Joel and Amy Stockstill

Yesterday afternoon Jeanne jetted off to be with Joel Stockstill of the Bethany World Prayer Center. Joel's young wife (I think she was 25 or 26), Amy, lost her battle with cancer. The funeral was today. Pray for their family.

A Great Couple of Days

I've been silent on the blog due to spending the last couple of days at the First Year Ladies Cadre Breakaway. It was two intense and incredible days with the wives and female youth pastors of the Litmus and Prestige Cadres. I was worried about the size ... 54 women and 9 Journey Group leaders all in Jeanne's living room. But all was great ... in fact it felt less crowded than when we had 35 Cadre men and women and 7 iron group leaders in one room. I guess you can attribute it to women being smaller.

Jeanne knocked it out of the park talking about being a female leader, mind games, balancing life/family/ministry and answering the "Dear Jeanne" annoymous questions. I wish all could have heard the wisdom that poured out of her after living nearly four decades in the trench. The women were equipped, encouraged and inspired to take the next hill.

Navigating the couple of days was definitely a ride on our end. The Master's Commission Atlanta gang knocked it out of the park getting the 54 women to where they were supposed to be when they were supposed to be there (airport pick ups/drop offs, morning and evening pick ups/drop offs, field trip transpo, etc.), preparing and serving dinner, creating a "field trip" experience that rocked, taking care of the five babies, encouraging and cheering on the ladies, making sure lights, sound and video were up and running and the list goes on...

The only sad thing is after I made sure the last one, Rachel (a great friend from Indiana, now in Arizona), made it to the airport, about two hours later my body said enough is enough. I suddenly felt exhausted and came down with a fever and a ridiculous soar throat (which is understandable considering how the MC gang is passing around the flu). So, instead of going to Oxygen tonight, I went home to bed. In over a decade of ministry, I never skipped youth group when I was in town. It's now 4 a.m. and I am bright eyed and bushy tailed with a throat that is raw. Pray for me ... I still need to kick it high gear today and tomorrow (in fact I'm at work now). I have more things to accomplish in two days than is remotely possible, including talking three hours on two conference calls today about junior high, writing two articles and working some serious financials.

The great news is this weekend the McFarlands are down in the ATL. I'm looking foward to hanging out with some of the most AMAZING people in the world whom I love dearly.

The Irresistbile Revolution

So I am on to February books ... The Irresistible Revolution (one that Rob recommended to me) and Made to Stick (which I skimmed once, but am now going to read cover to cover).

Irresistible Revolution is rockin' my world. I'm not a big reader. I don't like to read. I'm slow at it becasue I try to digest every word, and, at times, for me it's the equivalent of telling an ADHD child to sit in the corner and be still. They're not good at it and neither am I. HOWEVER, I read because I love to learn. My love for learning trumps my hate for reading ... so I read. Very seldom have I found a book "I just can't put down." Irresistible Revolution is becoming one of those few books that fit into that category. Here are the random (and I do mean random) things I highlighted from the first 35 pages.

"I am alone, surrounded by unbelieving activists and inactive believers. Where are the true Christians?" A "silent majority" is developing as a growing number of folks are deliberately distancing themselves from the noise and arrogance that have come to mark both evangelical Christianity and secular activism.

In college, one of my professors said, "Don't let the world steal your soul. Being a Christian is about choosing Jesus and deciding to do something incredibly daring with your life."

"How about that, you're a preacher ... I'd go to a church that would let you preach!" I thought to myself, wouldn't we all go to a church that believes in ordinary fools and ragamuffins and whose gospel is actually good news?

And in an era of smart bombs, maybe the world needs more fools. There have always been "fools" in the imperial courts, but it's an interesting age when folks trust the court jesters more than the court itself.

I don't really fit into the old liberal conservative boxes, so it's a good thing we are moving on to something new. My activist friends call me conservative, and my religious friends call me liberal. What I often get branded is "radical." I've never really minded that, for as my urban-farming friends remind me, the word radical itself means "root." It's from the Latin word radix, which just like a rad-ish, has to do with getting to the root of things. But radical is not something reserved for saints and martyrs, which is why I like to complement it with ordinary. Ordinary does not mean normal, and I lament the dreadful seduction which has resulted in Christians become so normal.

So I am a radical in the truest sense of the word: an ordinary radical who wants to get at the root of what it means to love, ...

People are no longer convicned that the "Moral Majority" is either moral or the majority.

And yet attendtinve ears can hear the ancient whisper reminding us that another world is possible.

Today we can hear the whisper where we least expect it: in a baby refugee and in a homeless rabbi, in crack addicts and displaced children, in a groaning creation. Indian activist and author Arundhati Roy proclaimed at the World Social Forum in Brazil, "Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing." The whisper cries out for God to save the church from us Christians and breathe new life int the aging Body.

New prophets are rising up who try to change the future, not just predict it.

... a generation that stops complaining about the church it sees and becomes the church it dreams of.

Our problem is that we no longer have martyrs. We only have celebritiies.

There's a lot of shouting and sweating, but the people seem too superhuman, and I'm not convinced all the moves are real. And as with any sports event, there are tons of spectators, desperately in need of exercise, who sit back and watch a handful of people who could really use a little break, and maybe a nice massage.

Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets. Luke 6:26

It's hard to disagree with a story, much less split a church or kill people over one.

Besides, people seem to loosen up after a good story. I think that's why Jesus told so many stories -- stories about ordinary first-century Mediterranean life, stories of widows and orphans, debts and wages, workers and landlords, courts and banquets.

The point is not to give you all of the answers but to stir up some of the questions. Some of us haven't even asked the right questions, or found a church that would let us. I trust that as we ask questions together, the Spirit will guide us along the Way.

There are a lot of people speaking the truth with no love, and there are a lot of people talking about love without much truth.

And there are enough white men writing books. Most good things have been said far too many times and just need to be lived.

Publishing a book validates what you have to say, and that's something we should all be careful of.

When people hear you wrote a book, they listen to what you have to say.

And there are tons of good people with something to say who will never write a book. (How about Jesus, for starters?)

Words of Wisdom from Dove?

Ok, so I bought this bag of little Dove bite sized chocolate squares. You know ... the ones that are like fortune cookies ... you unwrap it, pop it in your mouth and read the words of wisdom on the wrapper. So, I was handing them out for fun, and ate the last two. Here were the words of wisdom that I think are so applicable to student minstry it is not even funny.

1. Celebrate family and friends. It reminded me of the importance of being authentic cheerleaders in the lives of the people, especially your leaders, around you. I will always remember Mark saying, "a smattering applause is a stench in the nostrils of God." I don't want to be the obnoxious one who has to get the last clap in, but I secretly desire to always be one of the loudest and longest clappers when someone is being celebrated.

2. A gentle touch speaks volumes. I love it. I'm not much of a touchy, feely, emotional kind of person. While I much better in this department than say a decade a go, you wouldn't rank me high in this category ... maybe a 6 out of 10 on comfort level. However, the thing that speaks volumes in my life, way more than a hug, is a gentle hand on my back at the appropriate time. The hand that says I believe in you, I see what you did, you matter to me, I'm so proud of you, you're more than employee/volunteer...you're a friend, etc.

Small Group Activity. A rabbit trail ... as I write this, I think of all the times I struggled for opening activities to small group discussions during our annual love/dating series we had in February. This activity, at least in my mind, is a great one to get people talking ... buy a bag of the Dove candies for each small group, have them each open one or two, read their wrappers out loud, then talk about the truth, if any, that can be found in the quotes (kind of like I did above). I always wanted to do activities with those coversational boxes of hearts, but couldn't because often times the words were a little on the raunchy side. I think Dove keeps it clean.

Most Hilarious Speaker Intro Video EVER!

Ok, so I don't know how to upload YouTube videos, but here is a hilarious video intro they did for Jeanne at the conference she was at in California last weekend. They said it took four days to shoot and edit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJQQenHS1xM

MC Atlanta 2008-2009

Tomorrow is a big, big day at the Tabernacle. Nearly 100 potential students from across the nation will converge onto the campus to check out Master's Commission Altanta for next year. Our 95 current students and staff have been working hard to prepare for this two day event. Right now as I type, Sterling has 30 videos rendering in the que (whatever that means). All who apply will not make it. Between first, second and third year students, Jeanne's pretty committed to not letting it explode or implode. While not set in stone, over the next few years she thinks she will cap out at 150 per year. She's pretty bent on not letting anyone fall through the cracks. However, with the systems she has in place, I'm pretty confident that could never happen.

After living MC ATL for seven months, I stand in awe of what is offered here. Seriously, it's ministry training at its finest, but first and foremost the staff is dedicated to character development. I think that is what sets it apart from most training programs I've seen. They don't want their charisma to take them to a place their character can't keep them.

What I do on the side

When you are apart of a smaller (1,000 compared to 5,000) and less affluent church (let's just say inner city Atlanta is no Granger, Indiana), each person wears a few more hats. So, in addition to doing junior high and Youth Leader's Coach (Cadre, developing product, website, editing resources, conferences, etc.), I oversee the technical arts and accounting departments. It's not hard, I just lend some of my management and leadership skills that way. However, I realized this week I wish I had a few more hours in the day. I kind of still like the accounting stuff.

I developed the budget and presented it to the board Thursday night, in addition to giving them some thoughts on how to cut 5% off expenditures (probably not a big deal up north, but a big, big deal down here). With the exception of Jeanne, all businessmen ... mostly in suits. I think a few of them might of been pleasantly surprised at what I picked up here and there back home, along with my years in auditing. I got a round of applause when I was done. That was awkward and cool at the same time. They were a great group of guys with a huge heart for the local church. Loved it!

Marriage

Just came off the Cadre Epic's Ladies Breakaway. In addition to doing two two-day Cadre Advances for youth pastors in the mentoring program each year, Jeanne does an additional two-day Cadre Breakaway for their wives (if the Cadre member is a male) and the female Cadre members.

It was a ton of fun, especially when we had a problem with the upstairs bathroom and water came down through the light fixtures into the kitchen ... it wasn't pretty water either if you know what I mean. But, the plumber came and all was good within an hour or two while we continued on. In the meantime, the Master's Commission students who were serving didn't skip a beat. They shut off the lights in the kitchen, moved the food and lit some candles. They are learning how to dance in the rain of adversity when difficulties come their way. It was quite the snapshot.

My main takeaway is that people need help navigating this thing called MARRIAGE. As a single person, most would think I would have been bored to tears during the Q & A where most of the questions centered around marriage. However, I wasn't bored, just PROUD. Proud that while throwing another two-day breakaway into the mix is quite the challenge, the benefits are HUGE. I am pretty convinced that she saved some marriages last night, at a minimum gave others a shot in the arm. She spoke candid, straight up truth on tough, tough questions (some would make you blush). The reality is marriages within the walls of the church are struggling everywhere. And since, in many respects, things flow from the top down ... if we can equip youth pastors and their wives on how to navigate the waters of marriage, then maybe it will ripple on downward.

It was a great couple of days. Master Commission Atlanta Experience (for 18-22 years interested in the MC ATL) is next week and Cadre Litmus and Prestige Ladies Breakaway the week after that ... with a weekend home in between, more great days ahead.

Great Quotes from One Night with the King

1. Scene: Esther being given necklace…
“Like you, its true treasure etched within.”


2. Scene: Vault where jewelry is stored and ladies get to pick.
“How is one to choose when they know not what impresses the king. Will you teach me?”


3. Scene: After she reads to him and tells the story of Jacob, he shows her the sculpture he is working on.
He says, “His arms will hold the bow, his arrows tipped with love.”
She says, “Some archer’s arrows are tipped with poison my lord.”
He says, “Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference, the symptoms are the same.”


4. Scene: Jesse wants her to leave, she refuses.
“Perhaps instead of asking questions of our trials, trials are meant to ask questions of ourselves.”


5. Scene: Esther’s time before the king.
“I was taught that when you visit a king rather than expect a gift, one should bring one to lay at his feet. (Gives necklace) This is my most valuable possession in the world. It is my past, present and future … and all of it is yours.”

“If it is for sale, it is not love.”

“The only gift I will accept is your heart.”


6. Scene: Talking to Jesse and Hagar at night in her bedroom, right before she goes to the king.
“Who knows whether you have come to the palace for such a time as this.”

“David’s victory came not because he fought well but because he believed well.”


7. Scene: Last one at the banquet.
(Regarding necklace) Very identity etched within me.

I saw the stars.

I stopped counting at 600

It's 11:09 p.m., there is little snow on the ground. It's 31 degrees outside. My heart is heavy.

Over 600 churches have cancelled their services tomorrow, some big dawgs like North Point and Perimeter. It's actually a lot more, I just stopped counting at 600 ... but, hey Wal-Mart's still open. There's a sermon in there somewhere. I wonder what the heroes of the faith think about that. (I know, I know ... Atlanta doesn't have salt trucks ... blah, blah, blah)

More Weather

I know posts about weather get old, but I am totally getting a kick out of this. We are under a "Heavy Snow Warning." A warning mind you, not a watch. All the fuss ... there is a potential for 2-4 inches (whcih I do know why it's a big deal with not much in the way of snow removal equipment). Seriuosly, I wonder if there is a run on shovels, snow brushes, milk and bread. I better go bundle up, after all it's 37 degrees.

Winter Storm Watch

I think the city is expecting to shut down tomorrow, the meterologist is standing by...

"Metro Atlanta and the surrounding areas are preparing for another round of wintry weather tomorrow which could include snowfall from 1-4 inches. 11Alive News WeatherPlus and 11Alive.com are ready to keep you informed of all the details before they occur with special weathercasts...

The good news is that a couple of days at home sound fun (seriously, that's what happens here ... it snowed a 1/2 an inch on Wednesday and the schools shut down and the freeways were less jammed). If we get 4 inches, it will be total mayhem. The bad news is that we have Cadre coming in tomorrow night and all day Sunday ... ugh! So, while the days home sound fun, I'm praying for no snow. Meanwhile, Laurie is going to try and find Jeanne an earlier flight in.

Weird Sad Stories in the ATL

The wintry mix tonight, along with the cop killer on the loose, cut our numbers in half but it was not without the bizarre story. In our 02 Group, we had two new kids ... Moses from Nigeria and Nilton from Saudia Arabia. The boys are in the states for major surgery on their esophagus. Both of them, for unknown reasons, drank acid. One of them has had 26 surgeries in the last six months. So, the doctors are going to take part of their colon and graph it into their esophogas ... weird ... sad. Both are really cool kids, one is being adopted by the couple hosting them in the church.

Ohhhhhhh So Funny

Ok, I admit ... now the flakes are coming. Evidently, it's worthy of recording. Here are the closings in Atlanta right now because of the dusting of snow.

UPDATED WEDNESDAY, JAN 16 AT 6:40 PM
1st Baptist Ch of Atlanta: No evening activities
Am. Univ. of Biblical Studies: No evening classes
Appalachian Technical College: No evening classes
Beulah Heights University: No evening classes
Corinth Baptist/Gainesville: No evening activities
Eastridge Community Church: Closed Today
First Atlanta Baptist Church: No evening activities
Ga. Ins of Cosmetology/Buford: Closed Today
Georgia Christian University: Closed Today and Tomorrow; No evening classes
Hillcrest Church of Christ: Closed Today
Hope Church/Dallas: No evening activities
Hopewell Baptist/Gainesville: No evening activities
King of Glory Ch Worship: No evening activities
Lumpkin County Schools: Closed Tomorrow
New Birth Missionary Baptist Church: Services Cancelled
New Life Tabernacle COGIC: Closed Today
Salem Missionary Baptist: No evening activities
Sandy Springs Cadet Sq-Civil Air Patrol: Closed Today
Spread the Word Ch Ministries: No evening activities
St. Michael the Archangel: No evening classes
St. Thomas the Apostle Reg. Ed: No evening activities
Wildwood Baptist Church: Closed Today
Zion Baptist/Marietta: Services Cancelled
Zoe Christian Fellowship: Services Cancelled

Snowing in Atlanta ... If you call it that.

The sound of girls screeching could be heard from my office. I rushed out of my office thinking "what in the world," only to find some of them staring out the window while others outsdie danced in the ... SNOW! Only what they call snow, I'd call a flake or two. It was hilarious ... them southern girls. Jeanne told me I'd get a good laugh out of watching people flock to the window should it snow in Atlanta ... she was right.

Lockdown

Helicopters can be heard overhead and our church is in lockdown today. Early this morning, two Dekalb county officers lost their life in a senseless crime. Both are young with kids. Those committing the crime are thought to be in the area.

Grateful Injustice

So, Monday I paid my $135 illegal left hand turn ticket. I was going to fight it, but when they said I could pay $135 and have it reduced to an ordinance violation that resulted in no points, I consented. It's not that I didn't make the illegal left hand turn, it's just that the sign was on the wrong side of the road, to the point you don't see it until you half way into the illegal turn. Anyway, I'm over it! Ok, that is until last night. Mike, RC, Travis and I were going to 7:22 at Buckhead and we were late. Mike is speeding through traffic and moves over into the HOV (carpool) lane. However, he cuts a cop off on a motorcycle in the process. The cop pulls him over, asks for his license, then asks him if he realized he was going 85 in a 55 and that he just cut him off. Mike apologizes, the cop gives back his license and we drive off. No ticket, just a "slow it down." I'm grateful Mike didn't get a ticket, but still pretty ticked that I did. Maybe I should of pulled the "I'm going to church" card that Mike used when the cop asked where he was headed. It was the truth, I just can't believe the cop believed him. The crack in Mike's voice when he said it was priceless.

As of tomorrow I will be an "official" Gerogia resident

I make Georgia my "official" home tomorrow when I go to the DMV and get my Georgia drivers license and register to vote at the same time. I tried to do it last month and then again on Saturday. Long story short, I didn't have the right paperwork the first time, then there is this little word called "suspended" on my Indiana license. While I still have a valid drivers license, as evidence by the fact that they didn't haul me away to jail or charge me a ginormous extra fee when I got the two tickets in October a week apart, the CDL portion of my drivers licensed is suspended because I didn't send in the two year physical form due in August. Since I hate doctors and I don't need the CDL anymore, the plan was to just let it fall off my driver's license. However, on Saturday, the lady at the counter feared that when she went to change it over to Georgia, the whole thing would come back suspended (i.e. making me ineligible to hold a drivers license period). She suggested I come back Tuesday (they are closed on Monday) to make sure it gets done right. I'm starting to feel like Georgia doesn't want me ... they just don't know how persistent I can be.

One thing I do know is that Georgia knows how to make the bling. I went to the courthouse to pay the ticket I got back in October. The first court date I went to, I showed up just for them to tell me the court load was too backed up and I had been rescheduled. They had sent me a notice, but it arrived two days after the scheduled court day. Anyway, my appointment was at 2 p.m. today. So I, and 400-500 other people, showed up for 2 p.m. court. You think I am exaggerating, but I am not. The line to get in went out of the building, up the steps and around the sidewalk. My ticket was cheap ($136) compared to others. I figured if they average $200 per ticket times 500 people, that's about $100,000 an hour or two. Do that 3-4 times a day and that's a whole lot of bucks. All I can say is if you ever come through DeKalb County Georgia, you best be paying attention to the signs and your speedometer.

While grateful, both Indiana and Georgia feel a little corrupt in the way they handle traffic tickets. In Indiana, you can pay extra money and if you don't get another ticket in a year, you don't get any points on your license. If you do get another ticket, then both tickets count. However, as I found out, if you have a CDL (even a suspended one) you aren't eligible for the program. In Georgia, if you don't contest the ticket, but instead choose just to pay your fine, they will automatically knock 10 miles off of your speeding ticket or, if it was a different kind of moving violation like mine (I turned left on a no turn on left), it gets reduced to an ordinance violation and you just pay the fine and get no points. While I hate that I got two tickets back in October, it was probably a God thing. In recent days when I felt like putting my gas pedal through the floorboard, I remembered I couldn't afford the ticket or the points.

Top Four

Top four things I'm looking forward to over the next 30 days.

• I'm going home the first weekend in February to celebrate my brother's birthday. This time I'm going straight from ATL to SBN via the friendly skies of Delta. The drive is nothing less than brutal.
• The new store front is going up on youthleaderscoach.com
• We've got some great product development ideas we should be able to get off the ground soon.
• We have two ladies Cadre's over the next three weeks. They will be off the hook.

A Night in the Trench

Last night I had my first overnighter with a bunch of my 02 middle school girls. Can I be honest? It didn't rank as the thing I was most looking forward to this week. Right beforehand I stared at the list of the 20 plus projects I'm navigating my way through thinking there is no time for this. Turns out, it was the highlight of my week and the MOST IMPORTANT thing I could do this week.

The realization came to me on my way into church this morning with a car load of girls how important it is to push your chair out from your desk and go jump in the trench. While good, in my opinion jumping into the trench is NOT giving a message, writing a discussion guide, creating some cool media or anthing else that involves you, your desk and no one else ... that's just work done in preparation for time in the trench. If you do all that and never actually jump into the trench, it's not all in vain but it falls short of the finish line.

Last night was when I first heard the story of Diana. Diana is from Cali (most of girls are from somewhere else and somehow landed in the ATL). Diana described herself as a "bad, bad girl" when she was in Cali. Her mom sent her to live with aunt in an attempt to keep her from tanking her life. While she finds the ATL boring, she longs to be in church on Wednesday night and admits she's doing much better here. Had I not stopped to just hang out, I probably would of never heard Diana's story and our conversations would never have a chance to move beyond the surface.

At our overnighter, all the girls were either black, Mexican, Puerto Rican or from some other country with cool accents. Honestly, the color of a person's skin makes no difference to me, but there are new things to learn, new challenges to overcome and new respect to be gained. All I know is that they are fun and funny, just like the white kids in Indiana. Desi, one of our leaders, keeps educating me on some things like "the weave." She says, "you'll learn, Judy, you'll learn."