Wes

Last Spring I was approached by a local high school about having a student "job shadow" me. Now... this isn't uncommon. Most of the students in my minsitry like to job shadow me for a day because I let them play on the internet, take them out to lunch, etc.
This "job shadow" was different though, it wasn't for a day, it was for a semester. I agreed, looking forward to interacting with a student who was truly interested in going into ministry as a vocation as well as a calling.
Wes arrived this fall. He came to my office an hour early. I wasn't even there, I was still at home in bed. I told our receptionist to send him home and I would contact him later. After we got our schedule's on the same page through a phone conversation, Wes came to my office. This was our first dialogue:
"Wes, why do you want to be in ministry?"
"I don't."
"Then why are you here?"
"Let's just say I am interested in the theology of it all."
"Okay, then..."
And our relationship has gone from there. Wes LOVES philosophy. Any time we debate about philosophy, it is a good day for him. Somwhere though, Wes has been burned by church/religion and is trying to find his fit. Wes has limited social skills (he thinks common courtesy is a waste of time) and we are working on it a little. He is in my office every morning and we do a variety of things. Sometimes I work and he sits there, but usually I give him something to read.
We have recently been talking about his family. His quote to me was "I have no sense of family." Wow. Wes has had a hard time with relatioships in his life. He feels he has no friends other than his mom. He sees little use for relationships other than as a means to the end, but has trouble knowing what that end might be, so has little or no relationships.
All in all, Wes has become a good friend for me. I love having him around. I challenge everything he thinks. I ask pointed questions and force him to interact with others. I am watching his life change as he feels some purpose, at least that is what I think. I am interested to see where our relationship is in two months.

Coaching

I recently started coaching 8th grade football. I have coached in the past, but never 8th grade. I have been having a lot of fun, but most of all, I enjoy the comments I hear from these 8th grade players... Probably some of the toughest guys in school. Here are my favorites:
"Coach, can I go sit down? I have a little headache."
"Coach, what time is it?"
"When do we get our game jersey's?"
"What do I do on this play? (asked for the 20th time in a row)
"Coach, my mom says I need to take it easy today."

It is fun, humorous, and rewarding. I like the interaction and the ability to invest into the lives of these boys.....errr young men. What these young men are learning is that when you put on the pads and walk on the field, all the training on EA Sports is useless.
So if you want a great way to spend a late afternoon, find out when some of the middle school football games are. Have a date with someone and go. It will be fun and entertaining, I promise! Especially if you stand close enough to hear the interaction of the coaches with the players.

Great Friends

We had many enjoyable times while we were out in Oregon. When we are there, we really miss being in the Pacific Northwest. The smell of the evergreens, the sight of the Columbia River, and the availability of coffee are reminders of why we loved living there. Iowa has it's own beauty, but the smells of GPC cover it up sometimes.
We got to see a lot of great friends in Oregon. One (of several) highlights was spending our anniversary with some of the best friends we have ever had. Brad, Kim, Buddy and Susan spent the evening with us enjoying outdoor dining at the Grand Lodge in Forest Grove.
What I love about our friends is that we have always had the ability to speak to the hearts of each other. It true with our friends in Iowa as well as Oregon. On our evening at the Grand Lodge, I was truly thankful for the conversation. It was a confirming reminder to me of the life I choose to live every day. Even when events I deem as unfair present themselves to me, I must be reminded of who I am and how I live. Brad challenged me on that on this particular evening. Brad (or heavy G, as we sometimes call him) asked questions about the notion of being a servant leader and what that means in today's world. Even when things don't go my way and I think I am getting screwed, I need to remind myself of what it means and what it is to be a servant leader. I will constantly have to remind myself of I Peter 5 and understand that it is God's deal and not my own.
Thank you Brad for your words. You mean a lot to me and am grateful you are a good friend. I will strive to continue my quest to further understand what servant leadership is and what it looks like in a world or community that could care less...

In Oregon

We will be in Oregon from August 7-19th. Rene' and the girls get there on the 24th of July and I will follow about a week later. We would love to see as many of you as we can. Call the Whitehead's if you want to get together sometime.

Plan B

Well we weren't able to pull off Road Rage this year so we went with Plan B. It was a time that 50 of us spent at Rathbun Lake and hung out by the lake and in our familiar camp. It was one of the best retreats I have been a part of. We looked at our lives and the life of our ministry through the words of the prophet Jeremiah (chapter 7 to be exact). We spent the days on and by the lake and the evenings by the campfire; through all of it we had a lot of fun and hopefully we were challenged by what we heard.
I have to say that I was a little amazed... that I can still do a back flip off of an inflatable island in the middle of our cove. I remember doing back flips off of the rafts in the Deschutes River, nearly 20 years ago. I thought I would ache the next day, but I was fine. I also showed the camp my Jedi powers by answering just about every question concerning music hits of the 80's. I think I showed that I had absolutely no life.... and.... that I am a wealth of useless information. I have added the pictures from our time together, enjoy.