Job Search Misadventures

The Spring and Summer of 2001 found me exploring many different possibilities for life after the Union Church of Hinsdale.  Marilyn and I were seeking a new ministry, and our preference was to head back to Florida.  My resume had been online for quite a while by then, but I had deflected most of the offers for interviews up until that point.  Over those next few months I would spend lots of time on the computer and the phone, sorting through the churches who had an interest in me.  After prayerful consideration (and Marilyn telling me, once again, that we were not going to Las Vegas or Texas!) I began to set up a few interviews.  When it comes to employment, trying to deal with churches can be frustrating.  Witness the following accounts...

One of the first places that flew me in for a weekend was a United Methodist Church on Florida's Space Coast.  It was a fairly large church with a very active student ministry in need of a leader.  I had a great interview with their search committee, and then a dinner with the Senior Pastor.  I was very excited about the possibilities.  I then spent an evening with some of the student leaders of the group.  We had a great dinner together, and afterwards a number of those youth came to me and told me that of all of the candidates they had met so far, the felt I was the best fit. The whole weekend seemed like a huge success.  I returned home to find my in-box full of encouraging e-mails from staff and students telling how much they hoped I would be coming back to Titusville to join them.  And then I never heard from anyone at that church ever again.  It was like the interview never happened.  I called the pastor later on and was only told the position had been filled.  I found out later they had decided to go with a specific model of ministry and hired someone who had been trained in that method.  Ouch.

The weirdness was only beginning.  Another UMC in Florida called and did an extensive phone interview.  They were very positive and liked what they heard from me.  We planned for me to fly down and spend a weekend.  In the meantime, I heard from some old friends from FUMC-K who had moved and attended the church.  They too were very excited.  On the evening before I was to fly to Orlando on a Friday, they called to tell me not to come.  The position had been filled by their current Assistant Youth Pastor.  I have never quite figured out why they didn't know that before they bought me a plane ticket.  I flew down anyway to visit my parents. 

Yet another UMC, this one in southwest Florida (We wanted to come back to FL, but clearly God was trying to tell me something and I wasn't listening!) flew me in for an interview with the church staff, the search committee and some of the youth & parents- all in one evening.  I knew immediately this place was different.  The Associate Pastor was clearly the one in charge.  The Senior Pastor didn't seem to have much going on.  The student ministry was fairy active, but it had one very serious drawback.  Someone had decided to run a youth-friendly nightclub out of their youth building on weekends.  They had been doing it for about 6 months at the time I interviewed.  They were drawing in almost no one from outside of the church, and the entire student ministry budget was tied up in the enterprise.  There was also almost no money to pay a youth pastor.  I was not looking for anything near what I was making in Hinsdale, but this would have taken me back to a 1993 pay level.  It was another no-go, but at least this time I got to be the one saying no!

God still was opening doors for me, and I continued to walk through them. The final two churches I would interview with before accepting a new position in August of 2001 were both quite interesting in their own ways.  Wednesday I will tell you about my weekend in Baton Rouge, LA, where nothing- and I do mean nothing- was as it seems.  Tomorrow the Jesus Revolution continues!

Because of Jesus,

Reality Bites

Work Tour 2001 to Tijuana was a great experience by every standard.  The team from the Union Church of Hinsdale had done great work at the orphanage, both in building a wall and a restroom and in bonding with the amazing children who lived there.  Our adventure out into a small village to lead a VBS had been a rousing success.  The youth did a remarkable job given our limited Spanish, and they were amazed at the hunger of the village children for Jesus.  I even held my own leading music in Spanish.  We got to eat some awesome Mexican food from little carts (no water, please!) and be tortured by the kids from the orphanage who tricked some of us into eating the hottest peppers you can imagine.  We visited an amazing beach (see picture- sorry the quality is so bad).  And at Candle, UC's traditional closing worship for Work Tour, the youth said all the things you hope they will say about growing in faith and wanting to be more committed to following Christ.  It was indeed a legendary trip.

Our flight home had us changing planes in Denver (where there was a Burger King with no hamburgers.  I'm not kidding. Only chicken.  Too weird).  We had a rather lengthy layover there and I found myself sitting and watching the rest of the group interact.  I became aware of two things as I observed them.  One, I could already hear them longing for their creature comforts and down-playing the things they had seen in Tijuana.  And two, their leader was not me.  It was David Knecht.  He was one of them.  He spoke their language, knew their lifestyle and loved them all.  Once again I was reminded that I was not going to be with them much longer.  I was almost done plowing the road for David.

Upon our return to Hinsdale, not much really changed.  The truth of it was that these were rich kids whose parents saw everything as a priority over faith.  That was the reality, and sometimes reality bites!  The Work Tour team did not suddenly start showing up for Discovery or bible study.  They didn't sign-up to be part of the team for our monthly trip into Chicago and the Good News Soup Kitchen.  I know the trip made a difference in their lives.  But I sure couldn't see it.  It was like Tony Campolo's description of altar calls. He said far too many people "go down the aisle to Just As I Am; they kneel at the altar just as they are; and they return to their seats just as they were."  And when my summer brochure for 2001 came out, it was again greeted with a yawn.  "Might as well get used to summers off..."

By late June both God and Marilyn were telling me it was time to go.  Doors were opening, and I began to interview with some other churches- in a few interesting situations.  Those stories are coming Wednesday.

Because of Jesus,

Footprints On Our Hearts

The closer we came to leaving Kissimmee in 2000, the harder it became to let go of the people there that we loved so much.  During those last few weeks my office at the church was a beehive of activity.  Students, parents, church staff and Youth Ministry Team members seemed to be in and out all the time.  None of us wanted to say good-bye.  In an effort almost no one knew about, I went back into the office of The Pastor Who Shall Not Be Named and offered to call Union Church and tell them I was staying at FUMC-K.  All he had to do was say the word.  He did not.  As we began packing in earnest youth stopped by the house to help, to watch and to eat our food.  Amber Herrick stopped by to yell at me for leaving- as did others.  People I had not seen it a while showed up for events.  It made leaving just that much more difficult.

Then the farewell parties began.  When you have spent six years building what are hopefully deep and lasting relationships with people, bidding them adieu is no fun.  But everyone feels a need for closure in such situations, so there were a variety of events put together so that we could all say good-bye to one another.  I don't remember many details about the actual events.  I do remember that the final farewell was a reception after church in the Fellowship Hall, and that it was very nice (I also remember that The Pastor Who Shall Not Be Named couldn't be bothered to stay more than 5 minutes).  What I really remember from all of the events is that we got 4 amazing gifts that I still treasure. 

• The choir that Marilyn and I sang with, Joyful Praise, gave us a framed copy of one of my favorite anthems we had done- We've Come This Far By Faith.  It was signed by all of the choir members, and it hangs on the wall in our living room today.  Andrew Lewis was someone we were going to miss tremendously.
• Some of the younger girls in the group- Bethany Esry, Brittney Herder, Isabelle Davis, Julia Pribyl and I am not sure who else- made a scrap book for us.  You have seen some of those pictures on this blog, and that scrapbook is very dear to me.  So is the inscription inside the front cover:  "To Carl Jones, the BEST youth leader ever!"  They were wrong, of course, but I love them for saying it!
• Sam and Leila Lupfer presented me with a journal with the title, "Carl, I'll Never Forget the Time..."  In it, many members of the Youth Ministry Team and church staff had remembered events and moments that we had shared over the years.  Entries from the Lupfer's, Cindy Martin, Cathy Thacker, Mark & Beth McKenna, Dana Schmidt, Karen Fry, Michael & Becky McCleery, Brian and Jill Watson, Carol Kraus, Sandi Lynch and more were so meaningful and touching. 
• The youth, led by filmmaker Colleen Martin, produced a video to say good-bye.  It was awesome.  Most of it was shot in my office; every time I watch it I am reminded how AMAZING that office was!  Among the the video highlights were Sara Autrey telling me how "degraditated" (her favorite made-up word) she was that I was leaving;  Colleen trying to interview Nate Kern in the men's room, where he was pretending to pee;  Adam Hill marking me off his list of People to Kill while applying lipstick;  "Twins" Melissa Lynes and Erica Souther telling me how much I would miss them;  Kelly Jeck singing the Oscar Mayer bologna song (spelling it wrong, of course);  Matt & Dana Schmidt talking with their backs to the camera because they "refused to watch me leave;"  Andrew Rogers not appearing on film, but providing the voice for a doll and singing Figaro; Sarah Whitman asking me to say hello to all the truckers for her; Jena Threadgill pretending to come out of the shower to be interviewed; and Josh Fry telling me how much he would miss me as he peeled off 5 layers of shirts and coats and then poured water all over his t-shirt.  There were also segments from Erik Jacobsen, Lindsey Joiner, Sarah Crudele, Melanie Schultz and Karen Fry that still bring me to tears.  I cannot express how much I treasure that video.

In Dr. Jill's (pictured) entry in the journal I was given she wrote, "I am thankful that you have always loved me just because...and in spite of...who I am."  Today, I could use those same words to express my love to her and the many others from those days who have loved me when I certainly didn't deserve it.  That same journal contained an inscription from the publisher on the inside cover.  The words were meant for me at the time, but they apply so well to what all of us- youth and adults- shared in those days at FUMC-K.  I'll close with them:

Some people come into our lives and quickly go.  Some people move our souls to dance.  They awaken us to new understanding with the passing whisper of their wisdom, and make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon.  Some people stay in our lives a while, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same.

Because of Jesus,

Hollywood

I don't really remember how it happened to me. It may have been one of those jobs you get when you don't know that you should just say NO!   I know that when I arrived at FUMC-K there was a bit of a controversy about how John Willis did the children's sermon each Sunday.  He often used a muppet-type character named Hollywood to help him teach.  Hollywood did not have many fans among the adults of the congregation.  He wore a cowboy hat and a red bandanna and glasses (I can't believe I don't have a picture of him to share). They thought he was silly and childish (Yes, I know, and I'm coming back to how ridiculous that sounds) and that he took away from worship.  Some of the leadership even demanded that Hollywood's appearances be cut back.  Even the youth liked to pick on John and kidnapped Hollywood from time to time.  Somehow, it the midst of all this turmoil, I became the straight man for John and his muppet on Sundays.  It was quite a ride!

You see, when you were up on the platform talking with John and Hollywood, things could get very strange.  First of all, it was often hard to know who you were talking to.  John was no ventriloquist; his mouth was always moving, and their voices were not all that different; at least until Hollywood got excited.  It took me a while to learn who to respond to.  Add in the unpredictability of the kids who would join us up front, and every week was a circus!  I could almost understand why some people thought the whole thing was a little over the top...

But here's the deal; to the children that his messages were aimed at, Hollywood was a rock star!  They got him.  They could repeat everything he said to them.  I would walk across our campus during the week and the kids in our church school and child care would yell at me, "HEY!!!  You know Hollywood!"  It was amazing.  The more I was part of it, the more I came to understand what I came to call The Hollywood Principle.

The Hollywood Principle states that if we want children and youth to be a part of our churches. then we need to be willing to give up things for them.  For instance, if we want youth to feel like they are important in worship, then some of the music should reflect their tastes.  If adults are not willing to give up some of their preferences, we send a very negative message.  Hollywood taught me that.  He seemed "childish" because he was there for the children!  It really didn't matter if the adults "got him" or not- that is not who he was there for.  John Willis understood that is a big way.  We were never just "winging it" on Sunday mornings; we would work on the children's moment every Monday and Thursday, and then practice again at 8 AM on Sunday.  This moment of ministry connected John to the children of the church in ways you cannot imagine unless you sat where I sat on Sunday mornings.  It was an honor to be a part of it all. 

Hanging around with Hollywood was always cool, but never better than when I got to go into the recording studio with him...that story is coming Friday.

Because of Jesus,

Tiger Woods & Forgiveness

My favorite definition of GRACE:  "There will always be a second chance...and you will always be on your FIRST try!"

In case you live under a very large rock and haven't heard, Tiger Woods is playing golf at the The Masters this weekend.  He has had a few issues over the past few months (DUH!) and the whole world seems to have an opinion on the man and his transgressions.  Now I don't know Tiger personally (My wife Marilyn did meet him; back in the late 1990's she and her boss went to his home in Orlando to complete a real estate closing on the land where his current Orlando home now sits.  Her memory is of a classic young bachelor whose home was furnished with golf clubs, and she got his autograph for our son Will.)  but I do have some thoughts on one aspect of his story.

I keep hearing and reading that Tiger's reputation and popularity have a chance to be rehabilitated because USAmericans are such a forgiving people.  On that I am afraid I have to call a giant BS!  We might be willing to forgive Tiger, because let's face it- what he did has no effect on us.  We are happy to give second chances to politicians, celebrities and athletes who fall because their sins rarely hurt us.  You can hear this is people's comments about El Tigre.  They say, "I hope he comes back; he messed up but he deserves a second chance.  But if I had been Elin I would have kept beating him with that golf club!"  We seldom forgive those who hurt us.  We are willing to consider redemption if they EARN it.  It's not really forgiveness if it is conditional.  It's not forgiveness if you are willing to overlook it because it didn't happen to you.  It's not forgiveness if you tell someone you forgive them and then hold their sin over their head constantly to remind them how guilty they should feel.  But typically this is the kind of forgiveness we offer in our culture.

Jesus saw forgiveness is a very different light.  When asked how often you should forgive someone, he said "70 times 7"- a infinite amount of times.  He told the parable of the prodigal son (a guy who really knew how to sin!) to illustrate that when we fall, God waits for us with open arms.  We don't have to "do" anything to earn God's grace; it is simply waiting for us when we turn back to God.  And God not only forgives, He forgets.  Our sins, once given to Him, are buried on the ocean floor.  The old saying is so true; "There is nothing you can do to make God love you more, and there is nothing you can do to make Him love you less."  As followers of Jesus, we are called upon to share that kind of love and forgiveness with the world, but we seldom do.  We attach so many strings...

I find myself feeling a little sorry for Tiger.  Certainly no one approves of what he did (hate the sin, love the sinner!) but many seem to have forgotten that he ever did anything else.  I have been through some of what he is going though on a much smaller scale.  I have been publicly condemned for my sins.  I have felt the power of God's amazing grace in the form of unconditional forgiveness from my family and some wonderful friends.  I have felt  conditional forgiveness from some who want me to earn back their love.  And I have felt rejection from some who choose to throw stones.  But mostly, I have felt the overwhelming grace of God reminding me not of my guilt, but of His love for me as shown through the sacrifice Jesus made on all of our behalves. I have learned in new and amazing ways that while I might not be able to earn back your love, I do not NEED to earn anything from God- I already have it!  Jesus doesn't want us to feel guilt; Jesus came that we might be free of our guilt and live an abundant life.  It is Satan (the accuser) who loves guilt, who wants us to forget the grace Jesus came to offer us.  Our pastor, Matthew Hartsfield, is fond of saying "the next time Satan reminds you of your past, just remind him of his future."  God wins!  I feel sympathy for Tiger because he is facing so much and trying to do it without Jesus.  He is facing an often cold, often unforgiving world without the knowledge and comfort of grace.  As someone who has been there, I just cannot imagine that.  Because of Jesus, I know that I know that I know that I am still a beloved child of God, and that God can and will use me in this world.  My sins- your sins- do not define us before God.  Jesus does.

Today's bottom line- when you fail to forgive, or when you seek to use guilt or to make someone earn your love, you are being used by Satan.  It's time that we Christ-followers started offering grace to a world that so badly needs it.  And that begins by offering it to the people who have hurt us most.  Have a blessed Sunday everyone!

Because of Jesus,

Be Afraid! Be Very Afraid...

Before we get into today's post, there are a couple of things I want to mention.  In Tuesday's posting entitled It's Game Time I left out one of the more popular games we played over the years.  It was called Current, but almost no one knew that.  You would simply remember it as the game where there were two teams, I sat at the end of the rows and flipped a quarter, and the teams would race by squeezing hands.  Several e-mails pointed out my oversight...  Speaking of which, PLEASE keep the comments and e-mails coming!  I love knowing who is reading and what you think.

Over the years I had at least as many bad ideas as good ones.  We tried all sorts of things in an effort to keep from being boring and predictable, which is often how people think of the church.  One idea that I refused to give up on was the early morning student kidnapping (It just sounds like a bad idea, doesn't it?).  Here's how it was supposed to work:  We would announce to the youth that they needed to be at the church at a very early hour on a Saturday morning, and we would not tell them why.  We would just issue a warning:  If you were not there, then you should be afraid- be VERY afraid!  I would then arrange with some parents of youth who were almost certain not to show up for our group to come to their homes and kidnap their child and take them to breakfast.  The deeper idea- and it was a good one- was to find creative ways to get kids more involved.  We would certainly at least get their attention.

The first time we tried this was early in the Springfield years.  We rented a gorilla costume, dressed Jamie Robinson in it, and set out to do damage!  I really remember very little about it, except that we caught very few people by surprise- the parents had ratted us out.  One who we did get was Keri Vinson who was not only surprised, but violent, ripping the head off our gorilla (see picture)!  I have no recollection of what we did for breakfast or anything else about that morning- but Keri stayed involved with our ministry for a few years after that...

After arriving at Kissimmee in 1994, we decided to try it again.  This time we dressed Jerry Hanbery as Chewbacca.  He was so excited he arrived at our house next to the church at 5 AM- we weren't gathering until 6.  Marilyn still brings that up with him from time to time...
Anyway, he did his thing and again I really only remember really surprising one person- Erin Augenblick.  Chewbacca yanked her out of bed and threw her over his shoulder.  She was more confused than scared, but it was still hysterical.  Again, Erin was a longtime regular in our youth programs after that morning- and Jerry had fulfilled his dream of being a Star Wars character!

The final time was the most eventful, as a Pink Gorilla (see picture) went on a rampage in Tampa.  But that is a very long story best saved for another time.  Like the other two events, it didn't go as planned.  I always thought I had it all set for these to be amazing mornings, but they never happened the way I envisioned them.  But you know what?  They still had some very positive outcomes.  In many ways they accomplished what we set out to do.  Just because it didn't happen the way I had it planned didn't mean God couldn't use it for His glory.  Somewhere in that last sentence is one of life's great lessons...

Because of Jesus, 

Atlanta, 1987

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After a five year absence I returned to the Youth Specialties National Youth Workers Convention (NYWC) in Atlanta in the Fall of 1987.  This time, however, I did not go alone!  Terry Venable, Ray Luther and I made the six hour drive south and shared a room together at the Westin Peachtree Plaza (pictured above).  This was a very eventful trip in many ways, so I will I share a few stories today and one big story tomorrow...

We checked in and began to explore this huge tower of a hotel, riding the elevators to the top and checking out the rotating roof top restaurant (which, after checking the prices, we knew we would NOT see again!) and the indoor swimming pool.  We entered the pool area (fully dressed) and found one guy swimming.  He saw us and asked if we were youth workers, and we proudly proclaimed that we were.  Without hesitation, he took his hand and splashed water all over the three of us!  We laughed and moved on, but we also thought him to be somewhat of a jerk.  Later, we found out we had just been splashed by Rick Bundschuh, noted author and illustrator of youth curriculum and a seminar leader at the NYWC. For years after this we would pronounce his name Bund-is-shuu-shuu-shuu, with much the same attitude with which Seinfeld would later say "Newman!"  Rick later became a friend of mine, and as I got to know him I understood that we could have suffered a much worse fate!  Rick was one of the great examples of what it meant to live on the edge for Christ, once losing his job for giving away pew Bibles to youth that didn't have any.  To this day I still refer to it as a "Bundschuh" when someone is fired for the glory of God.  He also wrote the brilliant book Don't Rock the Boat- Capsize It! in 2005.  The book is subtitled "Loving the church too much to leave it the way it is."  Rick is currently a pastor in Hawaii.  It's a tough gig, but someone has to do it!

At some point during the NYWC I took a seminar on publicity and promotion led by Greg McKinnon.  I came out of the session making two promises to myself.  The next summer I was going to program in a brand new way, taking advantage of the free time and the boredom most kids have during summer break.  Secondly, I was going to take our communication with our students to a whole new level.  The direct results of this seminar were the summer booklets I would do for the next 15 years, and the infamous Youth Group Hotline.  In all my years at the NYWC, only a couple of seminars had greater impact on my ministry.

The real story of Atlanta, 1987, however, was a performance by a previously unknown band called The Country Quakers that led to a most unlikely audience member dancing on his table at the Wittenburg Door Banquet.  But that's tomorrow's story!

Because of Jesus,

Lessons Learned

The late Dan Fogelberg had an obscure song on his Netherlands album called Lessons Learned (FYI- this is my 80th day of blogging and my fourth Fogelberg reference.  I must be on pace to set some sort of record!). I always loved the album and the song, especially the chorus:

Lessons learned are like bridges burned,

 you only need to cross them but once

Is the knowledge gained worth the price of the pain?

Are the spoils worth the cost of the hunt?

Looking back, my nine months in New England were all about learning lessons.  I learned that theological labels can be be very misleading.  Working at New Garden Friends had made me somewhat of a liberal outcast in NC Yearly Meeting in the early '80's.  My faith in Jesus Christ made me a raging evangelical in New England.  Having been seen as part of both extremes, I saw how much damage could come from labeling, and I would try to avoid doing it to others.  I learned that I didn't know anywhere near as much as I thought I did.  My knowledge of youth ministry was superior to most, but I had so much to learn about the church and about Quakerism and about people.  Learning how much you have to learn is a valuable lesson indeed.  I learned that I was not as independent as I thought I was.  I needed friends and family around me.  At the same time, I learned that without friends to lean on, I could always depend on God.  My faith had deepened a good bit in a short amount of time.  Professionally, I now understood that working in the Yearly Meeting office- any Yearly Meeting office- was not for me!  I needed a church family and a group of students whose lives I could be involved in on a regular basis.  I had been called to ministry, not to administration, and I needed to return to a local church- and now I was.

The most important thing I learned, however, is that God uses us in failure as often as He does in success.  Leaving after only nine months without having made any major impact made me feel like I had failed God.  Hindsight enables me to see that I was there to be a John the Baptist type- God brought me to NEYM to prepare the way for Chris Jorgensen (in picture with Tim Harding, modeling the latest in Lady Liberty wear!).  Chris did indeed get the job after I left, and served for a number of years making a huge difference in the lives of youth all over New England.  So the answer to Fogelberg's question is yes.  The knowledge gained IS worth the price of the pain, especially when Jesus is doing the teaching!

I headed out of Massachusetts a week before my wedding, still not having resigned, but ready to take the position at Springfield Friends Meeting.  Marilyn and I had lots of decisions to make- but first, it was time for a wedding!

Because of Jesus,

Real Heroes

Thanks, Brook. You rock! 

We've been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we're not demoralized; we're not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we've been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn't left our side; we've been thrown down, but we haven't broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, He does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus' sake, which makes Jesus' life all the more evident in us. While we're going through the worst, you're getting in on the best!  -2 Corinthians 4, The Message

Today is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.  Christians all over the world are being persecuted and martyred for their faith, in places as far away as China and as close by as Mexico.  As I mentioned in Friday's posting, this day (and this subject) is often ignored by the USAmerican church.  There are a number of reasons for this.  The subject of persecution is often sidelined because it is not "seeker-friendly." The trouble with that strategy is "...everyone who wants to lead a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted..." (2 Timothy 3:12).   This scripture should give real pause to those of us who have no idea what it feels like to be persecuted for our beliefs.  Our brothers and sisters in Christ will meet in secret this Sabbath with the real possibly of being arrested or worse.  Many of us will complain if we have to walk too far from the parking lot.  We just don't get it.  Here is an example of what life is like for many Christians around the world, taken from the Voice of the Martyrs website: 


The Voice of the Martyrs has received reports of several attacks against Christians in India. On Oct. 25, four men entered the Assembly of God Church building in Old Hubli, Karnataka, during a worship service and started taking notes and photographing the worshipers. When the pastor's wife, Radha David, asked the men to sit quietly and listen to the sermon, they immediately left. A few minutes later, a group of about 50 Hindu extremists stormed into the church. They threatened the believers and dragged Pastor K. M. David Raj outside. The extremists burned Bibles, Christian literature and banners in front of the church building. Police arrested the pastor and three other believers. On the same day, more than 10 Hindus assaulted Pastor Pavithra Kumar, hitting him with fists, wooden rods and field hockey sticks. Though he was badly injured, Pastor Kumar escaped his assailants and ran into his church building. Pray these believers will keep their eyes on Jesus, will persevere in the faith, and will not grow weary or lose heart (Hebrews 12:3). Pray that those who seek to hinder the work of the Church in India will see the love and grace of Jesus in the lives of Indian Christians. We understand so little.

And yet is is in those very places where the Church of Jesus Christ is booming, where stories of faith dominate the lives of the people.  We in USAmerica have so few spiritual heroes (although they do exist- Jesus Freaks are everywhere!) because we must overcome so little.  Many of our churches will choose to honor our military veterans in their services today.  I have great respect for those who serve our country, even though I have great doubts about the institutions they serve.  Many of them are indeed heroic. But what do they, or my country in general, have to do with worshipping Jesus Christ?  The Son of God always trumps flag and country. (In a related thought- if I hear I'm Proud To Be An American one more time in a worship service, I may just forget I'm a pacifist...)   This morning I will visit a house of worship, and I want to worship Jesus.  I want to hear about those who are faithfully following and suffering for Him; I want to hear the stories of real Christian heroes from around the world. Hopefully I will, and you will too. This day is set aside for that very purpose, yet we we pass it by.  Tell me about some real, present day heroes of the faith. 

Why is this important?  Because we are all part of the Family of God.  Because at some point- maybe in my lifetime, maybe not- we are going to be the ones being persecuted.  Scripture promises us that in John 15:18-21.  Jesus tells us in the Beatitudes that the persecuted will be blessed.  We need to begin to understand now what it is like to be willing to suffer or die for Jesus.  There are examples all over the world. We need to know the stories of these Jesus Freaks, because we need role models.  We need to know how to trust Jesus with everything- including our very lives. The question is, are we taking a strong enough stand for Jesus that anyone would need or want to persecute us?  Today- right now- we need to pray for those who are taking such a stand..  You can find examples of those in need at http://www.idop.org/ and http://www.persecutedchurch.org/ among others.  Read their stories. Pray for them.  And tell your church that this needs to be a big deal, a day your church family comes together to join in the church universal. 

In 1986 I was told by a little old lady to quit talking about Jesus because it offended her.  I was told that we taught religious education, not Christian education, so we wouldn't offend people.  I could have lost my job if I hadn't listened to those voices, so I kept much quieter than I should have.  A hint of suffering and I turned my back, at least partially, on my Savior. I am not alone.  God have mercy on us. 

A Rough Start

In January of 1986 I finished my move to New England.  The $14,000 a year they were paying me seemed like a lot to me at the time, but I soon discovered that the fact that I would be living less than an hour from Boston meant rent would be ridiculous.  I settled on a very small one bedroom in Oxford, about 20 minutes away from the New England Yearly Meeting office.  I knew no one in the complex, and the majority of my neighbors commuted to Boston and I never saw them.  Settling into the office itself was a little more interesting.  The offices were upstairs in an old house which also contained Worcester Friends Meeting.  A lady named Stella lived in the house and took care of it, and she was none too happy that rooms had been rented out to the Yearly Meeting.  You can get a sense of the pecking order from the size of the signs in the picture above.   We were on egg shells any time she was around, although Stella was never anything but nice to me.  We, however, is a strong word.  No one mentioned to me that the only person who actually worked out of the office was the Administrative Secretary, Candida Palmer.  Candida was a sweet older women from New Zealand.  Her ex-husband was a renowned Quaker author, and she was quite bitter about her divorce.  The rest of the staff (I think there were 4 others) worked out of their homes, spread all over New England.  By this point I had discovered that New England covered six states- Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Maine.  I would spend almost every weekend on the road, visiting Friends Meetings all over the region.  With only Candida as a co-worker, and without being able to attend any Meeting on a regular basis, I quickly came to the conclusion that I would spend a great deal of time alone, and that making new friends would be difficult.  I could not have been more correct.

The other interesting thing about the office is that it never occurred to the committee that hired me that I might actually WANT an office.  I had books and files and other things one might expect to see in any office, but I had no place to put them.  My office was really the printing room; I managed to clear off a table and get a computer to use for word processing (this was WAYYYY before Internet was an issue).  I began to organize retreats and events for the youth, and to write and publish a newsletter.  These were things that had never been done, and for which there was no budget, but I pushed ahead.  They also gave me excuses to meet with Chris Jorgensen, who was still my only friend in the 6 state area.  I would work all week at the office, with the day interrupted by long talks with Candida so she could complain about her work load or her ex-husband.  In February, I came to work one Monday morning only to discover that everything in Massachusetts was closed for something called Patriot's Day.  It's the day they run the Boston Marathon.  No one bothered to tell me, and that was typical.  I would spend nights at the apartment, eating alone, reading alone and watching TV alone.  I was often depressed at night.  The only things that kept me going were my faith, pizza from a local place in Oxford, my ongoing belief that I could accomplish some things with the youth of NEYM, and the occasional visits from Marilyn, my parents and my friends from NC.  It was going to be a long haul until Marilyn arrived for good in September.

In my travels over the next few months I met some interesting people and visited some strange places.  Both the southern accent I spoke with and the actual words I spoke became issues, and I seemed to "step in it"everywhere I went!  I'll tell you some of those tales tomorrow.

Because of Jesus,

Santa & The Iron Man

Yesterday I mentioned a number of the jobs I worked at besides my years in ministry, but I saved my favorite for today.  For several years I was a mall Santa Claus at Christmas.  You know the guy- parents bring children to sit on his knee so a photographer can take a $20 Polaroid picture.  That was me!  Actually, I enjoyed it so much (except for occasionally being wet on!) that in later years I would moonlight at the job, working at strange locations like an Express Lube in Kissimmee.  I still own my Santa suit.  It was a joy to bring smiles to the faces of so many kids- and of course, when they knew about it, the students in my youth groups would show up as well.  I eventually wore the suit to youth Christmas parties (see the picture below; that's me with Jerry Hanbery and Ben Thacker in Kissimmee!).  It was, for the most part, a wonderful experience.

In 1981 I was working at an Outlet Mall in Greensboro, sharing Santa duty with an older guy.  When we weren't playing Santa we also worked at a kiosk selling leather hand bags, brief cases and trinkets.  This man (his name has long since escaped me; I'll just refer to him as Santa) had spent a number of years in the Navy and had lived in the Baltimore area before moving to NC.  He, like me, was a huge sports fan and much of our conversation concerned the current NFL season and the upcoming baseball season.  Santa was a huge Baltimore Orioles fan, and he told me one day of a young man who had grown up in the same neighborhood in Aberdeen, MD that he had lived in.  This young man was a player in the Orioles farm system who was ready for the major leagues, according to Santa- and he was a better person than baseball player.  His name was Cal Ripken, Jr.  Santa was right; Cal was ready for the big time.  He joined the Orioles in May of 1982, and at the end of the season was named the American League Rookie of the Year.  In 1983 he took another step towards greatness and was the A.L.  Most Valuable Player.  He led the Orioles to a World Series victory.  I couldn't help but think to myself at the time that old Santa had really been on to something...

Fast forward to September 6, 1995.  Cal Ripken, Jr. (now known as The Iron Man) is playing in his 2,131st consecutive game for the Orioles, breaking Lou Gehrig's record for most consecutive games (see picture at top).  The entire sports world stops to watch and pay homage to Cal- for simply showing up every day.  Cal Ripken, Jr. was someone we could all identify with.  He had done something incredible without doing anything spectacular.  He was a guy who despite fame and fortune, despite bumps and bruises and despite everyone doubting his motives had simply shown up and done his job for what turned out to be almost 17 years- a total of 2,632 straight games.  He wasn't celebrated because of his great baseball skills; he was celebrated for being exceptional at the ordinary.

As I watched Cal take a victory lap around Camden Yards after the record became official, I couldn't help but wonder what his accomplishment had to say to people of faith.  I think it says a great deal.  Scripture says "and what does the Lord require of us?  Do justice; love mercy; and walk humbly with God."  In other words, God wants us to show up!  Every day.  No matter our sin, no matter our mood, and no matter our circumstances.  Just show up and do our best in the name of Jesus.  We are not called to do OK under the circumstances; we are called to let God lift us ABOVE the circumstances of our lives.  But we do have to show up.  God doesn't need more superstars, God needs more everyday players. Santa was so right.  Cal Ripken, Jr. was someone special- just like all of us who are created in the image of God.  All we have to do is refuse to take a day off, even when we are no where near our best- and we too can be in the Hall of Fame.  It's called the Kingdom of God...

Blue Collar Man

I began working in youth ministry at the age of 18, so later in my life when I would tell people I had been in the profession for over 20 years they would inevitably say "so you've never had a REAL job, huh?"  Well let me tell you- I have had some REAL jobs!  In addition to working as both a waiter and a cook at Pizza Inn while I worked at New Garden Friends Meeting, I worked several "Joe jobs" between August of 1983 and November of 1985.  And I learned a little something from all of them!

I worked as the third shift (11pm-7am) warehouse manager for Kayser-Roth Hosiery in Kernersville, NC.  This was the same plant where my Dad worked as a supervisor for many years.  Warehouse Manager was interesting job title, as on third shift there was no one to manage but myself!  Every night I would roam the factory where socks were made, determine what kinds of yarn were needed from the warehouse, use a forklift to retrieve the yarn, and then take it out on the floor to the knitters.  I worked with a lot of women on this job, and very few of them had happy stories to tell.  Most were part of broken families, victims of abuse, substance abusers themselves, and many other tragedies.  On nights when I wasn't too busy with yarn, I would stand at the knitting machines and listen to their stories about themselves and their children and try to offer suggestions- and more importantly, hope.  Sometimes it was a challenge, but these nightly meetings always reminded me that there is "that of God in everyone," no matter how downtrodden or hopeless they may seem.  Telling these ladies of God's grace, hope and love was a ministry I would have not experienced any other place I had ever been, and it was something I still carry with me.

I tried selling knives door-to-door for three days before wanting to order a set so I could hurt myself, so I moved on quickly!  I went from that to driving a Volkswagon Rabbit (the powerless, diesel kind!) 8-10 hours everyday for Roadrunner Express Delivery.  I would pick up the car in Greensboro, and then drive a route that took me through Charlotte and on to Gastonia and Black Mountain.  My job?  To pick up Kodak film people had dropped in "one day developing" bins at various stores and deliver the photos from the film I had picked up the day before.  Yes- such a business once actually existed!  Spending 40-50 hours a week alone in a car left me lots of time to think and plan and pray about the future and what I wanted my next ministry to look like.  You read that right- what I wanted my next ministry to look like!  I still had so much to learn...

My final job before God led me back into ministry was as a salesman at Color Tile, a national chain that sold carpet, paint, and of course, tile.  The store I worked at was in Greensboro near Carolina Circle Mall, a mall no one shopped at or visited.  It was by a sewage treatment plant and the smell was horrible.  I could work a 12 hour day at Color Tile and not see but a dozen customers.  Part of my compensation was commission, so you can see how this was not a good situation.  But I learned a great deal during my few months there.  I learned how to measure a room, how to install tile, the right way to paint and how to unload trucks full of thousands of pounds of tile and carpet.  The things I learned at Color Tile and the rest of these jobs would serve me well over the years because they gave me a better understanding of what life is like for so many people- jobs they hate, financial struggles and family struggles.  The faith many of these people had in Jesus inspired me; I realized how important the hope that Jesus brings was in their lives.  Little did I know at the time how much I would need that hope twenty years later...  I now knew what it was like to be, as Styx sang,  "a blue collar man."

I did have one other job beside Youth Pastor during that time, spread out over a number of years.  But that's tomorrow's story, and it involves two guys named Santa Claus as well as Cal Ripken, Jr.  Don't miss it...

Because of Jesus,

A New Journey

The 1982-83 school year found me working full-time as the youth pastor at New Garden Friends Meeting.  There were a couple of problems with this situation.  New Garden did not want me or anyone else working full-time as a youth pastor, and they were paying me $100 a month.  We were at an impasse.  I had reached a point in my life where I felt a clear calling from God to be a youth ministry lifer.  My experiences with David Stone and the folks at Youth Specialties had shown me the cutting edge of the very young profession of student ministry, and I wanted to take New Garden to that edge.  I was expanding programs, drawing in new kids and trying new things, and I pushed fairly hard to see if the Meeting would at least commit to a full summer ministry in 1983 (very few churches did youth ministry during the summer in those days, which NEVER made any sense to me.  The students are bored and available, so we quit for 3 months!)- but they were not interested in as much change as I wanted to bring about.  But, me being me, I kept pushing the outside of the envelope.  The Youth Council, the committee that oversees student ministry at New Garden, had a budget of $150 for the year.  To do the things I wanted to do took money, and so I wound up paying for things myself with money I really didn't have; this would not be the last time this would happen.  My personal finances soon became a disaster, and it was my own fault.  Anyway, by May of '83 New Garden was ready for me to go, and I needed to go find a paying job.  At the time there were only 4 out of 80+ Friends Meetings in NC who had full-time youth positions, so I knew I was looking at some time off from ministry.  I worked one more summer at Quaker Lake as their first ever Crafts & Special Activities Director, and then it was off into the real world.

I learned a great deal on this "new journey" I was embarking on, and over the next couple of days I will share some of the lessons learned in warehouses and Volkswagon Rabbits.  But perhaps the most important lesson I learned came as I departed New Garden.  My actions, and in some cases my attitude, had given people there reasons to dislike me, and some did.  The vast majority, however, showed me nothing but love and grace at that point and in all my future dealings with them.  They showed me what it means to live out 1 John 4:7-8, which says "Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  If you don't love, you don't know God, for God IS love."  All the ideas and all the gifts and all the education and all the cutting edge programs in the world don't mean anything unless they are covered in love-  God's love! 

I knew what God had called me to do; now I just needed to trust Him to get me there.  The journey would not be easy.  It seldom is.  I remember sitting on a bridge at QLC (pictured) one Saturday afternoon and praying that Jesus would show me the way.  And just like the disciples before me, I had no idea how dangerous that prayer was...

Because of Jesus,

7 Things (New Garden Edition)

We are nearing the end of my blogging about my days at New Garden Friends Meeting, but before we go I want to leave you with 7 Things I have not blogged about yet and know I will never forget about my time as a youth leader there.  You can read other great New Garden stories like Six on Six or Sand, Water, Sand, Water, Crab, Crab, Crab by visiting some of my earlier posts. So here they are, in no particular order:

1. We did a Polaroid Panic Scavenger Hunt one Sunday afternoon in various teams, giving each team a list of pictures to take.  One of the pictures was to be of a team member kissing a mannequin.  The team that Marnee Larkins was on came back with a pic of Marnee molesting the poor mannequin; her hand was in a most unfortunate place, and so was his! Another group had an unforgettable picture of Robbie Hale in a dress. We laughed for days.  That was a great event, and those pictures cemented it in my memory!
2. Field Day @ Quaker Lake was an annual event in the early '80's that drew huge crowds from all over the state.  Some teams would stack their youth group with local athletes so they could win the event; we never did.  But we always competed well, and we often declared ourselves the winners with a resounding "it just doesn't matter" cheer at the end of the day.  I am convinced that we were always the loudest group there, and that we always had more fun than anyone!
3. After Dann Newby graduated and went to Wake Forest in the Fall of 1982, Kathy Fountain (his future wife) and I began writing bogus "secret admirer" letters to him, claiming to be a Wake student as well.  I don't remember much about it except how much fun Kathy and I had crafting the letters to be just so.  As a matter of fact, as I type this I realize I don't remember how (or if!) Dann ever found out where the letters came from!
4. Marshall Ratledge (pictured above on left, with Darek Newby) had this "Gilligan" style floppy sailor hat that he was convinced was a "babe magnet."  As time went along he became Mag and the hat became the Mag Hat.  Woe unto anyone who tried to take the hat away from the Mag...
5. I have mentioned this briefly in a previous posting, but the Class of 1983 was an amazing group in many ways.  We had top-ranked students from three different high schools who were part of that class, along with a number of other outstanding youth.  Jay Wilkins at Southern Guilford (he was kind of ours!), Kim Winters and Matt Mason at Northwest Guilford and Terri Johnson and Kathy Fountain at Western Guilford were all at the top of their classes.  There were also students from Greensboro Grimsley and Eastern Guilford who were a part of that group.  It was that kind of leadership and diversity that made my last class at New Garden one of the best I have ever been fortunate enough to work with.  We were also close enough to the same age that many of them became my good friends over the following years.
6. There were so many siblings who were in the student ministry at New Garden, and I learned so much about how different brothers and sisters can be from one another.  Dick Lee was very different from his sister Ling, who was very different from their younger sister Willa.  Linc, Ann-Marie and Jason Dewar were all very much alike, yet so completely different.  The Edgerton girls, Beth, Lori and Stephanie, were totally different from each other.  David and Tim Fountain were individuals, not clones of each other or their older sister.  And Scott Johnson and his sister Terri might as well have been from different planets!  I learned to deal with sibling rivalry, sibling protection, and family issues at a very young age, and all of those things served me well as I traveled my life's path.
7. You have read it here before and you will again, but youth ministry is all about relationships- the ones we form with each other and the ones we form with God.  I thought I knew this to be true after my own high school days; I knew it to be true after my time as youth leader at New Garden.  Jennifer Bills took the time and care to calligraphy our Quaker Wedding Certificate several years after I left New Garden.  I watched people from different schools and very different family situations become great friends.  I watched Freddie Hollowell harass Kathryn Burris, Beth and Terri, and saw how much they all loved it.  I learned from Leigh Ellen Parker, Willa and Lori that anytime you have more than two middle school girls together, one of them feels left out- and that held true for all 28 years of my ministry!  And I learned that "friends are friends forever" from the relationships that have survived the miles and the years.  Darek Newby wrote me recently that he, Dann, Jay Wilkins and Marshall still get together once a year, and still tell the old stories.  I believe those kinds of relationships, lived out in love and friendship, make Jesus smile.  I certainly know they make me smile, and help me to know that at least in some small way those years were spent in the service of my God.

I look back in amazement now at all we did and accomplished, with no group t-shirts, no church van, no catchy group name (YFYF?  Come on...) and summers off.  Of course, we didn't know any better!  There are lots of names "dropped" above, and I could list many more from those days.  Each and every one of them holds a special place in my heart and played a part in my spiritual journey.  Thank you, God, for sharing their lives with me.

Because of Jesus,

"Baseball has been very, very good to me..."

The baseball playoffs are in full swing, and I am SOOOO happy! (By the way, Rob Thomson, the Yankees third base coach, had a daughter in one of my youth groups...I am such a name dropper!)  Sports have always been an integral part of my life.  I was 6 years old when I watched the first Super Bowl with my Dad and Ed Carrol, who would be my assistant principal in high school.  Dad and I would watch football on Saturdays and Sundays, and I became a Washington Redskins and Notre Dame fan (I got over both!).  Summers would bring the baseball game of the week on NBC, and we would watch.  I pulled for the Yankees (my little league team) and the Red Sox (they had Carl Yazstremski), not understanding at the time what a sin it was to pull for both of those teams! From abut 1970 on I became a Braves fan and would listen to their games on AM radio with Milo Hamilton and Ernie Johnson Sr.  I grew up in NC; we didn't know the NBA existed, but the UNC Tarheels were the best basketball team of the planet.  I grew up in a neighborhood where we were very seasonal; we played football in my front yard during football season; we played basketball in my back yard during basketball season; and we played baseball anywhere we could without smashing windows during baseball season.  From ages 8-12 I played Little League baseball for the Guilford College Yankees and loved every minute of it.  Well...almost every minute!  My first day of practice everyone was warming up, and 12 year old Mark Gunther grabbed me and said "warm me up Jonesy."  Turns out that Mark, who everyone called "Swifty," threw much harder than anyone I had ever caught before, and he almost killed me the first day (Mark turned out to be the best 3 sport athlete my high school ever produced!). But I survived, and loved playing for the incredible Charlie King (more on him later this week) and the Yankees.

I was a better football and basketball player, but baseball was always my first love.  My Uncle Don Dormstetter took me to see the Washington Senators (now Texas Rangers) on "Bat Night" and I was amazed by big league baseball.  My family took regular trips to Atlanta to see the Braves play, and we were there the night Hank Aaron hit his 700th career home run.  In 1979, the Greensboro Hornets, a Class-A affiliate of the Yankees, came to town and I went to several games, taking New Garden youth with me on a number of occasions.  And then came the 1980 season...

Working at New Garden Friends Meeting didn't pay many bills, and 1980 found me working a second job at Pizza Inn.  One night in the Spring of '80, a group of young men came in late one night to get pizza and beer, and I waited on them (even though I was a cook at the time).  It turned out to be a bunch of Greensboro Hornets, and as we talked I discovered who they were.  Some names I do not remember; others I will never forget.  That Hornets team included Otis Nixon, Greg Gagne, Matt Winters and Don Mattingly.  Yes- THAT Don Mattingly, also known to Yankees fans everywhere as "Donnie Baseball."  All I knew at the time is that they were young guys, about my age, playing pro baseball- so they were beyond cool!  I remember Otis as quite a character, and Matt Winters gave me a Hornets hat and left passes for me for games for the rest of the season.  And I gave them free beer!  If I had known Don Mattingly would become one of the all-time great Yankees, I would have hit him up for an autograph- but I didn't.  If I had known Otis Nixon would become a star for my beloved Braves, but also would struggle with substance abuse, I wouldn't have given him beer- but I did!  And no one would have ever believed that Greg Gagne would start at shortstop for the world champion Minnesota Twins of 1991 (they beat my Braves).  But the person about whom I have thought the most in the years that have passed since those days was Matt Winters.

Matt was a star.  He was in Greensboro for most of 3 seasons, and he hit the cover off the ball the entire time.  But the Yankees were loaded in those days (as they are now) with big money free agent outfielders, and Matt never really got a chance.  He eventually made the majors with Kansas City, but never had a breakout season.  I think about him so often partly because he gave me a hat that I still have, and partly because he is a great example of someone who had great skills and small opportunity.  Matt had better numbers than other Hornets who went on to stardom, including Mike Pagliorulio, Greg Gagne and Derek Jeter (who made about 100 errors his year in G'boro!).  But he did not get the same opportunity to succeed.

As the years have gone by, I have tried to always give the youth I have worked with the opportunities to do the things they are gifted by God to do.  Some sing, some write, some act and some play sports; everyone has a gift!  For some (perhaps many) of the students I have known, I missed their gifts, and didn't help them to become the people God made them to be; that was left to others.   Many reached higher heights because of their experiences in our student ministries, and I thank God for that.

I still love sports, though I am not as fanatical as I once was.  I still love baseball.  I never got that Don Mattingly (currently hitting coach for the Dodgers) autograph, so Donnie, if you are out there, you owe me!  And Matt Winters- you are still a star in my book!   May God give us all the opportunity to use our gifts in ways that are pleasing to Him.

Because of Jesus,

Influences- Neal Thomas

To everyone who is following this blog, leaving comments, signing the guestbook or e-mailing me, thank you! Hearing from you all is such a joy! And for anyone attending the staff reunion this weekend, enjoy! We are there in spirit!

Steve Semmler took me to Quaker Lake for the first time in the summer of 1973, following our 8th grade year. I knew nothing about the place except that my mom had been there years before, and that Steve said it was cool. Upon our arrival, Steve was surprised to discover that Cal Geiger was no longer Camp Director, and that he had been replaced by a young man named Neal Thomas. To be honest, Steve was a little disappointed at the time. It really made very little difference that week, as Wallace Sills directed our camp and Neal was just around, fixing things and helping camp run smoothly. But knowing Neal Thomas would make an enormous difference in my life.

I grew to know Neal over the next few years as I progressed from camper, to Counselor-in-Training to summer staff. In many ways, we were opposites. Neal was always calm,always composed, slow to show emotion and always aware of the big picture. Neal could fix or build anything. I was young, loud, brash and always in the moment, and thought duct tape was a tool. Despite this, I had enormous respect for Neal. He had been a conscientious objector to the draft, and he lived out his "peace testimony" in his everyday life. He loved Quaker Lake and was constantly pushing to improve the facility and the programs. At a time when theology in NC Yearly Meeting was about as diverse as you can imagine, Neal always steered QLC to the center. In fact, his talks to the staff on how we had to be the camp for ALL of NCYM, doing nothing to offend either end of the theological spectrum, guided me through many tough times in the large churches I would serve later in my life. He was our boss, but he was also someone we could count on and turn to. And even on days when I did not deserve it, he always supported me and always showed me grace that could only come from a walk with Jesus. Neal Thomas walked that walk, and he shared it freely. It always amazed me that some on the theological "right" in the yearly meeting considered Neal too liberal. That only showed how little they knew him.

That is not to say that Neal was perfect! He was a trained EMT, but if a camper threw up, look out! Neal would be next! Somewhere along life's journey he had picked up the nickname "Quiver Lips." He told us that one Saturday morning when I was a camper after some girls had water ballooned our cabin. In those days the cabins had screens along the top, and they had pounded the screens (and my top bunk!) and soaked us. It would have been a wonderful prank, except for one small issue- the force of the balloons hitting the screens knocked them out. By the time we arrived at breakfast the next morning, Neal was furious, and the lips were indeed quivering. We all got a stern lecture on respecting property (that means you, Tammy!) and then it was all forgotten. It was, thankfully, one of the few times over my 21 years of being around Neal that I saw him really angry. The lesson was profound, however, and over the years I became a fanatic about respecting property and not wasting food or other items. Neal was a sneaky teacher- you learned without realizing you were being taught.

After I returned from New England to NC in 1986, my relationship with Neal changed. We became great friends. I loved volunteering at camp and serving on the Camp Planning Committee to help hire staff and plan the camp themes each year. We traveled to Indiana for a Conference on Quaker Camping and attended the National Youth Workers Convention together. We would gather at his and Susie's home at QLC and play Trivial Pursuit (no matter what you may hear, the guys always won!). Every time I ever needed a reference or a friend, Neal was there. One of my greatest disappointments was that his last summer, 1994, I could not volunteer because it was my first year in Kissimmee. I had been with him his first year; I was sorry to miss his last.

Neal Thomas is Quaker Lake to me. The influence he had on my life cannot be explained in a blog. My entire ministry was driven by his example and his encouragement. Whenever I doubted myself, I often thought of something he once said to me: "Carl, you have a gift. When you get your guitar and start leading music, even the junior high boys start to sing. Anyone who can get junior high boys to sing has a gift." Moments like that one still move me all these years later. So thank you, Neal, from myself and hundreds of others who were influenced by you over the years. You showed me what it means to walk in Light. You, Susie, Doug and Martha made us all feel like family. Marilyn and I hope you know that you are loved. It almost makes me sorry for the morning we used food dye and made Neal green eggs and ham to test his gag reflex...but not quite!

Because of Jesus,

The Orange Jacket

Every professional golfer dreams of winning the Masters. Winning that tournament once makes your entire career a success. Money, fame and glory are yours. But ask any pro golfer what really matters about winning the Masters and they will all tell you the same thing- the green jacket. The green jacket is unique. Only Master's winners can wear them. After one Master's champion wore his jacket on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno several years ago, Jon Stewart was quoted as saying "that's the first piece of original material on The Tonight Show since Johnny left!" The green jacket is special, and if you aspire to golf greatness you aspire to wear the green jacket.


I suppose I was about 15 when I became obsessed with the Orange Jacket. I was serving at Quaker Lake Camp as a Counselor in Training (later to be called Counselor Assistant) when I became aware of the prestige of it. On Friday night, when it came time to walk to the Campfire Circle, the QLC summer staff almost all wore their orange windbreakers that said Quaker Lake Staff Camp. It was actually a circle that said Quaker Lake on top, and Camp on the bottom with Staff in the middle. But when you looked at it, it seemed to say Quaker Lake Staff Camp. In any case, they were cool. And the ONLY way you could have one was to be one of 14 people hired to be full-time summer staff. I knew I wanted to work at QLC someday. The staff there were the coolest people in the world in my eyes, and I longed to be one of them. And I worked hard to get to that point. I volunteered every chance I got, went to all the camps and events I could, and made sure I had a good reputation with the people in charge. The first year you are eligible to work staff is the summer after your high school graduation, and so I applied. Everyone thought I would be hired, but all four boys counselors- Bill Terrell, Alan Brown, Roland Pugh and Joseph Neal- returned from the previous year (Not only do I remember who they were, but I believe I have them in order, cabins 1-4! But I can't remember what my wife told me to get at Wal-Mart today...). So I didn't get a job, even though they should have hired me as the Assistant Cook (would have saved a lot of "Robin Pots"). Neal Thomas told me I could volunteer any week I wanted to, so I was there 6 out of 8 weeks that summer. I loved it, and I felt like part of the staff. But I didn't have an Orange Jacket...


I was hired the next summer for the first of my 6 years as summer staff, and the highlight came early, when Lewis Farlow came from Beeson's in High Point and I could get my Orange Jacket. This was real. This was amazing. I had achieved my goal. I was special. I was the counselor in Boys Cabin 1. Even though the jacket was paper thin and no help in the rain, and made me sweat like a pig, I wore it every chance I got. And I knew that all the campers who aspired to do the same, to have their own Orange Jackets, looked at me with awe and envy.


The trouble with all of that was this- wearing an Orange Jacket, or working at QLC, did not make me special. When you are a camper, you believe every counselor is a hero and a saint. When you become a counselor, you wonder "how can they hire someone like me?" You continue to fail and make mistakes. As the years have gone by many of my former youth have gone on to work at camp, and I happen to know none of them are perfect! Heather Beggs Varner, the current Camp Director,will be featured in many stories on this blog once I hit the Springfield years, and they will make you laugh! I loved my years working at camp, just like I loved my years in student ministry, but I have to tell you- you'd better love those jobs to do them, or you will be miserable. Anyone who worked at camp for the glory and admiration of the campers was in for a long summer. Anyone who did it for the money in those days- well, they were just stupid! You put up with the heat, the long hours, the rotten campers (no one likes to talk about them, but they exist!), the outdoor toilets and the total lack of sleep because you feel like you are doing something tremendous, something amazing for the kids each and every week. Every week you face a new group of campers, and every week you have to give them all of your energy and love, with no holding back for the weeks still to come. You have to do work like that because you love it and because God has called you to it, or it will eat you alive. You see, it's not Quaker Lake Staff Camp. Camp is all about the campers- and if you don't get that, then no Orange Jacket can save you.


I don't remember exactly when the staff quit wearing Orange Jackets, but it has been a very long time. Today I think they have staff shirts, but I am sure the feeling is the same among campers- I want to wear one of those someday. And that is awesome! I just hope they all learn, like so many others before them, that working at QLC does not make you great. You working at QLC helps make camp great. Billy Joel once wrote I never claimed to be a hero and I never said I was a saint... If I did either of those things I apologize. But how smart were we in those days, anyway? After all, we wore orange jackets in public!


Because of Jesus,