Unofficial Everything

One of my favorite shows of all time is “The West Wing.”

The show still stands as the work that defined Aaron Sorkin and it still holds up in the realm of smartness, poignancy, and quality.  

There’s a brilliant episode that flashes back to Jed Bartlet’s campaign run for President.  At the time of the story, he’s still a darkhorse candidate with a brand new staff he doesn’t yet trust and all that we see is a grumpy, entitled, crotchety man stubborn to bend on almost anything.  

While he’s out of the room, several of the staffers go back and forth on a couple of issues about Bartlet to which Leo McGarity (Bartlet’s future Chief of Staff and best friend) fires off, “HE’S NOT READY!”

At the end of the episode, after Bartlet has won the Illinois primary, he shows up at an airport to console Josh Lyman (one of those staffers) on the way to bury his father who had just passed away.  It’s here that the humanity of the man shines through and we begin to see the makings of the future President whose values would always be based on the simple fact that he cared.

It’s then that he utters the phrase to Leo, “I’m ready.”

I bring this episode summary up for a couple of reasons.  1) It’s playing on BRAVO right now.  2) The moments where we have the opportunity to exercise humanity and compassion are the moments that define us.  It’s not the accolade or office that you break your neck to reach while skipping over those moments on the way.

I say this for no other reason than to remind myself as we prepare for the next phase of TeenRock.  

It’s been a long summer.  Really and truly, just long.  

Over the past three months, multiple mission trips, a few camps, and oh yeah, one of the single most exciting and pivotal transitions our High School Ministry has ever undergone (moving to a different night, in a different place, with a brand new crop of kids).  Oh, I almost forgot, in two weeks, we’ll have a permanent facility!  

Woah.

I had a chance to sit and talk with Devin today.  Over the course of this trip that we’ve been on, it’s been refreshing to see him lead and see him teach and play quarterback on a lot of the decisions regarding the leadership of the group while Laura has been handling all of the logistics before and during the trip.  The other leaders on the trip have been such a blessing as well and of course Makarios staff is always at the top of their game.  

As for me and Devin, the conversation started with him simply saying, “So…are the lights on?”

It was the way that he said it but immediately, I knew what he was talking about.

You see, for the past three months, TeenRock has literally been living out a battle plan that we crafted over a year ago.  It’s rare that a student ministry plan and strategy planned so far in advance is executed with such precision and accuracy and while we do have an AMAZING staff and team of volunteers, it’s more a testament to a very clear vision that God gave us, and His faithfulness in keeping us focused not on our plans…but His.  

With that said, the plan becomes significantly less specific after Spring 2011.  Not in a scary way by any means.  For instance, a year ago, we wrote down, “We’re going to Reagan High School.”  The same time this year, we wrote down, “We’re targeting two more schools.”    

All of this to say, what Devin was asking was, “Tyson, after the summer you’ve had, have you had time to start asking God, ‘what’s next?’”  I got a similar question from Melissa, who’s holding down the TeenRock fort back at home via email. 

It’s a worthwhile question and the truth is that over the course of this trip to the D.R. I’ve had ample time to really be alone with the Lord and realize that He had given me the answers a long time ago.  I just didn’t realize at the time they were answers because I didn’t have the questions that I’m asking today.

So while it’s been a long summer, it’s truly been a blessed and wonderful summer.

I believe the next steps we take as a ministry will define us for the next 10 years.  I believe that from this next crop of students currently becoming leaders in the ministry, God-sized things are going to start happening (I’m talking ACTS type stuff).  I believe the favor of the Lord is upon us.  I believe the lights are most definitely on.  I believe I’m ready.

The last few days have been incredible.  I’ve been floored by the camaraderie and the efficiency of this team.

Truth be told, while everyone on the team can be classified as “TeenRock,” the overwhelming feeling I had going into this trip was that God had assembled quite an assortment of different people from different schools, grades, etc.  Unity was going to be important. 

The Lord has been faithful.  United we are. 

The team shot out of the gate ready to go and ready to work and ready to love. 

To give you an indication of some of the things we have been doing, task 1 was to assist and essentially host a VBS for the children that attend the Makarios school.  Task 2 was to assist with some construction and tidying of the Makarios school.

Some food for thought in reference to these tasks:

1.              The planning that went into the VBS prior to the trip was unbelievable.   Led by Amanda Allen, Meghan Gallagher, Katie Ernst, and Laura Ingram, the girls had songs already planned and translated, stories prepared (and translated), and crafts that just dazzled the mind.   Without question the kids enjoyed all of it.  As for the guys who were tasked with recreational activities, while it’s not difficult to plan to play soccer, the execution and organization of numerous children in an open field is a daunting challenge and these young men have stepped up well under the leadership of Colt McCarthy, Devin Garza, and Travis Otwell.

2.              In the area of construction, I am astounded by the diligence.  Everyone is quick to serve.  No one has complained, and everyone works as a team. 

All in all, a certain trend has seeped into the team’s collective DNA – family.  On Sunday, I shared with the team the power of the family and that while much divides and classifies us differently, the blood of Jesus Christ unites us as brothers and sisters in Christ.  Having said this, great things have been achieved by the family unit and who are we to say that we can’t be one of those families. 

In that vein, each night has been so rich as students have opened up and shared wins and losses, highs and lows, and even legitimate fears.  The mutual encouragement that is happening is something to behold and the love that these students have for one another is something that I will cherish for a very long time. 

It’s true what they say that an experience like this often leads to us being blessed by the people we meant to bless.  I’m firmly in that category as this team and the people of this country have blessed me beyond measure.

Dear youth pastor. If by some chance you lead a largish ministry with a centralized program, of course there are some obvious things to never ever forget. Things like “teach the bible” and “it’s all about relationships” should go without saying.

However just being at Reagan in the summer I found myself making a checklist of things that won’t necessarily make or break you but would help immensely.

1. During the summer, aside from the periodic planning meeting, you shouldn’t see your interns that often. They should be out hanging out with kids. Don’t give them office hours. Defeats the purpose.

2. Give ownership to your team and really give it. Don’t be uninvolved but let them run with the day to day operations. At times asking your team questions as opposed to giving them all the answers is the right approach.

3. Trust. Trust the experts. Hopefully you aren’t the most skilled and knowledgeable guitarist / sound guy / video guy. If you are, start finding someone even if they aren’t as “good” as you and let them become “better.” Surround them with faithful people and then trust them. Which leads to…

4. It goes without saying that you should love your teams well but don’t forget your production teams and bands. Take them to lunch early and often and don’t just talk shop. Talk about life.

5. “Everything is going to be ok.” Don’t freak out. Seriously. Don’t do it.

Now if I could just heed my own advice…