justin lathrop | More Than Dodgeball

Josh GriffinMore Posts MoreThanDodgeball’s Year in Review: Top 10 Guest Posts of 2011

Every weekend I get the privilege of posting a guest post or two from the More Than Dodgeball community. It is open to everyone – provided it is solid and fits some basic requirements (like somewhere south of 500 words, and isn’t a blatant infomercial for something – if you’re interested get the scoop here). These are the best of the best – the most popular guest posts from 2011:

Becoming an Indispensable Staff Pastor by Justin Lathrop
Top 12 Things You Should be Saying to a Guy Who Struggles with Porn by Nick McDonald
What to do with the Kid Who Hates You by Geoff Stewart
Taste And See: Sharing God’s Goodness Through Grief by Ryan Donovan
Youth Tracker by Bradley K. Chandler
43 Top Church Website Resources by Zach Younkin
I’ve Failed as a Youth Pastor by Steve Ingold
Make the Ask by Geoff Stewart
The Curious Question of Campus Lunch by Sean Kahlich
When Good Ideas Go Bad by Geoff Stewart

JG

1 View Comments December 30, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts Two Youth Pastor Position Openings

I just spoke with my friend Justin Lathrop who let me know about a couple of great youth pastor openings that he is helping churches fill through HelpStaffMe and the William Vanderbloemen Group. One opportunity is for a larger church in California and the other is a good-size ministry in the South. Both are looking for experienced youth workers ready to make a move . Justin is going to be at the Simply Youth Ministry Conference this week if you’re here in Chicago, or you can click over to HelpStaff.Me and apply online.

If you’re interested in either position, or just want to work with them on potentially pairing you with a great church in the future, head over there and check them out. Good people, good opportunities.

JG

Add Comment March 3, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts GUEST POST: Becoming an Indispensable Staff Pastor

I’ve spent 12 years serving as a staff pastor at two different churches. Both experiences have been unique, positive, and challenging. I don’t plan on ever being a lead pastor, so I’ll spend my entire career serving on a staff rather than leading one.

If you are a staff pastor, no job is ever 100% secure. Things happen, economy has its ups and downs but there are four strategic things you can do to make yourself an indispensable staff pastor.

1. Find the most important objective your pastor wants to accomplish and put yourself in the middle of it.

–Volunteer to lead a task force to accomplish the objective.

–Be a good listener. For instance, if you hear frustration from him on why the church has a low retention rate for visitors, make note of it and take initiative to help craft a solution.

2. Make strategic connections for your pastor.

–Make sure these relationships are life-giving and not things that give him more work.

–Make sure they are strategic and contribute to accomplishing his present objectives or future dreams.

3. Bring more solutions than problems.

–When you see a problem, it’s tempting to let your pastor know right away about it. Instead, stop and brainstorm solutions. When you tell him the problem, offer several ideas to solve the problem. And when you offer your ideas, volunteer to be a part of the solutions.

4. Think team, not silo.

–Don’t always talk about your needs or your budget. Instead, offer to sacrifice for other team members or departments. Find ways you can show your ministry is not singular in focus but recognizes it’s part of the whole. For example, your youth leadership team can volunteer to do all the set-up for a children’s ministry event.

–Offer to evaluate other ministries. If you’re a respected youth pastor with good relationships with other staff members, volunteer to spend one Sunday a quarter going to the kids’ church and give tips on making it a better experience.

We don’t become indispensable by jockeying for power or claiming our rights, but by humbly and intentionally serving our pastor and our team.

Justin Lathrop is a youth worker and the founder of Help Staff Me. In January 2011 Help Staff Me and Vanderbloemen Search Group united in an effort to serve the church with all their staffing needs. Whether it is a Jr. High pastor or a Lead Pastor we are equipped to meet your staffing needs.