Book Review: Nelson's Illustrated Guide to Religions by James A. Beverley

As a youth minister, I have used a variety of resources to gather information on different religions. I just found the one book I will go to first, Nelson's Illustrated Guide to Religions. With over 700 pages, this reference book will cover just about any religious group you will encounter. Nineteen main religious groups are covered, with hundreds more discussed under these main categories.

The breadth of its coverage is not what sets this book apart from other guides to religion. What gives it the edge is the extra material placed throughout the pages. Many sections conclude with a glossary of terms - a huge help when trying to understand the basics of other religions. Also included throughout the book are time lines mapping out significant events in the history of the religious group or religious leader. Each section ends with a brief summary of the religious group; including, the founder, the headquarters, main website, other sites dealing with the group, and recommended reading.

The ability to find information quickly, easily and understandably make Nelson's Illustrated Guide to Religions a must have for anyone in the church. If you find yourself teaching a class on religions or are involved in a conversation with someone about a particular religion, there is one other part of the book you will want to read - "A Christian response to...." You will be glad you have this book on your shelf.

My advice (rating) – go out and buy it (4 out of 5)

Learned from Twitter: week ending May 16, 2009

Here are some of the things I learned from my friends on Twitter this week...


1. AdamLehman (Adam Lehman) shared a link to a post from his fiance, about marrying a youth pastor.
"quest blog post by my fiance, @alliepal : "i'm about to marry a youth pastor" http://tinyurl.com/or7ddc #stumin"

2. SITM (Stuck In the Middle) is gearing up for the next year of tour. If you work with middle school students and have not checked out this ministry, you need to right now.
"Stuck's jr. high event tour 2009-2010 dates are up http://twurl.nl/u62pi2 - coming to KS, MO, CA, FL, OH and the Pac NW. Check it out!"

3. ymgeek (Youth Ministry Geek) let us know about some free fonts. And who can't always use a new font for the newsletter?
"Free Fonts anyone? 15 Fresh High-Quality Free Fonts - http://is.gd/yRDB (via @smashingmag)"

4. WorshipRising (Kevin Richardson) shared some great news and an answer to prayer.
"As of June 1st I will be the full-time worship/arts pastor at The Journey Church in San Francisco... more details to follow soon."

5. YouthMinBlog (YouthMinBlog) wants to know if you would like to help get the word out by adding a badge to your blog.
"Would you be able to put a YMB badge on your blog? http://youthminblog.com/bad..."

6. foecuspastor (Clay Conry) clued us in on the twittering habits of one particular astronaut. (I'd hate to see the roaming charges on that call)
"Twitter continues to amaze! @astro_mike is in space right now and has promised to tweet from orbit! Social Media FTW!"

7. mattcleaver (Matt cleaver) was the first to inform me that tatango doesn't offer free text messaging anymore.
"bummed that tatango isn't doing free group text messages anymore. Any other free options out there anymore? #ym"

8. sandyhughes (Sandy Hughes) mentioned that the astronauts got to listen to a little Third Day as their alarm clock music - not a bad idea.
"they just played "God of Wonders" by third day for the astronauts wake up song this morning."


What did you learn from Twitter this week?

Photo Friday: Ice melts

Youth Ministry Budgeting: Open Source Alternatives (addendum #1)

As an addendum to the youth ministry budgeting series, I want to look at some open source alternatives to many of the products a youth ministry needs on a regular basis. Before we get to the list, I think we need to start with a brief summary of the benefits of using open source software.

Benefits of using Open Source software:
The biggest benefit of using open source software is the money you save by not buying licensed software. In some cases you will be saving hundreds of dollars per computer that will run the software. Even getting a license to load the software on multiple computers will not be as cheap as getting the software for free. (but that's obvious, right?)

I have found that some open source software is easier to use than its licensed counterpart. In part, this has to do with not having as robust a selection of options. In other cases, its just a simple fact that the layout and tools are easier to find and manipulate.

Another benefit for some of the software is the ability to modify content on the internet without being tied to a specific computer. This means you do not have to be on your youth ministry computer to update your message for Sunday. If the software is internet-based, you can work on either a Mac or a PC, or both. Along with this feature, comes the ability to have multiple collaborators working on a project at the same time. You can add information to a document and any other collaborator will save the changes next time she opens the document. This cuts down on emailing updates and forgetting which file is the most recent edition.



Open Source (FREE!) Alternatives:
Here are a few places to start your search.

Word Processing:
Open Office
Google Docs - while not open source, it is a great free alternative

Presentation Software:
Impress (in Open Office)
Presentation (in Google Docs) - some limitations when using offline

Photo Editing:
Gimp - The best alternative to photoshop I have found.
(you will want to check out some of the available plug-ins , too)

Video Editing:
Kaltura - online video editing

Financial Software:
Buddi


You will also want to check out Open Source Living - a great site for finding more open source software.


Saving money by using open source software frees your ministry to use the money in other ways. There are some great ways to use this "extra" money that will make a bigger impact that just buying software. This topic will be my next addendum post for the youth ministry budgeting series.




What open source software would you add to this list? What open source software does every youth worker need to know about?

Trivia Wednesday #121: oyster offspring

answer #120 - True (True of False Many of the sweaters worn by Mr. Rogers on the popular television show, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, were actually knitted by his real mother.)

question #121 - In her lifetime, a female oyster may produce how many young?

Book Review: Storylines by Andy Croft and Mike Pilavachi

Have you ever read a verse in the New Testament and noticed a reference to a verse in the Old Testament? Did this cause you to wonder how the two passages are connected to each other? If you answered yes to these questions, you need to read Storylines. With this book, Croft and Pilavachi have set to help Christian better understand the themes that run throughout the Bible.

Storylines helps connect six themes by taking an in depth look at how they are connected in the Old Testament and the New Testament. Another aspect of the book that I really like is the first chapter, "The Bible in 20 Pages," where Croft and Pilavachi guide the reader through a brief look at the entire Bible. As you read about the six threads: Jesus, covenant, presence, Kingdom, salvation and worship, be reminded that the Bible was not put together by accident. God has been very intentional throughout history in his dealings with man and understanding how events are connected will help you see how your own life is connected to these very themes.

Reading Storylines is like taking a Bible college class on the Bible without having to actually go to class. This is a great resource for anyone who wants to have a better understanding of how the books in the Bible are connected to each other.


My advice (rating) – buy more than one and give out copies (5 out of 5)

A few posts worth reading: May 11, 2009

Here are a few posts I think you should read. Go ahead and click the links...


1. Jeremy (over on Youth Ministry Geek) shares this link to finding the best fast food places during your road trips this summer.

2. Dennis shares 4 great tips on how to adapt lessons for your youth group as part of an ongoing discussion about using "freebie" lessons in youth ministry.

3. There is a great series of posts on evaluating success in youth ministry over at the YouthMinBlog. Posts like this one. Go check them out and join the conversation.

4. Here are some tips on Spring Cleaning - by Relevant Magazine


What have you been reading that you think needs to be shared?

Learned from Twitter: week ending May 9, 2009

Didn't get to see as much of the Twitter stream this week, but I still managed to catch some good nuggets of wisdom and truth.

Here are some of the things I learned this week from Twitter:

1. riddlegroup (Mark Riddle) reminded us of one very simple part of leadership that we must be mindful about.
"dreaming with people brings life, dreaming for people is deadly."

2. saraeden (Sara Eden Williams) shared a prayer request that reminds us of the importance of what we do with students.
"Just hearing of an incident at a high school in the area: Senior committed suicide in the school bathroom this morning. Please pray for all."

3. dbeckner (Dennis Beckner) shared about his night teaching and reminded us that it doesn't have to go "perfectly" in order to be effective. God shows up despite our fumbles.
"Crazy night of teaching. Everything went wrong, but message still got through. I'll put that in the win column."

4. YS_Scoop (Youth Specialties) provided a link to the video from this week's conference call with Marko about the National Youth Workers Convention.
"Did you miss today's conference call? Watch the recorded video right now! http://nywc.com/live"

5. youthministry (Youth Ministry) offered a link to a free Mother's Day lesson (if you still need one - which none of you reading this would, right?)
"Still wondering what to teach about Mother's day? Here's a great freebie lesson for you: http://budurl.com/ymmd"

6. briandurr (Brian Durr) had a run-in with the campus security this week thanks to some school policy changes. All he wanted to do was eat lunch with his students.
"Wow- One of the local high schools changed their security procedures. I was escorted off campus for trying to eat lunch w/ my students."


What did you learn from Twitter this week?

New Contributor for the YouthMinBlog

Today is my official start to contributing to the YouthMinBlog "project/endeavor"

I'm excited to be a part of a great group of youth workers who are contributing to this ongoing conversation.

My first article is called "Microwave Ministry?" and its on the topic of how to evaluate the success of your youth ministry. Take a look at the article, as well as the rest of the site (there are a bunch of great articles waiting to be read). I would love to hear your thoughts...

Photo Friday: Baked Potato

Decided to go a little different route this week. Enjoy the picture of a really good Mexican Baked Potato (it was very tasty).

Finding the right youth ministry job

This past Friday, May 1, 2009, I was the "guest" on the weekly YM Talk hosted by Tim Schmoyer and Life in Student Ministry. The topic of discussion was "tips on finding the right youth ministry job."

If you are looking for a new youth ministry job, take a listen. If you know someone who is looking, point them this direction. Or maybe you just need to listen because at some point in the future you might have to look for a new youth ministry position. Whatever the reason, I'd love to hear your comments about the discussion.

Also, if you have any questions about finding a new youth ministry job that you would like to ask me - send me an email (address is on the right side of the blog) or leave a comment on this post.

Head over here to listen to the discussion or get it on itunes and listen to it later.


Plus, I'd like to add one thing to the discussion that we did not get to talk about during our time. I have found that during the question and answer time, there is a good chance that the questions have to do with "fixing" a problem from the previous ministry.

For the congregation, they will ask the candidate questions about issues they felt were lacking in the last youth minister. Questions about "spending time with students" - if that is something they last youth minister didn't do enough according to them.

For the candidate, they will ask questions about issues the last congregation or leadership didn't do well. It could be questions about accountability or evaluations, if that is something that seemed to be lacking.

Keep this in mind as you are asking and answering questions. It will help you get a better feel for where the congregation/youth ministry is at and it will help you see what "baggage" you might be bringing with you into your new ministry.

Trivia Wednesday #120: Mr. Rogers' sweaters

answer #119 - July 1, 1941. It was for Bulova clocks and preceded a Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies baseball game. The ad was a simple picture of a clock and a map of the United States, and proclaimed, "America runs on Bulova time." (When did the first TV commercial air?)

question #120 - True of False Many of the sweaters worn by Mr. Rogers on the popular television show, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, were actually knitted by his real mother.

May Trivia

During the month of May (and part of June) the trivia for Trivia Wednesday will be in line with the 2 major holidays during these two months. All of the questions will be about mothers and fathers.


As always, I hope these questions will be beneficial to your ministry. Use them during lessons, when you are eating lunch with a student, in your newsletters or on your website.

6 Saddest Verses in the Bible

There are verses of Scripture that bring hope to you every time you read them. But, at the same time, there are other verses that bring sadness for one reason or another. Below are six verses that I think are among the saddest verses in all of Scripture.


6 Saddest Verses in the Bible:

1. John 6.66
"From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him."

2. Judges 16.20
"But he (Samson) did not know that the LORD had left him."

3. John 12.43
"for they loved praise from men more than praise from God."

4. 1 Samuel 15.10-11 & 1 Samuel 16.14
"Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel: "I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions." Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the LORD all that night."

5. 1 Samuel 16.14
"Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him."

6. Mark 14.21
"The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born."


Which verses did I miss? What verses would you add to the list? Why?

Book Review: The Principle of the Path by Andy Stanley

Principles of the Path is the newest book by Andy Stanley. Stanley writes this book from the perspective of a minister who has seen many people go down very different paths in their life. Some people end up at the destination they desire, while others end up in a place they never wanted to be. The purpose of this book is to help the reader avoid the unwanted destination by paying attention to the path they are taking in all areas of their life. We all reach destinations, and with a little bit of intentional behavior, you can reach the destination you want.

Every chapter includes an example from Scripture to reinforce the point and help the reader understand the principle of the path a little clearer. Besides the practical advice and examples, both good and bad, there is a study at the back of the book. This guide will help you process through the information individually or help you take a group of people through the book. In order for the book to be helpful, you have to allow yourself to be open and honest about where your current paths are leading you.

If you have liked Andy Stanley's other books or enjoy listening to him speak, you will like this book.

My advice (rating) – buy more than one and give out copies (5 out of 5)

Learned from Twitter: week ending May 2, 2009

This week in Twitter was full of insight, laughs, free stuff and lots of discussion. Here are a few things I learned from Twitter this past week.


1. BtotheEtotheN (Ben Boles) added something to my "wow, really?" file.
"The Catholic priest officiating the wedding opened the service with, pray for this couple to your god whom ever that may be."

2. kentshaffer (Kent Shaffer) shared this story, which is sure to make you feel a little less smart than you did this morning.
"One student gets perfect scores on the ACT, SAT, & PSAT - http://bit.ly/40vQq"

3. justayouthguy (Jon McIver) shared a great interaction he had with a student.
"Just asked Middle School girl 'why do you have a water balloon in your purse?'"

4. YouthMinBlog (Youth Ministry Blog) provided a code to get a free video download from Bluefish TV.
"Use the code BFP3 to get a free video download from http://BlueFishTV.com"

5. theofficenbc (The Office) provided a link to a new ringtone that Office fans will want to get. Might I suggest not putting this as your sr. minister's ringtone - that might get you into some trouble. :)
"You asked for it, you got it! Get the Dwight "Idiot" ringtone that Jim made in "Broke" @ http://www.nbc.com/The_Offi..."

6. 6drews (Mike Andrews) brought up a great thought for all youth ministers to consider.
"weighing the risk/reward of changing culturally based thinking in the church vs. behavior modification in order to avoid controversy"

7. AdamLehman (Adam Lehman) mentioned a church that saved money by trying to be good stewards of their resources. [Personally, I think its sad that this type of church is different enough to be considered newsworthy. We are all called to be good stewards.]
"a church saves $268,000 by going green. http://tr.im/jVdN"

8. williamhartz (William Hartz) shared some wisdom/insight he learned at his small group.
"Anyone who holds to the theory that girls don't poop... Tonight's conversation at small group has amply disproven it. #awkward"

9. kentshaffer (Kent Shaffer) provided another article link, this one tells us that most people who use Twitter quit way too early.
"60% of Twitter Users Quit Within the First Month - http://bit.ly/oIwCO"

10. drumdog00 (Justin Van Rheenen) shared a link to a free download from Thousand Foot Krutch.
"RT @chuffybass5: You can download new TFK free at www.welcometothemasquerade.com and if you're a TFK fan like me, you'll love it!!!"

11. YS_Scoop (Youth Specialties) has a really cool offer going right now.
"Help us purge our offices! You get great YS stuff and help mentor kids. http://tinyurl.com/realityc... Spread the word!"


What did you learn from Twitter this week?

Photo Friday: diapers

Guess which diaper came from the hospital and which one came from the store? They are both pretty much the exact same diaper, its just that one has the "character" on it and the other does not.

I always thought it was strange that diapers can licensed characters on them. Do babies even care what picture, if any, is on the front of their diaper? Why does marketing have to start so early?

Did Facebook kill the blog meme?

While talking with my wife recently about all those Facebook quizzes, I thought, "Did Facebook kill the blog meme?"

Not sure what a meme is...Go here to learn what a meme is. You can even go here and get a daily meme.


Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not sad to see them go.

There was a time where blog memes were being posted about every other week. It was becoming really annoying to have to filter through the multiple blog memes to get to actual blog content. But then I stopped seeing them. Maybe it was because the authors of blogs I read stopped participating or got bored with answering so many pointless questions. But I think the blog memes are still around, but now they are undercover as a "Facebook quiz."

With Facebook, you can share

• "25 random things about me"
  
• "Which ________ are you"
  
• "Your top 5 ________"

and the list could go on and on...

And let's be honest (well, I'll be honest with you), I am really sick of having to filter through all of this useless Facebook stuff to get to actual pictures, notes, or updates.

But, I'd rather see it on Facebook than on a person's blog. Let's leave room in the blogs for what they are intended to be and leave the spilling of useless personal information for your Facebook page.

ps. I'm just glad there have been no "twitter memes" going around. :)

Trivia Wednesday #119: first TV commercial

answer #118 - Wrigley's gum. (What was the first product to have a barcode on its packaging?)

question #119 - When did the first TV commercial air?



Use these trivia questions to start a conversation with a student, begin a lesson, use in a newsletter or email. I hope they can be beneficial within your youth ministry.

Youth Ministry Budgeting: Tips for Saving Money (5b of 5)

(This is part 2 of the final post in a 5 part series on youth ministry budgeting. You can see the earlier posts here: 1 - stewardship. 2 - categories part a and part b. 3 - process. 4 - to buy or not to buy. 5 - tips on saving money part 1)

No youth ministry is immune to the economic hardship facing our country. And in order to be better stewards of our resources (and possibly stay afloat), we all need to learn to save a few bucks. Here is part 2 of my thoughts on how to save money. To see the first 5 tips, go here.


6. Involve more adults
Instead of doing things like ordering pizza or catering all of your meals, think about asking people to help cook and serve the food. It doesn't have to be food, it can be decorating for a special event, setting up, manning the tables.

This tip was shared by Sara Eden , so I'll just let her share some thoughts about it.

"The other thing we've done is moved away from the church providing dinner at youth group each week. Now what we do is ask people to sign up to provide dinner. The really cool thing is that it's giving people who don't feel led toward the traditional 'youth ministry volunteer' role an opportunity to serve the ministry and get to know the students (and allow the students to get to know them). The people who cook for us are invited/encouraged to stay and eat dinner with us and then students help with clean up. It's another step toward healthy inter-generational relations. God took something that was done as an economic measure and turned it into another awesome opportunity for ministry. He's so good like that!"

7. Donations
We all need items for the youth ministry: chairs, couches, lighting, sound equipment, electronics, transportation. Instead of going out and buying them, ask people to donate them. (Now, when you do this be prepared to get people's junk. So either you need to be very specific, simply say "no thanks," or just throw it away later.)

This is something a friend of mine, Bill Nance, said he has been able to do in his ministry, which has helped since he doesn't have a big budget and really needs to stretch it.

8. Think "in house."
When you are planning an event, the two biggest costs are always the speaker and the band. Next time you are planning an event, think about using someone from within your ministry to do the speaking or worship (concert). If that will not work, try to find someone local to cut down on travel costs.

9. Use Open Source software
Instead of paying full price for your software - you might want to look into some of the open source alternatives. Most of them are just as good as the expensive versions, and they are free.

More information about open source software will be in another post.

10. Stop spending money
This sounds simple enough, doesn't it? But there are more than a few youth ministries that simply refuse to stop buying stuff. You do not need that new Wii or flat screen TV. You may not really need new carpet right now, it could wait a year or two longer.

The best way to save money in your youth ministry is to simply spend your money wisely. Think twice before making purchases. Hold off on major purchases as long as you can.


Six more ideas on stretching your budget.

Youth Ministry Budgeting: Tips for Saving Money (5a of 5)

(This is part 1 of the final post in a 5 part series on youth ministry budgeting. You can see the earlier posts here: 1 - stewardship. 2 - categories part a and part b. 3 - process. 4 - to buy or not to buy.)


Everybody needs to save some money, including youth ministries. So what does it take? How can you save a few dollars here and a few dollars there? In this post, I want to share a few tips on how your youth ministry can save money. As you will see, a few dollars saved on a regular basis will add up to big savings over time.

I do not think I need to spend a lot of time convincing anyone that they need to save money. Well, I hope I do not need to. Youth ministries across the country are struggling just like any other organization, company or individual. People are making less; therefore, they are giving less to the church. When the overall church offering is down, each ministry has to reduce its expenses in order to help stay in the "black."

Here are a few areas to look at next time you are thinking about saving some cash.

Ways to save money:

1. Salaries
Allow me to start with the least popular thing I am going to write. The first place to look for ways to save money is in the salaries. Are you really being a good steward of your congregation's resources with your salary? Can you afford to live on less?

Let me share an example of what I mean. I know a congregation that was running a couple hundred people a few years ago. Now they are averaging maybe 80 each week. Yet, there are 3 staff members: sr. minister, associate minister, and secretary. I think the secretary is full-time, but I am not sure. I do not know what the associate minister is paid, but I know the sr. minister is being paid more than someone in this size of a congregation should be paid. The congregation is struggling to meet salary each week, and they are sending emails each week asking for more money to meet those salaries. Are those ministers being good stewards? In my opinion, no. Think about the impact the minister would have if he offered to take a paycut to help the congregation from having to close its doors.

2. text messaging
It seems as though every teen has a cell phone with text messaging. So, it makes sense that the youth staff would need the ability to text teens. But what option do you use? Here are a few choices:

MinistryTxt
This option starts at $5/mo.
(thanks Len Evans for the info)

Tatango
starts at free
has option to send text from computer or cell phone

SimplyTxt
starts at $10/mo.

I have not used any of these services, but many of my youth ministry friends have and talk very highly of each service.

3. Curriculum/Lesson Material
Many of the major publishing companies offer some great resources in this category. And if you want to just get everything in one bundle, this might be the way to go. You can check out Group, Standard, teamce to name a few (well, three to be exact).

But if you really want to save money (and not spend any, either), here are a few other suggestions.

*Online "Freebies"
There are a bunch of great freebies available on the internet. Check out this top 5 list, for examples. In fact, there are so many great freebies that a youth minister could simply use freebies and not do any work. I THINK THIS IS THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO - so be careful not to become dependent on using freebie lessons!

*curriculum swap with local churches
Take your old curriculum and find another congregation in the area that will be willing to swap their old stuff for your old stuff. You will each get new curriculum, plus you won't have to find a place to leave and forget about store your old stuff.

*reuse older stuff
Or you can just reuse the older stuff with a new group within your congregation.

*Rotate material
Take your material and rotate through the years. For example, use a 4 year scope/sequence for the high school and rotate through material every 4 years. If you have a 7/8 grade class; rotate every 2 years. Using this rotation model will help you save money and will help you be intentional about what you are teaching the students.

4. Prizes/Giveaways
Students like getting stuff and we like giving it away. But it can get expensive to have prizes on a regular basis. How do you save money on prizes? By taking one of these steps...

*Buy from thrift stores, garage sales or on clearance.
You cannot afford to have really cool (read, expensive) prizes every week. So do not try. Just get some fun, old or silly stuff to use and have a big box to keep it in. Then let the students grab one prize from the box.

*Ask for donations
For those bigger events, you might want a better prize to offer. In those cases, ask companies and individuals to donate prizes (or money to go toward buying prizes) for you to give away. This gets the community involved with the group, saves you money and promotes your group at the same time.

5. Buy online
All youth ministers have things to buy: books, supplies, classroom material, water guns, whoopee cushions. Why not look into buying those items online. A few onlines places to try - ebay, half.com, amazon, craigslist.

In part 2 of "Tips for saving money" we will look at 5 more ways that your youth ministry can save a few dollars.

Learned from Twitter: 2 weeks ending April 25, 2009

Here is what I have learned from Twitter over the past 2 weeks...

1. shawnmichael (Shawn Michael Shoup) reminds us that youth ministry doesn't stop when a student "gets saved." There must be discipleship and teaching.
"8 salvations so far this Easter wknd w/ a brand new discipleship life group starting Tuesday 2 help them start on their spiritual journey!!"

2. pastorbuhro (Bradley Buhro) shares a great moment in youth ministry. Is this the new "window flyer" form of advertising for your ministry?
"We tweet our sermon notes to teens every Tuesday. A couple of my teens went to the Verizon store & set the sample phones to recieve them."

3. YS_Scoop (Youth Specialties) offers a few free tools for your youth ministry. You need to check them out.
"3 Free Productivity Tools for YM. Guest post from @joeldiaz & @joshcook83. http://eepurl.com/Wt7"

4. CoffeeWithChris (Chris Szulwach) offers some advice to another youth worker, that I think we all can use. You might want to check out this game site.
"@saraeden just was you are looking for game sites? Is that right? I'll add http://www.ylplaybook.com/ to the mix for ya!"

5. AdamLehman (Adam Lehman) is interested in starting a ym teaching pool. You might want to check it out.
"anyone want to form a youth ministry teaching pool? http://twurl.nl/iivzk2 #stumin"

6. snavenel (Len Evans) shares a link to a free book with some great insight. Take the time to check out the book and see if it can benefit your ministry.
"Youth Ministry Tribe-Free book- Paul Turner's "The Cure For The Common Youth Ministry" @ http://thediscipleproject.net Great insight & FREE"

7. Drpoulette (Dennis Poulette) relaxed, something youth ministers need to do often. Might I recommend a hammock.
"Relaxing in the hammock swing on the back porch. It's beautiful out tonight in Mexico city. Q"


What did you learn from Twitter this week?

Photo Friday: TMNT - Michaelangelo

Thought I was back in the 80's enjoying my childhood again when I walked down the toy aisle recently. I saw this old-school Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles packaging. This is the exact same packaging & product that I remember getting when I was a boy. (I might even still have my original Michaelangelo in my parent's attic.)

Who was your favorite turtle?

Miss California comments on same sex marriage

As I was checking my email I saw an article from Sunday night's Miss USA Pageant. The headline is "Hilton, Miss California take sides on 'Today'"

(note to those who may not want to see a young woman in a 2 piece swimsuit - the picture that goes with the article, at the time of this writing, is of Carrie Prejean - Miss California - during the swimsuit part of the competition.)

Here is the clip:



This is an interesting article, though brief, about a part of the Miss USA competition on Sunday night. Read the article to get the story.

I think that this is the type of behavior we want our students to convey. We want students who are not afraid to stand up for what they believe, even if it might cause them trouble.


One paragraph I found particularly interesting was this one:

Hilton, who also appeared on the "Today" show Tuesday, said his question was relevant and that Prejean should have "left her politics and her religion out because Miss USA represents all Americans."

She needed to leave "her religion" out of the pageant...but it was okay for Perez to bring his own personal beliefs into the pageant, as a judge. Does that sound contradictory to anyone else?

I am glad to hear that Prejean was willing to voice her beliefs in front of a national audience. I hope all the students in our youth ministries would be willing to do the same thing - and I hope they each get an opportunity to stand up and voice their beliefs for others to hear.

My favorite line of the whole article was this last quote from Prejean:

"It's not about being politically correct," she said. "For me, it's about being biblically correct."

(added video on 4.22.09)

Trivia Wednesday #118: First Barcode

answer #117 - Every six seconds

question #118 - What was the first product to have a barcode on its packaging?

Photo Friday: Red Tree Top

Trivia Wednesday #117: Blinking

answer #116 - 300 million

question #117 - You blink approximately how often?

Church Signs: money related

Recently, I have seen a couple church signs that are financially oriented. I thought I would share them with you.

"The IRS can't tax treasures stored in heaven."

"Tithe if you love Jesus, anyone can honk."

Do you have any favorite money-related church signs?

Learned from Twitter: week ending April 11, 2009

Here are some of the things I learned from Twitter, this Holy Week...


1. theuprisinglive (Chad Swanzy) offered up an idea for a "free" night of fun with your youth group.
"free slurpees for your small groups and very low budget road trip idea... http://tinyurl.com/d533wp"

2. EvanCourtney (Evan Courtney) provides a code to get some free videos from BluefishTV.com.
"10 free downloads from Bluefish TV. Use code GoGreenRev"

3. ICEHOTEL_Sweden (Ice Hotel) is close to saying goodbye until next winter.
"Only two weeks left of ICEHOTEL - We are getting closer and closer to spring, when the Midnightsun takes over... http://tumblr.com/xbv1jts3k"

4. FlowerInTheRain (Janelle Painter) proves she is one proud "parent." :)
"It's Bring Your Child to Work Day. I brought my macbook. the end."

5. YMX (Youth Ministry Exchange) offers up a free lesson on John 9.
"Thought about a lesson for next week? Hit the link & get freebie for April 9: See Believe Live Inductive Study on John 9 http://is.gd/rGS6"

6. theofficenbc (The Office) provides a link to the new opening credits.
"Notice the new opening credits? Watch the "Michael Scott Paper Company" version again @ http://tinyurl.com/d9ez5u"

7. kentshaffer (Kent Shaffer) offers up some free fonts.
"30 free fonts for professional designs - http://bit.ly/GB02A"


What did you learn from Twitter this week?

Photo Friday: cross on church building

You might be a youth worker if...

Recently I had a conversation with a couple teens that reminded me that being a youth worker makes you very different from other adults your age.

Teen: "Hey, I'm on your Facebook now."
Me: "Yes, you are correct."
(a minute later) Teen: "Hey, do you have myspace?"
Me: "Yeah."
Teen: "Bebo?"
Me: "Yeah."
Teen: "MyYearbook?"
Me: "Yeah."
Teen: "Twitter?"
Me: "Yeah."
Teen: "Do you have hi5?"
Me: "No, but I've heard of it."

It was at this point that I realized something. I am a 30 year old man and I have an account on some of the more popular social network sites. (most of these accounts are at least 2 years old) Only a youth worker would have all of these accounts and not be considered a weirdo.

Have you ever had a moment like this? A moment when you were hit with the fact that as a youth worker you are quite different from other people your age. If so, I'd love to hear about it.

April Trivia

The trivia topics for April will be a continuation of the human body and a few product marketing questions.

I hope you are able to use these trivia facts during your classes, while you are eating lunch with students or just randomly inserting them into daily conversation.

If you have any suggestions on topics you would like to see used for the trivia questions, just leave a comment and let me know.

Trivia Wednesday #116: blood

answer #115 - True

question #116 - Each drop of your blood contains how many red cells?

Reflections on: Spring

I love Spring. It is supposed to mean that winter is over and warm weather is on its way. Lately, I've been thinking a lot about Spring and here are those thoughts (in a somewhat orderly fashion).


Reflections on: Spring

1. Baseball is upon us. Go Cubbies - this is the year.
   
2. Only in Spring can it be 70 one day and 40, with snow, the next
3. I really like the warmer weather.
4. Spring means Easter is upon us.
5. Spring signifies "new life"
6. More time outside with the kids.
7. It means the end to the current TV season.
   
8. Unfortunately this does not apply to "reality TV".
9. While cleaning up around the house, you tend to find treasures you forgot you owned.
10. Time to go shopping at yard sales. :)
    

to quote someone else: Steven Case (dealing with complainers)

"Ask yourself this: How would you react if the complainer were one of your students?"

taken from Help! I'm a Frustrated Youth Worker by Steven Case

This quote/question really struck me as a great mental filter for youth workers. We all have complainers in the church and we all deal with complaints weekly. How do you respond?

It is also good to remember this truth:

"It's important to remember not to take criticism personally. People will complain no matter who sits in the youth minister's office. It's not about you."

also taken from Help! I'm a Frustrated Youth Worker by Steven Case

Learned from Twitter: week ending April 4, 2009

This week I learned a lot from twitter. Maybe it was a rather informative week, maybe I just paid more attention, or maybe it had to do with April Fool's Day. Whatever the reason, I'm dumping it all here for you to enjoy/learn from.

1. pastorjohnbyrne (John Byrne) shared some thoughts on evaluating your ministry. They are worth a look.
"How to Evaluate Your Ministry: http://hex.io/fqo"

2. marklee3d (Mark Lee) goes goes "Star Wars" on us.
"Watch Mac stab me with a light sabre mid-song http://tinyurl.com/dh6d67"

3. nikomas (Nikomas) thinks you'll laugh as you watch this.
"a good read: Try not to laugh while you watch http://tinyurl.com/dm3wxo"

4. YMTV (Youth Ministry TV) offered two links to free book downloads of "the Fine Line" (as of 4/4/09 it still worked) and "Get a Grip on the Basics"
"download The Fine Line audio book for free (limited time): http://www.zondervan.com/m/..."
"RT @bethjonesFREE download of entire "Get a Grip on the Basics" book to establish new believers, www.gettingagriponthebasics..."

5. hulu (Hulu) told us that you can now watch Charles in Charge online - awesome.
"Another walk down memory lane: Hulu's now streaming Season 1 of Charles in Charge. http://www.hulu.com/charles..."

6. Some April Fool's Day tweets:

lilkup (Me) posed this question:
"If Jesus was born on April 1st, do you think everyone would have thought it was a April Fool's Joke?"
bigsmooth433430(Matt Couch) responded with this statement:
"@lilkup Maybe even more interesting to ponder is...If Jesus had died or risen on April 1st, would people have thought it was a joke?"

crowderband "It's time for a new look. Hair and goatee are gone."
YS_Scoop "BREAKING NEWS! Stop the presses. RT @crowderband It's time for a new look. Hair and goatee are gone. <-- wow!"
StudentMinistry "BREAKING NEWS! Stop the presses. RT @crowderband It's time for a new look. Hair and goatee are gone. <-- wow! (via @YS_Scoop)"

foecuspastor "RT @human3rror: North Point Ministries launch NEW WEBSITE...! MUST SEE! http://is.gd/q6K3 // LOL!"

ymgeek "I think this http://budurl.com/6y2a was my favorite Tech April Fools prank. They spent quite a bit of time on it. It's even been twittering."

7. thirdday (Third Day) wants us all to know about a sale on iTunes.
"FYI - Revelation is on sale at iTunes for $7.99 as of today. The sale will run through 4/13. http://tinyurl.com/d6n2nr"

8. ymgeek (Youth Ministry Geek) was one of a few people to let us know about the possibility of Google acquiring Twitter.
"google in talks to aquire twitter? Interesting...http://budurl.com/fkczabou



What did you learn this week from Twitter?

Photo Friday: Full Moon

The full moon. (with Spring here, we might be able to enjoy these more often)

5 Things that would have been great April Fool's Day jokes

While thinking about April Fool's Day jokes, I starting pondering a few things that would have made a great joke. Unfortunately these things are not jokes, they are real.

5 things that would have made a great April Fool's Day joke... if they were not real:

1. Hulk: the movie (2003)
2. Sanjaya on American Idol
3. Crystal Pepsi (check out these commercials)
   
4. the Seinfeld finale
5. the day I learned that WWF wasn't real wrestling

Honorable Mention:

1. The Cubs not being champions for 100 years
2. Furby

What would you add to this list?

Trivia Wednesday #115: April Fool's Day

answer #114 - True

question #115 - True or False On April Fool's Day in England, jokes are only played in the morning.

Book Review: Faith and Pop Culture by Christianity Today Study Series

Christianity Today has put together a series of studies designed to be used in a small group setting. I got a chance to look at Faith and Pop Culture, one of eight books in the series. Each book uses various Christianity Today articles to use as springboards to start the discussions. In Faith and Pop Culture, the reader is challenged to answer the question, "Can we find Jesus in popular entertainment?" (back cover) The goal for this study is to "wrestle with the positive, negative, and neutral aspects of entertainment and the place it should have in the life of a Christian." (p. 9)

Each of the eight lessons have the same basic format, which helps as you are working through each one. One thing I like about the "open up" section is there are 2 options to choose from. One option might work better for your group, or it might just help you think of another way to introduce the topic for your small group. The eight lessons are diverse and cover a large range of topics. But I see one topic missing from the list: music. One other thing you might notice as you go through the study is a bias in the question writing. I understand every author has a bias when they write, so I'm not trying to be picky. I think it is important to note that some of the questions are leading toward a "right" answer.

Overall, I would say this is a good resource to use to help you talk about the use of pop culture within your small group setting.

My advice (rating) – borrow from a friend (3 out of 5)

Learned from Twitter: week ending March 28, 2009

This week, I learned a few things on Twitter that I wanted to share with you.


1. gavoweb (Gavin Richardson) shared a link to a free video.
"the folks at 'the work of the people' are giving away this cool video as free download. http://is.gd/oMdT i really like their work"

2. arpierson (Allen Pierson) challenged anyone to try this science experiment. I haven't tried it yet, but plan on doing it.
"I cracked open an egg into boiling water out of sheer curiosity and it was pretty much the coolest thing ever. You should try it sometime."

3. WorshipRising (Kevin Richardson) wanted to introduce everyone involved with worship ministry to Dan Wilt. Go ahead, check him out.
"Seriously, worship pastors, if you aren't aware of Dan Wilt, you should be. Start here (.pdf article): http://tinyurl.com/cvw84v"

4. UstreamTV (Ustream) shared a link to the tour for Mercy Me and Hawk Nelson. Check it out.
"The Road Show, with @MercyMe @HawkNelson, and others, streaming their whole tour! http://bit.ly/n6vjP"


What did you learn on Twitter this week?

Photo Friday: PC/Mac compatible portible cooling laptop pad

Just got this portable cooling pad for my laptop. It has been a great cooling system. But my favorite part of the packaging is on the left side. It says it is Mac compatible and PC compatible. I haven't found a cooling pad that wasn't compatible with any laptop you put on top of it. But I guess the real question is, will it work with a Linux based laptop? :)

Trivia Wednesday #114: The Stomach

answer #113 - About 10" long

question #114 - True or False - You can live without a stomach?

Learned from Twitter: week ending March 21, 2009

This was a rather full week of twitter information for me. Here is a sampling of what I learned this week.

1. ferggo (Greg Mefford) reminded me that last Saturday was more than just the day after Friday the 13th.
"Happy #piday"

2. gavoweb (Gavin Richardson) posted a link that differs with the common belief that church attendence has increased thanks to the "recession"
"@mattcarlisle Contrary 2 recent reports that econ troubles have led to increased church attend, Pew says diff http://tinyurl.com/cmueqa"

3. DougFields (Doug Fields) asked for some advice on an upcoming book cover, and listened.
"You hated this book cover http://tiny.cc/GfJ8N and the publisher listened. What do you think of this one? http://tiny.cc/NQmKR Thoughts?"

4. kentshaffer (Kent Shaffer) depressed me with this tweet, as I've passed both ages.
"Brain ability peaks at age 22 and mental powers begin to dwindle at age 27 - http://bit.ly/A9It9"

5. BtotheEtotheN (Ben Boles) posted about a twitter cartoon.
"you've got to watch this twitter cartoon http://tinyurl.com/cx723z"

6. dbeckner (Dennis Beckner) offered a bit of advice to users of twitter, via an article about what happens when you don't watch what you tweet.
"RT: Be careful what you tweet... Check out this guy's story: http://tinyurl.com/d5372c (via @JonathanTelles)"

7. brockgill (Brock Gill) asks for immediate response from his fans at one of his shows. I wish I knew if this tweet helped the situation or not. Either way, I think its pretty cool that he would use Twitter to try to get help with it.
"If u hav already seen my show plz giv up ur seat. There is still a busload of people in parkinglot. This is nuts"

8. Drpoulette (Dennis Poulette) provides a link to a free audio copy of Tribes.
"Free audio copy of Tribes by Seth Godin: http://tinyurl.com/cr4oup"



What did you learn from Twitter this week?

Photo Friday: More President Obama Marketing

You can buy this 1000 piece puzzle of President Obama.








Or these President Obama trading cards. If I remember correctly, there are a total of 12 or 16 cards to collect.







Or you can buy a copy of his inaugural address (you can find a transcript of the entire address online without much effort). Well, his address and a few others.

* Barack Obama, Inaugural Address, 2009
* Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address, 1865
* Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address, 1863
* Abraham Lincoln, First Inaugural Address, 1861
* Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance, 1841
(from the description at target.com)

Book Review: Help! I'm a Frustrated Youth Worker! by Steven L. Case

A little while ago I posted about my connection to this book, and I said I would probably buy a copy and read it. Well, I got a copy and have read it and now I am sharing my review.



You do not have to be in ministry long to experience your first feeling of frustration, and you are not alone in that frustration. In Help! I'm a Frustrated Youth Worker! Steve Case offers some very practical advice for frustrated youth workers. He draws from his many years in youth ministry to provide a field guide for the youth worker struggling to avoid burnout. Not only does Case provide tips and suggestions for common frustrations, he also offers some of his own person stories as well.

Reading Help! I'm a Frustrated Youth Worker! is like being on the other end of an email conversation with Case. The book offers help and hope to youth workers who are frustrated, and I believe this is accomplished through the conversational style of writing. While reading one paragraph you will be laughing and the next you will tear up thinking about how you have been hurt by others. You will be drawn into the conversation, which adds to the usefulness of this book.

Having gone through a few seasons of frustration in my ministry, I identified with much of the advice offered. In fact, I wish this book would have been available when I first started youth ministry. Having this book back then might have helped me avoid a few mishaps. Case does not offer any quick fixes for the frustrated youth worker and I appreciate that, because there are no quick answers on how to deal with your frustrations in ministry.

Help! I'm a Frustrated Youth Worker! is a must read for every rookie youth worker. But, all youth workers will benefit from having a copy on the bookshelf, as a reference guide. During those times of frustration, you will find helpful advice in its pages.


My advice (rating) – go out and buy it (4 out of 5)

Trivia Wednesday #113: The Stomach

answer #112 - Your blood

question #113 - How long is an adult's stomach?

Movie Review: Skeeter and the Mystery of the Lost Mosquito Treasure

Since I know some of the youth workers who read this blog have young children, I thought I would share my thoughts on the new Hermie & Friends DVD. Here is my review of Skeeter and the Mystery of the Lost Mosquito Treasure.



I was excited to watch the new Hermie video with the kids for our movie night. Having seen a couple of the other Hermie & Friends, I knew Skeeter and the Mystery of the Lost Mosquito Treasure was going to be good. And I was not disappointed. Beyond the lesson it teaches, about being unique, it was plain fun to watch.

Like all good animated movies it has entertainment for both the kid and the adult. One of my favorite parts was when Sinclair presents his presentation to the garden friends. His pictures are being projected onto a sheet of paper which reads, "From the desk of Max Lucado." Beyond the little bits of humor, parents will also love the message on how God designs each of us unique, and our differences do not make us less worthy than someone else.

The DVD also includes a fun, little cartoon short, "Hermie Had a Little Lamb," along with other extras. There are coloring pages, a sing-along, a trivia game and a recipe for a fun dessert to make with your kids. I highly recommend Skeeter and the Mystery of the Lost Mosquito Treasure to anyone with toddlers in their house. You might even want to use your kids as an excuse to watch it yourself.

Learned from Twitter: week ending March 14, 2009

Here is a sample of the variety of information I learned this week, thanks to Twitter.


1. crowderband (David Crowder Band) posted several links of some work in the studio.
"Day 2. http://tinyurl.com/dlen7k"

2. thirdday (Third Day) posted some pictures from some of their shows.
"Just posted a bunch of pictures from the Spencer and Champaign shows on our blog. http://www.thirdday.com/"

3. Most people do not like the switch to Daylight Savings Time. Here are 3 examples:
- saraedenI started blogging one year ago today. What did I blog about? How much I hate daylight savings. lol. Some things don't change.
- shawnmichaelNot pointing any fingers, but whoever set our bedroom clock ahead last night accidentally set it ahead TWO hours! (help me, LORD!) ;)
- pattigibbonsWhy DO we move an hour of daylight around twice a year? http://is.gd/mnEs I think the reasoning is weak!

4. AdamLehman (Adam Lehman) was one of the people from whom I learned about the shooting at a church in IL. I found out about the shooting a lot faster on Twitter than I would have waiting to see it on the news.
"RT @edstetzer: 5 shot, 1 killed at FBC Maryville, IL http://tinyurl.com/dfogwe pray.... "

5. tonysteward (Tony Steward) offers a very important tip about Twitter avatars, especially for guys.
"Twitter Avatar Tip: Guys ,any picture of you laying down in any way = unfollow. very creepy."

6. saraeden (Sara Williams) made me laugh with this piece of information.
"oh my word. was just looking at cookie cutters online. Saw a wedding one with the tag line "Cut out for each other" #lame"

7. ministrymonkey (Ministry Monkey) lets us know about a new site for ministry bloggers to connect with other ministry bloggers.
"We need people in ministry from EVERY state to add their blog over @ ministrybloggers.com - It's an alltop(ish) site for pastors to connect"

What did you learn this week?

Photo Friday: Clouds in a Blue Sky

Trivia Wednesday #112: Total Body Weight

answer #111 - 50%

question #112 - What part of your body accounts for 1/3 of your total weight?