Unneccsary Distraction : Update from the Garage
Master Chief of Halo 3 went to Harvard?
Apparently Master Chief from Halo 3 went to Harvard. OR, MIT is one of the coolest prank schools ever, you decide.
The Value of Mentors with Guests Jim Clark and Tom Roepke
This week we talk about the value of mentors with two great youth pastors, Jim Clark from Fox Valley Christian Church in Chicago, Illinois and Tom Roepke from New Hope Community Church in Loudonville, Ohio. Josh is in Australia teaching Purpose Driven Youth Ministry at a conference and another convention, so we pulled these guys in as they were visiting California.
This is a great show on the value of being a mentor, and tips on how to best experience being mentored.
Update from the Garage: Jim and Casper go to Church
100 Listeners in 24 Hours, WOW! Who Are These Guys Listeners Rock!
I am so pumped today, in under 24 hours we had over 100 people listen to our most recent podcast. That is so cool! To celebrate we are going to have a contest, we will be giving away $20 to Amazon!
So here is the deal. Josh and I are both in love with the awesomeness called, YouTube. Over the next 14 days (so the last day of the contest will be October 2nd) we want to see who can submit the best video of their youth ministry students doing a human pyramid. It doesn’t have to be neat or clean, and we will post all of them on the blog. But the winning video will get $20.
SO, game on!
5 Reasons to Say No!
One of the toughest, but essential disciplines to learn is the practice of saying “no.” Now, how you say it and why you say it are really important as well, and that is just what Josh and Tony talk about this week.
Check out the show and if you have any other advice, please jump in the conversation!
World Wide Open
I had a friend point me to a really interesting website / idea. It is called World Wide Open, and it is a group of Christians who want to connect the gifts and passions of the body of Christ with the needs of the world. They also want to create a shared space for the expertise of the body of Christ to further enable the ability to meet needs and spread the gospel.
It is really and incredible idea, and the more I think on it the more it seems so possible. Especially if there was a universal web space that the body of Christ shared. The challenge is to spread not only the vision but the use of the tool as well. That will be difficult because it is hard to build momentum with out using a “brand”, but brands are divisive as well.
And it can’t just be another Christian Social Network, because the way social networks have been built their goal is to keep you online for ad sales. The purpose of this site would need to be connection, empowerment, and then prompts and tools for actual action offline. Like a combination of Facebook and Meetup, with a strong Wikipedia element and a dose of Pownce.
What a daunting task! But man would I ever be excited to see this come about, I would sign up for sure!!!
NEW! Weekly Update from the Garage Video: Technerdical
3 Helpful Tips for Doing Contact Work
As you heard on the podcast this week, my first years in youth ministry were spent serving as a Young Life staff person. Within Young Life, when they go to a school to connect with students, they call that contact work. And it is absolutely one of the most consistently frightening experiences of any Young Lifer or Youth Pastor. And yet, it is one of the most essential exercises if you wish to turn your local school into a fruitful mission field.
Here are 3 tips I would offer from my experiences as you get ready to do contact work:
1. Pray, Pray and Pray
I can remember sitting in my car for 20 minutes one day dreading to go into the school. It can be really awkward to walk in there and have kids ask you, “Why are you here?” and “Don’t you have anything better to do?” So, I just started praying to God, and then I started praying for every student or teacher I saw. I eventually got the courage up to go into the school, and every day after that I made sure that I didn’t just rush in. And I made sure that I didn’t skip a day, but I made sure to get into that parking lot, and if nothing else start praying for the students that I saw. For their lives, for their salvation, for their faith, for there parents and on and on.
Never ever under rate the power of prayer in your ministry. It will never be cliche, and will always be needed, especially in the discomfort of turning your local school into a mission field.
2. Take a Notebook and Pen
This isn’t to write down everything a kid is saying to you, and really works better at a football game than in the lunch room - that can be awkward looking even to the people who like you. But after you have had a conversation with a student, write down their names, and then quirks about them to help you remember them.
A note could look like this:
David - nachos - loves halo - football - camo shoes
Jenny - no food - big hoop ear rings - band - sponge bob hoodie
It is really important for you to try and remember students you have met and to especially remember their names. It will blow them away, and open more doors than you realize. It is also good practice to use their name in the first conversation you have with them as often as possible, with out being a weirdo (which they all already think anyways, haha)
3. Be the Stinking Pastor
If you haven’t realized it already, the temptation to revert to a high schooler and focus on being the center of attention and popular is extremely high - especially when you are surrounded by a lunch room of high school students and are feeling vulnerable. But you need to remain consistent in your maturity and as a pastor. I am not saying to be the ever loving kill joy. But making sure you go and introduce yourself to any of the teachers “standing guard” in the lunch room is good. Dressing like an adult is important so the teachers can tell the difference between you and the students - it will surprise you how many times they can make that mistake.
But this is mostly revealed in your conversation. How you speak, what you joke about, or even how you jump in on picking on a student - all of these things are dangerous areas, and you need to let the love of Christ speak through you loudly. And I don’t mean preaching. I mean kindness. We all remember High School, the land of the eternal drought of a kind word - don’t be part of the problem, be a fresh breath of air and be the pastor to the students you encounter.
4 Keys in Connecting to your Local School
One of our best podcasts yet! Josh and I talk about our experiences in connecting to local schools as youth pastors. There are do’s and don’ts, and as always you need to make sure you Senior Pastor is on board!
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