Sunday, October 01, 2006

Favorite YM Memory #3

I have always found that school was very easy; there was nothing that ever really seemed that hard or proved to be too difficult to have to really apply myself. I was the guy who, while everyone else was studying hard to get a C, was out skateboarding and getting an A. True, if I had only studied I might have been at the head of my class, but then, who at the head of their class got to shred the g-nar that often? Exactly. School was easy.

An education, on the other hand, has been a lot more difficult. School was a bit like a communicable sexual disease; it makes you unsuitable for a lot of jobs and then you have the urge to pass it on. An education, though maybe just as communicable, cleverly puts you in the place where your only escape is to think.

And this has been one of the best memories I have from five years of youth ministry; a lead pastor who has created an eclectic learning environment that has allowed me to learn in the way that works best for me. I was given a book budget and was expected to read, write, learn, and dialogue – part of my official job position focus is to blog. My budget and expectation for learning ballooned to include traveling to places I never thought I would…all for the set purpose of learning and being mentored.

Thank you to everyone who I have been privileged to share great conversations with whether in the realm of the internerd blog-o-sphere, telephone, or in person. Thank you to everyone who has recommend great books for me to read and learn from. No thanks to those who have recommended crappy books! Thank you to everyone who has been enough of a push-over to allow me to force my way into your schedule…your wisdom has shaped me. Thank you to everyone who has challenged and tested me, to everyone who has helped me when I needed help, and to everyone who have gently pointed me in the right direction when I was clearly headed the wrong way. Each of you, and many many others, have shaped part of who I am and have etched your way into my top ten memories.
Grace and Peace,
-Jer

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