I'm a youth worker. It's my job to work with young people. More than that I believe it to be my calling. And normally I think I'm pretty good at it... Except I don't think I'm made for all youth work, not all youth work is the same, and not all youth workers have the same strengths.
The real secret though is this: Here's the latest song I've been working on, inspired by the journey of a friend. I sang it at church as part of this morning's service. (I stole the verses from an old hymn that I've never known by George Washburn Lyon, which is now in the public domain, and there's an accompanying tune which will be shared at some point.)
I miss having a cassette player in my car. That old-school tape player was great because it was easy to plug my phone through and play Spotify, meaning I had a world of music at my fingertips. My current car is new enough to have a CD player, but not good enough to have an aux input, so I'm back to either Radio 2 or CD's that were purchased between 2002 and 2010.
One such CD that is in the current wallet in my car is Newton Faulkner's "Hand Built by Robots", and this is where my unexpected worship began on Sunday afternoon... Some of you might not be aware that I've started the journey into becoming a certified Methodist Local Preacher. It really is as exciting as it sounds.
I met with my tutor earlier this week, and one of our discussion topics was the following quote from John Killinger (1985; Fundamentals of Preaching, London:SCM): I posted an update on Facebook this morning, and I wanted to elaborate a bit more, but only for those who care to read it and engage with it well. Here's the original post: Dear Politicians I will vote today. And I will vote every time I am called upon to do so. I have no party allegiance, I couldn't tell you who my parents and grandparents voted for, and no-one is guaranteed my support. I have made, and will continue to make my decisions based on my understanding of what is presented before me. If you want to win my vote (and I am sure it will also win you the vote of countless others) here are the simple steps you need to follow: 1. Act Justly; 2. Love Mercy; 3. Walk Humbly; 4. Dream big, for everyone; 5. Act with integrity: Hold your hands up when you make mistakes. Sell yourself to me on who you are and what you believe, build yourself and your manifesto up, rather than thinking you have to destroy what others put on the table. Stand for things you can look back on in later years and say "I did good". It sounds a lot to ask in today's political world, but is it really? Could you be the one brave enough to do it and buck the trend? That'd inspire me. That'd inspire others. That'd change things. Thanks And my elaboration... My Facebook feed is saturated with people declaring that they have indeed voted today. Some of them have nailed their colours to the mast, put banners on their profile pictures and proudly taken selfies having worn their appropriately coloured rosettes and t-shirts to the polling station.
"I've done my bit..." declares friend after friend... But I'm left to wonder, have they really? Sure, today they have made a decision and made a mark. Or some will have made several marks to communicate their discontent with all of the proposed candidates. Others have fulfilled the words of Rush by staying away: "If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice." But is that really us "doing our bit"? Every day I get near enough the same message come up on my phone:
"You have memories with Suzanne Williamson and x others to look back on today" And every day I get the same feeling... Every day I get excited to rack my brain as to what we might have been through together on this day at some point in the last 10 years. I'll be honest, when I click the link and look back through the Facebook posts it's not all as riveting as my mind imagines, but the point is she was there, we were making memories together, and that still excites me. Aside from the obvious fact that she is stunning, and her tolerance levels are greater than anyone I've ever met (except possibly my mother who has my dad to contend with too), there's a choice that we both make every day that says whatever comes our way we choose to love each other, to want to be with each other and to love each other... It's been a while since I wrote my Honours dissertation, and nearly as long since I read it, but from memory, I'm still committed to the baseline principle:
We all watch things, and we all need to be able to understand what we're watching. 1: Dangerous WonderLucy is in Narnia and is hearing about Aslan for the first time:
“Is he – quite safe?” “Safe?” said Mr. Beaver, “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good.” Later on, once Lucy and Susan have been reunited with the risen Aslan, they play. The have a romp in the fields: “Whether it was more like playing with a thunderstorm or playing with a kitten Lucy could never make up her mind.” Every year I try and read the same book, though I have slipped up since having children. I’m currently on my third copy because I’ve lent it out so many times that the previous copies have either fallen apart or been stolen (God knows who you are!).
Every time I’ve read it I’ve had a pencil in hand and things have jumped out at me, and every time I read I find myself guilty of not letting the impact I experience whilst reading to sink in for longer afterwards. Personally I blame my memory, but in reality I’m just boring. The book is called “Dangerous Wonder” by Michael Yaconelli, and from the very first time I read it, it spoke to me. Subtitled “The Adventure of Childlike Faith”, the blurb reads as follows: |
MARCRemarcable is one man blogging about Youth Work, Theology, Family, Life and those other random things that come to mind. Archives
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