I am probably one of the few people who like meetings. Well that is if the meeting is actually about accomplishing something and not just talking. Meetings however can be tricky. Our youth leadership team consist of 18 people. There are people who will dominate every meeting if you let them. They feel like they know the answers and they don’t mind sharing. There are others who think they know the answers but are too shy or timid to say anything. It is easy for them to feel overlooked, under valued, and like no one ever listens to them.

Yesterday I wanted to do something a little different and make the meeting a little more fun and get everyone to share. It was a dream about the future meeting and what we wanted to do was get several ideas about 5 areas: evangelism out reach, new adults to add to our team, servant events, topics our students need lessons on, anything goes section for ideas in general.

I gave everyone paper and a marker and we would throw out a topic and have everyone write their thought on one sheet of paper. Then we wadded it up and stated throwing them at each other. After several throws we would un-wad them and you would share the idea on the paper you had.

Advantages of doing this:

1. People who are normally quite had their ideas listened to.

2. People who are talkers didn’t talk as much because they weren’t sharing their ideas.

3. It was fun.

4. We had several ideas and could see ways to marry many of them together.

5. We covered a lot of ground that we normally wouldn’t cover because of time.

There are times that I feel spiritually depressed. It seems like every fall I get this way. I have tried to figure it out but it seems every year around the end of October to November I get wore out and just have a hard time wanting to do anything. I don’t want to serve, I don’t want to read, I don’t want to pray, I don’t want to do anything. Well I do want to watch football, sleep, and eat chocolate.

The bad thing about this is that as a minister we are not supposed to be drained spiritually. I mean we are to be there for people. But who do we turn to? How often do people ever check into see if their minister is doing ok spiritually? In all honesty I doubt many ministers would admit to not doing well. It is hard to teach a class, preach, etc and then tell someone that you are struggling.

For now I do call the words of Robert Benson in his book Constant Prayer. I say the prayers when I don’t feel like it. I do the mundane so I can experience the divine.

In February I got a Blackberry because I wanted a phone to sync my calendar on my computer. This has been working great over the last several months. It has worked so good that we just got Dana a Blackberry so we could sync our calendar’s together.

Last month I was going to put Alabama’s football schedule in my phone. This is crucial to planning. When I went to their website they had a feature where you could download their schedule into Outlook. Wow! I did it and it was amazing. This then gave me an idea. I had my secretary put all our students birthday’s in a calendar so anyone could do the same. I am planning on doing this with our youth calendar as well.

Just think you can put your year long youth calendar in a CSV file and people can import it into their computers and phones in seconds.

We also have a database with everyone’s name, phone number, address, email, etc. In about 3 clicks I was able to transfer everything into my phone.

Are you guys doing anything else with smart phones to help you with ministry?

Chances are that you have already done your fantasy draft. I have completed 2 of 3. The third is the one I care about the most. I thought I would share with you my draft strategy.

1. I like to tier my players. I use a variety of magazines, fantasy focus on ESPN, and pre-season to make my picks. This helps me know who is the best available.

2. Basically I pick RB and WR by tiers until the 6 or 7 rounds.

3. You only get a QB early if a top tier guy is available in the late 3rd other or if you get 6pts a TD or you can start 2 QB in your league. Otherwise you can get a steal in the late rounds.

4. Kickers – get a guy who kicks in a dome. He has 8 weeeks of perfect conditions to kick in.

5. Look at strength of schedule. For example the Falcons have the 4th hardest schedule while the Vikings have the 2nd easiest. Guess who may have better stats between Turner and Peterson?

Anyway here is my draft sheet:

Tier 1

QB

Aaron Rodgers

Drew Brees

Tom Brady

Phillip Rivers

Peyton Manning

Kurk Warner

RB

Adrian Petterson

Matt Forte

Chris Johnson

Maurice Jones Drew

Steve Slaton

Michael Turner

WR

Larry Fitzgerald

Randy Moss

Calvin Johnson

Andre Johson

Steve Smith

TE

Antonio Gates

Tony Gonzalez

Jason Witten

K

Jason Elam

Kris Brown

Garrett Hartley

Nate Kaeding

Rob Bironas

Stephen Gostkowski

David Akers

DEF

Steelers

Gaints

Eagles

Jets

Tier 2

QB

Matt Schaub

Tony Romo

Carson Palmer

Donovan McNabb

Matt Ryan

Ben Roethlisberger

Trent Edwards

Jay Cutler

RB

Steven Jackson

DeAngelo Williams

Brandon Jacobs

Frank Gore

Brain Westbrook

Kevin Smith

LT

Ronnie Brown

Marion Barber

Pirrer Thomas

WR

Anquan Boldin

Greg Jennings

Reggie Wayne

Marques Colston

TE

Dallas Clark

Kellen Winslow

Greg Olsen

Chris Cooley

Owen Daniels

K

John Kasey

Ryan Longwell

Mason Crosby

Joe Nedney

DEF

Vikings

Ravens

Chargers

Cowboys

Patriots

Tier 3

QB

Matt Hasselback

Eli Manning

Brett Farve

Matt Cassel

David Garrard

RB

Ryan Grant

Clinton Portis

Chris Wells

Joseph Addai

Darren McFadden

Larry Johnson

Marshawn Lynch

WR

Braylon Edwards

Chad Johnson

Roy Williams

TJ Houshmandzadeh

Dwayne Bowe

Terrell Owens

Bernard Berrian

TE

John Carlson

Dustin Keller

Zach Miller

Tony Scheffler

Brent Celek

Jeremy Shockey

K

Lawrence Tynes

Neil Rackers

Adam Vinateri

Robbie Gould

Shayne Graham

Bick Folk

Josh Brown

DEF

Bears

Packers

Titans

Dolphins

Tier 4

QB

Chad Pennington

Jason Campbell

Shaun Hill

Jake Dellhomme

Joe Flacco

Kyle Orton

Kerry Collins

RB

Thomas Jones

Knowshon Moreno

Derrick Ward

Reggie Bush

Darren Sproles

Jonathan Stewert

Cedric Benson

Felix Jones

WR

Anthony Gonzalez

Antonio Bryant

Santana Moss

Vincent Jackson

DeSean Jackson

Wes Welker

Lee Evans

Donnie Avery

Devin Hester

Donald Driver

Brandon Marshall

Jerricho Cotchery

Santonio Holmes

Hines Ward

Lance Moore

TE

Vernon Davis

Visanthe Shiancoe

Anthony Fasano

Heath Miller

Todd Heap

Kevin Boss

Brandon Pettigrew

K

Does it Matter?

DEF

Cardinals

49ers

Seahawks

Rams

Texans

Colts

Falcons

Panthers

Every summer we end by doing a prayer chapel. We create 10-15 centers where people rotate around the room and pray. Each center has a different focus and usually something physically that you do in order to help you focus as you pray. It takes the average teen about 45minutes to go through 10 stations. Some however will take longer.

The great thing about this is that in one night our students spend 45 minutes or more in prayer. It is always a moving event and something that our students talk about all year. Many just needed a time and space and focus to talk to God.

If you would like to try a prayer chapel here are some tips I found helpful.

1. Call you local owned appliance store and ask for stove, dishwasher, and other small appliance boxes. You can use these to set up cubical like spaces that provide privacy while students pray. This keeps you from feeling like someone is looking over your shoulder and some of the prayer exercises need privacy.

2. Have everyone take off their shoes. This cuts down on the noise and distractions. Also play some background music. I have a CD called “Massage”. It is what you would listen to when getting a massage and it helps reduce background noice from people moving, crying, and the like.

3. Dim lighting is best. We use lots of candles. The lower light helps you focus only on the center you are at. It also helps you lower your guard because you can’t see others and know they can’t see you.

4. Be intential. Use prayer ideas from the internet and book but then think about things that you want your students to pray about and create your own. You may create a center that helps them pray about a serries you just finished or on areas that you feel need prayer.

Here are the centers we used this time:

Seeking Forgiveness

Purpose: 1 John 1:7

Instructions:
-Write on the cross all the things you struggle with.
- “While Ezra prayed and made this confession, weeping and lying face down on the ground in front of the Temple of God, a very large crowd of people from Israel—men, women, and children—gathered and wept bitterly with him.” –Ezra 10:1
-We, like Ezra, need to confess our sins to God.  Out of reverence and respect for God, lay face down and confess the sins you wrote on the cross, the sins that put Jesus there.  Ask for God’s forgiveness from these sins.
- After praying, take the red paint and cover your sins on the cross.  This symbolizes Christ’s blood which continues to cover our sins as we seek God’s forgiveness.

Future Decisions

Purpose:  To ask God to be in the center of our future decisions

Instructions:

-Read verse below.
-Use the pictures on the table to help you meditate on different decisions in your future.
-Pick one decision you want to pray about.
-How are you going to include God in this decision?  What about once you have accomplished this decision?  God knows His plans for you.  Do you know your plans for God?
-Hold the picture in your hand and pray for God’s wisdom and guidance in this future decision.

Verse:   –Jeremiah 29:11

Snacks

Take a some time to enjoy these terrific tasty treats without talking.

When you’ve eaten all that you want, go to the other side of the table.

The Poor and Homeless

Purpose: To realize how blessed we are and that there are people that need your help.

Instructions:
-Look at the empty plate and realize what it would be like to not have a meal tonight, or even today.
-Then look at the pictures and think about how many people in the world go without meals, shelter, clothing, and so many other things we need to live.
-Read verse on next page.
-Then get on your knees, and pray for the poor and homeless and their struggles.  Pray that someone may be able to help them, and that you may be that person.

Verse:  Matthew 25:37-45

Lay Your Burden Down

Pick up weights and hold them out with your palms up.

Purpose:  To see how something small can be a burden to our relationship with God over time.

Instructions:
-Read verse below.
-Think about the things in your life that are holding you back from giving yourself over to God.  These could be stress, attitude, your past, an activity, apathy, etc.  These weights symbolize the small things in your life that weigh you down.
-Then pray for God to help you lay your burdens down so that you can run the race without being slowed down.

Verse: Hebrews 12:1

Smashing Idols

Purpose: To identify things that you are allowing to control your life.

Instructions:
-Read verse below.
-Meditate on what you have let control your life and that you hold your decisions against.  This idol could be anything from an object like money, to a person like a significant other, to a thing like work or school.
-Using the clay on the table, make a symbol or representation of that Idol in your life.
-Then, ask God to turn away from that Idol and help you place him back as your True God.
-Smash the idol you made.  Don’t be afraid to smash away!

Verse: 1 Samuel 12:21

Forgiving Others

Purpose: To forgive others of the debt the owe us, as we have been forgiven.

Instructions:

-Read verses below.
-Write down someone’s name that you feel like owes you something on the monopoly money.
-Pray that you can truly forgive them of their debt to you and let go of what they did.
-Burn the money and as you do say out loud slowly, “I forgive you of this debt.”

Verses:  Matthew 6:12

Worship God

Purpose: To praise God for the details of the things he created for us to enjoy, for His love, wisdom, comfort, and everything that makes up who He is.

Instructions:
-Take a look at these different parts of nature lying on the table.
-Examine the leaves and the way each are so different,
-Pick up some dirt and feel it in your hands, and how unique the texture is.
-Take in the scent of the flowers.
-Taste the fruit.  Do not eat it, but really taste it.
-Pick up the shell and listen to the noise inside of it and how crazy it is you can hear the ocean.
-Then pray to God, lifting up your hands in awe of His greatness.  Just pour out your heart to Him for everything He has done for you.

Scripture Prayer

Pray this prayer, but don’t just read the words.  Meditate on them and speak the words from your heart and as though you are really saying them.  You can even mouth what you are saying.

Prayers from the Psalms:

“Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love.  Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.  Create in me a clean heart, O God. Restore to me the joy of your salvation.  I put my hope in You.  You are my help and my shield.  In You my heart rejoices, for I trust in Your holy name.  Let your unfailing love surround me, Lord, for my hope is in you alone.”

Friends

Purpose: To pray and focus on one friendship you have.
Instructions:

-Think about one friend in your life that you want to pray for.
-Meditate on certain qualities about that friend you want to thank God for, struggles in your friend’s life you can pray for, and ways you can improve your friendship.
-Write that friends name on the wall.  Place your hand on their name and pray for all the things you thought about.  Ask God to give your friend what they need to strengthen their walk with Him, and also ask Him to help you be a better friend to them.

Verse: Psalm 18:24

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Purpose: To think and write out the specific things in life you are thankful for.

Instructions:
-Write on the wall a prayer thanking God for the very specific things in life you are blessed with.  Think about the little things you have each day that you may take for granted.

Mosaic Cross

Purpose: To paint the verse John 3:16. “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

Instructions:
-Take a piece of paper and read the instructions on the back.
-Paint the images that come to your head when you read this verse in the color scheme given on the back of the paper.
-Be sure to fill up the whole page.
-When you are done, find the number on the back, match that number to the number on the floor.
-Clean off brushes.

Journey

When done with all the centers, wait on the next person to be done.
As you walk back to the student center, pray for each other’s walk with God.

Thom Rainer is a lead researcher for the Southern Baptist church. His team interviewed 353 people who formerly had little to no church affiliations or ties but became Christians and active members at a church. They wanted to discover what made them choose to become a Christian and the church they are attending. I must say that I was surprised. I outlined many of my thoughts and his main points here (Surprising Insights). Below is a few of my surprises.

1. The Preacher – 90% of people choose the church they attend because of the pulpit minister. Wow! I mean that is not shocking in one way but in other ways yes. I have never chosen a church because of a preacher, although I have not chose some because of it. The preachers personality, ability to relate, lead, and preach were huge factors.

2. Doctrine – 88% of people said doctrine was important. They wanted a church that had beliefs, stood behind them, and could explain them.

3. Appearances – I grew up in an area where every building was decorated the year it was built and well they all looked, smelt, felt, and where old. People said the appearance made them return and give them a second chance or never return. This is a shock to me. But who wants to go to a doctors office that is dingy, dated, etc. It makes you think that it is unclean, old, stale, and the doctor must be too. So I guess this makes more sense, but I was shocked.

4. Relationships – I have always picked a church based primarily on people. But this isn’t true with the unchurched. It wasn’t a top factor for them. Wives had the biggest influence of any group.

This is a great read to help you think about how your church can be more evangelistic.

I have been doing a lot of reading on preaching, evangelism, and church organization of late. Seeker friendly is a term that is popular today and I guess it is a loaded word that has lots of emotion because many people love it and many hate it. As I have been reading and talking with others I thought about what I think seeker friendly preaching should look like and what I wish all preaching was like. I think that if more preaching was like this then more people would drag their friends to hear the gospel message.

1. Message need to be firmly rooted in the bible. I hate people who misuse the bible or piece scriptures together to make some point. Preaching needs to be centered in God’s word and to help people learn to read and understand it in its original context. I recently listened to a lesson that had 10 passages and it was so fluffy and disjointed I didn’t learn anything about God.

2. Message that is clear. Have you ever listened to a lesson and walked away wondering what the point of the lesson was? The preacher may have used powerpoint and listed his points but you may still wonder what the point was. Andy Stanley in his book on preaching suggest we ask ourselves, “why do they need to hear this?” This helps us know the point of the lesson and helps the audience understand the point. Who wants to come and listen to someone speak when you don’t understand why he is sharing this information with you.

3. Don’t assume your audience knows. Remember the story when King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria attacked Israel? Why do some preachers assume people have been in church their whole lives? I had a friend of mine in college who asked for a children’s bible because he didn’t know any of the stories the preachers often said, “you all know the story of..”

4. Message that bridges then with now or has lots of life application. OK this is my biggest pet peve. I hate sermons that only tell me how the lesson applies to my life during the wrap up. If you want me to get fired up for God and his word then explain the text and explain how it looks in my life. Don’t spend 30 minutes telling me how it applied to them and only 5 on how it applies to me. How about spending 20 telling me what it meant then and 15 telling me what it means to me. Think about this if you only spend 5 minutes on me and 30 on them what was more important? How I live today or how they lived then? If we spent more time helping us know how to live out the bible then maybe more people would.

5. Message that everyone can understand. I have taken 4 semesters of Greek and understand its value in bible study. I don’t tell it to my students because they could care less and wouldn’t understand. Somethings they may not understand so I try to break it down so they can. Preachers would do well to remember that they are not only preaching to adults but students. Not just to the educated but the un-educated. Make sure we can all follow you.

A few weeks ago I was watching Fox and Friends when I heard them talk about http://runpee.com. This is a website that tells you the best time during a movie to go to the bathroom. I think this may be the most helpful website I have come across in a year. Here is an example of when they suggest you go to the bathroom in the new Johnny Depp movie Public Enemies:

“RunPee at approximately 54 minutes into the movie when John says to the cop, ‘I have absolutely nothing I want to do in Indiana.’

You have approximately 4 minutes to RunPee while

We see John being taken to Indiana on a plane. There are lots of photographers and reporters there when he lands but he doesn’t talk to them. Then there is a car ride to the jail. Once at the jail he is questioned by reporters. Part of this scene is in the previews. The interaction between John and the reporters is very cordial. He talks about the first store that he robbed. He mentions that he shouldn’t have robbed the store because the owner was a good man. But he did and got caught. He then spent 10 years in prison for robbing a store for only $50. He said that while in prison he met some fellows and learned a lot from them. That’s how he became a bank robber.After this scene he meets with his attorney. You should be back by this time.”

Every year we do a digital camera scavenger hunt with our youth. I am always trying to find new ideas but often have a hard time finding a good list. So I thought I would post some of our list over the years and tell you some twist we insert to make it more challenging. Any of your ideas would be appreciated.

The List

Take flowers to one of our senior members. (Daylight hours please)

Two of your team members in the back of a police car

Find a male with a mullet and have your picture taken with them

Milk a cow.

Eating a doughnut with a police officer in uniform.

Your entire team inside the red phone booth in downtown Columbia

Picture of a dad in green facial cream sipping with a small coffee cup with his pinkie extended

Your entire team on a firetruck (bonus points for holding or wearing props from the department)

Have a memorial service for roadkill

At least one team member throwing a (raw) pizza dough in the air at a pizza place

Get a guy member of your team to get a makeover by a department store makeup person.

Two group member dancing with a stranger over 30

A group member posing with a stranger who you’ve convinced to try on and model an outfit, several sizes too big or too small

Find a tombstone with a deceased date in the 1800’s

The whole team in a hammock

Have milk coming out of your nose.

A group member carrying a stranger’s packages/bags to their car

Get a team member to wear skis and ski clothing outside in the yard.

Team doing something creative at kids kingdom playground

Get your foot autographed by (an elder)

Sit in between two strangers on a park bench and get them to pose with you like your best friends.

Your group buying 10 cents worth of gas, receipt and pump must show correct amount

Team member on an exercise machine eating lots of junk food

Find a sign or billboard that has your name in it and stand next to it

Entire team making goofy faces

Help a stranger fold their laundry at a Laundromat

Entire team doing the chicken dance in front of KFC sign (sign must be seen)

All team members in a tree

Team members being pushed in a shopping cart

Make a human pyramid

A member leading another member on a leash through a store

Entire team sharing one soda (everyone needs their own straw)

Ride the pony in front of Big Lots

Get goofy pictures made with members of our youth group not attending (bonus points if you get them to join you for the remainder of the night)

Find an interesting sign

Make a Christian symbol in the grass using your bodies

A group member kissing a fish

Hug a mannequin

A cop with his billy club/night stick and one of your teammates.

Picture with the principle rolling his own yard.

Entire Team wearing masks.

Entire team inside an ambulance- bonus points if on the gurney (bed).

Picture with an animal (the more unusual the better).

Baptize someone or something. Most unique / cool one wins.

Entire Team jumping (Everyone must be in midair for picture to count).

Create a work of art with sidewalk chalk in a public parking lot.

“I can’t believe we all fit in here!”

Make yourselves appear really large.

Can you find us? Your own find Waldo like picture.

Best photo shoot shot, most professional looking wins- include two members.

Capture your reflection in an unexpected place.

An unusual perspective — could be everyone’s shoes, or the just top of their heads.

Picture on a train.

Entire team in a high heel foot race- best picture wins.

Best sunset.

Your group posing a scene from a Disney movie in the middle of the mall.

Your entire team in the dark with each person shining a flashlight on their face.

Mimic a statue — fountains also work well.

Ambush a stranger without them knowing you are about to take a picture, and then run.

Ride something. The larger the better.

Entire team playing air guitar.

Twist (Location)

Give them a list of locations they have to go to and do one of the things on the list. Make sure they can do one of the things at the locations you pick.

Vehicle Lot (Car, Motorcycle, Tractor)

Laundromat

Barn

Cemetery

Non church of Christ church building

Maury County Park

Downtown Square

Train Depot in Columbia

People’s House

Twist (People)

Give them a list of people who will not be at the event they need to get pictures with doing one of the item on the list. We like to include our volunteer youth leaders, elders, teachers, a few senior members, etc.

Twist (Props)

Give them a list of props they have to get and include in a picture of them doing one of the items on the list.

Disposable Toilet Seat Cover

Hair Net

Pink Flamingo

Trash Can

Noodle

Gallon of milk

Beach Ball

Tiki Torch

Points

You have to have a way to determine a winner. We give a free ice cream at Baskin Robbins as a prize. The way we determine point values is (1) what would be a hard picture to get, (2) what would be a great picture. The harder and the better the more points. The easier and the less spectacular the picture the less points. Don’t be stingy with points. Don’t do 10 points as a high go crazy and make it 5,000 points. They don’t cost anything so give freely. Add bonus points for the twist.

Add a comment to tell us what you have done or think would be cool.

It is easy to hate on something that has so many flaws. It is just too easy to pick on and destroy. I hate programs but in reality they are often a neccessary evil. So how do we keep programs from becoming like all other programs and is there an alternative?

Personal Lead Ministries – This is scary because it requires us to let people discover their talents, gifts, abilities, and heart. Sometimes the idea they have is rather weird or so different we have no idea if it sounds like a ministry or something left over from woodstock. But when we help people discover their own ministry and passion they don’t need a program to do what God has called them to do. It can be someone teaching a computer class, designing graphics, gardening, reading stories to children, art, photography. I was watching TV the other day and saw a woman who took pictures of babies in the hospital that were not expected to live. She took these amazing pictures and gave them to the families to help them remember their child. The great thing about this is it used her gifts, blessed people she never knew, and helped them as they grieved. No program was needed just someone who loved blessing others in her unique way. I have seen people raise large gardens to help provide food for people. The list goes on and you know people like this. They have a gift, a passion, and they use it.

Evaluate – I am not talking about a 30 minute session but a hard core lets look at every angle and see what is working and not and if it could work better. Any program or ministry will eventually become stale or in a rut unless you work to keep it relevant to its original purpose. Unless you really look at a program and see how it is doing and tweak it you can guarentee it will become stagnent, outdated, or not function like it could.

New Leaders – You need to bring in new leaders and train new ones as well. Some leaders are very aware of what is going on and try to keep up with change but most do not. Most people in leadership will get complacent especailly when they are volunterring and have a full time job and family.

Remember Your Purpose – Programs are created to serve a purpose. When we constantly have the goal of accomplishing our purpose we see flaws and needs more easily.