Incredible Weekend

2 Youth Groups- 2 nights. Simultaneously...
2:00am bedtimes.

3rd Youth Group in between For a little tour of our neighborhood...

Shawn and Ginger Bansen, with Eli (3) during the whole thing. Shawn Finished wiring the 1st floor Bathroom, the kitchen counters, and the laundry room!
That's like 45 to 60 people trafficking... .

Thanks to:
Jesus
John L.- Youth Minister @ IHM Anderson
John C.- Youth Minister @ Grace Church Loveland
Leo and Mona
All the folks from Mary Queen Lexington, KY...
Zach Cornelius--breakfast, neighborhood trash patrol... great sharing...
Aaron Johnson--all kinds of help and encouragement...

MY WONDErful WIFE JUDY!!

-

BHAG

hey everybody, I have a big Hairy Audacious goal that I need to share.

I'm doing a lot of music and worship with youth groups... have for years now. and now my old Ovation guitar is cracked and won't tune up right anymore.

I'd really like to get this new Legend guitar from a shop nearby with a brother working there who will discount for me as a ministry thing.

but first i have 2,350 dollars to pay to the Gas and Electric Co.

we had our windows and doors open during the floor project, and we're behind on the cost... that was the only time we had the help. It was a judgment call. maybe the wrong one.

getting to know Northside

I've been enjoying the last month immensely. I've been getting acquainted with a lot of "locals" here in Northside.

You see, there's a lot of "Northside Pride", here. People shop here to support businesses, not for price. People really believe in this neighborhood. It's not such a beautiful place, though, aesthetically, but it draws a very diverse and cultured crowd.

Anyway, today I met the Business Assoc. President. I like him. Reminds me of Uncle Jack. Bob's the name.

I was introduced to him by Peter and Victoria, two cultured and interesting people I have met at the Sidewinder Cafe over the last month. They told him about my work with exchange students.

He asked what else I do, and I said, "I work extensively with Foreign Exchange, as does my wife". I didn't mention the Grubbykupp ministry thing, or house church pastoring, or coffeeshop studies, or anything...

Why?

I didn't feel like it.

Why?

because I felt like they just wouldn't understand.

Oh, they're smart, and they'd understand everything I would explain to them and that would be that.
And that's not how it WAS, before I took on Professional Religious Person as a title.

I'd rather have Peter and Victoria and Bob discover Christ IN me, as we pilgrim this planet...

I'd rather share the Gospel as good news, not profession.

Finger Paints

JP and Aaron are finger painting at the table next to me, right now... This is JP's last week of classes at UC. I think that's his final project for his degree in communications...

or maybe somethign for aaron's homeschooling...

great week this week. met lots of parents of our kids on the block, here... getting to know the local guys in ministry, too...

There's a baptism tomorrow night, too. Tom's. It looks like he's gonna head to the Big House on Wednesday. We don't know for sure, but the weather looks like he'll start serving time this week. It's a plea thing.

kid pisses on van

there are a ton of neighborhood kids playing ball at the house these days. They're all really well behaved, too. It's really nice. They don't take the ball and they share pretty well, and they always include us in the game.

We're having a lot of fun with them all...

My drug dealers..

How many professing Christians actually associate with those who are...

Like the corner people... Like the porch people... Like the crazy people... Like the street people... Like "them". Not like "us". Criminals. The "darker" element. Prostitutes. Junkies. Street kds...

There 's this huge movement in our neighborhood to overcome the "deviant elements", like drug dealers, street people, corner people, the store that used to sell liquor on the corner, and folks like that. The movement is very powerful and has been building over the last decade. It's peopled with church-folk, upwardly mobile homosexual people, business owners, and like that...

"they" have grammas, mommas, and some have daddies out there somewhere... They are the lowly, sheep without shepherd... "We" are the ones with commands about love. "we" are the ones with teachings from our Shepherd that should polarize us to be attracted to these broken people...

I'm interested in building on the movement of Jesus, that gathered the "deviants" together around the good news. Grace. Power. Jesus didn't scatter them for the "improvement" of the neighborhood. He gathered them for the establishment of his Kingdom... Not in our streets, in our hearts!

Jesus is not a champion of clean streets. He's the champion for our hearts! The Champion of "Them".

We are in wonder that Jesus is calling us to Himself, among "them".

Month Off from Blogging

I've taken about a month off from blogging, mainly because Judy's computer crashed, and I couldn't use mine with the same rhythm...

Today a kid in the neighborhood urinated on our car. Gotta love it. He did it in response to my lecture about respecting our property. Cool.

The girls are having a time at school. Their teachers are the best ever. They're enjoying youth group at the Vineyard church and eating daily.

We went to Spain a week ago, and I spoke Spanish every day, a lot. I loved it. Seth was sick when we got there, but rested in stroller and seat while we toured a bit... Watched a lot of cartoons in Spanish with the boys. Judy worked the CIEE meetings and had a good time with her team, but got the dreaded illness on the tail end of the trip. Aaron was a rock the whole time, logging mad gameboy hours with Dimas, a friend whose mom is Judy's colleague.

I quit lent for lent, but Father keeps teaching me, anyway.