Tag: adam mclane
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Elf HQ
Jimmy and I are off to shoot 2 more elf videos for services this weekend. If we have time there will even be some bonus commercials available online only.The whole point of these is two fold…
- Enjoy them! Seeing church staff dressed like elves should be fun.
- Share them! The reason we’re doing all of this is to promote our service on December 23rd. So if you want to see more stuff like this, take action and get people to that service. We’re looking to pack the church out.
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YMX: remix
I don’t know if my blog readers know all that is going on at Youth Ministry Exchange.Here’s a quick snapshot of recent articles.
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The Elves Are Coming
Apparently the people of Romeo have never seen grown men dressed like elves before. Until today. As Jimmy and I were stopping to take pictures and waving in their cars and generally enjoying the sight.I have to say Jimmy looked pretty good as an elf. Let’s just say I have a lot of junk in the trunk so my tights were a little tight. I’m sure we were a sight to behold.
I’m going to hold the videos until Sunday morning. So if you want to see them, check out our debut. (There are scheduled to be two “commercials” during the service with elves.)
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Guest Dip Story: Len Evans
Over a year ago, I was talking to one my youth ministry guru guys about the rarity of long term youth pastors in a local church setting. There are a decent amount of guys who have been in youth ministry for a long time (20-30) years, you can often hear them speak at various youth ministry conventions and other training opportunities. However very rarely are they in a local church setting. They tend to be youth ministry professors, camp directors, denominational leaders, in para-church ministries, professional speakers (need someone for your next camp?) or have started their own non-profit ministry to do what they’ve always loved without the headaches, heartaches or hurts that come from local church ministry.I can understand the appeal of those positions and I’ve considered almost all of those different ways to do youth ministry without being in a local church. Why aren’t there more of us who remain in full time local church youth ministry for 20 plus years?
One of the principles I loved about Seth Godin’s book is that he gave permission to quit. I remember being in seminary and talking with all my fellow youth ministry seminarians who were convinced that they would be doing youth ministry until they die. If commonly used statistics are true, around 25-40% of them aren’t even in ministry now (14 years later) let alone in youth ministry.
It’s a shame they quit because of discouragement, hurt, isolation or pain from being in ministry. These things can come from within the individual or from within a local congregation. I wish they would not have quit, I wish they had pushed through the dip and pursued ministry because the harvest is plentiful but quality workers are few.
On the other hand I’m glad that some other guys have gotten out of youth ministry. Not because they were horrible but because they had gifts to share with the larger body of Christ. They include numerous former youth pastors who have become church planters, who took over for their senior pastor, who moved on to become a senior pastor, who went into missions and even Tony Jones who is now national director for the Emergent Village. If you need to quit youth ministry to pursue a new passion or your gifts have changed, great! Keep serving Jesus but remember to give your youth pastor a good budget and salary, when you’re in charge.
I’ve pushed through my own year and a half “dark night of the soul” after being fired abruptly by a stereotypical CEO Senior Pastor. It took time to heal and thankfully we found a great church that allowed us the time and space to heal. Because of my time in the Youth Pastor ICU, I’m able to be back in local church youth ministry.
It’s glorious. I’ve been “back in the saddle” for almost nine months now in full time youth ministry and there are still days where I go to work giddy. It’s my goal to retire in local church youth ministry. Is it because I can’t do anything else? No, it’s because I can’t do anything else! I’m compelled to care for students and their families in a local church setting because I think it’s the thing that I can do best to make Jesus smile the most.
Push through the dip, keep loving the local church, and join me in the youth pastor retirement home.
Len Evans has been in full time youth ministry since graduating from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1994. He is the author of Creative Bible Lessons in 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus. He’s written for The Journal of Student Ministries, Youthworker Journal and Group. He is the Youth Pastor of Melonie Park Church in Lubbock, TX.
Sponsored by Raising Lazarus: A Fund for Youth Workers
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How do I get published?
There doesn’t seem to be a more common dream among youth workers than the desire to get a book deal or to get published in a national magazine.
Here’s a reality check: No one is ever going to contact you to offer you a book deal or to ask for you to write for a magazine.
This is where YMX is unique in the ministry world. We want to help aspiring youth ministry authors, curriculum writers, and reviewers get to the “next level” by helping them develop a recognized name and find their writing voice.
Developing a recognized name
Yeah, I said it. If you want to write a book, write articles, or publish curriculum you’ll probably need to do some work. It’s not like publishers are so bored in their jobs that they are just randomly looking at blogs, youth group websites, or your college papers. The reality is that the decision makers are busy… so you have to build a body of work to the point where you can make a pitch for your project. In other words, a publisher is gambling by publishing your work. Their gamble is that publishing you will make them more money than it will cost to produce your work. While all youth ministry publishers are in it to help youth workers… at the end of the day they have to pay salaries and cover expenses. So, if you want to get published at the next level you need to show that you already have an audience reading your stuff, using your stuff, and wanting your stuff now.
Finding your writing voice
I’ve had the pleasure to watch this process at YMX. The first couple of articles we get from people typically aren’t that great. They are full of passion and full of “stuff” that makes sense to the author but is hard to translate to a broader audience. What happens is that when an article is submitted it gets edited. And when an author reads the published article vs. what they have submitted they learn how to write more for what the editor thinks is palatable to a broad audience. The result is that by the 3rd article, we’re getting a better quality article/review/resource. And we are seeing that the new author is starting to get confident in their writing style… finding a voice. This is another thing that a publisher is going to want to see. They will want to see that your stuff is polished but they don’t have the time/money to help you get polished.
So how do I get published? Here’s some ways to start today at making your writing dream a reality.
- Blog. The more you write, the more confident you get in writing. Don’t just write about silly stuff or pass along links or the latest quiz to your friends. Find something to write about. If you really don’t have any ideas just pick a chapter of the Bible and write your reflections on a new chapter every day.
- Submit an article on something you are interested in. Write an article about something you are knowledgeable about to YMX. It doesn’t have to be long, 500-700 words is perfect. Another cool thing you can do is to ask people if you can guest blog on their blog. This will help you get used to writing for different audiences. Just like when doing speeches or preaching at churches, knowing your audience is half the battle. Once you get a few of these under your belt… you are ready to take on something tougher.
- Create a project that is outside what you know. Stretch yourself a little to write about something. This will demonstrate to yourself and others that you are diverse enough to write things that are beyond your experience.
- Ask for feedback. Once you get a few things published online, ask for feedback. How many people read my article? What would have made it better? How could I make that article into something that more people would have read?
- Ask for projects. I’ve never told a person “nothing” when they ask me for something I’d like to see an article on. When you ask me for a project idea and then you submit an article along those lines… that’s when I can see you are really getting into it.
- Be consistent and make deadlines. Nothing is more annoying than people who pitch an idea, get an assignment, and then blow a deadline. That is definitely not going to help you get to the next level.
- Start pitching ideas to new editors. This is the exciting step we see many writers at. They have written a few things for YMX, gotten solid feedback, and are now ready to draw on that experience to start getting paid gigs. So they submit their project ideas to youth ministry magazines, major Christian websites, their local newspaper, (small town papers are always hungry for good content) and maybe even another larger venue.
- Welcome to the world. When editors know your name and what you’ve got a body of work they are familiar with… they may just call you about a project idea they have been thinking about. Here’s a hint: Say yes and beat that deadline!
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December message series: Closer
This week launches a new sermon series at Romeo. With it we’re launching new imagery, new music, a bulletin redesign, and this video… all goes along with a very cool message series.
The general idea is, at the core, the gospel message. That we are born seperate from God and that God’s sending of Immanuel was God craving a relationship with his creation… He wanted us to be closer. I won’t steal any more of Bob’s thunder on this series. (But if you want to hear one of the funniest things in church history, check out this jingle.)
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Guest Dip Story: Gerrard Fess
Top Ten Hints to Getting over the Ministry Dip
Sure ministry is hard, especially youth ministry. So what are some ways to go beyond being just mediocre? Here are some suggestions that I have learned from the school of hard knocks; or otherwise the hard way.I. Get your Senior Pastor on your side. In my first ministry it was: “You do your job; I’ll do mine and we’ll both be fine.” In other ministries it was: “I’m here to be your Boss.” In my current ministry, it is “we are co-workers in the Kingdom, let’s work together.”
II.Get the parents involved. After all youth ministry should be more supportive of parents. In our post-youth ministry era the number one influence is the students’ parents. (Not the youth worker). I have learned this lesson the hard way and am skeptical at times when a special meeting is called to meet with the Youth Pastor. (Because of past experiences of these turning into a blame game; but currently when one is called it is how can we help you?)
III.Support your volunteers. Some people get paid to do youth ministry; a majority do not! Celebrate your volunteers. Make sure they have the resources they need to do the ministry.
IV. Get your students involved. Give them the ownership. Delegate. Allow room for failure.
V. Keep your soul in check. Develop your soul. Be renewed, refreshed; driven. Keep your focus and relationship with God ongoing. I know when I first started in youth ministry – my soul was dry. My lessons were lacking; and I was flying by the seat of my pants. No plan. No direction. No consulting God. When I got back on the right track; God was and is continuing to mold my own messy self to do His Work!
VI. Know yourself!! Know your limits, gifts and abilities. Set boundaries, have accountability. Maybe give up some of that TV time, Mt. Dew to spend more time doing stuff like taking care of your family and yourself. (who doesn’t need more rest?) I’ve seen too many ministries fail due to lack of this. Whether sexual sin, abuse of power, money … the best thing is to have a good checks and balances system in place. I look back and think “Wow, there might have been some cause for my demise if I didn’t rethink how to approach this.”
VII. Love your family. Include them in your ministry. Tell stories. Be there for them. What is the worse thing that can happen in your youth ministry? Lose your job? Nope. Lose your relationship with God, your marriage, and your children. Those need to come first before your ministry.The following illustration of this comes from the August 14, 2005 Lookout Magazine pg. 15
“ ‘Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God.’ That directive ordered his life. For 20 years, he traveled to Korea, Africa, China, India, and Europe saving souls, housing orphans, and building hospitals. Through his documentary films, radio broadcasts, and personal appearances, he awakened the social consciousness of an entire generation of American Christians. In the process he formed a worldwide relief organization, World Vision, which continues to be an effective Christian relief agency.The man’s name was Bob Pierce. But while Bob Pierce was reaching the world, he was losing his family. He had accepted the believable lie, “If I take care of God’s business, God will take care of my family.” His all-consuming work kept him away from home for months at a time. Relational distance increased as time with his family decreased.
Eventually he became frustrated, even hostile, toward his family and in time was legally separated from his wife. One child committed suicide; another married prematurely and was shortly divorced. Soon even his closest associates found it impossible to work with him. Consequently, they removed him from the organization he had created.”
VIII. Do what you do best . . . Delegate the rest. If you are a good teacher, teach. Leader, lead. Enjoy leading worship; be a lead worshipper. Use the giftedness and spiritual gifts God has given you and others. It helps taking more off of your plate and having others do it. (see # 2 through 4 above)
IX. Be willing to take chances. Don’t be afraid to fail. Failure is just another way to learn – Oh, that’s not how it is to be done. Laugh, learn, move on. The All star bloopers by a youth worker could have been written by me. One of the churches that did the most “abuse” to me is one I call my learning church. I had learned from my own mistakes and from others what not to do and God continues to use me.
X. Learn from others. Collaborate. Beg, steal, borrow. After all, when you are in the midst of a dip, going to have one, or just coming out of one nothing is like looking at what others are doing right. Network. Goto conventions. Search online. Read books, magazines. Ask the tough questions: What worked, what didn’t. Know your vision, purpose and how to achieve those. Dream Big … God is using you through both the mountains and the valleys. The only issue is how to handle them.
For me I see it as the Apostle Paul: a race, a journey, a learning experience. 2 Timothy 4:2 states “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” NRSV.
Boy, have I learned what not to do. I am still learning what to do and not do in getting past all the bumps, bruises and dips we’ve all had in ministry.
I have next to my desk this plaque that reads:
“Don’t quit”
When things go wrong,
As they sometimes will;
When the road you’re trudging
Seems all up hill;
When the funds are low,
And the debts are high;
And you want to smile,
But you have to sigh;
When care is pressing
You down a bit,
Rest if you must,
But don’t you quit.Youth Ministry is one of the best things one can do to love our God and loves those students. Keep up the good work.
Gerrard R. Fess is the Youth & Family Ministry of Cary Christian Church in Cary, NC.
Sponsored by Raising Lazarus: A Fund for Youth Workers