What is going on here?

I originally wrote this for my ministry letter, but decided not to send it. It a great basic summary of what has gone on. A sad summary.

As I go into a local Project Graduation Stuffing Party, looking over my shoulder, hiding behind columns and ducking into bathrooms – if necessary. My friend texts me: The coast is clear. I dash into the meeting, sit beside her and put labels on the envelopes and keep my head down.

Someone asks me what school clubs I am working with and I am afraid to answer, for fear he will tell other youth pastors and that they will eliminate from this as well.

I deliver 60 pieces of Starbucks pastries to a club and when I sign in, I look at who else has signed in, I realizing I am once again at risk for a confrontation at a school, during a club.

How did I get here? When did simple ministry of snacks and club support become a game of espionage? What is going on here? My whole world of ministry has been turned upside down.

Basically, my story is this. A local youth pastor – my supervisor calls him "Skippy" decided that he was going to take over everything I'm doing and run me out of town. He decided that I had the most powerful position in town. I laugh hilariously as I write this. I have nothing. I am nothing. I just tried to get churches and youth pastors to work together.

He held secret youth pastor meetings and secret Baccalaureate meetings. He spoke well of me in public and threaten me in private. He has a business background.

In part because of my fear and in part because I really wanted to work together, I gave him the leadership of the Pearland Youth Ministry Alliance, which I had coordinated and organized for about 20 years. He never included me in the official email list and within 3 months, he was not inviting me to meetings at all. When I started another network (after being excluded for 6 months) and included all youth ministry people, he screamed and complained about how divisive I was.

When we finally got everyone (the working Baccalaureate Committee and the secret meeting people) together working on Baccalaureate, Skippy was absent half and time and divisive when he was present.

James, my supervisor told me: Skippy isn't going to rest until he has leadership of Baccalaureate. I continued, organizing Baccalaureate monthly meetings all summer and all fall to help us be a team, believing that this was the best we could do for Baccalaureate, the community, the students and our team: that we needed time to become a team and share a vision.

During all this, I am steady finding clubs, developing club leadership and delivering day old Starbucks to clubs. At this point, I was deliver snacks and involved with 4 different clubs, which represented about 200 students each week.

In October, "Dora" my club ministry partner (whose main interests was getting snacks for clubs from local businesses) decided she was no longer with Cross in the City. I was communicating with her to help her determine what God was calling her to do and what our new relationship would be, when she involved her pastor. At that point, she would not longer talk to me unless my supervisor, James and her pastor were present. Her pastor decided that she had started the snack program, so she should take all the clubs. Because I did so much more than snacks, I could see that this was going to be a real loss for the clubs, the sponsors and the students.

James and I were trying to work out a time to meet with Dora and her pastor. That's when it happened. Skippy contacted Dora's pastor. James and I were called to a meeting on December 7 with Dora, Skippy and their respective pastors. The assumption was that the meeting would be about the club issues, but no one really knew and there was a broad spectrum of issues that could be involved.

I had a great team going into the meeting. I took six people with me. They asked extremely insightful questions and gave me valuable feedback. From what I could tell the main message was that the pastors wanted Baccalaureate back and they wanted Skippy to be in charge.

Frankly, they were ready to close in prayer and none of the club stuff with Dora had been addressed. It was immediately put under the care of Skippy. Then we closed in prayer. As Skippy was leaving, he hugged me and told me that he was "sorry he harbored hatred in his heart for me."

I got valuable feedback from my team. Most importantly, that I hadn't done anything wrong and that I didn't deserve the kind attack or treatment I had been subject to that night. The strong suggestion from the ministry professionals in the group was: Shake the dust from your feet.

After this meeting, James told me that Skippy would not rest until he had everything I was doing.

Within 3 weeks, Skippy and Dora were partners in the club thing and taking over one club. The PYMA became the Pearland Student Pastors Alliance and was only open to student pastors from churches. The PSPA had put themselves in charge of all PISD JH and HS clubs, Baccalaureate and See you at the Pole. Basically, my mission statement: I wish I'd had more vision to give them.

If you would like to read more about the drama and terror and what it has meant, it is on my blog: dottiedch.blogspot.com. There are also great stories about the clubs and what great kids they are! It isn't all bad news!

At the sponsor's request, I am still involved with one club I worked with Dora on. I found another thru the students of another club. I have met with a group of students at another school to help them start a club – they are still waiting on principal approval to start. And I have found still another junior high club thru a tip from a club sponsor. And I help a club in Pasadena. So, I am still involved with four clubs and waiting for the 5^th to start. I'm almost back up to working with about 200 students a week. I know I am trying to use my time wisely, but I am aware that I am in transition and I think God is moving me on. I also realized that God can do a miracle in Pearland and keep me here. I am praying for clear guidance and direction.

Because I believe the God who called me is faithful, I am believing that in the mist of such vicious hatred and exclusion, that God is good and He has my next position of service ready for me. In that belief, I am being ordained. I have never had my call to ministry publically recognized. January 18, 2011, I observed 30 years in ministry. It probably is important that I note that I do not feel called to be a pastor, I still feel called to student ministry in the community.

Affirming My Call

Celebrating 30 years in ministry

Saturday, March 5, 2011 2 pm

1320 Scott Pasadena, TX 77506

Worship Service and Ordination followed by a reception.

Please bring a finger food to share. Coffee and Tea will be provided.

Of course, Skippy and Dora are false names to conceal their identities.

Celebrating Baccalaureate – with the Baccalaureate team

When things end badly, sometimes you forget what you did well. And as a leadership team, we did a lot of things right. This past Saturday night, the Baccalaureate Leadership Team sat down and celebrated! This is what we celebrated!

What are we celebrating tonight?

We did 13 (2 in 2010) great Baccalaureate services that impacted the lives and families of about 1000+ students. (Our lowest attendance was 65 (2009) and our highest was 143.)

We started with a mundane, run of the mill Baccalaureate – Remember the pastors sat across the stage, the speaker was a noted dignitary, but not always student friendly, the program listed the churches and the senior pastors and the graduates' names in micro type.

Each year we fine tuned the service adding power point, worship, student testimonies, student led prayer, a prayer team.

We did a unique service for each graduating class, searching for unique students that had gifts that we could utilize in the Baccalaureate service, often without any input from students!

We involved at least 22 different churches and organizations in Baccalaureate. There are 21 on the reverse and I can come up with at least 2 more.

We added a reception in 2000 and gifts to the graduates in 200?. We went to the t-shirts in 2004 and the logo in 2003

We negotiated the issues with the Pearland Ministerial Alliance and PISD amazingly well.

We developed a priority for making decisions based on our values and what we thought was important to each class.

We came up with a committee structure that allow for all churches to be represented.

When faced with opposition from the youth pastors, we choose to work together and to be inclusive and inviting, adapting to their issues.

Thank you for your Faithful Service!

Celebrating Baccalaureate

I started chairing Baccalaureate in 1998 and I did my first service in 1999. I was appointed by the then president of the Pearland Ministerial Alliance. My first service was wonderful and after the service, no one wanted to go home. People stood in the commons and visited. The Graduates formed a huge "99" and the parents ran to the second floor to take pictures of it.

The next year (2000), I decided that we needed a reception – since people wanted to stand around and visit. Vicki Frame, a friend advised me on how this should happen. Provide the table clothes and use plastic so that they all match. Vicki took charge of the reception that year and she deserves all the credit for it. She did a great job

For 2001, someone asked me what my idea of a perfect Baccalaureate was and I said a reception and giving a gift to the graduates. We handed a graduation key fob to the graduates. It was our first year to have Dave Edwards speak and he did a wonderful job for many graduates and their siblings. I know this because when I play a video of the service or when I showed seniors his picture, many would say – he spoke at my brother's (or sister's) Baccalaureate – he's hilarious!

In 2002, we ask a local graphic and layout artist to design a logo for Baccalaureate. By this time, we realized that we needed a catch phrase to describe Baccalaureate. We came up with "The blessing of the graduates." John Gilmore was wonderful to work with and a blessing to Baccalaureate.

In 2003, we started passing out a t-shirts to the graduates as a gift for attending the service. John Gilmore also laid out our t-shirts and the programs.

2004 to 2005 were years of small changes and constant turmoil with the Pearland Ministerial Alliance. I felt a kinship and a responsibility to the PMA and they always seem to feel like I was acting independent of them. I felt they were family and they seem to regard me as an untrustworthy outsider. The attendance at their meeting was irregular and there were no minutes, so no one (but me) could keep up with the decisions regarding Baccalaureate.

In 2006, our relationship with the school radically changed. We received a list of "suggestions" from administration, including that the service be shortened to 1 hour or less. We were no longer allowed to pass out Baccalaureate information on Campus. We started anticipating our need for 2 services Pearland and Dawson in 2010. I was greeted with high fives at the end of the 2006 service – I had come in at 59 minutes and 23 seconds. I didn't know the service was being timed!

In 2008, Warrick Baker was our first local speaker. The PMA disbanded in November 2008, leaving me and Baccalaureate without an accountability group. I decided that Baccalaureate was important to continue. The Committee supported this decision.

Tom Allen was our speaker in 2009. Tom asked me why I was continuing Baccalaureate. I told him I figured I could either continue it or drop it. He looked at me and said: It's good that you are continuing it. PISD would never let it start again. Tom was a former school board member.

The lost of the PMA affected Baccalaureate deeply. There was no longer a central reporting to a group or time. The progress as far as the churches and attendance was dimensioning. It was difficult to get the word out. I continue to operate as I was accountable to the PMA and considered their input when we made decisions.

January 2010, I was bombarded by youth pastors who felt like I was excluding them from Baccalaureate! I felt like I was begging people to participate – what a strange turn of events. By February, their program, their speaker were all decided. The only thing that we didn't go with was t-shirts for the service - we stayed with cap & gown. By March, the youth pastors were ready to be done with Mike, Vicki and II – the experienced committee members. I had always worked in cooperation for Baccalaureate, but some of the team was now down right hostile. By the day of the services in May, I think they saw that Mike, Vicki and I brought something valuable to the table. I don't think any of them want to take charge of the reception, setting up the school or picking up the t-shirts or pass them out.

During December 2010, I sat down with a group of pastors, youth pastors and several others. The bottom line was the pastors wanted Baccalaureate back and they wanted the chief hostile youth pastor to be in charge of it. He graciously let me know that the youth pastors were eager for me to serve them and I was welcome to be involved. . .

This chapter in my life – and it was a huge chapter is now closed. I still think 13 Baccalaureates is worth celebrating.

I'm a Pioneer!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9VP32wdneU

I'm a Pioneer!

My dear friend, mentor and former boss, John Butler, sent me this song for my birthday. It's an old Honeytree song - Beautiful and I have thought about it over and over again over the past 3 days.

Here is what I do: I support on Campus Christian Club of any kind - Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Genetic Christian Clubs, prayer groups, praise groups - in whatever way they need. Snacks, materials, speakers, student leadership training and I try to connect them with the local church. And connect the local church to the clubs.

The question I asked myself was: If Pearland was a community that totally supported their students in their Christian Club and leadership endeavors, what would it look like? I thought - they would never lack for snacks or materials or speakers. What does it look like when we support the football team?

I don't know anyone else who does this.
* I know people who train student leaders and there are wonderful programs for that.
* I know people who have club models and try to reproduce them.
But I don't know anyone that says any on Campus Christian Club in this area - I'll support it.

I'm a pioneer! I'm going where no one has gone before. I'm reaching new areas and pioneering new methods of doing things.

Not only that, but I provide leadership for Baccalaureate in this Community. I don't know anyone that does that. If I can find a local Baccalaureate service to visit (Most of them are on the same day as ours!) - I visit and see what is happening. I ask questions. I try to find who is in charge.

Much like early pioneers, I make do. I invent new ways. I face challenges. I use what I got. I research and invent. I rewrite. Whatever it takes.

I'm a pioneer! Now when someone asks - I can tell them. I'm going where no one has gone before. I'm doing what no one has done before. Those who come after me will do it better than I ever will, but I have blazed a trail for them. No one will applaud me but my Heavenly Father, but it is His applause that I seek.

I like this so much better than my old answer:
Mmmmm, I just make it up as I go along. I don't know anyone who has done this before!

pling, pling

dch