Life of a youth pastor .

Reader’s feedback : I introduced myself.

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you've gotta hear this

Recently, I have had more traffic on my blog than usual, gaining more readers. Thank you to all who read. I appreciate comments, but love stories even more. A close college friend recently read my blog on “People are more important than projects.” It triggered a real-time response for him…

Hey dude, thanks for posting that article about people being more important than projects. We all know that but it’s something we need reminders of. I read your article and was reminded how I really don’t know my neighbors, so today when I was leaving for church with a little time to spare to say hi to the high school kids I know from bible study, i saw my neighbor across the street standing looking my way (might have been smoking), and it was kinda awkward because i wanted to just wave hi cause we both saw each other and then get in the car, but your article came to mind and i knew i needed to go say hi and introduce myself. We had maybe a 5 minute conversation before his delivery food arrived, and i went to church. But I finally went for it and he was really friendly and appreciative that I came over.

And then…

When I got home from church he was out again so I waved hi, and walked down the drive way to say hi. He thanked me again for earlier that evening and invited me in for a beer, so I said “uh… sure”. We spend then next 2 hours talking and I learned a lot about him, and found out he goes to my church to one of the services I don’t go to. He really enjoys the church, but I don’t know how sound he is on believing some critical doctrine. We talked a little about religion, but I didn’t want to press things since it was the first time we’ve ever really talked. But I hope to have more conversations and hopefully be a good christlike representation. Thanks again!

Wow! Thanks so much for sharing, what an encouragement. This is the fuel that keeps me writing.

#1 advice to youth pastors.

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advice

Last year I had the privilege of meeting Kevin Ragsdale and spending some time with him. Kevin is the director of high school ministry at NorthPoint and has been for many, many years. I toured the HS ministry and have implemented a few things learned, like providing dinner for students before the program. Kevin, full of experience, I knew I had one final question for him before ending our conversation, “What is the one piece of advice you would give to me as a youth pastor in a new church?” He quickly responded, “Don’t quit too soon.”

Those words have stuck with me over the past year, but I can’t imagine what those words will truly mean until years from now. As a youth pastor you will have too many “good” reasons to quit. Everything from budgets to a confrontation with your senior pastor. Did I mention that rally of leaders or parents that question you, or are against the way you are doing things? These are just a few reasons why we get tired in the game and giving up could be so enticing. Don’t do it.

Every hard conversation, budget dollar you spend, sermon you preach, leader you recruit, and vision casting moment… you are gaining ground and creating forward momentum. Don’t let that one thing that is currently bringing you down right now be the deciding factor in quitting your position and moving on to another church or ministry where you will face similar things. Learn to stick up for yourself, your ministry, your vision and put the time in. Keep short accounts and seek reconciliation.

What kind of student ministry would your church and families benefit from if you remained their leader for the next 5 years? 8 years? 15 years?

People are more important than your project.

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Today I had great plans for lunch. I was going to rush over to a friends house and borrow a pressure washer they had rented. My goal, simply wash all the dirt stains off the front and back patios that have accumulated over the lifetime of the house.

After hurrying through the front patio and making it look new again my “self-rule” kicked into play. I have made a deal with myself that no matter what I’m doing, if I see a neighbor walk by that I must stop what I am doing and give them full attention and be more interested in them as a person rather than my project. I’m guilty of breaking this rule, but not today. I only have 30 minutes left before I need to get back to work, could I have this conversation and get the back patio finished? Probably not.

Rudy lives across the street and we have chatted once or twice. He walked up my driveway and immediately we dove into conversation about SXSW, the big music film interactive here in Austin. Being a musician I thought Rudy would love SXSW, he went on to explain how it infringes upon the local musicians. One conversation led to another, and all the while my selfish tendencies wanted to tell Rudy, “hey, I gotta go.” The Spirit continued whispering, “Hang in there, keep talking, look for open doors.”

45 minutes later I had no time to finish my back patio, was late getting the pressure washer back to my friend, late getting back to work, but feeling more accomplished in those 45 minutes talking to Rudy than all my projects for the day. Our conversations took many turns to social media, student culture, music lyrics, life worth and eventually somehow the Spirit gave me an open door to talk about the tower of Babel and God’s relationship with people. I was able to share 3 or 4 verses for scripture including John 10:10. Towards the end of our conversation Rudy seemed pretty encouraged and I felt a camaraderie between us not just as neighbors but as friends.

I had a project in mind when going home for lunch. God had a person in mind. Discovering a friendship with someone else and talking about a relationship with God trumps all projects. This is what God wanted to remind me of today.

The next time you are rushing to accomplish something for yourself, slow down and consider how God might want to use you in accomplishing His work. Let Him establish the work for you, this is my prayer for you.

Psalm 90:17

May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands.

XP3 – Free 3 week series!

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xp3

One of the first questions I get when hanging out with another student pastor is, “What curriculum do you use?” I have gone a few different routes in the past, but have been using XP3 for about a year now. Here’s what I love most…they give you EVERYTHING you would ever need for a series and then some more. For every series you get small group questions, large group manuscript, access to bumper videos, logos, leader email templates, etc. The content seems to always be relevant, I take the manuscript and make it my own. XP3 gives both the young and well seasoned youth pastor a great platform to engage students with God’s word.

Take a quick look at this for your group, and try a free 3 week series!

The art of teaching yourself.

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learn-to-code

I usually get the question… “Where did you learn how to do that?” Here are a few examples…

  • Pro Presenter
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Adobe Premier Pro
  • Adobe Lightroom
  • WordPress CSS
  • How to raise chickens…

You get the idea. Sure, someone led me to the stream, but I had to learn how to drink on my own. When it comes to any kind of foreign territory that would advance my knowledge or add skills to my tool belt, I am intrigued to learn. I love learning new things! Having a smorgasbord knowledge of “how to’s” is critical in so many situations, not just in ministry but life too. Here are some of my more unusual learnings in life and things that I have become a student in…

  • Yes, raising chickens.
  • Being a chimney sweep.
  • Juggling sticks.
  • Playing the tuba.
  • The Weber Grill.

Find something that intrigues you and take it to the next level. Read a book on the subject, watch a video online or ask an expert in that field. The rest is up to you.

What’s one area in your ministry that you need to become a student?

  1. Visitor follow up?
  2. Games?
  3. Recruiting?

Would you celebrate with me?

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comingsoon

Next week my blog will hit a small goal I have set for myself, 100 posts!

Rewarding both me the writer and you the reader, I will be unveiling a new layout. I’ve experimented with a few different themes, allowed my self to adventure into the world of CSS and am really excited to share it with you. I changed things up a month ago but I’m just not satisfied. This will be a lot cleaner, simpler… well I will let it speak for itself when I launch it.

I am fascinated with how many people have contacted me or started reading my blog on a regular basis during its first year. I really enjoy writing, so I appreciate the encouragement you all have given along the way. I hope you find something here you can resonate with or put into practice in your own life and ministry.

Do you have anything you want me to write more about? Or ideas/philosophy of ministry you’d like me to explore? Let me know!

 

The guest group. WIN! WIN! WIN!

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guestgroup

The picture you see here was our guest group last week.  At our program we always start as a large group and then break out into small groups.

When everyone breaks for small groups, we invite all guests and the friend that brought them to hang around for the guest group. We make it special, offering ice cream… what would you do for a Klondike bar? Go to guest group!

After the guest attends the guest group at least twice, and they want to continue showing up to the program, I transition them into a small group. This will eliminate those who just visit once or are unsure if they want to participate in your church program. It is difficult for the small group leaders to gain traction when new students are popping in all the time. Here’s the other really cool part, I encourage the student pastor to host the guest group. I get to meet every student that comes through the door this way, they hear our vision for them being here, and they don’t feel invisible or glanced over! WIN! WIN! WIN!

I host the guest group in the large group space. This eliminates transition time or having your guest adjust to another room or setting. Asking easy generic questions is the way to go. Keep things surface level, share the vision of your ministry and what you hope to offer them, perhaps ask one or two questions pertaining to the message.

What do you offer your guests?

Pi in the sky, the sky is the limit!

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photo (55)

I saw something today that literally stopped me in my tracks. It was not normal nor did it make any sense at all. There were numbers in the sky. Perfectly spaced. Perhaps you have seen sky writing before but this was on a whole new level!

After doing some research I have these facts:

  • 5 planes.
  • Flying at 10,000 feet with dot-matrix sequencing.
  • Emitting 1/4 mile tall letters.
  • The company that helped make it happen, airsign.com
  • The artist behind this wonder, ISHKY out of California.
  • Showing off for SXSW here in Austin I’m sure.
  • You could do something similar.

So, was there just pure genius present here? Yes, there were engineers and an artist to make “pi in the sky” a reality. But I believe we all have been given the ability to wow the world around us. We need to think differently and perhaps look at situations from a different angle. When is the last time you really surprised someone? Did something out of the ordinary? Something they never would have imagined. Apparently, in this situation the sky is the limit! Students are always looking for that newest thing, or hottest item. Find something new for your crew to talk about this week, do something radically different, or you be the “Pi in the sky”… dress up like a leprechaun, they might see that one coming, but it could be totally worth it!

Here’s a little something in honor of national Pi day.

visualizing-pi

Small effort, BIG difference!

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angeloaktreel

Since moving into our home, there has been multiple things that have needed attention. Everything from painting rooms to replacing doors. Recently an arborist stopped by my house and informed me that the giant oak trees in both the front and backyard needed trimming. He quoted us $2,000 for the process, and said that was on the cheap side.

If you didn’t know it, I’m a do it yourself kind of person. Pruning all these trees by myself would have taken me 3-4 weeks by myself. So, I took matters into my own hands but decided not to do it alone. I called down a list of friends, bought a pole saw, and put some BBQ on the grill.

With the help of friends we knocked out the pruning in a couple of hours. There were ladders and pole saws everywhere, chain saws whizzing through thick limbs, and delicious BBQ for the finale!

Inviting others into your process is a small effort but can make a BIG difference. How can you invite others into your current ministry dilemma to help make that big difference you want to see?