• Labor Day Remembrance for Youth Workers

    Labor Day Remembrance for Youth Workers

    Labor Day became a holiday in response to the massacre of 13 employees to end the Pullman Strike at the hands of the Illinois National Guard. Why were they on strike? The owner of their company cut their wages on their 12 hour work day while holding rents on employee housing. When the owner refused to meet with the employees about the cuts 125,000 railroad workers brought the nation to a halt with a strike… until Grover Cleveland ordered federal troops to violently end the strike.

    For me, I cannot think of the plight of the 19th century worker without reflecting on the working conditions of many of my friends in youth ministry. If we’re honest… being in youth ministry is very much like pre-organized labor days. Mike Rowe has never shown up at a youth group meeting. But just know that being a youth worker is a Dirty Job.

    Today, I am reminded that thousands of youth workers struggle to serve Jesus while employed by churches who often, either intentionally or unintentionally, mismanage them.

    The latest economic downturn has lead to a whole new round of horrible stories. No one is exempt. People who once thought they were in great jobs at great churches have learned that tough times can lead to miserable work conditions. And with so much re-thinking of youth ministry vs. family ministry vs. parachurch-styled youth ministry… an unprecedented amount of youth workers are currently either looking for new ministries or trying to figure out how to be tent-maker in youth ministry or looking to get out of the pressure-cooker altogether.

    On this Labor Day, I want to draw your attention to some specific examples of their struggles:

    • Apparently, being pregnant or a new parent is the perfect time to fire a youth worker. I’ve heard tons of stories like Ryan Smith’s. What a horrible thing!
    • This is a tough time to look for a job in youth ministry. As I run the YS job bank, I know that churches often get hundreds of applicants for each opening. Many excellent/gifted/experienced youth workers are forced out of youth ministry each month because they simply can’t find a job.
    • It goes without saying that the youth worker is often the least respected pastoral staff member. Their role is seen as child’s play despite every statistic available which shows the importance of faith development during the teenage years.
    • It may be 2010, but nepotism is alive and well in the church. I have recently heard from youth workers who were fired because the senior pastors kid just needed a job.
    • Lots of people received pay cuts this year. They take the form of reduction in pay, losing medical/dental/vision benefits, foregoing conference/continued education allowances, etc. Of course, this is often in violation of an existing employment contract that wasn’t mutually re-negotiated. And churches balk when you ask for time off to do part-time work to make up the difference.
    • Most churches regularly break various federal employment laws, claiming to be exempt of all federal employment laws under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The church is not exempt from minimum wage laws except in a few circumstances. (Such as, ordained by your denomination.) No employer can make you work more than 40 hours without compensating you. You are not allowed to have uncompensated “ministry hours” on top of your work hours. I routinely hear of churches who advertise as a 50-60 hour per week job. Um, that’s against the law!
    • Many youth workers are punished or even fired because of the actions of their children or spouse in the church. You can’t be fired because your children don’t like the kids program or your spouse goes to another church. Working at a church does not mean you have no civil rights. (Interesting test of this by World Vision, good thing it only applies to the employee.)
    • Youth workers in small-to-medium sized churches work almost entirely in isolation. They have very limited fellowship with other people their age in the church. And their work hours make it quite difficult to have friendships with people in their community. Isolation leads to depression and all sorts of other bad things.
    • Speaking of small churches. These are especially difficult roles because youth ministry is just one of the myriad of things they are asked to do.
    • Part-time youth workers have it even rougher. Most churches that pay part-time really expect/demand full-time work.
    • Many spouses of youth workers are expected to be volunteers in the ministry. This is jokingly referred to as the “two-for-one” deal by churches. It’s a sick double-standard as the same is rarely expected of all ministry employees and is, again, in violation of the minimum wage/Civil Rights laws. I can’t think of another profession which makes the same demand.
    • The day-to-day job of a youth worker is quite difficult. It’s a multi-disciplinary role which requires skills in everything from teaching the Bible to counseling to marketing to event planning. Yeah, totally realistic.
    • Double-standards are the norm for youth workers. Just one example is work hours. They are asked to hold regular office hours. Plus, they are asked to be out evenings to work with students where they are.
    • When employment ends, many in youth ministry are treated poorly and without respect. There are countless stories out there from youth workers who weren’t even allowed to say goodbye to students they’ve ministered to for years.
    • Youth workers often take abuse from all sides. They work long hours which draws criticism from their spouse. Meanwhile, their boss is unhappy because their groups aren’t growing. All the while, parents express frustration because their child isn’t getting the 1-1 attention she’d hoped for.
    • This list could go on and on… but its a holiday and I don’t want to bore anyone before their barbeque.

    Certainly, many youth workers have wonderful employers who respect them and treat them well. I don’t want this post to over-shadow that fact.

    But perhaps those in great positions can take time to encourage those who are struggling today?

    Maybe, in the coming months you would find ways to lift up and encourage brethren in ministry who are in bad circumstances?

    Offer them a relationship of confidence?

    Offer your home as a place of refuge and relaxation?

    Share in your abundance?

    Share resources and friendship?

    Maybe be that calm and familiar voice who reminds them that this isn’t the way the bride of Christ is supposed to treat its workers?

    More than anything… will you take some time today to call or email a youth worker in your life and affirm them? Tell them that their ministry matters. Tell them that you know their job is difficult. And tell them that they are making a difference in your community.

  • Home Grown Jalapeños

    Back in March my son and I thought it would be fun to grow our own hot peppers. So way back then we planted jalapeño seeds in the little jiffy starter packs and put it under the plastic dome. To our surprise, they actually popped up! A few weeks later we put them in the ground over in a corner where nothing else was having success.

    March 26th, Jalapeño seedling planted

    A lot has happened in our garden since then. Corn came and went. Eggplant grew up next to it and matured. The tomato forest grew next to it. We were over run with summer squash. And all the while our little jalapeño plants just kept on growing, and we waited for some sign that we’d get hot peppers.

    April 9th, not much change

    Spring gave way to summer. And the little plants just quietly grew. We kept watering the 4-5 plants who made it past the transplant and watched them grow bit-by-bit stronger. All the while, Paul and I would ask… is this thing ever going to flower?

    May 1st, still growing

    We’re pretty patient gardeners. And so we were more curious than anything. When would this thing mature?

    June 15th, our first jalapeño

    Right before we left for our summer vacation all of the pretty little flowers gave way to this beauty. A baby. But we were still hopeful that our plants would grow even bigger and that we’d get a lot more peppers!

    August 14th, the harvest is coming!

    A couple weeks back, I could tell we were on our way to a bumper crop. Now fully mature, our jalapeño plants got to about 3.5 feet tall and had fruit all over the place. It was just a matter of time.

    September 5th, the first big harvest

    Today, 180+ days after we planted the seeds, we have our first basket of beautiful jalapeños. Well worth the wait.

  • Why Americans are Going Local

    Yesterday Kristen and I listened to an author, Andrew Potter, describe the American movement towards all things local and eco-friendly as conspicuous consumption.

    It felt like an elitist slap in the face.

    His book is called, The Authenticity Hoax. (I’ve not read it) You can see the transcript to the Marketplace segment, “The new holier than thou” here.

    Basically, the author claimed that the real reason why Americans are going to farmers markets, growing their own food, shopping at locally owned business, and otherwise supporting their local economy is really to show off our wealth publicly. The entire tone of the interview seemed to mock and misrepresent a major shift in public opinion. (For a more reasonable interpretation of the same movement, check out this link in Business Week.)

    I couldn’t help but wonder if the author was just a tool or if he was a corporate tool who didn’t understand how inverse relationships work? As people’s distrust in “global” increases, their trust in “local” increases proportionally.

    Some examples of inverse relationships in the going local trend

    1. We are social creatures. With access to worldwide communication, its a natural human reaction to seek out local connections. People going local is an inverse relationship to a global society.
    2. Micro-economics makes sense. It doesn’t take a PhD in economics to understand that if I choose going to a local eatery vs. McDonald’s more of my money stays in my community. People eating locally is an inverse relationship to a global economy.
    3. The general public is coming to understand that our food chain is under-regulated and unsafe. As I’ve written about before, thanks to some great documentaries the general public is now aware that corporations are more concerned with profit than public health. People growing their own food is an inverse relationship to a global, unregulated food supply chain.
    4. The food decision wheel is turning more quickly. Each time there is a flaw in the food chain it just emphasized what the general public is thinking already. Bad eggs leads to “I need to buy my eggs from a farmer I can trust.” Now that people understand that most of our corn products are genetically-modified, people are starting to look for products containing no corn product. Every bad news story about food spins the wheel a little faster for people and centrifugal force is tough to fight for long. People trusting local farmers is an inverse relationship to a distrust of mega-farmers.
    5. Conspicuous corruption leads to local consumption. Look at the case of “special foreclosure courts” being set up in Florida to supersede constitutional rights in favor of corporations making a quick buck. This isn’t some conspiracy theorist… it’s the New York Times! Apparently the 7th amendment isn’t the law when courts are busy? No one in their right mind would trust that the government will rule in favor of a common citizen right now. So, people are investing their money in local businesses and things they know they can understand and trust. People investing in local banks is an inverse relationship to our distrust of a global banking society and the governmental corruption it has inspired.

    What are other examples of inverse relationships that are leading more and more of us to go local?

    Do you think that the shift to local really is conspicuous consumption? Is this just yuppies finding new ways to show off?

  • SDSU taking the field against Nicholls State

    Last night, Paul and I went to see San Diego State beat the tar out of Nicholls State. (It’s in Louisiana. I had to look it up, too)

    The final score was 47-0 but Paul and I left at the beginning of the 4th quarter when it was 30-0. If you listen to Brady Hoke, the head coach, they could have done a lot better. But I think it was their first shut-out in a very long time.

    Now, the video doesn’t show the level of excitement as the game got into full force. San Diego folks are late comers to all sports. In the end, nearly 26,000 people showed up… which is a big win for SDSU. (The next game will nearly sell out because of the annual “Sky Show” after the game.) The visitors side actually filled in a bit. I look forward to seeing them in late-September. If they have a few more wins and they put on a good performance at the next game, I think they will start to fill up the stadium more.

    As a person who grew up around the campus of Notre Dame, I really appreciated and “got” what coach Hoke was trying to do by adding a bunch of traditions. They had Marshall Faulk come out and spear the field at the beginning of the game. They somehow got every freshmen to come and fill the student section. And I love how they came into the stadium through the band and cheerleaders… nice and slow. They even introduced a secondary mascot, a panther. I kind of liked it but the alumni in my section were pretty ticked off.

    If you listen to Hoke’s postgame interview… this is all part of creating a winning tradition. And winning will draw more fans and make the whole thing more fun. The net result being that winning and more tradition will attract better quality recruits.

    Clearly, there are very talented underclassmen who got to play big chunks of the 3rd and 4th quarter.

  • You are Youth Ministry

    I really like this promotion for the Dallas diocese. It’s well done and draws me in.

    Not sure where this will be shown, but I really dig it.

    ht to D. Scott Miller

  • Notre Dame Football Trailer

    Oh man, I’ve got a fever. I might not sleep tonight.

  • College Football Season is Here

    All summer I’ve waited for college football. With the NBA and NHL completely irrelevant to me, both Phil and Tiger non-competitive on the PGA Tour, and MLB failing to find a storyline to draw me in, it’s been quite a sports draught since the end of the World Cup. In truth, I stop caring for the World Cup when the United States was eliminated.

    Back to football.

    This is a turning point year for the team college football teams I am most vested in.

    San Diego State University

    I’m not a native fan. But SDSU is a couple blocks from my house and for less than $200 I was able to get season tickets on the 50 yard line. (This year I moved back about 5 rows for a better view)

    With second-year coach Brady Hoke settling in the Aztecs were noticeably better last year. There is a tremendous amount of talent in high school football in Southern California and Hoke knows that if he can put a winning team on the field, establish some tradition, and get a couple players drafted high he can pull a lot more talent from the area. So I was excited to see that Hoke has added a couple of traditions for this year. Before they open against Nicholls State tomorrow players will make the “Warrior Walk” from the bus to the stadium. It’s not much, but it is a step towards creating a football feel around town.

    With a veteran QB in Ryan Lindley and star WR Vincent Brown… it will be clear that the Aztecs can move the ball. The question will be if they can hold teams under 20 points.

    My prediction: They will go 7-5, but will include one showcase victory against either BYU, Utah, or TCU.

    University of Notre Dame

    Photo by Ryan Greenberg via Flick (Creative Commons)

    Growing up near the campus has secured me as a life-long fan. And as a life-long fan it has been a tough decade. As much as I liked Charlie Weis and was sad to see him let go I think everyone knew he had given up and didn’t have any solutions to get the Irish back to prominence.

    In came Brian Kelly. A proven winner at every level of college football yet desiring the one thing that has alluded him– a BCS Championship. He seems to have figured out what both Tyrone Willingham and Charlie Weis missed, that winning and losing is only half the battle in South Bend. More than just winning and losing, the head football coach in the ambassador of the county’s largest employer. It’s a very big deal that the locals like coach Kelly.

    Two categories separated Notre Dame from a BCS bowl appearance last year. Their pass defense was horrid. And their red zone TD percentage was embarrassing. As I’ve kept tabs on the news stories it has become clear that these were points of emphasis for the new coach. Let’s hope they can get in the top 50 in both of these categories.

    Coach Kelly’s offensive scheme doesn’t really depend on talent at every position. He’s always lacked talent and found ways to win. It’s a fast-paced style that will confuse most of their early opponents. Even if Dayne Crist is mediocre as a starting quarterback, TE Kyle Rudolph and WR Michael Floyd are NFL quality and will score a lot of points. The key to the offense working is preventing the defense from loading up outside the box and slowing down the pass game by successfully running the ball and controlling the clock. It concerns me that the Irish are weak at RB.

    Another concern about Notre Dame this year is their lack of away games. While Notre Dame is an amazing place to play college football, it is actually a tough place for the Irish to win because of the national TV coverage. They only go on the road to play Michigan State, Boston College, and USC. In recent years they have gotten pounded at those stadiums. Their only hope for those games is at USC. With fewer professional athletes on the field USC’s offense was fine last night, but giving up 36 points to Hawaii shows they are a joke. The tradition lately has been that first-year coaches win 10 games. But I think Kelly is on more of a Lou Holtz trajectory than a Tyrone Willingham one. With a new QB and a completely new system, I see the Irish struggling early and often. (Unless the pace just outsmarts people)

    My prediciton: They go 8-4 and advance to a the Gator Bowl to play Cincinnati. I think they start off their first 5 games 2-3 but rally later with a schedule that includes Navy, Army, Tulsa, and Western Michigan. I do think they beat Michigan and USC– which makes him a winner in South Bend no matter what.

    USC sidenote: Anyone give Kiffin more than 2 years? That dude’s mouth would make Bob Knight blush. And how many more weeks until the NCAA reveals that Pete Carroll is under investigation? I have a feeling they have the death penalty coming.

  • 5 Excuses For a Lack of Church Growth

    Photo by Mr. Tom Lillis IV via Flickr (Creative Commons)

    Here are things that I hear people use as growth limiters when they talk about the vision and day-to-day action of reaching a community with the Gospel.

    1. Budgets – I would do x, y, or z if I had more. More often people talk about too much money in the church being allocated for one ministry while the thing they think will really reach people is under-funded.
    2. Buildings – Either a ministry has too much building so they need to have programs that justify the building or a ministry has not enough/no building and they use that as an excuse to not do something.
    3. Boards – The board is asking too many questions. Or the board doesn’t care. Or the board cares about the wrong things. Or the board doesn’t support your vision.
    4. Butts – We don’t have enough people. Or, more likely, we don’t have the right people. Or maybe too many of the wrong people. But I never hear someone complain of having too many people, in general.
    5. Boundaries – Some congregations are limited by physical boundaries while others are limited because they have no boundaries.

    All of these are just excuses.

    All of these imply that the spread of the Gospel in your community is somehow tied to the growth of your fiefdom.

    All of these are just as much asset as they are liability.

    All of these imply that church growth is about the organization and not the individuals leaning into their walk with Jesus.

    All of these imply that its our job to grow the church and lead people to Jesus and not the other way around.

    This I know to be true.

    When you love your neighbors, when you meet practical needs, when you speak the truth in love, and when you lay aside your aspirations for the aspirations God has for your community… nothing can stop the spread of the Gospel message. It is too powerful.

  • Less studying, more doing

    The faith that Francis is talking about. This is the faith that will cause other people to look at you in horror and say, “That man is crazy enough to change this neighborhood.”

    Don’t know about you. But that message was a like a dart to the gonads for me.

    Stop talking, stop praying, stop studying. Do what you know you have to do.

    Today.

    ht to Terry Weaver for the link

  • Never be afraid to compliment

    I’ve noticed that many folks in ministry are cranky right now. No one seems to get along or agrees with anyone. (I had to say “many” because if I didn’t someone would get cranky about my use of generalization!) It’s all the rage to be a raging disagree-er.

    Exhaustion from the launch of the Fall season probably is impacting this back-biting time. The fact that the economy is feeling scary probably isn’t helping, either. The guilt of unconfessed sins. The weight of working for money instead of passion. Too many carbs and not enough sleep. Forgetting to put the seat down. You know, big stuff that weighs us down.

    Our tribe feels tired and cranky.

    I just want to share what I’ve been saying to myself lately. (Guilty as charged, your honor.)

    The world is already full of smart asses. I’d rather be known as an encourager than a smart ass. Something tells me my kids would be more proud of me for saying nice things about people instead of always trying to prove that I’m right or clever or funny or whatever.

    That’s why I’ve been trying to lean into the wisdom of my wife. She’ll give me the look and say, “No one cares if you are right if you’re a jerk.” The woman is a prophetess, I tell you.

    Prophe-tess.

    I’ve been reminded that I need to be more conscious of encouraging the people in my life. Even the 45 seconds it takes me to send a text to a friend make a big difference. It’s not much, but it’s something.

    As the recipient of some timely encouragement lately, let me say what everyone already knows.

    I can live a week on a compliment.