student ministry according to chick-fil-a

Trying to check out ideas from other youth groups.  And I had a chance to check out a student ministry in tx.  in a leadership meeting tim [anemployee of chick-fil-a] was doing a stalling moment in youth ministry.  He shared some wisdom  that he has gained from Chick-fil-a

The questions he started with is what if student ministries used the principles that have made Chick-fil-a succesful:

First:: Operational excellance.
Second:: mile service.
Third:: a commitment to relationship

what would it look like for students ministries to incorporate these principles to what they are doing in their ministry.  what changes would have to occur.  it was challenging as well as funny.

a random call to evangelism

had a great talk yesterday with a youth pastor from a city that is close to us.  he just called out of the blue without much connection before our phone call.  we had a great talk about evangelism.  big events, and large outreaches were the center of our discussion.  how do you cover follow-up?  do you present opportunities for salvation just once during that night?  how do you equip students to be the one that is leading them to christ as opposed to one speaker up front?

my heart was stirred once again with a passion to reach out to students.  but as we talked i was more convinced that no one should ever be at an altar alone.  the purpose is not to get a student to an altar, but into a relationship with Jesus.  i want our students to be a part of seeing their friends coming to christ.  i think that also helps with disciplining those students.  they already have a connection to come back, and someone that can talk with them about what it means to be a christian.  what are thoughts you have on bringing people to christ?  would love more voices in this conversations.

an early christmas box

like a kid waking up on christmas morning is the feeling that i had on tuesday when I came into the office.  i had ordered my next set of books to read.  they came in the freshly packaged amazon box and were sitting on my desk. i was so pumped.  my goal is to read through these all by mid-january.  hoping to have some extra time over christmas break to devour these.  what goals are you currently reading that are rocking you or changing your prespective on ministry.

a new generation: very interesting video

just saw a video linked from Scott Hodges twitter.  it was very interesting.  here is the video.

Generation WE: The Movement Begins… from Generation We on Vimeo.

definitely a video everyone in ministry should watch.  I was a little disappointed that I missed this cut off by a few days.  raises interesting questions for ministry in the future?

you can visit the site here  www.gen-we.org also you can download the free ebook in pdf form at this site.

twitter: connecting fashion across the US

the other day i had a kinda crazy clothes day.  i am a vintage clothes collector [probably the influence of one too many Seinfeld episodes from the famous Cosmo Kramer].  well i pulled my jean bell-bottoms topped with my vintage 79 corduroy blazer with the leather patched elbows.  this all topped by my current 70’s afro.  I was quite a sight.  then i saw this twitter come across from cameron strang.

to which i and my wife reply with the following twitters.

obviously my wife is not quite the vintage clothes fan that I am.  well this is a picture of what I was actually wearing.  had to take an awkward picture to capture the effect of the leather patches on the corduroy blazer.

starbucks you have wowed me again

i am not a very big coffee drinker.  if truth be told the boldest coffee I order is a girly grande peppermint mocha.  i know, i know but for me that is a big step from being someone who could not even stand the smell of starbucks.  what made me start drinking.  well honestly it was the peer pressure of trying to be cool like the people i hang with.  i was sucked in.  well all of that said, my friend and i continue our daily addiction of dropping our $4.89 to get our drink.  well sometimes it is cold by the time it makes it back to my desk for me to enjoy.  well today it arrived with this nifty green stopper.  this allows the steam and warmth to remain in my cup until i am ready to enjoy.  thank you starbucks.  just another reason to continue to pay an outrageous amount of money to drink a peppermint mocha.

raw and authentic prayers

last night at our service we talked about sexual purity [probably one of the least talked about subjects but more important subjects].  at the end we got into groups to pray for each other.  I slipped into one of the groups, and got challenged from a group of high school boys.  it was raw and authentic.  they didn’t use words that we would use, the words they used most people would say have no place in prayer.  I thought do we water down our prayers and use words to sound proper and somehow in that loose the power of being honest before God.  You know what I am talking about, the filler phrases and words.  God help us to stay pure, don’t let us do bad stuff, Don’t let us sin, forgive us our mistakes.   We use these instead of really saying what we are feeling and doing.  After all God knows what we are really going thru.  So maybe you would not use the phrase “bang a girl” or “masturbation” [i know you maybe thinking, is he allowed to say that in a prayer or blog] but are you real in your prayers?  Are you trying to hid your sin and make them sound more presentable to an all knowing God?  I have been challenged to be more authentic after last night.  thank you to the a group of high guys for being real in your prayers, and relationships with Jesus.

a movement vs a large group

been reading through “Tribes” by Seth Godin.  There are some powerful thoughts in this book.  But on page 67 it was one of those stopping moments.  Now the danger in me putting the quote is that you have not had the other 66 pages that lead to this aaahhh moment.  But I will list it none the less.

“So great leaders don’t try to please everyone.  Great leaders don’t water down their message in order to make the tribe a bit bigger.  Instead, they realize that a motivated, connected tribe in the midst of a movement is far more powerful than a larger group could ever be.”

It was just the deep questioning of am I trying to create numbers or a movement.  Have I been building for Aaron’s ego.  or becuase we can change the world.  I guess in the quest to be a force we have settled for a large group of people sitting in the seat rather than really motivating and engaging people to change the world around them.  God help me to lead the tribe you have called me to in a powerful way.

a youth pastors chaotic fight for organization

I have filled my macbook pro with tones of trials to organize, to do list, and plan
my busy and chaotic life.  Husband, father of 5, pastor of two ministries, teaching team and the
list goes on and on.  my iphone has helped some because now most of these programs
go mobile with me.  I have recently added excel sheets for a color coded breakout
of where my time is spent during the week.  still it is overwhelming, and chaotic to
keep organized and make sure nothing falls through the cracks.

ical  |  things |  sketchbox |  jott express |  evernote

Any programs you have found that help in the on
going battle to stay organized?

this week . . . the trend is

Wednesday:
First Wednesday at Riverside.  Got to have dinner with @scotthodge, @creativearts, and @taylorphelan

Thursday:
Related Leaders Event with Scott Hodge.  It messed me up in ministry  [who has God positioned us to reach  |  what will it cost to reach them  |  am I willing to pay the price]  Those will be questions it will take me a little bit to wrestle through.

Friday:
Vision and strategy for United Spring 09.  It was a great day, and I am so pumped and excited about what God is going to do this Fall.

Saturday:
once again got my but kicked working out with @diamondslice.  lets just say I am not as energetic as i was at 18.

Sunday:
is to have my wife run jr high service so i can sit home and puke my guts up