My White Wedding

This past weekend I had the privilege of performing a wedding ceremony for two former students of mine. Kendra is the daughter of one of my very good friends and mentors and her now husband Gary was one of the best guys I've ever had in 12+ years of youth ministry. To be honest I was as nervous about this wedding ceremony as any I have ever done. Kendra and Gary have meant a lot to me and we've grown pretty close over the past eight years of knowing each other. The last thing I wanted to do was screw up their wedding by forgetting part of the ceremony or flubbing some words. To make matter worse, her dad, my friend, and mentor would be there (obviously) so I felt added pressure to perform up to his expectations. It was a classic case of the student playing the role of the teacher.

When it was all said and done the wedding went off flawlessly. Kendra and Gary are now hitched and my friend/mentor gave me a "well done grasshopper" type comment.

The post wedding reception was a huge highlight for me as I got to reconnect with lots of youth and families I haven't seen in years. It felt more like a reunion for me then a wedding. It was amazing to hear what all my former student were now doing and how old I felt seeing kids I once knew as 12 year old 7th graders now graduating from college and starting lives of their own.

All in all it was as Billy Idol sang, "A nice day for a white wedding"

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My "Crazy Love" Small Group Discussion Questions

Image
I've had the opportunity to lead several small groups based of the Francis Chan book "Crazy Love". The discussion questions that come with the DVD study leaves a lot to be desired. So through my own personal questions and questions from other "Crazy Love" resources online I've been able to develope a more indepth study of the book. Below are the questions I have used for all 10 chapters of the book study. Feel free to use them as you'd like. Chapter 1: Stop Praying Stop and think about the last prayer you voiced. How did you begin? Our Father? Dear Lord? Jesus? What word or phrase did you use to start the prayer? Now, take a minute and consider the prayer you prayed before that prayer. How did you begin? Same word or phrase? Different? Sorta different or radically different? If you begin all your prayers in much the same way, ask yourself why. Read these words from G. K. Chesterton: A child kicks its legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, ...
Read more

Her Story: Does Satan really exist? Many United Methodists see evil as more subtle.

After spending much of my full time ministry life in the United Methodist Church, I found this article very interesting. It's written by Mary Jacobs and she nails the fact that most UMCers are scared to death to mention the "S" word (Satan) or the "D" word (Devil). Jesus stood up to him. Plenty of Christians talk about him. And some blame all sorts of evil on him. But likely you won’t hear his name tossed around much in a United Methodist Church. Could it be... Satan? “For the most part, you don’t hear mainline Protestants talking about Satan, the devil or the demonic,” said Jaime Clark-Soles, associate professor of New Testament at Perkins School of Theology. “I think we’ve handed that kind of language over to the fundamentalists.” Though Methodism founder John Wesley talked about Satan in his sermons, the United Methodist Church has no official doctrine on the devil or the demonic. Few Methodist ministers in the U.S., it seems, preach about Satan as a personal...
Read more

My Office Quotes: "Job Fair"

Michael Scott: Come here. [talking about Pam] I would never say this to her face, but she is a wonderful person and a gifted artist. Oscar: What? Why wouldn't you say that to her face? Pam Beesly: Michael. Do you remember you specifically told me to bring one sheet of paper. You said it only takes one sheet to make a difference. I said, 'are you sure Michael?' And you said, 'Pam! Pam! Pam!' And then you sneezed in my tea and then you said, 'don't worry it's just allergies.' Do you remember that? Michael Scott: Yeah, I'm trying to lure these kids into my booth. But, uhh, kids are very weary of being lured, these days. Thank you Dateline. Michael Scott: Yeah kiss her. Kiss her good. Andy: Short cut! Short cut! [goes flying out of a golf cart] I fell in the sand trap. Michael Scott: Today I am headed over to the job fair at Valleyview high school to find some new interns. Get some fresh blood. Um, euthanize this place. Andy: Hit about twelve...
Read more