Shawn Casselberry's Blog
Stuff Team Members Like / 01.07.10, 11:19 AM
So, I’m sure you’ve seen the book Stuff White People Like and there’s a blog Stuff Christians Like. I thought it would be fun to come up with a list of stuff team members like. I have noticed patterns over the years of things that many team members get into during Mission Year… Please add any others you think I’ve left off!
1. TOMS shoes (www.tomsshoes.com). I heard of these last year for the first time and about a third of my city wore them. You buy a pair they send one to a child in need.
2. Tattoos. Something about Mission Year makes people want to get tattoos. I think because it’s such a time of change and growth for team members, they want to capture the moment.
3. Acoustic Guitars. If they don’t know how to play them when they get to Mission Year, they are determined to learn how to play them by the time they leave. Strum on my friends!
4. The DVD/soundtrack “Once.” Last year at orientation a large group of team members from different cities were sitting around playing guitars and they all knew the songs from this movie. I had never heard of it so I rented it and it’s actually a decent flick. I think it captures the confusion, yearning, and awkwardness of this generation.
5. Facebook. They are addicted. You can find out a lot about team members from Facebook!
6. Francis Chan books and podcasts. The book Crazy Love is really popular right now with my team members. I think it’s kinda like the Raggamuffin Gospel for this generation. Francis Chan is the pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, CA.
7. Care Packages. There is nothing like getting mail from family and friends back home while you are doing Mission Year, especially when it includes sweets. Care packages are a score for the whole team. Send one to a team member today!
8. Rumi-Persian Poet and Philosopher. Every year I have a couple people that get really into Rumi. Not sure how they find this obscure philosopher.
“Come, come, whoever you are,
Wanderer, idolater, worshiper of fire,
Come even though you have broken your vows a thousand times,
Come, and come yet again.
Ours is not a caravan of despair.”
9. Shane Claiborne. They all want to be like him. I had a team member that said she wants to be a female Shane Claiborne. Really?!
10. The Office TV show. Some team members seem to only talk using The Office quotes. I’ve had to ban “That’s what she said…” from some of my team apartments in the past!
11. Alone Time. Ha. That’s pretty rare living in intentional Christian community.
12. Reaching their Support-Raising Goal. No team member really likes raising support, but it is an incredible faith booster to see God provide through the generous gifts of churches, family, friends, alums, and strangers. Help boost their faith by sending some support their way!
13. Documenting their lives. Whether using digital cameras or video, team members love to document their every day experiences through contemporary media. And it’s a great alternative to tattoos!
14. Becoming Vegan. Apparently, grocery shopping at Aldi has a way of turning many team members into vegans!
15. Telephone Pictionary. For team members, Telephone Pictionary is the next best thing to television. When you don’t have a television in your house you have to find some way to entertain yourself. If you don’t know how to play ask any team member.
16. Conflict. Team members rarely like this coming into Mission Year, but after the first couple months of doing healthy conflict resolution and seeing how much closer it brings people, they start looking forward to it!
17. Relationships. Nobody does Mission Year (well) without a heart for God and love for people. Mission Year team members spend thousands of hours cultivating relationships with neighbors, at-risk youth, homeless men and women, community leaders, the elderly, and those that fall through the cracks in our cities. It’s all about the relationships.
18. Finishing. After enduring hardships, sacrificing comforts, and loving people tirelessly, there is nothing more satisfying for team members than finishing the year. And when Mission Year ends, Mission Life begins.
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1,2,3,4,5,9,10,11,17,18 all true and guilty as charged, tho i did most before mission year as well hahaha
By Brando / Jan 7, 11:59 AM / #
Wow Shawn. I’m implicated in as many as 10 of those (7 or 8 depending on how you look at it), but definitely the first 5.
They/we find Rumi from Aaron Weiss from mewithoutYou. He uses a lot of Rumi in his lyrics and stuff.
An excellent list. Well done.
By Jordan Leahy / Jan 7, 08:26 PM / #
aaron weiss should actually be on this list, or at least mewithoutyou
By brando / Jan 11, 01:03 PM / #
This was great. I am going to make my whole team read it. Thanks Shawn!
By Megan / Jan 11, 01:51 PM / #