Growing Up

"I'm sorry for Breaking the Fence Locking peice.  I know thut I did something wrong once the Fence brocke.  I Feel sad that I pulled this stunt.  I hope that you can Forgive Me for what.  I wish I hadn't did this.

 Sincerily,                    

XXXXXXXXXX "

     I received this note and a $20 bill yesterday.  A few weeks ago we had a couple of our members show up to Joel's Place four minutes before we opened.  They parked their bikes and then started pacing, feeling bored.  Soon one of them thought, "I wonder what would happen if we pushed on this locked fence gate."  Well what happens when two large teenage boys throw themselves at a fence gate is that both the lock and the gate breaks.  We opened our doors to let kids in and discovered a ruined gate that no one accepted responsibility for.  Hello, security cameras.  Hello, sit-down conversation with the boys.  Hello, uncomfortable call to their parents.  Hello, two week suspension from Joel's Place.

     There are several different schools of thought out there as far as disciplining the youth that we work with. 

• One school says that they come from a difficult background and so they need to be shown grace at every misstep.  The result of that is usually that you have a broken down, thrashed youth center where the kids feel free to disregard rules and authority while trying to carve out their own sphere of influence and power.
• One school says that there is a zero tolerance policy for the breaking of rules or property.  However if you value the center more than the youth it was built for...that sends a clear message to the kids.
• One school says that kids are going to break things, so don't bother having anything of a high quality that you don't mind breaking.  I get it.  But again, the teens notice the quality that we set out for them. One of our staff mentioned last week that our members are taking better care of our facility since we began upgrading what we offer.

     What we did was suspend the two offenders for a week.  Their parents added on to that and told them that they could not come back until they had paid back the damage costs.  Yesterday was their first day back.  They were the same kids: laughing, running shouting to their friends.  However there was a subtle shift about them: a little more humble, a little more appreciative, a little more...mature.  This experience helped them to take some responsibility for their actions, take account of what was important to them and what was worth working towards.  They grew up a little bit this week.

     Growing up is not avoiding mistakes.  Growing up is using those mistakes as the fuel, the catalyst, for your development.  It is becoming a better version of you...a version that has been made stronger and more vibrant by the cutting away of illusion and fear and the reinforcing of integrity and character.  These two learned more about themselves; they learned about what they are capable of and what they value; they learned about responsibility and honor; they took a significant step towards becoming men.  That is worth a broken fence gate for me...

                                             but I am really glad they helped pay for it.

Joelstock!

So there's this little thing that we have coming up that we like to call

Joelstock is a 10 hour music festival that we are putting on next weekend that will have bands, games, vendors and a couple of food trucks for one spectacularly fun afternoon.  It is the brainchild of Joel's Place staff and riders and should be a great way to spend a summer afternoon/evening.  If you are interested in attending you are cordially invited to bring a friend along.  If you are interested in helping out, we still need a couple of things:

• Canopy tents to provide shade for our vendors
• Volunteers who would be interested in providing security or logistical help

If you can help with either of these, please give Kelli a call at 452-2621.

Music has always been a key component of Joel's Place.  In its earliest forms, even before becoming a skate park, Joel's Place served as a place for young people to come together and play music.  There are some real and vital life lessons that bands provide: communication, teamwork, presentation, creativity and boldness.  Even beyond the developmental pieces, music is an easily accessible way for people to have fun and express themselves in a creative and genuine way.
 We are looking forward to a spectacular event and hope you are able to join us.  There is so much interest that we have a waiting list of bands who are hoping to get called up if something happens to one of our booked groups.  Come on out Saturday the 19th and have a great time with the Joel's Place community.

The Secret of the Kingdom

     Jesus loved to tell stories.  It was really his favorite way to teach.  One day he went out to the lake and was surrounded by a crowd, eager to hear the profound wisdom of this miracle worker.  His story went like this:

"A farmer went out to sow.  He threw the seeds everywhere.  The ones that fell on the road were eaten by birds.  The ones that fell on the bad soil died.  The ones that fell on the good soil produced a rich harvest.  Thank you and Good Night!"

He then went on a hike up a hill.  The majority of the crowd, so numerous that they were not even counted, milled around for a while then dispersed.  A few, however, set off on that same hike in order to ask Jesus some questions.  They found him and asked what he had been talking about.  He answered "To you has been given the secret to the Kingdom of Heaven."  He had not explained the parable or given them any information that the rest of the crowd did not have.  What they had was the willingness to ask questions.  That is the secret to the Kingdom of Heaven: Questions.

     We prefer Facts to Questions.  We prefer Opinions to Questions.  We prefer Hunches, Feelings or the ability to "Just Figure It Out" to Questions.  Questions imply that we do not have all the information or all the resources that we need in order to move forward.  Most galling of all, Questions imply that someone else has what we need and we must rely on them in order to move forward.  Asking a Question, a real and meaningful Question, is a step of humility and one that makes most people very uncomfortable.

     Jesus taught in parables...stories.  Then he waited to see who really wanted to know more.  Who was so passionate about finding answers that they were willing to come ask a Question.  For in Spiritual Matters, as with many other things, it is more about Who you know than What you know.  We are not built to know everything.  We are built to learn.  And who better to learn about spiritual, eternal things than the One who created it all?  God can handle our questions...even our toughest ones...even the ones that rip at our heart when we whisper them.

     The Secret of the Kingdom of God is not to know the most or be the most eloquent or yell your position the loudest or get the most people to agree with you.

     The Secret of the Kingdom of God is to ask the best, most personal questions to the God who knows you better than you know yourself...and then act on His response.  That is how Truth is found and lives are transformed.