Church Sign Fail

*thanks to failblog.org

"check this out"

(thanks to brooklyn)

Brueggeman on Preaching

Join me in a Conference call today!

Join me today in a conference call on youth ministry today.

http://timschmoyer.com/live-youth-ministry-conversations/

or Link

We'll be talking about sustainable youth ministry.

this will be interesting

See more funny videos and Entertainment Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Coming together

It seems people want to come together and be with others. Sure this was a T-moble commercial and that's probably how they got people there. But this is beautiful.

UPdate: here's what I've found out:

The exclusive 4 minute extended version of the moment 13,500 people spontaneously sang Hey Jude together in Trafalgar Square. Everyone involved arrived thinking they could be dancing - no-one had any idea how the event would unfold.

Large Church Youth Ministry Learning Lab

This week I tried something new. A Learning Lab here in Tulsa. I named it "Leadership for the Rest of Us" because I believe in people and how God has gifted them. With so many of the conferences have the same 6 or so presenters and speakers telling the rest of us what leadership is and isn't I felt I'd try a learning lab. Intentionally small, spread by word of mouth, brought together without having to adopt an experts opinion. My hope was to create an alternative experience, something like an un-conference. 12 people converged on Tulsa Monday-Wednesday for a unique experience. Together we wrestled with ways to think of leadership differently. Most were youth pastors and wrestled with ideas related to doing youth ministry differently. What we call, church B. This was also the first module for folks interested in becoming consultants.

It was a beautiful experience.

We will do it again soon. I thinking of doing two different gatherings.

I'm investigating dates right now. But was thinking one of the Learning Labs (module 1) would be for youth pastors in churches larger than 3,000 people.

The second would of course be open just like the others. Then we'd begin to explore Module two together.
If you are interested in either of these? Let me know.
mark@theriddlegroup.com

Patti Gibbons reviews "Inside the Mind of Youth Pastors"

Patti Gibbons over at YMX has reviewed Inside the Mind of Youth Pastors.

Here's a bit of what she had to say.

Chapter 10, "Before You Say Yes: A Chapter for Youth Pastors", is specifically written for youth pastors. It provides brief discussion of two principles to consider before accepting any church's offer. First, "A healthy church isn't in a hurry to hire a youth pastor"; and second, "You don't want to be someone else's rushed decision." The chapter concludes with a list of questions for a youth pastor candidate to ask of him/herself before accepting the offer.

Section 2 of Inside the Mind, "Getting into Your Youth Pastor's Head", contains some pointed management discussion aimed directly at senior pastors and offering advice for communications, mentoring, loyalty on the ministry team, and other issues that the author's work as a consultant for churches has consistently unearthed. While written for senior pastors, this section reveals systemic issues existing on many church staff teams, and would be a useful read and discussion for anyone in church leadership.

This book is a catalyst rather than a formula, and its danger would be that church leaders might stop the process when the questions got difficult or uncomfortable, leaving the youth pastor, and the youth of the church, in the rubble. I found Inside the Mind of Youth Pastors to be a quick and thought-provoking read from which church leadership and youth pastors alike can benefit, especially if read in an environment of on-going conversation about change

Link