Where Do I Start?

The beach, lack of sleep, and the upside down kingdom.

The beach trips (insert favorite Beach Boys song for background music here) have been fewer than I anticipated, only because most of my Saturdays have been full of other youth related activities. We are definitely looking forward to a trip or two before the new school year starts. I am needing to sit down and hammer out some more concrete plans for the next couple of months. Most of my time here has been spent getting a good health edjimakation (edge-eh-meh-kay-sh-on), and feeling like I'm just running to catch up. I think this week will be a turning point in this whole process as a number of the plans that our Youth Leader Intern John Dixon has planned to help with the transition between the youth leaders are about to expire. I can't thank John enough for all of his help and support during the last three weeks. John you really are a SUPERSTAR and I'm excited to watch as God reveals to you the calling that he has on your life.

With the summer comes a plethora of activities that are scheduled to get the youth of Upland BIC out of the house, give them something to do, and create a solid bond between them. I want this group to be a place where everyone feels comfortable and safe. I want it to be a place where they are excited to go. I think we are well on our way. Now if only I could get more sleep.

Moving to California is not with out it's challenges... (try to get a bank account set up with out a permanent address or California drivers license). Probably one of the things that I'm realizing has been the hardest part has been the lack of deep relationships with brothers in the Lord. I am realizing the importance of them and how blessed I was with the depth of relationships that I “left behind” in PA. I do know that I can call any of those guys at any time but I sure miss those lunches or guys nights at “The Back Page”. It's only a matter of time. One of the challenges that Upland BIC faces continues to be drawing a young adult crowd. It's a very interesting situation and I'm not really sure how to handle that other than pray for God's wisdom, because it's ultimately not up to our programs, the style of worship that we are using, or whether or not we sing hymns. Ultimately it's about God drawing them here.

We've spent the last several weeks studying through the Gospel according to Mark, especially looking at the difference between what the disciples expected the Messiah to be and what the Messiah was actually doing. This served to flip their idea of the coming kingdom on it's head (hence the idea of an upside down kingdom) This all culminated this past weekend in an over night event called ReFuel, where we looked at the story of Jesus washing the disciples feet and several other instances of him blowing their minds. We talked about and tried to put into practice the idea of “the first shall be last and the last shall be first.” There's no doubt that we as Christians live and serve in an upside down kingdom.

There's still much to get adjusted too, so if you think about it throw up some prayers for me, most notably for more permanent housing. I have been staying with a most gracious couple in a small apartment of the back side of their house. However I don't want to over stay my welcome and am looking forward to unpacking everything. Please also pray for wisdom and discernment as I begin to make plans for this fall and the upcoming school year. There is definitely much to do.