Defending Scott

Comments, Guestbook signings and e-mails are always welcomed (hint, hint)!!!

I mentioned in a previous posting that Scott Burlison (at left with Carol Kraus in NYC) was unlike anyone else I ever had in a youth group.  This is actually somewhat of an understatement.  Scott was (and I would think still is) a completely unique individual.  He was often capable of making both myself and his peers a little crazy.  He said and did things that left you shaking your head with your mouth hanging wide-open.  He will be the subject of a few other stories on this blog that will tell you more about his antics.  He could be very strange.  But he was also part of our youth group family...

Very early in our week at Mountain Top some of the guys from other groups who were sleeping in the same cabin with Scott decided that he would be fun to pick on.  The irony of this is that most of our group felt the same way.  One evening some of the other guys put water balloons in Scott's bunk, and when he laid down he smashed them, leaving his sleeping bag soaking wet.  I told them that this was not cool, and we found Scott some bedding to sleep on that night.  No one stepped up to apologize, but I had a pretty good idea who did it.  The next morning I informed our guys (who, remember, were not sleeping in the same place) what had happened.  They were livid.  To paraphrase a great line from the movie Animal House, no one could do that to our friend Scott; only WE could do that to our friend Scott!!!  So our guys, led by Matt Schmidt, began to confront and interrogate the boys from Scott's cabin to determine the culprits.  You may remember that our guys were high school kids and most everyone else was in middle school;  it didn't take long for those boys to start singing!  Once names were named, Matt and his vigilante crew moved on to accuse them- and they confessed quickly.  Fear is a great motivator.  They were told in no uncertain terms what would happen to them if they were anything less than wonderful to Scott for the rest of the week, and suddenly Scott had some new best friends.  The group building I had hoped for was happening, and it was all happening around Scott Burlison.

And we weren't done yet.  Sometime during that week June 17th arrived, which is Scott's birthday.  We wanted to throw him a little party in the dining hall around dinner that night, but were told by The Director that this would break rule #1 of Mountain Top- no group can do anything that might exclude any other group.  This got us motivated.  We got some decorations and some goodies and that night we celebrated his 15th birthday.  I was reprimanded for our actions, but I really didn't care.  Scott was someone who needed our youth group to be a family.  He needed to know we were there for him.  This was a show of commitment- and sometimes you have to break a few rules to do the right thing.  And besides, when we sang Happy Birthday to Scott that night, it was not just our group.  His new friends from his cabin joined in and sang with great gusto! 

You never know what small things or unusual events will help lead a group towards a better understanding of what it takes to reach koinonia- true Christian community.  Scott had helped us on our way.  We were beginning to bond.  Tomorrow you can learn how my guitar almost got us sent home, and in doing so, set our relationships in concrete.

Because of Jesus,

CCM Countdown: 3

We have finally reached the top 3 (well, 4!) on the countdown of the 50-plus Contemporary Christian Music projects that had the most impact on my life and ministry between 1978 and 2006.  To see last Thursday's post and get links taking you all the way back to #50, click here.  Tomorrow we return to stories of the 1994 Mountain Top Mission Trip!

3)  TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER-  Newsboys-  1996
Despite the fact that this is their only appearance on this countdown,  Newsboys have been of the most popular and most durable of all of the Christian acts.  They are still going strong today, with Michael Tait (formerly of dc Talk) as their lead singer.  This project was with most of the original band, including lead singer John James who left shortly afterwards. It is a true masterpiece, with catchy tunes and incredibly creative lyrics, many written my the brilliant Steve Taylor, who also produced the album.  This CD received so much air time in the youth room of First Methodist-Kissimmee that almost everyone knew it by heart.  We saw the Newsboys in concert on at least 4 occasions in the late 90's, including the infamous Love Liberty Disco Airdome Tour...with no airdome!

FEATURED SONGS
The album opens with God Is Not A Secret, a song that gives marching orders to a church that is too often afraid of radical Christianity.  Part of the lyrics tell us "If we keep quiet, if we mass defect, these very rocks will scream, God is not a secret to be kept." This is followed by the ingenious title track (see video below) that reminds us that everyone has issues, and when they do, you need to "take them to your leader's Son."  Breathe, a rocker with a meditative "Breathe on me, breathe oh breath of God" refrain that begs God to make us new.  Reality is a song about God's never-ending love built around a young man who has run away from home and joined the circus, where he is "busy giving blood and shoveling elephant dung (send money!).  Let It Go, Cup O' Tea and Lost the Plot are other classics found on this album.  But out of all the incredible songs, the most memorable is probably Breakfast.  A song about a Breakfast Club much like the one we had in Kissimmee (and other places) that loses a key member to an early death, it reminds us to live life NOW.  It's a fun song to sing, and it has one of the great whistling solos of all-time.  So remember:

When the toast is burned and the milk has turned

and Captain Crunch is waving farewell

When the big one finds you may this song remind you

that they don't serve breakfast in hell...

OTHER RECOMMENDED ALBUMS FROM NEWSBOYS

Not Ashamed-   1992

Going Public-   1994

Step Up To the Microphone-   1998

Love Liberty Disco-  1999

Thrive-   2002

Devotion-   2004

Go-   2006

CAUTION: Rant In Progress...

"There are many powerful, popular and famous people who claim to speak in the name of the church.  They would have us believe that Christianity in our nation belongs to a political party.  They tell us what the "church" believes; they tell us what it stands for.  They may speak for the institutional church in USAmerica; I don't really know.  But I do know this-  many of them do not speak in the name of Jesus.  These are the modern day Pharisees, still thinking that the "law" can save us.  If we continue to let them speak on our behalves, we are failing as disciples of the Christ."
                                                                                                                               -WCJ, 1999

The following is just one opinion, offered today to help you think...

For the past several weeks many of my Christian brothers and sisters and fellow bloggers have been caught up in a whirlwind of discussion revolving around the National Day of Prayer, which was scheduled for tomorrow.  On April 15, a U.S. District Judge in Wisconsin ruled that the annual National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional.  "It goes beyond mere 'acknowledgment' of religion because its sole purpose is to encourage all citizens to engage in prayer, an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function in this context," wrote Judge Barbara Crabb, who said the Day of Prayer violates the First Amendment's establishment clause, which bans the creation of a "law respecting an establishment of religion" in the Constitution.  The Internet and talk radio have been all abuzz with stories of how President Obama cancelled the event (which is false) and of plans for protests and assaults on the pagan institutions that would deny us the right to pray on May 6th.  The basic idea is that no one and nothing should be allowed to stop us from praying on our National Day of Prayer.

And you know what?  THEY CAN'T!!!  While I agree that loosing a day specifically set aside for prayer is a bad thing, there is no way in all of heaven and earth that anyone can stop me from praying.  Prayer is between you and God.  It does not have to be sanctioned by the government, the church or any other institution.  In fact, scripture tells us that Jesus will be lifted up through this "persecution" of His people.  But I would argue that for many of the people bemoaning the loss of the NDOP, this has nothing to do with prayer or with following Jesus.  This has to do with politics.  The amount of hatred poured out on President Obama, even though he played no part in this decision, was incredible.  A "prayer" made the rounds on Facebook that hoped for his death.  Threats were aimed at both the White House and the Judge who handed down the ruling.  For many, this decision followed health care reform as another sign of the apocalypse.  Tomorrow, I have no doubt, there will be protests complete with the tearing of clothes and the gnashing of teeth, condemning our leaders, judges and anyone else who may disagree with the viewpoint of certain politician/Christians. 

So here's my question:  Will any of these protesters actually be praying?  Our leaders need and covet our prayers.  Our nation needs our prayers.  If the "Church" (and I include all followers of Christ in this; I cannot conveniently rule out the Christians I don't agree with) wants to make a difference on the NDOP, or any other day for that matter, it will not do so by protesting.  It will not do so by ousting the current President.  It will not do so by threatening a Judge in Wisconsin.  The way to make a difference is to turn this whole mess over to the one who rescues each of us from the mess in our lives- Jesus Christ.  If you want to change the world tomorrow, don't protest-  PRAY!!!  It is a great thing to stand up for a cause in the name of Jesus; you'd better just be darn sure it is a cause that Jesus would stand up for Himself!  Jesus came to save the lost.  Jesus taught us to pray for our enemies and those who persecute us.  Jesus said blessed are the meek and the peacemakers.  Jesus told us to take care of one another, to feed the hungry and take care of the sick and the poor.  These are the issues Jesus stood up for.  I see none of these ideals being lifted up by the powerful who claim to speak for the church.  What better way to show the world what a Christ-follower looks like than to shower those we don't understand with the love of God?  If we agree with scripture that God is love, then hatred and revenge can have nothing in common with Him.  We can, and MUST, pray for those who would tell us we cannot pray.  We must set aside our desires to have the power to make the laws of this land more Christian, and instead pray for the power of God to open the eyes of the people of our nation so they might see who Jesus really is.  Faith cannot be legislated.

The 21st century church in USAmerica is in danger of being defined by what we are against and the social/political issues that we have allowed ourselves to be co-opted by.  The church can and should be defined by only one thing- Jesus, the Christ.  So tomorrow, join me as I begin a National Year of Prayer.  Quit complaining about the way things are and pray everyday for the will of God to be done "on earth as it is in heaven."  Pray for Judge Barbara Crabb and President Obama.  Pray for our troops and our local leaders.  Pray for the leaders of foreign lands. Pray for people you don't like.  Pray for your friends, your family and everyone you know.  And then trust that God knows more than you do.  Believe that God is in control.  The love and grace of God, as found in the life and teachings of Jesus, are the only things that can save our world.  Set aside the things of this world and put your trust in the things of God.  Pray hard!

Because of Jesus,

Speeding For Jesus

The First United Methodist Church of Kissimmee had two vans (and a bus) when I arrived there in 1994.  One of the vans was white, and it was in pretty nice shape.  The other van was blue, and it was....blue.   We had to take both vans on our mission trip to Mountain Top, not because our group was large but because we would be transporting local children to the mission sites each day.  Because I am an exceptionally nice guy, and because you cannot overestimate the value of having an actual doctor on youth trips, I graciously conceded the white van to Dr. Jill Painter (pictured above on the right, with my wife Marilyn and The Director...hehe).  I drove Old Blue.

Each morning we would leave with our teams and head out to pick up elementary-aged students and drive them to the VBS sites we were using.  We actually spent as much time in the vans each day as we did at the work sites, but it was great to get to spend time with the kids.  We were on a pretty tight time schedule each day, trying to get everyone picked up and to the VBS sites in time to get things going for the morning.  Then we would take them home.  The story I am about to tell you actually happened; I was not there to witness it, because I was busy praying that the blue van would make it up the next hill.  I trust that if I mangle the details someone who was there that day will correct me.  But believe me, it happened!

Jill had her van full of youth and children and was headed either to the work site or back to their homes to drop them off.  We travelled long, empty stretches of mountain highway each day in vans that grew very loud, so you were always in a hurry.  One such day Jill- in the big white van with the church name and phone number on the side- realized she was being followed by a lovely car with flashing lights.  She had lost sight of her speed and was well over the posted limit.  And she had been caught!  Speeding in a church van is always a bit awkward because everyone who passes by can see exactly who you are and knows that you, a follower of Jesus, have just broken the law.  Plus, you still have to pay the ticket and deal with the insurance points.  It is not a good situation.  Dr. Jill was determined to try and get herself out of this mess, so she devised a plan.  As the officer approached her, she had the entire van of kids sing Jesus Loves Me.  They sang with great gusto and passion.  Her hope was, I assume, that the officer would hear the children, realize what an important spiritual mission she was on, and let her off with a warning.  It was a good idea.  It didn't work.  He wrote her a ticket while she sat by the side of the road with a church van full of children and youth.  Total embarrassment for her; hours of laughter for the rest of us!!!  In all of my many years of youth ministry and trips, Jill received the only speeding ticket anyone ever got.  I know she still considers it a great honor...

As I mentioned yesterday, both of us were called on the carpet for speeding around Mountain Top itself, and I seem to recall her getting in trouble for taking a few of the youth underwear shopping as well.  But the ticket was her only driving faux pas of the week. We would go on many trips together over the next 6 years, and very few youth counselors hold a more special place in my heart than Jill.   I would have my own embarrassing issues with the blue van after we started home.  But that is a story for another day.

Because of Jesus,

A No Good, Very Bad Day...

We arrived at Mountain Top late in the afternoon of the first day of camp, excited and ready to go.  We were actually a little later than we were supposed to be, by less than an hour.  It made us one of the last groups to arrive, and as we checked in I began to wonder if this had been a good idea.  First of all, because we were late there were only scattered beds left, and so our guys (I don't remember about the girls) were split up for housing.  Things did not get better.  We showed up for dinner and discovered that groups were not allowed to sit together.  I complained to The Director (I can't remember his name, and I don't want to be insensitive and refer to him as The Mountain Top Nazi; therefore I will call him The Director) and was told that the rule was hard and fast.  There was a meeting after dinner for adult leaders, and so I thought I could clear this up then.  After all, aside from serving others in the name of Jesus, our primary goal on this trip was group building.  It would be hard to do that if we were not going to see each other.  The meeting was worse than I could have imagined.  These people had more rules than the book of Leviticus, and they were serious about all of them.  Our group was made up entirely of high school students; the policies and rules of the camp seemed to be aimed at 10 year olds.  In fact, almost all of the others campers were middle school students.  Our group would not be working together; we would be split in two.  And over and over it was emphasized that we were NOT to spend time as a youth group except when it was on the schedule.  This was to be an opportunity to meet people and make new friends.  They assumed that could not happen unless they forced it to happen.  As word spread among our students, open rebellion was a real possibility...

We ate breakfast while waving at each other from across the room the next morning, and then headed outside for some personal devotional time.  This was a quiet time of reading a devotional and reflection and prayer, and it should have been really cool.   Then we read the name they had given this time- Holy Time Out.  It was awful on two counts.  First, the idea of being punished and sent to a corner to be with Jesus was offensive to me.  Secondly, all we could think of was the old Batman show.  We kept imitating Robin and yelling "Holy time Out, Batman!" every morning as we would head out the door.  Still, and sadly, it was one of the best times of the day.

The speed limit around the camp was 5 mph.  I think it was the first full day before Jill Painter and I both got yelled at for doing 10 mph.  It was just a sign of things to come. We were less than 24 hours into this adventure, and things were already falling apart.  It was indeed a terrible day.  We were about to become rebels, and do horrible things like singing on a hillside and throwing a birthday party for one of our own.  We just couldn't help ourselves.  It was going to be a long week, and The Director was already watching us like a hawk.  Fortunately, we had our work with the children every day to make us feel useful and to help us keep a Christian attitude.  We spent a lot of time in our vans.  And in some of those situations, even Jesus couldn't rescue us...right, Dr. Jill?  See you tomorrow!

Because of Jesus,

The Best Worst Week Ever!

Back Row (from left to right):  Ben Thacker, Matt Wheeler, Brad Watson, Hamp Sessions, Jason Ashcraft, Brian Watson, Matt Schmidt, Scott Burlison, Todd Willis.

Front Row:  Jocelyn Sessions, Laura Drapkin, Lisa Kraus, Jill Painter

There was only one upcoming event already on the books when I arrived at the First United Methodist Church of Kissimmee in April of 1994, and that was the summer mission trip.  Andrew Lewis, knowing that you have to do such things well in advance of summer, had signed us up to go to Mountain Top, a well-known and highly respected mission camp in the mountains of Tennessee (Note:  I do not remember why Andrew did not accompany us on this trip, but I do know he caught grief about it for years afterwards!).  In fact, the camp was so famous that no less than Amy Grant had written it's theme song!  There we would work in rural areas, doing the work of Jesus among the poorest of the poor.  It seemed like a wonderful opportunity to serve.

There was one major disappointment for the the team (pictured at top) before we ever left Kissimmee.  Mountain Top had two different types of mission camps.  One group went to the homes of people in the region and did light repair work, painting and other things traditionally associated with church mission trips.  The other group would work on doing a Vacation Bible School type program for children of the area.  We thought we we signed up for the former; we discovered we were actually part of the latter.  This disappointed some of the youth, especially the guys.  So our attitude took a hit before we ever got on the road.

Our team was quite interesting itself.  I was still very new, and didn't know some of the participants very well yet.  Myself and Jill Painter were the adults;  Brad Watson and Laura Drapkin were college students who were serving in leadership roles as well.  The youth were a mixed bag.  The two Matts, Brian and Todd were all getting ready for their senior year in high school, and were big buddies who had strong ideas what a mission trip should be.  Ben and Hamp were easy going guys who were just trying to fit in.  Jocelyn was close to most of the older guys and Hamp's sister.  Jason had moved to North Carolina the previous year, and was back to go on one last trip with his friends.  Lisa was young, but very involved in youth and excited to be going.  And Scott...well, Scott will get his own posting here later this week.  For now I'll just say that Scott was unlike anyone I had ever had in a youth group before...   This group needed to bond.  They needed to grow together.  A mission trip is a great way to build community...usually. 

As we headed out that was my prayer.  I wanted this to be the beginning of something great for this ministry.  And it would be.  But not in my wildest dreams could I have imagined HOW that would happen.  As Dr. Jill wrote to me just the other day, it was "the best worst week ever!"  I hope you will join me this week for some great stories about some wonderful people...and the Mountain Top staff.  Have a blessed Sunday!

Because of Jesus,

"Jesus, You & Me"

Shortly after my arrival in Kissimmee and my introduction to John Willis' muppet Hollywood, John informed me that they were making a video of family devotions called Family Living With Jesus.  This project was being headed up by Pat Pribyl, a church member with extensive background in TV and video production. They were filming John and Hollywood interacting with church families and learning more about Jesus.  As part of this enormous undertaking, they had begun a nationwide contest for a theme song.  John knew I had written some songs and told me that while the contest was almost over and they had a number in entries, he thought I might want to give it a shot as well.  Actually, it was more like he wanted me to give it a shot.  So I did.

I wrote the song Jesus, You & Me in a couple of hours in my new office at FUMC-K, and I submitted it to the committee that was picking a winner.  I was very surprised when I was informed I had won the competition.  The prize was $100 (which came in very handy!) and a chance to record the song for the video.  I thought "record" would entail sitting in front of a microphone and a cassette player and singing.  I was so wrong.  I still didn't understand the scope of John's vision for this project.  John, Hollywood, a choir of about 30 children and I were going to a professional recording studio in Orlando.  I would play guitar and sing, backed by the children's choir on the chorus.  John and Hollywood were taping an introduction.  The song would be released on cassette in advance of the video to try and stir up interest in the project.  The session took a couple of hours and was one of the more interesting things I have ever done.  It was pretty amazing to hear the chorus with the kids singing behind me after it was professionally mixed.  The chorus had a very simple message:

We're family, Jesus, you and me

walking side by side and hand in hand

Yes we're family, and Jesus holds the key

Families  living with Jesus in God's plan.

The song and the tape were both pretty well received at church, but did not make much of an impact anywhere else.  We took boxes of the video to a Christian Education conference one time and set up a booth in the resource hall to sell them.  We returned with boxes of the video...  My only professionally recorded song did not earn me a gold record- it was more like an aluminum record-  something to wrap up leftovers in!  But it was certainly fun.  The real impact on me was the realization that John Willis wanted all of us on staff to pursue excellence and to be as creative as possible with our ministries.  I was only a few weeks into my ministry at FUMC-K, and I had already done things I had never done before.  That list would get much longer in the years to come.  Working for this church and this pastor was going to be inspiring...and fun! 

I still have the video and the cassette.   I sold the rights to the song to Hollywood, but I think he has retired now.  Maybe I should update the song and see if the Veggietales need me...

Because of Jesus,