Let wonder replace worry

DCLA: 2 more observations

I'm guessing there are 4000 teenagers at DCLA this weekend. One of the best things about our first Big Room Experience last night was how YS has the stage set up. The bands and speakers utilize a huge stage in the middle of the room that is surrounded by chairs on all sides. 2 football stadium sized screens cover the 2 sides of the stage with 4 smaller screens in each corner. This set up causes a room of 4000 to seem intimate & engaging.
Secondly, Youth Specialties gets it theologically. God's Story is being presented with the crazy love of rentless prusuit of God for his children. This allows gosel truth to be presented without the guilt & manipulation prevalent at many youth conferences. That's one reason why I love YS. They get it.
Again posting from my iPhone. About time for Labs to be let out & 4000 teenagers are released on DC. Very exciting stuff!

Summer Plans

Things have been kind of quite around here lately. Blogging has taken on a completely different meaning to me in the past year or so. From the beginning (2004 here and even earlier in a couple of other places) my biggest joy in blogging have been the connections I've made with other youth workers. Now those connections are made through different avenues. Sharing life socially with ministry friends and family all over the world has become an integral part of my life-one I would not want to do without.

However, while the fun links and cool life updates have moved to other platforms, significant value still lies in writing & sharing in more than 140 characters.

So, this summer things will be picking up around here a bit. Some things I'll be writing about-

-For the second summer, I have a summer youth ministry intern working for me. Its been such a great experience and I have some thoughts for other youth pastors looking to hire an intern for the summer.

 -Next Tuesday, I am taking a big group of teenagers all the way across the country to the other Washington for DCLA. Pending a reliable internet connection, I'll be blogging daily about the content, speakers, reflections, and my honest opinions about the event. I am expecting big things and I believe Youth Specialties will deliver. I'll also have plenty of pics & video from my Flip Mino HD and my new iPhone 3GS

-The week after DCLA, I'll be the main speaker at Tall Timber Ranch for the 8th summer in a row. I'm getting so excited for it. I've got one message I wish I could deliver tomorrow. I'll have the Flip & iPhone along as well, so video & pics for sure and maybe even some audio clips of my talks.

-Nicole & I are planning on taking Jaxson on his first road trip later this summer. I'm not taking about a day trip down to Oregon. We're talking Arkansas, with many stops along the way. I'll be taking almost a month off through part of August & September. No doubt, there will be plenty of great stories to tell.

-Besides all of this, I've got a weekend retreat, speaking at several places, (including the National Church Librarian Conference-a little random, but I'm excited for it) and have a stack of books I'm going to get through this summer. This is sure to spark a couple of posts.

If you don't already, you can keep up on our family over at Nicole's blog.

Check in over the summer & see how its all coming along.

Thanks for taking the time-its a honor.

-Justin-

Princeton Forum on Youth Ministry: Friday

Had a great day doing all of the touristy things in Philadelphia. I downloaded this audio walking tour from iTunes to my iPod. It was great - I'm sold on walking tours now. 

Its easy to forget how old Philadelphia is. Walking on the cobblestone was pretty rough on my feet. I definitely did not wear the right shoes, they are pretty sore tonight.

In the afternoon, I made the hour drive up to Princeton. I'm attending a smaller weekend retreat led by Mark DeVries before the forum kicks off Monday afternoon. When it comes to youth ministry, Mark DeVries is one of the wisest men around. I could listen to him for hours - which is why I'm excited for tomorrow.

I'm staying on campus tonight and tomorrow night. Looking forward to Wednesday afternoon when I'll get to hang out with the guy I worked with and helped out for 10 weeks in the latest round of the online Youth Ministry Internship Program.

I'm never able to sleep well when traveling. I so thankful the Dr. has given me a steady supply of Ambien. (Seriously, I think I have 12 refills left.) That's what I'm taking now.

More tomorrow & throughout the week from Princeton.

Princeton Forum on Youth Ministry

I'll be heading back east early tomorrow morning to participate in Princeton's Forum on Youth Ministry. I'm also pretty excited to attend a smaller retreat over the weekend led by Mark DeVries. Should be a great time of thought, reflection, and discussion.

The forum begins Monday. Andrew Root, author of the fantastic book Revisiting Relational Youth Ministry, will be lecturing a couple of times. Really excited to hear from him. Also excited to connect with others I've met the past couple of years.

I'll have the Flip Mino HD along taking video and plan to post here as often as I can. Also, follow my traveling adventures on Twitter.com/justinross

If you'll be in Princeton - let me know. I'm traveling solo, so I'd love to meet up with you.

Your Free Ticket to Disney Next Year

Disney theme parks will give visitors free admission on their birthday during 2009. A one day ticket costs about $75 and guests will be required to show proper I.D. that reflects their birth date.

I have 2 students whose birthdays are right around the west coast dates for DCLA 09, which I am seriously considering attending again.

Definitely not the sole reason to make the trip, but would make a fun surprise once we got there.

Pictures from Philadelphia

Independence Hall:

The First and Second Continental Congress:

House of Representatives from 1790-1800 and where John Adams was sworn in as President:

Senate from 1790-1800 and where George Washington was sworn in as President:

Christ Church- Philadelphia, PA- Founded in 1695 and they have not missed a week of worship to this day.
 

The Pew that George and Martha Washington rented (literally) while serving as President in Philadelphia. They actually had doors that prevented anyone other than the person paying for it to sit. If you were poor and could not afford a pew, you had to stand in the balcony.

Baptismal loaned to the church from London in the early 1700s. The church in London got it from Ireland in the 1400s. Still in use, this has been used in worship for well over 600 years. An employee of the church told me that it technically is still on loan from London and they could ask for it back anytime.

Where the Presbyterian Church in the USA was born:

 

Pictures from my week in Princeton

I had hash for the first time in the great Jersey Diner:

At the recommendation of the Food Network:

Princeton was beautiful this time of year. Just walking around downtown made me feel smarter.

Miller Chapel:

Perhaps my biggest complaint of the week. Why one of the finest theological schools in the world would still use such uncomfortable, outdated, counter-productive desks is a mystery to me. How in the world could these things encourage learning?

Tomorrow, pictures from Philadelphia- including the pew inside Christ Church that George Washington rented (that's right, they had to literally rent a seat at church) while serving as President.

Princeton: Wednesday

Just a half day today with the afternoon and evening free. A big group of people are heading to New York City to try their luck with broadway tickets. Since I rented a car for the week, I was able to spend the afternoon exploring New Jersey.

I was flipping through the channels a month or so ago and saw a show about diners on the Food Network. The guy just happened to be eating "hash" in a little place not too far from Princeton. I've never had that before, so I headed over there and gave it a try. It was good, definitely different, but good. Then I headed to a mall that has one of Nicole's favorite stores. We discovered it in Tampa on our honeymoon and have stopped in them all over the country ever since. (There are none in Washington.) Now, I am going to get to bed early. Tomorrow I'll be on campus for 13 hours. It is going to be really good. Long, but good.

Princeton: Tuesday

I enjoyed talking with Tony Jones this morning during his course titled "Is the emergent church post youth ministry. I got the impression that he often says things with the purpose of making people both uncomfortable and mad in an attempt to promote conversation. I was a little surprised that I thought he was right on with most of his thoughts on dispatches from the emerging church. I have added his new book to my reading list.

The rest of the day was great. My extended seminar on "Going viral for Jesus" kicked off this morning. The time flew and I am excited to continue that conversation tomorrow. I also took a seminar on reading the New Testament in the context of a group. I've got some ideas on how to use those tactics in my high school bible studies.

We only have a half day tomorrow with the rest of the day off to explore New Jersey. I'll take some of that time to write some reflections on the lecture series from this week.

I'm also going to try to remember to take some pictures. I am horrible at that.

Princeton: Monday

After flying all night, I made it to Princeton this afternoon with just enough time to check into the hotel, jump in the shower, and get over to the campus for the opening worship service.

Great discussions so far today. Karl Barth's vocation theology has already come up twice and we are just getting started. I've decided that I am going to tackle Church Dogamtics IV.3.2. I could not get enough of hearing about that today.

I've got a full day tomorrow. I am looking forward to Tony Jones tomorrow morning asking the question "Is the Emergent Church Post-Youth Ministry." That should get some discussion started. Also my extended seminar "Going Viral for Jesus" kicks off in the morning for the next 3 days. That is going to be amazing.

After traveling all through the night, I am exhausted. Its almost 9:30 and I am calling it a night. Although this 42" Plasma TV in my hotel room may make it hard to go to bed. I am staying at the Hyatt Place Princeton. It is a very nice Hotel. I could stay for awhile. 

More tomorrow.