More Than Dodgeball | Youth Ministry Blog by Josh Griffin

Josh GriffinMore Posts Launch Series Arc

This weekend we’re kicking off our annual LAUNCH series getting students ready to go back to school. If you would like to read a couple “week in reviews” from services last year click here and here, and below is the series arc for this year’s take on the topic:

Week 1: Advice from 3 students who have been there
This weekend our summer interns are wrapping up their 3-month stay on staff. I’ve given them this weekend to talk about their high school experiences and share learnings that will help students launch the school year right.

Week 2: The importance of small groups
Next weekend Jessica Torres (our Life Groups coordinator) will be teaching on the importance of community and encouraging students to grow spiritually in a group this year.

Week 3: Starting each day off with God
The last weekend before school starts here in California (Labor Day weekend) will be taught by a couple of amazing student leaders and I. We’re going to talk about routines, devotions and prayer in the context of walking with God each day.

JG

Add Comment August 21, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts GUEST POST: What I Learned from Asking a Volunteer to Step Down – Part 2

If you have a volunteer who refuses your leadership, subverts your authority and doesn’t respond to coaching … it might be time to let them go. If you missed yesterday’s part 1 you may want to start there, and here are 5 other learnings I’m processing after recently asking a volunteer to step down:

7) THINK ABOUT COMMUNICATING THEIR EXIT: When people ask me what happened, it’s important to be honest but also respectful. I asked specifically what they would like me to communicate with students and other leaders if people asked. It was helpful to agree on a kind, but truthful communication that will give a clear picture for my students and other leaders. Perhaps the most important communication should be with the person we directly report to. It’s important that they are in the loop and have a clear understanding…

EXPECT SOME FALL-OUT: We should expect some fall-out. Again, it is always better than the long-term struggles and challenges of allowing a divisive leader to continue. This person is loved by a number of students and I know that some will take it hard. However, time will heal and God will always provide great adults to fill the void. In the past when I have asked someone to step down, the fall-out is often short lived.

9) BE CLEAR AND DON’T COMPROMISE: Because asking someone to leave can be so challenging, it’s important that our guilt or compassion does not lead to letting them stay. If we have struggled through and prayed earnestly, it’s important to stick to what God has called you to do. Today I was asked to reconsider, but I had to be clear that I had prayed for two months about this decision… I was not able to change it.

10) KEEP YOUR SUPERVISOR IN THE LOOP: I gave my pastor a quick heads up that I would be asking this person to step down. I gave him a quick reasoning, and fortunately he is someone who supports his staff and decisions. Either way when you’re going to

11) I AM NOT ALONE: You are not alone either! As you struggle with volunteers, parents, or people at your church, know that there are many like you going through the same struggles. There are many who have gone before us who have navigated through these situations and have survived to tell the tale. Today, I navigated through a challenging conversation, and I am thankful for ministry friends to unload on!

This guest post was written by Anonymous.

Add Comment August 21, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts GUEST POST: What I Learned from Asking a Volunteer to Step Down – Part 1

Asking one of the volunteers in your youth ministry to step down is probably an idea that makes you cringe. Without a doubt it is is something that many youth workers struggle through, and I thought it might be helpful to share my experience. It wasn’t that long ago I asked a volunteer to leave my ministry. It was not an easy thing to do… but sometimes the tough conversations have to happen and we should not run away from conflict or difficult conversations like this.

For the last year I have struggled with a leader who has constantly rejected the vision, plans, and purposes of our church and youth ministry. She has been continually divisive with me and other volunteers. I wanted to share with you a little bit about what I’ve learned after walking through this process. There are 11 things, the first 6 today and the remaining 5 tomorrow. Hope it is helpful to you:

1) TAKE YOUR TIME TO WORK THROUGH THE STRUGGLE: We all have different personalities and opinions! Sometimes difficult people are just different from us. Right? It’s imperative that we take time to struggle through to see what is the real issue. It’s also important that we are not too rash or quick to fire people just because they do not think like we do…

2) PRAY EARNESTLY ABOUT WHAT TO DO: Before the summer I met with this person to express challenges I was experiencing. Rather than get into a big debate about the issues, I simply asked them to pray over the summer about their involvement this coming Fall. I have been praying for the last two months and God has provided great clarity.

3) DON’T TAKE IT PERSONALLY – IT’S MINISTRY: It’s easy to get ticked off with people when they don’t take our leadership seriously. However, isn’t that expected? Should we be surprised when we deal with messy people and relationships? I have to remind myself not to take it personally, it’s just ministry.

4) MEET THEM FACE-TO-FACE: No matter what, always meet face to face. Today, I was able to gain so much understanding by seeing a their reaction when I shared with them. It was also imperative that they could see my face and my care for them as I asked them to step down…

5) EXPECT IT TO BE MESSY: I have never had anyone thank me for “firing” them. This morning went well, but it was still messy and painful. Even though it is messy today, it’s good to consider the ongoing challenges if I were to continue to have a volunteer like this continue to be a part of the ministry. The messiness of today is far less than the messiness of the next year if they were to stay in the ministry…

6) LOVE WELL: As I prayed about this situation, I specifically asked God to give me a heart for this person. As I sat across from them today, I was able to carefully and gently talk to them and consider their best interests as we navigated through the painful reality…

This guest post was written by Anonymous.

6 View Comments August 20, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts Book Review: The Joy of Work: Dilbert’s Guide to Finding Happiness at the Expense of Your Co-Workers

I went back to the $2 Book Fair this week to score some more cheap books to read this summer. While I was there picking up awesome ministry and business books, I stumbled on this gem from Dilbert creator Scott Adams. The Joy of Work is another masterpiece in his business-leadership book series (read my review of The Dilbert Principle here). The whole thing is written half-serious which means he can really shine some light on how people work around a typical office. The larger your church the more you’ll appreciate many of his insights on organizations and corporate scenarios, but everyone will appreciate and laugh out loud at chapters on office pranks, surviving meetings and managing your co-workers.

Lots of fun reader emails and cartoons throughout, too. Loved it.

JG

2 View Comments August 19, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts The Importance of Your Students Hearing From Different Voices

This summer we’ve been hosting a midweek Bible study in the Refinery on Wednesday nights called Midweek. It’s been incredible! We lucked out with having Pastor Rick speak on the opening night, which was great, and the last few weeks we’ve had very different voices from a bunch of different places. The picture above is of Debbie Eaton, the director of Women’s Ministry at Saddleback. It was a huge change up for us, but I heard from both students and leaders how great it was!

Here’s why I think it is important – students (us, too, for that matter) get used to the same voice and it starts to lose impact. Familiar speakers get in ruts, and even the best communicators get better with a little margin. Change it up this week and give someone with a new voice a chance, it has been incredible for us this summer!

JG

1 View Comments August 19, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts Rules for Overnighters in The Refinery

From time to time people ask us if we have any policies regarding overnighters using the church building. We do! Here’s a quick rundown of how our small group leaders can use it for a fun activity. If it is helpful to you then by all means adapt it for your setting and you’re all set!

OVERNIGHTER REQUEST FORM

We understand how beneficial this activity can be for your Life Group and we believe the Refinery is an awesome place to hold your small group event. We want to be sure that you as the group leader understand the rules and requirements to hold your sleepover/overnighter:

All students participating in your sleepover need to be registered in your group. If you have other kids joining you for the night, please make sure that we are made aware of them in advance.

Please notify our Security Department that you are on campus by calling 949-xxx-xxxx. We have Security Staff here 24/7, please notify them if you have any problems.

We will make every effort to get any cleaning crews in and out of the building as quickly and as early in the evening as possible. Please note that some nights the building requires them to be in the building for longer time.

If the facilities are being used for an event the following day and chairs and tables are set up, those areas might be off limits to you for the night, we can talk about arrangements with you for you to make sure all the tables and chairs are put back in place by the morning.

Everyone needs to be out of the building by 8:00 a.m. the following morning. The building needs to look like you were never there.

Due to Health Department regulations, any places where food is prepared are off limits. Do not go behind the counters. The drink machines are shut off each evening, so please make arrangements for your own food and beverages.

Do not use any of the audio/visual/technical equipment unless you have received permission prior to your sleepover. No exceptions!

Once the doors have been locked for the night by security, students will need to stay in the building and the doors need to remain locked.

Please contact us if we can do anything to assist you in making your sleepover night an awesome experience for your group!

JG

Add Comment August 18, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts They Share Our Faith, But Not Our Freedom

During HSM’s Midweek Bible study this summer we were privileged to have Carl Moeller from Open Doors share with our students the plight of the persecuted church. He gave students an incredible challenge and quite honestly exposed them to some pretty serious issues many if not all weren’t aware of before.

As a takeaway for the message that night, he gave everyone a “One with Them” barbed-wire bracelet. I think they are really great with an awesome meaning, if you’re interested in being a part of this initiative, check out Open Doors USA’s website or watch the video embedded above.

JG

1 View Comments August 18, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts Book Review: Drudge Manifesto

I realize I’m a little late to the party on reading this circa-2001 New York Times best-seller, but I’ve been a Drudge Report fan since just after it came out in the late 90′s. If you aren’t on Drudge Report every day, you’re missing the news. Matt came to power back in the days of dial-up and was at the forefront of this emerging idea that everyone was a journalist. He broke the news on Monica Lewinsky way back in a day, and has continually challenged the ideas that TV and print media had set in stone. If you’re a fan, the book is great – offering you insight and a behind the scenes look at new journalism. If you’re not, the book may read a little incomprehensibly at times and will only be somewhat entertaining. So it was perfect for me.

Here’s a big universal takeaway for all: Matt (and others) blazed a trail giving everyone a voice. You have a voice. Start a website, a blog or a Tumblr and jump in. A-

JG

Add Comment August 17, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts Youth Pastors Are Great Fakers

I did a survey here on the blog not too long ago asking youth workers to share about their Bible reading and personal time with God. The results from the more than 400 votes were staggering — almost 10% of youth workers hadn’t cracked their Bibles in a week and only 18% considered their Bible reading “solid”.

Here’s the deal — we get it…there are certainly seasons where you are closer to God than others. Certain times of the year or patterns that lend themselves to spending time with God, or that make it tough to do. But if we were honest …it’s fair to say that if youth workers aren’t reading their Bibles, the whole thing is going to collapse sooner rather than later. And if we’re being really honest … we would admit to you that from time to time we’ve been caught up in the pace of youth ministry and not connected significantly to Christ either. And if we’re being really, really honest…we would admit it happens more often than it should.

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me,
and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing …”
John 15:5 [Continue reading in YouVersion]

Youth pastors are great fakers. That’s pretty harsh, but honestly — most Christians are good fakers. We pretend that we’re walking with God by using the correct Christian subculture language. We count listening to Gungor on our 4-minute commute to the church office as our devotions for the day. We subscribe to the Verse of the Day on Twitter (@abibleverse) and every once in a while even look at it.

You can fake it for a while … but not forever.Too often we hide behind charisma, talents, gifts and abilities when the real us is dying in a spiritual pile. This type of shallow spirituality makes us an easy target for the Enemy and prime candidates for a sudden stumble or fall. God has gifted you, but don’t arrogantly think you can lead without him. Follow THE leader!

Recommit to a genuine, ongoing relationship with Christ as you minister in His Name. Good youth ministry starts with a leader whose heart is sold-out to Christ. Good youth ministry is done by youth workers connected to the vine. Let today be the first day when we start to change the statistic and t is rare the youth worker who isn’t connected to Christ daily.

Here’s some practical advice from youth workers in the trenches who are finding creative ways to spend time with God:

Before you look at any screen, spend time with God.
Take the first few minutes of your office hours in prayer
Pray with your spouse before bed each night [Is it okay for me (Kurt) to admit that this one is tough for me?]
Block out one afternoon a month to reconnect with God
Use one of YouVersion.com’s reading plans on your Evo

May God bless your ministry this week as you serve and stay connected to Him!

This post was written by Josh Griffin and Kurt Johnston and originally appeared as part of Simply Youth Ministry Today free newsletter. Subscribe to SYM Today right here.