Wholly Bible

Thy word is a lamp for my own needs

And a torch for my wrath.

Take a look at the book

Your children forsook.

We casually peruse it,

Selfishly abuse it,

Confuse it,

Lose it,

Fuse it,

And accuse with it.

Exploiting your prophets for profits,

Plastering phrases and rhymes

On t-shirts and signs

Ignoring the lines above and

Below

Because the context disconnects

Your intent from my desire.

These scriptures are a brick

Thick enough to pick up

And smash through

The windows and doors

Of the widows and poor

And anyone who offends

While we defend

Our cut-and-paste passage

And memory verse that assuage

Our guilt and fear that

What we see and hear

With our own eyes and ears

From our own fists and jeers

Might not be thy will as it is in heaven.

Your word is an answer key

To shut up those who disagree

With me in all my glory.

And each story, song, and letter

Serves me better

Cut up with chapters and verses

To bite-sized portions

Which make my distortions

So

Easy.

We dissect, correct, and collect

Tidbits and scraps

To set our traps

That will prove we already know

And show our holiness and piety.

Still we print them,

Holy Bible blazoned on spine and cover.

But we need to recover what we’ve lost

Under the embossed leather.

To drink in your word,

Not probing or analyzing,

But being filled and thrilled

By what is

Wholly Bible.

Heads Up, Your Career Path Is...

...Exhausting!

I woke up at 4:30 today. That's PM! We finished out our summer with a 24 hour Secret Service Day. This event consisted of a full day of service projects followed by a lock-in. This is the sort of event that will not take place when I am in charge of a youth ministry. Oh, and I had to plan this event...

Anyway, I'm not just exhausted from this one event, but summers in youth ministry are just brutal sometimes. All the trips and camps and service projects and lessons and more and more... It's enough to drive you crazy sometimes. (If you know any youth ministers, you understand now why they are the way they are!)

...Frustrating!

There were days this summer that I felt like I had no idea what I was doing. Working with teens can be like surrounding yourself with bipolar ADHD kids sometimes. Working in churches has shown me that it is one place where there are plenty of people who are willing to tell you how you should be doing your job. I know that most people mean well when they give such advice, but (despite the many jokes as youth ministers make about our education) we've studied this stuff and there's (usually) a good reason for the way we're doing things.

...Rewarding!

Above all, my job is full of so many moments of joy and awe at what God can do through young people. I have watched these teens grow closer to God and to one another. His love has poured out of them in so many ways. Sure, they're not perfect, but neither am I. No one is. Having the privilege to work with teens and point them toward God is the greatest joy that I have known in my life. I am sad to be leaving such a great group of kids, but I look forward to the many opportunities ahead of me to serve God's kingdom in any capacity.

In two days I will be gone, but the lessons, memories, and friendships will stay with me as God continues to teach me more about loving and serving Him.