What it is…
Jonathan McKee (The Source for Youth Ministry) just released a 4-week video based curriculum that’s all about how to have real conversations about sharing your faith. (Which is cool considering it’s called, Real Conversations.) As a youth leader, this is one of those plug-n-play options that would be cool to have on your bookshelf. Each week there’s a 12-14 minute video and a participants guide to help drive it home. For instance, let’s say most of your team is going to take August off and you’re solo teaching? Bam, press play and let Jonathan do the work. It isn’t quite that simple but the videos and the guides make it pretty simple.
Who is Jonathan…
If you know Jonathan and you know me you might not see the connection. He’s more conservative on some things than I am, approaches life a little differently than I do, and he’s from NorCal while I rock the fish tacos down in SoCal. But,while we often have a different approach Jonathan and I have one important thing in common: We long to see the church get better at reaching people right where they are… and we are putting our necks on the line to try to make a dent of a difference. I think that’s one reason we get along so well… we care first about people.
Another reason, and this shares something I don’t talk about a lot, is that I connect well to people who hustle. Jonathan works hard. Yes, he’s talented. But his stuff does so well not just because he’s talented, but also because he flat out works harder than a lot of other people in our world. He and I worked on a project earlier this year and he was RELENTLESS! He wanted to not just get it done and on time… he wanted it to be great and put in the work to make it great.
Why I like it…
I dig Real Conversations for a number of reasons. I think that there are a lot of youth groups looking for this type of training. It’s consistently choses to stay practical when a lot of similar curriculums get lost in theory and apologetics. I like that its Gospel-oriented without limiting the Gospel to a message. I like that it’s funny, really… I LOL’d a couple times. And I like that it was shot and edited real pretty. (The crew at Zondervan did a real nice job.)
In the end, I see a lot of similarities between Real Conversations and Good News in the Neighborhood. They are two-sides to the same coin. As I’ve tried to figure out and live into the realities of becoming Good News on my block I’ve had several instances where someone, completely out of the blue, has asked me… “So, I know you believe in Jesus and there’s something about how you’re living that makes me want to know more. What is that Jesus thing all about and how do I get me some of that?”
So you can think of it like this. The Good News curriculum might teach you how to live for Jesus on your block. But Real Conversations will actually help you answer the natural questions that will come up as a result of partnering with Christ to become good news to your neighbors.
How you can get it…
Two ways you can get this.
- BUY IT. The more direct way is to head over to Jonathan’s website and pick it up. (It’s $10 off, awesome.)
- WIN IT. Zondervan was nice enough to send me a copy of the DVD & Participants guide to review. The simple reality is that I watched the DVD and flipped through the book, but I’d rather give it away to someone who might actually teach it than stick it on my bookshelf to collect dust. It’s brand new! So, leave a comment on this post on 5/1/2012. And I’ll pick a random winner to get my copy. To enter… just leave a comment of any kind. I’ll announce the winner on 5/2/2012.
WINNER: Jeffrey Dyson – send your mailing address to mclanea@gmail.com
Let’s do this again next week! I’ll be giving away a DVD/participants guide for Love is an Orientation next Tuesday.
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