The Busy Season
I have not posted in over one week mainly because I have been working nonstop for one week. The Tabernacle Youth Center has been finished for one week and we have had 3 groups and events in the building. The first group was a youth ministry from Pennsylvania doing ministry and evangelism on the OC Boardwalk. The second group was a singles ministry from Pennsylvania that held swing and ballroom dances in the Youth Center. Wrapping up the busiest week ever was a youth worker’s conference that we held on Monday and Tuesday. We had 36 local youth workers receive training from Duffy Robbins. Now I am beat!
All throughout the past week, I was reminded of an article I wrote for Simply Youth Ministry entitled The Busy Season. Here is an excerpt:
No matter your season or how long it lasts, a busy season is a fact of life, and you must learn how to embrace and use seasons when they come. Here are four tips on how to minister through the busy seasons:
Ministry is all about seasons; some times are busy and others are idle, some may last months while others last one week. Persevering through these seasons require discipline, patience, and rest after the fact (like what I am doing now!) Be sure to read the rest of the article here.
Wild Goose Chase is Out!
As I said in a previous post, Mark Batterson’s new book “Wild Goose Chase,” just came out today. Here is the intro paragraph from the book:
Celtic Christians had a name for the Holy Spirit–An Geadh-Glas, or ‘the Wild Goose.’ The name hints at mystery. Much like a wild goose, the Spirit of God cannot be tracked or tamed. An element of danger, an air of unpredictability surround Him. And while the name may sound a little sacrilegious, I cannot think of a better description of what it’s like to follow the Spirit through life. I think the Celtic Christians were on to something….
I am currently reading this book, and think it is great. I will post a review on it once I finish. If you would like to read the book for yourself, be sure to order a copy on Amazon. Or, better yet, make a comment on my previous post and win a free copy!
Book Review: In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day
As I said in an earlier post, I have been reading In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, written by Mark Batterson. I finished the book this weekend, and really enjoyed it. Using a rarely quoted text of the Bible (2 Samuel 23:21-21), Batterson recounts the story of Benaiah, the mighty warrior who became King David’s bodyguard and commanding general. Mark argues that Benaiah is a great example of embracing challenges. He did not back down from a fight, even though the odds were against him because of location (in a pit), his enemy (a lion), and weather conditions (snowy day). Mark challenges the reader to be daring with his or her faith, for that is how a Christian’s life is to be.
In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day is definitely worth a read. I recommend this book for anyone who wants to feel challenged (or encouraged) with his or her life. Now I have started reading Wild Goose Chase, Mark Batterson’s new book. Hopefully I can have it finished and reviewed by Tuesday, when the book comes out. Remember, I am giving away a copy of Wild Goose Chase, just leave a comment with your favorite Bible passage on the previous post.
Wild Goose Chase
In the mail today I received two copies of Wild Goose Chase, the latest book by Mark Batterson, lead pastor at National Community Church in Washington, DC. I am currently finishing up another one of Mark’s book, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. Great book so far; will review after I finish.
As for the copies of Wild Goose Chase, I will be reading one and providing a review; the other one I want to give away. Here is the contest: leave a comment on this post with your favorite Bible story. In In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, Mark uses the obscure yet powerful story of Benaiah fighting a lion in 2 Samuel 23. The Wild Goose Chase contest ends Wednesday August 20 at 8pm.
New Blog Design
So I changed the blog design this evening. Still working on it (I don’t know about the swirly graphic in the upper right hand corner), so please bear with me.
Paper
After the post on Pens, I thought we should talk about how useful paper is in a youth ministry. While the eco-friendly movement has been promoting paperless alternatives for shopping bags, books, and notebooks, paper is still going strong in ministry. Here are three different types of paper, and how you can use them in your youth ministry:
- Copy Paper. Copy paper is the most useful out of the three. It is what you print answer sheets to Powerpoint games, message outlines, and retreat signup sheets. But you can have more fun with it. Have a paper airplane contest. Give students a ream of copy paper, tell them to crumple it up, and then have a snowball fight (relevant in Ocean City since we rarely get snow!). Plus, copy paper is necessary for all the administrative details (budgets, letters, and resignations) that most youth workers would care to forget.
- Butcher’s Paper. Hang this up on a wall of the Youth Room, tape photos from a trip, and let your students write captions around it. Or, lay the butcher’s paper on the floor, trace your students, and hang them up around the church. When I was a student, we used butcher’s paper to play hangman and draw pictures for VBS while on a missions trip. Because of its large size, butcher paper is great for quick group uses.
- Shredder Paper. I know this is not a type of paper, but the remnants of shredded documents are very useful in youth ministry. Bags full of shredded paper serve as great cushions on which your students can jump. Even better, if your church’s shredder cuts the paper into small bits, then you instantly have confetti for your group’s New Year’s all-nighter.
10 Free Ebooks for Youth Pastors
Dennis over at YMIMexico.org just made a list of 10 Free Ebooks for Youth Pastors. Some I had read before (130 Youth Ministry Tips and Ideas), while others were new to me (25 Free Marketing Tools). All are great to look over and glean some knowledge from. Thanks Dennis!
Countless People
I am sitting in the living room watching the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Olympics. About 2 hours of Chinese culture and theatrics, with over 10,000 people performing. All in all, pretty impressive stuff. But it made me think of the country of China, with over 1.3 billion people. That is 1/5 of the world’s population! And yet a very small percentage of them are Christians. With those daunting figures, our mission as Christians may sometime seem impossible. However, we are called to this imposing task by Christ Himself (Matthew 28). Nothing reminds you of the Great Commission more than seeing every nation represented at once.
By the way, I will be staying up for many nights checking out the more obscure sports, including Badminton, Sailing, and Table Tennis.
(photo credit wishymom)
Whiteboards
I must make a disclosure before this latest edition of Youth Pastor Toolbox: I am a whiteboard junkie. I just love them. The first piece of furniture I bought for my new office is a 3×5 whiteboard. It is a great tool for interaction, brainstorming, and drawing colorful pictures. Here are three reasons why you need to incorporate a whiteboard in your ministry:
- Though Mapping. When working on a talk, I like to create an outline first, and then fill in the blanks. But as I type, the outline gets more and more distorted. That is why I prefer to figure out my outline on the whiteboard. Then as I craft my message, I only need to glance at the whiteboard to see the whole outline.
- Lessons. I am the definition of a concrete visual learner. So when I am speaking, I would much rather show than merely tell. Using a whiteboard during a lesson provides more spontaneity than just a Powerpoint presentation. You can ask students questions and record their responses on the whiteboard. You can draw a map of Israel in order to explain a Bible story clearly. I mostly use the whiteboard to draw rudimentary stick figures as my characters, or write a key word from my talk. That way, the students can hear me talking about that person or word, as well as see it. I personally view whiteboards as the flannelgraphs of the 21st Century.
- Communication. Mount a small whiteboard in a “student-friendly” location in your office. Students love to draw on whiteboards (possibly because it reminds them of coloring when they were children?), and they will take the time to draw you as a stick figure, write you messages, and drop quotes from the latest movie. But, with the big picture in mind, these students are taking the time to come into your office. They are meeting you on your ground. This inexpensive whiteboard will provide you with countless chances to talk with students on a more personal level.
Dedication Weekend Review
This weekend was a very busy one for the Tabernacle. Just over one year ago (July 29, 2007) we held a Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Youth Center. This weekend, we dedicated it. Here are some highlights from the weekend:
- Friday Night. We held a dinner for the Tabernacle Partners, about 200 people. The people in this group are the most active in the Tabernacle, and the closest thing we have to a congregation. I gave tours of the Youth Center before the dinner, then during the program I was able to cast my vision for the Youth Ministry. Very exciting.
- Saturday Night. Hosted a Battle of the Bands followed with a concert by the Switch, Eleventyseven, and Tenth Avenue North. The event was run by a local radio station, but they had it at the Tab. About 350 people came through the doors, most for the first time.
- Sunday Morning. Boardwalk service at 7:30, followed by tours of the Youth Center. Dedication service for the Youth Center at 9:40 am, followed by more tours throughout the morning.
- Sunday Evening. I spent most of the evening service in the Youth Center, taking the endless stream of people on tours.
Now, the Youth Center is not open yet (still some trim work and other details). Our first guest group is booked for August 17th. This weekend, it was enough just to show off the building and build people’s interest in the youth ministry. It was incredible taking people through the building for the first time and to see their reaction. The weekend was filled with long hours and not too much free time, but the excitement for the youth ministry, as well as getting a chance to cast my vision for the future made it all worth it.
