Secrets of girls need exposure

This morning as I was putting on a spritz of the cologne (Tommy Hilfiger) that I've had since college(same bottle), I was reminded of one of the mysteries of life. As a guy who is happily married for almost 10 years I feel it is high time that I receive some answers. Here's my question...How come, in college, whenever I, as the perfect gentleman that I was, loaned out my sweater, coat, or hoodie to a girl did it come back smelling like it had been dipped in the pools of heaven? How do girls do that? I would actually loan out stuff and then not wash it for weeks until the wonderful smell wore off? It wasn't just one girl, its a universal phenomenon it seems that this is a conspiracy. I've tried different sprays, laundry detergents...none of if recreates that smell. I'm completely mystified and my wife is no help it's like there is some sort of conspiracy. Can any of you in Facebook/Blogger land help with this great mystery of life? Thanks

Communion and more

Ok so below I'd like to post the Special Feature article that I put in the Bulletin this week so that we can get some discussion going on the topic. Part of what made this topic interesting to me is that I've been really wondering for the last few years "what's next." I remember in high school and college how Contemporary Christian Music was what gave the Christian youth of the 90's and early 2000's their identity in the church separate from the adults. Then the adults started liking that music too. Now in my youth group the parents and kids basically listen to the same music, ok the parents are 2-3 years behind, but music no longer creates an identity for youth culture. So how do the youth 'rebel' or feel different or create their own thing for church? To me this is a very interesting topic and perhaps, according to Youth Ministry 3.0 it is an irrelevant question for this generation. Below is the article I wrote:

I don’t know about you but I love to read. I probably read about 5-6 books a month. In fact if you see me walking around with headphones in my ear (which admittedly is a lot of the time) I’m probably listening to a book. (Does that still count as reading? I like to think so.) If you’re a reader like me then you probably also have an ever growing stack of books to be read sitting somewhere in your house. This week I was able to pick up a book from that stack and read it through, and I found some insights that may be valuable to us as a church. See what you think.

As many of you know I like change, probably more than most people. Because of that I’m always on the lookout for trends and asking myself the question “What’s next?” I’ve been challenged in many ways because the future has looked somewhat cloudy. In the past I could go to conferences, hear speakers, listen to the newest music and put my finger on the “next new thing” that was going to bring effective change to the church. However, over the last few years the “next new thing” has gotten seemingly more elusive. In my reading this week I began to get some clarity on why it has been so difficult to identify the newest trends. I was reading a book by Mark Oestreicher called Youth Ministry 3.0. In it he identifies that our culture, especially youth culture, has become more and more contextualized. What this means is that one thing, one program, one event, doesn’t work anymore. This is not only true in culture, but I would venture to guess that even in a church our size that there are multiple contexts and communities within our small congregation. There is no “next new thing” anymore! So how do we be relevant and missional? Perhaps some of the answers come in the idea of community. I know that it is somewhat of a catch phrase, but the more I look at church and it’s reason for existence (even in multiple cultural contexts) community seems to rise to the top. Community answers the key question of the postmodern era “where do I belong and to whom.”

The following are some key concepts of what communion is as described in the above mentioned book. See if you agree, and ask yourself the question as I am: Is the Minnetonka church doing this well? If it isn’t, how can we do better?

"Communion is best done small

Communion building takes time and takes patience

Communion is simple and not flashy

Communion is fluid

Communion is present – it demands face time and lives in the here and now

Communion is Jesus-y – God is expected to show up"

Haircuts

So I went in for a haircut today, much needed. Maybe this is just me but getting a haircut is always a little awkward. Most of you know that I'm a 'people' person, but its just always a little awkward talking to the hairstylist. It's not like you can ask them what the do for a living as a conversation starter.

Anyways, let's get to the point here, I sit down in the chair and get comfortable and then comes the question: "What do you want me to do to your hair" or something like that...The problem is that I never know? Sometimes I'll try to say one thing or another, but what I've found is that I usually don't like the product that I try to explain to the stylist. Tonight I think I surprised the stylist, but just saying, "do what you think is best and I guarantee I'll be happy with it." And you know what, I was. Hey they are the professionals not me, if you can call Great Clips professionals :) So I wasn't sure whether to make that part of my Facebook status or make it part of a blog since I haven't blogged since April. You can see what decision I made.

So as all this is mulling over in my mind, still sitting in the chair, I wonder what my decision making process about getting a haircut says about me? Still not sure, but its fun to think about why we think the way we think.

Sorry for not posting anything deep tonight.
Benji