Posted by Kurt Johnston

In Hollywood there is a concept among screen writers and directors known as “The Third Door”. Basically, this is how it works: The first door represents a direction a story might take that is very predictable…very traditional. The audience would know what is coming, anticipate it and usually be completely satisfied. An example might be the traditional formula of “Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy wins girl back”. That whole formula is very “first door” Especially the “boy wins girl back” part.

Second door is when the story opens a door that is less expected….one that the
audience probably didn’t see coming. A great example of this would be in the movie The Breakup starring Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston. At the end of the movie, right about the time you are expecting the classic, first door, ending….that they would get back together, the story opens a second, less expected door: The characters remain friendly, but DO NOT get back together! Not the expected ending to a movie that seemed to be following the traditional formula. The ending was a second door ending.

Third door is when the story goes someplace COMPLETELY different….it takes a twist that people would say they never saw coming; a twist they would have never even thought to anticipate. For example, a third door ending to The Breakup might be that in the last scene, as the two characters are running across the street to embrace, kiss and reunite, one of them gets run over by a bus. Fade to black and roll credits.

What does this have to do with junior high ministry? I think far too many junior high
ministries run our programs, our camps, our small groups and even spend our one-on-one time with students in a FIRST DOOR manner. Kids know what to expect, it fits the formula, and most people are satisfied. It is safe, predictable and easy.

But what if we started to think about SECOND and THIRD door ways to minister? What if we did things, asked questions, taught lessons, and interacted with students in ways that were a little less predictable?

My challenge to you this week: Find one or two areas in your ministry and try something THIRD DOOR!

Posted by Kurt Johnston

- Will we ever catch up? That is the question I found myself asking last night as I watched a screening of the soon-to-be-released movie, “Soul Surfer”. It is the story of surfer Bethany Hamilton who lost her arm in a shark attack a few years ago. It truly is an inspirational story. The movie stars Dennis Quad, Helen Hunt and Carrie Underwood, so it seems like it had a fair amount of production budget. However, as is the case with most faith-based films, the overall production quality was a couple steps below par. Now, if you saw “Facing the Giants” this film is about 5 steps forward, but it is still frustrating to see the body of Christ unable to deliver world class results. We are getting closer, but I wonder if we will ever catch up.

- Our church is in the middle of hosting a week-long conference. Today, in the parking lot of starbucks, I met a team of 18 paid staff from a church in the seattle area. Eastlake Community Church is 5 years old and has grown to about 5,000 people. A visit to their website seems to indicate that they are truly trying to do church a little differently, and it seems to be working!

- Do you have student leaders in your youth ministry? Consider taking them to Doug Fields’ Student Leadership Conference this July. I promise, it will be a highlight of their summer. check it out at www.dougfields.com

- I’m shockingly excited about a brand new resource at www.simplyjuniorhigh.com
It is the “Chat or Challenge” Ball, and I think it is an absolutely genius idea for junior high groups! It’s basically a clean, controlled game of “truth or dare” but the “truths” (chat) and the “dares” (challenge) have already been written. an inflatable beach ball has a mixture of Chats and Challenges printed all over it. The ball is tossed around a small group, and when the leader hollers “stop” whoever is stuck holding the ball looks to see what “chat” or “challenge” their left thumb is sitting on, and then proceeds to accomplish the challenge or discuss the chat. GENIUS, GENIUS, GENIUS.

- Concerning the above comment. Simply Junior High was named “simply” for two reasons: 1) it provides stuff that is soley created for junior high aged ministries. its, simple…you need junior high resources? Go to Simply Junior High. and 2) Because in a ministry culture that seems infactuated with over-thinking things, there is still a need for the simple; the practical stuff that you can grab off the shelf and put to use right away.

Posted by Kurt Johnston

I’ve come to a conclusion; about myself and about everybody else. No matter how open to change we might be (and some people are much more comfortable with the overall concept than others), none of us are really as open to it as we think we are.

Let’s talk about youth ministry. Not all change in your ministry is good change, and not all change is bad. In fact, in and of itself, change is a neutral concept….it can be good or it can be bad depending on a wide variety of things.

I tend to enjoy change…I like the way it shakes things up…I enjoy the tension it brings. And because I enjoy change, I am always caught off guard when I find
myself resisting it. In the moments I find myself really struggling with change, I try to ask myself a few questions:

- What, REALLY, am I fighting? Am I fighting an old tradition that I just don’t want to say goodbye to? Am I fighting a person whose judgement to make change I don’t trust? Am I fighting a principle that is truly worth fighting?

- Why, REALLY, am I fighting? Is it because of pride (something I hold dear or maybe even created myself is being changed)? Am I fighting because the change will create a bunch of new work and leadership needs? Is it because the change really is the wrong change, and I’m fighting what I know will be a mistake?

It works almost every time. Identifying what you are fighting, and why just might change the way you deal with change!

Lately I’ve been thinking about leadership more than usual. I thought I’d share some of the questions I’ve been asking myself for a couple of reasons: 1) they may be questions worth asking yourself, too. and, 2) I would love to hear any insight you may have regarding some of them. While some may sound rhetorical, and may actually have been in the past, I am really asking myself some honest questions.

- Is leadership over-rated? I have landed on “yes” as my answer, but still chewing on this one (so, maybe this question is rhetorical)

- Why does everybody talk about “servant leadership”, yet so few people really model it? Why is servant leadership so hard for me to display?

- Is leadership more science or art? How fluid does leadership need to be….if at all?

- In what ways, if at all, have all the “business-influenced” books, seminars, strategies etc. hurt the church, and Christian leaders?

- And here’s the biggie: As youth ministry continues to morph/revert back to a more organic, relational, less programatic atmosphere, is traditional leadership needed less….or more than ever?

Posted by Kurt Johnston

In the last few years, I have grown more and more compassionate/concerned for the plight of single parents. As my wife and I strive (and struggle) to raise two teenagers together (pay for them, help them navigate life, help them with school, drive them around, help them through ups and downs, etc. etc. etc.), I can’t imagine what it is like for a single parent. I can’t imagine it because I have never been in those shoes, and I can’t imagine it because….well, because I simply can’t wrap my mind around it!

Our ministry hasn’tyet made the strides I want to concerning single parents (I’m not even sure what I ultimately think we need to do), but we have made a few small adjustments that are on track:

- We reserve the VAST majority of our scholarship funds for single parents.

- We try to extend extra grace to single parents who pick their kids up late, who ask for us to provide rides, etc. Basically, when tempted to view them as “high maintenance” we purposely remember their situation and look for ways to help.

- We try to extend extra grace to students from single family homes. Again, it’s tough enough to raise a respectful, responsible teenager when two parents are on the scene; imagine doing so alone! Students from single family homes are often carrying around an extra load of hurt, anger, insecurity etc.

- We try (we don’t always do it well) to hook up kids from single parent homes with a “mentor/role model”. We are more agressive with this when the “missing” parent is truly missing….not part of the child’s life at all. A student with no dad….we try to provide a closer relationship with a male role model. With no mom….a closer relationship with a female role model.

If anybody has done more significant and strategic ministry to single parents, please share with the rest of us.

Posted by Kurt Johnston

a friend of mine from church shared this:

During the year 2011 we will experience 4 unusual dates…. 1/1/11, 1/11/11, 11/1/11, 11/11/11 ………

NOW take the last 2 digits of the year you were born plus the age you will be by the end of this year and it WILL EQUAL …. 111!

I’m on a quest. My goal: to clean up and simplify a whole bunch of my youth ministry’s “stuff”. I think lots of youth groups are like mine…we make rocket science out of stuff that should be very simple. Take volunteers, for example. Certainly there is a whole lot that goes into building a healthy volunteer team, but what are the most basic things…the things that when done well give the best results? I haven’t thought this all the way through, but here is my initial thinking:

ENLIST: Do a good job of getting the right people on the bus. You need more volunteers, but you don’t need more of the wrong volunteers! Create some sort of system that helps you enlist the right youth workers for your junior high ministry.

EQUIP: Keep it basic, but make sure you train and equip your team. Figure out what the most essential equipping components are and focus on those.

EMPOWER: Give ministry away! Let them create new ministries! Don’t view your team as nothing more than foot soldiers carrying out your orders. Give them ownership and let them run.

ENCOURAGE: Cheer them on! Lovingly correct them when needed! Say thank you a whole lot.

What are some of the crucial, but very basic, things you do with your volunteers?

Posted by Kurt Johnston

….In case you were interested in buying a vacation home, here is a steal!

Posted By Kurt Johnston

There seems to be a fairly common temptation among junior high youth workers: To teach topics that don’t apply at levels too deep for the vast majority of the junior highers in their audience.

The reason this happens, I tend to think, is fairly obvious and quite understandable. After you have taught junior highers for a few years, it is easy to become bored with teaching the same “junior high friendly” lessons over and over and over again.
Seriously, how often can we teach things like “basics of the faith” or “friendship 101″ or “God made you special!”?

The answer: over and over and over again. While you are growing in your faith, getting older, moving into different life stages….your audience isn’t. You are stuck in a strange time warp of perpetual 13 year olds. Every year…year after year…your audience is a bunch of early adolescence in dire need of some of the most basic truths of Gods word.

I’m sure there are some exceptions, but I have found that the most effective junior high ministries are the ones that understand the role of age-appropriate lessons.

Sorta like shampoo….not sexy, but effective. Apply, lather, rinse and repeat.

Posted by Kurt Johnston

About a weekago, Jonathan McKee asked me to read amanuscript of his upcoming book, “Candid Confessions of an Imperfect Parent”. I did so partly because I like Jonathan and think he writes some pretty helpful stuff, and partly because I’m the parent of two teenagers; an imperfect one at that!

I have to say, I absolutely loved the book! It is one of those books that I will buy several copies of so I always have one ready to pass out to a parent in our ministry.

I don’t know the release date, but my hunch is it won’t be available until late Spring so it isn’t really “coming soon”, but it will be worth the wait.