ken castor

Spark* "notes"

Thanks to all those this weekend who attended our first Spark* Youth Workers Conference. I'm encouraged by the many youth workers (paid and unpaid), students and speakers who engaged in the seminars and workshops. It was a great first go--- and every indication is that we've landed on something worthwhile here--- and at a great price point too. Our student volunteers did a superb job representing Crown and helping our guests feel at home. 220+ participants (including a couple who had travelled 7 hours from Chicago!) focused on equipping the next generation to know and share God (Generational Transference). That's cool.

More feedback later... We're debriefing and reviewing evaluation forms this week... and I have to remember to grade papers and teach classes! But for now I want to say "thank you" to all those who follow God's call to intentionally invest in the lives of young people. What a blessing you are!

Our Weekend at Big Sandy

What a great time my family had at Big Sandy Camp this last weekend: broomball on the lake, sledding on the ice oval, endless hot chocolate, and donuts cooked over an open fire! It was especially a joy to be with several students from Crown who served as worship leaders (LifeVoice pictured with me leading prayer), youth workers, and volunteers at the camp. It was great seeing a student give his life to Jesus and many others also flourish in their walk with God and deepen in their friendships. Our middle son had such a great time he's asking to go back this summer as a full out camper. Well done, Big Sandy Camp! Thanks for the opportunity to partner with you in ministry!

Psalm 139: How precious are we?

Have you ever felt unnoticed?

Not to bum you out, but think for a moment about a time when you thought nobody was aware of you.  Maybe you felt like nobody could possibly understand what was on your heart.  Maybe you felt like nobody took time to think about you, talk to you, or stop what they were doing long enough to smile at you.

This verse encourages me again today: Psalm 139:1 = Oh Lord, you have searched me, and you know me.

God notices you.  Even if you feel like nobody understands what’s going on inside of you… God does.  He knows.   Actually, God knows you very very well.  He knows what you are going through.  He knows every desire, every need, every hurt, every crazy emotion, every thought, every mess, everything about you.  God cares for you so much that he is willing to get into the middle of your life, crud and all, to search you out... all so he can comprehend you. 

Have you ever felt alone?

I have felt the way.  I've felt absolutely certain of it at times.  But it's just not true.  I am not alone. 

Psalm 139:2-12 encourages me again today: 

2 You know when I sit and when I rise; 
       you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down; 
       you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue 
       you know it completely, O LORD.
5 You hem me in—behind and before; 
       you have laid your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, 
       too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit? 
       Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; 
       if I make my bed in the depths,  you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, 
       if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me, 
       your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me 
       and the light become night around me,"
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; 
       the night will shine like the day, 
       for darkness is as light to you.

God is there with us.  He is aware of our every move.  There is nowhere you can go that God doesn’t see each of us.  If we’re standing or sitting, he sees it.  And not only does he see, but he sets it up.  He maps things out for us.  He plots a course for us to follow.  He tells us when to stop and rest.  He knows where we are at every point along the way.  He even knows what we are going to say before we say it.  

The wild thing is that God doesn’t just set everything up and then let it go either.  He goes ahead of us and behind us.  He also is beside us.  He places his hand of blessing on us… gently on our head.  So wonderful is God’s presence that we cannot even fathom it.

We can never be fully alone on this earth.  We can’t escape from God’s Spirit.  We can’t get away from where he is.  If we’re in a plane at 35,000 feet, God is there with us.  If we dig the deepest hole, God is there.  If we go to Mexico or Ireland, Afghanistan or Malaysia, even there God’s hand will guide you and his strength will support us.  It's like St. Patrick's Prayer: "Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise..."

Even in the midst of darkness, we cannot escape God’s presence.  In the darkest moments of our life, God can see us.  He is there beside us.  To him, darkness is as clear as light.  It doesn’t matter what the condition of our soul might be, God is there.  Each of us is never alone. 

Have you ever felt worthless?

Psalm 139:13-18 encourages me again today:

13 For you created my inmost being; 
       you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
      your works are wonderful,  
      I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you 
       when I was made in the secret place. 
      When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body. 
       All the days ordained for me 
       were written in your book 
       before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to  me are your thoughts, O God! 
       How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them, 
      they would outnumber the grains of sand. 
      When I awake, 
      I am still with you.

God values you.  He thinks the world of you.  He is so convinced that you are an amazing person.  Do you think God is wrong?  He made you!  Every delicate little fiber of your body was put together by him.  You are a miraculous quilt of blood and skin and muscle and tendons and tissues and hair.  He knit you together in your mother’s womb.  Even there you couldn’t escape his presence.  He could see you so clearly in that secret, quiet place.  God has made you wonderfully complex!  That’s why nobody else can figure you out! 

Only God knows your intimate soul.  Only God can completely understand your deepest passions.  Only God.  He has known you since the day you were conceived.  He mapped out and then recorded every day of your life.  His heart gushes for you.  He loves you so much.  His thoughts about you are so precious!  They are so wonderful.  And he never stops thinking about you.  He never forgets you.  He is always constantly thinking about you.  Innumerable thoughts!  You couldn’t count all the thoughts God has about you.  More than the grains of the sand of this earth is how many times God thinks about you.  And every single day is like that.  From day to day, every time you wake up, God loves you and is already thinking about you. 

May you be so encouraged today.  May you understand that you are understood.  May you never feel alone again.  May you always feel so important, so special, so loved.  God sees your heart.  God has mapped out a plan for you.  God is with you.  God created you- you!  God is thinking about you right now.  May you live encouraged and refreshed and re-powered in the knowledge that God knows and loves you.

** I first published a version of this post back in 2009... But thought the reminder would be refreshing this weekend. Be blessed!!

Spark* next week

February 11 is soon approaching! We're excited for the first Spark* Youth Workers Conference at Crown College. I'm looking forward to interacting with our guests and being encouraged by their passion for the next generation. Please register right now so that we can plan a full lunch for you! Just $19 gives you the opportunity to hear from some cutting-edge youth ministry leaders, gain relevant training in high-quality and workshops, and of course eat some good food! Here's a sneak peak (again!):

Warm-hearted Warriors: Raising Boys to Know God

 

 My sons run. They jump too. And wrestle. They play super-hero games, fighting injustice with mighty powers. They laugh with their bellies, cry with their lungs, and smile with their entire soul. They swoon for girls and stand-up for their Mom. Something as simple as a marker can create artful hunter-styled masterpieces on their faces. Something as valuable as time from their Dad can create heart-full adoration in their souls.

Boys love life with innate zeal. They long for maximum joy. Throwing a rock in the river can be the epitome of adventure. Even reading a book can be a fraternal celebration of happiness and companionship.

But all across North America the delight of boyhood is discouraged in our churches. Countless young men have given up on God at a young age. They have found in our modern religion the killer of their appetite. Emotionless fellowships have frustrated many of our starving warriors. By repelling their hearts, we have lost thousands, if not millions of men. We have isolated their minds from their souls. We have taught them church data but failed to teach them passionate biblical faith. A warrior will not serve someone who does not inspire him. And, unless dramatic action is taken, the transference of faith to successive generations will be halted in defeat.

Our boys need a warrior environment. Our warm-hearted soldiers will grow to serve God if we enable them to continue craving life. One day, armed with authentic love, these warm-hearted warriors could engage this entire world with transformational power. Imagine an army raised up around this planet passionately and unswervingly committed to the cause of peace and life, relief and restoration, joy and confidence.

Here's how it could happen:

• PLAY HARD WITH YOUR SONS: It is vital that we make our families and churches houses of fun. When a boy thinks of their home or their church, let them be excited! Nothing pushes away our youth more than to suck the life out of the adventure of knowing God.

• PRAY STRONG WITH YOUR SONS: Essential to the commitment of every warrior is the inspiration of their commander. A warrior will follow the leader who connects with them in the deepest place of their soul. We must teach our boys a life of action-talk with God. A warrior who knows and trusts God as their leader will follow him to the ends of the earth.

• STAY LONG WITH YOUR SONS: When a parent or mentor abandons a boy, the warrior's heart turns cold. Too many boys are being taught to plunder and pillage because too many of us are injuring their hearts. If we truly want to grow warm-hearted warriors we need more people in our families and churches to give long-term commitment to our sons.  

Let's do this together. Let's raise our boys to actively know a God who cares for them, who leads them with faithfulness and inspiration, who gives them courage and strength to face any foe. Let's raise warm-hearted and warrior-spirited boys by raising them with a playful, prayerful, faithful life.

Pride and Donkey Ears

 

 

 

*I rediscovered this colorful gem tonight while skimming through notes from Systematic Theology I with J.I.Packer back in the Fall of 1996 at Regent College.  This is an excerpt ("Luther Concerning the Study of Theology") taken from Martin Luther's "Preface to the Wittenberg Edition of Luther's German Writings". Luther certainly wasn't shy with words! I'm glad for that. For his words remind me that God desires a contrite heart from me... one with ears tuned to his Word instead of the praise of others. Here, after years of wrestling and learning, writing and reforming, Luther considers the impact of pride on theological pursuits:

If, however, you feel and are inclined to think you have made it, flattering yourself with your own little books, teaching, or writing, because you have done it beautifully and preached excellently; if you are highly pleased when someone praises you in the presence of others; if you perhaps look for praise, and would sulk or quit what you are doing if you did not get it-- if you are of that stripe, dear friend, then take yourself by the ears, and if you do this the right way you will find a beautiful pair of big, long, shaggy donkey ears. Then do not spare any expense! Decorate them with golden bells, so that people will be able to hear you wherever you go, point their fingers at you, and say, "See, See! There goes that clever beast, who can write such exquisite books and preach so remarkably well." That very moment you will be blessed and blessed beyond measure in the kingdom of heaven. Yes, in that heaven where hellfire is ready for the devil and his angels. To sum up: Let us be proud and seek honor in the places where we can. But in this book the honor is God's alone, as it is said, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble" [1 Pet. 5:5]; to whom be glory, world without end, Amen.

God's Anti-Aging Potion

Oh, if only there were a miracle elixir that would take off the years. Or a magical potion to re-grow my head hair. Or P90x without the P the 90 or the X.  

I realized today that I'm getting older. My colleague/friend, Dean Ericksen, and I were recounting an event in my life that I was thinking had occurred ten years ago.

"When did that happen?" he asked.

"Ten years ago in 1992," I said. 

"Uh, that was 20 years ago," Dean corrected.

"Thanks a lot Dean for helping me with my math," I muttered quietly when his stinkin' aging ears were out of hearing distance. :) 

Suddenly, a wave of realization hit me. The big FOUR OH is this year! I suppose I'm cool with that fact... but it is also occuring to me that in 2013 I turn 41... and after that comes 42 and then 43 and onward until I die. Fun, eh? (Not "fun-ny"!) This is just the way it goes. Numbers increase in age. See, I can do math.

So I guess, rationally, I'm not really after becoming younger... because that's actually agically (new word) impossible. So what is it that I really want in relation to my inevitable collision with elderliness (new word)?

Well, here it is. This year I suspect that I'll begin to better embrace an age-tested (as in eons of time) idea: The true test of  life is internal vitality... even during external advancement of age.

Some of the most inspiring people are those who have lived many years and yet remain young at heart. There is something miraculously encouraging about an older soul who is flourishing. You can see the spark in their eyes... the excitement of their passions... the resilency of their experiences... and the catalytic impact of their actions.

This is the anti-aging potion of God. Godly maturity: when the heart, soul, strength and mind integrate with God's heart, soul strength and mind.

I'm not suggesting that people who follow after God won't grow wrinkly or weathered or beaten down physically. No, I am suggesting that godly people, at whatever age they happen to find themselves in, draw up strength and vitality and vigorousness from an inexhaustive well. And I am beginning to believe more and more that after a lifetime of developing a pattern of drawing up God's nourishment... a youthful fruitfulness flourishes in the most mature of people.

I said that phrase very deliberately.

Biblically, maturity equals a youthfulness of faith. It does not equal "fully developed"... which is never possible on this earth (even though many of our church mission statements implore us to become "fully developed followers"-- thankfully we have eternity to learn that!).  Maturity, in reality on this earth, equals a continual pursuit of God in all things.  A "long obedience in the same direction" as Eugene Peterson has written. Maturity is a privileged undertaking reserved for any-aged believer... most contagiously and innocently by young children... but perhaps most profoundly and practitionally by those who have lived through many seasons of life. Maturity, biblically, equals a zeal, a passion, a hope, an abundance, a kenitic energy, an unbridled spring of faith... a childlike wonder and enthusiasm held in a quiet, but mighty, resolve which naturally seeds itself to others.

Rootedness producing fruitfulness. That's what I've decided I want to learn to better live out this fortieth year of my life.

"The godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon. For they are transplanted into the Lord's own house. They flourish in the courts of God. Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green. They will declare, 'The LORD is just! He is my rock! There is nothing but goodness in him!'" ~ Psalm 92:12-15

 *Image taken from here.

Generational Transference: It's a Two Way Street

The following article on Generational Transference was written by Jason Ostrander for Envision Culture. Good words!!

Go to article: http://www.alliancelife.org/article.php?id=674

GENERATIONAL TRANSFERENCE

It’s a two-way street

By Jason Ostrander

The role of Envision Culture in the C&MA is to mobilize the next generation for Kingdom change. Members of the Millennial Generation—those who are 18–30 years old (or who just think they are!)—desire very much to see change. Whereas Baby Boomers are motivated under the mantra of “serve the world,” the Millennials’ mantra is “change the world.”

This presents the Church with an opportunity that is dangerous, not only if we ignore the mindset, vision and dreams of the next generation but also if we focus too much on these aspirations. Ultimately, what needs to happen is transference—our denomination being handed from one generation to the next in a biblical manner.

We want this to happen in the way that Moses transferred leadership to Joshua. In that process, the younger man understood that for any generation’s vision to be fulfilled, its mem... {Go to article: http://www.alliancelife.org/article.php?id=674}

 

My workout with Richard Simmons

 

Most people don't believe me when I say that I've worked out with Richard Simmons, the father of the contemporary exercise movement. That's right, I once rubbed elbows (literally) with the man responsible for the field of entertainment workouts, the one who led to the eventual evolution of Billy Banx, P90x and Zumba.

 

Back then, 22 years ago this week, Richard visited our high school and led some of our students in a workout session. It was weird. And totally cool. Both weird and cool. Kinda like a lot of things.

We "worked those buns" and did leg kicks and got sweaty. Sounds weird.

But we also had the chance to learn that a celebrity was a real person who had actual personal struggles (as he shared with us some of his story regarding weight issues and esteem). That was cool.

I remember there were tears shed. That was weird.

And I also remember that he stank terribly with B.O. That was weird. And as a teenager... also kinda cool that I was close enough to notice.

Following the assembly at school, some of us were given the chance to get autographs and hang out with him for a few minutes. That's when the local Ft. Wayne newspaper snapped this photo-- where it looks like my 17 year-old self is happily taking a bite out of the shoulder of Richard Simmons.

There is not necessarily a deep spiritual formation piece to this post... except maybe to say that as followers of Christ we live in a real world surrounded by real people who cross our paths (as we cross theirs). That's weird and cool.

But the main point of this post is to dispell the doubts from those of you who didn't believe me when I said that I had once hung out with Richard Simmons.

Oh... and sorry to some of my old high school friends who might have rather forgotten this moment.

Register for Spark*

*Click on the postcards for full-size image.

*Go to www.crown.edu/spark to register. For individuals and/or teams. Only $19 (includes lunch).