2007-03-07T18:53:00.000-05:00

technorati tags
conversion, evangelism, jim wallis

From the inward/outward site: a quote from The Call to Conversion by Jim Wallis.

The gospel message has been molded to suit an increasingly narcissistic culture. Conversion is proclaimed as the road to self-realization…. Modern conversion brings Jesus into our lives rather than bringing us into his. We are told Jesus is here to help us to do better that which we are already doing. Jesus doesn’t change our lives, he improves them. Conversion is just for ourselves, not for the world. We ask how Jesus can fulfill our lives, not how we might serve his kingdom.

If you're looking for some spriritual wisdom each day, consider using the inward/outward RSS feed. It is a ministry of D.C.'s Church of the Saviour.

Jeremy Del Rio - Activism

2007-03-02T11:37:00.000-05:00

technorati tags
activism, jeremy del rio, shift conference, youth ministry

God took on flesh and moved into the neighborhood

challenge in Isaiah to perceive the new thing God is doing

"young people are closer to God's heart than anyone else" - defends this by quoting the "become like little children" verse

we've bought the lie that young people are the future. there is some truth in that, b/c children do have A future; but God trusts 13 year old david, a teenage virgin to birth and mother Jesus, a teenage esther is a "beauty contest winner" who helps save her people.

re-frames the story of Jesus into that of a teen who as an immigrant moves into a community...develops the whole story.
**my thoughts - interesting way to push me into how i can engage story, something we've been thinking through. why not write the story ourselves for our community? re-create, re-member the jesus story**

Luke 10 - v. 25, expert in the Law stood up to test Jesus. begins w/ a question - what must one do to inherit eternal life? Jesus doesn't respond w/a "sinner's prayer;" he returns the question: what does the Law say, and the lawyer says we must love god w/ heart soul mind and self, and love neighbor; Jesus says he is correct and do this; but he adds a twist, and says to love your neighbor as yourself. lawyer asks, who then is my neighbor (looking to justify himself); Jesus replies with - you guessed it - a STORY: the good Samaritan story.

"justice is more than compassion" - compassion would have been to give the guy a glass of water and leave him there; justice is the Samaritan picking up the guy, caring for his wounds, putting him on his ride, and prepaying his medical bills.

end of Isaiah 61: "I the Lord love justice"

justice is about righting wrongs; you give your life to right the wrong.

Mark Matlock - Technology

2007-03-01T12:44:00.001-05:00

technorati tags
mark matlock, shift conference, technology, youth ministry

as americans we love tech, we form bonds & relationships about/around tech. we have come to depend on tech devices.
have we been using tech to address the right problems?

launched planetwisdom.com 12 years ago.

can't just give us a list of the latest tools, websites, etc. b/c they change at such a rapid rate. but wants to get to the heart of the use of tech. cultural exegesis of tech. tech is not morally neutral b/c culture is not culturally neutral.
**connection interrupted**

employers of 50 frustrated w/ employees under 30. when 5 o'clock hits, they're off. vp's choosing daughter's recital over a late-night last minute session.

PS3 vs. Nintendo Wii - bigger better system and graphics; but nintendo has brought other generations into the gaming, brought physical activity into it.

Mac vs. PC - people don't care about computers, they care about living their life and sharing it.

5 Values
1) shift in IDENTITY - w/ mass production, Wal-Martization, there has been a push against it, against cookie-cutterness. people want to create things. it's beyond doilies, now there are microchips and servers. use of YouTube to share who they are and what they create.
kids looking for a place to be who they are w/out having to wear a mask, who they are on the inside; they aren't finding it in the church. mark likes to see it, loves how MySpace brings out the real student, wants to take part in their struggles. if only they could be as real in church as they are on MySpace.
2) shift in CONNECTION - believes connections no longer have to be physical. real connections can be made online. adults use internet to maintain existing relationships, where as kids do that AND use it to form new relationships. story of a 4-year online relationship w/an atheist youth in the UK who came to believe, when he traveled here and they met, it was not as if meeting for the first time.
25% of born-again kids say they've had an experience online that is worship to them.
3) shift in understanding of RISK - an outdated concept, if you are teaching kids the danger of strangers. b/c once they've met once, they're no longer strangers. teach kids to look for strange behavior and alert others.
4) shift in making space for what MATTERS MOST - blew over this to get to the last one b/c of time
5) shift in WHO WE CAN CONNECT WITH - those on the margins can seek out others to connect with. online 24-hour prayer vigils. "where 2 or more can gather." thinking diff'ly about the body of X - not just the local community, it is a global body. beyond america. maybe we need the churches in the world more than they need us.
shift in mission trip thinking - from taking something to them to realizing that they have something that we need and we receive it when we meet them.

it's a DESIRE TO CONNECT, to be in relationship with others.
why shouldn't the church be the "killer app?"

Donald Miller - Evangelism

2007-02-28T15:41:00.000-05:00

technorati tags
donald miller, evangelism, shift conference, youth ministry

Evangelism - Donald Miller

"in one part this is ministry, and in another it's penance"

mystical element to the experience of Jesus that is hard to explain

how has XNY hurt you (recent survey on college campus)?
:: crusades (muslim v. XN, not billy graham)
:: religious TV (these people are goofy; say shocking/mean things, often about oppressed groups of people)

hesitancy to talk about XNY b/c of its perception in the world

feels normal to talk about XNY when it's "just us," but it gets weird when others join in

when a culture becomes so insular that it only interacts with itself, it becomes weird and goofy (acknowledges biblical notion of not being of the world). but the gospel message is to go out into the world and often not come back alive. why do we try to protect and insulate ourselves and our kids so that we're not influenced/taken over by them?

what's the best movie you saw this last year?
blood diamond, the prestige, little miss sunshine, eragon, happy feet...

what is your favorite aspect of the nicene creed? (laughter)

why are we so quick to want to talk to narrative, to story...but we don't really get interested (people are often threatened) by the propositional truth of creeds, belief, etc.

jesus tells story after story after story after story...there are propositions (james), but they are encompassed by narrative.

jesus seems fulfilled just to tell the story

if we went to see Rocky, and on the way home, i said, hey guys, can we pull over a second. what do you think was the meaning behind Rocky? what was the point? (laughter)

human heart DESIRES story. STORY SPEAKS FOR ITSELF.

story tells us what to live for, what to die for, what a hero does, what a villain is...

culture is hungering for a story, and we're not telling ours very well.

teens want to live inside a great story, they want to play a role. (story of dad/daughter clashing over her lifestyle (goth, blah blah); dad at wits end; donald challenges him w/ this idea; dad comes home later with a challenge for his family: an orphanage needs built in mexico and if we don't do it, xxx # kids are going to be uneducated, probably end up in abusive relationships, etc.; kids catch on (dad, i could use my myspace to try to get my friends to held; daughter recognizes her dad's call for her to be a hero...))

a great story has Ambition, Conflict (God loves conflict, he embraces conflict), Protagonist (if protagonist dies, that cause may die, too)

Paul in Acts 17 goes out and meets "at their meeting place" to discuss...

assumption of church marketing is that it's a corporation; "be profitable for the Kingdom of God." fear of being fired.
***connection interrupted***

Paul acknowledges the religious interest of the Athenian community; notices the shrine marked to "the god nobody knows." takes the time to observe the culture and see how his story can speak into it. sees the longing for a god the people can be near, touch, etc. and sees how the people are being taken advantage of by those running concrete shrines, people paying and running errands to have the chance to come close to god. and paul says God is near...

kids see 3000 commercial messages everyday. we need to tell a story other than, "attain what you can to be comfortable and avoid conflict. so go out and earn and spend..."; acknowledge what is positive in culture and name that which is not.

*book by Robert McKee about stories*

QUESTIONS from the "war room" (i'm not really happy with this label!):
is the loss of story universal? do other religions use them better than us?
:: not a universal thing; it's an american thing (i'd say a western thing)
:: heart doesn't respond to lists; yes, other religions use stories b/c they work on the heart.
:: story in some ways has been overrun in the church by some sort of american story (example of church that decides to encourage members not to run up christmas gift debt, published a 60-page catalog of "make your own gift on the cheap" ideas, the church gave instead of buying (1500 person church), gave $100,000 for well-drilling in Africa, no christmas pageant, etc.)

Shift! Conference

2007-02-28T14:21:00.000-05:00

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shift conference, youth ministry

I've been invited to live-blog via internet stream some of the sessions of Willow Creek's Shift! Conference. I'll probably be posting my notes here, too, but the conference blog (which features other live-bloggers) can be found at shiftnow.typepad.com. Check it out and follow along.

Evangelism: A Definition

2007-02-16T19:37:00.000-05:00

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evangelism, faithful practices, youth ministry

I pulled the following defintion out of my notes from the Evangelism workshop at last weekends Faithful Practices Conference (lack of grammar due to the note-taking quality!):

Evangelism is a set of intentional activities governed by the goal of initiating people into the body of Christ.

Why [evangelize]? Living life the way God intended it to be, to experience here and now the most of the kingdom of heaven.

Okay, so, what do you think? One of the parts of this definition that I like is that it does more than speak of evangelism as an effort towards a one-time event. There is still a quality of some sort of conversion experience in the language, but it goes beyond that, which I think is important. For many, there is no one-time, get on your knees and tearfully ask Christ to be your Savior. Instead, many people experience a gradual conversion (I would say we are CONSTANTLY on the path of conversion, that it is never a completed process). There is communal language in this definition; the initiation is a personal thing but it happens IN THE CONTEXT OF COMMUNITY - very important.

Also, and this it something I have to really think on and pray about, is the idea that "evangelism is a set of intentional activities." I definitely would self-identify as one who hopes that the way I live is a witness to the love of God and thus becomes an instrument of evangelism. But I think that I need to think through what it means to be intentional about a goal of inititiating people into the body of Christ.

On Evangelism

2007-02-15T19:41:00.000-05:00

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evangelism, faithful practices, youth ministry

From today's SojoMail, and in relation to the Evangelism Workshop from the Faithful Practices Conference:

In Pasadena, each of the "five families" – Evangelical/Pentecostal, Roman Catholic, Racial/Ethnic, Historic Protestant, and Orthodox – each shared their interpretation of Jesus' "mission statement" in Luke 4:18, and asked, "Is Jesus’ proclamation our proclamation?"One of the interesting "problems" in the Evangelism Workshop was that nobody could/felt comfortable defining evangelism (yet many think it is important to do!). Some, of course, talk about getting people to "make a decision for Christ;" others focused on training believers to be disciples whose lives reflect and, more so, enflesh the love and grace of God for the whole world. It is encouraging to me to see representatives from nearly every strain of (American) Christianity coming together to proclaim the Gospel message - and making a commitment to thinking about evangelism beyond a simplistic, one-dimensional effort to "get people saved."

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

Conference Thoughts Coming...

2007-02-15T14:34:00.000-05:00

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faithful practices, youth ministry

I know, I know: I've been back for 4 days now and no succinct thougts from the Faithful Practices Conference. Does it make a difference that we were just hit with our first snowstorm of this winter beginning Tuesday evening through Wednesday night? How about 15" of snow where there once was none? What about 6 hours or so of combined shoveling (I know, upper New York is looking and laughing at the wimpy amount of snow we have to deal with)? Digging out of a snow bank that was 4 feet tall and 5 feet long so that we could move our car?

Does it make a difference if I've managed to develop a cold over the last 2 days, too? No? Well...

Tomorrow. I'll make a deal with you - keep checking in and you'll see some sort of substantial post on Friday. Peace to you this (snowy) day.

Snow Day!

2007-02-14T06:58:00.000-05:00

We're in the midst of of a heavy and mixed snowstorm. In Scranton, it looks like we've had about 4-5" of snow overnight, but the forecasters say the worst is coming between now and early afternoon. What's really odd is sitting in my living room and hearing the sleet. I look out the window and see the snow-covered walk and street, yet it sounds a bit like a spring rain the way it's hitting and bouncing off the windows and siding.

Jill and I plan on staying put as long as possible today. Shoveling to come! Perhaps I'll snap a few pictures (after going back to bed, of course...it IS a snow day, after all!).

Art as Devotional: Georges Rouault

2007-02-13T19:39:00.000-05:00

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art, georges rouault

I've been trying to create a daily rhythm of prayer and devotion for myself. The links to the left in the Spiritual Formation category I've used off and on in the past; over the last week I've been using the Morning Prayers from the Northumbria Community as linked, but I read the Daily Lectionary readings instead of those from the NC. And in place of their daily meditation, I've been reading from All Saints: Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses for Our Time by Robert Ellsberg. I really recommend checking it out; it's a great book.

So, I didn't read today's saint until just a few moments ago, but after reading the entry on French artist Georges Rouault, I had to go and check Google Images to see some of his work. What I see so far I really like. This image is his Head of Christ. Check him out, and consider adding some art to your spiritual disciplines.

Conference Notes - Quick Links

2007-02-13T08:46:00.000-05:00

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faithful practices, youth ministry

I am home and somewhat recovered from the trip to Nashville over the weekend. More of my own thoughts to come over the next week on specific topics we covered (I was particularly impressed w/ Kenda Creasy Dean's lecture and Andy Root's 2 sessions on Relational/Incarnational Ministry).

Mark DeVries from Youth Ministry Architects on DEVELOPING LEADERS/VOLUNTEERS (Workshop I)

Dietrich Kirk, executive director of Center for Youth Ministry Training, on EVANGELISM (Workshop II)

Gonzalo Duarte of Companero Inc spoke briefly about his SERVICE LEARNING/MISSION TRIP AGENCY (brief interlude)

Lesleigh Carmichael on WITNESS/TESTIMONY (Workshop III)

Kenda Creasy Dean spoke on THE EMPIRE STRIKES OUT, touching on the end of Christendom, missiology, translation, reframing... (Lecture I)

Kenda Creasy Dean on CLOUD OF WITNESSES (Worship Message from Hebrews 12)

Dietrich Kirk on DISCIPLESHIP/PLANNING (Workshop IV)

Andy Root on RELATIONAL/INCARNATIONAL MINISTRY (Lecture II)

Andy Root on RELATIONSHIPS AND YOUTH MINISTRY (Workshop V)

Workshop 5: Relationships and Youth Ministry

2007-02-10T16:24:00.000-05:00

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faithful practices, youth ministry

Andy Root - Relationships and Youth Ministry

"relationships aren't about fixing, they're about being with" - parable of andy trying to fix his wife's problem when she's suffering, and she blows up and says don't you know i don't want a fix, i want you to just be with me...

why relationships at all? why are they significant in YM?
YouTube clip about NoLimit worship (NoLimit Youth Ministries)
-desire to be a part of kids' lives, and the desire of kids to have relationships w/ people

Crisis of relationship
-pre-industrial family encompassed basic needs (made/grew food), education, work, relatives, recreation (balls enclosed in the circle of a family
-industrial family, the balls fell apart and separated (dad gets up, goes to work, family has little idea what he's doing; kids go off to be educated at schools...); pluralization of life worlds
-split continues to happen. specialization continues to become finer and finer

field of cultural totality (change in each context, but each culture has them): family-economy-gov't-society-religion

family and religion have shrunk to small pieces of the pie, where the economy and society have grown greatly; this creates crises of relationship

the high school is actually not that old...only since after the great depression that it became the norm. institutionalizing children in a structure - the high school. meant 2 broad things...
1)young people remained in their parents' homes much longer
2)yet they spent fewer meaningful hours with their parents

crisis of relationality arrived in the mid-20th century, led to...
-backlash to technological advance (every advance comes w/ a backlash - higher pollution...)
-technical rationality (determinations of how people are treated made by the bottom line...filters into relationships - why stay married to you, it doesn't benefit me; why should i stay in this church...?)
video clip from the office (michael giving his presentation to corporate on "the faces of scranton")

this led to an emphasis on The Self-Chosen relationship
-up to the individual to negotiate all relationships (no longer the family or tradition or location)
when a kid walks into the doors of a hs, and sees a sea of people, how does he determine what relationships to have?
-only in a modernized world is relational interconnection optional and open to ??

how do you choose?
-tradition/family no help
-"cool" vs. "uncool" (consumerism plays a part, but it's largely b/c of intimacy): label to say "you're safe to develop a relationship with"
-indian caste system and american h.s. operate in exactly the same way (milner reference "freaks, geeks, and cool kids")
-jim rayburn (founder of Young Life) understood this; decided to do YM by going INTO the high school. by becoming friends, them trusting him, they would come to his events. he had to become "cool." organization's strategy was to go into the HS and develop relationships w/ the "cool" kids.

Relationship Focus
1) relational/incarnational ministry of personal influence
-using relationships as a means to an end
-relationship less important than the thing you're trying to achieve/get them to do
-focusing on the "third" thing
-the person isn't important, only their decision (will)
-the Incarnation was not about influence: jesus didn't come into the world to lead us into the safe barn; but instead about coming and sharing our place, suffering with us...
-the koinonia of the trinity is not built on influence: the father isn't trying to influence the son or the spirit to do this or that, but simply IS, in relationship
(video clip from A&E, steve discerning whether to enter seminary, is a college missionary...) (YouTude blip, green day's american idiot, empty relationships, leaves them alone, finding some comfort in all the wrong things, missing the peace that passes all understanding..."loving them into a responsive relationship" - why not just loving someone? - b&w video of kid doing all these activities usually needing 2 people but he's doing them alone...a ministry called Emmanuel?)

2) relational/incarnational ministry of PLACE-SHARING (bonhoeffer)
-means to stand in for; to be there
-to concern oneself for the other's full person (not about influencing)
ARE YOU BRAVE ENOUGH TO JUST STARE IT DOWN, the ugliest thing in someone's life; will suffering destroy you? or, will it connect your heart to someone? doesn't mean you say it's good.
-therefore it means to suffer with (whereas the conditional relationship means that you don't have to; or that i'll suffer with you if it then means you see i'm right)
-it's ethical (Christologically) - caring for the wholeness about their humanity; demands that you confront. all relationships demand judgment and confrontation, but judgment and confrontation cannot lead to relationships
-Incarnation is its fullest picture (the word became flesh and tented among us)
-the trinity is based on mutual giving love; being with and for (each person points away from itself and towards one of the other) (moltmann/volf, dance of three in one...)
video clip from "little miss sunshine" (when son finds out he is color blind)

personal influence compared to place sharing
"how" v. "who"
"programmer" v. "theologian" (dancer)
"for cultural conflict" v. "narrative of the incarnate, crucified, and resurrected"

What would this look like, how would this be practiced?
The Shape of Faithful Place-Sharing
-Open (identification) AND Closed (Differentiation): being able to be open, but to say stop, i am a human being, you will not exploit my brokenness (ref. to good will hunting, will trying to break down robin williams's character in their first session); recognition that one can not be categorized, boxed in, etc.
-Barrier (presence demands confrontation/judgment)
-Correspondence w/ Reality: jesus christ has become reality (jesus christ is in the world); suffering w/ and yet confessing that...
-Mutuality in Freedom: freedom is always freedom FOR, not freedom from (Christological bondage?)

As a paid YD, can't be a place-sharer w/ all the kids. it is an invitation to the congregation to be place-sharers with the kids. a bridge btwn the kids and adults; point back to the church, the family as saying, "you are the ones who ought to be in relationship w/ these kids"

Lecture 2: Relational/Incarnational Ministry

2007-02-10T13:38:00.000-05:00

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Andy Root - Examining the Practice of Relational/Incarnational (R/I) Youth Ministry

"freaks, geaks, and ?cool kids?" book
american evangelicalism (book title), christian smith
: sub-cultural identity theory - if a religious group can draw a very thick set of boundaries of who's in and out, pluralism actually helps define them even better
: evangelical tool-kit - culture is an incredibly complex thing; varied; groups in a culture develop tools and pass them to each other in how to react to situations. the tools set the actions one will take.
:personal influence relationalism - by being personally involved w/someone they found they (conserv. evangelicals) could get someone to make a decision. "always on stage."
:free-will individualism
:anti-structuralism

divded by faith (book title), ?emerson? - history of last 10 years, falling apart of racial tension.

andy's study: how this tool kit was affecting YM
how evang YM understood relationships
goal not an air-tight sample but to gather snapshots
sample provided by Fuller's Center for study of Youth and Family Ministry (requested 8 best examples of relational ministries, interviewed 5) they were diverse in size, denomination, etc.

Reporting Findings
YM @ Bethel Church (AOG, 500 people, 40-50 kids, San Gabriel Valley, large Hispanic and Asian family, many 1st move after being able to get out of east LA) YD is Gary, no seminary, 10-15 yr vet.
goal for R/I: that you come to know Christ as personal Savior. the things i do must have that as their focal point. impact lives for eternity. to make sure you make heaven your home, not there by the skin of your teeth.
-understanding of culture (sees signs of end times in culture); culture is hostile; need to get kids out of this world
-peer relationships: lots of pressure; try to give a flyer about XNY and they'll rip it up in your face. they're all spec. against XNY, they'll accept other religion, they'll say i'm a nazi and communist. XNs can't change content in movies, so maybe we just have to be a better, good alternative people; make sure you aren't changing when engaging w/ the bad, change them to the good and don't be affected.

YM @ Ocean Front Presby. Church (on the shore, upscale boutiques and shops, OC) YD is Sam, has M.Div, trained at Fuller, purpose-driven. relationships for modeling; culture kind of hostile. does R/I b/c he has to model things w/ them, so that his teaching isn't just ear candy. uses they/them (us/them) language. let the kids see my pain, that is part of my R/I. not being fake. cried in front of them. let them see it so they can say, yeah, i am, too. momentarily about sharing suffering rather than solely for influence.
kids say outside of the group, everyone else at school are not XN. some are quasi-XN. some go to Mass but they don't have the same kind of rel. w/ God we do. relationships w/ them are diff't. don't actually talk to them about their faith, but they're life is an example enough. INCREDIBLE AVERSION TO SPEAKING OR TALKING ABOUT THEIR FAITH W/ NON-CHRISTIANS. only way to express their faith is alt. example (not drinking). very US/THEM.

YM @ Foothill Cong. Church (foothills of Sierra Madre mtns; weird 50's feel; 50-60 kids on Wed. nights)
YD is Randy; part of Young Life in past; has ready every YM book known to man and likes to mention them; programs don't draw or keep, only relationships do; culture is toxic but Europe is worse; jesus is example, became one of us to make sure we went the right way.
culture is a place where you're constantly assaulted;
for randy, service was key. had to have service. parable: when people go to amusement park and leave, they're miserable after they leave, cuz it was all about them. but when you serve, it's not about you, you leave and are exhausted but you had fun and you feel good. (service seems to be much about feeling good about oneself). worship is about how i feel.

YM @ Washington Ave. Cong. Church (right in Pasadena, off the ramp off 110 freeway; megachurch, 4000 worship/week; mainly young professionals (wealthy and white), but located blocks away from Pasadena's homeless and pah-handlers and low-income Afr. Amer. and hispanic 'hoods)
YD is James; rel. serve to help kids take faith more seriously; culture is hostile but we must dialogue w/it; jesus went deeper with a few, not the masses; 12 and 3 perspective of Campus Crusade (12 apostles, 3 very close apostles); they've created spaces on wed. for conversation, sitting together, playing board games together, w/ motiv. of people just having conversations; actually wants to become more a neighborhood place, would have to become bilingual, change hiring practices; dream is that these kids are in each other's weddings...you know that there is no more breakdown btwn urban and suburban (no conversation about gang violence stopping; education improving; etc....all about befriending the 'hood, but the 'hood wants systematic change)

YM @ Joyful Noise Church (san dimas; genX congregation, has now started to age (young family congregation), located next to HS, lots of green space)
YD is Matt; very talented; relationships provide modeling, formation: help students assimilate into the larger church body (bridge towards getting kids into the congregation; means to an end still); culture hostile but is in dialogue w/ it; can't find theological justif. but there are sociological ones

Analysis:
-culture is the reason for doing R/I (leadership dev., educational authenticity, legitimize programs and teaching; congregational assimilation)

Getting the Problem in View (that it's culture and not theology)
-***more attent. to cultural conflict than to the continuing ministry of God in the world***
-R/I is constructed from the tools of Evangelical engagement (and mainlines have gradually and unknowingly adopted the toolkit)
-most prominent tool is relationalism

Advantages
-richer social capital (more adults willing to part. in their life...social networking; but that's not necessarily discipleship)
-all adolescents were involved in worship and service
-but this came w/ rigid in-group/out-group labeling
-this risks making relatinonships about personal influence; worship about indiv. emotional feelings; mission about volunteeristic service
-this is all a problem b/c it's thin theology

Ross Langmead's 3-Fold understanding of Incarnational Mission
1)following Jesus as the pattern for mission,
2)participating in Christ's risen presence as the power for mission, and
3)joining in god's cosmic mission of enfleshment which is evident from the beginning of creation

Andy's research shows a conspicuous absence of 2 and 3

leads to Jesus being understood only as an example, so that relationships is only about where we get kids; not for suffering with them; and can lead to justification of us abandoning them b/c they're not coming along, rather than living and suffering with them.

why do we do it? b/c god is actually present when you are in relationship (there is something mysterious about this), not just b/c we're modeling jesus or b/c we're trying to move kids to do something.

Workshop 4: Discipleship

2007-02-10T12:54:00.000-05:00

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Dietrich Kirk - Creating a Discipleship Plan for Youth

in many churches, "programs" (SS, wed. night bible study, youth group) have started all looking like and being the same thing, and we wonder why kids aren't coming out to everything we're offering.

process for creating a discipleship plan (DP), encouraged to take back and do again w/ the local church (can't be from 1 or 2 people).

deech's bg is UMC; he thinks wesley has a right idea in sanctification (meet christ, then continually growing and maturing in grace).

DISCLAIMERS - the only person who can create/promote growth in a young person is the Holy Spirit. students grow at diff't rates (some 7th/8th ask the ??s you wish your seniors would). youth begin the discipleship processes at diff't times. a DP will encourage students to participate in what programs are meeting their needs/maturity level, not to be at every diff't programmed aspect. very few will leave our programs committed disciples.

what is dicipleship? (group responses)
process in growing in christ-likeness
christ centered relationship building plan for interaction, growth and learning for YMs and their youth
intentional process of walking side by side w/ someone as you lead them in the way of christ
leading by example; helping people reach toward fulfillment of the great commandment/commission; becoming christ in the world
apprenticeship (youth:mentor/master:christ as ult. master)

god doesn't always work in the same ways, but often in similar ways. referring to lesleigh's testify workshop:
Are there common points in our stories? (group responses)
Early stages: questioning; parent-forced faith; searching for answers; recognizing god's goodness; many kids are clueless (ignorant), even if they've "grown up" in church; FEAR; denial-of their need for faith; invitation; rebellion; non-christian/no commitment/non-believer
What's next (after an initiation/decision for christ/first taste...)? realization; education; assessment; exploring; questioning and doubt; lost our way/wandered from faith; conscious incompetence (realize something's there, but not sure what you're supposed to know about it) - knowing that you don't know; curiosity; passionate; excited; new stage; fear/timidity/intimidation/what next?/now what? (deech wrote a book called this); alienation; infancy/baby christian/just starting
Moved into the faith, grown, what's next? strong desire to seek; thinking; hungering; encouraging; experiencing things in a new way; god's love makes new; feel accepted as part of group/body of christ; growing; looking for a teacher/mentor; putting together the dots; experiences confirming knowledge; maybe it's god not coincidence; challenges; temptations; challenge to live it; excitement; energy; try to become a model and share what you've experienced; belonging to a community; fearing being the model;
How do we define coming to a place of maturity? it's not about me; understanding (Scriptures; role in the world); becomes lifestyle rather than some other part of their life; peace; ownership of process; self-discipline; servant leadership

Taking these stages/experiences/needs, moving to condensing this a bit and thinking about how to summarize/title some steps. Name the experiences for the stages that we might help facilitate.
Metaphors to help:
Doug Fields uses a baseball diamond. 1st base-beginning XN; 2nd base-taking on some missions; 3rd base-taking on some leadership; Home is servant leadership. Problem is that not everyone starts by going from 1st-2nd-3rd; some jump in at 2nd base, etc. Not very fluid.
Brentwood's metaphor is the River of Life (hand-out_. Five stages of faith:
1) Checking out the scene - aware of the church, have seen the programs, but don't know what it's about
2) Stepping in the water - dipping your toe in to see what it might be like; baptism would happen somewhere in here
3) Diving Deeper - seeking more, dive deeper into scripture, involved in youth group, involved in missions, starting to take ownership
4) Riding the Rapids -
5) Going Fishing - ready to come back in as leaders; navigators of the river
Suggestions have been that there is a point where many pull over for awhile, sit on the beach, don't move forward or back, etc. The river metaphor allows for that and other stages.

(group responses to naming the stages and IDing the programs that fit them)
Where are the holes? where the kids are more mature, there is less set, there is a void. (kenda's fleas in a jar example) as a whole, we've set the bar at a certain level but kids that get beyond that don't have much to go on to.

Creating the Programs to Meet the Needs
It's overwhelming to program for 4 or 5 diff't stages. But these programs don't have to be weekly programs. important part is that by IDing the stages, you can program better. ID the stage you're targetting and program for that rather than trying to program for everything at all events.
Utilize conference/diocesan/presbytery events as tools for specific stages. Know who might benefit.
As discipleship levels increase, the numbers of participants decrease, and that's OK.

How can we look at our programs, upcoming events...and fill the holes, program towards the a stage, etc.? (group responses)

Friday PM Worship - Hebrews 12

2007-02-10T00:02:00.000-05:00

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Message given by Kenda

wellsley tunnel of screams - bston marathon
hebrews 12:1-2, 14 (cloud of witnesses)
will it look like this as we run into that final stretch on the way into heaven? the cheering of the crowd is contagious. at the penn relays, the more elite runners didn't collapse, exhausted; they came back into the crowd and encouraged the rest on.

witness from greek martyria, witnesses in court. only sharing what had happened to them. early christians pick up the word.

evangelism came as natural to the early church as, hey, come to dinner; hey, go ahead, pet my puppy. it was organic and natural.
"one beggar telling another beggar where to get bread"

paul in hebrews uses witness not as a legal term but as a sports metaphor...those who have gone ahead come back to cheer on those yet to come. (clip from superbowl a few years ago, crowd in airport gradually begins applauding for a group of soldiers as they walk off the plane.)

since we're surrounding by such a crowd, we better strip down and get on with it. discipline, perseverance, self-denial. disciple, of course, comes from discipline. in the ancient world the runners ran naked; before the race they were rubbed down and massaged with oil. for practicality, aesthetics, and sheer joy for being able to run the race.

400m race in Barcelona, runner w/ torn hamstring helped to finish line by father.

suffer=allow to be overcome by love to give for another.

real purpose of cloud of witness is neither perserverance or perspiration, but closer to eric little's desc. in chariot of fire: race is being run on sunday, and this was against his understanding of sabbath. the OC allowed him to switch to a dff't race on a diff't day and won gold. but the OC didn't realize this wasn't the real "race" eric was running. (god made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast, and when i run, i feel his pleasure).

what if what god really needs for us to finish the race is god's pleasure? what is it about my ministry that allows me to feel god delight in me? if you haven't had room in your ministry to engage in this, make some room for it.

clear the path for the long distance runners so no one will trip and fall...b/c god wants you to feel god's delight in you.

Workshop 3: Witness

2007-02-09T20:00:00.000-05:00

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Lesleigh Carmichael - Witness

What comes to mind?
how we came to know the lord
gospel choirs
some do it silently (some wear t-shirts)
there are a variety of ways to do testimony.

we all have a story to tell, we need to tell our story, everyday we add a new chapter to the story of God and his people
sometimes our testimony may not agree, and that's OK - it happens in Scripture, too.

who are the characters in our stories? our editors, our writers...
we don't always choose our characters (david didn't choose goliath), and we need to not be afraid to name those characters we wouldn't choose.

the rest of the session we did 2 exercises: first, we created a list of characters in our individual story of faith (to this point in our life), describing them by name or description, and making a few quick notes about their impact. this was to be a tool to help develop our "testimony" as if writing it as a script or short story.

the second activity was to draw a timeline of our story, however we thought that ought to look. we each had a 6x6 inch piece of off-white canvas and a marker. some used words, some made charts and graphs (the engineers in the house), some used symbols, some had a fairly straight line, and others had spirals, or mountains and valleys. we then attached each individual piece to each others and ended up with a sort of banner or flag of testimonies.

a good exercise in finding ways to explore and express our own stories, and it's something that can translate over into work with youth (or adults, for that matter) quite well.

Thank You, Recap, Feedback Thus Far

2007-02-09T19:13:00.000-05:00

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faithful practices, youth ministry

First, I want to pause and say thanks to all who have been visiting the blog throughout the day. I know many of you are first-timers coming in from links I e-mailed or you saw others post for me. I hope you are finding some useful things. I know the posts are long and a bit dis-jointed, so let me recap where we've been so far today if you get antsy when having to scroll through long posts:

Mark DeVries from Youth Ministry Architects on DEVELOPING LEADERS/VOLUNTEERS (Workshop I)

Dietrich Kirk, executive director of Center for Youth Ministry Training, on EVANGELISM (Workshop II)

Gonzalo Duarte of Companero Inc spoke briefly about his SERVICE LEARNING/MISSION TRIP AGENCY (brief interlude)

Kenda Creasy Dean spoke on THE EMPIRE STRIKES OUT, touching on the end of Christendom, missiology, translation, reframing... (Lecture I)

If the long version of notes is too much, please bear with me. I'm finding I don't have much time to trim or just copy and paste highlights as we're moving along quickly. Let me know if you have any thoughts or suggestions. I'll be posting about a more hands-on workshop about TESTIMONY given by Lesleigh Carmichael of the CYMT later this evening (since it was hands-on, I wasn't able to type notes as we went along). I'll also likely have some notes from the evening worship, where Kenda is PREACHING.

Kenda Creasy Dean: Lecture 1, "The Empire Strikes Out"

2007-02-09T17:35:00.000-05:00

technorati tags
faithful practices, youth ministry

Kenda Creasy Dean - Lecture 1: "The Empire Strikes Out"

Begins w/ a video parable "training fleas requires placing them in a closed glass jar. after 3 days, fleas will never jump higher than the height of the jar. their behavior is set. and their offspring will automatically do the same.
is this like our churches? yes, a lot of yesses (always done it this way, above our comfort zone, change is good - you first)

The Empire that Struck Out: Christendom. People think we're still functioning in this Empire that has struck out. Was always more about the emperor than it was about Christ. Reason to gather everyone around in the guise of a "Christian nation." Assumed everyone was; if you weren't, you were a social outcast.
We try to form XN young people into Christendom, into a jar that no longer exists.

Video clip 2: pied piper playing around 3 kids who are bored, apathetic, scratching their butts; get excited when the guy combusts (burns out for no good reason)

How do I keep them? How do I excite them for the best thing in life?
Faith as a product we dispense (youth pastor as Pez dispenser). Relic of Christendom. Theologically wrong.

If the church is going to be about anything other than training fleas to jump in the jar, then youth ministry must lead the way. Primary focus of church on Christ.
Church's original identity as a missionary movement. Reclaim our identity as a missional church.

National Study of Youth and Religion youthandreligion.org - 1st study in YM to reframe issues/problems in YM as the problems of the church (they're not just a problem w/ young people)
1) teenagers aren't hostile to religion (on the whole, benignly positive; not b/c they like XNY, but b/c they couldn't care less) - WHATEVERISM
2) teenagers' faith mirrors their parents' faith.
3) teens almost completely lack theological language (incredibly inarticulate about religion); least art. are mainline protestants; catholics slightly better; exceptions were mormons, conservative protestant, and black protestants
4) a sign. minority (40%) claim that religion is important to them and 8% say it makes a difference in their lives.
5) most teenagers find religion inconsequential. most teenagers adhere to moralistic therapeutic deism (MTD) as their unacknowledged religions creed. helps you do good, feel good, puts god in the background (the cosmic butler or guidance counselor). god created, says be nice to others, the goal is to be happy and feel good, god is there to solve my problems, and good people go to heaven when they die.

MTD v. Apostle's Creed: MTD is all about "me"; AC is about God and who God is (is very descriptive...)

MTD has colonized American XNY to the point where it is the dominant faith. Kids don't practice it b/c it's what ... it's what is taught in church

If the study is correct, then kids are going to jump only as high as we do, as the church does.
"Youth ministry just got moved out of the basement...full throttle." Scary, b/c now we're not just mucking around w/ YM. we're messing w/ the church. we've said the youth are the prophets, but we're finding they're prophets that are damning us. cuz we're all in the boat.

Solution? not get kids to go to a MTD more often; acknowledge that we are a post-Christendom community. not them coming to us, but us being sent. TURN THE ECCLESIOLOGY ON ITS HEAD.

Mission became either a coercive consumerism; or something a few people do to people not like us on behalf of the larger church (b/c in Christendom it is assumed all are "in").

Whenever (in any age...jerusalem, rome, middle ages) XNY loses its grip on the center, it leaks to the edges (gentiles, barbarians, celts, those on other continents).
Influences: John ?? Hall (Christendom), Andrew Wall (Scottish Methodist Missiologist: future of church is not going to look like what it looks like in NA or W. Europe, but what it looks like in the Southern Hemisphere: expressive, dynamic, outside the box, experiential, experimental. this happens in one place here: YM. mission isn't about contextualizing the gospel, but learning it in new ways through the eyes of a culture entirely different from our own, b/c they see things that we never knew it was there.)
Principles of Missional Theology
1) translation principle - gospel can't exist outside of culture. incarnation itself was an act of translation
2) indigenization principle - church must become home to a part. area
3) pilgrim principle - church can't get too comfortable in any part. time and place

translation principle (counters pastor as pez dispenser) (divine origin: incarnation)(re-framing life to see our lives through God's life and not our own) example: video clip from Crash (conversation btwn dad and little girl hiding under bed, about bullets and an invisible cloak) how is that scene like my job as a pastor? pass the faith on to our young people - tell stories, give a diff't set of images to frame her experiences in; make it real by acting it out, wear the story; mystery remains, space for doubt; got down on her level; job is hers to share it w/ her daughter as he was instructed to do w/ her; she had to trust the giver of the story. analogy of pastor as translator. giving them the tools of having another story.

which story are kids going to re-frame their experience with? 2nd clip from Crash (shopkeeper finds daniel, waits for him at home after work, needs to blame someone for why his door is still busted and can't be fixed) girl believes the story and jumps into dad's arms right as shopkeeper shoot; she isn't wounded. how do you look it as a XN, how does that change how you look at it? being saved by nothing else but grace in the moment; her belief propelled her into action.

can't do the reframing unless you know the XN story first. (2nd scene couldn't happen w/out the 1st)

indigenization principle - "the discipline of staying put" (counters "meChurch" mentality (find on YouTube) - where it's all about you) (look for "jesus videos" on YouTube) (divine origin: ) giving OTHERS hospitable space, not creating space for us. attractional models aren't going to cut it anymore. go INTO the neighborhood and embody who Christ is and what he's about. radically praxis basis.
1) radical focus on Jesus Christ (church gets low marks, but jesus is rated high amongst the "unchurched")
2) incarnational infiltration (church doesn't exist for itself, we don't live for ourselves) - not being gathered together to protect them from the culture, but send the out into the midst.
3) embrace culture full-stop
4) ID and define through practices: example of st. laurent's cathedral in reading, UK where they've transformed the space into something that looks like...something from outer-space, it's movable/flexible; cited "mission-shaped church" report; blessing people to go out and form new communities in a diff't model. if you're going to be a part of this church, you are a part of (insert mission/ministry here). the orb in red bank, nj.
5) tendency to try to capture christ into the form we like best (taladega nights - baby jesus, teenage jesus, bearded jesus - i like the baby jesus best)

pilgrim principle - not just something we have, but something we are. 2/3 of God is "Go." mission exists before church. "spider and the starfish" - look analagous (several legs, central nervous system...), but they're very diff't. cut off spider's head, it dies, but a starfish regenerates. inside they're structured very diff. decentralization allows adaptation and reproduction. why the church has potential to have enormous influence.
questions from the book to assess whether you're a spider or a starfish. not every situation lends itself to starfish principles, but it's good to ponder.

CAN'T HAVE A MISSION; BE A MISSION

the future of the church depends on Jesus Christ, not on us, so you couldn't kill it anyway.

Companeros Inc - Service Learning and Faith Experiences

2007-02-09T16:12:00.000-05:00

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faithful practices, youth ministry

A quick link to an organization that specializes in "Service, Learning, and Faith Experiences in North & Central America." Gonzalo Duarte from Companeros Inc is at the conference, meeting us and sharing some info with us about his company. They work with congregations to organize mission trips in Canda, USA, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Nicaragua; facilitate mission trip preparation, reflection, and integration workshops; and train leaders to lead safe, fun, effective, and faithful mission trips. Give them a look.

Workshop 2: Evangelism

2007-02-09T15:51:00.000-05:00

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faithful practices, youth ministry

Dietrich Kirk (executive director of Center for Youth Ministry Training

nobody in the group felt comfortable defining it

What do we THINK evangelism is?
standing on the street corner holding the sign
living your life the way God intended, and in that you spread the love of God (so that others exp. God)
sharing w/ others WHY you live how you live
conversion
witnessing - talking about what God has done in your life
sharing the Gospel (what's the Gospel? - the good news: Jesus)
*sidenote - need lots of definitions b/c of all our diff. backgrounds
taking the message of Jesus and meet them where they are
sharing the story of "our" faith - not just mine, but of the community

Why DON'T we evangelize?
rejection
don't want to offend people
feel inadequate (not able to start what you finish; not a sufficient example of Christ ourself)
don't have words
not encouraged
never been told how
generation of "whatever-ism"
don't want to force beliefs (can we actually do that?)
not clear what we're sharing
time commitment
never experienced it (grew up in church)
we're methodist, not baptist

Evangelism is Scriptural (Jesus said go...baptize...disciple)
In the greek it is a message, a messenger coming with ____
Early church seemed to be able to feed the poor, comfort the afflicted and to bring the good news,
Be prepared to tell why we have hope...Scripture reference from 1 Peter 3:15?

Evangelism is a set of intentional activities governed by the goal of initiating people into the body of Christ

Why? Living life the way God intended it to be, to experience here and now the most of the kingdom of heaven.

Types of Evangelism
1) Peer to Peer (often done w/out training the kids for it)
2) Adult (sending out/hiring the cool young straight out of college kid; also adults going to where kids are and developing relationships w/ them)
3) Students and Adults Work in Partnership (from Augustine...engage them in whatever the heck they're doing; adults join in with what the kids are doing/planning)

Responses to Brainstorming: Ways to create Evangelsim in our Congregation
1) Flyers, door-to-door, inviting them to a softball game/picnic at the field by the church. No in-depth bible study, 5-minute devotional at the end. Tip: have something to give the kids that tells them when you normally meet.
2) Re-building a playground; invite youth of community to help.
3) Survey of spiritual beliefs/teaser questions to people in the area, while owning up that you are the church. Let people know you are open to hearing their questions.
4) Going to school and have lunch w/ kids from your church (you'll be rubbing elbows w/ non-church kids).
5) Tagging along w/existing community events (have a float in the parade; booth at the fair).
6) Small group ministry (kids who have kids coming to their house all the time). Outside of church might be less intimidating; small number less, too.
7) Big events don't equal evangelism. Must go deeper. There must be a plan.
8) Spend time teaching kids how to tell their story. What is the 6th grader's story? Must be intentional. Not just a generic story, but their story. When they don't think they have one, help them understand it.
9) Benefit Concert - live out our mission

There NEEDS TO BE A PLAN. Evangelism doesn't happen accidentally. We don't have to apologize for wanting to share something that we think will make a difference in peoples' lives. It doesn't mean we have to be good salesmen.

Some steps:
ENGAGE - invite a friend, event, an introduction; promote that it's a both/and, very diff. than a bait and switch. teach students it's great to have them bring friends to church (being lowered through the church; healed b/c of the faith of his friends).
NOW WHAT - be up front; say we're gathering your info (if you give it) b/c we want to share more with you. invite them to say they go to church elsewhere.
FOLLOW-UP - invite them to next events
Have a regular bring-a-friend night that helps introduce new kids w/ what we're doing.

Create time and space for Holy Spirit to do its work.

Program retreats around the explorer, to the kids who are being introduced. not a bad thing for the regulars to get again.

Teach students to be comfortable in their Christian skin.

Encourage kids to invite people and to let you know they're bringing someone.

"Whatever it is that you all have that makes you love each other like this, I want that." Have a plan (for this story it was to read the Gospel of Mark).

Workshop 1: Developing Leaders

2007-02-09T13:19:00.000-05:00

technorati tags
faithful practices, youth ministry

Mark DeVries from Youth Ministry Architects on VOLUNTEERS

The Problem w/ Volunteers is...

not enough
have day jobs
*sidenote - If you want to work w/ kids, don't become a Youth Director (YD), cuz you have a day job - it's organizing the ministry.
overburdened
want to do it their way
lack of confidence
fuzziness about their role
lack of resources
they DON'T volunteer
*leaders never volunteer - they usually are asked
their leader (the person leading them)

Majority of us are responsible for other volunteers

Traditional YM
triangle upside down, w/ it all falling on the YD
not sustainable, b/c YDs get crushed
Sustainable YM
pyramid w/ YM on top (dancing)
volunteers own the ministry
say 5 volunteers giving 10 hours/week = 50 hours/week
YD hired and volunteers back away
YD ends up doing the 50 hours/week

YM is the church's ministry/resp., not the resp. of 1 individual (via Kenda)

moving from 1-on-1 to a web of relationships (Akeelah and the Bee)
weave a constellation of relationships around them

predictable ratio
# of kids / another # = how many volunteers you need
build a capacity through volunteers

3 Keys to Building Your Leadership Team

1)Recruiting
2)Developing
3)Delegating

1) Recruiting
most churches never spend more than 1 hour/week recruiting
we expect them to walk through the doors
people don't volunteer b/c we don't give them REAL responsibility
Building Volunteers:
1) Decide to Invest
2) Determine What You Need
SS - 2/grade
HS YG - 4
Jr YG - 2
Major Event Coordinators - 4
there's a mythology - we speak the story, the ID that adults live up to. if the story is "nobody volunteers"...
IF WE'RE DOING INFANT BAPTISM, WE HAVE PLENTY OF VOLUNTEERS!
3) Develop Your Pool
3x as many potential volunteers as you need (stock your pond)
List of people good w/ kids
"" good w/out kids (good behind the scenes)
ID people w/ "grades", to "rank" them
place "A" names in blank slots first
make 3 calls/day to get through list
use voice mail/answering machines and ASK them to do something on the message, let them know you call back in a few weeks
4) Recruit AT LEAST 6 Months Out
5) Keep Asking

2) Developing
"Manager" mind-set
not a solo tennis match; it's a baseball game
2x2: As a parent, what kind of volunteer leader would you want for your son or daughter?
somone who is themself a parent
someone they know personally

1) Prepare for Failure
70% of pro YD believe dev. leaders is of high import.
25% say they do it well
Presbys dead last among mainlines in volunteers
ELCA and ECUSA just a hair better
2) Do Ministry Out of a Sense of Community
connect leaders together - monthly coffee group, a small yearly gift
3) Affirm Privately
4) Affirm Publicly
interpretive eavesdropping

3) Delegating
Abandonment is not Empowerment
giving them no task (just come and hang out) is awkward at best
Clear expectations reduce mishandled monkeys (handouts of YD covenant, volunteer leader guidelines...avail. online)
Regular follow-up keeps our players focused on the game
check-in to make sure checklist is getting checked off
"is there something i can help you with?"
Pace first, then lead (come alongside and meet people where they're at and then get ahead of them to urge them forward)
The flywheel will turn (once it gets going, momentum starts to take over)

Effective Student Leadership: check out the Youth Ministry Architects website (much of the presentation is available there)

Disco Tunnels and Setting Up Shop

2007-02-08T23:23:00.000-05:00

technorati tags
blogging, faithful practices, youth ministry

Traveling today was pretty smooth. I was pumped to find out that there was free WiFi at the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Int'l Airport, but I didn't bother checking until I had played a few games of pinball in the arcade. On to Detroit, where a few years ago I was stuck over night because of delays. I was hoping to need to cross from the C Concourse to A, because I remembered there being this funky light tunnel. Check out the shots. I also grabbed 50 seconds of video, which has the distinction of being the first thing I've ever posted at YouTube. Check it out if you want a taste of the ambience. There was a bit of a delay in Detroit, but no big thing, and after making a stop at the neighborhood Target store for some snacks and saline solution, I'm getting settled in (as the creepy mirror picture shows).

Unless some people staying at the conference contact me tonight or in the morning, I think I'm going to head over to the Alektor Cafe and Books for at least a cup of coffee. According to Google maps it's only 13 minutes away, so I should be able to spend about an hour there before heading to the conference for checking in and opening worship. Thanks to a weird memory about references to random things, I remembered Gavin and maybe Jonathan mentioning it as a cool place (books, icons, orthodox).

Did some reading on both plane rides. Getting back into Kenda's book and taking the time to highlight and make notes was refreshing. From Scranton to Detroit I made it through about 1/2 of Chapter 6: Vessels of Grace - Christian Practices as Scaffolding for Faith. Read the first 3 chapters in Shane Claiborne's The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical. I've been braced for awhile to be hit hard by this book, and it's started already. Tears welled up in my eyes 3 or 4 times. Guess I should add it to my reading list.

Anyway, looking forward to the conference. Time for some generic Fruity Pebbles (if I can find a bowl and a spoon)!

Faithful Practices - Live Blogging

2007-02-08T09:37:00.000-05:00

technorati tags
blogging, faithful practices, youth ministry

I leave this afternoon for a 3-night trip to Nashville, TN. I'll be attending the Faithful Practices in Youth Ministry Conference on Friday and Saturday. The conference is "focused on helping your congregation develop faithful practices in Evangelism, Discipleship Formation, and Witness." It features Kenda Creasy Dean (author of Practicing Passion: Youth and the Quest for a Passionate Church) as the keynote speaker. Read more about the schedule and emphases here. The event is sponsored by the Faithful Practices Grant Project, the Center for Youth Ministry Training, the Lilly Endowment, and Princeton Theological Seminary.

I plan to live blog as much of the conference as possible. I'll either be taking notes right in blogger and publishing them at the beginning of breaks, or I'll wait until lunch and the evening to post thoughts. These are likely to be copy-and-paste jobs from frenzied typing during the workshops and lectures, so take it for what it is: thoughts and notes about what seem important to me at the moment. Next week, after I return from the conference, I'll put together a series of more thought-out posts.

I'm hoping this will provide a spring-board for discussions and resources here on this blog. Please feel free to put up a link, add the RSS feed or write a short blog post pointing people here so those who are interested can follow along. As I move forward, I plan to make blogging a part of my spiritual practice and rhythm of life. I'll be sharing about my experiences working part-time for 2 different churches (and denominations!), offering resources I create or stumble upon, and helping point people towards more connections. I've been blessed by the blogging of other youth ministers; I hope to return at least a portion of that blessing back out into the world.

p.s. - if you're in the Nashville area and want to get together Thursday night around 9 p.m., or either Friday or Saturday evening, contact me.

Blog Housekeeping

2007-02-07T00:08:00.000-05:00

technorati tags
blogging

UPDATE (2/7/07):
I think I've made some good changes in the last week. Let me point them out to you (a little guided tour, if you will), starting in the left sidebar. Dropped the generic Blogger profile and created my own about & contact page along with a spot to view my portfolio of web and graphic design work. Updated my RSS feed icon and solicitation. Created a drop-down archives menu. Added links to my 2 youth group myspace pages. Simplified my Emerging Connections info. Pruned my links list to just Family (for now). Updated my book list.

The main content area has changed little; I'm labeling posts now. Bumped the right sidebar down a bit. I've added a rotating selection of icons and photos of saints to accompany the Spiritual Formation links. Still trying to decide if I want to leave the ones that are there or try to set up some way to link to my current practices. Finally, I've started the list of labels. This list will grow, and if I can figure out how to hack in to Blogger's labeling system, you might eventually see little numbers indicating how many posts have been labeled a particular way. For now, know that if I have a label, it's there; and if it's there, at least one post has that label. Moved the banners and my Google ad box (click and make me some money!) to the right sidebar.

Still with me? Good. Now, leave me a comment. Give me feedback. Stroke my ego. Tell me it looks like hell (but make sure you offer some suggestions if you do).

---

In an effort to jump-start my blogging habits, I'm doing a bit of housekeeping. I've started re-designing my template, I'm pruning my links, I've SWITCHED THE COMMENTS back to Blogger from HaloScan. So,thanks to all those who have commented in the past; for now, they won't show up anymore unless I find some fancy way to port them in. New comments, however, will appear.

Part of the reason for the change is updating to the new version of Blogger; the comment change is directly related to that. As I learn to update my template, I'll be adding in the new bells and whistles, including RSS (syndication) of the comments. I'm not sure how much people use that function, but if I happen to write a post that really gets some conversation going, I figure it's better for people to be able to follow it through their feed reader than having to check back to see if new comments have been added.

More work and changes to come. If you have suggestions, please let me know.

Yesterday's weight: | Yesterday's workout: ran .6 miles, walked 1.4 miles

Who is Josh Frank?

2007-02-01T09:45:00.001-05:00

updated 02 April 2007

I AM...

Jillian

Jude

peacemeal

Church of the Epiphany

First Presbyterian Church Clarks Summit

web designer

CONTACT

i am josh frank @ g mail . com

Split-Personality Much?!

2007-01-30T09:38:00.000-05:00

Took the simplified, free Enneagram test here. I scored as a tie between Type 2 and Type 5. Who'da thunk it?

Yesterday's weight: unknown | Yesterday's workout: ran .6 miles, walked .8 miles

Our First Glimpse

2007-01-03T16:00:00.000-05:00

Here's one of the first pictures of our baby boy. Yep, that's right, I said BOY!!! Jillian had her first ultrasound yesterday and we found out (we wanted to) that we are having a bouncing baby boy and they're keeping with the projected due date of May 15. So, now you all can stop calling him a her, and can start using his name: Jude Isaac.

I'm thinking Jill will blog the experience soon over at our baby blog with more pictures. We have a shot of the arms, one of the feet, and two more of the face!

Moving right along...Jill is 22 weeks today.

Did I mention I felt the baby move for the first time towards the end of New Year's Day?? That and the ultrasound: AMAZING!

Advent Antiphons: Day 7

2006-12-22T10:22:00.000-05:00

Advent antiphon VII (Dec. 23)

O Immanuel,
You are our King and judge,
the One whom the peoples await, and their Saviour.
O come and save us, Lord, our God.

(verse) O come, O come, Immanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear:

(chorus) Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel

Advent Antiphons: Day 6

2006-12-22T09:42:00.000-05:00

Advent antiphon VI (Dec. 22)

O King whom all the peoples desire,
You are the cornerstone which makes all one.
O come and save us whom You made from clay.

(verse) O come, Desire of Nations, bind
all peoples in one heart and mind.
Bid the strife and quarrels cease.
Fill all the world with heaven's peace.

(chorus) Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.

Advent Antiphons: Day 4

2006-12-20T14:24:00.000-05:00

Advent antiphon IV (Dec. 20)

O Key of David and sceptre of Israel,
what You open, no one can close again;
what You close, no one can open.
O come to lead the captive from prison;
free those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

(verse) O come, Thou Key of David, come,
and open wide our heav'nly home;
make safe the way that leads on high,
and close the path to misery:

(chorus) Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.

Advent Antiphons: Day 3

2006-12-19T17:19:00.000-05:00

Advent antiphon III (Dec. 19)

O Stock of Jesse,
You stand as a signal for the nations.
Kings fall silent before You whom the peoples acclaim.
O come to deliver us, and do not delay.

(verse) O come, Thou rod of Jesse, free
thine own from Satan's tyranny;
from depths of hell Thy people save;
and give them vict'ry o'er the grave:

(chorus) Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.

Advent Antiphons: Day 2

2006-12-18T15:48:00.000-05:00

Advent antiphon II (December 18)

O Adonai and leader of Israel,
You appeared to Moses in a burning bush
and You gave him the law on Sinai.
O come and save us with Your mighty power.

(verse) O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,
who to Thy tribes on Sinai's height,
in ancient times didst give the law
in cloud, and majesty and awe:

(chorus) Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel

Advent Antiphons: Day 1

2006-12-17T21:18:00.000-05:00

The Advent antiphons are ancient prayers traditionally used in the days between December 17 and 23. The short prayer ends with a verse of the popular Advent hymn, "O come, O come, Immanuel," which is based upon the antiphon prayers. Feel free to sing it as a conclusion to the prayer. I am using the antiphons as written in the Northumbria Community's "Celtic Daily Prayer" book.

Antiphon I (December 17)
O Wisdom,
You come forth from the mouth of the Most High.
You fill the universe and hold all things together
in a strong yet gentle manner.
O come to teach us the way of truth.

(verse) O come, O come, Thou wisdom from above;
the universe sustaining with Thy love.
Thou springest forth from the Almighty's mouth.
Subdue us now, and lead us in Thy truth.

(chorus) Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel

Today's the Closing!

2006-09-28T10:03:00.000-04:00

We have our final walk-through at 3, then head over to the lawyer's office at 4 to sign the papers and pay the closing cost.

So, hopefully by 5 or 6 tonight we'll have the keys to our first house!!!

On the schedule:

Thursday night: clean the house and set up the stereo (priorities, yo!)

Friday morning/afternoon: finish cleaning; finish packing; take a few carloads over in the midst of these things

Friday night: Peacemeal gathers at our new home for dinner, a house blessing, and Eucharist

Saturday: move. All day. With a U-Haul and lots of good friends. And maybe some quality beer and pizza.

Sunday: be sad because the first full day in the house after moving will be a day out of the house for me. Mission trip presentation at 9 at Epiphany, followed by worship and then brunch with the youth group; meet the Presby kids at 1 to head out to Camp Lackawanna for the Fall Youth Gathering of the Presbytery from 2:30-7. Get back to the church around 8 and head to our new home to crash!

Peace be with you.

Buying a House

2006-09-01T10:15:00.000-04:00

If things go according to plan, we'll be closing on a home on September 28. It's in the South Side of Scranton, way up at the top of the hill near Stafford Avenue.

Here's a link to pictures of the place:
Our new house

Yesterday's weight: 211 | Yesterday's workout: Ab & Back machines, Ran 1 mile, Walked .75 mile

It is finished!

2006-05-05T12:23:00.000-04:00

My undergraduate career is done. I handed in my final two essays at 11:30 today. Now we will wait for next week's graduation ceremony.

Before this semester's grades are factored in, I am in line to graduate Magna Cum Laude. There is a decent chance that I could pull off straight A's/A-'s for this semester. I'm not sure if that would be enough to push me up to Summa Cum Laude, but it may be. We'll wait and see what the final tallies are, and I'll let you all know.

Please, please go and read our friend Demery's second Sunday of Easter sermon that she gave on Sunday, April 23, 2006 at the Nativity Cathedral in Bethlehem, PA. It is inspiring. If you like Tolkien and Lord of the Rings, you'll be pleased. If you like talking about the early Acts community, you'll be pleased. If you have a pulse, you'll be pleased.

Demery also wrote a great post titled "Fridays at our house" on the Peacemeal blog about our life as a little community. Go check that out, too.

Could it be that I am recognizing more and more the beauty of Spring as the semester has come to a close? What a beautiful day!

Peace be with all of you.

p.s.

2006-05-05T12:22:00.000-04:00

I took some photos on while on a short, solitary walk at Nay Aug Park yesterday afternoon. I'm hoping to transfer them to the iBook and post some here and at Flickr soon.

Coming Soon: Graduation

2006-05-02T22:41:00.000-04:00

A really fast post: I have 2 assignments left in my undergraduate career: a final exam in Medieval-18th Century British Literature and a take-home essay final in 10 Short novels. Graduation will take place at the Wachovia Arena in Wilkes-Barre, PA on Mother's Day, May 14. If you'd like to come, please do! It still hasn't sunk in that after first starting my Bachelor's Degree in August of 1996, I am finally going to have it completed. Maybe the cap and gown and walking across the stage will help with that!

I've been busy with my job as Youth Missioner at Church of the Epiphany. We're gearing up for a mission trip to hurricane-ravaged Mississippi in June.

Peacemeal is wonderful. I just put up a post about what's been going on with our little community. Go to the peacemeal community blog and see what's up with us. If you haven't seen our main website, I designed it and we have some content up there, too: peacemealcommunity.org. More to come in the weeks ahead.

Peace to you this night.

Palmer has passed

2006-03-28T11:11:00.000-05:00

A portrait
from Matt Blinn's blog.

Mark Palmer passed away yesterday morning. While I only had the blessing to spend time with him for two mornings and two evenings over these past two Christmas seasons during visits to my good friend Phil in Columbus, I count Palmer as a friend and an inspiration. This is a man who even in pain and exhaustion continued to show the welcoming love of Christ. As my friend Shawn said over on the losetcouch forum, "Wow, I feel like witnessing." And that's saying something.

If you don't know his story, please bless yourself by reading his online journal: http://palmerlp.livejournal.com/.

Please pray for his wife, Amy, and his 4-year old son, Micah, his parents and siblings and all their family, and for the Landing Place community that he pastored. Please also pray for my friend Phil, and our friend Tom who just recently moved to Columbus and joined their community.

Go Read My Post Here

2006-03-20T09:01:00.000-05:00

I just posted over on the blog of our Peacemeal community thoughts on being the Body of Christ. Please go read it; it seems superfluous to post the same thing in two places.

Spring Break

2006-03-06T23:41:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it, but it's Spring Break already! That means I only have about a half a semester left until I graduate. THAT'S exciting.

Today I took the whole day off. I stayed up till about 1 last night, writing a blog post over at Peacemeal, creating a new banner image for the header of that blog, playing some online Texas Hold'em...then this morning I got up to take out the trash, pack Jillian a lunch, and had a lazy day. More farting around online, more Texas Hold'em, watched the Special Features on the DVD "Sideways," downloaded the last episode of "The Office" and watched that, took a walk, got a hot dog, ended up with mustard all over my main winter coat, ate some leftovers at home, and watched 2/3 of Kill Bill Vol. 2 before taking a nap until Jill came home from work.

Tonight was confirmation class at the church. Demery played a clip from U2's Vertigo tour at the end for the kids, their encore of Yahweh and the song based on Psalm 40. Good stuff. I ended the night relaxing for a bit with Jill, and now she's sleeping while I waste more night hours online and listening to U2 and playing some more Texas Hold'em.

Hope you all have a great Tuesday!

Intro-to-Lent Youth alt.worship

2006-02-27T10:26:00.000-05:00

Here begins my new efforts to blog some of the things I am doing as the Youth Missioner at Church of the Epiphany.

Last night we had a joint Sr./Jr. High worship time to prepare for Lent. The kids really liked it and seemed to get a lot out of it. The service took its shape from the Evening Service of the Daily Office in the Book of Common Prayer. Here's the outline with some links:

Asked youth to gather in the church's Commons Room if they wanted to hang out for a bit, talk, have some snacks. Asked them not to enter the Parish Hall where the worship space was set up until they were ready to feel quiet and in a mood of prayer and meditation.

Everyone entered together while the songs "Imperial" and "Freefall" by Robin Guthrie played, some took off their shoes, and we settled into a circle on our couch cushions from the Youth Room. I gave some brief instructions, and then we quieted ourselves while the ambient music eased us into worship.

The Guthrie ambient selections continued as we began: + In the name of the...

Opening Sentences: Psalm 16:7,8

Confession: a brief time of silence, followed by a long-ish call and response confessional prayer

Phos Hilaron, O Gracious Light was prayed

Played the song "Transatlanticism," a modern "hymn" by Death Cab for Cutie

Gospel reading (not in this year's lectionary): Luke 4:1-13, Christ's fast for 40 days and temptation in the desert

Watched a Quicktime movie that put Si Smith's "40" illustrations to the Doves song "Sulpherman."

Discussed what images we really liked, what themes they helped to draw out from the Gospel reading, things that surprised the kids, inspired them, etc. Then we talked about Lent, its 40 days, and our practice of giving something up, a form of fasting and how we might make it more intentional and let it focus in on our dependence upon God.

Ecce Deus, the First Song of Isaiah (Isaiah 12:2-6), read responsively

Gloria Patri (Glory be to the Father...)

The Apostles' Creed

The Lord's Prayer

Intercessions: Prayer stations. 4 folding tables. Two sheets paper/table, each with its own simple prayer category. Pillar candle in the middle of each table, taper candle laying next to it. 5 tea light candles above each sheet of paper. Played more ambient stuff, invited kids to get up, walk around, no particular order, no need to get to all the tables. Read the sheet, ponder it, write something if they wish, light a tea candle using the taper off the pillar. Pause to reflect. Quietly gathered everyone back together.

Prayed by listening to the prayer categories being sung in chant by a cantor and singing the response in the song "Intercessions: Exaudi Nos (Hear Us)" from the Taize community's CD Laudate: Music of Taize

A Collect for the Presence of Christ

A Prayer for Mission (Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night...)

Ending song: "Jesus Never Leaves Me," by Duvall off their album Volume and Density

A Prayer of St. Chrysostom

Benediction

If you are interested in a Keynotes or PowerPoint version of this service, e-mail me (take out the spaces, replace "at" with @, yada yada): i am josh frank [at] g mail [dot] com.

Technorati Tags - alt.worship, youth group, Lent, taize, si smith, Death Cab for Cutie, Duvall

I'm a Folkie?

2006-02-24T11:33:00.000-05:00

You are a Folkie. Good for you.

More lazy blogging. I have excuses. Really.

For starters, since January 8th I've been working as the Youth Missioner at The Church of the Epiphany in Clarks Summit, PA. This is a half-time position for now, and my main focus is working with the high school youth of the parish. We're hoping to build this program into a full-time position not too far down the line, with some possible help coming from sharing ministries with another church in the area. I've had a great time getting to know the church, the parents, and above all, the kids. They're amazingly talented and eager to get into the pattern of having a regularly meeting high school community within their church. The parents have done a great job in keeping something going for them since my friend Demery, their previous Youth Missioner, moved on to a job for the Diocese. Slowly but surely I'm getting my feet under me, and I can't wait to see how this develops. This Sunday we're going to do a bit of an alt.worship style pre-Lent service using a video clip based on some Si Smith illustrations, perhaps some Death Cab for Cutie, and maybe even some Taize music thrown into the mix. Prayer stations, candles, you get the drift.

I may be turning the focus of this blog towards chronicling my life as a Youth Missioner; it may get heavy on the summarizing what we do and posting resources end of things, but I know there are readers who will appreciate that.

Other excuses include finishing up my last semester at Marywood and being highly involved with an emerging church community in the area. We recently named ourselves Peacemeal (please go visit our brand new blog!), for it's connections to the Eucharist and symbolism of a table gathering as well as the play on the word piecemeal, which indicates slowly drawing together, building bit by bit, using fragments and random things, etc. An awesome aspect of this is that it's being hosted by our friends Demery, who is an Episcopal priest, and her husband Scott, who teaches at the University of Scranton. It's sprung out of conversations in their diocese about evangelism and fresh expressions of church. So we're kind of doing a new thing, but wrapping ourselves in the deep traditions of the church at large. Cool, eh? If that kind of thing intrigues you, let me know. If you're in the area we'd love to have a conversation and invite you to join us on a Friday night.

Another Photo (Lazy) Entry

2006-01-31T15:46:00.000-05:00

STA70124
Originally uploaded by josh_frank.

So, here's another photo from New Year's dinner in Columbus with Phil and Sarah. This one is probably my favorite of the lot. The color of the wine, the flames of the candles, the wood of the table.

Too bad the wine wasn't great.

Enjoy!

Photos=Lazy Blogging

2006-01-30T11:17:00.000-05:00

STA70114
Originally uploaded by josh_frank.

I really ought to write a significant post. There have been some big changes in life since my last blog entry. However, I don't feel up to the task of trying to write a good, comprehensive post and then pair it down to the essentials. I like words too much for that.

Perhaps a series of posts would make it easier?

In the interest of posting something new, here is a photo from the table setting at Phil and Sarah's when Jillian and I visited over the New Year holiday.

Christian Peacemakers: Living the Gospel

2005-12-02T08:40:00.000-05:00

Tom Fox

Norman Kember

James Loney

Harmeet Singh Sooden

I don't have much time to blog right now, but please pray for these men who have been taken hostage in Iraq. Check out the Christian Peacemakers Team website via the pictures or title of the post.

Blake Skidmore: Poet

2005-11-30T10:36:00.000-05:00

Go over and read Blake's Livejournal entry for today, November 30, 2005. These are beautiful, sad lines that I know would make an amazing song. On second thought, I'll paste them into this blog entry to be sure you read them. You know, just in case you are lazy.I know he has been writing music and recently recorded a CD, which I hope to hear when we visit Phil and Sarah in Columbus over the holidays.

I have only met Blake over the course of two days or so last year before Christmas while we were visiting Phil and Sarah. Of course, our meeting was at 64 King, one of the houses that is part of The Landing Place community in Columbus, Ohio. While I didn't get to know Blake well due to the short amount of time I was in town, he seemed like a real good egg. I've checked in on his blog for more than a year now and what I've read confirms his good egginess.

We stood in the parking lot after the evening show
I looked into your eyes and knew all that I needed to know
And you told me to stop loving you,
The light fell from the Ohio moon

Please don’t go was all I could think to say
The first snow of the year was falling that day
And you were wearing my favorite sweater
You shivered standing in the cold

Ohio moon, lead us back to the start
Ohio moon, lead me back to her heart

I had told my mother that I thought you’d be my wife
I had told my self that we would keep a simple life
But you told me to stop loving you
Your hair was blown across your eyes

I remember the first time I kissed you on the mouth
We stood in the shadows of your parents house
I told you you were beautiful
We were children shaking in the cold

Ohio moon, lead us back to the start
Ohio moon, lead me back to her heart

I stood in the parking lot as you drove away
The first snow of the year was falling that day
Light fell from the Ohio moon
Light fell from the Ohio moon

~ Blake Skidmore, http://www.livejournal.com/users/bskidmore/

Yesterday's weight: Unknown | Yesterday's workout: None

Feeling the November Blues?

2005-11-15T08:39:00.000-05:00

Originally uploaded by josh_frank.

It's that time of year: the season is changing; days have been shortening; the sun is almost down when you leave work at 5. The night swallows us early, and the wind starts to bite. For many, this is a season of melancholy. It's a time when the joy of the break in summer heat married with beautiful colors on the horizon from the changing leaves gives way to the cold, hard bleakness of the winter ahead. For still others, depression can start to weigh in more heavily over the coming months.

I don't think depression is trying to wrangle me in and strangle me right now as it has in the past, but I am tired. Physically, and probably mentally, I am feeling worn out. Perhaps after our move this weekend we can settle into a healthier pattern again of eating, exercising, and sleeping.

On the upside, I'm feeling in many ways refreshed and rejuvenated in spirit, thanks in large part to our church life at Elm Park UMC, and perhaps even to a greater extent because of the Friday night emergent gathering that we've been participating in. It does feel amazing when you sense God's Spirit drawing near in new ways; could it also be a fruit of granting Him more access to us, sort of opening up the doors for grace to pour through?

For those not feeling this resurgence in spirit, here is a poem that is posted over at the Bruderhof community's website. During these times let us draw nearer to God, even when we feel cold and withered like the last autumn leave. As the last line of the poem says, "And our thin dying souls against Eternity pressed."

LANDSCAPE

Come home with white gulls waving across gray
Field. Evening. A daffodil West.
Somewhere in clefts of rock the birds hide, breast to breast.

I warm with fire. Curtain shrouds dying day.
Alone. By the glowing ember
I shut out the bleak-tombed evenings of November.

And breast to breast, those swans. Sheep huddle and press
Close. Each to each. Oh,
Is there no herd of men like beasts where men may go?

Come home at last; come, end of loneliness.
Sea. Evening. Daffodil West.
And our thin dying souls against Eternity pressed.

Stephen Spender

Pursuing Knowledge

2005-11-15T08:14:00.000-05:00

From today's Daily Saints e-mail:

"There are some who desire knowledge merely for its own sake; and that is shameful curiosity. And there are others who desire to know, in order that they may themselves be known; and that is vanity, disgraceful too. Others again desire knowledge in order to acquire money or preferment by it; that too is a discreditable quest. But there are also some who desire knowledge, that they may build up the souls of others with it; and that is charity. Others, again, desire it that they may themselves be built up thereby; and that is prudence. Of all these types, only the last two put knowledge to the right use" (St. Bernard, Sermon on the Canticle of Canticles).

Yesterday's weight: Unknown | Yesterday's workout: None

Autumnal Inspiration

2005-11-10T13:06:00.000-05:00

013_12A
Originally uploaded by josh_frank.

Monday afternoon I had some free time (my new job wasn't quite ready for me to start yet, and my last day of my old job was Friday). Between breaking in the new iBook and getting some songs on the new iPod, I almost ran out of time to do what I wanted to do: go to Scranton's Nay Aug Park and take some photos of the fall foliage. There are still many leaves on the trees, and the colors are still blazing, too. Here is one of the shots from that day, and you can see a few more over at my Flickr account (click the picture to go there).

Peace to you this day.

Apple, Here We Come!

2005-10-31T20:44:00.000-05:00

Jillian and I have taken the plunge. We have ordered our first laptop, and I am proud to say we chose Apple! I've been in love with Macs for quite awhile, but have never purchased one. Jill secured a free PowerMac G3 beige desktop for me about 2.5 years ago, and it served me well for awhile, but was already a bit outdated. Tonight I put in our order for a 12" G4 iBook. The specs can be found here.

I added the S-Video/Composite Video adapter so that we can easily display things on TVs and projectors. I also ordered a Bluetooth wireless mouse for ease of use. We can't wait for this to be delivered!

Yesterday's weight: Unknown | Yesterday's workout: None

Holiness: God's Gift, Not Man's Making

2005-10-28T08:25:00.000-04:00

A good reminder from the Saint of the Day e-mail (today, Sts. Simon and Jude; emphases mine):

"As in the case of all the apostles except for Peter, James and John, we are faced with men who are really unknown, and we are struck by the fact that their holiness is simply taken to be a gift of Christ. He chose some unlikely people: a former Zealot, a former (crooked) tax collector, an impetuous fisherman, two "sons of thunder" and a man named Judas Iscariot.

It is a reminder that we cannot receive too often. Holiness does not depend on human merit, culture, personality, effort or achievement. It is entirely God's creation and gift. God needs no Zealots to bring about the kingdom by force. Jude, like all the saints, is the saint of the impossible: only God can create his divine life in human beings. And God wills to do so, for all of us

Yesterday's weight: 202 | Yesterday's workout: Stairmaster (10 min.), Abs (8 min.), Stationary Bike (15 min.)

Prayer Request

2005-10-27T12:02:00.000-04:00

Kelli, a woman from our Friday night house group gathering, could use some prayer. Kelli's mom had a small stroke on Monday and the doctors have now also found a tumor in her brain. They are deciding whether to use drugs or operate. Please keep Kelli, her mom, and her whole family in your prayers.

+ Lord, please bless Kelli's mother, Kelli, and all her family with your power and your peace. May healing come, in the name of Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Yesterday's weight: 200 | Yesterday's workout: Ran 2 miles (16:15), Walked .5 mile

Small Practices of Authenticity

2005-10-26T08:31:00.000-04:00

Or should I say truthfulness? Over the course of the last year or so, I have been signed up for three daily e-mail services, all of which are listed in my sidebar under "Spiritual Formation": Daily Saints, The Upper Room, and The Daily Dig. I have been thinking lately that I haven't been as "authentic" or "truthful" with myself regarding these as I should be. These are small, miniscule (some would say unimportant) actions, but I've felt the need to make a change.

You see, I don't typically access my e-mail over the weekend. Jillian and I do not have access to the Internet at home (this will change in about a month when we move into her grandfather's house). So over the weekend, a pile of two or three e-mails from Daily Saints and The Upper Room appears in my Inbox. Not much, I know, but still a small pile.

I made it a habit a while ago NOT to go back and read those e-mails. Too much catching up, too much looking to the past. Instead, I would mark them as read, label them, and archive them so that if I do an e-mail search in the future while, say, searching for resources on a given topic for FOCCUS, those e-mails can still be searched and used. No use throwing away possible great information in the e-mail trash. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. It applies to e-mail, too (and thank God for Gmail, those search functions, archiving, grouping e-mails as conversations...what a help! If anyone needs a Gmail invite, let me know. I have a stockpile.)!!

Now, did you catch my little untruthfulness, my little unauthentic act in all of this? Yep, it's just the tiny part of where I MARK THE E-MAIL AS READ that has started to bother me. So, now I label them and archive them as is. Still in bold letters, showing me what I didn't read. In the past I may have felt guilty for not reading them. Now, I simply acknowledge it and move on.

Oh, and maybe you're wondering about the Daily Dig and weekends? The kind folks at the Bruderhof changed their policy sometime after I started my subscription so that they take a Daily Dig sabbatical for the weekend. Thanks, Bruderhof, for that example.

Yesterday's weight: Unknown | Yesterday's workout: None

How is Me?

2005-10-13T08:33:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm pretty good. I'm tired a lot, but that's to be expected with our current schedule. I thought I hadn't posted much about what's going on in my life lately, so here's a quick update:

Working 15 hours/week at Marywood University as a computer lab assistant;
Working 15-20 hours/week at Eddie Bauer in the Steamtown Mall;
Working about six hours/week as a janitor;
Exercising three-four times/week;
Taking two classes (six credit hours) in English: Shakespeare and Poe & Twain;
Observing two hours/week on Friday mornings in an 11th grade English classroom at North Pocono High School;
Celebrating the Eucharist on Friday nights with a new emerging Episcopal movement in the Scranton area;
Attending Elm Park United Methodist Church Sunday mornings; and,
Leading Elm Park's college ministry, FOCCUS, Sunday evenings.

Is that all? ; )

Jillian and I have also been getting to know some new people more and more, mostly from our church and the Friday night gatherings. Eric and Melissa are my age from Elm Park, a married couple with an adorable seven month old baby girl named Hannah - I'm hoping to get some pictures soon. Recently we had dinner with them at their place and had a great time hanging out. Jill helped feed Hannah, bathe her, dress her, and read her a bedtime story. I took the back seat and played with her off and on.

The couple who are leading the Friday night gathering, Scott and Demery, are great folks. Demery is an ordained Episcopal priest and is the celebrant of the Eucharistic liturgy. Scott is a professor at the University of Scranton. We've really enjoyed spending some time with them and keeping them up late after the gatherings! They also have three adorable (and smart, and creative, and well-behaved...) boys, Nolan, Eli, and Luke.

I don't want this to get too long, so I'll stop here. Thanks for stopping by and checking in...I know you're out there! Have a blessed day.

Peace to you,
Josh

Yesterday's weight: 202 | Yesterday's workout: StairMaster warm-up, abs, & stationary bike

Where'd I Put That Buddha Head?

2005-10-07T14:48:00.000-04:00

BuddhaHeadInGarden
Originally uploaded by josh_frank.

I have nothing of importance to blog about today, but I felt like blogging something. So here's a random picture from my Flickr account. This is from one of the Asian gardens at the Denver Botanic Gardens, which Jillian and I visited our first full day of our honeymoon. If you are ever in Denver, check it out. It's a beautiful place.

And, you just might find a Buddha head hanging out in a garden.

I hope you have a great weekend. Ours will be rainy. Peace to you.

Praises for the Bruderhof

2005-10-04T08:36:00.000-04:00

Discipleship:
Living for Christ in the Daily Grind
by J. Heinrich Arnold.

I've been enjoying the daily e-mails I receive each weekday from the Bruderhof communities for almost a year now. Their Daily Dig is great; what's even greater is that there is a plethora of free e-books on the Bruderhof communities website. Greater still is that some are offered in the print version free if you link to their website!

I received in the mail over the weekend J. Heinrich Arnold's book Discipleship: Living for Christ in the Daily Grind. With an introduction by Henri Nouwen, how can you go wrong? It's a collection of Arnold's writings, from speeches, sermons, letters, etc., all dealing with the issue of discipleship. I've read the introduction and the first two sections on The Inner Life and Repentance, and I'm highly impressed.

I'm having a tough time deciding if I should bring this book to school with me so I can blog some quotes from it. The trouble is, I think I want to make some spiritual reading part of my end-of-the-day routine, and having the book on my nightstand next to our bed makes that much easier. Hopefully I can find a way to compromise. Perhaps I'll use the free e-book version while at school to try and find any passages that struck me in a particular way the night before.

In other news, Jillian's sister and fiance have placed a winning bid on a house, and hope to close on it in about a month. This means that Jill and I will be moving into the house they currently share with her grandfather. The idea of living in a house rather than an attic-floor apartment is soooo nice! I'm looking forward to moving in there and enjoying the extra space - and the washer and dryer! I'm also looking forward to getting to know Jill's grandpa a little better. We have nice little conversations most times that we visit, and I'm looking forward to more of those.

Before this becomes an even more daunting and unreadable post because I'm jabbering on and on, I'm going to silence myself and wish you all a blessed week.

Yesterday's weight: Unknown | Yesterday's workout: None

Baby Fever, Pt. 1

2005-09-27T16:08:00.000-04:00

JillianAndEmma01
Originally uploaded by josh_frank.

So this gorgeous little girl is one of the reasons why there is a prolonged case of baby fever in the Frank apartment! Jillian and I visited Emma and her mother two Sundays ago after making the "mistake" of wandering into the baby section at Target. We walked out of there with a new outfit (little khaki pants, a pink onesie t-shirt, a creme button-up cardigan sweater, matching Pooh socks, a fall sleeper - with footies, of course, a blanket with a cat and mouse embroidered on it, and a black beanie hat with glow in the dark cat eyes, whiskers, and tiny ears sewn on).

It's pretty wonderful to have a brand new little one in the family to visit and spoil.

Coming soon...Baby Fever, Pt. 2: The irresistable Hanna!

The Power of Christ

2005-09-26T08:11:00.000-04:00

From today's Daily Saints e-mail:

For a long time, it seems, we have been very conscious of Jesus' miracles as proofs of his divinity. What we sometimes overlook is Jesus' consuming interest in simply healing people's sickness, whatever other meaning his actions had. The power that "went out from him" was indeed a sign that God was definitively breaking into human history in final fulfillment of his promises; but the love of God was also concrete in a very human heart that was concerned about the suffering of his brothers and sisters. It is a reminder to Christians that salvation is for the whole person, the unique body-spirit unity.

I think this also serves as a reminder that, indeed, we will do greater things in His name. When we humble ourselves and put on the person of Christ, we have the power to move mountains, be they large masses of stone and boulder or large masses of hearts hardened more than the toughest ore.

Peace to you this day.

Yesterday's weight: Unknown | Yesterday's workout: None

A Prayer for the Church

2005-09-19T08:30:00.000-04:00

The following is the prayer we used at Elm Park UMC yesterday for the Collect. I believe it is poignant and powerful.

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.
Lord God, may we never forget that the church exists in the world, not for its own sake, but for your glory and the service of humanity. Save us as a church people from getting wrapped up in our own affairs and the mundane things that absorb so much of our time and energy. Help us to get our priorities right:
to seek first your kingdom and the hallowing of your name;
to obey our Lord's command to preach the gospel everywhere and to everyone;
to minister for his sake to the poor, the afflicted and the oppressed;
to practice the royal law by loving our neighbor as ourselves.
Give us a new vision of what the church should be, and of your purpose for it, here and in every place, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Yesterday's weight: Unknown | Yesterday's workout: None

Handiwork: Proclaiming the Gospel With Our Hands

2005-09-09T08:11:00.000-04:00

In today's Daily Saint e-mail from AmericanCatholic.org, we see the stunning example of St. Peter Claver. Born in Spain, he left the Old World for the New and became situated in current-day Columbia in the midst of the exploding slave trade. Peter reached out to these African people, held in bondage; when a slave-trading ship arrived at port, he would enter the hold into a grossly inhumane setting where he immediately began serving the Africans. Food and medicine was brought to them even as they were herded into public holding yards. Peter cried out against the injustice. When he traveled on missions, it is said that wherever he could, he bunked in the slaves' quarters rather than in the rich homes of the plantation owners.

This quote from St. Peter Claver struck me as another way of hearing what, at times, is a muted message:

"We must speak to them with our hands before we try to speak to them with our lips."

May we all be inspired and motivated by the lives of those who walked before us. Peace to you this day.

Yesterday's weight: 204 | Yesterday's workout: None

Two Posts in One: U.S. Poverty and Hurricane Katrina

2005-09-01T09:45:00.000-04:00

Before I start to ramble and lose people's attention, let me point you to the new graphical link in the right sidebar. This link will take you to the United Methodist Committee On Relief's 2005 Hurricane Disaster Relief page. Here you can make monetary donations and find out other ways you can assist in helping the people devastated by Hurricane Katrina. To find out more about UMCOR's history of global assistance to those in need, please check out their website. The United Methodist Church has a strong record of providing emergency assistance when disaster hits around the globe. One interesting piece of info is that all money donated to UMCOR for disaster relief goes directly to the relief efforts and not to administrative overhead. That's 100% of your money going directly to the program or relief effort you specify. Administrative costs are covered through other donations, especially the UMC's One Great Hour of Sharing.

Now, let's examine poverty in the United States. On Tuesday, CNN.com ran an article giving the release of the poverty rate in the United States for 2004. The financial site money.cnn.com reported on Friday, "The number of Americans living in poverty jumped to 35.9 million last year, up by 1.3 million, while the number of those without health care insurance rose to 45 million from 43.6 million in 2002, the U.S. government said in a report Thursday." That means that there are now 35.9 million Americans living in poverty; this equals roughly 12.5% of the population. What do those numbers mean? Put yourself in a group of 10 people. Now picture at least 1 of those 10 living in poverty. Put yourself in a room of 20 people. Now 2.5 of them, nearly 3, are living in poverty. What group of people experienced the largest spike in poverty rates? Children - their rate was the highest its been in 10 years.

I should wrap things up. But before I do, let me pass along a few words from Jim Wallis of Sojourners magazine. In my regular edition of SojoMail (a free e-mail service from the magazine), Wallis wrote about the connection between poverty and the hurricane. "During hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters, those who have the least to lose are often those who lose the most," he said. According to Wallis, this happens because, "First, the dwellings in which poor people live are not as sturdy, stable, or safe as others...Second, the places where poor people live are also the most vulnerable...Third, it is much harder for the poor to evacuate...[and] Fourth, low-income people are the least likely to have insurance on their homes and belongings, and the least likely to have health insurance." He also notes that the poverty rate in New Orleans, at 28%, is more than double the size of the national rate. Let us not forget as we see the pictures and videos being played over and over in the news cycle of the damage to the Superdome, the grand Hyatts and Hiltons with their windows blown out, and the devastation to multi-hundred thousand and million dollar homes, that ghettos were destroyed. Ram-shackle huts and overcrowded highrises are gone. Offer up whatever assistance you deem necessary and able to provide. And pray specifically for the elderly, the sick, the babes-in-arms, the poor and destitute. Make it specific; remember them, not just "those people in the South whose homes are flooded."

Peace be with you this day.

Yesterday's weight: Unknown | Yesterday's workout: None

Words and Chords

2005-08-29T09:02:00.000-04:00

My birthday is always an indication of another cyclical event: the beginning of the school year. I begin my two-class semester tomorrow, only having classes on Tuesday and Thursday. The rest of the week is open for work. This means that I am now back on-campus working in the computer labs, and so my blogging frequency should increase after a lull for the last month.

Because of a few gracious birthday gifts, I had two gift cards to Borders burning a hole in my pocket and a few hours to myself yesterday while Jill tended bar (yes, my wife is bartending...how hot is that?!). I ended up with a book by Robert Inchausti called Subversive Orthodoxy: Outlaws, Revolutionaries, And Other Christians In Disguise and the Death Cab for Cutie album Transatlanticism.

The book should be a good introduction to some writers, thinkers, artists, etc., who are in the theological area that I am hovering around right now.

That's all for now. My brain is conking out at the moment; it hasn't been used to posting lately, let alone at 9 a.m. I hope you have a blessed day.

Yesterday's weight: Unknown | Yesterday's workout: None

Violence is...

2005-08-26T08:47:00.000-04:00

From today's Daily Dig e-mail (you really should subscribe; short nuggets of faith-filled wisdom every weekday to your inbox):

Violence as a way of achieving justice is both impractical and immoral. It is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding; it seeks to annihilate rather than to convert. Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends by defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers.

- Martin Luther King, Jr., from a Nobel address, Oslo, December 11, 1964.

Preach on, Reverend King, preach on.

A Busy Birthday

2005-08-26T08:44:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I reached the age of 27. It was a really busy day. It started when I stayed up past midnight to celebrate (well, not really; I just got caught up working on our church's new website, which is now posted!). I think I went to bed at 2:15 a.m. and got up about 4 hours later. I spent the morning at my sister-in-law's house waiting for a car repair to be done, and did more work on the website. Then it was a rushed trip to Sheetz for some wrapz (mmmmm, wrapz) for myself and Jillian, who was waiting patiently at work for me to bring her food. After that pitstop it was straight to Marywood to take care of some school stuff, and more website and FOCCUS work (FOCCUS is our church's college ministry, which I am leading this year). A quick stop at the church 15 minutes before the offices closed, then a quick trip home to pack Jill's cleaning clothes before picking her up from work. We ate at Panera Bread Co. to celebrate my birthday, then it was off to the cleaning job. That was pleasantly interrupted for 15-20 minutes by a birthday call from Mom, Dad, and Makenzie. On the way home I returned a call from my brother, Richie, who was given a cell phone on the family plan before heading to Trinity for fall semester. We made a pit stop at my sister-in-law's so I could upload the new website from my fancy new USB flash drive (thanks, Jen and Troy!) because I received permission to make it public late in the afternoon. We topped off the night with a free drink at Northern Light Espresso Bar, and returned home to find a birthday card from Grandma Frank with a long letter filling me in on how my extended family is doing. It was a sweet letter. We managed to stay up a bit later while flipping through Eddie Bauer's women's fall catalog. I took a part-time job there and started this week, so Jill didn't hesitate to fill me in on things she would like with my employee discount!

That's a long paragraph. It's representative of my 27th birthday: a long, busy, hectic, productive, fun, rewarding, exciting, relaxing day. I'm back at work in the school's labs, so look for my updates to return to a more regular frequency.

Peace to you this day.

p.s.-In the midst of my busy day, I neglected to check Jillian's blog after she asked me to do so in the morning. She posted a really nice birthday message that I didn't see until this morning. Sorry, honey, and thank you. You fill my world with love and light.
Yesterday's weight: 206 | Yesterday's workout: None

What Do You Want For Dinner?

2005-07-29T16:20:00.000-04:00

Go check out this guy's site!

Do you want to read some hilarious cartoons? Head to toothpaste for dinner. Thanks to Josh Rea, a friend of my friend Phil's in Columbus, Ohio, I am now a fan.

Man, what's with me and the blogging today? Nothing of real substance, but there are three posts. Would you believe I have another three saved as drafts? They aren't from today, but earlier this week when I went quiz happy. I'll keep them there for now, but next week I'll inundate whoever it is that reads this thing with useless information about myself that was culled from a few various quizzes.

Hmmmm, what biblical villian could I be...

p.s. - I finally finished my American Short Fiction class through the Distance Education office. That means that Jillian and I are going to finally be able to start the Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. I guess there is some debate over what order it is best to read the seven books. We're reading them chronologically, starting with The Magician's Nephew, rather than in their publication order, which begins with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. After that, maybe I'll re-read them in the publication order.

The next 3 weeks my computer lab on campus is closed, so I won't be working unless I find a temporary job. That may slow down my current blogging burst, unless I spend a lot of my free time at a library. I plan on using some of the time working on a new design for our church's website and making plans for the college ministry, which it seems I will be leading this year.

Since When Did This Become...

2005-07-29T16:07:00.000-04:00

a blog about Harry Potter? I haven't even read the books! Sheesh!!!

I blame my wife.

A Surprise for the Wife

2005-07-29T16:05:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is Harry Potter's Birthday?

I discovered that the Albright Memorial Library now has a few blogs going. And what do I discover in the reference department's blog?

Wifey, if you read this between now and when I pick you up, save the squeals for the car, cuz we're going! Just for you, because I love you.

Everyone else, have a dandy weekend.

Yesterday's weight: Unknown | Yesterday's workout: None

I'm a Gryffindor!

2005-07-25T14:55:00.000-04:00

I'm a Gryffindor!

Even though I have never cracked the cover of a Harry Potter book (to my wife's chagrin - I'll get there eventually, honey!), I came across this short quiz page on Jay Voorhees's blog today: the Sorting Hat from Harry Potter. I was unsure that I should take it, since I've never read the books (I have seen the movies, though). I decided it might be fun to take it now, and then I could come back and take it again after reading the books to see if it changed. Here are the results:

"You belong in Gryffindor,
where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve and chivalry
set Gryffindors apart."

Yesterday's weight: Unknown | Yesterday's workout: None

What Book Are You?

2005-07-22T09:35:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure if I've done this quiz before. If I did and already blogged about it, I apologize. I have a nagging feeling I have taken it in the past, but I don't think I ever blogged it. So, what book am I?

You're Watership Down!

by Richard Adams

Though many think of you as a bit young, even childish, you're
actually incredibly deep and complex. You show people the need to rethink their
assumptions, and confront them on everything from how they think to where they
build their houses. You might be one of the greatest people of all time. You'd
be recognized as such if you weren't always talking about talking rabbits.

Take the Book Quiz at the Blue Pyramid.

Well, there you go. It seems I am thought-full (at times overly so, just ask my wife!) and full of questions. I'm not sure I've ever talked about rabbits too much.

So, what book are you?

Yesterday's weight: 212 | Yesterday's workout: None

Let Them Eat Cake!

2005-07-22T09:34:00.000-04:00

Cake Eating
Originally uploaded by josh_frank.

Today marks the end of the week, so here is the last photo for our anniversary celebration. Don't forget, more pictures are up over at my Flickr account, and I hope to upload more over the next week.

Jillian and I like to eat. We also really like cake. So I thought this picture would be appropriate to end the week.

Hey, honey, want to get some cake this weekend?

Wedding Rings

2005-07-21T15:54:00.000-04:00

Wedding Rings
Originally uploaded by josh_frank.

My wife totally outdid me with her kind words. Read them over at Jillian's blog.

Today's "In Honor of Our Anniversary" photo is a beautiful shot of our hands and wedding bands resting on Jill's bouquet. I love this photo; it shows off her beautiful, somewhat non-traditional engagement ring, and my awesome wedding band! Click on the picture to see the bigger version so you can see the details. We love them (and each other) very much.

A Couple's Embrace

2005-07-20T12:05:00.000-04:00

Holding Close
Originally uploaded by josh_frank.

I remembered to grab the CD of our wedding photos today out of my bag in the backseat of the car. Several are now up on Flickr. This was probably our favorite photo of the two of us on our wedding day. We had it blown up to an 11x14 and it is hanging in our apartment. It still stops me in my tracks from time to time, even though I've looked at it at least a hundred times.

Sorry about the crummy cropping job and the poor image resolution. I was in a rush last fall to scan and edit all 200 or so of our proofs to burn to CD and mail to family who were interested in ordering. The cropping took a backseat to capturing the image and changing the resolution so that trying to print the photos at home would be next to useless (I was a photographer, and I know how copyright works!).