Short, to the point, challenging.
- TB

So I'm doing some digging through old files - specifically message and study notes - from the last 5 or 6 years, and I made a few interesting discoveries about my speaking/teaching.

#1 - How I use the Bible in messages has changed.  When I was younger I used the Bible as support for my points.  Most of my points were (luckily) Biblical, but I was starting with what I wanted to say and THEN bringing the Word in.  More recently the Bible has been my starting point, and I draw my points from the text.  The intelligent-sounding way to say this is I've become much more exegetical vs. isogetical in my preaching/speaking.

#2 - I've been talking about the same things for years.  It's kind of funny. I've been teaching on the same handful of topics for years, because I feel they are the most relevant to students.  They are:
- Who Jesus is, loving Him.
- The Bible, growing in your faith.
- Serving others.
- The importance of Christian community.
- Family.
- Sex/dating/relationships.
- Friendship.
- Being different (in a good way - see Rom. 12:2).

#3 - I'm at the point where I can stop writing messages.  Seriously.  I could just edit and reuse what I have now for the rest of my life.  Obviously I'm not going to do this, because my favorite part of YM is communicating God's truth to students in new and relevant ways, but it's nice to know that if things get crazy one week I've got a nice vault of stuff to pull from.

What about you?  Have you looked back through your archives lately?  What does your teaching/preaching history say about you?

- Tim B.

Every once in a while I'll pull an old post or article I've written and repost it.  I'd love any thoughts you may have!  This post is from December of 2009.  Please forgive the lack of capital letters - I went through a cool lower-case phase...

last night trisha and i were talking about several of our students that are going through some rough patches. some are making some bad decisions and facing the consequences, some are just caught in the middle of other people's bad decisions. it's tough watching those that you are seeking to shepherd in ministry go through seasons like these.

trisha remarked that it's especially tough when we've been walking with them for so many years and can remember them when they first entered our ministry. it's heartbreaking to remember a bright-eyed, unburdened, laughter-filled middle schooler and see them today caught in the middle of a messy divorce, or succumbing to the pressure of a bad influence in their life, or choosing lying and deception over honesty and taking responsibility.

it's hard to watch children become adults.

kids are full of optimism, hope, simple joy, and laughter.

adults are (sometimes) full of doubts, pessimism, depression, and tears.

while it's all at once disheartening to watch this change happen in so many young people we care about, it's also one of our biggest privileges in youth ministry to walk with them during times like these and offer them friendship, hope, direction, purpose, and most importantly JESUS.

as trisha put it, "maybe a big part of our job is just to be there with them while they go through it all."

no maybes about it.

- tim

Often I feel like I'm simply being reactive in my ministry instead of proactive.  I think there's a huge difference.

- Reactive youth ministries plan one week ahead.
- Proactive youth ministries plan 6 months to 1 year ahead.

- Reactive ministries deal with issues in students' lives as they come up.
- Proactive ministries find out what the big issues in students' lives are (through conversations, reading, paying attention to media, etc.) and address them and invite students to talk about them before they bring them up.

- Reactive ministries fight hard to sustain what they have.
- Proactive ministries fight hard to gain and keep momentum.

- Reactive ministries see change as more work there simply isn't time for.
- Proactive ministries see change as the fertile soil in which healthy ministries grow.

- Reactive ministries (may) survive.
- Proactive ministries (often) thrive.

I want to be more proactive.  Which one are you?

- Tim B.

I'll be honest - becoming a "famous" youth worker is something I've daydreamed about.  The idea of speaking on a big stage to thousands of teenagers and/or adults seems like an opportunity afforded to those who have really "made it".  

But it's a dangerous dream to have.

That's why I love Doug Fields (one of those famous youth workers) post at his blog today.  You should definitely head over and check it out, right now!

- Tim B.

I shot this video last night after youth group with one of our students and one of our adult leaders for our pastor's "Bridging the Generation Gap" series.

To me, this video sums up what relational youth ministry is all about.  Amber started attending our church but did not participate in our youth ministry for over a year.  When Angie started working with our students, she told Amber she would pick her up and bring her with her to our midweek youth service.  Amber hasn't missed a single youth gathering since then!

This video, and more importantly this relationship, is a big win for me in YM.  I want to foster more and more of this in our ministry!

- Tim B.

I know this video makes the rounds pretty frequently in YM circles, but it's too good not to post today.  What an awesome reminder of what a good youth worker really looks like!

- Tim B.

There's a great post over at YM360 on one of the most important aspects, in my opinion, of youth ministry: leading great discussions.

Over the years my message style has shifted from up-front lecture/sermon style to a much more conversation-based method, so I love what this article has to offer in the way of advice for those seeking to engage teenagers in what could be life-changing discussions.

Click here to check out the article!

- Tim B.

One of the most important things I do in Youth Ministry is continuously ask God to work on my attitude.  Of course what I'm really seeking and growing toward (I hope) is putting on the attitude and love of Christ.

Before I meet with students for worship, hanging out, special events, etc., I ask God to give me the right heart, the right mind, and - maybe most importantly - I ask Him to help me when I meet new students to love them before I meet them.

And I really do.  I make the decision that when I meet a teenager, no matter how stinky, rude, mean, troubled, distracting, whatever they are, I'm going to love them.  Am I perfect in this practice?  Of course not!  But man does it help to pray and set my mind and heart on choosing love and acceptance on the front end BEFORE the new junior high kid that shows up puts a hole in the wall or the high schooler falls asleep during my message time.

Do you do this?  Do you decide before you ever meet a new student that all you will do is love them?  Do you decide against judgement, criticism, resentment, or impatience?

What if our students did this as well?  What if they decided that every one of their peers that walked through our church/youth room doors was going to be loved, accepted, encouraged, and welcomed just as they were?  How awesome would that be!?

I'm going to challenge my students to do this - I encourage you to do the same!

- Tim B.

I'm working through rethinking/revamping a lot of what we do in our student ministry at FBCCS this year.  One change we want to make is simple, but could have a big impact.

In the past we've called our entry-point midweek youth event... "Youth Group".  I know, EPIC, right?

It's been fine - we haven't really pursued a name for our midweek in the past, but we want to give our time with students a name other than "youth group".  First of all, we want to call our midweek something that reflects the reason we are there - to create an exciting, safe environment for students to encounter Jesus, ask questions, feel loved and accepted, and learn how to take the next steps on their faith journey.  We also wanted a name for our midweek that sounded more invite-friendly for our core students.  Inviting a friend to "church youth group" is fine, but we feel like we can do better.

So we're working through a list of potential names - there are some great YG names out there, and some TERRIBLE ones!  Here's a list we're distributing to students and leaders, with a little tag line next to each name to help them get a picture of where the name is going.  Each person that receives the sheet circles their 5 favorite names, then will put together a short list of candidates and let students vote on a winner in the coming weeks.

I can't wait to let you all know what we decide and share the new name of our midweek service with you!

Here's the list of names:
(CLUB) 180: Turn your life around!
ESCAPE: No more normal.
PULSE: Signs of Life.
ENCOUNTER: Meeting God.
24/7: Following Jesus every second!
SOLID GROUND: Standing Firm!
UNDERGROUND: Join the movement!
(YOUTH) CONNECT: Plug in!
XTREME: Living a life that matters!
ALIVE: Living life to the fullest!
AXIS: Jesus at the center!
BLAST: Blowin’ it up for Jesus! BIG HOUSE: Room for everyone!
COLLIDE/COLLISION: Where faith and life meet.
CROSSROADS: Meeting in the middle.
DIVE: Jump in!
YOUTH CHURCH: Speaking to you where you’re at.
DEEPER: Getting below the surface.
DV8 (Deviate):No more normal! (Romans 12:2)
ELEVATE: Taking it to the next level!
EMERGE: A generation rising up.
OASIS: A safe place.
FUEL: Feed the fire.
GROUND ZERO: This is where it happens.
HIGHER GROUND: Looking up and up…
IMPACT: Making a difference in students’ lives.
INVERT: Turning life upside down.
JOLT: Jesus offers life today.
MOMENTUM: Gaining and sustaining!
MOSAIC: Different pieces, one masterpiece.
ONE WAY: Pointing the way… John 14:6
OXYGEN: Coming up for air!
PURSUIT: Following after Christ!
RADIATE: Shining in the darkness.
REFUGE: A safe place.
S.O.S. – Sending out a message…
VERITAS – The truth, nothing but the truth.

Which one is YOUR favorite?- Tim B.