So I made a deal...

     There is a young man who skates here at Joel's Place.  He has decided that he wants to learn more about Scripture and more about Jesus, so he is starting a Bible Study at Joel's Place in order to look over the book of John with others.  I approached him with the following proposal:

"I tell you what.  I will teach you how to lead Bible Studies if you will teach me how to skateboard. Deal?"

     I can hear you chuckling at the screen.  Wondering why I would propose something that could be so painful?  Several reasons, actually.  For example:

• It is always better to have a reciprocal relationship if possible.  When one person is consistently giving or teaching, they are constantly in authority, diminishing the esteem of the other person and devaluing  their God-given abilities and experiences.
• I have been on the job for 6 months and still have barely stood on a skateboard, which severely limits the conversations I can have with Joel's Place kids.  I need to intentionally carve out some time to learn and I need accountability.
• I have a lot of experience with the Gospels and leading groups in Scripture study to offer.  Fifteen years worth.
• I would love to see Scripture studies become a regular part of the activities here at Joel's Place.  For that to happen, they need to be a good quality so those attending want more.
• I don't come home with enough bruises...so that's going to change.

     Our first lessons were today.  I am struck by how many similarities there are when you are learning something new.  We started with big concepts to remember and then did small, manageable lessons that can be built on.  I shared things like historical context, looking for applications and asking questions of the text.  The very first thing I learned about riding a skateboard?  How to get off.  When you are out of control, not "if" but "when," it is vital that you be able to abandon your board with control so as not to injure yourself or others.  Hopping off with both feet at the same time allows the board to roll to a stop while you land on a solid foundation.  Stepping off with one foot after another sends the board shooting out, you landing on your back and your head bouncing on the ground.  That reminds me, I need to teach him how to get out of a Bible Study that is going horribly wrong.  There's not one trick, but there are some good methods.

     We are both building muscles as we learn how to do something new.  Those muscles and reflexes will either be sharpened as we work more and more or they will fade if we do not practice.  I am not looking forward to the learning process and pains, but I am eager to see where we go from here.

Fear Cannot be Reasoned With.

     Fear cannot be reasoned with.  It will either be embraced or rejected.  Fear is not something that can place conditions on or compartmentalize.  We either buy into the narrative it presents or we refuse to believe.  I talked about risk last week.  Risk is looking fear straight in the eye and either being paralyzed by it or casting it aside and diving into action.  There is no middle ground.  Acting in spite of fear even has a name: Courage.  The skaters choose how they will respond to the barrage of fear upon their hearts and their minds.  We also get to choose how we respond...do we embrace it or reject it?

     Over the years, I have seen fear played out in a lot of different ways...some more socially acceptable than others.  Consider:

• The young woman who chooses one bad relationship after another...because she is afraid of being alone.
• The young man who pursues success so fervently that he burns himself out, alienating all those around him...because he is terrified of failure.
• The youth who choose to drown in drugs and alcohol rather than face rejection and alienation.
• The adults who choose to stay in dead-end, destructive patterns in their life rather than face the uncertainty of change.
• Greed is a manifestation of fear:  We fear that there will not be enough in this world for us, so we hoard all we can.
• Anger is a manifestation of fear: Often rising from a loss of control of our surroundings, we lash out.
• Fear is a primary tool of advertising, used to create a "Felt Need" whether it be real or not.

Fear blinds our senses. It dulls our brains. It makes our hearts race and our eyes dart.  Fear isolates us from friends and family and God himself.  It calls us to either fight or flee and save the thinking and praying for later.  Fear is the charioteer cracking his whip in our ears and urging us to run as fast as we can.

     Fear is a choice.  A daunting, difficult choice to be sure, but a choice none the less.  We can choose to embrace the worldview that is offered by Fear.  Or we can choose to reject it and believe something else.  For the only thing that can take the place of Fear is Faith.  The strength of the object of your Faith will determine how successfully it can take the place of your Fear. 

     Christians, of all the peoples and faiths in the world, should be the least likely to choose Fear.  The God that they profess belief in comes out and explicitly says that He did not give them a spirit of Fear, but a spirit of power, love and self-control.  He tells them over and over again not to fear because He will never leave them, He is greater than anything else in this world, He loves them, He has directed all their steps, He is preparing a place for them for eternity, etc.  If any of that is true, then choosing to believe Fear is turning your back on what God says and must be repented of.

     Wow.  That got kind of serious all of the sudden.  My final point is this:  The world is a big, scary place full of tons of opportunities with no guarantee of safety.  We will be challenged.  We will be afraid.  We will have the choice to make:  Faith or Fear.  When that time comes ("when" not "if"), take a moment before you act.  Simply take a moment to reflect on whether the object of your Faith is big enough to replace the Fear bearing down on you and then act accordingly.

Life Lessons from Scooters and Bikers and Skaters, Oh My

     I thought about entitling this post "Everything I Needed to know, I learned from Skaters...and Bikers...and Scooters," but that title was growing a little cumbersome and felt like there would be some major disclaimers that I had to offer.  However, I will say that as you watch the Joel's Place youth use the park, there are some clear cultural priorities that come through.  They are never spoken or taught, there are no posters extolling the 10 Virtues of skating...but they are present and they are powerful insights into life.  So allow me to share what I have observed from the dozens of daredevils that frequent our facility.  One quick side note: I have observed these attributes in the skaters, bikers, and scooters.  Several of them crossover.  However I do not want to have to write "skaters, bikers and scooters" every time I reference the youth.  From here out I will simply refer to them as skaters and you,  the mindful and intelligent reader, will know that there is more than one form of extreme, wheeled destruction that I am referring to.  Moving on...


Lesson #1:  Risk

     Everything about skating is a risk.  The sport requires leaving the safety and balance of your own two feet and navigating uneven terrain at high speeds in ways that you have not done before.  New skaters always hesitate at the lip of the ramps before they drop in, doubt and fear screaming through their minds.  Will they crash?  Will they get hurt?  Will others witness their failure and laugh or belittle them?  Is this worth it?
     The reality is that every skater falls.  Every skater gets hurt.  Often these wipeouts happen with others watching.  Sometimes the skaters are laughed at.  The question that each one has to personally answer is the final one: is it worth it?
     Some people carry with them an immense fear of failure, a debilitating perfectionism.  Skating will never be for them because even the best skaters in the world fall.  Some people are immersed in what others think about them and die inside when someone laughs at them.  Skating provides lots of potentially embarrassing moments.  What our skaters come to learn is that every other skater watching has been in that position and is responding out of a deep understanding and empathy.  They may still laugh, but they have been there before.
     Is the risk worth the reward?  Is the chance of injury or embarassment worth the chance of success, achievement, growth and pure fun?  In almost every case, our skaters answer a resounding yes.  They take a deep breath, throw their weight forward and launch down the ramps, beginning a new run.  They come back over and over again to try out new tricks and techniques.  They push themselves beyond where they have been before and find new and creative ways to abuse the park, their boards and themselves.
     The hardest risk to overcome is the very first one.  When I played Ultimate in college I tried to dive early in the game.  Once I got over that initial fear, I was free to give my all through the entire game.  When I was in large group discussions, I tried to speak early on in the conversation.  Again, once I conquored the initial fear of speaking, I was free to contribute during the entire session.
     Fear of risk either grows in intensity or dissipates.  The more you hesitate, the more it grows.  But once you decide that the benefits are worth the risk and take action, fear seemingly evaporates.  This is true in skating.  It is true in life.
     Life is full of risks.  Not all are worth taking.  But for those that are worth it, we need to lean in and begin our run, knowing that there is a community who has been where we are and are eager to support us on the off chance that we fall.  Risk is not a barrier, it is the gateway to an exhilerating ride.