BALL HOG (Archive from 11/08/2011)

Yes, yes, it has been a very long time since I last blogged.  Hopefully I will be back to the routine. . .

I honestly can’t believe I just typed that title for this article, but yes, I do need to be more of a ball hog.

A ball hog is a derisive term in basketball for a player who tends to handle the ball so exclusively that his or her behavior is damaging to their team. For this reason, “ball-hogging” is generally considered unacceptable playing behavior at all levels of basketball competition, especially by the player’s teammates and coach. However, ball-hogging is not a violation of the rules of basketball.

The main behavior associated with being a ball hog is excessive shooting, including frequent attempts at difficult shots (especially when passing to an open player would’ve made the chances of a successful shot to the basket much greater). Passing to teammates is something that ball hogs tend to overlook. Ball hogs attempt to monopolize their play of the ball, frequently dribbling excessively and infrequently passing the ball to a teammate.

What I’m basically saying is that I need to take better care of myself.  I’m afraid my inbox will now be flooded with people’s advice on how to fix me and about the joys of sabbath, rest, boundaries, and the value of saying no.  I’m sure they will give me the names of retreats I can go to and books I can read and rhythms they’ve found replenshing to their souls.  Somone will likely remind me of the slow and lazy pace of Jesus’ life, and how my life pattern is proof of something unholy.  I’m sure the seminary class I took on spiritual formation should change all of that.

In the end, that slew of well-intentioned advice might even be right.  The honest truth is, it all just feels like more to read, more to do, and another paper to write.

I have a deeply rooted desire not to screw up being a husband, a dad, or a youth pastor.  But the demands on all three of those roles at this stage of my life are huge.  I don’t want to become another statistic of a youth pastor who put family last or who loved the church more than his wife.  I have one kid: a 17 month old daughter.  I strive to be active in her life (just wait till we have more kids) and let her know she comes first.  But I do have a church that provides me with a paycheck that I also use to provide for my family, and thus my job comes with an endless list of needs and demands on my time.  The truth is, the hardest person to keep on the list of priorities is not my wife, or family, or the church.  It’s myself.

Everytime I’ve read and taught on the two greatest commandments, I’ve focused on 2 things: Love God and love others.  Numerous churches have boiled their mission statements down to just that.  I’ve told students that it is essentially the whole Bible in four words.  It’s the primal creed of the Christian life.  I’ve both challenged them and tried to live it out, believing that as long as we keep the order right and love God with all we are first, then we can live out St. Augustine’s “Love God and do as you please” with great freedom.  If we love God, we can love others.  Period.

I lead a senior high guys small group, and we share with each other joys and concerns.  One of the struggles and disciplines that come up is that I don’t take enough time out to pray in solitude or do things to reenergize my own faith walk.  This is an important task as I lead and minister to our own youth, who also don’t take time out to re-energize themselves.  Youth today are so bombarded with homework, chores, extracurricular activities, and college applications that take away their precious time of being youth!  Yes, even our youth need time out for themselves—-how are we to function at our best if we aren’t taking care of ourselves?!?

This might sound selfish—-hence the phrase ‘ball hog’—but even on a team, a ball hog could be a good thing.  When a team is down, and in trouble, a superstar needs to take it upon him or herself to become a ball hog, and lead the team to victory.  Of course, then the word ‘ball hog’ becomes ‘star player’, right?  God doesn’t want us to neglect ourselves—God wants us to flourish, and if that means taking time out for ourselves, then so be it!

If Jesus has called me to love others like I love myself, I have some self love to work on.  I need to understand that saying no isn’t just a way to gain more time in my day.  It’s a way to take care of myself so I can rightly love others.  I need to love my own heart and soul and mind and body so that I have a right heart and soul and mind and body from which to love others.

Grace and Peace,

Peter Joseph

BANK SHOT (From ARCHIVE 05/23/2011)

I’m back—and wow, it has been a long time since I’ve been on here, hasn’t it?!? Well, this is titled Bank Shot—in basketball terminology, a shot where the ball is first bounced (or banked) off the backboard at such an angle that it then drops into the basket. This can both be one of the easiest shots, and one of the hardest shots. If you aim accurately, the ball will go into the basket 9 times out of 10—but it’s all about accuracy!

Our spiritual lives work in the same manner—-we need to target our lives on prayer. If we don’t, and we try to do things on our own, it’s hit or miss (usually a miss!). Why do we stray away from prayer when we are told in Scripture that this helps solidify our relationship with God? Because we are all human, and sometimes we just want to take the easy way out. For basketball players, that’s an easy shot if you practice over and over, and over again.

This spoke to me in my devotionals just recently:
Colossians 4:2 “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.”

I challenge all of us to reflect on Colossians 4:2. Thankfulness and watchfulness are such profound concepts that they are worth considering for a whole week—really for a whole lifetime. “Being watchful” means being attentive, even perceptive—it doesn’t mean worrying. Name 4 things for which you need to be thankful. Name 3 things you should watch. If you did these 7 things, how would your life be different?

The mystery of Christ is meant to transform our reality. Some people don’t want that, and thus chaos in our lives will ensue at times. Our arsenal against this is thankfulness, watchfulness, prayer, and grace. We’re not meant to accept Jesus, and then live like everyone else; we’re meant to live differently. We’re meant to remember those who suffer. We’re meant to be the godly seasoning in the lives of everyone around us.

God wants you to be a new creation, and He wants to create good things for you. May you be like Jesus. Make Him central in your life, and watch everything around you transform. (Bible Study Mag.)

Grace and Peace
Peter

P.S. I’m so disappointed with my Lakers team—welp, maybe next year.

ASSISTS (FROM ARCHIVE 01/18/11)

The definition of an assist:

In basketball, an assist is attributed to a player who passes the ball to a teammate in a way that leads to a score by field goal, meaning that he or she was “assisting” in the basket.

In basketball, the point guard is the player that usually averages the most assists on a team.  If you don’t have a good point guard running things, and really looking out for his/her teammates, then the team will not be very good.  Same way in ministry: we are all in this together, and we are one body in Christ.

Why is the Student Ministries program at First Presbyterian Church of San Diego so successful?  It’s nothing that I am doing, but it is because many of our adults and youth are assisting to make this a viable ministry, and a community where we love God, and we love one another.  We have an amazing ministry leadership team: Ben Montoya, Carol Rogers, Lloyd & Rachel Tooks, Pastor Jerry Andrews, Jason Evans, Doug Satre, Dave Jones, Sheri Soldau, Judy Palm, Glenn Carson, Josh Reyes, Bonnie Joseph, Joanna O’Hanlon, Bob & Lisa Parrish, Jeff & Christ Sloan, Jennifer McCain, and Sheila Luiken.

Parents have been coming up to me, saying that whatever I am doing, keep doing it, because our kids are coming home so excited about youth ministry again. . . it’s not me doing anything, but God working through me as well as through our adults and youth!  My role is to not only encourage others, and build them up, but also to be a leader with a clear vision, a leader that delegates well, and a leader who finds how everyone fits into the Big Picture.

Teamwork is a vital part of life in the body of Christ. God’s work involves many different individuals with a variety of gifts, talents and abilities. There are no superstars in this task,
only team members performing their own unique roles. We can only become useful
members of God’s team if we are prepared to set aside any desire to receive
glory for what we do. We should never seek or encourage the praise that comes
from people. The praise of human kind is always short lived and of no real or lasting
value. Instead, we should always seek approval from God.

God has given His church an enormous responsibility, to make disciples in every nation (Matthew 28:18-20). This involves preaching, teaching, healing, nurturing, giving,
administering, building and many other tasks. If we had to fulfil this command
as individuals, we may as well give up without even trying, it would be
impossible. But God calls us as members of His body. Some of us can do one task;
some can do another. Together we can serve God more fully than any one of us
could ever do alone. It is a human tendency to overestimate what we can do
individually and to underestimate what we can do as a team! As the body of
Christ, we can accomplish more together than we would ever dream possible,
working alone. Working together, the church can express the fullness of
Christ.

Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me. They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work (Nehemiah 2:17-18). Nehemiah had a vision, he shared it with enthusiasm,
inspiring Jerusalem’s leaders to rebuild the walls. He took the time to make
sure his vision was clear and compelling. The spark of his vision ignited the
people he gathered around him.

We frequently underestimate people and don’t challenge them with our dreams for God’s work in the world. When God plants an idea in your mind to accomplish something for him, share it with others and trust the Holy Spirit to impress them with similar
thoughts. Don’t regard yourself as the only one through whom God is working.
Often God uses one person to express the vision and others to turn it into
reality. When you encourage and inspire others, you put teamwork into action to
accomplish God’s goals.

I’m currently coaching the middle school City Tree boys’ basketball team, and we played our first game last week.  We were playing against giants (seriously, the kids on the other team were taller than me!).  I was proud of our team, because we worked as a team, communicated with one another, and never got down on each other.  The end score didn’t matter, but what mattered to my guys was that they had fun, and worked together as a team—-Definitely something to be learned in ministry in that if we are faithful, and good stewards of what God has given us (gifts/talents), then whatever happens, God will take the burden on his shoulders, and in that process, our faith will grow still.

Youth pastors do take great pride in seeing the faith and knowledge that our teens are taught being put into practice.  God desires for us to put our faith into action.  We are doing an injustice if we just hold onto the knowledge we learn, and do nothing.  Last Sunday, our youth participated in our Ladle ministry.  Even though there were plentiful volunteers, our youth took it upon themselves to get involved in any way possible, and many of them socialized/greeted the many homeless that came.  (Note: Ladle feeds about 300 folks each week!)  If you don’t know:

Ladle Fellowship is a ministry of First Presbyterian Church, San Diego to the homeless and poor in the downtown area.

What we do:

• We serve a Sunday afternoon hot meal, attended mostly by homeless people.
• We distribute food bags twice a month to low-income seniors.
• We assist needy individuals in their job searches, and help them reunite with family.
• We gather weekly for a discipleship class that aims at helping the homeless and others to become committed lifelong followers of Jesus Christ.
• We educate our church and the larger body of Christ about homelessness/poverty and how we can live out the biblical mandate to care for the poor and seek social righteousness.

Well, that’s it for now.  As Dwight in the Office put it, “Experience is the best teacher.”   

Grace and Peace,

Peter

COURT VISION (through the eyes of Julia and God) (FROM ARCHIVE 12/20/10)

The definition of court
vision:

a player’s ability to
see everything on the court during play—such as where his/her
teammates and defenders are set up–which enables him/her to make
better choices in passing—the best
point guards possess this.

I can not believe Christmas is only 5 days away.

It has been such a joy for Bonnie and I to see Christmas through
the eyes of our 6 month old daughter, Julia Grace. Everything
is so new to her—all the colors, lights, all the wonder and magic
of the season– and she isn’t tainted by how the world perceives
things, or defines things. God desires us to see ourselves, and the
world, in the way that He sees it. We are to be children of
God. What does it mean? First, it means that we need to
have the court vision of a child, a court vision of how our Creator
sees things. That does not mean we are to be naive! Much of
our happiness in life depends on how we think God sees us. Sadly,
many of us have a wrong idea of God’s opinion of us. We base it on
what we’ve been taught, our bad experiences in life, and many other
assumptions. We may think God is disappointed in us or that we’ll
never measure up. We may even believe God is angry with us because
try as we might, we can’t stop sinning. But if we want to know the
truth, we need to go to the source: God himself. God loves us
no matter what, God sees us as white as snow, and God places hope
in us. A few characteristics of children is that they
listen to their parents, they
copy their parents behavior, they walk
like their parents. They also talk the same and learn their
mannerisms. They bring their pains and issues and complaints and
requests to their parents. They do not behave independently from
their parents. They may run off for a bit, but then cry if they
can’t find their parents. If we will listen to God’s promises and
place those promises above any other
thing, above what we can see, above what we have experienced in our
past… then we are being like that child. God has created a
world of hope and magic and wonder. I mean, the birth story
of Christ is pretty magical to me. Why have that hope jaded
by what the world thinks?!? Julia Grace sees our world as hopeful,
sees the wonder and magic behind every bright light, every toy,
every expression our dog makes (so what if she wants everything to
go into her mouth…lol). As parents, we need to continue to
build that up in her, encourage her, and make sure she knows that
the hope she feels is real, that anything is possible with
God. She has a court vision that I want to have, a vision
that is crafted by God, and untouched by human ego or
pessimism. Yes, she’s only 6 months old, but Jesus did tell
us that to enter heaven, we are to be like a child. I too
want to possess this quality, a quality that helps me make better
choices, and help my teammates along the way.

May you and yourfamily continue to hear God’s wisdom in this special holidayseason!

“And He
called a little child to Himself and put him in the midst of them,
And said, Truly I say to you, unless you repent and become like
little children, you can never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever
will humble himself therefore and become like this little child is
greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew
18:2-4

REBOUND (from archive 12/2/2010

It has been 6 long months since I last posted on this blog, and I tell you my friends, much has happened since June.  Our daughter is now 6 months old, giggling like crazy, smiling all the time, and has been such a joy to the Joseph family.

As my wife continues to work as a clinical social worker at Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino (wow, what a commute!!!), I was just newly hired late October as the Director of Student Ministries at First Presbyterian Church of San Diego.  

We are right smack dab in downtown San Diego right off the 5 freeway.  The church has a rich history of 150 years, and our pastor, Jerry Andrews, has been here for about a little over a year.

We live now in 31 different zip codes. Throughout San Diego County and beyond, our children attend many schools – public, chartered, at home and our own City Tree Christian School on our campus. Our teens gather in many places to grow up and in the Lord. We work in every industry throughout the region, committed to helping the city and its region flourish. We play in all the places and spaces of God’s creation. Though our houses seem to be everywhere, we consider our spiritual home to be the church campus. Here we worship, find the friends of faith and for a lifetime, work to serve our Savior by serving others, and with a joyful rigor study the Scriptures in order to become more faithful to our calling as disciples of the Lord Jesus.

We are Presbyterians, but the majority of us did not begin in this household of faith, and some of us are new to seriously following the Faith. Together we discover the riches of a living tradition that has sustained many believers throughout the centuries.

As many of you know, I grew up both in a non-denominational and an American Baptist Church (which is now called BeachPoint).  I graduated with a M.Div from an inter-denominational multi-ethnic seminary, Fuller Theological Seminary, and worked with several Episcopal Churches as well as a United Methodist Church.  This is our first Presbyterian Church, and we are loving every minute of it.  I think what spoke to my heart, and my wife’s, is that this is a place that not only wants to bring people to Christ, but also wants to be welcoming to those who are seeking (about 20 homeless sit in church with us, worshiping together—simply awesome!!).  We are also excited about the Ladle ministry that is run by Allen, and helps feed 300 homeless each week, as well as connecting them with resources.

We truly feel blessed to be here, and the journey has just begun.  Our family just moved into a home in San Marcos about a week ago, and are settling in nicely.  We were also able to find renters for our condo that we own in Santa Clarita.  God is good!!  And the potential for the youth program here is limitless—I’ve only been here a few weeks, and already see the love of Christ shining through the youth both in middle school and in senior high.

I will be now writing on this blog 1 to 2x a week, depending on how busy the week is, but I will be on here more frequently, I promise.  I leave you with this from Max Lucado to help put us in the right frame of mind for Christmas:

“It’s Christmas night.  In a few hours the cleanup will begin—lights will come down, trees will be thrown out.  Size 36 will be exchanged for size 40, eggnog will be on sale for half price.  Soon life will be normal again.  December’s generosity will become January’s payments and the magic will begin to fade.

But for the moment, the magic is still in the air.  Maybe that’s why I’m still awake.  I want to savor the spirit just a bit more.  I want to pray that those who beheld him today will look for him next August.  And I can’t help but linger on one fanciful thought: If he can do so much with such timid prayers lamely offered in December, how much more could he do if we thought of him every day?

Emmanuel.  He is with us.  God came near.”   -Max Lucado

May you and your family have a blessed holiday season!

Grace and Peace,

Peter

TEAMWORK (From Archive 6/6/2010)

Hi all,

Wow, what a crazy last couple of days, but some of the best days of our lives. Bonnie and I are truly blessed, as our daughter, Julia Grace Joseph, entered our world on June 3rd, 2010 at 1:50 pm, 8 lbs 10 oz (big girl), blue eyes, and lots of hair.

As there are many parents, and grandparents, out there who read my blog, all i can say is WOW! The first time that Julia looked into my eyes was a moment I will never forget. The first time I saw our daughter in the arms of her mommy, I will never forget.

Even when you are trying to do something other than stare at the gift of perfection that you are now the parent of, (like say, sleep), they often interrupt and you don’t really mind because they are so precious to you. While this infatuation hangs around for quite awhile (I think it always does in it’s own way), it is certainly not enough to sustain baby momma’s and daddies forever. Mommy can’t do it alone, Daddy can’t do it alone. It has been difficult, but a great joy, to see how both Bonnie and myself are working as a team to help this little one grow physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

This has led me to think about how precious life is. . .and how we take it for granted so much. In an instant, our lives can change. God uses those moments to transform us in amazing ways—but we also have to understand that God set up life so that we would be not only in community with Him, but also with the people around us.

And this has also brought to the forefront of my mind that LIFE IS TEAMWORK!! Just as in sports, especially basketball, you won’t get anywhere if you don’t work as a team (I know Kobe is not well liked, but you can’t argue that he still does work beautifully in a framework of a team).

This video beautifully captures the idea of family, and community being one. This scene is from Friday Night Lights—Matt Saracen’s father was in the army, and Matt just learns recently that his father died overseas. He is angry at first at his father until at the end of the memorial service, he begins to realize he died so that Matt might live life abundantly (interesting metaphor). So as workers are shoveling dirt on the casket, Matt grabs one of the shovels, and begins to help shovel as well. In the bad, and in the good, we are there for one another….we support one another always, even in death, and the life after. May this encourage you this week. . . (YOU TUBE TOOK IT DOWN SO I ENCOURAGE YOU TO FIND IT)

I leave with you these 2 quotes from parenting:

You don’t really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around – and why his parents will always wave back. ~William D. Tammeus

Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. ~Elizabeth Stone

Much Love, Grace, and Peace,
Peter Joseph (A Proud Daddy)

A SLAM DUNK (From Archive)

Hi all,

(Welcome to all who were following my blog at Google and WORDPRESS–I have now moved locations)

So it has been a long day, but the good news is that baby Joseph will be arriving into our world on June 3rd, Thursday morning (prayers are needed).

Growing up, I always thought that pastors, priests, and people working in ministry always have it together, but when I became older I realized that we are all human.  After my experience of being an Assistant Pastor of Youth & Congregational Care, this fact has become even more of a reality.

I remember recently when I was attending Fuller Theological Seminary, and doing my internship as part time Youth Director at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Fullerton, California, there were times where I felt burnt out and had nothing left to give.   Even though I was a seminarian and a person working in ministry, I had moments when I struggled to feel the presence of God.  Out of those experiences though, I learned that God is faithful, and will never leave us, nor forsake us, and that was the hope that I held on to in order to keep me going.  To this day as a full-time Assistant Pastor, I can claim that purpose to be true and just from the meditation on the passage from Ephesians 4:11-13:

“The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors, and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry for building up the body of Christ until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of full stature of Christ.”

There were times when I felt pretty drained, and I desired and thirsted after God’s righteousness, so that I might be filled.

What can we learn from those desert experiences?  One thing I learned is to thank God that he is in control.  I thank God that He leads the ministry at our United Methodist Churches, not the Pastors or the church staff, and not I.  It’s awesome that God uses humans, despite their weaknesses, to work in other humans’ lives (i.e. David in the Old Testament, and Peter the Disciple).  Yes, for us to be vulnerable and real in front of people is a risk, but it can also transform us by the grace of God.

At one point when I risked being vulnerable in front of my students, what really encouraged my heart was what one student said during my stint at Emmanuel one night, “You encouraged me and helped me when I was down, so I want to encourage you and let you know that you will get through this.”  How awesome was it for me to be on the receiving end from my student rather than on the giving end?!?!  It was so incredible that it soothed my troubled heart.  I saw God’s compassion working through one of my youth and speaking to me at the place I was in at the moment.

Yes, God has appointed some to be priests, some to be teachers, and so on, but we all represent the body of Christ, and we live in a community where we love one another and build each other up.  By sharing my personal experience, I want to encourage you by saying that God is always there for us. . .just look closer.

He is waiting with open arms.  Just look around you. . .look closely into the eyes of your friends, your family, or your United Methodist church community, and there you will not only find God, but you will see God.

Slam dunks are supposed to be a sure and easy 2 points for a team—-unless a dunk is botched or missed (believe it or not, it happens more often than you think).  Just remember that none of us are perfect, we are all human, and mistakes are made.  What looks easy isn’t always the case, but this is for sure—you have so many brothers and sisters in Christ to help you along the way—just look around.

Much love, grace, and peace,

Peter Joseph

P.S.    Soon and very soon baby Joseph will be here

Why call it the Shootaround?

Hi there,

My blog from WORDPRESS has now moved to POSTEROUS and now has moved back to Google BLOGGER!  I like this site much better!!

I am back. It has been almost 6 months since I last blogged, but a lot has happened since January as you all know. My new title of the blog is called Shootaround. My favorite thing of all time is basketball: whether it is playing, refereeing, coaching, or watching/going live to Laker games. (shout out to them for making it back to the Finals).

From Wikipedia: In the National Basketball Association (which is the American professional basketball league), a shootaround is an informal practice session. While the practice session must be attended by the players, it does not involve all the formal elements of a regular practice. Especially absent will be normally routine conditioning drills; probably absent also will be run-throughs of plays and extensive chalk-talks by the coaches. The practice may consist largely of players practicing their shooting in an unstructured manner, with five or six players shooting at one basket, rebounding others’ shots and continuing this informal type of practice — hence the term “shootaround.”

The shootaround is a staple of the pre-game warmup routine for all NBA teams, most college teams, and many teams at all levels. So infused is the term into basketball’s lexicon, in fact, that ESPN’s NBA re-cap show is called NBA Shootaround.

So yes, my thoughts here will be very raw, and I will be trying and saying new things, just like one would at a ‘Shootaround’.

Don’t you think God gives us these ‘shootarounds’ to help shape and mold our faith for bigger and better things?

Life is great right now. I will soon be embarking on an awesome journey. I’m not sure how to describe how I am feeling about being a dad soon! It trips me out, excites me, and is also making me very anxious. As my friend Erica shared with me, “Your life will never be the same!” What an awesome blessing from God! At this point, we just want a healthy baby, not really important if it is a boy or a girl.

So hopefully by June 1st, if Bonnie gets induced, we will welcome into the world Julia Grace Joseph, or Cameron Scott Joseph.

Much Love, Grace, and Peace,

Peter Joseph

Moving Again?

Okay, so used to be on Wordpress, then headed off to Posterous, but now I hear Posterous is closing down, so now I am moving to blogger.

Will be updating and writing to you all soon. . .