Kids Club and nights out

Just finished my Church's annual kids club, and have to say, I really enjoyed it. I'll be honest, I am not a big fan of children. They can be uber-annoying, and ask hard questions I don't have easy answers to, and I have so much respect for dedicated childrens workers, whether they be primary school teachers, or more informal workers. I do see the benefit as a youth worker in knowing the children of my community, and having those relationships in place early on can be good. But I just don't think I am a good childrens worker! It was fun, and being able to act like a total child for one week (only one!) is good fun. A lot of preparation goes into a children's week, and you have to hope that something goes in there; something that can be of benefit to the kids when they get back to school etc. We had a church service to mark the end of it and I felt it went really well, and the kids did a good job in singing, praying and saying some words which described kids club for them (flabertastic!). Now I am back to more youth orientated matters as I continue to run our summer programme and look to the autumn and plans I have then. Maybe more on that later.

One other thing I want to talk about was my mate Bud and his stag do...what a night. I can honestly say, I have been out a lot, and I have never had such a good night. There was so much laughter (I nearly went into cardiac arrest at one point) and it was just a superb night, with some great memories and funny photos. My favourite has to be this one of Bag. I found it that funny that I actually woke up the next morning laughing...

Return to the blogosphere

I have been silent for quite a while...in some ways I needed that, in others, I haven't had much chance to rant! But I am feeling s little more ready to write now...I am sitting inbetween big 'events'. Summer Madness ended yesterday, and apart from feeling absolutely shattered, I don't know what else to say. As I get older, Summer Madness looses it's shine for me, but I so appreciate the effect it has on young people, to learn and grow and experience more of God. Next up; Impact. I have been working on Impact the last few months, and it is one of the biggest projects I have ever undertaken. The idea behind Impact is to encourage young people to serve their community through practical service (think StreetReach). A lot of preparation has gone into this, and I am now just completely drained, and ready for a break. But I do feel Impact will be an amazing opportunity to see the Kingdom grow in Crumlin, and look forward to see what God will do.

After Impact, I have a break, and whilst part of me needs it emotionally and physically, another part doesn't want to be left sitting alone with nothing to do for two weeks. So I am slightly apprehensive about this!

Lots more going on, but not all stuff I can write about. I appreciate your prayers for all that is going on (especially Impact), and hopefully it wont take me as long to write again.

Rape, murder, mutiliation: its the Bible!

Wow...my posts seem to be getting more and more sparse. It has been difficult recently trying to keep on top of everything, as I have lots going on, and as sad as it seems, this blog is just another victim, along with the countless relationships that have been put on hold! If you are one of the people who I rarely see anymore, my apologies-but know that I still think about you...unless I hate you! Only kidding!

Anyway, what has been going on? Well work has continued at a frightening pace. With weekends to organise, and the week to week business of spending time with young people. However, a few new and exciting things have happened in the last few weeks. Uppermost in my mind is a prayer event that we ran in the church. It was encouraging to see people drop in and pray for an hour or two in their own way. Several people asked what were we praying for, to which my reply was, 'we are just praying'. It is interesting that some still need to have reason to pray, and I understand this; as humans, many of us need to have a motive, a 'raison d'etre', behind all that we do. We often ask the question 'why do we do this' instead of just saying 'why not'! However, I feel it was a great start, yet an exhausting one for me, as I was there for around 27 hours!

Another new thing is an after school drop in that I have been working on. It is myself and another youth worker from the Glenavy Youth Project, as well as two young volunteers from church. We seem to attracting about a dozen young people every thursday, which is encouraging. However, it still needs work. It is great to give the volunteers the chance to really gain experience however, and for that, it is an exciting opportunity.

Life without Gail has been a struggle...sure we talk at night, but sometimes, when you have had a tough day, you just want to chill! I am a great believer in the beauty of companionable silence. I sometimes love to sit with s friend, or with Gail and just not have to feel the need to talk; to just enjoy each others company. However, when all you got is a phone call, its impractical to do that :(

Want to share a quick 'holy thought'. I was doing some research the other day for a talk. I found myself in Judges and was just reading aroung, when I came across Judges chapter 19. The gist of the story is about a Levite and his concubine. They travel and eventually come to a town where they are welcomed in by a man. Later that night, the men of the town come to the man's house and demand that they be allowed to have sex with the Levite. The man, afraid for his guest, instead offers his virgin daughter and the Levite's concubine. Refusing, the men keep demanding the Levite, until the Levite forces his concubine out. The men of the town gang rape her all night, and in the morning, she makes her way back to the house. The Levite goes to leave, and seeing her lying there, demands her to get up. When she doesn't respond he puts her on his donkey and travels to his home. When he arrives, he cuts her up into 12 pieces and sends them to the tribes of Israel, as a sign of what happened.

I was very shocked by the brutality of this story. But it reminded me that the Bible is a very shocking book, full of war, intrigue, death, rape, misfits, liars, terrorists, sacrifice, destruction of innocents, but yet, it is the book with which we recognise God speaks to us. How many of us have sat in a church and heard the story of Judges 19...yet here it is in our Bibles. And the story has much to say; about selfishness and the state of a nation, that resonates even today. In what society what it be acceptable to rape, murder and mutilate a woman? Until you turn on your TV and realise that it happens all the time. These stories, whilst shocking, can have a lot to say to us, here and now in the 21st century! It just saddens me that so many in the church (and I am guilty of this too, as I suspect we all are, consciously or not) pick and choose what they want to get out of the Bible. If we are going to accept the authority of scripture, then surely that includes even the passages that make us uncomfortable, or confused?

Well, I have rambled enough. Thanks for listening

The Final Frontier

I can't wait until december! This movie is gonna rock! Finally something to look forward to this year!! Live long and prosper

Things can only get better!

Ok, so I haven't been on for quite a while (nearly a month in fact!). Between then and now we have had christmas and new year. It is probably good that I didn't get on over christmas, as I probably would have moaned about how it has been hi-jacked by the commercial, consumerist regime...ooops there I go! Anyway, one thing I do like about that time of year is just the opportunity to catch up with friends who I haven't seen for a while. It seems that the space between such meetings is getting bigger and bigger, despite any efforts to the contrary.

That aside, Gail was home and it was great getting to speand some time with her. It was far too short a time before she was going back to Bristol, and it is tough getting used to a routine without her here!

2008 hasn't seen the greatest start for me, but the beauty about a miserable start is that it can only get better! I am spending time getting things together for church, and it feels like a crucial time, with pressure abounding! I would assume however that for most people this is also the case with work starting back! I sometimes wish we didn't have holidays, because it can be a nightmare getting back into things!

Anyway, enough complaining...I hope your 2008 has had a better start to it, and if it hasn't, in the words of a famous one-hit wonder from these beautiful shores, 'things can only get better...'

Happy New Year

Provocational living!

Ok, so I have been through the absoring of the Xbox, made it through the other side and then disappeared to a youth worker retreat this week!

Peace



Only joking, but that does pretty much sum up the last fortnight for me. However, I want to discuss the retreat I was on...there was loads of stuff unpacked at it, and I would like to share a few things!

The key speaker was Tony Jones, who writes books and takes part in an emergent church! I honestly think he was class, but he seemed to provoke some negative reaction from some of the people there!

He spoke about spiritual practices, but the main controversy seemed to come from his views on church. He was asked on more than one occasion about his view of mainstream denominational church (it was Anglican and Methodist youth workers!) and he said his view should be fairly obvious, as he had already chosen to opt out of it by becoming part of an emergent community...smart guy!

This made me think about my own (and my colleagues) objectivity. At the end of the day, we are paid by the Church, and therefore can we claim to be objective about its negative things?! Maybe we can; however, we need to recognise that just as people like Tony don't have all the answers (indeed he doesn't claim to) neither to we!

There was one question I asked during one of the many times of open discussion that was picked up on by more than a few people who approached me about it (not in confrontational ways, but more to discuss) and it was this; 'Is the Church Christian?'. What do you think of this statement/question?

The return of an all conquering hero

I was away over the weekend visiting my wonderful girlfriend in Thornbury, Bristol. Unfortunately I had a bad case of cold and due to the crappiness of the weather over there, didn't actually get to do much. However, it was good spending time with Gail. Boy was it hard leaving to come home and I understand why people talk about long-distanced relationships in a negative way. That being said, I find that the distance isn't too much of an issue!

I was thinking last night about my erstwhile career as a rapper! In fact I blogged on my bebo band page about it, but since no one ever reads those blogs on bebo I might as well have tried to write it on the dark side of the moon. However, I realy got to thinking about getting back into writing some hip hop. So, maybe, just maybe, 2008 will see a return to that for me. I just need to find the time and the inspiration!

What else is going on? Well, I have a couple of important weeks coming up in work. These are all tied into the future, particularly what 2008 holds for youth work in our church. These will be an interesting, but challenging few weeks, and I am really looking forward to seeing what God can do. Perhaps closer to the new year I may share some of the plans (once they are made!).

So, my life as a social creature is about to end tomorrow (if Royal Mail can deliver on time!). I am looking forward to getting my copy of an eagerly awaited game; 'Mass Effect'. This game (I will not bore you with the details) will effectively see me lock myself away until I complete it 2 or 3 times. And if it is like any other RPGs (Role Playing Games) I have played that could take anywhere up to 100 hours of gameplay each!!! So, if you don't hear from me, then yes, it is because I have ceased to exist as Stuart Moles and have become absorbed into my Xbox 360!

Peace