My Resume
I am currently looking for a Children's Pastor position at a theologically conservative, community-focused church that embraces the family ministry philosophy of the Rethink Group.
Join Steven Curtis Chapman in Changing the World of an Orphan [video]
Become a Sponsor Today! from Show Hope on Vimeo.
Get Your Game Face On! [video]
Here are some of the game faces we saw this week at Freedom Sports Camp 2009!
99 Balloons [video]
Because of my own family's loss, this was very hard for me to watch. Please don't ignore the family you know that's going through loss. Don't say anything; just listen and be available.
True Faith
I'm slowly reading and digesting Francis Chan's Crazy Love. This portion really hits me hard.
We live and plan like we don't even believe God exists. We try to set our lives up so that everything will be fine even if God doesn't come through. But true faith means holding nothing back. It means putting every hope in God's fidelity to his promises.
Barack Obama!
I try not to be too political on my blog these days, but this was too funny to pass up.
Lin Pin-Ching Needs a New Home
Lin, Pin-Ching was a very happy boy....things were finally beginning to be brighter in his world! It had been a rough start in life; his birthmother relinquished her rights when she went to jail, leaving him to a series of relatives who were less than kind to him; then he was finally rescued and sent first to a foster home and then to the orphanage. There he began to settle in and learn the routine. They discovered he needed glasses, and provided them so he could see clearly. They gave him the structure in school he needed to perform his best. When he saw a child being bullied, he came to their defense. Sometimes he was the one in trouble, and he learned from his mistakes. Then they told him a family wanted to adopt him and make him their son....he was thrilled! A family of his own! But then the family found they could not continue with the adoption. Pin-Ching was no longer so happy. Another disappointment in the life of this precious boy.
Pin-Ching was born on September 11, 2001 and has mild cerebral palsy, and walks with a very slight limp. He is also flat-footed. He has some difficulty with fine motor skills (holding a pencil can be hard for him), so he would benefit from OT. His glasses seem to have solved his vision problem. Pin-Ching has a positive attitude, and a great sense of humor! He is able to build relationships with others, and interacts well with his peers.
Pin-Ching has waited a long time for something good to happen in his life. He is more than ready for a family to bring him home and love him. With his personality and sense of humor he is sure to be a joyful addition to one very lucky family! But please hurry...Pin-Ching is waiting!
IAAP would ideally like to have a family that already has a current home study or a home study from a previous adoption so they can send the home study ASAP. That is the ideal but contact them even if you do not have either of these and you are interested in adopting him.
Just log on to IAAP's site at http://bringinghopetochildren.org to see and learn more about Pin-Ching.
What I learned at Yosemite (part 2)
Karl Bastian, the leader of our trip to Yosemite and founder of Kidology.org, shared the following poem with us. I want it to be my only ambition.
I am Free
by Karl Bastian
I've given up the need to be needed.
It doesn't matter if I matter.
It's no longer important to be important.
I give up the right to be right.
I won't notice if I'm not noticed.
Being significant is no longer significant.
I won't demand to be in demand.
It won't impact my world if I don't impact the world.
I won't feel dry if I can't make a splash.
My purpose isn't to have a purpose.
I've had enough of not having enough.
I choose to be a human being, not a human doing.
I've traded the race for a simple embrace of life.
I live only to have truly lived
As a child of God.
I am free
Of me.
What I learned at Yosemite (part 1)
This is a little late in coming, but I suppose it's time to start sharing what I experienced at the Yosemite Summit last month. The point of the Summit was for us children's pastors (8 of us, plus our leader, Karl Bastian) to resign from our jobs for a week and reconnect with God. I knew I needed this, but I didn't realize how much so until I got there. The beauty of Yosemite National Park is amazing. Words and pictures just don't do it justice. To be so close to God through nature was an amazing opportunity.
It was refreshing to be with eight other guys who cared about the same things I did, but also had the same struggles as well. I received tremendous insight from hearing Karl talk about his experiences and struggles in ministry and family. He gave us a challenge on the first full day of hiking to think about who we are, apart from being a children's pastor. I had never tried to define myself like that, but I'm glad I did that day. Here's what I realized:
I am a child of God who brings joy to him, regardless of my performance or behavior.
That was such a liberating realization! I cried when I first voiced that sentence to myself. As I thought about my relationship with my own children, I realized that there was nothing they could do to make me stop loving them. I can only assume God feels the same about me. I also thought about how my children's ability to relate to me increases with their maturity. I know the same is true between me and God. I felt like a literal child before God--something I'd never really experienced before--eager to know and enjoy him better. It felt great to not be a children's pastor that day. The guy with all the answers for the kids. The guy who felt the pressure to perform for God, church leaders, parents, and kids. They guy who had let God and others down. For a few days in Yosemite I wasn't any of that. I was just a child of God enjoying his creation, trying to enjoy him as much as I hoped he enjoyed me.