YS part Deux

There’s no such thing as a free meal…unless you’re me.

Today has been an incredible day. Not only was I awake before 8am (a rarity that Jill knows all too well!), but I was actually excited to be up early! Daniel and I got up this morning and shuffled downstairs for the Holiday Inn Express free breakfast. (Free meal #1) We ran into some friends of Daniel’s and had a fun time eating with them before heading out to the convention. Poor Daniel, because I misunderstood the question, he missed his critical concern courses (ones that you pay extra to attend) and instead was directed by me to an early bird seminar. So, we spent some time wandering through the sea of exhibitors, and I spent every other step kicking myself for not getting Stuck in the Middle in there. Oh well, we will do it next year.

After exploring in the exhibit hall, I was going to listen to part of Marko’s rant on the state of the church, but had to change plans when I found out how far away it was. Instead I stuck around the exhibit hall until my 11:00am lunch with Doug Tegner of the National Network of Youth Ministries. Doug and I have been talking a lot about starting a national middle school affinity network. The idea is to connect your average joe volunteer in the middle of nowhere to guys like Marko and Kurt Johnston, allowing them to benefit from their resources and experience. Anyway, it was a great meeting, and we talked a lot about middle school ministry, Stuck in the Middle, and the future of the aff network. He gave me some great marketing and resource ideas for Stuck, we saw Stuck general session speaker Fred Lynch in the resteraunt (what a cool guy!), and he bought my lunch! (free meal #2)

After that it was over to the Gaylord Center (insert your own “Meet the Parents” joke here) for general session #1. First off let me say that I was so pumped to see Sandy Richert hanging out in the sound area. For those of you who don’t know, Rolly Richert is the head of a ministry called Outside the Box, and he produces the YS events and is producing Stuck in the Middle. Sandy is his awesome wife who has been struggling with some serious health problems. They are two of the sweetest, most sincere and Christ-like people I’ve met, and it’s such an honor to be working with them on Stuck. Anyway, it was just so good to see her there smiling and in good spirits!

After saying hi to Sandy, I shot over and said hi to another friend of Stuck, Mr. Jay Delph. He’s the guy who does all the extra video/camera stuff, like the stupid human tricks. A great guy as well, and he’s always remembered my name (which is a nice thing to do people!). After that I grabbed a seat and enjoyed the chaos!

Loved Jars of Clay. They’ve really worked out their vocal sound, and it’s a lot better than the last time I saw them. I think that they’ve started to reinvent their sound a little, and it’s cool to see it firsthand. The song that they performed (written by Donald Miller’s wife I think?) was amazing. Wow!

Lil’ Yac (his hip-hop name) did a great job speaking, and the worship by Crowder and Co. was awesome as ever. Love the guys heart and humor.

When the music started, two things hit me:

1. I am so excited for Stuck in the Middle in March. I can’t wait to see Marko, Fred and Heather up on stage, can’t wait to worship with Starfield or laugh with Panic Squad, and absolutely can’t wait to see all of those middle school students joined together in worship! The excitement is building!

2. God is SOOO in control. As a human, I tend to worry about things like attendance, rundowns, timing, etc, etc. But during worship today something just swept over me and I felt such a peace. It’s so humbling to sit back and realize that God is truly in control.

At one point my cell phone rang. It was my good buddy Ken Rawson… He was just saying how exciting it was to look out at the sea of people worshipping and imagine that they were all middle school students at a Stuck conference. What a cool thought! I tell you, it is the BIGGEST blessing to have encouraging and excited friends like that. Ken is a guy who gets the vision and the heart of what we’re doing…and I’m really thankful for you bro!

– After the general session I shot over to Kurt’s “Freaks, Geeks and Squirrels: Understanding Middle School Ministry” class. The thing was PACKED!!! My understanding is that it was the first class to fill up, and there were many, many people turned away (my buddy Scott was one of those!). I watched Mr. Eric Venable try to pack in as many people as possible, and I was thrilled to see everyone grabbing Stuck in the Middle postcards on their way in. Last night I asked God to please guide those into the right hands, I just didn’t know there would be so many hands!!

Kurt did an awesome job, and everyone seemed to enjoy his class a great, great deal. I skipped out on part of it to run around with Eric and check out how full the other classes were. They were all packed! Shot over to the “Speakers Lounge” (I skirted in on Eric’s pass…) and said a brief hello to Marko before heading back to hang and talk with the YouthFront guys. It’s great to connect with those guys, and through that conversation it looks like I’ll be able to go connect with some youth ministry networks in the KC area to promote Stuck even more.

After that, Daniel and I walked around Nashville looking for a place to eat that wasn’t packed out. Saw Kurt and his friend on the streets and were going to join them for dinner, but again there just wasn’t anywhere to go. So, we shot back over to the Convention Center and stood in line for about 40 minutes to buy an overpriced sandwich. When we got to the front of the line Daniel made a joke to the lady at the register about “just taking the food on the counter that somebody wasn’t picking up”, and the lady said “sure, take it”. I guess that someone waited in line all that time, then took off without their food?? Sure, it didn’t make sense, but she assured us that she was about to throw it away, and if they came back she would remake it. So, we took a cheeseburger and fries and a chicken cordon bleu with fries and happily ate our free food. (free meal #3)

After the meal, we hit the stairs to go down to the tunnel to the arena. On the way down I ran into Steve Taylor and Wayne Rice, joked around with them and made a big dork of myself, and then hit the bottom of the stairs and ran into my old buddy Liam from the band Kurios. I guess that they are opening up for Rebecca St. James with a bunch of other bands tomorrow night at Rockettown. The last time that I saw Liam was on our insane “Big Tent Revival” tour back in the summer of 2003. I still can’t believe we survived that…but that’s another story altogether.

Then it was back to the Gaylord (again w/ the Meet the Parents jokes…) Arena. 4th Avenue Jones blew me away. Their guitarist looked WAY too much like my dear friend Zac Wilkerson, and sounded just like Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine/Audioslave). They were great, and the lead singers’ baby was just too cute! About that time though, I realized that the seat I was in was designed with a 5 year old child in mind…so I left and headed back here.

I still have yet to see my friends Kris, Scott and Vanessa, and I have serious doubts that I’ll be able to catch Marko in the YS store (to collect my prize). But other than that…it’s been a great convention so far, with lots more to go.

Now it’s back to promoting Stuck, learning more about my mysterious and awesome Lord, and enjoying the company of 8,999 other believers!

YS post numero uno…

Running late to the airport…

Hearing lame jokes by a 50+ year old youth pastor in the airport shuttle…

Yup…I’m at YS Nashville.

While at YS in Nashville I promise…

To not be so busy promoting Stuck in the Middle that I miss out on the chance to be fed spiritually…

To take the time in each of my meetings to actually get to know the person that I’m sharing lunch or coffee with, not just hear how they can help my ministry or I can help theirs…

To remember to find Marko by the bookstore so that I can pick up my free book!

To take the time to stop amidst the chaos and to breathe in and breathe out…

To realize that for all the seminars leaders, authors, speakers and spiritual guru’s…we still haven’t even scratched the surface of our mysterious God…

To hug Rolly and pray for/hug Sandy, and ask God to heal her in a supernatural way…

To smile at the strangers I see on my walk to and from the hotel…

To have a great time with Kurt and all the gang from the SJH boards…

To give Eric Venable a call and make sure that he survived his road trip out…

To really get to know and befriend my roommate and travel compadre Daniel…

To hang with my buddies Ken, Kris and Scott from Wichita…

To tip well and be overly kind to every waiter or waitress I meet…

To connect up with Vanessa and other new friends who I know are making the journey to YS for the first time…

To learn something new about the nature and character of God…

To do my best to spread the vision and mission of Stuck in the Middle…

To be a good steward of the time and money that is being invested in this trip…

And finally, to try my first cup of Starbucks coffee (yes, my FIRST)… Any buyers? =)

Stuck in the Middle Madness

These past few days have been nuts! I’ve met with several youth pastors here in the KC area, and we now have four new churches that will be bringing students to our event in March! I’ve also made plans to meet with several other youth pastors when I get back from Nashville. Things are really blowing up with Stuck in the Middle right now, and it’s incredibly exciting to see what God is doing!

This Tuesday night was our first ever Fundraising Banquet here in KC. So, of course, that means that the weather magically drops and suddenly we go from 70 and sunny to 37 and snowing! Well, we didn’t have quite the turnout we had expected, but we did have an amazing time. Many people braved the weather for a chance to hear about our ministry, and a chance to sample my father in law’s excellent chili! Our special guest, Eric Venable, spoke to the group about why he believes in Stuck in the Middle and why it’s an incredible ministry to support. We’re so fortunate to have him as a friend, and were both honored to have him there and humbled by his words. Thank you to everyone who joined us, we’re already looking forward to our next gathering. Also, stay tuned; we’ll be updating our fundraising goals in the next few weeks as the pledges keep coming in.

A side note, Stuck is a 501(c)3 non-profit charity, and as such all donations to it are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. If you or someone you know is considering supporting this ministry, be sure to do so before the end of the year. This way you can get credit for your donation on your 2005 tax filings! You can donate by mail (Stuck in the Middle, 152 Lioba, Andover, KS 67002) or online under the “Support” tab at www.stuckinthemiddle.com

This Week’s SITM Update (#29)

Once again, here’s the latest Stuck in the Middle Prayer Update. This is one part of a weekly email letter that I send out. You can get on the mailing list by sending your email address to Sean@stuckinthemiddle.com, or by signing up in the box on the right!

Dear Friends,

Whew, I feel like I’ve been running a bit of a marathon this past week! It’s been a wild time, and there have been some very awesome things happening for Stuck in the Middle! This week I was able to finish up the grant proposals that I have been working on forever! Yeah God! Please pray that those would find their way into the right hands, and that the people reading them would relate to our ministry’s mission and would be compelled to support us with grant monies.

This week I was also able to contact most of our workshop leaders. We now have ten of our thirteen confirmed, and I will be contacting the other three tomorrow. Please pray that schedules would work out and that they would be interested in being a part of this ministry to middle school students. Also this week, we have heard from numerous church leaders who are planning to bring students to our conference this March. We’ve also made connections with leaders and pastors who are working to help us raise full financial support! In Nashville, I will be meeting with several leaders, speakers and artists in regards to our March event and future Stuck in the Middle ministries. Also, I’ll have the chance to sit and listen to teaching on middle school, youth and general Christian ministry from some of the sharpest leaders out there. Plus I’ll have the chance to promote Stuck in the Middle at one of the largest gatherings of youth workers ever (over 7,500 youth pastors!)! Finally, please be in prayer for our fundraising banquet this Tuesday night. We have now confirmed about 20 people, and have not heard back from over half of our invitees. Pray that this would be an encouraging time, and that a great amount of support might be raised.

All in all, it’s been a whirlwind of a week, but it’s been incredibly encouraging! After being so concerned last week, it was definitely refreshing to have an outpouring of phone calls and interest this week! Please be faithful to pray, and we’ll be faithful to continue doing the work that God has called us to! Have a wonderful week!

In His Grip,

Sean

Back in the Saddle

Let the whirlwind begin! This weekend marks the beginning of a very busy time for me. It all started on Friday with me helping a friend pack up his family to move to Kansas City. It was hard to see them go, but we are really excited for them. He’s got a great new job, and they’ve got an awesome new place…so it’s a great thing for them! After we finally squeezed the door shut on his U-haul Friday afternoon, it was back to our house to get packed up and hit the road to a youth retreat. It was kind of a last minute thing, but I was invited to lead worship for a group of students up in Kansas City this weekend. Jill and I (along with Maddy and Aiden) arrived at the camp Friday evening, and she helped me get all my gear set up before she and the kids took off and went on to her folk’s house in Blue Springs, Missouri.

It was about the time I saw Jill pulling out of the parking lot that it hit me…I was about to lead worship for a group of students, something I hadn’t done in nearly 2 years! Well, in short, it went great! Now, I am definitely no David Crowder, but I think that the worship went well. The great part though, was spending time with the students and staff of this church. It was really awesome, and I couldn’t have found a better group of people to be around for my first time back. The students were amazing, the staff was awesome, and the camp was pretty dang cool too! Would you believe that I had wireless internet access in my cabin bunk? (and yes, I thought about blogging from camp, but then fell asleep each time I tried!)

Now I am back with the family, and we are relaxing for the night at Jill’s parent’s house. I’ve got some meetings for Stuck in the Middle over the next few days, and on Tuesday night we’ll be hosting our first big fundraising banquet (which, by the way, we’ve had a lot more RSVP’s for!!!). On Wednesday I’m going to lead worship for the youth group from the retreat, and then on Thursday it’s off to the airport to go to Youth Specialties in Nashville. While at YS, I’m going to be meeting with some really cool people! I’ll get to go out with some friends from the Simply Junior High message boards, will be meeting up with a few middle school ministry people and will also get to hang with some new friends as well. I’m also really pumped about traveling with Daniel Roach, a youth pastor in Derby, Kansas. I don’t know Daniel very well, but I am really looking forward to hanging out in Nashville and building a friendship.

After YS, it’s back to KC and then a late night drive to Wichita. Two days back in Wichita working, and then it’s back up to KC for Thanksgiving. After that I plan to hire a babysitter for a month and pass out until Christmas morning when I wake to find a new Taylor T-5 and an X-Box 360 sitting under my tree…

Lunch with Larva

What a fun day yesterday was! It seems like I was moving non-stop from the moment I woke up, but most of the time I prefer life that way. I had a chance to go to lunch with a new friend, Pastor Scott from El Dorado (or Larva, as he’s known on Kurt Johnston’s simply junior high boards). It was a great time, and a good chance to connect up with a new friend. Scott is from Canada, which led to the obvious “What the heck are you doing in Kansas!” response. It always amazes me how people can come from all over the world to the middle of Kansas! …not that there’s anything wrong with that!

Anyway, through the course of our meal we talked about life, ministry and Stuck in the Middle. Scott is a really cool guy who came all the way to Kansas to work with a church that only had about 15 kids. In the short time that he’s been here, he’s seen the group grow to nearly 60 students! He’s very quick to give all the credit to God, and you have to admire him. He told me that he raises most of his support, and boy could I feel him on that one! It amazes me when I hear about pastors making $250,000 salaries, and then meet a guy like Scott who is struggling to get a raise so he and his wife can start their family. I guess that’s just a little pet peeve of mine. Anyway, a cool lunch and a great time connecting up with a fellow brother in youth ministry.