Planet Impact Blog

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Mrs. Stack Has Gone to Be With Jesus

Is is with a great deal of sadness that we anounce the passing of Sharon Stack. Please keep her family in your prayers as they mourn her passing.
PK

Sunday, April 6, 2008

PK's Hospital Blogs

Hey PI! I am still in the hospita, and I am still blogging on my personal blog. I am falling asleep about every three words I type because of the drugs I am on, so rather than enter the info on here as well, just click on this link to read my entries: http://www.revkevjr.blogspot.com
Much Love,
PK

Friday, April 4, 2008

Locked Down in a Hospital bed

Students, Leaders, and Friends of Planet Impact,

It is 11:30pm and I am blogging from my hospital bed. So cool! I went into surgery today at about 1:30. It was a 3 hour procedure which I remember nothing about. The first thing I heard when I woke up was my surgeon telling me that everything went great. As soon as I came to I instantly noticed a remarkable change in my body. Not only did my lower back feel better, but also my legs, my shoulders, and even my neck pain is gone! Thank You Lord! Amazing how one pinched nerve can cause so much pain throughout the body.

I'm sore where the incision was, and the muscles are sore, but it's tolerable. The meds have worn off quite a bit now, but I have not hit the morphine drip yet at all. The nurse is surprised that I haven't. Here's the best way I can describe it: The pain that was once inside of my lower back is now on the outside.

Ady and the girls were there when I woke up. As you can imagine, the girls were nervous and concerned seeing me with wires and tubes all over me and in me. I made some jokes to try and put them at ease, but my oldest daughter (as mentioned in my blog the other day), is very caring and sensitive, and she teared up a few times. After moving me to my room I again assured her that I was OK and asked her why she was crying. She said, "I don't want you to die." How sweet and innocent! I called her over to myself, told her I had something to tell her, then I keeled over and pretended I was dead. No, just kidding! I didn't do that! I'm sick, but I'm not that sick! April Fools! Ha Ha! Please continue to pray for my healing, and for my family as they walk through this with me.

Much Love,
PK

Monday, March 31, 2008

Generation Change

On Sunday, March 30th, Planet Impact headed into Queens for a day of leadership training called The Core which is put on by Youth Specialties. The adult leaders have attended this training annually for several years, but this was the first year that Youth Specialties extended an invitation for student leaders to attend as well. So, we took a group of 40 – 25 student leaders and 15 adult leaders – for a day of challenge and growth.

The theme for this year was Generation Change, and the presenter was Brock Morgan from Salem, Oregon. He began by reminding us that change starts from the inside out. Transformation is messy because we are messy, and it usually takes a lot of time. God is a God of process, and we must embrace the unfolding of his work in our lives. Since those gathered were leaders who are hoping to affect change, he kept going back to the truth that we don’t change anyone – we can’t. Only God can change us!

After discussing the personal change that we must embrace, we then turned our attention to transforming our youth ministries. We were challenged to think about how authentic our community really is. This is why our small groups are so vital to getting our students to open up on a deeper level. Our small groups are a time when students can share about their lives, and develop healthy friendships. As C.S. Lewis said, “Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: ‘What! You too? Thought I was the only one.’”

Finally, we were confronted with the truth that we have been and are being changed to bring change. We were presented with the question: What should transformed people do with their change? Our transformation should be recognizable, and we began to ask some tough questions about how personal transformation translates into community and world transformation.

My favorite part of the day was actually the ride home because all of the students were sound asleep in the back of the shuttle and I was able to drive home in such serenity. No, actually it was my favorite time because for the entire ride home we had an engaging discussion about the things we had learned during the seminar and how we can bring our learnings home and affect change at SGT. I told the students that if what we learned isn’t put into action, then our time and money were wasted. A lively and creative discussion ensued, and the conversation will be ongoing. Our passion is to move students from going to church to being the Church.

Monday Morning Laughter: Miss Teen South Carolina

This is classic! Enjoy a good laught this Monday morning!
PK

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Book Review

I just completed the book Red Letter Christians by Tony Campolo. I must say that, controversial as he may be sometimes, I have long respected and appreciated his life and ministry. He is not afraid to tackle tough issues or to go where no Evangelical has gone before. As Shane Claiborne says on the back cover, "Tony writes this book with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other, reminding us that our faith must affect how we live in this world."

I must confess that I am a person who has generally shied away from politics. In reading this book, I discovered that I am not the only Christian who has embraced this approach.

A few years ago, a friend asked me about my political views, and I couldn't really answer him. I knew that I agreed with conservatives on some issues, while I agreed with liberals on others, but my agreement was more of an intuitive feeling based on my understanding of Jesus and Scripture than well thought out conclusions after prayer and deep consideration of Scripture.

When it came to voting time, I basically just voted for whomever was pro-life. I embodied exactly what Tony mentioned in the book: "Abortion is, for many Christians, a defining political issue. Is is so important to many Christian voters that it's not uncommon to hear, 'Even though on all other issues I might be in harmony with a candidate, if that candidate is wrong on this issues, he or she won't get my vote.'" (p. 119) I always wondered deep inside if I was doing the right thing, but I figured if someone was against abortion they deserved my vote. Beyond that I was largely disinterested in politics.

This book, however, has awakened something within me. This statement really captured me: "It is irresponsible to not be involved in politics." (p. 210) "In present day Christendom, there has been a tendency to forget that both the salvation of individuals and the transformation of society are Kingdom non-negotiables." (p. 33) "It is by getting involved in political processes that Christians exercise one significant method of transforming society - so that within it, justice can roll down (see Amos 5:24)." (p. 35)

Tony carefully goes through many issues and presents his own beliefs while inviting readers to thoughtfully, critically, and biblically draw their own conclusions. "The last thing in the world I want for anyone reading this book is that he or she uncritically follow what I say on these pages as if my views on political issues are the final word on what Christians should think." (p. 43)

In a year when the political race for the White House is incredibly polarizing, this book is an absolute must read for everyone. It will challenge all to a deeper consideration of the heart of God for his kingdom to be established on earth as it is in heaven, and a greater sense of responsibility when it comes to participation in the political process.

To order the book on Amazon, click here: http://www.amazon.com/Red-Letter-Christians-Citizens-Politics/dp/0830745297/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206673781&sr=1-1