As of today we are officially a 6-iPod family. I got the iPod Touch this year as a gift from a friend, my wife loves her Nano in the kitchen and this year, my mom and dad sent each of the kids $50 in Christmas mad money. We went out tonight and bought them iPod Shuffles ($45, Target) and little themed speaker pillows ($8, eBay). CD’s will never get scratched again and we can drop in a limitless variation of music into their pillows at night. And best of all, each kid has their own music to listen to. So fun!

JG

One of my favorite stores to shop in is Steve & Barry’s – they always have XXL and nothing in the whole store is over $15. Amazing stuff … but unfortunately, they’re going out of business. Scott Guenther, a youth pastor who reads MTDB, wrote in with this idea to help local shelters get some supplies during the holidays and help the retail chain clear out the inventory.

Hey Josh,
I’m a regular reader of morethandodgeball.com (I have a coveted T-shirt) and thought you might pass the word around the country on your blog about a ministry opportunity. The Steve & Barry’s here in Lincoln, NE closed down last month and in the weeks before it did, prices were slashed to incredibly low prices.

Our youth ministry challenged our congregation to go there and buy up coats and sweatshirts and donate them to our local mission to our city’s homeless. In just 2 weeks we rounded up over 300 items of clothing. People could buy it for just a couple of bucks and they really got into it. Steve and Barry’s is now closing down nationwide – thought they might want to jump on the idea, too.

Here’s their store locator if it is something you want to do, too!

JG

“… Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud. Abiud was the father of Eliakim. Eliakim was the father of Azor. Azor was the father of Zadok. Zadok was the father of Akim. Akim was the father of Eliud. Eliud was the father of Eleazar. Eleazar was the father of Matthan. Matthan was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah.” [youversion]Matthew 1:13-16[/youversion]

I was given a new Bible this week from a friend of a friend, so I started reading right from the very beginning. It seemed to make sense to start at the top, and with the holidays here the Christmas story seemed like a great place to start.

The New Testament opens with a survey of the genealogies from Abraham to Jesus. Hardly the way to open a book as epic as the Bible, in my opinion. This guy had this son, this guy had this guy, throw in a prostitute here or a king there. Boring. My mind wandered as I read the first chapter of Matthew. But there’s a great message in there that hit me – these are the people that played their part in bringing Jesus to the world.

These men and women, some epic successes and some epic failures, were part of the very line of Christ. I read over this list preparing for the Christmas season with new excitement after this realization: I am a part of this same line. So are you!

I get to join hundreds of people, some epic successes and some epic failures, in bringing Jesus to the world. My youth ministry team, your youth group, all followers of Christ even – all of us get to join in on this amazing geneology. No, we’re not part of the blood-line that brought about the birth of Jesus, we are part of the legacy of followers that bring spiritual rebirth of Jesus to the world.

I couldn’t be more excited to celebrate Christmas this year. I couldn’t be more excited by the way that God opened up the New Testament. My youth ministry is part of the geneology of Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas!

JG

Here are 3 cautions if you find yourself thinking about the ghost of youth ministry past too much.

Dependency on the past…

…keeps us from working hard today. Don’t get stuck in the Golden Years. We sit back and coast because the memories of our success is still fresh in our mind. Youth ministry requires vigilance and vision. Reflecting is OK, reverse is not.

…stops us from innovating today. Don’t do things because we’ve alway done them that way. The way we’ve always done it might not be the best way. Stepping on toes and fond memories of youth ministry past isn’t easy, but sometimes it is necessary.

…gives us a better undertanding of the future. A foundation has been laid for today’s youth ministry in the history of your group. The youth worker before you did some great things, and had some epic failures – just like you will have over the next few years. Know that reflecting on the past isn’t all bad news – just keep it in perspective and appreciate it for what it is. Let the past guide and influence you, not hinder your ministry.

JG