Priorities

This is my first attempt at blogging something of substance, so bear with me as I tread into dangerous territory.

Why is it that churches coming to Hume are having more and more trouble filling their spots?

The number one reason I hear is that the cost is too high and students and parents just can't afford it anymore. A few youth pastors tell me that they feel they can do something "almost as good" for a lower price. And still others just say that camp's not as popular with teens anymore.

A few thoughts...

#1 - STUDENTS CAN AFFORD IT. How many teens have the newest iPod, a decent car, a Wii AND an X-Box 360, and finally the new iPhone, all while carrying a data plan for the iPhone while buying all the newest songs on iTunes?

#2 - PARENTS CAN AFFORD IT. What do they pay monthly for each kid to have a cell phone, cable or satellite tv in every room, high speed internet, gas & insurance for the kids' cars, and who knows how much more per month?

#3 - CAMP IS STILL EFFECTIVE.

Conclusions...

• Today's youth actually have MORE disposable income than any generation ever has. (I have no statistics for this, but it's gotta be true.)
  
• While the cost of camp has indeed gone up over the years, it's still affordable.
  
• There are so many more things competing for the disposable income of teens today than there were 10 (or even 5) years ago.
  
• Kids are too busy. Not only is there so much competing for their money, there's way too much that's competing for their time.
• Sports is king. Students and parents alike are lost in the delusion that they'll become the best in the particular sport & get scholarships to pay for college and give them a professional career.
• Ultimately, to the majority of parents today, spiritual things take on the lowest priority and they'd way rather spend money on sports or band camp, than invest into their kids' eternal future.

What do we as youth workers do?

Maybe it starts with my own priorities. Perhaps I, as a leader, have put a lot of faith in the lies of the world, and am not setting the example to those following me that Christ is it, and nothing else matters. Maybe we, as youth leaders, need to be more aggressive in communicating with the parents of our students, and truly partnering with them in their kids' spiritual growth.

Maybe...

I want to hear from you people reading this. What's next? Where do we go? Can we do anything? What's God doing through all of this? How can we, as Hume & the Church, partner together more effectively to reach this generation?

Luxury Mobile Estate Living

Saturday at 12:20pm, our lives had the potential of heading toward some drastic change. We had entered the "Home of Hope" raffle to win a new 2029 sq. ft. home in North Fresno. Call it a fleece of sorts, but we've been wondering if a move to the valley should be in the works. $200 went to local charities and we had our name in there twice.

We skipped out on Nephew Sam's 3rd birthday party and headed out to the drawing. We arrived with just moments to spare, and heard the last name "Carey" come out over the microphone. Our hearts stopped for a moment as we quickly rewound what we had heard and realized that there was a different first name attached. Maybe they had mixed up my name, couldn't read it or something like that. But alas, it was not to be, some other Carey had won our house.

So to follow up on a promise we made to each other, we headed straight to Home Depot (after a stop at In-n-Out and Costco) and decided to remodel our closet. After 1 1/2 days of emptying the closet, painting it, building the organizer, installing it, and putting everything back, we're finished... and oh is our closet the talk of the neighborhood. OK, well actually the Johnsons are the only ones to have seen it so far, and they're probably not talking about it; but hey, we sure like it.

No Longer Grounded

Well, I did it. After being grounded for over 5 months, yesterday I went up with an instructor and became legal to fly again. My last experience with an instructor back in June was a disaster, but this time around it was phenomenal. (Different instructor) We headed out west of Fresno, did a bunch of maneuvers (steep turns, slow flight, stalls, simulated engine failure, simulated instrument, etc.) and then came back and did several landings. It was really cool how easily it came back after having been away for so long. So now my goal is to get up there once a month and not let things lapse again like they did this time around. Of course, having Peter come along was the perfect excuse for the lapse and was completely worth it; so no regrets! The only other thing I need now is a little more cash to help this cause along. Anyone want to go flying?