Elections Inspector

Wow. This story is too good to pass up!
So in November, on November the 3rd to be exact, my wife and I went to the church down the road to vote in the local elections. My wife takes voting VERY seriously, and has started to rub off on me a little bit.

So as I stood in the booth looking at the screen, I had picked out everyone I was voting for. Some positions I knew going into the booth who I would be voting for. Mayor of Pittsburgh, a couple of City Council Members, a Judge here or there. But from there, if I didn't have any prior knowledge, or just didn't care, I would vote for whoever had the coolest sounding name. This might seem dumb, but it's never failed me before.

Until now.

Because as I scrolled through the names available to me on that fateful day, I realized that there was absolutely no one running for Elections Inspector. That wouldn't do! Who would inspect the elections? Where would we find such a hero if no one was willing to do the job? And so, doing something I've dreamed about doing since high school, I wrote in my own name.

I figured this was slightly more responsible than nominating David Crowder or something like that. You might think I'm a horrible person, that I didn't take the election process seriously enough. You would be right. But I figured nothing terrible could come of this, right? I mean, it was only one vote. No one else would be writing my name in.

Well, remember how they say that one vote DOES make a difference?

Today I received a letter in the mail informing me on my recent victory! One vote was more than enough to get me into the Election Inspector's office for my ward, and so I am now an elected official. Well, I will be once I notarize the stuff and send it in. I thought about declining, but I need to own up for what I did, and it seems like a pretty cool gig to boot. I knew when I wrote myself in that it would have to be for a position I was ok with doing if I won, and that is absolutely what happened.

So we'll add that to the olde resume. For one day a year I get to gorge myself on awesome hot dogs and all the donuts and coffee I can handle, and inspect all the elections. I know we'll be in this neighborhood for at least one more year, so we'll see how long I last at my post.

But it is safe to say that this is one of the best stories I've ever been a part of!

Godspeed,

Jason

Revolutionary Christians

I've been thinking about this post for a while. I've felt this lack of revolutionary motivation in my world lately, and I think I know where the root of the problem is.

First of all, this all got swimming in my head again today because I read this article by Shane Claiborne. It's a letter written in Esquire, which is most notably not a Christian Magazine. To write that openly and honestly in that venue takes some guts, and I applaud Shane for taking the time to put those thoughts on paper.

It's one of those things that gets me all excited. I feel like there's this box around Christianity and Christians in general, and we are so terrible at stepping outside the box and engaging the world. There's a way things are done, and we shouldn't depart from it. But this letter doesn't live in the box (neither does Shane if you know anything about him). And that kind of attracts me to to it.

It feels like Jesus lives in actions like this. Jesus would want us to hang with people on the fringes, on the outside, the kind that the religious elite would despise. And that's what makes a revolution. It's not dressing like a hippie, wearing thick rimmed glasses, and looking down on people who don't drink fairly traded coffee. It's going where Jesus would go. It's being where the spirit would lead you. It's getting in tune with God's will in your life.

Francis Chan noted at the NYWC this year that you couldn't start a revolution any more than you could create waves in the ocean. It's not like I could sit here at my desk and come up with revolutionary ideas and implement them by dinner time. The truth is, we need to be open to the Spirit's leading, and trying our hardest to be in lock-step with Jesus' agenda, rather than trying to create our own.

So may we listen with open ears, see with open eyes, and pray with open hearts for Christ's leading in our lives.

Godspeed,

Jason

You Tube Round Up #5: Mario Kart Love Song

If you know us at all, you know that we love us some Mario Kart. We played so much that we actually wore down the disc. While we're waiting for me to be not lazy about getting a new disc, there's this for you. It's somewhere between sweet and dorky, so you know, right in my wheelhouse.

Enjoy!
Godspeed,

Jason

Pop goes the worship!

(Edit: After starring at that picture for a while, I realize just how creepy it is. She's going to eat your brain. Don't stare for too long. You'll turn to stone. Ok, I'm done now...)

On Wednesday, Ed tried something that I thought was kind of insane. During worship, he inserted the chorus of "Replay" by IYAZ into our normal rendition of "Forever" by Chris Tomlin. The words are as follows:

"Shawty like a melody in my head that I can't keep out got me singing like "na na na na" every day. Like my iPod's stuck on replay."

Now, the true professionals among us can justify this by noting that OBVIOUSLY God is Shawty. Even the most grizzled theologian can reach that conclusion. But I think one of the more basic question that reaches each of us is "Should I include a Miley Cyrus song in my worship service?"

I've racked my brain for the better part of thirty seconds, and came up with some tips for helping you discern the right time to throw down with Jay-Z.

1. Are there curse words? This is a deal breaker unfortunately. Unless you're Mark Driscoll. Then go for it. But seriously, probably not a good idea at that point.
   
2. Do you have to change the words? This one might be a bit snobby of me, but as a song writer is drives me crazy when people change the words to someone else's song. I know that one word is driving you nuts, and if it wasn't there it would make the perfect song for your situation. But it's not your song, and one word is more than enough reason not to do it. Plus, your kids are probably going to hear the song on the radio anyway, hear that word, and think that you've endorsed it. Just don't do it. Fight temptation.
   
3. Just a dab will do ya! Don't think you have to cover the whole song. I think the drop in is the most effective strategy here. Just a chorus, or a bridge, will do just fine. For Replay/Forever, Ed just stole the chorus, which was more than enough to get the point across, and fit the topic pretty well.
   
4. Look for a song that's already out there. This one's more for the musicians, but try to find something that fits musically with what you're doing. I'll give away the big one Ed and I were holding on to, that Jordin Sparks "Battlefield" is IDENTICAL to Awesome God. Listen to it again. It's exactly the same. That's handy for the in and out drop in.
   

So there are some suggestions. Have you ever tried this before? Leave some comments below!

Godspeed,

Jason

You Tube Round Up #4: Boggie Body.

I'm actually slightly busy today, so I don't know how many blog posts will find their way up today. But this is disturbing enough to keep you busy for the entire day! I don't even really know if this is suitable for minors...

Godspeed,

Jason

A generous offer.

Hello friends,
This morning, former YS president and all around awesome guy Marko made the following offer on his blog:

so here’s what i’m offering: i’ll come to consult with you or have lunch with you or, shoot, mow your freakin’ lawn for absolutely free, if you spring for my united round trip ticket and i can do it in one day (without an overnight). if you need me to stay a night (like, because you want me to speak in the evening to your youth group or women’s quilting club), i’ll do the same thing, but will offer an absurdly reduced honorarium off my normal rate.

Unfortunately, by the time Ed and I read this offer, he had already made his plans. How awesome would it have been to bring Marko to Veritas? VERY!

But as we were sitting in the office, Ed realized that it was actually a pretty sweet idea, so we want in on that. We'll make the same deal as Marko. Pay for our flight somewhere, and we will come speak for you, have a lunch meeting with you, mow your lawn (at first I was hesitant about this one, but if you live some place where the weather is conducive to lawn mowing, I'm game), lead worship for your service, or even pretend to be your friend in public. That's a pretty sweet deal!

The offer is good for either me, Ed, or both of us together. Of course, we'll probably bring our wives and at least six carry-on bags of Siamese Frogs.

Of course, just leave the details in the comments section, and we'll be on our way.

Godspeed,

Jason

The Power of the One on One

Numbers have been a big part of our ministry lately.

We had some huge success with our Catacombs event, and then followed it up with weekly numbers that were a lot higher than they had been.

But I kept telling myself that didn't matter. Youth ministry is about much more than numbers, or having a rock and roll worship service (big time kudos to Ed for incorporating "Shawty" in our worship time last night...). I kept repeating the mantras we've all heard before. "It's all about relationships. It's all about relationships."

And while I kept saying it, I didn't really realize how much I meant it until this week. It's only Thursday, and I've already had a handful of one on one meetings with kids. Some had pretty big problems, some just wanted to talk, some just wanted to blow off steam. And in each case, I really realized how much power there can be in these one on one discussions.

Think about it. Last night, I spoke to our entire youth group about following the star. While I tried my best to include as many points of view and situations in my talk as I could, those 20 minutes could not possibly have reached every single student where they were. If i was lucky, maybe they'll remember that I used a picture from the Simpsons as an illustration.

However, in those same 20 minutes one on one, we get to deal with what that student is going through specifically. We can spend time on what they want to spend time on. I don't have to guess if what I'm talking about will be relevant, that is of course if I'm listening to them and making sure I'm hearing where they are. A 20 minute one on one discussion will almost certainly outlast a 20 minute sermon in a students mind every time. I can almost promise it.

If you find yourself in a medium sized or large group, make sure that you're taking some time out to do the good work of being with students one on one. It's a lot harder and time consuming than preparing a couple of sermons, but it's also more effective in the long run. Your kids will thank you for it some day!

Godspeed,

Jason