In some churches, when the Sunday morning worship service is over, the pastor stands at the back door and shakes everyone’s hand as they leave. Most people typically thank the pastor and tell him how wonderful the sermon was. Personally, I have a hard time with that.

Last week I “preached” twice: once at our community’s high school baccalaureate service and again at all three church services for Graduation Sunday. After each time, people tell me, “Tim, you did a great job!” Sometimes I feel they’re just saying that because they’re not sure how else to start a conversation with me after I was just on stage in front of everyone. Other times I sense that they truly are genuinely thankful for the message. But either way, I’ve found that I really wish I could remove myself from too much praise or criticism right after teaching. In fact, despite wanting to hang around after the baccalaureate service and talk with seniors, I left right away.

My buddy, Tony Myles, wrote something several years ago that has stuck with me. He said:

“I am most vulnerable to criticism right after a sermon, and tend to take [criticism] too deeply in that moment. Likewise, it’s the worst time for me to hear affirmation because then my ego just gets bigger.”

That is so totally true for me. After the baccalaureate I really had to distance myself from all the praise because I was hearing it too much. So I left. Preaching at church last weekend felt somewhat similar. Moments after I finish teaching, I’m way too emotionally attached to the message and vulnerable to really hear anything objectively, whether praise or criticism. I really need about a day to pass before I can respond to feedback with a level head. Otherwise I get too cocky or hurt, depressed, or defensive.

While attending Dallas Theological Seminary, one of my professors, Howard Hendricks, called “sermon praise” the “glorification of the worm.” I am, in fact, a lowly worm, a very inadequate vessel for communicating God’s Word. Anything good that comes as a result of anything I say is solely a work of the Holy Spirit, not me. I’m so thankful that He chooses to work in spite of me, never because of me.

Today in our LIVE YM Talk, Mike King talked with us about adolescent development and some of the implications for that when we teach to teens and how they learn. Mike has done a lot of extensive research in this area and brings a lot of wisdom to the field of youth ministry with his expertise, some of which he shared with us today.

Some of the things we talked about:

• Why do churches have youth ministry in the first place?
• What’s the best approach to youth ministry?
• Some interesting studies on adolescence.
• Both practical and theological implications.
• And a lot more…

You can listen to the whole conversation below or grab it in iTunes.

Download this episode

Subscribe to LIVE YM Conversations in iTunes

Next week’s discussion

June 5: Jeff Borton recently wrote a book titled, “Simple Student Ministry”, and will talk with us about some of the concepts he explains about bringing our ministry into clarity, movement, alignment and focus. See the LIVE YM Talk page for details on how to join us.

Join our next LIVE Youth Ministry Conversation!

In a couple weeks I’m preaching for Graduation Sunday when we recognize all the high school seniors in church services. I’m also the speaker for our town’s high school baccalaureate service, so I’ve got a couple significant speaking engagements coming up.

As I was thinking through a little of what I’ll be teaching at both events, a couple things came to mind about what makes someone a good presenter on a stage. I am definitely no expert, but I do watch people when they present and see a couple common traits among the ones that I appreciate most. Here’s what I’ve learned from them:

1. Know your content and know it well. I don’t mean memorize a script because people can tell when you’re just reciting something no matter how much emotion you try to infuse into it. Know your main ideas, the direction of your message, and be able to talk as if it’s a one-sided conversation, not a school report.

2. Be passionate about what you’re teaching. Passion isn’t something you can fake or muster up. Passion isn’t necessarily a loud voice or an energetic stage presence. It’s something that everyone can sense, but no one can quite put their finger on it because they can see it in your eyes and hear it in your voice because it’s obvious that you’ve put your lesson into practice in your own life long before you delivered it to them.

3. Use God’s Word to point out sin and weaknesses in people’s lives. Communicate God’s Word clearly and let Him convict. I learned this over the past several years by listening to my favorite podcast preachers: Craig Grochel, Perry Noble and Mark Driscol. People, including myself, are tired of watered-down messages that remind them of something they need to do or change without pushing them to do it in ways that might otherwise be offensive.

4. Use God’s Word to encourage people in their spiritual walk. The best messages I remember are the ones that both convict me and encourage me. If it’s all conviction every time I listen to someone teach, I feel depressed and unmotivated. But when it’s coupled with encouragement, the conviction can sink in without wallowing in it.

5. Be vulnerable. I know most teachers don’t think of themselves as the expert, so be intentional about communicating that. Let your audience see windows into your failures, your weaknesses and your struggles, and how the Lord is working or has worked in you through those areas so it encourages others. Plus, people respect what you have to say when they know you’re being real with them.

6. Saturate your messages in prayer. Need I say more?

7. As you prepare your messages, approach God’s Word with fear, trembling, and deep respect. The old adage is true, “Familiarity breeds contentment.” This is God’s-breathed Word, not just spiritual Mother Goose rhymes. Don’t take it lightly. It’s a huge privilege and responsibility that will incur a stricter judgment upon yourself (James 3:1).

What else do you see in certain pastors that makes them good teachers from a stage?

I think Brett Hetherington has contributed more to our Freebie Fridays over the past couple years than anyone else. The best part is, his stuff is always quality material. Besides serving as one of the Youth Ministry Mentors, he’s contributed seven other youth teaching series’ and resources here in the past, and today’s series is no different. Visit his site and let him know how much you appreciate his generosity in equipping your ministry with great resources time and time again!

The End…
If your teens are anything like the rest of America, they want to know all about the book of Revelation. What is it about? Why is it so confusing? If I understand it will I know when Jesus is coming back? Do you find your inbox, cell phone and other methods of communication storage filled to overflowing with these questions and more? No? Me either, but once one student asked if I would lead a series on the seven signs of the apocalypse, it triggered a landslide of interest in Revelation. The End… is the result.

The End… is a three part teaching series in Revelation that attempts to give a balanced look at some of the major themes and symbols at play in Revelation. Numbers, the Rapture, Apocalyptic Prophecy and more are all covered within this study, as well as the four major viewpoints that Revelation can be interpreted from. Yup, Left Behind is not the only way to interpret Revelation. This series takes years of study and research, and boils it down to 3 fairly understandable and manageable interactive lessons. You could even break them up and make it 6 parts! Please use what you can and feel free to contact me with any questions that come up. This study should answer your teens’ questions about Revelation, and inspire all-new questions that you cannot answer.

Included in this series you will find:

• WORD and PDF formatted scripts for all three lessons
• PowerPoints for the first 2 lessons
• Images of the PowerPoint slides that can be used in another program if you do not have PowerPoint
• Publisher and PDF formatted blank notes pages for students who want to take notes
• Quicktime and Windows Media Video (WMV) formatted promotional videos
• Quicktime and Windows Media Video (WMV) formatted intro bumps
• Photoshop file of the logo for the series
• JPEG images of the logo to use for advertising
• Additional documents in WORD and PDF format detailing Hebrew Numerology and an overview of the 4 main methods of interpreting Revelation
• PDF and WORD document with links to the font used to the series and full-length videos of the Original Sessions

Download “The End…” youth lesson series

———————————————————————-
Join us at 2:00 PM EST this afternoon in our LIVE YM Talk as we talk with Ryan Neilson about collaborating with other youth pastors/ministries. See the
LIVE YM Talk page for details.

Yesterday in our LIVE Youth Ministry Conversation Bill Scott of Xtreme Talk Live and Sound of Light talked with us about “teaching to large groups of teenagers.” With several decades of experience in national radio and speaking at large student conferences, he shared from his experience about aspects of public speaking, such as:

• Overcoming nervousness
• Using stories and multimedia
• Hand gestures and body language
• Voice inflection
• Content vs. presentation
• and much more…

You can listen to the whole conversation below or grab it in iTunes.

Download this episode

Subscribe to LIVE YM Conversations in iTunes

Next week’s discussion

February 13: Next week Justin Ross will lead us in a discussion on “youth ministry with 100 kids or fewer.”

Join our next LIVE Youth Ministry Conversation!

Unfortunately, when many people think of a youth worker, they think of someone who is outgoing, athletic, has a goatee, and can play the guitar. In reality, though, we all know that these qualities have absolutely no bearing on whether someone is a great youth leader or not. There are much deeper character issues that are essential, such as spiritual maturity and a passion for teenagers. Maybe we haven’t considered some of these other not-so-public traits that are a part of every great youth worker out there.

1. They don’t know everything

The funny thing about knowledge is that the more you know, the more you realize how much you don’t know. Great youth workers are more than willing to admit that they don’t know everything. In fact, those who have been in ministry for decades are the ones who admit that they have the most learning to do!

2. They are teachable and humble

Since great youth workers are willing to admit that they don’t know everything, they are also very teachable and open to learning from others. That doesn’t mean they accept all input as wisdom, but they’re at least willing to honestly weigh it against their experience and make any adjustment as deemed necessary.

3. They are approachable

There’s that unspoken quality of great youth leaders where people just feel comfortable talking with them openly and privately, not because the leader signed an agreement to be confidential, but because they are naturally trustworthy and respected.

4. They spend time with the Lord

There’s a saying that that behind every great leader is a great spouse, but even more importantly, there is a great God in front of them with whom that leader communes with every day. A youth leader can only be great when they are first and foremost wholeheartedly following the Lord in their own personal life.

5. They take plenty of time off

A good youth leader recognizes that youth ministry is a marathon, not a sprint. They establish healthy boundaries in ministry, they maintain good relationships at home, and take plenty of time to keep their emotional and physical batteries charged, knowing that they are no good to anyone else if they don’t first keep their own lives in check.

6. They train others, then delegate

A good youth worker knows that ministry is not about trying to do it all on their own. Instead, they equip the body of Christ for service and then, once properly trained, they hand aspects of the ministry off to other people, knowing that only then will the ministry really start to grow.

7. They never stop learning

Reading both ministry and non-ministry material is a regular part of any good youth worker’s schedule. They attend seminars when possible and regularly interact with other youth workers who challenge and stimulate their thinking. This ensures that both their minds and ministry will never fall into a rut.

8. They model more than they teach

The most effective learning takes place when something is caught, not taught. Great youth leaders know this and live lives that are continually investing into the teenagers and parents around them, not only from a stage, but in everyday life by letting them see how faith and real life intersect in their own lives all the time.

9. They admit weaknesses

Not only do the admit weaknesses, but they don’t dwell on them either. Instead, they delegate their areas of weakness in ministry to someone who is strong in that area. Together they form a team that is exponentially more powerful than they were apart.

What other traits would you add to this list?