When I prepare a message, most of the time, I usually know where I’m going with it and I have an outline in my head. There are times though when I leave the prepared path and go muddin’ (as they say in the south). In preacher talk we call them rabbit trails. Talking and preaching…
Pic source Last night I got on a it of rant on Twitter. Part of it was reflection of my own status in life and part of it was my distaste for mediocrity in general. Here is my rant from Twitter: @paulturnertoo We should stop giving out attendance awards in elementary school because in…
Every youth ministry, not matter the size, denomination, or ethnicity, has a narrative. One year into serving at my current church, a tornado came a stole our church. We spent the next year rebuilding. Our youth ministry remembers that year. We met in other church youth rooms, we met in tiny tiny, restrictive room,…
Our youth ministry recently sponsored a 5k run/walk for missions. We asked out local police to help out with the run by blocking off the roads as the runners ran. We did not have a huge contingency of runners, about 30. We had a few slower walkers in the back and the police blocked off…
The third STEPPS principle Jonah Berger shares in Contagious is : When People Care, People Share. How much do your kids care about the youth ministry? You could ask your teens, “How do you feel about the youth ministry?” but those can and do change daily based on …well… everything. One way you…
In the days of yore, people would tie strings around their fingers to remind themselves to do something. Today we have apps for that but reminding kids about their faith in Christ and their place in our community, called the church is a reminder we cannot afford to forget. Yesterday I shared about the importance…
I am starting a new weekly series called The Thursday Morning Quarterback. This phrase comes from the the term “Monday Morning Quarterback” which is/was a term for critics, journalists, and every day fans who like to chime in about the game they didn’t play in but feel like their qualified to know…
I experienced a moment yesterday at church that had me thinking I was having an out of body experience, a glimpse of Youth Ministry Nirvana. I was shutting down the church, as I normally do, checking doors, clicking lights etc. and as I walked into the sanctuary I saw a group of young adults and…
short rant: Yesterday I was listening to the Iron Man 3 soundtrack (songs inspired by the movie) and was saddened by the lack of inspiration on the songs. Looks like the bands did not see the movie. This is an action movie, but the songs don’t take me there. I mean really? Imagine Dragons Radioactive…
This morning I woke up with my usual Wednesday night youth program hangover. It was a long night, but last night felt longer than most because of the news I received. We are in week three of what I call the Disciple Project, three months of fine tuned Wednesdays, and this week was a SERVE…
