Chapter XLIV: Summertime

Well, it's summertime here in Michigan...and things are changing for the warmer months. Life seems to slow down around the beginning of June, and I'm officially in summer mode.

Camping trips.

Beaches and ice cream.

Outdoor concerts.

And things are slowing down at church...

...sort of.

Summer ministry is more laid back and relational based, which means less studying, planning, and teaching and more fellowshipping. No school for students means there's more time to hang out and have fun. On top of normal summer slow down, our church is going through its own break.

Yesterday, our church made the official decision to partner with Fairhaven ministries. This means that Olivet will become a satellite campus of the larger Fairhaven ministries. This is an awesome opportunity for us as a congregation to continue working in the neighborhood with the added help and support of Fairhaven.

But as part of the process, Olivet is taking a "Sabbath" from our ministries. This means that as a church body, we are all sitting back for a bit this summer while we work with Fairhaven to redesign our ministry.

It's an exciting time at our church.

It's an exciting time in my life.

It's summer.

-B

Chapter XLIII: Listen To The Music

My grandfather always said; "God gave us two ears and one mouth because we should listen twice as much as we should talk." I think this phrase applies to musicians in a unique way. Because one can't play music without listening to music.

And God is teaching me to listen to the music.

You see, all my life, I've been the person on stage. The guy playing music. The hermit locked in his room with a guitar, pencil, and paper. The dude being congratulated after a concert. Basically, the LORD has created me to be a musician, and I love that role. Whether it's leading worship, playing with my band, jamming with my friends, or writing music, God has gifted me in the audible arts, and I'm grateful.

BUT lately he's been asking me to listen. Because being a musician means you intently listen to other people create artistic sounds. One can't play music without listening to music. Lately I've been listening to far greater artists and simply enjoying what they have to offer. Hearing different bands, guitarists, and vocalists share their gift is both inspirational and educational, but also refreshing.

Because you can't always be on stage.

And this idea doesn't stop with music.

We all have our areas of expertise. Our areas of passion. Our gifted areas. And the LORD provides us with ample opportunity to express ourselves in those areas, but we need to recognize that we can't always be preforming.

Sometimes we need to listen.

Because if you use your voice for too long, you'll lose it....but you can use your ears as much as you want.

Open ears,
-B

Chatper XLII: Life

One thing I've learned throughout my brief time in God's creation is that no matter what happens, life goes on. Whether you're ready for it or not, life keeps coming at you. Time keeps passing.

And I love it.

My week was pretty packed with all sorts of good stuff. But nothing out of the ordinary. Band practice, lots of ministry and meetings, dinner with the Rozeboom clan, and some thrifting. There were a few new things that came out of this week though....

The first new project is a ministry idea that the LORD gave to me. We're going to start a youth worship night every last Wednesday of the month. It's going to be a great high-energy, rocking worship that's geared towards the youth. Eventually, the congregation and surrounding community will hopefully be joining us.

Another project that I started this past week was my vinyl collection. While thrifting, I got the urge to start collecting and appreciating the wonderful sounds of the old turntable. Sadly, I still need to find an actual record player though...

Finally, our consistory made a final decision regarding our future. They voted in favor of the partnership model, and our congregation will vote in two weeks to make the decision official.

I ask that you continue to pray for me and my ministry, but please keep our congregation in your prayers as things continue to move forward.

Living life,
-B

Chapter XLI: Mother's Day

There are a few dates that you always remember. Your anniversary. Tax day. Your birthday. And Mother's day. Don't forget these days. They're very important...

Especially Mother's Day.

Sadly, this is now the second year in a row that I was unable to see my own dear mom on this splendid spring celebration, but that doesn't mean I wasn't with her in spirit. This post goes out to my wonderful mom, because let's be honest, I wouldn't even be in Michigan doing what I do if it weren't for her.

Our band played another show at the Mix Tape Cafe this past week, and the show went great! Again, over half the fans in the audience came to hear us play, and outside of completely forgetting to play one of our songs, the show was one of our best yet. Misfit Plaid has continued to do well, booking three more shows at the end of this month. All of this due to my mother, for not only putting up with my obnoxious song writing all the time, but encouraging me by listening to even the bad ones.

I also spent a fair amount of time at a youth pastor conference in Holland this weekend. The workshops and seminars were great, and I learned quite a lot. It was really good to spend time with other youth pastors, swapping success (and failure) stories, and getting encouragement. The LORD really inspired me to be a better youth director and He also gave me a lot of new ideas. I'm really excited to try some new ideas, especially in light of the extreme potential our church faces with the new partnership model. The LORD answered my prayers concerning personal burn-out, and I look forward to many more years of youth ministry.

But once again, this is largely due to my wonderful mother. I wouldn't even be in ministry if it weren't for the lady who brought (sometimes dragged) me to church every week growing up. Who patiently taught me so much about the church and displayed such a great devotion to the LORD.

Lastly, I spent a great weekend with Katie, as we took some pictures, had a picnic, and played quite an elaborate joke (for the record, we're not actually engaged...yet). I again recognize her as a huge blessing from the LORD and the answer to quite a lot of prayer, but I also need to recognize my mom because there's no way Katie would be by my side if my mom hadn't taught me to be a gentleman.

In conclusion, (that's how I used to end things before my mom taught me to write) my mother is awesome. I love her so much and I hope that as she reads this, instead of denying how much she's influenced me, she acknowledges that she really is largely responsible for who I am today. So thanks mom!

All in all, it's been another amazing week here in Michigan. The LORD has continued to pile on the blessings. Please continue to pray for our church as we seek God's guidance, and also pray for all those mothers out there. They have to raise us...so let's face it, they need all the prayer they can get.

One fortunate son,
-B

Chapter XL: The War Goes On

Life in my little corner of West Michigan continues to turn at quick pace, but the LORD has successfully infiltrated every corner of of my world and showered it with both blessings and challenges. You've heard entry after entry of the wonderful things the LORD has given me.

But this week is about the challenges.

And right now the biggest challenge of my life comes from within my congregation, because it's fairly safe to say that our family has turned to civil war. Families are lining up on both sides of the issues, tears are shed, voices are raised, and people are hurt. As many of you know, my church is facing some tough decisions, and I appreciate the concern that most of you have voiced. So this week, I want to talk about this war that I'm a part of.

Here's the situation: Our church has done a wonderful job of ministering to the community for the past 63 years. But we're running out of steam. For multiple reasons, our church has been in decline for the past couple decades, and now we're looking at a very grim future. After much research, prayer, and discernment, a church-transition specialist outlined four possible solutions to our problem, and one of them is for us to enter a partnership with a larger church. This means that we would give our leadership over to a larger church who then make fundamental changes to our ministry that would strengthen our ministry.

Essentially, Olivet would cease to exist and a new church would take it's place. This hasn't been officially decided yet, it's just the direction that our leadership is leaning.

It's a hard but necessary process. Currently, we minister to over 50 students from the immediate neighborhood. The LORD has commanded our presence in this community, but the ministry cannot continue under the current conditions. So while it does require sacrifice for us all, admittedly some more than others, it's for the greater good.

And that's where the war started.

Many of our congregation feel that this is a terrible idea. In fact some are considering leaving the church in protest. Our leadership has been taking heavy blows from the congregation, as the members speak very negatively about our leadership (myself included). People are very emotional. Feelings are hurt. People are frustrated.

Things are getting nasty.

My role in this war isn't to beat the other side and force them into submission. My goal is that of a mediator, trying to reconcile our congregation to itself, and bring it to an understanding. You see, the major issue is that our church is failing to see the greater good for the Kingdom of God. That's why I'm frustrated. People are so blinded by the possible loss of their church that they can't see the amazing opportunity God has given us. It greatly saddens me to see these people putting their own personal preferences before the good of the Kingdom, because ultimately, this decision to hand over our church now, while it's in good shape, will be for the greater good of our ministry.

I understand the fear. The pain. The sorrow. I understand that it's difficult to let go of control of the church they've poured so much of themselves into. But it's a necessary pain. Christ told us that following Him wouldn't be easy...."For whoever wants to find his life, must lose it."

And so I ask for your prayers. Pray for my church family. Pray for understanding, patience, wisdom, and peace. Pray for our us as we try to resolve this war and present a unified body ready for divine service. But also pray for me. I am growing weary. I am tired. I'm a little hurt. And I'm frustrated. Very frustrated.

Suffering from battle fatigue,
-B

For those of you who are a part of my church family. I love you. Every single one of you. And I pray that whatever the future has in store, you'll continue to be a part of my life and my ministry.

Chapter XXXIX: Family

After returning from my backpacking endeavor, I jumped right back into my ministry, my friends, and my life. Holy week was great, including two special services, lots of extra church music, a very successful fundraiser, and the launch of the new ministry.

The new "Youth Night" program went really well. The combination of good food, good games, and good discussion made for a successful evening. The statistics of our turnout served as a very reassuring reminder that the LORD wants us to continue our ministry in this neighborhood.

But the real highlight of the week was my realization of family.

I know I've said it before, but Michigan really feels like home. My church family is close, and my friends are closer. On Monday, our youth group held a dinner fundraiser at pizza hut. Upon entering the restaurant, I was quickly greeted with smiles, shouts, and hugs. The whole restaurant was filled with my Michigan family. And as we waited for our food, I very much enjoyed chatting with them.

I spent Easter with Katie's family, and again, I felt right at home. I even got a candy-pooping chicken in my easter basket! The introduction of Katie into my life has been a blessing, and my relationship with her has made life so joyful.

The topper was the new addition to the Boucek household: Riley. I finally adopted the dog I've always wanted. This year old lab/retriever mix is an adorable bundle of fun, and has made me feel even more at home in this watery mitten of a state.

I ask that you would pray for our church as whole, but also for me as we examine the future of the Olivet family. While I am confident in the LORD's plan to provide for me, I am fairly uneasy about the details of where I'll be working this summer.

Surrounded by family,
-B

Chapter XXXVIII: Adventure

I spent the majority of the past week in Tennessee where me and my two best friends, Paul and Andy spent 5 days backpacking through the Appalachian mountains. It was quite an adventure with both highs and lows. There was a lot that went wrong, but when all was said and done, the LORD kept us safe and we learned a lot about ourselves, each other, and backpacking.

So here's the tale:

Friday: We left Chicago with high spirits, tons of new gear, and a general excitement for the trip ahead. After 10 hours of traveling and a stop at Shoney's (an average-at-best restaurant native to Tennessee), we finally arrived at our campground. After finding out there weren't any available campsites, we also discovered the impact of the government shut down. We were told that if the government shut down on Saturday morning, the National Parks would close too, which meant we couldn't backpack. Our trip was in danger before we even put our boots on.

Saturday: Thankfully, the park stayed open and everything was all set to go. We started our hike in the late morning on top of Clingman's Dome, the second highest mountain this side of the Mississippi. We began our trip going the wrong direction, but after an extra 1.5 miles of hiking, we found ourselves hiking along a section of the Appalachian Trail. After lunching with some interesting through-hikers, we continued down the mountain on until we met up with Hazel Creek. During one of our creek crossings, while traversing a log over the waterfall, Paul dropped his GPS into the river. A few minutes later, Andy and I enjoyed some trail mix while watching a naked Paul get sloshed around at the base of the waterfall in an effort to recover his gear. He never did find it. After 14 miles of knee-splitting downhill and over 16 river crossings, we got to our camp around dark. Very defeated. Very tired. And very hungry. Oh and one more thing; our water filter broke after dinner.

Sunday: The LORD woke us up on Sunday to a warm sun and the promise of a shorter day of only 9 miles. With our spirits lifted a bit, we started off strong. As we continued making our way down into the valley, we had a great day of hiking, including the discovery of the ruins of an old town from the early 1900's. We arrived at camp early and thoroughly soaked ourselves in the mountain river. After enjoying some reading and relaxation by the fire, we called it a night. An uneventful, but successful day.

Monday: Today was another 14 mile day. With some directions from some other hikers, we set off towards the lake at the center of the valley. After hiking along the lake shore most of the day we finally arrived at our camp...a little sooner than expected. It wasn't until after we had taken off our boots, hung our socks, and started to unpack that we discovered we were sitting at the wrong campsite. After reluctantly restoring our gear to the packs and hiking 2 more miles down the trail, we finished our beast of a day at a lovely campsite where the river flowed into the lake. It felt amazing to get to camp because the rest of the trip consisted of shorter mileage hiking and our packs were beginning to get noticeably lighter. We also concluded that our bodies were beginning to adapt to the backpacking lifestyle and the whole trip seemed much more enjoyable.


Tuesday: The frustrating thing about water is most things only takes a few moments to become soaked....but can take days to dry out. We all awoke throughout Monday night as a result of a severe thunderstorm. After frantically packing up our wet/muddy gear on Tuesday morning, we set off in the rain. Cold and wet, we left the lake and started the trek back up the mountain. We ran into a massive wild boar that was initially mistaken for a bear, struggled with some downed trees on the trail, and hiked a few miles uphill in a stream. Literally. 10 miles after our wet start on Tuesday, we arrived at camp and proceeded to set up genius rain shelter before crawling into the tent for an afternoon nap. It had rained all day and into the evening. Everything was soaked. Water, cold, and wind had made everything fairly miserable. In the words of Andy; "Everything is so wet it's like my balls are pruny."

Wednesday: We awoke early on Wednesday morning energized by the sun and optimistic about our last day of hiking. We decided to cram in two days of hiking into one so we could finish early. We crossed the seven most dangerous river crossings in the Smokey Mountains early in the day, and nobody (or no equipment) was lost. We enjoyed most of the hike until the 2000ft climb back to the top of mountain. We pushed through the last of our hike and had a great time taking our victory pictures and phone calls back at the car. UNFORTUNATELY, our victory was short lived as my car had some major engine problems. So we rented a motel in the nearby city so as to get it fixed in the morning.

Thursday: The LORD continued to bless us on our journey as the car was fixed relatively cheaply and and quickly. We were on our way home by late morning and I finally made it back to Grand Rapids by 11:00 at night where I was welcomed by a fresh plate of cookies, some awesome apartment decorations and the open arms of my wonderful Katie. The picture to the left was taken from our starting point on the top of the mountain, the specks of blue in the valley are the parts of the lake we hiked along.

By the end of this trip, we had gone through a lot of new experiences. Backpacking in bear country, hiking in the rain, filtering water with broken gear, and fixing a car in a foreign town. All in all, the LORD kept us safe and sound. For better or worse, all of the events of the week (both good and bad) were awesome, and although it was one of the most challenging 57 miles of my life, it certainly was a great adventure.