Posted by Kurt Johnston

Using analogies can be a dangerous proposition. A few years ago my Pastor used the analogy of a mulligan (a term used in golf for a “do-over”) to describe the gift of forgiveness and grace. Because he is in the spotlight, numerous bloggers jumped all over his use of such a “simplistic definition of such a wonderfully deep concept” etc.

Since I’m not talking about a theological issue….and also since I’m really not in danger of too many bloggers (at least the highly critical type) even reading this post, I am going to use an analogy today. That of a bridge.

I believe that in virtually every church in America there exists a bridge….a bridge between the youth group and the rest of the body of christ (call it big church, the adult congregation etc.). It is a bridge our students will need to cross at some point very soon. For some churches, the bridge is long…really, really long. In others the church is fairly short. And in a few churches, the bridge barely exists. But make no mistake…there is a bridge.

The reason for the bridge is obvious: There is a gap between where most youth ministries exist and where the larger church body exists. For some, the gap is physical and obvious: The youth ministry meets in a seperate building or seperate area specifically set apart for students. For others, the gap is less pronounced due to shared space, tighter quarters etc. But make no mistake…there is a gap; and this gap requires a bridge.

I want a shorter bridge! I want the transition from youth ministry to involvement and commitment to church life in adulthood to be a shorter, more natural journey for the students who leave our ministry. But to shorten the bridge, I MUST begin to address the gap that currently exists. The junior high and high school and college ministries I have the joy of leading aren’t going away. I don’t buy into the idea that youth ministry is broken, that it is the primary reason kids leave the church etc. But I do believe that modern youth ministry has played a role.

Here are a few super practical ways I am going to attempt to shorten the gap…and the bridge.

- We are going to look for ways to help students get “more skin in the game”. In other words, we are going to make concerted efforts for our students to serve in ministry and use their gifts outside of the walls of our youth group. We are going to talk with the leaders of church-wide ministries and figure out a way to get more of our teenagers serving the church body.

- We are going to eliminate much of the “competing activities”. We currently do a whole lot of “youth versions” of things such as a youth version of our membership class, a youth version of missions trips, a youth version of deeper learning bible studies etc. We are going to take a close look at these and determine which ones we can eliminate and jump on board with the ones offered for adults.

- We are going to creatively look for ways to get our students to actually attend an adult service on a somewhat regular basis! The older the students, the more effort we will make. So we will work extremely hard to get our college kids in the adult services, work sorta hard to get high schoolers there, and work a little bit to get our junior highers there.

- We are going to create a few easy events that intentionally get our students to rub shoulders with the adults (the above strategies also do this…). For instance, a friend of mine just shared that his group invited the senior citizens in their church to a movie and popcorn night to watch the movie “UP”. He said it was one of the easiest, most effective things they have done in a long time.

A gap exists. And that gap requires a bridge. I don’t think the gap will ever disappear completely because the transition from adolescence to adulthood is an interesting one in all segments of society, not only the church. But I am committed to closing the gap, and shortening the bridge.

I know it isn’t a perfect analogy…in which case I will use a mulligan!

Posted by Kurt Johnston

The tragic tornado that hit Joplin, MO this past week, and the various tweets, emails etc I have received about people rushing out to aid in relief efforts got me thinking about a story that happened on a similar trip our church led shortly after Katrina.

Our church sent numerous teams of willing adults to New Orleans, and they fulfilled a wide variety of roles, mostly just doing whatever our local church partners needed done. One team was asked to spend most of the week several miles away from “the action” in a gymnasium sorting and folding donated items of clothing.

On the second day of clothe-folding a women declared to the team leader, “I cancelled a trip to Hawaii this week so I could do some important work here…I didn’t come to fold clothes.”

The team leader thanked her for her honesty….and put her on the next plane to Hawaii.

I hate the over-played “jumbo shrimp” contradiction analogy thingy…but it works here. Serving…but on our own terms…is a contradiction; like jumbo shrimp.

I like to pick on the Katrina lady, because it seems like such a classic example of people who say they want to serve, but really only want to do so if it is sexy. But the truth is, I often find myself in a similar boat.

…thankfully never sent home on a similar plane.

Posted By Kurt Johnston

Typically, I am a pretty motivated guy. I’m a self-starter who rarely needs much help to get moving on things. Because of that, I quickly notice when I seem to be lacking motivation, enthusiasm, desire etc. Over the years, I have created a fairly short checklist that I run through whenever I am lacking my normal motivation. Not sure it is complete, but thought I would share it:

- Am I too busy? . Often, my lack of motivation stems from a sense of overwhelmed paralysis. Since there is so much to do…I do nothing.

Am I bored?. Boredom, routine, same old same old almost always kills my motivation.

Do I have unresolved conflict?. I carry unresolved conflict like a stone around my neck. Because I tend to avoid conflict, it is often something that goes unresolved when it appears, and the dread of dealing with it is an energy zapper for me.

Do I love what I am doing, and am I walking close to The Father? The first pastor I served under was also the pastor of my church as a teenager and performed my wedding…he is a hero to me. He once said that he believed if you are doing what you love, and walking closely with The Father….you could never burn out. I am not sure that is completely true, but it certainly has merit, and it has stuck with me. When I find myself lacking motivation, I always ask myself if I still love and feel called to junior high ministry, and if I am walking closely with the Father.

What would you add to this check list?

Posted by Kurt Johnston

- Today the big story is that former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger fathered a child out of wedlock about 10 years ago…apparently, his wife knew nothing of it until recently. Very sad. In other news, his newest movie is set to be released soon: “The Sperminator” (I wanted to tweet that earlier today, but my wife warned me not too….this may be a safer place for a bit like that!)

- Last Saturday, we hosted the “Understanding Your Teenager” seminar and received SPECTACULAR reviews by the parents who attended. Wayne Rice, who created the seminar, was our presenter…but I am sure the other folks who present would be equally awesome. It really was the best thing we have done for parents in a long, long time.

- The return of the SJH podcast is on the horizon! I am thinking through a few tweaks to the format to make the podcast as useful to viewers as possible. One of the things I would like to do is discuss user-submitted topics. If you have a topic you would like to see addressed on the podcast, would you please shoot me an email at kurtj@saddleback.com

Posted by Kurt Johnston

- I am often asked why I dislike Disneyland so much. It really isn’t Disneyland itself, but rather two things: the cost and the crowds. Give me a free, private party there and I am sure I would find it tolerable.

- in almost 25 years of ministry, I have taken exactly TWO true summer vacations. Because summer is so busy, we have always opted to let the kids ditch a week or two of school in the fall so we can escape as a family. We are making up for it this summer with a week in Chicago to visit Scott Rubin and his clan, a week away with Rachel to celebrate 20th anniversary, and a week in the mountains fishing and dirt bike riding with a crew of other families.

- “Bald is “Beautiful”. Has anybody with hair ever said that?

- Recently acquired an agent and submitted my first-ever book proposal to a big, New York based publisher. And, after quite a bit of flirting, I received my first-ever book proposal rejection from a big, new York based publisher.

- speaking of books; I need to read more fiction. Please feel free to recommend a current or all-time favorite novel.

I have “a friend” who has spent the last year navigating what seems like an ocean of new leadership waters. He has done some things right, and has also made plenty of leadership mistakes. Some of these mistakes are “new” mistakes…mistakes made because he is in uncharterd territory and has faced some leadership scenarios he’s never faced before. But, a shockingly large amount of the mistakes are mistakes that could have (should have) been avoided. Because they came wrapped in new packages, some old-school leadership principles were missed.

Here are a few of the mistakes “my friend” has made this year.

- Neglecting The Basics. “My Friend” has been at his church for a long, long time and has done a fantastic job of beating the drum of things like values, purpose-statement, team culture, etc. But the speed in which these things slip off people’s radar caught him off guard. He wrongly assumed that because the basics had been covered so well and so often that he could neglect them for a season. This, coupled with the fact that his team has gone through a fair amount of turnover, has resulted in the need to start beating the drum loudly again.

- Delegating The Wrong Stuff. “My Friend” knows the importance of delegation, empowering others to help carry the load, etc. But in his efforts to get more done and remain sane he has, on more than one occassion, decided to delegate things that should remain on his plate. Things that he is better at than anybody else, things that he doesn’t like to do but is supposed to do, things that put too much pressure on others because of their urgency, things that are mundane and draining (his thinking was “hey, let somebody else be bored!). Delegation, when done properly, can be a leader’s best friend. When done poorly, it causes a ton of grief.

- Becoming A Mile Wide, And An Inch Deep. This may be the one that is causing “My Friend” the most heartache. On one hand, he is getting more done and seeing more success than at any other time in his ministry career. But at the same time his busyness has caused some of his relationships to suffer, it has squeezed out things like exercise, surfing (weird, “My Friend” likes to surf, too!), and other things that matter most.

Life and ministry are great for “My Friend”, but when he slows down enough to take an up-close look at things, it is easy to see where things have gotten a little off kilter, and he is determined to tighten the screws where he needs to.

Learn from my friend…..I sure have.

posted by Kurt Johnston