bkpingel's Xanga

Making a Difference

Sun, 19 Nov 2006 22:17:14 GMT

originally posted at www.youthandleadership.com

My brother's brother-in-law (the two guys married sisters) is the Vice Principal at Green Bay East were a Columbine attck was planned. On the main part of this entry I posted a recent newspaper article that highlights Matt as he went to his old high school to talk about the incident. In the article there are some great comments about what youth development is all about:

Columbus grad talks of thwarting school massacre

By Adam Rodewald
Marshfield News-Herald

Matt Mineau takes a step towards the students. He takes his left hand out of his pocket, and his right hand grips the microphone.

He's getting to the meat of his presentation.

"It's not what's in a kid's back pack," he says. "It's what's in a kid's heart."

The words are simple but strong, especially in the trail of school violence.

Mineau, vice principal at Green Bay East High School and an alumnus of Marshfield Columbus Catholic High School, spoke at his alma mater Wednesday about the significance of open communication for students' safety.

He was the school administrator to whom a student reported plans for a Columbine-style attack this September. Three students were arrested for the scheme to explode homemade bombs near various bathrooms, block exits with homemade napalm and shoot students before dying at the hands of police.

"Realistically, after seeing all these things, I think it can happen in any school," he says to the student body. "I'm not saying this to scare you, but it can (happen)."

Thankfully, there's a way to prevent attacks of this kind, and it all starts with the students.

"Try to build other people up so they feel part of this school," Mineau says. "You've got opportunities to be a role model in this school that no one else does."

Everyone wants a sense of belonging, so they join in various social groups, he explains. However, those groups all want to be the best and tend to shut others out.

"We never open up ourselves, tear down those walls and let other people in," he says.

Over time, exclusion can cause a student to feel so low they even forget who they are, he says, and they may take extreme actions, like planning a massacre, to regain a place in the world.

"I feel sad for these guys. How could we let them get so low?" he says.

So here's his advice: Don't follow others simply for acceptance. Remember that little things matter. Be open to people with differences and listen to them. Serve others before yourself, and most of all, remember your values.

Katie Miller, a 15-year-old Sophomore at Columbus, sat on the bleachers after the presentation. She found the message something all students could relate to.

"I think we all just assume there are people like that, but to really think about it and the thoughts that would go through their head is really strange," she says.

In 80 percent of school shootings, at least one person knows about it ahead of time, Mineau says.

Students need to build relationships with their parents and teachers so they feel comfortable reporting those threats, he says. It's not snitching or tattling. It's protecting the school.

__________________________________________________________________________

So here is my what I'd like to hear from you: What elements are highlighted in this article that we need to always keep in front of us as we work with students? How do make them a reality in the groups we are called to work with?

I have my thoughts, but I'd like to hear from you.

Brian

Free HUGS

Sun, 19 Nov 2006 04:22:31 GMT

Saturday, October 07, 2006

Sat, 07 Oct 2006 21:33:42 GMT

I'm still here. More info can be found at www.youthandleadership.com - come on over and drop me a line.

lasts

Wed, 02 Aug 2006 03:04:26 GMT

So tomorrow morning is my last Sunday morning at my church in Appleton before I transition up to NCU. A week ago I had my last youth service, I just finished my last week of camp as a youth pastor and I just did my last wedding at our church a few minutes ago (praise the Lord). That word "last" is an interesting word because it doesn't mean finished, but it means "that which is next before the present." It is more of a joining word than a word that creates cessation. Isn't it interesting that we use the same word to describe a conclusion as we do to describe something that has the power to continue (I hope this feeling will 'last'). So I'm excited because I'm standing at this junction point. This point that is now and not yet. A point that sets a new minimum standard for what God has for me. Like the Jesus during the Sermon on the Mount; He didn't end anything, but He stood at a junction point that launched something more amazing than we ever thought possible. I'm sad to leave somethings behind, but I'm excited about what is about to begin.

Brian

CAMP

Sun, 09 Jul 2006 14:48:06 GMT

All I gots to say is that camp starts tomorrow!

Breach of Contract

Sun, 25 Jun 2006 03:19:50 GMT

We thought we had our home sold. We thought. Now the family that is buying it wants out. The reason they want out doesn't seem logical to us and it isn't officially part of the contract we signed. We are in a tight spot. Emotionally I don't like this feeling. I really want to be a generous person. I really want to portray Christ in all things. I really want them to honor the contract. I want all of the above things to mesh and make sense. I could give in to their new demands (not in the original contract) and accept an offer that is $7,000 less than our original asking price, or I could fight them and say they lose their $1,000 in earnest money, or we could both just walk away from the deal clean. We need prayer and wisdom.

Walking with Christ is a journey that constantly molds us. I'm being molded today. I think the biggest molding is coming with my own internal responses to this situation. When I first got the news I could physically feel the disapointment. This is not unusual I know, but for me it was a new experience. At least I thought it was at first until I began to process this last week - trying to help a hurting friend, trying to figure out how to talk with my son about disrespect, how to process my own responses to these and other elements. How often do we "feel" our joys, our hurts, our confusions? This week I withdrew, ate chips, headbutted my desk and got a knot in my gut. I felt loneliness, hunger, pain and bleah, in response to my internal uncertainties. In all of these things I need to recognize that my true feeling is my body saying you are not adequate enough to handle all of this - but Christ - who walks with you can help you navigate these uncertain turns. How well do we really listen to our beings cry out for more of Jesus?

Brian

I need friends

Wed, 21 Jun 2006 03:50:02 GMT

Help me out - I've had a MySpace for a long time, but never used it. Then some old college friends found me. I need friends - please go to www.myspace.com/bkpingel and be my friend - I need friends.

x-rated

Tue, 20 Jun 2006 22:13:22 GMT

I must admit it - I am addicted. Now put that phrase with my title for this entry and whoa - warning lights and scary thoughts are now running through your mind. What I'm addicted to is podcasting!! My little Nano is my constant companion as I listen to the Onion Radio, Slate Magazine, ESPN, Erwin McManus, etc. I also listen some to the guys at xxxchurch. This weekend I listened to one of their pods as they talked to the youth pastor at First Assembly of God in Homosassa Florida. Their youth ministry is called xratedyouth.com. It is a really interesting conversation (find it at itunes podcast #40). The youth pastor talks about looking at his community in Florida and how the average youth group is a whopping 8 students. He then looked (for a year) at the student culture in their area and saw that it was x-rated on a lot of levels. So he adopted the motto "Get into the gutter" and launched their youth ministry based on that premise of reaching the x-rated kid in their community. Once they announced the name to the church several people left the church and he "heard about it" from others in the church. Now 14 months later they went from 4 kids to around 120 and have seen lives change for Jesus. They also go in big trouble at the local school because they wouldn't let them hand out anything with the youth groups name on it. It got to the point that the ACLU came into to help the youth group get equal access on the campus.

Now I know it is summer and the likelihood of many coming to read this thing is small, but I want to put this out there while I'm thinking about it. The question is "Is this a good method of presenting the gospel?" I know you don’t have all the info and this is an anecdotal sketch, but is it ok to play off of the perversions of our society in order to open up a door for evangelism? (I know you can take that last question in a lot of crazy directions you sicko’s – just take it for what it is). I’d love to hear any ideas on this form of outreach and branding of a youth ministry.

Brian

All For Blake

Sun, 11 Jun 2006 20:38:28 GMT

OK This is for you Blake! As many may now know, I am in the process of moving to Mpls. It is like a "yeah/suckie" thing. "Yeah", because the position as a professor teaching people how to be great youth workers fits me really well. "Suckie" because I have to leave people I care for deeply. So much of life is like that though. You have these "yeah/suckie" moments all the time. You save up for an x-box 360 and you get it, "yeah" and then you realize you don't have any money to hang out with your friends for like two weeks, "suckie." The goal is find more and more "yeah" moments and to learn to enjoy them. The "suckie" part needs to be put into the right perspective. I could go on and get all philosophical, but let's just say "yeah" to life.

Here is my new website: http://youthandleadership.com/

Brian

I've been Neglecting

Sat, 11 Mar 2006 20:39:00 GMT

All right, enough with the buggin' and naggin' - I'm updating this thing finally.

My life has been crazy lately, but what's new. That is life. Life isn't found in those predictable boring times, but in the moments when we feel most out of control or out of our comfort zone. I love the journey of life. I really don't mind crazy schedules and balancing a multiple number of tasks. I'm so convinced that I don't want to just wait for life to happen, but I want to experience life in everything.

That being said, I was on a journey the other night, driving home as the sun was setting. It was a nice night and the gas pedal seemed light against my heavy foot. As I was cruisin' the traffic in front of me was just a bit too lethargic for me. It's ok to wander around sometimes, but sometimes it is fun to zip to where you need to be. And I was zipping. The road I was on actually had a lot of traffic coming at me from the other direction. So as I pulled into the left lane all I saw where dozens of ferocious metallic beasts screaming at me and if we hit, it would be ugly. But instead of slowing down, I accelerated. Racing towards the place on the road I was claiming as mine and I did it without any fear. No, I'm not a daredevil, I just trusted the power of yellow. You see in between me and the oncoming banshee's is that powerful little strip of yellow paint. It has no real volume or strength, yet it holds powerful beasts at bay. I love that yellow line because I knew that nobody coming the other direction was going to be in my way as I went screaming towards my goal.

You know sometimes we hate boundaries, because they seem to restrict us and hold us back. We hate that we can't do what we want when we want. But the reality is that good boundaries actually help us speed up and get to our goals even faster. You see when we understand how to use boundaries, we can use them to get places better than life without them. Think about some of the areas in your life and some of the goals you want to see accomplished. How could you use boundaries to actually help you find those areas even faster? Think about it and let me know what you come up with.

Brian