samwise the brave

been thinking a lot lately…because of many issues…about adolescence…fatherhood…maturity…and then this popped into my reader…an astute observation…amazing challenge…and looks like an equally good book.

not sure exactly what to do with it…but there’s something here.  i’ve not thought enough about it yet.  many stranded thoughts and ponderings.  darrin patrick’s challenge that we need better men and that what follows from that is better pastors is a really interesting statement.

early this year a couple dozen of us gathered for a couple of days at the invitation of Joel Daniel Harris to think through the whole thing about the brain of an adolescence at seismos.

it was  a great conversation.  marko spent the time as a our facilitator and offered some keen insights.  all that to say the nyt magazine this weekend had another really interesting article on a similar topic.  it seems that a week doesn’t go by where i’m not engaged in several conversations with parents concerning their 20-something children.  something is afoot, not sure what, but this article is worth the read…here’s clip to prime the pump…

We’re in the thick of what one sociologist calls “the changing timetable for adulthood.” Sociologists traditionally define the “transition to adulthood” as marked by five milestones: completing school, leaving home, becoming financially independent, marrying and having a child. In 1960, 77 percent of women and 65 percent of men had, by the time they reached 30, passed all five milestones. Among 30-year-olds in 2000, according to data from the United States Census Bureau, fewer than half of the women and one-third of the men had done so. A Canadian study reported that a typical 30-year-old in 2001 had completed the same number of milestones as a 25-year-old in the early ’70s.

you can read the whole article here.

ht to joel daniel

UPDATE: Click here for a Google Search on all News relating to 1st. Lt. Michael Runyan.

Young Michael stands 2nd from L with hat.

Word came early yesterday that 1st. Lt. Michael Runyan, a young soldier had fallen while in Iraq.   My mind began to wander back to my first mission trip.    I took it with our oldest Sarah and a group of incredible students that had welcomed Sarah into their fellowship at another church in our community…1st Presbyterian.  Young Michael was only in 8th grade when we sent off on a really crazy adventure in southwestern Chicago via CSM.  that week was a major turning point in my own journey…that would eventually bring me to vocational ministry as a pastor to students.  To be honest, I’ve lost track of  most of

1st Lt. Michael Runyan

those incredible students.  They’ve grown up and moved on.  But again in honesty I actually thought about that trip and even talked about just a few weeks back when I led my own group of students on our Dare2Serve home mission to Mansfield, Ohio. I had heard Michael and his older brother, Alex both had joined ROTC while in college. I’m not surprised to find that Michael had beome First Lt. Runyan.  I’m saddened at the loss of his young life, by such a tragic turn.  But such is war.

War creates no absolutely new situation: it simply aggravates the permanent human situation so that we can no longer ignore it. Human life has always been lived on the edge of a precipice. ~C.S. Lewis

what i remember about Michael and the good work he and the other students accomplished on this trip was they truly did live on the edge of precipice…but it this case it was for Kingdom…they lived large and their living life well invited those of us who were adults to lean in and risk more. We take life for granted and its on days like today, when the news officially arrives that we see life is indeed short and brief.

My life was changed by Michael and those students who risked on that trip 10 years ago.  I pray that Michael’s full measure of devotion and his ultimate sacrifice will be one step in bringing about peace.  Please pray for his family.  Please pray for those that are still serving.

Here’s the news from today’s Ashland Times Gazette:

First Lt. Michael L. Runyan, a 2004 graduate of Ashland High School died Wednesday while serving in Iraq as a member of the Army. Runyan, 24, whose latest address was in Newark, died in Balad, Iraq of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked his convoy vehicle with an improvised explosive device in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, according to information from the U.S. Department of Defense.

Runyan is the son of former Ashland County Common Pleas Court Judge Jeffrey Runyan and long-time AHS teacher Renee Runyan. He was assigned to the 52nd Infantry, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division out of Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. According to information from the 25th Infantry Division public affairs office, Runyan was deployed for his first tour of duty in late June and was in the middle of his transition period.

last week i spent a couple of great days in lexington, ky with some kid’s ministry folks at the first ever children’s ministry expo. the expo was the brain-child of ken dovey and roger fields at kidz blitz .   i went partly because i wanted to see what things are coming up the ladder towards student ministry.  while there i had a chance to spend some time with alan root. i’ve known alan for about 10 years…and think he’s one smart guy when it comes to understanding where today’s “tweeners” are.  take some time and check out this breakout he did the first day…tween ministry with 10 Heads & 20 Feet.  those of us in student ministry need to understand more clearly where the hearts of our incoming middle schoolers are in the life of the church and what we need to be inviting them into.  after you’ve watched it, please leave a comment would love to start a conversation…and mark your calendar for next year’s cmx, july 7&8, 2011 in lexington, ky.

this weekend i preached on the question: is there a man in the house? in big church. it was week two of our series on the home. the core focus was on helping men to understand their role as husbands and fathers.  and although i didn’t make mention of this image (was saving for week 4) yet a post, entitled In Miami, the Son Also Rises (read whole article here) today by National Review Online editor-at-large Kathryn Jean Lopez  offers a reminder that the cultural battle is not yet completely lost. Here’s a clip of Kathryn’s closing thots:

Fatherhood still may be in a state of crisis, but we’re fighting for it, one devoted dad at a time. Drew Brees, fatherhood’s latest poster boy, has struck an inspiring blow for the cause. Like all of us, he’s only human, but there’s great virtue in cheering him on and celebrating the beautiful Super Bowl moment that he shared with his wife and son — and all of us. No paid ad time. No controversy. Only love.

some good folks have set upThe We Love Baby Brees Respect Life Fan Clubon Facebook in honor of Drews good work.