#5 - Saturday, March 29, 2003

I'm a strange bird. Of all the things I should expect to miss since walking away from youth ministry, you'd never consider this to be near the top of my list:

I miss the fifteen passenger van.

It's funny to me. I led four different Spring Break trips to Florida: three of them were prominently sunny, staying in beachfront dormitories, with well rehearsed worship services. The first was rainy, cold, smaller, and less structured. Which one wound up being my favorite?

A few years after attending the St. Mark youth group during memorable day #8, I came to visit on a Sunday morning. I had recently been jaded by church politics during my ministry internship, and having found my "church home" back at camp, I figured I would quietly attend St. Mark that summer. My Bethel College worship leader led their worship, and a good number of their profs attended the church, so it was a comfortable place to visit. I had no intention of sticking around.

As the end of the summer rolled around, the youth pastor approached me and asked if I'd be willing to spend time with the kids, since we had already established a relationship with one another. He presented it as a win/win: he received a seasoned volunteer for whatever time God allowed, and I had a "resting place" to remain in service while I waited for Him to redeem my understanding of ministry. He told me that I could speak whenever the Lord placed something on my heart, and I would have his blessing to leave whenever God called me elsewhere.

Give an apostle the freedom to build a foundation and leave, and he'll seize it by the horns.

Nine months later, the group was about to take their annual Florida trip, and the youth pastor was expecting his second son. He couldn't risk being absent in the chance of an early delivery, so he asked if I could go. My vacation time was cleared, and it was a go.

There are kids that you will always remember fondly in ministry, but even rarer are the special groups that gel as a functioning body. I will remember that 14-hour drive for the laughter, the music, the fireworks, the food (YOU WANT TWO BIG N' NASTIES?!?), the flat tire, and the atypical lack of drama. Every one of these kids wanted to be together, and each of them held a special affinity for the group as a single unit.

We didn't need sunshine, dry sand, or live music to create the perfect environment for the Spirit of God. All we needed was one Body, and a van that would carry us to any destination.