Josh Griffin | More Than Dodgeball

Josh GriffinMore Posts The Right Volunteers

Shane posted some great thoughts on the PDYM blog about volunteers. Here’s a clip from some of his in the trenches learnings, head there for the rest and a host of other great recent posts from the community members:

1) DON’T JUST LOOK FOR WARM BODIES
We all have positions that need to be filled; yesterday. Youth guys are always in need of leaders. But be careful! Take your time when it comes to choosing adults that will come along beside you in ministry. Spend time praying and seeking God’s direction on certain people you have in mind to be a part of your teen ministry.

2) ASK QUESTIONS
My mistake ~ I did not ask enough questions. What are your beliefs? How would you handle this situation? What is your idea of ministry? Do you understand our Purpose Statement?

Rather than rush to fill the spot, take it slow and ask questions upfront. I am guilty of giving in to the panic that I felt to fill a position and to fill it quickly. I think to myself “I will have time later to sit and talk.” But because of our schedules we all know “later” rarely comes. Ask questions ahead of time.

JG

Add Comment October 19, 2007

Josh GriffinMore Posts Willow Creek’s Big Mistake

Pease pointed out this passage to me from Christianity Today’s blog. Thought it was an interesting perspective on evaluating what you do to make sure it is effective, and making sure your focus is on making disciples who grow on their own:

Speaking at the Leadership Summit, Hybels summarized the findings this way:

Some of the stuff that we have put millions of dollars into thinking it would really help our people grow and develop spiritually, when the data actually came back it wasn’t helping people that much. Other things that we didn’t put that much money into and didn’t put much staff against is stuff our people are crying out for.

Having spent thirty years creating and promoting a multi-million dollar organization driven by programs and measuring participation, and convincing other church leaders to do the same, you can see why Hybels called this research “the wake up call” of his adult life.

Hybels confesses:

We made a mistake. What we should have done when people crossed the line of faith and become Christians, we should have started telling people and teaching people that they have to take responsibility to become ‘self feeders.’ We should have gotten people, taught people, how to read their bible between service, how to do the spiritual practices much more aggressively on their own.

In other words, spiritual growth doesn’t happen best by becoming dependent on elaborate church programs but through the age old spiritual practices of prayer, bible reading, and relationships. And, ironically, these basic disciplines do not require multi-million dollar facilities and hundreds of staff to manage.

UPDATE: It is a great talk … you can actually watch it all on the Reveal blog, too.

JG

relationships

Add Comment October 18, 2007

Josh GriffinMore Posts OPEN: Free Youth Ministry Resources

This place is awesome. Grab some solid free youth ministry resources … actually, there’s great stuff in every category. Go Life Church!

JG

Add Comment October 18, 2007

Josh GriffinMore Posts Street Fighter IV Trailer

This is impressive.

JG

Add Comment October 18, 2007

Josh GriffinMore Posts I Want This For Christmas

Yeah, that’s a USB mini fridge. Christmas idea!

JG

Add Comment October 18, 2007

Josh GriffinMore Posts HDME

Saddleback’s High School Ministry is doing a new series this week during the 40 Days of Purpose campaign – High Definition ME (HDME). I think it’s going to be a cool to frame the purposes in a fresh new way. Should have lots of TVs on stage, some old school black and white TVs, and some other geeky gadgets and stuff. I like it!

One of the most popular questions people ask about the purposes is, “How have you shaped the series differently when you teach it every year?” Well, this is this year’s version. How have you taught the purposes creatively? Got some other good series names and ideas?

JG

Add Comment October 17, 2007

Josh GriffinMore Posts Book Review: Beyond Megachurch Myths

OK, I’ll be honest, I didn’t actually quite finish this book. I went for more of the “read the chapters that seemed to strike me as interesting” approach. Part of the reason for that is that the book is from more of a research and technical perspective. Not exactly my cup of team – no pictures either.

The book clearly shows off the positive side of megachurches. It’s neat to hear analytical perspective on how big churches still care about the message and people. It was amazing and satisfying to read about just how wide and varied the style is amongst this group of churches. Megachurches are more than a “show.” I also appreciate the identification of how the more recent megachurches differ from the older ones, and how the megachurch must change to reach the next generation.

All in all a solid book, even if it gets bogged down a bit for my taste. B-

JG

Add Comment October 17, 2007

Josh GriffinMore Posts Daily Alarms

Every day at 10:50 I have a reminder set on my Outlook Express asking me if I’ve made a positive difference in our church culture – have I led from the middle and exhibited upward influence. A buddy of mine has one set at 3:10 to call his wife and tell her he loves her. Another has one at 6:05 that reminds her to take a pill. Do you have any reminders set? Any daily alarms other than waking up?

JG

Add Comment October 17, 2007