| Visualize your priorities with red, yellow and green |
From Youth Leaders Academy on Tuesday, May 7, 2013 @ 1:04 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category.
Prioritizing is of crucial importance, especially when your to do list is overflowing, as most of ours are. We've discussed several methods of prioritizing in your youth ministry on this blog: 80/20 Rule Covey's Time Management Matrix The INO System No matter which method you choose, it's important to come up with a way to [...]You just finished reading Visualize your priorities with red, yellow and green! Have you subscribed to our free biweekly newsletter yet? |
| What I Learned On The Road... |
From YouthMinistry.com on Monday, May 6, 2013 @ 2:05 PM PST
in the "Blog" Category.
Have you ever had a great idea you thought would rock, and it just didn't go as well as it could have? I live in northeast Wyoming. Recently I took a group of 10 kids on a surprise destination road trip. I gave them a cost and a packing list and they got in the van. A few hours in they found out where we were going. We were going to LA.
The trip was supposed to be a year-end, blow-out, memory maker that the kids would treasure as a triumphant, crazy experience their loving youth leader was gracious enough to take them on. What happened was definitely a memory: 50% triumphant, 100% crazy, and 50% could-have-been-WAY-better.
We were supposed to leave on a Friday at 5pm (after school), and were supposed to return Monday at 5pm. The drive was supposed to take 18 hours and cost $600. We were supposed to camp in Malibu Saturday night and we were supposed to drive home Sunday night. Already you're thinking, "Yeah, I can see why this didn't turn out..." What happened was this:
We left at 6pm on Friday, the drive took 23 hours one way, the gas cost was $1000, I booked the campground for the wrong night, and we decided to stay in Vegas Sunday to cut our drive down. (Yes I took 10 students to the strip.)
Here's what I learned…
1) The trip is a surprise for the students; it should not be a surprise for the leaders.
2) Plan THOROUGHLY, run all your plans by someone who has done this before, and LISTEN to what they have to say!
3) Don't trust fuel cost estimators. Full vans towing heavy trailers tend to cut gas mileage in half.
4) Count on taking half again as long as you think you'll need when you have a van full of kids. Think it will take 10 hours? Count on 15.
5) Make sure you book the campground/hotel for the RIGHT DATE.
6) Don't drive overnight. Camp, crash, get a hotel, or whatever you have to do, but only spend about 8-10 hours in a van at a time.
7) Plan a shorter trip and make the drive part of the experience. When you pick a far destination you don't have any time to make the drive an experience.
8) If you're asking a lot from students, you need to give them a good payoff. Spend at least a few days wherever you're going. The more exotic the destination the more time you need to spend there.
9) Ask for double the costs you think you'll need. Or plan better than I did…
10) If you're not a detail person, GET SOMEONE WHO IS to DOUBLE CHECK ALL of your plans/reservations etc.
11) Make sure you get a converter with at least 2-4 plugins for charging cell phones/electronics.
12) Stick to the plan. Once you get on the trip, make sure as much as possible you stick with what you originally told parents. If something HAS to change, change it, but don't second-guess yourself or the plan.
13) IF you take an impromptu trip to Vegas, make sure you inform (maybe ask) parents first and tell them exactly where you will be staying.
14) Have students keep all their food money, or collect all their food money. Don't do it halfsies.
15) Limit the trip to high schoolers. This was a rare good decision and helped a lot!
16) If a student has a bad attitude or causes a problem, you're going to be tired and annoyed too. Just remember: Preserve the relationship.
17) If you go to California, you have to drive 55 mph with a trailer, which adds lots of time…and the police aren't very sympathetic when you tell them you're on schedule.
18) Take a lot of pictures and update often.
These are the main things I learned on this trip but there was a whole lot more that could have made this trip a better experience. I definitely will do it again but next time I'll do it better! |
| How To Build a Spiritual Home – Part 3 |
From Building Leaders of Tomorrow on Monday, May 6, 2013 @ 7:27 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category.
Plumbing – Loving Discipline – Proverbs 3:11-12 Why did I choose plumbing for discipline. "It stinks. But if you don't do it, the whole house will smell. The times when your children don't get it, teach through discipline. Discipline means literally "to teach" – some of us had more teaching moments in our childhood than [...] |
| Youth Ministry & The Art of Running the Race… |
From YouthWorkTalk.com on Monday, May 6, 2013 @ 5:01 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category.
A couple of months ago the ministry I work for decided to use the NJ Long Branch Marathon as a fundraiser. At first I didn't think much of it. I'm not a runner. As a matter of fact I am an asthmatic who is beyond athletically challenged. This race was for my husband to complete, [...]You just finished reading Youth Ministry & The Art of Running the Race...! |
| 6 questions every pastor must ask about their family |
From Life in Student Ministry on Sunday, May 5, 2013 @ 10:14 PM PST
in the "Blog" Category.
As a pastor, it's difficult to balance family and ministry, but is balance actually the goal? These 6 questions can help you evaluate what's important. |
| 6 questions every pastor must ask about their family |
From Life in Student Ministry on Sunday, May 5, 2013 @ 10:14 PM PST
in the "Blog" Category.
As a pastor, it's difficult to balance family and ministry, but is balance actually the goal? These 6 questions can help you evaluate what's important. |
| 10 things I miss about being a pastor |
From Dare 2 Share Ministries International on Sunday, May 5, 2013 @ 7:05 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category.
For ten years of my life I was a preaching pastor at a church I helped plant with my good buddy Rick Long (Grace Church of Arvada.) This weekend I've been preaching all three services at my old stomping grounds and it's got me reminiscing. With this in mind here are 10 things I miss about being a pastor:
1. Working the foyer before and after the services (I worked that foyer like a politician running for office!)
2. The thrill and nervousness of having to come up with fresh sermons every week.
3. Awkward side hugs (actually I don't miss those!)
4. Delegating the tough counseling situations to the elder who was giving me the hardest time
5. My mom yelling answers to my rhetorical questions right in the middle of my sermons.
6. Seeing people put their faith in Jesus every week during the services.
7. Working on staff with life-long friends.
8. The people: watching them go from new convert to disciple to disciple multiplier over the course of time.
9. Being a pastor that FULLY supports the youth ministry.
10. Sunday afternoon naps (it was my ritual after preaching 3 services!)
Would I ever go back to being a preaching pastor? No. To be honest I was way better at the preaching part than the pastoring part. But, preaching at Grace Church this weekend brought back some good memories of helping to lay the foundation for what is a great church today. I'm thrilled that Rick is doing such a great job as preaching pastor at Grace. He's good at both parts (preaching and pastoring.)
As for me? I'll stick to energizing a generation to evangelizing their world through Dare 2 Share. Unfortunately that still comes with awkward side hugs!
Viva LA Cause! |
| May the 4 be with you. |
From Deep Thoughts by Gman on Saturday, May 4, 2013 @ 9:52 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/ZioO |
| How to make a "salvation segue" without it sounding like a "Jesus juke" |
From Dare 2 Share Ministries International on Saturday, May 4, 2013 @ 7:59 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category.
Jon Acuff (of Stuff Christians Like fame) describes what a Jesus juke is, "Like a football player juking you at the last second and going a different direction, the Jesus Juke is when someone takes what is clearly a joke filled conversation and completely reverses direction into something serious and holy." Jesus juking, depending on the severity, can turn a light hearted conversation into a party pooper's paradise.
This is exactly what you DON'T want to do when you are seeking to share the gospel with someone. You want to make a smooth segue into the subject of salvation in a way that the person you are talking with doesn't feel, well, juked or spooked.
Last night on a plane ride home from Houston I was sitting in the exit row with another guy. He worked for the airlines and we talked about his life on the road, his workout routine (we're both doing Insanity) and our families. When we were 30 minutes or so from landing, I was praying about how to turn the conversation spiritual without resorting to the juke. I remembered that earlier in the conversation he gave me some workout videos on a flashdrive to watch. The Holy Spirit used his gift to spark an idea. I said, "Hey, you gave me some videos, I'd like to give you one too."
I gave him the www.lifein6words.com website and told him that on this site he could watch the best spoken word presentation of the gospel I'd ever seen. I told him about my friend Jason Petty (aka "Propaganda") and how great he was at sharing the gospel via spoken word. He seemed genuinely intrigued and opened up to me about wanting to find a church. He told me that he really wanted to get his three year old daughter into church and that his wife wanted to find one as well.
Soon we were talking about the gospel in a very natural way. Before we got off the plane he told me he was really looking forward to watching the spoken word video by Propaganda.
As I reflect back on this conversation I see four things that happened to make a natural segue to the subject of salvation. Maybe these four actions will help you as well:
1. Just start talking.
Introduce yourself and be cordial. Ask questions, listen deeply and be genuinely interested in what they have to say. Ask them questions about what they do for a living and for fun. Talk to them about their family, interests and passions.
2. Look for areas of common interest.
The conversation on the plane really started to ignite when we both started talking about the Insanity work out program. He was really into it and so was I. We compared notes, talked about trying to do Insanity in hotel rooms and how it would was disruptive to anybody rooming on the floor right beneath you. It was here when the ice was broken and he really started to open up and talk.
3. Pray for God to open your eyes to a way to bring up the Gospel naturally.
As we were getting to the end of the flight I was getting twitchy because I hadn't shared the gospel yet. But I didn't want to just grind the gears and yank the steering wheel toward the subject of Jesus (without using the clutch anyway.) So I prayed. As a result, God's Spirit prompted me to remember the videos this guy had given me and that I could use these videos as a way to talk about the Life in 6 Words video.
If you pray, stay dependent on the Spirit and just start a conversation you'll be shocked how many times there are natural salvation segues you can take to turn the subject spiritual in a very natural way. Ask God to open the door and He will. Here's how the apostle Paul put it in Colossians 4:3-6,"And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."
Paul's goal wasn't to puke the gospel onto everyone and juke conversations unnaturally toward Jesus. He wanted his conversations to be "full of grace" and "seasoned with salt." He wanted to be as smooth as possible so that those he was sharing with would really hear the message of the gospel without being turned off by how he brought it up. For a great example of Paul making a salvation segue check out Acts 17:16-34.
4. Don't chicken out at the last minute.
There have been many times in my life where that door of opportunity has been cracked opened and I slammed it shut at the last minute. Whether it was the social awkwardness of dropping the "J bomb" too early on someone or just opting out because of fear, there have been more times than I'd like to admit where I forsook an opportunity to share the good news. Yes, even "the Dare 2 Share guy" chickens out sometimes. I regret those missed opportunities deeply.
So seize the moment when God opens the door and turn the conversation toward Jesus in the most natural way you can. Even if your salvation segues are clunky at first, remember that "love covers a multitude of sins"...and awkwardness.
Love, listen and then take the leap.
But try not juking. |
| Current Sermon Series: Hebrews |
From Deep Thoughts by Gman on Friday, May 3, 2013 @ 9:50 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category.
So far it has been on the Greatest Commandment, Palm Sunday, the Resurrection and a study through Hebrews.
Wednesday nites have included: Favorite Memory Verses (and testimony), Names of God, and a Current "One Another" series on lessons for Christian Discipleship.
Our Summer Sermon Series will be topical: "Not a Fan."
What are you teaching on?http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/ZioO |
| Books I'm reading |
From Deep Thoughts by Gman on Friday, May 3, 2013 @ 9:45 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category.
I'm in the midst of Re-Reading the Hobbit and just finished Vince's book (alot to chew on there to be a renegade) What are you reading?
http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/ZioO |
| Discussion Starter: News of Gay Athlete Leads to Controversy |
From YouthMinistry.com on Friday, May 3, 2013 @ 9:29 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category.
Washington, D.C.—In a first for American professional team sports, an active athlete has come out as homosexual. NBA free agent Jason Collins announced this week that he's gay, leading to overwhelming support from fellow players, media, and even President Obama.
Collins, a 34-year-old center, averaged only 1.1 points for the Washington Wizards this year, so league insiders aren't convinced that another team will pick him up. But several general managers said the player's sexuality wouldn't be an issue; they'll only ask if he can help a team win.
In a Sports Illustrated cover article, Collins said he dealt with many emotions before finally accepting his sexuality. "There's nothing more beautiful than just allowing yourself to really be happy and be comfortable in your own skin," he said. Collins also emphasized the importance of his Christian faith, saying, "I take the teachings of Jesus seriously, particularly the ones that touch on tolerance and understanding."
Meanwhile, people who offered opposing views on homosexuality were subjected to attack. When ESPN reporter Chris Broussard, a Christian, was asked for his opinion, he said Collins' actions were inconsistent with the Bible. "If you're openly living in unrepentant sin, whatever it may be, not just homosexuality…I believe that's walking in open rebellion to God," Broussard said.
New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who's openly gay, tweeted that she was "appalled" by Broussard's comments. "His hateful remarks have no place in our society," she said.
Of the flap, evangelist Pat Robertson said, "If you don't want to be a Christian, that's your business…but don't tell somebody he can't speak specifically about what the Christian faith says about certain conduct."
Cultural apologist Jim Denison offered this perspective: "If a player can make headlines for announcing that he's gay, how will we make headlines for Christ?"
Sources: si.com, christianpost.com, espn.com
Discussion Questions:
How do you feel about Collins' announcement—and about the various reactions to it? How do you expect this revelation to affect his future career? his relationships with teammates? How might you treat or view a classmate who shared that he or she was gay?
What pros and cons do you see in society's recent embrace of homosexuality? If you disagree with this lifestyle, to what degree are you comfortable saying so—and to whom?
How important to you is your own happiness and comfort, despite what other people might think of you? In light of our sinful nature, how comfortable can anyone ever be in his or her own skin?
Is it inconsistent for a professed Christianity to embrace an openly gay lifestyle? Why or why not? What are some ways you've openly rebelled against God, despite claiming to have faith in him?
As a Christian, is it any of your business how other believers are living their lives? Why or why not? How responsible do you feel for the conduct of fellow Christians? What does your behavior say about your faith? your Savior?
In your opinion, how "tolerant" was Jesus? What was his attitude toward sinners, no matter their sin? What's the best way to rebuke or correct people who are sinning, without seeming holier than they are?
How much tolerance and understanding would you say Christians are receiving these days? Do you consider it an honor to be criticized or discriminated against because of your faith? Why or why not? How might you be able to "make headlines for Christ"?
Scripture links: Proverbs 25:26; John 8:1-11; Romans 14:1-4; Colossians 1:28-29; 2 Timothy 4:1-5; and James 5:19-20. |
| The One Ring |
From Deep Thoughts by Gman on Friday, May 3, 2013 @ 9:29 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/ZioO |
| Video: Powerful "To This Day" Anti-Bullying Project |
From Rethinking Youth Ministry on Friday, May 3, 2013 @ 9:00 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category.
From the poet: "My experiences with violence in schools still echo throughout my life but standing to face the problem has helped me in immeasurable ways. Schools and families are in desperate need of proper tools to confront this problem. This piece is a starting point." - Shane Learn more here. |
| Book Review: Harry Potter series |
From Youth Leaders Academy on Friday, May 3, 2013 @ 1:18 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category.
When I decided to review all books in the top 100 of best Teen Fiction, most of the books were new to me. But obviously there are also a few on this list that I have read and the Harry Potter series is one of them. It's kind of weird to review this series after [...]You just finished reading Book Review: Harry Potter series! Have you subscribed to our free biweekly newsletter yet? |
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