So, you may have been wondering, "Why Thor?" or perhaps, "Who is Thor anyways and why should we care?"

In Norse mythology, Thor was the 'god' of thunder and of smithing.  He's the dude with the big hammer (Mjollnir), who wanders around having various adventures.  Food and fighting are the simple joys of his life.  In short, he's kinda the redneck of Valhallah, but he gets the job done.

So why Thor?

The context ....

    Three years ago or so, I joined our church's sr high youth ministry administration team.  We were about to put on a major game night so that the kids would have an alternative to Halloween.  As part of the craziness that went on that year, somebody got the bright idea of putting together t-shirts for the folks on the team.

The debate ....

     This naturally sparked lively debate as to who should get which nicknames on the back of their shirt.  Some folks had it easy with names that they'd had since high school.  Others (two years later) are only finally finding their true nickname.  One at least still hasn't latched onto a solid handle.  Conflict* about this still ripples through our team on an annual basis.  I could see where all this was headed from the get-go, so I picked a nice simple name that wouldn't get any grief.

What I do ....

     My role on the team is three-fold.  First, build whatever props/decorations are needed.  Second, provide muscle-power where needed.  And third, enforce the rules - such as not letting the kids wander freely during the planned portion of youth events.  Consequently, I spend a fair amount of time monitoring or interacting with the foolish crowd, who tend to be first to wander off.

The fan-club ....

     It is my observation from life and three years of working with high schoolers, that foolish kids tend to find foolish kids to hang out with.  This makes my life much easier, since a large part of my job is keeping those kids from getting into as much trouble as they could.  A little over a year ago, at our annual retreat, these guys suddenly decided that this was kinda cool.  I think maybe it's because someone is paying attention to them without letting them get away with stuff.  Of course, it could just be the thrill factor of trying to get past the "goalie".

The chant ....

     Thus it is that for the last year, I've randomly heard "Thoooor!" called out from the distance.   That's their way of letting me know that they know I'm there.  As time has gone on, this identity has caught on to an increasing degree, until most of the 300+ kids in our ministry knows who I am.

How I feel about this ....

     It's pretty fun, actually.  And very humbling.  Basically, I have a relationship - and a certain amount of influence with these kids now.  This is social capital, so how will I spend it?  It would be easy to lose this by being too authoritarian or squander it by being too buddy-buddy.  I'm seeking to invest it in such a way that it enables me to build deeper relationships with other groups of kids within the ministry. 

Are they scared of me ....

     Pretty much, yeah.  In a good way.  My sister tells a story from our most recent youth retreat.  Curfew was minutes away and the lobby was crowded.  Then the cry went up, "Thor's coming!" and within moments the place was cleared out as teens scampered for their rooms.  I'm the enforcer - and they know better than to mess with me.

So: Viking heritage, wielder of hammers and builder of stuff, bearded, loves food, inspires a reasonable degree of awe ... all this adds up to my alter ego:

Thor. 

*Conflict defined here as the friendly debate and bickering between a group of friends, where the result is as much a running joke as it is a difference of opinion.