The Rhythm of Life

One of the seminars I attended while at the National Youth Worker’s Convention earlier this month was entitled “The Rhythm of Life”. The speaker, Mike King of Youth Front, brought forth a rather radical thought for most Christians: the idea of enjoying life and being human.

Most Christians today prescribe to the philosophy that they must strive to be more like Christ: divine, holy, pure, etc., etc. The hardest thing with this, however, is that most, if not all, will fall short of this goal because it is impossible to attain.

People are also suffering burn out from too much “bad stress”, he said: unreasonable job descriptions, lack of boundaries, unrealistic measurements of success, idealism, lack of support structures, identity confusion, conflicts, lack of friends, busyness, and neglect of the soul.

This isn’t what God wanted for us, according to Mike. He proposed an idea that some traditional Christians would consider a bit unorthodox and radical: that while Jesus came to show us how to be holy, Jesus was also fully human and showed us how to be fully human as well.

It is great to be holy and living for Christ. But, God created this earth for us to enjoy our life on it as well. He asked us the question: What makes you fully alive??

Before we answered this question, he gave us a few suggestions on how to be fully human, following the examples that Jesus set for us. The one that hit home for me is this: To be fully human, we must be rich in experiences of encounters with God and others. This is one that I see a lot of Christians failing in. While it is great to surround yourself with Christian friends, it is the experiences with those outside of your comfort zone that really enrich your life. I have seen this in my own life lately. While my church friends are great, I have richer, greater, and in some cases, more “Christian” experiences with my non-church friends. I often see Christians that are sheltered and have very few experiences outside of the church, and I marvel at the experiences and people that they are missing out on. I know several people that are like this. They are so wrapped up in the church and church activities that I often wonder about how full their life really is. Don’t misread what I am saying here at all. I think it is great to be active in church activities. I am very active in church activities myself. I direct camps, serve on the Regional Youth Committee, and many other activities which I love and am very passionate doing. However, I also have many other non-church activities that I am involved in as well. I think “having a life outside of church” is what makes me even better in my church activities. Spending time watching tv, listening to secular music, going to movies, hanging out at various places, etc., etc., these are all things that then spill over into my Christian life on a regular basis. One concrete example of this is how I used my love for Superman to create my camp theme for this past summer, The Gospel According to Superman. From the feedback I have received about my camp theme, it has affected many, campers and staff alike.

The seminar speaker then revisited the question: What makes you fully alive? If I had to answer that question today, it would be several things:
1. The kids. The kids are a huge part of my life. I love every minute with them. I can’t even imagine my life now without them. It’s great to have that unconditional love that they give. Last night was a great example of this. When I got to the Kurmann household, Clayton, my 3-year-old, had fallen asleep on the couch. When he woke up, his parents had both left for the evening. He was a little upset at first, because Mommy wasn’t there, but when he realized that his Randa was there, he curled up on my lap, laid his head on my chest and ended up falling back asleep on me. The love and trust there is incredible to me.
2. Camp. Yes, it’s a church activity. I have always loved camp at LSBC. My friends on the Regional Youth Committee always tease me about how even now, in November, I already have a camp theme picked out for next summer. In addition to my one week of jr. high camp, I am now co-directing a worship camp with Mr. Robert Reynolds, leading a jr. high weekend camp in September and a college-age camp in May. Camp is one of my greatest passions in life.
3. Movies and television. Yes, there are a lot of people out there that are “above” watching tv. They are too busy, or “have better things to do than watch some mindless television show”. For me, however, it’s a way to unwind at the end of the day, a way to escape the issues and problems that I struggle with on a daily basis. There’s nothing that I like better on a lazy afternoon than popping in a tv series on dvd and just getting away from the world for a while. If that makes me a bad person because I like losing myself in a good movie, then so be it.
4. Writing. I love to write. I don’t do much creative writing anymore it seems, but I love when I can. I love journalistic writing as well, sometimes even more so than creative writing.


What makes you fully human? What is your Rhythm of Life?