A few weeks ago, we crossed the 300 post line. I am not sure if that is significant, but I did realize something important. The reason I still really enjoy doing this is because of you, the readers. I know that long, fake, sugary thank you messages are a dime a dozen and that is not my intent, so I will do my best to keep this short and honest.
You submit the best ideas ("breaking up after a retreat" and the "side hug" for instance)
You transform simple posts into conversations with your comments.
You are the reason this site stays fresh and interesting.
You challenge me to write better, think differently and love more.
You tell friends about the site and forward the site and link to the site and share the whole experience with a kindness and generosity I did not expect and do not deserve.
I could go on but the sentiment would not change whether I wrote 10 words or 10 million. Thank you. Thank you for everything you've done for this site. I am wowed by you on a daily basis and for that I am grateful.
And now a July sneak preview.
July is going to be a bit ridiculous. Tomorrow, I am posting "Making Purple," an SCL twist on the idea of when boys (blue) and girls (pink) try to sneak off from youth group or camp to make out.
I spoke with Kevin Max from DC Talk today. We talked about art and creativity and sex and why I have a hard time letting his band go. He was incredibly transparent and fascinating. In July I will put up a post about DC Talk and also the written version of the interview with Kevin.
In the next few weeks I am doing a post called "The Token" with an African American minister I love from Atlanta. I hope it will not be "fake controversial" but will instead spark some real dialog.
And on top of that, there will be dozens and dozens of hopefully silly posts.
This site is as good as you are. Thanks for being so great
Jon
Thank YOU!!!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your site. Thanks for the laughs. As one who is and has always been steeped in Christian culture I relate to most of it well. The prayer circle one was the best I think. So classic.
ReplyDeleteI am very interested in your interview with Kevin Max. I personally think he is the greatest singer on the face of the planet. No joke.
z
Well, we just think you're fabulous, plain and simple. I know you've brightened more than a few of my days!
ReplyDeleteBig Side Hug!
:)
My husband and I have been reading for awhile...thanks for the amusement! I can't wait to read about "Making Purple" -- we used to call it that when I was a camp counselor at a wanna-be-Christian camp (the owners were Christians but the camp was not a Christian Camp). We were told to be on "purple patrol" during the camp dance night. A few of the guys were really into this job and wore purple shirts for the occasion. Oddly enough, my husband and I met at this camp...we never snuck away to make purple though. We didn't start dating until after the summer, honest!
ReplyDeleteAnd I never commented, but way back when you posted about powerpointing for the Lord, I meant to mention that my parents' church has a team of powerpointers/sound technicians that call themselves Geeks for God. Keep the fun posts coming!
I wanted to tell you some funny camp stories you will probably enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI grew up going to camp and have experienced all the classic camp things. Gross-Out Games, Cabin rivalries, bad food, canteen time.
When I was in college I worked as a camp counselor. One of my favorite things was the "rules talk" we always gave at the beginning of the week. One of the best parts was describing the kinds of hugs that were permissable. Of course we had the side hug, but we also had a few others. (By the way, our side hugs had a shelf life of 3 seconds, which had to be clearly counted outloud.)
The A-Frame hug, bending from the hips so that only shoulders were near one another.
The Backpack hug, each person with a backpack on their fronts, hugging around them.
Along these same lines, The Tree hug, hugging someone around a tree or large pole.
And my all time favorite, The H-Hug! This one takes some mad balancing skills. Each person extends one leg toward the other and holds on to the leg of the other person, creating an H with their bodies. (This one was always fun to demonstrate at the rules meeting.)
I tried to create my own hug, but it never caught on. I suggested the "clothes line hug." With one arm extended out to your side, approach the other rapidly, clothes lining your friend. I still don't know why people wouldn't do it.
we love you, jon! you make our day as much as we seem to make yours. aww . . . who are we kidding? for many of us, you've made our BLOG YEAR.
ReplyDeleteand i agree . . . the conversations that come out of these posts are truly cool.
Making purple! How cuuuute! I forgot about that. You have a cool job. I might be looking for a choir ministry job. Wow--I'll bet we have alot in common IRL! That's cool. I added you to my blogroll! I hope you visit mine sometime. :)
ReplyDeleteJon, you're my hero.
ReplyDeleteAt camp, "praying in the woods" was code for making out.
(to be read with background music of “Friends are Friends Forever” in midi)
ReplyDeleteI started reading scl early on and have been a scl evangelist from the beginning…
I mention you in my blogs (linked of course), I mention you in everyday conversation...
The biggest difference about this blog is:
1) you are VERY funny, honest and insightful
2) the COMMUNITY that has organically risen here is amazing! You all just as funny and real in the comment section.
This weekend even, some of my bff’s were chatting at a retreat and we were talking about who we’d like to meet in person…\o/ to “katdish” and “Stacy from Louisville”
<3 Here’s throwing skittles at all of you!
We are all pretty awesome, aren't we? And by "we" I mean "me".
ReplyDeleteJoking, of course! I think the posts and comments work together to form a never-ending circle of awesome. Like the circle of life, but with less bloodshed.
(Wow, I think I've had too much coffee this morning. Again. I really need to work on that.)
Pentecostals call it "kissing in tongues".
ReplyDeleteTom
Hi Jon,
ReplyDeleteI found your site from a post at First Things and I've enjoyed every single post since then. As a former Episcopalian and now Roman Catholic I don't have the advantage of an evangelical experience to help me relate personally to things like VBS, but I love having a window into that culture ... a very funny window at that. I'm also reading the Bible along with you at your other site (97secondswithgod)and can't thank you enough for providing me with that little extra push to get more serious about daily Bible reading. Thank you for your silent ministry of words -- great things are happening in my life as a result.
Dude, I'm all over the token post. Being the token Black kid at Christian camp is practically my life story.
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed the site and definitely laughed out loud! My only comment would be that the newer posts seem to be getting a lot longer, which makes it harder to read them all. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYou totally rock...............this blog rocks.......... the commenters are funny and cool and I'd love to meet everyone sometime! Imagine all of us at camp! (scary!)
ReplyDeleteI too bring SCL up in regular everyday conversation! And if I say something especially funny or insightful, my family now says....did you get that from SCL? haha!
thanks for the time you put into this, and for making us laugh at ourselves!
Heya Jon.... where is the KMax interview?
ReplyDeletePlease?