Posted by Kurt Johnston

I am really excited about the new book, The Disconnect, by Doug Franklin for two primary reasons:

FIRST:  Because the subject matter is fresh and vital!  This book is dedicated to helping youth workers build a stronger relationship with their Senior Pastor. I could be wrong, but I don’t think there has ever been a book dedicated to this area; an area that has caused so much pain and confusion to so many youth workers over the years….and to an equal number of Senior Pastors, I’m sure.

In my previous post, I talked about the gap between the youth ministry and the rest of the church body…a gap that is massive and needs to be shortened.  Is it possible that a primary reason this gap exists is due to an equally large gap in the relationship between youth workers and the rest of the church staff, specifically the Senior Pastor?  While I had never thought about that, after seeing this book I think the answer is obvious.  This book is dedicated to shortening the bridge that youth workers and Senior Pastors have to cross in order to have a healthy relationship with one another.  GOOD STUFF!

SECOND:  I am excited about this book (and partly frustrated because I wish I had the idea!) because of the way it is laid out.  It is like the old classic “flip” books that are actually two books in [...]

Continue Reading “New Book: The Disconnect”

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 [...]

Continue Reading “A Bridge Too Far”

Posted by Scott Rubin

In the last week I’ve been reminded, in 2 different ways, how much weight that words can hold.
One positive. One negative.

Scene 1:
I was talking with 2 middle school lacrosse players right after a practice, and their coach (who I barely know) stopped & joined our chat. As we were talking, the coach’s son (who’s also a player on the team) ran crazily by our conversation, and proceeded to fling himself onto a nearby swingset. His jr. high adrenaline & clumsiness carried him awkwardly over the swing, and he flipped onto the ground below, with a big goofy grin on his face.

His dad looked at him, shook his head & rolled his eyes, and with a hint of disgust uttered a single word:
“ Dumb-a** “

When the coach walked away, one of the jr. highers looked at me and said “What kind of a dad calls his son that?” I wondered how many times the kid had heard it before. And how it felt to hear his dad speak that way about him.

Scene 2:
A couple days later, I was at church. Our service was over, and I saw a middle school girl passing by, headed towards the exit wearing her soccer uniform. I said “Hey AnnMarie! Score a goal today, huh?” She grinned & waved as she walked out the door. It wasn’t even a conversation … the [...]

Continue Reading “Weighty Words for Jr. High Eardrums”

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 Scott Rubin

Whether or not you’re super-organized in your teaching plan, most of us would agree that it’s important to have a curriculum: “What We’re Planning To Teach Students.” Maybe you map it out a year ahead, or maybe you’re flipping through your Bible on the way to youth group. But we need to know what we’re going to teach. A series on prayer, a camp theme about friendships, a series on the book of Habakkuk—it comes together to form our planned curriculum.

The term “hidden curriculum” has been around for a while.  It basically means “the stuff that’s learned that wasn’t overtly intended”… and I think it’s fascinating and very significant to take into account. And if you hang around any group long enough (youth ministry or not), you’ll pick up on their hidden curriculum!

The hidden curriculum is more about how do we do stuff than what we say—the unwritten rules and unspoken expectations. It’s less about what we teach, and more about what we DO (and don’t do). It’s definitely not limited to church, either. Almost all parents tell their kids to “be honest”, right? That could be called the “curriculum”. But the hidden curriculum is what gets communicated when two parents and a kid are sitting at home and the phone rings. The mom answers the phone and looks at the dad who shakes his head “no.” She then tells the caller Dad’s not there. What’s ACTUALLY [...]

Continue Reading “I love the Hidden Curriculum”

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 [...]

Continue Reading “My “Lack Of Motivation Checklist””

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

I took my time reading through GROUP’s 2011 May/June issue, despite getting it a few weeks ago. There is a lot of wonderful ministry-focused information in it. Here are a few highlights:

Something I liked: • Jeanne Mayo is a master with volunteers, and her interview with Doug Fields was awesome. I loved this statement from Mayo, “I think the most powerful way to recruit volunteers is one person at a time.” Face-to-face interaction is always going to be the win-win in getting people to love and care for middle school kids – you have to do it.

???: • “Balance” by Doug Franklin: Mr. Franklin had some great ideas about student leadership but I really didn’t get it. He proposed that a balanced student leadership program needs to include an equal amount of training and experience. But my group of students already have full schedules, and adding more to their plates would seem to overwhelm the kids and achieve the opposite goal – imbalance

Key Statement: Rick Lawrence, “Life-change is almost always the result of an experience followed by some kind of debriefing.”

Creative Idea: Kurt Johnston’s idea of “add a voiceover” on page 4 is a great idea, and one we used before that the kids loved.