And the winner is...

Character Week wraps up today, and I just may have saved the most unique for last.  In 28 years of youth ministry there were a lot of interesting people who passed through the doors of the various churches I served, but perhaps none was a greater character than Colleen Martin.

Colleen first came to us at FUMC-K as a middle school student.  Her mom (soon-to-be youth counselor and dear friend Cindy Martin) was concerned that Colleen might be heading down the wrong path, and most of this concern was based on the music she listened to.  Cindy brought Colleen in a few times for me to "counsel" about her growing love for groups like KORN and other bands of that genre from the mid 1990's.  It didn't take me long to discover two things.  One, Colleen was a normal, fairly well-adjusted teenager just looking for her place in this world.  And two, Colleen's place was going to be different from everyone else's.  She thrived on individuality.

There are many stories that, in the deep dark corners of my mind, set Colleen apart.  I may not have all the facts quite right; it is possible these stories have "grown" over time.  She was definitely one of the Myrtle Beach Mooners.  I seem to remember very early on in our relationship that she had to write a paper for school, one of those "What do I want to be when I grow up?" papers that everyone hates.  Colleen, never one to take the easy way out, wrote hers on being a serial killer. She approached it seriously, and wrote about how she wanted to be good at her chosen career.   Needless to say, this was met with some consternation at her middle school.  Parents were called, and we got to have a nice chat about it as well.  Obviously, Colleen had no intention of hurting anyone.  It was simply another way of announcing to the world that she was going to think for herself.  In the picture you see here, Colleen is posing with an Australian Christian band called Beanbag.  Everyone else who was with us that day was trying to get autographs and pictures with Newsboys, the stars of the show.  Colleen posed with the band no one had ever heard of (before or since!), and was absolutely thrilled about it!  Another time we were discussing the future, and things like marriage and family.  Colleen stated, without hesitation, that she wanted to be married in a funeral home.  Not exactly the kind of "white wedding" dreams you get from your average teenage girl.  But that was no surprise by then- I knew almost nothing abut Colleen was average.  She was exceptional in every way!

Colleen was the kind of character that makes being in youth ministry a joy.  She was a fierce friend to so many of our students, always sticking with them in good times and bad.  She was a "seeker" in the truest sense of the word.  Her faith was important to her.  She asked difficult questions, and she sought out the answers as well.  Her "out-of-the-box" thinking often challenged the group to see things in a different light, but she never expected anyone else to think like her.  I saw her be "Jesus with skin" to so many people during those years.  That group, as full of personality as it was, would never have become the family it was without her.

A few years after I left Kissimmee, Colleen came to visit us in Tampa with a group of old friends.  Will was at the church for something, and Marilyn was practicing with the praise band.  Colleen walked over with me to pick up Will.  She, by this time, had numerous piercings and was dressed all in black.  As we walked across the back of the worship room, the other members of the praise band wanted to know who she was- and why was she with me.  I am sure, as she lives life on her own terms, that Colleen gets a lot of that.  I know that at times as an adult she felt rejected by churches because of her appearance.  But Marilyn's response that night says all you need to know abut Colleen Martin:  "She's a dear friend, a sweetheart, and one of the most special people you could ever know."  I could not agree more.  Today we recognize Colleen as character, but that is not all.  She also deserves an induction into my Youth Group Hall of Fame!  Welcome, Colleen.  I assume you will want to decorate your section yourself...

Because of Jesus,