A brief sigh of relief went through the baggy pants community today…

A judge has decided a law banning sagging pants in this town is unconstitutional after a teenager spent a night in jail on accusations he exposed too much of his underwear… Voters in Riviera Beach approved the law in March. A first offense for sagging pants carries a $150 fine or community service, and habitual offenders face the possibility of jail time. Proposals to ban saggy pants are gaining ground in several places around the U.S. [MSNBC]

Me personally, I enjoy a well fitted pair of slacks and my cheeks well covered - but that’s simply preference. It’s just one more notch in the belt of an older generation making sure the younger one disdains them more. I hate seeing things like this happen. Don’t authorities have anything better to do besides police fashion?

Working with unchurched has taught me many things. One of those is that they are greatly misunderstood by adult authorities. They’re treated like idiot, delinquents and constantly talked down to. Most adults in their world shown them no respect, but expect respect in return. It’s a bad cycle that continues to divide the ages.

You’d be surprised how easy it is to earn a kids respect by just treating them like a human being. They may look different or be covered in tats or piercings, but their heart is the same on the inside. We all carry our baggage and wounds - it just worn differently on each of us. One of my greatest joy in youth ministry is seeing generations come together as friends, mentors and co followers in Christ. It’s a beautiful thing.

If Jesus loved the kid in baggy pants, so should you. So instead of scoffing or looking away when you see a kid that looks weird or off putting, talk to them. You never know what can happen.

Our second week of service went really well. Kids brough kids which is actually a good thing. We had a few people from the homeless community join us to make it a memorable evening. One of them began to interject during discussion time and was conviced that vampire bats were in the Bible (the lady wasn’t exactly right in the head). But this did lead to one of my favorite conversations I had with a student afterwards.

The student approached me with a pensive look on his face. “Stuart” he said, “I don’t know much about the Bible, but I’m pretty sure there are no vampire bats in the Bible. “Louis,” I responded, “you’re exactly right, there are no vampire bats in the Bible.” “Okay, just checking,” he answered.

It as a great night.

Thank you all for your prayers leading up to our first service. It made a difference. They were felt.

We had 18 people attend and I was surprised that we had that many. We hadn’t advertised it because we wanted a trial weekend to cut out teeth on.  And it couldn’t have gone better. We had a few random adults there as well. I love seeing multi-generations praying together. There’s something that feels so right about it.  It was a simple service. Prayer, reflection, scripture, discussion and contemplation. I never grow weary of watching teenagers pursue the Lord through the ancient practices.

I’m excited to see how this thing progresses. Those that attend definitely caught the vision and I’m excited to see how this community will grow together as we purse the Lord.

Thank you again for your prayers!

Ahh the blob. Any good camp has one of these bad boys. So, as our summers in youth ministry (or regular lives) come to an end, I give you this, the ultimate, blob launch…

In youth ministry, you find yourself investing in kids, but don’t usually see the the direct impact on their lives. We just work, love, invest, teach and walk alongside young people praying that the Lord will take hold of their lives.  But every once in a while, you get a glimpse into heart of a student. I got this note myspaced to me last night from one of our students. It was totally unexpected and it brought tears to my eyes.

If you knew this student, you’d realize that it’s totally out of character for them to be so honest, heartfelt, thankful and real. But I’ve also seen the Lord really begin to this student’s heart in the last few weeks (after what seemed like 3 years of a cold heart towards anything pertaining toward the Lord). Here’s what they wrote:

Lately, I have been going through some hard times. And some in a more direct way than others, have helped me. You guys make me laugh until i almost pee my pants. Sometimes make me want to stick a cork down the barrel of a paint ball gun and shoot you close range, but most importantly, make me feel accepted. In my family i am perceived as very different, and kind of an embarrassment. All of you make me feel like I can be myself and don’t have to worry about being judged or rejected. No matter what i say, no matter how dumb it comes out as, you make me feel like I’m important, that what i say matters. Even if you don’t know it, you all have helped me in your own way, and as a group. So i just wanted to say Thank You. You have no idea how much i appreciate it. So THANK YOU!!!!

So this is my encouragement (because the Lord encouraged me with this) to you youth workers out there. Keep investing. Keep spending time with kids. You may not see the direct impact today, but it’s not our job to see the result this side of heaven. It’s our job to minister, encourage, love, inspire and journey. So don’t give up. The work you are doing is much more impactful than you will ever realize.