Blogg Blogg Blogg all Day Long

I like it that you folks found my Blogg. I'm still getting used to blogger. I must tell you I just spent 15 minutes trying to figure out how to post a new blogg. I'm still learning to use one of these new fancy "computer" things.

I'm listening to Over the Rhine right now. If you haven't heard them before, check them out. they're from Cincinatti I think and are wonderful. Have you ever heard of Danzig or Metallica? They are a lot like those bands only, it's a female singer and it's mostly accoustic with a much jazzier feel. OTR is also exactly like Judas Priest except it's a husband and wife who sound wonderful and inspire me to do great things. Oops, the CD just changed to Grasshoppah which is a local GR bluegrass band (well, they used to be local but now moved to Portland with the rest of the hippies and artsy types). I do love music though and I need to give Kudos to my attractive and single co-worker who introduced me to some great music.

I want to write a bit about some things going on in my life. Lately, I have been very assertive and have been welcoming conflict of any kind. I ussually am pretty passive because I'm always afraid that i'll hurt people's feelings but for the past few weeks I have bot really cared about people's feelings and have been letting people how I feel before they are really even interested. As a Christian, peacemaker, and idealogical pacifist, this is a problem. I don't think I've been so called "sinning", but I haven't been too interested in trying to nurture people or really help them along in their lives. I think it's because I've been waiting to find out about a job in New Orleans that I have interviewed for. The pastor keeps saying, "We're close to a decision and I'll call you on such and such..." But then such and such a time comes along and he doesn't call. I'm sure there is a good reason, but I'm not really very sympathetic. So there is this anxiety about moving and working for the church again and doing youth ministry again and so forth. But I don't want to say, "Sir, please stop telling me you'll call me on such and such and then not call me on such and such. It makes me be mean to people and I am a pacifist and don't want to get into a fight because I'm anxious about wether or not I'm gonna get this job and I don't want my wife to hate me because I tell her that she 'needs to replace the shower curtain before I get home'". You can see my dillema.

I'm now going to tell you what I think about youth ministry and about the church. I started reading a lot of, so called "Emergent" literature, about 3 years ago. It was reeally nice and enjoyable because most of the books I read were all bitching about church and about people who are dumb and I really resonated with their complaining. I think I like to feel like I know more than everybody else. That's why I like bands that nobody has ever heard of and why I like Emergent stuff and why I am a Christian who doesn't like church. I can sit back and think..."Those dumb-asses. Can't they see what's going on. Judas Priest is so 20 years ago. Let me tell you about Wilco. Those evangelicals are so behind the times. Don't they know that Billy Graham knows nothing about post-modernism?" It's a sickness, this "I'm smarter than everybody" mentallity. But, as you know, "I'm down with the sickness". But back to what I think about the church and about youth ministry.

I wonder if Jesus has self-image problems with his Body. I always think about how stupid the disciples were and how they just screwed everything up. But if Jesus was irritated with his dim-whitted followers, how annoyed and dissapointed he must be with the Chruch today. (Another of my issues is seeing things as all good or all bad). Major issues in the church today I think Christian's are on the totally wrong side. Abortion, homosexual marriage, stem cell, social work, yadda, yadda, yadda. Most times I'm embarrased to be a Christian because of what people think of when I say I'm one. When I became a Christian, I was excited and thought how fortunate I was to be name "Christian" rather than "Muslim" or "Hindu". I'm seriously thinking about going by Chris again.

Youth Ministy: I wasn't sure what to do with all the Emergent stuff because it really changed how I view the Church. I find small churches much more beautiful than large ones. I don't think Emergent is saying big is bad, but what I value about church ussually manifests itself in small settings. But this Chruch in New Orleans is very small and I wonder how a youth minstry will function in such a setting. I don't really have any better ideas than anything else anybody is doing, so I suppose I'll just do that but do it "correctly". (See above paragraph on being smarter than everybody). I'm also nervous that after working with the kids from Wedgwood that I won't know what to do with "normal" kids. Maybe being this comfortable talking about masturbation, digital penetration, and anal insertion won't come in very "handy" (masturbation pun) in a youth group setting. I'll also be pissed if I start telling kids that they're in their offense cycle or to take a time out. These are the things I worry about while I'm waiting for the pastor to call.

I guess that wraps it up. Thanks for feeding my ego by reading what I have to write. i covered more controversial topics this time but probably won't get any "hits" because this post doesn't have any big names/themes in it like: Brian McLaren or Rob Bell or Nancy Pelosi or sex...sex...sex or Jerry Falwell but I guess I have plenty of time to talk about these things as well as James Dobson and Marilyn Manson and global warming.