8.27.2008
Good Stuff
The Rebooted YS Podcast #2 hosted by Adam Mclane announced a Weird Thing in the Youth Workers Office Contest.
I have way too many options of weird things in my office but went for the most unique collection which is this:
Bonus Contest: How many of the figures can you name? (Bigger Picture)
In case you don't get Simply Youth Ministry's email, here's their latest freebie: 2008 Summer Olympic Trivia Power Point Game.
Plus, I'll be handing out 10 Things a Great Small Group Leader Does with my volunteers this school year.
Here's Tim Ellsworth collection of articles he wrote while at the Olympics.
8.25.2008
The Reference Letter Youth Pastors Dream of Writing
To Whom It May Concern:
It is with hesitation that I write this letter of recommendation for Bob. I have known Bob for over four years but honestly, you can't get to know each other too well when three of those years were monthly visits during his treatment. Since that time I have watched him grow and mature into a fairly decent young man but when compared to his friends who are still being treated, he's a winner. All that to say, he’s above average, by a little bit.
He has always desired leadership within our group and we let him be with us but he never really belonged. Certain trips required local community service hours and the raising of money to pay for the trip. Bob was forced to go on these trips by his parents so it would one day look good for college but his heart was never in it. Though Bob has fooled many people into thinking what a good guy he is, I have seen the other side.
I had some aspirations for Bob’s future until he went down the road of injustice by intentionally defacing property and stealing someone’s lawn gnome. He has the rare ability to look beyond others needs and focus on his own. To describe his character I can only say, he’s a character.
I have worked with a great number of high school students over the last ten years and he is truly among the bottom 10%. But among that 10% he is on top. I hope that this letter will appease him and he will stop threatening to hurt me and my property if I don’t give him a positive reference.
Please don’t share this information with anyone,
Bob's Youth Pastor
To Whom It May Concern:
It is with hesitation that I write this letter of recommendation for Bob. I have known Bob for over four years but honestly, you can't get to know each other too well when three of those years were monthly visits during his treatment. Since that time I have watched him grow and mature into a fairly decent young man but when compared to his friends who are still being treated, he's a winner. All that to say, he’s above average, by a little bit.
He has always desired leadership within our group and we let him be with us but he never really belonged. Certain trips required local community service hours and the raising of money to pay for the trip. Bob was forced to go on these trips by his parents so it would one day look good for college but his heart was never in it. Though Bob has fooled many people into thinking what a good guy he is, I have seen the other side.
I had some aspirations for Bob’s future until he went down the road of injustice by intentionally defacing property and stealing someone’s lawn gnome. He has the rare ability to look beyond others needs and focus on his own. To describe his character I can only say, he’s a character.
I have worked with a great number of high school students over the last ten years and he is truly among the bottom 10%. But among that 10% he is on top. I hope that this letter will appease him and he will stop threatening to hurt me and my property if I don’t give him a positive reference.
Please don’t share this information with anyone,
Bob's Youth Pastor
8.19.2008
I Got It
Thought about this when I first read about it but once I saw the one and only Matthew McNutt had it, I knew I had to be cool like him.
I'm looking foward to using it and it'll make sending texts out to my students so much easier, so it should be a good thing all around.
One month is free and if you are like 95% of most youth workers your motto is "If it's free, it's for me!" So watch the commercial. . . er. . . informational clip and get the Free 30 day SimplyTXT subscription.
Thought about this when I first read about it but once I saw the one and only Matthew McNutt had it, I knew I had to be cool like him.
I'm looking foward to using it and it'll make sending texts out to my students so much easier, so it should be a good thing all around.
One month is free and if you are like 95% of most youth workers your motto is "If it's free, it's for me!" So watch the commercial. . . er. . . informational clip and get the Free 30 day SimplyTXT subscription.
8.14.2008
Ideas for Small Group Activities
I just did this for my church, use it and adapt it if you wish. If you use it and you don't live in Lubbock, you will Definitely want to tweak #30. Also if you want to share other ideas in the comments so I can add more that'd be greatly appreciated.
1 5 Q's: Everyone has to come with 5 Questions everyone else has to answer
2 Adopt a College Student: Talk to Dug McAlpine (InterVarsity) or Collin Arledge (Campus Crusade) for ideas.
3 Baseball Card Shop: Buy something for your Youth Pastor
4 Batting Cages
5 Bowling
6 Card Games: Teach your students Hearts, Spades or similar card game.
7 Chalking: Pick someone to encourage and chalk their driveway with GOOD things.
8 Clay Café: Paint a plate or anything else together and pick it up in a week.
9 College Students Love Free Food: Invite a college student from church over for dinner with your group.
10 Cooking Night: Learn to Make a Dish Together
11 Cops on a Break: Doughnuts & Coffee
12 FAQ's: Borrow 4-7 of Len's Discussion starter books and have each member take turns asking questions.
13 Favorite Movie Night: Have everyone bring their favorite movie and then choose which one to watch. Or agree to watch them all by the end of the school year together.
14 Game Night!: Pick your favorite board game and play it with the students. Have everyone bring snacks.
15 Geek Out: Have members bring their something to share about their favorite "Geeky" activitiy and talk about it with each other.
16 Go Cruising: Ask the students to take you to the places where teens hang out and talk with them while they are trapped in the car about connections, friendships, why people feel a need to gather together.
17 Hack into the Department of Defense Computers and ask it if it wants to play chess.
18 Ice Skating
19 International Dinner: Make something or choose a restaurant that serves Chinese, Mexican or Italian
20 Memory Lane: Let them see your yearbooks
21 Movie @ Home
22 Movie @ Theater
23 Plan a Youth Event: Hey, You never know, it might happen.
24 Putt - Putt
25 Smorgasbord Night: Have everyone bring enough of their favorite food for the group but you don't tell each other what the dishes will be.
26 Scrabble
27 Service Project: Help someone in the church. Mow their lawn, clean their closets, babysit their kids, discover a need and help meet that need.
28 Shoot Hoops: A Driveway is fine
29 Shopping: Not my gig, but maybe it's yours.
30 Texas Tech Sporting Event
31 Trivial Pursuit
32 Video Games: Not much interaction but trash talk, but it's a start.
33 Your Own Idea & Creativity Works Best! Thanks for loving Jesus and for loving our students!
I just did this for my church, use it and adapt it if you wish. If you use it and you don't live in Lubbock, you will Definitely want to tweak #30. Also if you want to share other ideas in the comments so I can add more that'd be greatly appreciated.
1 5 Q's: Everyone has to come with 5 Questions everyone else has to answer
2 Adopt a College Student: Talk to Dug McAlpine (InterVarsity) or Collin Arledge (Campus Crusade) for ideas.
3 Baseball Card Shop: Buy something for your Youth Pastor
4 Batting Cages
5 Bowling
6 Card Games: Teach your students Hearts, Spades or similar card game.
7 Chalking: Pick someone to encourage and chalk their driveway with GOOD things.
8 Clay Café: Paint a plate or anything else together and pick it up in a week.
9 College Students Love Free Food: Invite a college student from church over for dinner with your group.
10 Cooking Night: Learn to Make a Dish Together
11 Cops on a Break: Doughnuts & Coffee
12 FAQ's: Borrow 4-7 of Len's Discussion starter books and have each member take turns asking questions.
13 Favorite Movie Night: Have everyone bring their favorite movie and then choose which one to watch. Or agree to watch them all by the end of the school year together.
14 Game Night!: Pick your favorite board game and play it with the students. Have everyone bring snacks.
15 Geek Out: Have members bring their something to share about their favorite "Geeky" activitiy and talk about it with each other.
16 Go Cruising: Ask the students to take you to the places where teens hang out and talk with them while they are trapped in the car about connections, friendships, why people feel a need to gather together.
17 Hack into the Department of Defense Computers and ask it if it wants to play chess.
18 Ice Skating
19 International Dinner: Make something or choose a restaurant that serves Chinese, Mexican or Italian
20 Memory Lane: Let them see your yearbooks
21 Movie @ Home
22 Movie @ Theater
23 Plan a Youth Event: Hey, You never know, it might happen.
24 Putt - Putt
25 Smorgasbord Night: Have everyone bring enough of their favorite food for the group but you don't tell each other what the dishes will be.
26 Scrabble
27 Service Project: Help someone in the church. Mow their lawn, clean their closets, babysit their kids, discover a need and help meet that need.
28 Shoot Hoops: A Driveway is fine
29 Shopping: Not my gig, but maybe it's yours.
30 Texas Tech Sporting Event
31 Trivial Pursuit
32 Video Games: Not much interaction but trash talk, but it's a start.
33 Your Own Idea & Creativity Works Best! Thanks for loving Jesus and for loving our students!
Your soul is the place where you know there is a God even before you meet Him. The soul is that in us which longs for the right thing. And once we come into a relationship with God, it's the place where we commune with Him. The soul can be filled with God or devoid of Him, but if it is empty, God is the only thing that will fill it. We can throw all sorts of pleasures and loves in there, but none will satisfy like God, because the soul was made to long for Him and no other. When God breathed into Adam, he became a living soul, forever longing for God's breath to fill him again.8.11.2008
8.01.2008
Cool Stuff
My friend Dave Weise just posted this wonderful video. Once while speaking at a retreat in PA Dave painted a different cool thing while I was teaching and the youth ministry kept it in their youth room.
I think the artistic skills I didn't get when born were given to Dave.
My friend Dave Weise just posted this wonderful video. Once while speaking at a retreat in PA Dave painted a different cool thing while I was teaching and the youth ministry kept it in their youth room.
I think the artistic skills I didn't get when born were given to Dave.
Earlier in the Summer, I was able to preach at my church and it was for the Senior Sunday or Youth Sunday. I had planned on talking about Wisdom for Our Seniors and I was about 1/2 way through the prep for it when I got the SYM freebie notification and I saw the How Not to Be a Fool curriculum and got it.I had won a cool $500 value prize package or so before from Pastor2Youth in one of Ryan's contests but it did not include a 3 week series.
This was a great thing to have and use. The series has to be based on Andy Stanley's "The Best Question Ever" but it comes with a power point game for each week and easily produced and adapted outlines. There's a sample lesson even on the freebies list.
I tend to not buy too much curriculum but I was happy enough with this to let those who care, know about it.
