As I was driving around yesterday doing many and various pastoral things, I was listening to NPR as I usually do.  I heard a story that I had only heard in the background before.  There was a young girl who hung herself as a result of being bullied over MySpace.  She was in her early teens and come to find out...the bully was an adult neighbor of hers posing as a peer.  To top this off, this happened in the city where I grew up, St. Louis, MO.  It's always sad to hear when someone so young committs suicide, and it's even harder when you know exactly where it happened.  Stories like this break my heart.  She was so young and had so much in life to look forward to. 

After writing those words it made me remember back to when I was a senior in high school.  A young girl comitted suicide at our sister high school (it was a Lutheran high school).  I remember the assistant band director (yes...I was a band geek) came forward during practice and told us that same thing that I just told you.  "She was so young...she had so much to live for...if you ever have a problem don't be afraid to tell me or anyone else".  To be honest with you, me and my own judgmental narrowmindedness thought that he could never help me if I needed it...he's too old, he wouldn't understand.  Granted he was around 70 and I am still in my 20's, but I still find myself in the same position as him.  And I feel that maybe he would have understood more than I realized then.  Maybe he or another teacher, pastor, or parent could have helped me if I needed it.  Maybe help was closer than I realized back then.

I felt that I needed to write a blog about this and to tell all of you out there, especially the many teens that we have as friends, that if you are being bullied, harassed, or stalked either on MySpace or in any other venue, then let us know.  You don't have to take it.  God does not desire for you to be hurt, belittled, and objectified like that.  God sees you as His precious creation (His prized posession) and you are loved by Him and by us.  We at The Well love you dearly and are always here for you if you need anything.  Maybe it's not a stalker or bully, but maybe you feel like you're being pressured into doing things that you don't want to do or things that you know are wrong.  Maybe you don't think that we'll understand or that we'll just jump to a conclusion.  Give us...give me a chance.  I want to hear what's going on whether it's good or bad.  No matter what the problem you have...I can promise you that there is hope to be found.  We can't forget that we have a God who forgives us no matter what we've done, no matter how upset our parents are at us, and no matter how down and depressed we feel.  So to all teens (and adults) out there...I want to let you know that you always have a place to go, especially when you feel like you can't turn to anyone.  Even if you are not feeling sad or that your life is out of control...maybe everything is going great...The Well is still here for you.  We want to hear all the good stuff, too. 

God's Blessings to all of you and let us bring about a movement of positivity and love on MySpace. 

I wrote this article for the Grace Lutheran Newsletter.  I thought that this would be a good place to repost it since The Well is embarking on many different frontiers of newness.  Enjoy...let me know what you think.

New

That little three letter word, "new" is something that we as humans, and especially we as Americans seem to be so obsessed with.  Why new?  What's the big deal?  Why is it that we always have to have the newest car, clothes, music, or have the newest technology?  This is a concept that seems especially relevant when dealing with the New Year.  We want to start this year off new, because last year was too sad, inefficient, gluttonous, lame, or just boring.  We're not satisfied with last year, so this year will be different…right?  So where does this obsession come from?  Why is it that we never seem satisfied with what we have? 

Well, there are a number of different fields of thought.  Many feel it's because we're just generally greedy people always looking for more.  I could agree with that.  There's really no good reason that I need a new iPod…I just want a bigger/better one because I like progress.  Some feel that it's because we are overly competitive people and we just like to keep up with the Joneses.  We just like the appearance of being successful, rich, smart, wonderful, or winners of the earthly game of "Who's got the most and best stuff" (just to let you know…that game always ends worse than Monopoly…someone is always upset and disappointed).  I could agree with that, too.  For a while this was a fuel for me in buying a house, and as we can see, so many people fell into the trap of bad loans (can we call them loan sharks or is that inappropriate?) just so they could have as much (or more) than their friends and loved ones.  For now…I enjoy listening to my old iPod in my apartment. 

Okay…so new is bad, right?  No, not at all.  Greed is bad.  Coveting is bad.  But new…there's something beautiful and eternal about new.  New is something that whispers to our soul and brings us joy.  Why else would we seek new so passionately?  You might be reading this thinking that you're okay, because you don't get caught up in all that "new" stuff.  Maybe you have shoes older than me and they're still working out for you just fine.  New stinks!  Well, kudos on the shoes, but not on the attitude.  I think that a passion for seeking something new is healthy and vital for the Christian walk.  Healthy?!?  Yeah, healthy.  Like I said, greed is bad, coveting is bad.  And we should also know that satisfaction with mediocrity is bad just as much as being satisfied with only having new earthly things is bad…wanting more out of life is beautiful…satisfaction with holiness is what God wants out of us. 

You see, we're broken, hurting, and fallen creatures.  We're stuck lugging around this old self around like it's last year's iPod, shirt, or car.  It's not as good as the new self that we know is out there.  Unfortunately as great and bountiful as the shopping opportunities are in Southern California…the new edition of our self can only be found in one place…in Christ.  I think that our longing and passion for all things new here in the world is simply just evidence of our soul craving something new…and something long lasting…something that stays new all the time.  We want dust-free dining sets, self-making beds, shoes that don't scuff, self-washing cars, the infinite iPod, and the clothes that will always be in style.  This obsession of newness isn't something fueled by greed and coveting…it's our souls crying out to us for something new…something whole because everything else just seems incomplete.  Unfortunately, that message gets lost in translation and we seek out new on our own and we use other sinners as benchmarks for what is both new and good. 

I think that especially this time of year when we have just gotten our credit card bills from the Christmas season we need to reexamine what our souls are truly craving for.  They are not seeking out clothes, iPods, or a new car.  Those things will only leave us wanting more…they won't satisfy us.  Our souls are craving something bigger…eternal…and new.  Our souls spit out mediocrity and temporal newness like it's Chinese food that's been hanging around the back of your fridge for about a month.  Good thing Jesus knows our soul.  He knows the eternal cravings that our soul obsesses over.  This is what Christ wants to give us.  He wants us to have the new that is so new that it never goes out of style…He wants to give us salvation.  He wants to remove that old, ratty, out of style self that we lug around and He is going to hook us up with the latest model…the perfect model…He calls it "The Saint".  So during this "new" year…listen to what your soul is crying out for…and seek out new in the one place that can truly offer it.  I pray that your new year is filled with the newness of Jesus Christ, and that your soul gets everything that it craves for.

Just want to let all of you know that I will be out of town beginning Friday the 28th.  I'm going to Chicago to be in a friend's wedding and see family.  Sarah and I will be back around on January 3rd.  If you haven't gathered, we're taking two weeks off of Community Groups.  We'll resume beginning the week of January 7th.  Monday will be @ the Sumner's and Thursday will be @ the King's.  If anyone is considering hosting a 3rd CG, just let me know and we'll make it happen.  I'll still be checking email and I'll have the Wellphone with me, so if you need to chat don't hesitate to drop me a line.  

Greetings!  So last week we had a great talk about how the Christian life should also be a generous life.  Following Jesus should mean sacrifice and giving.  I had mentioned that Grace Lutheran School has challenged us to raise money to build a well in Central America through Food for The Poor.  We have officially accepted the challenge.  Yes, we are a small church with not much money, but we are serious about being a giving church.  So here's the plan.  We're going to start having collections at Bible Studies, and we are going to put out cans across the AV.  If you are interested or know a business owner who may be interested in putting out a donation can, the let me know.  We'd like to put out the cans no later than the beginning of next week. 

I would like challenge each of you to make some sort of sacrifice so that you can help out a village who does not have clean drinking water...something we take for granted.  Our goal is $4,075 (the cost of one well through FFTP) raised by June 6th, 2008.  If we raise more, we won't stop there.  We are open to doing more than just one well.  See many of you tonight!

Last week I had the chance to go to a pastors' conference.  It was a lot of fun and I got to catch up with a few friends in the area that I have seen for a while.  One is my friend Bob.  We went through seminary together and he is down in Moorpark.  Well, we were in a group of people that we had never met before and we were to answer a few questions on the topic of a presentation.  Well, we argued like we hated each other...I flat out called him a jerk in front of anyone.  It was great!  We've got a long history and an deep understanding that even disagreeing (or the occasional juvenile name-calling) will keep us from being friends.  Everyone else in our group thought that we were going to strangle each other until we started laughing (after I called him a jerk). 

It just made me think about how we, as Christians, can appear to others.  I think that we need to be able to argue and fight with each other, especially if it is for proper understanding of the Gospel.  What's most important though is not the fight, but the understanding that even if you disagree with a fellow Christian...you are still brothers and sisters....there is a deeper love and understanding that should be present at all times (even if you call a fellow Christian a "jerk" or "cookiehead" or "funnyface").  This also means that this is not how we are to minister to those outside of church.  We're not there to argue and prove people wrong.  We're there to bring people grace, mercy, and the love of Christ.  Sometimes that means that we have to just shut up and listen to someone (even if we think they are wrong).  Christ was a brilliant listener and a bad interupteror (is that a word?).  He always had an answer, but, honestly, most of his answers were just questions anyways.  Let us, seek that same attitude towards our friends and neighbors who don't know Christ.  Let us not be name callers, but listeners and grace-givers.

This past weekend I went "home".  It was my dad's birthday and Sarah and I went to St. Louis (where I grew up and where my parents still reside) to surprise my dad for his birthday.  It was great.  But I don't want to bore you with vacation photos and stories of people you don't know...and probably will never know. 

Saturday night Sarah and I went to worship at the church we used to be a part of called Christ in the City (www.cravestl.org).  It was one of the first Lutheran churches West of the Mississippi.  Unfortunately, it fell on hard times in its 120+ year existance.  At one point there were only 3 members.  But God has ressurected that place.  It dwells in an area filled with contradictions.  Right next to St. Louis University Medical School and homes where drug dealers and people who can't afford medical care live.  Parts are being regentrified...but many homes are still in shambles. 

As I sat in worship I thought of all of you (don't worry...I wasn't just daydreaming during the sermon).  I was a part of Christ in the City's "re"opening worship service almost 2 years ago.  What struck me was the beauty of the imperfection during the worship service (very similar to when I was there).  There were sound problems, sometimes things didn't "flow", the power point was inaccurate on a few songs, the preacher was not perfect...but despite all of that I felt the presence of God in that place.  I was surrounded by people being moved by the presence of Jesus Christ there in that moment.   We were all able to worship Him and be moved by His Spirit.

Now, back to what made me think of all of you.  I thought about our community here at The Well, and how we're still figuring this stuff out, too.  But despite all of that...I've seen the work of Christ and His presence in all of your lives.  As a community and as individuals we've had our ups and our downs...but Christ is still there.  I think this is one of the things I love about all you the most.  Despite all of our imperfections...desptie saying/doing the wrong thing, hurting someone else, slipping away in our devotion/discipleship, or just being naive as to what we "should" do...despite all of that, Jesus is still at work amongst us and His love is still at work amongst us and through us. 

I pray that as we continue on that we are able to praise God no matter our imperfections.  I guess we'll just leave the perfect stuff and the "having it all together" stuff up to Jesus...we'll let Him carry that burden for us.  I'm very confident  in our future, because of reliance on Christ.

I know this blog is long, but I have one more thing that I feel that I need to tell you.  I mentioned that I went "home" for the weekend.  Yeah, St. Louis is where my parents live, but the AV is my home.  I hadn't been to Chirst in the City for over a year, but the second I walked in, I felt at home despite not even recognizing many of the people there.  This is the same thing I want to bring to The Well.  That no matter where we are, whether it be my apartment, the Sumners house, walking on the sidewalk collecting canned food, or just hanging out at a park together...no matter where we are that we all feel at home because our family is there.  I do feel that you are all a part of my family, and I look foward to the family life together.

Last night we had our first Palmdale Study @ the Sumners.  Some old friends...some new.  It was awesome.  I was really encouraged to see God at work in our conversations.  Nooma rocks...I can't wait to do it on Thursday with all of you people coming over to my place.  I pray for both groups, that He would use both us for our spiritual growth and movement towards loving this valley.

If I don't see you on Thursday I will see you all on Sunday night @ 6pm @ the Cedar Centre (bring a friend). 

Last Thursday, Cindy led our small group.  Though we were a little rushed for time, I really enjoyed it.  She helped us kick off our new study on Mission: Near and Far.  Cindy spent around 3 1/2 years in Japan as a missionary and it was very encouraging and enlightening to hear about her experiences and how they relate to our mission here in the AV.  I really think that this is important for us to look at.  As Christians, sometimes we think of God as very small...only working here in our corner of the world, but He's at work all over this big ball of dirt we call earth. 

This Thursday we will have another guest leader, Prisca.  She spent some time over in Taiwan, and she'll share her experiences over there and how it relates to our mission here in the AV. 

Blessings on your day.  If this is your first time at our MySpace, then take a minute to look around and drop us a message and tell us what you think. 

Today we are going to finish up our current study in our Community Group. Next week, Thursday July 12th at 6pm (note the time difference from our normal gatherings) we are going to have a BBQ at Marie Kerr Park. We'll meet over by the playground/sand volleyball/pavilion area on the southwest corner of the park (near 30th St. West and Rancho vista Blvd.). We'll BBQ. I'm going to make some good ol' St. Louis Style BBQ Brisket, the Sumners will bring burgers and dogs ans buns, and everyone can bring a side dish. Bring the kids, bring your friends, bring yourselves, bring an appetite, and bring some games. We'll toss around the frisdbee, play some Bocce Ball, play some sand volleyball, or whatever else sounds fun.

We'll start up a new study beginning the following Thursday (the 19th) and we're going to start a second study for those who Thursday doesn't quite work. This will give us a good chance just to hang out and have a good time. We'll see you there!

I just wanted to let all you out in MySpace know that we are going to do a food drive tomorrow morning down in Palmdale.  We'll start at 9am at Brad and Lisa's house.  For directions, just drop me a message.  We did this once before up in Lancaster and it was a blast.  We just went door to door and said that we are a new church in the area who is collecting food for a local shelter.  People were more than happy to help.  This is a great chance for kids to help out, too.  It's hard to say "No" or "Take Off!" to a little kid. 

If you could drop me a message and let me know either way (if you want to come or not) I would appreciate it.  Hope to see you all tomorrow morning.