Ryan

Guys, this post is serious.

Please pray for Gail's ex-boyfriend Ryan. I just found out he was in a car accident and ended up killing his roommate. Gail is obviously in shambles, and I can't imagine how Ryan is holding up. I don't believe Ryan is a Christian....Please pray

Bouldering

This evening instead of working on my Church history paper that has been hanging over my head all week, I jumped at the opportunity to go bouldering with my good friend Clay. We hit up a new place called Agazzi's rock or something like that. For those of you that aren't familiar, bouldering basically means rock climbing with no ropes. You usually don't go very high, but instead tackle challenging lateral problems. So after a warm up climb, Clay shows me how to do a slightly more difficult problem. I am a little out of practice as this is my first time climbing in a while, but I fearlessy hit the 20 ft. high boulder. I get about half way up the rock and begin to realize the difficulty of the route. At this piont my feet are at least ten feet up in the air. After multiple attempts at the next move I begin to panic a little bit as I realize I am not going to be able to finish the problem and make it to the top of the boulder and the easy way down. (Please imagine Clay who ran up this climb trying to encourage me by telling me that yes it is indeed a tricky move to the top.) As the muscles in my calf start to burn I decide I need to try and down climb from where I am at. Now downclimbing is actually very tricky and I soon realize that climbing down is going to be just as difficult as climbing up. Finally I decide that at least if I fall on the way down I will probably only break my ankle and possilbly a few ribs as opposed to killing myself if I fall while attempting to reach the top. As I painstakingly try to climb down with Clay bracing my feet I begin to imagine how hilarious this must be for Clay. Fortunately the good friend that Clay is, he reminds me that he done more embarassing things himself. Somehow I doubt it.

To end this adventure, Clay and I took the initial warm up route to the top of the boulder and watched the sun set over the horizon. It was a beautiful sight to say the least. Clay and I were moved and as the the sun dipped below the treeline we offered up a prayer of thanks to God for creating such a magnificent scene. There is something about nature and the wilderness that we are both drawn to and it has been a treat for me to experience things like this with Clay while at seminary.

Next time I head back to this place I will try and get a picture of the death trap.

Sarah Wilson

Well, it is official my sister is no longer Sarah Stec. We had a great time together in the Bahamas though, and I couldn't be more excited about Alan. The whole destination wedding thing turned out to be really nice. Hanging with my family was great and we all just felt like we were able to savor the whole experience of Sarah getting married. Here are a few picks of the wedding for you to enjoy.

The Draft

Sometime around Rd. 11

The unintentional comedy of Jason Hover talking on two cell phones at once put the evening over the top.

If I had to decide between Fantasy Football and Christmas, I am not sure which I would take right now. Fantasy Football has in fact reached that level. The other day we had our long anticipated Fantasy draft. After hours of preparation it all went down relatively quickly as we finished in just under four hrs. My team, GorCon Returns, is fairly stacked this year. I wasn't happy with my draft position, but still managed to put together a stellar team. Overall, I would have to give myself an A-. The highlight of my draft was most likely my pickup of Mike Vick in the eighth round.

Let four months of some of the funniest smack talk ever begin.

Sick Mullet!

The other day I began the sculpting process of the mullet I am planning on growing. It is only a matter of time before you see kids across California and the Midwest wearing out this new stylish do. More photos will be forthcoming as the back grows out and the sides get trimmed down even further. Enjoy.

The Charles

Psalm 9:1-2 I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. ² I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

Today was just one of those days. The sky was clear, the sun was shining, and I just felt like rejoicing in God and praising Him for creating such a beautiful day. After attending a staff barbeque, I decided to enjoy more of the day and went for a run along the Charles River. I really had no training agenda and had nothing else on my plate for the day, so I just would run for a while and then walk and spend some time praying before picking up the run again. I was so struck by some of the views while I ran and prayed that when I got back to the car I grabbed my camera and snapped off some of these pictures. I even re-enacted the run. This was actually a very risky shot as my camera sat on the ledge of the railing right above the Charles as I tested out the timer mode. Had one big gust come along I would have been toast.

Time Magazine

Time magazine just devoted a whole issue to 13 year olds and did a cover article on the middle school youth group I work with. Check it out at

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1088734,00.html

reformation

I have this Church history class right now and have been studying the Church from the Protestant Reformation. History amazes me and I love learning about the individuals and events that have shaped the Church over the centuries. I know hindsight is always 20/20, but as I study I am really amazed at some of the ways that the Church completely dropped the ball or missed the boat on certain issues: the Evangelical response to slavery and racism, the sale of indulgences by the Catholic Church, the Salem witch trials by the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The list goes on and on.

All of this has made me wonder how the Church today is doing. I don’t think we can just assume that we have everything completely figured out. I am sure that there must be things that the Church is completely screwing up and doing wrong. Fifty years from now when people look back, what things are they going to say, “man, what were they thinking back then” about? I think we need to ask ourselves, is there anything that the Church is completely missing the boat on, and secondly how can we be a prophetic voice for reform even today? I have some ideas on this that I might share later, but for now I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Salem

The other day I was chillin with Phil who lives in a predominantly Dominican neighborhood in a poor section of Salem. The time felt like a little vision trip for me as there is a distinct possibility I may be living and working in a similar community some time in the not so distant future. Sitting on Phil’s porch and observing the sites and sounds of the bustling neighborhood, I tried to place myself there and wondered how I would react in such an environment. I kept asking myself if I have what it takes to try and build relationships and share the love of Christ in such a different place from that which I am familiar. As Phil told stories of the stuff he encounters everyday, the reality of how difficult a transition this would really be for me began to set in. I would be the minority. I would be out of my comfort zone. I would have to depend on God for so many things that I now depend on myself for...

Camp Berea

So, I just got back from eight days at Camp Berea. We took 47 middle schoolers from my church to this gorgeous camp on Newfound Lake in New Hampshire. My cabin full of upcoming 7^th graders was a lot fun. All week they were bursting with life and energy. I was encouraged by the connections I had with all of my guys and how I saw them responding to God all week. The only real bummer was when I wrecked my back at the beginning of the week trying to turn a double play in an unevenly matched kickball game and spent the majority of the rest of the week overdosing on Advil.

After giving my back a few days to recover, my cabin challenged the 8^th grade cabin to a high-stakes soccer game. Hair was on the line. It was either Brian’s head or my legs. I could not bring myself to risk losing the mullet I have been growing... This game was one of the biggest highlights of the trip for me. Brett, one of my campers has cerebral palsy and walking for him is difficult to say the least. During the beginning of the week I think he was pretty intimidated and self conscious and spent the majority of the time in his wheel chair. By the end of the week though he felt more comfortable and decided to play in this game. I played goalie and had Brett back on defense near me. The game was pretty tight and Brett was getting really into it. Then on two separate possessions the other team took shots that were going in and I would never have been able to block that deflected off Brett and out of bounds. Brett started to get really excited and at one point he was cheering so hard he fell down on his back and continued pumping his fists like crazy. When we won by one goal, Brett was on top of the world.

Va Beach

Braya - a highlight of the summer

last night there

staff guys

Scott, Michael, A.J., Teddy, and me our last time together

This summer I spent six weeks in Va Beach doing a staff internship with Crusade. The trip was so refreshing and I felt like God reminded me again why I am at seminary. Here are a few pics.

to my Friends

I am convinced that my relationships with all of you are perhaps the sweetest blessing from the Lord I have received. My desire for this new blog is that although I am geographically distant from many of you I might remain connected to your life and you with mine. I apologize ahead of time if my posts are infrequent or sporadic. When school starts back up in the fall my life will become crazy once again, but I do hope to publish some type of update at least once a week. I hope that this site can be portal for you into my life. I look forward to hearing your comments and receiving your prayers. Know that I miss you all.