Life is so fast-paced in America. A friend of mine recently moves to Los Angeles and we talk about the differences between LA and the East Coast–especially life in Delaware. I won’t soon forget moving to Pasadena when in my twenties. After a life spent in Delaware and a few years in Pittsburgh, everything in LA moved at a much more frenetic pace. Driving out there, we quickly found ourselves on a freeway with 5 very busy lanes, I stayed to the far right. After a few years in California, I found myself keeping up with traffic in the far left lane. Then we moved to southern Maine. Few things can prepare you for that kind of culture shock. I vividly remember pulling onto the highway and nearly rear-ending someone who was stopping at a yield sign for no apparent reason. As I moved to the left and cruised by them, I stopped and thought to myself, “Why am I in such a hurry?” Living in LA had changed me more than I had realized. So, I moved to the right, slowed down and tried to settle into the slower-paced life in northern New England.

Life gets busier and busier. I find myself in such a hurry these days. Slowing down seems a dream, but I am taking one step toward a slower paced, more reflective life–a Freeway Fast. While driving on a limited access highway, I zip by barely noticing what lies to my left or right while my gaze is fixed on the bumper ahead of me. So, in order to slow down, I am avoiding highway whenever possible. For me, that means avoiding Route 1 and taking Route 13 when I head to Newark, Wilmington or all points north. (In order to not freak people out, when I’m with a group I am staying on 1.)

Some Observations
1. I drove back from Carlisle, PA this weekend and used 13 South instead of 1. My friend Paul and I, surprisingly, got home at about the same time. And I saved $4 in tolls! It makes me wonder if freeways are always faster or are we deceived by the feeling of speed as we travel faster while not getting there much faster.

2. I notice a lot more scenery and appreciate Creation. Driving is more relaxing, and I find that I enjoy the drive much more. I’m even thinking I should stop and take pictures more often.

3. Even though I’m not on the Freeway, at times I still have to calm myself down. My tendency is to still drive very fast and pass whenever possible so I can get where I’m going as fast as possible, instead of enjoying the moment.

4. It’s been said that the most counter-cultural thing a follower of Jesus can do is take a Sabbath. What does it say about us as followers of Jesus if we have such trouble slowing down even for a day–or 20 minutes off the freeway?! Like the fast pace of life in LA affecting me more than I realized, has the culture affected us more than we affect it?

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We have a few small groups for our young adult ministry that meet regularly, but we could definitely use more. One thing I am certain of, especially after The Interview Project, is the need for small groups in young adult ministry. The churches we interviewed may do groups differently, but ALL of them do small groups. To effectively reach and teach young adults, groups are essential. To get some young adults connected in small groups, I’ve been asking young adults who don’t normally go weekly:

• Why don’t you go to night church? Do you like the current way (Worship, Brief Sermon and Small Groups) we do it?
• Our values in the young adult ministry are Connect, Grow, Serve and Share–what do you do to live these values on a regular basis?
• Would you go to a small group if we offered more groups?
• If you were to go to a small group for one or more of these, when would you be most likely to go? Nights? Mornings? During the day?

Most people enjoy the current format of our evening worship experience, but don’t come because they are busy, busy, busy–which is no surprise considering that Americans are VERY busy (TOO BUSY!). And in this case, a lot of them take classes, work long hours, etc. Almost everyone seems open to, and even excited about, small groups. I’m excited about some of the new ones forming now! The big question is whether everyone will actually come when the new groups start.

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I’m sure it’s going to be a great read and am looking forward to getting it in the mail! If you can’t wait, you can download a free copy here.

Product Description
Why do so many young adults (18 to 22) leave the church, and what will it take to bring them back? This important question is examined and duly answered in Essential Church? with his son, research expert Sam Rainer.

The book is based on a study of one-thousand so-called “church dropouts” who were interviewed about why they left. Their answers are quite surprising, having less to do with “losing their religion” and more about the desire for a community that isn’t made stale by simply maintaining the status quo.

In turn, the Rainers offer churches four concrete solutions toward making their worship community an essential part these young people’s lives again:

Simplify - develop a clear structure and process for making disciples.
Deepen - provide strong biblical teaching and preaching.
Expect - let members know the need for commitment to the congregation.
Multiply - emphasize evangelism, outward focus, and starting new churches.

About the Authors
Thom S. Rainer is president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources, one of the largest Christian resource companies worldwide, and the best-selling coauthor of Simple Church. Rainer and his wife, Nellie Jo, have three grown sons and live in Nashville, Tennessee.

Sam S. Rainer is a senior pastor, writer, and the president and CEO of Rainer Research. He also blogs and writes a column for Outreach magazine and lives with his wife, Erin, in Floyds Knobs, Indiana.

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Nobody sets out to live a life full of regrets—never fulfilling their God-given dreams. Although a life following Jesus begins with excitement, it often becomes routine for many believers. Mark Batterson identifies the “cages” that keep people from living fully and experiencing the unpredictable adventure for which they are destined. Throughout the book, he encourages believers to pursue their God-given dreams, passions and goals—while giving practical advice to finding and discerning God’s will within those dreams and goals.

Much like his preaching, Batterson has a knack for writing in a thoughtful, clear, entertaining style. He authors a narrative filled with real life examples of people chasing the Wild Goose, living dangerously and finding fulfillment as they fulfill God’s purpose for their lives—contrasting examples of those who didn’t.

Buy this book for: college students/young adults looking for direction, those going through the quarter-life crisis, people craving a life of adventure—and yourself. Leave assumptions behind, unleash the Spirit within you and become dangerous to the enemy as you recapture the adventure of a life following the Holy Spirit! As Batterson says, “chase the Wild Goose, He will take you places you never could have imagined going by paths you never knew existed.”

Check out the book’s website for more info and “Mark’s 10 Steps to Setting Life Goals” (free download after your purchase)…and, since the publisher was nice enough to send me 2 copies, be the first to leave a comment or facebook me if you want my extra copy.

Summary:
“Celtic Christians had a name for the Holy Spirit–An Geadh-Glas, or ‘the Wild Goose.’ The name hints at mystery. Much like a wild goose, the Spirit of God cannot be tracked or tamed. An element of danger, an air of unpredictability surround Him. And while the name may sound a little sacrilegious, I cannot think of a better description of what it’s like to follow the Spirit through life. I think the Celtic Christians were on to something….

Most of us will have no idea where we are going most of the time. And I know that is unsettling. But circumstantial uncertainty also goes by another name: Adventure.” –from the Introduction.

Author’s Bio:
Mark Batterson is the lead pastor of Washington, DC’s National Community Church, widely recognized as one of America’s most innovative churches. NCC meets in movie theaters at metro stops throughout the city, as well as in a church-owned coffee house near Union Station. More than seventy percent of NCC’ers are single twentysomethings who live or work on Capitol Hill. Mark is the author of the best-selling In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day and a widely read blogger (www.markbatterson.com). He lives on Capitol Hill with his wife, Lora, and their three children.

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Adding a favicon to your wordpress website…
(What is a favicon? It’s that little image that shows up in your browser tab.)

STEP 1: Create a favicon.
There are many sites out there that help you create one. I used the favicon generator at dynamic drive, but not their code to display the favicon. (If you’re working on a non-wordpress website, use their code and directions.)

STEP 2: Upload the favicon to your website
Once your favicon is created, using your FTP program (Try Fire FTP or Cyberduck if you don’t have one.), upload it to your site within your current theme. (It’s the file where you’ll see the files: page.php, header.php, style.css, etc.) Place it in the theme folder–not the images folder within the theme.

STEP 3: Modify the Theme
Between the <head> and </head> tags in the header.php file of your current theme, add this code from the wordpress codex:
<link rel=”shortcut icon” href=”<?php bloginfo(’template_directory’); ?>/favicon.ico” />

You can do this in a few ways:
1. From your wordpress admin panel, click the “design” tab, then the “theme editor” tab. Then click on and open up your header (header.php) file. Insert the above code.

2. Use a text editor or program like Dreamweaver to edit your theme’s header.php file and then upload and replace it within your current theme.

STEP 4: Repeat
Remember, since this is done by modifying your theme in wordpress, if you change themes, you’ll have to repeat this whole process again!

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There have been a few challenges however. It’s difficult to play video supplied for the curriculum we’re using now. I loaded all the video on my iPod touch, but the first external speaker we tried just isn’t cutting it. I’m gonna look for a different one this week. I might have to sacrifice portability for sound quality and volume.

The second challenge is the more serious one. We haven’t had any new people come. I wonder if it’s less comfortable for them to stop by and find us at a restaurant than it is to stop by a classroom. While the environment might be better for conversation, it might be less conducive to pulling in new people. Of course, this time of year may also be to blame for the low (in this case 0) new person turn out. If it is less “visitor friendly”, we’ll have to look at some alternatives to helping people connect–more aggressive follow-up/invites to come out or using a secondary event as the primary connection point for new people. (Honestly, the Sunday School wasn’t really cutting it anyway.)

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Good resources for young adults were scarce when I first began working with this age group. As churches in America begin to address the obvious disconnect with younger generations, finding material for young adults has become easier; but finding something that fits me and the young adults that meet me on Sunday mornings has been even more difficult than finding quality youth ministry resources.

Current Context:
suburban Young Adults 18-28, average age: 21
meeting at a Dunkin Donuts at 9:45am on Sundays

Tomorrow, we’re beginning Liquid. As I read over the material, I liked the format, style of writing, flow, layout–in short, everything about it. The accompanying DVD clips (You can purchase the booklet or the booklet with a DVD.) are short enough to be part of the lesson–but not the whole lesson. The questions progress in a logical sequence while avoiding predictability. Contemporary references, stories and comments are interspersed throughout the participants’ guide making it easy to substitute your own thoughts and stories. The Bible verses are included in the text of the guide and are integrated smoothly within the discussion. (I stumbled upon it while travelling through Lancaster, PA and stopping at the Berean Christian Store–as close to a Christian Borders as I’ve ever come! I’ve made many serendipitous discoveries there, so I always stop when time allows.) I bought the version with the DVD and will show the clips as best I can. Tomorrow is the real test: how does it work for the 20-somethings!

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We’ve been doing a young adults (18-35) Sunday School class almost since we started the young adults ministry here. But, we’ve been wanting to try something new for a while, so we’re taking it off campus–to Dunkin’ Donuts. Tomorrow morning will be the first trial of this, so we’ll know more in the morning. I’m excited.

Things I’m wondering…

How much will the change in location change the nature of what we we talk about?

How will the social dynamics change outside of “class”?

Will new people feel more or less comfortable coming?

Will it help young adults be consciously aware of how “church” integrates with their “real” lives?

Will I have to buy everyone breakfast tomorrow?

UPDATE: So far the experiment of having class off-site has been fun. People are much more talkative outside of a “classroom” setting–and it feels more “real” in some way. We also run into other people we know while off-site–but not many young adults. We haven’t had any new people so far, so I’ll have to update everyone on that later. The downside is that time constraints are defintely tighter and I am spending a lot more $ at Dunkin’ Donuts than I am used to spending…

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My desk is normally covered in papers and post it notes. I try to carry my pda with me at all times, because I often need to write down appointments, tasks or notes. Inevitably, I find myself without paper, pen or pda. I used to leave myself voicemail or text myself, until I found Jott. In order to Jott

1. Set up a profile on Jott.com
2. Call their number, when the prompt asks, “who do you want to Jott?”, reply “myself”
3. Leave yourself a voicemail and hang up

Jott then transcribes your voicemail and emails it to you. If the transcription isn’t right or deosn’t make sense, simply click on it to listen to the audio. You can also Jott other people who you define in your address book and many other services–including Twitter, Wordpress, Amazon, etc. When it beta, everything was free. Now, for a fee, other services such as Google Calendar, Vitalist, Remember the Milk, etc. can also be used. For a complete list of applications/links, check out Jott’s getting started link.

Jott Express is a nice addition to Jott. It allows users to sync and organize their Jott’s offline. Since I jott a lot, it makes it easy to maintain multiple Jott “to do” lists.

Jott for iPhone allows iPhone users to use their iPhone like a voice recorder and access their Jott’s, which are synced with Jott while online. Of course, I don’t have an oPhone and have to settle for iPhone envy…

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