Wednesday, May 28, 2008

summer is almost here

as i have been working on our programs for this summer, i find myself wondering at times if there is too much going on. sometimes we pack our schedules so full of stuff, that we are just busy. we lose sight and we lose perspective on who we are and what we are about. i have to keep that as a caution ahead of me. if i am not well, what i am doing won't be done well. we have our regular stuff going on: small groups, jr high and high school nights. during the summer we also add a movie night, mission day, and beach day to the regular routine. we also have two camps and a high school mission trip, all a week long. we kick it off with a huge school's out party and end it with outpouring and a trip to busch gardens.

with all that is going on and my commitment to what i do, i am reminded of even stronger commitments to myself, my wife, and to God. these must come first. i intentionally take fridays off to spend time in those areas. i truly believe that if i maintain and develop even stronger relationships is those areas what i do in ministry will have an even larger impact than what i can imagine, not that i am great or good, but because God is great and good. if am just busy, i won't rest, i won't be focused, and i will move slow and lack patience, rendering me quite useless to say the least. yet, if i am fresh, energized, and growing, much more will be accomplished because of it. obvious i know, but much easier said than done.

Monday, May 26, 2008

halo tournament and gaming

many people have different thoughts about hosting a halo tournament at a church. many of our youth play video games (there are 350 to start with), and it is a good way to connect with them. in fact at our tournament today, we have had quite a few register a team who have rarely come to any other program events. what a great thing it is, when we are willing to meet others where they are at to connect. we should be in the world, but not of it.

i personally have been playing games since i was about 5 years old. i remember my father coming home with an atari 2600 with one of the greatest games at the time, asteroids. i was hooked. we played asteroids,  missile command, and breakout for hours. since then i have owned the nes, super nintendo, nintendo 64, playstation, dreamcast,  gamecube, and for a few years now the xbox 360. yes, i prepaid for my 360 and picked it up on launch day. the 360  offers so much from game downloads, to movies, streaming from the pc, and windows live. it is on more often than just the tv in our house. i also play game on my pc. not as much since the 360. but loved battlefield vietnam and battlefield 2, command and conquer series, especially generals, and of course all the games from valve. this is something i have grown up with and enjoy doing. i would rather play than watch tv. it is interactive and entertaining. i am currently playing quite a bit of cod4 with a bunch of seminary students (friends of my brother in law)  from north carolina right now.

now, i do think as with anything, that we should be aware and careful about what we put into our heads, games, movies, books, music, etc. i don't think that nay of these forms of media cause bad to happen. people cause bad things to happen. however, parents should know what their children are playing and decide what is allowable. there are games that young children and even early teens should not play, but there are also great alternatives.

back to the tournament. today's setup is four man teams. all games will be played on original maps (pre-selected or random) and normal setup. the games will the best out of 3 and winner moves on. loser will move into the losers bracket. each 1st place team member will win a 3 month subscription to xbox live.