"From the Office of Rick Warren"

In a recent post I wrote about my curiosity when I discovered that Rick Warren was following my twitter feeds. My cynicism caused me to think that this was part of a marketing plan to get more followers to follow him. So in fairness to Pastor Warren I hand wrote a letter, simply asking why he was following my tweets. I received this email from his Chief of Staff David Chrzan:

Dear Dave,

Thanks so much for your note to Pastor Rick and for your question. Pastor Rick attempts to follow as many pastors, church leaders and church planters via Twitter as he can. Through listening to the tweets of other Christian leaders Pastor Rick is able to discern a little of the pulse of the church at large. He hears what is on the hearts of pastors and church planters; and as a result he is able to pray for the church and its’ leaders more specifically.

Rick teaches that every leader must be a life time learner and so this is one more way he seeks to learn from others in the Body of Christ. I’m not able to tell you specifically how Pastor Rick came to follow you on Twitter. He follows pastors and church planters on Twitter as they become known to him. There are many pastors and planters that Rick follows because they were recommended to him for their teaching, and inspiration.

Thanks again for writing to Pastor Rick. Our prayer team will be praying for you and Renovate Covenant Church of Muskegon, Michigan as you seek to fulfill God’s purposes by planting new churches.

God Bless,

David Chrzan

Chief of Staff

Well...still not sure why he is following my tweets or how he can comb through the 14,000+ people he follows, but the response is genuine and for that I'm thankful.

Now, I wonder what Rick Warren's favorite Garbage Pail Kid is?

Just Wondering...

What was your favorite Garbage Pail Kid?

Punk Rock Never Dies

The strings have been changed on the SG and the Groove Tubes in the Marshall are glowing....that can only mean one thing:

Some friends and I started a band.

Our sound won't be anything new for those that know me; influences like: Bad Religion, Green Day, NOFX, and Social Distortion. We'll be playing some covers ("Somebody Put Something In My Drink" by the Ramones should be a crowd pleaser) as well as writing some of our own stuff.

Right now we're practicing in our drummer's basement (some things just don't change) and hope to get enough tunes soon to play our first show. Not sure what the scene is like here in Western, MI, but hopefully there are enough dive bars to let us rip.

Also, our band name is still up in the air, so I'd love to get your input.

Punk Rock Never Dies!

Purpose Driven Tweets

I just got a notification that Pastor Rick Warren is following my tweets. Why would this celebrity-pastor (with 135,233 followers) follow my tweets (along with 14,115 others)?

Since I don’t know and have never met the Purpose Driven Pastor I have to admit that my response is a bit cynical: It's part of a marketing ploy that many “celebrities” engage in. A marketing team manages their account and “follows” other people in the hopes that they will in turn follow their tweets. Then, when you click “follow” they either un-follow your Twitter feed all together or simply never pay any attention to your posts.

Why would this bother me? Because it is disingenuous. Following someone on Twitter should be based on a genuine desire to hear what is going on with others. Whether it is your friend from college or Kim Kardashian, the point is not how well you know them, but rather your desire to engage in their life and hear what they have to say; superficial or otherwise.

I have no delusions of grandeur regarding my tweets/postings, nor am I trying to gain any kind of “following”. Simply put, I just don’t want to be “used” in an effort to pad another’s Twitter stats.

To be gracious, I do not know Pastor Warren's motives for following my Twitter feeds. So out of fairness to him I wrote a letter asking him why he is interested in following my tweets. I'll keep you posted on his response... via Twitter of course :)

Relational Youth Ministry Blog

Just a heads up…

In addition to writing on this blog I will also be writing monthly for the blog: “Relational Youth Ministry” (here's my first post: "Unplug..."). A good friend of mine, Tim Ciccone, is the blog’s facilitator and asked me to be one of the contributing voices to the conversation that deals with all things related to youth ministry. While I am no longer a youth pastor (I served as youth pastor at my home church for four years) I will be sharing my perspective on youth ministry as a church planter. For those of you who have a heartbeat for youth I hope the Relational Youth Ministry blog becomes a helpful resource for you.

Peace.

(Tim has also released, In Transit, a book designed for youth workers that are navigating a move from one ministry context to another. A great resource that is worth checking out)

Longing for Home

We all have a place that brings us a sense of calm; a place where we are at peace. Home is the space where we are content in this world and with our contributions we give to make it better. When we are “home” we are able to gain perspective on the movement of life and our own personal development. Home is safe and free. Time seems to stand still when we are home, giving us breathing room to reflect on life and dream new possibilities.

Home sometimes is a physical place; the town you grew up in, your grandparent’s cottage, or your garage full of tools. Home can also be found in the relationships of others; hanging out with long-time friends over drinks, playing with your kids at the park, or going for walk with the one you love. A sense of home can also come over us when we listen to a piece of music, taste a certain kind of food, or gaze at the sunset on a summer evening.

Yet most of life is spent on the go, constantly moving (in thought and action) causing us to feel like someone who is continually traveling for work and rarely ever home. We grow tired of the “air travel, the road travel, and the hotels”…we simply long for home.

Because we struggle to find “home” we loose track of where we are, who we are, and what we want our life to be about. Life outside of “home” is disjointed, unsettling, and lonely. And so our pursuit of “home” continues.

Where do you find yourself today? At home or in tireless pursuit?

Where are those places that bring you home?

What are those moments that give you a sense of home?

Contradiction of the Mind

my mind is sharp, my mind is dull

my mind is keenly aware and hopelessly oblivious

my mind races on to the next thing but can’t keep the pace

my mind remembers in vivid detail and forgets in opaque ambiguity

my mind dreams of possibilities but falls asleep on the job

my mind tunes in and my mind tunes out

my mind is a problem solver and a problem child

my mind has a limitless imagination yet is confined by the constructs of reality

my mind can see the possibilities, but is blinded by what’s in front of me

my mind is a laser beam of focus and a scattered array of confusion

my mind