The Youth Ministry Summit at CCU has come and gone, but the lessons go on...
Take-aways:
Don't allow pressures to steal your soul, including...
"Don't let the church squeeze you into it's mold."spoken by Dick Alexander, at the YM Summit at CCU, during a message on 'How to stay in youth ministry and not lose your soul'
On Thursday, March 6, I'll be at the Youth Ministry Summit on the campus of Cincinnati Christian University. I'll be taking notes and will post what I learn when I get back.
BOOST Your Youth Ministry to Excellence
March 6, 2008, 9 am - 5:45 pm
Keynote Speaker:
Steve Carter (Mars Hill Bible Church, Grand Rapids, MI) - Speaking at the 10 a.m. chapel service, plus leading general session workshops: “Putting Together Dynamic Messages for Teens,” & “Recruiting Volunteers”
Other Youth Ministry Workshops led by:
Dick Alexander (Lifespring Christian Church, Cincinnati,OH)—“How to stay in youth ministry without losing your soul”
Michael Kast (Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, KY) “How to survive mistakes, blunders, slip-ups and temporary lapses of sanity.”
Adam Jones (Georgetown Church of Christ, Georgetown, OH), “Overhauling a student ministry.”
Mark Hancher (Kenwood Heights Christian Church, Louisville, KY) “Staff relationships”
Josh Lenon (Countryside Christian Church, Michigan City, IN) “Dealing with the highs and lows of adolescent relationship issues”
Costs: $49 ($59 after February 28, 2008)
Tonight, in a couple hours, some of our good friends from Cincinnati will stop by for a visit. They are now serving in Africa. We haven't seen them since graduation, six years ago. They are in the states on furlough for the summer and are able to pass through our part of the country in between stops. We are excited about getting to see them and hang out.
The biggest thing we want to be able to do, though, is offer them a place to really relax. A place where they don't have to speak, give a presentation or answer a ton of questions about their ministry. We want to be a safe, quiet place to rest in the midst of their busy/crazy travel schedule.
A judge in Ohio freed a man after he quoted Ps. 23. Really, he did. Read it here. Or here it is in its entirity:
Ohio Judge Frees Man After Bible Quiz
CINCINNATI (AP) - A man arrested on Wednesday for allegedly trying to use a stolen credit card at a drugstore got a break from a judge after passing a sort of Bible quiz.
When Eric Hine appeared in court this morning, his attorney described him as a church-goer, hoping the judge would set a low bond.
Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge John Burlew was skeptical and asked Hine to recite the 23rd Psalm.
He did: all six verses. Some in the courtroom applauded.
Burlew was satisfied and released Hine on a $10,0000 appearance bond, meaning he'll have to pay that amount if he doesn't show up for his next court date.
I know I already posted a recap, but that ended up being pretty general. And I was looking over my notes and I didn't post on any of the great stuff I learned. So here it is, the "what I learned post"
5 things I learned at the YM Summit
1. Our mndis are cazry tihgns. Rcaehersrres at Crmbdigae did a sudty on wrods and ltertes (how pploee raed) and fuond smoe iretnietsng suftf out. We olny need the fsirt and lsat lteter in a wrod to be in the rgiht sopt to raed and usadetnrnd taht wrod. If the rset of the ltteres are meixd up, our biarn wlil sltil cpheormned the wrod. (now tihnk of the acpiaptolin to msitriny wehn Jseuss syas He is the Aphla & Ogmea)
2. Longevity in youth ministry (or ministry in general) does not mean you always have a great place to minister. Longevity is dependant on "You" and how you respond to various ministry situations; good and bad. God calls us to be faithful to Him, not a specific ministry location. (I was reminded that other youth ministers are currently going through what I went through last year. See numerous posts about what happened.)
3. From Les Christie's chapel sermon (on Daniel 1): There is a big difference between drawing a line on personal preferences vs. drawing a line on God's precepts. (Too often we do the former in our ministries and this usually leads to a mess)
4. Also from Les Christie's chapel sermon: "You can't experience the power of God if you don't put yourself in situations where you need it."
5. It is easy to get kids fired up for God, the hard part is to keep the flame burning. (man, that is so true. I think ministers have a tendency to spend most of our time getting the fire started and spend very little time on keeping that fire going. It is just easier, isn't it?)
(here is #1 posted again, spelled correctly)
1. Our minds are crazy things. Researchers at Cambridge did a study on words and letters (how people read) and found some interesting stuff out. We only need the first and last letter in a word to be in the right spot to read and understand that word. If the rest of the letters are mixed up, our brain will still comprehend the word. (now think of the application to ministry when Jesus says He is the Alpha & Omega)
The YM Summit was good. This was the first time CCU has done anything in this format, and it was very helpful. Not only did I gather new ideas for minister, I was encouraged and refreshed. Seeing that I went to CCU, I was expecting to see quite a few youth ministers I knew from school. While I did get to see a good number of people, I didn't see some of the youth ministers I thought I would. There are quite a few ministers I know who are still in the Cincinnati area, but none of them came.
Les Christie led two seminars: positive discipline and developing a faith that lasts a lifetime. Developing a faith was a new seminar that he just finished putting together and it was phenominal. It was a look at how we can better develop a faith in the students that will not be gone after they graduate.
I would recommend trying to attend the next one they do. Its not too much information to overload you, but it is jam-packed with stuff to take back and utilize.
The weirdest thing was the connection one of the workshop leaders had to me. (Well, not me directly, but close enough.) I am working in a small town in Southern IL, about an hour from Evansville, IN. The workshop leader, Randy Shivers - who is at a church in Cincinnati is related to the other Christian Church minister in our little small town. So, he knew exactly where I was from and the area. Its a strange world.
My visit to CCU's campus yesterday had old mixed with new. Since it has been 6 years since I've been on campus, its not surprising some things have changed. Here are two pictures from the campus...
This is my old dorm, with a view of the city.
This is the new chapel building, which was finished a few years ago (I think). It changes the look on campus quite a bit. (It used to be parking and a grassy area)
Tomorrow I am going to be in Cincinnati for a YM Summit held at Cincinnati Christian University. This will mark the first time I've been on CCU's campus since I graduated in '01 (when it was still called CBC). I'm looking forward to seeing the changes and seeing a few of my friends who work there. Now I get to be that guy who says, "I remember when ..." :)
I'm looking forward to getting some ideas on how to better minister to the students God has allowed me to work with.
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