I have a confession to make: I’m addicted to buying t-shirts from Threadless. This won’t come as a surprise to my friends and colleagues, but I felt it was worth sharing with my [two] readers ;o)
Some of the t-shirt designs are simply bizarre, some reflect elements of my faith, others are just selected because I like the colours or the design. I’ve found the excellent t-shirt designs to be fantastic conversation starters. Mostly people believe the t-shirt I’m wearing is a reflection of my current mood – mostly when I’m wearing this one.
I haven’t yet used one of my t-shirts as a prop for a youth work talk, but I have a couple of ideas percolating…
I’ve added a page which features all the Threadless t-shirts I have purchased, and I’ll do my best to keep it updated when the addiction kicks in again. Meanwhile, here are some of my current favourites:
“Our Scriptures, confessions, and creeds are all very public, out in the open. Anyone can easily learn what it is supposed to mean to be a Christian. Our Bible is open to public examination; so is the church’s life. That is our problem. People can read what our Scriptures say, and they can see how Christians live. The gulf between the two has created an enormous credibility gap.” – Jim Wallis
The extended quote over at Jordon Cooper’s site gives the context.
Back in the days when the typical household only had one TV, and family viewing was encouraged, I used to find myself watching programmes selected by others in my family. With an an older sister and a younger brother, I guess that at least added a little variety to my viewing. I don’t vividly remember any arguments about what we were going to watch, but I do vividly remember some of the programmes. One such “delight” was the Miss World contest. Bear with me here…I promise this won’t turn into a rant about the sexual objectification of women, or bikini styles of the 1960s.
Alongside the semi-naked prancing, wearing too much make-up and a fixed grin, there was an “interview” which was supposed to demonstrate the intelligence of those participating in the contest. One of the questions asked was “if you win the contest, what woudl you like to acheive during your year as Miss World?” Invariably they would respond with something like, “I’d like to find a cure for cancer, bring about world peace an an end to suffering”. I suppose you have to commend them for thinking big if nothing else.
Anyway, back to the real point. As I mentioned earlier I’m currently reflecting on my aims and objectives “as a Christian working with young people” (we can do the whole Youth Ministry vs Youthwork thing another time). I’ve never been great at writing mission statements or setting good objectives, and I recognise that it’s something I need to improve. I think I’m better at feeling these kind of things than expressing them. In my heart I know what I’ve been called to do and I know what I want to achieve – but I struggle when trying to put them on paper. [Don't worry - I'm not asking you to write them for me.]
I’ve done some reading and made some notes, and then scribbled down a few thoughts and out of that I’m trying to craft four or five objectives. Whilst they “feel” ok as I’m writing them, whenever I try to evaluate them they seem to come up short.
[ As this isn't a maths exam I won't be showing you my "working out", but I will probably publish the final objectives here - if I ever settle on any long enough to type them. ]
I remember being taught that all objectives should be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timed). I can see how this applies in my professional life to business plans, specific projects and applications, etc., but I’m not sure that you can apply the same method of evaluation to life-goals and long-team objectives.
Here’s one of the objectives I’ve seen expressed recently in relation to Youth Ministry:
“to minister to the needs of Young People“
How does that measure up using the SMART criteria?
- Specific? nope, pretty wooly and vague
- Measurable? nope
- Achievable? yes, but if you can’t measure it how can you be sure you’ve achieved it?
- Relevant? yes
- Timed? nope
So, for the purposes of my own objectives, should I forget the SMART method completely and just express what I feel I’ve been called to do? Obviously I need to ensure that any objectives are theologically sound – otherwise I need to question my calling. Are there any other criteria I should be using? I’d love to hear your thoughts…
In the meantime, some wise words on the subject…
“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.” – Anatole France
“Good thoughts are no better than good dreams, unless they be executed.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end.” – Ursula K. LeGuin
I’ve very bad at reading. I don’t mean as a skill – I can read perfectly well – it’s just “not my thing”. But reading isn’t something I’m passionate about, and in fact I really have to work myself up to doing it at all (not a great situation when embarking on a course of study). The biggest problem I have is that, however engaging a book may be, reading has the effect of sending me to sleep. It doesn’t matter where I am or how comfortable (or not), I can almost guarantee that within a couple of chapters my eyes will start to close and my head will fall forward. If anyone has any tips on how to avoid this I’d be very pleased to hear them.
Buying books would be a good thing if one could also buy the time to read them in: but as a rule the purchase of books is mistaken for the appropriation of their contents. – Arthur Schopenhauer
Anyway, with all that said, I’ve added a page which lists the books I’m currently reading, and which ones are currently gathering dust. If you’d like to recommend a few more, please get in touch.
I didn’t sleep well last night, and whilst flicking through the channels trying to find something dull to send me into a deep slumber I discovered the penultimate episode of Beyond Boundaries on BBC2. The series follows…
“eleven people about to make history, attempting a journey that’s never been done before. None of them have expedition experience, but halfway round the world from the UK, they’re going to cross Nicaragua from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific Ocean.
They’ll start on the treacherous Mosquito Coast, escorted by armed soldiers to protect them from bandits and drug traffickers. They’ll make their way through impenetrable jungle, crocodile-infested rivers and climb a live volcano in order to make it to their finishing line – the Pacific coast. Accompanied by expedition leader Ken Hames, they have 28 days to cross 220 miles … and they are all physically disabled.”
The disabilities of the people taking part in the Nicaraguan expedition include deafness, blindness, amputations (one or more limbs), Spina bifida and paraplegia. The expedition started with 11 disabled participants, one able-bodied expedition leader and an able-bodied medic.
I’d heard about the show previously but pretty much dismissed it as a new low for reality TV. I’ve just finished watching the final episode this evening and was amazing. The expedition took 28 days in total, and the final episode followed the team through the last four. The following is taken from the expedition leader’s log for the final week:
“after covering 180 miles from the Atlantic coast, the team reach the island of Ometepe. A short ride by cattle truck leaves them just 50 miles short of journey’s end: the Pacific coast. But first they have chosen to take the island’s most punishing route – up the five and a half thousand foot active volcano called Concepcion.” – Ken Hame
Yeah you read that correctly. They chose to climb up a five and a half thousand foot volcano – simply because it was there. Ken continues:
“The terrain was appalling: it was steep, rocky, and unbelievably hot, with loose ground underfoot all the way. Everybody just got on with it, though. One of the most significant moments for me was when Ade was forced out of his chair and had to climb two and half thousand feet on his hands, dragging himself up all the way.”
I sometimes consider myself physically disabled as I’m slightly overweight and have a dodgy knee. As a result I don’t allow myself to do too much in the way of physical activity. I enjoy a good game of badminton and hockey, but walking? Forget it. I don’t do any lengthy walking without anti-inflammatory medication to soften the post-exercise effects.
I can’t describe how utterly pathetic I felt as I watched these guys drag themselves through the pain barrier and beyond.
Toward the end the expedition leader was pretty uncompromising – making hard decisions and forcing the others to make some too. But always with a view to encouraging the team towards its goal – reaching the Pacific Ocean. Also, each of the team members, despite their own excruciating pain and physical struggles, took time to encourage each other. The teamwork had to be forced at times – but it was only the mutual encouragement which got them through the challenge.
“Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:14 – The Message
Seven of the original eleven made it from one side of Nicaragua, through the jungle, across the rivers, up the volcano and to the Pacific Ocean at the other side. Their joy was uncontainable. There were screams of delight as they walked, limped, stumbled and rolled onto the beach. My eyes filled up as one of the participants removed both of her prosthetic legs and ran on her stumps, racing the others into the sea.
I’m sure the programme will be repeated in the near future. Don’t miss it.
“I think humans were designed to help each other, and when that’s all we do, we’re happy.” – Dave Winer
Discuss…
I can’t believe it’s two years to the day since I heard about the death of Mike Yaconelli. I remember reading about it during my lunchbreak at work and it stopped me in my tracks. I never met him, never even heard him speak, but had been inspired by him through the books I’d read.
Purely coincidentally, this morning I was reading an article by Mike over at Youth Specialties and the following quote jumped out at me:
“Jesus’ program of discipleship was simple: hang out with the disciples; let them see you at your best and worst; spend lots of time alone; teach truths none of your disciples can grasp at the moment; avoid crowds; go slowly; spend hours in solitude; don’t worry about opposition; ignore criticism; and don’t expect immediate results.” – Mike Yaconelli – Hurried Discipleship
I’ve been reflecting on my aim and objectives in Youth Work/Ministry for the first module of the Engage Course at CYM, and this hit me like a sledgehammer. I’m off to re-evaluate my scribblings…
Meanwhile, take a look at the following books by “Yac” which I’ve found particularly useful:
ChangeThis recently posted a manifesto entitled “The Youth of Today” which is a must-read for those interested in or involved with young people and youth culture. It was written by “DK”, the founder of PhatGnat, an organisation which “creates opportunities for brands and companies to engage and communicate with young people whilst supporting community and youth-orientated initiatives through specific and high-profile partnerships“.
It covers a broad range of topics including Identity, Politics/Government, Brands/Labels, School, Responsibility, Parents, Idols, Being Young, Dreams/Hopes, Crime, Friends, Technology, Religion (almost), Old People and Sex (two distinct subjects – not “Old People and Sex” – eeeuuughhh!).
Here are a few snippets I found particularly interesting:
On Education:
“An associate of mine teaches a particularly tough group of young people and says lots of her colleagues spend half the lesson enforcing the rules of the school rather than teaching — enforcement, she says, is not engaging or teaching that young person anything. Having to deal with students who are still wearing their coats, chewing gum, have more than one earring in, are wearing trainers instead of shoes, skirts are too short etc. is much more important than involving them in a lesson or educating them apparently…” – DK
On Responsibility:
“Look at the government, adults are the LAST people to take responsibility for anything.” – Jess, 19
On Sex:
“Young people undress to impress nowadays. They are grasping sexuality and its power at a much younger age even though they do not have the life-tools and experience to face the negative issues and consequences of such actions.” – DK
“Professionals know that there is no way to stop young people being exposed to sexual imagery or subjects in magazines, films, TV, Internet, but what we can strive to do is educate and hope they can make informed choices.” – DK
I particularly loved this definition of friendship from Hannah, aged 17:
“Friends are cups of tea, getting tipsy, linking arms, sharing popcorn, stupid photographs, in-jokes, and big hugs.” – Hannah, 17
