On Maintaining a Blog

I read a blog post from a friend recently about finding your voice when writing. I have had a blog since 2003 (Xanga in those days). Back then I had many fresh new ideas and I viewed the internet as a place where I could explore themes and thoughts with a measure of distance. It was a sort of laboratory for thoughts and ideas that had been rattling though my head.

Back then, I felt like my life was always on display - my blog was just another way others could view and understand me. When I became a Youth Pastor, I got in the habit of airing my thoughts and feelings publicly to groups of people. As I had time, I maintained my blog as my laboratory.

As my time as a youth pastor started winding to a close, I found myself becoming more reclusive with my inner workings. I had learned that what I said online could impact my everyday life. Heaven forbid someone read my thoughts and base their entire perceptions of who I am on that blog post! I was worried. Worried that my faith journey would frustrate or confuse friends and family. That sharing my private thoughts online could lead to people I cared about misunderstanding me. Maybe it could even hurt future chances of getting another ministry job. So I stopped posting my thoughts online. The internet makes a pretty crappy journal.

I still read many, many blogs. I enjoy reading the musings of others now. These blog posts have the power to inspire me, challenge me, force me to look at perspectives different than my own. The best bloggers I know seem to have found a way to share the private thoughts of their hearts in a way that is true to who they are as people and the gifts and callings they have been given.

Sometimes when you're on an inner journey, it helps to write things out. To interact with those you know and those you don't know about your ideas. For me, I have been learning the beauty and sacredness of keeping my mouth shut and listening (for the most part). Its been refreshing not to have to share, defend, explain, or fight for my thoughts and opinions with anyone other than my wife and close friends. I'm no longer preaching. I'm no longer teaching. No one hangs (or pretends to hang) on my words any longer. Its been freeing.

But I love to think. I love to interact. I love to grow and learn from others. I value the gifts and insights that God has given me. And sometimes, I have something to say. Recently I have been thinking a lot about blogging again. To put myself back out there. I have things to say, and lessons to learn.

Next month, my journey takes another turn with the birth of my first child. I'm going to be a daddy. This thrills me and terrifies me at the exact same time. I look forward to sharing my continued journey with all of those who would listen. It's going to be an exhilarating year, that's for sure!

Happy New Year

I hope you had a great holiday and New Year season. I had a refreshing time with friends and family so much so that I'm back here on my blog writing something again.

Seriously, I have been very bad about writing this last year and I hope to change that. As I was perusing my rss feeds this morning I was reminded at how formative and helpful these voices have been to me the last few years. Hearing other people's stories and experiences and learning from what they are learning have nudged me along in my own journey.

With that in mind, I would like to be more intentional about writing this year. I don't love writing, at least not at first. Not only does it take time (even more so when I have to type on my iPhone), but it makes me vulnerable and forces me to process my thoughts. All of these things I see as a positive, so I shall press on this year and continue to share snippets of my life with you. You can encourage me in this by interacting with my posts, and of you have your own blog - I would love to hear about it and maybe add you to my blogroll.

So here's to 2012. May it be a year full of wonder, joy, and discovery for me and for you.

Dinner Christmas fun with the family

p23.mov Watch on Posterous

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For those of my friends (in RL or otherwise) who had enjoyed following my shared items in Google Reader you might have noticed that the big G has decided to take away their sharing feature. There are plans to roll sharing into Google+ but many of you don't use G+ so I have an alternative you can use.

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http://m.delicious.com/v2/rss/dareyoutomove

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Happy Reformation Day!

This day in 1517 Martin Luther posted 95 Theses to the Wittenberg church door in Germany sparking the Protestant Reformation.

As I reflect on this day in history, I wonder if I had the chance to nail some of my own grievances to the "door" if the church in America, what would they be. Here are three off the top of my head:

• Unity in Christ - The Church on America is full of bickering. Popular theological debates Divide denominations and Christians. We need to do a better job of encouraging believers to be united in Christ instead of divided over differences that are not central to the Gospel of Jesus.

• Cultural/Political Syncretism - many churches in America today mix politics of the empire with what it means to be a Christian. A Christian must put God over country in every issue. Christ was not a Republican or a Democrat.

• Mission - is the Church being Jesus' hands and feet to the world, or is it a private religious country club? I believe that the Church needs to return to its roots making disciples and caring or those that Jesus spent time with.

What about you? What thoughts would you nail to the door of the Church today? What pressing issues do you think are vital to the continuation of Jesus' Church in the world today? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Hello September

Blogger.com has a spiffy new clean interface for writers. It was pretty enough to get me on here to make a quick update. See?

Life has been good these summer months. It's been really oppressively hot, but that's Alabama. Some of my favorite summer activities have been

• staying cool indoors as much as possible. A/C is a modern miracle
• visiting our local farmers market on Saturdays at Pepper Place. Local honey and produce is always awesome.
• hanging out with friends, babysitting our nephew and our friends children. They say we will benefit from the practice. I can change poopy diapers now.
• reading through the entire Harry Potter series for the first time at work (yes I can read at work, it's not as exciting as it sounds)
• and visiting the family lake-house at lake Martin!

Marie and I are looking forward to the cooler fall weather. Being Alabama, that could be another month or so. It would be nice to live somewhere where there was a fall before winter that lasted more than a few weeks.

As for spiritual matters, we have been praying for God's guidance as I seek another full time youth ministry position. It's been very difficult to wait on God's timing but we know that that is the very best for us. Please pray for guidance with us. In the meantime we have a very awesome church family here in Birmingham that we are enjoying serving with. Even while we wait, God provides!

Well this short missive is turning into a long one so I'll sign off here. Take care friends.

Doing the Father's Work

Don't believe me unless I carry out my Father's work. But
if I do his work, believe in the evidence of the miraculous works I
have done, even if you don't believe me. Then you will know and
understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father." (John
10:37, 38 NLT)

There are many today professing to be Christian leaders. Some
Christian leaders entangle themselves in the politics of the day.
Others write books. Others still are pastors of very large churches.
Some have their own television or radio programs.

But how are we to know whether they are worth believing and listening
to? Jesus told the people that his works were proof that he was doing
his Father's work.

Do the Christian leaders we follow carry out the Father's work? Do
they care about the people Jesus cared about? Do they love like Jesus?
Do they stand up to the Pharisees of our day?

I know I want to live the kind of life as a Christ follower that is
without a doubt doing the Father's work. It means I have to involve
myself in the issues and with the people that matter to God. It also
means I need to discern what those things are. Not an easy challenge
in our world today.

Motivations

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. (John 6:26 NLT)

Why do we become Christians? Is it for our selfish gain? This passage in John 6 follows the feeding of the 5,000. These Jews were excited that Jesus could provide for their physical needs like God provided mana from heaven.

But like the Israelites in the old testament they miss the point of Jesus' provision. Jesus is not a divine miracle vending machine. He is the bread of life. We follow Christ not for what he can give us (blessings) but because we recognize who He is. Jesus performed miracles to help us get a glimpse of God's kingdom and our King, Jesus. Why do you want to be with Jesus? To be with Him? Or are we merely using Jesus to get something we want?

A discipleship question

Recently on vacation I was meeting with my mentor and friend Jeff Miller and he asked me this question:

"If you met a new Christian who had never been discipled and you were given 5 days to instill in them everything they would ever learn about being a disciple, what would you share with them? You can only share one idea/value/teaching per day with them. They will never have another chance to learn from anyone else."

What would your 5 be?

My Encounter With an Evil Pothole

My car has been making me sad recently.  It's been going to the mechanic every week for the last 3 weeks to try and detect a leak in my A/C system.  After several visits it's been determined that the leak is nowhere to be found and the most likely candidate is the Evaporator Core.  To get to it it's going to cost something like $600 in labor to have my dash pulled apart in order to even check the thing.

Marie and I resolved to keep fixing this car for the time being because it's still cheaper than buying a new or used car.  So here we are, about to dump $900 in parts and labor into my little Chevy and then the unspeakable happens.  We were driving on our wonderful Alabama Interstate System when I hit a patch in the middle lane of the highway.  We'll call it a pothole, because it felt like one.  As soon as we hit it, my A/C fan started making a terrible noise like something was caught in the vent.  It got louder and angrier and then started smelling like something platic burning.  It cut off completly after that.

I get home and look under my passenger dash and find my blower motor broke one of it's mount screws and fell out!

Thank you Alabama roads for further breaking my car :(

A taste of the awesomeness

Download now or watch on posterous

p77.mov (33141 KB)

The Civil Wars @WorkPlay in Birmingham

Benny Hinn, Ultimate Power

Marie is asleep in the next room and I'm trying with all my strength not to wake her up laughing at this video.  It's brilliant!

"Barton Hollow" | The Civil Wars | Live on The Jay Leno Show (January 14th, 2011)

They absolutely nailed this performance, I'm so excited more people
are getting to hear their music!

Some 2011 Resolutions

I'm not one to make resolutions, but I thought this might be a good idea to put my own personal goals for the year out there. There is something about writing/typing things out that make them more real to me.

So this year...

* I will be slow to add "friends" on Facebook.

I have too many friends already. I value my friends and it is interesting to see what acquaintances are up to. By limiting my Facebook friends, there is less clutter from people I barely know and I can focus on keeping up with those I am more connected with. I'd rather have few Facebook friends and more real life ones.

* I will invest my time in genuine relationships that will be messy and difficult.

Nothing compares to face to face relationships. They can be tough work. But genuine friendships can last a lifetime and make it worth living.

* The thing that will most fascinate and infatuate me will be my relationship with God.

There are so many things in the world that arrest my attention. In 2011, I want to become more focused and attentive to what matters most. Not someone famous, not a new gadget, not my job, or a hobby or even a family member, God is much more fascinating and compelling than any of those things. It's time I devote my mental and physical attention like I believe it.

* I will learn how to be a better leader and a better servant.

As a person seeking to be paid to do ministry this year, I desire to be a better leader by pouring into and serving others sacrificially.

* I will make my marriage second to my relationship with God.

Marie, you're #2! I know that doesn't sound very romantic, but as I let God pour onto me, He enables me to love my wife/family more completely. After all, God is the source of love.

* I will learn to make the most of the present.

I constantly am thinking if the next thing I have to do. I'm obsessed with the future and it's not healthy. This year, I want to fall in love with the present. I want to learn to cherish every moment today. Yesterday is over and can't be changed. The future doesn't exist yet. The only thing I can control is how I live today. The present is a gift to be cherished.

How about you? What is a goal you have this year for yourself and why?

Hitchcock would love this

Download now or watch on posterous

p39.mov (38979 KB)

I took this video at my work today. It was a flock of black birds. Smaller than crows, they had some blue-green coloring around their necks. Anyone know what they are?

Meet Elphie, she's on crack

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p30.mov (7315 KB)

This is normal behavior for her.

Musings on newlywed life and Christmas

It's been a month since I married the incredible Marie Pasco and things are just starting to get settled. Our home looks habitable (just don't go in the bedrooms yet), and we're entertaining our first guests this week.

I have been asked several times "Erik, how does it feel to be married?" Well to be honest, it feels more like a continuation of a great relationship than an entirely new experience. I'm loving it. It's nice to have your best friend living with you and it's awesome to not have to drive home after an evening together.

I spent my first Christmas as a married man with Marie's family. It was a little sad to be away from home in Ohio, but it was exciting to get a little Christmas snow down here in Alabama.

The cool thing about getting married is that all those family traditions you remember growing up with? You get to create your own new traditions. This year Marie and I got to start a few new Christmas traditions we hope to pass on to our children (some day).

Now that things are getting back to semi-normal, I will begin the hard work of finding a new youth ministry position. Marie and I are praying that God would lead us to a community of believers that would allow us to grow and use our unique gifts to minister to teens and families. Please be in prayer with us as we search.

As a new year approaches, I'm reminded of how much God has provided for Marie and I over the last year. 2010 was a great year. Here's to 2011!

Chris and Erik's Alabama sled riding adventure

Download now or watch on posterous

p12.mov (8116 KB)

This is what happens when it snows in Alabama. We used a trunk mat out of Chris's vehicle.

Wedding Pictures

Megan Floyd, our photographer has posted wedding pictures online for all to see.  If you would like to order any of them, you can order them directly from the site where you view them by clicking on the shopping cart.

click here to see the proofs

Sony Music Hates Youth Ministry Video Montages

I grew up in a time of overhead projectors and picture slideshows.  When I was in grade school my idea of "multi-media" was listening to a warbley tape recorder narrate as the faded colors of a slideshow dimly lit up our projector screen.  Our math teacher would write in green dry-erase marker on an overhead slide.  This was the pinnacle of modern technology!  Except that it wasn't.

I grew up in the 80's and 90's but because I attended a public school, often we had a generation old set of technology at our disposal.  It's funny how churches have the same problem of being behind the curve of all things modern.  We still used an overhead projector in high school at my church and sometimes if we were lucky, we could watch a vhs tape on our color projector.  But times have changed, and (most) youth ministries are almost in perfect sync with the newest technologies.  Now we have PowerPoint, Media Shout, lyrics on the screen, videos on the screen, fog machines, laser lights, entire decks of starships fitted with holographic projectors that use intricate force fields to look and feel real (ok, maybe not that last one).  This brings me to a youth ministry staple.  The montage video.

Sure the montage video is nothing new, in fact it began with old slideshow machines synchronized with a tape recorder and mix-tapes.  But now we have computers that can edit our videos and share them with the world on YouTube.  Which brings me to my point for today.

Sony Music hates youth ministry video montages.

Why does a gy-normous record label even care about our lame spliced-together-the-night-before-because-I-was-watching-a-Firefly-marathon-all-day-Saturday videos?  It's all about the music.  You see at no point in the church media revolution of the 2000's did anyone ever teach youth ministry film makers how to capture any audio worth replacing in a montage (unless Jr. High retreat fake-fart noises count).  So to mask our bad audio (and video) capture skills, we throw in some incredibly awesome Christian band (or secular band that sounds Christian, or U2) to make up for it.

If you're showing your wonderful piece of film to a private church group, there's really no problem.  But post the video to YouTube and Sony tracks you down like a hungry teenager after bacon at a breakfast buffet.  You see, the songs or parts of songs that make your video awesome?  Sony owns them.  And for some reason that I can only attribute to being bullied in the 3rd grade, their lawyers are ready to pounce on any unauthorized use of their content.

It's not like we're encouraging our youth to go and steal some music off the internet.  If anything, they might LIKE the music and go buy it.  At any rate, be warned that Sony (and other music labels) roam around like a roaring lion waiting to devour our hard 8 hours worth of work.

Sometimes it takes months (years) for YouTube to identify your montage videos as copyright infringing goods, so there's no immediate reason not to put them there.  You could try and stick it to the man and not use music from the offending record labels (and their subsidiaries), or you could just deal with it and perhaps use Vimeo or Facebook to post the videos instead.