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Subscribe to the NetworkEpsiode: April Fools
Chris on April 3rd, 2010
Unless you are a hardcore podcast team member please don’t watch this episode.
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morethandodgeball.com
GUEST POST: Epic Fail
Josh at 8:59pm, February 4, 2012Have 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.
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juniorhighministry.com
Keys To Longevity #5: BLEED IT, BUT DON?T BLEED TO DEATH
Kurt at 11:37pm, January 30, 2012Posted 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 [...]
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marriedtoayouthpastor.com
In regards to a comment?
Amanda at 3:45pm, April 1, 2011You 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 [...]
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simplyurbanministry.com
You need VISION
Jeff at 4:41am, December 18, 2010Today we will define God?s purpose for vision in your Life.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 Failure- Not knowing who you are. If you don?t know who you [...]
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youthmissionsinsider.com
Short-Term Missions A Waste?
Jeff at 2:36pm, October 25, 2011Our 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?
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morethangossip.com
the end game
Neely at 1:01am, February 2, 2012I’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?
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smallchurchyouthministry.com
#5-Top Twelve Countdown to a GREAT YM Year
Stephanie at 6:42am, January 31, 2012Don’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
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holysoup.com
Dumb Questions Heard in Church
Thom Schultz at 4:10pm, February 1, 2012No wonder most people walk away from church with little to show for it. Recent Barna research revealed that most people (61 percent) cannot recall gaining any spiritual insights the last time they attended church. Part of the problem stems from uninspiring content?answering questions no one is asking. (I recently sat through a sermon about [...]
Justin, Welcome to the Team
Chris on March 30th, 2010
Here’s a confession about our office, we love pranks, and who better to prank than a brand new team member. Poor Justin didn’t know what he was getting into.
Ok so we may have doctored the photo a bit. And just so everyone get’s the chance to show Justin so love, we would love for you to give us your best caption for his picture:
Jump over to Facebook.com/SimplyYouthMinistry and leave your caption for a chance to win 5000, 2500, or 1000 reward points.
Be sure to get your entries in by 3 PM Mountain time on Thursday.
Simply Youth Ministry Rewards Launches
Chris on March 25th, 2010
We are super excited about our new Simply Youth Ministry Rewards program that we are launching today. It’s still in beta, so we might find a few little issues, but we are too excited to keep it from you any longer. You will now be able to earn rewards points with every purchase from SimplyYouthMinistry.com to use in the new rewards store to buy more resources for your ministry.
How does it work?
It’s simple, you get 10 points for every $1 you spend. If you can do math, you can collect points. (Even if you don’t have enough fingers and toes to figure it out, you can also see how much you’ll earn on every product page):
So what do I do once I have points?
You can redeem them for downloadable resources in the Simply Youth Ministry Rewards Store. Its super awesome and has almost all Simply Youth Ministry downloadable product available.
Visit the Rewards Store to check it out.
How do I find out how many points I have?
Just log into your SimplyYouthMinistry.com account and you’ll see a new link on your account page to see your reward point summary. Again, you will need to do a little math but nothing an abacus can’t help you figure out.
Log-in to your account or get started with one HERE. (Even if you don’t think you need anything right now, you never know when a contest will come along that will give you bonus points, and you’ll need an account for that.)
Episode 130:
Chris on March 19th, 2010
This is what happens when Doug and his friends sit down to do a podcast and there’s no agenda. No questions, no content, just catching up on the lives of our podcast team. So take a few minutes and catch up with Doug, Matt, Josh, Jake, and even Andy during this short show.
Happy, A New Sermon Series from Doug Fields and Josh Griffin
Chris on March 19th, 2010
Brand new in the store:
This is a new sermon series from Doug Fields and Josh Griffin. It’s a great series on the beatitudes.
Here’s more details:
Guess what? Life as a follower of Christ isn’t designed to be dull, boring, or sad. In fact, Jesus wants you to be happy! But God’s definition of happiness is quite different from the way our culture interprets and promotes. God doesn’t want us to focus our energy and efforts on pursuing happiness that is defined by our feelings and emotions. Instead, we can seek happiness that is experienced as we follow God’s plan—and as we’re fueled by God’s power.
This inspiring six-week sermon series will challenge your students to pursue God-style happiness through the Beatitudes from Matthew 5. They’ll discover these life-changing principles:
- Happiness is found by following God’s path
- Happiness is found through humility
- Happiness is found through passionate love for God and others
- Happiness is found when we forgive
- Happiness is found by nurturing a pure hear
- Happiness is found by going against the flow