GPS Tulsa just finished up our last service rotation at Cooper Elementary here in east Tulsa.  Its spring break as I write, and it seems as if most folks are refocusing after a very disjointed beginning to the spring semester.

We moved our office and meeting space over to the Green Country Events Center on 31st street, right in the heart of the most ethnically diverse urban area in Tulsa or any city between Kansas City, Dallas and  Nashville for that matter.  I will discuss our neighborhood in a future entry, but needless to say- we are excited to be here and our interaction with the “locals” have been life giving.

Sitting down for after school snacks before we go to our art program with the kids at Cooper, I find myself the only person at my table who knows only one language.  My joke with the 2nd and 3rd graders who were with me was that the kids who knew 2 languages were twice as smart as me, and those who knew 3 were 3 times as smart!  We would spend snack time with them teaching me words in Spanish and Mong dialects.  I would say the word for “milk”, or “muscles”, or ” tasty” in their language and as soon as I got it sounding right, they would give me another one, which meant I forgot the first words…

GPS students reflects on our time with the Cooper kids with some words of their own around our weekly meal:

• Fun, Exciting
• Interesting, Different, Entertaining
• Creative, Energetic
• Awesome, productive.
• Ms. Libby (our art teacher from the Arts and Humanities Council that a couple of the guys had a crush on….)
• Three eyed monkeys and 5 eyed walrus (the clay project of one Marcus Lord, a boy we will not soon forget.)
• “How do I do this?”
• Messy

The theme “Made to Create” was driven home by all the different ways in which our elementary friends produced cool stuff that hadn’t existed before.

An observation I had that our students agreed with was how well behaved, friendly, and attentive the children were from this neighborhood- and from our discussions with friends at the school there were several factors contributing to this, such as the “community school” focus, the culture built in the school, and also just the presence of 6 very interested young adults in an active learning environment.

We know the kids loved it that we were there, and many of them believe they matter- because of what they can do and create, and that someone is interested in them.  This is life giving stuff.  Our discussion around the dinner table gets into our value, and what we think of others, and what God thinks of us.  I believe all of us get changed when we do what we were made to do, and we invest in people who learn to invest in others.

Here’s some comments from the children of Cooper Elementary:

“I cried when I had to miss Art class.”

“Our teacher is really nice.”

‘I’ve started painting dishes and designing t shirts at home.”

“This is awesome and I really like it here.”

“I love this school.”

“I learned all it takes to be creative to make cool stuff.”

“I liked everyone who helped me.  I will always remember them.  I feel special that I get to do this.”

“The people who came, I wish they’d come back, especially the curly haired man.”  (that must be Conner Fields...)

“Thank you God for creating me.”

“I will remember making totem poles and animals out of clay.”

“I learned that you can be so creative!”

“I will remember the teacher and Grant.”

Cooper kids- we will remember you too!  We hope to see you at our Community Summer Camp that we’ll help Garnett Church of Christ put on in June.

ck

GPS has had a great couple of sessions this semester.  However- we were supposed to have met 4 times so far and be into our service project- a great afterschool art program at Cooper Elementary.  But, because of snow-smockolypse (which I have honestly loved, even without four wheel drive), we’ve had to adjust.  Adjusting, flexibility…. its all good!  Since the kids wouldn’t be at school today- Counselor Rita gave us printouts of the students’ goals and aspirations which we read and got to “know” them at bit.  Some of the highlights included the fact that this elementary school will be producing an incredibly high per-capita rate of future veterinarians, many of whom will be holding down jobs as teachers and doctors as well.  One student who we are sure to love stated that his goals were to learn to read weird symbols, and (sort of a footnote…) he wanted to live forever.  Cool.

After our “one way get to know you session”- we went over to Cooper and shoveled off their bus waiting area which was full of old snow/ice and there wasn’t anyone available to clear it .  It went fast, and the 0 degree windchill was almost fun.  Here are some pictures below.  Our theme for February is “Made to Create” and that will fit in quite nicely with the 21 excellent elementary students we get to walk beside for the next several weeks.

A big thanks to the Nathan Weber family for their support in monthly meals, and to our friends at Buffalo Wild Wings on West 71st St for their support of the work of GPS.

ck

I stayed up late last night writing little notes on our year-end letter we are sending out to contributors to CQ Missional.  And, while we are  really a little operation, there were at least 35 contributors to this ministry last year, not including the support different people provided with their prayer, counsel, volunteering, and joining us as clients.

That is a humbling thought, and I looked out the window at my back yard on this cold day and said Thank You to God, who is the creator and giver of all good things.  We working at CQM say thank you also, to all of you who join us in this desire to help young adults discover their unique purpose, and to all our partners who believe that engaging service to our neighbor is something we were all made to do.

Our open house is coming up Tuesday, and I also got great news this week that we can pursue becoming the urban ministry site for John Brown University’s Link Year Program.  We are growing.

Below is a copy of our year end letter to contributors and to those interested in this work.  Please don’t hesitate to contact me if we can be of any service or support to you.

Dear Friends:

With 2010 coming to a close, I wanted to thank everyone who has helped CQ Missional invest in many lives this year. In our first year alone, we were involved in coaching and counseling relationships with around 10 young ministry leaders on a regular basis, and saw the successful completion of our first session of the Certificate in Missional Leadership (our 10-month internship program) & GPS Tulsa (for recent high school grads).  I have included some thoughts and comments I’ve received recently from GPS students at the end of this letter.  Please pray for them, and the new students who will join us this spring.

New things for 2011 include:

• • Starting our own 501c3 non profit, making us grant-worthy for our community service work, and creating better communication avenues between supporters and our team. This will mean  contributors can give directly to CQ Missional, and we will connect with folks directly from our office here in Tulsa.
  • More GPS groups, a new CML internship program at Camp Loughridge that we run, and being an urban ministry site for The John Brown University Link Year Program  starting this coming fall.
  • Official partnerships with Camp Loughridge and Garnett Church of Christ, opening the door to new opportunities to invest in the lives of young people.
  • Adding more team members who offer vocational coaching and pastoral counseling for young adults-increasing our capacity to offer more of those services.
  • Continuing to enjoy the work we do!

All that is to say, as our year ends:

• Thank you for your support and friendship!
• Please pray for our work- that we might hear God’s voice and join Him in blessing people.
• Please consider making a year-end tax deductible contribution as much of our regular contributions are also being used to pay insurance, legal, and other costs of doing business.  Our goal this year is to get full funding for the Director Position, and provide funds for administrative assistant work.  We are at 50% at this time.
• Lastly- consider paying it forward by sharing what we do to other potential clients and contributors who may join us in this work..

We are doing our part to invest in lives, and help young people invest in more lives…
Some words about investment from 2 Corinthians:

He throws caution to the winds,giving to the needy in reckless abandon. His right-living, right-giving ways never run out, never wear out.

This, I believe, is supposed to be a defining characteristic of our story. We were created to contribute.  Thanks to all of you for working with us to contribute and see how God’s giving doesn’t run out.

You can send your year end tax deductible contributions directly to:
CQ Missional
1212 W Albuquerque Pl
Broken Arrow, OK 74011

God bless each of you.

Chris King
Director, CQ Missional

GPS Tulsa has proven to be a valuable experience for everyone involved-students, leaders, and their parents as well. GPS is about helping people discover the purpose they were made to live. Here’s some short  reflections from  our first students:

“Sometimes we might feel useless and unpurposeful but we are making a difference in peoples live whether we see it or not…sometimes we don’t see it though. All we think about is ourselves, we walk through our day thinking about the next thing we have to get done, the next place we have to go to, the next meal we are going to have…or how we are going to finance the next meal. We don’t realize the homeless people sitting on the side of the road-They have a life too. we are not the only ones on earth…

God put us all together to compliment and help each other.  to fit together as puzzle pieces, to help create one big beautiful masterpiece.  when we all come to this point of asking ourselves “is our existence necessary?” we should all ask ourselves “can one mosquito make a difference in a tent of sleeping people?”

“I graduated from a small highschool (TSAS), and alot of my friends moved away. Even the friends that stayed and went to TCC became more distant because we didn’t choose similar classes. College is so unstructured that it’s hard to make new friends in your classes (especially lecture based classes). Making new friends is something I’m not skilled at anyway. I feel like I have friendship (or at least something incredibly similar, perhaps community) through GPS.”

One seemingly “directionless” 17 year old closes our last one on one with this question:  “Am I doing OK?  How can I get better?  Do you think my path is a good one?”

“I don’t think we could make the impact, learn as much, or become the group we have become without the time that GPS gives us. GPS has helped me see God loves all people, and maybe I can try to do that too.”

“I love all of it.  Especially the people.  I would have never figured that this group of people would become good friends and trust each other.  I guess thats possible in other places as well.”

Before our hike to Big Bluff on the Buffalo River

I think the phrase above means it is something that is difficult to do.  Not sure.  However, one thing I am sure of is that it is a difficult thing to measure growth and positive change when you’re in the moment.  Most of our “learns” and our ways of articulating “what God taught me” or “what I figured out” are retrospective.  Most of the time for most of us our ability to get our minds around something that has changed in us sounds like:  ”I didn’t know it then, but now I see that_____________.”  Or “I lived like I believed this thing was true, and now looking back I see that I was changing, that perhaps God was changing me.”

Working with young people (our GPS group is ages 17-20) who are in the midst of a personal and directional upheaval is great fun, and meaningful for me.  It is also hard to measure progress outside of the increased open-ness, overall level of smiles and laughter, and occasional new insights that our people bring at the times you least expect it.  We are a group of very different people- who are growing to like each other very much- that is evident.

But regarding growth, effectiveness for our people, I wish they would give me more.  Right now.  I want to force the learning.  I want to force the change.  I want to be the Holy Spirit and get inside people’s heads and hearts and help them to see truth to the point of complete “ah ha!” moment.

I am not good at this techinque.  As a matter of fact, even though I try to force the change in people here- I resent it when I see others do it somewhere else.  It bugs me when we give tons of energy to creating “God moments” rather than gathering and celebrating the ones that are happening all over us all the time.   I suspect the people I judge for being in the God business, who seem to be forcing change and shoving stuff down people’s throats would judge me too, when I try to manipulate people through other means to get them to change.  Actually, I bet they would laugh, because the attempt is feeble.

On my good days, however, I just help our people help others, and ask them a few good questions.  I share a scripture, quote, and/or story, and expose them to other people who understand their place in the world.  When we do this, great things happen- and I don’t always get to see it, and I am sure many who experience those great things will not even know how to articulate what has happened until after the fact.  Sometimes it will take years.  I am ok with that.    (More and more every day!)

What does all of this have to do with “catching lightning in a bottle?”  Well, I have comitted that we will do our work, and give students a chance to reflect, and be good with whatever they reflect back to us.  If they don’t give us a bunch to work with regarding a verbal or written reflection of “growth” or “change”- its all good.  We still love our people, and do our work.  God is big enough to use it all- and we trust that.  Some of our people love to work out what they’re learning in discussion and writing.  Some of them tend to shut down when asked these types (What are you learning?) of questions in an organized fashion.  Yet, you get them one on one the change is obvious and they share all kinds of good stuff that is honest, real, and reflects growth.

Their growth is also reflected in just how they approach people and situations on a practical level.  We can see it- sometimes they can’t- just yet.

So, with all that being said- I’m going to share some November thoughts from students over the next few days.  They might be things they wrote down, or things I heard someone say.

I can’t change people.  We can’t catch lightning in a bottle.  We can provide people with a space where change can occur, and is occurring whether we know it now or not.

We appreciate your support and are looking forward to finishing up well this fall, and hoping for more groups in the spring.

ck

Finally a chance to stop. A chance to read(on-line) and hear (Grant and Rachel so far) about Tuesdays on Quaker Street. This allows me a different perspective and a different opportunity than I had planned for. God gets the best of me when He gets me out of my plan and living HIS. He tricks me sometimes and I get the experience of having faith….I love God’s way with me! Usefulness comments were great….I think this whole GPS-thing might just be leading somewhere!!!! Can’t wait to see how you all give it “JUSTICE” over the course of the next month!!!????

I met Paula when I sent out my crazy idea about GPS Tulsa to local school counselors.  Beth Alaback, and old friend from NLR days, was very excited about it, and sent this info on to Paula Barton, who was the senior school counselor at Edison High School.  Paula was way enthused, and when we met she said things like “I believe this program will save lives.”  Wow.  I guess she believed in what we were doing.  She then enlisted her own time and recruited and talked to potential students and offered herself to our work. She is one of our team, and I am still waiting on her bio (hint hint, Paula…) so she can give a better introduction of herself.  Suffice to say, she is one of our three counselors who have a total heart for our recent high school grads, and they want to talk to her (which I love.)  Her enthusiasm for life, and for getting into the lives of people and lending a hand, is infectious.  You will hear from her occasionally on the blog.  I wouldn’t doubt it if you become her friend in the near future.  - ck

Last week I was supposed to sit and write about (with pencil), then blog about usefulness. Many of us felt non useful during our tasks. I, like my co-volunteer Rachel did little more than sit and watch the children work at cooking, only helping with something occasionaly. I did however get to spend some time talking to the children before and after.
There was a time in my life when I was intent on starting a band (a jazz like combo). The rules for the band were that everyone was about focusing on composition, we were going to play all original material, and we wanted to create a style of our own (on a personal and a group level) that would set ourselves apart from any other band, and give a certain type of person a reason to choose us. It turns out it was difficult to even establish a once a week meeting for everyone, and get consistant practice happening. One of the hardest things to do is be self motivated.
What does this have to do with usefulness? None of the GPSers had tasks to do last week, and it seems none of us were very SELF motivated. Chris asked us whether we thought the after care staff at Kendall-Whittier would miss us. I honestly could not answer that question.

After returning from a particularly un energized service session at some level, the discussion afterwards  was centered on usefulness.  Our students at the site were helpers to teachers who did most of the work.  Not enough action really for any of us.  Good intentions, though.  And, as always, a good opportunity to learn.   Conner brought the big question home after this experience last week.  More on his statement in just a bit.

When asked if they felt useful, Grant replied- “No.”  When pressed about when do you feel useful- he responded “When I’m given something specific to do, especially if I can work with my hands.”  We all agreed with varying comments.  I then asked him if he felt useful when he helped me build the deck in the front of my house last spring.  He said yes.  I then asked everyone, “What if I wanted you to come help me with “home improvement” today?  And, since you have all the potential in the world, you decide what it will be.  I know its my house, and you’re not very familiar with it or with what I as the owner want to see, but just have at it.  You decide, you do it…. make it happen.  I’m sure its going to be great.”

I asked, “What would you say to me?”  Most replied, “Well thats all good, but just tell us what to do, and we’d love to help!”  I then asked what this has to do with where each of our students are in life right now.  Most structure is gone, most of their community they had leaned on is gone.  Their relationship with their parents is different now- most living at home, but not exactly where their place is.  Then Conner:

“It just seems that starting something on your own is the hardest thing.  I guess thats true for all of us in this room.  Being useful with something someone else gives you is good.  When you have to create it- its really hard.”

Everyone nods.  It is one thing that brings us together at GPS:  We’re not sure where to start.

OK.  I believe we can help with that, but it will take a little time….  Thanks for sharing your thoughts Conner.

ck

I think the thing that made the biggest impression on me last week was when we shared are life stories. I feel like I really got to know everyone in the group better through that activity.

comment from ck:  Sharing our life stories is foundational for our group to establish trust.  When we move into helping people with that trust, great things start to happen for each of us on an individual level.  I see this in Conner.

Good day everyone.  I am here to report that GPS Tulsa had its first session with 5 awesome students this past Tuesday.  We expect 2 more to sign up this week as well.  I have so much to say about our first day together, but if you want the whole scoop- we’ll just have to get together over lunch and I will give you the 3 dimensional deal.

1st United Methodist provided a great setting for us to consider some big ideas.

That being said- here are 10 observations (peppered with a few opinions) about our initial gathering:

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. • Grant, Conner, Imran, Lyndsay, and Justin are beautiful people.  Knowing our students so much better now after sharing a road trip around downtown, and a meal together, just seals in stone the idea that they are unique and have a big time contribution to make to this world.  We like them.
                  • The team of Beth, Paula, Nathan and Mitch really provided fat support, and it was fun for all of us to come around these young adults with some love and food.

• • • • • • • We sat in front of the courthouse and talked about the question “what do you trust?”  A nice, possibly homeless dude named Nathan joined in our conversation.  His perspective on trust was helpful for us, and he liked having some folks to talk with.   The experience informed a discussion about trust, and value.
            • Sometimes it is harder to heat up lasagna than to cook something up fresh.  It helps if you read directions, especially if you are an aerospace engineer.
  • • • • • • Conner and Grant just met, but actually went to elementary school together and knew each other as kids.
• I am blessed to have great people around me.
• Our spot on Quaker Ave is just right for this (although a fridge would be helpful.)  It feels cool, the location is right, and students are comfortable there.
• This format of training, service, teaching and counseling is valuable.  The students are worthy of investment- and they will be investing in children in Tulsa all year long.  Cool.
• We visited two beautiful places in Tulsa:  1st Methodist Downtown, and Global Gardens on W 21st st.  They provided a great context to deal with issues of love, service, and responsibility.
• This is fun, but there is much work to do in creating stability for this experience- including getting all the students fully funded and expanding the community of people who invest in young adults discovering their unique role in God’s big story.

Remember you can contribute in all kinds of ways- we just are trying to provide one way to do that.  I am blessed to be a part of this.  We can still take students before Sept. 1.  Shout at me if you are interested at sendtochrisking@gmail.com.

More coming!

Someone once told me that ministry was building bridges to help people get from where they are to where God wants them to be.   Being a hack carpenter- building decks for my house that may not be the most sturdy or level, I know how inadequate I would be at building a bridge of any scope.  Bridges come in all shapes and sizes and accomplish things as simple as providing a way for a person to walk over a shallow creek (like the cool little suspension bridge on the back side of the island at New Life Ranch).  They can also be massive in scope and require unbelievable vision, resources, and energy to produce.

The other thing that is interesting about bridges is that in order for them to fulfill their purpose, people need to take responsibility to move across them.  The bridge doesn’t take people, or cars, or whatever, and move them from one side to the other.  It provides a way for the person to engage, to move forward under their own power, to get to the other side.  The bridge makes it possible- and yet the “bridge crosser” is responsible.  This is a beautiful thing in that a given in this equation is the ability and strength of the bridge crosser to make it over.  It’s the bridge builder’s responsibility to create a way across.

Bridges require people to give input at various levels in order to be constructed, right?  I can be the project manager, builder, purchaser, quality control officer, and HR dude when I make a bridge across a ditch in my back yard.  And a fine bridge it will be!

However- the bigger the bridge that I am involved in building- the less I am involved in the entire operation.  I am best operating in a specific role and trusting others to fulfill their own specific role.  Some valleys, or rivers, or spans require big time vision- and big time operation.  Might this be your bridge?

Or maybe this is the one that looks more like you:

What I know now is this:  getting in on doing ministry is a beautiful thing.  It is worth being thankful for.  And, there can come times where your purpose is  to build new bridges.

CQ Missional, and our educational projects the CML and GPS Tulsa are bridges.  They are designed to help people who are in a specific stage of life, with specific needs- move from where they are, to where God wants them to be.  Students in Tulsa looking for life direction, for a vocation, for some purpose, for some people to share this search with- get the opportunity to walk across the bridge of GPS Tulsa together.  We get the privilege of creating the context for this discovery.  By the way- this will be a blast to get going!  People who are young adults but a little farther along, perhaps they have graduated college, or have been working a job for a few years, get the opportunity to walk across the bridge of the CML together- serving a community, creating new life in neighborhoods, and taking a chance on their own vocation shift.

Right now we are putting together what looks like a foot bridge, the kind you can wear sandals while walking across, or even go barefoot in the process!  However- the span between where 1000s of 20 somethings are, and where they could be is huge.  I pray for wisdom and community to join in building the right bridge to help you adults figure out their purpose in life.  This is a Golden Gate type of need.

Whats next in the bridge?  Raise more scholarship money, raise awareness of how we can serve young adults, make more friends and offer real support to help our clients make courageous decisions.  In other words, keep moving forward.

I am thankful today to be a bridge builder.  What does your bridge look like today?  Are you walking across one?  Are you in the middle of building one?  What does Ministry look like to you?

ck

There are two voices I hear in my head.  They are similar to the ones described by Henri Nouwen in his book Spiritual Direction (and others.)

One voice says, “Make sure people are ok with you.  Be pleasing, impressive, and set yourself up to be loved and respected.”  Listening to this voice can set a person up to be a “hyphenated” person.  I’m a teacher-counselor.  I am a pastor-outdoor leader. I’m a worship leader musician- leader of a non profit. I’m a Christian-person of the world.  I am not of this world- very much a part of this world.

If you don’t like a part of me that is a big part of me, I usually have another part of me that should be ok with you.  This position in life can curtail the deepest fears that I may not be acceptable, lovable, worthy of relationship.

There is another voice I hear, and I hear it at times when I know it will be loud and clear.  These times include times where I listen, times where I engage the Bible, times in the wilderness, times when I observe the beauty of those I love, times when prayer isn’t asking for things- but is more about listening and loving.  Here’s what the voice says- “Whatever you do, stay close to the heart of God.”  This voice that calls me the son of God, the child of the loving Christ, the target of the Spirit’s support…. it resonates and informs the things I do, whether “hyphenated” or not.

I can work at our new canopy tour in the Buffalo River Valley in the context of staying close.  I can listen and counsel all the while I am staying close.  I am a father, a husband, a musician- who makes his choices staying close to the heart of God.

Friends- as we work together in exciting new projects like GPS Tulsa, ask me what voice I am listening to.  What about you?  Is there a voice that resonates with you as an image bearer of God?  Does this voice affirm your ability to create, to contribute? Or, is there a voice that keeps you on edge to “conform to the pattern of this world” by goading you to continually please, impress, or position yourself for success.  What do you do about that?