More Than Dodgeball | Youth Ministry Blog by Josh Griffin

Josh GriffinMore Posts Movie Review: The Clone Wars

This might be the most positive review of a C+ movie ever.

This is totally a kid’s movie – it isn’t a children’s movie that adults can also fully engage in. And while there are some fantastic scenes and the animation and style is top notch, keeping this simple fact in mind will help you more fully enjoy it. Instead of groaning at “those” scenes, enjoy them with a smile because your 5-year old will be for sure. As an adult I have all sorts of gripes with the film – my son has absolutely none – and that’s how my Star Wars fandom has come full circle. When I was a kid, I enjoyed the movies. As an adult, the newer stuff, not nearly as much. But my son loves them the same as I did as a kid.

But aren’t they totally different? Hasn’t George Lucas lost his mind? Or at the very least sold out the franchise?

In a way, I don’t even care about the answers to those questions. All I care about is that my son and I had a great time watching Star Wars in the theater together yesterday. And that’s an experience I’ll never forget. C+

JG

Add Comment August 18, 2008

Josh GriffinMore Posts Wild Goose Chase Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to Michelle Spanos who won our Wild Goose Chase Giveaway Contest. I’ll get started on the book during vacation this week and review it soon. Congrats!

JG

Add Comment August 18, 2008

Josh GriffinMore Posts Brett Favre Inspires PDYM to Make a Comeback

It’s back and it’s official – click the image above for the whole story! The PDYM Conference @ Saddleback Church next March. This will be SO fun – come hear Doug Fields teach Purpose Driven Youth Ministry, see The Refinery student building and check out PDYM in action here at Saddleback.

JG

4 View Comments August 18, 2008

Josh GriffinMore Posts A.C.E Your Event Follow-Up

I enjoyed this article from Kevin McCaffrey over on PDYBlog.com. Here’s a clip, head over there for the complete piece:

You walk in the door, throw your keys on the table, fall down on the couch, breath a huge sigh of relief, and crash! You did it! You made it! It’s over!

Ever had those moments? Months and months of planning and preparation for that weekend retreat. It’s Sunday night, you’ve just finished unpacking the truck at the church, and finally you’re home. What a relief! The question is, how do we follow up the event to make sure we tie up those lose ends and ensure that we learn and grow so that next year’s retreat is even better? Here’s a little acronym I developed a few years ago that helps us to A.C.E. our event follow up.

JG

retreats

Add Comment August 18, 2008

Josh GriffinMore Posts Complete Saddleback Civil Forum Video

Here’s Saddleback Church’s Civil Forum (part 1 of 3) courtesy of CNN.

JG

church politics

Add Comment August 18, 2008

Josh GriffinMore Posts Saddleback Civil Forum

Just back from the Saddleback Civil Forum – what a night! I’ll post more thoughts later – if you missed the forum, it will be replayed on CNN and Fox News throughout the evening, and you can grab the transcript here. I’ll post the video file when it is available. (picture credit to The Economist)

JG

Add Comment August 16, 2008

Josh GriffinMore Posts Summer Youth Ministry Training from PDYM

Here’s the PDYM Summer Training Video featuring Doug Fields. Good stuff in there about developing leaders.

JG

Add Comment August 15, 2008

Josh GriffinMore Posts Letter to Parents Post-Camp

Here’s a letter I wrote today to our high school ministry parents the last night of camp – if you do something like this already, post it in the comments, and if not use this as a base for one from you next year after camp. Enjoy!

Hi parents!

It is 1AM and I’m just getting back to my cabin to pack up and get ready to head home tomorrow morning. Your kids are doing the same thing right now after a hilarious late-night talent show — the finale of a truly great week!

I wanted to share some highlights with you before we make it back into town tomorrow afternoon. We’ve been up at Camp Ojai (www.foresthome.org/ojaivalley) all week with the theme Love: Revolution. Our speaker was Afshin Ziafat (www.afshinziafat.com), a former Muslim who accepted Christ several years ago. He has a powerful story he shared on the opening night — and continued each of the following evenings to challenge students to love God, share their own story and invite friends to church. The music leader was Tim Timmons (www.timmonsmusic.com), our guest from Mariner’s Church this week. He’s done an amazing job helping us be grateful for each day of life, which was especially poignant after sharing his battle with cancer.

I’ve encouraged your student to spend time with you on Friday night — before they jump into their world. I asked them to escape with you for the evening to talk about camp. I can’t wait for you to hear their stories and share their decisions with you. If it is at all possible, grab dinner and talk about camp together — here’s a few things you could talk about, a few questions to get you started:

6 View Comments August 15, 2008

Josh GriffinMore Posts The Amazing Freebirds Burrito

Today was a solid day – took a small break with some of the camp staff to run into town to get a Freebirds’ burrito. They are legendary, and after conquering a Monster Burrito with great effort I can see why. Seriously, look at that picture, the burrito is as big as a newborn.

JG

Add Comment August 15, 2008

Josh GriffinMore Posts 2 Types of Camp Training

As we were walking around the cabins last night – my friend Jason and I were talking about how each of the respective leaders were doing exactly what we expected. Some were towing the line – others had a lose grip on control of their cabin. Some leaders were loud and crazy, others were quiet and reserved. Some let their kids get away with murder, others stopped pranks at the idea stage. And even though we have had little or no problems at camp this year, as I looked at the situation, I thought we should potentially add a second layer to our camp training. Here’s what we do right now and an idea for next year:

What we already do – general training (group)
We have a volunteer meeting before camp set up the week before we leave. All of the counselors assemble together and we talk about the general expectations and the heart of the trip. We go over the camp schedule, talk about some of the quirks of the camp and hit on specific rules that we felt needed to be highlighted before camp. It is a great chance for everyone to be in community, pray and gear up for the big trip.

What we need to add – specific training (individual)
What if we took some time in additionto the general training, and spent one-on-one time with each leader.We looked at what happened in previous years at camp (if applicable) and set them up to win this year. We spend time beforehand thinking about their personality and typical interaction with students and helped specifically guide them in the areas where they are weak. If we see a potential weakness, we help guide them to a better place before something arises at camp.

Is it more work? It sure is. But I think it would be worth it!

JG