Well, whod'a thunk it?  I'm BACK!!! IF my name was Johnny Carson or a pscytsophrenic named Jack Nicholson i'd say, "Here's Johnny!"  But i'm not and I'm not that cheesy.  Or, i guess I am. 

It is crazy that when it gets busy we tend to gloss over all things contemplative.  I don't really know why this is.  I am an avid journal writer.  Plus i do xanga to boot.  When my mind gets jumbled and all the thoughts scooting through there get hard to manage, i write.  And, just like the Pensieve in Harry potter my mind is calmed and I am able to think clearer and more objectively.  So, why is it that when I get "Too busy," i forget my own therapy?  Ah, well, the point is I have taken it up again.

I was thinking.  For some weird reason, I have always desired the monasatic life.  Not in the brown tunic, chanting, and loving bugs type thing, but in the serious way.  You know, you spend your time reading, writing, thinking, praying (talking and contemplative prayer) working with your hands, doing acts of Christian service; this is your life. 

But alas, this culture will not allow it.  We must work to pay off our debt.  So we do.  But is there a way to live a type of new monastisism.  This being that you do all those things every day, you read, you write you think, pray, and spend time in contemplative prayer, and Christian service.  When you work, ie. Jamba Juice, this is your work for the day.  I guess this is what I signed up for when I became a follower of Christ, it is just that i need to truly dedicate myself to all these things.

Ok, so that last post kinda sucked.  You win some.  You loose some.  But while on the topic of doing ministry, has anyone thought of a new innovative way of doing church services?  I have heard of some cool ones involving things like having the band play from the back while the focal point during singing is some sort of projected images on a screen.  Or having services in complete silence having people meditate and contemplate different things around the room:  crosses, flowers, lighting candles for different prayer requests, having a bunch of scripture flashing around the room.  You know, stuff like that. 

I am of the mindset that we can use ancient disciplines in our modern (or post-modern =-)) lives.  Things like the Jesus prayer, or the Centering prayer, prayer beads, days of silence and solitude. 

What do my friends in the Xangopolis think?

Currently Reading The Road to Assisi: The Essential Biography of St. Francis By Paul Sabatier, Jon M. Sweeney see related

I was reading through last years journal and found some pretty interesting entries.  What I found most entertaining is how sarcastic I can get sometimes.  Imakamelaugh!!!!

Anyway, here is one I found that I thought some people would find interesting

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I have heard people say that Children's ministry is going to be in the next few years what Youth Ministry was in the early to mid nineties.  Children's ministry is about to take off.

It makes sense.  SHould we just send our children off to learn "Bible Stories" from an underpaid, (Or no pay at all), burned out, overworked  volunteer?  Of Course not!

It seems that we might actually be making progress in reaching our world.  It use to be a "Staunch Adultism" where we don't change our methods but keep doing things that worked, or never did work, for our parents.  But Children's ministry and Youth Ministry is forcing many of us in a different direction.  Reason being is the very essence of what Children and older students are about.  Youth culture changes RAPIDLY.  We, therefore, must change with it.  Adopt and Act.  Look, listen, learn, adapt, act.

Slowly but surely youth ministry mindsets will take over.  Due to the people with oldschool mentalities dying off or they will actually see that our methods work.  Either way, I see this Youth ministry mindset being used to minister to adults.

It is said that if we do not reach someone by the age of 18, statistics are aginst us reaching them with the truth about Christ.  I think, however that this stat is about people and methods of what i said earlier, "Staunch Adultism."  If we neve adapt and change our methods why should people be reached by the Gospel.  They won't connect with it.  Half the time i don't conect with peoples methods.  Do we not care enough to present a relavant message?

Because of teh YMIN mindset this stat will change redically in the next ten to twenty years.  The reason being because of teh lessons learned from adapting and acting.  More people will come to Christ in their 20's, 30's, 40's, etc. than ever before!  It is not going to be because parents, society, or anything else programmed them this way but because we got over ourselves and they connected to Christ.