Ken Sapp posted a good list of ways to lose contact with students, but I’d like to add one more to it: Joke around about sensitive issues like abortion and homosexuality.

I’ll never forget one conversation I had many years ago with a [tag]junior high[/tag] student who was active in another youth ministry. He struggled with his sexual identity, not sure if he was more attracted to girls or guys and was toying with the idea of adopting homosexuality as a potential lifestyle. After listening to his stories I asked, “Have you talked with your [tag]youth pastor[/tag] about this?” He immediately responded, “Oh no, I can’t tell him about this. I was going to say something to him last year, but then I overheard him make fun of a gay guy.”

Mental note self: NEVER make fun of issues like homosexuality and [tag]abortion[/tag]. It’s inappropriate and there’s no telling how careless “humor” can terminate someone from ever seeking Godly help.

Covenant Seminary posted all their class lectures online in mp3 format to be downloaded free of charge, including their Youth Ministry course. If you’ve ever wanted to sit through a seminary youth ministry course for free, it couldn’t be any easier than this. Study guides in PDF format are also provided for free.

Topics include forming your identity in youth ministry, understanding youth culture, developing a vision statement, building a ministry team, relational youth ministry skills, administration and more.

It’s all right here.

(ht to SamR)

Over at YouthMinistryTV.com Dennis posted a free e-book he wrote called, “Generation YouTube: Harnessing the Power of Internet Video for Youth Ministry.” I just finished reading it tonight and want to highly recommend it. In 35 pages he addresses almost everything you can think of relating to Internet video and using it in ministry. Included are some very helpful tutorials about how to create video, how to get it online, links to free resources and tools, as well as lots of great practical ideas for using it to enhance youth ministry. No matter where you fall on the tech-savvy continuum this e-book has something for you. In my printed copy of the e-book there are several paragraphs highlighted with ideas I’m itching to implement for promoting discussion and community in my youth group.

Dennis is generously making his e-book available online for FREE under the Creative Commons License, so download it and check it out.

I went through an old box the other day and came across a wrinkled sheet of paper with some notes scribbled on it. I don’t remember when I wrote these notes or what the situation was surrounding their context, but reading through them was pretty thought provoking for evaluating my call to vocational youth ministry.

PASSION

• What excites you? What do you get excited about?
• What drives you?

PERSONALITY

• What are you good at? What are your strengths?
• What are you bad at? What are your weaknesses?
• What ticks you off? What are your pet peeves?
• Who in the ministry do you look up to and respect?
• What kind of ministry are you attracted to?
• How has the way God wired you prepared you for ministry?

SPIRITUALLY

• What is God doing in your life spiritually?
• What are your spiritual gifts?

VISION

• Where is God leading you spiritually?
• What do you foresee in future ministry?

EXPERIENCES

• Are you plugged into ministry right now?
• What past experiences do you have in ministry?
• What do others say that have seen you work in ministry?

PHILOSOPHY

• What do you see ministry as?
• Define ministry.
• Describe ministry.
• Do you see ministry as a lifestyle or a job? Why?
• All believers are called to ministry, but few are called to full-time ministry. Why you?

CALLING TO MINISTRY BASED ON THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS

• Faithful — Can you do it every day with passion?
• Fruitful — Are there positive outcomes? (Is God blessing it?)
• Fulfilled — Do you enjoy it?
• If one of these are not present, then you’re in the wrong ministry. Two of the servants were FFF, but one wasn’t and buried his treasure.

I’m starting to notice a trend between youth ministries and their churches. I saw it first in my own youth group when evaluating our areas of strengths and weaknesses. Where we are strong are also the areas of strength for our church and likewise for areas of weakness. It’s almost as if the students become carbon copies of their parents. The spiritual attitudes they see exemplified around them in the church and at home become the ones they bring to youth group and their own spiritual lives. For example, if there’s no strong sense of urgency among adults in the church to reach lost people, it’s hard to spark that passion in the youth group.

So I’m wondering if it’s accurate to say that the state of the youth group sometimes reflects the state of the church. People may complain about what’s wrong with their youth ministry, but a short discussion about what’s happening in the church as a whole usually reveals that the same thing is happening among the adults. Common issues like disconnected students and spiritual apathy may be an issue among the youth, but maybe these themes also run true among the whole church body and are just covered up by more experienced actors. Whether we realize it or not, kids watch what our hearts model and often reflect it in their own attitudes toward God and spirituality. The difference is that students are less apt to “fake it” at church. If teenagers are bored senseless, their actions show it. If adults are bored senseless of church, they still act “polite” and pretend to be connected to the Truth.

When members of the youth group aren’t connecting real life with spiritual matters then maybe the first step is to build a healthy church where parents and adults serve as a model for teenagers to follow. If students see this kind of connection taking place at home, at church and in the lives on their youth leaders then maybe it has a higher chance to take place in their lives. Instead of witnessing the superficial spiritual fluff all around them that leaves little impact on daily living, they should witness first-hand in our lives that scripture is not just theoretical trivia but, as Hebrews 4:12 says, is “living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword.”

We’ve all heard the statistic of high school graduates leaving the church in masses. I can’t help but wonder if the first step in finding the solution is not to figure out what’s wrong with youth ministry, but figure out what’s wrong with the church. Adults and parents need to live a true example of following Christ and applying scripture to daily concerns. If students don’t see this, then why would they want to adopt our impractical “spirituality?” I think the solution to this mass exodus starts with a spiritual revival among church parents and adults to live spiritually contagious lives.

Tonight Dana and I ran to the grocery store tonight to pick up a couple items and I see they’re already selling Christmas stuff! What’s up with that? It’s September 25! We’re still about two months away from Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations are for sale. I took a picture of it with my phone just to prove it to you… This is ridiculous.

This is a big question rolling around in my mind. I’ve had many experiences with homeless people that have shaped my perspective on them.

While growing up there were several occasions of homeless people knocking on our door asking for lunch money. Rather than giving what they, sought my mom would often make a sandwich instead (especially since we didn’t grow up with a huge cash flow either), but 9 times out of 10 we would return to the back door with their lunch only to find no one there. Apparently they didn’t really want a meal. If they were hungry enough they would’ve stuck around for it.

My parents were always generous in helping people in need. Over the course of my life they had many people live with us in our little house, including two teenage girls and a guy transitioning from prison back into real life. We also found housing for a homeless guy who appeared to be serious about finding a job and turning his life around, but unfortunately he sucked up the hospitality for all he could get from it and then went back to the street.

Last year I still followed my parent’s example and took in a guy for almost a week. I blogged about it HERE. Even two months ago Dana and I were at the mall in Texarkana when a guy asked me for gas money so he could continue his trip to something important in Dallas. I told him I don’t just hand out cash, but that I’d be willing to go up the the gas station with him. He agreed to meet me in a couple minutes when Dana and I finished what we were doing, but he never showed up.

Along with taking my youth group to feed the homeless in Dallas and regularly visiting a soup kitchen in Philly growing up, these experiences have caused me to be a little skeptical about the honesty of this demographic.

A couple years ago a friend of mine in seminary was talking about the panhandling issue in the Dallas area and said something that altered my perspective. He said,

“These homeless people may take my money and go spend it on drugs and alcohol, but that’s not an excuse I can use to justify whether or not I should be generous. God commands us to give and help those in need. What they decide to do with my generosity is between them and God, not me. I’m responsible to God, not to what I think they’ll do with the money.”

This was pretty much my outlook until a recent post by The Homeless Guy, a blog I only recently started reading. Read this homeless man’s entire entry. Here’s clips of it:

1) Not all panhandlers are homeless.
2) Most homeless people do not panhandle.
3) Nearly all money given to panhandlers is used to buy drugs and alcohol.

Feeding addictions is the sole goal of nearly all panhandlers. Sure, they may use some of the money to buy food; even drugs addicts get hungry, but if a person were to give food instead of money to a panhandler, that panhandler will be able to save more of his money for drugs….

My recommendation has always been, and still is, to not give money to panhandlers….

In being good stewards, it would only be right to get to know the people you intend to assist with money and other things, before actually giving them.

So now, instead of helping these people without assuming responsibility for any addictions, here’s an actual homeless man telling me to do otherwise. The Homeless Guy goes on to say that he does encourage giving food to homeless people since it’s harder to obtain meals now, so should that be the extent of my on-the-spot giving? Getting to know a homeless person I intend to assist isn’t really that practical most of the time, so what do I do? Do I continue to give of my resources regardless of how they decide to use it? Or, do I keep God’s blessings to myself in the name of “helping them overcome problems?”

I don’t really understand people who say things like, “The worship isn’t very good at my church,” or, “Our worship pastor doesn’t remove enough distractions for me to worship.” Man, this is America’s consumerism mentality at its worst. Since when does worship depend on a musical performance? Worship is not an event for 20 minutes on a Sunday morning, it’s a lifestyle of attributing worth to God in everything we say and do. Although worship includes singing, it also includes prayer, loving God, living blamelessly, sharing Christ with others, spending time in the Word, sacrificially serving those around us and more. We don’t go to church to worship, we go to church already worshiping. It can take place in a big church with a professional band and lighting, alone in the quietness of a closet or deep in the jungle of Africa. Worship is a week-long process, a lifestyle, not solely a Sunday morning activity. Sure, certain environments may promote an atmosphere of worship better than others, but worship never hinges upon such factors.

So if someone tells me they can’t worship at their church, who’s fault is that? True worship is not dependent on anyone or anything else other than ourselves and our heart’s attitude toward God.

Dear Pastor Rol,

Dana and I will always remember you and the influence you’ve had on our lives, both individually and together as a couple. Thank you for not giving up on us when we had given up on each other, for your continued wisdom and insight and gentle but firm correction. If it wasn’t for you, Dana and I might have separated forever and definitely would not be happily married right now. It’s obvious the Lord brought us together for many reasons, reasons that will have an eternal impact on many people’s lives. The fingerprint you left on us will be passed on to our children and others we reach in ministry.

Personally, I’m indebted to you for everything you’ve taught me about ministry, working with people, values, communication and leadership. The person I was back when I first came to Redeemer and the person I am now are two very different people. I’ve grown and matured a lot from our partnership. The good times we’ve gone through as well as the tough times have all taught me to respect you, trust you, and admire the dependence on God displayed through your leadership, something I hope to model for others as I have learned from you. Thank you for empowering me to be successful at Redeemer, for always sticking by my side and for your continued guidance through all situations.

Both you and Joyce mean a lot to me and Dana. We will always love you, cherish you, and support you as you’ve taught me and Dana to do for each other. We’re very grateful to the Lord for the time He put you on loan to us and, although it’s hard to see you go, we’re excited that the Lord will continue to use you to impact many others in Minnesota.

May the Lord bless you as richly as He’s blessed us through you. We love you, Pastor Rol!

With all our love and prayers,
Tim and Dana Schmoyer

There’s been a delay in the podcast production I announced two weeks ago due to my church’s old sound equipment being replaced for a reason — it doesn’t work! I figured we’d easily set up the old mixer and some mics in my office to record the podcasts, but it turns out that the old equipment is indeed old and either sounds terrible or is missing parts. So, Tuesday night my wife gave me permission to purchase a new mixer, which we promptly did minutes before Guitar Center closed. It’s all set up now and ready to record. Hopefully I’ll have an episode finished within a week or two depending on students’ availability.

For anyone new, here’s what the podcast is about:

The Life In Student Ministry Podcast is a discussion of real teenagers talking about real issues in their lives and culture around them. It is our desire that this podcast will be a valuable resource to parents and youth workers seeking to understand student culture and best help other students in our areas of discussion. Our goal is to be insightful, give ideas for effective youth ministry, open windows into youth culture and prompt thoughts for youth workers to discuss with their students.

Coming soon!