Remembering Live Aid

Another vintage post from 2009.  This blog turns 3 years old one week from today!!!

I woke up the morning of July 13, 1985 feeling awful, so I called in sick to my job at Color Tile.  It was the best sick day ever!  I sat and watched for hours as the greatest recording artists in the world came together in Philadelphia and London to raise money to fight world hunger at an event called Live Aid, organized by Bob Geldolf of the Boomtown Rats. During this day I saw The Who reunite; I discovered U2 for the first time; I saw Queen at the pinnacle of their performing power;  and I saw many of the greatest rock stars of the past and present join in the finale in London.  It was a great day.  I couldn't help but wonder as I watched why these stars could put aside their massive egos and do this to fight hunger, while we in the church cannot even get past our petty denominational differences to follow the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 25.  They made an attempt to feed the world while we argued about which soup kitchens were theologically and politically correct.  They stirred people with their music to the point of fanaticism; why could we not do the same in the name of Jesus?  Many of the artists that day were not Christians- in fact many were far from it.  But the words of Do They Know It's Christmastime? are in some part the story of Jesus: "At Christmastime, we let in light and we banish shade... Throw your arms around the world at Christmastime!"  Many years have passed, but the passion and compassion exhibited that day have never left me, and the finale still brings the goose bumps and reminds me that "all good things work for the glory of God." I have posted the video below for you to enjoy.   Help feed the world by clicking here.

The Story of T.N.T

Another TNT Mummy Race!

Congratulations to the Page Pirates under the direction of Head Coach Kevin Gillespie, his wife Andi and assistant coach Jeremy Godwin on their victory in the NC State 4A Football Championship this past Saturday.  Made me think of the great times we had at TNT back in the day...  and so here's a story first told in December, 2009.  Enjoy!


In October of 1987 the youth ministry of Springfield Friends Meeting began our new outreach program,which we called TNT.  What TNT stood for was a little up for grabs!  Sometimes it meant "That New Thing."  Sometimes it meant "The Next Thing."  For the most part, we just stuck with TNT!  We had spent a month advertising and talking about it, building interest and enthusiasm throughout the community.  Some of the Trinity High School cheerleaders, friends of our own Robin Simmons, were coming to be part of a pie eating contest.  Not much else about that first Monday night stands out in my memory.  There are a few things I am certain of.  I am certain that we sang, and that one of the songs was the old Olivia Newton John classic Let Me Be There.  The song became a theme song of sorts for us, and was also the last song I ever played and sang with the youth of Springfield at our farewell party in 1994.  I am certain there was a melodrama, and that it almost certainly included a character named Pup (which, spelled backwards, is Pup!).  I am certain we played several games, including our own version of the MTV classic Remote Control.  And I am absolutely certain it was the start of something wonderful.

That first TNT did not attract huge numbers.  That came later.  Eventually we would pull in non-Springfield students from Trinity, Southern Guilford, Ragsdale and High Point Central High Schools, as well as from the middle schools that fed them.  Students and leaders from Archdale Friends Meeting and High Point Friends Meeting became regulars at our Monday night event.  There would be times when we would draw as many as 80 youth to TNT.  In later years we would drive 30 minutes to Greensboro to take kids home after the program.  TNT did the three things we wanted it to do almost immediately.  It connected us to lots of new students in our community and helped us to connect them with Jesus.  It put Springfield on the map as "the place to be" for student ministry.  And it gave our students an outreach ministry.  TNT would have never succeeded if our youth had not invited their friends.  Amy Simmons, Todd Farlow, Jennifer Wood, Laurie Rees, Heather Beggs, Jill Gilbreth, Mike Mercadante and many others were much more responsible for our success over the years than I was.  And we had a great time doing it!

I often think about those days at Springfield and all of the wonderful people I came to know and love.  It always strikes me that so many of the youth who were a part of my life I would have never even known were it not for TNT.   TNT was used by God to change all of Springfield Friends Meeting, not just the youth department.  We were faithful, and God blessed us.  It was an amazing time with wonderful people.  I love you guys!

Because of Jesus,

Random Ramblings (Springfield Edition)

As my blogging about my years at Springfield Friends Meeting (SFM) draws to a close this week, I have a lot of random thoughts from those years that don't quite merit a post of their own.  I will share many of them with you today, so just jump in and hold on!  And as always I would love to hear your comments and stories- e-mail me!

• I loved going to sporting events and seeing the youth play (in return they got to watch me play for the always entertaining SFM softball team each spring).  I always got into the games and became just another idiot fan pulling hard for "my" team, no matter which of our high schools or middle schools was playing or which team our kids were cheerleaders for.  Thanks to the Moran family I even learned to appreciate (be it ever so slightly!) soccer.  Perhaps the most exciting sporting event I have ever seen in person (and I have seen a lot) was watching Jeremy Godwin (pictured at right with Jennifer Simmons) win the NC state heavyweight wrestling championship his senior year at the Greensboro Coliseum.  Jeremy was loosing with just seconds to go in the match, when suddenly he escaped, flipped his opponent over and pinned him!  It was just simply amazing.
• In December of 1987 we had the first ever Friend Day at SFM, and the meeting room was packed!  It marked the beginning of a new enthusiasm and new spirit of outreach for the Meeting.  I think they still do the event.
• During my time at SFM we hosted a number of youth events for North Carolina Yearly Meeting, including Saturdaze '89.  We had groups from all over the state come in and we had a great program including Doyle Craven in The Orkrah Wimpy Show. 
• Speaking of Doyle...his leadership and faithfulness inspired me in so many ways during his tenure at the Yearly Meeting youth director, and to this day I still consider him to be one of the best youth pastors I have ever known.  His "career" in ministry ended when he announced he was gay.  Shortly thereafter, a "witch hunt" began in NCYM and anyone who had been close to Doyle was at the top of the list.  One of the most surreal moments of my life was the day Max Rees called me into his office to ask me if I was gay...I wasn't, by the way.  Not that there's anything wrong with that...

• I had two official college-age interns during while at SFM.  Tim Fountain, who had been in my youth group at New Garden Friends (and is pictured, on the left with Amy Simmons, Todd Farlow and myself) and Rebecca Howard of Quaker Lake fame.  They were both awesome, and they paved the way for the coming of Jerry Hanbery once I reached Kissimmee!
• On September 13, 1993 we changed the name of our TNT program to MARS (Mondays are Really Special?).  I have no idea why...but everyone who showed up was given a Mars candy bar!
• While serving SFM I worked with Youth Specialties on promoting a National Resource Seminar and and Understanding Your Teenager workshop, both of which we hosted.  I also was published as an author for the first times, writing articles for GROUP Magazine and Quaker Life Magazine.  I also wrote a chapter for a GROUP curriculum aimed at 4th and 5th grade students, and I actually got paid for it!  All of these things helped me establish a reputation outside of NCYM.
• Most of the posts about my Springfield years have been about the things that worked.  I could do another 100 posts talking about the things that didn't, or that didn't work for long.  We tried 10 different ways of starting small groups that never took off.  We kept trying new ways to get students more involved in leadership, but that never really happened.  I planned three small-scale mission trips that no one ever signed up to attend.  But the important thing was that we kept trying new things...
• We did 8 Youth Sunday worship services while I was at SFM, and each of them was moving and well received...at least they were after the first one.  I went on a rant at Monthly Meeting about how the youth were not just cute and sweet and the church of the future, but how they had important things to say and were a part of the church NOW!  Never heard any of that cute and sweet stuff again...
• I got to preach a couple of times a year when Max was away, and here are a few of my sermon titles from those years:  We Didn't Start the Fire, I Won't Back Down, The Heart of the Matter and I Go To Extremes.  Anyone see a theme there? 
• Marilyn and I were both in the choir and got to work with three wonderful choir directors- Brenda Haworth, Laurel Zeiss and Bob Spencer. Laurel taught us what became the official anthem of the church, In This Very Room. Mel Downing had been the organist for nearly 30 years before we arrived and remained in that position until his passing last year.  He was a Springfield institution.  One of my all-time favorite lines came from Brenda's husband, noted neurosurgeon Chester Haworth.  When Brenda asked the choir what we should do to honor Mel for 30 years of service, Chester responded "I think we should bronze his organ..."   I am still laughing!

There are so many memories, so many stories to be told from those years- but it's time to start wrapping it up.  My service to SFM ended with a bang, not a whimper, and the stories of how it all came to be are coming in the next few days.  Enjoy!

Because of Jesus,

July 13, 1985

I woke up the morning of July 13, 1985 feeling awful, so I called in sick to Color Tile.  It was the best sick day ever!  I sat and watched for hours as the greatest recording artists in the world came together in Philadelphia and London to raise money to fight world hunger at an event called Live Aid, organized by Bob Geldolf of the Boomtown Rats. During this day I saw The Who reunite; I discovered U2 for the first time; I saw Queen at the pinnacle of their performing power;  and I saw many of the greatest rock stars of the past and present join in the finale in London.  It was a great day.  I couldn't help but wonder as I watched why these stars could put aside their massive egos and do this to fight hunger, while we in the church could not even get past our petty denominational differences to follow the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 25.  They made an attempt to feed the world while we argued about which soup kitchens were theologically and politically correct.  They stirred people with their music to the point of fanaticism; why could we not do the same in the name of Jesus?  Many of the artists that day were not Christians- in fact many were far from it.  But the words of Do They Know It's Christmastime? are in some part the story of Jesus: "At Christmastime, we let in light and we banish shade... Throw your arms around the world at Christmastime!"  Many years have passed, but the passion and compassion exhibited that day have never left me, and the finale still brings the goose bumps and reminds me that "all good things work for the glory of God." I have posted the video below for you to enjoy.   Help feed the world by clicking here.