You can listen to both messages online (embedded below) plus even more messages by me, other staff, and our student leaders on the FSU Navigators Podcast.

When to Say What?

I wanted to teach a message series so badly because I wanted a new challenge. Before this I’d taught at Nav Night twelve times and led workshops at conferences and retreats four times, but never before had I ever taught consecutive weeks or a series of any kind. If I’m going to grow as a teacher I need to stretch myself from time to time.

My first challenge was to determine what I wanted the focus for each week to be. But in order to do that I needed to figure out how best to divide the source material I had to work with. And even that meant I needed to decide what was worth keeping in the mix and what wasn’t. But how could I tell the difference if I didn’t first know what the focus for each week was going to be? I might sound like I’m just trying to be funny but I really did manage to think myself into a circle more often than I want to admit.

I finally decided to leverage the fact that I had two weeks to work with. The first week I chose to give a straightforward biblical definition on the subject. Week two I built on that foundation by looking at a specific Old Testament example.

Too Good to Resist

There were all sorts of passages in the Old Testament I could have chosen to focus on in the second message, but I just had to teach Haggai. Call it the Holy Spirit, call it my never-ending desire to do the unexpected; I couldn’t say no. It was a perfect fit too. Not only does the book address a very real issue our culture is caught in today but it’s a short, relatively self-contained book. My fear in choosing a book like Jeremiah, pulling one selection here and another there, was that I’d spend half my time filling in the narrative hoping each student was able to keep up. But once you set up a little bit of the history behind Haggai it’s actually pretty easy to follow from there.

Sources

One of my primary sources was my journals. I went back through them–literally hundreds of pages–and found when I’d been most impacted by what I’d read that day about idolatry. What I found to be important at the time I tried to use as a guide for what I’d make important in these messages.

Bob Thune’s article, Every Sin is Idolatry, was very helpful. Thune directed my attention to the need for discussions about a person’s idols to take place within the context of our discipleship relationships. Since discipleship is what the Navigators major in I thought it was a necessary point to raise. He also quite succinctly put that when pride is your idol you’ve made yourself your own god, which I used as a summary thesis statement for the second message.

I used the article Suffering Does Not Rob You Of Joy—Idolatry Does by Tullian Tchividjian to shape out a major point of emphasis in the first message. He uses Job 1-2 to prove that when you have your identity rooted in something other than your stuff you’re able to react to suffering and loss in a God-honoring way, that any other kind of reaction likely points to an idol in your life. This is also where I stumbled across the quote by Paul Tripp that I used at the end of that talk. “How is your present disappointment, discouragement, or grief a window on what has actually captured your heart?” I found it oddly convenient to come across an appropriate quote from Tripp since he’d spoken at a marriage conference in town just six weeks prior that many of our students and staff had attended.

The introductory challenge from my message on Haggai was adapted from a similar challenge Francis Chan gave in a message of his I watched a while back. It really resonated with me, especially since I’d been getting the kind of feedback he was describing. Often I wonder if anyone, myself included, really applies much of what we hear in a message we deem “great,” “convicting” or whatever other superlative we assign it. I really do hope someone comes to me later in the semester and tells me how they applied something I taught in one of these talks.

To get a strong foundational understand of the history leading up to and during the time of Haggai I read the appropriate volume of Holman’s Old Testament Commentary.

Last, the comparison between Luke 14:26 and the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet was lifted from a talk given by Donald Miller entitled Your Story and the Gospel of Jesus. He wasn’t making exactly the same point I was, but the allegory worked for both of us.

Obscure Reference

You can’t hear it very well in the recording, but approximately eight minutes into the second message I make the following statements, as if having a conversation with myself.

“Haggai? Who reads Haggai?!”
“Christians do.”

This was inspired by a tweet I’d read last spring by Erik Braun, pastor of Four Oaks Community Church.

At LifeWay- buying a book on Minor Prophets. Cashier: ‘Obadiah. Who reads Obadiah?’ Me: ‘Christians!’ gotta love them Evangelyfish zombies.

— Erik Braun (@erikbraun) May 21, 2011

What I’ll Remember

The reason this subject seemed to jump off the pages of my Bible as I read through the Old Testament last year is because God was revealing some serious idols in my life. Like I said toward the end of the first talk, idolatry is a love story. And when your lover breaks your heart it can be very difficult to get over. It was both cathartic and haunting to go back through my old journals. The man I saw in those pages was someone I didn’t recognize, full of confusion and bitterness and pain. God has brought me a long way. I’ve closed the book on some of those issues, others are still hounding me. It’s my sincere hope that something–anything–I said in these two messages helped prevent even just one person from going through what I did.

An unbelievably strong sense of dread came over me before the start of my second talk. It was all I could do not to come apart at the seams. I paced up and down the second floor of HCB all the way up through the middle of the last praise song before I started teaching. I always get a little nervous before something like this but this wasn’t nerves. I’ve never had that strong a sense of oppression leading up to teaching before.

Lots of friends who either were never Navs or who haven’t been active in a Nav ministry in years came out to support me. It was great having my newest roommate Peter in attendance at the second talk, both because he’s so busy as a film student and because I got to share one of my passions with him for the first time. To all of you who took time out of your busy lives to cheer me on you have my deepest gratitude. You humble me with your presence.

Feedback

If you were at Nav Night when I gave these messages (or if you listen to the first and second talks online) and would like to give feedback or ask questions you can do so in the comment section below.

This post is part of my ongoing post series, Nav Night Messages. In these posts I highlight the content and writing process of the messages I teach for The Navigators at Florida State University.

Nav Night Message Series on Idolatry was originally published on Andrew Ledwith's blog.
© 2004-2011 Andrew Ledwith. All rights reserved.

Links from this episode:

• Part one of the message series will be online soon. I’ll update this post with the link once it is.
• The FSU Navigators Podcast is pretty sweet. Messages and testimonies from staff, students, and guest speakers. It has a Facebook page too.
• Recordings of several of my Nav Night messages are available online if you’re interested.
• Shaun and Sara are the reason so many people missed my first talk. Congratulations to the happy couple, who got married this past Saturday!

The Sequel was originally published on Andrew Ledwith's blog.
© 2004-2011 Andrew Ledwith. All rights reserved.

Links from this episode:

• You should eat at the Crepevine too.
• I’m teaching this week and next for the FSU Navigators campus ministry.
• In a podcast episode last summer I detailed all I had to do for my property management gig.
• Here’s Psalm 15. Also, here’s the passage my pastor taught on this past Sunday which brought up that verse in Psalm 15.

Non-Negotiables was originally published on Andrew Ledwith's blog.
© 2004-2011 Andrew Ledwith. All rights reserved.

On the night of Novemeber 12 I received the following two pictures from my old roommate Tyler.

Apparently someone thought it would be fun to take batting practice using their mailbox. I meant to share these photos right when I got home from Kentucky but it slipped my mind.

When I came home the tenants—Sara, Whitney, and Joy—told me they didn’t really need a replacement, that even though the thing looked terrible it still worked. But last week they asked for a replacement. So that’s how I spent my Saturday morning.

Not too shabby looking in my humble opinion. Thus ends my latest monotonous adventure as a property manager.

You’ve Got Mailbox was originally published on Andrew Ledwith's blog.
© 2004-2011 Andrew Ledwith. All rights reserved.

Ironically enough Chris Rice’s record label is Eb+Flo Records.

Links from this episode:

• Listen to One of Those Days on Grooveshark.
• Here’s the article I was reading with the Elizabeth Elliot quote.

The Ebb and Flow of Faith was originally published on Andrew Ledwith's blog.
© 2004-2011 Andrew Ledwith. All rights reserved.

I love to blog because I love to write. Essay or tweet, notepad or napkin, hidden in a journal or for all the world to see; it doesn’t matter. And I want to do whatever I can to become a better writer. Consistency will go a long way but I don’t believe it’s enough simply to hammer out some words and hit publish. So to that end I’ve made a few blogging goals for the year ahead.

Divide and Conquer

Up until now I’ve always had one website, one destination for all my creations. This year that will change.

• I will continue to blog at jaledwith.com. This is where I’ll publish anything of a personal nature, namely my life, ministry, opinions, and beliefs.
• I plan to launch a web column that’s exclusively about technology and web development. This new website will go live sometime in February. I haven’t decided on a name for it yet but I have several finalists to choose from.
• I might move my podcast to its own website. (If I do I’ll still publish a new post to jaledwith.com directing visitors to each new episode.)
• I will create a one-page website at andrewledwith.net that will serve as a launching pad to all these different properties. (I don’t own andrewledwith.com but, frankly, that’s inconsequential.)

These decisions are all attempts to gain a wider audience. The posts on my blog that garner the most traffic are the ones about technology, but I have very few subscribers because a relatively small number of my posts are about technology. By the same token, I doubt very many people who know me in the real world care that much about my tech posts. This new strategy will mean I’ll have to give more time to website maintenance, but I’m pretty good at that sort of thing.

Content Galore

• I’d like to post twice each week to my personal blog. I’m not including the podcast in this total. I’m off to a poor start as this is my first post of 2012. Getting more specific, I want to write more essays on my faith. I believe its these posts that will stretch me as a writer more than any other.
• Ideally I’d like to share something on my tech web column five days each week. I wouldn’t write a full-on essay for each post. Many of these “posts” would be links I’ve found that I think are worth my readers’ time, similar to a tumblelog ala Tumblr but more minimalistic. For examples of this format check out Shawn Blanc, The Brooks Review, Daring Fireball, and Marco Arment.
• I’ll publish a new podcast episode each Monday. Well, each Monday I actually remember that I have a podcast that needs a new episode.
• I’m going to try to find one guest blogger each month for my personal blog, more if I find myself out of town for an extended period again. I really liked the four guest posts published on my blog late last year and would like to continue that practice if at all possible. I don’t plan on adding any guest posts on my tech web column but I’d be open to interviewing someone should the opportunity present itself. I might even dialogue with someone on the Monday Monologue.

Dressed to Impress

• I don’t plan to change the look of my personal blog. No doubt I’ll make subtle changes here and there but for the most part things will remain the same.
• I have no idea what the tech web column will look like. I know it will be built on Standard Theme 3.0 which will be released later this month. I’m going to start writing while that theme still has its out-of-the-box look. I’ll give it a custom style as I have the time and inspiration to do so.
• I have some ideas for the andrewledwith.net landing page but nothing concrete. I won’t launch it until I have something really slick. (At the moment that address simply forwards you to jaledwith.com.)

Miscellaneous

• I want more Twitter followers. Hopefully creating more original content will reel them in.
• Along those same lines, I want at least 100 RSS subscribers to my personal blog.
• Fewer typos. Ugh.

That’s what I can think of. I hope you enjoy the fruit of these aspirations. I know I will. This is going to be a good year.

Blogging Goals for 2012 was originally published on Andrew Ledwith's blog.
© 2004-2011 Andrew Ledwith. All rights reserved.

I love the cohesiveness of this mix. Tracks one and twelve form bookends, a kind of point and counter-point that frame three narratives. Tracks two through four depict the rise and fall of unrequited affection. Tracks five through nine all have something to say about heaven. Tracks ten and eleven are about regaining perspective.

1. Blood Pressure by Mutemath from Odd Soul — iTunes | AmazonMP3 — I’d never gotten into Mutemath before but I heard so many good things about this album and decided to get them a chance. If you like ’70s music of Deep Purple’s ilk I think you’d be into this record. I chose this track it because it’s all about that incessant feeling that you always need to do more, that no matter how much you’ve done it just isn’t enough. Given the year I’ve had this is exactly the place this album needs to start.

Don’t worry I
Will help you out on one condition
Be more, do more
Check your blood pressure

2. Wanted by Andrew Osenga from Letters to the Editor, Vol. 1 — AmazonMP3 | NoiseTrade — I continue to listen to this EP all the time. Andrew Osenga has released a lot of new material since this, and while those records are good I think these six tracks are still his best work in my opinion. All twelve songs on the two Letters EPs were inspired by ideas submitted by his fans. His NoiseTrade sampler spans his entire career, so check it out if you’re not familiar with him. This song is quite unique. I love how well he paints the contrasting pictures of contentment and insecurity in each verse, yet the same chorus accompanies each of them perfectly.

And if you say that you want me too
I’ll believe you to follow through
All I want is to be wanted by you

3. Curse the Love Songs by The Hawk in Paris from His+Hers EP — iTunes | AmazonMP3 | NoiseTrade — The Hawk in Paris is by far my favorite new band of 2011. Okay, so they had a giant head start; their lead singer is Dan Haseltine, a guy who heads up this other band I like. Their sound is a modern take on ’80s synthpop, a style that’s grown on me in recent years. I can’t wait for their full album to come out this year. All seven songs on the EP are about love, but I wouldn’t call them love songs per se. Case in point: my selection.

Have you ever stood out in the rain
Watched love grow cold and roll away
And in your heart feel the the weight that things will never change
You’re not alone

4. Homesick by Radical Face from Ghost — iTunes | AmazonMP3 — This is my “Oh yeah, I forgot I even had this album” entry. Thank goodness for iTunes shuffle. Too few bands write songs with an entire album in mind. In an iTunes Store world it’s got to be frustrating for such artists, knowing that lots of listeners are content to hear only one “chapter” instead of the complete story. I respect Radical Face for not letting that reality deter them from creating a hauntingly beautiful record. (Actually, it’s a bit hypocritical of me to only give you one chapter, isn’t it?) This is the final song on Ghost. Our protagonist finds himself in a situation that while not unusual for him is still painful and, in this case, oddly difficult to shake.

But even though I am lost all the time
I’ve got hooks in my sides that you left there

5. Love Reclaims the Atmosphere by Burlap to Cashmere from Burlap to Cashmere — iTunes | AmazonMP3 — I’m pretty harsh critic of anyone who appears to be looking to capture a present-day Simon & Garfunkel sound. These guys have nailed it. The band isn’t new; they were around in the 90s, broke up, then got back together this year with a reinvented sound. When I first heard the song I’ve selected in a YouTube video, released long before the rest of the album, I think I hit repeat from roughly an hour. This gentle song illuminates with subtlety the transition from life to death.

I used to be a solider but a painter I became
I used to walk on water but now I fan the flame

6. Argue with Heaven by David Ramirez from Strangetown — iTunes | AmazonMP3 | NoiseTrade — I only just started listening to David Ramirez in December but he’s already made a big impression. (Thanks to my friend Patrick for the recommendation.) His Strangetown EP is tremendous. I really could have gone with any song on it. But there’s an especially heart-breaking beauty to this one. Someone he deeply cares about is about to pass on and here he is, making promises to his love while openly questioning his beliefs in the face of what’s happening.

I’m gonna breathe deep and love strong
Hold on forever
I’m gonna live long and die young
And argue with the gates of heaven
You’re gonna see
Because I’m gonna show you

7. Heaven Song by Phil Wickham from Heaven & Earth — iTunes | AmazonMP3 — My friend Victoria introduced me to this song over the summer. This album is pretty dang good. I guess my surprise stems from the fact that most Christian music today sounds the same. A few artists set the pace and everyone else copies. I don’t think Phil Wickham falls in either camp. He reminds me a little of Shawn MacDonald in that sense. I think what I like most about this song is that he’s not just talking about heaven and what it’ll be like. He undeniably cannot wait to get there.

I hear Your voice and I catch my breath
“Well done my child, enter in and rest”
Tears of joy run down my cheek
It’s beautiful beyond my wildest dreams

8. O Love that Will Not Let Me Go by Chris Rice from Peace Like a River: The Hymns Project — iTunes | AmazonMP3 — There was a two or three month period this year when all I listened to in my car were hymns. My favorite such album by a long shot was this gem by Chris Rice. I can’t tell you just how much I love this hymn, especially this arrangement. Its original dull sound obscured incredible lyrics. Chris Rice keeps the original melody intact, speeds the whole thing up, and instead of an organ he fingerpicks his guitar. Can we please give this to every church everywhere and start singing it? Please? If you’ve not heard the before at all the song is sung as if by a Christian who is just about to die and all that’s taking place in the spiritual realm.

O light, that followest all my way
I yield my flickering torch to thee
My heart restores its borrowed ray
That in thy sunshine blaze as day
May brighter, fairer be

9. Afterlife by Switchfoot from Vice Verses — iTunes | AmazonMP3 — I’ll be honest; this album as a whole is not that great. I get the sense Switchfoot is just trying too hard, like they want each of their songs to change your life. That said, I do like the way this record kicks off. This song is a call to live both for this life and the next. This song harkens to John 10:10 in that the abundant life Jesus gives starts as you’re reborn, not when you reach heaven.

‘Cause every day the world is made
A chance to change, but I feel the same
And I wonder why would I wait till I die to come alive
I’m ready now, I’m not waiting for the afterlife

10. Speedway by Counting Crows from This Desert Life — iTunes | AmazonMP3 — I’m a pretty big fan of Counting Crows. I blame my old roommate Aaron. I happened upon this song again not long ago and thought it perfectly described how I felt leading up to my personal retreat to Middle-of-Nowhere, Kentucky. I can really relate to his frustration, that no one really gets just how badly he needs to get away.

I get so nervous I’m shaking
I get so I’ve got no pride at all
It get so bad, but I just keep coming back for more
I guess I just get off on that stuff
I’m thinking ’bout taking some time
I’m thinking ’bout leaving soon

11. The House of God, Forever by Jon Foreman from Summer EP — iTunes | AmazonMP3 — For those of you scoring at home, I’ve now managed to include one song from each of Jon Foreman’s four EPs named for the seasons. (I think they need to be retired from the selection process.) I know I just said that no one could relate to my need to escape. Well, I guess I found someone who could, who not only met me in the midst of having nothing left to give but who assured me he had everything I needed and that he hadn’t forgotten me. He is still the good shepherd, even “through the valley of death and dying.”

Your shepherd staff comforts me
You are my feast in the presence of enemies
Surely goodness will follow me, follow me
In the house of God forever

12. Scarlet by Jars of Clay from Reinvent, Remember, Replay — iTunes | AmazonMP3 — I said at the start that this song would provide a counterpoint to Blood Pressure which, among other things, echoed the self-condemning spirit that we have to do more and be more before we can get the help we so desperately need. Now, Scarlet tells us the truth. This acoustic re-imagining of a song off of The Eleventh Hour captures the truth of the Gospel as if sung by Jesus to all his followers. This song pulls you close, rocks you back and forth, and with a tender voice assures you that you’re safe now. I know I gush about this band a lot. Listen to the song and tell me I’m wrong.

If I was your love I would want only you
I’d lay at this alter, give all I am, all that is true
For love I have scaled the face of these kingdom walls
So let down your hair, let our kiss make fools of them all
And this old scarlet letter won’t keep me from holding you
There is nothing you can do, nothing you do

That’s my soundtrack! You can listen to it for free right now by heading over to this YouTube playlist. It has all twelve songs although two of them–Wanted and Scarlet–I could only find live versions and not the studio recordings. Thanks for checking this out. Let me know what you think.

This post is part of my ongoing post series, My Annual Soundtracks. At the end of each year I highlight the songs that influenced and impacted me the most over the past twelve months.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: Affiliate Marketing Links http://cmp.ly/5

My Soundtrack for 2011 was originally published on Andrew Ledwith's blog.
© 2004-2011 Andrew Ledwith. All rights reserved.

Anyway, on with the show. Some of these tweets need to be grouped together for the full effect and will be grouped together thusly.

Kickstarter idea: I'll travel the globe for a year to review the best coffee shops and writing environments. Backers get postcards.

2/10/11 10:00 am via Twitter for MacReplyRetweetFavorite

@shawnblanc

Shawn Blanc

Great idea! This sounds like one of those shows you see on Discovery Channel. But doing this as an independent blogger? That’d be wicked awesome.

It's not often that we encourage you to stop using one of our products, but for #IE6, we'll make an exception: http://bit.ly/g0wt4m

3/4/11 2:24 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@Microsoft

Microsoft

Thank you, Microsoft, for finally saying what every geek has been saying for roughly ten years.

Your mobile phone has more computing power than all of NASA in 1969. NASA launched a man to the moon. We launch a bird into pigs.

3/22/11 5:12 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@GeorgeBray

George Bray

I wish my phone could get me to the moon.

Theological Discussion

Earlier this year I had an intense theological discussion on Twitter with several friends.

@jaledwith did a great job tonight! Depth in the Word, vulnerability, stories, and humor. Thankful for humble, faithful brother like him!

4/5/11 10:02 pm via Silver BirdReplyRetweetFavorite

@ljskeen

Luke Skeen

Luke tweeted these kind words after I gave a message on identity in Christ at Nav Night. I respect Luke a lot. This meant a lot to me.

Ugh, my dryer is broken and I have wet clothes. Gotta call my stupid landlord. Wait a minute. I am the stupid landlord! Bah! #fail

4/13/11 7:35 pm via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@jaledwith

Andrew Ledwith

Being a property manager has been one of the most challenging and trying responsibilities I’ve ever had. If I can’t laugh about it I’d probably cry.

@VDOOZER Never understood why the Sesame Street Scrubs episode didn't have a gag about the intern Sunny Dey sweeping the clouds away.

5/13/11 8:08 pm via Tweetbot for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@jaledwith

Andrew Ledwith

@jaledwith Get my time machine...

5/13/11 11:44 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@VDOOZER

Bill Lawrence

One night I just happened to stumble across Scrubs executive producer Bill Lawrence taking questions and comments about his hospital dramedy. I just felt like tossing in my two cents. His response made me smile.

There will always be something to write about.

5/16/11 9:28 am via Twitter for MacReplyRetweetFavorite

@shawnblanc

Shawn Blanc

Most of the time it feels to me like there’s too much to write about.

SHARE TO UNLOCK ADDITIONAL STACHES!!

6/15/11 6:27 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@SMoriak

Scott Moriak

So, my friend Scott and I were innocently watching TV one day when Geico ran a ridiculous commercial all about their BroStache iPhone app. And it assured us that if we shared the app with our friends we’d–you guessed it–unlock additional ‘staches. Scott found this news to be caps lock worthy.

@jaledwith met your friend Luke today at Sojourn. he talked highly of you.

7/14/11 2:12 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@BenTerry

Ben Terry

This is incredible. I started reading Ben Terry’s blog over a year ago when its design was featured on another blog I read. I commented on his posts a couple times, started interacting with him on Twitter, and recommended his content to friends. Then, out of the blue, Ben meets the aforementioned Luke Skeen in Louisville after Luke moved there this summer. And, even more amazing, my name somehow came up. Crazy, right?

It seems like every time I go outside in my underwear my neighbor is standing there.

7/21/11 5:55 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@tylersununu

Tyler Sununu

Tyler is terrible, so bad things are bound to happen to him, but even I have to admit this is unusually bad luck.

I'm engaged to @Saradeleonpop!!!

7/21/11 6:04 pm via Twitter for BlackBerry®ReplyRetweetFavorite

@scdvs

SD

I am now engaged to the one, the only @scdvs !!! :)

7/21/11 10:06 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@Saradeleonpop

Sara deLeon

Hurray friends!

@jaledwith It's only a matter of time before somebody auto-tunes your podcast.

8/1/11 7:58 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@realbryanzhang

Bryan Zhang

Oh please, let it be soon.

@jaledwith knows more about women than I thought. #lawnmower

8/6/11 12:38 pm via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@tylersununu

Tyler Sununu

I’m not sure I want to explain this one.

Wherever two or three are gathered... Rob Schergen is "down".

8/31/11 5:32 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@SammiFeliciani

Sammi Feliciani

This is an oft-quoted tweet in my house. Rob is that guy who always has plans he wants to invite a big group of people to be a part of. His invitation texts always end with “let me know if you’re down.” Even now this makes me laugh.

Traveling with @jaledwith, we've determined that urological centers should never advertise "1/2 off."

9/28/11 12:06 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@ricobert1

rob hodges

It’s typical for my conversations with Rob to produce something absurd and/or quotable.

A link to a blog post I wrote was included in an email sent to staff of @TheNavigators all over the U.S. I've officially hit the big time.

10/27/11 8:29 am via Tweetbot for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@jaledwith

Andrew Ledwith

@jaledwith Actually, the email went internationally :)

10/27/11 8:44 am via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@rjsnavs

RJS Navs

When I was first told that my Geek Survival Guide to the Navigators National Conference was going to be sent out to other staff I was under the impression it’d be sent to stateside collegiate staff only. Not so much. All staff, all missions. It’s embarrassing, to be honest. When I was at said conference I had two staff who’d read my post, who I’d never met in real life, tell me they were big fans. Seriously.

@jaledwith so i got invited to sing with jars tonight. there was a loud voice in my head going "if you say no andrew might kick you."

12/8/11 11:40 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@shelterwithfire

Samantha Anne

Sam is my sister’s best friend. Jars of Clay is my favorite band. And yes, I would have.

So @jaledwith just walked in like a g and snatched a gift out of turn at this gift exchange... #wannabelikeandrew

12/10/11 7:33 pm via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@drmax89

Domonique R

Never before in my life had I ever “made an entrance.” I pwned this entrance.

My Favorite Tweets from 2011 was originally published on Andrew Ledwith's blog.
© 2004-2011 Andrew Ledwith. All rights reserved.

Back in November of this year was The Navigators National Conference. I attended and got to see some amazing speakers during the plenary sessions. I’d like to share videos of those sessions with you.

Plenary Sessions

Plenary 1 – Thursday Evening
Plenary 2 – Friday Morning – includes a message by Doug Nuenke
Plenary 3 – Friday Evening – includes a message by Ruth Haley Barton of the Transforming Center
Plenary 4 – Saturday Morning – includes a message by Gary Haugen of the International Justice Mission
Plenary 5 – Saturday Evening – includes a message by Eddie Broussard
Plenary 6 – Sunday Morning – includes a message by Mutua Mahiaini

Bonus

My friend Jeremy “Vessel” Holmes gave a performance during the conference. I met Jeremy during my funding training in 2007 and worked with him on the spring break trip to Chicago the FSU Navigators took in 2008. The song is about fund-raising and it’s wicked awesome. If you like it you can download an MP3 of the song.

More Videos

There are a few more videos available on the conference website. The RSS feed and iTunes link are a little wonky so I won’t add links to them. If they start acting as they should I’ll add them later.

Videos from The Navigators National Conference 2011 was originally published on Andrew Ledwith's blog.
© 2004-2011 Andrew Ledwith. All rights reserved.

I think I ought to clarify the final spoiler. Each December I begin to evaluate whether I should stay on staff with the Navs in the upcoming fall semester and, if the answer is yes, how I can best serve the ministry. I’ve started that process for fall 2012. There’s a good chance I won’t make a decision until after I’ve given these talks.

Links from this episode:

• The campus ministry in question is The Navigators at Florida State University.
• If you want you can learn about what I do with the ministry.

Spoiler Alert: Topic of my Message Series was originally published on Andrew Ledwith's blog.
© 2004-2011 Andrew Ledwith. All rights reserved.