Category: hmm… thoughts

  • Finding culture from within four walls

    I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the culture we live in as well as how we discover the culture we live in. Some of it comes from observation, some of it we naturally pick up without noticing it, but a lot of our culture comes from outside.

    Think about the cultural things you pick up at a camp or even on a vacation with friends. You develop new lingo and special norms. That’s fascinating to me about human nature. Why did God make us that way?

    And what does our ability to adapt and learn culture so quickly say about our God. We are made in His image, aren’t we? Does that mean that God is super-adaptable? Does that mean that God uses new lingo or norms to reach us? I think it does.

    And what about this. Have you ever thought about your own personal role in culture? Have you ever thought that you were put into a culture or sub-culture or micro-culture to infect, affect, or defect that culture? 

  • YMX Acquired by YS

    Today, at 4:47 PM EST it was official. My mouth has been shut for weeks since I couldn’t talk to anyone outside of my family about the deal with YS. But it is now done and I couldn’t be happier. YMX partnering with YS is, in my opinion, the perfect place for YMX to fit into the youth ministry landscape. As Marko said, it’s only natural.

    We’ve truly enjoyed being the independent source of youth ministry stuff. And we hope to continue on with that flavor.

    There are a hundred reasons I am excited about this deal. The most obvious thing to be excited about is that I get to run YMX as part of my new job with YS. How cool is that? I’m also jazzed about the massive door of opportunity that was just swung open to us from the YS/Zondervan family. There are too many cool things to talk about with this. For now…

    Here’s the press release

    And here are the FAQs we posted in the forums about “what happens next” for YMX/YS.

    How will this effect the way I use YMX?
    One of the coolest parts of this is that the YMX community will mostly stay the same. The same people will be running it and Youth Specialties is taking a very hands off approach to YMX. YMX will benefit mostly from access to tons of resources to grow the site in a way that helps fulfill the community’s long-term vision.

    Will this effect the way the forums operate currently?
    Yes. Eventually, the forums will shift from a subscription based forum to a free forum. In other words, there will no longer be “premium level” areas of the site which require payment to utilize. The terms of service, the community accountability, the emphasis on self-moderation, will all continue.

    Will the forum community be under a new and/or revised terms of service?
    Not right now. If the terms of service ever change we will contact you to let you know.

    What about the privacy issues? I thought the forums were secure and now they will be open to anyone?
    We share your concerns. Starting in January 2008, YMX changed the method of registering new members so that new members have to provide personal information that is verified before we allow new members to access the forums. We will continue to utilize this option as a way to prevent trolling and keep the community safe. This meets the same need in protecting your privacy on the forums fulfilled.

    Will the forums be indexed on search engines?
    No. Since the forums require a registration to see anything, the search bots are prevented from searching forum content. This is not changing.

    Will the forums be managed by different people and/or different moderators?
    YMX, including the forums, will continue to operate as we always have.

    I am a charter/premium subscriber, what does that mean for me?
    Most of our premium/charter subscribers have been with us a long time. You guys are awesome and we thank you for your support. We will soon contact you to offer you a store credit with Youth Specialties. If that doesn’t work for you, please contact adam@ymexchange.com.

    Will the Oasis still be available?
    Absolutely. The private Oasis area of the forums will still be available upon request, with a team of caring, youth ministry-understanding people to listen, pray, and confidentially walk with youth workers through tough or tricky situations. In fact, we hope to bring even more hope and help through the people being part of YS makes available to us all.

    Does this mean that you won’t be accepting and publishing user-generated content?
    Not at all! Actually the opposite. As a property of Youth Specialties we will be increasing the frequency of content for the community. While you may see some new authors on the site, we’d love to continue to work with new and emerging authors.

    How much money were Patti and Adam given to make this happen?
    We can’t answer that at this time. Adam and Patti are currently on the Youth Specialties jet on their way to FerrariWorld in Roma, ciao! http://www.ferrariworld.com/

    Will YMX still be appearing at the conventions to promote the community?
    Yes. Look for us at all the National Youth Workers Conventions this fall.

    What about Raising Lazarus and the community’s desire to help hurting youth workers?
    Raising Lazarus has always been a separate entity of Youth Ministry Exchange, LLC. YMX will continue its partnership with Raising Lazarus to offer practical support for those who need help. In addition, with more time dedicated to running YMX, Adam and Patti will be more available to help.

    Will the site continue to place ads?
    Yes. The site will largely operate as it has.

    Does this mean that YMX will only promote resources that are Youth Specialties products?
    No. The site will largely operate as it has. If we review a resource or report on a news item, we will include a disclosure stating that our our parent company is Youth Specialties when it is relevant. This is similar to the way you see reporting on mainstream media.

    Doesn’t YMX own other sites? Are those part of this deal as well?
    Yes, YMX will continue to operate the blog ad network, Youth Ministry Tips, Youth Ministry Pro, and just like we are today.

    Your thoughts?

  • What if? Dream with me.

    I had this thought while wondering around Wal*Mart and a grocery store tonight. It’s a fairly simple thought but I think it’s fascinating.

    What if the privacy that we all hold so near and dear evaporated?

    What if we all woke up tomorrow and everyone in the world could find out what was in your bank account? What the doctor told you at your last appointment? What if your driving record wasn’t private? What if you knew what everyone made at your work or gave at your church? What if everyone could see the websites you’ve looked at?

    What if everyone had access to all of that information? What would the world be like?

    Think about our economy. It’s largely built on fear and secrets. Start wiping away layers of each and the world becomes a very, very different place. Doesn’t it?

  • Adam McLane, tech dork

    As if it were not official already. Last week I totally proved my tech dorkiness repeatedly. From randomly fixing computers to picking up the new MacBook to whimsically talking about PHP code and fixing a blog. Of course, this was on top of my normal compulsions to Twitpic all over the place, post to Twitter while driving, and some other things.

    We even joked about my starting a weekly “Tech Tip from Adam” for folks looking to get a little more dorky.

    But my dorkiness was confirmed forever on Friday. Going through the security screening at San Diego I popped open my bag and pulled out 2 MacBooks and my Smartphone. The Homeland Security guy just kind of stared at me.

    It’s true, I love technology. I love gadgets. I love being connected and learning new ways to connect. I guess that means I love being a dork. Wait until July 11th when I pick up the new iPhone.

  • Travel Day

    It’s after breakfast in Romeo and I’m wide awake here in San Diego. (4:00 am) The last 24 hours have been a blur as I commuted about 3000 miles to work yesterday. (Going home Friday) Besides the travel I did get some stuff done yesterday and I’m looking forward to getting more settled today.

    The first thing on my mind about yesterday is that people on early morning flights are boring. I’m not one who would like to talk for 4 hours to a stranger on a plane, but at the same time both flights I took yesterday morning were nearly silent. If it weren’t for the guy in 6C asking me about switching to Mac somewhere over Arizona I wouldn’t have said a word to anyone all morning. I’m all for keeping to ones self but lets all acknowledge one another as humans, OK?

    The second thing on my mind is that I have a really cool job ahead of me. Like any job my new role as “communitymeister” has a lot of things to do which are really important and will occupy my mind for more hours than I’ll admit. But there are two different aspects of my new job that have me jazzed.

    Over the last few Sunday’s numerous people at church have asked me, “So what is this new job all about?” I’ve always translated that to “I want to know if this new job is worth losing a pastor over at my church.” And people from the greater youth ministry community have been asking me to give a little more insight into my new role as well. (One friend even asked me, “Can I see your full job description?” Um, no.) So here they are… two aspects of my new job I totally dig.

    • I get to help youth workers from all over the place. It’s awesome that folks can write or call YS and get practical help and encouragement. And it’s fun to be that first connection these new volunteers and paid staffers have to the greater community of youth workers out there. I love listening to them and helping them with a couple of pointers from my experiences in the trenches… but I really, really love pointing them to places online where they can learn my most favoritestist word in all of church leadership… “Collaboration.” There’s nothing like the moment when the light bulb goes off, “You mean I’m not the only one who has a parent issue like this?”
    • I get to help tell my friends about Youth Specialties. Literally, I’ve had one day in the office and my mind is already racing with ways I can help connect this amazing staff of people with the greater community of youth workers.

    Just like at Romeo, it’s not going to be my habit to talk about work very often on my blog. Sure I will talk about things that are going on in my life or things that I’m excited about. But my purpose in blogging has never been to expose the inner workings of my job… because lets face it, that’s boring for all of us. It’s not like I’m one of those early 2000s bloggers who would rant on and on about the inner workings of their jobs. I’ve been blogging a long time. And I have rules to follow.

    My purpose in blogging has always been to expose the inner workings of my mind. And for those brave/stupid enough to want to know all about that I suggest you subscribe to my RSS feed (or email) and get ready to laugh a lot.

  • What will the news agencies do now?

    Now that they big networks can’t milk the Obama and Clinton race any more and the Olympics don’t start for 8 more weeks… what in the world will news agencies talk about? If today’s blanket coverage of the Belmont Stakes is any indication it could be a long summer.

  • Happy Birthday Kristen

    Happy Birthday Kristen

    Today is Kristen’s birthday. Make sure you head over to her blog to leave something fun for her. 

    Kristen and I have now been going out for about 13 years. (Maybe we should get married?)  It’s crazy to think of all the fun things we’ve done. Doing life with your best friend just makes life so much more fun. 

    To celebrate Kristen’s favorite thing in the world (traveling) here’s a list of the states we’ve traveled to together.

    • Michigan (at the cottage, the UP, Traverse City, and all over!)
    • Wisconsin (The Dells and all of our wandering around when we were bored without kids and gas was $.89)
    • Illinois (Garden of the Gods and pretty much every place in and around Chicago)
    • Indiana (South Bend, trip to Grandma’s, and many good times in Mishawaka)
    • Ohio (Honeymoon at Kelley’s Island; Cedar Point, some other family trips)
    • Pennsylvania (Dave and Becky’s wedding!)
    • New Jersey (The family… not “the family” but just the family)
    • New York (ok, the airport counts, right? We need to do NYC sometime) 
    • Florida (Ah, Ft. Lauderdale was killer. Lets go to the Keys sometime)
    • Nebraska (The interview trip from hell in Central City)
    • Iowa (Nothing like meeting people who spent the morning in the swine barn’s waste pit, eh? Pass the mashed potatoes.)
    • Missouri (We navigated Kansas City successfully)
    • California (From Ft. Bragg to our awesome times in Santa Cruz to some sweating in the Valley. Next up, SoCal explorations!)
    • Washington (San Juan Islands… we need to do that again.)
    • Nevada (The escape from Horroville via the drive across the moon. Tahoe and of course Vegas)
    Then we’ve also traveled to Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, and Canada together. Where will the next 13 years of dating take us? Your dreams are our dreams. I’ll go to Hawaii if you’ll go to Helsinki.
    Maybe one day we’ll get that Bed & Breakfast?

  • New community and youth ministry

    New communityIn the last few years “community” has taken on a whole different meaning. While community will always be a part of where you live and where you feel like you belong… I’ve noticed that students are finding community in unconventional places. 

    • School – Duh. This is a no brainer.
    • Church – You get paid to make these observations McLane?
    • Neighborhood – Seriously, why am I reading this?
    • Sports – Yes, community here.
    • Facebook, myspace, AIM, and other social networks – Yes, yes, yes, and yes.
    • XBox Live – Really? Yup. Your students BFFs may live in another state or country!
    • Online RPGs – Remember the angst about Dungeons and Dragons when we were kids? Now students may have community with people in their groups all over the world. 
    What are some other non-tradition places you see students finding community?

     

  • History Maker

    History Maker | Barack Obama

    Last night Barack Obama became the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party. If that’s news to you this morning, please nudge Dick Cheney awake and come out of the cave to the real world. 

    This isn’t a post about politics. This is a reminder of who we are in Christ. All over the news this morning Barack Obama is being called a history maker. The first African American to be a party nominee for President of the United States. It doesn’t matter which party you affiliate yourself with, this is a historic moment for our nation.

    If Jesus is your Savior, you are called to be a history maker as well. 

    Matthew 5:13, Jesus tells us to be the salt of the earth.

    Ephesians 5:13-14, Paul tells us to bring light to dark places, to wake up!

    Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus gives us marching order to go and change our world.

    On and on throughout the new testament we are taught the same thing… Go be a history maker. 

    change history now

    Don’t just look at Barack Obama and think to yourself, “Wow, how cool is it that he’s changing history.” Instead, look intently at what Jesus is calling you to do. And do it. Do it with the attitude that you were placed on this earth to make a difference. 

    Paul tells us, “He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.” 

    Change history. Do it now. Today is the day. The world you live in is waiting for someone to do something and that someone is you. That’s change we can believe in.

  • A birthday fact

    birthday candles

    June 2nd is my birthday. I’m not a huge “happy birthday” kind of guy, but I thought since I am starting a new job on my birthday it would be timely to share a fun fact about me. 

    Pretty much every job of my adult life has been started within a day of my birthday. 

    Monday I start with Youth Specialties. June 1st 2003 I started with Romeo. June 1st 2002 I started with EFC Oroville, CA. Roughly June 1st 2001 I started an internship at a church in the Chicago area. June 1st 1996 was my first day at Timber-lee as a summer staffer. And going all the way back to 1994, my first “real job” as a painter at Moody Bible Institute started on June 2nd. 

    Pretty weird little detail, eh?