Inventory:

So much has happened since the last post and my apologies for leaving you with such a depressing topic for that time. I am now in Indiana on my internship at Fall Creek Wesleyan in Fishers! It's been great so far and guess what? You all are going to get to be a part of it because I'm going to publish my daily logs on here! Enjoy... but not too much ;)

6/8/05
Today was the first official day on my internship. Over the past couple of days, I have spent time moving in, establishing myself into a new house and a new office, and learning about the Fishers and surrounding area. I have had the awesome opportunity to get to know parents, teens, and local board of administration members of the Fall Creek Wesleyan Church in Fishers.
My first impression of the community surrounding the church is that Fishers, Indiana is a very affluent area, but that money does not buy the happiness and peace that people are looking for. These issues are not only related to the surrounding area.
Within the church there are issues of unchangeability. The church is only ten years old, but was built to be a foundationally and fundamentally Wesleyan church with no change or compromise. In effect, they tried to create a church of perpetual holiness revival camp meetings. With this type of mentality, the entire ministry of outreach was lost. This is where the church was, but not as much today.
I connected with Pastor Marty this morning and was able to start my first official office day out with some general questions about how his days run and both of our expectations for the internship. I’ve learned that Marty is quite flexible and wants to give me the best possible internship experience that he can, but also wants me to learn and be involved without burning myself out.
For lunch today, Marty and I picked up Michael Tarnow, a teen attending summer school in the area, for lunch and discipleship. Michael is a young believer with a lot of questions and a desire to grow in God and help others. He had expressed to us that he wants to get into Christian Counseling, but needed direction.
My first day in the office has been incredible, I look forward to what God is going to do through this internship and in my own life. My prayer for this internship is that God would stretch me and mold me into the pastor that He would have me be.

6/9/05:
Today started out a bit different from yesterday. Marty had informed me last night that he had a doctor’s appointment in the morning and that I would be flying solo this morning. He did not leave me without work though.
Before we left the office yesterday, Marty had shared with me that in the last staff meeting, Pastor Steve had asked for him to establish goals for the next year in the youth ministry that included outreach and team building, but were visionary, yet achievable, specific, and measurable. Marty had asked if I would brain storm with him about these goals. His strategy was to get me thinking about it as if I were asked by my own senior pastor to establish the next year’s goals.
My task this morning, after spending time in the Word and in prayer for the day, was to process the goals of the youth ministry in light of the missions statement. The Fusion youth group uses the acrostic W.O.R.L.D. to describe its purpose. This stands for Worship, Outreach, Relationships/ Fellowship, Leadership/Ministry, and Discipleship. It was a difficult task for me to take on without much knowledge of the present numbers of the ministry and the established records.
Marty returned from his appointment and we left the office to pick up my phone. I have now officially entered the world of youth ministry for I possess a cellular telephonic device! It is an exciting step because this is my first mobile phone.
We met an older gentleman named Ralph Rice, a grandparent to one of the teens in the youth group and a seemingly influential person. Marty wanted to get to know him a bit better to see if he would be interested in joining the Fusion leader’s team. Ralph, like many older members of the community, doubts the level of influence that he could speak into the lives of teens.
When we returned to the office, we spent the rest of the day setting up my voice mail account on my cell phone and an e-mail address at the church’s domain name. Today, I feel like I haven’t accomplished a whole lot, but I realize that a good part of doing ministry is taking care of little, technical details.

6/10/05:

Remake yourself. That is the phrase that is running through my head today. In this internship, I have been put into the middle of the unfamiliar. No one knows me and I know just as much. I have a great chance to be known for who I am now, not who I used to be. Though I’ve attended Bethany for four years, I am a different person than when I came to the school. I am not who I was, I am becoming who I will be.
This is my chance to go back to the drawing board and observe the qualities of character that I now possess and those which I would like to. Being in a new environment gives me the opportunity for creating new norms and new routines for myself. But how will I respond to what I am seeing now?
My prayer is that I take hold of this experience for all that its worth, putting all bias, indealogical conceptions, and myself aside, so that I may learn and further conform into the image of Christ that He would have me bare. It isn’t just about doing this internship for credit, it’s totally about helping me become the leader that I need to be and learning from Marty what it means for him to be a leader.
I had a chance today to meet with some Heath from Yes! Ministries, Amy from Global Partners, and Bethany Bible College’s own Ryan Sweeney to discuss the planning of a Three Season Ant concert and prayer time for the Muslim World. Heath shared with us his heart, but wanted Marty and my perspective as youth pastors and Ryan’s ideas as a musician. The mission of this concert was to raise awareness about a huge people group that is so religiously active, yet in the wrong direction.
The rest of the day was spent trying to organize the last minute pieces of paperwork for Marty’s missions trip with the Jr. highers this next week. As part of this preparation, he made sure to give me assignments to work on for the next week. There have been no kid gloves in this experience, which I have appreciated. This is where I get thrown to the wind to fly. Damien, it’s time to remake yourself.