Marathon Youth Ministry

Space Dreaming

cwesley@churchnativity.org (Christopher Wesley) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:38:00 +0000

So the tail light issue that I had yesterday is more than a bulb so I had to take the car to my mechanic, located right by church. When that happens I don't mind so much because one thing I miss about taking public transit is the walk to and from the light rail station. It always gave me an opportunity to day dream and think about what could be in student ministry at Nativity.
As a staff we've talked about making our vision more vivid and what I thought about this morning was vision for a possible student space. On the corner of Ridgely Road and York Road they are building a Walgreens and each day I pass it I think about how awesome it would have been if that lot had been given to us, where we could build a student space.
But, regardless of where the space is located I picture a place where students can hang out all week long, where they can connect after school, do a little homework, blow off some steam. I picture a building three stories high with outdoor patios and balconies with tables and chairs. On one side are basketball courts, the other side is surrounded by grass where students can toss around a frisbee and hangout in the sun. Inside we have a theater for worship, a gymnasium for indoor fun and a mini skate park. There are rooms filled with couches, sack chairs and love seats where small groups can meet. There are rooms filled with sound, video and art equipment where students can explore their gifts and talents. This place is a community center for students where they can refuel, refresh and most important connect in an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ. That's because this place is filled with adults who want to connect and reach out to students of all backgrounds.
I don't know how it'll happen (that's up to God), but I enjoy dreaming about it, because it'll be awesome when it comes true.

Tools for Mishap

cwesley@churchnativity.org (Christopher Wesley) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:17:00 +0000

I got pulled over last night on the way home. I had a tail light out and the officer just gave me a warning...that was nice of him. So I picked up the light bulbs at the store, replaced them, but it wasn't as simple as that. Getting to the old lights were a pain because I didn't have the right tools. Not sure if the new ones work because when the sun is shining bright into your lights it's hard to tell if they are in deed on. So I'll have to wait until tonight. I don't know why but sometimes the simplest of things (like changing a light bulb) can be more difficult that big projects. And I really think it comes down to whether or not we give ourselves the right amount of time to approach a project.
There have been so many times when the simple things have just blown up in my face. It's because they can easily be taken for granted. That can happen on a weekend too. We'll go into a weekend thinking it's just your average student ministry weekend; therefore, everything should go according to plan and then chaos strikes. Batteries in your mic die, you mispronounce the easiest of names, a key piece of a game or activity was not purchased, the tech guy doesn't show up...it can get overwhelming and it gets overwhelming because it was something simple that shouldn't have happened.
What needs to be done is a checklist and an agenda. And that checklist and agenda has to be understood by the whole team, especially if the majority of your team is volunteers. A checklist reviews those things that should work and those things that are new. An agenda not only maps out the night but it holds everyone accountable to stick to a certain time frame. If you are constantly going over your allotted time it indicates that you are one not prepared or two that you haven't thought out the segment. Agendas and checklist aren't meant to be in stone but they are there to help you not overlook the simple things and find yourself frustrated because of some "Act of Satan". I can't guarantee weekend perfection but I know that when you walk into a situation (regular or not) with the right tools you can cut down on the mishaps or at least recover from them quickly.

Emotional Hurricane

cwesley@churchnativity.org (Christopher Wesley) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 13:39:00 +0000

I've spent much of the last couple of weekends cleaning junk out of my house and creating space. One reason is because we need to make as much room as possible for our first child, but to tell you the truth this is something we probably needed to do a while back. My wife and I have lived in our house for almost two years and we are finally getting around to hanging pictures, shelves, cleaning out closets, throwing away junk and so on.
Strangely enough I've been doing the same in my office, which has been just as much of a challenge. I think a lot of youth ministers by heart are pack rats or at least collectors. I don't know where it all started for me, but I know when it comes to certain areas of my life I hate throwing stuff out. I'll hold onto food past the expiration date (well past it), I have books from college (I studied Electronic Media), I think I even have a t-shirt from middle school. My office to me is organized, to my Pastor it looks as if a hurricane hit...what can I say, I'm a youth minister.
But, one thing I will agree with is that the state of your office/room/house reflects how you are feeling. Now, I'm not an emotional hurricane, but I will admit there are times when my office looks worse than a mess. And if I don't take the time to address the mess it will take over my life and even though I don't like doing it, I do take the time every once and a while to purge through the junk in my office. It's hard for me to go through the mess because it means facing a lot of things I have a hard time letting go of, a lot of things I just don't want to lose. But in the end I feel better, in the end when I look at my clean office, I breathe a sigh of relief. It's like our emotions, sometimes they clutter up, sometimes they are hard to let go of and often we need to address them. So what do you need to clean out?

Embracing Grief

cwesley@churchnativity.org (Christopher Wesley) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:36:00 +0000

Tonight Nick one of the point people for Uprising is giving the message to the students and he is speaking on grieving and loss. As soon as I hear those words the idea of death comes to my mind but what the topic really covers is so much more. And while it's difficult to move past the death of someone we know, it's important that we recognize other losses in our lives. I think if we don't acknowledge the other losses in our lives we won't be true to our emotions. So what's a loss...the simplest way I can put it is: A transition or change in ones life from one thing to another.
A loss that I didn't really acknowledge for a while was the move I made from Baltimore City into the county. I love the city, wasn't planning on being there forever, but I loved the experience of living there. When Kate and I moved out there was excitement for owning our first home, having a driveway and a yard. The excitement lasted for a while but then came sense of loss when I began to realize that in order to get from point A to point B the only real option was driving. No more was I privy to walking out, hopping on the light rail or going a block to hit up Rite Aid. I also realized going into the inner harbor involved looking for parking, the way I did things changed, even the way I ran...no longer was it easy to find new routes...if I wanted to run somewhere new I had to drive to get there. Part of me was sad and I grieved, but now that I've been in my house for about 2 years, I'm finding the joys of the new place I'm in. Do I miss the city? Sure, but I don't want to move back any time soon. Was it bad for me to grieve this change in my life? No, because it gave me time to realize what I had and what I was being given was a blessing from God.
In any kind of change there is a risk of grieving, but instead of that being ignored it should be embraced. And not every change has apparent blessings, it's not like you can say, this happened, that person died or I'm moving on because God wants this in my life. The grieving is the beginning of that discernment.
I believe Nick is going to do well in explaining that tonight to the students and I look forward to hearing their reaction. We want the students to embrace the path God puts them on, not ignore it. So, what do you need to embrace?

Sexy Pastries

cwesley@churchnativity.org (Christopher Wesley) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:34:00 +0000

Satan is attacking the church...or at least me...I gave up sweets for Lent and every day by the coffee machine, piles of baked pastries, cookies...even whole cakes appear and they look soooo good. It's funny to think that this would have such an affect on me considering that I've given up sweets before...but for some reason this is harder than anything else I've ever given up.
One year I gave up meat...not a problem, in fact discovered a world of wonderful vegetarian meals. One year I gave up television before 8pm...not a problem in fact found myself reading, spending more quality time with God and my wife. And one year I gave up NCAA brackets...which was tough but so doable compared to this.
But, I had to give up sweets because they were becoming a large problem. With a child on the way, with preparing for the Lenten season (huge around church), I was finding comfort in a blob of ice cream sitting on top of a creamed filled doughnut... 4 nights in a row. That's bad, it's insane. So this morning was tough when a childrens minister offered me a doughnut...not that there's anything wrong with that, she didn't know, but I felt this need to express my angst.
Anyway, today I offer up a prayer for all of us tempted by something in this world, because we all desire to be filled by something. And while that something should be God we often look for that something in a quart of ice cream, bottom of a bottle, online or at home. So all of you facing a temptation to fall, I'm praying for you.

Getting Through A Dark Room

cwesley@churchnativity.org (Christopher Wesley) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:04:00 +0000

It was hard to get to writing because it's definitely been a world of emotions. It's been a challenge processing them, but I'm moving through it. Probably the toughest thing about emotions is identifying them, that's when we enter into a dark period of our lives. Dark periods in our lives are similar to walking through a dark room. It slows down our usual pace of life, we get fearful of falling and running into obstacles, we become doubtful whether or not we can get through, we panic and usually we stop and get stuck in the dark periods.
When we hit these times we need to keep moving and granted we might hit obstacles, we might fall, we might get a little disoriented but we just have to remember that God will guide us through, pick us up and take us to the light. When we hit the dark periods it's also okay to slow down, take your time and process what you are feeling and let it play out. I think some people feel it's wrong to cry, be angry, excited or nervous, but in the end it's good...in the end emotions are good. When we check below the surface and draw out what's going on, it will draw us out of the dark.

Live By The Series Die By The Series

cwesley@churchnativity.org (Christopher Wesley) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:04:00 +0000

After last night I realize that I'm living in a sea of emotions...well, not me personally, but the entire ministry. There seemed to be emotions emerging from students, ministers and parents. Nothing bad really, just unexpected...well sort of...let me explain. Each time we do a powerful series I seem to live through it in a way that's intense.

Three years ago during our Lenten series 40 days of Prayer, we focused on connecting with God, going through the desert periods in life and at that time I was going through a desert. I felt alone in ministry and questioned whether or not I was in the right place. It had nothing to do with staff dynamics, I've always felt supported by staff, it was just a period of self reflection and self examination, a time where I really needed to discern God's path for me.
Last year's Lenten series was Tug of War where we focused on the spiritual battle going on inside of us and around us and man did I feel it. With the loss of my mother in law and several other events I felt constantly attacked by Satan, constantly bombarded by sadness, disappointment and loss, to recover from all of that felt insane.
This past fall we had another one of stewardship series where my wife and I committed to get our finances in order with a baby on the way, the day after this commitment my car kicked the bucket. Saving for a new baby and a used but baby safe car was stressful and the message of giving more to God, relinquish control of your finances to God, was tough, but we did it.
Now comes Sfumato (or as we are calling it in student programming Me Myself and I Am) and while I expect with a baby on the way for new emotions to surface in my life, I'm definitely seeing emotions emerge from the people around me.

I've always been faithful in the fact that God works through this church, but to see Him work through individuals blows my mind. There is a lot inside of us that needs to be let out, approached and nurtured. There is a lot of us who need to be freed from sin and darkness, and a lot of us that need God to heal what's broken inside. I don't know what other people think, I would like to know how the message series have lived out in other people's lives. I just pray that during this season the people of this community take advantage of what this church offers to help with this process of emotional health. I pray that people check out Crowne Plaza, that people join a small group, that they check out the God Trust ministers and I pray that teenagers who go to our church find the healing they need in Ascent, Resurrection and Uprising. This church isn't for church people and it isn't just for adults...it's for anyone who wants to meet the God who loves them and wants to heal them. So how are you taking advantage of the series?

Listening To The Speaker

cwesley@churchnativity.org (Christopher Wesley) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 13:54:00 +0000

It's the beginning of another weekend, and I'm walking in, through and out of it differently than before. This past Thursday at Uprising, Tom Corcoran gave a message on entering into other people's worlds to get a better perspective of who they are, where they are coming from and to show them that you care about them. For me Thursday, this weekend and the next few will be a practice of that. I will go from speaker to crowd minister...something I've rarely done.
This isn't the first time we've had a speaker who wasn't me, it's just one of the first times I've been there to hear someone speak. In the past it's been done as a substitution for when I'm not there, but this time around I want to be able to take a step back and see the program from the eyes of my ministers.
I'm don't want to share too many thoughts until I have done this a couple of times, but the one thing I will share is how much I enjoyed sitting with the students during the message. It helped me get a sense of where they are, even if it was just one evening.
As an adult it's hard for me to remember all the pain, confusion and growth a teenager goes through and I'm not sure how or even if I want to remember it all. But, I can't just go around acting like I know what's cool, what's real in their lives or what's in their path, I know there are a million different variations to the core hurts, to the big problems, to the ever changing life of a teenager. So, to be affective in the life of a teenager it's important to enter into their world and that really comes down to doing one thing...listening to them. But, that's easier said than done right? Because most teenagers won't talk, or they won't talk about anything deep...I don't know about that...most relationships also involve investing yourself into someone's life, you can't expect someone to open up right after they introduce them self. This whole entering into other people's world, takes time, takes practice, takes a few awkward conversations before it really shapes up into something deep. Even though it might be awkward or difficult, once you enter into a teens world and help them open up amazing things happen.

What We Are Not Won't Help

cwesley@churchnativity.org (Christopher Wesley) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:27:00 +0000

Kate (my wife) and I had our small group last night which I had to say was one of the best we ever had. A lot had to do with the fact that the questions at the end of the message really pushed the group to go deeper into how they were feeling. One of the questions asked us to write down four emotions (Happiness, Anger, Fear and Sadness) and then describe at that moment what things were triggering those emotions.
One thing I have not shared on this blog, but I will today is that in two weeks I will be a father, something I'm happy about and something I'm constantly thinking about so you could see how that fits into the Happy and Fear categories. But what I found interesting about the exercise was what popped into the Anger and Sadness sections.
I found myself SAD because of the possibility of not hanging with students tonight because of the snow. The fact that I may not see them, talk to them about Christ, laugh, and listen to them depressed me a bit. But the fact that I felt sad, let me know that I do love them and was a reassurance to me that I love what I do and that I am in the right place.
I found myself ANGRY because of two things. 1. the possibility of snow ruining the chance for me to hang with students and 2. the frustration I have felt lately in communicating what exactly it is I do. Let me explain:
I know what I do, I know my job, I know my role, the staff knows my job, they know my role, the ministers know my job and they know my role....but...there are a lot of people out there that don't know exactly what it is that I do and what it is exactly our student ministries do here at Church of the Nativity. Over the past 5 1/2 years we've seen a steady growth, a healthy growth in the attendance of students at programming; however, the breakthrough in attendance that the rest of the church is experiencing squashes our results. There's like 3500 - 4000 people who come here on a weekend 120 of them are the students involved in our programs. But that means there are still 780 teenagers who are a part of this church who don't. Why? That's what I'm angry about...I have never been sure why...until after some random conversations here and there, that people aren't exactly sure of what our student programs are. And I've spent a lot of time telling people what we aren't: We aren't religious Ed, CCD, Sunday School, Youth Group, or Life Teen. And that's probably the problem is that I've spent too much time telling people what we aren't instead of what we are. It would be like someone asking me, "What's your name?" and me replying, "Well, it's not Carl, it's not Bob, it's not Steven, and it's not Eric." Would I really be answering their question...no. So what is the student ministry at Church of the Nativity...it's this:
It's church for teens...there's contemporary music, a message designed to inspire teens in their Christian faith, activities and small groups to help them go deeper and form Christian bonds. Essentially our student programs (Upward Ministries) meet consistently in irresistible environments to form authentic relationships in the name of Jesus Christ. Upward Ministries (our student ministry) is Authentic, Consistent and Irresistible Ministry. I hope that clears it up.

Change in Routine

cwesley@churchnativity.org (Christopher Wesley) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:39:00 +0000

I'm having a hard time figuring out what to do next...which is funny for me because I keep a pretty disciplined schedule of the things I need to do; however, with not speaking these next couple of weeks, writing days (today) are a little different. In fact I'm not sure if my weekly schedule is working the way I had hoped, or maybe I've just gotten lazy, overwhelmed or preoccupied? The case could also be that the thief (Satan) is trying to make me feel that way so that I abandon the plan that I have set out. So that brings up a good question, "When do you change your routine and when do you just stick it through?"
I'm going to say it depends on the fruit that you bear. If you feel as if you aren't bearing fruit or that the fruit of your labor is rotten then you probably have to change your routine. But before you go xing your whole process, think about what in your schedule is causing you the most work...what feels like toil. Also look at the time you work, are morning just too difficult, is getting in early really hard?
We all hit tough times, desert spots, dark times and most of the time its because we need to grow, we need to experience a little bit of loss...it's like a pruning stage. But the important thing to remember is that God is with us, even when things are tough, even when we don't feel His presence, He is near.

Gifts of Expression

cwesley@churchnativity.org (Christopher Wesley) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 12:44:00 +0000

One of the largest frustrations in my life has been the inability to express myself in a clear and constructive way. As a teenager the emotions I felt during my parents divorce were intense and so over the top that they were often expressed in fits of anger and rebellion. When this happened there was conflict with my family and friends, when I was unable to express my emotions clearly I began to isolate myself. When you isolate yourself the major downside is coming out of that isolation, it's like climbing up a huge hill, not sure if you'll ever make it to the top.
It wasn't until I got this job, and really began to take my faith seriously that I realized the best way to express myself is through what God has given me. Cooking, running, playing the piano, and guitar are all gifts God has given me to express my emotions. And while I'm not a master chef, professional runner or musician the reason I use these gifts is because that's when I feel God work through me. Cooking is an expression of my love. Feeding others, giving people nourishment brings me great joy. Running is an expression of being loved, God loves me, wants me to be free, when I run I feel free and I feel His joy. Music is an expression of sorrow and loss, when pluck the strings, pound the keys its over something I once had, once loved or am not sure how to handle. Music helps me sort out the sorrow, the pain and the love that can burn deep inside.
Another benefit to all these gifts are their abilities to help me slow down my life. Our inability to express ourselves comes from not taking the time to think and articulate how we feel and that's something I want to give that to students. I want to give them the steps to take the time to reflect and articulate how they are feeling, I want them to connect with God and discover the gifts He's given them to express their emotions.

God in Your Day

cwesley@churchnativity.org (Christopher Wesley) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:15:00 +0000

I did something that I had not done the last 2 weeks...worked out. I haven't been able to run due to the obscene amounts of snow still on walkways, and as much as I love running, in the middle of the streets with Maryland drivers would be insane. But I also used the snow and not belonging to a gym as an excuse from any physical activity. Finally this morning I did some core strength exercises (i.e. sit-ups) for 30 minutes...something small, but still felt good.
With this new series Me Myself and I AM (big church calls it Sfumato) we are all about looking inside and seeing what's beneath the surface. For me working out is a great way of getting out what's going on beneath the surface; however, it only works if I include God in my workouts. Now, that doesn't mean I do aerobics for God, or I run to worship music, for me it means spending time with God before I hit the pavement, weights or mat. And the reason I need to spend time with God before I workout is because I need to constantly remind myself to put him first, or else He quickly drops down on my priority list.
I wish I knew how to communicate and make it stick for students to embrace the importance of keeping God at the top. But, unlike previous generations, this one can receive huge amounts of information at once with a message of "You can do it all", making it difficult to understand the importance of prioritization. I know for me alone it's difficult to put God first and not leave my time with Him as a quick prayer before I fall asleep. I know if I can give my first moments of the day to God, He will set me up for success.

So you have to ask yourself, "Where do you put God in your day?" and "Is it working?"

Internally and Externally

cwesley@churchnativity.org (Christopher Wesley) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 14:08:00 +0000

We begin Sfumato, ME MYSELF AND I AM, Berry Blast Theme Park and Nativity Crowne Plaza this weekend. So nothing major is happening. But in all reality this is a big weekend and the beginning to a big series. A lot has to do with the fact that we are tackling some big issues, some deep issues.

With The Message Series: We will be tackling what lies underneath, the issues that no one sees, the things that lie inside that need to be drawn out.

With Nativity Crowne Plaza: We will be tackling a new frontier, a new way of doing church, a new way of reaching out to people.

The great thing about both these ventures is that they encourage this church to grow, they help us grow internally and externally. The question that we need to think about is, "How will people respond?" because if this church is meant to grow, it's the people who need to grow, the church members who need to grow. I pray that during this season people embrace the message series and our invitation to invite someone they know to Nativity Crowne Plaza...because a growing church is an amazing thing to witness.

Off Kilter

cwesley@churchnativity.org (Christopher Wesley) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:09:00 +0000

I'm nervous about tonight and I think it's because we haven't done this in a while (2 weeks). I think it'll be awesome, but I really want it to be awesome, so it makes me nervous...I'm not sure if that makes sense. Lent is a big kickoff, it's a season where people are more focused on their faith, on their spiritual life and I want to make sure we guide the students of this community along the right path.
It's going to be interesting to see who comes back because when you don't do something in a while it gets hard to get started up. I know that's how I've felt about my running. With the snow, I haven't run for 2 weeks, my back is hurting, I feel out of it and it's because my whole system is knocked off. When I don't run, I eat poorly, I sleep poorly, I don't do any of my other exercises. But it's good that I recognize that, because I recognize that running is one of the core values of my health. The core value of my spiritual health? It's definitely corporate worship. As an extrovert I feel alive when I'm surrounded by others, when I worship in a large group setting I feel on fire. How to make that happen continuously can be a challenge, but I know it's important to have a core value...because without, things can seem off kilter.

A Few New Voices

cwesley@churchnativity.org (Christopher Wesley) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:35:00 +0000

Wireless Internet is down, I have my computer plugged into an Ethernet chord, I'm just happy to have an Ethernet connection. Anyway, I'm trying to get things pumped up and ready for the weekend. Week 1 of Me Myself and I AM begins this Thursday and I'm hoping that we get started on a high note. Throughout this series we'll be trying a couple of new things, and that's what I want to share with you all over the next few days.

The first "New Thing" or "Experiment" we are going to try this series is to have a different speaker for each week. I've had different people speak at program in the past, but this will be the first time where we go multiple weeks in a row. Two of the other speakers are staff (Tom and Kristin) and the other two speakers are ministers (Nick and Sami). I'm excited to see how this will work because it'll give the students some new perspectives. It will also give the messages a new voice, not that mine is becoming mundane, but it'll give us a chance to freshen things up. The other benefit to other speakers is that it will give me a chance to step back and observe the program from a different light. It will allow me to see things I probably don't see before. I'm hoping new speakers will bring about margin to the weekends, but also bring it to a new level of discipleship for the students.

Eliminating the Noise

cwesley@churchnativity.org (Christopher Wesley) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:00:00 +0000

Lent starts tomorrow with Ash Wednesday and like most Catholics I think about what I'm going "give up" this season. And the number one thing right now has to be sweets, which seems like a standard sacrifice. But I'm also going to try and take on some more quiet time with God, so I'm going to look at my schedule and see where there is noise and look at how I can eliminate some of the noise that is around me. Right off the bat one place I can think of is in the morning when I usually watch television, I don't really enjoy what I watch, but it's background noise; therefore, that can be eliminate. Another place I can eliminate noise is during my car rides, no radio, no CD's, no Ipod, just silence. I'm sure as the season goes on I can identify other places where noise consumes my life.
On a similar note I'm finding the most difficult day for me to connect with God right now is Tuesdays...today. Driving into work this morning I had this anxious feeling towards staff prayer time. I use to blame the format of our staff prayer time on these feelings; however, I think the reality of the situation is a reluctance to show God what's really going on inside. And what's funny is, there isn't really anything horrible going on inside, but temptation and Satan are telling me that prayer is a waste of time. But, that would be dumb, because when is being with God really a waste of time? That's why I need to eliminate the noise in my life this Lenten season, because it serves as a distraction and a temptation to ignore His voice, and if I'm going to continue to do what god wants me to do, then it would only make sense to listen. And even though nothing "horrible" is going on, we always need God to work on what's going on inside.

Odd Weekends

cwesley@churchnativity.org (Christopher Wesley) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 16:36:00 +0000

Last night was a little rough because the circumstances exposed our need for a better system. The system I'm talking about is how we deal with "Odd Weekends". An Odd Weekend is a weekend where there is no series because of the calendar (i.e. Palm Sunday) or because of the weather (i.e. the recent weather causing us to wait a week before we launched our Lenten Series).
Other student ministries do a "Best of Weekend" on these "Odd Weekends". Basically the premise is to create a weekend worship where you do the best songs, games, activities and messages. There are no small groups, the focus is more corporate worship, but the theme or subject is something that you can breakdown in one night. The purpose of these evenings is to do what we do best (so you aren't recreating the wheel), which gives ministers a small break. Plus they break things up, give pause to the regular schedule so that people don't get caught in the same old, same old.
So what are these themes? What are these games? What are these songs that we are the best at and the students enjoy so much so that when we do a "Best of Weekend" it can be fun and enjoyable? Guess we'll have to ask around.

Chutes and Ladders

cwesley@churchnativity.org (Christopher Wesley) — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 13:59:00 +0000

Yesterday morning I hosted a day retreat for my ministers where we focused on embracing the vision here at Church of the Nativity, in Upward Ministries (the youth ministry) and for their own personal ministry. It was so good to have some time to love on the other ministers, to give them some food, some training and some encouragement. I wish I could do more and give them more in regards to training but my energy has been spent on other things at this moment. But, the format we chose, the way we did this retreat was easier to pull off then any other training I had done before.
I had two students come in to lead worship, and help with tech and the passing out of materials. Played a video message from Perry Noble (Pastor of NewSpring Church in South Carolina) at the 2009 Catalyst West Conference and then I facilitated two table group activities. The first activity was called Mission Man, where we had the ministers draw a picture and write the characteristics of a 17 year old follower of Christ.
The next activity was called Chutes and Ladders where each table had to recreate the board game with three chutes and three ladders. The point was to create a path that we want teenagers to travel so that they could become these 17 year old followers of Christ. The chutes symbolized pitfalls and obstacles that would stand in the way of this teenagers path and the ladders symbolized assimilation and accelerators to help the teen.
Right now I'm processing their data, and so far it's been interesting to see how each group perceived the activity. It was also interesting to see what they listed as an obstacle, and what they listed as an acceleration. In the end we'll use this information to examine where the team is focused and how we can enable them to set-up some of these accelerators and create warning signs from falling down the chutes.

"Snow Day"

cwesley@churchnativity.org (Christopher Wesley) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:04:00 +0000

The sun is out, so there is hope and I'm hoping for no more snowpocalypses. It's been enough and I'm happy to say with my street plowed and salted, I'll be able to get to work to hold our "snow day" for students where we'll take over the snow that surrounds the church, have some snow ball fights, build snowmen and play a little football...should be a good time. This snow has been a good challenge for programming, with our big "Lenten Series" beginning this weekend it was important for me to get some relevant message to the students. Plan A is what we are doing tonight which is to have some fun in the snow and then going inside for some hot chocolate, pizza, music, message, fun and games. I feel that most students just want to get out of the house and we want to give them that opportunity. Our Plan B would have been to video record my message, post it online and create an opportunity for students to watch and comment. We would have lost the community aspect of our program but it would have enabled them to get thinking about the series.
With the recent snow events that have been plaguing the Mid Atlantic it's really brought about an awareness of how to be flexible and how to adapt to the changing surroundings. While I don't mind the challenge, I'm hoping we just have to deal with anymore snow.

Getting Mobile

cwesley@churchnativity.org (Christopher Wesley) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:22:00 +0000

Working from home today, but I'm sure most of Baltimore is too. This time the whole North East gets to enjoy what we in the Mid Atlantic have enjoyed these last ten days. I'll tell you it's beautiful out, but with the inability to run...I'm getting a little cabin fever. And for those of you who are like, "Chris why don't you run on a treadmill?" I'll tell you, "If God wanted me to run on a treadmill He would have made me a hamster." I like being mobile.
But in all reality, this gives me a chance to write messages for the current series "Me Myself and I Am" and then look ahead to our series "Dangerous Church" (That's big churches title). That one I look forward to because it's all about the Acts of the Apostles. I enjoy reading Acts because it is an adventure story about an underground movement, that goes global, people die for what they believe in, the world changing with each chapter. I'm hoping that with that series we can get the students excited about their faith in a way where they see believing as a rebellious thing and not a conformity. I hope the students see this series as a way of grabbing onto something they can believe in, a story they can be a part of, instead of something that happened to a bunch of old dead guys. It'll be interesting.

More About The Snow

cwesley@churchnativity.org (Christopher Wesley) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:40:00 +0000

I did more shoveling yesterday, and I'll probably do more tonight and then tomorrow because of the upcoming storm. That would make 6 days in a row of shoveling. It's kind of amazing to see how under resourced we are to handle storms like this...I'm sure if we were up north it would slow things down for a little bit, but roads would be cleared in a matter of hours. It almost feels like this area worked their butts off to get rid of snow, to persevere and then just gave up. I know that's not what really happened, but there is a boat load of streets that haven't been plowed, sidewalks are nowhere to be found, cars (that are driving around) have 2ft of snow on them...it feels as if the area has been defeated.
I don't want the snow to slow us down at Nativity, that's why I'm really hoping and pushing to have Uprising (high school program) on Thursday, even if it looks different, it'll be good to get the students out and it'll be good to get this next series started. And even when there isn't snow it can be tough to push through the burdens, obstacles and weight of life to get ministry to move forward. There's burnout, parents, pastors, life change, tragedy, etc. that can derail a ministry, but as long as you work through it, focus on Christ, realize that this is just a moment in time, all those obstacles become nothing. The snow is from God, but not to punish us, it's here and we are all learning something different from it, but the 3ft and counting is a blessing because it shows just how powerful He is and can remind us how powerful His love is.

A Lot To Learn From 2ft+ Of Snow

cwesley@churchnativity.org (Christopher Wesley) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:09:00 +0000

It is safe to say that Baltimore is overwhelmed by the recent snowfall and with another chance of 5+ inches forget about it. I know other places in the country might be laughing at us, but listen we just tripled our seasonal average of snowfall (20 inches to 60 inches) and we don't have the resources other areas have and I don't care what you drive, driving through 2 feet of unplowed snow is ridiculous.
And all this ridiculousness makes me nervous about Uprising this Thursday because of the snow that's supposed to come Tues/Wed. I just don't like the idea of canceling programs. I love what I do, I love coming to work, I love being with the students and I think this snow storm has helped this feeling emerge. Don't get me wrong, I loved being at home with my wife, but today she is working so if it was between being at home alone or working with students, I'll pick the latter. There's a lot to learn from 2ft-3ft of snow and this is just what happens to be on my heart.

Snow 1 Church 0

cwesley@churchnativity.org (Christopher Wesley) — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 19:35:00 +0000

The snow was too much...well the snow with the Super Bowl was too much. Having church opened was just not going to happen. I thought to myself, "Why would God do this?"...maybe He's a football fan, after all this is the first time the Saints are in the Super Bowl...maybe we have to slow things down...but I found myself working on more stuff then I would in a usual weekend. So why did Baltimore get about 3 feet of snow? I don't know but what it did give me the opportunity to do was meet my neighbors. Now, don't get me wrong I know the people who live to the left and right but across the street, down the street and all around was a little bit of a mystery. So this morning, after shoveling what was left in my driveway, I went around and helped the neighbors. Learned some good stuff, struck up some awkward conversations (i.e. you like stuff?) and made some good connections. I don't know about other places in the world, but when a storm hits Baltimore it seems like communities come together, hang out and enjoy what they can. So again, "Why did God send a 3 foot blizzard to Baltimore?" Not sure, but it did give me the opportunity to make connections and maybe bring a connection to others between them and Christ.

Slow Snow

cwesley@churchnativity.org (Christopher Wesley) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:20:00 +0000

We are about 24 hours from a huge snow storm that seems to be changing a lot of plans for me., which at first was frustrating but now I'm learning to embrace it. It'll give me a chance to slow things down that I've been rushing through, so that should be good. Probably the one thing that I need to slow down and analyze is the efficiency of our ministry.

Are new ministers coming in with a lot of momentum?
Are seasoned ministers burning out or cruising through?
Is there still momentum in the student programs?
Are our resources falling apart?
Are we just trying to get to the end or conquering another hill?

This Lenten season we are going into has always been a season that's been emotionally exhausting on a personal level and this year will be no different, but I hate the idea of just trudging through it to get to June, I want to not only pound through it but come out stronger than before. In order to answer the questions I listed above I need to answer and address the questions below:

Where are my expectations?
Are people/programs meeting them?
Are my expectations too high or too low?

It's this whole fine tuning, balancing things out so that we can keep building momentum strategy that needs to be put together. And how that happens I don't know, all I know is that God needs to be a part of it and that I'm blessed because my ministry team has brought me to the position of figuring this out. So let it snow so that I can slow things down.

Mission Movement

cwesley@churchnativity.org (Christopher Wesley) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:54:00 +0000

We did an exercise as a staff where we were to pretend that we were at lunch with someone talking to them about our church and on a napkin we needed to write our mission, values and strategy. It was reassuring to hear that when it came to mission we were for the most part aligned; however, there were some different perspectives.
The real challenge came to discussing our values...not because we agreed or didn't agree, but because you can see that our hearts as a staff prioritize each value differently. What might be important to one, may not be to another. But the most interesting debate in my eyes came to the values of Excellence and Creativity. Half the staff saw Excellence as the highest value (of course after loving God) and then the other half of the staff saw Creativity as the highest value (of course after loving God).
The argument for excellence was that no matter what we do we plan, process and proceed in a way that demands excellence and nothing else. That with all risks we measure out foreseeable consequences and benefits.
The argument for creativity replied that we wouldn't be moving in the direction that we were moving if it weren't for a drive to take risks, to think outside the box, to go above and beyond. And even if it were crappy, if we believed that it moved us in the direction God wanted us to go, we would do it and if we were mistaken we would learn.
In the end it was decided that both creativity and excellence go hand in hand when it comes to this church. One moves the other, one is the left foot and the other is the right foot. But, what drives our desire to be creative and excellence in the end comes from our mission which is to Love God, Love others and Make Disciples.