Archive for March 2010

0

Students are desperate

Here's something I've heard hinted to hundreds of time since doing full-time ministry but I'm learning it's truth more and more each day! Here's how I would word it: "Students are beyond eager to be part of something bigger than themselves, to the point that, when deprived of the chance to do so, they grow desperate for it."

0

Don't slack on Friday!

Leadership on the brain right now, can't sleep, so I write... Great leaders are people who are willing to show up wherever they are leading and bring their best every time--and thereby create a culture where everyone else does the same! Let's not settle. Lead strong today even though it's the end of the week! Make it a great day!!!

0

How do I find a mentor?

I wrote about this previous here and I wanted to add to this list a little bit because it's been on my mind for a while. One of my greatest passions is to help student and leaders grow in whatever areas God's directing them towards.  One of the ways I've grown most as a leader has been to always have mentors in my life who will ask me the tough questions, call me out to greater things, and be someone to bounce ideas/thoughts off of. So I talk to students a lot about finding mentors in their life and they usually ask me "How do I find a mentor?"

Well here's the second round of my two cents:

1. Ask yourself what do you need in a mentor. (Clear expectations for both people is essential to having a healthy mentorship)
2. Think outside the box. (My mentors weren't always church leaders or business leaders...I had some Godly coaches, a few Godly teachers, My dad & mom were two of my greatest mentors even when I didn't realize it)
3. When it's time for the "ask", be specific.  (Example: "Can we maybe sit down over coffee for 30 minutes so I can ask you come questions."
4. Offer your mentor something. (Example: if you're asking them to mentor you in a specific area, bring research YOU'VE done in that area so that you can contribute to the conversation and so that they don't have to just spoon-feed you everything you'll ever learn...show some initiative)
5. Be appreciative. (Mentors are taking time out of their schedule/day to spend with you because  they care...so show appreciation, enthusiasm, offer to buy the cup of coffee...do something to show them that you see their time is valuable and you appreciate their time.)

0

Are Christians are defensive?

Is "defensive" how some people see Christians? I was checking out some "scatting" on YouTube and checked out an Ella Fitzgerald Scat performances and aparantly somebody got defensive about the performance because someone said it wasn't very good. The user wrote back and said this:

"I did not say that she sucked -.- I said that this sucked. Are u christian ?"

Why would this persons knee jerk reaction be to ask if the previous user comment "was a Christian"? It's most likely because this user had previous experience with a "Christian" who was defensive about something, which give them the perspective/worldview that Christians must be defensive and that if some random user on YouTube gets defensive, it's probably because they're a Christian.  It might be that this user wanted to "confirm" his/her perspective/worldview about Christians. I immediately asked my self "what am I doing that might give off the impression that I'm defensive" because that's not at all how I want to represent Christ. (Side Note: Unfortunately this was posted "7 months ago" according to the timestamp and there has been no reply, I'd love to know!)

0

Peter asks a great question

(Photo I took of one of our students at her high school play "Crazy for you". Maddie's in the middle)

"Lord, how many times shall I forgive someone who sins against me? ...Jesus answered, I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times."

This is an area that is easier said than done but what if we really understood the nature of this question and the parable that follows?  What if we got over the things that keep us tied down and learn to forgive, and forgive, and forgive, and forgive, and forgive........

What would change?

1. families restored?
2. friendship renew?
3. hatred subside?
4. justice revealed?
5. become more like Christ?
6. ?

I know some 'Christians who don't forgive'.  You know, people who boast their closeness with Christ and still can't forgive someone or themselves.  Sounds like an oxymoron to me like "abundant poverty". Let's be a forgiving people!

0

One reason Notre Dame is better than your school

(Photo by Dan Vukmirovich from GCC's India Mission Trip Team)

Kasi over in a small village in India is rocking some ND Crocs!  BRING IT! haha I love this photo!!!

0

Wisdom on 'commitment' from Kurt Johnston

Found this in my Leadership folder in my Evernote stuff and wanted to pass these thoughts along in case you haven't seen them.  It's from Kurt Johnston, who by the way is A LOT shorter in person than you may think from the Simply Jr. High Podcast he does, but great thoughts none the less. Sorry Kurt, had to let the world know. (and by 'the world' i mean the people who read this blog. ha) He said:

“We have a silly little saying that we use a lot: ‘Be committed to what you have committed to’. Instead of pressuring our leaders to over-commit, we ask them to prayerfully consider where they want to plug in and to do their best to stay faithful to that area. Our commitment to them is that we won’t constantly press them for more.”  How do you feel about your volunteers’ level of commitment?  How might the way you “press them for more” affect their ability to live up to what they’ve already committed to?

0

Great wisdom about 'Mountain Top Experiences'

(Random Photo from web)

Great wisdom about "Mountain Top Experiences" HERE.

0

What I look for in Volunteer Leaders

(Random photo that I found...wish I had some glasses like this.)

Yesterday I posted about types of leadership we have in GSM and today I just want to post the main thing I look for in volunteer leaders. Here it is:

Do they love Jesus

Do they care about students (legitimately care)

Do they desire to connect students to Jesus

So because of that, I see my job in looking for volunteers as finding these leaders who love Jesus and care about students then connecting them to each other. The kicker I learned from watching Mark Beeson and Mark Waltz is finding leaders who can also love the students who don't yet care about Jesus.  It's easy to love students who love Jesus but it's a whole different ballgame to love and care for students who could care less about Jesus.  They're just showing up because there are cool game, cute girls, a crazy awesome band, some semi-funny speaker, or because it's just the "thing to do". We're due up for some new leaders rolling through GSM

0

Types of Student Ministry Leaders

It's impossible to lead a team without knowing who they are.  So, one of the things that I frequently do is look at "who" our leaders are.  Most of this happens through conversation and watching them.  As I was looking at our leadership recently, I figured out that based on how we do ministry, we need these 3 types of leaders in our GSM.

Shepherds

...are the primary type of leader we have.  They're invited onto the leadership team to "help students take steps towards Christ...together".  I invite them to use whatever gifts, skills, passion they have to further that mission.  It's life on life type of leadership that implies going further than just showing up every week. (side note: I don't often use the term "shepherd" as I'm talking about this with our leaders as the word carries lots of different meaning and I'm not hung up on the 'label' as much as I am leadership style.)

Mentors

...offer students a level of relationships, connection, discipleship that not every student is ready for.  These leaders offer more than 'acceptance' (it's essential to have those leaders who will merely accept students where they are and never really go further than that but this leadership is one that goes beyond acceptance).  These leaders aren't afraid to push through awkwardness and ask the tough questions.  These leaders offer a character and integrity that allows them to ask the questions necessary to push students to a higher level of devotion to Christ or leadership within their gifting.

Chaperones

...offer students supervision that you can rely on.  They'll "keep an eye" out for you and make sure students are having a good time and staying within the safety guideline.  I think it's important to have these types of leaders at GSM weekly because as all the "Shepherds" and "Mentors" are hanging out with students, playing games, getting food at the cafe', etc, we need leaders to have eyes on all other other stuff that matters to creating great environments for students.  (They also offer you relief during really busy seasons in ministry when you really just need some volunteers to be with students. ie. Trip to a theme parks, work days, group outings like bowling, etc.) This pattern of thought comes down to how you "define" the people you have so it might not work for everyone, especially those who lump all of their leadership team into the same bucket, which is totally fine. For me, it really helps me as I look at our entire leadership team to know the specific makeup of our leaders.  Not everyone will fit into the same place and that's ok, but the more informed we are the clearer our expectations of them will be. This also isn't a rigid leadership metric that I have drawn up that i fit people into, most of these roles are self-selected by the leaders themselves.  I occasionally will invite a leader into a role that I feel may be a good fit for them but I like for our leadership to decide where they fit.  Jesus gave his disciples and opportunity to "opt-in", he said "come follow me"...they could have declined.

What other categories of leaders do you have in your ministry?