I certainly enjoyed my time in Nashville at the Youth Specialties Conference. Here are some of my take aways:

I enjoyed the talk by Yacconelli. He spoke about the soul. This is a big topic for me because in my Christian experience nobody talks/teaches about it. However, I did have one HUGE pause with his talk. I swear that he said the soul is innocent. If he did, then he is not sitting in orthodox Christianity on that one. And to be a main session speaker and say that....not good. Even worse, nobody noticed:( I need to buy the talk and re listen to it to verify for sure.

Another take away was that they really seemed to deal with social issues this year. That is good. I do value the poor but I do think that we are all "poor" before God and that God does not value the poor more than anyone else per se. Liberation theology is heresy:)

Sounds like a lot of critique eh? In reality it was really well done. Marko and the gang did exceptionally well as usual. The workshops were wonderful and they had a real wide variety of offerings. Here are the highlights of two that I sat in on:

1) How to get along with your sr pastor. This one was great. Unfortunately, I have learned most of the lessens taught on the hard way. But I have learned them and that is the most important thing right? The session helped youth workers look in the mirror and see if they are "being the change" that they want to see in their sr pastors. Are they modeling the humility and character etc. that we are seeking in our sr's? They asked us if we were expecting too much from our sr's? In they end, I walked away with two big things....listen to your sr pastor, get to know them and...pray for your sr pastor...daily.

2) Marv Pennar taught about teaching that transforms. It was good, simple and to the point. Basic stuff really...things like embody the topic/message yourself in your life...be consistent and hold the students accountable to what is being taught etc...

Got to hang with many of the yamia folks as well. That...is ALWAYS good.

PS Just finished the second installment of our new Frontier Foundations podcast that we will be launching very soon (I am VERY excited about this)...this was with YS Nashville Workshop teacher Walt Mueller (author of Youth Culture 101 etc...). It should be up on the podcasts in the next few weeks.

I like the new Frontier Foundations podcast because they are short (usually under 20 minutes), they are thorough and they are done with exceptional folks. Again, we are looking at the intersection between the DNA of the Anglican Mission (reach the 130 million lost in America primarily through church plants) and the foundations of exceptional youth ministry. Hopefully it will bless you in the Lord.

Labels: Youth Specialties

I am excited. Get to hang with the yamia family...that is ALWAYS fun. Get to see my buddies Harry and Todd etc... Also, for a special treat, I get to harass Sheryl as she teaches one of the workshops.

The best thing, though, is that I get to connect with my aunt and uncle and cousins whom I have not seen in a long time (5+years).

I am sure I will have some post convention blogs. Until then....God bless you.

Labels: Youth Specialties

A.C.T.S.

Here is the key (or acronym) to your success:) Never again will you have a bad fit with a adult leader on your team! Never again will you have any conflict! Never again will you get thrown under the bus! And most importantly, never again will you want to quit!

Yes, it is that easy. Simply memorize the acronym I am giving you, put it into practice and life will be perfect. So here it is:

A-affinity. Do you have things in common? Is it someone you can hang with?
C-character. Do they have a good one? Is it better than their competency?
T-teach-ability. Are they teachable? Can they say they are wrong or sorry?
S-spiritual giftedness. Has God given them the gifts necessary to complete the task? If not, this is probably not their call or task.

Labels: Leadership

Trevor James (TJ) Zoephel
10lbs 10oz's 22inches long
Born at 11:20pm on Tuesday, October 28th

Lord, may you use this child for your glory. Help us to be good parents and to embody the gospel of the Kingdom in our lives and in our words. Help him by obedient to his parents as we offer him to you as Hannah did Samuel. In the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Labels: Family

I am seriously toying with the idea of having a yamia audio journal (monthly or bi monthly). This will explore the intersection between the DNA of the Anglican Mission (the frontier work of reaching the lost and planting churches) and foundations in youth ministry. The goal is to help our churches and movement to be known for EXCEPTIONAL youth ministry.

So far I have just wrapped up a podcast with Rev Dave Linka and I am getting ready for 3 more pod casts in the coming weeks. Dave's was interesting because God is reaching lost teens through a small church without a full time youth pastor. The other exciting thing is that the blueprint they are using is somewhat reproducible for other churches (especially church plants). There are also some foundational youth ministry elements applicable to all youth ministries that we pull out of our conversation. So I hope you are blessed as I was. It should be up soon.

The other pod casts coming soon are with Walt Mueller (author of Youth Culture 101, internationally known speaker and teacher and widely acknowledged youth guru) and Mark Oestriecher (friend of yamia and president of youth specialties). Finally, I have a third podcast coming up with a guy who has experienced the highs of leading a phenomenal youth ministry (which was, at that time, held up by Willow Creek as "the" youth ministry) and the lows of falling into sexual sin which led to divorce and finally imprisonment. But God was not done with him! So we hope to have that convicting and powerful story for you soon.


So...stay tuned!

Labels: Podcasts