Josh Griffin | More Than Dodgeball

Josh GriffinMore Posts Follow Up and Follow Through

Really enjoyed reading this post over on the Generation to Generation blog. They hit on two critical youth ministry concepts that you have to grasp early and often: follow up and follow though! Here’s a clip, head there for the whole article:

Sometimes one of my faults is not following up on things. I really need to write things down, keep things in my Outlook calendar to remind me to do something or to re-visit something I’ve started but not finished. Sometimes I get so busy with a new project that I forget to go back and make sure the old project I was working on is complete or if it needs some further attention. I need to do this with with my high school small group as well. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in presenting a new lesson or new scripture or a new life application that I forget to go back and see how my guys are doing with things we’ve already talked about.

I don’t forget about one of my guys who has been going through a tough time or dealing with a specific issue, I’m great at follow up with that, but sometimes I forget about the general topics we talk about. For instance a few weeks ago my guys asked if we could do a lesson on girls and dating and sex and what the Bible says about these things. We had a great lesson that night and I know I made them really think about how a relationship would look like and how to make sure that they put God in the center of all of their relationships. This past week I got a text from one of my guys asking some very specific questions about what the Bible says about an issue. That should have been my reminder that I need to follow up with all of them and see how they are doing with that topic. I need to build a reminder into each small group time to begin and ask questions about past topics and make sure everyone is still on task with prior topics.

Head over there for the rest of the thought!
JG

1 View Comments March 16, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts Mission Owns the Weekend Theme Video

Great video made by students for the Mission Viejo High School weekend of our You Own the Weekend series.

JG

Add Comment March 15, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts LeaderTreks Free Leadership Style Assessment

The gang over at LeaderTreks sent me a link to a new Leadership Assessment Tool they’re launching this week! It is totally free – just know that at the end of it to get your results they will require some info about you including your email. I just took the test – got some interesting results! Would encourage you (and your team) to take it and talk about it at your next meeting together!

If you look around and carefully observe leaders in action, you will notice that different people lead in different ways. Every leader is unique, but some leaders are more effective than others. Effective leaders are responsive to their followers and are able to provide what the team or group needs at the time when they need it.

This tool will help you learn more about your leadership style. The following questions will help you discover your tendencies as you lead. As with any assessment, your results will only be as accurate as the answers you give. Be sure to answer based on who you really are, not who you would like to be or who others think you ought to be.

Take the LeaderTreks Leadership Assessment Test right here!

JG

Add Comment March 15, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts Kickstarter the OC Supertones Next Album!

So happy to point you toward the Kickstarter page for The OC Supertones new album! I know several of them personally (they are amazing youth workers in our area) and have enjoyed their music and ministry. They were a total hit at last year’s Simply Youth Ministry Conference, too. They are almost halfway to their goal – head over there and check it out or participate!

JG

2 View Comments March 14, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts Details on Creative Elements of the SYM Conference

Right after the Simply Youth Ministry Conference I always get asked the same question: how did you do that!?! I love a good idea – I love stealing good ideas, too. If anything you saw on the main stage was interesting to you or maybe inspired you to bring something back into your ministry setting – here’s the scoop on what we used or how we did it!

Poll Everywhere – the polls on the big screen were powered by PollEverywhere.com. The technology is free for up to 40 responses (perfect for most youth groups) and scales really well to have thousands of responses per poll. Be sure to check them out – we use it all the time in our youth ministry, it is so fast and fun!

AR.Drone – one of the new ideas this year was to use an AR.Drone to hover over the crowd with a gift card attached to it on a long string. The Drone is controlled by an iPad/iPhone/iPod/Android and streams live video from the hovering airship to the big screen. With all of the signals in the conference room it got bogged down a bit, but overall it was a super fun experiment.

Facebook Hack – This is a game we invented in our youth ministry a couple of months ago. You can read more about the game and download the title slide right here.

The Interlude – a fun dance you can download right here.

Digital Stache – these are the dudes behind lots of magic on the screens. We had an idea, they did it. Really stunning guys with tons of freebies and youth ministry resources totally worth checking out!

Twitter – this is actually a feature in the latest version of Propresenter (5, from what I understand). It is a super cool way to put up a paricular hashtag on the screen – it includes full moderation capabilities as well. Looked super slick up there!

Was there something else at the event you would like to know about? Hit me up in the comments!

JG

4 View Comments March 14, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts HSM Weekend in Review: Volume 174

Weekend Teaching Series: You Own the Weekend: Mission Viejo HS (week 2 of 5)
Sermon in a Sentence: You matter to God.

Service Length: 60 minutes

Understandable Message: Students this weekend shared through spoken word, speaking and a testimony. It was fantastic! They shared about how God made each of us unique and how He wants to use our personalities and talents to further the kingdom. They centered the weekend around You Matter to God, but emphasized the “you” in that statement – how God has given us unique spiritual gifts, experiences and talents for Him. I loved the perspective of a creative God giving us each our own “us” that is to be used for Him. Good message!

Element of Fun/Positive Environment: One of the students served as a DJ during the countdown, and students created a video and a spoken word to introduce the theme of the weekend as well. They had tons of great decorations and created a really fun welcoming environment. They had the school mascot running around and lots of school spirit. Love love loved it, I’ll try to post pictures later this week.

Music Playlist: Kings and Queens, Your Love is Strong, Burning Ones

Favorite Moment: It was all incredible! Honestly, I loved the decorations most this weekend – students took pictures of practically everyone from their high school and had them developed and put all over the youth room. On each of them was written “You Matter to God” so if you were visiting this weekend you could find yourself hung up around church. Super, super cool.

Up next: You Own the Weekend: Capo High School (week 3 of 5)

Add Comment March 14, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts Helping Students Who Are Cutting

My friend AC posted (on his blog yoacblog.com) a great summary about cutting and self-injury after attending a workshop at the Simply Youth Ministry Conference this past week. Here’s a clip of his notes, head there for the rest. Might make a solid handout/training for your volunteers:

What is Self-Injury?

It’s listed in the The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) published by the American Psychiatric Association as a Borderline Personality Disorder.
Self-harm is a response to a profound and overwhelming emotional pain that cannot be resolved in a more functional way.

What Self-Injury is not!

Self-Injury is not a half-hearted attempt at suicide
Demon Possession
A relationally immature attempt to get attention
Body modification taken to the extreme

Notes: You must understand that it is not an attempt at suicide, but if the cycle continues it could be the result at the end of a fighting battle. The self-injurer is trying to save their life not take it. We must understand that we join them in the fight for their life. While there is definitely a spiritual battle going on, self-injury does not automatically equate to Demon Possession. It’s not just about attention, it’s deeper than that and it needs our full undivided attention.

If you’re interested in a program to help students who deal with tough stuff like this, check out The Landing. Our Landing program meets every Friday night at 7pm – good stuff for hurting students.

JG

Add Comment March 14, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts 99 Days Until Graduation: Gift Suggestions for Seniors

People this time of year often ask for suggestions for graduating senior gifts. I lean toward a great book by default – early in youth ministry we would give a really nice leather Bible to our seniors. That became a very meaningful tradition to seniors. It may be awesome if you could get a specific book for each person who is graduating your ministry. No matter what you decide to give them – make sure it is personal – write a note in the front cover, drop a note in the middle of the book with a Starbucks giftcard, tell them the story of why you chose this book for them. Here are a few suggestions that may be good for one or all of your seniors:

Case for Christ – help your graduates hold onto their faith after high school. Maybe even get this book now for everyone and do a 5-week study on it as they end their time in your youth ministry. Get them grounded in their faith.

99 Thoughts for College Age People – Chuck Bomar takes on 99 simple short thoughts to help a student transition from high school to college. Quick read, funny, nice little gift.

Make College Count – this is a new book this year that looks solid – college is a time where you develop into the person you will be for the rest of your life and Make College Count will help your students figure out that crucial time.

So most importantly … what would you suggest to give your seniors this year?

JG

5 View Comments March 14, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts Get CD/DVD/MP3s of the Simply Youth Ministry Conference 2012

Just wanted to post a quick link to the Simply Youth Ministry Conference 2012 audio/video store – if you were at the event and want to bring it home or missed it and want to get in on some of the training, here’s the place!

JG

Add Comment March 13, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts GUEST POST: What I’m Learning from Peyton Manning

Football is a tough and often thankless business. Successful teams get the most out of their players and the moment they can no longer “get anything” out of them, the right move is to part ways. It stinks. It’s not fair. But, it’s the right thing to do for the best of a team.

In the past two weeks I have seen several of my favorite players cut from their teams. My Steelers cut their all-time leading receiver, Hines Ward. He caught more passes for more yards and more touchdowns than any other Steelers’ in history. But, he’s at the end of his career and his numbers have dropped off dramatically and the Steelers need salary cap room. Aaron Smith, regarded as the best 3-4 defensive end in Steeler history (and one of the best in NFL history) has suffered season ending injuries the past 3 years and, because of that, the Steelers cut him last week to save money. And now, Peyton Manning … 4 time league MVP … Super Bowl champion … Super Bowl MVP … one of the best, if not the best, quarterbacks in the history of the NFL … gone from the Indianapolis Colts. It’s harsh. It’s cold. It’s reality.

What I’m learning from these types of decisions is this:

- Being the one who makes the tough decisions is a hard job. If you care too much about being liked, you’ll never make those types of decisions. I’m trying to become that type of person. Sometimes I do well. Sometimes I don’t do so well. But, I strive to be that type of person.

- You can honor the past well … but when it’s time to move on be willing to move on. In the church setting, just because you move on from a “program” or an event (or get rid of the organ), it doesn’t mean you don’t appreciate the past. It doesn’t mean you don’t honor those who have set the foundation for ministry happening today. It doesn’t mean you are arrogant and only think of what you want. It means you’re evaluating what you’re doing and making decisions on what works and what doesn’t work anymore. The goal is to reach people for Jesus. If something you do (a program or event) doesn’t DO that any longer … it’s time to part ways and move on and stop wasting time, energy, and finances on something that no longer produces results.

- Emotions factor into all of this. I’m about as sentimental as they come. It’s hard for me to not do something because of all the great memories it’s brought about. The reason “fans” have trouble with teams letting go of long time players is because they are “fanatics.” Fans are irrational and that’s the beauty of being a fan. But, a leader needs to be fanatical about the ultimate goal, whatever that may be. In the church, it’s helping people come to know Jesus and see them thriving in a life with Him.

- If you’re on the way out, go out with honor and class. Each of the three players I mentioned handled themselves with such dignity and respect. They burned no bridges. They were humble and grateful.

I heard Andy Stanley talk about this one time and he described a program, ministry, or event that no longer works as the “old, ugly couch in your parents living room.” When it was purchased in 1965 it was in style. It was fashionable. People enjoyed it. But, 50 years later, if that couch is still in the living room … well … it’s a bit out of style, to say the least. Truth and purpose remain the same. Methods can change and should.

I’m certainly no expert in any of this, but am striving to learn from these types of situations.

Rich Yauger is a youth pastor who blogs at The Yaug Blog. Be sure to check it out!