A-"Muse"-ing Thoughts

Announcing Pastor2youth's Gold Membership

ANNOUNCING THE NEW
PASTOR2YOUTH GOLD MEMBERSHIP?

Here is what you can expect as a Gold Member:

*  Exclusive Premium Content – You will have access to download some premium content (Bible Studies, Lessons, Training Documents, and more) that will not be made available to anyone else on Pastor2youth.com

*  Automatic entry into monthly give-away drawings for new Youth Ministry resources.  Simply by being a Gold Member your name will be entered every month into this random drawing.  Those who pay for an entire year in advance will receive 3 entries into every monthly drawing for the year they have subscribed.

*  Access to all Gold Membership resources, all the time!  These will not be made available to you as a Gold Member for only a limited time and then removed.  As a Gold Member you will have full access to all of the Gold Member resources whenever you want and as often as you want.

*  Access to additional materials that will be made available only to Gold Members.

*  A surprise thrown in there from time to time.

*  More to come!  As the Gold Membership grows, so will the benefits of being a Gold Member.  The Gold Membership benefits will not become stagnant.  As we grow, so will the benefits to you.  So as a Gold Member, you will benefit month after month after month. 

Join now as a Gold Member and enjoy the exclusive benefits right away!

HOW MUCH DOES GOLD MEMBERSHIP COST?

We have two subscription options at Pastor2youth.com for Gold Membership:

1.  Monthly Subscription – Cost $10 per month.  Receive all of the benefits of a Gold Member, and be entered once a month into the monthly give-away drawing for a youth ministry resource.

2. Annual Subscription – Cost $90 per year (a SAVINGS of 25% off the monthly cost).  Receive all of the benefits of a Gold Member, and be entered THREE times per month into the monthly give-away drawing for a youth ministry resource.

If you have any questions or would like more information, please email Ryan Nielsen at  [email protected]

AVAILABLE NOW TO GOLD MEMBERS...

The following exclusive files are available to Gold Members right now:

1.  "Angelology: A Study of Angels" - a Bible Study which includes the following:

*  The Origin, Nature, Fall And Different Classifications Of Angels; and
*  The Work And Destiny Of The Angels

2.  "So You Want To Work With High Schoolers: 4 Things You'll Need to Know" - A Leadership Training document which includes the following Four Sessions:

*  Knowing Yourself and Discovering Your Passion
*  Characteristics of High Schoolers
*  Characteristics of a High School Worker; and
*  Recognition of God’s Blessing

And just in time for EASTER...

3.  "More Than Words: A Study on the Seven Last Sayings of Christ on The Cross" - A 7-week study that will be perfect to lead you right up to Easter Sunday!

 

NEW Content will be added on a Regular Basis.

Also, don't forget, EVERY Gold Member will be automatically entered into monthly prize give-aways, and those who subscribe for the entire year will be entered three times each month.

Pastor2Youth Gold Membership Options

Monthly : $10.00 USD - monthly Annually (25% Discount) : $90.00 USD - yearly

Your Pastor2youth Username

Top 10: Things to Never Say Again "From the Front"?

From Dan - The JH Uth Guy

YOU SAID WHAT? We all have those moment or those things we say from "up front", that get us in trouble or make a few jaws drop.  Here are 10 things I am going to try to never again when I have the mic...

10.  The Word "Pimp"- noun, verb, as a  description of fellow staff member or talking about the church bus. Nope never going to use that word again 

9. "God Made Love..."- true as it might be, it is really not what I meant...

8.  "Adam and Eve where naked in the garden just hanging out..." Hmmm, yes...yes they were...

7. The Word "Sucks"- ala Doug Fields trying to get me to use the word "sips" just not the same, but after a very rated R phone call from a parent describing what that word means to them not longer able to say it. 

6.  "Girl be dressing like a Hoochie Mama..." just going to avoid this one as best as I can, just because.

5. "I think my wife is hot, and your mom is too"..."to your dad" is the rest of the phrase, if you get it out fast enough? 

4. "Holy Shi'ite Muslim"...insensitive and misheard, slightly funny for like 2 seconds, sure to get you a phone call or 2 tomorrow morning when all your guys start saying it for the next 2-3 weeks?

3.  There are a lot of big "buts" in the Bible... like-"...BUT, for by grace are we save...". 

2. Go home and tell your parents we talk about "tittles"... If you are an NIV church trying to teach from the KJV- IT STILL DOES NOT MATTER, still not as funny as you think it might be?? 

1. The Word "Gay- (seriously)  for any other reason than in the context of lovingly talking about the lifestyle.  This is one I have refused to say for a VERY, VERY long time.  Standing rule in my ministries, no one uses it as a replacement for stupid, wimpy, or anything else negative. 

What God Is Teaching Me!! -JAMES 1:9- "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.." 

------------------------------

33 Ways You Know You Were A Youth Group Kid

33 Ways You Know You Were A Youth Group Kid

Hey, can I borrow your Jars of Clay CD to bring to the lock-in?

by Jessica Misener  BuzzFeed Staff

1. You were so excited that your crush was also going to the lock-in.

Via: newlifedenton.org

2. You know ALL the hand motions to "Lord I Lift Your Name On High."

Via: 1.bp.blogspot.com

3. You had one of these. (Extra point if you had your name embossed on the cover in gold.)

Via: o.onionstatic.com

4. You at one point decided to kiss dating good-bye.

Via: sovereigngraceministries.org

5. You jumped on one of these at camp every summer.

Via: whitneyorth.com

6. This was the greatest album you'd ever heard.

Via: covers1.img-themusic-world.info

7. Or this.

Via: 0.tqn.com

8. No, wait, THIS.

Via: patheos.com

9. You burned all of your secular CDs at a church bonfire but then "backslid" and bought new copies of everything.

Via: b.vimeocdn.com

10. You used curse word substitutes like "son of a biscuit," "frickin'," "what the fudge," and "dad gum it."

Via: b.vimeocdn.com

11. You were allowed to get whatever you wanted...from here.

Via: goodereader.com

12. This was your pastor's favorite phrase.

Via: 3.bp.blogspot.com

13. Every Wednesday night you were at Fuel, The Edge, Fire, Reverb, The Blaze, Kindle, or Echo.

Via: newhopedurango.com

14. You said "just" a lot when you had to pray out loud.

Image by Jessica Misener

15. You went on a mission trip to Mexico, Guatemala, Haiti, Ghana, Nicaragua, Uganda, or Venezuela.

Via: camppointumc.com

16. Your parents bought you a purity ring.

Via: kay.com

17. You had this shirt.

Via: afterbaby.com

18. Or this one.

Via: farm3.staticflickr.com

19. Or this one.

Via: god4me.com

20. You prayed at school during "See You at the Pole."

Via: urbanchristiannews.com

21. You rode all around town in one of these.

Via: farm5.staticflickr.com

22. You knew the best Sunday school kids had Bibles that looked like this.

Via: 7drizzles7.files.wordpress.com

23. You were encouraged to "share your testimony" with your classmates.

Via: liesyoungwomenbelieve.com

24. You went to TGI Friday's after youth group with a party of 14, and everyone ordered water.

Via: celebratekc.com

25. You knew the most important question in the world was "How far is too far?"

Via: 4.bp.blogspot.com

26. You had that one girl who would always cry and be dramatic when praying out loud. (Or you WERE that girl.)

Via: pamelavcarmichael.com

27. You signed a "True Love Waits" pledge.

Via: samplertosower.com

28. Instead of Halloween, you went to your church's "Harvest Festival."

Via: lakeshoreoakland.com

29. All the concerts you went to gave you the opportunity to sponsor a kid.

Via: lakeshoreoakland.com

30. You "guarded your heart" or knew someone who guarded their heart.

Via: thetestofthecross.files.wordpress.com

31. Your youth pastor had a soul patch.

Via: 0.tqn.com

32. Your parents would only let you listen to TruthFM, WayFM, The BridgeFM, HopeFM, LightFM, ShineFM, or PraiseFM. (Safe for the whole family!)

Via: prolinenyc.com

33. You wore this 24/7.

Via: goodereader.com

SYMC 2013 - Exciting News

BIG NEWS! Allow us to introduce you to the third keynote speaker at SYMC 2013!

Click here to WATCH VIDEO.

http://bit.ly/X8tS8J

The Simply Youth Ministry Conference is about authenticity, and in our search for a third keynote speaker we have had a a huge dilemma! Ultimately "story" won out over "celebrity" and what a story we've found. This is where God guided us…http://bit.ly/X8tS8J

Join us March 1-4 of 2013 in Indianapolis, IN to learn more about this journey and John Stumbo.

SYMC 2013 is ALMOST SOLD-OUT! Register today to save your seat!

Click Here to register today

http://bit.ly/X8tS8J

The Summit Blogs are coming...

Lots more to blog about, but it has been SO full (wonderfully full) here at #thesummit that I have to find the time to actually write the blogs to post.  But they are coming, so stay tuned!  This conference has been AMAZING - structured basically like a TED Conference for Youth Leaders.  I've already got 27 pages of single-spaced type written notes, and there are still 8 speakers left to hear between the current session and the last session later this afternoon.

Pre-Summit Musings

I am currently on my way to Atlanta, Georgia for the Youth Ministry Summit put on by the Youth Cartel

To be completely honest, I have completely opposite emotions tugging at my heart, mind, and soul right now.  One the one hand I am excitedly anxious about what is ahead this weekend, and on the other hand I am fearfully nervous.  I realize that may sound confusing, so hopefully as I share what is behind those feelings it will become clear. 

First of all, I have to state how incredibly blessed I am to be attending this conference!  I had attended at least one youth ministry conference per year for 16-years straight from 1995 through 2010.  Last year, in 2011, was the first year that I did not attend a youth ministry conference at all.  Even that, alone, was cause for mixed emotions.  It felt strange, almost wrong, to not be attending one.  It felt like the “end” in many ways – the end of an era, the end of my career, the end of my calling to church youth ministry, and many other little “ends.”  But there was just no way that I could attend one in 2011.  I was no longer employed by a church working in paid, church youth ministry.  I moved in June of 2011 from Texas to Northern, California.  My wife started working full time.  I was searching for work.  We were living with family.  Expenses were still pouring in, but the income was not.  I no longer had a youth ministry budget (continuing education budget) to offset (if not pay completely) the expenses of a Youth Ministry Conference.  So, given everything, there really wasn’t even any possibility of me attending one.  And then 2012 rolled around.  Basically everything listed above remained the same other than the fact that I was working 2-3 part-time jobs to try and make some extra income for our family.  But expenses were still high and income was not.  So I entered into 2012 with the mindset and understanding that I would not attend a youth ministry conference again this year. 

In the summer of 2012 I received an email from Adam McLane asking me if I was planning on attending the Summit in Atlanta in November of 2012.  I replied to him and told him that as much as I would LOVE to be there, I just could not afford it.  I was given the very generous offer of a scholarship for the conference itself.  This was extremely generous and I was very thankful for it, but the truth of the matter remained that I was not in a position to be able to afford the flight from Quincy, CA to Atlanta, GA, the cost of the hotel room, or some of the other expenses that I would incur.  So, I thanked Adam for his generous offer, and shared with him a bit more detailed information regarding why, even with this great offer, I still could not afford to come to the Summit – as much as I wanted to.  He said he understood, and I assumed that was the final conclusion to this opportunity.

However, the very next day I received an email from Adam letting me know that there was a possibility of my being able to attend.  To make a fairly long (and probably boring for everyone else) story short, Adam informed me that there was someone who was a supporter of the Youth Ministry Cartel and wanted to support the Summit, but was not able to attend personally, and so this individual wanted to scholarship someone else to be able to attend.  This included the airfare, hotel, conference fee, and anything left over could be used to help cover some costs of meals.  Adam shared my information with this individual and he wanted to offer me this scholarship to be able to attend.  So, within about a month I was given the finances to buy my plane ticket, reserve my hotel room, Adam and Marko comped my registration fees… and here I am on my way to the Summit!!!  So, that is by far the first reason I am so excited to be going to the Summit. 

Why else am I excited?

• I’m looking forward to being together again with so many of my Youth Ministry colleagues whom I have known for many years now.
• I’m excited to see what God has to teach me during this conference and what He has to speak into my heart.
• I’m looking forward to learning, and sharing, and learning some more.
• I’m looking forward to attending a Youth Ministry conference unlike any others I’ve attended before – with a different format, different focus, and different expectations.
• I, personally, LOVE conferences.  So I am looking forward to going, period!

However, there is the flip side of this coin for me which has me also feeling fearfully nervous.  I’ve been trying to figure out how to put into words the reasons for this feeling, and they all seem to come out wrong, but I’m going to try.

What makes me fearfully nervous?

• Well, the first thing isn’t really something that makes me feel fear or nervousness, but I am sad to be away from my wife and daughters for a four days!  I already miss them terribly.  The truth is I do struggle at times with feeling guilty for being away and having a blast at something like this when Christi is back at home having to take care of everything.  However, she is so incredibly supportive about my attending, which helps out tremendously.
• I think the biggest fearfully nervous feeling I have is that of “what next God?”  I am so thankful for this opportunity to attend the Summit, but am wondering also what God has in store for me personally from it (which I plan to blog about through the conference, and hopefully after as well).  Where I am currently living, there is not the opportunity to be in paid, full-time church youth ministry.  So one of my fears of this conference is that my calling and passion to be doing Youth Ministry (in the most commonly assumed understanding of that term) will be re-ignited and I will be yearning to get back into that position – however our family life, situation and circumstances do not currently allow for this to happen. 
• Following from this fear is the fear of, “then what?”  If I’m not able to be back in paid, church youth ministry, then what is God calling me to do with my life now?  Ever since my freshman year of college I have felt the clear call on my life from God to be in church youth ministry.  I did that for 21 years straight, until 2011.  Now, for the first time in my life, I am struggling to know what is God’s calling on my life.  I do realize that Youth Ministry can, and does, happen in other contexts than within the church.  But I still find the challenge of where we live in this regard because opportunities are very limited.

So, I’m headed to Atlanta with pendulum-edge emotions about what to expect and what is ahead.  So, I guess with that… stay tuned...  

Amazing Video Testimony

This girl has an incredible testimony that is definitely worth watching!  God is amazing!

 

The Summit - and a HUGE Blessing

I'm not even sure where to begin this blog post.  There's so much backstory - which would not only take quite a while to write, but would not make much sense without writting a little novella about it.  So, I'll spare everyone, including my fingers, the entire backstory and just share about the blessing.

It's been almost 3 years since I've been able to attend any Youth Ministry Convention - and that is not due to a lack of desire to attend, but numerous circumstances have prevented it for the past few years.  And, the truth is, 2012 was looking to be no different.  Until I had an unexpected email dialogue with a colleague and friend of mine in youth ministry.  This dialogue began out of the blue, and quickly grew.  It was definitely unexpected at the onset, and ended with my being blessed in ways that only God, working through others, can do!

So, all of that is to say, that it is just the beginning of August and I am SO excited, that due to someone whom I don't even know (and don't even know his name), I've been blessed to get to head to Atlanta, GA in November to attend "The Summit" put on by The Youth Ministry Cartel.  I cannot wait.  It looks to be an amazing conference with some amazing individuals there to teach, share, grow, and worship together. 

To the nameless individual who has blessed me in this way, if you are reading this, THANK YOU!  Thank you for making something happen that could not have otherwise happened.

If you aren't already signed up for the Summit... check it out!  It's going to be amazing... I'm so excited!

 

 

Say Goodbye to Fido

As a youth pastor, the following picture made me laugh....

As a pet-lover, the following picture made me cry...

Now my emotions are all messed up and I sound like a crazy person laughing hysterically while bursting into tears.

(ok... knowing that the above picture is NOT real has allowed me to actually not cry.)

 

What IS Youth Ministry?

Ok.  I am working on a personal project and would love to get some feedback from any and all of you.  I am not looking for something extensive here, but would you please leave your response in the comments section to the following question:  "What is your definition of Youth Ministry?"

Again, I'm not looking for a whole philosophy of YM, but in a sentence or two, how would you define "Youth Ministry?" 

I'll post some of my thoughts and reflections on this project in the next couple of weeks.  Thanks for your help.