Category Archives: Youth Ministry

Things I learn that may or may not help you in ministry.

Youth Ministry is Sexy (Part 2) – American Idol Effect

Read my first post here.

I don’t think Youth Ministry (YM for now on) as sexy is necessarily a bad thing but bad things have risen from it.  I like to call it the American Idol Effect or simply, AIE.  AIE can be defined as the belief that someone actually has talent and can sing because of so many participants flocking towards American Idol.  Each year there are hundreds of people who just do not have the talent, skills and drive to have what it takes to be a singer.  For some reason no mentor ever sat down with them to talk about their gifts and abilities and that singing is not where they were needed.  It’s like when you go to a high-school football game and hear a student talk about how they are going to work hard to get a D-I scholarship.  You want to believe that they can do it but you know their talent, skill-set and drive is not what it takes to compete at that level.

The AIE is seen in YM in all over the country.  I have discussions with would-be youth ministers who are at college or seminary studying to be a youth minister and they want to do the job because of their experience of youth ministry in high-school.  At first, this seems completely harmless and is actually a good reason to go into youth ministry but the response to their experience is criticial.  On a number of occasions I have heard this statement: “I want to do youth ministry because it looks like a fun job and I get to hang out and go to some pretty cool places.” When I hear that I cringe a little. OK…a lot!!! Their experience in youth group is completely tied to external activities and they have yet to be exposed to the internal ups, downs, heartaches, disappointments, victories, planning, scheduling, praying, discerning, listening, confessing and forgiving aspects of YM.

People think, “Anyone can do YM” and the result is harm to youth programs, parents, students and churches all over.  I wish YM majors had some sort of discernment process to see if YM is where God needs them.  Sometimes all the cards point to YM and then for one reason or another it just does not work out.  I get that.  Yet, because the popularity of YM is at a high right now, there are more people getting YM gigs who should not be getting them.

Questions:

  • Do you know of a discernment process to help would-be YM majors distinguish if God is calling them into YM or not?
  • Do you think I am off in my assessment about the attractiveness of YM garnering, at times, people who have no business working with youth?
  • How can mentoring, interning, and other shadowing help in discernment of a YM calling?
  • What would you add to this discussion?

Tomorrow we will look at some good things that have come about because of the attractiveness of YM.

 

Youth Ministry is Sexy (Part 1) – The Why?

Please understand how I am using the word “sexy” and don’t misinterpret what I am saying.  Sexy has many definitions but the way I wish to use it in this post is as follows:

sex·y (sek-see] – interesting, exciting or trendy: a sexy project; a sexy new car (Dictionary.com).
I have not done any hard fast research on this but I wonder how many in seminary are studying for a preaching position versus a youth ministry position.  I have talks with people in youth ministry circles and there seems to be a real desire for college students to become youth ministers for churches.  I wonder why that is? Here are some reasons why I think youth ministry has become sexy:
  • Working with teenagers gives the chance for individuals to make a change for the church for future generations.  In a way youth ministry helps train the church of tomorrow (save your youth is the church of today monologue…you understand what I mean ;) ) like no other position in the church.
  • There is not as much public pressure for youth ministers as there are for preachers.  Right or wrong the preacher is put under more scrutiny because his work is seen on a public consistent basis. While scrutiny is never evaded it certainly is less prevalent than a more public figure like the preacher.
  • Youth ministry gives the minister a chance to stay young. Most ministers won’t tell you this but I really think this is a biggie when it comes to the industry. I see it on blogs, in books and have even participated in it where youth ministers play X-Box, watch movies with students, dress like them, talk like them and even act like them. I mean what more could you ask for?  You get to play games, hang out, occasionally go to the office and go on killer summer trips.  I’ll let you decide if I am being sarcastic.
  • Teenagers are, often, more radical than adults. Does the name Zach Hunter ring a bell?  This is a big one as teenagers (as misguided as it may be at times) will do things radical if they believe strongly enough it. Talk to anybody who volunteers in youth programs and odds are they are doing that because a youth minister influenced their lives to do radical things.  Hearing a student change their lives radically and lead others is like crack sent from the Holy Spirit.  It is addicting.  See it once, and you want more.
  • Youth Ministry is sexy because teens have been neglected. My generation is very concerned about justice and for too long teenagers have been neglected and shoved away at the interests of ourselves.  Greg Stier wrote this in an excellent blog post entitled, “Why you should focus on teenagers“: “God loves to use the unlikely and underestimated to do the unimaginable. There are no more ‘un ones’ than teenagers. And God wants to use them, not later, but now to advance his kingdom.”
So why do you think Youth Ministry is so sexy?  What is it?  Why are so many people flocking to youth ministry positions and youth ministry majors at Christian colleges and seminaries? 
In the posts to follow I hope to flesh out more of the sexiness of youth ministry.  I want to talk about some areas where we can use the attractiveness of ministry to help the overall church and also some cautions when it comes to this discussion and some bad things I have seen because of youth ministry being sexy.  Please share your thoughts.

Youth Ministry: When to Insource and When to Outsource (Part 2)

You can read part 1 of this series by clicking here.  No fancy introduction….on with the meat.

When to Insource

  • When you have “capable” people who are gifted for what your particular ministry needs.
  • When you need something done but are crunched for money.
  • When you want to help someone in the congregation have ownership and leadership in the ministry.
  • When people in your leadership (elders, board or whoever) want you to use the talents and abilities in the congregation.
  • When you can’t do something yourself.

When to Outsource

  • When there is nobody in your church who can do what is required.
  • When a particular task becomes “too big” for those in-house.
  • A biggie…when you need something done that would not create a conflict of interest (more on this in the next post).
  • When the nature of what you are doing requires expertise from people who have 15+ years of experience in your field.
  • When the nature of what you are doing simply requires you to do so.

These are not amazing but simple suggestions.  Monday I hope to post about some areas of caution when it comes to insourcing and outsourcing.

Youth Ministry: When to Insource and When to Outsource (Part 1)

While running this afternoon in the YMCA I was watching highlights from President Obama where he made some statement about firms insourcing in regards to creating jobs (I think) and I started thinking about youth ministry.  Before we begin I want to define the terms of insourcing and outsourcing.

Insource: the practice of subcontracting work to another company that is under the same general ownership (Dictionary.com).  

Outsource: (of a company or organization) to purchase (goods) or subcontract (services) from an outside supplier or source (Dictionary.com)

A lot of times we talk about empowering other people in our church to help (volunteer) with our ministries and to serve in areas of leadership where they are most gifted.  This is an example of insourcing where we use the talents and abilities that are present in our local church.  Scripture supports insourcing as 1 Corinthians 12 uses a body metaphor to talk about different types of people in the local church.  Yet, there are times when we must call on people who are not in our local church to help with our ministries.  At Main Street we outsource our T-Shirts to UthStuph and sometimes we use a company called Sasquatch Design Company.  Other ministries outsource all types of things like web design, app design, organization, PowerPoint backgrounds, media presentations.

I wonder when should we insource and when should we outsource?  Also what are some guidelines you would use when using someone outside of the local church?

Give me some feedback and tomorrow I will give some of my suggestions.

Youth Ministry and School Cafeterias

Ministry happens at school cafeterias and if you are going to stay in youth ministry for the long haul you need to learn how to go to a school cafeteria.  While office hours are a necessary evil I think that a youth minister needs to meet the students on there own turf.  It’s great to go to their ball games but where you really interact with them is at the cafeteria.  They can’t hide behind a helmet, a uniform or bleachers and it is where you get to meet them and their friends.  Is it awkward?  You better believe it.  Students can be relentless with their criticism and I am not free from getting made fun of as people laugh at me and make fun of me.  I still do it after almost 8 years of ministry.  Some kids run up to me and give me big hugs telling their friends who I am.  I have some students who look the other way as soon as I make eye contact.  I even went to eat lunch with a student before and they told me that all of the seats were taken at their table but I “could find someone else to eat with at another table.”  Teenagers are relentless sometimes.

Yesterday I went to eat with a middle-school student and as I sat at the table the conversations were hilarious.  This one girl took a ketchup cup and passed it around saying, “Wold you like some communion?”  I started laughing but then I asked, “So do you take communion at your church?”  I was able to have a conversation with her about church.  At the same table another girl asked me, “So why are you eating lunch with ________?”  I told her, “Because I am their youth minister and I want to.”  She quickly responded, “But you’re a grown man.  You shouldn’t be eating lunch with middle schoolers!”  I started laughing and we had a good conversation as well.

So how do you make the most out of eating lunch with you students?  I have a few ideas for you to make it awesome!

  • Consider bringing them food from the outside.  Some schools won’t allow it so check beforehand but nothing brightens up the day of a teenager like pizza or ice cream.  Also consider surprising the teachers with something like a milkshake or something else.  It will make their day.
  • Get to know everyone at the table.  Again, it’s awkward but what’s more awkward is you sitting there without saying a single word to anybody but the student you came to eat lunch with.  Which reminds me…
  • Prepare what you want to talk about beforehand.  Weird?  I know but in my experience most teenagers are too shy to talk to the old guy sitting with them so initiate conversation.
  • Don’t take yourself too seriously.  I get asked, “Are you their dad?” at least 4 times a year.  It never gets easy.  So I just laugh.
  • It’s not a time to have theological arm-wrestling competitions.  Some teens are just ready to fight proving how Christianity is horrible or how your church is weird because they do this or that.  Offer to talk later but simply say, “Can we talk about something else?”  Most of the time they just want to embarrass you and prove that you are an egotistical know-it-all…let’s not prove them right ;)
  • Don’t talk/act like you are a high-schooler.  This is a pet peeve of mine as youth ministers should be more mature than a high-schooler.  Students don’t want to hear you add “izzle” at the end of every word nor do they care that you say “epic fail” or other teenager terms.  Act your age and show a little maturity.
  • Prepare for God to show up.  Or maybe I should say, look for God who is already there.  I have learned so many things about teenagers, God and myself just sitting down to eat lunch with a student.

I hope these help and please go and spend some time with a student.

Youth Ministry 6.3 #41 – Craig Gross (XXXChurch and Pornography)

Craig Gross - All rights reserved.

I got the opportunity to interview Craig Gross who is the pastor of XXXChurch.com. Craig is renowned speaker, innovator and consultant in the area of how to help people who struggle with porn addiction. Craig frequent debates self-proclaimed “Porn King” Ron Jeremy on various college campuses. Craig and his team seek to help people be accountable for their addictions. His software (x3watch) is well-known around the United States for helping people. You will be blessed by this interview as we talk about how to help those who struggle with pornography.

NCYM Notes

Friends, Below are some links to various notes I took from keynotes and lectures from the NCYM conference I attended in Daytona Beach.  they are not comprehensive and as a human they probably are not 100% accurate but I think you will find some use with them.

Not the greatest notes but something to add to your lessons.

Robbie Mackenzie

Fringe Kids: How Much is Too Much?

A fringe kid, by definition, is a student in youth ministry who is on the fringe of leaving not only youth group but the church all together.  They are the kids that do not attend many (if any) activities and the last thing on their mind is God, the church and a relationship with both.  A fringe kid could also be defined as an unchurched kid who is on the fringe of society.  As a minister a passion of mine is to seek out those students or help other students seek out those students.  I have a concern though.  At what point do we stop pursuing these students because it is taking away from the students who are already active in the youth ministry?  At what point can we say that we are investing too much time into fringe kids?  In other words, how much is too much?

The ministry of Jesus seems to contain a balance of time spent with fringe people and his disciples. I would say fringe people Jesus encountered were people like the Samaritan woman (John 4), the Syro-Phoenician woman (Mark 7), Matthew the Tax Collector (Mark 2) and even Zacchaeus (Luke 19).  Yet to say that Jesus spent all his time with fringe people is simply inaccurate.  He spent a lot of time with his disciples (SERMON ON THE MOUNT?) instructing them, correcting them and strengthening them.  So there was plenty of balance in the ministry of Jesus.

But my question is still troubling.  When do we let go of a student or should we even let go at all?  Maybe God is not using us to help shape their formation and somebody else is going to have to help them.  Who knows?  But I would like to hear your thoughts on this one.  How much is too much time for those who are on the fringe and when do we let go?

Youth Ministry 6.3 #40 – Wayne Cordeiro (Burnout and Depression) FREE RESOURCES!!!!

I had the amazing blessing of interviewing Wayne Cordeiro who is pastor of the New Hope Christian Fellowship Church in Honolulu, Hawaii. He wrote a book a couple of years back called, Leading on Empty where he talked about his journey through burnout and what ministers can do to keep from burning out. We talk about depression, burnout and what we can do to make sure we are leading our church with a full tank. I know you will be blessed.

This is my 40th interview and because I believe in empowering youth ministers with cool resources I want to give away some amazing books for you to read.  All you have to do is comment below and talk about your experience with burnout and what you did to overcome it.  I will select a random person on December 30th and will mail you these resources:

  • The Millenials by Thom and Jess Rainer
  • Theological Turn in Youth Ministry by Kenda Creasy Dean and Andrew Root
  • Sticky Faith (Youth Worker Edition) by Kara Powell and Brad Griffin
  • Leading on Empty by Wayne Cordeiro
  • Ministry by Teenagers by Jonathan McKee and David Smith
  • One.Life by Scot McKnight
  • Life in Student Ministry by Tim Schmoyer

Why am I doing this?  I believe in these men and women who wrote these materials and I also believe in helping other youth ministers succeed.  So please watch the interview and comment below, spread the word and you may win some amazing resources.