U2-charist

The Episcopal Church has begun to use the music of U2 for communion services. It's not just a youth service but a traditional Episcopal liturgy that uses U2's best selling songs as hymns. Check out the article in www.usatoday.com So often when we participate in a worship gathering, we end up talking about the music. Did you sing hymns or was it contemporary music? Was the organ played or were drums used? Did you sing from a hymnal or words off a screen? Now we can use U2 songs. I have to admit too much of the discussion about worship centers on the music. After all, it's all worship. Even our everyday life experiences are to be filled with worship. A grand worship experience is described in the Bible in Revelation chapter 5. So we can talk about the music all we want, but worship is not just about music. What kind of music do you like at church? Would you use U2 songs? What really makes worship happen for God? These are the days my friend.
Jim "Train"

The Rowdy Ones

As long as I've been involved with youth ministry, there's been "the rowdy ones." It's usually a male who can't be quiet, sit still, or pay attention. At times you feel like what's the use. Is anything getting across to the "rowdy ones?" What concerns me more is how often our society ends up giving drugs to the "rowdy ones." This is so they can sit still and learn academically in school. Lawerence Diller has been treating children with behavioral problems for 28 years. He's noticed a disturbing trend - the kids brought in for possible psychiatric medication are "far less abnormal" than they used to be. Parents are less willing to tolerate minor weaknesses. He's written a book called "The Last Normal Child." Dr. Diller chose the title because he had this fantasy, as more and more normal kids get psychiatric medication, that eventually the last normal child in the world would be brought to him for a prescription. So while academic standards get higher, we have to realize that not every kid is academic. Sure, test for learning disabilities, but do we really need to medicate our kids this much? By the way, in a ministry situation, I love kids that our rowdy. Some of my best days in elementary school were spent in the corner. So I understand and I wasn't medicated! The "rowdy ones" always give us an opportunity to check our teaching styles and how we communicate. After all, more things are caught than taught when it comes to following Jesus. So pray and love the "rowdy ones." They need to know we care and desire to see them grow spiritually. These are the days my friend!
Jim "Train"

Dirty Coffee Cups

We have had some rainy, windy days around here lately. When I walked to Harmon Field for junior high football practice earlier this week, I noticed some of the trash cans around the stadium had blown over. Scattered on the ground were disposable coffee cups, some bearing the logos of McDonald's and Marathon. To simply look at the cups, one would see that they look like good cups. They appear clean on the outside. Maybe I should gather them up and use them for Campus Life Breakfast Club. But upon closer inspection, I see they are dirty inside. Stained with coffee or smeared with hot chocolate. Only one use remains for these dirty coffee cups and that's to be placed in a landfill. As I looked at the dirty coffee cups, the words of Jesus popped into my mind. "You blind Pharisee, (as you can see with the start of this quote, these are some of the harshest words Jesus ever spoke. Just check out Matthew chapter 23. Heavy words!!!) first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also." -Matthew 23:26. Jesus tells us to take care of the heart, or what's inside, first. Jesus is about transforming hearts. The Pharisees looked good from the outside, but were dirty in the inside. If we aren't careful, we can do the same thing by focusing on external behaviors. To do good things is important, but only as evidence of what's inside. May your heart be transformed by Jesus so that your external behavior reflects Him. Also, don't use coffee cups you find on the ground. Put them in trash can.
These are the days my friend,
Jim "Train"

School Bells Part 3

You might think the Amish weird, but their depth of forgiveness is an example for us all. Like I said in an earlier post, it's interesting to see how people react to tragedy. The Amish have provided a excellant example for us all. After Charles Roberts killed 5 Amish girls in their one room school house, the Amish community not only have comforted themselves, but have gone out of the way to comfort the Roberts family. Amish community members have gone to the Robert's family members and have offered forgiveness. One relative, Jacquie Hess, has seen the Amish kindness and said, "It has helped us tremendously. They told us there were no hard feelings, that all was forgiven." What a testimony to the world. May we all learn from the forgiveness that the Amish have lived out. It's one thing to talk about forgiveness, read a book about forgiveness, or even pray for forgiveness. But to forgive another human being, especially after they have done something terrible to you, well, that's another story. Yet, the Lord tells you to forgive as He has forgiven you. May you find the mercy and grace of Jesus sufficient enough to forgive others. These are the days my friend!
Jim "Train"

School Bells Part 2

I find it fascinating on how people respond to tragedy. Take the first school shooting in Colorado. The dad of slain Emily Keyes released this statement through family spokesman, Louis Gonzalez..."In memory of Emily we would like everyone to go out and do random acts of kindness, random acts of love to your friends or your neighbors or your fellow students because there is no way to make sense of this. It's what Emily would have wanted."
May we follow Emily's parents wishes. Go out today and make a dfference with the people you come in contact with. Smile. Say hello. Say an encouraging word. Tell someone you love them. Let's make this world a better place for Jesus sake. Live out Kingdom values. Let the school bells ring for the good we can do.
These are the days my friend,
Jim "Train"

School Bells Ring In Mourning

It's been a sad week for American schools. Last week, 53 year old Duane Morrison held some females hostage at Platte Canyon High School in Colorado. Eventually he killed 16 year old Emily Keyes and himself. Friday, a 15 year old boy shot and killed his principal, John Klang, at Weston High School in Cazenovia, Wisconsin. Yesterday, a man enters an Amish one room schoolhouse and kills 5 young girls and himself. What can be done to keep our schools safe? When Pat and I were traveling through Wisconsin on Friday on our way to the Michigan - Minnesota football game, the radio was buzzing about the shootings. Do we hire armed guards? Do we ban guns? Do we have metal detectors in hallways? What's the solution? In reality how can you really prevent some of this from happening? Think of your school and how easy it would be to walk in off the street into your cafeteria and do harm. If a person is bent on vengeance and has no concern for his own life (it does seem to be a male problem), you're going to have a difficult time stopping him from creating mayhem. In a free society, it's almost impossible. What can be done is to report any suspicious activity or comments by individuals to trusted adults. It's also a call to see human hearts changed by Jesus Christ. It's often the marginalized who perpetrate school violence. It's all to common to keep our distance from the marginalized. Make contact instead, with hearts of mercy and compassion. It's time for our school bells to ring for class instead of funerals.
These are the days my friend,
Jim "Train"