en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/341483 Comments by Brandon_Collins http://www.ministrylive.org/index.php/2009/09/08/book-review-when-heaven-is-silent-by-ron-dunn/#IDComment33684942 That is an awesome quote at the end there. Wow. Great stuff, Nate. Tue, 8 Sep 2009 23:31:48 +0000 http://www.ministrylive.org/index.php/2009/09/08/book-review-when-heaven-is-silent-by-ron-dunn/#IDComment33684942 http://www.ministrylive.org/index.php/2009/08/13/what-is-google-voice-and-why-does-it-matter/#IDComment30672088 We've been using it for about a month now. By far the best thing for me has been using my data plan for texting. Easy way to save money. Second to that would be the transcription of voicemails. I despise voicemail so this is perfect for me. Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:59:44 +0000 http://www.ministrylive.org/index.php/2009/08/13/what-is-google-voice-and-why-does-it-matter/#IDComment30672088 http://youthminblog.com/2009/06/youth-spaces-project/#IDComment25864413 I'm loving this already. I really appreciate YouthMinBlog working with us on this project. It is, in a word: super-sweet. Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:25:39 +0000 http://youthminblog.com/2009/06/youth-spaces-project/#IDComment25864413 http://www.ministrylive.org/index.php/2009/04/15/a-youth-pastors-job-is-not-the-youth/#IDComment24310373 Hey Jeremy, I appreciate your willingness to converse about this. I definitely do not think that the main focus of a youth minister should be the "business/admin" side of things. In fact, I would say that letting that stuff take up too much of your time is a severe WASTE of time. If there is something that someone else can do, let them do it! I think we agree on this point. In one sense I totally agree with you: we need to focus most of our time on a small group of people who then will influence their own small group and so on (see the diagram in the post above). The question is, who should make up that small group of people: students or leaders? I am suggesting that the group should have some students in it, but other than that should be mostly made up of adult leaders. If you spend your ministry working with a group of 12 teens (let's use your number) and every 6 years you get a new group of 12, over the course of 42 years you would be able to influence 84 teens in a deep, personal way. However, if you switch those 12 teens out for 12 adult leaders (who then in turn work with their own group of 12 teens), you could influence just over 1,000 teens. Keep in mind that I'm not talking about a mega-church atmosphere, but a group of 12 leaders and one youth pastor (or head leader) ministering in a very personal and intimate way. That model allows for much more influence to happen overall than one person dealing with a single group of 12. I think as Christians, our goal has to be to use our time in the most effective way possible and, when it comes to being effective (having the most ministry in the lives of the most people), ministering to leaders is the way to go. Again, I'm not saying that we should ignore the students, but that we're missing out on ministry if we ONLY focus on students and don't spend good quality time training up leaders to help us in our ministry. Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:19:40 +0000 http://www.ministrylive.org/index.php/2009/04/15/a-youth-pastors-job-is-not-the-youth/#IDComment24310373 http://www.ministrylive.org/index.php/2009/04/15/a-youth-pastors-job-is-not-the-youth/#IDComment24306755 Thanks for posting Jeremy. I'm not suggesting the a youth pastor should NOT work with the students in his group, only that one man can only influence so many people in a deep way. After that, we have to reproduce ourselves (through discipleship) in order to bring more people to the place where they can begin to help us influence students. I think the question is, how big do you want your ministry to become? Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:38:40 +0000 http://www.ministrylive.org/index.php/2009/04/15/a-youth-pastors-job-is-not-the-youth/#IDComment24306755 http://myradeus.com/pastorchris/pastorchris/anxiety-vs-love-part-6/#IDComment21774621 Hey Chris, Just wanted to drop in and let you know that I've been reading these posts from my gReader and really enjoying them. Keep it up! Mon, 18 May 2009 18:45:17 +0000 http://myradeus.com/pastorchris/pastorchris/anxiety-vs-love-part-6/#IDComment21774621 http://www.ministrylive.org/index.php/2009/03/18/great-ministry-can-hurt-attendance/#IDComment20158758 Thanks for the thoughts YM22. In one sense, I totally agree with you. We need to never stop loving and trying to reach those who are not growing in our ministries. Our ministry to them should never totally end. My thoughts are emphasizing that we can't let the thought of those students leaving our group to stop us from making positive changes to our ministry. If it comes down to it, do we teach that is very spiritually challenging but will make the "carnal" teens in our group stop coming? Do we push our students to serve the community even though the students who are uncomfortable with that may start feeling out of the loop, like they don\'t belong? I say yes. Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:35:18 +0000 http://www.ministrylive.org/index.php/2009/03/18/great-ministry-can-hurt-attendance/#IDComment20158758 http://www.ministrylive.org/index.php/2009/04/28/confessions-of-a-worship-leader/#IDComment20086636 Thanks for this Eric. I appreciate your insight and your understanding of worship theologically and practically. "I have learned that only in humility and servanthood can the calling of a worship leader truly be fulfilled." This is so true! When we are proud, God is resisting what we are trying to accomplish. When our hearts are humble, He is accomplishing His will through us! (James 4:6) Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:35:51 +0000 http://www.ministrylive.org/index.php/2009/04/28/confessions-of-a-worship-leader/#IDComment20086636 http://myradeus.com/pastorchris/pastorchris/help-me-choose-my-shoes/#IDComment19245335 Have to go with the olive as well. How well do those shoes last? Sat, 18 Apr 2009 20:57:28 +0000 http://myradeus.com/pastorchris/pastorchris/help-me-choose-my-shoes/#IDComment19245335 http://www.ministrylive.org/index.php/2009/04/15/a-youth-pastors-job-is-not-the-youth/#IDComment19099850 Hey Karvonen, I think you're hitting on some of the same things that Bill expressed. This "system" is clearly the biblical model, but it is also clear in the Bible that God cares about people, not programs. This model answers the questions, "How can I serve these people I love and minister to most effectively?" If we are not asking the question out of passion for God (and consequently for our students and leaders) we have missed the bigger issue. Fri, 17 Apr 2009 11:38:18 +0000 http://www.ministrylive.org/index.php/2009/04/15/a-youth-pastors-job-is-not-the-youth/#IDComment19099850 http://www.ministrylive.org/index.php/2009/04/15/a-youth-pastors-job-is-not-the-youth/#IDComment19099583 Thanks for raising that scripture Curtis. I love how clear example are in the bible. Another one I always think about is 2 Timothy 2:2: "...what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." Fri, 17 Apr 2009 11:30:49 +0000 http://www.ministrylive.org/index.php/2009/04/15/a-youth-pastors-job-is-not-the-youth/#IDComment19099583 http://www.ministrylive.org/index.php/2009/04/15/a-youth-pastors-job-is-not-the-youth/#IDComment19046507 Hey Bill, thanks for commenting! You point out a great point: this program can never become more important than the people we are ministering to. The "top-down" approach is the biblical way to minister to a large number of people effectively, but we must never allow a strategy to become our focus. Our love for the students has to be the driving force and the root. As long as that is the case, we won't have to worry about becoming detached and our teens will see our love for them coming through in everything we do. Fri, 17 Apr 2009 01:02:39 +0000 http://www.ministrylive.org/index.php/2009/04/15/a-youth-pastors-job-is-not-the-youth/#IDComment19046507 http://www.ministrylive.org/index.php/2009/04/16/fatalism-and-gods-sovereignty/#IDComment19046125 Excellent. Very simple but thorough and helpful. Fri, 17 Apr 2009 00:57:20 +0000 http://www.ministrylive.org/index.php/2009/04/16/fatalism-and-gods-sovereignty/#IDComment19046125 http://www.ministrylive.org/index.php/2009/04/15/a-youth-pastors-job-is-not-the-youth/#IDComment18791435 Jay, Thanks for the comment and for raising some great questions. Your first question describes the situation of a church that I am currently ministering in right now. Things have been moving in the right direction, but we have hit our limit of leaders and that is holding the ministry back in every other area. We have tried teen services, meeting with individuals/couples and asking them directly if they'd consider working with the youth, involving people in small ways so they can get a taste of the ministry and (hopefully) want to be involved in a bigger way. Despite all of this, we are still struggling. I think it comes back to the fact that a youth ministry is not an entity in itself. In many ways, it is limited by the over-all health of the church. If the church is stagnant, that affects all the ministries of the church. Wed, 15 Apr 2009 17:35:51 +0000 http://www.ministrylive.org/index.php/2009/04/15/a-youth-pastors-job-is-not-the-youth/#IDComment18791435 http://www.ministrylive.org/index.php/2009/03/18/great-ministry-can-hurt-attendance/#IDComment17583752 Tried to reply to your comment but for some reason it got moved to the top. Wed, 25 Mar 2009 17:59:45 +0000 http://www.ministrylive.org/index.php/2009/03/18/great-ministry-can-hurt-attendance/#IDComment17583752 http://myradeus.com/pastorchris/pastorchris/anxiety-vs-love-part-2/#IDComment17245712 I wasn't sure where you were going with this one until I got to the last paragraph and then I really appreciated what you were saying. It is something that my brother and I have been discussing recently: we need to drop our own agenda for how people need to change and ask ourselves, "What does the Holy Spirit want to do in their life and how can I be a part of it?" I would also add: Legalism----Grace Thu, 19 Mar 2009 18:15:24 +0000 http://myradeus.com/pastorchris/pastorchris/anxiety-vs-love-part-2/#IDComment17245712 http://myradeus.com/pastorchris/pastorchris/anxiety-vs-love-intro/#IDComment17245560 Great thoughts. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this series. Thu, 19 Mar 2009 18:10:53 +0000 http://myradeus.com/pastorchris/pastorchris/anxiety-vs-love-intro/#IDComment17245560 http://www.ministrylive.org/index.php/2009/03/18/great-ministry-can-hurt-attendance/#IDComment17195949 Great point Chris. There's so much pressure to have measurable success (i.e. numbers) we forget that some of the best ministry (the kind that reaches deep into peoples' heart like Jesus did) is not demonstrated in a number. Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:57:10 +0000 http://www.ministrylive.org/index.php/2009/03/18/great-ministry-can-hurt-attendance/#IDComment17195949 http://youthminblog.com/my-top-3/#IDComment16226848 Wow, great post, good discussion. I think it could even be boiled down more from three to two: 1) Discipling Students 2) Engaging Parents 1- The bottom line is, if discipleship is done right, everything else will fall into place (a relationship will be built, the students will be serving and talking to their friends, etc.). 2- I like that you made this one of your non-negotiable principles and I definitely agree with your reasoning. Although, if we zoom out even more, we could swap out discipling students for discipling leaders so that THEY can disciple students. Thu, 5 Mar 2009 14:42:23 +0000 http://youthminblog.com/my-top-3/#IDComment16226848