youth ministry books | More Than Dodgeball

Josh GriffinMore Posts Book Review: Simple Student Ministry

I read the book Simple Student Ministry a few months back and never got around to posting a review of it so here goes:

I love a clear discipleship process in youth ministry – the parent book, Simple Church, was one of my favorite books of 2007 and I was hoping their team would bring out a student version of the title. It seems the longer churches are around the more “pile on” programs you have, each intending to help but eventually crowding the discipleship pathway. Simply put, we like to add stuff without taking anything away. Churches have the tendency to program creep, to the point where the core mission is diluted or even disappears altogether. I’m all for simple, clear and effective – to some degree, this is part of the journey we’re on right now with our High School Ministry (HSM). This book strongly urges that direction (large parts of it remind me of a Purpose Driven Youth Ministry combined with What Matters Most) and is a good read if you’re thinking you’re getting over-programmed.

JG

2 View Comments January 12, 2010

Josh GriffinMore Posts Book Review: The Greenhouse Project

This Christmas break I finished up a review copy of the Mike Calhoun book The Greenhouse Project: Cultivating Students of Influence – a good read for anyone looking to overhaul or reemphasize discipleship in their student ministry. The book actually covers more than discipleship, but the theme is very primary and central to his thesis that of all the purposes for student ministry – discipleship is the one that matters the most. Each chapter is guided by a contributing writer like Greg Stier, Mel Walker or Jay Strack, so while the writing feels a bit random, the multiple voices lends credibility and varied perspective. My wife actually graduated from Word of Life Bible Institute and I have enjoyed the camps and speakers in the past – I think the book is good for many settings though if you’re a “Word of Life church” it’ll really hit you where you’re at. Great title, too, our student ministry should be a greenhouse for helping students grow up in Christ.

JG

2 View Comments December 31, 2009

Josh GriffinMore Posts Book Review: Primal

Finished up some reading I’m getting pretty far behind on – Multnomah Books sent me a review copy of Mark Batterson’s new book Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity. To me, Mark feels like half amateur scientist and half pastor, dragging his readers back in time to the origins of faith with both Scripture and science. My favorite chapter was The Island of Colorblind, which focuses on the lack of wonder in Christians any more. That we are so familiar with faith we no longer truly see it for the radical nature and God at the very heart of it. Really good stuff to challenge us about what God is calling us to do while we’re here on earth.

JG

Add Comment December 30, 2009

Josh GriffinMore Posts What to Buy with the Last of Your Youth Ministry Budget

Our fiscal year ends in June, but for many youth workers, the end of the year means a reset to the budget year. I realize not every youth ministry benefits from the blessing of a budget and even if you do, times are really tight for everyone right now. Either way, here are a few of the things I might spend end of year budget on:

Nothing!
Are you kidding me? Money left? I’ve actually a little overspent or barely have enough to go to McDonald’s with! If that’s the case – use the pennies left and hit up the Dollar Menu and taking out your senior pastor to help soften the blow when he/she actually finds out the bottom line. I recommend springing for the McRib combo.

Invest in items that benefit you in the next fiscal year
Use the offerings and tithes that have been entrusted to you by getting some long-term bang for your buck. Looking for small group material that will work in the coming year? Grab the LIVE curriculum now, and set yourself up for the next season of small groups. Think about services like SimplyTxt or stocking up on sale items and discover discounts that will give you a supply of resources you typically reach for close at hand.

You can never go wrong with volunteer training
Search for end of the year resources to help encourage and/or train your team in the various aspects of youth ministry. Picking up Youth Worker Training on the Go or a little book for each of them might be good use of your budget money. Short, quick reads will always win. Be sure to write a note inside, too!

Go for personal development
This is a big one for me – when I head into the end of a budget year, I try to register for an event or training that will help me be a better youth pastor. Registering in advance is expected, and doing it over two budget years may allow you to spread the costs out. This year I’ll be at the Simply Youth Ministry Conference in Chicago – spots are going fast (I hear it is 75% sold-out) and it’d be fun to meet you and you could use the break.

Pre-pay for Events, Camps or Retreats
If you know the camp or retreat center you’ll be using in the coming year, consider placing a deposit on the location and lock it in. If you’re doing an event at a rollerskating rink and you know the date, plunk down some money in advance while you’ve got it.

A few ideas as we end 2009 – if you are interested in more related articles, check out 6 Ways to Stretch Your Youth Ministry Budget, When to Buy Youth Ministry Resources or the book $5 Youth Ministry.

JG

Add Comment December 30, 2009

Josh GriffinMore Posts Book Review: The Most Loving Place in Town

Just finished reading Ken Blanchard’s recent book, The Most Loving Place in Town. It is a modern day parable of a church that has lost its first love in programs, hype and busyness. It is a call for the church to be led by servant leaders and a call to action by showing God’s love in community service. The story is pretty straight-forward and fairly interesting, but the real win here are the principles and Scripture that challenge us to love others as the church, not get caught in the traps of programs and politics. A good read, especially if you’re afraid your church has lost its first love.

JG

Add Comment December 6, 2009

Josh GriffinMore Posts Book Review: The Shark and the Goldfish

Just finished the quick read new business tale The Shark and the Goldfish by Jon Gordon. It is written almost like a kid’s story – but right from the start you can see principles about your outlook on life and transferable lessons to bring into the real world. A goldfish is swept out to sea and a caring shark takes him in and teaches him how to survive in the new environment. It makes for a stable analogy of the job market, layoffs and the current perspective on the economy. My favorite section of the book is about fighting through the chorus of negativity, people who don’t believe in the impossible and make it their personal quest to suck the joy from your dream. We’ve all got a few of them in our youth ministry world – amen, Jon! Other solid thoughts:

Fear is the belief that the future is bad. Faith is belief that the future is good.
Every day you work hard and don’t settle is a step toward your goals.
There are all sorts of waves, one you can always count on is the waves of change.
Adversity doesn’t stop those with the drive to succeed.li>
What challenging situation are you currently going through that is actually an opportunity?

JG

Add Comment November 12, 2009

Josh GriffinMore Posts Book Review: Disruptive Ideas

Pastor Rick asked each of us to read a business summary of the book Disruptve Ideas. Not sure what he has planned for our church, but I loved the book. Basically it goes after the trappings of corporate culture, and focuses on streamlining decision making and pushing control down as low as possible within an organization. I especially loved the emphasis on volunteers, and how email can be addictive and should be replaced with quick face-to-face meetings as often as possible.

Couple of good questions and thoughts from the book:

To your team – “do you have what you need?”
You probably don’t need a team meeting, because you’re always meeting.
Job shadowing is the fastest way to grow skill sets within an organization. Youth ministry translation: what volunteers do I need to bring alongside me to eventually lead/take over huge areas of ministry?
The “Focus Police” will try to disrupt people learning new things and try to keep everyone specialists (and therefore, their job safe)
Everyone should be on the lookout for new talent.

JG

Add Comment November 11, 2009

Josh GriffinMore Posts Doug Fields’ New Book: Fresh Start

Doug Fields’ new book Fresh Start came out this week and is now available from Simply Youth Ministry – I’m just about done with it and will review it soon, but wanted to let you know you can now grab it online.

Doug Fields says, “It’s not about trying harder; it’s about plugging into God’s transforming power.” As He did for King David and Isaiah in the Bible, God is eager to provide that power – even more than once.

Fresh Start is your guide to moving from stuck to starting over. And it doesn’t take a self-help program, positive thinking, or transcendental glow sticks to achieve it! Doug will demonstrate that when you are willing to cooperate with God and the possible, He has more than enough power to do the impossible and transform your life.

“‘Stuckness,’” Doug writes, “was never part of the abundant life that Jesus promised.” Indeed, He came so that we can move forward, “have life . . . and have it to the full” (John 10:10). So come on! Take the first step. Your fresh start begins today!

JG