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.

Posted by Kurt Johnston

For a whole lot of my junior high ministry career, there was a whole lot about junior high behavior that really bothered me. I was bothered partly because the behavior was bothersome, and partly because I felt the pressure (mostly self induced) that if I was a good youth worker, I would be able to change the behavior of my students. If you work with young teens, you certainly know the behavior I’m talking about: The gossip, the teasing, the selfishness, the insecurity, and so on.

Years later, I’m still bothered by the behavior…but not as much. Not because I know longer recognize the consequences of the way they treat each other, but because I have a better understanding of the motive behind it. Let me explain.

The junior high years are tough (remember yours?), and most young teens find themselves, consciously or subconsciously, in survival mode. They gossip because they think that helps them survive, they tease because it’s better to be the teaser than to be the teased. They are selfish because in order to survive middle school, they can’t afford to look out for anybody but themselves.

Again, this probably isn’t a conscious decision (for most, they are simply survival instincts),but when you remember the physical, social, emotional and intellectual changes our students are experiencing at this age; it makes sense that behaviors like this manifest. Shoot…behaviors like this manifest in adults who should know better!

I wonder, if instead of teaching “against” these behaviors we might find more success in focusing our efforts toward helping our students understand themselves a little better, and develop biblical “survival skills”. Perhaps. But today, I’m reminded that behaviors like this are a part of the human condition. Mine, yours and the junior highers we lead.

Posted by Kurt Johnston

- This weekend, for the first time ever, I am teaching on the End Times…sorta. It is the last part of our “Beginning and End” series and I am giving a very broad overview of what “the end” holds for us. Here are my main points:

1) Jesus will come back someday

2) The world as we know it will come to an end someday

3) But the end is really just a new beginning

When and How will this all happen? In God’s time and in God’s way!

- Today is my 45th birthday. For some reason, I have always had a tough time with the “5′s” (25, 35 and now…45) because it forces me to realize that technically I now have to “round up” instead of rounding down. Ouch.

- I am toying with the idea of changing our purpose statement to be a more accurate description of why our ministry exists and our current Purpose-driven paradigm. I actually like what I have landed on so far and should be ready to reveal it sometime soon.

- My tweet earlier today: “JH Ministry Tip: treat parents like students by going to them instead of expecting them to come to you.”, has resulted in a few emails asking me, “Okay…but how?” To be honest…I’m not sure! This tweet was the result of our poorly attended parent meeting which has got me wondering if we need to change our strategy and become more relationally proactive with parents. Not sure what that looks like, exactly. If you have had success please share your insights in the comments!

Posted by Kurt Johnston

I’ve tweeted and blogged about it before, but let me do so ONE more time because registration closes in a couple of days and my understanding is that once registration is closed…it really is closed and it will be too late to join us! I know youth workers are notorious procrastinators and I would hate for you to miss out on this year’s conference. Don’t know anything about it? Check it out here

TOP 5 REASONS TO JOIN US AT SYMC:

5. Who doesn’t want to go to Chicago in the winter!

4. Lots and lots of the world’s most comfy chairs to lounge around on during breaks.

3. Learn from some of the most experienced and respected youth leaders in the world.

2. Rub shoulders and make new friends with other youth workers who, like yourself, are dedicated to making a difference!

1. It’s a great opportunity to dip your head under the sink, then run around outside to see how long it takes for your hair to freeze.

In our junior high group, we use junior highers to lead music. In fact we have almost 40 students involved in our music ministry…5 teams that rotate.

Without question, it is one of the best parts of our ministry. It is also one of the worst.

To put it simply: Junior high worship bands aren’t very good. They have desire, they have commitment, they have zeal, they have all sorts of stuff…but they don’t usually have a ton of skill or confidence. And of course, some of them have plenty of confidence, without the skill to go along with it (exhibit A: My 8th grade son)!

Most weekends, our music doesn’t sound very good….but it is the best part of our ministry.

Would enjoy hearing some of your examples of giving ownership to your students.

Posted by Kurt Johnston

In the last post, I wrote about my belief that caring adults are what makes a junior high ministry great. But what makes a “caring adult”? Certainly there are lots of qualities to consider, and nobody will embody them all, but here are a few to consider. I’d love to see what you would add to the mix.

A caring adult:
- Actually LIKES junior highers. they don’t just love them, they like them.
- Speaks words of affirmation and encouragement.
-…But isn’t afraid to speak words of truth.
- Remembers what it was like to be in junior high.
- Nudges kids forward…but rarely pushes.
- Sees in junior highers what they usually can’t see in themselves.

Help me grow this list.

Posted by Kurt Johnston

If you know me very well, have read very much of what I have written in various places or have ever heard me speak on the subject of junior high ministry this will be nothing new. I think this post is serving more like a journal entry today to remind me of one of my core values.

Today, in the midst of Spring planning, funky budget scenarios, hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of repairs needed on our three-year-old student center, and launching 5 new campuses that all need youth ministry leadership (just to name a few things currently on my “plate”), I find myself sitting in Starbucks reminding myself of what it really means to have a great junior high ministry. it isn’t a big budget or a youth center or a well planned calendar of activities. I would be lying if I tried to convince you those things don’t help, but I have seen plenty of junior high ministries with all of those in place that are still missing the mark.

Want a GREAT junior high ministry? Here is the formula that works every single time in every single context:
JUNIOR HIGHER + CARING ADULT + JESUS = GOOD STUFF

That’s it! I have preached this formula for years. In fact, until today, the formula didn’t explicitly include Jesus…I left it out because His presence was implied. But, read my post “Less God, More Jesus” from a few days ago and you will understand why His name is now a formal part of my simple equation.

I will keep training youth workers, I will keep writing and speaking. But I sometimes
wonder if I need to. maybe I should just sell T-shirts at youth conventions that say
JUNIOR HIGHER + CARING ADULT + JESUS = GOOD STUFF

Posted By Kurt Johnston

- I am a little embarrassed by how excited I am at the news of John Elway’s return to the Broncos as “Executive Vice President of Football Operations”. That’s not true…I am not embarrassed at all!

- starting a new three-week series in JH this weekend called “The Beginning And The End” where we will spend two weeks looking at the creation story and one week looking at what the bible says about earth and mankind’s future. Should be a challenge to make these topics short, seeker-friendly, and “meaty” all at the same time.

- one of our interns, Rob Ham, blogs daily about all sorts of JH ministry stuff and about his journey here at saddleback. You can check it out at www.iheartyouthministry.com (sorry, I have trouble creating links from my iPad).

- About 8 months ago I started doing something I would have NEVER thought I would do: I started listening to country music. It has grown on me, and now I listen to it as often, if not more, than other genres.

- Have you seen True Grit or The Fighter? See them both. Two of the better movies I have seen in a while…..with the exception of Yogi Bear.

Posted by Kurt Johnston

The idea behind the title of this post is simple: beginning in 2011, the ministries I lead at Saddleback will begin to make a subtle but, I believe, crucial adjustment. We will engage in a little less “God talk” and a little more “Jesus talk”.

We (and I wonder if other youth ministries, do too) tend to use “God” almost all the time by saying things like, “put your trust in God”, “when you have a relationship with God”, “you can choose God’s way or the world’s way” and on and on. None of these are theologically inaccurate, and it’s all good.

But think about this; the VAST majority of Americans believe in God and have a favorable view of him, and many religions have a mono-theistic foundation. Mormons believe in God, Islam believes in God, Jehovas witness believes in God, Judaism believes in God…it is hard to find teenagers who don’t think God is awesome.

obviously, the distinction is Jesus Christ…and the Gospel. Mention God and everybody is on board; mention Jesus and the distinctions become more obvious.

So for us…we will aim for helping students identify with Christ, not only with God.

Note: Instead of worrying about when to capitalize God, and when not too…I just capitalized them all (I know some of you will notice that stuff)

Note: Interested in a more “Jesus-centered” youth ministry? Start by reading Rick Lawrence’s great book, Jesus-centered Youth Ministry.

Posted by Kurt Johnston

A very simple tweet started some very interesting conversations. Yesterday I tweeted the following:
“Cancelled youth services two weeks in a row hoping families will go to church together…baby steps toward closing the generation gap.”

If you are a youth worker, you know that for the past few years, the hot topic in workshops, articles, books and around the water cooler is the failure of “modern” youth ministry. Apparently we have been doing it all wrong for them past 40 years and our methodology is soley to blame for the current state of Christian teenagers.

This rhetoric has been so dominate that I have assumed most churches and youth ministries have taken steps to change how they minister to students. After all, when most authors, speakers, professors and experts (MANY of whom do not minister in a local church setting) tell us we are doing it wrong, we are quick to course-correct, aren’t we? Certainly my cancelling youth services for two weeks in favor of families worshipping together would be met by yawns by my fellow youth workers. Apparently not.

There was a little interaction on my Facebook page and several messages and emails sent my direction that caught my attention. People were surprised I had the freedom to cancel youth group, people disagreed with my reasoning that it is good for families to worship together, others made the case for why age-based, specialized ministry is still the best approach, and a couple applauded my efforts.

Here’s the deal. I believe strongly in age-based ministry. I believe our “modern” approach to youth ministry still works, but needs a few tweaks. I refute the accusations that modern youth ministry alone is to blame for the ills our church-going teens face. But obviously creating a culture where teens and adults never rub shoulders is no good. Certainly, looking for ways to bridge the obvious generation gap in our churches, and finding ways to break down silos and build multiple-generational community is good.

It is obvious to me, and canceling youth group for two weeks was a simple thing for me to do. Apparently, it isn’t as obvious or as simple for others in the trenches.

Would love for you to share your thoughts.

Note: I am posting this from my iPad which doesn’t allow me to scroll back up to edit text or re-read what I have already written…so I will trust it was cohesive.