I am probably arriving a little bit late to the party due to the fact that technological stuff usually isn’t on my radar until somebody else puts it there. So, at the risk of being “so last month”, I want to point you to Xobni, a super cool application that helps you retrieve emails, track conversations etc. It really is pretty sweet.

This may be the first time I’ve admitted this publicly (but most people who know me know this is true…even if I’ve never really proclaimed it), but I have given up on the concept of time management. My ministry world simply spins too fast, has too many variables, is too unpredictable and relies on other people far too much to hold a hard line when it comes to scheduling my time. Of course I still plan my week and make a list of tasks, meetings, projects etc. that must be accomplished, but I rarely force those items into a neat little time slot on my calendar.

What I’ve learned about myself over the years is that I can be rather “moody” from day to day. I’m not talking about grumpy, feisty, short-tempered etc. but moody when it comes to the various roles of ministry. Some days I “feel” creative and other days I “feel” a bit more reflective. Some days after lunch I feel like tackling some tough issues and other days after lunch I feel like tackling a pillow! There I times when I am just simply in the mood to spend time with a volunteer or two and there are times when I am in the mood to work on the budget. Sometimes I’m in the mood to write and sometimes I’m in the mood to read.

Because this is how I’m wired, I’ve decided to quit feeling guilty about being a poor time manager. For example, the pressure [...]

Continue Reading “Mood Management? Ministry By Mood? Moody Leadership?”

This past weekend we kicked off a short, two week, Christmas series using a couple of popular Christmas movies as the launching pad for our lessons. Here is a quick re-cap of the weekend:

MUSIC: Music was lead by a combination of junior high and high schoolers this weekend. All but one song were Christmas songs. Personally, I don’t love doing Christmas songs too far ahead of Christmas, but the students were totally engaged.

FUN & GAMES: We played a “nativity quiz” game that tested student’s knowledge of the Christmas story…what is actually in the scriptural account and what is folklore. We also showed a fun, animated video that went along with the game. Jaime, who runs our weekend program, did a fun bit called “Jaime I help you?” in which he demonstrated how to make cheap and easy Christmas gifts and decor. This week he made a “toilet paper tree topper” which as an angel like tree topper made from toilet paper and his own version of fruit cake which was a cake with a ton of fresh fruit crammed into the top. Think food network meets really bad humor.

LESSON: We started the lesson by showing about 7-minutes worth of various scenes from “A Christmas Story”; specifically around Ralphie’s pursuit of his perfect Christmas gift….The Red Rider BB Gun. I then taught a lesson called “The Perfect Gift” which focused on the fact that Christmas really is about a gift….A perfect gift. I then [...]

Continue Reading “Weekend Wrap Up”

YouTube is creating some new rules and operating procedures in an effort to minimize the exposure of questionable videos and content.

This feels like really good news since it is one of the most-visited sites by young teens. Read more about it here.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the importance, or lack thereof, of a strategic year to year teaching plan. In our ministry setting, if a junior higher enters our ministry as a 7th grader he/she will have approximately 100 weekend lessons and somewhere close to 60 small group bible study lessons under their belt by the time they graduate from 8th grade. Of course this assumes they are involved in a small group and rarely miss either small group or weekend programs.

Sooooo, with at best 150 (add 33% if you have 6th graders) opportunities to speak God’s truth into the lives of a group of students who are in the midst of CRAZY social, spiritual, emotional, physical and intellectual development, it seems like junior high ministries should have a pretty solid christian education plan, right? It does to me, but we don’t. Our team recently had a small, but rather disturbing, “ah ha” moment at our weekend program that caused us to acknowledge that perhaps we need to become more proactive in thinking through our teaching scope.

Sure we have certain areas of studies that we make sure we cover from year to year such as the basics of the faith, sexuality, core doctrine, etc. but honestly there isn’t all that much that has been deemed as “stuff we always teach to every group of kids”.

So this post is selfish, but hopefully one that will garner some discussion that will benefit everybody.

I would love to get comments [...]

Continue Reading “What’s Your Plan?”

- Hey! my last post was #650! I probably should have done something cool commemorate it.

- Starting next Monday, I will bring back the popular “Weekend Wrap Up”. I would have brought it back today but I wasn’t part of our junior high programs this past weekend so I have nothing to “wrap up” other than I heard it was a great weekend.

- If you happen to ride a dirt bike, what do you ride? Do you recommend one bike over another? Is there one to avoid at all costs? I ask because I am in the market to “move up” from my 2002 Honda XR 250 which I bought at a killer deal from a buddy as we were getting into riding. Now that it is something that has “stuck” with the family we are in the process of upgrading some of our bikes. And conveniently, I’m first in line!

- Two weeks ago the Jets beat the then undefeated Titans. This week the Broncos beat the Jets. Simple logic will tell you that this means the Broncos can beat the Titans, making them the best team in the AFC.

- Enjoyed a fantastic Thanksgiving yesterday with both sides of the family. Sure missed having my dad there.

- Shows that I watched PART of during the course of the day: Lions/Titans game, Cowboys/Seahawks game, James Bond, Godfather parts 1&2, Texas/Texas A&M game, Kung Fu Panda, Dirty jobs, and others that I’m forgetting. Yes…it was a LAZY day!

- Today I’m trying to figure out whether to shop for black friday specials, take Cole to what will certainly be a crowded Vans skate park, clean my garage, See a movie with the entire family or some crazy combination of all the above.

- My new favorite drink (one that I “invented” on a plane trip a few months back but forgot about until a couple days ago)is cranberry juice with a slice of lime squeezed in. I call it a “CRIME”. I’m sure there’s a formal name for it, but hadn’t ever heard of it until my discovery so I figured I could come up with my own name.

- Absolutely loving the cooler weather that has visited us for the past few days.

- Excited about this week’s junior high lesson. We are going to attempt to, in 20 short minutes, educate our students on how to use various tools to study the bible on their own. Probably not the most exciting lesson, but an important one.

Yesterday was a tough day. We got a call at about 7:30 a.m. telling us that my dad had passed away. As I write this I’m grieving but filled with joy knowing he is in the presence of our heavenly father and enjoying perfect health…something he hasn’t known for many years.

Thanks a ton for all the comments and emails of support and encouragement the past couple of weeks. It has meant a lot. If the technological world of texts, instant messaging, facebook, blogs etc. have hurt “true community”, I haven’t sensed it during this time. I have had very few face to face conversations about my dad in recent days, but have never experienced more community and closeness with the body of Christ.

I have fourteen 7th grade guys in my small group, which I co-lead with one of our volunteers. He travels quite a bit and couldn’t be there this past Wednesday night. Because my fourteen guys are….one might say….”spirited”, I knew I needed to try something different if I had any hope of keeping control of the group by myself.

I decided to show them Rob Bell’s Nooma video called “RICH”. In case you don’t know who he is, Rob Bell is a young senior pastor who is an amazing story teller and teacher. He produces 10-15 minute teaching videos along a variety of subjects. “Rich” is dedicated to helping us understand that God has blessed us and our country so that we can be a blessing to the world around us.

At one point, Rob says something along the lines of “Did you know we could solve the problem of starvation in the world for “X” billion dollars? …..Guess what, Americans spend more than that each year on ice cream.” That comment seemed to resonate with my guys because there was an audible “oooohhhhh” from the group.

When the video was finished I decided to seize the moment and ask about the ice cream statement. The short conversation is a classic reminder of junior high ministry 101.

ME: “So, remember that part about how the entire world’s starvation problem could be solved for the same amount of money that Americans spend on ice cream?”

THEM: “Uh, yep”

ME: “What do you think something like [...]

Continue Reading “The End Of Ice Cream”

If you’re like me, the busier you get doing God’s work, the easier it becomes to find yourself feeling far from God. Over the years, I’ve created a short little “check list” of questions I try to ask myself on a regular basis, and especially in the busy seasons. For me, the categories are more important then the specific questions.

HEART
- Am I feeding my soul?
- Are jealousy, greed or other cancerous motives creeping in?
- Is Jesus my first love?
- Am I generous?

MIND
- Am I guarding my thoughts?
- Do I like the “stuff” that has been at the forefront of my mind lately?

EYES
- Is the stuff I’m watching okay?
- Is the stuff I’m reading okay?
- Currently what do I tend to “set my eyes upon”?

It’s not some sort of spiritual measuring stick or check list of do’s and dont’s that cheapens grace and invites legalism, but rather the acknowledgement of my sin nature and the fact that the busyness of ministry and life in general has a way of making it super easy to neglect my spiritual well being.

Time after time I’ve found that when I’m grumpy, stressed, overly frustrated, impatient, feeling unfulfilled or under-appreciated etc. there is a direct correlation to the categories I’ve listed.