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about an hour ago.
Have you ever really messed up? I mean, completely blown it. I have and I thought there is no way to recover from this one. I have finally figured out that it is okay to mess up and fail! Congratulations, you didn’t do it!
The great thing about failing is that it is not the end result. It is part of the process. Another element in life. For instance, Abraham Lincoln’s resume:
? 1831 – Lost his job ? 1832 – Defeated in run for Illinois State Legislature ? 1833 – Failed in business ? 1834 – Elected to Illinois State Legislature (success) ? 1835 – Sweetheart died ? 1836 – Had nervous breakdown ? 1838 – Defeated in run for Illinois House Speaker ? 1843 – Defeated in run for nomination for U.S. Congress ? 1846 – Elected to Congress (success) ? 1848 – Lost re-nomination ? 1849 – Rejected for land officer position ? 1854 – Defeated in run for U.S. Senate ? 1856 – Defeated in run for nomination for Vice President ? 1858 – Again defeated in run for U.S. Senate ? 1860 – Elected President (success)
Not great. Obviously not all those events were his fault but they could have caused him to quit trying.
So, if you feel like nothing is going right….then you are on the right track. It doesn’t matter if the failure is in marriage, work, ministry, or faith. You aren’t finished yet, so if you want to go from suck to success, you only need one step. Get back up and keep trying.
Jeremy Bloom is trying to figure out life, God, and family. Follow him on Twitter – @finding_jeremy or on his blog about youth ministry.
Posted by Kurt Johnston
This is the 5th in a little series about some of the things that have helped me last for almost 25 years. There is no silver bullet here, just a little insight about things that have seemed to make a difference in my journey as a youth worker.
BLEED IT, BUT DON’T BLEED TO DEATH!
Every now and then, a young youth worker will say something like this, “Youth ministry is my life!”. To which I always reply internally, and upon occasion even blurt out, “Really? That’s too bad.”
I think youth ministry, or any ministry endeavor for that matter, deserves some extra effort. Youth ministry isn’t for folks who are clock-watchers, who only want to do the minimum job requirements. I actually think it deserves to be led by men and women who aren’t afraid to “bleed” it a little bit. But we should NEVER bleed to death!
- When you consistently sacrifice your family for the sake of your youth ministry…you are bleeding to death. - When your friendships suffer because you spend too much time at youth ministry events…you are bleeding to death. - When you have no outside hobbies because you spend your free time with teenagers or planning events for teenagers…you are bleeding to death. - When you fail to take your day off, or you skimp on vacation time due to the demands of youth ministry…you are bleeding to death. - When you spend time in the word out of the need to [...]
You are right, there are far more dangerous jobs than youth ministry. I am extremely thankful that my husband does not stare down the barrel of a gun. I cannot imagine the kind of strength a wife would need for that. No matter what the job each one of us, including myself, has and will face great tragedies. Just in each day there are so many ups and downs. Our lives are sprinkled with many different feelings and emotions from happiness to thankfulness, to frustration to sorrow. My hope is that not one of us would deny ourselves the right to feel validated in each and every feeling that we have that gets mixed up inside of us. I hope that in some small way this blog may be a place for someone in ministry to feel heard, connected, and uplifted through a comment, a funny story, or a serious post. And what I love so much about this community of women is the honesty shared about their lives, and the tone that we all take loving God and our husbands seriously but don’t take ourselves too seriously.
I write this in no way with a defensive voice, but with so much concern that many pastor’s wives are told that their feelings are silly or not important. Whether from someone at church or their own inner dialogue. Our “perspective” should be to accept and embrace our feelings whatever they may be and then with God [...]
q Jeremiah 1:4 ?The Word of God came to me saying, before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.?
q God had a vision a plan for you. Do you have one for the assignment He has given you?
q Vision: The picture of God?s potential, purpose, and possibilities for your life.
q Show me a person without vision, and I will show you a person who is at a standstill in life.
q Proverbs 29:18 ?Where there is no vision the people perish.?
q Life Point: The key element to getting out of my present state is the vision that I have for myself.
q Jeremiah 29:11 ?For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope,
Vision Truthsq True vision goes beyond what I can accomplish on my own.
q True vision adds value to others.
q True vision attracts vision.
q True vision must have God in it.
q Acts 2:17 ?And it shall come to pass in the last days says God, I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and daughters shall prophesy and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams.?
5 Road Blocks to Vision FailureOur good friend (and founder) Thom Schultz has an interesting take on one of the ongoing debates in youth missions – Are they really worth it?
Short-Term Missions A Waste?
What do you think? Did Thom get it right?
I’ve noticed something lately about the way the church and youth ministries tend to talk to girls. We (unfortunately at times I would include myself) communicate that the end game for a girl is getting the right kind of guy. Even though we don’t mean to it just happens. Books sold to teen girls about how to get the right kind of guy (a christian book nonetheless…and I haven’t read it but I am assuming the title is meant to mislead by promising to help girls snag a guy.) A youtube video for Christian girls on how to attract a godly guy. And than we are surprised and frustrated that all girls care about is boys. Oh the irony.
We need to change the end game.
The end game for every girl we encounter should be a radical life following after Jesus. That life may include an occupation in the public circles, a life of full time ministry, marriage, kids or all of the above.
When we begin to believe in a bigger or more radical end game for girls it changes how we communicate to them. We tell their stories better. And in my heart I believe we help girls move their attention from dating to bigger dreams…from drama to radical living. Don’t we all really want that for our girls?
What do you think? What are your thoughts about changing the end game?
Don’t sell Jesus short.
I spent the weekend with a church in a faith tradition I am fairly new to. They have a rich heritage of liturgical worship. But if one made the mistake of thinking this church’s denom is bereft of showing feelings of faith or the goodness of God, one would be wrong.
The YP of this church had a similar epiphany today. She has a deep love for Jesus but thought her diverse international students would be uncomfortable with referencing anyone but “God.” After all, they don’t declare an emotional faith and “Jesus” is just too intimate, right?
After she had a discussion with my ministry partner, Adam DeVries, she told her students she was going to unashamedly call Jesus by his name. How shocked and delighted she was when they were happy for her AND them. They cheered.
My point? Don’t sell Jesus short in your youth ministry. Kids KNOW when they come near you that there’s a good chance they’re going to hear about God. They’re even disappointed when they don’t.
Remember: Jesus is the name of the one to whom everyone will bow. It’s just a matter of when.
S
Well…this deal is pretty stinking awesome, but we do acknowledge that Tim Tebow, your new years day nap, and the announcement of the iPad3 and iPad4 releasing in 2012 are all probably a little more awesome!
*However, you can outfit 1 small group with this 2011 best-selling student book for less than $50!
*offer expires at 11:59pm on 01.12.12
Jason Ostrander, the national youth director for Alliance Youth, is in the process of writing a new 99 Thoughts book titled “99 Questions Jesus Asked”. We thought it would be fun to check in with Jason every few weeks to see how he is doing at writing his first book! In our first post, “Book Writing 101 W/ Jason Ostrander” we interviewed Jason, asking him what the premise of his book was…if you missed it click here to catch up.
This time Jason thought he would send us some pictures of his desk as a visual into his writing process.
CLICK HERE to Check Out the entire 99 Thoughts series, which is on SALE RIGHT NOW!
Meet Jacqueline Pierre and her book “Totally Infatuated“!
A public speaker and (self-proclaimed) golf team captain, Jacqueline Pierre has shared with more than 20,000 students about the transmission of the English Bible, a subject especially near and dear to her heart. Her family owns one of the largest collections of rare manuscripts and early-edition Bibles in private hands. This collection, the VanKampen Collection, is housed at the Holy Land Experience in Orlando, Florida, where Jacqueline lives with her parents, Scott and Karla, and her older brother, Robert. *You can catch her on tour with Christ In Youth in 2012
About “Totally Infatuated“:
Jacqueline Pierre is a teenager who understands what it means to discover a fresh perspective on the Bible. Her life has been transformed through her obsession with God’s Word. She’s your guide for this journey through the pages of Scripture, as she reveals why she’s totally infatuated with God’s Word.
Scripture speaks to your life—your school-going, sports-participating, friend-texting, goal-setting, future-dreaming life. The Bible will bring you peace and purpose, value and victory, success and strength. Expect great things to happen as you dive into God’s Word and pursue the treasure of life-changing truth inside its pages.
A while back we began working with Jason Ostrander, the national youth director for Alliance Youth, on a new 99 Thoughts book titled “99 Questions Jesus Asked”. We thought it would be fun to check in with Jason every few weeks to see how he is doing at writing his first book! SO…we asked Jason a few questions about why he wanted to write “99 Questions Jesus Asked”…
SimplyInsider: “Why do you want to write ’99 Questions Jesus Asked’?”
Jason: “Following suit with other books within the 99 family, this book endeavors to broaden our understanding of the unique “question-and-answer” style of teaching which Jesus implemented some 2000 years ago.
SimplyInsider: “Will you be able to keep it to 99 Questions?”
Jason: “Haha! Jesus posed well over 300 questions to his disciples as well as others around him (and that is only what we have recorded in the gospels)…so it will be a task!”
SimplyInsider: “Can you give us a Sneak Peek of one of the 99 Questions?”
Jason: “HECK YEAH!! Jesus asked, “But who do you say that I am?” (Mark 8:29) There are many opinions in this world as to who Jesus really was. Some say he was a very good man, others say he was a prophet, still others say he was the Messiah, but Jesus is only concerned with one perspective….yours! In proclaiming Jesus as the Christ, Peter was making a statement of belief that was stronger than any opinion. In fact it was such a profound belief that he would give his entire life to answering this question. Who do you believe Jesus to be? And how will that change your life?”
SimplyInsider: “Thanks for your time…keep working hard and we will check-in with you again soon!”
Jason: “Thanks and will do!”
CLICK HERE to Check Out the entire 99 Thoughts series, which is on SALE RIGHT NOW!
Hope you enjoyed the sneak peek at the next issue of Group Magazine! Make sure you don’t miss out on everything Group Magazine is doing is 2012…including Digital issues, salary survey, Exclusive interviews, Youth Worker next door profiles and more!
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