Yesterday we had our first major incident at summer camp – two guys shared a fist, a choke hold and a bloody nose – it all happened in a matter of seconds.

Nobody got sent home – I’m quick to show grace at camp. Now, if there was a black eye, the students weren’t repentant, or it required a trip to the ER – maybe the punishment would be more severe. But two guys losing their tempers and control for a few brief moments isn’t worth sending someone home, not to me at least.

Here’s why – there was a boy at summer camp some 40 years ago – he was an unchurched, angry young man. He had kicked and punched water pipes in the boys bathroom because he was ticked that chapel time was required and he didn’t want to go. Although he probably deserved to go home for causing such significant damage, someone showed him grace. A leader believed in Him and that God was going to do something special with him at camp.

Two nights later, this boy accepted Christ. Years later, he would go on to be a pastor and raise amazing children, one of whom I would be fatally attracted to and have 4 children with. My father-in-law was shown incredible grace at summer camp one year, so my heart always leans that way when I’m at camp, too.

Here’s to hoping those two boys walk away from camp changed forever.

JG

Just added a book reviews page for my upcoming youth ministry book – 99 Thoughts for Youth Workers. So far 6 reviews have been posted – shoot me a note if you reviewed the book as well so I can get you added to the list. Thanks for the kind and constructive words!

JG

Stage presence isn’t natural – some people are so good at it you might think so, but it is enormous work and countless hours of practice fools you into thinking either you have it or you don’t. Sure, some people’s gifting makes it easier than others, but it is work for everyone. After a service recently I talked through some principles of basic good stage presence and this is what we came up with:

WE CAN’T HEAR YOU
Be sure you hold the microphone up to your mouth – people that aren’t used to the stage tend to make the common mistake of holding the microphone away from their mouth. Make sure the microphone is right up near your mouth, rest it on your chin if you have to. If your hands are filled with stuff, that stuff will temp you to move the microphone around too much. Either memorize what is on the cue card or put it on a music stand in front of you.

WE CAN’T HEAR THEM
When you ask someone on stage a question, remember to hold the microphone up to their mouth, too. Typically by this point in the service, even a rookie emcee has figure out they need to hold the mic up to their own mouth, but too often forget to help the crowd hear the other person on stage, too.

KNOW WHAT YOU’RE THERE TO DO
Someone has trusted you with the entire stage – and remember that everything is the message, not just the message so what you’re doing is very important. You now control the room – you are there to build energy in the room and excitement toward the next element, you’re there to bring the crowd down to what’s next, or you’re introducing something. Either way, you’re not the star of the show, you are driving the vehicle with passengers are what people want to see. Know what you’re there to do and get off stage!

KNOW YOUR ENTRANCE AND EXIT
If you’ve got an opening line/bit/joke it will really help get you started on the right foot. Equally important, a great run on stage ends with a fizzle if you’re not sure how to end it all. If you’re throwing to video – sell it. If you’re introing a person, make the transition obvious. However you come in or leave the stage – make sure you have a plan.

Last year about this time I talked about pairing up the right emcees on stage, too. Anything you would add to this list of basics?

JG

Saw this funny video called Youth miniStarZ over on Serial and thought you would get a kick out of it, too.

JG

Loved this new promo video from Granger – best suited for adults, but still super.

JG

I really thought this open letter to youth worker search committees on the Reflections blog was strong - definitely a must read for anyone finding themselves in transition. Here’s a clip from point #4 of his 5-point article. Good stuff here:

4. Silence conveys a message.

I have found that when a youth ministry search team is silent for an extended period of time, it usually is not a good sign. Silence from your team conveys one main thing – I (as a youth ministry candidate) am no longer being considered for the position. I understand this is not always the case, but it is the conclusion I will come to when I do not hear anything from a search team for an extended period of time. Silence also conveys the message that your team is not willing to honestly tell me what you think about my ability to minister to the students in your congregation.

As I am patiently waiting to hear back from your committee, I would appreciate an occasional (at the least) update. Even if the search team is hesitant to have a difficult discussion with one of the candidates that is no reason to avoid communication. Some conversations will be difficult, but you should have known that when you signed up to be on the team – even in the church the hiring process is difficult. You need to know that I am not going to talk/think negatively about you if you phone and tell me I am not the right person for the position. I will respect your team and appreciate the manner in which you handled the situation.

If you are silent after I have already interviewed, I believe one of two things is happening: you are calling another candidate back and you are hoping if that candidate says “no” then I’ll still be willing to come for another interview. Or you do not know how to tell me that I am not the right candidate and hope I’ll find another position before you have to tell me.

JG

Many of our youth ministry events are what we consider “break even” events – essentially what we charge students should ideally cover the cost of the event so we don’t to rely on our youth ministry budget. Times are getting tight (hence strong sales of The $5 Youth Ministry and see the latest poll results) so every dollar counts. Recently we had an event that unexpectedly cost us quite a bit of money, and here are the tweaks we talked about in the debrief to make sure it doesn’t happen again:

RULE #1: Buying in advance is wise, if you’re careful.
Reserve conservatively in advance. I’m all for saving money – and usually booking something as a block, as a group or in advance will all net substantial savings. But big savings don’t matter if you can’t fill the seats. Remember only to reserve that you can for sure fill – you don’t want to be the youth worker forcing kids to go because you’ve still got 98 tickets to the baseball game or 32 spots left on the bus to summer camp.

RULE #2: It is always easy to add a few more.
Plan for a few less than you think will be there. Too often as youth workers we get optimistic about how many people will be there, so we plan a significant’y larger budget than what actually showed up. Hence, lots of leftover pizza and the event doesn’t come close to breaking even. Be sure to never run out of pizza, but make sure you really strive for an accurate number when working on your first draft budget.

RULE #3: Something will come up.
Build in a little contingency. Something will most definitely come up – so plan for it. Take 5% of your event budget, and don’t assign it to anything. Gas prices go up, but you’ve got a little in reserve. A few students couldn’t pay, but you let them in anyhow, so now there’s expenses with no income to offset it. But you created a little contingency – and if you do have any leftover at the end, take a volunteer out for lunch as a thank you for serving at the event.

RULE #4: Charge a little bit more
If you charge just a little bit more, it could make a big difference. Just remember that each dollar is an impression you’re giving off, so the cost on a flyer is still very much a big deal – charge too much and people can’t afford it, and too many high-priced events lead to people forming an opinion of the type of student that is expected to attend the program. But there’s little difference in $25 or $30 for joining a small group, and camp at $314 might just as well be $329.

What else can we do as youth workers to help break-even events break even?

JG

The big contest over the weekend had a ton of entries in the form of comments – everyone vying to win Simply Youth Ministry’s new LIVE small group curriculum and online leader center. The winner was JR, he will receive a username and password to LIVE and get Year One absolutely free (a $499 value).

There’s been some solid buzz around the new 4-year youth ministry curriculum resource and unique delivery method to volunteers, if you haven’t checked it out you can right here and since you didn’t win (sorry, man), maybe consider picking it up.

Congrats, JR!

JG

Well, I’m officially 30 lbs thinner as of today.

Today marked the end of the fabled 75-Day Challenge between me, a summer intern and two of our HSM volunteers. We all wanted to lose some weight this summer, so a little bargain was struck. Today the final weigh in was stunning – the winner lost over 23% of his body weight the past 2 and a half months. Wow!

So congrats to Chip! And if you’re in youth ministry and need to shed a few pounds, look to my friend Matthew McNutt, a former Biggest Loser competitor for inspiration and advice. He’s the man!

JG

Weekend Teaching Series: The Road Trip (week 4 of 5)
Sermon Title: “Loneliness”
Sermon in a Sentence: We must overcome many obstacles on the road of life – this week we take a look at loneliness.
Weekend Scale of Difficulty: 5 out of 10
Service Length: 61 minutes

Understandable Message: This weekend was actually the first episode we filmed on the Road Trip – but it aired in the number four slot of the actual series. We’re in Death Valley, California this week talking about loneliness. The imagery really supported the theme, the video was divided up into two parts – half setting up the concept/location, the other half giving help and hope from the Bible. In between we played Hillsong’s Desert Song, and then Jason Petty came on stage to wrap it all up live on stage. He was great, a clear message pushing students toward small groups and into a close walk with God whatever season of life they face.

Volunteer/Student Involvement: Students ran cameras, lights, sound, greeted and directed the weekend. Volunteers jumped in to greet students and sat with them in the service, some passed out bulletins/pens at the beginning of the message, too.

Element of Fun/Positive Environment: We had a fun roadtrip countdown video and “welcome to HSM” video. Our summer interns led a fun game based on some Flip videos we shot at the OC Fair this week. Students had to guess how fast someone from our team could throw a baseball, who would come down the giant slide the fastest, etc. Totally fun, and the great cover song got everyone having a good time right from the start.

Music Playlist: A Thousand Miles (Vanessa Carlton cover), Sing Sing Sing, Desert Song, Beautiful Lord, How He Loves Us

Favorite Moment: I really enjoyed the last couple of songs the band did this weekend – the band overall sounded great, and everything just came together in a powerful and responsive way at the end of the night. It was also great seeing two of the summer interns on stage, and had a great celebration dinner with the three of them afterward was super fun, too.

Up Next: The Road Trip Series Finale

What can students expect from a small group? In HSM, we try to focus on four benefits of joining a group. Here they are, use them in your promo this fall if you’d like:

1. Community::: Eight to ten fellow believers of the same gender who encourage, challenge, and pray for one another.

2. Bible Study::: At small groups, studies go more in-depth than the messages at weekend worship services, giving your son or daughter a wider understanding of God’s word.

3. A Spiritual Mentor::: A loving adult leader from our ministry who, in addition to leading Bible study and discussion, will mentor your son or daughter and promote spiritual growth.

4. Fellowship::: It’s easy for students to feel lost in the crowd during weekend services. Small groups slice the weekend attendance and provide a more intimate environment for students, paving the way for deep friendships.

JG

If you’re interested in posting a review for my new book 99 Thoughts for Youth Workers ($5, Group Publishing), please use my contact form to request a copy this week. I have a limited number I’m allowed to send out – so send me your blog name and URL, and I’ll send you a digital review copy of the book. I’d love your honest thoughts and a link to somewhere people can pick it up (Amazon and Simply Youth Ministry, currently).

I’m excited about the response so far!

JG

Fun little welcome video to start our service this weekend.

JG

Just took out our three great summer interns for a nice goodbye dinner tonight with the team. All three of the guys God brought to us were amazing, I’m SO thankful to them for their ministry here these last few months.

Kyle – Director of Ministry. This is his second year as a summer intern, so he bit off a huge chunk of our discipleship process and helped interview students to find their SHAPE and find or start a place of ministry. Brilliant, and much needed aspect of our ministry. Oh, he ran Freshman Frenzy, too!

Taylor – Ran a couple of events, but most importantly launched a summer parent newsletter that has really given us some serious chips in our pocket. His journalism background was a perfect fit, and I’m excited he launched something that has (finally) helped us open doors of communication to parents.

Taylor - went after discipleship and helped students grow on their own. He worked hard on creating discipleship environments all summer long that included looks at various religions and basic doctrine. This summer he ends up with a book study on Colossians. Smart, sharp guy.

Here are the three questions I asked them in our exit interview today:

1.) Describe our team dynamic in 10 words or less.
2.) You have fresh eyes. What do you see that you think I might not be seeing?
3.) What was your favorite experience?
4.) What was your least favorite experience?
5.) What expectations were/weren’t met?
6.) If you took over for me tomorrow, what would be the first thing you would change?
7.) Of the purposes (Reach, Connect, Grow, Discover, Honor) which aren’t in balance in our ministry?
8.) What will be the memory that will mark the summer of 2009 for you?
9.) What did you learn?
10.) What experience did you not get to do, you think we should add to the process?
11.) Open-ended: Your thoughts, concerns, praise, criticism …

JG

We’ve turned down the last 3 applicants for our high school ministry 2-year internship – but today had lunch with one I really hope we can bring on starting September 1st. Apparently I’m picky … so thought I might share some insight into what I’m looking for that might also help you as you look for staff, team members or interns yourself. Oh, and if you’re interested in becoming an intern with HSM at Saddleback, we would love to have you out here for a weekend to check us out and vice versa (hit up the Saddleback intern page here).

I’M LOOKING FOR…

Someone with a Big Heart for God
This is where it begins and ends every time – I’m looking for evidence that the potential intern spends time and talks with God. The pace of ministry is fast and the expectations are high, so a dependence on God is crucial for any kind of success.

Someone with a “Follow the Leader” Attitude
While there is plenty of room for leadership on the team, I’m looking for someone who will trust my decisions and trust that I’m being led by God’s Spirit as I lead them.

Someone with a Strong Work Ethic
The team carries many responsibilities, so multi-tasking and managing multiple top priorities are common. I have to see evidence of someone who can get stuff done, all while juggling the many hats of youth ministry.

Someone who Asks Good Questions
You don’t know everything about us! PLEASE ask good questions on the phone but especially in person. This is a subtle one … but big.

Someone who is Willing to Learn
An intern doesn’t have to know everything … in fact, that’s dangerous because a) you don’t know everything, and b) what would be the point of an internship since you already know everything? But being willing to learn is a key factor in deciding if you’ll join us.

Someone who will Fit With the Team
This one is usually easy to spot, but not always. The barely tangible “fit” matters a ton to me – this is the “it” factor of someone who is likable, easy to be around and their maintenance level. All interns require a more active leader and management, so the key is to gauge how much you have in you and how much will be required.

JG

Here’s a picture of the first couple of copies of my book – literally hot off the press! Order it this week and you’ll get the digital version (PDF) immediately and the physical book in a couple of days. So far, only my mom has ordered … so it is off to a strong start. Hey, at least she bought 4 copies. Yes!

JG

Incredible energy in “We Shine” with glowsticks at our 5th and 6th grader Summer Spectacular this week. Love it!

JG

Great story:

PLAIN CITY, Utah Police in Utah say a 7-year-old boy led officers on a car chase in an effort to avoid going to church.

Dispatchers received reports of a child driving recklessly on Sunday morning. Weber County Sheriff’s Capt. Klint Anderson says one witness said the boy drove through a stop sign.

Anderson says two deputies caught up with the boy and tried unsuccessfully to stop the Dodge Intrepid in an area about 45 miles north of Salt Lake City. The car reached 40 mph before the boy stopped in a driveway and ran inside a home.

Anderson says when the boy’s father later confronted him, the boy said he didn’t want to go to church. The boy is too young to prosecute and no citations were issued, although police did urge the father to make his car keys more inaccessible to children.

JG

Last week I wrote about starting an effective meeting, and continuing the theme of meetings I thought I would take on the idea of actually (gasp!) canceling a meeting. There are certainly times when a meeting should be canceled. Here’s a few of the good ones:

YOU SHOULD CANCEL A MEETING …

When the information you have to share is irrelevant/old
There are clear times you should cancel your meeting – like when the information you were planning on sharing is now out of date or irrelevant. Cancel quick and retool with the new information.

When the right people can’t be there
If the players can’t make the game, you don’t play. Sometimes the forfeit if the right call, even though it is sure to bum out you as a leader. The problem is you view the meeting as a single step in a long process, and have already made plans well down the line. So when the step can’t be taken, you see a whole future falling apart before your very eyes. Take heart, a canceled meeting is better than a meeting with half your players. Be sure to reschedule quickly or you won’t recover.

When something else trumps it
Sometimes, the day just isn’t right for an important meeting like the one you have planned. Ripples run through organizations and become waves that can come crashing down at just the wrong time. Yes, there are times to fight through the ups and downs of a work day, and other times to just let it go. Don’t wuss out when you should be strong, but be sensitive to waves in your professional culture.

When you could just email everything
Sometimes, you may plan a meeting thinking you would have something to say … but you don’t. As you look over your notes and agenda you realize that maybe you should just email the details to people. If you ever think that … cancel the meeting and email out the details. Time is ultra valuable to people, one less meeting, as long as you can still maintain effectiveness is the way to go.

If you’re burned out on meetings
Meetings on top of meetings are pointless. Less meetings are better – if you are keeping your volunteers out too many nights a week or feel your own ineffectiveness, perhaps you should consider meeting less often. Could we meet with our volunteers quarterly instead of monthly? Twice a year? Maybe leverage technology a little more with an MP3 via email or dropping some thoughts on YouTube? Just because you’ve always had that meeting doesn’t mean it still needs to live under your leadership.

Share another reason to cancel in the comments!

JG

I don’t care how lame it looks, I’m excited about the new GI Joe movie. Here’s a great T-Shirt that popped up this week that I want to own … “If knowing is half the battle, what is the other half? Lasers.” Get it at Nerduo.

JG