The "F" word

That's right... the flu. According to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) the flu is now considered widespread in South Carolina. They have also reported that the cases are rapidly increasing. Great news for all those living in SC. I wish someone had told me that the flu would be this bad. Now I'm having to experience it for myself.

I haven't been this sick in a while. It seems to be ok as long as I'm doped up on tylenol, orange juice, and chicken noodle soup. Well, that is until I stand up. Then it's like I've just stepped on a roller coaster that only goes in circles. Kristie has been great. She's been making sure that I'm still among the living and is trying her best to keep me here. She has told me numerous times about the children at the daycare and how they have been sick. The other day she was not feeling well and was running a slight fever (99.5), but overall was feeling ok. One of her kids walked up and asked her if she was dying. She got on his level and asked the little boy to feel her head. After hitting her in the five head like Benny Hen the little boy looked at her and said, "Miss Kwistie, I fink uwr dying." Another little girl walked up and said, "Wet me see." This little girl knew exactly what she was doing. She took her hand and grabbed Kristie by the top of the head with a grip tight enough to lift Kristie off the ground and said, "Miss Kwistie, uwr not diwing." I'm glad to see that Kristie has consulted the experts.

Needless to say that when I asked Kristie to check my four head to see if I was running a fever she replied, "Mr. Hunk, I fink uwr dying."

Pondering a Quote

"No one has ever been saved by good works, and no one has ever been saved without them."

-John Wesley

The Good, the Bad, and Getting Ugly

So the BUMC Youth recently went to the Springmaid Spiritual Life Retreat. Overall it went really well. I broke 2 toes, earned a nasty bruise, and was tackled numerous times during football on the beach. The speaker was pretty good. He talked about surrendering your life over to God fully. No strings attached. The food, well it was cafeteria food. The rooms were nice. I slept on the floor. To be honest I liked it that way. One night Sam sat up screaming "Dad! Dad! Dad!" Which was followed up by Sean sitting up and nearly killing Sam. The funny part is that Sam has no recollection of any of this.

We had some beautiful shots of the sunrises as well.

On the bus ride a few of the youth helped to develop a list that they want to send to Xibit for "Pimp my Church Bus." It would be complete with:

Stained glass window tint
Air purification system (and odor neutralizer) <-- my idea

Hardwood floors

12 Xbox 360s

Full reclining seats

A 42" plasma tv mounted on the ceiling

Personal headsets

Ipod touches mounted into the seats

"Bible" holders that would really only be used for laptops

Rims with the Itchus in them

Black paint job

6" Lift Kit (to be closer to heaven)

A sunroof the length of the ceiling

Ten 12" subs (one for each commandment)

Bin for preheated blankets and pillows

Outlets at each seat

The actual list was nearly 3 pages handwritten. They also added a navigation system, a soundproof driving area, and a LCD monitor for backing up all for the driver.

Now for the rant. Yes, I'm going there. Yes, I hope people read it. Yes, there is a letter being sent to the conference office. The speaker we had was good, however, he was not the speaker advertised nor were we told why the scheduled speaker wasn't there. No one at the conference level had a clue what was going on when I called. They played "Crank That" at the dance. I realize my Wesleyan friends are gasping... I did too. Overall, it was very unorganized except for when the youth leaders had control of their groups during breakout sessions and free times. For the most part events were ran by youth. Now, this can work, but I don't remember seeing a youth pastor or for that matter a full time pastor ever taking the stage to direct the services.

All this brings me to this point:

I feel like youth ministry is being used as nothing more than a stepping stone to ordination. This is my holy discontent.

I've seen what great work the Wesleyan Church has done with youth ministry. Just look at Set Apart and the youth camps at Table Rock Wesleyan Camp. There are just over 50 Wesleyan Churches in South Carolina. There are 992 United Methodist Charges in South Carolina, and some of those charges contain two or three churches. Someone please explain to me why the SC Wesleyan Church is doing so much better than the UMCs in the area of youth ministry? I understand that this is not a competition between denominations, but lets look at the numbers. Which denomination values their youth? Which denomination is using their resources wisely? Which denomination seems to think that youth won't catch on that they are catching the short end of the stick?

I understand that from church to church the emphasis may differ, but as a whole we (UMC in SC) are doing a poor job. Salkehatchie is doing great, but it was not a conference idea. It was lay and clergy lead, and evolved to a great ministry. (If you haven't seen the salk video check it out).

To the SC Wesleyan District and the Wesleyan Church as a whole: Thank you for taking youth ministry seriously as a denomination. Please continue to work hard for the glory of God in this area.

To the SC Methodist Conference: Stop playing around. If we expect to see our denomination flourish instead of flounder we need to get in gear and move. If we continue to sit idle we can expect to see a decline in youth and a further decline in membership.

For Lent....

I've decided not to give up anything. Instead, each day I am going to:

1. Write in my journal
   
2. Pray for the people that I don't quite get along with
   
3. Wear a tie at least once a week

I'm looking forward to seeing what happens during Lent this year.