Surprised by...Hope?... Joy?... Jim's last-minute idea.

Guess what I was asked to do yesterday during the 11:10 service?!

Help with BAPTISMS!

I never baptized anyone before yesterday. But I was able to declare to two sisters in Christ that they now bear the "name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit" and "dunk" them into a big pool of water while wearing a white robe. I love baptism for so many reasons, so it was beautiful to administer that sacrament. 

Beforehand, Robert Gelinas ran into Jim's office, made the sign of the cross on my forehead with his fingers and said "I ordain you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." It was a funny, odd, and deep moment. Funny because Robert apparently deemed it appropriate to sum up the whole of ordination into ten seconds, as if to play an immense practical joke on my UMC tendencies. Odd because the moment seemed a mixture of loving humor and deep pastoral concern. Deep because I've never thought much about what ordination means and wonder if in that odd moment God opened up a new way for me to channel his grace, even if just for a morning. 

So THAT was something new and awesome and nerve-wracking and blessed.

There and Back Again...

I love the GREEN. I love the small towns. I love the community. I love the shore. 

I love New Jersey. And I got to go back last week. 

This was a special week in New Jersey: I saw Gregory graduate high school, which was fun because it's his next big step and weird because this was the last class that I was in high school with. Nannie and Papa made the trip up from Florida. Anne, Kayla, and Bethany (my favorite, but I'm a bit biased) made the trip over from IWU. Kayla is an east-coast-er and Anne is fresh from the midwest, but neither have seen Jersey the way Rachel and I see Jersey, so it was great to give them a very personal and meaningful stay. 

All in all it was a short but fun week. For me, it was A LOT of familiarity (home, Jersey-friends, IWU-friends, Bethany, extended family, dogs) in not a lot of time. In response to that, I'm feeling a little homesick and a little isolated this week back in Colorado. The feelings will pass;  it's healthy that my heart is attached to certain places and groups of people. Keeps me grateful and rooted.

I am learning so much here at CCC. For example, the weekly staff meeting lasted for three and a half hours today, and I got to be a part of very meaningful conversations. The meeting started with Pastor Doug asking who from the staff attended the "You Lost Me" conference at the church two weeks ago. (Back up. David Kinnaman is the president of the Barna Research Group. He recently wrote a phenomenal book called "You Lost Me," which paints a statistical, historical, and personal picture of why twenty-something's leave the church. He is touring with the Barna Group to present his research, and they came to CCC.) Okay. So I, along with Pastor Richard and Pastor Will, had attended. We started giving our feedback on the conference and the whole staff launched into a discussion about the problems that my generation faces, which morphed into a discussion of racism in evangelicalism and racial injustice in America, which morphed into a discussion about how the church should address issues of interracial worship, which ended with Pastor Robert thanking us for having one of the most American/biblical conversations we could possibly have (since America invented race and the Bible takes culture seriously). 

THEN, one of the leaders confessed to the group a leadership mistake that had been made unintentionally which caused a lot of hurt among some of this leader's volunteers. This director asked for the staff's advice on how to deal with the situation, and, for the next hour, I got to witness a very encouraging and loving and wise discussion on leadership. Pastor Keita floored me with a quote when he told this person, "The road to humility will yield far more than you think it's costing you." How's that for wisdom! 

THEN, I got to hear all of the leaders present their strategic plans for the next fiscal year. This includes the goals they are setting, why they are setting them, and how they plan to address them. Again, this was a great opportunity to see 1) what it looks like for different departments to align with a vision in their own unique ways, 2) how a church thinks about money and "achievements," and 3) why planning and vision are so important for successful ministry. 

And all that was just one staff meeting! 

Another highlight for me was a conversation I had with Pastor Keita two weeks ago about counseling. He told me that every time someone comes to him with a need--whether emotional, basic human, or spiritual--that he believers one of two things is happening: either God has 1) set this meeting up so someone can get saved, or 2) set this meeting up so someone can grow deeper in faith. So that's his mentality for counseling. He enters into it believing that God is already there and at work. Then, he told me that he always tries to use scripture when he counsels. Not only use it, but have it so memorized and embodied that he can just proclaim truth without having to clumsily look things up. He takes Jesus' words seriously: the truth will set you free. And if the truth is what frees you, then a lie is what binds you. And if a lie is what binds you, then only God and his truth can really set someone free. So, again, two big takeaways for me. First, pastoral counseling looks for what God is up to in a person's life. Second, pastoral counseling must be enlivened by the proclamation of biblical truth.

I could write a lot more. I could write about how Pastor Jim brought a fart machine to staff meeting and put it under Annie's chair. I could write about the tons of stuff I'm reading. I could write about my growing visions for small group and Honors College chaplain work in the Fall. But I'm getting tired. Please comment, it helps me stay encouraged. Thanks for being a great community even though I'm not physically near you. Rachel blogged about that concept. Did y'all know Rachel blogs?! I found out tonight. Stoked. 

Week 2 at CCC

After living and studying at IWU for three years, I am used to filling every moment of every day with something to do: classes, meals, homework and homework and homework, small group, being with Bethany, church, playing super smash bros, getting coffee with people, etc. Even if some of these things are "leisurely," the sheer amount of stuff and lack of rest and sleep is exhausting. But, because of the constant supply of coffee and the people around me stuck in the same rhythm, I often don't feel that exhausted until it all comes to a screeching halt after finals week. 

I say all of this because my schedule out here in Colorado is much less busy. And, honestly, it's a little weird. I go into the church and work for about six hours each day from Monday through Friday, experience two or three things a day, and then, well, rest. A small part of me feels like I'm missing out on so much activity, but a bigger part of me is really excited about this slower pace of life. For these few months I get to read a lot, I get to pray more, I get to get back in shape and run, I get to explore Colorado a bit, I get to hang out with this family.

With that said, here is what I was up to this past week at the church:

Tuesday:

• I attended the pastor/director meeting. This is an interesting few weeks for the staff because the budget year is coming to an end, which means that everyone is developing strategic plans for the following year and working through budgeting. I appreciated being able to see this happen within the team because I picked up on how these pastors view money, how they collaborate as a team, how they strategically plan to pursue a like mission in their diverse fields. Also, they just have a lot of fun together. They act like family.
• THEN I hung out with Lead Pastor Robert Gelinas for almost three hours. We hopped in his SUV and drove all over Aurora and Denver. He grew up in this town, went to seminary in this town, and does ministry in this town. This means that the most significant moments of his life happened here. So, he drove and told stories, shared his deeply personal and private self with me. I got to see the church where he was saved, the park where he learned how to do ministry outside the walls of the church, the many places where he led CCC to face urban poverty and systemic injustice head, and many other moments. We talked about how he met his wife, how and what we love to read, and the dreams he has for the city. He is an inspiration to me and a great man of God.

Wednesday:

• MoreLife Center: This will be a regular ministry. I spend 9am - 1pm at the MoreLife Center and give out food, sit in on life champion meetings, and spend time with Pastor Keita. 
• After working at the MoreLife Center I did not have anythings else planned, so I went to a really cool part of town and discovered the Tattered Cover bookstore and City Park. 
• Then I went to a Snarky Puppy concert in the Five Points neighborhood, which, I learned from Robert, used to be the "Harlem of the West" and the African American section of town when cities were legally segregated. Snarky Puppy killed it. So good.

Thursday:

• I spent time with Pastor Richard. We drove to Denver Seminary and went on a quick tour. Then, we went out to lunch with a recent grad from the seminary. She has her masters in Spiritual Formation. Richard wanted to run his strategic plan by her to brainstorm and refine ideas and see where she would like to get involved.  Again, it is cool to see how Richard approaches a ministry of spiritual formation and tries to de-centralize leadership by plugging volunteers in. 
• Pastor Richard and I then went on a hospital visit. We visited a wonderful old black lady who recently had knee replacement surgery and is in pain. We took her flowers, prayed with her, and assured her that the church is thinking of her and there to support her.
• In the evening I went to choir practice with Shauna. I figured it woud be fun and informative to see the behind-the-scenes preparation of a church choir. I didn't figure that I'd end up singing with them during the practice. But I did. I sang and got to be immersed in gospel-y goodness for two hours surrounded by people of all different races and ages.

Friday:

• Friday was a slow day. I hung with Pastor Jim at the church for a bit and put a few things on my calendar for the following week. That was really it. I went back downtown to the Bookstore and Park and ate Chipotle and processed my week. 
• For dinner me and the Hans's ordered pizza and went to a park right down the road. We ate pizza, played soccer and croquet--which I won ;) -- and enjoyed a lovely Colorado evening.
• Then I skyped Bethany :)

So that has was my week, a good mixture of work and leisure. Thanks for reading along. Feel free to comment and ask any questions if you have them. Peace!